Iconoclasts - Review

I was recently looking at a list of all the games released this year, among them was a game called Iconoclasts, available on PS Vita and Steam.  I recently played Detroit Become Human and wanted to go for something lighter before engaging in the next big game.  I watched the trailer for Iconcoclasts and thought it looked fun so away I went to download it.

Mint is great and has many uses, my favorite being when it's used in plain old mint sweets.  They are a great palate cleanser, whether you have just consumed garlic and don't want to kill someone when talking to them, or if you have just got sick and want to forget you did.  Playing Iconoclasts I found myself asking was this the refreshing cleanse I needed to get my mouth feeling right?

Story

The game is set in a world that is controlled by one belief system.  Doing anything outside of this system will get you hurt, maimed, re-educated or killed.  This fanatical group called Concern,  after years of harassing people on the streets for money to send to the third world which then actually goes towards paying their wages they got bored, added a 'The' to their name and took over the world.  I'm joking, of course, that would never happen...they have spies everywhere so I can't say anything further.  The Moon is cracking apart and people are losing it, they feel that their god referred to as 'Him' (spoiler alert it's not music group) is a little upset at the non-believers and is coming to reap vengeance on everyone.

The game has you play as Robin, a mechanic, that in itself makes her a rebel.  In the early part of the game you are interrogated by Agents Black and White, one complains of their head hurting, the other throws out statements like 'someone's been twisting nuts - harlot!'.  That doesn't stop Robin wanting to investigate recent events and generally ends up throwing a spanner in the works.  She does have 'help', I use the term lightly as your sidekicks disappear frequently and don't ever seem to provide any real support.  The biggest pain is Royal, A.K.A. Dead Weight, A.K.A. Pain in the Ass, he is supposed to be powerful but gets knocked out a lot.

Overall I found the story to be pretty underwhelming, there is a lot of dialogue in the game but it feels drawn out, unnecessary and in more than a few places dull.  The companions you have are pretty annoying, occasionally you will be able to take control of them but they are so underpowered by comparison of Robin it just feels like a slog using them.

Visuals

The visuals are done in a cutesy 8-Bit style, trees and bushes have either a cube or pyramid design which is quite fun.  Playing through the game some it reminded me of Zelda and Metroid, which wasn't a bad thing.  I liked the look of the Isiligar, a town under the sea, almost like a fish tank but for people...a people tank?  Some of the enemies were really great, two of my favorites being; The Silver Watchmen, a Samurai with a purple laser katana and Mother who has the ability to make a giant tiger out of concrete and cars.

Overall the visuals were really good and were definitely one of the stronger elements of the game.

Music

I found the music interesting as it had the ability to switch from cute and peaceful to dark and sinister in a heartbeat.  What was impressive to me was that it was done so seamlessly and gave the game an interesting feel.  The music was written, produced and composed by Joakim 'Konjak' Sandberg,  who is also the creator and developer of the game, a Swedish man with many talents.

The soundtrack runs at over two hours which I found to be pretty amazing for a smaller game, especially when everything was done by one person.  My favorite tracks included:

'Nuts and Bolts Title'

'Robin (Blockrock)'

'Controlled Cacophony (Battle 1)'

'Whiteout (VS Agent White)'

'Indoctrination (The Tower)'

'The Greater Good (One Concern)'

'Jet Black (VS Black)'

'Mother (VS Oedipus)'

'Castle Doctrine (Final Battle)'

Overall a strong soundtrack that manages to blend light and darkness together without missing a beat.

Gameplay

The game can be best described as a 2D side-scrolling puzzler and playing through it I could definitely tell it took its cue from games like Zelda and Metroid, unfortunately, it doesn't do it nearly as well.  The puzzles, for the most part, don't feel like puzzles but more annoying obstacles.  The controls are not always as responsive as they should be and sometimes basic movements like climbing a ladder or picking up a box feel like a hardship.

Robin can upgrade and collect new weapons throughout the game, the wrench has some great abilities, and the gun has a cool swapping mode later in the game.  Outside of this, you can collect schematics which are used for creating tweaks, in honesty I found them to be disappointing and did not enhance my experience.  If you never used them you would not miss them.

During my time playing I found there to be a few points where it felt like I was on a desert island and somehow managed to stand on a plug and I thought to myself 'why the hell is that there?'.  There is an area where you have to be stealthy or you fail, not only did it feel out of place but it was supposed to be training for something that you never need.  The other point was where you play as Mina, she has a slow firing gun, moves slowly and can't crawl, so playing as her was infuriating and felt like a handicap. 

