Day 4 is a long session as I try to gain some time before new releases come out. First things first. This game is beautiful. There are just wonderful visual moments that stop you in your tracks. The narrative takes some interesting if a bit quick turns. More cool set pieces appear and the exploration and climbing gets more intuitive as I learn some of the clues on what I can interact with. But there are still some places where the hints were mandatory for me, and there’s a moment where I may have detected some cheap dynamic difficulty adjustment. Much more good than bad, but this is a very particular type of game and that’s going to determine whether you remember the great shots or the inscrutable puzzle. Spoilers within.
Uncharted 2 Day#3: Chloes and Daggers
The third day of Uncharted 2 is starting to really show the game’s chops. There are a number of set-pieces and they are quite dramatic scenes. The use of camera angles is impressive and there are a lot of good graphics. There’s also a lot of cutting between player control and in-game cutscenes, which makes the game move smoothly narratively but it feels like it deprives me a little of agency. There are also a lot of important game paths that I’m constantly missing because they look too much like the background, but overall the game is still fun. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– May 13, 2010
Uncharted 2 Day#2: Welcome to the Jungle
Day 2 in Uncharted 2 is a lot of plot, although it fits will within the slightly cheesy, roguish behavior. The game is still a mixed bag for me. The art is stunning, the narrative isn’t anything deep but it’s got good energy, and there is some fun exploration and fighting. However, there are a lot of times where the game is relying on me to find a specific path through a scene without any strong feedback when I’m on the right track. The session ends on a major frustration that I am really hoping resolves quickly on day 3. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– May 11, 2010
Uncharted 2 Day#1: “What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”
Day 1 with Uncharted 2. It’s the Game of the Year, so I have high expectations. So far it has been a very interesting experience. I’m already seeing what they mean by cinematic gameplay — it’s trying very hard to be visceral and exciting at the expense of broader agency. It certainly works at some levels quite well, but there were also moments of frustration. Let’s see how it goes. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– May 2, 2010
Mass Effect 2: Final Smack
Mass Effect 2 is a solidly good game. I enjoyed it a lot and didn’t really want it to end, which is pretty impressive. Nonetheless, I still don’t think that Mass Effect has completely lived up to its potential. There’s interesting decision making that’s undercut by cheap powers that let players dodge hard choices; there are really good plot missions next to surprisingly bad side mechanics. The net is good, but could be so much better. Details within.
– April 26, 2010
Mass Effect 2 Day#15: Showdown at Omega 4
Day 15 is my final day with Mass Effect 2. The final scene is quite nice put together with good variety in the fights and an above-average final boss. There is one terrific narrative choice at the end, and a lot of good decision making throughout, although the loyalty thing plays out in a pretty simple way that I wish was more sophisticated. Overall, ME2 was very fun, but I can’t help thinking it hasn’t quite reached its potential yet. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– April 26, 2010
Mass Effect 2 Day#14: Off to Save the Universe (finally)
Day 14 gets me to stop stalling and get back to the plot. The next plot mission is pretty good, and it leads to an introduction of a new character for the party and of course a new loyalty mission for that character. Fights are good with a little bit of cheap stuff and the game ends with a nice big decision that I’m happy to say that I can’t see a way to paragon cheat out of. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– April 24, 2010
Mass Effect 2 Day#13: When in Doubt, Stall…
Day 13 is largely a bunch of side missions while I stall progressing a plot point that I think will bring the game to a close. The first one is good with an interesting choice at the end. The next two are largely frustrating with obscure goals and unclear elements. I end up wasting a lot of time on things I should have been able to figure out very quickly. As a result, it’s a short post. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– April 23, 2010
Mass Effect 2 Day#12: Hard and Not-so-Hard Choices
Day 12 and it’s two more loyalty missions and one eh random mission on a random planet. The loyalty missions are quite good with the alien culture stuff remaining cool and some interesting interaction, although I have one great moral quandary undermined by the paragon/renegade stuff. This is made up for by a very, very interesting romantic interaction on the ship where I am very much forced to roleplay and actually feel something about it. Spoiler within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– April 22, 2010
Mass Effect 2 Day#11: An Old Friend and a New Foe
Day 11 of Mass Effect picks up one more team member and surprisingly alienates me from another. The alien culture stuff remains cool in this session as the first major mission is nicely put together and written with a fun end battle. The second one, eh, not so much but certainly not terrible. The session ends with a real choice that I have to make that changes the team dynamics, and despite the fact that I’m not exactly happy with how it went down, I’m happy I had to make the hard choice. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– April 19, 2010
