Über Götterdämmerung

It's here and it's beyond awesome! God of War III has arrived and it is everything I hoped it would be! Write up next week, but for now, lets just say "System Seller."

3/13 to 3/20 At a glance
Currently Playing:
God of War III (PS3),
Resident Evil 5(PS3) ,
Rock Band 2 (PS3),
Assassin's Creed 2 DLC (PS3)
Infamous (PS3)

On Hold (Thanks RROD!):
Borderlands (360) Just after I got Secret Armory too!
Call of Duty 2 (360)
Mass Effect 2 (360) Renegade playthrough denied!

Recently Finished:
Resistance: Retribution (PSP) Story Playthrough
God of War Collection (PS3) Platinum #'s 6 and 7!
Modern Warfare 2 (360)

My Resistance: Retribution Stats

• Platform: PSP
  
• Playthroughs: 1 @ 12-15 hours
  
• I compare it to: Rebel Without A Second Analog Stick
  
• Play it again?: Negative
  

Resistance is one of those franchises that, were it not for GameFly, I would have probably never played. I played Resistance 1 and 2 last year and while the series has a somewhat interesting premise (Aliens trash Europe before the Nazis get a chance to, to try to explain further is futile), the gameplay is far more competent than the storytelling. Resistance is a classic example of the gameplay dictating the story, and while that may be fine for some, I actually experience a good deal of frustration when there IS a story, and it's just not told very well. So, that said, I would have passed this PSP only entry up if I hadn't heard that it had the most "robust" storytelling and "best" story of the series. Now, murky and confusing as it may be, I really felt this franchise had potential, so I put this on the queue. I get it, load it up, and spend 15 hours with a bad stereotype of an angry British "antihero" who plays by his own rules! He even wears a leather jacket. Really. First red flag. The long and short of the story is that just because its the best in the series doesn't mean it's good. Awful dialogue and cumbersome pacing cripple what could have been an engaging story, and really, I shouldn't have to look up
a faction on Wikipedia because no character knowledge of said faction has ever been imparted to me, the player, over the course of the whole series! Anyway.
The other big thing that kept me from enjoying an otherwise competent PSP shooter is the very fact that its a PSP shooter. I'm sorry Sony Bend, but face buttons and auto-targeting are no substitute for a second analog stick. You try, I know you try. But I didn't play Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror until it's PS2 port came along, and I've held out for the recently announced port of Logan's Shadow. I'm glad I gave R:R a shot, but I never want to try to pull off a headshot with the triangle button again.


My Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Stats (spoilers)

• Platform: Xbox 360
  
• Playthroughs: 3 @ 20+ hours
  
• Achievements: 47 of 50, 860/1000
  
• I compare it to: Red Dawn in the 21st Century!
  
• Play it again?: Eh.........
  

11/10/09. Modern Warfare 2 is released, selling over 10 million copies in it's first week of release. The game itself is beautiful, finely tuned, somewhat controversial (but too much so) and filled with incredible moments. Gamers take time off of work to immerse themselves in Infinity Ward's latest tour de force. These are the facts. Just one question. Did ANY of this surprise ANYONE? I thought not. I loved the first Modern Warfare, and like everyone else in the world, I was excited for number 2.

Modern Warfare ratcheted up the intensity to a level no one thought possible in an FPS, and, to no one's surprise, MW2 builds on that foundation. All of the "Holy Shit!" moments one expects are here. If I have any complaints at all with MW2, it's that there is just something missing from the story that MW had (and I don't just mean about 4 more hours of campaign). While CoD hates its first-person protagonists more than any other franchise out there (you watch yourself die as no less than 3 different characters over the course of the campaign), in MW2 you don't get the same connection to the characters, and the plot seeps into a bit of convolution. On the plus side, MW2 was able to afford some great voice talent, such as Lance Henrikson and Keith David (two of my favorites, and Mass Effect alums to boot!).

Something that deserves mention is MW2's Special Ops mode, which for the most part is a great collection of bite sized single player and co-op missions. The only reason I don't have 1000/1000 on this title is the incredible difficulty of the last few missions I needed for the achievements. With another player of my skill level, I have no doubt that I could eventually finish these, but as they were definitely designed for the co-op experience, I'm just not badass enough to do it on my own. Maybe someday......


My God of War Collection Stats

• Platform: PS3
  
• Playthroughs: God of War: 2 @ 12 hours (+ Challenges) / God of War II: 1 @ 10 hours (+ Challenges)
  
• Trophies: 71/71 (Platinums #6 and #7!)
  
