After a Long Hiatus...

I return to the blogging world! Praised be Jesus Christ Now and Forever!

For those wondering about the latest excuse for my extended absence, well...it's pretty much what any reader of the blog has come to expect. As inevtiably happens with the beginning of a new Academic Term at a major University, I've been inundated with homework. Additionlly, with the formational expectations and various obligations that come with seminary living, I would hope that the readership would understand just how and why blogging naturally has fallen a bit to the wayside during the past month-and-a-half. My Xbox LIVE Gold Account also expired, meaning I'm no longer available to play any Rock Band, Halo, and/or Soul Calibur until furthur notice. My apologies to those who inquired about my gamertag and/or availability for online gaming - at some point, I plan to foray back into the great unknown realms of Xbox LIVE again, and I'll let you all know when that joyous day arrives.

Rather than perennially cursing darkness, however, allow to be a bit of a lightbearer: I've been bitten by the Pokemon bug again, and I managed to get my DS connected to Loyola's lovely wifi network. Feel free to e-mail me or comment below if you want my friendcode, be it for pokemon or any other game!

Off to class! See y'all later! May the Souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. AMEN!

For Those Who Still Think that Video Games have no Spiritual Value...

"One born of human flesh man,
man is now a race of some power
you, son of man,
must face the power you hold
and you must face your destiny as well...

Though your days be peaceful, the fated time draws near
I am your judgment
I sundered the tongues of your fathers
and shattered their arrogant power
so long as the Lord does not live in you, all living beings hold darkness in their hearts
if you truly wish to be yourself, then rise and fight the darkness within - the demon inside!
If you have the will to challenge your destiny, son of man, state your name!"

Ok, so it's not like this is like an ultra-deep theological exegesis or anything, but in all honesty, I've heard homilies at mass with less "spiritual value" than these two paragraphs. Reminds me of some of the psalms, actually. Perhaps my Catholic and Christian readers can chime in with their thoughts?

Anyway, here's the game from which the above monologue can be found:



Basically, the game's about a demon invasion in Tokyo. You play as a character who is given a handheld computer that is able to summon other demons to stave off the demon invasion in the city.

The occult thematic is obviously strong with this one; I find the theme and imagery somewhat disconcerting, but not being much of an expert on occult-related matters, I've had to rely on information from more learned sources than myself about just what exactly I should "watch out for" when I'm playing a game like this. I'm hoping to see more of the kind of stuff from the aforementioned excerpt as I play through it; apparently the game has multiple endings depending on what you do throughout the course of the game, so I may or may not find what I'm looking for. The game system itself, irrespective of the graphics, story, characters, music, and the like, is actually really, really fantastic; it's basically a "grid-based strategy" game (think chess) with the standard role-playing conventions one would associate with a Final Fantasy game. Either of these solitary game elements would probably make for an acceptable, though not exemplary, gaming experience, but they meshed peculiarly well in this game. Kudos to Atlus for creating a solid, if not spectacular, gameplay system.

I hope to have more to share about this game in a future post - which will most likely have to wait until the end of the week, as I'm Milwaukee bound tonight to visit some brother seminarians. St. Nicodemus, ora pro nobis!

Gaming Marathons...for Charity!

"Speed gaming" refers to repeated attempts to complete a game in the shortest amount of time possible. It ain't exactly my cup of tea; I have enough trouble finishing games without racing against the clock. The guys and gals over at www.thespeedgamers.com, however, are clearly of another disposition, and they've found an interesting way to make their hobby more fruitful: they organize "gaming marathons" to benefit various charities. At the time of this writing, they're trying to catch all 491 Pokemon (hard to believe it's that many now!) in the Pokemon games for the Nintendo DS within 72 hours, with proceeds going for Autism care and research. Speaking as a Pokemaniac myself, I can say with certainty this is not an easy task. Here's hoping they make it...

Player Diary: Space Invaders Extreme

After spending a few days with the game, I think I can safely reiterate my initial impressions from Thursday. Feel free to peruse the following entry if you’ve got questions about some of the finer nuances of the game.

The “fastest finger” (shoot-at-the-aliens-before-they shoot-at-you) gameplay still exudes the same tension and sense of urgency that made the original so much fun, and the space invaders themselves even keep their classic 8-bit aesthetic. However, Space Invaders Extreme mixes in a few modern-day trappings that make the experience substantially different from its predecessor.

For starters, the invaders come in different colors, now. It seems like a neglible difference, but it’s really important if you care at all about high scores…which is, of course, presumably why anyone would play this game in the first place. Shoot 4 enemies of the same color in sequence, and you’ll nab a “power-up” – a laserbeam, bombs that can wipe out clusters of aliens at once, a protective shield that repels enemy fire – for a limited time. Which one you get depends, once again, on the color of the space invaders you’ve destroyed. Blue enemies grant laserbeams upon their demise, while destroying red aliens yields cluster bombs.

If you manage to this twice in a row (for example, shooting down 4 red enemies and 4 blue ones in succession) and you’ll be able to interrupt the game for a special “bonus round” – complete whatever challenge the game throws at you here, and you’ll enter a “fever” mode where, for a short period of time, each enemy you shoot down will be worth 10x the normal point value.

