A Gaming Diary
DS
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)
Mar 24th
Played some more missions, including the world’s strangest bank heist getaway.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)
Mar 23rd
Had great fun with this and my concerns about the possible balance issues caused by the drug dealing and my fears for the length of the game have been put to rest. Basically, the missions have not got quite hard, so I’m having retry them quite a few times and I’m having to spend a fair amount of cash at Ammunation. So the money now has a point and the missions have got difficult – but not too difficult. Good stuff.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)
Mar 20th
Been doing a lot of missions. I’ve done enough drug deals to set myself up with a big pile of money that I’m not spending, so I’m concentrating on progressing the story. The missions are very short, so I’m a little worried that this will be a one of those games I love for a week and then put aside. Which is better than most games, obviously, but I was hoping this would keep me going for a long time.
Last mission I did was Raw Deal, which was awesome. It’s an escort mission, but a hugely violent, exciting one. Took me a few tries as it was such utter carnage, but I enjoyed every attempt. And it’s nice to have a mission that takes a few tries, it’s been a very easy game so far.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)
Mar 19th
I have learned how to make molotov cocktails. I’ve also made a lot of money from drug dealing, but lost most of it after a series of busts. And I’ve tattooed a new gang initiate.
It’s a wonderful game, absolutely packed with stuff to do and a technical miracle.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)
Mar 18th
Got busted after crashing a petrol tanker while carrying $35,000 worth of coke. That’s a big hit to take, but less than half my vast fortune. Drug dealing is an excellent way to make money and it’s a lot of fun. So much so that I haven’t done any missions in hours. I’m slightly worried that the huge profits to be made from high-value drugs will unbalance the game, but I’m sure the developers have got that covered.
This is, I think, probably the best game to hit the DS in years. So many nice touches – optional top-screen GPS arrows, ordering from Ammunation from your PDA, being able to save anywhere, easy access to information about which dealers are selling and buying cheaply, etc.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)
Mar 17th
Don’t want to say too much about this ahead of release, but it’s very, very good indeed and if you get it from the right place (Play.com, Amazon.co.uk) it doesn’t cost much more than The Lost and Damned. And first impressions are much better for this than the GTA IV add-on. The game engine is amazing, it uses the DS sensibly and it’s dead good fun.
If you’re not sure whether or not to buy it, think on it no longer – go buy now. If you like GTA and have a DS I don’t think you’ll regret it.
And you can hail cabs by shouting “yellow car!” in a drunken fashion. You don’t actually have to, but you can.
Age of Empires: Mythologies (DS)
Feb 16th
I think I’m ready to write my review now, after several hours of play. I’ve not finished all the campaigns, but I’ve got a fair way through them. I’ve tried out the other modes. So, yes, I think I’m ready.
Age of Empires: Mythologies (DS)
Feb 13th
Hit a wall. First six missions of campaign were trivially easy, but I can’t work out how the heck I’m meant to do the seventh. The enemy just throws millions of units at me and I can’t survive to build up any forces. Oof.
Going to play a few Skirmishes to try and get better before trying again.
Age of Empires: Mythologies (DS)
Feb 12th
Got sent a copy of this to review for another site, so probably shouldn’t talk about it too much.
But I will say that after spending two or three hours doing the first five or six missions, it seems decent and there’s an awful lot of game for your money. Going to be tough to review, simply because it’s so huge.
