And Now for a Review...

For the record this is my first review ever so if you post something in the comments section go easy on me. I also should mention that I’ve played all the Heroes of Might and Magic games with the exception of the fourth entry in the series. Although word is it has excellent game play I could never get past the lackluster graphics and sound. But I digress….on to Clash of Heroes!

Breaking somewhat from its tactical roots this latest entry in the Heroes series’ biggest feature is a strong puzzle element which drastically alters the battle strategy. Originally Clash of Heroes was released on the Nintendo DS, but the version I’m reviewing here is the up-res rebalanced PSN version.

Let’s start with graphics since that’s what everyone tends to notice first. Despite being made for the handheld market the backgrounds look vibrant and free of pixilization. The 2-D sprite character and battlefield unit animations are smooth with portraits during dialogue sequences having a definite anime vibe to them. Personally I don’t mind this since it feels like a natural progression from Heroes V. Don’t forget that the original Heroes of Might and Magic had a very cartoon look albeit more western in flavor.


Sound effects are crisp and clear with various chimes and jingles conveying important cues during play. The music sets the mood quite well and feels very reminiscent of previous Heroes titles. Voice acting is sub-par, but thankfully only occurs during short inter-chapter cut scenes. The rest of the game, for better or worse, utilizes the classic RPG text scrawl.

The story is a mix of J.R.R. Tolkien and G.R.R. Martin. Five kingdoms are wracked by conflict and it’s up to a small group of youngsters to save the world. The narrative is split into chapters with each taking place in a different location. At times character arcs intertwine, but for the most part each is doing their own thing. If you have a soft spot for fantasy you might enjoy it. If not it’s easy to skim or skip your way to the action.

Of course the real draw of Clash of Heroes is its puzzle style battle system. By matching like units on the battlefield in rows or columns the player and his or her opponent can create offensive and defensive maneuvers. There are also a number of systems in place to encourage combinations as well as special units which bring their own unique abilities to the battle. Overall it’s a rich and deep set of mechanics that in order to master requires careful observation and planning. There are a number of in game tutorials to help ease you into the game though so don’t feel discouraged if puzzle games aren’t your forte. Additionally, some encounters feature brain game challenges that not only offer in game rewards, but also illustrate strategies which can be used in regular battles, something which can come in handy especially in later chapters. Rounding this out is the Hero himself (or herself), who has a unique magic power and possibly an equipped artifact that can influence the battle in various ways.


Outside of combat players can explore areas and interact with characters via a simple waypoint system. Gold and resources can also be acquired in order to purchase special units. Numerous aforementioned artifacts can also be found, although the hero may only use one at a time during battle.

Total playtime varies depending on whether or not you speed through the story bits and skip passed option side quests. However I think it’s safe to say it will take 20+ hours to finish the single player campaign. In addition to that you can go online and test you puzzle skills against real people if you have a strong competitive streak.

Overall I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys turn based strategy or puzzle games. At $15 it’s a bit pricy but one of the best entertainment to dollar value downloadable games to come out in recent memory. In truth my only strong criticism of Clash of Heroes is the frequent load screens. Considering that it isn’t a particularly graphics intensive game I felt mildly annoyed with how much time I spent staring at that rotating “Now Loading” wheel in the center of the screen.

Editor’s Note: I’ve heard that the Xbox360 version has shorter load times, but since I’ve only played the PS3 version I can neither confirm nor deny this statement.

Raw DLC

Ever noticed that the concession stands at movie theaters charge exorbitant prices for popcorn, candy and drinks? While I’m not an expert on the economics of running a movie theater I do know that this is a major source of revenue. So much so that many poorly run theaters could not stay in business if they did not sell a lot of overpriced junk food. So what does this have to do with video games? Well, it might surprise you but DLC very much fits into the same paradigm.

Probably the most obvious examples are things like theme packs, wallpapers and digital avatar accessories. You know…all that stuff that can only be enjoyed outside the game by the purchaser. It should be free, or at the very least come free with the purchase of the game it’s based on. Honestly, I can’t understand why people fork over hard earned cash for theme packs on PSN when a wide variety of totally free high quality themes are available for download off the internet.

Moving on lets look at DLC which at least has some in-game use. Recently (at the time of  posting) Rockstar games announced the availability of preorder DLC items for Red Dead Redemption at purchase price of a dollar each. Sounds cheap, right? However, what do you really get here? In all three cases you’re receiving a combination of built in cheats and texture skins. How long did it really take to produce this content? Modifying a couple lines of code probably took a programmer less than an hour. Maybe one of the texture guys spent a day or two re-skinning a horse, making those two gold plated guns look shiny and sticking an eye patch on your player character, but that’s it. Compare that to the hundreds of thousands of man hours sunk in to the main game and your looking at a price difference (assuming you bought RDR new) of well over 400 times the cost in terms of labor. Now, I know there’s more to it than that, but I don’t need to work on the game development team to tell you you’re getting ripped off.

