I know I said I would be back to using my custom made headers, but due to computer issues, I have been unable to make them. More on that later in this post.
UPDATE: Computer fixed just hours after submitting this original post. Here are some custom headers for the games I played.
GAMES!!!!
Last week, the Alan Wake series was available on the weekly Humble Bundle. I really liked Remedy's work on the Max Payne games, though I never did play Alan Wake. Seeing as I could pay as low as a dollar for this on the humble bundle, I went ahead and bought it. I played through the main game plus the two DLC episodes in a total of 11 and a half hours according to Steam, and was it absolutely fun.
I'm sure it's been well established already, but the story was definitely the best thing about Alan Wake, and the main motivation to keep me going through the game, especially when the combat became fatiguing in episode 6. The manuscripts were an interesting part of the plot, and it was good that most of the time, the events they describe don't happen immediately after finding them. It lets you know something bad is going to happen, but not when.
The game feels like a huge journey, and even with it's rough spots, I almost kinda appreciate that it took me nearly twelve hours to get through everything. Each episode starts you off somewhere with your objective being visible in the distance, usually a natural landmark like a mountain or something, and you get the sense that you just trekked across this landscape to your destination and feels rather satisfying. One of my favorite parts in Half-Life 2 was Highway 17, when you're driving along the coast to Nova Prospekt. It's traveling a long distance and taking in the surroundings.
In fact, even though they aren't the same kind of game, I got a weird Half-Life vibe from playing Alan Wake. There's very little cutscenes that interrupt the game play in Alan Wake, and just about every crazy moment happens in real time. And as I mentioned before, the feeling of travelling from A to B and not feeling like you just went through an obvious corridor like in modern shooters was the biggest comparison I could make. If only the combat encounters didn't wear out their welcome at the end, this game would've been damn near perfect. Definitely another game where I go "why did it take me this long to get around to it?"
After finishing everything in Alan Wake, I went on to the second game in the humble bundle, American Nightmare. Knowing about the mixed opinions on the game, as well as knowing that you have to play the same stuff three times, I liked American Nightmare overall. I can understand why people wouldn't like the game as much as the first Alan Wake, but the improved combat along with the narrative kept me going, even with the repeating stuff two more times.
The time loop in particular isn't very obnoxious, I felt, especially since they start putting you closer to the objectives with each reset. It would be very bad if they made you do the exact same objectives each time, but by the time you are on your third run, you don't have to run around as much and the NPCs cover most of the shit for you. Ultimately, as I mentioned before, it's the narrative that justifies the entire thing for me, explaining that the NPCs are aware they are in a time loop and that's how they do Alan's objectives beforehand. It's an interesting concept for a video game that I understand could turn out bad and repetitive, but I found it acceptable here.
With the combat, it being fast automatically makes it a big improvement over Alan Wake's. The dodging and other slow down affects used in the first game were very cool, but the managing of both your weapon's ammo and your flashlight was annoying because of the recharge rate of the flash light, and how long it would take to dispel the darkness surrounding the Taken. Improve that, along with more than 3 or 4 enemy types like the first game, and Remedy has made good on the gameplay concept they initially made by making a fun shooter.
Lastly, I find the overall tone and aesthetic of the game to be interesting. The first game was a very obviously Stephen King inspired setup, while American Nightmare is a pulpy Twilight Zone episode. The enemies are more monstrous looking than the original Taken, and Mr. Scratch is one twisted motherfucker. It's got enough intrigue, but a ton of action accompanying it. Obviously it works for this spin off game, and Remedy is busy with Quantum Break, but in the event they return to Alan Wake, I'd be interested to see what other genres they would throw Alan into. Both Alan Wake and American Nightmare are great examples of how genre savvy the folks at Remedy are.
And the Rest...
PS3 Stuff
Been playing a few stuff on PS3 this past week, some new, some old, some stuff that will be covered in depth next week. In short, Double Dragon Neon is hella goofy and fun, Demon's Souls is tough and awesome, and I've put almost 50 hours total into Another Century's Episode R, which is almost 50 hours more than any normal person should put into it.
Other Stuff
Well, as I mentioned at the very start, I've been having computer problems. The problem in particular? It won't turn on. At all. At first I though the issue was my power supply had died (which after two and a half years after using it I thought was crazy). Sunday afternoon after discovering this I went to Best Buy and bought a new power supply, hoping that would fix it after plugging my PC in different outlets and shit.
It didn't.
When opening up the computer with the power supply in it, I noticed that the light on the motherboard was lit, so it was clearly receiving power. Looking for troubleshooting tips online and trying everything I could, unplugging and replugging everything, I feel that the problem might be with the power button on the case, specifically. If it's that, and there's a way to fix it, great. If not, well, I'll be stuck with this fucking shitty netbook until I get a better laptop, because I'm not gonna be bringing my desktop with me down to Redmond for DigiPen.
Granted, I should've started looking more into the idea of getting it fixed if possible earlier this week, but a bit of laziness got in the way along with me getting re accustomed to having a job. Finished my first week back at Michaels Arts and Crafts, and most of what I remember is the same. There's some differences here and there, but I don't need to go through the whole training through experience thing as much. Thankfully I'm working more hours so that means a bigger paycheck.
And of course, my parents are out of town on vacation and have survived my first week. The main challenge is to try and not spend any money on food, as my parents gave me a little challenge: They gave me thirty bucks to use however I see fit. If I don't spend it or any of my other money on food, I'll get an extra 20 bucks. So I'm gonna be as frugal as possible with that stuff, and then at the end of it, use all that money to preorder Shin Megami Tensei IV.
UPDATE: As mentioned at the start, my computer is fixed now. It was pretty stupid of me to not notice I did not have one cable plugged all the way into the motherboard that happened to control the power switch. Anyway, thank god that's fixed, even though I have now wasted 60 bucks on a power supply that was not necessary and can't return at this point because it's been too long. Now I can return to my Nightmare playthrough of Alan Wake and not have to use that shitty netbook ever again.
In Conclusion
And that is it for this week. Next entry I'll be talking about Demon's Souls and Double Dragon, along with another small update on ACE R as I already wrote about that game last year.
Also, Digital Devil Saga 2 should be arriving soon from Gamefly. Finally, I will close this year long gap between me playing the excellent Digital Devil Saga 1 and now the sequel. I must see how the story wraps up.
Peace
Log in to comment