Since I last reported (a disgracefully long time ago) I have played Hitman 2: Silent Assassin and failed to be either silent or an assassin, failing to complete the first mission after many, many attempts. It says on Steam that I have played 6 hours of the game and I still no nothing about mission 2.
I have also had a go at Burnout on the PS2 and have found it frustrating. All but 3 tracks are locked until you make some progress and doing that is tough. There is an event to take part in which involves 3 races. I can't see a way of saving after getting a good result in the first and so if you don't finish in the top three in three consecutive races you are back to square one. The real frustration is that not only do you have to do well in the race overall, you also have to reach timing points within a certain limit; the time you get to reach the next depends partly on how you did in reaching the last. The most annoying thing about adding this complication is that the same demands do not seem to apply to your AI rivals. I have been timed out when in second place before now! It is hard to believe that this game was made by the creators of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.
I have played a lot of LittleBigPlanet and it is my current obsession. I have now finished the main game in single player and am even tempted to download some additional content. My lasting impression of the game is of loving it but I spent most of the time swearing in annoyance. The penultimate level was the worst and I spent hours attempting it repeatedly before I finally got to the end. I seem to learn only slowly the best way of doing each part. It took me so long to do this level that a section which had been my nemesis to start with seemed easy by the end because I had then passed it so many times to get to some new nightmare further on.
I have spent most of the last two evenings creating my own level. It takes plenty of work but is rewarding. Most of the best bits have come from my happening to notice properties of the game's materials or devices which are not their primary ones. For example, a moving spike trap is lethal if Sackboy gets caught under it but the top can be used as a platform to bounce off to reach high places.
Another thing I've done for the first time is create an item of my own and I've even put it in a bubble in my level for others to win, assuming I ever publish the level. It's not a very good item but everyone has to start somewhere and I intend to follow it up with others.
Now that you can get a PS3 for £160 I would recommend LittleBigPlanet to all. I think that the sale of this cheap machine is probably a good commercial move by Sony, but I am surprised that they have made it. With this machine having no hard drive to speak of (12GB) is it the console for the download era? Should I feel encouraged by the implication that Sony are still in favour of boxed games? I am not too impressed that the new 500GB model comes in the same cheap and cheerful casing as the lower priced version. The previous PS3 slim models seem to be being withdrawn from sale so these two new ones might soon be the only ones available. If Sony believe that the PS3 is still the best console in town (and I think it probably is) then why present it in this clunky, plastic fashion?
I have received the copy of Tomb Raider Anniversary for the PS2 which I bought extremely cheaply on ebay (most PS2 games are very cheap and I do like a bargain). My memory of Tomb Raider Legend is of repeatedly not being able to reach the place I needed to be, so I expect I will have more annoyance to write about next time.
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Saturday 13 October 2012
Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion and Grand Theft Auto III
I have been playing Oblivion again recently and have enjoyed it more this time than when first started it a few months ago.
I went back to it after reading Tom Francis's fantastic diaries about his adventures in Skyrim in PC Gamer magazine. They made me smile from beginning to end and I recommend them to all. They are in issues 243-245 of that excellent mag.
These pieces made me think that in games of this kind, if they are well made, you can play your own game in your own way. TF had played as an illusionist in Skyrim and had made rules for himself about only using illusions and no other magic or weapons. A tough a ask. I decided to lay down my own rule; less tough but difficult to keep to. I would not help anyone.
I had made up my mind from an early stage that I would be an nasty piece of work and previously when playing games and trying to be evil I have found myself slipping in to the role of helpful citizen because badness goes against the grain (aren't I boring). This time it would be different. I would help no distressed individuals with their stupid everyday problems. Sadly, almost all side-quests involve doing exactly that. I am seriously considering amending it to "I will not help anyone except for a named reward", but I feel slightly as if I will just be playing the exact same game as anyone else. We'll see how it goes.
I have bought GTA III for the PS2 and am enjoying it. It is slightly harder than I remember (having played some of it on the PC in the dim and distant). I have had to repeat all quests, except the obviously just story-telling ones, on more than one occasion. There has been one race so far and the number of times I tried it and lost was miserable.
