After going back through all the old posts on this blog, I didn't realize it had been so long since my last gaming diary. My apologies as my summer has been relatively busy. I was on vacation for the weekend of the 4th in my home state of Washington and didn't get any gaming in. Now I'm back and as far as I know I am done with vacations for the summer, which leaves my weekends open for gaming, gaming, gaming!
After my hiatus of the 4th of July weekend, I spent most of this past weekend immersed in World or Warcraft. I can't deny that I love this game so much. It has been the sole game I've played on at least a monthly basis since I first started playing in late 2004. Granted, there were a few points during that span of time where I was unemployed and poor. This prevented me from paying the $15 a month to sustain my addiction, but other then those few breaks I've been playing this game pretty consistently.
Everything you've ever heard about WoW is absolutely true. I encourage anyone with a PC/Mac and an extra $15 a month to try this game out. It may seem tedious to some and honestly, from time to time it is, but it's oh so addicting. I'm not even sure why as most of your time is spend running around the world, doing quests and killing mobs, but it still maintains it's addictability (I think I just invented a word).
This past weekend I ventured through Outland. For those who know little about WoW, Outland is the area that was added with the Burning Crusade expansion. You have to take a portal from Azeroth to get to Outland. Honestly, it's quite possibly one of the most annoying things to do ever since there are no auction houses in Outland (places where you can sell items to other players and probably the best way to make money in the game) nor are there any trainers (as you level up, certain abilities become available for your specific class, but you must go to a trainer to learn them). This means you have to take a flight path from where ever you are in Outland to the portal. Then you must go through the portal which drops you off in the Blasted Lands with no flight path to a major city in sight. You have to get on your mount and ride from the portal to the Swamp of Sorrows to take ANOTHER flight path to get to a major city. It has quite possibly been the most obnoxious task since moving onto BC content. The good news is, they are adding a portal directly to the Dark Portal in the next patch, 3.2. Kind of crazy that it's taken them this long to do that.
I've been enjoying my time in Outland. I leveled up to 64 (oh so close to 65!) this weekend and moved from Hellfire Peninsula to Zangarmarsh. Hellfire Peninsula was as far as I had gotten with my first main, so Zangarmarsh is a completely new place with new mobs, new quests, new landscape, etc. This is the first time I've experienced "new" content since I started playing in November of 2004. I've never really hated going through old world content when leveling alts before. Yes, it gets sort of boring and old after a while, but the addiction holds strong so I've always enjoyed it for the most part. It's been refreshing to be somewhere completely new and I think has completely revived my love for the game. I won't lie when I say that I slightly yearn to play WoW every day I'm at work. I wish I could take a week off and completely immerse myself in the game. I'm even more excited to move through Outland and onto Northrend (Wrath of the Lich King content). I feel as though I'm one of the few WoW players that enjoys leveling more then anything. After I finish leveling Christilena (my level 64 blood elf paladin) to 80, I plan on then moving onto Walker (my original main, a level 60 tauren warrior) and getting here to 80. End game content doesn't really seem for me as I don't quite have the time to invest in it. I'm probably one of the few solo WoW players. WoW tends to be a relatively social game, but I somehow tend to avoid all that. I think it's mostly due to my lack of time to spend playing the game. I typically only get the chance on the weekends while my girlfriend is at work. This might change a bit come this fall as she's moving to a college that's 2 hours away, but we shall see.
In summary, most of my gaming weekend was spent playing WoW. I've sort of abandoned The Sims 3 for the time being (although I'd like to get back into it) and I also didn't play much Battlefield: Bad Company either. I did find out that I'm only a mission away from beating the game, so I think that's inspired me to play a bit more. With my girlfriend leaving this fall, that probably means I'll have more time during the week to get gaming in so maybe my weekly updates won't be solely WoW related from now on.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Game Diary: July 14, 2009 - Return to Albion Edition (Fable 2)
For the past week I have been impressed with the amount of time that I have spent playing games. Alas, it is not as much as I once played (I still long for it) but it will suffice.
In the past week I got to concentrate on both Halo 3 and Fable 2.
Halo 3 is just as fun as ever (it really never gets boring) and a lot of the time I wish it were the only game that I had to play just so that I could be as good (because I do get frustrated when my trigger finger is not as itchy as it can be) at it as I once was. For the most part I even managed to avoid all of the kiddies. I do not have any particular memory of wanting to rip off my headphones from the prepubescent screeching of a child's voice. But what started me playing H3 again was the prospect of winning Recon Armor on Bungie Day. I did not have any such luck in running into the Bungie employees so I did not get to enhance my e-celebrity with a shiny piece of digital armor.
The real treat that I have been playing this week is Fable 2. I made a serious thing of it by actually installing the game to my hard drive so that I would not have to listen to the constant loading from the disc. I think that the game was originally designed with installation in mind because the silence is awe inspiring if you have ever played the game without making it apermanent resident of your hard drive. I wish I had the space so that I could keep it on there after I finish playing.
But onto the actual game playing; I forgot how much I loved this game. No, that is not right, I did not forget. I had a perfect image of what playing this game was like in my mind and when I went back to it the game was every bit as perfect as I remembered. I did not get to spend a lot of time with the game when it first came out because I wanted to make more time for Fallout 3, whose release date was only a week after Fable's. If you do not know I spent about four months completing Fallout so I only had that one week with Fable.
This time around I find myself doing exactly what I did the first time I was playing the game (and I am still playing with the same character) which is running around each town looking for better clothes, weapons, new expressions, gargoyles, and silver keys. I am doing everything but concentrating on quests (though I did have an interesting experience with Chesty).
Beating Fable 2 does not leave one with that same empty void that beating Fable 1 did. When you beat Fable 1 you were left with the most powerful weapon in the game (if you chose to keep it) and there was no one of any consequence to use it on.
I love the game all over again and there is a strong possibility that when I am finished with this character I will continue with my male character (I am currently playing a chick) who is still in childhood.
Other than playing those two fantastic games that happen to be in a game of the year bundle with an Elite console (I just realized this) I have been looking at these A-MA-ZING new speaker tags for my A40 Audio System and I have been salivating over the prospect of finally playing an Arctic Monkeys track in a rhythm game (sorry Rock Band, you dropped the ball on this one so far).
In the past week I got to concentrate on both Halo 3 and Fable 2.
Halo 3 is just as fun as ever (it really never gets boring) and a lot of the time I wish it were the only game that I had to play just so that I could be as good (because I do get frustrated when my trigger finger is not as itchy as it can be) at it as I once was. For the most part I even managed to avoid all of the kiddies. I do not have any particular memory of wanting to rip off my headphones from the prepubescent screeching of a child's voice. But what started me playing H3 again was the prospect of winning Recon Armor on Bungie Day. I did not have any such luck in running into the Bungie employees so I did not get to enhance my e-celebrity with a shiny piece of digital armor.
The real treat that I have been playing this week is Fable 2. I made a serious thing of it by actually installing the game to my hard drive so that I would not have to listen to the constant loading from the disc. I think that the game was originally designed with installation in mind because the silence is awe inspiring if you have ever played the game without making it a
But onto the actual game playing; I forgot how much I loved this game. No, that is not right, I did not forget. I had a perfect image of what playing this game was like in my mind and when I went back to it the game was every bit as perfect as I remembered. I did not get to spend a lot of time with the game when it first came out because I wanted to make more time for Fallout 3, whose release date was only a week after Fable's. If you do not know I spent about four months completing Fallout so I only had that one week with Fable.
This time around I find myself doing exactly what I did the first time I was playing the game (and I am still playing with the same character) which is running around each town looking for better clothes, weapons, new expressions, gargoyles, and silver keys. I am doing everything but concentrating on quests (though I did have an interesting experience with Chesty).
Beating Fable 2 does not leave one with that same empty void that beating Fable 1 did. When you beat Fable 1 you were left with the most powerful weapon in the game (if you chose to keep it) and there was no one of any consequence to use it on.
I love the game all over again and there is a strong possibility that when I am finished with this character I will continue with my male character (I am currently playing a chick) who is still in childhood.
Other than playing those two fantastic games that happen to be in a game of the year bundle with an Elite console (I just realized this) I have been looking at these A-MA-ZING new speaker tags for my A40 Audio System and I have been salivating over the prospect of finally playing an Arctic Monkeys track in a rhythm game (sorry Rock Band, you dropped the ball on this one so far).
Bioware releases Mass Effect 2 gameplay; Universe explodes
SPOILER WARNING: Before watching this video or reading this post be very aware that it does spoil one of the endings of game for you. Keeping that in mind, at least to myself, it seems as though there will be a sufficient amount of endings to the game and that seeing this one will just have you being extremely careful for the duration of the game. Now that you have been warned here is the trailer that I did not think would make me as excited as it did:
Hello again. I apologize that you had to return to this universe but alas we can not live in fantasy land all day. In several months this will be a different story but for now let us discuss the video that we just watched. There is a good chance that you have already seen this video somewhere else and I take some of the blame for that but that is not why we are here today.
The first thing that I noticed when watching the video was that the graphics are vastly superior to those of the original game and all I am hoping for in regards to that is significantly decreased or no graphical pop-in.
The second and probably most important thing is the combat. YOU CAN SHOOT OUT THEIR LEGS AND THEY WILL HAVE TO CRAWL TOWARD YOU. Seeing this in the video just let me know that there are going to be some EPIC battles in Mass Effect 2. The physics and NPC animations that they added make it look and feel 100 percent believable. I think that people are going to get out of the combat exactly what they put in (ex. Shoot a Geth in the foot and he will limp toward you).
In this video they also showed the space exploration aspect of the game in some detail and I am happy to say that it looks like it is going to be a lot lessboring monotonous. They also said that each place you visit is going to feel like a vastly important aspect of the game (like an episode of a sci-fi series (no recycled environments?)) hopefully much like the main planets in the first game.
And finally Commander Shepard can die at the end of Mass Effect 2 so one will have to be careful with all of the choices that they make throughout the entirety of the game.
The game looks to be one helluva roller coaster ride that I cannot wait to jump on.
Hello again. I apologize that you had to return to this universe but alas we can not live in fantasy land all day. In several months this will be a different story but for now let us discuss the video that we just watched. There is a good chance that you have already seen this video somewhere else and I take some of the blame for that but that is not why we are here today.
The first thing that I noticed when watching the video was that the graphics are vastly superior to those of the original game and all I am hoping for in regards to that is significantly decreased or no graphical pop-in.
The second and probably most important thing is the combat. YOU CAN SHOOT OUT THEIR LEGS AND THEY WILL HAVE TO CRAWL TOWARD YOU. Seeing this in the video just let me know that there are going to be some EPIC battles in Mass Effect 2. The physics and NPC animations that they added make it look and feel 100 percent believable. I think that people are going to get out of the combat exactly what they put in (ex. Shoot a Geth in the foot and he will limp toward you).
