Dihnonored, Borderlands 2, Halo 4 - good times!

Finished Dishonored twice, the second time all stealth with no kills and really enjoyed every bit of it. Recently got Borderlands 2 and even though I was worried I might not like it, because I got a bit fed-up with original  Borderlands towards the end, I'm really liking Borderlands 2. Halo 4 is getting some high reviews so looks like it is going to be awesome as well. Good times...

Dihonored

September was a dead month for gaming. Lost all my gaming mojo. Then came Dishonored, brilliant story driven game. On my all stealth and no kills playthrough now.

Max Payne 3

I've just managed to finish Max Payne 3 and have a good go at the multiplayer this week. At first I was quite disappointed with both single player campaign and the multiplayer. The game felt a bit old and shallow and not being able to use the controls properly being a novice player meant there was not much enjoyment from the game action.

There are a lot of clips in the game to help with the story and immersion. And I mean a LOT. But soon as you get control of Max, you know you need to get ready to shoot some baddies.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Review

The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition comes in 3 discs: 2 game discs and 1 soundtrack CD. Content in the game discs, you will be pleased to know, are split in acts. This means you will only need to replace the Disc 1 with Disc 2 once during one playthrough. The soundtrack CD is brilliant, easily worth quarter of the game price. You also get a map which unfortunately is not as good as maps you get with Red Dead redemption or Skyrim but it is ok.

I have not played the original Witcher game, which apparently is a prequel to The Witcher 2 game, but that did not cause any problems. You start by playing the prologue which gives you some insight in things that happened during the first game. It is very well directed so you will be impressed immediately how cinematic the game looks like. The game is not without flows though. Even though quite enjoyable, combat can sometimes be fiddly and a cause for some frustration. More about that further down.

Graphics

I was running low in disc space so initially I did not install the game. As a result I wasn't to impressed with the graphics. I then made some space and installed both discs and the difference was huge which is credit to artists of this game.This game is simply beautiful. The environment, lightning, the colours, everything looks just breathtaking. Obviously, there is room for improvement, but from what I have seen so far in Xbox 360, this game is at the top as far as graphics are concerned.

I like it that they have invested in character animations during the dialogues. Considering this game is a RPG, this makes a big difference as you will have to go through a lot of dialogues. Camera moves if needed so you are not staring at one person's face like they are in a photo frame hanging on the wall. Face expressions and body expressions are much better then what I've used to see for instance in recent Mass Effect 3, and miles miles better than the likes of Fallout.

Sometimes you do get rough textures changing into higher resolution textures, or items popping in in the distance. You also will notice the use of fog effect bit on the heavy side, but only if you want to be picky. It did not effect my game enjoyment at all. 10/10 as far as graphics' concerned from me.
Audio
I absolutely love the soundtrack from this game. I have got it on my phone, sound system at home and work computer. Ambient music changes as you enter different areas of the map and follows the gameplay immaculately.

Acting is just brilliant and use of language makes the game so much more authentic. Who ever worked on the dialogues for English language, done great job. You have outdone Skyrim you 'ploughing whoresons'! :)

The only thing I could complain about is that they saved on the number of actors they have used. Often I noticed same actor voicing two or more different NPCs in the same area of the map. This is specially distracting when you hear same person voicing the king and the guard in the same camp where king is staying. A bit confusing too.

Overall the audio is sharp and and in synch with great graphics so 9/10 from me on this.

Gameplay

I mentioned before that directing in this game is just great. Even though the story is somewhat linear it branches significantly in several places and you can take on quests in any order you like. Definitely warrants at least a second playthrough and few "go backs to saved game". I am on my second playthrough, getting close to the end of first half of the game, and it already feels like a new game with completely new quests and new story perspective. It is incredible how well they designed the story. Even though now I am taking different paths, things fall into place very nicely and it all makes sense.

The story and the dialogues are just wonderful. Everything links so nicely and it gives the player full control how they want to play the game. And if you really liked the game like me, you can play it again and choose different path and get new gaming experience.

Combat system could have been much better though. You need to spend way to much of your time in preparation for it and controls during combat are somewhat cumbersome. I guess this is why they have included arena game-mode where you can go and fight wave after wave of different types of enemies you encounter during the game so you can practice various ways you can tackle them. Nevertheless, combat is still sufficiently enjoyable and it does get easier as you progress through the game.

The maps and system used in general could have been better as well. I had some major difficulties finding my way around Verden as maps were more or less useless. There are many levels but map only displays one level. So finding entrances to get to your destination proved quite frustrating for me at times there is no path indicated either. On the good side though, none of other areas in the game are as complex as Vergen so you can find your way around elsewhere fairly easy. Also the maps in general are not large at all so you do not need to spend ages to get to your destination. Everything seem to be close together and yet feels natural enough.

So some niggles with combat and maps, but in general, very satisfying gameplay - 8/10 for the gameplay.

In summary

If you like RPGs then this game is a must for you. If you're not so keen on RPGs, then you should still give this game a chance. Go in it with an open mind and sale through a wonderful fairytale of Geralt of Rivia. 


Overall score - 9.5/10


Official site: http://en.thewitcher.com/the-witcher/2/xbox/ 

From gaming community to gaming blog

This blog is a succession of Gaming For Fun (GFF) gaming community that run for about 3 years, from 2009 to 2012. Any old member of GFF would like to ramble together, please feel free to join the blog as authors by going to Followers on pop-up menu in the far right, and Join in.

