The Energon Pub

[1337W422102]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl [Wii]:
Price finally dropped. I was waiting for a Players' Choice re-release, but with their "Nintendo Selects" line, that wasn't going to happen. I still think there should've been another Selects wave with Brawl, Metroid Prime 3, Sports Resort, and some other crap. But hey, I'm just a consumer who thinks it's a little ridiculous to still charge $50 for a game years after release and/or $40 for a tech demo, so what do I know?

Started a new Subspace Emissary story with my brother. Unlocked the kid from Earthbound accidentally. 6% in, at the first Donkey Kong level.

Diablo [PC]:
Level 23 Warrior, reached the 15th level of the Labyrinth. Will have to face Archbishop Lazarus soon. Not looking forward to it.

Isometric World of Warcr-- er, "Diablo 3" [PC]:
The gameplay's solid for the most part and there is plenty of Diablo 1 nostalgia/fanservice, but I'm really, really not feeling it. Drop rates have been nerfed (according to a bluepost on the Blizzy forums) to accommodate the Auction House. So in a franchise that's always been about fighting monsters to find new kick-ass gear, you will find less gear because you're expected to just buy gear from other players. Huh. My brother's finished about 3 playthroughs and each time, the best stuff he got was bought from the Auction House. It's cheaper to buy gems there, basically making the jewelcrafting element of the game completely pointless.

Right, progress. Well. Took out the Skeleton King as my unfy Demon Hunter. Gah dayum, dat ass.

I particularly enjoyed the layout of old Tristram. Pepin's house seems to have ruined potion racks inside, Ogden's tavern (which I named my Battle Tag after) has a cellar you might be able to go into, Griswold's shop is there, as is the fountain and Cain's cage from D2. There's a cow's skeleton where the exploding cow corpse from D2 used to be. I've noticed that you can't get to where Wirt was in D1 because there's no bridge to cross the river there anymore. D3's Old Ruins Waypoint is located where the D1 Town Portal used to be: near the unused (and now destroyed) house behind Ogden's tavern.

But it gets better. To get to Adria's shack in D1, you had to go to the south-east and cross a bridge. In D3, the river is much wilder, and the bridge is bigger. And to the north from her shack is another bridge across the river, just like in D1. In D1, Pepin the Healer made a comment about how Adria's shack must be hiding something, but he can't get in it. Surely enough, there's a big-ass cellar under it in D3.

After rescuing Cain (again), he takes a secret exit he discovered through "old maps [he] found" that leads from the Labyrinth up to the mausoleum on the surface, just like in D1. I guess those maps of his are from 1996. But despite the nostalgia, I find that D3 (and D2, for that matter) shied away from the atmosphere that made D1 so damn memorable, and terrifying. A lot of the thematic darkness has been lifted, unfortunately, and the franchise seems to become more actionized with each iteration. Yeah, I know it's an 'action RPG,' but you know what I mean. I guess the classic slow-paced D1 experience wouldn't fly so well today.

TL;DR, D3 is to D2 what D2 is to D1. Great game on its own, but the fact that it's supposed to be part of the Diablo legacy while discarding so much that made the previous title great is disappointing. And that's before the technical issues.

Saints Row [360]:
Finished off the Rollerz, rich kids from the suburbs with nothing better to do. Man, the undercover characters really make it obvious that they're undercover, don't they? Or is that a running gag since SR1 tries to play it straight?

Got the mansion in the north-west of town, but it's pretty out of the way now, since I've finished the Rollers jobs. Working on building up my Respect modifier. It's not enough to own the items like in SR2. In the first Row, you have to actually wear them. So, it's time to turn my character into a blinged-out hater in a purple mobster suit, complete with Flavor Flav clock medallion. Hurm.

[BeastProwl]

Borderlands
Beat it, and now am attempting Playthrough 2. My god the loot is amazing, but now I remember why I never got through it. It's freakin hard! But Ive played through way more difficult games than this. I'm so familiar with the game by now that it's just a slight difficulty curve. I'll get over it once I get powerful enough weapons and such.

But into Playthrough 2, I have just met Shep Sanders, and I'm back were I started when I posted about a week or so ago.

I also ordered Skyrim, and am eagerly awaiting it's arrival.
so:

Skyrim
Eagerly Awaiting it...

[The Happy Locust]

Saints Row III
Spending most of my time on side-missions still. But moved the story along by playing one or two main missions. Helped Zimos collect some new free agents ( ) and repelled an assault on my penthouse against an elite squad of stripper assassins.

