Afternoon, boys and girls.
It's that time of the week again. It's time to look back on the previous week and see rather or not it was a good week of gaming. This week, honestly, has been one of the better weeks in a while.
Starting Gamerscore (on 1/01/10): 24,275
Current Gamerscore (on 6/28/10): 31,515
Increase: +7,240
Weekly Increase: +435
Gamerscore Goal for 2010: 75,000
Distance from Goal: 43,485
Really, only two games were played this week: Transformers: War for Cybertron and Bayonetta. Honestly, the most important part of my gaming this week happened yesterday by knocking out the "Infinite Climax" difficulty in Bayonetta. I needed to knock it out a long time ago. Now all that is left to do in that game is a couple combat achievements and the mini-mission games. Those can wait, though. I've got Naughty Bear this week, along with wanting to catch up on my Mass Effect 2 achievements.
Anyways, that's all for today. Happy gaming!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
More than Meets the Eye!
So, I've spent the last few days shooting things up in Transformers: War For Cybertron. Short campaign aside, its a well crafted love letter to the fans of the original series. So much so, that its credit theme is a newly reworked Transformers theme by the man himself, Stan Bush. Sadly, it isn't the best game if you want 1000 points. While the multiplayer achievements are easy to obtain (they just take forever to get to so be prepared for a lot of grinding), you will find out that there are only about 2000 people online at any given time. That doesn't bid well for a game who's primary attraction is the well crafted multiplayer that is as though Gears of War and Unreal Tournament had a love child.
That aside, I finally managed to put a scratch into my fabled "Hit List". Threw Bayonetta into the ol` 360 yesterday and finished out the "Infinite Climax" mode. It wasn't hard since the "Bird Flute Glitch" makes it easy to eradicate most of the lesser bosses. Hey, before you judge me, I completed the game fairly on Normal without cheating. Besides, it is an exploitable issue in the game. It's not like I'm gamesaving my way to 100% or some noob shit like that.
Anyways, playing through it again solidified my resolve that Bayonetta is still my official "Game of the Year". I know that is crazy talk considering this is the year that gave us Mass Effect 2 and Red Dead Redemption, two equally fascinating and extraordinary games. But that is the point! They met every last expectation people had about those games. Bayonetta, on the other hand, had low expectations surrounding it. Everyone was expecting a generic hack-and-slash with a story that takes itself too seriously, a clone of Devil May Cry. Oddly enough, it turned out to be one of the best reviewed games of the year, as well as one of the best selling new I.P (intellectual properties) titles to launch this year.
Anyways, just felt like talking a little gaming. See you all tomorrow for the weekly update.
Happy gaming!
That aside, I finally managed to put a scratch into my fabled "Hit List". Threw Bayonetta into the ol` 360 yesterday and finished out the "Infinite Climax" mode. It wasn't hard since the "Bird Flute Glitch" makes it easy to eradicate most of the lesser bosses. Hey, before you judge me, I completed the game fairly on Normal without cheating. Besides, it is an exploitable issue in the game. It's not like I'm gamesaving my way to 100% or some noob shit like that.
Anyways, playing through it again solidified my resolve that Bayonetta is still my official "Game of the Year". I know that is crazy talk considering this is the year that gave us Mass Effect 2 and Red Dead Redemption, two equally fascinating and extraordinary games. But that is the point! They met every last expectation people had about those games. Bayonetta, on the other hand, had low expectations surrounding it. Everyone was expecting a generic hack-and-slash with a story that takes itself too seriously, a clone of Devil May Cry. Oddly enough, it turned out to be one of the best reviewed games of the year, as well as one of the best selling new I.P (intellectual properties) titles to launch this year.
Anyways, just felt like talking a little gaming. See you all tomorrow for the weekly update.
Happy gaming!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Update #24
Yeah, so gaming this week was in the far, far backseat of priorities. Don't even get me started on my whole "Hit List" idea from last week. Didn't get a chance to touch a single one of them. It is kind of embarrassing.
Anyways, onto this week's "update"...:
Starting Gamerscore (on 1/01/10): 24,275
Current Gamerscore (on 6/21/10): 31,080
Increase: +6,805
Weekly Increase: +115
Gamerscore Goal for 2010: 75,000
Distance from Goal: 43,920
Last week, I had a chance to pick up Crackdown from Gamestop while I was on "vacation". I popped it in for a couple hours today and have to admit it is still as fun today as it was 3 years ago. The Crackdown 2 demo went live today and I don't mind the graphic change. Over all, it plays exactly like the original just with a new cell shaded graphic engine that is like a comic book version of Borderlands.
Anyways, happy gaming.
