Showing posts with label vidgames. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vidgames. Show all posts
Friday, November 13, 2009
Hoooly shit
It has been FOR-fucking-EVER. I keep meaning to come back to this and something happens, I get distracted, just somethin', y'know? But, I am still alive! I still have access to a computer! I'm still playing vidgames and watching movies! I'm saving up for a car, but, I suck at saving money and not buying stuff to make me feel better, so, it's slow. I've been working, whee for gas stations, but, I am apparently DA BOMB at it, which is not necessarily a great thing. But I've been working at the one right by my house while I'm waiting for the new store to open, where I will then go to work. Visiting my darling girlfriend, Miss Jess'ka, whenever I can. With any luck we'll even be getting an apartment together soon, which would be rad. I miss her whenever she's not around. But, yeah. Random news! I've grown quite fond of Arizona green tea with ginseng and honey. Mmmmmm. But, hopefully I'll be posting some new stuff more frequently. I'm not sure what yet. Some review stuff, maybe? I dunno, there's a lot of stuff I'm trying to get around and settled in life, so, working on reviews and things of that sort kind of take a backseat. As is apparent with the nigh shutdown of my YouTube account. A complete lack of activity. For which I am sad. But, I am trying, so, whee, let's all cross our fingers!
Monday, June 1, 2009
E3 2009: Microsoft... "All in one box"
Sounds dirty, doesn't it? This year, I'm going to try to make this less cluttered and so anyone reading can just skip right by the things they want. As opposed to the walls of text I did for last year's E3. So, to begin with, a rundown of the games premiered and showcased!
--The Beatles: Rock Band
It's more Rock Band, am I right? Um, most interesting aspect, to me, is the harmonizing. Beyond that, though, it's... Rock Band with Beatles songs. They showed of ten of the forty-five songs that will be on the disc, and I only knew a couple of them. My mother's interest was piqued, though. And my grandmother will be hella interested in the box set that's coming out the same day as the game, 09/09/09. The two remaining Beatles and the two wives of the dead Beatles came out, though, so... woo. It was a bit awkward with Ringo and Paul, though, talking about how great the game is and looks. They just don't strike me as vidgame savvy.
--Tony Hawk Ride
No interest. Except for a mild curiosity in the skateboard peripheral, from a technical standpoint. I'm curious how well it works and how well it simulates actual skateboarding. Time shall tell.
--Modern Warfare 2
My interest in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has been growing quite a bit recently, mostly because I keep hearing that it's an amazing story. I don't give a shit about the competitive multiplayer, but, over the past couple months I've been hearing more about the singleplayer.
Unfortunately, what they showed of the game didn't really show much of the story, so, as of yet my interest in this sequel is looow. But, I will say that the action looked hella fun. Shooting guys off of snowmobiles and such.
--Final Fantasy XIII
Woot whoop! Best part of this was getting to see the combat gameplay, which seems to have dropped the run around style that is in Final Fantasy XII. Which is awesome, because while it can be fun, it's not my preferred way to play an RPG, especially not Final Fantasy. Other than that, what do you want to know? It's FFXIII. Uh... there's a Chocobo chick living in the black guy's afro! If you didn't already know that.
--Shadow Complex
EPIC developed Xbox Live Arcade game. I honestly don't know what to say about it. It looks interesting enough, little 2D action/shooter. But... yeah, it's an XBLA release that wasn't really explained terribly well, since Donald Mustard had some microphone trouble. But, from the sounds of things, they're just looking to make a fun 2D action/shooter. Nothing innovative was really touched upon or shown, so, if that's enough for you, keep a lookout for it!
Side note, it did appear that CliffyB [I don't care if he doesn't like that name, he's stuck with it for me] was wearing a shirt with Bill Gates' old mug shots printed on it.
--Joy Ride
Another Xbox Live Arcade title, this one let's you race cars with your Avatar! Woo? Yeah, doesn't do much for me. Seems to be just a basic cart racer with the sole hook of incorporating your Avatar. Also, "it's free to download and free to play", but things like extra cars, tracks, and other stuff will need to be bought. Maybe I'm just cynical, but, that makes me think there won't be much contained in the basic, free download. We'll see.
--Crackdown 2
Now, I never got around to playing the first Crackdown. The most I played was the demo, and I was relatively unimpressed, but the trailer for the sequel interests me a hell of a lot more. Mostly because of the seemingly more horror element present. Monsters and infected folk and the like. Or is that present in the first game and just never talked about anywhere?
--Left 4 Dead 2
Already? Yep, apparently coming November 17th. My guess is that it's going to be a lot like the first one, but with new people. And now the inclusion of melee weapons like axes and chainsaws! So, yeah, another sequel who's original I did not get to play yet, aside from the demo.
--Splinter Cell: Conviction
Good gods, this seems to be the year of sequels to games I have not been able to play! This game looks awesome, though, and makes me wish I could get my hands on the other games as soon as possible to get caught up. I especially like the integration of the story-telling into the gameplay. Not a new concept at all, but still something I like seeing pop up more and more often. The way the game goes about telling you your objective is very cool, nice and cinematic: it puts it in the sky, on the walls of buildings, things like that.
--Forza Motorsport 3
No interest on my part, I'm not much of one for racing games anymore, they've grown too complex and technical for me to really enjoy. I will say that the cars look great, though.
The "potential" they say is there for their in-game video editor is complete bullshit, though, if it's what it seems to be to me. Unless you have a half-dozen or so friends who are experts at Forza Motorsport 3, and I mean fucking experts, you aren't going to be recording and creating any of the stuff shown in that vid.
--Halo 3: ODST
Do I even really need to say anything? It's more Halo, if you've enjoyed the Halo games thus far and you want more, here it comes! If you have not liked them and have avoided them, here's another to skip! A point brought up is that the first Halo's pistol is making a comeback in this. Woot.
I am more interested in another story set in the Halo universe, personally, especially since the narrative will be different [though only different relative to previous Halo games] in that it's told in flashback format as you find clues. So, you'll see varying perspectives at the same time as progressing the main storyline and putting it together. Intriguing.
And there's a new cooperative mode that's mentioned only in name, Firefight. I'm going to venture a guess that this is something akin to Gears of War 2's Horde mode, though.
--Halo Reach
Almost nothing was shown or shared about this, except a little teaser and the knowledge that it's forthcoming. Prequel, sequel, FPS, another RTS, something completely different? No idea. I speculate that it's a sequel to Halo 3, personally.
--Alan Wake
Fuckin' FINALLY! Let us hope that it stays on track this time. Spring 2010 release, cross your fingers everyone! Some gameplay footage that kind of reminds me of Alone in the Dark, mostly in the use of light as a weapon that showcases the story a bit.
