Now Playing: March 2019

Since November I played and completed Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, which was good, but it wasn’t the amazing experience I remember the original game being. I feel it side loaded a linear game into an open world style that it never needed.

I also played and beat Call of Duty: Black Ops. Oh what a mess that single player campaign was. I didn’t feel like I needed any skill to get through the levels. They were just a cavalcade of spectacle and little else. I never felt like my actions ever had an impact on anything that was going on. The game was setup in a way that with or without the player the levels were going to play out the same.

The last game I played was Borderland 2. If you played the first, as I did, then you were in for more of the same. I was hoping for more of a change in the game’s structure, but that was not to be. Any changes or additions made were minor and meaningless. I played it long enough to realize that doing everything was having it overstay its welcome. Eventually, I only did the story missions and skipped all optional ones (which were a ton). Even then it was too long when what I thought was going to be the final battle turned out to be a fake out. I was done at that point and that’s no fake out.

I’m not sure what I’ll be playing next, but I’m sure it’ll take longer than it otherwise would because that’s how I roll. :)

Now Playing: November 2018

So what have I been up to as far as video gaming is concerned in the month of November? Why is was Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, of course. I’ve explained some of my thoughts on the game on the Hart & Usagi Podcast recently.

I felt that the open world style doesn’t suit the gameplay of Mirror’s Edge to my tastes as much. It does work in reality, but just not as much for me. I’d rather the linear level design of the first game over this. The combat is much better in that guns are mostly absent. Faith can’t use them and only one type of lower level enemy does use them. The heavy damage dealt with an attack after a wallrun, slide, or the like really feels good. If this sounds somewhat interesting of a game to you, certainly don’t let my mediocre feelings about it stop you from seeing it for yourself.

I only bothered with one other game during this same time period. It’s effectually, what I like to call, Kid Niki 2. This is because this is the sequel on the Famicom to what we got known as Kid Niki on the NES. It’s title is Kaiketsu Yancha Maru 2: Karakuri Land. I played Usagi704’s copy and, as he said beforehand, it’s easily finished on your first try. It’s enjoyable despite being a very average game.

The only other gaming related thing I did was watch Max on Twitch play the Blackout mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. His skills along with something about the Call of Duty version of this battle royale phenomenon has been fun to view. I have no interest whatsoever to watch the other popular games or play any of them myself. Granted, I’m not that surprised I’ve watched him play this for hours and hours. In the past I’ve liked watching his regular Call of Duty multiplayer matches in previous games. So these two things are just great together. :)

Now Playing: August-October 2018

So I’ve been playing these things called “video games” and I figured I’d tell you about some of them. :D

The Bourne Conspiracy follows the events of The Bourne Identity and adds a bit more to it to lengthen the game. You play just about every major and minor scene from the movie including the big car chase scene. That specific moment, however, is done poorly and is not all that fun. Luckily most of the game is beat-’em-up and shooting style of gameplay. There are opportunities for stealthy takedowns, but it’s not required and is the other part of the game that’s also not done all that well.

Speaking of stealthy gameplay, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus on the Game Boy Advance is much better at it than the above game. It’s also much more enjoyable than TMNT 2 on the main consoles of its time like the PlayStation 2. You have to find crystals throughout the levels, but you have to use each turtle because each have different abilities allowing you to access places the others can’t reach. The difficulty of combat is fairly easy, but it’s welcome in this way since the traversal is what keeps you wanting to play some more.

I finally got around to playing *the* Spider-Man game that gets all the praise since it’s 2004 release and that’s, obviously, Spider-Man 2. The praise is pretty much universally for the swinging abilities and it’s well deserved. But, that’s where it ends, in my opinion. The points needs to progress the story from menial rescues are very repetitive. I also didn’t enjoy most, if any, of the boss battles. I don’t dislike the game. I just wish it was as good as its reputation leads you to believe.

Of the four games I played in these last few months, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was the most fun. I liked the first two games quite a bit, and I still like them the most, but this game was a step up from the disappointment of Uncharted 3. Sam is a great companion and Sully’s dry wit is as welcome as always. The overall gameplay isn’t much different and that’s okay. It was good to begin with.

Captain America’s Call of Duty

A few weeks ago I ordered a slew of older Call of Duty games. This should surprise those who know me and my disdain for the series. But it’s more for how the games are put out there than for the core of what they are. Regardless, I did get four of them dating from 2008-2011.

Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Another game I purchased that’s been a long time coming is Captain America: Super Soldier. It looks like an interesting under-seller of a third-person action game. It usually sells for quite a bit more than you’d expect from a 2011 game being that it’s more than four years later. Despite this I still got it for more than I wanted to pay, but far less than Amazon third-parties were selling it at.

Teenage Mutant Mini Ninja Zombie Turtles

Here’s what I thought of the following demos. My top rating may say “Day One,” but these games are obviously already released. So just replace that with “Buy Now.” Not that any of them get that rating anyway.

