C:\Users\<yourusername>\AppData\Roaming\Red Alert 3\Maps

The AppData folder may be hidden, so you’ll have to go unhide it first.

How’s that for a review?

I’ve always enjoyed the Command & Conquer series.  I played the crap out of Red Alert 2 almost as much as I played Blizzard’s Starcraft (and believe me, that’s saying something…)  While Red Alert 3 has been great so far, there are a few things I hope they can clean up in upcoming updates.

My #1 Complaint – The Atrocious Online System

I actually bought this game more for the online play than the actual story mode.  My friends and I enjoy teaming up in an online skirmish, but if we didn’t have cell phones or IM, we’d never link up.  The online system lacks almost every semblance of usability that battle.net had for Diablo and Starcraft.  When a friend on your friend list is online, you can’t get a hold of them unless they’re staring at their message board.  I would think that it would be simple to allow in-game notifications, I know I’d gladly leave a campaign to play online if a friend came on, but nothing short of a cellphone call can get my attention.  That, along with the horrid /whisper <username>line, makes it almost impossible to talk directly to a friend.

#2 – Lack of Multiplayer Maps

Thankfully, this will be fixed soon because Electronic Arts just released the WorldBuilder.  One can only hope that the implementation to find/download/use maps is made easier than their atrocious online system (see item #1).

#3 – Empire of the Rising Sun

I don’t know what other people think, but seeming as I’m lacking the omnipotent AI of a computer, the EotRS are completely unwieldy on the field.  Their method of building by deploying vehicles from the Construction Yard to then be sent somewhere to unfurl, becomes overbearing as you forget about building’s you’ve created.  My other EotRS gripe lands with the Mega Tengu and Striker-VX.  These are vehicles that can transform from ground to air vehicles.  As the game progresses, and you get more and more of these, you’ll have a platoon of them but some will be in land mode, while others are in air mode, there’s no way to make them all ground, or all air, as they’ll continue to switch back and forth.  The only way to combat this is to make sure you keep groups in different ctrl-# groups to easily switch from ground to air, or leave one air, and one ground.

#4 – Attack Formations

Bullfrogs On The Move

I’m pretty sure there’s a way to do this, but I haven’t found it yet.  I usually play soviets, and I would like to have a group of Bullfrogs follow my Kirov Airships, but there’s no way, that I know of, to take group A and make them follow group B.  You can select everyone, but the Bullfrogs go 3x faster than the Kirovs, so you lack the anti-air support you need under your sluggish blimpys.

Sum them up and you still have a rather small, and quite acceptable list of complaints for a game that has only been out a few short weeks, and has already had a few decent updates sent out.  I’ll obviously continue to play, and I would highly recommend anyone pick the game up.

1. Blue Shell
Everyone complains about the blue shell, even IGN and XKCD does, but that won’t stop me. You can be cruising along, in the best race of your life, and BAM, the dude in last place slams you with a blue shell, while the guy in 2nd to last sends a POW your way, and before you know it, you’re in 10th place. This happens an understandable amount in 50cc and 100cc, but it seems a bit too coincidental in 150cc for it to be an accident. This would be fine, but there’s NOTHING you can do about it. *grinds teeth

2. Online Play *slow clap
Hey, 2001 called, they said congratulations for finally attempting online play and somewhat succeeding (yes, I know, 2003 called, they want their joke back). Online play is there, but comparing it to XBox Live, as IGN does, is laughable. Sure, going online to play against other real people is great, but trying to coordinate playing with other friends is impossible. I have to be in the online section to see friend requests, and they’re not queued. There’s no meeting engine, other than pure luck. You have to coordinate via phone, txt, IM, or some other communication media. With XBox live, you can be in ANY game and receive a friend request to play any other game. Then there’s the obvious lack of in-game shit-talking, which XBox Live does well too, but get into a game with one whiny 12 year old and you’ll be able to give or take that feature.

3. The Wheel
Yes, it’s neat. People can come over my house, and pick up the wheel and play along. But anyone who’s played any game with an analog stick will feel endlessly more comfortable with the wiimote/nunchuck combination. I picked that up and was able to fly through the game very comfortably. Use the wiimote/nunchuck in manual mode with mini-turbos and you’ll be a happy kart-er.

So, while online play lacks for me in terms of setup and communication, the game still gets like a 9.5/10 for playability in single player, local multi-player and online play. It’s definitely at the top my collection and won’t make it into the “sell at ebgames” pile anytime soon. If you have a wii, and you didn’t get this game yet, you are definitely missing out.

Anyone have any pointers?  I’ve tried doing it in practice mode, and can get through it pretty well on slow speed, but full speed just kicks my ass right out.

Knowing how to play guitar, it makes it even more frustrating, because you know the Living Colour guitarist was just moving his fingers within a scale form on the guitar and picking wildly.  That’s really where this game takes a sharp left turn from actually playing guitar because the patterns on the screen really have nothing to do with how the actual solo is played.