In this video they also showed the space exploration aspect of the game in some detail and I am happy to say that it looks like it is going to be a lot less
And finally Commander Shepard can die at the end of Mass Effect 2 so one will have to be careful with all of the choices that they make throughout the entirety of the game.
The game looks to be one helluva roller coaster ride that I cannot wait to jump on.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday MUpdate: Video Killed The Blogging Star
When you say "video game," do you ever stop and think about what it is you're saying? Those two words alone mean their own things, but when put together in a sentence, they mean one singular entity. Each piece is key to the existence of this entity, though. You can have a game without having a video, you can have a video without having a game, but if you want to watch something and play it at the exact same time, you need both the video and the game. We here at BGE celebrate the game aspect of video games everyday, but we almost never celebrate the video aspect. It's kind of a shame. Sure, we occasionally share a video in the form of an attached trailer, and Nate posted the first episode of the Guild the other day, but we never have any blogs just celebrating the video only nature of the video game world. Lord knows this is a vast universe in itself, with people all across the globe celebrating their odd love for digital imagery in interactive motion. So, since I didn't play any video games at all this week due to a complete lack of time, I figured I could provide some humorous little videos to occupy my weekly spot here in BGE. So, without further ado, here are a three videos from around the web celebrating what we love about video games.
First, we have a new song by Parry Gripp created for the 1000th episode of Attack Of The Show, starring Olivia Munn in a common problem that we men once faced when we were single.
For those who don't know Parry Gripp, he used to be the lead singer of a band called Nerf Herder (who did the theme song for Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and now he records one ridiculous song a week and posts them on YouTube. He's known for such hits as "Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom," "Spaghetti Cat (I Weep For You)," and "Hamster On A Piano." "Sherman With A Balloon" is also a favorite of mine. And for those who don't know what Attack Of The Show is, I just have to pause and ask, "Are you even a real gamer?" Sure, we don't all watch G4 religiously, but come on. Everyone knows Attack Of The Show. And don't even tell me you've never heard of G4.
Next, we have a VERY weird video that's supposed to celebrate the evolution of video gaming but then... well, it kind of does it's own thing at the end.
I'm not entirely sure how to react to this video. When it starts, it starts off very cool, with a clear tribute to video gaming. But once Lara Croft shows up... well... OK, so of course all us guys at one time during our youth tried to find that "Nude Raider" code/patch on the internet, but this ... this is just odd. I feel like if they had skipped the insane orgy at the end, it would've been a much better video. I still definitely had to post it, though.
And finally, we have the most adorable video ever in the history of ever starring the bane of my existence.
Those who don't know/remember, I recently revisited Mega Man due to Mega Man 9 coming out. I wanted to start out at Mega Man 1 and work my way up to 9. It never happened, mostly due to sheer and utter frustration. That game is one of the most ridiculously tough games I've ever played, and now I remember why I never beat it as a kid. The thing is - I could get all the way up to Wily at the end of Mega Man 1, but then I just couldn't beat him. There's only so many times you can throw your controller in anger before you just give up, you know? Mega Man is the reason I can't have nice things. All that being said, I still adore Mega Man, and that video was adorable.
Stay tuned next week when I bring even more ridiculousness to my weekly column, perhaps in the form of a three-headed golden monster.
First, we have a new song by Parry Gripp created for the 1000th episode of Attack Of The Show, starring Olivia Munn in a common problem that we men once faced when we were single.
For those who don't know Parry Gripp, he used to be the lead singer of a band called Nerf Herder (who did the theme song for Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and now he records one ridiculous song a week and posts them on YouTube. He's known for such hits as "Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom," "Spaghetti Cat (I Weep For You)," and "Hamster On A Piano." "Sherman With A Balloon" is also a favorite of mine. And for those who don't know what Attack Of The Show is, I just have to pause and ask, "Are you even a real gamer?" Sure, we don't all watch G4 religiously, but come on. Everyone knows Attack Of The Show. And don't even tell me you've never heard of G4.
Next, we have a VERY weird video that's supposed to celebrate the evolution of video gaming but then... well, it kind of does it's own thing at the end.
Video Games from MUSCLEBEAVER on Vimeo.
I'm not entirely sure how to react to this video. When it starts, it starts off very cool, with a clear tribute to video gaming. But once Lara Croft shows up... well... OK, so of course all us guys at one time during our youth tried to find that "Nude Raider" code/patch on the internet, but this ... this is just odd. I feel like if they had skipped the insane orgy at the end, it would've been a much better video. I still definitely had to post it, though.
And finally, we have the most adorable video ever in the history of ever starring the bane of my existence.
Those who don't know/remember, I recently revisited Mega Man due to Mega Man 9 coming out. I wanted to start out at Mega Man 1 and work my way up to 9. It never happened, mostly due to sheer and utter frustration. That game is one of the most ridiculously tough games I've ever played, and now I remember why I never beat it as a kid. The thing is - I could get all the way up to Wily at the end of Mega Man 1, but then I just couldn't beat him. There's only so many times you can throw your controller in anger before you just give up, you know? Mega Man is the reason I can't have nice things. All that being said, I still adore Mega Man, and that video was adorable.
Stay tuned next week when I bring even more ridiculousness to my weekly column, perhaps in the form of a three-headed golden monster.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
I mentioned this in my Monday MUpdate, but unfortunately my Monday MUpdate's tend to be long and full of (sometimes) incoherent ranting, so I'm never offended when people admit they don't bother to read it. However, this bit of news is news that I find entirely relevant and worth it's own post in order to announce it, so I will do so:
On July 15th, the Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition will come to XBOX Live! and Steam (on the PC) for only 10 dollars (or 800mp).
With the new Tales Of Monkey Island games coming exclusively to PC and Wii (of which I have formally stated time and time again that I refuse to ever buy), I'll miss out on all the new adventures of Guybrush Threepwood, a pirate who puts Captain Jack Sparrow to shame. It's in that fact that I am ten times more excited to be able to get this game for as little as $10 and be given a new way to enjoy an all time favorite. This game utilizes the exact same script as the first one, but now features full voice casting, a rerecorded soundtrack, and a virtual makeover. I personally am very excited over all of that, but I feel that since I am the resident cynic of BGE, I should note the downsides to all of this. It's great that they are using the original script, and I can see nothing wrong with that, but obviously when re-doing some of the other parts you lose a little bit of the original charm. There will be no more bleeps and bloops but now fully recorded strings by some professional orchestra. Guybrush's 8-bit antics will now be brought more to life, but does that neccesarily make it better? We know for a fact that there is a market for classic games in their original format as we've seen games on Live! such as Doom, Mortal Kombat 3, and even the brand new Mega Man 9 was produced to represent the original style. However, as an advocate for this game, I fully endorse what they've done despite my natural cynical nature. Sure, I may have small complaints about what the character models look like, but on the other hand, the whole point of this remake was to give it a new look, and while obviously not all remakes are worth while (Bionic Commando, anyone?), it's an obvious risk to take when bringing something like this to a new market.
Monkey Island, to me, is the absolute definition of classic gaming. I've played this games so many different times throughout my various stages of youth that the events in this game are somewhat branded in my mind. The three sequels I'll admit to only ever playing once, but the first one was something that I found had endless replayability, especially because after a year or two of not playing it I'd forget how to solve all the puzzles and it would in turn become hard again. Games that make you really sit down and think and take notes are a definitive thing of the past, replaced with glitzy and hi-def animated action games that are very capable with the presentation but lack substance. Monkey Island is not as flashy as modern games, but I feel that the things most missing in modern gaming are adventure games like this. Sure, we have all the games that Tell Tale provides, but those aren't all accessible on consoles. I'll never get the opportunity to play the Bone games because I own a Mac, and that's unfortunate. However, with what little consolation I'm given, I feel that I need to make the best of it.
So while I myself will not be able to purchase Monkey Island the day of (if only due to monetary constraints), I most certainly highly recommend this game to any and all. If you liked Sam And Max Save The World, this game is right up your alley. If you are tired of the humdrum stereotypical run around and shoot things type of game, this is right up your alley. If you're just looking for a great game with LOADS of laughs (we're talking legitimate r.o.t.f.l.y.f.a.o. funny here), then go ahead and grab Monkey Island. What do you have to lose? $10? You can get that back easily. So go on, get it. I'll be here. We can discuss it afterwards, possibly over a nice coffee or something. You can drink the coffee, I'll just sit there. I can't drink coffee. It puts me to sleep. There's something weird in my brain with that. But I love talking, and I love talking about Monkey Island, so you go get the game, I'll go grab you a coffee, and we can sing the theme song in harmony in our local Starbucks for the rest of the evening. Deal? Deal.
sauce
Video Games and Advertising: The Doritos Effect
You may or may not know this but I consider myself a fan of advertising and marketing. I want to share that interest with you every so often by letting you in on what goes on in my head when I approach in-game advertising, advergames and just standard advertising fodder on websites and in magazines.
Today I wanted to talk about 'The Doritos Effect'.
If you are a gamer in this day and age chances are you have run into some sort of Doritos advertising in your games, game videos, print ads, etc. The Doritos advertisements have been so numerous as of late that I has had me thinking that the guys and gals over at Frito Lay might be trying to make Doritos the official chip of gamers. Personally I am all for this seeing as I love Doritos but for some it may be possible that these advertisements can be seen as insulting? Can this be seen as a stereotype that all gamers prefer fatty, cheesy snacks or are in fact fat already and that because of these ads they will not be able to restrain themselves and will be coerced into buying just one more bag of Doritos. Okay, so maybe I am taking this a little far but I digress that we are talking about people on the internet here.
A form of Doritos advertising has been sprouting up everywhere in the realm of video games. In a progression from normal to full blown advertising extravaganza these are the particular ones that I have noticed:
The advertising in Ghostbusters was clever but was only placed (that I noticed) in the first two levels. In the hotel level there were 1991 style Doritos vending machines and what I mean by 1991 style is that is how the bags were designed back then. There was also a crashed Doritos truck at the very beginning of the Times Square level (I felt that if I shot it Doritos should come pouring out; Doritos did not in fact pour out).
Lastly you have the Ninja Bee designed Dash of Destruction Doritos advergame that was quite charming in the way that it told you that its reason for existing was to give you easy Gamerscore. I am proud to say that I own all 200 points for that 20 minutes worth of Nacho Cheesy (see what I did there) gameplay.
