Majini, Lightning and Nazis, Oh My!

There's nothing quite like the feeling of finishing a game, and sending it packing back to GameFly. Of course, it's an extra bonus when I get a Platinum trophy or Completed game out of the equation, and this time, I managed get two! Two Platinums, and one hideous, glaring hole in my completion record. Read on!

 My Resident Evil 5 Stats:

 

• Platform:  PS3
• Playthroughs: 6+ @ 45+ hours     
•  Trophies: 51/51 before DLC (Platinum #9!)      /
•  I compare it to: Resident Evil 4, 2
• Play it again?:If not playing the DLC comes back to haunt me.
• Urgency: Gamefly or Used Section

Resident Evil is one of those franchises that I've been playing almost since game one. I haven't played any of the many spinoffs, however, I have played every main game in the series, and when Resident Evil 4 revitalized the series (and the genre), I was actually excited about it again. Resident Evil 5 takes the formula that RE4 utilized to such great effect (over the shoulder aiming, intense action, and upgrades upgrades upgrades!) and amps it up a bit. And, for the most part, it works.

The visuals, as I've expected from every new RE game, are fantastic. Top notch production value is one of RE5s real strengths. It's also the first RE set in bright sunlight, proving scary isn't just for the dark. The sound also keeps up with RE's stellar track record. But, these are all things we expect from AAA titles nowadays. When we consider the gameplay....

My first reaction after playing the demo was not excitement, but frustration. I had just played Dead Space, and while that game is just as terrifying and gripping (ok, maybe more so) than RE5, it has one important feature that RE5 did not. STRAFING! The ability to move sideways (or to move at all while you aim), Capcom argued, diminished the tension in this environment, which I think was just a lame cover for the real reason, which I think sounds something like, "Why didn't we think of that? Well, it's too late to put it in now, just make something up to cover for us, would you?"

One thing I noticed about this game and its predecessor is that it's not very fun the first time through. It's intense, it's taut, you're always fighting or running for your life (and not always succeeding). In other words, survival horror. However, on your second playthrough, you've fully powered up a weapon or two, and you tear through subsequent playthroughs, plural, like an unholy badass. This is where the new RE games get fun to play, and they are. It's also nice that you get to keep your equipment on higher difficulties, which makes them bearable.

A major new component in the RE formula is the inclusion of co-op. Having a partner, while one might think would lessen the intensity of a survival horror experience, actually provides some new thrills for the genre. Covering your partner as he/she runs across a catwalk crawling with Lickers (I'm so happy they're back!) is almost as intense as doing the running, hoping your trust in your partner is well founded.

Now, I haven't said much about the story. There's really not much to say, except that despite all of the improvements to the presentation, Resident Evil's story is a special type of ridiculousness that you can't find just anywhere. On the first playthrough, it's kind of fun to watch the cutscenes to attempt to figure out whats going on, but skip them thereafter. The game flows better without them, and they're not worth taking seriously. And, I do have to say, even though the lines haven't improved too much, lets give it to the voice actors for doing a decent job. And no one asks, "Where's Barry?"

If you're a RE veteran, definitely check this out. Not so bad for the general public, either, but no need to rush out the store.

My Infamous Stats:

• Platform:  PS3
• Playthroughs: 2 @ 35-38 hours     
•  Trophies: 50/50 (Platinum #10!)      
•  I compare it to: Supercharged Sandbox Superhero!       
• Play it again?: If it showed up orphaned on my doorstep. Otherwise I'll wait for the sequel.
• Urgency: Gamefly or Used Section.

Moment of Complete Honesty: I'm sick to death of sandbox games. Seriously. Yeah, ok, immersive worlds are fun, but it's hard to get this stuff right anymore. I HATE taking forever to get where I'm going, and sometimes I just get sick of wandering around. Infamous, I am glad to say, has refreshed my taste for these types of games, because it has shown me what they need: SOMETHING DIFFERENT! And, in Infamous' case, its superpowers! Sweet!


