The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

By Elizabeth F.

Release year: 2007

 Phantom Hourglass is the first Zelda game I've played through to completion, and while it may have taken me a long, long time to complete, I enjoyed every moment of it. This game is full of heart, humor, and great puzzles that are just challenging enough to provide satisfaction, but simple enough to keep you moving through the game, sailing the ocean and island hopping.

Phantom Hourglass was released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS. It was the first Zelda game to be released after Twilight Princess, and it brings Link back to his The Wind Waker look, something I particularly enjoy. As the game opens, we find Link on an island in the middle of the ocean. When his friend Tetra is kidnapped by a mysterious ghost ship, Link sets off to rescue her and unlock the secrets of the seas and islands in his world. Assisting Link in his quest is Linebeck, a somewhat cowardly ship captain who agrees to pilot Link around in his ship, the S.S Linebeck. On the S.S Linebeck, Link learns to sail, fish, salvage treasure, and tackle enemies as he navigates around the seas. Though there is no shortage of danger that Link has to face, the game is rich with fun, humorous side quests that can keep you busy for hours if you wish. 

Phantom Hourglass is the sequel to The Wind Waker.

Phantom Hourglass also brings the full functionality of the DS to bear. It uses the microphone and the touch screen in unique and surprising ways to enrich the puzzles in the game and to distinguish it from just another handheld game. Many of the puzzles can only be beaten when the player thinks outside the box and remembers that their DS is a living part of the game. Additionally, the dungeons in Phantom Hourglass are innovative, and kept me on my toes -- imagine being limited to only the time in a little hourglass to get through one of them! 

Players can keep helpful notes on the top screen.

Phantom Hourglass has great gameplay, a strong story, and music and graphics that fit right in with the lighthearted, fun missions that Link must complete in order to find his friend and defeat evil on the seas once and for all. I highly recommend Phantom Hourglass to anyone who wants to immerse themselves in a great game and take on the role of the hero -- it won't let you down. 

Score: 9.0

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light

Release year (NA): 2010

Role-playing games in the Japanese tradition are becoming increasingly hard to find these days on American home consoles. The renaissance of Japanese RPGs in North America that began in 1997 with Final Fantasy VII and peaked with the Playstation 2 has receded in favor of westernized RPGs like Fable, Mass Effect, and The Elder Scrolls. But on handhelds it's a different story. A close look at the libraries of the DS, PSP, and 3DS show that Japanese RPGs are alive and well in the portable market in North America. One of these games is Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, a spin-off of the main Final Fantasy series. It's a good game but also, ultimately, an unremarkable one.

Don't let the cutesy graphics and pint-sized heroes fool you; The 4 Heroes of Light is a difficult, demanding game. It is much more in line with old-school RPGs from the NES and SNES era than any modern western role-playing game. Players control a foursome of young would-be adventurers who venture out into the world to find a cure for the curse that afflicts their hometown. Along the way, they find themselves at the center of a much larger battle between the forces of light and darkness. The story in 4 Heroes of Light is serviceable. It doesn't stray far from the typical good vs. evil theme, and therefore is mostly bland and forgettable. As you would expect in a Final Fantasy game, there are moments of genuine surprise, joy, and sorrow, but these are few and far between. The game's characters are also, unfortunately, rather bland and underdeveloped. Jusqua, the loner of the group, evolves the most as a character, but even his development pales in comparison to other Final Fantasy games. That's not to say the characters are unlikeable. In fact, almost all the characters, places, and animals of the game world in 4 Heroes of Light are likable. The game has an inoffensive, amiable quality to it that makes it very welcoming. It's difficult not to root for these four kids, and the friends they make along the way.

Turn-based combat of old

If the friendly façade of 4 Heroes of Light is welcoming, the steep level of difficulty inside the game is most decidedly not. Make no mistakes: this is a true Final Fantasy game, with all the pros and cons that come with it. Grinding for experience points is a must, as is mastering the unique jobs system (more on that later). And players should be prepared for a good deal of trial and error, in everything from which items to stock, to which weapons and armor to upgrade. Several bosses, especially in the second half of the game, are difficult to overcome without the proper combination of weapons, items, spells, and "crowns."