In the end what I am trying to say is that Doritos have their act together when it comes to advertising and none of it has ruined my gaming experiences. I am always interested in the world of advertising and if I had never been aware of Doritos in my life before (how would that even be possible; what kind of rock would that be?) I would most certainly be aware now.
Dangerously cheesy (whoops, wrong product).
Today I wanted to talk about 'The Doritos Effect'.
If you are a gamer in this day and age chances are you have run into some sort of Doritos advertising in your games, game videos, print ads, etc. The Doritos advertisements have been so numerous as of late that I has had me thinking that the guys and gals over at Frito Lay might be trying to make Doritos the official chip of gamers. Personally I am all for this seeing as I love Doritos but for some it may be possible that these advertisements can be seen as insulting? Can this be seen as a stereotype that all gamers prefer fatty, cheesy snacks or are in fact fat already and that because of these ads they will not be able to restrain themselves and will be coerced into buying just one more bag of Doritos. Okay, so maybe I am taking this a little far but I digress that we are talking about people on the internet here.
A form of Doritos advertising has been sprouting up everywhere in the realm of video games. In a progression from normal to full blown advertising extravaganza these are the particular ones that I have noticed:
- Advertising before Inside Xbox videos on Xbox LIVE (the standard for web video, etc.)
- Advertising in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (becoming the standard for racing games, etc.)
- The advergame Dash of Destruction, available FREE on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace (perhaps a still untapped realm of advertising that most companies do not care to invest in (ie too pricey))
The advertising in Ghostbusters was clever but was only placed (that I noticed) in the first two levels. In the hotel level there were 1991 style Doritos vending machines and what I mean by 1991 style is that is how the bags were designed back then. There was also a crashed Doritos truck at the very beginning of the Times Square level (I felt that if I shot it Doritos should come pouring out; Doritos did not in fact pour out).
Lastly you have the Ninja Bee designed Dash of Destruction Doritos advergame that was quite charming in the way that it told you that its reason for existing was to give you easy Gamerscore. I am proud to say that I own all 200 points for that 20 minutes worth of Nacho Cheesy (see what I did there) gameplay.
In the end what I am trying to say is that Doritos have their act together when it comes to advertising and none of it has ruined my gaming experiences. I am always interested in the world of advertising and if I had never been aware of Doritos in my life before (how would that even be possible; what kind of rock would that be?) I would most certainly be aware now.
Dangerously cheesy (whoops, wrong product).
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
I Discovered THE GUILD
Last night while browsing some Dr. Horrible interviews I came across one with Felicia Day. She was talking about her web series, The Guild and it was then that I finally decided I was going to sit down and watch it.
I am so very glad that I did because I watched the entire first season in one sitting and I am going back for round two (season 2) today. I am glad I caught this before the third season so that I can watch it with anticipation like the rest of theworld internet.
After I started watching I sent Felicia a tweet saying how much I loved the show... and she responded. I geeked out, obviously.
So yeah, go watch The Guild, it is highly recommended.
In addition, the reason it took me so long to watch the show - because I had known about it since the season two partnership with Microsoft - is because I thought it was a cartoon and I did not think that I would enjoy it. I was wrong on many fronts (not a cartoon and I enjoy it) so once again, go watch it.
I know that you are really lazy so here is the first episode of the first season. If that is not enough then you do not deserve to be watching it. Really though, why are you still reading this.
Nice, right?
I am so very glad that I did because I watched the entire first season in one sitting and I am going back for round two (season 2) today. I am glad I caught this before the third season so that I can watch it with anticipation like the rest of the
After I started watching I sent Felicia a tweet saying how much I loved the show... and she responded. I geeked out, obviously.
So yeah, go watch The Guild, it is highly recommended.
In addition, the reason it took me so long to watch the show - because I had known about it since the season two partnership with Microsoft - is because I thought it was a cartoon and I did not think that I would enjoy it. I was wrong on many fronts (not a cartoon and I enjoy it) so once again, go watch it.
I know that you are really lazy so here is the first episode of the first season. If that is not enough then you do not deserve to be watching it. Really though, why are you still reading this.
Nice, right?
Monday, July 6, 2009
Game Diary: July 6, 2009: Firecrack This! Edition
For the past week or so I have been addicted to the multiplayer of Ghostbusters. It is the same bustin' action that the main campaign gives you but with friends (and you can play as the main cast). Alas, the levels are only scenarios pulled from the main game, assets and all, but it is still quite delightful in its simplicity. Perhaps this is how more companies need to do things when they develop a multiplayer portion to their game. If you do not know what exactly I am talking about let me enlighten you. Terminal Reality did not develop the multiplayer, Three Wave did. I think by devoting a team to doing multiplayer exclusively they were able to have a lag free multiplayer environment that extends the legs of the game as opposed to a game like The Darkness (random, I know, but it was the first decent game with this problem that came to mind) whose muliplayer ideas worked on paper but since they did not have proper QA (quality assurance) it ended up being unplayable because of the lag.
Other than that, I played some Scene It! BOS (Box Office Smash) with friends that visited over the weekend. Since my wife was not playing I actually won! My wife decimates me when we play and since I am such a bad sport about it she refuses to play with me.
That is about it for what I have been playing although I was on another podcast this past weekend and if you want to hear our thoughts on mail ladies, Project Natal, and what extends the legs of a game you should go listen to that here.
I am also installing Fable II to the hard drive as I finish up this post so be prepared to hear all about that.
Other than that, I played some Scene It! BOS (Box Office Smash) with friends that visited over the weekend. Since my wife was not playing I actually won! My wife decimates me when we play and since I am such a bad sport about it she refuses to play with me.
That is about it for what I have been playing although I was on another podcast this past weekend and if you want to hear our thoughts on mail ladies, Project Natal, and what extends the legs of a game you should go listen to that here.
I am also installing Fable II to the hard drive as I finish up this post so be prepared to hear all about that.
Monday MUpdate: Bay freaking windows, man!
Alas, poor XBOX. I knew it, Nathaniel: a console of infinite capabilities, of most excellent fancy: it hath borne me on it's back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at it. Here hung those USB ports that I have plugged into I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of red lights, that were wont to set the internet on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own sitting? quite chap-fallen? Now get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let her gain an achievement, to this favour she must come; make her play with that. Prithee, Nathaniel, tell me one thing.
Anyway.
I played videogames very sparingly this weekend due to, of course, an excess amount of other things to do. To my chagrin, I still have not beaten Sam and Max, although I am at the very end of the game. I just need to pick an hour or two to dedicate to the destruction of the moon (I think). It's hard to play that game's episodes over several nights because sometimes you lose track of the puzzles you need to solve. It's always best to just start from the top and go until you finish. Keeps your mind fresh and focused on the goal at hand. I popped in Bioshock for a spell because I'd been reading about the sequel and all the cool things the press are getting (that we aren't... ahem). The opening of that game still serves as one of the coolest openings of a next-gen game. I played up to the first point of death on Hard and then put it back, though. Finally, I popped in Fallout 3 and got my 100 ingots. I had been at about 60something and I searched for about two hours before finally getting those last damn two. Believe me, they are in obscure locations that without being ridiculously clever with your jumping, you'd never think to go to. I wish the achievement for it was worth more, but now I can finally finish the Pitt and go on to Broken Steel and Point Lookout. Of course, as soon as I got that last ingot and the achievement, I turned the system off, but that's beside the point. Much to Nate's inevitable disappointment in me, however, I did not put Mass Effect on once.
In other good news, while out and about I finally stopped by Game Stop and reserved my copy of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. This and Assassin's Creed 2 look to be the last two games I will buy this year, despite all of the games I want to play due to monetary restrictions. I'm considering opening up a Game Fly account though, so we'll see. I also tried to rent Ghostbusters due to Nate's constant ranting and raving about it and my rewatching of Ghostbusters I during chores on Saturday morning, but Blockbuster was all out so I continue to be out of the loop on that one. I don't feel as if I'm missing all that much on it, but then again I'm the resident skeptic who tends to look towards the more obvious flaws sometimes (as I've been noted on doing with the Batman game). I'll give it a spin eventually, though... probably some rainy day when no one is home but me and my cats and the apartment is filled with the sound of lonely.
I also played the Wii for a good amount of time this weekend. I went to my friend Brandon's house on July 4th and, instead of doing anything related to the holiday considering how devoid of meaning it is to us (not that we're un-American or anything, we just don't care) we played videogames. Originally we pulled out the XBOX 360, but as we learned, his XBOX has a terrible condition called "I don't know that your 360 disc is a 360 disc and not a DVD"-itis. Since the cure for this condition required more work then we were willing to give it, I suggested we just play Wii Sports to pass the time. Now, I'm a very adamant Wii antagonizer and I will fully admit right off the bat that I think it's a stupid system, a waste of money, and I would never degrade myself so much as to actually purchase one. Ever. With that said, I did have some sort of fun. It could be the ridiculousness of me and my friends jumping up and down, or the fact that my avatar was the recently deceased Billy Mays, but it was enjoyable. We bowled, we played golf (the most evil thing in the world), and I took two people on at the same time in tennis. It was fun to get up and jump around like idiots, hit our hands on the ceiling and trip over each other like a bunch of drunk buffoons, even though the heaviest drink any of us was drinking at the time was pure water. I still hold to the fact that I think the Wii is a dumb console, but I can't deny that I didn't have fun. However, I think that it's not really the Wii's fault for that. Getting together in a group of friends where you're all hopping up and down and shouting is fun in any situation. Hell, we could've been playing EXTREEEEEEME Trivial Pursuit on a bootlegged and modded Atari. It's more the excuse to get around with your friends and behave idiotically (as opposed to...) that creates the fun. The Wii is simply a facilitator to this. Besides, the Wii makes horrible jokes way too soon.
So all in all, I'd say the weekend ended up with more videogames than I initially expected. More videogames than usual, that's for certain. And quite genre-defying for myself, if I do say so.
I also picked up two quick bits of videogame news relevant to myself, but also anyone with as impeccable taste as me:
Number The First: Marvel vs Capcom 2, which was "supposed" to be out by now, is due out at the end of July. If we're lucky, it'll be out around July 21st, and then I can play it off as my gift to the huddled masses (considering July 21st is one of the few holidays I actually celebrate). Most likely, though, we're looking at July 28th for a release date. On the plus side, everything comes pre-unlocked in it, so all you have to do is pay your $15-20 and go play.
Number The Second: While the new Tales of Monkey Island is not coming to the XBOX 360 anytime soon (damn you, Telltale Games!), a remastered "special edition" of The Secret of Monkey Island is! I didn't even know they were remaking the game! Boy howdy. The Secret Of Monkey Island is an absolute classic in adventure gaming and one of the firs games I ever played, although definitely not the first game I was ever able to beat (that didn't happen until two years ago, for shame). It's a highly recommended pirate romp filled with hilarity, insult sword fighting, and ghost pirates. If you have the money to spare and you've never played the game, I'd highly suggest you get this game when it comes out. Lord knows we need more like it.
