The Gaming Week thread

[dante76]

Right so what am I up to?

Just finishing off Thief on the XBox, its all ending quite nicely, with some fun imaginative sneaking levels along with the added bonus of zombies. Not as challenging as Hitman but another fun sneaky game.

Also borrowed Ace Combat 6 from a friend. Really loving this, graphics look great, especially the replays, although the plot is japanese tree hugging weirdness.

Started on Burnout Paradise as well. A great visual games with an awful soundtrack. Fortunately there is a classical option to listen to, so its car smashes and Debussy a'hoy! Oh and the car crash for cash is ruined. Bouncing cars down road for crash cash is stupid.

[Craymen Edge]

Wallace and Gromit Episode 4: The Bogey Man (PC)

I completed this, the last in Telltales series of Wallace and Gromit games earlier this week. It wasn't the highlight of the series for me, but still entertaining all the same. Telltale have done a fine job with the Wallace and Gromit license with these games.

Tales of Monkey Island Episode 2: The Siege of Spinner Cay (PC)

I'm absolutely loving these new Monkey Island episodes, and looking like it is going to overtake the Strongbad games as my favourite Telltale series. There's great writing and voice acting, and really did make me laugh out loud a couple of times.

Shadow Complex (XBLA)

I virtually completed the game twice, because a glitch right near the end left me stuck with nowhere to go, except start from the begining again. I enjoyed the game a lot. It wouldn't bother any of my all time best lists or anything, but other than the glitch it felt like a high quality, well made game.

Unfortunately the high production values did make some of the less impressive things stand out a lot more. Like the jumping. The jump animation was terrible, and looked ludicrous, and that's ignoring that this guy could jump more than his own height from a standing start. Having the stuff in the background, and the firing into the screen added detail a nice sense of depth to the environment. But, needing rocked assisted jumps or grappling ropes to reach a platorm or balcony when you were stood in front of a perectly fine set of stairs... well it just looked silly.

Left 4 Dead (360)

The game has had a revival on the forum recently. I've played online with Sly and Badger for several hours this week, and it's been fantastic, and I really can't wait to see how the sequel evolves it.

Civilisation Revolution (360)

I got back into this in the last couple of weeks, and have now played with most of the 16 different Civilisations in the game. On the lower difficulties it's just a fun and relaxing game to mess about in, building up cities and massive armies to steamroll over any enemy foolish enough to threaten me. On 'King' difficulty it's a decent challenge, and although I haven't won on King yet, the matches have been so close. Apart from one, where that evil, warmongering bastard Ghandi basically obliterated my civilization.

Defense Grid : The Awakening (PC)

I bought this on Steam for £3.50 back in May, and didn't really give it much playtime. Getting released on XBLA was the reminder I needed to go back and play it properly. It's one of the better tower defense games I've tried.

I like the science fiction setting, and the range of towers available. When the map is full of aliens and your defenses are all doing their work, it looks great. Also, more games should use the word "bloody" in their voiceovers.

[Sly Reflex]

Just Left 4 Dead and Pixeljunk Eden. We all know about L4D so I'll skip the explanations. The latter is seriously hard after a stint away from it. I don't want to move on until I have totally finished a garden either, but the enemies can be quite persistent on the garden I am on. It would be a lot better if there were only a set amount, as on occasion you seem to be fending of the things more often than you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. It wouldn't be bad if killing them really added a reason to do so, but there isn't. All they needed to do was something like make the pollen yield for killing one big, or make it so that you got a time top up, but as it is it is better to skirt round them and only get rid as a last option.

[Hendo]

Most of the week I've switched between Galaga Legions and Tales of Vesperia. Galaga I think I'm done with because I just can't get any better at, so Tales has been my game of choice for the week, though I have currently hit a wall.

On the generic smartphone I've been mostly playing Harbor Master, just for a change. Mind, Star Defense has had it updated to include the Plus+ achievements and friends list, so I might play through that again this week.

Saturday was my most played game day. You know those times when no matter what you play pisses you off? Yeah.

So I booted up Condemned 2, convinced that I was too harsh on it and it might not be too dark after all. Turns out I was right all along, it's obscenely dark, especially in the hotel. I like the investigating bits but that's about it.

Then I figured I'd go back to Call of Duty : World at War on Veteran which I try from time to time - that game is beyond brutal on Veteran and the day I finish it I might poo on the disc and send it straight to Treyarch's studio building as a reward for making such a tight, robust counter to Modern Warfare. Brilliant character and level design in that game, most memorable.

From there I decided to go back to Banjo Kazooie : Nuts & Bolts and I really want to love that game but I've just hit a wall with what parts I have and what I can make, and what's expected of me. Still looks beautiful though.

Then it was the same initially for Fight Night : Round 4 but then something clicked and I'm loving it. When it all comes together - you perfect-block a punch, the other fighter is dazed for a second and then you do a serious hard smack to the face - it's a brilliant feeling. Utterly brutal too.

Finally, Trials HD is back on my playlist and it's still as perfect yet evil as ever.

Oh, also a bit of Left4Dead with Sly, Badger and that, and finished up Batman : Arkham Asylum. Batman is game of the year so far, for me.

[DANGERMAN]

I keep meaning to go back to Eden Sly, I'm only a couple of worlds from the end I think (doing it like you, a whole world at a time), then I might buy the extra levels.

I've not really played a staggering amount this week, just Batman which I was a bit sad to see the end of. I started the challenge rooms, but as I think someone else said you start to see the flaws in the combat and they stop being fun, especially as I want to 100% it.

I've also ploughed another 20 hours into Dragon Quest 8, 10 of those was a massive grind after getting twatted by a boss. I only went up a couple of levels in that time but it seemed to make all the difference and I only lost one character and that was seconds before I slay the beast (a big bird thing). According to the guide I'm using I should now go treasure hunting, which is fine but also means I've got to sit in front of the guide to find the locations rather than just work through a dungeon

Finally I've been playing a few Dreamcast games, but wasted most of saturday trying to record video from the DC to my pc, and it doesnt work

[Manicm]

Well my gaming went down the pan this week, xbox died on wednesday, still gutted annoyed etc..

So ive finally built up my new mountain bike, for those in the know its has the following spec:

Orange P7 - Steel frame

Rockshox Revs 140mm Travel

Full Shimano SLX groupset for the gearing, shifters mech and chainset

Shimano Deore wheels and brakes

Its took me about 9 months to save for the bits and buy as i needed but its done and looks and rides brilliantly!!

Gaming wise, played some resi evil 4 on the wii, and thats about it really, hoping to dig out some cube games next week few weeks while the xbox is on its holiday in germany!

[retroed]

So ive finally built up my new mountain bike, for those in the know its has the following spec:

Orange P7 - Steel frame

Rockshox Revs 140mm Travel

Full Shimano SLX groupset for the gearing, shifters mech and chainset

Shimano Deore wheels and brakes

Its took me about 9 months to save for the bits and buy as i needed but its done and looks and rides brilliantly!!

Nice spec. I've been out of the biking loop for quite a few years now, but I always remember the P7 being a sweet frame.

[Manicm]

Cheers ed, will post a pic up tomorrow!

The cost of mtb'ing has risen so much over the last year that even modest parts are expensive, thats why its taken so long to get the build done. On the positive side its a great feeling out on those trails tackling jumps and fast downhills and those climbs make you feel alive! If you use flickr search for manicm78 ive got some great biking shots on there.

Its a great bike, hoping to hit those welsh trails very soon!!

[stoobie]

No real change this week - still playing through Vesperia and loving it - definate game of the year for me. The artwork is amazing, the voice acting is excellent and there are some genuinely funny moments in the script. The battle system is really enjoyable as well, especially now I am unlocking some of the better Artes. I've not had to grind yet at all - the only trouble I have had is with one of the Giganto monsters but they are meant to be super tough anyway. Fantastic game.

I have started Batman on the PS3 - not played too much tho as my OH is never in and we are playing through it together. Really impressed with the game - a few different gamestyles means it doesnt get boring and all the collectables are good to hunt down. No signs of Catwoman yet which is bad as she is the best Batman villian. Fact.

Other than that - I finished Shadow Complex - it got a lot better towards the end as I got more powered up. I didnt get the 100% and I havent completed the challenges yet so I will go back to it one day but there is no real hurry.

