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

Lv 1 ~ Castlevania HD

Yes, it's true, I've been playing Castlevania: Harmony of Despair on Xbox LIVE Arcade for a few months, now, but I still haven't managed to collect all of the achievements for the game. So, given the fact that I'm such a huge Castlevania fanboi, I've decided to give this multiplayer fan-service game the honor of being my first game to complete in 2011.

 In a nutshell, CV HD is delicious fan-service for anyone who has ever been a fan of the Castlevania series. The plot is minimal, and basically involves a book (called the "grimoire") that contains the history of Castlevania that somehow comes to life (a la Neverending Story), thus reviving Dracula, his castle, and the past vampire hunters contained within canon Castlevania history. The game starts you out with five characters: Soma, Alucard, Jonathan, Shanoa and Charlotte, and offers more (and new levels) through DLC, including Julius, Yoko, Richter, Maria, and Simon. Of course, the only characters I'm remotely interested in are the cute female ones, 'cause I'm an uberfag.

 As with past Castlevania titles, the game involves 2D side-scrolling RPG action, although the EXP/Leveling Up system isn't featured. Each of the levels contains elements, music, and enemies from past Castlevania titles, and there's hundreds of items and abilities to collect for each character. Since there isn't leveling up, each character has a personal method of strength-progression, typically involving increasing the strength of abilities through use or by collecting spells and sub-weapons, depending on your character of choice. This gives the game limitless replay value, despite the game only having six levels (without DLC) and two difficulty modes.

 The real shining aspect of CV HD is the fact that it's the first multiplayer Castlevania title. Unfortunately, it's only multiplayer online and not locally (at least, on the XBLA version...), but it still makes the game incredibly fun to play with friends.

 Alright, so I'm obviously biased. I absolutely adore the Castlevania series, so I've been completely addicted to playing this game, whether solo or with friends. There's tons of items to collect, and despite there not being a leveling system, I find myself desperately grinding away to make my favorite characters as strong as possible (Charlotte,  Maria and Yoko, in case you're wondering!). I'm impressed with the fact that Konami managed to put out a patch in December to balance the characters a bit, although Soma and Richter are way overpowered in comparison to the rest.

 Having that said, there are a few cons to this game that I have to point out, unfortunately.


 The first downfall is how ridiculously expensive the DLC for this game is. The game itself is 1200 Microsoft Points, which equates to $15. The Chapter 7 DLC is 400 points, and each of the (currently) four DLC characters are 240 points each. If you want all of the DLC, you have to fork out 1360 points, which is more than the game itself. Add the fact that there's another DLC pack on the way, bringing the total cost of all of the DLC to 2160. Goodness.

 Speaking of DLC, another con is the fact that DLC characters don't display properly unless you've also purchased those characters. If you haven't forked out the points for Julius, Yoko, Richter, and Maria (and soon, Simon and Getsu Fuma), you'll see other players who are using them displayed as minimally-animated "Axe Knight" sprites. You can't see their weapons animating properly, nor the majority of their abilities, and it's rather frustrating, to me. In my opinion, seeing other people play as DLC characters would make me want to purchase them, as opposed to seeing an Axe Knight running around, who I constantly try to attack because I think it's an enemy.

 I also think that not including the classic EXP-gain and "leveling-up" system from past Castlevania titles is a bad idea. I understand that they wanted to make the game less level-based to be more accessible to casual players, but a substantial amount of character growth is still necessary for each character; I've personally put nearly 50 hours into completely mastering all of Charlotte's spells, for example. Having a max level to hit would add even more replay value to the game, especially since characters all share the same item pool. Once you've found good items, you can equip them on any of your other characters. Being nearly completely item-based is a bit of a bummer.

 There is minimal lag, endless replay value, and tons of Castlevania nostalgia to be had, so I highly recommend this title, even if you're unfamiliar with the Castlevania series. It would actually serve as a great introduction to the series, because seeing each of these characters within Harmony of Despair might encourage players to see them in the other games they make appearances in. Since there are a few things from past Castlevania titles that I would have liked to see in this game, I can't give it a perfect score, but this game has certainly been one of the best XBLA titles I've played, to date.

• Audio: 5
• Gameplay: 5
• Originality: 4 
• Story: 2
  
• Visuals: 3
• Overall: 4
• Difficulty: Very Hard
• Completion Time: +60 Hours (if you plan on "maxing" characters and collecting items)

+ Nostalgic graphics with plenty of fancy enhancements

+ Robust soundtrack featuring original and remixed versions of famous Castlevania music

+ Diverse characters with plenty of customization options 

+ It's a MULTIPLAYER CASTLEVANIA!!!!

+ Virtually endless re-playability

- Storyline is virtually non-existent

- Classic experienced-based leveling system replaced with "character progression"

- Local co-op is only available on the Playstation Network version

- Very, very expensive if you want all of the game's content and characters

I managed to obtain all of the game's achievements, too. Huzzah!

Until next time... game on!

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

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.