Dead Rising will take a backseat. The lack of save points is unfair, and I don't want to have to replay half an hour worth of gaming. The story seems like it will be great, but I don't have the patience.
This is why I never picked up the game; while it is technically well done the checkpoints are far too spread out (and it gets worse in the later levels). That's just cheap in my book.
Haven't started Bioshock yet.
What are you waiting for young man? While the game didn't quite live up to my unrealistic expectations from the demo, it is a lot of fun and really pulls you in. And, just as an FYI, Bioshock lets you save anywhere and at any time.
BTW, I decided to pre-order Halo 3 today; like Barry I opted for the Limited Edition (I hear the Legendary Edition is completely sold out now). I decided to get rid of some games (FEAR, Gears of War, Splinter Cell: Double Agent) that I had finished and wasn't really playing anymore for store credit; as such the game will only end up costing me about $20.
I finaly got to Gamestop today and pre-ordered Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Its mainly online, but it looks like a ton of fun to call in railguns to your side...
I finaly got to Gamestop today and pre-ordered Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Its mainly online, but it looks like a ton of fun to call in railguns to your side...
Quake Wars is also being developed for the 360; hopefully it will have some single player component to it as well otherwise I'll be passing on it; I like online play but much prefer co-operative gaming to mindless deathmatching and CTF'ing.
BTW, don't know if you've heard this or not but Mercenaries 2 has been delayed until at least April 2008.
Was browsing around the media area of Xbox live and much to my surprise came across a bunch a very recent movies available for download. On top of that, you can download them in HD, if you have a HD set. Some may remember that I previously critized Microsoft for not having better titles. Well the titles have improved and I intend to download a HD movie and check it out. At some point I think downloading movies will be the way we get our films. Much simplier than renting.
Just as an FYI Barry, if you're curious to sample the picture quality without downloading an entire movie, there are also free hi-def movie and TV show trailers available on Xbox Live.
I downloaded the Babylon 5: Lost Tales show a few weeks back; even though only the standard definition version was available, the picture was still very crisp and colorful with hardly any artifacting at all. Sound was very nice as well.
Since we're talking about hi-def movies; my brother watched the HD-DVD Batman Begins thru the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player today; even though he isn't quite the video junkie that I am, he was very impressed with the picture quality and was able to notice quite a few differences between the hi-def and standard-def versions.
You'd better book it with Halo 2; only 16 days until Halo 3.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
Hey, so I've played Bioshock for a number of hours today, and I gotta say Tony was right on the money. It started out amazing but all the stupid fetch quests are irritating. I just want to finish the game, but I'm not really having fun anymore. I'm just running through the game. I'm not really sure I did everything right, I'm right after the part where Ryan kills the woman trying to save the trees, but I still only have two plasmid slots although I've collected a lot more. Also I think the combat is just too difficult, as switching between plasmids and weapons takes too long and I just respawn at the Vita Chamber too often. I'm underwhelmed by this game. It looks incredible, and the atmosphere is great, but when Atlas' family was killed I died while running there, so I feel like I missed something cool. I was running back to the spot and wondering what had just happened. The constant journal collection is kind of pointless, too.
I dunno, I'm very disappointed. I want to finish it just to see what happens, but the gameplay is just too frustrating. Thank goodness Halo 3 is coming out soon, and Call of Duty 4.
Night, while I was a little disappointed with the game I didn't have as much trouble as you seem to be having. You may want to set the game to EASY the first time thru; that's what I did and I was able to take my time with it, explore without always looking over my shoulder and do much better in the combat. I didn't get killed once, although it was still a challenge. Also, the difficulty level only comes into play for one achievement. You can also turn on a directional arrow that usually points you to your next destination.
There is no way for you to save Atlas' family (and there's a twist to that little incident later on). You didn't miss anything else as once the bathysphere blows up, that's pretty much it for that level.
After Ryan kills the scientist, you have to fetch a bunch of ingredients to create the formula to counteract the poison. It was a tedious quest but most of the ingredients were in the Farmers Market and surrounding alcoves.
The fetch quests are annoying, and unfortunately they get a little worse as the game progresses. The Sander Cohen level is the most irritating in this regard as you have to use your camera a lot. There's also an escort mission near the end of the game where you have to protect a little sister that's a real pain.
