Friday, August 6, 2010

Concentrated Armadillo

That would be my name in the Metal Gear universe.  Concentrated, because for a while now Peace Walker is about the only game I've been playing, and Armadillo because everyone's code name contains some sort of animal.

I finished up the main thrust of the plot, the story of the Peace Walker project and the liberation of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, but the game doesn't end there.  The credits roll, and you can consider it a tale told in its entirety, but there is still a lot more content in the game, and not merely optional side missions.  The game "ends" at the conclusion of Chapter 4, but keep playing and you'll soon open up Chapter 5, which, from what I gather, serves as a sort of addendum and furthering of the overarching Metal Gear Solid plot.  Plus, all of the coolest optional AI Weapon and vehicle boss battles don't unlock until after the main game is complete and a healthy portion of Extra Ops have been completed. This is what I am working on now, about 40 hours into the game.

I don't think I've spent 20 hours on a single playthough of a Metal Gear game, ever.  However, Peace Walker is not at all arranged like a typical MGS.  It could be said to contain that in Main Ops, sure, but broken up piecemeal and portioned out in easily digestible chunks alongside a whole buffet side dishes in Extra Ops, Outer Ops, and all of the base and army building mechanics that the game offers.  It's a hell of a package, and more than worthy of the MGS title, if not a perfect fit for the big "5" to be applied, too.  I could be playing this game for a long while, yet.

Torchlight II was announced the other day.  I wasn't head over heels for Torchlight, but I did enjoy it, and I will certainly buy the sequel to support the developer, Runic Games.  This announcement served up a reminder to me about Titan Quest, though, and not having enough to play at the moment, I decided to re-install the game and hop back in.  My only character was only level 6, so it wasn't too big a deal to just start over from scratch with a new one.  It's a her this time, named Rhea after some quick research on heroines of ancient Greece.  I'm taking her down the Dream Mastery path so far.  I played a ranged character in Torchlight, and I tire of always having to run away and maintain range, but I also don't want to just be a bruiser, so hopefully this skill set offers some interesting abilities.

Since my last post, I played several sessions of Minecraft, and basically resolved to stick to one world and just try to build crazy things and dig out a bunch of it--to explore just for exploration's sake.  It's cool, and the developer is constantly adding new things to the game, so it'll be interesting to watch it take shape.

8 comments:

typicalgeek said...

I haven't played any of the Metal Gear games yet. I've got Twin Snakes, the PSX original, 2 on the Xbox, and Snake Eater on the PS2. They're so long, and so intimidating I don't know where to begin!

So you're a Castlevania fan? Which is your favorite? I'm playing Bloodlines right now, and somewhere on my PSX there's a 60% Symphony save... I just don't have the heart to go through the castle again!

Count Elmdor said...

With Metal Gear, definitely begin at the beginning, and play them in the order of release (even though 3 is a story prequel). Even for a first time through, they're probably 15-20 hours max, and the best part is they all hold up really well, especially the original on PSX. It's probably the most impressive game on the system.

Yeah, I'm a big Castlevania fan, too. My favorite is hands down Symphony, but of the old school type, I'd probably say CV III. Rondo is probably actually better, but I didn't have that growing up!

Here's hoping that Lords of Shadow can bring the series into 3D properly. The N64 games were awful, and the PS2/Xbox 3D ones were ok, but clearly underfunded.

Count Elmdor said...

Oh, check out the latest episode of my podcast for some discussion of both series! www.callofpodcast.squarespace.com

Greg said...

Price drop on PSP Go at Target in this week's add!! I am hoping I will get it now.

The lady and I finally closed escrow on our first place so there is a crap load of non-gaming things for me to take care of and spend money on....

Count Elmdor said...

wicked. How much?

Congrats on the place!

Greg said...

PSP Go reduced to $199.99. Since my fiancee works for them, she can also get another 10% off which makes it reasonable. It should probably be going for $119.99 but I expect the system will be completely irrelevant before it drops that low...

Greg said...

Dude, my fiancee spoiled me and bought me a PSPgo. I have to say, I like it a lot. Great design although I do think I have struggled more than I should have with the controls on games like syphon filter (PS1 version is almost unplayable) and Motorstorm Arctic Edge. Maybe it just takes some getting used to?

It is a little on the small side for a full grown hairy bastard, I do have to say....

I'm not sure what games to get (aside from GOW and MGS Peacewalker). So far, I have only purchased a pinball game for $10 which is pretty cool.

Count Elmdor said...

That's awesome. I handled a Go just briefly at the Sony Style store near us, and the screen is really nice looking, but I wasn't sure how the analog would work out due to the placement of it.

I'd recommend checking out Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, and I think there's a demo of it on PSN? I haven't tried it, but you know I enjoy MH Tri, and I've been tempted to. I hear there'll be another PSP MonHun coming soonish in Japan, so I may wait for that and just work on Peace Walker in the mean time. These games are loooong.