Mini-Reviews: Games + What are you playing now? [Archive]

TheAngryIntern

03-29-2004, 07:38 PM

i just got Far Cry, and holy smokes!!! The most intense, beautiful graphics I have ever seen in a game. I've only played a little bit, but from what I've seen, other than the graphics, the sound is amazing, especially if you have surround sound (i'm sure most of you do, what with us all being hardcore gaming geeks!!) and the enemy AI seems to be pretty smart, e.g. they spot you, and if you try to hide in the general area where you were spotted, they seem to find you. All in all, it's been a very fun game and I would recommend it to anyone who is an avid FPS player, like me. Download either demo for it, but honestly, the demos really don't do the finished product justice.

btw, other games I'm playing right now: BF Vietnam, CoD, KOTOR, and of course the venerable Day of Defeat.....any DoD players, come to Frenchy's Pit for a good and challenging game. (I apologize if advertising servers is not allowed here)

-TheAngryIntern

firstadopter

03-30-2004, 02:52 PM

No problem Angry Intern. Far Cry is the only game that brings my 2.6ghz and ATI 9700 to its knees. I have to dial down the settings to play it, although I admit it still looks dang pretty.

firstadopter

06-24-2004, 07:38 AM

This will sound really lame since I JUST got an Halo Xbox.

But I'm playing: City of heros, Halo/xbox, Project Gotham 2/xbox.

And I have DDR Ultramix and Crimson Skies for xbox on its way. Tally ho!!

arogan

06-25-2004, 05:00 PM

Chronicles of Riddick (xbox)
Psi-ops (xbox)

Joint operations(PC)
Painkiller(PC)
counter-strike(PC)

TheAngryIntern

06-25-2004, 05:54 PM

i'm still playing DoD of course!! and I just started playing Neverwinter Nights again yesterday. Still working my way thru Far Cry, and playing a bit of City of Heroes now and then, and i was getting myself back into GTA III a few days ago. On my consoles i'm playing Ninja Gaiden and Project Gotham 2 (xbox) and final fantasy crystal chronicles and metal gear solid:the twin snakes on NGC. I haven't really played my PS2 in quite some time.

firstadopter

07-14-2004, 08:17 PM

Counterstrike is making a resurgence for me. I want to fancy up my skills for the release of Counterstrike Source, when Half-life 2 comes out.

AJK1

08-09-2004, 05:39 PM

PC: Doom 3 & Far Cry (longing for Splinter Cell: Choas Theory and, of course, Half-life2)

Xbox: Chronicles of Riddick (hanging out for Halo2 and KOTOR2)

PS2: SOCOM II (want Metal Gear Snake Eater)

:D AJ

idx

08-09-2004, 06:38 PM

CS and DOD when I get a chance. I haven't had time lately, but I've been meaning to install StarCraft again. Not exactly high action, but its fun in a different light.

-r

AJK1

09-01-2004, 02:32 PM

For RTS fans, check out this new demo!

http://www.eagames.com/official/armiesofexigo/armiesofexigo/us/home.jsp

AJ

sHAZBOT!

09-24-2004, 04:32 PM

Currently:
COD - Great game, but getting stale.
COD:UO - A Blast! Best xpansion period!
Doom3 - Decent Eye candy, and creepy ass sound fx. Gets your adrenaline pumping, but nothing new in gameplay.

HL2 and Stalker have my interest for the immediate future.

Far Cry was very pretty, and I was impressed with AI and physics, but gameplay was not all that fun to me. SP was ok, but MP just sucked, and MP is really what I enjoy most. Hopefully Crytek can optimize their netcode and engine so that it's not SO hard on the PC. A lot of potential in that engine.

Tribes Vengeance demo - tried it..ok for a bit, not enough to keep me.
MOH:Pacific Assault demo - egh. ok i guess, but why not play COD?

SIMS:Singles?? If I could get away with playing this I think it would be a crack up.

AJK1

09-24-2004, 07:16 PM

Xbox: Fable (actually lives up to its hype)

PC: CoD: UO (intense, action packed expansion)

PS2: GTA: Vice City (in prep for San Andreas)

AJ

firstadopter

09-26-2004, 06:36 PM

What's the best real-time strategy game to buy? I'm itching for one all of a sudden.

arogan

09-27-2004, 03:12 PM

COD: UO - finished. just awesome. too short. I'm pretty sick of WWII games in general but this was way worth it.
Riddick - I finally went back and finished this one. It bogs down a bit in the middle but the last 1/4 of the game rocks.
Burnout 3 (xbox) - sank about another 8 hrs into the world tour mode and loving it.

I have Starwars Battlefront (PC) sitting her yet to be opened.

firstadopter

11-10-2004, 10:39 AM

I spent about 12 hours in past 3 days playing Rise of Nations Gold Edition.

Choosing a computer skirmish with 7 nations on a small map is pure exileration.

TheAngryIntern

11-10-2004, 07:58 PM

good RTS games i've played are the Age of Empires series, Age of Mythology, command and conquer series, star wars: galactic battlegrounds (which is basically age of empires set in the star wars universe...the game play is nearly identical).

I'm kinda looking forward to Battle for Middle Earth. Rome Total War I've heard is pretty good. I played the demo for Real Genius, but i haven't picked it up yet. I'll get around to it one of these days!!

firstadopter

11-11-2004, 02:13 PM

Rise of Nations to made by the Age of Empires guy I think. The game plays very similarly + with Empire Earth type units.

It's a blast especially on a 2001FP.

TheAngryIntern

11-11-2004, 02:19 PM

I just saw in the new PC Gamer that there is a new Empire Earth coming out. screen shots look really nice!!!

firstadopter

11-11-2004, 02:28 PM

You can get the Rise of Nations trial right here. Trust it's addicting like crack.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=88fd78e7-b60e-4044-ae82-58588f256885&displaylang=en

TheAngryIntern

11-11-2004, 03:25 PM

i take that back....i didn't see the info about empire earth 2 in the new PC gamer. I'll have to go back and look at the about 5 magazines i've gotten in the past few days....it might have been CPU magazine. Anyway, the screen shots looked amazing. I'll have to check out that rise of nations trial this weekend.

TheAngryIntern

11-16-2004, 08:07 PM

HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!! HALF LIFE 2!!

sorry for the spam, but i'm loving this game so far!!!

firstadopter

11-16-2004, 08:17 PM

ditto! doom 3 and halo2 i spit on you!

half-life 2

GAME OF THE DECADE

arogan

11-23-2004, 02:28 PM

more like need to start playing:

- half life 2 of course. everything else is on hold until this is finished.
- a little nintendo ds before going to bed
- ace combat 5
- outrun 2
- kill zone (unopened)
- metal gear solid 3 (unopened)
- dead or alive ultimate (unopened)
- tribes vengeance
- katamari damacy
- star wars battlefront (unopened)

firstadopter

11-23-2004, 02:34 PM

arogan, you are the most gaming person I have ever met. Wow. You buy so many games.

firstadopter

11-27-2004, 03:06 AM

Is it me or is there too many great games coming out there. Sigh. Half life 2, Pirates, World of Warcraft, not to mention console games. Too much!! :)

TheAngryIntern

11-27-2004, 06:48 AM

After beating HL2, i am not currently ENGROSSED in World of Warcraft. What a great game....there were some hiccups with the launch, mainly some hellacious server lag, and servers being taken down for maintenance for hours at a time, but it seems to be working pretty well now.

firstadopter

12-29-2004, 04:30 PM

X-Men Legends.

Lord of Rings RTS.

TheAngryIntern

01-01-2005, 01:51 AM

still WoW with a little bit of Day of Defeat thrown in for variety.

firstadopter

01-01-2005, 11:59 AM

Lord of the Rings RTS is candy like fun with good graphics, but the gameplay isn't very deep. I'll probably go back to Rise of Nations for long deep RTS play, but for a nice rush and quick game LOTR fits the bill.

firstadopter

01-02-2005, 12:07 AM

I tried my first online multiplayer today, 4 person free for all. And even though 2 people left early, it was a blast. The game really is epic in proportions. I just wish they did incorporate flanking maneuvers, as the game is pretty much army rush city. The trick is to figure out allocation between units.

Still lots of fun especially with the incredible graphics for the eagles and balrogs.

arogan

01-12-2005, 04:08 PM

- battle for middle earth. about half way through the good campaign. I love the graphics (loved generals too which this uses the same engine) and the great movie tie-ins. Killing hobbits never gets old!
- medal of honor pacific assault (PC): not a bad game. It's starts off slow but gets better. EA's proprietary engine looks nice and runs ok. I just hate the "heat" blur effect when using mounted guns. If I want blury graphics I'll just hook up my old 14" crt that's completely out of focus.
- prince of persia warrior within - just started. Loved and finished the first one. Need more time.
- need for speed underground 2.
- call of duty finest hour. I love COD on pc and tried this xbox version. It was pretty fun until you get to the 3rd (american) campaign. It is so FREAKIN frustrating. People can we say checkpoints please!!!! I think I'm giving up on it.
- ace combat 5. about 8 missions into it. a lot of fun
- katamari damacy - good one to play with my kid.
- kill zone - you know it's not all that bad. The reviews haven't been that great but overall I think it plays rather well. The graphics are some of the best I've seen on ps2 just too bad the framerate sucks once a while but overall not too frustrating. Good amount of save points and check points too. Turn down the sensitivity and the controls aren't half bad either. Weapons and combat feel "right" too. Very good dolby prologic 2 sound.
- recently watched Resident evil apocalypse so now I'm kicking it old school to try and finish some of the RE games I skipped in the past mainly RE3 Nemesis on Dreamcast and RE Code Veronica X on ps2.
- hl2 deathmatch
- cs source: the new prodigy level is just beautiful. It's changed as much if not more than office.

- just got kingdom under fire: crusaders (xbox) for $20 at gamestop. Haven't opened it yet.
- should be getting RE4 today after work and maybe mercenaries for xbox.

What I really wanted for xmas is somebody to go to work for me so I can get some time to play all these games!

arogan

01-18-2005, 02:03 PM

Resident Evil 4 (gamecube)

- about 4 hours into it. 17-20hr game.
- best RE game hands down
- Amazing graphics. Just top notch, incredible detail, awesome lighting, love the environmental effects.
- great sfx and music. really sets the mood. good voice acting for the most part (well at least compared to all other RE games).
- more 3rd person action game than traditional survivor horror. I love the gun play. Very satisfying and never gets old.
- why do we still have to hit a button to run? capcom needs to go look up the word "analog" in analog stick.
- still can't move while shooting. no strafing.
- no ribbons needed to save at typewriters + Continue points in between typewriters = no frustrations!
- "interactive" in engine cut scenes. Very clever, original, and entertaining boss battles. I fought one boss 3 times (kept reloading) just so I could do better, and it was so much fun!

firstadopter

02-26-2005, 11:17 PM

I'm probably going to pick up Gran Turismo 4 tomorrow, which mean I'll also be buying my third PS2 this cycle. Lol. I sold the first 2 after I got bored.

But GT4 bringing me back. At least it will be the sexy slim line version.

firstadopter

02-26-2005, 11:18 PM

Seems like RE4 is the early candidate for the game of 2005. Everyone loves it.

firstadopter

02-27-2005, 10:35 PM

I sold my Xbox and bought a slim-line PS2 with GT4 and Katamari Damacy. Haven't tried GT4 yet, but katamari is a blast playing against my wife. I'm sure my baby who is going to be born in May will love it too.

arogan

02-28-2005, 03:47 PM

First, Congrats on the kid!

