Critical Hit: Kirby's Co-op Curse

Kirby's Epic Yarn came out on Sunday and my girlfriend and I have been playing it ever since. It's a pretty fun game; cute, cuddly, happy-go-lucky. Who would ever think gaming's cutest puffball had a darker side.

Kirby's Epic Yarn offers both single player and two player coop for its story mode. Naturally, my girlfriend and I thought it would be a blast playing as cute and fuzzy puffballs collecting jewels and beating all those baddies. How we were wrong . . .

The gameplay is simple. Go through each level collecting as many jewels as possible. If you beat the level with enough jewels to earn a gold medal or higher, you then unlock new items, music, and levels. If you get hit by an enemy, you lose many of your jewels. You cannot die, just frustratingly lose all of your jewels.

The first time one of the players gets hit and loses a ton of jewels is when the hatred begins. I would like to provide you with a few quotes that sum up what it's like to be in the same room as my girlfriend and I playing Kirby's Epic Yarn. Both of us are experienced gamers but that wasn't enough to get around Kirby's co-op curse.

"OUR JEWELS!!! WHAT DID YOU DO!"

"Don't throw me! Throw the enemy!"

"In case you didn't know, bad guys hurt you."

"*sigh* Come on. Did you not see the giant snowball rolling toward you?"

"Move! Get out of the way! I'm going to punch you!"

"I want to have fun but you're not letting me."

"You see. That's how you kill a boss. Not what you were doing. But I'll give it to you that you're pretty good at losing all of our jewels."

"OUR jewels? I'm the one that collecting them all!"

"Why are you acting like a child and throwing me down the hole?"

"Haha! I'm having fun! Oh, man. You should join me this game is a lot of fun! I bet you wish you were having as much fun as I am right now! Wooo!"

[When you are being brought back to the playable area but your "partner" is being a jerk by either moving too fast or hiding behind fabric so you cannot touch them thus remaining in limbo until your partner has had all the kicks that they can get and decides to "let" you play again.]

"Draw a line to it. Draw a straight line . . . . Okay, yeah, that's not line. I don't know what you just drew."

. . . It's a fun game.

Later I plan on reviewing Kirby's Epic Yarn along with many other major releases in October (and Halo:Reach) so stick with me.

Critical Hit: The Musicians

I want to take the time to celebrate the musicians of the video game industry; the composers who give video games life and their unique vibe. I present to you three of the most predominant musical figures in the video game universe.

Yoko Shimomura

Yoko is best known for her work at Squaresoft later Square-Enix but she has composed for many game companies including Capcom and Nintendo. Yoko is known for being able to capture both epic moments and cheery happy-go-lucky moments in video games. And this Yoko totally didn't break up the most important band in history.

Forest Maze from Super Mario RPG [1996, Super Nintendo]

One of her earlier and most notable pieces is the Forest Maze from Super Mario RPG. It plays while Mario and his friends are searching through a forest full of enemies. It's a simple and catchy song which is why it is the most remembered from Super Mario RPG. There were other musical gems in the game, but Forest Maze is the most remembered.

Night on Bald Mountain from Kingdom Hearts [2002, PS2]

This piece is a great example of her talent. Taking Modest Mossorgsky's classical Night on Bald Mountain and giving it her own take on it. This song plays while fighting Chernabog [that crazy demon looking thing that destroys a poor village at the end of Fantasia]. This is one the of more unique songs in the game but it still sounds like Yoko.

Sinister Sundown from Kingdom Hearts II [2006, PS2]

Now this song is very representative of the Kingdom Hearts series. It is whimsical yet dramatic. Dark yet childish. Sinister Sundown plays as a battle theme in the beginning of the game. You start as a young boy, Roxas, who finds some sinister creatures are causing mischief in his home. These creatures, you learn, are causing havoc and destruction in worlds afar. This song very much suits these battles.

Battle Against The Dark Star from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story [2009, DS]

This is an example of Yoko taking something as simple as Bowser battling his evil impostor and making it sound way too epic for its own good. Classic Yoko. It sounds fantastic but in context with the game's cartoony style, it just doesn't fit.