• I compare it to: It's F****** God of War! The basis for most of my comparisons! In HD!
  
• Play it again?: It's only a matter of time!
  

For those of you that don't already know, God of War is one of my very favorite game franchises of all time. Is it because it satisfies my need for over the top violence and Greek mythology simultaneously? Well, yeah, but it's also because God of War is one of the most consistently excellent series' ever produced. The polish and tuning in these games provides a precision gaming experience beyond measure, and very few things in the gaming world compare to the high of finally beating a God of War game on it's highest difficulty.

All of this was there before this set. God of War Collection presents 2 of my very favorite games in HD with dynamic lighting, courtesy of this generation's hardware. I'm generally opposed to rebuying, but that and the addition of trophies made this too hard for me to pass up. Playing each of these games was just as fun as it was five years ago, and they look better than ever, especially on the new TV (and for those skeptical about the difference, it's glaringly obvious on an HDTV). There's not many games that I still own that I would buy again, but if more games got this treatment (looking at you, Legacy of Kain!), I might just change my mind, again.


Next Week! My EPIC write up of God of War III! The Xbox Returns! And some long lingerers are finally finished! Electrifying!

OMG! RROD FTL! CMEO! GTEASAPPS3FTTB!

(Ridiculous acronym above means = Going To Eat A Sandwich And Play PlayStation 3 For The Time Being)

Crapcakes! I knew it was just a matter of time, but the dreaded 360 Red Ring of Death has finally wreaked it's havoc upon our happy home. It's being repaired right now, but still, half of my slate has been put on hold, which is probably not a bad thing Anyway, moving on.

2/8 to 3/12 At a glance

Currently Playing:
Resident Evil 5(PS3) ,
Rock Band 2 (PS3),

On Hold (Thanks RROD!):
Borderlands (360) Just after I got Secret Armory too!
Call of Duty 2 (360)
Mass Effect 2 (360) Renegade playthrough denied!


Recently Finished:
Brütal Legend (PS3)
Civilization: Revolution (360)
Assassin's Creed 2 (PS3) Platinum #5!

to be written on next time:
Resistance: Retribution (PSP) Story Playthrough
God of War Collection (PS3) Platinum #'s 6 and 7!
Modern Warfare 2 (360),


My Assassin's Creed II Stats

• Platform: PS3
  
• Playthroughs: 1 @ 35+ hours
  
• Trophies: 51/51 (Platinum #5!)
  
• I compare it to: Parkour + Stabbing = Awesome, Part 2!
  
• Play it again?: You betcha!

So, how do you make Assassin's Creed, one of the first fully realized experiences of this hardware generation, even better? Switch up the mission types, expand the locales, and give Ezio, Altaïr's descendant, an even more awesome moveset! ACII delivers on the promise of its predecessor, providing an incredibly rich experience.


My Brütal Legend Stats

 

• Platform: PS3
  
• Playthroughs: 1+ @ 30+ hours
  
• Trophies: 40/51
  
• I compare it to: Metal more Metal than Metal thought Metal could be!
  
• Play it again?: When it's too cheap to pass up

I've been waiting to write this one up for a while now. When I first read about Brütal Legend when it was in its early stages of development years ago, I was beyond excited. A game totally devoted to all things heavy metal, where the landscape looked like an album cover anywhere you looked just sounded great to me. I love metal, and Brütal Legend just sounded like the ultimate game to me. (especially when I'd heard that Jack Black was involved.) So, more than 2 years later, what do I think of the finished game? Well, sigh. It's a mixed bag, to say the least, but, to be honest, I really think the pros outweigh the cons.

The creativity on display here is top-notch, from core concept to minor details, Brütal Legend really is a loving tribute to the world of metal, with wink (and occasionally groan) inducing nods toward its glam, goth, and industrial offspring. The story and characters are generally well written also, and developer Tim Schafer's brand of humor makes the laughs come often. Unfortunately, while Double Fine provides us with a fantastic world and mythology to play in, the gameplay itself suffers from a serious lack of polish. While I love the spells (each activated with a guitar solo), the melee combat is very simple hack and slash.

