WATCH ME!
It's been nearly two months, but at last Episode 7 of the Hand of Thrawn Podcast has arrived. We're a little out of practise, but this episode seeks to prove that Xylo and I can hold our own when we're shortstaffed. We talk a little about Kinect, Alan Wake, Crackdown 2, and more. Episode 7 also marks the debut of the post-show blooper reel.
The launch of Episode 7 marks the beginning of a process I'm working at to improve the podcast overall, and get us back to a more regular schedule (and keep us there). I will be stepping up and driving this ship as much as I have to to keep us going strong. I'm not going to tell all now, but Xylo and I have ideas. Keep tuning in folks.
Episode 7 is available now on Handofthrawn.com, and will be there soon for Zune and iTunes.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Fallen to the Dark Side
I said I'd never do it... That I was above such things, but apparently not. I've caved in, and fallen to the dark side. Nate Gillick, Xbox Live's ThrawnOmega, has a Twitter account. I've written an editorial about how much I hate twitter, and the vast majority of what I said there I still believe, but I think a balance point has been reached where the pros somehow outweigh the cons. For every tweeted pic of Eliza Dushku's left eye (a real tweet people), there's informative posts from other people.
So, I'm jumping into the rancor pit, and we'll see how long I can stay alive. Twitter posts will not and can not replace blog content, of that I swear, but they may serve as filler between posts. I'm only going to tweet if I have something important to say, or have some gamerscore accomplishment I feel the need to tweet out for that vain and pointless instant self-gratification.
Want to follow me? My Twitter account is, conveniently enough, ThrawnOmega.
So, I'm jumping into the rancor pit, and we'll see how long I can stay alive. Twitter posts will not and can not replace blog content, of that I swear, but they may serve as filler between posts. I'm only going to tweet if I have something important to say, or have some gamerscore accomplishment I feel the need to tweet out for that vain and pointless instant self-gratification.
Want to follow me? My Twitter account is, conveniently enough, ThrawnOmega.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Alan Wake Complete... 'Til Next Week
It's done! After spending too much of my last few days playing it, Alan Wake has been 1k-ed. I have to take back what I said earlier about it being more frustrating than fun on Nightmare; most of the game remains pretty good. It's just Episodes 1 and 2 that suck. Once Alan has the full arsenal of weapons, I found it a lot more fun, and I got much better at hoarding up ammo, to the point I never had the issues I did in the first two chapters. Tyger7's color-coded walkthrough on x360a is AMAZING. Great descriptions, and super-easy to follow, so I owe him a big THANK YOU.
So, despite the DLC coming next week, Alan Wake is now out of the Retail Four. It'll just be considered a side project for the amount of time "The Signal" takes to complete. I'm going to hold off adding Alan Wake to my completed games list on the right until it's at 1250.
So, it's time to update the Four, and I've decided to slot in Prince of Persia in its place. I got the game for $20 new a while back and haven't even played it yet (I did play it before as a rental, but the disc I paid for has yet to be used).
I've been eyeing up Darksiders on Gamestop, as they're selling it new for $20... I'll probably pull the trigger on that, though I'm trying hard to make my list of owned and unfinished games shorter, so adding to it does not help. Still, from what I've heard, I'm sure Darksiders is worth $20.
So, despite the DLC coming next week, Alan Wake is now out of the Retail Four. It'll just be considered a side project for the amount of time "The Signal" takes to complete. I'm going to hold off adding Alan Wake to my completed games list on the right until it's at 1250.
So, it's time to update the Four, and I've decided to slot in Prince of Persia in its place. I got the game for $20 new a while back and haven't even played it yet (I did play it before as a rental, but the disc I paid for has yet to be used).
I've been eyeing up Darksiders on Gamestop, as they're selling it new for $20... I'll probably pull the trigger on that, though I'm trying hard to make my list of owned and unfinished games shorter, so adding to it does not help. Still, from what I've heard, I'm sure Darksiders is worth $20.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Scattered Progress
Thought I'd drop a post to update where I'm at with the game's I've been playing for both sets of Four, plus other gaming exploits I've been up to lately:
The Retail Four
Dragon Age- I have completed Liliana's Song, and in the main game I'm now working through the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest. I'm 40 hours into the game now, making it worth at least 2 completion points. I still have 39 achievements and almost 1000 gamerscore still to get from the title, so I'll be working on this one for a long time yet.
