October 28th, 2008 Tengaport
Picked up our copy of Little Big Planet last night courtesy of Gamestop.com’s “buy-on-line pickup-in-store” feature. Also netted the free Kratos costumes & levels pre-order bonus, so snoogans to Gamestop there.
My initial impressions of the game are FUN with a capitol F. Little Big Planet is drenched with charm & personality and absolutely oozes smiles. There is no way not to laugh while playing this game - which is exactly what Ev and I were doing as we explored the early stages.
Right from the get-go Ev and I searched out every nook and cranny we could find along the ‘beaten path’. Some led to hidden items, while others led to us getting lodged in some sackboy (and girl) destroying situations. The controls aren’t as tight as I would prefer, which made some of the tricky platforming a bit more maddening. Momentum plays a keep role in keeping your sackboy alive, so be sure to keep that in mind as you’re swinging your way around.
One of the biggest laughs we got last evening was when we came to the first skateboard. Neither of us managed to actually get on the skateboard as it raced down the ramp, but I did manage to grab onto it’s tail and it yanked me along for the journey. Sure, you may of had to be there - but if you’ve got the game, then I’m sure you’re already experiencing moments like these.
We’ve yet to check out downloadable levels, level-creation, or on-line play, but how much Little Big can you squeeze into one evening?
While playing, one thought did pop up in my mind, and that was in regard to the casual crowd. I’m just not sure how ‘big’ a hit Little Big Planet will be with the non-hardcore. While the game may be pick up and play, and does contains a nauseating amount of tutorials, the hand-holding ends fairly quickly which leaves you with some pretty unique and challenging platforming. It seems about as casual a game as say Super Mario Bros.
So I guess that makes today’s question “Do you think Little Big Planet is more casual or hardcore”?
I just wonder how Little Big Planet will fare in those casual circles.
For me, I can’t wait to get home and play some more - just looking at the boxcover in the picture puts a huge smile on my face 
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October 27th, 2008 Tengaport
Oct 22 Ev and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. We didn’t have much planned aside from a simple, quiet evening together. Things were going exactly as planned, until The Little Big Planet quest began.
During dinner I made the mistake of mentioning how some friends of ours had managed to pick up copies of the ‘recalled’ version of Little Big Planet. I knew I was in trouble when my Ev’s eyes instantly lit up, and she responded with a fury of questions. She wanted to know the when, the how and the where people were getting copies of the game. That evening set of a spiral of events that spanned three days, over a dozen stores, and countless disappointments.
After dinner, we drove from store to store, from Blockbuster to Blockbuster, FYE to FYE, and every single LBP chance-seller in-between. While many places we visited were more than happy to show us their copies of the game, not a single store was willing to sell us one. They gave a multitude of excuses, such as: “The game has a song about Jihad”, “it is offensive to Koreans”, “it has been discontinued”, and lastly “its not been gotten has shipped to us…it’s not out” (that one was mumbled by a Circuit City employee).
On Saturday when we learned that Gamestop was getting copies of LBP in we visited every location within a 15 mile radius. GameStops are spreading like a virus around here, because we didn’t have to travel more than five minutes to get from one store to another. It was futile attempt however, as each store barraged us for not pre-ordering the game and had us walking out the door feeling like second class citizens.
At this point, I could handle the rejection no more, and pleaded with Ev to just call the quest off. The game would be out in a matter of days for non-pre-order-ers like ourselves, couldn’t we please just let it go for now? She reluctantly agreed, but by then the disappointment had taken it’s toll on our souls.
Now we sit patiently waiting for the game to ship through normal channels so we can get our LBP on. I knew before we even began our search that quests like these often end in disappointment, but Ev was naively full of optimism and eager to try.
My question to everyone today is, how many ‘gaming quests’ like this have you gone on? What was it for, and how did they end up?
Hopefully you guys had better luck with your quests than we did.
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October 15th, 2008 Tengaport
Here’s my plan for picking up a PS3, if I can raise the necessary funds by selling off some old stuff then I’ll buy one regardless of if I have the time to actually play it. With that goal now set I started going through my game drawer to separate things into ‘what goes’ and ‘what stays’ piles. First up on the chopping block, is the GameCube pile.
