Saints Row IV
Played co-op about 2 hours this weekend with Mark and had a blast. I've been playing Saints Row The Third recently and while that is an awesome game this new version is even crazier and funner.(spell check didn't mark this word.) One of my favorite games is Crackdown and they basically added the core game play concepts from that game into the Saints Row universe and it is awesome. You have super powers in the game, which is explained in the story, and the first two you get are super speed and super jump so you can run faster than cars and climb buildings easily. You use these skills to collect the 1125 clusters that are scattered around the world to upgrade and open new powers, we spent most of the time just collecting clusters.
DiveKick
An interesting fighting game that only uses two buttons, a jump and kick button, you move your character using those buttons as well, it's a game you can play with one hand. Most fighting games have too many complex button combinations that make it almost impossible to just pick up and play. Divekick strips away the complexity of the controls and makes actual fighting strategy the main focus. There are around 10 different characters who all jump and kick in different ways so there is a good variety which allows multiple strategies. Each round is only 30 seconds and one hit kills, if no one is hit within that time frame the character closest to the middle of the arena wins, it takes 6 kills to win the match.
New Releases - Some good games releasing this week.
PC:
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - Getting great reviews. Picking this up.
Castlevania: Lord of the Shadows - Already pre-ordered. The game was fantastic on the 360 and should look great on the PC includes the DLC which I never played.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn - Hopefully this fares better than the last time it launched.
Lost Planet 3 - Absolutely no press on this one, I haven't seen any ads or trailers.
PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate
Shelter - Want to care for some baby badgers?
PS3:
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F
Killer is Dead - Grasshopper game so I'm going to buy. Hopefully it plays well.
Lost Planet 3
Madden NFL 25 - Really debating this. If you buy the $100 Collectors edition you get Sunday Ticket for free on mobile devices. A decent deal.
PSV:
Real Boxing
Spelunky - Should be great on the platform.
360:
Killer is Dead
Lost Planet 3
Madden NFL 25
Painkiller: Hell and Damnation
WiiU:
New Super Luigi U
Pokemon Rumble
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Planescape Torment and Some Rumors
PlaneScape Torment
I put in about 8 hours over the weekend and I'm not sure how much longer I have until I finish the game, it's not on Steam so I can't see my total playtime. I've had to use a walk through a couple of times because the game is pretty massive and there are a ton of people to talk to and if you miss talking to one of them you can have a quest seem impossible to finish. That is probably my only gripe with the game in that the journal and quest log are not detailed enough and it's not easily searchable so it makes finding specific people or places cumbersome.
Stuff
Candy Crush Saga makes 650K per day.
Madden demo is out today for 360 and PS3.
Rayman Legends Demo Aug 20.
PS4 Launching Oct 21?????
GTA V coming to PC's this fall????
New Releases - A lot of games but I'm not buying much.
PC
DuckTales: Remastered (download - $15) - I never played the original but it's supposedly fondly remembered from the NES days.
Europa Universalis IV - You can import your Civilization Kings 2 Saves.
Gone Home (download - $20)
Hammerwatch (download)
Payday 2 (download - $30) - Improved over the first PayDay $30 seems a tad much for only a multiplayer game.
Postmortem (download - free)
Space Hulk (download - $30) - Interested in this one and will probably purchase based on reviews. Another tactical Turn based combat game.
Unholy Heights (download - $4) - Never heard of it.
Worms Clan Wars (download - $25) - Another worms game.
Xbox 360
Charlie Murder (XBLA - $10) - Read some positive impressions.
Disney Infinity - Here it is the next Skylanders type game which could make a lot of money since it's using Disney Characters.
Payday 2
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
PlayStation 3
Disney Infinity
DuckTales: Remastered (PSN - $15)
Mars: War Logs (PSN)
Payday 2
Thunder Wolves (PSN)
Wii U
Angry Birds Trilogy - Thought this already came out.
Disney Infinity
DuckTales: Remastered (eShop - $15)
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
DuckTales: Remastered and Disney Infinity
Wii
Angry Birds Trilogy
Disney Infinity
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
Nintendo 3DS
Disney Infinity
Donkey Kong (eShop - $5)
Heavy Fire: Black Arms 3D (eShop - $5)
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
Nintendo DS
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
I put in about 8 hours over the weekend and I'm not sure how much longer I have until I finish the game, it's not on Steam so I can't see my total playtime. I've had to use a walk through a couple of times because the game is pretty massive and there are a ton of people to talk to and if you miss talking to one of them you can have a quest seem impossible to finish. That is probably my only gripe with the game in that the journal and quest log are not detailed enough and it's not easily searchable so it makes finding specific people or places cumbersome.
Stuff
Candy Crush Saga makes 650K per day.
