Earlier today I finished my Interpol: The Search for Dr. Chaos review. Interpol is an Xbox Live Arcade title that puts you in the gumshoes of a global detective. The goal of the game is to find and capture ringleaders of a dangerous crime ring. You collect information on their whereabouts by pointing and clicking on various still photographs.
Nothing gets more compelling than that.
The most satisfying thing about my review was writing the introduction. It starred my favorite cyborg, Robocop. He is my muse. I can’t channel, command, or pester him for ideas. But sometimes, when the words aren’t flowing, he appears above me. His phantom metal hands gently caress my fingers and brain. And magically, the words start flowing.
If only I could convince him that every d-mn article doesn’t have to pertain to him. This article isn’t all about Robo. The Destructoid staff played a ton of games this week. Hit the break to see.
Colette: Pixeljunk Monsters and Persona 4. The latter is getting difficult to a point of frustration. Games should be challenging ... but when they become frustrating, i find myself wondering why I'm playing them.
Justin: Due to being in the mood for some RTS action this week, I've mostly been playing Age of Wonders II and Age of Empires II on the PC. For some reason I felt like revisiting the older stuff.
Oh, and I also cracked open my copy of Space Invaders Extreme on the PSP. The first three levels were ridiculously easy, but the game definitely cranks things up a notch about halfway through level 4.
Conrad: I tried to start Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on my trip up to CES but it's still really hard and I still don't actually have any time to invest in getting better at it. Speaking of things that are hard to get the hang of at the beginning, I played the new Bionic Commando at the Capcom event Friday night. When you get on a roll with the swinging, it's really satisfying but there's a hell of a learning curve there.
And now that I've played Little Big Planet a bit, I can be informed when I say I absolutely do not have any desire to play this game ever. I can grasp that people want to make their own levels (I don't but good for them), but the gameplay just did not feel like the kind of platformer that I enjoy.
Dyson: The Ghost is in town and we only played some Zelda NES. Last night we went to an arcade night in San Rafael and almost got our asses kicked because we went into a bar wearing our capes. Marin county is not San Francisco!
Chad: For the first time in a very long time I am really disappointed in a videogame I am playing. And that game is Fable II. Usually when I buy a game I know enough about it to 99% of the time get something I love (also, I love everything), but I don't know ... Fable II really isn't that great. It's like the concept is amazing, but the implementation is beyond poor. Everything feels so unpolished and the load times are ridiculous.
Is it just me or do you guys feel the same way as well?
Nick: Mexican Techno, baby.
Dyson: What?! You don't like X-Play's game of the year?!
Jim: Mostly been rocking Left 4 Dead. I regret never being around when the community guys are playing, although that attempt at Expert with Detry, Gibbo and Dexter was a lot of fun (I blame all my friendly fire incidents on lag, by the way). Prince of Persia also arrived from Gamefly today (finally) and it's ... okay so far. The constant use of the A button for everything is supposed to make things easier and flow better but so far it seems to confuse The Prince more than anything. The duels are kind of boring as well. Overall though, it's looking like it'll be a good few days' distraction. I like the writing too. I get a "Brendan Fraser in The Mummy" vibe from The Prince.
On the PS3 front, it's mostly been more PSOne stuff. Suikoden, Spyro and Crash Bandicoot for the most part. My PS3 is the best PSOne I ever owned!
Dale: Rag Doll Kung Fu and Convention Foot Pain 2: The Hangover are my jams this week.
Brad Nicholson: I've been playing more Street Fighter Remix. I can't say I've made a ton of progress, but I did win one round of an 8-man tournament last night. I'm still having problems fighting Guile. Kids love to spam that obnoxiously large kickflip he does.
I just finished Interpol. It was ... something. You'll see my full review soon. I've also been playing Big Head Games's Retro and Secret Exit's SPiN for review. They're short, sweet iPhone titles. You'll see more about that soon.
Tonight, I'm going to boot up Fable II to prepare for the 'Knothole Island' DLC.
Jonathan Ross: I have been telling that to you forever. You know I agree <3
Joseph: Still on vacation in Paris, so still playing the balls of my DS. Puzzle Quest, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, and Final Fantasy III.
And since my little siblings are obsessed with it, lots and lots of Mario Kart Wii. Although I think some of the mechanics have degraded since Mario Kart 64, the Wii Wheel is incredibly fun and easy to use. Here's what my definitive version of Mario Kart would look like -- all the maps from each game, the mechanics of 64, and the Wheel. Perfect.
