188	0	12	8
Forum Posts	Wiki Points	Following	Followers

LlamaLlama's 2010 Top 3 Supporting Characters (Minor Spoilers)

By LlamaLlama January 1, 2011 1 Comments

Here are my Top 3 Supporting Characters of 2010. Keep in mind that I only include characters from games I've played, so if your picks are not on the list it's because I did not play your choice games.

3. Mass Effect 2's Joker

When I heard rumors back when Mass Effect 2 had just been announced that Joker wouldn't survive the destruction of the Normandy, I couldn't believe it. Those said rumors turned into rumors of early game choices, of which I was determined to save him. Joker may not be the most important character of the Mass Effect universe and his status of comedic relief may also be diminished with new members of the cast, but Joker still stands as to me as one of the most important characters of my crew, being the only one that never really gave up on me. Upon mission endings he was the first one I would talk to and a late game sequence had me swearing alongside him. To me, Joker is the representation of true humanity on the Normandy, showing me what we are really fighting for.

2. Red Dead Redemption's Marshal Leigh Johnson

When I first began to decide on my choices, I originally put Joker over the Marshal. But when it came to writing this blog, I changed my mind, remembering what had made me purchase my first GTA style game, when before I had had snobbish distain for the name Rockstar through its GTA series, which I did not like. The reason I decided to buy Red Dead Redemption was the fact that it looked like a fully realised Western with compelling characters. I had based my initial opinion entirely on the released clip of Marston's first meeting with the Marshal--a decision entirely made on the Marhsal's reaction, a laugh. My only complaint about this character, like many of the characters of Red Dead Redemption, is that I felt he was underused in the game. And because of this character when I hear about new Rockstar games I am prepared to scan the internet for any information of the new game to see if it has the spark that made me buy Red Dead Redemption.

1. Enslaved's Pigsy

I was worried playing this game. I was halfway through the game and still the character of Pigsy had yet to be introduced. There was no way that he could be as compelling as Trip and Monkey with barely any of the game left to play. I was so wrong. Pigsy's introduction to me outshown the performances of even Andy Serkis as Richard Ridings' sold me on his character in little time flat. Just the range of emotion, he displays on his introduction was amazing, selling me on a character I had had my doubts about for a long time. Coupled with the conclusion, Pigsy to me outshines my other two choices. While likewise, I was impressed with the Marshal with just one scene, Pigsy impressed me more, my doubts shattered due to the excellent performance that Richard Ridings preformed.

1 Comments

LlamaLlama's 2010 Gaming Moments (Minor Spoilers)

By LlamaLlama December 23, 2010 5 Comments

This is a list of miscellaneous 2010 moments that don't fit into my forthcoming character blogs (Female, Male, and Supporting) and Top 3 games.  And forgive me for trying out pictures in a blog (and for my bad formatting and perhaps spelling, it's late).

                                                                                                            Best Watched Game
                                                                                                      Amnesia: The Dark Descent

I'm a fairly open person to admitting to my faults, and well I am a scaredy cat. I would be tempted to buy the game, gather some friends, just to see how quick it would take before I forced a friend to play it. The walkthrough on Youtube I watched was my Halloween night fun (kids don't come around much anymore) and damn it was scary. It was so scary that I ended up splicing the sound from the walkthrough for my boombox outside for the night.

                                                                                               Game My Friends Were All Playing
                                                                                                               Civilization 5
Apparently it's very good, as I could see by the countless hours they were on Steam playing. If I had any capability in strategy games, I may have bought it.

                                                                                                         Best Co-op Experience
                                                                                                                   Blur
I don't often playing anything co-op with friends since I don't have Xbox Live and frankly they never really are on when I am. However, Blur at a friend's house turned into my one of my best gaming moments of the year. Simply creating house rules with a deathmatch like scenario was amazing, especially when we got around to Nitro and Barge only game. From a gamer who is mostly into single player games, it is nice to play with friends once in a while, even if you get your ass handed to you.