This would have been alright if it had been carried (albeit improved on and upgradable) through the course of the game, however, the major plot points in the game involve the extremely cumbersome stage battles. Now, as I explain below, I'm not a big RTS person, but I don't have anything against them. Brütal Legend utilizes many units (most of which are faction specific) that are clever in both concept and execution. However, I believe it's the management of these units that makes the battles very cumbersome. I cannot point to one particular problem with these sequences, however, for me, it just seems like the whole never becomes more than the sum of it's parts. Despite this, Brütal Legend is a really fun game, and with it's excellent metal soundtrack (for a good laugh, look at the genre divisions in the music menu) and awesome cameos by Lemmy Kilmeister, Ozzy Osbourne, and Rob Halford, it made me not only enjoy the time I spent playing it, but also to really enjoy metal again. Recommended for any video gaming metalhead.


My Civilization: Revolution Stats

• Platform: Xbox 360
  
• Playthroughs: 20+ @ 1-4 hours each
  
• Achievements: 50/50 (Completed #10!)
  
• I compare it to: RTS Lite.
  
• Play it again?: Certainly, especially since the wife constantly plays it.

A good friend of mine plays this ALL the time. This is a friend that plays many of the same games that I do. So, I was mildly surprised to see this on his Now Playing line on his XBL profile. I wondered for a while, until I got it through GameFly for my wife. I watched her play for a few days, then I started playing as well, then I understood. Revolution provides a streamlined approach to the RTS experience, making it more accessible for gamers not as familiar with that genre (like myself). The result is a game that while not my usual cup of tea, is incredibly addictive and enjoyable. Point of interest, my wife refused to speak to me for the rest of the night after I nuked the Japanese. She did not feel better after I had the Japanese nuke the Germans.

Next time, more write ups, and God of War III is almost here! (written 3/13, posted 3/22)

3-Month HD Gaming Binge! Part 2!

Summary of the Missing Months, continued!

10/16 -1/21 at a glance Currently Playing:
Borderlands (360),
Assassin's Creed 2 (working on treasures, feathers) (PS3)
Resident Evil 5(PS3) ,
Rock Band 2 (PS3),
Modern Warfare 2 (360),
Brutal Legend (PS3)
Civilization: Revolution (360)

Recently Finished (since 10/16 and haven't written up):
Castlevania: SotN (Replay)
Battlefield: Bad Company
CoD 4: Modern Warfare (Replay)
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard



My Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Stats

• Platform: PSP/PS3
  
• Playthroughs: 1 @ 40+ hours (this time)
  
• I compare it to: Castlevania + Super Metroid = Classic
  
• Play it again?:Every 4 to 5 years.
  

There's nothing quite like having an awesome game to play on the PSP when the wife is playing a marathon Game of the Week on Civilization Revolution, and when I found this on PS Classics, I made the decision to buy it. (And by that, I mean, I asked for permission) I first played this about a year or two after it came out, and due to my love for all things vampires at the time (by the way, thanks for ruining them for me, Stephanie Meyer) and the fusion of RPG elements with the massive exploration component, and you have an instant addiction. Despite the plot and the hilariously bad voice acting (in competition with the original Resident Evil for all-time best of the worst), the sheer fun to be had from exploring the castle and slaughtering demons keeps SotN near the top of my best ever list, which you'll see eventually!

My Battlefield: Bad Company Stats

• Platform: Xbox 360
  
• Playthroughs: 1 @ 15-18 hours
  
• Achievements: 340/1000 as of 11/14/09
  
• I compare it to: Sandbox CoD with jokes, just more boring.
  
• Play it again?: No reason to.

So, I guess saying that I like military shooters because I like Call of Duty would be like saying I like RPG's because I like Final Fantasy. The reality is that I tend to enjoy individual titles more than genres as wholes, and while Battlefield: BF is by no means a bad game, it certainly doesn't hold my interest the way CoD does. I tried this one out based on a demo (as with most things I play nowadays), and what I enjoyed most was the characters and their dialogue. Especially compared to the deadly serious CoD:MW games, the hilarious banter of Sarge, Sweetwater, and Haggard was a reason for me to continue pressing on through the mostly generic military shooter. While there were some standout moments, Bad Company was mostly fire-and-forget for me. I hear Bad Company 2 is awesome though, so maybe that will be worth a future rental. So, put that into comparison with the classic....

My Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Stats

• Platform: Xbox 360
  
• Playthroughs: 6 @ 8 hours each,  50+ hours multiplayer
  
• Achievements:1000 /1000 as of 11/14/09
  
• I compare it to: The pinnacle of cinematic FPS action.
  
