Tokyo Lockdown

I'm quite a big fan of the Shin Megami Tensei series. So when the most recent one, Devil Survivor, was revealed to be on the DS, which was a first for the series, and that it was also going to be a strategy game, another first, I was intrigued and concerned. I've nothing against the DS, so that wasn't an issue. It was more to do about the strategy side of it. Most of the ones I've played, which I admit is a small amount of the ones available, have been pretty good. But there are always some awful ones. I've played a few myself.

All concerns were alleviated when I actually got around to playing it though. Movement is like any other grid based strategy game, which isn't anything out of the ordinary. Being an RPG at the same time though, there are a variety of skills you can assign, that range from increasing movement range, to simply ignoring walls and stairs and just teleporting right next to an enemy. Actual combat though, is more like traditional SMT. Since the series moved to PS2, you were rewarded for abusing an enemy's weakness. Use a fire based attack on something made out of ice for example and you'll be rewarded with a bonus attack to deliver. The enemy gets the same chances though, so you have to think about who attacks what based on their strengths and weaknesses lest you walk right into a battle that wipes you out, which can and most likely will happen. Much better than some RPGs where you can simply select 'Attack' over and over to win the game.

Despite that though, it's not what has me hooked. A lot of RPGs, Japanese ones in particular, are very linear. Devil Survivor seems to be one of the rarities that allow you some degree of choice in how events play out. Based on your decisions throughout the game, certain characters may live or die. There's also a large range of responses you can make in cutscenes, which helps make you feel like you're relevant, rather than along for the ride. I have noticed that I'm acting nicer towards some characters than others though, in an attempt to keep them on my side and, hopefully, alive until the end. I've always been keen on stories where there's a large amount of risk involved for the characters. Again, not something that's too common in Japanese RPGs.

I've yet to finish it, but it already feels like the sort of RPG that I'm going to play through more than once, which is unfortunately not a regular occurrence.

Vocaloid!

For the past couple of weeks, I've been playing quite a lot of Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA on PSP. It can be a bit complicated explaining quite what that is though. It's not every day that you play a rhythm game by Sega featuring a virtual idol who is the face of synthetic singing software by Yamaha. Although she's also featured on a Super GT racing team's BMW Z4, maybe a videogame isn't that odd.

The game itself is standard rhythm game fare, essentially consisting of pressing a sequence of buttons in time to a display, scoring points depending on how accurate you are. If you do well, you unlock extra songs, costumes and items for Miku's room. In Miku's room, Miku will simply wander about and interact with furniture and decorations that you put up for her. It's very simplistic.

Which seems to kind of be the point for Project DIVA. It's mostly feels like a game for existing Vocaloid fans where they can see Miku actually move about to songs, rather than fan made videos featuring a sequence of static images. There's even a feature to simply watch the music videos rather than play the rhythm game section.

Because of it's origins as music designing software, the game features a variety of composers and in some cases, animators for the dance routines. It's nothing spectacular, but it is fun, and the music is pretty damn catchy at times. I'm just glad I was already a fan!

Gatherin'

I don't often go to London. In fact, on this occasion I got lost a couple of times. But getting lost wasn't going to stop me, I had a mission to accomplish! I think I've mentioned it before, but Capcom have recently set up a Gathering Hall for Monster Hunter in London. I was pretty determined to experience it at least once.

For those who are unaware, Monster Hunter is best experienced as a multiplayer game. That's part of the reason it's been so successful in Japan, especially as most players are closer together and gaming is more common. Problem is, that's not the case here. So, Capcom have rented out part of a gallery in London for a couple of months to give players a convenient place to meet and play together. Only, not so convenient when you live closer to the Scottish border than London.

Regardless, I made my way there. As I was walking up Charing Cross Road, I was starting to wonder if I would notice it, I'd hate to walk right past it. I needn't have worried at all though, as seeing the front of a building with a Rathalos painted across it, along with "Gathering Hall" on the front, it was somewhat hard to miss. Some other people seemed intrigued as well, I saw a lot of people paying attention to the front as they walked by.

Anyway, I headed in, introduced myself, got myself a free t-shirt almost instantly (which is very nice by the way) and was then taken upstairs to where most players were. I only saw the lobby and the first floor, but I think there was maybe another floor above that. The decoration on the front also continued inside. The lobby had several weapons painted across the walls, whereas upstairs had various pieces of artwork and characters, along with the soundtrack playing in the background.

I quickly found a seat, received some free drinks, and started playing with a couple of others who were well above my level. At the time, I was Hunter Rank 2. The people I joined were both Rank 9, which is the current maximum I think. "What do you want to hunt?" they asked, so I explained that I'd been struggling a lot with Tigrex recently, only just defeating it before the 30 minute deadline was up. Two minutes later, they'd defeated one for me.

The rest of the session continued in this way, with them asking what I wanted to hunt and then they would continue to slaughter it incredibly quickly, with me offering some assistance, which was mediocre at best compared to them. They were very accommodating, and I probably didn't express my thanks as much as I should have. Later on in the session, one of the Capcom employees came in and said how they thought the Monster Hunter soundtrack kind of sucked, so they put some Daft Punk on instead. I'm pretty sure that fighting Lao Shan Lung, easily the biggest dragon in the game, to the sound of 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger' will probably be one of my favourite experiences with this game for some time.

Unfortunately, my time was limited. As I don't visit London often, there were some other places I wanted to see, so I did have to leave before I really wanted to. Eight hours on a train for two hours playing Monster Hunter is probably a good sign of dedication though, or stupidity. Probably somewhere between the two.

I'm certainly going to try and visit again before the place closes down. I really hope it's not a one off.