Once again it's been a fair while since I posted, although I have a good excuse: I've been playing computer games. Yes, those timewasters.
The most-played game recently has to be Far Cry 2 on the PC. I saw it on Play.com for a tenner with the DLC included (that's downloadable content for those who probably didn't need to know). The first Far Cry didn't really click with me, at least on the PC. Here though for some reason it has grabbed me, albeit in a non-aggressive fashion.
Essentially you're a mercenary in some war-torn African country doing various tasks, although they all involve you driving somewhere (which takes bloody ages) then killing people. The landscape looks amazing, maybe not quite on Oblivion levels of gorgeousness but close. The day/night cycle is particularly impressive, nothing can beat driving along some dusty road into the sunset, except maybe the hugely-irritating roadblocks
They keep remanning these checkpoints with mouthy South Africans who drive straight at you shouting abuse. It really does hamper progress, having to keep stopping every 2 minutes to clean up these fools.
It's strange that at times I feel useless, I'll die and try again, yet if I push on it gets more enjoyable, like each death makes me think how I could approach that mission differently. It does a great job of letting you approach objectives in whatever way you like, although sniping is pretty much mandatory, which suits me down to the ground.
So yes, a tenner well spent there.
What else have I been playing? Let's see: more QuakeLive and Battlefield Heroes, more Halo 3 online - I'm still utterly useless. I even managed to get in a bit of Left 4 Dead seeing as theer is the new Survival Pack DLC just out. It's not bad although it didn't pull me back to that game as much as I thought it would, sadly.
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Monday, 13 April 2009
Final Fantasy XII
Sad to say the Easter weekend is about to end, back to the grind. However I've had a few decent hours playing games, most notably Final Fantasy XII on the PS2.
This was a Christmas present in 2007 from my good friend Michelle. Naughty me openned it early as I was eager to give it a go. I was playing that thing right over Christmas.
About six months has passed since I played this last. I've been meaning to get back into it but was worried I'd have lost the plot, so I was pleasantly surprised to find I got reaquainted with my party and the story faster than anticipated, and am now fully back.
With games like this I pray I'll get sucked in, feel that I'm in control and able to cope with the complexities of things. Some games haven't grabbed me (Neverwinter Nights), others certainly have (Wasteland, Ultima V). FFXII certainly got me, fair and square. It has depth and character, yet it never gets confusing. Some purists poo-poo FFXII as a pale shadow of earlier games, specifically Final Fantasy VII, but I'll leave them to it - if a game is enjoyable I won't knock it.
I'll be sat at work tomorrow, answering calls from the public and wishing I was at home playing FFXII instead.
This was a Christmas present in 2007 from my good friend Michelle. Naughty me openned it early as I was eager to give it a go. I was playing that thing right over Christmas.
About six months has passed since I played this last. I've been meaning to get back into it but was worried I'd have lost the plot, so I was pleasantly surprised to find I got reaquainted with my party and the story faster than anticipated, and am now fully back.
With games like this I pray I'll get sucked in, feel that I'm in control and able to cope with the complexities of things. Some games haven't grabbed me (Neverwinter Nights), others certainly have (Wasteland, Ultima V). FFXII certainly got me, fair and square. It has depth and character, yet it never gets confusing. Some purists poo-poo FFXII as a pale shadow of earlier games, specifically Final Fantasy VII, but I'll leave them to it - if a game is enjoyable I won't knock it.
I'll be sat at work tomorrow, answering calls from the public and wishing I was at home playing FFXII instead.
Saturday, 11 April 2009
Random Easy
Easter weekend and I had Good Friday off work, so managed to get a bit of gaming in. As I listened to the cast of Red Dwarf sans Craig Charles on FiveLive I played a bit of Half-Life 2 on the 360. This was a pre-order for me on the PC in 2004. My dad had to help me decipher the CD-key when I got it, and once we had it sorted I was immersed in the world of City 17.
It's a tad different on 360, there are a few tangible differences but it's all coming back. There are bits I'm not looking forward to, but generally it's a superb game worthy of anyone's time.
Played some more Team Fortress 2 on the 360 Thursday. The lads want to get serious, but I'm still as useless as ever, although it's still great fun. We were down in numbers so grouped up and played a team of randoms for most of the evening. Lukily they were utter balls and at one point I was top of our table - made me feel great. We would deliberately let them take the first point just so we could build up defences on the last point - we had some great defences that way.
Maybe I'll play some on the PC tonight. There's an update coming for the Sniper class, new maps and modes will accompany this so I'm looking forward to it. It's just a shame they aren't updating the 360 one, it is gettng somewhat stale.
Right then, let's see what crap I can roll back to on the Ps2 as I'm having a drink.
It's a tad different on 360, there are a few tangible differences but it's all coming back. There are bits I'm not looking forward to, but generally it's a superb game worthy of anyone's time.
Played some more Team Fortress 2 on the 360 Thursday. The lads want to get serious, but I'm still as useless as ever, although it's still great fun. We were down in numbers so grouped up and played a team of randoms for most of the evening. Lukily they were utter balls and at one point I was top of our table - made me feel great. We would deliberately let them take the first point just so we could build up defences on the last point - we had some great defences that way.
Maybe I'll play some on the PC tonight. There's an update coming for the Sniper class, new maps and modes will accompany this so I'm looking forward to it. It's just a shame they aren't updating the 360 one, it is gettng somewhat stale.
Right then, let's see what crap I can roll back to on the Ps2 as I'm having a drink.
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Infinite What?
I've not posted in a wee while, mainly because I've not been playing much that has inspired me.
Since completing Resident Evil 5 I've been trying to upgrade weapons and all that malarky. I must have done something wrong because I'm the only person on the planet who has completed it yet not unlocked infinite ammo. It's things like this that make me wonder why I play games sometimes: you think you're doing really well then everyone else comes along and says "what, you didn't get this?" - frustrating.
Anyway, maybe one day the planets will allign and it will be available. You get points for completing chapters in the game, and I'm led to believe unlocking infinite ammo on a weapon costs 15,000 - I have 24,600 saved up, not bothering to unlock the figurines and all that crap, saving it for the good stuff.
Now going through it trying to find the medalions that apparently unlock more stuff, although thusfar it's just been more figures. They're not as noticeable as in Resident Evil 4, the blue used there you could see miles off.
Other games played recently include The Club, nearly unlocked all areas there, albeit on Casual, and Team Fortress 2, although when comparing world ranking with the Thursday night crowd I play with mine was embarrassingly low. I did play about 20 minutes of Trackmania United although it was 2.30am and I wasn't really feeling it.
Since completing Resident Evil 5 I've been trying to upgrade weapons and all that malarky. I must have done something wrong because I'm the only person on the planet who has completed it yet not unlocked infinite ammo. It's things like this that make me wonder why I play games sometimes: you think you're doing really well then everyone else comes along and says "what, you didn't get this?" - frustrating.
Anyway, maybe one day the planets will allign and it will be available. You get points for completing chapters in the game, and I'm led to believe unlocking infinite ammo on a weapon costs 15,000 - I have 24,600 saved up, not bothering to unlock the figurines and all that crap, saving it for the good stuff.
Now going through it trying to find the medalions that apparently unlock more stuff, although thusfar it's just been more figures. They're not as noticeable as in Resident Evil 4, the blue used there you could see miles off.
Other games played recently include The Club, nearly unlocked all areas there, albeit on Casual, and Team Fortress 2, although when comparing world ranking with the Thursday night crowd I play with mine was embarrassingly low. I did play about 20 minutes of Trackmania United although it was 2.30am and I wasn't really feeling it.
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