Black Rock Shooter began life as a simple illustration from renowned artist Ryohei “Huke” Fuke that eventually become a full-fledged franchise following a standalone fifty-minute original video animation in 2010. The series is one of those interesting little experiments that Japan seems to engage in from time to time where each of its multiple animated, manga, and game incarnations essentially stand alone as unique and individual stories. Indeed, only a single element carries across all versions of the series and that is the titular Black Rock Shooter. In appearance, BRS resembles a young prepubescent girl armed with an oddly shaped katana and a massive oversized cannon-like gun. In some incarnations she is a mysterious mystical entity and in others she has a more prosaic origin, but in all versions of the series she lays at the heart of whatever story is being told.

Strangely enough, to date none of the various incarnations of Black Rock Shooter have actually left Japan’s shores. This is especially odd since, having watched the OVA and TV series, I can confirm that both are entertaining and engaging products of a higher caliber than many other similar series to receive international release in recent years. However, finally an incarnation of Black Rock Shooter has been given the go-ahead to head out into the world and it is none other than a PSP game that first hit shelves in Japan back in 2011. Does this would-be unique mixture of action-RPG and third-person shooter do the Black Rock Shooter name proud or would it have been better off staying in Japan?

While most versions of Black Rock Shooter fall firmly into the genre of fantasy, BRS: The Game is a sci-fi tale of a post-apocalyptic Earth following an alien invasion lead by seemingly humanoid figures. The game starts out focusing on the last dozen or so humans left alive as they awaken Black Rock Shooter who in this incarnation is an enhanced human clone with super-human abilities. The oversized narrative of BRSG and its world-spanning setting amidst the ruins of human civilization is a far cry from the generally more intimate and personal tales of the Black Rock Shooter anime and manga and sadly this is one change not for the better. Simply put, the story of BRSG is fairly dreadful dreck that manages to embrace one bad cliché after another across a disjointed and unwieldy narrative.

Black Rock Shooter: The Game’s biggest story failing has to be its inability to do anything interesting with its various elements. Villains and heroes alike fall into archetypes seen a million times before in games and anime and save some interesting designs there is nothing memorable about any of the individuals present in the story. The way these characters interact and behave never feels even remotely authentic or real and indeed (save perhaps the title character) BRSG is filled with one boring unlikeable jerk after another. It also seems likely that the developers of Black Rock Shooter: The Game played a lot of Metal Gear Solid, as the game constantly tries to ape that franchise’s infamous ‘philosophizing on a battlefield’ story moments to generally laughable results. About the only thing going for BRSG’s story is its well-choreographed cutscenes, but those can only do so much on their own to make up for an overall weak narrative.

Dozens of characters & dammit if I can remember the name of any of them beyond Shooter.

Thankfully, what Black Rock Shooter: The Game lacks in story it more than makes up for in terms of gameplay. BRSG is an RPG whose combat system mixes elements of classic turn-based gameplay with those from a third-person shooter. While that might sound like an unlikely combination, it is one that not only works, but works extremely well. Players control BRS as she moves through a fully explorable 3D overworld filled with the usual assortment of enemies, chests, alternative paths, and dead ends that one would expect from an action-RPG. This aspect of the game is actually where Black Rock Shooter: The Game’s biggest gameplay flaw lies and that is the game’s lack of an active mini-map.

Players can access a full map of a given stage at any time, but it only shows which general area of a stage players are currently in as opposed to the more pinpoint accuracy of most in-game maps featured in the genre. The problem is that between the game’s often forced camera perspective and limited textures it can be very easy to get lost in later stages of the game. BRSG tries to balance this out with giant blue flashing arrows that direct players in the general direction of their current goal, but these are not always enough especially as the level designs become more and more maze-like as the campaign progresses.

Combat in BRSG can quickly become very addictive.

Much like with the game’s story, the frustrations brought about by this design flaw tend to melt away however in the face of BRSG’s brilliant combat system. When making contact with enemies the game shifts to a separate battlefield where the camera rests over the back of Shooter’s shoulder in typical third-person shooter style. However, unlike in the overworld, in battle BRS has limited direct movement save for the use of a dodge button. Players instead directly control a targeting reticule with lock-on capability and manually fire regular shots at enemies. Both shooting foes this way and dodging attacks fills up a meter that once full cause Shooter to overheat and be unable to take action for thirty seconds or so. Enemies meanwhile come in a wide variety throughout the game and BRSG does a terrific job of regularly adding new foes throughout its six stages (each stage being further divided into various missions). Learning enemy patterns is vital to success in BRSG since knowing when to doge versus when to shoot is the key to victory and players who just try to mindlessly button mash their way through the game will quickly fall against tougher enemies and bosses.

