Hey, I've not done a single Game Review. What's the deal? Here we go then, The Witcher 2. To be fair, I'm only 1/4 of the way through the story, but I'm mostly going to talk about the mechanics anyway.
I'm clearly getting old. There was a time when an extensive inventory and crafting system was exhilarating. When managing what you can carry was a trifle or an added challenge. When a complex combat system mixing spells and swordplay offered interesting variety. These days, these things feel more like tedious busy work than intriguing game-play. And in the case of The Witcher 2, these aspects are all too prevalent.
To be fair, I've always been a little put off by limited space in inventory in games like this, going back to Diablo as one of the first games that really drove me nuts in this category. The difference being that in games like Diablo, if I was a Barbarian, I knew I could sell any magic wands or staves or cloaks I acquired when I returned to a shop. In the case of W2, most of what one loots is hunks of whatever it was looted from; hearts, eyes, teeth, etc. The problem being, that there is no clear way to tell what parts of what monsters one might need in the future to make potions or craft weapons or armor. Some are obvious; one will always need iron ore to make the next Steel Sword upgrade for example. But others are fairly vague. After working on a quest to kill a bunch of giant plant crab something or others called Endragoras or whatever, I had gathered my maximum amount of loot I could carry. After slowly trudging my way back to town (yes, it's one of those games) I sold off a ton of stuff I didn't think I'd need, including a handful of Plant Crab teeth which I hadn't found a use for yet. Then I stopped at the smithy later and found that the best Steel Sword required 15 of them to make for some reason. I couldn't buy them back so I had to go pointlessly murder the now much less common crab spiders for their teeth.
This brings up another point, the dual sword system. Now, the idea of a monster hunter who carries two swords, a steel sword for slaying humans, and a silver sword for slaying monsters sounds pretty awesome at face value. And the hero, Geralt looks pretty cool with two swords slung over his back, no denying it, and as far as a Fantasy Novel character device goes, it is a pretty interesting one. The problem comes in when you implement it into the game. For a start, you will find yourself very frequently upgrading your steel sword in the first chapter and not fighting a lot of humans til the close of the chapter. Not to mention that there is only one Silver Sword upgrade in the first chapter, and it comes immediately before the end of said chapter, just in time for the afore-mentioned human bloodbath. So for the whole first chapter, you will mostly be using the basic silver sword and upgrading your steel sword for really no good reason. And it bears mentioning that if you use the wrong sword on a type of enemy, it will do almost no damage. This makes sense and would not be a problem if there weren't instances where human bandits and monsters will stop fighting one another in order to collectively kick your ass, so you have to choose a sword, weed out the appropriate enemies, then switch swords and kill the others. And again, this would not be that big of a problem if not for buggy and occasionally unresponsive controls.
The controls appear simple enough. Press 1 to draw/sheath your Steel Humanoid slaying Sword, press 2 to draw/sheath your Silver Monster chopper. Easy enough. The only problem is at times, if you get surprised by an enemy, and just hit the mouse button, Geralt will draw whatever sword he was last using. If it's the wrong one for the enemy, you will have a few moments when you will be vulnerable as you switch. And that's assuming Geralt responds at all. I've had plenty of times where I've found myself mashing the 2 button as a monster beats my face to a pulp and Geralt stands there getting pummeled with his Steel sword drawn. So then I would try to press 1 to put the steel sword away, and he still stands there like a bloody bump on a log. Another time, I was fighting a group of elves and as the last one died, I heard a distant scream like a large cat, announcing that some Nekkar's were on their way. They were far off yet, couldn't even see them, so I pressed 1 to Sheath my Steel sword. Nothing. Tried it again as I spotted a Nekkar off in the distance. Nothing. Okay, I'll push 2 to draw my Silver Sword. Nothing. Getting closer, could really use my silver sword sooner than later, pressing 2. Nothing. They are about to start punching the guts out of me, back to 1. NoF'ingThing. They've reached me, and are stomping my gizzards flat, pressing 1,1,1,1,2,2,2,2. Guess What, Nothing! So finally I start swinging with my Steel Sword and Rolling to dodge their assault. After I flail ineffectually against the nearest Nekkar and do almost no damage, I tried 2 one more time in a moment of grim jocularity. The white haired Git finally switched swords.
