My Mother Bought a 3DS - Welcome to the Game System Revolution

A tinier me on the 3DS

My mother bought a 3DS this past weekend. She headed down to Shoppers Drug Mart handed over her chalked filled points card and got a virtually free gaming system. Yes, my fifty year old mother owns a 3DS before her technological and game system savvy twenty-three year old daughter.

Luckily for me, I have a kind mother who has let me fool around with her shiny aqua 3DS. (Okay, I ran away with it and she is at the moment hunting me down. So if I don't return any calls or if you don't see me in the next week -- I'm six feet under.)

Old vs New

The 3DS is approximately the same size of a DS Lite, but it weights a bit more than its game device ancestor. When I first opened the 3DS, I was surprised at how capable the 3D graphics were. It is like having a small 3D movie theater in the palm of your hand. I like not having to wear the horrible 3D glasses over my own prescription pair (which has to be one of the most uncomfortable things ever). The downside is that you really have to stare straight-on to get the full 3D effect (or it looks all awkward with lines all funny and shapes blurred).

The system comes with some AR Cards that let you play a few simple 3D games like fishing and archery. They're not much, but they do show off the power of the game system. But after a few playthroughs, they become monotonous and don't add much to the gaming repertoire.

These are the cards that hold a window into your 3DS' soul

Unfortunately, I don't own any 3DS games yet. Yeah, so not much is going on in that department. I did try a few DS games on the handheld however, and they play fine. I really like being able to use the slide pad as it makes playing games feel more natural after playing on the bigger consoles (I played Okamiden and it felt right at home having played its bigger mama game before). The downside to playing DS games on the 3DS is that games are stretched and get a washed-out effect, colours muted and drab looking. There is a cheat to get a better resolution if you hold down the Select and Start button when you press the game icon however. It makes the game screen really tiny though, four big black bars surrounding game image on the top and bottom screen.

Another downside is that the Nintendo eStore will not be available until May. That means no downloads (DS or 3DS wise). No internet connection as it is either. For a $250 machine, you think they would at least have the internet working for their launch. And let 3DS users access the DSiWare shop.

Me and my mother's 3DS

As of now, the 3DS is only a beautiful piece of equipment that sits in its personal cradle imploring me to buy a game that will show off its full potential. I stand my my previous post that Nintendo hasn't released any game that I need to play right now (I have a real cat and Super Street Fighting IV is on every system). I'll be waiting not so patiently for the summer and fall releases instead. Bur for now I'll stick to playing PC games like Wandering Willows and Gemini Rue (a Pokemon/Animal Crossing/FarmVille/Rune Factory hybrid strategy game and a noir-thriller adventure game), until Nintendo really wants to wow me.

Rune Factory 3 Review

After my last blog post where I ranted about the UPS guy being slow, the guy turned up at 7 p.m. and handed Rune Factory 3 to me. (This magical event even happened during a blizzard. You are an inspiration UPS guy. Your dedication is outstanding.)

After playing RF3 for a few days, I can summarize this farming RPG hybrid in two words: brilliant gaming.

  
Story: A boy named Micah (or whatever you want to name your hero) wakes up in a foreign land suffering from everyone’s' favourite plot device: amnesia. Stranded in nowheresville, Micah gets found by a maiden named Shara and is given a tree house home to live in, because this is obviously not our government run Earth. (I wish I would wake up in a foreign land and they would give me a house to live in. No The Twelve Kingdoms for me.) After being given his sweet pad, Micah is forced to fight off monsters in his garden so he can be given a weapon that will be vital in discovering the world of RF3. From there on he is tasked to meet the townspeople and go on adventures that will amaze and unfurl shocking secrets.

The Game: Having played Rune Factory 1, Rune Factory 2, and Rune Factory Frontier, I can honestly say that this game trumps them all. (Although I loved RFF as it is a console game, RF3 has much more to do in it and doesn't have the annoying load times). There is so much going on in RF3 all the time and everything flows together, always pushing the plot further.

Festivals in RF3 are very interactive and in this game, people don't stop going on with their daily lives. In festivals, life continues normally except for the few hours (in game time) it takes to do the festival. The festivals are new and interesting; in one you can even beat up a giant wooly with a lollipop.

A key thing to remember is to talk to townspeople before and after the event. They have new dialogue after each visit.

Battle in RF3 is very similar to its other siblings. But with a small switch: you can play as human Micah or his not so secret identity as a wooly (a monster that resembles a sheep. See cover). I still like playing as human!Micah more than wooly!Micah as nothing beats the thrust of a sword or the unleashing of a magical spell. But both forms have their needs, and you can't unlock major plotlines without switching between both.

Don't you wish you never carved that pumpkin on Halloween now?

Farming is like every other time you've farmed in RF. If you have played a Harvest Moon or a Rune Factory game, then you know how to farm (if you have played one and still don't know how to farm, put down your DS and go cry in shame). Basically you take your hoe, dig up some dirt with the "B" button, sow some seeds, and water your plants or let the rain take care of the dirty business for you. As in previous RFs, monsters that you capture/befriend still give you items like wool or milk as long as you buy the right equipment from town.

RF3 also includes cooking, forging, pharmacy, and other side businesses that you can slowly build into a franchise inside your tree house. Characters will also give you tasks to complete for money or items that can be found in your mailbox or on the bulletin board by the shop Fantastic Flowers.

