Just Cause: just about playable

I have had Just Cause sitting in a variety of places for a while – in
the PS2 games box in the loft, in my Steam library on my PC, and on my
Xbox 360 shelves – but despite the fact that I’ve heard it to be great
fun and the sequel is an amazing sandbox experience, I’ve never played
it.  Until now.

I decided to play the PS2 version, since
my PS3 (which is backwards-compatible) was set up and my 360 wasn’t (due
to the Wii being plugged in to the component inputs for Luigi’s
Mansion; yes, it’s complicated).  The opening cinematics looked pretty
awful, but once I got control of my character I was quite impressed by
the scale of the game and its vision.  Parachuting down to the island
was a pretty spectacular start, and once I transitioned into running
along the beach and stealing a car, I could see that there were clear
open-world GTA influences at play.

Unfortunately, the PS2
was a bit underpowered for such a grand vision.  The framerate was, at
times, awful – to the extent that I actually had to run away and stand
still for the console to catch up.  This was not helped by the controls
which were not nearly customisable enough, and felt very imprecise.

That’s
not to say I didn’t have fun.  After a while I was given a grappling
hook, with which I could grab onto cars and paraglide behind them.  That
was good fun for a while, and useful on a mission where I had to
destroy a car and take the place of the now-dead dignitary.  The main
issue with the game was a lack of a sense of urgency; you are going to
kill a dictator and free the island, sure, but there was little spurring
you on to do this, and the game was almost too non-linear with no clear
sense of direction.

If I go back to it it would be on the 360, but I may skip to the sequel.

Ico: completed!

No more opportunities for Dido lyrics.  There are big plot spoilers here, so don’t click onto the post if you’re the one person who’s not completed this but intends to do so – I wouldn’t normally worry for a twelve-year-old game, but the end of the story is pretty affecting so shouldn’t be spoilt.

I did indeed have to complete the game in one go.  Yorda was dead – or at least, petrified to stone, and statuesque.  I fell from the bridge and had to make my way across hanging platforms to get to a cave under the castle.  At least, that was the plan.  I had to watch the cutscene of losing Yorda three times before finally making it into the cave due to the inaccuracy of the Dual Shock 3.  It lost a bit of the emotion due to that.

Working up through the basements, falling into the water a number of times, I finally found a lift which took me up the rooms in which I (re)stated the game, a year and a half ago.  That’s where I found Yorda again, or at least her lifeless body.  I fought off what felt like hundreds of shadow creatures with my new all-powerful sword, and went to meet the Queen.

The final encounter was a little incongruous, as it was unlike any battle throughout the game and was much more action than puzzle based.  I was very worried that dying here would send me back to the bridge again, but luckily I was able to hide from her attacks and stick my sword in.  The Queen died, the castle collapsed, and Yorda’s spirit was released … as a shadow being?

The end sequences were beautiful, with amazing music.  The very end scene was confusing, with Yorda seemingly alive.  Maybe not; maybe Ico never made it out of the castle and they are reunited in the afterlife.

But it was a powerful story, and a lovely game.  It shows its age in some areas, but I would rather have a histrical record of gameplay evolution than bring everything to today’s gameplay standards.  But Ico remains a stunning game.

Ico: I'll always be alone

I cleared the watertower a few days ago, and saved just after entering the West Tower.  Given the difficulty I had with the East Tower – well, less the difficulty, more the length of time it took to get through it – I was expecting the West Tower to take an absolute age to complete.  In fact, it was pretty simple and disappointingly similar to the East Tower (though the route through was significantly shorter).

After opening the main gate, massive plot things occurred.  I am guessing that I won’t be able to save the game after this point, so I’ll have to complete it in one go.

Ico: give your trust to me

More than once every two months?  Oops.