[1337W422102]

Saints Row 2 [PC]:
Gamespy's been screwing around, it seems. People have been having trouble getting their online "Powered by Gamespy" titles working properly, lately.

Which begs the question, why the hell is Gamespy still around? It's not nineteen ninety freaking eight any more.

Finally got another co-op campaign going with a friend. This is our third co-op playthrough. And yes, SR2 is leagues better than The Third. Even before you have it Powered by the Gentlemen of the Row.

Took back the hotel and we're now buying some real estate and customizing our characters. Here's mine, this time. I guess she looks more like a Westside Roller than a Saint, but screw it. Contemplating dropping some of her inkstains for a katana in a scabbard on her back.

Saints Row [360]:
Finished the Rollers, was told by Keith David to quit being a bitch and to buckle my seatbelt, and got my modifier to 25%. I'm going to have to do some activities for some more Respect, now. Only missing one vehicle, the Bulldog, and I'll have all the Chop Shop lists complete.

Rescued King, grudgingly, and 'jacked the truck from the Carnales.

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage [360]:
Pure, pure win. Remains faithful to the original manga and animé but just as badass as hell as it should be. DAT POWER GUITAR

Took out Shin. Met Rei and dat Mamiya. The game really glosses over those three characters' relationships, which is kind of disappointing, but hey.

Also, I love the ability to remap individual controls, like in PC games. How the hell is this not standard?

[Shadowman]

Assassin's Creed: Revelations:
Currently on Sequence 4. Saved Prince Suleiman while dressed as a minstrel and singing songs that were just one big middle finger to Brotherhood. I also trained up seven of my recruits to Master Assassin rank. Kind of sucky you can't do that with all your recruits, it means I currently have five that can't progress past level 10, (Out of 15!) leaving them substantially weaker.

On the multiplayer side of things, I don't think I will be playing much of multiplayer. It's a lot like multiplayer in Brotherhood only I'm swearing much louder and with greater frequency. I'm not sure exactly what it is, perhaps the horrendous flaws in the last game's multiplayer are accentuated by the game's total failure to explain changes and additions to them, (Oh, you can counter a counter now? Thanks for not sharing, tutorial. Also thanks for never explaining how to perform that, so now I'm screwed no matter who I'm fighting) or it could be that the game has no decent matchmaking, so a bunch of low-level guys who just started playing this weekend also had to deal with a bunch of maxed-out players. (Better equipped and more experienced) It could be that the rules of engagement aren't explained before each match. (by the time the match in Assassination was nearly over, I realized I had to mark and kill my own targets, again, thanks for not sharing) it could be that victory isn't a coin toss at lower levels, so much as it's a roll of the loaded dice.

Revelations Multiplayer can go **** itself.

[BeastProwl]

So i got Skyrim...
You guys said it would be fun...
NOT LIKE DRUGS!!!
I'm addicted nows!
I was up until 1 in the frikkin morning!

[Shadowman]

So i got Skyrim...
You guys said it would be fun...
NOT LIKE DRUGS!!!
I'm addicted nows!
I was up until 1 in the frikkin morning!

I first started playing Christmas Eve, stroke of midnight. Had a friend watching me play, and my parents went to bed with me telling them I was going to play all night and, if I could help it, all day as well.

Come 8 in the morning, and my dad walking out into the living room, slightly shocked. "What," I said, "Did you think I was joking?" "Yes!" was his reply. Not like he has much of a case, he did the exact same thing with Starcraft way back when.

(And I'm up until 1 in the frikken morning no matter what I'm doing)

[BeastProwl]

Well, regardless, it's alot of fun!
I want to buy property, but dont know were to look yet (I got appraised by the king to buy property in his town, even got a servent women or something((Dont know all the little town names and such yet))

It's really cool how you can actually sit down and READ books (I know how dumb that sounds, but really, its awesome to me)

The sheer amount of detail work that went into this game is astounding. Anyway, I'm currently learning how to Whirlwind Dash from the Greybeards (It took me an hour and a half to find the correct way up that mountain, dammit) And it took me forever just to get here, seeing as how I accepted SEVERAL sidequests before hand, but only did, like, two.

One of them was "The golden Claw" wich, in the long run, saved me some time, as it was a part of a longer quest.
"Oh, you mean this old thing?" "Hands the dude a dragon stone"

But I stopped because I didnt know you had to equip the whirlwind dash to use it, I was button mashing anf Fus-ing that poor teacher all to hell trying to do it. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle!