Super Mario Bros. Extra Lives on World 3
[From Cheats Addict]

At the end of the third world you will see two turtles coming down. Let the first turtle go then jump lightly on the second turtle so that it is standing still on the steps (this will take practice.)Jump on the turtle again, if you do this right it will keep bouncing into the other turtle and give you points.
After a while it will give you free men. Get as many as you wish, but be careful not to get more than 100 men because if you do when you die the game is over.

That’s impossible! After playing the game for a while, you’re careful not to do something like that because you might die. Can anyone do this? Or find a youtube video of it?

I wish I could do it though… That’s definitely going to be my goal over the next few weeks, especially since I’m stuck in Guitar Hero 3 on Metallica – One on hard and Disturbed -Stricken on Expert (the end of the solo kicks my ass right off stage every time).

Holy crap holy crap…

Step 1: Complete this form
Step 2: Send in your Guitar Hero 3 disc.
Step 3: Allow 3 to 4 weeks for your replacement to arrive.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Regardless of the fact that it’s just a game, I paid for it, and I shouldn’t have to wait 4 weeks. They’re doing this all wrong. I’m really glad that they’re owning up to their mistake and giving me a free replacement. But this should be done like any other RMA for a non-working product: I register, put in my credit card, they send me a replacement with an RMA envelope, and I send back the damaged hardware. Then, if I don’t send back my copy, they pay for the new copy with my credit card. I get my replacement promptly, they get their property back, and everyone’s happy.

Seriously, Activision, I’m definitely not happy with you right now.  First, GH3 has an audio problem, then Tony Hawk: Proving Grounds for Wii sucks, now this shitty replacement policy.

I CAN NOT believe gamespot was generous enough to give Tony Hawk: Proving Ground a 5.0. This game is virtually unplayable on the Wii. It’s terrible.

I’ve played every major release of Tony Hawk for the Nintendo non-portable consoles (TH on Gameboy/Advance/DS didn’t appeal to me). I basically majored in 1, 2 and 3 in college. None of the games had let me down. I haven’t played the series in a while, but installed THPS2 on my laptop the other day and thought “maybe I should go buy the new one for the Wii”. Big mistake…

I’m going to blame all the “Wii sucks, it’s not as good as 360 or PS3″ arguments on this game. The game was ported for Neversoft by a company called Page 44 Studios. Sorry Page 44, but you really f**ked up and you deserve all the bad press you can get. Games ported to the Wii usually have some poorly-implemented, gimmicky way of using the Wii controllers and are usually missing features. The tragic combination of these two ideals would be bad enough if it weren’t for the completion of this terrible trifecta: THE GAME HARD-FREEZES REGULARLY. I’ve never seen this on a Nintendo console before. It’s a fault of the game code, not of the surface of the disc. This disc is pristine, taken out of the case, put into the Wii.

First, let’s start with the lesser faults. The bad implementation of the Wii controller. Part of this could be me but I never liked, nor used, the analog stick for Tony Hawk games. I liked on N64 and Gamecube how you had a choice between the two. Doing a manual (a trick where you roll on the ground on your back or front trucks with the other set in the air) is near impossible to do alone because you have to flip the analog stick forwards and backwards (up/down for a rear truck manual, down/up for a front truck manual). That is difficult enough while you’re moving, but Tony Hawk has had the ability to link tricks by doing what’s called a “revert to manual” off a half pipe to link tricks back and forth for huge multipliers. In their infinite wisdom, they made it so you have to hit the Z button, then quickly manual (up/down on the control stick, same hand). So, think about it: you’re in the air, doing 3 or 4 kick tricks, then right before you land you have to do a really awkward combination of index finger/thumb controls. Attempting this is usually rewarded by my skateboarder landing flat on his face.

To do kick tricks, you hold one button and flick your left wrist in some direction. To do grab tricks, you hold a different button and flick your wrist. While in a manual, or while grinding a rail, you flick your wrist to switch to different styles. Imagine looking at someone through their window while they’re playing this game: you’d look like you’re sitting on your couch having a seizure (well, in most cases, without the droooling). Most games (such as the port of Tiger Woods 2007) have the ability to play with the gimmicky-style controls OR to use the “classic controller” or a gamecube controller if you don’t want. This game, thanks again Page 44, does not.

They also stripped out a bunch during the “port process.” According to reviews comparing the PS3/360 version to the Wii/PS2 version, the ps3/360 version has one huge world and renders characters on the fly, while the Wii/PS2 version has separate levels and pre-rendered cut scenes for loading. I can understand that, we all know that the Wii lost the best-hardware-pissing-match by a long shot. But then they start removing random stuff like the replay editor and the skate lounge. Quite a few of the objectives in the full version throughout the game have been removed also. According to reviews, this causes a disconnect in some of the story lines. Why just randomly not port things, Page 44? Seriously?

