 |
|
Oct 23rd, 2011 at 11:24:14 - Magicka (PC) |
Going to close this one. P beat it a couple weeks ago and I've since lost all motivation to play further. I'm on chapter 8 I think, out of 12, and it's gotten harder, tedious too. I do really enjoy the spell-casting system in the game, but I also find the game quite repetitive. It's frantic, constantly running and clicking, a hack n slash without the hacking -- cast n dash I suppose. The more I memorize the spell combinations the better I do, but since I only play every once in a while, I keep forgetting the combinations, which can run over 5 buttons long. ASASF SEFSE QFAQFAQFR SSARR and on and on and on...
Anyway, before P beat it we played co-op a couple times, which was more fun than playing alone. We might still play some cause he says he's not done with it. He really likes it. In co-op you can resurrect each other, like SW+Spacebar or something. In single-player, if you die, you die. So in that sense co-op is more forgiving. And I don't think the enemies are any more numerous or difficult, yet it's still hard! You can 'cross beams,' which means you can enhance your spell power by crossing each other's spells...so, making an X or something. Whatever enemies get caught at the intersection get blasted big time. And you can heal one another. So us, of course, being long-time MMO players, quickly fell into reciprocal roles. He'd attack, and I'd heal him. I'd run circles and he'd lay land mines. I'd die and he'd finish the fight. Very complementary!
The game's also quite buggy. There are a LOT of things that don't work right, enemies that get stuck, weapons are really hard to click on, mechanics don't work right sometimes, fall off ledges sometimes...all kinds of random stuff that would normally be amusing, but adding up are annoying.
So, I may pick this up and play more with P sometime, but I'm done keeping it open here.
add a comment  - read this GameLog  |
|
Oct 10th, 2011 at 06:48:18 - Everlands (Other) |
Finished Everlands this weekend. I enjoyed it a lot. It's a fairly simplistic hex-based strategy RPG with a cute story. You lead a band of animals on a quest to find the source of the corruption poisoning the river and forest in Everlands and turning the animals into raging beasts. Most levels you meet a new type of enraged animal, and once you beat the level, you get to use the newly freed animal. Different animals have different abilities, like Hippo reduces all incoming attacks by 1, Tiger reduces all adjacent enemies' attacks by 1, Leopard and Snake are quick and attack first every time. Each animal has HP and attack and it's just simple addition and subtraction + or - the occasional modifier to determine damage.
Like I said, it's hex-based. Each battlefield is just a pattern of hex spaces, 6 sides. Each animal is on a 6-sided piece and you play one anywhere on the board each turn. Characters already on the board are "defending" and characters being placed are "attacking." Defending characters always attack first, except for Leopard and Snake. Each piece has arrows on some combination of its sides and those arrows are the direction it can attack. Porcupine, for example, can logically attack from all sides except 1, underneath its belly.
It's cool that the game adds so many characters. There are probably 15 or so by the end to use, plus the special story ones that the computer uses, which get really strong by the end! There were one or two battles that I had to try a handful of times, but for the most part they take one or two tries. The goal on each map is to get over 50% of the animals converted to your side. When you defeat an enemy animal, it just changes color to your side, so you win by conversion. Some maps have additional objectives, like save the raging hippo or something. But yeah, fun little phone game!
add a comment - read this GameLog |
|
Oct 5th, 2011 at 22:34:31 - Grand Theft Auto IV (PC) |
I've sat down just 3 times with GTA 4 so far, and each time I've just ended up listening to the fake media in the game. Am I even playing a game? I feel like I'm on Youtube or browsing funny sites on the internet more than playing a game.
Day 1: I began GTA IV, which starts the same as the other GTAs I have experience with. You come to a new place as a nobody with a connection or two. You begin as a low-ranking person, and as you do more and more missions for people, you meet more and more powerful individuals, working your way up whatever hierarchy it is. So for Day 1, I played up until I noticed I could interact with the TV in Roman's apartment. I ended up sitting and watching all the TV shows. Since you can't select a show at will, I ended up turning off the game and just watching them all on Youtube. This was a totally unexpected, yet entertaining, first day. The shows are sarcastic, as GTA is known to be, and mostly make fun of conservatives, patriotism, gender norms, and about anything status quo. A couple particular parodies I enjoyed were the celebrity gossip shows talking about how rich and fabulous their lifestyles were. There was a hilarious infomercial about swords and knives with this crazy black woman and her more reserved southern white business partner. Then there was a hyper-masculine razor commercial for the "Excelsior Razor 9" with 9 blades for a close shave. And I remember a comedy club performance with real comedians. Ricky Gervais did a routine, and another guy who looked familiar, but I don't know his name.
