Fallout : New Vegas

I played Fallout 3 quite a bit, on both the 360 and PC.  I started on console, then got bored and traded it off after finishing the first DLC pack.  I managed to finish several of the side quests, and was probably about half way through the main story before giving up on it.  About a year later I happened upon the Game of the Year edition and decided to give it another try.  Given that I've always been more of a PC gamer, the better controls and sharper graphics really pulled me in unlike before.  I powered through most of the side quests I had done on 360, then switched over to the main story and finished it.  Broken Steel, one of the DLC packs included in the GotY edition, changes the ending and extends the story so that you can keep playing  After the main story ended, I packed up and headed back to Megaton to get my bearings.  I last left the Capital Wasteland standing in my house, armed to the teeth, and ready to head back out.  There are still several side quests to complete, all four DLCS packs, and a massive amount of the map that I never even set foot in.  It's all going to have to wait, as I think I'm way overdue for a few nights in Vegas.

This Fallout takes place in the Mojave desert, in and around the city of New Vegas.  My character in the previous game was built around agility and intelligence, opting for the slow silent kill instead of brute force.  I decided to stick with what works, and created a new character with the same ideas in mind.  Guns, Science, and Security were the three skills I started with.  The first is pretty self explanatory, as melee combat really isn't an option, so I'm going to rely on dealing death from afar.  Science skill will help me break into the numerous computer terminals I'll no doubt find, and Security will make sure locked doors and containers don't stand in my way.

The game opens as I dig my own grave, three seedy looking characters standing watch close by.  One of them is dressed in a fancy suit, the others don't look like much more than hired muscle.  Once finished, I find myself standing in the hole with my arms tied.  The leader tells me I've delivered my last package, but that I shouldn't feel bad as this one was rigged from the start.  He pulls what looks to be a poker chip out of one suit pocket, then a large handgun out of the other.  I'm not sure what the chip is for, but I definitely know what he's going to do with the gun.  He rambles a bit more, then raises the barrel and puts a bullet through my head.

I wake up some time later, not sure if I'm dead or alive.  The room spins as I sit up, I notice an elderly man sitting at my bedside.  He says I was brought to him several days ago by a robot named Victor, and that he's been patching me up ever since.  I slide off of the bed and hit the floor, realizing that everything I had on me is now gone.  The man introduces himself as the local doctor, and tells me that I'm in the town of Goodsprings.  I ask if he remembers anything about the men who shot me, but he doesn't know much and suggests that I speak with Victor.  Before heading out, Doc gives me some clothes and supplies and advises that I stop in at the local saloon.  He also gives me a PipBoy 3000, normally used only by vault dwellers, saying he no longer has a use for it.

I step out into the blazing sunlight and it's so bright I'm nearly blinded, but it soon fades as my eyes adjust.  I find myself in a dusty little town, not more than a few buildings here and there.  I see a couple locals harvesting crops, the Prospector Saloon that Doc mentioned, and a General Store.  Tumbleweeds blow by as the wind picks up, I notice that outside of Goodsprings there doesn't seem to be much of anything around.  If I'm going to make it to New Vegas, I'm definitely going to need supplies.

Since I'm a sucker for good decor, I head into the Prospector first.

The bar is small and dingy, but comfortable and quiet.  I find Sunny, a local hunter the town procures to keep pests away from their water supply.  Doc mentioned that she could teach me a few things about surviving in the Mojave, so I inquire about a lesson.  She takes me out behind the saloon, for some target practice, then asks if I'd like to come help clear out geckos.  Given that I have no money, anything that earns a few extra caps is worth my time, so I agree and we set off to the first water supply.

She takes the lead, with me following, and her dog close behind.  We get to the first water pump pretty quick, several geckos charged at us.  Sunny opened fire right away, but I was feeling a bit rusty so I enabled the V.A.T.S. (Vault Assisted Targeting System) that comes standard with each PipBoy.  It greatly helps with your accuracy, and allows you to focus your attacks on the specific body parts of your target.  I aimed for the head, as that's almost always a good choice no matter what you're fighting.  Sunny dropped one, and I took care of the other.  We decided to take a quick breather before heading to the next one.  I thought it was a nice opportunity to collect some spoils to sell at the general store.  Gecko hides and meat don't bring in many caps, but for now every cap counts.  Gunshots ring out from somewhere as I stand from the last corpse.  I'm not sure where they are coming from, but Sunny keeps firing and the sound guides me.

