Well done Night; once you finish the game, does the world stay open for you to continue to explore and do sidemissions like Crackdown? Or do you have to start a new game?
By coincidence, I finished Iron Man today. It wasn't that hard to beat (other than the third to last level, which did have me shouting a couple of profanities at the screen). Honestly, some of the people who review these games must be real morons. If I could beat it, then it can't be as difficult as they complain. There are still a few hero objectives that I'd like to try to get but overall, I had a good time with the game and I can see myself keeping it and popping it in from time to time to revisit some of the levels and try them out with the different armors. I was messing around a bit with the classic red and gold armor and it seems to be pretty powerful; the Hulkbuster armor is also fun for unleashing carnage.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
Yep, you can keep playing. In fact, your relationships continue on - your friends call you and discuss the results of your ending and how it affects you and them. You can still do side missions which I haven't touched much, and still hang out with friends, and go on dates, etc.
I almost picked up GTAIV this weekend; had it in my hands and even had a $5 coupon. In the end I decided to wait because I've been having a lot of fun with Metroid Prime 3 for the Wii (the controls really immerse you in this one) and I wouldn't have gotten to GTA for a few weeks anyway. Still, once I finish Metroid, GTA will probably be next.
I just bought Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures for the PC. Its the new MMO and it looks really awesome. I hope ill be able to play it soon, but i may have to return it because my parents hate video games.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
Broke down - ordered IM. Can't wait to play with Extremis Armor!!!!
Broke down - ordered IM. Can't wait to play with Extremis Armor!!!!
I think you'll like it; I had a good time with it, and if I can rack up over 700 Achievement Points (albeit on easy) then it can't be as hard as people complained. Just be aware that you must finish the game before being able to use the bonus armors in the main game. Once you finish the game, you can replay any level using any armor (just don't start a new game or you'll overwrite your save and cancel out your ability to select any level and any armor).
I finished Metroid Prime 3 today; I have to give Nintendo and Retro Studios props, they made a very solid, entertaining and long adventure that used the wiimote and nunchuck in lots of unique and fun ways. It's the first Nintendo first party game that I ever finished and I even ordered one of the earlier GameCube Metroid games to try out (they're BC with the Wii). If only more Wii games aspired to this level of quality.
Not sure where to go next, gamewise. I still need to play Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 and Ace Combat. Also thinking of picking up GTAIV.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
You know MY suggestion. GTA IV is the way to go.RSV2 is only good really for multiplayer, the singleplayer is a little lame, and you're not a big multiplayer guy. I think GTA would be a better fit. Ace Combat looks great too, though.
Hey Tony, I know you don't like MGS games, but MGS4 is coming out for the PS3. Will you get it? You can always ship me your PS3 so I can play it! )
You know MY suggestion. GTA IV is the way to go.RSV2 is only good really for multiplayer, the singleplayer is a little lame, and you're not a big multiplayer guy. I think GTA would be a better fit. Ace Combat looks great too, though.
That was my experience with RS:V2; I'll probably give it another shot during the week and if it still leaves me cold I'll sell it back.
I just remembered that I also have Resident Evil 4 for the Wii sitting on my shelf; I only played it once to make sure it worked but I'll have to try that as well.
The only problem with Ace Combat is that the between level cinemas are so melodramatically silly I'm embarrassed to watch them, even when I'm alone. The game itself is all very much by the numbers, no zip to it at all. Kind of like a supermodel: beautiful on the outside but pretty shallow beneath the surface.
Not much interesting stuff coming for the 360 in the immediate future so I may just get GTAIV this weekend.
Hey Tony, I know you don't like MGS games, but MGS4 is coming out for the PS3. Will you get it? You can always ship me your PS3 so I can play it! )
I was reading that some of the cinematics in MGS4 will be up to 90 minutes long each. It also looks like Konami is trying to dictate what reviewers can and cannot comment on. They've been exerting pressure on websites and magazines to not mention the overly long cinemas (it now looks like half of the game's total length is cinemas) or the ridiculously large files that get installed onto the PS3's hard drive to run the game. Several magazines, including EGM, have refused to knuckle under to their demands and won't be formally reviewing the game.
I never liked those games; the plots are incoherent, the cinemas too melodramatic, the characters positively juvenile and you spend more time passively watching than playing. And with the advent of BluRay, it looks like Kojima has completely lost all trace of self-restraint.
These days I use my PS3 more as a BluRay player; gameswise, I've been playing some PS2 games I never got to try. It's been months since I bought a PS3 game.
