26/02/2014

Vita - Bye Bye

I just don't use it, I have never used a handheld that does not fit in my pocket.

I already have a stack load of 360/PS3 (PS+) games to play without having another console that I won't play (No, I'm not looking at the PS4).

I'll continue playing Dust & Army of Two. When they are completed I will finish off Dishonoured & start Knack.

I also have Deus Ex Human Revolution & Mass Effect 3 to enjoy whilst waiting for the reviews of Infamous Second Son. Hopefully some news from Ubisoft over the next few weeks on the fate of Watch_Dogs will also make me use the PS4. Which is not being neglected by the boys who are happily playing Fifa 14.

25/02/2014

Danger Boat - Leaderboards

Taking the opportunity to gloat whilst I have it before the kids catch me up and beat my score.

1st on all three leaderboards for Danger Boat

Best Score is 43,765
Best Distance is 1,768
Total Distance is 181,505

Make sure you are connected to Game Center before you start playing otherwise the game will not update the leaderboards if you manage a good score.

I have now fully upgraded the Turbo power & need to complete another 11 daily challenges to unlock the Aircraft Carrier.


24/02/2014

Dust - Sorrowing Meadows

The start of chapter 3 takes you to the Sorrowing Meadows where the path to the mountains is blocked. You have to visit four mansions to collect artifacts. The game glitched out on me when visiting the first mansion (left on the map) because upon reaching the treasure room there was no artifact to collect after trying this mansion a few times I watched a youtube video which showed the mansion filled with rock walls & obstacles. So I restarted the console & this time the mansion was filled with obstacles & rock walls. The demon chased me all the way to the treasure room & the artifact was shimmering to be collected, I also picked up a new climb ability which no lets me grab onto vines. At this point fearing a corrupted save I promptly created five new save files.

The sorrowing meadows introduces a few new enemies, most notably zombies but the Necromancers are tough because they can only be attacked by using Fidget's abilities. I completed a second mansion & then exited the map to revisit some of the earlier locations like the Glade & Abadis Forest to reach areas with my new climb ability.

That was all I had time for this weekend, I will continue to revisit the earlier locations like the Caverns & Hidden Cove to see if I can complete those areas before returning to The Sorrowing Meadows to visit the remaining two mansions.

21/02/2014

Dust - Darkness

The game is split into chapters, Destiny was the first chapter which concluded with me fighting Fuse. Ginger left Aurora to go the northern mountains in search of General Gaius but an explosion unleashed monsters on the village.

The explosion also opened up access to the Cirromon Caverns & the village of Mudpot below Aurora. In the caverns I found a new ability to crouch slide (just like metroid, you slowly get the skills to revisit areas & progress further) which is perfect for getting through tight spaces.

The flow of water has stopped to the village of Mudpot & I venture further deep into the caverns to find "The Lady" who is the next boss fight. She was overcome by Darkness & is now cured by getting her ass kicked by Dust.

With my new skill acquired, some armour upgrades & a ton of sidequests completed  I can now venture to the Northern mountains & here starts Chapter 3 Love.

20/02/2014

Pocket Mine - New High Score

I am still playing on the odd occasion when I get a few minutes free & managed to set a new high score of 394. So close to breaking the 400 mark, luck of which cards you get drawn depends quite a bit on how far down you can mine. My preference is for healing cards or explosions.

The pick now only offers an upgrade of +2 & requires a lot of cash before you can upgrade.

19/02/2014

Flappy Bird - New High Score

The game has now been removed from the app store but I am still on the odd occasion trying to beat my score which I have now managed with 19.

Flap FLAP .. FLAP AArgh !!!

18/02/2014

Danger Boat - Endless Danger

From the developer that gave us the amazing Disc Drivin comes Danger Boat. Watch out for rocks, bombs, submarines & other obstacles in your way whilst piloting your boat.

Avoiding all these whilst collecting coins & powerups will rack up your score. You can then spend the acquired gold in the shop purchasing boosts, upgrades or new boats.

By completing various missions you can increase your multiplier, some of these are challenging like a high score target.

