Knitting Park Plays Games

H A L F - L I F E 2

2005-05-12T06:48:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm now really really pissed at Blogger. I've tried to post twice and both times my entries have been lost.

In summery? I loved playing Half Life 2. It was a truely great game. Long (for a FPS), yet it never got boring. I loved the driving areas (which is unusual: I can't play GTA games due to my lack of driving skills. The only game that I can drive well is in Halo).

However, I did have some PC issues. I really do hate playing PC games. Even with a gaming computer and all the newest graphics card and dedicated RAM, I had issues. Updating drivers and tweaking the settings did it, but it's such a pain in the ass.

I was just going to wait until it came out for the Xbox, but Matt got it for me for my birthday. He said he didn't think the guy at EBGames believed him when he said it was for his wife.

It's funny, I read in EGM about how the gaming stores (like EBG and Gamestop) are to bug buyers about selling their used games back to the stores. I have NEVER been asked about used games. I guess they assume I'm buying the games for husband/kids or whatever. Little do they realize that I'm the gamer in this house. As more and more females are starting to play games, this may change, but I'm also guessing my age has as much to do with it as my gender. (however, I have a 60+ year old aunt that has played every Zelda game made.- so they shouldn't even be making age assumptions)

So what's next? I'm not sure... I've got my eye on God of War or Psychonauts. We'll see (I'm guessing Psychonauts will go cheap a lot faster... which is a shame. I want Tim Schafer to make globs of money so he can make more games).

Psychonauts

2005-04-15T15:48:00.000-05:00

First, let me just say I'm a big fan of Tim Schafer games. Grim Fandango is one of my favorite games of all time. I loved most of the Monkey Island games I've played (and Guybrush is one of my favorite charactors).

Seconed, let me say I'm not a big fan of platformers. I usually find them tedious and frustrating. I enjoyed Oddworld and Prince of Persia, oh wait, and Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy. Okay, maybe I like platformers more than I thought?

No matter what, Psychonauts is on my list. I played the demo yesterday for a bit (it was a huge demo, I might add) and it was funny and clever. Just like all the Tim Schafer games I've played.

Actually, all 4 games on the demo disk this month from OXM were games I wanted to play with. I did a little Doom 3 (it's what I expected so I'm looking forward to it, too), but I haven't played Darkwatch or Pariah yet. I think Darkwatch is gonna be my kind of game. Old West with Zombies... how can they go wrong???

Long Time No Post, eh?

2005-04-12T17:56:00.000-05:00

So I was informed today that I hadn't posted on this blog for a while. Geez, how long did it take before anyone even noticed?

I'm still playing away on a couple of games, but I just haven't been keeping up on the game blog.

I did finish up a game today, actually. Psi Ops. Not bad. I sort of like Midway games (I think that says a lot about me... their reputation is for ultra violence. I actually like gratuitious violence in my games).

I'm not sure what's next. I got a few used games for Christmas and I'm not thru them all yet. I did put the Chronicles of Riddick in, but after the initial cut scene, the disk stopped working. It's used, and I didn't check it right away (which I usually do with used games). Now it's been 4+ months since it was purchased, so I hope I can use the disk cleaner on it and it'll be fine.

I also have Siberia and Broken Sword to play. I did get the sequal to Max Payne. I'm in a tough spot (and stupid, at that... you play as Mona and have to protect Max. Geez, can't he protect himself?).

I did play thru Legacy of Kain: Defiance. Again. I've lost track how many times I've played it. It's my "I'm annoyed with everything and I just want something fun to play" game. It never fails to entertain me.

Well, I'll try a little harder to post a little bit more regularly.

Never say never...

2005-01-26T16:07:00.000-05:00

So I gots me a new laptop. My old one was just horrible to deal with (constantly froze and the disk drive was more or less useless). After some discussion we decided to go "new" instead of digging in the dumpster at work or refurbished off the web. (yes, that's where all my other laptops came from.)

My new computer has all the key markings and it's huge. I got an HP Pavilion zd8000 custom. It's a multimedia/gaming system. We can use it for taping TV shows (for Matt) and we got it powerful enough that I can play games.

Yep, I said I can play games on it. I know I swore I would never do the PC games route again. Too many bugs, too many patches, too many driver upgrades and too many "incompitable files" issues. Oh well. Sometimes you just have to accept that once a gamer, always a gamer.

