What Are You Currently Playing? 5.05: You Are (Not) A Gamer

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I played some more Devil May Cry today, and got all the way up to mission 12, which looks like it'll be an underwater level....oh great........underwater levels should NEVER be incorporated into hack n' slash games, EVER, under ANY circumstances.

Other than that, though, the game has been great so far. Ifrit is a pretty fun weapon, though it makes me realize how little its DMC 3 and 4 counterparts, Beowulf and Gilgamesh (respectively), changed its core combat, which I guess shows how good of a weapon it was to begin with (though to be fair, DMC4's use of different styles further deepens the combat potential of this type of weapon). Overall, though, I still prefer using Alastor, as the sword is just a lot faster to wield and honestly deals out enough damage on its own, so the extra strength provided by Ifrit is mostly unnecessary.

Oh, I have to say that for whatever reason, Nelo Angelo was WAY easier when I fought him the second time around in mission 11, which I guess is because I got better at the game, but really I was expecting him to throw some new types of attacks at me rather than recycling his old tricks. Either way, its still a fun fight, though, so I'm not complaining.

I will say that the missions in this game feel really short most of the time, even when I'm not sure what I'm doing. I know that the missions in DMC aren't supposed to last an hour + long like a typical chapter in Ninja Gaiden, but it does feel awkward at times when I literally just make it through 3 or 4 rooms in one mission and them I'm done with it. Overall, though, this game is a ton of fun, and I'll likely replay it on a higher difficulty after I make it past DMC2 and 3, though I may end up completing DMC2 last.

[Foggle]

The underwater levels in DMC are fine. They're like 3 minutes long tops, and actually kind of fun. They remind me of Doom, a bit.

The third fight with Nelo Angelo is one of my favorite moments in any video game.

[Foggle]

Oh yeah, I played a lot of that new Sonic racing game with Jay (and some other guys) today. Easily my favorite racer of all time.

[Spark Of Spirit]

 

The game is mad hard, though. It's a good thing the tracks are so great.

[Foggle]

Tell me about it, it took the four of us around an hour and twenty minutes just to beat that damn Jet Set Radio traffic challenge map on hard difficulty...

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

While I wouldn't say that the water segments were fun, I do agree that they were harmlessly short, so it wasn't too big of a deal. At any rate, I now made it up to mission 16, and the game is still consistently great. You can tell that DMC1 in particular was originally meant to be a Resident Evil game with all of the emphasis on finding keys or items to insert into objects which open up new pathways and whatnot. There's also a fair amount of platforming to accompany the RE-like puzzle solving, but it works alright for the most part. As I've stated before, I do still feel that the combat in this game feels quite a bit limited compared to its sequels, but even so, it still requires more skill and thought that the majority of most mindless hack n' slash games that come out today. Even if you do end up using the same standard combo with your sword over and over again, there is no way of getting around having to properly recognize enemy attack patterns and know when to dodge them, and you also have to manage your items since they are pretty scarce, so its best to save up vital stars for major boss fights.

Oh, as far as the Sonic racing goes, I may end up getting 2 more games as Christmas gifts. One of those games is going to be Halo 4 just because like I said I can't resist getting the next Halo game since its kind of a habit in me to get each new release. If I do end up getting a 2nd game, though, I'm considering between either the Sonic racing game or Max Payne 3, both of which are currently priced at $40 at my local stores (though with the Sonic game it was released at that price whereas MP3 came down to that price).

[Foggle]

Sonic Racing is better, but only if you have other people to play with. Max Payne 3 is excellent (even if there are too many cutscenes), and will give you a lengthy and memorable single-player experience.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

In that case I'm better off with MP3, since I doubt I'll ever find anyone to play a racing game with, period (most of my friends are of either of the FPS or MMO crowd when it comes to gaming). I wouldn't mind getting it if it still had a good single-player offering like other good sports games, such as Mario Tennis, Sega Soccer Slam, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, SSX Tricky, and if you want to count it as a sports game, WWF: No Mercy. Those games are great with multiplayer but also offer up addicting single-player offerings in terms of story, tournament, or career modes that'll keep you coming back for more. Certain fighting games also offer up a lot of content for single-players, such as Super Street Fighter IV which I just recently got. If the Sonic racing game offers up a lot of single-player content, that it'd still be worth getting. Otherwise I might just go for Max Payne 3....or Darksiders 2, now that I just remembered that I was interested in that game since I was craving a Zelda-like experience for my XBOX360.

[Foggle]

Well, you can play Sonic Racing in single-player, and I'm sure it's a lot of fun, but the multiplayer is what elevates it above Max Payne 3.

Or, you could always wait and get Anarchy Reigns for $30 on January 8th instead, which I'd recommend over either. http://www.gamestop.com/xbox-360/games/anarchy-reigns/90113

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Does that game have a good single-player offering? It looks great, but it seems like it was made specifically for mutliplayer, with the single-player elements being an afterthought.

[Nel_Annette]

I've only been playing single-player and I'm still enjoying the hell out of it. *shrugs*

[Foggle]

Does that game have a good single-player offering? It looks great, but it seems like it was made specifically for mutliplayer, with the single-player elements being an afterthought.

The single-player campaign is pretty fun. Not amazing like Platinum's previous offerings, but still damn good. Meanwhile, the offline multiplayer simulator mode with bots is almost as fun as going online (sometimes more so), which is AMAZING. It's an excellent purchase, especially for $30. It was even worth the ludicrous import price IMO.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The single player mode is World Tour and it has a menu map of selections to race in different maps with different challenges (with selectable difficulties) to unlock stuff in the game. That single player mode can be played multiplayer, but it doesn't have to be.

That said, it's hard.

I also quite enjoy it, but yeah, it's much easier with multiple people.

[Foggle]

That traffic challenge map, for instance, if I was trying to do that by myself, I would've gotten extremely frustrated and quit. But because I was playing it with three of my friends, it was tons of masochistic fun.

[gunswordfist]

Games I want this year in the order of what I want the most.

1. Mass Effect 3
2. Max Payne 3
3. Halo 4
4. Dishonored
5. Far Cry 3
6. Hitman Absolution
7. Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2 is at the bottom because I want to get the first first and I'm not sure how playable Hitman is on 360 so I'll hold that one off.