7/9/08: "Napalm Death" Becomes Literal

[Jedit]

Interesting idea for a game. I love the idea of pitting Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus and Celine Dion against Urge Overkill, Napalm Death, and The Killers.

It's not entirely original, though. I recall a PC game from the mid-90s ... not very good, and I forget the name, but it was an FPS where the level layout was based on the files on your PC's hard drive. You had to conquer a random directory in turn. IIRC, if there were any BMPs in the folder, they'd crop up from time to time as wall textures. That must have led to some interesting games:

"HA! I have defeated C:\\Porn! The end boss was extremely hard ... but I was harder!"

[Mae Dean]

If I had only one complaint about "Song Summoner" thus far (and I don't, I have a few, though it IS pretty cool to have a tactics game on my iPod) it's that when you create a "Tune Trooper", it doesn't actually retain the NAME of the song - it gets its own name. Basically, it just uses info from the song to create the warrior, and then gives it a name. So while it's created by "Baby got back", it's not called that.

However, one thing that IS interesting is that the more you listen to the song you used to create the tune trooper, the more powerful it gets. So if you had a playlist you listened to a lot (Like mine, called "Working on the comic") and created tune troopers out of those songs, you'd gain a little bit of an edge.

It also makes you create new troopers from time to time, because each one has a set number of "deployment" points before it can no longer be used in battle. There are some items you can get in battle or buy called "rewind" that allow you to add deployment points to them. It's neat, though, because it ensures you keep trying out new songs to see how they fare. All in all, moderately entertaining.

[ampersand]

And I thought this was just some parody game that Greg made up. I guess you can't make up such...weirdness.
Also, did Sir Mixalot get de-knighted?
Jedit: Why do you have Carey, Cyrus, and Dion on your iPod? And would a team up of Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus create some sort of super song-fighter?
(And would Weird Al Yankovic be the Moogle of the iPod?)

[DanShive]

This all sounds like a devious plot to make me buy more music.

And it just might work o_O

EDIT: OMG. I have to get this game, if for no other reason than to see what it does when I use podcasts as "songs"

[Jedit]

Jedit: Why do you have Carey, Cyrus, and Dion on your iPod?

I don't. Heck, I don't even have an iPod - I have a Creative Zen Touch that does everything an iPod does, except better and cheaper. It's the other three that I have, and I itch to destroy warbling cretins.

[Arc Orion]

I have a Creative Zen Touch that does everything an iPod does, except better and cheaper.

Does it play Song Summoner?

[DanShive]

I have a Creative Zen Touch that does everything an iPod does, except better and cheaper.

Does it play Song Summoner?

I'm guessing no, but one can get better FF:Tactics games on a number of non-pod systems. I believe even the PSP has one, now.

I'm guessing they're better, anyway. I'm no Tactics expert.

[Arc Orion]

First, the PSP has the remake of Final Fantasy Tactics. It is Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions. Second, they're all using the system originated with Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, which was created by Yasumi Matsuno, who later created Final Fantasy Tactics, after being hired by Square.

Also, making statements regarding the quality of games you apparently know nothing about is dumb. Whether or not they are better does not matter, either, unless this one just sucks. Finally, your answer only needed to stop at "no".

[DanShive]

"Know nothing" is inaccurate. I have played previous Tactics games on the GBA and Playstation. My reasoning for assuming they are better is because I have played other games for the iPod, and they have a tendency to be toned down, less user friendly, etc. Yes, I was guessing, but it was based on something. I'm ready to be proven wrong, but it would be par for the course for the iPod Tactics game to not be as good as the previous versions. I would be shocked if it was, but it would be a welcome surprise.

I now have Song Summoner, but have only played just enough to try out making some tune troopers. According to the master, "Not Alone" from FFIX creates a darn good soldier, as does the Airscape radio edit of "Stay" by Wendy Phillips. I can only hope that will prove accurate in actual battle.

EDIT: Oh, and there doesn't appear to be any way to select podcast tracks so long as iTunes consider them to be podcasts. A disappointment, but not all that surprising.

[StruckingFuggle]

I'm curious if it's anything other than a watered-down FFT stuck on the ipod with an amusing conceit for a setup (and hoping it's not, but that's beside the point)?

[DanShive]

So far, the theme is very music oriented (as would be expected), and it's more sci-fi than fantasy... or, at least, high tech. I don't know if I can really call it genuine "sci-fi" with a straight face. You're making people out of music, for crying out loud!

Examples (note that these are from VERY early in the game and are at most minor spoilers):

You fight robots.
You are referred to as a conductor.
You're the protege of someone who calls you "man" and says "let's make a man out of this jam!" when you make a tune trooper out of a song (ignoring the possibility that a woman will result).

[Arc Orion]

"Know nothing" is inaccurate. I have played previous Tactics games on the GBA and Playstation.

I apologize. I'd assumed, based on what you said, that you hadn't played any other Tactics games.

Also, there's no need to quote the entire post above yours.

[DanShive]

Good point about quoting; edited. I'm used to forums that have more rapid posts where the context is easily lost without quotes ^^;

[Deacon]

an amusing conceit for a setup

I don't think that word means what you think it means.

[StruckingFuggle]

"something that is conceived in the mind; a thought; idea: He jotted down the conceits of his idle hours", "An extravagant, fanciful, and elaborate construction or structure: "An eccentric addition to the lobby is a life-size wooden horse, a 19th century conceit"", "A fanciful thought or idea", and hey while we're at it: "an elaborate poetic image or a far-fetched comparison of very dissimilar things", and "an artistic device or effect; "the architect's brilliant conceit was to build the house around the tree"".

No, I rather think it means what I think it means and am using it to mean.