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Brothers – a Tale of Two Sons: completed!

Posted on 27/03/2014 Written by Xexyz

I've played through this over the last couple of evenings, and have loved it.  It's easy to think of the game as a gimmick, with the idea of controlling two characters at once, but once you get used to this (which takes a while!) the game reveals itself as a clever puzzle platformer with moving story.

The puzzles throughout the game are varied enough to not outstay their welcome, without the need for any sort of power-up mechanic. Some of the highlights were manoeuvring a long metal pole through  a maze with limited turning points, and a long section where one brother hung from a conveyor belt while the other opened gates.  These were by no means the only clever puzzles, and even those which are pretty standard parts of videogames were freshened by the control scheme.

The story was equally innovative, in that it explored the themes of sickness and death more intimately than most other games. The game starts with the background story of the little brother witnessing (and finding himself responsible for) his mother's death, followed by the main story of his father's sickness.  The two brothers journeyed to get medicine to cure their father, emphasising the importance of the family.  The strong bonds that the story imposes are all the more effective when ... things happen ... at the end of the game.  I've rarely felt such a sense of shock and horror.

Well worth playing through, though don't expect happiness and fun all the way through.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, Playstation 3

Sega Ages Outrun: absurdly difficult

Posted on 26/03/2014 Written by Xexyz

With the news that a 3D version of Outrun is on the way to the 3DS, I remembered that I bought a PS2 disc a while ago which has the Sega Ages versions of a few games, including Outrun, on it.  I decided to give it a go on the PS3.

It's still great fun, but it seems really hard compared to any version of Outrun I've played before.  I only managed to get to the end of the third stage, even after increasing the time limits available.  I wasn't even crashing or spinning out more than once before running out of time.

I can't think which other versions of Outrun I have. maybe I'll have to find an arcade in Shenmue II.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: PlayStation 2, Playstation 3

Sonic the Hedgehog: collecting emeralds

Posted on 23/01/2014 Written by Xexyz

The original Mega Drive game was available on the PS3 for around a pound, so I bought it.  Of course.  I now own that game on the Mega Drive, Saturn (in Sonic Jam), Gamecube and Xbox (in Sonic Mega Collection), DS (in Sonic Classic Collection), Xbox 360 and PS3.  And I've completed it on every platform other than the PS3.

This pales into insignificance when you compare it to Andy's collection, but I've no doubt I'll buy the 3DS version at some point ...

After getting annoyed with the battle in Tomb Raider, I decided to play through this.  Rather than a straight run-through, I decided to try to get as many trophies as possible.  This means not dying, completing the first act of Green Hill and Marble in relatively quick times, collecting all the chaos emeralds, and completing the game in less than 40 minutes.  I was saving after every stage and had to restart the special stages a couple of times, but I've now got a save game with five chaos emeralds, at the start of Spring Yard 3.  I think that the overall time might be more than 40 minutes by the time I get to the end though, so I might need to play through another time without trying for the special stages.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: Mega Drive, Playstation 3

Saints Row the Third: losing Matt

Posted on 18/01/2014 Written by Xexyz

Last night I arranged to meet Matt on PSN, a meeting that was interrupted by Nicholas being restless, Justine needing chocolate deliveries, and Gaby returning home.  But eventually we were able to get the same game running, following interminable updates, and that game was Saints Row the Third.  Having never played the previous games in the series, Matt filled me in on the detail a bit as we drove around town creating havoc.

It's not a bad game, by any stretch.  It's massively over-the-top, with items such as a car with a people cannon attached, and missions involving flying a helicopter through the streets, exploding cars with rockets, and skydiving through a debris field.  In some missions you're effectively alone, and the cutscenes always show your character, which was confusing at first; especially once I'd changed my character's costume to be just a pair of pants and Matt couldn't tell what I was laughing about.

Talking of being alone, Kieron may have some competition in the 'wandering off' competition.  Frequently I had to stop whatever I was doing in order to find Matt and either get him out of a fight or guide him to the next objective.  Still, he was having fun.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: Playstation 3

Red Dead Redemption: Completed!

Posted on 26/11/2013 Written by Xexyz

While looking for beaver furs in the Northern regions, I noticed a new stranger mission open in Blackwater.  I met a government man who told me that Edgar Ross was living in a shack overlooking a lake.  Suddenly the lack of a previous ending made sense.  Don't read if you've not played ...
On reflection, I think the original 'ending' of Red dead Redemption is one of the best I've seen in a game.  The game makes you care about the character, giving you hope for him in the future, before having it all taken away.  It's brutal, made more so by the last few missions in the game giving you the opportunity to remove yourself from killing.

What's more brutal though is the way in which you feel once you're given control of Jack.  Despite his keenness for Jack to accompany him on hunts and protecting the farm, you get the feeling that John wants Jack to grow up sheltered from the world he once knew.  Jack's keen on reading, learning about the world.  However, once you've been given control of Jack three years on, standing over the graves of his father and mother, what you really want is to go and find the government to have revenge.  John's assassination turns Jack into what John was trying to avoid.

So I rode to the shack and saw his wife.  I rode to Mexico and met his brother.  I rode up the river and found Edgar, who killed me in the first duel because I was trying to shoot his weapon and arm, like I had in most other duels.  When I restarted I shot him four times in the head, because that's what Jack had become.  Then the credits rolled, and the game was properly over.


Well, apart from collecting a few herbs and helping someone kill himself by jumping over a cliff with a flimsy glider.

Great game.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: completed, Playstation 3

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97: I’m Feeling A Bit Squiffy
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G’morrow beautiful friends! Here to waft away the damp, darkened skies of the season (or maybe make them damper and darker), it’s Episode 97 of the ugvm Podcast. The podcast you love to subscribe to but hit skip when it comes up on the playlist. Yeah, we know. It’s OK. We don’t get paid either way.

In this episode, deKay, Kendrick and Toby “entertain” you with fun game related news and chat, which this time round includes speculation on Valve’s new hardware triple combo, a show report from the Valorant Champions event in that there Paris (France, not Texas), and one of the team became A Magnificent Man in a Flying Machine. Oh, and Kendrick has bought a new VR headset. Yes, Hell has finally frozen over. Not only that! We have gaaaaaaaaames!

97: I’m Feeling A Bit Squiffy
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97: I’m Feeling A Bit Squiffy
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95: Bother Me Anatomically
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