A Gaming Diary
Archive for December, 2007
Guitar Hero 3 (360)
Dec 28th
Thanks to the magic of Christmas I now have this game.
I can’t really write much about it as I also have a kitten who seems to be fascinated by my typing. I will say that I completed Easy last night, can’t work out how to play non-career songs in a way that posts a score online, am baffled by them locking some of the best songs away in co-op where I’ll never get them, love the wireless guitar and also I rock.
I also have a new 120GB hard drive. The transfer from my old one is taking ages.
Geometry Wars Retro Evolved (360)
Dec 24th
I turned it on for the first time in a long, long time and got about 130,000, which I thought was all right after such a long break.
On my next go I got about 29,000. And then I switched it off and went back to SWOS.
Every Extend Extra Extreme (360)
Dec 24th
Just one game of Unlimited mode, but that one game took a while. I was wondering how I could ever actually die, when I pushed things too far, lost a life and then hardly got any more Time Extends and had to watch as my time dwindled away.
Sensible World of Soccer (360)
Dec 24th
It’s finally here!
And it’s great!
There is a problem, though. It’s very, very, very, very, very difficult. I can win a match if I pick a decent Premiership team and play a team in the third division (as it was in ’96), but even that’s a fight. When I’m playing a team on or near my own level I just can’t win. I just can’t seem to get into scoring positions very often and find it hard to score when I do.
Despite that, though, it’s just great. One of those games I turn off in a huff and then come back to five minutes later. One day, I shall be good. (Mind you, that’s what I said back in the mid-nineties when I was playing the PC version.)
Football Manager Handheld 2008 (PSP)
Dec 21st
And the final score…
Ebbsfleet 2 – Shrewsbury 0.
Woo, and indeed, hoo.
It could be seen as a slightly unfair score line, as we just had two shots, both of which went in, against Shrewbury’s fifteen shots, of which eleven were on target. But you can’t argue with the result.
Football Manager Handheld 2008 (PSP)
Dec 20th
This is my Christmas present to myself, as it got cheap recently. I was meant to be keeping it for Christmas Day, but I had a horrible morning involving a broken car, the AA and and a garage, so I thought I’d cheer myself up by starting this.
I’ve not done too much so far. I’ve taken over at Ebbsfleet United. I seem to be lacking a bit on the left of midfield, but the paltry £3K transfer budget and strict wage limits mean I’ve not been able to get any new blood into the club yet. I set myself up with a nice attacking 4-4-2 formation, as my best midfielders seems to be of the attacking variety.
After all the set up, I went into my first friendly, against Shrewsbury. (It’s not very glamourous down in the arse end of professional football.) I’m 1-0 up, after a nice goal from Mark de Bolla (if I’m remembering the name correctly) just before half time. I’ve been very lucky, though. That was my only shot, I think, whereas Shrewsbury have had about eight shots, most of which have been on target. My goalkeeper’s really been saving us.
I definitely need to have a look at moving back to a more traditional 4-4-2, I think, given how many chances the opposition are getting, but I’m not sure if it’ll suit my players.
I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a tough season ahead.
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (PSP)
Dec 19th
So, last night I played for an hour or two, ducking into a weapon to go and get some specialists. Good fun stuff and I managed to get my Bonus Gauge up to level nine for the first in the PSP version on one level. So I was happy.
This morning, though, I realised I went and sold the weapon I’d gone into before moving the unlocked specialists out of it. D’oh and bother, I say. D’oh and bother.
Also, the Dark Assembly hate me. And here I am able to find a fault with the game. Why can’t you bribe with items from your warehouse?
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (PSP)
Dec 18th
Hooray! I finally found time to squeeze a quick ten minute session this lunchtime. I just did a quick replay of a story level, but it was good fun and my guys will have earned some experience. Nobody seemed to level up, which was a shame, but the levels are starting to come more slowly now I’m in double-digits and haven’t done any power levelling yet.
Contra 4 (DS)
Dec 17th
Games that are harder than this, a complete list. Super Ghosts ‘n’ Ghouls… Um… That’s it, I think. I can, just about, get to the level one boss if I use all my continues, but I can’t beat him. (And if you die and have to use a continue, you start a long, long way back.) On Easy I can defeat it, but somehow Easy doesn’t feel satisfying, despite it being incredibly hard itself. Something about it keeps me plugging away, though. I’m sure I will give it up eventually – I can’t see that boss ever going down – but for now I’m happy enough with the game. I’m just not sure if I could recommend it to anyone but the most hardcore of the hardcore. But it’s a Contra game, so that’s who it’s for I suppose.
Kula World (PSP)
Dec 17th
I’m stuck. There’s a level – an early level judging by the graph on the game over screen – that I just can’t do. Except, once I did it without a problem and it all seemed to fit together. I don’t remember how I did it, though, and I’ve never got past it since. Still, it’s a fun little game to play while South Park’s on.
