Tin Men of the Apocalypse

Since we last spoke, I've done too much revision, watched the lame last episode of Ashes To Ashes, got a week ahead on The Mentalist, beaten Super Mario 64 DS with minimum everything in three days, completed MGST, missed the season finale of Smallville, flunked my psychology exam, considered buying Fallout 3, watched a lot of Fallout 3 videos....



And I've seen Terminator Salvation. Oh yes.



I really don't know how to feel about it. I really wanted to hate it, I really did, but it was kinda alright... Marcus Wright was a very good character. The first half of the film mainly centres around him, which is good. In fact, it would have been better if that's who the film was about. John Connor's plight is boring, and he spends the entire film yelling at people for not listening to him. On the other hand, Marcus Wright has actual character development. Oh and he's a robot. So you know, he's awesome. When I was watching it, so many moments reminded me of games. The whole look of it was very Fallout 3, with maybe a touch of Half Life 2. Actually there's a moment in the film which is very much like this part of Concerned, the excellent Half Life 2 comic by Chris Livingstone. If you've seen the film, you know what I'm talking about =)

Terminator Salvation isn't a bad film. It's not brilliant, and it's lacking something, but I'm not sure what. I think they are making a sequel and it might have Robert Patrick in it, which can really only be a brilliant thing.

Stay awesome, y'all

Dancing in the Gekko

So, the other night, as I was lying in bed (as I often do) I was bored, so I did what apparently everyone else who owns an iPod touch does, and went on the App Store. Of course, I went straight to games, because I am a gamer. Which is what this blog is about. If you didn’t know that, look at the banner. You idiot.
So one game leapt out at me, something called MGST Lite, which turned out to be Metal Gear Solid Touch, something I had honestly no idea about. So, to find out more, I downloaded the demo, which took ages, I can tell you... But ultimately, it was worth it. The demo gave you three levels, and once I got used to the daft control scheme, I got pretty good. I actually took my iPod to college and played it in Psychology. The same three levels. I actually learnt where the enemies came from. What is wrong with me...
After a lot of hesitation, I decide to take the plunge and buy the full thing. It cost a fiver, and my iTunes credit is running worryingly low, but I did it anyway. I’m still not sure if it was the right choice, but whatever, it gives me something to talk about. I’m not a massive follower of the MG games, but I know a fair bit about them. Basically, the story is nuts. Something about nanites and cyborgs and ninjas and PMCs... I don’t really care if I’m honest. The game works, which I guess is the important thing. As I said, the control scheme is a bit weird, but once you are used to it, you get decent shots at the baddies. It’s fairly repetitive, but encounters with stronger enemies, helicopters and Gekkos, it mixes things up. Oh yeah, note on the Gekkos; would be a hell of a lot scarier if they didn’t moo. And don’t gimme any of that “psychological warfare” crap, it’s just mooing.
There are some sections where you have to use a sniper rifle on far away enemies, which is fine, but sometimes when you “pinch” the screen to use it, you end up aiming at the sky, which sucks, especially when someone is aiming a rail gun at your face. The cross hair often doesn’t move fast enough, so you’ll end up getting shot several times.
The bosses mix up the combat pretty well and provide you with a bit of challenge, although once you’ve died a few times, you essentially know the set pattern in which they attack, so from then on, it’s just a case of good aiming.
At time of writing, I am stuck on a boss battle with Crying Wolf, who has the aforementioned rail gun. Oh and there’s a blizzard, which makes sniping her very difficult, especially when the screen starts to frost up... But fingers crossed, I’ll kick the crap out of her soon enough. Go random violence.
Oh, and I found out something amazing. The rail gun is a genuine weapon. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure.
Stay awesome till Sunday, y’all.

Metal Gear Solid Touch

Platform Wars; PC (Part Deux)

Right, where was I? Ah yes, Simon 1...

6. Simon The Sorcerer

Yeah, this one is alright. Like I said before, I think I preferred Simon 2. This one was a tad linear, and a bit too short for my tastes. Also I got stuck for aaaages, cause I didn't know there was a compost heap behind the house. Duh. Interestingly, Simon is voiced by Arnold Rimmer himself, Chris Barrie. I honestly did not know that.

5. Half Life 1, 2, and 2.1

This is three years old... Wow. But I only got it 2007, by chance for Christmas. If I'm honest, I've only completed Half Life 1, but it was AWESOME! Seriously, not a major fan of FPSs, but this was awesome. To the MAX. But HL2 plays kinda laggyily on my laptop so... Meh, I'll struggle. Note to self; Put Half Life 2 on list of games to play this summer.

4. Full Throttle

Oh yeah, now we're into the gems, and the third of Tim Schafer's games I've ever played... Full Throttle kicks arse. If you've never played it, do so, it's absolutely brilliant. Not only does it have some excellent puzzles, it's also got a wicked storyline. Kicking a door into a guy's face definately a high point. Oh, and jumping over a canyon. And hitting a bloke in the face with a chain as he rides off. Brilliant.

3. Maniac Mansion 2; DotT / Sam and Max Hit the Road

Okay, so technically two games but screw you, I got them as one. Both awesome, both funny (the latter moreso) and both point and click brilliance on a single disc. MM2 (first Schafer game I played) actually has the original on it, which was a nice touch (note; hard as nails). Sam and Max was awesome, and genuinely made me laugh out loud. Much better than the newer ones, which were also good =)

2. Grim Fandango

Oh yes. Probably one of the best looking games I've ever played (big fan of both Art Deco and Aztec architecture) and by far the most compelling. Second Schafer game for me. A fantastic storyline, a brilliant concept, some amazing puzzles, hilarious dialogue, brilliant voice acting and ultimately a fantastic game. Also, I got this from Woolworths (RIP)... Probably the last great adventure game, and maybe the best ever... Or perhaps it's...

1. The Monkey Island Trilogy

Yeah, it's a trilogy. In my mind, the last game was a travesty. A robotic monkey? Yeah, okay... But seriously, these games are, in all seriousness, the greatest ever adventure games, pretty much defining the genre for years to come... My personal favourite is LeChuck's Revenge, for the awesome puzzles, closely followed by Curse, mainly for the art style. If you've never played these, you should. If you own a PC, get them. In fact how awesome would it be if these came out on the iPod... AHH MINDCRUSH!

Actually, speaking of the iPod, I gots me a new game for it... It's got Gekkos =)

Till Wednesday, stay awesome y'all!