Saying that, my preference will still be to the consoles. It's just simply easier. If a game is going to be available for the consoles, then I won't both with the PC version. Some games never make it to the consoles, tho and now I can play them.

I played thru Uru again. I'm not sure why they decided to take one of the best 1st person adventure/puzzle games and turn it into a 3rd person platformer, but it didn't really work. There really was only one level that I couldn't do the puzzles, the rest of the time I struggled to hit the right spot on a tiny ledge with crappy controls that really weren't designed for platforming. I still enjoyed it more the second time thru.

I went ahead and got the anniversary DVD edition of the first 3 Myst games and the new Revelation. Myst is why I became a gamer. I had tried games in the past, but Myst is what got me addicted. I'm going to play around with them for a bit, then I'll probably get myself Half-Life 2. The main reason I wanted gaming PC... even tho' I do hear rumors that it's going to be released for the Xbox... not sure I want to wait for that tho'

So I guess I should never say never, eh?

The Sphinx is Done

2005-01-13T08:44:00.000-05:00

Well, I finished up the Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy yesterday. A really nice game. Not enough mummy levels (but I heard that in almost every review). As an action/adventure player more than a platform player, you would think I would enjoy the Sphinx levels more. Well, the Mummy had great personality and his puzzles were a lot of fun. Not hard to figure out, but not always obvious.

So, I think Deus Ex: Invisible War is next. I did a little of it one night just to get started with it. I think it's going to be my kind of game. We'll see!

Matt started playing Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora's Tomorrow last night. These games are so well done. Takes a lot of patience to play them, but the strategy is a lot of fun (and beats the button smashing killing games).

Woo-Hoo

2005-01-06T16:15:00.000-05:00

I'm sure all my loyal readers (Ha!) have been worried about my complete lack of health in Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy. Well, I found some health. I did a little backtracking and found a health source. Whew!! I really didn't want to have to go thru the whole thing again, even though it's been a fabulous game to play. So just finished boss #2 and I think I'm winding down a bit.

Now here's the weird thing. The bosses haven't been that hard. As soon as you figure the strategy, they're actually very easy. It's some of the lesser multiple monsters that I have problems with. Go figure

Anyway, I got a bunch of used games for Christmas and popped Duex Ex: Invisible War in last night just to see. It reminds me a bit of Half Life a bit (the animation and perspective, but I haven't found a crowbar yet...) I'll play it after I finish up with Sphinx.

Ooops, I'm stuck

2005-01-04T16:19:00.000-05:00

Well, I sorta screwed up with Sphinx. I did a puzzle area that cost me a lot of health. Then I saved. Now I've got nasty battles with next to no health (one hit and I'm dead). I can't find any sources to reload my health either. I think I'm royally screwed (and this is an over-ride game save system so I don't have a previous save that I can load). I've put so many hours in already, I'm not sure if I have the heart to stop playing, but I know I can't go on with this limited health. I'm afraid that I'm back to the beginning and start over? (I guess part of me hoped that I would "replenish health" if I died. Nope, no suck luck... royally screwed)

The Sphynx and the Cursed Mummy

2004-12-16T18:02:00.000-05:00

Well, I've run thru Halo 2 3 times and got frustrated trying to get play on Heroic. So, thought I would try one of my recent used game purchases. I'm playing the Sphynx and the Cursed Mummy on the PS2. It took a little while to get used to the lack of voice acting, but now I can't imagine the game with them. The game is mostly platformer and puzzle with a little bit of fighting (so far). The music is beautiful and the graphics are stunning and I'm really caught up in the game play. I'm an expert box puzzle solver (I believe you are automatically awarded that status if you finish Soul Reaver... man that game was nothing but box puzzles).

In really great news, I read in OXM that Half-Life 2 will be coming to Xbox in 2005. I am thrilled! It's a game I really want to play, but I just don't have the PC set up to play such a high end game. I know Doom 3 will be out in the first quarter (I think February?)...

Well, back to my game (not great save points... gotta keep playing)

Why the hell would I ask for 2 front teeth anyway?

2004-12-02T16:30:00.000-05:00

So what does every gamer want for Christmas? Well, Half-Life 2, of course. The first game was pretty good (tho' by today's standards it's a little dated and it definitely gets weird at near the end). I just saw the review on Xplay and damn, does it look like the perfect game (even they say it's about as close as you get).

