Thursday, December 22, 2011

Bastion

So, I picked this up on Steam a little while back, but only because it had 360 controller support. No controller support for a platformer/button masher means I will never own the game on PC.

Anyways, the game starts out good, introducing you to weapons one at a time, with an awesome, gritty narrator talking to you and about you as you travel and kick ass through levels.

I really liked the changing world, and the upgrades on the weapons, it kept everything fresh and new for the entire game. Having read the directions though, I was almost shy to upgrade since I wasn't sure if I would be screwing myself later (I literally upgraded Kratos' starting blades to max, and then saved all of the other red orbs until the final boss in God of War II, seriously). Anyways, go nuts with upgrades, but try to get a few weapons to max, and not just spread things around. I found the few that worked for me, and pumped the crap out of them.

There are also challenging mini games for each weapon where you will will prizes for using it as effectively as possible, but keep in mind that sometimes you need to upgrade the weapon to get the best score. There are also other challenges that reveal story and give you more points for upgrades, so double bonus there.

The story was really good, the narrator really breathed life into it, and the progression was well-paced. I would highly recommend picking this game up if you get the chance. Steam with a Xbox 360 corded controller or XBLA, either will do just fine.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Orcs Must Die!

So I picked this game up on the Steam sale last weekend, and a good deal it was!

I've always been a fan of tower defense games, but never really felt that the first person shooter perspective was the right way to go with them. I had tried the Sanctum demo a while back, but it felt like I was either ignoring my towers, or ignoring shooting things. Somehow, they got it right with Orcs Must Die! Also, the humor and voice acting keeps it light. =)

So I was able to beat probably 70% of the game with my typical "if one thing gets past me, I'm restarting the level mentality." But eventually there were just too many openings for me not to let anything get past.

The turrets and abilities are all fun to try out, but I have to say that I always picked the Alchemist's Satchel since it can kill 10-15 orcs in one bang. I didn't realize this was a DLC item until after I beat the game, so... yeah. Same with the Floor Scorcher.

Anyways, it took me just shy of 14 hours to beat the entire game on normal difficulty, and I still have the 5 DLC levels to play. I'd recommend the game for anyone with the tower defense itch as it will definitely help with that.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Batman Arkham Asylum - TBD

(there's a newer post for this, but I want to keep this around because it reminds me of the sadness that can happen)

I played this game quite a bit on my PC since I got it on a Steam sale. Then I replayed a bit of it so that I could enjoy it from the comfort of my couch, and play some of it with my wife.

But... my save game was lost. And not in some freak, Xbox-exploding accident. In some super-lame, I-can't-believe-I-just-saw-that-happen accident.

So, I give you, repro steps:

1) start up Xbox 360
2) launch Batman: Arkham Asylum
3) game logos play
4) title screen shows, now turbo press A because you want to play the game
5) game starts, intro batman video plays
6) "Elegrem logged in to Xbox LIVE" cheer appears (hmm, that seems odd)
7) quit game (the game is now saving your 0% progress over that first save slot)
8) title screen shows, with the first save slot showing 0% progress
9) son... of... a... bitch.

So I just went from 58% to 0%. just. like. that.

I want to get back into it again, but I'll need some time away from it for now.

Dragon Age II - Mark of the Assassin DLC

Wow. That was some really good DLC. Also, it was really hard. I had beaten the Legacy DLC and the entire game on hard difficulty, but this time around, I set the damn thing to normal and just enjoyed the content (after a few epic combat fails).

The story was good, nice level of involvement. I really liked the more intricate puzzles and the sneaking mechanics. Nicely done.