S.T.A.L.K.E.R

I finished S.T.A.L.K.E.R shadows of Chernobyl for the PC a few weeks ago. Not a bad first person shooter / RPG. It is interesting in that the world you stroll around in has patches of radiation, as well as anomalies which can be quite fatal. You get heaps of warning when you are near either but if you are bolting from something you can find out quite quickly how lethal either of them are (like I did).

You don't go up levels so to speak but as you get progressively better weapons and armour enemies seem easier to defeat. There are some interesting quests which can put one group of people against you where as if you play the straight course (like I did) you only have to worry about bandits and monsters.

The ending was quite dodgy in that there is a false ending (which I did) and a real ending (which I could not find). The false ending is when you enter the Chernobyl power plant and touch the Wish Stone. You then get a nice cut scene which has leave you wondering what was the point in all that.

My advise when get near the end of the game (i.e. you have to go to the Chernobyl power plant) read a walk through about how to complete the real ending.

Two Worlds

I have just finished Two Worlds for the PC, it was a really great RPG. The world is quite large, so large in fact that there are HEAPS of teleporters, health and mana stones. Which makes the game easy in the fact that if you are being bashed you can run to the nearest health stone heal up and go back and give 'em curry.

Oddly enough I didn't realise until late in the game that you can combine same items and make them more powerfull. Of that you could endlessly add one type of weapon damage upgrade. Near the end of the game I had an axe that did 10K cold damage 4K slashing damage and 4K bludgeoning damage. Mind you there were still some monsters that took a few hits to kill with this weapon. So I get the impression that there are even tougher beasties out there.

The ending was a bit poor in that it screamed we haven't finished yet, buy the sequel when it comes out ! But all in all a great RPG, there are heaps of other things that made the game great decent effects. Interesting monsters and great side quests.

Note to self (or anyone else for that matter) go the Earth Magic as the highest level shield and Summon Goloem really make it easy to finish the game.

Bio Shock to the System

Bioshock

What can I say .....

Bio shock was really good, there's not many games I play 3 times in row. There were so many interesting levels and side quests to perform. It was bit dark and gruesome, but that it what made it so interesting to play. I finished on the medium level, the hardest level and the easiest level. I would have to say the Hardest level was the most fun. It was so easy to be killed which I felt made the game more realistic. I mean the game world is strew with hundreds of bodies, so you get the impression only the really hardy survive.

The Big Daddies were the hardest to kill, in many cases the only way to kill them was to lure them into an area were the security system / security robots which would soften them up. And even then you would have to revive several times (I am talking about the hardest level).

The enemies are quite smart in that they will run away and come at you from another side. The most interesting thing I saw was when one of them caught on fire. It just jumped in the water and was back in action. Very cool strategy (mind you I just ran up and hit 'em with the shotgun)

It was very odd to find an poster about Australia Day on one of the levels and also a few mentions here and there about other Australian things. I know 2K Australia was involved with making a game, but it is rare to see any references like that in a game.

Overall this game is a ripper, now I feel that the next game I play may not be so great (oh how the mighty have fallen).

Notes to self (or anyone for that matter) :-

Use electric Buck, Electric Gel, Crossbow bolts on Big Daddies !
Use Telekensis to lob crap at splicers (Doubles as a shield for larger objects)
Use Pyrokensis to melt ice (duhhhhh !)
Hack/Destroy first aid points (scorched earth policy !)
The Tommy gun sucks on Hardest level, Medium OK, Easy cut's em in half
Flame thrower, Pyrokensis, Insect Swarm are crap
Frezzing enemies is good, but you don't get stuff from them if they shatter
Upgrade the pistol or the shotgun and the 'power to the people station'.

Big Brain Academy

I have also playing a little bit of Big Brain on the Wii, a nice game to help improve your brain power (well at least I hope it is doing that).

So far though my neighbours kid has beaten me 2 to 1 in challenge mode. The shame !

I am bit out so sorts with my game playing actives so my posts have slowed down. I have other hobbies like papercraft and reading Manga occupying some of my time. Eventually I will be back into same hardcore gaming.

Almost there

A lot of things have been happening lately so I haven't updated the blog in quite a while.

I am still playing Twilight princess, but I must be close to the end since I am about to fight a boss in the castle area in the main town.

I started playing a Hentai game 'Kana - Little Sister'. I read a review and the person who wrote the review stated that if you get past the sex scenes it is a really great game. They were not wrong, it is more like a tragic novel then a game. It has a very sad story line, I will admit I cried near the end of the game. It is one of those 'choose you own adventure' games so you can pick a happy ending as well.

