Tag Archives: portal 2

What I’m Gaming Vol. 10

Welcome back to What I’m Gaming! At the beginning of every week, I post about the games I’ve played in the past seven days and give some quick thoughts and impressions about those games. To see past editions of this feature, click What I’m Gaming.

Games I Played

Gears of War 2 screenshot

Gears of War 2

With the impending release of Gears of War 3 around the corner, Epic has been running increasingly higher EXP events on a weekly basis. They started a few weeks ago with x5 EXP, and are going all the way up to x25 this coming weekend. I still need to make it to level 100 in the multiplayer (at the time of writing, I am level 63) and gain a couple other multiplayer achievements for this game.

But there was one problem: I hate this game. This game has completely turned me off to even considering a purchase for Gears 3 because the multiplayer is still absolutely terrible. There are just far too many glitches and lag issues with this game, even after around 5-6 major patches to try and fix them. If I wasn’t playing with a friend, I couldn’t bear to play the multiplayer for more than 45 minutes. It’s not looking good for my level 100.

Eat Lead screenshot

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard

I was looking through for something to play a few days ago, and I decided to give this game another go. Previously, I had started it and made it about a third of the way through the campaign, but stopped after having a bit of a time getting past your archenemy in the game, Sting Sniperscope. He has absolutely deadly aim if you show your face for even a second. Anyway, I remember I had enjoyed the game up to that point since it was actually halfway decent as a third person shooter and it parodies so many other games. Seriously, this game is hilarious. I was able to finish the campaign and soon I’ll start my second playthrough on Max Hazard (Hard mode) and complete the game.

de Blob 2

I was interested in this game since it released. The premise is basically there’s a bad guy that sucks the color out of the world and you, the Blob, are charged with saving the world by repainting it. It’s a simple little platformer, and I’m really enjoying my time with it. I think I’ve become a real Picasso during my time with this game.

Hexic HD

I’m done with this game. I have been working on getting all the remaining achievements I felt I could get from it, and I have achieved that. I got my “Hexic Addict” achievement (100 games played) the other day, and I don’t think it’s worth the time and effort to try and get the last two. A simple but fun little game, and it’s free. If you like games like Bejeweled, then you may enjoy this.

NBA 2K11

As usual, I spent a lot of my time on this game playing against my brother. When I wasn’t playing him online, I was working on my My Player. I’m in my sophomore year, about 25 games in, and the crowd is chanting “M-V-P!” when I shoot my free throws now. As long as I keep playing like I’m playing (leading the league in, well, everything), then I should have the MVP wrapped up and I can move on to the ranked matches and the Association mode.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I’m still on my second playthrough. I wanted to mop up most of the achievements I missed around my initial run-through, so I’m taking my time and focusing on completing all the side quests that I missed the first time. I’m also trying for the “Pacifist” (not killing anyone) and “Foxiest of the Hounds” (not triggering any alarms) achievements. By the time I’m done, I should only have to beat it on hard and fully upgrade one weapon achievements remaining. And since the DLC will be releasing in October, I’ll be eagerly awaiting that, too.

Army of Two: 40th Day

All that there is left to do is the multiplayer. I hopped on one morning to give it a shot and see how it played, and it doesn’t seem too bad. Thankfully, the game isn’t going to make you obtain a billion dollars while playing it. I’ll get this done soon enough, since it doesn’t seem to me like too long of a grind.

Portal 2

Although I’ve completed this game, my friend still needed a few of the multiplayer achievements and is always willing to help me, so I wanted to assist him with them. Thankfully, the levels and solutions were fresh in my mind since I recently played the co-op, so we breezed through and finished up in less than an hour.

Games I Bought

I was tempted by a lot of different games, since so many are starting to drop in price and Gamefly is having a big sale. I decided to use the $5 savings coupon that Gamefly provides its members every three months and pick up Medal of Honor for $4.19, after tax. I heard it was mediocre, but if you haven’t noticed, I play a lot of mediocre games and it was at my sweet spot, pricing-wise.

