The Blog of Oa

Kane & Lynch - I just don't care anymore

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:06:06 GMT

Normally it's the mediocre games that frustrate me the most. The games that are just a few steps away from being great. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is LEAPS away from being great but for the most part if it kept going in its current direction it would eventually get there.

Most of these issues have been covered before but bored and annoyed so I feel like ranting (I seem to remember complaints before the game was even released).

Issue One: Swearing.
I'm not against swearing. I swear a lot. I have to make a conscious effort not to swear on BYOND. Kane & Lynch don't swear as much as they rape their lines with the f-word. Not the s-word, or the c-word or any other letter-words. Just the f-word. Over and over.
This isn't swearing like sailors its swearing like toddlers. You know, when they learn a word they aren't meant to say, and they just keep yelling it so people will pay attention to them.

Issue Two: Cover
Cover doesn't work. It's one of those 'rub against the wall and if you're lucky you might stick' systems. Anyone who has read one of my rants before will know that I'm a fan of the Gears of War 'press A to stick' style of cover, but it goes deeper than that.
Cover is a pain to maneuver, they could have done a lot better with that, however the real horror of the system is that cover is next to useless. Most of the time it offers no added protection from enemy attacks. I find I actually die more in cover than out of it because the enemies are focused on my head.
After you're in cover staying in cover also becomes a problem. A lot of the time you'll aim, then let go of the aim trigger and find you're not in cover anymore (which of course turns the quick peek-and-shoot into suicide).

Issue Three: Death
You die very quickly, but not in a Call of Duty 'you don't have much health, but you don't get hit very often' way. You get hit all the time in Kane & Lynch, and most of them you just shrug off. The problem is you randomly get shot in weak spots which will essentially kill you. In theory you can take ten shots, but sometimes you'll get that random bullet which takes out 90% of your health in one go.
The worst part is that sometimes you're in an area with a fair whack of enemies between you and the next checkpoint. In these spots you'll die a heap of times before you make it, and every one of those deaths is one of those extremely frustrating shots that shouldn't have killed you. That brings me to my next issue.

Issue Four: Checkpoints
You can't save during a level, and you can't start a level from a check-point you've already reached. This is one of the bigger factors for me. I'm at a point that is very annoying which is about five to ten minutes into the level (four check-points).
Its basically a stretch between check-points where statistically you will get shot by at least five of those random mega bullets before the next check-point. The stretch itself isn't hard in a mechanical sense, its just a case of clearing a section, moving forward, then repeating until you get there. Its just the whole lucky shot thing that ruins it.
I get so frustrated from dying and starting over I don't want to play anymore. I turn the thing off. When I've cooled down I start up again and have to work through four annoying check-points before it, by which point I'm so demotivated that I can't even be bothered attempting to beat the frustrating part.
Normally I don't mind this sort of system, but coupled with the extremely frustrating deaths it makes for a really, really painful gaming experience.

Issue Five: Accuracy
Don't bother lining your shots up. Remember in the Tony Hawk games where they'd make stats control things that should have been left up to the players reflexes and skills? Its like that but you can't even increase the stat. You aim the shot at what you want to hit, then it fires a bullet inside a rather large area around where you were aiming.
I'm not talking a GTA style 'size of the head' area, I'm talking bigger than the torso. Also, in most games that do this sort of thing, the first shot hits pretty close and it builds out. In Kane & Lynch the first shot is just as random as the last (but the aimer is moved around due to the recoil).
When you take into account that there is a lot of long range shot-outs this means you can aim at their chest and still miss the enemy entirely.
So when you're hiding behind something (taking just as much damage as if you were standing out in the open) don't bother to hold the aim button and line your shot up, just tap the aim button long enough to get it roughly where you want and hit fire. Your odds are the same. I get the impression someone made it work like this because they got a 'we're trying to be realistic memo' but forgot to actually run it by the rest of the team.
To give you an idea of how bad Kane and Lynch are when it comes to aiming stand up, take two steps away from your computer, then take off your shoes. In the time it takes you to take off your shoes neither Kane (with his assault rifle) nor Lynch (with his shotgun) would have hit you even if they were standing where your computer is. As a side note Lynch would have said the f-word 47 times in that same period.

These are the reasons why Kane & Lynch: Dead Men joins a very short list of games I just don't care about completing. I'm honestly struggling to think of other games to go on the list. I've stuck with some god-awful games in my time simply because I don't like quitting games. Normally at the very least I get stubborn but this is so sucky I wont lose any sleep over not completing it.

The only reason I care enough to post this blog entry is that if you fix those five things you end up with the sort of game that's good enough you'd be willing to buy copies for your reluctant friends just so you'd have someone to play co-op with.

