deKay's Gaming Diary

BWAAAAAAAAAH!

Today I went through the few remaining levels, picking up the final huge XL item – an entire actual plane. Which didn’t really fit properly in the sewers. And then there was the last cow-stealing level, and it was back to the rubbish pile and off to the moooooooooon!

I really enjoyed Rabbids Go Home. Even though it kept crashing. The levels are varied enough to stay interesting, even if some are graphically repeats of previous levels, and the only real complaint I have is that it’s a bit easy.  I suppose the challenge is in getting all 400 items on every stage, but that’s not going to happen for me as searching every nook and cranny on every level would get tedious – especially if you miss any, as most levels don’t let you go back through the level, so you’d have to start again.

Blimey. What a lot of Wii games I’ve completed this year.

With just one level left, I soon finished this off. The final level was FULL of mutants. Really – every turn, every door, threw another 6 or more at me. I’m glad I’d swapped away from the Magnum and only the SMG, as although it reduces your accuracy and power, it at least allows you to fend off large numbers of mutants without having to reload before you’ve even dazed them.

Still, was pretty hard and I grabbed virtually none of the golden BRANES as it was just so frantic.

The final boss was pretty easy, if a bit time consuming. And disgusting. And what happens after you beat… it?…even more so. Blurgh.

Before – and after – the credits, it clearly shows a sequel is planned. Sadly, since (like The Conduit and MadWorld) HOTD:O only sold three copies, I can’t see it happening, which is a big shame. It’s hilarious, and more is needed!

Finally! I’ve played this over and over and over (it’s very short) since getting it, but haven’t once managed to successfully complete all three missions in the same sitting. It was usually Mission 2’s “single headshot” finale which scuppered me, but today, I was victorious!

Firstly, I should come clean and say that I completed Mega Man 10 on it’s first-for-a-Mega Man-game Easy Mode. It adds barriers to stop you falling down some holes and removes some of the enemies.

Not that it was a walk in the park. There were still a few difficult bosses, tricky sections with spikes to avoid, and some pixel-perfect jumps to manage, but still – it was waaaay easier than Mega Man 9, which I never did complete.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Mega Man 10 was released on Wii Ware yesterday, and having loved the new-retro MM9, I leapt on it. Unsurprisingly, it’s more of the same stuff Mega Man 1 to 9 gave us, but that matters not. It’s great old fashioned platforming, the sort you don’t get any more. Er, except for 9, of course. And Castlevania Rebirth. Um.

After completing it, I went and tried some of the challenges (complete special stages with certain weapons, or with limitations on your abilities), then started the game again as the slightly gimped Proto Man.

Some have said this game is rubbish. They are wrong.

It’s not fantastic, and it has its faults, but it’s a perfectly competent, technically proficient (for the Wii), excellent to control FPS. And I enjoyed it from start to (somewhat sooner than expected) finish, unlike say… Halo, which I hated.

It’s a little short, suffers a bit from room repetition (nowhere near as badlyas Halo though), and the final level feels like there’s a boss fight missing, but the ASE scanning, organic door locks and hidden secrets add enough to the game to bring it above the usual SciFi FPS mire.

I played it online the other day, and although it was fun, some guy called DMX had an invincibility cheat one, which ruined it a bit. Oh well.

3/5 overall, I think!

This is how I want new additions to old 8 and 16-bit game serieses to be made. As if they’re for 8 and 8-bit consoles. Like Megaman 9 was.

Rebirth is a remake (or rather, complete rewrite borrowing nothing but the plot) of The Castlevania Adventure for the Game Boy. A game I played, and completed, almost exactly three years ago. It was rubbish. Rebirth, is not.

It looks like a SNES game, only with more detailed sprites. It plays like a NES Castlevania, only with more responsive, less fiddly controls. And it’s BRILLIANT.

So much so, I started and completed it today. I had it on pause for several hours, as there’s no save, save-state, password, or continue system (except I found later – there is: hold right on the menu screen) so it’s all-in-one-go or nothing. Just like 16-bit games!

