Virtue's Last Reward

Warning, this post entry contains huge spoilers for the two related games. Be very aware that the experience will shatter your overall conclusion towards them if you haven't played them from the beginning to the end. These games are heavily relying on their mysterious stories.

Before you know it, a new intellectual property is born. Nine Hours, Nine Persons & Nine Doors was the first, Virtue's Last Reward is the second, and now a third title has been confirmed by Chunsoft for Zero Escape, which summarizes the series so far fittingly.

Playing through 999 at first(and having seen the true ending) will really help you get used to the overall structure and even some pieces of the storyline that will otherwise most likely subconciously spoil the secret details of some characters. Not only that, it's one of the highly recommendable visual novel type of games available for the Nintendo DS.

What's new towards the sequel are a different version of the Nonary Game with new bracelets and colored doors, as well as expanding upon it with the Ambidex Game, which resolves around allying or betraying your fellow contestants. Whatever you decide to choose, The available routes are connected, storywise.

Also, even if you feel that every Ambidex Game feels similar, the circumstances and the psychological scenarios change everytime in every route, and to me, that felt impressive. Sometimes, you choose betray in order to escape and leave someone else for death, sometimes you choose ally in order to save a life. But there are much more different reasons other than living or dying.

Furthermore, the mechanics have improved as well as the puzzles, partially because of a Hard and Easy mode being present, which are interchangeable only once. A much needed memo pad is present, and a flowchart has also been added, giving a very convenient overview of the available routes to take towards the endings. It even has its own secrets, like several other objects through the game.

There's a chance that it might seem tedious with going through all of the different playthroughs. The skipping button is there for a reason, for not having to read all of the stuff you have seen already. So use it. You can always jump to another route using the flowchart for various reasons.

As you are no doubt about to approach a bad ending or a game over, you will have to go to previous important choices in order to take their routes and see the consequences. If you have beaten 999 accordingly, then you would know that the best thing about both games are their intriguing endings.

Even so, don't get discouraged or think that all of the deadends are the same, because they are not. The best stuff is hidden, you just have to work and fight your way through the many dead traps or false leads.

Only then will you grasp the compelling writing of Virtue's Last Reward. Say for instance, you are unable to continue at a certain route. If you then proceed with making a different choice in a previous Ambidex Game for example, Sigma, your playable character, will note sometimes that his opponent's decision was different in the past(gamewise...or beyond?).

As the characters themselves act a lot like detectives, you too, will most likely start thinking about all of the different scenarios which have happened in all of the playthroughs so far, trying to connect all of it together. Make sense of it.

Virtue's Last Reward will also have some disturbing scenes, just like 999 before it. One ending for instance showed everyone dead in a single room except for you and 1 other person. In another event, we see a person reaching for their lungs inside a pod after getting no more oxygen. And there's plenty more creepy scenes actually.

Although each puzzle room had its own song, I must say that I prefer 999's overall soundtrack over this. But perhaps it's too early to say, there are definitely some standouts such as Biotope, Dispensary and Pantry. What that game didn't have though is voice acting. And I must say that it's pleasant to hear these Japanese voice actors acting their hearts out.

My favorite puzzle room from both games by the way are the Operating Room in 999 and the  Biotope Garden in VLR. Puzzles in both games range from being common sense or capable towards being mentally challenging but never unfair.

There's only 1 save slot, the character models are inferior for me and that's about the only criticism I can give. Judging the game without having seen all of the possible routes to take will mean that you would most likely have seen barely the surface of where the overall story is going to. The graphics are subpar at best for me, but they work.

About the antagonist, I suspected Luna as Zero Sr. during the playthroughs for being the most normal person in my opinion. I also believed the killer and Zero Sr. to be different persons before any twists happened. Zero Jr. is despite his suspicious appearance, just a programmed A.I., that was my deduction.

Only if you have seen the true ending towards Virtue's Last Reward will you be able to see why it's such a great, no, an outstanding game. It's brilliant writing starts with a mysterious new Nonary Game with plenty of questions to solve, but the fun really begins when you start reaching the different endings and THEN see the true one.

Old Akane, old Junpei, a red earth and more shocking truths made me fascinated as well as satisfied. The ultimate purpose of the AB game is to prevent the nuclear winter and ultimately Radical-6, going back through time with consciousnesses traveling with memories using the morphogenic field. Maybe best of all is how the game's title finally makes sense. Sigma and Phi are Virtue's Last Reward.

It would be very tempting to say who Zero.Sr is at this point, but no, that is the game's ultimate joy. Kotaro Uchikosi managed to beat 999's already amazing script, that's for sure in my opinion. There are a few plot parts still unknown regarding their nature, but a ZE3 is bound to change that.

