Beyond Co-Op Reviews: January 09 - Fallout 3, Persona 4, Prince of Persia and More!
Review System(s): XBox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, PC, Nintendo DS
PC, MAC
Aquaria was a game I had heard about close to a year ago, but I passed it by because there was so many other games to play. With its recent release on Steam I thought I’d finally play it, and man I wish I had picked it up sooner. Everything about this indie title is simply beautiful. From the music, to the scenery, to the story and characters, Aquaria is one of those games that manages to completely draw you into its world. The premise of Aquaria is that you are Naija, a sea dweller that lives happily in a serene corner of the ocean and has no recollection of her past. Her idyllic life is suddenly disturbed by an odd event and she discovers that a dark mystery waits for her in the world beyond her small corner of paradise.
While the story and setting are both refreshing, Aquaria’s gameplay is fairly familiar and can best be compared to Metroid. You’ll swim from one area of the world to the next earning abilities that grant access to new areas while the mystery behind what happened to Naija’s world and her past starts to unravel. While I’m a fan of Metroidvania-type games, all that traveling can get a bit tedious at times. Some of that tedium is abated thanks to a warp system and the interesting way Naija activates her abilities. In Naija’s world there is a force that runs throughout known as “The Verse”. Naija is so attuned to this force that she can manipulate it through songs that allow her to lift objects, transform, and summon aid. Fortunately, all the songs can be accessed from the menu so there’s no need to memorize or write them all down somewhere. While it might sound silly to get your powers through a little ditty, it fits perfectly into the game and gives it a more unique feel.
Aquaria delivers an engaging and interesting story with some fantastic visuals, a great soundtrack, and a unique ability mechanic. I definitely recommend giving it a playthrough.
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Its really freaky to explore more of the information stored in the computer terminals that survived such as what was going down at Vault 87 and such.
It may not compare to the great old school rpgs (Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 2 and 3 US numbers) but it still is a quality that is all its own.
Likewise, if you powered through FO3 in 20 hours and stuck to the main line quest, you wouldn't learn much about the story, but Bethesda made a world that's *alive* -- every town has a back story that's unique. Individual characters don't get hours and hours of development, but there's little details you pick up in conversation.
In short, it's not the same "class" of game as a classic JRPG. They didn't take a little novel and wrap a game around it, letting you play out the fighty bits (not that there's anything wrong with that!); they fleshed out a world, and the world *is* the story.
Good to see someone got was I was pointing at through my rambling hehe.
I haven't played PoP yet, but everybody's been saying it's way too short and way too easy. I still plan to buy it eventually (maybe after the effects of the Great Holiday Flood have worn off a bit) but it's certainly no Fallout.
Fallout 3 just lacked a certain something. It was good, but it was far from being a must buy. As seen here, people got bored with it fairly easily.
This is just one of those different strokes kind of things everyone has their opinion, and Fallout3 I can agree is not for everyone.
I have put it down but only because alot of great coop/multiplayer games have come out and I generally would rather play coop with my wife then here her complain when I play F3 solo lol.
Total Comments: 9
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Uncharted 2: Among Thieves on Playstation 3
Call of Duty: World at War on Wii
AI War on PC
Castle Crashers on Xbox Live Arcade
Pixel Junk Monsters on Playstation Network
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I am just shocked that this got a silver statue.
While yes, seeing things explode is fun, but good gosh after the 2nd time does anyone else find it getting old?
Not to mention, I cannot see how Elder Scrolls and this game are called RPGs.
None of these games created characters with more depth than a block of soap.
While yes I do own this game. I haven't touched it since Left 4 Dead came out.
They have improved on some elements, but the core concept of any RPG is story and presentation. Sun glaring at you and bodies exploding are not examples of good presentation.
By presentation, I mean character. People you meet who seem like people. Games like Gears 2 and Halo have better characterization than any Bethesda game I've seen.
The only reason, why I brought the game was the fact that I realized I spent 40-odd hours walking around. Which is fun.
Forget the horribly, disfigured thing in the corner crying while rocking back and forth. That's what call a "story".
Grab your trusted rifle, pick a direction and go explore!
I am a explorer and this game, though indirectly, really lets me explore.