lukeryu

Mental Screamings
2009-05-05 07:08:58 (UTC)

Game Resolution Update

So I havent talked about this in a while, so I figured I
should give a quick update of my plan to beat a game every
month.

Feb: Resistance 2 (Played on PS3)

I dunno what it is about GTA games, but I own GTA3, Vice
City, San Andreas, and GTA4, and none of them have gripped
me enough to finish them. So, needless to say, my prophecy
of beating GTA4 has gone unfulfilled. I did, however beat a
game Resistance 2.

This game, a PS3 exclusive, came out during the Christmas
rush last year, on the same release week as Gears of War 2,
a 360 exclusive, so, with them both being big name shooters
on their respective consoles, many (probably unfair)
comparisons were drawn between the two. I didnt really have
high intentions of ever buying this game, probably because I
own the first game and had never beaten it, but I was
walking through one of the liquidating Circuit City stores,
and found a copy of it on the cheap, so I decided to give it
a go.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It was by no means a
favorite shooter of those I have played, but it had solid
mechanics and I think I ended up enjoying the experience.
The story was quite throwaway. The premise of these games
is that they are set in an alternate-timeline 1950s where a
race called the Chimera invades and turns their enemies into
Chimera. In the first game (a game which I own, but havent
really played), you play as Sgt. Nathan Hale of the US Army
Rangers, who is sent to Britain to help fend off the Chimera
as they invade across the English Channel from mainland
Europe. In R2, you once again play as Nathan Hale, this
time fending off the Chimera invasion of America. The
stages are spread across America, but the thread weaving
them together is pretty weak. Despite that, I had a lot of
fun with the gunplay. My favorite two guns: The Auger, a
gun which could shoot through walls, and the Magnum, a
pistol which you shot, and then if you used the secondary
fire button, the round which you just shot would explode.
And while there were some environments of the typical 12
shades of FPS brown, there were also levels in forests and
swamps and suburban residential neighborhoods, so I never
really get the "wasnt I just here?" feeling. They also had
some interesting boss fights, which was awesome, because
shooters rarely have boss fights anymore. I enjoyed the
game a lot.

March: Killzone 2

I really wasnt planning on buying this game, but somewhere
in between the hype from the PS3 community and my desire to
support my favorite black console, I ended up picking this
game up on release day. The first few weeks, I played
strictly online, where I got a "havent I played this game
before" type feeling. It felt like playing an expanded
version of CS or Firearms. I will say that it had a huge
leveling system which I didnt really get into too much,
which I think is a fault of the game. I had put in a good
number of hours into the online and ended up just unlocking
one alternative class and just a few of the bonus
attributes. I just felt that opening up classes should have
been faster because thats what makes the game feel different
from other shooters. But I was stuck playing a soldier,
which I found rather boring. Needless to say, I havent
played it again in a while.

To "beat" a game meant I had to complete the single player
campaign, which I ended up failing in Killzone 2. I gave it
an earnest attempt, and got to the final encounter, but in
the end I was not able to beat it. The story and setting
were pretty generic sci-fi affair, with 7 new shades of FPS
brown. I will give them props for actually having a
continuity in the storyline which makes sense, versus some
other shooters where it will transition from level A to
level B and I'll go "why are we here again", there was alway
purpose in your place in Killzone.

April: No Go :(

Didnt really beat one in April. Didnt even really try one.
I dunno why. Unless you count the 5 fight single player
campaign to unlock fighters/costumes for Soul Caliber 4,
which I guess I did beat, but that took like 20 minutes and
isnt really worthy of a monthly gaming challenge. Being
sans job, youd think Id have the time to devote to such a
pursuit, but alas, I didnt complete a full game. I did play
about 4 levels in Hitman 2, which I'm enjoying now that I
have some idea of what to do in the game. I also tried Tony
Hawk Project 8, but I think my copy is busted because I cant
seem to get into the actual gameplay. I started playing the
first Resistance again, which I think I might complete for
May. Looking at my collection, I am now even more
disappointed in myself that I couldnt find a game to
complete. I need to remind myself of this feeling and do
better this month.

G'night




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