6th March - Gamerscore Update

It's been quite a long time since my last post, and even longer since my last gamerscore update, so I figured it was time to update everyone with what has been going on. This is going to be a pretty large update, but in future I will try and keep on top more to avoid this huge posts. Anyway, without further ado:

Quantum of Solace

805 -> 1000

Finally got this finished. It took some time to get the 100,000 credits and purchase everything from the store, but at least I had some fun while doing it. Like I said previously, the multiplayer on this game isn't that bad, but around 80,000 credits I was feeling the grind. Anyway, Game Complete!

Mirror's Edge

745 -> 825

Completed this on hard. I wrote a full post about my experience the other day. If you can't be bothered reading it then I'll summarise; it wasn't very fun.

SOULCALIBUR

0 -> 200

Soul Edge was one of my favourite games on the PS1, and this is essentially the same game with some minor differences and the absence of Weapon Master mode. It's still a very solid fighting game, and stands the test of time quite well. Some of the animations are excellent, especially for a game of its time. The achievements were all pretty simple as well. The only one that took more than one attempt was the EX Survival achievement, for defeating 25 opponents in EX Survival mode. In the end I used Taki and her "Towards and B" rolling kick. Game Complete!

Interpol

0 -> 200

I'm sure I played a flash version of this some time ago, but I can't be certain. Regardless, the aim here is to find a number of increasingly well-hidden items in various global locations. It's relatively easy but some challenges are painfully hard. The achievements are also pretty simple; I played through the game once using hints so I could get a good idea of where most of the items were, then again without hints when I knew what I was doing a little better. Then I replayed the first level a couple of times to get the "Elite Agent" achievement. Game Complete!

Crystal Quest

0 -> 200

This game can be either easy or very hard, depending on whether or not you play using the update. I played without, which I would recommend. Picking up the achievements for holding X number of lives/bombs/crystals is easy if you use this method: play up to wave 10 normally, but avoid using a smart bomb or dying (it isn't hard). When you're on the tenth wave, simply collect one crystal at a time and kill all the enemies which appear, then collect another crystal, and repeat this on every wave until you have the achievements. Game Complete!

Pirates Vs Ninjas Dodgeball

0 -> 200

I've never understood this argument. I understand why people would think pirates were cool, but how could anyone think that they could defeat ninjas in combat? Either way, this game is pretty easy but it's definately not fun. The gameplay just doesn't cut it, although graphically it looks ok despite some major pixellation in some areas. Single player mode is also infuriating at times, but with persistence I managed to get through all the stories fairly fast. I boosted the online wins with LadyDeathstroke. Overall, fairly easy, but I wouldn't recommend it. Game Complete!

Super Street Fighter 2 THDR

0 -> 200

I also wrote a pretty lengthy post about this game as well, and finally managed to get it finished. I boosted the online achievements with rj junior uk. It took a fair amount of time, but it was probably the only way. Game Complete!

FIFA 06 RTFWC

0 -> 1000

This was one of the launch games for the 360 and is still one of the easiest games to complete. Netting the full 1K takes only a couple of hours, and it's all nice and easy on amateur difficulty with half-length set to 2 minutes. Game Complete!

Watchmen: The End is Nigh

0 -> 79

This game is the reason I bypassed my milestone due to its oddly numbered achievements, but it was worth it for this top-notch beat em up. As the prequel to the upcoming movie, I had to invest in this despite the 1600-point price tag. It features two campaigns (Rorschach and Nite Owl) as well as co-op gameplay, and is a pretty brutal game. I wrote some advice for a couple of the achievements over at x360a, which you can find here. 

Disney Bolt

0 -> 350

This is a pretty fun kids game. It's been pretty easy to get the points so far, but the gameplay is pretty good so they aren't a chore just yet. I'm not far off completing the main storyline, and after that mopping up the rest of the achievements shouldn't take long at all. Definately worth a rental. 

So that's what has been happening over the past few days. Lots of arcade games have been played, something which I didn't actual notice until writing this post. I've got quite a few easy games to slog through over the next couple of days, so hopefully these updates will be nice and easy.

GS

10175 -> 12949

Retail Complete: 6/12

Arcade Complete: 14/15

Now Playing: Mirror's Edge

Anyone who has read my recent review of this game will be aware that I like it, but after playing through the game again on hard mode I have some additional points of view that I feel need to be raised. 

Without trying to be negative, the second playthrough of this game was decidedly less enjoyable than the first. Now I know people will probably now be thinking "what a pussy, he didn't like it on the harder difficulty" but the truth is I blitzed the whole game in 3 hours and 30 minutes and only died about 5 times.

This is one of the reasons it let me down this second time. A game so short in length is ideal for a replay, especially a game like this with multiple methods of completing certain scenarios. However, after having played through each of the levels already, all the sense of thrill and excitement is pretty much absent, and knowing where you need to go to progress sucks out even the miniscule level of difficulty that was present the first time through. The only vaguely difficult parts are those areas where combat is a necessity, and this is only because the CQC (close-quarter combat) on offer is disgraceful when Faith isn't a bullet sponge. Her disarm maneuvers are remarkably sluggish and lengthy, and in the time in takes to perform one the rest of the enemies have usually shot you to death. Bearing in mind it only takes 2-3 shots to kill you on this difficulty, the shortcomings with the combat system are overly apparent.

