Whatever, etc. – Page 3

Insert Credit Podcast worth listening to? B+

Even though I have significantly less time than usual, I’ve been listening to more videogame… chat shows? I don’t know what to call them. But basically people talking about all things vg related, sometimes being funny, sometimes being serious.

Insert Credit (http://insertcredit.com/) has a pretty decent podcast. At least the one I listened to was pretty funny (episode 2). The first half of episode three was a little bit of a downer, but it could pick up. Reading enough of the earlier articles I had a face for the names on the podcast (it’s old, but read the 2011 E3 coverage, they seem like some guys I would want to hang out with). But I was really surprised when I actually put a voice to the faces. They did not belong as expected…

Anyway, Tim Rogers, whose voice and manner of speech was the most unexpected by far (l had assumed he was one of the others until someone addressed him in the third episode), made a game awhile back. It’s called Zigguart, and I basically suck at it. Not to say it isn’t good, it seems to be. It’s probably worth talking about sometime.

My old “new” PS2

I dug out my second PS2 (one of the slimline models). And as I’m setting it up I’m amazed at how beautiful the thing is. It’s tiny and light, and then I remember why I never owned an Xbox. It’s all negligible with the current generation. There’s talk of a new PS3 model. Hopefully they draw inspiration from this little guy.

The independent game store

It’s weird where I usually find independent used game stores. Usually they’re on the decrepit main drag of a small town. The best one I’ve been to being in Green Bay when I was stuck there for a summer.

There’s only one that I know of in any metro area I’ve lived, and it’s at a half deserted upscale mall in Minneapolis. I usually pick up some obscure super Nintendo game while there (last time it was Flashpoint), but this time I found myself digging through the loosie disks that at the counter. Because I was buying some normal priced games, the girl working there offered the discs to me for a dollar.

With nothing to lose I picked up anything that even sparked the slightest interest. I bought Onimusha, Rise of the Dragon on Sega CD (even though I’ve never owned a Sega CD), and a PS2 disc called Namco Trans | Mission (V 1.3). Is it a racing game, a rave inspired tech demo, or just a collect of Namco has-beens? A quick google search probably could have told me, but its not often that I have a chance at a total mystery.

The return

So with a few hours to spare before my return window ran out, I was able to return Dragon’s Dogma. I actually considered turning around and giving the game another chance, but decided if I was to ever do that it would be when it’s at least half the price.

So as not to be a total jerk, I agreed to pick out new games instead of cash back. It always amazes me how much you can get for fifty dollars if you’re not being too picky. I ended up with 4 titles: Darksiders (a game I’ve never had the desire to play, but felt a strong obligation after the store clerk acted out the assorted death blows from the first level), Killzone 2, Bioshock, and Deus Ex Human Revolution. I felt pretty good about the decision on the walk home.

So, why did I buy a Capcom game?

I purchased Dragon’s Dogma yesterday. I was going to review Max Payne, but my go-to guy at the video game store recommended I play around with the online modes first. Fair enough, it certainly is a well made game.

I was strangely excited about Dragon’s Dogma. It seemed beautiful when I saw it before. My first impression are that it’s anything but beautiful. It could be the fact that I accidentally made a main character who towers over everyone. The game does one thing right though- it actually has the stature and sex of your character effect their abilities. It seems to take these types of often ignored details very seriously.

They keep coming

The credits for Max Payne 3 have been going on for 10 minutes. There must be over a thousand people involved in this project. The list for the motion capture alone stretched to over a 100.

It’s daunting to see something like this. How would anyone set about to complete a project like this? I assume in the early stages you just don’t think about it.

I just finished…

I just finished Max Payne 3, the credits and the Health song are playing as we speak. I realized about half way through that I was playing the game all wrong. I set the difficulty to hard. All that did was make it a grind. I only realized once I replayed levels on normal how fun the actual game can be. It wasn’t a game made for picking your way slowly across each set piece, hiding every second and using cover. But that’s how I had to play it. And its clear now, the enjoyment of this game wasn’t made to come from the challenge.

2 Disc Game! Cont.

If only to keep my hopes realistic for Max Payne 3, I’m posting one of those commercials which totally suckered me into buying the game.

Apparently quite a few people like DDS, but for it seemed glacial, and extremely disappointing coming after Nocturne. That first 5 seconds of this intro are cool as hell, and pretty much sum up the best part of the game. I bought DDS 2 a long time ago. I probably should add it to the list and see if my feelings have changed.

2 Disc Game!

Armored Core Master of Arena has humbled me. Maybe it was overly ambitious to try and tackle three nearly identical games without a different game to break the routine.

It is certainly a challenging game. Everyone makes a fuss about Dark Souls, but these bastards have been making tough as nails games for over a decade apparently. These are way more frustrating however. On the last airplane ride I almost smashed my already cracked PSP into my malfunctioning table tray.

I haven’t given up on reviewing Master of Arena yet, but my weakness got the best of me and I purchased Max Payne 3 today. I think it was the HEALTH song that plays in the background of the commercial that actually inspired me. Seems like a good existential time, but trailers are usually so misleading…

The song if you’re interested: http://soundcloud.com/rockstargames/tears-by-health

Crisis Core I guess

So I think I mostly finished ZHP. There are about a dozen endings but they basically require you to replay the same parts of the game until you quit from boredom (like most games from in that genre they never really end, you just sort of stop one day…). Which is my biggest complaint, just too much bullshit to wade through to feel any real sort of completion. But still it was fun while it lasted and it managed to hold my interest until the normal game had finished.

I’ve started playing Final Fantasy Crisis Core as it was a gift from a friend. I almost quit after the first hour as Zach is inhumanly stupid. I tried to find a suitable picture for Zach but all of them make him look like an emo poser (which is the only more redundant personality type in JRPG than “young brash stupid solider”) which thankfully Zach is not.