I finally finished RE4 this weekend. 27hrs 11min.
It's taken me about 6 weeks to complete since it's one game I will not play in front of the kids. This pretty much only leaves late nights or during nap time.
All I can say is wow. The amount of content in this game (I would say double most AAA titles), the consistancy in pacing and quality all the way to the end, the thought that went into each set piece/boss battle that made the play original and compelling, all together just an amazing game.

Only two very minor complains:
- aiming with the laser sight can get get frustrating. I would have been much happier with a crosshair.
- typewriter save points became more spread out in the last 25% of the game. There were still many continuation points so I was never frustrated. I just had to leave the GC on pause for long stretches at a time.

I think this is the first game cube game I've actually finished.

firstadopter

02-28-2005, 08:57 PM

Thanks man. I'll probably pick it up when the PS2 version comes out in a year.

For now I'm having fun with GT4. The graphics are out of this world, I just finished my first license test and I'm going through the beginner racing events. I bought myself a Miata.

The thing about this game is it's challenging enough where when you actually pass a test, buy a car, and win a race, it actually means something and is pretty rewarding.

On the downside is the lack of online capability and the AI still sucks.

firstadopter

03-01-2005, 08:36 PM

I'm actually back to playing Day of Defeat. My server of choice these days is the CIA dod_flash 24/7 server: 66.208.102.214:27015

When I'm not playing DoD, I'm playing GT4.

firstadopter

03-07-2005, 11:24 PM

I haven't play this much game-time in years. Maybe back to Advanced Wars on GBA.

I'm regularly spending 3-4 hours on World of Warcraft and 1-2 hours on Gran Turismo 4 each day.

Those 2 games are too damn addicting.

arogan

03-08-2005, 09:59 AM

I've been playing some more counter strike source lately. The new map cs_compound is a blast. The remake of de_train looks very nice too.

firstadopter

03-08-2005, 10:49 AM

I bet once Day of Defeat Source comes out, I won't have time for sleep as I'll be playing games all day.

firstadopter

06-11-2005, 02:32 AM

Nick!

06-14-2005, 06:16 AM

Is it me or are we getting deluged with great games right now, and it's not even Christmas. Who has time to play all this great stuff these days?

Battlefield 2, Guild Wars, God of War, Gran Turismo 4, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas PC/Xbox, Brothers in Arms, etc.

There aren't enough hours in the day, me thinks.
Must admit that even though most of those aren't my cup of tea, they do look to be good games. I'm prepared for the later wave of announced console games. My Gamefly queue is like 70% unreleased titles at this point :D

I'm trying to get around to finishing San Andreas. Keep playing for a week, then put it off for a few months, over and over... but I swear I'm going to finish THIS one!! It's certainly not worth starting over just to play with some updated graphics. At least running it off a hard drive in the PS2 makes it that much more bearable. Certainly a brilliant game that gets too much attention for the socially negative aspects.

Got my God of War disc and... it has circle scratches and won't boot! I checked back with Gamefly and they have an option to report that a game arrived unplayable. It instantly clears you having the item out and puts it back at the top of the queue. And it's listed with Available: Now. So by the end of the week I should be trying round two. *sigh*

I swear, the Gods are against me on this one ;)

firstadopter

08-23-2005, 07:36 PM

Nintendogs is on its way. Whee!

firstadopter

11-05-2005, 05:15 PM

Day of Defeat: Source has my fancy of late, the great part is it was free with my HL2 buy least year. Whee!

arogan

11-07-2005, 04:32 PM

Tons of guild wars still.

quake 4 (still not very far into it yet)
which reminds me I never did finish Doom 3 Resurrection of Evil.
I just installed and started playing Star Wars battlefront II. I like it so far.
Hmm...still need to get back to xbox Far Cry one of these days.
And there's that copy of xbox Burnout Revenge still shrink wrapped I purchased on release week.
HL2 lost coast - that was a fun 15 min. I need to go back and listen to the commentary.

Gamergal

11-16-2005, 12:06 AM

aside from wow, im currently playing eve's 14 day free game trial and lovin it!

arogan

07-30-2006, 09:28 AM

I finally got around to finishing a few games:
God of War (PS2) (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2006/07/god-of-war-ps2.html)
Tomb Raider Legend (PC) (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2006/04/tomb-raider-legend.html)
Prey (PC) (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2006/07/prey-pc.html)

arogan

08-03-2006, 10:54 AM

Street Fighter II (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2006/08/street-fighter-ii-hyper-fighting-xbox.html) on the X360!!!

firstadopter

08-06-2006, 06:04 PM

Ok here's a question. With a new baby, I don't have much time, but Conroe PC is yearning to play games. If you had to buy and play ONE game out of the following, what would it be and why?

Oblivion
Guild Wars
Guild Wars Factions
Battlefield 2
Call of Duty 2
and anything else?

I need to buy one game to play for now ;)

TheAngryIntern

08-06-2006, 06:26 PM

that's a tough call. I'd recommend Oblivion, mainly because that will be the best test of your new system. And it's a really fun game that will take you a LONG time to beat. I have 82 hours of gameplay and I'm not anywhere near being complete. I put the main quest on hold and I'm currently working on all the side quests. I'm the champion in the Arena, just got the Arch Mage of the mages guild today, i'm the Grey Fox, leader of the Thieves Guild, and I'm also the leader of the Dark Brotherhood. Next up is finishing up the Fighters guild. Then I'll get back to the main quest.

firstadopter

08-06-2006, 09:21 PM

I just ordered Oblivion off eBay. $30 shipped. Thanks man! You still playing DOD Source? Which servers?

firstadopter

08-06-2006, 09:34 PM

Maybe a different way to ask this. TAI, Arogan and others, out of this list - Rank in order by how many hours you've played in the past 12 months, ball park of course. :)

Oblivion
Guild Wars
Guild Wars Factions
Battlefield 2
Call of Duty 2

It's amazing how little PC gaming I have done in the past 1-2 year because my computer basically sucked. LOL. Now I'm reinvigorated!

TheAngryIntern

08-07-2006, 12:23 AM

well, I've never played Guild Wars.... I've only played BF2 for maybe a few hours. CoD2 I played through the single player, didn't dabble into MP, and like I posted earlier, I have over 80 hours invested in Oblivion. BF2 is fun, but I don't have the special forces pack yet, and I think most of the servers are running the expansion pack. i haven't tried playing it in a few months. Since I started my new job 3 months ago, I've found myself playing on my computer far less. I guess sitting in front of 2 computers for 8 hours a day is enough for me, so when I get home I either veg out in front of my Tivo or I read a book.

arogan

08-07-2006, 02:20 PM

Just checked total hours in Guild Wars: 607
Oblivion: 46 (finished main story line, and maybe 3/4 through thieves and maybe 1/8 mages guild)

CoD2: finished it on pc (around 8 hrs I'm guessing).
on x360 on hardest difficulty (for the achievements) I'm only on the second level. Only played online for maybe an hour.

Battlefield 2 (+ special forces) maybe only 15hrs. When I got it last year my pc wasn't quite up to snuff to play it and now that I've got the hardware I haven't had much time to get back into it. I did play with SF briefly and enjoyed that quite a bit more. I love infantry combat, hate vehicles so anything that brings more focus on the infantry is good in my book.

For me by far guild wars has kept my interest the longest. They just had elite mission weekend, still working my assassin through the factions game (about 50%), and I just started a Necro and got her up to level 13. Started playing degen/snare/pressure Mesmer in PvP so there are still just tons of things to do and try that I have yet to experience in the 600hrs I've put into this game. Now that you can buy extra character slots ($10 each) it really opens up the game.

- I like the PvE story missions
- I like the guild I am in (we are always looking for more people)
- I like the NO subscription fee.
- I like the instant travel anywhere.
- I like how you can play with ANYBODY in the world no matter what server they are on.
- I like the fast past PvP action.
- It's also good to have a few people you play regularly with. I have two co-workers that we try to play at least 2-3 times a week (PvE). Also, My brother in law has it (since I bought factions for his birthday :-)
- Teamspeak works well with it.
- I like the graphics and art style. It scales very well and plays well on my laptop too.
- I like the fast leveling

If you only could get one game (technically two) I would pick up guild wars and factions (at least factions first to give it a try. You level much faster in factions). But really you need oblivion too (which You already got) because that is a fantastic if very different rpg.

Ahh spoken like a true addict. I don't have a guild wars problem. I don't need your help. I can stop at anytime. :-)

firstadopter

08-07-2006, 06:12 PM

Ha should I play Factions first or Guild Wars? I read somewhere that people should do Guild Wars b/c some guilds require Prophecy skills? I'm definitely going to try Guild Wars too. Maybe the question should be, what should I play extensively first to get into your Guild and be beneficial?

You definitely are an addict. 600 HOURS? Sheesh, I don't think I ever played ANY game 600 hours in my whole life.

I think Oblivion, Guild Wars, and DOD:Source will be good. DOD probably will be better for my WWII fix than COD2 and BF2 anyway. Like you I like infrantry combat the best and DOD Source is good at that.

arogan

08-08-2006, 10:14 AM

Since this part of the discussion is getting heavy into GW I've replied to you in the GW thread.

Also if you like shooters and you haven't played it yet, you should be playing FEAR. You NEED to play FEAR! Plus it will work out your new computer nicely. It's probably my favorite shooter over the last few years next to half life 2.

Man Rendition you've got a lot of pc gaming to catch up on :-)

arogan

08-31-2006, 10:25 AM

Time Pilot (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2006/08/time-pilot-x360.html) on X360!

Btw, that's my wife playing in the video (I'm filming). I use to play this game a ton in the arcades.

firstadopter

09-01-2006, 10:35 PM

Pretty funny video. How did you record it? Digital camera movie function?

I'm playing Call of Duty 2 on PC too, which is taking time away from GW and Oblivion.

arogan

09-19-2006, 10:37 AM

I just finished Dead Rising! (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2006/09/dead-rising-xbox-360.html)
What a great game.

Hmmm now should I start company of heroes or Saints row.....decisions....decisions.

firstadopter

09-19-2006, 08:55 PM

I'm playing the Company of Heroes demo on the PC. Wow.. brings back the golden RTS memories of Command and Conquer Red Alert.

arogan

09-29-2006, 11:02 AM

The Original Doom (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2006/09/doom-xbox-360.html) on X360!

arogan

11-08-2006, 01:46 AM

Gears of War!!!!! (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2006/11/gears-of-war-x360.html)

firstadopter

11-08-2006, 07:15 PM

Guitar Hero 2... I didn't buy the first one, although I've played a few tracks at Best Buy. So far I like the song selection for the 1st one better, the 8-9 songs I've planed in GHII, I don't know any of them other than the Police song.

It's fun though and the graphics seem improved.

firstadopter

11-08-2006, 07:17 PM

Man I wish they would port Gears of War to the PC. I hate playing first person shooters on the console.

arogan

11-09-2006, 01:41 AM

Well technically it's 3rd person but still I'm a big fan of mouse keyboard but they really did the controls right on this one. Trust me it doesn't suffer one bit on the X360 controller because this game definitely doesn't play like your typical FPS.

