Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors — “I want to play a game…”

HAPPY 2013!

For Christmas I received two gifts: an Amazon gift card and a copy of Virtue’s Last Reward, a puzzle game for 3DS that had plenty of positive impressions behind it. At first I thought I could enjoy the game on its own merits, but the back of the game case reveals that the game is a sequel to a popular DS puzzle game — Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (informally, 999). Well, I thought, I suppose I should play the first game, and Amazon was kind enough to sell me a copy for close to $20.

The prologue shows a young man waking up in a cabin aboard what appears to be an old steamship. Along with introducing the circumstances of his presence there, the prologue also serves as a tutorial for solving the game’s puzzles. The first two things I noticed: 1) the art looked very similar to the character art for a 3DS game I had been playing called Code of Princess. I love the detail of this particular anime-inspired design, and a Google search revealed the same artist, Kinu Nishimura, worked on both games. Splendid! 2) the layout of 999 reminds me of an old NES/Macintosh game called Déjà Vu, a game I loved when I was younger. You have to look for clues among still images of an environment and use whatever is available to move on to new areas and progress the plot. Many of the puzzles in both games are based on logic. 999 also makes use of a number of numerological and mathematical puzzles that may get you to bust out that calculator.

The story seems like something out of the Saw films. Junpei, the player character, meets eight other people (including a childhood friend) brought to the ship against their will. They’re all trying to figure out why they’re on the ship, and learn the rules of the “nonary game” from the masked, mysterious Zero. One of the nine hostages attempts to go off on his own in search of an exit and dies horribly doing so, communicating to the “players” that this is a deadly game in which they have nine hours to win. The rules explain that certain people with certain numbered bracelets on their wrists are allowed to open certain numbered doors that match up with its digital root (adding numbers until getting to a single digit — e.g. 5 + 6 + 7 = 18, 1 + 8 = 9, the digital root), which helps to create plenty of conflict. This contributes to the game’s choose your own adventure path, of which there are six endings to see, including one true ending. Interestingly, the other endings aren’t simply foiler or red herrings. Each ending provides distinct information about the overall story that makes sense of the true ending. There is a reason these people were brought together. All of them are connected in the big picture. It’s just incredible finding out how.

“Jigsaw who?”

The plot is incredibly well-scripted and thoughtful, which is important since 999 is a visual novel. There is an abundance of hidden information and established connections in numerology I just hadn’t thought of until later. I loved the diverse cast and most of them are written in a way where they are sympathetic but flawed. Everyone presents differing arguments for the next move to take, and you’re always left wondering whose side you would be on and where to go to reach the exit and live. I couldn’t believe just how expansive its plot arcs are. The true ending gets ridiculous in a fun way, although I was honestly still scratching my head when all was revealed.

The puzzles aren’t too difficult for the most part. A few do require patience, and there are a few I honestly solved by luck. If you investigate something enough, the game will be happy to provide a hint or a thought that helps get your mental gears turning (I needed that for one puzzle involving dinner plates). I very much enjoyed my time with 999, though. Its assorted characters are relatable and the plot is well-written and well-paced. I love its artwork. The puzzles are well-done for the most part. A great package. Can’t give it a larger endorsement than that!

Metal Gear Solid HD, Part 1: “And we will become the Sons of Liberty!”

One of the most popular franchises gets remastered.

Last Christmas, I was pleasantly surprised with a copy of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for PlayStation 3, a series I’d wanted to revisit for some time. It is both unfortunate and brilliant to not be able to play your PlayStation 2 games on the PS3, since it becomes incentive to purchase these packs and play your favorite games in high definition. Having owned Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection HD, I personally think these have value. Hopefully I feel the same way when I revisit two more favorite games of mine, Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3, in HD next month. I also just realized Sony is releasing PS2 titles on the PlayStation Store for a $10 price, although not remastered, it means you can now play the 2006 cult hit God Hand without tracking a copy down!

