Almost every game you see out these days contain what are known as “unlockables”; those little bonuses that are designed to “reward” the player for sticking with the game till the end.  Sometimes, these small rewards become the only reason players clamor for, spending hours upon hours trying to unlock them, or paying more for strategy guides. 

But has anyone ever questioned the validity, or the point of all these unlockables?  To examine this case further, we must differentiate the unlockables with online viability from those that do not.

Let’s begin with the offline portion of unlockables.  Often times, these unlockables follow certain common trends if they exist within a game.  These trends are:

1)They are overpowered and capable of breaking all notion of balance within the game
2)They must be unlocked through a series of harsh trials and challenges that either require a hyperbolic amount of time, and/or require just as many attempts, requiring meticulosity bordering on the obsessive-compulsive.
3)Upon receiving the reward, there is nothing left to do in the game, making the reward the end in itself.

Why do developers constantly put in these pointless “gifts” in their games?  The only purpose there is to claiming these seemingly impossible bounties is to show off to other gamers how much time you’ve wasted on the same game.  It’s nice to have a goals players can set in games, but why would you want to vigorously abuse the player and then award him or her with something that they wanted to use while in-game?

In retrospect, why would developers devise ways that intentionally make players toil away like a prisoner of Shawshank?

Don’t know what I’m talking about?  Just take a look at the requirements to unlock the real megaman buster from Dead Rising.  It requires the “Zombie genocider” achievement, which means killing killing 53, 594 zombies.  You may be thinking to yourself, well, it’s a zombie killing game where you just kill zombies and try to survive for 3 days, so it’s pretty easy isn’t it?  Believe me when I tell you that this is not a simple task and it requires utmost patience and an absurd amount of time for a single unlockable.   People have actually devised intricate plans to execute this feat involving a systematized route in the underground tunnels of the game to mow down groups of zombies with the provided vehicles(which, btw, break down after killing some zombies and require the player to switch into another vehicle at certain dead-end points), exiting and re-entering the tunnels to “reset” the zombies and vehicles.  How long does this all take, you say?  How’s about 5 hours of real time sound to you?  If you say that 5 hours isn’t bad, then I envy you for having the oodles of time to waste away in our busy, fast-paced lifestyle.  But still, to what avail is it?  To post videos of your “achievement” on Youtube?  Please.

Some games have unlockables that are actually halfway decent, such as God of War’s bonuses involving videos of interviews with the developers, and how the masterpiece game was put together.  These sort of unlockables are always enjoyable, and actually help gamers learn more about the game developing process, so this is something that I applaud more than anything.  Other unlockables include an additional, insanely difficult God mode, and a choice of different, sometimes wacky costumes to change into that change the way you would play the game.  Now, common sense would say that IF the gamer was hardcore enough to actually play through the game one more time, they would want to challenge themselves with the unlocked God mode(which actually unlocks the pointless “uber armor” that breaks the game balance), but they may also want to try to try out the new costumes on their second time through.  However, for some reason, the developers did not allow the use of unlocked armor to be used in God mode.  What is the point of playing the same difficulty again with your unlocked armor when you could better use your time playing the more difficult mode to unlock higher bonuses?  If these “lesser bonus” costumes were enough to break the balance of their insanely difficult God mode, then why even put them in there?  For novelty’s sake, perhaps?  A comic relief from the “seriousness” of the game?  What’s with the overpowered armor that can only be unlocked after you’ve played the hell out of the game again?

Even back in the early days of the PS2, in Devil May Cry, you can see that to unlock “Super Dante”, you would have to beat the game in normal mode, then beat the game in hard mode(which is only unlocked after beating normal mode), then beat the game in Dante Must Die mode, which is an even HARDER task than hard mode.  By the time you’ve reached the final reward, what’s the point of playing the game anymore?  You’ve beaten the game 3 times already!  And piled up an unsettling amount of Dante corpses as well while you were at it.  So, as you can see, this sort of thing has been going on since the previous generation.