Madden demo is out today for 360 and PS3.
Rayman Legends Demo Aug 20.
PS4 Launching Oct 21?????
GTA V coming to PC's this fall????
New Releases - A lot of games but I'm not buying much.
PC
DuckTales: Remastered (download - $15) - I never played the original but it's supposedly fondly remembered from the NES days.
Europa Universalis IV - You can import your Civilization Kings 2 Saves.
Gone Home (download - $20)
Hammerwatch (download)
Payday 2 (download - $30) - Improved over the first PayDay $30 seems a tad much for only a multiplayer game.
Postmortem (download - free)
Space Hulk (download - $30) - Interested in this one and will probably purchase based on reviews. Another tactical Turn based combat game.
Unholy Heights (download - $4) - Never heard of it.
Worms Clan Wars (download - $25) - Another worms game.
Xbox 360
Charlie Murder (XBLA - $10) - Read some positive impressions.
Disney Infinity - Here it is the next Skylanders type game which could make a lot of money since it's using Disney Characters.
Payday 2
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
PlayStation 3
Disney Infinity
DuckTales: Remastered (PSN - $15)
Mars: War Logs (PSN)
Payday 2
Thunder Wolves (PSN)
Wii U
Angry Birds Trilogy - Thought this already came out.
Disney Infinity
DuckTales: Remastered (eShop - $15)
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
DuckTales: Remastered and Disney Infinity
Wii
Angry Birds Trilogy
Disney Infinity
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
Nintendo 3DS
Disney Infinity
Donkey Kong (eShop - $5)
Heavy Fire: Black Arms 3D (eShop - $5)
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
Nintendo DS
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
Friday, August 9, 2013
Papers, Please
Papers Please (Steam)
Here I sit in this small confined well guarded room, people are standing in a massive line waiting to pass through so they can conduct their business. It's almost 8 am and I just walked to work from my small apartment that I share with my wife, her mother, and our son. I only have $5 to my name and my son is sick because we can't afford to heat the house. I calculated last night that I need to process 20 people today so I can afford medicine. I quickly read over the new instructions that I receive each day from the head office, since we had a terrorist attack yesterday that resulted in one guard being killed, new arrivals will need to have an entry ticket as well as their passport. Two minutes till 8 so I get out my guidebook and turn to my bookmark so I can quickly assess each person. I click on the switch and the cold iron gate slides up slowly revealing behind it the dull gray brick wall that is my backdrop each long day. I press another button that turns on the microphone and I speak the words everyone is waiting to hear.......Next.
It's 9 pm now and I've had a long day, I sit cuddled next to my wife under many covers, the house is freezing. I was able to earn enough money to buy medicine but turning on the heat will have to wait for another day, I sure hope nothing else unexpected happens.
A new day, new instructions, they've upgraded the entry tickets to an entry pass, just one more document I need to check, this is starting to get complicated. The first group of people had all the proper documents, but then I one person had an entry ticket so I had to turn him away, I could hear him curse me under his breath and mentioned he paid a lot of money for that ticket. The next one had Female listed as his sex but I knew it was a man, I questioned him about it and they had no response so I sent them away, man I hate my job. After lunch I see Istiv, he's crazy, I wonder what he has for me this time. He steps into the booth and just stands there I smile then ask for paperwork, he apologizes and then slides me a passport that he clearly made himself, it's drawn in crayon and at the top it says pre-approved, the face does look like him though. I press the decline stamp and tell him to try again another day, I wonder how long he waited in line. It's getting close to 4 so my eyes are getting weary so I quickly glance at the paperwork and stamp approve and let them go, almost immediately there is a knock on my door and I receive a paper stating that I just let someone in with an expired passport and that my pay will be deducted at the end of the day. Man I hate my job..........
This game just showed up on Steam yesterday and I glanced and passed on it and purchased Spelunky and Guacamelee. I then visited a couple of websites and saw the Giantbomb quicklook and immediately returned to Steam and bought the game. The game is about a mundane job but it's suprisingly fun and stressful at the same time. There is a story mode which is what I wrote about above and an endless mode that opens up after you've completed the single player game. The story mode has something like 20 different endings so I'm curious as to what they are. I highly recommend this game, it's only $10 so give it a shot.
Here I sit in this small confined well guarded room, people are standing in a massive line waiting to pass through so they can conduct their business. It's almost 8 am and I just walked to work from my small apartment that I share with my wife, her mother, and our son. I only have $5 to my name and my son is sick because we can't afford to heat the house. I calculated last night that I need to process 20 people today so I can afford medicine. I quickly read over the new instructions that I receive each day from the head office, since we had a terrorist attack yesterday that resulted in one guard being killed, new arrivals will need to have an entry ticket as well as their passport. Two minutes till 8 so I get out my guidebook and turn to my bookmark so I can quickly assess each person. I click on the switch and the cold iron gate slides up slowly revealing behind it the dull gray brick wall that is my backdrop each long day. I press another button that turns on the microphone and I speak the words everyone is waiting to hear.......Next.