With regard to extra plasmid slots, you have to buy them using ADAM at the Gatherers Gardens strewn about the city. If you save the sisters, you will be given ADAM as well as gifts from them. Generally, you'll probably have enough ADAM to buy one or two slots per level although you'll sometimes have to choose between extra slots or abilities for your existing ones.
I got thru most of the game with the Electrobolt, Telekenisis and Flame plasmids; the Freeze plasmid was pretty good too, the others were amusing but hardly necessary. As for the tonics, I tended to focus on ones that improved my combat abilities, especially the ones that made me stronger and a better wrench wielder. Doing that, I was able to kill most of the splicers with the Electrobolt to stun them and wrench to finish them off. That let me save most of my ammo and other weapons for the Big Daddys and stronger enemies. The Houdini splicers were susceptible to fire. Whenever I came across enemies in water (as was the case in that escort mission I mentioned), a few shots of Electrobolt would electrocute them all in one pass.
The hacking and safecracking is a pain; I found it helpful to create as many autohack tools at the U-Invent stations as possible. As far as the security cameras, I just found it easier to shoot them with my shotgun and be done with it. You don't have to hack everything and open every safe; everything you need to finish the game is out in the open. The tape recordings are only for padding out the background story (and there's an achievement if you find all of them); again, hardly mandatory.
When switching weapons and plasmids, hold the bumpers down. That will pause the game and let you take your time to switch.
Hope that helps.
Also, did you check out the new Spiderman: Friend or Foe demo? The game is based more on the comics than the movies (although it has elements from both) and allows for two player cooperative action. The game is very linear and the world is not as open ended as the movie tie-in games but it seems to play better to me. I was able to finish the demo pretty quickly and had fun with it although I'm not sure if I'd buy the game right away. It's being billed as a more accessible, "kid friendly" kind of game, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Check it out as I'd like to know what you think.
I am the middle of the next to last level of Halo 2. Not sure if I will finish before Halo 3 comes out. I have to go to Vegas next week, so I will miss the big roll out of the game, but I am sure I will get feedback from my son and I will check it out the following weekend. Hope everyone enjoys and that expectations weren't too high.
I am the middle of the next to last level of Halo 2. Not sure if I will finish before Halo 3 comes out. I have to go to Vegas next week, so I will miss the big roll out of the game, but I am sure I will get feedback from my son and I will check it out the following weekend. Hope everyone enjoys and that expectations weren't too high.
I hear somebody has already posted a video of the ending to the game on YouTube. I've deliberately tried to avoid everything about this game so that I have no expectations.
Hope you have a safe trip Barry. Will there be time for a little R&R or is it strictly business? Say hello to Willard Whyte for me and take care.
I am the middle of the next to last level of Halo 2. Not sure if I will finish before Halo 3 comes out. I have to go to Vegas next week, so I will miss the big roll out of the game, but I am sure I will get feedback from my son and I will check it out the following weekend. Hope everyone enjoys and that expectations weren't too high.
I hear somebody has already posted a video of the ending to the game on YouTube. I've deliberately tried to avoid everything about this game so that I have no expectations.
Hope you have a safe trip Barry. Will there be time for a little R&R or is it strictly business? Say hello to Willard Whyte for me and take care.
As I recall seeing Willard Whyte involves a rather interesting elevator ride which I don't think I will be taking.
Work during the day, some fun at night. It's a security conference which has a really large and really cool vendor floor. Surveillance cameras, access control readers, some weapons, night vision, really cool stuff.
Never been to Vegas, not much of a gambler, but I will check out some of the entertainment.
Like you I don't want to see or hear anything about Halo 3 (other than from you guys), will check it out myself.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
I'm pretty excited: for some reason I have school off next Tuesday. Which is amazing. I will have some friends over and we will dive into multiplayer.
I'm pretty excited: for some reason I have school off next Tuesday. Which is amazing. I will have some friends over and we will dive into multiplayer.
As the Church Lady might say, how conveeeeeeeeenient.
Alas, I probably won't be getting my copy of H3 until the following Saturday. No matter, DiRT, Forza2 and Crackdown are keeping me busy. But Lair for the PS3 is going back; it just could not hold my interest.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
Wow. Hearing this about Bioshock is a little bit disheartening for me...I fell in love with the commercial.
