[img width=550 height=780]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-115/bf/U-115-S-02010-A.jpg[/img]
The Orange Box
Valve Corporation, 2007
Xbox 360
I was pretty late to the party as far as ‘modern’ First Person Shooters go. I think this had to do with the fact that the rise of Halo and similar games seemed to happen during a time when I was paying a lot less attention to gaming. However once I did finally get exposed to Half-Life a year or so ago, I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it. A few months back I played through Half-Life in its entirety for the first time ever and that only led me to start delving deeper into more of Valve’s output. So what better place to do that than The Orange Box - a single disc with three full games as well as two add-on episodes?
The first game I decided to play was Portal. Although I had started it (and enjoyed it immensely) a year or two ago, I had never managed to finish it. So I figured I’d just start it over again from scratch. Although I knew the good old ‘cake’ meme, what I didn’t know was how long the game was. This created a really cool experience, always wondering how close I was to the end. And although it only took me two sittings to play through, I had an absolute blast.
[img width=700 height=525]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2007/186/934384_20070706_screen005.jpg[/img]
I’ve just realized that I’m writing this with the assumption that everybody in the world got around to playing Portal before I did. Just in case that’s not the case, you should know that Portal is basically an FPS without the ‘S.’ Or to be more accurate, the shooting you do is not a gun filled with bullets that are taking out aliens, zombies and soldiers. Instead you’ve got the ingenius Portal-gun which shoots - you guessed it - portals. Enter one and exit there other. Simple, right?
This is the sort of game that offers up puzzles that you might breeze right through, or then sit there for fifteen minutes trying to make sense of everything and then feel like the smartest person alive for doing so. It’s also full of hilarious personality. And although deaths can happen in Portal, for the most part it’s a first person game with very little action. It’s a game that encourages you to move around slowly and explore and think. And although it’s a short game, I can honestly say that the last level alone is just as much fun as everything leading up to it.
[img width=700 height=393]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2007/165/934384_20070615_screen001.jpg[/img]
Arguably, the star of The Orange Box would be Half-Life 2 which is included here with its Episode 1 and 2 expansions as well. This was my first experience with the game. The original Half-Life I had played a year or so ago for the first time, and only actually beat it earlier this year. But in that time I grew to really love the game, and consider it one of my favorite FPS games of all time. With that in mind, I was certainly looking forward to playing the sequel.
I’ve yet to actually beat Half-Life 2 (which means I’ve also not played the expansions yet either), but the solid time I have spent with it has been great. I will say however that I’m not yet convinced that I like it better than the first game. Although HL2 definitely improves upon its predecessor in many ways, it’s also hard for me to shake the excitement of experiencing the world of Black Mesa for the first time. I also think I lean towards liking the claustrophobia of the research facility more than the more open-world given to you in the sequel. I’ve also noticed that Half-Life 2 feels a lot more “survival horror” than the first game. Ammo seems a bit more limited here for instance.
But all that aside, Half-Life 2 is an incredible game as I said. It looks glorious and runs smooth on the 360. And of course this is just personal preference, but the 360 pad is definitely now my preferred way of playing FPS games. Sorry keyboard & mouse purists. One thing that really stands out in the second game is the writing. The characters definitely have a lot more personality than in the first game. Oh, and the barnacles still creep me out.
Interestingly enough I had recently started playing Halo for the first time ever (seriously). And one thing that really stuck out to me about Halo was just how bad the driving sections were. I just could not grasp them and constantly found myself crashing when I should have been cruising. As it happens I hit the driving (a boat) part of Half-Life 2 around the same time and it was night and day compared to Halo. Thankfully the driving section there was actually really fun, even if a bit longer than need be.
One addition to the sequel that’s really nice is the Gravity Gun. This thing lets you pick up and shoot objects that would otherwise be far too heavy or too far away for you to do so. In that regard, Valve successfully incorporated puzzles into a true FPS similar to what would be come the standalone game of Portal. It definitely makes you think about how to approach certain sections. For instance in one area I was low on bullets, but there were saw blades all over the place stuck in walls. Turns out you can suck up a saw blade with the Gravity Gun and send it violently shredding through a zombie (these are zombies, right?).
