I finished Okami last night. It was...long. Saying that first makes it sound like it was tedious. It wasn't. It's just that...there was a lot of game there, a lot more than I thought. For example, let's compare the playtime to that of the last two games I finished (all on the Wii). I finished The Force Unleashed in under 7 hours. Yeah. I actually went online to make sure I really played all of it. I did. On a side note, while I like the job the development team did on switching the control scheme for the Wii port, the graphics were UTTER SHIT. I realize that the Wii isn't a powerhouse of graphics, but the graphics quality of the game was way below what the Wii is capable of. It was insulting. Anyways, the next game I finished was Metroid Prime 3. That took 17 hours, which is about what I expect from that style of game. I finished Okami in 43 hours. Hell, it only took me 34 hours to finish Mass Effect 2. And I did all these games to the same level of completion. Complete the main story and all available side quests, without going back for the tiny nitty gritty things. Like in Metroid Prime 3 I didn't get all of the powerups, but I missed maybe 3. The game said I covered 94% of the content. In Okami, the carrot to bring you back for gameplay is collecting Stray Beads. There's 99 of them. I probably got 45. But I did every side quest. Granted I didn't play it in the most efficient manner, but I'm also a guy that makes extensive use of walkthroughs so that surely shaved off some time.
Shut up. I play games to relax, not to be frustrated by some stupid puzzle for 20 minutes. I play until I get well and truly stuck, then I check a walkthrough to get me going again. I feel no guilt for this.
Anyways, the game was really good. The cel-shaded animation style was very refreshing, the story was different than your average game and I even teared up a little at one point at the end. The combat system is really well suited for the Wii, don't believe the bitchers. It is also violently Japanese. I mean, duh, it's based on Japanese folklore, but even above and beyond that it has a Japanese feel. If you are looking for a fun, relatively family friendly (except for one part where the annoying tiny sidekick goes on and on about a woman's breasts) and very inventive game, I'd recommend it.
Now, on to the last two areas in Portal, then back to Fallout 3. I had a hard time getting into Fallout 3 the first time, I hope the layoff hasn't been too long to just jump back in.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Detritus, page 7
1. I am forcing myself to make this blog post for 2 reasons. One, I haven't made a meaningful blog post in, like, forever. Not that it matters, really. It's not like I've got a quota to fill. Any meaningful event filters through GP in one fashion or another to you guys. But still. And two, I am procrastinating at work big time. I mean big time. If I could find a plausible reason, I'd go home. Seriously, I have nothing to do and I don't really want to be here anyways.
2. The girlfriend and I are taking a trip this weekend. We're going to visit her folks in St. Louis, where we have tickets to see the Young Frankenstein musical (we're apparently theatre-going folk, having just seen Avenue Q, which was freaking hilarious). It is our first overnight trip together. We've been dating 11 months. When it comes to relationship progression, I am slower than molasses on the moon. I blame not having a relationship until I was 30.
3. I've been thinking off and on about getting another cat. My girlfriend and my mother have been nudging me in that direction, but what do they know. How would that work? My cat is the cutest cat that has ever or will ever be, how could I add a second one? My love cannot be split.
4. My girlfriend took care of someones puppy this weekend (a common occurrence since she's a vet, pretty much everyone she knows has multiple pets). I am not a dog person, I really don't like them, but this puppy was pretty darn cute and a good amount of fun. But I'm thinking puppies are like children. Better rented than owned.
5. This weekend the girlfriend and I watched some movies streamed from Netflix over the Wii. Overall I'd call it a success. Occasionally there were pauses as the download had run out, and the screen resolution was pretty crappy on my 46" TV, but other than that it went well.
6. Today actually started out pretty damn well. I fixed a problem with my computer myself, which is a major victory. One of my drives wasn't getting recognized. I went in myself and found a cable that got knocked loose when the computer repair guy was installing my new graphics card. I thought I was going to have to take my computer into the shop, but now it's all good. Then I got an awesome parking spot. Sadly the good vibes didn't extend into the work day, but hey, the day started well.
7. I made a deal with myself. I am not allowed to buy a PS3 until I finish all the games in my backlog. Which is not to say that I will buy a PS3 when they are finished, but simply I am not allowed to until said condition is met. I've got to finish Okami on the Wii, finish Portal, finish Fallout 3 and it's associated DLC and then play Syberia and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey 2. Not included in these conditions are Dragon Age expansion cause I'm not sure I'm going to buy it, and the game of Fallout 2 that I got halfway through but got stuck. I love Fallout, but I'm not sure I'll ever finish that game, I don't think all the mechanics got properly transferred to the GOG version I got. That or I just suck. Probably the latter. Why a PS3 instead of an Xbox360 you ask? Well, in actuality I imagine I'll get all of them eventually, but I've got my eye on the PS3 for a couple games. One being Heavy Rain, exclusive to that platform. I wants it. Plus there's Bayonetta.
8. I've also got my eye on recently publicized Red Dead Redemption. A cowboy game? Yes plz, that genre is poorly explored. It's made by Rockstar which has me nervous, but we'll see. Plus in multiplayer you don't join a group, you join a "posse". Awesome, yeah? Of course you'd have to play multiplayer, which I sincerely doubt I'd ever do, but still, cowboy game. Which leads me to believe there should be a cowboy MMO out there. Seriously guys, think about that. A persistent western world. I would open a saloon or a whorehouse. Or maybe I'd be a roving gambler. Or a pistol-carrying preacher. The idea is rife with possibilities.
