Puzzle Quest: Addiction > Fun

Why am I still playing Puzzle Quest? I don't enjoy it, it has no particularly riveting gameplay features or a compelling story. It's completely unsatisfying to play, yet... I load it up almost every night. I used to accuse it of cheating, but I've realised there's something even worse at work here: It's so utterly random that it negates any attempts at strategic play, yet it sells itself as a game that requires such an approach. As a result it's a completely hollow experience. A game that demonstrates more strongly than most a sense of futility and pointlessness. Nothing more than a time waster.

You can't plan ahead at all, because with every turn the situation changes. Winning a match is very rarely about playing well - it's almost exclusively about being lucky. In fact, I would argue that it is 100% about being lucky. This being the case, it's simply not satisfying in any way other than the basic thrill you get out of watching matched-up pieces disappear - sometimes explode - and a new bunch dropping down. Victories aren't to be celebrated because each match could go either way. It's not an achievement.

I don't have an answer to that opening question, by the way. This is what frustrates me more than anything. I'll probably keep playing it until I've cleared it, but I can't think of any other occasion where I've stumbled so blindly through a game with such a minimal amount of enjoyment.

Virtua Fighter 5

I'm shaken. My steadfast belief that gaming is fast degenerating into an mire of creative bankruptcy is in peril. Even Halo 3 didn't have this effect on me. Some games just get better and better the more technology you throw at them, and Virtua Fighter 5 is a prime example.

I've dabbled in the VF series since its home debut on the Saturn, but I was always a fan of the faster-paced action of Street Fighter 2 or the easy returns of Tekken, and for a glorious while the undeniable visual splendour of Soul Calibur. Virtua Fighter passed me by. Too technical, too demanding. Not flashy enough.

The latest in the series has just arrived on Xbox 360 and I'm absolutely blown away by it. It's so solid, so well made, well constructed that it demands respect. That alone isn't enough for greatness of course, but the fact is that it's also a genuine pleasure to play. The wealth of options, game modes and customization possibilities could keep me going for months. I'm reminded of Soul Caliburs quest mode, the compulsion to play and play in order to unlock every last extra mode, every last gallery picture. Virtua Fighter 5 takes this to incredible lengths. Hairstyles, jewelry, outfits, accessories... dozens of each can be won or bought. It's a collect 'em up fans dream ticket.

In the end that's all superfluous though - what you're left with is the meat and bones of the finest, most intricate one-on-one combat game ever made, and that alone is enough to warrant months and years of playing.

It's a first impression - I've only spent one short evening with the game so far - but I can only see myself becoming more enamoured of it. The best game on the 360 yet.

Castlemania - Castlevania (NES)

Defeated Death using the holy water trick last night. A hollow victory considering the method I had to resort to. Bit cheesed off with this at the moment so it's going on the backburner.

Castlemania - Castlevania (NES)

losing the will to continue with this game now, after losing track of the number of attempts I've made at beating Death. On several tries I had him down to one health point before one of those effing scythes found its way to me. It's been a very long time since I've been so physically wound up by a game.

Castlemania - Castlevania (NES)

Stage 15 - Medusa heads coming from both directions + axe-throwing knights. Lovely. Timing your jumps to avoid the heads while timing your hits on the knights to avoid the axes makes for a pleasant experience. I made it to Death, but the pitiful amount of health I had left ensured I lasted approximately 3 seconds.

That ain't friendly.

Castlemania - Castlevania (NES)

Stage 13... I start off grinning ear to ear as yet another classic tune starts up (Heart of Fire). The grin turns upside-down pretty quickly when I'm faced with skeleton bone-lobbers and hunchback jumpy guys all at once. At one point a skeleton leaves the screen completely then jumps back on, killing me. It's the standard platformer practise of throwing several different obstacles at you - all of which have to be avoided in different ways, which usually means avoiding one puts you in danger from the other.

Thought I'd have a quick bash on Mega Man and was quickly reminded why I didn't choose to tackle that particular series.

Castlemania - Castlevania (NES)

That was a pain in the arse.