                                                                                                       Most Annoying Moment
                                                                      Red Dead Redemption: Bad Dead Eye and a Hanging Women
So I was riding along when a man runs up to me, begging me for help. I race over to save his hanging wife, hit the dead eye and prepare to take down the outlaws. My dead eye is in the second stage, where I paint over things. Problem is the aiming is jerky with dead eye on my controller for some reason. I watch in horror as I target the woman's head instead of the rope. #@$@$!

Runner Up: Realising that Enslaved was in fact not saving and having to lose my progress so I could figure out what was going on.

                                                                                                          Saddest Moment
                                                                                     Red Dead Redemption: Death of a Horse
There were a lot of sad moments in the games I played this year, but nothing bothered me more than the death of the stallion Bonnie gave me. It was a tragic moment, as I had just saved my first hanging woman and proudly leapt off my horse to secure the loot. Then my horse toppled over. Any joy at my accomplishment I had was replaced by sadness and frustration at my inability to kept my faithful steed alive. And every other horse I manage to tame just isn't the same.

Runner Up: While I never took the route, seeing the renegade ending to Miranda's loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2 merely strengthened my happiness that I allowed her to go see her sister. There was the right decision and there was being a douche. This was also the scene that strengthened my likening to the character when before she had been rather uninteresting.

                                                     Most Disappointing Moment (Other than no announcement of a Prince of Persia 08 sequel)
                                                      Splinter Cell: Conviction: Avoidance of Character Development and General Bad Story
I've been through is already in my first blog, but this game still is a big dissapointment to me. I felt like there was going to be a good story and character development to be had for Sam Fisher as he avenged his daughter and gained closure. For some reason, they decided not to go that route, and Fisher never went through any character development, beginning with the third level. Since that blog, I have watched the rest of the game and remained uninterested in returning (though there is one emotional scene that I admit that the right idea going on for it) and was even more annoyed with the justification of the Big Bad. Really? That's why you decided to do all of this? Yeesh...

                                                                                                         Most Tense Moment
                                                                                                     Mass Effect 2: The Final Act
Without really spoiling anything, the final act started with the retrieval of a certain device really got me tense. Knowing that my actions and my timing would cost people lives (I had a few things spoiled) really got me, a goody-two shoes, crossing his fingers that everything went fine. Every choice I made I was holding my breath and every action sequence I was biting my lip, hoping not to screw up something and lose a squad mate. I held my breath once everything was over and for the first time in my gaming with the Xbox 360, was happy when the achievement came up telling me that I had saved everyone.

Runner Up: While Enslaved at a few moments that had me sweating (not really, mostly cursing in fear and mild frustration) but Red Dead Redemption's mission of Hanging Bonnie was tense. As told in a few moments above, hangings are not my rescue speciality so making that shot was terrifying.

Fight For The Lost

                                                                                                      Most Epic Moment
                                                                                      Enslaved: First Encounter with the Dog
While this moment had its tension, I found it in the end for me to be much more suitable for my epic moment. Jumping and swinging my way down to save Trip was tense, but in the end one of the best moments in the entire game. We may normally assume epic means fighting in video games, but I found something much more epic in making my way down a crane and saving the girl in less time than it took me to get up there in the first place.

Runner Up: The tense and epic are mixed together. Mass Effect 2's Final Act takes runner up due to my ability to save everyone. I went there to save people and I told myself I won't let anyone to be left behind from my crew. I fulfilled that promise and it felt good. The Reapers have no chance.

Most Anticipated 2011 Game that isn't an RPG or Bioware made
Tomb Raider
I've touched on this in another blog. I'm very being interested in sex symbol Lara before, but this upcoming year could be different with the new design ideas behind the reboot. I like characters to be interesting and show emotion and this looks like it will definably have that. Though that's what I thought about Splinter Cell...forgot I ever mentioned that game again. In fact with this, Deus Ex Human Revolution, and Thief 4 in the works, Eidos could be making a 2011 comeback.

5 Comments

We'll talk when you're interesting

By LlamaLlama December 6, 2010 4 Comments

Today, I learnt that a new Tomb Raider is coming out. Now I've never been really interested in the Tomb Raider games, but the announcement kinda captured my attention. For some reason, I have some hope for this game, despite the little information released. If you want to reboot a franchise, you need a new or deeper characterization for the character. A reboot has to offer something new and exciting about the character as well, not just the gameplay.