In 4 Heroes of Light, "crowns" serve as a de facto job system. Each of the four main characters can equip one of dozens of crowns to become a white mage, black mage, paladin, fighter, etc. And each crown can be upgraded as many as three times with gems. Upgrades provide stronger special moves and spells. The fighter, for example, can earn "jugular," which strikes a foe with a critical hit. It's a novel system, but it takes some guessing to determine which crowns are worth using and upgrading. Hint: invest in a white mage and at least one black mage.

Crowns bestow special skills.

In terms of play control, the game performs well. Touch an empty space and the character will move there. Touch a treasure chest or NPC and the hero will interact with that object or person. Combat functions in a similar way. Players choose from a menu of actions -- attack, boost, item, plus several spells or special moves -- on the bottom screen with the stylus. Graphics are another story. The basic, super-deformed, largely featureless character models are underwhelming, as are many of the towns and dungeons. Enemy bosses appear much more detailed, but they are the exception that proves the rule in 4 Heroes of Light.

Despite some graphical limitations, a lackluster story, and too much trial and error, 4 Heroes of Light emerges as a charming, challenging, and mostly enjoyable handheld role-playing game from an underrepresented sub-genre.

Score: 7.0

Top 10 Most Shameless Video Game Knock-offs

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

It's an age-old maxim, one that has rarely done anything to reassure the imitated party. I think maybe the phrase was coined by a famous imitator who wanted to avoid a punch in the nose (or a lengthy legal battle). In any event, imitation is a ubiquitous force in the world. It affects fashion, technology, literature, and other works of art, including video games. In fact, imitation is woven into the history of video games. As early as 1974, Magnavox sued Atari over PONG for infringing on its patent for an electronic ping-pong game (Atari settled out of court). And in the mid-1990s, first-person shooters that appeared on the PC were, rightly or wrongly, derided as "DOOM clones."

There is a fine line, in all media, between imitation and innovation. Some games borrow from their predecessors and use that foundation to make significant leaps forward. Others simply steal ideas and present them as their own. Where the following ten games fall between those two categories is up to you, the reader, to decide. I've included side-by-side comparisons to demonstrate the similarities and differences between the knock-off and the original.

10. Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale

Up first is Sony's upcoming cross-over brawler, a game clearly inspired by Super Smash Bros. Now don't get me wrong. I expect Playstation All-Stars to be a very good game -- I included it in my list of most anticipated games -- but that doesn't change the fact that it's an obvious knock-off of Nintendo's own cross-over series.

9. N.O.V.A. Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance

The developers at Gameloft should be ashamed of themselves. Name a popular video game franchise and the odds are they've copied it. Call of Duty, God of War, The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, they've stolen from them all. One of their most blatant rip-offs is N.O.V.A., a first-person shooter that borrows heavily from Halo. Even the subtitle Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance is similar to Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, which makes up the acronym from Halo: ODST.

8. Fighters History

Street Fighter II is probably the most influential fighting game of all time -- all modern fighting games owe something to it -- but some copycats went a little too far. The most egregious example is Fighters History, a fighting game that borrows much of the music, animations, and backgrounds from Capcom's seminal fighter. Capcom sued Data East over Fighters History for copyright infringement but lost its case in court.

7. The Simpsons: Road Rage

 

In 2003, Sega filed a law suit against Fox Interactive, Electronic Arts, and Free Radical Design over The Simpsons: Road Rage. Sega claimed the game was eerily similar to their own Crazy Taxi. Both games require players to pick up passengers and deliver them to their locations in the shortest time possible. The case was settled in private for an unknown amount.

6. The Krion Conquest 

Ever wondered what Mega Man would be like as a woman? Well, wonder no more. Just take a quick look at Vic Tokai's The Krion Conquest, which is a shameless rip-off of Capcom's classic platform game. Movements, models, and levels appear to be carbon copies of those found in the first three Mega Man games. The heroine even changes color based on which magic attack she is using.

