Preview - Champions Online

One more and week and three days. That's how agonizingly long it will be until I finally have access to the open beta for Champions Online. It's the spiritual successor to Cryptic's City of Heroes, the first and so far only, super hero themed online RPG. It's an incredible and refreshing concept, that boldly breaks from the usual fantasy setting, a staple of the genre. If you have even a passing interest in MMOs, or comic books, you've probably already read/seen everything there is to know about this much anticipated title. If you haven't, go here now!

A cyber suited warrior, wielding two glowing katanas. Interested yet? I am.

Unfortunately, I can't give any real info as to how the game plays. I'm desperately waiting to get my feet wet once I acquire my preorder beta key. However, I do know that the character creation is by all accounts, unprecedented in its detail and options. If there is anything at all you can think of, you can probably create it, or at least come really close. Think of a super hero version of Spore. The gameplay is a departure from the typical cooldown skills that are the norm in MMORPGs. The game will play fast and be action driven.

There's so much I could say, but it's hard to think of what hasn't already been covered by the gaming world. I just want to express how unusually excited I am to get into this game and I can't wait! I have to recommend that if you have the money and interest, preorder the game. You'll get to try it out, and if it doesn't meet your expectations, you can cancel the preorder before the game ships September 1st.

This guy's goggles allow him to view the Champions Oline website 24/7 without tiring.

I am far from the world's biggest superhero/comic fan, but I've paid my respects to them. I loved Alan Moore's Watchmen, Otomo's Akira, saw the X-Men film series, read some of the old school comics, played some great hero themed games (namely, X-Men Legends). The superhero genre has to be one of the most neglected in the world of games (if you don't count movie based products, but original franchises, such as Freedom Force.) So I have to jump at the opportunity to create my own hero and live the dream. If Champions Online is a hit, it will be very interesting to see how it competes with DC Online.

DS Review - Suikoden Tierkreis

Overview: Suikoden Tierkreis is a console style RPG by Konami, part of a series of games that date back to 1995 for the Playstation 1. The recurring feature in each game is the large cast of playable characters to recruit into your party. There are typically around over a hundred, with their own personalities, appearances and backstory. This particular title was released specifically for the DS, and is one of the deepest and well written RPGs for the system.


Story: Suikoden Teirkreis starts out not unlike most RPGs. There's a quaint, rustic village where your hero and his childhood friends reside. Your simple life is inevitably interrupted when it's discovered that your world is but one of a countless number of alternate realities. Eventually, one thing leads to another and your hero is caught up in a series of cataclysmic events. For a handheld console game, the plot is impressively deep and multifaceted, but perhaps more so than needed.

It would be a difficult and lengthy process to discuss the plot in any great detail, so I'll leave that for you to discover on your own. Suffice it to say, there are plenty of interacting elements that make it a deep, interesting, if sometimes confusing tale. There's a cult like organization dedicated to imposing their fatalistic worldview over the world, magical books that are connected to the alternate realities, and strange environmental phenomena that shape and shift the land and its people. There's plenty to get to learn and follow as you progress through the 30+ hour adventure, there's even a glossary and a character bio section.


Gameplay: Suikoden's strength primarily lies in it's colorful world, interesting characters, well done dialogue and cutscenes. However, the gameplay is certainly enough to stand up on it's own. At various intervals in the game, you'll be tasked with assembling a party of up to six characters (plus a seventh, who does not take part directly in the battle, but supports you with their abilities.)

The biggest problem with this is that you can't reform your party at will. If you make a bad decision, you can't change it, until such a time that you're able to switch out your characters. This is a baffling design decision that can be fatal if you're not careful. Try to put in a weak character and grind him, and you may doom yourself, when the party is faced with a too powerful boss.

Other than that, it's fairly standard, turn based combat. You've got your typical melee focused characters, ranged fighters, and magic casters. All characters get access to special abilities that you can assign to whomever you wish, which is an especially nice feature. Most your time in Suikoden will be spent slowly uncovering the various things that happens throughout the adventure. As the self appointed leader of a mercenary company, you'll recruit a multitude of inidividuals, to help stop the Order, an organization bent on manipulating the course of events, claiming that the future is predetermined.


