- It has been a while since I last blogged. It's been an inhospitable week for gaming, but I forge on ahead anyway. This will be another random status update of a post. So if that bores you, hit "Mark As Read" and move on.
- My primary gaming habit continues to be Dragon Quest IX. I have changed classes on one of my characters so many times that she has over a hundred levels spread over five classes. I just can't stop exploring and looking for new ways to improve my team. I did finally figure out how to connect the game to my WiFi, so I have been enjoying all the additional item unlocks. But between hunting mini-medals, gathering additional alchemy items, and diving into the treasure maps, I've almost stopped pushing forward on the main story line. In a funny way, I'm as distracted by all the extras as I normally am in an MMO. And I still love it!
- I loaned my brother my copy of Dead Rising a few years ago, so I never finished the game. It was a lot of fun, but kind of hard. That may be the reason I wasn't paying any attention to Dead Rising 2. But after watching Giant Bomb's Quick Look of Case Zero, I'm really interested in trying it out. Five dollars seems just fine for this prologue game.
- Speaking of videos, playMassive has a three part video of the Guild Wars 2 presentation with footage captured directly from the game. Since the video essentially recreates the press briefing from Gamescom, you get to see everything the attendees did from the comfort of your desk chair. Assuming you have a comfortable chair. You spend so much time in it, you don't want to be cheap, do you? Anyway, the video is pure awesome and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on GW2.
- I guess I should say something about Duke Nukem Forever actually coming out. I'll go with "It's about damn time." I haven't been waiting for this game for as long as I waited for a Champions computer game, but I have been waiting. Duke Nukem 3D was my favorite of the old school shooters. And it was the only game where I actually tried out the level editor. Not that I have the patience to finish anything, but I did like it a lot. And I looking forward to what this very, very old new game holds.
- I'm kind of curious about all the reviews I've been seeing about Metroid: Other M. I recently watched the Giant Bomb Quick Look about the game and came away quite interested. I even briefly considered stuffing fiscal responsibility down the garbage disposal and buying a Wii just so I could try it. But even with Brad Shoemaker explaining how much he was enjoying the new Metroid, you could hear Jeff Gerstmann's disapproval about the direction the game took. A lot of reviews sound like Jeff, which makes me wonder. There has been a lot of talk on recent podcasts (like Shut Up We're Talking) about expectations and how they can get in the way of people enjoying new games. I wonder if reviewers are carrying too much of what they think a Metroid game should be that they can't look at this game the game way a new player might.
- So, Elemental: War Of Magic came out. Some people wrote bad things about it. Some people jumped to the defense of the publisher, Stardock. Then Stardock admits that they screwed up. Funny, that.
- Xbox Live is raising the price of its Gold subscription by ten dollars a year. I've had a Gold account for seven years now, but I can count on one hand the number of times I've played online. I just don't like it. But I might have let me subscription run if they hadn't announced the price increase. I guess I should thank Microsoft for getting me off my ass so that I can cancel the damn thing.
- Before I go, I really need to point out these two videos (the trailer and preview) of Bastion, a game I hadn't heard of until a couple days ago. The art style looks unique. But the thing that grabbed me was the super-cool dynamic narration. I don't know who that guy is, but I'd play the game just to listen to him narrate my adventures. Crazy awesome stuff.
- Finally while I'm throwing every damn thing in the world into this post, you really should go read "A Parents Guide to MMO Gaming" on West Karana. I'm not sure where that came from, but Tipa knocked that one out of the park.
© 2010 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.
i don't know why people keep saying its 3 parts, there's a 4th part, its just not numbered like the rest.
ReplyDeletei'm not getting my hopes up about duke nukem, nor will i be contributing any money to a project that is sure to suck.
I'm not sure i'm on board with jeff gerstman any more. I've seen a couple things he's done lately that seem just like he had his head up his ass, his reactions to apb, the way he video reviewed alpha protocol "i put all my points into stealth but for some reason i can't kill anything!? whats up with that?!"
Duke Nukem on the N64 was fantastic. Believe me or don't, it matters little. Despite my affection for that game, I can't bring myself to care at all about the new one. A lot of what made DN awesome back in the day is now commonplace for shooters.
ReplyDeleteZero punctuation has a "review" of the new Duke Nukem game that is absolutely spot on:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1968-Viewers-Choice-Duke-Nukem-Forever
While I'm really surprised that DNF is actually going to see the light of day (technically already has since it was playable at PAX), but I'm in the same boat as Yeebo, I think it's too late. Hopefully I'm wrong and it does well, but I really hope they're not depending on nostalgia for sales.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little like the Song of Ice and Fire series, where it's so long between books that not only do I no longer care about the characters but I don't remember most of them.
@ Hunter - Well, the presentation is 3 parts, then the bonus Charr gameplay footage. I didn't find that part as interesting since there was no narration.
ReplyDeleteTrying not to get hopes up about DNF either. I'm going to play it, but I want to do so with appropriate expectations.
As for Jeff Gerstmann, he is certainly entertaining, but he's not the one I trust to tell me if I'll like a game or not. Thankfully, there are plenty (plenty!) of other reviews out in the world.
@ Yeebo - Loved Yahtzee's DNF review. And it's hilarious that is came back just as the game got reannounced. Never played DN for N64, but that was when I couldn't afford a lot of games. Thank goodness for adult jobs. :)
@ Blue Kae - If they're expecting DNF to set the world on fire, I'm sure you're right. But if they just release a game that doesn't take itself too seriously and makes it fun to shoot aliens, I'll be on board. I'm sure that I'll care about it when if finally does come out (just like Song of Ice and Fire). Until then, there is no need to worry about it.