Call of Duty: World at War
This was probably the easiest game to like of the bunch because of being familiar with the series. It does have the great gameplay that I’ve liked about them, but I’m pretty much not interested in a straight World War II FPS game much anymore. Wolfenstein looks more interesting with its inclusion of the supernatural.

Rating: Bargain Bin

Mini Ninjas
I went into this one not expecting anything to like about it since it has a kiddie look to it. However, I was surprised to a degree with the number of ways to complete a mission. Also I found it amusing that fishing to make sushi for heath pickups was neat. Definitely the most interesting game of the lot.

Rating: Sooner Rather Than Later

Dirt 2
I gave this game the most time to impress me as I raced on the two available tracks at least four times each. I loved the graphical detail of the cockpit camera view, though it did artificially make the game more difficult. Also the default difficulty level, which was one above the easiest, wasn’t very forgiving. Even though I had some fun with the game, it pains me to say that I’ll probably not get it.

Rating: Bargain Bin

Wet
When I originally heard about Wet, I was interested in what it could be. After the mixed reviews I still kept up hope that it would be something that I’d still have fun with (like with Watchmen: The End Is Nigh). Now that I’ve played the demo I definitely won’t be buying this one. The controls were a bit too sluggish for the type of game that it is. I can understand that it will win over some people (like GameSpot’s Chris Watters), but it didn’t with me unfortunately.

Rating: Skip It

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled
Continuing on with the disappointment is the remake of Turtles in Time. I’m sure that most of those that were letdown by this title were older gamers like myself that remember playing the original version in the arcade. The music definitely took a turn for the worse as well. It should’ve been based off of the superior SNES version with the extra levels, better bosses, and the excellent use of Mode 7 graphics. If you don’t mind what it is, you can find something to like, but for everyone else just get an SNES.

Rating: Bargain Bin

Zombie Apocalypse
With this game I don’t really have much to say about it other than it’s what I expected it to be. This game does reek of the current zombie fad that gaming in general is going through. For duel stick shooters, you can do much better. Geometry Wars 2 and Super Stardust HD are two that come to mind.

Rating: Skip It

Rating scale: Day One – Sooner Rather Than Later – Bargain Bin – Skip It

Spider-Man Collection Incl. Ultimate Spider-Man

Going back to the video suggestions that I got in May, this time I pull out the Spider-Man games that I own.

In the video I show off the games and also feature footage of Ultimate Spider-Man on the PlayStation 2 as requested by ebbderelict. Enjoy!

VIEW VIDEO HERE

GoldenEye Is Not The Best Bond Game

When I was thinking of what to exactly say about my gripe with those that consider GoldenEye on the Nintendo 64 to be the end all and be all of Bond games, I didn’t want to just copy and paste what I had said over two years ago. I decided to go to the forums for all of the ammo I needed. Sure enough I found this thread. Enjoy the rant.

Ah yes, Quantum of Solace. It’s the newest game from the James Bond universe. It’s also another reason for fans of GoldenEye on the N64 to start doing their usual comparison only to come to the same jaded conclusion that no Bond game can live up to their beloved game.

I don’t have any problem for those that have played GoldenEye since 1997 and can still enjoy it, but I have a hard time believing that most of those that claim the game’s greatness have played it since then. It really is time to take off the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia that you’ve been wearing for over the last decade are realize that most all of the Bond games since then have been better. And I’m doing a direct FPS comparison when I say that and not referring to the third-person shooters like Everything or Nothing or From Russia With Love.

It wasn’t until 2001 that another Bond FPS game was released. This game was Agent Under Fire. I liked playing the game, but it definitely wasn’t superb. However, it still was better than GoldenEye solely because of better control with dual analog sticks. A year later NightFire was released and it really felt like a major improvement.

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent was released in 2004. If any Bond game should be compared to the N64 game then it would have to be this one. In the first minute of this developer interview, Chris Plummer, the Senior Producer of Rogue Agent, says that they were trying to recreate the experience of the Rare’s game. Well, if that was the case then you fans of the original can have at him, but I feel that this game does hold its own to a degree.

Now it’s 2008. In four years the progression of first-person shooters has come a long way. To have Quantum of Solace basically play similar to GoldenEye at this point in time would have been a huge mistake. Sure the new game takes a bunch from the successful Call of Duty games and adds a Kill Switch cover system, but the game’s better off for it. You can be sure that it plays way better than GoldenEye ever did.

In closing I have to ask one thing of those wondering why the Quantum of Solace game is more based on the previous film, Casino Royale. Have you seen the latest movie? The story hardly makes any sense. It makes me consider watching A View To A Kill and that one was garbage too.

Now Playing: October ’07

A total of seven games round out this past month of October. Here’s how it went down.

At the beginning of the month I finally finished Final Fantasy III (SNES). Getting through Kefka’s Tower was as epic as it was a pain, though I did enjoy every bit of it. The long ending wasn’t as amazing as I thought it would be. Maybe I happened to hype it up for myself a little too much after a number of times viewing the fourth part in the GT retrospective. Regardless of any of that I still did have lots of fun with the game. I look forward to the next time I play one of the other Final Fantasy games that I own.

