Working at a video game store allows me to be around all of the hot new titles. Which is great. However, there's a severe lapse in ability for the store employees to actually play the newest titles without buying them. Hell, even at the video rental stores they're allowed to play the newest games without buying them. Now, I'm all for playing the newest games if they're good, but what about if they ain't? In walks Call of Juarez.
First of all, most of the people who come into my store have a bit of an accent, so pronouncing Juarez is difficult. It ends up being jars. La noire ends up being la Nore, and deus ex is duce x. So why subtitle your game something people will instantly be confused with? Anyway, thank god for red box, I was able to try out this disaster and bring it back as soon as I could, which is exactly what I did.
For starters, this was yet another game that randomly gave me some ferocious motion sickness. Lemme preface this all with, I ride roller coasters, I've flown planes, been on tons of boats, and been playing video games for years, and it hasn't been until recently that it's gotten to the point where I've had to stop. I've also found it to be with crappy games. Connection? Maybe. At any rate this game, as well as duke nukem, both forced me to have to literally take a break after about an hour or so.
The game clearly wants you to play online, as each time you start a new level, it suggests that you search for matches online. As fun as that sounds... I still don't do much online playing. COD and Battlefield are different, since you can jump in and jump out as you'd like, but mission based games like COJ and Marvel Alliance need a more dedicated crowd, not some random search online. If I want to leave, I don't want to completely screw over the other player. Maybe it's just a personal preference, but I enjoy seeing the multiplay separate from the single play.
The game itself doesn't really know if it's coming or going. You have your option of choosing from one of three characters, each one with a different storyline, but not different mission areas, so basically..... I mean really.... you're playing the game 3 times over. Cheap move, but I guess it would matter in multiplay. The controls are clunky as always, the guns are hilariously underpowered. A gangster in a tanktop and and shorts, I shoot him three times right in the head (how do I know? the game tracks headshots and accuracy), 3 times in the head, and he keeps right on shooting. So you're willing to track headshots, but you won't give it the power it deserves? I've played games before where headshots count, and frankly... I don't mind the intensity. If my guy gets his brains splattered because of a wrong move, and it happens from a single shot... well, I won't do that again. If I take the time to line-up a perfect headshot, I should be awarded for my patience, I'm just saying.
Buy rent or avoid? I'd say rent, it's a decent easy chunk of achievements, and it's a non-mainstream shooter that's got some potential (mostly in the graphics and the view distance, you'll only understand it if you see it).
I mean, it beats Duke Nukem.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
GameFly: My Thoughts on it
Almost didn’t make it for this month. Well, I’m here now so…
I want to talk a little bit about GameFly for a bit because I have been using it for 5-6 months and feel I can give a somewhat accurate account of it. So, the service operates similarly from Netflix’s delivery service. Make a queue with games instead of movies, wait for them to come in the mail, play as long as you like, pay a monthly fee that varies dependant on how many games you want, and that’s it. I am sure plenty of people out there have used/still use the service, so this will be a retread to many people. For those that haven’t made the leap, the question is, is GameFly worth it?
To me, kinda. Yes overall, but I wouldn’t blame anyone that cancelled it after two months or more.
You see, much like NetFlix, GameFly promises speedy delivery of your games. Difference is, NetFlix deliveries on those promises. GameFly, well, it depends on your definition of speedy. NetFlix movies are all spent via USPS First Class and they have distribution centers in almost every state. GameFly, uses what’s essentially second class, or postage stamp speed, and they only have four distribution centers. So, what NetFlix does in 1 business day (2 days in normal time, 3 on weekends), GameFly does in 5 business days (or pretty much a week).
Something else GameFly is guilty of is actually sending a game on your queue to you in the order that it was placed there. Much like Netflix, they send what ever is in your Queue as fast as it becomes available. GameFly, is short, doesn’t care. Sure, they will follow your queue as best that is possible and dependent on what’s available at their distribution centers, but they will also give “what’s available at the time” or “nothing at all”.
Story time: One time I had a queue full of some high-profile (according to MetaCritic and their sales history) games, and I waited about three weeks to get Batman: Arkam Asylum. GameFly’s excuse when I emailed then about it?
“You list has many games in it that are in high demand and we have just experienced a large influx of new customer whose demands we are also trying to meet. We can only ship out games as soon as they become available in your area.”