More games like this please. Oh, if only Sonic 4 was taking this approach. Cry!

So I’ve completed this seven thousand times now. Or something like that. This time with Knuckles.

But it’s ACE, so that’s OK!

And that’s the 5-part series over and done. Sam & Max Season 2 can’t come soon enough!

Although the final part was great (as always) in terms of story, it was horribly broken in terms of graphics. Many people have commented that the Wii ports of Monkey Island have all been affected by bugs, stuttering, poor sound, and so on, but aside from a bit of judder on Chapter 1 when changing scene, I’d not noticed. In this one, however, it was awful. The first time I went through the rift (as a zombie) onto LeChuck’s ship, I was entirely invisible – aside from my hook. The second time, as a full human, I was visible, but my hook was visible along with the hand it was supposed to be replacing! And the jerking! Stuttering! Pausing! Gah!

Thankfully, it was only cosmetic and didn’t really spoil my enjoyment. An excellent series, overall. More, please!

With Mass Effect bagged on Monday, my next game to tackle was this. And what an absolutely outstanding game it was!

I didn’t really enjoy the demo when I played that a while back, but now having played the full game I can see why – you miss some of the first part of the game out, and are chucked into a later bit too early. This means you need to use some slightly more advanced techniques too soon. It also doesn’t give you long enough to get used to the basics before you’re ready.

Another thing that concerned me was the fact it was a licenced game, and they’re generally rubbish. Since this is not actually based on a specific Batman comic or film (as far as I’m aware), I think that helps.

Somehow, Batman manages to blend together several games – Tomb Raider, Watchmen, Gears of War, Splinter Cell and even Metroid without losing it’s own identity, even if a few sections (the clambering round near the sewers and caves, and the Botanical Gardens boss in particular) did make me think I’d swapped games for a minute.

Just two things annoyed me: 1) there’s an achievement you can miss if you don’t fight the goons just before the final boss (they don’t attack you, so I didn’t attack them – oops!), and 2) the entire Killer Croc section was utter pants. Thankfully, the former is just an annoyance and the latter didn’t last too long, so all is forgiven.

And replay value? Well, I’ve only got about 65% of The Riddler’s riddles completed, and I haven’t even started the Challenges yet, so there’s plenty still left to do!

Overall, an excellent game! Next?

At almost exactly 22 hours into the story, I completed the game. And it was a very good game too, even if there were lots of things I didn’t like about it (more on them in a minute). I won’t reveal any spoilers, except one: who’d have thought Saren would have turned out to be the Green Goblin? He’s even got the thrown explosives and flying surfboard thingy. I suppose the clue was in his face. See:

Saren?

Green Goblin?

Anyway. The bad bits. Firstly, (and ironically, lastly) there’s the ending. After it, it really is the end – you can’t go back and complete missing missions and assignments. There’s no real plot reason for it either – although not everything goes back to normal after the end, certainly there’s no reason why most of the missions can’t then be completed.

It wouldn’t be so bad if the “point of no return” was well sign posted. It wasn’t, and not only that, it isn’t even the final mission that triggers it. In fact, once you land on Virmire in the game (a good 5 or more hours before the final showdown, on my play through) – that’s it. You’re locked into the ending without being able to complete most of the remaining quests. Yeah, so you might have a save before then, but you’re allowed so few save slots it’s likely you won’t, even if (like me) you were anticipating such an event.

Then there’s the graphics. They’re lovely. Only they jerk around like the whole game is on a bouncy castle. In some of the final sections of the game, there’s horrific slowdown, tearing, and graphical anomalies. Yeah, there’s a lot going on – but it’s supposed to be the nail-biting climax, not a wade through wobbly treacle. Thankfully, this isn’t a problem for most of the game, and it usually only happens in the Mako.

An exception to the graphics being lovely: the geth. Perhaps if they had more than two frames of animation between them, they’d be lovely too. Mind you, they were usually dead before they got close enough to see what they were.

