Xbox LIVE Addicts: Mechanical R's Blog - Xbox LIVE Addicts

After my review of Dark Souls I felt a little bad. Yeah the game is ridiculously hard but like the way i sort of play it, there does seem to be the slightest gem inside Dark Souls, I guess it’s why i keep trying it. I felt like I was picking on the game too much, like coming up with just too many problems like I was just reeling them off in an effort to cover up the fact I clearly sucked at it. Only, after reading whats below. The problem definately isnt with me...

But then further playing into DS and I couldn’t help but feel in a sense in my review I was going easy on it if anything. It’s something I just don’t understand about games developers these days. Because lets face it, there’s a whole lot of "naughty word alert"e that gets released nowadays. But I couldn’t help but think. 'If I was a games developer, I'd want to make a game that people can’t put down. Not a game that people can’t WAIT to put down.' The point being with Dark Souls is that it not a terrible game, its not badly made even though it does slip on the frame rate a heck of a lot. But what makes it bad is the choices they've made to make the game hard, and it only shows to me that they've added SO much to make it difficult, I don’t really think anyone at From Software, or Namco for that matter really realise how much of a task this game really is. But making a game difficult is fine everyone enjoys a challenge. But Dark Souls isn’t even that.

Grinding isn’t exactly a brilliant gaming past time as it is, so imagine grinding for so long only to end up losing everything you've earned due to the sheer faggotry of the game. With Dark Souls, getting further into the game isn’t even a good sign of progress, the further you get in is only a testament to either how stubborn you are with the game, or if you’re just trying to find every single over powered large enemy, or the inappropriate mini bosses, or even just the overpowered, way too over-everything bosses you'll find as you trundle along to the next god forsaken place.

After writing the review, I spent a little over 2 hours playing the game again, trying some things. In the end, I actually managed to do BOTH of the two quests which I originally couldn’t do. This was two incredibly stressful hours mind, where I managed to kill 2 giant gargoyles on the rooftop of a parish and a giant demonic spider in her weird cave web underground. Not in one go mind, both boss battles took me well into 4-5 tries and over the course of the play session I'd easily lost around 25k worth of souls.

Regardless, for once, I was happy with Dark Souls, I'd finally managed to do what I thought was near on impossible. After ringing the second of the two bells needed. I was given a cut scene of a gate opening to a new section of a castle. Was this the area that I finally fought so hard to get to in order to make at least SOME of the game play elements a bit more easier? I'd heard that Andor Londo was the next area in which I could do a few more things like sell items for souls and other things which would GREATLY help my situation. Anyway, after a little bit of struggling, loosing yet more souls getting there on some of the more tedious enemies in my way and just the horrible control/level design I managed to reach this new gate. The salvation for me to continue.

If you haven’t quite figured out the next part, then I’m happy to say you’re an idiot. Like me I was in thinking I was going to enjoy Dark Souls..

Pressing through the gates I was greeted with two rather large snake like creatures with swords and shield. Both attacked me and took a hell of a beating for just a standard but oversized enemy. Onwards I continued in the hope to find haven.

Ahah, nope. Instead I was greeted with swinging pendulums with giant blades on. 'Ok, they want to give me a little bit of an adventure to get there, that’s no problem' on I went. I was being attacked by magic from above, I pressed on, took some stairs to be greeted with yet more pendulum blades. But on the other side laid the guy firing magic. After trying to get through, being hit with the magic, which then propelled me backwards, into a swinging blade and then off the ledge to a massive drop. You could see I was more than disheartened. Annoyed, and just down right sick of it. For a split second, I forgot how much BS Dark Souls really does throw into the mix. Even after managing to rather large feats, rather than reward you’re still greeted with just more "naughty word alert" to have to deal with. It’s even disheartening that even after defeating two giant gargoyles and a huge demon spider, I was STILL given a load of hassle from the standard undead on my way to this new part of the god forsaken hell hole they like to call...well, what ever this bloody games country is called.

And again, I’m left baffled by what the developers were really trying to achieve. Further punishing the player for actually managing to actively progress through the game seems a little backwards, and the whole Risk/Reward thing simply just being Risk/Risk just doesn’t really appeal. Whilst writing the review for Dark Souls I was ready to throw the towel in for the game for good, yet I held out due to that hanging curiosity I had for the game and where it would take me. Only now I've actually fought through my previous brick wall, only be led to one the size of the Great Wall of China, I can’t help but feel that now, this time it really is time to call it a night on Dark Souls. To those still hooked or crazy enough to give it a try. I bid you luck.