[Shadowman]

Well, regardless, it's alot of fun!
I want to buy property, but dont know were to look yet (I got appraised by the king to buy property in his town, even got a servent women or something((Dont know all the little town names and such yet))

The town was Whiterun, it's Jarl, not King. (An actual historical term as well) The servant/housecarl is Lydia. And you can't just buy a house. Whiterun is the easiest since you're given the option just through story missions, but in the other holds it usually requires you to do some favors around town. And it's hilariously expensive, Whiterun's house, Breezehome, is the cheapest, at 5000 gold, not including the stuff to make it look like not a total hole.

It's really cool how you can actually sit down and READ books (I know how dumb that sounds, but really, its awesome to me)

It's a tradition dating back to at least Daggerfall. I really recommend The Wolf Queen series (Eight volumes total) and The Real Barenziah series. (Five total) A Hypothetical Treachery is also a good one. The Legend of Krately House actually had me on the edge of my seat, I kid you not.

If you really don't want to go book-hunting (Which can be a pain) you can read them all here. (Yes, it's legal)

The sheer amount of detail work that went into this game is astounding.

More than you can imagine. Bethesda's superpower is the ability to have the vast majority of terms, locations, and names been established in previous games. (I read a book in Morrowind about Tiber Septim having been called to High Hrothgar by the Greybeards to learn the power of the Voice)

[The Happy Locust]

It's really cool how you can actually sit down and READ books (I know how dumb that sounds, but really, its awesome to me)

It's a tradition dating back to at least Daggerfall. I really recommend The Wolf Queen series (Eight volumes total) and The Real Barenziah series. (Five total) A Hypothetical Treachery is also a good one. The Legend of Krately House actually had me on the edge of my seat, I kid you not.

If you really don't want to go book-hunting (Which can be a pain) you can read them all here. (Yes, it's legal)

The sheer amount of detail work that went into this game is astounding.

More than you can imagine. Bethesda's superpower is the ability to have the vast majority of terms, locations, and names been established in previous games. (I read a book in Morrowind about Tiber Septim having been called to High Hrothgar by the Greybeards to learn the power of the Voice)

My personal favorite series was the Argonian Account. Poor Scotti can only win by losing.

As for vastness, I repeat my earlier statement of 217 hours before I was done with it. No grinding, no repetition, just content.

[BeastProwl]

I just read an interesting book in the home of the Greybeards on High Hrothgar about a man and his team searching for dwarven treasures in a buried, lost city that had been sunken into the earth by a volcano. Good stuff, suspenseful, and well written. I have SO many books. And I need the house (and bookshelves) to store them. I hadnt really considered storage when I started finding books all over the place, but after a while, storage is NEEDED. I have WAY to many, and I dont want to just up and get rid of them all.

[Shadowman]

I just read an interesting book in the home of the Greybeards on High Hrothgar about a man and his team searching for dwarven treasures in a buried, lost city that had been sunken into the earth by a volcano.

Well that narrows it down for them, huh? Every dwarven city is a lost buried city. I suppose the Red Mountain would be the volcano, meaning it would be in Morrowind, which only narrows it down to you know, about few hundred dwemer ruins.

Point of interest, yes, dwarves, or dwemer (You should probably get caught up on the alternate elf names) did exist in this universe. No, they aren't there anymore. No one's sure exactly why, but it involves the dwarven chief tonal architect Kagrenac using his special-made tools to mess around with the heart of a long-dead God.

Christ, you could do a whole curriculum on this series.

Speaking of, Theology 101. Make your way to the city of Solitude, and look around until some guy asks you to find his master. That quest should lead you to my favorite character in the series.

[BeastProwl]

Oh, I'll be making my way all around Skyrim, but first I need to make enough gold to buy this house. I'll leave Lydia to guard it, assuming you can anyways.

I had a bigger problem though. Going up the river to the lake from riverwood, I got attacked by a Dragon. I brought it back to Riverwood and the inhabitants did alot more damage to it than I could alone, but I was still un-able to kill it.

I gave up after about an hour of restarting the fight at the save point I had made, right in the middle of town. Assuming he was leveled MUCH higher than me (Seriouly, one physical attack, I'm dead)

It made me nearly piss myself the first time too, damn thing sillouetted me with the shadow of it's wings. I look up, and its coming down to land, with a massive snowy mountain right behind it, truly an awesome sight. If it werent for the for the fact that he was coming after ME.

Also, some dude in Dragonsreach asked me to go down into the catacombs and find his amulet. I did it. I found it. Now why the hell wont he take it? It's like I'm a stranger and he doesnt want it back.

[Shadowman]

Oh, I'll be making my way all around Skyrim, but first I need to make enough gold to buy this house. I'll leave Lydia to guard it, assuming you can anyways.

