24: The second Blockbuster premier

Yesterday was the second 2-hour-blockbuster premier of 24 starring Anil Kapoor.

The story obviously picks up right after where the previous hour left it. With CTU acting like incompetent idiots (except Chloe of course) and Jack out in the field looking for a dude.

Now one thing I have noticed is that in the movies and TV shows the “Computers=Magic” statement applies quite readily, but why can’t this information be represented more technically…

In the part where they are trying to decrypt the file that was found on Ms. Reed’s laptop, Dana (the head analyst) complains that the decryption was taking too long. I thought, “Well, if you took the silly display graphics down and replaced it with text/ASCII, you could free up processor and memory space…” But while this was going on the other analyst walks over since he is missing some algorithm that is going to help with the decryption and starts hitting on Dana. What better time to do this? Sure there is the looming threat of an international incident lurking around the corner, but if you don’t make your point to the woman right now, when can you? Typical software guy I think.

Then the decryption finally finishes… and we get to see… a 3-D rendered model of the UN building, but there was another part that was still rendering!?

1)      Why was the 3-D rendered image off of Ms. Reed’s laptop just opening up without any compatibility issues? Did they just have that magically universal software that can load anything?

2)      If the CTU computers were taking time rendering the second part of the image, how the hell did Ms. Reed even produce it on her dinky reporter laptop? Was she running a special CRAY edition?

All this aside, this 2 hour segment also seemed like where all the characters grew a brain! Mr. Hastings actually listened to Jack Bauer when he (JB) returned to CTU. Chloe (not Zoe) was applauded for the work she had done. There was much rejoicing as Cole Ortiz saved President Omar Hassan in very close call.

The only reason for me to tolerate this show right now is Anil Kapoor, and I have found myself secretly wishing for the demise of President Omar Hassan. Once he is dead I have no reason to watch the show any more. But, the one hitch in this idea is that the character of Omar Hassan is so likable that I mostly find myself rooting for him… The fellow hides nothing… Ms. Reed blurts out under the pressure of the Incompetent Mr. Hastings that she had an affair with the president. I was expecting Omar Hassan to deny this, but, in a twist, he corroborates the story!

They (CTU) find traces of U-235 (apparently weapons grade uranium) on the Assassin’s body. He (the President) admits to come into contact with men (through his brother of course) that were looking to sell a bunch of weapons grade uranium. I mean really? Well, I will have to endure to watch the rest of the show. Thankfully I have nothing else on Monday nights so it won’t be much of a problem.

Oh and Dana’s past life is catching up to her and is threatening to encroach on her current life because no one at work knows about it…

This bit requires a huge amount of “suspension of disbelief” because she works for the CTU! Didn’t they do all sorts of checks on her to get her that “top secret, for your eyes only, if I tell you I will have to kill you, clearance”? If nothing else, at least, emphasis on the at least, her boss, Mr. Hastings would know about her past. She could just go to him and ask him to help her. But, no… the show creates unnecessary drama trying to make us think that, “Oh no, whatever is Dana going to do now?”

24 resumes it normal show time on FOX on Mondays at 9:00 PM from next week.

Jack Bauer: More Powerful than Superman

It has been a while since I have seen a TV show that has involved me yelling at the inanimate object as if the characters inside could hear my voice and suddenly start acting to what I was saying.

Season 8 of 24 began yesterday (Sunday) in a blockbuster ‘2-hour with limited commercials’ block. The only reason I watched yesterday and perhaps will watch the rest of this season is because of one thing and one thing only.

Anil Kapoor. Represent!

Yes indeed, I do find it hard not to watch Hollywood movies or TV shows that have a Bollywood actor in them. It is like a patriotic need, I think. Even my Father called me up while Human Target (good show by the way, recommend) was on at 8pm last night to ask me if I was tuned in to watch Anil Kapoor on 24. Neither of us really cares about who or what Jack Bauer takes on this season, but we did need to make time to watch an Indian actor on an American show representing a Middle Eastern President… … Ok, this is my problem with a lot of things… Indians hardly ever get to represent Indians in this show or movies; they are generally portrayed as Middle Easterners… Why?

But anyways, back to 24. This part does contain Spoilers about what happened on the season premier so if you haven’t watched it yet.

