Update on Real Life
For the past week I been sick and stayed home. Being somewhat bored at home and decided to beat Guitar Hero II on Hard sine the new game will come out on October 19th. So far I only managed to beat 3 songs. “Woman” is fucking pain in the ass. I am still trying… I don’t want to imagine how the game is on Expert.
Last Sunday I bought myself a new white slim PSP for $200 since my old black one broke and I missed playing Vice City Stories and Burnout Legends. I really liked it, when I was holding it in my toy I was thinking that I was carrying a fake plastic PSP not until I turned it on. The package included Daxter and Family Guy UMD with 5 episodes on it. The episodes were “When You Wish Upon A Weinstein”, “Road To Rhode Island”, “To Love And Die in Dixie”, “I Am Peter Hear me Roar”, and “Lethal Weapons”. I was kind of disappointed since all of those episodes are re runs which they show on Adult Swim and TBS all the time, but they always are funny. Daxter was a great platformer considering that I never played any “Jak” games on PS2, I managed to beat the game in 3 days considering that I had school on all of those days. 1gb memory stick which came with PSP was a great addition since I only used my old PSP for playing games only and had a 32mb stick which I only used for my game saves. I finally managed to download all my favourite South Park episodes and some of my favourite songs. Two things which I absolutely love about the new PSP is that they finally fixed UMD disc tray and improved the analog stick. My old PSP broke because my disc tray wouldn’t want to close no matter so I had to duck tape it until it refused to work and fell off. Also the analog stick, this time they actually attached it to the PSP, my last one would fell of from time to time if I was using it too roughly.
I still can not wait for GTA IV and counting down the days until it. I am probably thinking of getting it on PS3 this spring. Since I changed my mind and decided to get a new PSP instead of saving up $150 for 360 I will get a next gen console just in time for the new GTA. 33% failure rate on Xbox 360 is really scaring me and even with new extanded warranty I read reports on internet that it takes around at least 2 weeks if you get lucky or a month to get your 360 back from Micrsosoft. I can not imagine myself not being to play a console for the month so it cancels 360 out. I am not meaning to bash Xbox 360, but I am just bringing up some facts here. The only negative thing that people tell about PS3, that it doesn’t have a lot of good games which really doesn’t bother me. I don’t plan on getting every game from PS3 libary. I’ll probably get Call of Duty 4, Assassin’s Creed, Rock Band (if I will have enough money lol), GTA IV (duh), MGS4, Killzone 2, Gran Turismso 4, Burnout Paradise, Skate, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
Those games are good enough for me, I really don’t see why everybody bashes Sony (especially on RSBANDB). Anyways I will try to keep my blog updated more often once I come back to school.
School starts just in a week
Well summer just flew by and guess what, school is just a week away for me. Lately I have not being real busy in real life during the last week. Completed RE4, surfed through forums and tried to sleep as much as possible while I had a chance… I am still waiting for my Guitar Hero II game to arrive which I ordered 2 weeks ago ( curse you Ebay! ).
I got my Junior year coming up. Picking a right college, doing SATs, and other shit to worry about. I screwed up real bad last semester so I will try to make up for it this beginning of the year since I can not let another mistake unless I want to go to summer school.
This weekend I saw Superbad. God I still can not stop laughing, I suggest you to go see it if you are a fan of comedies. This isn’t your average dumb American Pie or another drama teen movie. The whole movie is just a 2 hour laughing orgy with even more outrageously funny twists along the way. To try and not give away any spoilers I will just post the trailer I found on YouTube.
PS3 gets owned once again
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/815/815031p1.html
Yet another “anticipated” PS3 tittle scored a 7 out 10. Why the game was so hyped up at the first place? Read more here.
“When you think of Heavenly Sword, you probably think of beauty. From the outset Sony has ridden a tidal wave of goggle-eyed awe every time it’s wheeled out its third-person action adventure to the gaping masses. For a long, long time, Heavenly Sword’s been a poster child for the next generation of PlayStation gaming, with a virtually unparalleled aesthetic and attention to detail. It’s only recently we’ve had chance to dig below that surface though and witness the game beneath that high-gloss, mo-capped exterior.
Having played Heavenly Sword in its entirety now, here’s some good news: there are lots and lots of things that Heavenly Sword gets very, very right. First, and most immediately obvious, it’s a truly gorgeous game. Everything from the beautifully designed, slickly animated characters to those magnificent, omnipresent sweeping vistas is a glory to behold. What’s more, while your eyes are busy welling with tears of appreciation, your ears can waggle happily at some stunning effects work, the epic orchestral score and voice acting full of genuine gravitas. Without a doubt, if you’re looking for a game to demonstrate the potential of your PS3 and bring your smug, 360-humping friends down a few notches, Heavenly Sword provides as much a sensory overload as you’re likely to need.
