Castlevania (Review)

 Devil's Castle Dracula

Simon Belmont's Journal 

1st of May. 1987, NES Plateau -- I enter the rusty garden gates, and bless my sole weapon - a leathery whip - inside the candelabra. I sense that my family heirloom will serve me well; as there's evil lurking about tonight. I can feel that the perils ahead shall test my nerves, patience and memory.

Out of the mist materializes Castle Dracula: Seeing its foreboding shape, makes me realize why the Castlevania linage has retained its well established occult following within these lands. And why the charmingly dark and challenging Castle Dracula, has become the place of many ventures since its inception.  But I questions my resolve...

I stand ready

The graphical decals of the castle are imaginative and, at the same time, ghastly. There are many cleverly placed, and well camouflaged foes: bats, flying Medusa heads, merman, ghouls, ghosts, ravens, flea-men, and metal knights. I have noticed they often reside in large and open areas, and are always ready to push me into numerous pitfalls: these life ending chasm that stand between me and the bloodthirsty guardians of the six main areas of the castle. 

After all, what's evil incarnate without its nightly inhabitants?

2nd of May. Today, I have found several critter-slaying tools within the depths of this forsaken house of death. I have called those tools sub-weapons, and they have become salvation for my damned soul: throwing knifes, boomerang-crosses, holly water and axes. Dear reader, you must always be on the lookout for these vampire-banishing tools which will aid you in the minion-filled sections ahead. To my surprise, I also found a chicken - it was a little dry tho...

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I have climbed many stairs, crossed hundreds of spooky rooms, and vanquished foe after foe. Yet, I fear the nightly terrors will never yield. My soul is growing weaker, and my legs are weary from all the jumping and striking. Strangely, my resolve has never been more affirmed. It's as if making that first jump: you have to know in advance where you're going to land, even though you may not like where you end up. Once airborne, your soul cannot waiver. That is what holds true in the NES Plateau.   

3rd of May. The end is near. I can hear the mystifying sonata of His Draconian will. He who drains all life to live. The Dragoon of Darkness: endless baiting new and old vampire hunters alike. Alas! I must move forward and get to the depths of  this occult subject. My blood is the lightning! My swift strikes will banish all evil from these console lands!

I will destroy Castle Dracula and its reoccurring damnation. 

This I promise,
Simon B 
 

Developer: Konami 

Publisher: Konami 

Platform: Nes 

Released: 1987 

                                                       Genre: Action-adventure

Ico: Youth in Revolt

Summary: Ico is a game about a cursed boy trapped inside an ancient island fortress filled with gloomy creatures, eroded mechanical relics, spacious levels, and a ghastly prisoner named Yorda. To put it simply: Your game disc contains an endangered species. 

Left alone inside a stone crypt as a sacrifice for the Dark Queen, Ico’s fate seemed cruel. As fortress machines strain and grind, shaking the ancient tomb, Ico’s makeshift coffin spills out its human component. In his dazed state Ico is shown a vision of a pale beauty trapped and alone within the nightmare void of a tower.

Thus begins your journey into the complex labyrinth of mystery and adventure.

Ico’s controls are very simple mirroring the child hero. He can run, climb, push, shimmy along small ledges, swim, carry, and interact with the numerous mechanical devices scattered across the vast fortress. Ico's repertoire of moves is a standard affair in a game like this, but what sets this gem apart from all the other games is the inclusion of the secondary character, Yorda.

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Not being as athletic and flexible as the cursed boy, Yorda needs to be looked after often. Depending where the girl is on the map you can either, call her to Ico’s side, or take her by the hand and lead her about the environment. A lot of times you need to pull her up to higher ledges. In the more intense moments you are called upon to react fast, by puling Yorda out of the vortex gateways that serve as portals to the snagging shadow creatures.

Yorda is the key element to unlocking, and activating the numerous mysterious doors and devices that react only to her powers. Having Yorda always present at the end of each level makes the varied and devious puzzles that need to be solved very intense. You often need to investigate the surroundings while clearing a path for her, by lowering ladders, opening doors, blasting structures, positioning her on floor switches or giving her a helpful shove.