5. 3D Cartoon Land: Safari

What's that game with the plumber? You know the one. He wears a red cap and blue overalls. He jumps across platforms and has to deal with turtles and walking mushrooms. Come on, help me out here. He collects coins. What on Earth was his name? I want to say Samus.

4. Kong

Remember the ZX Spectrum? In 1983, the home computer hosted Kong, an action game so similar to Nintendo's Donkey Kong it's difficult not to laugh at the comparison. I guess it's not a total rip-off. The villain on top looks less like a giant ape and more like a deep-sea diver circa 1900.

3. Golden Axe Warrior

Golden Axe Warrior is a spin-off of the famous Legend of Zel--oops!--Golden Axe series of hack-n-slash video games. The overland map, dungeons, and enemies in Golden Axe Warrior are obnoxiously similar to those in The Legend of Zelda. At least Sega changed the appearance of the hero so he doesn't look like Link. No, they stole THAT design from Dragon Warrior.

2. Mole Kart

What can I even say? This Chinese rip-off of Mario Kart Wii was originally released on iOS in January. Mole Kart steals mechanics, power-ups, and even entire tracks wholesale from Mario Kart. Apple removed the app only after Nintendo filed a complaint. But don't worry! A new version called Mole Kart I was re-released in May.

1. The Great Giana Sisters 

Ah, finally. The Cadillac of video game rip-offs. It's The Great Giana Sisters. Let me describe a little of this game. Players control Giana or her sister Maria. Enemies can be jumped on or shot with power-ups. There are two types of levels: above-ground levels with pipe-shaped objects and bottomless pits, and underground levels with hazards like fire and water. Oh, and those aren't Goombas in the screenshot. They're owls. Walking owls.

Wii U Selling Out Fast

If you want to reserve a Wii U for the holidays, you better act quickly. At least that's what it looks like based on retailers selling out of Wii U orders three days after Nintendo announced its release date, and online vendors began accepting pre-orders. As of today, Best Buy, Target, and Toys R Us are all sold out of both Wii U sets online. GameStop still has the basic, 8GB set on sale. And Walmart has both versions available (basic and deluxe) plus an expensive bundle.

It's entirely possible that these retailers are playing it safe and limiting the total number of pre-orders to avoid shortages on launch day. It's also possible that Nintendo is purposefully creating a shortage to raise awareness and demand. It's even possible that a bunch of greedy people bought up as many sets as they could to sell them later at huge mark up to desperate holiday shoppers. Take a quick browse through eBay and you'll already see evidence of that. In any event, I don't see how this can be considered anything but good news for Nintendo.

Greed is good.

Everything You Need to Know About Wii U

For those viewers who don't want to sift through the updates in my previous post, I've summarized all the major points from yesterday's conferences.

Note: all this information applies to the North American launch.

How much does it cost?

$299 and $349, depending on the bundle.

What does the system come with?

The basic, white bundle includes the Wii U system, a GamePad, a sensor bar, a GamePad AC adapter, a Wii U adapter, and an HDMI cable. It has 8GB of storage space.

The premium, black bundle comes with all of the above, plus a GamePad charging cradle, stands for the GamePad and console, and Nintendo Land. It's unclear whether Nintendo Land will be a hard copy or a digital copy. The premium console has 32 GB of storage space.


Isn't that storage space low compared to Xbox 360 and PS3?

According to Nintendo, the Wii U supports two options to expand the default storage space: SD/SDHC memory cards or an external hard-drive connected to one of the system's USB 2.0 slots. Said NOA President Reggie Fils-Aime:

"You can plug in a full-on three terabyte hard drive if you want. I'll love you as a digital consumer. The reason we did it that way is that the cost of that type of storage memory is plummeting. What we didn't want to do is tie a profit model to something that's gonna rapidly decline over time."

What games will be available at launch?

So far, the only confirmed launch games are Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U. However, there are a total of 50 games in the so-called launch window, which runs from November to March.

Check out the sizzle reel here:

Where can I buy it?

You can pre-order the Wii U at Best Buy, Walmart, Toys R Us, Target, or GameStop. As of now, Amazon.com is not offering pre-orders.

