Since the last entry, I...
*Finished "Trauma Center: New Blood" in absurd fashion. I reached the final surgery and failed at it multiple times. I decided the game was too hard. I put the game on my game shelf, resigned that it would join "Final Fantasy X" and "Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door" as games that contain final encounters that I couldn't overcome. A day later, I couldn't deal with leaving the game unfinished, so I took it back off the shelf, consulted GameFAQs to deduce a better strategy. And I beat it.
Read more...
Since the last entry, I...
*Saved a dog from a gunshot wound in "Trauma Center: New Blood." Am I the only one who uses GameFAQs to find out how much longer a game is going to last? I don't go there for tips much these days. But I do go there to find out how much longer the games I'm playing are going to be. One more chapter for "Trauma Center."
*Played more "Secret Agent Clank."
*Played a still-in-development version of the DS game "Lock's Quest," a character-driven tower defense game from the makers of "Drawn To Life." It made a good first impression. I'll have more to say about it next week.
Next: This weekend will involve the playing of "LEGO Indiana Jones." Somehow. Some way.
Since the last entry, I...
*Removed shotgun shells from a man's soldier, as seen in "Trauma Center: New Blood." Are "Metroid Prime 3" and "Super Mario Galaxy" the games that best utilized the nunchuk-remote Wii combo? I'm tempted to cast my vote for "Trauma Center."
*Played a section of "Secret Agent Clank" that reminded me of "Psychonauts." That's a very good thing.
Next: I hope to complete the final operation.
Since the last entry, I...
*Played more of "Secret Agent Clank," of course.
Now that the demo's out, I think it's okay to point out one of the game's most interesting features: it gives positive rewards for individual stealth actions. That may not seem like a big achievement, but it makes "SAC" a significantly different stealth game from any "Splinter Cell" or "Metal Gear" that I've ever played.
In gaming's famous stealth series, the main consequence of sneaking past an enemy is a lack of failure. If you sneak past everyone in a "Metal Gear" game, maybe you'll unlock a special set of camouflage. But from moment-to-moment, all you get is the relief of not triggering an alarm. In "Clank," you get a score multiplier for each guard you sneak past or sucker punch into oblivion. You get positive reinforcement for a lack of direct conflict.
As a gamer, I'm so used to getting points or power-ups for having defeated enemies and getting nothing for walking past them. Who knew there was another way? The makers of "Secret Agent Clank" did.
Next: I will do surgery via the Wii. I hope.
Since the last entry, I...
*Played a section of "Secret Agent Clank" that I didn't like. But I think I'm still embargoed. So mum's the word.
*And I remembered that over the weekend I also played the multiplayer-only Xbox 360-PC first-person-shooter "Shadowrun." (Two references to the game on this blog in one day!) Got annihilated while playing a session of it on my 360 -- my first-ever session, mind you. I've been told by my friend Matt that I really do need to play this game. He even offered to play it with me. That was six months ago, and I think I need to take him up on it if I want to last in a game longer than 10 seconds. I wonder if "Shadowrun" is a hidden gem. After all, the idea of teleporting through walls in an FPS seems really, really cool and was fun in the tutorial.
Next: I play more "Clank" and hope that I can get something else into the mix so that I don't bore diary readers to tears. I do miss "The World Ends With You," but that wouldn't be diary-fresh either.
Since the last entry, I...
*Played a ridiculous amount of games.
*At Friday's PlayStation event alone I played "Resistance 2," "Killzone 2," "Little Big Planet," "SOCOM: Confrontation," "Linger In Shadows," "PixelJunk Eden," "MotorStorm: Pacific Rim," "Siren: Blood Curse," and "Buzz" for PS3 and PSP. I'll write blog posts about many of those games throughout the week, but I should record here that two games brought me back for a second-helping: "Linger" and "Eden." The first one because I wanted to understand it more. The second because it's the most fun I had with a co-op game this year.
*Also played some "Secret Agent Clank" on the flight home.
Then, over the weekend, I binged. Scary details follow...
Read more...
Since the last entry, I...
*Played more "Secret Agent Clank." The notable thing about my gaming this time isn't what I played but where I played it -- and, specifically, who was there. I was playing the PSP "Clank" game on a United flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I sat in the second-to-last row. In the front row, in first class, was Hideo Kojima. And throughout the plane's economy class section were members of Kojima Productions.
One of them, sitting across the aisle from me, had a "Metal Gear Solid 4" PS3 box between his feet, semi-hidden in an "MGS" bag. I refrained from conducting any interviews. And, technically, it wasn't as odd as the moment earlier this week when I realized that the man watching me play several minutes of "Ninja Gaiden II" at a Microsoft event was Peter Molyneux. Only when I heard him say something did I mind a little less that someone was hovering. Peter, it's ok. You can hover.
Next: Gaming on a red-eye flight. Wise idea or foolishness? I'll find out tonight.
Since the last entry I...
*Played a couple of hours of a review copy of the PSP game "Secret Agent Clank," and so far don't agree with Shane Bettenhausen's take on the 1UpYours podcast. But I'm embargoed and can't say more.
*Played a bunch of EA games including "Dead Space" at an event in San Francisco last night. But I'm embargoed and can't say more.
*Played a few hours of "The World Ends With You" on the flight from New York to San Francisco. But I've already written about the game plenty.
Next: I can describe my experiences with two EA games later (one today and one no sooner than Saturday). And I'll be playing many upcoming Xbox 360 games at a Microsoft event, before I write my next diary entry.
