Drinking Coffeecola

Thanks for your comments about Allison's album. Y...

2010-01-03T14:19:21.587-08:00

Thanks for your comments about Allison's album. You're right, she's very young -- not only is she not yet 20 as you said, she's not even 18!

I wouldn't agree that her album isn't over-produced, but at least as post-Idol albums go, it isn't, and it's easy to get past the over-production. Since she's on Jive, the same label as Jordin and David Archuleta, I was afraid they'd produce a crappy, cheapo album for her too, but they certainly didn't. I can't believe how good this album is. And yes, The Voice is there!

LOL, just sent you an email about it. Yeah, I hate...

2009-12-29T00:17:45.600-08:00

LOL, just sent you an email about it. Yeah, I hate the game and curse the developers, yet I can't stop playing it. Right now I'm just trying to clear the tracks, not really going for mastery. HATE this game, but it's good and I love it. But I HATE it.

Yeah, did play Trine and reviewed it, IIRC... Liked it a lot. Needed a few more bosses and to iron out a bit of the physics wonkiness, but it was a really good time. Definitely one of the finer PSN titles, for sure.

Just knew I'd see you on the leaderboards for the ...

2009-12-29T00:12:53.298-08:00

Just knew I'd see you on the leaderboards for the Trials HD content. I don't know why I do that to myself. I love that game so much, even though it drives me into profanity-laden tirades the likes of which would make even a 1970's Richard Pryor blush.

Did you ever get around to playing Trine or still waiting for it to (hopefully) come to XBLA one day? I snagged it for $7.99 on Steam this week and it's fantastic. I just knew you'll freaking love it.

Hey Costas! Ah well, we can't agree on everything...

2009-12-28T01:06:47.400-08:00

Hey Costas!

Ah well, we can't agree on everything! ^_^

Happy new year to you too!

Merry Christmas to you and your family Brad. Seem...

2009-12-28T01:01:40.313-08:00

Merry Christmas to you and your family Brad.

Seems like we are of a different opinion on ODST. I actually, unexpectedly, really enjoyed it. I think the weapons issue was their attempt to show that you are a human and not a Spartan. I agree that maybe not the best way to do it.

However, i found the campaign to be the best since the original Halo.

I also wish you a Happy New Year.

I dunno if it'll unseat FFX for me yet, but i'm *r...

2009-12-27T21:14:09.758-08:00

I dunno if it'll unseat FFX for me yet, but i'm *really* liking what i'm seeing. the only bad things so far:

Vaan's voice

Can't invert the camera controls

only 3 in the party at once

Other than those bits, loving it.

= )

Merry Xmas! Glad you're enjoying Final Fantasy XII...

2009-12-27T12:39:54.577-08:00

Merry Xmas! Glad you're enjoying Final Fantasy XII. Even though it doesn't seem popular among fans, it's definitely my favourite game of the series.

Thanks, Tony! Right back at ya!

2009-12-26T19:24:33.323-08:00

Thanks, Tony! Right back at ya!

Merry Christmas. Hope you have a wonderful holiday...

2009-12-25T08:32:30.768-08:00

Merry Christmas. Hope you have a wonderful holiday and that the new year is a happy one for you and your family.

Great list. Playing through Valkyria right now, an...

2009-12-23T11:17:13.336-08:00

Great list. Playing through Valkyria right now, and I believe the wifey is going to leave Demons Souls under the tree for me (she BETTER)

>CKZ, To be honest, I really disliked the demo. F...

2009-12-20T23:06:49.003-08:00

>CKZ,

To be honest, I really disliked the demo. Focusing on the combat was the last thing I wanted to see from an upcoming Batman game, and it really turned me off. That was one main reason why I put off playing it for so long. In this particular case, I think the demo really did not do justice to the whole experience, and as far as I'm concerned, I would've actually been more interested in the game if I had not played it. Speaking as someone who shared your feelings about that demo, let me just say that the whole game is much, much better than the demo would lead you to believe.

>Costas,

Definitely let me know what you think of the other games when you get around to them. Would love to hear your opinion.

It really is a list of an individual with an opini...