Another 2 hrs.
- Act 2 is just like playing a really good Pitch Black Movie. It captured what I loved about that movie perfectly in this level. STAY IN THE LIGHT!!!
- Just started Act 3. It has some of the most amazing rain/water/lighting effects I've ever seen.
- Tried some multiplayer warzone. Fun but I need to learn the levels. I got a few chainsaw kills in though. Very satisfying.

firstadopter

11-09-2006, 09:48 PM

Anyone try Bully? It's also getting great reviews.

arogan

11-13-2006, 02:06 AM

Finished Gears of war on hardcore!
- Sometimes when you just want to run, if you brush up against an object or a wall it will kind of suck you into cover which is very annoying. This is especially apparent on the last boss.
- There seemed to be a big time and story gape between acts 4 and 5. It almost felt like something was cut maybe.
- The final boss was crazy tough. It also made you play the game a bit different that everything up to that point. I used a combination of torque bow and snipe rifle. I had to run back and forth at least twice and nailing something like 15-20 sniper head shots to finally bring him down. I must have played this last boss fight for a solid hour before beating it.
- Ok this game is NOT perfect. There are a few flaws but still a great game.

stupot42

11-13-2006, 07:54 AM

Anyone try Bully? It's also getting great reviews.

I hadn't realised what Bully was originally. In the UK it's called Canis Canem Edit. It's been getting good reviews over here too, but I've not played it, so I can't really comment. Looks pretty good tho. Looks like a school based GTA!

firstadopter

11-15-2006, 06:34 AM

Elite Beat Agents for DS. It's kind of like Guitar Hero! I'm amazed that they have full length songs on a cartridge.

stupot42

11-15-2006, 07:43 AM

Just started playing Fifa 2007 for the Xbox. It's the latest football (soccer) game in the series, and I'm not convinced it adds a lot to the game. I'm more a Pro Evolution Soccer man myself. Pro evo doesn't have finesse in style on the menus or build of the game interface, but the game play is far superior.

I moved to Fifa 07 when I found that Pro Evo 6 is only available on the 360, PS2 etc. No Xbox version.

My biggest gripe so far with Fifa is the fact that you can control the players with either the left thumb stick or direction pad, and the other one (on the left) controls certain tactical elements. The problem is, if you want to go defensive etc you need to stop running for a moment or two whilst you swap to the other control and select what you want. It's so annoying. Not at all well thought out. Overall tho, the game seems pretty good.

arogan

11-27-2006, 12:27 PM

Finished saints row (about 25hrs)
About 8 hrs into Zelda and really enjoying it.
Started NFS Carbon.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (PC) (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2006/11/dark-messiah-of-might-and-magic-pc.html)

and

Sneak King!!! (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2006/11/burger-king-games-x360xbox.html)

arogan

01-16-2007, 03:33 PM

Elite Beat Agents for DS. It's kind of like Guitar Hero! I'm amazed that they have full length songs on a cartridge.

I started playing this but was surprised how involved you get with tapping the screen along with the music. Man it gets crazy hard. It's not very forgiving. You can be going along perfectly, miss two or three taps and it's very hard to recover. Some of these songs take more than 10 tries to complete. I just finished the baseball fire golem level on normal (I refuse to go to easy...nope not going to do it). These little stories are just way out there (which is part of the charm). Anyways, I found this little game surprisingly addictive.

I might have to check out the Japanese prequel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osu%21_Tatakae%21_Ouendan

firstadopter

01-24-2007, 06:41 PM

Anyone playing Burning Crusade? All the hype and chatter is tempting me, but I know if I got it and played WOW again my wife would kill me. (super time sink)

TheAngryIntern

01-25-2007, 06:31 AM

i picked up a Collecter's Edition on the day it came out. So far it's pretty sweet. I've gotten my mage up to half way through 62. There are a lot of people already lvl 70. LOTS of new 5 man dungeons that are pretty quick to run through, only 3 bosses each. I've already replaced about 90% of the gear I had before the xpac. My guild hasn't gotten enough people to 70 yet to try out the new 25 man dungeons, but i'd imagine we'll be checking those out in the next coupla weeks.

firstadopter

02-10-2007, 08:43 PM

I'm on the second part of the last level in Elite Beat Agents, it's pretty damn difficult. I think I've tried the level like 15 times to no avail. I'm getting old.

arogan

02-10-2007, 11:19 PM

Stuck on the exact same spot on normal difficulty level. It's the big mother ship level. I think I keep losing on the 4th part. I usually squeeze by the section with all the swirling. Then the next section has some crazy long runs where they change up the order. I always lose it there. Then my had gets too tired and I quit.

I hate how you can't change the skill level in mid game. If you switch to easy you pretty much have to start from the beginning.

firstadopter

02-11-2007, 09:07 AM

I'm on the same part, but I'm on the easy level. LOL. This last level is the only one I've had issues with.. all the other songs I beat on either the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd try.

arogan

02-21-2007, 11:12 AM

Crackdown (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/01/crackdown-xbox-360.html)
OMG is this game FUN!!!!!
This is the most fun/least frustrating GTA clone yet!

arogan

02-24-2007, 06:32 PM

Finished crackdown today! Yeah you remember when we were talking about free time and such. Well this was one of the very few games that made me lose a lot of sleep (4 nights in a row I stayed up until 4am, 1:30am, 3:30am, then 1am just so I could play this game) and got my wife a bit pissed at me. I've still got several achievements to go and I want to max out my agent (level 4 right now on everything except firearms and driving are still at 3). Also, now I can jump into other people's city and help them take out their bosses in co-op mode.

Just another AWESOME 360 exclusive in a long line of excellent exclusives.

I think I'll go install linux on my ps3 since I haven't done much on it lately. Maybe I'll pickup VF5 but without online support (and 360 version coming in a few months) I might wait.

firstadopter

02-25-2007, 09:03 AM

I would hate to pick up a 360 and have the new quieter Rev SKU come out. So I'll probably wait a few more months. Sounds like 360 has tons of killer exclusives now - Crackdown, Gears of War, and Halo 360 in the fall.

firstadopter

03-03-2007, 09:47 PM

I gave the Command and Conquer 3 demo a try. It was "meh". Looked like C&C Generals with new vehicles and the game seems to reward tank rushing of old.

TheAngryIntern

03-04-2007, 03:18 PM

I actually enjoyed the demo a lot. I liked how the controls were classic C&C and I was able to jump right into gameplay, even though I haven't played a C&C game in years.

firstadopter

03-04-2007, 04:54 PM

I agree it's very much like old school C&C, but lately I've been liking Company of Heroes better (more refined, modern). Then again I can see how it might be fun for some 15 min quick action games.

arogan

03-05-2007, 02:47 PM

Hmm need to give C&C a look. It's my favorite rts series. I finished 2/3 factions in generals (skipped the terrorists, loved those chinese nukes though).

Just got back from a ski vacation so I've been hitting the portables pretty hard:

The Warriors (psp) - Pretty good brawler. I never played the ps2 version. Lots of story and cut scenes but after about 4 hours it gets a bit old and repetitive. The story wasn't interesting enough to keep me going. Cool mini game that pays homage to double dragon! I guess I did not dig it enough!

Ratchet and Clank Size matters (psp) - Again, never played the console versions, liked Resistance so I thought I would give it a try. It's an ok blend of action shooting and platforming but I guess I can't get over the cutesy graphics and setting. I pretty much lost interest after a couple of levels.

FF6 (GBA) - Never played SNES USA release (called FF3). I was always more of a phantasy star player myself. This one is a very good old school rpg which did remind me of the glorious phantasy star years (#1-4, yes I even liked #3). Pretty linear but I kind of like that. I ended up playing this one for about 4 hrs and I'm still enjoying it. I love the quick save/save anywhere feature they added. You can literally play it for 5 min at a time.

Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja (DS) - barely started this so no impressions yet. Suppose to be a hard core (read difficult and unforgiving) dungeon hack. I got too caught up in FF6 so I haven't spent much time with Izuna yet.

arogan

03-27-2007, 10:30 AM

Earth Defense Force 2017 (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/03/earth-defense-force-2017-xbox-360.html)

Great budget title that was released on the 360 (brought over from Japan).

arogan

04-14-2007, 06:46 PM

Finished <a href="http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/04/god-of-war-ii-ps2.html">God of war II</a> in about 17 hrs.

arogan

05-17-2007, 11:02 AM

Halo 3 Beta (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/05/halo-3-beta-xbox-360.html) of course!

arogan

06-14-2007, 10:54 AM

Prince of Persia Classic on 360 (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/06/prince-of-persia-xbla-360.html)

arogan

06-19-2007, 10:24 AM

Geometry Wars on the PC (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/06/geometry-wars-pc.html) when I can actually get it to start.

TheAngryIntern

06-24-2007, 03:54 AM

picked up Neverwinter Nights 2 at best Buy for $29.99, they finally dropped the price. so far it's a lot of fun, as much as the first one, i'd say.

arogan

06-26-2007, 01:34 PM

Just got back from a mini vacation and played Crush (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/06/crush-psp.html) on the PSP most of the time. It really is a great original puzzle/platform game.

arogan

07-06-2007, 01:30 PM

Dragon's Lair (Blu-ray) (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/07/dragons-lair-blu-ray.html) on ps3.

TheAngryIntern

07-06-2007, 04:22 PM

i just downloaded the GRAW2 SP demo last night. played for about 30 min or so. It's MUCH better than GRAW 1.

arogan

07-23-2007, 04:08 PM

i just downloaded the GRAW2 SP demo last night. played for about 30 min or so. It's MUCH better than GRAW 1.

Yeah I still need to go back and finish that game. I'm on day 3.

Just finished The Darkness (360) (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/07/darkness-xbox-360.html) this weekend.

arogan

09-20-2007, 12:45 AM

Finished Heavenly Sword (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/07/heavenly-sword-ps3.html)
Pretty darn short but I liked it even more than God of War 2!

arogan

09-26-2007, 10:57 AM

Why Halo 3 (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/09/halo-3-legendary-edition-xbox-360.html) of course!

TheAngryIntern

09-26-2007, 12:11 PM

and how is it?

arogan

09-26-2007, 01:07 PM

Finally got to finish the first level (playing on normal). Yeah the single player is a LOT prettier. Feels like good old halo. Radio chatter is too quiet in mission (I swear the Arbiter mumbles). There are only subtitles for the cut scenes. Frame rate feels 60fps even during heavy fire fights. I'm enjoying it so far. Pretty much what I expected. I'll have more impressions once I get to play it more.

arogan

09-29-2007, 02:28 AM

Got to spend some quality time with Halo 3 single player Campaign. I'm on level 7 now and so far it's a blast. It's by far the best halo single player so far. The graphics are great, the levels are well designed with only a little bit of back tracking, pacing is very tight with very little fluff, and there is a nice variety of different environments. Also, there are some really great vehicle levels thrown in so far.

I'll probably have the fight finished by tomorrow. I'm estimating around 10-12 hrs on normal to complete.

The film replay is way cool. It just records everything you do (all 7 hrs or so of campaign play so far). Files are small because it's like the old doom replays. It just records all player input and everything gets recreated in real time in the engine when played back.

arogan

10-02-2007, 11:00 AM

Finished halo 3 single player on normal, got all gold/silver skulls, found all terminals. Pretty good ending just make sure you watch AFTER the credits.
If you finish on legendary you get a slightly longer ending (which I watched on youtube).