From the Amazon.com mailing list email:

Thank for you signing up to be notified when the Wii U is available. Unfortunately the Wii U console is not available at Amazon.com at this time but please check back in the future, as availability may change.

Wii U Price, Games Revealed

This is it. Today is the day the world finally finds out most of the answers to its questions about the Wii U, Nintendo's upcoming eight-generation console. A total of four conferences are planned for today, in Japan, North America, and Europe. Analysts expect announcements on price, release date, online capabilities, and software. My own predictions can be viewed here.


Here's the schedule:

3:00 AM EST: Wii U Nintendo Direct for Japan
10:00 AM EST: Wii U Live from New York City (watch live)
10:00 AM EST: Wii U Nintendo Direct for Europe
10:00 AM EST: Second Wii U Nintendo Direct for Japan


I will continue to update this post throughout the day.

Please note that Japanese prices may not indicate North American and European price points.


3:36 AM EST: Nintendo President Satoru Iwata revealed that Wii U will have 2GB of total RAM: 1GB dedicated for “main memory” with another 1GB reserved for “system” memory. The “main memory” will be used for games and the “system” memory used for the Wii U's operating system (OS). This is twice the amount available to Xbox 360 and roughly three times the amount available on PlayStation 3. Recent rumors suggested the amount of RAM reserved for games at 1GB, while the OS would use something closer to 300-500MB.

3:47 AM EST: Iwata officially confirmed that Wii U proprietary disks will hold up to 25GB of data. Its data transfer rate is clocked at 22.5 megabytes per second.

Launch titles Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land

3:51 AM EST: Iwata announced New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land will both be launch titles for Wii U. That makes New Super Mario Bros. U the first Mario launch game since Super Mario 64 in 1996. New Super Mario Bros. U will retail at 6,000 yen (77 USD), while Nintendo Land will retail at 5,000 yen (64 USD). More information on software will be released at the second Nintendo Direct presentation, which airs at 10:00 AM EST.

4:10 AM EST: Iwata just announced that Wii U will go on sale in Japan on December 8. Two hardware bundles will be available: a white model with 8GB of built-in storage for 26,250 yen (337 USD), and a black “premium” model with 32GB of built-in storage for 31,500 yen (400 USD). Both bundles will include all necessary cables, including HDMI. Update: those prices include tax.

Wii U priced in Japan

4:16 AM EST: Iwata revealed “Nintendo Network Premium," available only to those who bought the Wii U "premium" model. Nintendo Network Premium will offer points for purchases and 10% back on all digital purchases. Nintendo Network Premium is currently set to run through December 2014.

4:21 AM: The Wii U will launch with one GamePad controller, but some games will be compatible with two. Also, the Wii U Pro Controller will be available. An additional GamePad will be available for 13,440 yen (172 USD), a Wii U Pro Controller for 5,000 yen (64 USD), and a GamePad charger for 1,890 yen (24 USD).


Footage from Wii U Nintendo Direct (Japan):

10:06 AM: Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime announced the Wii U will launch in North America on Sunday, November 18.

10:09 AM: As in Japan, there will be two SKUs in North America: a basic model with console and GamePad, and 8 GB of storage; and a deluxe edition with Nintendo Land packed in, and 32 GB of storage. The basic model will cost $299.99 and the deluxe edition will cost $349.99.

The two American bundles

10:24 AM: Fils-Aime announced Nintendo TVii, the third part of a trifecta that includes games, and Miiverse. Nintendo TVii incorporates cable, DVR, Netflix, Hulu, etc. into the GamePad.

Nintendo TVii

10:41 AM: Bayonetta 2 will be a Wii U exclusive.

10:44 AM: Wii U will support a new Monster Hunter game, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.

10:48 AM: Activision games include Skylanders Giants, Wipeout 3, 007 Legends, and Transformers Prime: The Game. Oh, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

11:08 AM: The Wii U will launch in Europe on November 30. The two SKUs are identical to the North American versions.


Gameplay footage from Black Ops 2:

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure

It doesn't have to be so hard.