Infamous really did an excellent job of creating a city that was fun to traverse, and entertaining powers to wreak havoc with (and traverse said city, love you Rail Grind!). The game's morality system, while at times black and white, actually has a bearing on the gameplay, with each path directly affecting your selection of powers, as well as the city around you, with an altruistic play style inspiring the citizens to clean up the streets and cheer you on, while those of a more malevolent bent will notice neighborhoods falling deeper into ruin, and trash and insults being thrown your way.  


Honestly, I didn't get Infamous' story at first. I thought the tone was bizarre and confusing, however, when I thought of it as more of a comic book tale than other open world games, then I really was able to kick back and enjoy it. There are some bizarre and borderline ridiculous happenings, but in the context of a superhero comic, they all work just fine.


I have to recommend Infamous highly for anyone, but especially those burned out on open world games. It uses a lot of those conventions we know so well, but mixes up the formula just enough to make it a blast to play.

My Call of Duty 2 Stats:

 

• Platform: 360
• Playthroughs: 1 @ 10-12 hours     
•  Achievements: 200/1000 (really? See below)
•  I compare it to: WWII as you've never seen it before....as of 5 years ago.     
• Play it again?: Perhaps, that 200/1000 mocks me every time I see it.
• Urgency: For archival purposes only

A lot has changed in the gaming world since 2005. We're used to iron sight aiming, regenerating health, and Hollywood quality cinematic action. In other words, Call of Duty. After Modern Warfare, we've come to expect these features in a triple-A FPS.  So, I suppose it's no surprise that Call of Duty 2 was somewhat underwhelming for me. But, I could definitely see why it was such a big deal at the time.

A month or so after the Xbox 360 debuted, I saw CoD2 playing at a kiosk somewhere. I was instantly impressed by the level of detail on display, to say nothing of the utter chaos of battle. All running at 60 frames per second as well (my favorite framerate!). I was impressed and made it a point to play it someday. 

And 5 years later, I did. While some of the level design is pretty dated, it's very easy to pick out the conventions that made Modern Warfare such a resounding success 2 years later. The campaigns are interspersed with unforgettable "water-cooler" moments, the two that come to mind right this second are crawling through a trench while enemy tanks roll overhead, and gunning a tank over sand dunes taking out Rommel's Afrika Corps. And of course, there is the requisite D-Day level, though this one is certainly one of the best. 

Call of Duty 2 is also interesting in that it presents an example of developer's thinking toward achievements in their inception. While most games now have 40-50 achievements, with a very defined plan about when they are unlocked, Call of Duty 2 has only 13. I unlocked 2 on my Normal playthrough. 2. 50pts for finishing the tutorial, and another 150 chunk for beating the game. All the rest are for beating levels on Hardened or Veteran. While I just wasn't interested enough to keep going through Hardened and Veteran on this one, I may just get it again to do so, because looking at that 200/1000 feels like a stain on my GPA, er, completion record. Yeah.

From a historical perspective (and I mean gaming history, I'll leave the historical accuracy of the game to others), Call of Duty 2 is an important title that features many design staples that we take for granted today in their infancy. If you're interested for this reason, or if you're a World War 2 buff, CoD 2 may be worth taking a look at. Otherwise, just recognize this as a stepping stone to the games of today.

Next Time! Almost Caught Up! Hooray!

Wet With Sewage!

It's not often that I give a game its own blog entry. (Yes, I know I gave God of War 3 its own last week.) As I am fairly selective in the games I play, I generally have mostly good things to say with some minor complaints, which is informative but not all that fun to read. However, sometimes I do come across a game that I think will be good, and turns out so bad that at the end I have enough animosity towards on it to create an unrelentingly scathing review that's not only fun to read, but cathartic to write. This week's victim is Wet. Enjoy.


