[GameRatty] tag: valkyria

GameSetNetwork: Best Of The Week

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:00:57 +0000

Even this Thanksgiving week ended up having quite a lot of neatness posted on big sister site Gamasutra and various other sites - including a reprint of the The Graveyard's (pictured) postmortem.

Let's go through a few of these, complete with some brief personalized GameSetWatch-specific comments for those still recovering from Turkey Day:

- The Last Express: Revisiting An Unsung Classic
Based on some chance interviews conducted after Jordan Mechner's Comic-Con lecture, Chris Remo has done an excellent job of documenting The Last Express, a beautiful late '90s Mechner-authored adventure game that was roundly ignored at the time - but can be played via GameTap now, for the intrigued.

- Postmortem: Tale of Tales' The Graveyard
I believe we already linked to a version of this on GSW, but the story of the making of short/neat art-game The Graveyard - including funding info and download stats - is painstakingly well-documented here by Michael Samyn. Bravo.

- Emotions And War: The Valkyria Chronicles Interview
Some people claim that Sega's Valkyria Chronicles is one of the most under-rated games of this holiday season. The PS3 strategy game has some beautiful visuals and some interesting ideas about mixing real-time and turn-based action. Personally, it's not my kind of thing, but Brandon Sheffield did a great job talking to the developers about the intricacies of the game.

- The Designer's Notebook: The Moral Panic Isn't Over Yet
Possibly the most controversial Designer's Notebook opinion piece thus far - let's just quote the description for this one: "After Barack Obama's U.S. election victory, do we still have to worry about game censorship? IGDA co-founder Ernest Adams looks at an Obama administration, games and 'moral panic'."

- Gameplay Fundamentals Revisited, Part 2: Building a Pacing Structure
An in-depth design article from an EA and THQ veteran - and there's some really good point made in here about how to pace the level design of games correctly to keep people guessing, but still have a neat ratcheting-up of tension/difficulty - without the designers having to redo things 8 times.

Meta-Metareview: The best reviewed games of 2008

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:45:00 +0000

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Mac, PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Metareviews

With almost all of the big games of '08 now on shelves (we're looking at you, Prince of Persia) or available via Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, you're left with a lot of choices. Some of them you've already bought; others you've been on the fence over; others you didn't realize were "supposed to be" any good - but, if you're anything like us, you don't want to miss any of the must-plays this year has to offer.

Enter our "meta-metareview," a list of every game released this year that's scored above 85% on average from reviewers around the world. You won't be surprised by the games that made the list; you will be surprised that some of your (and our) favorites didn't make it. Check out the full list after the break and please, before you send us a nasty email because Castle Crashers didn't make it on, remember that them's the (sometimes painful) breaks with aggregate scoring.

Some fun facts:

October was the most crowded month for quality titles with 12 released, followed by November (8), September (7) and April (6).
Breaking it down by console, PlayStation 3 has the most presence on the list with 22 titles, followed by Xbox 360 (20), PC (15), Nintendo Wii (8), DS (7), PSP (2) and PS2 (1).
The best-reviewed game this year? April's Grand Theft Auto IV (98%), followed by a three-way tie between LittleBigPlanet, BioShock and World of Goo (95%) -- all three of which were released in October. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Wrath of the Lich King are the next tier below at 94%.
Of the 55 titles listed, 13 (or approximately 24%) were not based on an existing franchise: Sins of a Solar Empire, Patapon, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Braid, The World Ends with You, Boom Blox, World of Goo, GRID, Braid, Pure, LittleBigPlanet, Dead Space and Valkyria Chronicles.

Continue reading Meta-Metareview: The best reviewed games of 2008

Meta-Metareview: The best reviewed games of 2008 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation Around the Web: What We Read

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:57:28 +0000

Here’s what stood out from our monstrous RSS reading list this week. Now that I look at the whole list, it was strangely book-ended by White Knight Chronicles stories from Siliconera. Good work over on that site, btw.

So here’s the plan for the abbreviated week to come. Since Thursday is Thanksgiving, the PlayStation Store will update on Tuesday. So from Thursday on, we’ll be talking Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals. If you’re not too stuffed with turkey, drop on by!

Oh, and share your links for the week in the comments below.

The PS Blog weekly reading list (Week of 11/17)

The Daily Hotness: You're the best around

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:39:00 +0000

[ Not streaming? Update your Flash player. New videos added daily! See the next 20 new videos ]

I love Capcom so much for using this music in their latest SF II HD Remix trailers. Now, who will win? Ryu or Bison?

Jim has dibs on Louis, DMV reviews Valkyria Chronicles, part three of the Destructoid Tournament is underway, Blizzard won't be making WoW expansions forever, and plenty more happened on 11/18/08.