The problem? It's a PC exclusive. There are two problems with this: 1) I no longer keep a PC for gaming. I don't have the graphics or sound card that can run this game (or even a machine that I could up grade with the latest cards). 2) I've never actually played a FPS on the PC, I've always done them on the consoles (I played the first Half-Life on the PS2) and I'm not sure I would be comfortable using the keyboard rather than a controller.

Oh well, a girl can dream, can't she. Maybe they will eventually release HL2 for one of the consoles (preferably the Xbox, thank you very much). It took 2 years (I believe) for the first one to be available for the PS2.

Boys Hate Girls

2004-11-23T14:19:00.000-05:00

I've gone thru lifenever being one of the "girls". I don't have the stereotypical female interests (apart from the knitting and the occassional romance novel). I'm obviously not one of the "guys" either (I've got the wrong equipment).

The problem with enjoying more "guy" stuff than "girl" stuff is that you see that there is a complete lack of respect for those of the opposite sex. I've been very active on the Yourself!Fitness forums and on the gamefaq forums. I like to hear what other people say about it, but it has been a real eye opener to me. There are some men who really fear a "girl" game (the Yourself!Fitness)... "can a guy use it" has been one of the regular questions. It's a physical fitness program. Other than the reproductive parts and strength issues, men and women need the same type of program (professional cyclists use the same training techniques whether they are male or female: yes, there's a different level of endurance and there's a different caloric need, but the training methods are the same). Basically, if it's "geared towards women" it can't possibly good for guys.

I've also been very interested in what people are saying about Halo 2. The misogynists on the gamefaq site is scary. The assumption that "girls shouldn't be able to kick your ass at a video game" mentality. I don't see how a Y chromosone would help you play video games. It's hand eye coordination (and patience) not something that is sex specific. Yes, more guys play than girls, but there's no reason a female can't be a good video game player. There's such a belittling attitude and lack of respect that it frightens me. I had thought that we were getting better about things like that, but in fact we are not. Basically the male youth of today still see women as being inferior and only as sex objects. (there's also an "age" discrimination, I might add, but it's not as noticable).

I wonder if the men who knit (and yes there are some, just like there are female gamers) get the same impression from the forums that are female dominated. Do we, as females, bash men in the same belittling way? I never considered that knitting isn't something a man couldn't do, but then I play video games....

Hmmm, where has she been?

2004-11-18T18:29:00.000-05:00

Gee, it's been a while since I blogged here (who's idea was it to keep three blogs).

I wonder what I've been up to? Hmmmm.... Halo 2 maybe???

I've played thru the game once and I'm playing thru a second time at a harder level (okay, I'm a weenie: I did the first pass on easy and I've bumped up to normal. I am dying a lot, I might add. I shrudder at the Heroic level and can't fathom finishing in on Legendary).

Do I think this is the best game ever? Well, no, but then I didn't expect it to be. I still think it's a great game and one of the best FPS I've played (sorry, but my first love will always be the Legacy of Kain series. Now there's a great story based game series). Halo and H2 come a close section.

Well, enough chit chat, my controller is getting cold.

The Countdown Has Begun

2004-11-01T18:15:00.000-05:00

A week from tomorrow is The Big Day. The day that every Xbox owner has been impatiently waiting for.... yep, HALO 2. So I thought I would prepare by getting some new games (used, of course)

I did get a PC game. Rollercoater Tycoon 2. I really loved the first one so we'll give this one a whirl. Hopefully I can get it to run on my laptop and can play while we watch TV.

I also got 2 adventure games: Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy for the PS2 and Syberia for the Xbox. We'll give them a try (tho' I would have preferred the Sphinx game for the Xbox, as I understand the graphics are better).

I also got back my copy of Bloodrayne that I had loaned out. It'll be nice to run thru it again before I get Bloodrayne 2.

So I have plenty to keep me busy until November 9....

So Many Sequels, Too Little Money

2004-10-19T12:04:00.000-05:00

Ah, tis the season for all the sequels. Just in time for the holiday season. I've decided to hold off on BloodRayne 2 until she drops in price. I'll probably ask for the new Prince of Persia game for Christmas. I can't wait for Halo 2, so that's been pre-ordered and my life is planned around the release date of November 9th.

Well, to add to my joy of all these sequels that I'm excited about, Half-Life 2 is shipping on November 15th. I have 2 problems with buying it, first, I'll still be obsessed with Halo 2 and second. It's only being released for the PC.