So, you're a science fiction writer who's woken up to find your wife missing and the first couple pages of a manuscript you've written. The bitch of it is, everyone you had written is coming true! So, you're searching for the rest of the manuscript so you can find out what's happening, find your wife, and save yourself while fighting off what the fuck every it is that's attacking you, it's difficult to make out.
An interesting science fiction, mystery thriller that I've been looking to since it was first announced in... '05? '06?
--Metal Gear: Rising
A Raiden-focused Metal Gear game. Intriguing. I've heard that Raiden turned into a badass ninja-guy in Metal Gear Solid 4, so that, coupled with Hideo Kojima's comment that this would be a new style of gameplay for a Metal Gear game, kind of helps me along to the conclusion that we're looking at an action title akin to the Devil May Cry series, or possibly the God of War games. Which sounds hella cool to me.
Speaking of Hideo Kojima, HAH! He's at a Microsoft event saying "Metal Gear Solid is coming to the Xbox 360!" So much for his Playstation 4 Life attitude, eh?
Being that this is the last game shown at Microsoft's E3 presentation, it seems as good of a time as any to mention how pleased I am to see exclusivity dying. It's going too slow for my tastes, but it's still going. Aside from first-party developed games, it's absolutely ridiculous that games are still exclusive titles.
But, let's talk about the rest of Microsoft's show. First of all, thank the gods that they didn't throw up charts and graphs and the number-throwing was kept to an extreme minimum.
Next, let's talk about some of the new things coming to Xbox Live!
Xbox Live plus last.fm? All right, music, I'm diggin' it. Streaming songs from last.fm through my surround sound speakers sounds excellent. Not much else was said about it, though, so we'll have to wait until it drops, which is supposedly in the fall.
Xbox Live plus Facebook? What the fuck?! Yeah, I don't personally need to have that, but it doesn't seem too ridiculous. Just access to your photos, friends, and status updates/newsfeed. Right on. I'm wondering if preparation for this presentation is why Facebook has been fuck-all slow lately. Considering nigh immediately after it was over with Facebook was running correctly again. Hmmmmmmm... but, if you wanna talk about ridiculous and unnecessary...
Xbox Live plus Twitter? What the fuck?!?! Yeah, that strikes me as utterly unnecessary. But, whatev, there are people who want it I'm sure. And now they'll get it.
One more thing and then we'll get on to the highlight of Microsoft's presentation, as far as I'm concerned. Xbox Live plus Netflix will be improving. Full 1080p, finally. Watching the films your streaming in parties over Xbox Live, finally. Instant streaming... finally. Basically, all the stuff that was promised at last year's E3 about the NXE and Netflix is coming. Also, Sky TV in the UK and Ireland, for my across the pond readers. Which will include being able to watch live television right from your Xbox.
And the biggest bit of technology introduced is Project Natal. Full-body motion capture incorporated into games, the dashboard, everything. No controller necessary at all. Facial recognition to sign you in to Xbox Live as soon as you walk in front of the Project Natal camera, voice recognition and hand motions to navigate menus... intriguing as all hell for a tech-junkie, but I can't help but feel it's idealistic. At least, the hype they built for it. But, it's certainly a step. Whether it's a step toward truly immersive gameplay or the beginning of AI technology that will one day enslave the human race... I'm not sure. Seriously, do a video search for "Project Natal" and "Milo", see the interactions betwixt this AI program and this woman. Crazy. Again, either extremely immersive, imaginative, interactive gameplay, or... we're fucked. One way or the other, eventually.
But, as far as the gameplay aspect is concerned, I'm too cynical to believe that it'll be useful in anything more than very simplistic games. Not to say they won't be fun, for instance this "Ricochet" game they showed looks like a lot of fun. But I see a lot of games working poorly or being just too dumb to be any fun. Like the painting thing that was shown after "Ricochet". That holds no interest for me or anyone else I know. But, perhaps just at first, perhaps it will improve over time, but... initially, I see it bombing and not meeting these high expectations set for it. Remember the Nintendo Wii everyone? All the misleading press about how sensitive the Wii remote and nunchuk would be in simulating and translating your movements to the screen? Yeah...
A final note, speaking of the Nintendo Wii, was it really necessary for Kudo Tsunoda to diss the Wii? I mean, sure, it got the reaction I'm sure he wanted, but... cheapened his presentation in my eyes.
--The Beatles: Rock Band
It's more Rock Band, am I right? Um, most interesting aspect, to me, is the harmonizing. Beyond that, though, it's... Rock Band with Beatles songs. They showed of ten of the forty-five songs that will be on the disc, and I only knew a couple of them. My mother's interest was piqued, though. And my grandmother will be hella interested in the box set that's coming out the same day as the game, 09/09/09. The two remaining Beatles and the two wives of the dead Beatles came out, though, so... woo. It was a bit awkward with Ringo and Paul, though, talking about how great the game is and looks. They just don't strike me as vidgame savvy.
--Tony Hawk Ride
No interest. Except for a mild curiosity in the skateboard peripheral, from a technical standpoint. I'm curious how well it works and how well it simulates actual skateboarding. Time shall tell.
--Modern Warfare 2
My interest in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has been growing quite a bit recently, mostly because I keep hearing that it's an amazing story. I don't give a shit about the competitive multiplayer, but, over the past couple months I've been hearing more about the singleplayer.
Unfortunately, what they showed of the game didn't really show much of the story, so, as of yet my interest in this sequel is looow. But, I will say that the action looked hella fun. Shooting guys off of snowmobiles and such.
--Final Fantasy XIII
Woot whoop! Best part of this was getting to see the combat gameplay, which seems to have dropped the run around style that is in Final Fantasy XII. Which is awesome, because while it can be fun, it's not my preferred way to play an RPG, especially not Final Fantasy. Other than that, what do you want to know? It's FFXIII. Uh... there's a Chocobo chick living in the black guy's afro! If you didn't already know that.
--Shadow Complex
EPIC developed Xbox Live Arcade game. I honestly don't know what to say about it. It looks interesting enough, little 2D action/shooter. But... yeah, it's an XBLA release that wasn't really explained terribly well, since Donald Mustard had some microphone trouble. But, from the sounds of things, they're just looking to make a fun 2D action/shooter. Nothing innovative was really touched upon or shown, so, if that's enough for you, keep a lookout for it!
Side note, it did appear that CliffyB [I don't care if he doesn't like that name, he's stuck with it for me] was wearing a shirt with Bill Gates' old mug shots printed on it.