I heard the Nekkars coming from a country mile off, and was at half health before Geralt decided it was a good idea to draw the appropriate sword.
And that's to say nothing of the combat system itself. Don't even get me started on the incomprehensibly named spells. But the swordplay mechanics are either brilliantly complex or idiotically simple, and I honestly can't tell which. It doesn't help that W2 takes the tack that you must have just finished W1 on the hardest setting or you wouldn't be playing W2 (I never played 1 by the way), so it throws you into combat with almost no instruction and cheerfully watches you get mercilessly slaughtered several times by the first enemies you encounter. I had to go down to easy mode just to get through the damn intro.
Another niggling point that drives me batty are the quick time events. I'm already bored to death with the concept now that every action game since God of War has aped it, but it doesn't help that W2's variety is a tiny indicator in a strange, orangish sepia tone that almost always gets washed out by the backgrounds. For example, at one point I had to rescue some elf girls from a burning building before we were all consumed by the flames. I found the girls and one said "Release us" so I went over and clicked on her, then pissed away precious seconds before I realized that I was standing there not actually releasing her, because for some reason it was deemed necessary to attach a 'Click a whole bunch' Quick Time Event to this action. Needless to say we all burned, and I was forced to repeat the cut-scene (skipable, but still had to load) and a combat sequence before climbing the tower and trying again. All because I couldn't see the tiny little QTE bar.
Now don't get me wrong, there are a lot of good reasons to play W2, or I would have quit a long time before the end of the intro. The visuals are downright gorgeous, and the voice acting is pretty good, with Geralt's occasional Batman voice and the repetition of lines from townsfolk being the only real issues. The world is very deep and the story impressive. Again, I feel I must warn any others who skipped W1, prepare to be confused, and it may not be a bad idea to find a plot summary on line to get up to speed, because again, the game assumes you are an old hand and will know exactly who's who and what's happening. But, the story that unfolds is very interesting so far and worth the effort of bashing your head through some of this games failings.
And really that's the only problem. At times, Witcher 2 feels very much like a game that does not want to be played. As though it is actively trying to twart your attempts to advance by bugging out at all the wrong times, sending Geralt careening across the room to strike the one enemy standing 10 feet away and ignoring the other seven standing right next to him trying to spill his innards. All in all, it's worth the annoyances.
Just remember to breath and count to 10.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Xmen: First Class
Well, at this point, I am a couple movies and one major event behind in this here blog, and let's not even discuss what happened to that story I was working on. But, I'm back in the saddle, and I have some things to talk about. So let's go with X Men: First Class for a Kickoff.
I should probably start out by saying that I have long been a complete fanboy spas for the X Men in all it's incarnations. Whether it be reading and re-reading my brother's X Men comics when I was a kid, the incalculable amount of money I spent on the X Men Arcade game in the 90's, devotion to the animated series bordering on unhealthy (and I liked Jubilee, so shut up!), or my shameless fan-boy squeeing when the original film was released, I've Always been an avid fan of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. However, in recent years, I've grown more guarded when it comes to X Men in popular media, as the quality of the films has, to my mind, decreased with each new release. While it was awesome to see Nightcrawler kick butt in X2, Last Stand is a film I can honestly say I've only seen once. It failed to capture what I loved about the concept in my mind and took a Pirates 3 style dive unceremoniously into the "One Sequel too many" files. So when I heard that a new X Men film was in the works, I scarcely took notice, not ready to be disappointed again. As the release date inched closer and trailers and story details began to surface, my interest was piqued. Focusing on Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr? The Hellfire Club? Set during the Cuban Missile Crisis? Quietly, a tiny fan-boy in the back of my mind was bouncing on the balls of his feet at the possibilities.
So I saw it. And I have to say, it was more than a mere return to form, it is reinventing the wheel in a big way.