You can also multiply your score fairly quickly simply by shooting enemies – whatever their color – in very rapid succession. Eliminating enemies at a rapid rate activates a “chain” – a score multiplier of sorts that increases with each enemy you destroy, and decreases every moment you fail to shoot down one of those pesky space varmints (and the top screen keeps track of all these score modifiers for you, so don’t worry if this sounds a tad overwhelming).

With such drastic changes to the scoring system, the game becomes more than just a simple test of precision and quick reflexes. It adds a bit of pattern-recognition based puzzle-solving to the game (much like that of another classic videogame, Tetris). In fact, I’m more inclined to label Space Invaders Extreme as a “puzzle” game rather than a “shooter.”

The other elements of the game’s presentation also reinforce this classification. Clearly inspired by the efforts of Q Entertainment, who brought us the rhythmically-challenging puzzlers Meteos and Lumines, SIE integrates sound effects with various background music and kaleidoscope-like movies, creating a sensory overload that amounts to nothing less than aural and visual opulence.

Even with these seemingly drastic alterations to the gameplay mechanics, Space Invaders Extreme maintains the same structure as its predecessor: there’s no story to speak of, nor does this game need any; the game still incorporates the arcade-style “branching” levels, (where you can continue playing until you’re out of “lives” – or, in this case, extra ships), and there’s another game mode where you can simply play through an particular level of your choice and try to get a high score. Like the original, the game is also brutally difficult at times, especially on the later stages - it’s still an exercise in futility, and, most importantly, it’s still fun, even 30 years later.

The game boasts a multi-player mode, but the gameplay options here are really limited. My brothers and I tried it, and it’s nothing more than a “compete-to-survive” contest. The depth and breadth of the solo game is not present in the multiplayer modes, and I wouldn’t recommend this game if you’re looking for a fun multiplayer game for the family. I’ve played only the Nintendo DS version of Space Invaders Extreme, but there is also a Sony PSP version for any interested parties. Most critics seem to agree that the DS version is superior, but also agreed that game is an easily defensible purchase regardless of what handheld videogame player you buy it for. I’m inclined to agree with them on the latter point, although I’m not sure if this is a game for everyone. It’s harmless fun, like the games of old, but the “fun factor” will be dependent upon your enthusiasm for earning high scores.

On another note, I’ll be out of the country for the next coming week without any internet access. I hope to back and ready to blog in the first week of July. St. Catherine of Siena and all holy men and women, pray for us!

Reliving Childhood Memories with Space Invaders Extreme

The original Space Invaders was one of the first video games I ever played. Before I ever had the privilege of owning any video games (we’re talking wayyyyyyy back in the day, folks…), my parents would frequently make visits to my grandpa’s house, where he would graciously drag out his trusty Atari 2600 game console (equipped with a very old Texas Instruments Computer), for my perusal. While this naturally facilitated exposure to a smorgasbord of classic video games, no game captivated me more than Taito’s Space Invaders.

My brother and I would spend hours defending earth from those extraterrestrial invaders, and it always seemed to be an exercise in futility: eventually, the invaders would get their way. No matter how many evasive maneuvers we employed to dodge the alien assaults, despite our quick reflexes with our “trigger fingers” (which quickly turned many a spaceship into virtual cannon fodder), we couldn’t keep the hostile hordes at bay for more than 2 levels. We had fun, anyway.

Craving a bit of nostalgia (and hearing some positive buzz from some fellow gaming fans), I ran over to my local Gamestop yesterday in hopes of finding the newly-released, modern-day re-imagining of this iconic franchise, Space Invaders Extreme. I’ve invested some playtime into it, but I won’t elaborate on the finer details now, as I still need to spend some more time with the game before a final verdict. Nonetheless, I think it’s safe to say that this game retains everything that made the original so memorable and influential – with the caveat that some of the additions to both the presentation and the core gameplay itself make SIE a substantially different game than its predecessor.

I’ll probably post a “player diary” of some sort for this game either tomorrow or Saturday. St. Catherine of Siena and all holy men and women, pray for us!

Player Diary: The World Ends With You

I will admit that I purchased the Nintendo DS game The World Ends With You (henceforth referred to as TWEWY for the sake of brevity) with a bit of pretension. $40 is a steep asking price for a handheld video game, and the lackluster previous efforts of Jupiter (the game’s developer) certainly did not inspire any extra confidence in my selection. The game’s widespread critical acclaim and the lavish recommendations of a respected friend of mine certainly helped to assuage my initial hesitations, but I think that the game’s story concept may have been the tipping point in my decision. Ever wanted to know what happens when a self-absorbed, fashion-conscious teenager from Tokyo’s bustling commercial district gets recruited for a 7-day contest with his life on the line as collateral?

It sounds like something straight out of a horror movie (2002’s mystery-thriller The Ring comes to mind, especially with the “7 days” plot device). I realize that such films don’t appeal to everyone and, at times, have a negligible moral and/or spiritual value (if any at all). That being the case, I can understand why someone might not find the game’s story as interesting as I did. But TWEWY is a far cry from Resident Evil. Rather than focusing on sharp, edge-of-your seat graphic images to elicit an emotional thrill from the game player, TWEWY primarily utilizes its characters and setting, emphasizing exploration and character development, to help the player progress through the game’s narrative.