Crackdown 2- I've down the Party Bus and Squad City Glider achievements twice now, with different groups of people. Neither is particularly hard. At this point, I just need to finish orb hunting, get 25 ways to die, Car Jump, Mosh Pit, Co-op keepy up, wingsuit and vehicle rings, and collect audio logs... That actually sounds like a lot when I list it all out... Will probably be busy here for a while too.
Red Dead Redemption- Completed the coop missions with my brother, and gold medaled all of them, so it can be done with two people, in case anyone was wondering. We didn't make any progress in the advanced ones, as advanced targeting and faster deaths kicked our asses. Recommend 4 people for those for sure.
Alan Wake- Loved the game the first time, but its replay value isn't great, and I'm not particularly enjoying Nightmare difficulty. More bullets to kill enemies, and less ammo is a recipe for frustration, not fun. While I often enjoy replaying games on harder difficulties for those achievements, Alan Wake really isn't doing it for me. I'm running through with the collectables guide hoping to polish everything up before the new DLC arrives next week. Once I get to 1250 I can loan the game to my bro and put something else in my Four until the next DLC arrives.
The Arcade Four:
Limbo- About a third of the way through the game. It's a trippy experience and a heck of a lot of fun. Definitely do not try for the achievement for playing it in one sitting with 5 or less deaths your first playthrough. You'd only frustrate yourself and not enjot the full experience. That 10 point achievement is the only toughie here, as I think the others should come fairly enough.
Blacklight: Tango Down- I really like this game. Bishop has it, Molneze and my friend Anchor are planning on getting it, so hopefully soon I have a team to play with. Recently a title update reset my rank for no reason I know of, which caused me to lose about 40,000XP. I'm not happy about that, but I was a loooong way from the general achievements anyway, so I've just started over. So far I've got 10,000 of that XP back. I don't want to progress through this one too fast, as there is still confusion on what has to be done for the Gearhead achievement, and I don't want to miss out on that one.
Puzzle Quest 2- I keep playing it from time to time. Fun game, though I can't play it for more that 30-40 minutes at a time.
Doom II- Nothing new to report. Still need a boosting partner, though I have not made much of an effort to find one.
Other:
Halo Wars- DarkTharen and I have an arrangement where we shall be playing the game together every Tuesday night until we've completed the game (well, everything we can get with two people). That includes multiplayer for our General ranks. Hopefully I can get him to sign on for the DLC too, so we can both 1200 the game. We're starting by playing through the campaign on easy getting all the skulls, black boxes, and 5 point achievements we can, then we'll rock through Legendary with all beneficial skulls active. After that, I anticipate a bit of campaign mop up before we switch over to the multiplayer.
The Retail Four
Dragon Age- I have completed Liliana's Song, and in the main game I'm now working through the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest. I'm 40 hours into the game now, making it worth at least 2 completion points. I still have 39 achievements and almost 1000 gamerscore still to get from the title, so I'll be working on this one for a long time yet.
Crackdown 2- I've down the Party Bus and Squad City Glider achievements twice now, with different groups of people. Neither is particularly hard. At this point, I just need to finish orb hunting, get 25 ways to die, Car Jump, Mosh Pit, Co-op keepy up, wingsuit and vehicle rings, and collect audio logs... That actually sounds like a lot when I list it all out... Will probably be busy here for a while too.
Red Dead Redemption- Completed the coop missions with my brother, and gold medaled all of them, so it can be done with two people, in case anyone was wondering. We didn't make any progress in the advanced ones, as advanced targeting and faster deaths kicked our asses. Recommend 4 people for those for sure.
