Old Dog New Trick, Lost Game, Lost Planet

3 questions:

Do You like 3rd person shooters?

Do you like Mech Games?

Have you played Lost Planet?

I have lamented on Raptr how there has not been a good Mech game this generation of gaming.

As for 3rd person shooters.....

I was vehemently opposed to playing 3rd person shooters for a long time. With only an occasional exception that would come along like Dynamite Duke, Buck Rodgers Zoom, and Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.

But I have been in love with First Person Shooters since 1987 and Operation Wolf. Even before that, Star Wars the Arcade games was very much like an FPS.

I used to hurt that I wanted so bad for games to come out like Op Wolf. I was so very tired of space alien vehicles and the like from the arcade era. "Gotcha" came out in '87. It promised much, but it was lame.   It got better in 89 when Mechanized Attack, and  Rambo 3 set the stage and the mold for Arcade games like Terminator 2 and NES games like Laser Invasion, and ultimately gave birth in '92 to Wolfenstien 3D

The most I did in 3rd person during that time was the Die Hard Trilogy in '96 on the PS1.

Before I digress...

I've played so much that I've run out of games to play...interesting games anyway. It's not been until the last year or so that I've developed any skills in TPS. I've dabbled in Gears, I'm invested in the Saints Row
series, Loved Space Marine, and so on.

It started when I was retrogaming on the PS2 and got into "Path of Neo" and just carried on from there with a life of its own. As I said, I've lamented and rued the lack of a good Mech game.

Then a couple of days ago I rediscovered Lost Planet.

I got it when I got my first 360 a couple of years ago, when my god son dragged me kicking and screaming back into the world of platform gaming. But I immediately dismissed it because it was an TPS and I didn't have the skills back then.

Now that this old dog has learned a new trick I'm having a blast, and have the best mech game I've found this generation so far to boot.

A rage momemnt

Playing Section 8 I had a rage moment. Not just about this game, this rage has been coming to a head from playing several games where I play in a squad of bots:

 Call of Duty,  Timeshift,  Now on the Section 8.

My rage is about this: Games often penalize the player for "friendly fire", yet the A.I. is so idiotic that the bots step out in front of my line of fire all the time.

If I wanted to play a game with stupids constantly stepping into my line of fire...

I'd play my games on multi-player.

Vanquish

I just finished Vanquish. Best Ending game credits EVER!

Leave Duke Alone!

 

I just played Duke Nukem Forever again. Being in Retro mode, it just seemed to fit to give a nod to Duke once more.

Back in the day, not only did I play the registered Duke, I had !DUKE Zone, and another on I can't remember the name that had all kinds of levels and mods on it. My best guest is I must have played 500 levels of Duke on top of the original game.

 I think my extensive experience with Duke qualifies me to comment on this matter and speak well of this game despite the enormous preponderance of hating out there there is for the new Duke from both the public and the so called professional reviewers.

Personally, I am of the opinion that the only people who should review Duke Nukem Forever are those that played the original Duke games, at the time that they were new. Playing them now doesn't count.
Those of us that played the original games, in the original times have a very different and unique perspective that is lost on the young and inexperienced alike. Now, if you played a decent amount of the original back in the day, and you still don't like the new one, I might listen to your reasoning, if not then your opinion is not based on any reasoning and is unworthy of respect.

These 18-25 year old copping attitudes and reviewing games like they have seen anything, and worse, like they know anything about gaming or  the industry are about "...as useful as a football bat" (faction points if you know what game that quote was used in WITHOUT GOOGLE!)

Now, anyone that knows me knows I  have the typical curmudgeon's opinion of both the public and "professional reviewers". But in this case, I don't think public education or rampant malfeasance is completely to blame for all the hating on poor Duke. I think in this case it's just good old fashioned wet-behind-the-ears youth and inexperience.

You know I didn't get to blow out candles on my early birthdays....

Fire hadn't been invented yet. Har har.

Those of us that come from when Dinosaurs roamed the earth and video game characters consisted of white squares or red dashes, have a different perspective. For those few of us left that played both then and now, playing Duke Nukem Forever is a little bit like going home. In fact, I noticed several additions and scenes in the new game were attempted on mods and wads back in the day.

Playing Duke Forever is a little bit like going home again, but having the best of both worlds. Modern graphics, old school gaming, and familiar characters and game-play without a modded out, or special loaded  second computer with old parts and OS.

