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 On 10/20/2013 at 04:30 PM by KnightDriver See More From This User » |
Most of the week, I played Etrian Odyssey Untold. I’m up to level 34 in experience and down to level 12 in the dungeons. I’m playing on easy. Nothing has seriously challenged me except for this one Golem. It was on what I thought was a pretty routine side quest back to one of the earlier levels (the game periodically sends you back to earlier levels to fulfill a request by a townsperson). I was supposed to pick up a treasure but instead got suckered into confronting this giant Golem creature. It tasked me by healing itself every time I got it down to a low level of health. Persistence won out though. I used up all my items to keep my TP (magic points) up so I could activate skills to do the big damage. The fight got me to search in my skills for the highest damage ones for each character. So it helped me focus on the most valuable skills to level up. I almost wanted to raise the difficulty level in the game, but I know everything will get much harder and my progress will slow to a crawl.
I bought nine games this weekend to add to the pile of shame because of the buy 2 get 1 sale at Gamestop. All together it amounted to about the price of one new game. All but one (Knights in the Nightmare) was on my list of must-have games for 2009-2010. I only have 1 more to get for my 2011 list and a bunch on my 2012 list, but I’m almost caught up to this year now.
First Three: Halo Wars, Killzone 2, Wolfenstein.
I’ve played Halo Wars co-op with a friend. It’s by Age of Empires developer Ensemble. Halo Wars was their last game before Microsoft disbanded them. I loved the game in co-op, set to easy. The game is a pain on normal or hard. The top down perspective is very similar to the recent Halo: Spartan Assault on PC/Surface. Halo: Spartan Assault is a twin stick shooter though and not a strategy game like Halo Wars.
I’ve played the demo for Killzone 2 when it came out. Initially I didn’t like it. Too much cover based shooting, but I love the Killzone series, it’s world, and the graphics, so I had to have this and give it a serious shot.
Wolfenstein I used to own and have played. I finished the story after a few really tough and annoying boss battles at the end. But I love the rest of the game. Raven Software did this and they always nail the FPS controls. Aiming is as easy as pie. It’s a lot of fun to run around with full spirit powers and just head shot everything in sight. The sound effects for it are as funny as the melon exploding sounds from Urban Chaos: Riot Response. I also want to go back and play for achievements. There were a serious amount of collectibles that I never found the first time around.
Second Three: Batman Arkham Asylum, Wheelman, God of War III
I played about 50% of Batman Arkham Asylum on a rental when it came out. I got frustrated with one stealth mission that I kept failing (stealth missions drive me nuts). However, the fighting in the game is great like X-Men Origins: Wolverine great, and I can’t wait to get back in there and choke some suckers out. I loved the story too by Paul Dini, writer for the Batman Animated TV series and Gotham City Sirens in comics. Oh yeah, and developer Rocksteady rules!
Wheelman is a Vin Diesel branded product which I played the demo for when it came out. I liked the arcade style driving in the demo and thought it would be fun to play. I never got around to it until now.
God of War III is a game I always wanted to play after the stellar GOW 1 and 2. Because I play 360 with my friend a lot, I just never got around to it until now.
Third Three: Knights in the Nightmare, Lunar Silver Star Harmony, Epic Mickey
Knights in the Nightmare I know very little about except it has lurked on my list of games to check out for a while. It’s a RPG of some sort of hybrid of turn-based and real-time action. I got it because it was complete in the box at Gamestop and like $4 (free after the buy 2 get 1 sale). I’ve played one other of Sting Entertainment’s games, Riviera: Promised Land on GBA and liked that a lot.
Lunar Silver Star Harmony I tried really hard to find complete but every Gamestop I went to had only the loose disc. I finally gave up and just got it anyway. I played this RPG to completion on a rental years ago and really enjoyed it. I’ve always wanted it as a permanent part of my collection for possible replay.