--Joy Ride
Another Xbox Live Arcade title, this one let's you race cars with your Avatar! Woo? Yeah, doesn't do much for me. Seems to be just a basic cart racer with the sole hook of incorporating your Avatar. Also, "it's free to download and free to play", but things like extra cars, tracks, and other stuff will need to be bought. Maybe I'm just cynical, but, that makes me think there won't be much contained in the basic, free download. We'll see.
--Crackdown 2
Now, I never got around to playing the first Crackdown. The most I played was the demo, and I was relatively unimpressed, but the trailer for the sequel interests me a hell of a lot more. Mostly because of the seemingly more horror element present. Monsters and infected folk and the like. Or is that present in the first game and just never talked about anywhere?
--Left 4 Dead 2
Already? Yep, apparently coming November 17th. My guess is that it's going to be a lot like the first one, but with new people. And now the inclusion of melee weapons like axes and chainsaws! So, yeah, another sequel who's original I did not get to play yet, aside from the demo.
--Splinter Cell: Conviction
Good gods, this seems to be the year of sequels to games I have not been able to play! This game looks awesome, though, and makes me wish I could get my hands on the other games as soon as possible to get caught up. I especially like the integration of the story-telling into the gameplay. Not a new concept at all, but still something I like seeing pop up more and more often. The way the game goes about telling you your objective is very cool, nice and cinematic: it puts it in the sky, on the walls of buildings, things like that.
--Forza Motorsport 3
No interest on my part, I'm not much of one for racing games anymore, they've grown too complex and technical for me to really enjoy. I will say that the cars look great, though.
The "potential" they say is there for their in-game video editor is complete bullshit, though, if it's what it seems to be to me. Unless you have a half-dozen or so friends who are experts at Forza Motorsport 3, and I mean fucking experts, you aren't going to be recording and creating any of the stuff shown in that vid.
--Halo 3: ODST
Do I even really need to say anything? It's more Halo, if you've enjoyed the Halo games thus far and you want more, here it comes! If you have not liked them and have avoided them, here's another to skip! A point brought up is that the first Halo's pistol is making a comeback in this. Woot.
I am more interested in another story set in the Halo universe, personally, especially since the narrative will be different [though only different relative to previous Halo games] in that it's told in flashback format as you find clues. So, you'll see varying perspectives at the same time as progressing the main storyline and putting it together. Intriguing.
And there's a new cooperative mode that's mentioned only in name, Firefight. I'm going to venture a guess that this is something akin to Gears of War 2's Horde mode, though.
--Halo Reach
Almost nothing was shown or shared about this, except a little teaser and the knowledge that it's forthcoming. Prequel, sequel, FPS, another RTS, something completely different? No idea. I speculate that it's a sequel to Halo 3, personally.
--Alan Wake
Fuckin' FINALLY! Let us hope that it stays on track this time. Spring 2010 release, cross your fingers everyone! Some gameplay footage that kind of reminds me of Alone in the Dark, mostly in the use of light as a weapon that showcases the story a bit.
So, you're a science fiction writer who's woken up to find your wife missing and the first couple pages of a manuscript you've written. The bitch of it is, everyone you had written is coming true! So, you're searching for the rest of the manuscript so you can find out what's happening, find your wife, and save yourself while fighting off what the fuck every it is that's attacking you, it's difficult to make out.
An interesting science fiction, mystery thriller that I've been looking to since it was first announced in... '05? '06?
--Metal Gear: Rising
A Raiden-focused Metal Gear game. Intriguing. I've heard that Raiden turned into a badass ninja-guy in Metal Gear Solid 4, so that, coupled with Hideo Kojima's comment that this would be a new style of gameplay for a Metal Gear game, kind of helps me along to the conclusion that we're looking at an action title akin to the Devil May Cry series, or possibly the God of War games. Which sounds hella cool to me.
Speaking of Hideo Kojima, HAH! He's at a Microsoft event saying "Metal Gear Solid is coming to the Xbox 360!" So much for his Playstation 4 Life attitude, eh?
Being that this is the last game shown at Microsoft's E3 presentation, it seems as good of a time as any to mention how pleased I am to see exclusivity dying. It's going too slow for my tastes, but it's still going. Aside from first-party developed games, it's absolutely ridiculous that games are still exclusive titles.
But, let's talk about the rest of Microsoft's show. First of all, thank the gods that they didn't throw up charts and graphs and the number-throwing was kept to an extreme minimum.
Next, let's talk about some of the new things coming to Xbox Live!
Xbox Live plus last.fm? All right, music, I'm diggin' it. Streaming songs from last.fm through my surround sound speakers sounds excellent. Not much else was said about it, though, so we'll have to wait until it drops, which is supposedly in the fall.
Xbox Live plus Facebook? What the fuck?! Yeah, I don't personally need to have that, but it doesn't seem too ridiculous. Just access to your photos, friends, and status updates/newsfeed. Right on. I'm wondering if preparation for this presentation is why Facebook has been fuck-all slow lately. Considering nigh immediately after it was over with Facebook was running correctly again. Hmmmmmmm... but, if you wanna talk about ridiculous and unnecessary...
Xbox Live plus Twitter? What the fuck?!?! Yeah, that strikes me as utterly unnecessary. But, whatev, there are people who want it I'm sure. And now they'll get it.
One more thing and then we'll get on to the highlight of Microsoft's presentation, as far as I'm concerned. Xbox Live plus Netflix will be improving. Full 1080p, finally. Watching the films your streaming in parties over Xbox Live, finally. Instant streaming... finally. Basically, all the stuff that was promised at last year's E3 about the NXE and Netflix is coming. Also, Sky TV in the UK and Ireland, for my across the pond readers. Which will include being able to watch live television right from your Xbox.
And the biggest bit of technology introduced is Project Natal. Full-body motion capture incorporated into games, the dashboard, everything. No controller necessary at all. Facial recognition to sign you in to Xbox Live as soon as you walk in front of the Project Natal camera, voice recognition and hand motions to navigate menus... intriguing as all hell for a tech-junkie, but I can't help but feel it's idealistic. At least, the hype they built for it. But, it's certainly a step. Whether it's a step toward truly immersive gameplay or the beginning of AI technology that will one day enslave the human race... I'm not sure. Seriously, do a video search for "Project Natal" and "Milo", see the interactions betwixt this AI program and this woman. Crazy. Again, either extremely immersive, imaginative, interactive gameplay, or... we're fucked. One way or the other, eventually.
But, as far as the gameplay aspect is concerned, I'm too cynical to believe that it'll be useful in anything more than very simplistic games. Not to say they won't be fun, for instance this "Ricochet" game they showed looks like a lot of fun. But I see a lot of games working poorly or being just too dumb to be any fun. Like the painting thing that was shown after "Ricochet". That holds no interest for me or anyone else I know. But, perhaps just at first, perhaps it will improve over time, but... initially, I see it bombing and not meeting these high expectations set for it. Remember the Nintendo Wii everyone? All the misleading press about how sensitive the Wii remote and nunchuk would be in simulating and translating your movements to the screen? Yeah...
