The Other Side of the Sky

So it snowed. That happened.

I was planning on completing Mass Effect 3 a second time to talk about it, but every time I load it up to start, I feel horrible and I have to stop myself. I’ve been playing Fall of the Samurai instead, so I guess I’ll cover that next. But I’ll definitely get around to ME3 after that.

Probably.

In writing news I’ve started a substantial edit of a project from a couple of years ago – HS. The plan is to complete that within a couple of months and then start work on some other stuff. The ultimate goal is to have three more polished novels completed by the end of the year.

Now Playing: The Witcher 2

I began The Witcher 2 having played, yet not completed, its predecessor. Although there were many aspects of The Witcher that intrigued me - the characters, story, setting and combat - the game itself felt horribly paced, and ten or so hours in, I was left increasingly frustrated by what seemed like an endless series of irritating fetch quests and point A to B to C to back to A backtracking with little in the way of plot development.

Essentially, I gave up because I got bored. I said I’d go back and slog my way through it one day. I’d asked around and been told that the game does pick up significantly during its later chapters - providing you have the patience to reach them.

So I was naturally wary of The Witcher 2. There was a lot I liked about the first game, the question was if the developers could take those elements, improve upon them and discard the fluff. When the game in its ‘Enhanced Edition’ form went on sale, I decided to give it a shot, and I discovered the answer was an emphatic YES!

Across the board, The Witcher 2 excels in all areas, leaving not only its predecessor in the shade, but most other games too - hence why I proclaimed it the best game I played in 2012 (although it was originally released on PC in 2011) Graphically, The Witcher 2 is an incredibly good looking game, featuring a variety of lush environments, highly detailed character and creature models and a set of fluid, exciting combat animations.

It has a wonderful soundtrack combined with a great range of in game atmospheric sounds – from swords clashing on the battlefield, to the banter in a village market. On top of this you also have some of the most consistently excellent VA I’ve seen in a game, especially considering its wide cast and variety of characters.

The story avoids the typical ‘an ancient evil rises’ trope that so many other fantasy based games fall into. Instead, it expertly and maturely presents us with a story that features world changing events and the resulting political machinations, but interwoven with a more personal story - a search for truth, friends and justice. And unlike the first game, the story this time is much better paced, keeping you engaged and progressing at a steady rate.

The story also features a branching narrative which can result in the player visiting different locations, interacting with different characters or characters in a new manner, seeing things from an alternative perspective, and even determine the outcome of the game - it’s a trick many games claim, yet few create the sense of importance and impact that decisions in The Witcher 2 manage - many of them weighing upon the player with no clear ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ solution.

The story begins with the assassination of a King, and very quickly Geralt (a Witcher - a professional monster slayer) finds himself drawn into a conflict that will determine the fate of the northern kingdoms, all the while attempting to uncover the mysteries of his own past. The story unfolds over the course of a prologue campaign (which serves as a tutorial section), three large chapters, each set in a new location with new enemies to face (and the second of which can play out very differently depending on your choices in Chapter 1) and a final, satisfying epilogue to wrap things up, but just enough to leave you wanting more - take note, Mass Effect 3.

Alongside the main story quests are many side and optional missions providing a depth and wealth of varied content. There are also enjoyable mini games to take part in - fist fighting, dice and arm wrestling. These quests, as you would expect, come with rewards such as money and gear which can be used to enhance Geralt. Even some seemingly minor, unimportant fetch quests can lead to larger, more complex encounters that would put the ‘main quest’ missions in other games to shame - take note, Skyrim.

As in other RPGs, Geralt levels up and has a skill tree enabling him to enhance his abilities in three distinct areas - combat, magic and alchemy. Experience points are plentiful enough to encourage experimentation, but not enough to simply flood every tree and acquire every ability. Certain abilities can then be further enhanced with the use of mutagens found in the world to further tailor Geralt’s abilities to your liking.

Although I didn’t mind the almost ‘rhythm game’ nature of the combat system in The Witcher, the fighting mechanics in its sequel far surpass it. Even on lower difficulty settings, fights cannot be won through mindless clicking, but through timing, skill and tactics. As you often find yourself facing multiple attackers, you must quickly learn to use every tool at your disposal - there are fast and slow attack types, parries, ripostes and dodges.

