A Gaming Diary
Archive for May, 2007
Slitherlink (DS)
May 10th
Haven’t played this for a while, so I did a couple of 10×10 puzzles. Took 5:31 and then 5:54, which wasn’t too bad considering I’m a bit rusty.
Panel De Pon DS (DS)
May 10th
Did my daily training. Somehow I managed to get 0 in Avalanche mode again, despite seeming to do quite well. Odd.
Test Drive Unlimited (PSP)
May 9th
Hooray! I’ve got 250,000 points, so I’ve gone up a level.
Still using my Pontiac GTO, but I might buy myself a Class C car tomorrow. Actually, I just won an AC 427, whatever that is, so I should see if that’s any good before splashing out any cash.
One of the nice things about this game is that I’m beating cars that are better and faster than mine, unlike Gran Turismo where I have to make sure I have a better car than the opposition.
Panel De Pon DS (DS)
May 9th
I loved this when it had Pokemon it, way back when. Since then I’ve not been too in love, but thought I’d try the DS version anyway.
Not sure if it was worth bothering yet. Firstly, there’s a ton of Japanese. (I’m playing it off my R4 with the English patch installed and there’s still a ton of Japanese.) Secondly, well, there’s a nice Daily Practice section, but it gives you options, so I’m not sure how it can keep track of scores if you can play around with levels and difficulty settings. Thirdly, I tried a go of Avalanche mode and played for half an hour without any stress, at which point it just dropped a million blocks on me and killed me dead in seconds. Odd, confusing and annoying.
On the plus side, the stylus control works really well and with some experimentation I should be able to find a mode which balances fairness and difficulty.
Still wish there were Pokemon in it, though.
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (Wii)
May 8th
Hooray! First boss down!
I can’t find a Log Book Shop where I can save, so I’ve gone to the second island. The locals are annoying me, so I’ve stopped playing for now.
Test Drive Unlimited (PSP)
May 8th
Well, I’ve exhausted the Class E challenges, I think, so it’s on to Class D. I did win a Class D Cadillac, but it was a bit frisky for my tastes – no, really, a frisky Cadillac – so I went and bought myself a Pontiac GTO instead. I’ve not done any events in it yet, just driven it from the dealer to the tuning shop, but it seems lovely.
Test Drive Unlimited (PSP)
May 7th
Hooray, I’m now an Amateur. Not quite sure what that means, think it’s just more races being open to me.
I think I’m actually going to have a read of the manual. Shocking, I know.
Pokemon Diamond (DS)
May 7th
Failed a gym battle this evening. Bother.
I was five or six levels before the gym leader’s Pokemon and managed to beat the first two, but the third one went before all my Pokemon and killed them in one hit. Not much I could do about that.
Test Drive Unlimited (PSP)
May 7th
This is excellent. I’ve played for a while this morning and driven over a hundred miles in my first car – a Ford Mustang – and I’ve had a very good time. It is Test Drive Unlimited as it was on the 360, pretty much. There’s an obvious downgrade in the graphics and sound, of course. It’s very, very impressive, but obviously the PSP isn’t going to have high-def, high-poly graphics and booming surround sound. So no dashboard view, for one thing. Apart from that, the only other major difference I’ve seen so far is the handling. It seems much, much easier to get round corners in the PSP version and it’s consequently a lot more fun. There’s not the same feeling as learning your car and constantly driving on the edge, but I think the fun to be had screaming round corners as soon as you get in a car makes up for that.
There’s also a nice feature I don’t remember from the 360 version, which is that the GPS automatically points you towards the next race after you finish an event. Makes it a lot easier to find things to do. And if you decide to go somewhere else then once you’ve been there the GPS will set tiself back to te next race. Lovely. But, you know, a few days ago I thought Ninja Gaiden was a 360 game, so my memory’s not to be trusted.
There are also a lot of (to me) minor downgrades. No bikes, no delivery missions, that sort of thing. I think there might be fewer cars too. I can’t say I’m too bothered. My main wish for the game would be for the sun to come out. It’s awfully grey for Hawaii at the moment.
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (Wii)
May 6th
This is fun, but I keep losing to the first boss, even though I know how to damage her. I hate bosses.
