mozidesign.com Unorganized Thoughts of a Game Designer

You got the touch…

…You got the Power! One of Game Stop’s better ads for showcasing pre-order exclusives.

Looking forward to playing this game is it really seems to do justice towards the Transformers franchise.

Jockey Riders

So it’s like a three legged race… but you have two legs and a jockey on your back.

More details here.

Need a Sentry Here

Sometimes bugs make cool things happen. Not sure if Valve patched this yet, but I’d like it to hang around for a bit just for the humor value.

Gaming, gaming and more gaming…

Been playing a lot games these days and recently I have completed Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted, and Infamous. I am slowly catching up on some the PS 3 exclusives as have only had my console for a few months now, otherwise I have would have a done an Uncharted and Infamous review ages ago.  I figured I do three mini reviews for each game to share my thoughts and opinions about them.

Dragon Age: Origins

I am not really a hardcore RPG fan, but occasionally there are few games of the genre that people say every gamer should at least play once; Dragon Age is one such game. At first I was kind of hesitant to get this game so I borrowed a copy for the 360.  I figured if I liked the game I’ll get my own copy, turned out I did, for the PC. I’ll explain why I choose the PC copy in a bit. Basically to some up Dragon Age it is basically Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KotoR) meets Lord of the Rings. If you have not played KotoR, that is another RPG that every gamer should play, if you have time I’d recommend getting the PC copy or if you  have a 360 just grab the original Xbox release as I am sure it is backwards compatible. (Though double check before you do buy it)

Dragon Age has all the staples of any good RPG with a very solid story, interesting characters and party members, and a diverse array of quests to complete leading towards countless hours of gameplay. However, the one thing that surprised me when I started my second play through was the fact that the game has multiple intros based on your character’s race and status within society. The first time I played the game I choose a human noble. This choice provided an interesting introduction to game as one of the most powerful races in the game world combined with a high social status. This choice granted me some cool perks such as war dog as a pet right from the start of the game. Throughout the game till the end as a human I earned more respect from the other races and characters

On my second play through which I am currently playing I choose an elf mage. In the game world the elves are the lowest race, scorned by everyone. Additionally elves and humans seem to have an ongoing rivalry, and with the humans being on top of the food chain of society they have elves as common help doing chores of cooking, cleaning, etc for them. Though the elves may be a lower caste in the world, one thing most characters in the game world fear is magic. The lore in the game describes mages as being a loose cannon who at anytime may fall to demonic possession through “blood magic” and thus must be watched at all times but simultaneously feared for their inherit powers. So being an elf who can do magic has made some interesting choices in terms of character interactions and quest choices.

Along with amazing character development Dragon Age offers to the player; the quests are also very diverse and detailed. At times one quest can overlap with another depending how the player interacts with the world characters and circumstances of the quest. I would like to describe some really cool examples of this but doing so would spoil the game if you have not played it yet.

Overall if you are looking for a great single player game with a high level of replayability and countless hours of fun then look no further and pickup Dragon Age: Origins. Now earlier I said I played the 360 first then got it on the PC.  The 360 copy was fun but in terms of party management, UI navigation, and controlling tactical combat scenarios it just did not feel right with a game controller. On the PC with a keyboard and mouse a lot of those issues seemed to be nonexistent.  For me, the difference between the two was mainly a usability issue more than a gameplay hindrance. So if you like console games and don’t own a PC or have a PC that is not powerful enough to play some of the recent releases then I’d say get the 360 copy. If you do have a decent machine, get it for PC it just “feels” so much better.

To conclude this review/summary I’d rank Dragon Age as a 9/10.

Uncharted

Just one word is needed to describe Uncharted and that is, awesome! Right from the start of the game the player is strapped in for a roller coaster ride of action and adventure as they step into the shoes of Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter. Similar to how Dragon Age combined KotoR and Lord of the Rings, Uncharted seemed to take the best of Tomb Raider, Gears of War and the Indiana Jones films (pre Crystal Skull that movie sucked…don’t get me started on that!)

