• 22Apr 13

  A new job, the new Tomb Raider, and me playing BioShock?!

  I just haven't felt like writing anything for awhile now, but for my own posterity feel like putting something down since the last time I worked up a post was three months ago.  Since then, I've played through Sly IV, Tomb Raider, Tony Hawk HD, and working on BioShock.  I'm starting a new position at work fairly soon, switching to days after over 5.5 years working second shift.  But even after all that, I find myself once again staring at very few upcoming games to keep my hobby alive...

  Sly IV came and went, and I still feel that it was disappointing.  Basically the "walks like a duck, talks like a duck" analogy.  It looked and played like Sly Cooper, but it didn't feel like it.  It really felt like someone emulating or imitating the original Sly Cooper games, as opposed to it just having the actual feel of one.  Sly IV is still a pretty good game, but it does not compare to the originals.

  I moved on to the new Tomb Raider after that (and after finishing Ni No Kuni and beginning work on post-ending missions).  Prior to release, I didn't have interest in TR for some reason, but all the great reviews, plus GameTrailers TR franchise retrospective renewed my interest in the new game.  And having finished it, I can say that it was worth it.  I really enjoyed the direction of the new game, even though the ridiculousness remains, in the "surviving lots of craziness" way that can get out of hand (Uncharted 3 anyone?).  But the new TR is very good, with a lot of stuff to do, even though I was hoping for more tombs or just lengthier ones.  I am very interested to see where a sequel goes with this new direction.  I must say that I loved how it all came together though, that everything happened on the island in the timespan of probably a week at most, and very little felt extraneous compared to previous TRs or Uncharted 2/3.

  And that, game wise, brings me to Tiger Woods 14 and BioShock.  The inclusion of all 4 majors, and what feels like tighter mechanics, made the TW14 purchase easier, as is the lengthy 'Legends of the Majors' mode that unlocks a bunch of great HoF golfers.  I'm a sucker for a good golf game anyway, plus TW14 is a nice upgrade from TW12.  As for BioShock, I have wanted to try the original at various points, but with all the praise for Infinite, as well as a glowing recommendation from a good friend, I figured I could try Infinite, seeing as it comes with the original too.  I'm around halfway through BioShock so far, not entirely sure what I think of it yet.  Early on I loved the game design, and how it kinda combines action, FPS, and adventure elements into the same package.  The further I have gotten, the more I have noticed a bit of the standard gameplay tropes (do this for so-and-so, gather x and y for z).  I'm not saying its bad, just that I got stuck earlier in the game because I had to find something to unblock an area; this time its just simply, to do this, collect these things.  I'm being a little picky about that, but its just my feeling about the design.  I'll try out Infinite after finishing the original.

  But after these, there is another dry spell of titles coming over the summer.  A few downloadable games should help matters (PA Rain-Slick Ep 4, Ducktales Remastered, Castle of Illusion HD), but as far as big console releases, I'm only interested in Fuse and Remember Me until September.  And I don't' have that much interest in Fuse either...  Solid release dates for the FFX/X-2 HD Remasters would be great, same for the South Park RPG.  But it appears I will soon be back where I was late last year, after the very nice start to this year (DmC -> Ni No Kuni -> Sly IV -> Tomb Raider -> BioShock even).  Hopefully E3 has some good announcements then...
  

  • Posted Apr 22, 2013 8:19 am GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 20Jan 13

  DmC Thoughts

  I loved the original Devil May Cry. Played it straight through in a couple days when it came out back in 2001. I would even sing an improvised song about it (Pressure 4-5's "Beat the World" turned into "Beat Mundus", not exactly sure why but it was a new song at the time, and rusted keys). Alongside Tony Hawk 3 and Final Fantasy X, those were the biggest and best games I got to play and the PS2 era was just beginning. Devil May Cry 2 had a lot to live up to, and it didn't hit that high mark set by the original. And that meant DMC3 had a lot of expectations, which it matched, but it also pissed me off endlessly that I turned my sights to a new franchise, God of War. I have made numerous attempts to play through DMC3, but I seem to get stuck somewhere: whether its the more complex combat, the tough boss fights (the Nevan fight may just be one of my most hated boss fights ever), the 4 styles which I was not a huge fan of. God of War was just more fun to me as well. I did return for DMC 4 which I really enjoyed playing. And so that brings us up to this past week's nuclear release of the reboot, DmC.

  I can be pretty forgiving. Despite their changes from the norm, I loved Ratchet: Deadlocked and even All 4 One to a lesser extent; the Bond reboot has two of the best movies in the entire franchise (Casino Royale, Skyfall). So I was not all that shocked and appalled at the new Dante. I am a big fan of Ninja Theory after playing both Heavenly Sword and Enslaved, so I was very eager to see what they could do with a new Devil May Cry. I liked the old/original Dante like everyone else, but I had faith that Ninja Theory would make a great game. I picked it up upon release last Tuesday, and when I had time, played it through, finishing it last night. Having finished it last night, what do I think as a fan of the original series?