I've sorta abandoned playing PC games. I find it's too "touchy": I always have to fiddle with settings and drivers and incompatible files type of stuff. However, with Doom 3 being delayed for the Xbox and the long awaited Half-Life 2 I'm sorry that I don't have a powerful enough machine to play games on any longer. I am guessing that eventually Doom 3 will fix it's problems with the Xbox version and just like the first Half-Life, it will make it over the consoles too (I actually played it on the PS2).

October 12

2004-10-12T08:11:00.000-05:00

Today BloodRayne 2 is being released. I'm very very tempted to get it. I really enjoyed the first one, but I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to pay $50 for the sequal.

Actually, there are very few games that I'm not willing to wait until the price drops (or I can pick up used). Halo 2 is definitely worth it (it took over 2 years for a price drop on the first one anyway). LOK: Defiance was well worth it for me, as it's probably still the my favorite game to date.

I actually discovered the first BloodRayne as a demo on the Official Xbox, The Magazine demo disk and thought it was a lot of fun. The last issue of OXM had a demo for the sequel, but I've had no luck getting the disk to work (keeping getting a fatal error message while it's trying to load). That's 2 disks that I've had problems with. They've started using a new company to create the disks, and they've been buggy ever since. (I couldn't play the Silent Hill 4 demo either... the camera would just circle around the room. I couldn't select anything or do anything). If it's not corrected, I'll be cancelling my subscription, as the only reason I get the magazine is for the demo disk.

So what to do? Wait or splurge and and get a game to obsess about while I should be doing other things??? (and Halo 2 is less than a month away)

The End of The Suffering

2004-10-06T14:23:00.000-05:00

Finished The Suffering (first time thru) and ended up with "the good" ending: I thought I may get the Monster ending. That'll be next. What a fun game. Not the scariest game I've played (that would be Fatal Frame: and I never finished it... scary is not having a weapon other than a stupid camera!).

I also have a complete review of Youself!Fitness over on my Fitness Blog. It's not working out for me.

Anyway, countdown to Halo 2... only one more month to go. I hope it doesn't disappoint. While I wait, I'll go thru The Suffering again and try for the other 2 endings.

Suffering

2004-10-05T06:31:00.000-05:00

Oh ya, I'm suffering. The Yourself!Fitness is definitely a challenge. I'm working harder than I have been (and hopefully I can break this plateau).

I'm also playing The Suffering. Yum. Gratiously violent, straight forward game play, even some puzzles (hmmm... was that a box puzzle? Where's Raziel??). I admit I'm playing it on "easy" and it's not just a clever rating: it's been fairly easy. I'll probably play it thru more than once to get the different endings and upgrade the difficulty. Right now I just want to see the story unfold without too much dying.

I love it when a game sucks you in that you say to yourself, I'll just play until the next checkpoint, then 4 checkpoints later, you finally put the controller down to go make dinner.

So I'm working on a bunch of goals this month: finish up 3 knitting projects, lose 5 lbs this month and finish up The Suffering. Clear my schedule for November 9th...

Get Fit With Xbox

2004-10-02T12:23:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's right! Now you can use your Xbox to help workout! I picked up Yourself!Fitness last night at EBGames and gave it a whirl.

It's not a game. Yes, you get to unlock enviroments and music as you accomplish workouts, but the other goal is getting in better shape. Basically, its a computer program/interactive DVD.

I popped it in, did the fitness evaluation and got suggestions as to what I should target (not surprisingly, it was "weight loss" ). It then sets up a weekly workout routine that combines aerobic dance, weight training, yoga and other forms of exercise. You get to decide what/when and for how long you work out. You tell it what equipment you have available (like heart monitor, stabilty ball, hand weights, step bench) and the workouts are geared to use the equipment you have (and it can be changed as you add things).

Each move has a tutorial if you aren't familar with the move. After each section, Maya (your trainer) will ask you how you feel and will adjust the workouts to your level. So far I'm really excited about having a specific workout (I sorta do what I feel like doing...). The only problem I had today was that I only burned a little over 100 calories on the 30 minute workout. So I added some additional cardio by riding the stationary bike (today was a "strength training day" on my schedule, so we'll see what happens on my "cardio day").

