Are any other buttonmashers getting this game? I will be picking up the Steam version.
Archives for October 2009
Halo 3: ODST may be my biggest gaming disappointment this year
Unfortunately, with all the recent events I have not been able to give Halo 3: ODST any decent write-ups. That’s probably acceptable though because I simply cannot give the game enough time to do a decent write-up. Not that I haven’t been playing games, I’ve just been playing everything except this. Halo 3: ODST may be the biggest disappointment this year. The game is chock full of good ideas but is extremely poor in its overall execution.
What I really blame for this is the idea you can incorporate standard Halo gameplay without Master Chief. Bungie gave me the impression combat would have to be more strategic, perhaps more stealthy. Nope. The game is pretty much straight up Halo, except you’re not anywhere near as tough nor can you wield the same kind of firepower.
So here is a pretty decent story hamstrung by an incredibly frustrating play experience. I’m sure the game will sell like gangbusters because its Halo, people will love it because it is Halo, and the game will still continue getting decent reviews simply because it is Halo. If you’re not invested in the Halo franchise? I’d recommend steering clear.
I do want to get back into the game because I want to see how the story pans out. I just don’t have the frustration tolerance for it right now.
God of War Re-mastered for Your Enjoyment
I just finished my first God of War game on the PSP, and I had a blast. I missed the PS2 versions a few years back. Well, it appears that both games have been given the HD treatment and will sell on one disc next month for $40. Hmm. Anyway, this looks magnificent. Click through for the video.
The Last Stand? Yes, Please.
The Last Stand update for Dawn of War II was released yesterday…and it is a breath of fresh air. After three hours of play, I claim it to be gaming goodness. FREE gaming goodness. Let me know if you have the game in the comments and we can survive a few rounds. Relic has really taken this game to a new level. Mixing Call of Duty with DoW II was an excellent idea. It’s a shame some people missed this, but Steam was selling the game half-off yesterday Holy frick. I just checked. They’ve extended it until Monday. $20 (TWENTY!) for this amazing game.
+800 Microsoft Points
Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade has come and gone. A couple of weeks ago I got a message from LIVE letting my know that 800 points had been credited to my account. This made me look back at the 5200 points I spent to get this rebate.
When I first saw the line up, I was unsure of most of the titles. Getting 800 points back was a nice incentive to take a chance on them. Now, having played all of them, I found that my expectations and my experiences with the games did not match up.
Pre-demo impression: What’s the name of the game? ‘Splosion Man? Pass.
Post-demo impression: Whoa, this game is kinda fun. The demo let me play through a few levels (six, I believe) and even gave me a sneak peek of the first boss; just enough for me to get a handle on the game. There is no tutorial at all, but I didn’t need one. All face buttons ‘splode. The left analog stick moves. Pretty simple, and I like it that way.
Post-purchase impression: The game starts of nice and easy. Every level slowly ramps up the difficultly, but at no point did I feel overwhelmed or frustrated. No matter how difficult the puzzle, I always think about how I can change my tactics to complete the puzzle.
Verdict: Satisfied. This is my favorite 2D platformer on the XBLA.
Pre-demo impression: I played Marvel vs. Capcom 2 when it was out on the Dreamcast. I’d play with my brothers, wife, her brother, and her future brother-in-law. We had a blast, so adding an online mode with Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix’s quarter match setup and excellent netcode? How could I go wrong?
Post-demo impression: The demo doesn’t do a good job of showing what the game can offer; you can only choose from six characters in offline mode. Oh well, since I liked the game years ago, I’m sure the full version will be fine.