David Wise

Wise is known for his ambient influenced very 'groove-able' themes for the Donkey Kong Country series. For the most part he composes for Rare and Nintendo, given them the zany music you might find in Diddy Kong Racing or the cool and relaxing tunes of Donkey Kong Country. There's no way of knowing how many of his songs have been covered and uploaded to Youtube. I would bet that he is the most covered video game musician out there.

Jungle Hijynx from Donkey Kong Country [1994, SNES]

Even if you aren't familiar with his name [or not too keen on video games for that matter], odds are you've come across this tune. This song plays on the first level of Donkey Kong Country and acts like its theme throughout. The song shows a bit of how ambiance is used in his songs but the key element here is his use of percussion which stays dominant throughout most of his DKC songs.

Mining Melancholy from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest [1995, SNES]

This is definitely my favorite David Wise tune. The sound of what appears to be hammers slamming against mine cart rails flows with the rhythm of the song so well. The atmoshere that this song sends to the player is trance inducing. I have to admit, the first time I heard this song, I just let DK and Diddy idle for a bit while I took it all in.

Stilt Village from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! [2005, GBA]

This song wasn't including in the original DKC3 on the SNES. The original Stilt Village sounded way more campy. In 2005, it was changed to this gem. I would love to know why Wise decided to change the music for the level but whatever reason, it was a great idea. I love this song.

Koji Kondo

His name may not be as recognizable as his music but I'll bet that I could go to anyone walking down the road and they'll know his work. Kondo is the man behind some of the most famous tunes in video game history, including the Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda themes. That should be enough to make him the most respected man in video game music but Kondo has quite the resume of ear pleasing songs that span his entire career.

Underground from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island [1995, SNES]

People often forget that Yoshi's Island is actually the sequel to Super Mario World. It is a solid game with music on par with the original. I don't know if it's the twinkling affect or the just the overall composition that sets the song apart from the rest of the songs in Yoshi's Island. Anything Yoshi related in the Mario universe has a certain sound to it (whether it be added bongos or drums in general) and I believe this is most well composed one.

Space Storm/Boo Moon from Super Mario Galaxy 2 [2010, Wii]

With the help of some friends and a live orchestra, Kondo helped bring Super Mario Galaxy 2 to life through music. Most of the songs are whimsical but this song is rough and tough. Kind of like most of the parts of the game. Hey, not all of the levels in SMG2 can be fluffy and fun. This song reminds me that I spent hours of pain staking platforming and perfectly timed jumps to get passed each level. The great music helped me from throwing the control out the window at times. (Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic game).

These are only 3 of the many talented musicians creating works of art for every video game being developed. Music is just as important as the graphics or gameplay and without it, some games would just feel incomplete. Here's to all the video game musicians out there who continue to caress my eardrum with angelic melodies!

Quick Review: The Beatles Rock Band

Quick Review:

The Beatles: Rock Band

Developed by Harmonix

Published by MTV Games

for the Playstation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360

Released September 9th, 2009

A game worthy of the band:

In honor of John Lennon's 70th birthday, I've decided to take a look back at last year's hit, The Beatles: Rock Band. The game coincided with the release of the entire Beatles catalogue, both in mono and stereo collections. The game received major buzz when Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr introduced the game at e3 2009. George Harrison's son, Dani, played alongside Conan O'Brien on the Tonight Show a day before its release. The game certainly received much hype prior to release.

Prior to the release of The Beatles: Rock Band, the Guitar Hero franchise had band focused games with Aerosmith and Metallica while Guitar Hero: Van Halen was planned to be released a few months after The Beatles: Rock Band. The Beatles, however, is an example of making a band oriented music game right. Unlike Guitar Hero, Rock Band not only gave Beatles fans a loyal interpretation of the Fab Four but created a fun and well-tuned music/rhythm game that could stand alone against the numbered entries of both Rock Band and Guitar Hero (Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero 5).

