Whodunit!?

Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle is a quirky little game that makes use of absurd language and silly story telling. The game itself, developed my Relentless Software from the UK, is a six part adventure about a detective from the Blue Toad Detective Agency. The game’s story includes murder, theft, and the most irrelevant mini games found in a game this generation. The gameplay does a good job of being totally separate from the story you are supposed to unravel.

The game starts off with two choices: how many players (between one and four) and which detective you will choose to embody. After the decision is made, the game begins by introducing “Little Riddle” where all the action happens. You get off the train, hoping for some rest and relaxation, when minutes later a character is killed! As a detective, you must figure out who the murderer is and bring justice to the poor victim.

With a very animated narrator, you begin your adventure in “Little Riddle.” There are many characters, all derived from UK-esque stereotypes. In fact, the humor and novelty of the entire game is centered around British influence. American gamers may miss out on the appeal due to this. I personally enjoyed the attitude of the game, but I believe the majority of America will not receive this title all that well.
The gameplay, however, is less than exciting. Between conversation sequences are mini games that usually involve helping people to get information out of them. These mini games can consist of: counting, adding, listening to an old woman ramble, fixing documents, and others. Each mini game, however, has absolutely no incentive to finish correctly. After the mini game, if answered correctly, players will receive either gold, silver, or bronze badge depending on how long they took to answer and how many times they messed up. However, if the players fail one, they can give up, receive the correct answer, and move on to the rest of the conversation. The only reason to actually answer correctly is for trophies, which is not enough persuasion needed in a game like this. The game essentially says “We know these pointless mini games are not very fun, so go ahead and skip em.”

Each chapter has a set amount of these mini games, so the players know exactly how far they are and how many more mini games they have to play before they finish the episode. This is both a blessing and a silly move on the developer’s part. A blessing in that players know how many more mini games they must suffer through till they find out what happens at the end of the episode. However, this really should not be in the game. It further advances the lack of incentive to play by essentially showing where the end of the game will happen.

My personal experience with the Blue Toad Murder Files was a decent one. I had fun listening to the ridiculous commentary with the funny British accept, but aside from that the game was a task to play through. The mini games truly felt tacked on, to the point of being unnecessary. If that portion of the game was improved, and the episode length was not as short as it is, the game would be a much more enjoyable title. I found the humor hilarious, with a good separation of formal narrative and double entendres. The dialogue helped create the atmosphere that players were actually solving a mystery despite it being a relatively light hearted game. One of my favorite examples of this is when the narrator says the word murder. He extenuates the word into about seven syllables and makes it sound like the vilest action imaginable. In that respect, the game did very well. The music was very fitting for the setting of the game, and the visuals were very interesting. It seemed as if the art direction was to make every character a characacher of some one else. Large noses, massive heads, small eyes, everything was for the sake of humor. This coupled with the games funny dialogue makes for a very zany game.

Being that this game is a download only title, renting is not an option. As of right now, the game is currently $15 for the first three episodes, which is a little over priced for around two hours of game time. When all six episodes are available in the US, and are bundled together for $15, then I would say it is reasonably priced. But for now, gamers should put this on their waiting list. The enjoyment to be had, if you are the kind of gamer that would have fun with this, is not worth the amount of content with the current price.

Hey Barry, get me some fries with that steak!

Age of Zombies, developed by Halfbrick Studios, is a PS3/PSP mini that is absolutely worth the five dollars one would spend on it. A combination of top-down shooting aspects coupled with hilarious dialogue and ridiculous sound effects have created a very fun experience for those looking for some quick fun. The game's biggest fault is it's length; the game is way too short. But aside from that, Age of Zombies represents evolution for small game developers. An evolution that will put a bigger spot light on the little guys as opposed to the gaming giants of the industry.

Players join Barry Steakfries, a manly man with a sense of justice, in Dr. Brains laboratory. After a quaint conversation between the Barry and the Dr. he discovers that a "Zomb Bomb" was used to spread the zombie virus to people. Dr. Brain has the genius idea of sending the zombies to the past to destroy humanity from the beginning. Luckily, Barry Steakfries doesn't really want that to happen, and jumps into the time portal along with the zombies. Players will play through a few various levels like ancient Egypt, 1930's New York, feudal Japan, and others. Barry Steakfries always has something "witty" to say when entering a new area, and his accept even adapts to the area he is in. Though the dialogue is minimal, the game really shines with it's humor. Those who are in the loop with internet jokes will appreciate this game even more, but it can be just as funny for those who aren't.

The game itself is a very simple top-down shooter. You control Barry who starts off a with a simple semi-automatic pistol. A massive amount of zombies constantly spawn from randomly placed time portals, and every now and then a new, more powerful weapon will appear for Barry's use. Weapons vary from grenades, SMGs, flame throwers, bazookas, shotguns, and more. Besides the pistol that Barry starts off with, every weapon has a limited amount of ammo.

There are two modes of play in the game: story mode and survival mode. Story mode is the story of Age of Zombies, where the zombies travel in time and Barry Steakfries chases them down to save humanity. There are 5 different areas of the game with three levels in each, so about 15 levels total in the story mode. Survival mode is simply a test to see how long one can survive against an infinite amount of zombies. A little incentive is added to the credits of the game, where instead of seeing a list of names, you see a few names with their individual scores in each level, making the player want to beat the developers at their own game. It is a nice little addition to a game as short as Age of Zombies.