Ico’s environments are grand, yet minimalistic in design. You’ll scurry through crawl-spaces, shimmy on window ledges, and perform risky jumps from one structure onto the next – hanging for dear life is a reoccurring theme in Ico. Some of the levels are vast and comprise of many different conjoined sections. As you progress, you’ll often notice places in the distance you’ve been through, or eventually end up in later.

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The best thing about Ico’s level design is that nothing seems apparent at first glance. You need to take time and observe the stage from different angles, training yourself to notice things like ledges, chains, levers, or any suspicious objects that might help or hinder your progress. You have access to a free-roaming camera, and an option to zoom on points of interest, this makes puzzle elements easier on the mind. Whit skillful poise, traversing the treachery of the dungeon will become second nature to seasoned and new players alike.

This game has very encompassing ambiance: in the inner chambers water drips onto cobble stones, torches blaze with fire, chains rustle, and the rustic gears of the fortress pyramid-like machinery keep grinding on your nerves. In contrast, the outside world teems with sounds of birds, insects, and trees swaying to a swinging symphony of your adventure.

The unusual way of traversing in this game forms a really close bond between the player and the two characters; until now, this kind of personal attachment was only possible in the best written novels where character development could flourish aided by personal imagination. In a way, this game is a book you play rather than read.

Ico is a perfect  game for couples. Play and watch your partner distress every time you neglect Yorda; or cheer for every last-second rescue and puzzle solved. 

Developer: Team Ico
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform: PS2, PS3
Released: 2001
Genre: Action-adventure, puzzle

Inside the Bullet Hurricane: Classic Shooters

Whenever I'm asked about my favourite video game genre, I always quickly answer "It's Shooters!" Most people think I'm talking 'bout the latest first person shooter (FPS). But I'm not! What I'm talking about are classic arcade-style shooters (or shoot 'em ups).

Freaky Psychosis Inducing Shooters (FPIS).

The premise behind shooters is simple: survive onslaughts of enemy fighters and random bullets coming at your ship from every angle. The tricky part, you often needed to do this while powering-up your aircraft, and progressing through swirling levels flooded with screen-filling sprites and bullet-spewing end-level bosses.

Beside the rush of constant bullet dodging action, most shooters offer a lot of original ideas, unique gameplay mechanics, and carry an undercurrent of some of the coolest head-banging, appendage-flailing, technotastic, outlandish and creative game music you'll ever hear.

I'll start this Grind Odyssey by introducing the first shooter; or the first game you shot things.

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The first shooter was a 1978 arcade game called Space Invaders: a game where the player controlled a horizontal moving laser canon capable of shooting down descending foes. The game was addictive and simple; it did however, require the designer Tomohiro Nishikado to create custom hardware to bring his vision to life.

Riding on the popularity of SI, came Galaxian, and its sequel Galaga. These two games expended on the SI theme, by adding multicoloured sprites, explosions and even stage music. Galaxian and Galaga were first to offer elements of strategy, by limiting your ship's rate of fire and having enemy units dive onto your ship. This was the beginning of shooters that created more suspenseful moments for the player.

Atari released Tempest In the early 80s: the very first 3D'ish on-rails shooter; Konami put out Scramble: a horizontal scrolling shooter packed with distinctive level design; and Capcom introduced Xevious: their very first game, which was also the first vertically scrolling shooter.

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The mid-1980s was the age of refinement, and a time when a lot of the memorable/classic shooters were created. This decade has a lot of legendary shooters in its stock. Shooters such as Gradius: the first game where the player was given the option to choose his/hers ship armaments; and Space Harrier: a game that's still cited as one of the most unique and influential on-rail shooters.

Trailing behind Space Harrier was the mother of all side-scrolling, slow-paced, methodical and strategic shooters, the brilliant R-type.

During the nineties arcade shooters tormented gamers with bullet-hurricane styled gameplay (whole screen riddled with projectiles). The home consoles, however, hummed along with a lot of well refined offerings: Axelay, G-darius, Lords of Thunder, Starfox and Thunder Force. These console exclusives became instant classics, because of focus on storytelling, presentation, flexible power-up options and adjustable difficulty settings.

