Game Completed | NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

Game Title: NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Nintendo Wii)
When: August 3rd, 2008
Completion Time: 3 hours 49 minutes

At one point, I did own NiGHTS: Into Dreams for the Sega Saturn.  I, however, never did play it.  When a NiGHTS sequel was announced for the Nintendo Wii, I still didn’t care for it.  And you know what?  Even after playing the successor on the Wii, my thoughts are the same.  Sega should’ve left this series in the vault.

Journey of Dreams start you off by allowing you to play through two children’s dreams, Will and Helen’s.  I chose Will’s and figured I can play through Helen’s if I enjoyed it enough to play through it again.  Fortunately, I never had to do that.  I don’t know what the hell Sonic Team is doing to their games but I haven’t enjoyed a single one of theirs since…well, never.  Sonic Adventure was so-so, Sonic Adventure 2 was shit, Sonic the Hedgehog (on 360) was even worse; and now this.  The game revolved around you, playing as a hybrid of the character NiGHTS and the child you chose, going through loops and saving the dream world from the Nightmareans.  The game is split into three worlds with five levels in each one.  Each world lacks variety since you’re doing the same missions in each one.  Save for a few where you’re actually on-foot going through a “maze” and levels where you’re in a boat/coaster.  The coaster one is actually pretty fun but aside from that, everything is just flat-out boring.  I couldn’t wait to finish the game and I’m glad it took me less than four hours to do it.  I can’t possibly put in another four hours in Helen’s Dream if I wanted to keep my sanity.

As for the musical score, I actually liked it.  As corny as it sounds, it was quite pleasant.  Very bubbly.  I didn’t play the game for the music, though.  So what I was left with is a horrible gliding game with a decent soundtrack.  Sonic Team fails again.

Do I recommend playing it? No.
What games am I playing next? I have quite a few that I’m juggling.  I started up Space Invaders Extreme (DS), Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (360) and Call of Duty 4 (360).  I’m also playing Endless Ocean (Wii) and Halo 3 (360) in between my main gaming sessions.  The only reason why I played NiGHTS was because I have a potential buyer and I gave myself a time limit of two days to finish it before I ship it out.

Geoms

Fact: I bought an Xbox 360 for Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved.  Watching videos of the game in action made the wait for getting an Xbox 360 even more unbareable.  So when I finally bought one off of Amazon, I was psyched to get online and download it right away.  And I was not disappointed.  But as much as I loved it, I couldn’t get pass the 1 million barrier.  I came pretty close with 985,000 points, though.  I never did try again to see if I can get above my personal high score.

Just about a week ago, Bizzare Creations released Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 on Xbox Live.  Honestly, I was not stoked for the game…at all.  I haven’t really been keeping up with the latest games but usually if there’s a sequel to a game that I loved playing, I would’ve at least read a bit more on it.  Hell, I didn’t even know it was out until I booted up my 360 and saw the advertisement for it.  I figured I’d give it a download and see how the game plays.  Bizzare improved the game in every way possible.  The game now features six modes of play and there’s at least something for everyone.  There’s still the Retro Evolved mode, where you play endlessly until you’re out of lives.  Deadline is a timed game where you try to get as much points as possible within three minutes.  King is a unique mode where you can only shoot when you’re in circles that appear on the playfield.  Once you’re out of the circle, you can’t shoot.  Therefore, every trek to a new circle will be filled with enemies that you have to dodge.  In Pacifism (my favorite, so far), you can’t shoot at all.  The only way you score points is by going through “gates”.  Once you go through a gate, it’ll explode any enemies near it.  Waves was included in Project Gotham Racing 4 and is a featured mode in Geo Wars 2.  Every few seconds, a wave of zip-lining fighters will cross the screen.  It gets frantic when you have waves of enemies appearing from every direction.  Finally, there’s Sequence.  It’s comprised of 20-levels where there’s a fixed arrangement of enemies in each level.

Even the smallest details in the game amazes me.  For example, as you’re playing, you can have your HUD display either the next best score on your friends’ list, your personal best or the highest score on your friends’ list.  It makes reaching a goal much easier since you’re not aiming for the top, but just enough to top the next high score.  If anyone wants to add me to compare high scores, my Xbox Live gamertag is Sochie.

