Jeff Hoy, American » playstation 3

Putting my cards on the table…

Jeff Hoy — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:37:01 +0000

The Resistance series is superior to the Halo series in nearly every way. There, I said it.

Halo wins in the music department and probably the multiplayer department, I haven’t played Resistance multiplayer though, so I don’t know. Resistance games win on everything else. Nathan Hale could take Master Chief any day of the week.

Speaking of Resistance 2 specifically now. I’m loving it. It’s not perfect though. The boss fights are formulaic, but that they are just so big makes them very entertaining. In fact, the overall scale of the game, especially the first time you walk outside in San Fransisco, is something to see.

I am particularly enjoying the excellent pacing of R2, it makes it very easy to get into and out of the game while still feeling like you’re making a lot of progress. I usually only play it an hour or so a day and in that hour usually something big, like a boss fight or major battle, happens. That usually signals the end of my playtime so I turn it off and get on with my day. I can’t remember the last game I played that had such great pacing.

I’m greatly looking forward to the end of Resistance 2 and eventually moving on to Resistance 3, when it is finally released.

You may have managed…

Jeff Hoy — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 05:46:08 +0000

…to pull the wool over Sony’s eyes, Gabe Newell, but I am not fooled.

#1 on my must buy list

Jeff Hoy — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:18:15 +0000

3D Dot Game Heroes will probably be the only game I buy at retail for the forseeable future. It’s just got a charm about it that makes me must have it. Check out this latest trailer packed full of Zelda references.

Final Thoughts: Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment

Jeff Hoy — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 23:37:41 +0000

I finally got around to finishing Vandal Hearts today. Overall I enjoyed the game, but I’m not a hardcore RPG player, so I’m not comparing it to other RPGs. It’s only about a 15 or 20 hour game, you could probably extend that to 30 hours if you spent more time exploring. Does it stack up to Disgaea or Final Fantasy or any of those other popular RPGs? No. But it’s not really meant to I don’t think. It’s a $15 game on the PSN, so consider it in that light. Flames of Judgment is kind of hard to compare to the previous Vandal Hearts games because of that, but I think I enjoyed it as much as I did the first in the series. It certainly has made me want to go back and play the first two, so I guess it was good enough.

If you’re a fan of tactical RPGs, but don’t want to invest a ton of time into one, then buy Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment. If you’re a hardcore RPGer that thinks anything less than 50 hours is a ripoff, then skip it.

Now I can move on to Trine and give it my full attention.

Perhaps Ubisoft should…

Jeff Hoy — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:30:28 +0000

…carefully watch the current situation with the PSN. Ubisoft’s new DRM for the PC version of Assassin’s Creed II (and multiple future titles, including the upcoming blockbuster-for-sure Splinter Cell: Conviction) requires a constant internet connection to their verification system. The PlayStation Network going down is another excellent example of how a critical system failing can render games unplayable for the thousands (millions even?) of gamers. Ubisoft needs to keep an eye on this situation and learn whatever they can from it. The stability of their verification system will be the very short wall that separates them from a mob of angry gamers.

Will Ubisoft get the picture? I highly doubt it, which is why I am continuing to boycott every Ubisoft product regardless of platform.

[Update: So Sony's issue turned out to not be a PSN problem, it's looking more like a firmware problem in the old PS3s, something to do with the system clock. I still stand by the point I was making though, a weak link in any system is bound to fail, and when it does it's gonna be a bad day for Ubisoft customer service.]

First Impression: Trine

Jeff Hoy — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:36:36 +0000

My first thought upon getting into the game: Trine is a Lost Vikings for the new generation. I picked up this PSN download game last night while it is on sale for only $9.99. I am impressed.

Trine is a 2.5D puzzle/platformer with three characters, each with unique abilities, that you can switch between on the fly to help you make progress. The puzzles I’ve seen so far have all been physics based, using weights and blocks to open doors, tilting ramps in different directions to access areas, and more along those lines.

With lush environments, beautiful cut scenes, excellent voice overs and narration, and pleasant music, Trine is very appealing to the visual and auditory senses. For Playstation 3 players there are 33 trophies to be earned. My only complaint, it only runs at 720p on the PS3, but that’s no big deal.

So far I’m enjoying it very much.

First Impression: Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment

Jeff Hoy — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:01:18 +0000

I’m not a huge fan of RPGs. Those that manage to keep my attention for longer than a cursory glance are few and far between. The few that have managed to keep me playing have been of the tactical variety. Games like the Shining Force series, X-COM, and Silent Storm are examples of tactical rpg games that I’ve played and enjoyed over the years. Konami’s Vandal Hearts series has been my favorite though. Shining Force got me started in the style, but Vandal Hearts made me love it. Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment is the third installment in the series. It’s a digital download only, available on the PlayStation 3 through the PSN store, and on the Xbox 360 through the XBLA. As a download only title that sells for $15, how well will it stack up to it’s predecessors? I’ll find out. But first, here’s my first impressions of it after playing through the first act.

The essential core to any tactical rpg is the battle system. Everything else is secondary. Vandal Hearts’ system is well intact, with some improvements over the previous entry. Tactical planning is rewarded and setting up battle encounters with allies results in multiple potential bonuses. Environment and position bonuses also add to the necessary planning of battles. So far I’m happy with it.