The artistic style of The Beatles: Rock Band is perfect in representing John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The designs of actual Beatles venues, such as the Cavern Club and Shea Stadium, are presented with incredible charm and keen detail on both Beatles' attire and the fashion style of the teenage girls crying their eyes out in the stadium seats. Eventually we come to the "hippie" days of the Beatles in which every song is performed as a dreamscape within Abbey Road Studios. Seeing the crazy and cartoony Yellow Submarine drifting passed the screen in beautiful 7th generation graphics is stunning.

The gameplay is the same as Rock Band 2 with a few tweaks. The vocals now offer up to 3 players to sing along in order to encompass how The Beatles used harmonies in almost all of their songs. The drums also feel a little looser and more forgiving than they did in Rock Band 2.

How can you argue against the sound in music games? If it's a good music game, you can't. The Beatles: Rock Band presents all the songs as clear as can be but the real charm comes in the sounds effects. Whether it's the actual recordings of Beatles rehearsal chatter played during loading screens or a chord from "Getting Better" used as a selection noise, the sound effects are great.

The Beatles: Rock Band is a loyal music game that offers Beatles fans everything they might ask for. Although the difficulty level may seem a little low and the low variety of songs may get boring after awhile, the fans looking to play for the love of everything Beatles will not be disappointed. Oh, and Happy Birthday John!

Details -

Genre: Music/Rhythm

ESRB Rating: T for Teen (Mild Lyrics, Tobacco Reference)

Player Options: 1-Player, 2 - 4 Players( recommended), online multiplayer

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Curve: Harsh

Stats -

Graphics: 5/5

Sound: 5/5

Controls: 4/5

Lasting Appeal: 3/5

Fun: 4/5

31 Hit-Combo!!

Superb!

Review Descriptions

Critical Hit: The Gaming Art Form

With the dawning of the modern age of video games, the debate of whether or not video games can be considered art has raged through the video game industry. Gaming fanatics who believe they are an art form note the unique graphic visuals, beautiful or appealing music, and emotionally driven story-lines. Those opposed consider them money-grabs, or that the elements are not defined enough to be compared with other art forms such as paintings, poetry, music, or movies.

I want to start by saying that my stance on whether video games can be considered art is dependent upon two factors. The first is whether movies and music are considered art. If movies and music are considered art then video games surely can be. Video games take the audience into deeper emotional trips than music or movies ever could. Video games place the player directly into their story and have them experience the visuals, music, story first-hand. The second factor is the definition of art itself. Everyone has there own definition. My definition of art is anything that is portrayed to an audience which brings forth personal emotions through music and/or visuals, and/or story-telling. Video games fit this very well.

The Opposition:
Hideo Kojima, the creator of the Metal Gear Series, (which is considered by many to be a great example of video game art itself), has gone on record as saying that video games are not or will ever be art.

"The thing is, art is something that radiates the artist, the person who creates that piece of art. If 100 people walk by and a single person is captivated by whatever that piece radiates, it's art. But videogames aren't trying to capture one person. A videogame should make sure that all 100 people that play that game should enjoy the service provided by that videogame. It's something of a service. It's not art. But I guess the way of providing service with that videogame is an artistic style, a form of art." - Hideo Kojima

Kojima's ideas seem to be more business related rather than content driven. He never states whether or not the story, graphic style, or music that he and the developers put into the game can be considered art. I wonder if spending so much time as a game developer working on a video game, putting your ideas and even your emotions into a project makes you an artist. According to Kojima, it does not. But of course, Kojima and I are working on totally different definitions of art.

Roger Ebert made the video game media turn upside with protested rage when he put up a blog at the Sun Times website called "Video games can never be art." Ebert believes art is "the creation of one" and that group projects such as cathedrals or tribal dances all originate from one mind; one artist. It reminds me of how video games are created. There are many people working on a single video game at one time. But the original story, character concepts, and overall feel of the game usually come from one or a set few whose mind created the entire project in the first place. He takes games like Braid and Flower, which people often cite for the debate, and blows them off as if he just only watched the trailers. He only took small portions of the piece and criticized it. (It's obvious he didn't take the time to play Braid or he would have noted the importance of theme in gameplay. And don't get me started on his view of Flower.) Ebert is definitely entitled to his opinion but he should take a deeper look into the realm of video games before making such obviously hasty assumptions.

