I've Been Through the Desert with a Robe and No Name

Today, I want to talk about Journey. No, not the 70s/80s rock band that has been permanently ruined by a certain musical TV show that shall remain nameless; I'm talking about Thatgamecompany's upcoming PSN release that has so far been perplexing press with its bewildering simplicity. For a long time, I've been confused as to what Journey even is. I've been reading previews since it was first announced, which have, up until recently, danced around the question as to what the game entails.

It seems that the clue is in the title. Journey is just that; a journey that you embark on and nothing more. What we know so far is that you play as a robed figure in a desert. There are no quests or objectives other than heading towards a mountain in the distance. There will be obstacles along the way, but presumably nothing that could cause you to die. Jumping is limited in a power-up fashion, so the main challenges are going to be earning the jumps you need to continue on your way. The game is online, and features co-op with other players. Strangers that you meet on your way will be able to assist you by boosting your jumps.

For the moment, that's about all there is. It sounds incredibly simple, and you may scratch your head as to how it's going to compete amongst games where you, you know... do stuff. Of course, this is in development by Thatgamecompany, who released the enigmatic Flower in 2009, a game that had you guiding flower petals through the wind. I didn't personally play it, but when you consider the premise and then look at the high review scores it received, you start to understand that this a company you have to have a little faith in, and not judge Journey until you've actually sampled it yourself.

According to an interview posted on Joystiq back in July, the overall aim of Journey is to provide a new kind of cooperative experience. Every character will be completely anonymous and there'll be absolutely no communication outside of a simple non-verbal shout. By removing all speech and personality from each player, Thatgamecompany may have created the perfect online experience. I'm no stranger to the colourful personalities that the anonymity of the internet has bred. I've played World of Warcraft for years, and during several lapses of judgement I've been involved in a lot of groups of random players. While you can mostly ride out the resulting bumps in the road, every now and then you run into someone who seems determined to make it as difficult as possible for everyone involved. I wonder how those same situations would have gone if all our characters looked the same and the only communication was a non-verbal system (raid icons?) that purely served to facilitate teamwork. Journey seems to be exploring that reality.

In that sense, Journey is more of an experiment than a full game, but it'll certainly be interesting to see how people react to it, and to actually try it out myself. I'm usually quite hesitant to play online games with strangers as I tend to feel pressured into playing perfectly, so as to not feel judged as a simpleton when I make a perfectly reasonable mistake, as opposed to when playing with friends where I can feel much more relaxed in my idiocy (ask my old WoW guild about the "slowly reversing into fire" incident, it's always a favourite). Perhaps being completely anonymous with no worries of griefing could take the edge off.

Last I heard, Journey was set for release later this year. I look forward to satisfying my curiosity.

Review: Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1

Release Date: October 7, 2010
Developed By: Dimps, Sonic Team
Genre: 2D Platformer
Platforms: PSN, Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare, iOS
Platform Reviewed: PSN

Leading up to the announcement of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, instead of raising hype by announcing which characters would be in the game, Sega gradually eliminated potential characters, eventually revealing that Sonic would be the sole hero of his latest adventure. Are Sega so out of touch with fans that they've only just come to the realisation that no-one wants monstrosities such as Rouge the Bat and Silver the Hedgehog tainting what was once a respectable series of games? Or were they aware all along, ignoring the collective sighs of gamers as they indulged in designing another redundant humanoid-animal to add to Sonic's crew? Neither is a particularly appealing reality.

Whatever the case, Sonic 4 is dubbed as the game that fans have been wanting for the past 15 years. The obvious question is “why did we get the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game instead?” The fact that they decided to name it as a direct sequel to fan-favourite Sonic 3 & Knuckles almost seems to imply that Sega wants to brush the troubled releases of the last decade under the Big the Cat skin rug.

Titled “Episode 1”, this is the first in a series of releases that will make up Sonic the Hedgehog 4. In this first episode you get 4 zones, each consisting of 3 acts and a boss, as well as 7 special stages in which you find the chaos emeralds.

There's Something Wrong With The Gravity!

Immediately after the nostalgic zone intro overlay disappeared, I noticed that the soles of Sonic's shoes were apparently coated in glue. Sonic's acceleration rate is severely sluggish. The protagonist who is characterised by speed is now having trouble getting started at all. There's also something seriously wrong with basic physics such as gravity and momentum, as Sonic will frequently come to a sudden stop in the air and fall down in a perfect vertical line. It means that getting used to the controls takes time; something that never happened in the original Sonic games that boasted fluid controls that allowed Sonic to spring into action quickly. Even when you do learn to make up for the engine's shortcomings, controlling Sonic just never feels quite right. This, being one of the great strengths of the earlier games, grants the game quite a significant handicap from the get-go.

