Mirror's Edge

So, a couple of games that I already have for the PS3, one game I barely popped in my 360 before I returned it last year, and a few brand new ones I have high expectations for. 
 

Game 1: Borderlands

 
BEFORE: This is one of the games I'm expecting to enjoy, based on reviews, quick looks and Jeff Gerstmann's obsession over it. Going for a soldier right off the bat.
 
AFTER: I really like the art style, absolutely loved the intro. Great music. I like my pistol better than my machine gun so far. Loot is fun, I wanted to continue playing when the first achievement popped 26 minutes in. 
 

Game 2: Forza Motorsport 3 

 
BEFORE: Forza 2 turned me on to simulation racers, and based on the demo for Forza 3, this is going to be class. 
 
AFTER: Oooooooohhh this game is tough to put down. Got the first achievement for jumping 5 meters nine minutes in, and that's including the optional install. Just had to try a few more races with my first F-class car, and racing a Yaris has never been more fun. This is going to last me a while. 
 

Game 3: Alone in the Dark

BEFORE: This is gonna be brutal. Based on reviews, this is at best interesting but severely flawed. Practically got it for free, have to see for myself. 
 
AFTER: There is no "after." I quit before I got an achievement. This is a real stinker. Horrible controls, clipping all over the place, cheap deaths abound. I'm removing this from my played list and throwing it Gamestop's way ASAP. 
 

Game 4: Midnight Club Los Angeles.

 
BEFORE: I'm cheating a little here. I actually bought this last fall and played it for about an hour. It felt kind of weird after coming off 250+ hours of Burnout Paradise, so I gave up on it and traded it in. Found the Complete Edition on sale and decided to give it another go. 
 
AFTER: What was I thinking? This game is awesome. I could have used a higher framerate, but zooming around LA in first person with Snoop on the radio is pretty sweet. I got pulled over and burned rubber as soon as the officer got out of his car. There's an achievement for that. 24 minutes. 
 

Game 5: Mirror's Edge

BEFORE: I've already played and finished this on PS3, I'm expecting this to be pretty much the same. 
 
AFTER: Tutorial level complete, 7:35 in. I still love the atmosphere in this game. The controls feel pretty OK, though I might prefer the bigger shoulder buttons on the DualShock. I'll probably finish this a second time on the 360. 
 

Game 6: Unreal Tournament III

BEFORE: This is another one I have on the PS3, but I picked it up real cheap and wanted to see how it feels on Xbox Live. 
 
AFTER: 6:17, "Lock and Load." A little more pop-in than I remember from the PS3. I play better with the Xbox controller. 
 

Game 7: Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time

BEFORE: I've been playing through the Ratchet series with my son the past few weeks. This is supposed to be the best of the bunch, and I'm excited. 
 
AFTER: 15 minutes, first trophy, and I can already tell this is going to be a great one. Ratchet & Clank on the PS3 is what I expected games to be like in the far-flung future when all I played was platformers on my Amiga. The production values are sky high. My son's gonna be thrilled, too.
 

Game 8: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 

 
BEFORE: For Xbox Live Arcade games, I usually play the trial version up until I get the first achievement, then I buy the full version and cash in. This game I bought on a whim while looking through the XBLA titles. It feels a little wrong to be playing this after completing Shadow Complex, but I guess it's never too late to brush up on your gaming history. 
 
AFTER: I'm guessing the VO recording budget didn't break any industry records. I love the music, though. This game must have been pretty ground-breaking at the time. "Rampage" unlocked seven minutes in. Lost all my stuff. Need to pick this up again ASAP.

This is actually #103 Round 2 because I typed this up on Wednesday, hit the "Post Blog" button and then the site crashed and I lost it all. I was pissed and decided I would type it up when I find time later so here we are. Here's the achievements!
 