The stage 12 boss proved to be a bit annoying... it's a combination of Frankenstein's Monster and one of the little jumping guys - who also fires shots at you. Again, the stopwatch doesn't work, so I can assume it's not going to from now on (unless it only freezes life, and the last two bosses have been undead?). Anyway, much, much restarting was done until I got into to the mindset of being patient. Usually I'd just go in and try to thrash the boss before it did the same to me. The problem with that is... going toe-to-toe with a boss doesn't work out too well does it? The Big Guy himself doesn't actually pose much of a threat, he just shuffles back and forth, but it's him you need to hit. The little guys jumps all over the screen and does quite a bit of damage by both hitting you physically and with his slow-moving shots. I found that if you hit the little guy he freezes for a couple of seconds, and in that time you can get a few hits in on Frankie. Still, it was a close thing with a great deal of luck involved.

There were a lot of unnecessary deaths throughout this stage thanks to iffy collision detection and a couple of unfair moments. Only the boss had me chewing the pad and swearing though. It can only get worse I expect!

Castlemania - Castlevania (NES)

Second crack at Castlevania. The Medusa heads are still the most annoying things in the game, but those little guys that jump around you come a close second. Got to the beginning of stage 4 where I suffered some unfortunate jumping problems (jumping over water while trying to avoid flying enemies). Progress is swift though, considering this was my second ever go on the game. I've found that the way to beat bosses is to simply make sure you have the stopwatch and just freeze them and thrash. I wonder if that will work all the way through...?

Startropics

I didn't really want to go to bed this morning, so around 4am I decided to start playing random NES stuff. I settled on Startropics and was immediately charmed. It's really simple and linear and holds you hand tightly, but it's also a lot of fun. There's overworld exploration and conversations with NPCs, then you're handed a quest and you venture into some dungeon or similar to carry it out. There it zooms in a bit and you have a very Zelda-esque series of rooms you need to progress through. There are monsters, switch puzzles (albeit very basic) and boss encounters.

It's got a bit of the stiffness of the 8-bit era, but on the whole it plays well. I think I'm going to stick with it.

Back to basics

I don't do anywhere near enough drawing (in fact, I barely do any). I don't really enjoy it and always have to break through a boredom / disinterest threshold soon after I've started. However, I am making a concerted effort to start drawing stuff and keep at it - it's pretty important after all!

Castlemania - Castlevania (NES)

Ouch.

Just had my first proper crack at this one. Apart from some glitches it actually plays pretty well (I fell clean through a moving platform at one point). Lost my first life to the first boss before coming back and spamming magic axes at it, then I succumbed a couple of times to the spiky presses on level 2 - which have a very unforgiving detection and timing. Also got my first NES taste of those damned Medusa heads, which have wound me up in every version I've played. Still, lessons learned!

Castlemania - The Mission

OK... so I had an idea today. Probably one of my more stupid ideas, but at the moment I'm quite excited and up for it. I was thinking about how I tend to sample a lot of games but stick with very few - even when I'm very much enjoying the ones I move away from. This got me thinking about the many classics I've missed out on over the years. Games I've played, sure, but not ones I've finished or even put any decent effort into.

So, seeing as exciting new games are thin on the ground and I'm a grumpy old retrohead anyway I've decided on a mission. I'm going to take a classic game series and play through it from the debut title to the most recent - to completion. No abandoning because I'm having trouble with a boss, no drifting away because some new RPG comes out that I want to play 10 hours of then forget about. Nope, I'm going to go back to the old days in both respects: old games and the old attitude I used to have about them - that I would beat the damn things.

Choosing the series came pretty easily, though I whittled it down from a shortlist. I settled on Castlevania - a series I've dabbled in to various degrees and been thrilled and frustrated by, but one that I've not really put a lot of effort into (the closest I've come to finishing one was 95% or so on Circle of the Moon, but gave up on being unable to defeat Dracula). It's remained resolutely 2D for the most part, and even the entries that have gone into 3D have only done so in a limited manner - unlike Metroids move into the first-person realm (the one reason that series was discarded). I like the style of game it's developed into but in the past I've had issues with frustrating bosses. I gave in too easily! The earlier games make a refreshing return to simpler A-Z platforming, too, and to my shame I can admit I've barely touched any of the NES entires before.

