Did You Know Lad?

#009

2009-10-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

To all those boys out there who play soldier as a kid:

Thanks. I don't know what it is about pretending to be in a deadly situation that makes boys so gleeful, but I have a pretty good idea. And with Modern Warfare 2 coming out so soon, I was just feeling grateful that it's such an obsession.

For a few years I was babysat by a woman with three sons. I was ten, and they were 13, 11, and 6. We played G.I.Joe in the mud. We made guns out of sticks and shot each other with them. We climbed trees and broke things and got into trouble -- but really, it was AWESOME.

This is probably why I love CoD4 so much. It's just that rush of adrenaline without the real danger. At first I was more excited about L4D2 coming out, but right now I just couldn't be more excited about more campaign in MW2!! I'm honestly wondering if I'll be able to get into the store at the midnight showing, considering how many reserves we have on it.

This post doesn't really have any point. I'm just really excited about MW2 and glad that boys encourage video game producers to make these sort of games - not just army games, but with a plot about characters you care about... yes. I absolutely cannot wait.

#008

2009-07-31T12:52:00.000-07:00

Just a little speculation on Bioshock 2 I felt like sharing. The release date for Bioshock 2 has been pushed back to January - maybe to try and resolve their plotline issues?

This is a direct quote from the GameInformer magazine, published by GameStop. "You play as the original prototype Big Daddy, years after the events of the first game." Anyone who has played the first game sees the error in this sentence. You fought against Big Daddies in the first game. So how would you be playing as a prototype years later? It doesn't make sense. And it gets worse.

As a caption for another picture on the Bioshock page, GameInformer states, "You'll see Rapture before the fall, in all its vain glory."

. . . WHAT?

So we're going to be prototype Big Daddies post-game and be playing in pre-game Rapture? My mind, she is blown. I hope it makes sense when the game comes out, because either GameInformer is being lazy with their contradictions, or 2K Marin is.

#007

2009-07-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

After a long and unannounced hiatus, this is Deadly Neurotoxin coming back to review Left 4 Dead.

First off, let me say that I had wanted this game for a long. time. I was extremely excited about the new Valve production. But I waited a pretty long time before buying it, simply because the price was inexcusable for my budget. Finally I found a copy for $30 in a discount bin at Target. Score! GameStop still sells it at $50 used I believe, so that was lucky.

Left 4 Dead is a game based around four survivors after a zombie apocalypse has occurred: Zoey, Francis, Louis, and Bill. It has four campaigns that play out as different scenarios of rescue, but essentially you travel through the city to a finale where you wait for someone to get you while zombies bite your ass to bits. To add a little flavor, there are "special" infected, which maim you in special ways instead of just running up and scraping at your face. There is also a versus mode where you can play as a survivor or a special infected, which is way more fun than it has any right to be.

My very first impression was that the game was very well thoughtful and expertly put together. Even with only four campaigns, I enjoyed the character dialogue. It randomizes each time you play, depending on which survivor is first in line, what everyone's health is, and who's alive. Even after playing through for the millionth time, I was still shocked at some little touches they added; for instance, when you duck underwater you start losing health after a few moments of holding it. I didn't even realize this feature until a few nights ago, after playing it non-stop. Little touches like that really make this game.

The best part of Left 4 Dead is the feeling of comradery. The mechanics of the game force your group to stay together, especially on the harder levels. If you run too far ahead, you could be mobbed by zombies or snatched up by a smoker, helpless unless one of your teammates happen to be around. Nothing is more satisfying to me than playing on Live, shouting "I'M COMING! I'VE GOT YOU!" while a person is pounced by a hunter and things are going to shite.

I really can't stress how the game mechanics really help make this fun. You can vote to boot people out of the game, which makes things fair most of the time, it's easy to join people's games in lobby or in process . . . it's all very intuitive.

Now the bad part: this game is FULL of glitches. I'm fortunate enough that I've only had a complete game melt-down twice, where I have to turn the XBOX off because all I see is flashing polygons. More than five times I've had huge lag problems, to the point where I have to exit to dashboard. And there's glitches everyone knows -- ways to get through the game without trouble.

