Finished Syphon Filter 3 a few days ago. I was quite suprised at how the story turned out for this one - it was rather boring.
Gabe and the rest of his crew are called to testify in a hearing at Washington and a good chunk of the missions take place during flashbacks. The characters will start to testify then the mission will begin and you basically play through each character's testimony description. This would be fine if the flashback missions were made more interesting. Most of them are are boring missions with little emphasis on the main plot of the game. They feel like filler missions. Even some of the missions that aren't flashbacks felt watered-down and thrown in.
The story gets better toward the end of the game however. There is one twist, but it still wasn't really enough to change my feeling toward the game.
Overall Syphon Filter 3 was ok, but I really can't see myself playing through it again.
I'm very glad that I played through the old Syphon Filter games on PS1 however. I was missing out on a very interesting action series.
In other news, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is out right now in the US, and I should be receiving that either tomorrow or next week. I chose to order from Gamestop.com in order to get a free Simon Belmont figure - I'm a sucker for freebies. Being a cheapass, I chose the free shipping, so I have to wait a bit.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Current Gaming - Syphon Filter 1 & 2, Chaos Legion
Syphon Filter
Just finished this up a few days ago. It has some frustrating levels at times and I was about ready to stop playing and move onto the second game in the series but I'm VERY glad that I didn't - read Syphon Filter 2 description to understand why.
The story was interesting, but the gameplay took some getting used to, especially when enemies wore flak jackets. Good lord, I can't even count how many times that I died in the earlier levels because an enemy would dart out from a corner with a flak jacket on and run toward me guns a'blazin! Needless to say, headshots are a must in this game as you progress.
Syphon Filter 2
As I said with Syphon Filter 1, I am so glad that I finished that one before playing this game. It starts out directly after the first game and tosses around the names of the characters from the first game back and forth just like you came right out from playing the first game when starting this one up. There are no flashbacks to help out.
The gameplay has much more variety on the whole. You have shooter missions and sneaking missions placed throughout the game that help to keep it from the feeling repetitive. There are many more cutscenes this time - at least one before each mission.
In terms of story, the sequel makes the first game seem like a mere stepping stone to the events that happen in this one. The plot involves both Lian and Gabe this time equally instead of everything centering around Gabe's progress. Lian is also played quite a bit in this one - much more than she was used in Dark Mirror.
The first stage for this game was a major turnoff though. It takes place on a snowy mountain and the stage can get a bit confusing at times. Also, why in the world do they throw in so many enemies with flak jackets on the first stage? Come on, this is the very beginning of the game!
Overall, I'm really happy with this one and can't wait to beat it in a few hours most likely. I'm at one of the final stages right now.
UPDATE: Just finished Syphon Filter 2. What a wonderful game! I think I will not proclaim it as my favorite storyline in the series - even over Dark Mirror. Even with the downgraded graphics, if you can learn the controls then the game is really a blast. Now on to Syphon Filter 3!
Chaos Legion
I decided to return to this game after nearly a three year break from it. I've already beaten it before but I decided to return to it since I wanted a difficult action game to play. I started a new game - for better or for worse. The reason I say this is because this game is so incredibly unforgiving on your first time through while playing on normal mode. If I was to sum up the difficulty of this game in five words or less then it would be as follows: This game fucking hates you!
I've played Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry on the hardest modes and those are pretty much equal to the difficulty that is faced on normal mode in Chaos Legion. Normal enemies in normal mode sometimes have an incredible amount of life that will force me to wail on them to no end. It's like some enemies are devil triggered. And to think that Chaos Legion has a hard mode... That's one of the main aspects that I enjoy about this game though. It's hard as hell. Well, that and the legions, because the legions are fun to use and really help out for some of these harder enemies.
I was thinking about trying to get all the Thanatos chips this time on my way through. Maybe that would help out for the final areas just a bit.
Just finished this up a few days ago. It has some frustrating levels at times and I was about ready to stop playing and move onto the second game in the series but I'm VERY glad that I didn't - read Syphon Filter 2 description to understand why.
The story was interesting, but the gameplay took some getting used to, especially when enemies wore flak jackets. Good lord, I can't even count how many times that I died in the earlier levels because an enemy would dart out from a corner with a flak jacket on and run toward me guns a'blazin! Needless to say, headshots are a must in this game as you progress.