Shooter gains experience from beating opponents like in a typical RPG and leveling up increases her health, stats, heat meter, and more. In addition, Shooter can equip up to five active abilities including a powerful charged shot, a sniper shot (which requires manual aiming) that both stuns and damages foes, and a powerful hammer that damages all enemies on the field. Players can also equip active abilities that let BRS regenerate health over time, increase her defense, keep her heat meter at zero for a limited period, and more. Active abilities each have their own varying individual cool down timers and altogether the system gives the game some real strategic depth that makes it far more than just a mindless twitch fest.

Various on-rail vehicle sequences help add further diversity to BRSG‘s gameplay.

Rounding out combat in BRSG is the ability to block (though doing so generally only reduces damage as opposed to preventing it outright), the option to use various healing items (in a nice touch pulling up the item menu pauses the action in battle), and numerous equip-able passive abilities. Unlike active abilities, players can equip as many passive abilities as they like and they range from increasing stats and HP to more esoteric options like a twenty percent chance of inflicting a random status effect on foes after a regular attack. Good reflexes and aiming skills will help players succeed at Black Rock Shooter: The Game, but they are not required and even a mediocre shooter player like myself can end up excelling at the game through strategy and the proper load out.

In terms of production values there is no denying that BRSG looks like what it is: a two year-old PSP title. The game’s textures in particular remain woefully unimpressive throughout the entire experience, with the environments in the game suffering the worse as a result. Still, the game’s top notch design work does go a long way to helping make up for this weakness and at the very least BRSG does the most with what it has. Aurally, the game features a great soundtrack that helps to enhance the action playing out on screen. As a budget release, BRSG did not receive an English dub track, which only really becomes a problem during certain subtitle-free dialogue exchanges at the height of boss battles.

Sub-bosses and bosses will especially test a player’s skills and mastery of the dodge button is vital.

My biggest problem with Black Rock Shooter: The Game as a whole is how the game deals with the fairly uncomfortable visual design of its main character. Basically, Shooter’s outfit throughout the franchise consists of a pair of knee high black boots, a black bikini top, very short black short shorts, and a black hooded jacket that still shows ample skin. Keep in mind that all of this is being worn by a character who–visually, at least–looks like a prepubescent girl and the problem should start to become apparent. Other versions of Black Rock Shooter have tended to try to play down the arguably provocative nature of her outfit and also have fallen back on portraying Shooter as a being whose actual age and origin belie her outward appearance.

BRSG takes the exact opposite route and makes it clear that Shooter is mentally more or less exactly the naïve young girl she appears to be. This in turn makes the various moments when the adult male characters explicitly lust after her during the first half of the story incredibly discomforting. The game even gives her a standard idle pose that clearly is meant to show off additional skin and the less said about the sequence where her clothes are nearly completely blown off for an entire mission the better. This is the one area where the game’s weak textures actually are a positive as they help reduce the potential squick factor of the sequence significantly. Personally, I have watched so much anime and played so many Japanese games over the years that I was able to mostly keep my discomfort with this aspect of BRSG buried more often than not. Still, there is no denying I wish the developers had gone a different route in this regard and I would understand anyone who chooses to avoid the game as a result.

Even now looking at that outfit… No. Just no.

Black Rock Shooter: The Game’s main campaign clocks in at around eight to ten hours and additional post-game missions and unlockables await players for even more content. At the same time, the game does a good job of pacing out its mission structure in a way that allows for players to digest the game in small ten or so minute chunks when necessary, which is always a plus for a portable title. While Black Rock Shooter: The Game is not without its fair share of flaws I would argue its strengths ultimately far outweigh its failings. I have never played another game quite like it and that alone would be enough for me to recommend the game. Add in the fact that this PSP/Vita-compatible release comes in at a budget price of $19.99 and at a time when the latter in particular is in desperate need of strong unique games to call its own and the game becomes even more appealing.

Overall, what might have been a ‘Try It Out’ on a system as crowded with options as, say, the 3DS, becomes an instant ‘Buy It Now’ on the Vita. Anyone prepared to put up with the usual quirks and idiosyncrasies that sadly are all too common among portions of Japanese-produced pop culture these days will find in Black Rock Shooter: The Game a memorable and unusual experience that truly stands out from the crowd.