Yeah, if you have both a house and a housecarl (Like Lydia) they'll stay in the house. Otherwise, they'll stay in the same building as the Jarl who assigned them to you.

I had a bigger problem though. Going up the river to the lake from riverwood, I got attacked by a Dragon. I brought it back to Riverwood and the inhabitants did alot more damage to it than I could alone, but I was still un-able to kill it.

I gave up after about an hour of restarting the fight at the save point I had made, right in the middle of town. Assuming he was leveled MUCH higher than me (Seriouly, one physical attack, I'm dead)

Hm, was the enemy name simply "Dragon" or was it Blood Dragon? There are higher tiers of Dragons, with Blood Dragon being the next one up from regular ol' Dragons. Otherwise, it could simply be that you're too low level for regular Dragons, I know I had a tough time dealing with them at low-levels.

Also, some dude in Dragonsreach asked me to go down into the catacombs and find his amulet. I did it. I found it. Now why the hell wont he take it? It's like I'm a stranger and he doesnt want it back.

Bethesda. That's the best answer I can give.

Actually that reminds me, what are you playing as?

[BeastProwl]

I'm an Argonian.
I found a chart that said "Waterbreathing" and thought that would be handy. So far I've REALLY had no use for it. But he looks cool, stands out I guess. What else to expect from a giant lizard in armor? I almost chose the Dunmer (I think thats the name anyway) But decided against it.
Better Lockpicking and desease resistant are good traits too.

[Shadowman]

I'm an Argonian.
I found a chart that said "Waterbreathing" and thought that would be handy. So far I've REALLY had no use for it. But he looks cool, stands out I guess. What else to expect from a giant lizard in armor? I almost chose the Dunmer (I think thats the name anyway) But decided against it.
Better Lockpicking and desease resistant are good traits too.

yeah, the irony with Waterbreathing is that there's no place where it's really needed, except for like ONE optional part of a quest, and even then, they have potions for that sort of thing. As for disease resistance, I went werewolf, so I'm immune to disease. (Speaking of, I went Nord, because if I'm going to save Skyrim, I might as well look local)

[BeastProwl]

Well, I figured Dragonborn, hey, may as well look the part.

[The Happy Locust]

Well, I figured Dragonborn, hey, may as well look the part.

That was my logic. And for the uninitiated, waterbreathing sounded useful. BTW, next time your in Whiterun, look out for a guy offering you a drink. If not that, take Mr. Shadow's advice regarding the guy in Solitude.

[Shadowman]

Pokemon Black:
Because no matter how hard I try, ever since I was 9, I've felt continuously compelled to catch 'em all. (I wanted White but they were all out. I guess people just like White more than Black)

Picked Tepig as my starter because it is a pig that can cook itself! Self-cooking bacon! THE FUTURE IS NOW! (I may go back later and rename him The Baconator) Two badges down, so far.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations:
Trying to take down a royal guard captain and his Templar contacts. Set up a good ol' fashion torches-and-pitchforks angry mob, it felt great not being on the receiving end of one.

In multiplayer, I hit level 10, despite the fact that I shouldn't have been playing at all because this aspect of the game makes me hate everything. They tell you all these ways to kill and defend, but they forgot to add "Oh, right, and nine times out of ten, everything we just taught you isn't going to work at all."

[BeastProwl]

Skyrim
So, I made my way up to (I think it was windhelm, if not, the next town I was in was.) and there was this kid who everyone was talking about that was trying to summon the dark brotherhood or something. I walked in and talked to him. He hired me (Thinking I was an assassin sent to him through his arcane spellcastings and whatnot) to go and kill the this old lady who was the keeper of some orphanage.

I didnt want to kill her, but went anyway. When I met her and heard how she spoke to all the kids, however, my mind changed. QUICKLY. I spoke to all the kids, who told of an evil old hagraven who tortured them daily. I switched to un armed, and punched her to the floor, resulting in satisfactory results.

I also remember getting this girl to get off this guy's back about money he owed her, and it was a set up. He gave me a potion of invisibility as a reward. Wonder when I'll use it?

Also, I met this keeper of this inn in riverwood (Seriously, go through all that **** to get an ancient horn, and I find a note. DAMN)

She brought me up to speed on her situation, as well as her theory as to why the Drgaons are returning. Then we whent to an ancient burial ground, were a massive black, spiny dragon re-animated a dead dragon, who spoke to me during the fight. In perfect english. Once I was finished up with him, I saved my data and turned it off.

