I seem to have missed the boat for Sid Meier's Pirates! My peers at USC would sigh longingly when it was mentioned in class. Many of my friends were obsessed with the game when it was released. Although I'm usually not a fan of strategy games, I decided that Pirates deserved a fair shot. After all, it was somewhat of an RPG, adventure game, and a strategy game all at once.

Perhaps the most striking feature about Pirates is the level of polish. Few games can afford to take the time or simply are not planned diligently enough to implement such well-constructed systems. These systems create a variety of options, including ship gameplay, a sword fighting mini-game, a dancing mini-game, a sneaking into town mini-game, a land combat RTS game, an interface for talking to people at taverns, and more. The sheer number of gameplay options is a wonderful way to give players a lot of freedom in the world. Allies and enemies can be made through every action, and players can seek out gameplay modes best suited to their skills.

Despite some adventure and RPG mechanics (such as achieving ranks and searching for treasure), Pirates is a strategy game at its heart. The alliance system is a central part of the strategy, as it allows players to ally with the Spanish, the French, the British, or the Dutch. There are many advantages and disadvantages to such alliances, and they can often fluctuate. There are also other forces at work, such as native tribes, pirates and missionaries. Talking to these groups can help you sway a town in a desired direction, whether toward prosperity or poverty. There is also a lot of strategy involved in the fighting mechanics based on the weapons you use, and whether or not you fight in your ship or with a sword.

I'm not sure if I skipped the tutorial inadvertently, but, regardless, Pirates seems to have a steep learning curve. Granted, the first hour or so I had a Pirates fanatic looking over my shoulder, giving me hints and explaining the intricacies of his favorite strategies. It seems that the game encourages the player to learn more through experience than through discreet instructions, which can be an advantage (if you know what you're doing). I was easily overwhelmed in the beginning by the many different types of gameplay, as I had stumbled into seven or eight (such as sea combat, dancing, and treasure hunting) before I even understood what, exactly, was the goal of the game.

I was greatly impressed by the time the developers took to create a very polished experience with so many intricate systems and such varied modes of gameplay. However, the appeal of Pirates seems to come from a passion for such systems and an interest in the politics of the imaginary world. I never had much of an interest in war, conquering towns, or politics. I respect the game and I understand why so many players have enjoyed it. However, I don't think I'll return to Pirates anytime soon. It just doesn't pull me in like traditional RPGs or adventure games.  

PopCap's games have always shown a lot of charm, and Plants vs. Zombies is no exception. From clever names to a cartoon art style, the game exudes a level of polish not seen in many casual competitors. The sounds are also quite amusing, though they run the danger of annoying those who aren't watching.

The gameplay starts out at a fantastically easy learning curve. PopCap truly understands the wisdom behind the "easy to learn, difficult to master" casual game philosophy. Plants vs. Zombies starts out in a very simple manner, with few resources and a small playing field. As the player builds confidence, the game expands at a very comfortable rate, allowing the player to experiment and form new strategies without being punished. While this difficulty level may initially seem too easy for experienced strategy gamers, I found it to be perfect for a more casual strategy experience. I beat every level on the first try, from levels one to ten, but there were still plenty of challenging moments to keep my on my toes.

Although the demo is relatively short, the game promises many possibilities and an increase in difficulty. In adventure mode, there is a basic mechanic with several amusing variations. While the main game has players dealing with placing plants and resource management, simpler variations allow players to use their resource knowledge in new ways. For example, one variation no longer gives players freedom to choose what plants to place; the player must choose to place (or not to place) items available for a limited time on a scrolling conveyer belt. This variation in gameplay can be learned in a minimal amount of time but keeps players from getting bored.

Plants vs. Zombies seems to be a clever, well-structured casual strategy game. I found it to be well-worth the time I spent playing it. However, I'm not sure that I want to buy it. I typically get tired of strategy games, and I think I'll stick with the other games I already own. However, I do recommend downloading the demo. After all, this is about as cute as zombies get.  

I’m not a huge fan of RTS games, but I had heard good things about Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. “It’s not exactly an RTS,” my friend said. “It’s fun and I think you’d like it.” After that, it was hard to say no.

