Retrospective: Alundra

The year was 1998. The original PlayStation has become a certified hit, attributing its success to many memorable games that have seen the console as its official launching pad. Proving that top-notch 2D or 3D gaming was possible, depending on whoever is handling the game's production, it can serve as an art form that people can admire or a wretched disaster that basically tantamounts to their time being wasted.

In the same year, luckily, one particular game belongs to the former.

Alundra is a story of the adventurer of the same name who is also a Dreamwalker, one with the ability to cross towards dreams, and help save a town that is cursed by a plague that involves villagers being attacked where they are most vulnerable, that being dreams.

Zelda has always been the "top-in-mind" when it comes to platform RPG's, and with good reason. But when it comes to a more mature taste in terms of the story, Alundra has done exceptionally well. The story is real captivating, the supporting characters are fun to interact with, and more importantly, the challenge was right there! There are many places to explore and puzzles to solve (from the easiest to the downright dirtiest), giving players hours to overcome these obstacles and proceed with the story that's coated with conspiracies and difficulties. It was a 2D experience that's rare to come by, and by the end of the day, the entire experience was fulfilling to those who yearn for more than just another Zelda per se. It wasn't all happy and cheery (though it had elements of it, which is nice), as it can be as dark when the time calls for it, offering many gamers a very balanced treat. 1998 was certainly a great year indeed.

A "sequel" was released soon after, Alundra 2, but it was not as epic as the original, if you ask me. Yes, it suffered from the "Men In Black 2" syndrome.

Working Designs, the publisher responsible for this game, may have been defunct after around 20 years of existence, but this game will forever be remembered as one of their classical gems when we look back in the history of games in general.

Don't Hate The Game, Hate The Player

If you haven't noticed, I'm an avid WoW enthusiast, that goes without saying. Not to the extent of being a super addict, of course. Trust me, the last thing I want to end up as is becoming Eric Cartman after a lengthly session with the most popular MMO in the world.

But if you compare this game with most MMO's these days, it's safe to say that it's hard to argue about why it shouldn't be considered one of the best experiences around.

Which is also why it's easy for this game to be targeted by most critics.

And out of all the critics, one particular body stood out.

World Of Warcraft: As Addictive As Cocaine?

Wow, talk about something age-old and giving it a facelift. This is but another chapter to the long-lasting issue of gaming linked to perennial vices, such as addiction, health concerns, and even murder. But in this case, addiction seems to be the rule of the day for this one.

But if you ask me, to put the blame solely to a game is totally ludacris.

Let's bring Ragnarok Online in the limelight for starters. When it first came out, it was a craze like never before seen. Some gamers pretty much played like there's no tomorrow, but didn't really have any problems with their grades. In fact, I know some people who play the game yet know their responsibilities beforehand and succeed in their respective professions. There are others who took online gaming into an unhealthy obsession, and ended up being in situations people wouldn't wanna be in, whether it'd be academic, professional, or just simply personal. In fact, there was a case wherein a player, upset about being screwed over from not being able to obtain his desired item, when nuts and killed someone. And that's just an issue in the realm of games. Let's not forget that there are other obsessions this world has to offer, and to merely focus on gaming addiction would mean to ignore all the other obsessions in the world. And that would be an act of ignorance in our part. ILet's see... one thing that easily comes to mind... oh yes, pornography in general.

It's like saying an increase in violence should be attributed to certain violent games like anything with "Grand Theft Auto" on the cover. But in case no one noticed, Tom and Jerry have been trying to kill each other for YEARS with the use of an axe, fireworks, and all that jazz. And SEX in games? HOT COFFEE? Have people not even gave a thought of why the Smurfs only have one Smurfette, and how she has (presumingly) retained her virginity for all these years? (Okay, that was an assumption, but don't say no one has noticed that for a long time. It's amazing how Smurfette has not been alienated in that environment)

Temptations exist in the world, that being an undisputed fact in life, and let's not get started with the phenomenon known as Street Fighter IV. But in the end of the day, it's the person who should KNOW the thin line between obsession and moderation. Yes, there are players who are enthusiastic about certain things. But as people, we are required to make use of our common sense and take initiative in order to not get trapped by the addiction sensation. Weakness is oftentimes demonstrated when we tend to blame our shortcomings to things around us, knowing of the pros and cons to dealing with certain things. I do play WoW enthusiastically, yes (In fact, I really can't wait for Patch 3.10. But before that, I want my DK AXE at Naxx!), but I don't let it CONSUME me entire being like it is my only source of connectivity in the outside world.

So that is generally what I'm saying here: Moderation is key. It's cliche-ish by now, but still holds true to this day. More than ever.

What do you guys think?

The Wolver-slap in the Face / What's up with the WCG?

It's been a hefty while since I've posted an entry due to my rekindled addiction to WoW, but I'm officially back on track and ready to go :D

As for the previous entry, do not worry as my promised entry will be posted soon. WoW can REALLY be addictive, for better or for worse.

Since I was a kid, I was really fond of games that involve one of the most influential factions in comic book history, the X-Men. As a matter of fact, some months ago, I have expressed my love for the old school X-Men games, notably the arcade game that is simply awesome to say the least. And for long-time fans, Wolverine has become more bad-ass than Cyclops ever was, and has become the centerpiece of the entire mutant puzzle.

So it may come as a shock when we heard about this piece of news most recently:

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/41923/98/

There are two sides to this whole Origins issue, depending on your perspective. The temptation is running real high when you consider that you get to download something as big as this for free. So yeah, the consumer wins one-sidedly. However, that'll utterly harm the future of the whole X-Men franchise, and perhaps even the entire movie scene as well. Let's face it, they did work real hard to materialize this entire project from the ground up. So for people to download the movie prior to its official viewing is akin to a slap in the face to those who worked hard putting up this film. Plus, there's a definite difference between watching something pirated from watching something that's shown on the big screen, yes?

I'm not going to say what's right for you guys (since we all have our own views on things), but it's best to take a look at this issue in the long run and see if that'll be beneficial to everyone in the end.

Also, my friend, Vincent, has a very compelling post in regards to the World Cyber Games and the need for them to disclose further information for those who want to join this event. Please do spread the word as well :D

What's up with WCG?

Also, Mickey Mouse is officially awesome now!