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Monday Gaming Diary: I need to stop playing Professor Layton games

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Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

After the first couple of Professor Layton games, I’ve noticed I’ve fallen into a pattern with how I play. I really enjoyed the first two Professor Layton games, but after the insanity of the story of the third game, I’ve not carried the kind of devotion I had while playing the first two. With the first two games, I joyfully spent hours playing through all of the puzzles/riddles. I completed all the mini-games, I hunted down every single puzzle available, and I only used hint coins to help me solve them. Only if I was stuck beyond belief would I dare look up an answer via GameFAQs.

As the third game, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, devolved into utter nonsense for the overarching story, I stopped being so diligent. I burned through the game, only completing puzzles I had to in order to progress, and if I got stuck, screw using hint coins–hellooooooo Game FAQs. And then…the end of the story greatly disappointed me anyway, as it confirmed the series has indeed jumped the shark.

With the fourth game, Professor Layton and the Last Specter, I fell into that same pattern. I was completely devoted to staying honest with the gameplay for the first several hours, and then by the last couple of chapters, I completely gave up being so studious. I just wanted the game to be over, so despite having over 100 hint coins, if I was stuck on a puzzle or just didn’t care to draw or write out a solution, I looked up the answer. And then, when the story was over, the ending disappointed me yet again.

You’d think I’d learn at this point, right? But wait! Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask is the first Professor Layton game for the 3DS! And it’s rumored to be the last one! I’ve come this far, so I might as well play them all!

Sigh.

I played the first 12 hours like a good little student, and then I reached the second to last chapter, where the game switched to a dungeon-style of play that you’d find from The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass. Yeah, it stopped being fun at that point, so GameFAQs was opened and stayed with me through the last two hours of the game. And guess what? The ending disappointed me yet again. What’s worse is that the post-credits cut scene showed without a doubt that this is not the last Professor Layton game. There are more insane shenanigans afoot that Layton can only solve by way of riddles.

It’s time to cut my losses and treasure these games for how great they were in the beginning. Sometimes games don’t need to become a series, and this is one of them. I have friends who just love them for the puzzles, and that’s great and all, but I’m too much of a story-gamer for that. It saddens me a little, but really, playing a game where I give up after just a few hours because I want the game to be over with is not as fun as it sounds.

Ah well. So my 3DS gathers dust for a bit. At least my Vita won’t be as lonely.

BioShock Infinite Free Guide Friday Giveaway

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bioshockinfiniteIrrational Games has put all BioShock fans on a super hype train for a couple of years now, which has gotten this strategy guide aficionado clamoring for the strategy guide. The game reviews have been stellar thus far, so who wants the official strategy guide to help you get everything possible out of the world of Columbia?

BradyGames has kindly donated a copy of their paperback strategy guide for this contest, so no, this is not for the hardcover Collector’s Edition. If that’s what they end up donating in the end, consider it a bonus, but do not expect it by any means.

Once again, it’s a Twitter contest, and you must live in the US to enter.

Do you have your Twitter account ready? Here’s how to enter:

  • Follow both @strategyreviews and @Brady_Games on Twitter.
  • Tweet the following: “I can’t fly through Columbia without the BioShock Infinite guide from @Brady_Games and @strategyreviews this #FreeGuideFriday!”
  • Yes, that’s cheesy, but you’re possibly going to get a fantastic free strategy guide. DO NOT COMPLAIN. The tweet must be exact, or it will not count.
  • One entry per person allowed!
  • Winner will be picked randomly on Friday, March 29th by noon CST.

Have fun and good luck!

Gaming Diary: PAX East Write-up

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I had my very first PAX experience this past weekend, and while I didn’t get to meet up with any strategy guide publishers, I did get to play and see a number of games coming out. Some excited me, some bored me, and some made me really want to play other games I don’t own yet but always meant to play. Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to see everything I wanted to–those lines were scary beyond my imagination–but I think I got a nice well-rounded sampling of what the show had.

Games I Can’t Wait to Play NOW – Transistor, Saints Row IV, Remember Me

transistor

I have honestly been wanting to play Saints Row the Third for awhile now, but for various reasons, I’ve never gotten around to picking up the game. Yes, you can go on ahead and blame THQ’s downfall on me, that’s fine. One reason why I’ve always wanted to play is because it sounded so incredibly over-the-top, and I love games like that. Well, Saints Row IV is going to be no exception. I laughed during the entire presentation, and I cannot wait for August 20th to come soon enough. You can read my full preview at GameRevolution, but I can sum up my reasons for wanting this game now in two words: dubstep gun.

