Sad news this week for fans of The Simpsons. Actress Marcia Wallace died due to complications from pneumonia . Wallace is best known for her work as teacher Edna Krabappel. It’s sad to see a beloved voice actress die; even more so when they’ve been involved on a show for as long as Marcia Wallace has. I always enjoyed Ms. Krabappel’s snide comments about nearly everything.
In a fitting tribute, Fox has announced that the character will be retired, much like they did with Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz when Phil Hartman died.
For those of you who missed it, the first trailer for Captain America: Winter Soldier is out and it looks fantastic. I’m a fan of Chris Evans as Cap, and I’m looking forward to their expanding his story, especially in modern times. The inclusion of Falcon should be interesting. I’m also excited to see more of Cap kicking ass.
And remember, kids, 60% of all S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarriers crash!
Finally, an new article from IGN regarding the future of the Final Fantasy franchise. Unfortunately for me it looks as thought they are moving further and further away from the game mechanics that I enjoy most, namely the combat system. I can understand that they want to keep the games competitive and fresh, but I really preferred the older systems.
Guess I’ll just have to stick with the classic to get my kicks.
March 11th (14th for Europe and Australasia), the release date for Dark Souls 2, is going to be a magical day for the Dark Souls Community. All the information we’ve seen from the network test/beta points to one great experience! The fans exhibited much wailing and gnashing of teeth when Miyazaki was removed and Yutanimura was assigned as Director of the project. However, it seems that all of this has been met with aplomb.
So far it would appear that the things the fans were worried about, such as difficulty and sparse storytelling of the previous games, have been honored. It looks like From Software will be offering us some great improvements to basic mechanics. Most of the rumors have been gleaned from some of the still-strong contributors to all things Souls related. (Many thanks to Epic Name, Bro!, VaatiVidya, Rurikahn, and many others for digging up info as it has been released and staring at videos trying to find the details that give clues as to what’s in store; and to NamcoBandai for reaching out proactively to the DS Community.) Here is a recap of all the goodies we’ve heard so far—from some old ones from E3 back in the summer to some more recent videos. There are so many excellent tweaks and cool changes to mention!
In both the original game and DS2 when a character dies as a human, he goes hollow. In the new game, Humanity has been removed and replaced with Human Effigies to restore a hollow back to human. The players are encouraged to do this because if they die as a hollow, the character permanently loses a percentage of his hit points. Also, in a brilliant move to fix what could be considered a broken mechanic, staying in hollow form no longer prevents invasions! As long as the game is connected to the network, any game can be invaded at any time. In the original Dark Souls, as long as a player stayed hollow, he or she could essentially play the game unmolested by anything but the environment, which really killed what I consider the defining feature of the Souls games: the passive multiplayer aspect.
In Dark Souls, white soapstone “summoning signs” allow other players to alert other players that they are available to come help defeat particularly difficult levels. In an interesting fix to heavy multiplayer styles of play, there will now be two sizes of soapstone summoning signs. White phantoms will only last a set amount of time and that time will be shortened with each kill the white phantom makes. Large soapstone signs will last longer than small ones. I hope this limitation of friendly help will put a bit more pressure on those who want to be carried through levels by more powerful friends. On some recent gameplay videos I’ve watched, the white soapstones were each infinite, but I presume when the game releases, the small white soapstones will be found more often than the large white soapstones and the infinite feature will ultimately be removed. Additionally, summoned phantoms have a health bar displayed on the screen for easy reference. No longer will the player have to turn the camera to see how close to death his buddies are.
Hopefully, this fix will also alleviate ganking. Too many times have I run through the Forest in Dark Souls only to be jumped by a trio of over-powered players who get off on unfair fights.
One of the big changes from Demon’s Souls to Dark Souls was the Covenants. These gave players an option to join a club of sorts to gain certain advantages or abilities. I am personally really excited about the way Covenants are being addressed in this second installment. When I first started playing Dark Souls, I was really interested in the covenants and how they might affect the style of game play a person uses. I especially liked the idea of the Gravelord Covenant in Dark Souls, but early play really wasn’t affected. It wasn’t until after a couple patches and some testing by players did we finally learn how to use it. By then, though, the charm of most covenants had passed and what really could have been a major twelfth man on anyone’s team just ended up being a means to get exclusive miracles, armor, or other things that really didn’t affect game play in a major way.