It's not long before I find them, taking on an angry pack of geckos by the next water pump.  Her dog was killed first, having charged in and drew their attention.  He managed to kill one, but the rest were now coming towards Sunny and I.  I raised my rifle and blew off one gecko's head, she hit another twice in the chest and it went down.  The final two got close enough for a couple bites and scratches, but it didn't take long to finish them off.  Sunny lamented the loss of her dog, but we pressed on as there was still one more pump to clear.

The last one didn't present a problem, only a couple of geckos to kill and we were done.  Goodsprings' water was again safe, and I prepared to head out after receiving my reward.  Sunny offered to teach me how to cook using different plants and other ingredients.  Anything that can increase your odds of survival in the wasteland is always worth the time, so I agreed.  She told me she needed two different plants before we could begin; one she thought grew over by Goodsprings' cemetery, the other near the old abandoned school house.  A quick check of my PipBoy told me the school yard was closer, so I headed in that direction.

It wasn't very far until I could see two buildings, so I knew I was heading in the right direction.  When I arrived the place was deserted, save for a strange robot.  He said his name was Victor, the very same Victor that pulled me out of a grave and took me to the doctor in Goodsprings.  He said that he noticed my captors as they were taking me to the graveyard and decided to follow us.  After they left, he took me to town.  I asked if he knew anything about the men, but he only said the leader looked like he was probably from New Vegas.  I head inside the schoolhouse.

It's been picked over of course, but that's not unusual.  In the wasteland if it's not locked up, bolted down, or under guard, it won't be around for long.  The school house is infested with giant mantis insects, they swarm towards me as I walk in.  The rifle just isn't fast enough, so I switch to a 9mm pistol.  It only takes one good shot each, and I don't even end up needing to reload.  I kneel down to cut off their wings when I notice a computer terminal on the far side of the room.  Closer inspection reveals a safe, which is most likely what the terminal controls.  I could either pick the safe open, or hack the computer.  Since I don't have many bobby pins yet, and they break very easily if you aren't careful, I hit the computer terminal and manage to hack it fairly quickly.  Inside I find a wealth of caps, stimpacks, drugs, and a few weapons.  The haul fits easily in my pack, I head back out and find the first plant.

I ran into a nasty looking scorpion on the way there, about the size of a large dog.  Amazingly enough, that's not as big as they can get.  I felt lucky for that, and also that there were no others around.  I tried blowing off it's tail first, but since I'm still a horrible shot I had to shift my aim towards it's body.  The varmint rifle Sunny gave me is a very weak weapon, but it gets the job done.  The only problem is that it takes several shots for a kill, and that means ammo is already a concern.  After taking the scorpion's tale, I head towards the graveyard to find the other plant.

Can't check the graves because I don't have a shovel.  Fortunately this plant is easier to spot, so I harvest it quickly and then head back towards Goodsprings.

Darksiders

I played Darksiders on 360 back when it first came out.  I thought it was pretty good, but since it was a rental I never put much time into it.  The PC version finally came out the end of last month, so I went ahead and picked it up on Steam.  I have to say that it's much better than I remember, but that's probably because I prefer the PC control scheme over a controller.  Trying to play a third person action game with a mouse and keyboard could have been an exercise in frustration, but thankfully it works really well.

Darksiders drops you right in the shoes of War, one of the Four Horseman of the apocalypse.  The story begins as the armies of Heaven and Hell descend on Earth to wage their final battle.  War, as one of the horseman, is sent to Earth to bring order and put a stop to it.  Upon his arrival, he learns that the other horseman have not arrived and the Seventh Seal has not been broken.  It's here where the game starts properly, and you are tasked to find out who brought about the apocalypse before it's due time.  The first level is a tutorial of sorts, getting you used to War's combat moves and abilities.  As you move through the city, the battle between Heaven and Hell rages all around you.  I've played through some pretty big set-piece levels like this in other games, God of War being the most notable, but Darksiders has to be one of the best I've seen.  Angels and demons of all kinds are fighting all around, and it really made me feel like I was in the middle of something bigger.

