In Between Posts, October 2, 2011
October 2, 2011
Pretty varied week last week. I wrote two reviews of old games (Soul Blazer and Jigsaw Madness) and one preview of a soon to be released game (Ace Combat: Assault Horizon). I also added two pages: reviews and first impressions. They compile all of my articles that fall into those two categories so it’s pretty handy.
Last week I picked up Gears of War 3 and I’ve played that in the little free time I had. My friend and I have completed two acts in the campaign thus far. There are five acts in total so we’re almost halfway done. We also played a bunch of the versus mode and also a lot of the Horde mode (for the unfamiliar, a survival mode). It’s more Gears for sure, but that’s a very good thing. I’m surprised by the amount of content in the game, it’ll keep people busy for a long time.
I also randomly started Front Mission on the DS yesterday. I’ve had it for a while (a couple of years) and have always meant to play it. I’m not so sure I’ll complete though; I like strategy-RPGs in concept, but at some point, they require too much trial and error for me.
Hopefully I’ll be able to write about some demos this week. I have a few downloaded, it’s just a matter of finding the time to check them out and write about them. During the school year, school always takes precedent. That’s been going well too. I took the first test in my Principles of Finance class and got an A so I’m ecstatic about that. In my Accounting Information Systems class we began a month long project and I just finished reading a 90 page instructions booklet yesterday, I’m not so ecstatic about that.
Anyways, I’ll be playing a lot of Gears of War 3 this week, probably a dab of Front Mission, and hopefully some demos.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon – Demo Impressions
September 26, 2011
I played as two separate characters in two separate locations in the demo.
It’s a different article but a familiar introduction. I’ve begun a few articles by stating I’m familiar with a series but have never played a related game and Ace Combat is no exception. However, I played the recently released demo for Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and was surprised by how much I liked it.
The demo had two missions. The first took place in the skies above Miami as I flew in a jet aircraft. I engaged in many dogfights and was introduced to a new mechanic for the series called “Close-Range Assault”. Some enemies could only be defeated by entering CRA. To do so I had to stay on their tail until a circle flashed around them; I then pressed L2 and R2 (or the triggers for the Xbox 360) and I was locked onto to the enemy. The view changed to a much closer shot and the camera was shakier; I thought it was intense. I had a blast controlling my plane and shooting down the enemies. The plane was very maneuverable and fun to pilot, yet it still felt like it had weight.
The second mission took place in Africa and much closer to the ground; this time I was piloting a helicopter. For this mission I was providing air support to soldiers on the ground as they were entering a town and taking objectives. It was fun to play from this perspective but this mission dragged on. Controlling the helicopter gave me more to think about. I quickly changed views as the helicopter continually obscured my vision. To take out enemies effectively I would zoom in on them which would lock me onto them and fire away. I had a few neat special weapons but that’s basically all I did in this mission and it took way too long.
While the HUD initially appears cluttered, you'll soon learn what to focus on.
So honestly I really liked fifty percent of the demo. The first mission was super fun to play. Piloting the plane was fun, the soundtrack added to the thrilling feeling of shooting down bogies and CRA was intense. The second mission was really cool in concept (providing air support) but it had me doing the same thing for too long. The demo boasts that there are more aircraft in the game as well as a story penned by an acclaimed author so the single player sounds diverse. It also features a multiplayer component, although the demo didn’t have access to this so I can’t comment on it. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon was developed by the Project Aces team within Namco Bandai Games, who will publish it when it releases for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 3, 2011.
In Between Posts, September , 2011
September 25, 2011
For some reason last week is a blur. I can’t remember what all I did but I know I did so much. I posted first impressions for four games: Renegade Ops, X-Men, From Dust, and Red Johnson’s Chronicles. I also played the demo for Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and I’ll post my impressions of that tomorrow. I started playing Soul Blazer for the Super Nintendo… and I’m almost done with that. Depending on my schedule I should complete it and have a review this week, maybe next week. My girlfriend and I also completed another level in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure and we played Rock Band 3 with another couple and that was fun. That’s pretty much it for games I guess.
This week was a blur because of school and work too. Work was pretty much the same schedule as always so it’s a constant, but it seems like I did a lot of work in school. Heck, I’m in the middle of helping a classmate as I type this. Anyways, time permitting I’ll have a review of Soul Blazer, demo impressions of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, and another demo impression or two this week.
