We Have Another Contender for Game Trailer of 2011...

Even though the Tomb Raider reboot is not coming out till next fall, this debut trailer is among one of the better trailers I have seen in a while. It definitely shows a new Lara and a whole new perspective on her character as a whole. That iconic look is gone and now we get a Lara Croft that feels real actually going through struggle and survival as seen when is attempting to escape a sinking ship. Who knows if any gameplay demos will be shown at E3 next week for Tomb Raider, but so far, this reboot has a lot of potential to become something special.

So Let's Talk About That Konami Pre- E3 Thing??

I think NeoGAF overhyped Konami's Pre-E3 presser too much since last year's was hilariously bad, yet so good. This year didn't top that, but damn Konami is on a whole different level with E3 press conferences in terms of trainwrecks. Oh did I mention their thing was PRE-RECORDED? Wow, you gotta love the game industry sometimes.

Other than some not so worthwhile stuff being shown such as a new Pro Evolution Soccer game, Konami does have a slew of games coming in the months ahead. While some games you thought they would be there, but not, the famed Japanese publisher decides to go nuts with HD collections, which is the highlight of this presser in a nutshell to most people. Other than Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D for the 3DS, Kojima Productions announced the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. This package contains MGS2, MGS3, and Peace Walker with graphical and audio improvements (Yup, no MGS1). The big thing KojiPro is also promoting is what they call "Transfarring." Transfarring basically is Kojima's idea to let players play these MGS games at any time from home and move their saved game to a NGP in order to continue on there, vice versa too (or the Vita - whatever Sony calls it by next week). Kojima also announced their multiplatform engine called The Fox Engine, which is pretty much excited if MGS Rising (a no show at E3) is still coming out. Other than the MGS HD Collection, Kojima Productions also announced the Zone of the Enders HD Collection for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. As a fan of the second game, I like the fact it exists and hopefully people buy enough of these to perhaps give Konami interest to finally green light Zone of the Enders 3. All these HD collections are nice and all (Silent Hill is also getting a HD collection), but cmon, new games please!!

Besides Konami announcing an original game called Never Dead, which is just another cheesy third-person shooter, but you're playing as some undead dude and Megadeth is doing the soundtrack, this teaser showed up at the end of the pre-recorded presser which shows the infamous C for Contra. Supposedly, this is a Castlevania Lords of Shadow-like reboot for the franchise, so considering how good and underrated Lords of Shadow was, this new Contra game can be pretty good too.

Konami's E3 press conference is pretty much a trainwreck considering how overhyped it was and the fact it was pre-recorded, but it is not as hilariously bad as last year's, so that's something I guess. The main event is coming up in several days, so I'll leave it at that.

A Retro Review of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

This is a review I wrote long ago for the XBOX Live Arcade version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which was released back in March 2007.

In 1997, The Playstation was all about Sony bringing 3D graphics to the console market in a big way, then this little game known as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night stayed 2D and took the console to a different direction being one of the greatest games of all-time. It also took the legendary Castlevania series to a whole new direction as well with its level based gameplay, Super Metroid style exploration, and memorable music. This game was also released for the Saturn at Japan and never seen any other re-releases on compilations since its original release till now. Now that Symphony of the Night is on XBOX Live Arcade, fans of the original and also new players can experience this classic. It is the biggest game in terms of size to hit the service and also the best game out there to download for 10 bucks (800 Microsoft Points).

In Symphony of the Night, you play as Alucard, Lord Dracula's son and a non-follower of him siding with the humans. He realizes that someone is trying to resurrect him at his castle and it is up to him to prevent that from happening. Once you enter his castle, Death comes in and jacks all of Alucard's powerful items, which reminds you of the recent Metroid games if you never played this game yet, and Alucard has to explore the castle with nothing other than punches. While exploring the castle, he will eventually face many bosses and find new items and even transformations to help him navigate around it. Also similar to the 2D Metroid games, Symphony just throws you into this place with no purpose and allows you to go crazy without any help unless you the use the map as a guide to go around or even a FAQ especially for new players.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a game divided into two halves, the normal castle and an inverted version of it. The four endings goes along with these two halves as the worst two endings will not let you explore the inverted castle and the better two endings requires a run of the inverted castle. This system can easily divide the hardcore Castlevania fans and casual gamers if they are going for the best ending. Speaking of crowd division, the achievements for this game are good and will take some time even for the hardcore fans to accomplish. They range from exploring 200.6% of the whole game, having a bank of 100,000, and beating the game as Richter Belmont.



