As much as i dig the puzzles of the old Resident Evil games, some of the ones in RE Outbreak are just downright devilish. I don't know if anyone's aware but it's pretty hard to figure out puzzles in a game where you are not encouraged to pause the action as it's meant to be an online multiplayer experience. Probably if done in the right context and situation, these would have been hailed as some of the better puzzles in the series but as it stands, they are dreadful (to me at least) because of the timing and placement. It's been months since i first started on Outbreak file 1 but have yet to complete the game probably due to the episodic nature of the game and the fact i'm only playing it on my PS3. This is the last episode and i'll probably shelf the game once that is done in favour of yakuza 2.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Days of Being Wide
Contrary to what i earlier thought the new Resident Evil Archives does indeed support widescreen display unfortunately the game itself isn't made widescreen-ready (if there is such a term). This is based on what i have gathered so far as i have yet to purchase the new Archives or even test the original NGC version on my new setup.
Remember back when everyone was on 4:3 display and you always get letterbox borders when viewing widescreen movies on dvd? Well this is similar except now your display is widescreen while the source of the presentation is still well, 4:3 wide. Thus if you have your Wii set to 16:9 display then RE archives will have black borders on both sides to preserve the 4:3 aspect ratio. In a way the game is now widescreen-friendly but without sacrificing the original aspect ratio of the game. Alternatively if you want the image to be stretched across your widescreen display you have to "trick" your Wii by changing to 4:3 display in the settings and then manually adjusting from your TV remote to stretch to 16:9 display. The NGC version i believed doesn't have this feature and because of this will always appear to be "fullscreen" regardless of your type of display. The solution therefore is really quite simple if you have 4:3 display you should stick to the NGC version while if you have a 16:9 display then you should really get this new version. Assuming you are the type of person who actually cares about preserving the original aspect ratio. Of course the real solution is Capcom should really have made this the definitive version by going widescreen though i heard it's a bit impossible considering the backgrounds are all pre-rendered.
Remember back when everyone was on 4:3 display and you always get letterbox borders when viewing widescreen movies on dvd? Well this is similar except now your display is widescreen while the source of the presentation is still well, 4:3 wide. Thus if you have your Wii set to 16:9 display then RE archives will have black borders on both sides to preserve the 4:3 aspect ratio. In a way the game is now widescreen-friendly but without sacrificing the original aspect ratio of the game. Alternatively if you want the image to be stretched across your widescreen display you have to "trick" your Wii by changing to 4:3 display in the settings and then manually adjusting from your TV remote to stretch to 16:9 display. The NGC version i believed doesn't have this feature and because of this will always appear to be "fullscreen" regardless of your type of display. The solution therefore is really quite simple if you have 4:3 display you should stick to the NGC version while if you have a 16:9 display then you should really get this new version. Assuming you are the type of person who actually cares about preserving the original aspect ratio. Of course the real solution is Capcom should really have made this the definitive version by going widescreen though i heard it's a bit impossible considering the backgrounds are all pre-rendered.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Regeneration of Degeneration
The new TV has a nice little notice appearing on the screen whenever it changes from its native resolution so while watching Degeneration blu-ray again on the new setup, i happened to noticed not everything on the disc is full HD as i would have thought. The main feature is of course full HD however the Generation of Degeneration making-of is output at 1080i, not such a major issue considering it's just a making-of. Some of the Degeneration trailers are also output at 1080i but thankfully all the wonderfully-recorded voice bloopers are in full HD. The interview with leon motion-actor along with some other odd film trailers are output at standard definition (480p) probably due to the source material itself. However the real highlight of watching the blu-ray on the new setup is i can finally view the picture-in-picture (PIP) feature which i had a really hard time on standard definition as the smaller frame was simply impossible to see anymore on SD.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Metal Geared
I didn't have a good experience with my first Metroid game being Metroid Prime Hunters on the DS so naturally when the Big N announced that they are re-packaging all three Metroid games onto one Wii disc, i was still sitting on the fence whether or not i should purchase it. Then i saw the promotion pictures of how the box art would look and i was sold, the game housed in a metal tin box with a cardboard jacket looks pretty tempting indeed. To top it off, Nintendo is sure to step up and deliver updated controls and visual to the first two NGC games, unlike the recent Resident Evil Archives. The only shame here is Retro Studios are no longer developing the series and the price is still a little too steep for three old games bundled into one. My only concern at the moment is this going to be the standard version for all copies of the game or it is limited like numerous collector's edition?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Borderline Annoying
I rushed home today to find that my Biohazard Organic Dioramas have arrived promptly from Play-asia so someone should have got their commission by now and hopefully would return the good deed soon. These diorama looked better than i expected, i can't wait to display them and would certainly consider completing the entire set of six in due time. Since Resident Evil Archives was also released yesterday, i thought it might be a good time to reflect on my current decision whether or not to re-purchase the game.
