PixlBit

Four games played today. Got a lot done and knocked two more off my list. I'm dipping into the 7 hour long games now. Here's the breakdown. 

I got right back into The Maw from yesterday. I finished the game and went back to certain levels to get the hidden Snuffle (there's one on every level) and 100% eaten. I downloaded the three DLC levels for $1.25 each and played those to completion. Then there was one achievement left called Six Meals a Day. You have to play the game at six different times of the day. There's no specific times given just six meals from Breakfast to Midnight Feast. I'm sure I have Lunch, Dunch, and Dinner at least. I started a level and exited at 11pm hoping it would count for Midnight Feast but there's no way to know until I do Breakfast and Brunch times, which is unlikely for me since I work a second shift and rarely get to Mark's and my console before 12pm. There is a short way to do it by changing the time zones on your system, but I noticed that I couldn't just disconnect from Live like I used to be able to do. You have to sign out completely. So the only way would be to turn the router off so my Xbox couldn't connect and set the time automatically, like it does. I could do that at home, because I turn the router off and on all the time, but at Mark's it's not an option. I could go into settings and disable the internet connection, but I didn't want to fool with that today. Ah, at some point I'll have an opportunity to turn it on in the morning and get that last achievement. I'm not going crazy about it; although, it would be nice to 100 percent the game because I loved it. 

Then it was back to Mayhem 3D. I got several more achivements by getting three stars on one of the last four events I haven't perfected yet. It unlocked the ending cutscene and gave me a credit scroll. What was left was one for watching a saved replay, done, and several others for KOing multiple cars, done and done, and playing a Exhibition level on Insane difficulty, done. Now what's left are four achievements all tied to the last three races/derbies I haven't three-stared yet. Two of them I have two stars on. I played them again and couldn't quite do it. Then there's the crazy car park race. I hate that one and haven't come close to even third place yet. I did figure out you can meddle with the traction and damage in the game in the settings menu. I think with a few tweaks I may be able to assist myself in finishing those last races next time.

Then I loaded up Dead Rising 2: Case Zero. This was stand-alone DLC for Dead Rising 2 and is a prequel to the story in DR2. I played it for a few hours but got really annoyed by the time limits. I mean, they give you a town to roam around in, and loads of items that you can craft into weapons and healing drinks, and you don't have enough time to do any of it. By the time I was starting to figure out some recipes and gather the items, I was hurried off to complete some quest like give Katey her Zombrex or finish fixing the motorcycle so you can escape the troops. On top of that, I don't like the controls much. I find it handles clumsily and unintuitively. And why can't I carry more than four items? If I'm going to build stuff, I need lots of item slots, and how can I do that when I also have to carry healing drinks? I understand that the time limits give the game a sense of urgency that's part of the story and an atmosphere of desperation in this zombie apocalypse, but I found it really got in the way of doing what I love best, exploration and creation. By the time I got to the first boss, I was totally unprepared. I was in the middle of building an electric rake when I had to feed Katey her Zombrex and that led right into the boss fight. I got killed, and I stopped. 

Up next was a return to Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z except this time I restarted on Easy difficulty. Easy is very easy. I got right up to where I was on Normal in less than half the time. It was kind of disappointing but I think I'll try and finish the game on Easy just to practice a bit. Normal was a good battle, but the boss fights were tricky. It sort of felt like Normal was Hard and Easy was Super Easy. Anyway, I really like the animation in this game. The zombies and boss zombies all move in a very interesting way. It's hard to describe really, but it has an artistic appeal to me. It's like they move dramatically as opposed to realistically, if that makes sense. I don't know about the fight system yet. It seems good, but it's devilishly hard to execute blocks. It's so fast paced and the tendency is to button mash galore. I love the execution moves and do them as often as possible for that extra gory moment. The dialog and story files you pick up are really funny too. It's over-the-top wack, and I like that. 

So that's my Monday. During the week I'll be focusing on handheld titles. I've got Sumioni Demon Arts on my Vita right now. I've played just a few minutes of it but it reminds me strongly of the battle system in Okami. 

Over and out.