Pages

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Fall Update


So it's been a bit since I posted, ok, more like four months since anything substantial.  I've been very busy with the new house, work and ramping up for the holidays, but thought I would slam some gaming updates into a single post before the end of the year.

Here we go..



Game Purchases:

This is always a fun topic and despite everything else going on I've made some purchases to keep myself in the incomplete.

  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
  • Humble Bundle for Android 3
  • Humble Indie Bundle 6 [gift]
  • Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
  • Resident Evil 4
  • DeBlob 2
  • Professor Layton and the Curious Village
  • Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
  • Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
I won't go into much detail other than it's great to finally play LTTP.  I put in a few hours back in Sept and need to get back to it.  So far it's been a really cool game and surprisingly more difficult than expected.

Epic Mickey and RE4....  Well, I was very excited for Mickey as the art style looked good and the hype machine was in full force.  I decided to pre-order it on 11/2 and included RE4 as well since it was selling from Amazon for a good price.  I was shocked to learn that a demo was released a week or two later, prior to release, and it's a good thing.  The short version is that I cancelled my pre-order due to the terrible demo and haven't made it around to re-ordering RE4 yet.  I was very disappointed in Epic Mickey as it had so much promise and it looks and sounds so good.  The problem is that it's just not fun to play and the paint/thin mechanic gets old quickly and interrupts the flow of platforming.  All the useless character side quests don't add anything meaningful that I could see either.

...and then there's Professor Layton.  The release of Miracle Mask for the 3DS caught my eye and I've been learning more about the series ever since.  I hate to admit, but this was one of those games I would ignore based on the kiddie-ish nature of the box art.  After some exchanges on Twitter with KnucklesSonic8 and Parko I started looking at the previous titles in the series, but had no intention of buying them to start from the beginning.  Though the cheap side of me prevailed as Miracle Mask isn't coming down in price for probably another few months so I ended up buying the first game, Curious Village, for about $12 used.  (perfect condition at BestBuy)  I poured about 4 hours into it in the first few days, which is huge for me, and I have to say I'm pretty hooked.  Strangely enough Mrs. Incomplete, a non-gamer, liked the puzzles as well and spent a little time solving the ones I had already gone through.

I happened to notice the next two games in the series at WalMart for a pretty good price ($9 and $14) which I ordered last week.  I'm excited about all things Layton at the moment and am looking forward to going through the games.  

On a related note it's good to see Nintendo continuing to support the puzzle DLC in the first game after all this time.  It was a bit interesting to configure wifi as I guess the 3DS is emulating the DS's OS which doesn't support modern security like WPA/WPA2.  I ended up creating a virtual access point which downgrades the security to WEP, but locks down the connection so only the 3DS can use it.  (yay buffalo routers!)


Demos:

  • Marvel Pinball 3D - Cool like the first, just not sure the 3DS is the way to go.
  • Fractured Soul - Sort of an interesting concept, but it got boring.
  • Adventure Time: HIKWYSOG? - Not sure yet.  I don't watch the show so I don't get all the in-jokes.  I like the Zelda II gameplay and have another 4 demo attempts to get a better feel.
  • Rayman Origins - *sigh*  I went through some levels again to compare against my time with the Wii version.  Clearly this port is sub-par and feels terrible.
  • Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion - sigh again.  Such a wasted opportunity.

3DS Streetpass:

What, who, where?  That's right, I picked up another streetpass tag in November at work of all places.  I forgot that I left my 3DS in standby and must have picked up someone walking by or at the office next door.  It turns out I swapped some New SMB2 data and had some coin challenges to take on.

First off I think it's still pretty damn cool how all the streetpass stuff works and it was alot of fun to beat that other anonymous person's record.  Then the problem soon sets in....  There's no communication back to that person with your updated score.  (at least I don't think so)  Where are the options to add them as a friend or send some smack-talking swapnotes?

New SMB2 Gold Classics Pack (DLC):

Speaking of NSMB2, anyone else check out the free Gold Classics pack recently?  It's quite the coin explosion and brought me from 12k up to 36k, but I have to say it's fun despite the lack of difficulty.  I'm undecided on purchasing the other packs just yet.  Overall it's good to see Nintendo getting into DLC even if  their pack "bundle" option is just the price of the individual levels.  I guess they provided that option for convenience?

Mario Kart 7 Online:

Even though our time zones are wildly different I caught up with Stevo from nintendonation.net for a few rounds of MK7 online.  I think he was taking it easy on me and I learned a few lessons for the night.  1)  Time to level up in the solo game so I can have access to better vehicles.  2)  My hands hurt after awhile of playing this and I'm not sure how to fix it.  3)  While nothing wildly new for the franchise, MK7 is a fun game and does online well.  (despite my gripes of the blue shell and not being able to switch cars/accessories enough between races)


Mutant Mudds:

Game complete, er finished, er beat.  Hell, I don't know what to call it, but I made it through the last main level [5-4] after purchasing in February, getting to 5-1 in March and running into a big wall of frustration.  It doesn't really matter how long it takes as long as I can stay ahead of Scott from Coffeewithgames.  