The Metal Gear Solid package includes two PS2 games, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, first released in 2001 and 2004 respectively, and then updated (respectively) as Substance (2003) and Subsistence (2005), which are the versions appearing in this HD set. Also included is the 2010 PlayStation Portable game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which continues the Snake Eater story, but I have not spent much time with it. Side note: the HD collection is also available on the Xbox 360.

Metal Gear Solid 2 HD is the first time I have completely played the game from start to finish since November 2001. As a teenager then, never had a game disappointed me more. What I wanted was the further adventures of the anti-hero Solid Snake. Snake has his ability and curse to be a soldier going for him. His military prowess, his stamina, his determination, and his cold, arguably pragmatic approach to life were noticed by players, which says a lot because the point of Metal Gear is to avoid the enemies, rather than fight them, on the screen and reach the objective. It was through creator Hideo Kojima’s not so secret love of storytelling and film did we watch the characters of Metal Gear Solid gab away about ideals and their roles on the world stage and almost start picking sides as to who might have a point and who is dreaming. The thought of experiencing this a second time, on a more powerful system no less, was too good to be true.

Instead, the sequel divided players as we excitedly snuck around in a tanker operated by the U.S. Marine Corps and then watched as Revolver Ocelot (and his grafted arm played by the deceased Liquid Snake…) destroyed it, leaving Snake as a scapegoat close to drowning in the Hudson River.

Do I shoot him in the leg? Or go for the headshot?

It was realized then that Snake aboard this tanker was the prologue. Then, we met him.

A rather effeminate man in a tight sneaking suit with a teenager’s voice is swimming to the docking area of a facility called Big Shell. A familiar voice, belonging to Colonel Roy Campbell, the Codec handler of MGS, referred to this person as “Snake,” but no way did this “Snake” sound like voice actor David Hayter. This was apparently his first time on the field, and so his codename would have to change. We came to know him as “Raiden.” You may suspect that this is where I trash the character and argue that he is a stain to this series, yet time itself and I would tell you that this is not necessarily the case.

This will make a bit more sense later... maybe.

As I played through MGS2 in 2012, some of why I wasn’t too pleased with the game had begun to familiarize itself. It is lazy in design, for starters. The Big Shell plant does not stand out in any way and is representative of the common “corridor” complaint often seen in first-person shooters. Each Strut was a rearranged version of the last one and is not particularly interesting to explore. Despite its bland look, the areas fit the then new mechanics of Metal Gear well enough. The second is the dialogue and the cutscenes. It is rather tiring by now to make any sort of comment on the length of every scene in these games, but it isn’t how long they go on as much as how well they’re paced, which is not very well. The smallest action by the player leads to a long cutscene where nothing particularly exciting is happening and does not advance its plot while we listen to a speech about the ideals of life and death in the name of being a warrior. This leads into the biggest offender of Metal Gear Solid 2 for me: Its cast of characters aren’t at all interesting, compelling, or engaging.

Raiden works because he serves as a surrogate for the player, who is constantly fed ideals and schemes to interpret and what it means to play a role in this modern world. Its villains spew them out, each with a personal stake in the overall objective, which is then given up in the name of a shadowy organization called the Patriots. As far as I realize, the Patriots act as puppeteers for American events and history, all of which sound nutty but plays a crucial role in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Raiden communicates with Colonel Campbell, and Raiden’s girlfriend Rosemary who pesters him about April 30th and its significance and why Raiden is the way that he is. The “Sons of Liberty” themselves provide no memorable fights at all, except perhaps for Vamp, who incorporates flamenco as part of his combat training. Fatman is a man who enjoys explosives, cocktails and roller-skates and his only interesting attribute is being named after the bomb detonated over Nagasaki. Fortune, daughter of the commander who drowned on the tanker Snake infiltrated, seeks to take revenge on Snake. She lives a life wondering why she can’t die, delivering hammed up speeches about wanting to be relieved from this world. Her voice actor’s performance is monotonous and empty, which makes it incredibly hard to feel for Fortune’s misfortune. Worse off is that you never even get to fight her, instead forced to survive her blasts from her giant energy rifle.