Through the next two decades shooters evolved into a fusion of genres that required strategic thinking, quick reflexes, pattern recognition and memorization – with a major dose of dedication and focus. And just like in the early days, modern shooters constantly pushed the boundaries of design, originality and unique game mechanics.

In the cooperative bullet-hurricane game Ikaruga, players need to flip their ship's forcefields from black to white to absorb projectiles of the according colour. What makes the game tricky is that opposite coloured projectiles do more damage to enemy ships and bosses, and the ships forcefields could either obstruct bullets, or cause players to bump and push into their respected ships. 

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The strategic shooter Einhander allowed players to steal enemy weapons on the fly. Players could select various ship configurations that could either carry one stolen weapon, two at once (for maximum firepower), or three interchangeable ones. Stolen weapons could shield your ship from incoming projectiles, but they also had limited bullets. The game was propelled by some of the best techno-rap beats I ever heard (no lie).

When it comes to shooters there are plenty of choices for all ye faithful scrollheads out there. Truthfully, all it takes these days to get your hands on some wickedly awesome nerve incinerating shooters is pressing the download button on your console. (There are always emulators too!) I hope you'll seek out/check out some of the great shooters I mentioned here. It's definitely worth your time. 

 

My parting shot is this: By the Deities of encompassing bullet hurricanes, all shooters need to be impossibly hard! 

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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (Review)

Summary: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a smooth action-adventure game with hauntingly gorgeous visuals, solid combat mechanics, unique characters, and many interesting level-specific puzzles. The game's engaging story is told with great narrative, fluid game play and an amazingly orchestrated soundtrack.

In this big budget reboot of Castlevania you adorn the garb of Gabriel: a knight of the Brotherhood of Light. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow story unfolds at a time when Heaven abandoned all earthly inhabitants, and evil creatures spill from the pits of Hell to bring ruin upon all mankind.

The game's dark visuals are highly refined and extremely well detailed. All of the levels are uniquely designed, and populated by interesting and twisted characters who either help or hinder your progress. Some levels feel a bit short, but never disappoint with engaging battles and varying degrees of challenges. The bigger levels offer huge multilevel structures that need to be traversed by using Gabriel's chain-like whip and powers.

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You'll fight, scale, and jump across ancient ruined temples, mountain fortresses, sky-high castles, gloomy dungeons and mystic swamps. Most of the game's memorable scenes happen when Gabriel uses his whip to ascend or descent throughout the many ravaged structures. As the game progresses Gabriel will earn new abilities that can be used to unlock life and weapon upgrades found throughout the levels – some backtracking necessary.

In addition to using his whip, Gabriel can finish off enemies using a variety of brutal techniques and combos. And in a true Castlevania trait, he can also use sub-weapons such as knives and holly water. The boss battles in this game are really wild and cinematic. The huge titan guardians require Gabriel to scale their moving bodies using time-activated commands and some classic platforming skills. These towering foes always offer ingenuous ways for Gabriel to inflict his vengeful angst.

One of the mechanics I really liked in this game was the ability to ride many of the larger foes such as giant spiders, golems and vargs. Weaving spider webs to cross chasms and knock down large tree roots never got tiresome. These forced steeds also make short work of the many obnoxious critters that have a tendency to attack in swarms. The game comes with a very creepy enemy and character compendium which illustrates each creature's lore in great detail.

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You'll will encounter many different level-specific puzzles throughout your adventure. Most of these puzzles are unique and fit well with the game's themes. I found many of the riddles a welcomed respite from the game's ongoing action and adventuring. My all time favorite moment in the game happened when Gabriel got shrunk by a witch to fit into a musical box. While inside, you were forced to navigate numerous time sensitive traps while enjoying the remake of a classic Castlevania tune, Bloody Tears.

The game's score was written by Oscar Araujo, and conducted using a 120-piece orchestra. The music sets the mood perfectly for all the levels, and no composition gets tiresome or irksome. If you'll listen closely, you can pick out many classic Castlevania tunes hidden throughout the orchestration. The soundtrack and the game's dialogue are all top tier, lending another mystical and gloomy layer to an already impressive game. The game's extensive story is narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart. Mr. Stewart also voices one of the game's key characters, a knight of the brotherhood named Zobek.

