I have supplemented my usual sessions of Mass Effect 3 multiplayer with a couple of other games this week. First up was finally getting around to playing The Walking Dead Episode 1. And now I get what everyone has been raving about.
Okay, so it boils down to a relatively simple point and click adventure but the storytelling and humour are great. I particularly like that at the end of the episode it shows you how some of the key decisions you made compared to other players. I seem to have gone against the grain in most of mine.
I also spooled up the original 2009 vintage Borderlands for a quick spin online with friends in anticipation of today’s release of Borderlands 2. I’d forgotten just how much outright fun the first game is. As long as the people you’re playing with don’t get too obsessed with loot-hoovering that is.
Dan decided after some time away to revisit New Super Mario Bros. Wii at the weekend and to his surprise lost interest within half an hour. “The 2D Mario games have lost their appeal for me, especially after playing the joy that is Rayman Origins.” Still it’s not all bad, “Borderlands 2 soon”, he concludes.
We find Aran almost at the end of Bayonetta having “enjoyed it for the most part” with the game’s sudden difficulty spikes having proved the only real stumbling blocks. “Plus I’m sure I almost got motion sickness from a couple of levels”, he said still clutching his airline-issue paper bag.
It’s not just been Bayonetta though, another game has seen some time invested in it.
Joe Danger: The Movie has also been a feature of my gaming, and I’ll stand by my 8/10 review score. It’s an enjoyable game and fun to play alone or with friends. Still the lack of an online mode and the occasional almost impossible level are a bit disappointing.
In anticipation of sitting down with a shiny new iPhone 5 Blair has been replaying some games on his iPhone 4 this week, convincing himself that the games don’t run as well as they did and that he really needs that upgrade.
Doodle Jump is one of those games; I’ve been trying to beat my high score of 60,000 (TSA readers – share your high scores in the comments!) to no avail, I think the closest I’ve got is 59,500. It’s very annoying but also a lot of fun to play.
The other game he’s been playing is Rayman Jungle Run, “a bite-sized version of Rayman Origins with smartly crafted levels and a perpetually running Rayman, with your task being to jump, hover and punch at the right time to get through the level.” While he finds it can be an “extremely frustrating” game at times Blair’s still getting a lot of enjoyment from it.
[drop2]Josh has been collectible collecting in Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 to get all those he missed first time through. “I’ve never really played a Lego game before, so I’m amazed at all the little touches and funny animations hidden away – definitely going to pick up the Year’s 5-7 game after this, before Lord of the Rings comes out.”In Sunflowers on his PS Vita he had a game that was going really well “before it all went horribly wrong”. However, he did manage to get about half the game’s trophies in that one game first. He’s also begun a new game of GTA IV in anticipation of “how much better and less dreary” GTA V will be. He’s likely got a while to wait yet, but let’s just hope they don’t forget to add fun this time.
Finally, he adds an air of mystery to what he’s been playing:
Oh, and I’ve been playing a Vita build of one of my most anticipated games of the year and it’s so good! 60fps and native resolution to boot (hey Al!).
Lastly we come to Tuffcub, who’s so traumatised by the fact TSA didn’t review Transformers: Fall of Cybertron that to tell us what he’s been playing he sent over a mini-review of his own:
High Moon has fixed pretty much every problem from the first game. Ammo is plentiful, there are reasons to be in vehicle mode and it looks stunning. Rather than entering an area, clearing out the bad guys and then moving on to the next area and clearing out the bad guys (repeat ad nausea), there’s now a variety of missions.
The stealth sections are particularly good, and swinging around the towers of Cybertron with a grappling hook is a lot of fun. High Moon boasted that some of the maps are the largest you can make in the Unreal Engine and I’m willing to believe them, certain play areas are huge.
Then of course there is Grimlock. You don’t get to meet the Dinobots till the penultimate level but they have saved the best till last, playing a rampaging robotic T-rex is as much fun as it sounds.
Everything comes to climax as the Autobot spaceship, the Ark, heads for a wormhole and the Decepticons try and stop the ship. This final level is one huge movie style royal rumble, High Moon have thrown out the rule book and chucked every game play element in as you play as both Autobots and Decepticons, switching sides as the plot progresses.
