Lv 5 ~ Costume Quest

 It's still another six months until October, but now is as good of a time as any for me to review the RPG Costume Quest and its DLC "Grubbins On Ice". I had been meaning to play through this title for quite some time, but made sure that during Halloween I'd do so -- and I was pleasantly surprised.

 Costume Quest is an adorable downloadable title for the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and most recently, Steam, and combines traditional RPG elements with a modern, comedic setting, reminiscent of EarthBound. You take control of one of two twins (Reynold and Wren) whose other sibling ends up being kidnapped by a monster while trick-or-treating (after being mistaken for candy due to wearing a candy corn costume, hah!) and it is up to you to rescue him or her. Over the course of the game you end up befriending other kids in the neighborhood -- two of which join your party (Everett and Lucy) -- and travel to various neighborhoods while collecting candy and costumes in order to save the day. The totally awesome catch is that these costumes seemingly transform the children during battle: from a vampire, to french fries, to my personal favorite, the statue of liberty.

Lady Liberty ROCKS that toga. Faaabulous!!

 I didn't expect an incredibly deep storyline given that it was just a child-friendly downloadable title, and so thankfully, I wasn't disappointed in that aspect. Not to say that there isn't a story, it's just... well, simple. The characters are charming, however, and the humor is spot-on. The dialogue was well-written (although again, I use the word "simple") and the names of characters, enemies and items were clever. I typically believe that story is the most important factor in an RPG, but I will admit, the childlike humor made up for the lack of an incredibly deep plot. But yeah. It's a cute, simple story, and suits the game's characters and setting.

 The game's music and sound effects weren't anything notable, either; again, they weren't bad, per say, but they weren't anything that particularly impressed me. The cartoony, cel-shaded graphics, on the other hand, are something I'm incredibly fond of, and the character design and art style both reminded me of games like Animal Crossing and yes, EarthBound. (It's fairly obvious that the developers had EarthBound for inspiration -- I swear it's not just because I'm biased... although I do love that game...) So where audio was mostly "meh" -- especially seeing as how there was no voice acting whatsoever (I mean, sure, it's a DLC title meant to be a retro-styled RPG, but still...) -- the graphics and design really tickled my pickle.

Mmm, smell that scrumptious sizzle.

 What were most surprising to me were the elements featured when actually playing the game. Sure, none of them are necessarily new, and are far from ground-breaking, but it was nice seeing the inspiration from classic games be applied in this title.

 Costume Quest takes the typical RPG feature of a "class" or "job" system that determine skills and abilities and links it with the game's Halloween theme by using costumes, which I thought was both innovative and adorable. There are various roles that can be played: from ranged to melee and from healing and offense, and mix-and-matching my favorite costumes was delightful. Each of the costumes possess special abilities, and most of these costumes also have field abilities that can be used when traversing neighborhoods (for example, the rocket skates of the robot costume to dash). It was a nice touch, although, again, nothing too incredibly innovative. But nice.

 Instead of money or gold, seeing as how the game involves children actively trick-or-treating, candy is used as currency. The only purpose for candy is to purchase stickers, which are equipped to provide statistical bonuses or added effects. Some of these added effects, however, made the game painfully easy -- and it never was a challenge, at any point, even during boss battles. Ultimately, the player has to make a conscious decision to amp up the difficulty by not using stickers if they are seeking any sort of challenge at all. Also, while the game does feature a few mini-games and side quests, it's still a very, very linear experience.

 The turn-based battle system is reminiscent of Super Mario RPG, namely because of the use of quick time events in order to increase offense and mitigate damage taken from enemies. I am a fan of using features like this in an otherwise "typical" RPG, simply because it forces the player to not only implement strategies, but also to engage during the battles instead of simply watching what happens. However, the difference between successfully completing a timed attack or block and not doing so was substantial; I quickly learned that timing was crucial to not being defeated. The game does prompt the player when to input a command -- and does so EVERY single time -- so once you've figured out what to do, it's not a challenge in the least.

 The DLC chapter, "Grubbins On Ice", picks up where the children left off, and adds a new story arc, new costumes, and new stickers. Although certainly not a massive expansion, I recommend that if you plan to give this game a shot, make sure to get the DLC, as well. The costumes are fun, the stickers are ridiculous, and the new enemies are somewhat more difficult than in the main game, but still not anywhere near the difficulty level I was hoping for. Still, I think that the DLC is integral if you're wanting to play through this game and "truly" complete it, like I did. (and hey, it has a few more achievements to pick up, too!)

 It may not be incredibly difficult; it may not be the most innovative; it may not be the most immersive... but Costume Quest is most definitely a fun and enjoyable game. I honestly do recommend it, especially if you're looking for a light-hearted, quick and casual RPG to beat in a day or two and feel like taking a walk down memory lane... and remembering what it's like to be a kid again.

• Audio: 2
• Gameplay: 3
• Originality: 3
• Story: 2
  
• Visuals: 4
• Overall: 3
• Difficulty: Very Easy
• Completion Time: 13 Hours (... and I literally completed everything)

+ Adorable concept, art style and character design

+ Generally fun to play

+ Incredibly amusing and clever humor

- Far too short to fully complete

- Almost annoyingly easy

- "Meh" storyline and no replayability whatsoever

Progress

 I've been playing games a bit more regularly, and I'm certainly making a bit of progress, although not nearly as much as I'd like to. I completed all of the achievements for Boom Boom Rocket on XBLA, about half of the achievements for Civilization V on Steam, completely mastered my first character in Castlevania HD (XBLA), and I've been working intermittently on various other Xbox LIVE Arcade games to increase my GamerScore, which is now sitting at 1060. I guess that's not too bad for only having the 360 for two months or so, right?