This week I am very happy, and heres why!

So for those fans of the classic survival horror genre, it seems this week has exploded with some cracking news! And for those new to it, Resi 5 was not the best, so you can check out the original roots of awesomeness!

Here's a run down of what was announced this week;


- Official confirmation of the release of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica X in full HD glory.
- Both titles will be released in 'Fall 2011' to celebrate the 15 year anniversary of the series.
- Both titles will be available on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 available to buy via Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network.
- Resident Evil 4 will feature the originally PS2 exclusive add on 'Seperate Ways' following side character Ada Wong.
- RE: Code Veronica X will be the directors cut version, again originally available on the PS2.
- Both games will come with achievements/trophies.

Another announcement was also released following that of the new game titled 'Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City'

- The story returns to 1998 amongst the chaos of the viral outbreak in the city.
- Operation Raccoon City will be a team based shooter, with you playing as part of the Umbrella Security Service Operatives working on containing and covering up the incident as well as eliminating any survivors. Your four man team will consist of characters; Vector, Beltway, Bertha and Spectre, inspired by the legendary Resident Evil 2 character, Hunk.
- The game will contain events in which you can in fact change the course of the RE history, in a 'darker storyline' that will give you the oppertunities to kill key characters from the series, including Resident Evil 2/4 star Leon S Kennedy.
- Three factions will be in the game, with the USS team, Special Ops and the Bio Organic Weapons (BOW's) created by Umbrella, including that of Tyrant.
- Developers Slant Six, the guys behind SOCOM: Confrontation on the Playstation 3 are working on this game.
- Resident Evil: ORC is apparently slated for a launch of Winter 2011.

So what do you think of that Resi fans? I personally am very excited. The HD remakes will be a great addition and I genuinely hope the achievements will be out of 1000 rather than a measily 12. It looks likely for a full house of achievements and trophies due to the Prince of Persia/God of War Collections have this.

The details on Resident Evil: ORC will be officially confirmed once the source (May edition of the US OXM) is released.

Images below are comparisons of the original and HD version of Resident Evil 4. Personally, i think theres something a little fishy about them as RE4 never looked THAT bad.

So, as I've been playing some old games lately, Ive decided to set myself some goals.

As the majority of you may already know, Im quite fond of Dirt 2, that and GRID have been the two racing games closest to my heart, and I do play a lot of racing games. So last month I rented DIRT 1 as I had never actually got round to playing it, and I was up for some old school Rally without having to endure the pain filled process of playing WRC. Blergh.

So I played Dirt, enjoyed it. But wanted to totally finish it. Meaning, totally finish the game, get the full 1k points from it too. Just like I had done with Dirt 2. Totally maxed out everything in the game, yet i still enjoy a quick race from time to time.

Since sending it back to Lovefilm, I was almost there, with 850 of the points down, the entire Career mode completed and just the world tour on the championship to finish. And here is my first goal.

Before Dirt 3 comes out I need to finish Dirt 1. Those of you who have played the game, know that this isnt really an easy feat especially in the achievements area. Finishing the Championship will be a breeze, but getting the 1000km achievement on career mode only will be painfull. Especially since when I last checked, I was on a total of 630km. And that was after finishing the career completely and doing two of the championships.

I've also recently gotten back into Forza Motorsport 3, both the racing and designing side, and therefore have just set myself another challenge.

Luckily, this challenge is a little more easier (in theory) as I have a lot more time on my hands. Forza 4's current release date is set to 'Q3 2011' meaning. Any time from October to after Christmas. If i know Microsoft. Forza 4 will be a Christmas release. So I have plenty of time to continue. Having just started my 5th Year on the game today, again. Forza fans will recognise this also isn’t an easy feat, as considering Im on my 5th year. Career level 42. And I STILL have a bazillion races left to compete in.

My third challenge is a bit of a long shot, but its something I'd like to give a go on. As a massive fan of Gears of War, I’m looking forward to the 3rd instalment coming this September. Unfortunately, due to the fact I used to have a horrible internet connection and was generally rubbish at Gears online. I couldn’t fully complete Gears 1's online achievements. And probably never will now. But I'd like to give Gears 2 a crack.

Gears 2's main issue is hitting the level 100 online, which hopefully will become easier providing Epic continue their XP multiplier weekends. But seeing as I’m stuck at 51. I’ve got a hell of a long way to go, and my friends only usually play Horde, and whilst there’s plenty of points to be earned there on those multiplier weekends, there’s so much more to be earned in game types like Annex and King of The Hill.