Soundwave can eject Rumble and Laserbeak to help as A.I. companions, Bruticus smashes through the structure of the Ark, Jetfire flys out in space attacking the Decepticons, Jazz races across the crumbling spaceship in vehicle mode and of course there’s an epic one on one battle between Megatron and Optimus.
The developers are obviously Transformer fans as there are so many nods to the rich history of Transformers. The original animated movie gets a lot of love with a riff on Starscream’s coronation and a very funny argument between Grimmers and Slag about Caesium Salami and Baronium Baloney.
There are a couple of problems, the Unreal Engine still judders when loading in textures (and don’t give me any crap about memory limitations, did you see any pop up in Killzone 3? No, stop making excuses for a crappy engine) and turning Swoop in to a Noo Yawker is an odd move.
Even if you’re not a fan of giant robotic dinosaurs (such people exist?) then the game is worth playing just to get final groundbreaking level which really does feel like ‘playing a movie’.
Over to you then, what have you been playing?
bmg_123
Nothing at all this week besides about 5 seconds of Unit 13 on Vita. Just started my A-levels and as such haven’t had time for such silly things as video-games. Although I’m getting borderlands 2 today, so perhaps this weekend I’ll be able to catch up a little…
The Lone Steven
Dark Souls. Made some decent progress. Killed that fecking batch of boss that is Bed Of Chaos. SHE IS THE MOST ANNOYING AND FRUSTATING BOSS IN THE THE ENTIRE FECKING GAME! Defeat Nito and the Four kings as well as the firesage. Nito was a very close fight that could have ended up in me losing had i cocked up once near the end. We both had one bar of health left and i didn’t want to risk getting hit by using an etus so just decided to attack him in the hope that i would kill him before the large skeletons could kill me. Bit of a disappointing boss. The Four Kings were easy mainly due to my Zweinhander lighting +3. Killed one before the other one would show up. Although i nearly did have to fight two at once.
I’m in the Crystal Cave and i’m out of Prism stones meaning, i’m literally playing russain roulette trying to figure out which areas have the path and which ones result in my death. Suspect i will kill Seath today then it’s onto Gywn. I’m level 91 now.Going to leave the remaining optional bosses(Stray fatso and the crossdresser as i have no reson to kill them.) Think i will boot up thee old rimlag after i complete Dark Souls. Nothing can withstand my zwienhander as it can kill anything in 5 hits or less. Also, played and completed MP3. Twas very good if not a bit repitive.
CR8ZYH0RSE
Bravo on Dark souls m8,i just gave up on the first bit after the first boss fight (i found that easy) but the tall skeletons kept raping me everytime i tried fighting them.I just couldn’t do it so i ended up giving up and selling the game which is a shame as it was good game.
The Lone Steven
You are not meant to go that way at the begining. You need to head to the Undead Burg which is located in the direction of the bridge you see at Firelink Shrine. Also, you are weak and you let Dark Souls win. *shakes head in a disaproving manner before remebering how many times he has died either due to dumb mistakes or to certain bosses*. I suspect you would have probably given up at the gargoyles as that’s the real first boss fight. The Ayslum Demon is a test, the Taurus Demon is easy, you need to spam Plunging attack. I know it’s a cheap method but this game is can be cheap sometimes.
Sympozium
heh… buy it again, go to Undead Burg, Get to that bosses area and get decimated by its murderous axe and quit.
but yeah Dark Souls isn’t for anyone, some would probably be put off by getting killed easily or suffering in the dark lands.. of blighttown. Plus requires a lot of grinding if ever to wield certain big swords and super strong stone shields
The Lone Steven
I gave up on Dark Souls on my first playthrough as i thought the New Londo Ruins was the next area in the game. :S A few months later, i returned with a new character and have nearly completed the game. Steven 1-Dark Souls 1000000.92 I may have to play up untill NG+90 before i can outdo Dark Souls. Oh god, NG+90 would be impossible. :O
Sympozium
SHE IS THE MOST ANNOYING AND FRUSTATING BOSS IN THE THE ENTIRE FECKING GAME!
Comment of the week contender?
