The Bottom Line:
Final Fight Double Impact is two games in one download (Final Fight and Magic Sword). Final Fight is a classic side scrolling brawler. You chose one of three characters and battle through six or so stages until you reach the final cheap boss. i don't find this to be as good as Streets of Rage. Magic Sword is a lesser known (by me anyway) side scrolling dungeon crawler brawler. Basically enemies will attack you from in front and behind. You need to scale the tower (i think level 50) and fight the final boss. The collection is spiced up by adding a "vault" which will unlock things like concept art (at least one of them is a full TV episode of Street Fighter animated show, which included Final Fight characters). You unlock these by doing tasks - like beating a level without losing X lives, beating a level in a certain time, etc. Many of these might be easier 2 player.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Dview: Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
Call of Duty 2 is an action shooter (mostly shooter, but with some action elements). This game was released in 2005 (but i just got around to playing it). Basically, you will play through 27 missions in one of three campaigns (Russian, British, American). This bascially has the feel of a generic shooter. It is first person, with a protruding weapon (which made aiming more difficult for me, the gun kind of get in the way). Sometimes the shooting reticule would seemingly vanish for no reason. i hand'nt played a shooter in a while (maybe that impacted my impression). No, i did not play multiplayer. This is my first experience with the Call of Duty series - and i didn't particularly like it
Call of Duty 2 is an action shooter (mostly shooter, but with some action elements). This game was released in 2005 (but i just got around to playing it). Basically, you will play through 27 missions in one of three campaigns (Russian, British, American). This bascially has the feel of a generic shooter. It is first person, with a protruding weapon (which made aiming more difficult for me, the gun kind of get in the way). Sometimes the shooting reticule would seemingly vanish for no reason. i hand'nt played a shooter in a while (maybe that impacted my impression). No, i did not play multiplayer. This is my first experience with the Call of Duty series - and i didn't particularly like it
Saturday, August 20, 2011
i May Not Be Posting for a While
If you are enthralled by my Game Room (XBLA) posts or my Dviews (they are kind of like reviews, but kind of not), you may be happy to hear that you may have longer to savor my existing posts without the threat of newer "content".
Basically, i have decided to temporarily change what Space Invaders base i am shooting through for 3 months or so (maybe longer). i am not exactly sure what the internet situation is there. i also won't have access to most of my games (or my system until near the end of next week - The horror! The horror!).
Maybe i can get things set up quickly, maybe i can't. The suspense will build while the level loads. Hopefully, i can think of something to write of in the next week or so (and i will have some games, maybe even so new ones) to have impressions of. Well, i guess that all become a moot point if the airplane flies the same way i do in Red Baron (becomes one with the ground/mountain).
Basically, i have decided to temporarily change what Space Invaders base i am shooting through for 3 months or so (maybe longer). i am not exactly sure what the internet situation is there. i also won't have access to most of my games (or my system until near the end of next week - The horror! The horror!).
Maybe i can get things set up quickly, maybe i can't. The suspense will build while the level loads. Hopefully, i can think of something to write of in the next week or so (and i will have some games, maybe even so new ones) to have impressions of. Well, i guess that all become a moot point if the airplane flies the same way i do in Red Baron (becomes one with the ground/mountain).
My Week in Video Games: X-August 19th
Welcome to My Week in Video Games. This post is not so much about a week as it is about an indeterminate period of time that could be a week (+/- infintiy days -1).
So what have i been playing this week? i got a point card which i spent mostly on downloadable games, which i breifly tried out. Here is a partial list of what i have been playing since last time]
* Lunar Silver Star Story Complete (PS1) - i wish i had Eternal Blue. Oh yeay: star, planet, sun, moon
* Blade Kitten (XBLA): i actually kind of like this game. The characters seem interesting to me and the game play is decent.
* Puzzle Quest 2 (XBLA): this one will probably fill a bunch of time on my "vacation"
* Fruit Ninja (XBLA): this game seems kind of fun, it may be a little light on content (i haven't spent much time on it). Like most Kinect games i have played, i can definitely feel i played it the next morning. i decided to wait for a price drop on The Gunstringer
* DeathSpank: The Thongs of Virtue (XBLA): i kind of like the first one, so i decided to give the second one a try (unfortunately at full prices. So expect it to go on sale soon).
* Game Room: today. just curious about leaderboards - because i am a sick and twisted monster.
i am looking forward to playing Rise of Nightmares - though i may not get to try it for a while as it is being sent here, yet my "vacation" is in another kingdom.
So what have i been playing this week? i got a point card which i spent mostly on downloadable games, which i breifly tried out. Here is a partial list of what i have been playing since last time]
* Lunar Silver Star Story Complete (PS1) - i wish i had Eternal Blue. Oh yeay: star, planet, sun, moon
* Blade Kitten (XBLA): i actually kind of like this game. The characters seem interesting to me and the game play is decent.
* Puzzle Quest 2 (XBLA): this one will probably fill a bunch of time on my "vacation"
* Fruit Ninja (XBLA): this game seems kind of fun, it may be a little light on content (i haven't spent much time on it). Like most Kinect games i have played, i can definitely feel i played it the next morning. i decided to wait for a price drop on The Gunstringer
* DeathSpank: The Thongs of Virtue (XBLA): i kind of like the first one, so i decided to give the second one a try (unfortunately at full prices. So expect it to go on sale soon).