Release year: 1989

It's strange to think that only one year separated LucasArts point-and-click adventure games Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and The Secret of Monkey Island. Whereas the latter was a gem of a game -- challenging without being impossible -- the former is maddeningly frustrating. It's a shame, really. There was an opportunity in Last Crusade for a terrific movie tie-in. Yet, despite some excellent puzzles and a great sense of humor, Last Crusade squanders the opportunity with some head-scratching design choices.

For anyone who's seen Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the plot of the game will be instantly familiar. Although some sections are built upon -- the Venice catacombs and Brunwald Castle feature hugely expanded sections -- and others are removed completely -- where's Sallah! -- the basic storyline is well represented. In 1938, professor of archaeology Indiana Jones seeks out the legendary Holy Grail across Europe and the Middle East. Along the way he searches for his father, who went missing on an earlier expedition.

There is nothing at all wrong with the story. It's a solid adaptation from the movie. Graphics and sound are similarly good; they produce a cinematic effect throughout the game. The problem is much bigger than that. It concerns the basic gameplay of Last Crusade, specifically fist fights and the "Indy Quotient," which is a blessing and a curse.

X never, ever marks the spot.

You wouldn't expect to see many (or any) action set-pieces in a point-and-click adventure game, but in Last Crusade there are over a dozen. At certain levels in the game, engaging in fist fights with enemy guards is virtually unavoidable. The designers at LucasArts were wise enough to include a fighting tutorial at the onset of the game, but the sad truth is that it's not very helpful. Players control Indy during fights with the number pad on the keyboard: if Indy is facing right, 9, 6, and 3 deliver high, mid-level, and low punches; 8, 5, and 2 block; and 7, 4, and 1 retreat. Sounds pretty complex, right? In reality, you're much more likely to simply smash your fist into the number bad in a desperate, and ultimately futile, attempt to beat back your opponent. Fist fighting is a miserable experience. There are ways to avoid fist fights, in Brunwald Castle and on the road out of Germany, but only by choosing the correct dialogue options from a rather large, branching dialogue tree. But this is all a matter of trial and error. And if you choose the wrong dialogue, and end up losing the resulting fist fight, it's game over. That's right: in Last Crusade you can die. And you will die, often.

Players can learn to fight in the gym, or they could save time and toss their
computer out the window.

Connected to this issue of sword fights is the "Indy Quotient," or "IQ." This is a system that is actually rather brilliant. It allows players to finish the game in several different ways, thus boosting replay value considerably. Players are awarded IQ points for finding alternative solutions to puzzles. The only problem with this system is that, unlike Monkey Island for example, players can progress in the game without items that would be needed much later. There are a host of hidden items that players don't know to look for, and so they are left empty handed when the puzzle eventually presents itself later in the game. They can still move forward (to prevent such movement would be cruel) but usually along the much more difficult and dangerous path. And what's typically on that path? You guessed it! Fist fights.

When Indy isn't fighting for his life, Last Crusade is a great experience. The puzzles are demanding and creative, with a few of those "why didn't I think of that?" moments. Catacombs in Venice and the game's finale are stand-outs. As mentioned before, graphics and sound are quite good, although most of the music is borrowed from the movie. The biggest problem is the game's insistence on incredibly frustrating action set pieces with clunky controls -- something that just doesn't fit in with a point-and-click adventure game. The "Indy Quotient" isn't a problem per se, but it's employed in a way that punishes unaware players instead of simply rewarding the most observant and diligent.

One of the very best video game manuals

The best part about Last Crusade, surprisingly, is its instruction manual. It's not your traditional manual with a list of enemies, control schemes, and other options. Its a faithfully recreated version of Henry Jones' Grail diary complete with newspaper clippings, drawings, journal entries, and coffee stains. At over 65 pages, the manual seems daunting, but it's really a pleasure to read: the perfect appetizer for a heroic journey.

Score: 6.5

Unreal Gold

Smarter than your average shooter.

Unreal: 1998
Return to Na Pali: 1999

Note: Unreal Gold includes Unreal and its mission pack Unreal: Return to Na Pali.

