ButtonSmasher

[End Suspense Here]

katie — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 05:47:32 +0000

I’m afraid the moment I’ve not-so-casually alluded to will finally, almost, nearly arrive in 23 more hours: the moment my stint at ButtonSmasher ends, and with it, possibly even the blog itself. It’s been nice knowing you, dear readers–or at least imagining you, as I more often have, as you read and wondered, “why does this writer wait to make her first post on the last day of the month?” and, “isn’t there some other, more worthwhile torture I could enact on my brain?” Though the likelihood of your existence was never high, I’ve continued to write for you, and for my money, for just one month short of a year now, about games that were sometimes better known to me than the language of Swahili. I think my enthusiasm lit up the place like a dim bulb, in the end, and it failed to impress. I’m sorry to everyone.

Well, amidst any tearful departure, there’s always a craving for some good news. My Xbox 360 has mysteriously regained its ability to work, just in time for me to have no further posts to write. And I can’t use it to play Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, an original Xbox port of a swell throwback/update to the PC adventure genre, that, true to form, comes full of sass and pith and novel goings-on. And just look at that box art, an artistic abomination only a child of the 80’s could love. All is as it should be, I am in my happy place. Anyone want a 360 that can never die?

Samba de Amigo finally hits the Wii–geez, that only took as long as a Spanish holiday, or the saying I’m actually looking for. I’m not even too late on this one either, as it’s been only 3 days or so since the release; for once, the game should still be available. Official maraca mods not on the horizon.

Another one hot off the presses is Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, which hadn’t been raking in the best rankings pre-release, but I’m betting it’s not the shovel-full that is a typical Wii game, either. I love Harvest Moon; I’ll always love its quaint, Chibi-headed painting of a simple country life, surrounded by good-hearted folk and too-cute, smell-less, immortal animals, told over and over with as few modifcations as possible. Harvest Moon is one of the warmest gaming fuzzies imaginable and I’ll maim any reviewer who says otherwise.

What else… well, whatever Myth Makers: Orbs of Doom might be besides a game, ‘orbs’ and ‘doom’ figure prominently in the title and that’s reason enough for me to recommend it. Final lesson: the less time and resources spent marketing, the more extravagantly stupid the title, means the more chance the game might actually be good.

I don’t really know what else is new and shaking in this industry, so the time is probably ripe that I left it. Or at least took a break.

See you somewhere on the flipside, perhaps. Keep on your happy button-smashing.

These are a few of my favourite things

katie — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:18:11 +0000

Not only do digital historians dig old games, but they will actually dig in an archeological sense just to get to their hands on the oxidized, label-torn real thing. The quest for these true classics, which took me to ruinous pawn shops and grime factories, thankfully need not take you further than this site. I hope you appreciate just what I do for you.

See for yourself if any of these fill the gaping holes in your collection (n.b.: collections lacking these games are full of gaping holes). because we’re going so old-school, this post will be a completely text-based adventure.

Psychic Force 2012 — cage fighting in midair. Seriously better than anything Dragon Ball Z has tried.

MARVEL VS. — whatever this may refer to, anything with ‘Marvel Vs.’ in the title is a great wallop of fun. Marvel as in the comic-book superheroes, versus as in against Capcom characters.

dr. Mario 64 — you know this, the virus-busting game? It appeared on the N64, and so it appears here.

Nights into dreams — the original Saturn game, classified under Dreamcast here because it has nowhere else to go. Helping you find it gave me my job.
…there are mroe than that, but I’ll leave them for the next post. This is my near-to-last gift to you, loyal readers… enjoy it.

Let’s get together and feel alright

katie — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:19:10 +0000

Loyal robo-pets, soccer-playing androids and so many Baby Alive dolls have not come so far that an ancient advanced civilization in a game world can’t do better. In the world of Tokobot, archeologists have dug up the ancient advanced technology of magnetized, Bomberman-as-LEGO robots that take the player as leader of their a communal hive-mind. While I can’t elaborate much more on a story I don’t remember, we can view it as ancillary to the main action-attractions of this game. The versatile (and cute) AI’s follow you around and take the formations you choose to form bridges over gaps, ladders to unreachable heights, or spokes for your character to wield in whirling enemy death.