A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes and played for about 15 hours and to completion on the Vita. The title is a PSN-exclusive.

Also, feel free to follow the reviewer on Twitter @bigred_13 please if you feel so inclined.

The post Black Rock Shooter: The Game Review appeared first on Blistered Thumbs.

What do we want? Stat based games! how do we want that displayed? With Stats!

The people have spoken and it seems RPGs and Action/Adventure titles are what they want. Sony EU took a poll back in February to gauge what genre of games PS Plus Users would prefer in their instant game collection and the figures look pretty shocking for fighters and multiplayer titles.

The poll received over 73,000 votes and Sony have admitted that the results are pretty consistent to previous research into consumer demands. Both Arkham City and Sleeping Dogs have been available to users through the instant game collection service and over 6 million hours have been played across these titles alone, leading Sony to believe that they have been providing the right kind of titles for their subscribers.

With this in mind, Sony EU will be adding Hitman: Absolution to the service next month, covering both the shooter and action/adventure genre’s. Anyone yet to play the game might want to check it out, as critical response has been pretty positive.

For US subscribers, it appears that Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny will be the game added this week, and only to PS Vita users. Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny is the PSP incarnation of the fighting series that famously featured Kratos of God of War fame as a playable character. Hitman: Absolution has yet to be announced for US PS Plus users.

Despite the poll results being pretty conclusive, Sony have reassured fans that a variety of games will still be made available on PS Plus and that they won’t solely concentrate on adding games from the popular genres.

Low scores for both fighting and multiplayer games only add to recent developer and publisher comments surrounding the sales of such titles. Capcom recently proclaimed that they would be cutting back on fighting game re-releases after a slump in sales, and the Penny Arcade report recently produced an article showing that multiplayer was no longer a big seller.

Times, they are a’ changing.

Source: PlayStation Blog

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Who’s this joker? Female protagonist or gtfo.

Atlus is really cranking out the Shin Megami Tensei animation. In addition to anime based on Devil Survivor 2 and Persona 4, a full-length Persona 3 film is on the way to Japanese theaters. In fact, several P3 movies are inbound.

The first entry is entitled “#1: Spring of Birth.” It will presumably cover the first act of the video game, in which a quiet player character discovers the power of the eponymous personae and begins his fight against the Shadows. The main character will be called Makoto Yuki, as opposed to his manga name, Minato Arisato.

Source: Gematsu

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Note: The following contains spoilers. You have been warned.

Every entertainment medium has its own stable of recognizable superstars. From Audrey Hepburn to Michael Jackson, many of these figures rise to the top of the mountain and never look back, despite rocky shores ahead of them. The gaming world is no different. We have our greats, such as Mario, Zelda, Master Chief, and Commander Shepard. But even among the elites, some transcend their original boundaries and become a symbol in ways unimaginable. One of the most popular and relevant of these gaming symbols would have be the Tomb Raider herself, Lara Croft.

It would be somewhat pointless to discuss Lara’s history and backstory, because it was never fully hammered out in a coherent order. In each iteration, Lara’s story changes to suit the context of the game. Her past experiences transform the type of character she is within each iteration, making her into a sort of serialized action heroine in the vein of Doc Savage. She is a pulp heroine, one that is thrown into extraordinary situations designed to be both grounded, yet fantastic. The basic plot of any given Tomb Raider game eventually features some sort of magical artifact or ritual that would bring about a mystical being into the real world, give or take a few deviations to this plot point. It is simply Lara’s job to stop this from happening.

Sadly, this does give Lara less of a canonical character to explore. However, what makes her unique is that very fact. Lara, like many of those video game heroes and heroines mentioned above, is a sort of hybrid character–a blank slate that is, for all intents and purposes, designed to drive a plot forward. She has a name and visual persona, yes, but in the original Tomb Raider games it was truthfully of little consequence. Following the traditions of iconic characters before her, Lara was simply the avatar for something new, and in 1996, that “new” thing was three dimensional puzzle-platformers.

Much like Mario’s stint on the Nintendo 64, Lara’s role in the early days of the PlayStation was to serve as the precedent for 3D action puzzles. The complex movements on the PlayStation controls allowed for various degrees of dodging, strafing, ducking, climbing, and jumping, which were smooth and functional at the time of release. All of this, coupled with exploration puzzles that reward the play with more items, created the staple Tomb Raider experience that many would attempt to emulate for years to come.