Graphics: The graphical quality is stunning, perhaps the best I've seen for a DS game. Every character is uniquely designed, and there are literally hundreds of them dispersed throughout the environment. The locales are varied and excellently detailed. There are lush forests, snowy mountains, vast deserts and small mountain towns. The race designs are vivid and creative. Everything suggests a very unique, multicultural setting. One of the best things in this category would be the full motion animated cutscenes. They're amazingly well done and incredible to watch on the DS.

Music & Sound: The music in Suikoden is wonderful to say the least. Its orchestral, atmospheric and deep. Every region has it's own distinct music that matches its setting. I especially love the background music that plays when you get to select your party. It features a hauntingly beautiful violin that reminds of the kind you hear in Asian films. In addition to the decidedly average sound effects, the game features some great voice acting, that really lends to the characters.

Conclusion: Everything about this game speaks of a high production value, attention to detail and the sense that Konami truly cared about making a memorable, fun and engaging title. This is one of the games I'll remember for a long time and can honestly say I was glad to play. Everything from the epic story, to the small touches (such as naming your group and your base) made this completely worth the money. If you're a console strategy fan, I can't recommend Suikoden Tierkreis highly enough.

Status: *Approved by the Ministry of Entertainment.

Pros: Awesome production value all around, great cast and original world, exciting gameplay.
Cons: Story can sometimes seem convoluted, many characters are unexplained as how to recruit, party management is limited to scripted intervals.

* - Here's an explanation of how I rate games. Instead of using a tired system of stars, number scores, or grades, I will approve, or disapprove of the games I review. I employ a large beaucracy of game critics that pour over every little element of the games I play, and work with me to reach my conclusions. Instead of breaking games down to their component parts and grading each one, I'll cut out all the BS you'll probably forget anyway and boil it down to whether you should, or shouldn't play it.

Preview - Hearts of Iron 3

Paradox Interactive has completed the third installment of its venerable Hearts of Iron series, set to release on August 7th. The Hearts of Iron games are known for their stunning attention to historical detail. They feature real life technologies, companies, units and personalities, as well as making virtually any nation playable that existed in WW 2. I'm a big fan of replayability, and Hearts of Iron 3 (HoI 3) will have no shortage of it.

HoI 3 adds some welcome and interesting new additions. Perhaps the most welcome one, would be the overhauled graphics. The previous games could be hard to look at, but it's evident that Paradox went to great lengths to make this title easy on the eyes. Everything looks colorful, sharp and well defined. That's a good thing. A game deep as this one will have you staring at it for hours, as you obsess over how best to take over the world!

"Gentlemen, there's no fighting in the war room!"

In addition, there has been much done to cut down on the micromanagement. This is especially good for more casual minded gamers. The Hearts of Iron games have a challenging learning curve to say the least. Newcomers, and possibly even veterans, should be prepared to devote a considerable amount of their time to learning the various complexities that make this the most detailed geopolitical simulator to date. A personal favorite feature for HoI 3, is the government in exile system. Even if the odds are against you, and your nation is defeated, you can still carry on the fight with an underground resistance.

Your objective in HoI 3 is highly open ended, and depends on the nation you play, how powerful it is, and your experience level. Play a nation like the U.S.A., and you'll probably follow along history's footsteps, attempting to shut down the war machines of Germany and Japan. Play a smaller nation such as Cuba for example, and your priorities will be radically different. No matter what you do, it's comforting to know that many of your duties can be delegated to A.I. assistants, allowing you to concentrate on other aspects of running your nation.

This game is like Risk - on steroids, lots of steroids.

HoI 3 is a real-time, pausable, grand strategy game, and it looks like it's going to be extreme. Even though I'm a fairly accomplished strategy gamer, I know that I'm going to be in for a serious challenge. Paradox Interactive has mastered grand strategy genre, this isn't Command & Conquer. If you're not willing to wade through all the gritty details of a nation and do whatever it takes to lead it through one of the most epic events in world history, you may want to stick to something simpler. The Hearts of Iron games don't screw around, learn well and learn early, or be reduced to a simpering gamer wishing they were in a StarCraft match on Battle.net. It's that hardcore, and being a possible masochist, I can't wait for it. Stay tuned for a review, if I'm still somewhat sane after I try to play it.

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