Stick a Needle in My Eye

I have been working hard getting games completed. I promise. Isn't this supposed to be fun?

Today I finished Dead Space 2. It was tough. It took me in all 12 hours and 30 minutes to complete. I enjoy the DS universe, and took my time. I killed ALL the enemies I encountered (except that nasty regenerating one near the end!) and looted all the rooms. I assume I could fly through levels and finish the game much sooner.

Hint: In the last level, your job is to destroy the marker, not just the "ghost" that appears. (I wasted almost and hour trying to figure that out.)

Yesterday I finished the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 campaign. I must say I enjoyed it. The gameplay was fun.

I hated that I switched characters and had little clue about the story. (Rescue the Russian president, rescue the Vice-President - of America, rescue the president's daughter - no the Russian one. Blah)

Looking at my list, I think I will work on:

1. Lara Croft: the Guardian of Light
2. Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den
3. Skyrim (I'll finish another college)
4. Heavy Rain (PS3)
5. Batman: Arkham City

I also would like to start Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Stacked, Super Meat Boy, and Resistance 3 (PS3).

I gotta focus. I promise, I'm trying!

Betterfield or Battlefail 3?

I did have some trouble finishing Battlefield 3 (Xbox360), my save file was corrupted right after the first time I played the campaign. I believe it was because I shut-off the console after a multiplayer game and did not wait for the menu screen to load. This long delay is in ALL Battlefield games - it is stupid: when the match is over, I want to exit and not wait for the next map to load.

I played up-to Guillotine. CORRRUPT. Played up-to there again. STILL CORRUPT. Looked up on web: Delete save file to fix. Started (and finished) the third run through.

Here are my impressions of the single player campaign.

The Good:

• I enjoyed the sniper level (covering the extraction team) and the horde-mode-stand in the mall. I also like chasing down Kaffarov in his house.
• I thought the animation was beautiful. Especially outside.
• Vehicles are fun. The tank level was very unique. Playing Goose was fun, but I would have like to fly the jet; maybe in co-op.
• I don't mind quick-time-events. But, next time, if you are going to use them, put more in: I'll feel like I did the action.
• I was never bored (except the cut scenes I'd seen before).

The dumb:

• Switching players - if I was Blackburn and Dima, that might have been OK. But Miller, Jessica, ...
• LONG load times. I'm sorry (#1), but COD hides loading with cut scenes. BF has long loads just the cut scene. Then ANOTHER load before the player takes control.
• The story was sort of silly. Why have the Russians, the Iranians, the PLR, the Marines, the US Gov't, the French Police, and ever other faction involved? Keep the story simple, I don't need to save the world every time.
• I'm sorry (#2), but I like the COD control system better. I was always confusing Melee and Grenade (LB/RB). I know this is just my history.
• On the tank level, the vegetation would POP-in a few meters in front of the tank. I guess the Xbox could not keep up. And there were MAJOR frame rate dips in the game. Also, I saw a lot of tearing during interactive cut scenes. Not good.

I am glad I played BF3 - I will continue with the Multiplayer and Co-op (just started). But I think when Modern Warfare 3 shows up on November 8th, I will not play again.

I'm trying to decide if I should trade it in - on Uncharted 3 or something.

Step aside, I'm Batman

So last night I started Batman: Arkham City. I can tell this is going to absorb a lot of my gaming time. So I need to make a list of what is in process, so I can finish it later:

Dead Space 2 – I’m almost done; I’m in the middle of the last chapter. I should be able to finish it in my next sitting – but, of course, it must be at night. Plus I would like to try the multiplayer.

Homefront – there are one or two achievements I would like to try and get, nothing too difficult. Then I want to play multiplayer. Nick said he has this, so hopefully it will be with him.

Portal 2 – I just started the DLC.

Portal: Still Alive - I just have to complete the very last challenge level. It’s tough.

KillZone 3 - I REALLY like the multiplayer. I’ve done the local-bot thing, I want to finish all the maps and get online. and I don’t have a solution yet.

Heavy Rain – I started – just started. I’m not interested, but I will push myself through it.

BioShock 2: Minerva’s Den DLC.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - I’m almost done with the single player campaign, then I hope to find a partner.

LittleBigPlanet 2 - I am on the last level of the story campaign. T

Brutal Legend - I saw Jerr playing this yesterday. I’d like to finish, but I lost interest half way through.

Waiting unplayed:

• Resistance 3
• Gears of War 2 GotY
• Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Where the deer and the gamers play

After finishing HomeFront (Xbox360), I can tell you the best and worst thing about the game are the same: its short.

Micah described it best when he asked, "Are you playing Call of Duty?" It seems most gameplay elements were copied, cut-and-paste, from the COD experience.