 There's lots going on in my life, right now, trying to get it all sorted out... so although I don't have as much time for games as I'd like, I'm sure I'll be able to squeeze in more time once I'm back on track. I'm moving soon, and hopefully I'll have a full-time job, as well, so huzzah. Wish me luck. :D

Civilization V

 An incredibly good friend of mine was so kind to get me Sid Meier's Civilization V on Steam for my upcoming birthday, and, for the first time, I've actually sat down to give the game a chance. I haven't played a Civilization game seriously, before -- I've just watched people play. Games with too much micromanagement and having to be quicker than your opponents just threw me off, like Starcraft. I'm never able to construct buildings and units fast enough to be able to defend from an attack. Civilization seems completely different than that.

 Firstly, it's turn-based. Hallelujah. I don't have to worry so much about speed so much as "which strategy am I going for", which is what I'm more suited to. Secondly, you aren't forced to be super-aggressive and focus on slaughtering your opponents to win, which I love. You can win culturally or diplomatically. Hells yes. Of course... I'm sure that most players opt to kill and murder ruthlessly, so I'll probably be killed, regardless... but it's cool that you can win by being a defensive pacifist.

 I'm sure those of you who are familiar with the series are like "Um, yeah. Duh. Idiot.", but please keep in mind I've never really played a Civilization game before. I'm regretting it immensely.

 It's fun, it's beautiful, and the only things I'm unhappy with are the lack of animations (I've been told that's a multiplayer-only thing, though. That's the only mode I've played thus far) and just how damn long the game takes, even with it set to "quick" settings.

 Regardless, I'm incredibly thankful that I have this game... my fear of real-time strategy games is being abolished. Maybe I can find a game to help alleviate my fear of FPS games, too. Fallout: New Vegas or Borderlands, perhaps?

(Edit: Yes, I'm aware that Civilization isn't an RTS... but it's helping to work me toward them. Thanks for pointing out my mistake in referencing game genres, John. :P )

Achievements

 Having no job and no source of income, you'd think I wouldn't have a problem just sitting back and playing through my massive collection of games that I've managed to accrue from over the years... right?

 Well, no. That's exactly what my problem is. I have so many games readily available to me that I'm having a seriously difficult time committing myself to one in particular. I was diligently playing Dragon Warrior VII, but now I find myself addicted to Super Street Fighter IV and the various Xbox LIVE arcade games that I've purchased thanks to close friends of mine. I need to come up with some sort of system to properly balance my game time, else I'll never make any progress. Yeesh... any suggestions?

 Speaking of Xbox LIVE games... I have a horrible, horrible weakness. I'm an achievement whore. Yes, I admit this freely... Woe is me, for I am not satisfied until I have absolutely every single one of those meaningless points attained by completing certain tasks.

 The dilemma? I'm not as great at games as I wish I were. These achievements are there to make us put in the extra time and effort to achieve them, naturally... but damn if they don't frustrate us to hell and back in the process. How in the hell I'm going to "complete every round of an arcade-mode game on medium difficulty or higher in less than 20 seconds" is completely beyond me, for starters.

Yet achievements... these... ridiculously difficult goals... they call to me. They beckon me. They taunt me...

 "Michael... Michael...," they chide. "If you cannot obtain us, you are not the gamer which you claim to be... You are nothing... NOTHING!!!!"

 Sigh... These achievements make me feel so awesome when I finally get them, but so absolutely crappy when they seem to be a distant dream. Why is it that we care so much about achievements? Is the feeling of gratification from obtaining them truly that rewarding? Is it really worth all of the stress and frustration in the attempts of achieving such goals?

Why... yes. Yes, it is.

 Screw you, Xbox. And Steam, too. For you both have taken advantage of my completionist, perfectionist, OCD nature and turned me into an obsessive, achievement-seeking machine.

Unfortunately for me... I still suck at games.

Ecksbawks!

 Alright, so I'm a bit behind on the current generation of gaming consoles, I'll admit. I've had a Wii for several years (mind you, it's been dead since a system update corrupted a boot file...), but that's it, as far as the "new" systems go. Hell, I've barely even played an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 -- very few of my friends have them.

 Since I grew up with games, I guess I'm attached to older stuff. I still do most of my gaming on the PlayStation 2, and of course, my PC through the Steam client. I own tons of consoles from my childhood and teenage years... two Super Nintendos (I'm not even too sure how I got the second one), a Nintendo 64, a Sega Dreamcast (I played the hell out of Phantasy Star Online, let me tell you...), a PS One, a Nintendo GameCube, and two PlayStation 2s... one is Japanese... and bright pink. Heh. That's not including my fat, chunky, original Game Boy, a Game Boy Advance, and my two Nintendo DSes. My collection is crap compared to more "hardcore" gamers, I'm sure, but eh... it's still something I'm proud of.

 Well, I've finally managed to get my paws on an Xbox 360, thanks to Brad. As a Marine, he doesn't have tons of time to game... and he has both a PlayStation 3 and a 360. Being the amazingly fantastic guy that he is, he allowed me to keep the 360 while he took the PS3. Unfortunately... the 360 red-ringed as soon as he gave it to me, and only now did it come back from being serviced. (Hah, double entendre, anyone?)

 So here I am, with a new console to play games on. Most of the games Brad let me have aren't games I'd ever play, but hey... why not expand my horizons a bit? This is gonna be quite fun, indeed. Of course, I'm not allowing myself to get wrapped up in another game until I manage to beat Dragon Warrior VII, which I'm about 3/4 of the way through. Now if I can just stop getting distracted by League of Legends and actually beat the damn thing...