First Class tells quite possibly the most important story in the X Men Mythos, the origin of Extraordinarily powerful telepath Professor X and The Master of Magnetism, Magneto's Friendship and subsequent Animosity. It also focuses a great deal on the shape-shifter Mystique, from when she was a young girl and how she came to be one of Magneto's most trusted allies.
The film opens with a dramatic demonstration of how different the two friend's childhoods were. Young Erik is seen manifesting his powers of magnetism in an attempt to keep his family together in a Nazi Concentration Camp, only to be taken away by a man named Sebastian Shaw and tormented into developing his powers further. Charles Xavier, on the other hand was raised in the lap of luxury, demonstrated by the fact that he lives in a mansion and recognizes Mystique aping his mother's appearance not only by reading her mind, but because he has never seen his mother anywhere near the kitchen. After Mystique reveals her true form, blue skinned, golden eyed, and red haired, and says her name is Raven, Charles offers to let her stay with him, so she will never have to steal again. From then on, Raven is raised as Charles' Sister.
Fast Forward to 1962, and we find Charles publishing a thesis on Mutation and using his powers to seduce women and Erik hellbent on finding Shaw, the man that tortured him and killed his family. After CIA agent Moira MacTaggart reveals the existence of The Hellfire Club, a collective of Mutants, led by Shaw, with dubious goals, Charles is brought in as an expert on Mutation. While in pursuit of Shaw's Submarine, Erik nearly drowns attempting to prevent his escape with his powers, but he is rescued by Charles, who was in pursuit of the Hellfire Club with MacTaggart. From there, Shaw's true goal is revealed and Charles and Erik work together to recruit other mutants to combat the Hellfire Club and bring Shaw to Justice.
I really have to praise the writing in this film. Never too corny, but never taking itself too seriously either, and with fantastic pacing, it tells the story of the first major conflict involving mutant combatants against a perfectly appropriate backdrop. I've heard some point out that the film feels more like "The Magneto Story" than X Men, and I can't really argue, but really, is there a more important character in X Men lore than their primary antagonist, with the exception of Xavier himself? While some of the mutants, like Riptide, Havok, Banshee, and Azazel (to some extent) are a bit one dimensional, they all get a chance to show off their impressive powers. One character I really enjoyed was the reboot of Angel from an aristocratic prettyboy with eagle wings to a young girl with dragonfly wings and the ability to spit explosive projectiles working as a stripper.
As far as visuals go, all of the characters and their powers are well designed and convincingly real looking. Sets are, for the most part, period accurate and costuming is well done. Visual effects never really overwhelm the scene and are usually subtle for most of the mutant's powers, with Havok and Riptide as fairly obvious exceptions. The only real complaint I have from a visual standpoint is Hank McCoy's Beast form. It just looks... off for some reason.
Sound is excellently done in this film as well, with plenty of well crafted sound effects and suitably epic or subdued music to fit the scene. There are also some popular period songs that add to the 60's feel of the film.
Overall, I'd have to say that First Class soundly eclipses the original X Men Trilogy. It's bigger, and yet more personal, and it has a lot of heart, and a lot more to say than just "Mutant Powers are Cool!" Plus, Logan in the Single greatest Cameo ever, besides maybe Stan Lee's in Thor.
9 Nazi Coins out of 10
PS: Is it wrong of me to wish Jubilee would make more of an appearance in a future X Men Sequel? I always liked her.
I should probably start out by saying that I have long been a complete fanboy spas for the X Men in all it's incarnations. Whether it be reading and re-reading my brother's X Men comics when I was a kid, the incalculable amount of money I spent on the X Men Arcade game in the 90's, devotion to the animated series bordering on unhealthy (and I liked Jubilee, so shut up!), or my shameless fan-boy squeeing when the original film was released, I've Always been an avid fan of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. However, in recent years, I've grown more guarded when it comes to X Men in popular media, as the quality of the films has, to my mind, decreased with each new release. While it was awesome to see Nightcrawler kick butt in X2, Last Stand is a film I can honestly say I've only seen once. It failed to capture what I loved about the concept in my mind and took a Pirates 3 style dive unceremoniously into the "One Sequel too many" files. So when I heard that a new X Men film was in the works, I scarcely took notice, not ready to be disappointed again. As the release date inched closer and trailers and story details began to surface, my interest was piqued. Focusing on Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr? The Hellfire Club? Set during the Cuban Missile Crisis? Quietly, a tiny fan-boy in the back of my mind was bouncing on the balls of his feet at the possibilities.