That's about it for me. The only things I can really recommend at this point are breadbowls, bruschetta, and bay windows - the perfect combination for any day.
Anyway.
I played videogames very sparingly this weekend due to, of course, an excess amount of other things to do. To my chagrin, I still have not beaten Sam and Max, although I am at the very end of the game. I just need to pick an hour or two to dedicate to the destruction of the moon (I think). It's hard to play that game's episodes over several nights because sometimes you lose track of the puzzles you need to solve. It's always best to just start from the top and go until you finish. Keeps your mind fresh and focused on the goal at hand. I popped in Bioshock for a spell because I'd been reading about the sequel and all the cool things the press are getting (that we aren't... ahem). The opening of that game still serves as one of the coolest openings of a next-gen game. I played up to the first point of death on Hard and then put it back, though. Finally, I popped in Fallout 3 and got my 100 ingots. I had been at about 60something and I searched for about two hours before finally getting those last damn two. Believe me, they are in obscure locations that without being ridiculously clever with your jumping, you'd never think to go to. I wish the achievement for it was worth more, but now I can finally finish the Pitt and go on to Broken Steel and Point Lookout. Of course, as soon as I got that last ingot and the achievement, I turned the system off, but that's beside the point. Much to Nate's inevitable disappointment in me, however, I did not put Mass Effect on once.
In other good news, while out and about I finally stopped by Game Stop and reserved my copy of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. This and Assassin's Creed 2 look to be the last two games I will buy this year, despite all of the games I want to play due to monetary restrictions. I'm considering opening up a Game Fly account though, so we'll see. I also tried to rent Ghostbusters due to Nate's constant ranting and raving about it and my rewatching of Ghostbusters I during chores on Saturday morning, but Blockbuster was all out so I continue to be out of the loop on that one. I don't feel as if I'm missing all that much on it, but then again I'm the resident skeptic who tends to look towards the more obvious flaws sometimes (as I've been noted on doing with the Batman game). I'll give it a spin eventually, though... probably some rainy day when no one is home but me and my cats and the apartment is filled with the sound of lonely.
I also played the Wii for a good amount of time this weekend. I went to my friend Brandon's house on July 4th and, instead of doing anything related to the holiday considering how devoid of meaning it is to us (not that we're un-American or anything, we just don't care) we played videogames. Originally we pulled out the XBOX 360, but as we learned, his XBOX has a terrible condition called "I don't know that your 360 disc is a 360 disc and not a DVD"-itis. Since the cure for this condition required more work then we were willing to give it, I suggested we just play Wii Sports to pass the time. Now, I'm a very adamant Wii antagonizer and I will fully admit right off the bat that I think it's a stupid system, a waste of money, and I would never degrade myself so much as to actually purchase one. Ever. With that said, I did have some sort of fun. It could be the ridiculousness of me and my friends jumping up and down, or the fact that my avatar was the recently deceased Billy Mays, but it was enjoyable. We bowled, we played golf (the most evil thing in the world), and I took two people on at the same time in tennis. It was fun to get up and jump around like idiots, hit our hands on the ceiling and trip over each other like a bunch of drunk buffoons, even though the heaviest drink any of us was drinking at the time was pure water. I still hold to the fact that I think the Wii is a dumb console, but I can't deny that I didn't have fun. However, I think that it's not really the Wii's fault for that. Getting together in a group of friends where you're all hopping up and down and shouting is fun in any situation. Hell, we could've been playing EXTREEEEEEME Trivial Pursuit on a bootlegged and modded Atari. It's more the excuse to get around with your friends and behave idiotically (as opposed to...) that creates the fun. The Wii is simply a facilitator to this. Besides, the Wii makes horrible jokes way too soon.
So all in all, I'd say the weekend ended up with more videogames than I initially expected. More videogames than usual, that's for certain. And quite genre-defying for myself, if I do say so.
I also picked up two quick bits of videogame news relevant to myself, but also anyone with as impeccable taste as me:
Number The First: Marvel vs Capcom 2, which was "supposed" to be out by now, is due out at the end of July. If we're lucky, it'll be out around July 21st, and then I can play it off as my gift to the huddled masses (considering July 21st is one of the few holidays I actually celebrate). Most likely, though, we're looking at July 28th for a release date. On the plus side, everything comes pre-unlocked in it, so all you have to do is pay your $15-20 and go play.
Number The Second: While the new Tales of Monkey Island is not coming to the XBOX 360 anytime soon (damn you, Telltale Games!), a remastered "special edition" of The Secret of Monkey Island is! I didn't even know they were remaking the game! Boy howdy. The Secret Of Monkey Island is an absolute classic in adventure gaming and one of the firs games I ever played, although definitely not the first game I was ever able to beat (that didn't happen until two years ago, for shame). It's a highly recommended pirate romp filled with hilarity, insult sword fighting, and ghost pirates. If you have the money to spare and you've never played the game, I'd highly suggest you get this game when it comes out. Lord knows we need more like it.
That's about it for me. The only things I can really recommend at this point are breadbowls, bruschetta, and bay windows - the perfect combination for any day.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Still Stoked for Batman: Arkham Asylum
So way back during the fast pace of E3 this little blog was posting a crazy amount of news. It got to the point where I needed a break for a few hours, days, weeks and because of all of that I managed to skip out on a game that I wanted to mention again.
That game was Batman: Arkham Asylum. From what I can decipher, from what I have heard or read, this game had one of the biggest, if not the biggest, presence at E3. From hotel room card keys to the Batmobile making an appearance it gets my vote for really putting themselves out there. That is how you promote a game and I would be surprised if this game does not fly off of store shelves or at least make back the money that they spent on all of this advertising. I am personally preordering the $100 dollar collectors edition so their ad campaign already worked on me. It apparently worked so well that I am again writing about this game though this time I am writing about it closer to its release date.
There are skeptics though, namely our good friend, and contributor Matt, who despite wanting to like the game are having a problem letting themselves get too excited. Matt is a comic book nerd in every sense of the term so we might all be able to understand his skepticism.
But the more people who get their hands on it, the more people are convinced. Matt got his hands on it at E3 but still is not convinced mainly because it feels like it is trying to foist too many game styles on you at once (IE Bioshock, Splinter Cell).
For myself this is fine because if the game accomplishes half of what those two games originally accomplished and can cleverly mash them together, it will be one of this years greatest games and perhaps the best Batman game in the past decade. I believe that this game will not disappoint because well, seriously, have you looked at it? Look at it again!
I am happy to hear that the controls have felt good from everyone who has put their hands on it because that means that it is only a matter of time before I get to engage in some sweet sweet Batman action. I cannot wait for the free flow combat, the detective mode, and grappling on gargoyles to get that perfect vantage point. Perhaps this time I will not try the hardest difficulty level available first (though it is what I always do).
Entry for Kyle K. Sorry it is a little late buddy got tired. Real work sucks.
That game was Batman: Arkham Asylum. From what I can decipher, from what I have heard or read, this game had one of the biggest, if not the biggest, presence at E3. From hotel room card keys to the Batmobile making an appearance it gets my vote for really putting themselves out there. That is how you promote a game and I would be surprised if this game does not fly off of store shelves or at least make back the money that they spent on all of this advertising. I am personally preordering the $100 dollar collectors edition so their ad campaign already worked on me. It apparently worked so well that I am again writing about this game though this time I am writing about it closer to its release date.
There are skeptics though, namely our good friend, and contributor Matt, who despite wanting to like the game are having a problem letting themselves get too excited. Matt is a comic book nerd in every sense of the term so we might all be able to understand his skepticism.
But the more people who get their hands on it, the more people are convinced. Matt got his hands on it at E3 but still is not convinced mainly because it feels like it is trying to foist too many game styles on you at once (IE Bioshock, Splinter Cell).
For myself this is fine because if the game accomplishes half of what those two games originally accomplished and can cleverly mash them together, it will be one of this years greatest games and perhaps the best Batman game in the past decade. I believe that this game will not disappoint because well, seriously, have you looked at it? Look at it again!
I am happy to hear that the controls have felt good from everyone who has put their hands on it because that means that it is only a matter of time before I get to engage in some sweet sweet Batman action. I cannot wait for the free flow combat, the detective mode, and grappling on gargoyles to get that perfect vantage point. Perhaps this time I will not try the hardest difficulty level available first (though it is what I always do).
Entry for Kyle K. Sorry it is a little late buddy got tired. Real work sucks.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Ghostbusters: The Video Game REVIEW
It is just another night in New York City when a paranormal pulse sweeps across the city starting you (the Rookie) off on a brand new Ghostbusters adventure. You play the role of the rookie (who never gets a name because Venkman does not want to get too attached) who gets to test all of the new proton pack equipment. Ghostbusters: The Video Game starts off two years after the events of Ghostbusters 2 so for all intents and purposes, this is the sequel Ghostbusters fans have been looking forward to. The question is, “Does it live up to the Ghostbusters reputation?”
From the opening cinematic one can get an idea of how well written (in the GB sense) this game is. It is witty, well acted, and it will probably charm you right into a Ghostbusters suit.
The story is straightforward enough but without giving too much away, the city is in trouble again and this time you get to help in the rescue. In the first level the rookie is tracking down Slimer at the Hotel Sedgwick and it is there that the Ghostbusters discover that something bigger is abound. From there you are taken on a romp through Times Square, the museum, the library, alternate dimensions (of course), and even Central Park.
None of the story ever feels forced or out of place (except for the last scene between Peter and the love interest) and it is all held together by the glue that is classic GB humor. You could not write this stuff better yourself.
When it comes to game play it is nothing new or innovative. It is your somewhat ordinary, run of the mill, slightly modified, third person shooter. None of that matters though because it still manages to feel fun and fresh. The combat is changed up only slightly throughout the game and it (the combat) never failed to satisfy.
The biggest problem with the game was with some of the combat; it was riddled with intense difficulty spikes (keep in mind that I was playing it through on the Professional difficulty though I imagine that it would spike in all of the same places) that were numerous enough that it almost ended with the controller in/on the wall/floor. In these moments it almost felt as though the game mechanics were broken and that you were relying on luck to get through. I would try a section of a level a ton of times and I would only pass through after what seemed like an eternity. I considered a restart of the game on a different difficulty level on more than one occasion. The last thing is that the load times became annoying when forced to something in the game more than twice.