For new players, Symphony of the Night is basically the old-school gameplay of the Castlevania series fused with a Super Metroid like exploration system. Alucard will use many weapons, magic, and different transformations to defeat his enemies. The magic system is only beneficial to Alucard turning into mist, a wolf, and a bat rather than the spells itself. There is also a sidekick like system called the familiars, where they follow Alucard around helping him in certain situations, which range from a bat, a faerie, demon, a sword, and a ghost. If you beat the game as Alucard, you can play the game as Richter with a Castlevania signature whip and limited abilities.

The graphics for this game are faithful to the original Playstation version and there is nothing that makes the graphics go crazy like in the Saturn version. There are options for updated graphics as well, but it does not do too much to differentiate from the original graphics. The game is also limited to a boxed window with an awesome wallpaper surrounding the screen, but it can be stretched to full screen if that is your preference.

Symphony has also possibly the greatest music in any 2D game with many orchestral scores being played in the many stages. Each stage has its own song which sets the tone for what each room will contain. Some music gets recycled in the inverted castle, but it does not matter. The voice acting in this game is awesome in a sarcastic way with horrible dialogue, but it is more funny than bad. This game does give you perhaps the most important question ever, what is a man?

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was awesome in 1997 and still awesome today. Being released on XBOX Live Arcade gives fans of the series to experience greatness again while it also gives new players a chance to get into this 20 year old series. Specifically for new players, Symphony is a good start to see what Castlevania is all about other than Belmonts and Dracula. You will notice why the recent Castlevania games on the handhelds are heavily influenced by this entry. For 10 bucks, Symphony of the Night is truly a bargain and something that should not be missed on XBOX Live Arcade.

Today in the World of Games for 6/1/11

We start today off with a new trailer for Saints' Row: The Third, which comes out on a crowded November. This CG clip is continuing another cliche from movie trailers of having Kanye West's "Power" as the song, but it fits for a game like this. Don't get me wrong, I still love "Power," but don't you think it is getting overplayed in trailers for products? Anyway, it doesn't show what to expect gameplay-wise, but if you played the first two games, you pretty much have a good understanding of what to do. I have always appreciated this franchise for continuing the fun and crazy aspects of the Grand Theft Auto formula as Rockstar continues to take their iconic franchise on a more serious direction. Plus, I gottta admit, tornado DDT-ing someone to a table is pretty sick. Expect more Saints' Row: The Third during E3 next week.

Even though The Ocarina of Time 3D is out next month, Nintendo is not done with the Zelda franchise this year. Other than Skyward Sword making another appearance at E3 next week (who knows when it comes out now), Current Zelda mastermind Eiji Aonuma has said another Zelda game will be announced at E3 to celebrate the original's 25th anniversary. Nintendo is facing a dilemma with this franchise as of late if they want to make do a repeat of Twlight Princess by releasing two versions of Skyward Sword (Wii/Cafe, whatever their next console is called), or even tease another new Zelda game only for Cafe. The problem with that is they still have Skyward Sword coming out, so that's not likely gonna happen. To celebrate their 25th Anniversary however, they have to do something better than that Mario anniversary package last year with Super Mario All-Stars. Then again, that is what they're likely gonna do repackaging some old Zelda game. They could re-release the Gamecube Legend of Zelda Collection on a Wii disc (Zelda 1, 2, OOT, & Majora's Mask), but all those games are out on Virtual Console. The crazy scenario Nintendo could think of is announcing an old-school 2D Zelda game in the vein of New Super Mario Bros., which would be cool, but there's still Skyward Sword (Well NSMB Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2 did come out months apart, so that could be the case for Zelda too if they're willing to delay SS again to next year). Despite all of those possibilities, who knows what Nintendo is gonna do with the Zelda franchise, but we'll see next week I guess.

