Watching Credits

For some reason I always watch the credit-crawl after finishing a game or movie. I read every name (if possible). You learn a lot about who’s-who and the development process. When I finished Splinter Cell: Conviction, it lists all the names of the actors of all the different languages. Since I have been lax in my reporting, here are the games I finished the first 6 months this year.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Great game! A beautiful action game with an engaging story. I've not played much of the on-line component.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox360) Finished the confusing campaign quickly. I've done most of the Special Ops boards. The real joy is in the on-line multiplayer. On the PS3, I've only played the muliplayer. I also bought the DLC for both systems at $15 a pop. Not worth it.

Dead Space (Xbox360) What a fun game! Slightly scary; the best part is the sound.

Borderlands (Xbox360) FPS RPG I thougt it got boring after a while. I played as the Siren Lilith. Just recently we started play this with online multiplayer. The color/art style was unique.

BioShock 2 (Xbox360) Another winner from 2K. I enjoyed this one almost as much as Bioshock. The controls are better, the exciting world is unchanged, and the story is good. I just does not have that sense of wonder when I first entered Rapture. I'm waiting on friends to play the muliplayer portion.

God Of War (PS3 - redone in HD) What an amazing game! Great story and puzzles. Gameplay kept evolving. I was completely entertained. I'm going to start GoW2 before I get GoW3.

Splinter Cell Conviction This game had the longest credits I have ever seen - movies included. Half way through the sound stopped. Oh, the game. It was OK. Good stealth play. I liked the addition of the assignation function. I've started the Special Ops boards, but I would like to play with someone.

Still working on:

Perfect Dark (Xbox360) An HD upgrade to the N64 classic. Red Alert: Command and Conquer 3 (PS3) This is hard. Halo ODST meh Ghostbusters (Xbox360) meh Brutal Legend (Xbox360) The originality wore off about half way through.

An army of one

I played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 last night. You might reply, “Wow Anguissette, how is that different from 90% of the nights since COD4 came out in November 2007?”

Yes, it’s true, I pay first-person war games a lot, but last night I found a new kind of fun. Normally I play Hard Core Team Deathmatch: no radar; no kill camera; higher damage; and a much higher quality of people. A person who plays the run-and-gun style usually ends with K/D ratio near 1 at best; the better players are often accused of “camping.” It is a patient game where a methodic strategy usually dominates. Last night I played Free-for-All. But I used the Hard Core strategy. My best load-out had stealth in mind – especially a gun with a silencer. (In the standard core games, the radar is always ON. If you fire an unsuppressed weapon, you show up on everyone’s map.) I used claymores and patiently waited for the runners to come. They came; they died; they watched on the kill cam. Pride is a dangerous thing. When you are outsmarted by an adversary, many times, your desire for revenge takes over and you seek revenge. In Free-for-All, all mics are open: you hear the guy you just popped shout in anger; followed by his threat to return the favor. I remained silent for the most part, adjusting my position for his likely return. I stayed in the same area, but never in the same spot. How did I do? In 3+ hours of work, I ALWAYS won the best Kill-to-Death ratio accolade. I didn’t always place in the top 3 (which counts as a win), but when you end with a 10-2, who cares? My best was 30-2: MVP player (game is over when a player hits 30 kills) and master of the combatants. I got the AC130 kill-streak reward (11 kills) in three games in a row. Usually I quit when my play deteriorates, last night I stopped out of responsibility to my employer. Next time Anguissette is on-line and solo, you will find him in the Free-for-All matches. (Until I get board and move on to Search and Destroy.)

GotY

One of my favorite Blogs Joystiq posted their Game of the Year list:

1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (still working on it)
2. Assassin's Creed (El Mico finished it)
3. Batman: Arkham Asylum (loved it!)
4. Dragon Age: Origins (gifted it to Jerrr22 for Christmas)
5. inFamous (on my list to get)
6. Call of Duty: Moder Warfare (finished)
7. Shadow Complex
8. Borderlands (almost done)
9. 'Splosion Man
10. Little King's Story

Never played 7, 9, 10 - and I have no interest.

I would add:

• Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 3 - We still play this game often.
• Rockband: The Beatles - It was a joy to play through.
• KillZone 2 - Honorable mention.

Also, two games I played that came out before 2009 that I though were spectacular:

• Bioshock
• Fable 2

I'm not going to make a new list, but B:AA would be on the top. It might change after I finish U2:AT.

Modern War - a good start

I have two copies of MW2. One for Xbox that I had pre-ordered from Amazon. The other from Best Buy that I bought after I got back from my trip to California. I started playing a week late.

I'm only halfway through the campaign - yes, I did the Russian Airport level - and it is satisfactory.

I am enjoying the multiplayer (Xbox Live). I found some tips that Infinity Ward provided. I repost them here for discussion.

Five general tips for new players: 1. You can't hurt your teammates in the starting game modes, so if something moves, shoot it.

2. If you're having trouble aiming, use a Riot Shield. It will help you AND your team.

3. Use everything. Equipment, attachments, secondary weapons, etc. When you die and come back, it will be replenished.

4. Play cautiously. It doesn't take much to kill the enemy, so the element of surprise is your friend.

5. Keep practicing! Dying doesn't penalize you, so try everything and you'll find what works for you.

Things to keep in mind -- Sticking a Semtex grenade to a character holding a riot shield is a good way to take them out from the front without having to flank them.

-- Using a flash or stun grenade against players using a riot shields is very effective causing them lower their shields for a moment and opening them up for an attack.