And thats it I think - a bit of Phantasy Star Portable on the PSP as well but not enough to report on.

[CelShadedDreams]

I've gone on a RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 binge. I loved that game when I first got it years ago and I still love it now. My boyfriend asked me why I don't just go and get number 3, but I just love the style of 2, 3 looks rubbish in comparison. There's still a massive online community for it and some really cool parks being made that I wish I could do, but I just don't have that level of skill. I'm quite content ploughing through all the beginner parks and downloading custom scenary packs.

http://www.nedesigns.com/ check out some of the parks there, they're awesome.

Also been playing a little Soul Calibur on psp. Best version of the game, it looks incredible! Like the 360 and ps3 versions. Everything is unlocked and there's even more character customisation. I've been making cool looking characters rather than playing through the game.

[Sambob]

I've been making cool looking characters rather than playing through the game.

I start doing that but it always ends up with me trying to make a woman with the biggest boobs and least clothes...

Ive not posted in this thread much, so here goes.

Mainly playing on Batman AA this week, I thought I was much closer to the end than I thought I was so ended up having a mammoth session where the longer it went on, the more desperate I got for finishing it. This combined with the slightly underwhelming ending left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, which is a shame because I liked the game a lot. The punultimate fight was just annoying, and highlighted that the fighting mechanics in the game blocked the enjoyment a bit.

I went back to trying to kill the single player on COD4, and did. I really love the challenge presented by this game, as stated elsewhere I think it might be a bit too difficult at the very end (and also on that bloody carrousel level - ghillies in the mist), but apart from that it gets it spot on, and I hope the next one gets it as right as this.

Thats it on the single player front, otherwise ive been playing some COD4 multiplayer. Im looking forward to Halo ODST at the end of the month, but until then im going to have to find something to play to keep me going.

[Craymen Edge]

I've been making cool looking characters rather than playing through the game.

I start doing that but it always ends up with me trying to make a woman with the biggest boobs and least clothes...

I did similar in SC4. Except it was big beefy men, in trunks and harnesses, with women's move sets.

What?

[HandsomeDead]

I've played a bit this week so I'm doing this now while I remember.

I've been playing a few WiiWare games this week, first I finally got round to finishing LostWinds, I don't know why I was so stuck before, I just wandered around a bit and found exactly where I needed to be. I'm all ready for the next one now. Bit. Trip Core has also seen a little more action, it's still much harder to get to grips with than Beat but if you get yourself in the mindset of it being a rythme-action gam it makes more sense, infact it does share similarities to the defensive parts in Gitaroo Man.

Finally on WiiWare, I've been secretly playing Let's Catch. The mechanics are very simple, when the ball is thrown you press the A & B buttons catch it, to throw it you merely hold down the A & B buttons and do a throwing motion, no releasing needed, and you keep doing that and you are scored on how controlled you throw and the timing of you catch. I know what you're thinking, that sounds shit DC, who wants to play that? Well there is another thing that I found strangely compelling in the game, it has a story of sorts, and its one that is very similar to the side stories in the Persona games which I'm also very fond of. While you're playing the simple little game the other character starts chatting about little things but the more you play the more you find how all the characters are connected and the problems they have from a widowed bloke who is having problems with his daughter and a wee lad whos dad isn't about much etc. Its another game with a niceness to it, its not quite Flower but it still does a good job of bringing out a similar experiance. I'd fully recommend it if it was half the price but 1000 Wii dollers is a bit dear so as it is then I sort of don't.

Since that game reminded me of Persona 4 I dug it out and decided I was going to finish it before the big rush, I am further through it and got to a boss and relalised I might need to grind a bit, when I do I can't see the boss being a problem. Also on my must finish soon list is GTA 4: TLaD, I'm a few more missions into it, it is much longer than I was expecting, its not that I'm not enjoying it and I want it to end, I'm just not used to this much content, maybe it is worth the 1600 M$ afterall.

And finally I'm playing Sonic 3 & Knuckleson XBLA as it should be, stacked together. I've been waiting for that since these games started to turn up on compilation discs.