Easily the best halo single player so far. Now it's time for some co-op, multiplayer, and forge.

TheAngryIntern

10-02-2007, 11:15 AM

i wonder if it will take them 2 more years to port it over the the PC...

firstadopter

10-02-2007, 05:38 PM

Given the reviews out there for halo 2, I don't know if you want a port. It looks like the PC version of Gears of War is going to be good though.

TheAngryIntern

10-02-2007, 06:17 PM

what's funny is the port should be damn near identical considering the xbox is basically a PC. I think it even runs some sort of bastardized version of windows, doesn't it? The PC version of the original Halo was pretty good. I never played Halo 2 though.

firstadopter

10-03-2007, 08:03 PM

Yeah, i think the problem is they give the porting duties to some 2nd tier developers that don't really spend any time changing the game to fit the mouse/keyboard. Plus the graphics come across crappy due to PC's higher resolution and better textures capability.

firstadopter

10-07-2007, 11:11 AM

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Only a few minutes into it (I hate Okami style text driven storyboarding, whatever) I thought I'd hate the stylus driven control screen, but it actually works fine. The graphics are amazing for the DS, a new high bar.

TheAngryIntern

10-08-2007, 09:33 AM

Orange Box gets released tomorrow I think (or maybe wednesday?) So I'll be knee deep in Ep 2 and Portal, as well as some TF2

arogan

10-08-2007, 04:52 PM

Orange Box gets released tomorrow I think (or maybe wednesday?) So I'll be knee deep in Ep 2 and Portal, as well as some TF2

I'm right there with ya. I can't wait for ep 2!!!
FYI, Fry's has this for $37 but they don't get it until thurs. I think I'll stop by best buy on wed and price match.

TheAngryIntern

10-08-2007, 04:53 PM

i've got it pre-ordered through Steam. wanted to be able to play TF2 beta

arogan

10-10-2007, 08:24 PM

Got my Orange Box. Installing right now...

Picked it up for $37 from best buy price matched to Circuit City. Then I used one of my $5 off reward card coupons so $32 for me.

firstadopter

10-10-2007, 08:26 PM

That's a good idea! I will do it this Friday. No need to go to Circuit City. I read that the new 360s are coming this Friday. wheeeeee

I got my BenQ 22" monitor, fired it up with my Mac. Few dead pixels, here and there, but shouldn't notice for 360 gaming which I will use it mainly for. The colors aren't as good as the IPS panels on the Dell 30" and 2001FP, but for gaming it should be fine. I hope.

TheAngryIntern

10-10-2007, 08:30 PM

i beat portal already...very fun, very short. Some of the puzzles had me scratching my head for a few minutes trying to figure out what to do.

arogan

10-11-2007, 10:53 AM

I only got in an hour or so of episode 2 (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/10/half-life-2-orange-box-pc.html). I'm really enjoying it so far. The steam community thing is really neat and copies a lot of xbox live. Here is my profile:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/arogan

TheAngryIntern

10-11-2007, 11:09 AM

http://steamcommunity.com/id/theangryintern is mine. i'll add you to my friends list when i get home.

firstadopter

10-12-2007, 07:10 PM

I copied Arogan and picked up the Orange Box today at Best Buy (price match to Circuit City) for $38. Unfortunately I won't get my video card back from MSI till next week so I won't be able to play it.

I checked Circuit City, Best Buy, and Walmart today for the new 360 Bundle, and none of them had it. Sigh. I read online that is has popped up at a number of stores late this week.

arogan

10-18-2007, 12:24 AM

I just finished portal. OMG this game is amazing.
Anyways the core game only took me 3.3 hours. There are still bonus levels I need to do though.

This game is all kinds of awesome and hilarious. It has a great story, great mechanic, really original, a great ending, and the best credits in any game.

firstadopter

10-20-2007, 07:01 PM

Man I'm in gaming bliss, the most fun I've had probably since the Commodore Amiga days. Since I got my PC working I've tried:

1) Call of Duty 4 Demo - amazing graphics and atmosphere
2) Team Fortess 2 - runs really well even with my 6400 Conroe and ATI 1900XT runng at 2560x1600.
3) Portal - just tried a few puzzles
4) Episode 2

Xbox 360
I've tried tons of demos and trials for Xbox Live Arcade games - dozens. So much fun, it's like getting a taste of every game.

Halo 3 single player and online multiplayer.

Forza 2 and Ultimate Alliance (good for playing with my wife, she likes this game).

My favorite Live arcade is Geometry Wars.

arogan

10-20-2007, 10:42 PM

Yup Geometry Wars is my favorite too. One of these days I'll get that million point achievement.

I kind of want to pick up pgr4 just for the new geometry wars. Don't get me wrong. I love the pgr series too but I really like me some geometry wars.

firstadopter

10-21-2007, 10:25 AM

Have you tried Super Stardust HD on PS3? I'm reading reviews that say its even better than Geometry Wars.

arogan

10-26-2007, 11:49 PM

I bought super stardust hd on ps3. It feels quite different from geowars imo. I mean yeah you still use the left stick to move and the right stick to shoot but it's more like 3d asteroids mapped on a sphere. It's very pretty and a lot of fun but it's no geowars. It's much better than blast factor IMO.

firstadopter

10-27-2007, 11:14 AM

I'm having fun with the Crysis demo. I'm stuck on the part going up the hill against the North Koreans after the GPS thing using the motor boat section.

I almost wish I should wait 1-2 year to build a new system to appreciate this game in all its graphical glory than playing on my chuggy current machine.

I read that it only runs 30fps on a 3ghz Core2Duo with 4 gigs of RAM at the highest end graphics card at 1600x1200. Ouch.

firstadopter

10-27-2007, 02:53 PM

Finished the Crysis demo. Wow. I want to play.... on a new $5K dual SLI machine. LOL.

firstadopter

10-27-2007, 03:19 PM

I finished the Call of Duty 4 demo. It was also a LOT of fun. This is really the golden age of gaming. COD4 also ran much better on my PC and looked better than Crysis. I bet if I had Crysis on HIGH mode it would probably be better, but I think COD4 is the game for me this Christmas and Crysis will be the game for me the next time I upgrade my PC. LOL.

arogan

10-28-2007, 07:32 PM

I finished Crysis demo (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/10/crysis-pc.html) and COD 4 demo (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/10/call-of-duty-4-pc.html).

I played Crysis first and was absolutely blown away (and this was on medium settings) gameplay wise with the suit and graphically. I'm really looking forward to this game and to me is worth a $2000 new rig (which I'm still considering the right time to build). COD4 felt a bit more of the same with previous cod's. I mean it was a very good more of the same, but still more of the same. I'm thinking about picking up cod4 on 360 though it ran really well even on my ancient pc rig.

firstadopter

10-28-2007, 08:05 PM

It would of been nice of Crysis to support 2560x1600. I think that's a big part of the reason why I thought COD4 demo looked better. Down rezz-ing on the 3007WFP doesn't look too hot. Oh well. Hopefully with a patch.

I'm in your camp. I probably need to upgrade my PC to get it working. Although I can probably just pop in a quad core and a new graphics card on my current machine 3-4 months out on my GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965.

TheAngryIntern

11-04-2007, 11:12 PM

picked up Hellgate: London on Friday. Very fun so far. It's from the lead designer of Diablo and Diablo 2, so the game almost feels like a Diablo 3, from a behind 3rd person view and set in post apocalyptic London instead of the Diablo setting. It's very Hack'n'Slash, which is a lot of fun. So far I've only played with the Blademaster class. They've got a single player and a multiplayer that is very reminiscent of Battlenet. Also, you can subscribe to their service and you get a lot of extra goodies like extra space for loot, access to more levels and ingame events, plus you can create a guild if you subscribe, but I guess even if you don't subscribe you can still join a guild. I haven't decided if i'm going to subscribe yet, since I'm still paying for WoW as well. So far I've been having a lot of fun with the game.

arogan

11-05-2007, 01:24 AM

I'm really tempted to pick up Hellgate London. I just finished Guild Wars Eye of the North so I'm looking for another non-subscription based online rpg. I'll probably get it once I get my new video card.

firstadopter

11-06-2007, 09:54 PM

Played the first chapter (boat mission) in COD4 on the 360. Wow, talk about cinematic (I felt a twinge of sea sickness too!). I also played one free-for-all deathmatch mutliplayer, which was fun. 4 kills 15 deaths, I was way over-matched by the others as they had experience, I was the only newb of the 8 person group.

The graphics, animation are amazing. This has hooked me in much faster than Halo 3 and I'll probably finish this game first.

My only gripe is the game keeps the disc spinning and reading the whole time pretty loudly, which makes me scared as the 360 isn't known for its hardware reliability you know ;)

TheAngryIntern

11-08-2007, 09:36 PM

finally installed CoD 4, and you are right, that first boat level is freaking intense! and it just gets better from there. When you are a USMC Sgt and trying to storm the TV station, that is crazy as well! I'm on the level that you played in the Demo, where you have to save the Tank.

arogan

11-09-2007, 10:44 AM

Finished Guitar Hero III on medium.
Finished Guild Wars Eye of the North (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/11/guild-wars-eye-of-north-gwen-pc.html).
I'm still working my way through COD4 campaign.

playing The Last Starfighter!!! (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/11/last-starfighter-pc-freeware.html)

firstadopter

11-09-2007, 06:34 PM

Yea last night I did the demo level and TV Station level. I'm trying to play as much as I can when my son is asleep. The game is a great time thus far. I pretty much get owned in multi-player though.

arogan

11-10-2007, 01:19 AM

Just played a lot more cod 4. I'm up to the first joint mission. This game is absolutely amazing so far. It really has surprised me and is doing things I've never seen or expected in a fps. It's so original and creative with what starts as typical mission type but then twists it and changes it to something entirely new. My favorite so far has to be the AC-130 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC-130) mission (105 mm howitzer FTW). It reminded me of that scene from the transformers movie.

firstadopter

11-10-2007, 09:00 PM

I'm at the ferris wheel part of the Chernoybl level. Dang the level design is amazing. I have no idea how they spent so much time on building out this "real world" like levels. We've come a long way from the old DOOM repeat maze days.

arogan

11-13-2007, 02:27 PM

finished (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/10/call-of-duty-4-pc.html) COD4 single player. Wow what a ride. That last mission was intense. Stay after the credits for a nice but confusing surprise.

I briefly played multiplayer. After about 3-4 games I unlocked sniper so it seems that you level pretty quickly.

So how do perks work in the game? Are they passive or you do you have to press a button or something activate some of them?

TheAngryIntern

11-14-2007, 09:17 AM

Kinda getting back into WoW. A huge new patch was released yesterday, adding some neat new stuff. This is the first major patch I can remember where nobody's bitching about the changes that were made. For the most part people are really happy with the changes. My main is a Mage, and they added a new spell called Ritual of Refreshment which basically summons a floating refreshment table that can dish out 50 stacks of "conjured manna biscuits" that restore both health and mana! so no more spending 10 min before each raid making stacks and stacks of water! Plus they added about 50 new quests and a neutral town in Dustwallow Marsh (i haven't checked that out yet) They lowered the requirement to get the Heroic keys for Outland instance from Revered status to Honored, so I was able to go get all my Heroic keys. Ran my first Heroic instance last night, got clobbered a few times but it was fun. The big change is leveling up characters. From lvl 20-60, the amount of XP needed to level up has been reduced, and from 30-60 the amount of XP you get for turning in quests has been increased, so leveling up should be much faster now. A few people in my guild were playing their alts last night and said they noticed the difference almost right away. It seems like they lowered the mana cost of buffing spells, too, which is nice.

