At What Point is a Gamer "Hardcore?" @.@
I really need to try to focus on a few things for Star Wars, as we may be playing tonight. Alas, I haven't had a lot of feedback that helps me figure out what to cover before pushing plot, but we'll see what happens. As for other games...
Back to Creation, petitioning for help, and off to Yu Shan again. Whee!
Though Five Days Darkness had little information of assistance and didn't convey any certainty when he was asked to relay a message to Xian Aki in Yu Shan, Xian showed up shortly thereafter. He, it seems, shall be the Circle's source of support for tackling Thorns and the Mask of Winter. It's a battle he has been planning for a long time - even to the extent of diverting possible rebellions along the way (because he knows they'll fail and doesn't want to give the Mask of Winter a solid, public victory).
But, naturally, other things have to come first. So he helped the group get to Yu Shan and meet with Lytek, with whom they discussed things further and turned over the exalted shards of their companions (who remain in Creation for the time being). It's also releaed that the Mask of Winter possesses the tool of Lytek's (designed for altering essence/exaltations) that was stolen. From a storytelling perspective, that sounds like extraneous plot since it appears to overlap what we'd be doing anyway, but whatever. There was also discussion of a hidden cache of 50 exalted shards that were unaligned with any Incarna. Lytek wants them, he says, so he can study them to help remove the Great Curse. Clearly, anyone else who might have a chance at using them will also want them.
Then Xian went to take those present to go visit the Unconquered Sun and Luna. No pressure there. >.> There was some discussion before departing about what to say and, while we counted off a number of important topics, it seems our actual delivery will probably be fairly improvised anyway. Along the way, the group (currently Alexi, Kujath, Nightlily, Selina, Vee, and Xian) was confronted by some others (2 gods, 2 Lunars, 1 Solar, 1 Sidereal, and 1... exalt of some sort, I think, though I didn't catch her type so much as that she wore pink) wishing to prevent the meeting. They were, at least, diplomatic about it at first, the woman making herself out to be of the Cult of the Illuminated, who trained Alexandra.
Her "you are not ready for this" pitch really didn't click. Even if she had a badge or secret handshake, she wan't know to Alexi, so there was no reason to believe she was who she said/implied. And even if she was a confirmed ranking Cult member, I'm not sure Alexi would have bought that story. She might have agreed to talk about it, but standing up your 'patron god' seems smitably rude, so it would have taken a lot to convince her that someone else knows better what she should be doing.
Xian decided sheer physical combat wasn't a way to go and introduced us to a... pocket reality ballroom via some Sidereal martial arts, I presume. This was jarring for us as players (well, those of us who hadn't done this before?). Kujath paid willpower to drop out completely, still leaving 7 enemies to 5 party members. It was a struggle to get through the beginning with different mechanics and rules applying to the "combat" of trying to outdance/tire the opposition. I was confused, and not feeling well that night, so getting into things was pretty miserable. It wasn't so bad once we got into it, though. The greater freedom in stunting was kind of fun, I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to get into it. I don't really buy the argument that it was "faster than normal combat" though.
No PC got too roughed up by it, though Nightlily hit her Limit Break. Most of the enemies, though, were left unconscious with only a couple to tend them as the Circle continued on their way in the wake of the instantaneous dance-off.
Yeah, if I had it to do again, I'd want to try to spruce things up more (though this would take a more creative mindset, perhaps). Some sort of West Side Story/Beat It choreographed knife fight scene...
Game, games, aieee!
Driver: Parallel Lines should have been subtitled "Perpendicular Spines" instead. There's a story there. A friend brought over their copy to try out as it wasn't running on their PS2. We dropped it in a PS3 and loaded it up fine, but there was one graphics glitch. Anytime the main character was on foot, he was prone to occasional "twitching" in which his body would back and to the side at an almost 90-degree angle. Twitch. Twitch. Apparently, something in the graphics engine of some PS3 models doesn't like something in the program. There are YouTube videos documenting this glitch. It had us laughing madly, dubbing the main character "Twitch."
Still awaiting my turn at Force Unleashed. I have been trying desperately to avoid spoilers of any sort, though it's hard when there's a lightsaber boss battle going on in the living room and I'm cooking dinner right next to it in the kitchen. So I've learned about a couple fights I didn't know of, though I think I've managed to duck most of the actual plot scenes that I haven't already known about. It's so hard to go into some things "fresh" these days...