* Game Room: today. just curious about leaderboards - because i am a sick and twisted monster.
i am looking forward to playing Rise of Nightmares - though i may not get to try it for a while as it is being sent here, yet my "vacation" is in another kingdom.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Dview: Bastion (XBLA)
The Bottom Line:
Bastion is an action RPG that was released as the first title of the Summer Of Arcade 2011 promotion. i don't see this as an RPG, but an action game (too many action games are called RPGs, but that is a discussion for another time). Actually, Bastion is basically a three button hack-n-slash game with weapon upgrades. The narrator seems an interesting concept in the first place, but kind of wears thin. You play as "The Kid", probably because the narrator didn't take the time to ask his real name. The "kid" is faced with rebuilding his world (or survival) due to some event called "the calamity". Basically, this game takes the old "Reader's Digest" approach to story telling - very condensed. The story is just there as a backdrop. Bastion does have a decent and colorful artistic design.
Bastion is an action RPG that was released as the first title of the Summer Of Arcade 2011 promotion. i don't see this as an RPG, but an action game (too many action games are called RPGs, but that is a discussion for another time). Actually, Bastion is basically a three button hack-n-slash game with weapon upgrades. The narrator seems an interesting concept in the first place, but kind of wears thin. You play as "The Kid", probably because the narrator didn't take the time to ask his real name. The "kid" is faced with rebuilding his world (or survival) due to some event called "the calamity". Basically, this game takes the old "Reader's Digest" approach to story telling - very condensed. The story is just there as a backdrop. Bastion does have a decent and colorful artistic design.
Dview: Assassin's Creed II (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
Assassin's Creed II is the sequel to Assassin's Creed (i know that is strange). Basically, if you are familiar with the first one, you would know that is basically an action game that puts you in the role of an ancestor of Desmond Miles (who was an assassin). You basically go around the game killing people. The sequel makes some improvements over the first one (like finally having subtitles), but also does so things i dislike. They added glyphs that require you to solve annoying puzzles (does not really fit in the game) and have more of an emphasis on timed events. If you read my "frustration" post, you would know i hate time events. The story for this game is better than the first, but it is also more frustrating too. Many people like this game a lot more than i do (90 on Metacritic). Ultimately, i found it more frustrating than fun.
Assassin's Creed II is the sequel to Assassin's Creed (i know that is strange). Basically, if you are familiar with the first one, you would know that is basically an action game that puts you in the role of an ancestor of Desmond Miles (who was an assassin). You basically go around the game killing people. The sequel makes some improvements over the first one (like finally having subtitles), but also does so things i dislike. They added glyphs that require you to solve annoying puzzles (does not really fit in the game) and have more of an emphasis on timed events. If you read my "frustration" post, you would know i hate time events. The story for this game is better than the first, but it is also more frustrating too. Many people like this game a lot more than i do (90 on Metacritic). Ultimately, i found it more frustrating than fun.
Things That Annoy Me This Generation: Cameras
i have been thinking about this for a while... What is one of the things that annoys me most about this generation of video games?
It turns out that i have been really disappointed in the way the cameras react in the games - how the action is followed. For the record, i would rather not have to control the camera. Maybe there is a use for 3D - fixing camera/depth issues. Maybe Kinect headtracking can be a partial solution. There are so many games this generation that have me cursing the camera at times. My biggest concerns seem to be one of several complaints:
* The camera vs the wall: it turns out the wall usually wins. Basically, a lot of games i've played this generation have problems where if you are near a wall, the camera becomes crazy and you are left with circumstances where you can't see anything. Moving the camera and quick action don't seem to go together well.
* Cameras with mind of their own: in some games with set cameras, it seems like half the time you have to fight the camera to show you what you want.
* 2.5D: as someone with questionable depth perception, 2.5D tends to really mess me up in terms of distances and angles
It turns out that i have been really disappointed in the way the cameras react in the games - how the action is followed. For the record, i would rather not have to control the camera. Maybe there is a use for 3D - fixing camera/depth issues. Maybe Kinect headtracking can be a partial solution. There are so many games this generation that have me cursing the camera at times. My biggest concerns seem to be one of several complaints:
* The camera vs the wall: it turns out the wall usually wins. Basically, a lot of games i've played this generation have problems where if you are near a wall, the camera becomes crazy and you are left with circumstances where you can't see anything. Moving the camera and quick action don't seem to go together well.
* Cameras with mind of their own: in some games with set cameras, it seems like half the time you have to fight the camera to show you what you want.
* 2.5D: as someone with questionable depth perception, 2.5D tends to really mess me up in terms of distances and angles
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Game Room - The August 2011 Report
i decided to move my monthly checks to earlier in the month. i checked the leaderboards on August 3, 2011. There is a slight wrinkle here in that i also checked on July 15th. Apparently, although not being supported with new content for 6 months or so, games on the service continue to climb the leaderboard levels.
If MSFT is looking for a good birthday present for me this year, how about a bunch of new content on Game Room (at least 5 game packs worth).
If MSFT is looking for a good birthday present for me this year, how about a bunch of new content on Game Room (at least 5 game packs worth).
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