I have started installing Bio shock, and I can't wait to play it. If it is as good as System Shock 2 then I will love it otherwise. I will have to find something to shake my fist at !

Finally after 6 months

I have finished Transformers the game on the PC. Not that great of a game really. In car mode the transformers are very very hard to control, made the few car based missions very annoying.

Still playing Homeworld but I have been delayed by Zelda the Twilight Princess on the Wii. I bought this one back in December when I first got the Wii. I wanted to go through most of the Gamecube/Wii games before playing it.

Like Windwalker, this game is HUGE. I now know why everyone raved about it. I have finally gotten the master sword (standard fare for Zelda games). So I can assume I am close to half way through. I have just reached the 24 mark for hours played.

More Overlord

Since I have upgraded my 6600 to a 8600 I decided to play Overlord again. Man the difference in noticeable. The extra effects and textures and objects made the good look a lot better. I finished Overlord again this time trying different things.

Played a bit of the Transformers game on the PC found it a bit boring, but it helped pass the time.

I finally finished playing Battlezone 2 for the PC which I started a few years ago now.

I am now playing Homeworld again for most likely the 9th or 10th time. I don't think I will ever get sick of this game, even after 7-8 years !

Overlord

Just finished Overlord, a really fun game. Had an interesting ending which added to the appeal of the game. I would have to say it is a great mixture of first person / fighting / and squad based combat. Some aspects of the game could be improved but not by very much. Anyway I will be re-playing that one again soon.

Mixed Bag

Finished all the levels on Eledees, the last boss was very easy compared to some of the earlier missions. The game did take a few days to finish and I did started to get a bit bored of the game play near the end.

Started playing Mercury Revolution on the Wii, it is similar in Kororinpa in that is a rolling ball puzzle game. But that is where the similarity ends, it seems to have a lot more levels and world can be rotated for easier playing. It is one of those games that would take a long time to "finish", but is fun to pick up now and then. The "party" games are lame in that only one person can play at a time, not very party. Well unless it is "one man party" !

Wiley and I played Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 on the Wii, I kept beating Wiley but only because I was button mashing. It is one of those fighting games that is so fast that whom-ever mashes the buttons the faster (me in this case) wins. Well at least that is how it felt for me.

I wiped the dust off the old PC (literally) and started playing Jade Empire. A nice game, reminds me of Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2, and Fable. I am a bit annoyed in that some enemies are immune to almost all attack types when they give you dozens of attack types. And some of the Arena battles are a bit dodgy, one opponent took five attempts to defeat (some huge elephant demon) then the last opponent took around 20 seconds to defeat, not very balanced at all.

Shane showed me Overlord for the PC, and I was really tempted to drop Jade Empire and start on it. But I decided to see Jade Empire to the bitter end, at least I know what the next game will be. Overlord !!!!

Eleedes

After several weeks of gameplay I have finally finished Zelda Ocarina of time, odd that a game that is almost 10 years old is still quite entertaining to play. I must admit I had to look at a walkthrough a couple of times after spending a few hours working out the puzzels. Just not observent enough I think.

I am now playing Eledees on the Wii, it is a kids game but it is so much fun. Throwing objects around capturing cute creatures what more could a person want ? The game play is fast and fun, this game will be one I will replay at a later date much like Pikmin 2 !

Another Zelda

I finished Batallion Wars, most of the missions were quite easy except for the last few. One mission was very hard, the only way to complete it was to send one unit at a time to attack the objective. Otherwise the game was easy to complete overall.

I am now playing Zelda Ocarina of time on the Wii, I hate to admit it but I think it is a far better game then Wind Walker. Much better gameplay and harder puzzels to complete, I have had to use a walkthrough a couple times after hours of looking.

Finished the Nod missions with C & C Kane Edition on the PC, it was quite fun. Again I think it does harken back to the original in many ways with a really great storyline, good cut scenes and serious missions that require planning to complete. I am now playing the GDI missions when Zelda get a bit to much for me.

Battalion Wars

I have been playing lots and lots of Super Mario Sunshine. Almost all the way through it, but I decided to have a break from it. Now into Battalion Wars, it is a very fun game lots of fast paced action. Some of the missions are quite hard. I have found the best way to play is to have all the units follow you and then have them attack enemy units in order of priority. I have also found in some cases it is better to put the whole group into Guard state which lets them attack whatever enemy units they are best suited to handle. I am waiting for Battalion Wars 2 for the Wii to come out.

I also played a few games of Bowling, Tennis and Baseball with Wiley.