And the lifts! Oh my god. Most tedious part of the game by far. Especially the one on the Citadel that takes you from the docking bay to C-Sec (why? What have C-Sec got to do with the docking?) – it takes AGES and unlike most of the other lifts in the Citadel, it can’t be skipped with a Fast Transport panel.

Item and upgrade management is also a chore. Especially having a limit on how many items you can carry. After every mission I had to sell everything – which takes ages – or lose new stuff, since when your inventory is full, any new items are automatically converted to Omni-gel. Yes – new (and usually, better) items; not old items you would probably sell anyway. Stupid!

Finally, the difficulty. Yes, I know I played it on Normal (I almost always play games on whatever their default setting is) and that there are harder settings. However, for the final 15 or so hours of the game I simply didn’t bother with weapon upgrades, improvements, and that sort of stuff as it was too much of a pain. Which meant I should have found it much harder, only it wasn’t. Every single fight was a pushover – even the final one.

But you know what? None of that really matters. In fact, the only one I can really complain about is the no-way-back ending. Everything else is just a minor irritation. The winning points are the story and the believable, deep universe the game is set in. Bioware have gone all out on making something more watchable (let alone playable) than most science fiction films. The back story, the way you slowly unearth the history of the races and the Protheans, the side missions and overheard conversations. A high point was the reveal of the Keepers’ role in everything – clever how they are there the whole time, but understated and underexposed, then suddenly it all makes sense.

I’m certainly hyped for the sequel now, especially since virtually all of my complaints with the first game have supposedly been dealt with!

There are 16 tracks, which sounds like a lot, but each is only a couple of minutes long so it didn’t take long to nip through them all.

I’ve not S-Ranked them all yet, but they’re all B-or-better, with most being A or S.

I think I’ve completed this today. But since I got no credits or end sequence, I can’t be certain.

I’ve completed all the levels on Earth, and can’t find any more to do, so am I done?

EDIT: It seems, according to GameFAQs, that yes – I’ve completed it. So I’m altering this post to reflect that

There are still lots of gigs to do, and I only have around half of the 1000 possible stars, but I completed the story today.

There’s not a lot else to say about it, really, apart from that the finale track was a bit poor compared to The Final Countdown (which could have the the finale, only they added a bit more game onto the end).

I’d also like to know why every single time I play a random setlist gig, I have to play that Counting Crows track. Every. Single. Time.

Turns out I only had a few levels left before the end boss, and they weren’t all that difficult. Neither was the end boss actually, as I defeated him without dying. I was surprised he only took one hit, but never mind.

Of course, it then turns out that he wasn’t the end boss. There were more levels. And a sad thing happens with Blob. Then! An AWESOME thing happens with Blob, and you get to “lay the smack down” (as the common yoof is want to say) on the black blobs. So I did!

And then it was the real end boss. He was a little harder (taking three hits, not one), but he was probably the easiest boss in the whole game.

After that, it was the end sequence. Which, tying in with the rest of the game, was stunningly beautiful. What an excellent game. Lets hope we don’t have to wait another 15 years for another sequel, yes?

I will have to admit, I looked up the numerals I needed on Mr Tinternet. It was either that or start the entire game again – simply because of what I assume is a bug. Which I wasn’t going to do.

After that puzzle (which was a pain anyway, even knowing the numerals you needed), there wasn’t much game left – a quick train ride to Scotland and a pretty simple set of puzzles upon arriving, and it was Game Over!

121 puzzles in, and I have just completed the story. There’s loads left to do, of course, but the main bit is done.

Since this is the first entry in my diary for this game, I should probably say I’ve only been playing it for a week or so. I got it for Christmas with $hlmun other games, so I didn’t play it right away.

It’s very much the same as the first game. There seem to be fewer puzzles of certain types (eg chess based, “one of these is a liar” and matchstick ones) and more solitaire based ones, but it’s not a vast departure. There’s a big improvement in the UI, in that there is now a menu function where you can write over the puzzle – very handy for maze based and maths puzzles.

