Bumper to Bumper Grinding

I hate grinding, but I love my trophies. What a conundrum to be stuck in!

Here I am just two levels away from Platinum for NFS: HP and my mind just keeps on saying... "Your grinding - why do this to yourself over computer code and meaningless numbers?!?"

Some time back I pondered what it was that drove gamers/ people to complete anything to any degree and I could only surmise that it is the self congratulatory feeling of elation and being able to tell oneself  "That was me! I did THAT!!" which drives 90% of motivation to complete a task/ game/ objective. With my only trophies for NFS: HP being the cop based levels of 19 & 20 I have no choice but to grind if I want that Platinum (taking my total to 3).

It is the same sad story still with Fallout 3... just 4 trophies based on karma until "bling" number 4, and Uncharted is just one away (damn Hardcore modes... Grr).

At the end of the day they are just computer codes, but when it dangles in front of my eyes like some forbidden cookie jar on a just out of reach shelf it makes me want them EVEN more.

Oh well... not much I can do now until I get home from my 9to5, gym, doctors and dinner... Bring it on!

Tier 1 or Veteran?

Those of you familiar with the FPS genre will know what the veteran setting is... For the less learned it is the hardest difficulty available on Call of Duty games. Essentially it is another label for HARD!!!

EA games revival of Medal of Honor brought with it its own version of HARD by introducing Tier 1 mode where everything will kill you if given half a chance and there are no checkpoints. It's a cruel and unforgiving speed-run mode that rewards good aim and shuns the jam smeared face that is patiently sucking their thumb whilst their health comes back.

But which one makes for a better experience for the best of players? And which one makes you a better player?

Tier 1 mode certainly requires the flawless aptitude that the SAS and Tier 1 Marines require in order to live, but the checkpoint ability within Veteran mode is allowing players to continue from where it went wrong and learn by their multiple mistakes. In terms of reward... It must be satisfying to complete a Tier 1 mode level (I wouldn't know... I keep dying) but the psychological value in completing a Veteran Mode level after the 50th attempt at progressing 10 meters to the level end point (where you die anyway!) is also validly making people learn from their immediate mistakes.

All I know is that having speed run the gauntlet in MW2 in less than 30 seconds the feeling of being worthy of the games appraisal that I CAN do veteran rather than simply choose to do it is enough for me.


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Need For Speed: NO Pursuit

Oh chestnut, how I feel sorry for you having to be dragged back out and tarnished. As unfortunate as it is I must though, in order to polish you up and rehash a previous annoyance... Lack of online players! Yes, it is that old chestnut.

NFS: Hot Pursuit is supposed to be a game of cat and mouse, cops and robbers... Racers vs The Law. Instead the lobbies now only consist of races. No one is using the other online race modes. Everyone that I played last night had a level 20 race career and very little progress if any as a cop.

Now... I started NFS: HP on Xmas day as a racer and finished up that career first. Having taken a break I am now back for the cop element. It now seems I am going to need to arrange via a forum to experience the thrills of other game modes in order to rack up my trophies. Either that or get a friend to rent/ buy a copy along with the DLC. Hmm... Somehow I think he has bigger priorities.

It is a shame that the USP for NFS: HP is being neglected in favour of using it as a standard racer. Sure it is great fun but variety is the spice of life.


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Damn You to The Nexus Demon Souls!

Demons Souls – you really are a hard nut to crack!

Anyone that has played this game will know what I mean when I say… DAMN!!! In fact GAW-DAMN!!! I was given the game at Christmas (the premier gifting period) last year and have just had time now to get into it fully. So far it is one Demon down and god knows how many more to go.

This game takes NO prisoners, it takes any potential prisoner and spits them out like a sour grape. Even after getting one Demon slain there is no indication of where to go next, just a notice that more locations are open… Thus in my noob-like stupor I followed the usual Stage 2 psychology that has been driven into me by every other game and decided to run the gauntlet along the battlements against the fire breathing dragon.

Several deaths and Moon Grasses later I reached the other end of the battlements only to be insta-killed by a 10 story tall knight… hmm… “Maybe I need to come back here later?” I thought… having lost all the collected souls of said level… behind fog that I cannot go back to and collect my souls… at too late an hour to go straight back to it… CRAP!!!

If it weren’t for a driving lesson after work tonight I would be straight back in Boletaria this evening. Especially now I have the IGN Prime guide to help me decide where to go next and hopefully have more success than that which I had against The Tower Knight!!!

Dead Space blu-rays

The wonder that is Lovefilm recently sent me both Dead Space blu-rays (both animated side stories) and I am not sure how I feel about either film. They weren't bad but both of them had flaws that made the experience a little odd.

The first of the blu-rays (Downfall) tells the story of how it all went tits up on the ship in the first place and does help to provide a little back story to the first game. The problem is in the anime style which is very "western" and does not feel quite up to Manga standards so gives the whole 2 hour story a slight childish feel (despite the decapitation and buckets of blood).

That said, the second blu-ray (Aftermath) is a different breed of animation entirely.

Spoiler alert follows

Should you choose to watch it I beg you to stick with it until after the first interrogation. The art direction is a good concept, in which 4 survivors of a recon ship account their overlapped stories and each story is done in a different style of anime. Unfortunately the framing device is an unusual choice... Very bright and clunky cell shading which feels very "Reboot" in appearance (showing my age with that reference). Having better exampled use of cell shading at my disposal it is a shame that this distracts so much from the story and makes it feel so VERY childish due to the brightness and saturation of colour.

If you can see the story through the choice of medium used then both blu-rays are good additions to the Dead Space story arch, but they are both definitely titles to rent only and not a purchase opportunity.


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Look how far we have come in such a short time!

I took a walk down memory lane last night and played a bit of Rainbow Six Vegas last night and I was shocked. Shocked at how far the immersion and feel of almost all FPS games now feel.

From the use of shoulder buttons to aim, to the sway of cameras and jolting from gunshots a lot has changed! Even the most recent FPS whipping boys (sorry Homefront... I like you but critics are mixed) are an immersive and solid performers.

It is nice to see where things are heading too, after seeing the new PS3 footage of Battlefield 3.


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eBay... People just don't do it right!

So... I go on about pre-owned game sales a fair bit, but to make my case clear - "I don't buy used games from retailers who pocket the profit, only direct from people on eBay."

That may seem strange to some that I detest used game sales for profit on a large scale but not on an individual basis (perhaps all that punk I listen to has something to say about that) and I can understand if you don't agree.

What I can't understand is some peoples approach to buying on eBay.

Anyone that has used eBay will know that the closing moments are the prime bidding period... So why-oh-why do people place their maximum bid days in advance? Sure you have a maximum price that you are willing to pay, but surely the point of eBay is to get things cheap?!?

I should feel bad for making people pay more than the "current" bid when I try to snap up an old game for my maximum bid in the closing seconds... But I won't and don't... If you can't be bothered to bid in the closing seconds then you deserve to pay more than the minimum!

There are plenty of other "issues" I have with sellers too, not just buyers, (fakes, miss use of "mint", regions, outrage at neutral feedback, etc) but that is another story.


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