Finally got my hands on Crisis Core. Checklist time!

Great Graphics/sound etc? Check. Some of the best on the psp, and the FMV's are amazing.

Great Story? Hopefully, has potential (i'm up to mission 3! damn side-quests sucked me in...)

Good Characters? Yeah, despite the voice actors and script ranging from great to fucking horrible (generally over the same character, particularly Angeal; he was terrible to start with, but he got better).

Sephiroth? Surprisingly, nearly no! He showed up once so far(for real, and once in a simulation), said a couple of lines, and disappeared again. I think Square heard what you guys think about him now :P.

Gameplay? I don't know how Square did this, but its wicked fun while also being stupid and frustrating - at the same time!

DMW. I hate those 3 letters. In Crisis Core, your Limit Breaks and Summons are ENTIRELY controlled by a random fucking slot machine. When the DMW comes on, i feel like i'm not playing the game anymore. I'm not winning because i'm good, i'm winning because of luck, which is the last thing you want in an action game.

But Square didn't stop there! You and your Materia level up from the DMW too i.e. completely randomly! I went up 3 levels in one mission, and one level in the next 3! It makes no sense at all.

Other than that, CC has incredible, unique gameplay. When the DMW isnt coming out every 5 seconds and taking all the fun away, its awesome taking on hordes of troops and monsters and creaming them all, and the boss fights are even better, dodging around something big and nasty trying to kill it before it gets you.

If only the DMW didn't get in the way, id have nothing really bad to say about the game. As it is, i still really enjoy it (and i've mostly only done a lot of simple 'kill all enemies' sidequests) - a testament to how solid the core gameplay is. Square needs to learn when to stop the brainstorming before it gets out of hand. Or just get rid of whatever compulsive gambler they put in charge.

Sorry if someone did this and i missed it...

Checkpoints are good things, dont get me wrong. Having your progressed saved up to a point gives a major feeling of relief. The problem, is when games do it wrong; when there are too many checkpoints, or more importantly, too few.

So, on to the Good Idea :


This refers to Halo 1. Halo 3 is pretty good also; Halo 2, on the other hand, could be used as an example of Bad Idea. In fact, i would have, if a certain other high profile shooter hadnt come along last year and done it worse....

But back to Halo 1. It was the first example of a brilliant checkpoint system i came across, and is still the best ive seen. In Halo, you get checkpoints before and after every pitched battle, sometimes even half way through. At the time, most games had checkpoints every now and then; sometimes even only one halfway through the level.

Halo's system reduces frustration without making the game too easy. When you die, you wont normally go far back, but you still have to win each fight with what health and equipment you have got. The checkpoints in the middle of a fight tended to be given only in the larger areas, generally after killing a good few enemies and being safe in cover. I feel that bungie did a good job with these; some of the battles were huge and long, particularly if multiple tanks were involved.

The other benefit is that the player can stop playing at nearly any time, since his progress had most likely been saved quite recently. Halo is a game you can jump into and out of very easily, theres no need to push forward through half a level each time you play. This was fantastic when i first started playing Legendary.



Now, to compare with the Bad Idea :



Dont get me wrong; I LOVE Call of Duty 4. Its multiplayer is wicked fun, and the single player is one of the best campaigns ive ever experienced.

That campaign is also one of the most frustrating. Since Halo, ive been mostly an fps gamer; so at this point, i like to think im pretty good at 'em. Hence, i play on the hardest difficulty from the start, particularly in a game like CoD 4, which has a similar shooting model to CoD 2.

CoD 4 on Veteran is one of the most difficult and frustrating games i have ever been bloody-minded enough to complete. In the end, ive come to the conclusion that its the checkpoint system to blame, when combined with a number of other (otherwise good) gameplay factors.

Basically, there are too few checkpoints. A not-so-bad example is Halo 2 - with recharging energy shields, you can pop out, take a bit of damage long enough to kill something, and get back to cover. Its still frustrating when you die, but at least you can get pretty far in the battle.
In CoD 4, you cant do that. Enemies are accurate and on veteran, they know that you are the one to go for. Part of the gameplay is that you die quickly - you need to, for realism purposes.

Combine this with few checkpoints, and you have a recipe for angry gamers. You may get quite far, just to be surprised and shot to death by some random guy around a corner.