9. I may be the only honest man left in the world. My tax preparer fucked up my state taxes. Long story short, the state of Indiana gave me $2000 more dollars than they should have. In fact, they gave me a larger refund than I paid in taxes. And no one would believe me that something was wrong. The tax preparer couldn't figure out what he did wrong (the fucking moron, not using that guy again), and it took me a while on the phone with the Indiana Department of Revenue before they even figured out there was a problem, let along fixing it. I had to go through hell and high water to give back this money. Eventually it all got straightened out (the state said they wouldn't charge me a late fee amounting to $200 cause I was so honest, yo'reu damn right you won't, I ain't paying for other peoples mistakes). Seriously, the universe was shoving this money down my throat. But I wouldn't have it. Why? Simple reason, paranoia. If I had kept the money, every day I woke up I would've wondered if this was the day that the IDR goons knocked down my door and took me away in handcuffs. Plus I'm certain with that on the record I could never get elected to public office. I mean, I can't anyways due to other activities I'm sure (remember guys, I die, you are wiping my hard drive), but why make the pile any deeper. So how much is your peace of mind worth? Apparently mine is $2000.
10. I am going to cook tonight! That's right, not another hummus and bean dip dinner for tonight, there we be actual culinary processes at work in my kitchen. It's a big day.
2. The girlfriend and I are taking a trip this weekend. We're going to visit her folks in St. Louis, where we have tickets to see the Young Frankenstein musical (we're apparently theatre-going folk, having just seen Avenue Q, which was freaking hilarious). It is our first overnight trip together. We've been dating 11 months. When it comes to relationship progression, I am slower than molasses on the moon. I blame not having a relationship until I was 30.
3. I've been thinking off and on about getting another cat. My girlfriend and my mother have been nudging me in that direction, but what do they know. How would that work? My cat is the cutest cat that has ever or will ever be, how could I add a second one? My love cannot be split.
4. My girlfriend took care of someones puppy this weekend (a common occurrence since she's a vet, pretty much everyone she knows has multiple pets). I am not a dog person, I really don't like them, but this puppy was pretty darn cute and a good amount of fun. But I'm thinking puppies are like children. Better rented than owned.
5. This weekend the girlfriend and I watched some movies streamed from Netflix over the Wii. Overall I'd call it a success. Occasionally there were pauses as the download had run out, and the screen resolution was pretty crappy on my 46" TV, but other than that it went well.
6. Today actually started out pretty damn well. I fixed a problem with my computer myself, which is a major victory. One of my drives wasn't getting recognized. I went in myself and found a cable that got knocked loose when the computer repair guy was installing my new graphics card. I thought I was going to have to take my computer into the shop, but now it's all good. Then I got an awesome parking spot. Sadly the good vibes didn't extend into the work day, but hey, the day started well.
7. I made a deal with myself. I am not allowed to buy a PS3 until I finish all the games in my backlog. Which is not to say that I will buy a PS3 when they are finished, but simply I am not allowed to until said condition is met. I've got to finish Okami on the Wii, finish Portal, finish Fallout 3 and it's associated DLC and then play Syberia and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey 2. Not included in these conditions are Dragon Age expansion cause I'm not sure I'm going to buy it, and the game of Fallout 2 that I got halfway through but got stuck. I love Fallout, but I'm not sure I'll ever finish that game, I don't think all the mechanics got properly transferred to the GOG version I got. That or I just suck. Probably the latter. Why a PS3 instead of an Xbox360 you ask? Well, in actuality I imagine I'll get all of them eventually, but I've got my eye on the PS3 for a couple games. One being Heavy Rain, exclusive to that platform. I wants it. Plus there's Bayonetta.
8. I've also got my eye on recently publicized Red Dead Redemption. A cowboy game? Yes plz, that genre is poorly explored. It's made by Rockstar which has me nervous, but we'll see. Plus in multiplayer you don't join a group, you join a "posse". Awesome, yeah? Of course you'd have to play multiplayer, which I sincerely doubt I'd ever do, but still, cowboy game. Which leads me to believe there should be a cowboy MMO out there. Seriously guys, think about that. A persistent western world. I would open a saloon or a whorehouse. Or maybe I'd be a roving gambler. Or a pistol-carrying preacher. The idea is rife with possibilities.
9. I may be the only honest man left in the world. My tax preparer fucked up my state taxes. Long story short, the state of Indiana gave me $2000 more dollars than they should have. In fact, they gave me a larger refund than I paid in taxes. And no one would believe me that something was wrong. The tax preparer couldn't figure out what he did wrong (the fucking moron, not using that guy again), and it took me a while on the phone with the Indiana Department of Revenue before they even figured out there was a problem, let along fixing it. I had to go through hell and high water to give back this money. Eventually it all got straightened out (the state said they wouldn't charge me a late fee amounting to $200 cause I was so honest, yo'reu damn right you won't, I ain't paying for other peoples mistakes). Seriously, the universe was shoving this money down my throat. But I wouldn't have it. Why? Simple reason, paranoia. If I had kept the money, every day I woke up I would've wondered if this was the day that the IDR goons knocked down my door and took me away in handcuffs. Plus I'm certain with that on the record I could never get elected to public office. I mean, I can't anyways due to other activities I'm sure (remember guys, I die, you are wiping my hard drive), but why make the pile any deeper. So how much is your peace of mind worth? Apparently mine is $2000.
10. I am going to cook tonight! That's right, not another hummus and bean dip dinner for tonight, there we be actual culinary processes at work in my kitchen. It's a big day.
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