The Co-op Experience

Once again, I have been slacking with my posts. But this time, Time itself isn't the only issue. As most of you know, the Playstation Network has been down a lot lately, and now it is undergoing maintenance. The first few days of connection issues was reportedly from DDoS attacks on Sony's server. People claiming to be outraged by Sony's actions against the Mod Community, decided to show their feelings by shutting down Sony's online servers and websites. This not only hurt Sony's image(as planned), but any innocent bystander that wanted to play their games online suffered too. And even more recently, there have been security threats to Sony's User Account Access. Since this is a threat to the customers, Sony had to shut down the servers for maintenance, meaning once again, I can't play games Online. For the server attacks, it is stupid for anyone to think they are doing other's a favor on an issue that effects less than 5% of the players. I don't really want to get into how I feel about Modding video game systems, but what I can say is that when your modding affects other people, then there is a problem.

Basically, people suck(except you guys). Another person that doesn't suck at life is Chelsea, which brings us to the point of this post. Since I can't play MAG with strangers online, I have resorted to playing local co-op with my girlfriend at home! We haven't played a new release together, as most of my latest games are single player or have a ridiculous skill curve. I did manage to go out and buy one thing that puts us on the same level of joy and difficulty.

Neither of us have ever played Portal 1. I know all about it and the premise of the puzzles, but I have never actually played the game. The PS3 version of Portal comes with a code for Steam, an online platform for games. With that, you're supposed to be able to play Portal 2 on your PC and play with others who are on the PS3. So the idea was to have Chelsea on the computer, while I play on the TV. Unfortunately, the PSN is all out of wack so that didn't happen. We are playing Split-screen on the TV though, which is good enough for now. The Co-op campaign is not the same as the single player. In Co-op, you plays as the blue and orange robots, and complete a series of missions from a Hub. The missions are "Tests" designed by Aperture scientist for humans to complete, but obviously robots are better. As far as I have seen, no mission is soloable, and requires at least 1 portal from your partner to complete. It could be something as simple as them shooting it while you hold on to a ball, or as complex as overlaying portals.

We probably aren't experts at the game. Right now we are in the 3rd Mission set, which are Light Bridges. It is a pretty cool idea, there are bridges of light that come from a bulb, and extend until it hits an opaque surface. Using portals, you can extend the bridge "indefinitely." The bridge will also protect you against turret fire if it is veritcal. It still takes us a bit of time to clear a level even with the "advantage" of talking about it face to face. Hey, we're noobs so we're allowed to take our time.

Figuring out how to do that probably took us 15 minutes.

The game is surprisingly good. Portal always had a bit of comedy behind its characters, so when I bought it for Chelsea, I was afraid she wouldn't get into it. Luckily for me, she was laughing in the first 10 minutes of the game. If any of you readers have a gamer girlfriend who has very strict tastes, try out Portal 2.

Her favorite game is Legend of Mana, even though we have lots of other great games she could choose from. Mana is also a Co-op game and it is from Squaresoft, back before they became Square Enix(whatever that means). The premise of this game is that you have a character, and there are just tons of quests and content to go through. You sort of "build" the world and quests based on your interactions with other characters. If you kill off someone, you may miss a quest or a whole town later. If you befriend a certain character, you may be able to quest with them whenever you want, which brings the co-op element in. Many of the quests give you a character who will help you complete it, usually the one that gave you the quest in the first place. You can set an option in-game so that the 2nd character is controlled by the 2nd controller. This way, the first player will always play the main character, and control the skills, magic and weapons he uses and the second player will be using many different characters, all with different weapons and abilities. In between quests you get to breed pets! (Gift Idea Go!). Your pet will fight alongside the two of you, well if it isn't timid, and comes in many shapes and sizes. If quests and pets aren't enough for you, there is "legendary item hunting and crafting" in the form of spirits and instruments. Spirits are found on dungeon maps, based on how you create your world map(town and dungeon placement.) If I remember correctly, you trade in spirits that you find for coins. Those coins are used with items you collect to create magical instruments. Each instrument does radically different things and I haven't played the game nearly enough to know what they do. Basically, Legend of Mana is an original sand-box dream and there aren't too many games out there like it. Especially ones that allow 2 people to play.

