Summer Games Challenge 2014

[Cronozilla]

Spent some time hunting down energy tanks to make Metroid Prime more manageable. Now it feels almost too easy.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Found a secret Opa Opa in Alien Syndrome.

[Cronozilla]

Nevermind, I got to the Omega Pirate.

Something I've been noticing with this game, most of the difficulty is from a lacking design as opposed to actual challenge. Most of the time, it's because the game won't allow you to move and look around, other times it's because the field of view is entirely too narrow. These kinds of things make situations that feel incredibly frustrating and pretty unfair.

[CFFJR]

I played a good chunk of Wonderboy. Beat the second dungeon and got the trident, and made my way through the underwater maze (pain in the ass) and found Poseidon. Also picked up a couple of pieces of pygmy equipment. The desert is up next.

I also spent some time with X-men Vs. Street Fighter. Borrowed my girlfriend's copy since mine doesn't seem to want to work.

I beat the arcade mode a couple of times, and I was very surprised to find myself fighting my own partner after Apocalypse. So I've seen endings for Nash and Cyclops now. I figure I'll call the game completed when I've managed all 16 endings. Not that I understand what's happening in them since they're all in japanese (Hey look, its Guile! What's he doing? I dunno!), but its a goal.

[noiseredux]

damn, you're already ahead of me in Monster World. Got any tips for that boss in the mines?


Played s'more TR Anniversary last night. I've got some mixed feelings. On one hand, I think it's a great game. I think it looks excellent. Controls are mostly spot-on. Nice level design. Tons of fun. BUT, the PC version is a bit glitchy (not sure how the console ports were). There's been a handful of times where I might "stick" to a wall for a moment. It's weird. Like, say I just down into some water. I might get stuck against the wall half way down. Then wiggle myself free. Weird right? But last night I got to a part that this glitch becomes devastating. The T-Rex boss fight - the friggin' T-Rex gets stuck against its surroundings a lot. Instead of coming at me and moving around, it just faces a wall like the end of Blair Witch Project. You'd think this would help me, but in order to get close enough to shoot it and register, I'm always right under its tail adn get swiped. I tried to do some Googling, and read that turning on V-Sync can help, though I couldn't find V-Sync in the game options. I did turn on AA in case that might help, but this was right before I went to bed last night so didn't test it. Besides that, all settings are maxed. Hoping this isn't game-breaking, as I was really enjoying myself.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Here is an article decrying the T. Rex fight in Tomb Raider Anniversary:

http://gameological.com/2012/05/tomb-ra ... st-valley/

It states:

What a shame, then, that the T-rex encountered was reimagined in such an unimaginative way for the Tomb Raider: Anniversary remake. In this 2007 update of the original, the majestic beast is replaced with a creature so dumb it can be persuaded to run head-first into giant spikes. Defeating the monster no longer requires graceful evasion and patient determination, for you’re now able to perform something called an “adrenaline dodge.” It’s like David squaring up to Goliath having swapped his sling for a semi-automatic and a can of Red Bull.

The T-rex’s arrival is announced by a brash, entirely unfrightening cutscene. The ensuing battle takes place in broad daylight instead of at night. (Okay, the original battle was probably set at night because the old PlayStation didn’t have the power to generate a dinosaur AND clouds, but still.) The minimalist strings have been replaced by a swelling operatic piece that John Williams would describe as overblown. It’s hard to experience that sense of perilous isolation when there’s a Welsh male voice choir hiding in the undergrowth.

To top it all off, the fight climaxes with a series of quick-time events—you know, those “press the down arrow to win!” flashcards that reduce a game to an exercise in stimulus-response. This is the equivalent of remaking Casablanca so that instead of beginning their beautiful friendship by walking off into the fog, Rick and Renault add each other on LinkedIn.

It also expresses some unjustified concerns regarding the then-recently-announced Tomb Raider reboot, but it is worth a read since you are playing through Tomb Raider Anniversary (and might persuade you to try out the original version if you have not done so already).

.....

Also, my first attempt at R-Type Delta did not go well. Although I thought the first level was very easy, the second level demolished me. I can't wait to dive back into it, but given the steep difficulty, I am not sure I will be able to beat the game until I unlock unlimited credits...

[noiseredux]

Jordy, thanks for the link. The spoilered quote is pretty right-on. The intro cinematic to the T-Rex encounter was pretty silly. Not scary. True.

I'll def read that full article when I have a second. And, thanks for reminding me Gameological exists. I always seem to forget. Need to add them to my list of frequents (RockPaperShotgun, PCGamer, Kotaku, Joystiq, HG101, VideoGameCritic, etc).

The original version of TR I have played in some capacity. Around the time of its PS1 release, a friend of mine had it so I played bits and pieces. Last year I meant to play thru the Saturn port for Summer Games, but... I didn't. That said, I bought the Tomb Raider bundle last year that was 11 games, so I've got it. After playing TR'13 though, I was really intent on playing thru Crystal Dynamics' TR games first.

Anniversary isn't perfect, but it's very good. And bugs aside, it's quite good. Haha. I will say this though - TR'13 was indeed perfect (to me). I've got fingers crossed for another installment like that one.

Anddd... I told you Delta was an asshole. It was on my Summer Games 2011 list. Here's what I had to say about it as the Summer came to an end:

I was warned not to include R-Type Delta on my list for the simple reason that I just would not be able to beat it. I laughed. Surely if I put some time into it and memorized levels and enemy patterns, I certainly could beat it! I had no problem making it through the first level without losing a ship. But level two. Woah. I lost them all. Fast. And as it turns out, Delta really is one big jerk of a game. Don't get me wrong, sometimes it's fun to take abuse. But there was no way I was going to beat this one.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I don't think I can even beat the original R-Type on SMS...

Oh I discovered last night that the SMS port of Alien Syndrome is not compatible with the PBC. Lovely.

[Ack]

I don't think I can even beat the original R-Type on SMS...

No worries, I've only beaten Super R-Type, and that was after a grueling week of constant play.

[dsheinem]

Man I am not doing well in MvC at all. I am aiming for a 1cc, but don't think I've made it past a 4th round or so. What's odd is that I have no problems ringing up a 1cc on either of the sequels.

Is the DC port especially tough or something (I left everything on the default settings)? Maybe I'll try the version on PS3...