Syphon Filter 2
As I said with Syphon Filter 1, I am so glad that I finished that one before playing this game. It starts out directly after the first game and tosses around the names of the characters from the first game back and forth just like you came right out from playing the first game when starting this one up. There are no flashbacks to help out.
The gameplay has much more variety on the whole. You have shooter missions and sneaking missions placed throughout the game that help to keep it from the feeling repetitive. There are many more cutscenes this time - at least one before each mission.
In terms of story, the sequel makes the first game seem like a mere stepping stone to the events that happen in this one. The plot involves both Lian and Gabe this time equally instead of everything centering around Gabe's progress. Lian is also played quite a bit in this one - much more than she was used in Dark Mirror.
The first stage for this game was a major turnoff though. It takes place on a snowy mountain and the stage can get a bit confusing at times. Also, why in the world do they throw in so many enemies with flak jackets on the first stage? Come on, this is the very beginning of the game!
Overall, I'm really happy with this one and can't wait to beat it in a few hours most likely. I'm at one of the final stages right now.
UPDATE: Just finished Syphon Filter 2. What a wonderful game! I think I will not proclaim it as my favorite storyline in the series - even over Dark Mirror. Even with the downgraded graphics, if you can learn the controls then the game is really a blast. Now on to Syphon Filter 3!
Chaos Legion
I decided to return to this game after nearly a three year break from it. I've already beaten it before but I decided to return to it since I wanted a difficult action game to play. I started a new game - for better or for worse. The reason I say this is because this game is so incredibly unforgiving on your first time through while playing on normal mode. If I was to sum up the difficulty of this game in five words or less then it would be as follows: This game fucking hates you!
I've played Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry on the hardest modes and those are pretty much equal to the difficulty that is faced on normal mode in Chaos Legion. Normal enemies in normal mode sometimes have an incredible amount of life that will force me to wail on them to no end. It's like some enemies are devil triggered. And to think that Chaos Legion has a hard mode... That's one of the main aspects that I enjoy about this game though. It's hard as hell. Well, that and the legions, because the legions are fun to use and really help out for some of these harder enemies.
I was thinking about trying to get all the Thanatos chips this time on my way through. Maybe that would help out for the final areas just a bit.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Umbrella Chronicles box art
The Europe cover art for Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles has now been released. Here's the way both the NA and PAL covers will look (at this time):
(NTSC)
(PAL)
Both covers look very nice but the original cover art before the release of the official US cover looked much better with it's simple design. It simply had a picture of the bloody Umbrella logo that is shown on the US cover below the image of Wesker.
If you ask me, the Europe cover would look better without the Umbrella logo since its addition makes the top portion look too crammed. It's too close to Wesker's head.
Oh well - I have to admit that these are some of the best covers thus far for an RE game.
There have been much worse. Such as the zombie molestation cover from the NA release of REmake.
For the Europeans, I think you got your due with the PS2 Resident Evil: Code Veronica X cover.
For some strange reason, I kind of like that close up of Claire. The zombie reflection in Claire's eye is a nice touch. I guess I find it slightly enjoyable because it's something different.
EDIT: Japanese cover for Umbrella Chronicles:
Is is just me or is it that the Japanese covers are almost ALWAYS better for most games?
*envy*
(NTSC)(PAL)Both covers look very nice but the original cover art before the release of the official US cover looked much better with it's simple design. It simply had a picture of the bloody Umbrella logo that is shown on the US cover below the image of Wesker.
If you ask me, the Europe cover would look better without the Umbrella logo since its addition makes the top portion look too crammed. It's too close to Wesker's head.
Oh well - I have to admit that these are some of the best covers thus far for an RE game.
There have been much worse. Such as the zombie molestation cover from the NA release of REmake.
For the Europeans, I think you got your due with the PS2 Resident Evil: Code Veronica X cover.
For some strange reason, I kind of like that close up of Claire. The zombie reflection in Claire's eye is a nice touch. I guess I find it slightly enjoyable because it's something different.
EDIT: Japanese cover for Umbrella Chronicles:
(NTSC/J)
Is is just me or is it that the Japanese covers are almost ALWAYS better for most games?
