One of my goals with my YouTube channel was that I wanted to complete more games that I actually was. Which wasn't a huge goal that was unobtainable since I wasn't completing any games at all. If I could just complete one game I would have met this goal. Fortunately for me I haven't completed just one game. I've completed 6 games . . . so far.
The first game to complete was also a special one because not only was it a "complete to end credits" completion, but also a "earn all achievements" completion. It was Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. (How fitting that is has "complete" in the game title.) Now, I've played (and completed) that game on Playstation 2 many years ago but I wanted the achievements and the gamer score. Unfortunately getting robbed put me back to the beginning and I lost all of my progress. But I did it. There were levels and tasks that I thought I would never get done right (damn you Blue Barrels on that last mission) but I stuck with it and I'm proud of myself for not giving up.
I've also been able to start AND complete the following games since I started posting videos:
Dead Space
Costume Quest (including DLC)
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Medal of Honor
Stacking (including DLC)
That's a total of 6 games that I've started AND completed which is about 6 more than I've done in any other year (for the most part). At least that part of my YouTube channel has been successful. And to top it off a couple of those games also had DLC that I completed. They are also smaller games to begin with but it's still a completion to me. I've got 2 full size "retail" games in there too.
I'm also getting close (I think) to completing Psychonauts. I'm not sure how long the game is but based on my psychic level (about 47) I figure I'm about half way through the game. Unfortunately sickness and allergies have slowed down the time for recording new episodes. It's kind of hard to play a video game and talk when you're having trouble breathing or you're sniffling all the time because of allergies. It sucks.
I think if I started filming the 4 games that I'm suppose to complete based on the post that got this blog started, I would get them done this year. Unfortunately, I've already started those games and they wouldn't be a full play through. I think some of them would be okay, but I don't think that would be good for Final Fantasy VII. Everybody loves that game and who would want to watch a partial play through only? Not me. But I don't want to start it all over again just to record footage. I might, but I'm not there yet.
I wish I had more time to play and edit videos. I think I'd finish more games if I did. This day job is really getting in the way. Oh well. I just have to do the best I can with what I've got. Which is only a couple of hours each night during the week. And if I'm editing, I'm not playing. And if I'm not playing, I'm not finishing games. It's such a vicious cycle. I'll take what I can get now and right now I've finished 6 games that I probably wouldn't have done so without keeping a schedule and posting videos on YouTube. That makes me happy!
Showing posts with label finishing games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finishing games. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
I finally achieved perfection!
Well, I finally did it. I perfected an Xbox 360 retail game. Now, I've perfected several Arcade titles, but those games don't usually require the time and effort commitment to getting all the achievements that a full retail game does. Retail games are also a lot more gamerscore than Arcade titles (at least they were). It's so much more fulfilling to see 1,000 in gamerscore next to a game instead of 200.
Now, technically I've "finished" several retail titles. Meaning I've finished the story and gotten to the end credits. But I've never perfected the achievements in a retail game before. Now, I did it in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. And it's the third time I've played the game.
The first time I played that game I completed it with my brother, dain bramage, in co-op on the Playstation 2. We completed all the Lego Star Wars games together on the PS2 and when we found out those games were out for the Xbox 360 we doubled up and got those games again for the achievements. We knew what we were in for since we had already played the game and thought it would be a piece of cake to play those games again and get that allusive 1,000 perfect gamerscore.
So, for a second time I started playing the game. This time we were working mostly on our own. We did get together to play the arcade mini-game so we could get that achievement. Other than that I've been playing the game alone. And I don't remember it being that hard to complete. Unfortunately some jackass(es) broke in to my house about 6 years ago and stole all my games . . . and more importantly my game saves and memory cards. They stole a lot of items, but they also stole hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of my life in game saves.
At the time I was robbed I only had 2 achievements left to earn. The one for collecting all Gold Bricks and the one for completing the game to 100%. The last achievement I had earned was to get all the Mini-kits, which I had earned about a month or so before I was robbed. I was that close to finishing the game. But once I got all my stuff back, I had to decide if I was going to start the game over for a third time just for those last 2 achievements. I had to make that decision for several games (Lost Odyssey being one I was about 4 hours away from finishing based on friend's estimates).