My current stats are

Best Distance 1,364
Best Score 14,040


Pocket Mine - Rainbow Chest

When you unlock the factory you can use 5 diamond chests & 4 Orb cubes to upgrade to a Rainbow Chest. To get green orbs you need to demolish an artifact which is annoying.

But I had to try at least once to see what treasure I would get from a rainbow chest.

You also need 17 coins to unlock a chest which you can get from completing bonus missions or exchanging rubies.


Super Bomb was my reward 100% more bomb crates with 15% more power.

KABOOM !!

Army of Two - Co-op Carnage

Not had much time to play much gaming the past week on the consoles but I did get some time to co-op with Abbas on Army of Two.

The game has a mission based structure with some taking longer than others (especially if we die & have to respawn to the last checkpoint). There have been some nice gameplay moments which include a nice driving section with the other player on a mounted gun & a slide down a hallway with a building exploding (reminds of some gameplay I saw on Bulletstorm).

The game seems to have done away with the back to back feature from the previous game which had you taking out a large number of enemies whilst having your back to your co-op partner.

Earlier in the game there was a mission set in the past in which we rescued a hostage named Fiona who we now meet up five years later & she informs us of the cartel's hideout which is in a church.

08/02/2014

Pocket Mine - New High Score

The app has now been updated to fix the gamecentre leaderboards & I managed to get a higher depth score of 267.

Stupidly wasted my rubies in the game to  get deeper when I should have used them to purchase more chest keys.

Next target is to get to 300.

Dust - Elysian Tail

Working my way through the many digital releases on XBLA & PS+ to see if anything bites. Disappointed by the checkpoints in Outland & scared witless with Outlast.

I really wanted Deadlight to be a metroidvania/shadow complex style of game but this is where Dust Elysian Tail ticks all the boxes. Lovely characters with great voice-acting & great gameplay.

You play Dust who wakes up with forgotten memories & his greeted by a sword & it's companion Fidget. They accompany you towards the nearest village which is infested by monsters. After you save the village the mayor asks you to go to another nearby village where the monsters commander is based.

You get given various quests from the town dwellers which open up more of the world map for you to explore.

The monsters leader Fuse is a Moonblood creature who are victims of a genocide by a man known as General Gaius. Fuse also tells Dust that he was a soldier in this war. I now have a quest to go to the northern mountains to find more information about the general.

I am waiting for more skills to unlock so I can revisit some areas which I can't at the moment reach.

Looking forward to seeing where the story evolves & what new skills unlock.

Outlast - Shredder

Just one too many scare for me to continue playing, the tense music & constant noises have you in the edge of your seat. Stupid reporter should have gone to the asylum armed with a gun, grenades, soldiers & new pants.

I managed to play Dead Space but Outlast just takes the horror to another level. I'm out !!

Shredder !!

07/02/2014

Outland - Shredder

The checkpoints are too far apart in the game especially frustrating when you have managed to connect with a sequence of jumps only to die by an enemy.

This was one of those it's on sale & I have MS Points so lets buy it purchases & definitely one where I should have played the demo first.

Shredder Treatment

Ridiculous Fishing - Gnarwal

I managed to get to the bottom of Home Waters to catch the Gnarwal, now to collect some more cash & purchase more upgrades to see what lurks at the bottom of the Stormy Seas.


Pocket Mine - New High Score

Witty's post on UGVM has got me playing Pocket Mine again, the gamecentre leaderboards are not updating with the game stats but I now have 216 Metres & 286 Cash.

06/02/2014

Deadlight - Completed

The game has quite a few sequences which you will fail on the first attempt like the helicopter sequence there are many similar which you will need to retry a few times before you have timed your jumps & actions perfectly to reach the next checkpoint.

The story continues after I save the RAT's son & you meet up with the remaining survivors to eventually take down the NEW Law militia. Whilst escaping from the ensuing chaos you eventually find out about your family.

Another game ticked off my XBLA backlog, time to return and complete Dishonoured whilst co-op gaming Army of Two 40th Day & Knack.

