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Malik
(1/10/05)
There still isn't
much to talk about in news. I mean there's talk of a new PSP GTA
game, but that's not too important. For now, I wouldn't hold my
breath. With how the GTA game for the GBA looked, I wouldn't get my
hopes up. If you want, check out the news page at Gamespot
for the details.
This weekend I
mainly stuck with some good old Mario Party 6. I played a couple
game with various friends and saw everything from the worst game to
get stars at (the next to last, or last already unlocked,
stage...some sort of harbor deal) and the best two (the winter
themed level nets an automatic 23 stars and the one before it offers
a chance or two to buy stars for 5 coins with 5 stars being bought
at a single turn). Beyond that, I saw the game going from nice and
polite to being a bitter whore.
Any game I've
played with the CPU on normal difficulty as Luigi was a joke. Luigi
can win Burnstyle (like jump rope), but nothing else. Well, last
night, while playing with my brother and Velveeta, Luigi got sick of
my wrath and took me to school...cutting me down from first place
(both before and after counting bonus stars) to last place (counting
the two bonus stars I won) in a matter of three very wrathful turns.
At least I'm now only 2 stars from unlocking the final game board.
It's a shame that unlocking things takes so damned long on this
game. For example, the last board requires about 5 good games (or up
to 20 bad games) to unlock. Also, unlike in MP4 (and most previous
versions, and maybe 5, which I never played), the character taunts
have to be bought at 10 stars per character...which means you need
about 6-8 good games to unlock all of the taunts. As Waluigi would
say, that's lousy.
I also got THUG 2
yesterday as a belated b-day gift. I don't know what was up, but the
game was marked, on the shelf, as $50 new and $40 used, but it came
out to only $25 new. I'm not sure the deal or what, but if anyone
wants THUG2, go to EB and see if you can get it for 40-50%
off.
So far I've only
played a little of the classic mode, but I'm happy. I skipped THUG1
since the career mode looked pretty lame to me (I'm an old-school
THPS fan), but the addition of classic mode in THUG2 is a definite
plus. I may sound out of the times, but I like having a set 2 minute
time span to do my duty. My only real complaints are the fact that
certain goals seem poorly designed (it used to be set up that the
spell SKATE goal was more intelligently designed on each stage, and
the collect or destroy 5
were easier to spot and not so damned camouflaged), and that the
stat increases are a pain in the ass to find. I've only gained one
on three levels so far. However, overall, the Classic mode is
definitely well worth the purchase if you're an old-school THPS fan.
Also, the soundtrack, as usual, kicks ass.
I'm also working
on the KOTOR 2 review...but time and patience are needed. Also,
after reading some reviews, I've officially given up on the idea of
getting Suikoden 4 (which is sad since I'm the biggest S1-3 fan I
know).
Malik
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Malik
(1/11/05)
I spent far too
much time with THUG2 last night. The classic mode definitely lives
up to the standards set by the good old THPS1-3 main mode. My only
real issue, so far, is that too many of the old levels are reused.
For example, the Downhill Jam, School, and first stage from THPS1
are reused, the airport is back from THPS3, blah, blah. Although,
the saddest part of this is that the old levels are by far better
than the new levels, which feel poorly planned and rushed. However,
I have not tried the story mode yet, so maybe they work far better
in that situation.
Actually, I have
two complaints. The second ties in to the first, however. The old
levels have been slightly altered, usually to add an extra area, or
a complete rearrangement of the letters to spell "skate",
the destroy 5
goals, etc. Sadly, most of the rearrangements are pointlessly
complex. For example, instead of S leading to K leading to A, etc,
you will usually find it best to start with some other letter and go
completely out of order.
Ok, one more
complaint. All of the collect/destroy 5
involve too hard to see of objects. For example, the five barrels of
tea in Boston are a pain in the ass to see. It is no longer about
trying to find a way to get to an object, but rather just finding an
easy to get to object. This is not what I like...I want to have my
goal somewhat obvious, but the path or journey is the hard part.
Instead, in Boston with the tea, the barrels blend in way too much
and you are ultimately left with some really easy to reach objects
that just don't show up visually.
Alright, a final
complaint. Some of the goals are really vague. Like in Berlin you
have to do a certain grab move (Madonna or Bennihanna, I think) in a
way that involves a sign of a soldier...but I've tried to do the
move in front of the sign, over the sign, as I crash into the
sign...nothing. Maybe a little more explanation would be a good
thing.
Anyway, I may
complain, but that's only because this is classic THPS. The good
points are hella obvious and in your face. It's only the bad points
that need to be said. It's like if you have a really nice car (say a
Porsche) with a scratch on the bottom of the rear bumper. You won't
know the scratch is there unless someone says so, but you'll still
know the car is hella sweet. That's the case with classic mode on
THUG2...you already should know it kicks ass since there is one
constant every year; a new and fun TH game that will offer a little
new, but the same old game play we've come to love.