So since I live in Florida, my distribution center is in Tampa. They decided that the closest game in my Queue was Batman: AA, and they mailed it from Pittsburgh because I complained. They actually could have done this from the beginning, and I wouldn’t have cared since it came two days later.
That just GameFly not really caring and trying to give me “nothing at all”. An example of them “not caring” would be me putting Prince Of Persia for the Gamecube in my queue at spot #12, and then that being THE VERY NEXT GAME they ship me, ahead of Borderlands, Portal 2, Child of Eden, LA Noire, etc. That is not even good service. Just because it’s in my queue, doesn’t mean I wanted to play it then and there. It wasn’t even like the other games weren’t available or in low levels, they just wanted to limp to me the only game that wasn’t considered high profile.
Ok, that’s enough complaining. Nothing in this life is perfect, especially rental services. GameFly, overall, it’s a good service. Though it does take a bout a whole week to receive my games, none of them are scratched and it’s usually a very consistent week with email updates. I myself, subscribe to the 2 games out a month plan, that way I have a steady flow of games to plow through. Don’t worry, if I want a game bad enough I will buy it, but most are worth playing through just to investigate their design and what they contribute to the industry or my own curiosity…that and they are fun. Also, with the two games a month scenario, I save WAY more money than if I just bought them and traded them in.
It’s kinda my thing nowadays to save money, but still maintain my vices. Since gaming is a very big vice for me, this works well. I say try it, cause if you hate it, you can just cancel and walk away.
I want to talk a little bit about GameFly for a bit because I have been using it for 5-6 months and feel I can give a somewhat accurate account of it. So, the service operates similarly from Netflix’s delivery service. Make a queue with games instead of movies, wait for them to come in the mail, play as long as you like, pay a monthly fee that varies dependant on how many games you want, and that’s it. I am sure plenty of people out there have used/still use the service, so this will be a retread to many people. For those that haven’t made the leap, the question is, is GameFly worth it?
To me, kinda. Yes overall, but I wouldn’t blame anyone that cancelled it after two months or more.
You see, much like NetFlix, GameFly promises speedy delivery of your games. Difference is, NetFlix deliveries on those promises. GameFly, well, it depends on your definition of speedy. NetFlix movies are all spent via USPS First Class and they have distribution centers in almost every state. GameFly, uses what’s essentially second class, or postage stamp speed, and they only have four distribution centers. So, what NetFlix does in 1 business day (2 days in normal time, 3 on weekends), GameFly does in 5 business days (or pretty much a week).
Something else GameFly is guilty of is actually sending a game on your queue to you in the order that it was placed there. Much like Netflix, they send what ever is in your Queue as fast as it becomes available. GameFly, is short, doesn’t care. Sure, they will follow your queue as best that is possible and dependent on what’s available at their distribution centers, but they will also give “what’s available at the time” or “nothing at all”.
Story time: One time I had a queue full of some high-profile (according to MetaCritic and their sales history) games, and I waited about three weeks to get Batman: Arkam Asylum. GameFly’s excuse when I emailed then about it?
“You list has many games in it that are in high demand and we have just experienced a large influx of new customer whose demands we are also trying to meet. We can only ship out games as soon as they become available in your area.”
So since I live in Florida, my distribution center is in Tampa. They decided that the closest game in my Queue was Batman: AA, and they mailed it from Pittsburgh because I complained. They actually could have done this from the beginning, and I wouldn’t have cared since it came two days later.
That just GameFly not really caring and trying to give me “nothing at all”. An example of them “not caring” would be me putting Prince Of Persia for the Gamecube in my queue at spot #12, and then that being THE VERY NEXT GAME they ship me, ahead of Borderlands, Portal 2, Child of Eden, LA Noire, etc. That is not even good service. Just because it’s in my queue, doesn’t mean I wanted to play it then and there. It wasn’t even like the other games weren’t available or in low levels, they just wanted to limp to me the only game that wasn’t considered high profile.
Ok, that’s enough complaining. Nothing in this life is perfect, especially rental services. GameFly, overall, it’s a good service. Though it does take a bout a whole week to receive my games, none of them are scratched and it’s usually a very consistent week with email updates. I myself, subscribe to the 2 games out a month plan, that way I have a steady flow of games to plow through. Don’t worry, if I want a game bad enough I will buy it, but most are worth playing through just to investigate their design and what they contribute to the industry or my own curiosity…that and they are fun. Also, with the two games a month scenario, I save WAY more money than if I just bought them and traded them in.