Jordan: After getting to Spiral Mountain in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, I had a sudden urge to buy the original B-K on Xbox Live Arcade. I was able to finish it last night with 100% completion (and was ranked 600 something), but as always, I died on one of the last few spaces on Grunty's board game .... twice in a row. Dammit.
Samit: Amazingly, I hadn't played Fallout 3 since the end of 2008, so I fired it up last night and spent a few hours in the Capital Wasteland. Seriously, you literally don't notice time flying by when you're playing that game. I also played lots of Rock Band 2 this week -- first, on Thursday night, with Dtoider shipero, and then on Friday night...by myself.
Yeah, I know, Rock Band is a party game and it's kinda pathetic to play alone, but it's not like the game isn't fun when you're going solo -- plus, since I was home alone on Friday night, I could play with impunity (i.e., without my parents yelling at me to stop banging on the drums). I even broke out my microphone and sang a few songs. It's not that I'm a bad singer -- I'm not -- I just don't like to sing when my family is around, for a number of reasons.
Hamza: I'm playing recovery after hanging out with Dtoid San Francisco yesterday.
Jonathan Holmes: Picked up P.N. 03, a Gamecube game that has been sitting on my shelf unplayed since 2004. I never got around putting more than five minutes into it before because its so damn hard, but after a few hours of skill building, I'm really digging it.
Also go back into Wii Fit as a way to burn of some winter fat. Thanks to that and shoveling all this New England snow,I'm sore as hell right now. Beyond that, it was a week of Tatsunoko Vs Capcom, Brawl, Animal Crossing Wii, Guitar Hero: World Tour, and a Mario Kart: Wii.
Speaking of Mario Kart, am I the only one who doesn't like Mario Kart 64? A lot fo people talk about it like it's god's gift to Mario Kart, but after buying the virtual console port, I found it to be total crap.
Joseph: What don't you like about it?
Jonathan Holmes: You name it.
It looks bad, the tracks are boring, the controls feel worse, the items are worse, everything about the game just feels crappy.
I'm beginning to think that Mario Kart is like Zelda in that which post-N64 game in the series is your favorite is totally dependent on which of them you played first.
I also don't like Ocarina of Time at all, but I didn't actually own the game until I'd already beaten Majora's Mask and Wind Waker.
Hamza: I played the SNES one first and have played all since. I haven't given the Wii one enough time to really see if I like it. Double Dash SUCKED.
Joseph: Ok, granted, the tracks in 64 weren't as good, but the mechanics were better, I think. For example, the blue shell used to go along the ground, boning everyone in it's path -- now, it flies through the air, boning no one, except who happens to be first, even if he isn't first at the time. No longer can you strategically break when you realize that a blue shell is coming.
The drifting mechanic was also better. MK Wii has two modes -- Automatic, for new players, and Manual for players who know how to drift. Except that regular turning is impossible in Manual unless you drift, and not all curves require drifting. So if you're somewhere in between "new" and "2Fast 2Furious," you're boned. It sucks.
Ashley: MK Wii is my favorite after 64, but I will openly admit that my love for Mario Kart 64 is very much based on the nostalgia attached to it. That, and I liked the way that the Blue Shell worked. I didn't find Double Dash offensive like most people do, but I didn't really get anything out of the two-character mechanic. I did love the tracks in that game, though!
Yes, I did just have to pop in because Mario Kart was mentioned.
Ashley: Yeah, the Thundercloud fucking sucks. I always get it in 2nd/3rd place. I like the idea behind it, but it's too damn hard to pass off to someone else.
Joseph: That should read "strategically brake."
Also, the two-player mechanic didn't do anything for me, either. However, Double Dash is when the courses started getting good.
Jonathan Holmes: Well, I'll give Mario Kart 64 another try. It had a lot of hype to live up to, so maybe I just expected too much.
Same with Ocarina. By the time I got around to playing it, I'd been hearing that it was the greatest videogame ever for so long that I actually expected it to be more than just a 3D port of A Link to the Past.
Ashley: Well heck, it's okay if you don't like 64! Even as a rabid Mario Kart fan, it's totally understandable to see how someone who has only recently played it for the first time can think it to be inferior. That's why I personally don't care for Ocarina myself -- I played it after Majora and Wind Waker and it just bored me.