I didn't make that decision right away because just the thought of it overwhelmed me. All those game saves lost. Pieces of time ripped right out of my life with no hope of ever getting those moments back. Did I want to do it all over again? For every game? Was it worth it?
I've always wanted to perfect a game and I figured that Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga would probably be my best bet. So I restarted the game . . . for a third time. I would play the game when I was interested so there were times when I didn't pick up the game for months. When I finally get all my shit together to start recording gameplay and posting to YouTube I made a decision that I would use that medium to motivate me to finish the game and finally perfect it. It worked.
Even when I didn't want to play the game anymore I knew I had to make a video to post online. So I took out the game and played it. There are times in the videos that you can probably tell how frustrated I was getting with the game. A lot of that came from the fact that I was replaying it for the 3rd time and I thought it would be easier. It wasn't sometimes. And that made it more frustrating for me. But on Sunday night I finally finished the last missions and the game showed me 100% completion. Except the achievement didn't pop right away.
The same thing happened when I "earned" the achievement for getting all the Gold Bricks. The game showed I had all the Gold Bricks (160 of them) and it let me build the fountain, but didn't give me the achievement. I had to go in and complete a level before the achievement would pop. The 100% achievement did the same thing. Can I tell you how anti-climatic that is? You work really hard and play the game for over 60 hours (for a third time), finally earn the final achievement but the game doesn't give it to you unless you do something else instead. And you couldn't just jump in a level and jump out. No. You had to play and complete the level. Just give me my damn achievement! I earned it.
I played the extra level and finally got the achievement to pop. Woohoo!!! I did it. I perfected the game. Below is a breakout of the levels you have to play to complete the game. Since I didn't do very well in some of the levels I had to replay some of them multiple times. That hellish Into the Deathstar blue barrels flight mission was the worst. I think I played that level more than 20 times before I could get all the barrels in the time limit.
36 Story based levels (6 per movie)
36 Freeplay based levels (6 per movie)
36 blue barrel levels (6 per movie)
12 extra movie based levels (2 per movie)
36 "Super Story" based levels
6 extra game based levels (including revised levels, Lego City and New Town)
That's a total of 162 unique levels to play. You can't say the game doesn't offer up enough content. Even if it's the same 36 levels over and over and over and over again. But at least it's done. In the Lego Star Wars II game the only achievements I haven't earned are to play the vehicle missions without dying (and you can't have any extras turned on). I think I'll wait on working on those achievements until sometime later. I'm a little burned out on Lego Star Wars right now. (But if any of my friends would like to jump in to my game save and see if all my achievements will pop up for them in their game, let me know. It will cost you an hour of multiplayer game play in a game of your choosing [provided that I own that game]).
The closer I got to finishing the game the more I decided to set myself a goal and reward. I would finish the game by the end of July (actually finished it August 2nd) and reward myself with finally buying an Xbox One. I refused to buy and Xbox One until I had completed, or perfected, a game on the Xbox 360. Now that I've accomplished that, I can finally get my XBO. I get paid on Friday so look for me online this weekend on my new system. I earned it.
Now, technically I've "finished" several retail titles. Meaning I've finished the story and gotten to the end credits. But I've never perfected the achievements in a retail game before. Now, I did it in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. And it's the third time I've played the game.
The first time I played that game I completed it with my brother, dain bramage, in co-op on the Playstation 2. We completed all the Lego Star Wars games together on the PS2 and when we found out those games were out for the Xbox 360 we doubled up and got those games again for the achievements. We knew what we were in for since we had already played the game and thought it would be a piece of cake to play those games again and get that allusive 1,000 perfect gamerscore.
