Posts Tagged ‘square enix’
E3 2019: Square Enix Impressions
Click on image to view conference.
Square definitely brought it this year and Fred along with Andy (42 Level One), Chip (The B-Team), and Chase (Scarcasm Live) were happy to talk about it.
GHX Ep. 23: Sick Trees
This week we officially resurrect Gaming History X and kick it off talking about…almost nothing related to video games. Trees is sick, Fred saw Tomb Raider, and no one drank on St. Paddy’s Day. The conversation quickly turns to games as the two discuss “indie AAA” games, why Burnout Paradise Remastered totally holds up, the expulsion of loot crates from Battlefront II, and the abysmal game that is Haze.
Opening song includes a track used, with permission, from Ozzed.
Closing song is a sample from Shamroctoroc by Doctor Octoroc.
Podcast: The History of JRPGs Coming to the West
This week Fred is again solo, but fear not because he will have his faithful companion Jam back for the next episode. This week he’s discussing the origins of the Japanese Role Playing Game or JRPG and the genre’s eventual journey to the West. From humble roots in the early 80s to the powerhouse genres of the 90s, it’s a wild and crazy road.
Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition Review
2016s Game Club selection may as well be renamed “Jam’s gaming bucket list” as the vast majority of the games we have played this year are titles I’ve been wanting to play for sometime but just haven’t got around to. I could use the easy excuse where I say I’m too lazy or too busy but I choose to go with the excuse that I was on a long and arduous quest to find twelve jade statues in order to prevent the end of the world by new year. Fortunately for myself and humanity I completed that quest, surprisingly in Sleeping Dogs as well and I’m able to finish off 2016 with my review of the game. All in a days work I guess.
Sleeping Dogs is an open world game set in Hong Kong where you play as Wei Shen an undercover cop who is attempting to take down the Triads from the inside. Of course its not that easy for Wei. He soon becomes close with the gangs leading you as the player to question who Wei is truly loyal to. While the story is certainly serviceable and well acted by the voice cast I never felt completely invested. There are some emotional moments in the plot with key characters but the ultimate pay off seemed somewhat lackluster. With the game ending open ended and setting up for a sequel, is disappointing since United Front Games has now closed and the chances of seeing this sequel are very slim.
As with most sandbox games there is a mix of various gameplay styles. Sleeping Dogs main stand out feature is the hand to hand fighting system. Wei Shen is well versed in martial arts as is every bad guy in this game who you’ll usually take on in large groups. You can attack and counter in a system very similar to the infamous Batman Arkham games, although Sleeping Dogs appears to have its own rhythm to its fighting system. I found that you had to be very careful with your button presses to begin with. Once you got the games own rhythm down, I was quite capable even with the odds stacked largely against me, once I got to this stage I felt like Bruce Lee (insert broken table). You can also grapple enemies and maneuver them to create devastating environmental kills such as impaling guys on sword fish or smashing someone’s head into a urinal which reminds me of a fond scene from the film True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Podcast: Sleeping Dogs Game Club (Part 2)
It’s time to wrap up the story of Wei Shin in our second half of the game club. Fred and Jam pick up after “the wedding” and wrap up the main storyline along with side missions and impressions on the base game. Then they delve into the relatively large bundle of DLC that released on the game (and is included in the Definitive Edition).
Podcast: Sleeping Dogs Game Club (Part 1)
This week Fred and Jam delve into the Triad underworld as an undercover cop in Sleeping Dogs. They go over the creation of developer United Front Games, the sordid tale of development and name changes, complete with a cancellation and resurrection under a new publisher. Finally they tackle the first half of the campaign, complete with side quests.
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix Review
Who doesn’t like Disney films? You pretty much know what your going to get: a family friendly film with a few laughs and occasionally some tears. Whether you love them or hate them there’s probably a Disney film you like. For me, I love the Lion King. It still remains one of my firm favourites, closely followed by Robin Hood, an older film in the company’s catalogue that I have a lot of nostalgia for. Kingdom Hearts seemed like a fascinating IP that essentially merges the Disney Universe with a video game.
I originally saw footage of Kingdom Hearts on a demo disc for an unofficial Playstation 2 magazine. The demo wasn’t playable it was an extended trailer with just music. The music from the get go was mesmerizing and still one of the series strongest draws. The footage simply showed a collage of the cutscenes from the game showcasing the main character Sora along with Donald Duck and Goofy. With them visiting various Disney worlds such as Tarzan, The Little Mermaid, Hercules and many more. The footage looked incredibly ambitious from a story standpoint. No gameplay footage was shown and I don’t believe Squaresoft (today now Square Enix) ever released a playable demo of the game. I vividly remember multiple magazine articles being excited at the prospect alone of this game. It almost seemed destined to be a critical hit.
Podcast: Kingdom Hearts, Part 2
This week we wrap up Squaresoft’s collaboration with Disney in the original Kingdom Hearts. Fred and Jam wrap up the campaign and then bring in guest Fortengard to discuss the secrets, bosses, and lesser known differences between versions.
Podcast: Kingdom Hearts, Part 1
Despite not being able to do a live show, Jam and Fred get together and record a massive introduction to the original Kingdom Hearts. In this first part the two go over the development, gameplay, and presumably first half of the game (they are just past Agrabah by the end of the show). Sorry for the lack of music, there was something off in the audio file that didn’t make it easy to do, so in the interest of time the show was pushed out sans music.
Podcast: Nier Game Club
In the first game club for the new format Fred, Jam, and guest Fortengard jump into the ambitious world of Nier. Developed by dissolved developer Cavia and published by Square Enix, this is one of the oddest titles to appear last generation. In this episode the hosts dissect the development, campaign, gameplay, and audio/visuals of this divisive cult favorite.
Opening: Snow in Summer
Fishing: Song of the Ancients Fate
Town: Song of the Ancients (Devola)
Open Area: Hills of Radiant Winds
Dungeon: The Wrecked Automatons
Closing: Yona (Piano Version)
Gaming History 101 