The kid and I were planning on buying this game over the weekend and now I'm a little hesistant...
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Wow. Hearing this about Bioshock is a little bit disheartening for me...I fell in love with the commercial.
The kid and I were planning on buying this game over the weekend and now I'm a little hesistant...
I was playing it a little bit again last night. I think it's a good game and worth the purchase; it's just that everybody went a little overboard with their praise; and the demo, which was amazing, set my expectations way too high. At the end of the day it's your standard first person shooter, albeit with tons of atmosphere. It also has some genuinely creepy moments and I'm sure you'll get punk'd by it sooner or later. Just don't expect some genre re-defining game because it really isn't that at all.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
I'm pretty excited: for some reason I have school off next Tuesday. Which is amazing. I will have some friends over and we will dive into multiplayer.
As the Church Lady might say, how conveeeeeeeeenient.
Alas, I probably won't be getting my copy of H3 until the following Saturday. No matter, DiRT, Forza2 and Crackdown are keeping me busy. But Lair for the PS3 is going back; it just could not hold my interest.
It is a shame that Lair looks so incredible. I read the reviews, which said the controls were just too horrible.
It is a shame that Lair looks so incredible. I read the reviews, which said the controls were just too horrible.
The controls do get some getting used to but in my opinion the bigger problem is the gameplay. Half the time, you're not really sure what you're supposed to be doing - leading to a lot of trial and error - and the game has a nasty habit of cutting away from the action to bring up a short cinematic at specific points; and then, when it returns control to the player, you're invariably facing the wrong way, leading to more disorientation. The gameplay never really hooked me in and to be honest the visuals aren't all that special either; for a 1080p game it doesn't look all that impressive and I find the detail lacking. The dialog is also laughably stupid with all kinds of "Top Gun" references in the midst of dragon on dragon compabt. Really disappointing no matter how you slice it.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
RA, pick up the latest Game Informer magazine if you can. The cover story - Dead Space - looks awesome, and it'll be able to "punk" you when it ships. They are trying to make the scariest game ever.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
RA, pick up the latest Game Informer magazine if you can. The cover story - Dead Space - looks awesome, and it'll be able to "punk" you when it ships. They are trying to make the scariest game ever.
Thanks for the heads-up, Night. Love the "punk-out" games. B-)
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Thanks for the heads-up, Night. Love the "punk-out" games. B-)
Yeah, but it's too bad you get too scared to finish any of them! Did you ever finish Condemned BTW? :v
Also, if anyone is dying to get a little official info on Halo 3, Microsoft has put up a virtual manual to the game. You'll need the Silverlight plug-in to be able to preuse it. Those vehicles sure look interesting...
Thanks for the heads-up, Night. Love the "punk-out" games. B-)
Yeah, but it's too bad you get too scared to finish any of them! Did you ever finish Condemned BTW? :v
Also, if anyone is dying to get a little official info on Halo 3, Microsoft has put up a virtual manual to the game. You'll need the Silverlight plug-in to be able to preuse it. Those vehicles sure look interesting...
Looked way cool. Can't wait to play it. One of the things I like is the ominous music that Halo has. Everytime I hear it I get a little fired up.
The Silverlight plug in was pretty cool. I read an article that said Silverlight is superior to Flash and basically Flash is dead. I have had to work with Flash in the past and I can tell you it was not easy to work with.
One of my favorite features of the first two Halo games was being able to use vehicles seamlessly, if you wanted to. I'm really looking forward to trying some of the new models out.
BTW, here's a nice summary of the Xbox 360 games coming out between now and Christmas. Lots of good looking stuff coming out. I'm especially intrigued by Ace Combat, Assassin's Creed, Area 51, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Lego Star Wars, Mass Effect and Project Gotham 4.
I have just finished beating Halo 2. I have to say the ending was a little anti-climatic. But, the little video at the end of the credits was interesting. Really looking forward to seeing Halo 3, but it is off to Sin City tomorrow. Hope everyone enjoys Halo 3 and don't beat the game before I get back.