Some of you might think the above paragraph was a bit math intensive for you tastes so I’ll give you an easier example of why DLC is all too often severely overpriced. Take for example Red Faction: Guerrilla (I’m in a “red” mood today). You can pick up this game for $20 through PSN or Xbox Live. Depending on how you play it will take you a little under 20 hours to complete the game. So, basically a dollar an hour, but wait there’s DLC! A prequel to the main game entitled Demons of the Badlands. Now, it will take at most five hours to play thought it so that should be around five bucks, right? Wrong! It’s $10, which is the same price as when it was first released unlike the main game which has been discounted over 60% since its initial release. One can’t help but think the publisher, THQ, is going for a movie matinee business strategy here. And don’t even get me started on map packs. They are the “free unlimited salty popcorn, but the drinks cost and arm and a leg” sales strategy of the video game industry.

I should end this by saying there is some excellent DLC out there, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare is one example that comes to mind and even the examples I named above aren't as bad as some of the DLC out there. But until gamers learn that nickels and dimes can add up to more than the perceived value marketing types would like you to believe it’s probably best to limit your online purchases to full indie titles. At least then you can feel good about helping out the little guy instead of some hustler in a suit.

9 Games I Would Like to See

There are a lot of video games coming out these days. Rarely more than a week or two will go by without the release of at least one triple 'A' title. Many gamers like to complain that they don't have enough money to purchase all the games they want to play. Personally, I don't have that problem. Not because I'm rich (although I wish that were the case), but rather because fewer and fewer games grab my interest each passing year.

You might be inclined to say that I've become burned out on gaming, or that games are better than ever now they just don't jive with my nostalgia coated view of what good games are. Well...maybe, but I'll try to justify my views by presenting a list of 9 games (I don't do that top 10 crap) that I think would be great:

In case you don't know A Song of Ice and Fire series is the best selling set fantasy novels since Lord of the Rings. It's also getting a TV adaptation which takes it's namesake from the first book in the series, Game of Thrones. I could write pages about the setting, but I think this summery (courtesy of Green Ronin Publishing) does a better job than I ever could:

"Song of Ice and Fire is about Machiavellian court politics, family alliances and enmities, the rise and fall of kingdoms, and the clash of armies. But it is also about honor and duty, family tensions, the responsibility of leadership, love and loss, tournaments, murders, conspiracies, prophecies, dreams, war, great victories, and terrible defeats. It’s about knights, both false and true—and it’s about dragons."

Now I know what your going to say Dwarf Fortress exists and to that I would say your right. But what this game could really use is a good UI and while the graphics have a crude charm it would be nice to be able to view things in ways other than 2D horizontal slices.  A lot of the heart and soul fans pour into this game is lost because of the technical hurtles.



Think about it. The fourth game in a 4X series of games. If your a numerologist it doesn't get any more prestigious than that! I could write a lot here, but instead check out this link. It will give you a good idea of just how awesome this game could be.  At the very least I'd like to see some talented developer pick up this franchise and try giving it new legs.  It's happening for the X-com games so why not a space themed game not so different for the oh so popular Mass Effect series?



No, none of that l33t speech 'THI4F' crap, I'm talking about a proper sequel to this dark and moody stealth game. Rather than seeing yet another Assassin's Creed why not give Garret the royal treatment he's been trying to "acquire" his whole carrier. Let's just hope the rumors of it being set in the present day are false. The single coolest thing about the Thief series was the aura of mystery a dread that it exuded. When you consider the first three games took place entirely in one city it's not hard to imagine transporting the main character to other locals.  If you ever read the novel "The Lies of Locke Lamora" by Scott Lynch you'll know this kind of game is far from worn out when it comes to potential.

Tekken, Mortal Combat and Street Fighter (versus SNK) have all gotten the HD upgrade, but I still have not seen or heard anyone talk about my personal favorite fighting series, Bushido Blade. Don't know jack about this game? Three words for you 'One-Hit-Kills'. Well that's not entirely true, getting hit in the arm or leg with a blade just renders that appendage inert. Unsurprisingly combat is fast and tense (not to mention fairly realistic).  Deadliest Warrior games could be called spiritual successors to this franchise but much like the TV show it didn't appeal to me.

RTS titles have never been my forte, but there's something about the concept of Persians in Space that is incredibly cool to me. Note that it doesn't necessarily have to be exactly like the previous two titles. Outer space is a big place. There is a lot you can do with it.