There are a few other things that were wrong with the game but nothing quite at erroneous as the difficulty spikes. For example during some of the cut scenes there was awkward motion capture based on what was going on in the game. It seemed as though the characters body was telling a different story than the voice acting and it just felt unpolished. There was also some minor slowdown during times of intense ectoplasmic action but nothing that broke or spoiled the game.
On quite the opposite end of the spectrum, it never got old smashing headstones with the proton stream. The destructible items/environment in the game were a nice touch that definitely added to the aesthetic.
I would play the game again if only to nab some missing achievements but even without them I would be able to see myself playing it at least once more. The game was not too long or short; it ended right where it felt like it should have.
In the end the game stands out as though it could easily be the third part of the Ghostbusters canon. From the cut scenes to the random in game dialogue the game feels like a piece of the mythos. In the level that I will not spoil for you, Winston says, “So this is where all of the slime that was running under the city came from.”
Bustin’ made me feel sooo good.
From the opening cinematic one can get an idea of how well written (in the GB sense) this game is. It is witty, well acted, and it will probably charm you right into a Ghostbusters suit.
The story is straightforward enough but without giving too much away, the city is in trouble again and this time you get to help in the rescue. In the first level the rookie is tracking down Slimer at the Hotel Sedgwick and it is there that the Ghostbusters discover that something bigger is abound. From there you are taken on a romp through Times Square, the museum, the library, alternate dimensions (of course), and even Central Park.
None of the story ever feels forced or out of place (except for the last scene between Peter and the love interest) and it is all held together by the glue that is classic GB humor. You could not write this stuff better yourself.
When it comes to game play it is nothing new or innovative. It is your somewhat ordinary, run of the mill, slightly modified, third person shooter. None of that matters though because it still manages to feel fun and fresh. The combat is changed up only slightly throughout the game and it (the combat) never failed to satisfy.
The biggest problem with the game was with some of the combat; it was riddled with intense difficulty spikes (keep in mind that I was playing it through on the Professional difficulty though I imagine that it would spike in all of the same places) that were numerous enough that it almost ended with the controller in/on the wall/floor. In these moments it almost felt as though the game mechanics were broken and that you were relying on luck to get through. I would try a section of a level a ton of times and I would only pass through after what seemed like an eternity. I considered a restart of the game on a different difficulty level on more than one occasion. The last thing is that the load times became annoying when forced to something in the game more than twice.
There are a few other things that were wrong with the game but nothing quite at erroneous as the difficulty spikes. For example during some of the cut scenes there was awkward motion capture based on what was going on in the game. It seemed as though the characters body was telling a different story than the voice acting and it just felt unpolished. There was also some minor slowdown during times of intense ectoplasmic action but nothing that broke or spoiled the game.
On quite the opposite end of the spectrum, it never got old smashing headstones with the proton stream. The destructible items/environment in the game were a nice touch that definitely added to the aesthetic.
I would play the game again if only to nab some missing achievements but even without them I would be able to see myself playing it at least once more. The game was not too long or short; it ended right where it felt like it should have.
In the end the game stands out as though it could easily be the third part of the Ghostbusters canon. From the cut scenes to the random in game dialogue the game feels like a piece of the mythos. In the level that I will not spoil for you, Winston says, “So this is where all of the slime that was running under the city came from.”
Bustin’ made me feel sooo good.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Game Diary: June 29, 2009: Ghostbustin' Edition
In the past week I have played through Mass Effect Galaxy to completion and have been struggling with beating Ghostbusters on Professional mode.
At this very moment I am stuck trying to fling or pull Stone Angels into a gate. It is annoying. I imagine that these difficulty spikes are not just in the Professional mode though they are definitely heightened on this harder difficulty. These spikes will factor into my review but that is all I really want to say about it for now. Keep an eye out for that very soon (hopefully).
At this very moment I am stuck trying to fling or pull Stone Angels into a gate. It is annoying. I imagine that these difficulty spikes are not just in the Professional mode though they are definitely heightened on this harder difficulty. These spikes will factor into my review but that is all I really want to say about it for now. Keep an eye out for that very soon (hopefully).
Monday MUpdate: Where are all the good video game movies?
This weekend I didn't really play all that many video games since I spent it packing and collecting moving materials, as well as doing a lengthy clean up of my ridiculously messy room. While I was doing all of this, I decided it was time to watch all the movies that have been laying around my room or clogging up my hard drive. Two of said movies were both video game related, and I figure what better place to write my snarky commentary and scathing reviews than a blog dedicated to all things video games?
I'd also like to point out as a foreword that both of these movies are not Hollywood movies, but films commissioned by the people who made the game as a way of expanding their own mythos. It is in that that I feel I can be extra harsh in commentary, because while Hollywood films have to take an idea and make it passable for a 90 minute film that non-video game audiences will enjoy, these films are made as an addition for people who are already fans of the video game and therefore do not have to take the same inconsistencies and jumps that your average Hollywood film does. So when I get overly critical in the following two reviews, just try and keep in mind that I'm still a huge fan of the video games. I just don't care for 90 minute films that miss the point.
Dead Space: Downfall
People that have been regular readers for the past year or so know that I praised Dead Space when it first came out. I found it a highly entertaining and quite terrifying survival horror game that revamped some tired ideas and put an entertaining spin on them. It was essentially Resident Evil in space, except the "zombies" wouldn't die if you shot off their heads. You had to more carefully shoot off their limbs. It also mixed in a bit of Bioshock with a story that threw you into an abandoned and dead mining ship, and you had to learn through out the game play what happened to everyone in the past - how they found the artifact on the planet, it released this terror, and everyone proceeded to go insane and get infected with space zombie flu. Awesome.
The movie, however, lacks everything that made Dead Space cool. It comes off more as an Alien prequel that just begs to ruin your imagination. See, part of the fun is that when you play Dead Space, you get to infer everything that happened. Downfall shows it to you, and therefore loses a big chunk of the survival horror aspect that made Dead Space so entertaining. While we are presented with an insanely wide and talented voice cast (such as the guy who does the voice of Mickey's arch-nemesis Pete (seriously)), all of the characters come off as bland and impersonal. We follow our heroine as she tries to survive the ship, but ultimately, who cares? Everyone in the movie treats her like crap and we as the audience never really get a reason to feel otherwise. She's good with a gun and hates aliens, but don't we all? All the other characters introduced as part of the surviving team are about as two-dimensional as they come. Besides, anyone who has played Dead Space knows how the movie will end: everyone dies. When you get to the ship, it's empty, remember? So why bother getting attached to a crew that you know is doomed?
My biggest complaint still lies with the fact that this takes away from the imaginative properties of the sci-fi space survival horror. I really loved the way the story was explained in Dead Space. Obviously, the game's run time allows for a more carefully explained plot, but from the brief moments you yourself get to see on a computer monitor the revelation of the artifact as well as the first attack are what make this game's horror aspect work. Granted, if you were a fan of Alien, then I suppose the set up of the plot can work for you, but having actually played the game from beginning to end I just found everything kind of "matter of fact." There was no plot twist that they could give to me that would make me sit up in the chair because I already knew them all.
So Dead Space: Downfall does somewhat go to flesh out the story of the Dead Space infection time line, it's all in all unnecessary and unwelcome. For those actually interested in having everything explained in front of you, then I'd recommend a watch, but otherwise skip it. Sometimes, a game without a cohesive story that forces you to earn the truth of any mysteries surrounding the plot is much more rewarding than a game that explains it as you go along. Granted, there are obvious exceptions to this rule, but as far as survival horror goes, I'll take a non-linear storyline over a straight forward one any day.
Resident Evil: Degeneration
Resident Evil: Degeneration is something I had incredibly high hopes for. I don't think I need to remind people what a huge Resident Evil fan I am. The game literally pioneered the survival horror genre, and without it we would never have anything like Dead Space. Hell, we wouldn't even have Dino Crisis. So considering this movie is supposed to enter legitimate continuity, it seemed like a winner to me. Possibly another Advent Children, even. What it ended up being was a hilariously bad attempt at gap bridging in the Resident Evil universe.
Now, the movie is supposed to take place in between Resident Evil 4 and 5. The events of Resident evil 2 and 3 have already happened and Raccoon City lies in ruins. It is important to note that there is no way the public is not aware of zombies, especially due to the opening scenes of news reports that consistently mention outbreaks and the fall of the Umbrella Corporation. In fact, one of the main characters is a Senator who okayed the bombing of Raccoon City, and when the movie opens with him at an airport and a protest mob outside, someone is dressed as a zombie as a form of protest. So can someone please explain to me why everyone is confused when the outbreak occurs? And why Claire just doesn't grab a cop's gun and end this within the first five minutes?
My first complaint with the movie was the clear issues of dialogue. Some of what was so insanely stupid, I felt I was reading a 13 year old's fan fiction. Here are two of my favorite moments:
Scene 1:
Squad member into walkie talkie: "Where are you?"
Woman stuck in airport: "We're in the VIP room!"
Squad member into walkie talkie: "Ok, I think they're in the VIP room!"
Oh yeah? Really? What was your first amazing clue to that one? The best part of this is, though, is not the fact of obvious repetition. It's the fact that even though the cops were told where the woman was, they were still somehow unsure.
Scene 2:
Senator: "I hope you have a plan!"
Leon: "We're going to run across the lobby."
Claire: "You should trust him - he knows this stuff."
This is the level of intelligent writing we're dealing with here. I'm not saying that Resident Evil has ever been a great example of award winning writing, but come on.
There is also a moment where one of the character's breasts grow about twenty times in size for no reason, and it's positively hilarious. I honestly spent more time laughing at this movie then I did enjoying it, and this is my second complaint. More than anything, this movie is really dumb. Resident Evil has never really been "about the zombies" so to speak, and more about the virus, evil corporations, and monsters, but there was barely any zombie involvement at all in this movie. Most of it was dialogue about how they wanted to prevent an outbreak during an outbreak. A lot of it just seems so basic and easy to avoid. On top of that, all the plot twists are incredibly text book. Granted, Resident Evil has been pulling out some of the recurring twists for the past couple years, what with the supposed return of Umbrella as well as Albert Wesker repeatedly popping up, but this tries to play out like a thriller more than just your typical Resident Evil story.
All of this is not to say that I didn't enjoy it at all. It was dumb and poorly written but I definitely liked it more than Dead Space: Downfall due to the connections with the games. The animation is really great at points, and there's one scene of running water that I could have sworn was actual running water versus CGI. This is the first time Claire and Leon have been together since Raccoon City, and Resident Evil 2 was always my favorite game so it was nice to have them together again. On top of that, there is a tease of TriCell in the game, the new villainous corporation introduced in Resident Evil 5, which I liked. But while this expands the story in similar ways to Advent Children, it fails in the same way that Advent Children succeeded. The reason Advent Children worked is because it was a straight up sequel that offered closure to many open ends. Degeneration offers no closure to anything because there is no need to try and offer closure. What it does instead is just continue along the evil coporation motif of Resident Evil rather than make it a true horror story, and what works about playing Resident Evil versus watching it is with gameplay you can have as much zombie horror as you want, whereas in a film it needs to be regulated. That's what makes this fizzle around.