[img width=700 height=393]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2007/165/934384_20070615_screen023.jpg[/img]
As a bit of a diversion I figured I should at least see what this Team Fortress 2 game was all about. So I hopped on the XBLA server one weekend morning and to my surprise, there were several games going on. What started as a simple capture-the-flag game with a red team and a blue team quickly turned into a pretty decent time-suck. A half hour or so later I realized the appeal to such a game. And now that I was feeling at least somewhat comfortable controlling an FPS, I could even enjoy such a game! Of course I was only playing with strangers, and I’m sure that a much bigger bit of enjoyment would come from playing with a group of friends. Something I’ll have to look into in the future.
And speaking of the future - not only does this mean that The Orange Box has this online game that I can enjoy indefinitely (or until the servers are shut down), but I’ve still got Half-Life 2 to beat and the expansion episodes to delve into. When you look at the number of quality hours of gaming that are on this single disc, it becomes quickly apparent that The Orange Box is one of the finest compilations you get on the 360.
(With the kiddies back in school, I've finally gotten a chance to sit down and return to my fun job; writing for RFGen!)
I can easily follow the internet collective's double-take on the 2DS. As has been commented (predicted?  ) here, the 2DS comes across more like Nintendo's engineering department accidentally following up on discarded notes from R&D's drunken April Fools party. When offical pictures of your product look photoshopped right out of the gate, with a concept pulled from the punchline of an old joke, it's easy to question whether any publicity (bad) is still good publicity.
And yet, as I shook my head over how wacky Nintendo can be, I quickly realized who they intended to buy this thing;
Me.
After the touch screen to our original Mario Kart DS system lost sensitivity, I gave it to my six-year-old (whose favorite game, Mario Kart DS, didn't need the touch controls anyway). He carried it around everywhere, and despite my consistent warnings, he'd carry it by pinching the corner of the top half. Sure enough, after one drop the hinge broke off, and then later the top screen gave up the ghost and went all-white. Now its in a corner of my project room, waiting a resurrection as a modified GBA.
Which means my son fits squarely in the announced demographic for this new wedge-shaped oddity. Will we get this new square peg for our little square hole? (That felt weird to write. I gotta get an editor.)
Truthfully, probably not. At least, not soon; our Wii U Zelda Edition was just pre-ordered (family Christmas present to each-other) and with the 2DS announced at $30 past that magic number 99, I'll loan him the DS Lite for awhile. But for the holidays, this newfangled contraption actually fits a niche more than we may know. Its no more designed for the folks making fun if it than a Leapster or Jitterbug Phone. Its sturdier and purposefully more disposable than our sexy 3DSXLs or Vitas. Its Nintendo doing what Nintendo does; finding a market that could be better targeted and going after it. We here at RFG may be mostly 'core' gamers, but when Angry Birds and Just Dance are two of the best-selling franchises of all time, businesses are more interested in where the money is coming from now and where is the next potential source of revenue.
Its the same reason the XBox One was not primarily designed with the 'core' gamers market at the, well, core. 'Core' gamers no longer pay the bills; the millions of Netflix and Cable/Satellite subscribers are now the bigger, and bigger paying, market. There is simply not enough money to be made in a console exclusive to games in today's 'connected' world. When a developer sees the crazy money made from service providers, mobile games, and FTP models, it becomes impossible to justify to their investors a model that, at best, won't pull in the same revenue numbers as the competition. I hate to say it, but the Wii U's biggest hurdle is not the ridiculous name, the confusion of whether it is a new system or an upgrade, or market awareness; the problem is that all it really does is play games. No Blu-ray movies, no fancy TV watching, limited social media integration, no real life outside of gaming. (Netflix may be present, but its so ubiquitous now it almost doesn't count.) The success of mobile gaming has taught game developers what marketeers have always known; the largest, most lucrative demographic will sacrifice quality for convenience and accessibility every time. (Hello McDonalds, Subway, etc.) The reason Microsoft has spent decades trying to get a 'One' service provider box into the home is obvious; most folks will eventually forget (and not put money into) an extra box they do less with.
