Thursday, August 20, 2009

Fallout 3, Blazblue, and Castlevania; Order of Ecclesia


I finally went back and took the time to finish Order of Ecclesia, and while the game was certainly fun, I was a tad disappointed at times. The game pidgeonholes the players into using a few glyphs (the magical mode of attacking in the game) if they wish to proceed in the game. What's that, you like rapiers more than scythes? Well you can use your rapiers as long as you don't mind also doing half as much damage. It's a shame they didn't let the player power up weapons the more often the used them, which was a system implemented for the sub-weapons in Castlevania: Portrait of Sorrow. Overall, good game but a little repetitive.

Blazblue was exactly what I hoped it to be. It's an amazingly immersive 2D fighting game with serious chops for style. Although it's 12-character roster does feel a little cramped at times, I have no real qualms because each and every character plays differently. Each and every character. There's not much more to say about Blazblue. If you're looking for a fighting game to play, this is the one you should get.


I'm about 15-20 hours into Fallout 3, and....I'm still not sure how I feel about it. The idea of the setting is amazing. A Post-apocalyptic world with a 1950s flair. Bioshock did an amazing job with a similar setting by blending 1950s art deco, music, and environment with a sinister and cool genetic thread. Fallout 3 has the music and some of the art down, but the environment...well...it looks post-apocalyptic. When exploring I'm mostly covering large expanses of dirt and sand. Sometimes I'll see a city in the distance and I'll decide to investigate. Oh there are raiders in the city. Nothing else? No? Alright back to the dirt and sand then. Besides that, the whole DC area is a shambles. To get from one area to another you have to go through a bunch of different subway systems, but they all look very similar. I feel like I would enjoy this game a lot more if I didn't spend as much time playing it. A strange notion at first, but hear me out. I feel like I've exhausted the environment. What was meant to be exciting and new when you passed it during the main quest becomes bland and repetitive after passing it 20 times during sidequests. I can see that in some of the DLC expansion packs they add onto the setting, with a swamp setting and a more futuristic setting. Right now? No more sand.

School and other things

So school is starting pretty soon. Monday in fact. I'm happy to go back and see all my friends, but the departure is always bittersweet. I'll miss the time after summer classes ended where I had nothing to do. Now, suddenly, I can feel the crush of homework and responsibility again. I guess this means no more narrow escapes from the police, playing cards in tents on roofs, going to IHOP at 5 in the morning, and everything else I now associate with summer. It also means I have to finalize my classes, get CITI certified for my research group, move all my shit, buy new books, etc. Unfortunately, school worries are just compounded by personal ones. Once I'm back in school I'll be happier, but just because I forget about some of my problems doesn't mean they'll go away.