CC Gamers

I had big expectations for Fallout. It frequents “Best Ever” lists as a highly original and enjoyable rpg that every gamer should play once. I had spent a week downloading it via a torrent (though as soon as I see this in store, it’s mine) which served no greater purpose then to build excitement. It was set in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian society with a solid dash of black humour and laser guns; it had all the components of a great game.

Install, start-up, enjoy the intro movie. At the husky murmur of “war, war never changes” I knew I was in for something special, tingly spine and everything. New-game, modify character, start. A by-the-book brawns character, easy to play in most RPG’s. Fairly standard start-up for my seasoned taste for RPG’s. Another movie, something about getting a water-chip in a number of days or my vault-dwellers die. I get treated to some bland and dated visuals. Once you love this game, it’s pretty in it’s own way but DAMN was it ugly on first go.

It took me a while to figure out how to play. Right-click switches between movement and action. Standard point and click, hold down on action cursor for a number of interaction options. It can literally be played with one hand, which is good for eating noodles, or taking down notes for the game. Then a rat spotted me. The whir I would eventually learn to love went off, a panel slid open and the red-lights went green. I had somehow entered combat.

The rat advanced. Slowly, ever so bloody slowly, and utilising my discovery of the right click I soon learned how to attack. Stuck unarmed I aimed my first blow with a whopping %40 chance of hitting! WTF? Soon all his ratty friends joined in and slowly I died, only managing to take out one of them before I went. Muttering darkly I questioned whether or not I was playing the same fallout as the legends spoke of.

Rolling up a new character, something a bit speedier with a high melee skill, I set forth against the cursed rodents again. With this character I discovered some brilliant things. The Inventory system, allowing me to wield a gun and a knife, the ability to speed the game up, making combat infinitely more bearable, and the ability to switch attack types. Suddenly I understood action-points, after a few goes I managed to dive into the intricacies of character development.

The game started to come together. I was a wanderer, scraping a survival from whatever I could salvage. The choice between leather armour and ammunition for my pistol was a difficult one. So was scraping those last few bottle caps for a stimpack. The graphics, though crude, projected a grim and harsh landscape. Sure everyone was clones of each other but rather then viewing it as a technical limitation, I prefer to see it as a symbol of the faceless broken hearted collective of the surviving population. There are some colourful characters here, from the bright and cheerful Tandi, to the noble and laid back Killian, to Harold the lovable mutant and even the cruel and small-hearted Gizmo set up intriguing and delightful sub-plots that supplement the main quest beautifully. There’s also Dogmeat, a canine companion who joins you early in the game and makes a great hobby of biting people repeatedly in the face. We’ve spent some great time together, and I nearly shed a tear when the super mutants critical hit with the mini-gun tore him to pieces, a shot meant for me.

Which brings me to my next point, this game gives a sense of freedom like no other game I’ve ever played. You can do whatever side-quests you want, the way you want to, or skip them altogether. You can save the lives of everyone, or take the roll of a villain, scorned by all and sealing the doom of the planet. You can play a gunslinger, a heavy guns expert, a nimble thief, a charismatic diplomat and all characters can play through the game differently. This adds replay value like you wouldn’t believe, fiddling with new characters, seeing how differently the story plays out.

The best example is the raider’s camp, when you can choose to rescue Tandi who has been kidnapped from Shady Sands. I’ve done the raiders camp three times. First as a diplomat, I talked the leader into releasing Tandi. Then as a gunslinger I hired a mercenary and shot them all to hell, for a massive profit I might add. I played a thief character, sneaking into the camp to free Tandi. Unfortunately on the way out, Tandi decided it would be a good idea to stab a guard in the face. Returning to the camp a little later I snuck in, stole everyone’s stuff, and threw a molotov cocktail at the leaders face running off into the night. They are soooo going to be pissed when I return with a flamethrower >:D. Other options I haven’t tried include paying the leader for Tandi’s return, or facing him in hand to hand combat.

This has become a favourite game, on par with others such as Perfect Dark, Nolf, Zelda and Grim Fandango. It’s a game that’s THAT good, and I’ve only just scratched the surface of what I am informed is the superior sequel.