The most interesting plot comes from Revolver Ocelot, who is cursed with the spirit of Liquid Snake (which expands in MGS4) by living in his new arm. He serves as the wrench in the gears to this Patriots plot, turning the Sons of Liberty on its head and. Ocelot (and Liquid Snake) is the twist in this soap opera players expect in this series, successfully leaving us desiring more explanation (again, covered in MGS4). His cohort Solidus Snake is also fleshed out well as the game’s primary antagonist. He represents the series at its most political, an ex-President of the United States looking to set Manhattan free in perhaps the same way Tyler Durden intended to set people free at the end of Fight Club. The unfortunate part of this is I had to research these stories again, which is a testament to how complex these twists get for better or worse.

The third act of the game is the most memorable, above all. Campbell and Rosemary grow insane (“I need scissors! 61!”), Raiden runs around in the nude, we fight dozens of Metal Gear Ray robots, and have a one-on-one duel with the main antagonist Solidus Snake, and we learn the lesson that we must believe and think freely and combat censorship (I think). This is why the ending that did not completely work for me in 2001 worked for me in 2012 in an age of combating internet censorship and the change in societal norms with the advent of social media and linking. Raiden throwing away his dog tags communicates this well. It’s not that they all have a direct relationship with Metal Gear, it just impressively feels more relevant ten years later.

I am glad to have played Metal Gear Solid 2 this time.

‘Rayman Origins’ tests skills you haven’t used in years

In my run of Rayman Origins I discovered you don’t necessarily need a relationship with Ubisoft’s platform franchise in order to enjoy the newest entry. Although the plot involves Rayman and his friends stopping an army of creatures sent to take over their land, I almost forgot the story partway through and still had a great time. By the way, why are they stopping these creatures? Because Rayman and his friends SNORE IN THEIR SLEEP and it annoyed the granny of the Land of the Livid Dead.

Rayman Origins embodies the spirit of the platform games of yesteryear, like Adventure Island or Donkey Kong Country (and even R-Type). Its bright, colorful, and sharp high-resolution 2D visuals lure you in, welcoming you to what initially seems like a happy romp through some levels, until the difficulty kicks in. Rayman Origins then becomes sixty something levels of pushing your ‘old school’ limits.

Why not commemorate the occasion?

You will jump, punch, kick, swim, climb your way to victory, and along the way you can collect a number of Lums (glowing golden bee-like… things), which help to free the Electoons (magenta-like… Wonka candy creatures…) that help open up new paths to new worlds and treasure. Each new path has a wondrous design with its own elemental theme: sky, earth, water, ice, fire, along with some fun, almost random choices thrown into the mix: there is one level comprised of cooked foods, another with pieces of fruit as the backdrop. A lot of the game’s challenge comes from its requirement of timing and planning. In the beginning, the timing and planning is typically for catching a hidden group of Lums or grabbing a gold medal. The later stages practically require practice, possible memorization, which in turn requires trial and error. Luckily the game gives you an infinite amount of chances to get it right, and even takes pity on you if you have failed repeatedly.

On top of the challenge, Rayman Origins offers a lot to keep coming back: cooperative modes, secret treasures to collect, characters to unlock, and even a time attack mode. It is an amazing package of classic platforming, gorgeous graphics, and also boasting a soundtrack comprised of bluegrass medleys and Afrobeat pieces that set the friendly atmosphere, which would be almost relaxing if not for the whole ‘trying to not die’ thing.

Extra Life Charity: Play Games. Heal Kids.

On Saturday, October 15, I’ll be participating in the Extra Life charity. I will be playing games in a 24-hour marathon session in the name of Children’s Specialized Hospital, part of the Children’s Miracle Network of hospitals in an effort to raise money for them. I think this is a fantastic cause and I encourage anyone to please help out and sponsor if you can. You can sponsor any amount you wish, with the minimum being $1, one dollar, an hour.

Thanks very much!

My Extra Life Page

E3 2011: Nintendo’s iPad, the Wii U.

Color me intrigued, Nintendo.

