Archive for the Games Category

Skyrim: Part Deux

Posted in Blog, Games, Skyrim on December 30, 2012 by slateman

Skyrim!!!

Skyrim

I stopped playing Skyrim back in July. At level 27, I was stuck and getting frustrated. Whichever cavern I was in had a foe who was far too strong for me to beat, and I just didn’t want to backtrack all the way through and lose all that progress. That was it for me and Skyrim.

But, the year is about to end and it’s time to start thinking about the year’s best stuff – and Skyrim has to be in there. Sure, Draugrs got pretty boring after a while and I don’t have much interest in mixing Orange Dartwing and Mudcrab Chitin (WTF is chitin?). But, I figured I’d see how much more was left in the main storyline.

After loading an older save and losing whatever progress in that one dungeon, I set my scopes for Winterhold (still had never been there before) and embarked.

90 minutes later I had traveled maybe halfway between my closest fast-travel location and Winterhold. Friggin’ Yngvild! Precisely what waylaid me for 60+ hours this spring has done it again! “Ooh, a cave…well…I mean, we gotta check it out, right Annekke Crag-Jumper? Annekke?” Haha…ah, there she is! I got nervous there for a second. I do wonder if Lydia’s body is still there. I digress…

Yeah, so I just had to explore that cavern and this is why I never beat the game.

However, as I began to wander Skyrim’s frozen northlands, the grandeur of this game returned to me. Jeremy Soule’s sweeping score came back to me. I’ve played few games whose soundtracks were more fitting than this. It epitomizes exploration. Sweeping in scope, soothing in its beauty; grand and vast are its boundaries. As the sun set on Fredas, the 9th of Frostfall, I felt peace but yet excitement at what may lie over the next hill.

I probably will never dedicate enough time to Skyrim. I will complete it; it deserves that much. It will also be mentioned on my Best of 2012 article…whenever that surfaces. I’m so glad I went back to this game, even if just for an evening.

DoDonPachi: Sai-Dai-Ou-Jou – Localization?!?!

Posted in Blog, DoDon Pachi, Games on December 29, 2012 by slateman

ddp5-logoI somehow missed this, but last month, SiliconEra announced that Cave announced that they were looking into a simultaneous Japanese/Western release for DoDon Pachi: Sai-Dai-Ou-Jou on the 360! This is spectacular news! Of course, I’ll believe it when I see it, but…WOW…i’m psyched. Obviously I’m a big DDP fan (and here, and 2 FAQs) so this is a big deal. Will be crossing my fingers on this one! :D

Street Fighter X Mega Man Art

Posted in Blog, Game Art, Games, Street Fighter, Web Design on December 28, 2012 by slateman

logo-sfxmmEven as a long-time Mega Man fan, I have almost zero interest in this title. The grand celebration of the Blue Bomber’s 25th anniversary has come out as a free, downloadable, fan-made title and it’s nothing short of OK. That’s not fair, I haven’t really given it enough love, but I did check it out and was left feeling underwhelmed. In any event, I’ve captured the character artwork, as basic and lame as it is. I figured I should post them over at SFGalleries. In fact, it’s my 93rd gallery with another 6 bonus galleries…that means the next is my 100th; that’ll be a nice way to celebrate the site’s 10th anniversary. Let’s see what we have:


Mini-Review: Borderlands 2 – Yes!

Posted in Blog, Borderlands, Games, Reviews, The Walking Dead on December 25, 2012 by slateman

Borderlands 2 review screenshot07A few weeks back I was chugging along in Borderlands 2 when I figured I’d call it quits for the night. My buddy, Mat wasn’t around to play online so I said, “What the hell,” and hopped online, something I hadn’t done in BL2 yet. Turns out, I joined a game that was precisely where I was and we blitzed through the remainder of the game in a four-player carnage-fest. It was insanity. It was awesome. Our connection was spectacular, the enemies and loot were superb and it was a hell of a lot of fun.

Now, in the grand scheme of things, BL2 had a better story, a few new tweaks and shiny new guns but it wasn’t that different from BL. This may affect the Game of the Year rankings – as The Walking Dead was nothing like anything I’d ever played before. However, BL2 was brilliantly executed and left me with a TON left to do. Two DLCs, two more to come, a second playthrough and a bunch of golden keys to use (L00t!)

I can’t say enough about this game, really. It has everything I wanted in a game and I’m still playing it (three months after its release). Definitely one of the year’s best and certainly one of the best of this generation IMO, trumping BL with certainty. Love it!!!

Vampire Resurrection: Continued!

