martiniii
Joined: January 2010
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Post by martiniii on Feb 25, 2014 3:33:24 GMT
Yes the beams will test your patience. May even seem like you will never get it but very rewarding once you do. I actually ended up skipping the beams. Part of it is that the more attempts I made, the more wonky the hit detection in that room seemed. Twice I got killed when I was absolutely sure that I wasn't anywhere near a beam. The other part is that, when I cleared the first half dozen jumps, and turned to see another half dozen ahead, plus a Kilmaat sentry firing at me while I can't possibly dodge, my doubts that you're actually supposed to go past the lazer beams peaked. Even discounting the hit detection, it's inconceivable that the developers thought a player would make it all the way through those dozens of beams before realizing that you can reach the exit almost from the beginning of the level by using a single Amun bomb. They even put the exit right where you can see it. The more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed that the Amun jump was just a "ninja solution", and the more likely it seemed that the rest of the level, and the lazer beams in particular, are simply a joke on the player. I still wanted to see the rest of the level, so I Amun jumped to the bridge in the next room rather than to the exit. Cleared the rest in one try. The environments leading up to the final boss are quite impressive, and I took a few moments to gawk at them before moving on. The Kilmaatikahn is the coolest looking boss, but also the easiest. What I said earlier about instant deaths holds true here: the fact that all five times I died fighting the Kilmaatikahn were by accidentally walking off the edge of the arena just makes him seem silly. Plus, the lack of any landmarks means you have to put the map on during the fight to have any chance of not falling off. Still an enjoyable fight, with the boss pulling plenty of interesting if not-too-threatening tricks, but I don't like the indication that the danger posed by the evil head honcho is less than the danger you'll accidentally walk off a cliff. I was expecting the game to end after I beat the boss, so it was quite a shock to find that there were still hazards left to overcome! Man, imagine the frustration of missing that jump out of the boss arena. Nonetheless, it's a fun and very immersive way of rounding out the game. The ending was incredibly silly, but I hadn't been expecting much, since from the beginning the story is just an excuse to have the player fight strange creatures in an ancient Egyptian setting. Anyway, the ending theme felt like a sufficient reward for making it through. The tune doesn't fit with the atmosphere of the rest of the soundtrack, but still, it's pleasant. Now I can't wait to play Saturn Quake.
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Post by xDerekRx on Mar 1, 2014 4:37:18 GMT
Enjoyed reading your Powerslave Exhumed updates. Makes me want to replay the game again. A true gem of its time. As for the beams it is beatable and I remember only needing 1 night to do it (although how many attempts I do not recall). No shame in not doing it. I imagine you have the US version so going back and getting all the dolls is pretty fun. Although more beams appear Saturn Quake is also excellent. Keep playing your way though the FPS. I am actually currently playing through Duke Nukem Saturn again as we speak and loving it all over again. Might do Quake or Powerslave next as well.
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martiniii
Joined: January 2010
Posts: 2,112
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Post by martiniii on Mar 3, 2014 1:57:44 GMT
Enjoyed reading your Powerslave Exhumed updates. Makes me want to replay the game again. A true gem of its time. Absolutely, and it's aged incredibly well. The gameplay especially, but aside from the enemies, the graphics don't look particularly dated either. I'm actually going to recommend my brother get a Saturn emulator to play the game, which is something I never do because, while my brother looks back on the old games with fondness, he does not do retrogaming at all. Basically, he likes the advances that gaming has made over the years. (And I certainly can't complain about his tastes - it's how I ended up being the one to inherit our Saturn! ) But I think PowerSlave/Exhumed might impress even him. As for the beams it is beatable and I remember only needing 1 night to do it (although how many attempts I do not recall). No shame in not doing it. I imagine you have the US version so going back and getting all the dolls is pretty fun. Although more beams appear I've never doubted that the beams are beatable, but I've come to doubt that they're really meant to be beaten. Would love to talk to whoever designed that level and find out. Saturn Quake is also excellent. Keep playing your way though the FPS. I am actually currently playing through Duke Nukem Saturn again as we speak and loving it all over again. Might do Quake or Powerslave next as well. Oh, I'm not covering all the first person shooters. I've taken much more of a liking to the old first person shooters than I had back in the day, but I still need something compelling to draw me to one. If nothing else, my experience with Robotica proved that. But I was more than impressed enough with Exhumed to want to see at least one more Lobotomy game. Quake seems the natural pick for that. I'm also a bit interested in Hexen. Funny aside: The next game I went to after finishing Exhumed was Cursed Mountain for the Wii. Now, there was absolutely no thought given to this, and in fact I only chose to play Cursed Mountain now because it's the right time of year (where I live, the chill in the air during these winter evenings is enough to make me feel like I really am climbing a mountain deep in a forsaken patch of the Himalayas). So I'm startled by all the parallels to Exhumed. There's beautiful 3D environments in an exotic setting, clay pots that you smash open to get your health refills, mummys... and I've just now completed a section analogous to the lazer beams in Kilmaat Colony, where you have to weave a thin passage between barely visible hazards and the slightest error forces you to start over. Since I'm nowhere near the end of the game, I wonder what other eerie parallels await...
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Post by xDerekRx on Mar 3, 2014 5:48:41 GMT
I actually started playing Quake myself. Im about half way through it. Reminds me all over again how impressive it was on the Saturn... I still have my original copy I got for Xmas back in 1997 and after I beat it then I hadnt played it until now. Even after 17 years its impressive.