Two levels that stick out in my mind are the second part of the Sniper level (where you escape to the helicopter), and ironically even worse, the next level where you get pushed up the hill just to find that you need to get back down to the bottom to get to, thats right, another helicopter. The main similarity of these levels is the Spartans vs Persians kind of numerical superiority the enemies have. I swear i must have killed half of russia in that game. But in a game where you can die from one accurate burst, is it really a good idea to throw hundreds of enemies at you at once? I think it could have been, with more checkpoints, or even better, quick-saves.

Eventually, i figured out an interesting part of the checkpoint system - you do get the odd one thrown in seemingly randomly. If you keep getting to a point, eventually you will get a checkpoint there. Im not sure if its because the game recognizes that you're dying often after that point, or whether its based on number of kills, or WHATEVER, but getting that checkpoint became my game-plan for those levels.

Doing the same thing over and over, until i get a checkpoint. Then doing it again, until the next. Not much fun.

Sorry if that was a bit ranty, but i think im making a good point there somewhere.


Anyway, heres a different example of Bad Idea :



I wont rant about this because (shock horror!) i havent played much of bioshock. I like the world and atmosphere, but hate the shooting model and gameplay (doesnt feel right to me). But whatever, ive heard enough about the resurrection tank things to know they deserve a place here.

This is the opposite example to CoD 4. Bioshock becomes too easy because its 'checkpoints' (meaning the tank things) are too common, and too powerful. How easy would Halo or CoD 4 be if every time you died, everything you had done still counted?
All of a sudden, death means almost nothing. Yahtzee put it best i think, so go watch his bioshock review again. Go on, you know you want to.



Closing comments :
Checkpoints or Autosaves can really make or break a game. I think that their use depends on the game. They work brilliantly in Halo because its pretty much a run and gun, corridor shooter; you get to a room of enemies, defeat them, and continue to the next. Its easy to put a checkpoint between them.

That wont work in CoD 4. I think it should have had quick-saves as well, as any good pc game has these days. So i guess i say... damn you, consoles! Get some more buttons! Or at least, come on I.W, how hard would a quick-save function have been to include?

As for games like Bioshock... just ignore the vitachambers? Is that what theyre called? I should really go play that game...

A couple of days ago, i posted a comment on someones blog, i cant remember who. Their post was about what was wrong with UT3, and at the end they reccomended timeshift as an alternative to all the other fps games.
They also made the ridiculous (or so i thought) claim that it really brought something new to the fps genre. My comment was to the tune of "LOL NO".

I stand by that comment, for Timeshifts single player. It has a weak copy of Half life 2's plot, Halo's gameplay at about 2x speed, and the (arguably) most useful power is from FEAR. The powers that set it apart are not used to their full potential, although there are a few cool moments. Overall, its a fun game to play, but nothing special.

Until you play multiplayer. Myself and a couple of friends tried out timeshift last night, at a badly organized lan where we didnt really know what to play.

Of course, its impossible to have the powers from single player available in the same way, in multiplayer. Instead, you get grenades. Throw a time grenade (of any variety - 'slow down', 'pause', and 'reverse'), and it makes a big orb, much like Halo 3's shield orb. Anyone who enters the orb comes under the effects of it. So does anything else - like weapon's fire and grenades. As such, theyre useful as shields, as much as trying to catch your enemies within them.

Thats a rocket.

What appeared to be just a decent, well made but generic shooter, all of a sudden became an intense, insane frag-fest quite unlike any other. The weapons are fun to use ('explosive crossbow' may not be an original idea, but its a good 'un), and the time grenades make every encounter awesome.

Close up of rocket.

One of my best moments ever in multiplayer gaming - A friend caught me in a 'pause' grenade, and fired a bunch of rockets at me. As soon as the rockets hit the grenades' sphere, they too paused. I got to stand there for a good couple of seconds, looking directly at my inevitable doom. It was, to put it simply, fucking sweet!

I got him back with this. Surge gun = lightning death.

So, i apologise, random blogging guy who doesnt like ut3. Timeshift is fantastic, and does deserve a place among all the other pc shooters. Anyone who likes a good fps should give it a go, if they want some fun new ways to kill their friends/random strangers on the internet.

to make a good arcade racer for pc?

After Nfs Carbon turned out to have more than a few major flaws (*cough*wingmen*cough*), i was really hoping the next one would fix it ( i just got pissed off with Most Wanted, the cop chases got long and annoying and happened EVERY FUCKING RACE). When ProStreet was announced, i was happy. As more and more was revealed, i felt apprehensive about the realism. I dont mind it, i guess, but all to often it gets in the way of my enjoyment of racing games.