Characters: Character interaction has been vastly improved in RF3, characters having been given more personality and dialogue options as they interact with your character Micah (they even come into your house and talk to you). Townspeople even interact interpersonally with each other. Micah can listen to conversations they are having through little bubbles that appear over their heads or join in their conversations. The only downside to characters running around all the time is that the game will start to lag if too many people have clustered onto the screen. However, the lag is manageable and Micah can still get from point A to B and speak to characters without much hassle.

Can you guess which one is Micah within the lovely ladies?

In RF3 you have 11 bachelorettes to woo and take as your wife, all the girls given lots of interesting dialogue and events to participate in; later when you reach a certain heart level, Micah can even take the girls on dates. The dating system has been substantially improved since the previous RF incarnations - and even Harvest Moon.

Final Thoughts: The only real downsides to RF3 is that the storyline is a bit shorter than its predecessors (Rune Factory 1 & 2 both have longer plots), and that you can't play as a female protagonist. But thankfully, Rune Factory Oceans for the PS3/Wii is coming out soon (in Japan anyway) and players will be able to play as a girl and boy.

Ones of these things are not like the other...

If you liked Rune Factory 1 & 2 or Rune Factory Frontier, you will like Rune Factory 3. If you didn't like either, you still might like RF3 as everything has been substantially improved. It is a great dating sim/RPG/farming game that gracefully balances all these facets to create a stimulating and enriching gaming experience (translation: it kicks ass).

Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar - First Impressions

Finally, I received my copy of Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar after waiting for months, Natsume pushing back its release date more than once. After ripping off the plastic covering and sitting down for a few hours with the game, I thought I’d give my first impressions.
The Good:

• Grand Bazaar deviates from the characters in Sunshine Islands and Island of Happiness
• Crops easier to grow
• You own a bazaar
• Nice farm and town layout
• You can use the one tap L button to run
• The newly introduced jump button (A), you can even get two jumps in by pressing A twice
• The control pad and buttons are used for all actions
• Washroom and sauna in own house
• Cat and Dog choices
• Cute love interests and towns people
• The town mayor Felix has a picture of himself in his own house (he looks rather handsome with his mountain backdrop. Very Ricola.)

The Bad:

• Time only stops when you speak to towns people (there is no pause button)
• On the map screen, you are the only disembodied head (unlike in SI/IH)
• The main girl sprite looks like the boy sprite but with blonde hair
• The B button is used to talk and use your tools (fortunately you can remove your tool with a press of the Y button)
• Colour palate and textures are rather dull looking

Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar might not be a perfect game, but so far, the improved HM formula is keeping me entertained and (after this post) coming back for more.

Mass Effect

Well, I have been busy procrastinating and playing Mass Effect so this site has suffered over the past weeks (*ashamed*).

I finished Mass Effect (hurrah!) and have imported my female Shepard into Mass Effect 2. It took me about 28 hours to finish Mass Effect (completing a majority of side quests as well) and I have to say I was blown away by the sheer awesomeness of the game.

Having played Dragon Age: Origins and completing it, I knew Mass Effect would be a good game, but I was still enthralled by the story in Mass Effect and how it all came together in the end. The only draw back I found to be in Mass Effect was the rover. The Mako controls were the least awesome aspect of the game. They could be cumbersome and the shooting aspect was not as fun as having my team shoot-up Geth with my own gun. But thankfully, I learned to run like a manic through enemies if I found myself in a precarious situation (that and the controls got a bit easier to manage the more times you found yourself scooting in the Mako – which is a lot).

Mako aside, Mass Effect was a glorious game filled with top-notch action and story telling. I was routinely moved and pulled into the plot and couldn’t wait for the showdown between my team and Saren (one of the big bads in Mass Effect). The romance aspect of Mass Effect was also equally enjoyable, my female Shepard badassing her way into Kaidan Alenko’s heart. However, I wish that female Shepard had had more romantic options, her only real choices being Kaidan and Liara.

Romantic options aside, Mass Effect is a great story driven game that should not be missed. I know that the second I get free time, I will be sucked right back into BioWare’s sci-fi opera.

Dragon Age 2 News

Breaking news on Dragon Age 2 has been released, fans finding out more abou the sequel to the RPG favourite Dragon Age: Origins.

With new news comes outspokefan vocies and a shit storm is a brewing on the forums in BioWare's Social Network. The big news on Dragon Age 2 has been released, and not all fans are happy.

The biggest concerns from fans seem to stem from the fact that you play as a Human in DA2 (male or female), but you can not do race customization as in Dragon Age: Origins. For many who played as Elves or Dwarfs, the fact that you play as a Human character is unfathomable and is taking away one of the core reasons they loved DA:O.

While I played as a Human in my first run through, my new game is focused around playing as an Elf. I am having lots of fun learning about his Origin story and I think the different Origin stories and races bring depth to the story and playthrough. So rather hesitantly, I am looking forward to see how BioWare is going to handle this one man/woman Human show.

The other news that has some in a stint, is that the main character is pre-named as Hawke. This change (once again) taking away from the full properties of customization.

I'm okay with the pre-name as I am playing the Mass Effect series as well (which is another grievance of some on the Forums - that DA is becoming too much like its sci-fi sibling). Yet, I still enjoyed naming my character, customizing him/her, and picking his/her race. All that said however, I am looking forward to seeing what BioWare has done to hopefully improve its beloved series. The only fact I am rather sad about is that I'll never be able to continue my friendship and romance options. I had wanted to see my character and Zevran interact once again.