I was going to buy Dead Island since K-Mart was having a good deal on it, but my nearest K-Mart didn’t have the 360 version in stock, and now the promotion is over. So, it’ll have to wait for another deal or price drop. I did also take advantage of the Deal of the Week last week and grab all the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 DLC at reduced pricing. That’s another game I need to get back to playing.

When the holiday season closing in on us, I think I’ll be buying a lot more in the near future.

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. 10

Welcome back to What I’m Gaming! At the beginning of every week, I post about the games I’ve played in the past seven days and give some quick thoughts and impressions about those games. To see past editions of this feature, click What I’m Gaming.

Games I Played

Gears of War 2 screenshot

Gears of War 2

With the impending release of Gears of War 3 around the corner, Epic has been running increasingly higher EXP events on a weekly basis. They started a few weeks ago with x5 EXP, and are going all the way up to x25 this coming weekend. I still need to make it to level 100 in the multiplayer (at the time of writing, I am level 63) and gain a couple other multiplayer achievements for this game.

But there was one problem: I hate this game. This game has completely turned me off to even considering a purchase for Gears 3 because the multiplayer is still absolutely terrible. There are just far too many glitches and lag issues with this game, even after around 5-6 major patches to try and fix them. If I wasn’t playing with a friend, I couldn’t bear to play the multiplayer for more than 45 minutes. It’s not looking good for my level 100.

Eat Lead screenshot

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard

I was looking through for something to play a few days ago, and I decided to give this game another go. Previously, I had started it and made it about a third of the way through the campaign, but stopped after having a bit of a time getting past your archenemy in the game, Sting Sniperscope. He has absolutely deadly aim if you show your face for even a second. Anyway, I remember I had enjoyed the game up to that point since it was actually halfway decent as a third person shooter and it parodies so many other games. Seriously, this game is hilarious. I was able to finish the campaign and soon I’ll start my second playthrough on Max Hazard (Hard mode) and complete the game.

de Blob 2

I was interested in this game since it released. The premise is basically there’s a bad guy that sucks the color out of the world and you, the Blob, are charged with saving the world by repainting it. It’s a simple little platformer, and I’m really enjoying my time with it. I think I’ve become a real Picasso during my time with this game.

Hexic HD

I’m done with this game. I have been working on getting all the remaining achievements I felt I could get from it, and I have achieved that. I got my “Hexic Addict” achievement (100 games played) the other day, and I don’t think it’s worth the time and effort to try and get the last two. A simple but fun little game, and it’s free. If you like games like Bejeweled, then you may enjoy this.

NBA 2K11

As usual, I spent a lot of my time on this game playing against my brother. When I wasn’t playing him online, I was working on my My Player. I’m in my sophomore year, about 25 games in, and the crowd is chanting “M-V-P!” when I shoot my free throws now. As long as I keep playing like I’m playing (leading the league in, well, everything), then I should have the MVP wrapped up and I can move on to the ranked matches and the Association mode.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I’m still on my second playthrough. I wanted to mop up most of the achievements I missed around my initial run-through, so I’m taking my time and focusing on completing all the side quests that I missed the first time. I’m also trying for the “Pacifist” (not killing anyone) and “Foxiest of the Hounds” (not triggering any alarms) achievements. By the time I’m done, I should only have to beat it on hard and fully upgrade one weapon achievements remaining. And since the DLC will be releasing in October, I’ll be eagerly awaiting that, too.

Army of Two: 40th Day

All that there is left to do is the multiplayer. I hopped on one morning to give it a shot and see how it played, and it doesn’t seem too bad. Thankfully, the game isn’t going to make you obtain a billion dollars while playing it. I’ll get this done soon enough, since it doesn’t seem to me like too long of a grind.

Portal 2

Although I’ve completed this game, my friend still needed a few of the multiplayer achievements and is always willing to help me, so I wanted to assist him with them. Thankfully, the levels and solutions were fresh in my mind since I recently played the co-op, so we breezed through and finished up in less than an hour.

Games I Bought

I was tempted by a lot of different games, since so many are starting to drop in price and Gamefly is having a big sale. I decided to use the $5 savings coupon that Gamefly provides its members every three months and pick up Medal of Honor for $4.19, after tax. I heard it was mediocre, but if you haven’t noticed, I play a lot of mediocre games and it was at my sweet spot, pricing-wise.