My personal experience, though short, was worth the five dollar price tag. The game has an unheard of sense of humor, with jokes that those involved in the gaming community will love. This sense of humor is often absent from games today, but there seems to be an evolution of it going on. Halfbrick Studios is a great representation of where games like Age of Zombies should be headed, with not just a development team but writers as well. However, the game is very generic in some obvious ways. It is a top-down shooter, reminiscent of hundreds of similar games available for download. Not only that, but the “zombies” idea has been done over and over in gaming, and though Age of Zombies tries to take it in an unique direction, it falls short into the area of cliché. The music is very good, and some of the sound effects are hilarious. I would say my biggest qualm with the game would be its length and gameplay originality.

Since Age of Zombies is a download only title and cannot rent it, and it costs merely five dollars, I would say buy it if you are bored. Those who love these types of games, or maybe just want to relieve some stress in the form of lead on zombies, this would be a great pickup. If you are looking for trophies, you shouldn’t even be in the Minis section of the PSN store, so this game would not be for you. However, for a quick piece of fun from a small time developer, Age of Zombies is definitely worth a purchase.

Final Fantasy has yet again created a master piece.

Final Fantasy XIII, the birth child of the “Fabula Nova Crystallis” series that Square Enix has been hard at work, has finally arrived in America. And with it comes a game that is in many aspects unique and others clichéd. However, clichés do not necessarily mean they are bad. In fact, FFXIII uses them so well, the game may as well set the standards for current gen JRPGs. But enough about that. Final Fantasy XIII is a beautiful game that every RPG fan should experience.

Final Fantasy XIII takes place in a world called Cocoon, where citizens live in bliss due to their demigod-life savers, the fal’Cie. The fal’Cie are capable of many things that humans rely on to survive: food, shelter, travel, and other commodities. Also within their powers is the ability to create l’Cie. L’Cie are humans granted magical powers, in exchange for fulfilling a focus. Their focus usually has something to do with protecting the fal’Cie, and preserving its life. Unfortunately, citizens are scared to death by l’Cie, which causes very many problems throughout the game. The protagonist, Lightning Farron, is a battle hardened soldier with a craving for revenge against the fal’Cie. In her pursuit to save her sister, Serah, from becoming one of the fal’Cie’s tools, she encounters five memorable characters, all of which are turned into l’Cie, that are thrown into a world of rebellion along with her. Sazh Katzroy, an airship pilot that lives for the happiness of his son. Snow Villiers, Serah’s fiancée and “hero.” His goal in life is help others, and create an amiable life with Serah. Hope Estheim, a confused, young boy who looses his mother, and has an absent father. In addition to Cocoon, there is a planet named Pulse, hated by all on Cocoon and known as “hell” Two characters hail from there, named Vanille and Fang.

The story of Final Fantasy XIII is at times slow. I found a bigger part of the game to be the characterization that happens during the course of the game. Most of the characters have very blunt attitudes toward issues early in the game, and as you play, you see them learn more about the world and how it truly works. It is great to see a bunch of strangers come together because of their unfortunate fates. The story doesn’t pick up for a while, but the characters and their personalities more than make up for it.
In the past, Final Fantasy had always done battles through “random encounters,” where the player will be walking and at any given moment, a battle can ensue just by moving. In Final Fantasy XII, that was done away with by engaging enemies head on when seen in the field. Once again it has been refined in XIII, where players will see the enemy on the field, and if engaged the players and enemies will go to a battle screen to fight as opposed to the field. This has probably been my favorite battle system, just behind that of XII’s.

The game starts off slow game-play wise. Throughout the entire game, the play controls one character, and any other characters that are present in a party are controlled by the game itself. In the beginning, players start off with very few abilities and cannot change classes. However, as the game progresses, the ability to “Paradigm Shift” becomes essential. What this means is that at any given moment in battle, players can change their parties to fit whatever role they may need. Players set their paradigms before battle, with the option of making the character fit six different classes: Commando, Ravager, Medic, Sentinel, Saboteur, and Synergist. Some deal damage, others soak it, some cast magic and spells and others heal. Each are completely different and to be effective in battle, players must utilize each correctly.

The game moves extremely fast and in order to cope with different situations, players must paradigm shift to fit their needs. The gameplay in XIII is extremely well done and balanced, and until the later levels of the game do ultimate attacks come into play. Each character learns different spells at different times from their own paradigms, so players will have plenty of choices to make in choosing a party they would like to stick with. The battle system has kept me occupied for hours, seeking out new and more difficult enemies to test my skills on.

Final Fantasy XIII has been a great experience for me in terms of a current generation JRPG. I thought the story was put together, implementing government hierarchy and the power of the people. It really reflected a lot of issues that are present within today’s society. As for the characters, they are top notch. Each has very real personalities, almost like people you might meet in real life. As for the graphics, I could not have been more awestruck. I have the displeasure of playing on an old TV, but when I saw the game on an HDTV, I was blown away. Each movement is detailed, every hair is blown in the wind, the clothes form naturally to a body. It is truly amazing to compare video games today to the ones of ten, even five years ago. So much progress has been made graphically, and Final Fantasy continues to push the limits. The sound track is beautiful, with a great mix or orchestrated and vocal songs implemented within the game. The best part of the game, without question, is the gameplay. Fighting and defeating enemies, be they fodder or boss battles, makes you feel like you are accomplishing something grand. The game is FUN!

Sadly, the beginning of the game is the weakest part of the entire package. Those who prefer to rent games before purchasing will be disappointed, unless of course they play a good amount and learn how fun and in depth the game can get. The selling point for me was the battle system, and the beginning is a poor representation of it. I would have to say that this game should be a purchase, especially if you are a fan of Final Fantasy or RPGs in general. The graphics, music, story, characters, and gameplay are great. Players just need to give the game a chance. That being said, go out and buy Final Fantasy XIII! It is a beautiful game that everyone should have the chance to experience.