There's a new demo to NASCAR 09 up on Xbox Live; only 538mb so it was a relatively quick download. I tried it briefly and based on a few short races it seems much improved over last year's model.
This time around there are two tracks available in the demo: Daytona and the slightly more driver friendly Lowes Motor Speedway. I played the Lowes track exclusively and the graphics are much improved, with a cleaner and smoother appearance on the track, surroundings and other cars. The rear-view mirror is still utterly useless however. There are several default difficulty and driver settings so you can ease yourself into the competition. Since I hadn't played a NASCAR game in ages I set it to Rookie and was quickly able to come up to speed on steering the car and working my way thru the field.
Overall, I'm still not sure it warrants its $60 pricetag and I'll definitely want to read some reviews, but it looks like EA has taken some significant steps in finally doing this franchise justice on the next-gen consoles.
I picked up Lego Indiana Jones the other day, but have only had a few hours to actually play it. The gameplay is essentially the same as the Lego Star Wars offerings with a few minor changes. The graphics of the environments are much more detailed, which makes sense since you are running around in dust and foliage rather than shiny spaceships. One downside is that the characters don't come equipped with weapons, but rather a specialty tool such as shovel or wrench, or in the case of Jones, a whip. These can be used for close quarter melees, which leaves you at frustrating disadvantage when baddies are coming at you with guns or arrows. You can pick up the weapons that dispatched enemies leave behind, but they're only available for a brief amount of time before they vanish and sometimes it's difficult to properly position yourself to pick them up.
Since I'm only two levels into the game, I can't provide much more feedback than that at the moment.
I'd read a couple of reviews of Lego Indy and they all mentioned the change in focus from weapons combat to melee and how it made the game somewhat more difficult compared to Lego Star Wars. Since the characters are so blocky and the emphasis is now on hand-to-hand combat, do they move and control awkwardly or can you get them to go around the levels pretty quickly? Keep us posted as to what you think. I already have too many games right now but I'll probably be picking this one up at some point.
BTW, there's a new game available for download on Xbox Live: Aces of the Galaxy. It's an "on-rails" 3D space shooter; your typical one ship against an entire alien army scenario but with some pretty spiffy graphics. You have three weapons at your disposal: your basic chain gun, homing missiles and torpedoes. You never run out of ammo for any weapon but their reload times are different and there is no autofire, adding a bit of strategy. The game also lets you do barrel rolls to avoid attacks, scan for invisible ships and temporarily slow down time to deal some of the heavier onslaughts. The levels I've seen so far are pretty varied; everything from spaceship graveyards to asteroid belts to sections that propel you forward at faster and faster speeds, complete with warp drive effects. While your ship follows a set path, you can veer a substantial distance in any direction (kind of like the old Star Fox games). The points system is based on combos, which you perform by destroying ships in succession and with creative uses of your weapons. Along the way you can pick up weapons upgrades and repair icons but your lives never increase; you get three lives and once they're all gone the game is over.
The free demo lets you try the first two levels of the game; I liked it enough that I went ahead and bought the whole thing.
It costs 800 MS points (or $10).
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
I want to play the Bourne Conspiracy demo. The videos of the game look pretty cool, so I might check it out.
I want to play the Bourne Conspiracy demo. The videos of the game look pretty cool, so I might check it out.
I tried it a couple of days ago; didn't like it all that much. The problem for me was that the game kept changing styles every few seconds. The typical action would go something like this: you start off with a quick cut scene, that leads to a very simplistic fist fight. After a few seconds of that it's another cut scene, then you have to run like hell before a timer runs down to a specific location. Once you get there, yup another cut scene, followed by a God of War style button mash minigame. And repeat, again and again. Make a mistake anywhere in the chain and you get dumped all the way back at the start, after a tedious 30 second load screen (and this is all running off the hard drive).
It was all very chaotic and the constant switching from one mode to another made it hard for the controls to sink in. In the end, I think they were a little too clever with the gameplay for their own good.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
Just played it, and I agree. It is frustrating - I don't know if you played up to the shooting part, but it just doesn't work. Awful.
I kind of enjoyed the combat just because it looked so cool, but unfortunately I won't be picking this one up.
Just played it, and I agree. It is frustrating - I don't know if you played up to the shooting part, but it just doesn't work. Awful.
I made it to the subway level but the controls were so clunky that I gave up after being hit by a train even though I thought I was standing to the side. Awful is right.
I kind of enjoyed the combat just because it looked so cool, but unfortunately I won't be picking this one up.
