Game
On the Surfeit of Good Games
Nov 03, 2008 12:39 AM
As Gabe & Tycho have so accurately pointed out, we find
ourselves in a dire situation - there are simply
too many good games to play. For a time I
thought I would be immune to this, but I too
have succumbed.
Are all three games I'm playing sequels? Yes, but that doesn't make them bad. In fact, I picked the three most promising titles to fritter away my precious spare time. All RPGs, but only one turn-based one. My interests have been steering more towards action RPGs in the past few years, and it is starting to show in the games I choose. But Mother 3 is so excellent - a dark, intense story-line presented in the fun, light style of Earthbound.
I finished the main storyline of Fable II (I picked the Love ending, by the way), and so most of my console time is now being devoted to Fallout 3.
Are all three games I'm playing sequels? Yes, but that doesn't make them bad. In fact, I picked the three most promising titles to fritter away my precious spare time. All RPGs, but only one turn-based one. My interests have been steering more towards action RPGs in the past few years, and it is starting to show in the games I choose. But Mother 3 is so excellent - a dark, intense story-line presented in the fun, light style of Earthbound.
I finished the main storyline of Fable II (I picked the Love ending, by the way), and so most of my console time is now being devoted to Fallout 3.
Finished Too Human
Sep 20, 2008 10:52 PM
Finished my first run-through of the game. Did it as
the Commando.
Though Ben Croshaw (not safe for work) is spot-on in picking out issues with the playing the game, it was still really fun. I think it took me about 15 hours, and it got a lot easier towards the end as I discovered all of the power in the Commando class. I think next time I will play as a Berserker. Only read more if you care about this game:
As a ranged-weapon specialist I always had a lot of trouble dealing with hordes of enemies. While I could shoot and immobilize one of them, the other would keep getting closer, and the Commando really can't use melee weapons effectively. Finally I realized the power of my battle cry, which gave me extremely high ballistic knockback. I combined this with a rifle that had +100% ballistic air juggle. The result was that I could fire at a bunch of enemies, knock them all away from me, then shoot each one up in the air the finish it off. The battle cry also added knockback to my Commando's grenades, so that each one would send enemies flying off of ledges and into the air.
Though Ben Croshaw (not safe for work) is spot-on in picking out issues with the playing the game, it was still really fun. I think it took me about 15 hours, and it got a lot easier towards the end as I discovered all of the power in the Commando class. I think next time I will play as a Berserker. Only read more if you care about this game:
As a ranged-weapon specialist I always had a lot of trouble dealing with hordes of enemies. While I could shoot and immobilize one of them, the other would keep getting closer, and the Commando really can't use melee weapons effectively. Finally I realized the power of my battle cry, which gave me extremely high ballistic knockback. I combined this with a rifle that had +100% ballistic air juggle. The result was that I could fire at a bunch of enemies, knock them all away from me, then shoot each one up in the air the finish it off. The battle cry also added knockback to my Commando's grenades, so that each one would send enemies flying off of ledges and into the air.
Playing Too Human
Sep 04, 2008 11:49 PM
I was going to write a review of the
critically-maligned Too Human, but this review
pretty much sums up my
feelings.
One correction, they discuss what Loki's crime is, but if you're not paying attention you would miss it.
One correction, they discuss what Loki's crime is, but if you're not paying attention you would miss it.
Just finished Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Jun 08, 2008 10:22 PM
Hmm...I guess a lot of my recent posts have been
about gaming...
In the last few years, there have been surprisingly few games that I have actually played to completion. The only ones I remember are every Phoenix Wright game and Mass Effect, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is technically a Phoenix Wright (Gyakuten Saiban) game, but it's nice to be in control of a different character for the vast majority of gameplay.
Overall, it was a fun game, but honestly the characters were not nearly as endearing as those from the previous iterations, and this has nothing to do with it. When I was finished, I was still left wanting more, like there were too many mysteries left unresolved. Maybe that's a good thing, as I'll be even more eager to play the next game in the series. As far as gameplay is concerned, there were significant reductions in the pain points I traditionally felt with the older games - investigations are easier, and there are fewer occasions where I have no idea what to do or where to go.
Any fans of the series or genre (all 5 of us) should definitely play this game. Though to do it right you will be best off starting from the beginning with the first Phoenix Wright game.
In the last few years, there have been surprisingly few games that I have actually played to completion. The only ones I remember are every Phoenix Wright game and Mass Effect, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is technically a Phoenix Wright (Gyakuten Saiban) game, but it's nice to be in control of a different character for the vast majority of gameplay.
