Checkpoint for April
04/06/2008 06:15 PM by [THA] Hamst3r
Some days I’m just not in the mood to break open a big name title and get immersed in it’s world. Sometimes I just want a bite-sized morsel of a game so I can quit after one level and not have it matter if I remember what I just did the next time I play.
I’ve gotten far in these titles that I’m playing more casually, so I wanted to share:
Peggle Deluxe:
After completing the main quest there are 15 pages of Master Challenges. 90 challenges in total. I’ve completed 13 of the 15 pages. Some of the final challenges are actually pretty difficult to achieve. I usually play this whenever I’m rendering video, burning CD’s or just wanting to listen to music for a while.

Quake 2: Ground Zero:
This Expansion Pack has 14 missions. I’m on Mission 5 – the Waterfront Storage level. Each mission only takes around 15 to 30 minutes to complete. One mission a month is plenty of oldschool quake action for me. The story is irrelevant and it’s almost impossible to get lost – so this one’s a good quick fix. :)
Ninja Reflex:
This one really has my attention as it’s actually challenging in a way that takes a lot of concentration. Out of the 6 games available in Ninja Reflex, I’m really good at 5 of them…
1. Throwing shuriken at ninjas? No problem.
2. Catching koy in a pond? Easy.
3. Catching glimpses of fireflies? Kid stuff.
4. Catching flies with chopsticks? The Swarm Sort where you have to organize upwards of 26 flies in to colored bowls in under 45 seconds is tough, but the rest are easy.
5. Hitting vegetables and barrels with Nunchucks? Can do.
And for the one I suck at:
6. Blocking and slashing demon samurai with a katana. Not so easy.
I’m apparently horrible at pushing the right button or combination of buttons at the right time. All of the other games have you only using the left click and doing some quick mouse movements.
The Katana game though has you clicking the left and right mouse buttons individually and at the same time, as fast as possible. My mind just doesn’t process the right combination fast enough. Then again, I guess learning how to do that is the whole point of playing this game. :)
Regardless, I’m a 1st degree black belt in the game:

Colin McRae – DiRT:
I’ve completed half of the Tier 4 challenges. I’ve slowed down on playing this one as all of the events are two race events now. There are two things I hate in racing games. Laps and multiple race events. I have no problem doing a sprint on a course that takes 5 minutes…but make me do it twice in a row or even worse, twice in a row only to do it twice in a row again going the opposite direction and you’re going to see one angry Hamst3r.
I like point to point rally. I hate circuit racing and endurance racing. I don’t enjoy going around in a circle 70 times. I see fun in barely making the sharp turns of a twisting dirt road. Narrowly avoiding large rocks and debris on the side of the road. Flying off of jumps and fighting a constantly changing terrain at full speed. That’s fun!
So there you have it. That’s this months checkpoint. :)