Nope, not the Xbox360 error. This is an old and very obscure title for the PS2 which thankfully got a re-release on PSN. Think Front Mission or Armored Core but with cruder technology. For example the walking tanks in this game really are like WW2 tanks in the sense that they are powered by diesel engines, must stop to fire accurately and are predominantly armed with machine guns and cannons. Plus there's a lot of in combat emphasis on the crews who man and support the individual armored fighting walkers, providing field repairs, Anti-personnel/anti-armor support in addition to custom types of ammunition (Illumination, Armor Piercing, Smoke, Gas Fragmentation etc.). If you've never heard of it, check it out. Ring of Red is one of those earlier (and overlooked) PS2 gems that deserves another shot with current generation graphics and sound.

Vagrant Story is one of those games that could never be fully realized because of limitations set by the PS1 hardware. None-the-less it was an impressive title which can't easily be placed into any particular genre due the the variety of mechanics the player is expected to perform, rhythm mini-games, exploration, platforming, puzzle solving, item crafting, as well as a number of RPG elements. It had a little bit of everything. With a few tweaks, voice acting, and hi-res texture this is one game that screams remake on the  Havok physics engine.


My final and obligatory entry on this list...come on Valve, just make the damn game already! It's not like you have to make a full game. It's just the last episode in a series. What? You want this to be the the next Duke Nukem: Forever?  No, those teaser bits in the Portal games aren't enough.  I want to know who the G-man is and the ultimate fate of humanity.  Plus, give us a real boss fight at the end.

EULA

Sounds like it has something to do with the city of Los Angeles and the European Union, but that's not actually what it stands for (just my uninformed guess). Apparently it means "End User Licence Agreement" or to put it more simply a software licence agreement. It's that legal crap you have to read whenever you install a piece of software on your PC. Although for some reason most console games make no mention of it. Not that it would be understood by most gamers.

I recently had to install the latest firmware update on my PS3 to go online. A rather tedious process which started off mildly amusing when I read the version number (3.60). Dumb number joke aside once the installation was finished the EULA came up and...seriously...the thing was a massive amount of text. I think it would have taken me an hour more to read and understand everything, let alone remember it all. I can't imagine most gamers in their teens able to make much sense out of all the legal terminology. They really need to break these things down into a short list of easy to understand bullet points. Worse yet it seems like the PS3 operating system coders realized that no one would actually take the time to read an EULA and conveniently made it possible to skip it without even having to scroll through the text. Just click "Accept" to move on. Yet we're supposed to be held accountable for all that?

Here in lies the problem. When you consider that even United States judges don't bother to look over an EULA then why should anyone else? These documents aren't exactly quick reads that are easy to fully grasp. Even someone with a profession background in law would probably want to ask a corporate representative about the fine print. Not that you can request for any of it to be changed. Worse yet most companies reserves the right to alter any part of the agreement without your consent or even a warning. Not surprising the entire legality of an EULA is debatable, partly because no United States court has ruled on the validity of an EULA. None-the-less big game publishers like Electronic Arts and Activision can and do use the EULA to enforce their will.

Time to start pirating, you might say? Time to not buy any EA or Activision games, you might also say. I've heard that some gamers even buy legit copies of games like Dragon Age 2, but then never open them. Instead they play a pirated copy of the game so they don't have to deal with the EULA. I can't say any of these strategies are bad. But what really needs to happen here is the writing of some new ground rules by gamers and developers (not publishers though because they're just parasites) as to how things are done in the game industry. Maybe everyone won't get exactly what they want, but then again neither did everyone at the signing of the Constitutional Convention.

Bent, not Broken

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Capcom, Square-Enix, and Konami all struggling to make a profit. In the light of lackluster sales figures the talk on the interwebs is that Japan, with regards to game development is doomed to fade into obscurity. Meanwhile other regions such as Canada, Europe, and the USA are destined to dominate the video game market. Whether you consider this well wishing or a warning it is my firm belief that the time of The Land of the Rising Sun has not yet come and gone.

Looking to the recent past Persona 4 and Demon's Souls stand as examples that the Japanese gaming industry can still produce quality titles. "But what of the future?" you might ask. To which I say Dark Souls, The Last Guardian, and Metal Gear Solid Rising - all innovative titles on the horizon.

Just recently (at the time of the writing of this blog) The Last Story made it's debut in Japan and was well received for its innovative battle system. Now confirmed for an overseas release, Catherine proves that Japanese companies can break the teenagers-save-the-world mold by making a relationship driven story about thirty-somethings, parenthood, marriage and being faithful to a partner all set to a box puzzle game mechanic. Original? Yes. Interesting? I don't know, but I think it's safe to say smaller Japanese developers are trying new things which is essential to survival in the games industry.

If anything big dogs like Activision and EA should take heed of what is going on across the Pacific unless they want their bread and butter titles like Madden and Call of Duty going the way of Final Fantasy.