So while Resident Evil: Degeneration is less of a disappointment than Dead Space: Downfall, it still is ultimately a disappointment. Poor writing and direction for a story don't save it from being part of continuity. In fact, that's more reason to dislike it, because it should by all rights and accounts take the effort to be well written considering it is essentially fan service. There was no need for this chapter of Resident Evil because ultimately, we gain nothing new, just some amusing one minute teases. In fact, without knowledge of Resident Evil 5, the inclusion of TriCell is somewhat pointless, because all things considered, Resident Evil 6 is supposed to take the whole Resident Evil saga in a brand new direction as it finally wrapped up every loose end about any main character involved in Resident Evil.
So there you have it. Two video game movie reviews in lieu of actual video gaming. To be honest, in the upcoming weeks I probably will not get much gaming done, but I will do my best to make it up to any faithful readers somehow. I mean, Marvel vs Capcom 2 will be out soon, right? And I'm bound to do a report on that.
I'd also like to point out as a foreword that both of these movies are not Hollywood movies, but films commissioned by the people who made the game as a way of expanding their own mythos. It is in that that I feel I can be extra harsh in commentary, because while Hollywood films have to take an idea and make it passable for a 90 minute film that non-video game audiences will enjoy, these films are made as an addition for people who are already fans of the video game and therefore do not have to take the same inconsistencies and jumps that your average Hollywood film does. So when I get overly critical in the following two reviews, just try and keep in mind that I'm still a huge fan of the video games. I just don't care for 90 minute films that miss the point.
Dead Space: Downfall
People that have been regular readers for the past year or so know that I praised Dead Space when it first came out. I found it a highly entertaining and quite terrifying survival horror game that revamped some tired ideas and put an entertaining spin on them. It was essentially Resident Evil in space, except the "zombies" wouldn't die if you shot off their heads. You had to more carefully shoot off their limbs. It also mixed in a bit of Bioshock with a story that threw you into an abandoned and dead mining ship, and you had to learn through out the game play what happened to everyone in the past - how they found the artifact on the planet, it released this terror, and everyone proceeded to go insane and get infected with space zombie flu. Awesome.
The movie, however, lacks everything that made Dead Space cool. It comes off more as an Alien prequel that just begs to ruin your imagination. See, part of the fun is that when you play Dead Space, you get to infer everything that happened. Downfall shows it to you, and therefore loses a big chunk of the survival horror aspect that made Dead Space so entertaining. While we are presented with an insanely wide and talented voice cast (such as the guy who does the voice of Mickey's arch-nemesis Pete (seriously)), all of the characters come off as bland and impersonal. We follow our heroine as she tries to survive the ship, but ultimately, who cares? Everyone in the movie treats her like crap and we as the audience never really get a reason to feel otherwise. She's good with a gun and hates aliens, but don't we all? All the other characters introduced as part of the surviving team are about as two-dimensional as they come. Besides, anyone who has played Dead Space knows how the movie will end: everyone dies. When you get to the ship, it's empty, remember? So why bother getting attached to a crew that you know is doomed?
My biggest complaint still lies with the fact that this takes away from the imaginative properties of the sci-fi space survival horror. I really loved the way the story was explained in Dead Space. Obviously, the game's run time allows for a more carefully explained plot, but from the brief moments you yourself get to see on a computer monitor the revelation of the artifact as well as the first attack are what make this game's horror aspect work. Granted, if you were a fan of Alien, then I suppose the set up of the plot can work for you, but having actually played the game from beginning to end I just found everything kind of "matter of fact." There was no plot twist that they could give to me that would make me sit up in the chair because I already knew them all.
So Dead Space: Downfall does somewhat go to flesh out the story of the Dead Space infection time line, it's all in all unnecessary and unwelcome. For those actually interested in having everything explained in front of you, then I'd recommend a watch, but otherwise skip it. Sometimes, a game without a cohesive story that forces you to earn the truth of any mysteries surrounding the plot is much more rewarding than a game that explains it as you go along. Granted, there are obvious exceptions to this rule, but as far as survival horror goes, I'll take a non-linear storyline over a straight forward one any day.
Resident Evil: Degeneration
Resident Evil: Degeneration is something I had incredibly high hopes for. I don't think I need to remind people what a huge Resident Evil fan I am. The game literally pioneered the survival horror genre, and without it we would never have anything like Dead Space. Hell, we wouldn't even have Dino Crisis. So considering this movie is supposed to enter legitimate continuity, it seemed like a winner to me. Possibly another Advent Children, even. What it ended up being was a hilariously bad attempt at gap bridging in the Resident Evil universe.
Now, the movie is supposed to take place in between Resident Evil 4 and 5. The events of Resident evil 2 and 3 have already happened and Raccoon City lies in ruins. It is important to note that there is no way the public is not aware of zombies, especially due to the opening scenes of news reports that consistently mention outbreaks and the fall of the Umbrella Corporation. In fact, one of the main characters is a Senator who okayed the bombing of Raccoon City, and when the movie opens with him at an airport and a protest mob outside, someone is dressed as a zombie as a form of protest. So can someone please explain to me why everyone is confused when the outbreak occurs? And why Claire just doesn't grab a cop's gun and end this within the first five minutes?
My first complaint with the movie was the clear issues of dialogue. Some of what was so insanely stupid, I felt I was reading a 13 year old's fan fiction. Here are two of my favorite moments:
Scene 1:
Squad member into walkie talkie: "Where are you?"
Woman stuck in airport: "We're in the VIP room!"
Squad member into walkie talkie: "Ok, I think they're in the VIP room!"
Oh yeah? Really? What was your first amazing clue to that one? The best part of this is, though, is not the fact of obvious repetition. It's the fact that even though the cops were told where the woman was, they were still somehow unsure.
Scene 2:
Senator: "I hope you have a plan!"
Leon: "We're going to run across the lobby."
Claire: "You should trust him - he knows this stuff."
This is the level of intelligent writing we're dealing with here. I'm not saying that Resident Evil has ever been a great example of award winning writing, but come on.
There is also a moment where one of the character's breasts grow about twenty times in size for no reason, and it's positively hilarious. I honestly spent more time laughing at this movie then I did enjoying it, and this is my second complaint. More than anything, this movie is really dumb. Resident Evil has never really been "about the zombies" so to speak, and more about the virus, evil corporations, and monsters, but there was barely any zombie involvement at all in this movie. Most of it was dialogue about how they wanted to prevent an outbreak during an outbreak. A lot of it just seems so basic and easy to avoid. On top of that, all the plot twists are incredibly text book. Granted, Resident Evil has been pulling out some of the recurring twists for the past couple years, what with the supposed return of Umbrella as well as Albert Wesker repeatedly popping up, but this tries to play out like a thriller more than just your typical Resident Evil story.
All of this is not to say that I didn't enjoy it at all. It was dumb and poorly written but I definitely liked it more than Dead Space: Downfall due to the connections with the games. The animation is really great at points, and there's one scene of running water that I could have sworn was actual running water versus CGI. This is the first time Claire and Leon have been together since Raccoon City, and Resident Evil 2 was always my favorite game so it was nice to have them together again. On top of that, there is a tease of TriCell in the game, the new villainous corporation introduced in Resident Evil 5, which I liked. But while this expands the story in similar ways to Advent Children, it fails in the same way that Advent Children succeeded. The reason Advent Children worked is because it was a straight up sequel that offered closure to many open ends. Degeneration offers no closure to anything because there is no need to try and offer closure. What it does instead is just continue along the evil coporation motif of Resident Evil rather than make it a true horror story, and what works about playing Resident Evil versus watching it is with gameplay you can have as much zombie horror as you want, whereas in a film it needs to be regulated. That's what makes this fizzle around.
So while Resident Evil: Degeneration is less of a disappointment than Dead Space: Downfall, it still is ultimately a disappointment. Poor writing and direction for a story don't save it from being part of continuity. In fact, that's more reason to dislike it, because it should by all rights and accounts take the effort to be well written considering it is essentially fan service. There was no need for this chapter of Resident Evil because ultimately, we gain nothing new, just some amusing one minute teases. In fact, without knowledge of Resident Evil 5, the inclusion of TriCell is somewhat pointless, because all things considered, Resident Evil 6 is supposed to take the whole Resident Evil saga in a brand new direction as it finally wrapped up every loose end about any main character involved in Resident Evil.
So there you have it. Two video game movie reviews in lieu of actual video gaming. To be honest, in the upcoming weeks I probably will not get much gaming done, but I will do my best to make it up to any faithful readers somehow. I mean, Marvel vs Capcom 2 will be out soon, right? And I'm bound to do a report on that.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Whose Side Are You On? A Left 4 Dead 2 Preview
Left 4 Dead 2 could have possibily been one of the biggest announcements at E3 this year. With the original still a few months away from being a year old, no one was really expecting it, especially given Valve's long history of making us constantly wait. It was quite a surprise. Whether or not it was a pleasant surprise, is left up to the gamer.
It seems as though the gaming world is a bit torn on the issue of Left 4 Dead 2. Players are upset at the prospect of having to dish out an additional $60 ($50 for PC gamers) for what they perceive could easily be achieved in DLC. Players are also upset at the prospect of Left 4 Dead being well, left for dead due to the addition of the sequel. On the other hand, it’s a sequel to Left 4 Dead and it’s unheard of for Valve to release new content this soon. Plus, Valve has a long standing history of releasing excellent games, so can anyone truly be let down? The real question is, will the sequel pack a big enough punch to get players excited and justify the hefty price? Personally, I say yes.
A week or so ago I received the August issue of PC Gamer Magazine. Right smack dab on the cover was Left 4 Dead 2. I got very little new information about the game from small blogs across the web post E3, but the PC Gamer review gave me the entire spectrum and I must say that I am very much excited. I’m honestly a little bit late to the game in regards to L4D. I bought the game on release day for my PC, but never really played due to my lack of friends who are fellow PC gamers. It was until I recently purchase an Xbox 360, that I discovered the true glory of the game.