It looked good but it was so simplistic: weak punch, strong punch, special attack when adrenaline meter gets high enough. After the third fistfight, I'd had about enough.
I couldn't even bring myself to try the driving level. I'll be steering clear as well.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
There's a driving level? I may have to try that, just for fun.
Tony, one question, I haven't received it yet, but how difficult is it to unlock the extra armors in IM?
There's a driving level? I may have to try that, just for fun.
Tony, one question, I haven't received it yet, but how difficult is it to unlock the extra armors in IM?
You unlock all but one of the extra armors by completing the One Man Army Missions, which just give you a limited amount of time to take out a set number of enemies. The One Man Army missions open up as you progress thru the game (you open them all up by about the halfway point) and they're not that hard at all; the most important thing is to just remember where all the enemies are so that you don't waste time flying around aimlessly. You also get the Silver Centurion armor by beating the game.
You can use the extra armors in the One Man Army missions at any point after they've been unlocked. Also, once you beat the game you can then replay any level with any armor.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
I'm glad that the PS3 special armor is the hideous Ultimate Armor, and we (well, you have a PS3 too, so more like I) get Silver Centurion!
I'm psyched, can't wait for IM to arrive. Did you play on easy or medium?
See, perhaps you would've understood the reviewers frustrations had you played on medium...?
Or maybe, when the game proved too difficult for them, the reviewers could have showed some initiative and intelligence and tried it at an easier level so that they could at least finish the game before ripping it rather than just giving up and arbitrarily saying "it sucks".
I didn't even try the game at normal or hard, so for all I know it might be perfectly playable even at that difficulty. But regardless, if a game is too difficult at a certain level, and an easier level is available, I really don't see the problem. I don't mind a challenge, but at the end of the day, it's just a GAME and you're supposed to be having FUN, not smashing the controller thru the TV.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
I don't think so. I'm at work so I can't check, but I'm pretty sure that you select the difficulty when starting a new game.
BTW, why the new avatar? And does this mean you're also ditching the Daniel Craig gamerpic? :v
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
It was time.
Time enough to forget Rosamund Pike?
Time enough to realize that sometimes you can forget the past.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
By the way, I completed Iron Man. In one day. I played it on Easy, and it really was too easy. I'm going to go back and play on Normal. Although, that stupid mission where you are supposed to protect the Core with the Tesla around it and the zillions of missiles will kill me.
Favorite suits?
Silver Centurion, Extremis, Classic, in that order
Least Favorite?
Mark I Classic, Hulkbuster in that order
One day huh? Ah, to be a hyperactive 16 year old again. )
I was online briefly today and noticed that you were burning thru the achievements. As I said, it wasn't a particularly hard game, especially on easy. I played one or two levels at a time so it took me a little longer. Let me know how the harder levels compare.
The core/testla mission was by far the worst for me as well. I still haven't completed the hero objectives on that particular one (I always seem to lose one of the towers) but I'll have to try it again as it will unlock another 150 combined achievement points. I think the key is to equip fast-firing weapons and redistribute your energy to the weapons so that you can take out as many enemies as quickly as possible.
As for armors, I liked the Mk III from the movie and the classic red and gold best as the both had a lot of firepower. The Hulkbuster was also kinda fun as you could really tear apart the ground based weapons, tanks and similar objects. It's slow and lumbering but also really strong and takes a ton of damage. The Extremis armor is OK but I always thought it had a very funny looking helmet.
I was planning on buying GTA IV today but it was apparently sold out at Best Buy; I've got a coupon that would let me save around $10 on the game so I was hoping to get it there. I'll have to try to take another look tomorrow.
Your reasons for leaving Rosamund Pike behind sound interesting; I bet there's a story there somewhere...
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
There is. It is called Casino Royale. )
Yeah, I need to get that achievement as well, cause I've got the other Hero ones, as you do.
Yeah, I need to get that achievement as well, cause I've got the other Hero ones, as you do.
After swearing thru that mother@#%@!&* of a level 6 times last night, I finally completed all the objectives and got the Excelsior! achievement. There really seemed to be an element of randomness to that level; several times I was coasting my way thru, only to have three towers attacked simultaneously and have everything fall apart in a matter of seconds. And right at the end of my last try when I finally got it right, the main tower went from 25% to 90% damage in what seemed like a matter of seconds, even though I destroyed most of the incoming missiles.
