Category: Playstation 2

Monster Hunter has been around for 17 years, its first releases being on 2004. When a series becomes this storied, with multiple distinct generations and iterations it’s sometimes difficult to reach a consensus on where it has peaked and where it’s headed. There’s often a specific entry or generational period that speaks to an individual, and with a fandom as impassioned as Monster Hunter’s the positions can sometimes be truly entrenched. However, what about the very first entry, Monster Hunter, for PlayStation 2? This is one of those games where people continually told me “don’t go back that far” or “you would be lost.” My position is usually that I have to see it for myself.

Continue reading “Monster Hunter: Adventuring Back to the Beginning”

Is it possible for an entry in a contentious series like Drakengard to be considered contentious? Drakengard 2 carries this ignomious mantle, often overlooked because of its reputation as less taboo and dark than its predecessor and Yoko Taro not having a directorial role in the game. Creative differences and a mandate to make the game accessible to more people in terms of theme. So the question is whether or not all of this makes Drakengard 2 a more or less playable entry in the series.

Continue reading “Does Drakengard 2 Laugh Too?”

I’ve been wanting to play the original Drakengard for over a decade, before I ever played NieR Gestalt, before I ever played Drakengard 3. But for as long as I’ve wanted to play this game there have been people throwing their arms in the air, exasperated, telling me not to play it. And honestly, for me this hyperbole only makes me curious.

I’ve owned a copy of Drakengard for several years but I’ve had PS2 issues, so having only recently reconciled those issues I’m finally able to get around to this supposedly taboo game. So does Drakengard live up to the notoriety?

Continue reading “Lalalalala Lalalalala… Drakengard!”

You need to commend the ability to say so much with so few words. A minimalist canvas allows the audience to paint their own conclusions and inferences. The opposite is a canvas that is paint-by-numbers, the audience is fed the information they need to paint these conclusions. Both can be enjoyable, and it is a feat to make either end of the spectrum work well. I am going to laud minimalist storytelling but I do not discount the opposite. The simple truth is that they both need to be done well.

I play plenty of games that are all about instant gratification, and they are some of my favourites. I count certain titles with a very overt narrative as some of my favourites. However, sometimes you just want to just become engrossed in the narrative and let it bloom naturally. ICO quintessentializes this mindset.

Continue reading “Exploring ICO: Crawling Through The Gut of the Castle”