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johnteti
  • Status: I don't have a car, but I still want to try BP gasoline with Invigorate! Delicious! (Posted 2009.July.13 3:39:05 AM)
  • Last Login: 2009.July.15 1:46:17 AM
  • Joined: 2009.February.16 3:26:32 PM
  • Website: geekoutnewyork.com

Recent Posts

  • Battlefield 1943

    2009.July.15 1:48:27 AM

    I gave up my noble attempts to shoot down enemy planes pretty quickly. Manning the anti-aircraft gun is, in essence, a fancy way of climbing on top of a building and screaming at the opponent, "HEY GUYS, SHOOT ME! FREE KILL HERE! FIRST COME FIRST SERVED!"

  • Crispy Adventurers Club: StarTropics - Main Thread

    2009.July.13 4:17:28 PM

    Ha, kidding aside, you raise a good point. I know exactly the room you're talking about. I thought it was pretty cheap, too. I find a sort of dark humor in those moments, but I'm weird.

    I will say that the jump-into-water room is the worst instance of that "gotcha!" mentality that I've found, but on the other hand, it is definitely an undercurrent that runs throughout the game. I was just talking about this with Narcisse last night. There's a certain twisted intelligence underlying the game -- it knows what assumptions you're making about how the game should proceed, and it undermines them relentlessly. Whenever the path ahead seems straightforward, you are about to do something wrong. I am very charmed by it, but it's definitely a matter of taste.

  • Crispy Adventurers Club: StarTropics - Main Thread

    2009.July.12 12:54:47 AM

    @CG-Gabe: Boo-hoo, you died. This is the Crispy ADVENTURERS Club. People are going to get hurt. (You signed the waiver, right?) Turn your Wii back on and venture forth, or risk being branded a ... dare I say it ... scoundrel!!!

    To all: Adventurers help each other out, so it's time to start sharing the tips you've learned along the way. Not only will this demonstrate your prowess, but it will also help the latecomers catch up. I've started [url=http://www.crispygamer.com/forums/default.aspx?g=posts&m;=9876]a separate thread for tips 'n' tricks[/url].

  • Crispy Adventurers Club: StarTropics - Tips 'n' Tricks

    2009.July.12 12:54:11 AM

    Here are some tips for boss fights and whatnot, through most of Chapter 3. These are going from my own experience -- there is always GameFAQs if you want everything laid bare in painstaking detail. But that is a last resort.

    Fire snake: I've never had trouble with this one. Dodge his attacks and use the torch to shoot fire at him when he opens his mouth.

    Octo the Jerk Octopus: When Octo swims down close to you, pause the game and push up to access the "MAGIC ITEMS" menu. Choose the snowman to freeze Octo. Then hammer him with yo-yo hits as fast as you can. You should only have to freeze him twice with this method. He's practically impossible without freezing; very easy with proper application of the snowman.

    Magma the Lava Dude: There are two secret blocks in this room that reveal switches, which in turn dissolve the supports holding Magma up. The first secret block is easy to find, the second one is a little harder, so look hard and remember that Mike can jump to ANY unoccupied tile in his jumping range. Stick to the outside edges of the room when you can because it's easier to dodge the fireballs this way.

    Ghost Dungeon: This place is a rat's nest of red herrings and other misdirections. Recognize starting out what appears to be the easy route is often a trap. If something seems suspiciously straightforward -- and you should suspect anything straightforward -- try using your special Rod of Sight to light up the room. There are often little ghosties hiding in the walls, and killing them will reveal the true way forward (or the way to some helpful power-ups). When you get bolas, save them for the boss fight.

    Maxie the Big Ghost: Dodge the little ghosts and nail Maxie with bolas when you get the opportunity. BE PATIENT! Wait for the right window to hit Maxie, and don't hurry it, or else you'll miss too much and run out of bolas. It's possible to beat Maxie with the yo-yo, but not fun. I find it's easier to hit him with bolas when he is near the edges of the screen. When he starts to speed up, you are almost finished. Get in a couple more hits with the bola and/or yo-yo and a winner is you.

    Share your advice, fellow adventurers!

  • Backward Compatible - 7/10/2009

    2009.July.12 12:27:18 AM

    @Bleeding Thumbs:

    http://www-2.crispygamer.com/gamepages/east-india-company-pc.aspx

  • I'm sick of hearing about Scribblenauts too, but... by Scott Jones

    2009.July.9 2:03:23 PM

    Agreed, that's horse crap. Everybody knows that Scribblenauts is this year's Noby Noby Boy.

  • The Bigs 2

    2009.July.9 2:52:53 AM

    What, am I supposed to play this game in my $6,300 suit? COME ON!!!

  • Like Watching Paint Dry: Why Most Games After the Opening Hour Are Really Boring

    2009.July.7 1:13:30 AM

    I can't sign on to the premise of the piece. I don't think developers typically front-load the "good stuff." Most games are boring after the first hour because most games are not good. It's Sturgeon's Law, 90 percent of everything is crap. It's not like games are a magical exception to that.

    In the first hour, you're colored by optimism and freshness. Once that initial whiff of excitement wears off, you're getting a truer impression of the game as a whole. And the great games are easily outnumbered by the mundane, derivative ones. Was that game great for the first hour? Maybe, or maybe you just didn't know how much lasting power it had yet.

    But I'm different from Scott. I hate starting new games. I hate learning the controls, I hate sitting through tutorials. I feel like I'm detached from the experience and manipulating some foreign object. The thing that bugs me is that, for that initial stretch, the primary factor determining my success in the game is not my choices or innate ability but my lack of familiarity. Only once I've overcome that feeling of foreignness do I think I can properly evaluate a game.

    Are games generally too long? If we're arguing that games out to be just as long as their narrative drive justifies, well, yeah. That's not an argument that's isolated to this medium, as anybody who saw (for instance) the overlong Watchmen movie can attest. Portal has been fellated until it's raw for its modest length because the developers hit the bullseye for Portal.

    Look, I am a big fan of brevity. Maybe you can't tell by this comment, but the CrispyTV stuff is ample evidence of that. Leave them wanting more. The main goal ought to be, make the length suit the material. Games, movies, books, etc., all feel too long when their experience isn't rich enough, their viewpoint isn't deep enough, to justify their length. My first priority would not be to make the games shorter but rather to make the experience richer. Of course, they're two sides of the same coin.

  • Crispy Adventurers Club: StarTropics - Main Thread

    2009.July.6 2:25:50 PM

    After some research, [url=http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessage.php?board=587653&topic;=46586606]this dude on GameFAQs[/url] appears to have figured out the system. Indeed, it seems to depend only on how many monsters you kill. Less killing = more points.

  • Crispy Adventurers Club: StarTropics - Main Thread

    2009.July.6 2:15:26 PM

    Re: Points -- Yeah, I don't know, these are weird. None of a half-dozen FAQs on GameFAQs even mentions the points. The manual doesn't say anything about them, either. I found one page that claims you gain more points if you kill fewer enemies. That's interesting, I guess -- encourages you to play through again with a more pacifist style.

    Re: Pig anus -- Yes!! My wife and I loved this, too. Quite the evocative little pixel.

    Re: The controls -- They do have a swishy feel in StarTropics, especially when turning a corner. It feels like Mike is always on slippery ground.

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