The Lone Steven
Comment of the week! :p
I have fought a lot of annoying enemies during my gaming life but she takes the number one spot of being the biggest troll and the most annoying boss in gaming history! I actually stood up in joy when i killed her and gloated at my TV. :D Oh god, i have to fight her again in NG+! *ragequits despite not having the game on*
The Lone Steven
Just completed Dark Souls. :O
wolf-OF-chaos
Congrates on finishing DS. Now jump on to ng+ where the enemies have double health and stronger attacks.
*spins chair around and gives out evil laugh* muahhhhhh
The Lone Steven
Already on NG+. Kicked the Ayslum Demon’s arse and destroyed Taurus. *laughs evily in his hidden lair*
Youles
LOADS! Since last Friday evening I’ve platinumed Assassin’s Creed 2; played a bit of Ico; picked up some Red Dead Redemption online trophies (God, that game is good); completed all challenges on Hitman Sniper Challenge and I’m almost halfway towards the 50M score to unlock everything ready for Hitman Absolution; finished helping McProley with his 5-star Dead Space Extraction playthrough; finished The Walking Dead episode 3 which was back to form (I didn’t really enjoy ep2 that much); got 100% trophies on MW3 (again!) my completing the new and final two Spec Ops missions co-op with McProley; played some MW2 online and got my 75th Tactical Nuke; played some more FIFA 13 (demo); played some BF3 Close Quarters; and played the Dust 514 beta which I didn’t enjoy; did my entire “One Gun” playthrough of Dead Space and have immediately started, and completed the first 2 levels of, my Impossible playthrough for the Platinum – very rarely can I finish a game and go straight for another playthrough – but Dead Space is that good!
Tonight it’s mainly going to be Dead Space Extraction and LittleBig Planet Vita!!! Sadly I cannot join the Meet due to arriving too late :(
LTG Davey
Wow, that is loads…. haha! Well played.
Youles
Cheers! My wife took our son to the in-laws last weekend but I couldn’t get the Friday off work, so I had the entire weekend to myself! I think I made good use of it :D
Sympozium
Played Dust with friends, way too buggy probably wait till its more complete like its rather enjoyable but annoying sometimes.
…great work on all the stuff achieved even though I can’t seem to process the bother to understand in order O.o (laziness)
Youles
I played Dust for about 45 seconds, decided it wasn’t for me. Certainly not a fair chance, but sometimes you just know.
Thanks ;)
LTG Davey
Not a lot again this week really:
Resident Evil ORC – For whatever reason, I found myself enjoying this game much more than I did when it first launched. Granted it has been patched since, fixing some of the AI problems, so perhaps that has something to do with it. Either way, I had fun playing through it again; its just a shame the whole game is only 4 hours long.
Homefront – Started a playthrough of this last night and, again, I’m enjoying it much more than I did when it first came out. Sure the graphics are pants and I finished 4/7 levels in 2 hours last night but its still a solid shooter for £5 and I’m looking forward to getting into the online again (assuming people still play it!)
Other than that I played through the RE6 demo a couple of times (brilliant, cannot wait for the full game), chalked up a couple of Bejeweled3 achievements and finally checked out the Joe Danger 2 demo.
Hoping to get stuck into some Left4Dead2 this evening as its been a stressful day at work and I feel like bashing some zombie skulls in… ;D
Youles
What did you think of the Resi6 demo – I’ve only played Leon’s campaign and was a bit disappointed? His constant running really fucked me off, it would have been much better if he walked as default (especially to build suspense in a survival horror game) which would also have stopped everything from looking so blurry!
LTG Davey
Haha yeah that bugged me too. I’m a sucker for RE games though so I can overlook a lot of the little niggles like that. Providing Leon’s and Ada’s campaigns feel a bit like RE4 I’ll come away happy :)
Youles
Sadly I don’t think there’s enough improvement for me to get this one, but I’ll try the other campaigns in the demo first, and perhaps try some co-op too! Also, might check it out at the Eurogamer thingy!
LTG Davey
Yeah I’m interested to see what they have on offer at Eurogamer. I’m assuming it will just be the demo but would love to be proved wrong :)
Youles
Yeah – since I’m on the fence about it, it would be great to see more of the game, especially when it’s out 2 days after!