LATEST ACHIEVEMENTS

 
  LEFT 4 DEAD
  635/1250 Points
  36/60 Achievements
 
  Name: Stand Tall
  Points: 20
  Description: Survive a campaign without being incapacitated.
  Acquired: October 17, 2009

 
  MIRROR'S EDGE
  225/1250 Points
  12/50 Achievements
 
  Name: Chapter 7 Complete
  Points: 20
  Description: Complete Chapter 7 in story mode 
  Acquired: October 21, 2009

  Name: Chapter 6 Complete
  Points: 20
  Description: Complete Chapter 6 in story mode
  Acquired: October 21, 2009
 
 

CURRENT GAMERSCORE

21,391 Points 
 
 
So that's #103. Not a lot because I had midterms and I didn't have a lot of time to play games this week. Also, I am not buying anything anytime soon. I'm saving my money right now for until I get a job. The only new game I plan on buying is Modern Warfare 2 and that's because I already have the $80 version pre-ordered. But anyways, that is all. I hope you enjoy the new layout (that is, if Giant Bomb likes the HTML I put in) also LINKS!
 
Until next time, I'm in the Xbox Live Update Preview Program (again)!!!!
-GamerGeek360

 My girlfriend commented a few days ago that she never uses her DS anymore.   She loves her DS, but outside of a bit of Brain Age and anything Mario-themed, she’s not the biggest fan of video games.   I decided that seeing as I spend about half of my time online reading game reviews, watching trailers, and writing or commenting on blogs about video games, I was in a strong position to go and get her a game that she would like.   In turn, it might buy me some good will the next time I admit to spending half of my weekend replaying Half-Life 2.   Again.

People who do not play video games frequently make assumptions about people who do play video games.   One of those assumptions, and a very common one at that, is that video games are played by an audience that is almost exclusively male.   It fits the stereotype of a pimply and plump man who should “know better”, shouting at a television or computer screen and generally shirking life’s responsibilities while failing utterly in any attempts to win over a member of the “fairer” sex.  

That’s rubbish, of course.   A lot of different types of people play video games, including smelly people and well groomed people, athletic people and people decidedly not so, and yes, *gasp*, women. People who play videogames don’t fit into stereotypes very neatly anymore.

Unfortunately, the industry itself is riddled with them.   A lot of this can be explained by intentionally over the top story telling, but there has to be a limit. I’m a big fan of Resident Evil games.   Sheva’s unlockable costume in Resident Evil 5, however, is pushing things.   B-movie sensibilities or not.

Faith, the fictional character at the heart of Mirror’s Edge, is a much more subtle example.   She doesn’t have the ludicrous pulchritudinous silhouette of your average Team Ninja character, but she still represents a certain standard of beauty.   Ok, fair enough: most male video game characters are to some extent designed along these standards as well, and an overweight free runner doesn’t make much sense.   Thing is, Faith’s character design is a step in the right direction, but it’s clearly within the same mould of perceived audience expectations.   These games are made with a predominantly male audience in mind.

 “Hardcore gamers”, as various marketing departments in the industry insist on calling people who like to play more than three hours a week of video games, make similar assumptions.   The majority of people who play Gears of War or Halo are men.   The main audience for such “triple A” titles are men.   Games that are seen as more attractive to a female audience are often relegated to the tier of “mass market” or “casual” games.   That doesn’t mean we should accept overly-sexualized female stereotypes in the “triple A” games because all the female video game players are supposedly off playing  something “casual.”

I wanted to get my girlfriend a game she would enjoy.   Clearly, I was setting out to buy a game for a person who doesn’t like video games as much as I do, not necessarily a girl who doesn’t like video games as much as I do.   I got her the very awesome Professor Layton and the Curious Village.   If she likes it, maybe she’ll get the sequel.

She is much more open to enjoying video games now than she was when I first met her.   Happily, and mostly thanks to Nintendo, there is an ever increasing number of games that I think she would enjoy playing.   She’s never going to want to buy an Xbox and play Halo with me.   That’s fine.   But I don’t want her to catch a glimpse of a game that I am enjoying and seeing something that she finds offensive, or that reinforces stereotypes that once provided a barrier between her and the enjoyment of any type of video game.   People have different values and expectations, and thus differing thresholds of what they will consider offensive.   Thing is, I’m not even talking about a person being outraged.   I’m talking about my girlfriend or any female acquaintance seeing something on my TV screen while I’m playing a game and rolling her eyes.   It’s those potential reinforcements of (often false) assumptions that harm the growth of video games as a viable part of popular culture.  