• Play it again?: Practically impossible not to.
  

My very first reaction to CoD4 was "Holy shit." Never before had I played such an intense, realistic, and downright exciting first-person military shooter. In fact, I was pretty bored with the genre at that time. However, I will never forget that first fast rope to the deck of the rain-soaked freighter, being as nervous as a real FNG when the first tangos appeared, and after the first exchange of gunfire, the relief that I was still alive and whole. I could go on, and maybe someday I will, but for now I will suffice it to say that CoD4 is one of my all time favorites, and I'll probably still be popping it in five years from now. By the way, out of all my achievements, Mile High Club, after taking over a month of practice to obtain, is the one I'm most proud of.

My Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard Stats

• Platform: Xbox 360
  
• Playthroughs: 1+ @ 18-20 hours
  
• Achievements: 890/1000 as of 1/17/10
  
• I compare it to: A great game parody script unhappily married to crappy gameplay.
  
• Play it again?: I'll just watch the cutscenes, thanks.

Sigh. This game has torn my gaming heart in two. On one hand, you have one of the funniest scripts ever written for a game, along with some great voice acting and characters (Will Arnett as the title character, and Neil Patrick Harris as the main villain with a hilarious motivation for revenge). Matt Hazard lampoons all of gaming history, and does it in a way that will have every lifelong gamer rolling on the floor. Or would, if the gameplay didn't suck so bad. Honestly, what this game has in humor and cleverness, it totally lacks in gameplay polish. Hazard moves like a lead marionette, and I really wonder which cartoons the animators had been watching to capture such a subpar simulacrum of human movement. The gunplay is a bad Gears of War knockoff, and the cover system, while implementing an interesting concept, oftentimes has you running right into the line of fire. It really is too bad that these and many other hiccups will keep most gamers from getting to the parts that make the slog worth it, such as the Altos Stratus boss fight, the Master Chef and Captain Carpenter encounters, and Neil Patrick Harris. You'll find this games box art if you Google "disappointment."

NEXT TIME! We're all caught up, and I'll starting writing about the games in my current batch, which is easily the biggest batch of current games ever! Stay tuned!

3-Month HD Gaming Binge! Part 1!

Whoa........what happened?

Well, I got my new TV (which is utterly awesome, enough so to keep me from writing) and played a shiz-it-load of games, and cut my hair, and got married, and went on a two-week honeymoon, that's what. :P Anyway, the gaming blog is back, and we've got a lot to cover:

10/16 - 1/21 At a Glance

Currently Playing:
Borderlands (360),
Assassin's Creed 2 (working on treasures, feathers) (PS3)
Resident Evil 5(PS3) ,
Rock Band 2 (PS3),
Modern Warfare 2 (360),
Brutal Legend (PS3)
Civilization: Revolution (360)

Recently Finished (since 10/16):
Halo Wars (story playthrough)
Fallout 3 (Completed #9!)
Uncharted 2 (Platinum #4!)
Red Faction: Guerrilla
Castlevania: SotN (Replay)
Battlefield: Bad Company
CoD 4: Modern Warfare (Replay)
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard

On Hold: Dead Rising (I just can't get into it, it has not aged well) SUPER EXCITED FOR: MASS EFFECT 2! Ok, stat and short note time:
My Halo Wars Stats

• Platform: Xbox 360
  
• Playthroughs: 1 @ 10-12 hours
  
• Achievements: 255/1200 as of 10/21/09
  
• I compare it to: It's Halo as an RTS. No cleverness from me here.
  
• Play it again?: Maybe, it's a lot better in HD.
  

So, I'm the first to admit that in general, strategy games are not my bag. I tend to go for either hardcore action games or games with rich story and/or characters. While Halo Wars is an extreme shift of pace for the series (comes with the territory of another genre), I've always enjoyed the fiction, so I decided to give this a try. To be honest, I didn't enjoy it enough to do anything with it beyond a single playthrough. Not to say it's not a good game. It controlled about as well as any RTS could on a console, it was pretty, and had an interesting plotline. This is just one of those cases in which while I appreciate a game for it's technical and artistic merits, I just don't enjoy it all that much. (Of course, one of my new favorites is another RTS, but that plot will thicken in a later post)

My Fallout 3 Stats

• Platform: Xbox 360
  
• Playthroughs: 3+ @ 60-80 hours each
  
• Achievements: 1550/1550
  
• I compare it to: The best parts of the Interplay series and Oblivion, becoming greater than either.
  