Dark Souls 2 seems be handling this flaw in a promising move. The big leaked covenant is the Way of Blue—possibly a working name—which, when joined, causes a blue phantom to automatically be summoned when the game is invaded. This could mean one of two things: either entering this covenant allows the advantage of summoning another player as a guardian and, in turn, are volunteering your assistance to other players, or that there is a sister covenant which will allow for this mechanic to be separated. In other words, one covenant will always get help and the other will always be the one helping. As for other covenants, no other rumors have surfaced; however, the equivalent to the Darkwraiths, from Dark Souls, has been confirmed. That’s a no-brainer, though, no Souls game will be complete without a way to actively invade other players so this is not news to anyone who plays Dark Souls and loves to invade others. Invaders will also be able to heal mid-invasion by using the Estus Flask while trying to kill. This is an interesting detail added to the game. I see a lot of really cool possibilities for the Covenants and cannot wait to see what From Software has cooked up.
Epic Name Bro has found some other changes while looking through the menus, including a bunch of different stat associations:
Casting speed is now increased by Attunement instead of Dexterity—a much more logical change separating Dex builds from Int builds.
Magic and Fire are made more potent by Intelligence. Along these lines, it is interesting to note that fire spells aren’t called “pyromancies”. This has interesting implications to back story and lore, so it will be fun to see how that plays out.
Lighting and Dark are strengthened by Faith, which also plays very well into the lore of Dark Souls as each is tied to gods or their followers.
Dexterity enhances poison and bleed effects
Lastly, an Agility stat has been added that affects the general speed of a character’s actions, such as rolling, raising a shield, or disabling traps. This is an interesting spoiler to people with specialist builds.
I like the idea of spreading out the enhanced effects over so many stats as this will make specialization in more than a couple stats much more difficult, thus curb over-powered character builds. I also like the idea of tying elemental damage to certain stats to further the idea that power is derived from it. From a story perspective, this makes role playing much more exciting.
I have watched some random network test release videos and, from what I’ve seen, there are six classes to choose from when picking a character. This seems a bit limited, but for a beta it gets the job done. These are: Soldier, Warrior, Sorcerer, Temple Knight, Dual Swordsman and Hunter. This seems quite melee heavy, but I assume—in usual Souls fashion—that the starting class won’t matter for very long. Soldier and Warrior are two very similar classes, but one starts with a spear. Sorcerer and Temple Knight are also related. The implication that I get is that the Temple Knight is the equivalent to the Cleric from Dark Souls, which means he starts as a miracle caster to counter the Sorcerer’s spells. The two remaining classes are the off brands. The Dual Swordsman is something a lot of players have wanted for a long time. Now the option exists and it should lead to a lot of very interesting situations with main-hand and off-hand attacks or parries. The Hunter starts with a bow and seems to be a pretty straight forward range character.
Here are a few remaining details about DS2. Spells now have standard and strong attacks, just like weapons. That should make the casting classes a bit more dynamic and fun to play. I have heard that some shields can be used as catalysts/talismans. Yes, please! Backstabs are handled differently now, as each type of weapon seems to vary in difficulty of execution. Daggers and smaller weapons can more easily perform backstabs than larger ones. They also seem to have their own animations as well. Some of these are really neat. In one video I saw a guy with a spear plunge it into an enemy’s body, lift him up on the end of it and then slam him to the ground. I found it quite satisfying. Swords tend to do a series of slashes while knocking enemies down to the ground. Also, backstabs no longer offer invincibility with the animations so backstabs aren’t the all-powerful fortresses of solitude they used to be. Parries have also changed up a little. Players have to work at them even more now and getting in the riposte takes timing. Practice with both of these will be necessary because enemies now attack in groups and are much more aggressive than in Dark Souls. Getting jumped by a bandit while being shot at by an archer seems to be pretty common.
