The Gaming Thread

[gunsage]

So...I'm back. Where did I go? Why thanks for asking (YES YOU DID ASK, HUSH). My wife had quite a spill on Friday. These are the events as I received them...

- Contemplated going to the fitness center. Couldn't find gym equipment. Decided to nix working out.
- As a result, I left for Tech Skills later than usual and decided to be there between 1 - 3 pm.
- Upon arrival (12:55), one of my coworkers (there are about 4 besides me that are going there that I work with as well) stops me and says...

CW: "Dude, it's an emergency. Your wife's been hurt."
Me: "Yeah, okay."

Yes, I thought he was messing with me and clocked in. Why? Because we mess with each other back and forth. I clock in. I'm about to go past him when ANOTHER of my coworkers steps up...

CW2: "No, dude, seriously...your wife called up here in a panic. I don't know what's going on...something about a...huge rock...and falling and twisting her leg around or something..."



I run out to my car to discover...my cell phone's dead...



I have juuuuuust enough battery life to do the following...

Me: *Dial wife's cell phone, as I have no idea whether she's at work, the hospital, etc.* "My battery's dead, tell me what's going on quick."
WF: "Well, there was this giant rock and I was carrying food and didn't see it and I stepped on it and fell and-" *Click...cell phone dies*



I rush back inside and borrow my one coworker's phone. Basically, one of her office's clients bought the guys some food. She walks across the street, gets the food, can't really see where she's going, slips on a giant rock with her right foot, which causes her to fall face first and mess up her leg. The good news is after taking her to the hospital, the doctor determined that it was just a lot of swelling.

No biggie, right? BIG BIGGIE. See, since she was going to be home alone...she was going to SOMEHOW have to chase after the baby...limping. I had to call off. Nevermind that it still wasn't 100% on Saturday, so I called off there too. The worst part is now I'm here shaking in my boots because I'm pretty sure I'm going to get written up for all the calloffs. I'm not COMPLETELY sure, but it's a good possibility.

ANYWAY, videogames! I've gone back to playing We <3 Katamari for the PS2. This was initially to test the wireless controllers my wife got over the weekend, but then we got addicted all over again. On top of that, I started over Metroid Prime (no, I haven't beaten it yet). I love MP, but I always seem to get stuck on the Omega Pirate or whatever it is. I couldn't figure out even how to hurt it.

Actually, I'll hurry and try to get back to him so I can report exactly what it is I'm having trouble with because it's been so long that I honestly can't remember. And on a final note, there's one more game I need to hurry up and beat, but solely so I can add it to my sell list:

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete

[gunsage]

Gah! I'm stuck on the final episode of PW3. Also, I didn't really mention this yesterday, but another game I started back up (and will probably take a stab at reviewing) yesterday was Godhand. If you've never heard of it, here's all you need to know...

- Insane, frenzied brawler from Capcom and Clover that kinda reminds me of Fist of the North Star.
- Hilarious and crude.
- Customize your own combos, power moves, etc.
- HARD.
- Clover's final game.

That's about it for now.

[gunsage]

Hey there! Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving or at least got to eat a lot of food! Well, currently I'm still playing Metroid Prime, but more and more I'm seeing why I gave it up...SAVE POINTS...well, lack thereof, rather. Look, most areas don't dictate that you have a save point every five minutes, but for those not in the know, save points have two functions on this particular Metroid title...recover all health and save (duh).

The problem? I had MP lock up on me twice...TWICE...while simply navigating through various areas. Yeah, I don't know WTF. In any case, after dealing with that and redoing all that all over again, I went on to the phazon mines to go get the power bomb. Okay, now...correct me if I'm wrong, but they block off enough sections with bendezium blockades (I believe they're only disruptable with power bombs) that you only have one save point in the area...right at the beginning of it.

The problem, yet again? Well let's see...you fight several waves of space pirates, an elite space pirate miniboss, and then a shadow...bot thingy whatever before you can even get to the "maze" to get to the power bomb. Yeah, by that point, I only had 07 energy left. Naturally, I got zapped ONCE in the maze and BLARGH, DEATH. Fun.