As long as I’m on the subject of narrative, I would like to take the opportunity to mention that this game presents a surprising amount of positive Christian themes throughout the duration of the game. During the story’s exposition, Neku, the game’s protagonist, is the archetype practitioner of what G.K. Chesterton famously called the most hideous of all religions – the worship of the inner god, the self. Without giving away too much, I can say affirmatively that by the story’s conclusion, Neku is no longer a self-centered egotist – his transformation, though not quite complete by the game’s reprisal, reminds us of the Christian call to conversion: the removal of our hardened hearts of stone for hearts of compassion.

It’s also worth noting that the presentation of these positive thematic elements is not limited to exploits of the main character - the supporting characters undergo their own conversion experiences, as well. Shiki, Neku’s female companion in the 7-day contest, learns a powerful lesson about the self-destructive powers of envy. There’s also quite a bit of Christological symbology interspersed throughout the game, as well, though this particular nuance of the game’s story doesn’t always hit the mark. The game borrows quite a bit from Christian and Jewish theology, but it takes cues from Eastern mythology, as well (the Chinese Zodiac, for example, clearly influenced the names of game locations and certain characters). Some Taoist philosophy seems to be shoehorned into the game at various intervals, and at times, the game even seems to relish in a rather relativistic ethic. There was even a point – near the game’s finale, no less – where I feared the game was going to indulge in the Nihilist “kill God” conclusion seen in the His Dark Materials book trilogy (and various video games, such as Final Fantasy XII), I was happily surprised to see that the game does quite the opposite. While the correlation to a Catholic understanding of God’s mercy and love is by no means perfect, the game seems to reaffirm the existence of a loving God rather than deny it.

Despite the fact that the game takes place in Tokyo, Japan, the game’s depiction of Tokyo’s thriving Shibuya commercial district is such that the setting seems authentically Western – in fact, I’d wager that if it weren’t for the fact that TWEWY features prominent Tokyo locals, I’d be hard pressed to distinguish the game’s setting from that of any major downtown city across the North American continent.

The game also benefits from a slavishly transliterated script. This makes the characters seem as authentically "Western" as the game's location, for better of for worse; since features teenagers so prominently, you can probably guess that their language is – well, far from immaculate, to say the least! There’s a fair amount of foul language and a few very mild references to homosexual activity. That being said, I still think that the “T for Teen” ESRB rating is quite appropriate for this game. A teen with a well-formed conscience will, I imagine, have no problems gleaning the many positive fruits of this game’s narrative while leaving the poor ones to rot.


Of course, to focus exclusively on the game’s narrative would be quite silly. What is, exactly, the value of the actual “game” in this “videogame”?

Well, at it’s core, TWEWY is a real-time Japanese role-playing game. The main focus of the game is on combat, where the player controls the game’s characters in some sort of battle scenario. In TWEWY, the player controls the protagonist, Neku, using the touch-screen on the Nintendo DS. Before battle, Neku can equip different “pins” for the fight. These “pins” allow Neku to perform different sorts of attacks. For example, one pin might strike an enemy with lightning, while another will allow Neku to teleport and dodge enemy attacks. More importantly, using the pins is no small order: the aforementioned lightning pin works, for example, by drawing circles on the touch screen, while the teleportation pin is activated by simply poking the screen. Since you can only take a certain number of pins into battle (and you can only use pins a certain number of times in a row), you have to plan carefully before and during each fight.

The game also allows incorporates the fashion motif very well into these battles. The type of clothing Neku wears into battle with effect the way he fights enemies (for example, wearing one shirt will makes his attacks stronger, while another might help to dodge enemy attacks). More importantly, as in reality, clothes all have brandnames. One brand might be more popular in a certain part of Tokyo than another, and the game grants Neku extra attack power if he respects the fashion sensibilities of the area he’s fighting in. It’s a pretty clever mechanic that really added to the authenticity of the game’s setting in addition to making the game more challenging.
As the game player, you’ll not only control Neku, but another character is also at your disposal on the top screen of the Nintendo DS. Here, you’ll once again have the opportunity to equip your character with certain sets of clothing, but you’ll attack and defend against enemy attacks by using the directional pad instead of the touch screen.
The real challenge is trying to control both characters simultaneously! It’s rather difficult at first, but it’s fast, frantic, and fun in a very strategic way. It challenges the player to think critically and quickly - no small feat in the world of video games. And if you don’t want to worry about both screens at once, it’s no problem – the game has adjustable difficulty that allows the game’s CPU to control the top screen for you.

I’ve been playing TWEWY quite a bit since I bought it last month, and, needless to say, I’ve enjoyed what I played. It’s certainly been one of the best $40 I’ve spent in a long while. While by no means is the above description adequate to cover every aspect of the game, I do hope that it sufficiently covers the basics. Feel free to contact/comment if you have any more questions about the game.