Overall, though, things are looking good.   My girlfriend is rocking out with some Professor Layton puzzles.   I’m looking forward to shooting things when Halo 3:ODST comes out.    Aren’t video games great? 

This weekend will be a soggy mess in my neck of the woods which means I have no reason to go outside.  And when I'm indoors, there's a good chance I'm playing these things called video games.  So if you're interested in what I plan on playing this weekend, please read on.  If you don't care, check out this epic blog by Lies. 
 

Mirror's Edge

 
I finally caved in and bought Mirror's Edge via Steam.  It's one of those games that kind of got a bad rap despite the solid reviews, but the entire concept is definitely interesting.  It has been on my wishlist for a while.  I'm willing to give it a shot. 
 

Left 4 Dead   

 
I've been playing this off and on for the past few weeks and I still have a number of campaigns to blast through.  I've been most recently messing around with Survival Mode which is a blast in more ways than one.  If anybody feels like killing zombies with me, I'm on the Steam. 
 

Wii Sports Resort

 
This might sound cliche, but my Wii has been collecting some dust the past month even though Wii Sports Resort is right there ready at anytime.  I might just play a round of golf or some wakeboarding... maybe try out cycling for the first time.  So the Wii might get some love this week, but if I skip my trip to Wuhu Island, Muramasa is around the corner.  So no worries, Nintendo... I'm still around.  If you feel like playing Wii Sports Resort at my place, I'll give you directions. 
 

Miscellaneous

 
There's always the chance I'll just feel like playing whatever the hell I want.  I've still got some rare World of Goo achievements to obtain, The Path has gotten no attention since I bought it a few weeks ago, and there's always that Braid speedrun which I may or may not attempt ever.  Audiosurf might call my name, too... I can always go for a half-hour drive through my playlist. 
 
And if all else fails, there's this evil jigsaw puzzle given to me solely to fill me with hate. 

I have a feeling that if I attempt the plain white side, I will seriously rage quit a puzzle.  That would be a first.

 Well I finally made it to Achievement Update #100! This is a bittersweet moment for me, though. First of all, I'm late, I usually post these on Mondays but it's Friday so something's up. Second, I left Gamespot after my 2 years there because people on there would either not read my blogs or type dumb blogs every 5 minutes that I didn't want to read since they weren't reading mine. At least on here I feel like the community is better and I guess more mature. Anyways, there is one more reason why it's kind of sad, today I mailed in my Xbox to MS for repairs. It hasn't fully died but I can't use my drums or guitar on it because the wireless controller connect button is broken. It's fine for my wireless controllers because I can plug them in with the plug-and-play. Anyways, I won't be playing Xbox for the next 2-3 weeks so if you are on my friends list don't delete me. Because of this, however, this will be the last Achievement Update until I get my Xbox back. But it's not all doom and gloom, here's the achievements!
 
LATEST ACHIEVEMENTS:
MIRROR'S EDGE
185/1250 Points
10/50 Achievements



Name: Chapter 5 Complete
Points: 20
Description: Complete Chapter 5 in story mode
Acquired: August 27, 2009


Name: Free flowing
Points: 25
Description: String together the following: wallrun, jump, speedvault
Acquired: August 27, 2009


Name: Chapter 4 Complete
Points: 20
Description: Complete Chapter 4 in story mode
Acquired: August 27, 2009


Name: Chapter 3 Complete
Points: 20
Description: Complete Chapter 3 in story mode
Acquired: August 27, 2009



ROCK BAND
305/1000 Points
16/50 Achievements



Name: Lord of the Strings
Points: 50
Description: Finished Guitar Solo Tour on Expert
Acquired: August 23, 2009



STREET FIGHTER IV
40/1000 Points
3/48 Achievements



Name: Arcade Rat
Points: 20
Description: Clear Arcade Mode with 1 character on Medium or higher difficulty.
Acquired: August 22, 2009



CURRENT GAMERSCORE:
20,856 Points

There we go, see you guys later.

