61 Frames Per Second

Browse by Tags

• Watcha Playing Xmas Swag Edition: Rune Factory 2

  When the Father of the Bride's neck is thicker than your entire torso, it pays to get on his good side. In a previous post I listed some games I had missed out on and didn't really expect to play any time soon if at all. Well, one of those games found its way to me for Xmas I'm happy to report, so naturally I played the heck out of it over my generous holiday break. I speak of course of Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon. For anyone familiar with this long running series, these are role playing games based on creating social ties with the locals and farming. I can only imagine what that pitch meeting sounded like when this idea was first introduced. A bazillion sequels later and it's proven itself a winner. Other than a brief introduction with Harvest Moon 64, this is the first time I've seriously played one of these games and I find it mesmerizingly addictive, as have so many others willing to give this sort of thing a chance. However, I have to say one thing up front. This is one of those types of games that should not have reality based reasoning applied to it. Naturally, I've been thinking a little too deeply about what all is happening in game and for your amusement, I figure I'll share my musings with you. Read More... Posted Jan 05 2009, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: amber ahlborn, ds, watcha playing, rune factory 2

• Watcha' Playing: Castlevania – Order of Ecclesia

  The Giant Enemy Crab lives forever in infamy. The latest Castlevania game to hit the DS is possibly the best one yet, or at the least it rubs shoulders with the best in the series in this gamer's opinion. Ever since the series started taking cues from Metroid, Castlevania (in 2D) hasn't messed much with what's become a winning formula. That said, the series has gotten a little bit stale. The point where this really came home for me was with Portrait of Ruin: a solid and fun game that I just had a heck of a time getting into. It took two false starts before I buckled down and played the game all the way through. Ecclesia however, feels fresh. Read More... Posted Nov 17 2008, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: castlevania, amber ahlborn, ds, watcha playing, castlevania order of ecclesia

• Watcha Playing: Soul Bubbles Again

  I get upset when I play a game that is really good, and really tanked on the market. I hate playing a game that some development team really believed in, to the point of setting it up for a sequel, only to know too few people bought it to keep the budding series alive. It angers me to see a game design that goes off the beaten path, bring to life a fun concept, only to have the consumer public ignore it in favor of the games plodding down the well worn trench of safe design. Why do good games fail? Poor to nonexistent advertising is one reason, being too original is another. Consumers are timid creatures, easily frightened by things that are different. Being sold exclusively at Toys R Us is also a reason for a good game to fail. Read More... Posted Oct 28 2008, 11:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: amber ahlborn, ds, watcha playing, soul bubbles

• Watcha Playing: World of Goo

  Have you ever become aware of a game that other people talked about enthusiastically but it just didn't interest you, only to play it and fall in love? I'm not a puzzle game fan. I like some action in my games. I like interesting characters and adventure. Puzzle games tend to be, at best, rentals for me. There are exceptions of course, individual games that were so addictively enjoyable that I would play them obsessively. Tetrisphere was one puzzle game that I loved, and regret not buying. Now, around a decade later, another puzzle game has taken over my life. Welcome to the World of Goo. Read More... Posted Oct 21 2008, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: wii, amber ahlborn, world of goo, wiiware, watcha playing

• Watcha Playing: DDR and Helix

  These days where it's easy to put on extra weight but the in vogue body type is just left of emaciated, it's easy to have a poor body image of yourself and think you need to drop a few pounds for aesthetic purposes. Frankly, I think this is a bum deal and a lousy reason to exercise. I'm neither fat nor thin and could not care less about how much I weigh, but I do care about my health. I'd also like to have more energy than I typically do. Unfortunately, I lead a very sedentary life. My art requires I sit down at a drawing table, my writing has me sitting at my computer, and my favorite pastimes of reading and gaming have me planted on my butt too. A while ago I decided that some how, some way, I was going to squeeze exercise into my schedule and stick to it. Of course, I've made such promises to myself before. So, what's a gamer to do? Why, whip out the Wii of course! Read More... Posted Oct 16 2008, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with no comments Filed under: wii, dance dance revolution, amber ahlborn, wiiware, watcha playing, helix