So, without further ado here's the list, in the order I'll be playing them. Each will be completed before I move onto the next. One caveat I have is that I only need to see a victory screen - it doesn't have to be a 100% effort (in the case of those titles where exploration and item collection are factored into the completion rating).

Castlevania - NES
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - NES
The Castlevania Adventure - Game Boy
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - NES
Super Castlevania IV - SNES
Castlevania II: Belmot's Revenge - Game Boy Color
Akumajo Dracula X: Rondo of Blood - PC Engine
Demon Castle Dracula X68000 - Sharp X68000
Castlevania Bloodlines - Megadrive
Castlevania Dracula X - SNES
Castlevania Symphony of the Night - Playstation
Castlevania Legends - Game Boy
Castlevania 64 - N64
Castlevania Legacy of Darkness - N64
Castlevania Circle of the Moon - Game Boy Advance
Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance - Game Boy Advance
Castlevania Aria of Sorrow - Game Boy Advance
Castlevania Lament of Innocence - Playstation 2
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow - Nintendo DS
Castlevania Curse of Darkness - Playstation 2
Castlevania Portrait of Ruin - Nintendo DS
Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles - Playstation Portable

There was an MSX game that came out prior to the NES one, but as far as I can tell it's the same thing...

Well. I can say no more other than: updates will be forthcoming!

Halo 3

Well it's finally here, and it's really, really good. Best of all I seem to be able to play it without motion-sickness problems, which is a huge relief. I still get a little bit queasy when the action takes place in cramped areas with a lot of movement, but even then it's almost insignificant - certainly not enough to stop me playing. I don't know what it is about the movement of Halo that makes it different to any other FPS in that regard, but I am extremely thankful for it.

As for the game itself... it's Halo, but it's Halo polished and refined to perfection. It won't convert anyone who didn't like the first two but for those of us that do it builds and expands on what's great already and offers up plenty of new elements. At the moment I'm playing through the solo campaign mode on Heroic difficulty. I haven't touched the online stuff yet, but it's obvious from the reaction across the media and the net that online Halo 3 will be played for years. Endlessly customizable multiplayer maps added to Bungie's own added content will see to that. There's so much in there it's staggering.

My favourite thing of all though is the Theatre Mode. Evey time you play a session it records the game to the hard drive, and you can play it back from any viewpoint, edit clips and take screenshots. It's an awesome tool for revising strategies, coming up with dramatic scenes or just reliving the action. It also brilliantly shows off the artistry in the visuals.

So yes - the wait was worth it. The game completely lives up to my expectations so far, and it's justified in getting all the praise it is.

Persona 3 and RPGs

I've come to a conclusion on the seemingly random nature of my affinity for RPG videogames. I'm known as something of an RPG nut, but it's really an erroneous label. The truth is I try a lot of RPGs - but there are very, very few that I stick with and enjoy. I always seem to be on the hunt for an epic game that's going to engross me the way Phantasy Star, Final Fantasy VII or Vagrant Story did (and do).

So why, after trying and casting aside literally dozens of popular RPGs over the past few years has Person 3 stuck with me so emphatically? The answer, I think, is that it's significantly different to the traditional Japanese RPG, or at least my experience of it. There seems to be a reason to play it other than the compulsion to level up... it's fun to actually play.

I start playing most JRPGs full of enthusiasm and good intentions, but those quickly drain out of me as the inevitable 'RPG guilt' takes over. This is the overwhelming feeling that embarking on what typically amounts to 50+ hours of save-the-world, level-grinding gameplay is an inexcusable waste of time. An almost self-loathing feeling that comes over me after spending several hours playing a game that I'm not really enjoying all that much, but am for some reason compelled to attempt.

Persona 3 is different. It boasts over 70 hours of game time on the case, and it mainly consists of fighting repetitive battles to boost stats, with the ultimate goal of taking down a succession of boss monsters. If this were all there was to it, and if it played similarly to any other JRPG I wouldn't give it a second thought. Thankfully though, it's quite unlike any JRPG I've ever played. The easiest way to describe it is a cross between Tokimeki Memorial and Rogue. Not the most obvious match-up! By day the focus is on attending school, doing well in studies, and cultivating social networks. All these things constitute part of the stat levelling system in the game. Sing at the karaoke bar and your courage will rise... answer questions in class correctly and your charm and academics benefit. All these behind-the-scenes elements factor into your battle abilities, but it's all nicely hidden and to be honest it's refreshing to not be assaulted with the minutiae of character growth sometimes.

