Singularity and Lara Croft and Guardians of Light and No L.A. Noire

So, L.A. Noire has been put on the backburner for awhile. While I really do like the game and the technology involved with it, it started to drag a bit, and with my extremely limited gaming time, I wanted to spend it playing something I'm going to really have fun with. So, I put L.A. Noire away for a little while and popped in Singularity.

I didn't know much about Singularity outside of it being an FPS when I bought it. It was only $8 though and generally I'll buy almost any game for sub $10. So I put in the disc with very little previous knowledge, started playing, and so far I've been pleasantly surprised. Singularity is a great game. It has a very Bioshock feel to it, an abandoned location with people who have been mutated (though in Singularity they are much closer to monsters then humans) audio logs laying around to listen to to get backstory, scrawled messages on the walls, people talking to you over a com system, etc...

When the game first starts all you have is a knife then eventually a gun and it is pretty standard FPS fare. Singularity uses some jump out scares to try and catch you off guard, but for the most part the game isn't scary, it's creepy. The atmosphere of a burnt out school with charred corpses huddling under desks, will raise the hair on the back of your neck, while blood trails and disemboweled corpses will keep your trigger finger ready for action at all times.

I haven't played too far into the game yet, but I did get far enough to unlock the thing that seperates Singularity from other FPS's and makes it original. You gain a device that can control time. Not like slowing down and speeding it up(though it does slow down some enemies) but more like aging and renewing things. Once you unlock it, certain items will put an orange stripe on your hud or a blue stripe. The colors signify whether you can age or renew an item. Aging it will destroy it and leave it a broken husk, while renewing an item...well, renews it. So far it's been used pretty well, at one point I had to age a box, which caused it to collapse, then place it under a door, then renewed it to lift the door up so I could fit under it. You also use the device as a weapon, sometimes slowing down enemies, sometimes aging them into dust. I ran into one "portal" that when manipulated took me back in time to prevent the death of a scientist. When I went back to the present, he was there waiting for me. This is where I left off in the story, so I'll talk more about it next time.

Downloaded Lara Croft: The Guardians of Light last night because it was finally on sale for a mere 600 MS points. It was definitely points well spent. Delved into it last night late, after I was done playing Singularity, and finished the first level. I'm playing it solo right now and it is truly great, I can definitely imagine it will be even better playing coop. When you play solo you play as Lara and your partner (whose name escapes me at the moment) gives you a spear to use as well as your gun. I don't know if he keeps the spear in coop or not but I'm thinking that is how it might work. Hopefully I'll be able to play it coop soon and find out.

The game plays from a 3/4 isometric view (which I've always been a fan of) and controls using both sticks, left to move, right to aim, you hold the right trigger to fire. Y sets and detonates bombs. The spear is used as a weapon, and as a means to reach higher ledges. You can throw them into walls and jump on them. Lara is also equipped with a grappling device that, so far, I've only used a few times, It hooks to specific places only and Lara can climb up walls with it. I'm not sure if it will have a further purpose yet, but if it does, I'm sure I'll talk about it here.

Still have Dead Space 2 sitting and waiting, and today, I purchased Half -Minute Hero from the Arcade. Not sure when I'm going to play either of them but I'll have something to say soon. I'll probably try to get some time with Half-Minute Hero first so that this blog is at least a little up to date with newer games.

I won the Stanley Cup this week...in NHL '09. I'm tempted to upgrade to '10 or '11 but I'm not sure I'm going to. Maybe I'll look into '12...I'm just not that big of a Hockey fan. Now, football...that's another story. Madden '12 is coming in August and I'm starting to feel the Madden itch. THE MITCH! I'm not going to go too far into it but I definitely like what I'm reading about it. Improved Franchise Mode is the thing I'm most excited about. New ways of trading and signing free agents, this is stuff that hasn't really changed in years. The gameplay is always upgraded a little every year, so hearing they are finally addressing some of the meat and potatoes of the game...well, that's just the best news.

The Game Beard is out for now. Next time I'll get more into Singularity and Lara Croft, maybe into Half-Minute Hero and Dead Space 2, and maybe I'll even have finished L.A. Noire or Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. I think a post to talk about the titles I'm excited for that are coming this fall might be in order as well. WHO KNOWS? The Game Beard is a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a fluffy beard.