Last but not least, the dreaded fighting game unlockable characters.  As Yahtzee pointed out in his rant on the new SBB Brawl game(link), the whole point of purchasing a fighting game is to fight against other sentient beings(preferrably human), not some half-assed AI that the developers threw in there.   Even despite the few different paths of unlocking the characters(either through leaving your console for several hundred hours or playing as every single character in the game whether you like the character or not), it still doesn’t make the game any more enjoyable.  Perhaps the game developers wished that through torturing the player and force feeding them the available characters, the players will learn to *magically* appreciate each character they so lovingly created.  The reality, of course, could not be further from this dream.  The fact of the matter is, the larger the character base, the more people will be drawn to certain characters based on their looks and/or play style.  It is only after they “mastering” this character that players tend to branch out to other characters as well.  But this phenomena is for another time, and another article.  The point is, unlockable characters in fighting games is just depriving the players and wasting everyone’s time.

Whatever happened to the old days of Megaman, where upon defeating a boss, you could use the various unlocked powers to either help you advance through a stage, or easily grind the boss into powdery metal particles?  Those types of unlockables actually make sense, and even enhance the gameplay to a certain extent.  Where did this mentality in game design go?

The closest I have personally been able to see this sort of game mechanic is in Monster Hunter, where they have you hunt monsters and create(or, to be technical, ”unlock” through gathering the necessary material”) weapons and armor from their dead bodies, using skill or teamwork to complete this task.  The armors are usually helpful in killing other types of monsters due to their resistant attributes, and the same goes for the weapons as well.  It’s no wonder why Monster Hunter has become such a huge success in Japan, it actually has an addictive and rewarding formula to it, as well as challenging gameplay. 

Call of Duty 4 does a great job with it’s unlockable content, with cheats that are humorous and not exactly game breaking(enemies bursting into a bunch of old tires never gets old, especially with rag-time mode turned on), along with a bonus Arcade mode that gives the game a totally different feel even though you are essentially playing the same game over again.

Metal Gear Solid also needs to be given credit for its use of unlockable rewards(unlimited ammo or camo-stealth), because not only were they pretty helpful and not overpowered, there was also a good reason to beat the game again for its multiple endings.

The advent of xbox achievement gamer points only helps prove just how pointlessly obsessed the industry has become with letting rewarding players, and how some are so easily duped into this faux-competitive mentality.  Some games, such as the infamous Halo 3, include armor for your character for purely aesthetic value(the hayabusa armor or the coveted recon armor) and this seems to follow along the same mentality as the people who are obsessed over comparing E-penises(penii?).

The solution I propose is a simple one:  either make unlockable bonuses an informative one(such as the video interviews from GoW), or useful for advancing further into a bonus content level(where you can fully enjoy your newly attained rewards).  Just don’t toss us the “golden gloves of fury” when we’ve already KO’d every contender that stepped into the ring, and are about to retire.

Final Fantasy 7 for the playstation marked the beginning of the Final Fantasy series entering the mainstream market, allowing console-style Japanese RPGs to reach a wider audience.  It is currently the best-selling Final Fantasy game to date, and Square-Enix has been continuously milking the proverbial cash-cow through various spin-off games and two animated films.

So how does this particular spin-off hold up? 

For those of you who played FF7 before, you’d probably be able to remember certain “flashback” scenes of when Cloud (the main character of FF7) reminisces about a certain similar spiky-yet-different-colored-haired hero during his days in SOLDIER (a combative elite force working for the evil mega-conglomerate Shinra). This game follows the storyline of Zack, and the days leading up to the events in the original FF7.  Fans who know and love the FF7 world will be delighted to see their favorite characters fully rendered, but since this is a prequel, it’s not a huge minus factor to those who haven’t played FF7 at all.  The visuals and interface are fairly clean, and easy to navigate as well.

As for the gameplay, it’s difficult to pinpoint just what exactly Square Enix had in mind when they were creating this game, but considering that they decided to label the game an “action RPG” it’s easy to say that either they had an extremely liberally loose definition of what an “action RPG” means, or they just couldn’t decide what they wanted to do with this game.

So, they just threw all the ingredients in the pot randomly and hoped something playable would magically materialize and hope that the fanboys and girls could be distracted with the pretty lights and colors of their magnificent FMV sequences.