Usually I came a distant fourth out of four. This would be either because of wrong turns taken or my car getting so badly damaged that it caught fire and exploded - or a combination of these two. My competitors were insanely aggressive and seemed to care far more about knocking me out of the race than winning it themselves. They all drove sports cars which seemed never to crash and burn however stupidly they drove them. I had to drive whatever I could find.
The large charcoal car of the Mafia guys had a high top speed but being heavy was slow to reach it and awkward in cornering; the Stallions of the Hispanic gangs accelerated well and were fast but lived up to their name and were a nightmare to control. In the end I usually drove the most common type of taxi which reached an okay speed and handled well.
On many attempts I did not see the finish line and for ages did not know how long the race was or where it ended as only the next two checkpoints appeared on the map. I just saw a message appear on the screen about 3 minutes in saying " You couldn't win a raffle, loser". Then an occasion came when I was actually in second place on a long straight, just behind the leader and gaining on him (I was in the charcoal car this time). I realised that we were approaching the place where the race had started and it struck me that of course this must be the end. On the map the next checkpoint was straight ahead Might I actually win this time? Suddenly, my rival took a sharp right turn and, not knowing this part of the course I followed him. I knew my mistake immediately. I had seen the checkpoint ahead. I knew this was a straight road. I was in a car park and while the other car was recovering quickly from his error, I was floundering. I came fourth.
In the end I did win one. I blew up a taxi and had to switch to another car during that victorious race but I didn't loose first place while I was doing it. It was almost worth the misery and squeaking impotent rage of all those previous attempts for the glory and joy of that final one.
I went back to it after reading Tom Francis's fantastic diaries about his adventures in Skyrim in PC Gamer magazine. They made me smile from beginning to end and I recommend them to all. They are in issues 243-245 of that excellent mag.
These pieces made me think that in games of this kind, if they are well made, you can play your own game in your own way. TF had played as an illusionist in Skyrim and had made rules for himself about only using illusions and no other magic or weapons. A tough a ask. I decided to lay down my own rule; less tough but difficult to keep to. I would not help anyone.
I had made up my mind from an early stage that I would be an nasty piece of work and previously when playing games and trying to be evil I have found myself slipping in to the role of helpful citizen because badness goes against the grain (aren't I boring). This time it would be different. I would help no distressed individuals with their stupid everyday problems. Sadly, almost all side-quests involve doing exactly that. I am seriously considering amending it to "I will not help anyone except for a named reward", but I feel slightly as if I will just be playing the exact same game as anyone else. We'll see how it goes.
I have bought GTA III for the PS2 and am enjoying it. It is slightly harder than I remember (having played some of it on the PC in the dim and distant). I have had to repeat all quests, except the obviously just story-telling ones, on more than one occasion. There has been one race so far and the number of times I tried it and lost was miserable.
Usually I came a distant fourth out of four. This would be either because of wrong turns taken or my car getting so badly damaged that it caught fire and exploded - or a combination of these two. My competitors were insanely aggressive and seemed to care far more about knocking me out of the race than winning it themselves. They all drove sports cars which seemed never to crash and burn however stupidly they drove them. I had to drive whatever I could find.
The large charcoal car of the Mafia guys had a high top speed but being heavy was slow to reach it and awkward in cornering; the Stallions of the Hispanic gangs accelerated well and were fast but lived up to their name and were a nightmare to control. In the end I usually drove the most common type of taxi which reached an okay speed and handled well.
On many attempts I did not see the finish line and for ages did not know how long the race was or where it ended as only the next two checkpoints appeared on the map. I just saw a message appear on the screen about 3 minutes in saying " You couldn't win a raffle, loser". Then an occasion came when I was actually in second place on a long straight, just behind the leader and gaining on him (I was in the charcoal car this time). I realised that we were approaching the place where the race had started and it struck me that of course this must be the end. On the map the next checkpoint was straight ahead Might I actually win this time? Suddenly, my rival took a sharp right turn and, not knowing this part of the course I followed him. I knew my mistake immediately. I had seen the checkpoint ahead. I knew this was a straight road. I was in a car park and while the other car was recovering quickly from his error, I was floundering. I came fourth.
In the end I did win one. I blew up a taxi and had to switch to another car during that victorious race but I didn't loose first place while I was doing it. It was almost worth the misery and squeaking impotent rage of all those previous attempts for the glory and joy of that final one.
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