As you’re no doubt aware by now, there are three main components to Heavenly Sword’s gameplay: combo-heavy sword combat, archery (and other projectile combat), plus twitch-style Hero sequences. Undoubtedly, the feather in Heavenly Sword’s cap is its incredibly elaborate swordsmanship. Once the titular sword is in your possession, you’ve got three possible ‘stances’ to select from – Speed, Ranged and Power – easily switched via the shoulder buttons, plus a two-flavour attack using a combination of square and triangle buttons. You’ve also got dodge assigned to the right analogue and the occasional use of Superstyle moves via circle – these unleashing devastating strikes once you’ve sufficiently built up your combo counter.
It’s an incredibly competent set-up and, as you slowly unlock the countless combo moves through progression, it enables you to perform some truly spectacular – and genuinely empowering – manoeuvres. Adding to this sense of omnipotence is the frankly ridiculous number of opponents you’ll be up against at any one time: from tens of enemies as the game begins to literally hundreds in the epic finale. In order to compensate for the frenetic, ludicrously overcrowded action, Ninja Theory has employed a highlighting system, with foes glowing blue, yellow or red just prior to attack – each indicating they’re about to perform a specific subset of moves – and you’ll need to switch to the corresponding stance ready to counter. Trouble is, it feels like a clumsy fudge to a very significant issue and, once you’re besieged by the hordes later in the game, you’ll likely resort to fumbled button mashing as even these highlights are obscured by the swelling crowds, making it virtually impossible to counter effectively.
It’s the kind of problem that persistently arises during Heavenly Sword: throughout you can’t shake the feeling that you’re playing a tangled mess of brilliant ideas desperately failing to wrestle themselves free from some incredibly misguided implementation. For instance, it’s a serious misstep when the strongest aspect of your game – sword play – is sidelined for almost 50 percent of its runtime. The very first level employs a massively hobbled version of the combat system which simply has none of the visceral thrill or satisfaction of the fully-fledged engine. Throw in the decision to completely remove sword fighting again in chapter three (of six, one of which is simply a boss fight), replaced by some over-egged archery, then cripple it later still with some pretty but soulless silliness, and it adds up to maybe three to four hours of decent combat in a game which takes a rather embarrassing, and distinctly un-epic, six or seven hours to beat.
On the subject of archery – and projectile combat as a whole – it’s again problematic. Although neatly designed, incorporating an ‘after touch’ function, enabling you to steer your projectile through the air at a target via the SIXAXIS motion sensors, it’s ultimately a fairly shallow addition to gameplay and quickly becomes tedious and repetitive – particularly highlighted by the fact that you’ll do nothing else for the duration of the game’s lengthy third chapter. To be honest though, repetition is a frequent complaint, with some genuinely atrocious pacing decisions to blame. As much as we like Heavenly Sword‘s basic combat, enemy encounters – without exception – play out identically every single time; you enter a small, enclosed area which is locked down until you’ve cleared it of opponents, then progress to the next tiny section, ready to do it all again and again and again.
Needless to say, unless you’re seriously enamoured with the sword fighting combo system it quickly becomes tiresome and, to be blunt, incredibly boring. Smarter use of the core gameplay mechanics – that is, mixing them up more frequently to reduce repetition – would have helped tremendously. In fact, it’s telling that our favourite section of the game – which sees a fairly lengthy boss encounter broken up by a desperate bid to save a key injured character with your bow and arrow as he shambles away from marauding enemy soldiers – does just that, making for a genuinely exhilarating, entertaining experience. Occasional use of twitch-action ‘Hero’ sequences help to rectify things briefly – and really give the animation team the chance to shine – but, sadly, examples of this design deftness are few and far between.
Worse still, Heavenly Sword is overindulgent in all the wrong places. For instance, it’s all well and good having incredibly lengthy, fully motion-captured cut-scenes but, really, if you’re a hardcore combo-cruncher signing up specifically to let rip with Heavenly Sword’s combat system, it’s pretty annoying – and demonstrates a serious lack of coherent direction – having the action grind to a halt every couple of minutes while Andy Serkis and company desperately try and get their chops around the hopelessly hackneyed, melodramatic script.
Adding to the frustration are a number of smaller – but no less cumulatively infuriating – issues: some terrible checkpoint implementation means you’ll frequently find yourself replaying large sections, generally only to hit the same troublesome point ten minutes later, ready to start all over again. Inexplicably too, the apparent eight-point axis your character turns on – presumably to exert more control during heavy combat – is hugely inappropriate for navigating narrow walkways and corridors. Worse still, it makes aiming with projectile weapons in third-person view hugely imprecise – not great when certain sections demand you aim on the move.