• Watcha Playing: Castlevania - Portrait of Ruin

  I have had Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin ever since it was released, but only now am I finally going to beat it. The first time I played it, I screwed up and wasn't going to get the best ending. Yeah, I'm one of those gamers who would rather start over than continue after making a bad plot point choice. Unfortunately, I just haven't been in the mood for a Castlevania game for quite a long time. After a few false starts, the game has languished on my shelf for months. There's another Castlevania coming for the DS soon, however, so it's time I closed the book on this one. Read More... Posted Oct 09 2008, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: castlevania, amber ahlborn, ds, watcha playing, castlevania portrait of ruin

• Watcha Playing: Secret of Evermore

  You see, people? That's what video games are all about. Giant aliens with clearly visible weakspots that glow red. And you have to fight them off with a bone. A bone. I was too busy playing Earthbound when Secret of Evermore was released, and thanks to the magic of emulation, I'm able to catch up on what I missed back when I was eleven. Playing through this game makes me wonder why nearly all other JRPG's haven't copped to its simple formula of real time battles, blending Lengend of Zelda action and traditional JRPG battle mechanics. Fighting is much more interesting and intense than most JRPG's, and the genre is just now catching up to it with the Tales of...series. Thing is, Evermore does it much better. Today's RPG makers should really take note, especially those who think that Paper Mario-style timed attacks counts for engagement. The other thing that really stand out to me is the ambient music, which is far and away better than just about any Super Nintendo game I've ever played, outside of maybe Donkey Kong Country (Just talking ambience, folks). Canyons echo, deserts swirl with wind, and dank caves drip.  Of course its the little things as well.  The menu system is so compact and useful, the boss battles are so gripping, and the pacing is superb. Two thumbs, way up. Awesome vintage commercial after the jump: Read More... Posted Oct 06 2008, 04:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, watcha playing, super nintendo, squaresoft, secret of evermore

• Watcha Playing: Blast Works -Build-Trade-Destroy-

  After sitting in my game drawer for at least a month, I've finally torn the cellophane off my copy of Blast Works, a quirky SHMUP that plays the same as Tumiki Fighters, another quirky SHMUP you've probably never heard of. Basically you play by piloting a little ship through a scrolling gauntlet of little enemy ships determined to shoot your little ship out of the sky, standard procedure right? Where the quirkiness comes in is in the upgrade department. In most shooters you catch power-ups or buy better equipment to enhance your ship. In Blast Works, you scavenge what you shoot. Read More... Posted Sep 23 2008, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with no comments Filed under: wii, shmup, amber ahlborn, watcha playing, shooter, blast works

• Watcha Playing: Opoona

  As a self-confessed JRPG addict who should have quit using half a decade ago, I tend to try just about anything and everything in the genre--thanks to the work of my inner demons.  Sometimes this works out in my favor, with games like Persona 3: FES, but more often than not I'm trudging through something like Eternal Sonata with no means of escape.  I'm not quite sure where Opoona falls on the cream-to-crap spectrum, but after about three hours, I can at least tell you that it's different. Allow me to explain: The Good: That dude on the right is your protagonist, so that should give you a good indication of what you're in for; Opoona isn't your typical Japanese gingerbread version of Tolkien.  Instead, it's a quirky little space RPG about a family of aliens stranded on a distant planet.  What also separates Opoona from your typical JRPG is the control setup; you only use the Wiimost Nunchuck, which--aside from some problems moving the camera--feels like the optimal configuration for this kind of game.  It makes me think of how great the short-lived one-handed PSX controller from Ascii could have been--it wasn't just a suggestive piece of fiction joked about during the release of Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.  Anyhow, the simple, action-y battle system--based entirely around throwing the "bonbon" on Opoona's head--works great with the limited controls available on the Nunchuck. As a relatively loading-free experience, Opoona gets right what a lot of RPGs get wrong. For a genre known for its fragmented gameplay, there's nothing worse than constant, awkward pauses breaking up what would be an otherwise good game.  A flash of black between rooms and battles is all you'll notice in Opoona--if you do notice it. The game also has a surprising soundtrack by hotshot composer Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy Tactics, Odin Sphere) that does have its moments of bombast, but manages to play around with the Opoona's lighthearted theme in a way that feels very different than his usual work. More impressions after the cut. Read More... Posted Sep 12 2008, 03:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: wii, watcha playing, jrpg, bob mackey, opoona