Day 2: I did some story missions, met a few new characters, but that all ended when my attention was captured by a car radio program. I then sat outside an employer's house and listened for a long time to various radio shows in the game. I'm nowhere near listening to all the radio. I think I just listened to the cycle of one station if I remember correctly. I wrote all this down afterward because I was so amused:
i heard a talk show yesterday, listened through the whole cycle of it, 3 shows, probably 30-45 minutes. one was a psychic show, where they parodied spirit mediums. this woman was hilarious, and the callers were hilarious. she convinced them of all kinds of stuff, like convincing a woman she was really a man, telling another woman to leave her boyfriend and to spend $500 on sustaining the phone hotline call because she 'would soon meet the love of her life, a rich man, to whom $500 was inconsequential' there was also a political-type talk show with a dumb actor, a gubernatorial candidate, and an 11-year old genius. the host sounded very much like david sedaris. then there was one other show about the health care crisis, with a woman from the pharmaceutical companies, a guy from an HMO, and this stoned out organic medicine hippie guy, who at the end of the show, went nuts and tried to drill holes in the others' heads as a homeopathic remedy for headaches. it was bizarrely funny.
Day 3: Again, I did some missions for a while until I got to a mission where I had to create an email account. Now this was strange! Nico is an immigrant from Eastern Europe. It's interesting that it's never confirmed (so far) where he's from, though he does say he's not Russian. My guess is Serbia. Anyway, he's from a place where using the internet regularly isn't the norm. So Roman sets up an email account and the mission is to go to an internet cafe to confirm the account and finish setting it up. There's an entire freakin series of fake web pages you can browse. I uploaded some screenshots onto my Steam account. There's the Bank of Liberty City, which doesn't care about your security, promotes a Kredit Kard for Kids, and boasts about giving customers loans they can never pay off. The websites like the bank one are very satirical, and all of them make fun of their real-life sources. There's a photo-sharing site that talks about how you can post about your inane life in pictures and pester other users for comments. There's a real funny car salesman whose page mostly just glorifies himself. I stopped reading when I found a fake blog with users each with their own backlog of entries. I'll read it later. There's also a fake Myspace called Myroom that I noticed an ad for but never clicked on.
So all this fake media, it's amazing how much time and effort was put into creating it. I'm really glad it's all here and in all its various forms. One thing that bothers me though is the fact that I'm so interested in how stupid it is. I mean, it's all over-the-top, and that's why it's funny, because it's like OUR media, but over-the-top. But wait...tons of our media is over-the-top too, or just asinine. Look at the majority of social media, Youtube videos, blogs, comments on news articles, and on and on. Most of it is just inconsequential, mundane, just everyday people talking online. Yet we sit and watch it and contribute to it. Is GTA making a comment on our willingness to participate, and invest time and self, in such nonsense? Am I, by laughing at the GTA show "Waning with the Stars," which is about drug-addled and anorexic former Hollywood actors, being complicit in enjoying all the other "______ with the Stars" TV shows? Much of our media approaches the same silliness. So if this over-the-top media is set in the context of an over-the-top city like Vice City, what does that say about life in OUR cities? Is the silliness of our own lives just being pointed back out to us by the silliness of life in Vice City, where you can run over pedestrians, walk around with guns, talk about booze and women, and go on exciting motorcycle chases? Hey, all this stuff happens in real life too. It's just a bit more normal in Vice City. How far removed is it really?
There are a huge number of things that impress me about the game that I don't particularly remember from the others. First, this is a game for adults ONLY. If a parent buys their kid this game, they fail. There's a lot of language and humor and sex and violence that kids wouldn't get. Hell, the reason these games are controversial is that the language, humor, sex and violence in the GTA series does exist in real life. Even many adults refuse to believe it, and therefore they don't want it represented, even in exaggerated form, in a video game. GTA and moral panics indeed. My argument is that it's not that kids need to be "protected" from the content in GTA, just that they won't understand it, and they don't need to understand it. I think the harm comes in hiding language and things from kids, in over-protecting them, in pretending bad things don't exist and that there's only one way to see the world. So, I'm fucking impressed that GTA is as adult as it is.
Going back to the communication technology in the game, you get a cell phone, which you can answer, initiate calls, read texts, use a calendar, and take video. It's a cool addition. My favorite thing about it is this bit of realism where when the cell phone rings, the speakers start buzzing like they do! It's such a cool touch. I keep thinking that my own phone is about to ring when the in-game phone rings because the speakers make that buzzing and popping that they do before a cell phone rings.
Since you can call people, you can be one of those annoying people with a habit of calling at 1am. Characters don't like you doing this though! If you call your date (you can date girls) at 1am, she'll sound like she just woke up and tell you to call back tomorrow. If you hang out with someone (you can initiate hanging out with people to go play darts, pool, bowling, and other stuff, some of which are actual mini-games, though none too entertaining so far) and you call them to hang out again soon after, they'll tell you they just went out with you, and to call back later.