I'm excited for the PS4 and Wii U (now that the game library is picking up steam [not Steam, but boy, talk about a killer 'app']) precisely because I prefer a gaming system for gaming, but I'm well aware of how, and why, the gaming industry has changed. The backlash on the XBox One shows that the 'future' of gaming is not quite here, but it is inevitably coming. We're no longer just seeing the signs, we're already turned on the off-ramp and picking up speed to merge onto the highway.
Hey, if we're already on this road, someone in our car will much more likely be playing a 2DS than a phone game...
OK, maybe some Words with Friends.
Hello all. It's been a while. Some of you may not even know me. Let me reintroduce myself. I am David Murnan, and was the former Site Director. Much of what you see is my creation. Ah, memories, but that's not why I am back. No, I am back because I called it. I freaking called it.
In 2011, RF Generation decided for a day that it would be the in extra special 2D. We went so far to announce the Nintendo 2DS over two years early!
[img width=300 height=294]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/17636Nintendo%202DS.jpg[/img]
There it is, our concept, created none other than by our resident graphic artist den68. So imagine my surprise yesterday when Nintendo Officially announced the Nintendo 2DS. Deja vu, anyone? I mean, we called it in 2011. 3D was just so ahead of its time. Too, out there. Too, headachy. Either way, it appears as though someone at Nintendo saw our mock up and decided to create their own, final version.
The thing is, after Nintendo officially announced the 2DS, the internet sort of went apeshit. Some people, including major gaming blogs, noticed our concept, and well, we are flattered. Did Nintendo rip us off? Nah, I simply think they took our concept to the next level, and I thank them for doing that. Thank you internet for also taking interest in den68's concept design. You all truly are the best.
We have since come to our senses and realized that 3D is perfectly okay. But, again, it's nice to see that people are taking notice of our day in extra special 2D.
Keep it on channel 3!
Image credit: @thomasjones_89 Click the poster to view his twitter feed and see some of his art
Community Playthrough Discussion Thread
Thanks everyone for making the July and August Community Playthrough of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars so much fun. Pat yourselves on the back for restoring order the world and allowing people's wishes to come true.
As you may remember, thanks to Shadow Kisuragi's vast knowledge of the game, we were able to offer you with a slew of achievements to tackle while playing. It was a close race between Addicted and singlebanana for the biggest achiever, but Addicted just squeezed ahead with one more achievement. Congrats Addicted!
For being the RFGen member with the most achievements he earned himself a say in the selection of the next game for us to play through together. Addicted must have loved platforming and puzzling through those 16-bit Disney games, because he proposed we play the new DuckTales Remastered and the Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse remake.
DuckTales is available now digitally on Steam, PSN, or the Wii U eShop for $15. XBox Live Arcade will receive DuckTales Remastered on September 11. Or if you like game cases (and snazzy pins) "physical" copies containing a download code are in stores as well.
Castle of Illusion will be released via PSN on September 3rd.
If anyone is feeling lucky Capcom is holding a contest to give away 150 DuckTales Remastered press kits. More information can be found here.
Here's to another Community Playthrough.
DuckTales! Woo-Oo!
Episode 16.5 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=12494
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Follow the Collectorcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Collectorcast
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In this special episode, we team up with Twitter follower @GamerCents to dig into the depths of BioShock Infinite. We take the time to pull the game apart, and walk through our thoughts piece by piece. What did we all think of the combat and game mechanics? Did the plot twist our brains into knots?
We hope you enjoy this special episode, and make sure to let us know your thoughts. Did we get it right? Do you agree, or disagree? We would love to hear your theories as well!
Show notes:
Gamer Cents on Twitter: @GamerCents
Gamer Cents blog: http://gamercents.blogspot.com/
Songbird theory video: http://youtu.be/QUCZ9ViN47A
[img width=455 height=227]http://vinnieh.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/i_thank_you1.gif[/img]
In case you were wondering what happened to RFG's news updates, there's no need to worry. We haven't forgotten about you guys. Here is a quick recap of the action the database saw over the last two months.
In June we saw a total of 3720 submissions which comprised of 3503 games related submissions and 217 hardware entries. July was only slightly quieter with 2028 in total. 1900 of which were games and 128 hardware submissions. Big thank you to everyone who made it happen!
The top submitters for June were Tynstar (760), ApolloBoy (537), and Shadow Kisuragi (340).