Epic Mickey I got day-one when it came out and rage quit it and traded it after only a few hours. A wonky camera in a 3D platformer drives me absolutely nuts in games. However, the concept for this game is so cool, and the art style so attractive, I decided to give it another shot. Perhaps a little more patience on the level of a Zen Master will see me through it.
Later tonight I may watch the Sacha Baron Cohen film “The Dictator”. I’m scared to watch it because this kind of confrontational humor makes me super uncomfortable. Like the Jackass related movie Bad Grandpa, the trailer made me laugh, but I can’t bear to see it in full. I’m going to try and get over it though.
My son loves Halo Wars. I didn't think he would like it, but he really gets into it. I'll even watch vids on youtube.
I was out of town this weekend, so I couldn't go to my local GSs. I did check out a GS in Mississippi. I only got 3 games. Scribblenauts Unlimited (3DS), Bioshock Infinite (360), and Lollipop Chainsaw (360). I wanted to get Tales of the Abyss (3DS), Devil Survivor: Overclock (3DS), and Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS), but none of them were complete.
It's a real pain that Gamestop has so little reverance for games that they just chuck the cases. It's that kind of attitude that will help in their own demise when everything becomes digital downloads.
I've been told they throw away cases to save space. 
I have a couple friends that work at GS, so I have them hold on to cases for games I'm looking for. Sometimes I have the game and manual and I just need the case. I have a few cases and manuals with no games that I also get from GS. I just need to pick up the disc. 
I know it's to save space, but they never offer them to me. They just throw everything away. My Gamestop warned me they were about to throw out all their DS cases the other day. Am I supposed to get all crazy and buy up everything? No way! I buy when I'm ready. Why couldn't they just warehouse them somewhere and make them available online? Costs I suppose. I guess there's no way around it. I just got to get on things when they come out and not wait so long, or get a secure post office box and go online.
Online is not bad. Many times I find complete games on half.com or amazon.com a lot cheaper than the game alone at GS.
Maybe you can ask GS people about their time or day they throw out cases. I know a couple people that have done that. It can be a pain, but you can get the cases and manuals you're looking for if you already own the game or if you plan to get the game at some point, you can pick up the cases and manuals early for free and when it comes time for you to get the game, you can pick it up cheap since you only need the disc.
When you have to get complete games with a budget, you got to be creative.
I wish I could buy online. I don't trust my mail because I've had stuff stolen before, especially games and electronics. Sometimes I have it sent to my friend's place. That works, but I generally avoid it. I have a $50 Amazon gift card too. I may get books or music instead 'cause I know they won't get stolen. The next place I move to is going to have secure mail - my first priority.
Yeah, Epic Mickey is a bit frustrating, but I do enjoy it.
I love the painting aspect. I keep seeing that paint brush Wii Remote around. I've always wanted it.
I tried playing Epic Mickey last year and didn't get through it. I got frustrated and lost interest. Oh, and bought Dishonored lol. That was a much better game. Arkham Asylum is great, though those stealth parts can be tricky. I have its much lauded sequel, Arkham City, but still haven't played it. And one of these days I'm going to get those three mainline God of War games. They're pretty cheap now 
When I get back to Batman Arkham Asylum, I'm going to cheat so much to get through those stealth segments. I don't like replaying levels over and over.
I'll say, God of War III was under $10.
I bought God of War III day one for full price. I don't do that too much anymore, but I don't regret it at all. I'm such a huge fan of the series I was super hyped for that one.
nice group of games :), the Batman Arkham games are very good too.
I don't regret any day-one purchase except maybe Duke Nukem Forever. I'm very careful now to choose only the games I really must play right away for day-one purchases.
LOL. You've been busy. I'm under a self-imposed moratorium on game buying at the moment. No major game purchases until I've played some of the games I already own. It's for space reasons as well as financial ones. I live in a 400 square foot cottage with not a lot of storage options. I've pretty well maxed out what little I have. But there will be a 2DS by the first of the new year, oh yes, there will be!