We also hit up a local bandit HQ on the way there. Scored some heavier armor. WIN.

I wish I could play on the weekends, ide be playing right now if I could.

[Shadowman]

Then we whent to an ancient burial ground, were a massive black, spiny dragon re-animated a dead dragon, who spoke to me during the fight. In perfect english. Once I was finished up with him, I saved my data and turned it off.

You've seen Black-n-Spiky before. He saved you from decapitation. Not on purpose. His name is Alduin. And you're going to see him again.

Interesting true fact, if you take too long to escape from Helgen, the starting town, Alduin will figure out which of the tiny little fleshbags is the Dragonborn, and then he'll focus entirely on making sure you don't escape. From what I've heard, he's very good at it.

Pokemon Black:
Five badges down, woo. Got the Fly HM from Bianca, so that's fantastic.

[BeastProwl]

Interesting true fact, if you take too long to escape from Helgen, the starting town, Alduin will figure out which of the tiny little fleshbags is the Dragonborn, and then he'll focus entirely on making sure you don't escape. From what I've heard, he's very good at it.

Thats a scary thought.
Yeah, I know I saw him before, but I didnt know THAT. that would be a pain, I assume?

[Shadowman]

Interesting true fact, if you take too long to escape from Helgen, the starting town, Alduin will figure out which of the tiny little fleshbags is the Dragonborn, and then he'll focus entirely on making sure you don't escape. From what I've heard, he's very good at it.

Thats a scary thought.
Yeah, I know I saw him before, but I didnt know THAT. that would be a pain, I assume?

Considering the number of narrow pathways you have to get through? From what I've read, it's basically forcing you to play a game over.

Prince of Persia:
Or, "Prince of Persia: The Lost Subtitle" or "Prince of Persia: The one who's ending they wrecked just so they could run off and make that Sands of Time trilogy midquel meant as a movie tie-in."

Actually really good so far. The movement isn't as fluid as it was in Sands of Time but I do like the increased options in acrobatic moves. I don't like how all my fights so far have been one-on-one (To the point that several enemies will wait in line!) and yes I know that's how it was done in the first game, though I do like how cinematic combat can be. I prefer Yuri Lowenthal's voice but I'm really, really liking this Prince, though, he's much more of a loveable rogue.

Jackass King who's name I don't know just freed Ahriman, so the world is properly boned. At least he's not made of sand. (Though he is a giant black mass of blackness, and everything goes gray if you start to fall in, a lot like the Dahaka) Now we have to go find the fer-tile grounds (Why do they keep saying it like that?) to restore the temple to re-seal Ahriman. At least we don't have to fight an empress and her sidekick with the metal thong.

[The Happy Locust]

Interesting true fact, if you take too long to escape from Helgen, the starting town, Alduin will figure out which of the tiny little fleshbags is the Dragonborn, and then he'll focus entirely on making sure you don't escape. From what I've heard, he's very good at it.

Thats a scary thought.
Yeah, I know I saw him before, but I didnt know THAT. that would be a pain, I assume?

Considering the number of narrow pathways you have to get through? From what I've read, it's basically forcing you to play a game over.

Prince of Persia:
Or, "Prince of Persia: The Lost Subtitle" or "Prince of Persia: The one who's ending they wrecked just so they could run off and make that Sands of Time trilogy midquel meant as a movie tie-in."

Actually really good so far. The movement isn't as fluid as it was in Sands of Time but I do like the increased options in acrobatic moves. I don't like how all my fights so far have been one-on-one (To the point that several enemies will wait in line!) and yes I know that's how it was done in the first game, though I do like how cinematic combat can be. I prefer Yuri Lowenthal's voice but I'm really, really liking this Prince, though, he's much more of a loveable rogue.
\

Was not a fan of that game. When the story actually moved, it was fun, but when I spent the middle 80% of the game just chasing light orbs, I got bored really quickly. Finished it, but never felt any urge to touch it again.

[Shadowman]

Was not a fan of that game. When the story actually moved, it was fun, but when I spent the middle 80% of the game just chasing light orbs, I got bored really quickly. Finished it, but never felt any urge to touch it again.

I know what you mean on the orbs, they're really bringing the game down. The rest of it's fun (Combat can be a bit tedious when the enemy just blocks, but since it ends when I get them up against the wall it kind of balances out) but when I have to scour an area I already completed twice or more, just to get part way to the next ability, that's a pain.

Prince of Persia:
Cleared a few more fer-tile grounds, met the Concubine and the Alchemist in the process. Very nearly to the next ability. I'm probably going to go for the yellow one, and finish off the Hunter.