Finally, as I remember in the last GTA I played, cops arrest you if they corner you inside a vehicle or if they knock you out first. In this one, they just get near enough to you and Niko surrenders. It's more realistic, as in, Niko doesn't just kill the cop and go on a shooting spree when the cop gets in his face. This could have been in previous games, but I don't remember it well. Anyway, I like how this one works. I assumed last time I played, when I was being chased by police for not paying a toll booth (!), that I could punch the police when he came near, but nope, I surrendered and was arrested! I rather like that you can't just assault cops whenever you please.
That's GTA so far. I'm hardly into it at all, but have spent a ton of time watching TV, listening to the radio, and surfing the web. I think I remember playing a game or two with a cell phone before, and I've definitely played a few with email, but nothing with so much extra content as this. Fascinating.
add a comment - read this GameLog |
|
Sep 27th, 2011 at 03:41:49 - Devil May Cry 4 (PC) |
Fantastic game. I've never played a DMC game before. I watched Daniel play either DMC 2 or 3 way back when, and it didn't seem like something I'd particularly enjoy. But, he always did have the tendency to lose his temper playing games, so perhaps I thought it would be more frustrating than it turned out to be. I picked up DMC 4 because it got good reviews and I was curious about actually playing one in the series. So, some expectations I had: overly difficult, convoluted storyline, tons of fighting with some kind of combo system...
From reviews and from watching Daniel in previous games, I thought it would be really hard, which I was scared about since I'm not the best at fighting games or pulling off combo moves. I set it on "Human" difficulty, which is the noob level, and it wasn't that bad. I only died a handful of times on some of the later bosses.
Lots of Japanese games tend to have convoluted storylines, and especially games in long series like DMC. What am I supposed to know by game 4? Well, luckily for me I was wrong. Some of the characters are staples from past games, but the game did a real good job of putting it in context. This was probably aided by the fact that the main character of this game isn't Dante, the hero of all the rest, but a new guy named Nero. The story was good, definitely interesting, and a little cliche. Having just played We <3 Katamari, DMC 4 is another instance of playing to the fans. About 3/4 of the way through the game, you switch and pay as Dante for a while, which was just a total thanks to series fans. All he does is spout bad-boy one-liners, which is what he does best, along with killing demons.
I was correct though about the fighting and the combo system. I typically find combo systems and fighting games a little challenging for me because I don't want to put in time to practice my moves. I just want to get through the story mode and put it down, not try for high scores and perfect missions and all this. So my motivation to get really good at the more complicated combo games isn't there. This wasn't too bad though! I was happy to see that I could actually remember and pull off almost everything. So, a big nod to the control scheme! Basically, Y was for swords, B was for special weapons, X was for guns, and A was for jumping. So whatever you had equipped, there was a lot of overlap among the directional control + RB or whatever, then you just add in Y if you want to attack with a sword, X with the gun, and so on. I really liked it, and it was very smooth feeling.
I tore through the game in 12 hours, which according to howlongtobeat.com is 1 hour longer than average. I must be getting slower in my old age. Still, a good way to spend a couple days. This was also my first time hooking up my laptop to the HD TV to play a PC game on the big screen. It worked flawlessly and looked incredible. Like I said in my Gears of War log, HD is the way to go. It makes 3,4,5 year-old games look like they were made yesterday. Comparing my laptop monitor to the TV, the difference was clear. I will definitely be trying to play some other PC games via the TV now! DMC is set up that way. It actually assumes an Xbox controller. Mirror's Edge I think was the same way. A couple other games are too, but what I'm going to need to do for those that don't have a controller option is see if I can't get a longer HD cable or an extension, or a USB keyboard, and wire the whole system so I can sit back further from the TV.
Back to the game proper. The cut scenes were incredible and there was some badass choreographed fight sequences. At the very beginning, it opens with a woman, Kyrie, singing in a church. Nero runs through the city streets fighting off demons to make the performance. Kyrie finishes her song, and His Holiness, the leader of the Order (of the Sword? or I'm making that up...the Order something something) gives a speech and leads a prayer for the congregation. In the middle of the prayer Dante crashes through the glass-domed ceiling and assassinates His Holiness. Seriously one of the coolest fight scenes I've ever seen happens next as Nero tries to subdue Dante. Dante escapes, and the Order sends Nero off to hunt down Dante. Meanwhile, Dante is off to find the source of the demons. Meanwhile, high-ranking members of the Order begin their diabolical world-domination plans. Meanwhile...Okay, there are a few things going on at once. The game really does a nice job making it clear everyone's relationship to one another and why this or that person is doing what s/he is doing. There are just a handful of main characters, most interesting and fleshed out a bit. My favorite was Agnus the researcher. He had a stuttering problem that resulted in my favorite line from the whole game. When Nero fights Agnus for the first time, Nero uses some insulting language, and Agnus says he'll have to kill him and his foul mouth. Nero fires back something like, "Funny, you wanting to kill me for the way I t-t-t-talk." It was real clever writing! I appreciated the barbed dialogue back and forth between Nero/Dante. I guess Capcom's had years and years to make it not suck. Kind of like Gears of War, DMC does badass pretty well. It's more over-the-top, but doesn't take itself too seriously, and makes the characters almost lovable.