As far as storytelling goes from a videogame perspective, I cannot remember it being so effective and rewarding as seen here with Virtue's Last Reward. Zero Escape has easily become one hell of a new franchise to definitely watch growing up with close surveillance.

You think that you have seen it all regarding video games and storytelling? Then definitely give these newcomers a chance. Will you be able to escape, or will that possibility be on a scale between one through ten simply mean zero opportunity?

Rating: 9.0

ZombiU

What defines survival horror?

It does in more ways. Resident Evil and Alone in the Dark started slower paced, Left 4 Dead however was faster paced. Clock Tower has no weapons, Dead Space has high qualified ones. Silent Hill has psychological entities, Fatal Frame has vengeful ghosts.

And then there is ZombiU, something inbetween. It's based upon Zombi for the Amstrad CPC, but I never played this is 1986. Playing as a random survivor, you are guided by the Prepper to survive your surroundings in London.

It's an experimental game from Ubisoft for showing off what the Wii U GamePad is capable of, but it also attempts to go back to the concept of survival horror in the sense of scarce ammunitions, outnumbered, disorientated and some uncomfortable settings.

The character models are laughable, but some of the backgrounds were nice, and the graphical details of objects can be pretty.  Luckily, if you are able to scan the CCTV cameras, your GamePad will be equipped with maps.

Your scanner, or the GamePad, is able to gain intel from objects in the area as well as sending off signals for any zombies nearby. For a better playthrough, you ought to scan new areas so that you will be more prepared for any possible upcoming attacks.

ZombiU has been criticised for having way too few animations for both your only melee weapon, the cricket bat, and for the zombies as well. There was enough variety in their appearances, but not in the way they moved.

I did enjoy the capable features that the GamePad was used for. Another feature would be the way item management is done upon here. As you open your backpack, you must manage it using the touch screen, however, you are still vulnerable to attacks on your TV screen.

The more I saw of ZombiU, the sooner I knew that the game was most likely rushed due to having way too much visible bugs or glitches. Aside from minor bugs such as dialogues overlapping another, or zombies getting stuck in doors, there was one huge glitch that cannot be excused on Ubisoft's part. I even recorded it to give you the proof: ZombiUbugged

As for the difficulty, it's true that getting surrounded will most likely leave you to die, but if you are a seasoned gamer like me, you ought to know how to exploit these situations by the use of your surroundings or the available items.

What was also creative is the feature of dying, and then returning towards your former survivor in order to recollect the items the survivor carried. After killing them as a zombie of course. You could even encounter survivor zombies from other players, and then get their items as well.

Leaderboards are also present, and you are able to leave behind messages during the single player campaign that frankly aren't helping much because you are only able to leave behind symbols, not actual text messages.

There is also a fun multiplayer mode which is somehow offline, called King of Zombies. One player is a regular survivor trying to capture flags, playing a FPS basically, while the other is able to see the survivor on his GamePad screen and spawn zombies to stop the survivor and to capture flags as well, RTS style.

After beating the game, seeing a very poor ending in a long time, ZombiU in the end does not feel committed enough to be the killer app for the Wii U. There were very few scary scenes, but on a second playthrough you would dismiss them with a dull thought most likely.

ZombiU had both very clear upsides and downsides to explore for me. Are you willing to go through a buggy and clunsy game while repetitively smacking your way through zombies? And are you willing to go through a genuine survival horror game that is actually trying to be innovative in a genre that has been drastically different these days? Repetition or tactical approach? Poorly tested or brave features?

Take your pick.

Rating: 7.3

Birdemic: Shock and Terror

I never thought that I would rate a 1.0 for any movie, but the terrifying and shockingly things seen in here comprehend unlike anything else I have ever seen.

Birdemic is about an epidemic of violent birds that randomly attack people, randomly make disturbing noises sounding like bicycle pumps and randomly crash into objects and then either die instantly, or explode instantly. A couple “fights” back, but can they survive?

The couple comprises of an almost emotionless faggot with a blank face, and a way too happy dumb smiling model and actress wannabe that is only redeemable because of her looks. The supporting cast consists of random victim kids, a bird expert, a grandma, a CEO and a peaceful tree hugger, *ahem* lover.

Only after about 45 minutes in do the actual birds attack, but before that, we are introduced towards the film techniques, or the director’s style. His style comprises of a slowly sweeping camera like a grandfather clock, wooden acting, pauses between sentences, sound pulling away into nothingness often, unfitting songs towards their given scenes and transitions of editing that are so terrible at times, it begs the question; what was the director thinking into filming this? (déjà vu)

There are so many useless scenes seen here, I have never seen a movie put that much emphasise upon cars driving around, people’s backs being shown that much or people walking constantly. The music does NOT compute with the scenes, or when they rarely do, it’s over the top. 