It wasn't all bad. I enjoyed the helicopter sequence (like COD:BO) - Adding a third dimension to a FPS was interesting. To change elevation: RB to go up, LB to go down. Too bad it was so short. The sniper level was entertaining as well (like COD4:MW). You climb up in a clock tower - Charles Whitman style - and cover the advancing troops. Again, it was too short. I suddenly get an RPG rocket in the face and I am forced to jump down. The rest of the game was a cover-to-cover advance sequence like every other FPS. They even copied the AC-130 sequence from COD4:MW. The only slightly original element was the Goliath. It works like a Javelin controlled robot. Select a target and it will go and destroy it.

The story set you up to HATE the Korean Army, but the developers don't do anything with it. For example, in a cut scene you watch a mother tell her 5 year-old son that everything will be OK, then the soldiers kill her and the dad. The kid runs to the bodies of his parents crying loudly. And many other killings and mass graves throughout the early levels. Then suddenly in later levels you are killing survivalist Americans. What? And you never get to payback the Koreans - your motive for fighting is not really satisfied.

If it were titled Homefront: the Revolution Begins, the lack of resolution and shortness could be forgiven. Do I hope there is a squel? No. Unless they produce something totally different.

I have not played multiplayer yet.

Later in the day, I also finished the Portal 2 Co-op experience. The credits were fun.

I killed them all; they are all dead

I finished Killzone 3 on the PS3 today. I did it in three sessions.

My overall impression was it was time worth spent. There are sections I really enjoyed: there was a stealth jungle level that I really enjoyed (silenced sniper included!) and the snow jetpack level was great too. I was surprised how well I was able to control the booster pack. I call it that because the jetpack does not work like Don West flying around some desert planet, but more like Buzz Lightyear: 'falling with style.'

The cut scenes seemed so unprofessional: there were moments that were incomplete (How did I get here?) and others were very hurried. The swearing was over-the-top and annoying. Malcolm McDowell did a good job as Stahl - the bad guy.

They also introduce a new female character. That's her on the left. She calls herself Jammer.

I still like the realistic movement, but the cover system was useless. I probably could have changed it in the options, but I miss the set up like COD for aiming-down-sights. KZ is more of a from-the-hip shooter. If you want to zoom in, you need to press R3.

I tried the multiplayer - well, not really. They have a BOT version. I figure I will cycle through the maps a couple of times to learn the system. I have no clue about the character progression.

After playing only two maps, I began to wish I had more friends on PS3: it was a lot of fun. Since KillZone 2 beta, I have been playing what Guerrilla Games calls WarZone. It is a cycle through multiple game types: deathmatch, domination, capture-the-flag, assassination, and search-and-destroy. The variety is great, but it makes for a long game. I'll play that more.

I do have the PlayStation Move rifle. I got it with the Resistance 3 Doomsday edition. I don't know if I will go back and play it again with that 'casual' controller.

That reminds me, I gotta play R3!

And finally the ending - of the game that is. Killzone 3 ends with a space battle - you are the gunner in a ship "on rails." The result of the story, at first, leads you to believe that the war is over - I mean REALLY over. But then there is a teaser for something more in the middle of the credits. No teaser here, this blog is finished.

Bats is Back

One game I really enjoyed was Batman: Arkahm Asylum; I played it on the PS3. I don't like superhero games - I still think I don't - but this game fit me well. It is a stealth/puzzle/action game. Plus it was beautiful.

When I heard they were making Batman: Arkham City, I was disappointed. I thought the game was complete and did not need a follow-up. But as the trailers began to be shown, I was swayed. The two items that pushed me over the edge were Mr. Freeze (he is a complex villan; I know and like his backstory) and Catwoman (I don't get it either, but I like playing a female character.)

I pre-order from Amazon; it arrives Tuesday. I got it on XBox360 - is this more evidence I have switched systems?

I read the intro and the last paragraph of the review from Joystiq. They claim it is better than BM:AA. My anticipation builds. (I need to finish Dead Space 2, Homefront, and KillZone 3 before I start this. Yeah, like that will happen.)

Xbox announced today that the XBLA game War of the Worlds would be available October 26. This looks like another game to put on the when-it-goes-on-sale list.

Wanna play outside?

The other night, Nick, Jerr, and I played Red Dead Redemption - public free roam.

We started just riding around attacking a few hideouts. Then the locals got trigger-happy (other players killing players). Its fun to hunt them down, but it gets old because the spawn close with revenge on their mind.

To loose the noobs, we tried the RDR Nightmare zombie game. Its a horde mode game. We played all the maps and moved on to poker.

We played two games. I won the first, Jerry the second.