Post-purchase impression: I don’t remember this game being completely unbalanced. In particular, multiple characters share similar moves (such as Captain America’s Charging Star and Jill Valentine’s Kinkyuu Kaihi B), but have completely effects in combos, allowing certain characters to be more “cheap” than others. Using the two characters I mentioned as an example, Jill can land multiple hits when your character is in the prone position, whereas Captain America can’t, despite the fact that both moves only differ in a cosmetic way. These differences lead players of Marvel vs Capcom 2 to build squads made up of the cheapest possible characters that can land as many unblockable hits in a row as possible. As I prefer to build thematic squads (such as my Boys in Blue and Brotherhood of Evil Mutants teams), playing against this type of gamer leads to me getting frustrated.
Verdict: Regret. Years of playing better-balanced, slower-paced fighting games like Street Figher IV, Soul Calibur IV, Dead or Alive 4, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix have made this game unplayable for me.
Pre-demo impression: Just like with Marvel vs. Capcom 2, I played this game with friends and family on the SNES. It was such a simple game with memorable music and colorful graphics that looked like the cartoon. Now I’ll get this game again, with updated graphics and four-player LIVE play? Instant buy.
Post-demo impression: What happened? I already knew that the graphics were going to be different. Unlike many message board posters, I actually like the new graphics, since they look a lot like the most recent CG TMNT movie. However, I did not expect the light-hearted and sometimes goofy music to be replaced with totally uninspired music that could have been copied directly from a low-budget B-movie’s soundtrack.
Post-purchase impression: I just can’t get over the change in music. When I think back to the multiplayer beat ‘em up action games from my youth, like Streets of Rage and Final Fight, one of the things that sticks out is the music. This game’s dull tones seem to be trying to put me to sleep. Knowing what the music should sound like prevents me from getting into it. That aside, it works well as a four-player online game.
Verdict: Regret. My nostalgia for the SNES version of Turtles in Time negatively affected my ability to enjoy this new version.
Pre-demo impression: Some called this game an HD ExciteBike. I never played that game or its Nintendo 64 follow-up, so that comparison didn’t take hold on me.
Post-demo impression: This game is pretty fun! The tutorial is simple but effective. I breezed through the levels offered in the demo. I imagine the game will get harder, but I should enjoy it.
Post-purchase impression: This game is ridiculously hard. In no way did the demo prepare me for the extreme ramp up in difficulty. The Beginner and Easy tracks are pretty easy to get gold medals in. The Medium tracks are unbelievably hard. I don’t even want to see what the Hard and Extreme tracks are like. Want to see how hard this game is? The split wasn’t in my controller before buying Trials HD:
Verdict: Satisfied. Yes, it is ridiculously hard. If you have the patience to push your way through, or a lot of controllers to go through, you will enjoy it. When I first wrote my post-purchase impressions on this game, the Medium tracks were practically impossible. Now, I have gotten through them, finished most of the Hard tracks and am struggling with the Extreme ones. My controller has flown across the room a few more times, but I keep coming back for me.
Read our full review on Shadow Complex.
Pre-demo impression: This game is constantly referred to as a Metroidvania-style title. Those are mighty big words for me, as that designation doesn’t only describe how it plays, but it is a statement about its quality.
Post-demo impressions: I can see that Shadow Complex has a lot of potential. I enjoyed the opening sequence, where you get to see how powerful your character will become. It is an effective tease.
Post-purchase impressions: Shadow Complex was very difficult for the first few hours. Jason Flemming could not take many hits before dying, and I found the “aim at the background” mechanic to be flawed and aggravating to deal with. Given how difficult the beginning was to me, it became immensely gratifying to see Jason’s power grow. By the end of the game, I strolled into every room without bothering to take cover. I walked over every enemy, including those annoying black-suited agents that would hang from the ceiling. The ending sequence is one of the easier ones I’ve seen in a game, which was a bit anti-climactic.
Verdict: Satisfied. Shadow Complex became an obsession for me. I wouldn’t quit until I found all of the items. I intend on going back to get all the way to level 50.
I spent 1200 more points than I should have. The rebate made up for the cost of Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, but I’m still out for the cost of Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Even though I really enjoy the three Arcade titles that I had no previous experience with, buying into the Summer of Arcade was not a smart financial move.
