A Gaming Diary
360
Call of Duty 4 (360)
Jun 4th
I’ve had this sitting around for a while now, but only started it last night.
You know how most shooters have you running around corridors, with a few memorable set pieces thrown in? This is the opposite. Huge firefights and amazing scenes linked by short runs from place to place. One moment you’re escaping a sinking ship, then you’re sniping some Russians, then running for your life across a town square filled with burning cars, then fighting it out in a TV station in the Middle East. All those things happen in the first hour, with more besides.
It’s really very good indeed. So intense, though, that after an hour or so I had to stop playing because I was completely worn out.
I’d make a rubbish soldier.
Rock Band (360)
Jun 2nd
I finally started up a console after a long break and decided to play some Rock Band solo.
Except after about three songs my back was hurting enough to make me stop. D’oh.
Still, it was fun for a while.
Rock Band (360)
May 27th
Yesterday I decided to practice guitar playing on Medium in the solo tour. It’s mostly very easy, but getting harder. The chorus of Celebrity Skin is beyond me right now. Lots of reds, yellows and blues in a confusing pattern.
Still, I’ve not failed a song yet. Hopefully my skills will have improved enough to get through Enter Sandman by the time I reach it.
Rock Band (360)
May 24th
I was playing guitar on Easy, but we got the maximum fans for that level, so I thought I’d step up to Medium.
That was fine for a few songs, but then we got to Enter Sandman, which I just can’t do. And my wife can’t save me because I die minutes before the vocals start.
Ugh.
Rock Band (360)
May 23rd
Oh man.
Traded some stuff in for this today and when I got home my wife and I set up a band with me on guitar and her on vocals and started playing our World Tour.
It’s awesome stuff. I’ve been really enjoying it and so has she, except for the time a 2-song random set list threw up a French song followed by a German song.
I enjoyed them both immensely.
HEIR! KOMMT! ALEX!
It’s brilliant. It’s the Singstar/Guitar Hero combination we’ve always dreamed of.
The Simpsons Game (360)
May 22nd
I went back to this last night and I’m very glad that I did.
The bit I’d got stuck on was only a problem because I’d forgotten one of Bart’s moves. Once I remembered it the puzzle was very easy indeed.
I played quite a few levels after that. The gameplay quality varied from “rather good” to “average bordering on annoying”, but I didn’t get stuck for long on anything. The quality of the script is what carries the game, though. It’s The Simpsons doing games, like the Halloween episodes are The Simpsons doing horror. Will Wright’s appearance is absolute genius and generated actual, real laughter.
I’m wondering how long it takes people who haven’t played Joust to work out how to pass the homage to the game on the Neverquest level, though?
I’m hoping to get a good, long session tonight to finish it off, ready for trade. Not a keeper, but I’m very glad I played it.
The Simpsons Game (360)
May 18th
Fairy enjoyable until I got to a part where I kept falling off a climbing section and had to start over. Finally got to the end and couldn’t see what to do, so turned the game off in frustration.
That might be it for the game now, if I use it as trade-in fodder on Friday.
Fable (360)
May 16th
Screens of Fable 2 filled me with love, so I decided to play Fable again. I’ve got a US copy, but luckily it’s region free, so it plays on my UK 360. Result.
The framerate is awful – which may be a problem a with backwards compatibility rather than the game, I honestly can’t remember – and I keep trying to use the right stick as a “normal” third person camera, which it’s not, but it still looks beautiful. I’ve gone through the long, long training process and have done a couple of quests out in the big wide world.
I really thought I’d be evil this time round, as I was such a good boy last time I played, but I can’t seem to do it. Apart from killing a couple of traders by mistake I’ve just been very lovely to everybody so far.
Grand Theft Auto IV (360)
May 11th
Five Achievements today.
I finally beat a friend at pool. Roman, in this case.
I unlocked the final friend ability.
I got all my friends’ “like” ratings over 90%.
I finally lost a four-star wanted rating. It was very easy, actually. It was a very foggy day, which seemed to limit cop visibility, so I just drove straight out of the wanted circle and hid behind a wall.
And I got the last Achievement of the day for completing twenty vigilante missions.
Grand Theft Auto IV (360)
May 8th
Lots of side missions this evening and two or three Achievements.
Very nice.