Those For:
Kellee Santiago, a game designer and producer for Thatgamecompany (creators of Flower, a game which was described by Game Informer magazine as "poetry"), defended video games as an art form during a presentation at USC. Santiago uses video games such as Waco Resurrection (an odd choice), Braid and Flower. While being a terrible game, Waco Resurrection was described by Santiago as being a certain person's representation of the events that occurred during the FBI siege of the Camp Davidian compound. David Koresh never summoned magical spells to fend off the officers. It was the developers artistic style and thought and it does follow Plato's definition of art. It's an imitation of nature or in this case history. She also uses Braid and Flower as examples which I will touch on later.

I disagree with her idea that video games are in the cave wall paintings era of art. I believe they are more advanced whereas the old-late-70's-early-80's-Atari-era of video games fit the lines of cave wall paintings. (The ancient cave painters, as Santiago says, were the great artists of their time.) She also says that no one has ever mentioned a video game that could be compared to the great poets, story-tellers or artists. This may be true but how many artists, poets, and writers today could be compared to the greats of the past?

Game Informer magazine presented a feature titled "The Great Debate" in which various members of their staff chose certain video games that they felt exemplified what it meant to actually be art and explained why. Adam Biessener said how Mass Effect 2's method of giving the player numerous ways to progress. He said giving players the opportunity to meddle with on-going genocides, war, and other moral issues while feeling the emotion of your endeavors and consequences is art. "The NPCs (non-playable characters) in Mass Effect 2 are collections of pixels, code, and audio recordings just as Saving Private Ryan is made of celluloid and Anna Karenina is born of ink and paper."

Matt Miller describes video games as "musical themes, visual images, and writing" which is how I define art. Miller uses Super Mario Bros. as an artistic synthesis between these elements blended into one experience. "Ultimately, Super Mario Bros. is an artistic experience because, like all good art, it affects one experiencing it emotionally and empirically."

The Exhibition:

I have selected a few examples of gaming art. Each of these games use some, if not all, types of artistic element to bridge an emotional gap between it and the audience.

Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus is a massively empty game yet filled with perseverance, courage, strength, and love. You set out as a young man named Wander who is determined to revive a woman named Mono from an eternal rest. A disembodied entity named Dormin tells Wander that it can revive her only if he were to destroy sixteen colossi. The entire game is basically you fighting against these gigantic beings. You travel vast lands of green emptiness only stopping, not for a rest, but to slay these massive beasts. The art comes from the story and design. Wander must venture and endure battle with Colossus, that are comparable to skyscrapers in height, and continue to fight them with every succeeding Colossus being more difficult than the last. It's the story of David and Goliath with an intimate and affection twist.

Braid

Braid is about theme, interpretation, art and emotion. The premise seems simple enough; a Mario-like game where you platform across an odd world, solving puzzles, in hopes of rescuing a sweet princess from an evil knight. Each level has a theme and short anecdotes that shed light, not on the story, but on the psyche of the protagonist, Tim. The first level, Time and Forgiveness, begins with a book that explains that Tim is off to rescue the princess from an evil monster. This happened because Tim made many mistakes. This level introduces the power to reverse time, thus preventing any mistakes the player may have made that would lead to Tim's death. Braid is a perfect example of gameplay, literary themes and story melded together to tell a story of perception through art. (Video contains spoilers.)

Flower

Using nothing but the PS3's motion controls, you guide a single flower petal through grassy plains and city suburbs in order to preserve the beauty of nature in an ever growing industrialized world. The message, through metaphor in imagery, is not preaching how ugly industrialization destroys the beauty of nature but rather that true beauty is finding a balance between these two opposing forces.

Metal Gear

The art of Metal Gear comes from its portrayal of war and those involved in it. It's not just about mindless killing (you can play through the game without killing a single person), it's about the evolution of each character. Metal Gear started out as a simple stealth action game with the goal to thwart the plans of a terrorist from getting their hands on a weapon that could potentially destroy the world. The series ended in a way that makes you rethink every event in the series past. The evil terrorists you hated at the beginning of the series you will look at as war heroes and honorable patriots by the end. Each character is an epic all into themselves and there lies the art. The emotion that comes with the trailer alone is proof enough that Kojima is wrong and his brain child is gorgeous artwork.