2009-12-20T21:41:18.459-08:00

It really is a list of an individual with an opinion and not just another list which is 99% identical to the others.

To be honest i have only played Flower, Demon's Souls and Valkyria (not finished)out of the games on your list. I am surprised to see Cursed Mountain and Half Minute Hero in there so i will check them out.

Great list, Brad. Really refreshing, considering t...

2009-12-20T19:48:48.347-08:00

Great list, Brad. Really refreshing, considering the predictable ones from the entire press. I never thought Batman AA was going to be ranked so highly. I'll give it a shot then, when I find it cheap. I played the demo and found it kind of average.

Keep reviewing those games!

Hey Matt. >>I can't really disagree that it isn't...

2009-12-17T23:26:35.914-08:00

Hey Matt.

>>I can't really disagree that it isn't the sum of its parts, but the overall experience for me was hardly dismal. It was pedestrian, but elevated somewhat by the writing and design, similar to Psychonauts. Oddly, the most disappointing thing to me was the story towards the end, which I felt was unnecessarily overdone.

Well, the fact that I bothered to complete the game says a lot (to me, anyway) about how much slack I was giving to the experience. If it wasn't for the great concept and visual style, I doubt I would've stuck around. I kept waiting for things to start coming together, but they never did… that was pretty disappointing.

Even more disappointing was an interview that I read from Schafer himself stating that Brutal Legend actually began as an RTS that their team enjoyed playing against each other. The thing about this statement that disappoints me is that the RTS stages are so non-fun and disjointed. At GC someone left a comment that was pretty telling--in it, they said that the best battle in the game was the Dry Ice Mine, and that was because each side had a stage and the field was basically evenly matched. In every other battle in the game, there is some kind of quirk that messes up the RTSing. Monsters appearing without a stage, some levels not even having a stage, etc.

the statement is very observant and kind of disturbing in that it's basically correct. For game that began life as a RTS, it's bizarre that there is only one battle in the entire story mode that uses all the elements and lets it play out like it should.

>>Brad, have you played Schafer's other work, the stuff he did before he worked on console games? I know you're mostly a console guy, but if you get the chance I highly recommend Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango.

I played part of DotT at a friends house, and I actually did complete GF… one of the very few PC games I actually went out of my way to play. They were both great and I enjoyed them very much. It's too bad that Schafer hasn't been able to recapture that same quality in his last efforts.

Oddly enough, I didn't even think that BL was especially humorous or that the writing was even very good… for a developer who has strengths in this area, I was more than a little disappointed at the writing overall.

Thanks for the tip!

2009-12-17T22:28:20.638-08:00

Thanks for the tip!

Maybe it's because I grew up on Tim Schafer's adve...

2009-12-16T08:39:08.303-08:00

Maybe it's because I grew up on Tim Schafer's adventure games, but I still managed to have a reasonable amount of goodwill towards Brutal Legend in spite of its problems. I can't really disagree that it isn't the sum of its parts, but the overall experience for me was hardly dismal. It was pedestrian, but elevated somewhat by the writing and design, similar to Psychonauts. Oddly, the most disappointing thing to me was the story towards the end, which I felt was unnecessarily overdone.

Brad, have you played Schafer's other work, the stuff he did before he worked on console games? I know you're mostly a console guy, but if you get the chance I highly recommend Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango. Schafer really is an adventure game designer, which is why his dabbling in other genres tends to dilute his strengths. I think if you played his older stuff you'd see how he really shines when his games are *nothing but* witty dialogue and puzzles.

Usually a really light brush of olive oil and s/p....

2009-12-16T05:45:54.622-08:00

Usually a really light brush of olive oil and s/p. though I've also thrown in some sprigs of rosemary or maybe a drizzle of lemon. Doing a head of garlic at the same time is never a bad idea either and makes a great spread.

Hey ND. I mentioned it briefly a while ago, but ...

2009-12-16T02:00:13.200-08:00

Hey ND.

I mentioned it briefly a while ago, but i'll be giving it more attention as the time draws near. Definitely looking forward to it.

Thanks for the tip. What do you usually season wit...