  Simply put, I loved it. Yes, the new Dante nowhere near as good as the old, but he does get much better toward the end of the game. Yes, the combat may not have the crazy ceiling previous entries (namely DMC 3) has. Yes, the combat may be too simplified and accessible compared to the previous entries. But you know what? I had more fun with this more accessible combat system than I have in the previous DMC titles. It didn't feel like you had to know all these different attacks and combos, not unlike a complex fighter, or any fighter for that matter. You have all these moves at the ready, and use the L2/R2 as weapon modifiers so you can easily chain together combos that involve all 3 weapons, let alone the gun(s). Toss in the Angel/Demon pulls, and combat was a blast all the way through. As for Dante? He grew on me to be honest. The hair still looks a little off, but his personality got matter during the course of the game. And the story being told was pretty good. I really enjoyed the ending, even though it could have used a slightly longer ending. The way everything played out made solid sense (for a game involving demons, and Limbo). The boss fights were okay (Barbas was probably the best one), so maybe that's a bit disappointing, but again, I can forgive it if I had a lot of fun. Which I did.

  What I can't get over though, is how much internet hatred DmC is receiving. I remember Devil May Cry 4 being good, and receiving good scores as well, but all the recent talk makes it sound like DMC4 was terrible. I would have liked to see where Capcom would take the series after 4's introduction of Nero, but if they wanted to reboot the series so be it. Sometimes when a franchise just kinda repeats its prior entries, those new games have to something going for them to make it stand out against the others. Case in point, the Legend of Zelda. Basically each new console version has been a variant of Ocarina of Time, which came out over 15 years ago. Who wants to play the same game over and over and over again when there are new games every couple years (besides all those people buying Call of Duty every year for no reason)? I can only understand when it comes to sports games. That is the reason I try to only get 1 or 2 sports games a year, varying it between the sports (MLB & NCAA FB last year, Tiger Woods year before). It is also the reason (among other reasons) I won't touch a new Assassin's Creed game if one comes out later this year. So Capcom trying something different with the newest Devil May Cry is not the worst thing to happen. If they kept at it, DMC could end up where Resident Evil is, with their latest entry either widely panned or (seemingly) sparsely loved.

  I loved the new DmC. I still love the originals. I hope DmC does well enough to give Ninja Theory a chance to make a sequel, and improve on what they have started. DmC is a very good game, and at least deserves a chance. Accessibility doesn't always mean dumbed-down. It can just mean its easy to pick up and start playing, then be tough to master. Maybe that is because I try to simplify things to help me understand various stuff. Or even more so because I love playing games that are fun, such as Ratchet & Clank. Either way, it means I loved DmC and eagerly await the coming release of a game I have been waiting on for maybe 3 years, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch! Two more days!!

  2013 Efficiency Status: 3 games completed on the year, 4/6 overall after playing more R&C UYA HD last night. Next up: Ni No Kuni!, maybe The Cave, maybe Metal Gear Rising: REVENGEANCE.
  

  • Posted Jan 20, 2013 8:58 am GMT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 13Jan 13

  Going for efficiency?

  So, for about the last year plus, I have been debating on whether or not to cut back on my gaming. It has not been that easy because I there always seem to be a couple games that I give a chance and end up loving. The real problem is that I try too many, so the ratio isn't that good. But I am going to try something out this year and see how it goes: efficiency over total.

  Most of this stems from reading an article on Kotaku about the guy's "games played" & "games finished" list. His included somewhere over 175 games played with only 23 finished. Now I know I do not play that many games in a year, but the number is still somewhere between 50-75, and last year I only finished 20. There was some guy's post about supposedly finishing 112 games last year (which just sounds ludicrous to me, but whatever), so that got me thinking a little more about my habits, and whatwith the games I purchased during Steam's Holiday sale (5 games for $17.50 total: Breath of Death VII: The Beginning, Cthulhu Saves the World, The Binding of Isaac, Mark of the Ninja, Scribblenauts Unlimited from Amazon), I thought about keeping my own list of played and finished, plus a little checklist so I can see what I have combined with what is approaching. My goal is to attempt to finish more than 80% of the games I play this year, and I am 3/4 so far. I hope it helps me to avoid seeing a 1 or 2 week gap and talk myself into something I most likely don't need.

  Right now, my 3/4 consists of: already finished WWE '13; just finished Breath of Death VII & Cthulhu Saves the World; with Mark of the Ninja in progress

  Backlog: Binding of Isaac, Scribblenauts Unlimited, R&C Up Your Arsenal HD, R&C Full Frontal Assault, The Walking Dead

  Upcoming: DmC, Ni No Kuni, Sly IV: Thieves in Time, South Park: Stick of Truth

  Considering: The Cave, A Hat in Time (Steam Greenlight), Tiger Woods 14, MGR: REVENGEANCE
  

  • Posted Jan 13, 2013 9:35 am GMT
  • Category: Games
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