Figures that Blizz would do this to pique my interest in WoW again in the same week that Assassin's Creed and Crysis come out, not to mention Gears of War (see What have you Bought in 2007 thread) that i picked up yesterday but haven't even installed.

I figured out yesterday that I need to become independently wealthy and figure out a way to not have to sleep so I have time to play all the games that are coming out!

firstadopter

11-14-2007, 05:50 PM

Tell me about it. I'm noodling getting a Nintendo Wii now cuz of Super Mario Galaxy reviews. To tell you the truth, I thought this game would stink from the videos.

How does thew Wii look on HDTVs? Whenever I play old PS2 games, they look like crap on the high resolution screens.

TheAngryIntern

11-14-2007, 05:57 PM

i've heard that if you have an HDTV and are getting a Wii, make sure to get the component cables because on the bigger TV's there's a noticeable difference between 480i and 480p

arogan

11-14-2007, 11:11 PM

Picked up Super Mario Galaxy and Crysis ($40 at CC but I price matched at Best Buy b/c as usual CC didn't get it in).

I played Mario for about 1.5 hrs. It's actually a lot a fun, much better than sunshine. The controls work well and all the perspective, gravity stuff is cool if a bit disorientating sometimes. The Wiimote is mostly used for shaking for the spin attack and pointing to shoot start bits at enemies. My 5yr old REALLY enjoyed watching me play. I really like the music.

Graphics are as about as good as it can be. I have the first party component cables and ummm 480p blown up to 52" does tend to emphasize the jaggies. You learn to ignore it after awhile.

I've got Crysis installed. I'll fire it up tomorrow when I get my 8800GT. Talk about 2 games on the total opposite ends of the graphics scale.

Played an hour or so of team slayer halo 3 last night with a friend. Halo sure is fun when you play with people you know. Working on cod4 and trying to level up to get that M4.

I should have assassin's creed tomorrow. Man I need a month off to play all this stuff.

firstadopter

11-18-2007, 08:23 PM

Multi-player on PC for COD4 is a lot of fun due to the prettier graphics and control scheme I'm used too. The 4x anti-aliasing and ansio stuff + 2560x1600 resolution really do make a difference. The smoke effects look stunning.

TheAngryIntern

11-18-2007, 10:32 PM

finally played a bit of Assassin's Creed today. WAY different than what I expected. Not going to say anything that might be a spoiler. It's really good so far, though!

arogan

11-18-2007, 11:32 PM

Picked up Assassin's Creed for $40 (best buy price matched to frys) for 360.
Yeah still making my way through those early levels. I've gone through the first bit of combat and I'm still trying to get use to the controls. It's way different from any other game.

Made it to my first zero G level in Crysis.

arogan

11-21-2007, 04:22 PM

Finished Crysis! Great final boss battle, horrible ending similar to Halo 2.

Picked up the Wii zapper with Zelda Crossbow Training (fun little game) and Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles.

arogan

11-23-2007, 12:58 PM

Rock Band is the greatest party game ever. There's nothing quite like having a full band. I think we played like 8 hrs with family on thanksgiving. Great times. I think after about 6 hrs of drums I finally "got it." I can pretty much handle medium now on any song. Oh and the guitar does suck.

My kid loves zelda crossbow training. RE UC isn't bad either.

TheAngryIntern

11-23-2007, 04:21 PM

are you having the down-strum problem with the guitar that a lot of people are having? If you are, gizmodo had a small article about a guy who took his apart and was able to fix the problem...

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/%28don.t-fear%29-the-reaper/how-to-revive-your-busted-rock-band-guitar-to-keep-jamming-this-weekend-325933.php

arogan

11-23-2007, 09:44 PM

Yeah my brother in law (who brought up his rock band guitar) started having down strum issues after about 4 hrs. I just sent him the link.

Mine is still ok but I haven't used it much yet. I've mostly been playing drums.

arogan

12-03-2007, 11:20 AM

Really getting into Assassin's Creed (http://aroganworld.blogspot.com/2007/12/assassins-creed-xbox-360.html) now. It's great once you get past the rather steep learning curve.

arogan

12-12-2007, 11:22 AM

finished assassin's creed.
impressions and tips:
http://blog.arogan.com/2007/12/assassins-creed-xbox-360.html

firstadopter

12-13-2007, 08:06 PM

I tried the Burnout Paradise demo today and didn't find it that great. The graphics are great, but with Burnout games I'm looking for some mindless action fun.

Having an open area where you waste time trying to find things to do and plus following the map while racing instead of it being on rails in my opinion is a step backwards.

arogan

12-16-2007, 01:03 PM

Finished hl2 ep2. I was surprised where this episode ended. Man how depressing.

TheAngryIntern

12-17-2007, 04:26 PM

got sucked back into Crysis on Friday, played it most of the afternoon/night. I think i'm near the end, but after you get to the mine, it just gets weird!

arogan

12-17-2007, 04:30 PM

Most people are pretty divided between pre "cave" and post "cave." I personally liked it all but I have to admit I like pre "cave" more.

Just brace yourself of a craptastic "ending" like Halo 2.

TheAngryIntern

12-17-2007, 05:12 PM

seeing as how i never played Halo 2, i'd have nothing to compare it to, but i have heard that the ending kinda sucks.

firstadopter

12-23-2007, 10:03 AM

In the last 24 hours I've played:

COD4 PC campaign - trying to get back to where I was on the 360 version
COD4 PC multiplayer
Crysis PC
Gears of War PC
Forza 2 360
Contra 4 DS
Streetfighter 2 360 Live - can't get enough even though my win rate % is less than 20%
Geometry Wars 360 Live - 200k, 300k next?
Team Fortress 2 PC

Too much good gaming to be done. Happy Holidays everyone. The 8800GT and the 2007 PC gaming crop in the best in years. Awesome!

arogan

12-23-2007, 08:06 PM

200K on geowars...not bad. That's like a first hurdle you cross. Keep practicing and you'll be up to 500K in no time.

Off at the in laws for Christmas but my brother in law has a 360 + rock band so more rock band, and I got some more mass effect in.

Hitting the portables too:
ds:
contra 4 - instant classic if you liked the original.
geometry wars galaxies - just can't get use to the controls - stylus or face buttons.

psp:
manhunt 2: not all that impressed with the gameplay or the gore so far.
medal of honor heroes 2: man I wish the psp hand a second analog stick.

arogan

12-31-2007, 02:37 AM

Just finished Mass Effect (http://blog.arogan.com/2007/12/mass-effect-xbox-360.html)
It took over 36hrs (though I did end up doing most of the side quests).

Great game!

firstadopter

01-01-2008, 10:03 PM

In the last 7 days, in order of total play time:

Team Fortress 2 PC
Wii Sports
Street Fighter 2 XBL
Geometry Wars
Call of Duty 4 PC
Gears of War PC
Portal PC
Crysis PC
Forza 2 360

I've played A LOT of TF2, more so than I would of thought with all these other games out there.

TheAngryIntern

01-01-2008, 10:37 PM

i finally finished Bioshock and CoD4 this weekend.

arogan

01-02-2008, 12:49 AM

Bioshock...heh took your time there TAI.

I'm back into World in Conflict (about 5 stages in), and I'm really enjoying it so far. It's so action oriented is perfect for a fps guy like me.

I started up Uncharted. Wow this game really is beautiful. It's pretty impressive what a PS3 can do when it's an exclusive title. Gameplay is great too even though it does feel a lot like the last two crystal dynamics tomb raiders. If you are looking for something to play on your ps3, then you really need to take a look at Uncharted.

TheAngryIntern

01-02-2008, 11:07 AM

i let Bioshock sit for a long time and just picked it back up this past weekend.

The CoD4 ending is probably one of the better video game endings I've seen. Or rather, the end part of the last level. Plus the bonus after the credits was cool too

arogan

01-02-2008, 05:38 PM

Picked up two copies of Time Crisis 4 (http://blog.arogan.com/2008/01/time-crisis-4-with-guncon-3-ps3.html) so I could get two guncon 3's.

arogan

01-08-2008, 11:20 AM

Finished Uncharted (http://blog.arogan.com/2008/01/uncharted-drakes-fortune-ps3.html). If you own a ps3 you NEED this game!

TheAngryIntern

01-08-2008, 11:53 AM

Finished Uncharted (http://blog.arogan.com/2008/01/uncharted-drakes-fortune-ps3.html). If you own a ps3 you NEED this game!

i have the demo and i still haven't played it. I might have to give it a go soon. Won't be able to this weekend, I'm flying back to Minnesota to see my folks and have a sort of job interview.

(doh, i hit the edit button on your post instead of quote...sorry about that)

arogan

01-20-2008, 01:19 AM

I finally got around to trying this demo UMD that I got in the mail a while back. You get a good chunk of the first level and some bonus video.

- plays, looks, sounds, controls incredibly close to the previous ps2 versions.
- Best looking psp game hands down. It has the same impact as God of War had on the ps2 when it first came out. You will be surprised what the psp is capable of. The graphical detail, scale, draw distance, animations, frame rate - it's all there. Even the same great music is there.
- Combos are easy as ever to pull off.
- Dodging is a bit tricky (requires holding L1 + R1 and pressing a direction on the analog thumb pad) but other than that the controls/camera are fine.
- I predict when this comes out it will be a system seller. I can't wait for the full version. It almost makes me want to buy a slim psp just so I can see this on the big screen....almost.

arogan

01-25-2008, 11:02 AM

So I finally tried it really briefly last night (only got through the tutorial). I think I'm really going to like this game. The jaggies don't really bother me. I mean the whole graphical style is a bit retro with that low rez blocky look. The simple solid colors kind of remind me of Out of this World a bit.

Controls weren't exactly what I was expecting (will they ever create a 1:1 mapping between wiimote and a stick/sword/Lightsaber?) but they seem to work well.

My wife walked by while I was playing. She was like "you aren't playing this in front of the kids are you?" Heh finally a Wii game for ME!!!!

I love the crazy deaths. Every time you kill somebody it's like a volcanic eruption of gore and money. It's Vegas in hell. Wow and the motion/animation to recharge your batteries...this is definitely a different kind of game.

Oh and I found me a copy of Killer 7 for gamecube for $8 (went to a different gamestop which did still carry gamecube games. It's a perfect copy, looks new). I'm guessing I probably shouldn't play that one in front of the kids either.

I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with this game later tonight.

I've also finished Halo 3 (second time) co-op campaign on legendary. I've started stranglehold and PGR4. Don't forget to d/l your free copy of Undertow from XBLA.

TheAngryIntern

01-25-2008, 11:57 AM

still don't have a 360, so no free game for me.