It’s an artistically-simple, but pretty enough game on PSP–meaning it’s a little weak for PS2 in Tokobot+ Plus, but graphics are graphics. The high point comes in the polygon deformation and transformation that ensues whenever you bonk your enemies, and the fluidity of animation in general. Cartoony and fun, the visuals indicate nonetheless accurately which objects you can interact with, how far to jump, and facilitate all the other requisite elements of a good platformer. Tecmo has never had a problem making a technically-competent game. Solve button-puzzles by assigning individual tasks to your wee charges, find and upgrade the Tokobots towards the ultimate goal, and um… enjoy.

Welcome to Memory Lane. Watch your step: Squirmy guerrilas underfoot

katie — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:22:14 +0000

When I was studying (or, as was the case in third year, not) at my first post-secondary institution, I was in only the second cycle of the ‘laptop programs’. It was the early 2000’s, you see, and no one had yet discovered the potential for utter distraction posed by personal computers (and non-academic software) in the classroom. Granted, it WAS a computer programming course, but much of what resulted was students throwing one-hundred-eighty-player Counterstrike LAN parties right in the middle of Professional Management.

…didn’t they realize that if they were going to host a game, it should be Worms World Party? The tactical war-fighter starring the cutest lil’ invertebrates ever to blow each other up, Worms has been mortars o’ fun since 1995. Since my first contact with this still-fantastic oldie in school, it’s been the repeat subject of LAN parties in my own home. The 2001 PC CD-ROM, also available for PS1, Dreamcast, and GBA offers single-player campaigns and a map editor, as well. Whatever the mode of play, WWP exhibits fluid animation, a lovably goofy art style, and humorous dialogue in languages from around the world. It also features a buttload of map-making assets and map-destroying artillery–that’s sure to please.

Why you may never see a game like this again.

katie — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 02:03:51 +0000

The DS is released and the crowd goes wild, buying up all things Nintendogs and Brain Age and anything else sanitized and generic enough to earn a TV spot. Somewhere else, a more discerning buyer walks confidently into a store, not looking for the next big thing–no, what this person seeks would more likely bring ridicule or questions into one’s sexual preference; this gamer knows exactly what he’s looking for. From a shelf of Pokemon and The Sims and Mario and Sonic wannabes, this person picks an unlikely, pink hero: Kirby!At the 16 year mark, Kirby has outlasted the fads and garnered the respect of core 2-D loyalists for the difficulty and quality of some 10 games. Kirby is classic simplicity. Stubby-limbed, powder-pink cream puffs with real, lasting appeal don’t come along that often in our era of impossibly-fashionable, overly-accessorized, precision computer-generated characters. Or in games that opt not to invest in the creativity to put a fictional face to the name. On the contrary, Canvas Curse is creative something fierce, and the addition of the existing Kirby tropes only makes it better.The player creates guides to take a permanently-ballified Kirby through the levels with rainbow-coloured strokes of the stylus. He moves in the direction you draw the line, which can mean in circles, off of ramps, or down slopes as required. He gets some new powers amenable to traveling big, wide-open levels, like a missile that you guide. The game remains the most stylus-driven I’ve played, and just about the best application of this technology of the DS.It’s colourful, it’s bubbly, and it will hurt your pride all the more when you can’t stop making a red candied Kirby in the lava. But it’s well worth it.

Pixel artists most certainly need apply.

katie — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:08:29 +0000

You have to have patience and time to reap the rewards of the THQ’s Drawn to Life for Nintendo DS–otherwise, you won’t make anything but a clone of the Yeti from SkiFree. The main draw here is the heavy use of the stylus and, consequently, the touch screen, with which you’re expected to illustrate the hero and various objects in the world–but is it worth the effort to see your creations given animation?