• Play it again?: Desert Island. Totally.

I bought this game in February of 2009, and did not stop playing it regularly until NOVEMBER. The absolute wealth of content this game offers out of the box is reason enough to drop $60 on it, but the steady stream of high-quality DLC Bethesda released over the course of the year was more than worth the additional dollars I put into it. From the epic battles of Broken Steel to the rust choked wasteland of the Pitt, to the absolute gonzo of Mothership Zeta, in one year, Fallout took me to more places I never wanted to go (or never knew I wanted to go) than any other game I've ever played. No one does post-apocalyptia better!

My Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Stats

• Platform: PlayStation 3
  
• Playthroughs: 2+ @ 12-16 hours each
  
• Trophies: 48 /48 (Platinum #4!)
  
• I compare it to: The best action movie ever played on your console.
  
• Play it again?: Please?
  

The only people I hear criticizing Uncharted 2's top spot on hundreds of industry Best of 2009 lists are those that haven't played it. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a copy of this game a week after launch (Thanks WingGar, and thanks for nothing GameFly :P), and was treated to some of the most incredible setpieces I've ever seen in a game. I've done a lot of things in my gaming career, but continuing a firefight while a BUILDING COLLAPSES into another building is a whole new level of awesome, to say nothing of the incredible train sequences. The story, (very well written as it is by Amy Hennig, writer of one of my all time favorite franchises, the Legacy of Kain series) won't blow your mind, but you'll enjoy the hell out it, as you will the finely polished gameplay. Uncharted 2 is proof that you don't have to do something totally new as long as you do it as well as it can possibly be done.

My Red Faction: Guerrilla Stats

• Platform: PlayStation 3
  
• Playthroughs: 1 @ 45 hours
  
• Trophies: 30 (51%) as of 11/14/09
  
• I compare it to: Grand Theft Auto: Mars. With an awesome hammer.
  
• Play it again?: Someday

Red Faction Guerrilla could easily have been blasted for being derivative, and I would have been the first to do so, that is, if it hadn't have had the sledgehammer. And the ability to destroy anything and everything in the world with it. The destructive power of the hammer and the many explosives you find throughout make RF:G stand out among the glut of open world titles out there.
That's right people, ME2 is out next week, and, as the fact that I've had Exploding Saren as my XBL gamer pic since I finished the first Mass Effect can attest, I absolutely love this series. I'll post impressions and more notes on finished games next post! -B

Weekend Gaming Session 10/9

10/9 At a Glance

Currently Playing:
Fallout 3 (working on Devil and True Mortal)

Recently Completed:
Heavenly Sword (story playthrough), Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

On Hold:
Halo Wars, Dead Rising

One agonizing week of waiting for the new TV down, one to go. Of course, it's entirely possible that there could be up to two more weekends before I can really sit down and enjoy the new set, but, once it's here, its time for MEGA HD REPLAY MADNESS!!!!!! Um, yeah. More on that later. I'm saving Halo Wars and Dead Rising for when the new set gets here, but before that, I'm also saving my replay of Broken Steel for the new set, and with that, my last 4 levels before 30, and Devil and True Mortal will put me over the 15,000 mark. Hooray.

Anyway.

Finished Crisis Core this week and promptly sent it back. To be honest, I didn't expect the game to have as much side content as it did, however, in this case, the focus was surely on quantity over quality, and I figured I could sleep at night without experiencing ALL of it. Final verdict: A solid story for fans of the series, but a monotonous and contrived battle system kills any potential for long term enjoyment.

My Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Stats

• Platform: PSP
  
• Playthroughs: 1
  
• Trophies: N/A
  
• I compare it to: Kingdom Hearts without jumping, strategy, or Disney.
  
• Play it again?: Nope.

To get me through this last weekend of SD gaming, and to try to manipulate GameFly into sending me Uncharted 2 on launch day, I ordered Heavenly Sword, just to try it out. Rarely has a game left with such mixed feelings. (well, actually, Crisis Core did too) To be brutally honest, Heavenly Sword's gameplay is, for the most part, derivative at best, and utterly frustrating at worst. A few technically heavy boss battles begin to shine, but the inconsistent difficulty mars even those. And let's not get into the motion control segments.