It's 9 pm now and I've had a long day, I sit cuddled next to my wife under many covers, the house is freezing. I was able to earn enough money to buy medicine but turning on the heat will have to wait for another day, I sure hope nothing else unexpected happens.
A new day, new instructions, they've upgraded the entry tickets to an entry pass, just one more document I need to check, this is starting to get complicated. The first group of people had all the proper documents, but then I one person had an entry ticket so I had to turn him away, I could hear him curse me under his breath and mentioned he paid a lot of money for that ticket. The next one had Female listed as his sex but I knew it was a man, I questioned him about it and they had no response so I sent them away, man I hate my job. After lunch I see Istiv, he's crazy, I wonder what he has for me this time. He steps into the booth and just stands there I smile then ask for paperwork, he apologizes and then slides me a passport that he clearly made himself, it's drawn in crayon and at the top it says pre-approved, the face does look like him though. I press the decline stamp and tell him to try again another day, I wonder how long he waited in line. It's getting close to 4 so my eyes are getting weary so I quickly glance at the paperwork and stamp approve and let them go, almost immediately there is a knock on my door and I receive a paper stating that I just let someone in with an expired passport and that my pay will be deducted at the end of the day. Man I hate my job..........
This game just showed up on Steam yesterday and I glanced and passed on it and purchased Spelunky and Guacamelee. I then visited a couple of websites and saw the Giantbomb quicklook and immediately returned to Steam and bought the game. The game is about a mundane job but it's suprisingly fun and stressful at the same time. There is a story mode which is what I wrote about above and an endless mode that opens up after you've completed the single player game. The story mode has something like 20 different endings so I'm curious as to what they are. I highly recommend this game, it's only $10 so give it a shot.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Cardhunter, Dragons Crown, Rise of the Triad
Cardhunter Beta
I've been in the beta for awhile and I've put in about 3 hours and I've had a great time. It is a CCG, but it's focus is more on the single player campaign than multiplayer. The card game uses a grid board where you place your characters and battles feel similar to the combat in Heroes of Might and Magic.
I have some beta keys if anyone is interested.
LWHF-NTCC-ZPHK
DQSC-WNHN-MJZL
Dragon's Crown (PS3)
Put in roughly two and a half hours last night and would have played more but I was exhausted. The game was developed by Vanillaware who are known for their beautiful 2D hand animated games and this one is no exception. It plays like Castle Crashers where you have up to 3 AI players fighting enemies with you. There are different character classes with different weapons and abilities plus loot drops so there are some RPG elements. The artwork is extremely detailed, the animations are very fluid, and the backgrounds look amazing, it's one of the best looking 2D games I've played. The combat can get hectic when there are 4 characters plus enemies on the screen so it can be tough to find your character sometimes. You can choose to just play by yourself and not have any AI companions if that does bother you. Once you play to a certain point in the game multiplayer opens up which has you going though similar dungeons from the single player but added pathways and extra enemies as well as bosses. From most of the reviews I've read the multiplayer is the best part of the game. I haven't reached that level yet, which I think is around 8-10 hours, so hopefully I'll get to try it soon. The game does support couch co-op so if you are looking for that type of game. There is also a Vita version that I almost got instead but I felt the graphics would look better on a bigger screen, the game does support cloud saves so you can share saves between platforms.
Rise of the Triad (Steam)
I remember playing this game years and years ago, it was different than the dooms and quakes as it had platforms that would send you soaring into the air and rocket launchers that would reduce enemies to a thousand pieces, I think it coined the phrase ludicrous Gibs. I'm not sure it reached the sales of Doom so I was surprised to see a remake. This game is probably the fastest FPS that I've every played. The camera movement speed is insane on the default level, I had to turn it almost all the way down to be able to hit what I was aiming at. The graphics looks pretty good but I've had instances of slowdown. They did include all the elements of the original even the coins that you collect make the same sound and of course there are ludicrous Gibs. I'm not sure that even at the $15 price point that it's worth it. The AI is very simple and the game has checkpoint saving so you will be replaying some long sections.
Stuff
Xbox One - Will include a headset. Game recording and sharing does require Gold membership. They did increase the clock speed of the graphics chip. There is a video of the launch version unboxing so the release should be soon.
PS4 - Game recording and sharing does not require PSN+.
John Carmack founder of ID and creator of Doom and Quake is new CTO for company creating the Occulus rift headset.