The Roguelike aspect comes in the form of a demonic tower named Tartarus that has to be scaled as the game progresses, each floor layout randomly generated, and offering up opportunities for more straightforward levelling up, items and boss battles every few floors.

The entire gameworld consists of the high school, a few locations in the city, and Tartarus. Major events in the plot are determined by the calendar (for example some kind of large-scale demon activity on each full moon), and day-to-day life is chopped up into sections where sometimes you get to pick an activity or social event to influence your growth. At midnight every night you have the choice of whether to venture into Tartarus or not (sometimes individuals will be too tired or sick to go adventuring, and need nights off).

Getting back to my original point, obviously this represents a substantially different structure to the standard fare. Yes, different RPGs have their different combat systems and different skill systems, but when it comes right down to it the structure and essential gameplay of them remains very conservative. Personified completely by Dragon Quest VIII, which is to all intents and purposes exactly the same game as Dragon Quest I. The graphical finery and vocal work and the substantial charms they bring aren't enough to keep me playing, because I've done all this before. It's not offering anything new to play. I admire Nippon Ichi SRPGs, but whenever I tinker with them I always come to the same conclusion: Why don't I just play Disgaea and be done with the rest?

Persona 3s fresh approach has me playing for sessions of several hours without the faintest hint of RPG guilt. I realised this was the same with Valkyrie Profile, and why it became the first RPG in over 5 years (since Vagrant Story debuted) that I avidly played through to completion. This is why I adore Final Fantasy XII, because regardless of my admiration for the team that created it, if it had simply been another in the long line of traditional Final Fantasies I would not have bothered to play it for more than a couple of hours, out of curiosity. As it is it's so radically different to its predecessors that it really does feel like a completely different game and a new experience.

It's not enough for me to be obsessed with stats and leveling up, or even to be gripped by a good story anymore. There has to be something in the very core of the game mechanic that I haven't experienced before, and that presents a fun challenge in addition to those other things.

I've happily come to terms with the notion of getting a great, fresh, compelling RPG every few years. If nothing else, it at least gives me enough free time to actually play other genres.

1 - Dungeon Master (Amiga / Atari ST / PC)

And so we have it. My all-time favourite game. It's held onto the top spot for just under 20 years now, and weathered powerful attacks on its position from some of the other games in this list. Whenever I come back to it though I find it as compelling, fresh and addictive as ever. I've lost count of the number of times I've completed it yet I still relish every new start. It's a masterpiece of design, presentation and interface. It's smart and scary. It's amazing.

A friend of mine lent this to me - it must have been in early 1988 - along with some other games for the Atari ST. He didn't think much of it but thought I might like it. I watched my brother struggle with it for a bit, get killed by the first creature and dismiss it, but there was something there that fascinated me and I found myself loading it up whenever I could get onto the ST. Soon I was raving about it to my friend, who then gave it another shot and fell as much in love with it as I did.

I hadn't played anything like this before. A realtime environment, cunningly designed and filled with monsters, puzzles and riches. A freeform character levelling system and a seamless interface that had you interacting directly with the environment via the disembodied hand-cursor. That interface lent a strong sense of connection to the game along with the clean visuals, with every option no more that a couple of clicks away.

The magic system was rooted in a common-sense reality, made up of runes representing different forms, elements, alignments, etc. The specific spells were drip-fed to you as you progressed deeper, but a bit of savvy thinking and experimentation would unlock their power much sooner - if you had the resources to handle them. Characters progressed and became more proficient in the actions they practised. You could concentrate one characters' efforts towards destructive magic, another towards mélee combat, or have them Jack-of-all-trades. You could take one, two, three or four champions with you.