A final note, speaking of the Nintendo Wii, was it really necessary for Kudo Tsunoda to diss the Wii? I mean, sure, it got the reaction I'm sure he wanted, but... cheapened his presentation in my eyes.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tiny update
Two new games were purchased yesterday. Prince of Persia for the Xbox 360 and Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys! for the Nintendo DS. That is all.
Friday, March 20, 2009
I found this thing called YouTube
A four part Collection Update of everything I've purchased in the past year or so. Or, at least, all the Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo games and DVD's.
The audio sounds like butt, I got lazy and decided not to clean it up. And I left a lot of blank spaces, I got lazy with the cutting. Bah.
Also, I didn't mention my two new CD's... because that's pathetic. Yeah, I only bought two new CD's. Kerli's Love Is Dead and Disturbed's Indestructible. So there you have it.
The audio sounds like butt, I got lazy and decided not to clean it up. And I left a lot of blank spaces, I got lazy with the cutting. Bah.
Also, I didn't mention my two new CD's... because that's pathetic. Yeah, I only bought two new CD's. Kerli's Love Is Dead and Disturbed's Indestructible. So there you have it.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Mirror's Edge
Shep wanted to know about Mirror's Edge, so, here we go.
IIIII like it a lot. It's far from perfect, but, I still had a lot of fun with it. It's a refreshing change from all the FPS games.
It's crazy short though. I beat it twice in two days, once on Normal last night and I beat it a little while ago on Hard. The Story Mode, anyway, the Time Trials and Speedruns are a whole other matter entirely.
Some issues with it, though. For one thing, the cutscenes look like butt. I just don't dig the style of animation, it looks cheap and poorly-made, I don't care if it's supposed to be stylized. It looks great when it's still, but as soon as it animated, ew. Looks like one of those crappy cartoons on Adult Swim.
In addition, the controls sometimes just don't work. There's a few instances where you will not be able to figure out why Faith isn't grabbing the fucking ledge. Specific moments where she'll only do what she's supposed to three or four times out of ten. And you won't even know why you can't make it, it just seems random. But there're just a few instances of that, so it's not a huge deal, just worth mentioning.
A couple minor issues: all the white can sometimes blur together and make distinguishing things difficult. That may be just on SDTV's, though, I imagine it's clearer in high definition. And, of course, there are some instances of cheap deaths, but, what platforming game doesn't have those? It's certainly not rampant, just mildly annoying.
Oh, I almost forgot my biggest problem! The load times. When you first start up a level, I don't mind a long load time. And the load time for your last checkpoint after a death is remarkably short, usually. But each chapter has at least two, I think, moments where the game stops and it reads "Loading Level" at the bottom left of the screen. And it'll sit there for a good 10-30 seconds. It's annoying as hell. Maybe this isn't such an issue with the PS3, and won't be for the PC, I don't know. But it's certainly present for the 360 version.
Some good things? The score, I like the music a lot. The voice-acting's good, as well, though the story itself is kind of meh. Not bad, just unsurprising. The gameplay itself is terribly fun, the parkour aspects of it especially, and the gunplay isn't bad. Nothing really broken or poorly-implemented that I found in my two playthroughs.
And there you are, some of my quick thoughts on Mirror's Edge. Final summation: if you have a PS3 or 360, play this game. If you've got a PC, give it a little time, it'll be out in about a month.
IIIII like it a lot. It's far from perfect, but, I still had a lot of fun with it. It's a refreshing change from all the FPS games.
It's crazy short though. I beat it twice in two days, once on Normal last night and I beat it a little while ago on Hard. The Story Mode, anyway, the Time Trials and Speedruns are a whole other matter entirely.
Some issues with it, though. For one thing, the cutscenes look like butt. I just don't dig the style of animation, it looks cheap and poorly-made, I don't care if it's supposed to be stylized. It looks great when it's still, but as soon as it animated, ew. Looks like one of those crappy cartoons on Adult Swim.
In addition, the controls sometimes just don't work. There's a few instances where you will not be able to figure out why Faith isn't grabbing the fucking ledge. Specific moments where she'll only do what she's supposed to three or four times out of ten. And you won't even know why you can't make it, it just seems random. But there're just a few instances of that, so it's not a huge deal, just worth mentioning.
A couple minor issues: all the white can sometimes blur together and make distinguishing things difficult. That may be just on SDTV's, though, I imagine it's clearer in high definition. And, of course, there are some instances of cheap deaths, but, what platforming game doesn't have those? It's certainly not rampant, just mildly annoying.
Oh, I almost forgot my biggest problem! The load times. When you first start up a level, I don't mind a long load time. And the load time for your last checkpoint after a death is remarkably short, usually. But each chapter has at least two, I think, moments where the game stops and it reads "Loading Level" at the bottom left of the screen. And it'll sit there for a good 10-30 seconds. It's annoying as hell. Maybe this isn't such an issue with the PS3, and won't be for the PC, I don't know. But it's certainly present for the 360 version.
Some good things? The score, I like the music a lot. The voice-acting's good, as well, though the story itself is kind of meh. Not bad, just unsurprising. The gameplay itself is terribly fun, the parkour aspects of it especially, and the gunplay isn't bad. Nothing really broken or poorly-implemented that I found in my two playthroughs.
And there you are, some of my quick thoughts on Mirror's Edge. Final summation: if you have a PS3 or 360, play this game. If you've got a PC, give it a little time, it'll be out in about a month.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
I need to stop being gone all day.
So, hey, another long day wherein I wasn't at the computer much. I spent most of the morning clearing out some of the shit off of my computer because I desperately needed more space [which I'll get into later] and then ran the defrag for the main HDD. Whee, so, that kept me from the computer most of the day. Then, I was helping [mostly watching] Tim, the maintenance guy, fix our bathroom floor [which I'll also get into later in this since, like, two of you even know what the fuck I'm talking about XD].
And! I got Mirror's Edge today, squee! (^______^) So terribly excited, and really, really hoping it doesn't turn out to be an awful game. Haven't been able to get into it, being busy all day and such, and I'm putting it off for tonight because I want to try and get to bed early. But, more importantly, I'd much rather talk with what few friends are still online by this point in the day, and if I start playing my new game I'll become engrossed and start unintentionally ignoring them. Not good. But tomorrow, I'm playing the shit out of that game, let me tell you.