It’s kinda my thing nowadays to save money, but still maintain my vices. Since gaming is a very big vice for me, this works well. I say try it, cause if you hate it, you can just cancel and walk away.
Friday, August 12, 2011
King Kong and the 1k EARNED
At work, you know, the gaming store, my co-worker and I were discussing Xbox achievements and how some of them seem just impossible to gain. "Play 1000 matches and win more than half", "Complete over 20 passes in a single game", "Play through the main story 3 times". Most of the achievements seem like they're forcing gamers to play through multiple times to get everything. I've complained about this before. We then got onto the topic of games that are an easy 1k in achievements. Games you simply play once and get them all. Avatar: The Last Airbender, Terminator: Salvation, and of course.... King Kong.
No sooner had we mentioned that fabled game, in which you receive 1k achievements for simply playing the game, than we opened up a shipment to find multiple copies of the game. So we both decided to check out the game, and see if in 4 days we could complete it, and in turn get the 1k.
Needless to say, we both finished the game, both around 4 days, but nothing without our strife.
The game is mediocre at best, it's a fairly simple FPS with the occasional Kong scene which turns into 3rd person. Now this isn't a review of the game, but rather a review of what has to happen to EARN those achievement points.
The full game is about 8 hours, but you'll feel every moment of it dragging along, and the lack of a solid gaming structure it holds. For my co-worker it meant playing for about 3 hours only to find out theres no such thing as an auto-save, but rather an episodic system, in which you still have to save. So sure you got the achievements for those episodes, but to get the achievement for completing the game, you had to play through those 3 hours again.
Win. For myself it was the random clipping. I'd be playing as Kong, climbing up a cliff when suddenly Kong would fall through the mountain and suddenly die. Start-over a good 30 minutes in the past. This happened just about every hour, right on cue. Had the game been built on a solid engine it would have been a breeze, instead it was a multiple hour hassle.
But I shouldn't complain, I got my 1k achievements out of it. The funny part is, once I finished the game, and got all of the points, it suggested that I play through again to unlock additional art samples and renderings of the game. No sir.
I'll keep this short, but basically, if you're looking to boost up that gamer score (and honestly, who isn't? i saw a guy the other day with 80k), King Kong is worth it. You'll be tearing your hair out for a few days, but once it's done, it's still a feeling of accomplishment to say "I've done everything possible in that game", even if it meant just playing through once. Oh yeah, there are no difficulty settings.
No sooner had we mentioned that fabled game, in which you receive 1k achievements for simply playing the game, than we opened up a shipment to find multiple copies of the game. So we both decided to check out the game, and see if in 4 days we could complete it, and in turn get the 1k.
Needless to say, we both finished the game, both around 4 days, but nothing without our strife.
The game is mediocre at best, it's a fairly simple FPS with the occasional Kong scene which turns into 3rd person. Now this isn't a review of the game, but rather a review of what has to happen to EARN those achievement points.
The full game is about 8 hours, but you'll feel every moment of it dragging along, and the lack of a solid gaming structure it holds. For my co-worker it meant playing for about 3 hours only to find out theres no such thing as an auto-save, but rather an episodic system, in which you still have to save. So sure you got the achievements for those episodes, but to get the achievement for completing the game, you had to play through those 3 hours again.
Win. For myself it was the random clipping. I'd be playing as Kong, climbing up a cliff when suddenly Kong would fall through the mountain and suddenly die. Start-over a good 30 minutes in the past. This happened just about every hour, right on cue. Had the game been built on a solid engine it would have been a breeze, instead it was a multiple hour hassle.
But I shouldn't complain, I got my 1k achievements out of it. The funny part is, once I finished the game, and got all of the points, it suggested that I play through again to unlock additional art samples and renderings of the game. No sir.
I'll keep this short, but basically, if you're looking to boost up that gamer score (and honestly, who isn't? i saw a guy the other day with 80k), King Kong is worth it. You'll be tearing your hair out for a few days, but once it's done, it's still a feeling of accomplishment to say "I've done everything possible in that game", even if it meant just playing through once. Oh yeah, there are no difficulty settings.
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