WIBP - SSX, Asura's Wrath, Fez, and Terraria / Vita Stuff

After quite a while, I figured I should do some writing about video games. This IS a blog about video games, right? On a site about video games?

SSX [Time Played: ??? Hrs (A lot)] Finished: No

My first memory of SSX was SSX Tricky back on the GameCube. I remember loving the music the most, and thank goodness that's back in this reboot. I'm not much for sports games, but when they play like an arcade game, then you can count me in. The gameplay is super fun, and although the lack of global leaderboards is a bit disappointing, if you have one or two friends who love to play SSX as well, then you are guaranteed to have a good time. I pop this game in at least once a week just to get some scores and then play something else. The visuals look great, and when you manage to get into Super Tricky mode, A DUBSTEP REMIX OF THE ORIGINAL SONG PLAYS. I mean, I don't even... it blew my mind. It's really, really good, actually. When you pull off a huge combo and land it just right, you get that awesome rush of excitement, and I think that's what SSX is all about.

Asura's Wrath [Time Played: ??? Hrs (A ton)] Finished: Yes

I first played the demo for Asura's Wrath on a cold winter evening. It had me and my friend jumping out of our seats and screaming at the top of our lungs. Asura's Wrath isn't so much a game as it is an experience. Much like Gurren Lagann, it is the embodiment of all that is "Fuck Yeah" and "OH SHIT DID YOU SEE THAT." If you don't know what Asura's Wrath is, let's just say the developers of Ultimate Ninja Storm, CyberConnect2, decided to do their take on God of War, taking bits from Gurren Lagann along the way. The game is mostly cutscenes, with you interacting through movement of the sticks and button presses. It may sound boring, but trust me, it's not. You play as Asura, a father who is angry because his daughter is stolen away by multiple entities throughout the game. What's a guy to do but beat the shit out of everything in his way? The game has an excellent sense of scale and especially self-awareness, which turns out to be FANTASTIC. For example, Asura is standing opposite this divine god who is generally annoying and makes people want to punch him in the face just by speaking. So, while he's ranting, a tiny button prompt appears on screen with the circle button and the text "Shut Wyzen up". So, naturally, you press it. And you punch him in the face, and the fight ensues.

This trope is taken to the EXTREME later in the game and in the DLC. There is one point in the game where Asura grows a ton of arms after a power-up, and 15 sticks appear on each side of the screen for you to push. There is a second title screen just before the final boss battle. In the DLC, as you're kicking the living shit out of the real real final boss, a second set of button prompts appear on screen, and it takes you a second to realize that those are his button prompts, and as you are beating him, he's failing them. GOD I love this game.

Asura's Wrath is a game that will remain one of my favorites forever. It's a game where you can say, "Hey, it would be awesome/funny if they did X here." And then, 5 seconds later, they do it. And by the time you finish the game, you are so blown away that the only thing you can do is sit there. And then go to bed.

Fez [Time Played: 15 Hrs] Finished:No

Oh, Fez. I hate you so much, but I love you at the same time. Everything about this game screams "masterpiece." From the fake crash and BIOS screen at the beginning to the incredible music to the cryptography and the countless videogame throwbacks, it all makes me so happy that Fez exists. Just because I haven't fully completed it, doesn't mean I don't love it. I could leave it on the start screen for hours, days, weeks, just listening to that music, and I would still love it.

So why haven't I finished it? Well, my 360 red-ringed. So it looks like I'll either have to wait until I get to college, which will be in August, or until it comes out on PC, which I hope will be sooner. Maybe a long blog post about it when I finish? We'll see.

Terraria [Time Played: 18 Hrs] Finished: No

Oh God. Last summer, all of my co-workers were playing this. I think "Wow, that looks stupid. It's just a Minecraft ripoff. See you fuckers later, I have 3D graphics!" Terraria is so much more than 2D Minecraft. RPG elements, bosses, loot and dungeons make this game awesome and even more awesome with friends. I got a deal on a $9/mo server and we've been playing ever since last week. What I can say about Terraria has already been said, so I'll just say that it's awesome.

I bought a PlayStation Vita. Please send help.

20 seconds after making the purchase and walking out of my car, I called my friend. "I have made a terrible mistake. Please help me," I said, panicking. He texted me back, trying to justify it. You'll get Wake Up Club, he said, and Persona 4 The Golden. Okay, yeah, that last one is pretty true, but WAKE UP CLUB ISN'T AVAILABLE IN THE USA. I sat in my car for 5 minutes, staring at the box. My mind pieced together what I would do with it. After all, I had just spent ~$335 on a portable game console and paid the $60 for the 16GB memory card. A PlayStation Vita, at that. I tried to justify my purchase by downloading the demo for Lumines, then Wipeout, then Uncharted. I bought P3P. A few weeks later, today, I downloaded the Gravity Rush demo. And it hit me. There are people making good games for this thing. As soon as I realized that the sequel to 999 would be on Vita, I felt pretty okay about myself. And when I saw the opening to P4G, I knew everything would be alright.

So we'll see. I hope to finally beat Persona 3 on this thing.

Other Bits:

• Dishonored looks awesome. StarForge looks even MORE awesome.
• My iPad 3 is now jailbroken.
• Still waiting for a trailer on that 5th Ace Attorney game, Capcom. And while you're at it, sub the AA movie.
• I suppose while I'm wishing for Ace Attorney announcements, I can wish for another Battle Network game.

See you next time!