The bonfires make a return with the usual uses, but now invaders can use them to light torches and such. Overall, it looks like the bleak, uninviting world of Dark Souls 2 is turning out to be more unforgiving and more interactive than ever before. Of course, any and all of these changes could show up or be canned at any time until release, so take it all with a Coke and a smile. However it works out in the end, I may come out of next March pasty-skinned, thin, and with a long beard.
Here is the most recent video from VaatiVidya. Quality is low, since it was shot on a smartphone… apparently no one was supposed to record their gameplay, but he managed to get permission straight from Namco.
This past week I have discovered the new Angry Birds Star Wars II game, which is based on the prequel Star Wars movies. There are a lot of cool, new features on this game that I have not seen on previous Angry Birds games. Here is a quick review to get you started.
Mapping sequences are prettier AND collecting a map in certain levels gives the player bonus levels.
First of all, this game is visually far more appealing than any previous Angry Birds game (and I have played them all—I’m mildly obsessed). This is saying quite a bit, because I found the Angry Birds Rio game to be bright and fun. The mapping sequences in between levels are now actually shown through animation each time the player completes a level, which makes it easier to feel a sense of accomplishment. In previous versions of the game, a player could work through an entire map of fifteen levels without realizing how far they had gotten.
The individual levels also feature stunning graphics. The original Star Wars Angry Birds game took place primarily in space and was dark, and sometimes boring. The levels released so far in this edition all take place on planets, and the scenery really is beautiful.
Angry Birds kept one of the innovations from the first Star Wars game, which I feel had been a big improvement: visible paths for birds before they are actually fired. Since firing birds from a slingshot in space can be tricky business—especially considering magnetic and gravitational fields—this is very helpful.
As the player earns points, they can purchase “replacement” birds to help with difficult levels.
The talents of some of the various birds available have been reinvented, which is a lot of fun. For instance, at a quick tap of the screen, the Jar-Jar Binks character shoots out a long sticky tongue to grab hold of either a fixed object in order to swing out and hit something, or a moveable object to drag it with the force of the bird’s inertia through the air. I have to admit that it has taken me several tries to perfect using this character.
Also, the Yoda character now spins like a… well, like a tiny green Jedi. At a tap, he will spin violently, and bounce off objects to quickly take out whole sections of evil, Sith-pigs.
Care to join the Pork Side, young Jedi?
Perhaps my favorite innovation, however, is the fact that a player can now choose whether to play as a Jedi bird, or as a Pork Side pig. After playing through two or three levels as a Jedi, the game will prompt the player to decide if they would like to continue using the Force for good, or whether they would like to go to the Dark Side. Fortunately, unlike Anakin’s choice, the player’s decision need not be permanent, as the player can choose either side of the Force at any time from the main menu.
Alternate levels to play, once the maps have been exhausted.
Once the two maps that are currently available have been completed from both the Jedi and Pork Side perspectives, players can also go to another screen and choose individual levels with only one type of bird. This is a really nice way for the Angry Birds team to ensure that players have plenty to work on while they wait for the next few maps to be released.
The game has me completely addicted at this point. I definitely recommend it to any fan of Angry Birds OR Star Wars. It’s a great time filler for just about anywhere—just avoid being obvious about playing it in Economics class… not that I know from personal experience!
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Call me Ishmael.
Once upon a time…
It was a dark and stormy night…
It was my very first comic convention. I was excited, but exhausted. The train from Williamsburg arrived in Penn Station right on time at 1:50 a.m. I caught my very first NY taxi (not as easy as it looks in the movies) and headed to the Jane Hotel. When I arrived, the bar that was located in the bottom of the hotel was throwing people out, and the steps were full of drunken people in nice clothing complaining to everyone around. The three impressive looking bouncers were inadequate to clear the steps, so I had to punch a hole through the crowd with one arm and haul my baggage up behind me with the other.