Yes, the game uses a lot of mechanics which can be found in similar big budget tittles, but all these (borrowed) features fit the game well. Lords of Shadow is a solid offering that all Castlevania fans (old and new) should experience.

Developer: MercuryStream & Kojima Productions

Publisher: Konami

Released: October 5, 2010

Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Golden Axe (Review)

www.odrakir.com

Somewhere Far Beyond, earthling realms bled searing In Flames. A land in need of heroic deeds. Long ago, an ancient lore foretold of adventurous three: a man, a woman, and dwarf. The spirit of Golden Axe will bind them to seek a Power Slave, whose name no innocent may dare to speak.

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His vile army differs in rank as it stands uprooted in human lands. Violent creatures bring pain while feasting on human entrails. Heeding the call, the warriors come with thunderous speed, wielding swords, axes and magic of the archaic variety. Double-team attacking force makes mincemeat of the Lords of Misery. Pushing the scum back by sheer dashing shoulder attacks, sword taps and dragon riding mastery. 

Crossing the South Sea, a tortoise guardian grants passage to mountainous regions where gigantic eagles fly free. The mountain guarded by skeletons of past society falls with a swift kick. Riding the mystical birds, the warriors look upon their lands as if for the last time. Death Adder’s Fortress fast approaching, draining their courage. Inside their hearts, turmoil and Armageddon and fear of melancholy by defeat. 

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Pushing through the blasphemous constructs of ancient stone, the valiant heroes scarred and bruised carved their way to the Lair of Lord Adder: The Judas Priest. Hearts Screaming For Vengeance, muscles still ripped from stripping flesh and bone. In unison these Manowar hum the song of the brave ones whose spirits they siphoned through use of magi.

Together they bringing a swift end to the wicked one and his Symphony of Agony. The hedonistic bastard’s head shall be severed and placed upon the altar of Ar’azzul. A reminder to all living creatures that they must stray away from heinous deeds. 

Developer: Sega 
Publisher: Sega 
Platform: Mega drive/Genesis 
Released: 1989 
Genre: Hack and slash

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Review)

Summary: Batman: Arkham Asylum is a mature take on the dark knight. The game's dark visuals are impressive, and its large indoor and outdoor areas provide plenty of opportunity to discreetly take out foes and use Batman's classic crime-busting tools. A very intuitive combat engine drives the game's smooth face-crushing bouts against Batman's most fierce foes.

A good Batman game hasn't been released since the SNES era Batman Returns Konami offering. If I were to sketch out a new Batman adventure, I'd approach a game studio with a proven track record. Luckily for all of us – Batman fanatics – someone did that. Developed by Rocksteady Studios, Batman: Arkham Asylum is as gritty and fun as a game can get.

Joker is on the loose, and he's about to turn Arkham Island into his own corrupted wonderland. Before the maniacal slaughter can commence, enter the Batman. From the get go, you'll notice this game has a very dark and mature feel. Arkham Island and its lunatic flooded Asylum look believable enough to be a real place.

The indoor and outdoor environments are large, greatly detailed, and very distinctive. This gives players plenty of ground to skulk and traverse by on foot or grapnel gun. The game has a tendency to lead the player a lot by giving directions to next objectives. I'm not a big fun of being led around, but, If anything, this keeps the pace of this 15+ hour adventure smoothly flowing.

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Stealth takes presidency, as the asylum provides plenty of corridors, passages, and crevices for sneaking and taking out foes discreetly. However, Joker's henchmen live to gang together, and are very aware of their surroundings. Disposing those vigilant foes is not always an easy task. Luckily, Batman has an arsenal of useful gadgets: batclaw, line launcher, cryptographic sequencer, explosive gel, and the trusty batarang (which can be remotely controlled).

At anytime you can enter an X-ray-like Detective Mode which will reveal breakable pathways, enemy locations, and hidden clues, which Batman needs to trail. You will spend a lot of time in Detective Mode. Some may like it: others not so much. I found myself turning it off from time to time to enjoy the game's awesome scenery.

