Over the weekend I managed to finish the tactical challenges in Vanquish. I have to say, challenges 4 and 6 were particularly serious. I spent five and eight hours on them, respectively. Those two challenges alone up took more of my time than playing through the campaign twice. That said, the Tactical Challenger achievement is the single most difficult I have acquired. More difficult than Mile High Club from Modern Warfare and all those veteran achievements from World at War (remember that grenade spam). For hours I felt as if I couldn't beat them - particularly challenge 6 - but after numerous hours and taking several breaks to cool off I finally prevailed. Mastering an insane challenge comes with a really great feeling, doesn't it?
I followed up by purchasing two new (to me) games: Far Cry 3 and Demon's Souls. I haven't started the precursor to Dark Souls just yet, but Far Cry 3 is a truly refreshing title. As an open world RPG with numerous activities and side quests, it's totally different from the narrow, traditional FPS of the original Far Cry. In fact, it sort of reminds me of Dead Island without the zombies...
Friday, May 31, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
Weekly Report - 05/24/2013
Vanquish is developer Platinum Games' chronological precursor to Bayonetta, but that doesn't mean the two titles have anything at all to do with one another. In fact, they are entirely different beasts. Vanquish is a fast-paced third-person shooter with an arcade-like feel.
It's quite a fun game. Initially I wondered why I had never even heard of this title, but I'm starting to suspect it didn't gain much popularity due to its lack of certain features. Namely, it lacks multiplayer and there are only two game modes: campaign and tactical challenges. The campaign is three hours short if you burn through it on casual or normal difficulty (hard difficulty will take you about eight hours). There are six tactical challenges which behave essentially like a horde mode. Sadly, this is where the bulk of your time will be spent - at least, if you're a completionist. The tactical challenges are ridiculously, outrageously challenging - particularly challenges 4 and 6.
That said, it's a game well worth picking up. I found it for $12.99 at a nearby video game shop.
It's quite a fun game. Initially I wondered why I had never even heard of this title, but I'm starting to suspect it didn't gain much popularity due to its lack of certain features. Namely, it lacks multiplayer and there are only two game modes: campaign and tactical challenges. The campaign is three hours short if you burn through it on casual or normal difficulty (hard difficulty will take you about eight hours). There are six tactical challenges which behave essentially like a horde mode. Sadly, this is where the bulk of your time will be spent - at least, if you're a completionist. The tactical challenges are ridiculously, outrageously challenging - particularly challenges 4 and 6.
That said, it's a game well worth picking up. I found it for $12.99 at a nearby video game shop.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Weekly Report - 05/10/2013
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier was really easy. I fired it up on Elite difficulty right away, but still only died a handful of times (and usually to something cheap anyway). The story took a backseat to the gameplay, which surprised me given the franchise Ghost Recon is based upon.
The graphics in Ghost Recon are fantastic. The lighting and particle effects are very impressive, particularly for a console game. Animations are solid, though I still haven't seen anything that matches Rage in this category. Textures are pretty good - they are large and high-resolution - but some areas suffer from some blur when you look closely.
Ghost Recon attempts to blend the sharp, snappy shooting gameplay of Call of Duty with the solid cover-based third-person action of Gears of War. It ends up doing a pretty good job. The cover system is not quite as satisfying as GoW but the shooting is more precise and Call of Duty-esque.
The AI for your three squadmates is essentially overpowered. You can call targets for them to take out silently, which they always accomplish perfectly. They are never spotted (only you can fail a stealth section). If anything, they are a bit slow in navigating the levels. But still it seems feasible to get through the game without firing very much. Your team can do it all, even on Elite difficulty.
The best feature of Ghost Recon is weapon customization. The game allows you to modify nearly everything about your equipment from cosmetic paint jobs to custom barrels, muzzle attachments, under- and side-barrel attachments, and so on. It's really comprehensive and allows you to play the game the way you want. Unfortunately, however, the weapon customization feature is not available in Guerilla mode (basically Horde mode).
The single worst feature of the game is the Ubisoft online pass you have to purchase for $15 in order to play online (even just for co-op).
The graphics in Ghost Recon are fantastic. The lighting and particle effects are very impressive, particularly for a console game. Animations are solid, though I still haven't seen anything that matches Rage in this category. Textures are pretty good - they are large and high-resolution - but some areas suffer from some blur when you look closely.
Ghost Recon attempts to blend the sharp, snappy shooting gameplay of Call of Duty with the solid cover-based third-person action of Gears of War. It ends up doing a pretty good job. The cover system is not quite as satisfying as GoW but the shooting is more precise and Call of Duty-esque.
The AI for your three squadmates is essentially overpowered. You can call targets for them to take out silently, which they always accomplish perfectly. They are never spotted (only you can fail a stealth section). If anything, they are a bit slow in navigating the levels. But still it seems feasible to get through the game without firing very much. Your team can do it all, even on Elite difficulty.
The best feature of Ghost Recon is weapon customization. The game allows you to modify nearly everything about your equipment from cosmetic paint jobs to custom barrels, muzzle attachments, under- and side-barrel attachments, and so on. It's really comprehensive and allows you to play the game the way you want. Unfortunately, however, the weapon customization feature is not available in Guerilla mode (basically Horde mode).
The single worst feature of the game is the Ubisoft online pass you have to purchase for $15 in order to play online (even just for co-op).
Monday, May 6, 2013
Weekly Report - 05/03/2013
Having completed an S rank run through the extremely challenging Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, I stopped by my favorite video game shop and picked up Bioshock: Infinite. I have beaten it (almost twice) already - it's kind of short.
Infinite is a great game, though it is debatable whether it measures up to the original Bioshock. Set in the floating (in the air!) city of Columbia, Infinite guides the player through a convoluted plot so full of twists that only get weirder and weirder it seems the game is designed purely to blow gamers' minds.
Seriously though, the story is compelling and interesting - at least until the ending. I've seen quite enough existential nonsense in literature during my brief time on this planet, so Bioshock Infinite's plot comes across as trite to me. Still, it's far above the usual video game tripe. Infinite manages to keep the player's attention but ultimately its philosophy, while thought-provoking, is emotional and irrational at best.
The gameplay is what I characterize as "fast and loose" which means it is quick in pace but the controls are not particularly sharp. Aiming is muddy and enemy characters are difficult to hit. They're small and they have tiny, tiny heads. Think Timesplitters. The vigors (basically plasmids) interact well with one another and combine very neatly with the game's available weapons. Most of all, I kept missing the different ammo types that made firefights so dynamic in the original Bioshock. Overall the combat is fun, but as a pure shooter it's not up to par with the likes of the Call of Duty or Halo series. Luckily there's more to Infinite than straight combat.
The most fun to be had in Infinite is through exploration. It's tons of fun to set the difficulty on 1999 Mode and attempt to earn the Scavenger Hunt achievement. This forces you to explore every nook and cranny of the game world to scavenge for gear since you cannot purchase any from the vending machines that frequent Columbia.
Infinite is a great game, though it is debatable whether it measures up to the original Bioshock. Set in the floating (in the air!) city of Columbia, Infinite guides the player through a convoluted plot so full of twists that only get weirder and weirder it seems the game is designed purely to blow gamers' minds.
Seriously though, the story is compelling and interesting - at least until the ending. I've seen quite enough existential nonsense in literature during my brief time on this planet, so Bioshock Infinite's plot comes across as trite to me. Still, it's far above the usual video game tripe. Infinite manages to keep the player's attention but ultimately its philosophy, while thought-provoking, is emotional and irrational at best.
The gameplay is what I characterize as "fast and loose" which means it is quick in pace but the controls are not particularly sharp. Aiming is muddy and enemy characters are difficult to hit. They're small and they have tiny, tiny heads. Think Timesplitters. The vigors (basically plasmids) interact well with one another and combine very neatly with the game's available weapons. Most of all, I kept missing the different ammo types that made firefights so dynamic in the original Bioshock. Overall the combat is fun, but as a pure shooter it's not up to par with the likes of the Call of Duty or Halo series. Luckily there's more to Infinite than straight combat.
The most fun to be had in Infinite is through exploration. It's tons of fun to set the difficulty on 1999 Mode and attempt to earn the Scavenger Hunt achievement. This forces you to explore every nook and cranny of the game world to scavenge for gear since you cannot purchase any from the vending machines that frequent Columbia.
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