An Evil Dr. Horrible and me (I’m hunching because my backpack weighs about 200 lbs)
Finally I made it into the hotel and up to the room to pass out until eight o’clock a.m. when it was time to get ready. I wore my shirt, emblazoned with the Therefore I Geek logo. (This is called “foreshadowing,” which means that I am providing a seemingly trivial detail that will reappear later.)
About an hour later, it was time to head to the convention venue, the Javits Center. I had some protein bars, a bottle of water, and some pretty high expectations stuffed into my backpack. The line to get into the convention center was not particularly long, and the guys who were scanning our badges to let us in were working very quickly, so we moved right along.
Once inside the center, there was so much to see and do! Too bad there were so many people blocking our way. We started out meeting some of Andrew’s friends and picking up some free, signed books. Cosplayers were everywhere! I was impressed at the sheer number of people who were willing to dress up. Perhaps more impressive than the really amazing costumes—of which there were many—were the number of not-quite-finished costumes that fans still wore with pride.
So many people!! (Photo credit to Chris Powers)
As we walked through the publisher’s booths, a woman noticed our shirts and commented on the reference to the therefore symbol. I got very excited, since not everyone sees the symbol in our logo and explained that we were the staff of a geek blog. She promptly showed us the book that the table was selling—a new translation of the story of the Book of Revelation presented in a graphic novel. She also introduced us to Mark Arey, who was the primary translator for the project. I had met my match in wordsmiths, clearly. We had an impassioned conversation about languages and their nuances, and I ended up buying the book.
The translator on this project is former Greek Orthodox, and a truly passionate linguist.
After a few hours of checking out authors, books, and other booths, we decided to head to Artist Alley to see the creators of Atomic Robo. This was pretty high on my list of things to do, so I was excited. Brian Clevenger and Scott Wegener were both friendly and willing to have a conversation with us. We picked up a couple of books from their table and had the creators sign them.
Then we were off again, this time through the tables of Artist Alley. The aisles were lined with artists, from the very famous such as Chris Claremont and Frank Cho, to those who had never actually worked on a book, but were trying to get their names noticed.
In one of the more disappointing moments of the weekend, we stood on line to get autographs from Neil Degrasse Tyson, only to be told that the line had been cut off. After that, more running around was punctuated by a panel about “breaking into comics,” hosted by the editors from Dark Horse, Oni, Avatar, and Boom! comics.
Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of the day. The next morning came way too fast, and I definitely started out the day with a shortage of energy. I picked up some new trades and a couple of graphic novels upstairs, and a really nice print of the cast of Firefly from Artist Alley. I looked high and low for a Beast figurine, but without any luck.
My reading list of doom has grown exponentially!
We wrapped up the day with a panel about protecting intellectual property, which contained a lot of valuable information. It was funny to see the height of the waiting queues shrink as the weekend progressed. On Friday, people stood in line and chatted with each other. By Saturday evening, about half of the line sat on the floor while they waited for the doors to open. On Sunday afternoon, every single person on line was sitting on the floor. Clearly there was not even enough energy in the collective to keep one human being upright.
While the competitor inside me cannot say that I “won” my first con, I did have a lot of fun and made a lot of great memories. However, I really cannot wait to do the whole thing over again—perhaps even in a different city.
In a fitting tribute, Fox has announced that the character will be retired, much like they did with Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz when Phil Hartman died.
Guess I’ll just have to stick with the classic to get my kicks.
So far it would appear that the things the fans were worried about, such as difficulty and sparse storytelling of the previous games, have been honored. It looks like From Software will be offering us some great improvements to basic mechanics. Most of the rumors have been gleaned from some of the still-strong contributors to all things Souls related. (Many thanks to Epic Name, Bro!, VaatiVidya, Rurikahn, and many others for digging up info as it has been released and staring at videos trying to find the details that give clues as to what’s in store; and to NamcoBandai for reaching out proactively to the DS Community.) Here is a recap of all the goodies we’ve heard so far—from some old ones from E3 back in the summer to some more recent videos. There are so many excellent tweaks and cool changes to mention!
Therefore I Geek 