My first PSP game was chosen based on being able to play against others. That’s what lead me to picking up Tekken: Dark Resurrection. I’ve never really taken much to the Tekken series. The only other game I have is Tekken 5 and I hardly ever play it. So it was surprising that I actually like this PSP game. I think it’s for three reasons. 1) It’s on a portable system, 2) the aforementioned multiplayer modes, and 3) the awesome character, Sergei Dragunov.

Soon after that I bought the two Prince of Persia games on the same system. I started with Prince of Persia: Revelations. I, however, stopped playing once I got to a new puzzle that I couldn’t figure out. So far the new areas aren’t designed as well as the original game, Warrior Within. They’re much plainer looking and somewhat more complicated than they needed to be.

Back on the Super Nintendo I played two shoot-’em-ups: Gradius III and U.N. Squadron. I had the most fun with Gradius III and once I messed around with the edit mode I was really rocking. When it came to getting my ass handed to me, U.N. Squadron filled that role nicely. I’m glad that the guys at ScrewAttack.com like the game because it really pisses me off with its brutal difficulty.

Speaking of difficult games, Gargoyles for the Sega Genesis was another fun one. However, getting very far for me required cheat codes. Thankfully there was an in-game invincibility code. I did technically finish the game, but it didn’t actually do anything after the final boss was defeated.

The game that I decided to go back to after almost a year was Call of Duty 3. I originally played very little of the game so I wasn’t aware that you switched back and forth between the storylines. I finished it within a quick three day weekend. I think that the closing credits out lasted the length of Final Fantasy III’s ending.

That’s it for me as this month closes out.

My Score Versus GameSpot’s Score (Pt. 2)

I’m back. It’s time for the second part of My Score Versus GameSpot’s Score. This time I’ll finish up with six games that I rated much more positively than the GS crew.

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
GS: 8.2; me: 9.0
The difference in ratings here shouldn’t surprise anybody that’s already in the know. I really liked this game when I played it back in January. I’ll definitely be going back to it in the future!

Day of Defeat
GS: 8.1; me: 9.1
This game was originally a free mod for Half-Life and it was released at a time when there wasn’t tons of World War II first-person shooters out there. I liked this mod before Valve made it cool to do so. Now if I didn’t have to pay for the upgraded Source version maybe then I’d play it.

NightFire
GS: 7.9; me: 8.8
I first played NightFire at a friend’s house and I liked it enough to buy it for myself. I found it to be more exciting and enjoyable than the two that surrounded it, Agent Under Fire and Everything or Nothing. Oh, and I also played the PC demo before I bought my copy. It took much longer to load the levels and it surprisingly didn’t control as well. For an FPS on a PC that just never made any sense to me.

Black
GS: 7.4; me: 8.8
I never really understood why not many others liked this game. It’s true that I didn’t much care for the extreme length of the levels after the first one. But, the shooting is fun and just like Ultimate Destruction the game explodes real, real good.

Street Fighter Collection 2
GS: 7.2; me: 9.1
I know that I like this Street Fighter II collection because it was the first time that I could have arcade perfect versions of the first three games in the series. This same package later showed up in Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1, but somehow they managed to mess up the sound. I also liked the Deluxe mode that let you play different versions of the same character against one another. That mode is essentially what Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition is in Street Fighter Anniversary Collection.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
GS: 7.0; me: 8.2
I found a number of times when the GameSpot crew would be down on this game, at the time, just because it was similarly titled to the original Xbox 360 and PC versions. Sure the game didn’t do anything that we hadn’t seen up to that point. Maybe I just like this game more because it included voice work by three actors that starred in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers.

PSone EX Plus

More gaming goodness and I bought a total of 10 games and another system. That makes three this year. First to the games.

I bought a second copy of Super Street Fighter II for the Genesis solely because this copy was complete and in even better condition. I was also happy that I found Tecmo Super NBA Basketball (thanks SonicHomeboy for the heads up) for the Super Nintendo. It’s plays much faster than the sorefest of Bulls vs. Blazers. Here’s the list of games with the usual condition rating.

Forgotten Worlds (GEN) – game only; good
Tecmo Super NBA Basketball (SNES) – game only; great
Dragon Warrior (NES) – game only; great
Duke Nukem: Time To Kill (PS) – complete; fair
Tomb Raider (PS) – complete; good
Crash Bandicoot: Warped (PS) – complete; good
Dragon’s Revenge (GEN) – complete; great
Super Street Fighter II (GEN) – complete; excellent
Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 (PS2) – new
Spider-Man 2 (PS2) – new

Details: Closed | Open

The pre-owned system that I bought was the second model PSone. I was surprised several different times by this system. First was the price: $17.95. Next was the size: smaller than I originally thought. And finally the weight: heavier than I expected for the overall size. Now I’d like to get one of those fliptop screens and a car adapter and I’d be set with a truly portable PlayStation!

PSone system with controller, AC adapter, A/V cable – $17.95; excellent

Condition scale: Excellent, Great, Good, Fair, Bad