A Gaming Diary
PSP
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron (PSP)
Oct 12th
What are lunchtimes at work for, if not for playing a quick couple of levels of a video game?
In this respect, Renegade Squadron is a perfect handheld game. I started it up, choose “Single Player”, then “Instant Action”, chose Endor as the map and Conquest as the game type and off I went. (Conquest is the only game type without flags. The idea is to control spawn points on the map. If your team can keep all of them under control for a full minute, you win.)
It’s a fun way to rewrite history. I’m not sure what triggered it, but in the first round I suddenly got the option to play as Han Solo. I accepted. A few seconds after I’d taken control, Darth Vader appeared. Proving that hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster, I ran around and shot him to bits. Don’t know why Luke had such trouble with the guy, really.
In the next round I played as an Imperial and – again, seemingly at random – got the option to play as Darth Vader. In the language of the Internet, I pwned all. I was an unstoppable force and turned the tide of the battle single-handedly. (Or so I like to think.) Pity I only realised I had a Force Choke move after all the rebel scum were dead.
There’s no denying that it’s clunky, but it is fun. Whether it’ll still be fun when the novelty wears off, I don’t yet know. Oh, how I wish the PSP was equipped with two good-quality analogue conrollers. Then we’d really be talking.
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron (PSP)
Oct 12th
Seems to have divided opinion, this one. I can see why, based on an hour or so of play last night. It’s a bit clunky and easy until suddenly death comes out of nowhere. Not that death matters that much, you just respawn and get stuck back in again.
First up, I did the first couple of campaign missions. On the ground you lock on to people, run around them and hammer the fire button. In the air, you lock on to people, hit the autopilot button and hammer the fire button. That’s about it.
Then did a couple of skirmishes with brain-dead bots. Won the first one – a straight game of Capture The Flag with a single flag. The second game was something called Hero Capture The Flag, or something, which meant Kit Fisto and Jango Fett were carrying flags around. I didn’t quite work out quite what was going on and my side lost the match.
Really, it seems easy and fun to play without excelling at anything – other than being Star Wars, which it’s bloody good at. That’s probably the important bit. If you’re the type of person who, like me, gets a giddy thrill at going to the customisation menu for the first time and seeing you can play as a dreadlocked wookie then you’re going to be a lot more receptive than someone who would have trouble picking Admiral Ackbar out of an identity parade.
Sometime this weekend I hope to test the online play. I expect to die. A lot.
Jeanne D’Arc (PSP)
Oct 11th
I went back and tried the battle I’d lost by a single arrow again. This time my plan was to run to the target by the most direct route and slash his face in. Wasn’t a very good plan, as it turned out. Due to differing movement allowances, my force got split in two, with the stragglers being caught by knights coming from behind. They were slaughtered. Then my fast troops met resistance before the target and were having trouble seeing them off, while the knights who’d killed my other troopers were closing from the rear. When the caught up the end was messy, but was mercifully quick. Turn seven saw my final unit fall.
So I tried again. This time I took up a defensive position and slaughtered the first group of knights. Due to my own idiocy is not noticing how badly he was hurt, Jean fell early, which was a blow. But with five units remaining and the knights, the enemy healer and the enemy archer all dead, I moved on. The ensuing battle was tough and I lost three more units before the target finally fell, with two turns to spare.
But with that level completed, chapter two was over. I’m not my way to Riems with the Dauphin in tow… or will be once I’ve levelled up a bit in the new Free Stage I’ve just unlocked.
Jeanne D’Arc (PSP)
Oct 6th
Fifteen turns, one target, the only condition is that at least one of my party survive.
I get off to a bad start. I misread the layout of the level and end up stuck and surrounded just out of reach of the target… to all but my archer, Marcel, who sends a poison arrow into him. As my target loses health from the poison I fight on and eventually, with a couple of turns to go, the rest of my merry band can attack. But the poison’s worn off.