This game has often been compared to Zelda, mainly because it has the same sense of exploration and character upgrades.  As you progress through the story, War gains new weapons and abilities.  Each is important, as a new weapon might be the only way to defeat the next boss or those angelic wings the only way of jumping across the huge chasm.  This is where the similarity to Zelda comes into play, as it pretty much does the same type of things.  You're somewhat limited by the power of your character, but the more you play the more options open up.  While some people may find this annoying, I like the idea of starting out as nothing and building up your power as the game progresses.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment, as that new crossblade offers yet another method of doling out punishment.

I haven't played very far, maybe a few hours before Dead Rising 2 got a hold of me.  So far the game has been really good, changing up it's pace here and there to keep things interesting.  One level has you stealing a ride from one of Heaven's gryphons, flying through caverns and around obstacles as you take down various enemies.  Another is an arena fight, where you have a set amount of time to take down a certain number of enemies.  Then of course you've got you're larger than life boss battles, against foes that literally dwarf you in size.  I haven't seen anything yet on the order of God of War or Lord of Shadows, where the boss is so huge that you literally have to climb up it just to get in a swing.  I'm not sure why I like those type of fights, maybe it's just the grand scale of it all.  Given the size of the first boss on the tutorial level, I'd say there's got to be at least one screen-filling fight before the credits roll.

It seems like most games these days have some sort of upgrade system that lets you cash in on your destructive abilities.  Darksiders uses souls of the damned, collected from battle and rewards.  You can use them to upgrade War's weapons so they do more damage, purchase new abilities, or in one case a different weapon entirely.  Obviously I haven't seen much as I'm still at the beginning, but already there are lots of choices and it will be interesting to see how things develop as the game progresses.  I don't have enough souls to buy everything I want, so choices are already a factor.  Do I buy the scythe, which may be slower than War's sword but is much better when attacking multiple enemies.  Or do I upgrade the sword so it does more damage or new combat moves?  Decisions, decisions, decisions...

So now that Dead Rising 2 is out of the way, I'll definitely be heading back to this one soon.  I've also started playing Castlevania : Lords of Shadow on PS3, so I'll probably be bouncing back and forth between the two.

Dead Rising 2

After almost 40 hours of real time and two playthroughs of the main story, I think I can safely put Dead Rising 2 aside for now.  The game was a blast from start to finish, but at the same time it really made me long for more.  They stayed pretty true to the original formula that made the first game so unique, which I definitely appreciate, but at the same time I really want to see Dead Rising 3 taken to a new level.  A true open-world, where the entire city is your play ground.  Lots of different types of zombies, the mutated ones were a nice addition but they need to take a look at Left 4 Dead.  Take the combo card idea and just run with it, there really are limitless possibilities here.  Vehicles would take on a much more prominent role with an entire city to explore, so being able to outfit them with various implements of destruction would be awesome.

But I digress, I'm not really talking much about the game I just spent a week's worth of my life playing.  I finished the story with the S ending and was able to make it into overtime, but the last two psychopath battles against the main "bosses" really left me cold.  Neither was impossible, but each was designed to require a particular tactic and punish when you try something different.  For Sullivan, your forced to do away with melee attacks and resort to ranged weapons.  This normally wouldn't have been a problem, but it seems every psycho in Dead Rising 2 is hopped on PCP because gunshots don't do much.  That's fine with me, as my weapon of choice for most of the game has been knife gloves, but with Sullivan you can only get in a couple swipes.  After that he becomes "invincible", and knocks you off of the platform and into a swarm of hungry zombies.  It didn't take me long to switch tactics, opting instead to pick him off from a distance with the sniper rifle.  It did take longer, but after that I didn't take nearly as much damage.  You really have to be on your toes, even when keeping a distance.