In the meantime, I'm playing Assassin's Creed - borrowed, though I had been considering it as a possible purchase. I guess there's the advantage to having two PS3's in the house of being able to save a little money on games, trading them around, without moving consoles. The game is... about what I'm coming to expect: "good, but..." In this case, I like the story (even the alternate timeline things is okay so far). The look is pretty slick and things move well. The gameplay, though? Again, a little lacking. Holding down buttons to free-run wherever you move, bounding over obstacles, up walls, and leaping from rooftop to rooftop is easy (and may, in fact, be better than the alternative of timed platforming), but it's not very interactive. Combat can be beautiful to behold, but the most effective technique seems to be to keep your guard up and hope you can time the counterattack button-press at just the right moment. Assassinations are fun, but the last two I've done have devolved into chases across town and I don't see a better way to do them. Travel seems pointlessly annoying in that you have to cross a zone before each mission that has no danger/challenge, it just takes time to cross over and over again as you come down from your home fortress on the hill. I can't see any point to finding all the hidden flags and things (Xbox Live achievements, I guess, but if there are rewards for the PS3 version, they elude me). And the one thing I truly dislike about the multiple timeline thing is that I have to wait through a loading screen to get to the menu of the memory machine in the future, then I have to wait in a ghostly room (essentially another loading screen) to get back into the past to where you actually play. Heck, if you count the loading to the New Game/Continue screen when starting up, that's three loading screens minimum before you get to do anything. Maybe I'm a grumpy ol' gamer, but I find myself agreeing more with Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw these days - though, thankfully, not with quite the same venom and disgust.
I'm starting to think Wrath of the Lich King should have been pushed back past November. Naturally, it's hard to see how things will play out, but they're still doing lots of balance tweaks on test realms and time is running out.
At the end of next month, there's Fallout 3 to look forward to. Unfortunately, I got to the Fallout games a little too late - enough so that the dated graphics bugged me. Still, I do understand the appeal of the quirky, post-apocalyptic games and with the latest being put together by Bethesda, I have high hopes. High enough that I've almost pre-ordered. Twice. And yet I keep stopping myself and looking at my options. Part of me wants to get it for PS3. A dedicated console usually has fewer problems, and leaves my computer free for other things if necessary. On the other hand, PC versions are often better in tiny ways, more flexible in the long run, and it's ten dollars cheaper. So... I may end up waiting for a comparison review or something.
Back to Creation, petitioning for help, and off to Yu Shan again. Whee!
Though Five Days Darkness had little information of assistance and didn't convey any certainty when he was asked to relay a message to Xian Aki in Yu Shan, Xian showed up shortly thereafter. He, it seems, shall be the Circle's source of support for tackling Thorns and the Mask of Winter. It's a battle he has been planning for a long time - even to the extent of diverting possible rebellions along the way (because he knows they'll fail and doesn't want to give the Mask of Winter a solid, public victory).
But, naturally, other things have to come first. So he helped the group get to Yu Shan and meet with Lytek, with whom they discussed things further and turned over the exalted shards of their companions (who remain in Creation for the time being). It's also releaed that the Mask of Winter possesses the tool of Lytek's (designed for altering essence/exaltations) that was stolen. From a storytelling perspective, that sounds like extraneous plot since it appears to overlap what we'd be doing anyway, but whatever. There was also discussion of a hidden cache of 50 exalted shards that were unaligned with any Incarna. Lytek wants them, he says, so he can study them to help remove the Great Curse. Clearly, anyone else who might have a chance at using them will also want them.
Then Xian went to take those present to go visit the Unconquered Sun and Luna. No pressure there. >.> There was some discussion before departing about what to say and, while we counted off a number of important topics, it seems our actual delivery will probably be fairly improvised anyway. Along the way, the group (currently Alexi, Kujath, Nightlily, Selina, Vee, and Xian) was confronted by some others (2 gods, 2 Lunars, 1 Solar, 1 Sidereal, and 1... exalt of some sort, I think, though I didn't catch her type so much as that she wore pink) wishing to prevent the meeting. They were, at least, diplomatic about it at first, the woman making herself out to be of the Cult of the Illuminated, who trained Alexandra.
Her "you are not ready for this" pitch really didn't click. Even if she had a badge or secret handshake, she wan't know to Alexi, so there was no reason to believe she was who she said/implied. And even if she was a confirmed ranking Cult member, I'm not sure Alexi would have bought that story. She might have agreed to talk about it, but standing up your 'patron god' seems smitably rude, so it would have taken a lot to convince her that someone else knows better what she should be doing.
