After my initial 0-3 snafu, games are dropping like flies. I put in Hulk: Ultimate Destruction which has been among the most challenging since this Insanity Project started.
My new mission to to take three giant gamma gas cannisters spread around the city, and toss them into the ocean before they go off and I get neutralized. Whut? Nobody neutralizes THIS GUY!
Right from the get go, a special Hulk Buster twice my size (!!) runs on up and tries his luck. I run from him to get to the first cannister. Once I find it, I am set upon by another giant Hulk Buster and two helicopters. I grab the cannister, rush to the ocean, chuck it in, but die because of the assault on me.
This happens a few more times and then I realize: This is NOT a timed mission.
I start again. This time, I stay and fight the initial Hulk Buster. Its a tough battle, but eventually I kick his ass. I get to the first cannister. I still have to pick it up and run, because once you get within proximity, the cannister begins to glow and you have to chuck it in the ocean before it goes off. I do, and then its me against the Hulk Buster and two helicopters.
I lead them on a merry chase, picking up trucks and hurling them until the helicopters are taken out. The good news for me is, every time I destroy an enemy, green orbs of health goodness flows out of them, as though I were some kind of Gamma Vampire.
Fully charged up, I go to war against the Hulk Buster, and eventually I kick his ass. I head to the second cannister, and there there are two Hulk Busters, three helicopters, and some missile launchers. Doh!
I pick up the cannister and get to the ocean. I realize, all I have to do is get it in the ocean, no need for me to expose myself by doing the hammer throw. I jump into the water. The cannister is done for, and I get out of the water.
HULK SMASH EVERYBODY, BECAUSE HULK IS STRONGEST THERE IS! The fight against the two hulk busters, three helicopters and missile launchers takes me about six minutes. But I can take my time and run when I need to. When you smash ambualnces driving about, they too release health orbs, and seeking them out after eating a bunch of missiles keeps me in the game. Eventually I'm the only one standing, and I head towards the third and final cannister.
Now there are missile launchers spread in a path in the streets between me and the cannister. These guys are easy to destroy though, and so they serve me well in helping replenish my health completely for what I expect will be a last big fight. The cannister is surrounded by two Hulk Busters, lots of missile launchers, and in fly a few helicopters.
I grab the cannister. The ocean is close by, so I just jump on in. The mission automatically completes, I get the immediate opportunity to save the game - I do. The game puts me back on the battlefield, and I get swarmed and killed. But that's not an issue. When you get killed in between missions, you just get sent back to the secret hideout in the Church. I buy Hulk some new moves in the Buy menu, save the game, and yes, that is a checkmark achieved.
Nice! One of the hardest games on the list, complete for Round 3.
__________________________________________________________________________
I load Suikoden 3 into the Playstation. When last we left off, the Lizard Clan had apparently used the truce proceedings with Xexen as a ploy for a sneak attack. Why you---!!
I am currently playing as Chris Lightfoot, leader of the Xexen Knights, and I have three other prestigious knights with me: Roland, the elf archer, Borus, the pretty boy hot-head, and Salome, a master strategist. Salome suggested we go burn down the Karaya Village nearby to force the Karayans into coming to save it, which would provide our knights, currently surrounded on all sides, with an opportunity to escape.
I travel through the plains hacking evil bunnies. Yes, I said it. I get a painting after one battle to appraise later. A painting?? I want to know how an evil bunny is hopping around carrying a painting. Ah, never mind!
I hack some more evil bunnies in the plains to do some level grinding, and get everybody up to level 25. Then I head out to the Karaya Village. Yeeaaah. We burn it to the ground! How do you like me now? I'm the good guy!
Chris sees some shining armor and recognizes it as her dad's! Did he get killed by a Karayan warrior, she asks? Does Nestle Kwik taste better than Ovaltine, I counter.
Lulu, who is a major character in Hugo's story, assaults Chris in a cut scene.
In one of the most dramatic cut scenes I've seen to date, with fire burning all around her, Chris, on horseback, draws her sword and and kills Lulu before realizing he is just a child.
That doesn't sit well with his best friend, Hugo. But the Duck lieutant traveling with him stops Hugo from suffering the same fate. Hugo accuses the Xexen Knights of breaking the truce, clearly unaware of what happened with the Lizard Clan.
Chris is all like "Sorry I killed Lulu," but like, she didn't seem THAT sorry. Salome approaches and tells her that reinforcements are coming. We need to find Borus who is leading the attack of the village's rear. As I move forward, we get attacked by Karayan soldiers.
Commmbaaaat! It's Chris, Salome, and Roland versus five Karayan soldiers. Chris hacks them on horseback with her sword. Salome runs up to them and whacks them with his mace. Roland pegs them with arrows from his horse. They go down pretty quickly.
Another few steps in the village and we're attacked again, with similar results. We get to the back of the village, to find to Chris's horror that against her orders, Borus murdered all of the villagers! Holy $Z#%! Atta boy, that's why you work for me.
We hightail it out of there. We're automatically transported back to Brass Castle, and there is another cut scene where we lament the loss of two of our top most officers to the Lizard Clan's betrayal during the peace treaty meeting. Borus swears they won't get away with it. Yeah, you just slayed a bunch of innocents, dude, though Borus, of course, says he didn't do it. Suuuure you didn't. We're the good guys!
That's a checkmark. Story advanced.
_______________________________________________________________________________
I load up World of Mixed Martial Arts 2. It's going to be awhile before I can have my first fight card. The early stage of this game actually takes forever, because if you want to succeed at this game, there's a lot of initial nonsense you have to do.
I've put out feelers to all of the available fighters not already on my roster that I desire. I send out feelers to a big television network for a new show and to a few pay-per-view carriers.
I start examining the first 20 fighters on my roster, and set their personal fighting strategies in the menu. This is extremely tedious, and takes up the bulk of the hour for this round. Every ten fighters I analyze I will advance the game by a day. So I advance it by two days, and sign one of the hundred independent fighters that I put feelers out to, because I need to fill up spots in lots of divisions and I am creating three new divisions, a featherweight class for men, and two women's divisions: GAMMA, my organization, doesn't start the game with any women's divisions, but I will need as many fighters as I can get my hands on that are capable, I played this game a bunch already.
I am also taking notes on each of the 20 fighters in Excel, setting up a page for each weight division. More tedium, but this is necessary to do well in this game also. Eventually, I'll have my roster set up, everyone's strategy set, and every independent fighter signed to a contract. Then I'll be able to really get into the game by setting up fight cards, which is where the fun is at.
Oh well. An hour played. That's a strategy checkmark.
____________________________________________________________________________
Since I'm now also watching the Monday Night game between the Jets and Ravens, I put in Kingdom Hearts. Now I can hang out with all the cartoon characters: Donald Duck, Goofy, and Rex Ryan!
We're in Traverse Town and I head to the Third District to discuss the situation with Sid at his house. While I'm talking to him about the whole scenario, Maleficient, the Witch badmouths me my old pal and they leave together. Whut?
Sid tells me to go check out the bell at the top of the Gizmo Shop. I do that. Me and the Boys fight a bunch of Heartless. I advance a level. I ring the bell. The picture in the waterfall down below swivels and changes to a new one. I ring it twice more, and on the third one, a big keyhole shows up. And guess who has a giant key to put in it? Its THIS GUY.
I head down there but guess what happens?
Right. BOSS MONSTER. This is a tough Heartless who has a ton of hit points and can separate. I have to take out all of his parts separately. I decide to call in Simba for the first time. Cool Summoning cut scene, right out of "The Lion King." Nice!
I get kill-i-fied the first two times, but I get the strategy down for hitting him a few times then bouncing away, and the third time is the cliche-i-fied charm, as we take him down. I gain another level, and also, I get a new Navi-Gummi block for my super-delicious gummi space ship.
I use my magic Keyswordthingamabobbie in the keyhole, and yippedoodah, the keyhole seals. I head back to the Accessory Shop, save the game. Hey what's that under the counter.
It's Pinnochio! He has a present next to him. Jimminy Cricket, who is hanging out with me chronicling everything, jumps down off my shoulder and they have a chat about why Pinnochio's nose keeps getting longer when he says the present is his and he just found it.
I decapitate him!!
Okay, I don't. Jimminy Cricket volunteers me to find Guiseppe, the guy that built Pinnochio. What's in it for THIS GUY?
He doesn't say. Alright I'll do it!
Next session. This is a story progression checkmark, yo!
______________________________________________________________________________
I load up Ring of Red to get me some battle mech action. We still have a chance to get the Unit 3 that the Red Phantom stole back, but we have to take over a dock to ensure that he can't get it loaded onto a boat to take back to North Japan.
Wow, there are a ton of enemies, and I make an early mistake sending my light mech up against the Red Phantom and the Unit 3. I get blasted all to hell. Now he brings another mech up to finish my light mech off. HAHA. Nobody finishes off THIS GUY!
He finishes my light mech off, leaving me with 3 mechs left.
I get into some heavy battles with four other mechs as the Red Phantom heads to the docks, and communicates with his boat. I still have 3 battle days left before the mission ends, so I'm not worried about that. I'm coming for ya Red Phantom. Here I go!
I haven't mastered shooting my armaments in this game. Its very hard with a target leveled at the target, but I guess since my guys are still low level, I only get about 20-25 percent chance to actually hit. Different mechs are better in different ranges, Short, Medium, and Long, so you have to know your own range and the range of the opponent and try and get into the right one.
I don't get into the right one!
I do kill-i-fy three of his mech protectors, but due to my incompetence my three units all take major damage. Now I need to heal up. This allows the remaining mechs to form a nice strategy and continue putting pressure on me as I take a few turns doing nothing but healing.
I stupidly bring my main guy Weizenegger, so I am calling the Mayornator, into a foray with a large mech and weaken it. But I get damaged badly in the process. That allows him to counter attack. I win the fight but get severely damaged. I am within range of attack by another mech of his, and he assaults me.
Why you I outta---erg. I get blown to little itty bitties. And since it was the Mayornator it's Mission Over, Game Over.
Well, I had a great success streak in a row here in Round Three, now shattered. Now I know how Snoopy feels about the Red Baron. Red Phantom, one day I will crush you! Just...er...just not today.
______________________________________________________________________
Here's the scoreboard: Round 3
MIND TEASERS: 2 of 6 defeated
Chess Titans - 2
Gabriel Knight - 2
Mahjong Titans - 3
Sherlock Holmes - 2
Spider Solitaire - 3
World Series of Poker - 2
STRATEGY: 1 of 6 defeated
Civilization - 2
Europa Universalis - 2
Gladius - 2
Space Empires - 2
Suikoden Tactics - 2
World of Mixed Martial Arts - 3
SHOOTER: 1 of 6 defeated
Crysis - 2
Fallout 3 - 2
Freedom Fighters - 2
Killzone - 2 (Note to self: Stop getting shot in the head.)
Ring of Red - 2 (Note to self: It helps a lot if you hit the target)
Star Wars Battlefront - 3
PURE ACTION: 1 of 6 defeated
Devil May Cry - 3
God of War - 2
Madden Football - 2
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams - 2
Soul Reaver 2 - 2
Soul Caliber - 2
SWORD SLASHERS - 1 of 6 defeated
Champions: Return to Arms - 2
Dark Cloud - 3
Drakengard - 2
.Hack Infection - 2
Oblivion: Elder Scrolls - 2
Shadow of Rome - 2 (Must get better at hitting armed guards from behind with clay pots)
EPIC - FANTASY - 2 of 6 defeated
Dragon's Age Origin - 2
Dragon's Quest 8 - 2
Final Fantasy 12 - 2
Suikoden 3 - 3
Suikoden 4 - 2
Suikoden 5 - 3
EPIC - OTHER GENRES 2 of 6 defeated
Kingdom Hearts - 3
Marvel Ultimate Alliance - 2
Mercenaries - 2
Rogue Galaxy - 3
Star Ocean - 2
Xenosaga - 2
ROCKSTAR MISSION BASED 2 of 6
Assassin's Creed - 2
GTA: Liberty City Stories - 3
Hulk: Ultimate Destruction - 3
Manhunt 2 - 2
The Warriors - 2
Urbz - 2
No comments:
Post a Comment