Heavy Rain

Imagine that your first born child was killed in a car accident. Despite it being an accident, the blame and neglect falls on your shoulders. Your wife divorces you and your youngest child hasn't the faintest of interest in being around you anymore. Then your youngest is kidnapped by an infamous serial killer who prays on children. The blame is once again on you. This is the premise of Heavy Rain. You play as the father of a kidnapped child, a former detective searching for the killer, an FBI agent prying for justice, and a journalist who just happens to be entangled in the entire matter. Each character searches and fights their way to the killer in their own way. However, what they are searching for and what they are fighting for varies from character to character. The choice is given to the player. Would you kill an innocent person to save your son? Would you risk the termination of your job to see that a killer is behind bars? Would you risk being raped to help a friend? In a way, each character is a different personality of the player. You choose what they will say and what they will do. That's the art of it all. A medium that allows you to place yourself in crisis and gives you the consequences of your actions in the form of cutscenes.

The Verdict:

Art is something that entices people's emotion. Art is anything musical, visual, or story driven that has a certain purpose. Video games combine all these. All I have to say to the art community: Video games do have a place as an art form. The definition of art varies from person to person and in the minds of those loyal to the games, it is art. If something is so strong emotionally as to bring you to tears with its story, in awe with its visuals, or in a trance with its music; yeah, that's art.

Full Review: Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep

Full Review:

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

Developed by Square-Enix

Published by Square-Enix

for the Playstation Portable

Released September 7th, 2010

Confusing story; solid gameplay:

We’ve been waiting nearly five years for a console based Kingdom Hearts game to come out while Square-Enix just keeps on teasing us with prequels, interquels, and side-stories. Among these games is the console version of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, the DS’s 365/2 Days and the upcoming Coded and 3D. Perhaps the most anticipated of these games is Birth by Sleep, a prequel that sheds light on the entire Kingdom Hearts universe.

If I may be so bold, the story focuses on three young Keyblade wielders; Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. These three train under Master Eraqus who focuses their training under the influence of light. Terra and Aqua both take an exam to earn the Mark of Mastery under the guest scrutiny of Master Xehanort (a fishy looking dude to begin with). Master Eraqus determined that only Aqua was worthy enough to pass as Terra could not contain the darkness within himself. Not soon after creatures known as the Unversed arrive and wreak havoc upon their world. When Master Xehanort is nowhere to be found, Master Eraqus suspects that perhaps his collegue may have something to do with the chaos occurring. Eraqus sends Terra and Aqua (Ventus tags along) to the many Disney themed worlds to track down Master Xehanort and contain the threat of the Unversed.

Overall, I enjoyed the story but I admit that it confused me on more than one occasion. Most of the time it flows well but as you attempt to tie together Birth by Sleep with the rest of the Kingdom Hearts universe, things will start to get cluttered. BBS leaves you with even more questions than you had before and a yearning to finally get the story straight.

In Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, visiting each world was exciting not to mention vital to the story. In BBS, it seemed more like an obligation. It felt as if they wanted to tell the main story but were forced to inject Disney worlds simply because that was how all of the other games did it. The worlds were fun but seemed unimportant and generic. If I wanted to know how the stories of these Disney worlds turn out, I’ll just plop my niece’s collection of Disney movies into my old VHS player. Giving each world a significance to the story would have added emotion and some sort of depth but instead the game is left with worlds like Lilo & Stitch themed Deep Space which could have been left out with no overall affect to the rest of the story.

As with previous installments, Birth by Sleep brings an all-star cast to the table. Although Willa Holland’s Aqua sounded rather monotone, Mark Hamill and Leonard Nimoy gave exceptional performances as Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort respectively. Of course, it’s always delightful to hear classic Disney voices portrayed again.