So I saw it. And I have to say, it was more than a mere return to form, it is reinventing the wheel in a big way.
First Class tells quite possibly the most important story in the X Men Mythos, the origin of Extraordinarily powerful telepath Professor X and The Master of Magnetism, Magneto's Friendship and subsequent Animosity. It also focuses a great deal on the shape-shifter Mystique, from when she was a young girl and how she came to be one of Magneto's most trusted allies.
The film opens with a dramatic demonstration of how different the two friend's childhoods were. Young Erik is seen manifesting his powers of magnetism in an attempt to keep his family together in a Nazi Concentration Camp, only to be taken away by a man named Sebastian Shaw and tormented into developing his powers further. Charles Xavier, on the other hand was raised in the lap of luxury, demonstrated by the fact that he lives in a mansion and recognizes Mystique aping his mother's appearance not only by reading her mind, but because he has never seen his mother anywhere near the kitchen. After Mystique reveals her true form, blue skinned, golden eyed, and red haired, and says her name is Raven, Charles offers to let her stay with him, so she will never have to steal again. From then on, Raven is raised as Charles' Sister.
Fast Forward to 1962, and we find Charles publishing a thesis on Mutation and using his powers to seduce women and Erik hellbent on finding Shaw, the man that tortured him and killed his family. After CIA agent Moira MacTaggart reveals the existence of The Hellfire Club, a collective of Mutants, led by Shaw, with dubious goals, Charles is brought in as an expert on Mutation. While in pursuit of Shaw's Submarine, Erik nearly drowns attempting to prevent his escape with his powers, but he is rescued by Charles, who was in pursuit of the Hellfire Club with MacTaggart. From there, Shaw's true goal is revealed and Charles and Erik work together to recruit other mutants to combat the Hellfire Club and bring Shaw to Justice.
I really have to praise the writing in this film. Never too corny, but never taking itself too seriously either, and with fantastic pacing, it tells the story of the first major conflict involving mutant combatants against a perfectly appropriate backdrop. I've heard some point out that the film feels more like "The Magneto Story" than X Men, and I can't really argue, but really, is there a more important character in X Men lore than their primary antagonist, with the exception of Xavier himself? While some of the mutants, like Riptide, Havok, Banshee, and Azazel (to some extent) are a bit one dimensional, they all get a chance to show off their impressive powers. One character I really enjoyed was the reboot of Angel from an aristocratic prettyboy with eagle wings to a young girl with dragonfly wings and the ability to spit explosive projectiles working as a stripper.
As far as visuals go, all of the characters and their powers are well designed and convincingly real looking. Sets are, for the most part, period accurate and costuming is well done. Visual effects never really overwhelm the scene and are usually subtle for most of the mutant's powers, with Havok and Riptide as fairly obvious exceptions. The only real complaint I have from a visual standpoint is Hank McCoy's Beast form. It just looks... off for some reason.
Sound is excellently done in this film as well, with plenty of well crafted sound effects and suitably epic or subdued music to fit the scene. There are also some popular period songs that add to the 60's feel of the film.
Overall, I'd have to say that First Class soundly eclipses the original X Men Trilogy. It's bigger, and yet more personal, and it has a lot of heart, and a lot more to say than just "Mutant Powers are Cool!" Plus, Logan in the Single greatest Cameo ever, besides maybe Stan Lee's in Thor.
9 Nazi Coins out of 10
PS: Is it wrong of me to wish Jubilee would make more of an appearance in a future X Men Sequel? I always liked her.
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