hrudu. » games

Skyrim: Finished

paolo. — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:09:57 +0000

After almost two months of side questing, collecting Daedric artifacts and all-around lollygagging, I finally sat down last week and completed Skyrim‘s main quest.

To note, I have the PS3 version — yes, the problematic one. I completed the game in spite of various bugged quests, lag and load times. I think I have 80 hours in? (I don’t play every day.) All of this before the “end-of-month-fix-everything” patch arrived.

Above: I took a picture of my quest statistics. Main quests: 18? The main story of the game feels short if you’ve been doing all the fun side quests. To note: roleplay-wise, my character, Kador, isn’t probably the “realest” RPG character. He’s the Dean at the college of magic, Harbinger for the warriors’ guild, master-thief of the thieves guild and head of the assassin’s guild. A big burly viking who can sneak like a ninja in front of most enemies but can’t hurt flying dragons for shit.

The game doesn’t “end.” The main quest is simply resolved. That story is finished now. I can still continue my journey on Skyrim, maybe collect the other 7 Daedric artifacts I’m missing, join the rebellion/empire or collect stupid crimson nirnroot. Or maybe start over with a new character and do it all over again.

Thank you, Bethesda.

video games 2011

paolo. — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:03:19 +0000

2011 was our PS3 year. We have two at home now (one’s busted) when, in the previous years, we had none. There was a lot of catching up to do. Also: I am awake this early because my belly is itchy and I can’t risk scratching it while I sleep lest I wake up with intestines and whatnot under my fingernails. Exciting times.

Just last month, the PS3 (FAT), after less than a month of having its lens replaced, broke down for good. It currently sits as a paperweight somewhere around the house. We bought a PS3 (SLIM) a few days before Christmas, and the changes we’ve noticed are: less heat, zippier(?) load times, less noise and the machine’s greater insistence on pushing things to 1080p, where the PS3 (FAT) did not.

Games played:

(PS3) God of War 1 (not finished)
(PC) System Shock 2 (finished, after getting it to work finally)
(PC) Portal 2
(PS3) Assassin’s Creed (not finished, too repetitive)
(PS3) Enslaved (not finished, borrowed)
(PS3) Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (borrowed)
(PS3) Tekken 6 (Gets some play every now and then when we feel like beating each other up in the house. I am not good but I can spam you with Alisa or Asuka or Lars.)
(PS3) GTA IV (Like my first play around, started but not finished.)
(PS3) Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition
(PS3) Uncharted 2 GOTY Edition
(PS3) Red Dead Redemption (not finished)
(PS3) inFamous (not finished, part of the “Welcome Back” package)
(PS3) Little Big Planet (not finished, part of the “Welcome Back” package)
(PS3) WipeOut HD Fury (part of the “Welcome Back” package)
(PS3) Transformers: War for Cybertron (not finished)
(PC) Team Fortress 2 (when it went free)
(PS3) Bomberman ULTRA (during the PS+ trial, now expired)
(PS3) Golden Axe (during the PS+ trial, now expired)
(PS3) Burnout Crash demo (on repeat for a few hours)
(PS3) Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (the PS3 FAT stopped reading the disc while on the last level — the lens broke after that)
(Android) Muffin Knight (pony rainbow poops!)
(PS3) Arkham City
(PS3) Uncharted 3 (I will always remember this as the time when I stop believing online reviews.)
(PS3) Saint’s Row The Third (I’ll write about this game maybe later. It was so much fun, I completed the game AGAIN on the SLIM when my saved data wouldn’t copy from the FAT.)
(PS3) Skyrim (I think I’m at least 60 hours in … and counting. The game occasionally freezes during fast travel or on the loading screens. As a friend always says, “PC SKYRIM = MASTER RACE.” The jerk.)
(PS3) Mortal Kombat (YES. Also, Shao Kahn is a jerk.)
(PS3) Bayonetta (Not finished. Bought it on the premise that it was sort-of like DMC. Then I remembered I have never completed a DMC game and that I got bored with Chaos Legion when I played that years ago.)

