Dark and twisted?

• 12Aug 09

  Game Dissapointments and pleasantries.

  Id think it would be kinda fun and mentally supportive to mark down on recent slash next-to-recent games that have majorly dissapointed me or pleasantly suprised me over the past few years. Not saying Ive played them all. Hopefully its a list I can keep adding to.

  Dissapointments:

  Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. For the Wii ofcourse. I was so looking forward to this game. At first I shrugged off its horrible controls thinking I would just get used to them. I was wrong. I did the same with graphics...It was bad. I like the level design and innovation but the innovation was taken too far. Its honestly like a mediocore PS1 game. I just wanted to beat it and be done with it. Thinking of replaying it sort of fills me with dread.

  Fable 2. Yea, thoughs who know me know what I have to say already. Fable 1 is better. It actually might be more tolerable on the PC then dealing with the poor craft of the 360. Yea thats right...crashes, slow choppy loads and slow rezzing.

  Mario and Luigi Partners in time. I love the game itself but it was too short. Sucky ending. And a weak storyline. I forget...what did it have to do with time travel? Oh right just an alternate past label....thats all.

  Batman Arkam Asylum. I know people are gonnawhine at me but the thing Im dissapointed in is the type of game. Its a tomb raiderish syphon filter stealthy melarky. Should have expected that comeing from the lagging company of Eidos. Graphics look a little too grainy and gritty. They look like clay roman statues. Love the voice acting though.

  Iron Man. Need I go into detail?

  Wario Shake it. A boring and tedious game. Level completions give no satisfaction because your always missing an extra goal. So Im replaying it over and over. The storyline was lame to.

  Sonic Chronicles. Hell every new age Sonic game is a dissapointment. Its just that this has potential. Stupid Bio ware. I hate this company. I hate there Long dragged out fighting with stupid dialogue making you read it to choose your wording. I understand why folks like that but not all of us do. Sonics battles were just hard and annoying. Integratind touch screen with turn based battles is a horrible idea. It should have been like Mario and Luigi. partners in time.

  Street Fighter 4. Again. Thoughs who know me know what I say. Unbalanced characters. Collision detection problems. Lack of modes. And a scrutinizing difficulty.

  Soul Caliber 4. I think this series was done a long time ago. I bet this will be the final installment. It should have remained a memorable. The new characters are retarded. Lack of modes centering the attention of the stupid armor costume builds and tower of treasure bull that eeks away your time. And who cares about star wars. The character creation was inferior to part 3s. Oh...and the voice acting is stupid.

  Spider Man games. How many times must they relive his story and venoms story? How many times do they redo the movie memiors? Id like something fresh.

  Dead Space. Boring...Slow...

  Pleasant Suprises!!:

  Drakensang. The way this game was reviewed ad what people had to say gave me the impression that this game was gonna be a rushed flash in the pan going on one concept. I thuroughly enjoyed this game. Despite its linear time consumption and wavering difficulty, its very variable and I love the storyline. Decent voiceing and great graphics.

  Titans Quest IT. I love this game the moment I picked it up. I thought it was going to be a short fenced in diablo clone with zero innovation and with a bland leveling system. I found out its SUPERIOR TO DIABLO! Thats right I said it. Maybe Diablo 3 will be better...but..I doubt it.A easy online system and probably one of the coolest skill systems of any RPG I played.

  Stubbs the Zombie. Repedative yes, quirky yes, short I know. But its funny addictive and fun. Good thing its cheap.

  Sacred 2. I like this game because how vast it is. The interface may be a tad lame and the character creation is almost worthless. Its very long with a huge map,going to a 120 some level and its got a huge attribute and skill system. Its got a mind numbing repedative flow but inan addictive way. So much is going on tho with the gear and skill distribution. Still inferior to TQ tho. =p

  Wolverine Origins. I thought this would be a cheap rushed lame movie knock off of a cheap lame rushed movie. But the game is better then the movie. Its got the most brutalin your face actionthat I ever seen in a long time.Its got great graphics with a very funfighting system. Its bloody as hell with awesome half cinamatic controlled scenes.

  Call ofJuarez 1 and 2. A perfect epitimy of a shooter. No flashy huds or sticky targets. No glowing auras. Just a cross hair. They take this type and use it colorfulyand execute it perfectly. And make it look amazingly great. Theold wild western themes is captivating even more so then GUN in my opinion. Not to mention a great story. It suprised me because I never thought a fpsor a westernOR EVEN A WESTERN FPS wouldpull this off.

  Resident Evil Dark Chronicles. A cool shooter with the retelling of RE 2 AND 3. Thank god it wasnt like dead aim.

  • Posted Aug 12, 2009 4:30 am PT
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• 17May 09

  The great Fable contradiction.