I only have 2 complaints so far: I can't use my downloaded music in it (I don't think enough games utilize this feature for the Xbox) and there's no customization for the personal trainer. I want to use Kain. Think how cool it would be with his white ponytail flopping as you hear Simon Templeton encouraging you in that sarcasitic drawl of his. Sigh. I would be motivated to work out, that's for sure!

I'll have more stuff about my progress on my Fitness Blog, but since it's an Xbox DVD, I thought it was worth mentioning here.

I did, however finally pick up The Suffering. I haven't tried it yet, but I did try the demo, and it seems like it's going to be my kind of game. Oh, I also got my deposit down for Halo 2... don't think I'll go at midnight to pick it up, but I'll be there first thing in the morning on the 9th of November (Matt may have to "work from home" that day too).

And she's done... again

2004-09-12T16:40:00.000-05:00

Yep, finished playing Legacy of Kain: Defiance again. I was actually able to find all of Raziel's health medalions this time (but I missed one of Kain's... how did that happen?).

I really need something new to play. I'm in a serious mood funk. My knitting is irritating me (I seem to be making a lot of mistakes) so I think I may take a little break. None of the games I have are fitting my bill, so I'm off to EB Games tomorrow. I'm going to pick up The Suffering (I think that should lift my mood) and see what they have in stock for used games (I'm hoping Finding Nemo... that should help lift my mood, right?)

So, just how many times can she play Defiance?

2004-09-09T20:55:00.000-05:00

The game lull is still on. I went thru a bunch of old games and nothing was working for me. So what's a girl to do? Well, play Legacy of Kain: Defiance. Again. I think this is my eleventh time thru it.

The only game that I've played more often is Halo. I'm beginning to think that may not be so true. Since Halo has level select, I've played thru certain levels many times, but I think I've only run thru the game front to back 3 or 4 times. (I really hate the Library level).

I love Defiance. It's just the almost perfect game (hey, there are some issues... I actually fell out of frame this time thru... twice.) Yes the camera can be irritating and there's a lot of levels (especially with Raziel) that you do a lot of backtracking, but it's fun to play. That's what a game should be. Fun. It's not so hard that you throw the controller down in frustration, but its not so easy that you can finish it in 5 hours.

Please let there be more in the LOK games!!! (tho' that's looking doubtful).

62 days until Halo 2. I wonder if I need to run thru Halo one more time start to finish (maybe on Heroic?... )

Ho-Hum

2004-09-07T10:36:00.000-05:00

Ya, I'm bored with my games right now. I'll do a Medal of Honor: Frontline level for a while, but I'm not motivated to keep on playing it. I pulled out some of the OXM demo disks and played a couple of demos (and I'm annoyed that my Silent Hill 4 demo is fucked. Oh well, if I really feel obligated to play it, I can always pull out Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams). I also downloaded a couple of things from one of the demos. I couldn't get the uber-jedi to work with KOTR, so screw it.

I've been eyeing up some games at EB Games, but I'm just kind of biding time until BloodRayne 2 is released (and if I hadn't loaded my BloodRayne out, I would play thru it again in anticipation).

There just haven't been any games lately that have really appealed to me (or have come down in price enough for me... as Roddick is on my list, but I'm not paying full price for it).

I just installed Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus on my laptop, and it looks like it's playable... even if I don't love platform games, the Oddworld games are funny enough that it's worth it. So that's something at least, eh?

missing the days of master chiefs and soul reavers

2004-09-01T14:47:00.000-05:00

I'm definitely in a game funk. Why is it so hard to make a good freaking game?? I guess because I have really high expectations. Not only do I expect good, smooth gameplay, but a good story as well.

There are so many games that have good gameplay with no story (Brute Force, for example) that just don't keep my interest. Other games have good stories, but truely crappy gameplay (Blood Omen 2 or Fatal Frame) that it's so hard to find games that have a good balance of both.

I start playing something and it just doesn't suck me in. Medal Of Honor: Frontline is a fine FPS, but I don't care enough to keep trying to get thru a level over and over(as it's also a go back to the beginning of the level and start over if you die) as I know that I'm not going to learn anything at the end of the it all. All I do is kill everyone and go onto the next level.