As well as that, there’s also that pesky Seriously 2.0 achievement that needs shifting. Currently, I’m about 18,500 in. Anyone got any ideas on how to get through that a little bit quicker?

Call these goals, call them an achievement whores day to day life. I call it just liking to be thorough

Goals in a nutshell.

Complete Dirt 1 before Dirt 3 comes out. Likelihood - Fair
Complete Forza Motorsport 3 before Forza 4 comes out. Likelihood - Fair...ish
Complete Gears 2 before Gears 3 is launched. Likelihood - No Chance.

Hey XBLA,

If your looking forward to Halloween and looking for the ultimate scary gaming night in, be sure to check this out
Halloween Special!

Dont forget to add your own spooky gaming experiences at the end!

So most of you now have heard of the Xbox Live House Party, a series of Arcade titles launched on Xbox Live over the month of March to celebrate the launch of the new Games Room, hitting our consoles in two weeks time.

Last weeks title was Toy Soldiers, next weeks is the epic Perfect Dark. This weeks is Scrap Metal, the top down combat racer with plenty of twisted metal to keep us going till a developer FINALLY develops the Demo derby game we've all been waiting for.

So to be within a chance of winning the game (we've got a fair few codes to give out this week) check out the competition here.
And if your not entirely sold. Read the review.

Most stuff out of the way now so I can start coming back to this a little more. Just a few more things to get out of the way in the next couple of weeks. Been so busy I even missed my Xbla birthday.

Its what, 4th August now? 3 Years and 3 days ago I had first joined the site in hope for some online competitive gaming. A lot has happened, and hopefully still a lot more to come.

E3 09 starts today!

Lots of work and loads of news coming your way all week with videos, interviews, screenshots and press releases of all the hottest new games to be announced and not to mention ones that are still on the way that we all know about.


Be sure to keep your eyes peeled on the E3 section of our forum to keep up on all the info as it comes and when it comes. Dont forget to chuck some thanks to the guys who will be working real hard each day to ensure you have the latest on the event.

Wish i could be there in person!

More reviews from me coming soon, been a bit dry lately, had a lot of stuff going on.

So most of you may agree, the last few months of 2008 were pretty hectic for games. Most of us were spoilt for choice when it came to getting the top games, so what to do?

Thankfully, the industry is taking some slow time, if you exclude titles like F.E.A.R. 2, Halo Wars and Killzone 2. So what do we do with ourselves? Catch up on all those sweet games we missed or didnt get the time to play back in '08. Yeeeah.

So, where do you come in? This is where. If you have a title(s) that you really want to take onto the organised gaming scene we have here at Xbla, then get yourself involved. Get in touch, and you could be in control of your very own league!

Whether its full season leagues or just some gaming nights you'd like to start off with, then get in touch, get some interest and get gaming! We'll do our best to get your leagues out there for some big matches!

So, this Thursday I headed up to London for an Exclusive presentation from Warner Bros Entertainment, along the similar lines as the FEAR 2 event i visited back in December, but a bigger scale and more than just Fear.

Currently, I wont go into too much, the presentations in the fancy hotel included in depth looks at upcoming games; F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin, Wanted: Weapons of Fate, Terminator: Salvation and Watchmen. I also got to have another go at Fear 2 and a play on Wanted.

Keep your eyes peeled in the coming months as Ill have exclusives on my visit to this presentation as well as others, including the awesome Resident Evil 5 hands on Ill get, early Feb.

peas.

So the end of the year has come, its been busy for me here on Xboxliveaddicts, I've rushed to get it all done and Ive decided its time for me to take some time off.

As of this weekend, I wont be on the site for about 2 weeks or so, so Ill say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all now, make sure you all have a good time and be sure to be safe as well.

I've left you all with some things to do in my abscence however, lets see:

Round Three of the Street Fighter Character Battles - Be sure to vote in that. Rounds 4 and 5 have already been written up and should be available to you each friday. I plan ahead me

End of 2008 Awards - Winners have been announced.

Review - Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon - Quite an appauling game to be quite honest with you all guys, as was Rock Band 2.

My trip to Warner Bros - A write up for you all on my invitation to try out Fear 2's multiplayer modes. (Also my 50th feature, raaaaay)

If I get a reply back on my band interview, ill be sure to post it up. From First To Last have been taking thier time on getting back to me.

And thats it from me for this year, Ill be back in the new year, and if any of you need to get hold of me, MSN/Network sites or Xbox Live is your best bet.

Have a good holidays everyone.

Mech.