The design of the dungeon itself was a work of genius. After a fairly linear first half, the deeper levels opened up in all kinds of ways, and interconnected via a series of hidden stairways. The feeling of immersion in the place was absolute. I remember the first time I journeyed down to the deepest levels, and having the overwhelming sense that the entrance was a distant, unreachable memory. Each new descent brought a new creature or two to the roster, and a new challenge in dealing with them. The most ferocious and deadly of all reserved for the 14th, deepest level.

I remember level 12, keeping my starving party alive on stamina and health potions potions while battling against Chaos Knights. I remember jumping out of my chair on hearing a Magenta Worm attack me from the side. I remember the weird calm in the centre that is level 7, the epic battle against a room packed full of giant rats on level 9, which provided me with an almost endless supply of food. Most of all though I remember the final confrontation with Lord Chaos - a desperate, nerve-wracking test of dexterity that had my heart pounding as hard as any arcade game.

Dungeon Master lives on thanks to a couple of remake projects - the original games included in their entirety but with the capacity for total customization. The groundwork laid down by the interface has been put to amazing use by some talented individuals, keeping both the original game alive and expanding its potential. It's the kind of game that encourages that level of dedication and following, and I for one am grateful to be part of it.

2 - Phantasy Star Online (Dreamcast / Gamecube)

I can barely put into words my feelings about Phantasy Star Online. Along with many people it was my first real online gaming experience, and the early days of the Dreamcast version were a gaming Utopia filled with friendly and helpful people. The universal chat interface brought players together in a beautiful way, and spending nights dropping into random games with complete strangers was a joy. The camaraderie was amazing, uplifting. High-level players would happily escort new people through a tough area. Gifts were given freely. The nature of the game engendered a community spirit unlike anything else.

After the hackers started in on things we marshalled ourselves together in more tightly-knit groups, locking games and giving out passwords only to trusted players. This only served to strengthen and solidify friendships though, and allowed for the more focused and demanding aspects of the game to be taken on. Challenge Mode demanded a solid unit, and we took up the challenge and met it. The intense co-operative team play of Challenge Mode PSO remains my pinnacle of gaming experiences.

All this is without talking about the game itself, though. PSO was unique in its aesthetics - everything from the visual style to the music was fresh and new, and so intrinsically linked to fond memories that simply thinking about the opening bars of the Forest theme triggers a wave of emotion. The gameplay was simple - Gauntlet in space, Diablo in space... but it was direct and immediate. An online RPG where arcade game skills mattered. The interface was clean and necessarily fast, with shortcuts configured to vital items and techniques.

Then there was the RPG aspect of it. Level-building, the collection of better equipment. In the pre-hack days we used to marvel at a player unveiling some mythical rare weapon. The Spread Needle, the Crazy Tune, the Twin Brand. Owning these things became an obsessive, almost quixotic quest. Beyond that there was the Mag raising. Your little robotic buddy, always at your side could be carefully manipulated into a variety of forms, and players became obsessed with raising particular types, or better yet finding a super-rare Mag Cell that would instantly transform it into one of eight special forms.

The game comprised only four main levels, split into two or three areas each, yet we played them over and over again for literally years. And happily, too. Just being in the game was cosy, it was so inviting. Everything just felt so right.

For a few years Sonic Team gave us a dose of pure gaming paradise, the likes of which I doubt I'll ever see or experience again.

3 - Star Control 2 (PC)

I was introduced to Star Control 2 by way of the Ur-Quan Masters - a free remake made possible when the original creators released the source code into the open-source community.

It's an epic space adventure / strategy / arcade game. Hard to define, in fact, because it does so many things so well. It's completely open-ended, presenting the player with a galaxy to explore and exploit, technologies to acquire and use, alien races to contact and communicate with (sometimes with hilarious results - the script for SC2 is among the best I've ever seen in a game), forge allegiances, make war, engage in ship-to-ship combat... there's so much to do it's mind-boggling.

Being a space game it doesn't have to do much to appeal to me visually, and while it's quite basic compared to modern efforts it still has a very attractive, bright and colourful VGA style. The atmosphere is helped no end by some excellent music and ambience.

