Lackluster gaming progress post.....

By Rob Hamilton · July 16, 2008

Alrighty-o, then, kids! What am I playing and how am I doing at them.

1. Okami — just got the catwalk ability, so I'm going back to previous parts of the game so I can climb up those walls I couldn't get up before. Then, I have to ride this dolphin around until I find the secret entrance to the Dragon Palace.

2. Dragon Quest V — in the really big tower you go to after your wife gets kidnapped right after you get coronated king.

3. Final Fantasy Adventure — beat Davias, went through some small cave and beat the boss there, now in another cave.

Also got to get started on my contest game and motivate myself to finish off a few shmups I started and haven't played in awhile. Last week, hung out with a friend and we played a good deal of Project: Snowblind. I liked that one. Reminds me I also should finish off Medal of Honor: Underground and get started on Black, since my friend keeps bitching at me to play the games I'm borrowing from him.

Comments 5

honestgamer Staff Jul 16, 2008

Your progress is at least varied. All I'm playing is Etrian Odyssey II at present (though I'm enjoying that a great deal).

Bonus: my wife's gaming progress is Persona 3. I finally got her to try it and now she's hooked. The first time she tried it, she turned it off in disgust after having to enter her name and then select answers from a dialog tree. The horror! I chastised her, she tried it again and, as I mentioned, now she's hooked. My job is done.

overdrive Blogger Jul 17, 2008

Yeah, but while "varied" progress is cool and all, it doesn't do much for things like productivity and successing in that Alpha Marathon thing. I just seem to muddle through a few projects, get a moment where I burn through 2-3 reviews in fairly short order and then go back to muddling. A bit more focus and that wouldn't be such an issue.

espiga Jul 17, 2008

How well are you enjoying Okami? I picked up the Wii version a while back but it's sitting in my backlog.

Also, you should review DQV.

overdrive Blogger Jul 17, 2008

Okami: I love the imagery and most of the gameplay. I'd have liked the game to have a bit more creativity in monster designs and, then, a bit emphasis on battle. Really, with the exception of bosses and staged fights, the only purpose to doing any sort of fighting is to collect money and demon fangs (another form of currency to get certain items). But there's a lot to do in the game; they are creative in tying in the godly powers; the drawing idea was great -- especially in the sense that you don't have to constantly go to subscreens, but just draw different lines on the screen to do different things; and the whole concept that you gain "experience" for doing good deeds really ties into how your character is a god and by causing animals and people to praise you, you're getting more power.

Main things I don't like are the digging mini-game (mandatory in a couple places) and how intrusive Issun is. He's your sidekick and he never shuts up. He's even interupted a boss fight or two when I screwed up a drawing technique to "remind" me of what I should be doing. Still, the game's quirky sense of humor and all the other stuff I mentioned puts this game somewhere in the 8-9 range for me.

And when I finish it, I will review DQ5. Last night I finished that tower off and got through all the story-related stuff. Think all I have to do now is get whatever Zenithian thing I have in storage out for my character's son and I'm ready to do stuff. Mainly getting the Zenithian helmet from the queen in the desert castle and then going to that place Ojiron marked on the map where my character's mom was from.

bluberry Jul 17, 2008

but does he go "HEY! LISTEN!"?

Okami's in my queue too, along with God Hand, Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, and MGS3:S. if only I could find the damn inclination...