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Monday Gaming Diary: Where were my warnings about BioShock Infinite?

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bi-propaganda-murder-of-crowsWith all of the laud and praise for Tomb Raider when it released, I became interested in the game as we all know. I haven’t picked it up yet because I’m kind of in the middle of March game releases, but I initially did not pick it up after release because several of my friends told me to reconsider since I’m pregnant.

Let me explain.

The last time I was pregnant, I noticed a distinct revulsion toward gaming violence that I normally did not have. I had just gotten Dead Rising for my new Xbox at that time, and after playing for only 20 minutes, I had to turn it off because I was physically sick. I tried playing it again after having Gabe, but that experience stayed with me and I ended up giving it to a friend. While watching E3 on TV, I once again became physically sick at the sight of the Dead Space trailer. I’ve avoided all things Dead Space since then as well.

So my friends, who know this about me and watched me have problems while playing DmC: Devil May Cry for the same reasons, strongly cautioned me against Tomb Raider. Lara Croft dies in horrific ways, she has graphic things happen to her, so you may want to avoid it until after you have Thing 2. I heard it all. Given the graphic nature of the game I saw at E3 in 2011 and 2012, I saw their points, so decided to avoid it for a little while longer, until I watched a friend play it for a few hours. Yes, there is some stuff I wish I hadn’t seen that probably wouldn’t bother me if I wasn’t pregnant, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had thought.

Then this past Friday, I played BioShock Infinite for the first time. Uh friends? Where were your warnings for this game?

In the three hours I played BI, I saw a man get a spinning hook jabbed in his face, a half-naked man eaten to death by crows, and a woman set herself on fire. All of these things disturbed me far more and affected me far more greatly than anything I saw in the couple of hours of Tomb Raider. After the spinning hook, I had to pause the game and go outside for a minute for fresh air. After the murder by crows, I had to go find a box of Kleenex.

I should have been expecting some horrors, especially after some of the scenes I witnessed from the first BioShock game, but yeah, I wasn’t counting on how it would affect me while pregnant. I can tell you without a doubt I would not be able to handle the first BioShock at all right now, especially with everything surrounding the Little Sisters.

I’m not saying I’m going to quit BioShock Infinite; at least, I won’t unless there’s a boss fight involving fighting an unborn baby (you’re a monster, DmC). I just may not get through the game as quickly as some of my friends have, since I’m a complete wuss right now. Hopefully I’ve seen the worst it has to offer, but knowing BioShock like I do, I bet it’s just getting started.

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.

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.

Monday Gaming Diary: So, Tomb Raider…

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Tomb RaiderI have been on the fence about playing Tomb Raider for some time. I’ve never played the original games, because I know they are mostly platforming and they didn’t really appeal to me. But after seeing the new Tomb Raider at E3 a couple of years ago, I’ve been a bit curious. It definitely doesn’t look like any Tomb Raider game I’ve seen in the past in terms of gameplay. If anything, it looks more like Uncharted, which is funny because I know that Uncharted has always been accused of ripping off Tomb Raider. I always understood that rationale in terms of overall story and purpose for both Lara and Drake, but TR always seemed to be more puzzlesque and definitely had a more platforming focus than Uncharted.

But that’s all besides the point.

Despite my intrigue for the game, my March schedule for reviewing guides is fairly full. With both Gears of War: Judgment and BioShock Infinite releasing over the next two weeks, I really don’t have time to squeeze in something else, as much as I would like to. I’m not a reviewing machine…yet. However, my April and May are open, so my intrigue has remained open.

I visited a friend over the weekend who is a huge TR fan, and she showed me what the game was like so I could see if I would ever play before spending the $60. I really enjoyed what I saw. There is some stealth, which initially disappointed me, but seeing that there isn’t a “game over” sequence if you fail the stealth brightened my prospects. Even if there is some more serious stealth later, at least that isn’t a primary focus. And the platforming didn’t look difficult, not unlike what I see in an Uncharted game, so I’m confident I can handle that without much controller throwing as well.

So in other words, a review of the Tomb Raider strategy guide is most likely coming, but it definitely won’t be timely. Kind of defeats the purpose, I know, but eh, I do what I can. And if I already have the guide, so I might as well, right?

Monday Gaming Diary: Mass Effect…Again?

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Kaidan AlenkoSo I’ve been on a super-speed run of Mass Effect 2 this past week. The last of the Mass Effect 3 campaign DLC drops this week, and I don’t have a save point in my ME3 game that will allow me to access any of it. I always knew that I would have to start over my playthrough anyway, if I wanted to play the DLC with my paragon Shepard. Since I always wanted to replay ME2 with my paragon anyway to change just one thing, I decided that there’s no time like the present. Since I don’t want to lose my original playthroughs with my paragon, I moved those save profiles to a USB drive and then started a new ME2 game with an import from the first game, just like I did the first time. Once I start ME3, I’ll do the same thing. So yeah, I’ll have four sets of saved profiles for one Shepard.

Am I little nuts? Yeah, but we always knew I was a bit nuts over this series in the first place.

So what is the one thing I’m changing? Yeah, it’s a really girly thing, and it’s probably stupid in most people’s eyes, but it is important to me, so there it is. When I first played ME2, Kaidan’s breakup was utterly heartbreaking for me. I had to turn off the game when it was over, because I was in shock at what happened. And then he sends that email later that was a bigger kick in the crotch…yeah, I saw no point in remaining loyal to him, which was my original plan. I had already been told that Kaidan/Ashley were not romance options in ME2, but I had no idea they showed up and dumped you. And Kaidan being upset that Shepard didn’t contact him when she was dead over the last two years…are you serious?

I always had a thing for Garrus, even from the first game, so yeah, I had no problems developing that relationship. At least here is a guy who is willing to hear Shepard out and stay loyal despite the Cerberus ties. Kaidan wouldn’t even let Shepard really explain; it was 100% black and white with him, so yeah, I didn’t feel any remorse in going after someone else when Kaidan made it so clear it was over.

Of course, then he returns in ME3 and made everything so damned complicated. I still had a soft spot for Kaidan, but then there’s Garrus, who has been loyal from the start. I accidentally triggered a commitment scene with Kaidan while playing, and I’m glad I did, because otherwise I never would have known that he thought Shepard cheated on him. If you commit to someone else, he won’t have the commitment talk with Shepard at all. When he said, and I quote, “Look, I understand why you cheated,” I about screamed at my TV. I felt like Ross from Friends in that I wanted to tell him, “WE WERE ON A BREAK!” We weren’t really even on a break; he dumped my ass. I have the email as proof.

So ANYWAY…I’m going to see how different it goes with Kaidan when Shepard remains loyal. As much as Kaidan hurt me (not Shepard, me, as sad as that may sound) in both ME2 and ME3, I still have a soft spot for Kaidan and I want to see one Shepard work it out with him. That’s the beauty of playing a game; you can replay it and change the outcome as much as you want.

Best part? So far, I’ve been able to recreate my original playthrough to a T, save for the romance. Oh and it looks like this time I’ll save my crew in full as well. Definitely not reenacting that mistake.

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