July's top three were ApolloBoy (447), thegreatska (303), and douglie007 (150).
Great work guys! Thanks for your efforts!
June and July were busy months and our database is chock full of new submissions thanks to great community members like yourselves. We've got a total of 29,718 submissions this year to date and there are still four month till the end of 2013 to hit our goal of 50,000. Keep at it!
If there are any aspects of Role Playing games that have the potential to polarize their players grinding is likely to top that list. Some gamers soak up ever ounce of it while others cringe at the mere thought. One thing is certain though - if you want to get anywhere in an RPG you will have to grind.
[img width=400 height=500]http://chicanery.fibergeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/grind.jpg[/img]
Before even looking at how this gameplay mechanic is used it is important to understand the meaning of the term in question. To grind can be defined as sharpening by abrasion, but could also refer to being oppressed, tormented, and crushed. Two totally different meanings, but they are both so appropriate to describe a Role Playing game staple. By looking at the definition alone one can see where the polarization occurs. Repetitively battling enemies to gain new items and levels both hones the skills of the character while tormenting the player with a seemingly endless chore.
When looking at Western RPGs and their Japanese counterparts it becomes apparent that both treat grinding differently and implement it for unique reasons. Western Role Playing games, for the most part, and most notably, Skyrim, utilize this gameplay element as a reason to explore the game's world and mythology. In doing so the player can completely bypass the main plot in order to gain full freedom to discover hidden items peppered throughout the land that colour the game's lore. Grinding is absolutely optional but is in fact an added incentive for the player to try to enhance their gaming experience. In this case the act of grinding becomes synonymous with discovery. The treasure is out there should the player choose to seek it. This ultimately contributes to greater immersion by offering players the uncover the game's secrets.
[img width=700 height=392]http://bensrpgpile.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/larg_r52_chest.jpg[/img]
Japanese RPGs, on the other hand, exploit level grinding in a very different manner. The role which grinding plays becomes a critical component of the game and the development of characters' statistics. This is all well and good on the surface, but it can have deleterious effects on the player's view of the game as a whole. By forcing a player to repetitively perform the same task, be it battling or playing a mini-game, he or she can actually lose sight of the plot and the primary objective of the game. This will usually result in forgotten plot points or even player resignation leaving the game to never be played again.
While leveling up in such a way often feels like a chore the tedious act does have underlying benefits. Evening out the playing field, especially in preparation for boss battles, gives the player a chance to develop skills - both strategic concepts that can be used in-game and improved character techniques - that allow spikes in difficulty to be overcome with less frustration. The same can be said for grinding in multiplayer online RPGs as well. By level grinding the player can keep up with fellow gamers and gain access to once unattainable areas or items. However, in typical Japanese fashion, grinding is not just a shallow game mechanic. It ties into a state of mind which is associated with overcoming life's hurtles.
[img width=500 height=333]http://kodjoworkout.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/life-obstacles.jpg[/img]
The way JRPGs use grinding adequately reflects both meanings of the word. The honing of one's talent will translate into the dominance of oppressive barriers. Much like studying or training the body, grinding carries a special philosophical weight along with it. Father of the Japanese RPG Yuji Horii claims:
In the real world there are so many difficulties people are facing. Sometimes, there are no rewards... at least in the game, we want to make sure they [players] will be rewarded. In Japanese style you have to try, try, try - and then you can finally get a reward. It is like climbing a steep mountain - you have to keep climbing, climbing, climbing and then at the end you finally get to the top, and you see the beautiful view.
In this way level grinding reassures the player that their time and hard work will pay off. Be it the acquisition of superior items, the improved statistics, or the pleasure of defeating more powerful enemies, this gameplay mechanic in fact teaches players to not lose hope in their endevours, more importantly, that with persistence and determination any goal is achievable. Despite being very taxing on the player, grinding levels and equipment is a backbone of the RPG genre. It is implemented in many games and in as many unique ways, but its philosophical teachings and in-game rewards make the experience so much greater. So keep trying, keep climbing those mountains because whether the experience comes in the form of points or fond memories, nothing comes without effort.