Gears of War 3 versus tips

Weapons
Make sure you try all weapons.
General rule use Hamerburst if you want to stay back and support, Lancer for long/medium range and Retro for medium/close range.
Use Gnasher if you like near close/close range or SawedOff for close range 1 shot kills.
Experiment with all of them and find the one you're most comfortable with but try and master them all.

Power weapons
Each map will have power weapons and you'll find in versus games most gamers will aim to get to them first. Some of these you might find difficult to use (like Torque Bow, LongShot, etc.) but others will be much easier to use (like BoomShot, Grenades, Ink, Mortar, etc.) If you can get to them use them.

Team play
Stay close to your team mates. Numbers make the difference and reduce your time spent in waiting to respawn. Hold LB to see where your team mates are and move towards their direction. If you're total rookie, stay behind your team mates and use long range weapons and grenades.

Movement
Try to go  from cover to cover. Pay attention where can you get cover in split second if you're moving about. Learn the maps and always assume there might be someone behind a corner.

Active reload
One on one it is a decider. Sure damage to head, body and legs varies but active reload is very important. Try to hit every time and if you notice enemies approaching spend some bullets (half a clip should do) and active reload.

Enjoy
Gears can be very frustrating at times. You can die soon as you respawn in gruesome death by someone camping behind the corner but do not get discouraged.  Expect to die a lot in the beginning and you should have great fun with this game.
Don't think about your K/D ratio, instead focus on learning maps and controls, use power weapons and stick with your team mates, have a laugh and you will love Gears

Witcher 2

My RPG mojo has come back full swing. Even though the number of excellent games were still waiting for me to have time to play them, I could not resist Witcher 2 after reading several reviews and watching some game clips (the power of advertising, eh(?)).

Anyone planning to play this game and don't like spoiler best stop reading this post now as it will likely have some spoilers.

I finished Prologue and I'm almost at the end of Act 1. There is a 'tutorial' in the beginning but it's not great. I played the prologue wondering about a lot of things and just going with a hunch. When I got to Act 1 things got a bit more serious and I got stuck in several places. Put it simply the combat system is not the easiest I seen and there way to many things you need to learn in order to succeed. To make things worse the game is noticeably disbalanced soon as you start Act 1. Enemies seam to take less damage and dish lot more than you do. With it being a new game and working out how to play it, you inevitably end up between enemies which usually results in almost instant death.

And that is about it as far as negative is concerned. Everything else about this game is just brilliant. RPG that is interesting and looks like a next gen game. Main quests and side quests are equally interesting. The decisions you take during the game can not be always classed as good or bad so there is no karma like in Fallout or paragon/renegate in Mass Effect. Game branches and depending how you decide to play it you get different quests/stories so second play through is a must.

...more to come....

Mercenaries 2 & Gears 3 songs

I just stumbled upon a song from Mercenaries 2 game (the best thing to come from that game)

 

In the same list I had the song from Gears 3 trailer. Sounds so much  better when you watch the video.

 

Forza 4 - Head-on Collision

We had a few races with GFF buddies and in one of them Robbo decided to do a full U-turn and attempt to stop me from getting ahead. The only time I seen this in Forza that's for sure :)

It's raining games...

Following stories that Game retailer is in deep trouble and about to go under, I went in and spent all my sizeable credit. I wasn't planning to get any games any time soon as I only just bought Batman Arkham City and Mass Effect 3 came via post few days ago. So from my two visits to games I now have

1. Driver San Francisco,
2. Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock,
3. The Elder Scrolls Oblivion 5th Anniversary Edition,
4. Top Spin 2,
5. Dues Ex: Human Revolution,
6. Rage,
7. Project Gotham Racing 4,
8. Batman Arkham City,
9. Mass Effect 3

I initially got Saints Row The Third but after reading some reviews decided it wasn't for me as I would get bored of it to quickly, so I went back and got Driver SF, Oblivion and GH Warriors of Rock for it. If I include many other games that I have played but not finished playing yet (Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3, Forza 4, and many more), that is me sorted for this decade :).

Removing card details from xbox.com

There are websites now up speficilly opened for hacked Xbox Live members, many claiming that their Live account has been hacked. To be honest I did not panic as I know people sometime use very simple passwords and sometime they fall for phishing sites so I thought as long as I'm careful, I should be ok. Then, I hear about some experienced gamers that their account has been hacked!!! Warning lights started to flash so I thought I better remove my credit card details from my account so at least they can't spend any more if they ever get into my account. Checked my account settings in xbox.com and there it was, my card details and the remove link. Great I thought, simple, easy and quick. But nooooooo, got the message soon as I clicked remove to say that this card is associated with one of the services so you can't remove it as long as you use that service. I was surprised to get this as all my Live is paid upfront and Autorenew is set to OFF! So got in a chat with the support guy who just said to me no, you can't remove your card details even though you do not have any bills to pay! This got me totally pissed and I wished I was a lawyer so I can sue their ass for keeping my card details against my will. In the end had to phone support and they agreed to remove my card details but stupidity does not end there. They still could not remove my card details as my latest subscription was paid using a credit card. What they did is, cancelled my account, reverted it to a silver account, and then emailed me the code to make for the months I already prepaid (minus 6 days). What a pain!