IGN's Halo 3 review is up. The most interesting feature for me appears to be the game's ability to
record your entire campaign adventure as you play it, save it to the hard drive or a memory card, and let you replay it in its entirety whenever you like
Thanks for the heads-up, Night. Love the "punk-out" games. B-)
Yeah, but it's too bad you get too scared to finish any of them! Did you ever finish Condemned BTW? :v
Also, if anyone is dying to get a little official info on Halo 3, Microsoft has put up a virtual manual to the game. You'll need the Silverlight plug-in to be able to preuse it. Those vehicles sure look interesting...
Looked way cool. Can't wait to play it. One of the things I like is the ominous music that Halo has. Everytime I hear it I get a little fired up.
The Silverlight plug in was pretty cool. I read an article that said Silverlight is superior to Flash and basically Flash is dead. I have had to work with Flash in the past and I can tell you it was not easy to work with.
No, Tony...haven't finished it yet for various reasons...PUNKED being one of them but I can live with that ) . If it isn't creepy to me, it's not worth my money. Probably why I'm not a huge fan of the Resident Evil games and I've played a couple of those without flinching. More action than horror.
Good link on Halo 3 though. It's going to be COMPLETE madness this week. B-)
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
Comments
This is why I never picked up the game; while it is technically well done the checkpoints are far too spread out (and it gets worse in the later levels). That's just cheap in my book.
What are you waiting for young man? While the game didn't quite live up to my unrealistic expectations from the demo, it is a lot of fun and really pulls you in. And, just as an FYI, Bioshock lets you save anywhere and at any time.
BTW, I decided to pre-order Halo 3 today; like Barry I opted for the Limited Edition (I hear the Legendary Edition is completely sold out now). I decided to get rid of some games (FEAR, Gears of War, Splinter Cell: Double Agent) that I had finished and wasn't really playing anymore for store credit; as such the game will only end up costing me about $20.
Quake Wars is also being developed for the 360; hopefully it will have some single player component to it as well otherwise I'll be passing on it; I like online play but much prefer co-operative gaming to mindless deathmatching and CTF'ing.
BTW, don't know if you've heard this or not but Mercenaries 2 has been delayed until at least April 2008.
Almost done with Halo2.
I downloaded the Babylon 5: Lost Tales show a few weeks back; even though only the standard definition version was available, the picture was still very crisp and colorful with hardly any artifacting at all. Sound was very nice as well.
Since we're talking about hi-def movies; my brother watched the HD-DVD Batman Begins thru the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player today; even though he isn't quite the video junkie that I am, he was very impressed with the picture quality and was able to notice quite a few differences between the hi-def and standard-def versions.
You'd better book it with Halo 2; only 16 days until Halo 3.
I dunno, I'm very disappointed. I want to finish it just to see what happens, but the gameplay is just too frustrating. Thank goodness Halo 3 is coming out soon, and Call of Duty 4.
There is no way for you to save Atlas' family (and there's a twist to that little incident later on). You didn't miss anything else as once the bathysphere blows up, that's pretty much it for that level.
After Ryan kills the scientist, you have to fetch a bunch of ingredients to create the formula to counteract the poison. It was a tedious quest but most of the ingredients were in the Farmers Market and surrounding alcoves.
The fetch quests are annoying, and unfortunately they get a little worse as the game progresses. The Sander Cohen level is the most irritating in this regard as you have to use your camera a lot. There's also an escort mission near the end of the game where you have to protect a little sister that's a real pain.
With regard to extra plasmid slots, you have to buy them using ADAM at the Gatherers Gardens strewn about the city. If you save the sisters, you will be given ADAM as well as gifts from them. Generally, you'll probably have enough ADAM to buy one or two slots per level although you'll sometimes have to choose between extra slots or abilities for your existing ones.
I got thru most of the game with the Electrobolt, Telekenisis and Flame plasmids; the Freeze plasmid was pretty good too, the others were amusing but hardly necessary. As for the tonics, I tended to focus on ones that improved my combat abilities, especially the ones that made me stronger and a better wrench wielder. Doing that, I was able to kill most of the splicers with the Electrobolt to stun them and wrench to finish them off. That let me save most of my ammo and other weapons for the Big Daddys and stronger enemies. The Houdini splicers were susceptible to fire. Whenever I came across enemies in water (as was the case in that escort mission I mentioned), a few shots of Electrobolt would electrocute them all in one pass.