So, a recap.  I have managed to lead Yorda to the main gate, from where we should be able to escape.  However, her mother – or at least someone pretending to be – has appeared, and closed the gate in front of us.  I have battled many shadow beasts, and worked out that the most effective way of doing this is to go and stand by the portal they drag Yorda off to whenever they capture her.  In fact, the combat, which previously annoyed me and I felt wasn’t needed in the game, isn’t much of an issue any more, although its presence still worried me and stops me spending too long when exploring.  If you leave Yorda for too long, the shadows come back, and then it’s a race back to save her.

After the gate shut, I traversed through a number of stunning locations – including one with a huge windmill which I had to climb – until I was able to run along the castle walls to the East Tower.  In this tower were a number of large circular windows, and I quickly worked out that the aim was to open each of these by lighting torches underneath them.  Working out what I had to do was the easy part; working out how to do it took a lot longer.  I had to pull Yorda through the doorways and around the walkways, finally finding myself out the back of the tower with some stunning views across the chasm to freedom.  I managed to finally open all the windows, sending a beam of light across to the main gate, causing half of it to light up.  A pretty big indication that I need to do the same on the other side.

Getting to the other side was pretty difficult though.  Much of the effort was spent around a huge waterfall area, where I had to jump on and off a turning waterwheel in order to close the sluice gate.  Yorda was no use at all during this part, with her slow running and refusal to jump up to ledges even with me extending my hand down to her – the game couldn’t position her correctly.

I managed to get through this section, playing basketball on the way, and am now at ‘the watertower’, which appears to be named after a very small ornamental part of the level.  I think once I’m cleared of this, I’ll be able to go to the West Tower and make the main gate open up again … but that may take a while.

Gaming Moments: J

Jaguar XJ220 (Mega CD)

It wasn’t as good as Lotus Turbo Challenge on the Mega Drive.  Sure, it looked better, but I still remember the first time I tried to control it.  I couldn’t.

Jet Set Radio (Dreamcast)
Jet Set Radio HD (Xbox 360)

I spent hours just trying to get off the tutorial, doing an endless grind around the central bus station.  Made all the worse since I did it twice, once on each console – but there was an achievement for the 360 version so I felt I had to do it again.

Journey (PS3)

A game filled with moments, but I think my pick comes early in the game, at the bridge.  The structures tower above you, and it took me (and my companion) a while to work out that our path wasn’t just across the base but we had to somehow get up there.  Learning the floating mechanic in that way together was amazing.

Then there’s the snow, but I can’t put the words together to describe that.

Jungle Strike (Mega Drive)

Mainly played via the PSP, to be honest, since that added save states.  The last level is set at the White House.  Just as you think you’ve completed the game, tanks roll in and you have to protect the president’s helicopter as he escapes.

Gaming moments: I

Ico (PS2, PS3)

I even remember writing about this on my blog.  I’ll paste some text
from the previous post:

Ico starts off slowly, with a long cutscene. You get thrown into a murky
world and have to work out the controls. The world’s not actually murky,
but playing it on my HD TV certainly made it look so. I worked my way
through the castle, until I found the girl in white. I knocked the cage
down the tower, and rescued her from the shadow monsters. I then
couldn’t find a way out of the room. Huh.

Never mind, I thought, I’ll come back to that later. I’d been playing
for 40 minutes or so. I turned the console off, and then thought …
hmm, I wonder if the game does save at checkpoints?

Evidently not.

Ikaruga (GameCube)


I have only ever played this for five minutes, and it made my head hurt. 

Ico: sit on top of the world

I had left the game at the start of a trolley system, which I negotiated first thing to leave me high up on a ledge with Yorda – sofas are left in the oddest places.  I used a crane to move us both down to the top of another tower, then explored a room with a few high walkways and handy window ledges which I was able to use to clamber up and knock down the chandelier … after half an hour of trying to work out what to do, that is.  A handy cutscene showed me the remaining support for the bridge, and when I rand down to it I happened to pass by some bombs.