So, the bathroom floor. While we were looking over the new place before moving in, the first thing I noticed was that the floor in the bathroom was damaged as hell from water. The toilet was sinking into the floor on the right side and was leaning far enough that it made the tank drain drip by drop and refill itself repeatedly all day long. No fun. Long story short [too late], the front end of the tub, the end with the faucets, had settled into the floor and tilted the wrong way so that instead of the water running to the corner of the tub where it can sit and drain back into the tub and not cause problems it was running to the other edge out on to the floor and soaking into the floor. This probably would not have been such a big deal, but, instead of plywood the floor had been cheaply redone at some point and they used OSB [Sterling board] which acts like a sponge as soon as it gets wet, apparently. So, instead of the water drying up, it was trapped in the OSB and just causing as much water damage as it could. But, anyway, replaced the floor where it was damaged, and now my toilet is level! And, we replaced the toilet seat, which bit me a couple times, so, yeah! No more bitey toilet seat!
Okay, the space issue on my computer is next. As I was looking through my music files today, deciding what could go and what I really didn't want to ever delete,I came to the realization that my packrat tendencies extend to the internet. Specifically when it comes to downloading music. It's far too easy to find and download an entire discography of a band via torrents. XD So, I'd hear a song I like, look 'em up, then download their entire discography and keep it around. Maybe listen to it once. As you can imagine, it put quite a strain, especially since this computer's shit and does not have very large HDDs. A short explanation for that one.
So, to conclude this, I'm going to try and post here more often and treat it like an actual blog. The reason I don't is because I either can't remember all that happened by the end of a day, don't think it's really worth typing about, or don't have anything worth saying. So, no way in hell is it ever going to be a day-by-day rundown of everything I do, but, I'll try to post the more worthwhile or interesting things instead of never getting around to it. Like the bathroom floor thing, I could have posted about that weeks ago, just, didn't feel like it. Well, no more of that!
And! I got Mirror's Edge today, squee! (^______^) So terribly excited, and really, really hoping it doesn't turn out to be an awful game. Haven't been able to get into it, being busy all day and such, and I'm putting it off for tonight because I want to try and get to bed early. But, more importantly, I'd much rather talk with what few friends are still online by this point in the day, and if I start playing my new game I'll become engrossed and start unintentionally ignoring them. Not good. But tomorrow, I'm playing the shit out of that game, let me tell you.
So, the bathroom floor. While we were looking over the new place before moving in, the first thing I noticed was that the floor in the bathroom was damaged as hell from water. The toilet was sinking into the floor on the right side and was leaning far enough that it made the tank drain drip by drop and refill itself repeatedly all day long. No fun. Long story short [too late], the front end of the tub, the end with the faucets, had settled into the floor and tilted the wrong way so that instead of the water running to the corner of the tub where it can sit and drain back into the tub and not cause problems it was running to the other edge out on to the floor and soaking into the floor. This probably would not have been such a big deal, but, instead of plywood the floor had been cheaply redone at some point and they used OSB [Sterling board] which acts like a sponge as soon as it gets wet, apparently. So, instead of the water drying up, it was trapped in the OSB and just causing as much water damage as it could. But, anyway, replaced the floor where it was damaged, and now my toilet is level! And, we replaced the toilet seat, which bit me a couple times, so, yeah! No more bitey toilet seat!
Okay, the space issue on my computer is next. As I was looking through my music files today, deciding what could go and what I really didn't want to ever delete,I came to the realization that my packrat tendencies extend to the internet. Specifically when it comes to downloading music. It's far too easy to find and download an entire discography of a band via torrents. XD So, I'd hear a song I like, look 'em up, then download their entire discography and keep it around. Maybe listen to it once. As you can imagine, it put quite a strain, especially since this computer's shit and does not have very large HDDs. A short explanation for that one.
So, to conclude this, I'm going to try and post here more often and treat it like an actual blog. The reason I don't is because I either can't remember all that happened by the end of a day, don't think it's really worth typing about, or don't have anything worth saying. So, no way in hell is it ever going to be a day-by-day rundown of everything I do, but, I'll try to post the more worthwhile or interesting things instead of never getting around to it. Like the bathroom floor thing, I could have posted about that weeks ago, just, didn't feel like it. Well, no more of that!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Gears of War 2 Review (Because I was told to do it)
I was considering not doing a review for Gears 2, but, who am I to not do whatever a lovely lass asks of me? (^_^) So, I've decided to do a written review for Gears of War 2, as opposed to a video review, for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, I've got enough vids planned that I still have not done. Secondly, I still don't have a way of capturing video for doing these reviews and I can not believe that people want to sit and watch me blather on about a game without seeing even a second of gameplay footage, so, I'll just do a written review and hope people are okay with reading it, haha. This is very long, and I've probably forgotten to mention something despite reading over it a couple times to double check. And away we go.
---Story
It's been six months since the Lightmass Bomb was set off underground and the Locust Horde have returned with a vengeance. Somehow they've found a way to sink entire cities and the last bastion for human civilization, Jacinto, is under threat. In the hopes of saving their city, the COG is striking back at the heart by sending soldiers directly underground to fight back against the Horde.
The writing still takes a back seat to the gameplay, much like with the first Gears of War, but it's clearly stronger this time around. Which I feel is attributable to the inclusion of Joshua Ortega in the writing process. While still weak in certain aspects, particularly with some lines of dialogue, it has one of the most emotional, heart-breaking scenes I've seen in a vidgame thus far. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but the people who've played the game know what I'm talking about.
But let's be honest with ourselves, the majority of people who play a Gears game don't come to it for the story and I don't think it's really envisioned by the people working on it as a story-driven game, so we'll move on.
---Controls & Gameplay
If you've played Gears 1, you've got the controls for Gears 2 down already. For the sake of the review, though, I'll run through the controls.
Right trigger fires your weapon
Left trigger allows you to aim your weapon.
Right button reloads.
Left button shows your Tac/Com to check position and status of your team and your current
objectives.
Left stick controls your movement.
Right stick controls the camera.
D-pad chooses your weapons.
Pressing A puts you into cover or makes you dive in the direction indicated by the left stick. Holding A makes you roadie run. Pressing A near a downed enemy will pick them up as a meatshield.
B melees, revs the chainsaw if held while the Lancer is equipped, or sticks grenades to walls or people if grenades are equipped. Pressing B near a downed enemy while a special execution weapon is equipped with perform a specific execution.
X is your general interaction button: grabbing ammo and guns, kicking open doors, pressing buttons, etc. Pressing X near a downed enemy with curb stomp them.
Y shows you points of interest, which are generally prompted on the bottom of the screen anyway. Pressing Y near a downed enemy will perform a three-punch beatdown, unless a special execution weapon is equipped.
Start brings up the options menu.
Back skips cutscenes and shows the Leaderboard during multiplayer matches.