I should be getting this issue of Game Informer soon featuring Darksiders 2. I didn't really pay attention to the first game despite being a good mature-rated Zelda game. This is another game that will get some coverage at E3 next week.

That's it for now...

Today in the World of Games for 5/31/11

First up... new look for the blog in time for E3 next week!!!!

Expect a lot of Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm previews to hit the interwebs now as Brad from Giant Bomb was at Blizzard trying out what's new with this expansion. I'm not that crazy about StarCraft II, but I know some friends that are excited. Sure, the long wait for release next year is expected out of Blizzard, but knowing them, they know what it takes to get it right again. At least another multiplayer beta is coming out for Heart of the Swarm before its release with whatever balance changes they do to the multiplayer. Check the major sites for more details on the game itself.

More IGN Videos

Another year, another WWE game, but THQ and Yuke's finally abandons the Smackdown vs. RAW name as it is simply called now WWE '12 (just like those EA Sports games). They are clearly thinking this is gonna be the one that gets it right getting rid of all the flaws that plagued the franchise for years. IGN has a preview of what to expect in the new game and a teaser trailer featuring Randy Orton. After the success of All-Stars (I love that game just by playing it a few times at Wednesday Night Fights), let's see if they can continue the momentum.

Mortal Kombat is finally rolling out the DLC next month with new character Skarlet, the retro outfits that have been codes at various retail stores, and the patch that hopefully improves the online play along with character changes (Kung Lao's damage being nerfed, Kabal loop gone, etc.). With Evo and the MLG Circuit around the corner, it is still a good time to pick it up while it lasts because who knows after those events if people will still play the game and Netherrealm continues to support it with more downloadable content/balance patches (Hector from NR has said at UFGT7 last weekend that they will continue to support the game as long as they can). Oh, there's also the latest episode of Mortal Kombat Legacy featuring the infamous ninjas, Scorpion & Sub-Zero, below.

Finally in Call of Duty land, the rumored subscription service was finally announced today (more like leaked last night by the WSJ) called Call of Duty: Elite, which will make its debut in Modern Warfare 3 this November. It is basically a Playstation Plus-like deal where playing multiplayer is still free, but if you want more social networking features and new maps, you have to pony up for the new monthly-based service. Its finally time the franchise has their version of bungie.net (so beneficial to the Halo franchise) for all that stat tracking, clan support, and other social features. Sure, the initial reaction has been similar to the Modern Warfare 3 trailer of Activision and Infinity Ward jumping the shark for the franchise, but it was only a matter of time this would happen since they love money too much. The hardcore CoD fans will surely fall for it, but for everyone else that doesn't play it every day, who knows.

That's it for now... the E3 hype is starting to sink in. I might do a last minute predictions post later this week, but expect my thoughts on the press conferences and other big announcements throughout the show next week.

This must be the "Launch Trailer" for OOT 3D...

The only reason this trailer for the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D got me hyped is the version of the theme song they used, which won't be in the game. They again show most of the cutscenes throughout the game in this clip, which can be spoiler territory if you never played it back in 1998. For those who don't know what's new with this "re-release" for the 3DS yet, there are some stuff.

• Of course, the graphical improvements - Yeah, the game looks better, it is more colorful, Link looks different than his original self, and the framerate gets improved (perhaps the only reason I would play this game again). Oh, I guess that 3D effect is in there, hence the "3D" in the title.
• The touch-screen controls - I'm not really going crazy about the improved inventory controls especially when you're in the Water Temple with the Iron Boots. There is a variation of the Stone of Agony (now the Shard of Agony) new in this 3DS version (since you can't use a Rumble Pak here lol).
• Master Quest is playable - The harder version of the game is indeed in the 3DS release, but I think you still have to beat the original to unlock it. There's also an option where Link takes double damage making things even harder, so good luck trying to beat MQ again.
• There's a boss rush mode - At least this is in if you want to replay the boss fights again perhaps challenging yourself to beat them all in one health meter and in record time.