  I remember when Fable came out. People were ultimately dissapointed from the over hyped game. I remember Peter Molyneux feeling he had to appologize for the games shot sitedness. Critics everywher gave it a good score but not the best as it was hyped up to be. As for me I liked it. I liked the expansion lost chapters even more. It was good. Over hyped? Well yea. But I also realize nothing is perfect and the struggle for business is prominent. So what to say about Fable 2? It has been out since october 21 2008.

  I must say this. Fable 2 was released on the 360, I have gotten it 2 days after it was releasedand in my god honoest opinion. ITS WORSE then Fable 1. (Fable 1 lost chapters ofcourse) People and critics LOVE fable 2, even tho to me there is far less variety, control, and execution. Dont get me wrong, its a good game but not as good as the first one. Let me break it down. I will list basic and original game mechanics into categorys and see what game has the edge. Remember this is just according to my opinion. I have played both games more then once and thuroughly.

  Graphics--Even though the characters and people figures look almost the same, the evironmental graphics in Fable 2 are slightly better. Its smoother and has alot more better lighting. The animations of regular 3d toons look almost identicle but the facial features and flex prims look better on fable 2. The pump maping is also slightly more detailed.

  1 point Fable 2.

  Controls.-- The controls in Fable 2 are pretty damn annoying. What makes me the most aggrivated is the way you block. In fable one it was just a simple button to block. But in Fable 2 you have to hold down the attack button. You try to quickly block but your hit because YOUR ATTACKING. And you cant tell if your blocking because you have to hold down the god damned button and its just sloppy. Then theres the focused strike. In fable 1 it was simply hitting the B button after succesfully blocking and you get a counter. On fable 2 you have AGAIN HOLD THE ATTACK BUTTON and shift the thumbstick in the direction. This makes it even more cumbersome. And this time the focused strike is blockable. Fable to it was designed to be a gaurd breaker.

  Now aiming is slightly more enhanced. You can aim a certain point on the target and shoot it. But using the thumb stick makes switchiung targets risky. So what is the point? Nice eye candy effect but no real merrit , except dissarming weapons.

  Magic is the worste. In fable 1 you just had to select the spell from a handy tray and cast it. On fable 2 you have to hold it in, and power it up leaving yourself WIDE OPEN for enemies hits. You sit there and hold it down trying to build up the power and get hit like a cow awaiting slaughter. On fable 1 you buy the level of spell and its instantly casted. On fable 2 you buy the spell and have to power it up from 1-5. EVEN WHEN YOU CAST IT its so slow and sluggish they still can hit you.

  Another feature is camera angles. Fable 1 was a simple 3rd person camera during battle. In fable 2 it zooms out annoyingly and you cant control it, You cant see the detail and it gets painfully stuck around terain.

  But the most problematic is the menu system. In fable 1 u can use your d pad for quick easy access. In fable 2 you have to hit start bring up a ton of tabs and cycle through them at a snails pace because the game keeps lagging and loading them up. Its almost umbareble trying to find out what kind of dye i want cycling through them and then to clothes. And eating food is so restricted. you cant even give gifts quickly.

  1 point for Fable 1

  Story and length- Im talking about actual story. I believe I have found that the stories were evenly matched. I found Fable 1s more entriqueing and Fable 2s a little more mish mashed. I also found Fable 2s story a bit longer ...just a bit. But Fable 1 more exciting. Even without lost chapters its even. The characters were more entriqueing and fluent in part 1. In fable 2 you barely even see Reaver too much. The Jack of blades fight is far superior then the lord lucien. The final chapter is an exciteing edge of your seat scramble with an epic final battle. More heartfelt ending.

  content point goes to F1 length point goes to F2

  Character-This I will admit Fable 2 has it won. Only because you can use guns and and have more expressions. The way its used in the game also uses its contenuity. Fable 1 seems to have expressions and social acts just for laughs and giggles. The path is easier taken in F2. It has good evil corrupt and attractiveness.

  1 point to F2

  RPG lement. Fable 1 has this beat hands down. The leveling system is superior. More magic, the speed and guile skill system. And the effects of physicle branch. Fable 1 has alot more spells and there more strategicly manuevered. Fable 2 you have spells thats either profectiled or area effected. Spells are from boring to down right angering due to its stupid mechanics. Then there the augmentations. Tho fable 2 haveing more, but half of those are worthless and GIVE PLAYER PENELTIES. Such as an augmentation to give fire damage but lower your defence. Its stupid. Fable 1 also has the use of armor.

  1 point to Fable 1

  Execution- Not much to say here. Fable 2 is riddled with glitches and sound errors. Might be because the 360 has a crappy processor. F2 does have a ragdoll physics endgine but who really cares in an RPG? (supposed to be RPG)

  1 point to Fable 1

  VARIETY!!-The most important. The spice of life. Lets start with fable 1. First off F1 has more weapons. Weapon types too. Its got 2 handed hammers and axes and swords from iron steel onyx and then master. Fable 1 has armor. F2 has....ZERO ARMOR. You wear dorky clothes. Fable one has almost the same amount of expressions but more magic. The magic actually looks good to. Multi strike, bezerk, summon, shield, and heal. Fable 1 has more enemies. Fable 1 has a boast system, more pub games, and more tropheys.