I have owned my Nintendo Wii for three years this month, and my library has never exceeded more than ten games. It would be a disservice to call the console a failure, because the sales numbers would point and laugh at the idea. Much of the system’s charm came directly from Nintendo themselves, with games like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Donkey Kong Country Returns (my personal favorite), and the Metroid Prime trilogy offer some quality software for this console–except for the fact that this was the company’s attempt to please the “core” fan base while they showered those darned “casual” folks with mini-game compilations and time-wasters, some providing genuine fun, some amounting to nothing more than shovelware. Yesterday, as I watched Nintendo give their presentation at E3, I started to wonder whether I personally ever gave the Wii a chance at all. I’d been critical of their decisions, as have others: an internet service that is almost at an atrocious level compared to the likes of Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, delays for their own releases when their third-party support is weak and those third-party games that ARE critically well-received seeing no marketing, thus no sales, thus another criticism of the lack of third-party support. Combined with the fact that the Wii is incapable of high-definition past 480p, there is some justification to be critical of the Wii. Maybe I should have looked harder for the games, but these companies should have made more of an effort to show me, to wow me. I remain indifferent about the concept of motion-controlled gaming. It works when it works, and it doesn’t the rest of the time.

Nintendo heard the critics, for the most part, and unveiled their successor to the Wii: Wii U.

The Wii U Controller, resembling a tablet with a button and pad interface.

If you see the image above, this is not the console itself, but the controller, which Nintendo is far more keen to show us than the base on which it operates. It is, according to their web site, a pad with a 6.2-inch, 16:9 touch screen. It features the typical button face, two circle pads (like their 3DS handheld device as opposed to an analog stick), a camera, accelerometer and gyroscope, stylus, rumble, and a microphone. The first disappointing news already is that the touch screen is of the resistive variety, not capacitive, so it may not be as accurate using your fingers, but I imagine at least the stylus will suppress that. What was rather impressive is the ability for video chat on the controller, which I imagine will be just one of many features Nintendo will cook up for that camera. Oh, and the Wii U will still make use of the original Wii remote.

The Wii U will support HDMI output, along with S-video, component and composite. Nintendo will finally, finally deliver in HD.

Now here is where the real challenge lies for Nintendo. One of the major criticisms of the Wii was the lack of third-party support. Nintendo was rather ecstatic to show you the kinds of titles it has lined up, such as Ninja Gaiden (Tecmo), Batman: Arkham City (WB Games), Darksiders 2 (THQ), Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft), and all things EA Sports. This could work for them. Could. Wii adopters were mostly classified as casual players, and now Nintendo has to sell these games, most if not all will appear on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, to them (which shouldn’t be too difficult) but especially convince the ‘core’ audience to play the Wii U version of the big-budget game. The issue here is that Nintendo has caught up in a race where the competition is ready to move forward. Sony’s PlayStation Vita will sync from handheld to the PS3 console just as the Wii U controller will do. In fact, the PlayStation Portable already does this with the PlayStation 3. Sony has mentioned that they are working however which way on the PlayStation 3 successor. Microsoft is keen on giving the Xbox 360 a few more years by adding more games for its Kinect motion-control device and whatever they are planning for the Xbox 360 successor.

I hope Nintendo is listening to the critics, no matter how asinine the argument, and I hope they have learned from the Wii. With this investment and the kind of technology you are delivering to curious consumers, there is no falling back on Mario or The Legend of Zelda for the numbers. They will have a number of things to consider, also. Ergonomic design of the controller, battery life, comfort, aesthetics (although it does look friendly). Your internet service needs to get people interested, finding a less cumbersome way of security that will give people peace-of-mind in the wake of the PlayStation Network but feel friendly, too. You need online stability as well. Above all, there is price. The price is always the moment you stand on thin ice. Too low depending on production and design costs, you sell at a loss and won’t see profits for at least two or three years, sell high, you drive away the customers and you have your “FIVE HUNDRED NINETY-NINE U.S. DOLLARS” moment you can’t live down for some time. There is absolute promise in this console, though. A Nintendo console offering HD visuals is good enough for now to attract the folks, but think ahead, especially in terms of 3DS cooperation.