Early impressions were as expected, the game supports progressive scan of 480p but unfortunately lacks 16:9 widescreen support. The widescreen support probably won't bother me a week ago but now that i'm on widescreen display and don't intend to switch my Wii back to the 4:3 tv, it has become a bigger issue than before. I really can't stand black borders around the screen, the RE4 NGC version has tested my limits so buying a Wii edition of REmake just for the sake of collection now doesn't seems like such a good decision. Another thing worth noting was one gamer commented that the NGC version runs on "full widescreen" on the Wii without having to adjust anything while the Wii edition doesn't though bear in mind neither of these are actually true widescreen. If that is indeed the case then too bad for the latecomers and RE4 band wagoners out there, i will probably confirm with my NGC version soon and see if it's possible to continue to play that version until the price of Wii edition comes down.
Early impressions were as expected, the game supports progressive scan of 480p but unfortunately lacks 16:9 widescreen support. The widescreen support probably won't bother me a week ago but now that i'm on widescreen display and don't intend to switch my Wii back to the 4:3 tv, it has become a bigger issue than before. I really can't stand black borders around the screen, the RE4 NGC version has tested my limits so buying a Wii edition of REmake just for the sake of collection now doesn't seems like such a good decision. Another thing worth noting was one gamer commented that the NGC version runs on "full widescreen" on the Wii without having to adjust anything while the Wii edition doesn't though bear in mind neither of these are actually true widescreen. If that is indeed the case then too bad for the latecomers and RE4 band wagoners out there, i will probably confirm with my NGC version soon and see if it's possible to continue to play that version until the price of Wii edition comes down.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Great Scott
Being a comic book geek in my youth, i do check in on my favourite series every now and again. Since Activision's first Spider-Man on the PSOne, i don't think i have ever played a bad spidey game with the last one being Ultimate Spider-Man. I have thankfully avoided the last few not because i heard they weren't any good but i just couldn't follow the direction of the game whether they were trying to be faithful to the comic or the movie.
Now the Amazing Spider-Man series is approaching its 600th issue, I was an avid collector after the 300th issue during the McFarlane/Larsen run and dropped out sometime after Mark Baegley began his lengthy run. Many years later i was introduced to the Danger Girls series which opened my eyes to a different kind of American comic outside the spandex hero genre. It also made me a fan of J Scott Campbell, who reportedly is a huge Nintendo fan and got his work first published in the very pages of Nintendo Power. Now Campbell is also pretty fond of the ole web-head as he has done some guest cover art for the Amazing Spider-Man series. Let's just say to be able to do guest cover art on a series like Amazing you must have a lot of clout and Campbell rightfully does. I planned to pick up the landmark 600th issue and also the issue after which Campbell has done the cover art for, having missed his last few i don't intend to miss this one being a fan of the black cat.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Retro Story
Before jumping into Madworld, i decided to get myself familiarised with some of Yasumi Matsuno earlier works. Matsuno who serves as a story consultant in Madworld happens to be one of the most talented game designers working today, having done Square Enix's most critically-acclaimed games, Vagrant Story and FFXII. Both were the only SE games to ever achieve perfect score from Famitsu reviewer team which is no small feat indeed. Vagrant Story as you have may have read has been sitting in my collection gathering dust so the timing was just right to finally get started on it.
The game doesn't play like a standard RPG, leaving you by yourself to make your way out of the dungeon as you progress through the game. I suspected you won't ever leave the dungeon at all as one of the statistics the game records whenever you make a save is how many percentage of the dungeon you have explored. The game like any RPG looks a bit daunting to get into when i initially start but i soon discover it to be pretty easy to get into, with a slight emphasis on weapon design. The cinematics are a thing of beauty probably the best i have seen on the PSOne library which uses in-game engine for storytelling. The only problem i have is the game camera often doesn't give you the best angle and adjusting it is a little cumbersome but the game offers enough flexibility so it doesn't become an issue, even allowing you to adjust the view during the combat.
The game doesn't play like a standard RPG, leaving you by yourself to make your way out of the dungeon as you progress through the game. I suspected you won't ever leave the dungeon at all as one of the statistics the game records whenever you make a save is how many percentage of the dungeon you have explored. The game like any RPG looks a bit daunting to get into when i initially start but i soon discover it to be pretty easy to get into, with a slight emphasis on weapon design. The cinematics are a thing of beauty probably the best i have seen on the PSOne library which uses in-game engine for storytelling. The only problem i have is the game camera often doesn't give you the best angle and adjusting it is a little cumbersome but the game offers enough flexibility so it doesn't become an issue, even allowing you to adjust the view during the combat.
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