I did play the demo for Burnout Paradise yesterday, it was pretty fun. Graphics are amazing. i might pick up the full copy now that it's out

arogan

01-25-2008, 12:13 PM

Burnout Paradise kind of pisses me off. They changed so much what I liked about the burnout series, and WTF no retry when you fail an event just boggles the mind. Devs say they hate load screens. Well, I hate driving across the damn map to get back to the starting line even more!

I hear the multi player is pretty good. Eh I think I'll wait for a $20 used copy. I'm so disappointed.

TheAngryIntern

01-25-2008, 12:17 PM

hmm, first bad impression of the game i've heard. maybe i won't pick this up afterall. I still need to play the uncharted demo, too.

firstadopter

01-25-2008, 05:27 PM

Yeah I hated the Burnout Paradise demo too, which is a bummer b/c I was really looking forward the game.

stupot42

01-28-2008, 03:56 AM

I've been playing a bit more the of the Orange box over the weekend. I finished HL2 Ep 1... total of about 4 hours game time. I think I was a little cautious at times... I'm sure I could have done it quicker. I was a little disappointed that the puzzles weren't harder to figure out... I seem to remember that HL2 gave me a couple of real head scratcher moments, which Ep1 didn't. Really enjoyed it tho.

About an hour into Ep2, which so far seems a bit more demanding... It's always interesting to see some new things to fight.

Also tried to play a bit of Team Fortress, but it seems more demanding on bandwidth than any other game I own... It just stutters constantly and it takes an age to respond to my movements. I suppose my broadband just isn't up to the job.... such a shame. I was really looking forward to some capture the flag fun!

Other than that, I've been playing a lot poker! Just against the computer tho... no-one ever seems to have any games on live.

Edit: Oh and my missus has discovered Viva Pinata... she's become hooked. Played for at least 11 hours since last Thursday. Fist game I've seen her hooked to since the Sims, and that was a passing thing. I can't believe how easy it is to get gamer points off Viva Pinata tho... they just seem to give them away!

stupot42

01-28-2008, 08:24 AM

I just ordered Halo 3. I can kiss goodbye to my social life for a little while! Ha ha... should be here Wednesday. I can't wait... also considering buying Crackdown and Lego Starwars 2 (original trillogy) in a 2 for £25 deal, but I'm thinking I can probably get them cheaper on flea-bay.

arogan

01-28-2008, 09:26 AM

firstadopter

01-28-2008, 06:00 PM

I downloaded Undertow. It ok, don't see myself playing it much.

I'm still playing Geometry Wars and SF 2 online every day. SF2 actually lagged on me the first time yesterday, before that I've been lucky never to have lag.

stupot42

02-02-2008, 03:54 PM

I thought the start of ep2 was kind of weak. I really got stick of the tunnels and ant lions. But, it gets really good toward the end.

Hmm try a few different TF2 matches. Since it's peer to peer it might have just been a bad host. Also maybe find slightly smaller games like 8 players.
When I played it a few times (not a whole lot) it was really smooth.

I've reached the last battle of Ep2 I think... fighting the stalkers. It's getting kinda repetative tho, and I've stopped and saved half way through. I agree that the beginning was a bit repetative.

Some of the achievments on the Orange box are stupidly difficult for how few points you get for them too... IE kill 333 antlion lavae... I was 36 short, and I killed every one I saw, and even went looking for them. And I think that gets you 10 gamer points. My missus has more points than I do from playing Viva Pinata, and I've got about 15 more achivements! Crazy.

I tried some more FT2, but it was the same. I think it's my crappy ISP, so I've changed... my new service starts on Thursday, so with any luck I'll have a quicker up and down speed, which should sort the ptoblems.

My copy of Halo 3 just arrived, and I'm very impressed with the graphics. Looks very good. I've not done much... just started and then saved. I only wanted to check that it worked. If I start playing it before I finish HL2 Ep2, then I know it'll be a while before I go back to it. I've also just bought a pre-owned copy of Assassins Creed off ebay at a bit of a bargin price, so I've got lots to keep me busy when I'm done with HL.

arogan

02-02-2008, 04:40 PM

Yeah you are are about 30-60 min from finishing ep2.

Finished World in Conflict (single player campaign). This has been the prettiest, fun, action packed RTS I've played in a long time (including C&C 3). It has a great story and characters. The missions are nice a varied with a lot of scripted events (I know who would have thought scripted events work in a RTS but it does!).

Played more team slayer Halo 3 and PGR 4.

DMC 4 is out next week. I might have to give that a try. I think I'll pick up Forza 2 tonight since it's on sale for $20 used at gamestop this week.

firstadopter

02-02-2008, 10:26 PM

Anyone pick up or see Endless Ocean yet? I'm thinking it might be a good game for my 2 1/2 year old.

arogan

02-03-2008, 10:18 AM

Interesting....only $30 to boot. I might have to pick it up for the kids. It sure seems like it would bore me to tears though.

arogan

02-03-2008, 10:29 PM

Ok I picked up endless ocean and played it for about 1 hr.
- not bad looking for a Wii game
- lots of ocean to explore
- there are simple objectives that moves the "story" along.
- controls are simple and work well. You only need the wiimote.
- this is a very laid back and relaxing game. maybe too relaxing. You really have to be in the mood to play something like this.
- no shooting, no explosions, zero frustration.
- I guess it's fine for kids though my 6 yr old got kind of bored with it too after a while.
- Everything is text based with no voice overs so I ended up having to read everything to the children.
- I think I got more enjoyment just swimming around underwater in Crysis.

Not bad for $30 I guess if you are into interactive aquariums. Definitely skip if you aren't the kind of person who can enjoy starring into an aquarium or maybe a lava lamp.

firstadopter

02-04-2008, 07:58 PM

Wow what instant feedback. LOL. I'll probably wind up picking it up for my kid. He likes fish.

firstadopter

02-09-2008, 09:53 AM

I played Endless Ocean for about 30 minutes. I can't say it was very exciting, although my 2 year was laughing hilariously whenever I petted a fish with a hand motion. I don't know if I would recommend this. LOL.

stupot42

02-13-2008, 03:40 AM

Downloaded and played the Crackdown Demo... only got about 45 mins play out of it... if that before it booted me out, but had quite a lot of fun playing. May well pick up a copy when I've finished Halo and Assassins Creed.

Also considering pre-ordering a copy of Bully... the 360 version looks pretty good... graphics are much better than the PS2 version I've seen at a friends. Anyone played it? I've heard mixed things.

stupot42

02-17-2008, 10:04 AM

I know many people would consider it sacreligious to say so, but I've got bored of Halo 3 rather quickly. It all seemed a bit too repetative. I suppose it's because Half Life 2 has raised the bar on what I expect. Either way, I've moved on to Assassins Creed as it arrived the other day (2 1/2 weeks after I ordered it), and I'm loving it. Only played the first couple of missions, but it's great fun. A really refreshing style of game play, and I love the free roaming feel and fact that you can climb up almost anything. I think I'm going to give Assassins Creed a run before I go back to Halo, maybe I'll be more in the mood for it then.

Also picked up a copy of PGR4 (as it was a bargin not to be missed at 75% off), and I've had a quick play with that... it seems like much of the same classic PGR stuff, but the addition of bikes looks like it will add a new dimension. I like PGR2, although I've not played PGR3, so I'm sure this one will be just as much fun.

arogan

02-17-2008, 11:45 AM

Yeah Halo is very much old school gameplay without much innovation or change in the core gameplay. I'm guessing that's fine for the millions of old school hard core halo players out there. If you dig the style of multiplayer (twitch, guns, greneades, melee) it's a blast. Also, I finished the campaign a 2nd time with 3 buddies over 4 player co-op. It definitely has one of the best co-op modes out there and is just a ton of fun (up there with rainbow six vegas).

I'm working on devil may cry 4 now (starting level 4). I really like Nero so far, and the graphics/art are just amazing.

I also picked up burnout paradise for pretty cheap ($35 used). Yeah I still don't like the no retry but it goes well with the new MS Wireless Racing wheel I picked up for $80. The kids love just driving around the city. I have to say the graphics sure are nice!

Got Ace Combat 6 too. I really liked the demo so I'm looking forward to starting this sometime soon.

arogan

02-19-2008, 05:00 PM

Stayed up until 3am last night and finished Devil May Cry 4 (http://blog.arogan.com/2008/02/devil-may-cry-4-xbox-360.html)
I liked it enough but it did have some flaws.

stupot42

02-26-2008, 10:55 AM

Playing Assassins Creed and loving it! Best game I've played in a while with the exception of Portal.... but the two aren't really comparable.

Just wish I had more time to play it... I think I ticked the missus off last week, so giving it a bit of a rest for a while.

TheAngryIntern

02-26-2008, 11:04 AM

i've been reading a Splinter Cell book, which made me go back and play a little bit of Double Agent and Chaos Theory over the weekend. Can't wait for Splinter Cell Conviction to come out in a few weeks.

EDIT: i take that back, i guess SC:Conviction doesn't come out until October.

stupot42

03-25-2008, 02:42 PM

Completed Assassins Creed over the weekend. Really enjoyed the game, but there are some things that I'm not going to waste my time doing, like looking everywhere for flags... why they even bothered to put it in I just don't know. There are also a couple of things that ticked me off...

I completed every free mission in Jerusalem, but still didn't get the defender of the people achievement. I couldn't find a single bit of the game where I could fight 25 guards at the same time, so I didn't get that achievement either, although I'd have loved that and I have no idea how you're meant to last 10 mins in a fight... they're over too quick for that.

I also didn't like the fact that once I'd finished the game, watched the end cut scene, credits and little bit aften them (about 15mins in total) and turned my Xbox off, that the next time I came to finish the bits I hadn't already, I had to watch it all again, with no way to skip it. 15 mins I really didn't want to spend again.

Ah well, over all a cracking game, and on ebay later tonight!

arogan

03-25-2008, 02:57 PM

1) yeah I skipped the item collecting too
2) hmm I got the defender achievement. I did every side mission there was though. I got the fight 25 guards on the one mission where you go in with the monks and the gate closes behind you if you reveal yourself. Your suppose to climb a ladder but I just stayed in the small square pit and killed everyone and got the achievement. It couldn't have been more than 4 or so missions in. I forget the exact one. It's been a while. For the 10 min fight just pick a fight with a guard or two and just block and doge for 10 min.
3) SPOILER ALERT!!!
after the credits go back in the main science lab area and look around with eagle vision to see all sorts of weird writing. Then you can get back into the animus and save your game. There is also a bit of epilogue text in there and you can replay any of the memory blocks you want. No need to re-watch any of the ending.

firstadopter

04-18-2008, 07:37 PM

I just played about 45 minutes of GT5 Prologue. It's basically the same game as previous GTs with online play.

I wish they stuck with 720p instead of 1080p because the tracks and landscape art is pretty weak and bare. However the car models are photorealistic, amazing.

There is no car damage, however if you get rammed and hit a lot of times you hit the wall and lose your place, so there is a penalty in a sense.

All this being said, I'm going to play this game for dozens of hours in the coming weeks. Guaranteed.

I played 1 campaign race and then tried online mode. It works reasonably well (1 hangup in like 10 races) and I even was using wireless connection, which I was impressed that it worked so good.

Online racing is a blast. The races are short and sweet, a lot of exciting moments. People keep ramming me into the wall when I try to pass them, so it's definitely very competitive. It's ONE MORE RACE addictive.