But the gameplay controls are really just one side of the coin. Lara’s adventures became ingrained in the cultural consciousness due to both good game design, as well as a good character for fans to follow. As an avatar for the player, Lara transcended barriers simply due to her gender, a point of often dubious distinction among fans and critics of the Tomb Raider series. Her abilities made her a capable adventurer, subverting gender stereotypes typically seen in most female protagonists at that time.

This actually did manifest with what little personality Lara had in the early Tomb Raider games. Her posh, “refined British woman” sensibilities were originally a more militaristic, by-the-books soldier, which never truly meshed with the adventures the character would have. It should also be noted that early in development Lara was actually just a male placeholder. The official reason for the change in sex was not, as creator Tony Gard once quipped, “to stare at her backside while he’s developing the game,” but rather to compliment the gameplay mechanics. The heavy use of puzzles and stealth in Tomb Raider emphasized the character’s change, and eventually her personality was molded to fit into the world created around her.

The cover of a late 90′s issue of Game On, a perfect example of Lara’s eventual hyper-sexualization.

So there is a thought process behind Lara and her design, but it is mostly mechanical over contextual. Ironically, by the time Tomb Raider 2 was released, Lara would already be deemed gaming’s first sex symbol. Her sex appeal catapulted Lara to lofty heights and put her into the spotlight with other 90’s characters such as Duke Nukem. This new status would be a double-edged sword, one that would forever shackle Lara to accusations of sexism over gender equality.

It is actually an interesting phenomenon, all things considered. Lara was one of the forerunner of female leads in video games, but because of how she is rendered, she has created just as much ire over the years as acclaim. Sexual pandering has become part and parcel with Lara’s persona, sometimes overruling any advances in character or design. The eventual hyper-sexualization of the late 1990’s is also an attributing factor to this perception. The later Tomb Raider games had such issues, up until the release of Underworld in 2008, where minor controversies were raised regarding everything from Lara’s attire and even her facial structure. This double-edged sword continues even to the recent reboot of the franchise starring a younger, greener Lara Croft.

It is curious to see so many articles around the internet praising Lara for being less sexualized in the recent iteration, yet at the same time finally citing her as a positive role model for female gamers. Many neglect to point out the other aspect that has evolved over time: the changes to the puzzle-platforming genre. In all versions, up until the recent reboot, Lara was already a capable, dependent character. She is the player’s avatar, but one that was always ready for any challenge, effectively empowering the player through gameplay.

Clearly though, the new Tomb Raider attempts to transform this. Lara loses her capabilities, at least in spirit, based on the storyline of the new game. This gives us, as I said in the review, a dissonance from the ludonarrative. Her constant questioning of her capabilities while simultaneously showing her mettle in the environment is often jarring, and in some ways cognitively dissonant to what Lara is as a character. True, Crystal Dynamics underplays her sexuality, but by fundamentally changing her character she actually loses the element of vicarious player empowerment, at least outside of cutscenes. This does beg a simple question: Is Lara still confined to gender roles because of the decreased focus on empowerment?

Take, for example, Lara’s defining moment in the new Tomb Raider. After a helicopter crash essentially kills her, she is revived by her mentor and father figure, Conrad Roth. Roth revives the helpless Lara, only to succumb to his own wounds after the members of the island’s crazed cultists attack, striking Roth as he protects Lara. Through her pleading cries as Roth dies, Lara is essentially stripped of any power she may have, completely helpless and, in some respects, the cause of Roth’s own death. This is Lara at her weakest and most vulnerable, a far cry from what we would expect from an industry symbol of empowerment for players. So it is a real change in Lara’s character, one that does not fully adhere to her symbolic status as an empowering heroine, at least up until this point.

In some respects, the question regarding Lara’s sex symbol status is one that never really needed to be addressed. The new Tomb Raider would arguably change that perception of what is wrong with Lara as a character by emphasizing her subservience to her confidence, over her general looks. She is in many way the Marilyn Monroe of video games; her image is forever burned into our zeitgeist, but she remains controversial because of that image and her abilities, both in and out of the game.

Truthfully, Lara’s sex symbol status is never going away. Even in the reboot, Lara proves to be a beautiful and capable character, when the plot doesn’t call her capability into question. In fact, her transition within Tomb Raider shows that future iterations of Lara Croft will no doubt be a return to form as her role of an empowering avatar. All of this, sprinkled with modern gameplay conventions found in the Tomb Raider reboot, both for good and ill, are really the hallmarks of Lara’s true evolution as an icon in the gaming industry.

