SOCOM 4 Beta

    After a few days of trying to get a code from the socom.com forums giveaways I was finally successful on Friday.  Quite surprisingly I was "instant" reply number 15 of 50 for the day's giveaway. 
    I played a few games after the 1.5 GB downloading and it is very fun.  The game play is very similar feeling to MAG, at least that is what the game modes feeling gives off.  I haven't yet played the "classic" round based play but the respawn play feels very polished.  After one night's playing I can happily say it is a fun game experience and I can only imagine even more fun with a single player campaign and more than 2 online maps.

Sackboy's Prehistoric Moves

Sackboy's Prehistoric Moves title hover-over image.  Great colors combined with an adventurous inviting quality.
Click on the image for a larger view.

SOCOM 4, only one month away!

    With the first wave of beta invites going out a couple days ago out come the youtube videos showing off this game further, and this game looks to be stellar.  Sadly I did not get an invite so I'll have to wait until April 5th when it goes public for a week before launch.  Majority will stick to the "classic" game play Socom is known for, and for good reason, it is unique and rewarding.  Much like MAG you can play respawn as well, although it will probably be unranked like previous Socom games before it making the "classic" modes the core.
    I have been watching numerous videos and the game play mechanics look to be quite similar to MAG, after all this game is made by the same developer.  The biggest difference being this is third-person perspective where MAG is a first-person game.  The environment in this beta level looks close to MAG's graphics, similar colors mixed with familiar looking vegetation.  Pacing looks perfect, appears a tad quicker than MAG and not as fast as twitch shooters like Call of Duty.
    The video below is a good example of the similarities between MAG and Socom 4.  It's a cut montage style, fun nevertheless.

Aces In Spades

    As I was approaching the ninth level I was getting nervous as I didn't want to slip up on the ninth again and break the streak.  I managed to get through the level unscathed but that left one more and I was out of easier levels to ace.  Rather than play one of the later jumping type levels I decided to go with the boss from the Di Vinci (first) world as it is still tricky but slow in progression.  Did I ever go through it slow taking my time watching the timing very carefully for each stage of the boss.

    Looking back now this wasn't as tough as I thought, just simply annoying because I messed up twice on the ninth.  All that remains now is to get one of my levels played fifty unique times.  I very much enjoy trying to make fun levels for others to play, I just don't get much exposure to my levels.  My levels are located here and here, if you have LBP 2 queue them up for the next time you play.

Trophy Visit - Super Stardust HD

     In the first of what will be an on-going series here I am going to revisit some of my trophies I have acquired through the years.  Up first is "Multiplier Hero" from Super Stardust HD, the first game to add-on trophy support when trophies were revealed in 2008.  This particular trophy though I didn't get until almost two years later from my initial dive back into this game for these early trophies.  This one is particularly tough to get as it requires a long sequence of not crashing and restarting your multiplier chain.  About 30 minutes of progressively more difficult gaming to achieve.

    The evening I achieved this trophy I didn't intend to go for this but rather kill some time before bed.  I noticed I was doing well holding my shield for some time nearing an 8x multiplier.  When I got to 9x I was getting nervous, I lost my shield so any stray asteroid would wreck this potential new gold trophy.  I couldn't believe how long it actually took to get to 10x when it happened but as soon as the trophy popped up on screen I crashed from the distraction of looking to upper-right.

 
    This goes along with how I collect trophies and is to not seek out trophies but rather obtain as I play.  Knowing what trophies are out there for the games I play is nearly always in the back of my head as I play, but I will rarely pinpoint out a specific trophy.