Complaints aside I did enjoy many of the boss fights and felt this is one of the stronger parts of the gameplay.  The final boss was interesting and offered a challenge without being frustrating.  Overall the gameplay wasn't great and I found myself way too often wanting the game to be over. 

Final Thoughts

So, after eighteen hours of gameplay how did I feel?  Underwhelmed and happy for my journey to be over with Robin and Co.  The story was a little all over the place, the other characters, for the most part, did not enhance the experience but instead diminished it.  The visuals and music were really good and were by far the strongest part of the game.  The gameplay itself was lacking and I feel a little more polishing could have made it a far better experience.  It is important to note that this game was built from the ground up by one person and I greatly respect that as I do Fez creator Phil Fish.  While I had to really debate this one the game narrowly scraped a 3 out of 5

8-Bit Gaming Conference - Review

Just arrived back last night from Ireland's first 8-Bit Gaming Conference in Griffith College. There was so much to see and do; my better half and I both really enjoyed it and are already looking forward to next year. The atmosphere was brilliant; there were so many gaming enthusiasts & we couldn't get over the amount of rare games & consoles on display.


During one of the panels, we got to hear about how the idea for the 8-Bit Conference came about from one of the organisers.  It was only really conceived a few months ago in a pub (he jokes 'as all good ideas are'). It came from a desire to organise a gaming related event. With a lot of work and little sleep, their idea became a reality.  It's hard to cover everything we got to see and do while at the conference but I will sum it up as best I can to try to do it justice.

The first area we entered was the Retro Gaming Museum, which was fantastic.  They had dedicated display cabinets for both Mario & Zelda, and some of the items featured were really rare.  I thought it was really awesome that they actually had copies of E.T. on the Atari 2600 - which reminds me I really must watch the documentary on Netflix, Atari: Game Over.


While they were many great retro consoles on display, a number of which you were also allowed to play my favorites had to be a rare SNES developer console and the Atari Lynx handheld console.  I was lucky enough to play a Japanese prototype version of Mario Kart on the SNES developer console, which was a lot of fun. The owner of the prototypes explained how these were sent, in various forms (complete, incomplete, slightly different to release versions) to journalists for gaming magazines in the 90s and 2000s. These prototypes and advance copies were often then sold and traded around into the hands of collectors. For me though, getting to play Donkey Kong on the Gameboy (hooked up to a big screen!) was probably the highlight for me and made me really want to buy a Gameboy again.

Next, we moved onto the Arcade Room - this was awesome!  They had a number of Arcade Machines set up and built by Mini Arcade Systems, an Irish company.  Not only did we get to play as many games as we wanted free of charge but they also had free sweets next to every machine.  Not surprisingly, we spent quite a bit of time here hunched over machines, despite being soaked through from being caught in the rain. We even missed the Sega Arcade panel because of it. We easily could have spent the rest of the day there, trying out many of the 800+ available games from Sega, Nintendo, and many more classic systems.


Three things became apparent after being in the Arcade Room. First, playing retro games on an old style bartop arcade machines is a lot of fun. Second, having a player 2 makes it even more fun. Third, we want to buy one of these machines as soon as possible - perhaps as a Valentines Day present to ourselves.

                                                             photo credit 8-Bit Gaming Conference

To be honest I was really happy just to have seen the Retro Museum & The Arcade Room but there was even more to enjoy.  There were multiple panels on retro gaming - the one we went to was on collectibles which was really interesting.  We not only got to hear from the event organiser but also from some avid collectors.  I really liked hearing from the guy who had his whole house dedicated to not only retro gaming collectibles but also his collection of literally hundreds of old CRT TV's & monitors - his reason being, you need a good display set up for the full retro gaming experience.  It was great how excited everyone was, and they were also seriously talking about putting together a gaming museum in Ireland which, in my opinion, would be epic.


On the second floor there was so much going on. There were some really good cosplayers including two people (dressed as Squall and Rinoa) who were there talking about Kupocon.  What is Kupocon I hear you ask?  It is a celebration of all things Final Fantasy including; games, music, special guests & more.  We will be attending next year in Birmingham as the London event has already sold out.  Outside of this, there were tournaments being held and retro games & consoles on sale along with lots of handcrafted items.

photo credit 8-Bit Gaming Conference

photo credit 8-Bit Gaming Conference

 photo credit 8-Bit Gaming Conference

Overall we had an awesome time and based on an interview done with the event organisers they are even looking at bringing it to Cork which would be awesome.  For any of you who missed out on it this year, I cannot recommend highly enough that you check it out next year.

Two Screens Are Better Than One

While I have played many handheld consoles over the years this one really sticks out in my mind. It features; dual screens - one of which is a touch screen, microphone & a brilliant button layout. There is a slew of great games available & has to be one of the most successful handheld consoles.