From Tomb Raider, Uncharted has some interesting puzzles and exploration mechanics. From Gears of War, Uncharted adopted the cover system which works great. And lastly from Indiana Jones, the game has an excellent narrative based on treasure hunting, and like most Indiana Jones films there are always other parties after the same treasure!

Though gameplay and story are very solid the one thing that sells Uncharted is the world. At the time the game came out, next games seemed to have this crazy ass mandate that realistic scenes in games are portrayed with drab colors such as gray and brown. Adding high levels of bloom and HDR makes things photo realistic. Sure those games looked nice, but one look at Uncharted and you can agree that brown and gray don’t equal to realism.

Just look at that lush jungle! That’s more realistic than let’s say GTA 4 or Gears of War (both games are great for their own merits but seem to lack “color”)

Though one thing I hate in many action adventure games is jumping puzzles, they seems to be a corner stone in the genre but more often than not jumping puzzles suck donkey balls. Why? Well you jump; you miss your target, fall to a horrible death, and reload the level to try again to the same fate over and over till you get it right.  Uncharted did something cool which made jumping puzzles a lot less frustrating where it seemed the game kind of “snapped” you to where you wanted to jump to. Meaning if I had to jump across a gap, I do the jump and make it the first time! Not after my 50^th attempt! The character just snaps to a ledge or a rock and successfully completes the jump. Excellent design choice! Keep the game fun; don’t let stupid ass jumping puzzles ruin it for the player!

My only gripe with the game is the fact that AI are kind of like bullet sponges, and I can see why. It’s a gamey element, the AI have hit points and it takes x amount of shots to bring them down. I usually went for the headshots and took the AI down instantly, so not really a fun breaking moment more just something you notice when playing the game.

I have heard from my co-workers that Uncharted 2 is 50 times better than the first game. Now I am scratching my head thinking how the hell Naughty Dog (devs behind Unchrated) out did shine their own game with the sequel! Well, I’ll find out this week as my copy of Uncharted 2 should be arriving in the mail anytime. Once I beat it I’ll post my thoughts on it.

My score for Uncharted is 9.5/10.

Infamous

This pun is totally intended, as Infamous can be described as electrifying. Giving the player the power to control electricity to kill AI enemies is awesome. Giving the player a world to explore to save or wreck havoc in is also awesome.  Much like with my experience with Assassins’ Creed 2, I could not let go of the controller when playing Infamous, it was too much fun.

The game offers the player choice to be the hero with their powers of electricity or be the ultimate badass who can kill anyone and completely abuse their powers for evil. So which path did I take you ask? The evil path, because some of the powers I could unlock were just so much better than what the heroic side offered in my opinion at least. Though if I have time I’ll go back and play it as nice guy and use my powers for good.

Anyways in terms of gameplay Infamous does have an open world, but the gameplay inside the open world is pretty linear. It is not like GTA where at one time you may have multiple missions from different characters.  The game does offer up side missions which may help you gain new abilities or help rid part of the city from control of various gangs. However, the more you keep playing you’ll see the side quests do become repetitive.

Like any open world game, Infamous has its share of collectibles scattered around the world. Collecting ‘shards’ around the world reward the player by increasing the total amount energy they can use for various electrical attacks. So in way it’s really not a random element like shooting pigeons in GTA 4 or collecting green orbs in Crackdown.

One thing about Infamous is that it has a doppelganger game, Prototype. If I recall correctly from my brief encounters of playing Prototype at trade shows or a friend’s house, is that Prototype like Infamous has a protagonist with crazy powers he can use for good or evil and use those powers in an open world setting. I can’t say if Infamous is better than Prototype or vice versa due to the fact I have not played Prototype start to finish. But from my short gameplay sessions it does seem fun and I’ll have to check it out sometime soon.

My score for Infamous is 8/10

I am pretty happy that the last three games I have played and completed were fun and highly enjoyable. Right now I am playing through Darksiders and I can’t say if I like it or not at this point. However, the more I play it I am starting to agree with Yahtzee’s review of the game. Once I beat it I’ll let you know if I agreed with Yahtzee or had a totally different experience.

