Tomb Raider - Death Sequences

Uggh !! way to graphical & too much blood. You have action sequences in the game that have you controlling Lara down a slope or jumping over obstacles but it you miss a step in the sequence then Lara is met with a gruesome death.

One particular section proved very difficult and I died a few times attempting the sequence only to end up getting Lara impaled in the head every time.

I even paused the game to check the options to see if there was a setting to turn the gore off.

Trial & error prevailed and I eventually finished the sequence. I just don't know how anyone could have sat down & designed those death sequences without feeling sick.

Anyhow I've just finished the Solarii Fortress section & apart from the quick time events I'm enjoying the game very much. 

I've also unlocked the tier 3 skill set & now have a shotgun/machine gun to carry around.

Although I still prefer to use the bow with a fire arrow to set the enemies alight.

I'm a fire-starter, twisted fire-starter !!

Forza Horizon - Too competitive

When you finish a race, you are given a rival challenge time to beat. After the last yellow wristband race it gave me Abbas to challenge.

Now how could I refuse that challenge ...

Abbas completed Forza Horizon a few months ago & deleted his game save.

So what does he do?
Start playing the game again of course.

Too competitive, like father like son some would say :)

New Game - Tomb Raider

My initial thoughts when watching the trailer videos & reading some reviews was oh Lara! what have they done to you?!

Taking the girl out & dropped her into an Uncharted game. I'm not a big fan of button press sequence gaming and within minutes of starting the game you are asked to hammer away at the X button :(

They even stripped out the cartwheel move you could pull off when climbing a ledge. Maybe she needed to be reinvented to survive? Or otherwise she might have been gone to the character graveyard & joined Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon & her other playstation friends.

The sales figures whilst strong did not meet their targets, so will she be back? Or is this a farewell?

Maybe she was released too late this gen thus when playing the game you cannot help but think that the developers have taken the Uncharted template, mixed in some Assassin Creed & topped it off with some Batman Arkham Asylum.

The formula is not wrong, for all it's button presses the game is very playable but it's not the Lara Croft Tomb Raider game I wanted.

I have just completed the second area of the game and unlocked fast travel. This lets me return to previously used camps to continue searching for any missed collectables.

For now Lara is a distraction to stop me playing Forza Horizon but she should have & could have been so much more.

New Game - Forza Horizon

Titch (my younger brother) came round with his playstation 3 because he could not get the display to work on his tv.

A quick search revealed by holding down the power button for five seconds you reset the HDMI settings on the console.

He had a few games with the console but I loaded up GT5, just playing a single race I felt the desire to play a racing game.

Do I nick his copy of GT5 & give the game a second try?

Do I play Need for Speed most wanted which is sat on the shelf?

Or do I buy Forza?

I'm not a fan of open world racers, I did enjoy Burnout Paradise for the fun factor but boy would I get lost driving around !!

Having already played GT5 & given up at around 50% mark I did not want to start again, so it came down to Forza.

Forza 4 or Forza Horizon?
Trying both demos Forza 4 was a menu driven track racer & nothing more. Just want I wanted but like GT5 would I eventually get bored & give up?

Forza horizon was a mixture of an open world setup but with track based events.

I'm a sucka for eye candy & Forza Horizon looks amazing. I've only just really started the game, having raced two track events & a challenge against a plane which won me a Mustang car.

Before I got distracted by ...

iOS gaming recap

A quick recap on iOS gaming, after completing Rolando, taking Oxford to the top division in New Star Soccer & burning items in Little Inferno.

I have moved onto playing Clash of Clans this uses the build & time wait mechanics of every other freemium game. I never attack other players thus it only takes up a few minutes of my time every day collecting the coins & choosing what to upgrade or build next.

On recommendation of Neil (Satsuma), Real Racing 3. Once I found a control method I liked, the default tilt to turn is not for me. The game is quite enjoyable, however with Forza Horizon waiting for me it might have arrived at the wrong time? I'll keep it on my phone for a while yet.

What else?

Poker Knight is a play poker hands RPG but I've already done that with the excellent Sword & Poker games so I expect this to be deleted shortly unless it offers something new?