Overall, it was a fun game, but honestly the characters were not nearly as endearing as those from the previous iterations, and this has nothing to do with it. When I was finished, I was still left wanting more, like there were too many mysteries left unresolved. Maybe that's a good thing, as I'll be even more eager to play the next game in the series. As far as gameplay is concerned, there were significant reductions in the pain points I traditionally felt with the older games - investigations are easier, and there are fewer occasions where I have no idea what to do or where to go.
Any fans of the series or genre (all 5 of us) should definitely play this game. Though to do it right you will be best off starting from the beginning with the first Phoenix Wright game.
Mac Version of Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One
May 26, 2008 10:02 PM
Ugh.
Interaction with the environment is much easier in the Mac version, since you can just click on an object. Unfortunately I didn't see a way to move my character around using the keyboard, which meant I had to keep click on where I wanted him to go...a little annoying, but that meant it was much harder to get your character stuck in some space. Be prepared to click a lot, though, pathfinding AI is horrible. For example, my character couldn't figure out how to move around a box that was on the floor.
Also unfortunately, I don't see a way to fight enemies without clicking first on the attack to be used and then clicking on the enemy. I think the fluid nature of combat on the 360 was one of the things that made it so enjoyable.
Oh well, I might still buy it...
Interaction with the environment is much easier in the Mac version, since you can just click on an object. Unfortunately I didn't see a way to move my character around using the keyboard, which meant I had to keep click on where I wanted him to go...a little annoying, but that meant it was much harder to get your character stuck in some space. Be prepared to click a lot, though, pathfinding AI is horrible. For example, my character couldn't figure out how to move around a box that was on the floor.
Also unfortunately, I don't see a way to fight enemies without clicking first on the attack to be used and then clicking on the enemy. I think the fluid nature of combat on the 360 was one of the things that made it so enjoyable.
Oh well, I might still buy it...
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode One
May 25, 2008 01:38 AM
Would that I could undo the following hour and the resultant disillusionment.
I'm a big fan of Penny Arcade and also a fan of video games. Given the involvement of Gabe & Tycho on the art and writing, I looked forward to both of these aspects, and was not disappointed. However, I personally found the gameplay insufferable. The mechanics of the world are enjoyable, with a fluid (albeit slightly hectic for me) combat system, and much of the polished jokes and effects that do a great job of setting the mood. I only played for about 45 minutes, but I'm assuming that encounters become either more random or more avoidable. What made gameplay unenjoyable for me was what I can only describe as a lack of polish. I had the exact same object interaction problems in this game as I do in Lost Odyssey. It's practically impossible for me to be in just the right spot on the map and facing just the right angle to get to talk to that person or inspect that trash can. Within the first 20 minutes of gameplay, I ended getting stuck behind a row of bushes, and only managed to get my character out after about 5 minutes of joystick wiggling - an extremely frustrating experience. If you don't want users to deal with this, either don't let us explore all 4 corners of your artwork, or just let us walk through the freakin' bushes, guys! I've played MMO's with fewer character sticking issues!
Well this might prove a valuable lesson to someone somewhere: No matter how good you think you've developed your game (or application), your users will figure out a way to break it or make it do something unintended. What's important is not just fixing these problems, but figuring out how to gracefully handle these situations as they arise out in the field. Preferably you're smart and add routines to predict when your game is in a bad state and take care of it dynamically, so that you don't have to keep releasing patch upon patch for games when you'd rather be working on the next one.
Well anyway, I'll try out the Mac version, and I'll post if I experience anything significantly different. I wonder what Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw would have to say about this particular title...
Blizzard's Starcraft II: Budget? A lot. Schedule? When it's ready.
May 24, 2007 08:14 PM
Hmm, when asked about when Starcraft II
would be released, Blizzard's President, Mike
Morhaime, said, "The game will be released when
it's ready."
When asked about how much Starcraft II would cost, VP of Game Design, Rob Pardo said, "We don't really have a budget; we'll spend as much time and resources as we need to make this game great."
Okay, I know Blizzard has a history of doing this sort of thing, so to some extent I trust them. At the same time, I hope that internally they have some idea for budget and release schedule, because we all know what happens when you don't.
When asked about how much Starcraft II would cost, VP of Game Design, Rob Pardo said, "We don't really have a budget; we'll spend as much time and resources as we need to make this game great."
Okay, I know Blizzard has a history of doing this sort of thing, so to some extent I trust them. At the same time, I hope that internally they have some idea for budget and release schedule, because we all know what happens when you don't.
Famitsu gives 9.5/10 to Resident Evil 4 (Wii)
May 24, 2007 06:31 PM
My one question here: Has anyone else felt like Famitsu's scores have been getting higher and higher? I wonder if it is because of increased quality in games (possible) or game review inflation from one of the world's most celebrated gaming publications (sadly, more likely).