The short end of it is that Star Control 2 is comprised of several types and facets of gaming that I am a complete sucker for. There are trading games, combat games, exploration games, strategy games, even diplomacy games that I've enjoyed, but this one takes all those things and mixes them together in one glorious package. Some games you play for a quick fix, and others you settle down with for years. Star Control 2 is firmly and permanently in the latter camp.

4 - Chaos (Spectrum)

I bought Chaos for 50p. I probably bought it because it was 50p. I mean, how could you go wrong for that? Not very, as it turned out. On the Spectrum I probably played Chaos only slightly less than Elite, and I'm still playing it today.

On the surface Chaos is deceptively simple, and seems almost throwaway. The graphics are modest even by Spectrum standards, the sound effects rudimentary, and the overall presentation of the game is very basic. None of that matters though, because bubbling under that surface is a strategy masterpiece that still outclasses its brethren in the genre.

Up to 8 wizards do battle in an arena with a variety of spells that their disposal. Creatures can be summoned, enhancements cast on the wizards themselves, fires started, magical woods created, lightning bolts fired... there's a large range of magics available to each player, each with its own chance of success. For example - keep casting chaotic spells and the chaos-alignment increases, making subsequent chaos spells easier to cast. Each turn the players get to choose and attempt to cast a spell, then move themselves and whatever allies they have. Directly attacking an enemy is simply a case of trying to move into its spot, either by land or air. Distance attacks and offensive spells have to be executed within range. Victory goes to the last wizard standing.

This simple premise soon blooms into a very tactical game. After a few rounds the boards is teeming with creatures and obstacles, all out for one thing: the destruction of their enemies. Players can hide inside citadels or forests for a few turns, they can mount their own ridable creatures or arm up and go into direct combat themselves. Different creatures affect each other in different ways.

Something I always liked about Chaos is the fact that it never lets on how well your wizard and creatures are doing... whether they're fit as a fiddle or at deaths door. Every attack on your wizard is a painfully tense moment. Will they survive or be wiped out? The death of a wizard is always a fun moment, as he explodes in 8 directions, taking all his creations with him.

With such a range of options, numbers of players and spell choices no two games of Chaos are ever remotely the same, which is why over 20 years on it's still my strategy game of choice.

5 - Typhoon 2001 (PC)

I absolutely adore the game design of Tempest, and while the original still looks nice and plays a decent game, the idea really shone when Jeff Minter took it and gave it a total makeover for the Jaguar. Since then it's gone through many incarnations on many platforms, but it's retained that manic eye-melting formula. Typhoon 2001 - a freeware, homebrewed tribute - is the finest version I've played yet.

It's the kind of game that only makes sense to the person playing it (and even then only some of the time). It's completely exhilarating, and sometimes overwhelmingly frantic. Typhoon 2001 throws down the highscore gauntlet and dares you to blink. It's arcade gaming mainlined into your brain, forcing your hands to play catch-up. It's my absolute favourite dose-of-adrenaline game. The surest way into The Zone.

6 - Dungeon Crawl (PC)

My favourite Roguelike, Dungeon Crawl (specifically the tiles version) jettisons so much baggage that it makes even other Roguelikes look flabby. The premise is as simple as they come: Descend into a dungeon and kill things while searching for the Orb of Zot. There isn't even so much as a town, or any shops along the way, and it makes no concessions to sidequests.

One of the many things I love about Crawl is the persistent levels. Everywhere you've been remains intact when you return, so heading back upwards for a breather isn't a proposition filled with uncertainty. There's a great religion system at work in the game, and after a few levels the player gets to choose which deity to follow. Performing certain actions while praying can incur the wrath or favour of these deities, and each one offers a number of abilities and bonuses - if you keep them sweet.

It's also famously difficult, in fact it's fair to say that the game takes a great deal of pleasure in sending your characters into the afterlife as often and brutally as possible. But you still come back for more. I get wildly excited if a character of mine gets down to double-digit levels in the dungeon.

The tiles version benefits from (obviously) the nice graphical tileset and even mouse control - though it's best to save the mouse for inventory management.

Dungeon Crawl is really a case of wearing the name that fits. It doesn't have any pretention, it just does what it does perfectly. I find it more engrossing and fun than almost any RPG I've played.