Multiplayer games I'm still playing are Carcassonne, Lost Cities & Ticket to Ride. I recently purchased Scotland Yard and have only really just completed the tutorial, so a few local games needed to get some practice.

Completed - Borderlands 2

To answer the obvious question? Yes

Yes, it is better than the first game because gearbox have a more solid story to the game this time around.

The gameplay is the same shoot, kill & loot but you have different character classes to choose.

On my local co-op game which I completed this week I played with the same commando class from the first game, mainly because the turret is one of the better action skills.

The game has you chasing Handsone Jack in his quest to revive the vault warrior. There are some very funny moments in the game from the minecraft Easter egg to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles quest but it is the death of Roland at the hand of Handsome Jack that stood out for me. Gearbox killing off a character from the first game is a bold move.

The game ends with a multi world vault reveal, hinting at the direction for the next game.

The beauty of the Borderlands game for me is the pick up & play nature of it. You have an hour spare lets go do a couple of quests?

After completion you then unlock play through 2 but before I think about playing that the DLC content awaits.

Just in case anyone is wondering the Claptrap Boys are still playing this on a Monday evening and we are nearing the end fight.

Completed - Ni No Kuni

It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a J-RPG, Ni No Kuni does have it's grinding moments like most J-RPGs but you can overcome these by doing the many sidequests in the game.

I spent a bit of time finishing off all the sidequests & sourcing materials to make better weapons before entering the ivory tower for the final showdown with the white witch.

I won't kid, the last boss fight is very tough & I just about managed it with my level 80 characters, any lower would have been a struggle.

Lovely music mixed with gorgeous visuals made for a truly amazing experience, if I had any gripes it would be that I wish instead of text it was fully voice acted.

Anyhow back to some games that I have neglected for a while X-Com & Borderlands 2.

Sonic Drift King

I've not played the career mode & jumped straight onto online multiplayer with GusTavToo. Actually before the PMG with Gus I had a few races with the first three finishing on a DNF.

You need to know how to drift in this game hold down that LT & control your vehicle for longer drifts & then let go to boost !!

It's not just all about being able to drift, more important than that you need to learn the maps. Because once you do then you will know when to drift & where the jumps are to perform tricks.

I managed to a streak of two 4th place finishes followed by a dizzy 2nd place taking my ELO up to 1195 before falling flat on my face with a 7th & a DNF on a new track.

Not bad for a first play but I have a long way to go before I can become the drift king.

Ni No Kuni - Shadar

Finally managed to spend a few hours playing Ni No Kuni to continue with the main storyline. I made it to the Marshes, it was easier to just use levitate across the marshes to avoid getting poisoned & then meet Shadar's sidekick Vileheart, not too difficult to beat using my strategy of controlling Oliver to attack or heal the other characters if needed. Making sure to defend against the power moves.

You cut a story sequence after beating Vileheart learning more about Oliver's mother & Oliver falls into a mini coma. When he awakes you are off to fight Vileheart again once more.

Then finally the moment you've been waiting for, the showdown with Shadar.

After making your way through his twisty castle you are treated to some lovely cut scenes & then get to fight Shadar not once or twice but in THREE different forms!!

Makes me glad I spent some time grinding my characters/familiars up to the higher 60 levels thus making these fights easier to manage using Oliver once again in a healing role if needed.

The story of Shadar then concludes nicely and you learn he was not that bad of a bloke after all, just a little messed up.

What follows would easily be ending credits in most games until yes you've guessed it ZOMBIES !!

I kid you not a mysterious gas arrives just in time before you depart to return to Motorville & turns the town residents of Ding Dong Dell all into the undead. Really truly a LOL moment.

Off you go again visiting the three towns of Ding Dong Dell, Al Mamoom & Hamelin to save the infected residents with the help of your mysterious friend Pea.

That was all for today & I assume the white witch is waiting for Oliver & his crew to pay her a visit.

But before I do, I think a bit more grinding & sourcing of materials to create some weapons & armour is needed. It was good to get a few hours this weekend to enjoy the game & finally kick Shadar's BUTT !!