It doesn't help any that the ice beam fires like crap and there are a few space pirates you MUST disrupt with them. It further doesn't help that there's no quick turn around button, nor an ability to adjust your turning speed. Don't get me wrong...the game's fun, but often after playing a game for a while, I notice little things like this that begin to irk me. This is yet another reason I'd love to playtest games, but I have no idea how to get into it, what it pays (or even if it pays), whether it would actually advance my career to help me get into development, or what have you.

[Broomjockey]

It doesn't help any that the ice beam fires like crap and there are a few space pirates you MUST disrupt with them. It further doesn't help that there's no quick turn around button, nor an ability to adjust your turning speed. Don't get me wrong...the game's fun, but often after playing a game for a while, I notice little things like this that begin to irk me. This is yet another reason I'd love to playtest games, but I have no idea how to get into it, what it pays (or even if it pays), whether it would actually advance my career to help me get into development, or what have you.

Are you playing the original Metroid Prime or something? Because if you're talking about MP3, then a)You've got really bad luck to hit two crashes period, let alone the same day, and b) you can adjust the turning speed as part of going to advanced aiming. If you're playing the original, then I could have sworn there was a quick-turn-around, though I'll be buggered if I can remember what it is.

[Gravekeeper]

Wow, I've never had Metroid Prime so much as hiccup. Nevermind lock up. Nor have I ever heard of it doing such. Is the GC squirrely? Or are you playing 3?

You ever going to come play TF2, Broom?

or anyone else? No one wants to shoot me? -.-

[Broomjockey]

You ever going to come play TF2, Broom?

or anyone else? No one wants to shoot me? -.-

I've got the server favourited, but unfortunately it's crunch time at school, so I'm tied down this week. Hopefully next weekend I'll have time for a life again.

[gunsage]

Are you playing the original Metroid Prime or something?

Yeah, it's the original. No worries...I got past where I was having trouble, but it's a little hard to be persistent when you have issues like that. And yes, under normal circumstances, the game plays great, so it was kinda odd. But no, my main issue with the game, well, there are two in my head right now...

1) Lack of saves. Now, after you've successfully tackled through areas and are "just visiting," it's no biggie because not only do you know where they are, but they're not being blocked by anything. In fact, at least most shortcuts should be available to you at that point.

2) I'm happy that the game reminds you of what you ought to be doing next. I'm angry that it reminds you every 5 minutes...even if you're on your way there...in the middle of a GODDAMN'D WAR WITH SPACE PIRATES! Yes, I get it..."HURR, GO TO DA CHAMBER!" I GET IT, REALLY!

Here's an interesting trick I recently picked up on to find aaaaaallllll the little powerups: turn off the music. Yes, it's some good music...very sci-fi, very environment-specific...definitely fits the mood. When the music is off, however, you can better hear the audible clues that a powerup is close. Therefore, going back through Phendrana wasting baddies with the plasma is that much more fun by getting powerups left and right that you never knew about!

On a side note, I sold Lunar finally. Therefore, I decided to get Shin Megami Tensei 2. w00timus m@ximus. To be honest, I've yet to beat any MegaTen games, but I'm a big fan. Anyone else play any of these?

[gunsage]

That does it...I'm officially stuck on PW3. I'm on the final episode and in the first part of the trial with Larry...geez. I just don't see the hole! ARGH!!

[Gravekeeper]

That does it...I'm officially stuck on PW3. I'm on the final episode and in the first part of the trial with Larry...geez. I just don't see the hole! ARGH!!

Haha, what part of his insane, delusional ranting testimony are you on? ;p

I've got the server favourited, but unfortunately it's crunch time at school, so I'm tied down this week. Hopefully next weekend I'll have time for a life again.

Ahhh. Edumacation.

[gunsage]

Here's the funny part...on Saturday, just before I left work, I finally figured out Larry's testimony...then my battery started to die. Further, I got to the Omega Pirate and WHOOPED HIS ASS! I don't know why I wasn't able to do it last time. However, now I'm on Meta Ridley...which really isn't much better. Also, I picked up .hack Episode 1 yesterday. I smile because you can't find that sumbitch ANYWHERE...got it for $11.

And here's the best part...it's not that it's that great of a game. I mean, it's okay, but the resale value on that will be AWESOME! On a related note, I'm looking to get Fire Emblem for the GC, but obviously I need to get that from a store, not online. Anytime I hop into a game store, I browse the oldies bins and ask if they have ANY FEs. Not really interested in the Wii FE, though I'm sure it'll be fun for enthusiasts.