Season 8 begins with Jack having retired from CTU because saving the world time and time again can become tiresome and repetitive after a while. He has now taken to more simple things like sleeping and hanging out with his grand-daughter. This was the first shocker for me… I thought his entire family was dead (his wife being dead since season 1 and I thought his daughter had been killed in a later season). The idyllic time in his life comes to a screeching halt when a shot up man tells him that there is a plot of assassinate the President!... of a Middle Eastern country.

Jack tires his hardest to hoist the problem (informant) off to CTU which just ends up being a big blowout and Jack ends up at CTU providing the information to the new management there. By the way Chloe is still at CTU… I think she may be the only cast member to survive all 8 seasons. And when did she get so pretty!?

Things get a little out of control and a suspect is captured. Ok, at this point of time I knew that it could one of two people who were behind this assassination nonsense and when they made this deflect I really did think it was the lady-reporter. So she gets arrested and brought in, at which point Chloe chimes in, “Isn’t this a little too easy?” Apparently there were incriminating files on the lady-reporter’s laptop and an encrypted file, which after Chloe said it becomes apparent that it was too easy that they found her out so easily. “Oh well,” says the Management, “Sometimes these things are meant to be easy, so shut your trap Chloe.”

So Chloe as a last recourse goes to Jack, who begrudgingly takes it to Mr. Management. Now this part is a little more of a personal opinion than anything. But if I was Mr. Management and Jack Bauer came up to me and told me that they may have missed a very important lead that could be followed up on… You know… THE Jack Bauer, whose reputation should be legendary in the intelligence community! The man is more powerful than Superman, and has probably saved the world more times than James Bond; I would inclined to listen to him and at least assign him one person who can help him follow the lead (Chloe perhaps), not dismissively wave him away!!

So the lady-reporter is brought in for questioning and hooked up to sophisticated equipment so they can tell if she lying or not. This next section contains a paraphrasing of the dialogue that happened. NAB is No Alarm Bells, as in she is not lying. AB is Alarm Bells as in she is lying.

First they established a baseline to make sure they can catch if she is lying or not then the questioning begins.

Management: Who is the assassin?

Lady-Reporter: I don’t have anything to do with this assassination plot you keep talking about…

NAB.

M: When did you first meet the President?

L-R: 6 months ago?

M: Did you come into contact with any extremist organization there?

L-R: No.

NAB.

M: What was the purpose of your visit?

L-R: To do an article on him. We met in the lobby of the hotel. I interviewed him.

M: So, no sex?

L-R: Yes, no sex.

AB.

M: Are you sure you are telling the truth? You are lying aren’t you?

L-R: ……

(A point here, Anil Kapoor and Hot-Blonde-Lady-Reporter did an encounter which she is trying not to leak lest it demolish his reputation as a President)

M: So what about the assassination plot?

L-R: I know nothing about this assassination plot.

NAB.

M: Sex?

L-R: No sex.

AB.

M: What about this assassination plot?

L-R: I have nothing to do with this assassination plot!

NAB.

M: Lady, what did you do with President six months ago?!

Ok… at this point I was yelling the TV. Why was this information even relevant? What does it matter what she did with the President 6 months ago when she went to interview him? Wasn’t the impending doom of assassination still lurking in the background? It was readily apparent that she may not actually be involved in this plot… But let’s try to grill her for information that has nothing to do with this.

Oh and there was chick in CTU that has a double life… It seems she changed  her name so she could get away from an abusive boyfriend/husband. I’d love to see how they explain why she is working at CTU. Oh yeah , and more stuff happened, and Jack killed people.

Unfortunately though I am invested in the show now so I have to watch it to its conclusion.

There is another 2-hour-limited-commercial blockbuster block tonight starting at 8pm on FOX.

Oh and it was the Brother, with his fancy hair and ludicrous soul patch. How could not be him.

It's Plumbering Time

I have always been a fan of the Mario and Luigi RPGs since the first one that came out on the Gameboy Color. I really liked that one… then there was one of the DS called Partners in Time and needless to say it carried on the quality that the old game had enchanted me with. You got play as the Mario Bros while they were strapping young men, but also when they were wee little babies. There was funny tongue in the cheek dialogue. Of course Peach gets kidnapped again as she always dones. She may just be the greatest MacGuffin ever created.

And just recently I discovered the latest in the series, Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story.  This game has occupied most of my evening lately with its zany gameplay and funny dialogue.

The gameplay is standard to this game series. Mario and Luigi are controlled using the A and B button, but in a twist Bowser is controlled by X and Y. The game allows you to switch between the two on a moment’s notice as long as Mario and Luigi are inside Bowser.