No one is home right now and PSN is still down. I won't be able to play co-op anything. In other gaming news, I am about half way through the last trophy in Bayonetta. That is beating the game on Infinity Climax difficulty. It isn't the most difficult thing in the entire world, but it is pretty tough. The key is using counter attacks with the Moon accessory and Dodge Offsets to extend your combos. Remember, I am not using cheat codes to platinum this game, as it is not necessary. After that, if the PSN is still down, I am tempted to go back to Sonic Unleashed or Mirror's Edge. We all know why I'm having trouble with Unleashed(Eggmanland), but Mirror's Edge is a different story. I'll get some news on those as they unfold.

2011 is Going to be HUGE!

Correction: Every year is huge for video games. Why is that? Because every year we get a new basis on what is great. Take for example Infamous. Great game. Huge hit when it came out. This year(June specifically) we have Infamous 2 coming out, which will also be amazing. This is because developers have successful platforms to build games upon. Some people say this destroys innovation, but with so many games on the market, Quality surpasses Quantity. I'm not really sure what I plan to buy this year, everything just looks so good. In no particular order, here are some of my hottest releases coming this year(or Q1 2012)

Infamous 2
Infamous was one of the best semi-sandbox action adventures available. The amount of carnage you can wreak was great, and is heightened in Infamous 2 in June. Cole gets new powers, more choices to make that affect story progression, and more things to do. They even added a Mission Creation mode that you can share with others online.

L.A. Noire
A friend of mine talked to me for a while about how Noire tries a bit too hard. "The game wants to feel so realistic, that it becomes unconvincing." The acting in this game is probably the low point of my anticipation, the gameplay trailers are what really excite me. One of the games Chelsea and I rented a few years ago was Condemned 2. Condemned had 3 things they REALLY wanted to emphasize: 1) Brutal Combat uses all sorts of weapons. 2) Scary atmosphere(which became Scary-Grunge instead of Scary-Horror). 3) Problem Solving a la detective work. The case solving was by far the best(if not the only) good thing in that game to me, and L.A. Noire uses a system very similar to this. Aside from vintage bar shoot-outs, chase scenes, and exploration, there is case solving that you have to do that sounds like hours of fun. There are interviews to do that not only have you comparing statements, but also watching facial expressions to pick up on their "ticks." You examine evidence just like in Condemned, where small details could be the biggest clues. Quite frankly, I could care less about anything else in the game. I honestly just want to pick up envelopes and find lipstick marks on the adhesive. (Everyone says I should play Phoenix Wright. No thanks.)

Resistance 3
Resistance games have always been underrated in my opinion. They get outshined by other games where the fights are Epic and you are also some big, burly alpha-male that can kill aliens in his sleep. And those games are fun, don't get me wrong, but the fights in Resistance are Epic in their own way. Not only are the enemies and circumstances ridiculous, but you are just a lowly soldier against these insurmountable odds. You get a real sense of "invasion" rather than "Aliens are here, but we're better than them." Resistance 2 also had ONLINE LOCAL CO-OP that was hours of fun for us. You basically did Missions with up to 8 people, and you can have 2 of them on the same PS3, on the same couch, in the same house. It has already been said that R3 will have local co-op, just hoping that it will be just as much as R2.

Uncharted 3
More games to buy holy crap. Uncharted has always had great acting, but unlike L.A. Noire, it is designed to be a full entertainment experience. There is comedy, serious moments, and high-speed action, and we expect the same from U3. For myself, I have always been a fan of acrobatics in games like Tomb Raider. U3 has this, but with a control scheme that doesn't punish you with its 8-way movement. Actually, U2 had a lot of different things in it, which combine to make a great game. There was tactical combant like Metal Gear, gun fights like Gears of War, platforming and treasure hunting like Tomb Raider, and online multiplayer like nothing else. Can't wait until November.