Other than that, Nintendo didn't do enough to this "re-release" as this is the same exact game from 1998 is here with better graphics. All of the audio is the same, so they didn't make any changes to that such as remastered background themes, which could of been cool. Hardcore Zelda fans would buy this in a heartbeat and for many, its their reason to get a 3Ds now, but nostalgia alone is simply not enough these days especially for me. As I said many times, I do love Ocarina of Time as it is still one of my favorite games of all-time, but it is still one of those games I rather enjoy only once. Sure, getting this will be like 1998 all over again, but I'm not just that excited for a 12-year old game in 2011.

The True Definition of a Mature Game... The L.A. Noire Review

Note: The gameplay videos may contain spoilers, so watch at your own risk!

It is pretty easy to judge mature rated video games especially in today's society. They are judged by the content they have from violence, gore, use of profanity, and so on, which basically describes a normal first-person shooter. Games never really take advantage of the mature rating going beyond just content alone and actually take overall tone into consideration. Rockstar Games is no stranger to games that have the mature rating with the infamous Grand Theft Auto franchise and last year's outstanding Red Dead Redemption. With developer Team Bondi, L.A. Noire is a different beast unlike those games. Usually in a GTA game, you play as an anti-hero with the ability to cause havoc at the city. L.A. Noire flips the script as you play as someone protecting the law being the good guy. This is quite a turn for a Rockstar game considering how their open world experiences continue to evolve more than just a playground to mess around in. I wondered how Rockstar would tackle the good side of law enforcement, which makes L.A. Noire an interesting game for them to get involved with.

The protagonist you play as in L.A. Noire is Cole Phelps, a war hero turned detective in 1940s Los Angeles. Throughout the game, you'll experience his rise through the ranks of the LAPD from just a normal policeman to a top detective. It does a good job of progression of these ranks as you solve cases that involve hit and runs, homicide, illegal distribution of drugs, and arson. Cole is usually accompanied by a partner in each of these desks that have the cases. He is one of those guys that would take the necessary steps to get the clues he wants to solve cases while his partners tend to be there for the ride. The storyline starts all simple as Cole solves various cases, but in between beating these cases, there are World War II flashbacks about Cole's experience along with other characters. These flashbacks will eventually come full circle later on the game making the story have a sense of a big picture. That big picture, however, ends up a little disappointing when certain events feel very questionable.

The focal point of L.A. Noire is the detective work rather than going to places shooting bad guys. This is a different change of pace for open-world games as you search for clues at crime scenes and drive off to various locales discovered from those clues to get closer to charging the suspect responsible. Clue finding has been brilliantly designed in a clever way by both visual and audio cues. Markers have been placed for evidence in some cases as chimes kick in when you're near them. Music plays a big role in these scenes as well as finding all the necessary clues in a room or a crime scene ends the music, so Team Bondi did a remarkable job with that.

Interviewing and interrogating is the meat of the detective work along with providing the most intense moments of the game as Cole asks witnesses and possible suspects questions relating to the crime. They are either telling the truth, being doubtful, or flat out lying. One way you can tell they are doing either those things is by their body language, which is where is the amazing facial animations kick in. The facial animations all characters have in L.A. Noire are unlike anything I have seen ever in a game to the point they are real. You can tell by their face how they answered your question if they're looking around, scared, etc. If you're lying, you need the appropriate evidence to back your claim up. Even this whole system has some issues as it can be a challenge to tell the difference of claiming they're telling the truth or doubtful. There is an intuition point system to ease the interviewing process as you can spend a point per question for Who Wants To Be a Millionaire-like lifelines such as eliminating a wrong answer and asking the community as it shows a percentage of the used answers from consoles hooked up online. Usually asking the community feels like a gimmie especially now that the game is out for a week already as the right answer is easily narrowed down with this lifeline. When things click and go your way especially charging the right suspect, it is such a satisfying moment to see them break down trying to sneak themselves out of a charge. After completing cases, you are rated up to five stars how well you solved the case from nailing the questions correctly and finding all the clues. Even if you miss clues or questions, it is not the end of the world as it will be a little more difficult to charge the right suspect.