I was going to buy Dead Island since K-Mart was having a good deal on it, but my nearest K-Mart didn’t have the 360 version in stock, and now the promotion is over. So, it’ll have to wait for another deal or price drop. I did also take advantage of the Deal of the Week last week and grab all the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 DLC at reduced pricing. That’s another game I need to get back to playing.

When the holiday season closing in on us, I think I’ll be buying a lot more in the near future.

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. 9

Welcome back to What I’m Gaming! At the beginning of every week, I post about the games I’ve played in the past seven days and give some quick thoughts and impressions about those games. To see past editions of this feature, click What I’m Gaming.

My apologies for getting this post up extraordinarily late. I decided to go with my Top 12 Most Anticipated Games of 2011 for last Monday, and I was a bit busy with natural disasters (both the earthquake and Hurricane Irene) the last few days. Better late than never, though, right?

Games I Played

Deus Ex: Human Revolution screenshot

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 screenshot

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.

Still don’t have Portal 2 or Mortal Kombat?

Right now, if you still don’t have Portal 2 or Mortal Kombat, you’ve been missing out – they’re two of the best games to come out this year. If you’re not sure if you’ll like them, I highly recommend that you try out the demos.

But for most of us, I’m fairly certain we’ll like at least one of the two. And for these people, today is your lucky day. As of right now, both of these great games are on sale! I just bought Portal 2 yesterday at this highly discounted price and I can’t wait to play it. The deals are below – I’ve linked you to them. Don’t hesitate – these deals won’t last forever, you know.

portal2_pts

Right now, Portal 2 can be had for $35, BRAND NEW from Amazon (360 | PS3).

If you prefer GameStop, they’ve got it on sale, too. $40 for it new (360 | PS3).

If you don’t mind used from GameStop, then it’s the same $35 there, too (360 | PS3). As always, you can avoid shipping charges (and as a result, waiting) by choosing the PickUp@Store option at GameStop. It works for both new or used, and let’s you pay and then go pick it up later. Lovely.

mk9_scorpion

If it’s the fighting and gore you want, then the new Mortal Kombat is available on Amazon (360 | PS3) for the low price of $40.

Oh, and you have a free shipping option here, too, if you can wait 5 days for it.

I’ve already bought Portal 2 myself. Great deal and if you’re interested, don’t hesitate or you’ll miss out!

EDIT: The Amazon sales are no longer available. Portal 2 is now $40 on both consoles via Amazon. Still a very good deal. Mortal Kombat is now $50. Th Gamestop sale is still available at this time.

Still don't have Portal 2 or Mortal Kombat?

Right now, if you still don’t have Portal 2 or Mortal Kombat, you’ve been missing out – they’re two of the best games to come out this year. If you’re not sure if you’ll like them, I highly recommend that you try out the demos.

But for most of us, I’m fairly certain we’ll like at least one of the two. And for these people, today is your lucky day. As of right now, both of these great games are on sale! I just bought Portal 2 yesterday at this highly discounted price and I can’t wait to play it. The deals are below – I’ve linked you to them. Don’t hesitate – these deals won’t last forever, you know.

portal2_pts

Right now, Portal 2 can be had for $35, BRAND NEW from Amazon (360 | PS3).

If you prefer GameStop, they’ve got it on sale, too. $40 for it new (360 | PS3).

If you don’t mind used from GameStop, then it’s the same $35 there, too (360 | PS3). As always, you can avoid shipping charges (and as a result, waiting) by choosing the PickUp@Store option at GameStop. It works for both new or used, and let’s you pay and then go pick it up later. Lovely.

mk9_scorpion

If it’s the fighting and gore you want, then the new Mortal Kombat is available on Amazon (360 | PS3) for the low price of $40.

Oh, and you have a free shipping option here, too, if you can wait 5 days for it.

I’ve already bought Portal 2 myself. Great deal and if you’re interested, don’t hesitate or you’ll miss out!

EDIT: The Amazon sales are no longer available. Portal 2 is now $40 on both consoles via Amazon. Still a very good deal. Mortal Kombat is now $50. Th Gamestop sale is still available at this time.