MotorStorm RC Impressions

So, as we know, MotorStorm RC was free this week in the Playstation Store update and, as anyone would, I jumped right on that because it was a free game and while I didn't know it at the time I've learned it has a Platinum Trophy which only sweetens the deal.  I doubt I will ever -get- that Platinum trophy for all sorts of reasons, but at least the idea is there, ever-present.  A carrot to lead me into insanity, I'm sure, but at the same time I've come to terms with the fact that I don't have to go for all of the Platinums, so I might be well and truly fine with leaving my experiences with MotorStorm RC 'unfinished' as it were.  Possibly in dramatic fashion, as in not getting much more than the pithy 2% I'm at currently.  Especially since I'm concerned it just might not be 'my kind' of game as I suspected it might not be.

I guess I should start with the positive first, because there is quite a lot on that front.  The graphics are pretty nice for what it is and the presentation itself is rather smooth.  The interface is simple and offers basically only the information you need while racing or, if you're in the Playground, it constantly feeds you information on your friends as shown off in the above picture of Kaseius beating one of my scores that I believe had beat one of his scores.  Maybe.  I remember beating at least one of his (and the scores of a few other people as well, and on my first attempts, some of them!) because the interface with that is fairly unforgettable and intuitive. 

Basically in the 'Hot Lap' types of races, it gives you three times for the three medals and completing a lap in the desired amount of time will net you the medal.  If you get the shortest time, you get all three, the second shortest, you get two, etc.  These are then represented on the track by arrows with avatars above them highlighting the course taken by the driver to get that time, proving that these times -are- possible regardless of what you might think in frustration.  It's a nicer take on just having 'ghost' cars on the track, I think, and the top-down camera angle makes the best use of it as it could.

It's really really nice, honestly and while I don't like racing games and certainly still don't after my experience with the game, I enjoyed it.  Mostly.  I wondered for the entire time that I played earlier today, 'Why is the right stick the thing to use for Acceleration?  That's dumb!' and while the answer is sensible enough (no pressure-sensitive buttons on the Vita) it doesn't make it any more usable than it was when I just thought it was dumb.  I was eventually instructed that you can remap the controls almost completely which is certainly welcome and I took advantage of, but all my experience has more or less been based on using the Right Stick for reasons I could not fathom.  I think one of the main reasons I don't like Racing games is because of the sheer precision they require, and the OCD-like levels they can drive you to trying to get just .021 of a second shaved off of your lap time or things of that sort.

This is certainly not helped by the inclusion of an ice area which, as you might expect, makes navigation much harder than it needs to be.  I hadn't done all the races in the first section and just sort of happened upon it which might also attribute to the difficulty curve I faced, but after winning the first actual race I was in (against other cars, rather than the ghost time arrows) so handily I passed the sixth place car (out of eight) before finishing, I was not prepared for the next actual race I was in to get so trounced.  The serpentine half of the track literally requiring you to make seven precision turns in a row on ice just sucks so tremendously and required at least 20 minutes of my time.  I don't even remember if I ended up actually finishing it in first or if I gave up in frustration.  I just remember that another track in the same area that involved a lot of crossing the same sections (and consequently not letting you take shortcuts) caused similar amounts of frustration because I kept missing the top medal by less than a second.

As I've said, racing games just aren't my thing which should be pretty obvious to anyone at this point.  Still, I'll plug away at it a little more before finally starting Uncharted:  Golden Abyss because I think I've put all the time I'm going to tolerate into Dynasty Warriors Next.  After potentially discovering that you -can- swear a Sibling Oath with a woman and a Spouse Oath with a man by playing as a Female Ruler, I threw my hands up in frustration at the amount of time this bullshit (and that's exactly what it is) is going to take.  Maybe if the core mechanics of Next were a little better, I'd be more apt to give it a shot, but they're not, so I just can't be bothered whatsoever.  Like I can't be bothered with trying to figure out the best way to race ice tracks.

Celebrating My Birthday with News

There's a plethora of things that have been tossed out today - partly because of GDC I imagine and partly because it's Monday, and companies just like throwing things out on Mondays, I've found.  Regardless, the first bit here is that Assassin's Creed 3 has more information than a mere setting confirmation and box art release.  The first official trailer, the reveal trailer, for Assassin's Creed 3 is above and you've likely already watched it by the time you get to here, but if you haven't, you might as well get to it.  A little additional information to go along with that is the fact that our Native American protagonist has a name that I'm sure tongues of this generation just are not meant to pronounce, ("Ratohnhaké:ton" apparently) and will be known as "Connor" for about 90% of the game.  Just because, I guess.

The trailer also doesn't so much as confirm something I had suspected, but at least hints towards it with the extensive showing of nature scenes rather than large, sprawling buildings.  Especially the parkour in the trees section (the trailer is apparently all in-engine, or at least that's what I've heard) leads me to think that there's not really going to be the safety of the city around you and that this might just be a very, very different game than AC2.  Perhaps it'll go back to the roots of the original game, with all the wilderness areas that existed in it.  Granted, it's looking like that might be the majority of the area to cover (I could see some American and/or British camps being navigational, perhaps even some settlements) but if there's anything the Assassin's Creed team is good at doing, it's making interesting vistas to traverse, as that's the majority of what I spent my time doing during Brotherhood.  With any luck, they'll still be as interesting, especially if the majority of the game takes place during the winter as it looks like it might.