Sonic is equipped with his staple moves, such as the spin dash, as well as the more modern homing attack, which comes as a double-edged sword. When you do eventually get Sonic running at the speed he's supposed to, using the homing attack can destroy a succession of enemies while keeping him moving. However, this also removes the challenge of the precision Badnik bouncing of the past, replacing it with a pinch of the much berated 'on rails' style of the newer Sonic games.

Deja Vu

The zones on offer are influenced by Green Hill, Casino Night, Labyrinth and Metropolis, though to say that the zones are inspired by classic Sonic zones is putting it lightly. At times it feels like you're just playing remixed versions of the aforementioned zones. The occasional new mechanic will pop up, such as using a flaming torch to light the way or casino style poker cards that can be flipped for bonuses, but this doesn't make up for the moments where you're faced with a section that has been ripped straight out of Sonic 1 or 2 and awkwardly shoehorned into the level. It's a shame, because the level of design that makes up the majority of Sonic 4's zones is what made the original games great. If it had been put to use in creating zones with new themes and mechanics, Sonic 4 would have felt much fresher.

Another complaint about the level design is that the dreaded bottomless pits often have no warning. There were many times I found myself falling to an unexpected death purely because I didn't see the pit coming. That's not challenging. That's just cheap.

The bosses are copied and pasted from the old zones of reference, with a slight twist revealing itself once the original version is defeated. The main audience of this game, Sonic fans, will naturally get through the first phase of the boss battles with very little thought. It's interesting to see a new mechanic added to each of the bosses, but most of the time, it's an awkward one that's more irritating than enjoyable. For instance, the Labyrinth boss now ends with a room of moving columns that must be used to reach Dr Robotnik/Eggman, before quickly finding and moving to the small safe spot in which you won't be crushed by them. This is mostly a case of dying several times to find out which are the wrong ways to reach that safe spot. Even when you do get it down, the sluggish movement of Sonic can still cause a frustrating instant death.

Speaking of bosses, Sonic 4 includes one of the deepest of gaming sins. Before fighting the final boss, each of the previous bosses must be fought in succession. Just as in every game that this boss gauntlet has appeared in, rather than actually adding anything to the game, it's nothing more than a lazy way of padding out the final level.

You'll find nothing new in the special stages, as Sonic Team have decided to recycle the most annoying of them all; the rotating mazes from the first game. There is a slight difference in that you now rotate the stage, rather than directly controlling Sonic, but there's still every chance for the smallest wrong movement to cause Sonic to fall straight into a "goal" pit, instantly throwing him out of the special stage empty handed. If they insisted on bringing back a classic special stage rather than designing a new one, it's a wonder they didn't bring back the infinitely more enjoyable blue sphere stage from Sonic 3 & Knuckles, or even the often remixed tunnel of rings that first appeared in Sonic 2.

Mega Drive Drums

Sonic 4: Episode 1 certainly looks like a 2D Sonic game. It's bright and colourful with a style heavily influenced by the Mega Drive games. The character models are decent enough, but are less detailed than the environment and thus look detached. Also paying homage to the classics is the return of the instantly recognisable 16-bit Sonic drums included in the game's soundtrack. In fact, every part of the music seems to be trying to recreate the style of the old 16-bit tunes, but unfortunately, it doesn't quite work and leaves the music feeling a little too primitive sounding. It doesn't help that most of the tracks are barely memorable or catchy, and loop far too quickly.

I did appreciate hearing all the old sound effects, such as when collecting rings, passing a starpost or bouncing off a spring, as they at least still sound like they mingle well with the overall style of the game.

So Close, Yet So Far

There is a half decent platformer in there somewhere, with some 2D Sonic-esque level design that the series has needed for a long time. But poor controls, unoriginality and lazy presentation mean that this is just another disappointment in the troubled last decade of the blue blur.

Calling it Sonic 4 was a big risk, and this first episode doesn't come close to living up to the name. Rather than feeling like a sequel to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the step back to the style of Sonic 1 and 2, and the poor execution of basic Sonic gameplay result in something that resembles a bad fan game. In fact, you can still have a much better Sonic experience by playing the original games, which are easily accessible in the many compilations and digital downloads that have been released over the past few years. Why would you want to play a below average rehash of the brilliant 16-bit Sonic games when you can just as easily play the real thing?

There was potential here, and I just hope they use it to create something new and refreshing for episode 2.

Rating: 4/10

Review: Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

Release Date: XLA: November 17, 2010, PSN: NA: November 23, 2010, EU: November 24, 2010
Developed By: Namco Bandai
Genre: Arcade
Platforms: Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network
Platform Reviewed: Playstation Network

"Wakka wakka wakka wakka" - Pac-Man

Revivals of classic games are not an uncommon thing. There have been plenty of attempts to bring retro games, such as Space Invaders and Asteroids, to modern consoles throughout each generation. Developers have a difficult task on their hands because adding too many new features can detract from whatever made the game a classic in the first place, while not adding enough can result in a game that's too similar to the original to make it worth revisiting. The planets must have aligned when Namco Bandai were developing Pac-Man Championship Edition DX because this is one case where the revival has been a complete success.