[Cyberpunk]

Hi all. I've had a strange week, gaming wise. First off, let me say the I can't wait for Tuesday. I bought Batman - Arkham Asylum for my pc from Direct2Drive. While I've been able to download and install it, I can't activate it until it's official pc release date. So I'm left with this Batman Icon on my screen, that I can't run yet. I'll let you know what I think in next week's post.

I've been indulging in some more Tales of Monkey Island, having got episode 2, The Siege of Spinner Cay. Only just started it, but it's proving to be as much fun as the first episode. It kicks off right where Episode One left off and in yet another tribute to the original Secret of Monkey Island your first task is to regain control of your ship with the help of your trusty sword, a healthy dose of word play and puzzle solving. The mysterious woman is a bounty pirate hunter sent by the Mad Doctor from Flotsam Island to fetch your pox ridden hand, she also happens to be rather pretty and your biggest fan which makes dealing with her a much trickier prospect than you’d first think. I'd give Tales of Monkey Island Episode Two 4 out 5, and await the next episode in great anticipation.

On my Nintendo Ds, I've been into Professor Layten & the Diabolical Box This is really good fun, with some truly brain twisting puzzles centred around a murder mystery story. It's every bit as good as the first game. Also, I've just started Scribblenauts. And what a blast this game is turning out to be. It's a platformer with a difference. The difference being you can type almost any word into the game, and that word will appear within the game to help you solve the various senarios you might be in. Here's an example. You may find you have to rescue a cat from a tree. So you could type in ladder, and climb the ladder to get the cat. Or you could type in lasso, and rope the cat down. Or how about rocketpack, and fly to the cat. Or try bomb, and blow the tree up. You arn't allowed to use profanity, copywritten words, alcohol or drug, and some others, but it'll tax you just trying to find words you can't have. You also have a practise mode, where you can just play around with words. Try typing in Grim Reaper, and God, and watch them fight to the death.

[retroed]

Hi all. I've had a strange week, gaming wise. First off, let me say the I can't wait for Tuesday. I bought Batman - Arkham Asylum for my pc from Direct2Drive. While I've been able to download and install it, I can't activate it until it's official pc release date. So I'm left with this Batman Icon on my screen, that I can't run yet. I'll let you know what I think in next week's post.

Also, I've just started Scibblenauts. And what a blast this game is turning out to be. It's a platformer with a difference. The difference being you can type almost any word into the game, and that word will appear within the game to help you solve the various senarios you might be in. Here's an example. You may find you have to rescue a cat from a tree. So you could type in ladder, and climb the ladder to get the cat. Or you could type in lasso, and rope the cat down. Or how about rocketpack, and fly to the cat. Or try bomb, and blow the tree up. You arn't allowed to use profanity, copywritten words, alcohol or drug, and some others, but it'll tax you just trying to find words you can't have. You also have a practise mode, where you can just play around with words. Try typing in Grim Reaper, and God, and watch them fight to the death.

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Batman, be sure to post your thoughts in the impressions thread!

Dude, Scribblenauts? It's not even officially released in the States until Tuesday. I'm not sure I'll end up getting it either, will wait on some reviews. It's been hyped to high heavens, and I can imagine it becoming frustrating when you try a thousand possibilities to to successfully finish a level, and none of them work as you're not using the 'correct' object. I know there's meant to be multiple outcomes to finishing a stage, but I reckon some levels could get infuriating.

[Craymen Edge]

I was back at work this week, so a much smaller update than last week for me.

PGR4(360)

I got back into this in a big way recently, after having not played it for ages. In a wierd about turn, it became pretty much all I played, apart from a couple of hours mid week. I completed the Acade mode, the DLC challenges and most of the Career Mode this week.

I've always liked the Metropolis Street Racer/PGR series, there's just something very rewarding about playing a challenge, race or time trial and getting better and better each lap.

The Blackwell Legacy(PC)

This the first of a series of 3 point and click adventure games, which I picked up from Wadjet Eye Games' website during their 50% off sale over the bank holiday weekend.

In it you play as a socially awkward young woman who inherits the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. With the aid of ghostly "spirit guide", you help restless spirits reach the other side, in a Ghost Whisperer kind of way, but with none of the scenes of Jennifer Love Hewitt in a nightie I'd usually associate with that. It's an entertaining game, with some good writing and dialogue.