Eventually I realised that ProStreet is Nfs desperately trying to be Forza 2. Except that it still feels like an nfs game. The driving is as simplified as ever; helpful lines on the track and corner-warning arrows and a (not) realistic damage system arent going to change that. Removing any sense of speed wont change it. Overall, its a decent driving model, but its not particularly interesting.
Adding in stupid, boring, and annoying systems that you already tried in the series (ie the drag racing) isnt going to help either.
Making your menu system indecipherable wont help. No-one will think much of your much-touted customization systems if they CANT FUCKING FIND IT.

But the worst thing, is that it doesnt have the theme of the previous nfs games. I seriously cannot believe that EA didnt realize that that is what made the games playable. Making a sweet looking car that goes fast, racing it illegally, running away from cops, taking over the underground of a city; thats all entertaining. The characters and the plot were loaded with cliches and cheesiness, but somehow that made them... endearing, i guess. Or at least, easy to hate, or like, whatever was appropriate.

ProStreet has a ridiculously weak plot, with mind-bogglingly annoying characters(who just wont shut the fuck up). So, the only incentive to play the game is to unlock more cars. Most of which i already have in Carbon. So, if i want to drive fast in cool looking cars, i can either play through the decent-but-nothing-special ProStreet, or i can just load up Carbon. It doesnt play any better, but it has a much cooler environment i can free roam in, and the cars and environments are already all there. Pretty simple choice really.

Essentially, ProStreet tries to merge the NFS style with Forza, and does neither of them particularly well. Its not so much bad as... just not nearly as good as what else is there, depending on what aspects you like about it. If EA wanted a share of the Forza market, they kind of failed, and have also probably alienated a good number of the fans of the previous nfs games. Good job, fucktards!

Anyway, heres the point where i fall into despair. WHY, GOD? WHY DOES NO MAKE THE GREATEST RACING SERIES OF ALL TIME, BURNOUT, ON PC? WHY? WHY DO YOU HATE ME?

I would literally kill to get the burnout series on pc, if thats what it would take.

####Therell be some spoilers here, so beware.####

This is a vent of extreme anger. I do actually like call of duty 4, make no mistake. However, i have one very important thing to say, which you can read and then ignore the rest, unless you want to know my reasoning. Theres lots of text, and no pictures, so i understand if you dont read it. It is just a rant, after all. It makes me feel better.

Heres my important thing - DONT PLAY THE WHOLE CAMPAIGN ON VETERAN DIFFICULTY IF YOU WANT TO HAVE FUN. parts of it are fantastic. parts of it will make you break things (ive come pretty close to it. certainly i swear a lot, as the rant below will show you).
Basically, the game has nasty enemy ai, useless and retarded ally ai, and lots of levels designed to a) make you rely on your allies for support, despite their idiocy and lack of aim, or b) just die. Yeah, just die a lot. Not much else.

Im playing the pc version, btw. I dont know how different the console versions will be when it comes to aiming, and ai difficulty. So if youre playing on 360 and owning veteran... STUF CONSOLE NOOB WITH YOUR AUTO AIM! I HAVE M/KB AND MORE PRETTY GRAPHICS, I AM TEH ROXXOR (or something).

lol j/k, im not a fanboy prick. These points of anger may not apply to you. I dont know.

You can stop reading here if you dont want spoilers and/or ranting. I think i make some valid points though...

COD4 has kickass gameplay, without doubt. Some portions of the campaign are without doubt among the best designed ive ever seen. I mean, the bit after the ship level (which was fucking awesome itself), where you take control of the president guy and get assassinated? Remarkably effective. And the aftermath of the nuke... HOLY CRAP. That was chilling and amazing at the same time. Also the bit where you take over the guns in that gunship plane.. ooo baby! And some of the levels have places and battles that are just plain fun.

Unfortunately, many portions are by far the worst level design i have ever seen. Most of them are compounded by tough enemy ai that, at veteran difficulty it rarely misses even at long range while running (irrelevant of what weapon), and you die within 2 - 4 hits for most weapons. Not to mention, most of the time they will shoot at you and you alone, if they know where you are. Of course, thats just part of the challenge. However, the game is not set up to fight such an enemy; for most of it, you need support. You are in a squad for most of the game, after all.

And that is where the problem lies. If you think halo 3's ai were shit drivers, just wait till you meet cod4's bunch of retards. They can barely hit a building at 5 metres. They like to sit back and wait for you to clear a building, before coming in and 'supporting' you. Essentially, you have a bunch of cannon fodder.