After reading the PC Gamer article, it seems that the developers of the Left 4 Dead series sat down and actually listened to the complaints about the game given by the players. One of these complaints is predictability. While L4D’s AI eliminates predictability and strategy better then any game made previous, there are still some predictable aspects. Strategies such as crouching in the corners are common among L4D players. The Tank in L4D2 will eliminate this strategy by being able to hit multiple survivors if they are hiding in a corner. One of the best features of L4D is the AI and the fact that every single time you play, you get a different experience. That isn’t common among a lot of games today and that definitely drew players in. They are also updated the types of infected in the game. They are adding a new Charger that seems almost like a combination of all the infected in L4D. There will be variations of infected from the previous game; however, this time they will have mutations that work to your disadvantage. No longer will the witch be easily avoidable as she huddles on the floor sobbing. This time she’s going to wander and it’s most likely that she will wander directly into you. So have fun getting that achievement for not disturbing the witch in L4D2.
One of the bigger changes that has been known about since E3 is the additional of melee weapons. There will be an addition of a frying pan, an axe, a chainsaw and some others. This was added in an effort to prevent friendly fire in closer quarters. I’m quite confident in saying the chainsaw will most likely become everyone’s new best friends. The only downside to the addition of these melee weapons is that you will not be able to hold a melee weapon as well as a gun at the same time. That means, you can use the chainsaw for a bit, but you’re going to have to drop it if you want to use that shotgun. There will also be additions to the types of throwables you get and the types of guns available. Special ammo clips such as incendiary rounds will be provided. You’ll be capable of dual welding different types of handguns instead of the set standard that was provided in L4D.
Another large addition to L4D2 will be a storyline. With L4D you were dropped into the game without much knowledge of the characters or what is really going on, minus the cinematic in the very beginning of the game. L4D2 will begin with the characters meeting outside a mall (hello Mr. Romano!). There will be more interaction with the characters and more storyline. You’ll learn more about what is going on, the help that is being provided (or not provided) and you’ll also get more interaction with the world around you such as FEMA, the military, etc. Not only is the storyline new, but the setting will be different. This time the carnage takes places in the south with most of the maps taking place during the day. It’s expected for zombies to be wandering the streets and woods at night, but it gives a completely different feel when you’re encountering zombies while the sun breaches the horizon. The campaigns will also be larger then what we saw in Left 4 Dead. Valve has stated that these will be the biggest maps they have ever made distance-wise.
One of the things I am most looking forward to is what has been termed “enhanced dismemberment.” This time around when you riddle a zombie with bullets, it will actually show. You’ll be able to shoot off limbs and tear bodies apart. Instead of trying to guess how much HP the Tank has left, it will come quite obvious as his body is slowly torn apart by your bullets (or your chainsaw!). I’m imagining the fun that will be had when I can shoot off the legs of a zombie and watch it try and slowly drag itself to me. I mean, they’re zombies right? They’re best served with pieces of their body hanging from their side.
So all in all, where do I stand on the L4D2 debate? I’m excited and I will definitely be picking it up on release day. I trust Valve as a gaming company to create a magnificent product. They have never let me down before and I don’t expect them to ever do so in the future. However, Valve, I do have one request. Before you spring a L4D3 on us, could you please oh please release Half Life 2: Episode 3?
It seems as though the gaming world is a bit torn on the issue of Left 4 Dead 2. Players are upset at the prospect of having to dish out an additional $60 ($50 for PC gamers) for what they perceive could easily be achieved in DLC. Players are also upset at the prospect of Left 4 Dead being well, left for dead due to the addition of the sequel. On the other hand, it’s a sequel to Left 4 Dead and it’s unheard of for Valve to release new content this soon. Plus, Valve has a long standing history of releasing excellent games, so can anyone truly be let down? The real question is, will the sequel pack a big enough punch to get players excited and justify the hefty price? Personally, I say yes.
A week or so ago I received the August issue of PC Gamer Magazine. Right smack dab on the cover was Left 4 Dead 2. I got very little new information about the game from small blogs across the web post E3, but the PC Gamer review gave me the entire spectrum and I must say that I am very much excited. I’m honestly a little bit late to the game in regards to L4D. I bought the game on release day for my PC, but never really played due to my lack of friends who are fellow PC gamers. It was until I recently purchase an Xbox 360, that I discovered the true glory of the game.
After reading the PC Gamer article, it seems that the developers of the Left 4 Dead series sat down and actually listened to the complaints about the game given by the players. One of these complaints is predictability. While L4D’s AI eliminates predictability and strategy better then any game made previous, there are still some predictable aspects. Strategies such as crouching in the corners are common among L4D players. The Tank in L4D2 will eliminate this strategy by being able to hit multiple survivors if they are hiding in a corner. One of the best features of L4D is the AI and the fact that every single time you play, you get a different experience. That isn’t common among a lot of games today and that definitely drew players in. They are also updated the types of infected in the game. They are adding a new Charger that seems almost like a combination of all the infected in L4D. There will be variations of infected from the previous game; however, this time they will have mutations that work to your disadvantage. No longer will the witch be easily avoidable as she huddles on the floor sobbing. This time she’s going to wander and it’s most likely that she will wander directly into you. So have fun getting that achievement for not disturbing the witch in L4D2.
One of the bigger changes that has been known about since E3 is the additional of melee weapons. There will be an addition of a frying pan, an axe, a chainsaw and some others. This was added in an effort to prevent friendly fire in closer quarters. I’m quite confident in saying the chainsaw will most likely become everyone’s new best friends. The only downside to the addition of these melee weapons is that you will not be able to hold a melee weapon as well as a gun at the same time. That means, you can use the chainsaw for a bit, but you’re going to have to drop it if you want to use that shotgun. There will also be additions to the types of throwables you get and the types of guns available. Special ammo clips such as incendiary rounds will be provided. You’ll be capable of dual welding different types of handguns instead of the set standard that was provided in L4D.
Another large addition to L4D2 will be a storyline. With L4D you were dropped into the game without much knowledge of the characters or what is really going on, minus the cinematic in the very beginning of the game. L4D2 will begin with the characters meeting outside a mall (hello Mr. Romano!). There will be more interaction with the characters and more storyline. You’ll learn more about what is going on, the help that is being provided (or not provided) and you’ll also get more interaction with the world around you such as FEMA, the military, etc. Not only is the storyline new, but the setting will be different. This time the carnage takes places in the south with most of the maps taking place during the day. It’s expected for zombies to be wandering the streets and woods at night, but it gives a completely different feel when you’re encountering zombies while the sun breaches the horizon. The campaigns will also be larger then what we saw in Left 4 Dead. Valve has stated that these will be the biggest maps they have ever made distance-wise.
One of the things I am most looking forward to is what has been termed “enhanced dismemberment.” This time around when you riddle a zombie with bullets, it will actually show. You’ll be able to shoot off limbs and tear bodies apart. Instead of trying to guess how much HP the Tank has left, it will come quite obvious as his body is slowly torn apart by your bullets (or your chainsaw!). I’m imagining the fun that will be had when I can shoot off the legs of a zombie and watch it try and slowly drag itself to me. I mean, they’re zombies right? They’re best served with pieces of their body hanging from their side.
So all in all, where do I stand on the L4D2 debate? I’m excited and I will definitely be picking it up on release day. I trust Valve as a gaming company to create a magnificent product. They have never let me down before and I don’t expect them to ever do so in the future. However, Valve, I do have one request. Before you spring a L4D3 on us, could you please oh please release Half Life 2: Episode 3?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Mass Effect Galaxy Review
Let's quickly establish how big of a Mass Effect fanboy I am. I am a huge Mass Effect fanboy.
With that said I was surprised with the high production values that this game had. It looks like Bioware had their hands in this (okay maybe just one hand). The stylized cut scenes are worth playing the game for alone. The story is your basic, run of mill, "Batarians are trying to take down the Citadel," type of story and it is funny because the Batarian ambassador, who we are introduced to rather quickly, looks like a stuffed animal (but perhaps that was the point).
You then, quickly, get into the combat and realize that what you are playing is a high production value cell phone game. Everything has nice animations and it works well but it is the same rinse and repeat gameplay throughout the entire game.
The combat takes place in "combat scenes" where you must kill every enemy in order to pass through to the next one or to the next conversation. You typically get 3-5 combat screens before you get to your next conversation (I would honestly take a stab at it and say that there are probably only about 25-30 combat screens in the entire game).
The gameplay is not hard (it might take you five minutes to learn how to play) and I only died about 4 or 5 times throughout the game and that was just because I was seeing how far I could push Jacob.
All of this is not to say that I did not have fun while playing the combat scenes but I do not see myself playing this more than once more. It is missing the addictive driving point that most addictive cell phone games have and in the end the entire game might take you anywhere between 2-4 hours to complete [and 4 hours is being pretty generous].
Other than the cut scenes the other place where the game shines are the conversation pieces. Usually you are given between 3-5 different things to say and they all have varying responses (ala ME1). Your facial expression changes based on each selection and you can also avoid conflicts based on what you say (also akin to ME1). But like everything else in the game, it still feels watered down. You can threaten people or you can be their saving grace but in the end it is all for naught because there are no Paragon or Renegade attributes rewarded. Essentially you could tap through all of the conversation pieces, without changing anything you say, and you would end up with the same ending that I recieved.
Ending Thoughts: The game was fun enough to play and I'll get my five bucks worth out of it, if just for the reward that it gives you for Mass Effect 2, but overall it was disappointing. I didn't go into it expecting to be disappointed but at the very least there was some decent addition to the Batarian (albeit very short (maybe the length of one or two Sci-Fi book chapters)) backstory. Only the hardest of core Mass Effect fans need apply and still then you are stretching it pretty thin. I have read both books and played through the game 4 times and I still think that this game was bare bones (very pretty bare bones).
"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt."
With that said I was surprised with the high production values that this game had. It looks like Bioware had their hands in this (okay maybe just one hand). The stylized cut scenes are worth playing the game for alone. The story is your basic, run of mill, "Batarians are trying to take down the Citadel," type of story and it is funny because the Batarian ambassador, who we are introduced to rather quickly, looks like a stuffed animal (but perhaps that was the point).
You then, quickly, get into the combat and realize that what you are playing is a high production value cell phone game. Everything has nice animations and it works well but it is the same rinse and repeat gameplay throughout the entire game.
The gameplay is not hard (it might take you five minutes to learn how to play) and I only died about 4 or 5 times throughout the game and that was just because I was seeing how far I could push Jacob.
All of this is not to say that I did not have fun while playing the combat scenes but I do not see myself playing this more than once more. It is missing the addictive driving point that most addictive cell phone games have and in the end the entire game might take you anywhere between 2-4 hours to complete [and 4 hours is being pretty generous].
Other than the cut scenes the other place where the game shines are the conversation pieces. Usually you are given between 3-5 different things to say and they all have varying responses (ala ME1). Your facial expression changes based on each selection and you can also avoid conflicts based on what you say (also akin to ME1). But like everything else in the game, it still feels watered down. You can threaten people or you can be their saving grace but in the end it is all for naught because there are no Paragon or Renegade attributes rewarded. Essentially you could tap through all of the conversation pieces, without changing anything you say, and you would end up with the same ending that I recieved.