*envy*
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Free Wii Remote Jacket accessory for Wii owners
Nintendo will now be placing Wii Remote jackets with their newly sold Wii Remotes and they are offering to send out Wii Remote jackets to any Wii owners that bought a Wii prior to this announcement.
US/Canada request page
UK/Ireland request page
Everything is free, including shipping. From what I see, the maximum amount that can be chosen is four.
The Wii Remote jackets ship out starting October 15.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
FAQ Progress - 10/2/07
What is a "FAQ Progress"? A FAQ Progress is a traditional thread type over at the GameFAQs FAQ Contributor Board in which the authors post up information about three seperate categories:
This is done daily on the GameFAQs board, but I might post this up monthly or twice a month for this blog (this is really a hidden effort to post more, can't you see?). You can check out an official one on the GameFAQs boards here.
FAQ Progress:
Final Fantasy XII: Working on a Loot list. Currently on the loot that starts with B. There are a lot of B's mind you.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: About 30% done with this one. Currently up to SkyTown, Elysia. I'm being extremely thorough with this walkthrough so I won't have to go back and add much - proofreading as I go, making item lists with search codes and placing the search codes in the walkthrough as I type it - I usually do all of this at the end, but this time it will all be done the first time. Got two games going to make sure that there are no errors (or at least very small ones). This is taking quite a while though.
Game Progress:
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (PSP): I'm trying to get used to the controls for this Syphon Filter since I might get Logan's Shadow in a few days. Haven't quite decided if I'm going to get that still though...
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: Besides the FAQ stuff with this one, I've also got a game going where I'm trying to complete Hard Mode. Hard Mode is much more fun than normal. The bosses put up more of a fight. I might try the even harder difficulty after this (can't remember the name of it at the moment).
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition: Proofreading.
Life Progress:
Filling out applications here and there and trying to find some kind of job. I really need one - one that actually pays money.
I forgot my mom's birthday yesterday also - just plain out forgot. To make matters worse, EVERYBODY in the family forgot her birthday as well and she spent the whole day without any type of acknowledgement of her special day. She finally mentioned to me and my dad that today was her birthday (yesterday) and how dissappointed she was that we hadn't even mentioned it - talking about getting owned.
I don't know what I am going to do about this since it is hard to make up for something like this, especially when you have a person that never forgets no matter what you do afterwards like my mom is. She is one of the nicest people that you will ever meet but she never forgets whenever somebody makes her mad.
FAQ Progress (FP): How is your FAQing progressing?
Game Progress (GP): How is your gaming progressing?
Life Progress (LP): How is your life progressing?
This is done daily on the GameFAQs board, but I might post this up monthly or twice a month for this blog (this is really a hidden effort to post more, can't you see?). You can check out an official one on the GameFAQs boards here.
FAQ Progress:
Final Fantasy XII: Working on a Loot list. Currently on the loot that starts with B. There are a lot of B's mind you.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: About 30% done with this one. Currently up to SkyTown, Elysia. I'm being extremely thorough with this walkthrough so I won't have to go back and add much - proofreading as I go, making item lists with search codes and placing the search codes in the walkthrough as I type it - I usually do all of this at the end, but this time it will all be done the first time. Got two games going to make sure that there are no errors (or at least very small ones). This is taking quite a while though.
Game Progress:
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (PSP): I'm trying to get used to the controls for this Syphon Filter since I might get Logan's Shadow in a few days. Haven't quite decided if I'm going to get that still though...
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: Besides the FAQ stuff with this one, I've also got a game going where I'm trying to complete Hard Mode. Hard Mode is much more fun than normal. The bosses put up more of a fight. I might try the even harder difficulty after this (can't remember the name of it at the moment).
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition: Proofreading.
Life Progress:
Filling out applications here and there and trying to find some kind of job. I really need one - one that actually pays money.
I forgot my mom's birthday yesterday also - just plain out forgot. To make matters worse, EVERYBODY in the family forgot her birthday as well and she spent the whole day without any type of acknowledgement of her special day. She finally mentioned to me and my dad that today was her birthday (yesterday) and how dissappointed she was that we hadn't even mentioned it - talking about getting owned.
I don't know what I am going to do about this since it is hard to make up for something like this, especially when you have a person that never forgets no matter what you do afterwards like my mom is. She is one of the nicest people that you will ever meet but she never forgets whenever somebody makes her mad.
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