Unreal

The Unreal series is best known for its competitive multiplayer first-person shooters, but the franchise started with a traditional shooter where the single-player campaign is primary and the multiplayer secondary. At first glance, Unreal appears to be another FPS in the same extended family that includes Doom, Quake, Hexen, and Rise of the Triad. In reality, Unreal is much more than that. It is far more intelligent than the PC shooters that came before; it is far better looking; and it is far more progressive. In fact, in the evolution of first-person shooters, Unreal represents a missing link -- a transitional game that shares qualities of the inferior class of games that came before it, and the superior class that succeeded it.

In Unreal, players take control of an unnamed inmate who survives the crash of his prison ship into an alien planet. The goal is to escape from the planet by any means necessary. Along the way the silent protagonist explores jungles, caves, ruins, temples, and mining facilities -- just to name a few -- and uncovers many secrets about the planet and its inhabitants.

Unlike most shooters that came before, Unreal features an engaging and intelligent story. The developers at Epic Games could easily have relied on the game's superior technical achievements and inserted a formulaic, boring story (or no story at all), but they didn't. They crafted a genuinely interesting world with a genuinely interesting plot line. What's even more impressive is that they did so without a single line of dialogue or narration. In Unreal, the story unfolds entirely through logs, journals, and other written information. It is very similar to Metroid Prime in that respect.

Unreal features a number of different environments to explore.

Another area where Unreal breaks from the pack is its focus on both cramped indoor environments and open outdoor environments. It might not sound like a big deal, but moving from claustrophobic tunnels, waterways, and ruins into expansive fields, villages, and other open areas provides a much needed diversity -- a far cry from your run-of-the-mill corridor shooter.

Graphically, Unreal is a masterpiece. It has some of the best graphics you will ever find (compared to games of its generation, of course), with gorgeous colored lighting, incredible texture smoothing, and draw distance that would shame the Hubble Telescope. Unreal was the first game to use the now ubiquitous Unreal engine, which allowed for some pretty impressive physics and curved-surface rendering support.

Watch the opening movie here:



Another area where Unreal shines is its artificial intelligence. The enemies in the game aren't mindless monsters that walk willingly into a hail of bullets; they dodge, duck, and otherwise defend themselves. It was impressive to watch an enemy throw up an energy shield to block incoming projectiles, or a Skaarj somersault out of the way of a cluster of shrapnel. As in Halo, players will feel like they are going head to head with smart, resourceful enemies.

Strategic and resourceful, Skaarj resemble Halo's Elites.

The excellent single-player mode in Unreal comes with several multiplayer options, which provide some entertainment but don't really match the excellence of the campaign. The best of the bunch is "bot match" which allows players to fight computer-controlled bots.

Overall, Unreal is a game that excels on all levels. Technically, the game is a marvel. But there is much more too it: a good story told in a creative way; outstanding enemy artificial intelligence; some very cool weapons (with primary and secondary fire); great pacing; and a healthy combination of corridor shooting and open-world exploration.

Score: 9.0

*** SPOILER ALERT***

Unreal: Return to Na Pali

One year after the release of Unreal, Epic Games released a mission pack titled Return to Na Pali. It takes place an indeterminate amount of time after the end of the original game. A military vessel intercepts the escape pod used by the unnamed hero, who gets a name of sorts in this expansion, and orders him to retrieve weapons data from a crashed ship. In exchange, he will be given a full pardon and repatriated to Earth.

Return to Na Pali was developed using leftover art from the original production, and almost all of the levels that were left on the cutting room floor during the making of Unreal. As a result the game flows less smoothly than the first game. An icy level high in the mountains arrives out of nowhere, for example, and disappears just as quickly. Still, the excellent engine and mechanics are carried over from Unreal, so it's hard to complain.

Three new enemies and three new weapons are introduced in Return to Na Pali. Weapons include the grenade launcher, rocket launcher, and combat assault rifle. The grenade and rocket launcher are somewhat redundant since the eightball launcher already fires rockets and grenades, but the assault rifle is an excellent addition -- even if it eats up ammo too quickly. New enemies include spiders, pack hunters, and Terran marines.

The assault rifle doesn't disappoint.

Return to Na Pali also added four new multiplayer modes: gravity match; cloak match; Terran weapon match; and marine match, which pits players again Terran marines, who are far more deadly than normal bots.

