In review

There are two reasons that I didn't submit an entry last night. 1) Massive headache (incidentally, I still have a mild one this morning); 2) New Zealand Internet (I'm capped - 'nuff said). Actually, I'm not sure what was causing the absurdly slow speed - it was so bad that I couldn't load the page to even try to submit something here. GG Telecom :s

I'm actually not surprised that I had a headache yesterday. I watched two movies and spent a lot of the day either online or on my Xbox. Actually, it was the first time I'd played on my Xbox in ages. I spent ages trying to figure out how to copy a game straight to the HDD through the network but ended up just burning Ninja Gaiden: Black to dvd and then ripping it off that. It really cuts down on load times XD

So, Ninja Gaiden: Black. Not as hard as I thought it would be, though the first boss did take me two attempts. Once you get used to the control scheme you're running along walls, across water and leaping off enemies' backs to do blue-streaked downward striking power moves. The motion is fluid; you just have to realise that if you do the end of a combo or just randomly press attack, there are slight pauses between when you finish that attack and being able to change direction. It's a good thing the enemy shinobi' defenses aren't impermeable.

As for the camera angles, this is something to be desired. Sure, the right trigger centers the camera, but there are times when this gets awkward. Using the right thumbstick comes in handy, though, as this puts you into first-person view and allows you to better see your surroundings before proceeding - especially useful if you are unsure about what's immediately below or above you.

I really don't play games much but this Ninja Gaiden sequel is cool and since I do have a lot more free time now I may just whip out my nindo and carve up some bad guys. I mean, who doesn't enjoy running up walls, backflipping and coming down with an overpowered strike?

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. Having clocked the sequel (Dark Alliance II) on the PS2, I wasn't sure what to expect. The cutscenes are still just as unnatural and jerky but the gameplay is very similar in terms of the control scheme, inventory setup and even the world in which you play (Baldur's Gate is Baldur's Gate). And of course the first mission is clearing some rats in the cellar before you head to the obligatory sewer section.

Despite not having played DAII for so long, the gameplay mechanics came back to me pretty easily. Xbox is a little different to PS2 but all-in-all I enjoyed what time I spent playing, especially since I didn't have to struggle with any part of the controls - well, save block, which is in an awkward place for quick reacting. Guess I won't be blocking in a hurry...

I wonder if the character loading exploits work - I'll just have to get a second controller and find out ^L^

The two movies I watched yesterday were 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (bit strange but it made sense) and 'Lord of War' (very distrurbing, especially since it was based on actual everyday events). I'm not going to review these because I'm running out of time before heading to church.

Daylight Savings is over - set my watch back an hour last night (everything else automatically updates), so everyone got an extra hour's sleep. Except Nick. He left his phone alarm set without realising that until the network is reset, the clock doesn't update. Yet another of Telecom's brilliant schemes. I heard him get up really early but tried to ignore it. Perhaps staying in bed half-awake for so long really didn't help get rid of this headache...

Off to church soon. This may well be the first time I write two entries in the same day. We'll see. Just pretend this was posted last night :)

-Timotheos