I knew I wanted Halo Anniversary because, well, I have every other Halo title; I like the Halo series, for all of you newcomers. I have played all titles multiple times for reasons I cannot fully explain. Wonderful controls, excellent music and atmosphere, story–sure, those are three big reasons right there, but there is something else to it.  I don’t get bored when it comes to Halo, I just don’t.  Because of this, purchasing Halo Anniversary was a foregone conclusion. The question became, “when?”. I, like so many others, already owned Halo CE for the Xbox when Anniversary came out, so the prospect of paying full retail price ($40) for a game I already owned was not an idea I relished. But seeing the game at $20, I was fucking on it fast. The question then remained, was/is Halo Anniversary worth $20, let alone $40? No.

First, the good.

The remastered graphics look amazing, like a basket-of-chicken-wings amazing. I love the amount of detail added to the most subtle of areas, like grooves cut into the walls of the Library or the swamp’s meticulously-designed trees. The ability to switch back and forth between graphics new and old is a nice touch; I found myself at various points stopping all progress to see what the environment looked like ten years ago. It was often not good–a true example of where video game graphics have gone in just a decade.

Also added to this Halo birthday present was the inclusion of skulls and terminals, a nice addition for the completists (like myself) who bought this game looking to dive back in to Installation 04. The terminals add to the Halo-verse’s canon with some nifty, Halo Legends-style animation FMVs. They delve into the Forerunner mythology more than other games have to this point, perhaps foreshadowing (or is it 4-shadowing) Halo 4.

Then, the not-so-good.

I, for whatever reason, had high hopes for this remake. Reach’s multiplayer comes equipped on-disc, but multiplayer isn’t really my thing–plus I had already owned Reach. I had hoped Anniversary would feature some of the small details that really shone in past 360 Halo titles, like the meta game, or Reach’s challenges, only geared towards Halo CE. Seriously, how fucking hard could it have been to put these features in the game? The architecture was already laid out from games past–throw it on Anniversary and be done with it. What a small bone to throw those who invested money on Halo CE…again.

The other flaw with this game isn’t really a new flaw, though it is glaring after ten years. The controls were revolutionary in 2001 and are still tight today, as long as you aren’t travelling via Ghost or Banshee. Wow, I forgot how bad those things controlled, my memories suppressed by ten years’ worth of fictional, futuristic vehicle improvements. You are also thrusted back into the monotony of some of the level design, like aboard the Covenant ship with its MANY identical corridors or the Library with its MANY identical corridors.

Kinect functionality, as you probably expected, is wholly unnecessary. The voice commands are sluggish, with a call for “Grenade” requiring ‘much more’ (hyperbole) time than a push of a button can accomplish. The only useful Kinect option is the newly-added environmental scan, much in the same vein as Metroid Prime’s scan visor. By commanding Kinect to “Analyze” a blue filter takes over Master Chief’s HUD and allows you to scan weapons, vehicles, and enemies for more information later. While it is something to strive for in scanning all available objects it is hardly a saving grace for the Kinect functionality. And, as far as I can tell, the ability to analyze does not exist if one doesn’t have a Kinect to bark orders at. Maybe it works differently with no Kinect hooked up??

Awesomeness-By-Volume (ABV): 160 Proof (80%)

I still love Halo, and I have greatly enjoyed running back down Nostalgia Boulevard with Halo CE Anniversary, but there is no way this game was worth $40 unless you had never played Halo before or didn’t already own it. I really feel like 343 Industries missed a great opportunity with the lack of a meta game and Reach-like challenges; the graphical upgrades and the addition of skulls & terminals are great, but those were expected. Anniversary pairs best with a frosty, draft-poured Miller Lite, the old stand-by. Both are what you should expect them to be, relics that are still enjoyed in modernity, but nothing that will reinvent the industry.

Also, for those who love screaming at their TVs, the Kinect-features update for Skyrim is supposedly available today.  Honestly, I think I’d enjoy screaming shouts in the Dragon language much more if I weren’t married and worried my wife would never have sex with me again out of embarrassment.

Ripten posted some interesting information today about Skyrim and subsequent DLC. Enter the Snow Elves (currently the Falmer) and their Snow Elf Prince, who was felled by the Nords (a child, in fact) at the Battle of Moesring. Also surmised by Ripten is the addition of the spear and the crossbow, perfect for assassins and marksmen like Brave Sir Halodir.

