Damn I suck at updating this. If it wasn’t for people like Nokkon shouting at me for not updating it, I’d probably forget about this completely. Anyway, I’ve got a bit of quiet time here in work at the moment so I thought I’d put something together to stop Nokkon fro shouting at me more :p
So, what have I been up to since February? To be honest, I found it hard to remember, so I had to pull up my Xbox Live achievement list so I could see. This year is just racing by! Anyway, I think the biggest thing that happened, in terms of my happiness about it, was that I finally managed to finish Guitar Hero 3’s Hard career. As I said in my previous update, Lou was kicking my ass. No matter what I tried, he would always beat me. I’d resigned myself to the fact that I simply wasn’t good enough, and I’d just play the game for fun. However, I picked it up one day after a month or so’s absence, and for some reason found myself playing better than ever. I decided to give Lou another try, and though I didn’t initially beat him, I managed to get him closer to death than ever before, twice in a row. It finally gave me the confidence that I could do it. A few days later I popped home for my lunch, and on my 2nd attempt, managed to beat the sonofabitch! I was so happy I shouted obscenities at my TV. I don’t think an achievement has ever made me so happy!
The main game to come out between now and my last update is of course GTA 4, and of course, I got it. I tried not to get too caught up in the hype, but unfortunately in the last week or so it got me. I was soooooo looking forward to it. Like most people, after playing it for a while I was left to answer the question of whether it met the hype or not. I have to say that it didn’t, not completely anyway. I don’t think any game could be as good as people were hoping, but GTA does so many things right. The combat system is hugely improved over previous games, despite the quirks of the cover system. Hand to hand fighting is not my favourite, but again I can see improvements there. Driving is more realistic now and I’m still undecided on where I stand on that. I do like the way the cars handle, but GTA games have always been slightly over the top and the unrealistic handling was a part of that. Still, now GTA has gone more “real-world” I think the driving fits in nicely. I’m not a huge fan of the activities in the game. They’ve replaced the micromanagement of your body in San Andreas with the micromanagement of your friendships in GTA 4, and to be honest I’d rather be looking after my body as at least then I saw some tangible benefits from it with more stamina and speed. Again, it fits with the real-world feel, but we all know the real-world isn’t always fun. Despite those criticisms though, I thought it was a great game. The storyline was the best in any GTA game so far, and the characters and character relationships were far more detailed. Niko is easily the best protagonist of the series. He has a charm and personality you can’t help but like, and you know that even though he is capable of these evil deeds, he’s only doing it because he has to, not becaue he wants to. I definitely felt a connection to him throughout the game, and that’s a new experience in a GTA game for me. Hopefully that’ll all continue with the now-delayed downloadable content when it arrives later this year/early next.
Another big release has been Rock Band, which I treated myself to along with the instrument pack. I’ve not a huge fan of the Fender guitar, it just doesn’t feel right for me so I’ve gone back to using the X-Plorer for the guitar careers. I completed the Hard career with no problems whatsoever, and got right through to the end song on Expert only failing once the entire time. Unfortunately, the final song, Green Grass and High Tide, has kicked my ass repeatedly. There are Green-Red-Yellow-Red-Green zig-zags repeatedly around 8 mins in and my fingers are just not fast enough to keep up with them. I desperately want to finish the song so I can finally say I’ve finished an Expert career on one music game, so I’ll be heading to the practise mode at some point to spend an hour or two in there, and hopefully get my fingers working quickly enough. Either that or I just need to get used to the Fender more as I can see it being so much easier with the solo buttons. The drums in Rock Band are excellent as well, though I’ve not spent much time on them yet. The first time I played them I grinned like a little boy at Christmas the entire time. They’re so much fun to play, but it’s not easy getting used to doing things with your foot as wel as your hands. I can just about manage some Medium level songs but I think I’ll be best going through it first on Easy to make sure I’ve got enough skills to get through Medium. Defintely enjoying it though, it’s great fun as a single player game, and even better with 2 or more players.
Now for what has been my most anticipated game this year – Ninja Gaiden 2. Most people who know my gaming habits know how much I loved the first game, to the point where I considered it to be the best game of all time. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the sequel since the day it was annouced, and last friday it finally arrived. I have to say, after beating the game, it’s equal parts better and worse than the original. The level design is slightly better here, so that the camera problems which are still there aren’t quite so apparant as you’re generally in more open spaces. The boss design isn’t quite so good, with some bosses having attacks which are either impossible to block or just damn near impossible to anticipate to get out of the way. I do love a challenge, but if the attacks are going to be definite damage if they hit, at least give me a split second warning so I can try to get out of the way. The range of enemies in this game is good, but I do miss some of the ones from the first game. Some in NG2 can be annoying but it was the same in the first one. The new weapons seem good, though I’ve not really played with them properly yet as I’m going for the weapon achievements on each run through (so only using one melee weapon in each game). Speaking of the achievements, they all look gettable, though finishing the game on Mentor (Very Hard) or Master Ninja (Expert) will take some doing I think. I reckon I can manage it with enough practise, but I wouldn’t expect it any time soon.
That’s about it on the played games front. I’m looking forward to Top Spin 3 and GH:Aerosmith, both due this month, but both will probably be rentals as I’m skint now. In none gaming news, I now have 2 adorable little kittens, Jake and Sam, who are 11 weeks old. They’re very cute and very affectionate, but both little troublemakers as well, chewing wires and what not. They also love jumping on my lap at the most inoppertune moments in a Ninja Gaiden session. Still, it’s hard to be mad at them when they jump on my chest, lick my nose and fall asleep purring.
Anyway, that’s all for now I think. See you again in a few months probably! 