Rockstar did have an add for a PC programmer so maybe more of their games will come to PC, I'm hoping for Read Dead Redemption.
I've been in the beta for awhile and I've put in about 3 hours and I've had a great time. It is a CCG, but it's focus is more on the single player campaign than multiplayer. The card game uses a grid board where you place your characters and battles feel similar to the combat in Heroes of Might and Magic.
I have some beta keys if anyone is interested.
LWHF-NTCC-ZPHK
DQSC-WNHN-MJZL
Dragon's Crown (PS3)
Put in roughly two and a half hours last night and would have played more but I was exhausted. The game was developed by Vanillaware who are known for their beautiful 2D hand animated games and this one is no exception. It plays like Castle Crashers where you have up to 3 AI players fighting enemies with you. There are different character classes with different weapons and abilities plus loot drops so there are some RPG elements. The artwork is extremely detailed, the animations are very fluid, and the backgrounds look amazing, it's one of the best looking 2D games I've played. The combat can get hectic when there are 4 characters plus enemies on the screen so it can be tough to find your character sometimes. You can choose to just play by yourself and not have any AI companions if that does bother you. Once you play to a certain point in the game multiplayer opens up which has you going though similar dungeons from the single player but added pathways and extra enemies as well as bosses. From most of the reviews I've read the multiplayer is the best part of the game. I haven't reached that level yet, which I think is around 8-10 hours, so hopefully I'll get to try it soon. The game does support couch co-op so if you are looking for that type of game. There is also a Vita version that I almost got instead but I felt the graphics would look better on a bigger screen, the game does support cloud saves so you can share saves between platforms.
Rise of the Triad (Steam)
I remember playing this game years and years ago, it was different than the dooms and quakes as it had platforms that would send you soaring into the air and rocket launchers that would reduce enemies to a thousand pieces, I think it coined the phrase ludicrous Gibs. I'm not sure it reached the sales of Doom so I was surprised to see a remake. This game is probably the fastest FPS that I've every played. The camera movement speed is insane on the default level, I had to turn it almost all the way down to be able to hit what I was aiming at. The graphics looks pretty good but I've had instances of slowdown. They did include all the elements of the original even the coins that you collect make the same sound and of course there are ludicrous Gibs. I'm not sure that even at the $15 price point that it's worth it. The AI is very simple and the game has checkpoint saving so you will be replaying some long sections.
Stuff
Xbox One - Will include a headset. Game recording and sharing does require Gold membership. They did increase the clock speed of the graphics chip. There is a video of the launch version unboxing so the release should be soon.
PS4 - Game recording and sharing does not require PSN+.
John Carmack founder of ID and creator of Doom and Quake is new CTO for company creating the Occulus rift headset.
Rockstar did have an add for a PC programmer so maybe more of their games will come to PC, I'm hoping for Read Dead Redemption.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Ramblings
Ramblings
I've been in a strange gaming mood the past couple of weeks. I've had a hard time playing one game for more than an hour at a time, they mentioned this on the Giantbomb podcast, that they were feeling this as well. With all the immediate content coming our way are we getting to the point where if something doesn't keep us engaged continuously we become bored and move on to something else?
I've read a couple of books recently. Yngwie J. Malmsteen's autobiography Revalations is a decent book and has some cool insights into his guitar playing He started in the late 80's and early 90's and was amazing, he brought in a whole new sound, classical metal guitar. He wrote that he wanted the guitar to sound like a violin where you hear every note no matter how fast you were playing, and he was successful. Some of the book talked about him trying to achieve that sound that he wanted and he went into detail about creating his own pickups which was interesting. He didn't have too many wild stories like I've read in other biographies but it was entertaining and I read the whole book in about 5 days.
The second book I got was This is Gonna Hurt by Nikki Sixx. I really liked his first book, The Heroin Diaries, which told of his decent into heroin addiction and at one point being declared clinically dead. The book was very stylized and each page had a mix of text and pictures so it was visually unique. His second book is about his photography, and it's a little weird as you might expect. The theme is that beauty is dictated to us through media and how that view is a lie, it gives us a warped view of people who don't fit that model. What makes something beautiful? The book wasn't as good as his first but it was a decent read and had some interesting stories. Each book also has a soundtrack that has songs that go over the various topics of the books and both albums are great.
New Releases - A lot of releases this week. A couple of buys for me.
PC
Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians (download)
Divinity: Dragon Commander (download - $40)
Guacamelee! Gold Edition (download - $15) - Awesome game that I will double dip on. The music is great.
GunCraft (download - $15) - Build all kinds of guns?
Megabyte Punch (download - $15)
Papers, Please (download - $10)
Spelunky (download) - Awesome game that was free on PC, then updated on 360, now re-released on PC and has daily challenges.
