Afro Samurai (360): Just played for a minute or two. Topless ninja strippers are always cool, but on the whole I'm just not feeling this game!
Deadly Premonition (360): Made a nice little bit of progress, advancing through the art gallery. The infinite-ammo SMG is nice, but it still takes a good ten minutes to drop a single wall-crawling baddie, which made it very frustrating to have to go through FOUR of them! At least the other part of the level was fairly short!
I do like the optional stuff that fleshes characters out. I was given the option of hitting the bar with the sheriff before retiring for the day, and it nicely fleshed out his backstory a little bit more.
Completed: Chapter 12-2.
Super Street Fighter IV (360): Finally here! Of course it took UPS till almost 1730 to deliver it - oh well. It's Street Fighter IV, with more characters! I gave it a go as Adon and did half-decent, naturally leaving it on hard mode, losing at the second fighter. I took Ryu for a spin afterwards and made it up to his destined battle or whatever, destroyed Ken till he had a sliver of life, then he came back and got me in both rounds! Hah hah, oh well.
It's nice that everything character is unlocked from the beginning, although I'm worried my fickle wireless won't be good enough to handle a lotta online combat, alas.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
April 7th, 2010
Tenchu Z (360): Just played a little more, did a few missions. I'd like to start unlocking more of the skills for my female ninja, but it takes a while! Hundreds of Steath Kills, and I still suck at stealth!
Does turn out an old PC/PS2 PSU buddy plays, so we might hit up the multiplayer sometime soon!
Does turn out an old PC/PS2 PSU buddy plays, so we might hit up the multiplayer sometime soon!
Monday, April 5, 2010
April 4th, 2010
Deadly Premonition (360): Explored the hospital a bit, and there was a neat little segment where you were put in control of York as he inspected the dead girl's body himself. You end up finding what appears to be a little red seed (which would make sense, with the Japanese name of the game being "Red Seeds Profile."), and in a comedic moment, he pulls out a baggie with a few little red seeds inside.
Then another, and another, and another, till there's a half-dozen little bags of seeds. The game is full of little moments like this, where it's almost jarring the sudden silliness. Next it was off a little bit of forest (a several-minute drive, real-time) to interview the the two little twins who discovered the body, followed by another few minutes of investigating and profiling.
From there it was to an old lumbermill, which dragged on a little bit, but ended on a high moment via an elongated Quick-Time event. It started off by hiding, using the left trigger to hold your breath, before turning into a genuine chase. Waggling the left analog stick to run was a little excessive, but on the whole it was fun, with my variety and a neat payoff.
Hopefully I'll have some more time tomorrow, both in real life and in the game, to do a little more exploring. Doing two dungeons in a row is threatening burnout, and the open, Grand Theft Auto meets Shenmue feel of the city has me curious to take a deeper look around and see what there is to uncover.
Completed: Episode 1, Chapters 3-5.
Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing (360): I didn't play it at all today, but I did spend $4 just to download "Forklift Ryo." A waste of money, sure, but I gotta have my Shenmue!
Then another, and another, and another, till there's a half-dozen little bags of seeds. The game is full of little moments like this, where it's almost jarring the sudden silliness. Next it was off a little bit of forest (a several-minute drive, real-time) to interview the the two little twins who discovered the body, followed by another few minutes of investigating and profiling.
From there it was to an old lumbermill, which dragged on a little bit, but ended on a high moment via an elongated Quick-Time event. It started off by hiding, using the left trigger to hold your breath, before turning into a genuine chase. Waggling the left analog stick to run was a little excessive, but on the whole it was fun, with my variety and a neat payoff.
Hopefully I'll have some more time tomorrow, both in real life and in the game, to do a little more exploring. Doing two dungeons in a row is threatening burnout, and the open, Grand Theft Auto meets Shenmue feel of the city has me curious to take a deeper look around and see what there is to uncover.
Completed: Episode 1, Chapters 3-5.
Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing (360): I didn't play it at all today, but I did spend $4 just to download "Forklift Ryo." A waste of money, sure, but I gotta have my Shenmue!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
April 3rd, 2010
Deadly Premonition (360): Just a little further today! Since I had saved prior, I drove again to the Police Station, then explored it for a bit. There was a brief side-quest where I needed to find the sheriff's work-out buddy "Arnold," and it turns out it's the name of his dumbbell - and apparently there's a second one named "Sylvester," hah hah!
