Holy Sh*t, look at what happens when I am gone for a little more than a week. Posts, reviews and who else knows what. I will upload a one panel comic that I should have posted before I left. It involves us running around like crazy, all because of Teh GameDuk. After I unwind, you shall hear back from me.
July 2004 Archives
...can the apocalypse be on it's way? It seems such. Great job on the reviews, Doug. I want to play Tales of Symphonia and Sudeki now just reading your posts. The multiplayer battle option in ToS sounds like great fun. The next TGZ comic entitled "The House of Mayhem" is finished and awaiting upload from Ryo. Upon reading the comic you will understand the title. The next comic is on my desk and awaiting ink. Stay tuned, folks!
-Jon
Sudeki is a...unique experience in roleplaying. I've played quite a few RPG's in my day and I have never seen anything like Sudeki. It has elements of so many different games: KOTOR and Ninja Gaiden to name the 2 biggest.
The protagonist of the story is Tal, an exceptionally skilled but inexperienced member of the Illuminia Elite Guard in the world of Haskonia, where the game takes place. He is in love with the queen's daugter, Ailish and his best friend is Elco, the queen's Chief Scientist. These 3 will join with Buki, an anthropomorth on a quest to reunite and save 2 worlds.
First of all, I have to say that the characters look beautiful. The world looks beautiful, everything looks beautiful. Graphically, this game is a gem. I was amazed at how everything looked.
When it comes to sounds, I am a big fan of spoken dialogue. It came as a great shock to me then, when I found that everyone you encounter has spoken dialogue. Everyone even has a different name. It was quite frankly, an astonishment to me and it really immersed me in the storyline. In addition, the voice actors do a superb job of lending life to the characters. Voice acting has come a long way folks, and this game is proof. The ambient sounds are extremely well done, especially the way everything sounds different when you run on it. A minor detail to be sure, but it's the little things that make the game for me. The background music is also well done and fits the locations appropriately. For instance, when I entered the aptly named Devil's Belch Canyon late in the game, the music was a twangy type, like something you'd hear in an old western movie. I actually laughed out loud the first time I heard it.
With a fantastic looking and sounding world, you'd think the gameplay might suffer a bit. Thankfully, you'd be wrong. Throughout the game, you will go from fighting with one person to four people at the same time. The combat is real-time and fast paced. The combat system is just deep enough to be engaging, with 2 characters that specialize in melee and 2 characters that specialize in ranged attacks. The melee is all done 3rd person and the ranged combat is all done in first person, but it works surprisingly well. You are able to switch between characters with the push of a button, which makes managing everyone's special abilities quite easy when you get the hang of it.
All things considered, I have to give this game a 4/5 and one thumb up and one down. Why, you ask? While the combat system is fluid, it's also forced. When you enter certain areas, the exits are walled off and enemies appear, sometimes staggering amounts of them. Although I pulled victory from almost certain defeat several times, the option to escape from battles would have been nice. Also, the game is short, clocking in at about 20 hours to finish. If this doesn't bother you, give Sudeki a try. You won't be dissapointed
-By Agentsith - July 25, 2004
Dateline: July 24, 2004
11:35 PM
Location: My living room
I apologize that it's taken so long, but once I started this game, I had to finish it. Tales of Symphonia is the newest release in the Tales series of games and the first release in America. You play as Lloyd Irving, a dull-witted but good-hearted teenager in the remote village of Iselia in the world of Sylvarant. You start out your journey helping the Chosen of Mana (who happens to be your best friend) regenerate the world, but it quickly becomes a quest to save yourself, your friends, and your world.
The game is of decent length. I clocked my completion time at just over 45 hrs. although I didn't do nearly all the sidequests and minigames. Graphically, it looks beautiful, with the characters being 3D on a 2D background. They are cell-shaded, giving them a cartoon-like look without it looking stupid. As far as sound goes, the ambient sounds are well done but the real gem is the voice acting. All of the voice actors do an outstanding job bringing the characters to life and making you feel for them.
The gameplay is really fun, but it definitely takes some getting used to. The game uses what it calls a "linear motion combat system" which means the battles are in 3D and you are on a line with the monster you are fighting. You can run back and forth forth on the screen, using items and what not. The other party members are controlled by the A.I., although if you have 3 friends, you can all control a character in the battle.
The A.I. in this game deserves special mention, because I have never seen anything this deep in a game before. You have dozens of options for movement, spell casting and so on. It's not as good as your 3 best buddies playing the game with you, but it's close.
All in all, I give this game 5 starts, 2 thumbs up, and a 10/10. If you've been waiting for some RPG love for the Gamecube, your wait is over!
- By Agent Sith - July 24, 2004
Wow, 2 reviews in one day! I bet the rest of the guys are going to have a heart attack!
Sudeki
Sudeki is a...unique experience in roleplaying. I've played quite a few RPG's in my day and I have never seen anything like Sudeki. It has elements of so many different games: KOTOR and Ninja Gaiden to name the 2 biggest.