First of all, let's get the minor changes out of the way first. The roadie run is a bit slower, the clip sizes are different, smoke grenades now stun nearby enemies when they detonate, and the cover mechanic is improved slightly. I still have the occasional issue where it won't let me into cover when someone else is already attached to it or it'll drag me across to cover I'm not even near when what I wanted to do was dodge aside, but these things don't happen as often. Other than that, it works much the same, which is to say, great.
But, there have been several new weapons added, including the Scorcher flamethrower and mortars, as well as an Ink grenade that expels a cloud of poison. Speaking of grenades, there's also a new way to deploy grenades as proximity mines. Simply meleeing a wall while you have the grenade equipped will accomplish this phenomenally useful feat.
And let's not forget the new executions. No longer is it the same old curb stomp with X if you want to really take out an enemy. Now there are 11 different executions with a variety of weapons. For instance, pressing Y while you have the Torque Bow equipped will have your character place the opponents neck against the Torque Bow blade then kick the back of his head while simultaneously pulling back on the Bow, effectively decapitating your enemy. It is delightfully violent.
Yet another new thing added to the gameplay are several new enemies, such as the Grinder, which is a huge Locust walking around with a Mulcher, and the Mauler, which is another huge Locust, but with a large shield that will deflect the majority of your shots and a morningstar with quite the reach. It's not all large Locust, though, there has been a much smaller, though no less deadly, enemy added to the roster. That's the Ticker, which is a living land mine that will race at you then explode.
And finally, there are several vehicles portions of the game where you get to drive a Centaur (which is a COG tank), a Reaver, and even a Brumak.
---Graphics
The graphics are improved, though to my unprofessional eye it doesn't appear to be by much. But, it is there... seriously, I'm not the guy to ever ask about graphics. >_> I know whether it looks good or does not look good, and that's as much as I know. There is an issue, though, where sometimes the textures take a few extra seconds to load, and you see a very smooth, glass-like world, but that's mostly amusing. XD
One thing of note as far as the graphics is the completely altered character model of Anya. Her hair color, facial shape, body shape, it's all different, which took some getting used to for me, even though you only see her once in the first Gears. And I wish someone could explain to me why they decided to make the change.
---Music & Sound
The sound work is really, really good. Every bone-snapping, blood-splattering, body-mutilating noise is done to perfection. One complaint, though. When you're walking through the remains of a mutilated enemy, it's unnecessarily noisy. Like, I may kick aside a chunk of meat and it'll sound like I jumped directly on top of a pile of raw meat, it's ridiculous and annoys the hell out of me to the point where I will actively try to avoid walking over it.
The voice-acting is superb, despite some dodgy writing for the dialogue in a few places. And with the story being what it is, it's nice to hear a better range of emotions from the characters, not just "GRRR, KILL 'EM ALL! I'M ANGRY! I SHOOT TESTOSTERONE DIRECTLY INTO MY TESTICLES THREE TIMES A DAY; BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER, BITCHES!"
I'm also pleased to hear the score play a better range, as well. The score was nice in Gears 1, don't get me wrong. It enhanced the experience, or at the very least did not detract from it. But in Gears 2 I feel it's more memorable, more powerful, and plays a larger part in conveying the emotions played in the voices of the actors. As an aside, if you purchase the Limited Edition, there are parts of the score you can listen to included on the Bonus DVD, it's quite a nice feature.
---Multiplayer & Replayability
Ohhh, the multiplayer for a Gears game. Some people may recall that I dislike the competitive multiplayer for Gears of War, so if you love it and you're gonna get upset 'cause I'm gonna bash it, skip on down, brother or sister. The weapons are ridiculous, I fucking hate the shotgun and often enough refer to it as "Gears of Shotgun" while I'm playing the competitive multiplayer. Also, the way in which the lobby was set up annoyed the piss out of me. I couldn't just invite a friend to play a match with me, we had to try to find each other. "Look for this game type on this map", and gods help you if your rankings were too different, you'd never find each other. Then there was the issue with people coming in and insisting on being on the hosts team because they believe there's some host advantage, which there isn't, so you'd generally not even be able to join your friend's team.
Thankfully, half of that has been changed. The shotgun is still ever-present and I hate it, not to mention the Hammer of Dawn, seriously? But, the lobby has been drastically altered, thankfully. You enter the multiplayer lobby, choose your playlist (which I'll get to in a minute), and then start searching for a team or invite a friend or four then start searching for a team. Either way, you'll find any random players you need to fill your team of five, then start searching for another team to play against. Squee! No waiting and hoping for enough people to join the room so the host can start it!
However, you can not search within a specific gametype to play. Instead, you choose a playlist, which has at least three gametypes to choose from. Two are chosen at random, and then the 10 people present vote on what gametype they'd like to play. If there's a tie vote, one of the remaining gametypes in the list is chosen instead. The only exception to this is Wingman, which as its own playlist. And the same goes for the maps, two are randomly chosen and then voted on, if there's a tie, one of the remaining maps is chosen at random.
To finish up with the competitive multiplayer, there are two new gametypes: Wingman and Submission, a.k.a., Meatflag.
Wingman is basically a clusterfuck. There are five teams of two all gunning for each other, and with the limited spawnpoints on the maps, there is always someone not far from you as soon as you spawn. And hiding will do you know good, you pansies! You don't win merely by surviving, it's the first team to 15 points, and it's one point per kill with a bonus point if your team survives the round. So, you can theoretically survive every round and still lose the match. Personally, I don't like this gametype at all, but it is exactly as it was described and intended to be, so well done, Epic Games.
Submission, on the other hand, I do enjoy. It's your basic capture the flag with a twist: the flag fights back with a shotgun. And talks shit constantly. XD The meatflag's always terribly amusing to listen to. And that's it. Down the meatflag, pick the meatflag up, get him to the capture point and remain in the ring with him a few seconds to capture him.
Moving on to the cooperative multiplayer, which I enjoy far more. The campaign can, of course, be played entirely in co-op and is much, much better when played with a friend, either locally or over Xbox Live.
The new addition to the cooperative multiplayer, however, is the Horde mode. It's you and up to four of your friends against 50 waves of the Locust. Waves 1-10 feature increasingly difficult Locust, and after every tenth level one of three stat multipliers for the Locust, Accuracy, Health, and damage, is increased and the waves restart with the weakest Locust again. It's an extremely addictive mode to play, and a lot of fun to play with your friends.
Whew, this is a hella long review. Okay, so, replayability. I'd say it's extremely high. Horde is just wicked fun, so I imagine people will be playing that again and again. And if Achievements are important to you, you're gonna need 100,000 kills over all the different modes of gameplay, including the campaign, to get Seriously 2.0. So, you'll have to play the game a lot to get that, haha, I got the game the morning it came out and I haven't even reached 5,000 yet.