Except wait a minute. Remember i said above that the ai have you at the top of their hit list? They seriously will go for you, totally ignoring your allies. In the level from the demo, the part where an ally runs up the stairs and gets grabbed by an enemy once glitched. The ally hid behind the corner, and the enemy still ran down but didnt grab him since the ally was in the wrong place. At this point, normal ai kicked in - and the bad guy pulled out his pistol and shot at me. In the small gap between the wall and the ally - the ally and the enemy could seriously have grabbed each other, as theyre supposed to, they were close enough.

So really, you dont have any allies worth speaking of (there is one exception, ill get to it below). The enemies are nasty, but you kill them with the same efficiency. However, they outnumber a good 20 or more to 1 in most big pitched battles. They tend to come at you from at least 2 angles. They get all over the place, make good use of cover (even though you can shoot through it), and there will ALWAYS be one fucker hiding in a building if you finally get close enough to enter.

The game is LITERALLY designed to play with a squad, or even just one more effective player. But you cant do that. And theres more. Oh yes, theres more...

Some parts of the game are just god damn suicide. For example, in one scene you get to play as the support gunner on a transport helicopter, for the first few minutes. It essentially means you have a really powerful gun firing quite explosive rounds. It also means you cant take cover. Thats right, you cannot hide from the metric fucking ton of ammunition coming your way, courtesy of the ai's behaviour explained above. This means that, on veteran difficulty at least, that you have to play through the first 30 seconds many times just to figure out what the fuck is killing you. Turns out its quite a few tanks and a couple of aa guns. Eventually you'll pull through, and it becomes quite a decent level after that (you get out of the fucking helicopter). However, that first segment remains the most frustrating and annoying thing i have ever done in a game.

And the level im up to now... ohhh its a fun one. This one has something i didnt think possible - a useful ally. Hes a sniper and he can actually kill people. Hes not bad at it, in fact. The thing is, theres only 1 of him. And 1 of you, also a sniper. And LITERALLY NO-JOKING-WHATSOEVER FUCKING HUNDEREDS OF ENEMY SOLDIERS. Its actually a really cool mission, in the first half. Then you get your cover blown, and all hell breaks loose. It becomes the most difficult and annoying level i have ever managed to get to the end of.

And get to the end i did. But not finish it, no, the game wont let me have that. Your buddy gets injured, and you get to carry him to a pick up zone. Eventually, after amassing probably the highest body count an fps has ever seen, you get to carry him to the chopper. And then, i couldnt walk on with him, for some reason. So i put him down... and walked on... then the allies who came with the chopper came on, getting in my way... and my buddy was left on the ground... so i failed. Yes, thats right. I failed because of that shit. Checkpoint was way back... thats what inspired this rant, and my new found irrational belief that cod4 has the worst sp campaign ever made, despite the good bits.

I cannot forgive the checkpoints/autosaves, no quicksaving or anything. Manual saving would probably make veteran bearable - an insane amount of frustration comes simply from making a fair amount of progress, then having it all taken away by one lucky shot, and a shit checkpoint system that MIGHT save your game at some point. Maybe. Seriously, if i ever get into political power, ill do something about this. Checkpoints must be activated every 50 bullets fired and when the player is in a safe position. Or something. Nah fuck it, outlaw em. No one will miss them. Unless manual saves are implemented too, of course.

Thats just some examples. There are other points i could bring up, but this has been theraputic, and my anger is gone. I'll probably go back to the game now; ive proven i can beat the damn level... it is a fun game, sometimes an awesome game. Just also very frustrating.

So yeah... thanks cblogs, i feel much better!

tl;dr? Game is fucking hard on hardest difficulty. Often is not fun. Needs a co-op mode, or less retarded allies. Desperately needs quick saving. Is still really amazing in more than a few places.

This is the best prologue/training mission thing ive ever seen in a game, for three reasons.

1) It actually makes sense! Youre an s.a.s guy. Its a mock-up of a real situation, designed to get you ready for the coming mission.

2) Its fun. It uses real gameplay (none of that 'recalibrating your suit' crap like in halo). You get a nice sense of urgency as the guy yells at you what to do.

3) Its timed, giving you a goal to work for, to do it quickly and accurately.

Now 3 is the real reason i made this blog - i beat that fuckin iw time! 14.95 seconds baby! I played the damn thing for about 20 min to do so... lol.

So, what did other people get? Anyone else decide that iw couldnt have the glory?