Nintendo, what have U got?

Alpha Protocol — Endgame.

I managed to finish Alpha Protocol last night, putting duty (mostly) before my own personal needs, although I did romance two women in the game. A lot of what I said about the game in my last post about it still seems to stand till the very end.

The game has a number of bugs that needed sorting out desperately. I couldn’t even progress past an area in the game because the script glitched out and would never load and I was stuck in one area until I completely reloaded the game and manually loaded the save file, redoing the whole mission. Thorton is incapable a lot of the time of throwing a grenade while crouched in cover no matter how far out you try to stick. Sometimes his grenade throws land in the wrong spots, like when they magically stick right next to your cover and deplete a significant amount of your health. Meanwhile, enemies will always know where you will go and throw their own grenades accordingly. This is kind of frustrating, except watching Thorton’s ragdoll body fly all over the map which his incredibly deadpan face in slow motion is one of more hilarious things in the game. Thorton is also incapable of taking cover on a moderate number of flat surfaces. You will find a perfectly flat wall next to an opening, an entrance or a door, and tap A as rapidly as you want but he’s not leaning on it.

I abused this game to no end. You can get by the entire game on mastering the art of stealth and the pistol as I have. Once you unlock the Clean Shot skill in the Pistols rank, you can eliminate pretty much every boss in just two sessions (like Bioware games, skills need “cooldown” time to recharge for another use). Of course, maybe you’re the type to go in guns blazing. Any game that delivers an opportunity to take a quiet approach, I’m going to take it, habitually at this point.

If it weren’t for the dialogue options, and the fact that the order that you play the missions actually affects how events unfold in the game, there would be absolutely no reason to ever go back to Alpha Protocol. It’s interesting at least to see how characters react to Thorton as a character whether you’re deliberately going out of your way to get them to like you or dislike you. The strange thing about these responses is that Thorton still delivers any kind of line in such a deadpan manner it’s like hearing the male version of Daria. Pick an angry, threatening response, and he’ll tell you he’ll put a bullet through your head in the same tone as he’d probably tell someone he’s got a stomach virus or his favorite sports team lost a game.

In the end, I admire that this game tried to bring a sort of different approach to all the spy games we’ve played in the past, and the whole plot is serviceable on the same level as it would be for a major motion picture starring Sam Worthington. I actually discussed in great detail months back that a game like Alpha Protocol, sans glitches and mediocre voice acting, is how James Bond games should play. It would be great. I honestly would play a sequel, but please give it to another team. Obsidian and I are very close to being arch nemeses.

3/5

Alpha Protocol — Just hand me a pistol.

I am a little late to the party on this one. Thursday I celebrated my 26th birthday and, along with getting Marvel vs. Capcom 3, I got some extra cash and paid Toys R Us a quick visit. Inevitably heading over to the games area, I started browsing until I happened to notice all the way on the top shelf hidden in a corner was a game I had always been curious to experience: Alpha Protocol. The Sega game was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, who brought us the sequel to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and recently Fallout: New Vegas. This is an action RPG game that borrows a lot of its design from Bioware’s Mass Effect titles. One of the more intriguing features in its premise is that this is pretty much a spy RPG, which you don’t see much.

I’ve played through the tutorial and the first two countries and at this point I think I have the mechanics of Alpha Protocol down pretty well. The beginning has you run through an institution that ends up as a test to see how well the protagonist, Michael “I Swear I’m Not Boring Ass Sam Worthington” Thorton, handles himself in the field. One of the more hilarious moments in the tutorial is the agency chief’s way of explaining CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE, and Michael acts as if he’s never had different chats with different people in his life. I don’t know if real spies just have dialogue that’s only relevant to their assignment, or they stop to chat about the latest episode of Dexter in between neck-snapping, but hearing that acting like a douche bag might not always be the best approach to people or that you even have a choice to be nice, sarcastic, or professional/stoic. Although one of the finer points made is that people react to different approaches. One character might actually prefer that you’re a jerk, and flirt too much and you’re just a creepy stalker who needs to keep his libido in check.