As such I’ve come up with a new award, the HOLY FUCK PLAY THIS GAME award, reserved for games that are not only completely faultless, but I will turn to again and again in the future because there is nothing quite like it. It is a game that has changed my perspective on games forever, a game that is just so brilliantly fantastically good. It is a game worthy of the mathematically incorrect 11/10 (yes I know it could be interpreted as a mixed fraction, but people, it’s a review scale, the 10 represents a maximum.Thus rendering the 11 paradoxical as you just cannot have more than the maximum, unless you’re fallout <3)

Huh, just realised it's July.

Way to entirely skip June's game of the month, which I have just decided now is going to be...

( Read more... )

So, found myself with a lot of spare time after the AST Writing Task trial so I decided to compose an epic Resident Evil poem in rhyming couplets. I finished it and left it on my desk where I had been informed it would be safe. Coming back to it, it was gone. This is the second version written, squeezed into the time left after the Multi and Short answer questions, not quite as good as the original but I'm informed it is still very good indeed.

( Ballard of Sid the cowardly hunter )

Expect a lot more updates now it's the holidays!

Having been a few debates on the controls of a particular game recently, I've decided to write an article as to what I consider constitutes good and bad controls. Purely for my own self-indulgent interest in getting in black and white what I look for when I'm playing a game.

( A Matter of Control )

Hope you like it!

Decided to disappear for a while. Might start a blog later down the track, might not, who can tell?

Still going to be around, you'll just have to catch me on the Giantitp boards or at grim.chook@gmail.com

Don't ask why, I don't know myself.

Wow, my first rant game of the month.

PONG

Cause pong is just awesome isn't it? I mean it's just so intense! With the paddles and the ball and the paddles and the bloops and the, yeah man it's all good with pong.

Actually no I've changed my mind.

THIS MONTHS RANT GAME OF THE MONTH IS HELLO KITTY ROLLER RESC*HURK*...

*Joshua has unfortunately been painfully eliminated in a way not fully disclosed but likely involving forks, a fire hydrant and a goat. CC_Gamers wishes Joshua peace in the afterlife and would like to add they were not involved in any way because there are "no hard feelings"* Nice working with you Joshua.

Technically a day late, but school commitments and lack of time has had us here at CC_Gamers a bit tied for time. Of course, there are plenty of spoilers ahead in the review (but none so bad they brutally spoil the whole story, moreso just explain the sequence of events). You've been warned :D

This months rant game of the month is BioHazard Ø for the GameCube.

( There is more than just the undead to fear )

We've just hit winter in Australia, so a new banner for CC_gamers should be up in the next few days for the winter season!

- The Queen Ant

WOW! Haven't updated in yonks... stupid schoolwork.

Anyway just a quick heads up as to content coming your way!

A special expose on videogame pairings. WITH EVIDENCE!!! : O (actually this is all written just not typed out yet...)

May's rant game of the month (hint: Zombie flavoured. Any other game has zero chance of snatching this position)

Probably a review for Hecatomb, and a few deck-strategies because that's the sort of thing I like.

LION KING PRON! (or not) (or maybe O_O) [Actually no] (shut up.)

Wii-lii bad jokes! (they aren't getting any better)

In the far future look out for "commentary on a random cheap gamecube game picked at random" (because I love the idea of this :3)

Shigsy, our father, has spoken! http://www.cubed3.com/news/5272

And http://www.cubed3.com/news/5275 could just be telling us a launch price for the Wii.

I HAVE SPOKEN!

My name is Joseph, the third member of the screaming fangirl pair CC_Gamers, I like to draw really cool pictures of wolfies like this one!



I was really proud of this one! Isn't he awesome?

So, E3 was pretty good this year wasn’t it? Lots of exciting news, games and stuff were to be had so here is all the news you’ve already seen re-delivered with fangirl rants.

( big article, but a good read I hope :D )

Let me rant for a while here. It's my turn on the Soap Box.