There were so many special moves in the game it was impossible to learn them all. Literally, you have to spend points to learn moves, and there's no way I could learn but about half with the amount of points I accumulated. You do get more points for being "stylish," which involves disposing enemies with variation and grace. I probably averaged a B, which isn't bad, but some levels I got C or D and didn't get hardly any ability points. Kind of odd because it in a sense withholds upgrades that might make you better if you don't do well. On the other hand, it rewards you for doing well. Anyway, I got enough cool moves to play with, and since you can unlearn moves with no penalty and redistribute your points, you can screw around with all the moves if you really want to. Some moves and items were utterly useless though. The shield move was one. You can take an enemy as a shield. Pointless, never even tried it. Dante gets "styles," so he can switch between being a sword expert, gun expert, defense expert, or movement expert. Defense and movement: pointless. The goal is to kill stuff, not defend or move fast!
Dante's sword can 'rev' for more damage, but I never used it because it took too much time to bother. Nero's special on the other hand was amazing. He has a 'demon arm' that he can use to grab enemies, pull them, smash them, and so on. It was cool.
The items are for the most part cool though. Each boss you defeat, you get something useful and particular to that level. So like this giant serpent (all the bosses are demons) drops some seeds that you use to reverse plant growth that blocks your path. You also get an hourglass to slow time that you use at pedestals. This way you can avoid lazers or slow a turbine. You can swing around at predetermined points like Batman. You jump on trampoline-like seals that boost you up and up. The best were these things, I forget the name, but they're like spinning blades of death. You activate them, then hit them to send them flying down the hallway. They can shred enemies, and you use them in various puzzles to bust down previously-un-bust-down-able walls. They were a lot of fun.
The game did have some puzzle elements, none too difficult or thoughtful except one that I only got because H pointed out that I was standing on a button. There are 12 secret missions, most of which were too annoying/difficult for me to bother with. It'd be like, kill all the enemies in the time limit, or get from A to B over this disappearing floor without falling, and so on. I completed 3 or 4.
Boss battles were great fun. I enjoyed them all! My favorites were definitely Agnus the researcher and then the giant Savior battle. The Savior battle was very God of War and Shadow of the Colossus-influenced. It was like the Ares battle, or the giant phase of the Zeus battle in that the Savior is freakin huge and you've got to navigate around him to hit all his weak spots. To navigate, you use those jump pads to launch from floating platform to floating platform encircling Savior. To attack his weak points (2 on arms, 2 legs, 2 shoulders, back, head, chest), you have to watch for opportunities to climb him, and watch for weapons on the platforms you can use to make him vulnerable. It was a really well-done and fun fight.
Finally, I remember one thing reviewers didn't like was all the backtracking. I didn't find it that annoying really. It happens when you get Dante. As Dante, you run, literally, all the way back to the beginning of the game, killing for good all the boss demons that ran from Nero. I mean, if you need to get back to the beginning of the game, how else would you do it? And it's not like the levels were exactly the same. They're turned all maze-y with blocked paths that open once you kill the boss again. And it really didn't take long, maybe like an hour of backtracking total, like 1/10th of the game. And the whole time you're learning how to use Dante, which is hella fun. He has some insane weapons, the weirdest of which is Pandora's Box, that has "666" different forms to kill enemies. Of course you can access just a few. One, the Box morphs into this little helicopter missile launcher thing and you can fly around. Kind of out of place, but maybe so bizarre that it's fine, I dunno. Another of Dante's weapons was this sword that shoots barbs out. As you attack, it leaves barbs in mid-air. After a while the barbs detonate, dealing damage to enemies. This is a super cool weapon. You can also sort of place barbs yourself, you can impale enemies with barbs through combos, you can shoot barbs in a circle around you, and on and on. The best part is that you can detonate them when you want! So, pummel an enemy with barbs, then watch Dante light him up. Scatter barbs all around you and detonate like a land-mined perimeter. I liked that one the best.
I would definitely play another Devil May Cry game. My expectations were exceeded.
add a comment - read this GameLog |