Top 10 Games of the Decade

Somewhere between 1998 and 1999 I turned into a “hardcore gamer”. If I recall correctly, in that time frame I got a new computer. A 333MHz machine, armed with a Voodoo 1 (or was it a Voodoo 2?) graphics card and I forget how much RAM but not a lot. With that machine I attended a lot of LAN parties with my high school buddies.

Those were the days…now that I look back since then till now I have played a lot of games over the last decade. At some point I moved from PC only to owning my first console since my Sega Genesis, by getting an Xbox. Later on I moved into the new generation of consoles by picking up a 360 and most recently a PS 3. Additionally over years I kept upgrading my computer to handle the new PC games that kept being released. Looking back over the last 10 years of my gaming career I realized I have played a lot of games. I’d like to take a trip back in time and highlight my top ten favorites. Some of favorites include entire series of games so I just counted it as one.

Unreal Tournament

A high school LAN party favorite! My friends and I have clocked 100’s hours on some classic maps such as DM-Deck 16, DM-Morpheus, DM-Morbias, CTF-Facing Worlds, DM-Turbine, CTF-November, AS-Frigate, and our all time favorite, AS-Overlord. It was this game that got me into level design as I found the Unreal Editor, I made some pretty shitty maps back in the day but little did I know I’d make a living out of it in ten years time! This game had it all, great levels, cool weapons, and amazing AI for days when you needed to brush up on your shooting skills before the next LAN party.

Deus Ex

What can I say about this game that as not already been said over the past decade. This game is flawless, and was one of (perhaps still is) the best single player games ever made. With its engaging story and varied paths of gameplay Deus Ex offered a level of replayability unseen in many single player games during its time. I think the last time I played this game was last year and each time I play it I always find new areas I never knew existed. If you have not played Deus Ex you are seriously missing out on one of the best games ever created in the industry. Stop reading and go get yourself a copy!

Command and Conquer Series (Tiberium Sun, Red Alert 2, and Generals)

In any sort of packaging and theme, Command and Conquer has always been fun. The entire series as a real time strategy game offered a level a plausibility in the unit types offered. However, what made the game fun aside from the fact of commanding your own army was when the crazy units were unlocked. I can’t recall them all but the ones that stood out where the Titans (Tiberium Sun), Attack Squids and Tesla Tanks (Red Alert 2), and finally the Toxin Tractor (Generals)

Grand Theft Auto (GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas)

GTA 3 exploded on to the gaming scene with its open ended sand box gameplay allowing players to wreak havoc upon the citizens of Liberty City. There was never a wrong way to do any mission in GTA 3 or in the entire franchise. If someone tells you to kill a rival gang leader, you could go up to them and shoot them in the face, hit them with a car, or fire a bazooka from a few miles away. The possibilities were endless! Vice City is probably my favorite of the three, just the whole 80’s vibe made the game even more fun that it was in GTA 3. San Andreas has mixed feelings from gamers, some who love it and some who found it to be too much with a much larger world to explore than Liberty City and Vice City combined. Whatever your opinions are about San Andreas, there is something to be said about a game which allows you to use a jet pack to fly around the city and cause chaos to your heart’s content!

Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR)

I was never really into RPGs (Role Playing Games) until KotOR. The game had a slow start I can agree to that but once you got your light saber, the fun began. KotOR had some really great characters and an amazing story. During gameplay your actions, dialog choices, and force power selections, lead you to either the lightside or darkside of the force. I played the game twice to experience both sides, and I found darkside to be more fun. Again like Deus Ex, if you have not played KotOR go play it, you won’t be disappointed!

Half-Life 2

Back in 1998 the FPS genres of games became more than just shooting anything that moves. Half-Life gave gamers a compelling story as they played the silent protagonist, Gordon Freeman, trying to escape the Black Mesa science facility. Half-Life 2 brought back the silent hero once again, and along with him new characters were introduced to help the player on their journey through City 17. For an FPS game Half-Life 2’s story was very compelling just like its predecessor and added a lot of depth and emotion as the player interacted with the other characters within the world.