Left 4 Dead Leaves No One Behind
I know I’m late to the game, but I’ve got to say that the L4D community is one of the best around. I’ve played quite a few online random games, and every one of them has been a pure treat. I don’t think I can get that with some “other” FPS-based games. Of course, the need to survive brings a lot of people together.
On Why I Loathe Mario Kart Wii
Sailing along in first place and leading by almost half a leap on the group. The finish line is in site. Maybe a game distance of 20 feet. Blue shell. Red shell. Red shell. Green. Green. Red. Red. Hello 9th place. What just happened?
Poor balancing, that’s what.
I’ve never completed Mario Kart Wii. I don’t have the patience to do so. It has the most playtime of any of our Wii games at home (over 200 hours), but it’s not a game to play for serious players. It is a fun game, but it has this wonderful knack for not rewarding skill.
I don’t mind the powerups. I do mind that there is no counters for some or even a remote chance for others. Do the powerups add any strategy to the game? Not one bit. Some people may argue that, but it’s just too random. To random for this gamer to enjoy. I’ll stick with my DS and SNES versions.
As a side note, does anyone else’s Wii put slight scratch marks around the outer edge of their games–especially ones they play a lot? We’ve gone through one Excite Truck disk and our Mario Kart copy has been giving read errors lately.
Weekend Gaming
I haven’t done one of these in a while, and I’m hoping for a good weekend of gaming, so now is as good as a time as any to ask: what’cha playing this weekend?
Me, I’m about five hours in to Batman: Arkham Asylum and I’m really itching to get back. I am really, REALLY enjoying Batman. Extremely engaging and addictive. It has a bit of a Metroid feel to the exploration and jumping around. What I find most compelling is that I’m not firing hot lead through a rifled barrel at the heads of the bad guys. I know that’s not Batman’s style, but having to be resourceful and creative is quite satisfying. Of course, punching out scores of bad guys is equally satisfying. I’m hoping to make more progress this weekend on Arkham Island.
If time permits, I hope to join the guys from the site for a little Left 4 Dead. If you’re playing the PC version, let us know if you’re interested in joining us for a buttomashing.com L4D night. Also, time permitting, I’d like to make a little more progress with Mass Effect and Fire Emblem: Dragon Sword on the DS. Here’s to hoping.
What’s on tap for you guys?
More of the PSPnogo
Ok, so last week’s PSN’s PSP game release list was maybe the best they’ve ever done. The all-digital handheld system was released last week. It makes sense to have a large release of games. Not big, but there were one or two good titles. You think they would follow that up with another good release of titles for the PSP only one week after the PSPnogo’s release? Hahahahahaha. 16,000 items available at launch and less than 200 are games.
Dead Rising Megapost
We love us some Dead Rising here at Buttonmashing. At the recent Tokyo Game Show, Capcom basically positioned themselves and Dead Rising 2 as the company and game of the show. We just wanted to create this mega-post and let you know what’s been shared about the game so far.
- The game takes place a few years after the initial outbreak.
- You play as Chuck Greene (in another 72 hour period), a former motocross champion, who is is forced to confront the zombie horde in Fortune City (a Las Vegas wannabe).
- He is possibly motivated by his surviving daughter and he also take part in a zombie-reality show at some point.
- This reality show also is the basis for some multiplayer play. Think of it as American Gladiators with zombies.
- Zombies on screen have been increased from 800 to 6,000!
- There is no more photography (thank goodness!)
- Weapons are crazier than ever. Think a shotgun attached to a rake, a blender placed on a head, double-edged chainsaws, and wheelchairs with all sorts of weapons attached.
Now on to the videos:
The multiplayer trailer (with an obvious nod to the Canadian developers working on the project)
Some actual multiplayer gameplay:
Shotgun rake gameplay:
Wheelchair gameplay:
Are ya’ ready for some football!?!?
Check out the chainsaws!
Source: Google?