A quick update-y post

Not much has been going on around here. Had to give LA Noire a break. I think it is because I'm stuck watching investigation and crime shows all day, and random cop dramas at night. Kind of takes away the fun of LA Noire. So, I started playing my season of NHL '09. Not a typo, still trying to finish a season of '09. I'm 1 game away from the Stanley Cup Finals! I'm going to do it!

Other then that, I picked up Dead Space 2 for $20 and Singularity for $8. Once I sink my teeth into them, I'll be doing some yapping about them too.

See everyone later.

Top Ten Songs in Video Games

Alright, I'm not talking licensed songs like in Grand Theft Auto, I'm talking music made specifically for the game it is found in. This is my list, not yours so if you don't agree, or have a song that didn't make it on the list, put it in the comments so I can be proven wrong.

I'm going to try to limit it to one song per game so Nobuo Oematsu doesn't completely dominate my list with FFVI. Also, this is not a list of the most iconic songs so you won't see The Super Mario Bros. theme, or the Zelda theme on here.

Now, ON TO THE LIST...and my first time including anything other then text in a blog post.

10. Wild Arms - Wild Arms Theme

What a great song. It really captured the wild west theme that the game sought out to portray. Whistling in songs is always welcome(as a matter of fact, several songs on this list include whistling). Just a great song to a great and underrated game.

9. FFVII - One Winged Angel

Yup, a final fantasy song but this one is one of the best. FFVII was packed with good music, but One Winged Angel stands out as the best song in the bunch. A difficult feat for sure. It's the song that plays during the final boss fight and it encompasses the battle perfectly. It's powerful and dramatic and sucks you right into the emotion of the moment.

8. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Dance of Pearls

This was another tough choice. Castlevania has always been known for excellent music and Symphony of the Night might be the best of the bunch, therefore, choosing one song was incredibly difficult. In the end though, I went with Dance of Pearls, the mesmerizing tune which plays on your way through Olrax's lair. There were a few other songs that easily could have gone here in it's place but in the end, and with some listening, Dance of Pearls wins by a nose.

7. Beyond Good and Evil - Home Sweet Home

Beyond Good and Evil might be the best game that very few people seemed to play. Hopefully with it's recent HD release on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network it will get more attention. Such a beautiful game, and such a beautiful song to accompany it. Home Sweet Home plays during the ending credits and it just ties together perfectly with the moment. Truly something that everyone should hear.

6. Blue Dragon - Eternity(Boss Theme)

I've heard people agree with me about how awesome this song is, and I've heard people talk about how horrible it is. Either way though, it leads to discussion. It sounds like an 80's rock anthem, probably because it was performed by an 80's rocker. Ian Gillian was the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple for a number of years and even sang lead for Black Sabbath for a year. The song repeats a lot during every boss fight in the game and it does a great job getting and keeping you pumped up for the fight. It's big and loud and awesome.

5. Katamari Damacy - Que Sera Sera

This was a tough one. I struggled for awhile deciding between this and Katamari on the Rocks(NA NAAAA NANANANANA NA NA N-NA NA NA NA NAAA). I nthe end I went with Que Sera Sera because when I first got the soundtrack I listened to it about 20 times straight and I just absolutely love it. Katamari on the Rock is a fantastic song in it's own right, and definitely the better known of the two, but Que Sera Sera with it's lounge-y sound and awesome lyrics (I want to wad you up into my life) wins the day in my heart, and if we aren't listening to our hearts, then what's the point?

4. Nier - Song of the Ancients/Devola

There are 4 versions of the Song of the Ancients: Devola, Popola, Fate, and Hollow Dreams. They are all excellent, and I had a hard time picking one for this list. In the end I went with Devola because frankly, it is simply a beautiful piece of music. Hell, every song in this game is fantastic. Whether or not you like the game itself (of which there is a lot of debate) the music in it is top notch. Song of the Ancients/Devola is the best diamond in a pile of other diamonds.

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - Snake Eater

Oh man, Snake Eater...one of the best games I've ever played, and this is one of the best songs ever crafted for a game. It is the only song on this list that I also have had as a ringtone. It's a direct ripoff of an old James Bond type theme and it is simply brilliant. It is the perfect accompaniment to the game. The lyrics are kind of ridiculous at time but that just adds to the charm. You can tell it was written tongue-in-cheek. The melody and vocals are amazing. I almost made this number one but a couple of songs from the same composer just edged it out. It was close though.