Anyways, onto this week's "update"...:
Starting Gamerscore (on 1/01/10): 24,275
Current Gamerscore (on 6/21/10): 31,080
Increase: +6,805
Weekly Increase: +115
Gamerscore Goal for 2010: 75,000
Distance from Goal: 43,920
Last week, I had a chance to pick up Crackdown from Gamestop while I was on "vacation". I popped it in for a couple hours today and have to admit it is still as fun today as it was 3 years ago. The Crackdown 2 demo went live today and I don't mind the graphic change. Over all, it plays exactly like the original just with a new cell shaded graphic engine that is like a comic book version of Borderlands.
Anyways, happy gaming.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Update #23 - E3 Edition + Hit List
Wow. Lack luster start to E3, folks. "Project Natal" was renamed "Kinect". Still not interested. A new Xbox 360 was showcased, this time with built in Wifi, for $299.99. Somewhat interested in that, honestly. No new games were revealed or showcased that made my jaw drop. Though, some trailers for previously announced titles were amazing. Bioware, where were you when Lucas decided to make those god awful prequels?!
Anyways, you don't care about my opinions on E3. You just want the update:
Starting Gamerscore (on 1/01/10): 24,275
Current Gamerscore (on 6/14/10): 30,965
Increase: +6,690
Weekly Increase: +170
Gamerscore Goal for 2010: 75,000
Distance from Goal: 44,035
Not much gaming has happened in the last week. All the time gaming was spent picking up a couple loose achievements in Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption. I've got a week before the next game of interest rears it's ugly little head, Transformers: War for Cyberton. That means a week to play mop up some achievements in the following games. Ladies and gents, allow me to introduce a new feature at my blog....The Hit List!
Every week, I'll update the hit list to cover a particular goal. Most of the time it'll be to just play clean up, others to 100% a game, or maybe try and achieve a hard achievement. Due to the fact of an ever fluctuating work schedule (I work retail and try to publish my own monthly comic book series), I'll only be starting out with a small list of 5 titles. So, without further a due, the first in a long line of "Hit Lists":
- Bayonetta : Goal - Finish the "Infinate Climax" mode for a smooth 100 achievement points.
- Bioshock 2/Darksiders: Goal - Finish campaigns for undetermined amount of points. To be frank, I lost track of where I was in both games so I couldn't imagine how many points are left. I'd estimate at least 200.
- Mass Effect 2: Goal - Complete the "Missing Memory"/Kasumi DLC for 15 points. It may not seem like a lot, but every little bit helps.
- Lego Batman: Goal - Complete the "Villain" story mode for an estimated 300 points.
Total points potentially achievable: 615
Well, that's it for tonight.
Happy gaming!
Anyways, you don't care about my opinions on E3. You just want the update:
Starting Gamerscore (on 1/01/10): 24,275
Current Gamerscore (on 6/14/10): 30,965
Increase: +6,690
Weekly Increase: +170
Gamerscore Goal for 2010: 75,000
Distance from Goal: 44,035
Not much gaming has happened in the last week. All the time gaming was spent picking up a couple loose achievements in Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption. I've got a week before the next game of interest rears it's ugly little head, Transformers: War for Cyberton. That means a week to play mop up some achievements in the following games. Ladies and gents, allow me to introduce a new feature at my blog....The Hit List!
Every week, I'll update the hit list to cover a particular goal. Most of the time it'll be to just play clean up, others to 100% a game, or maybe try and achieve a hard achievement. Due to the fact of an ever fluctuating work schedule (I work retail and try to publish my own monthly comic book series), I'll only be starting out with a small list of 5 titles. So, without further a due, the first in a long line of "Hit Lists":
- Bayonetta : Goal - Finish the "Infinate Climax" mode for a smooth 100 achievement points.
- Bioshock 2/Darksiders: Goal - Finish campaigns for undetermined amount of points. To be frank, I lost track of where I was in both games so I couldn't imagine how many points are left. I'd estimate at least 200.
- Mass Effect 2: Goal - Complete the "Missing Memory"/Kasumi DLC for 15 points. It may not seem like a lot, but every little bit helps.
- Lego Batman: Goal - Complete the "Villain" story mode for an estimated 300 points.
Total points potentially achievable: 615
Well, that's it for tonight.
Happy gaming!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Update #22 - A day late
Yeah, sorry about that. Looks like my streak has again had the rest button hit.
Anyways, the update will still reflect yesterday's numbers and not today's:
Starting Gamerscore (on 1/01/10): 24,275
Current Gamerscore (on 6/07/10): 30,795
Increase: +6,520
Weekly Increase: +300
Gamerscore Goal for 2010: 75,000
Distance from Goal: 44,205
A bigger week than I've had in the recent past, all thanks to finally taking the time to knock out Alan Wake. I was playing on Hard, so that was 80 points since the difficulties stack. I'm going to put off the "Nightmare" difficulty play through and the collectibles until a later date. I've got a couple weeks before another game comes out that I honestly want, which is Transformers: War for Cybertron. Until then, I want to try and finish as many games as possible that I haven't even beaten a single play through of yet (like Bioshock 2 and Darksiders).