 

"No, I was NOT Jake Sully in Avatar!"

 

 

Actually, the conversational system is one of the bigger, more impressive draws of Alpha Protocol. Typically, RPGs that give players the choices to respond to NPC phrases almost always have a black and white approach to them. One response is typically the polite, stoic, harmless response. The other is either incredibly polite, nice, on a knight-in-shining-armor level, or the incredibly evil, mean, plain douche-y response, and of course how you respond affects your relationships with other characters whether in a romantic sense or as allies or whatever. Alpha Protocol follows a milder approach to it, where Thorton’s replies can be aggressive, modeled after Jack Bauer from the series 24. Then there’s a suave response, which takes some phrases after famous spy James Bond, typically used as sarcasm and especially flirting if Thorton speaks to a woman. Jason Bourne of the Bourne books and films inspires the ‘professional’ responses, that tend to get to the point. This apparently genuinely affects the story and how mission circumstances play out, for once. I spoke to a gentleman who appreciated my professional, stern approach, and offered to assist me in my next mission. Apparently had I been an ass to him, I would be fighting his troops at the end. All of this happened because I spared someone close to him rather than shoot her face. I can even buy more weapons from the black market as a result.

When the fun chats aren’t going down, you’re on a mission that will require you to steal information, or kill someone important. After outfitting yourself with your preferred choices or weapons and armor, you can either go on your mission and just shoot up the place or take a quieter approach, sneak up on the bad guys and you have a choice of lethal and non-lethal takedowns. The gameplay is modeled after Mass Effect in that how you distribute skill points across the board affects how effective your weapons and your abilities are throughout Alpha Protocol. I’ve decided I like silence, and a challenge, so I’m honestly putting my points into stealth and pistol rankings. You can also upgrade health/resilience, and melee combat, another field I’m tinkering with. I actually kind of enjoy beating up bad guys when I can, but sometimes the bad guys will take a step back with their guns and Michael apparently has the reach of a nine-year-old.

The shooting can get frustrating if you come in expecting Gears of War style of combat. Your stats and weapon modifications can affect how powerful your gun is and how fast you can take them down. This is primarily why I like to sneak and take down guards. Sneaking is actually pretty easy although sometimes you’ll be forced into firefights.

Sneaking is honestly easy because all of the enemies in Alpha Protocol are, well, DUMB. They have zero peripheral vision, and take a while to recognize you as a threat. Plus if you upgrade your stealth ranking, you can unlock an ability that renders you invisible for a few seconds to get away before it all goes sour. However, in firefights they can get grenade-happy and chug frags your way. This is frustrating sometimes because if you’re crouched against a wall for cover, leaving cover will keep Thorton moving slowly and you have to stand up quickly enough to get far away from the explosion, which can do a LOT of damage. On top of that, the camera gets really stupid and closes up on random things, the wrong locations, and tricks you into thinking you have a shot that will just hit a piece of the concrete or whatever it is you’re using for cover. Bad guys also like to charge, and I HATE when enemies charge at you. Most people wouldn’t mind because enemies in shooting games tend to just stand there and fire away reducing their entire existence to cannon fodder. Luckily you can easily take them down if they charge down your way with a simple tap of a button.

One thing I can’t stop thinking about is that the game is kind of ugly. The cutscenes tend to have a washed out look with strange filters on the screen that’s supposed to emphasize the drama and down-to-earth attitudes of the narrative, but games don’t do this well at all. There’s also the frequent screen-tearing and ugly modeling.

The other thing I can’t get off my mind is that Alpha Protocol has one of the worst title screen tunes ever. It’s not even music. It’s like what evil scientists would blast in your ears to ‘experiment’ on you: just a bunch of random screeching noises with no rhythm whatsoever and I’m always desperate to hit the Start button.

I don’t know how far into Alpha Protocol I’ve reached, but this will be part one of a two-parter.