This year’s question: will the Vita be worth it? (Or will I get an Xbox360 for Kinect?)

Fall of Cybertron VGA Trailer

paolo. — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:18:47 +0000

What happened to Prime’s head? (he put on a lot of weight too) Why did Megatron attach all those LED lights on him? How does protoform Grimlock know what dinosaurs look like?

I was gonna _____, but Skyrim won.

paolo. — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:12:18 +0000

I guess this is the weekend – uncharted 3

paolo. — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:18:29 +0000

Arkham City: Batman Simulator

paolo. — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:02:39 +0000

Arkham City is the best Batman simulator at the moment.

I just completed the main campaign yesterday and my save file says I’ve only just finished 41% of the game. I still have a bunch of upgrades, side quests, Riddler trophies/riddles, challenges and the whole Catwoman campaign to look forward to. (haven’t downloaded the Catwoman DLC since the PS3 needs to be repaired)

The absolute best thing about Arkham City is how they got the feel of rooftop-hopping right. I wouldn’t know the exact feeling based on personal experience, but the game presents it in a way that feels right … based on years of comic books and cartoons.

Completion of Arkham Asylum meant that you could continue with your saved game in a largely empty facility. This time around, after the main game is complete, you could spend hours just jumping, grappling and gliding off rooftops and then divebombing into the nearest group of (respawning) thugs.

Some of the boss fights in this game are largely the same fight: big bad + a bunch of thugs. Which is probably my only complaint about the game, and which is why the Mr. Freeze boss fight was so memorable.

There are a lot of character DLCs for this game which expands it a bit more, but I’m secretly wishing they were all unlockables instead. I want this one:

Next thing to look forward to: Uncharted 3.

(Oh, and that ending.) If you add that ending, the “Demon Spawn” easter egg and the DKR skin, what we’re looking forward to is a possible “old man” Batman sequel. Which would be awesome.

Arkham City!

paolo. — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:14:34 +0000

Okay, so I don’t have a copy yet. My best friend was ringing up my phone while I slept – I suspect it has something to do with Arkham City and gloating. This Friday! This weekend! Most definitely. Here’s the launch trailer until then:

portal things

paolo. — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:05:51 +0000

First of all, wake up! I am currently writing this outside under the hated sunlight (or what little of it there is — also, irony, if you know a thing about the portal games) and wondering when portals will be a reality. The short, “No Escape” sorta shows you what real-life Portal would probably look like:

Suggestion for maximum enjoyment of this video is playing in HD and cranking the volume knob up to 11.

***

Next video is a Portal-style proposal:

What kind of future will they have, knowing that their future family house has to be constructed in a giant underground death-trap, accessible only by portals and clever problem solving?

***

Later, foolioz, I am late for my own dreams.

Mortal Kombat: Freddie Kruger’s vignette trailer!

paolo. — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:02:33 +0000

Released yesterday! Freddie Kruger’s vignette trailer shows that he has a story mode! Which is dumb because I still haven’t bought a copy of MK yet. This month! Or next month! Or next year!

batstuff

paolo. — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:22:24 +0000

More Batman-related things — here’s the Dark Knight Rises poster:

Nolan’s really stuck with the crumbling-buildings-as-posters theme in the last few years, hasn’t he? Not that I mind at all. It’s always like this with Nolan movies anyway, ambiguous teasers a year away.

***

Arkham City Riddler trailer:

October!

***

Since I’ve been playing way too much Team Fortress 2 lately, here’s the month-old trailer for Gotham City Impostors, the class-based FPS centered around the Batman universe. (Which is still a dumb idea. Batman isn’t exactly known for his gun-carrying. Or encouraging citizens to take up arms. Except old-TDR-Batman, if you so choose to correct me on the last statement.)