It takes me a long time to progress in this game, not just because there are extended periods between play sessions but also because there is very little signposted.  The combination of the two means that I forget that I can call Yorda to jump over large gaps, for example, and then spend ages trying to work out how to move the crate over to the start of the ledge.  I spent ages fighting the shadows on the ramp before accidentally getting Yorda to the bottom and her killing them all using the shining door.  The same thing happened outside – I’m sure that previously I’ve had to kill all the shadows before progressing.

Anyway, I made my way to the main gate, only to see it shutting in front of me and Yorda’s mum telling me to leave her daughter alone.  She seemed a bit evil.

I’m going to try to play thing more often than once every two months.  It’s a fantastic game and I really want to complete it …

R-Type Dimensions: completed!

I’ve played through both R-Type I and R-Type II, at least, though I had to use a few continues on each.  I love R-Type, it’s probably my favourite shooter with just the right level of complexity (with the force and varying powerups included) and varied stages – the first level boss is iconic, and the third level circling the ship throughout is equally memorable.

This is an excellent way to play both R-Type games.  You have the option of updated or original graphics, and switch between them on the fly (as you could with the Monkey Island remakes or Halo Anniversary).  The controls are suitably responsive, and other than that … well, it’s R-Type.

Gaming moments: B

Bangai-O: Missile Fury (Xbox 360)

Having played both Bangai-O and Spirits, I was expecting many missiles.
 The sheer size and number of projectiles when I first launched a MAX
attack stays with me, as well as the slowdown, half of which I’m sure
was fake.

Bayonetta (Xbox 360)

I am hopeless at the game itself – but I will never forget the car’s
radio playing Outrun music in the cutscene after the prologue.

Beyond Good & Evil (Xbox)

The final upgrade to your hovercraft … and suddenly you have a
spaceship.  Having become familiar with the world over a number of
hours, being torn away to pursue the final fight was unsettling.

Bishi Bashi Special (PS)

ATTENTION!  Matt didn’t read the instructions, and failed time and time again.

Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons (PS3)

Calling upon the bravery and spirit of the elder brother to cross the
water. An astounding statement made with no words.

Broken Sword (PS)

Unbelievable slowdown when reaching the desert town. I gave up and
played the PC verion a couple of years later.

Black (Xbox)

Having made it to the end of the game, the last corridor and boss were
just too difficult.  I never completed it and resent the whole thing to
this day. 

Uncharted: constant shooting

Many people have complained that the recent Tomb Raider game is too combat-oriented, which is very true when you compare it to the older games in the series.  But if you compare it to Uncharted, Lara is a veritable peace-loving hippy.  Exploration seems to take second fiddle to hiding in cover and shooting enemies, then picking up their ammunition before going through the next door and taking cover again.  There have been a few puzzles, but nothing more complex than finding a key to open a door or pulling a couple of levels to flood a room.  The platforming is probably the best part of the game, having to work out how to get to high-up ledges, and it’s a shame there’s not more of it – and it’s annoying the controls are quite so imprecise.  A lack of lock-on to enemies from cover doesn’t help.

Still, it’s a fun game with some spectacular setpieces, even if the best parts of these are generally non-interactive.  I’ve just finished a section where I was speeding through canals on a jetski – well, I say speeding, but it was easier and more efficient to inch forwards, stopping every few seconds to shoot the explosive barrels and enemies in my path.

Oh dear, it doesn’t sound like I’m having much fun, does it?  Oddly, I’m looking forward to continuing – as long as this doesn’t outstay its welcome.  I think the problem this game has is that Tomb Raider has since done it so much better, and this suffers from being played second.

Er, of course I did play this before Tomb Raider – I got my first two trophies on 15 April 2011 – but I was expecting a purely platforming exploration game and the constant gunfights put me off.  I cleared the first three chapters, I think – up until the submarine in the jungle.  I continued from there, which meant a good few minutes of trying to work out which button did what, causing at least one hilarious death where I threw a grenade at my own feet.  Let’s not mention that.