Monthly Archives: August 2013

Games

DuckTales Remastered Review: Freezing Issues not limited to PS3

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Face it, guys. DuckTales Remastered has a freezing problem.

I was disappointed when I started to do the research to make sure the freezing wasn’t just me. I mean, for god’s sake! The gaming industry got something RIGHT! This is what remade games should be- hugely better graphics, voices (I can’t get over how they got everyone from the show except for Mrs. Beakley and Fenton! I mean C’MON you got Alan Young!) all the extras you could want, and without losing anything of the original experience in the process- actually that’s the entire reason why I’m against a Final Fantasy VII remake these days, but that’s another story.

Google “ducktales remastered freezing problem” and you’ll likely come up with several hits on GameFaqs and some PS3 websites. Unfortunately, the freezing issues regarding the “saving content” and “black loading screens” is not limited to “old and fat” PS3 launches, or PS3 at all. Sure, the PS3 has some technical problems, especially if you remember that PS3 has made the Bethesda developers groan over getting the Skyrim downloadable content on it, and ultimately caused them to give up developing content for Skyrim at all, if you remember that interview where they bitched about how long it took them. But this time, PS3 isn’t the problem, or at least, not totally. I’ve had multiple freezes of DuckTales on the Wii U.

Yes, the Wii U.

In some of the exact same places the PS3 users describe, in fact; freezing on the extras screen just after it says “saving content” and on the loading screen while trying to go to the Amazon for a second run through. On top of that, I’ve had some glitching in other places like the Himalayan boss and lagging in the African Mine. Also something that the PS3 users complained of, sandwiched between the “Nope, have had zero problems with it” users. Seriously, why bother posting that you’ve had no problems?! That’s fine and dandy but posts like that are for people who ARE, and it just doesn’t help figure out the commonalities when someone has to dig through half a million “Nopes no problems LOL goobergoobergoober” posts.

Anyway, I didn’t actually have problems during the first run through, though, it was only after completing the game for the first time that the freezing issue seemed to crop up. So, logically it tells that it isn’t a problem with the console so much as something gone wrong in the programming. I can’t speak for how often it hits other users, but in about 5 hours of gameplay it only hit me twice, and the lag during the bosses wasn’t all that bad. It could have been a lot worse *coughpandora’stowercough* but it really isn’t enough to totally mar the game and make it unplayable, but it’s still annoying when it happens.

We can only hope that Wayforward releases a patch to fix it, but first we have to let them know that it’s happening.

At any rate, DuckTales Remastered pretty much says it in the titled. It’s practically a masterpiece, capturing the feel of the original 1989 and merging that with the feel of the cartoon in harmony. The backgrounds look exactly as one would expect in an episode, absolutely perfect. The game play is still difficult without being too much so, except for one place in the last level that might make you scream in frustration while being sucked down into a fiery pit of hell. The game has a system where the gems you gather are turned into dollars, and you can buy extras with them. I love the extras! I don’t want to spoil too much, but look at the character portraits carefully. Each level has a unique look, different helper characters, and has plenty of hidden places to find; don’t be afraid to jump into the ceiling ala Super Mario Bros.

Aside from the freezing issue, I felt the game was worth the $15 forking out for it (and if I remember correctly, is cheaper than the original game when we got it in 1990.)

The game gets a resounding 9 out of 10 from me, with the only drawbacks being the freezing and Mrs. Beakley’s voice. (I was really hoping they’d add more bonus levels to it outside of the main story so that Goldie would appear, too.)

So, a few minor problem in a great classic remade, and remade properly. It brought back a lot of memories of being a kid, playing Nintendo for hours with my friend who stuck out the summer with a broken arm.

 

Edit: I wasn’t aware at the time this went up that several of the voice actors had died since the show’s completion, including the actors who did Beakley and Fenton! I  was really sad to hear that and I felt a little bad about it afterward. However I still think they could have done better in getting a sound-alike for both characters, at least for Mrs. Beakley.

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Return of the Zombies

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And the indomitable warrior returneth. I have a full post on Comic Con, a review on DuckTales: Remastered, and some more analyzing of the Dwemer passage coming up here soon.

