I am totally failing at beating Resident Evil without cheating or looking up puzzle solutions.  

On the other hand, I did beat Penny Arcade 3 in a most unique way.  On my tablet.  In my bathtub.  Nothing like taking a steaming hot bath relaxing with a game.  I'm sure taking my electronics when I soak in a bath is TOTALLY safe.

Oh, one other thing.  I had planned to review TWO games before Halloween, a Retro title (the Uninvited review, which did come out before Halloween) and a game I have enjoyed a ton in the past year, The Binding of Isaac.  Unfortunately, I keep forgetting my new style of reviewing takes forever to slap a single video together, so the Isaac video ran late.  However, I am finally done with it and rendering it now for upload.  If all goes well it will be out tonight.

dos munos at November 2, 2012 at 3:38 PM

Please tell me, does the eagle swoop you up randomly or is it if you make too many moves on a single screen? Very annoying.

The eagle is a random event that occurs when changing screens.  It's like a 1/16 chance type of thing.  It's only supposed to happen outside but I actually got the eagle to carry me while in one of the underground places.  It's annoying because birds in games are always programmed to be annoying.

NESJohnny at November 3, 2012 at 2:47 AM

The best Blood site: http://www.blood-wiki.org/index.php/Main_Page

Just go to the search on the left and type in the level you want in E1M1 format, it'll find it.  Each level has its own page, and although sometimes sparce, they always include the secrets.

As for me, I never look them up, I feel okay missing a few.  I like to find them organically.

Cool thanks.  Don't know how I missed that.  Was sure that I've been to that site before.  Probably just didn't see the secrets listed because of the paragraph format.

I always try to find them on my own (including running along facing the walls and pressing the interact button) until I make it to the end of the level, then I'm all like "alright... where are they?"

Now I know!

Still chipping away at Amnesia in my free time. I think I'm about halfway through; I just worked through a tense area with a fairly high encounter rate. I'm not sure if the monsters are really there, patrolling and discovering you naturally, or if they appear and disappear through scripted triggers only.

Die by the Sword has been eating into my Amnesia time. Released in 1998, DBTS promised to change the nature of controls in games by ... ratcheting up the learning curve by an order of magnitude. DBTS gives you fairly nuanced control over your character's weapon, dedicating either the numpad or the mouse to just managing your weapon arm. While frustrating as hell, it's also pretty addictive. Your skills improve as you internalize how the sword moves and how the physics behave. Damage is based on velocity, so the faster you can get that sword to collide with an opponent's body, the more damage it will cause. One way to increase damage, for example, is to turn your body in the same direction that you're swinging.

Working against this, unfortunately, are some really bad jumping mechanics, an annoying 3D camera, and confusing map design and texturing. An arena mode helps flesh out the experience, however, and to its credit, the single player levels do have some nice optional routes and tasks.

Finally got through Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I had to look up some hints near the end due to time. I'm happy with it overall, even though the monster encounters did get repetitive. Being noticed by a monster is super unsettling, partly because of this horrible sound that gets louder and louder as the monster closes in on you.

I gotta look into the free expansion pack Justine sometime. Maybe next weekend. It's not very long, but you don't get to save and there are no checkpoints.

How many hours did that take you Blob?  I'm a bit over an hour in if I remember right, but have had less luck finding time to play this month.

checkin' steam.... about 9 hours. I played very cautiously because I'm a wuss. I'd estimate probably 30-40 minutes were shaved off by me impatiently reading guides. In these kinds of games, sometimes you just miss important things and get stuck wandering around.

I've heard Justine is roughly one hour.

Well, looks like I won't finish the challenge by the month's end, but it is a fun game.  I'll have to check out the Justine mod.

They were not kidding about no saves or respawns in Justine. I got killed in one hit and the game exited right then and there. I'm not really seeing why saving/restarting at the beginning of the area isn't an option, unless there's more randomness in play than I realize.

I got through Amnesia: Justine after a few tries. I quit my first attempt because I had to do other things, died in the second and third at the same spot, and finally got through on the fourth run. The lack of checkpoints is frustrating, and there doesn't appear to be any gameplay variation whatsoever from session to session. The only non-spoiler protip I can think of is make sure that you're running at a good framerate, or else your chances of screwing up increase tremendously.

I still haven't gone back to finish Silent Hill 2.  It was one of those "I really have to be in the mood for this" kind of games, and now that Halloween has long passed, I have less incentive to fire it up (even though it's great).

Just checked my last save.  I was exactly 10 hours 30 minutes into it.  Will make an attempt to get through this before December (maybe).

I'm also way behind on updating my conquered stuff and backloggery page.  Finished 'Episode 2' of Blood.  If you're looking for something with a wintery/snowy setting, episode 2 is a prime choice.  My favorite level was the The Overlooked Hotel, which pays homage to "The Shining" complete with surrounding hedge maze.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is guaranteed to be on my list for next year.  I still have the final chapter left in the 'Penumbra Collection' so I'll do that one in the off-season (plus I hear it's mainly just a puzzle game and not a true sequel).

Looking back at some posts...

That 'Blackwell Legacy' looks like the same artwork as this other game I picked up earlier in the year called 'Gemini Rue'.  It's a cyberpunky adventure thing.  Upon further research I found it was by the same developers.  So maybe that's why.

By the way, the WORST enemy in all of 'Blood' are those little dismembered choking hands.

"I'LL SWALLOW YOUR SOUL!"

Hate those bastards so much.

And one more thing...

CHECKERED FLOORS!

It's not just a coincidence...

They mean something.

That's it. I'm never walking into my friend's kitchen again.

Man that vampire in the last pic looks so bored and displeased.