Graphically Vandal Hearts is a bit underwhelming for being a PlayStation 3 title, it looks more like a pumped up PS1 or maybe a decent PS2 title. The models and environments are all very low poly-count. I imagine that was a choice made to keep the size of the download small. The special effects aren’t that special, just simple lighting and particle effects, nothing fancy there. The few cut scenes are drawn in a very cartoony comic book style. It’s quite nice looking, but I don’t know how well the style fits with the theme of the game. The music, sound, and voice overs are all well done, again, nothing spectacular, but it all gets the job done.

The PlayStation 3 version has 12 trophies, one of which is a gold, ready to be earned. A few are gimmes just for playing the game, others require accomplishing certain feats in battles.

My only complaint so far is that the level of difficulty seems to be pretty low. Battles go by fairly quickly and with little challenge. Hopefully they get tougher as time goes on.

Info:

Developer: Konami
Product web page: Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment
Buy it: Through PSN Store or XBLA.

First Impression & Final Thoughts: Braid

Jeff Hoy — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:21:58 +0000

I’m a little late to the party on this one. Braid has been out for a while now on various platforms, but I only just picked it up during the Playstation Network 10 for 10 sale. At $14.99 Braid was considered a good buy by most critics, at the sale price of $7.49 it is an absolute steal.

This puzzle/platformer will have your noodle twisted up in all kinds of different ways. Using time as one of the key elements to solving all the puzzles, Braid is a truly unique experience. There aren’t many puzzlers of this sort out there that leave a lasting sense of accomplishment after figuring out each obstacle. The difficulty of the puzzles makes for a lasting challenge, most people won’t run through this game in one session on the first play through.

The story is told through books in between worlds and seems to be a very touching story of lost love. It’s not just puzzles that are affected by time, the story is as well. A very different twist, demonstrated through game play, rather than story telling, takes place at the end (beginning?) of the game that reveals the true nature of the story and it’s protagonist.

Graphically Braid is stunning. It’s water color style visuals and the special effects are quite a sight to see. The animation is smooth and all the graphical elements are very appealing. Braid’s music is excellent and fits the theme and style of the game very well.

The controls are simple and taught in the early levels. As new mechanics are introduced through out the game, small, in game tutorials demonstrate their use and effects. For the Playstation 3 version there’s 12 trophies to be earned. Five of them bronze, seven silver. All but one are easily obtained just by completing Braid. The final trophy is earned by completing a speed run, which is a play option unlocked after the first successful play through.

It’s kind of a short game, and if you’re better at puzzles than I am, it’ll be even shorter for you. But at $7.49, or even full price, it’s still a must have game. Get it for the PS3, XB360, or PC (Windows or Mac)

My one piece of advice about this game, take short breaks from it periodically, or it’ll jack up your brain. I didn’t, I played it for hours over two days and even after completing the game, my brain was still stuck on the idea of time manipulation. It kept wanting to rewind time in real life to redo things such as read and reread paragraphs. Or not spill the soda I had dribbled on myself. All kinds of crazy stuff was going on. So take breaks.

Info

Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows, Mac OS X
Product Website: braid-game.com
Buy it: PSN; XBLA; Braid (Digital Download, Windows or Mac OS X) Greenhouse

2009 Top Ten Random Things

Jeff Hoy — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:01:30 +0000

Time again for me to list ten random things. Similar to how everybody does their top ten blah-blahs of 20XX lists at the end of the year. But mine is way cooler than theirs.

10. Hot Chicks – They still avoid me like the plague, but I can’t stop looking (…leering…) at them.
9. RC Driver Live @ 5 – An informative and entertaining (infotaining) r/c hobby show. Monday through Friday, live, at 5.
8. Sloppers – A delicious staple food of Pueblo, an open face cheese burger smothered in green chile. Also, it’s pretty easy to make at home.
7. Behemoth – Their latest album, Evangelion, is a fantastic piece of work that takes death metal to new heights.
6. Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld – It’s one of the few news shows worth watching any more.
5. This List - Falling two positions from last year. As a now annual list for four years running, it’s not as new or unique as it once was, but it still manages to stay random, so it sneaks into the top five.
4. Gravity Crash - Neo-retro gameplay stylings combining Choplifter, Subterrania, Lunar Lander, and vector graphics into a challenging yet fun shmup gaming experience. It was a tough choice between this and PixelJunk Shooter. They’re both awesome games, but I’m enjoying the challenge of Gravity Crash more.
3. Tamiya – They still release r/c cars in kit form for the true hobbyists out there, even though the rest of the r/c industry has gone RTR.
2. RiffTrax Live - I went to the movie theater three times this year, two of those were to see a RiffTrax Live event. The other, Transformers 2.
1. Nothing. Life is pointless.

2010 Predictions

Jeff Hoy — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:38:44 +0000

Five predictions for the coming year.

Gran Turismo 5 will be the highest rated/best reviewed video game of 2010.
Team Losi will introduce a real pure-bred racing follow-up to the XXX/XXX-T series.
Redeye w/Greg Gutfeld will surpass The O’Reilly Factor in the cable news ratings race.
The only thing I see in the movie theater in 2010 will be another RiffTrax Live performance.
I’ll get a job working for RC Driver Magazine.