I was just going through a box of my old games, and came across Suikoden on the Playstation. Out of curiosity, I looked it up on TradeMe ( the New Zealand version of Ebay ), and discovered it's worth around $250 - $300 NZ. Needless to say, I have now cleaned it up and put it away safely in a drawer where it won't get scratched or damaged.
I wonder how many other people out there have old games in their collections which are worth a small fortune, and don't even realise it?
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Modern Warfare 2 - Objective Complete
I just finished Modern Warfare 2. I wrote in my previous post about not being overly impressed by the game, but still hoping that it might blow me away as I continued playing. This never happened, unfortunately. Sure, it had its exciting moments, but for the first time in any Call Of Duty game I actually found myself growing slightly bored as the game went on. I found the final couple of levels in Afghanistan particularly uninspiring, and by this point I was just eager to get the game over and done with.
Going on all of the rave reviews from the press and gamers alike I get the feeling I'm in the minority with my opinion, but overall the game just never really "clicked" for me. My problems with the game that I mentioned in my previous post still stand. The story was confusing, and very poorly conveyed. I honestly didn't have a clue what was happening most of the time, or what my objectives were or why the hell I was supposed to care. I did find myself dying less as the game went on, however. I think it was mainly just the tight, death-trap streets of the Rio de Janeiro that were the main cause of my frustration regarding this aspect of the game's difficulty.
I still feel very uneasy about the worth of the "Airport" level, also. I'm still not convinced that it was necessary to have it as a playable level in the game. The fact that you can choose not to play the level, and not have it affect the story completion, attests to the fact that it could easily have been left out.
I'll still play the multiplayer side of the game to death, however, which I guess is really the main attraction of the Modern Warfare games anyway.
Going on all of the rave reviews from the press and gamers alike I get the feeling I'm in the minority with my opinion, but overall the game just never really "clicked" for me. My problems with the game that I mentioned in my previous post still stand. The story was confusing, and very poorly conveyed. I honestly didn't have a clue what was happening most of the time, or what my objectives were or why the hell I was supposed to care. I did find myself dying less as the game went on, however. I think it was mainly just the tight, death-trap streets of the Rio de Janeiro that were the main cause of my frustration regarding this aspect of the game's difficulty.
I still feel very uneasy about the worth of the "Airport" level, also. I'm still not convinced that it was necessary to have it as a playable level in the game. The fact that you can choose not to play the level, and not have it affect the story completion, attests to the fact that it could easily have been left out.
I'll still play the multiplayer side of the game to death, however, which I guess is really the main attraction of the Modern Warfare games anyway.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Modern Warfare 2 - First Impressions
Ok, so after umming and ahhing about whether or not to buy MW2 on the PS3 or PC, I decided to go with PC. As I mentioned in my previous post, I simply prefer the keyboard and mouse control that it offers. Also, finding it for $20 cheaper than on the PS3 definitely played a part in the decision.
I've played through the first five chapters of single player, and have spent a couple of hours on multiplayer. My initial impressions? To be honest, I'm a bit underwhelmed by it so far. My main problems with the game are the confusing and poorly told story, having to frequently restart due to numerous deaths caused by not having a clue what's going on around me because there are 40 million explosions all happening at once, and also that the game simply doesn't feel as fresh or as fun as the first Modern Warfare. Going back to what I said about having to restart all the time after dying, I realise that the Call Of Duty games have always been an assault on the senses, and consistently maintain a high level of intensity. The games represent, as closely as a game can, the sheer confusion of a real battlefield. However, in none of the previous games - and I have played and completed them all, except for Call Of Duty 3 - have I ever felt like I have died unfairly. I've lost count of the number of times I've just walked around a corner in MW2 and died instantly after being hammered from all directions by enemies, sometimes even from behind where I thought I had cleared all of the enemies out. To be fair, I am playing on the Hardened difficulty level, but this is the level I played all of the previous games on and I don't recall ever dying quite this much.
In my previous post, I wrote about the potential controversy of the "Airport" scene in this game. After playing through it, I freely admit that I really was quite upset and shocked by the scene. What was equally as upsetting, however, is that after it finished I realised how unnecessary it was. Infinity Ward have said:
"The scene is designed to evoke the atrocities of terrorism".