Well, enough small talk. Happy gaming!
Anyways, the update will still reflect yesterday's numbers and not today's:
Starting Gamerscore (on 1/01/10): 24,275
Current Gamerscore (on 6/07/10): 30,795
Increase: +6,520
Weekly Increase: +300
Gamerscore Goal for 2010: 75,000
Distance from Goal: 44,205
A bigger week than I've had in the recent past, all thanks to finally taking the time to knock out Alan Wake. I was playing on Hard, so that was 80 points since the difficulties stack. I'm going to put off the "Nightmare" difficulty play through and the collectibles until a later date. I've got a couple weeks before another game comes out that I honestly want, which is Transformers: War for Cybertron. Until then, I want to try and finish as many games as possible that I haven't even beaten a single play through of yet (like Bioshock 2 and Darksiders).
Well, enough small talk. Happy gaming!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Collectibles in Video Games
Okay, time for a little bitty rant for the night.: Collectibles in Video Games!
Currently, I'm playing through (back and forth, mind you) two really good games: Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption. They are both fantastic games in their respective genres and are well worth the time it takes to complete them. While they are great, they are two totally different games. 'Alan Wake' is survival thriller title that is rather linear and short. 'Red Dead Redemption' is a open-world western in vain of Grand Theft Auto. They are also games that take their collectible hunting (with achievements around them, mind you) in different ways that are on the total opposite ends of the spectrum.
'Red Dead Redemption' offers collectibles in forms of "challenges" that you complete to level up, earning fame and money. In the end, upon finishing all the challenges, you are awarded with an amazing outfit for your character to wear that affects the game. These challenges are not tedious in the least. They vary from collecting gold bars of a lost treasure to various hunting challenges. These keep things interesting and fun for a game that can last 30+ hours.
'Alan Wake', on the other hand, does not offer this. They offer 6 different collectibles: manuscript pages, coffee thermoses, chests, pyramids made of coke cans, televisions and radios. There are 12 pyramids, but you only need 5 of them for the achievement. Not a big deal. There are 11 radios and 14 televisions, easily found without much hunting required. Again, not a big deal. Now, there are 30 chests that must be sought after, many occasions forcing you into a corner with no ammo and half a dozen Taken (the enemies in the game) surrounding you. Then the final two! There are 100 coffee thermoses to be found and 106 manuscript pages. 15 of those manuscript pages cannot be found until you play "Nightmare Mode", a mode that cannot be unlocked until first completing the game on Hard.
The television and radio shows offer a somewhat entertaining distraction to the game, but some of the songs and videos are so cheesy and campy that they break up the mood initially set by being chased through the moonlit wilderness by demonically possessed town folk. The manuscript pages add more depth to the story, but ultimate give spoilers to events that are about to happen. The rest? Tedious and over-bearing work that is an obvious attempt to lengthen what was a short game to begin with by a couple hours.
Where am I going with this, you ask? Honestly, I didn't know myself until trying to race through my first play through of 'Alan Wake' this afternoon. I'm racing to this coal mine in Episode 4, listening to another narration of Alan discussing how the world is out to get him, and I see a thermos on the side of the road. I stopped and got it, grinding my teeth to the fact that this game suffers from the same symptoms the first Assassin's Creed did. The symptom is in the form of collectibles ranking up in the 200+ range, stemming from a disease known as "Lazy Developers".
Now, I'm not saying having collectibles in a game is a bad thing. Far, far from it! Hell, in Assassin's Creed II, I couldn't stop my constant searching for those elusive feathers. Every new feather put me one step closer to a special cape for Ezio. I felt a sense of accomplishment as I scaled the tallest structures in search for those ivory feathers. It primarily stemmed from the game's gorgeous environment giving me a reason to want to explore, to see every lush detail the designers had given us. The same goes for 'Red Dead Redemption'. The west never looked so grand in digital form before. I could spend hours just galloping along on my trusty steed, watching as the sun set and rose over a land and time long forgotten.
'Alan Wake', to my dismay, offers none of that. It throws you into a horror story in which you have little to no means of defending yourself. Believable given the fact that, if you were placed in the same situation, the likelihood of finding a small armory in a backwaters town is slim to none. However, given the fact that this game places you in that situation with little means to defend yourself and still ask you to hunt down 200+ relics that do absolutely nothing for you save boost your gamerscore is rather insulting. It's like dangling a piece of angel food cake in front of a starving person covered in raw meat while surrounding them with a dozen starved tigers. It's cruel, unusual and harsh.
