After hours of intensive investigative procedure, Spink and I discovered that one of BZP's most known members has a dark secret.
[19:18] Spink: Amazingly, super duper thriller post posted... now
[19:19] ExoFat: Sooo epic
[19:19] Spink: I know.
[19:20] ExoFat: Well, my epic post beats yours
[19:20] Spink: lol
[19:22] Spink: yay a longer post
[19:29] ExoFat: Bah
[19:30] Spink: hab
[19:30] ExoFat: Abh
[19:30] Spink: hba
[19:30] ExoFat: Bha
[19:30] Spink: Bfa!
[19:30] ExoFat:
[19:30] Spink: Indeed
[19:30] ExoFat: Everything seems to lead to him >_>
[19:31] Spink: So I have noticed.
[19:31] Spink: 'cept this; fgyuhufbib
[19:31] Spink: that leads to bib apparently
[19:32] ExoFat: Oo
[19:32] ExoFat: No
[19:32] ExoFat: fgyuhufbib
[19:32] ExoFat: fbib
[19:32] ExoFat: fbi
[19:32] ExoFat: Bfi
[19:33] ExoFat: Bfa
[19:33] ExoFat: It leads to the FBI!
[19:33] Spink: o m g
[19:33] Spink: Bfa is part of the FBI
[19:33] Spink: =O
[19:33] ExoFat: Oo
Snape kills Dumbledore.
Harry kills Snape.
Voldy kills Harry.
Ron kills Voldy.
Bellatrix kills Ron.
Hermoine kills Bellatrix.
Krum commits suicide.
Suicide kills all wizards.
Dudley kills everyone else.
Dudley has a heart attack.
Meteor kills planet.
Universe explodes.
Keyboard cat reigns.
All your base are belong to him. B)
Today should be a day that not only Americans celebrate but everyone. For me, today symbolizes not only America's freedom but all other people who seek it. Maybe someday, people can live freely without fear and oppression. Besides, even if you're not American or into the whole freedom thing. Today is still a great day to go swimming or invite people over for a barbeque.
I'd like to give a big thank you to all who voted for Abyssal Plain in RPGC14. Especially the Abyssers who campaigned tirelessly, and the first time voters who came out for it. Thanks to all of your efforts, AP took first place and dominated the polls. I owe you one.
The Conduit
My name is Michael Ford. I'm probably the only one left who knows the truth. I know... because I was there.
Review:
Now, I don't play many FPSs or shooters in general, so The Conduit was an eye opening experience as to what exactly I'm missing. I got the chance last night to play through nearly half the single player campaign and even squeeze in a few rounds of online. Take a look below to see my thoughts.
Pros: Intense, fast paced story mode, some really good plot twists. The controls are hands down the best I've ever seen in any video game, period. The rendering of national monuments looks fantastic, as well as all of the guns, the ASE, your hand, the enemies, and the conduit portals. The soundtrack is good. Multiplayer is very addictive.
Cons: Story is a little cliche. Single player is not the greatest thing ever, but it's good. Exploration is somewhat but not a major part of the game. Very similar enemies all throughout. When you're not in a monument or outside, the environment look rather bland. Not much interaction. Good music tracks not used as often as I would like. Dying sounds like getting beat with a frying pan.
Story: The single player places you as Michael Ford, a secret service agent whow as inducted into an organization known as the Trust. Most of the pre-game story isn't explained in the game's opening, but rather in the handbook. There are some very interesting twists, like the one outside the Jefferson Memorial for starters, that prevent this from being the same old "save the world from aliens" type of game we've all seen before. Now, because I don't play very many FPSs the whole thing was actually rather refreshing. In some places I had no idea where the story would lead. However, to veteran shooters, this game's story may seem that it is a little clihe, and boring until you get to a dramatic plot twist.
Gameplay: Very much a run and gun, linear game. Think Perfect Dark. And in being a linear shooter with light exploration and puzzle elements it suceeds very well. Don't go into this thinking you'll find a Metroid Prime scale adventure. You'll be dissapointed. It is however, loads of fun to just mindlessly gun down enemies. Especially with some of the 1-hit kill weapons you may find along the way. The Conduit is slightly repetitive. Some of the same general level layouts are recycled a few times, but overall I found it to be rather enjoyable. It's also not one of those games with absolutely incredible physics or such. It plays alot like an old school shooter.
