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A Gaming Diary
Eternal Sonata Demo (360)
Oct 26th
Very pretty.
Great combat system.
Lovely music.
But who’s got the time and money for an RPG round about now? Not me.
PixelJunk Racers (PS3)
Oct 26th
Based on first impressions, I’d have more fun eating the £4.99 this cost a penny at a time than playing this.
It’s a top-down racing game where you can only move between lanes, rather then freely across the track. It just feels clunky and I have the same problem with it that I’ve always had with these games – my brain can’t handle having the movement controls working relative to car, not the screen.
Sega Rally (360)
Oct 26th
Possibly the best racing game ever? Well, I think it’s probably up there with OutRun 2, based on the hour or two I’ve spent with it so far. No great surprise, given that I’d played the demo, but it’s nice to have it confirmed. It’s fast, gorgeous, it sounds wonderful, has perfect handling and the track deformation makes a far bigger difference than it does in Motorstorm.
It also seems to be rock hard. I got thirty out of thirty points in the first event on my first try, but haven’t been able to in any of the other events so far.
I’d have played it more, but I’m sick at the moment and after a few minutes it makes my head want to explode. Annoying, that.
The Orange Box (360)
Oct 20th
Half-Life 2 today. Just an hour of it, so I’ve not got far. The only gun I have is the pistol. It does look very nice on the 360 and plays fine, too, but it’s not been very exciting so far. If it doesn’t pick up I may just skip it and go on to Episode 2.
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Demo (PS3)
Oct 19th
What is the world coming to when we get a demo of a demo?
Anyway, I only managed one race which I had to pause every ten seconds because the kitten kept trying to grab the needle on the speedometer. Weirdo.
First impressions, though? Well, it’s Gran Turismo again. And that’s it.
The Orange Box (360)
Oct 19th
Best value game disc ever? Well, that probably depends on how good Team Fortress is. I’ve not tried it yet. The only thing I’ve played so far is Portal, which I started and finished last night. It’s short, but one of the sweetest gaming treats I’ve ever had. It’s full of great puzzles, it introduces you so gently that you never get overwhelmed and it’s got one of the best scripts ever. As my wife said, “I didn’t expect a stupid boy game to be so funny.”
It may be short, but it’s probably worth the price of the disc on its own. We will all remember the first time we played Portal and those of us who have just played through it have had one of the defining gaming experiences of our lives.
It’s not too early to call it a classic.
Oh! And the possibilities…
Rendition (Movie)
Oct 18th
There’s a good movie here. It’s probably about seventy-five minutes long. Unfortunately, this cut is two hours long and moves a pace that would have a snail beeping its horn and trying to overtake in frustration.
Shots go on for centuries, scenes seem endless. It’s well-shot and it’s about an important subject, but it just goes on and on and on and…
There are good things – there’s a nice little wrinkle near the end and Alan Arkin’s good value – but everything just takes so long.
I’m not sure what the reason is for the languid pace. Maybe the filmamkers involved thought that slow equals atmospheric, which it really doesn’t. Maybe it’s meant to reflect the fact that this isn’t a one-off urgent special event, but a matter of daily routine. Maybe the studio just demanded a two hour film. Whatever the reason, it breaks the movie. It’s a real shame, because there’s a decent film about an important subject in there somewhere.
I’m glad I went to a free preview screening, though, because at least I can now use my knowledge wisely and warn as many people as possible off the film.
Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground (PSP)
Oct 18th
Well, I need to upgrade my magical skills. There are enemies on level two of my dungeon that can’t be harmed by my axe. They don’t turn up every day, but if I run out of magic before I meet them I’ve got a problem. Not much of a problem, as I can happily out run them, but leaving anything alive makes me feel like I’ve failed.
I’m itching to play this at lunchtime. I put a treasure room in the dungeon yesterday and want to see if it’s attracted anything. And I just bought an Altar to put in a room, so I’ll set that up when I get down there again.
Speedball Demo (360)
Oct 18th
I’m coming to this fresh. I think I did play it once or twice on a friend’s Amiga, way back in the midsts of time, but I don’t remember it at all clearly.
Anyway, it’s a very fast future sport and I can’t seem to score any points in the demo. It did start to make a bit more sense after a couple of games, I think, but not enough to tempt me to spend 800 points.
Every Extend Extra Extreme (360)
Oct 18th
I really enjoyed what little I played of this last night. Unlike everybody else on the Internet I’m not finding impossible to die, as I keep running out of time. I’ve not played a game lasting more than ten minutes or quarter of an hour yet.
I also enjoy watching the big chains go off, though I can see that it might get boring after an hour or two.
I tried importing by own music, but it didn’t work very well. I think Sweet Home Alabama is just abit slow – I wasn’t getting enough enemies to form massive chains.
Also, I didn’t get any Achievements from it last night. Not even a nice easy five-pointer to make me feel better.
