What I've Been Playing

After a July full of PC gaming, I returned last month to the comfortable embrace of my Xbox and Nintendo 3DS. Let's look at some of the titles I checked out during August.

Dark Souls (Xbox 360)

With no new titles immediately demanding my attention, I began last month's gaming by returning to an older title, one that I lovingly refer to as "my Waterloo". As I imagine is true for a lot of folks who've played it, Dark Souls is a perpetually ongoing and highly ambitious undertaking, like that novel you've been writing on since college or that growth you keep meaning to ask a doctor about. However, despite receiving pretty much universal critical acclaim and garnering a zealously devoted fan base, I'm still surprised how many casual gamers haven't yet heard of Dark Souls.

Yeah, you're going to see this screen a lot.

If you're not familiar with the game, I'll try to describe briefly what makes it such a big deal. At first glance, Dark Souls appears to be a drably gothic third-person action RPG with a middling combat system and an uninspiring plot. Once you start playing it, though, you quickly realize its appeal: it's brutally difficult, but in a rigorously fair-handed way. In each new area, you will die repeatedly at first, and it will probably depress you. However, by gaining equipment and levels, by learning your way around the environment and its many fiendish traps, and by becoming attuned to the patterns and weaknesses of your adversaries, eventually you will progress (albeit to the next crushingly difficult area of the game). It's the kind of difficult that is much less characterized by controller-throwing frustration, and much more about terrified, crippling paranoia interspersed with occasional bouts of cautious jubilation.

One of the most engaging aspects of the game (other than its innovative twist on multiplayer, which I won't get into here) is the checkpoint system. Whenever you die, you are revived at the last "bonfire" you camped at, but without all of your souls (which serve as both experience points and currency) and humanity (another important commodity in the game). Moreover, resting at a bonfire refills your health, spells, and stock of healing potions, but also revives any non-boss enemies you have slain in the area. This system works in concert with the game's merciless difficulty to present some difficult choices to the player. If I'm forging a path through an unknown new dungeon, but I'm running low on health and have accumulated a hefty cache of souls, should I try to make my way back to a previous bonfire, or try to tough it out to the next one... knowing that if I fail, all my efforts will have been for nothing? (For an added dose of sweaty-palmed intensity, note that it is possible to reclaim your lost souls and humanity after you die, but only if you make it back to the location of your demise without dying again.)

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (Nintendo 3DS)

I recall playing the original Kingdom Hearts on the Playstation 2 as being quite a magical experience. Thrust into a bizarre world where Disney cartoons, Final Fantasy characters, and Haley Joel Osment somehow coexisted, I raced through the game in about a week, desperately anxious to find what treasured memories from my youth I would uncover in each new world. And even though Kingdom Hearts was covered in a layer of nostalgia so thick that it bordered on exploitation, underneath was a solid action-RPG with a rich story, engaging environments, and genuinely fun gameplay.

Nearly 10 years and several confusingly named sequels later (most of which I didn't play), I decided it was time to revisit this idiosyncratic franchise with Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance for the Nintendo 3DS. Unfortunately, while this newest Kingdom Hearts has a mountain of new and complex battle systems big enough to get an A for effort, it manages to capture very little of the magic of the original. The worlds and characters are limited primarily to Disney's more obscure and/or disregarded properties, and the Final Fantasy influence is practically nonexistent. After about 20 hours I have yet to beat it, but at this point I'm almost ready to put it to bed anyway and pick up Tales of the Abyss for the 3DS instead.

10000000 (iOS)

Finally, a compelling reason to match
three arbitrary pictures of things.

Ever since I bought a Nintendo 3DS, I've largely ignored my iPhone as a game platform, except during particularly boring technical seminars or at unusually long traffic stops. However, after hearing about 10000000 (i.e. "ten million") on the Gamers With Jobs podcast last month (which featured a great interview with the creator), I decided to give the game a shot. After about five minutes I was hooked, to the extent that for a few bizarre days last month, my iPhone was my go-to gaming platform.