The music is of caliber to the rest of Yoko Shimomura’s catalogue. It sounds great and interacts well with the constantly changing tone of the game. The only problem is that the music to the majority of the Disney Worlds doesn’t have anything to do with the franchise they are trying to represent. There could have been more worlds like the Castle of Dreams or KH1’s Halloween Town that made use of the movie’s own musical scores. It would have added much needed depth and attachment to these worlds.

The game looks just as good as it sounds. If you’ve seen any screenshots of Birth by Sleep then it is needless to say that the graphics are gorgeous. The character models and the environments look just as good as Kingdom Hearts II did on the PS2. The effects of transforming commands and clashing Keyblades are eye candy. Graphics have never been a weak point for Square-Enix and Birth by Sleep continues their streak with a shine.

The area where Birth by Sleep succeeds the most at is the gameplay. Gameplay consists of attacking enemies with your Keyblade (x button), dodging or blocking (square button) or performing magic/technique attacks with the triangle button. As you plow through Unversed you slowly fill up your Command Gauge. The trick with the Command Gauge is using different types of attacks to fill it up. If you simply hack ‘n slash you will be rewarded with a simple finishing maneuver. However, if you fill up your Command Gauge with certain combination of magic/technique attacks you will change your command style and shroud your keyblade in elements such as fire (if you use fire based attacks), ice, thunder, light, and darkness.

New to the series are D-Links and Shot Locks. D-Links allow you to connect with allies you’ve met along the journey in order to change your move set and grant you certain abilities in battle such as Regen (if you connect with Cinderella) or Shell (if you connect with Donald). By holding down the L and R buttons you can lock on to your enemies and do a series of attacks called Shot Locks. Shot Locks will not only attack your enemies but also keep you invulnerable to their attacks.

The gameplay is what truly makes Birth by Sleep shine. I enjoyed filling up the Command Gauge and using different magic/technique attacks to murder my enemies. Using magic or techniques are a lot easier to perform in BBS than in previous installments. In the first two Kingdom Hearts, you had to scroll through a menu and select the move you wanted, all during the heat of battle. Because it took so long to cast any magic in Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 I rarely bother with it at all. I mainly hacked and slashed my way through the game. The way BBS utilizes these techniques is quick, effective, and enjoyable. I have no complaints about the D-Links or the Shot Locks either. They both add variety to the battle system and let you play in your own unique style.

The only terrible thing about the gameplay is the lock-on system. First of all, it is very picky about who it locks onto. I could be staring an enemy in the face and lock-on to another one on the other side of the field. Even if I try to switch my target, it takes forever to scroll to the enemy I want. By that time the enemy has pounded me half way to oblivion. When locked on to a boss, I would wait in place for him to do an attack so I can successfully time a counter to it. Unfortunately, the game decides that the target no longer needs to be locked onto. This changes the camera, loses the focus of my counter and ultimately ends the battle for me. It’s definitely a game changer and the most damaging of Birth by Sleeps’ flaws.

Speaking of flaws, the loading times are unbearable. You might as well take a nap when waiting for a cutscene or a new area to load. The first time I endured a loading screen I thought the game had froze only to find when I turned it back on that it was actually this slow. The loading times greatly affect the flow of battle. You could be battling, but as soon as you charge up your Command Gauge and transform you’ll be waiting a good 10 to 15 seconds before the action starts back up again. Yes, you can install the game but even after you do so, the load times remain lengthy.

Overall Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is a good game. It has an addictive gameplay style and spectacular graphics to keep your eyes glued to the screen. If you’re a Kingdom Hearts fan, the flaws that come along with it won't be major enough to deter you. However, if you’re new to the series, BBS may not be the perfect game to bring you into the realm of Kingdom Hearts. Birth by Sleep is a good filler that will satisfy your KH craving until Kingdom Hearts 3 decides to rear its pretty head.

Details -

Genre: RPG, Action/Adventure, Platformer

ESRB Rating: E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes)

Player Options: 1- Player (recommended), online multiplayer

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Curve: Harsh

Stats -

Graphics: 5/5

Sound: 4/5

Controls: 3/5

Lasting Appeal: 3/5

Fun: 4/5

26 Hit-Combo!

Solid

Review Descriptions