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Posted on Jul 25th 2013 at 11:10:53 PM by ( noiseredux) Posted under 3DS |
[img width=602 height=550]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-182/bf/U-182-S-00020-A.jpg[/img]
If held at gunpoint, I'd have to say that Street IV is my favorite game of this generation. Oh sure I've had many far more amazing experiences with games like Heavy Rain or Catherine or 3D Dot Game Heroes. But Street Fighter IV is a game I've constantly come back to. In fact, it was something of a revelation to me upon its release. At a time when I thought that these new fancy pieces of hardware couldn't compare to classic sprites, it was Street Fighter IV that sold me on 'the future.' This is a real forum post I made back in 2010:
So I figured I'd be really excited about Street Fighter IV or the Capcom Vs Namco announcement or the new Marvel Vs Capcom game thats' coming out. But frankly, all the screens I've seen... they just look wrong to me. I mean sure the graphics are pretty or whatever. But the camera angles, the lack of sprites... it just doesn't appeal to me. SFIV just doesn't look like a SF game to me. Is it just me?
And then what happened was this: my wife and I were Christmas shopping that year at the mall and stumbled upon this kiosk. It was set up like an arcade. Just rows and rows of gaming consoles - Wii, PS3 and 360 - all just sitting there to try various games. I had time to kill and saw Street Fighter IV set up on one of the 360's and gave it a go. Within a half-hour my tune had changed. When I finally picked up a PS3 the next year, Super Street Fighter IV was the first game I bought. And in the two years since, it's remained one of the games I've played the most. I've even gone as far as picking up the Arcade Edition (as well as Street Fighter X Tekken) and await Ultra with open-arms.
[img width=400 height=240]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2011/018/997808_20110119_screen001.jpg[/img]
So when I finally decided it was time to pick up a 3DS this last month, I bundled it with a natural choice - Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition. Indeed, the thought of playing SF4 in bed, on the couch, outside, or anywhere I desire was a huge plus for me. But how would this game fair? I mean, as far as portable Street Fighters go, it had some big shoes to fill. And I say this as a guy who's picked up portable Street Fighters going as far back as Game Boy. That said, Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival on GBA is by far one of the high water marks in the portable series. And Alpha 3 on GBA was perhaps even more impressive (though not my favorite of the two) and eventually trumped by its PSP iteration.
[img width=400 height=480]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2011/018/997808_20110119_screen004.jpg[/img]
As far as I'm concerned the important thing is whether or not a portable game can deliver a console experience to me - at least as far as Street Fighter goes. And friends let me tell you that yes, 3D Edition truly does. Now I'll start by saying this - controls are going to be a factor for any of us fighting game fans. Those of you used to an arcade stick, well you know where you stand. But I've always been a fightpad guy. So the lack of six face-buttons on the 3DS hardware is of course going to throw me off. So in fairness, that's the one downfall to me here. I had to kind of relearn how to use shoulder buttons in a Street Fighter game - something I haven't had to bother with since Turbo Revival.
But at the end of the day 3D Edition gives you everything you could want on the go. The visuals are amazing, and truly justify to me that my purchase of this handheld was a wise one. The music that I'm so familiar with is here and perfect. The controls are fluid once you've gotten a grasp of the button layout. You can use the analog nub or the D-Pad as you desire. There's also some combo's you can select on the lower DS screen via touch - but that's cheating I tell you! Cheating! And perhaps the best addition - I've now finally got a portable Street Fighter game with full online gameplay. Again - I can be in bed, on the couch, outside, where ever - and be playing Street Fighter IV against someone in another state! For this alone, I am grateful and highly recommend this port.
Episode 16 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=12349
Get the show at http://www.collectorcast.com
Follow the Collectorcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Collectorcast
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Collectorcast
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As regular listeners know, the three of us tend to lean heavily in favor of the NES. In order to get a competent view of one of the most important eras of gaming, the 32 bit generation, we brought in the big guns to assist us. Dangerboy, AKA - Jason Dvorak, AKA - The Worlds Biggest Playstation Fan, is added to the mix to make sure we dont overlook the importance of the Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn systems.
Being a long time collector himself he will give us his unique perspective on why this era is so much fun to collect for, and share his personal take on some of the more interesting aspects of picking up games on these systems. So take a listen as we dive into Jasons vast pool of knowledge and explore everything from demo collecting to educational games.