Combine those with a variety of bomb types, blade oils and traps, each with varying effects - and even further with the variety of performance enhancing potions you can brew and consume - and you have an engaging, tactical combat system that STILL manages to look bloody cool on top - take note, Assassin’s Creed.

So yeah, it looks, sounds and plays fantastic, with a wealth and depth of content, a strong story and great characterisation. Oh, and some memorable and challenging ‘boss’ fights too. So what are the negatives? Well, Chapter 2 feels a little bloated, with some unnecessary padding and backtracking - although I only played through one of the story paths in Chapter 2, so I’m unsure how well paced the alternative is. Potions feel largely redundant, as you can only use these out of combat - so unless you know what’s around the next corner, you may not use them very often.

This also applies to traps, which take a small moment to lay in a fight and usually aren’t worth the risk. I played through on the default Normal setting, so perhaps on higher difficulties these tools become more important, but in my experience, neither was ever as useful as the simple blade oils. Chapter Three feels rather restrictive and more linear than the previous two, but that’s to be expected. Visiting more locations would have also been nice, because this is a world with a lot of history and detail, and it’s a shame we don’t get to see more of it.

Overall, I couldn’t recommend The Witcher 2 any higher. It’s an incredibly polished and exemplary title. It is rich in detail, deep in content, varied, engaging, comfortably on the right side of challenging and above all else, extremely enjoyable and rewarding to play.

9/10

Work in Progress: WFTD & SOV

WFTD and SOV are now complete. SOV was a largely painless affair. My original draft was surprisingly solid and with a few tweaks and additions here and there, I think it’s now in a fine state. WFTD was a little more challenging, with many internal debates on the ‘right’ way to end the story. A few rewrites later, I ultimately went with my original choices (with a couple of minor tweaks) and the novel was complete, with an additional seven thousand words on top of the original draft.

And with the dawn of the new year, I must now look to my next projects. I’ve accumulated quite a body of work over the last several years that I’ve not really done anything with, so although I have many ideas for new books, I’ve decided to focus instead on taking existing unfinished / unpolished work and editing and rewriting them where necessary.

I have three initial projects in mind - NI, HS, and AO. Each already exits in a draft form, HS in particular shouldn’t require too much work. But NI and AO will require some significant rewrites - NI in particular. I guess I should get started.

The Clayton Awards 2012

Somewhat strangely, the best and the most disappointing games I played in 2012 are not ones I’ve yet covered on the blog.

Best Game of 2012 - The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

 

 Most Disappointing Game of 2012 - Mass Effect 3

I’ll be covering both of these games in more depth early next year.

Now Playing: Dark Forces, TG,P! & TWD

Dark Forces (1996) is a FPS set within the Star Wars universe. Despite its age, DF is still remarkably fun and challenging in places. There are 14 levels, set within a variety of locations, many of which manage to capture that classic Star Wars vibe. The levels are not entirely linear and feature multiple paths and hidden areas. In fact, somewhat amusingly, the size of the maps would probably make quite a few modern shooters blush.

There are a few switch/ key code puzzles here and there, but nothing too tedious. The shooting may be rather basic, but you have a decent selection and the weapon sounds are top notch. Music and VA is also good. There are some decent cut-scenes between missions and the plot keeps you interested.

Overall, I was surprised how much I enjoyed playing Dark Forces. It was the first time I’ve played it and I honestly wondered if it would simply feel too dated for me to enjoy. But that wasn’t the case at all. Even today, DF is well worth your time, especially if you’re a Star Wars fan, or just a fan of shooters in general.

7/10

Time Gentlemen, Please! is the sequel to Ben There, Dan That! It’s a very solid, enjoyable point and click adventure. It’s an improvement over the first game, taking in more locations, characters and even more convoluted puzzles. I’ve said before I’m not a massive fan of these types of games, but the humour of TG,P! certainly won me over. If you are big adventure nut, this is definitely worth checking out.