So, for a second time I started playing the game. This time we were working mostly on our own. We did get together to play the arcade mini-game so we could get that achievement. Other than that I've been playing the game alone. And I don't remember it being that hard to complete. Unfortunately some jackass(es) broke in to my house about 6 years ago and stole all my games . . . and more importantly my game saves and memory cards. They stole a lot of items, but they also stole hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of my life in game saves.
At the time I was robbed I only had 2 achievements left to earn. The one for collecting all Gold Bricks and the one for completing the game to 100%. The last achievement I had earned was to get all the Mini-kits, which I had earned about a month or so before I was robbed. I was that close to finishing the game. But once I got all my stuff back, I had to decide if I was going to start the game over for a third time just for those last 2 achievements. I had to make that decision for several games (Lost Odyssey being one I was about 4 hours away from finishing based on friend's estimates).
I didn't make that decision right away because just the thought of it overwhelmed me. All those game saves lost. Pieces of time ripped right out of my life with no hope of ever getting those moments back. Did I want to do it all over again? For every game? Was it worth it?
I've always wanted to perfect a game and I figured that Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga would probably be my best bet. So I restarted the game . . . for a third time. I would play the game when I was interested so there were times when I didn't pick up the game for months. When I finally get all my shit together to start recording gameplay and posting to YouTube I made a decision that I would use that medium to motivate me to finish the game and finally perfect it. It worked.
Even when I didn't want to play the game anymore I knew I had to make a video to post online. So I took out the game and played it. There are times in the videos that you can probably tell how frustrated I was getting with the game. A lot of that came from the fact that I was replaying it for the 3rd time and I thought it would be easier. It wasn't sometimes. And that made it more frustrating for me. But on Sunday night I finally finished the last missions and the game showed me 100% completion. Except the achievement didn't pop right away.
The same thing happened when I "earned" the achievement for getting all the Gold Bricks. The game showed I had all the Gold Bricks (160 of them) and it let me build the fountain, but didn't give me the achievement. I had to go in and complete a level before the achievement would pop. The 100% achievement did the same thing. Can I tell you how anti-climatic that is? You work really hard and play the game for over 60 hours (for a third time), finally earn the final achievement but the game doesn't give it to you unless you do something else instead. And you couldn't just jump in a level and jump out. No. You had to play and complete the level. Just give me my damn achievement! I earned it.
I played the extra level and finally got the achievement to pop. Woohoo!!! I did it. I perfected the game. Below is a breakout of the levels you have to play to complete the game. Since I didn't do very well in some of the levels I had to replay some of them multiple times. That hellish Into the Deathstar blue barrels flight mission was the worst. I think I played that level more than 20 times before I could get all the barrels in the time limit.
36 Story based levels (6 per movie)
36 Freeplay based levels (6 per movie)
36 blue barrel levels (6 per movie)
12 extra movie based levels (2 per movie)
36 "Super Story" based levels
6 extra game based levels (including revised levels, Lego City and New Town)
That's a total of 162 unique levels to play. You can't say the game doesn't offer up enough content. Even if it's the same 36 levels over and over and over and over again. But at least it's done. In the Lego Star Wars II game the only achievements I haven't earned are to play the vehicle missions without dying (and you can't have any extras turned on). I think I'll wait on working on those achievements until sometime later. I'm a little burned out on Lego Star Wars right now. (But if any of my friends would like to jump in to my game save and see if all my achievements will pop up for them in their game, let me know. It will cost you an hour of multiplayer game play in a game of your choosing [provided that I own that game]).
The closer I got to finishing the game the more I decided to set myself a goal and reward. I would finish the game by the end of July (actually finished it August 2nd) and reward myself with finally buying an Xbox One. I refused to buy and Xbox One until I had completed, or perfected, a game on the Xbox 360. Now that I've accomplished that, I can finally get my XBO. I get paid on Friday so look for me online this weekend on my new system. I earned it.
Friday, September 20, 2013
150 points of Zombie killin'
So a long lost friend of mine (I'm looking at you HellWeasel) came back to gaming recently and we got together to play something . . . anything. We settled on Left 4 Dead. You know the first one. The one released in 2008. Yep. That one.