Alan Wake- Loved the game the first time, but its replay value isn't great, and I'm not particularly enjoying Nightmare difficulty. More bullets to kill enemies, and less ammo is a recipe for frustration, not fun. While I often enjoy replaying games on harder difficulties for those achievements, Alan Wake really isn't doing it for me. I'm running through with the collectables guide hoping to polish everything up before the new DLC arrives next week. Once I get to 1250 I can loan the game to my bro and put something else in my Four until the next DLC arrives.
The Arcade Four:
Limbo- About a third of the way through the game. It's a trippy experience and a heck of a lot of fun. Definitely do not try for the achievement for playing it in one sitting with 5 or less deaths your first playthrough. You'd only frustrate yourself and not enjot the full experience. That 10 point achievement is the only toughie here, as I think the others should come fairly enough.
Blacklight: Tango Down- I really like this game. Bishop has it, Molneze and my friend Anchor are planning on getting it, so hopefully soon I have a team to play with. Recently a title update reset my rank for no reason I know of, which caused me to lose about 40,000XP. I'm not happy about that, but I was a loooong way from the general achievements anyway, so I've just started over. So far I've got 10,000 of that XP back. I don't want to progress through this one too fast, as there is still confusion on what has to be done for the Gearhead achievement, and I don't want to miss out on that one.
Puzzle Quest 2- I keep playing it from time to time. Fun game, though I can't play it for more that 30-40 minutes at a time.
Doom II- Nothing new to report. Still need a boosting partner, though I have not made much of an effort to find one.
Other:
Halo Wars- DarkTharen and I have an arrangement where we shall be playing the game together every Tuesday night until we've completed the game (well, everything we can get with two people). That includes multiplayer for our General ranks. Hopefully I can get him to sign on for the DLC too, so we can both 1200 the game. We're starting by playing through the campaign on easy getting all the skulls, black boxes, and 5 point achievements we can, then we'll rock through Legendary with all beneficial skulls active. After that, I anticipate a bit of campaign mop up before we switch over to the multiplayer.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Rule of Four Expanded for XBLA
The only thing you can count on with me is that I'll change my goals and how they are measured constantly, but at least the Rule of Four has kept me more honed in on a few specific games at a time than I used to be. I came to the realization the other day, however, that I was only putting retail games in my four, and wasn't giving my stack of arcade games their due. I have a lot of arcade games to finish, so I've decided to have a queue of 4 retail games, and another of 4 arcade games. I've also broken the retail Four into categories; there must always be one RPG, two action, and one "swing" game that can be of any genre. As always, I'm not a slave to this list, and will boost and work with people on other projects I need as opportunity knocks.
RETAIL FOUR:
RPG: Dragon Age
Action: Crackdown 2
Action: Read Dead
Swing: Alan Wake
ARCADE:
Puzzle Quest 2
Blacklight: Tango Down (very fun online FPS, you totally should download it and team up with me)
LIMBO (reserved spot for its release this week)
Doom II (online boosting pertner needed)
RETAIL FOUR:
RPG: Dragon Age
Action: Crackdown 2
Action: Read Dead
Swing: Alan Wake
ARCADE:
Puzzle Quest 2
Blacklight: Tango Down (very fun online FPS, you totally should download it and team up with me)
LIMBO (reserved spot for its release this week)
Doom II (online boosting pertner needed)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Boosting S.O.S.
I've looked through my tag (again) for games where I'm missing some online achievements, and will need help to complete them. Take a look at this list and let me know if you're missing some of the same stuff, or would be willing to help even if you already have it. I've organized this list by the number of people needed to play. If a game is bold, that's a higher priority target to me. This list is not exhaustive, but having this list to work through is certainly enough for now.
