Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1567https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5053So I decided I was going to take the time to move my Xbox to the "nice" TV in the house. The one I thought was off-limits for all game consoles.. turns out all I had to do was ask.. Oh well, better late than never seeing I'm moving back to school in less than two weeks anyway. So with the the Xbox connected to the new TV and speaker system, I was very excited to see this game in all of it's HD glory. However, there was one minor set back.. I could not get the darn thing to connect to my wireless. The little wireless USB doohickey that came with my Xbox refused to fully connect.. though for some reason I got through the security key phase just fine. So leaving that problem unsolved, I moved on without the beloved Xbox Live access. No matter.. I decided I would play offline anyway. In goes the Forza disc! (Side-note: Developer logos that appear at the launch of every game almost always have impeccable sound quality and unique WOW! factors at high volume levels.) I decided to try a different game mode. A game mode that would truly take advantage of this new gaming environment. I chose the Autovista game mode. Basically, Autovista is where the player can explore the exterior and interior of a couple dozen cars in the game. The cars available are much much more detailed than other vehicles in the game. My parents were in the room as I was looking at the Ferrari 458 Italia and they were blown away by the detail. The reflections on the bodies of these cars are absolutely perfect, you can see the stitching in the interior, and every time I try this game mode, my jaw drops. Along with being able to poke around with the car, you can also receive audio commentary on different design aspects of the vehicle and most of the time there is a funny blurb of the car spoken by the host of TopGear. It turns out that this game mode can be surprisingly educational. (A Bugatti Veyron 16.4 priced at $1.8 million needs its tires changed every 2,500 miles at a cost of $35k-50k per set.. and the famous DMC DeLorean takes a wimpy 10.6 seconds to reach 60 mph with its V6 engine.. among many other interesting facts I've learned). Another entertaining thing to do in this mode is to climb into an exotic car and turn the key. The engine roars/screams to life in spectacular audio clarity. Come to think of it, I think Autovista was one of Forza 4's strongest selling points. I'm glad I got to experience it for myself.Mon, 13 Aug 2012 12:44:35 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5053&iddiary=9321https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5053This game deserves to be logged under my name for a single reason... It is my favorite racing series and even after months I still pick it up every couple days. Much of my gaming over the past couple years has been eaten up by both Forza 3 and Forza 4. Many aspects of this game set it aside from other racers (at least in my taste). (1) Wide audience - The variety of racing options allow players of all skill levels to enjoy the game. I play on full simulation at "professional" difficulty. My roommate played it at default arcade settings and thoroughly enjoyed the racing experience, even with the racing wheel. (2) Variety - There are hundreds of cars available out of the box. And downloadable car packs every month for even more variety. Classic, muscle, import, luxury, truck, sport, super cars, up to full fledged race cars. (3) Upgrades - Cars that you own can be tweaked in virtually every way. From performance parts to fine tuning of gear ratios or tire pressures, you can have complete control over the performance of your vehicles. (4) Beautiful Graphics - The graphics are incredible. The cars basically come to life off the tracks, and the environments are detailed to boot. Game performance is always smooth. (5) Community - The Forza Motorsport community is huge and highly active. With this community comes an economy. There are painters, designers, tuners, photographers, and you can even record clips of replays (the movie makers). Anything that can be created in the game (besides photos and movies) can be sold or shared with others. On top of that, there is a booming auction house where players can sell off their cars for some extra game credits. Dozens of cars are being bought off auction every minute. Personally, I have upwards of 500 downloads on my own car vinyls (I would call myself a Painter in this community.. making video game logos and the like.. ) All in all, the community is strong and isn't showing any signs otherwise. If you like racing games, I advise you give Forza Motorsport 4 a shot. Forza Horizon is around the corner, but try it and I can almost guarantee you'll enjoy it. Gamertag: "NISMO Knight 7" (In case anyone here plays XBox..) (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:03:49.)Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:02:40 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5053&iddiary=9320https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5043SHORT ENTRY! My situation and goals haven't changed too much. Still running time trials. I have 7 out of 20 left. It's even more difficult than before..Fri, 03 Aug 2012 13:57:18 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5043&iddiary=9315https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5043I beat WizPig for the final time and have begun running time trials. The purpose of the time trials is so I can unlock T.T. as a racer for 100% completion. This is proving to be very VERY difficult. I have to get record time in every single race track. It is honestly taking me forever! I've learned that in order to beat the set times, I would have to drive absolutely perfect on every course. One missed zipper.. missed bananas.. off-road.. even the boost at the start makes the difference. So far I have beaten 7 course times and not a single one have I beaten it by more than 0.6 seconds. Diddy Kong Racing is literally the most difficult game I have ever attempted to 100% complete. That is something I would have never imagined me saying..Thu, 02 Aug 2012 09:01:08 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5043&iddiary=9311https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5043So, it turns out there is more to this game than I previously expected. I beat the final boss, Wizpig (it must have taken me at least 45 minutes). Wizpig flies off in a spaceship and at that point I thought I had beaten the game and scared him off... NOPE! Having beaten all of the available trophy races, I drove around the world honking my horn in celebration. As I was passing by the lighthouse a cinematic started. The lighthouse transformed into a rocket ship and took me into space. It was quite incredible.. I had no idea what was going on, because for all I knew, I had 100% of the game complete. The rocket dropped me off in yet another race lobby. There were four more tracks set in the space theme, and WizPig would have to be defeated yet again. I am absolutely determined to 100% this game. After beating WizPig for the second and final time, I plan on beating times in time trial mode for every track. Doing so will earn me the T.T. as a racer. I already unlocked Drumstick as a racer. THEN and only then, will I have 100% game completion. I never thought I would get into this game as much as I am..Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:31:26 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5043&iddiary=9303https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5043I have been playing this game off and on for the last week or so. I picked it up again for nostalgia's sake, but it is a fun game even now. Diddy Kong Racing is an arcade racer that puts you behind the controls of a kart, hovercraft, or airplane, each drives a little differently. While playing in Adventure mode you must enter different race lobbies or unique themes within the world. The first being a rock theme titled "Dino Domain". The game is similar to Super Mario 64 in that you must acquire a number of items that unlock doors. Golden Balloons replace Power Stars in this comparison. Every lobby area has 6 doors and a trophy case. 4 doors are races, 1 door is the battle, the last door is the boss race, and the trophy case is where you can race all 4 tracks consecutively to end with the top score (tournament style). I find the progression to be very unique. There is actually much more game play than one might initially think. In every race there are banana items that can be picked up, balloons that contain power ups, and speed boosters. Bananas increase your vehicles performance. You can beat all 4 races to race the boss, then you can do the battle race, then you can race all 4 races again but instead of just having to win, you also have to collect 10 specially placed coins AND come in first (very challenging..). After all those are complete, you may race the boss again for a "special prize", after beating the boss you can then complete the trophy races. There's a lot to do, and it can be challenging. There are 4 race lobbies (so 4 bosses) .. each boss gives you a piece of an amulet. When the amulet is complete, you may race the FINAL boss, who I have yet to bet, and to be quite honest, it seems almost impossible.. :/ The final boss' name is WizPig and he is a jerk, but I must beat him. (I play quite a bit of racing games mind you, and I still find the final boss of this arcade racer unfair) (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:06:59.)Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:40:57 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5043&iddiary=9302https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5034I am currently experiencing "Gamer Fatigue" ... whatever that is (read about it on the internet). Not many games are holding my attention, and I'm finding most new games terribly boring.. save a few here and there, but still.. With that said, I am closing this log. I just haven't had the motivation to start it up again, but maybe some day soon I'll get back to it. I guess I could be one of those controversial game critics that butchers most everything and praises a couple.Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:20:56 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5034&iddiary=9301https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5034I bought this game last weekend, but have only picked it up a couple times to play it. The game reminds me so much of Mafia 2, which was also a free roam city set in the 1940's. However, in this game you play as a detective. Not too many games put you in the shoes of a "good guy", and especially not any games from Rockstar. Keyboard and mouse controls are strange, but maybe it'll just take some getting used to. Also, I wish the cinematics were of a little better quality. The face animation is pretty good, certainly not perfected (full body animation looks weird). And all of the women in this game seem to have the same character models but with different make-up and clothing.. Those were the nit picky things. This is still a very fun game, and that loans itself to it being a completely new experience for me. I don't think I've ever played a crime investigation game. I've learned that I really suck at interrogating video game characters..Mon, 09 Jul 2012 08:27:18 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5034&iddiary=9286https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5032I finished the game! It was a long road, almost 25 hours of playtime and I still didn't complete most of the side quests. The final sequence of the game was incredibly difficult (as it should be) but it was still fun to actually see how all your choices played out. One memorable moment I can take from Fallout New Vegas is the WWII bomber flying overhead, blowing the crap out of the Legion's forces. Truly a spectacle! And it wouldn't have happened at all if I hadn't dragged the bomber out of the lake in the first place. (it was a side quest, with a significant outcome in the final battle) It's amazing how you can watch all of your decisions come to fruition in a final battle. Not many games can achieve that. The only negative I have about the ending of this game is you can't go back into the wasteland and play in the aftermath of the Battle of Hoover Dam. I think it would have been a nice touch to plunge you right back into an altered New Vegas. I haven't checked out the DLC for the game yet, maybe that's my answer. All in all, it was a fun and explosive adventure, with an incredibly interesting story to back it up. Take it for a spin yourself!Fri, 06 Jul 2012 07:47:06 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5032&iddiary=9285https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5032Unfortunately, I still haven't acquired enough Science skill points to blow up the Brotherhood's bunker. Oh well, I guess that can wait for a little while. I need 100 Science to do that, and I only have 78. I KNOW WHERE IM PUTTING ALL MY LEVEL UP POINTS NEXT TIME! I spent a lot of my time last play session helping Camp McCarren and Helios I. Camp McCarren being the NCR's base of operations in the area and Helios I being a defunct solar power plant. Helios I is very interesting. Apparantly the Brotherhood of Steel had been there looking for some unknown technology. While being attacked by the NCR to take control of the plant, the Brotherhood just left... they ran away, but why? The NCR has since maintained control of Helios I but hired an idiot for a head scientist.. They were only running on 1% power capactiy! I took it upon myself to get the station up and running to full capacity. Sounded easy, well it wasn't that easy. When the Brotherhood left, they reset the security system to attack anyone in the operations part of the powerplant. Giant robots and turrets were everywhere!... why cant it just be molerats or something easier.. :( I eventually got power back, but learned that Helios I was also home to an experimental weapon codenamed Archemdis. I didn't want to give the NCR the edge with this weapon so I ignored the weapon and sent 100% of the power spread out to the entire New Vegas area. Seemed like the right thing to do. Better than seeing the NCR destroy themselves. I also visited Hoover Dam which was really neat, but I couldn't find anyone worth talking to.. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 11:09:43.)Wed, 04 Jul 2012 11:08:00 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5032&iddiary=9281