Tag Archives: halo reach

What I’m Gaming Vol. 9

Games I Played

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

This is the game that made it to the top of my most anticipated games list for this year, and also happened to be the first to release. I was able to grab a copy on release day (something I rarely do) and got started on it right away.

I’ve already beaten the game once. And I have already started my second playthrough.

Rarely does a game compel me to not only play it immediately, but start a new game rather after I complete it. This game definitely lives up to the Deus Ex name, and I love it. It’s got a few small pitfalls here and there, but the overall product is worth the price of admission. You can play this game so many different ways, so it has the chance to appeal to almost anyone – except graphics-whores, since the visuals do look a bit aged.

Portal 2

I gave it a short run with a friend the other night. We were looking to try and complete the game’s achievements – he needed three, and I needed one. After some practice and a few attempts at it, we were finally able to complete Course 4 of the co-op without either of us dying, which netted both of us an achievement. We sandwiched that in-between beating three chambers in Course 2 in under 60 seconds each and making sure that he never dropped the Companion Cube in Course 2, Chamber 6 for the “Iron Grip” achievement. I’ve finally 1K’ed this game, and just in time – there’s speculation about free DLC for this game sometime in September.

Army of Two: The 40th Day

Me and the wife are still at it – we’re so close to getting our 6,666 kills each. Okay, we’re still over 1000 away each, but still. We decided to play through the entire game (and DLC) over and over to do this, instead of reloading a specific level or checkpoint. That just gets too boring. Another weekend or two and we should be done with this achievement. Now, the multiplayer is a different beast…

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Last time I gave an update on this game, I was about halfway through it. Now, I’m completely done. Got the full 1000 Gamerscore from this game, too. It wasn’t too hard; a few of the platforming parts toward the end were a bit annoying, but the rest of cake. It wasn’t the greatest game in the world, but it was interesting enough and I felt satisfied when I finished it.

Hexic HD

I was browsing through the Marketplace the other day, and I noticed this game was [finally] there – and free. I remember first playing this game on my brother’s Elite console (this game came already loaded on the Elites) and I was addicted to it for a while. However, when I tried to obtain this game for myself, it wasn’t available for download. I was upset, so I went and bought Hexic 2, thinking it would be similar. Wrong.

Anyway, once I got it, I immediately dove in and worked on some achievements. I was able to finally make a black pearl, and then I reached 150,000 points in Marathon mode. 75,000 points in Timed mode is my next goal. Amazing how the simplest of games can be so addictive.

Prey

Last time, I mentioned that I met some good people and they helped me complete the multiplayer. Well, a few days later, I decided to give the campaign another go. This game is still as boring and tedious as it was before, but I’m determined to complete it. It’s not hard – I just dread playing it. I reached the same level I was on before I got rid of it the first time, and then Deus Ex: Human Revolution came out. I haven’t played it since. I will soon, but it’s a little discouraging to have to play it twice. Yeah, the Cherokee (Hard) difficulty isn’t available until you beat it on Normal. Ugh.

NBA 2K11

Once again making its appearance here, NBA 2K11 took up a lot of my pre-Deus Ex time. I’m still running through the regular season (my sophomore year) in the My Player mode, trying to get myself to become MVP. I think September will be the month I get all my ranked wins, too, since NBA 2K12 will be out at the beginning of October.

Halo: Reach

Not too much to say. I felt like shooting up some people in a game I enjoy, so I hopped on for a few matches. Interestingly enough, I’ve recently heard news that there will be a big title update for this game in the near future. Good thing I don’t use Armor Lock. And of course, I still haven’t finished the campaign.

Turok

A friend of mine felt like doing some boosting on the multiplayer, so I gladly obliged for a bit. I was able to unlock my achievement for killing 20 bugs in a match and come one weapon kill away from another achievement, but I’ve still got quite a ways to go to finish this multiplayer. Thing is, it’s so boring and terrible that it’s hard for me to stay on it very long. We’ll give it another go soon.

Games I Bought

Deus Ex ended my buying drought. As promised, I was able to complete three games (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, and Dead Space: Ignition). I also got rid of a few games I decided I didn’t want to play (Unreal Tournament III, Need for Speed: Carbon) to reduce my backlog some.

