ugvm

the site of uk.games.video.misc

Vita – Bye Bye

Posted on Written by

I just don't use it, I have never used a handheld that does not fit in my pocket.

I already have a stack load of 360/PS3 (PS+) games to play without having another console that I won't play (No, I'm not looking at the PS4).

I'll continue playing Dust & Army of Two. When they are completed I will finish off Dishonoured & start Knack.

I also have Deus Ex Human Revolution & Mass Effect 3 to enjoy whilst waiting for the reviews of Infamous Second Son. Hopefully some news from Ubisoft over the next few weeks on the fate of Watch_Dogs will also make me use the PS4. Which is not being neglected by the boys who are happily playing Fifa 14.

Retro City Rampage (360): COMPLETED!

Posted on Written by

tumblr_n1g9w6sqt41svmpf2o1_1280What a totally nuts game. So many ideas, parodies and play styles all thrown together, seemingly randomly, with intentionally terrible (well, great retro but terrible modern) graphics 1 and sound and garnished with groan-worthy puns and not-so-subtle innuendo.

And it’s brilliant.

One minute you’re in the sewers beating up ninja turtles, the next you’re a Ghostbuster, before taking part in a clone of Smash TV (where at one point you end up in the wrong TV studio and interrupt Phil Fish being interviewed), all via some Solid Snake Inna Box and pretending to be Batman. Not to mention Paperboy, Super Hang On, ‘Splosion Man and so many more. And GTA, which the main game overworld apes so obviously.

There are references to retro and modern games, TV and films everywhere. The developer pokes fun at terrible practices at large gaming companies at every turn. Games programmers, reviewers, PR people and “celebrities” pop up all over the place. There’s so much fun to be had before you even play the game.

Thankfully, the game still stands up as a game worth playing. Somehow, stitching these tropes and parodies together actually works. The game even riffs on itself by apologising for the tedious bits, using some deus ex machina to skip some sections that are obviously going to bore you (one fetch quest is cut short with a never used again warp whirlwind, a-la Mario 3). In fact, even some of the more difficult stages give you the option of skipping them, or you’re loaded up with better weapons to make things a bit easier. Add to this instant restarts and pretty frequent checkpoints and it’s clear the developer doesn’t want you to get bored.

Unfortunately, some of the stages are still a bit on the hard side (especially the final few), but that’s to be expected, I suppose. I did put some of the deaths down to a bizarre problem my 360 pad has developed where it moves to the left by itself. Odd.

Overall, well recommended. And other off my Pile of Shame. Phew!

Notes:

  1. Which you can change to make look even worse! Like it’s a C64 game or it’s running on a Game Boy! ↩

Danger Boat – Leaderboards

Posted on Written by

Taking the opportunity to gloat whilst I have it before the kids catch me up and beat my score.

1st on all three leaderboards for Danger Boat

Best Score is 43,765
Best Distance is 1,768
Total Distance is 181,505

Make sure you are connected to Game Center before you start playing otherwise the game will not update the leaderboards if you manage a good score.

I have now fully upgraded the Turbo power & need to complete another 11 daily challenges to unlock the Aircraft Carrier.


Picross e2: ah, that’s what it is

Posted on Written by

There's far too much I want to write about, but I have very little time in which to do so.

I want to post about From Dust, which I played the demo of years ago and loved, and then a couple of nights ago I played the full game after buying it in a sale and found it rather pedestrian (though I didn't play it for long enough, I suspect).

I want to post about Super Mario Bros Deluxe, which I got free for registering a NNID on the 3DS.  I can't believe I fully completed this on the GBC; the viewing distance is awful and requires many leaps of faith.

I want to post about Frobisher Says, which is an amazing Wario Ware type game on the PSV Vita.  I will post about that one day.

I want to post about Everybody's Golf, which has been consuming my commutes.

I want to post about Ecolibrium, which is similar to Little Deviants in that it doesn't allow you to play a portable system while travelling.  About ten minutes into the game, it requires you to turn the console around 180° to look behind you.  When sitting on the train, that's not happening.  I've not turned it on since.

I could take some time on my commute to post about these, of course, but unfortunately I realised I've not completed Picross e2 yet, and so am working on that.  Some of the resulting pictures are pretty tenuous, to say the least.  I manage to complete around five puzzles a day, so it probably won't last me that long ... but then there's Picross e3 ...

Dust – Sorrowing Meadows

Posted on Written by

The start of chapter 3 takes you to the Sorrowing Meadows where the path to the mountains is blocked. You have to visit four mansions to collect artifacts. The game glitched out on me when visiting the first mansion (left on the map) because upon reaching the treasure room there was no artifact to collect after trying this mansion a few times I watched a youtube video which showed the mansion filled with rock walls & obstacles. So I restarted the console & this time the mansion was filled with obstacles & rock walls. The demon chased me all the way to the treasure room & the artifact was shimmering to be collected, I also picked up a new climb ability which no lets me grab onto vines. At this point fearing a corrupted save I promptly created five new save files.

The sorrowing meadows introduces a few new enemies, most notably zombies but the Necromancers are tough because they can only be attacked by using Fidget's abilities. I completed a second mansion & then exited the map to revisit some of the earlier locations like the Glade & Abadis Forest to reach areas with my new climb ability.

That was all I had time for this weekend, I will continue to revisit the earlier locations like the Caverns & Hidden Cove to see if I can complete those areas before returning to The Sorrowing Meadows to visit the remaining two mansions.