I had only played through the first campaign and thought I should give that game a go. Since I have a tendency to not know where I need to go in that game unless I'm playing with someone who actually knows what they are doing it was nice to have someone actually want to play with me in an old game. We played through all of the missions I hadn't done, or should I say finished, because of those missions looked very familiar. At the end of the night I had earned 150 Gamerpoints some of which were things I had done not related to finishing the mission.
I had to wait until we were done playing before I could look at them to see what I got because there's just so many zombies coming at you that you really do have to fight for your life. And if you're Weasell that means every special infected comes straight for you. I could be standing next to a spitter but they would attack Weasell. Made things a little easier for me but not for him. The good news was I was able to revive him a few times which counts towards another achievement. I figure if I play with him a few more times I'll have that one in the bag.
I'm thinking about trying some multiplayer action in that game (once I can get my account gold again). Anyone up for some head bashing, gut busting, zombie killing, friendly fights? If so just hit me up . . . unless we're on the same team.
I had only played through the first campaign and thought I should give that game a go. Since I have a tendency to not know where I need to go in that game unless I'm playing with someone who actually knows what they are doing it was nice to have someone actually want to play with me in an old game. We played through all of the missions I hadn't done, or should I say finished, because of those missions looked very familiar. At the end of the night I had earned 150 Gamerpoints some of which were things I had done not related to finishing the mission.
I had to wait until we were done playing before I could look at them to see what I got because there's just so many zombies coming at you that you really do have to fight for your life. And if you're Weasell that means every special infected comes straight for you. I could be standing next to a spitter but they would attack Weasell. Made things a little easier for me but not for him. The good news was I was able to revive him a few times which counts towards another achievement. I figure if I play with him a few more times I'll have that one in the bag.
I'm thinking about trying some multiplayer action in that game (once I can get my account gold again). Anyone up for some head bashing, gut busting, zombie killing, friendly fights? If so just hit me up . . . unless we're on the same team.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
NEW POLL! - How much of a game do you finish?
Surprise! Surprise! I have a new poll. It's brought on by something someone said here combined with something someone else said . . . well, elsewhere, of course. It's been up for awhile but I forgot to do a post telling you about it. Anyway, so here it is:
How much of a game do you finish?You have until 5/16 to vote. Please do.
I play out everything 100%
I play to get to the end credits, nothing more
I play until I can't beat a boss/challenge
I play as long as I like the game
Sunday, September 2, 2007
The best laid plans of mice and gamers
It's been one year since my brother and I have made a pact to finish one game for each system we own in common (see my original blog post) and still neither one of us has finished any one of those games. And to be honest, on some of them we haven't made a lot of progress either.
It was a great idea at the time and I still think it's at least a good idea but times change. People change. And there's more games out there to buy and play. If I spent all my time playing just those four games then my other 300+ are looking more and more like expensive drink coasters. Or dust collectors.
So I'm at a crossroads. A dilemma in my quest to not just play all my games but to finish some of them too. It's the start of the gaming world bonanza when all the publishers and developers start releasing their long sought after games before the holiday season. Games like BioShock, Hale 3, Blue Dragon, Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect. There's a whole lot of others coming out in addition to those that at $60 a pop your budget can take a mighty big hit between now and Christmas. And I'm trying to save up for a condo. So I'm left to decide between a condo or more games.
A place of my own, to decorate how I want or countless hours of entertainment? With a condo comes more bills and responsibility. With new games comes more that I probably won't finish. I want both. But I also want to finish the games I've already got. I could set a rule that I can't buy another game until I finish one I already have. Well, we all know how well I've been doing on that front. The best laid plans or mice and gamers, eh?