Supreme Commander

This game is the offspring of a fantastic game entitled Total Annihilation. What makes this game standout for me was the sheer fact that the game offered an almost unlimited unit cap, unlike other RTS games where after a certain point no more units could be created. The sight of seeing hundreds of tanks, jets, and ships move across the battle field was sight to see. Also this game required the use of tactics.  Sometimes a direct assault on an enemy position would result in the slaughter of your forces. Thus it required some thinking to wage war with the right units, almost like a game of rock-paper-scissors. Not only did one need to fight with the right units but directions of attacks mattered a lot. A direct attack usually would end with epic failure.  This game also required some physical stamina as a single mission could easily last up to three hours!

Gears of War (1 and 2)

This is probably the definition of solid third person combat as Gears of War offered a very fluid and easy to learn cover system. The presentation was also well done with the idea of ‘destroyed beauty’, something very cool yet morbid about fighting through a war torn world.  Some may argue me on this but Gears of War had some very creative weapons such as the machine gun with a chainsaw bayonet. All of them seemed plausible but had a touch of science fiction added to them, making them work inside the universe of Gears of War. Along with the cover system and weapons, Gears of War offered some very intelligent and brutal AI.

Civilization Revolution

Civilization holds special place in my gaming career as during middle school I rarely at lunch. I would spend that time in the computer lab with my mates playing the original Civilization every single day of the week. The game was quite complex but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. There were several iterations on the PC side over the years with part two, three, and four which are all great games. But Civilization Revolution on the Xbox 360 was just something else. At first I thought there is no way such a complex PC game could work on a console.  I was proven wrong! Civilization Revolution was built from the ground up for the 360 and made all the elements of micromanagement irrelevant and kept the core gameplay loop of making the best damn civilization on the face of the earth fun with a game controller!

Left 4 Dead (1+2)

Shooting mindless zombies is fun. Doing it with four of your best mates even better! Getting yourself and seven of your other buddies for a game of humans vs. zombies, an absolute blast! This is Left 4 Dead, Valve’s co-op shooter. Nothing says teamwork more than helping your buddy up as they are injured and having your other friends back you up as they shoot up hordes of incoming zombies! Versus mode allows you to turn the table on your friends and take control of one of the many special infected zombies! This game is just the definition of fun, Valve made a game that is never the same no matter how many times you play it. This because their AI director makes a new scenario for each session of Left 4 Dead. Sometimes the AI director can create a fun scenario and at other times it can make the most diabolical scenario sending hordes of zombies and special infected at the player. But with the team work of four player co-op, nothing is too hard!

There you have it, my top 10 games over the last decade.  However, making these choices was not easy as I had a long list of games I enjoyed over the years. Here are the runner ups for my top 10 games:

• Quake 3
• Unreal Tournament 2k3/2k4
• Warcraft 3
• Unreal 2: XMP
• Jedi Knight 2:  Jedi Outcast
• Jedi Academy
• Brothers in Arms
• God of War 1+2
• FEAR 1+2
• Saints Row 1+2
• GTA 4
• Fallout 3
• Crackdown
• Burnout 3
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Ninja Gaiden 2
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Street Fighter 4
• Team Fortress 2
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Borderlands
• Dragon Age
• Assassin’s Creed 1+2
• Shadow Complex

I am really looking forward to what the next ten years has in store for gaming and the gaming industry!

Drum Covers

Happy 2010 everyone! Thanks for visiting my site for the past three years, I really appreciate it, almost up to 20,000 visitors!

Over the holiday break I recorded some drum covers of some songs on my Tama kit. None of these are perfect by any means, I just did them for fun. Feel free to leave comments on the videos and please try to be constructive if you have suggestions or feedback. Enjoy!

Iron Maiden-Wicker Man

Dethklok-DethHarmonic

Megadeth-A Tout Le Monde

Doom Remix Project- E1M1