It was at that time I asked Nick, "Do you want to go outside and play?"

The closeness you feel in the virtual world made that outrageous comment totally sane. (Nick is in Portland while Jerr and I are in Cleveland.) Of course we went out and shot up some bandits.

Alice: the Madness Returns

I really enjoyed this game. First I played American McGee's Alice. I thought the game held up well for being 12 years old.

Then I played Alice: the Madness Returns. If you enjoy 3D platformers, you will enjoy this game. The creepy story was great. Some have complained about the few mini-games; but I thought the change in gameplay was not a distraction, but a source of variety.

ELN_SockMonkey has been playing it since I completed it. I help her when she asks, but it has been fun watching someone else play.

Ahh, I'm down.

Last night we played CoD:BO Zombies Kino Der Toten for 2.5 hours. We only got to level 25. But it was fun to play with Nick, Alex, and Jerr.

Alex, normally the point leader, was downed 8 times in the early levels. He tried to make amends by rescuing the rest of us. With the use of the Thunder Gun, he was happy when he got 8 revives.

Nick had some bad luck and never fully recovered. In the end, he finished we 21 downs. We think that broke JK's record.

The Mule Kick perk made things interesting. But it seemed like every time I got 3 weapons, I got overly confident and found myself surrounded by zombies. Ahh, I'm done.

When-On-Sale Games

Beyond Good and Evil HD

It is now 800 ms points (buy at 600)

Rochard is like a Portal Puzzle game with a gravity gun.

It is a PSN game - $9.99. (buy at $5)

Orcs Must Die is 1,200 MS Points. (buy at 600)

Looking to the Future

Games I am considering to buy:

Name	Date	System	Status
Body Count	8/23/2011	Xbox360	Played Demo. I didn't like the bounce. I'll only get if friends recommend it.
Madden NFL 12	8/30/2011	Xbox360	Played Demo. Buy Used just for the Browns cover
Rock of Ages	8/31/2011	Xbox360
Dead Island	9/6/2011	Xbox360
Resistance 3	9/6/2011	PS3	Plan on getting the Move version for ElMico
Crimson Alliance	9/7/2011	Xbox360	Just like Gauntlet (for Ellen)
The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection	9/27/2011	PS3
Batman: Arkham City	10/18/2011	Xbox360	Preordered
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One	10/18/2011	PS3
Battlefront 3	10/25/2011	Xbox360	Preordered
Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception	11/1/2011	PS3
Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 3	11/8/2011	Xbox360	Preordered
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	11/11/2011	Xbox360
Assassins Creed: Revelations	11/15/2011	Xbox360
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary	11/15/2011	Xbox360
Twisted Metal	2/14/2012	PS3
Journey	3/2/2012	PS3
Dead Space 2		Xbox360	Need to get soon: USED
Killzone 3		PS3
Socom 4		PS3
Stacked		Xbox360	Waiting for XBL sale
Super Meat Boy		Xbox360	Waiting for XBL sale

Two Copies | seipoC owT

I just realized something: I have two copies of the following games:

• Red Dead Redemption
• COD: Black Ops
• COD: World at War
• COD: Modern Warfare 2
• Assassin’s Creed 2
• Portal 2

One copy works on Xbox360, the other on PS3. Most of these are multiplayer games – I have different friends on both networks. With Portal 2, things get interesting. I originally bought the PS3 version which comes with the PC version. ElMico and I can play co-op in the same house: I’m on the PS3 and he is on the PC. It is a lot of fun.

Imagine if that were possible across all consoles – then the publishers would only need to sell me one copy. (Hmmmm, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.)

Sniper Ghost Warrior

I knew the reviews were bad before playing, and for the most part, they were accurate. The good: joy comes with popping a guy in the head – oh what joy! The bad: forced to use an assault rifle. The ugly: the story and the voice acting. I finished on April 15, 2011 after 6 hours of play (and I went slowly in the stealth parts!). I only got 13 of 24 achievements. The majority of the rest of the achievements are for multiplayer, which I didn’t even try.

Alan, Wake up

I enjoyed my adventure with Alan Wake. It has some flaws – I did not like the supernatural element of the story set in a very natural setting. I didn’t believe the story. The engine felt old – it’s hard to explain – the characters did not look/fell real. I like that the cut-scenes were in-game, but it did not have the polished feel of a standard cinematic scene. The story/mystery was engaging enough to keep me interested. I liked that it was divided into episodes – it gave a great place to stop and save. “I’m going to play Episode 3 tonight.” And I did. The Noir voiceover was disturbing – it was used as a tool to direct the user on what to do or why something would not work. It took me out of the story. I am worried about La Noir now. The best part was the flashlight. With dark shadows all around, the flashlight reveals the bright colors of what is really there. The metaphor of truth and light come to life. I finished on April 12th, 2011 with only half of the achievements completed. I have no desire to play it again or try the DLCs.