Speaking of "best laid plans" I know I promised a list of my favorite games for each system but I'm having some difficulties with my choices for some of the systems. For the Xbox and Xbox 360 I just can't seem to narrow my choices to a manageable list. For the Super Nintendo and N64 I just thought I had more games than that. I finally completed (but I'm hoping that's not true) my inventory of Super Nintendo and N64 games and I was less than impressed. Only twenty games for the N64? Was the system worth it if all I got were those twenty games? I'm still thinking about things and I'm sure I can put together a list for each of those systems. The problem I'm having with my Game Boy Advance is all the "game ports" I have. Do I only count originals? I hope to put the next list up sometime soon. Stayed tunes. And feel free to argue for or against the ones I've picked for the Playstation and PS2.
It was a great idea at the time and I still think it's at least a good idea but times change. People change. And there's more games out there to buy and play. If I spent all my time playing just those four games then my other 300+ are looking more and more like expensive drink coasters. Or dust collectors.
So I'm at a crossroads. A dilemma in my quest to not just play all my games but to finish some of them too. It's the start of the gaming world bonanza when all the publishers and developers start releasing their long sought after games before the holiday season. Games like BioShock, Hale 3, Blue Dragon, Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect. There's a whole lot of others coming out in addition to those that at $60 a pop your budget can take a mighty big hit between now and Christmas. And I'm trying to save up for a condo. So I'm left to decide between a condo or more games.
A place of my own, to decorate how I want or countless hours of entertainment? With a condo comes more bills and responsibility. With new games comes more that I probably won't finish. I want both. But I also want to finish the games I've already got. I could set a rule that I can't buy another game until I finish one I already have. Well, we all know how well I've been doing on that front. The best laid plans or mice and gamers, eh?
Speaking of "best laid plans" I know I promised a list of my favorite games for each system but I'm having some difficulties with my choices for some of the systems. For the Xbox and Xbox 360 I just can't seem to narrow my choices to a manageable list. For the Super Nintendo and N64 I just thought I had more games than that. I finally completed (but I'm hoping that's not true) my inventory of Super Nintendo and N64 games and I was less than impressed. Only twenty games for the N64? Was the system worth it if all I got were those twenty games? I'm still thinking about things and I'm sure I can put together a list for each of those systems. The problem I'm having with my Game Boy Advance is all the "game ports" I have. Do I only count originals? I hope to put the next list up sometime soon. Stayed tunes. And feel free to argue for or against the ones I've picked for the Playstation and PS2.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The Highs and Lows of Finishing a Game
I know I've been working on my favorite games for each system and I promise I'll get back to those lists. I have notes and all the games for the remaining systems but I've been thinking about others things. Maybe I'll do a second post today with a list.
One of the other things I've been thinking about is finishing games. Since that's what started this whole blog I think it's only natural that this topic comes up every now and then. Unfortunately neither my brother or I have finished the agreed upon games. I even had to restart Final Fantasy VII because I accidentally sold a materia that you can only get from one place . . . and I've lost access to that place. And since those Mega Materia (or whatever they're called) are only good if you've mastered all types of the same materia I had to start the game over so I could get . . . and keep . . . that missing materia. So although I haven't finish the designated games I have finished other ones.
Both of the games I've finished have been Xbox Live Arcade games. The first one was Jewel Quest. When I started playing I thought it was a fun game that I would return to every now and then. I certainly wasn't setting out to finish it, come hell or high water. But after playing one particular level and losing about 10 times I was damned if I was going to let a stupid game get the better of me. It became a mission to finish the game. Every time I got stuck on a level and burned through all my lives I screamed as my score was reset to zero. Each achievement unlocked was a thrilling victory for me over the computer. But the payout in the end wasn't as exciting as I would have liked.
About 2 levels from the last one I was burning through lives like crazy. I knew I was close to the end but I couldn't seem to get past this one level. When I finally made it past I figured the last two level would be even harder. The next level only took 2 attempts to get through and then I was faced with the final level. Only one grid stood between me and a finished game. Less than 2 minutes later I was done. I got through the last level on the first attempt and apparently triggered a cascading domino effect that almost cleared the whole board in a single move. Yes, I finished the game and after all my hard work on previous level it seemed a little anticlimactic.