Anyway, I'm still
working on the KOTOR 2 review, but things have been silly lately
with being overworked and confused by my day job.
Malik
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Malik
(1/12/05)
I keep promising,
and I am soon to fulfilling. The KOTOR2 review will be up as soon as
I get some nice screen shots. I mean with having my video capture
card, and having a review of my favorite RPG of 2004, you need to
put those two things together for the full effect. Yup. So, the
review, in text, is basically done, and now I just need to sort
through my library of 40 saves (I believe in saving often and on
different slots with a game like KOTOR2) for some fan areas and
events to take some pictures of that don't spoil anything...this is
a game that should not be spoiled...it's just too much fun to play
it for yourself. Yeah, it'll be a most favorable review.
Anyway, last night
I unlocked the final level on Classic mode of THUG2. I was not too
impressed with this level. It's not too bad, but it feels rushed and
pretty devoid of true content. I mean to make a Bermuda Triangle
themed level is (not to sound too much like some damned Valley Girl
or whatever) "like, totally 1985". So, I gave up, after
finishing 2 complete runs and 2 goals, and started the story mode. I
thought the story mode looked really lame from the commercials and
reviews I had read, but I may be wrong...but then again, it may just
be the part of me that like Viva La Bam despite not wanting to admit
it too often.
In the story mode,
you play as a newb skater who gets kidnapped by Bam and Tony Hawk
along with a half dozen or so other skaters. They reveal their plan
for a world tour of stupidity and insanity involving teams led by
Hawk or Bam. Sadly, you get put on Hawk's team, but then the game
begins. It has the same sort of goal format from THUG and THPS4 in
which you have to do a little talking with some people to initiate
goals. Also, instead of finding stat increase items to boost your
stats, you simple must complete certain set objectives (do a 5
second manual for a boost to your manual ability, etc).
So far, it's all
looking like good fun. I skipped THUG1 because of the story mode
looking a bit too cheesy, but I may have been proven wrong with
THUG2. Only time will tell, but so far, so good.
I also got a
little more Mario Party 6 time in last night. I played with Velveeta
and my friend Shadow versus a computer player. It was a pretty good
game. I finally unlocked the last Party Mode board. This board
involves chasing DK in the day to buy stars (he sells them...and he
moves, so he may roll right to run you down and sell you a star in
his turn, and then you run him down the next turn to get another),
but he becomes Bowser at night, who will take stars, or 20 coins if
your star-less. It's a pretty fun board, assuming the dice gods are
with you and not with Bowser. Also, Bowser is not afraid to use his equivalent
to a mushroom (for double movement) when he's about 10 tiles from
you.
We also finally
introduced the microphone (included with the game) for the party
mode. That was actually pretty fun. The mic is not needed for the
game, but it can make 1vs3 games really fun. For example, there's a
game in which the mic player calls out fruit names and the other
players must jump on a tile representing that fruit before the other
tiles fall away (and then the losers fall away). Basically the mic
user is trying to get everyone to fall to their doom. Well, it's an
easy game for the 3 people using controls, and it's hard for the mic
user. You have to speak clearly to the mic for it to understand you.
However, if you decide to talk gibberish, then things get fun and
interesting. Also, saying lewd comments works pretty well. For
example, since Velveeta, Shadow, and I are all pretty loud and lewd
when playing games, I started to call out things like
"COCK!"...strangely, it may not sound like it, but looking
like it works pretty well since cock was interpreted as banana. I
won't name the other things I said since I like to keep that talk on
the down low on this site. Anyway, not knowing what I was saying (or
how MP6 would interpret it) made the otherwise easy game into a fun
challenge. Needless to say "waddawoodawoo" was the
gibberish that led me to victory (by then it was only Velveeta left,
and she could not guess that fruit in time...I think it's the Yoshi
language word for melon...or so said the game).
Anyway, I need to
get those KOTOR2 pics, so I need to split. Peace.
Malik
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Malik
(1/13/05)
I got some more
play time with the story mode on THUG2 last night...or I should say
I actually started more than just the training level. The story mode
is definitely a lot better than I figured it would be. However,
ultimately, I still think classic mode is the way to truly
appreciate this game.
My only really
complaint with the story mode is that some of the goals are just a
little too vague or unreasonable. Actually, the goals are not too
unreasonable as much as the score system is unbalanced. In the story
mode, you are aiming to get 500 out of a possible 1000 points (from
different goals) per level. The only thing is that some of the
easiest goals give 50 or more points, while the hard ones may net
you only 25 points. Also, the finding of different goals can be a
little too annoying for it's own good. I mean when you have to find
both a guest and a secret skater on each level and they are hidden
in areas that only the games programmer could know about...that's
asking a little too much for gaining 25 points. For example, many of
these hidden characters are located in places that will require an
unhealthy blend of going into doors, climbing buildings (both on
foot and on your board), and then finding a nearly impossible
jump...and if you fail the jump, it will take another 2 minutes to
get back to the jump position.
