Official SlayAlive Video Gamers Thread

[Eric]

I just played a whole bunch of The Forgotten Sands. Meh.

[wenxina]

May 24, 2010 16:46:05 GMT -5 Eric said:

I just played a whole bunch of The Forgotten Sands. Meh.

Been doing the same thing. For some reason, it doesn't quite hit the same highs as the original trilogy. I think it's a little confused as to the tone it's going for. Obviously, it's aiming to be more like "The Sands of Time" or "The Two Thrones" in its color palette, but the gloomy gear rooms, and sewer-like bits are very reminiscent of "The Warrior Within". But the whole traversing rooms deal is rather unimaginative, IMO. It's a complete waste of a much more powerful engine than what they had back in the early 2000s.

Then... the combat system gets on my nerves. All I have to do is button-mash the square button (PS3) over and over again while occasionally vaulting and kicking. Just to spice things up, I've been randomly using the minor powers while battling the hordes.

The biggest draw for me has always been the platforming, and at the moment, I've been pretty disappointed with it. A lot of it has been kinda reminiscent of "The Sands of Time"; leveling up and down in a room. Which is kind of a waste of the power of the engine they have right now (yes, it bears repeating). I was expecting something more akin to "Warrior Within" in terms of platforming, where there was a real diversity in the platforming. And the lack of diversity in the moveset is probably the biggest disappointment so far. By the time we got to "The Two Thrones", the Prince had such a varied repertoire that it never actually got boring. I like being able to scale up and down tiny chimney spaces, sneak attack foes, swing on ropes and chains, etc. Now, it's all basically wall-running and swinging, which gets pretty repetitive after a while. And the puzzles have largely failed to actually provide any sense of wonder for me.

The only thing that's keeping things kinda fresh for me right now is the ability to freeze water. I love the challenge of having to time certain segments so precisely that you have to freeze things at the very last second, unfreeze it after you've leapt off, and freeze the next spout immediately after. I'm really looking forward to being able to chain the special abilities together.

Storywise... it's okay so far... but again, nothing stellar. Have a fairly good idea how the thing will end anyway...

[Tea - Total]

Thanks guys for answer my question about Fable 3.

Is red dead redemption better on the 360 or is it better on the ps3, choosing which platform to choose from.

[Eric]

May 24, 2010 21:40:09 GMT -5 wenxina said:

May 24, 2010 16:46:05 GMT -5 Eric said:

I just played a whole bunch of The Forgotten Sands. Meh.

Been doing the same thing. For some reason, it doesn't quite hit the same highs as the original trilogy. I think it's a little confused as to the tone it's going for. Obviously, it's aiming to be more like "The Sands of Time" or "The Two Thrones" in its color palette, but the gloomy gear rooms, and sewer-like bits are very reminiscent of "The Warrior Within". But the whole traversing rooms deal is rather unimaginative, IMO. It's a complete waste of a much more powerful engine than what they had back in the early 2000s.

Then... the combat system gets on my nerves. All I have to do is button-mash the square button (PS3) over and over again while occasionally vaulting and kicking. Just to spice things up, I've been randomly using the minor powers while battling the hordes.

The biggest draw for me has always been the platforming, and at the moment, I've been pretty disappointed with it. A lot of it has been kinda reminiscent of "The Sands of Time"; leveling up and down in a room. Which is kind of a waste of the power of the engine they have right now (yes, it bears repeating). I was expecting something more akin to "Warrior Within" in terms of platforming, where there was a real diversity in the platforming. And the lack of diversity in the moveset is probably the biggest disappointment so far. By the time we got to "The Two Thrones", the Prince had such a varied repertoire that it never actually got boring. I like being able to scale up and down tiny chimney spaces, sneak attack foes, swing on ropes and chains, etc. Now, it's all basically wall-running and swinging, which gets pretty repetitive after a while. And the puzzles have largely failed to actually provide any sense of wonder for me.

The only thing that's keeping things kinda fresh for me right now is the ability to freeze water. I love the challenge of having to time certain segments so precisely that you have to freeze things at the very last second, unfreeze it after you've leapt off, and freeze the next spout immediately after. I'm really looking forward to being able to chain the special abilities together.

Storywise... it's okay so far... but again, nothing stellar. Have a fairly good idea how the thing will end anyway...

You're totally right about the freezing water. I was originally kind of skeptical of the elemental powers, but they're the only thing giving the game any variety. This is a really big step back from the other SoT games, in my opinion. Even ignoring the double weapon system in the last two games, there were a lot of of useful moves and features that I really miss. The devs didn't even bother giving us the ability to block. :/

Considering how short this game is supposed to be, I'm probably more than halfway through. I'll most likely finish it later today and then come back and give my final thoughts, but right now I'm kind of sorry I paid $50 for this.

May 25, 2010 4:16:38 GMT -5 Tea - Total said:

Thanks guys for answer my question about Fable 3.

Is red dead redemption better on the 360 or is it better on the ps3, choosing which platform to choose from.

Here is a comparison guide:

www.lensoftruth.com/?p=19855




EDIT:

I just read that "Sadness" for the Wii was cancelled. I'm not at all surprised, but a little bummed out.

[wenxina]

May 25, 2010 7:53:53 GMT -5 Eric said:

Considering how short this game is supposed to be, I'm probably more than halfway through. I'll most likely finish it later today and then come back and give my final thoughts, but right now I'm kind of sorry I paid $50 for this.

I heard 8-10 hours of play... am I right? I'm actually okay with the shorter length for a game like this. It's a game that's mainly driven by the story, with no chance of deviation at all, so that doesn't bother me. What does bother me is how I'm not enjoying every single bit of those 8-10 short hours. If it's going to be short, at least make it memorable.

