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A Gaming Diary
Gradius Collection (PSP)
Sep 15th
Specifically, Gradius Gaiden, which I’ve never played before. I’ve yet to get off the first level, but I have managed to reach the boss. Once.
Yeah, I’m not very good. For some reason I’m much better at vertically scrolling shooters than horizontally scrolling ones. No idea why.
Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels (Wii)
Sep 14th
Not released in the UK before now (as a standalone game) because it’s too hard for us supposedly.
And, well, yes, it’s too hard for me. Not made it off 1-3 yet.
Tamagotchi Party On! (Wii)
Sep 14th
The Internet doesn’t have a kind word to say about this game, so I guess it’s up to me to lead the defence force.
Tamagotchi Party On! isn’t completely rubbish. There are annoyances, yes. Having to play with four players, two of which were controlled by the CPU when my wife and I played, is a pain. Sometimes the Wiimote doesn’t quite seem to do what you’re telling it to. And it’s all a bit random – though the fact that this is the electronic equivalent of Game of Life or Snakes and Ladders means I don’t think that’s really a problem.
What you’re left with is a deeply cynical view of the political process in incredibly cute clothing. (And odd. Don’t forget odd. You can lose popularity with the voters by pissing off a library.) Play mini games, take a chance on random event squares, meet other Tamagotchis, buy things to make your home more attractive (and thus make you more popular with the voters), etc.
I bought the game for my wife on eBay for a fraction of the high street price, not expecting to enjoy it at all, yet I suggested a second game when the first was over. And it is not the best game in the world, but it’s not a bad board game to waste time with if you can get it at a budget price and have a Tamagotchi fan in the house. Whether it beats Game of Life I don’t know, not having played that one since I was ten, but it beats the living daylights out of Snakes & Ladders.
Call of Duty 4 Beta (360)
Sep 13th
After some more Free-For-All, I decided to try some Team Deathmatch. I was comfortably the worst person in my team in all the rounds I played, but I wasn’t way down below the next-worst person, which… is… some… comfort.
Gnng.
Colin McRae DiRT (360)
Sep 12th
You know how sometimes you get game series that do one thing very well, then add in other stuff which is rubbish? Like when the Rogue Squadron games added on-foot sections?
Well, that’s DiRT for you. Rally stages, hill climbs, great. Pick-up truck circuit racing? Not so much. No unbearably bad, not at all, but they’re not as fun as the core racing and suffer from some terribly offputting framerate issues.
I’m thinking a part-exchange for Sega Rally Revo may be in this game’s future.
Call of Duty 4 Beta (360)
Sep 12th
I just tried out some games of Free-For-All to get used to the controls and had a good time. Got promoted a few times. Created a class and added a grenade launcher to my AK-47, but couldn’t work out how to fire it.
And then I quit out, which seemed to end the game, because I was the host. I hadn’t realised that. Oops. I feel bad now.
Sonic The Hedgehog (360)
Sep 12th
I played this while the CoD4 Beta was downloading, but couldn’t get off the Green Hill Zone. First time I died before getting to the boss, in my second game the boss killed me.
How rubbish am I? I mean, really.
Okami (PS2)
Sep 11th
I’ve never got round to play this, but my wife found it on the shelf and started it this morning. Now about ten hours in, I’ve been marvelling at the frankly incredible graphics (really, screenshots and online videos show nothing) and helping out with some hard bits.
Jeanne D’Arc (PSP)
Sep 11th
Evidence is mounting that this game is something truly special. I brought my PSP into work today because I couldn’t wait until this evening before trying that battle again.
So I’ve just spent a very pleasant half of a lunch time once again attempting to defend the Bastille of the Augustins. And this time, I won. I tried a new placement for my troops, which initially seemed to be very unsuccessful. Marcel fell early, because I forgot that enemies could climb ladders. (I know, I know, I’m rubbish.) Roger didn’t last much longer, but he got some good hits in before he died.
Things were looking bad, but I stayed further down the stairs than I have before and that let me open up some gaps in the flood of enemies trying to attack me. Enough of a gap for Jeanne to be able to transform and hack her way out.
(Gaming mechanic explanation time. Jeanne can tansform into a more powerful version of herself once she’s built up enough skill points in a battle. Her best extra skill after transformation is Godspeed, which lets her move and attack again if she defeats an enemy, rather than her turn ending as it normally would. So if you’ve weakened some enemies down to the point where they’re killable in one hit, you can send her all around the map slicing and dicing in a single turn. The transformation only lasts a couple of turns, but if you can create the right opening, the effects can be devasting.)
She killed, I think, four enemies in that one turn, two weakened enemy soldiers, a full-strength mage and a full-strength priestess. The magic users tend to hang back, but by using the soldiers as stepping stones I managed to get Jeanne out to them.
On the next turn, Liane was killed because she’d selflessly been healing Jean rather than herself, but that wasn’t enough to stop me. Turn nine came around, the final enemy fell and Jean and Jeanne stood proud on the battlefield. Hoorah!
It’s amazing how powerful Jeanne’s transformation can be if the conditions are right. Getting those conditions, though, is the hard part. You can certainly improve those odds – like leaving two routes down the stairs by defending lower down – but I think luck’s always going to play a part, except for those really anal types who pour over moves for half an hour at a time and can remember how much different attacks do against different enemies.