However, you NEED to play this game for a reason I don't often recommend (outside of MGS), for the cutscenes. The motion capture for this game is downright AMAZING, as is the story it acts out. It should come as no surprise that these aspects of the game were supervised by mocap guru Andy Serkis, who after his excellent work on Lord of the Rings and King Kong, got into the field of gaming, and has really left his mark with Heavenly Sword (and, it's a good bet he'll do the same with Enslaved). In my opinion, HS has, arguably, the most convincing and realistic voice and mocap acting of any game. Serkis himself plays antagonist Bohan, and brings to life one of the most illustrated, despicable (and hilarious, and creepy), and fresh villains yet seen in the gaming world. HS is one of few games that have been able to evoke an emotional reaction from me by the strength of the scene alone. During a confrontation between Kai and Flying Fox, the few short flashes of the backstory along with the emotions in the scene conveyed something not even the last few survival horror games I've played made me feel, a moment of real terror.
Heavenly Sword was great for story and cinematics, just not for gameplay. I hope that for Enslaved, Ninja Theory will be able to bring the latter up to par with the former.

My Heavenly Sword Stats

• Platform: PlayStation 3
  
• Playthroughs: 1
  
• Trophies: N/A
  
• I compare it to: Devil May Cry, moreso than God of War (besides, I compare EVERY game to GoW)
  
• Play it again?: Only for the cutscenes.

When the new TV arrives, it will be time for.....MEGA HD RE...(right, stop that!!!), um, time for me to replay all of my current gen games in HD, hooray! I'm just having a tough time deciding which should be first, so I'll put it to you for your opinions. The top contenders are:

Metal Gear Solid 4
Bioshock
CoD4 (campaign)
Batman: AA
Mass Effect

So, that's it for this weekend. I'm hoping to have some impressions of Uncharted 2 for you next Sunday, as well as a new TV to game on! Until then!

B.

Delayed Gratification, Oh, and Weekend Gaming Session 10/3

10/3 At a Glance

Currently Playing:
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Story Playthrough)
Fallout 3 (working on Devil and True Mortal)

Recently Completed:
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Completed Game #8!)



A shorter gaming session this week, but there's a very good reason. I spent most of my gaming time on Friday and Saturday shopping for the new TV! And this is the deal I found, which, if it pans out, I'll highly recommend: SlickDeals.net:Bravia W. Great set at a great price, plus a free sound system! Awesome! Granted, I can't just take it home and set it up right now like I wanted, but I guess I'll actually act like an adult and delay my gratification. (I've delayed it more than 2 years, whats another 2 weeks?) So, not a lot of gaming this week, but I did finish Wolverine, so let's look at that:


My X-Men Origins: Wolverine Stats

• Platform: Xbox 360
  
• Playthroughs: 2+
  
• Gamerscore: 1000/1000
  
• I compare it to: God of War
  
• Play it again?: Nah.
  

Since I finished that on Thursday, let's take a look at the weekend gaming I've been doing:



Fallout 3: Ah, more glorious wanderings, destroyed landscapes, and exploding meatbags. I have to admit, I love coming back to Fallout whenever I've been playing other stuff for a while. Right now, all I need to complete the achievements for the game is the Level 30 achievements for evil and neutral (though I'm going to cheat and use Karmic Rebalance at 30 before I save; I don't want to do this grind again anytime soon). And, the Devil acheivement will put me at exactly 15000 gamerscore! (appropriate, I think). However, I'm saving this moment (and playing through Broken Steel in all of it's awesomeness) for when the new TV gets here, which will probably be one or two Weekend Gaming Sessions from now.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII: FF7 was the first PlayStation game I got after my ex-wife's mother got us a PSX for a wedding present (which made me wonder if she wanted us to fail.....hmmmm:P), and I've got a soft spot in my heart for the story. It's not the best Final Fantasy story (6 takes that, IMO), Cloud is not the best protagonist (though he's less annoying than Zidane, Tidus, and Vaan; on that note, why can't a Kain, Auron, or Basch be in the spotlight for once?) and Sephiroth isn't the best villain (he tried to destroy the world and couldn't, but Kefka DID), but there's just some gestalt phenomenon that makes VII so popular. That said, I'm really enjoying the extended backstory that CC provides. The combat, however, is not making me happy. The commands are cycled with the shoulder buttons during real-time battles, and that works, more or less. What doesn't work for me is basing leveling up, limit breaks, and summons on the ridiculous DMW system, which is essentially a slot machine which leaves all of these important tactical options to chance, albeit with greater or lower odds. I just find that frustrating, and it will be the story that gets me to the end of this game, and I certainly won't be playing to 100%. Thank god there's no trophies.