Assassin's Creed II

I played Assassin’s Creed on PS3 – played but did not finish. It was too repetitious.

I played and FINISHED Assassin’s Creed 2 on Xbox360. It was NOT repetitious.

The evolving gameplay and a fast-paced story kept my interest making this a game I recommend. I finished on March 26, 2011 with 41/50 achievements (82%).

My List: Spring 2011

Sometimes I just need to make lists to keep myself organized. Here are the games I anticipate on playing and buying in 2011: Own and Need to Play Assassins Creed 2 (xBox) I actually own two copies of this: PS3 and xBox 360. I am working through the xBox version and enjoying it very much. Little Big Planet 2 (PS3) I’ve started the story – very charming. Alan Wake (xBox) God of War II (PS3) God of War III (PS3) Infamous (PS3) Dante’s Inferno (PS3) Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) Already available: Sniper: Ghost Warrior (xBox) Not great reviews, but I love sniper games. I am waiting for GameFly to dump inventory on this one. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (xBox) I want to play the multi-player. HomeFront (xBox) I bought this as a gift for Jerry; he found its flaws. But I still want to experience this FPS. I’ll try to get it less than $30. Dead Space 2 (xBox) I played (and enjoyed) the original a year late. I expect the same with the sequel. Grand Theft Auto IV Complete (xBox) I doubt I will find time to get to this classic. Super Meat Boy (xBox Arcade) Stacked (xBox Arcade) Heavy Rain (PS3) Others: KillZone 3 (PS3), Mass Effect (xBox), Mass Effect 2 (xBox), Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (xBox), Gears of War 2 (xBox), Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock (PS3), Rock Band 3 (PS3) Coming Soon: Portal 2 (April 21, 2011; PS3 and xBox) I don’t think this will be release day – depends on if I get caught in the hype. I need it on PS3 because it will be the better version (cloud, PC copy) and ElMico will want it there. Xbox because of the co-op. LA Noire (May 17, 2011; xBox) Release day purchase and birthday gift for myself. Alice: Return to Madness (June 4, 2011; xBox) I’m frightened to play this game. I hope it is different from Dante’s Inferno. Zombie Island (August 1, 2011; xBox) The trailer sold me. Batman: Arkam City (October 18, 2011; xBox) I enjoyed B:AA – I hope this will be just as fun. Call of Duty 8 (November 2011; xbox and PS3) I gotta do my duty. Resistance 3 (September 3, 2011; PS3) The Last Guardian (PS3) Also need Shadow of the Colossus and Ico. Orcs Must Die (xBox Arcade) Twisted Metal (PS3)

The Best of Times - Freeing Gersch

Last night my friends and I completed Kassimir (Kashmir) Mechanism on COD:BO Nazi Zombies Ascension map. It was so cool and so much fun; here is why:

Friends My three friends are all over the country: Alex (Florida), Jerry (Ohio), Nick (Oregon). It’s great that we can get together on-line, work together, and have great laughs. Something New I knew there was more to Ascension than just launching the rocket and getting to the Pack-a-Punch machine. “Help me… Repair the mechanism…. She is coming” was my first clue. Thankfully the internet gave me some emerging tips and clues. Knowing we were one of the first to complete this is awesome. Co-operation It took us two tries. The first time, Nick’s system disconnected before we completed the Node that requires 4 players. Our strategy, involves falling back to a lander to escape just before we are overwhelmed by the horde. Getting everyone on the lander before launch, and staying together while running, requires good communication. Which way, Alex? Movie quotes and goofs I got a monkey. I’m through. Mr. Cheeny. Excuse me while I whip this out. If I have to explain, it looses its charm. While waiting for the 2 minute clock to expire, we had a zombie crawler arrive. We were dancing around, trying to stay under the platform - Jerry was downed twice. We also tried the final step mid-round; bad mistake. How did we do it? You can search YouTube and callofduty.wikia.com for details. The only variant seems to be the equipment/guns needed to power the device at the very end. We had two Porter X2 Ray Guns, a Zeus Cannon, Skullcrusher (M16), and the Matryoshka Dolls. When the Gersch Vortex begins, shoot into it will all you have. I also used the M16’s grenade launcher. I think we tried the last step 5-6 times before getting it to work; we were at wave 20. My guess is that you need 4 upgraded weapons and the Matryoshka Dolls – maybe a grenade or rocket launcher. The internet will eventually figure it out. To me this is the joy of gaming: collaborating with your friends to beat zombies – or Samantha, or some other common foe.