Battles are triggered by running into the enemies and killing those gets loot and xp… but this is all standard to an RPG.

Where this game shines is the dialogue. One thing I have always enjoyed in these games has been the whacky storyline and the over the top dialogue between the characters. Mario and Luigi still are only able to speak in fake Italian. Peach has magical powers and Fawful is back with a vengeance. The game is really easy to play and really fun to get into. I even found myself rooting for Bowser (when I am sure near the end he will turn into the bad guy again) time and time again.

As mentioned earlier, in this game you play as Bowser, who after having swallowed up the entirety of the ruling class of Mushroom Kingdom (Peach) and the plucky heroes has to go about saving the world from a villain, while Mario and Luigi run around in his innards doing leg work to keep Bowser up and running.

So first… when did Bowser turn into a hero? He isn’t the most likeable hero but still he goes about saving the world as needed because all he really wants Peach to like him more than Mario……..? When did these characters get so… so… deep? Not that I mind, but weren’t Mario games just supposed to about some plumber climbing ladders and wasn’t the point of Mario games to play as Mario and sometimes his brother Luigi. This game goes the other way by having you play as Bowser… mostly. You do still get to run around as Mario and Luigi inside Bowser and as the game progresses outside him as well. But most of the major plot accomplishments are credited to Bowser, with a little nudge in the right direction from the Bros (and company). Princess Peach gets kidnapped at some point in the game, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to most people who like or have played the Mario series. But instead of Mario doing the saving, this time it is Bowser. What a twist!

Initially I was thinking that this would really detract from the game, but still hasn’t and I am about 8 or 9 hours into the game so, if it hasn’t yet…

The one major problem I have with the game is that sometimes the game just leaves you in the lurch without telling you where to go next. Currently I am stuck at a part where I have to get into Peach Castle, and I have no idea how to go about this… at all.

Well thankfully there are FAQs for this sort of nonsense.

While the Mario franchise has been rehashed too many times to count now, if Nintendo ever decides to bury it I hope they at least keep this series. As this has been a awesome series to play, up till now at least.

Wanted Dead or Alive

So Borderlands came out about a while back  and after a bit of hunting I finally found it at a local Wal-Mart (Thank god people hate Walmart so much).  Now while this may be irrelevant, but the only reason I picked this game up is because one my friends told me that this game is like Diablo… and who doesn’t love Diablo.

This game is like Diablo, except it has guns… and is a first person shooter… and is set on a different planet. But that is where all the dissimilarities end. Basic premise of the game is to run around kill monsters and gain levels and collect loot so you can be high enough level to kill the baddie at the end of the game (call it an educated guess).

There is a neat little Character introduction process, with which you get four characters to choose from:

Mordecai as the Hunter (Rogue), Roland as the Soldier (Warrior), Brick as the… Brick (Barbarian), and Lilith as the Siren (Sorcerer). I picked the Siren.

The game starts you off in the regular run-of-the-mill scenario of getting used to combat as you follow a robot around to the town of Fyrestone (Tristram) from where you shall be questing. I nearly died in this part due to the lack of shields (that are given to you after this area, but mostly because I am not very good at the FPSs). There is an “aim assist” feature that helps a little but you still have to get your aim on the enemy. After you done with the introductory part you meet Dr. Zed (Deckard Cain) who will give you a bunch of quests to go do stuff or meet new people, who will in turn give you quests to go do stuff or meet new people and so and so forth… but you will be coming back to Dr. Zed (Deckard Cain) a lot.  The quests themselves are simplistic and anybody who has played any RPG or MMO will be familiar with the format.

For each monster you kill, as well as each quest you do, you get experience and once you reach level 5 you have access to skill points. The first one is used to unlock your character’s special ability (Phasewalk in my case since I am playing through as Lilith) and the rest are spent on a skill tree like chart (reminiscent of Diablo). Money was a little hard to come by when I started the game but after about 4 levels (Which went by quick enough) I had suddenly had about 20K and nothing to do with it. Buying weapons seems pointless because the game was throwing weapons at me from monster kills and most of them were better than the ones in the shop (once it opens). Shields on the other hand are a little harder to come by but you won’t be changing them too often either.