I was working in HMV when the console was released & remember selling so many of them to parents. Kids would come up talking about all the cool games they could play on it & the parents would say things like "is this good for them?". This is what I honestly said to them:

"It helps with hand eye coordination, there are games such as; Dr Kawashima's Brain training which helps improve memory, games that help improve math skills.  If your child is looking for a pet but your not convinced they are ready then there are games for that too.  There is so much available for this console & is great for all ages."

Where possible I showed them how it worked & let them play with it, that was really all I needed to do to convince them to buy it.

This first time I played Mario Kart was on a NES emulator on PC a few years before hand.  What sold me was the characters designs, colourfulness & the gameplay itself. So when this came out on the DS I just had to have it.

The game is comprised of three main modes; single player, multiplayer & Nintendo WFC mode - this allowed you to play with people in close proximity to you. There were the four main cups (Mushroom, Flower, Star & Special) which could be played at 50cc, 100cc, 150cc or mirror 150cc.
On top of this there was the retro cups (Shell, Banana, Leaf & Lightning). There was also Balloon Battle, Shine Runners & a mission based mode.

The music for the most part was fun & light-hearted, apart from when you had a back fire at the starting line or the dreaded blue shell was launched & you prayed you could out run it & knew you were screwed.  The race tracks were well designed, some of them were new to the DS version others were from the previous games. As a whole the game looked great graphically & even looks well now.

I loved the racing part of the game & got quite big into the multiplayer side of things. For me though I felt the mission mode felt out of place, I like the idea of different game modes but this one did not do it for me.  It generally felt like a well balanced game in terms of difficulty, powers up & the karts themselves.

I have very few complaints about this game & thoroughly enjoyed playing it. If you own a DS & for some reason don't own this game I highly recommend you pick up a a copy. Do it now!!

This is hands down my favorite Zelda game of all time! Everything about this game is great; the story the characters & the fact Nintendo said lets not be lazy, lets use everything this console has to offer & make an exciting game.

So you & your friend Tetra are sailing on the great sea & see a Ghost Ship, naturally you have to investigate - great idea (it's not a great idea). Tetra runs inside the ship, you hear her scream & instead of rescuing her you fall off the boat like the klutz you are. Naturally enough when you awaken you need to go find the Ghost Ship & rescue Tetra. You have three people to help you; Oshus a nice friendly old man, Captain Linebeck a swindler & con artist & of course Ciela a super helpful & not annoying character (she might be a little anoying).

The music in the game is atmospheric & suits the situations you are in, I especially feel this way when you are at sea or in one of the dungeons. The character designs & how they are animated are perfect & suit the console well.  I really love that even when you are in a dungeon there is bright colours which makes you feel safe & it is then when you feel safe a bat kills you as you were to distracted by the background. I am not a kid....oh wait shiny thing.

The gameplay is what makes this game so special for me; you find yourself in a dungeon & you need to make note of location use the stylus to mark it on the map on your screen, you have a seal & you need move a seal from one screen to the other - what do you do? Close the DS & open it again & there it is on the other screen. The dungeons were great & I enjoyed the puzzle element & being out on the sea was always a lot of fun.

Overall an excellent game, great characters & really for me is the best Zelda game to date. My own advice - buy it & play it!

It does not happen too often but I am disappointed in myself, do you know why? I missed out on this game for ages because i judged it based on its name. That to me is one my biggest gaming crimes I have committed & after playing this game & realising how awesome it was I have tried not to repeat that mistake.

The plot is straight forward, see a girl fall in love & try to prove yourself to her. Naturally you have a nemesis. Of course you have to impress her by getting gold fish out of guys stomach, save her from 100 stampeding bulls & many other challenges. Lucky enough you have your friends the rub rabbits egging you on.

Music during the challenges are fast paced & have urgency to them - faster, quicker don't lose! The mini games are usually made up of multiple rounds & half way through you get a break, the music is slightly more relaxed but not too much so. Then when you finish a mini game you get a nice positive relaxing sound & are able to breath a sigh of relief. The graphics are simplistic the characters are in a silhouette style & there are lot of bright colours, the contrast works really well.

Wow! That is what I can think of the gameplay. I don't want to spoil or under sell the mini games but they are so much fun, some of them can be quite challenging but this just adds to the fun. I like that fact that sometimes its necessary to use the microphone on the device, this is really great if you are on a bus blowing into your DS - you get a few weird looks.

While the game has a bad name that is all that is bad about it, an easily missed game but well worth your time.