I did not come back unscathed, though. In the last few days of my vacation I somehow managed to acquire a severe case of sun poisoning that burned right through 100 spf while I was out surfing. I hadn’t been surfing (or on the beach) in years, but I’m glad to know I can still time a wave. After 28 years I know how to handle sunburns and to apply lotion. I’ve had bad sunburns before, but never that severe, and after only one day. For Talos’s sake, I used to surf in Myrtle Beach, SC! A few hours on the beaches of Orange County and I fry like a fricasseed fish. How the hell do people do it day after day?! It made the train ride north extremely uncomfortable over the 36 hours I was on it. By the time I arrived home, I had thousands of blisters over my shoulders and back, and the next few days after that was spent alternately groaning and screaming whenever one of the cats decided to visit me and sit on my back. I suppose I really should have gone to the hospital, but I’m a stubborn person, and seriously, there was nothing they could have done that couldn’t at home.

The next time I took a shower, it put to shame the Walking Dead night at ComicCon. Cuz, you know, the flesh falling off my back was real.

Anyway, I’m still peeling, still extremely red (why is it not turning to tan?!) and plenty sore, but glad to be back. Stay tuned for more Tales from the Surfing Zombie.

Games, TES: Skyrim

Re-posting “Life of a Dunmer”

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Back when Skyrim came out, I had made a post of humorous quotes about my in-character observations  of playing Skyrim for those first few weeks. Well… to me they were humorous, but we all know my sense of humor by now. Since my old blog is now no longer accessible, and now completely deleted since Posterous shut down their servers (thank you, Twitter, you assholes, for buying up one of the most promising blogging sites on the net.)

I didn’t want it to be lost. It was a good set of memories for me; running around Skyrim as a Dunmer for the first time. (FYI: I play Dunmer quite often because of their good range of versatility in the classes and also because they are hands down the best race to play as a vampire.)

December 2 2011, 4:54 PM

Skyrim: Life of a Dunmer

“Sergius at the College always pisses me off with insults. So I pick pocketed his boots right off his feet. He’s now walking around barefoot as if nothing ever happened, because he’s too embarrassed to say anything.”

“Arcadia must be blind. She keeps thinking I’m one of those damned Nords. I mean, it’s a bit difficult mistaking a Dunmer for a Nord. I could see someone mistaking an Imperial for a dark haired Nord, but the pointed ears should be screaming ‘Hi! I’m an Elf!.’ Let alone other things.”

“So I get that the mates at the Guild don’t mind me wearing my Nightingale armor around, Karliah, but the entire world has gone stupid. I walked around Solitude for a day and nobody batted an eyelash.”

“Every time I step out into the courtyard of the College, there’s that damn dragon skeleton, getting up and dancing, as if to taunt me. Then, there’s two more on the towers. I’m starting to miss cliff racers.”

“Oh, I stopped changing into my regular clothes when I’m in town. I wear my armor all the time now. Why? Because every time I stepped outside a damn dragon attacked. It got a little annoying having to strip right there in the street and put on my armor while the dragon burned the town down around me. I had to do that for a full week straight. I’m afraid the citizens of Dawnstar will never respect me for that.”

“Every once in a while, I wish Dirge and Vekel would say “Hi, boss.” Even Vex does once in a while, and I had to pinch a lot of pockets to get in her good graces. There’s only so much you can take of being called Brynjolf’s new protege when I’m the Guild Master. And Dirge. He just needs to relax.”

“Sometimes the guards will tell me my breath smells odd and ask what I’ve been eating. I find that odd in a land full of unwashed barbarian Nords.”

“I may be a bit jaded, but after slogging through Oblivion closing gates with the Vvardenfel militia, surviving volcanic eruptions and natural disasters, nights without moons and days without sun, the Great War, and wars with Daedric princes- fighting a lone dragon in the afterlife just seems a little bit anti-climatic.”

“I never expected Rolff Stone-fist to show up at my wedding. It’s well known how he feels about our kind, yet there he was. I suppose my fists made more of an impression on him than I thought.”

“You know, it might be a good idea to hide your gold better if you’re going to be teaching me pickpocketing. As it is, I’m just going to steal your fee back, you idiot.”