I think part of my disappointment with games is I just saw a Filter episode about funniest games. Two great Lucas Arts games were mentioned: the Monkey Island series and Grim Fandango. They didn't mention Full Throttle (too old, perhaps?). These were great games. Interesting puzzles, well written, funny and challenging. Now I feel that all games need to do is put you in a well rendered room with a bunch of enemies and you shoot the shit out everything. Which is fine and dandy, but I need motivation: that's why it's still funny to land a plasma gernade on the head of a Grunt and listen to it run around screaming "get it off me, get it off me".

I think that's why most women seem to prefer RPG games over the FPS. I don't really like the gameplay of RPG's, as I prefer to land plasma gernades on Grunt's heads. I like gratitious violence in videogames and I like shooting the shit out of a room of enemies. Just give me a freakin' story.

Is that too much to ask? Lucas Arts: do you hear me? We need more great (non-Star Wars games!!!!

Damn, I missed a sale

2004-08-23T15:57:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know that my girlie qualities are fairly limited. Other than the whole knitting thing, my other hobbies run to violent video games and sports. By no means do I consider "shopping" a hobby. I hate shopping and see no pleasure in it (except for yarn, but that's on my other blog). So I do most of my purchases online.

EB Games is my life source for games. Yes, there's plenty of their stores around (even the home office is just down the road), but they run their pre-played games at a 15% discount when you buy them online. That's still a significant saving after shipping. There's no instant gratification, but I usually only wait 2 days.

So the other day I was looking at some pre-played games (Max Payne 2 is down to $17.99) and I happily put it in my shopping cart, went to get the discount code and it was for 20%!!!! Woo-hoo!!! Well, I added a few other things then got distracted and simply forgot to get back to it that day.

The 20% discount was a one day only thing and I missed it!!! Now I'm too cheap to buy it with just the measly 15% discount. I'll break down eventually and get it, but I'm most definitely disappointed.

What I'm playing now: I finally gave up again on Blood Omen 2. I really hate the controls for the game. The timing must be percise and I find the controls don't react very well. It's just too frustrating. Even for my absolute love for Kain.

So I put in Medal of Honor: Frontline. I forget why I stopped playing this. Matt actually picked this one out, as I don't like "realistic" violence. But I'm playing thru it again and am really enjoying it. It's actually a really good shooter. So far, not a big challenge.

In sad news: Doom 3 has been delayed for the Xbox. Probably for next year. I just don't like playing games on the desktop (too many problems over the years with incompatibity and crashes), but between Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 (and I think I would enjoy Far Cry and Painkiller) I may just have to see about upgrading to a gamer PC.

Searching...

2004-08-16T16:59:00.000-05:00

So I've been sorta in limbo with games again. I've been running thru Blood Omen 2 again, and I'm actually enjoying it more the second time thru. Maybe I have a better understanding of the the Legacy of Kain series this time?

But it's a stop gap game. I'm still on the hunt for the next game. I got Matt the LOTR's trilogy for his birthday, we just haven't seen the third one yet. I want to see it before I play the game. I also may give Hunter: The Reckoning an other try (maybe with a cheat).

There's lots of games coming out this fall/holiday season that I can not wait for. Doom 3 is set to come out on the Xbox in October, as is BloodRayne 2 (hope it's as good as the first). Halo 2 will be out in November and my life will immediately be put on hold for that one! I may even reconnect the Xbox live for that!!

In the meantime, I'll continue to float thru some of my older games that I wasn't able to finish, or just want to play again. I'm also keeping an eye out for cheap pre-played games.

Gameless Again

2004-08-02T06:16:00.000-05:00

I finished Shadow of Destiny. It was about 5 hours of gameplay. What??? That's got to be the shortest freakin' game I've played. The puzzles were lame (as there really weren't puzzles). The game idea was great, the gameplay not bad (when you got to play: for the most part it was just cut scenes) the story great, but oh, the voice acting was horrible (and the gameplay to cut scene ratio was pretty bad). The idea is to play it multiple times to get different endings. No thanks... ya, you can skip the cut scenes if you've seen them before, but it's just not worth it). Quite simply, there wasn't much to do in this game. You walk around a town looking to talk to people. That's it for the most part.

So now what? Well, I'm doing a quick play on Soul Reaver 2, but I may make a run to EB Games for something new (or rather, used... at least cheap). Doom 3 comes out tomorrow for the PC, but my PC isn't set up for gaming any longer, so I'll wait for the Xbox version that coming out in October. There area lot of games coming out this fall. I'm hoping that Half-Life 2 will make it to one of the consoles...