10000000 is a typical match-three game (like Columns or Bejeweled), except that matching items affects the progression of your avatar as he crawls through a linear dungeon at the top of the screen. For example, matching swords performs a melee attack, matching shields bolsters your defense, and matching keys opens locks on chests and doors. During each run you collect gold, experience, and resources, which can later be used to upgrade your character in various ways. The uninspired name "10000000"—and wow, it really is an awful, awful name—refers to the high score you must reach in a single run to beat the game.

10000000 is rendered in a pixel art style accompanied by chiptune audio tracks, and its tutorials and menu interfaces suggest a lack of polish that one might expect from a homebrewed title like this. However, don't let these rough edges fool you; the gameplay itself is actually quite refined. The sliding controls are smooth and responsive, and the block animations, combo notifications, and sound effects are fluid and well-timed. Take it from someone who isn't a die-hard puzzle game fan: 10000000 is well worth $1.99 and 6-8 hours of your time.

Darksiders II (Xbox 360)

Most of what I needed to say about this game I said in my recent review. However, looking back over what I wrote, I realize that I may have understated how disappointed I was with this game. For me, the first Darksiders was one of those rare games I really fell in love with, the kind of game that you start over again from the beginning the moment you beat it, or that you lend to your friends so that you can talk to them about how awesome you think it is. Darksiders II isn't a bad game by any metric, but it certainly hasn't inspired me the way its predecessor did, causing me to proselytize to my friends until they started blocking my phone calls. If the franchise continues, I'll be interested to see if Darksiders really was lightning in a bottle, or if somehow Vigil Games manages to recapture the magic of the original.

Dust: An Elysian Tail (Xbox LIVE Arcade)

After putting Darksiders II to rest in peace (see what I did there?), I moved on to my other most-anticipated game of the summer: Dust: An Elysian Tail. I first heard about Dust at PAX East this spring, when I got a chance to speak with the game's developer, Dean Dodrill. (Note the singular noun "developer", as in one single dude.)

Dust shows me that even in today's 3D-dominated world, there's still plenty of room to be amazed in two dimensions.

With its beautifully animated graphics, rich environments, and engaging gameplay, Dust turned out to be everything I hoped it would be. Even its characters were well-acted and charming enough for me to look past their excessively cutesy appearance an occasionally cloying dialogue. I'll save the rest of my analysis for my review, but for now you can know that Dust gets my seal of approval.

So that about wraps up my recent gaming experiences, as well as another New England summer. Soon it will be time for fall jackets, changing leaves, pumpkin-spice lattes, and most excitingly, Borderlands 2.

Review: Darksiders II

Like its predecessor, Darksiders II combines familiar game elements in ambitious new ways. While it can be a bit rough around the edges, fans of the original should be satisfied, and newcomers to the franchise should give it a look.

Darksiders II is the sequel to the 2010 post-apocalyptic adventure game Darksiders, developed by Vigil Games and published by THQ. In the first game, War (by which I mean the famed horseman of the biblical apocalypse, and not the 1970s funk band known for "Low Rider") was unjustly blamed for prematurely initiating the final conflict between Heaven and Hell, one which ultimately led to the destruction of humankind before its time. The story of Darksiders II takes place concurrently with that of its predecessor, this time following Death as he searches for a means to restore the Kingdom of Man and clear the name of his brother War. It's an ironically noble undertaking for the one they call "Kinslayer", considering that once you meet Death, you quickly realize he a ruthlessly violent and highly sarcastic dickhole.

Like the first game, the gameplay in Darksiders II is constructed with a "remix mentality", pulling mechanics from other well-known franchises like a hip-hop artist samples classic rock riffs. The original Darksiders was essentially the hack-n-slash action of God of War combined with the dungeon-delving puzzle solving of Legend of Zelda, with nods to a few other games mixed in. Its sequel includes these elements while also casting a slightly wider net, incorporating Prince-of-Persia-style acrobatics, a Diablo-esque random loot system, and even some third-person shooter mechanics. While the variety of these elements are a big part of what gives the Darksiders franchise its charm, at times the game suffers from a "jack-of-all-trades" syndrome, wherein no particular gameplay approach ends up feeling particularly polished (except for the combat system, which I thought came off fairly well). I was especially disappointed with the loot system, as I found the randomness of the equipment drops detracted from my enjoyment of exploring the game world. More than once I took a break from the main story quest to poke around the game's numerous side-dungeons, only to find chests containing loot no more interesting or special than what I could have bought from a merchant or found on any random enemy.