Seriously though, this is one of the top 3DS eShop games around and is definitely worth your time.  (even on PC or iOS now!)

Rayman Origins:

November ushered in a month of Wii titles with my new gaming/PC setup in the office which included a number of hours with Rayman Origins.  I'm in area 2, maybe a few levels in and having a blast.  It's just a great platformer that has a good feel, great comedy and looks good too.

DeBlob 2:

I've been tracking it's price for awhile and picked it up for $9 a few weeks ago from Amazon.  The jury is still out and I need to put more time into it before deciding if I like it.  It seems like a quirky, funny game kind of like how Rayman IS, but at the moment it's moving a bit slow for me.  I'm looking for a little more depth and hopefully the next few levels will provide that.

What's Next:

Maybe try to post more than 1.25 times a month in 2013.. :)  Actually I'm collecting data for a post on game expenses of 2012 and possibly a comparison going back to 2008.  Yes, there are pivot tables and I'm contemplating some charts..

I also want to reflect on the 3DS as I've had it for over a year now and had time to play a variety of games to get beyond the honeymoon/3D phase.  Will it remain my favorite now that I have my Wii back or fall by the waste side?

I may also do another "gaming rig" post for the new office and TV setup.  I'm not quite where I want to be with the room or the setup, but it's better than it was and gives me some good PC and Wii gaming along with multiple screens for work.

What have you been up to?  Also let me know if you have any thoughts on the games mentioned or even your gaming rig.  I know some of you might be switching it up soon...

Also, if I don't post again before Christmas or New Year, have a merry one and hope to hear from you soon!


7 comments:

  1. Yeah, I was going easy on you....

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have been playing Mutant Mudds 5-4 a good bit these last 2 days, and it is STILL destroying me. Bean 1 has been asking me to play the game, and requests me to go to the "V Door" in certain levels. He calls Grannie's Attic, "Grannie's House" and knows how to upgrade the water gun, which he does quite often. The game on the PC is a bit too difficult for him I think, because of the mouse and keyboard use, but he has made it further in a few levels than I thought he would.

    As for the other games, interesting how a demo was soooo bad (or, the game in general), that you canceled the pre-order on it...I wonder if they learned anything from it? Like, not releasing a demo on a game that may be spotty at best?

    I have never played the Layton games, but heard a lot of good stuff about them. Perhaps should add them to my "list" that is currently non-existent.

    We have been playing a little bit, not as much this last week though with the craziness. It's been a lot of Mario Kart DS at night with Bean 1, and the Wii U has gotten some Nintendo Land time. I have a few games on the Wii U I'm looking forward to trying and getting some time with in the next 2 days though. We actually went back on a random Wii kick last week, with BIT.TRIP Runner, and a few of the Virtual Console games as well.

    Now, with less than 24 hours until tomorrow...the question is, can I finish my shopping? 0_0

    ReplyDelete
  3. Incomplete... Blogging? :)  Good to see you posting as well as alive and kicking. I actually had a post ready to go in a couple of days that reflects on your site here - referring to my own incomplete gaming this year. :)

    Sounds like you have been keeping busy though, and now I've seen both you and Coffee plugging for Mutant Mudds in the last few days. My son picked it up for his 3DS but I haven't played it yet.

    Take it easy and I wish you and yours a great Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yeah, no problem, I am pretty rusty and haven't upgraded vehicles much.  Thanks for the match!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mutant Mudds on keyboard, I can imagine that would be rough.  I played some of Super Meat Boy with keyboard and while it wasn't terrible I don't think I would have gotten as far without a controller.  Can you hook up your PS3 dualshock to your PC?

    Grannie's house, that's great. :)I've been thinking about that scenario with demos as well.  Do they risk a demo or just go for a cash grab before reviews scare people away?  I like when demos are available and have had my share of good ones on Steam a number of times.  (vvvvvv, Altitude, EDGE, Limbo, etc.)  Then again I'm much more cautious with $30-40 purchases than say a $5 digital purchase on steam.Am hoping to get some gaming in over the next week and make more Layton progress.  

    On the Wii VC games, are you playing them on the Wii U's Wii-mode emulation or still on the old Wii?  One thing that disappointed me is that you can't play Wii VC games on the Wii U gamepad. (right?)  I thought I read that the game had to be converted or moved to the Wii U's VC.  (and all this Wii terminology gets unnecessarily wordy and confusing)

    Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Incomplete everything....  Good to squeak in a post and maybe open the door for a few more soon.

    Am interested to see your incomplete post and probably something I can relate to.  

    For Mutant Mudds, yeah I guess we have been talking about it lately.  How does he like it so far?

    Have a great on as well way up there in the cold!

    ReplyDelete
  7.  My son loves the game - he's logged quite a bit of time with it so far. :)

    Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you and yours Robert!  take care!

    ReplyDelete