Yugioh World Championship 2011: Over the Nexus
Best Yugioh game ever? I still want the Xbox Arcade one to come out on the PSN so I can buy that too. WC2011 features cards up to Storm of Ragnarok and most of the Duel Terminal Series. For those who don't know, I played 2010 all day every day. I played it in bed when I woke up. I played it on my lunch break at work. I played it driving to and from work(not recommended). All to unlock every card and every opponent WITHOUT using cheat codes. WC2011 will get the same special treatment as playing any deck against any deck is a glorious experience. Unfortunately the game doesn't come out until May and if you want to import it, it will cost you double MSRP plus shipping.

Dark Souls
I talked about Dark Souls last time in this one of the best games ever post. If you haven't at least tried Demon's Souls, you should, as most retailers have it for cheap. Dark Souls will be multiplatform, and I REALLY hope the development doesn't take a hit because of this. Demon's Souls had beautiful environments, but its character models were lacking(unless you were decked out in armor). Hopefully there won't be any "Hardware Limitations" for the new game late this year.

Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3
New Gameplay modes? Check.
New Combat Abilities? Check.
Harder Enemies? Check.
More Diverse arenas? Check.
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083? CHECK!
Gundam Wing Deathscythe Hell and Tallgeese II? CHECK!!!
Gundam 00? Check I guess?

Sonic 20th Anniversary Project
I am very excited for this and, unfortunately, 95% of the gaming community doesn't share my enthusiasm. Why? Xbox. Just kidding. I talked a bit about Sonic in this Good Games You Thought Were Bad post. As I said before, developers now have platforms that work very well and can use that to build better games. For Sonic Team(and Havok?) they have the engine from Sonic Unleashed, made better in Sonic Colors to use toward this Xbox/PS3 game. So how can they make they game as good as they can? Here are a few of my own ideas:
1) Keep Sonic's top speed the same as in Sonic Colors or slow it down even further. Removing his Boost Run may be the ultimate answer and does seem like a step backwards but it really isn't. If they re-implement the standard roll attack and roll cancels from Sonic Adventure, this will keep Sonic at a maximum speed that is manageable by even the most casual players.
2) Keep worlds diverse and try not to use too many of the same things. An example is in Sonic Unleashed with the Robot chase scenes. Too easy the first couple of times. The last time should have been the first. Then each time they wanted to use that chase, add in something else like QTE bouncers, low walls, short hops, etc.
3) 80% of the people who complain about Sonic games complain about new characters. If new characters are introduced, they're levels have to be exciting. Sure they can do things 100% different than Sonic, but if they are too boring(Werehog), or outrageous(Shadow from 2006), then no one will like it. Toning down Sonic's top speed should indirectly help this.
4)Download Content. Both Unleashed and 2006 had this, and it was good. Downloading Extra Hard, Rank SSS, etc levels are great for "hard-core" players.

Disgaea 4
I never got the Platinum Trophy for Disgaea 3. Some say it is easy but it does require a bit of a grind and I had too many other games to play! Disgaea 4 is supposed to have even MORE end-game content than 3 did. That means my 120 hours of playtime will have to be 180+. If that sounds like as much fun to you as it does to me, then you should pick up Disgaea 4 too.

There are TONS more games coming out that I'm interested in that supposedly come out this year too. I can't write about them all so here is just a bit of the action. I'll give them a buyers rating: 5-Day one purchase, 4-I just bought something else, so I'll get this next, 3-I won't get it on day 1 unless there's a good deal, and I probably won't play it until I have time, 2-Low chance I'll get it unless something changes my mind, 1-Probably won't get it, but the game still seems like fun.
- Playstation Move Ape Escape (3/5)
- Socom 4 (3/5 Looking at you MAG)
- Portal 2 (2/5)
- Twisted Metal (2/5)
- Ratchet and Clank All 4 One (4/5)
- The Agent (1/5)
- Silent Hill: Downpour (5/5)
- White Knight Chronicles 2 (2/5)