My April in Gaming

On 04/21/2013 at 12:31 AM by Halochief90

I know it’s a little early to be wrapping up my month in games but when I want to blog, I want to blog!

I feel a little late to the party in regards to Bioshock Infinite, though I believe I am pretty close to the end. The game is pretty linear. The trailers undoubtedly tried selling this game on the scale of the city and the title ‘Infinite’ cues the infinite possibilities of a having a city in the sky. The linearity is not a huge knock on the game overall but it is a little bit of a letdown.

It is odd though that I see many people writing off the gameplay as “above average” because this game has some of the best encounters in any shooter. It is easily the most fun I have had on a shooter in quite a well (well above Halo 4). And despite the linearity, the city at least somewhat creates the illusion of freedom. Every time I look around I wonder how long the artists spent crafting those buildings! I still have lots to go so I’m hoping I don’t get the ending spoiled before then!

Earlier in the month, I replayed Metal Gear Ac!d for the first time since it was released in 2005. Last year. when I was making My Top 10 PSP Games list, I named Ac!d my favorite PSP game purely based off my fond memories of the game. This replay did not disappoint as it is still an amazing game today. Although it could maybe use some voice acting, the game was still addicting enough that I finished it in only a few days! That addiction is the only reason I can think of that they would call the game “Acid” in the first place!

Another PSP game I played was Yggdra Union. It’s part of Dept. Heaven, a series of games made by Sting aimed at introducing innovative RPG mechanics. The problem with Yggdra Union is that the game injects great new ideas into its RPG battle system yet offers little else. Depth? Nope. Exploration? Sorry. Well-crafted characters? No can do. This plagues the other Dept. Heaven games I’ve played as well (Knights in the Knightmare and Riviera: The Promised Land). Riviera was actually quite fun despite its shortcomings but unfortunately, the other games could not hold my interest.

I also started reading the book pictured above. I got it as a Christmas gift and only recently decided to crack it open. All these years, I thought Spacewar! was the first video game ever made, but according to this book the first game is actually “Tennis for Two” - which apparently inspired Ralph Baer’s Ping Pong, which in turn inspired Atari’s Pong! The book also follows Baer’s Magnavox Odyssey starting development at the United States Defence Department! Anyway, pretty interesting stuff. I hope the book continues to shed new light on the history of video games which clearly I have taken for granted!

BrokenH

04/21/2013 at 12:34 AM

Everytime I see screenshots of Bioshock Infinite they look stunning. I'll be buying the game sometime soon hopefully. I haven't been big on shooters lately but I can make exceptions for good story telling and an expansive single player campaign!

Halochief90

04/21/2013 at 12:47 AM

It's worth waiting for a price drop. The game's not going to look any less impressive in a few months. With planned DLC, I can see a GOTY edition already in the wings!

Cary Woodham

04/21/2013 at 01:37 AM

BioShock games may not be my cup of tea, but I do have to admit they have plenty of atmosphere!

04/21/2013 at 10:42 PM

Yes, good atmosphere for sure. I haven't seen many game world's that feel as lived in as Rapture or Columbia.

asrealasitgets

04/21/2013 at 03:50 AM

I keep putting off Yggdra Union. I must look into this. I've seen at for sale on store shelves of Gamestop stores all the time. That and Star Ocean. I hope you post a review of your book. I like gaming books.

04/21/2013 at 10:43 PM

I couldn't recommend Yggdra Union. It's not bad by any means, but aside from some of the art work there's not much to recommend about that game. Star Ocean though is another game I've wanted to try.

FAF101

04/21/2013 at 07:52 AM

My friend gave me that book as well! I haven't started to read it yet though but I can't wait till I do to get more insite on gaming!

04/21/2013 at 10:45 PM

Hah, what a coincidence! It is a decently long book so it's not one that's easy to start up!

04/22/2013 at 09:45 AM

That's exactly the reason she gave it to me haha

04/23/2013 at 01:18 AM

Right on. Haha, hopefully she doesn't give you a textbook or something next time just cause it's long!

