I’m going to do something weird with this post. Basically I’m promoting Panicker’s blog. This is a blog dedicated to LP’ing the Japan exclusive PS2 yur/shoujo-ai visual novel, “Strawberry Panic: Girls’ School in Full Bloom.” Think about it like this, you’ll get to play the game without having to import it. After all, the game doesn’t have an English patch and I’m not going to bother importing it either.
Right now the fans who visited the blog have chosen Kizuna as the protagonist to follow 1st. As to who the voters will choose for her to end up with…you’ll have to check in weekly to find out who they vote for…OR make a difference by casting your own votes. One last thing, it won’t be a youtube vid, instead it’ll be your basic blog post with images captured from the game with translations and player comments, you know like a regular LP except in still images. Well it’s a VN anyway so if you want music, use your own soundtrack.
Time to post the link in my list.
Anyway, here’s some gameplay footage should you choose to play it the hard way.
Plot: Klogg, the main villain of the 1st game is banished from The Neverhood and ends up in the planet Idznak, home of the Skullmonkeys. He tricks the Skullmonkeys into helping him create his ultimate war machine, “Evil Engine #9″ and use it to get his revenge. A Skullmonkey that wasn’t fooled by Klogg’s deceit sends a distress signal to The Neverhood where Klaymen, the main protagonist is called to Idznak and stop Klogg’s plans.
As mentioned above this game’s a platformer where you traverse through 90 levels (alternate routes included) getting from point A to B in each level, occasionally encountering bosses. What makes this platformer stand out from most others is its humor. Klaymen will butt bounce his way to victory but not without special items to help him along the way. These items include energy balls (Hadokens as I like to call them) Homing birds, your brother Willie, Fart clones and the screen wiping super weapon Univeeeerse Enemaaaaaaaaa!
Here;s some gameplay footage of the 1st level.
Aside from the wide variety of Skullmonkeys, Klaymen must also contend with the YNTs, a sort of mantis/locust like insects. The bosses in the game are pretty cool but there’s one in particular that has stood out the test of time as the weirdest boss ever, Joe Head Joe, a huge Skullmonkey with a Rastafarian head as his body that shoots fireballs and pops its eyes that resides in…a hotdog factory.
This game is also notorious for being quite challenging. Not NES or Demon’s Souls hard, but it ain’t a walk in the park either.
The graphics: Like the Neverhood and the Clayfighter series, this game uses Clay animation and even though it’s dated, it holds up pretty well today.
The music: Another thing that makes Skullmonkeys so memorable for the few who have played it is its music. It’s catchy, quirky and fun to listen to. My personal favorite is the Bonus Level song which to this day is the BEST bonus level song ever composed.
In conclusion: If ever in your life you can somehow find a way to play this hidden gem of a classic, legal or illegal, go for it doods! and with that, I leave you with one of my fav cutscenes in the game.
The following review will be an experiment. I originally planned on only reviewing visual novels that interest me here in GGE but I’ll try reviewing an actual PC game to see how that fares. And now, without further ado, I give to you Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. This will be a long one so only read it if you’re interested in an action RPG where vampires don’t suck or sparkle at all.
You begin your journey this time in modern day Los Angeles as a newly embraced vampire. By creating you without the consent of your clan’s Elders, your sire has violated one of vampire society’s most hallowed laws. As punishment for the crime he has been put to death. Normally you would be expected to share the same fate but the newly installed Prince of Los Angeles thinks you might have some merit: you’re a newly embraced vampire with no sire to guide you; you are unfamiliar with the world of vampires and their laws and customs. You would be useful and expendable pawn in his grand scheme.
System requirements
1.2 GHzAthlon or 1.2 GHz Pentium III, or higher; 384 MB of RAM, Quad-Speed CD-ROM, 3.3 GB uncompressed hard disk space and 1.4 GB for Windows swap file, 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible videocard; 16-bit sound card and drivers.
Gameplay: To summarize what the game’s content and gameplay’s like, here’s a simple equation:
This game can be played either in 1st or 3rd person and available to switch in between. You will employ a variety of firearms and skills such as computer hacking and lock picking as well as your devastating array of vampiric powers called Disciplines (Your special abilities and magic.) And what would a game about vampires be if there wasn’t some blood drinking?
Of course since this is an RPG, aside from the main story quests there are various sidequests throughout the game and you have complete freedom of which ones you wish to partake in. The missions range from something simple like feeding a dying woman your own blood thus turning her into a Ghoul, to major missions like stopping a citywide plague. The things you’ll be doing in this game are both varied and creative at the same time using the supernatural them to full extent. Not only will you be fighting thugs and other vampires but also other monsters like zombies, mutants and “Critters” look-alikes…ugh, the Critters.
The equation above mentions Deus Ex because like said game Bloodlines’ mission objectives can be completed in many different ways. The player is given the freedom to complete missions in any way he/she desires. You can either go gung-ho and blast everyone to smithereens, be as quiet as a mouse and sneak past all enemies to your destination and sometimes if your “Persuasion”, “Seduction” (Most useful for females obviously) or “Intimidation” stats are high enough, talk your way out of a fight if there’s a dialogue that usually results in a fight.
For example: There’s a mission where the prince will order you to infiltrate a museum and retrieve a special artefact. However, he instructs you to do it as discreetly as possible. During the mission, you’ll reach a door that leads to a room with security lasers. Next to said room there’s a security room with a guard and a computer that operates the lasers. If you touch them, not only will it alarm the guards but also lock the entrance to the artefact. There are 4 different options you can take here. Will you either:
A: Punch the conveniently located fuse box in the laser room, causing the lasers to malfunction and randomly turn on and off, giving you the chance to slowly cross.