While the game is set in an open world that screams Grand Theft Auto, it is not actually a playground to go crazy especially as a detective. The rules are flipped around since you're playing as someone on the good side of law enforcement. You can't cause much of a ruckus as you would in a GTA game running into cars, people, and damaging property as it affects over case rating. For once, I feel like I have to follow the street signs even though you can speed off as long as you're careful doing it. Of course, the police siren helps on making other drivers pull off to the side easing your drive especially in heated chase scenes during cases. Even though L.A. Noire is mostly about the detective work, there are still side missions spread throughout Los Angeles to complete. These side missions are mostly street crimes that will involve melee brawls, gun fights and chases by foot or car. There isn't a variety of them, so they tend to get repetitive at times.

Besides all the policework, L.A. Noire controls like any other open-world Rockstar game that has been out on this generation of consoles. Driving and shooting feel similar to GTA, so they're not bad. Sure, the shooting could of been better when compared to other third-person games, but you can do worst than the cover system and auto-aim here. Your partner's AI does a good job of helping out in moments like these since they tend to have get in trouble and help out during car chases when they shoot the tires. However, your partner can get stuck at times in spots to the point you'll leave them behind and they'll somehow reset to where you're at later on. Things on foot feels great and simple as you never run out of stamina running and its easy to vault over objects since there is no jump button. Traditionally with open world games by Rockstar, there are collectibles everywhere in Los Angeles if you want to 100% L.A. Noire from locating landmarks, finding film reels (this game's version of the hidden packages), and driving all the vehicles. Even after you beat the game, the replay value is still there especially having the option to replay cases over again, free roaming to find the collectibles, and downloadable cases such as "The Naked City" and the PS3 exclusive "Consul's Case" (that's not available since the Playstation Store is still not back up as of this time).

Graphically, L.A. Noire looks pretty sharp for an open world game. The engine used in Rockstar's past games is in here, but as in most games like this, there will be pop-in issues at times, which doesn't really distract the overall experience. The facial animations I mentioned earlier are amazing as I hope other games implement this technology, but the maintaining the balance for the whole body is not up there yet. Team Bondi also did an amazing job nailing the 1940s Los Angeles setting right in terms of atmosphere and tone. There are recognizable landmarks present in this city that are still around today, so its crazy to see places like the Mann Chinese Theatre and Union Station in their 1940s incarnations. Sound-wise, it is a top notch effort by the developers from the audio cues during the cases, the amazing voice acting from a star-studded cast (well if you watched Mad Men, you'll recognize a lot of people in this game). Especially with the realistic facial animations, it feels like you're watching a R-rated movie about that time period. Characters feel believable especially Cole and they recorded a lot of lines as chatter is happening everywhere. I specifically enjoyed the chatter between Cole and his partners during driving trips in cases.

L.A. Noire is another outstanding yet flawed experience by Rockstar as they're willing to push the open world genre in different ways. It is definitely a different change of pace for an open world game considering how much more adventure is in it even though there are still action-filled moments at some points. The detective work is done brilliantly well as the interviews/interrogations provide some of the most intense moments in gaming so far this year just by how emotional the characters can be. The facial animations are indeed breathtaking as it is unlike you have never seen before in games till now. The game uses audio pretty well too from the awesome voice acting and music cues during cases. The story could of been better especially when it comes around to the big picture because it seems rushed how things go full circle at the end. People can also have a hard time nailing the cases perfectly, which can take numerous replays to get everything right. It is remarkable to see the mature rating being pushed to its full potential in terms of atmosphere and tone because this is a game definitely intended for adults. Rockstar has another hit in their hands and despite its flaws, L.A. Noire is the true definition of a real, mature game.

Score = 9/10

Pros:

• 1940s Los Angeles setting done right in atmosphere and tone
• Detective work, yet challenging, is designed brilliantly well
• Facial animations are indeed that breathtaking to the point of being real
• Great use of audio from the top notch voice acting and musical cues

Cons:

• Story could of been better especially later on the game when things come together for "the big picture."
• Slight graphical issues like pop-in (expected in open world games) and people getting stuck in spots.
• The detective work can be challenging if you have a hard time determining if witnesses/suspects are telling the truth, being doubtful, or lying.
• Repetitive side missions