I'm a little surprised, honestly, that it's not really that great of a trailer.  I get that they wanted to do in-engine (again, that's what I heard it is) rather than FMV which basically means a little bit of quality loss (Unless you're Naughty Dog) since you can't tweak every single thing like in FMV, but I expected a little more than that.  Overall it looks pretty decent aside from a few poor spots here and there (my main issue is when he's pulling the hatchet out of the soldier and tugs it out near weightlessly by the middle of the haft of it; that's not how you do that at all) but it lacks the real -punch- that previous trailers have had.  For the reveal of a brand new game theory, a brand new character, and the 'final' chapter of the game, it deserved a little more time and effort, I think, and it's just a shame that it didn't get it.  Still, we'll see how it starts shaping up real soon; as said last time, we'll start to get some real details in April when GameInformer features it as their cover story.

The above is the video that accompanies the second piece of news which is more or less only tangentially related to it, but it's worth a look anyway, since it gives us a good look at MotorStorm RC for the Vita.  Now, why would you want to get a good look at MotorStorm RC, you might ask?  Aside from likely being quite a good game, since it's from a really established franchise, it's going to be free on the Vita for North America.  At least, it will be free on March 6th; I can't attest for any time thereafter.  "North America" is often a more exclusive term than it would imply, oftentimes meaning just "USA", but the Director of Network Advertising for SCEA, David Winding, assure us that this offer includes Canada, so with any luck that holds and you'll get a shot at it too, Chance.  The quote, specifically is the below:

"Is the “deal” available in Canada as well?? Please say yes…"

David Winding on March 5th, 2012 at 8:27 am said: OK… Yes it is.

I wouldn't be surprised if people aren't going to hold their breath for it, but I'm rather hopeful, despite it being quite easy for me to be as much.  For the wonderful price of Free, of course I'm going to give it a shot as I gave Rag Doll Kung-Fu a shot years ago when there was a similar promotion.  Sprint sponsored the game, making it free of charge for a limited time, and I was one of the countless that grabbed it by virtue of being a free game.  Unfortunately...I don't think it was quite worth it, as it wasn't really a good game, shoe-horning in some of the worst usages of Sixaxis controls to date, but the music was nice and it had a little bit of charm at least.  Still, as I said, I don't think that will be an issue with MotorStorm RC since it has a pedigree behind it and looks pretty interesting on its own.

I've said time and time again and will likely continue to do so, but I'm not really a racing guy, nor am I a fan of overhead cameras like that (I'm not against them, but they certainly take a lot of getting used to, like in Grand Theft Auto:  Chinatown Wars).  That's not to say I haven't had a cursory interest in the games ever since I got a copy of MotorStorm bundled in with my PS3 (that I admittedly never opened), but I've certainly not put forth the effort in grabbing one up and playing it yet until now.  I figure it's the best shot in on it that I'm gonna get, and I'm going to capitalize on that proper.  If nothing else, it'll keep the PSP games company that I'm going to grab in a couple days with the PSN funbux I'm going to get in a day or so.  All of the games!

Capcom has been catching quite a bit of flak for some DLC concerns lately and while that is nonsense, I find that I'm not as fussed by it as I am by the other DLC issue that's reared its ugly, mutated head.  I am really, really tired of 'exclusive' DLC being used as a means to try and buy your way to a certain platform.  Sure, I guess I don't mind it when it's on the PS3's foot which is a bit hypocritical of me, but let's face it:  How often does that happen?  Even when it's a game that I have absolutely zero interest in, I find that knowing, should I find myself wanting to buy it, I just plain won't get to buy the same amount of content as someone else just because there's a lot of money being exchanged elsewhere.  It is, in fact, directly counter to what any good developer should want to do, since it alienates potential buyers for reasons that don't really matter in the long run.

"Nemesis Mode" for Resident Evil:  Operation Raccoon City sounds pretty poor in all honesty.  In so much as I don't quite know what the hell is being said in its description.  "Nemesis Mode has the USS verses the Spec Ops in an eight-man battle with someone able to control a Nemesis. While one team tracks down a control unit, the other can "give the Nemesis orders to destroy the opposition.""  I guess...four versus four, but one team has a friggin' Nemesis that's controlled by a player?  Where's the balance in that?  The hell is a 'control unit' and why is it the mission goal?  I guess it is a little silly to expect something cohesive out of day one, console-exclusive, charged DLC, but oh well.  I'm sure it'll make a few people happy; people who will likely enjoy the game for reasons beyond shooting Leon Kennedy in the face at some point in the storyline.

That's quite a good bit of news and while the majority of it is good, it can't all be good news.  But, to ensure that I end this on a high note, I'll go ahead and just pass along the fact that came up whilst I was typing this up.  Lollipop Chainsaw hits June 12th.  I can't wait to slice up some undead douchebags then and, with any luck, I'll be able to pick it up with minimal hassle.  Until then, I guess I'll just have to ceaselessly watch all the trailers out for it.

....Again.