Sector Six

Ok, so I beat the game last night on normal mode (and yes, to all you achievement whores out there, I consider finishing the last level of a game “beating” it). It was.. okay. After all the hype and gushing over the end of the game, I ewxpected something epic. Sure the final boss was huge, and looked pretty cool, but at no time did I really feel like I was in a fight with a supreme diety. Just one big bitch.

After the multiple stages of the fight was done, and the game beat, I went back and played it on very easy. Now THAT was fun (because all you do is tap the button and it does all the combos for you). If I would’ve played it through on that first I may have enjoyed it more. On my own I couldn’t string together a combo to save my life.

Still, the game was enjoyable, a little too heavy on the story and custscenes (which were shit anyway), and the levels weren’t quite as grand and varied as I expected. But still it was fun.

I was considering buying the game at first, but now that I’ve beat it I’m just not that inclined to play through it again. The costumes I’ve unlocked were a bit disappointing, and aside from the extra weapons and difficulties, there’s nothing new to experience.

Final Verdict: If I would’ve bought the game first, I would’ve been completely satisfied with the purchase. But having beaten the game already, I can’t justify the price to keep it. I’ll pick it up in six months when it drops to $20.

Well I played about one or two stages on RE:Darkside chronicles and I felt sick to my stomach. The rumors were true, there’s just WAY too much shaky cam in this one. I might (read:MIGHT) give this one another try. It’s such a shame too. I’m a huge RE fan but I may have to send this one back.

The experience with Bayonetta has been better. I’ve put about five hours into it so far and I like it a lot. Some of the cutscenes can go a bit long at times and it has some rather unforgiving encounters, but overall it’s pretty enjoyable. I hear it gets better and better up to the end so I’ll have to reserve my whole judgement for when I beat it through the first time.

So I finally get to discover two things this week: if the new RE gun game will make me throw up, and if Bayonetta really does have awesome gameplay to back up its blatant “your girlfriend will be tapping her foot while you’re playing” sexual overtones. Will post impressions.

Ok, I’ve been away for a while, but now I’m back. So it’s time for a little recap over what I was doing over those dark, internet-less times.

Borderlands
I reached level 45 on Borderlands, only to realize that if I kept going there would be no motivating factor to play the expansion packs. At least if I stopped then I could actually gain levels while playing something NEW. So Borderlands landed in the backlog pile, and I’ll get back to it when I pick up the Zombie Island pack. Haven’t decided on the Underdome one yet.

Batman: Arkham Asylum
It only took about two and a half weeks, but I played through and beat Batman: AA and found all the Riddler items. I haven’t really done any of the extra challenges though, because frankly, I really suck at the combat system. So that one is in the ‘done’ pile for me, until a drought hits and I’m bored enough to give it a try.

Dragon Age
Still playing this. I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong, but I’m kinda lost. I hit a dead end of sorts on this one quest and I have literally no clue what to do next. Strategy guides on the internet are only so helpful as most of them haven’t even been completed yet. I took a break from that quest and went after the werewolves, but I’m getting downright spanked in the underground ruins. This one isn’t getting put on the backlog pile yet, but I am going to take a break, maybe even start over with a more carefully tuned character.

Modern Warfare 2
I didn’t touch this game the entire time my internet was shut off. Now that it’s back on, though, I’m dusting off my microphone.

Forza 3
I pop this one in at least once a week and work on my career. I’m nearing the end of season 5, and it’ll probably be another year or so before I finish off season 6. From what I hear, it’s a long ass season.

Ahh, the Japanese. They did it with Soul Calibur, they did it with Dead or Alive, and now they did it again. They made a game with solid gameplay, great graphics, and a cast of half naked, big breasted women that will make any hardcore gamer think, “How the hell am I going to explain this one?”

In the case of Bayonetta, at least she’s not big breasted. Instead, she has insanely long legs and a skin tight outfit. Actually, it’s a hair-tight outfit. You see, Bayonetta is a demon of sorts and her outfit is actually made out of her hair, which can also change shape to create anything from giant fists to giant boots, to a giant dragon head that consumes your enemies. Well, her hair can’t make a giant dragon head AND her body suit at the same time, now can it? So therefore, her suit breaks into strands of hair and swirls away from her body, in a sense leaving her bare-assed naked. The hair stays in certain places and conveniently covers certain body parts, of course, but you can’t help but notice the gratuitous sexual angle of the game.

Now this would be fine and all if we could write it off as some gimmick to sell a shitty game. But instead, it was made by the creators of the Devil May Cry series, and hearkens back to the original with all of it’s small puzzles and exploration. The combat system is deep and intuitive, the graphics are top-notch, and the framerate is locked in at at least 30-60 frames per second. She has a long list of moves at her disposal, including guns mounted to her feet (which she aims by standing on her hands and spreading and swinging her legs in different directions), and a “taunt” button in which she shakes her ass and asks if they want to touch her. In short, if it was a crap game, I could ignore it. But this thing actually turned out to be pretty good. The game is already out in Japan, and has gotten rave reviews. It doesn’t come out here till next year, but there’s a demo coming to the U.S. soon.

So thanks to the good folks at Sega, I was able to get early access to the demo that will be going up on Xbox Live in December. After playing it I noticed a few things:

1. Its every bit as fun, if not more, than the original Devil May Cry. The battles are fast and frantic, and the controls are tight (no pun intended).

2. The full name of the game, demo, or stage is called First Climax.  As a matter of fact, the finishing move in which she summons the hair dragon is also called a Climax. Yeah, I know.

3. This game is a spiritual successor to Devil May Cry (which was a result of a botched attempt at Resident Evil 4). I noticed this when one of the first things I encountered was a door that I could not open in the demo, but will no-doubt be returning to later in the game. Very Resident Evil-ish.

4. The story doesn’t seem to make a lick of sense, much like the Devil May Cry series.

When the game comes out in January, it’s no doubt going to ruffle some feathers. If the sexual content doesn’t do it, the demons vs angels theme will. This game has plenty of controversy rolling in with it, and that usually makes for great headlines. I can’t wait to play the final retail copy, even if I have to do some explaining.

XxEvil AshxX