Tuesday Regulars:
Podtoid 76: More like ten sh*tloads
RetRose Tinted: Total Carnage
Game Debate to the Death! Shadow of the Colossus VS God of War

Originals:
RetroforceGO! records episode 68 tonight: Sonic the Hedgehog with Jim Sterling
Attention, everyone who is buying Left 4 Dead: I have dibs on Louis
Not a review: Rock Band Track Pack Volume 2

Review:
Valkyria Chronicles

Contest:
Destructoid Tournament Game 3 begins! Get scribbling
EA Sports/Gillette contest, Day 2: NBA Live courtside! Win the game!

News:
Blizzard won't be making WoW expansions forever, also annual content
B**tch betta' have my money: Brash being sued by devs over unpaid dues
Call of Duty: World at War becomes third fastest selling game in the UK
Spore gets third patch, free limbs get you 24 parts closer to making your ex
Microsoft compares NXE to the birth of color television
Multiple Diablo III expansions expected, water is wet, and other obvious facts
Mobile game sales have 'flatlined'
Confirmed: Dead Rising Wii box art features fewer zombies than 360 box art
New study shows that Wii motions won't make you violent
Square Enix is hiring for action game at new Los Angeles office
Is Sony ripping off costume entries for LittleBigPlanet?
Vietnam gets its first haven for addicted gamers
Valkyria Chronicles' composer Hitoshi Sakimoto's private liner notes
Namco Bandai's games division profits fall 92 percent
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed gets new costume DLC. You are all excited
You already knew this, but The King of Fighters XII is coming to NA and EU '09
Street Fighter II HD comes to XBL Nov. 26, 'branded experience' tomorrow
If you heard The Agency was canceled, you heard wrong
Epic sorry for Gears 2 matchmaking problems, tries to help
Gears of War 2 multiplayer facts: Shotgun still powerful, quit yer bitchin'
Play Neopets Puzzle Adventure DS now and recognize
Halo Wars is the result of what not to do in a console RTS
Sony has 14 million 'active accounts' on PSN
Netflix streaming takes a serious hit, Columbia Pictures not watchable on 360
Good Old Games fist bumps Epic, adds Unreal series to its catalog
Weekly LBP DLC: Get your LocoRoco on my Sackboy, also T.V.

Rumortoid:
A new OutRun game coming from Sega and THQ?

Offbeat:
Daily irrelevance: Game piracy lawyers protecting the rights of Army F*ckers
Stop kids getting stabbed by not playing videogames every third Sunday

Videos:
Even more Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe videos
Lips commercial will either crack you up or give you nightmares
You're still the best ... around: New Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix vid

Community:
C Blogs 11/18/08

The Daily Hotness: You're the best around

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:39:00 +0000

[ Not streaming? Update your Flash player. New videos added daily! See the next 20 new videos ]

I love Capcom so much for using this music in their latest SF II HD Remix trailers. Now, who will win? Ryu or Bison?

Tuesday Regulars:
Podtoid 76: More like ten sh*tloads
RetRose Tinted: Total Carnage
Game Debate to the Death! Shadow of the Colossus VS God of War

Review:
Valkyria Chronicles

Contest:
Destructoid Tournament Game 3 begins! Get scribbling
EA Sports/Gillette contest, Day 2: NBA Live courtside! Win the game!

Rumortoid:
A new OutRun game coming from Sega and THQ?

Offbeat:
Daily irrelevance: Game piracy lawyers protecting the rights of Army F*ckers
Stop kids getting stabbed by not playing videogames every third Sunday

Community:
C Blogs 11/18/08

Valkyria Chronicles' composer Hitoshi Sakimoto's private liner notes

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:04:27 +0000

You know Hitoshi Sakimoto as the composer who did the fantasic score to Final Fantasy XII. His next big RPG was the recently released Valkyria Chronicles for the PS3. He worked together with the Eminence Symphony Orchestra to create a stunning collection of songs for this game. Each fits beautifully with the incredible visuals. More on that in our review later today.

Sakimoto spoke with OriginalSoundVersion to give them his private "liner notes" on his works in Valkyria Chronicles. He touches on his favorite songs, giving readers some insight into what went into each piece. Here's an example of one of his favorites, "Valkyria's Awakening":

There are 3 important theme pieces in this game. “Main Theme,” “Succeeded Wish” and this “Valkyria Awakening.” I put a little mythical colour in “Valkyria Awakening” and also included a few classical music expressions to give the feel of a fighting woman. It’s showy music because it’s used for a scene where Valkyria is on a destructive rampage. The musicians enjoyed performing this piece, so the recording was fun as well.

For me, as a musician, it's an absolute thrill to read what a world-class composer thinks of his music. But anyone into the game or into great music in general will enjoy this article.

PlayStation Around the Web: What We Read

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:09:04 +0000

Tomorrow’s the big day for us - the debut of PlayStation.Blog 1.5. Once we’re live, I’m hoping to count on you readers as my own personal QA team. So click around, try the menus, use the search, etc. If something’s not working… let us know!

In the meantime, here’s what I read this week and thought worth sharing (in between long sessions of Valkyria Chronicles). If you read anything particularly interesting… share it in the comments below.