Now, you're probably thinking, "Well, no one is forcing you to hunt them down." That is true! No one is. I just want to get my money's worth in my games. If that means trying to get all the collectibles or achievements (or trophies for my PS3 titles), so be it. However, I refuse to accept the fact that game developers constantly use collectibles in such a manner instead of actual game content. It's disgusting and immoral, the saddest fact being that collectibles like this are becoming more common placed in DLC.
I'm sorry. I know that this seems like such a tiny, tiny thing to complain about in a generation full of game delays, technical bugs in retail games, full games being released incompletely with the original content coming out as post-launch DLC. Just chalk it up to another late night gaming rant.
Until next time, happy gaming.
Currently, I'm playing through (back and forth, mind you) two really good games: Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption. They are both fantastic games in their respective genres and are well worth the time it takes to complete them. While they are great, they are two totally different games. 'Alan Wake' is survival thriller title that is rather linear and short. 'Red Dead Redemption' is a open-world western in vain of Grand Theft Auto. They are also games that take their collectible hunting (with achievements around them, mind you) in different ways that are on the total opposite ends of the spectrum.
'Red Dead Redemption' offers collectibles in forms of "challenges" that you complete to level up, earning fame and money. In the end, upon finishing all the challenges, you are awarded with an amazing outfit for your character to wear that affects the game. These challenges are not tedious in the least. They vary from collecting gold bars of a lost treasure to various hunting challenges. These keep things interesting and fun for a game that can last 30+ hours.
'Alan Wake', on the other hand, does not offer this. They offer 6 different collectibles: manuscript pages, coffee thermoses, chests, pyramids made of coke cans, televisions and radios. There are 12 pyramids, but you only need 5 of them for the achievement. Not a big deal. There are 11 radios and 14 televisions, easily found without much hunting required. Again, not a big deal. Now, there are 30 chests that must be sought after, many occasions forcing you into a corner with no ammo and half a dozen Taken (the enemies in the game) surrounding you. Then the final two! There are 100 coffee thermoses to be found and 106 manuscript pages. 15 of those manuscript pages cannot be found until you play "Nightmare Mode", a mode that cannot be unlocked until first completing the game on Hard.
The television and radio shows offer a somewhat entertaining distraction to the game, but some of the songs and videos are so cheesy and campy that they break up the mood initially set by being chased through the moonlit wilderness by demonically possessed town folk. The manuscript pages add more depth to the story, but ultimate give spoilers to events that are about to happen. The rest? Tedious and over-bearing work that is an obvious attempt to lengthen what was a short game to begin with by a couple hours.
Where am I going with this, you ask? Honestly, I didn't know myself until trying to race through my first play through of 'Alan Wake' this afternoon. I'm racing to this coal mine in Episode 4, listening to another narration of Alan discussing how the world is out to get him, and I see a thermos on the side of the road. I stopped and got it, grinding my teeth to the fact that this game suffers from the same symptoms the first Assassin's Creed did. The symptom is in the form of collectibles ranking up in the 200+ range, stemming from a disease known as "Lazy Developers".
Now, I'm not saying having collectibles in a game is a bad thing. Far, far from it! Hell, in Assassin's Creed II, I couldn't stop my constant searching for those elusive feathers. Every new feather put me one step closer to a special cape for Ezio. I felt a sense of accomplishment as I scaled the tallest structures in search for those ivory feathers. It primarily stemmed from the game's gorgeous environment giving me a reason to want to explore, to see every lush detail the designers had given us. The same goes for 'Red Dead Redemption'. The west never looked so grand in digital form before. I could spend hours just galloping along on my trusty steed, watching as the sun set and rose over a land and time long forgotten.
'Alan Wake', to my dismay, offers none of that. It throws you into a horror story in which you have little to no means of defending yourself. Believable given the fact that, if you were placed in the same situation, the likelihood of finding a small armory in a backwaters town is slim to none. However, given the fact that this game places you in that situation with little means to defend yourself and still ask you to hunt down 200+ relics that do absolutely nothing for you save boost your gamerscore is rather insulting. It's like dangling a piece of angel food cake in front of a starving person covered in raw meat while surrounding them with a dozen starved tigers. It's cruel, unusual and harsh.
Now, you're probably thinking, "Well, no one is forcing you to hunt them down." That is true! No one is. I just want to get my money's worth in my games. If that means trying to get all the collectibles or achievements (or trophies for my PS3 titles), so be it. However, I refuse to accept the fact that game developers constantly use collectibles in such a manner instead of actual game content. It's disgusting and immoral, the saddest fact being that collectibles like this are becoming more common placed in DLC.
I'm sorry. I know that this seems like such a tiny, tiny thing to complain about in a generation full of game delays, technical bugs in retail games, full games being released incompletely with the original content coming out as post-launch DLC. Just chalk it up to another late night gaming rant.
Until next time, happy gaming.
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