05/02/2014

Knack - Assisted Co-Op gaming

The plan was to play co-op with my son but my daughter likes the cartoonish look of the game so I have given up my slot.

Occasionally she will get to a difficult section & this is when I jump in for some assisted co-op gaming.

Co-op play is odd in that Knack controls everything, the camera moves with him leaving the second player off screen, a countdown timer will then re-spawn the other player next to knack. If knack dies the game returns back to the last checkpoint, I think the second player implementation must have been an afterthought. Where is the split screen camera like the Lego games when the players split up? Why can't the second player continue playing the level & Knack re-spawn?

Putting these gameplay mechanics to one side it's a simple colourful game with the minimum of controls, X button for jump, Square for attack, Circle for special attack using sun crystal power & triangle for interaction. My daughter can just about manage the controls but to the annoyance of my son Knack keeps dying too often even with the difficulty set to easy.

Anyhow with my assisted help they have managed to make it to the goblin castle. Let's see what awaits inside.

Deadlight - Complex Shadows

Zombie Apocalypse 'check'
Search for family members 'check'
Limited Ammo 'check'
Simple Puzzles 'check'
Metroidvania 2D style 'check'

Except it's no metroidvania you have no map & you only keep going forward. It does have atmosphere but I think I'm OD'd on zombie games this generation to appreciate it.

I needed something short to play whilst co-op gaming (Army of Two/Knack) with the boys so turned to the ton of XBLA games I have on the 360.

It is not a bad game, I'm still enjoying it but it could have been so much more. WHY?! have Chair Entertainment not made a Shadow Complex 2 ?!!

Back to Deadlight you are Randall Wayne & the game starts with you shooting another surviver in the head who has just been bitten. You help the other survivors escape & begin your search for your family. 

Whilst walking, running & zombie bashing your way across Seattle you find a group called "The New Law" who seem hellbent on killing other humans that won't join them. I came across Sam one of the survivors who I helped escape earlier shot by this group & bleeding to death.

I continue my way across Seattle but eventually get cornered by a crowd of shadows. A manhole cover opens & I get dragged inside by 'RAT' an old man living in the sewers. The sewer section of the game is full of booby traps for the shadows but I need to be careful to ensure I don't get caught in any of them. 'RAT' then asks me to go save his son for him & he will give me information about the other survivors & my family. There is a sequence where a helicopter is chasing & shooting at you, this took me quite a few attempts but it is all about timing your jumps to vault over obstacles.

This is not a game where you have an unlimited supply of ammo & just shoot all the zombies. The opposite in fact, it is better to avoid confronting the shadows & conserving your ammo for when you really need it. I tend to use the 'shout, jump & run' approach quite a bit. Shout to grab the shadows attention when they are all gathered below me jump over them & run !!

04/02/2014

Flappy Bird - New High Score


I have been caught up in the Flap Flap craze, new high score yesterday of 11. Still way off Abbas's score of 32 !!

Lost Cities - TENs

What to play? Too many big numbers including all the 10s

03/02/2014

Army of Two - Devil's Cartel

The 360 console has been the king of local co-op gaming from the Lego games to Halo & Gears of War but Army of Two for me has been the co-op shooter series. Mission based, agro fueled, bullet spraying chaos.

The Devils Cartel continues the series fine tuned experience giving you the armory section to specialise your weapons & purchase new upgrades. Customise your character with unique masks & camouflage your armour or weapons.

The story in this game is your usual South American cartel affair nothing original but the missions so far have been very fast paced & have thrown up a few nice moments inc sniping whilst inside a helicopter & manning a turret to defend your co-op player.

Aggro remains from the previous games & you can use it to attract the attention of enemies whilst the other player flanks to take them out. The few missions we have completed have not shown the series rock, paper & scissors joke or the back to back sequence yet.

You are escorting a politician convoy that comes under attack from the cartels gunmen who seemed to be pretty well equipped with rocket launchers & grenades. A flashback gives you a tutorial mission & also an opportunity to meet up with the series protagonists Rios & Salem for a mission.

This may potentially be our last local co-op game for the 360 & so far it's an enjoyable experience.