My GameCube is in the closet in our guest room, and has been there since we moved into our house (about two years ago). I think it’s safe at this point to declare the console legally dead. I had some good moments with the ‘cube, but I honestly don’t see myself going back to it anytime soon. So with that, everything in the GameCube pile (including the console) is good to go.
There probably isn’t much value at all to these games, aside from perhaps the The Legend of Zelda: Collectors Edition and Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Those are going to head to eBay (along with the system itself), while the rest will end up as Goozex fodder. Perhaps I can parlay these low point games into something to eventually sell on eBay.
Perhaps I’ll be able to rake in around $50 or so. Not much, but it’s $50 closer to a PS3. I’ll post actual amounts raised once my auctions end.
So there you have it, the first step in my journey to eBay my way to a PS3
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October 12th, 2008 Tengaport
Thanks to a buddy of mine I was able to score some hands on time with the Little Big Planet beta. Man oh man, what a ride. The game is so full of charm and character that it’s appeal is difficult to resist. I spent just as much time ‘exploring’ the game as I did actually playing it.
During some co-op play, once we realized we could apply stickers to each other we ceased to make progress on the level and instead engaged in an all out sticker war. It was moments like this that had me thinking “I must get this game”. So now, I’m back to the age old debate, to buy a PS3 or not.
It’s no longer an issue of money, as some freelance work turned up the necessary cash. It’s now just an issue of time. With all the games coming out that I’m looking forward to I’m just not sure if I have the time to support two gaming consoles - especially with Gears of War 2 a mere 26 days away.
So, what to do? Is it possible to split a limited amount of game time between two separate consoles?
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October 10th, 2008 Tengaport
With the strings on my wallet getting a bit tighter these days I’ve been making a conscious effort to get through the pile of games sitting next to my TV. Currently I have The Orange Box spinning in my 360. I picked up The Orange Box to check primarily for Portal and Team Fortress 2, but I had every intention of playing through all the Half-Life 2 offerings contained on the disc.
Unfortunately, the game got pushed aside before I could make much headway in Half-Life 2. What makes matter worse, is that this is not the first time I failed Half-Life. Way back last-gen, I picked up Half-Life 2 on the original Xbox - and while I did make minuscule progress, it was traded away primarily unplayed.
This time however I am determined to see things through and I’m happy to report I’ve been making good progress. Half-Life 2 has quite a bit going for it, which helps me to understand the Halo vs. Half-Life wars that used to rage way back when.
I like how the action keeps flowing in Half-Life, and how you never relinquish control to sit back and watch a cutscene unfold. There is also a nice arsenal of weapons, and I had missed the days where your character was able to carry more than 2 weapons at a time.
Quite a fun FPS romp, that is for sure.
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October 10th, 2008 Tengaport
With one month to go It seemed like the right time to reserve my ‘Limited Edition’ copy of Gears of War 2. I opted for the RC Centaur Tank pre-order bonus at Best Buy, though its not a 100% sure thing that I’ll walk away with one come November 7th. Gears 2 is my most eagerly awaited game, so even if I have to go home on the 7th sans tank it’s not like I’ll be going home empty handed.
I didn’t pre-order the original when that was released, and I ended up grabbing the last, non-pre-order copy that GameStop had in stock. This was much to the dismay of the non-pre-ordering dudes waiting in line behind me. There was also a HUGE shipping screw up with GameStops across the country, and plenty of friends who had gone ahead and pre-ordered their Gears didn’t end up with a copy until several days after the game’s release. I doubt we’ll be seeing a repeat of that this time however.
Though it’s been difficult, I’ve been doing my best to try and avoid any further coverage of Gears 2. I’d like to try and keep a few surprises for when the game is finally spinning in my console. I did take a quick peek over at http://www.xbox360achievements.org to check out some of the achievements Gears of War 2 has in store. Although I was never able to cross Seriously off of the original Gears achievement list, I have full intentions of going for Seriously 2.0 (100,000 kills). Luckily, this includes all modes and not just ranked so I’ll be able to work towards this while pummeling friends.