1. Jump down to the air conditioning at the beginning of No Mercy and essentially skip the entire chapter.
2. Break down the automatic door instead of altering the horde in Dead Air.
3. Have a zombie open up the Jesus Room where nothing can hurt you at the end of No Mercy.
4. Sit on a Jesus Rock in Death Toll where no zombies can get up/the tank can't find you.
5. Use a gas can or the turret bungee trick to get on top of the plane in Dead Air (I've never seen this done, but everyone tells me about it).
6. Get the tank stuck behind the plane in Dead Air and shoot him to death.

The list goes on. I'm torn on these -- when playing on Expert, these glitches are the only way to survive. I was very thankful for them. However, they're still flaws in the game. Plus, these are only the ones that are popular; once I played with a kid who knew how to get around alerting the horde on every single campaign. And that's just sad.

The only other complaint I have is this: the game is not scary. In the director's commentary, they talk about how terrified players would be, and I was struck with how incorrect that was. I was never honestly terrified with this game, not even on the hardest difficulty. Maybe one time when I stumbled upon a Tank that had yet to spawn, so he was just chillin' in a corner that I happened to walk into. And he beat my ass. I may have screamed a little.

So, nice try with the scariness, but even without being "terrified", this game makes my face explode.

Overall:
Gameplay: This game is PURE playtime, not a cutscene in sight. And I give it +100 points.
Plot: Not much of a plot at all, but I honestly think it would have detracted . . . the point here was the gameplay.
Creativity: It's the best zombie game I've ever played.
Enjoyment: Even the repetition didn't stop me from loving this game.
Graphics: Exceptional! I like the reactions from the AI when you look at them, depending on who you're playing and your relationship with them. Does that make sense? I'm such a damn nerd. Beautiful lighting, too.
Replayability: You will be doing a lot of replaying with this game if you're playing for achievements. I made some of my best friends playing this game, so I still keep replaying just to meet people. And have my ears bleed from the squeal of tiny male children. "TANK! TAAANK! RUN! RUN!" ". . . We're on easy, kiddo . . ."

#006

2009-04-10T21:09:00.000-07:00

This is the third song from the Chrono Cross sheet music book, Lost Fragment. It's in the key of G major, with a tempo at quarter note = 75. I moved my room around a wee bit, so now the light's right behind me. I'll change it next video, since it's probably not too good on the eyes, or the picture.

Not much else to say at the moment. I missed my last update 'cause I had work. :(

#004

2009-04-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

(I'm gonna keep doing these pictures until I run out, haha.)

Here's my second Chrono Cross piano recording, of the song A Narrow Space Between Dimensions. It's in D major, and the tempo is quarter note = 82. I forgot to mention these songs are all by Yasunori Mitsuda, with piano arrangements by Asako Niwa. Cool stuff.

This one is a little better than the last, though there is some hesitation. Here's hoping I'll get better soon :)

#003

2009-04-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here's my first official piano post from my Chrono Cross Sheet Music book. It's Departed Souls, a song in C minor with a tempo of quarter note = 72. It's a slow, pretty song, and it was just my level when I first got this book - pretty easy, but with a few challenging moves I guess. For me, anyways! Please forgive the mistakes. I don't remember even hearing this song in the game, but it's still nice. Next song will be A Narrow Space Between Dimensions.

Even if you aren't going to watch my videos, I suggest you download/buy the Chrono Cross OST wherever you can find it. It will probably be in two parts, because it's two disks. Don't let that put you off it just because of the hassle, because it's totally worth it, bro! I'll probably do a review of Chrono Cross sometime in the future, just because I'm one of five people in the world who even played that game.

- Deadly Neurotoxin

#002

2009-04-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

Today, I, Deadly Neurotoxin, am going to be reviewing Resident Evil 5. There are no plot spoilers in this review, but I do discuss game mechanics and settings.

Well. I got this game when I bought my red XBOX 360, and honestly wasn't all that hyped up. Before I bought the XBOX I was intending to rent the thing to see if the graphics were as good as they were bragged about, then let it be. I started playing it right when the XBOX was plugged in out of excitement, and was . . . extremely disappointed.