I very nearly bought Summer of Arcade 2011’s first game, Bastion, after watching the wife play through the demo and listening to that awesome narrator. However, I realized it was 1200 Microsoft Points rather than the 800 I initially thought it was, and decided against it. I just can’t pay that much for an arcade game.

Other Gaming-Related News

I won a third time at K-Mart before they changed up the contest policy. This time, I won a PS3 copy of Shadows of the Damned. I read a little about it, but I haven’t seen it in action yet; I’ll get to see it when I head back over to the wife’s house where the PS3 is.

I also decided to prep myself for the future by installing the original BioShock to my 360’s hard drive. I loved the game, but when I first played it, I had issues with freezing. I hope installing it will alleviate that.

Conclusion

That wraps up my gaming report for this week. Now it’s your turn – what have you been playing this past week? What new games have you bought?

Let me know in the comments.

What I'm Gaming Vol. 7

1 Reply

Games I Played

Brink

I finally started playing this game. With the release of the temporarily free DLC, I felt like it’d be a good time to play it a bit. It helps that a friend of mine was already online playing a public game when I got on.

I recall when the game was first announced and details came out, I was stoked for this game. A combo of the good parts of Team Fortress 2 and parkour style of Mirror’s Edge? Yes, please. However, the game released and I read reviews and watched gameplay videos, and my desire for it waned. But a GREAT deal came along at TRU (Toys R Us) where I could get this and FEAR 3 for a combined $50. So I got it.

This game is kinda fun. I didn’t realize the entire game was just a series of objectives, but I like how it makes certain classes essential and allows you to play with bots (I like it when games have bots – you don’t have to rely on having others to play with/against you). I didn’t care for the default controls, but I found a scheme a little more to my liking. Overall, and strikingly mediocre game. Good for the right price.

Dead Space: Ignition

This game is not what you think it is. This is quite thoroughly a puzzle game, with a brief Dead Space narrative. Al the cut scenes are drawn in a comic book style of art, but you can tell they didn’t try for a top artist. The campaign is brief, branching four routes (based on choices you make), and has three different types of puzzles to complete. None of them are hard, but they can be frustrating if you don’t know what you’re doing (or, if you realize you messed up, you might have to wait until time runs out to retry).

Alas, I finally completed this game. All 200 Gamerscore now belong to me. It didn’t take too long, and I’m glad to have it out of the way. Oh, and apparently, I unlocked two costumes for Isaac in the retail release of Dead Space 2, which I’ve yet to start.

Army of Two: the 40th Day

Me and the wife continued playing this game, completing the DLC and obtaining all those achievements (well, I didn’t get one of them – it glitches for my profile), along with a few we were missing from the original campaign. Now, we’re working toward our “The Beast” achievement that requires you to kill 6,666 people in the campaign. Once that’s done, we’ll get the “Full Arsenal” achievement and move on to the multiplayer.

Halo: Reach

I still haven’t finished the campaign. I know, I know. I promise I’ll get to it eventually. In the meantime, though, I was able to enjoy the multiplayer a bit. I feel like I’m starting to get my groove back – my kill/death ratio has been improving lately.

Halo 3

Yeah, I took it back to 2007 with this one. I jumped on to play some Lone Wolves to try and obtain the “Mongoose Mowdown” achievement, but I was utterly unsuccessful. That and the Vidmaster one are the only achievements I have left, but I can’t seem to get the Mowdown. As soon as you get on one (assuming you actually get a map that has them), everyone will stop and target you, thus thwarting your plans. Ugh. I’ll try again soon.

FEAR Files

A friend of mine finally got this game, so we worked on the [few] multiplayer achievements that are in this game. Still a few left, but they require a third person to get them. When his brother gets a copy, then we’ll knock those out.

FEAR

In case you were wondering, yes, it is sequels week. Only this time, I only played to help the aforementioned friend work on his “MP 1000” achievement. We did about 25 matches, he unlocked “MP 100”, and we stopped.