The achievements that will be kicking my butt

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 01:50:18 GMT

http://inside.mygamercard.net/2008/08/12/ achievements-for-mega-man-9-reward-the-hardcore/

I think I might need to borrow Lufia for some of these. =P

Jitterbug -- Clear the game in 60 minutes or less.
Invincible -- Clear the game without dying.
Almost Invincible -- Clear the game without continuing.
No Coffee Break -- Clear the game without using any Energy or Mystery Tanks.
Peacekeeper -- Clear the game by defeating the fewest number of enemies possible.
Conservationist -- Clear the game by using the least amount of Weapon Energy possible.
Gamer's Day -- Clear the game 5 times in 1 day.
Whomp Wily! -- Clear the game once.
Destroyer -- Defeat your 1000th enemy.
World Warrior -- Defeat every type of enemy.
Trusty Sidearm -- Defeat the 8 Bosses with the Mega Buster.
Blue Bomber -- Defeat a Boss without getting damaged.

I'm trying to find the actual ID for the game so I can link to the XBOX.com profile version, just to set it in stone, but so far I've had no luck.

Perfect Dark Zero

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:10:38 GMT

I normally get around to games before they've hit the classic range but I heard nothing but bad things about this one so I skipped it.
After playing for a while I'm regretting waiting this long.

The stylistic changes from the original Perfect Dark on the N64 aren't the greatest, however I do agree that they were necessary in order to give the game the depth it requires. Old 'realistic' Perfect Dark just doesn't fit this generations idea of realism, so it had to change.
Its important to note that the changes were well done. The new style is consistent through out the game. So if you like this semi-animated style then it should be a pretty fun ride.

In terms of gameplay its a pretty good shooter. Lots of weapons, cool gadgets, the AI is pretty dumb but they balance that out well enough.
One thing I think they did miss was the objectives. This game had all that sorted out really well in theory but let itself down in the implementation. In Goldeneye/Perfect Dark you would run back and forth around the map completing the objectives. In Perfect Dark Zero you run through the map completing objectives, occasionally turning left instead of right to complete a secondary objective.
As subtle a difference as it is I think that was point where the game lost people.

One thing I wasn't expecting was the cover system. They've done a really good job of it but again its a case of tripping over the finishing line. The key to a good, functional cover system is something a lot of developers miss even today.
You have to have your players snap to cover. If you have to pay any more attention than getting close to something and hitting A you are better off standing there and scoping for headshots.
Perfect Dark Zero is a perfect example of it. I've used this great cover system a total of three times because its easier to go with your traditional duck behind some creates tactics than to go up to something, get in the right spot, then hit A and start aiming.

The multiplayer is really good. Its one of the few games I've seen lately (2005?) that gives offline multiplayer the attention it deserves. Its also one of the few modern console games that allows for bots in multiplayer. As far as game modes and stuff go its got enough to keep you occupied.
Its also one of the few XBOX 360 games I've played that allows you to buy items between rounds. It isn't normally something I like but its refreshing to have a new way to play.
I haven't played online yet but I'm guessing the online community is pretty much dead. You can count on most copies of any given XBOX 360 game being stuck in EB trade and save baskets three months after release, so the multiplayer communities of most games end up dying too soon. Its a shame but that's how it goes. =(

The only thing I can really say is sucky is the achievement list. Like I normally say when the subject comes up, for me it isn't about gamerscore its about the achievements themselves, and these achievements blow.
You've got about 20% 'complete co-op/solo on difficulty', which are ok, but the rest are just 'do this 10 times, do it 100, do it 1000' multiplayer achievements. Ranging from headshots, to weapons, to modes. About as boring as you can get.

Overall I think a lot of this games features were ahead of their time but just a degree or two off course. Every time I see something that is good or creative in it I always seem to have to add 'but it just needed that fraction more...' to the end.
Its definitely a good game and definitely worth the price of a classic range game. I think it would have had a bigger impact playing it when it was released as a lot of the cool features became standard (and were better implemented).

The Dark Knight

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:56:26 GMT

I know Maggeh already brought it up, and there isn't much more to say than awesome, but damn. It. Was. Awesome.

Time Shift for the 360

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:47:38 GMT

I expected more Time Shifting...

I picked the game up yesterday and I've got to say I'm pretty unimpressed with it. I went in expecting something else. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't a Half-Life 2 style FPS.
What seems to be bugging me is how weak the Time Powers are. You can rewind, slow and even stop the flow of time, however you can only do it for a second or two so there's not really anything interesting you can do with them. Getting hit by a sticky grenade then rewinding so it goes back into the enemies hands is probably the coolest thing I've seen so far.

Other than that the game just feels slow. I'm not sure if it's because I'm used to playing Free-For-All Call of Duty 4 but everything from walking to shooting feels slower than it should be (especially considering it's a time themed game!).
It's something about the impact that has on clearing rooms in the two games. In Call of Duty 4 you clear a room with a bang, bang, bang sweep. In Time Shift you aim, bang, bang, bang, aim, bang, bang, bang, aim, bang, bang, bang (probably with a reload or two in there).
The result is that in Call of Duty 4 I feel like I'm moving towards my objective (with plenty of action along the way). In Time Shift I stop paying attention to my objective and focus on clearing rooms.

Overall this would have been a cool level in one of the Half-Life 2 episodes but all that really pushes it apart from the other FPS games is that it has Time Powers. With the Time Powers being as weak as they are it just doesn't have what it takes to stand on it's own.