The game isn't overly difficult ( I never once ran out of ammo), but it has it's challenges. The Jefferson Memorial in particular was really hard for me. What it is is that there are four Conduits inside the memorial that you have to blow up, as well as all the enemies, and the defend yourself from attacking hordes as you wait to be rescued. It's a lot more dificult than it sounds But overall it was a moderately challenging experience.
The controls are absolutely amazing. I'm sure by now you know that you can customize every bit of them. So I'll skip talking about that part. One gripe I had with it was some of the awkward button placement. Often, I would accidentally throw grenades and kill myself, due to a movement of the Nunchuck. I suggest mapping Grenades to Down on the Control Pad, then map Zoom to Up, and 180 Spin to Nunchuk shake. This made things a whole lot easier.
One final thing I have to comment on is lack of a radar in the single player. Many times I often find myself being hit by hidden snipers from behind, without any inkling of where they are. There's one in multi, but in single it would be greatly appreciated.
Graphics: Many things in the game look incredible. Hands, guns, ASE, aliens, and monuments come to mind. I also have to mention the water. The water is IMO near HD quality. Simply amazing effects. The environments in a few areas, though are rather bland and repetitive. They recycle most of the enemies graphics with only slight variations throughout. Overall, many of the things look great, but I wouldn't put it on the same graphical level as Galaxy or Prime 3.
Sound: The soundtrack is good, especially the title screen music. My only few gripes is that the really good tracks aren't used often enough. Leaving you with a many more boring tracks than great ones. The SFX are good. The guns sound okay enough. The aliens grunt and moan and scream. All that good stuff. The voice acting is pretty good, though I think the best actor of the bunch is the guy who voices Prometheus. Overall, the sound isn't the best part but it's up to par.
Multiplayer: There's no split screen mode, but online is very versatile. I enjoyed it alot even though I sucked majorly at it. You can vote on weapons, stage, and play mode. There are over ten different play modes broken down into Free For All and Teams. I experienced no lag whatsoever in the random matches I played. In fact, it played exactly like playing the regular game. This is very addictive, and a good online component is a major plus for any Wii game.
Overall: The Conduit is a solid shooter. It's by no means perfect, but it is very very enjoyable. I hope that the sequel will improve upon a lot of the issues. IMO the best FPS on Wii, even if the Single Player may be somewhat lacking. With the Controls, Online, and the amazing weapons set the game is ready to become the Perfect Dark for Wii. If you haven't bought it now, go and purchase it for two reasons.
1. The Multiplayer is better than Brawl, better than Mario Kart. It's the best, hands down.
2. The more people who buy it, the more developers will be encouraged to produce this kind of amazing game on the Wii.
Go! Buy! Buy!
Questions:
1. What are your two favorite and two least favorite weapons?
2. What would you like to see in a sequel?
3. Should we petition a COT Forum Leader for an Official Conduit Topic?
1. Faves: Deatomizer, Strike Rifle. Hates: SMAW, SMAW, SMAW, SMAW, SMAW, SMAW, oh and those little Flash Grenades.
2. Split Screen, an updated engine like in HVS's The Grinder, Vehicles, and a better storyline.
So, because I was off at camp over my birthday my parents decided to let me pick out two games as presents. I chose The Conduit and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. I have to tell you, Wii Motion Plus is possibly the most amazing thing I have ever used in a video game. The realism is amazing. PGA 10 is without a doubt the greatest golf game I've ever played.
Aloha everyone. I'm back online and ready to have loads of fun murdering helpless civilians as they waddle down the paved roadways carting multiple bags of assorted groceries. I still require recaps from Sisen and CJ so pay up Here's my agenda so far.
- Imagine will get posted for approval June 23rd
- A new chapter of The BIONICLE Story Team will get posted June 24th
- Abyssal Plain will dominate everything except BZProvince in the RPGC polls. Unfortunately it is not quite dominating quite as I would like. So go and vote! However, if AP doesn't work out I still have a few tricks up my sleeve for next a contest that I had decided to put on hold this time around. Specifically a project entitled Naming Day....