I really enjoyed the first few hours of Revenant Wings. I had grown frustrated with its PS2 RPG predecessor but this DS spinoff was something quite different. It was basically a scaled-down RTS with an FFXII theme. The short mission structure was well suited to my sporadic play sessions on the DS. Since it wasn’t a traditional RPG, the characters didn’t have to be as deep and I could overlook my previous disappointments in the character development. They were cute in their small, retro style and managed to look good despite the limited capabilities for in-game graphics. The entire game was simpler, making it more accessible for a portable game. The brief text and simplified menus kept me focused on the solid missions.

The missions were straightforward and fairly simple to complete. I had no trouble getting past most of them on the first or second try, until one ridiculous side mission. I had been doing all the side missions to level up my characters to prepare for the main story missions. The side mission I got stuck on should have been straightforward. Your team is supposed to capture spawn points. Those areas then become spawn points for your team so you can mobilize forces closer to the other team’s base. Then you can then attack the other team’s hero spawn crystal and kill their heroes once and for all.

I had completed missions like this before with minimal trouble. For some odd reason, I kept getting stuck on this one. I would always be able to get up to the other team’s base, but their two spawn points and hero spawn crystal were a tough combination. One of their heroes would fall. One of my heroes would fall. My team would capture a spawn point. While I was attacking another of their heroes, they’d take the spawn point back. It turned into a stalemate where their heroes would respawn and my heroes would respawn. It seemed as if my team was stronger, but the time it took for my fallen heroes to respawn and return to battle was balancing our sides.

I fought and fought, hoping that I could gain an advantage with gutsy moves. This only led to retreats for my side and I made no progress. However, I wasn’t losing much ground so I continued to play. I played one particular battle while I was on the plane, then while waiting in the baggage claim and on the shuttle ride home. I was so engrossed in the same battle that I almost missed my stop. When I got inside my house, I played for a little while longer and then quit. My stubbornness had kept me in a fruitless battle that was impossible to win.

These types of stalemates are one of the reasons why I avoid RTS games. While Revenant Wings may disguise the troops as cute espers, it’s still an RTS at heart. This does not mean that I will give up. I have enjoyed the rest of the game and it deserves another shot. After all, that mission was just a side mission. The main missions can’t be harder than this.  

Due to a much-needed break in my workload this weekend, I was able to play a lot of games. After DotA, I played another Warcraft III mod, Tower Defense. I also spent six or eight hours playing Okami.

Tower Defense is a game where you build towers to shoot down wave after wave of monsters. These monsters progress in strength, grow in numbers, and therefore become increasingly more difficult to defeat. When you begin the game, you are given virtually no help – no tutorial, no time to read the descriptions, and little warning before the first wave arrives. You can only let 100 monsters through the gate at the end, which only seems like a good number until one monster from the second or third wave counts for more than one monster. As the game gets harder, you can let fewer monsters through.

Due to the difficult nature of the Tower Defense from the speed, strength, and sheer number of monsters, I had little patience for it. The sounds effects, such as a sing-song “Job’s Done” in the voice of a pea-brained construction worker, get increasingly annoying due to the frenzied pace at which you have to execute such commands. You are also given very few resources in the beginning and receive more mostly by surviving waves, so it becomes very hard to get catch up if you ever fall behind.

I simply hate feeling rushed and played this game only a handful of times before giving up. I found the tasks repetitive and frenzied, making for a game that quickly became frustrating and only seemed like something you’d play for hours just to say you had beaten a really hard game. I am not that type of player, which may explain why I happily moved on to Okami later that day.

I have already raved about the first hour of Okami and how engaging it was for me. I purchased the strategy guide so I wouldn’t miss out on important points or get lost. Without the stress of wasting time running on a wild goose chase for an item or task, I was able to relax into the game. The music is often very relaxing, and the natural environments provide a serene isolation. Even if you are accompanied by your tiny friend Issun, he provides no annoying commentary, just a helping hand to push the story and you, as the player, in the right direction. I never found myself feeling alone. I just felt peaceful, even in the fights. I often choose to fight with paintbrush strokes, which is a nice break from the button-mashing common in most games. Instead, you become the artist, unleashing the most powerful attacks through artistry. I have always found art to be relaxing, and maybe that is another reason why I find Okami to be a nice break from my life.