7/10

The Walking Dead is a tricky one. It was undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable titles I played this year but is it a particularly good game? Its ‘puzzles’ are basic. The gameplay is rudimentary and simplistic. There is zero challenge. ‘Choices’ have little to no impact at times. And yet, I’d still rate TWD highly. Whilst it may lack in some fundamental areas, it absolutely excels in others, most notably in story and characterisation.

As I said in my previous post, I hope many of my criticisms of the game are addressed in a sequel. Above all else, TWD is a memorable, engaging title. It gave me a reason to care and become emotionally invested in the developing narrative. It may not be a very good ‘game’ in the traditional sense, but it’s an extremely worthwhile experience and I’d certainly recommend it.

8/10

Now Playing: Knights of the Old Republic 2

The original Knights of the Old Republic (2003) was a fantastic Star Wars game. But its sequel - The Sith Lords (2005) - was a buggy and practically broken game upon release. It seems that development was rushed to completion during its final stages, particularly affecting the game’s conclusion - which was butchered into a nonsensical mess. Spin on seven years and KOTOR 2 has finally been released on Steam. With the addition of a fan made restoration mod, the game finally feels fixed and complete - or at least as fixed and complete as it’s ever going to get.

As in the first game, KOTOR 2 begins with a rather tedious opening section, before setting the player on a quest to travel to four very different worlds. Each world contains a mixture of primary and optional quests which are undertaken to advance the plot, increase your level and abilities, gain new gear and recruit new companions.

Speaking of companions, their AI is just as bad as the original and they require constant micro management to be effective in combat. Some of them also feel rather pointless given how underdeveloped they are or how little they impact on the main plot (particularly at the end, but I’ll get to that later)

Although the worlds of KOTOR 2 are larger and contain more content than the original, that’s not such a good thing. Many of the optional missions are tiresome rather than interesting, and I was glad when I unlocked Force Speed in order to zip about from one quest point to another, because although the environments are bigger, they are also rather bland and empty. But when you finally do complete your missions on each world, that’s when things finally kick into gear.

Although the game becomes a lot more linear as you’re quickly transported from one mission critical location to the next, the action ramps up several notches and the revelations come thick and fast. The plot, which had been developing at a relatively sedate plod suddenly engages Ludicrous Speed. And then, just when things start getting really, really good, that’s when things also start falling apart.

Because even with the restored content mod, the ending of KOTOR 2 is still something of a buggy, disjointed mess. Some characters simply disappear entirely during the conclusion, others pop up in odd, random cut-scenes which don’t really lead anywhere. There’s very little in the sense of closure or satisfaction, and before you realise it the credits are rolling and its Game Over. Which is a darn shame, because KOTOR 2 had the potential to far surpass the original.

You see, the original KOTOR held very true to the nature of Star Wars. Jedi were good and Sith were bad. It was very basic, but it was pure Star Wars and I loved every minute of it. Okay, so it did dabble slightly with the notion that perhaps the moral nature of the Jedi and Sith were not quite so black and white, but for the most part, it stuck closely to the source material.

KOTOR 2 on the other hand breaks significantly away from the binary nature of Star Wars morality. It questions the core ideals of the Jedi and of the Sith. It makes the player examine both sides from the perspective of an outcast - an exiled Jedi. There is very little simple black or white morality in KOTOR 2, only shades of grey. It looks at the Force in a new, interesting way, and even in its butchered state, the ending sets up what could have been a fantastic new direction for the Star Wars universe and the future of the Jedi / Sith conflict. Unfortunately, it’s not something we’ll ever get to see.

Overall, KOTOR 2 feels like wasted potential. Even ignoring its technical and gameplay flaws (which are largely carried over from the original and are things I can certainly live with) KOTOR 2 fails to live up to the promise of the plot it slowly builds, ending on a disappointing and somewhat baffling note. It’s a case of what might have been, if the game had not been rushed out the door. My advice – play the original, and if you crave more, give KOTOR 2 a shot with the restored content mod. It’s certainly worth it, it’s just a shame it was never, and never will truly be complete.

7/10