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One of the initial releases for the
Sony PlayStation,
King's Field, published by
ASCII Entertainment and developed by
From Software, was a truly next-gen game for its time. This game was the first
FP RPG, set in a massive environment where you alone dictate the game's action and events. The primary antagonist (Alexander/you) is left completely free to choose their own path to discover the vast island you are shipwrecked upon. This may seem somewhat daunting to gamers who prefer a more linear approach to their gaming experience.
This lengthy adventure pits our hero in search of the Moonlight Sword, which is required to save his home kingdom of Verdite. You are left on your own to recover this great artifact, given no direction at all. Your adventure thus begins.
Armed with your trusty sword, you venture into this unknown world in your quest. Many upgraded swords, weapons, armor, and magic are at your disposal - but first you must find them. Some are rather obvious, but most are hidden behind secret walls and openings you must first uncover. This is a great part of the
King's Field experience - you never know what you will find and must be very explorative as you progress through the various parts of this island.
The FP game play rate hovers around 15-30 FPS, depending upon the amount of activity at any given time. The World is seamless and huge - there are no loading times between various sections of the island, which is detailed in full polygonal graphics with dark, almost gritty texture mapping. The feel of this island is almost surreal and is completely grim, which adds significantly to the overall appeal of this adventure.
The background music is appropriate for the varied environments that you traverse. However, the sound samplings for the creatures and actions are perfect. Though rather unspectacular on their own, the sound of a monster cackling around the corner or your sword striking a deserving foe are top-notch and performed at just the right time, and volume, to further enhance your experience.
King's Field is a difficult game. Your progress through the various sections is impeded by the level of the fiends that you encounter, right from the beginning of this saga. Enemy AI is not that great, but at times this is compensated for by the sheer numbers that you will encounter.
The control is excellent, using the D-Pad to navigate/move/look at this richly detailed world. Executing attacks and other actions are intuitive and easy to perform. The minimal numbers of NPCs that you will encounter interact with you slightly, and are pretty much useless, though their ghostly, undefined faces are somewhat appropriate for this journey.
Overall,
King's Field is not for everyone. The graphics and sound are average, though collectively are entirely effective. The game play is rather slow and requires time to navigate the island. For those that are more akin to pure action-adventure type games, this will probably put you to sleep. On the other hand, if exploration and having the freedom to discover and create your own experience is your cup of tea, don't miss this hidden gem.
Tiger Woods 2008, released on multiple platforms this past September by
EA Sports, has endured a beating normally reserved for rent-a-cars on most forums. Most of the complaints revolve around game freezes, instable
EA online servers, lack of character clothing options and most importantly the hair-trigger analog controls. To the delight of old-school gamers, and possibly a welcomed addition to frustrated analog video golfers,
EA (Electronic Arts) has brought back an old friend, the
3-Click swing meter. This article is not necessarily a full review of
Tiger Woods 2008, but more of reflection on the reintroduction of this swing meter interface.
I admit I am an older gamer, and have been a fan of video golf games for some 30 years. I started out playing
Computer Golf for the
Odyssey II at home and
Birdie King at the arcades. I was thrilled with the evolution of the golf game genre on all platforms including
Big Event Golf (arcade), the
PGA Tour series on the
Sega Genesis, and the
Links series for the PC. My virtual golf life ended with the release of
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001. The new analog stick swing interface replaced my tried and trusted ways. This was devastating for me. I did not have the time (due to work), to master this new video swing technology. I became frustrated since my drives off the tee went only 167 yards and usually in the trees or the muck bordering the fairway (on a good day, it being my fairway). Sure, there was
Swing Away Golf for the
PS2 that was the one game that still employed the
3-Click swing meter for the next generation systems (at that time) . It was just not the same game as my beloved
PGA Tour series.
I first downloaded on the
Xbox 360 the demo of
Tiger Woods 2008 once I read that the
3-Click swing meter was brought back from the dead. Obviously I was very happy to be reacquainted with an old friend. I could once again compete off/on-line with a certain degree of competency right away. Naysayers will argue that the
3-Click swing meter makes things too easy and does not truly test the video golfers skill. I can not say that I completely disagree with this. However,
EA did reopen up a market to all of the people that grew up playing and loving the original
PGA Tour series.
Most of the complaints on this game have been addressed through two (2) game updates. Remaining issues mostly revolve around computer player AI and online play/server performance.
Overall, I am thoroughly enjoying
Tiger Woods 2008 (
Xbox 360 version). Though there are some problems with it, the reintroduction of the
3-Click swing meter has made me a born-again follower of the series.
Life on the links has been revived for us old-school video golf gamers!