The Sims 3 Dragon Valley
Xbox 360
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (XBLA - $15)
PlayStation 3
Dragon's Crown - Awesome looking 2D beat 'em up.
ibb & obb (PSN - $10)
Superfrog HD (PSN)
Tales of Xillia - Another Tales games. Tempted.
The Red Star (PS2 Classics)
Wii U
Disney's Planes
Spin the Bottle: Bumpie's Party (eShop - $9)
Wii
Disney's Planes
Tales of Xillia and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Vita
Dragon's Crown
Superfrog HD (PSN)
Nintendo 3DS
Disney's Planes
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - Gotten great reviews, all the RPG's have been good.
Nintendo DS
Disney's Planes
--
Shon Holland
Middleware
501-376-5198
I've been in a strange gaming mood the past couple of weeks. I've had a hard time playing one game for more than an hour at a time, they mentioned this on the Giantbomb podcast, that they were feeling this as well. With all the immediate content coming our way are we getting to the point where if something doesn't keep us engaged continuously we become bored and move on to something else?
I've read a couple of books recently. Yngwie J. Malmsteen's autobiography Revalations is a decent book and has some cool insights into his guitar playing He started in the late 80's and early 90's and was amazing, he brought in a whole new sound, classical metal guitar. He wrote that he wanted the guitar to sound like a violin where you hear every note no matter how fast you were playing, and he was successful. Some of the book talked about him trying to achieve that sound that he wanted and he went into detail about creating his own pickups which was interesting. He didn't have too many wild stories like I've read in other biographies but it was entertaining and I read the whole book in about 5 days.
The second book I got was This is Gonna Hurt by Nikki Sixx. I really liked his first book, The Heroin Diaries, which told of his decent into heroin addiction and at one point being declared clinically dead. The book was very stylized and each page had a mix of text and pictures so it was visually unique. His second book is about his photography, and it's a little weird as you might expect. The theme is that beauty is dictated to us through media and how that view is a lie, it gives us a warped view of people who don't fit that model. What makes something beautiful? The book wasn't as good as his first but it was a decent read and had some interesting stories. Each book also has a soundtrack that has songs that go over the various topics of the books and both albums are great.
New Releases - A lot of releases this week. A couple of buys for me.
PC
Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians (download)
Divinity: Dragon Commander (download - $40)
Guacamelee! Gold Edition (download - $15) - Awesome game that I will double dip on. The music is great.
GunCraft (download - $15) - Build all kinds of guns?
Megabyte Punch (download - $15)
Papers, Please (download - $10)
Spelunky (download) - Awesome game that was free on PC, then updated on 360, now re-released on PC and has daily challenges.
The Sims 3 Dragon Valley
Xbox 360
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (XBLA - $15)
PlayStation 3
Dragon's Crown - Awesome looking 2D beat 'em up.
ibb & obb (PSN - $10)
Superfrog HD (PSN)
Tales of Xillia - Another Tales games. Tempted.
The Red Star (PS2 Classics)
Wii U
Disney's Planes
Spin the Bottle: Bumpie's Party (eShop - $9)
Wii
Disney's Planes
Tales of Xillia and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Vita
Dragon's Crown
Superfrog HD (PSN)
Nintendo 3DS
Disney's Planes
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - Gotten great reviews, all the RPG's have been good.
Nintendo DS
Disney's Planes
--
Shon Holland
Middleware
501-376-5198
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Planescape Torment
Planescape Torment
I've tried to play this game multiple times but never got that far as other games got in the way. This was one of the games that I bought my laptop for so I made a decision to finish it this time. The game is usually rated among the top RPG's in every list and so far I haven't been disappointed. The game has a half a million lines of text and almost none of it is voiced so you do spend a lot of time in dialog sequences but each one is full of descriptive text and really helps you to become part of the world. It plays from a top down perspective like the Baldur's Gate games. I turned down the difficulty as it only pertains to the combat because I really wanted to just enjoy the story. The main character is very interesting, he is a person who can't die with amnesia and you are trying to find out who you are. Sometimes a person or a place will bring back a memory so you do need to explore all the areas and talk to as many people as possible. There are times that you do need to "die" to forward the story so it's a unique game design that keeps things interesting.
The story so far has been terrific and you have companions that travel with you, the banter between them is great and funny at times. You do have an alignment which determines who can join you and if you do actions that go against that alignment you can lose party members and ultimately change your alignment. I made my character have a high wisdom attribute which allows me more dialog options and some of the responses are awesome. It's kind of like Mass Effect except the answers aren't so black and white. If you respond certain ways you can end up fighting and killing the person you were trying to get information from and then that makes you fail a quest you were on. I really like that dynamic and most of the game is that way which makes each dialog meaningful. Each person you speak to is described in much detail, they may not speak much but each person has a part in the world and just makes the whole story better.