My Wet Stats

• Platform: PS3
  
• Playthroughs: 1 @ 8-9 hours
• Trophies: 22/41
  
• I compare it to: Enter The Matrix meets Kill Bill, except not any fun
  
• Play it again?: I will cut you if you make me.
• Urgency: Don't Waste Your Time.

As frequent readers of my blog know, I am a sucker for story. A good, or even halfway decent story will keep me chugging along through an otherwise bad game (See Matt Hazard). This aspect of myself was sorely tested today as I played Wet, a game I queued up based on the demo I played last year, based itself on Bethesda's excellent track record. Aesthetically, Wet rips off Quentin Tarantino's movies (most notably Kill Bill and Grindhouse) so hard I'm surprised he hasn't sued. Then again, it also rips off all of the old exploitation flicks he ripped off, so I guess that would be a serious case of the pot calling the kettle black. So, instead of saying "rip off," I'm going to use the phrase "pays homage to," which is the same thing when the rip-ee either approves or doesn't care, and Tarantino doesn't even play games, let alone one as infuriatingly inconsistent as Wet, so I'm pretty sure he doesn't give a damn. Anyway.

The worn-out film print look is complete with deep runs and heavy grain (a great joke for a different, current title out there at the moment), and, at least for the first two hours, complements the ultraviolence nicely. The story was definitely written as an homage to QT, just read and tell me if you disagree. Rubi Malone, a fixer for hire, undertakes a routine job to deliver a person back to her employer, who frames her for murder and leaves her for dead. After recovering, she sets out to perforate and dismember her betrayer and all of his allies. I knew you'd think so too.

Not that it does it badly. The look and feel of Wet (along with its fun psycho-billy soundtrack) is actually pretty unique for the game world. Which is why it's such a shame that the gameplay is so bad. The first game I thought of when I first played the Wet demo was, of course, Enter the Matrix (some will say Max Payne, but as I haven't played those, EtM is my frame of reference), with its slo-mo diving and shooting, superhuman feats of agility, etc. The problem with this is that it takes a lot of polish to get right. EtM's wasn't perfect by any means, but it was more polished than Wet. It is just downright tough to line up a shot while Ruby is pulling off these acrobatic stunts, and not once during the course of the game did I feel like a badass, like I'm sure the devs hoped I would. While it's an interesting idea to have one manual target reticule and an auto-target, the enemies just soak too many bullets for this to feel as cool as it should.

It really seems like the mark developer A2M missed here was that feeling of empowerment for the player. The one aspect of combat I did enjoy was using the sword, as it was pretty well engineered, powerful, and I usually hit the guy I wanted to hit. However, you actually get LESS style points at the end of the level for using your sword as opposed to "acrobatic kills" during which you can only use guns. So, not only did the gunplay actually make me feel more vulnerable than melee, as a player, I am actually DOCKED for using the sole aspect of combat that I thought really worked well!
 
I expect to die a few times during my first playthrough of a game. I expect a few combat deaths, and one or two "testing the waters" platforming deaths. I died more often just by accidentally falling off of ledges than I have in any other game in years. If the gunplay in Wet lacks a certain element of polish, the platforming didn't even bother with it. I cannot tell how many times I made a seemingly simple jump to the obviously correct spot and fell to my death, frequently necessitating a restart much earlier in the level. This also happened while I was climbing, fighting (rolled off a ledge at least 4 times), and, inexplicably, climbing up a ladder. This, more than any other single factor, was the source of my frustration with Wet.

In my Matt Hazard review, I lamented that such an awful game surrounded a story I thought any gamer would appreciate. Here, there is no such conflict. The story, while fun and decently written (with great voice acting by Eliza Dushku, Malcolm McDowell, and Alan Cumming), is not worth suffering through the subpar gameplay for. Watch a Tarantino flick instead. Very rarely do I slap a game back in the GameFly envelope as soon as (or before) the credits roll, but Wet is definitely an exception. The most telling review I can give of this game: I got a headache ten minutes in, and it didn't stop until I was done.

-B. Hunt

Epic Beyond Epic! I'm Tired of That Word!