I can't help but feel as though there are several things which could have been done better with this game. The idea of runner vision being turned off in hard mode is a good one, but considering that in order to unlock hard mode you must first complete the game, you already know where you are going and thus the lack of runner vision has no effect. Also, after the initial thrill from the first playthrough the set-piece events seem lacklustre and the majority of the levels seem a little....dare I say it, boring?

I still think this game is an essential play, but after my second time through I wouldn't recommend a purchase. Seeing everything for the first time is still brilliant, but that second playthrough really starts to grate. Luckily it doesn't last long enough to cause too many problems.

While we're on the subject of this game, you can easily pick up ten achievements in the first level of the game (prologue). Check out this video for a very well-made achievement guide showing you how to bag them all. 

- DC Nightmare

Now Playing: Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix

As a big fan of the fighting game genre, the Street Fighter series is one which is very important to me. Some of my earliest (and best) gaming memories involve playing SF2 on the Sega Mega Drive back in 1994, when I was barely able to hold the pad.

From there, the series hasn't really progressed too much until recently. We had SF3 which was widely disregarded, and various updates of existing installments, particularly SF2.

Of course, February 2009 saw the release of Street Fighter IV, the best fighting game in the last decade. I haven't managed to get hold of a copy just yet, but to satisfy my SF needs until I can do so, I picked up this title from Xbox Live Arcade.

SSF2THDR is the most modern installment of SF2, and for me is the most accomplished. Graphically, this goes without saying, but in terms of gameplay this is as finely tuned as any other fighter on the market. It's still relatively simple to pick up and play, but to master this game real skill and dedication is required. 

Picking up the offline achievements is pretty easy; after all, I have played before to some degree. A tricky one for me was "Combomaniac", achieved for a 7-hit combo. Although this sounds simple (and essentially is) pulling it off took several attempts. The easiest way of doing it is the following:

Pick Deejay

Bring in another controller and select Zangief

Hit a crossover medium kick (jump and hit B)

Instantly duck, and perform 4 successive quick jabs (X button)

Hit up and fierce kick (RB on the 360) to perform a Jacknife Maximum

That should bring you to 7 hits. It will most probably take a couple of goes but that is definately the easiest way to do it.

Technically, the hardest single player achievement is "Sheng Long is in Another Castle", which is unlocked for beating Akuma in arcade mode. There is some speculation about the criteria you must fulfil in order for Akuma to appear, but it basically consists of beating arcade mode without continuing, and also getting a couple of perfects in there as well.

Needless to say, arcade mode should be set at one round and the easiest difficulty. To beat it easily, I used M. Bison and spammed his Psycho Crusher technique (hold direction opposite opponent for two seconds, then towards and punch). I think I got four perfects. If you get it right, in the final match with Bison, Akuma will duff him up and you face the Master of Fists instead. 

In this game, Akuma is a BASTARD, and ridiculously overpowered. Beating him one-on-one is stupidly difficult, so the best way is to exploit weaknesses in his game. A popular method is to use Cammy and her Spinning Back-Fist technique to twist through his projectile attacks, but I found this method very hit and miss and often tricky to pull off correctly. After trying several different tactics, this is what I did to beat him:

Select Chun-Li

When the match starts, perform a jumping medium kick (jump and B)

As soon as you land, perform her Lightning Kicks technique (rapidly hit B)

He'll back off pretty quickly, and probably go for a fireball

Jump over again and hit him with the medium kick, then the Lightning Kicks

Repeat until he keels.

With this method I beat Akuma first time, but I think I got lucky. You may not be able to pull it off first go, but this is most certainly an effective method. Whichever method works best for you, eventually he will fall and you will get your hard-earned achievement.

All that I have left to do with this game are the online achievements. I think I'm going to go down the boosting route as soon as I can; while I'm a fairly accomplished SF player, most of the people still left online are veterans who have been hitting hadoukens with Ryu since 1992, and I keep getting severely beaten. I'm going to persevere for a while, but if an opportunity to grind out the wins comes along I won't pass it up.

Still, I need the practice for SFIV...

- DC Nightmare

Another Day Another Milestone

I've been gaming without a specific aim for a few days now, and it seems to me that I don't game with as much enthusiasm when I'm not moving towards something. With my recently finished personal GS challenge and the public auto-challenge over at 360voice, I don't think another challenge is the best idea. I need some time to go back and clean up the games I started and didn't have time to finish off, so instead I'm going to try and hit another milestone.

I don't think I've mentioned my 360voice challenge. You can check it out here. I'm currently sitting at the top of the table with 18 hours left on the clock. I haven't really been trying, but luckily the other three people in the challenge haven't seemed to realise that it has even started.

Anyway, my latest milestone is a pretty smart one: 12,345. A lot of people don't notice at first for some reason, but that number ascends in sequence, as in "1, 2, 3, 4, 5", so it's a pretty cool figure to hit. At the time of writing, my GS stands at 11,140 which isn't far off. Another good thing is that my score still finishes on a ten, so hitting 45 shouldn't prove too difficult. 

I'll take a photo to prove I hit the exact score. I've still got one from my 5000 milestone which for some reason I haven't yet uploaded, so I might do them both at the same time. Either way, I should be hitting it within the next 48 hours.

- DC Nightmare