And as always there are many hours of RFGen small scores to enjoy!
Show notes:
Cygnus by Thunderware Games
Game-Rave
GameRaveTV
Music: Linus Spacehead (NES) + bonus
Small Scores 5:12
Interview with Jason from Game Rave 3:42:56
Outro 5:30:05
[img width=640 height=903]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/box/3/2/5/937325_82959_front.jpg[/img]
There's been a lot of talk this year about Aliens: Colonial Marines. Like Duke Nukem in 2011, it's been the game to hate. In fact this unanimous disgust for this game was so intense that it only amplified my desire to actually play it. And what I found was a game that was so enjoyable to me, I'm not even sure why I'd need to defend it. But then again I'm going by nothing but base reaction. Meaning I'm looking at this just as 'a game' rather than 'a highly anticipated game based on a license with rabid fans.'
Let me start by pointing out a few things that might make more sense out of my enjoyment for this game. First of we should discuss the First Person Shooter genre. Though I'm slowly learning to enjoy FPS games far more than I ever did in the past, I'm still far from seasoned. I've played very few of the modern staples. So in reality, I don't have all that much to compare this to that's been critically acclaimed (save for perhaps Borderlands).
I should also point out that while I am a huge horror fan, the Alien films have always been a bit closer to sci-fi (mixed with horror) to me. This means that while I am a fan, I'm not an obsessive fan. I don't rush out to see each film. I haven't even seen them all yet. And so the story here - supposedly cannon - really doesn't matter to me as far as how well it gels with the film series.
And lastly, I didn't follow this game's hype leading up to its release. I didn't pay much attention to the overly long production schedule. I didn't see the demos shown prior to release, so had no anticipations. Add to this that while the game was released this year, I didn't pay $60 for it on day-one, but instead picked up for $10 when GameFly was having a sale.
[img width=700 height=429]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2012/345/937325_20121211_screen003.jpg[/img]
Now that we got those disclaimers out of the way I can start to tell you about my own experience playing. I delved in blindly, and to my surprise I found that the game was actually very linear. Whereas this might turn off other, more-seasoned FPS'ers, it was just fine for me. Earlier this year I played through Half-Life for the very first time. And while I fell deeply in love with that game and everything new it showed me about the genre, it was really nice to now play through a modern FPS where I didn't have to constantly resort to checking a walkthrough to figure out what my next move was.
Graphically, I thought the game looked excellent on 360. It was well detailed, ran smoothly (save for some glitches I'll get to later) and had excellent lighting. Of course I've since watched videos on Youtube comparing some of the demo footage shown before the game's release compared to the finished product, and certainly the final release has been compromised. But that said, the atmosphere always seemed to work really well for me.
[img width=700 height=933]http://i.imgur.com/upxksF4.jpg[/img]
As far as the aforementioned glitches, well they were around. As seen above is a screen shot I took on my phone camera. At one point I was being fired upon by turrets and wondering where my cover, O'Neil was. He should have been right behind me, but wasn't. I decided to backtrack a bit and found him two rooms earlier... stuck in a wall.
These NPC AI glitches were by far the ones I encountered the most. Sometimes one of your partners would seemingly forget he was even alive and would just stand frozen doing nothing for five minutes or so. Other times he would shake violently as if hopped up on uppers. At least twice I ran out in front of my squad only to find them suddenly waiting for me two rooms ahead. And once O'Neil even materialized in front of me out of thin air. So yeah, in that sense Colonial Marines feels a lot more like a budget title. And who knows, had it been released as such maybe we'd all think of it more akin to Earth Defense Force and wink-wink-nudge-nudge at these sorts of shortcomings.
[img width=700 height=393]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2012/157/937325_20120606_screen003.jpg[/img]
But despite all that, I still found the game compelling enough to find time for it consistently over the last two weeks until it was beaten. And there were plenty of moments that really stood out to me. For example there's one section where you must escape from a rather large Xeno and find yourself sneaking around under his floor. At various moments he angrily bursts through your ceiling attempting to grab you, and the scare was effective enough to genuinely make me yell out startled. (My wife later took it upon herself to burst in to the game room screaming to shake me up a second time).