Yes, for Drawn to Life is more just a sandbox, and more than glorified MS Paint. There’s a folksy plot casting the player in the role of The Creator, lead artist of an entire world…okay, maybe lead chicken-scratch designer is more like it, but at least the setting appeals. Skilled artists and animators have drawn most everything to life in ways you never could with the color-limited editor and small resolution, but the end result is that magic combination of fluid- and sharp-looking 2-D. So while your creations are going to look a tad out of place no matter how good you make them, budding artists and coloring contest entrants will enjoy the many opportunities to draw platforms, weapons, and vehicles. For the rest of us, it’s nice that they give you a lot of preset patterns with more to find as you play, in case you hate your God-given lack of artistic ability. There’s also new music, if you can find it–and you should try, because it’s surprisingly catchy goodness.

On to the problems. It would have helped your sickly creation fit in better to have a back-view for those top-down parts–say, there really are a lot of those. I thought this was a platformer/collection game… which it is, just with a mystical structure. In a 2-D game nowadays, you need levels engineered to trounce the best Flash-game offerings, and thankfully there’s enough such variety in Drawn to Life. You start in the hub of all action, the unnamed town of the Raposa creatures, which you must stop from becoming deserted by dispelling big clouds of Darkness. As you bring back the people, you’ll be able to shop, talk, and do all other manner of RPG things, but then you set out on the side-scrolling action adventure that’s the meat of the game. You can hop on heads, fire snowballs, punch, and ground-pound; you must also scrub the screen of shadow goo in each area and find the missing pages of the Book of Life. Lots to do.

More than I deign to cover in 200 words, you’ll just have to see Drawn to Life for yourself.

Super Fighting Robot Mega Man

katie — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:49:08 +0000

With a vintage vehicle slated to roll off the line in two short weeks, Mega Man hype has hit a fever pitch. At least it has with me. Whether you celebrate with me or not, I’m starting early by revisiting the Blue Bomber’s other classic series, gathered (in large part) in Megaman X Collection. In reimagining their strongest-selling action series for the Super Nintendo in 1993, Capcom wound up creating an entirely more vicious, theatrical, and sophisticated animal. Unfortunately, it sort of broke loose and went on a rampage of mediocrity after X4–but, having come out before the PS2’s X7 and 8, the Collection only goes up to X6 anyway. That’s a lot of guaranteed good… seriously.The games paint a picture of humanity’s greatest hour, as a robotic race of ‘Reploids’ emerges to be tasked with all the hard menial labour we so want to escape, and with generally helping people. Early on, the series echoes Asimov’s short stories and foreshadows the dangers of mass production and free will among robots, which leads to an epidemic of virus-infected, ‘Maverick’ reploids. Later, I feel the creators lost sight of the most novel aspects of their creation and, most famously, just killed Zero off in every game to be brought back later. TOO much drama.The games are old, the graphics 16- to 32-bit 2-D. But like all Capcom efforts, they were well-executed at the time and remain the best-in-class today. They threw in the Rockman X3 CD audio and anime cutscenes for this release, and of course the later Playstation releases offer more where that came from. It’s all, uh, mega-rockin’. Plus there’s that crappy racing game that had previously only appeared in Japan and Europe to add some value to this package–but really, that’s what first, second, and third are for.

An Uncanny Superhero Game, NOT Based on the Motion Picture!

katie — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:22:54 +0000

Gasp, shock, and amaze! X-Men Legends, released in the midst of the film trilogy, features an original story when it could have easily just retold the mysterious origins of Wolverine… or alluded to them some more. Early on, the 4-player role-playing game takes as its central character a blonde New Yorker named Allison, and as its mission to find out why the Brotherhood so badly wants her in their ranks….Okay, so maybe you do start as Wolverine. But you’ll quickly collect your fellow Mutants from Xavier’s Mansion, after which time the game lets you swap between your chosen four at any ‘X-traction Point’. The gang’s all here: Storm, Iceman, Beast, Gambit… even Cyclops, who was voted the least likable X-Man in a poll conducted for this post. 2 whole people agreed. Anyway, there’s stat upgrades with every level up, armor and item drops, and a slightly-skinny skill tree that represents all the best of homo-superior’s powers. To earn your keep, you’ll have to fight a pretty steep difficulty curve with all your button-mashing might, but there are the special moves and various combos to keep combat interesting.Legends adopts the at-the-time popular cel-shaded style in honor of its comic book roots, but to the effect of making the small character models look grainy and not…meshed with the big locales. It’s not a big issue, especially when they procured the voice-acting talents of several screen actors–even Patrick Stewart to renew his film role as Professor X. X-Men legends is fun alone or with company, and certainly offers a lot for fans of Marvel, superheroes, Marvel Superheroes, and action-RPGs alike.