Puzzles too never reach levels anymore sophisticated than ‘bang that gong, right there’, which is a shame – God of War, Heavenly Sword’s closest cousin understood the power of a brief, cerebral moment when it came to keeping things feeling fresh. Sure, these are minor points, but probably not what you expect from a high-profile, triple-A second-party offering.
Closing Comments
So, all that in mind, is Heavenly Sword a bad game? No, it’s not – although it certainly seems that someone, somewhere, forgot to ensure they were piling those glorious peripheral trimmings on a game worthy of all that Sony gold. Combat is undoubtedly the title’s strength and offers some immensely satisfying thrills when you actually get your hands on your sword. Projectile combat, too, is entertaining in its own right – although nowhere near enough to carry such lengthy sequences as is demanded here. What you’re paying for then with Heavenly Sword is the grandiose spectacle, the overblown production values and the chance to show just what your PS3’s capable of when given the chance. It’s a benchmark in presentation for console gaming and the lavishness of the show might well be enough for you to overcome the game’s significant failings. There’s definitely some kind of fun to be had here – albeit of the one-engaged brain cell variety – but make no mistake: Heavenly Sword takes the age-old mantra of style over substance and drags it kicking and screaming into the next generation.”
New Mafia sequel
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/814/814180p1.html
Softworks is developing a follow-up to the 2004 gangland crime game Mafia.
Set in the 1940s and 1950s, Mafia 2 will feature “high octane gunplay with white knuckle driving and an engaging narrative,” according to a press release by publisher 2K Games.
“As the original Mafia was a big success, we are excited to leverage the power of next generation console technology to create an all-new experience, while embracing the elements that resonated with the previous game’s fans,” said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. “The ‘wow’ factor of Mafia 2 is definitely the benchmark-setting visual quality and action that you expect to see only in Hollywood movies.”
Illusion, based in Prague, Czech Republic, developed the original Mafia game and is also responsible for the Hidden and Dangerous and Vietcong series.
Mafia 2 is being developed for PC a nd “next-generation consoles,” 2K said, but no specific platforms were mentioned.
Red Ring of Death
Here is a nice funny video I found when watching AOTS yesterday. Check it out.
What A Day!
Well this is my first blog entry. So I will just give it a shot.
For the past 2 months of the summer, I being working at Electrical Store mainly during the late shift as my summer job from around 3 to 9 PM on weekdays. The store mainly sells such things as computer parts, cell phones, and cameras. So yesterday around 8:50 PM (10 minutes before the closing time) some guy walks in. He looked like he was around 18, he didn’t smell good and was dressed poorly. I asked him what did he want, he replied saying that he wanted to return a cell phone. I asked him if I could take a look. Now he takes out a Black Motorola Razr V3, which more then 50% of people I know own one in real life. I was tired and frustrated, I let out a big sigh and asked him if he has the charger or the original box and “surprisingly” he said no. I continue on asking him if he has the original store warranty or at least the receipt, but he replies with another no. So being frustrated I just tell him: “Listen you can not return a fucking bull shit phone which you probably stole from some kid just an hour ago.” The guy blows up and starts cursing and begins to threating me that he is going to kick my ass. I laugh at him and tell him to go fuck himself. So once the guy leaves Me and Joe(another worker) begin to rap things up and begin to close the store.
Joe is another guy who being working in the store for around more then a year as a part time job. He is 21 and really is a big guy. If you would look at him from the side you would rather think he is fat, but he has a strong type of body and works out up to 10 hours at the gym every week (at least from what he told me). He is that type of guy who you wouldn’t want to meet up with in the dark alley. So as we both continue to close the store like usually I leave first and say Bye to him.
I put on my jacket since it was raining and walk out of the store’s back door and when I suddenly see the fucker who tried to return that Motorola Razr and starts walking towards me telling me that he will fuck me up. To be honest I was never really strong. Like pretty much all tall people I am really skinny so after seeing him I try to defend myself against the idiot. The guy had a nice advantage being couple of years older then me. During the first 5 minutes it was usually “Hit and Run” for me, trying to defend myself rather then harm the drunk fucker. Suddenly I see Joe walking out the back door going home, then he suddenly sees me struggling against the drunk idiot. He starts running towards the guy takes a clear shot at him and punches him at the back, so the guy turned around in confusion trying to find out who’d hell punched at him when Joe punched the guy again this time right in the jaw. The drunk idiot falls on his back when Joe makes the final hit and kicks the fucker as hard as he can with his right foot in the stomach when suddenly we hear the guy begging Joe to stop and so he did. While Joe was guarding the drunk fucker moaning on the floor, I took out my cell phone and called the police. 10 minutes later cops showed up and took the guy away. This made me realized that having strong friends rocks.
Mr. Pink's Corner 