( Pre-Order Madness Starts )

Current Fresh News:
The Wii controller takes AA batteries, making the main controller have the weight of about a Nintendo DS, and the nunchaku attatchment about the weight of a mobile phone. Also, the main controller will react to a sensor strip that comes with the console (seen at e3 2006) that can be placed on top of, or below (in front of) the TV. It's not yet known if the actual Wii has to be in allignment with the TV and controller yet. After seeing the Nintendo Press Conference, one can assume you'd only need the sensor strip which is plugged into the back of the console via a port that looks freakishly like a firewire port, as the on stage demonstrations yeilded no actual sight of the main console, but you could see a long, black pyramid shapped strip at the front of the stage (Shigeru Miyamoto's opening performance). There was no sight of the console during the other main demonstrations, either, but the man controlling it seemed to be using a wired version of the controller, possibly the same prototypes from 2005? Or there might be the ability to attatch the controller to the unit (in the sense of there is possibility to play without use of battery/s and/or recharge batteries if there is a pack installed, maybe?)
Source: Various Gamespot Articles

Anyway, my wrist is caining, so I'm going to get off Takahaku and get back to playing S3&K.
*Dones appropriate icon of Leon being mauled by Cerberus'*

Oh, yeah, taking suggestions for names for the new consoles, so long as they're Bio/Resident Evil related to continue the trend.
*Steps off soapbox, dusts off pajyamas, resumes gaming*

So, got to play Resident Evil 0 for a bit tonight, not enough for a review so I'll share a few first impressions instead:

( the first hour )

I need to go to bed now -_-

So, take a look at this http://www.cubed3.com/news/5043

It's about a game by an Indie Developer called Nibris. They were working on two projects, both for wii(kinda like Crossbeam studios now I think of it), and Nintendo specifically asked them to work on this one. It's a survival horror game called Sadness.

It looks gorgeous.

It looks terrifying.

Instead of trying to scare with monsters and a physical fear, Sadness is going for more a psychological fear. Kind of attempted in Eternal Darkness, but that's still a monster basher. They aim to incororate themes of darkness and schizophrenia, the black and white graphics are a play on the gothic storyline and the time in which it is set. The first two screenshots in the link to Cubed3 show a player holding a Wii remote above their head and the second shows the player bringing it down. The last screenshot (apparently in-game) shows a woman presumably slicing someone down the middle with a shovel. The screenshots were enough to make me shiver. I think I may need someone to hold my hand when I play this (thus emphasising the community idea behind wii! Genius!)

There isn't a whole lot more known about the game. A trailer has been announced for E3, which is where those pictures came from. I must confess it's going to be one of my highlights.

So wii so far know some of the titles that are coming to a Wii near you. A new Super Smash Brothers, Red Steel, Sadness, Segas recent announcement of The Club, and Orb. All look stunning, all are actually quite mature games, so far there hasn't been many of the "kiddy" games Nintendo are reknowned for. Hopefully this will be rectified in I think 5 days time.

Also the DS lite has been announced to launch in the US June 11 for $130 US whic means we'll get it for 200 some time before Christmas.

Now is an awesome time to be a Nintendo fan.

Well there hasn't been a post in a couple of days, and I know something special is on the way... *snigger*

But I want to have a few opinions on stuff!

http://www.experimentalgameplay.com/ is awesome. Loving Goo tower unlimited and Swarm. In fact, I'm absolutely adoring swarm, it makes my sadistic inner child happy.

Stick Insects ARE valid pets, ARE cute, ARE interesting. Despite what dickheads on the bus may say.

NOLF is as good as it ever was, even better if that's possible. I never tire of playing through Misfortune in Morroco.

Never poke fun at Rebecca within ear-shot of a cyborg.

I WANT A WII!

Sadly I can only play consoles and computers during the school holidays, as such I will probably be posting more on GBA games, older games which I adore, and opinions on movement in the gaming community! Which is just as well because E3 is around the corner...

So for most of today, Curtin has had a power outage whilst Actew did some work about everywhere. I turn my back around for a few hours and what happens? Nintendo officially named the Revolution the Wii.

And the fandom wept whilst others laughed.
( A word from a very annoyed Chook )

The newest news from Nintendo about project Revolution has been spawning some interesting and amusing feedback from a lot of people over on my own friends list. For those of you who don't know what this news is, it's the name of their next generation console.

The Nintendo Wii.
(Direct link to Nintendo's revolution site)

Because, let's face it, when you're playing a console and you're having a lot of fun, you really do just want to be a little kid again. "WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!".

Who can beat Grim_Chooks Stepmania score?

( Can you face my challenge? )

Biohazard 0:
[1] Billy & Rebecca

( [1] Sketch )

Ha I haven't done one of these in a while! Caution, plot spoilers are in part of the review.
( Rant game of the month April )