So hate on Duke if you want to, you young, inexperienced, crybabies. Maybe somebody will give you a binky and see if you need changing.

For me, I'll have another beer with the King.

Firing the Retros

Sitting with mom while she goes through her Chemo, I'm unable to play my usual. I barely have Internet, so XBLA is out of the question (Killing my Raptr.com life) and I certainly don't have a PC rig here.

What I do have, however I am enjoying immensely. I dug out my old PS One with screen and I picked up a couple of games for it for I thought I would enjoy.

So at bedtime, I am enjoying the original ARC the Lad that is like 5 disks large. And when I need more action I'm replaying good old Air Combat (known ace Ace Combat in sequels throughout).

Arc the Lad is great fun looking at it through the eyes of history. You can see just how many games that came after were influenced by this one game.

If Arc ever loses steam, I'll default back to my favorite PSX RPG: Diablo (of course).


Arc the Lad is surprising fun. It really was ahead of it's time.

During the day when I'm in the living room with mom, I'm on my 360, just in offline mode. I've managed to polish off Battlefield Bad Co. Gold, Duke Nukem Forever, The latest Medal of Honor, and I'm stuck in Cuba in Kane and Lynch Dead Men.

In between, its the PSP and things like GItS, Coded Arms, and, for good measure Air Combat Skies of Deception.

I Love to Drink and Drive

It's a terrible confession I know. I just can't help myself.

No matter how much I damage my vehicle,
No matter how much destruction I cause,
No matter how many people I run over,
No matter how much trouble I get into.

You see I make my own.drinks. I make Absinthe, beer, and ciders from kits.

I've made so much that I have it down to a science.

So after a hard day, I grab a bottle from the fridge, or the spoon and sugar cubes from the cabinet....

And I explore the world of inebriation. But soon I get bored of just sitting around. Bored and restless

And that's when I get behind the wheel and go for a drive.

Whether its one of the GTA's, or Saint's row. Perhaps one of the Wipeout, or Need for Speed series.

Sometimes I even pull out one of the Ace Combat games and I fly and drive.

Eventually after a hilarious escapade of calamities, mishaps and close calls, I get yawny and have to climb into bed and crash.

So ends another happy day of gaming.

What? You didn't think I meant driving in the real world did you? Silly Rabbit!

Retro Stall Out

 


I rose at 4 a.m. for the 1st time since I set up my old PS2 back in the living room so I could retro game when I was awake, and not keep the wife up gaming in bed with the 360.

I don't know if it was because it's a high pain day, or if it was my choice of games but it was a terrible fail that exacerbated by discomfort, and it's lead me to wonder if I've strayed so far out that there is truly no going home again.

It may well have been my choice of games. First off,  there are not many really good shooters on the PS2, and even good ones like Cold Winter and the SOCOM series show that the genre was still quite young when they were developed. Had they come out today, the control schemes would be very different than how they were set up then. The most intelligent setups can be found in the WWII shooters and of course Half Life.

I've never been a "team player" so the SOCOM games are not exactly home turf. Further, I had to give up on SOCOM 1 because the screen was much too dark to see, and there are no gamma options in game.

Cold Winter controls are not intuitive either, but I think it was my pain level that did me in for it. I just couldn't quite "get there".

The last game I tries was Armored Core 2. While I love mech games, I just can't get into that one. Again controls were at the heart of my struggle, but there is just something "off" about it as well that I hope will be shaken off as you get deeper into what is obviously a big game.

Since I'm making the decision to fully retro with the next generation of game systems coming out next year, I need to make an effort to see if I can get more acclimated to the ps2 controls and games. I hate to think I'll have to forsake such a large library because I have become so spoiled on tutorials, modern controls and other "bells and whistles" that are standard fare for modern gaming.

Of course I'll always have my true retro games of the arcade classics, and the well-worn hits of the PS2 I've played to death such a SotN, but I've invested in a lot of 'new' PS 2 games with all the sales of late with the plan of having lots to play that I have never done before, despite dedicating myself solely to retro systems.

As short as my life is expected to be, having a PSX, PS2, Xbox, an Xbox 360, and a  DS and  PSP to round them out, and, a moderate library for all of them. It should be more than enough to see me to my Endgame.

I just got to un-spoil myself.