---Negatives
There's not much negative about this game for me, and certainly nothing I haven't already mentioned, but, I'll reiterate. Though I like it better, the competitive multiplayer is still very frustrating and annoying and there are a few dodgy lines of dialogue, as far as the writing is concerned. It's still a very short game, but it is longer than the first game. Also, it's not really a negative, but certainly not a positive, but where in the hell did the Berserkers go? They're only passingly mentioned with one of the Collectibles and that is all. Strange. Oh, only other thing that's kind of a letdown is the end. It lacks the punch and sense of accomplishment that the fight with General Raam had in the first Gears. It kind o' just... ends.
---Positives
Everything else! I love that there's more of a real story present and the game's just fun as hell to play. And there's a whole slew of additions to the game that make it even better than the first, from weapons to gametypes to enemies. Plus, I'll never get tired of hearing Dom say "Runnin' away won't help! I'll just shoot you in your asses!"
---Final summation
Purchase this game. Unless you don't like games with a lot of blood and violence. If that's the case, you should definitely pass on this one. >_> Or buy it and turn off all the gore and foul language in the options!
---Story
It's been six months since the Lightmass Bomb was set off underground and the Locust Horde have returned with a vengeance. Somehow they've found a way to sink entire cities and the last bastion for human civilization, Jacinto, is under threat. In the hopes of saving their city, the COG is striking back at the heart by sending soldiers directly underground to fight back against the Horde.
The writing still takes a back seat to the gameplay, much like with the first Gears of War, but it's clearly stronger this time around. Which I feel is attributable to the inclusion of Joshua Ortega in the writing process. While still weak in certain aspects, particularly with some lines of dialogue, it has one of the most emotional, heart-breaking scenes I've seen in a vidgame thus far. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but the people who've played the game know what I'm talking about.
But let's be honest with ourselves, the majority of people who play a Gears game don't come to it for the story and I don't think it's really envisioned by the people working on it as a story-driven game, so we'll move on.
---Controls & Gameplay
If you've played Gears 1, you've got the controls for Gears 2 down already. For the sake of the review, though, I'll run through the controls.
Right trigger fires your weapon
Left trigger allows you to aim your weapon.
Right button reloads.
Left button shows your Tac/Com to check position and status of your team and your current
objectives.
Left stick controls your movement.
Right stick controls the camera.
D-pad chooses your weapons.
Pressing A puts you into cover or makes you dive in the direction indicated by the left stick. Holding A makes you roadie run. Pressing A near a downed enemy will pick them up as a meatshield.
B melees, revs the chainsaw if held while the Lancer is equipped, or sticks grenades to walls or people if grenades are equipped. Pressing B near a downed enemy while a special execution weapon is equipped with perform a specific execution.
X is your general interaction button: grabbing ammo and guns, kicking open doors, pressing buttons, etc. Pressing X near a downed enemy with curb stomp them.
Y shows you points of interest, which are generally prompted on the bottom of the screen anyway. Pressing Y near a downed enemy will perform a three-punch beatdown, unless a special execution weapon is equipped.
Start brings up the options menu.
Back skips cutscenes and shows the Leaderboard during multiplayer matches.
First of all, let's get the minor changes out of the way first. The roadie run is a bit slower, the clip sizes are different, smoke grenades now stun nearby enemies when they detonate, and the cover mechanic is improved slightly. I still have the occasional issue where it won't let me into cover when someone else is already attached to it or it'll drag me across to cover I'm not even near when what I wanted to do was dodge aside, but these things don't happen as often. Other than that, it works much the same, which is to say, great.
But, there have been several new weapons added, including the Scorcher flamethrower and mortars, as well as an Ink grenade that expels a cloud of poison. Speaking of grenades, there's also a new way to deploy grenades as proximity mines. Simply meleeing a wall while you have the grenade equipped will accomplish this phenomenally useful feat.
And let's not forget the new executions. No longer is it the same old curb stomp with X if you want to really take out an enemy. Now there are 11 different executions with a variety of weapons. For instance, pressing Y while you have the Torque Bow equipped will have your character place the opponents neck against the Torque Bow blade then kick the back of his head while simultaneously pulling back on the Bow, effectively decapitating your enemy. It is delightfully violent.
Yet another new thing added to the gameplay are several new enemies, such as the Grinder, which is a huge Locust walking around with a Mulcher, and the Mauler, which is another huge Locust, but with a large shield that will deflect the majority of your shots and a morningstar with quite the reach. It's not all large Locust, though, there has been a much smaller, though no less deadly, enemy added to the roster. That's the Ticker, which is a living land mine that will race at you then explode.
And finally, there are several vehicles portions of the game where you get to drive a Centaur (which is a COG tank), a Reaver, and even a Brumak.
---Graphics
The graphics are improved, though to my unprofessional eye it doesn't appear to be by much. But, it is there... seriously, I'm not the guy to ever ask about graphics. >_> I know whether it looks good or does not look good, and that's as much as I know. There is an issue, though, where sometimes the textures take a few extra seconds to load, and you see a very smooth, glass-like world, but that's mostly amusing. XD
One thing of note as far as the graphics is the completely altered character model of Anya. Her hair color, facial shape, body shape, it's all different, which took some getting used to for me, even though you only see her once in the first Gears. And I wish someone could explain to me why they decided to make the change.
---Music & Sound
The sound work is really, really good. Every bone-snapping, blood-splattering, body-mutilating noise is done to perfection. One complaint, though. When you're walking through the remains of a mutilated enemy, it's unnecessarily noisy. Like, I may kick aside a chunk of meat and it'll sound like I jumped directly on top of a pile of raw meat, it's ridiculous and annoys the hell out of me to the point where I will actively try to avoid walking over it.
The voice-acting is superb, despite some dodgy writing for the dialogue in a few places. And with the story being what it is, it's nice to hear a better range of emotions from the characters, not just "GRRR, KILL 'EM ALL! I'M ANGRY! I SHOOT TESTOSTERONE DIRECTLY INTO MY TESTICLES THREE TIMES A DAY; BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER, BITCHES!"
I'm also pleased to hear the score play a better range, as well. The score was nice in Gears 1, don't get me wrong. It enhanced the experience, or at the very least did not detract from it. But in Gears 2 I feel it's more memorable, more powerful, and plays a larger part in conveying the emotions played in the voices of the actors. As an aside, if you purchase the Limited Edition, there are parts of the score you can listen to included on the Bonus DVD, it's quite a nice feature.