• Watcha Playing: Geometry Wars Galaxies

  When I was a kid and had all the time in the world to play games I had no money to buy them. Now I'm an adult with a halfway decent paycheck I can afford to buy any game I want. Unfortunately that paycheck is attached to a full time job so I have little time to play. That is cruel irony. I have always loved beefy games; full blown action adventures, platformers, and the biggest time sinks of all, RPGs. However, it is only relatively recently that I've come to fully appreciate quick fix games; games like Geometry Wars Galaxies that I can play for hours or minutes and still get the full experience. Read More... Posted Sep 10 2008, 10:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: wii, amber ahlborn, watcha playing, geometry wars

• Whatcha Playing?: Final Ninja

  I reviewed some random Wii Worms sequel a while back. I considered its biggest downfall to be its glaring lack of ninja rope, the endlessly satisfying tool that allowed you to bounce and swing your worms around the screen very quickly. I often thought that Team 17 should make a spinoff platform game centering on this mechanic. They didn't, but someone else did. Let me be clear. Final Ninja is the finest platformer I have played in the last decade, easily. You can beat it in under an hour, but it's arguably the best 2D platformer since Super Metroid. Believe it.   Read More... Posted Aug 21 2008, 01:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with no comments Filed under: super metroid, bionic commando, cole stryker, watcha playing, final ninja

• Watcha Playing: Kororinpa Marble Mania

  Way back in the day, I played a quirky little game called Marble Madness. It was a game where you controlled a marble and had to safely roll it through mazes filled with marble eating tube worms and other obstacles, all while trying not to fall off the edge. This was back on the NES so you didn't tilt the maze, you controlled the marble directly, though it still had pretty darn good weight and momentum as you directed it through the M.C. Escher-esque mazes. That's one nifty thing about 2-D. You can use it to draw 3-D looking objects that defy three dimensional reality. Read More... Posted Aug 21 2008, 11:00 AM by Amber Ahlborn with | with no comments Filed under: marble madness, wii, nes, amber ahlborn, watcha playing, marble mania, kororinpa, super monkey ball

• Watcha Playing: Ninja Gaiden - Dragon Sword

  This is my first play of a Ninja Gaiden game. Back in the NES days I was aware of the series but at the time I pretty much only played hop-and-bop platformers. I did buy the original title on the Virtual Console, but VC games are at the bottom of my backlog pile. So, Dragon Sword is my series introduction and it's a pretty darn good one. Read More... Posted Jun 23 2008, 03:00 PM by Amber Ahlborn with | with no comments Filed under: wii, amber ahlborn, ds, ninja gaiden, watcha playing

• Watcha Playing: Lost Winds

  Lost Winds is my first and presently only WiiWare title, but it has already set the bar pretty high. When I first booted up this lovely little game and started playing with the wind, I was immediately put in mind of Okami. Directing the wind is a lot like drawing with the Celestial Brush, except the wind works in real time, rather than pausing the game while I draw. Lost Winds is a whimsical title and a promising start for WiiWare. Read More... Posted Jun 10 2008, 01:00 PM by Amber Ahlborn with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: amber ahlborn, lost winds, okami, wiiware, nintendo wii, watcha playing