Alright, brief:
I recently learned the ability to sping and dash around corners (think skidding in a racing game). I also recently leveled up my exploration skills such as running up walls. Combined this has really opened up the main hub world and given the game a very Crackdown or Spiderman 2 feel. I didn’t have a crash during my last playtime experience,…but I’m still holding my breath.
And Saving Often.
The Darkness Progress Report #2
I’ve been slowly working my way back through The Darkness. I have diligently put aside the bigger titles (like GTA IV and Mass Effect) in an effort to finish a half dozen or so “half-finished” games. These aren’t games I have just played, but games I was more than half completed with.
That isn’t to say The Darkness is a bad, or sub-par game. It is actually quite enjoyable and fun. By the Chronicles of Riddick guys (Starbreeze), The Darkness is a well-developed FPS.
It definitely is coming together even better near the end, as you finally have enough Shadow Shield (life) and Ammo to make it through a fire fight without losing either. Early game required a fair amount of hiding while shields could recharge. The game also had a very Half-life 1 feel for the ammo collection. You generally get just barely more than it takes to kill everyone. Every missed shot reduces your overall pool, and sometimes you will find yourself switching from empty guns after killing just a couple of guys.
Luckily, I finally got the Black Hole power and nearly max level of darkness. Continue reading
The Darkness Progress Report #1
I’ve recently picked up The Darkness, again. I was about halfway through when it was bumped by Bioshock, which was bumped by Assassin’s Creed (and Kane and Lynch, and Army of Two, and The Simpson’s game). But now I’m back to finish it off. And it is fun.
Jumping between different control schemes is a bit of a pain. In this, the B button is reload, as I had to apparently make X action/eat heart (in my infinite wisdom when I first configured the controls). RB is Dark Power (using your currently selected Dark Power such as: Creeping Thing that goes around on the ground and kills people, Tentacle that can impale people (awesome, but hard to use), Darkness Guns (guns that don’t use ammo in a game where ammo is pretty scarce).
I prefer games where each button directly controls a power, like PsiOps, rather than games that make you cycle through different abilities in order to use them. Whenever I played Jedi Knight, I bound my favorite force powers to specific keys on the keyboard, and Force Push to Mouse3.
Of course, there would then have to be less Powers/Guns, but PsiOps had several powers and all were accessible easily.
Which would you prefer? A massive quantity of weapons and force powers that you can cycle through (cycling doesn’t bother you that much), or sacrifice some in order for a one button = one power/weapon scheme?
CoD4 Progress Report #1
I’ve slowly been making my way through Call of Duty 4 on Veteran (the hardest) difficulty setting. It isn’t too bad, except for a few key sequences that are exceptionally hard. Ridiculously hard. omg-i’m-going-to-beat-QA-to-death-with-my-controller hard.
Seriously.
If I meet someone who tested these sequences,… they better hope they have quick load handy.
At this point, I am generally abusing the fact that my AI compatriots are invulnerable. I try to have them breach and clear the house first, since if I turn a corner and actually see someone the only breaching done is the kind that keeps you in the shower scrubbing yourself raw and mumbling.
Bioshock Progress Report #2
Okay. I now have motivation. There was a great story revelation partway through. Bioshock has a PLOT and characters beyond what they initially portray. Sure, some aspects of it are predictable, but others most certainly are not. And the conversation with the twist revealed is excellently acted. The voice actor/s do an outstanding job, and the entire scene is just directed well.
Anyway, the game is still easy, and perhaps even getting easier; it is hard to tell when everything dies with 2 hits of a wrench. Still, I am motivated to make it through now. They have gotten me interested in Rapture beyond looking at pretty architecture. I just hope the ending can hold up after such a cinematic chapter.
Bioshock Progress Report #1
I got past the Vegas sequence. That lasted a bit longer than I would have liked, but at least I was collecting something more interesting than chemicals. My character’s wrench is a bit too powerful. With stacking plasmids, my wrench does far more damage than my fully upgraded shotgun at close range. I don’t even have to use any shock+smack combo; the smack kills them in 1-3 hits. The game’s plot is picking up again, but I know I can’t be that close to the end yet.