The second game I finished was Hardwood Backgammon. Some of the achievements I unlocked without even knowing what they were. Some I unlocked through the normal course of playing the game and some I had to really work for. The hardest being the "win 10 games in a row." I tried doing this against humans but that was a complete mistake. So I set the AI to easy and tried grinding it out in single player. The problem I had was the longer I played the more careless I got. After winning 7 in a row I'd lose a game and have to start the streak all over again. I finally limited myself to playing only 2 games a night. It took awhile but eventually I got the 10 game and 25 game winning streak achievements.
And while it's great to finish a game, what about those games I won't be able to finish (or at least get all the achievements)? I don't have a vision camera so I can't get the face mapping achievement in Rainbow 6: Vegas. With all the boosting going on in Chromehounds I'll never get any of the Gold medals. And don't remind me that I missed a golden, and tiny, window of opportunity when Sal Kar's Secret Weapon came out. When will I get that chance again? Then there's achievements like "play this game online with someone who has 'the mingler' (or another special designation)" Hell, if I were a person who had it I'd never play that game online again. It's a rare achievement to get so why would I want to pass that along?
It's great finishing a game, but then I'm always reminded of all the ones I haven't finish and some I may never finish. I guess I have to take the highs with the lows when it comes to finishing games.
One of the other things I've been thinking about is finishing games. Since that's what started this whole blog I think it's only natural that this topic comes up every now and then. Unfortunately neither my brother or I have finished the agreed upon games. I even had to restart Final Fantasy VII because I accidentally sold a materia that you can only get from one place . . . and I've lost access to that place. And since those Mega Materia (or whatever they're called) are only good if you've mastered all types of the same materia I had to start the game over so I could get . . . and keep . . . that missing materia. So although I haven't finish the designated games I have finished other ones.
Both of the games I've finished have been Xbox Live Arcade games. The first one was Jewel Quest. When I started playing I thought it was a fun game that I would return to every now and then. I certainly wasn't setting out to finish it, come hell or high water. But after playing one particular level and losing about 10 times I was damned if I was going to let a stupid game get the better of me. It became a mission to finish the game. Every time I got stuck on a level and burned through all my lives I screamed as my score was reset to zero. Each achievement unlocked was a thrilling victory for me over the computer. But the payout in the end wasn't as exciting as I would have liked.
About 2 levels from the last one I was burning through lives like crazy. I knew I was close to the end but I couldn't seem to get past this one level. When I finally made it past I figured the last two level would be even harder. The next level only took 2 attempts to get through and then I was faced with the final level. Only one grid stood between me and a finished game. Less than 2 minutes later I was done. I got through the last level on the first attempt and apparently triggered a cascading domino effect that almost cleared the whole board in a single move. Yes, I finished the game and after all my hard work on previous level it seemed a little anticlimactic.
The second game I finished was Hardwood Backgammon. Some of the achievements I unlocked without even knowing what they were. Some I unlocked through the normal course of playing the game and some I had to really work for. The hardest being the "win 10 games in a row." I tried doing this against humans but that was a complete mistake. So I set the AI to easy and tried grinding it out in single player. The problem I had was the longer I played the more careless I got. After winning 7 in a row I'd lose a game and have to start the streak all over again. I finally limited myself to playing only 2 games a night. It took awhile but eventually I got the 10 game and 25 game winning streak achievements.
And while it's great to finish a game, what about those games I won't be able to finish (or at least get all the achievements)? I don't have a vision camera so I can't get the face mapping achievement in Rainbow 6: Vegas. With all the boosting going on in Chromehounds I'll never get any of the Gold medals. And don't remind me that I missed a golden, and tiny, window of opportunity when Sal Kar's Secret Weapon came out. When will I get that chance again? Then there's achievements like "play this game online with someone who has 'the mingler' (or another special designation)" Hell, if I were a person who had it I'd never play that game online again. It's a rare achievement to get so why would I want to pass that along?
It's great finishing a game, but then I'm always reminded of all the ones I haven't finish and some I may never finish. I guess I have to take the highs with the lows when it comes to finishing games.
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