The first boss battle comes at you suddenly that I was a little underleveled for it… (it seems). I died quite a few times. But this is where the game shines. Instead of having to go through the “load game, restart mission” screen you get cloned and put back at last checkpoint type area. So you can just run back into battle with the boss or whatever you were fighting at the time and continue from where you left off. But if you are one those cool people who can shoot where they aim, you have chance to get a “Second Wind”… when your HP falls to zero, you get a short amount of time to kill the nearest (or farthest) enemy to stand back up with a few HP. I was unable to get this to work though.

                The last boss of the game was a bit of a pain; but once I figured out the trick to it…surprisingly easy, which was somewhat disappointing, as I was expecting more of a challenge. But after the first playthrough, the game can be loaded up again for a second playthrough in which the enemies are stronger, hit a lot harder, but this all doesn’t really seem to matter until the very near end of the game where this actually becomes a bit of an issue… there is literally a brick wall of difficulty in the last level of the game.

There have been two DLCs since the game has come out:

Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot, which is like an invasion style game, where up to 4 people can team up to take on waves upon waves of enemies.  I have only had a chance to try it single player and while the waves are easy enough for one person, the boss waves are like hitting a reinforced concrete wall at high speeds in car without the seat belt on. The first boss that I fought was Baron Flynt… and I was dead before I even realized it.

I am sure this is much easier, if not less harder, with more people.

The other one is The Island of Dr. Ned, a good ol’ Halloween styled adventure. Set in Jakob’s cove, this module boasts an eerie setting with zombies, werewolves, and other spooky things of that caliber. As you find out that there was a problem which Dr. Ned (not Zed) tried to fix and ended up creating more problems. Same as always you get quests from the bounty board which has its own claptrap to keep you company with snappy comebacks and funny dialogue. The one gripe that I have with this module… When zombies are killed with a head shot they drop a quest item “Brains” which are needed for a quest later on but the game gives you no indication of this and to top it all, any “brains” picked up before the quest begins don’t count towards it.

But that is a really minor thing. Over all this is a really fun single player module and I am sure is even more fun with multiple players.

Both the DLCs well worth the 800 MS points.

Now I did try playing the game through as one of the other 3 characters (Since I finished the game as Siren), but none of them seemed to be worth it as it seems that Siren seems to be a bit on more overpowered side of a class. Reminds me of the Amazon from Diablo II, until Blizzard nerfed them…

Yeah, I am not bitter about that (The Amazon bit, not the siren bit).

Movie games and the like!

So while having a talk with my Father on the phone, he mentioned that a movie that the two of us had watched a while back called Aagey Se Right is being turned into a game. So I did a search on Google and found out that it was not the only game that was being turned into a game. Apparently there are three movies from the Indian movie machine that are being turned into games by a company called IndiaGames.All of the quotes are 'copy-paste's of the statements in the article I found.

Quick Gun Murugun:

“The ‘Quick Gun Murugun’ game is based on the film Quick Gun Murugun, who is the central character of the game. He is an unlikely superhero with ‘Guntastic’ powers and a sincere South Indian cowboy who considers it his duty to serve and protect. The movie revolves around his mis-adventures with his arch villain Rice Plate Reddy! The whacky game-play of Quick Gun Murugan tests the player’s shooting speed and reaction time. The player, who is a cowboy, has to swiftly shoot the enemies appearing in the area using a desert eagle pistol, before they try to shoot him.”

Aagey Se Right:

“The game ‘Aagey Se Right’ is an action-packed nonstop bike racing/pursuit game based on UTV Motion Pictures’ comedy film Aagey Se Right. The game-play tests the player’s driving skills, speed and reaction time while he rides his bike through the chaotic streets of Mumbai city. In the game, the player who dons the role of the cop Dinkar Waghmare, has to chase his trusted Bajarangbali stickered gun on the run. While chasing it, his fate and destiny make him an unlikely hero against the underworld goons and terrorists.”

And last but not least Kaminey:

“Inspired by the latest blockbuster Kaminey, a UTV Motion Pictures production, Indiagames has launched a highly action packed mobile game aptly suiting the thrills offered by the movie. Go chase, fight the cops, take risks, hit the rival gangs - Experience the craze that you wish to be a part of, after watching the movie. The game replicates the role donned by Charlie, the protagonist of the movie, packed with absorbing game-play and thrilling levels.”