See you tomorrow morning!

The PS Blog weekly reading list (Week of 11/10)

The Daily Hotness: Jean-Claude Van Damme is a great dancer

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:29:29 +0000

Best rap song of the 90's? Totally. Show us your moves Jean-Claude Van Damme!

Chad hearts the original Banjo-Kazooie, Ashley enlightens us on the identity crisis of Donkey Kong Junior, Capcom is looking for Bay Area testers, the Mirror's Edge exclusive DLC isn't actually exclusive, and plenty more happened on 11/12/08.

Wednesday Regulars:
Worms, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Feeding Frenzy get discounted on XBLA
Game Debate to the Death! Katamari Damacy VS Metal Gear Solid 2

Originals:
The identity crisis of Donkey Kong Junior
An ode to the original: Banjo-Kazooie

Events:
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King launch event tonight in San Francisco
Capcom looking for San Francisco area gamers to help test out a new game

Contests:
Three guys just won Intel Core 2 quad-core desktop processors!

News:
Gears of War 2: 19 million achievements unlocked with 2 million sales
Apple takes on DS/PSP, claims iPod is the future of gameplay
79% of portable gaming done at home, no word on how much is done on the toilet
I'm a shark! LittleBigPlanet DLC costumes hitting PS Store tomorrow
Killer claims games sent him crazy
Nintendo goes bats**t, trademarks everything from DSiMovie to DSTime
Wow: Square Enix Japan's epic 'Bahamut' countdown timer
ESRB announces rating summaries for the general public
PopCap donates first 500 copies of Bejeweled Twist to Games For Soldiers
Suda 51 talks about his EA relationship and new games
Square Enix partners with Gas Powered Games
Blizzard bans 350,000 Battle.Net players for cheating
Japan gets Fragile pre-order soundtrack; we're left holding our flashlights
Nintendo multiplayer bundle spotted in the wild, saves you zero dollars
Sega teams up with A-1 Pictures to produce Valkyria Chronicles anime
Fallout 3's Special Edition Pip-Boy clock draws user complaints
Exclusive Mirror's Edge DLC isn't exclusive after all
Blizzard not milking StarCraft 2, money was 'never part of the conversation'
Complete your TNA iMPACT! roster with Curry Man, Petey Williams DLC for Xbox 360
More Wheel of Times games coming, get excited
Games for Windows LIVE nabs a sexy new user interface
Faith goes 2D in Mirror's Edge Flash game
Nintendo packing unique codes with WiiSpeak to avoid pre-owned sales

Offbeat:
Daily irrelevance: Gears of Phwoar with Lucy Pinder
Christina Aguilera likes videogame, gives me an excuse to post pictures of her

Galleries:
Artwork from canceled Legacy of Kain pop up

Videos:
Original live-action Street Fighter movie coming to the Blu-rays
Oh no! You've got your Mirror's Edge in my LittleBigPlanet
First 11 minutes of Resident Evil: Degeneration is zombierific!
White Knight Story trailers make me sit up and take notice
New Tatsunoko VS Capcom footage shows Viewitiful Joe in action
Calling all Street Fighters: New trailer and pics for Turbo HD Remix
This New Xbox Experience trailer is some real awful sh*t
Shake your ass, check your fire alarm batteries: Alone in the Dark: Inferno

Community:
C Blogs of 11/12/08

Latest EGM review scores

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:29:51 +0000

The latest EGM review scores are as follows:

Wii Music: A-, B-, C
Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars: C
Mirror's Edge: A-, B+, B
Far Cry 2: B+, B, B-
Need for Speed Undercover: B
Endwar: C, C-, C+
Fallout 3: A, B+, A+
Dead Space: B+, B-, B+
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows: C+
Little Big Planet: A+, A, A
Saints Row 2: B, B-, B+
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009: A-
Motorstorm Pacific Rift: A-, A, B+
Gears of War 2: A, A+, A
Fable 2: A, A-, A-
Valkyria Chronicles Chronicles: A-
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm: B-
Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts: A-, B-, C
Chrono Trigger: A
Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff: C, C+, B+
Korg DS-10: A-
Ninjatown: B+

Valkyria Chronicles getting the anime treatment

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:42:40 +0000

SEGA’s Valkyria Chronicles, whose “Canvas” graphic engine makes the whole thing look like a watercolor painting come to life, already feels like an anime peppered with some interactive elements, so it should come as no surprise that an anime studio is losing the gameplay entirely.

Aniplex’s A-1 Pictures, the same studio behind some of my current fansubbed faves, the gender-bending Birdy the Mighty Decode and game-inspired Persona Trinity Soul, will be producing a Valkyria Chronicles anime, scheduled for release on Japanese television before the cherry blossoms bloom next Spring.

I don’t know about you, but I think these anime adaptations tend to be surprisingly good, but that’s probably because my senses have be dulled to a spoon’s edge by recent video game based masterpieces staring a certain emphasis challenged former Funky Bunch-er.