Anyway, let's hope for fast and efficient shipping, because when the new set gets here, you're all invited to come hang out! I know that pretty much just means you Nat, but still, offers open. :P Game On!

B.

Weekend Gaming Session 9/26 Part 2, and Platinum #3!

9/26 At A Glance Part 2

Currently Playing:
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (GF), working on Samurai, prep for Walking Death (Hard playthrough)

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 (GF), - On Hold
Fallout 3 - On Hold

Recently Completed -
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Platinum #3!)

That's right, Platinum #3 unlocked tonight! It was a nice surprise to have that unlock after completing my last combat Trophy (which, by the way, was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Just charge up the Lightning Shield, find a tight cluster of stormtroopers, walk into it and watch them fall over dead, repeat!), and not have to wait for the Ultimate Sith Edition exclusive DLC to get it. I've been playing this game since I picked it up at the midnight launch a year ago, and I've played the living crap out of it. Adding trophies was a huge incentive to get me playing it again.

My Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Stats

• Platform: PlayStation 3
• Playthroughs: 5+
  
• Trophies: 55/48 (7 from DLC, 65 possible with all DLC)
  
• I compare it to: Kratos with a lightsaber
  
• Play it again?: Most Likely
  

Got Fully Loaded on Wolverine as well, however, stopped working on Samurai for the night, simply because I got tired of killing the same enemy class (last I need for the achievement) and playing the same level over and over. I just have a really hard time sitting in one place and farming anything, call it a hang-up left over from my WoW days. However, full completion on this one is not far off, and 15000 Gamerscore isn't far behind that!

On the subject of 100% completion in games, let me just say this: I don't try to max out every game I play. However, if I find a game fun in and of itself, that goes a long way toward me wanting to keep playing it to completion. There are a few factors that contribute to this, and I'll list them below:

1. Is it fun? If I find the simple act of picking up the controller and playing, at any point in the game, enjoyable, then chances are I'll go for every trophy/achievement.

2. Is there enough content? If a game is long enough, it's a lot more feasible for me to get to level 30 (Fallout) or 60 (Mass Effect) than it would be if the game is only a few hours long. This is directly related to:

3. Is the story compelling? Mass Effect is a perfect example of this, and so is MGS 4 (Dammit Konami, get that trophy patch out!).

4. Are they fun and/or challenging to get? Let me clarify. Challenging does not equal "requires 100 hours of grinding." Mile High Club (CoD4): challenging. The Flags (Assassin's Creed) monotonous, (much like the 12 hour fight against that dragon in FF12, now that I come to think of it). Essentially, if it starts making me hate life, there's no point in getting it. I really like to feel proud of myself for finally getting a really tough one, not feeling empty because I just wasted a week farming.

5. Am I close anyway? If I get over 3/4 of the possibles t's/a's on my first playthrough, I'll sometimes stick it out to get a completion. Sometimes.

6. Are a chunk of the t's/a's for multiplayer? This is usually the kiss of death for game completion as far as I'm concerned. I don't like going online to try to get achievements. (Granted, I'm not a huge MP gamer at all, but I'll go into that another time) I tried with Halo 3, I really did, but if there's an especially challenging achievement I'm trying to get, I like to be able to load up that part of the game at will and keep trying for it. In multiplayer, the opportunity to get these tough ones (Two For One is a great example) is oftentimes very few and far between, and I don't like putting in 10 hours of matches just for the one or two chances I might get. On that note, I also don't like the 1,000-10,000 kills type. More farming.
-Note: Infinity Ward made a fantastic decision with CoD4 by making all of the achievements single player only, and having separate challenges in multiplayer. I really hope MW2 stays this way.

So, that said, here are the games that I've fully completed to date:

360:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Assassin's Creed
Bioshock
Dead Space
Mass Effect
Oblivion (though completion in this case ONLY refers to achievements)
Shadow Complex

PS3:
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Bedevilingly Close:
Fallout 3 (just need level 30 for Evil and Neutral, another time through DLC's will do it)
Braid (Speed Run, I'll have to play through the whole game again to train for this brutalizer)
GTA 4 (the toughest one for me to get has been the turkey in bowling. WTF!)

Anyway, it's Sunday morning, and that means that that's the end of Weekend Gaming Session #1! Check back through the week for articles about gaming issues, random thoughts, and the occasional plug!

B.