2. Lost Odyssey - Neverending Journey

I love Lost Odyssey. It's the best RPG released on the current generation of consoles and it hold up against a lot of the best RPG's of all time. The music in it was done by famed composer Nobuo Oematsu, probably best known for scoring a lot of Final Fantasy games. In fact, his music takes up the top 2 spots on the countdown. Neverending Journey is the music that plays when you are on the world map. The song is so damn good that it is responsible for adding hours to my overall game time as I just left it running over and over so I could enjoy it. It's another song with whistling in it and a couple of minutes in, the song really kicks in high gear. Awesome, awesome, awesome song and only gets beat out for number one due to nostalgia and emotion.

1. FFVI - Aria di Mezzo Carattere

Known by most simply as the "Opera House song" Aria di Mezzo Carattere is an absolute gorgeous piece of music. What makes it more amazing is how limited music was by cartridge based systems of the past. The notes used to represent the singing create a haunting tone that really makes you feel the music. The lyrics (as read on screen) really aren't anything fantastic though they speak of a love seperated by distance and war but that really has nothing to do with the quality of the song. I chose it for number one because of how much emotion it pulls out of you without a single word. I'm sure a lot of it is nostalgia as well, but in the end Aria di Mezzo Carattere or The Opera House song is my personal favorite piece of video game music ever composed. Listen to it and enjoy.

Nier is a good game

It really is. Don't listen to what anyone says over in this place unless they are agreeing with me...

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=136647&page=45

Still No Gaming

Still little to no gaming going on and probably won't be any for a couple of weeks at least. I have been playing a fair amount of Pokemon: White since my DS is one of the only things I can play and I'm nearing the end. This is a milestone moment for me...a chance to finish a Pokemon game, a feat I have never accomplished in the past. I haven't checked a walkthrough or anything, but I'm fairly certain I'm right at the end. I've got all 8 badges, I've beat the guy they made out to be the end boss, I've captured the legendary Zekrom...I'm right at the cusp...and of course, I don't feel like playing it anymore. I'm thinking I'm going to finally pop in Dragon Quest IX but if I do before I finish Pokemon then there is a real chance that I never finish it at all. This used to be a big issue for me, I would fight until the end of a game then never finish it. I don't really know why but lately I've overcome it and have been sure to finish most every game I've played.

I do have my PS3 hooked up and during the brief times I've found to play it, I've split the time between Wipeout and Demon's Souls. I got Wipeout for free as part of Sony's WHOOPS package, alone with Dead Nation. It's been a week and I'm still waiting for Dead Nation to finish downloading. Wipeout is fantastic though a bit shallow. I really have fun with it and it is absolutely gorgeous to look at, but their is something missing from the gameplay. I can't quite put my finger on it but it might be that is lacks punch or oomph. When you crash into another vehicle at 800mph the experience should be bone shattering as opposed to feeling like a fist bump with your bro. It doesn't ruin the game, but it does detract from it's overall awesomeness.

Demon's Souls is old, I know, but I was really late to get it and it is the kind of game I can only spend a little bit of time on each time I play it. The game is kind of like S&M in that you better enjoy being beaten if you want to play. It's brutally and unapologetically difficult. It doesn't care about you. Demon's Souls isn't going to hold you hand, instead it will rip your arm off and beat you, not to death, because death would show mercy. Demon's Souls beats you until you are begging for death, then it revives you and beats you again.

Dark Souls is coming out this year and despite looking awesome as all hell, I'm torn on whether or not to buy it. I'm going to base my decision on how far into Demon's Souls I get. If I haven't beat it, I'm not buying Dark Souls until I do. Or, I'll just wait to find Dark Souls cheap and snatch it up.

I need another great RPG to play. Last time I had this feeling I picked up Lost Odyssey and it was an excellent decision. Right now though, as I look through the list of Xbox and PS3 RPG's I haven't played, there just isn't anything grabbing me. I'm considering Eternal Sonata but I've been avoiding it for years because it just doesn't look perfectly appealing to me. Most likely, I'll finally start Resonance of Fate which has been sitting on my shelf collecting dust for quite a while. Not going to happen until we get all moved into our own place though. If, and it's a big if, I actually get any time on my 360, I'll be finishing L.A. Noire.

That's it for this entry I guess. Nothing terribly interesting to talk about since I'm not playing any games right now. Look forward to another top 10 list coming as soon as a write it, and hopefully, a final write up for L.A. Noire when I finish it.