For what it's worth, I set up the Mk III with the most powerful repulsors and homing missles (rather than fast but les powerful weapons). I also set up the boot jets for maxmum speed (as opposed to mobility). Once the level started, I routed power to the weapons systems. That way, I was able to zip around the level quickly, take out most enemies with a minimum of shots, and recharge the weapons fairly quickly. I also overloaded the Tesla towers as soon as they came online to take out as many enemies at once as possible.
I also went back and got the Pugilist and Personnel Vendetta achievements as well, for a total of 850/1000 points so far.
Completed Lego Indiana Jones 100% over the weekend. Overall, the game is, at the least, a solid B+. The game's familiarity with the Lego Star Wars was a double-edged sword. While building on the successes of LSW format, it also became an issue of 'I've played this game already.' Additionally, the similarities made playing through the levels almost too easy -- you know what to do, you know what to look for, you know how to solve the puzzles. There were a few surprises in the game, which were really cool, and I wish that there had been more. The Free-Mode gameplay gives an assortment of characters to play as, but the pallette seems not as interesting due to a lack of droid or alien characters that populated Star Wars. There are three 'bonus' levels that eventually open up, but the final one is quite the letdown IMO.
The AI could be pretty frustrating. Your AI partner has a tendency to stand in front of you while your shooting, or gets too close causing your character to redirect your blows on him, rather than your enemy. And on a couple of occasions, in order to solve puzzles, I had to plug in the second controller and manually play the #2 character simultaneously in order to get the character to cooperate.
The game is still fun, and on par with Lego Star Wars II. But I felt a little cheated (an aerial dogfight level would have been fun) with some of the overall action and exploration.
The game is still fun, and on par with Lego Star Wars II. But I felt a little cheated (an aerial dogfight level would have been fun) with some of the overall action and exploration.
A demo to the game has finally been put up on Xbox Live. I played thru it and while I liked it, there were a few things I found a little frustrating. Since Indy primarily punches or uses the whip, he takes a lot more damage than a character with a ranged weapon and that led to a lot of lost Lego pieces.
The jump/whip movement seemed imprecise and was very much hit or miss for me; I never really got comfortable with the mechanism during my time with the demo. You have unlimited lives so it's not that much of an issue but again, it gets in the way of collecting all the bolts and that's key to unlocking everything.
Overall, the demo convinced me that this is worth getting, but I think I'm going to wait for a price drop before taking the plunge.
Comments
By coincidence, I finished Iron Man today. It wasn't that hard to beat (other than the third to last level, which did have me shouting a couple of profanities at the screen). Honestly, some of the people who review these games must be real morons. If I could beat it, then it can't be as difficult as they complain. There are still a few hero objectives that I'd like to try to get but overall, I had a good time with the game and I can see myself keeping it and popping it in from time to time to revisit some of the levels and try them out with the different armors. I was messing around a bit with the classic red and gold armor and it seems to be pretty powerful; the Hulkbuster armor is also fun for unleashing carnage.
I think you'll like it; I had a good time with it, and if I can rack up over 700 Achievement Points (albeit on easy) then it can't be as hard as people complained. Just be aware that you must finish the game before being able to use the bonus armors in the main game. Once you finish the game, you can replay any level using any armor (just don't start a new game or you'll overwrite your save and cancel out your ability to select any level and any armor).
I finished Metroid Prime 3 today; I have to give Nintendo and Retro Studios props, they made a very solid, entertaining and long adventure that used the wiimote and nunchuck in lots of unique and fun ways. It's the first Nintendo first party game that I ever finished and I even ordered one of the earlier GameCube Metroid games to try out (they're BC with the Wii). If only more Wii games aspired to this level of quality.
Not sure where to go next, gamewise. I still need to play Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 and Ace Combat. Also thinking of picking up GTAIV.
Hey Tony, I know you don't like MGS games, but MGS4 is coming out for the PS3. Will you get it? You can always ship me your PS3 so I can play it!
That was my experience with RS:V2; I'll probably give it another shot during the week and if it still leaves me cold I'll sell it back.
I just remembered that I also have Resident Evil 4 for the Wii sitting on my shelf; I only played it once to make sure it worked but I'll have to try that as well.
The only problem with Ace Combat is that the between level cinemas are so melodramatically silly I'm embarrassed to watch them, even when I'm alone. The game itself is all very much by the numbers, no zip to it at all. Kind of like a supermodel: beautiful on the outside but pretty shallow beneath the surface.
Not much interesting stuff coming for the 360 in the immediate future so I may just get GTAIV this weekend.