So once again we come to the close of another post. It is worth noting I own not only the DS but also DS Lite & DSi XL as I loved it that much. There are so many great games on this console it is hard to keep the list small but I will try:

Ghost Trick
Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
Rub Rabbits
Wario Master of Disguise
Kirby Mass Attack
42 All Time Classics



Next time I will be looking at the XBOX 360!

Advancing Boy!

I have always enjoyed handheld gaming, it's more than just the convenience of being able to play games anywhere.  For me its the awe & admiration I feel towards developers when playing a great portable game.  When creating a game for a handheld device there can be a big limitation on what can be achieved.  There is less power in these devices which means lesser graphics need to be replaced with greater stories & gameplay.  Many developers  are unable to step up to the plate & we become awash with mediocre or bad games. However there are some willing to rise to the challenge & push the console to its limits & provide us with the great games we crave. With this in mind I am going to spend at least the next two posts discussing handheld consoles & their games.

Before playing Zero Mission I had never played a Metroid game, as I was a Sega Kid it was an easily missed series.  While I realize for the most part that Zero Mission is basically a suped-up colour version of the original game I really loved it & thought it added to the original (which I later played).

The plot in some way reminds me of Aliens, a group messing with a dangerous species they hope to control. Samus (Ripley) being one of the only sane people decides to take care of business & ensure the universe doesn't get any more screwed up than it already is.

One of the first things that grabbed me was the music, sometimes eerie & other times really action packed. It could make you feel alone & isolated or pumped up & ready to kick ass. The game could be both colourful & dark. Some areas on planet Zebes felt dark but was always balanced by Samus's bright suit.

I loved the gameplay! There is something about coming against an unpassable area & then later getting an upgrade & you think to yourself, now I can get through that part. One of my favorite upgrades is the roll - simple but effective.

The game in itself made me want more & although it got some negative feed back due to its length I walked away satisfied & happy (that's what she said).  There is a saying I feel rings true here "always leave them wanting more", there are number of games that can feel overly long especially if the story is weak - this is not one of those games.

This game series was another first for me. I was aware of Zelda series but had never played any of them. I am not embarrassed to say it but I found the game tough.  It was a style of gameplay I was relatively unfamiliar with & combined action with puzzles.

You play as Link a pint size green menace who swings his sword round & smashes pots, his excuse for doing this? Saving the Kingdom of Hyrule & the Princess - being honest it's a good excuse. Your mission is to restore an ancient blade called the Four Sword, to do this you need to find the Picori people.  Your main tools are a sword, shield, a thirst for destruction & of course Ezlo a talking green cap.

The music always gave me the feeling of urgency, whether I was in a field or in a dungeon. The game always feels bright even when you are in a darkened area, this is probably due to Link's appearance. His crazy green hat, pointy ears & blonde hair help keep a certain lightness to a game which can be very dark.

The game play is quite fun & as you work your way through the game you obtain more weapons to help you over come obstacles.  Each dungeon you enter usually has a new weapon & a key item.  The boss at the end of the dungeon usually offers the main challenge, forcing you to consider every move you make & pick the right tools to defeat them.

While this game is not my favorite in the series it was a great introduction to it. If for some reason you have not had the chance to play a Zelda game this might be the place to start. Being honest though my favorite is the Phantom Hour Glass, more on this later.

While I have mixed feelings on this game I feel it is worth mentioning. The appeal for some is the gameplay, for others it was the story & for me it was probably the look of the game. I also want to give a shout to a friend of mine Max who introduced me to this game & the previous two games mentioned.

The story for me was not too exciting. Andy a Commander of the Orange Star Army is seemingly attacking other countries for no reason. You get take on the role of one of the Commanders & fight your way through various enemies.

The music was fun & up beat which is one of things I liked about it. For me though one of things that let it down was that the maps, they felt dull & lifeless.  On the plus side the animations when attacking enemies looked great.

I have never been big in to turned based games especially war games.  While I can appreciate the benefit of turned based gameplay in a war style game its feels out of place.  Some would argue that it is better as it gives you time to plan your moves & act more strategically.  For me I feel real time strategy is the way to go; reacting,counter attacking & planning on the go.

It may seem I have done nothing put the game down & to degree that is true. I do feel some of the map designs could be improved along with the game mechanics.  On the other hand I feel the game can be very fun; great animations & the commanders you can play as each have their own quirky personalities & abilities. Bottom line, if you like turn based combat, fun animations & characters this one is for you.

So its time to come to the close of another post but before I go here are some other titles that are worth checking out (it's a short list because I got caught up in my next handheld device):

Pokemon Emerald
R-Type 3
Mario Golf Advance Tour


See you next time!