Here's a way-too-late-for-the-weekend special for all the Destructoid readers out there: A triple shot of impressions from that most lazy of gamers, Variable Gear! Tell me what you think of the redesigned layout!



Basic Intel/ Developer: Ubisoft Montreal | Publisher: Ubisoft | Release Date: 11/6/2003 | Systems: GC/PS2/Xbox/PC

So I just started playing the first game in the new Prince of Persia series, and let's just say that I am slightly disappointed with EGM's 2003 Game of the Year. There are quite a few major flaws with the game in my opinion, although I don't know how universal these will be for others. Numero uno is the Prince's voice. I mean, the game is called Prince of Persia, right? I don't need the game to be subtitled or anything, but the Prince's voice is incongruous with the setting and therefore for some time I played with voice volume muted. Note that this does not prevent voices from being heard during cutscenes, all of which suck. My number two annoyance is the camera and general game "direction." Ubisoft thought it was really cool to do all these dramatic closeups when the Prince gets a drink of water to heal, or do all these "flash-forwards" at save points, and have all these bits of "slow-motion" during combat. They were retarded, as usual. All of these are absolutely horrible and make the game look like derivative shit.

On the positive side, the combat is fun (Only when the collision detection works, I had an embarrassing "battle" with an enemy that I couldn't hit. He couldn't hit me either.) if rather simple and lacking in difficulty. The platforming is the obvious star of the show, and it is honestly fun to run and jump around in the Prince's world (which in this game consists of one building, realism eat your heart out!). The platforming is assisted by the temporal special abilities that the Prince builds up throughout his adventure. The time "spells" are great, as they reward the player for experimenting with how to get from "Point A" to "Point B."

Even so, I don't really recommend this game. It is cheap though, so if you have some money to blow you could check out Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Let me know what you think if you "pick it up."

Want Moar?: Official Site | Gameplay Video | Metacritic | Wikipedia | Ebay | Amazon




Basic Intel/ Developer: Capcom Production Studio 1 | Publisher: Capcom | Release Date: 1/10/2006 | Systems: GC/PS2

The Mega Man X Collection is great. Well, Mega Man X to Mega Man X3 are great fun, but the Playstation iterations of the series leave a lot to be desired. Anyway, getting three great classic games (and four others) for under twenty bucks is a pretty fucking good deal. Especially if you, like me, had never played these games before. The first game, Mega Man X, is a masterpiece - everyone should play it! After that, each person perspective will differ - but X5 and X6 to me are very unappealing entries in the series that I would recommend avoiding. One thing that could have been a problem, was the GC controller. However, I didn't encounter a problem with it and if I did I would have tried to pick up one of these ASAP (Do you recognize the name of the highest bidder?). Not to mention that you can customize your controller layout to combat the sometimes broken default layouts.

Outside of the low quality of Mega Man X4, Mega Man X5 and Mega Man X6, I have a few gripes with the design of this compilation disc. There were no changes made to the classic menus. That means that it is impossible to exit one game (Mega Man X3, for example) without getting a 'Game Over' or resetting the system. When you get a 'Game Over' you can select the "Return to Launcher" option to, well, return to the game select screen. Outside of that, there really isn't much to bitch about.

The ports are excellent and the price is right, and therefore the Mega Man X Collection is recommended for all - especially if you never played any of the games when they were originally released. Let me know what you think if you "pick it up."

Want Moar?: Official Site | Gameplay Video | Metacritic | Wikipedia | Ebay | Amazon




Basic Intel/ Developer: Aquire | Publisher: Bam Entertainment | Release Date: 5/5/2002 | System: PS2

Way of the Samurai is a narrative-heavy samurai-themed beat-em-up that was released for the PS2 in 2002 and damn, does it show. The graphics are choppy, and the traversable area is rather low as well - but the way you make can make an impact on the game's story keeps it interesting. It's kind of like a choose-your-own-adventure book, as has been said countless times before, in that you are thrown into an environment in medias res and forced to pick sides.

Another cool thing is that the fighting engine feels like it is ripped right out of a fighting game (more on this later), and that you create new moves as you play. You'll just be fighting and a window will pop up in the bottom-right corner of the screen alerting you that you just earned a new technique. Thankfully it also displays the string you need to input to utilize the move, cutting down the time spent in menus.

Unfortunately there is no voice acting to speak of in Way of the Samurai - there is only the occasional grunt or scream. However, something cool about the game is that you can press the circle button to talk to those around you, even during battle. This provides you with a way to avoid losing your life, just as long as you don't mind losing a bit of pride. You can also boast in battle, which is great for all the dicks out there.

About the ripped-out-of-a-fighting game feel of the combat system, there actually is a conventional 1 on 1 battle option for up to two players. I haven't tried out the two-player options for myself, but I can see the appeal of importing your custom character, having your friend do the same, and going at it for a few rounds. You also have a 1P vs. CPU option after you realize that no one will ever play the single-player game enough to make the 2-player combat as interesting as it sounds at first. Thanks to the fact that a Way of the Samurai 3 is apparently still in development for the Playstation 3, my dreams are filled with visions of sugar plums and...I mean filled with visions of robust online multiplayer that would allow people to import their custom character for battle. It's not quite the Night Before Christmas, but for me it suffices.

Way of the Samurai is rather short, but doesn't that just foster good replay value? If you had a fun time, I can see you jumping back in right after the credits roll to see what happens if you act differently during your time in Rokkotsu Pass. The game is definitely recommended, and tell me what you think if you "pick it up."

Want Moar?: Gameplay Video | Metacritic | Wikipedia | Ebay | Amazon

I'm going to try to keep this format up. Three games per week. Impressions of each. Words, Wrds, wds.

This Has Been a Variable Gear Production

Links to Previous Entries in the 'Surprise Impressions' Series:
Surprise Impressions Monday 01: Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest
Surprise Impressions, The Weekend Edition: Girls, Geometry, and Geist


P.S.: Neonie and Trevor McGee should check my friends list.

P. P. S.: The inspiration (if it can even be called that, it's really more like theft) for the additional information at the end of each preview came from Racketboy. So, kudos to him!

P.P.P.S.: I beat Killer 7 on Saturday! Expect a review to follow in the coming week sometime, although it may take longer as I want to play a bit more of the "Killer 8" mode (I'm currently on Mission 2: Sunset) that opens up after the standard game is beaten before I give the game the proper treatment.

P.P.P.P.S.: Sorry atheistium...