Remember Willow? Do you? Because up until last Friday it was something that had only vaguely existed in the deepest trenches of my brain, resting behind useless knowledge of things like the plotline of Rocky V and memories of ProStars. Willow came out in 1988, when I was but a wee lad of five. I remember seeing the movie when I was little, but I never owned it, so my recollection of the film is very slight. I remember Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), Willow (obviously), the quote which is this article’s namesake, and that’s it. All other memories are but an ambiguous fog repressed by beer and sadness. For instance, up until just a few minutes ago when I looked up the film on Wikipedia I had no fucking clue that it was written by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard. Needless to say, after this revelation the film was promptly bought on Amazon for the agreeable price of $9.00. So, why all the Willow talk? Well, that’s because last Friday (as I foreshadowed earlier), while at Half Priced Books, I stumbled upon a little gem by way of Willow for the NES, made by Capcom, and purchased it for a palatable $7.00 (for a total-Willow-price of $16.00 to this point). While knowing Capcom can do very little wrong on the NES, I had high hopes.

Saturday afternoon my daughter laid down for a nap and my wife decided to do the same. To the Nerd Cave I headed with Willow in tow, the FC Twin waiting eagerly to receive the cartridge. A cocktail was poured and Willow was fired up. I discovered its excellence almost immediately, seeing a game made in the same vein as the Legend of Zelda and StarTropics. Willow features a leveling system along with a multitude of weapons, shields, and magic powers to use, which was certainly something I did not expect. The music was pretty grating and on a constant loop, so the over-sized CRT television was muted and The Shins were fired up on my iPhone.

After dying quickly a few times I decided to grind, also something I wasn’t expecting in a Capcom title. Before too long I was spelunking dark caverns and walking through forests with trees that shoot fucking fireballs at you. My daughter woke up, and my experience was cut shorter than I hoped. The iPhone was switched off and I sadly made my way back upstairs, but not before I had to jot down the 18-character password. I literally cannot remember the last time I had to do that. Sunday came, and the first opportunity that presented itself to me was quickly utilized with the half-pint adventurer. I was moving right along in the game but for all intents and purposes I don’t think I am very close to the end. In fact, as I just now investigated, I am at what you could call level 7 of 12.

Seven fucking dollars for this magnificence, this dust-covered gem. Who, dare I ask, was foolish enough to sell this to Half Priced Books? Perhaps it was providence that led me to this purchase with sweet Lady Destiny forcing the hand of some poor schlep to sell such a prize for pennies on the dollar.

Better than?:

YES

NO

YES

The jury is still out on Crystalis.

MAYBE

It should be quite apparent by now that both Dave and I are very much into old-school or retro gaming. I started cutting my gaming teeth on the Apple II with games like Aztec before moving on to the Commodore 64. My dad was a college professor and traded copies of games with students so I ended up with a library of thousands of Commodore games such as: Bruce Lee, Karateka, Master of the Lamps, Ultima IV, Jumpman, Paradroid, Uridium, Raid on Bungeling Bay, H.E.R.O, Choplifter, and so many more. It should also be very apparent that I am very nostalgic for these retro games and the memories they evoke.

I have joked about buying my own arcade machine for a long time but never pulled the trigger when I the time came for one reason or another. No transportation for it, too far away, cost too much money, etc. I’ve always wanted to build a gaming room in my home with a half-dozen or so arcade machines of various genres and maybe a skill game or two. In the same way that hobbyists build train rooms or restore old cars, I have always wanted to restore arcades and create a small museum in tribute to these objects that brought me so much joy as a child and triggered an interest in computers which I have built my profession upon.

So I have taken my first step towards this goal. It is a classic wrestling game I remember fondly from my past that I found for a price that I was comfortable paying. Monitor and controls are in good working order and the coin-mechs are operational and open fairly easily. I am pretty sure this is a converted machine and WWF Superstars was not the original game in this cabinet. However, it is using a JAMMA board which is easily swappable so I won’t feel bad if I decide to buy a different board (TMNT, Double Dragon, NBA Jam) and gut this cabinet and customize it.

I expect this machine to assist us in our GameDrunk endeavors as a decision maker of sorts. If Dave and I can’t come to a consensus on a game to add or remove from one of our many “Top something” lists, we can face-off in the squared circle. Ladder matches may decide our fantasy football draft order this season, plus I just like looking over in the corner of my basement and seeing it there.

Beyond that, Wes and I are working on our ‘greatest game ever’ tournament which is something we’ve wanted to do for years now.  The field of 64 is pretty much whittled down (that’s right, this is happening March Madness-style).    Stay tuned.  And hey, if you read this now after two months of nothing, kudos to you.  Your devotion will be etched in our hearts forever.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Wait…

Because why not...

