buffer-overflowed's Journal: Gaming: MGS Remake, Ninja Gaiden, Wavebird Annoyances

First up, the Metal Gear Solid Remake.

It looks pretty, prettier than Metal Gear Solid 2 on the PS2 did. Gameplay is similar to MGS2, storyline is identical to MGS1. Pretty good remake all around... Something I've noticed about Silicon Knights. They can't do graphics that well, but their attention to detail is amazing. Cut scenes seemlessly integrate into the game, making me think everything was done with the in game engine.

Eyes for instance are dead. Flat and matte. Lines are sharp and clear, but everything looks slightly washed out. Definately appears to me to be a ported engine(either MGS2 with improvements or the upcoming MGS3).

Ninja Gaiden. This game is pretty, and it's pretty infuriatingly hard too. Now, not hard like Ikaruga or R-Type, twitch-hard, but hard annoying hard. Oh and the boss battles suck. One or two moves in your massive arsenal are all you can effectively use to kill any given boss. Games of this type with this difficulty level should not be in 3D. The camera is remarkably good, but there are now and shall ever be camera annoyances. These annoyances can(and will) get you killed.

Nothing like having one of the(admittedly very few) times when the camera is in just the wrong spot while fighting some random baddy. Then it's controller throwing time.

Wavebird annoyances. Apparently the model of phone my parents have is the perfect frequency to screw with a wavebird. I brought the GCN(my little bro refuses to own one...) over for Easter/Birthday thing we did today. We played Mario Kart Double Dash(Btw, the gimmicky switching thing sucks when the person you're switching with doesn't know how to play the game) and my little non-video game playing sister schooled me(apparently she loves Mario Kart 64 and plays it a lot at friend's houses). Everytime the phone would ring I would lose control. It took me 6 attempts to find the right channel combination to be able to use both simulataneously.

Highly annoying.

Rant about the PSP:
When Sony can make hardware that actually lasts, and when it will cost as much as their competition and when it lives up to what they claim it will do AND when it has decent battery life... then and only then will they unseat Nintendo. If there's one thing the current generation proved it is that:
Sony can only make good hardware when Nintendo designs it for them(PS1, the reason the PS2 succeeded).
Nintendo and Microsoft(but more Nintendo, I bet the HDDs in the XBox fail before the rest does, thus putting the GCN slightly ahead of the XBox for longevity) schools Sony and their cheap breakable plastic gears and hard to clean/adjust laser assemblies when it comes to Hardware longevity.
The next gaming crash is coming.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

[Vexware]

As a big fan of the original Metal Gear Solid on the good old Sony PlayStation, since it was my birthday I asked to have Twin Snakes as the update seemed appealing to me. Honestly, I have to say I still love the game as much as when I fell in love with it five or six years ago. In my opinion, the atmosphere, the gameplay that made the game so enjoyable the first time round is still there. But if I have to be totally honest, I do have a few gripes. (Alas, I can't even enjoy the game and shut up -- but these

Re:Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

[buffer-overflowed]

I think it looks like a PS2 game, not a Gamecube game. And the Mario/Yoshi bit(and the cube/wavebird in the room with Otacon) didn't really ruin things too much since, well, it's Otacon. I have two beefs with the graphics:
1. They used some kinda crappy artifact filled compression method for the live-action movies.
2. The flat, matte eyes in cut scenes.

On the controller issue. It took me about 5 minutes to get used to the controls and about 30 to master them. I actually really, really like the Gamecube c

Re:Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

[Vexware]

I have to admit that the fact Otacon being the gaming and anime freak that he is does rather put these little amusing statues into context -- though I do chuckle when in magazines, it is asked whether or not you can find them. It just goes to show how certain magazines, which I shall not name and shame, do not really bother playing and analyzing the games much for their previews, rather relying on screenshots readily available to anyone, as long as they have an "exclusive" preview to boast about (isn't it k

NG is a toughie

[sielwolf]

and it's annoying because, like a good fighting game, mashing can get you through some parts. The game isn't good enough to tell if you are really fucking good or really just a spaz. The third boss I couldn't kill until I went balls out when I had almost no health and wasted one of my rejuvenation scrolls. Then I beat him! WTF?

You stroll through a level only to get killed at the end. Then you restart it and get smeared on the first pack of Vigorean guards. Grrr.

I personally dislike the right thumb s

Double Dash Team Play

[Saige]

The best way in Double Dash to get around one player in co-op mode not being a good driver? Don't have them drive. My partner isn't a big gamer, and pretty much flat-out refused to drive, or to really even try and learn. (She's self-conscious about not doing well to the point she doesn't put up with it enough to learn)

But she absolutely loved chucking items at the other karts. So I focused on driving, and she took the rear spot, managing items, whacking other karts as we passed, and getting the turbo-bo

MK:DD

[M.C. Hampster]

We've completely stayed away from the two-player/one-kart mode in DD. We usually only have 3-4 playing, so we each take our own kart. I've heard it's supposed to be pretty good once people get the hang of it, but it just seems to weird to even try.

Oh, and what is up with the piss-poor battle maps? I mean, they are seriously tiny and crappy. The battle mode really could have rocked, especially with the new modes, but the maps SUCK, SUCK, SUCK.

Re:MK:DD

[buffer-overflowed]

Have you unlocked the two extra maps?

They're not bad.

They definately should've made all of the battle maps about 4 times bigger tho.

Re:MK:DD

[M.C. Hampster]

Huh? Extra maps?? I didn't think the included maps were bad, just way, way, way too small.

I have yet to unlock the Rainbow cup :-( I don't have much time to play any games alone.

Re:MK:DD

[buffer-overflowed]

Mushroom Cup on 150cc unlocks Luigi's Mansion(it and the pipe one are so far my two favorite battle maps).
Special Cup on 100cc unlocks Toad/Toadette.
All Cup(Gotten by beating special on 150cc) on 150 cc unlocks Mirror mode.
Beat it in Mirror mode and you get another battle track.

Just do 2-3 player grand prix racing and you should be able to unlock them fairly quickly if you all coop.

Re:MK:DD

[M.C. Hampster]

I just looked at the guide for MK:DD on IGN and didn't realize that some of those secrets even existed. I figured Special Cup had to be unlocked on 150cc on Star Cup like previous MK's, but I was wrong. I'm going to unlock Special Cup tonight.