Chatterbox: Video Games

I just started playing Pikmin on the Wii, and I'm having so much fun with it! It's such a quirky and unique game, that nonetheless has some pretty creepy, at the lack of a better word, undertones.

Bought the PS 3 version of ICO and Shadow Of The Colossus recently. I've only just begun with ICO and it's been a while since I've gotten immersed in a game so quickly. And the first time I learned to Never Split the Party was pretty effectively nerve-wracking - In the room before the first checkpoint there's a step too high to drag Yorda up (and I hadn't figured out that you can also call her over). So I figured maybe I had to go out there on my own and solve some puzzle that would bring her to me. I walk across the bridge, suddenly hear her call for help, run back, and Oh, Crap!, she's already being dragged through the floor.

I hate how the 360 version of Skyrim has exclusivity rights to DLC for a while. I have a 360, but I play the game on my PC where I get better graphics, faster loading times, and the ability to use (or make, though I haven't used the modmaker) mods. It's clearly the superior version, but apparently Microsoft had them sign an exclusivity deal for some reason when it came to DLC. I'm interested in the "Dragonborn" DLC and the ability to finally visit places outside the province of Skyrim itself, as it would be nice to expand the map a bit.

Anyone know if the map itself actually is expanded? I'm looking up Google Images trying to find pictures of the map screen for those who have Dragonborn, and can't find it.

Finally got a copy of Oblivion. I played it extensively when it first came out but never actually bothered to buy it.

Started a new playthrough, and I'm a Witchunter this time. I've never tried bows before, but hey, they're working. Still can't beat the bloody painted trolls though.

Kingdom Hearts, why did I never finish you?

Oh now I remember. You keep on trying to break my fingers with your camera controls.

That was one of my biggest complains with the original.

On another note, I just beat Pikmin today; I got all 30 pieces in 24 days. Save Scumming isn't as effective here as in other games, and I wouldn't have Pikmin any other way.

edited 18th Dec '12 2:10:10 PM by Elbruno

Of all the KH games I've played, 2 is the only one that didn't make me want to punch whoever designed the camera controls. Coded in particular.

I recall the first didn't bother me too much, but Days sent me into incoherent rage.

I was able to tolerate all the KH games' controls, actually. I never had a problem with them. I've played the first two, Days, Birth by Sleep, and 3D, which is the one I gave up on (due to having made the mistake of setting the difficulty to its highest setting under the assumption that Squeenix would make the same mistake they did with Birth by Sleep, only to release the hard way that the "hard" difficulty actually is really hard).

While I'm talking about the 3DS, does anyone here feel it's already showing its age? For a system that came out last year, it's sad that the newest iPod is already stronger. Sonic 4 Episode 2 on the iPod already looked better than the 3DS, and that was last year's game. I happened to see some eccentric looking game called Lili and bought it for the iPod, and the graphics in that are amazing for a handheld. It's designed to take advantage of the latest iPod, so it runs in 1136x640 (easily beating out the 3DS's 400x240), and while it doesn't run at 60fps or 30fps, it still runs really well for the amount of detail it's showing. Nothing looks all that polygonal, and the textures are sharp.

However, I'll say this about the iPod - it NEEDS a stick and buttons! Handheld gaming may be losing out to handheld do-everything devices that happen to have games on them, but I hate using the touchscreen to play a game that works better with traditional controls. I hope Apple makes an "iPod Gamer" with actual game controls. Or that Google forces their hand with an Android device with game controls (I know a few exist, but none are popular. I'm talking about one that actually catches on and sells) that does well enough to convince Apple they need to do the same. Google has a game controller SDK (software development kit) for companies to use with Android (and Google Chrome, interestingly), so the framework is just about there. Now it needs to become a reality.

My older brother picked up Pikmin 2 for the Wii a few days ago. Improving at the game, though I'm still horrid with boss fights.

Phantasy Star 4.

How does it work?

So I just got Christmas just went past here and I got my presenHoly cow surprise PS 3 with the Uncharted trilogy!

It isn't the 3DS I was looking for, but hey, you can't complain!

edited 24th Dec '12 8:42:20 PM by Elbruno

I just got BIT TRIP RUNNER. I was enjoying the game until Odyssey. Who the fuck designed this level!? It's such a massive spike in difficulty. If the rest of the game is like this, then fine, but they really should've balanced the difficulty curve better. As it stands now, Odyssey is just a brick wall.

EDIT: According to the rest of the internet, I just suck at the game. Well that's good to know I guess.

edited 26th Dec '12 3:15:22 PM by Marioguy128

You are talking about that LOOOONG level at the end of the 1st set? ...Yeah, I haven't passed it myself yet.

... Okay, I have no idea why I was complaining about that. That level was actually pretty easy.

So I've been playing Kirby's Epic Yarn lately. It's so fun! And adorable! I love it! It's ridiculously easy, yeah (unless you're going for 100% Completion like I am, but if you're just going through the story there's pretty much no challenge whatsoever), but sometimes you need a game where it is literally impossible to die.

There's just one thing that I don't like.

Train Kirby.

