Game of the Day: Flower

On lazy bad weather days like today when you just can't handle the intensity of most games there is a fine exception. It's titled Flower and can be described as the classic Snake game with the exception that you're drifting through air directing the flower pedals that you accumulated by setting the field in bloom. There are no real threats and the objectives of blooming the field can be done at your leisurely pace so for me personally this game is more like therapy than anything else. As you can see above the game looks absolutely stunning from an art point of view with the bright colors and the beautiful scenery. It's enough to just start the game and see it to feel a bit more positive, especially here in Sweden where the gray days - like today - can really bring you down. This game is the essence of what a downloadable game for $10 should be - a bite sized experience that you can come back to and one you'll never forget.

The Last Guardian - Interview

New very short interview with Team ICO's Director and Game Designer Fumito Ueda, as well as a new even shorter video of the game. Impressions so far are that I really admire how humble Japanese game developers like Ueda are despite being in the absolute top echelon of game development. Peter Molyneux could really learn a thing from this guy and not keep japing his mouth so much about how everything he does will cause a gaming revolution, but that is for another blog entry. The Last Guardian, yes, despite having about a year left in development the game already looks amazing, the physics and animations look to be the best on any console yet not to mention that the lightning looks absolutely stunning. This doesn't come as a surprise really because I've seen what kind of magic these guys can do with the old hardware of the PS2, I mean Shadow of the Colossus was an incredible technical achievement on the outdated hardware of the PS2. I can only imagine what they'll achieve on the PS3 hardware next year and I wouldn't be surprised if this game might be a future console graphics king.

However the great graphics are still pretty low on my list for why I'm so hyped for this game. I'm mostly interested in the gameplay and how the interaction between the boy and the creature will be like, but it's really hard for me to imagine the gameplay at all. I mean, sure, it looks like an adventure platformer and puzzle solving kind of game but the presence of a huge monster-like creature really sets all conventional expectations ablaze. This newness of experiencing something different is also the reason I've turned into such a Team Ico fanboy. The other thing I noticed in this video is a pattern with all Team Ico games and that pattern is that none of the companions to the protagonists in the games are able to communicate conventionally. In ICO Yorda speaks in an unknown language, in Shadow of the Colossus Wander's only companion is the horse Agro and in the Last Guardian your companion is the imaginary beast. I can only speculate on why but I think it's a way to bring attention to the unspoken bond of trust between these imaginary living beings. This is why I adore these games, they really have the smallest details that you only notice after some examination. The Last Guardian can't come soon enough to my PS3.

Dreaming of Ico

Finished Shadow of the Colossus today and despite only clocking in a total of 8 hours and 59 seconds I feel exhausted, like I've been on long trip. I also feel very happy and I'm glad that the ending was much more upbeat than I expected. I should also give a nod to the soundtrack which really stood out, especially towards the end and it really complemented the mood of the game. But this game is much more than the total playtime you receive or the sum of its parts, it's like an unforgettable experience and I already feel bittersweet about finishing it, like with any great game. It almost feels unfair to call it a game, it's more like minimalistic art contained within a game, I know it sounds pretentious but this is one of those rare times where a game has more in common with a wonderful piece of art. I love how the game leaves alot of things unexplained and forces you to draw your own conclusions on many things. I can only speaking for myself but I found it obvious that the game is a prequel to Ico, though one can only guess how many years separate the events in the two games.

Wander receives his horns for releasing Dormin by defeating the colossi, all for his own selfish desire to return Mono to life, and as one of the characters - Lord Emon - expresses towards the end of the game, his hope is that if Wander survived he might someday be able to atone for his crimes. I can't help but feel that it all ties in with Ico, especially since Ico seems to be a descendant of Wander and a vessel of redemption for Wander and the bloodline. Ico acts selflessly by helping Yorda, protecting her from the shadow-like creatures and putting himself in danger to save her. Wander gains horns for his crimes while I read that Ico loses his horns during the game which is pretty telling of the difference between the two protagonists. Now I'm really excited about getting my hands on Ico, I really want to find out more ties between the two games and the gameplay of holding hands with Yorda to guide her seems like something really special. It's a real shame that these games have turned into rarities these days because they both clearly should be considered modern gaming classics. I consider them as such and that is why my gaming collection will not be complete without them.

House - Season 6

The new House season is finally underway after a long and excruciating wait. Finally is an understatement because last season's finale was something of a killer with House being put into a mental institution and leaving us viewers with alot of questions on what's going to happened to him. I was really hyped for today's episode simply to find out how House would fit in an insane setting and I could really imagine all kinds of crazy scenarios that he'd put the personal as well as the other patients thought. First impression after watching the new episode "Broken" made me realize how much I had missed the show and the character of House with all his silly quirks and insanity. The episode was really good drama with solid acting like always and it clearly paid some homage to my favorite film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with House being up to all kinds of mischief and fighting any form of authority as always. The episode also scores points for playing No Surprises by Radiohead during the intro.

Still I am left with mixed feelings, mostly due to the fact that this episode barely had any medicine in it and because it was basically a feel-good episode about House coming to terms with himself and trying to reform so he can be "happy". This may not sound as something terrible and sure you'll laugh and feel good while watching the episode but one rule about House since season one has always been "House NEVER changes!" and it is what has made the show so great. Now I'm getting worried that House is going to learn to conform and become more normal which would for me effectively kill the show, I hope the writers know what they're doing. The other big let down of this episode was in that House gets out of the mental institution at the end of the episode and his hallucinations are never properly explained, the way everything is resolved feels very rushed and screams deus ex machina.

They could have done so much more with the House-gone-insane plot with additional episodes but instead we don't even get to see anyone visit House before he's out, no Cuddy, no Cameron, no Team actually visit House during the episode, which I found very strange. House not only gets out in one episode but also gets his medical license back and it seems the next episode will be back to business as usual. I want to believe that House will continue to excel as a show despite losing some of it's edge for the past three seasons but I am left very worried when plots are just brushed past and restored to status quo with not further development. It's especially strange since some of the new characters in this episode were really interesting and it would have been great to see them get fleshed out more with a few more episodes. House used to be my favorite show for so many years but these past few seasons with the new team have made me realize that the top spot belongs to Mad Men for now, unless the writers of House kick it up a notch again or the writers of Mad Men knock it down a notch.

Monkey Island + CryEngine = True!

I must say that when I heard about this I could never imagine Monkey Island 2 running on Crysis engine in 3D with any good results, in fact I expected it to be a total failure and completely suck out the soul of the Monkey Island games. The modder loneclone has not only proven why PC >>> all when it comes to games, he has also managed to own me and anybody who ever doubted that advanced technology and art could co-exist. When I see what one modder can achieve and how much better it is compared to the official remake of Monkey Island which was done by a professional team of developers, let's just say that I am very impressed with mankind right now; he nailed it. This kind of creativity and will to push the boundaries is surely the best mankind has to offer and I am truly impressed. Not to mention that I am impressed with CryEngine and the diversity I've seen come from that beast of technology, those chaps at Crytek are talented folks.