The combat is fantastic. Batman can doge, strike, throw, and counter frenzied inmates from any angle – providing you can master the counter timing. More skillful players will want to execute numerous special take-downs after sneaking up on foes. Each successive and masterful take-down will net Batman experience points to level up fighting moves, upgrade armour, and unlock more Bat-gadget features.

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The music is moody and intense, and the sound effects are loud and bone-crushingly realistic. The game provides lots of opportunities for knuckle busting combat with classic Bat-foes, a bit of exploration, and plenty immersion with the Batman lore. After securing Arkham Asylum, you will still come back to unlock more story tidbits, and to seek out cleverly hidden Riddler trophies. Guaranteed.

Batman is a type of character you'd want to have watching your back in a damp creepy back alley. And out of all the costumed heroes, the one most deserving his own dark and twisted PS 3 title.

With gut-wrenching skill and dedicated fanfare the best Batman game has been delivered.

Developer: Rocksteady Studios

Publisher: Eidos Interactive & Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment

Released: August 25, 2009

Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 , PC

The last Accolade: Early 90s Arcade Scene

It's Saturday afternoon, my friend and I are walking aimlessly around the mall. We have some time to kill before the evening showing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3. Tired of gawking at the usual suspects, I ask my friend if he has any change. “Yeah,” he responds. I gesture my head towards the back end of the mall.

My friend smiles, and we both dash towards Castle Arcade.

The movie ended up sucking (really, really, bad), but we left happy because we got to play our favourite arcade games. Not only that, we each administered swift beatings to all challengers in Darkstalkers, Samurai Showdown and Super Street Fighter II, respectively.

Walking into any arcade in the early nineties, you'd find the rooms packed with dedicated patrons, onlookers, and local game freaks. The scene was alive with all manner of characters from different backgrounds, the sounds of slotted quarters, and frantic button mushing.

The newer machines would always be surrounded by bodies of anxiously waiting video game fanatics. Every time you'd loose a bout or a game, you'd have to squeeze through a group of people to stand aside – but not before placing your quarter on the cabinet. The silver coin was a token confirming you'll return after the next round got served.

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The gritty museum-like appearance of rows of cabinets in the bigger arcades was always a spectacle to behold. The new games were usually in the front: this was a key place because it always made the arcade look crowded. Midway stood the less popular games; the more obscure titles could be found there. The back was crammed with all the oldies. Classic arcades that begun it all: Pac-Man, Galaga and Donkey Kong. Squeezed between the new and old games, were car simulators, flashy pinball machines, and odd card games like strip poker.

The, now elusive, arcade cabinets were not only found in malls, but also in various convenience stores. I remember parking my bicycle outside a random gas station, and going in to buy a popsicle, only to emerge half an hour later because I played Golden Axe. That's also how my first bike got stolen. 

What can I say... great times!

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Within the mecca of all the computerized sounds and frantic yells, my friends and I would let loose. It wasn't strange to come in with a group and take over a game for an hour or two. That's how champions trained. Sometimes strangers would step up to prove their skills. And after and hour or two, we would become friends -- sometimes. In fact, I still have good friends that I met exclusively at the local arcades.

The nineties grudgingly rolled on, and so did the game industry. Home systems were beginning to slowly take over. Hardware accelerated to a point were it was on par with the most advanced arcade boards. Slowly but surely the last greased joystick would fall apart. And with it an entire industry of arcade distributors, technicians, caretakers and fans.

Lost but not forgotten

Once Internet enabled worldwide connectivity it was lights out for the local arcade scene. Gamers could now play from the comfort of their own home. Gamers could now be a part of a bigger digital sphere.

However, there's a lot to be said about facing an opponent who is standing next to you. In that situation, a hurled insult could net you beating, or better yet, a digital confrontation with you strongest characters. Either way, you'd walk away only to come back after some significant playtime at another arcade (or with your friends).

My local arcade no longer exists. It's a clothing store with a pocket-sized pizzeria attached to it. Every now and then when I walk past there, I instinctively reach for my wallet to see if there's any change jingling inside.