About Me: I write about video games and horror-related items. Also, I wear a hat.

(cliffhanger)

Stringent level evaluations that stifle progress. Two examples: Action Henk and Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams.

Both games evaluate you at the end of each level. If you don't score enough stars, then you can't unlock required boss levels. You then hit a period where you need to "git gud" and replay super tough levels to the point of insanity, all so you can earn more stars. Giana Sisters takes this to the next level by putting you through way overlong stages, and only counting stars within the same world towards you total. In other words, if you want to unlock the boss level in world three, then you need stars from world three levels. You can't go back to the easy levels at the beginning of world one to earn stars.

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Not that I expected otherwise...

If you haven't played Cold Fear, it's a PS2/Xbox era survival-horror game with a greater emphasis on third-person shooter elements--kinda like Resident Evil 4. I'm currently playing the Xbox version, and man, is it dingy. I don't think this game is going to rate well with me once I finish it, assuming I don't rage quit.

No tank controls, which is good. It handles better without them anyway. However, you can't rotate the camera unless you aim your gun. Otherwise, you're stuck with a sloppy semi-fixed camera that gets you injured or killed pretty often.Whenever your character begins to aim, he never points in the direction he was originally facing. if you're facing an enemy when you initiate the aim, your character will look either off to the side or behind himself.

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Screw focusing on one game

I've decided to take on four games at once, as I used to. We'll see if I finish all four of them, though. I have a feeling I'm going to abandon at least two of them.


Arcania: Gothic 4 (PC)
aka Gothic, but with Sad Robots
aka The Adventures of Budget Seth Green

I've already chatted about this one, and I've made no further progress. Please see that blog post for more details.


Cold Fear (Xbox)
aka I Liked This Premise Better When It Was Called 'The Intruder Within'
aka Where Are the Fucking Save Points?

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WTF am I playing?

I completed, and enjoyed (despite how arduous of an experience it was) Gothic 3. Review coming soon.

As you can imagine, I aim to end my time with this series once and for all. I obtained Arcania: Gothic 4 in 2012, and decided to install and play it tonight. And let me tell you, it's uh... interesting.

-Piranha Bytes parted ways with publisher JoWood Studios before this one came out, and Spellbound stepped in to develop it. It's obvious from the get-go that it has a different developer. I understood before going into this one that it would pretty much function like it's own game, and I'm okay with that.

-The rebel ending from Gothic 3 is treated as the canon ending. The nameless protagonist from the previous games also has a name now: King Rhobar III.

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At least I'm almost done with Gothic 3

I've enjoyed Gothic 3 for the most part, despite some of its nagging flaws, but damn is it a long title. As of right now, I've put almost 80 hours into it, staying up much later than I should and losing sleep. I've become so obsessed with closing the book on PB's Gothic series that I'm engaging in unhealthy habits to get this one out of the way.

However, an end is in sight.

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Gotta love old school game logic

At the beginning of Gothic 3's campaign, my first order of business was to locate a super secret hidden rebel base that no one could find, not even the orcs that conquered all of the cities in the land.

I found the base in a huge, conspicuous hole in the ground, surrounded by laborers noisily pounding hammers and sawing wood.

But none of the orcish patrols could ever find the place. Such a brilliant hidey-hole...

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See title

I'm back at it. It's been a while since I've been able to ramble about what I'm playing, or what I've played, mainly because I've tightened my focus to a single game at a time. Granted, I do occasionally stray from my key title, but I mostly try to stick to one huge project before moving on.

There are plenty of titles I won't be talking about right now, but a lot that I'd like to discuss. Obviously, Cattails, Fallout: New Vegas and Dragon Age: Inquisition were some of my most recent playthroughs, as evidenced by my latest reviews. However, I also played:


Chantelise: A Tale of Two Sisters

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