Critical Error: Beyond Good and Evil

A couple nights ago I started getting an error in my Gamecube memory card while playing this game. I was playing this on my Wii and it turns out that slot A was on the fritz. So every time I had to save or load a game, I had to get up, walk over to the Wii, and fiddle with the memory card in the slot until the connections were properly made and the game recognized the card. Slot B was fine, but unfortunately BG&E only accepts data in slot A.

After about an hour of playing tonight, I got to a save point and the card just wouldn't read, wouldn't read, wouldn't read. So I reset the console and I got it to read - but my save file was gone. Erased. Kablooey. Four hours of work gone.

So twice in a row I am met with failure and this is one that I think I'm going to have to give away. Maybe I'll pick it up again on PS2 or XBOX once this journey is over. So I offer it to you the community. Who would like my copy of Beyond Good & Evil for Gamecube? It's really good.

Even though I wasn't able to finish it, I am going to write a review based on what I've played - I really enjoyed it and the world deserves to know how good the first four hours of this game are.

Up Next: Beyond Good & Evil

 

Beyond Good and Evil. Take a look at any game blog or message board and you're bound to find a post or comment about this game. BG&E, despite have a hugely loyal cult following today, came out at a time that just wasn't right. A good number of high profile games came out that same season and unfortunately the game got lost in the shuffle. Critically, the game was an enormous success, generally scoring 8s and 9s across the board. 

The reason why it didn't catch on with the mass market is the same reason it has such a strong following today - it's different, and you can tell that right from the cover. First off you have a female lead who doesn't have an enormous rack, second you have a pretty sci-fi-esque geeky plot line, and third - is that a camera? I can't blow things up with a camera! OUTRAGE! 

Nevertheless, you can see why the game didn't catch on like, say, Halo 2.

 

Dude, armor, TWO guns, explosion in the background. Unfortunately, this is how you sell a game. 

Regardless of what the haters say, I'm extremely excited to play Beyond Good & Evil. I put in a couple hours tonight and it's been pretty great so far. The combat's got a bit of a Zelda feel, but you also have some elements of photography games like Pokemon snap as you're tasked with photographing every species of animal you come across. The characters are well written and their dialogue is believable, if a little stiffly acted. he plot is a classic sci-fi rebel-force-fighting-against-the-oppressive-government fare, but with the extra later of an intergalactic war with an alien race known as the DomZ (pronounced like Dom's as in Dom's Deli).

Reason I never finished it: (This is a new thing - get used to it)

To be honest, I fell prey to the trap that caused the game to sell like crap in the first place - it didn't satiate my gamer needs. The game is a slow burn and I had other stars to collect and other landscapes to blow up - I didn't have time to get my hovercraft fixed or take pictures of bugs. So it fell by the wayside. 

I'm glad I'm forcing myself through it now though. It shouldn't be too difficult, and I'm pumped to play through the underground darling starring a chick and a pig. 

Let's do it. Beyond Good & Evil for Gamecube.

.

 

Screw It: Geometry Wars

I've never said the F word more times in my entire life. This game is f*^king impossible. While I have gotten noticeably better since I've started playing, I am probably a good full month's worth of practice away from reaching a million points. So I'm bending my own rules a little bit and taking the advice of a fellow blogger. I'm gonna put Geometry Wars back on the shelf for the time being, play a few more games and come back to it fresh.

I realized tonight in between cursing my head off and permanently damaging my controller (due to multiple spikes) that I wasn't having fun anymore. Up until now, I've had fun playing every game - even Donkey Kong Country in a kind of backwards sadistic way. Geometry Wars is enjoyable until you crest 100,000 - then it becomes a survival test. Like a real life survival test. Will you actually kill yourself due to frustration? That's what Geo Wars threatens you with.

So for now, I'm moving on. See you in a couple months Geometry Wars. You f&*king bastard.

New High Score! Geometry Wars

I finally crested over my plateau. Last night, after playing for about two hours straight, I bested my previous high score. My new high score is 474,035 - almost halfway there. It gets so freaking intense at around the time you reach 250,000 points - like to the point where I can't even see my ship and I'm just hoping that I'm shooting in the right direction.

I do have to say that this is the only game I've ever played where my thumbs are sore afterward - not the tips but the joints. I just think because the game is so intense that I end up gripping the controller with such a ridiculously over tight grip that my joints take all the abuse.

I feel much better about my chances of reaching a million points. It may take a little longer than the 10 day average I've been pulling down with most other games, but I am confident now that I will make it.  If I don't get arthritis first.

Still Playing...Geometry Wars

This game is freaking impossible. My personal best going into this was 340,000ish and after three nights of playing for two hours straight I haven't even beaten that.

I started looking into strategies online, and every guide is pretty consistent about the strategy of continuously flying in a circle around the board. I had honestly never played like this before - I would usually just kind of fly around and tried my best to avoid enemies. When I tried this new style, the game felt completely different - like a completely new game, and I actually found it harder. But - I can see how it's a necessary play style if I want to get to a million points.

When comparing it to Geometry Wars 2, I found that the enemies in Geo Wars 1 spawn much more randomly. And if they spawn right on top of you, you have about 1/4 of a second to react and get away. A lot of times, because I'm flying in a perpetual circle, I fly right into a spawned enemy that came up at just the right time. It feels completely cheap. As opposed to Geo Wars 2 where enemy patterns are much more predictable.

I honestly don't know if I'm gonna be able to do this one. I'll try a few more times, but this may be the first game I give up on...

Enslaved...Wow

I haven't heard a single peep about this game until now. Enslaved seems like a fantastic homage to Uncharted 2's gameplay, set among the backdrop of post-apocalyptic New York City. The thing that I am most excited about is the motion capture and the voice work. I saw this review on Gametrailers and just from the few short clips they showed, I am sold on it. They hired a novelist to pen the story and the voice actors seem to be among the best in the industry.

I applaud the developers for putting so much care and money behind a completely unknown IP. Chances are they may not recoup their expenses on the game since there has been absolutely no press on it, but I definitely intend to check it out once this adventure is complete.

Brother Site - Purdy's Gaming Journey

Hey dudes. So my buddy JD started his own Game Adventure. It's similar to mine but his has an interesting twist that I think applies to a lot of gamers today: despite having a fairly diverse collection, he spends most of his gaming time playing first person shooters. So to retain his self imposed title of "Gamer" he has realized that he needs to branch out and spend some time with other genres.  There are some CLASSICS on his list of unfinished games - to put it in perspective, he's currently playing through Ocarina of Time. Yeah. It's that awesome.

Anyway, I dig it and he's a real cool dude. Check out his site here.

Check out his mug here: