ugvm

the site of uk.games.video.misc

New Game – Battlefield Hardline

Posted on Written by

After completing AC Unity next on the shelf was Battlefield Hardline. The presentation is very good, styled like a US cop TV show with episodes & recaps.

You play the role of Nick Mendoza who is a Miami cop involved in the drug war. Each episode advances the main story line whilst also giving you two types of side quests to complete.

The first are warrants, you have to identify your target & take them into custody. This is tough because your target will not be alone & you need to take out the other enemies with stealth so you can arrest your target. I've failed these warrant targets a few times & have had to retry from the last checkpoint. You don't have to retry & you can just carry on with the main campaign ignoring this side quest but where is the fun in that?

The other is case files where you track down clues to various cases, this is quite easy (although I did miss a couple & had to replay an episode) you just use your tracker to locate the clues to scan them. These cases do give you further information on the main quests so are not a pointless collectible.

I especially enjoyed episode 3 which has you visiting the everglades & you can drive an airboat. You are rewarded with more skill points for arresting an enemy which upgrade your level to unlock more weapons etc. The idea behind is to stop you going in gung-ho & just killing everything you see, trying to get you to play like a cop & arrest the bad guys.

Anyhow back to the everglades for me, I got some warrants to complete.



Dishonoured (PS3)

Posted on Written by

Several years ago, I played a demo of this at the Eurogamer Expo. It reminded me a lot of Bioshock, which I loved, and gameplay wise sat halfway between that and Assassin’s Creed, which I also love. I knew I was going to have to buy it.

For various reasons, I never got round to it. Then, a little while back, it got added to PS+ and I thought I’d finally give it a go.

And it’s been fantastic. I love the slightly steampunk, slightly Fallout apocalypse setting. The powers are great, especially Blink and the rat summon. The story is interesting and the characters are well above average. I’m really enjoying it.

At first, I struggled with trying to stay stealthy. I’m not a fan of hide and seek games, despite my love for Assassin’s Creed, so staying in the shadows and taking out enemies in a non-violent manner was difficult. I’d heard if you kill too many people, you end up with the bad ending, so I didn’t want to aim for that. Once I’d been told that really, the bad ending isn’t really bad and the good ending isn’t really good (they’re both just different viewpoints or something – I’m not that close to know for sure yet), I stopped worrying when I got spotted and just took out the bad (or good?) guys whichever way. Sure, I tried stealth and hiding, but if it went wrong? Who cares.

With that little revelation, I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Game.

Apart from the TallBoys. I don’t seem to be able to hurt them at all, even when shooting their oil tanks, supposedly a weak spot. Ah well, I can just skip past most of them with Blink instead, which is actually more fun.

Another thing I’ve been enjoying is the variety in missions. In particular, the one where you have to get up Dunwall Tower and take down the Lord Regent (I chose to upend him via propaganda, rather than slitting his throat) – lots of great areas in that level. Also, the mission at the house party. That was fantastic – eavesdropping and exploring to find out which of the three Lady Boyles was the one you needed to off, then tailing her to the bathroom and knifing her behind closed doors. And then running away. Awesome.

I’m closing in on the end now, having just returned to the Hounds Pit after some… unpleasantness.

Splatoon: splosh

Posted on Written by

An online shooter - from Nintendo.  And as such it's not really an online shooter at all, it's an online competitive painting game where everything is jolly and fun.

Immense fun.


Look at the colours!


Look at the character designs!

I've played online more than offline so far, which is incredibly unusual for me.  It's just so well designed and ... fun.

Immense fun.

Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D: getting used to the time sickness

Posted on Written by

Hello again!

I have been playing things, you know.  I've been playing a bit of Heavy Rain, and some Cities Skylines.  I've completed Peggle Blast again, and played a few levels of Two Dots.  I've made a little progress in a second story of 80 Days, and caught a few big ones in Sega Bass Fishing.

But most of all I've been playing Majora's Mask.

I said I'd write more when I'd worked out how the game works.  I sort of have, although there are still things that I don't know how to do.  On the first day, a little boy or girl wearing a fox mask runs to the postbox, and I haven't worked out how to talk to them. Postboxes are a mystery too.  Is there a reasons for the workmen in the town square?

But outside Clock Town it's a little more straightforward.  The game seems to be neatly divided into a core story (make it through the dungeons and gather the giants to stop the moon) and side quests (make others happy and gather information).  There are some of the latter which change into the former - such as finding Epona which allows you to access the ocean - but otherwise it's clear what is optional.


Not that it really matters.  I've been trying to do everything, following the hints in the notebook to find where I can get all the optional masks and heart pieces.  I've fished, I've thrown bombs at targets, I've taken photographs, and I've jumped around islands.


The game is magnificent, and the amount of detail crammed into the cartridge is astounding.  Look at the Gamecube in the background!
 

I've just completed the temple in the sea, and the giants have told me there is one more.  Before I go off there, though, I've got a frog choir to find.

Mega Man X2 (Wii U): COMPLETED!

Posted on Written by

ShootmansIt’s taken a while to finish this off, but not because it was especially difficult or long – more because I’ve been playing it sporadically and in short one or two level bursts.

Unsurprisingly, it’s a lot like Mega Man X. And better than Mega Man 7. I was a bit frustrated that there’s a certain point in the game that you reach (the final robot master before the Sigma levels) where, if you haven’t managed to retrieve all the parts for Zero, you can never return and get them. Of course, I didn’t even know they existed until it was too late. As it turns out, collecting them makes a fight with Zero later on a lot easier, but I beat him first time anyway.

That_s_what_they_said_about_syntholStill, I could return to earlier levels and get all of X’s upgrades, which was good.

The final Sigma levels were pretty easy, and the bosses – which like usual seemed impossible at first – ended up far easier to beat than most other Mega Man games, especially the final Sigma boss itself.

Was it better than X, though? I don’t think so. Better than 7? Yes, certainly. In fact, lets wheel out the order and extend it.

X>X2>6>4>7>5>3>2>1. There. Fact.