Beyond these
problems, THUG2 is pretty good. In fact, I think they helped the
stat system greatly with the way you increase stats in story mode.
In the classic mode, you still try to find a universal stat increase
pick-up as you go through a course. Then you can use that increase
on whatever of the dozen stats that you choose. However, in story
mode, you have to meet certain goals related to that stat. For
example, to increase your rail ability (which is mainly grinding
ability) you may have to grind for increasingly long amounts of time
in a single grind. If you manage to knock out two or more goals with
one trick, then you'll gain more than one stat increase. I like this
style of system more than collecting hard to reach stat increases
that don't tie into the skills used to get the increase.
Ok, I have one
more problem. The create-a-trick option, which allows you to combine
different moves to make a new trick, is broken. I created a trick
that is almost impossible to land (I haven't landed it yet), and it
is worth far less than an easy to land McTwist (my move is only
worth a measly 3400 points). Hell, it's harder and more complicated
than a Indy 900 (which is worth more than 10,000), so I think they
could at least give me some points for it. Blah. I haven't tried to
make any easy moves, out of score frustration...it just doesn't feel
worth it.
Anyway, I aim to
get in some more story mode tonight. I also aim to get some KOTOR 2
screen shots, but that may take some time. I won't bring up the
non-geek today, but I'll say it involves being overworked and
underappreciated (it's called the American Dream...woohoo!). So,
time is not a thing I have much of this week. But, patience will be
rewarded.
Malik
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Malik
(1/13/05)
Ok, I had a little
time and a little patience. Here's what I've been promising;
the review of what I'd have to call the best game of 2004. KOTOR2!
Happy? Good. Also, there are a good deal of pictures for
those of us who feel that while a thousand words can equal a
picture, a picture can be more to the point.
Malik
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Malik
(1/14/05)
It's the weekend,
at long last. Normally, you could expect a new issue of Malik's
Bitchings today since it's a Friday...however, things, like with
last week, have been slow in the geek news world. There is not a
damned thing going on in the geek news field. So, once again, I'll
have to leave the Bitchings for another week. I mean, take a look at
Gamespot.com or IGN.com
or wherever else you want to check and you'll see there is nothing
important going on. A GTA for the PSP, Myst 5 announced, blah, blah.
It's not that I don't care, it's that there is nothing to care
about.
Anyway, I've been
killing more time with THUG2. I'm about done with both the classic
and story modes of this game. I'd have to say, for the most part,
I'm quite happy with the game. However, last night I came across a
new problem...sorta new problem. I was finishing the story mode of
New Orleans. This city ends with a special team stunt that is vague,
hard to understand, and therefore I wasted about 30 minutes making
the stunt harder than it had to be. It involves you having to grab
onto a raising helicopter, hanging on as it move over a pool,
jumping down into an acid drop to jump up the other side of the pool
and then grab the copter again, and then jumping down into another
acid drop and then gapping over the copter. The problem I had is
that I was unaware of the final part being a gap over the copter, so
I gapped partly over, grabbed the copter again, and then proceeded
to fall and acid drop into another grab of the copter. I had no idea
what was going on since the directions that appeared in the upper
right corner of the screen were far too small to read while doing
all of this stuff. So, once I figured out the real trick, I felt
like a dumbass, but I also felt annoyed that I couldn't see the text
clearly enough to do the stunt properly the first two dozen times I
tried.
Beyond that little
problem, I'm enjoying this game immensely. It's no THPS3 (which I
will always hold in a special place in my heart, despite how much
people tend to like it the least in the series), but it's still
pretty damned good. Plus, it doesn't have the cruise ship level from
THPS3 (the only part of THPS3 that I hated), so that's a definite
plus.
Also, if you
didn't notice, my KOTOR2
review was put up last night...along with a nice selection of screen
shots. I was thinking of adding a movie of the game, but I couldn't
think of what would look movie worthy. It is an RPG after all. If
any of you think there's a certain movie of K2 that I should put up,
feel free to tell me, and I will get on it. Just because I can't
think of anything doesn't mean that there is nothing.
I'm starting to
think of getting the new Zelda GBA title (The Minish Cap). I need
something to kill some time before Xenosaga 2 comes this way, and
Zelda rarely lets me down...except on the portable systems (meaning
the ones not made by Nintendo, like the Time and Season games...and
Minish is made by Capcom if I remember correctly...sigh...). I may
take the gable anyway since I need to trade in some games anyway. I
guess this weekend will decide this for me.
Anyway, as I said
before, this has been a tiring week, so I'll head out about now.
Next week I'll try to get a Bitchings column up, assuming there's
anything to bitch about. Peace.
Malik
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