30 Days of Video Games - Day 3
Day 3 - An Underrated Game
I wasn't quite sure what criteria I should use to determine if a game was underrated, especially since the circles I run in tend to have pretty obscure tastes. So I figure I'll go with a game that even I wrote off until a few months ago.
WarTech: Senko no Ronde
(XBox 360, 2007)
I remember when the Senkou no Ronde game concept was first explained to me, it sounded ridiculous. It was either a Psychic Force shooter, a top-down Virtual On, or a Twinkle Star Sprites/Phantasmagoria of Flower View shooter-fighter hybrid leaning on "fighter" instead of "shooter." The character and mecha designs were surreal and distinctive and thoroughly Japanese. It was one of those niche concept games you figure never had a chance of making it out of to the States.
But then it did.
And we all realized we sucked at this game.
It's unusual for a game to go so completely over all of our heads, but thinking about it now it's starting to make sense. Too slow for the shooter fans, too much shooting for the fighter fans. Even the people who'd played Psychic Force or Virtual On, the closest parallels, had difficulty adjusting to the bullet hell philosophy. For the week or two that we played, we kept running into movement issues, ammo reloading error sounds, and hard-to-aim melee. So we ended up shelving WarTech and moving on to whatever the new hotness was at the time.
---
Flash forward to AX 2010, console gaming room. In addition to the TvC/SuperIV/SSB:B usual suspects, they had a little side wall set up with shooters and other general arcadelikes. And off in the corner, next to the staff table, was WarTech and two controllers.
With two people playing.
And it was everything I'd been pitched about the game and more. You could see who zoned and who punished, the value of both offensive and defensive BOSS summons, and how dashing, grazing, and blocking all worked in tandem instead of individually. Seeing it in action for the first time since putting it down, and seeing it live for the first time ever, suddenly everything made sense. That console commanded a crowd whenever those two were playing, and the following conversation occured at least twice while I was there:
"What game is this?"
"WarTech."
"When did it come out?"
"Like three years ago, man."
Competitive versus games and especially 1 v. 1 fighting games are heavily subject to the Network effect: simply put, you're only as good as your closest competition. It also runs in reverse: if a new game comes out and you get too much of a head start, the game simply isn't as much fun until you find someone who can show you the next skill level. So your options are to a) develop more sadistic tendencies (and find more masochistic friends), or b) try to teach the game to anyone who'll listen. I'd like to thank those two guys for going with b).
Full List
Day 1 - Very first video game.
Day 2 - Your favorite character.
Day 3 - A game that is underrated.
Day 4 - Your guilty pleasure game.
Day 5 - Game character you feel you are most like (or wish you were).
Day 6 - Most annoying character.
Day 7 - Favorite game couple.
Day 8 - Best soundtrack.
Day 9 - Saddest game scene.
Day 10 - Best gameplay.
Day 11 - Gaming system of choice.
Day 12 - A game everyone should play.
Day 13 - A game you’ve played more than five times.
Day 14 - Current (or most recent) gaming wallpaper.
Day 15 - Post a screenshot from the game you’re playing right now.
Day 16 - Game with the best cut scenes.
Day 17 - Favorite antagonist.
Day 18 - Favorite protagonist.
Day 19 - Picture of a game setting you wish you lived in.
Day 20 - Favorite genre.
Day 21 - Game with the best story.
Day 22 - A game sequel which disappointed you.
Day 23 - Game you think had the best graphics or art style.
Day 24 - Favorite classic game.
Day 25 - A game you plan on playing.
Day 26 - Best voice acting.
Day 27 - Most epic scene ever.
Day 28 - Favorite game developer.
Day 29 - A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving.
Day 30 - Your favorite game of all time.
I wasn't quite sure what criteria I should use to determine if a game was underrated, especially since the circles I run in tend to have pretty obscure tastes. So I figure I'll go with a game that even I wrote off until a few months ago.
WarTech: Senko no Ronde
(XBox 360, 2007)
I remember when the Senkou no Ronde game concept was first explained to me, it sounded ridiculous. It was either a Psychic Force shooter, a top-down Virtual On, or a Twinkle Star Sprites/Phantasmagoria of Flower View shooter-fighter hybrid leaning on "fighter" instead of "shooter." The character and mecha designs were surreal and distinctive and thoroughly Japanese. It was one of those niche concept games you figure never had a chance of making it out of to the States.
But then it did.
And we all realized we sucked at this game.
It's unusual for a game to go so completely over all of our heads, but thinking about it now it's starting to make sense. Too slow for the shooter fans, too much shooting for the fighter fans. Even the people who'd played Psychic Force or Virtual On, the closest parallels, had difficulty adjusting to the bullet hell philosophy. For the week or two that we played, we kept running into movement issues, ammo reloading error sounds, and hard-to-aim melee. So we ended up shelving WarTech and moving on to whatever the new hotness was at the time.
---
Flash forward to AX 2010, console gaming room. In addition to the TvC/SuperIV/SSB:B usual suspects, they had a little side wall set up with shooters and other general arcadelikes. And off in the corner, next to the staff table, was WarTech and two controllers.
With two people playing.
And it was everything I'd been pitched about the game and more. You could see who zoned and who punished, the value of both offensive and defensive BOSS summons, and how dashing, grazing, and blocking all worked in tandem instead of individually. Seeing it in action for the first time since putting it down, and seeing it live for the first time ever, suddenly everything made sense. That console commanded a crowd whenever those two were playing, and the following conversation occured at least twice while I was there:
"What game is this?"
"WarTech."
"When did it come out?"
"Like three years ago, man."
Competitive versus games and especially 1 v. 1 fighting games are heavily subject to the Network effect: simply put, you're only as good as your closest competition. It also runs in reverse: if a new game comes out and you get too much of a head start, the game simply isn't as much fun until you find someone who can show you the next skill level. So your options are to a) develop more sadistic tendencies (and find more masochistic friends), or b) try to teach the game to anyone who'll listen. I'd like to thank those two guys for going with b).
Full List
Day 1 - Very first video game.
Day 2 - Your favorite character.
Day 3 - A game that is underrated.
Day 4 - Your guilty pleasure game.
Day 5 - Game character you feel you are most like (or wish you were).
Day 6 - Most annoying character.
Day 7 - Favorite game couple.
Day 8 - Best soundtrack.
Day 9 - Saddest game scene.
Day 10 - Best gameplay.
Day 11 - Gaming system of choice.
Day 12 - A game everyone should play.
Day 13 - A game you’ve played more than five times.
Day 14 - Current (or most recent) gaming wallpaper.
Day 15 - Post a screenshot from the game you’re playing right now.
Day 16 - Game with the best cut scenes.
Day 17 - Favorite antagonist.
Day 18 - Favorite protagonist.
Day 19 - Picture of a game setting you wish you lived in.
Day 20 - Favorite genre.
Day 21 - Game with the best story.
Day 22 - A game sequel which disappointed you.
Day 23 - Game you think had the best graphics or art style.
Day 24 - Favorite classic game.
Day 25 - A game you plan on playing.
Day 26 - Best voice acting.
Day 27 - Most epic scene ever.
Day 28 - Favorite game developer.
Day 29 - A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving.
Day 30 - Your favorite game of all time.