Who came up with the control scheme for that power-up? Why, in a game which relies almost entirely on traditional button controls, suddenly have a power-up which requires motion controls to operate? I managed to get all the treasures in Cocoa Station my first time playing through it, but I didn't get enough beads to get a Gold on the level...but I really don't want to deal with the train controls again...

Don't feel too bad; Odyssey tripped me up too. I beat it eventually, but there were two specific parts (can't remember which, don't feel like slogging through the level again to find out) where, every single time, I would fail at one of those two parts. (And after a while I was so frazzled by failing so much that I lost my concentration and started failing at the very beginning...

I think the last time I played BIT.TRIP RUNNER, I was stuck somewhere in the middle of World 2. I'm not very good.

Off-Roader Kirby is my favorite transformation, if only for this bit of music.

Read an interesting article in a Norwegian paper about child sex offenders in New Yorks being banned from a wide range of online-games, among which was the "clearly lolita-fixated Dead Or Alive". Now I don't know much about DOA, but that isn't exactly the impression I've got of the games. Are there even that kind of character in the games?

Loli-fixated? Maybe. Sexy chick-fixated? Extremely.

Yes! Off-Roader Kirby is my favorite as well; Dusk Dunes is one of my favorite stages in the game so far.

I'm not exactly familiar with Dead or Alive, but I'm under the impression that the series does not contain nearly enough flouncy dresses to be considered "lolita-fixated".

edited 30th Dec '12 12:10:20 AM by MissMokushiroku

Not a single one.

I thought so. I mean, when I think DOA I think "jiggle physics" (sorry guys, but you put it in your game, so that's how I think of it from now on).

Any kind of flat character would seem to be the opposite of what they're aiming for.

While I got the Wii U mainly with New Super Mario Bros U in mind, I've been playing Nintendo Land a lot. I'm hooked on it. Balloon Trip is great, Luigi's Ghost Mansion was a blast to play with my brother and cousins while on vacation (I'm still on vacation now as I type this), Metroid Blast heats up later on despite its slow start, and Pikmin Adventure looks like it'll be pretty fun later on. I also love obtaining coins and filling up my park with all the prizes you can get. Many of them are just small figures, but there are some enormous statues in there, such as a Deku Tree statue and Kraid statue, as well as jukebox songs. I also like the theme park theme, with everything being made out of fabric or robotics, like all the enemies in Metroid Blast being robots that you defeat by shooting their power button.

However, I had my Gamepad randomly disconnect on me today with no warning. It wasn't low on battery either. I had to manually unplug the system and plug it back in to fix it, as nothing else worked - the power button on the system didn't work, and turning the Gamepad off and on did not. I looked up the problem online and it looks like a lot of people have problems with the system randomly not recognizing the Gamepad, or even constantly not recognizing it. I really hope this doesn't end up becoming a big problem for me as well. I had an Xbox 360 give me the Red Ring of Death in the past, and I really don't want another defective game console.

I'm really loving Nintendo Land. When I first got my Wii U, I figured the game wouldn't be all that good, but gave it a shot and decided it was lame, then moved onto Mario. I eventually beat New Super Mario Bros. U, and other than playing it on a second savegame with my brother for 2-player, didn't touch the system.

While on Christmas vacation, my cousins, older brother and sister-in-law, etc. hadn't arrived yet, and I got bored, so I started the game up and played it. And played it and played it. My opinion of it gradually increasing all the way.

Now I've earned over 90 prizes, beaten Balloon Trip Breeze, still stuck on Donkey Kong's Crash Course at area 9 (as tons and tons of comments left by other players will attest to, that part is really hard!) and shocked that there's actually more than one course for it, played Luigi's Ghost Mansion 4-player with my cousins and younger brother (once they arrived), played a lot of Pikmin Adventure and Metroid Blast, and more. I may be reviewing the game soon now that I feel I've gotten enough experience with it to form a final opinion.

Anyway, I really like a lot of things about the game. It's a mini-game collection, certainly, but a number of the mini-games have enough depth that I can easily see them as $10 downloadable games on Steam. It's a mini-game collection with real meat to it, and to be honest, that's a type of game I'd wanted to see for a while. Come to think of it, it's reminding me of Kirby Super Star, except that each game is totally different. I also like the park atmosphere, as the AI of the Miis walking around is surprisingly realistic, with them talking to each other, looking at the prizes, walking in groups, reading the signs in front of the attractions before rushing in excitedly, and so on.

Current status: Too many dang RP Gs eatin' my times! I'm currently trying to power through Crimson Shroud, since I know it's only like 7 hours long and a lot of that is reading. I am really enjoying it and the great deal of strategy it offers—I love RP Gs that make you think—but it's really bugging me because it doesn't explain its different status effects very well and the game manual is one of those horribly empty ones that expects you to remember every tutorial you've seen instead. I just want to look up what "Revealed" means! I don't remember and I don't recall if you said so in a tutorial! C'mon, please?

On the flipside, I laughed harder than I should have when the tutorial text suddenly found a way to go out of character on me: "Since you're just learning about this mechanic, I'll give you some dice for free. Don't say I never gave you anything." Probably because it took me by surprise. It felt almost Paper Mario-ish.

Speaking of, Sticker Star is prooty grood, too. I'm really impressed by its music, in particular. It's all very jazzy.