Lara Croft is a symbol, one that is both defined by gameplay and derived from sexuality. She transcends stereotypes and becomes more than just another protagonist, but a icon recognizable by any in the gaming world–our modern day superstar.

If you have any questions or comments regarding Characters with Character, please leave them below or email me at Robert@BlisteredThumbs.net. You can also contact me via Twitter at @LinksOcarina. See you next time guys.

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Having attended Nippon Ichi’s press event last week we’ve got full coverage on everything NIS America. They announced three brand new games, as well as provided some updates on a few games missing in action! Be sure to check out all the videos below, including my extended thoughts about The Witch and the Hundred Knights and NIS America’s plans for next gen.



Interview

In this interview I ask about the three games announced as well as an update for the long-awaited The Witch and the Hundred Knights.

Time and Eternity Demo Impressions

I was able to spend a good amount of time playing this gorgeous “high-definition, animation RPG.” In this video I share my thoughts on the game and who might enjoy it.

Extended Thoughts and Analysis

In this video I share more thoughts on the announced games as well as some insight into a couple of games missing in action.

The post Full Nippon Ichi Event Recap appeared first on Blistered Thumbs.

This is what happens when you fall asleep with your contacts in.

As previously reported, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment landed on the PlayStation Network this week. However, it has become apparent that all is not right in Sumaru City.

Customers have taken to the PlayStation community forums to report that Eternal Punishment does not work on the PlayStation Portable or PS Vita. The game should be compatible with both platforms as a PSOne Classic, but unforeseen circumstances have made the title impossible to download on handheld systems. However, the second half of Persona 2 is now available to play on the PS3.

A Sony representative released a statement (linked below) to assure fans that they are looking into the problem. “I do not have an ETA on this at the moment,” Digital Platforms Community Manager Morgan Haro explained, “but to manage expectations, worst case scenario (again, worst case scenario), it may be a few weeks.”

Of course, this never would have happened if Atlus was able to release the PSP remake in English. What? I’m not bitter.

Source: PlayStation

The post There’s a Problem With Persona 2: Eternal Punishment on the PSN appeared first on Blistered Thumbs.

The dualshock 4 is pretty rad.

There were quite a few troubling rumors floating around in the weeks leading up to the announcement of the PlayStation 4. Some, like the lack of backwards compatibility, turned out to be true. As it turns out, others were not quite as true.

In an interview with Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida, Eurogamer writer Tom Bramwell tackled the possibility that the PS4 would not play used games. Although Yoshida first had to check with his PR advisor, he eventually answered the question directly, stating “So, used games can play on PS4.”

That’s one worry put to rest. Now we just have to wait for the answers to our other burning questions about Sony’s newest console. What will the retail price be upon launch? Will it require a constant internet connection? Will online services require a subscription fee? Is PS Plus being phased out? How will the system handle classic title streaming for third-party games, or in countries with poor internet infrastructure? WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE?!

It feels like we know even less than we did before the big announcement. Oh, except for the backwards compatibility thing.

Source: Eurogamer

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I got dark souls vibes.

UPDATE:

ORIGINAL STORY: Yoshinori Ono took the stage at the PlayStation 4 announcement event to reveal their next title and extoll the virtue’s of Sony’s hardware. The Capcom luminary explained that the company has developed a powerful new engine to power their PS4 games, and introduced a new intellectual property tentatively titled “Deep Down.” The footage shown appeared to take place in a medieval swords-and-sorcery setting, complete with dragons.

Very little actual gameplay was demonstrated, and it is unclear whether Deep Down will end up as a PS4 exclusive.

Source: Sony

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The logo for infamous 3.

UPDATE:

ORIGINAL STORY: Sucker Punch took the stage at the PlayStation 4 announcement event to reveal their next title. Dubbed inFAMOUS: Second Son, the newest entry in the Sony-exclusive franchise does not appear to star Cole McGrath, the hero of the first two games in the series.

In fact, it was made quite clear that this is a new direction for the inFAMOUS brand. The story appears to deal with themes of freedom and security, while young people with superpowers are running riot against an oppressive government. Explosions and violence abound, with nary a reference to the original duology. Furthermore, nothing shown on-screen was actual gameplay footage.

Source: Sony

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Sorry.

During today’s Sony event it was confirmed that “The PS4 will not natively support PS3 games.” However, the company revealed its ambition to make PS1, PS2, and PS3 titles available on the console through streaming. A representative for Gaikai explained that they were working on the infrastructure to allow streaming of the publisher’s extensive library.

Developing….

Source: Sony

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