If you liked previous GTs, I think playing online is worth the $40. It's a LOT of fun. Since the races are short, I'm enjoying it a lot more than my previous console online experience - Project Gotham racing. B/c in that game once you fall behind, it's like a long time of boredom trying to catch up.

firstadopter

04-19-2008, 10:58 AM

One bad thing is the online play is auto-matchup. So you can't play with your friends like Xbox Live. You always play with a random set of players around the world.

TheAngryIntern

04-24-2008, 01:43 PM

I got my Beta key today for Fileplanet's Age of Conan beta. I can't play until May 1, but I can download the 12+GB client today. I'll give my impressions of it once the beta actually starts.

firstadopter

04-26-2008, 02:38 PM

I'm still playing way to much GT5 prologue. I tried Forza 2 just to compare and it simply doesn't. Forza's car models look so flat and old compared to GT5's photorealistic ones, I can't go back to Forza now. The online play, though very bare and simple, is still a ton of fun.

I also got past of couple of save points of God of War 2. What an amazing game.

arogan

04-28-2008, 02:16 PM

Finished Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (http://blog.arogan.com/2008/04/rainbow-six-vegas-2-xbox-360.html) single player. It was pretty disappointing.

arogan

04-28-2008, 02:17 PM

I got my Beta key today for Fileplanet's Age of Conan beta. I can't play until May 1, but I can download the 12+GB client today. I'll give my impressions of it once the beta actually starts.

I'm definitely interested in that. Blood, gore, nipples...what's not to like.

TheAngryIntern

04-28-2008, 02:31 PM

Finished Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (http://blog.arogan.com/2008/04/rainbow-six-vegas-2-xbox-360.html) single player. It was pretty disappointing.

i'm playing through it on the PC and I've liked it so far. It just continues on where RSV left off, and that's a good thing.

arogan

04-30-2008, 02:35 AM

very early impressions.
9 missions passed, 7.53% complete
about 3.5 hrs (that's with about 4 side missions dating etc and just messing around and finding places)

- On the 360 depending on lighting (usually during mid day) the shadows kind of shimmer. It's a bit distracting but I got use to it after a while. I'm wondering if the PS3 version has this issue.
- I've had zero lock ups or issues so far.
- Framerate is more than acceptable so far. No, it's nowhere near 60fps but I'd say it usually stays around 30 or above. It's very playable.
- Lots of post processing and lighting effects. I love the day/night and weather cycles. Rain at night just looked amazing with the street lights. Graphics really are rather great with good draw distance and little pop up.
- Excellent learning curve/mission structure so far. This whole first part is like a well designed tutorial teaching you all the different aspects and types of gameplay.
- Lots of mini games in the world: bowling, pool, darts, arcade machines, etc. You can burn a lot of time just watching TV or surfing on the "internet" that's part of the game.
- Pretty funny response when I tried to" "go for it" on my second date.
- I've only done a little combat but it's seems quite a bit more improved so far. It takes a bit of getting use to the half left trigger (manual aim) vs full left trigger pull(lock).
- Starter cars kind of suck with not much grip. You really gotta break and slow down before using the emergency break.
- Nice quick retry of missions. It's just a menu option on your phone. Nice auto save too + many manual save slots.
- The whole save your care in the reserved spot is ok but not near as nice as the Saints Row system. If you total the car it's pretty much gone.
- GPS system works really well. Pretty much just like Saints Row.
- Load times aren't too horrible.
- I've only explored maybe 1/6th of the map so far.
- Lots of nice cut scenes. Voice acting, characters, story have all been pretty darn good so far.
- Ammo and money hasn't been much of an issue. Just don't blow it all on lap dances at the strip club :-)

I've never finished a GTA game before because of a lot of annoying design decisions. I did finish Saints Row because it fixed most of them. This might be the first GTA I finish because it seems like they finally got it right this time. I'm definitely impressed.

firstadopter

05-02-2008, 07:22 PM

I played for about 45 minutes just now. 4 missions passed. At first, I was jarred with the graphics. I don't know if it is just the PS3 version, but far away objects and buildings are blurry. It kind of bothered me for a while, but I got used to it.

The detail of the city is amazing. The acting and voice dialogue are top-notch. I am impressed with the detail, but after playing many hours of GT 5 Prologue, the graphics are a bit of a let-down. Oh well.

I'm having fun though. I played a deathmatch game online which worked out well. Rocket launchers are fun especially when you nail someone in their car.

TheAngryIntern

05-02-2008, 08:09 PM

arogan

05-03-2008, 02:41 AM

So I'm jacking this car, just some 4 door that seemed like it was full of old ladies. It was moving but not very fast when I hit Y. At that moment Niko reaches for the car and it seems like his jacket sleeve or hand or something gets caught in the door. They keep driving and chattering while my rag doll body is being dragged down the street. My controller is rumbling, and I think I was losing small amounts of health. This goes on for several seconds. I'm thinking they will eventually stop, and I'll get the car or at least I'll get unstuck. Finally I start mashing the Y button b/c I didn't know what else to do which got me unstuck. I have no idea if this is some random scripted event, a glitch, or what but it was amazing!

TheAngryIntern

05-03-2008, 10:36 AM

firstadopter

05-03-2008, 11:52 AM

My PSN id is FirstAdopter. LOL.

firstadopter

05-03-2008, 01:04 PM

Ok guys, I tried playing again today but the game got suck on the loading screen. Sigh. I tried 3 times and it still gets stuck on the loading screen when I first boot. I don't have time for this, so I'm going to sell the game on eBay. Since I got $10 off on the initial purchase, I will probably not lose any money.

I'm going to go out and buy the 360 version today. :) Sorry TAI, I was looking forward to playing with you.

firstadopter

05-03-2008, 03:14 PM

So I played about 30 minutes in the 360 version. I like it better.

Pros: Less blurry. Faraway objects look like watercolor painting, while not ideal doesn't give me headaches like the blurryness of the PS3. The higher resolution does look better to me.

Cons: the loudness of my Xbox 360 DVD drive and fans vs. PS3.

For some reason multiplayer didn't work on the 360 for the couple times I just tried it, probably just busy servers.

The amazing thing is the dialogue and banter between Roman and Niko is DIFFERENT vs. the PS3 version. The same basic plot message comes across, but the exact wording is definitely different. I wonder if there are multiple audio tracks for the plot. Amazing if so.

TheAngryIntern

05-03-2008, 07:37 PM

I'm pretty sure that the locking up problems are related to being logged into the PSN. I read a couple things where people have disconnected and been fine, then I tried to start the game and it just hung up on the loading screen. I unplugged the network cable and rebooted the PS3 and I can play the game just fine. I tried plugging the cable back in and logging in for some multiplayer....instant lockup as soon as it tried to sign in. hopefully they'll get this patched soon.

I will say that the really long intro every time you start the game is kinda annoying. My HDD light isn't flickering, so it can't be loading anything.

firstadopter

05-05-2008, 05:51 PM

Quick question guys, when I look at trailers and gameplay movies on the internet I don't see the watercolor effect on 360 or blurry effect on PS3 for faraway objects. I'm wondering if its just my TV.

For faraway objects, is it watercolor looking or blurry for you guys?

I really don't get why the game couldn't of had normal effects. I guess it limits pop-in if you have less detail on faraway objects.

TheAngryIntern

05-05-2008, 07:02 PM

I see kinda blurry watercolor type graphics for far away shots on my PS3

firstadopter

05-05-2008, 07:05 PM

I'm really enjoying this game. Just got the "Fed the Fish" achievement. I like the humor in the achievement names. "Warm Coffee" hahah

TheAngryIntern

05-05-2008, 07:42 PM

kinda stupid that they didn't build in any sort of achievements for the PS3 version. I know that achievements are an Xbox Live thing, but at least the PS3 version could keep track of the same things

firstadopter

05-10-2008, 05:14 PM

The cut scenes of GTA IV are VERY VERY good with top-notch writing and voice-actings.

I finally got to see the rain weather effect. Pretty sweet.

arogan

05-15-2008, 02:50 PM

GTA IV: 33%, 46 mission completed, 16:37

I've now got Kiki nad Carmen at 100% with their special abilities unlocked. I also got Jacob high enough to get the cheaper weapons.

Does anybody know what Brucie likes to do on his Man Dates?

I'm still really really enjoying this game.

TheAngryIntern

05-15-2008, 03:15 PM

Brucie: Activities- Boating, Bowling, Drinking, Eating, Heli Ride, Show, Strip
Club.

TheAngryIntern

05-21-2008, 12:34 PM

picked up Age of Conan yesterday. have a Demonologist on Thog server, name is Darkhelmet if anyone is getting it and creates a toon on that server

firstadopter

05-22-2008, 05:23 PM

Let us know how the Age of Conan is, seems like there is a lot of buzz for this game.

TheAngryIntern

05-22-2008, 05:41 PM

it's fun. it's quite a bit different than WoW, which I think is probably the biggest draw at this point, with a lot of people getting bored with WoW. Graphics are gorgeous. Character creation is about the only thing that's similar to WoW. The choices you get do customize the character are pretty much the same. Combat is not auto-mode like wow, you have to keep hitting buttons to attack, and it's real time. One thing that's kinda cool is if you have a large 2-handed weapon and you aim sorta in between two mobs, you will actually damage them both. I've been reading that Guilds can create guild cities and there is a PVP mode that's called Siege Combat where you can attack a Guild City. I'm not sure if you get to keep the city if you defeat the guild. I plan on playing for the free month you get for buying the game and then I'll decide if I'm going to continue playing. I have a feeling it will hold my attention until the next WoW xpac comes out.

arogan

05-27-2008, 04:14 PM

Wii Fit (http://blog.arogan.com/2008/05/wii-fit.html)
Actually, I've played quite a bit more since I wrote this up so I'll probably be having some updated impressions soon.

Oh and if you have a Wii you NEED BOOM BLOX!!!! Best game I have for the Wii hands down! My 6yr old loves it too.

stupot42

06-10-2008, 04:41 AM

I've been playing a fair bit of Guitar Hero 3 over the weekend. I completed it on easy in about 2 hours... the only song I had to do more than once was the final battle with Joe, which took me two attempts.

I'm now trying to get to grips with medium. I've got through the first two parts and I'm onto the 3rd tear. It took me quite a while before I was able to get to grips with the 4th key. I failed on even the easy songs a couple of times before I got it, and I'm still not getting more than 3 stars for songs the first couple of tries. I didn't realise quite how weak my little finger was, I suppose the only real workout it gets is typing, and even then it's not exactly tested. I play the Saxophone, and apparently even that hasn't prepared me for the 4th key on the guitar, although I've not picked up my Sax in quite a while, which may account for my weak little finger.

I took the time to get through a song on easy to 100%, which actually was a lot easier than I expected. I got all the way to end of it on my first attempt after finishing without any mistakes, and then I was so pleased I missed the last note, so I went back and did it again for the 100% achievement.

The game really is good fun, but I'm a bit disappointed that you don't get different songs on each of the difficulty levels. It gets a bit repetitive playing the same songs over and over, and I can imagine that going through each level you'd quickly get sick of them.

firstadopter

07-03-2008, 08:48 PM

I tried the Indiana Jones Lego demo on Xbox 360. Not fun.

I've played Hot Shots Out of Bounds golf demo on PS3 like 10 times. I really don't want to pay $60 for a kiddie golf game, but it's obvious I'm addicted, so I probably will pick it up.

