The Video Game Revue

Logitech G5, Super Paper Mario, Izuna

I was pretty excited when I picked up a Creative Fatal1ty 1010 gaming mouse on sale roughly one year ago. The form factor was comfortable and it had some flashy features like the Jonathan Fatal1ty Wendel logo lit up by an LED on the side, but unfortunately this mouse was not meant to last: the right mouse button developed a quirk where a single click would spam multiple click messages app-side, thereby rendering the mouse useless for serious gaming (I can't afford to be dropping right-clicks in World of WarCraft or Company of Heroes.)

I've generally been a fan of Logitech's products, so I chose the Logitech G5 laser mouse to replace my crippled Fatal1ty 1010, and so far I've been happy with it. It has a nifty feature that's new to me in a mouse: you can actually choose between three different mouse sensitivity settings right _on_ the mouse. I'm not sure how practical this feature is because the three settings that you toggle between are quite far apart in sensitivity, and once you've found the right mouse sensitivity setting, how often do you really change it? (My favourite interface for setting sensitivity is typically to hit ~ to open a console and type /sensitivity 20 or some such thing.) Still, it's a nice thought. The stylishly airbrushed impression of caked-on geek hand oil, skin, and sweat is amusing as well.

I'm on Chapter 3 of Super Paper Mario and the game is surprisingly good. It's very much a quest game, with the focus being on squarely on exploration and puzzle solving, although there is some action gameplay to be had as well. The game comes together as a sort of mish-mash of impressive graphic design tricks and clever takes on old gaming conventions, which isn't enough to make this title a true classic, but it certainly is a fun ride. Sometimes the pace slows down significantly, especially during those sequences when the kiddie storyline is center stage, but generally speaking I've had a hard time putting the game down. I do often find myself wishing that Super Paper Mario was a "proper" Mario game with action-oriented gameplay, however. Speaking of which, I have been playing through Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land, as I threatened to do in a previous post, and it really is an incredible game.

I've also acquired Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja for Nintendo DS, which is--of all things--a Japanese Rogue-alike with a shamelessly anime style. I've only played about an hour of this game so far, but what I've seen so far has absolutely blown me away. However, if I hadn't already been familiar with the gameplay mechanics of Rogue (in terms of how movement, combat, and item management generally works), I would have been very frustrated: Izuna, like Rogue, has a steep learning curve (but nowhere near as bad as the one that Nethack has.) As a dungeon-grinder kind of game, Izuna seems to be exactly what I want: something that I can play in short bursts and gradually improve at--a perfect formula for a portable title. One important detail about Izuna is that you don't lose XP when you die (just your items and money), so although it seems like you're stuck at the start of the game, you really aren't. Another important aspect of Izuna is that the game always saves as soon as you enter a dungeon and as soon as you die, so--like Rogue--you can't use saved games to guarantee victory. The strange paradox about Izuna is that it is not a very accessible game (Rogue-alikes are pretty much inaccessible by definition), but it's strangely accessible and addictive in exactly the same way that Rogue is (with anime characters and a persistent plot.) At least, I find it accessible as somebody who has played (and enjoyed) Rogue before. Overall, I'm thoroughly happy with Izuna.

Later today I'm going to be picking up Etrian Odyssey for Nintendo DS. I don't know where I'm going to find the time to play it, but having watched trailers and read reviews online, I know that I must have it. :)

posted by Parappa @ 3:00 PM