Swimming With Invaders

I’m actually interested in setting up my own saltwater aquarium.  I’ve been reading how to maintain one for the past few weeks.  When I was younger, my parents had a 50-gallon freshwater tank where we housed sucker fishes, a crawdad, and a ton of goldfishes.  We had the tank for a long time before it started to leak.  It was then that we decided we wouldn’t be able to keep the tank as we have invested a lot of money into it already.  That was nearly 10 years ago.  So a few weeks ago, owning an aquarium again caught my interest.  But I didn’t want goldfishes, I want the more exotic-colored ones that saltwater have to offer.  I plan on purchasing the tank and necessary equipment in the next month or two and I’ll keep a detailed account of my ventures here on this blog.

The thought of owning a saltwater tank also led me to see what sort of fishes I would be interested in.  Sure, there are websites, forums, magazines, books, etc. out there that I can peruse but as I glanced at my video game collection, I remember that I own Endless Ocean for the Nintendo Wii.  Earlier this year, I only played it for about 45 minutes before my mind wandered off to other games.  But as I stared at the case on my bookcase, I decided to play it and see what I can learn.  Let me tell you, this game is amazing.  It didn’t grab me before but now, I’m learning to love this game.  It’s very relaxing and informative. I can see myself playing this game more extensively after a day’s work at the office.  I can’t explain why but seeing a scalloped hammerhead slowly swimming towards the reef that I was inspecting gave me chills.  Just discovering anything new in the ocean is a pleasure in itself.  I’ve seen an ocean sunfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium just a year ago but seeing it here in the game is just as comparable in terms of the amazement of seeing one.  It even swims like a real one.  I have to give it to Nintendo for crafting such a fine piece of software.

While going to the potty, I brought my Nintendo DS with me and started up Space Invaders Extreme.  I was going to buy the PSP version but since my PSP was recently stolen, the DS version will do.  I’ve never been a huge fan of Space Invaders (feels a bit too slow for me) but Extreme does everything right to keep my interest.  Taito modernized it with groovy backdrops/effects, a riveting soundtrack and even boss battles.  More people need to play Space Invaders Extreme.  I can’t wait for my next potty outing.

Go Blu

Four more Blu-Ray movies to my collection, for a total of 16. And I haven’t even spent more than $20 on a single Blu-Ray movie. Here are the new things I got in the mail today:

I got Cooking Mama: Cook Off ($29.99) for the Nintendo Wii. I was expecting it to be somewhat more fun but it wasn’t. I also got a Disney/Pixar Collectible Pin Set from registering Ratatouille and Pixar Short Films Volume 1. And my new Blu-Ray movies are Paprika ($19.49), Tekkonkinkreet ($19.49), Dragon Ball Z – Broly The Legendary Super Saiyan/Broly the Second Coming ($13.99) and The Prestige (Free from the Blu-Ray Retailer Training).

 Looks like I have a lot of things to watch in the next few weeks.

More DS Time, Less Time for Everything Else

So I bought myself a 2GB microSD card to go along with my M3 DS Real.

 I got The Lady hooked on Cooking Mama 1/2, Ouendan 2 and Brain Age.  Speaking of Brain Age, that is one spectacular game, especially for someone who hasn’t been in school for a while (read: me).  The colors game makes me light-headed, the calculations made me realize how much math I’ve forgotten and this game tests my memory like no other.  And I’m lovin’ it.  After I’m “done” with Brain Age (and its sudoku portion, which is something else I’m hooked on) I’ll move onto Big Brain Academy and then Brain Age 2.

My awesome memorization of what Australia looks like

Game Completed | Super Mario Galaxy

What game did I finish?
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

When?
January 7th, 2008

How long did it take?
10 hours 14 minutes

My thoughts.
Wow. Easily the most fun I had with a video game in some time. I don’t know why Super Mario Sunshine received a lot of flack; I had fun with it even if it wasn’t a traditional Mario game. If I still had Sunshine, I would play it all over again. To be honest, while playing through Galaxy, I wanted to perform certian moves that were only available in Sunshine. Such as sliding on water to quickly travel from one area to another, although it wasn’t necessary since the worlds are small and doesn’t need much traversing.