Under Appreciated, my ass

2004-07-28T11:52:00.000-05:00

So the other game I ordered due to the Filter "Under Appreciated Games" episode was Shadow of Destiny. What a crappy game. I like adventure games (Myst is still one of the best games I've ever played), so even tho' I like FPS, I like adventure quite a bit. This one is soooo badly done I'm not sure I can play thru it.

Ico was an absolute delightful game to play. I can see why it was under appreciated (too cerebal for mass appeal), but this Shadow of Destiny is crap.

The voice acting is painful. It's all dialog (I actually haven't had much to do). It's also time travel based, so you have to go thru the same painful voice acting sequences more than one time.

It's a shame, as the idea of the story is good. Ah, but the game play is slow and tedious so far. I'll plug along for a bit more, but at this point, I would rather play Ico again... or either of the Soul Reaver games. I can never get tired of a Legacy of Kain game...

(hey, they have Kahn in the spelling dictionary but not Kain?????)

Ico

2004-07-27T15:19:00.000-05:00

I finished Ico. It's a very short game (took me about 7 hours to play), but it was great. The puzzles were difficult, yet clever and solvable. The story, tho' basic, was done superbly. The animation of the main characters was just flawless.

I did find the fighting a little annoying. As it's not really a fighting game, the fighting was a mash the X button until your thumb hurts game play. No strategy involved. My only other complaint is that sometimes the camera angles are hard to figure jumps (especially if you have to line 2 items up).

As I said, this one's all about the personalization of the characters. You want them to succeed-which is what I want from a game. I can understand why it didn't do well: it is a very laid back quiet game. No throbbing exciting music (very little music at all as a matter of fact). There's no real dialog (Ico doesn't understand Yorda, and you can't understand either: it's all subtitled)

Well worth getting. A game I plan on playing thru again.

Arrived!

2004-07-22T19:41:00.000-05:00

ah, nothing like receiving a package of games in the mail. My two "new" games arrived today.

I started Ico and already am enjoying it. There's a simple beauty to the story, but the puzzles have already proven to be challenging (but not impossible yet).

I haven't tried the Shadow of Darkness yet. I'll pop it in the PS2 just to make sure it works, but I'll concentrate on Ico right now.

Done, again

2004-07-21T06:09:00.000-05:00

I finished Legacy of Kain: Defiance yesterday. Again. For the 10th time. Have I mentioned how much I love the game? Yes, I believe I have.

My games from EBGames are on their way. Both are PS2 games. Both are more adventure/puzzle than action. Hopefully like Soul Reaver 2.

I'm guessing they'll be here tomorrow!

More on the way

2004-07-20T07:46:00.000-05:00

I'm playing thru Legacy of Kain: Defiance for like the 10th time. Have I mentioned how much I looove this game?

Yesterday while watching G4-Tech TV (am I geek or what?), Filter did a show on under-appriciated games. I saw 2 that had my name all over them. Ico (I think it didn't do well due to the name) and Shadow of Destiny. So I ordered them from EB Games (love that 15% off pre-played games discount!!!).

I'm pretty excited about Ico. I've been reading the boards on it and it definitely sounds right up my alley.

Speaking of the boards (I use www.gamefaqs.com), I was referred to as a "girl" by one of the gamers. I was so flattered. (the actual reference was "I can't believe a girl beat this game before I did"... haaahaaa... bow to my superior gaming goddess abilities little kiddies!!!!)

KOTOR: or the end of your life as you know it...

2004-07-13T11:51:00.000-05:00

Yep, still playing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. I'm almost done with the second time thru. Sadly, there are a lot of side quests that could take up even more time (you have to have the right personal with you at the right time to do some of them). I think the key is not to find the actual Star Maps until you complete all the side quests. Not that you need to do them. It helps you level up, but I maxed out my level up so early that I had two plus worlds that I was maxed out on.

I was going to do dark side on this, but just couldn't do it. Oh well... maybe the next time I play it! Heeheehee

Actually, I've got a hankering to do a little Kain. I may go thru the Defiance game again.

The new gaming blog

2004-07-03T14:23:00.000-05:00

Okay, Blogger is much easier for these "side" blogs that I keep starting. It will also help me clear up some space on my Knitting Park domain. I'm going to spend today fine tuning my template, then I'll update my game playing (FYI: I'm still playing Star Wars: KOTOR).