Xian decided sheer physical combat wasn't a way to go and introduced us to a... pocket reality ballroom via some Sidereal martial arts, I presume. This was jarring for us as players (well, those of us who hadn't done this before?). Kujath paid willpower to drop out completely, still leaving 7 enemies to 5 party members. It was a struggle to get through the beginning with different mechanics and rules applying to the "combat" of trying to outdance/tire the opposition. I was confused, and not feeling well that night, so getting into things was pretty miserable. It wasn't so bad once we got into it, though. The greater freedom in stunting was kind of fun, I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to get into it. I don't really buy the argument that it was "faster than normal combat" though.
No PC got too roughed up by it, though Nightlily hit her Limit Break. Most of the enemies, though, were left unconscious with only a couple to tend them as the Circle continued on their way in the wake of the instantaneous dance-off.
Yeah, if I had it to do again, I'd want to try to spruce things up more (though this would take a more creative mindset, perhaps). Some sort of West Side Story/Beat It choreographed knife fight scene...
Game, games, aieee!
Driver: Parallel Lines should have been subtitled "Perpendicular Spines" instead. There's a story there. A friend brought over their copy to try out as it wasn't running on their PS2. We dropped it in a PS3 and loaded it up fine, but there was one graphics glitch. Anytime the main character was on foot, he was prone to occasional "twitching" in which his body would back and to the side at an almost 90-degree angle. Twitch. Twitch. Apparently, something in the graphics engine of some PS3 models doesn't like something in the program. There are YouTube videos documenting this glitch. It had us laughing madly, dubbing the main character "Twitch."
Still awaiting my turn at Force Unleashed. I have been trying desperately to avoid spoilers of any sort, though it's hard when there's a lightsaber boss battle going on in the living room and I'm cooking dinner right next to it in the kitchen. So I've learned about a couple fights I didn't know of, though I think I've managed to duck most of the actual plot scenes that I haven't already known about. It's so hard to go into some things "fresh" these days...
In the meantime, I'm playing Assassin's Creed - borrowed, though I had been considering it as a possible purchase. I guess there's the advantage to having two PS3's in the house of being able to save a little money on games, trading them around, without moving consoles. The game is... about what I'm coming to expect: "good, but..." In this case, I like the story (even the alternate timeline things is okay so far). The look is pretty slick and things move well. The gameplay, though? Again, a little lacking. Holding down buttons to free-run wherever you move, bounding over obstacles, up walls, and leaping from rooftop to rooftop is easy (and may, in fact, be better than the alternative of timed platforming), but it's not very interactive. Combat can be beautiful to behold, but the most effective technique seems to be to keep your guard up and hope you can time the counterattack button-press at just the right moment. Assassinations are fun, but the last two I've done have devolved into chases across town and I don't see a better way to do them. Travel seems pointlessly annoying in that you have to cross a zone before each mission that has no danger/challenge, it just takes time to cross over and over again as you come down from your home fortress on the hill. I can't see any point to finding all the hidden flags and things (Xbox Live achievements, I guess, but if there are rewards for the PS3 version, they elude me). And the one thing I truly dislike about the multiple timeline thing is that I have to wait through a loading screen to get to the menu of the memory machine in the future, then I have to wait in a ghostly room (essentially another loading screen) to get back into the past to where you actually play. Heck, if you count the loading to the New Game/Continue screen when starting up, that's three loading screens minimum before you get to do anything. Maybe I'm a grumpy ol' gamer, but I find myself agreeing more with Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw these days - though, thankfully, not with quite the same venom and disgust.
I'm starting to think Wrath of the Lich King should have been pushed back past November. Naturally, it's hard to see how things will play out, but they're still doing lots of balance tweaks on test realms and time is running out.
At the end of next month, there's Fallout 3 to look forward to. Unfortunately, I got to the Fallout games a little too late - enough so that the dated graphics bugged me. Still, I do understand the appeal of the quirky, post-apocalyptic games and with the latest being put together by Bethesda, I have high hopes. High enough that I've almost pre-ordered. Twice. And yet I keep stopping myself and looking at my options. Part of me wants to get it for PS3. A dedicated console usually has fewer problems, and leaves my computer free for other things if necessary. On the other hand, PC versions are often better in tiny ways, more flexible in the long run, and it's ten dollars cheaper. So... I may end up waiting for a comparison review or something.
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