I've told myself I have to play what I have first many times. It doesn't work. I just love going to stores and shopping for games.
I hear ya about space. I live in a very similarly sized place; more like the storage locker Hiro Protagonist has in the novel Snow Crash. I'm thinking maybe I could wallpaper the walls with games as a method of storage.
I'm wondering where I'm going to put the Wii-U when I get it around Xmas. I was actually considering giving up on consoles and having only handhelds. It's certainly a space saver to do that and fits my mobile life style a little better. But what will I do without Pikmin?
My everyday has been EOU. I'm at level 37 and down to level 12. My characters had to go back to Gladsheim, so I'm exploring a new level there. Are you playing on Picnic, Standard or Expert difficulty? I'm on Picnic 'cause I want to see the whole game in a reasonable time, but it's a little too easy. I'm considering bumping it up to Standard; however, I've only got a few more weeks to finish it before Angry Birds Star Wars comes to XBL on Oct. 29.
I am playing it on standard difficulty. I am less concerned about seeing the whole game. I fully expect myself to be finished with the game before the credits role. Same thing happened with Skyrim, I put 40 hours into it and then set it down. I have had intentions to return, but I feel satisfied with the time that I spent with the game.
I do that with so many games and it frustrates me to no end. I want games to be shorter so I can say I finished them. This is why I've been choosing easy mode and looking up speed runs for games lately to try and ensure I get to the end. It's like picking up a book and stopping half way through. How can I talk about a book having not finished it? Same with a game.
If I am not enjoying myself anymore, is it worth powering through to the end? Sometimes I pick up games because a friend loved it and so I thought I should at least try it. Sometimes it is because of the critical acclaim. Those are the ones that I tend to leave unfinished and so I have little problems doing that. I got about halfway through Nueromancer by William Gibson and was not feeling it, so I put it down.
Side note, I was actually debating whether or not to get Knights in the Nightmare and Riviera because they are only $5 on the psn. I also know that I already have way too many RPGs downloaded to my Vita, so that is why I have not jumped on those games.
Yea, I'm not pushing it too hard to finish fast. I feel that playing EOU on Picnic difficulty is watering down the experience for me a little bit. I wonder sometimes if I shouldn't just crank it up and just see how far I get.
For games I really like, I usually just play on the default setting to get the developer intended experience, and then when I go for achievements/trophies, I do whatever it takes to get to the goal as fast as possible. Both approaches have their merits.
When I started EOU I was just in the mood for a more casual experience. The last couple of hardcore RPGs I played lasted only a few hours because the difficulty killed off my party (Dragon Fantasy Book I and Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls). I didn't feel like replaying them once I'd lost my beloved party.
I have reached the opinion that there is rarely a good reason to buy any Epic Mickey game. A bad camera barely scratches the surface of issues the game has.
The second one too. I tried the demo and got stuck. IN THE DEMO!
I got Knights in the Nightmare because I enjoyed Riviera. I didn't get into it though because I just found the gameplay a little too... odd, I guess. Still not completely sure why, actually.
Halo Wars was my first and only RTS. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I can't see myself trying the genre again unless its another user-frendly franchise cross-over!
I've tried other RTS games on 360. LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth II and others, but Halo Wars worked the best. It's Ensemble, Age of Empires, enough said.
Nice haul! Just think of them as additions to your gaming collection.
Hope your Halo Wars has the DLC offering included. I'm still debating on buying those since I got my Halo Wars used. Do you have to be a pro member to get on that Buy 2 get 1 free deal at Gamestop. During my Halloweeing gaming list buys i was told tha twas the cause when I got a certain game there.
If so bummer.
No membership needed for that sale. They run that one pretty regularly when they want to clear out old stock.
The Halo Wars disc doesn't have the DLC, but I may have bought it when I had the game the first time. "The Historic Battles" looks like something I'd want.
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