I guess that I'm about 12 hours in and depending on how much you explore it could take between 20-40 hours to finish. The game is about 14 years old but there are patches that make the game work perfect on new systems and higher resolutions. It's a unique game and I can see why so many people love the game. There is a kickstarter for a spiritual sequel but really some games just need to exist uniquely.
New Releases
PC
CastleStorm (download - $10) - Bought. Just started the tutorial so far but looks like it will be a fun single and multiplayer game.
Cloudberry Kingdom (download - $10)
Narco Terror (download - $10) - No Idea.
Realms of Arkania - Blade of Destiny (download - $20) - Remake of the original, tempted on this one until I read the game is really unfiinished. It just released on Steam but they put the german release on the US store.
Rise of the Triad (download - $15) - Another remake that looks really cool.
Skulls of the Shogun Bone-a-Fide Edition (download - $15) - Already bought, cool take on an RTS.
Xbox 360
Cloudberry Kingdom (XBLA - $10)
Narco Terror (XBLA - $10)
PlayStation 3
Cloudberry Kingdom (PSN - $10)
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (PS2 Classics)
Narco Terror (PSN - $10)
Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends (PS2 Classics)
The Last Bounty Hunter (PSN)
Rise of the Triad and Cloudberry Kingdom
Wii U
Cloudberry Kingdom (eShop - $10)
Pikmin 3 - Finally another game for the Wii.
Vita
PixelJunk Monsters: Ultimate HD (PSN - $15)
Puzzle by Nikoli V: Slitherlink (PSN)
Nintendo 3DS
Family Kart 3D (eShop - $5)
Kirby's Dream Land (Virtual Console)
I've tried to play this game multiple times but never got that far as other games got in the way. This was one of the games that I bought my laptop for so I made a decision to finish it this time. The game is usually rated among the top RPG's in every list and so far I haven't been disappointed. The game has a half a million lines of text and almost none of it is voiced so you do spend a lot of time in dialog sequences but each one is full of descriptive text and really helps you to become part of the world. It plays from a top down perspective like the Baldur's Gate games. I turned down the difficulty as it only pertains to the combat because I really wanted to just enjoy the story. The main character is very interesting, he is a person who can't die with amnesia and you are trying to find out who you are. Sometimes a person or a place will bring back a memory so you do need to explore all the areas and talk to as many people as possible. There are times that you do need to "die" to forward the story so it's a unique game design that keeps things interesting.
The story so far has been terrific and you have companions that travel with you, the banter between them is great and funny at times. You do have an alignment which determines who can join you and if you do actions that go against that alignment you can lose party members and ultimately change your alignment. I made my character have a high wisdom attribute which allows me more dialog options and some of the responses are awesome. It's kind of like Mass Effect except the answers aren't so black and white. If you respond certain ways you can end up fighting and killing the person you were trying to get information from and then that makes you fail a quest you were on. I really like that dynamic and most of the game is that way which makes each dialog meaningful. Each person you speak to is described in much detail, they may not speak much but each person has a part in the world and just makes the whole story better.
I guess that I'm about 12 hours in and depending on how much you explore it could take between 20-40 hours to finish. The game is about 14 years old but there are patches that make the game work perfect on new systems and higher resolutions. It's a unique game and I can see why so many people love the game. There is a kickstarter for a spiritual sequel but really some games just need to exist uniquely.
New Releases
PC
CastleStorm (download - $10) - Bought. Just started the tutorial so far but looks like it will be a fun single and multiplayer game.
Cloudberry Kingdom (download - $10)
Narco Terror (download - $10) - No Idea.
Realms of Arkania - Blade of Destiny (download - $20) - Remake of the original, tempted on this one until I read the game is really unfiinished. It just released on Steam but they put the german release on the US store.
Rise of the Triad (download - $15) - Another remake that looks really cool.
Skulls of the Shogun Bone-a-Fide Edition (download - $15) - Already bought, cool take on an RTS.
Xbox 360
Cloudberry Kingdom (XBLA - $10)
Narco Terror (XBLA - $10)
PlayStation 3
Cloudberry Kingdom (PSN - $10)
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (PS2 Classics)
Narco Terror (PSN - $10)
Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends (PS2 Classics)
The Last Bounty Hunter (PSN)
Rise of the Triad and Cloudberry Kingdom
Wii U
Cloudberry Kingdom (eShop - $10)
Pikmin 3 - Finally another game for the Wii.