Until next time, Mirror's Edge can be difficult!
Gamer Geek360

 

Yeah! Party cause it's Achievement Update #99! Wait, 99? I thought it'd be 100? Oh well, let's just get this over with so the next one will be GREAT! For some at least, terrible (maybe) for others.

LATEST ACHIEVEMENTS:
FALLOUT 3
190/1550 Points
11/72 Achievements



Name: Big Trouble in Big Town
Points: 20
Description: Completed "Big Trouble in Big Town"
Acquired: August 12, 2009



LEGO INDIANA JONES
475/1000 Points
31/50 Achievements



Name: Where Forrestal cashed in.
Points: 30
Description: Collect 1,000,000 studs in the Ancient City Level.
Acquired: August 17, 2009



MIRROR'S EDGE
100/1250 Points
6/50 Achievements



Name: Mine!
Points: 15
Description: Perform 15 successful disarms (outside of the tutorial)
Acquired: August 12, 2009


Name: Chapter 2 Complete
Points: 20
Description: Complete Chapter 2 in story mode
Acquired: August 12, 2009



ROCK BAND 2
105/1000 Points
7/50 Achievements



Name: Eastern European Performer
Points: 10
Description: Played a set in Eastern Europe
Acquired: August 13, 2009


Name: Hello Cleveland!
Points: 20
Description: Deployed Vocal Overdrive 4 times in a single song
Acquired: August 13, 2009


Name: Flawless Singing
Points: 25
Description: Scored a 100% rating as a vocalist on Expert
Acquired: August 13, 2009



CURRENT GAMERSCORE:
20,701 Points

Well I've been playing a lot of WoW so I don't expect to get a lot of achievements this week. But I am going to finally finish off Lego Indiana Jones sometime this week if I find the time. So that's about it, time to play some WoW.

Until next time, FOR THE HORDE!!
-GamerGeek360

Hello my Giant Bomb friends, this is a update (as the title clearly states). Its been awhile since I have done a true update so I thought why not. I really haven't done much really, well since school started anyway. Sadly school has eaten up most of my time. As a matter of fact I'm writing this blog in the middle of doing some homework. First off I guess I'll start off with some school info. I'm a senior this year (class of 2010 represent!) and this year seems much more calm then the last three, I can't really explain it. Teachers seem to be nicer and more easy to work with. Also it helps that most of my friends are in most of my classes so that's a plus. Government is tough though. My teacher for that class is, to be nice, strict. He expects you to be on it with reading and notes. Which the only bad thing about it is, I don't absorb info just by reading it. I need to be taught it and have it explained well to me. That's why I really like having the teacher taking notes and talking about the subject. But life isn't like that so I need to adjust. Algebra II at the moment is ok. My teacher is very good, I've had him before but he tries so hard to make sure you get the material and does a great job with notes (which I like). Current Issues is good. We basically just talk the whole period without much notes or homework. We do have to read Rocket Boys for the class. We were originally only supposed to read it in our homeroom, but the teacher thinks it's great to read for the class. And I'm pretty surprised by it. It's a very entertaining and well written book. And for the best class of the day I get cadet teaching 4th period. I just got my teacher today and I work with one of my favorite teachers. So I'm hoping to enjoy it. That's it really for school right now. I'm hoping I don't totally freak and get nervous as I usually do. 
 
Now onto some games I have been playing. I get Gamefly, since I don't make much money in the summer I thought it would be good to get that so that I could still play some games. I have played a lot this summer. Just on Gamefly alone I have played:

• Bionic Commando
• inFAMOUS
• Killzone 2
• GRID
• Mirror's Edge
• Sonic Unleashed
• Dead Head Fred
• WTF: Work TIme Fun
• Metal Slug Anthology
  