As much as I enjoy Okami, I never played for more than two or three hours at a time. I wondered if it was just me or the nature of the game. While I knew that Tower Defense would not entertain me for even one session of Okami, I grew tired of Okami for one of the biggest reasons why I tired of Tower Defense: repetition. Tower Defense seemed to provide little in the way of variation for gameplay throughout all the waves, but even Okami can feel trivial after a few hours. Running around to get something as trivial as a fishing pole for someone can take a while, and, even if you can accomplish some greater goal in the process, it can be tiring. I recently fell off a cliff and had to take the long way back up, drawing vines over and over. I also tend to get tired of drawing lily pads in the water so the wolf doesn’t drown (why she can’t breathe while doggie paddling is beyond me). Even so, I am sad to leave the world of Okami and find it addictive again after a short break. Perhaps I just find it easier to break up the monotony of gameplay with the monotony of my real life. I feel a little more grounded, and, if anything, it keeps the console from overheating.  

One of my good friends has been pestering me to learn how to play the Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients for a long time now. As a fellow RPG fan, he doesn’t care much for the regular Warcraft III RTS game – now he only play the mods. This weekend, I had some free time so I could finally sit down and learn Defense of the Ancients.

I own a Mac and only recently acquired a wireless mouse with a right-click button. I had previously been avoiding playing Warcraft III because of this physical barrier. However, there was also a mental barrier in that I have never really been attracted to war games or anything involving commanding units (unless you count Battleship). I had barely played the tutorial for Warcraft III when I finally decided to play the mods, hoping that they would have a greater appeal for me.

Defense of the Ancients (aka DotA) turned out to be more fun than I expected. In the beginning, you get to command one hero who can help turn the tides of an otherwise equal battlefield. While each of the games lasted around half an hour, I found that I could gain some sort of attachment to this hero, who essentially became my main focus. I played different heroes each time, and each had their own set of abilities and vocal responses. Some characters were more annoying than others, such as a perky dryad with a voice reminiscent of a ditzy ninth-grader. My friend played a group of goblins that I dubbed the “Band of Muppets” after their silly voices and weak attacks.

There is little customization in the characters, but I found myself going for only female characters. Like an avatar, I wanted to create a character that represented an idealized version of myself. I really enjoyed playing the beautiful, powerful women. I tried to go against my typical hack-and-slash combat mode to play the pretty, agile mages. These characters required some adjustments to my battle tactics, so I tried to learn how to attack from a distance and retreat at the first sign of a weakening defense. After struggling with this new technique for a couple games, I tried to switch to a powerful, combat-based Dragon Warrior. Unfortunately, I died faster than before.

I quickly discovered that I have a long way to go before I can really contribute to a team effort in DotA. I played DotA only against my friend or the computer. I played against my friend once (only after getting the hang of it by playing a few games cooperatively on easy mode against the computer). However, he happened to be very good at killing me – he killed me about seven times for the one kill I managed to get on him, and only by a happy accident. I am a sore loser from my past when I often lost board games to my older, wiser sister. I didn’t want to ruin my fragile self-esteem at the beginner stage so I insisted that he help me win by mentoring me instead of defeating me and leaving me out of the game. I wanted to be able to enjoy the game in the future.

My friend mentioned how DotA is basically an RTS modified to be more like an RPG. As he and I are both big RPG fans, it would make a lot of sense that I feel more attachment to a single hero that I control in this mod as opposed to a band of warriors in the normal game. With a name and a story, these characters jump out. Their vocal responses and special abilities are customized to where you would want to put different types of heroes on opposing teams. It could be a lot of fun to play in a group, where many different people choose characters that fit their player types and personalities. I hope to be able to play with a real team in the future, so maybe their personalities can shine through the heroes they command.