Yes, you read that correctly. There is a dubstep gun that you can shoot at victims to make them dance to death. The demo for this weapon lasted several seconds, and the entire room laughed the whole time. It really never got old, and the longer it went on, the funnier it got. My PAX roommate, Jen Bosier, didn’t believe me that such a weapon could be as awesome as I led on, but after she saw the demo, she was in my camp rather quickly.

Transistor is from the same people who created the critically-acclaimed Bastion, another game I have always meant to play, yet this is one I already own. Transistor features the same watercolor art of Bastion, and it has a large sword, so naturally I’m already intrigued. The story appears to be unique–from the short time I had with it–and the gameplay is truly unique–a combination of hack-n-slash and turn-based play. I have a full preview submitted to ActionTrip, but it’s not posted yet for whatever reason.

The game’s biggest disappointment is that it will release sometime in 2014. When the demo was over, the end screen literally said, “Release date: 2014 possibly?” That better be early 2014, because I want it now.

I’ve heard of Remember Me, but I’ve continually dismissed it from knowledge for whatever reason. I watched a bit of someone playing it on the showroom floor, and then I got in line myself. It’s a combination of action and platforming, but it’s platforming akin to Uncharted or Tomb Raider, meaning it didn’t really bother me at all. The plot is slightly unique, and it’s visually stunning. I wrote more at ActionTrip in case you are interested. At least this one I won’t have too long to wait for, just June 4th this year.

Games That Still Haven’t Won Me Over – Assassin’s Creed IV and WatchDogs

Assassins-Creed-IV-Black-Flag-21

For a game that is releasing THIS YEAR, I was shocked that there was only PRE-ALPHA footage of Assassin’s Creed IV for people to view. I understand that they may be saving a hands-on demo for E3, but they had nothing else but pre-alpha footage at the time? Really? Well, whatever I guess. While it was cool to see some of the exploration and treasure hunting the game will feature, not to mention a historically accurate rendering of Blackbeard, I’m still left wondering what the overarching story will be. Also, as soon as they showed those ship battles I hated in Assassin’s Creed III, I was out instantly. I fully expect those to be a focus of the game, considering it’s about pirates, so the likelihood I’ll buy this game for myself is considerably low.

Now the footage they showed for WatchDogs disappointed me even more than ACIV, simply because it was the exact same footage they showed at the PS4 press conference. It was packaged together slightly differently, and it had a different narration, but the footage itself was the same–Aiden Pearce stopping a random woman from being attacked by her ex-husband and then eluding the police by hopping on a train. So yes, I still remain a bit unimpressed with the gameplay just because I haven’t really seen anything new that has screamed at me that I must play it now.

Games I Have Zero Interest In – Dead Island: Riptide and Shootmania

dead_island_riptide

Shootmania is Ubisoft’s upcoming MMO FPS for the PC, and while I admit I have zero interest in the genre in the first place, I was not counting on being so bored while playing. After one round, I was done. I had to play for seven, and I cared less with each round. So all you do is run around in the same map and shoot one another, all while trying to capture and defend two flags? This is why playing multiplayer portions of shooters does not appeal to me; I need a story, and just running around to kill other people bores me to tears. The guys around me seemed to really enjoy it, but it’s clearly a genre not meant for my tastes.

So then let’s move on to another game that doesn’t interest me at all: Dead Island: Riptide. I knew nothing about the series before I played, so imagine my utter disgust when I learned this is basically the exact same game with the exact same story as the original Dead Island. That’s lazy, and the developer should know it. In addition, I found the gameplay to be awkward and clumsy and kind of repetitive. The demo portion I played ran like this: small break, stop the infected from invading, small break, more infected coming, repeat. Maybe if I wasn’t forced to skip through the cut scenes by the PR reps I wouldn’t feel that way, but sadly I was, so I wasn’t able to get a feeling as to why I should care about the story or my chosen character. I’m not in zombie games anyway, so this one really comes as no surprise that I didn’t like it.