HOWEVER, this review isn't negative! First impressions were mostly "Oh look at the fancy AI . . . where are you going!?" as she ran into other rooms just to stand in the middle of them like a lost child. Cleverly, I hooked Supercake into playing with me to alleviate this, which changed the game into a no-holds-barred thrill ride! Kind of.

The first boss seemed unique and interesting, even mildly creepy. Then I realized that there was absolutely no creativity put into the boss monster designs at all. The majority were "big slithery tentacles! Those are scary!!" to the point where I was rolling my eyes. Soon, I didn't even feel like I was in Africa anymore, and it makes me wonder why they even bothered to place the game there. Sure, the first two levels seemed quite African, but then as we got into the oil machinery, a giant cave, underground research facility, Aztec booby traps straight out of Indiana Jones, volcanoes, and giant boats, I was expecting the next level to be King Leopold's camp for the believability they were giving me! Point being, I wanted to see more African style bosses and settings. After a late night of playing, Supercake and I turned on some Africa Xtreme on National Geographic, and there was plenty of scary bugs and even rituals that could have been inspiration for game things. I think it's a waste. They spent so long trying to avoid the racism they sidestepped the cool ideas that could have come from it, too.

As for the co-op, I must recommend it. There's plenty of fun to be had, whether requesting herbs just to hear Sheva say "I need an aab" in her accent. Also, since Supercake and I are really dumb, running around shouting "COME ON!" "ROGER!" "HURRY!" "OKAY!" all the time was worth a laugh. Our problem was we always said whatever the reaction command was out loud. So anyone walking in wouldn't hear any communication, only "dodge! help! heal partner! jump down!" We're special.

The game plot was so ridiculous, though. It tried to take itself so seriously that I could only laugh. Chris' pathetically cliche lines such as, "Not on my watch!" and "We must avenge our fallen brothers!" not to mention reiterating the enemy's goals every chance he has as if it's new information. Sheva, for her part, wasn't as stupid as she could have been, though it was obvious from the beginning that she was there for the boobage. Even if nobody could decide on how to say her name (Shuva? Shiva? Sheva? Shava? each cutscene was different!).

I guess I could liken it to being fond of them for their flaws. "Oh Chris you loving idiot, you can punch a boulder to make it move, but you can't swipe two keycards by yourself on opposite sides of a door." "Oh Wesker, I think if you took your sunglasses off you could probably see us in the dark." Nothing in this game is unexpected. From Sheva and Chris' very first heart-to-heart, you know exactly what will happen. So the game fails there, but I can't say it wasn't fun along the way. There's always the beef that people seem to be having: the horror element of Resident Evil's survival-horror has disappeared. Good or bad thing? I don't know.

Overall:
Gameplay: Strong point!
Plot: Pathetically weak
Creativity: Not aesthetically, but . . . well, can you really call reaction commands creative?
Enjoyment: I liked it quite a lot actually, even when it got challenging.
Replayability: Unlimited ammo and new costumes are the only thing making me want to replay. (I really just don't want to do the stupid sunbeam puzzle again.)

Tune in next time!
- Deadly Neurotoxin

#001

2009-03-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

Hey, this is Deadly Neurotoxin, and this is my first official blog post! However, this is just an introductory post. I'm sharing this bloggy with my best friend Supercake. I dunno quite yet what she'll be discussing here, but we're focusing primarily on video games.

I will post Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with updates. These will be either a video game review or a performance on piano. See, I have a book of piano music from the video game Chrono Cross (anyone heard of that game? . . . anyone?) and I'm going to record myself playing the ones that aren't too hard for your listening pleasure. Hopefully. Please have mercy.

For this first-ever post, I only have something old for you, unfortunately. The other things I record will be on my keyboard at home.

I played Sight of Spira from Final Fantasy X for my piano concert last year, and this is the recording. Near the end my dad tried to zoom in so that messed up the sound a little, and I nearly butchered the beginning out of nervousness, but there you have it! More to come. Hope you enjoy whatever we have to offer you!

- Deadly Neurotoxin

#000

2009-03-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

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