So I'm have about 20 hours of play under my belt now though I have not yet finished the game I think I have a good feel now for what this game is. This game is charming and lovely. The main character Oliver and Esther both have a childlike innocence about them that is refreshing. You have a young boy who is going forward after his mothers death with hope that he can save her by helping her soul-mate from another world. Clinging to this hope he is able to leave his tears behind and he is able to summon the strength that makes him able to become the savior of worlds.
The story is very interesting and fun. To see Oliver grow and become stronger as he helps people who in turn help him to go on his path to hopefully save his mom. I find myself cheering him on. Though i have to say the Fairy Grove segment made me go WHAT THE HOCKEY STICKS! Somethings are best left seen for yourself heh. There seems to be something more going on then what meets the eye which makes it even more interesting Swaine and Dippy both seem to be not telling something to our cute little hero at the point of the story I'm at. I'm looking forward to outing their secrets.
The battle systems is interesting. Basically a character and their familiars share HP and MP. You can switch between then depending on what you need to be done and if one familiars stamina is close to being used up. After getting used to its really fun. You can also switch between which character you control and you can issue commands(usually I suck at command giving in battle but this wasn't too bad.)
There is also a lot of customization with the familiars You can tame monsters to be familiars but you can also feed your familiars treats which up their familiarization with you as well as increased their stats. Depending on the treat can fill them up a certain amount as well as help up certain amounts. You can also choose which commands you want available from their lists as well as metamorphosis them into something else when given the right gem. It's really nice how many choices you are given on how to develop them.
Also as you go along you actually pick up stories that go into your wizards book. Which is really fun. You can read up on all kinds of things. Spells, alchemy, about the various creatures you come along and so on.
Over all I think this game so far has shown me a wonderful world of good and evil where an innocent child's love for his mother is able to give him the will to move forward and save another world from destruction with his pure heart. This is no different from Studio Ghibli films where we see children do amazing feats, for instance in Spirited Away where Chihiro saves her parents. This game is as my friend Jess said "A game that makes me believe magic is real."
If what I've seen is any indication of the rest of the game this game is truly a wonderful game.
edit: Last night I took a look after writing this I was a bit more then 25 hours in. Now I'm at close to 29. It's definetly an awesome game.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Video Games Gone Wrong: Sword Arts Online and .Hack\sign
As a fan of Science Fiction one reoccurring theme is technology going wrong, either from it becoming sentient or from a madman throwing a wrench into the works. This last year I really enjoyed watching a series called Sword Arts Online when I saw the premise I was like this reminds me a bit of the themes in .Hack\Sign even if the stories are entirely different. Mainly the fact that technology can go wrong. Both are about Virtual Reality games where things don't go the way people expected and their are victims.
It's been a long time since i watched .Hack but as i recall some kind of intelligence was born within the game causing the various anomalies to occur such as Tsukasa being trapped within the game. The people who were harmed was on a much smaller level in this virtual reality game then in Swords Arts Online. However, both series deal with complex issues such as escapism, and interpersonal relationships. Tsukasa plays the game in order to escape from the bad things in life and is a loner who is suffering. But in playing the game Tsukasa ends up unable to log out and thus the story unfolds.
In Swords Arts Online you have the games creator trap everyone within the game making it so that if you died in the game you really died. It's a game of survival. There seem to be themes running through the series about reality vs. virtual worlds and how people might show themselves differently online in a game verses what they really are. Someone might be more willing to commit atrocities in a game while in real like be a good law abiding citizen. In away you could say it addresses issues of people who are not comfortable interacting in real life and who find that it's easier to express themselves in a fantasy world. The main character Kirito even says that the world in the game seemed more real to him. We even find out later that the reason he became so immersed in gaming was to escape the fact that his parents are not his real parents. Like Tsukasa, Kirito is also a loner. He doesn't party up with others much and works hard. But the reason why Kirito is a loner is different from Tsukasa. Tsukasa has been hurt in the past but Kirito seems to not want to be a burden to others or to see anyone die. Kirito is the type who is heroic and cool as opposed to Tsukasa who is more leave me alone I don't care. Tsukasa is weak but Kirito is strong even if they are both lonely kids trapped in bad situations.
Stories like these reinforce the idea that you can't trust technology. You should always be wary of things. Also it also points out the fact that many find comfort in escaping into fantasy worlds who are lonely, socially awkward, or have bad stuff going on in there lives. Video games can be liberating but going to far can lead to trouble. MMO's can also give you the chance to be someone else they don't have to reflect your outer self. So yes I love video games. But one thing is for certain there's no way I'd play a game like SOA where you are left at the mercy of whoever. Once again Sci-fi asks that great what if question.
It's been a long time since i watched .Hack but as i recall some kind of intelligence was born within the game causing the various anomalies to occur such as Tsukasa being trapped within the game. The people who were harmed was on a much smaller level in this virtual reality game then in Swords Arts Online. However, both series deal with complex issues such as escapism, and interpersonal relationships. Tsukasa plays the game in order to escape from the bad things in life and is a loner who is suffering. But in playing the game Tsukasa ends up unable to log out and thus the story unfolds.
In Swords Arts Online you have the games creator trap everyone within the game making it so that if you died in the game you really died. It's a game of survival. There seem to be themes running through the series about reality vs. virtual worlds and how people might show themselves differently online in a game verses what they really are. Someone might be more willing to commit atrocities in a game while in real like be a good law abiding citizen. In away you could say it addresses issues of people who are not comfortable interacting in real life and who find that it's easier to express themselves in a fantasy world. The main character Kirito even says that the world in the game seemed more real to him. We even find out later that the reason he became so immersed in gaming was to escape the fact that his parents are not his real parents. Like Tsukasa, Kirito is also a loner. He doesn't party up with others much and works hard. But the reason why Kirito is a loner is different from Tsukasa. Tsukasa has been hurt in the past but Kirito seems to not want to be a burden to others or to see anyone die. Kirito is the type who is heroic and cool as opposed to Tsukasa who is more leave me alone I don't care. Tsukasa is weak but Kirito is strong even if they are both lonely kids trapped in bad situations.
Stories like these reinforce the idea that you can't trust technology. You should always be wary of things. Also it also points out the fact that many find comfort in escaping into fantasy worlds who are lonely, socially awkward, or have bad stuff going on in there lives. Video games can be liberating but going to far can lead to trouble. MMO's can also give you the chance to be someone else they don't have to reflect your outer self. So yes I love video games. But one thing is for certain there's no way I'd play a game like SOA where you are left at the mercy of whoever. Once again Sci-fi asks that great what if question.
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