What were the last video games you played?

[Bulzeeb]

Couple of impulse buys thanks to a "Buy 2 Get 2 Free" on used PS2 games at Gamespot. Picked up:

- Megaman X Collection (X1-X6 plus some racing game that was Japan only)
- Megaman X8
- Twisted Metal Black
- Half Life 1

Experiences so far...

MMX Collection

Challenging as I expected from Megaman, but I still hold firm on the notion that X6 is a hellspawn stain that ruined the series.

MMX8

Eh, okay I guess

Twisted Metal Black

Just as disturbing as I remembered. I'm not sure who's story I like more. No-Face being mutilated by a doctor who lost a bet on his boxing match or Dollface's head being locked into a... well doll face by her pissed off boss.

Half Life

Glad to finally see where it all began, and for a PS2 game, it runs amazingly smooth.

[MegaIronDragonDeth]

I little bit ago I played some more Battlefield 3. My favourite part of the campaign so far is the part called "Rock and a Hard Place". I wonder how far away from completing the campaign I am. I have no clue, but I heard the campaign is around 15 hours. So I assume I still have quite a bit to do still. (I've only gotten to the part after Rock and a Hard Place)

Probably tomorrow, or technically today. I'll take out my old PS2 and play one of my oldest, but also favourite games called Shadow of the Colossus. I remember playing that when I was 10, I really liked it then. I assume I'll be in for a good nostalgia trip. But once I get to that sand snake, I'll probably just quit because that colossi is just impossible for me to do. Because I'm so bad at aiming the bow and arrow while horseback riding. (also I'd recommend PS3 players to download this game from PSN, it's great and I think if you get it on PS3 it has HD graphics too. There're 16 bosses, and that's it. No little henchmen. Just the 16 collosi, and surprisingly it's very fun.

[GNFfhqwhgads]

Half Life

Glad to finally see where it all began, and for a PS2 game, it runs amazingly smooth.

Well, it came out on PC in 1998, I'd hope a PS2 can run it. I started it, but when it loaded every five seconds, I just stopped.

[Bulzeeb]

Well, it came out on PC in 1998, I'd hope a PS2 can run it. I started it, but when it loaded every five seconds, I just stopped.

I guess the contrast between the look of the environment and how fluidly Gordon moved just threw me off guard. I know what you mean about the frequent load times, but I'm used to it after playing the console version of The Orange Box.

[Mega-Tallica]

NBA 2K12

Still missing a crap ton of rookies and players unless I'm missing a roster update somewhere?

[Bulzeeb]

I just need to vent for a bit, so pardon my rantings on the following game...

Megaman X6

I remember the first time I saw this game. Ten years ago, I was pleased to see another entry in the X series and couldn't wait to play as Z-saber wielding X. Unfortunately, good times were not had. I only made it through two levels (intro included) and already noticed the fun from X4 and X5 was missing. In the present, I find myself giving the game another chance, but armed with more knowledge of the series than I was back when I was content to just have more Megaman X.

After a quick recap of the game, I learned something interesting: X6 was never supposed to exist as X5 was planned to be the last entry of the X series before moving on to the Megaman Zero series on GBA.

Series producer Keiji Inafune was not involved in the development of Mega Man X6.[1] He had originally intended for the fifth chapter in the series to be the last due to the death of Zero at that game's conclusion. "And so I’d always planned to make Zero come back to life in the Mega Man Zero series, but then X6 comes out sooner from another division and Zero comes back to life in that, and I’m like, 'What’s this!? Now my story for Zero doesn’t make sense! Zero’s been brought back to life two times!'"[4] Inafune also felt he owed fans of the series an apology for the decision to create Mega Man X6, although the series was "starting to go in a direction out of [his] control" at that point.[1]

After learning about this, I share Mr. Inafune's frustration. The ending scenes of X5 carried a true sense of finality for the series, so to have his vision ruined with such a lackluster addition is just an insult to both Inafune and the X series as a whole. Without knowing anything about the series beforehand, just knowing the above can already paint a picture for how haphazardly X6 was handled, and it shows in its gameplay and story.

I'm all for challenging gameplay, but X6 is filled with what I call "stupid-hard" moments in practically every stage, creating an enormous jump in the learning curve early on in the game. The source of most of these moments come from X6's main plot-line about a phenomenon called the Zero Nightmare. The plot itself seems like an extension from X5's Zero Virus, except the Zero Nightmare can create annoying effects in stages and it consists of these equally frustrating tentacle robots.