]]> http://gamedrunk.com/2012/02/huzzah-the-defeat-of-more-bullshit-video-game-legislation/feed/ 0 http://gamedrunk.com/2012/02/wherein-sony-tries-something-i-actually-dont-hate/ http://gamedrunk.com/2012/02/wherein-sony-tries-something-i-actually-dont-hate/#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:45:37 +0000 Dave http://gamedrunk.com/?p=3149 Today Joystiq explicates a new PSN trick, one that actually isn’t a terrible idea.  Killzone 3′s multiplayer will be a free-to-play, standalone title on the PSN, and if you like it so much and want to proceed beyond the set level-cap you can pay $14.99 to continue digital improvement.  If you can stomach remaining at the same, boring level for eternity as long as it promises free gameplay, that too is your option.

Now, for the record, I don’t give a rat’s ass about multiplayer FPS modes.  For one, I’m not good at them, and two, I’m not willing to put in the incredible hours of practice so I will be good at them.  The folks that play Call of Duty and Halo multiplayer religiously are amateur professionals–video game versions of laser-tagging Barney Stinson.  I can only assume the Killzone 3 fanatics will also be infinitely better than I.

Despite my relative indifference for the game they are offering, I do like the idea of giving customers a full-fledged, free-to-play option (which goes far beyond just a demo).  DC Universe was also offered as free-to-play by Sony but, as evidenced by my deletion of the (gigantic) game file, just signing on to play was unbearable.  I literally did not play the game once because I could never get to the action–so why waste the HD space.  If Killzone 3 can remedy an issue such as this there is certainly promise for Sony’s direction.

Speaking of cakewalks, once I made my way into the heavenly realm of Sovngarde I was met by fog and wandering souls.   I approached a bridge fashioned from some vast beast’s spinal column and rib cage.  Say what you will, these fucking Nords were conservationists.  Waste not, indeed!  At this bridge was a guardian to the glorified Hall of Valor by the name of Tsun.  ’Only the honorable can enter,’ ‘I will test you,’ blah blah blah.  This guy gave me fits until I lured him out in the water and shut his self-righteous fucking mouth with a few from my quiver.  He relented and gave me access to the Hall.  The asshole was lucky I didn’t finish him off, but hey, I was saving my strength for the mighty Alduin.  I gathered my three compatriots (the same hardasses that cast Alduin away the first time) and expelled that dragon from paradise with surprising ease. Apparently my level was too much for him; he was dispatched within two minutes.  I called it a night there and reflected on my victory.

Minor spoilers aside, I feel as though I have been released from Skyrim’s hold. That’s good, considering I still have Skyward Sword only partially-played, Gears 3 is untouched and I still want to get around to Arkham City-all before I start Mass Effect 3. Even though I have eclipsed 100 hours, I look forward to spending another 5-10 hours polishing off the achievements before I set the game aside. It is somewhat bittersweet that I completed the game, though. We experienced so much together and soon it will be all over. Now I know true loss.

I'll miss you, but I shall return.

As you can see from the trailer, its graphical styling is still there, only better looking–like playing a cartoon. The best news: 4-player online co-op. Wes just peed himself somewhere…

I, for one, am mostly pumped, much like the late Randy Savage was (only with less steroids in my case).  The one problem I have is the inclusion of current wrestlers, which really isn’t that big a deal, except I have no idea who most of them are.  I gave up on wrestling when it was still the WWF, but that doesn’t make me any less eager to relive the hey-day of my youth playing this arcade gem.  But so help me, every single one of the old wrestlers better remain on that game, be they dead or alive.

Also, I expect all the hilariously-cheesy pre/post-match interviews to remain, Mean Gene and all.

I can't tell you how funny this picture is to me.

Gamers of Louisville and its surrounding areas will soon be treated to the second Louisville Arcade Expo. We were there last year enjoying room after room filled with retro gaming goodness, arcade cabinets, pinball machines, gaming tournaments, vendors, artists and more. The first expo, in our opinion was a huge success and we have been waiting eagerly for it to return. The expo looks to be growing better in every conceivable way. Better location, more games, more vendors, more artists, more musicians, more awesome.

March 2nd can’t get here soon enough.

Where:

Ramada Plaza Louisville
9700 Bluegrass Parkway, Louisville, KY 40299 US

When:

Friday March 2, 2012 ~ 2pm to Midnight

Saturday March 3, 2012 ~ 10am to Midnight

Sunday March 4, 2012 ~ 10am to 4pm

More info:

http://arcaderx.com/