2 People:
Stranglehold (MP Boost)
The Darkness
Doom II
SOF Payback
Fracture
Warhammer Battlemarch
Halo Wars (coop)
Red Alert 3 (coop)
Crackdown 2 (online orbs)
4 People:
Read Dead (Advanced Coop Missions)
Crackdown 2 (4-player achievements)
Halo ODST (see my card for what I need)
Resident Evil 5 (team MP achievements)
L4D
Ghostbusters
6+ People:
Bioshock 2 (Map Packs)
Unreal Tournament 3 (a couple ranked achievements)
Hour of Victory
8 People:
Read Dead (Posse Up achievement)
??? People:
Turning Point
Army of Two
Wolfenstein
Section 8
Timeshift (only missing a few achievements)
Dark Sector
F.E.A.R
Lost Planet
2 People:
Stranglehold (MP Boost)
The Darkness
Doom II
SOF Payback
Fracture
Warhammer Battlemarch
Halo Wars (coop)
Red Alert 3 (coop)
Crackdown 2 (online orbs)
4 People:
Read Dead (Advanced Coop Missions)
Crackdown 2 (4-player achievements)
Halo ODST (see my card for what I need)
Resident Evil 5 (team MP achievements)
L4D
Ghostbusters
6+ People:
Bioshock 2 (Map Packs)
Unreal Tournament 3 (a couple ranked achievements)
Hour of Victory
8 People:
Read Dead (Posse Up achievement)
??? People:
Turning Point
Army of Two
Wolfenstein
Section 8
Timeshift (only missing a few achievements)
Dark Sector
F.E.A.R
Lost Planet
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Addicted to Crackdown 1.5
I've been playing far too much Crackdown 2 these last few days. As a matter of fact, it's virtually the only thing I've done on my current 3-day off stretch, which is a rather bad thing as I have a lot of other projects that got put on hold (nothing life threatening... all the bills still got paid). As someone who purchased the original Crackdown on the cheap but didn't get super deep into it, Crackdown 2 is still fresh enough to be an incredible amount of fun, though mission objectives can get repetitive and there really isn't any story. The game is great, though it feels more like Crackdown 1.5 than a true sequel. HUD updates and achievement tracking improvements are welcome, but otherwise it's familiar ground here. Hopefully Crackdown 3, which I'm sure we'll eventually see, is set in an entirely new city.
Normally, I hate collectables. This fact is well documented across this blog and numerous reviews I've written for x360a. Yes Crackdown 2 is able to join the short list of other games (Banjo-Kazooie franchise, the 3D Mario games, Pokemon) where I find collecting things to be an enjoyable diversion. Hell, with over 900 orbs in crackdown 2, one could argue orb collection is the whole point of the game!
I've been tearing through the game, and currently have the following stats:
Game Completion: 87%
All Absorption Units, Beacons, Tactical Locations, and Freak Breaches have been dealt with.
Audio Pickups: 36/52
Road Races: 10/15
Roof Races: 10/15
Agility Orbs: 462/500 (Green Bay area is 100% complete)
Hidden Orbs: 193/300
Agility Renegade Orbs: 24/30
Driving Renegade Orbs: 1/15
Online Orbs: 50/80
Vehicle Stunt Rings: 2/40
NO Wingsuit Rings
Playtime: 22 Hours
Achievements: 32/50
Progress is good. You can count on me continuing this tonight, though I'm planning on going to see Predators at my local movie theater tonight to get out of the apartment LOL.
Normally, I hate collectables. This fact is well documented across this blog and numerous reviews I've written for x360a. Yes Crackdown 2 is able to join the short list of other games (Banjo-Kazooie franchise, the 3D Mario games, Pokemon) where I find collecting things to be an enjoyable diversion. Hell, with over 900 orbs in crackdown 2, one could argue orb collection is the whole point of the game!
I've been tearing through the game, and currently have the following stats:
Game Completion: 87%
All Absorption Units, Beacons, Tactical Locations, and Freak Breaches have been dealt with.
Audio Pickups: 36/52
Road Races: 10/15
Roof Races: 10/15
Agility Orbs: 462/500 (Green Bay area is 100% complete)
Hidden Orbs: 193/300
Agility Renegade Orbs: 24/30
Driving Renegade Orbs: 1/15
Online Orbs: 50/80
Vehicle Stunt Rings: 2/40
NO Wingsuit Rings
Playtime: 22 Hours
Achievements: 32/50
Progress is good. You can count on me continuing this tonight, though I'm planning on going to see Predators at my local movie theater tonight to get out of the apartment LOL.
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