The hacking and safecracking is a pain; I found it helpful to create as many autohack tools at the U-Invent stations as possible. As far as the security cameras, I just found it easier to shoot them with my shotgun and be done with it. You don't have to hack everything and open every safe; everything you need to finish the game is out in the open. The tape recordings are only for padding out the background story (and there's an achievement if you find all of them); again, hardly mandatory.
When switching weapons and plasmids, hold the bumpers down. That will pause the game and let you take your time to switch.
Hope that helps.
Also, did you check out the new Spiderman: Friend or Foe demo? The game is based more on the comics than the movies (although it has elements from both) and allows for two player cooperative action. The game is very linear and the world is not as open ended as the movie tie-in games but it seems to play better to me. I was able to finish the demo pretty quickly and had fun with it although I'm not sure if I'd buy the game right away. It's being billed as a more accessible, "kid friendly" kind of game, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Check it out as I'd like to know what you think.
I hear somebody has already posted a video of the ending to the game on YouTube. I've deliberately tried to avoid everything about this game so that I have no expectations.
Hope you have a safe trip Barry. Will there be time for a little R&R or is it strictly business? Say hello to Willard Whyte for me and take care.
As I recall seeing Willard Whyte involves a rather interesting elevator ride which I don't think I will be taking.
Work during the day, some fun at night. It's a security conference which has a really large and really cool vendor floor. Surveillance cameras, access control readers, some weapons, night vision, really cool stuff.
Never been to Vegas, not much of a gambler, but I will check out some of the entertainment.
Like you I don't want to see or hear anything about Halo 3 (other than from you guys), will check it out myself.
As the Church Lady might say, how conveeeeeeeeenient.
Alas, I probably won't be getting my copy of H3 until the following Saturday. No matter, DiRT, Forza2 and Crackdown are keeping me busy. But Lair for the PS3 is going back; it just could not hold my interest.
The kid and I were planning on buying this game over the weekend and now I'm a little hesistant...
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
I was playing it a little bit again last night. I think it's a good game and worth the purchase; it's just that everybody went a little overboard with their praise; and the demo, which was amazing, set my expectations way too high. At the end of the day it's your standard first person shooter, albeit with tons of atmosphere. It also has some genuinely creepy moments and I'm sure you'll get punk'd by it sooner or later.
It is a shame that Lair looks so incredible. I read the reviews, which said the controls were just too horrible.
The controls do get some getting used to but in my opinion the bigger problem is the gameplay. Half the time, you're not really sure what you're supposed to be doing - leading to a lot of trial and error - and the game has a nasty habit of cutting away from the action to bring up a short cinematic at specific points; and then, when it returns control to the player, you're invariably facing the wrong way, leading to more disorientation. The gameplay never really hooked me in and to be honest the visuals aren't all that special either; for a 1080p game it doesn't look all that impressive and I find the detail lacking. The dialog is also laughably stupid with all kinds of "Top Gun" references in the midst of dragon on dragon compabt. Really disappointing no matter how you slice it.
Thanks for the heads-up, Night. Love the "punk-out" games. B-)
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Yeah, but it's too bad you get too scared to finish any of them!
Also, if anyone is dying to get a little official info on Halo 3, Microsoft has put up a virtual manual to the game. You'll need the Silverlight plug-in to be able to preuse it. Those vehicles sure look interesting...
http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/halo3.aspx
Looked way cool. Can't wait to play it. One of the things I like is the ominous music that Halo has. Everytime I hear it I get a little fired up.
The Silverlight plug in was pretty cool. I read an article that said Silverlight is superior to Flash and basically Flash is dead. I have had to work with Flash in the past and I can tell you it was not easy to work with.
BTW, here's a nice summary of the Xbox 360 games coming out between now and Christmas. Lots of good looking stuff coming out. I'm especially intrigued by Ace Combat, Assassin's Creed, Area 51, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Lego Star Wars, Mass Effect and Project Gotham 4.
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/821/821684p1.html
Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be out for the PC ... in about 4 or 5 years.
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/821/821911p1.html
Oh, im not in any hurry, I never was a fan of the Halo series...ive had all of those features years before you
No, Tony...haven't finished it yet for various reasons...PUNKED being one of them but I can live with that
Good link on Halo 3 though. It's going to be COMPLETE madness this week. B-)
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -