Malik
(11/7/05)
I did get in that
time with GTA and Fable that I was so needing when I last posted. In
fact, once again, Fable was a bright and wondrous point in my
geeking out this weekend. On the other hand, GTA is still showing me
that the PSP does not have a must have title yet.
While playing GTA,
and I did play enough to get through a good dozen missions, I am
seeing more and more on how Rockstar Leeds just didn't put their
full effort into this game. The best example of this is the ridiculous
difficulty found on some missions.
This is sorta a
spoiler...I actually didn't find that Chainsaw Masquerade to be that
bad of a mission. In fact, this one only required patience (which is
a fine requirement). As you run around a small room filled with
chainsaw wielding maniacs, you only have to remember that you are
faster than them to stay alive. All that's needed is to keep running
until these guys clump together. Then you turn, shoot one, and then
run some more to put more distance between you. Then you turn again
and shoot once more before running. If you use the python (pistol)
found in the level, it only takes one single shot to kill each of
these guys. It's simply a waiting game.
However, when you
have missions that require perfect timing and aiming with rocket
launchers, that's another matter. Or if you are doing a mission that
requires a constant 2+ star wanted level...and the missions requires
car chases...so the cops have popped your tires with spike
strips...do I even need to elaborate? Let's just say, for those who
stay below the 2 star level, that the cops are obsessed with spike
strips, and they will turn a fun mission into a chore in about 10
seconds.
I honestly can't
say I've ever dealt with so many frustrating missions in a GTA game
in the past. This game is like constantly doing the High Stakes, Low
Rider mission on GTA:SA, or the race required for the bank robbery
in GTA:VC over and over. It's not like just a bunch of slightly
difficult missions. It's like being thrown constantly from one
annoying mission to another, with no chance for an escape.
At least Fable has
been good to me. I finally am beyond the final battle of the original,
and am now fully in the new areas. Not only am I finding some fun
new places to battle through, I'm also enjoying finding some armor
to replace my overly used plate suit. I just wish there was some
sort of incentive to collect experience. Despite the extra content,
you still will find yourself maxed out on all of the skills you care
about long before you get near the new content. I'm now about 20,000
XP away from having all abilities at full (including the ones I
don't care about).
However, the most
important part is that I have a good deal of new story to go
through. The best of this is found in the new town. When you
accomplish your first mission in the new area, you will be given a
chance to learn even more background on the game's plot, characters,
lands, monsters, and whatever else there is.
Anyway, I have no
real news to go off about, and am a little too frustrated with
GTA:LCS to think clearly. So, I'm out.
Malik
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Malik
(11/8/05)
If you still care,
there's more
stuff about Jack Thompson today. Basically, in the lawsuit in
which he was representing the plaintiff, in which he was to make an argument
that GTA was responsible for the violent deaths of three police
officers, he has stepped down. What does this mean? Not a damned
thing. The judge didn't dismiss him, his clients didn't dismiss him,
and the law didn't somehow dismiss him. He just decided to step down
before a ruling could be passed on if he is going to be allowed to
serve as a lawyer on the case. In fact, more than anything, this
doesn't mean a thing considering his thoughts on this;
The suit will go
forward for now, although the judge hasn't yet ruled on the motion
to dismiss the case. Game Politics also reports that Thompson said
his departure from the case was inevitable, as he would likely have
to take the stand in the case.
So...yeah...I
guess the real lesson in this is that Jack Thompson will continue to
do as he pleases, and the best solution is...no, it's not ignoring
him. The real solution for gamers is to realize that this man
exists, what his tactics are, and to follow the outcome of these
types of cases to understand either the inequities of American law
and the brighter moments of American law. That's it. He's here and
he will constantly be a person who represents the idea of censorship
(which I am personally very strongly against).
Anyway, I am
nearly finished with Fable: The Lost Chapters. At least the new
content really does open a lot of interesting plot twists and
morality involved quests. I won't spoil, but I'll just say that many
of the final missions give you a great choice between the easy way
out and the morally good way out. Plus, the easy way out is also the
world changing way out, so it's not like you'd be skipping anything
by going for the quicker and more evil path...except for some
hardcore battles.
To change
thoughts...with the XBox 360 launch only two weeks out, there are
some thoughts that have been weighing on my mind. While Microsoft
started off doing a hell of a great job with the 360 launch, it
seems that things are unraveling. For example, a few months back, we
were promised an awesome launch lineup that included the first US
launch with a solid RPG (Oblivion), a worldwide launch that would
ensure consoles for all, and more openness than any launch that Sony
or Nintendo ever gave us. Well, that has gone to shit.
As for the launch
lineup...who honestly knows anymore. We have only two weeks to go
and the only things that seem to be guaranteed is that Oblivion is
not showing up until next year and that Rare will have at least one
launch day title and another before Christmas. Well, that and Madden
will be here since Madden is always at a launch. Beyond that, we,
the geeks, don't have a real list of launch games. We know what
should be in the "launch window", but not what we can
count on when we hook up the console for the first time.
Then there's the
idea of consoles for all around the same time period. This holds up
if we consider countries to be the same of geeks. There will be 360s
in North America, Europe, and Japan around the same general time,
for the first time ever. However, it's looking like the amount of
people who will have the system will make it look like the PS2 had a
solid launch. In fact, there
are some strange rumors about this whole mess. They range from
how the consoles are either being limited to about half or less than
half of what was originally anticipated to how you are only getting
one if your pre-ordered by the 24th of May. Either way, there is a
lot of confusion and the sounds of it say there is going to be a
shortage that is probably only making Sony happy.
So, with all the
confusion of what games will be on the system and how many systems
will be out there, Microsoft seems to have taken the fifth.
Actually, that's wrong; they are just stalling until the
20th of this month to show anything substantial. That is when
Microsoft will throw it's big pre-launch shin-dig. It's also when we
supposedly may have solid info on the launch titles and maybe on the
real nature of their supply shortages. Yeah...two days before
launch.
It seems to me
that Microsoft started this generation with the type of news that
would make any geek excited, and they are ending the per-launch
phase with about the biggest fumble possible. It just goes to show
that no matter how hard a company tries to sound good, it's only
when the final hours approach that you see if they have the balls to
back up their claims. Microsoft is looking like it's lacking the
balls right about now.
Personally, my
advice to Microsoft would be simple. The ball is in their court, the
fans are excited, and the launch still has potential. However,
unless they get off their asses and start to share some news, things
could turn out as bad (or worse) than the PS2 launch in about zero
seconds flat. It's time to speak...not just promise new exciting
events a couple days before when news would no longer be news.
Malik
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Malik
(11/9/05)
I just have to ask
why. The chain of video game movies just keeps coming, and there is
no reason for it. When this trend began, we had such bad films as
Super Mario Bros. Now it just keeps expanding into things like Doom,
and the soon to be released Halo and Bloodrayne movies. It just
doesn't end, yet it doesn't improve. Now it's being announced that
an animated Kameo
movie is in the works.
I have strong
opinions on some things, but few subjects are as filled with
pessimism and annoyance as the constant chain of movies that just
seem to make games look like nothing more than a crappy and
ingenuine experience. It's about time that someone just steps in and
regulates this industry...not all of the movie or game industry, but
the small fraction that fits into both realms. These are not good
for anyone, and it's time they end...or better yet, they come with
warning labels for the children (and sad adults) who expect quality
movies only to find their money poured down the drain for a chance
to see what 90 minutes of crap looks like...or worse yet, the
thousands of hours of crap that makes up an anime series based on a
game.
Last night I
finally laid Fable: The Lost Chapters to rest. I have to say that I
wasn't disappointed. Especially, I'm happy to see how amazing the
final boss fight could have really been. The final battle in the
original Fable was short and easy, while the final fight in this
game was actually a bit of a challenge. Well, I should say it would
be a challenge if I didn't know the brokenness of multi-shot and
physical shield. That and how I always carried about 200 will
potions. At least the last boss did something that no other enemy
could do to me during this play through of Fable; it destroyed my
shield spell with almost each attack.
In the end, the
plot still feels like it was a lot better coming in to the game than
it was being concluded. I guess that's the bane of video games with
good plots; the endings always suck (maybe this means that GTA:LCS
has an awesome ending...but then again, Rockstar can't handle a good
ending). At least the extra story between the original Fable and
this release of Fable does fill in some nice gaps in the plot. It
answers how you could have defeated the legendary Jack of Blades so
easily the first time around, and it answers the question of if your
mother really simply died and found rest. Plus, with the oracle (a
know it all thing that loves to tell the back story...like a book,
but with voice acting), you can also learn what happened to your
sister and where the monsters of the world came from.
I would write a
review of The Lost Chapters, but I don't think it's really needed.
I'll say that this game is worth the $20 for any fans of the
original Fable. I'll also say that in the end, it doesn't really add
or remove from the final score of the game. I loved the original
Fable, and I loved The Lost Chapters all the same.
Speaking of
reviews; I am wanting to write a GTA:LCS review. I really do want
to. The problem is that this game is just really hard to play. I
loved all the GTA games, but this one is just too much of a step
backwards. I understand that the visuals and world can't be as all
encompassing as GTA:SA. I also understand that the controls will
have to suffer to make a portable GTA game. I even can understand
that Sony is the real blame for the unresponsive analogue nub. I
cannot understand why the plot and missions are so half-assed. I
also can't understand why it's no longer about finding hidden
packages as much as it's about finding them and then having to
figure out how to get to them in the most insane way possible (one
requires you to slam a Sanchez bike into a curb while popping a
wheelie to fly you body onto a roof...).
To show how bad
this is...I'm currently stuck (partly from challenge, and party from
being bored by it) on a mission that requires me to buy a flame
thrower...which means I have to remove the far more useful rocket
launcher. Then I burn a warehouse of paper while Mafia goons come at
me. After I get through the damned thing, I then have two stars
(this game goes to only four...which gives two a little more
challenge to it than it was in the other GTA games) and a broken
down van that I have to use to chase down and destroy two other vans
before they get away. The worst part of this boring and uninspired
mission is that while you chase one van, the other will be getting
closer to escaping since they part ways as soon as this part of the
mission begins. This is not as much about facing a challenge as much
as it's about facing a really frustrating goal.
The sad thing is
this is not an exception. This type of mission is standard issue.
Instead of facing brilliantly designed missions, you have missions
that feel either far too short, or like the developers decided to
pull random goals from a hat and stick them together with no real
reason.
Anyway, I'm quite
fatigued today. I feel like I'm about to drop off. So, as I
log off for the night, I just want to share something. I knew
nothing about this Warren Spector controversy, but I
do like his response to it. It's a long-winded letter, but it is
pretty damned good at explaining some important facts. Especially
that part about how our beloved games have been looked at too
casually by the media and Spector's take on Jack Thompson (and his
"frivolous lawsuits"). Also, I personally enjoy his point
about how someone can say a short thing and if (or should I say
when?) it is taken out of context, it always takes far too much
effort to clarify the facts. Anyway, I suggest reading this to see
how one of the few legends of game design thinks.
Malik
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Malik
(11/10/05)
Some news has
finally shown up that would normally be nice to see. It seems that a
major class action lawsuit
against Sony has reached settlement. I'm talking about a lawsuit
against Sony over those damned DREs (and if you know four people
with a PS2, then statistically you would probably know one person
who is effected by these damned flaws). So, basically, this lawsuit,
if approved by US and Canadian courts, would entitle a sufferer of
PS2 DREs to $25 (USD), a free game from a specific list (which will
probably be Greatest Hits games since Sony is that cheap), or a free
or cheaper priced replacement system. That is all assuming it is
cleared by the courts.
Now, I said this
would "normally be nice to see" for a reason. To actually
take advantage of this would be one
hell of a hassle. First off, your DREs had to occur within 13
months of your receiving your PS2...so, people like me, who started
to get DREs about 18 months after getting their system are not so
secure. Secondly, do you have proof of pruchase (a receipt, canceled
check, or credit card bill)? I doubt it. Who still has their receipt
for a game system after 13 or more months? I sure as hell have
enough crap in my home to not consider filing every damned receipt.
Maybe I should start to get to be this anal, but I don't think
that's reasonable. Thirdly, you will probably have to send in your
PS2 for repairs or to be inspected. So, if you're like I was for
about 2 years, you still use the PS2, but you just have to fight it
to get it to work. A DRE doesn't mean it's dead...it's just a bitch
to use. My XBox is that way now, and I sure don't plan to get it
repaired or replaced if the 360 is just around the corner...
So, this would be
good news if...and this is a big if...it was not a pain in the ass
to get in on this shit. I still have my DRE-killed PS2, but like I
said, it took voer 13 months for problems to occur (might I add that
my Saturn, Sega CD, and Dreamcast are all much older and all of them
are DRE free...I miss Sega). So, to this, I say "f$#@ it".
It's a half-assed settlement, and the cost of shipping it off to get
inspected makes it unsatisfactory in my eyes. Plus, with the PS3 not
too far away, if you do have a DRE and the system is only partially
dead, then I'd suggest you just hold on to it. When the PS3 comes
out, you will probably find used PS2 at local game stores for far
cheaper and with less inconvenience than this settlement would make
you deal with.
Speaking of random
bullshit...I got a call yesterday from my local EB. It ends up that
Kameo was in, and I was being given the option of either picking up
my reserved copy within 48 hours or...well, there was no second
part. So, now I have a game with a return receipt valid for 14 days
(the day after the 360 comes out is the day when I can last return
the game if it's teh broken) and no system to test it out on. That
makes a lot of sense. I can understand that EB would not want to
hold on to the merchandise when their stock room is a limited
physical space. So, naturally, they would want to get it out of
their hands and into the customer's. However, I cannot understand
Microsoft in their plan to release this game so damned early. It's
one thing when a game comes out a few days before the system, but
we're talking two f$#@ing weeks on this one. Also, I can't help but
find it funny that the game that was delayed on two old systems is
finally out before the system it's actually on.
To wrap things up
for today, I did get in some good GTA:LCS time last night. By
"good" I mean that the time block was sizable. I sure as
hell don't mean the game was "good". I might say it was
"above average", "ok", "moderately
enjoyable"...I definitely wouldn't say "good",
however. This game, despite how the fanboys are frothing at their
mouths for it, is not the first must have for the PSP. Actually, it
would be better to say that if GTA is the first must have PSP title,
then the PSP was a horrible waste of money. If this is what is
supposed to pass for a "great" game, then I seriously f#%$ed
up with wasting $250 on this steaming pile.
So, I went through
about 9 missions last night. I have to say, in all honesty, that
there is only one mission I can even clearly remember...and that's
only because it was the last mission I did last night. As for the
other missions...I can vaguely remember shooting stuff. That's it.
On the other hand, if you ask me about GTA:SA, I could name each and
every mission on that game, if I passed the first time, and what
strategies I used both if I failed and when I passed. It's not that
I'm obsessed with GTA:SA, but rather that I have an excellent memory
for the things I enjoy, and I sure don't seem to have a memory for
GTA:LCS (if you get what I mean). Plus, it's not like it's just my memory
not doing too well right now, since I'd be happy to recall all that
I just finished with Fable: The Lost Chapters (ask me about the
mother-f#@%ing dragon! I can give every detail of that thing...so
awesome...). GTA:LCS is just a really half-assed game.
If it was just the
limitations of the PSP, then I wouldn't mind. I would love to say
that GTA is the first must have PSP title, AND that Sony should f#$%
themselves for thinking that the nub is anything close to being a
quality input device...however, I instead can say that GTA:LCS is
not a good game AND that Sony should go f#$% themselves for even
thinking of the half-assed analogue nub.
Anyway, I am
determined that I will not write a full review yet. I will wait
until I finish the entire main story before I touch FrontPage about
this one. This is the only way I can be fair. I have played enough
to normally write a review, but this game is so far from solid that
I can't afford to rush it. If things go well, since I have nothing
else to play (not counting Kameo...oh...wait...the system comes out
in two more weeks!?! Why do I have this game?!), I should be done
with this game by the start of next week. Assuming I don't throw my
PSP in the toilet before then.
Malik
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Malik
(11/11/05)
Gamespot has an interesting
rumor about the PS3. It seems that by using the current
technology that Sony has patents on, they could actively make it
where a new game would only work on a single console. What this
ultimately mean, if Sony does implement this software on the PS3, is
that used, rented, and barrowed games could no longer be an option
on the PS3. If this comes to be true, a few things will become
obvious.
Firstly, the
highest priced system will have further prices attached. The big
additional cost will be that you will no longer be able to rent a
game before buying it. This means that all games that fall into the
grey range (you can't quite tell if it'd be worth dropping full
price on) would not be rentable or barrowable...thus, for many
gamers, they would fall into that range of "I'll buy it when
it's cheaper" or "not worth it".
Secondly, it would
be another concession by Sony. Not only do they have the most
expensive console, but they will have the least user friendly.
Yippee....? In fact, this will definitely make Sony far less
desirable in the long run. I mean, they use this same shit on their
music CDs and just look at the controversy
and problems
associated with it.
Thirdly, with how
Sony is the master of making expensive pieces of shit (DREs anyone?
I know I've had one on every Sony console I've ever had...in fact, I
had three bad Playstations and one bad PS2), how will this factor
in? I'll tell you; basically, when you first PS3 goes to shit, and
you inevitably replace it, your old games will not work anymore. In
fact, if you have 10 games when your PS3 needs replacing, then you
will have to spend over $500 extra to replace those games. Plus, you
could not just use the old copies as trade-in credit towards buying
used versions. Talk about weak.
I know it's not a
fact that Sony would do this, but they've done it with music CDs (to
a lesser extent). I can also say that if this happens, I will, for
the first time in recent history, wait on buying the PS3 until about
a year after it's been out to know the DRE risks. I can also tell
you that I've been avoiding Sony BMG music CDs for this same type of
problem (I don't need an easy trojan horse that will constantly
waste my system resources on my PCs).
Now to bitch about
the cheapest of the next-gen systems...the Revolution. So, it's
pretty much solid now that HD-TV will not be a useful thing when playing
this thing. I just have to add one thought on this. In the US,
all TVs will be forced to be either HD compatible, or at least
you'll need a tuner to downgrade HD signals, only about 2.5 years
after the Revolution will supposedly be available. So, this
basically means that the Revolution will be antiquated before it's
normal generational life span is over. I can understand not making
HD a required thing, and not making it a major selling point, but I
cannot understand not supporting what will be required in American
homes (and I don't know about Japan, but I'm guessing similar
circumstances are buzzing around that country).
Beyond the fact
that it will be commonplace soon enough, the lack of HD support
means one other thing. The games will suck on a widescreen TV (and
practically every good HD-TV set is 16:9). I say this from
experience. My 16:9 TV makes my GCN and PS2 (I never got the
component PS2 cables) look either too small or like shit. That's
because I have a choice of stretching the screen to make it wide,
which makes the games look less than brilliant, or I leave it in
normal 4:3 perspective...which just looks tiny. When the entire next
generation, excluding Nintendo, is doing the right thing of making
HD games, I can tell you that while graphics shouldn't matter, the
compatibility issues will...and that alone will make the Revolution
look all that much more unworthy of gracing my living room.
So far, say what
you will, I have to say that Microsoft is the only console maker who
doesn't look like anything besides greedy. Sony is on crack with
their expensive 2 HD display system, and Nintendo is living in the
past a bit too much with their lack of support for soon-to-be
standard technology. Too bad Microsoft can't have the PS3 exclusive
games and the Revolution exclusive games. I am no Microsoft fanboy,
but I can see when a company is not just blowing a lot of smoke up
my ass or living in their own fantasy world.
Anyway, to
completely change subjects, I played some GTA:LCS last night. I'm
well over halfway through the main story, but I can now finally say
I saw the first good mission of the game. I don't mean the first one
that looks good compared to the rest of the shit on this game. I
mean the first original mission that I actually killed myself so I
could play again. In it, trying to keep spoilers to a minimum, you
have to take out a bunch of members of a rival gang. However, your
weapon in the mission is a car. Not just any car, mind you...it's a
car that a member of a third mob family is driving. So, after the
mission begins, you have the ability to take over said car via
remote control, and then you have to run down some foes while making
it look like it's this other family that's responsible.
The part that
really makes this mission rock is that you are treated like this car
is remotely controlled. In other words, you are given a grainy
greenish viewpoint from the steering wheel (like as if you were
looking through a camera located on top of the dash), and your
controls are a little unresponsive (and not like the rest of the
game...but rather it's intentional this time) to simulate how you
are only remotely controlling this thing. Once you start, you have a
limited about of time and damage to run down all of the gangsters
before either you destroy the car (which is bad since it leaves no alibi
for who caused the carnage) or before the poor fool in the driver's
seat frees the car from your control.
If only there was
more originality in this game like you'd find in this mission...this
type of intelligently designed mission could've been awesome. I just
hate to see the rest of the game playing out of either shoot a bunch
of people, or drive to this place. If only Rockstar Leeds had some
more foresight to see what a steaming pile they were making.
Malik
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