A Nutritious Diet of Dots and Fruit

As usual, this latest Pac-Man game has our hero navigating a maze, eating trails of dots and avoiding the evil ghosts which seek to undo him. Power pellets can be eaten to temporarily change the ghosts into a blue and edible form. That sounds like Pac-Man, right? What if I told you, then, that you'll be bolting around at blazing speeds while being chased by a train of 10, 20 or even 30 ghosts? It sounds crazy but it's exactly what you're letting yourself in for.

On beginning a game you're presented with two lines of dots. Eating the dots from one side of the maze will cause a higher scoring item, such as a fruit, to appear on the other side. Eating this bonus item will create a fresh path of dots on the other side of the maze. In some ways the game bears similarities to a rhythm game, as the way to a high score is to follow these pre-set paths of dots and fruit in as optimal a fashion as possible. With practice you begin to memorise the fastest way to complete each path and you gain the quick reactions needed to move onto the next one smoothly.

Speed is the name of the game here, as both of the main game modes have you racing against the clock. These consist of Score Attack, in which you have a set amount of time to score as many points as possible and Time Attack, where the aim is to eat a certain amount of fruit in as little time as possible. With your scores and best times then being posted to a global high score table and a ranking given based on your standing (Rank A for being in the top 20%, rank B for being in the top 40%, and so on), the addiction sets in as you try time and time again to perfect each maze and move up the scoreboard.

Hunted and Haunted

Of course, the ghosts Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde return to make things difficult for Pac-Man as they move around the maze, toying with him, breaking him down mentally by inducing deep paranoia before going in for the kill. While you may be trying to follow the optimal path of dots, Clyde can suddenly cross your path and throw you right off the trail and wasting you valuable seconds.

The most interesting and ultimately satisfying new element is the new type of ghost that sleeps in a certain part of the maze and awakens to give chase when Pac-Man rushes by. Several of these ghosts are dotted about the maze and more appear with each new path of dots revealed. Eventually you end up with a massive train of ghosts following closely behind until you grab your next power pellet and reach the pinnacle of gratification this game has to offer. Having Pac-Man chomp his way through a string of 20 or more ghosts is a sight to behold and may go down in history as one of the best examples of the phrase "revenge is sweet." Each ghost you eat is worth a large amount of points which increases as you eat more ghosts in succession. So, not only are you trying to eat dots and fruit as fast as you can, you're also passing by as many sleeping ghosts as possible in order to create a long trail of spirits to feast on when the time is right. There's plenty to be paying attention to.

Thankfully, Pac-Man has a new weapon to deter the ghosts; bombs. When used, bombs hurl every ghost to the centre of the maze allowing you to continue on your way unharmed. When a ghost is getting a little too close, the game slows down to a crawl, bullet-time style, to allow you to make the decision of fight (bomb) or flight. Don't misjudge this as a way to make the game easier, as each bomb you use reduces your speed, temporarily lowers the point value of dots and renders you unable to add more ghosts to your train until it catches up to you again.

"Blang blang blang BLANG BLANG BLANG" - Pac-Man, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

The entire experience is enhanced by the brightness, loudness and sheer speed of the game. Whizzing around a maze of bright, neon colour with some fast paced music constantly reminding you that the clock is ticking and a gradual increase in Pac-Man's movement speed throughout make for some adrenaline fueled, sweaty-palm inducing gaming sessions. If you weren't so tightly holding on to the controller you'd be punching your fist in the air as the extremely emphatic sound of a long train of ghosts being devoured blasts out of your speakers. Everything about the presentation of this game wants you to keep your eyes wide open and darting about the screen. It wants to make you feel like the greatest Pac-Man player who ever lived every single time you play and it does so spectacularly.

More Pac-Man Than You Can Shake a Joystick At

There's little fault to be found here. Replays of high scoring players can be viewed for the 5 minute Score Attack mode and it would have been nice to see replays of the other modes too. Apart from that, the only thing that could improve the game is more of everything it already has, which says a lot about the high quality of the existing content.

The game certainly isn't lacking in content though, with 8 maze variations, several distinct graphical styles to choose from for both the mazes and character sprites and extra modes such as a challenge to eat as many ghosts as possible in the duration of one power pellet. Since the enjoyment of the game comes from perfecting your dot scoffing skill there's more than enough here to keep you jumping back in time and time again.

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is an excellent example of what makes services such as Xbox Live Arcade and PSN great as it balances complexity and simplicity with competence in a pick-up-and-play game. This is an update that remains true to classic Pac-Man while successfully creating a fresh new experience that's easy to recommend to anyone.

Rating: 10/10