The effects are usually predetermined by the stage being highlighted in red before being chosen, but sometimes the game lies to you and the added effects are present in non highlighted stages. The tentacle robots are always present and they have a huge impact on gameplay, unfortunately. Throughout stages, you may find other hunters to save, but these tentacle robots can possess your friends and turn them against you. If that happens, the character is gone for good. This would only annoy completionists if it weren't for the fact certain allies have skills and bonuses you get by saving them. If one guy has an awesome skill for you but gets possessed, the skill is gone just like them. Restarting the stage doesn't bring them back, they're gone.

Say you find some decent skills, you might not be a high enough rank to use them, and the only way to boost your rank is to collect Nightmare souls left behind by the tentacle bots. This also doesn't seem so bad, like earning your way to the top, but the problem is if the soul is left alone for more than three seconds, the bot is resurrected and killing him again won't yield a soul. Getting to the souls in time wouldn't be a problem if the stage layouts, enemies, and bots themselves didn't go out of their way to make sure you can't reach them. The tentacle bots can float through walls as well as shoot through them making sure you take hits and sometimes leaving the soul unreachable. Those tentacle bots do decent damage too, both by just touching you or shooting their energy spheres through walls at you.

Zero's comeback takes the cake for stupid moments in the game. I mentioned before in an earlier post how in X5 Zero was blown apart left with only a head torso and one arm. Yet somehow, he managed to escape from the digital hellscape where he "died" and in the three weeks between the two games, he "hid himself and repaired himself."

If Zero had never come back, X6 might have been able to hold some continuity, but the gaping plotholes regarding Zero's return form the already frequent peepholes that reveal what kind of game X6 is. The only good thing I can really say about Zero's return is how is Z-Buster is actually decent compared to X5. Ironically, I watched a Let's Play of MMX6 a few weeks prior and at every entry the player introduced the video with, "Welcome back to Let's Play Megaman X6, I hate this game."

...and that's all I have to say about that.

[Happy Dragon]

I never play anymore as a ticker, the barricades almost diminish all my health before I can get close enough to anyone, and if I try to go around the barricade it takes too long. Also they always start shooting at me a little bit after I've gotten past it. I always start out with the guy with the gun (the one, that is one over to the left from the far right, when selecting your character.)

Aww man, no bad mouthing the tickers.
I was curious after seeing this quote how my stats were doing for Beast. The Wild Ticker was sitting pretty in 3rd place for most used character at 14% Something very theraputic about merrily chomping down the hard work of those filthy humans.

Although, agreed on Insane level they do lose their appeal and efficiency.

Try not to take a direct route with them and have a bit of cover, they can go a long way.

Recently I've been really enjoying using the Bloodmounts in Beast. With even a bit of support from the your fellow grubs they can be a complete wrecking crew.

[MegaIronDragonDeth]

Aww man, no bad mouthing the tickers.
I was curious after seeing this quote how my stats were doing for Beast. The Wild Ticker was sitting pretty in 3rd place for most used character at 14% Something very theraputic about merrily chomping down the hard work of those filthy humans.

Although, agreed on Insane level they do lose their appeal and efficiency.

Try not to take a direct route with them and have a bit of cover, they can go a long way.

Recently I've been really enjoying using the Bloodmounts in Beast. With even a bit of support from the your fellow grubs they can be a complete wrecking crew.

Yeah actually I just watched some youtube videos of beast mode gameplay and wild tickers look like they are great for destroying fortifications. I will give them that at least.

[jibjqrkl]

Yeah actually I just watched some youtube videos of beast mode gameplay and wild tickers look like they are great for destroying fortifications. I will give them that at least.

meh, just for the first 2 rounds or such, its better to go with the shooty guy, then the kantus, then the savage grenadier (wayyyy overpowered) and then you should be a berserker at round 8, and then you can just destroy all fortifications way too easily (one tip if you're doing it on insane, use the berserker for fortification destroying only!espescially during the last round. he dies way too fast to get some decent kills on that, best to take the guys out from a distance)

[RockAndAHardPlace]

meh, just for the first 2 rounds or such, its better to go with the shooty guy, then the kantus, then the savage grenadier (wayyyy overpowered) and then you should be a berserker at round 8, and then you can just destroy all fortifications way too easily (one tip if you're doing it on insane, use the berserker for fortification destroying only!espescially during the last round. he dies way too fast to get some decent kills on that, best to take the guys out from a distance)

Actually, using the wretch until the laser grids come up is the best tactic.