At another point you come across these aliens who can only see movement, so you must stay still when they get to close. And right as I got to an exit three of them came extremely close to me and I swore I was detected. It was actually tense enough of a moment that I caught myself holding my breath in real life.
[img width=700 height=393]http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2012/157/937325_20120606_screen002.jpg[/img]
The truth is that the game's eleven missions were actually quite well peppered with such moments that really made me enjoy every hour of gameplay. Although I'm still baffled at the ball-drop that was the final boss fight against the Queen. I genuinely have no idea why my squad of marines would think it was cool to let me handle her on my own. And I'm further baffled by the decision to make the boss encounter in a room so filled with barricades to keep her away from me, and so obvious as to how to defeat her. It did seem pretty anti-climatic considering how many more difficult sections had come before it.
But at the end of the day I'm glad I played this game. I don't regret purchasing it, and in fact I'm even bummed at the reception it got which would pretty clearly say "no sequels dudes." Considering its sunken price tag, I'd at least suggest some of you out there with some interest and open minds give it a shot. I'm certainly not saying it's the best game out there, but it's certainly not the worst either - no matter what it is you've heard elsewhere.
[img width=700 height=388]http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/o736/Fleach/DSCF2663_zps9fea0196.jpg[/img]
I hope everyone who participated in June's Community Playthrough enjoyed the 16-bit Disney games we played. Puzzling and platforming through those was loads of fun!
July is fast approaching and that means the RFGen community will be playing through another game together. Wildbil52 hinted that it would be a super game for the seventh month and we'd like to congratulate Duke.Togo for correctly guessing Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars as the next Community Playthrough game!
Those who want to join can head over to this thread for more info.
Episode 15.5 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=12105
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Bil and Duke travelled to Philadelphia for the TooManyGames convention to present a live (and much shorter) version of the Collectorcast. We discuss scores from the show as well as convention collecting tips.
We were excited to meet some of you there, and for those that want the experience the YouTube version includes video.
CAUTION: The Collectorcast does not accept responsibility for damage to your vision from viewing the YouTube version. Cast your eyes on us at your own risk.
Due to the feedback of several members, and a little bit of common sense, we are trying something new with the Keep an Eye Out For Me board.
The old board was a moderately successful idea at first but once the thread grew to 10+ pages with a different post for each user, it became unwieldy to access in the field while hunting for other members.
The new Keep an Eye Out For Me is a child board in the Collection Connection area http://www.rfgeneration.c...orum/index.php?board=12.0
There is now a different thread for each major system. Once you post the items you are looking for with a bounty, myself or another staff member will update the thread and delete your post so that the thread is very clean and made up of just a few posts with everyone's list combined.
If you want to check it out, head over to the new board and read the READ ME FIRST thread.
Please PM me with comments, suggestions, ideas, etc.
Recently, I've been asked to report the work I've been doing on RFGeneration as a possible Conflict of Interest for the company that I work for. This is mainly a precaution to cover myself and the site from any future interest from the company, and to protect the company's reputation. While this process is going on, I've been asked to cease any work to the site until further notice. I'm clarifying with them now what access (if any) I'll have to the site until the decision is made (possibly mid-July), but in the interest of protecting the site during that time period, I'll be leaving the staff of RFGeneration.
For many of you that were PM'ing me details with your submissions, please feel free to use the appropriate feedback threads on the Announcement and Feedback forum. Izret has volunteered to help out with the reviews and submissions I normally take and he can reach me if there are any questions if I'm forced away entirely from the site, which I don't expect to be the case. I'll continue to ask any questions posted on the forums and still be a presence if possible, but I don't have any staff access.
In all honesty, this is something that should've happened a while ago that is just now coming up. This helps future-proof the site should there be any concerns that come up, and means that my work would truly belong to RFGeneration.
Courtesy of Necrosaro and GamingGuru from the forums, take caution if you own a Sony PlayStation 3. Updating to the latest firmware update (4.45) is causing many PlayStation 3 consoles to brick (become non-functional). This appears to be mostly related to consoles where the hard drive has been upgraded past 500GB, but has been affecting other users.
The official Sony thread can be found here:
http://community.us.plays...ate-to-4-45/td-p/40712247
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