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| Larger than it looks... |
I carried on playing Arena and X-COM: UFO Defense, but the
problem with both is that they were developed during a time before games were
paced and balanced at the level we expect them to be today, and I found them to
be frustrating more than anything else. Arena is looking like it’s going to be
a long slog indeed. I had forgotten that the first major area where there is a
plot-related quest – Fang Lair – is in Hammerfell, and because I am a Wood Elf
and therefore started the game in Valenwood, I need to travel across both
continents before I find what I’m looking for. On the one hand, you can
fast-travel from the very start. On the other, if you try to travel further
away than the next town, you’ll be killed before you get there and there’s
absolutely nothing you can do about it. The result is that I’ve got a long way
to go before I can move the plot along and will likely never get there without
a substantial amount of scum-saving. The fact that having more save files
appears to increase the likelihood of the game crashing is doing nothing to
improve this! I’m having fun, but I’m not likely to see it through until the
end.
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| Strewth, a triple threat cage match! |
I carried on with Fire Pro Wrestling World, which I’m
finding addictive and a lot of fun. I’m still working my way through the
Mission Mode, which is a good way to learn the key mechanics of the game but
some of the match stipulations are rather odd, and I’ve had to go online to
find out how to do it as the game doesn’t explain it to you. The one I remember
is where you must win a Cage match having done a diving attack from the top of
a steel cage. Even getting to the top of the cage without being interrupted
takes a fair amount of work, and then you have to know where to do it and what
button makes the attack – you only get one shot, and if you miss, you’ll be
helpless on the floor as your opponent climbs the cage uninterrupted! The match
I’m stuck on now is the one where you must let your tag team partner win the
match. This is quite difficult to do as your partner doesn’t appear to be able
to hold his own against your opponents, so you must do most of the work in
beating them – but they’re pretty tough!
|
| Dragoooon! |
I had a go with Spyro the Dragon on the PlayStation 4.
Kirsty bought this game roughly a year ago and hasn’t had a huge amount of time
to play it. I played it because I wanted to be playing a game that I didn’t
mind my daughter seeing when she woke up after her nap. But I really enjoyed
it. It’s easy enough to play without getting stuck, (although apparently it
gets tough later – I’m only at the second world!) and the bulk of the challenge
is provided by collectables, which is where I’ve spent most of my time with it
so far. I also liked Spyro, with his Sonic the Hedgehog-style ‘90s ‘tude.
Having grown up in a time where pop culture was the domain of larger-than-life
cartoon characters, it left me in a nostalgic haze, and was a refreshing change
from the super-serious RPG characters or shooters. Speaking of my daughter,
when she eventually woke up, she wanted to play, and even though she doesn’t
have the dexterity to handle 3D controls yet, the game isn’t particularly
challenging in the early stages and she had a fine time running around opening
treasure chests.
With my hobby games, I spent some time in Phoenix Games
while having my car fixed and started painting my Chaos Raptors in Black Legion
colours, I’ll show you all when I’ve finished! I’ve also developed what I hope
are some horror-based adventures for Dungeons and Dragons; short ones that will
fit in to one or two gaming sessions but are paced well enough to give an
interesting game to players wanting something a little different. I hope I get
to run them at some point!