Vita
PixelJunk Monsters: Ultimate HD (PSN - $15)
Puzzle by Nikoli V: Slitherlink (PSN)
Nintendo 3DS
Family Kart 3D (eShop - $5)
Kirby's Dream Land (Virtual Console)
Monday, July 22, 2013
Asus G46 and Steam Sales
Asus G46 Laptop
I've been wanting a laptop for some time to play some older and indie games plus Phase Shift which is a Rockband like game on the PC that I will hook up to my drums. I've tried to play Planescape Torment a couple of times now but the PC hooked up to my TV isn't the best for this situation since there is a half a million lines of text and a small interface plus reading on a TV is not comfortable. I had an older MacBook Pro that I put windows 7 on awhile back but for some reason I couldn't get the fans to come on so the laptop got extremely hot, also I had problems with the battery so I started looking for a new laptop.
I spent a lot of time looking at different machines and all of them had Windows 8. I have it on one of my PC's and I'm getting used to it, it is really made for a touch screen though. Most of the new PC's use integrated graphics and for most indie games that would work fine but just to future proof a little I wanted one with a dedicated graphics card.
I first settled on an Samsung laptop that was around $380, it had an AMD A8 Processor and a Radeon 7000 series. I wasn't sure about the AMD processor, but at that price range is was the only laptop that had an integrated graphics processor and it was rated as decent for playing games. The laptop was pretty good, it weighed around 5lbs so not too heavy and I liked the way the keyboard and track pad felt. It did play almost all of the indie games I threw at it, I did notice a little chugging on CubeWorld and heavily 3D games I had to turn down the settings to low. The other downside was the screen, you had to be just about center to get a good picture and I didn't like that.
I then tried an Asus that had the new haswell processor, a touchscreen, Geforce 745M, and from the reviews an outstanding screen. I picked up that laptop and got it home and sure enough the screen was outstanding, it was clear and had great colors, and it was glossy. If you aren't aware glossy screens look great but they also have a ton of glare. If there is any light in the room you will more than likely see your reflection in the screen especially when the screen goes black. I really did like the colors it produced, but the reflections really annoyed me plus I read they do cause eye fatigue. The touchscreen was nice and did make moving around Windows much easier but then again you had to worry about fingerprints. The game performance was good but not too much better than the previouse laptop which was disappointing.
I had really wanted the Asus G46 as it was classified as a gaming machine and it was on sale, but every time I checked it said it wasn't available in the store. I finally called the store in Benton and they had one so I went an picked it up. They had the new G75 in stock which is a real powerhouse and I was a little tempted until I saw the weight, 9 pounds, that really isn't a laptop at that weight. I got the G46 home and I liked everything about it. The design was smooth and professional looking and the matte screen looked great. The game performance was outstanding, I was able to play Crysis 2 and Fallout New Vegas at high settings at 720P which is the screen's default resolution, so it should be able to handle older and indie games. It has two fans on the back that dissipate heat well. On the other laptops you could hear the fans on every game you played, graphic intensive or not, but on this one I could barely hear it at all on any game. I was really impressed with the performance and do recommend this laptop if you are looking for a gaming laptop at a reasonable price.
Steam Haul - I thought there wasn't much for me to buy but luckily I was wrong.
Full Games
Afterfall InSanity Extended Edition
Cart Life
Caster
Castle Crashers
Critical Mass
Duke Nukem 3D
Everyday Shooter
Expeditions: Conquistador
Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes
Kairo
Kentucky Route Zero
Lone Survivor
Lunar Pack
McPixel
Retro/Grade
Shadow Warrior Classic Redux
Shadowrun Returns
Strike Suit Infinity
The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles Standard Edition
The Walking Dead: 400 Days
Thomas Was Alone
Toki Tori 2+
Trackmania Canyon
Trials Evolution Gold
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution
DLC
Borderlands 2 Psycho Pack
Borderlands 2: Assassin Madness Pack
Castle Crashers Blacksmith
Castle Crashers Pink Knight
Dishonored - The Knife Of Dunwall DLC
Sleeping Dogs - The Year of the Snake
Sleeping Dogs - Zodiac Tournament
New Releases
PC
Citadels (download)
Expander (download - $2.49)
Shadowrun Returns (download - $19.99)
Teleglitch: Die More Edition (download - $12.99)
The Raven - Legacy of a Master Thief (download - $24.99)
Xbox 360
Mars: War Logs (XBLA - $15)
The Smurfs 2
Vintage Hero (XBLIG - $1)
PlayStation 3
Do Not Fall (PSN - $10)
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational (PSN - $20)
Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark (PSN - $10)
The Smurfs 2
Zeno Clash II (PSN)
Wii U
Kid Icarus (Virtual Console - $5)
The Smurfs 2
Wii
The Smurfs 2
Vita
Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark (PSN - $10)
Nintendo 3DS
Picross E2 (eShop - $6)
Nintendo DS
The Smurfs 2
I've been wanting a laptop for some time to play some older and indie games plus Phase Shift which is a Rockband like game on the PC that I will hook up to my drums. I've tried to play Planescape Torment a couple of times now but the PC hooked up to my TV isn't the best for this situation since there is a half a million lines of text and a small interface plus reading on a TV is not comfortable. I had an older MacBook Pro that I put windows 7 on awhile back but for some reason I couldn't get the fans to come on so the laptop got extremely hot, also I had problems with the battery so I started looking for a new laptop.