Ending Thoughts: The game was fun enough to play and I'll get my five bucks worth out of it, if just for the reward that it gives you for Mass Effect 2, but overall it was disappointing. I didn't go into it expecting to be disappointed but at the very least there was some decent addition to the Batarian (albeit very short (maybe the length of one or two Sci-Fi book chapters)) backstory. Only the hardest of core Mass Effect fans need apply and still then you are stretching it pretty thin. I have read both books and played through the game 4 times and I still think that this game was bare bones (very pretty bare bones).
"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt."
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Hey Look (Brutal Legend) Box Art!
IT REMINDS ME OF ROOOCK [Done in my best heavy metal scream which is virtually nonexistent.]!!!
I'm ready to rock!
It has also occurred to me on more than one occasion, in recent time, that my two most anticipated games are EA published games. I heart EA.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
MASS EFFECT GALAXY comes to iPhone... right now!
So as far as I know there was no release date for this game and if there was I missed it but it is here regardless and that fateful game is Mass Effect Galaxy for iPhone and iPod touch. It cost five dollars (that I will not have until Friday... at least I think so) and I want it now. Sorry for the lack of tack in this post but I was just enjoying myself playing Ghostbusters (and passing 20,000 gamerscore in the process) when I decided that it would be time for a break. I clicked on over to my TweetDeck window and... BAM... there it was. Now I must have it. These are the days of announcing things on Twitter apparently... or at least for Bioware.
And apparently you can unlock something for Mass Effect 2 at the end...
Expect a review as soon as I get it/beat it.
And apparently you can unlock something for Mass Effect 2 at the end...
Expect a review as soon as I get it/beat it.
Bioware's Twitter hints at more ME1 DLC (finally)
If you did not know that I have an unhealthy obsession with Mass Effect by now (I just beat the game for a fourth time yesterday and already started a new character) then you:
This is really a long rumored piece of content and I really hope it is worth all of the hype (does anyone remember when Bioware added a planet to KOTOR as DLC but never did anything with it, well this is feeling the same way). If it is this fight club thing that has been talking about, I do not know how I will feel about it. I do think that I will probably end up being disappointed but in the end I'll just have another excuse to play Mass Effect again sooner - which for me is never a bad thing.
- Don't care.
- Don't really read this blog or more specifically Mass Effect posts.
- You are a new reader.
This is really a long rumored piece of content and I really hope it is worth all of the hype (does anyone remember when Bioware added a planet to KOTOR as DLC but never did anything with it, well this is feeling the same way). If it is this fight club thing that has been talking about, I do not know how I will feel about it. I do think that I will probably end up being disappointed but in the end I'll just have another excuse to play Mass Effect again sooner - which for me is never a bad thing.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday MUpdate: Happy National will.i.am Day!
Edit: While inherently unrelated to video games, I decided that I want to start a holiday in honor of will.i.am beating up Perez Hilton. Even if it isn't true, I think it's worth celebrating. I've never been a fan of the Black Eyed Peas, but I think I might start listening to them now with this amazing event.
So, as anyone who read my last news post probably knows, Sam and Max came out this past week on XBOX Live! and I have been playing it like crazy. The thing is, I don't want to overly run through it, so I decided one episode a night is all I will allow myself to do. However, since there is so much to see and do in each little episode, I usually get to spend 2-3 hours playing, solving puzzles and laughing at all the little jokes. It is some of the best $20 I've ever spent.
If you are not convinced that Sam and Max is a worthwhile purchase, allow me to help: this game is frakking awesome. First off, it's Sam and Max. In my mind, that's enough to pick up any peice of shameless merchandise! Steve Purcell managed to create two of the greatest characters of all time, who have featured in previous games as well as comics and a TV show. But if you're not familiar with the characters and need a better reason, this game is actually challenging. I feel that with a lot of the games I and my friends have been playing as of late, the real challenge is just figuring out where to go and who to shoot. There might be some slight puzzles, but nothing on the scale of Sam and Max Save The World. With this game, I have found that you need to talk to everyone in your environment before starting your adventure, because otherwise you'll be lost. You also need to check repeated locales for possible things that you may have missed on your first go around because not every bit and piece of the puzzle is readily apparent. I have found myself absolutely stumped on many occasion while playing so far, to the point where I'll either need to go do something else for a bit so I can sit down with fresh and creative ideas in how to solve a puzzle, or I need to give up and look online for a clue of where to go. You don't find that in a lot of games these days.
The adventure genre is something I sorely miss. This is primarily what I played when I was a kid, games like Indana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max Hit the Road, and The Secret of Monkey Island. The game not only serves as a great entertainment (considering how hilarious the two main characters are, let alone the plots) but also a tough brain teaser. I haven't spent this long trying to figure out a puzzle since last year's Braid. Granted, the Sam and Max games have been out for a little while now, but I don't have a PC so I can't enjoy in the same revelry most PC users can, what with their Star Craft II and their Diablo III. To be blessed with such a treat is a welcome vacation from all the shoot 'em ups and RPGs that I consistently play. This comes with the highest recommendation that I can possibly give, the "will.i.am Acknowledgement of Excellence" award.
Other than that, no other games have been getting the attention they may or may not deserve from yours truly. As much as I do need to do more play throughs of several games, I find that I'm too busy with other things to devote my attention to more than one game at a time, and the game that stole me is Sam and Max. I need to put more attention to my DS and play throughs of Mass Effect, Fallout 3, and Penny Arcade (because, since losing all my memory, I need to build up my character before episode 3 comes out). I also really need to get out and pre-order Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. I was going to do it when an Assassin's Creed 2 pre-order was announced, but apparently only the Brits get it, not us lonely statesmen, so that's out of the picture. Either way, as I begin to chew out all my other responsibilities to nerd-dom, I hope to free up more time for gaming in the next few months. We'll see.
So, as anyone who read my last news post probably knows, Sam and Max came out this past week on XBOX Live! and I have been playing it like crazy. The thing is, I don't want to overly run through it, so I decided one episode a night is all I will allow myself to do. However, since there is so much to see and do in each little episode, I usually get to spend 2-3 hours playing, solving puzzles and laughing at all the little jokes. It is some of the best $20 I've ever spent.
If you are not convinced that Sam and Max is a worthwhile purchase, allow me to help: this game is frakking awesome. First off, it's Sam and Max. In my mind, that's enough to pick up any peice of shameless merchandise! Steve Purcell managed to create two of the greatest characters of all time, who have featured in previous games as well as comics and a TV show. But if you're not familiar with the characters and need a better reason, this game is actually challenging. I feel that with a lot of the games I and my friends have been playing as of late, the real challenge is just figuring out where to go and who to shoot. There might be some slight puzzles, but nothing on the scale of Sam and Max Save The World. With this game, I have found that you need to talk to everyone in your environment before starting your adventure, because otherwise you'll be lost. You also need to check repeated locales for possible things that you may have missed on your first go around because not every bit and piece of the puzzle is readily apparent. I have found myself absolutely stumped on many occasion while playing so far, to the point where I'll either need to go do something else for a bit so I can sit down with fresh and creative ideas in how to solve a puzzle, or I need to give up and look online for a clue of where to go. You don't find that in a lot of games these days.
The adventure genre is something I sorely miss. This is primarily what I played when I was a kid, games like Indana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max Hit the Road, and The Secret of Monkey Island. The game not only serves as a great entertainment (considering how hilarious the two main characters are, let alone the plots) but also a tough brain teaser. I haven't spent this long trying to figure out a puzzle since last year's Braid. Granted, the Sam and Max games have been out for a little while now, but I don't have a PC so I can't enjoy in the same revelry most PC users can, what with their Star Craft II and their Diablo III. To be blessed with such a treat is a welcome vacation from all the shoot 'em ups and RPGs that I consistently play. This comes with the highest recommendation that I can possibly give, the "will.i.am Acknowledgement of Excellence" award.
Other than that, no other games have been getting the attention they may or may not deserve from yours truly. As much as I do need to do more play throughs of several games, I find that I'm too busy with other things to devote my attention to more than one game at a time, and the game that stole me is Sam and Max. I need to put more attention to my DS and play throughs of Mass Effect, Fallout 3, and Penny Arcade (because, since losing all my memory, I need to build up my character before episode 3 comes out). I also really need to get out and pre-order Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. I was going to do it when an Assassin's Creed 2 pre-order was announced, but apparently only the Brits get it, not us lonely statesmen, so that's out of the picture. Either way, as I begin to chew out all my other responsibilities to nerd-dom, I hope to free up more time for gaming in the next few months. We'll see.
Game Diary: June 22, 2009: Another Week
I promise you that the blog did not go anywhere. It is still here in grand fashion but I have not yet adjusted to my new work schedule so I have not been on my computer at all for the past week or so. The RSS feeds are stacking up and I need to find a way to catch up - pronto. This will be my third week with this schedule so with any fortitude on my part we should return to some semblance of a normal post schedule (at the very least one a day).
This week I - barely - worked on Mass Effect but I did finally manage to nab the Krogan and Sentinel Ally achievements which puts me at 955 (gamerscore) for the game so far. I am at the very end of the game so hopefully I can manage to nab the Assault Rifle Expert achievement. The reason I have not nabbed it earlier is because I was thinking that since I am not proficient in the weapon then why should I even try. Then someone at work told me that just because I am not proficient in it did not mean that I could not try for it. This is true apparently although I will not be that upset if I do not get the achievement on this playthrough.
The other game that I have been playing is Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Right before I started playing I prepped myself by watching the first movie for the gajillionth time. So far everything in the game feels so right from catching ghosts to the time relevant Doritos vending machines (the old bag, not the new ones). I plan on writing some sort of review when I finish so look out for that.
This week I - barely - worked on Mass Effect but I did finally manage to nab the Krogan and Sentinel Ally achievements which puts me at 955 (gamerscore) for the game so far. I am at the very end of the game so hopefully I can manage to nab the Assault Rifle Expert achievement. The reason I have not nabbed it earlier is because I was thinking that since I am not proficient in the weapon then why should I even try. Then someone at work told me that just because I am not proficient in it did not mean that I could not try for it. This is true apparently although I will not be that upset if I do not get the achievement on this playthrough.
The other game that I have been playing is Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Right before I started playing I prepped myself by watching the first movie for the gajillionth time. So far everything in the game feels so right from catching ghosts to the time relevant Doritos vending machines (the old bag, not the new ones). I plan on writing some sort of review when I finish so look out for that.
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