Jonathan Holmes: Holy Shit, Ashley! You are the only other person on the planet to ever say that.
I feel so much less alone now.
Ashley: I said it knowing that you would join me when it comes time to get beat down.
Contest:
8:44 PM on 01.11.2009
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Word of the Day: Boned.
As for me, Space Invaders Extreme and some Real working out, not Wii Fit ;)
Majora > Any other Zelda > a piece of turd > twilight princess.
Been playing (and absolutely loving) Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. I downloaded the demo of BK for some good old-fashioned platforming and now I think I might actually plunk down the $15, even though I have a game that is extremely similar. It's called Donkey Kong 64 (srsly, there's music that's just a slowed down version).
I also started and finished Mirror's Edge. OK game, way too short.
I had totally forgotten how intense X-Com is. Plus, Steam had it on sale as part of an anthology for only 5 bucks. Can't beat that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUnMF7dV86k
So I got stuck with Kirby's Dreamland 3 which is pretty meh. Although I absolutely love the attack animation when you team up with the Japanese cat-thing while Kirby has the spike ability. It looks like he's literally raping his face apart with an intensity like no other.
Alot of HD remix, some skate., and some Banjo-Kazzoie on the 360.
For the Wii (FTW, hah) I started a new RE4 game and I'm really digging Mushroom Men: Spore Wars.
Somewhat on topic, I played some Mariokart DS, which is awesome. Maybe even my favorite of all the karts.
My brother got NBA 09: The inside (I think that's what it's called) so I played it for a while when he was at work. It seemed meh. I should play more before I really say. Alot of freakin minigames in that one. Dodgeball had me laughing.
Also, revealing you're a Cammy player as well means one thing: I have to play you and crush you to prove my dominance. :p
The thing thats bugging me however, is the lack of widescreen support. Also I cant stretch the image either! and I kinda prefer stretched image, rather than the distracting black bars at the side. Also when cutscenes are played, they look like grainy low-definition videos on my HDTV. They should have done the cutscenes ingame instead. I guess thats last generation for you...
Monster Hunter Freedom 2 [that damned lone black Yian Garuga is raping my avatar] and Persona 4 [still in the early stages of saving Yukiko].
Space Invaders Extreme on DS (thanks to a combination of Niero's/Jonathan's praises last week and the fact that it's 10 bucks at Gamestop.)
World of Goo on Wii- clever clever, but damn is it difficult to pick the right gooball sometimes. Also boy howdy does the difficulty seem to pick up about halfway through. I love the music.
And a little more Final Fantasy VI Advance.
And some Super Mario Kart with my sister.
I just recently acquired Mario Kart 64 after only playing it a few times in the past, and I agree it's kind of ass. I'm sure it's most fondly remembered for 4 player battle mode, which I don't have enough controllers/friends in proximity to try out, sadly. I actually quite enjoyed my time with Double Dash, and the one glorious party at my friend's house where we managed 8 players going at it racing via system link on 2 Gamecubes will forever be a treasured memory. DS and Wii are the only two versions I don't have now (besides the arcade machines.)
Also started playing Ys: The Oath in Felghana, which is an action-RPG-ish remake of Ys III. It's quite fun so far, and the music is great as with most Ys games. Good stuff.
Also, Mario Kart DS is the best in the series. Super Mario Kart was interesting, but it's not worth playing these days. MK64 was great for the time, but is rather dated, except for the nostalgia factor. Super Circuit was just an attempt at making another SNES-styled installment. Double Dash felt good, but it had very easy to abuse mechanics if you were playing co-op and many of the courses felt too standard. MK Wii, though, was so horribly designed and full of bad "feel" in the karts that it made me wish I was playing Double Dash instead. It was Mario Kart DS that had the best handling mechanics, the most gameplay choices, and a mixture of great new courses and some cool old courses. The only downside it had was being released on a system with a d-pad, and that's very easy to deal with.
I felt the same way when I started it. The menus were awkward, I didn't like the spell selection and my character seems to slide around the landscape removing any fine control of his movements. But eventually the charm of the game won me over. It's damn funny in places, the combat grows on you even if it's not [i]that[/] deep, and some of the moral choices are diabolical. Stick with it! I completed it last night and it's more thatn the sum of its slightly unpolished parts.
Also, it has a beer in it called Hoptimus Prime. This fact alone makes it some kind of awesome.