I’m not sure I liked the big reveal near the end, where the mystery of the town was explained, but then, the same silliness was in the first game.

I’ll be picking off the remaining puzzles and tasks soon!

It’s the first game I’ve played of the year, and Its also the first game I’ve completed this year.

Admittedly, I’ve only completed it on 50CC so far (although will be returning to do the rest), but I did come first in every race.

I think this is the best console Mario Kart since the SNES version too. It’s not that I didn’t like the N64 and GC versions, it’s just the N64 tracks seemed big and empty, and the two character mechanic of the GC Mario Kart was a bit superfluous. This one, however, has great tracks and the new “stunt gimmick” is actually pretty good.

Of course, I’ve merely defeated the end of game boss. And I even accidentally found a warp from World 5 to World 8, so haven’t even done 6 and 7 yet. Or got all the gold coins so far. Or rescued all the Toads. But I do have 42 lives and haven’t seen the Super Guide or the Game Over screen yet, so that’s all good, yes?

And, of course, I will go back. In fact, I’m going back now to finish World 5

Immediately after completing Broken Steel, I downloaded and started playing Point Lookout. And oh, is it lovely. It’s the best DLC for the game I’ve played so far (and from what I’ve heard, The Pitt and Mothership Zeta, the two I’ve yet to try, aren’t as good) but it’s HUGE. I’ve done pretty much everything I can – all the achievements, all the quests and side quests, and all the incidental stuff I can find along the way. And it’s taken me over 20 hours. 20 hours! For what was about 6 quid! Bargain.

And excellent it was too. I won’t be getting into any of the other DLC for a little while yet, though, for two reasons: 1) there’s a rumour it’ll be getting a 50% price drop just after Christmas, and 2) I will almost certainly be getting other games for Christmas I’ll be wanting to play. So for now, it’s goodbye (again) to The Wasteland.

After around 12 hours play (yes, I got a bit distracted for a few missions, as usual), I completed Broken Steel. The level cap increase is great, and the addition of the new baddies have made the game hard again (only the Deathclaws ever gave me a challenge once I hit level 20 – and even then only in packs). The Feral Ghoul Reavers, though, are more than a bit hard, are they not?! Even with a weapon that does 100 damage, they take a good 15 or more headshots to take down!

I’m now on Level 24, I think, and have already lapsed back into the whole OCDness of The Wasteland. Every item, bar the very useless, but be picked up. As many weapons as possible – even those I’ll never use – must be carried at all times. And now I have a use for the cameras and sensor modules my inventory management has never been such a mammoth task. But yes, I love it.

Just three years and 9 days after buying it, I finally completed Downhill Jam!

Turns out I was just being rubbish last time, as today I sailed through the final Tier will no problems at all.

Seems I was a bit wrong in my stats last time. I was 50% complete at 8 hours. However, I was pretty close to completing the story, with only a handful of missions available. Still, it took me over 12 hours in total before I completed it.

Thankfully, the ending mission was more lighthearted and less back-stabby than both Nico and Jonny’s plotlines. Even if it did turn out to be utterly ridiculous. Fun though.

And breathe! That has to be one of the longest game titles ever!

It was new on WiiWare last night, so I downloaded it. Played it a little then, but mostly today – and completed it. I was the shortest of the chapters so far, taking me just two and a half hours to complete. All the other chapters have taken between 5 and 6. However, this was the first one I’d not got stuck on at any point.

I can’t really say much about the story, as it would be full of spoilers, but I can say it was at least as enjoyable as the previous episodes. And Stan is ace.

Over the last week I’ve been chipping away at two things – getting myself up to Level 50 (I’m not there yet, but I’m up to about 49.5) and to 100% the game on Insane Mode. Which I did today! Excellent!

It also puts me at 709th in the world

It seemed shorter and easier than the previous episode (particularly the walk-over of a final boss), but it was still great. There was less to-ing and fro-ing than last time, which was a big improvement. It seemed to come at the cost of loading times though – it takes TEN MINUTES to load the game, which is utterly ridiculous!