A cut-scene describing a bit about Anna's death - the reason York is investigating Greenvale - came next, and from there it was off to the hospital for the autopsy report. This time the sheriff and the assistant tagged along, and I got to hear another conversation between them. Before that, on the way to the station, I accidentally hopped out of the car, and York said something to effect of, "Do you have a hunch, Zach? If you wanna look into it, I'm with ya." I like neat little touches like that.
I wonder if he's speaking out loud to Zach/the player? It looks and sounds like it, but nobody has acknowledged it, so maybe he doesn't.
Anyway, I didn't bother exploring the hospital, since it looked a little big and would probably take me a few minutes. I do rather like "Freckly Fiona," the nurse working the desk there. Tomorrow!
Completed: Episode 1, Chapter 2.
A cut-scene describing a bit about Anna's death - the reason York is investigating Greenvale - came next, and from there it was off to the hospital for the autopsy report. This time the sheriff and the assistant tagged along, and I got to hear another conversation between them. Before that, on the way to the station, I accidentally hopped out of the car, and York said something to effect of, "Do you have a hunch, Zach? If you wanna look into it, I'm with ya." I like neat little touches like that.
I wonder if he's speaking out loud to Zach/the player? It looks and sounds like it, but nobody has acknowledged it, so maybe he doesn't.
Anyway, I didn't bother exploring the hospital, since it looked a little big and would probably take me a few minutes. I do rather like "Freckly Fiona," the nurse working the desk there. Tomorrow!
Completed: Episode 1, Chapter 2.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Journal Reborn April 2nd, 2010
Deadly Premonition (360): Finally got around to starting it, and I'm quite liking it. Despite the exceptionally negative reviews, it sounded like something I'd like, and the day/night cycle and living town had earned it mention on the Shenmue circuits.
And it wasn't the day/night cycle that got me, I only barely got to that before I had to call it a night. The prologue takes place has an atmospheric, Resident Evil 4 sorta feel to it, and the combat plays similarly. York is entirely too close to the camera, and he dominates the screen.
Then there's the quirky "Twin Peaks" feel to it. York constantly talks to "Zach," who is apparently the player, and the split personality of the main character. And, of course, when the game starts you in a big, red room, with two prepubescent angels whispering amongst themselves, discussing your fate while clocks spin, leaves fall and various oddities occur, you know you're in for something strange.
From there it went to a dark style feel, heading into a forest late at night, the rain and shadows obscuring everything, while zombie-esque humans chased after me, bent over backwards and staring through empty sockets.
As far as the Shenmue-esque open feel? Didn't get enough time to really try it, but I did get to drive a squad car through some farmer's land when I got lost en route to the station, taking down fencing and horses along the way!
Even better, along the way York and Zach discussed - by name - classic 80s actors and movies, including Attack of the Killer Tomatos, Tremors and Kevin Bacon. A nice little touch, that makes the character feel that much more real, and in turn the game as a whole.
Chapters Done: Prologue and Episode 1, Chapter 1.
And it wasn't the day/night cycle that got me, I only barely got to that before I had to call it a night. The prologue takes place has an atmospheric, Resident Evil 4 sorta feel to it, and the combat plays similarly. York is entirely too close to the camera, and he dominates the screen.
Then there's the quirky "Twin Peaks" feel to it. York constantly talks to "Zach," who is apparently the player, and the split personality of the main character. And, of course, when the game starts you in a big, red room, with two prepubescent angels whispering amongst themselves, discussing your fate while clocks spin, leaves fall and various oddities occur, you know you're in for something strange.
From there it went to a dark style feel, heading into a forest late at night, the rain and shadows obscuring everything, while zombie-esque humans chased after me, bent over backwards and staring through empty sockets.
As far as the Shenmue-esque open feel? Didn't get enough time to really try it, but I did get to drive a squad car through some farmer's land when I got lost en route to the station, taking down fencing and horses along the way!
Even better, along the way York and Zach discussed - by name - classic 80s actors and movies, including Attack of the Killer Tomatos, Tremors and Kevin Bacon. A nice little touch, that makes the character feel that much more real, and in turn the game as a whole.
Chapters Done: Prologue and Episode 1, Chapter 1.
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