I really love the gravity engine in Galaxy. There’s nothing like it that I’ve played. I wonder if other Wii games will imitate this style.

Mario have a few new transformations: Bee, Spring, Boo, Ice and Soar. I never had a chance to get the Soar ability since I finished the game with the minimum amount of stars (60 + 1 for finishing the game). The Bee transformation allows Mario to hover for an extended amount of time and he’s able to stick onto honeycombs. The Spring transformation allows Mario to spring onto high areas that normally couldn’t be reached. I can see why some gamers dislike the ability due to a slight misstep, Mario can easily fall to his death. Boo Mario assumes Boo’s shape, is able to float and go through certain objects. Finally, my favorite new ability, is Ice Mario. Walking on water is possible since Mario automatically freezes them into tiles and with a shake of the Wii Remote, he can skate on it.

I’ll put more time into the game to see if I can get all 120 stars.

Seen Above: Sensor Bar

Do I recommend playing it?
Absolutely.

What game(s) am I playing next?
A bit of Brain Age and Cooking Mama.

Game Completed | Avatar: The Last Airbender

What game did I finish?
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Wii)

How long did it take?
8 hours 15 minutes

My thoughts.
I remember back when the Wii first launched and seeing this game on the shelves. I never thought that I would actually play the game since I didn’t watch the show. Just three weeks ago, I bought the Avatar box sets 1 & 2 and I’ve watch nearly every episode except for the last episode of Season 2. Having bought this game as well, I didn’t expect much from it and I’m left satisfied after finishing the game. That’s not to say that I enjoyed it immensely but it was a nice distraction. I haven’t played a standard action game in quite awhile so it was a welcome change.

The game loosely follows Aang and crew on their quest to stop the Fire Nation. It briefly covers the first season’s episodes but follows a different script once you’ve passed the first chapter. I liked that the game offered a new story as oppose to following the show episode-by-episode. There are a few things that made me appreciate the game such as the option to save before heading into a boss battle. The boss battles aren’t that difficult but it’s nice to have that option just in case. I also like the calligraphy portion. You basically use your Wiimote and draw the Chinese character on the screen in order to perform certain actions. You’re limited to about 10 different characters throughout the whole game but it’s still fun to do, nonetheless. There are also quite a few things the game could’ve benefitted from which was smarter A.I. Whenever I’m in a battle, my teammates would stand still if I was to get knocked out of the battle perimeter. The game would be much more fun if you were able to set commands for the team or individually (be aggressive, stay back and heal the party, etc.). The sound effects, for some odd reason, are completely off. Whether you’re collecting money on the ground or using a special attack, the sound effects never seem to be on par with what’s happening on-screen. There were instances where the music would cut out all together. It made for a quiet game during those parts. At the end of the game, Aang goes into the Avatar state and it’s pretty damn cool since he’s quite overpowered. The developers could’ve made more events where Aang goes into that state. I think it would’ve made the game much more fun.

Avatar makes for a decent romp but I wouldn’t play the game again because it gives no incentive to go back. Completing all the quests makes no difference other than gaining more experience and/or getting more items.

Do I recommend playing it?
No.

What game(s) am I playing next?
I started up Super Mario Galaxy that I received as a Christmas present from my lady. And I think I’ll dabble a bit in Every Extend Extra Extreme (XBLA) and Everyday Shooter (PSN).

Wii for the New Year

The Nintendo Wii is my second most-played next-gen console (the 360 is first).  That doesn’t say much especially if you look at how much I’ve played my Playstation 3.  I ran through the days on my Wii console and calculated how much time I’ve spent with it so far (in terms of playing games and not browsing the Mii Channel, Internet, etc.).  Here are the numbers:

Wii Sports – 39 hours
Mario Party 8 – 18.5 hours
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution – 5.5 hours
Super Metroid (Virtual Console) – 4 hours
Bleach: Shattered Blade – 1 hour

Total -  68 hours

Although I do own Twilight Princess, I haven’t got around to playing it yet.  But 68 hours?!  That’s pathetic.  I’m starting to buy more games for the Wii to see if I’ll put more time into it.  I recently purchased Avatar: The Last Airbender and the Wii Zapper.  I’m not expecting much from Avatar but I am a fan of the show.  And the Wii Zapper comes bundled with Link’s Crossbow Training.  Of course, it’s not a “full” game but it’ll distract me enough from the Christmas present I’m going to get from The Lady.  Yes, I already know what she got me.  Super Mario Galaxy.  I also took the time to update my “My Nintendo” profile and registered all the Nintendo games I have.