I spent a lot of time looking at different machines and all of them had Windows 8. I have it on one of my PC's and I'm getting used to it, it is really made for a touch screen though. Most of the new PC's use integrated graphics and for most indie games that would work fine but just to future proof a little I wanted one with a dedicated graphics card.
I first settled on an Samsung laptop that was around $380, it had an AMD A8 Processor and a Radeon 7000 series. I wasn't sure about the AMD processor, but at that price range is was the only laptop that had an integrated graphics processor and it was rated as decent for playing games. The laptop was pretty good, it weighed around 5lbs so not too heavy and I liked the way the keyboard and track pad felt. It did play almost all of the indie games I threw at it, I did notice a little chugging on CubeWorld and heavily 3D games I had to turn down the settings to low. The other downside was the screen, you had to be just about center to get a good picture and I didn't like that.
I then tried an Asus that had the new haswell processor, a touchscreen, Geforce 745M, and from the reviews an outstanding screen. I picked up that laptop and got it home and sure enough the screen was outstanding, it was clear and had great colors, and it was glossy. If you aren't aware glossy screens look great but they also have a ton of glare. If there is any light in the room you will more than likely see your reflection in the screen especially when the screen goes black. I really did like the colors it produced, but the reflections really annoyed me plus I read they do cause eye fatigue. The touchscreen was nice and did make moving around Windows much easier but then again you had to worry about fingerprints. The game performance was good but not too much better than the previouse laptop which was disappointing.
I had really wanted the Asus G46 as it was classified as a gaming machine and it was on sale, but every time I checked it said it wasn't available in the store. I finally called the store in Benton and they had one so I went an picked it up. They had the new G75 in stock which is a real powerhouse and I was a little tempted until I saw the weight, 9 pounds, that really isn't a laptop at that weight. I got the G46 home and I liked everything about it. The design was smooth and professional looking and the matte screen looked great. The game performance was outstanding, I was able to play Crysis 2 and Fallout New Vegas at high settings at 720P which is the screen's default resolution, so it should be able to handle older and indie games. It has two fans on the back that dissipate heat well. On the other laptops you could hear the fans on every game you played, graphic intensive or not, but on this one I could barely hear it at all on any game. I was really impressed with the performance and do recommend this laptop if you are looking for a gaming laptop at a reasonable price.
Steam Haul - I thought there wasn't much for me to buy but luckily I was wrong.
Full Games
Afterfall InSanity Extended Edition
Cart Life
Caster
Castle Crashers
Critical Mass
Duke Nukem 3D
Everyday Shooter
Expeditions: Conquistador
Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes
Kairo
Kentucky Route Zero
Lone Survivor
Lunar Pack
McPixel
Retro/Grade
Shadow Warrior Classic Redux
Shadowrun Returns
Strike Suit Infinity
The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles Standard Edition
The Walking Dead: 400 Days
Thomas Was Alone
Toki Tori 2+
Trackmania Canyon
Trials Evolution Gold
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution
DLC
Borderlands 2 Psycho Pack
Borderlands 2: Assassin Madness Pack
Castle Crashers Blacksmith
Castle Crashers Pink Knight
Dishonored - The Knife Of Dunwall DLC
Sleeping Dogs - The Year of the Snake
Sleeping Dogs - Zodiac Tournament
New Releases
PC
Citadels (download)
Expander (download - $2.49)
Shadowrun Returns (download - $19.99)
Teleglitch: Die More Edition (download - $12.99)
The Raven - Legacy of a Master Thief (download - $24.99)
Xbox 360
Mars: War Logs (XBLA - $15)
The Smurfs 2
Vintage Hero (XBLIG - $1)
PlayStation 3
Do Not Fall (PSN - $10)
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational (PSN - $20)
Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark (PSN - $10)
The Smurfs 2
Zeno Clash II (PSN)
Wii U
Kid Icarus (Virtual Console - $5)
The Smurfs 2
Wii
The Smurfs 2
Vita
Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark (PSN - $10)
Nintendo 3DS
Picross E2 (eShop - $6)
Nintendo DS
The Smurfs 2
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)