Gyromancer

I didn’t get to spend as much time as I wanted to with this game this week, but I know I’ll put in more work on it soon. I don’t know why, but I really like this game a lot. I’m trying to get all the medals on each level I play before I move to the next one, so I might be replaying my current dungeon for a while.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

I’ve nearly completed this game. I’m only missing 5 of the Fantastic Four coins, and I have two levels left before I complete the game on Fantastic difficulty. Once I do those two things, I will have this game maxed out and be ready to sell it to whoever will buy it. I’ll be so relieved when it’s done.

NBA 2K11

Didn’t really get to play with my brother this week, so I decided to work on some other things in this game. For one, I attempted to win a crew game several times, but I was not able to. It took forever to find a game, and when we did, our opponents either used souped up My Players or it lagged ridiculously hard. Ugh.

I did spend some time with my own My Player, though. I played a few games into the new season, padding my stats. I hope I’m able to take home the MVP this time.

Games I Bought

Once again, nothing. This will change soon, though – Deus Ex: Human Revolution is right around the corner. I’ve already completed one game, with a second game inching closer. I should easily be able to complete a third by August 23rd (when it releases).

Conclusion

That wraps up my gaming report for this week. Now it’s your turn – what have you been playing this past week? What new games have you bought?

Let me know in the comments.

What I’m Gaming Vol. 7

1 Reply

Games I Played

Brink

Dead Space: Ignition

Army of Two: the 40th Day

Halo: Reach

Halo 3

FEAR Files

FEAR

Gyromancer

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

NBA 2K11

I did spend some time with my own My Player, though. I played a few games into the new season, padding my stats. I hope I’m able to take home the MVP this time.

Games I Bought

Conclusion

That wraps up my gaming report for this week. Now it’s your turn – what have you been playing this past week? What new games have you bought?

Let me know in the comments.

What I’m Gaming Vol. 1

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There are a lot of people who report news and write articles, but either don’t play or barely play any games.

I’m not one of those people.

So, I’ve decided to write up a post that will become a new segment of passthemsticks. That way, you can know what I’m playing, what I’ve bought (and for how much), and other gaming-related news pertaining to me.

Games I Played

Tales of Vesperia

I am and always have been an avid JRPG fan, but lately, I haven’t devoted enough time to my favorite genre. I’ve played a lot of other games, but I felt I needed to sit down and enjoy a game that would take me back to my roots a bit. The last time I actually played a JRPG was Star Ocean: The Last Hope, and that was back in September 2010. I had started Tales of Vesperia previously, but I didn’t get very far. I decided to devote myself to it, this time.

It was a good decision. I think I’m about one-third through the storyline, and I must say I’m enjoying it. The narrative itself is pretty decent, but the battle system is very engaging. If you’re scared away from JRPGs because of turn-based battling, this game should open your eyes some. All the Tales games boast a unique (to the series) battle system that’s more wide open than other JRPGs out there, and has quite a bit of nuances to learn. It’s rare that I die during normal progress in an RPG, but I’ve died a few times in this game. And I love it.

This game also has Skits, which are meant to flesh out the characters and story, and they are effective and entertaining. And thankfully, fully voice-acted. Some previous Tales games didn’t have voice acting for Skits in the North American versions, but Vesperia does. I find myself hoping for another skit as soon as one of the cutscenes concludes. They really add to the experience.

Killzone 2

I don’t own a PS3, but my girlfriend and her brothers do. I’ve had a PSN profile for a long time, but only recently have I been able to put it to use. I like FPS games, and I remember that I once enjoyed the original Killzone with a friend, so I thought I’d start it. I was also told (by a certain future brother-in-law) that I wouldn’t be able to obtain the platinum trophy on Killzone 2, so I’m motivated to do so.

I started this game several weeks ago, but I didn’t really start playing it until a few days ago. I’m really disappointed that you cannot manually map the controls in this game, because I found them to be awkward and nearly unplayable initially (R1 to shoot, really?), but I managed to find a more friendly control scheme (I believe it was Default 3) and continued my game on the second level.