STEAM

As I was cleaning up my closet earlier today, I came across my Half-Life 2 Collector’s Edition box set. I remember wanting to play Half-Life 2 but my computer at the time couldn’t handle the game, so it sat in my closet for the past few years. I also remember creating a STEAM account and wasn’t sure if I still had it. I re-downloaded the program and voila! My profile is still there. And much to my surprise, I’m able to download a slew of games since I bought the Collector’s Edition:

Counter-Strike: Source
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
Half-Life Deathmatch: Source
Half-Life: Source

I’m not playing anything yet until the RAM I purchased arrives for my laptop (upgrading it from 512MB to 2GB). Looks like I’ll be able to play everything except for Lost Coast. I plan on buying a new desktop PC once Starcraft 2 is released. I imagine it doesn’t take all that much for the game to run on but by then, that new desktop’s specs can play the games out today. I’m always a few years behind when it comes to PC gaming.

Buy Mii a Wii

As I’m sitting here waiting for the 2.0 update for the Playstation 3 to finish (34% so far), I’m watching a rather interesting parody video of T-Pain’s “Buy U a Drank”. I can see myself doing something like this if I was bored. And depressed.

Speaking of the Wii, I really don’t like how Nintendo approached its Virtual Console setup. It’s great that they’re offering classic games from a wide variety of classic consoles but I would really like to see them borrow from Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade service. XBLA offers classic games as well (Pac-Man, TMNT Arcade, Street Fighter II, just to name a few) but with the added bonus of online leader boards and online play. I’d purchase Mario Kart 64 again knowing that it was online-enabled.

Anyway, I played Halo 3 for six hours straight last night/this morning and managed to rank up my Team Slayer skill from 9 to 26. I also only need 25 EXP to go from Captain Grade 1 to Grade 2. I calculated how much time I’ve spent on Halo 3 since its release and here are the numbers: I played approximately 6.5 hours of co-op on Legendary, 3 hours of solo on Heroic, and 22 hours of multiplayer. That’s a total of 31.5 hours so far. Compare that to the number of hours I sunk into Halo 2 (approx. 310 hours), it seems so puny.

Getting Back Into The Groove

I’ve started off my subscription to GameFly (2 games out) and my two games arrived in just only three days. I rented Blue Dragon for the Xbox 360 and a game I’ve no idea why I picked. Watch the intro and see if you can guess what it is in less than 2 minutes.

I played it for an hour and contemplated on playing it some more so I can get the achievements, but damn, this game is really pushing it. I can always force myself to play through it but why bother? I managed to slug through 23% of Sonic’s Episode; and I would need another 2-3 hours of play time before I can even get a single achievement point. I don’t think Sega’s Sonic Team is up to the task of creating any more Sonic games. I’d rather have the series be passed onto one of their other in-house development teams. Then again, the only team that’s been pushing out a few good titles is Sega-AM2 (Virtua Fighter, Outrun). Anyway, Sonic the Hedgehog has been sent back to GameFly and I’m awaiting my next game to arrive.

Oh, and I’ve watched 13 episodes of Heroes.  I’m addicted.

Street Fighter & Heroes

Capcom recently released a teaser for Street Fighter IV. I’m hoping, like others, the game will be in 2D.

Moreover, Udon released the first gameplay video of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

HD Remix will be available on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network sometime in 2008. I’ll probably end up purchasing both. On my trip to Toys ‘R’ Us today, I couldn’t find a second and third game I’d want for their B2G1 free deal. I wanted Bleach: Shattered Blade, The Orange Box, and Heavenly Sword; my TRU were out of The Orange Box and Heavenly Sword. So I picked up Heroes: Season 1 ($48) instead.

Heroes: Season 1