[retroed]

^ PGR4 is awesome.

Not much for me at all this week, but what I have played are two of this year's best.

I finished off Batman: Arkham Asylum. I loved every minute of it, and didn't want it to end. It's just extremely polished, and reminded me of Resident Evil 4 on more than one occasion, and also Metroid. I'd not been much into the Batman universe before starting Arkham Asylum, not out of choice, just never really gotten into it. I was fully immersed in the game though, and am going to get The Dark Knight on Blu-ray soon. I traded the game in today as I felt I'd had my money's worth, even without getting all the riddles or really trying the challenge mode. It's my game of the year so far, and one of my favourite single-player experiences this gen.

On the DS, I've been playing Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box. It's a marked improvement on the original. The puzzles seem to be more tied to the story, and the story itself is pretty damn good. It's certainly had a lot of effort put into it, and isn't just a simple cash-in. I'm 84 puzzles in, and having a great time with it. Super addictive.

That's about it, really. I'm away most of this week, but will be taking the DSi with me for a bit of Layton puzzling.

[spatular]

^ PGR4 is awesome.

hell yes well done on doing the dlc Crayman! i couldn't do the bike ones

this week i've mostly been playing beatles rock band, maybe a bit too much, especially on drums, played all the songs on drums wednesday, then played a lot in multiplayer on thursday then all the songs again saturday! the charting is a real mixed bag, some fun some not so much, hardly any challenging ones but even the best songs on drums are no match for what's available on rock band 1/2/dlc. played a little bit on guitar on thursday and some saturday night, as i'm a bit rusty on the guitar side of things i've been finding this much more fun than the drums but still a mixed bag although i've not played all the songs yet. regarding the songs, i didn't know much about their songs before but like most of what's in the game, surprised actually by how good a lot of them are, not all of them translate so well into the game though. presentation is amazing.

also played a little bit of dirt 2, initial impressions are very good but not that far in.

oh and for the shmup tournament i've been playing raiden fighters jet on the 360 raiden fighters compilation, it's good fun but i suck pretty bad at it, even with the saturn pad. need to hammer it tomorrow to try and get a half respectable score.

[Bob]

Haven't done this for a couple of weeks. Left 4 Dead has seen a lot of love again. Been about two or three weeks of playing now and I am only 3000 kills off the achievement. That will be the sweetest achievement ever I think. I just wish the second one would hurry up and come out already.

I lent my bros DS and I've been playing Final Fantasy IV also which is very good but a bit on the hard side. Some of the bad guys have been really mean man, that's the best way to describe them, not hard as such, just big meanies. My Mum completed the original earlier this year and didn't have this many problems so obviously the DS version is a lot harder. It's the only explanation I am enjoying it anyway and the boss battles that aren't mean are pretty deep, there is nearly always a sneaky tactic that will make things a lot easier if you can suss it out.

I think that's it. I have played MGS4 for a bit, just finished the first act but I don't have a lot to say about that because everyone already knows that it is FUCKING AWESOME!

[Hendo]

Haven't played many games this week. Pretty much just The Beatles : Rock Band and Tales of Vesperia.

The Beatles game is pretty much everything I expected it to be, however it does need some more tracks and I haven't played it in the context of a full band. The only thing that's properly missing, and I didn't think about this until it was mentioned on the Giant Bombcast I think, is that it would be cool to be able to play as one of the 4 Beatles exclusively, whereas it actually works the same as GH/RB normally - that the guitar/keyboard parts are squashed into one part.

It would've been superb to have a separate mode where each Beatle part was available, though I'm guessing that gets more complicated depending on how fully (or not) the song is multi-tracked. It does raise some points about what tracks like "She's Leaving Home" will translate.

Tales of Vesperia has been the main game, either played while listening to music or podcasts and doing some mindlessly grinding, or going through the story which is getting pretty dark. I'm still not sure I understand what's going on (plot-wise or some of the game's mechanics) but it's good fun. And it has a bouncing pair of tits in it, so you can't complain.

Other than those two, some blasts on Star Defense (tower defense game), Flight Control and Harbor Master on everyone's favourite mobile device.