All of this could be bearable if I could play the game. I might be able to get into the seizure-mode needed to score some points and check out the full storyline. Remember, those out there who had an NES, when, before you put the cartridge in the system, you would blow into the game to “clear the dust out”? Ever see what happened when you didn’t do that? The screen was a terrible pink color and the audio would be a high-pitched beep that didn’t stop till you turned off the system… This is exactly what my Wii did multiple times during my attempts at playing. The first time I was in the middle of watching a video, so I thought it was a coincidence or something. Wanting to play the game, I reset the system, and when that video came back up, I skipped it. Some time later into the game, it did the same exact thing during gameplay. I’ve tried a few times since then, but have always ended up having to shut the power off and losing whatever progress wasn’t saved to that point.

Needless to say, this game is on the bottom of my list. I’d rather play Wario Ware over and over than this. At least that game allows me to decide when I’m finished playing.

Ok. First off, I’d like to lay out my credentials. I can actually play guitar. Granted, I’m no Jimi Hendrix, but I can play more than just the intro to Nothing Else Matters or the beloved 3-chord songs of the 90s (do I hear Green Day in the background?). Also, I can play the drums. I even took about 8 years of piano, although I really have nothing to show for that.

So, I’m not trying to live a dream of playing guitar. I understand that this game is just Dance Dance Revolution for your fingers. But I bought it anyway.

I’m going to keep saying that… But I bought it anyway…

And if you can get past all of that, it really is fun. The songs can get a bit old (I’m really sick of Pat Benatar, seriously), and easy is really way too easy, but try playing Muse – Knights of Cydonia on hard. But don’t try expert unless you want to blow a gasket, or you’re some 9 year old wiz-kid on youtube. And, believe what you will, but drumming skills actually translate better for this game than guitar skills. It’s all about realizing that the frets are quarter notes and figuring out where the notes fit the song. (I know, I know, that’s obvious, but that’s really the summation of it).

But… I bought it anyway.

There are some good songs. Queens of the Stoneage – 3’s & 7’s, Muse – Knights of Cydonia, Weezer – My Name is Jonas, Rage Against the Machine – Bulls on Parade, Pearl Jam – Even Flow, Tenacious D – The Metal, and a few others. But again, I’m sick of Pat Benatar, and there are definitely a few others on the shit-list as well.

Battling is well done too. They haven’t come out with a guitar without a game for the Wii yet, so I haven’t tried it against another person, but the in-game battles are pretty good once you get past medium. It took me a few tries to get past Slash on medium, I’m scared to see that on hard.

So, go ahead, make fun of me. There are 3 kinds of people. Those who play and enjoy the game for what it is, like me, those who live the game and have a serious problem, and those who won’t play the game because they think that it’s trying to replace guitar playing. I expect comments making fun of me for playing or comments making fun of me for having trouble battling Slash on medium.

…. But I bought it anyway…

But man was I wrong. This game is damn impressive. There isn’t a single thing this game has in common, playability-wise, with other platform games I’ve played. Here’s why:

Gravity
Yeah, big deal, right? Up till now, video games taught us that “if you run over the side, you’re dead…” Not here. If you’re on something like a tiny planet you can just run over the side and end up on the bottom. It’s disconcerting at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s fun as hell. Likewise, you can be on one planet next to another, jump and get pulled to the neighboring orb.

Camera Work
You’re gonna hate it. When you pick up the game, you will actually shout “why aren’t you staying behind him?!?!” at the camera man. But play it. Get used to it. Be one with the camera. The camera work is definitely great. Soon after you start playing, the camera becomes predictable, even helpful. If you had to deal with positioning it all the time (think Zelda, Ocarina of Time), you’d probably throw yourself out a window. One level has you running up around a column, reversing gravity, and avoiding baddies, but the intelligent camera just swoops around so you always have the right point of view.

Tasteful use of the Wii controller
The Wii controller for bowling was cool, boxing was fun, baseball, smeh… Then, after a while, you start to long for the simple controls of the gamecube/360/ps3 type controller. For a comparison, Tony Hawk: Proving Ground is a good example of this. There was nothing wrong with the Tony Hawk controls of old, but now they tried to use the Wii controller and went way overboard (but that’s for another review). In Galaxy, player 1 only uses the Wii motion/point controls for a few things: collecting star bits, shaking the controller for a spin attack or high jump, and a few mini-games. That’s it.

Two can play
The best part is the seamless 2-player co-op. It’s not your usual alternating players like Super Mario 3 for NES. My roommate can be playing and I can pick up player 2 in the middle of his game, power it on, and I’m in, collect star bits for Player 1 with a point of the wii controller. The fun part is actually being able to watch and be useful. Player 2 can just point at an enemy and press A to hold them in place, or shoot them with star bits to get them out of the way for good. It the game so much more fun for spectators than just watching someone else play, it almost makes you feel useful.

So is it the best game ever?
Well, don’t go that far. It’s great. But… It’s a little easy. I don’t know why, but it seems like you go into a world, and before you know it, you’ve completed the level and are back out in the overworld. I guess I want more within each world rather than so many worlds? I’m not sure. But seriously, this is probably the best game that doesn’t have that Wii Sports control novelty on it. If I wasn’t such a fan of Zelda, it’d probably be the best game available for the Wii.

Go buy it. You will definitely thank me.