A Gaming Diary
Archive for August, 2006
Saints Row (360)
Aug 31st
Yes, its attempts to be cool and urban are teeth-grindingly awful.
And its attempts to be funny are buttock-clenchingly horrible.
It’s a GTA clone with none of the wit, imagination or intelligence of Rockstar’s masterpiece in terms of script or world.
But at its core, on a base game level – physics, controls, interface, mission design – it takes the GTA formula and – whisper it – makes a number of brilliant improvements, which all goes to make it huge amounts of fun.
Yes, fun.
It’s just massive, massive FUN.
And, before we forget, incredibly awful.
I can forgive the rubbish wrapping paper, because the present inside is so great. But I understand why people can’t.
Time Pilot (360)
Aug 30th
My high score is now 112,500, which makes me the 881st best player in the world.
Seems deKay is trying to catch me up, but he’s not succeeded yet. Ha!
Also tried the online mode. It’s like playing offline, but jerky and your game finishes before you want it to.
Time Pilot (360)
Aug 30th
This I like!
It’s a classic arcade game that I don’t think I’ve ever played before. And it’s excellent. Lovely little fast-paced shooter. Quick, simple, fun, throws out achievements with gay abandon. Not that it always gives them out in the right places – I got the “Don’t Lose A Life On Level One” on my first go, despite losing a life. (I’m assuming whoever coded that little forgot that you can get extra lives very easily.) I’m currently sitting on 103,000 points, top of my friends leaderboard and 1,225th in the world.
It is a bit shit that it doesn’t remember the high score table and your graphics preference when you leave the game, though.
Orbital (GBA)
Aug 30th
Another game that cost a tenner.
It hurt my head.
A lot.
I was pleased when, on stage four, I finally died.
Armadillo Run (PC)
Aug 30th
Keep forgetting to post about this.
But I’m playing it, oh yes.
Up to level 45 now, and it’s brilliant. One of the very best games you can get for a tenner, I’d say.
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (360)
Aug 29th
Downloaded the Mehrunes Razor expansion quest. Took two or three hours to get through and it was enjoyable, but I thought Mehrunes Razor itself was a dagger that killed in one hit. But, er, it doesn’t seem to do much at all as far as I can see. People tend to glow orange for a while and that’s about all. Oh.
I wonder if I’m using it incorrectly somehow?
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (360)
Aug 28th
So I started this up instead. Chose a quest I had lying around that didn’t look too involved and set off.
Had to kill a load of ogres in a cave – which was easy enough, as I was very sneaky and had a magic bow. Found a sword that my fence had asked me to get for him, but it was an Honor Blade from a local town, so I thought they’d want it back. So, pausing only to feed on the blood of a sleeping tramp, I returned the sword and everybody was very happy. Except, I assume, my fence, but I’ll avoid him for a while.
Also: Conjuring and trapping the souls of many scamps to recharge my magic weapons gets very boring.
Thief: Deadly Shadows (360)
Aug 28th
Another game that’s meant to be 360 only.
I tried it and it seems to output it at 50Hz, so my TV couldn’t handle it. It worked if I flicked the switch to output a standard definition signal, but that’s missing the point a bit… and the graphics are fucked in the game, anyway. Some details – such as fires and moonbeams – show through walls, furniture, characters, etc.
Do any Xbox games apart from Halo 2 actually really work on the 360?
Cloning Clyde (360)
Aug 28th
Had neglected this since release day, or thereabouts, so it took me a few minutes to get back into it. But I’d soon completed two more levels and netted myself two more achievements. Hoorah!
Boiling Point: Road To Hell (PC)
Aug 28th
This time I hit the quick save button a few times and didn’t kill anybody. I drove arolund the jungle a bit, then swam across some water and got eaten, met some guerillas – who thought I was their new recruit – and some government troops – who thought I was their new recruit – and learned how to drive a boat.
And then I jumped around some houses and managed to fall on to a balcony I couldn’t jump off, so I turned the game off.