The weakest point in Return to Na Pali, ironically, is its storytelling. Where Unreal relied on left-behind journals, electronic logs, and signposts to tell an engaging story, Return to Na Pali relies on voice-over narration. And it's bad voice over narration. It brings to mind Harrison Ford in the theatrical version of Blade Runner.

That being said, Return to Na Pali is a completely entertaining add-on to a great game with a few new weapons, enemies, and modes. It might lack a great story, but it does provide closure to fans left hanging at the end of the original game. For those who didn't care for the first game, Return to Na Pali won't do anything to change their minds. But for those who enjoyed it, this expansion will tack on a few more hours to a game they never wanted to end.

Score: 8.0

Hardcore vs. Casual

Which is which?

If you read enough online articles or electronic forums about video games, you will invariably see the terms "hardcore gamer" and "casual gamer." Rarely are these terms explained; they are most often taken for granted. And they are usually hurled as insults, or thrown up as defensive barriers against criticism. At best they are used to generalize, to segregate, to place into neat boxes video game enthusiasts of a thousand different aptitudes and interests. I can't remember one instance when the terms were used in the context of a thoughtful and civil debate on the purpose and meaning of video games, and what "hardcore" and "casual" mean for the art form.

But what exactly is a "hardcore gamer"? And what constitutes a "casual gamer"? Do these terms represent real-world groups of people? And if yes, then what are "hardcore games" and "casual games"? There seem to be two parallel definitions at work, one that makes more sense than the other.

The first defines the hardcore gamer as one who devotes significant time, energy, and money into playing games. The "core" in hardcore is integral for this definition. These enthusiasts are in many ways the core of the video game consumer population. They are foundational. And around this core of dedicated gamers has built up another strata of less enthusiastic "casual gamers," those who commit less time, less energy, and far less money into video games. If we go by this definition, casual gamers are by far the bigger group. Not that many people in the world own a PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii, and buy $60 games regularly for them. Many more people own a single system and play a few favorite games again and again; some simply play free-to-play games in an online browser.

Is this game "casual" or "hardcore"? Does it even matter?

The second definition depends less on the "core" and more on the "hardcore." In this version, "hardcore gamers" are those who invest in more violent and adult-oriented video games: Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Assassin's Creed, etc. Conversely, the casual gamer is one who invests in family-friendly video games like Super Mario, Kirby, Just Dance, etc. If we go by this definition, I'm not so sure which is the bigger group. So-called casual games are incredibly popular, but last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sold 26 million copies on Xbox 360 and PS3 combined.

In any event, these definitions are clearly at odds with each other. One focuses on time, energy, and money invested; the other focuses on content. One presupposes the existence of "hardcore" and "casual" games; the other does not.

The first definition makes more sense, mostly because "hardcore" and "casual" games are misnomers. There are no hardcore and casual games. There are good games and bad games, and this is the dichotomy video game fans should worry about. Those who self-identify as hardcore gamers but who ignore Wii Sports, Animal Crossing, Katamari Damacy, Banjo-Kazooie, and LocoRoco just because they seem too "casual" and "kiddie" are doing themselves a disservice; and by closing themselves off to a huge chunk of the video game market, they aren't being very hardcore at all.

Halo 3 seems "hardcore," but how many users actually bothered to finish the campaign?

We need to stop using descriptive words in the place of normative words. "Violent," "dark," and "mature" are useful in describing a video game, but not useful in assigning value. And this is true for other media as well. Too many cite The Empire Strikes Back's "darkness" as a primary reason for its greatness compared to other Star Wars movies. No, it was great because it had a better story, a better screenplay, better acting, better special effects, better direction. Not because it was darker.

This problem infects critics and fans, and it needs to stop. If we are ever to have a productive conversation about the video game industry, about healthy gaming habits, and about pushing the boundaries of the art form, we need to move away from hardcore versus casual, and focus more on building an inclusive gaming community that rewards innovation and excellence and doesn't ridicule video game players for choosing The Sims over StarCraft.

Finally, I leave you with this quotation from C.S. Lewis:

Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.