The protagonist of the story is Tal, an exceptionally skilled but inexperienced member of the Illuminia Elite Guard in the world of Haskonia, where the game takes place. He is in love with the queen's daugter, Ailish and his best friend is Elco, the queen's Chief Scientist. These 3 will join with Buki, an anthropomorth on a quest to reunite and save 2 worlds.
First of all, I have to say that the characters look beautiful. The world looks beautiful, everything looks beautiful. Graphically, this game is a gem. I was amazed at how everything looked.
When it comes to sounds, I am a big fan of spoken dialogue. It came as a great shock to me then, when I found that everyone you encounter has spoken dialogue. Everyone even has a different name. It was quite frankly, an astonishment to me and it really immersed me in the storyline. In addition, the voice actors do a superb job of lending life to the characters. Voice acting has come a long way folks, and this game is proof. The ambient sounds are extremely well done, especially the way everything sounds different when you run on it. A minor detail to be sure, but it's the little things that make the game for me. The background music is also well done and fits the locations appropriately. For instance, when I entered the aptly named Devil's Belch Canyon late in the game, the music was a twangy type, like something you'd hear in an old western movie. I actually laughed out loud the first time I heard it.
With a fantastic looking and sounding world, you'd think the gameplay might suffer a bit. Thankfully, you'd be wrong. Throughout the game, you will go from fighting with one person to four people at the same time. The combat is real-time and fast paced. The combat system is just deep enough to be engaging, with 2 characters that specialize in melee and 2 characters that specialize in ranged attacks. The melee is all done 3rd person and the ranged combat is all done in first person, but it works surprisingly well. You are able to switch between characters with the push of a button, which makes managing everyone's special abilities quite easy when you get the hang of it.
All things considered, I have to give this game a 4/5 and one thumb up and one down. Why, you ask? While the combat system is fluid, it's also forced. When you enter certain areas, the exits are walled off and enemies appear, sometimes staggering amounts of them. Although I pulled victory from almost certain defeat several times, the option to escape from battles would have been nice. Also, the game is short, clocking in at about 20 hours to finish. If this doesn't bother you, give Sudeki a try. You won't be dissapointed.
Tales of Symphonia
Dateline: July 24, 2004
11:35 PM
Location: My living room
I apologize that it's taken so long, but once I started this game, I had to finish it. Tales of Symphonia is the newest release in the Tales series of games and the first release in America. You play as Lloyd Irving, a dull-witted but good-hearted teenager in the remote village of Iselia in the world of Sylvarant. You start out your journey helping the Chosen of Mana (who happens to be your best friend) regenerate the world, but it quickly becomes a quest to save yourself, your friends, and your world.
The game is of decent length. I clocked my completion time at just over 45 hrs. although I didn't do nearly all the sidequests and minigames. Graphically, it looks beautiful, with the characters being 3D on a 2D background. They are cell-shaded, giving them a cartoon-like look without it looking stupid. As far as sound goes, the ambient sounds are well done but the real gem is the voice acting. All of the voice actors do an outstanding job bringing the characters to life and making you feel for them.
The gameplay is really fun, but it definitely takes some getting used to. The game uses what it calls a "linear motion combat system" which means the battles are in 3D and you are on a line with the monster you are fighting. You can run back and forth forth on the screen, using items and what not. The other party members are controlled by the A.I., although if you have 3 friends, you can all control a character in the battle.
The A.I. in this game deserves special mention, because I have never seen anything this deep in a game before. You have dozens of options for movement, spell casting and so on. It's not as good as your 3 best buddies playing the game with you, but it's close.
All in all, I give this game 5 starts, 2 thumbs up, and a 10/10. If you've been waiting for some RPG love for the Gamecube, your wait is over!
DBG comics not available, may return later :)
The days of summer have been good. It's nice to not to have to worry about that non-sense called "college." So far I have been able to spend more time on video games and the internet. Lately, I have been playing Need for Speed: Underground a lot. I have heard my friends talk about it a bunch, ever since it came out a while back. And I have to say it is a fun and addicting game. You can mod the hell out of your car, which there are many to choose from, which will change your reputation level with your rivals and audience. There are many different modes upon where you can challenge people: circuit, draft, drag, elimination (actual name?), and racing from point A to point B. As you race, you raise your level and after you fill your bar, you unlock a new item. Items can range from performance upgrades for your car to new tracks. I would suggest picking up or borrowing this game from a friend, chances are they will have a copy.
I have also uploaded the newest Dragon Ball G comic, The Homie Pad. Here we see the gang at Master Koochies island hanging out. There are 3 more to the series, so enjoy them while you can. After playing NFS: Underground and presenting this new DBG comic, I'm starting to feel a bit gangsta. Haha, anyways, hopefully we will return in a few days with a new comic. We have two one panels sketched out and I came up with another good idea for another three panel.