About the useless scenes, there’s those, and then there’s the scenes that stay there for too long, such as looking at a sign or a moon like atleast 7 seconds. The worst of all is the birds themselves, my God, what was the DIRECTOR THINKING!? It’s a very guilty “so bad it’s good” of a movie, like Troll 2(1991) or The Room(2003), and I laughed at almost every bird scene shown.

The 2D gif animations of birds either being motionless or flapping their wings around very unreal are thrown into the film without any effort, and weirdest of all, they can kamikaze and explode. As this was happening, the characters react towards the birdemic so amazingly bad, what were they thinking upon barricading themselves when the birds did not even attack with effect, or when the kids never screamed in I dunno, shock and terror towards either the awful birds or the huge guns that the guys pulled out of their asses!?

Birdemic has to be seen to be believed, but I am afraid that no one, anyone but the director himself and his editing team can withstand the shock and terror of Birdemic. It’s the worst movie I have ever seen, but thankfully, it’s a very good choice to make fun out of whenever feeling bored or having had too much drinks or drugs.

Or, if you wish to get spared from this nightmare, watch the best bird horror movie instead, which is of course The Birds(1963), of which this director, James Nguyen, takes awful inspiration of. The worst scene in this movie? It’s very hard to pick, but I think that the coat hanger scene takes the cake. I was speechless once that happened.

And there's a sequel coming. Are you kidding me? Is Nguyen an alien as well, just like Wiseau? Because they both believe they are great directors. Oh I almost forgot, here's the director's commentary, just watch it, it's awfully hilarious: 

James Nguyen identifying things 

Rating: 1.0

Upcoming Promising Games in 2013

Welcome to Flok Factory!

I am pleased to announce that there will be a lot more posts available in the early months. February will specifically be dedicated towards PS3 reviews, that's right. A lot of these posts will be game related. I would like to keep the diversity going regarding the available content, but that will have to wait for awhile.

For now, let's take a quick look at some of the upcoming promising games for 2013, the ones that interest me the most.

BioShock Infinite

The third installment is looking to be the most ambitious yet, as the scope of the setting has changed from an underwater city to a floating city in the sky, and mobility has been boosted up.

We can expect new exciting powerups alongside your usual arsenal of weapons, but what interested me the most about the previous BioShock has arguably always been about the background of what's happened. Especially the radio logs gave the locations emphasize upon them, but all of the propaganda, marketing and catchphrase posters are a very good second place for creating immersion.

Ace Attorney 5

That post is still coming about this franchise somewhere this year, as I hinted upon with the 999 post previous year already. Ace Attorney 5 will be the first 3D debut of the visual novel franchise, and it's looking fabulous already with the fluent animations presented.

With the return of Phoenix Wright, some have wondered what will become of Apollo Justice. Perhaps AA 5 itself will have the two re-unite oncemore, and explain the shift of switching main protagonists. Anyhow, I am definitely excited for the new cases. As always, the last case will most likely be the most dramatic, complex and satisfying.

Pikmin 3

A bit dissapointed that this got delayed to the second quarter according to my latest resources. It has been more than a decade already since Pikmin appeared on the Nintendo GameCube, and it's easily a unique strategy game what with the game mechanics, the natural environment and the playable creatures.

Pikmin 2 was a superior sequel for many reasons, including the multiplayer, the encyclopedia, the enemy design and for removing the stressful limited time between days. It looks like part 3 will have the limited time feature once again, but I trust that Miyamoto knows what he is doing, and will surely give us something to compensate for it.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

It took a very long while, but Luigi's Mansion 2 is finally coming to the Nintendo 3DS. The original was a gorgeous looking game for it's time, with spooky sceneries, lightning effects and it's one of the earliest games available for the console.

Dark Moon will have several mansions instead of 1, and from what I have heard of it, the gameplay seems to have improved tremendously. And if only the length of the game has been deepened, and special portrait ghosts will make a return, consider me a faithful buyer then.

Carmageddon: Reincarnation

I only recently found out that this title is in development by none other than the the original team behind the first two games. Whatever you may think about the controversity of the franchise, the games were fun back in the days, primarily for trying to wreck the opponents's cars and then being able to acquire those cars for later playthroughs. Killing humans was only secondary compared to the score system, the powerups, the diversity of the cars and the motivating music!

Still, I gotta be skeptical with this one before getting too excited. The developers should definitely take a look at similar modern games such as GTA before they forget what makes the money flow these days. And I definitely do not want another N64 version of Carmageddon, ever again.