When I stopped last night, I think I was about to enter the city of the djinns. Actually, just got done talking to Razia, and obtained the power of memory. That should be interesting.

[Eric]

May 25, 2010 9:04:55 GMT -5 wenxina said:

May 25, 2010 7:53:53 GMT -5 Eric said:

Considering how short this game is supposed to be, I'm probably more than halfway through. I'll most likely finish it later today and then come back and give my final thoughts, but right now I'm kind of sorry I paid $50 for this.

I heard 8-10 hours of play... am I right? I'm actually okay with the shorter length for a game like this. It's a game that's mainly driven by the story, with no chance of deviation at all, so that doesn't bother me. What does bother me is how I'm not enjoying every single bit of those 8-10 short hours. If it's going to be short, at least make it memorable.

When I stopped last night, I think I was about to enter the city of the djinns. Actually, just got done talking to Razia, and obtained the power of memory. That should be interesting.

I heard it's more like six hours. :/ I don't care for games with huge campaigns either, but I prefer them to be a bit longer than six. Hopefully I heard wrong.

I'm not exactly sure where I left off. I think it was about an hour or two past beating Ratash when the game froze while fighting a group of sand monsters.

[wenxina]

Finished "The Forgotten Sands" tonight. I think my initial reaction was pretty much accurate... the entire thing left me quite underwhelmed. The boss fights have to be the most inane things ever... Slash and hack at them until they collapse seems to be the trick here, and it's ridiculously simple. Quite insulting too. The final boss fight has to be the simplest that I've ever played.
If it weren't for some interesting platforming moments, I'd consider this one pretty much a bust.
This was definitely a wasted opportunity here. They could have made it so much better. Instead, all we got was a dumbed down version of the original trilogy. Entertaining enough, but it definitely lacks the sense of wonder of the previous games, and the repetitive platforming and lousy combat takes away from the experience.
I'd give it a B-.

[Tea - Total]

Prince of Persia the two throne was my favorite out of the trilogy.

[Eric]

May 26, 2010 1:04:23 GMT -5 wenxina said:

Finished "The Forgotten Sands" tonight. I think my initial reaction was pretty much accurate... the entire thing left me quite underwhelmed. The boss fights have to be the most inane things ever... Slash and hack at them until they collapse seems to be the trick here, and it's ridiculously simple. Quite insulting too. The final boss fight has to be the simplest that I've ever played.
If it weren't for some interesting platforming moments, I'd consider this one pretty much a bust.
This was definitely a wasted opportunity here. They could have made it so much better. Instead, all we got was a dumbed down version of the original trilogy. Entertaining enough, but it definitely lacks the sense of wonder of the previous games, and the repetitive platforming and lousy combat takes away from the experience.
I'd give it a B-.

I was planning on finishing it yesterday, but I got caught up with other things. I'll definitely finish it today and let you know what I agree with or disagree with. Going by what I've played so far, though, your assessment seems pretty accurate.

May 26, 2010 2:29:12 GMT -5 Tea - Total said:

Prince of Persia the two throne was my favorite out of the trilogy.

I think that was my favorite too. Either that or Sands of Time. I also like the original side scroller. (:

[Beaumonde]

I don't think I'll be getting the new PoP any time soon. I just don't even have the want to play it, even if someone handed it me for free.

Red Dead arrived today. I'm extremely excited to play it based on what I've heard. Plus, Rockstar. Curse my dad for being born on the 26th of May and making us go out for dinner.

[Eric]

I'm so effing excited! Rock of the Dead, which is pretty much Typing of the Dead with fake guitars instead of keyboards, is coming to the 360 and PS3 as well as the previously announced Wii release. It features the voices of Felicia Day and Neil Patrick Harris.

I was actually pondering getting a used Wii RB/GH guitar to use for this game, just for Felicia Day, but now I can get it for the 360, which I have Rock Band for.

May 26, 2010 11:48:51 GMT -5 Beaumonde said:

Red Dead arrived today. I'm extremely excited to play it based on what I've heard. Plus, Rockstar. Curse my dad for being born on the 26th of May and making us go out for dinner.

This is kind of funny when you consider that Dad likes your post, lol.

[alex_krycek]

i am one a/v cable away from plugging in my n64 and playing the legend of zelda, ocarina of time. been antsy to play that for quite some time now.

[Tea - Total]

Going to play on crash bandicoot.

[alex_krycek]

^ i remember playing the demo for that game in the stores. that was such a fun game... but i never owned it.

[Talkie Toaster]

Just started playing Alpha Protocol

[Eric]

I finish The Forgotten Sands a few days ago. I didn't like it. :/ The story was boring and didn't add anything to the series and the gameplay was repetitive. I'm not sorry I bought it. I'm just sorry I didn't wait until I could buy it used for $12.

Right now I'm playing Super Mario Galaxy 2. Love it! I think it's much better than the first.

[Beaumonde]

Really enjoying Red Dead Redemption. Totally worth every penny.

I'm actually really surprised at how likeable the characters are. Mostly John himself and Bonnie, but I've only played about 6 or 7 hours so far so I don't really know most of the characters yet, but I've not been annoyed or pissed off with any of the ones I've met so far.

[The Night Lord]

Still cruising through Just Cause 2, blowing places and people up. The islands are huge and there a lot of villages I have to visit. Something like 300 and I've only found 50. This would be the first game that's gonna take me more than a week to complete. Possibly a month or so, which is good

[Eric]

I'm gonna go play some BioShock 2 multiplayer. (:

[Wyndam]

Red Dead Redemption is so awesome. Probably my GOTY (haven't played Super Mario Galaxy 2 yet though) and the best open world/sandbox game I've ever played.