- The Conduit comes out June 23rd. All Wii owners must go and purchase!
- FCG1 ends July 12th. My entry should be posted by the 4th.
- I owe both the ECC and the CCC a boatload of reviews. I'll get around to them... someday....
- I've decided on my EC8 entry and plan to have it up some time before July 20th.
- Practice for the school band. Our first formal rehersal is July 15th
- Finish half of a Geometry course so that I can take Algebra II this coming year.
- Get a new computer cuz this one stinks.. literally...
- Get tickets to Harry Potter 6 and Transformers 2.
- Obtain Life Scout by November.
That's pretty much it So yeah.. there's alot on my plate, lol. Leader's new game looks great, and Wrack's idea for an RTSRPG is utterly brilliant.
Hey guys. I'll be gone June 13th through June 20th at scout camp. Don't expect me back online until probably the 22nd. Kini and LewaLew are going to take care of Abyss while I'm gone, and I expect full recaps from CJ and Sisen when I get back. No doubt BZProvince will have jumped over 9000 pages.
Also, kewl things to wait for upon my return:
- Imagine will get posted for approval June 23rd
- A new chapter of The BIONICLE Story Team will get posted June 24th
- Abyssal Plain will dominate everything except BZProvince in the RPGC polls.
Oh, and be sure to make me a birthday topic, even though I won't be here for it. Or else...
I'm entering. The fact that we have two whole months to wok on a single chapter re-write really makes it for me. Now to decide on what chapter to use...
Oh, and check out my latest epic The BIONICLE Story Team. If you want to learn the story for the FCG that is coming in a few weeks I suggest you read up.
The black water beckons as the light is quenched. There is only one way to go. Down. Step into the abyss, where there is nothing down below...
Explore the world of Mahri-Nui as the Undercity is filled with turmoil. Join one of many different factions as you fight for freedom and power. This is the last stand of the Matoran race and all have been doomed to the abyss..
I saw Up this afternoon. What an emotional film! I actually cried twice, once at the beginning when his wife died, and then at the end when he's looking through her old "adventure book". The animation was stunning, the humor was great, and the underlying theme was simple and sweet. Not to mention a hilarious Star Wars reference Go see Up if you haven't already.
My Pixar Rankings:
1. Ratatouille
2. Toy Story 2
3. Up
4. Wall-E
5. Finding Nemo
6. Toy Story
7. Monster's Inc
8. The Incredibles
9. Cars
10. A Bug's Life
Any other Pixar fans out there who want to show off their favorites list?
So.. down here in AZ at around 12:04 p.m I completed my final final Yayz, summer is starting! Now I have time to work on projects like The BIONICLE Story Team, Imagine, and Abyssal Plain. And, of course, continue to work on Abyss. I want to break 45, maybe 50 pages by the end of the season.
So, as RPGC 14 fast approaches, one has to think about the many possible amazing entries that will be going up around that time. June will be a rather sporadic month for me, so I won't be around to analyze the contest day by day. Inside, I'm still debating whether or not I should re-enter Abyss.
Here's the situation:
- I'm leaving homeschool, and going to an actual highschool next school year. This will dampen my time on BZP.
- The school year starts in July because Arizonans are werd like that.
- Abyss may not win.
My question to you guys is thus:
How do you think Abyss is doing right now? Do you think I should re-enter? Do you think I have a chance of reclaiming my title?
I'll still make an independant decision on this. I'd just like to know what you think.
A teaser trailer (meaning, no gameplay footage just yet ) for an upcoming game of mine, built from the ground up on RMVX.
Many of you may know the extreme limitations of the VX platform. However, I believe that I have discovered a way around these blockades, and have crafted a game that is technologically impressive, an excellent challenge to the average BZP gamer, and has an intruiging and heart warming story. In my belief it is on the cutting edge of BIONICLE FCG RPGs.
They finally changed the colors I was about to get seizures from the yellow if they didn't change it. Good thing they did, or B6 would have had to foot my medical bill