Taylor Made
Been playing a bit of max Payne the game controls & movements piss me. A bit of metal gear solid 4
Sounds & shapes been busy composing my own music good thing am a part time music producer
Bought LBP does anyone else see the reference to that upcoming game the puppeteer?
CR8ZYH0RSE
I had a go of the Joe danger the movie demo and that alone was worth 8/10 review TSA gave it.I ended up buying RAW on thursday after spending hours trying to find out how many trophies it had,thinking it had a platinum i bought it.I was gutted when it turned out it didn’t and only got 12 trophies so i ended up buying it on xbla as well thinking at least i’ll get 200 achievement score and unlock a t-shirt or something for my avatar,that went down the pan as there was no awards for the game.Last night i ended up getting Everbody’s golf as it was ps plus discounted and thinking (again) that had trophies since they added playstation move and 3D to it,i was sorely disappointed to say the least.RAW turned out to be a good game but i just didn’t have the enthusiasm to get into it due to the trophy situation,it would be perfect for the vita though,why it isn’t on there yet is anyboy’s guess.
CR8ZYH0RSE
@Lone steven
I’m hanging my head now in shame 8(.I really should of stuck at it and with you saying “your not meant to go that way” it’s making me think i might of had a better chance with the gargoyles than with all them skeletons.Hindsight eh. 8)
The Lone Steven
There is only one way to get you to get Dark Souls. An 80s montage. :-p The game is not that hard once you figure out how to defeat bosses and enemies. It is still challenging but not the grabbing you by the balls, doing a crap Bale Batman impression and saying so you want to play punk hard. ;)
Sympozium
I had a very long 5 day wait for a portable fix of Littlebigplanet, it was tragic.
Day one; Bought PC classic Startopia on GOG, and played a bit of it. Can’t understand much of sandbox so I haven’t played Campaign yet. Haven’t played it since, should get to doing the campaign. As usual LBP 2 and Fifa 12 daily whenever I have the time. Played Vision Divine all week too
Day Two; Was shocked to see Yakuza: Dead Souls in Game and was a sudden impulse buy, part of it is funny.. but the shooting ruins it a bit.
Day Three; Noticed Scee failing again, laughed and usual out-raged by last minute changes. More Yakuza, finally Majima…
Day Four; Meh, Train Simulator 2012. Got game over for over-speeding or something. *rage quit*
Day Five; Played Fifa 12 in the morning as LBP would arrive around 11ish, rage quited Fifa after conceded loads of ridiculous goals from Blackburn at Semi-pro with a good team with good fitness and rating. Declared Fifa 12 buggy and a waste of time in Career mode.
LBP PS Vita arrived, good game and the Vita drought is over for now.
R1MJAW
Played Tekken Tag Tournament 2 for 4 days and got the platinum, apart from that it’s just been the Dirt Showdown, Ridge Racer Unbounded and THPS HD meets … that was until yesterday when my copy of LBP Vita arrived, so I’ve been mainly playing that.
hazelam
i just got Kingdoms of Amalur the other day and i’m really enjoying it.
not perfect by any means but it’s lots of fun, the combat system works well, simple but with a bit of complexity once you unlock skills, it’s certainly better than the combat in the elder scrolls games, it’s a lot more fluid.
the voice acting’s not the best though, but the presentation is pretty good, the menus are easy to navigate, and it’s easy enough to choose between quests.
and there were loads of options when it cam to tailoring you character’s build to your play style, as it seems like you can pick any combination of weapons for your primary and secondary slots, used with square and triangle respectively, and a huge range of skills to choose from.
currently i’m using a longsword with chakrams as my secondary, for some Xena style action, both with fire attacks, great for the giant spiders, though why every bloody fantasy game has to has giant spiders i do not know.
it’s a shame the developers went under though, i think they could have gone on to do good things if their first effort is any indication of what they were capable of.
i’ve seen long established studios put out games nowhere near as good as this one.
make me wonder where all the money went.
it was fairly successful wasn’t it?
CR8ZYH0RSE
I found them chakrams good especially when on fire they could hit the enemy twice,once when you use them then twice when they returned to you.
hazelam
they’re also handy when you’re surrounded if you can get the charge attack off.