Mass Effect 3 Leviathan DLC Mini-Review

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Leviathan DLC

When BioWare released their single-player DLC for Mass Effect 3, I rather stupidly did not have a save that would allow me to access any of it. I kept 3 save points, and I kept rotating which ones I saved over, therefore all my saves are from Earth. Once you’re on Earth, there’s no going back. Literally. Cortez crashes the shuttle shortly after dropping you off, so yeah, that ship has sailed, so to speak. Now that all of the DLC is out and Shepard’s story is officially over from BioWare’s standpoint, I decided to start over my game and finally play some of this DLC. First up, the Leviathan DLC.

I knew nothing about the Leviathan DLC, and I’m glad I did not. The basic story behind it is that an Alliance scientist has been tracking rumors of a beast that possibly killed a Reaper by itself. When Shepard visits the scientist to get more information on how to recruit this beast as a War Asset (it’s all about the War Assets, don’t forget), the scientist’s assistant becomes indoctrinated and kills the scientist. So now Shepard has to find the beast, if it indeed exists, all on her own.

I had an absolute blast playing this DLC, primarily because it is structured almost like a murder mystery. Shepard has little information about what or where this beast is or where the scientist’s other assistants may be doing research, and since the scientist is quite dead, she must search for clues in the lab herself and whittle down where she should go next. Not every clue she finds is relevant to the case, which made it all the more fun and the sleuthing not as “easy.”

Spoiler alert, there is such a beast, and when Shepard finds it, she is treated to an incredible history of the Reapers that I never once fathomed. I’m fairly certain my jaw was dropped during the entire sequence with the Leviathan itself. I am doubly pleased that the Leviathan’s tale became part of my Mass Effect codex so I can read it at my own pace and digest it further later. The history of the Leviathan and the Reapers is actually so incredibly important to the overall story that I’m disappointed this wasn’t part of the original game. Then again, that could just be me, since I love backstories to pretty much everything.

My only complaint about it is that the sequence where James Vega suddenly appears in the research lab is abrupt and feels really unnecessary. I still have no idea why he suddenly showed up and why he suddenly left. I talked to him at every chance I had, and I never really got a good answer as to why he was there. Even when he was part of a particular cut scene, I didn’t feel like his presence was necessary. However, this randomness lasted a total of 30 seconds, and he was quickly forgotten after I said out loud, “That was weird.”

While playing on casual difficulty, the Leviathan DLC took me approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes to get through, which I think is a damn good bargain for 800 MSP ($9.99). It’s also definitely not as tedious as the Overlord DLC from Mass Effect 2 was, so I can heartily recommend this one to friends as well as say I will not grumble about replaying it with future playthroughs (definitely can’t say the same about Overlord).

I have no idea what to expect with the Gears of War: Judgment Strategy Guide

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Gears of War: Judgment strategy guideUsually with strategy guides, I know what I expect a strategy guide to contain based on the genre of the game alone. In the case of shooters like Gears of War: Judgment, I’d say that I would expect its corresponding strategy guide to have detailed maps for collectibles and that the written strategy would contain heads-up points for ambushes that include which enemies are participating in the attack. For example, something like:

Take cover as soon as you round the corner, as Grenadiers will approach from the south doorway. On higher difficulties, expect at least one or two Theron Guards to join in.

However, with Gears of War: Judgment, I can’t expect anything like that at all thanks to the game’s “smart spawn” system, which will literally spawn random enemies at random points on the map. People Can Fly implemented this system so that on Normal and higher difficulties, players can’t simply memorize the level and traverse through it from simply learning it. Instead, every time a player dies, the map will reset, and the player will get ambushed at a different spot and possibly by a different group of enemies. In other words, you can’t formulate a solid strategy every time you enter an area. Players will have to rely on their skills to get through each room, which for people like me, who have little patience, kind of sucks.

I can only imagine how difficult this was for the strategy guide writer(s). And as such, I have no idea what to expect out of the written strategy.

Oh I expect maps with collectibles, and there better be a section that helps you unlock all of the stars so you can unlock the hidden second campaign. Of course, I expect a section that offers tips on earning all of the Achievements as well. But as for the written walkthrough for the main campaign, that has me really curious how it could be phrased.

Will it go over all possible scenarios for each map? For each difficulty level, too? Will the maps be littered with all potential ambush points?

My mind is absolutely boggled, and it has been ever since I met with Epic Games and People Can Fly last E3 (yes, I admit that now when I hear about new games, I start thinking of the possible strategy guide).

I may not get my copy of the strategy guide until after I return from PAX East on Sunday, so my mind will have to stay boggled for awhile longer, dang it. I can’t wait to see it, both the guide and the game!

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