  The good thing about F2 is dyes, but some things arent colorable. In f2 you wear clothes instead of armor. Theres more to wear but most is mainly worthless. Unless you think wearing pauper and gypsy outfit of any use. Its all for eye candy. Now I will admit F2 has more sidequests and places to go but theyre not as interesting or anything new. Its either rescue slaves or bounty hunt.

  The family addition is pretty cool. Makeing your own son and then a side quest comes to save him if your patiant. And as I said the gun feature is cool. But it totally rules out bows and crossbows. Then theres the dog. I must say the dog feature is pretty lame. Only at the end of the game do you have the choice of soloing it. Maybe if you could choose different animals then just a dog. I found the dog kinda worthless. Just warning you were items are and when theres enemies around. It doesnt even help you fight on a noticable base. It can just get in your way and glitch. Then atlast theres gender choice. Pretty much what it is is being the brother or sister of the game. It serves no real purpose aside from looks. I think they should have saved memory on the female side feature (or male even)and stick to one sex and use the rest for F1 type of variety.

  1 point to Fable 1

  Fable 2 seems to me that its just an amped up demo type of Fable 1. Yet people love this game. People say FABLE 2 is what the real deal is. Its what should have been from the start. And my jaw drops. Everyone think its superior. I find the "over hyped, short changed , dissapointment "of Fable 1 to be superior. Thats just my opinion. Now people would probably throw the online feature at me and then Id tell them this. "Its worthless" online is rediculaus and lame. You see little circles until you invite one to a game? THEN the inviter is the one using the character and the invitee is some crappy meshed up pre made henchman? Thats worthless. Should be two made characters. So online is wasted work.

  So I guess that F1 is more of the RPGish better controled, more fullfilling more stable game. And Fable 2 is the great looking all show glitchy more action orientated sloppy and linear game. Ijust dont understand why its better in peoples eyes then part 1.

  • Posted May 17, 2009 9:51 am PT
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• 7Apr 09

  Mario Kart Wii Hackers.

  Last night I decided to play Mario Kart Wii online. I havent played much online, the first time I did was about 2 or 3 races. I got 1st in one, then 3rd then a 5th. 10 players total. Earlier today I played with my brother and we did pretty bad. Split screen doesnt help. But split screen shouldnt cause that much of an incumberance. Something seemed fishy. I played again online solo with 11 players. Me and5 others from the U.S 2 Japanese 2 Canadians, 2 Venezualans. The Japanese were two player and 4 of the Americans were also 2-players.

  As the race started I noticed something really strange. The power ups i have gotten started dissapearing. Not all of the time but a few. The shells and mushrooms and bombs just vanished without me using them...I did not crash or spin out. I did well finishing 3rd. I shrugged it off. Next race my brother came into the room and we both seen my 3rd place number teleport to a 6. Now Nothing passed me, nor did I spin out. I was just makeing a turn. I seen my little mario face jump on the map. Another time i was in 4th I suddenly jump to 7th. I then notice the same two people were destroying the competition, humongous leads that seemed physicly impossible. On a race in the rainbow road, this time we watched. I tried my best to keep up and kept seeing my power ups dissapearing. I noticed I was getting sucked off the course even when i wasnt accelerating...like a vaccuum. I noticed on one of the two player teams from the Americans that one stayed put on the course not driving at all, blocking the power ups and hitting anyone with anything that came driving by so his partner would win. Brilliant plan I'd say. But how is the rest possible?

  Im not complaining, nor am I saying Im the best ever , hell I havent played online much at all. But I can clearly see foul play. I see HACKING. I see People drive and float over pits when they should have fallen. I see them make jumps thats unrealistic in grand prix offline. I see people burst into hyperspeed without hearing or seeing the effects of a mushroom or speedboost. No blue ring, no flareing nitros just zip by on the course. It had my brother and I laughing with frusteration that people trying to enjoy a good fun game and as CLEAN as poor Mario kart tarnished by these jerks WHO HACK. I then noticed the same 3 people always getting selected for a stage vote. HAH!

  Now is it just me? Am I missing something? Is there something I havent unlocked. Surely it cant be their vehicles or toons. Can they really do things Im not aware of like item steal or a sudden ungraphical speed boost. A race position switch? I hope someone can tell me I just plain suck and its impossible for Mario Kart to be hacked. So myself and others can enjoy online raceing. But as of right now its a hackers playground. And a shady game botchers such as two players, one staying still wrecking others and the other one winning each time. Either way, I really wish these people would stop ruining the experiance for others.

  It reminds me of PSO for dreamcast. Over ran by PKing hackers and character thieves. Its like wow. I wish these hackers wouldget a life and play the game the way its ment to, not botching everyones experiance by unfareness.

  • Posted Apr 7, 2009 8:12 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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