As far as pre-order goodies go, I was tempted by the Amazon.com lancer (not necessarily a pre-order bonus) but I think my wife would kill me if I brought that into the house. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a big Gears of War fan herself, but she’s not so much a ‘useless-junk’ fan. While the RC Tank falls into the useless-junk category as well, it should at least provide a few minutes of mild amusement.
oh well, t-minus 31 days…
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October 10th, 2008 Tengaport
I mentioned Alone in the Dark in My suggestion for a CAG Review Scale post, but I didn’t talk much about the game itself. After finishing the game I have to admit, it’s really not bad. Granted, I paid $10 for the game (courtesy of GoGamer.com) so it’s easier for me to be lenient, but honestly the game is not as terrible as reviews had led me to beleive.
I went into Alone in the Dark with extremely low expectations, and from the get-go the game proceeded in-line with those expectations. After nearly quitting on the game due to clunky controls, twitchy interactions and a frustrating camera I managed to continue on and found that the game drastically improved as it went on.
I’m not sure if the improvements were due to my coping with the game’s shortcomings, or if the initial chapter in the game was just the worst of the bunch. Whatever the case, as I found myself racing down 59th street in a fury to escape the crumbling city Alone in the Dark cetainly began to turn things around.
Despite some minor graphical glitches, Alone in the Dark looks consistently good throughout. The music is absolutely top notch and very reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica at times. Action sequences add cinematic camera angles and slowdown which doesn’t always work, but adds a neat flair when it does.
While portions are free-roaming, walking from place to place takes forever. Luckily, there are plenty of cars scattered about for you to ‘borrow’. Sometimes you’ll find keys in the ignition, othertimes you’ll have to hot-wire the vehicles in order to use them. It’s a fairly tame process, but there were a couple of occassions where I was out of ammo, and baddies were charging towards me as I franticly fumbled with the wires trying to get the car to start. It is tense moments like those that I look for in survival horror games, so job well done there.
The inventory system, though limited in space, works well enough - and the MacGuyver combinations of items kept me rummaging through trash cans and glove boxes as I explored Central Park. The lack of a pause button while using your inventory nearly proved fatal to me a few times until I started to utilize the ‘favorites’ option which made creating flaming bullets and molotov cocktails a snap. You have four ‘favorites’ spaces for pre-set combinations and the game moves along much smoother when you utilize them all.
The ‘dvd style’ chapters provide an amusing ‘previously, on Alone in the Dark’ each time you fire the game up - but also allow skipping of portions of the game if that’s your thing. While I didn’t use that aspect of the game during my initial play through, I did use it to go back for certain achievements after comlpetion.
Fire is most certainly a key element in the game, and 9 times out of 10 it’s the answer to whatever puzzle you are facing. The flame effects look great, and watching things burn and crumble is quite impressive even if you encounter it quite often. It’s not neccessarily overkill, but it also doesn’t stray too far in its applications. If its wooden, most likely you’re going to have ot burn it.
Fire is also the only way to permenantly dispatch enemies. This caused me to do some running instead of fighting on a few occasions - but for the most part the game gives you plenty of opportunities to create a baddie-killing-blaze.
Alone in the Dark has other unique ideas, such as blinking to clear your vision and closing your eyes at specific times ‘to see’. Not all of these ideas pan out though, such as the visible wounds/health system which doesn’t come across so well.
BOTTOM LINE:
If you can land this game for $20 and under you’ll most certainly be getting a great bang for your buck. I might even go as high as $25, but anything over that might leave you dissapointent. Alone in the Dark will begin by testing your gaming endurance, though not in the best way. If you can stick with it past that point, you’ll be in for one ‘helluva’ experience.
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October 10th, 2008 Tengaport
That’s right! Forget about eBay, head on over to The Behemoth store while the getting is good. I had only planned on picking up a Red and Green knight, but I couldn’t resist the ‘buy 3 get one free’ offer.
Expect to see loads of photos of these guys once they arrive.
http://www.thebehemoth.com/store/
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