-- Aim for the chest or neck region on burst fire assault rifles. For full auto assault rifles, do the same but fire in groups of three to five rounds. Doing this will make the muzzle climb for recoil and give you a second or third round headshot.

-- Thermal scopes work great with smoke grenades - enemies show up right through the smoke (unless they have the cold blooded perk!)

-- Shoot down a Pavelow helicopter faster by not locking on with the AT-4 (anti-tank weapon); shooting from the hip prevents the Pavelow from using countermeasures.

-- If you're not a pro shooter, try playing a support role. In Domination, you could play a runner class, and constantly harass the enemy team by infiltrating their rear field and taking objective points. In this way, you could be one of the most valuable players on the team without doing much killing at all.

-- Equip a Stinger as your secondary weapon and watch for enemy aircraft. Your stinger missiles can lock on to them and quickly destroy them. You can even take down enemy UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) this way.

Strategy on Der Riesse (CoD:WaW)

This strategy is very different form what I’ve done in the past on Der Riesse. Instead of camping in one area, like the Alamo (the catwalk in C), this tactic involves movement. I’m publishing this now because I want to try it with 3 or 4 players. ElMico and I have gotten into the high twenties doing this (and then we do something stupid). I believe I can get into the thirties with more people. Here is a map that shows the concept. (Click it to enlarge) Before you begin this method, it is suggested that you have the Pack-A-Punch machine active and have one upgraded weapon. I also suggest bouncing-betties, monkey bombs, Joggernog, and Speed Cola. (The numbers represent the locations on the map.)

1. Begin the round by standing in Teleporter C. In preparation, put at least two betties in Sophia’s Tunnel (the tunnel just to the North of the teleporter). Defend yourself from inside the teleporter until you feel uncomfortable – I wait until I get hit once – then activate the teleporter and get out of there!
2. You will arrive at the Mainframe with a few seconds to reload and recover. The bonus will appear in courtyard. A pre-determined person will run there to collect the perk. Careful, it could be a dog.
3. The rest of the party heads toward the Thompson side. You will need to protect the person getting the bonus, so shoot down the hallway toward the Speed Cola machine. When the party is reunited, run into the Thompson room (Auto Garage) and up the stairs.
4. Making a stand at the bridge is optional. ElMico likes to shoot down the stairs. I run over to the edge and shoot incoming zombies until I need to reload. Drop down to the courtyard (by the electric switch) when you are ready – as always, it is better to move quickly than wait for trouble.
5. In the courtyard you can make a short stand. In the higher levels you may want to activate the electric fence. Don’t dawdle here – always drift toward Transporter C. Be careful, this is the first time you can be surprised by zombies behind you (usually one or two). If you are at the end of the round, this is where you will like to make a crawler.If not – head for Transporter C (1) and repeat.

Other points:

• Placing betties at C is to protect you from zombies coming from Sophia’s Tunnel. They can surprise you! If we are ahead of the zombie horde while returning to C, I like to place another bettie. More people means more betties.
• In Teleporter C there is a dead spot to the right (facing out) – you cannot activate the teleporter here. Find it before you begin this tactic; it caught me once. Stay in the middle or to the left.
• We also like to pre-determine the person to buy the teleporter (1500), mostly based on who has the cash. But if you feel threatened or the designated porter calls "I’m down!" – make the jump.
• At (3) (Thompson room) you can activate another electric fence. ElMico and I have never needed to do this, but know it is there.
• For Dog Rounds, we like to go down Sophia’s Tunnel. You can also hide in the Alamo. With four people, split up and go to both.
• The highest risk is getting the bonus. If you don’t need it, be safe and skip it: after teleporting, run right to Thompson room.
• If you are down in the teleporter, you will be sent to the Mainframe when activated. Revive your down comrade there.
• Your mentality should be to not take risks. If you see a Max Ammo (very tempting), toss a monkey bomb before you go and get it.
• Stay together (especially the teleport) and communicate!
• There is no need to open the door on the Trench gun side of the Mainframe or the stairway up to the Juggernog. In fact that could be bad.
• A variant on this method is to go to the Trench gun side instead of the Thompson side. I personally have not done this. Usually after round three we get the Thompson rather than the shot gun because it is more versatile.
• It is possible to use this method while solo. But you will teleport a lot more often.

Give this strategy a try and let me know your highest level.

Fable: Fun, Furious, and Full-Sized

I finished Fable 2 (last month) on Xbox 360. It was a great game! I like linear stories that take place in a non-linear world. You can do whatever you want, or you can follow the path (a gold path in this case) and focus on the main quest. I did just that.

The surprising thing was the diversity and quantity of NPCs with whom to interact. Yes, I heard repeating comments, but it was still a huge variety. Very impressive. It was not repetitive at all – every quest, territory, and character was different (unlike Assassin’s Creed).

I built a female character and in the end chose to keep my dog. According to "Achievements," I only finished 42% of the game. But I don't want to re-do the entire game just to make a different choice in the end. Ugh!

I am anticipating Fable 3 coming out at the end of 2010.

New PS3 Ads - selling what?

I just don't get it. Help me out here. Below is a picture of a gamer giving blood (life?) to Rommel (The Dessert Fox). He is considered a good Nazi, but come-on! What is the message here? I think this is a picture of a gamer giving his heart (again, life?) to Joan of Arc. Did they just want to pick a girl warrior?

It is fun to look at the other images around the main characters. See the mouse in the corner.

Please, give my your impressions.