Calling it an “action RPG” would naturally make one hope that FF7:CC would end up having great action gameplay along with an interesting storyline to boot, but instead it completely and utterly disappoints in both areas.  You’re treated with what is essentially the classic menu-based combat system combined with the freedom to move around and dodge.  The whole point of the menu-based combat system was that your characters were stationary and there was some sense of a trading of hits. When you add “movement” to this, it substantially changes gameplay to the point of absurdity.  It certainly doesn’t help that all your enemies can be critically hit from behind,  making the player frantically try to circle the enemies while struggling with the auto-targeting system just to get the pointless battle sequence over with.  Add an equally game-breaking dodge button, a useless block button, a random slot machine mechanism and voila,  you have souffle-de-crapola combat system.

A couple of examples where the game really is glaringly bad come to mind through its mini-game-like sequences.  The first mini-game-like sequence appears when you are asked to chase a little boy who stole your wallet.  This basically makes you run circles around the place until you are lucky enough to find an NPC there that advances the story, but there is no real clear indication as to which NPC you’re supposed to go talk to.  This only results in the sequence feeling dragged out, and frustrating.  The “stealth” sequence/mini-game is equally torturous and pointless.  They tell you to sneak past guards while fighting with the camera to even see where the guards are, and you are also asked, taunted almost, to try and find the hidden chests that are scattered in that small tight area.  Once caught, you are promptly kicked out and lose one of the chests that you’re supposed to find.  Why they even attempted this sequence with these rough controls and a camera system simply not MEANT for a stealth game is a complete mystery.

Music and atmosphere are very essential to RPG’s, and although there are times when Crisis Core successfully blends in the background music (such as the opening intro), it really falls into bland territory.  At the height of dramatic tension between Zack and Aerith, for example, instead of toning down the music or adding a bittersweet melody, we are treated with the same campy, happy cycle of music when you are running around talking to other NPC’s.  This example is just one of many instances, and you’ll be hearing the same background music almost everywhere, to the point where it’ll be playing in your head even after you put the game down… like the infamous banana phone song.

While we’re on this subject of sounds, the quality of voice-acting depends upon your preference to Japanese or English dubbing.  The English dubbing, however, can really humiliate itself sometimes.  For example, when Zack powers up for his limit breaker moves, there are certain lines of dialogue from the corresponding character of the limit break(due to the random roulette lining up three characters) and a following line from our hero.  A few of these lines go something like:

“Show me the true power…of SOLDIER!!”
“…Mind your own business!”(in Zack’s whiny voice)

“Is it over…?”
“I’m trying, I’m trying!”(whiny voice again)

Either these were terrible mistranslations, or they were just finishing a few bottles of vodka and yelling English sentences at each other that sounded good enough to throw in there without any attempt at making sense.

All of these details only point to the fact that this is a terrible action game, mediocre at best.   But a confession must be made: something about this game makes you keep coming back for more.  It’s really a strange sensation, almost sinful in the way it draws you back for more even though you know damn well that it’s going to be a simplistic, watered down experience.  Perhaps it’s the addictiveness of collecting items and seeing what you can obtain, or perhaps it’s the beautifully rendered FMV scenes.  Either way, it still doesn’t justify a full price tag on it.

Fiery chains, mystic creatures, grotesque monsters and tales of epic proportions are what have become the staple of the God of War series.

After two tremendously successful games on the Playstation 2, it’s time to take control of the power of a god once more…and this time, take it with you wherever you go.

The game is a prequel to the first God of War game, and despite being on less capable hardware, it still does not fail to impress. Ready at Dawn studios has done a commendable job in bringing the God of War experience to the PSP and retaining most of the series’ core gameplay that made the series so successful.

Combat is still surprisingly smooth as silk, and you could easily become entranced with Kratos(our anti-hero) gracefully twirling his chaos blades in a symphony of fire and metal upon his foes. Don’t be fooled by the PSP hardware’s limits either; the scenery is very close to its older PS2 brethren; the camera often pans out to show just how massive and epic your surroundings are, almost enough to suck you into its world. There are a few scenes where the PSP struggled with slowdown, but it wasn’t enough to actually jar you from the experience, nor did it hinder any combative parts of the game. As for the controls, Ready at Dawn’s integration of the controls to PSP’s limited button layout takes a bit of getting used to for veterans of the game, but it won’t be long before it becomes second nature.