On the PC, I'm playing Trackmania, which is also addicting as hell.

arogan

07-22-2008, 10:13 PM

After the Diablo 3 announcement I've been trying many of the clones again:

Diablo 2 + expansion (pc): Never did finish this (I did finish diablo 1 though) but now I have a level 20 bowazon and a level 15 sorceress. After using the the giga inventory mod it's almost playable except for the painful to look at 800X600 graphics. I was surprised how much fun I was having with this ancient game.

Titan Quest Gold (pc) - Can't beat $20 on steam. I have a level 18 earth/hunter fire arrow slinging core dweller setup. I'm having a great time and it's probably my favorite pc diablo clone right now. It doesn't look half bad with everything maxed out at 1900X1200.

Diablo 1 (psx). Wow yeah only played it for a few minutes.

Champions of Norrath (ps2) - Out of all the snowblind engine games this one had the highest game rankings score (I haven't played any of them yet). So I finally broke the shrink wrap on this one and popped it into my ps3 (yeah my backlog is rather epic right now). It actually is a pretty fun simple diablo clone that doesn't look bad at all especially for a ps2 game. I sank maybe 4 hrs into it and I'm having a pretty good time.

Bard's Tale (pc) - I installed this on the laptop and played some while on vacation. I've only played about 45min. It's ok I guess. I didn't laugh all that much. I really like the loot system and auto conversion to gold of all the merchant fodder crap.

Untold Legends The Warrior's Code (psp) - Only spent around 30 min or so. I just couldn't get into it. I remember spending several hours in the first one (Brotherhood of the Blade) but this sequel just didn't grab me.

Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony (psp) - I had finished the first dungeon siege on the pc but never the second one so I thought I would give the psp version a try. It's really plays nothing like the pc version. I spent a couple of hours on this one. I liked it more than Untold Legends but the environments are a bit bland and the camera is a bit too close and too top down so you can't see very much around you.

Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom (ps3) - I picked this up recently for $12. I'm playing the dual wield chick it, and it ain't half bad. The combat animations are pretty good (kind of a poorman's water down heavenly sword). The essence weapon/armor upgrade vs loot drops is a nice change. I'm probably enjoying this poorly rated game more than I should.

Too Human demo (360): just finished. Man it's long maybe about 1 hr. I'm kind of meh on it. Graphics are ok, controls are awkward with the right analog stick used for melee combat. You really feel disconnected from the action. This leads to poor manual camera controls. I'll pick it up used....for cheap but it's definitely not a day 1 purchase for me.

Non diablo stuff:
MGS 4 (ps3): I stopped around act 2 a few weeks ago and just haven't had the urge to go back to it yet. I still plan to finish it eventually.

Battlefield Bad Company (360): I'm enjoying the single player campaign quite a bit. Blowing up cover is fun.

Timeshift (360): Still working on this one on and off.

Lego Indiana Jones (360): Played the first level with my 6 yr old. He got a bit frustrated with some of the jumping.

Ninja Gaiden II (360): Just started this. I really need to spend some quality time with this one.

Pursuit Force Extreme Justice (psp): Why am I playing this???? The on foot sections are pretty horrible but driving parts are better than the first one. I like the turret rail missions and the boss battles. It does get repetitive though. I've spent quite a few hours on it.

God of War Chains of Olympus (psp): Man this game is just so impressive on the psp and every bit as good as the series is on ps2.
I'm working on it slowly pretty much only when I travel.

firstadopter

07-23-2008, 12:37 AM

Since I bought it way back when for $10 sale, I tried Battlefield 2 again. It's not very fun. First of all the game crashes pretty often and the load-in screens in multiplayer and the UI are very long and unbearable. Often you just get shot from 200 yards away without any recourse. Blah. I'm not going to re-load this game.

I think I mentioned I tried Burning Crusade trail of WOW. I played only for a little bit. I haven't played since WOW first came out and the graphics haven't aged all that well. And the quests and gameplay are kind of boring now.

I've been playing Hot Shots Golf for PS3 which is addicting and fun. Only through a 4-5 course walkthrus. The graphics are quite good.

Some Day of Defeat, Company of Heroes, Trackmania, Call of Duty 4 (I'm still not done with the single-player yet yikes), and Team Fortress 2. I barely have time to play games and have a stack that I'm not even playing which I should (GTA4, God of War 2, Crimson Skies, SSX 3, etc.).

I guess I can't complain though. Lots of good games new and old out there.

I actually not looking forward to much this holiday season, unlike last year's motherlode. I can't think of one great game I want. Maybe, Mirror's Edge? Those graphics look amazing.

arogan

07-28-2008, 05:36 PM

PixelJunk Monsters on ps3 from PSN. I think it's on sale for only $5 right now. it's a great little tower defense game, and one I can play even with a fever!

More Titan Quest: level 19, egypt, still enjoying this great diablo clone.

Plenty to look forward too (watched all 3 e3 press conferences, still got several hrs of e3 footage to go through). All potential day 1 purchases for me:
Resistance 2
Gears 2
Fable 2
Little Big Planet
Prince of Persia (Love the new art style, It's ICO with action!)
Geowars 2
Rockband 2 and GH WT
Far Cry 2
Star Wars Force Unleashed
Dead Space
Mirror's Edge
Fallout 3

To a lesser extent:
Fat Princess
Red Faction Guerrilla (I beat the first two)
HAWX (big fan of ace combat)
End War
Shaun White Snowboarding (IF it uses the wii balance board well)
Mercenaries 2
Project Origin
Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway
Dark Void (Crimson Skies was pretty good)
Fracture
Star Wars Clone Wars (wii)
LOTR: Conquest (wasn't the biggest battlefront fan, animations look bad)
Ghost Busters

Not this year?:
RE5
Street Fighter IV
Halo Wars
Wii Motion Plus (wii sports resort)
Killzone 2

Still looks like a lot of cool stuff to play to me.

firstadopter

07-28-2008, 06:10 PM

Arogan, it's pretty interesting how so many of your day 1 purchase games are "2" sequels.

arogan

08-05-2008, 09:35 AM

I kind of like this site:
http://backloggery.com

http://backloggery.com/arogan/sig.gif (http://backloggery.com/main.php?user=arogan)

firstadopter

08-20-2008, 07:37 PM

I've spent like 10 hours playing iPhone texas holdem by Apple ($5) last few days. No joke.

It's a great game a poker with great graphics and animation. One of the best surprises this year.

stupot42

08-21-2008, 04:26 AM

I've not updated my iPhone to the 2.0 firmware yet... I'm going to give it a go in the next day or two... ah the joys of trying to keep up with an unlocked and jailbroken iPhone!

firstadopter

08-30-2008, 05:57 PM

I played some Xbox Live demos today. Here are my brief thoughts:

-Geometry Wars Evolved 2 - not a big fan of the new graphics style. It looks like more of the same with more modes. Arogan had a 5 million high score I saw on the mode they let you play in trial.

-Too Human - the graphics weren't that impressive. Too bad for Silicon Knights that this game turned out to be a flop.

-Braid. Weird Super Mario Brother platformer with classic music and a unique art style. I may play this one more.

-Bionic Commando: Rearmed. Looks great. Too bad they don't let you play a boss battle in the demo.

-1942 Joint Strike. I like shooters. Great graphics and the 2 boss battles were fun. I'll probably buy the full version.

-Star Wars Force Unleashed. The physic effects are kind of fun for a couple of minutes, but it doesn't have staying power for me.

-Tales of Vesperia. I'm not really a big Japanese RPG fan, but this game looked great for those that like the genre.

firstadopter

08-31-2008, 08:59 AM

-Castle Crashers is great if you like side-scrolling beatem ups. I just bought the full game for $15. Hope the full game is just as good.

Update: Played the game with the wife today. She liked it! woo hoo!

firstadopter

09-01-2008, 08:28 PM

Winded up buying the full version of Geometry Wars 2 cuz I kept on playing it over and over. How in the world did Arogan get over 13 million in Pacifism, I will never know.

My goal is to beat Arogan in at least one of the modes, someday... someday!

arogan

09-01-2008, 08:50 PM

Tried Castle Crashers. Yeah I think I'll get the full version.

Also, try for some of the achievements in geowars2. They are a lot of fun. I only have smile left to get.

I was really impressed with the force unleashed demo. I think it's a day one purchase for me now.

firstadopter

09-02-2008, 02:58 PM

Been playing N+ and MLB Power Pros on the Nintendo DS. N+ is seriously addictive. MLB is ok so far, but no career mode??? And hitting seems to be pretty hard even in novice mode.

arogan

09-03-2008, 01:14 PM

Finished shadow of the colossus. Yeah, I know I'm 3 yrs late.
http://blog.arogan.com/2008/09/shadow-of-colossus-ps2.html

arogan

09-03-2008, 02:59 PM

Finished a few more games:
Battlefield: Bad Company (http://blog.arogan.com/2008/09/battlefield-bad-company-xbox-360.html)
Braid (http://blog.arogan.com/2008/09/braid-xbox-360.html)

A few thoughts on Geometry Wars 2 (http://blog.arogan.com/2008/09/geometry-wars-2-xbox-360.html).

firstadopter

09-03-2008, 03:30 PM

I let my 3 year old try Braid today. He's not very good at games and can't use the d-pad to move ms. pacman around, however for some reason using the joystick for Braid it clicked. For the first time, he was moving left and right with purpose, jumping and climbing fences and ladders with coherency.

I was so proud. He loves watching me play Braid too for some reason, probably the cute suit character and the nice water color graphics.

Frankly I played through the trial and wasn't going to buy it since I recently bought Castle Crashers and Geometry Wars 2, but since this was my son's first gaming breakthrough, I may have to pick it up. :)

arogan

10-09-2008, 10:49 AM

360:
Rock Band 2 (http://blog.arogan.com/2008/10/rock-band-2-xbox-360.html)
Star Wars Force Unleashed

firstadopter

10-17-2008, 04:57 PM

I'm playing the crap out of Fifa 09 on DS, it's amazing how they snuck PS1 version of Fifa on the DS. It's fun to play right b4 I go to bed.

I played a couple of games of Everyday Shooter on PC with the Xbox 360 controller. I bought the PC version because of the resolution 1920x1200 capability, however the downside is the digital non-analog controls. I'm amazed how this game was created by one guy. The music is excellent.

arogan

10-18-2008, 10:21 AM

Saints Row 2 (360)

Played around 7 hrs straight until close to 5am. I haven't done that with a game in a LONG time. No lockups so far so it's already more stable than the first one (pre patch). I've only done about 4 missions and 3 activities. Helicopter Assault is a blast! I forgot how much more I like the vehicle controls in SR2 than in GTA.

Got the unlimited SMG ammo. That level 6 snatch in downtown sure did take me a while. One memorable moment was when I had my last 3 hos, my car was smoking and getting smashed around a lot. I come around the final turn, and I can see the drop off point. I catch on fire and decided to push it. Just as I enter the blue circle, the hos are getting out, screen starts to fade to black, boom, we all die, and I fail AGAIN. Still, lots of fun. Two more tries, and I finally finished that one.

I started messing around with the unlimited SMG ammmo. I sat on top of the airport and was just blowing up the police. Did you know you can take down police helicopters with about 4 clips of dual wield SMGs.