So close but so far

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:43:44 GMT

I brought a Messenger Kit for my XBOX 360 controller yesterday. Not for my 360 but for my PC.
It all started when I discovered a nice little program that allows you to map out a XBOX 360 controller to replace the mouse on the PC.
Initially I was just playing with it because I was bored, but I came to realise just how close I was to having a fully functional PC that didn't require a desk. I've had my PC setup to output to both the PC screen and the TV for a long time, and I've had an additional wireless 360 controller for PC gaming a while too, but what's always stopped me from making full use of those two features is the lack of a keyboard/mouse.
I have to go over to the PC just to open/close programs. Things like chat windows from MSN make it a painful experience.
Your traditional desktop wireless keyboards and mice just don't solve this. They're uncomfortable and they're always getting in the way when you're not using them.

However with the controller acting as a mouse I realised most of those problems were solved. I can handle pretty much everything except typing just like I would on the desktop.
I was about to go looking around for that on screen keyboard program that lets you use the mouse to type when I remembered the XBOX 360 Messenger Kit. A little device that attaches to the bottom of the gamepad and gives you a full qwerty mini-keyboard. With this I'd have exactly what I needed. My sweet controller would become a truly portable wireless keyboard and mouse I could use from anywhere I can see the TV screen.
Best of all I was on my way down to the store anyway to meet up with my friend who works there.

Everything was looking great, that was until I got it home and plugged it in. Turns out that there's no PC support at all for this device. Microsoft is completely ignoring the subject and nobody with the technical ability to make up their own hacked drivers is interested.

It's funny how before I was this close to having it I didn't really care, but now the invisible barrier between me and victory is driving me insane.

The 12 Year Old Mousepad

Mon, 19 May 2008 22:26:21 GMT

I just realised that I have had the same mousepad for at least 12 years (probably somewhere between 13 and 14). It's not in mint condition, it could use a wash, but it's nowhere near the point where I'd replace. That seems strange considering I remember going through dozens of them before this one.
The design is actually made to match the screen saver that came with it of Looney Tunes characters running around a Windows 3.1 desktop* eating all your icons. At the time it was great because you could set it to activate pretty much straight away, so if someone stopped using the computer to get a drink they'd come back and Taz would be chewing on their document.
Being the 90's people would just assume it was a super virus out to kill them and take their place in the physical world, or possibly a hacker using your system to launch nuclear missiles. It was great.

*I'm sure that's not what it was called back then. I think it was Workspace. I dunno, with my lifestyle I'm amazed I remember anything.

Was there a good model I should have brought?

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 04:13:33 GMT

Seriously, this is what I'd expect from the bottom end model.
40GB HDD is the best feature on it. Apart from that it's got no backwards compatibility, at all. Not just poor backwards compatibility, you get a message saying 'this console is not compatible with PS2 format games' when you try to play them.
It uses leftover PS1/2 AV cables instead of coming packaged with any sort of HD cables. The charger cable for the controller is clearly something they've taken off a USB HDD designed to be used on a desktop PC. It's about 30cm long so you can't use it while playing.
It doesn't even come with an ethernet cable*. The controller feels like it's a cheap knock-off of the PS2 Dual Shock 2 controllers. At first I thought that was just the missing rumble components effecting the weight, but then I got out a PS2 controller and compared them directly. The SIXAXIS just feels worse in my hands.

I can understand being desperate to cut costs back on these things, but damn, I spent around $80 on cables. It would only have cost them a few dollars per unit to include them.

Overall I actually feel bad that I've given money to the people who are responsible for this thing.

On the plus side, Ratchet and Clank is a pretty good game. =P

*Although this is a good thing, it made me dig up my XBOX 360 box and realize that the one packaged in with my XBOX 360 is freaking huge.

PS3 Games

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:57:14 GMT

On my way home tonight I'm going to pre-order GTAIV (XBOX 360) and probably pick up a PS3 while I'm at it.
I'm getting it almost exclusively for playing Metal Gear Solid 4, but I'm getting it now so that I don't have to worry about stock shortages or junk like that on release day. Odds are I'll see all the cool bundled deals they do for Metal Gear and hate myself, but I'd rather not risk getting screwed out of it.

Anyway, I'll need at least a game to play while I wait so I'm taking suggestions. I'd really, really like to get an exclusive but the non-exclusives are shaping up to be the better games.

Ratchet and Clank is about the only game I've been interested in so far. The XBOX 360 Burnout Paradise demo was good enough I might consider it. It's a fairly solid game that should look great on the PS3.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune looks like it could be a decent game, but I haven't really heard anything about it.
Heavenly Sword was shaping up to be something good, but then it sort of fell off my radar. I think it flopped pretty bad for being a short game.

Good World of Warcraft UIs

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:26:56 GMT

Of all the UIs I used to use, AtlasLoot seems like the only one that's still needed (they've added a LFG system, which gets about as much use as the old LFG UI).

So I'm wondering if any of the instance running BYOND Members have any suggestions for UIs I should install.

[Edit] Oh yeah, I'm a hunter. Sort of important. =P