B: If you have a vampire with the “Obfuscate” at level 3-4 (Which turns you invisible for a short time), you can break the glass to the security room without the guard noticing and while invisible sneak to the computer, type in the acquired password, OR hack it if your hacking skills are high enough, disable the lasers and be on your way.
C: Same as B, except you’re using a Vampire with a Discipline that temporarily paralyzes the security guard and he doesn’t notice you such as the Malkavian’s Hysteria.
D: Forget about being discreet and just incapacitate the guard, recommended by sucking him dry of all his blood instead of fighting him.
And this is only one section of the same mission. You still need to find a way to reach that area of the museum and how you do it is completely up to you. Aside from ambushes and boss battles, most missions have different ways the player can choose to complete them. The freedom isn’t as vast as the Deus Ex trilogy but it’s VERY similar.
Clans:
You choose to play as a member of one of seven diverse and specialized vampire clans and you’ll need to employ all of your preternatural skills to survive. You’ll need to charm, sneak, intimidate and fight your way through the dangerous world the vampires inhabit and along the way decide just who you really owe your allegiance to.
The controls are quite responsive and make it very easy to play on a keyboard. I haven’t tried using a gamepad but I assume it’s possible.
The music: Gothic rock and dark music. Even if you’re not into this music, you have to admit it fits the game perfectly.
With a game with up to 50-60 hours’ worth of content and 7 clans who each provide a very different experience each playthrough, why is it merely a cult classic? It’s full of bugs. When it first came out the game was glitch and it froze many times. The game will sometimes freeze after entering a building. One of my “favourite” glitches is the elevator door: The buttons won’t work and you’ll be stuck in there, forcing you to reload another file or worse, start over. Thankfully there are many unofficial fanmade patches that fix many of the problems but not all of them. They do make the game beatable at least.
In conclusion: Despite the aforementioned bugs, this is one of my all-time favourite action RPGs. With its high replay value, unique premise and the fact it makes vampires look both fetching and intimidating, I see no reason why anyone should deny this game. Heck, even a non-RPG fan can pick this up and enjoy it.
P.S.: I personally recommend picking up the Clan Quest Mod in this link to further enhance the gaming experience with even more content.
http://www.moddb.com/mods/vtmb-clan-quest-mod
P.P.S: For yuri fans…female NPCs, including two important storyline ones…are bisexual and…if you play your cards right…
MLP: Fighting is Magic is a fan-tribute, indie 2d Fighter developed and (planned to be) released by Mane6; It is based in the “My Little Pony” Franchise, in its most recent incarnation, “Friendship is Magic”
The First Official Release, coming soon, will include six fighting characters (Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie), who’ll be joined by 11 more ponies in further DLC releases, until a complete roster of 17 characters is achieved.
It will come with both a story mode, and versus mode (online and Local), at launch.
One word: Joygasm. If this is how the game plays in the Alpha version, then this will be one of my fav doujin fighters in a while once it’s complete.
Follow the game’s progress on this link: http://www.mane6.com/
Due to college kicking my sweet, chick magnet derriere these past couple of weeks, my posting has been delayed but at long last I’m back and ready for action once again. I can hear 2 people in the audience clapping. Anyway, down to business.
After who knows how many years of waiting, the English fan translation of Katahane is finally complete. I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment since I’ve heard many good things about this one. For those who follow me, expect a Katahane GGE very soon.
Click on the above link, follow the instructions on how to install the patch and you’re all set.
As for where to find the original game…well…I COULD share the site buuuut…I might be breaking some rules. Either that or do it the patriotic way: By ordering it online.
In case you have never heard of this game before, allow me to give a quick preview:
Length: Medium (10 – 30 hours)
Developer:Tarte
Description
The story takes place in a world with 3 kingdoms, the Red, White, and Blue Kingdom. In this world, they have highly-advanced dolls with some closely resembling humans. These dolls occasionally need maintenance which is done by a “tuner”.A young playwright named Wakaba writes a controversial play about a traitor named Ein who killed a ruler of the White Kingdom, Christina. In Wakaba’s play, she presumes that Ein did not betray Christina, but was actually her loyal supporter.When Wakaba’s friend Cero needs to make a trip to get Coco, a doll that lives with him, maintenance, Wakaba and her brother Light travel with him. Wakaba travels in the hopes of finding some actors for her play. Along the way, they meet a beautiful doll with one wing named Belle and an aspiring actress named Angelina.
The story takes place in 2 parts:
1) Shirohane – the main story with Wakaba and gang
2) Kurohane – the historical events talking about the end of the reign of Christina
The game is primarily a yuri Visual Novel/eroge with minor het in it. It’s a half eroge with some pretty good softcore eroge scenes in it. How good do you ask? Sono Hanabira level.
Of course since this is an RPG, aside from the main story quests there are various sidequests throughout the game and you have complete freedom of which ones you wish to partake in. The missions range from something simple like feeding a dying woman your own blood thus turning her into a Ghoul, to major missions like stopping a citywide plague. The things you’ll be doing in this game are both varied and creative at the same time using the supernatural them to full extent. Not only will you be fighting thugs and other vampires but also other monsters like zombies, mutants and “Critters” look-alikes…ugh, the Critters.
The equation above mentions Deus Ex because like said game Bloodlines’ mission objectives can be completed in many different ways. The player is given the freedom to complete missions in any way he/she desires. You can either go gung-ho and blast everyone to smithereens, be as quiet as a mouse and sneak past all enemies to your destination and sometimes if your “Persuasion”, “Seduction” (Most useful for females obviously) or “Intimidation” stats are high enough, talk your way out of a fight if there’s a dialogue that usually results in a fight.
The music: Gothic rock and dark music. Even if you’re not into this music, you have to admit it fits the game perfectly.