I like adventure-action games. I'm playing through Enslaved (stupid university) and I would love the chance to play the Uncharted games, but alas, when I picked out consoles, Mass Effect won out over Uncharted and decided which console I would buy, but every once and while I have an itch to go out and buy a PS3 so I can play that amazing looking series. However, I've always had an inversion to playing Tomb Raider games because I can't take the character seriously. From what I've seen, Lara has always been about the T&A, especially since you'll be staring at her backside for the entirity of the game.

I've never been able to take her seriously, but now may be different. It's pure speculation, but I see hope in the cover of the Game Informer magazine. See, the focus is entirely on her face, not on her breasts and not showing any midriff or tight fitting costume. I'd like to play the game, if I can take her seriously as a female character. Sure, I like the eye-candy as much as the next guy, but I much rather care about the character because of a compelling or interesting characterization, rather than material that makes her into a sexual object.

So, I'll wait for information. Hopefully, this series will have a compelling Lara Croft to play as. And if she's still as sexy, well, bonus.

4 Comments

How would you make boss fights better?

By LlamaLlama October 10, 2010 12 Comments

So I finally got to start playing Enslaved, while neglecting my university midterm studying. I'm a slow player so I've just finished Chapter Two with its boss fight. It's the first action boss fight I've played since Prince of Persia, so I started thinking about the concept.

I've always found the idea of the patterns in a boss fight to be odd, I understand the concept, but it's not what I think makes it interesting. However, other games without them aren't much better. As much as I like Bioware, I've always found their boss fights to be rather lackluster.

So, what do you think would make boss fights better?

Personally, I think the spectacle should be increased. I've always like the action movies, like the Indy movies, where the hero gets the crap beaten out of him and overcomes the odds. Games like to enpower us, but than boss fights give away to three results:
1. You beat the crap out the boss
2. You get creamed
3. You win by the edge of your teeth

I want more of 3, even if it's more spectacle beyond your control. It's fun to be the enpowered hero, but the boss should a challenge, someone worthy of your effort. They should be your equal or better.

QTEs are a good way at this, but not what I'm going for, but than again, I have a terrible reaction time and button mashing skills. QTEs should never decide a fight, just add to the spectacle. I would go as far to say that they shouldn't cost you health, just making it seem like it's was a more challenging fight when you fail the QTE. I would even have successful counters that still end with you getting beaten up.

So once again, what would you do? I realise most of my ideas are merely cosmetic changes, but it is a start to brainstorming. What do you want? Or do I have it all wrong? (Probably)

12 Comments

Why I didn't finish Splinter Cell Conviction (Spoilers)

By LlamaLlama August 27, 2010 69 Comments

I’ve been meaning to write this for a long time, but until now, it has simply been in the back of my mind. First off, gameplay wise, Splinter Cell Conviction is fine. Fantastic, a great reboot for stealth gaming.

As a (aspiring) writer, I hold story as the key element of choosing my games (with a few exceptions), and Splinter Cell failed marvellously. If the story doesn’t hold me, if I have a major problem with the story, I’ll quit and that’s what I did. It’s simply a sad fact. Coming into Splinter Cell, I was eager for some espionage revenge. I was going to be Sam Fisher taking down the people who made the big mistake of killing his daughter.

But like most spy stories, there has to be a catch, a plot twist that captures you. And guess what? Sarah Fisher was alive. And I stopped playing soon afterwards. I felt cheated from my good story. We had been told that this was about Sam Fisher finding those responsible for his daughter’s death, dealing with his inner emotions as he went on and presumably coming to terms in the end. It wasn’t even that his daughter was alive that threw me off; it was that it was so poorly executed, like a slap to the face.

It was the third mission you find out about this plot twist and it felt as if the writers wanted to avoid any character development for Sam Fisher, once his daughter was alive, he didn’t need to change, didn’t need to come to any sort of terms. To me, it felt like a major cop-out from some actual character development, from an actual story. So I stopped playing, I had a lot of homework to do.

69 Comments