If that's all they were going for, then I guess they were successful, but what was the point? I realise that it serves a purpose in the overall story of the game, but this information could just as easily have been conveyed through one of the between level loading screens. In my opinion there was no point in having this scene as a playable level. Yes, they give you the option of skipping the scene entirely, which going on it's graphic nature would really be a good option for some people, but personally I have no problem with graphic or confronting material as long as it actually serves a purpose. Good developers go through an iteration process where they sort the wheat from the chaff in order to come out with the best game they can, so I just find it strange that this level was included as I don't think it improves the game in any way. I'm keeping an open mind about this, however, as I haven't finished the game yet and it may be touched upon later in the game. If anyone reading this has an opinion, feel free to comment. I'm genuinely curious about other people's reactions to this scene.
Now, on to the multiplayer. I was prepared to bitch and moan about the horrible online experience for the PC version, but I've actually been pleasantly surprised. Almost all of the rounds I've played have been smooth and lag free, and I consistently get three or four green ping bars. In regards to the gameplay itself, it's obviously just a slightly evolved version of the original game's multiplayer. So, it's a hell of a lot of fun is what I'm trying to say. I really like the new rewards, and all of the new weapons are a lot of fun. I can imagine myself playing the online side of this game for a long time to come, just like I did with the first game.
I probably sound pretty negative about the game overall, but I really don't think it's a bad game. I just don't think it lives up to the excellence of the first Modern Warfare. Obviously I've still got a way to go before I finish the game, so it could still pull one out of the bag and really blow me away. Like I said, I've definitely got an open mind about it.
I've played through the first five chapters of single player, and have spent a couple of hours on multiplayer. My initial impressions? To be honest, I'm a bit underwhelmed by it so far. My main problems with the game are the confusing and poorly told story, having to frequently restart due to numerous deaths caused by not having a clue what's going on around me because there are 40 million explosions all happening at once, and also that the game simply doesn't feel as fresh or as fun as the first Modern Warfare. Going back to what I said about having to restart all the time after dying, I realise that the Call Of Duty games have always been an assault on the senses, and consistently maintain a high level of intensity. The games represent, as closely as a game can, the sheer confusion of a real battlefield. However, in none of the previous games - and I have played and completed them all, except for Call Of Duty 3 - have I ever felt like I have died unfairly. I've lost count of the number of times I've just walked around a corner in MW2 and died instantly after being hammered from all directions by enemies, sometimes even from behind where I thought I had cleared all of the enemies out. To be fair, I am playing on the Hardened difficulty level, but this is the level I played all of the previous games on and I don't recall ever dying quite this much.
In my previous post, I wrote about the potential controversy of the "Airport" scene in this game. After playing through it, I freely admit that I really was quite upset and shocked by the scene. What was equally as upsetting, however, is that after it finished I realised how unnecessary it was. Infinity Ward have said:
"The scene is designed to evoke the atrocities of terrorism".
If that's all they were going for, then I guess they were successful, but what was the point? I realise that it serves a purpose in the overall story of the game, but this information could just as easily have been conveyed through one of the between level loading screens. In my opinion there was no point in having this scene as a playable level. Yes, they give you the option of skipping the scene entirely, which going on it's graphic nature would really be a good option for some people, but personally I have no problem with graphic or confronting material as long as it actually serves a purpose. Good developers go through an iteration process where they sort the wheat from the chaff in order to come out with the best game they can, so I just find it strange that this level was included as I don't think it improves the game in any way. I'm keeping an open mind about this, however, as I haven't finished the game yet and it may be touched upon later in the game. If anyone reading this has an opinion, feel free to comment. I'm genuinely curious about other people's reactions to this scene.
Now, on to the multiplayer. I was prepared to bitch and moan about the horrible online experience for the PC version, but I've actually been pleasantly surprised. Almost all of the rounds I've played have been smooth and lag free, and I consistently get three or four green ping bars. In regards to the gameplay itself, it's obviously just a slightly evolved version of the original game's multiplayer. So, it's a hell of a lot of fun is what I'm trying to say. I really like the new rewards, and all of the new weapons are a lot of fun. I can imagine myself playing the online side of this game for a long time to come, just like I did with the first game.
I probably sound pretty negative about the game overall, but I really don't think it's a bad game. I just don't think it lives up to the excellence of the first Modern Warfare. Obviously I've still got a way to go before I finish the game, so it could still pull one out of the bag and really blow me away. Like I said, I've definitely got an open mind about it.
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