As an M rated game, it’s still got its fair share of sex and violence. The sex scene still retains its tongue-in-cheek style minigame, and the violence truly can get the adrenaline pumping when being pitted against waves of enemies.

The leveling system has returned, and upon collecting red orbs, one can customize our hero with stronger and more sophisticated attacks, or increase his godly magical powers. Save points are fairly abundant for the most part, but depending on the difficulty setting, you may have to replay certain portions over and over again.

This is THE game to get for all PSP owners out there. It is easily one of the best showcases of the PSP’s handheld power and solid gameplay controls.

Korean Internet Cafes would be incomplete without the sound of zerglings being spawned, protoss zealots stabbing their helpless victims, and terran marines screaming in agony as their miniscule bodies are torn to small bloody pieces. 10 years since its release has not faded the fervor that Koreans still have for the old computer game, and is almost seen as the modern classic “Tetris” of Korea.

Koreans strengthen friendships, challenge each others reputations and furiously click away to achieve the ultimate victory. What began as the country’s favorite pasttime gave birth to one of the country’s most competitive and lucrative sources of entertainment: The E-sports professional gaming league, spreading the already widespread gaming sensation to all ages through a series of fist-grippingly intense, fast paced televised matches.

Then came the unveiling of Starcraft 2 in May 2007 in Seoul, Korea. Heads were turned, eyes were widened, excitement was palpable. Internets were flooded with videos and clips of the newly introduced, highly anticipated sequel to the biggest game in Korea. It was history in the making for geeks all around the world.

Almost a year later, we are met with negativity. Questions were raised; What will this mean for the current elite pro-gamers? What will this mean for a nation who plays Starcraft ever so casually every day? Will the transition be rough, or will there even be a successful transition?

A vast majority of Korean males still play starcraft at social gatherings and accept it simply as just “something to kill time with friends”. When asked about their thoughts on Starcraft 2, they responded with a mediocre enthusiasm, ranging from hesitancy to complete doubt that it will be able to topple the giant that currently is the original Starcraft.

Many spectators are concerned that the new gameplay will lose its fast paced gameplay of the original, thereby losing the thrill and excitement of watching them. There’s also speculation that pro gamers may protest having to re-learn many of the units, despite the new units being based on the older unit mechanics. Most players agree that what they want is a graphical facelift, instead of trying to create a vastly new and diverse arsenal for each race.

At best, it will take some grooming time before it is fully accepted over its predecessor, just as it took at least 1-2 years for Lineage’s sequel to win over all the players of the original.

Dead Rising drops you off at a mall in a zombie infested town, ala Dawn of the Dead (which ironically was the reason the game was sued for copyright infringement). Right from the start, you are given a choice: the main story route or the “fuck around for three days” route. It’s wiser to take the main story route for the first time around because when you first start out, the game isn’t exactly generous with the amount of health you have or the amount of items you can carry with you.

As serious as this game tries to be at times, Keiji Inafune (creator) did not hesitate to slather everything with a healthy dose of humor.

Just to name a few fun moments:

-casually strolling a lawnmower into a large group of zombies

-taking a picture between an elderly woman’s legs and receiving a “horror” rating for the picture

-discovering that you can stick shower heads into zombie heads creating a happy sunflower spurting out ridiculous amounts of blood

The game does have its frustrations, however. It wouldn’t be exhaggeration to say that half of your game time will be spent waiting on short, but jarring load screens every time you move from a small area to the next, or when there’s a story event(of which there are many). I’ve never seen a game this diced up into small loading parts. The feeling is akin to being spoon fed a bucket of ice cream with a teaspoon.

Also I had to ask myself why I had to rot and burn my eyes further by sticking my face onto the TV screen just to read the miniscule text. WELL EXCUUUUSE ME FOR NOT HAVING A GARGANTUAN HOME THEATER HDTV CAPCOM. Large font never hurt ANYBODY.

There also needs to be a mute function for the radio/cellphone that the game characters give you, because they seem to have nothing better to do than act like 20 nagging mothers that call and call, and since they only talk to you through text, well…yeah.

Despite all these inconveniences, Dead Rising was still a great game that combined many successful elements of action, roleplaying, and sandbox gaming, along with greatly capturing the essence of what makes the zombie theme great: humor and horror.