[gunsage]

Okay, so...started back up playing Rogue Galaxy for PS2 again. For those of you that have no idea what that is, allow me to explain. Rogue Galaxy was made by Level 5. Rogue Galaxy was, as far as I know, Level 5's last PS2 title. What's Level 5, eh?

- Made Dark Cloud 1 & 2, both of which won Greatest Hits awards and rightfully so.
- Assisted in development of Dragonquest 8, my favorite DQ.
- Made Jeanne d'Arc for PSP...probably the only turn-based strategy/RPG worth playing on the PSP that's ORIGINAL.
- Made Rogue Galaxy.

ANYWAY, I'm not for certain whether they've done any other projects besides those mentioned, but basically they've got the Midas touch. Rogue Galaxy is no exception...it's a real time action/RPG with constantly streaming load times. In other words, yes, it loads, but not really. Here's how it goes...

- When you load your game, you're introduced to a screen that displays what you need to know/remember before continuing on (what you're doing, etc.) as it loads, though because of how it slowly displays this text, it is given ample time to load, which it doesn't have to do very much of anyway.
- When you teleport, there is a small loading segment.
- Beyond that, there's no noticable loading in the game. PERIOD.

The best way I can think to describe the game is Dark Cloud 2 ON CRACK. Movies, excellent voiceovers, great characters, fun and quick combat system, awesome updated cel-shading engine, LOTS of upgrading and combining, LOTS of inventing, bug raising and battles...literally, this game is a must have. I kinda got away from it for a while because there were so many other games released at the same time, but trust me, it's probably Level 5's finest product.

Beyond this, I'm also still working on...

- I <3 Katamari (PS2)
- Metroid Prime (GC)
- .hack Volume 1 (PS2)
- Persona 2 (PS1)
- Half-Life (PC)
- La-Mulana (PC)
- Odin Sphere (PS2)

That's about it for now.

[gunsage]

Dammit...stuck again on PW3. I'm SOOO close to beating it too, I'm sure. That'll be all three for the DS tackled. The real question is do I get a new DS when I'm done, get another DS game (and if so, which), or concentrate on my PSP titles? You might not understand the "get a new DS" portion...allow me to explain. It's been a while...really, QUITE a while since I had played the DS.

Back when I was in security, I played DS and PSP quite a bit. Up until recently I was busy enough at work with studying, etc. that I decided to give them both a rest (this was also another reason I sold virtually every PSP and DS game I own a while back). Anyway, I recently started picking up low cost PSP titles here and there and then, well, PW3 came out, so there you have it.

Anyway, when I brought the DS to work, I noticed that there was static, popping, and intermittent sound on the DS. I'm not sure if the battery's going out or if it's even something that can be fixed. It was used when I bought it and if it's only going to get progressively worse, I may as well invest in a new one, but around Christmas that's going to be a little hard to do.

Has anyone heard of this? If so, what would you suggest?

[Gravekeeper]

Hmm, never heard of that, no =/ Both my DS's still work perfectly fine. Nintendo hardware is usually neigh invincible. If you have the original DS it'd be worth picking up a Lite anyway though. The Lite is 500% better in every category. -.-

Plus you can usually find em for $100 flat.

[Rahmota]

I'll put this here but since it involves pen and ink gaming/roleplaying I'm not sure if its quite right. But sinec there are a few who play D&D I thought I'd ask.

Has anyone else seen/heard much about 4th edition D&D and if you have what do you think about it? I'm not too keen on it as they are taking the entire game in a direction I'm not happy with.

They are changing everything all together and making it more like a MMORG or something. Classes are goign to be realtively meaningless, the races are goig back towards being one dimensional stereotypes, and magic itself is getting out of hand. If I wanted to play a stupid computer game I'd play a stupid computer game. I mean I've been with D&D since 1st edition but I'm going with my own houseruleset from here on out based off the 2nd/3rd hybrid I did.

[RichS]

One more speech and final exam, then it's back to gaming:

I know I'm getting The Orange Box and Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl for Christmas - other than that, ?

Plus, I want to finish Tomb Raider: Legend on my PS2, and start on F.E.A.R.

And I really want to get MOH: Airborne, Hellgate: London, BioShock, Crysis...

But I've only got 3 weeks - then it's back to class.