Raj Agrawal

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You are here: Home / Archives for god of war

Darksiders 2 – Can Death Bring New Life To A Dying Genre?

October 24, 2012 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

As ironical as the title might sound, it’s true. The Fantasy Action/Adventure genre is dying. While games like God of War might still be going strong, they’re really the last beacons of hope in an industry primarily dominated by shooters. Prince of Persia is a series which has been done to death and is now stagnant with monotony. So with Darksiders 2, there comes a plethora of expectations that it will perform, and perform outstandingly well. But can it?

darksider 2 still
A still from Darksiders 2

Darksiders 2 is the sequel to Darksiders, which tells a deep and intriguing tale about how the fight between heaven and hell came full circle to earth and destroyed the planet, and how War – one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse was caught in the middle of it. While the first game established the story and the setting, the second game expands upon it to a great degree. Care has been taken to ensure that handling Death feels different compared to handling War. The environments are more expansive, and have much more packed into them to make the game a complete package.

Having played the game to “Death”, I think one should really appreciate what Vigil games have created here. Gone are the days where action games would have long campaigns. Under the pretext of making a focused experience, developers these days get away with making 7 hour campaigns that feel severely underdone. So when a game almost 40 hour long graces us, it’s difficult not be thankful to the developers for it. While the main storyline can be completed in 20 hours, the many side-quests in the game can easily eat out another 20 hours of your life, giving you that satisfied feeling of having played a long game, something which is becoming increasingly rare.

In the end, the success of the game really depends on how popular it can become. Word of mouth does help, but these days people are only concerned about specific franchises, and are generally reluctant to give a chance to something new and unique. Even though the first game sold over a million copies, these days a million copies just doesn’t cut it. Production costs are on the rise, which makes game development a less lucrative proposition than what it was before. Hence, a single game can be a make or break affair for many companies, which is the reason why we’ve see many studios closing down in the recent past. In such times, it is necessary for games like Darksiders 2 to succeed. The game is great; no doubt about that. All it requires is the fan-base to appreciate it, and the sales that it deserves.

Filed Under: Gameology Tagged With: god of war

Retrospect – Lucrative Game Deals Of The Past Few Years

June 29, 2012 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

Gaming is a very expensive hobby. Most games today sell for $60, and most of these games last for 10 hours. Earlier too gaming was expensive, but the games were longer, and provided more value for money. These days, most games are shortened under the pretext of providing the ultimate experience, which completely manages to hide itself while playing the actual games. Hence, it is important to appreciate those companies which try to pack in more in the development of their games, so that spending 60$ on a Dvd seems worth it. So these are some of the best deals to have been released in the past few years.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Splinter Cell Chaos Theory

I got this game for 40$, and this is the one game that I would never like to sell. It features what is probably the best Splinter Cell campaign, along with an awesome co-op mode and a versus mode. The campaign is an amazing mix of tense action and a good story. It lasts for a good 12-14 hours, and provides plenty of great set pieces. The versus mode features soldier vs spy action which builds up tension no matter what side you play on. But the star of the show is the co-op mode. The co-op mode features a number of unique missions which encourage co-operation and group thought rather than random traversal of the map. The co-op missions last for a good 6 hours, and combined with the single player campaign and the versus mode make up for an awesome package.

The Uncharted Series

Uncharted Trilogy Pack

The Uncharted series is undoubtedly one of the best game series ever created. Featuring edge of the seat action, brilliant set pieces, top of the line graphics, and great dialog, they make for experiences that Michael Bay can only dream of creating. All games in the trilogy have been widely praised and have become instant classics. As such, a pack which combines all three and sells for 60$ is a must buy and probably provides more value than any other deal out there.

Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid HD collection

Metal Gear Solid is probably the best stealth action franchise out there. It features great stories, outrageous characters, funny dialog, a legendary protagonist, and unforgettable boss battles, some of which can last for hours. The HD collection, available for the PS Vita, Xbox 360, and the PS3 is probably my favorite game collection of the lot. The Xbox 360 and the PS3 versions contain MGS2, MSG3, and MGS: Peace Walker, whereas the Vita version replaces Peace Walker with the original Metal Gear Solid. The transition from the previous generation of consoles to the current consoles is mostly bug free, and works pretty well. Overall a great deal for anyone wanting to play one of the best videogame series of all time.

The Orange Box

The Orange Box

No best deals list is ever going to be complete without the Orange Box. Valve have the tendency to outdo themselves, and they really outdid everybody’s expectations with the Orange Box. Containing Half Life 2, Half Life 2 : Episode 1 and 2, Team Fortress 2, and the critically acclaimed Portal, this will go down for many as the best deal of all time. Team Fortress 2 is considered by many to be the best multiplayer game out there, and Portal has become a brand in itself. That is the quality of games packed into just one 49$ box. I’m convinced – Valve can do no wrong.

The God Of War Series

God of War collection

Kratos has always been in my top protagonists list. He is more ‘gray’ than any protagonist i’ve seen, and this “I’m flawed because I am human” attitude of his combined with his rage is what makes him awesome. The original God of War introduced him to the world, while the sequel expanded upton the first game with some awesome set pieces. Packing these two games for the PS3 is probably the best chance one will have to experience these two gems. So if you have a PS3, and if you haven’t played these games before, buy this deal as soon as you can. It’s worth it and will set you up perfectly for God of War 3.

Unless Square Enix decide to pack all Final Fantasy’s into one box, I don’t think many deals out there will surpass the ones mentioned above. But hey, that’s just me. I’m sure I must have missed so many others, that many of you might have played.

Filed Under: Gameology Tagged With: god of war, half life, metal gear solid, portal, uncharted, valve

Can “God of War – Ascension” Ascend To The Top?

June 20, 2012 by Raj Agrawal 1 Comment

God of War – Ascension is the latest offering by Sony’s Santa Monica studios. After God of War 3, everybody wondered what was next for our beloved Kratos. Well, as it turns out, it’s right back to where it all started. Every end has a beginning, and that is exactly where Kratos is going.

God of War 2 was my favorite of the series. The original God of War introduced us to Kratos and his quest for revenge. God of War 3 completes this story with a rather flawed ending. But it was God of War 2 which mixed action with puzzle solving extremely well, which made the game unique in comparison to the other two. Don’t get me wrong, both the original and the last game in the series had many good puzzle solving elements and were brilliant games in general, but God of War 2 added time shifting to the mix and some truly incredible moments(horse riding anyone?) which really stood out in my opinion. After I was done with God of War 2, the bar was set extremely high. And as such, I wonder if Ascension can raise it ever higher.

Well for starters, the graphics have received an overhaul, which is a testament to the hard work done by Santa Monica, given how great God of War 3 looked at the time of release. Even the action element has received a big overhaul. If the game-play trailer is any indication, the latest entry in the series will be more action packed and more gruesome than ever. And who doesn’t like the extra dose of gore in a video-game? I certainly do.

God-of-War-Ascension
God of War Ascension

As far as the story and puzzle solving goes, we’ll have to wait and watch. The story of God of War 3, albeit good, was too convoluted for its own good. It raised as many questions as it managed to answer. If Ascension can combine the steady pacing of God of War 2 with the boss battles of God of War 3 and add an epic story into the mix, then we might just have the dream game we’ve been waiting for. And it’s fair to trust Santa Monica to achieve this. They’ve already given us three great games and a character fitting of the title of “God of War” .

Filed Under: Gameology Tagged With: god of war, sony

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