It’s the final turn, only Roger, Liane and Marcel are left alive. Liane’s magic is depleted and her sword skills aren’t up to much. There’s only one square I can attack the target from, so she waits on the sidelines. Marcel looses off an arro from afar… but it misses. It’s all up to Roger. The target had started with over three hundred hit points, he’s down to 37 now. Roger attacks him from behind… hits! But only does 29 points of damage.
I lose. If only I’d used Marcel’s Sniper Shot skill. It does very little damage, but it always hits. I should have used that, but I just didn’t think. I assumed the normal attack would hit. I shouldn’t have.
That arrow’s going to haunt me.
Jeanne D’Arc (PSP)
Oct 5th
Well, last time I played I’d just started a level I thought I’d never be able to do. As it turns out, it was really very easy and I did it first time.
This may sound obvious, but the trick was just to go for the objective, which was to kill a specific enemy unit. So instead of clearing out all the units before him, I just got to him as quickly as I could and threw everything I had at him. On the way I just kept healing, rather than attacking the other units, so managed to keep everybody alive and healthy.
Pretty obvious stuff, really, like I said. I missed out on all the lovely EXP and bonus items I’d have got from killing everyone on the field, but that’s a small price to pay for victory.
However, now I’ve got another battle straight after that one, with no way to return to the World Map and level up or buy supplies before the fight. Gulp.
Sega Rally (PSP)
Sep 30th
I’ve made my way through a few championships now and my first impressions seem to be pretty much spot on.
I’m still not entirely sure how to maximise my speed around corners, especially in the Apline stages. I really think I need to play with sound on for a while, because the tyre sounds will probably give a little bit of extra feedback.
The PSP really has some great racing games. Ridge Racer, OutRun, TOCA and now this. (I still dream of a re-release of OutRun with a decentg framerate, though.)
Sega Rally (PSP)
Sep 28th
I’ve just spent half my lunch hour going testing this out. At first it felt very odd, as the handling isn’t the same as the 360 version, leaning very slightly further towards the real world than that version. If it rates an eleven out of ten on the ridiculous-arcade-handling-meter on the 360 then it gets a nine on the PSP.
It also doesn’t seem to have the same track deformation technology as its big brother, but it’s still a great achievement. The framerate seems solid, the pop-up is limited to objects a very, very long way away and there are even some persistant objects that can get spread out over the track during the race, such as tyres, rocks and fenceposts. (Well, it is a Bugbear game, after all.)
I started off doing a few races in Quick Race mode, getting used things. I found that the d-pad works better than the nub and the wobbling bonnet-cam view is better than the default chase-cam view and was ready to get stuck in, so it was on to the first Championship. I won the first two races with ease, but the third and final race was on ice and snow and I only managed to finish third due to a terrible first lap.
Overall, I’m very happy with the game. I probably should have waited until this evening to play it, because now I’ll be itching to get back all afternoon while I’m working. Somehow web design has lost its allure.
Metal Slug Anthology (PSP)
Sep 22nd
I’ve had this a while, but keep forgetting the post about it, as I only play it for odd moments. I’ve only been playing the first game and not continuing. I’ve got to the second stage and to the top position on the leaderboard. Unfortunately, though your high score is saved with your general profile, the high score table for each game is only saved if you save the individual game. It’s a bit of pain and some sort of autosave wouldn’t go amiss.
Oh, and it looks very, very lovely indeed on the PSP and plays very well.
Jeanne D’Arc (PSP)
Sep 16th
Blimey. I did a couple of Free Battles and then leapt into the next story mission.
I have to storm a dark fortress, lit by purple magical lights. It’s very intimidating. I also only have eighteen turns to do it. And it’s Game Over if I lose any of my units. I’ve taken a couple of turns so far and I really don’t see that I’ve got any chance of winning. The big doors will slow me down terribly, the enemy units are tough and there’s a boss at the end.
I may need to level up some more before trying this one again. (Yes, I’m assuming that I’ll lose.)
Chili Con Carnage (PSP)
Sep 16th
Today, I had to escape a meat factory. Which meant hanging from meat hooks. And killing lots and lots of bad guys.
Really strange little game. So good in so many ways, so rough in others. I hope the same developers get given a bigger budget and more time for another game in the same vein.
