Symytry Design Archive

The first page of a several-page expose on the game

Since the closure of gumi Vancouver in April, I've spent the majority of my time catching up with my family, but also playing (and finishing!) games.  I decided to start with a Virtual Console title that I've been going back to on and off for a year now: Gargoyle's Quest II.  In anticipation for the games' release, I had cut out the first page spread in Nintendo Power and placed it up on my wall.

October 1992 came and went, the game was nowhere to be seen at my local retailers.  I was crushed, but as time went on it faded from memory.  The game was finally brought to the 3DS Virtual Console in March 2014, and I'd been trying to complete it on-and-off since then.

I booted it up last week, and finished it in two days.  A far cry from how long it had taken me to beat the original on the Gameboy back in the Summer of 1990.

A huge fan of the Souls series, Bloodborne had my attention as soon as it was announced.  Structurally it looked the same as a Souls game, but mechanically it is quite different which I found refreshing.  Instead of cowering behind my shield and waiting of the opportune moment to strike, I was suddenly able to give my enemies the beat down they deserved!  For all of it's action-combat however, the world structure is very much the same as the Souls games; plenty of secrets and shortcuts to uncover as long as you explore the beautiful victorian-era world.

I had hoped for a more accessible story with the action-focused gameplay, but that remains deeply embedded in the world.

I picked this up a while back, but didn't have the time to play it, so recently I had the chance to tear off the cellophane wrap with my son and pop it in.  The first thing that I had to explain to him was that it was primarily an online game, and that we would need to spend some time getting used to the game with each other offline before going online.

Unfortunately the offline missions are somewhat of a drag, but we did have fun playing with each other anyways.  Online is where the real fun is, but I ended up having a lot more fun than my son, due to the ability level difference between himself and players online.

We continue to have fun with the game when we can.

Another game that I had yet to complete was Naughty Dog's The Last of Us.  Back when it was originally released I was hard at work on getting Dead Rising 3 and the DLC out the door.  Due to my shift in industry focus after leaving Capcom, I never returned to finish the game...until now.

The game is fantastic overall with an interesting well-told narrative and a deep, moody soundtrack (It really makes use of my 7.1 setup).  For the most part it's an amazing game, but it isn't without it's flaws.  For example, it is always funny to see the AI blatantly out in front of the enemy and not be detected.