Gospvg

gospvg - getting old & still playing video games

The first part is still correct, I'm getting older but the second part not so much.

Be it because of family, new job, age or just boredom. I am not enjoying playing video games on console or mobile.

The fact I turned off playing ni no kuni to continue watching a few more episodes of a TV box set. Just shows what I am enjoying more for entertainment & it's not gaming.

I'll keep the tag for now but it needs to be amended to getting old & stopped playing video games.

Ni No Kuni - I Love JAP rpgs again

Thanks to Ni No Kuni I have found my love for the JRPG again, words cannot describe how enjoyable an experience it is to play this game, the beautiful animation, the dialogue, the quirky Jap sense of humour & above all the joys of travelling the world map by air or sea.

After the giddy days of the PS1/PS2 this current gen just did not have the JRPGs I wanted to play or enjoy, Final Fantasy XIII on the PS3 with is overly stupid difficulty spikes requiring an insane amount of grinding made me delete the game in disgust only to go try it again on the 360 a few months later in case I was mistaken. I completely wasted a summer of gaming when I should have been playing Red Dead Redemption instead which still sits on the shelf looking at me.

Anyway back to Ni No Kuni, I am currently flying around the world map looking for creatures to capture to make my final squad, my current target is a Lumberwood whose defense stats once fully upgraded turns him into a tank. Although he only spawns once on the Island next to the Fairyground & is proving difficult to capture. 

Gaming has changed this generation in that in the past I would speak to every character in a town to find out the tiniest detail that might provide some useful information. Taking notes as I played & constantly updating, crossing off to do lists etc

Now a quick google instantly tells me where I can find a particular ingredient or which creature has the best attack stats. 

Currently 32 hours in with still lots to do & enjoy. Time to fly Tengri

Micro Transactions

"EA is building micro-transactions into all of its PC and console games, the company has announced"

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-27-ea-putting-micro-transactions-into-all-of-our-games

Seriously !! WTF !!

You know EA will also be charging up front for the game & then expect you to shell out more with in-game purchases etc.

What worries me is that all the other big publishers will also follow EA's lead.

Watchdogs in-app purchase to upgrade hacking abilities.

Final Fantasy 47 in-app purchases to gain a level-up or purchase a powerful weapon.

I know EA had in-app with Dead Space 3 & you can complete the game without but how long before a game is designed with in-app purchase in mind.

Resident Evil game to heal yourself you need to purchase a med pack or rest for 8 hours.

The possibilities are endless.

I may have to think twice about clearing out my collection, I think keeping a few choice titles from previous generations may be a wise move.

The next gen will be approached with caution, I'll sit back & wait a few years & then go buy a Nintendo Wii U.

New Game - Ni No Kuni

Going to a game show, nothing really surprises you anymore because we have all seen the trailers & gameplay videos thanks to the internet.

But last year at Eurogamer I played two games I knew nothing about Tokyo Jungle & Ni No Kuni.

Ni No Kuni is beautiful lets just get that statement over with, it is Studio Gibhli teaming up with Level 5 to make a J-RPG

I have not attempted to play a J-RPG since the Final Fantasy fiasco a few years ago, Ni No Kuni has its frustrating moments in some boss fights which require you to do a bit of thinking in how to tackle the fight. The fight sequences do not give you a moment to pause, so make sure you press that L1 to stop the action, giving you a brief moment to regroup & plan how to take on a particular boss fight. If I am truthfully honest I do not like the fight sequences, I much prefer the stop, think approach of a final fantasy game.

You collect familiars (Pokemon if you wish) though out the world & train them up to fight for you. They have the usual range of attacks & their own special attributes.

In the story I have just gotten a ship at Castaway Cove & now have two more companions in Esther & Swaine. We are off to to find a great sage in the town of Hamelin. I am however going to take a short stop at Castaway Cove to rejig the familiars I am carrying & ensure I have an evenly balanced squad.

After a weekend of playing I am enjoying my return to a J-RPG.

Tidy !!