Gabbing about E3

Well, The Game Beard finds himself in a position where he can't really play many video games so I've got nothing specific to talk about. Still haven't played anymore LA Noire! Soon, I will figure out how to do some gaming and get back to my multi-part LA Noire discussion.

However, since I've played absolutely nothing in a couple weeks, I'm going to talk about E3 instead.

Let's start with Microsoft. The Xbox 360 had a pretty solid showing at E3. MS showed some Kinect support though there is still a pretty severe lack of any type of serious gaming for their hands free motion controller. I bought one pretty soon after it came out and am pretty much done with Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures, and Dance Central. They did show Dance Central 2, which looks pretty fun, but nothing blew me away for the Kinect and that disappoints me. I was hoping 2011 would be the year of the Kinect and it doesn't look that way. They did show some Kinect compatibility for games like Fable and some EA sports games but it is mostly just added features. It concerns me greatly that Microsoft doesn't know how to apply their motion controller to more serious gaming applications but we'll see. Maybe 2012 will be the year of the Kinect (I doubt it). Strongly considering selling mine at this point.

Halo fans can rejoice as Microsoft and 363 Studios promised not one, not two, but three new Halo games for the future. They showed off some footage of Halo 4 and also announced a remake of the original with improved graphics and online play.

Some solid demos of Gears 3, the new Tomb Raider game (which I'm absolutely pumped for) and of course Modern Warfare 3(which I'm not). They also showed a new emphasis on home entertainment announcing live TV and streaming music all controllable via Kinect with voice and hand communication. Nothing extremely exciting but it all looks pretty good.

Sony surprised me and a lot of other people when it announced the price point for it's new do-everything handheld. They also gave it an official name...the Vita! And it won't cost $599 US Dollars! It's only going to cost $249 which suddenly thrusts out of disinterested and into very interested. I never owned a PSP because Sony refused to lower the price of their original handheld for ages. The Vita is going to be a lot more then the PSP though. They finally have dual analog sticks to go along with a multi-touch display. It has a bunch of stuff I don't particularly care about like front and rear cameras, a 3G option for another $50, and a bunch of other stuff I'll never use. It also has some kickass specs under the hood and they showed some great demos of games like Modnation Racers and LittleBigPlanet. Color me excited(I always say it is hot pink). Sony also showed off the game I'm most excited for this holiday season, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, and it looks ridiculous as expected. Nothing else particularly stood out for Sony. The Vita is the big announcement and it looks pretty promising. It's slated for a holiday 2011 release right now.

Nintendo just wrapped up their conference and the big announcement was, of course, the predecessor to the Wii. It has a name now, the WII U! and a controller, a gigantic 6"+ touchscreen monstrosity, and a stable of future games. Nintendo finally catches up with Sony and Microsoft and leaps into the HD era (about 6 years too late) planning to release the Wii U sometime in 2012. Apparently all the old Wii accessories will still work on it, but it is going to be powerful enough to run games like Batman: Arkham City, Dirt, Ninja Gaiden 3, etc...all of which will have been playable on 360 or PS3 for months before the Wii U is released. Probably the coolest feature is the ability to play the console on the controller's touch screen. So if your wife wants to watch Army Wives and you want to play whatever first party Nintendo game is out at the time, you can both be happy! The controller has a camera too because every electronic device released after the Geneva Convention is required by international law to have a camera on it.

Outside of that Nintendo showed off the new Zelda and blah, blah, blah. The Wii U is really all of the news for Nintendo. It's looks intriguing as all hell. I'm very interested in how much this 6.2" touchscreen controller that can stream games is going to cost.

Overall, it's been a pretty decent E3. Two new consoles unveiled and some really good looking games. Oh, I almost forgot to talk about Battlefield 3 which looks to seriously unseat Modern Warfare as the king of first person war shooters with online action and tanks. Seriously though, it looks amazing. I've never been a big Battlefield guy, spending my time instead with Modern Warfare but Battlefield 3 has converted me like hall of famer Rod Carew to Judaism. The new "Frostbite" engine looks amazing, and they stressed relentlessly about how it will be "subscription free".

E3 is always an exciting time and this year has been no different. Exciting new games, new consoles, new ip's and old ip's, remakes, collections, etc...it all adds up to another expensive holiday season and a promising 2012 for gamers everywhere.