Death is more or less the Slayer thrash-metal version of Kratos from God of War.

Some influence of the remix mentality is evident in the plot of Darksiders II, as well. The Pale Rider's journey is set against the well-worn backdrop of biblical mythology, with many a familiar angel and demon encountered (and in most cases, subsequently eviscerated) along the way. I didn't find the story itself all that engaging; like the plot of so many games, it seemed to consist mainly of a string of "broken bridges", quests whose purpose was only tangentially related to the overall story arc. However, what Darksiders II lacks by way of a compelling plot, it makes up for in terms of characterization and dialogue. Nearly every ally and enemy I encountered throughout the game turned out to be a rich and multidimensional character, beautifully realized through solid writing and excellent voice acting.

Visually speaking, the characters and worlds of Darksiders II are rendered in a slightly cartoonish style, one which I found truly refreshing given the surfeit of visual realism in big-studio games. This visual style also helps to take some of the edge off the inevitably absurd nature of some of Death's weapons and powers. A grittier, less tongue-in-cheek version of Death scrambling through the same highly contrived, Zelda-inspired dungeons would simply have looked ridiculous.

Either Death is about two feet tall, or that's the largest dwarf I've ever seen.

Unfortunately, on the Xbox 360, some the game's graphical chops are undercut by assorted technical issues. The in-game menu screens are sluggish and unresponsive, and during the action frame rates are erratic with screen tearing occurring fairly frequently. These issues are prevalent enough that even a non-videophile like myself found it hampering my enjoyment of the game. Moreover, the technical hiccups aren't limited to graphics alone; I had the game freeze (to the point of requiring a hard reset of my Xbox) more than once.

The game's frequent technical issues are especially disappointing when considering how carefully refined certain other elements of the Darksiders II are. There are a lot of subtle bits of mastery in the game, ultimately leading me to believe that any rough edges are a function of limited time and resources, and not for lack of thoughtful technical or game design.

If the grassy hills and dales of the Forge Lands aren't your preferred post-apocalyptic vacation spot, don't worry; Death's journey will take him to plenty of other, less idyllic realms.

In the end, perhaps the best word to describe Darksiders II is "ambitious"... perhaps even overly so. The game universe is expansive, but at times can feel unfinished and sparse. The game dynamics and systems are interesting and varied, but often come across as rough and not fully realized. The characters are well-acted and their mythology is deep and full of potential, but it is largely left unrealized by the game's weak plot. When it comes down to it though, I would much rather play a game that has tried to do great things and come up a bit short, than one that takes no risks at all.

Xbox Achievements: Or, How Developers Can Save Me From Myself

I recently decided that the number one most significant gameplay innovation of the last decade is the achievement system. You may argue with this, but I can think of no other concept that has more radically altered the way I play video games (not even multiplayer). There’s a certain aspect of revealing your entire body of gaming accomplishments that gently but persistently warps mind and spirit.

For example, back when my virtual conquests were a private affair, I could exercise a bit more self control regarding my gaming agenda. Let’s say it’s the spring of 2002 and I’ve got 200 spare hours of my life just lying around. If I decided to use those hours to drink beer with my friends and/or have sex with my girlfriend, no one needed to know I did so in lieu of power-leveling that little bitch Tidus enough to take on the secret Final Fantasy X boss Nemesis. Moreover, since there was no public record of this decision... who knows what really happened? With enough time and self-delusion... maybe history holds that I did defeat Nemesis after all.

In the Age of Achievement we have no such luxury. Now all our triumphs and failures are laid bare for the world to see, and I believe such exposure gives game designers a disturbing power over the way we play video games. To emphasize the seriousness of this issue, I thought I would list the top five most perverse behaviors I’ve been driven to by the quest for Gamerscore.