There's also T.K., the loud-mouthed host of Terror Is Reality.  From the start it's pretty obvious that he's going to be the main antagonist; framing Chuck for letting loose the zombie horde that provides the TIR show it's main form of entertainment.  At one point you catch him and his hired thugs loading up a train in the tunnels below Fortune City,  It's never made clear what he's doing, or even what he's loading, until later.  After stopping the train, you next find him attempting to drill into each casino's bank vault and make off with the cash.  After he's captured near the end, Chuck makes it a point to let everyone know that T.K. started the outbreak just to rob Fortune City.  At that point I wasn't convinced, and started to suspect Sullivan was in on it somehow.  Everything fit just a little too perfectly, and I found it hard to believe that robbery was the sole motive here.  My suspicions were clear after completing the next case, where you find that Phenotrans has set up an underground lab right below Fortune City.  During that time, T.K. attempts to escape and is bitten by a zombie.  You're now faced with a choice to either let him turn, or give him zombrex to stave off the infection.  If you don't, he turns and once Sullivan is dead it's game over.  If you take pity on him, he shows up one last time to take Katey and Stacey hostage.  Like the first game, he then sends you off to collect numerous different items scattered around Fortune City.  Unlike the first game, where you were tracking down ingredients to make the precursor to zombrex, this time it's just an excuse to run you through the zombie gauntlet one last time before the game ends.

So I finished his little scavenger hunt, had my knife gloves ready, a couple painkillers to mitigate damage, and plenty of fresh OJ to down if things went bad.  In the end all that preparation meant nothing, as you get knocked out and all of your stuff taken.  The last fight takes all of the choices you had for the entire game, and tosses them right out the window.  You're forced to slug it out with T.K., all the while preventing Katey and Stacey from being slowly lowered into a throng of zombies.  Don't get me wrong, once you figure out his patterns and what moves to use it's not really that hard.  My problem is that, yet again, the last boss is a fistfight that involves little choice or tactics.  The first game ended the same way; Frank West fighting the evil army colonel on top of a tank surrounded by zombies.  At least this fight you have more room to move around, but other than that it's just as frustrating.

I ended my second run at level 50, 60 people saved, A ending.  This time I let T.K. turn, as one fight with him was enough for me.  Overall I would definitely rate it higher than the first, if not as inventive.

Dead Rising 2

The first Dead Rising was the reason I bought a 360.  After playing WoW almost exclusively for over 2 years, I sold my account on eBay and was able to get the console and that game.  It didn't matter to me, as it was really the only game I wanted at the time.  I have a zombie fetish anyway, so pretty much any game that features the undead is an automatic must play.  So now that the sequel is finally out, I find myself once again in gaming nirvana.  Dead Rising 2 has everything I loved about the original, and oh so much more.

Like the first game, you're dropped right in the middle of a zombie outbreak.  Unlike the first game, which was entirely in the Willamette Mall, this one takes place in the Vegas inspired town of Fortune City.  There are several different malls, casinos, and various other areas.  All are connected and open to be explored as soon as things get started, which is a nice change.  Even after 10 hours I doubt I've seen half of the map.  I still haven't found a gun shop, but I know there's one somewhere.

The really ingenious addition is the ability to combine items and create some interesting new weapons.  A baseball bat by itself doesn't do much, but combined with carpenter nails it's downright nasty.  Same thing for a flashlight, not really much use for killing zombies by itself.  Duck tape a box of sparkling rare gems to the front and you've got yourself a crude light saber.  Silly?  Yes, but very effective.  It cuts a swath through zombie hordes like nothing else, except maybe the broadsword.  As of now, it's my personal favorite.  Not only can you cut through zombies like butter, but it's got a combo move and alternate attack that splits them down the middle  Another example; combine a few power drills with a metal bucket and you get an interesting new zombie hat.  Almost every item can be combined with something, so there's lots of combos to find.

One annoying thing about the first game is the survivors were pretty much dumb as bricks, so you had to really keep your eyes open and stay close.  Thankfully the survivor AI for this game has been dramatically improved, so it's not nearly as frustrating to get them back to the safe house.  In most cases I just gave them a pistol, then had them follow me while constantly yelling to keep close or hurry up.  I tried giving a couple survivors melee weapons when I first started playing, but it doesn't work so well when they stop to attack a zombie and get swarmed.  Firearms seem to be the way to go for now, at least pistols.  I stay away from doling out the bigger guns.  Being shot in the back with a shotgun by the survivor you are trying to help convinced me. Even though they aren't quite as dumb as bricks anymore, they still fire with impunity.  Whether you're in the way or not doesn't seem to matter much.