But moving to Cursed Mountain, I bought it real cheap in the tin for Wii but never opened it. Reason I bought it is because Im a big old school survival horror fan and it seemed like one of the few modern games to attempt the genre.
If youre into winter themed survival horror, the Thing for Xbox and PS2 is not bad.
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jarragum
Newbie
Joined: January 2016
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Post by jarragum on Mar 7, 2016 7:30:50 GMT
Could you please tell me the formula for getting this jump right every time. It's when you kill the 4 Omen Wasps then use an Amun Bomb to break the wall ahead or stand on the hidden pressure pad to start fireballs that break through that wall. When I jump across to where the fireballs come from, I'm often a fraction short of making it. If I use Shawl of Isis to get there, it usually makes me veer away from the ledge I'm going to and I die. Please help!
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Post by xDerekRx on Mar 8, 2016 6:25:01 GMT
Eh I don't remember exactly the spot you are talking about. I planned to play though it again soon but by then you'll surely have figured it out
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Post by MIK on Mar 8, 2016 13:10:46 GMT
Sounds like he's down the mine as that is where the grenades are first found I think. Wasps though are found on many levels of the game. I can't remember where your trying to get Jarragum but like in Quake 3 doing a Rocket jump, it's just a question of timing. Make sure you time it so your in mid jump and are still going upwards as the bomb goes off. The force of the blast will increase your jump, but if your falling towards the blast as it goes off then your take full damage and go no where... Practice makes perfect.
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Post by thewhitefalcon on Apr 4, 2016 15:28:33 GMT
Seems like this (surprise surprise) has shot up a good amount in price in the US. Will I have any issues playing the PAL version on an NTSC console?
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NeoGeoNinja
Shadow Warrior
Joined: August 2011
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Post by NeoGeoNinja on Apr 4, 2016 16:33:57 GMT
Seems like this (surprise surprise) has shot up a good amount in price in the US. Will I have any issues playing the PAL version on an NTSC console? I'm afraid so, as it's optimised for PAL. The game runs okay, but all the voices are out of sync...
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Post by thewhitefalcon on Apr 4, 2016 16:46:29 GMT
Well, I guess I'll need to set up a watch on eBay then. Thanks!
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Post by xDerekRx on Apr 16, 2016 7:42:52 GMT
Well, I guess I'll need to set up a watch on eBay then. Thanks! I will say its quite worth it though. One of the best console specific FPS to come out in that entire era.
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Post by thewhitefalcon on May 18, 2016 18:08:52 GMT
Finally got it today. Yeah, the voices are out of sync, and it freezes on the opening FMV if you don't skip it, but other than that it runs brilliantly. I've died a few times (the exploding jars usually) but it hasn't been frustrating, which is nice. I hate 'cheap' difficulty.
I'd have to agree that's it's technically impressive even today. Runs amazingly well on the Saturn.
Hopefully I can find a US copy for something less than three figures soon enough, but for now this works. Especially only being $13 shipped (disc only).
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schobster
Novice
Joined: March 2016
Posts: 33
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Post by schobster on May 19, 2016 2:48:19 GMT
Finally got it today. Yeah, the voices are out of sync, and it freezes on the opening FMV if you don't skip it, but other than that it runs brilliantly. I've died a few times (the exploding jars usually) but it hasn't been frustrating, which is nice. I hate 'cheap' difficulty. I'd have to agree that's it's technically impressive even today. Runs amazingly well on the Saturn. Hopefully I can find a US copy for something less than three figures soon enough, but for now this works. Especially only being $13 shipped (disc only). Thanks for posting this, I also picked up a PAL copy a while back and hadn't gotten around to playing it, one reason being that I read somewhere that it wouldn't play right on my NSTC Saturn (I do have the Action Replay). Now I'll have to get around to giving it a shot... Going to be travelling to Switzerland and Italy(first time traveling abroad) for a couple of weeks though starting this weekend, so it will probably have to wait until then!
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Post by xDerekRx on May 19, 2016 3:12:50 GMT
Finally got it today. Yeah, the voices are out of sync, and it freezes on the opening FMV if you don't skip it, but other than that it runs brilliantly. I've died a few times (the exploding jars usually) but it hasn't been frustrating, which is nice. I hate 'cheap' difficulty. I'd have to agree that's it's technically impressive even today. Runs amazingly well on the Saturn. Hopefully I can find a US copy for something less than three figures soon enough, but for now this works. Especially only being $13 shipped (disc only). Thanks for posting this, I also picked up a PAL copy a while back and hadn't gotten around to playing it, one reason being that I read somewhere that it wouldn't play right on my NSTC Saturn (I do have the Action Replay). Now I'll have to get around to giving it a shot... Going to be travelling to Switzerland and Italy(first time traveling abroad) for a couple of weeks though starting this weekend, so it will probably have to wait until then! Grats on the travel. One of my first trips I did abroad was Switzerland, Italy and a few other countries. Since then Ive been to every continent multiple times but certain small towns in Switzerland have a place in my heart. Too bad you'll be visiting Italy just as the SerieA soccer season has ended. Forza Roma As for the PAL version of Powerslave, all that really matters is that the core game plays fine. If you really fall in love with it you can splurge for the US copy.
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Post by thewhitefalcon on Jun 30, 2016 14:33:17 GMT
Speaking of splurge...
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