Now that I can actually play the game, I can better enjoy it. Thus far, it seems to be a very solid shooter and a good addition to the PS3-exclusive games. The AI has been a bit basic and grenades don’t bounce as well as I believe they should, but the core gameplay is pretty good. There was even a brief vehicle segment in the earlier levels where I had to control a tank, and it actually controlled pretty well. For the record, many FPS games seem to struggle when it comes to vehicle controls (I’m looking at you, Call of Duty 2 and Battlefield Bad Company), but it handled about as well as a Scorpion tank in Halo 3.

The only real complaint is where it feels like they forced the Sixaxis controls on you. It’s okay that they wanted to use it to turn valves and place C4 charges, but why do I need to hold the controller completely still if I want to snipe? Well, at least I have been successful running around with my knife.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1

Played this one on PS3, since my future in-laws had it on their system and I hadn’t played it yet. I was curious to see how SEGA did in trying to get back the magic from the previous titles.

I’ll start by saying this: the game (so far) isn’t bad. However, it’s not quite the same. The level design feels right and the visuals are rock-solid, but the locales just feel rehashed from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Another issue I had is the game doesn’t make me feel, well, fast. The point of playing a Sonic game is the feeling of speed while you’re zipping through the level. This Hedgehog just didn’t have the same zip to me. I do plan on finishing it, though. Right after I complete Killzone 2.

NBA 2K11

Not too much to say here. I play this just about every week with my brother online. We go back and forth in this game a lot and have a good time playing it. Best basketball game to date.

Halo: Reach

It’d been a little while, but I finally played a bit of the Halo: Reach multiplayer again. Had a few good matches, had a few bad ones. Thankfully, they put the jetpacks back into the ranked matches, so I can play them. I love the jetpack – it’s definitely the most fun to use for me. I simply don’t play as effectively when trying to use the other Armor Abilities. I’m a medium to close range fighter in that game and I need to cover ground quickly. The jetpack (and to a lesser extent, Sprint) allow me to do that.

It’s going to be weird playing the Halo: Anniversary Edition without the benefit of Armor Abilities, for sure.

Streets of Rage 2

Just playing through, beat the game in one short sitting. I was able to complete the online co-op, and I only have three achievements remaining. Unfortunately, they require me to play on Hardcore difficulty, and I’m not too good at this game…

F.E.A.R.

A friend on Xbox Live asked me to help him out with the multiplayer portion of this game, so I helped him boost it some. Still got plenty left to do, but we’re in no hurry. I was glad to help (even though I’ve already completed all the multiplayer achievements in this game) because he’s one of my oldest and best friends on Xbox Live, and he has helped me a lot in the past. It reminded me of all the time I spent playing this game online just for fun. It was a great game for its time.

The King of Fighters XII

I’ve been slowly but surely working towards completing the final achievement in this game, “The King of Fighters.” This achievement requires you to defeat every character WITH every character. There are 22 in all, and it basically forces you to create a chart or spreadsheet to keep up with it. Couple that with it being the WORST King of Fighters game ever (a true disgrace), and you can tell I’m eager to get this done and get rid of it.

Games I Bought

I’ve been trying to cut back on the games I purchase since I have a significant backlog of games, but sometimes, I see a deal so good I can’t pass it up. My most recent purchases were at Toys R Us, where they were running a Buy 2 for $50 sale. The choices were L.A. Noire, Portal 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Mortal Kombat, F.E.A.R. 3 and Brink. Not a bad selection, right?

Anyway, I own the first three already and I’m not interested in MK9, so I went with F.E.A.R. 3 and Brink. I also grabbed a new copy of Quantum of Solace while I was there for $10. So, I paid $60 plus tax for three new games – one that had released that day.

Other Gaming-related News

Nothing too important here, but I finally got around to moving all of my data off of my 20GB HDD and switched out to my 120GB HDD. This is a big step for me – I can finally install some games (like Bioshock) that I’ve been wanting to play again, and not have to constantly delete DLC and Arcade games to conserve space.

Conclusion

That about wraps up my gaming report for this week. Now it’s your turn – what have you been playing this past week? What new games have you bought?

Let me know in the comments.