Now while it is a common practice in the US to turn games into movies (especially the major releases like Iron Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Avatar and the like), it is a very new thing in India for something like this… India has the largest movie industry in the world (last I checked) with just of movies coming out in a year; the Hindi movie industry is big and the Tamil movie industry probably bigger. But, this is small step in Indian game industry as these games are only for the mobile phones.

So what is next then, maybe bigger games for the console systems for some of the other popular movie titles.

Sathiya: You play as the protagonist while going through the city searching for your missing wife through the streets of Mumbai. Game play features driving through the gritty streets of Mumbai in a open sandbox environment. Beautifully scripted flashback sequences in hidden locations. New and exciting songs

Ab tak Chappan: Play as Sadhu Agashe, the lead inspector of the encounter squad, as he navigates the murky underbelly of Mumbai as you search for criminals and execute them, all in the name of Justice!

Don: Play as Vijay, an unwilling civilian, who has to use his wits and charm to mimic the now dead don of Mumbai so he can expand his empire while still surviving the dingy environment of the Underworld. Now with more Dancing sequences employing the use of the iToy attachment for a full on immersion.

Needless to say, I think these games, if they existed, would have been a lot more interesting than most of the games that get released now a days…

Poppycock!

I was dusting off my DSi, which I hadn’t used in ages, and I came across this game again: Henry Hatsworth and the Puzzling Adventure. I did remember liking the game when I played it initially.

HHaPA follows the adventures of the old but still young-blooded English gentleman by the name of Henry Hatsworth. Traveling from location to location in search of the perfect gentlemen’s suit, made of gold and turning you into a man of pure awesome! Along the way you shall fight strange creatures from puzzleland who just happen to be frolicking around in the world and also dark forces from the adventurer’s guild who seek to claim the golden suit for their own nefarious purposes.

Henry Hatsworth is a game that occupies the well known genre of Platformers. But, it also adds the element of a puzzle game (like bejeweled, puzzle quest and the sort).

Sights: The game is a veritable treasure of colours, and impressively so. It is a good break from the larger console version of gritty brown, gritty gray and, gritty black. No two levels are alike, at least from what I have seen so far. Enemies come in all shapes, forms, sizes and, colours and the characters' art is well detailed. This all along with pretty background art makes for a very soothing sight.

Sounds: The music is simple and catchy. Quite a bit so because I have had one of the soundtracks’ stuck in my head since Saturday… But overall the music is very fitting to the levels that you are in and the upbeat tunes lend to the lighthearted theme of the game. Overall the musical choices are very well done by the composer(s).

Gameplay: There are two aspects to this game; one is the platforming part done on the top screen, while the bottom screen in your puzzle part. As you kill enemies they will be transported to the bottom part of a rolling block puzzle which you will have to switch to, from time to time, to completely eliminate the enemies.
The platforming part follows the general scheme of all other platformers out there. Run; Jump; Slash; Shoot; etc; etc… Press the attack button enough times and Henry performs a combo. Press the “shoot” button a few times and launch a line of bullets at the enemy/enemies in front of you; or you can press up and the shoot button to unleash a Super Fireball attack on your enemies (useful in certain situations). But all and all pretty standard gameplay.
The other (possibly more interesting part of this game) is the puzzle part on the bottom screen. Every time you off one of the denizens of puzzleland on the top screen, they are immediately transported to the bottom screen, which is basically an upwards rolling block puzzle. Here you will have to align three or more blocks of the same colour to get rid of the blockified enemies or just regular old block. Leave an enemy in here for too long that it actually rolls into the upper screen… and you shall soon find why this is a bad idea. If any enemy block transports itself to the top screen it will basically rain down on Henry a few times (hurting the character), while you were busy dealing with the other enemies on the upper screen.
There is a timer meter on the left side which shows you how much time you have left to fiddle around in the puzzle section. This meter also has a tendency to run out quickly (early on at least). On the right is your SUPER! Meter… once full this lets you transform into a giant golden suit robot for a limited time during which you are invulnerable to damage. Also any shots you fire will use a little bit of the super meter.
Another use of the Puzzle mode is to make you shots bigger. When you fire a shot, but before it makes contact with the enemy; you can switch to the puzzle screen and fire away a few combos to see that your shot suddenly grows massively in size and does a lot more damage.
This all seems like fun… But… that’s just the first level…
During the first level the amount of enemies that you have to fight is very small compared to the later levels… so having a short time bar on the puzzle mode doesn’t seem like much of a problem until you hit the brick wall of difficulty in the second level.
While in the first level it is fairly easy to keep up with the enemies that are being sent at you… on later levels it starts to ramp up with the speed of an exponential equation reaching its limit… More often than not you may find yourself trying fight of hordes of enemies on the top screen while also trying to be rid of them on the bottom puzzle screen (which at times that the game hates you and will not give you a way out) and then have to deal with the blocks that escape to the top screen as well. The other problem that I found was that while the level design is in fact quite pleasing, the levels seem entirely too long… and certain parts of them seem to require split second timing to get past. All of this combined does make for a very discouraging combination.