• Street Fighter 4
• Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
  

 
I believe that is it. I might be missing a few. Though I didn't enjoy or finish all of them, I enjoyed that I could at least try them. Which is my favorite thing about Gamefly. I don't know what I am getting next. I have had Uncharted at the top of my list for about a month now and haven't gotten it yet. I'm really hoping to get Rogue Galaxy next. That game looks great and I'm shamed that I missed it when it came out. I'm really trying to widen my gaming genres. I used to just play platformers and the occasional shooter. I really want to get into RPGs or JRPGs. I like them, but never put the time into them that I should. Sadly I also played my first Online game. I have never played a game online with others before. For one reason, I never had wireless connection or anything like that. I finally got it and my first game was Fat Princess. I really like that game, I was first introduced to it through a Giant Bomb QL. I've gotten into some heated battles and some crappy ones that never ended. I've also played well watched some Linger in Shadows. I liked it and reviewed it. It was a good game for $3. As for games that weren't downloadable I played some Mirror's Edge and GRID. I have to say Mirror's Edge was weird for me. I like platformers, but there was something about the running and moves that wasn't good for me. I played a lot of it but couldn't get fully into it. The voice acting seemed uninspired and lazy, but the art work was the highlight of the game to me. And the only thing I'm saying about GRID is that it continued to so me that I am racing game challenged and should never play them (cries softly).
 
This summer I got heavily into Wiki editing. Probably at the beginning of the summer I think I had about 200 wiki points. I'm close to 9,500 now. I really enjoy it. I have taken it upon myself to try to so the best with the bowling wikis as possible. My pride and joy is the bowling page. I spent many hours on that. But most recently I have worked on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time wiki page. I made the equipment section awhile ago. But I recently added some pictures to it. I worked on the GRIN page some more and did most of the work that is up on it today. Which I'm still terribly upset they closed. 
 
If you've seen my page, I'm way to into twitter for some reason. I love that damn thing. The only thing that annoys the hell out of me is the fact that you get spammers following you a lot. Which is dumb. If you'd like to follow my here is a link to my twitter. Just click follow and I'll do the same.
 
 
 
 
 

Well there's a update. Nothing special. But I'm off to finish my homework. As my Government teacher says, I have to "Get in my Jeep and ride up the mountain of knowledge". Fucked up I know
 
Thanks for reading
-Trevor

Hidden Packages, Blast Shards, Orbs, Treasures, call them what you will. There curse has spread its way over gaming in ways that I never thought would happen.

My first experience with this was during Grand Theft Auto 3, it was the first truly open world game that I had ever played and collecting the hidden packages was actually kind of fun. The reward of being able to pick up free weapons and power ups from outside of your house was greatly appealing and really helped to make the end of the game pretty easy.

I’m not sure if this was the first game to include such an idea, but as with most things in Grand Theft Auto 3 it was certainly one of the things that caught on in a big way, not just in future Grand Theft Auto games, but also in other sand box games and eventually it even spread into more traditional games.

As the generational shift of games consoles happened this became more apparent than ever, and now with trophies and achievements it’s gone from being something optional for in game benefits to something that is usually required to complete if you want to truly finish a game to 1000 gamer points, or to unlock that platinum trophy. This in turn has made it incredibly frustrating, why does every single sandbox game need these? Why do they have to be so obscure? And why do I always have to always have one missing by the end?

This problem has come into effect for me in a massive way recently, and when I say recently I mean within the last 24 hours. Don’t get me wrong I’ve had a problem with these damn things since Crackdown but within the last 24 hours I have collected all 179 treasures on Tomb Raider Underworld (twice, as one of them glitched towards the end of my first play through) all 350 Blast Shards in Infamous and all of the 1001 light seeds from the Prince of Persia.

Other than for purely extending the play time of their games, I can’t understand why developers continue to include them in their products. I personally believe they can actually ruin the game by making you very aware you are playing a game. That first moment when you find number 1 of however many is a moment I dread as I then have to make the decision. Do I collect them all as I see them, and hope they are in an easy enough place that I can collect them all by the end of the game, without missing any? Or do I avoid them like all holy hell so that when I do finish the game I can use the only method I find to be truly effective and to systematically check every single location using some kind of map, checking off each location as I find it.

In my experience I haven’t found a single person who doesn’t dread the “hidden package experience” as I call it, so why do they keep this stuff in games? As games shift and change into the modern versions we see today, how is it that this incredibly archaic way of doing things has managed to survive so long?

I have full respect for which ever open world game takes the plunge, and is the first to omit this dark side of gaming forever.

Thanks for reading.