---Multiplayer & Replayability
Ohhh, the multiplayer for a Gears game. Some people may recall that I dislike the competitive multiplayer for Gears of War, so if you love it and you're gonna get upset 'cause I'm gonna bash it, skip on down, brother or sister. The weapons are ridiculous, I fucking hate the shotgun and often enough refer to it as "Gears of Shotgun" while I'm playing the competitive multiplayer. Also, the way in which the lobby was set up annoyed the piss out of me. I couldn't just invite a friend to play a match with me, we had to try to find each other. "Look for this game type on this map", and gods help you if your rankings were too different, you'd never find each other. Then there was the issue with people coming in and insisting on being on the hosts team because they believe there's some host advantage, which there isn't, so you'd generally not even be able to join your friend's team.
Thankfully, half of that has been changed. The shotgun is still ever-present and I hate it, not to mention the Hammer of Dawn, seriously? But, the lobby has been drastically altered, thankfully. You enter the multiplayer lobby, choose your playlist (which I'll get to in a minute), and then start searching for a team or invite a friend or four then start searching for a team. Either way, you'll find any random players you need to fill your team of five, then start searching for another team to play against. Squee! No waiting and hoping for enough people to join the room so the host can start it!
However, you can not search within a specific gametype to play. Instead, you choose a playlist, which has at least three gametypes to choose from. Two are chosen at random, and then the 10 people present vote on what gametype they'd like to play. If there's a tie vote, one of the remaining gametypes in the list is chosen instead. The only exception to this is Wingman, which as its own playlist. And the same goes for the maps, two are randomly chosen and then voted on, if there's a tie, one of the remaining maps is chosen at random.
To finish up with the competitive multiplayer, there are two new gametypes: Wingman and Submission, a.k.a., Meatflag.
Wingman is basically a clusterfuck. There are five teams of two all gunning for each other, and with the limited spawnpoints on the maps, there is always someone not far from you as soon as you spawn. And hiding will do you know good, you pansies! You don't win merely by surviving, it's the first team to 15 points, and it's one point per kill with a bonus point if your team survives the round. So, you can theoretically survive every round and still lose the match. Personally, I don't like this gametype at all, but it is exactly as it was described and intended to be, so well done, Epic Games.
Submission, on the other hand, I do enjoy. It's your basic capture the flag with a twist: the flag fights back with a shotgun. And talks shit constantly. XD The meatflag's always terribly amusing to listen to. And that's it. Down the meatflag, pick the meatflag up, get him to the capture point and remain in the ring with him a few seconds to capture him.
Moving on to the cooperative multiplayer, which I enjoy far more. The campaign can, of course, be played entirely in co-op and is much, much better when played with a friend, either locally or over Xbox Live.
The new addition to the cooperative multiplayer, however, is the Horde mode. It's you and up to four of your friends against 50 waves of the Locust. Waves 1-10 feature increasingly difficult Locust, and after every tenth level one of three stat multipliers for the Locust, Accuracy, Health, and damage, is increased and the waves restart with the weakest Locust again. It's an extremely addictive mode to play, and a lot of fun to play with your friends.
Whew, this is a hella long review. Okay, so, replayability. I'd say it's extremely high. Horde is just wicked fun, so I imagine people will be playing that again and again. And if Achievements are important to you, you're gonna need 100,000 kills over all the different modes of gameplay, including the campaign, to get Seriously 2.0. So, you'll have to play the game a lot to get that, haha, I got the game the morning it came out and I haven't even reached 5,000 yet.
---Negatives
There's not much negative about this game for me, and certainly nothing I haven't already mentioned, but, I'll reiterate. Though I like it better, the competitive multiplayer is still very frustrating and annoying and there are a few dodgy lines of dialogue, as far as the writing is concerned. It's still a very short game, but it is longer than the first game. Also, it's not really a negative, but certainly not a positive, but where in the hell did the Berserkers go? They're only passingly mentioned with one of the Collectibles and that is all. Strange. Oh, only other thing that's kind of a letdown is the end. It lacks the punch and sense of accomplishment that the fight with General Raam had in the first Gears. It kind o' just... ends.
---Positives
Everything else! I love that there's more of a real story present and the game's just fun as hell to play. And there's a whole slew of additions to the game that make it even better than the first, from weapons to gametypes to enemies. Plus, I'll never get tired of hearing Dom say "Runnin' away won't help! I'll just shoot you in your asses!"
---Final summation
Purchase this game. Unless you don't like games with a lot of blood and violence. If that's the case, you should definitely pass on this one. >_> Or buy it and turn off all the gore and foul language in the options!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Whew. (>_<)
Thanks to a suggestion from the lovely Fran (chroniclesofbayley), there is now a complete list of all the Sega Genesis, Nintendo, Xbox, and Playstation games I own, as well as a list of the DVD's I own.
They're at the bottom of the right column, and some of them are very long. But if you're ever wondering if I own a DVD or game, there ya have it.
They're at the bottom of the right column, and some of them are very long. But if you're ever wondering if I own a DVD or game, there ya have it.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Nearing the end
So, the second to last of vids I've currently planned to do.
The Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. So much nigh-nonsensical rambling it had to be split into two vids. And that's after I cut eight or nine minutes out of it. Crazy, huh?
So, after my two new Marz CD's get here, I'll do my vid showin' what CD's I've got [debating on whether to go into every album I've got, be it legit, burned, or downloaded, just do physical CD's, burned and legit, or, just legitimate CD's, thoughts?]. And then, who knows how long it'll be before I do another vid, neh?
In other, sadder, news: Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment. Not only that, he was found naked by a maid. With sleeping pills "nearby". For all I know, in press lingo, that could just mean he had some in his fucking house. Anything to spark intrigue, am I right? But I'm waiting for that coroner's report and the follow-up article I'm sure'll come 'round lettin' people know what's what.
And in my own selfish mind, one of my first thoughts was "Well at least he finished his role in The Dark Knight first."
The Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. So much nigh-nonsensical rambling it had to be split into two vids. And that's after I cut eight or nine minutes out of it. Crazy, huh?
So, after my two new Marz CD's get here, I'll do my vid showin' what CD's I've got [debating on whether to go into every album I've got, be it legit, burned, or downloaded, just do physical CD's, burned and legit, or, just legitimate CD's, thoughts?]. And then, who knows how long it'll be before I do another vid, neh?
In other, sadder, news: Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment. Not only that, he was found naked by a maid. With sleeping pills "nearby". For all I know, in press lingo, that could just mean he had some in his fucking house. Anything to spark intrigue, am I right? But I'm waiting for that coroner's report and the follow-up article I'm sure'll come 'round lettin' people know what's what.
And in my own selfish mind, one of my first thoughts was "Well at least he finished his role in The Dark Knight first."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