Overall, the game is fun and innovative… but only for a short period (although it still remains innvoative). Gameplay is definitely not something I can recommend the game on, but the story is quirky enough to keep my attention, so I end using AR to cheat through the game to at least see it to its conclusion. Then again I might be better off reading an FAQ with the spoilers. It’d probably be easier… much easier.

Heaven or Hell!

Darksiders is a regular old adventure hack’n’slash game that came out this week, by Vigil. The game is nothing new as far as the genre is concerned. You get to play as War, one of the horsemen of apocalypse, who gets shafted when someone cries wolf and he shows up to bring the apocalypse to Earth a little too soon. Having screwed up, War goes through a Metroidqsue sequence where he loses all his powers and reverts back to level 1 (Why War would have a level 1 to being with…) And then of course he has to go back and fix his mistake or else…

To help him in this endeavor, War is assigned a cheery little companion called the watcher (voiced by Mark Hamill of Batman fame)  who from time to time will chime in with a cheery “hey listen” to get you follow his instructions and also provides helpful tips to solve puzzles and beat bosses.  One side point here… In most games that seem to have a notable actor for voice acting (like John Cleese in Jade Empire, Patrick Stewart in Oblivion, and Liam Neeson in Fallout) the game tends to have them for very short time… this game however diverges from this (thankfully I might add).Also to help War along in his quest for redemption is the fallen angel Samael, who basically acts as quest giver and general banter person.

So the basic premise of the game is to go to Dungeon A, solve some simple puzzles (Some of them had me stumped until I saw what I needed to do… and then I felt a little stupid), get special Item A* from it to traverse to the last boss, and then beat the last boss using the Item A*… on the way War also gets to beat the crap out of a lot of demons that try to get in his way. After the dungeon he gets to use the new item found or a new item given by Samael to traverse to the next dungeon and rinse and repeat.

On the way to all this War also locates his horse, Ruin, who can then be rode around to get places faster. Also there is a gun called Mercy… which is useless against enemies, except in the one instance where it is needed for a boss.

So if all of this sounds familiar, that is because it actually is. This game bears a marked similarity to the Zelda series, as far as the game play is concerned at least. But, thankfully there are no Schizophrenic farmer boys who based on a series of dreams set out to save princesses who are apparently genetically programmed to get kidnapped by the villain who is genetically programmed to kidnap them.

Where this game shines is that though it is set in dark, dingy Earth where all humans are dead and demons walk the land having claimed as their own… making for a very gritty setting. But, unlike most of the other games with gritty settings this game diverges from choosing brown, gray, and other brows and grays as the primary basis for all colours in the game. The game is full of colour and this makes it more than eye pleasing.  Monsters come in all shapes sizes and colours (though purple seems to be a common theme among them). Landscapes are well drawn and pretty to look at. Even War himself is decked out in red and silver making for a very prominent presence on screen. While this may seem like a minor point, I have had enough of the dark and gritty settings where everything seems to blend into one giant ball of gray or brown or any combination of those two. This makes for a happy diversion from that. Barring a few minor graphical glitches the game has nice graphics. The character design and the setting are a little comic bookish… but the game may not have worked as well as it did with realistic graphics.

Voice acting is nice here (especially the Watcher and Vulgrim), but the one thing that got to me was the fact that War talks with constant pursed lips… which makes it seem like someone had sewn the sides of his mouth.

Controls are easy. One button for attack, one button for dodge. Magic takes two buttons but, not very hard to get used to. Camera angles do screw up from time to time, causing me to plummet to my death or run right in to a monster that I was trying to dodge away from… but these are minor complaints.

It is a decently long game as well. I am about 8 hours into it and I think I nearing the end now (just a guess), but there are enough hidden tidbits in levels that can be used to occupy time (since new powers can be used in older levels to access areas that could not be accessed before).

All and all I am enjoying the game.