The Xbox is back! After it's 3 week Magical Microsoft Tour, the 360 is back in action, and hopefully no hotter than ever. But, more importantly, it's been a big week for operat1ve's trophy collection, three platinums! And one of these is from what is easily one of the very best games of this generation, the incredible God of War III, a game so excellent it gets its own blog post! Read on!

3/21 to 4/5 At a glance

Currently Playing:

Borderlands (360) Secret Armory here we go!
Mass Effect 2 (360) Renegade playthrough!
Assassin's Creed 2 DLC (PS3)

Rock Band 2 (PS3),

Recently Finished:

God of War III (PS3) Platinum #8!

coming next post:
Resident Evil 5 (PS3) Platinum #9!
Infamous (PS3) Platinum #10!
Call of Duty 2 (360) Story Playthrough

My God of War III Stats:

• Platform:  PS3
• Playthroughs: 4 @ 40+ hours     
•  Trophies: 36/36 (Platinum #8!)      
•  I compare it to: It's F****** God of War! 3!       
• Play it again?: I would be if I weren't blogging about it!
• Urgency: Buy, Borrow or Beg!

I've been excited for God of War III since the credits rolled on God of War II. The God of War series has always been a paragon of precision gaming, as well as a graphical benchmark and a study in creating a compelling protagonist. God of War's gameplay relies on a simple yet elegant formula that has been borrowed from (it, along with Resident Evil 4, is responsible for the many quicktime events now all too common in gaming) and in some cases, outright copied (see my upcoming Dante's Inferno review). After God of War II, while the series' impact was still beginning to be felt throughout the industry, Sony Santa Monica was already hard at work evolving this formula to a height that no one at that time (myself included) could ever dream of. The developer had the option of developing GoW II on the brand new PlayStation 3, however, they were practically masters of the PS2 hardware by that time, and were able to push that system to use 97% of its total hardware capability, and created a game that looked better than most of the PS3 launch titles. Knowing this, I asked myself, "If they can make the PS2 run a game this amazing, what will they be able to do with the PS3 after a few years with it?"

Three years later, I found out.

The sheer scale of God of War III is breathtaking. It only takes a few moments into the first level (sans any prerendered cinematic, the in-game graphics are way past the need for those) to see why this game would be impossible to make on any other system. Massive Titans scale a Cyclopean spire of rock, doing battle with the gods above, and Kratos scales the Titan Gaea, battling the many minions of Olympus.  It's every bit as epic as I'm making it sound. Kratos is more detailed than ever, which is all the more amazing considering the fact that he exists in the same space as the towering, 1500 foot tall Titans. And all this is only the beginning.

God of War III is amazingly tight, even more so than its predecessors. The game flows almost perfectly all the way to the end (with the exception of one extremely bizarre puzzle), interspersing spectacular set pieces with intense combat, mixing it up frequently. One feature of this game that deserves special mention is the boss battles. God of War was light, with only 3 real bosses, God of War II had them all over the place. God of War III falls somewhere in between the two, with the focus more on quality than quantity, and has given me at least two of my favorite boss battles of all time. Each battle is different, and most are highly technical, and when it's done right, I love technical. 

The squeamish had best beware, God of War's trademark gore is in rareform, and Kratos inflicts horrors upon his enemies the likes which even the most hardcore gamers have not yet seen.  However, this violence IS Kratos. I've never felt this series to be utterly gratuitous, simply because of how central Kratos' rage, viciousness, and lack of foresight are to his character. The fact that Kratos uses violence as the answer to his every problem is not simply due to the fact that he is a video game character, but has shaped his backstory, and the ramifications have always shaped the plot of the series.


When I don't have enough good things to say about a game, I still try anyway, and then take 6 months to publish my blog post about it. So, all I can say, is that if you have a PS3, get God of War III. Now. If you don't have a PS3, go buy one, then go buy God of War III. It's worth it.




Next time: More Platinum! More Zombies! More Superpowers!

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