Far from Dead, Capcom’s Zombies will Rise Again

katie — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:37:42 +0000

A couple summers ago, Capcom joined photojournalism and zombie-slaying in eviscerating matrimony, and Dead Rising became one of the early-ish Xbox 360 titles to be the darling of critics and consumers alike. With this year marking its re-release on Wii, those of you who missed the original (if any) should check it out. You play Frank West, the world’s only photographer with less brains than the mall full of zombies into which he descends for his deathly-exclusive scoop. You have (initially) 72 game hours to uncover the cause of the outbreak, but you’ll more quickly uncover the fact that every zombie is hungry for a Frankfurter. To prevent your own death, you need to take pictures, kill zombies, and complete missions by saving the few (un)lucky surviving mall-rats. You’ll earn Prestige Points and go up levels, learning new moves and generally bettering your chances of not dying. Pick up all the mass-produced crap a mall can offer and use it to kill an endless supply of zombies, be it home hardware, medieval weaponry, lawn mowers, bicycles, benches, even food (which you can also cook and eat).Dead Rising might not– well, let’s be honest. It WILL not look as good on the Wii as it did on the Box, which had splendid model detail, great animations, and vibrant lighting that will be lost. But it will add motion controls… you’ll have to wait and see how it stacks up. There never was, and may never be more to do in any other video game. Capcom does a great honor to source material Dawn of the Dead and its ilk, surpassing the entertainment value of them all.

When you’re Under Pressure from this Cutesy Game, Don’t Choke-obo

katie — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:17:39 +0000

Though the diminutive hero has long been the posterchild for adorable RPG sidekicks and, consequently, heaps upon heaps of merchandise, the latest outing of the fluffy yellow steed is still a toughie. Of the same stock as the barely-graphical DOS games of yore, Diablo, and the unrelated-but-similar Mystery Dungeon titles, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon has, despite a surtitle fit for a bedtime story, the pedigree for pain.

Even with a side venture like this, and one that embraces the younger set, Square Enix still spins a thick and colourful yarn. The Learning Dungeon introduces Cid’s ongoing quest for an artifact modestly called Timeless Power, and from that point on, Chocobo’s Dungeon centres on primordial themes: once you arrive in the town of Lostime, where the tolling of a clocktower bell erases people’s memories, the value of memories becomes the central subject. The 20 main dungeons take players into psycho-analytical territory–quite literally, as using some manner of psycho-active brooch, you teleport into forgetful folks’ heads to restore their lost knowledge. It’s in these dungeons that players will meet several unhappy endings without the proper prudence, and an ample stock of escape items.

Here we have turn-based adventure that doesn’t operate on random encounters, but rather, where your every action sees the enemy take one of their own. In the randomly-generated dungeons, you’ll not only find obvious treasure (and less obvious traps) as you move along, but you’ll cause any enemies on your floor, whether onscreen or not, to take their turns–and if you’re close enough, this might mean a smack in the backside. Yeah, you’ll be minding your own business, eating some of Gysahl Greens (because Chocobo gets hungry, too) and equipping your newest Saddle, cause you figure no one is around–when, way off in the distance, a Flying Eye or Turtle Shade wakes up and promptly seeks you out for Wing Night. In the towns, you’re a free-range Chocobo, permitted to shop, talk, bank, and walk as you please. No one is counting your moves out there.

The production values on this little number are still Square Enix values, and as such, all kinds of talent went into the audio-visual components. Resounding performances of Final Fantasy pieces, from #1’s town theme to Setzer’s theme from VI, rear their orchestrated heads with regularity, and the super-emotive voice acting is perfectly pro. The FMV sequences have all the fluidity and detail possible on the Wii–which still means a lot of flowing hair and flawless complexions–and the in-game models are all crisp, inspired, and/or cute. Only downside is the jaggedness around the edges and some dullness in the colour palette.

I <3 Chocobo and you should too.