A Gaming Diary
Archive for March, 2007
Peggle Deluxe (PC)
Mar 14th
Adventure mode was finished off quite quickly, so I’m now working through Challenge mode. I’m currently on the “get 300,000″ points levels, which are very satisfying. I’ve settled on the Zen ball as my preferred power-up.
Peggle Deluxe (PC)
Mar 13th
It’s sort of like pachinko, but different. It’s good fun. Fine. Okay.
What I don’t like one little bit is the demo model. You download the full game, you can play it for an hour, then it kicks you out and asks for money. Twenty dollars in this case. The itch was there, but I didn’t scratch. I could resist. But! Here comes the evil bit. After your hour is up, the game lets you start it up for two minute sessions. Yes, just two minutes. Just enough to keep the craving alive, but not enough to satisfy it. After several of the two minute sessions I threw my hands up in defeat (possibly literally, I don’t remember) and paid my twenty bucks to carry on playing. The payment takes place inside the game. You don’t even have to open a browser or wait for an email.
I’ll probably be bored it after two hours of play, but that hour just wasn’t enough and those two minute sessions meant I couldn’t forget.
I’m so weak. I wish companies wouldn’t take advantage.
Valkyrie Profile Lenneth (PSP)
Mar 11th
Well, I’ve finished the first chapter now. I gave all the artefacts I got to Odin and sent up one completely levelled character, so I got a got a rating. I’m still not quite sure that I know what I’m doing, but I think I’m doing okay.
And I’m having a lot of fun and the little stories between dungeons are very well done. I’m not surprised it built a reputation as a lost classic after its appearance on the Playstation.
Valkyrie Profile Lenneth (PSP)
Mar 11th
I’ve had this RPG for quite some time, but today was the first day that I felt I was in the right frame of mind to give it the patience I was sure it would deserve. I was right, it does require patience at the beginning. There’s about an hour or so of very limited interaction before you really get to do anything. (It’s one of those games with save points during cut scenes.)
But now I have got to play it I’m very impressed. I’m four hours in and I’ve worked out what’s going on mostly, I think. I can heal during battle, I’ve worked out how learn new skills and level them, all that. Haven’t been able to use an item during battle yet, but maybe I’ve not got any yet. A lot of this isn’t explained very well, or at all. But it’s great fun, with a lovely battle system and enemies visible in the (side-scrolling) dungeons before you fight.
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)
Mar 11th
The Creature nearly got me.
Well, The Creature did get me. About twenty times, until I trekked back to the shop and got some potions.
Now he’s dead.
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)
Mar 10th
Oh.
It’s got to hard again now. I got one of Castlevania’s trademark fake endings, then worked out how to avoid stopping at that point. Now I’ve got to go through lots more paitnings, only this time their far too hard.
It doesn’t help that I made a terrible mistake and sold half the really good stuff I was wearing and I didn’t notice until after I saved. I’m stuck miles into one painting, short on cash and out of potions. It’s not fun.
I may pretend the bad ending was the real ending and leave this now.
Worms (360)
Mar 10th
As far as it goes, this actually is very good. (Ignore what I said about it playing like it was underwater, I seem to have been on crack.) It’s just a pity it doesn’t go further. Challenges are getting quite hard now.
Hitman Blood Money (360)
Mar 10th
Completed!
Final two levels completed today. They were pretty good, though I didn’t like being forced into a couple of gunfights. I did the final mission very badly indeed, having to kill eleven security guards in a huge gunfight at the beginning. Still, the job got done.
I’ve still only got 185 achievement points, though. And finishing on Expert didn’t give me the points for finishing on Rookie and Normal. Darn.
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)
Mar 10th
After a long break I’ve come back to this refreshed and I’m finding it so much easier than I did before. Bosses have been dropping all over the place and I found a great new weapon called Nebula, that’s sort of a slow homing whip. Sort of.
I still hate Medusa Heads though. Oh yes I do.
Hitman Blood Money (360)
Mar 10th
I’m being very sloppy now. I’m not trying to be, it’s just the silent methods really aren’t obvious any more. I had to kill a sheik earlier and simply couldn’t find a disguise to get me into his private area. In the end I set off a bomb nearby to distract the guards, got in without being seen, killed my target, but then couldn’t get out without being spotted and had a really quie uncool run to the parked car waiting to take me to safety. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.