I was reading that some of the cinematics in MGS4 will be up to 90 minutes long each. It also looks like Konami is trying to dictate what reviewers can and cannot comment on. They've been exerting pressure on websites and magazines to not mention the overly long cinemas (it now looks like half of the game's total length is cinemas) or the ridiculously large files that get installed onto the PS3's hard drive to run the game. Several magazines, including EGM, have refused to knuckle under to their demands and won't be formally reviewing the game.
I never liked those games; the plots are incoherent, the cinemas too melodramatic, the characters positively juvenile and you spend more time passively watching than playing. And with the advent of BluRay, it looks like Kojima has completely lost all trace of self-restraint.
These days I use my PS3 more as a BluRay player; gameswise, I've been playing some PS2 games I never got to try. It's been months since I bought a PS3 game.
This time around there are two tracks available in the demo: Daytona and the slightly more driver friendly Lowes Motor Speedway. I played the Lowes track exclusively and the graphics are much improved, with a cleaner and smoother appearance on the track, surroundings and other cars. The rear-view mirror is still utterly useless however. There are several default difficulty and driver settings so you can ease yourself into the competition. Since I hadn't played a NASCAR game in ages I set it to Rookie and was quickly able to come up to speed on steering the car and working my way thru the field.
Overall, I'm still not sure it warrants its $60 pricetag and I'll definitely want to read some reviews, but it looks like EA has taken some significant steps in finally doing this franchise justice on the next-gen consoles.
Since I'm only two levels into the game, I can't provide much more feedback than that at the moment.
BTW, there's a new game available for download on Xbox Live: Aces of the Galaxy. It's an "on-rails" 3D space shooter; your typical one ship against an entire alien army scenario but with some pretty spiffy graphics. You have three weapons at your disposal: your basic chain gun, homing missiles and torpedoes. You never run out of ammo for any weapon but their reload times are different and there is no autofire, adding a bit of strategy. The game also lets you do barrel rolls to avoid attacks, scan for invisible ships and temporarily slow down time to deal some of the heavier onslaughts. The levels I've seen so far are pretty varied; everything from spaceship graveyards to asteroid belts to sections that propel you forward at faster and faster speeds, complete with warp drive effects. While your ship follows a set path, you can veer a substantial distance in any direction (kind of like the old Star Fox games). The points system is based on combos, which you perform by destroying ships in succession and with creative uses of your weapons. Along the way you can pick up weapons upgrades and repair icons but your lives never increase; you get three lives and once they're all gone the game is over.
The free demo lets you try the first two levels of the game; I liked it enough that I went ahead and bought the whole thing.
It costs 800 MS points (or $10).
I tried it a couple of days ago; didn't like it all that much. The problem for me was that the game kept changing styles every few seconds. The typical action would go something like this: you start off with a quick cut scene, that leads to a very simplistic fist fight. After a few seconds of that it's another cut scene, then you have to run like hell before a timer runs down to a specific location. Once you get there, yup another cut scene, followed by a God of War style button mash minigame. And repeat, again and again. Make a mistake anywhere in the chain and you get dumped all the way back at the start, after a tedious 30 second load screen (and this is all running off the hard drive).
It was all very chaotic and the constant switching from one mode to another made it hard for the controls to sink in. In the end, I think they were a little too clever with the gameplay for their own good.
I kind of enjoyed the combat just because it looked so cool, but unfortunately I won't be picking this one up.
I made it to the subway level but the controls were so clunky that I gave up after being hit by a train even though I thought I was standing to the side. Awful is right.
It looked good but it was so simplistic: weak punch, strong punch, special attack when adrenaline meter gets high enough. After the third fistfight, I'd had about enough.
I couldn't even bring myself to try the driving level. I'll be steering clear as well.
Tony, one question, I haven't received it yet, but how difficult is it to unlock the extra armors in IM?
You unlock all but one of the extra armors by completing the One Man Army Missions, which just give you a limited amount of time to take out a set number of enemies. The One Man Army missions open up as you progress thru the game (you open them all up by about the halfway point) and they're not that hard at all; the most important thing is to just remember where all the enemies are so that you don't waste time flying around aimlessly. You also get the Silver Centurion armor by beating the game.
You can use the extra armors in the One Man Army missions at any point after they've been unlocked. Also, once you beat the game you can then replay any level with any armor.
I'm psyched, can't wait for IM to arrive. Did you play on easy or medium?
I may have a PS3, but I bought IM for the 360 too; I haven't bought a PS3 game in months.