2009-12-16T01:56:46.690-08:00

Thanks for the tip. What do you usually season with? Just s/p, or what do you do with it?

Try roasting the veggies next time. The texture of...

2009-12-14T05:22:52.462-08:00

Try roasting the veggies next time. The texture of the turnips is much different and more easily palatable, though sometimes kind of rubbery.

Hey, SMT: Strange Journey looks neat-o to me. Yo...

2009-12-11T07:13:20.345-08:00

Hey, SMT: Strange Journey looks neat-o to me.

You know what other upcoming ATLUS game I am excited about that you still haven't mentioned in your blog?

This:

http://www.atlus.com/traumateam/

Hello chaps. The previously mentioned @ParkerXL r...

2009-12-08T05:48:14.843-08:00

Hello chaps. The previously mentioned @ParkerXL right here.

I just want to clear something up.

The relationship between Talitha (the ME 1 girl) and Subject Zero is as yet undetermined. The fact that they appear to be the same person is obvious to anyone who remembers her from ME 1. Perhaps too obvious?

Bioware have not confirmed or denied the link as far as i know.

My personal gut feeling is that there is some sort of link between the two characters.

They could either be the same person, or Subject Zero is some sort of clone of Talitha. Talitha mentions Experiments and wires, so this fits.

Really though its anyone guess at this point.

I dont think missing her in ME 1 will have any affect on whether you can recruit her in ME 2 whatever the case, but like Brad, im going to play again and save her just to make sure.

I'd be shocked if BioWare took such a ballsy serie...

2009-12-08T01:15:57.723-08:00

I'd be shocked if BioWare took such a ballsy series persistent stance as that tbh!

>>I'm curious (and a bit confused) about your comm...

2009-12-05T19:22:12.809-08:00

>>I'm curious (and a bit confused) about your comments on the gunfighting aspect, especially in relation to gears. This is primarily a shooter (just like gears), and the gunfighting is the entire focus of the game. everything else you do is secondary. Do you mean to say that the shooting mechanic itself isn't as good as similar titles? I'm not enough of a connoisseur of the genre to argue that point (they all shoot the same to me).

Hey Mr. H,

In this particular case, I'm not sure that it’s accurate to say that the game is primarily a shooter. With Uncharted 1 that was *absolutely* true, but the developers do mix things up a bit here. it feels like more of a three-way balance between shooting, platforming and cutscenes.

Anyway, to explain my comment, the shooting itself is technically fine. As in, the controls are smooth, I never had any difficulty making the shots I wanted to make, and so on. In that respect, there is no problem.

My issue is that the pace and the quality of the fights themselves are just really off. There is usually twice as many enemies as I would like, and the skirmishes tend to be way too long. at the same time, they don't really get very exciting… I never got into the action, so every time I’d hit a gunfight, my eyes would roll. I definitely tried to stealth as much as humanly possible.

By comparison, I played both Gears 1 and 2, and while I would never hold up either one as an example of a perfect game, they both show a better understanding of the pacing of a firefight, and the kind of level design that really enhances the action. In those games, the shooting was exciting enough and the levels were interesting enough to hold my attention for the duration of each. I felt that only really happened a fraction of the time in Uncharted.

>>As you may know, I didn't enjoy the first one an...

2009-12-05T19:13:27.619-08:00

>>As you may know, I didn't enjoy the first one and was wondering if the plot gets any better than the typical macho/fascist treasure hunt? Is the dialogue as witty as everyone is saying? The predictable good guy/bad guy lines of Drake's Fortune were a complete turn off to me.

Hey CKZ,

Although I'd say the plot was better, that's not to say that it's exactly great. I mean, it does its job well enough, but out of the whole game there were really only one or two moments where I felt like it was delivering something above average. There are plenty of silly moments and parts of the story where had to roll my eyes a little bit.

Personally, I think the amount of credit it receives for the characters and dialogue is a little overblown… I mean, it's not bad for an action game, but it's not something you're going to be coming back to for the purpose of revisiting the characters.

If you didn't like the first game, my guess is that there's nothing here that would change your mind about the second.