Keegs79

04/21/2013 at 08:01 AM

Yeah, I think Bioshock Infinite had incredible gameplay. The ability to get on rails to move around to combat and bounce on your enemies was cool. I also liked how many weapons and abilities you got just like the prior games. They still came up with unique abilities. It might have been linear. I was fine with that. It should be noted that for a FPS game, it is pretty long compared to most.

04/21/2013 at 10:52 PM

The sky lines really make Bioshock stand out from the crowd of corridor shooters gameplaywise. The game is long though that was expected from me because the first Bioshock was also quite long. Regardless, axing multiplayer was probably a good move. It'd be ridiculous to balance and the game already had five years plus delays just for the ambitious single player.

daftman

04/21/2013 at 09:17 AM

I found Metal Gear Ac!d at a GameStop last week. I was really excited because I've never seen it used before and it was complete for $4! Got to the register and the guy couldn't find the copy. They just had the frickin' box

04/21/2013 at 10:56 PM

I got it for like $5 at Gamestop about a year ago. That sucks that they got you all excited for the game and they ended up not having it. I'm pretty sure you can find it easily for $10 used on ebay though if you are willing to take that route.

Alex-C25

04/21/2013 at 11:49 AM

Once I start the first Bioshock and probably continue to the second, i'm going to get Infinite. It really looks breathtaking.

Also, you mentioned that game, Yggdra Union, was made by Sting. Is it this Sting?:

Sting

Or is it another one with the same name?

04/21/2013 at 10:59 PM

Haha!! No, it's a development team in Japan named Sting! But it's more funny to imagine it being Sting the musician!

And yeah with Bioshock, that's the good way to go. It's only going to be harder to go back to the first game after Infinite.

Super Step Contributing Writer

04/21/2013 at 05:21 PM

Sounds like an interesting read, that book. Wonder if Sting ever made an interactive video game called Tantric Sex.

04/21/2013 at 11:03 PM

Hmm, Tantric Sex sounds like a cross between yoga and sex... I'm sure Sting is just waiting for the next version of Kinect!

GrayHaired

04/21/2013 at 09:46 PM

Metal Gear Acid: I missed that game when I had a psp. It's good enough to be your favorite? I really need to get me another psp!

04/21/2013 at 11:05 PM

I know you're a big Metal Gear fan, so I think you will dig all the references to past games they have in there. Not that I'm telling you to go out and buy a PSP just to play it! I do seem to be in the minority of people who loved that game!

smartcelt

04/23/2013 at 11:16 PM

I really want to read that book. Saw it just last month and should have snagged it then. Like you,I'm nearing the end on Bioshock Infinite. So good I don't want it to end. That says volumes,as I think it's the best game I've played in the past 2 years. Metal Gear Acid is one I own but have not started yet. Looks pretty cool to me.

04/24/2013 at 01:42 AM

I would keep playing Infinite if they added in like a survival mode or something that just adds an excuse to play more of the game. I plan on replaying it on the 1999 mode eventually, but the game is pretty long so it can wait a bit.

You should get to Metal Gear Acid too. Very underrated.

04/28/2013 at 12:21 AM

Your mention of Pong made me think of something. It was the first game I ever played. I even remember where I played it. Arcades were a big part of my life growing up. Kids today have no concept of a world without videogames. Or cell phones! Or cable TV either. I had none of that and was a pretty happy child. What happened is seeing the evolution of games from the start makes me appreciate them even more today.

05/01/2013 at 12:51 PM

I certainly wasn't as spoiled as many kids seem today. My family was poor and I remember most of my childhood days being kinda bored. My parents tried their hardest to keep me away from playing video games (restricting them to weekends). That is if I even had the money to buy any. Regardless, their plan seems to have backfired because I am still more enthusiatic about games than your average kid!

PixlBit

My April in Gaming

Comments