Easy. ;%
Or maybe, when the game proved too difficult for them, the reviewers could have showed some initiative and intelligence and tried it at an easier level so that they could at least finish the game before ripping it rather than just giving up and arbitrarily saying "it sucks".
I didn't even try the game at normal or hard, so for all I know it might be perfectly playable even at that difficulty. But regardless, if a game is too difficult at a certain level, and an easier level is available, I really don't see the problem. I don't mind a challenge, but at the end of the day, it's just a GAME and you're supposed to be having FUN, not smashing the controller thru the TV.
I don't think so. I'm at work so I can't check, but I'm pretty sure that you select the difficulty when starting a new game.
BTW, why the new avatar? And does this mean you're also ditching the Daniel Craig gamerpic? :v
Time enough to forget Rosamund Pike?
Time enough to realize that sometimes you can forget the past.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
By the way, I completed Iron Man. In one day. I played it on Easy, and it really was too easy. I'm going to go back and play on Normal. Although, that stupid mission where you are supposed to protect the Core with the Tesla around it and the zillions of missiles will kill me.
Favorite suits?
Silver Centurion, Extremis, Classic, in that order
Least Favorite?
Mark I Classic, Hulkbuster in that order
What about you, Tony?
I was online briefly today and noticed that you were burning thru the achievements. As I said, it wasn't a particularly hard game, especially on easy. I played one or two levels at a time so it took me a little longer. Let me know how the harder levels compare.
The core/testla mission was by far the worst for me as well. I still haven't completed the hero objectives on that particular one (I always seem to lose one of the towers) but I'll have to try it again as it will unlock another 150 combined achievement points. I think the key is to equip fast-firing weapons and redistribute your energy to the weapons so that you can take out as many enemies as quickly as possible.
As for armors, I liked the Mk III from the movie and the classic red and gold best as the both had a lot of firepower. The Hulkbuster was also kinda fun as you could really tear apart the ground based weapons, tanks and similar objects. It's slow and lumbering but also really strong and takes a ton of damage. The Extremis armor is OK but I always thought it had a very funny looking helmet.
I was planning on buying GTA IV today but it was apparently sold out at Best Buy; I've got a coupon that would let me save around $10 on the game so I was hoping to get it there. I'll have to try to take another look tomorrow.
Your reasons for leaving Rosamund Pike behind sound interesting; I bet there's a story there somewhere...
Yeah, I need to get that achievement as well, cause I've got the other Hero ones, as you do.
After swearing thru that mother@#%@!&* of a level 6 times last night, I finally completed all the objectives and got the Excelsior! achievement. There really seemed to be an element of randomness to that level; several times I was coasting my way thru, only to have three towers attacked simultaneously and have everything fall apart in a matter of seconds. And right at the end of my last try when I finally got it right, the main tower went from 25% to 90% damage in what seemed like a matter of seconds, even though I destroyed most of the incoming missiles.
For what it's worth, I set up the Mk III with the most powerful repulsors and homing missles (rather than fast but les powerful weapons). I also set up the boot jets for maxmum speed (as opposed to mobility). Once the level started, I routed power to the weapons systems. That way, I was able to zip around the level quickly, take out most enemies with a minimum of shots, and recharge the weapons fairly quickly. I also overloaded the Tesla towers as soon as they came online to take out as many enemies at once as possible.
I also went back and got the Pugilist and Personnel Vendetta achievements as well, for a total of 850/1000 points so far.
Not bad for a casual gamer.
The AI could be pretty frustrating. Your AI partner has a tendency to stand in front of you while your shooting, or gets too close causing your character to redirect your blows on him, rather than your enemy. And on a couple of occasions, in order to solve puzzles, I had to plug in the second controller and manually play the #2 character simultaneously in order to get the character to cooperate.
The game is still fun, and on par with Lego Star Wars II. But I felt a little cheated (an aerial dogfight level would have been fun) with some of the overall action and exploration.
A demo to the game has finally been put up on Xbox Live. I played thru it and while I liked it, there were a few things I found a little frustrating. Since Indy primarily punches or uses the whip, he takes a lot more damage than a character with a ranged weapon and that led to a lot of lost Lego pieces.
The jump/whip movement seemed imprecise and was very much hit or miss for me; I never really got comfortable with the mechanism during my time with the demo. You have unlimited lives so it's not that much of an issue but again, it gets in the way of collecting all the bolts and that's key to unlocking everything.
Overall, the demo convinced me that this is worth getting, but I think I'm going to wait for a price drop before taking the plunge.
As for the future - I'm very excited for the release of Unreal Tournament III - I love those games