Posted in Blog, Game Art, Games, Web Design with tags , on December 25, 2012 by slateman

Three updates in one day? All on Vampire/Darkstalkers? OK! With 40 minutes until Santa arrives, I’m pretty psyched. My wife is going to be psyched about her new iPod and bluetooth headphones. As for me…I don’t know what I’m getting. I think a new video camera is out of the question, and she doesn’t seem to like my cubing obsession (such a strong word!) We’ll see in about 8 hours! Until then, the last set of Vampire Resurrection art has come out and it’s pretty sweet. This finishes the gallery and is one of the strongest sets of art Capcom has put out in a long time. Check it all out and here’s your sample…

Vampire Savior: System Guide / FAQ

Posted in Blog, Games, Guides with tags , on December 24, 2012 by slateman

logo-vs
OK, I’m done. This is the longest I’ve ever labored on a guide in my 12+ years of writing FAQs. It all started about a month ago when I began researching and testing out my old games to see what precisely the difference between Vampire Savior, Vampire Savior 2 and Vampire Hunter 2 was. I was updating SFGalleries to include the Vampire/Darkstalkers games and realized I was a little confused. In looking through guides and FAQs, I could not find a very clear explanation about specifically what the difference was! Adding to the confusion was the unique history of all the game’s ports. As you’ll read (if you have interest), the release history goes as follows (Japanese releases unless underlined)

  • Vampire Savior (Arcade)
  • Vampire Hunter 2 (Arcade)
  • Vampire Savior 2 (Arcade)
  • Vampire Savior (Saturn)
  • Vampire Savior: EX Edition (PS1)
  • Darkstalkers 3 (PS1)
  • Vampire Chronicle: For Matching Service (DC)
  • Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (PSP)
  • Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (PSP)
  • Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection (PS2)
  • Vampire Resurrection (PS3/X360)
  • Darkstalkers Resurrection (PS3/X360)

Now, the last two aren’t out yet, but I fully intend to cover them when they arrive in March. Until then, enjoy the vast, sprawling Systems Guide. It should answer any question that exists in regards to that the differences are and which system port is the best. It was a fun guide to write and, as I mention in there, the worst part was having to wait to finish/publish it. Enjoy!!!

vampire-logo

Vampire Savior: Complete Collection

Posted in Blog, Game Art, Games with tags , on December 24, 2012 by slateman

This blog has been quiet the last few weeks but I have been working hard on something new. I’m going to be posting my complete Vampire Savior FAQ shortly and I’m very excited to finally publish this. It’s been a long journey but for now here is the complete logo collection: something I need to get published properly over at SFGalleries. In any event, my guide will cover all the following titles:












That’s right…one guide to cover them all!

SFGalleries: New Vampire/Darkstalkers Art

Posted in Game Art, Games, Street Fighter, Web Design with tags on December 2, 2012 by slateman

I’ve been doing research for a potential FAQ on the Vampire / Darkstalkers series. As I work on this, I decided to put some more effort into the series’ entries on SFGalleries. As I continue to work on that guide, I updated the site with the new character art for
Vampire / Darkstalkers Resurrection, due in March. The new gallery, which is only half complete so far, is spectacular. I’ll toss some samples below. I’ll continue to update this as Capcom Japan posts new art. Enjoy!!!



The Walking Dead: The Game – OMG……

Posted in Best / Worst, Borderlands, Games, Metal Gear Solid, Reviews, The Walking Dead on November 28, 2012 by slateman

After grabbing the first two The Walking Dead: The Game entries via PS+, I was sold. I purchased the next three episodes immediately and Episode 5, the finale, was one of the most anticipated games of the year. So, the night before Thanksgiving, I sat down to play and…..and…..

As the credits rolled so did tears down my cheek. I was floored. I was in awe. The credits finished and the epilogue began, offering little solace for how things ended.

Spoilers, obviously…
After Lee passed out in the streets I still had hope. However, upon waking up and seeing Lee, I knew. His face pale, his eyes yellowing; Lee was going to die. Perhaps we all should have known but I figured cutting his arm off might do the trick. Nope. Here, in that room with Clem, it hit me. Lee was going to die. At that moment, I lost it. I got through the rest of the episode but I didn’t cope with it well. Lee prepared Clementine for the inevitable. I just wanted to hug her. I just wanted to tell her, “I love you, Clem.” As the options came and went, I never got to say it. Lee slumped over with Clem crying, ME crying! It was outrageous.

I’ve played some awesome games and some of those had incredible stories. However, ultimately I don’t know of any game that affected me the way this did. Mouth agape, I was in shock. I hurt. I felt horrible…but there was closure. The Walking Dead was so well-written, I forgot it was a game, I forgot it was fiction. Ben had died, Kenny was likely gone, everyone was gone. Lee had come so far. In thinking about the first four episodes, we’d been through so much. And now it was over. It was over and Lee was dead.

I Love Borderlands 2 and some other games, but it’s very possible TWD will win Game Of The Year. It was the most incredible gaming journey I’ve ever embarked upon. Perhaps Metal Gear Solid 4 could come close. Nah…while MGS4 was phenomenal, TWD was the most powerful game I’ve ever played.

The Walking Dead: The Game – Season Finale!!!

Posted in Games, The Walking Dead on November 20, 2012 by slateman

It’s out and I’ll get around to playing it…sometime. I’ve heard some amazing things and cannot wait to find out how Lee’s adventure ends. I expect this to be emotional. I expect this to be monumental. I’m so psyched to begin this final journey and sincerely hope to add it to the best of 2012 or even best of this generation articles (neither of which I’ve written yet). This should be pretty spectacular. The download will be complete sometime tonight though I probably won’t get to play it for several days.