ryanlockhart.com

I didn't take very good notes at the end of 2008, mostly because the end of November and all of December was spent with World of Warcraft and Wrath of the Lich King. I started up a Death Knight and went nuts, not really playing a whole lot else.

That said, during this time I finished off Fallout 3 (soooo good, except for the ending) and Gears of War 2 (great stuff after a slow start).

I also played a bunch of LittleBigPlanet (a good chunk into the SP game, need to find time to create stuff in the future), Mirror's Edge (good stuff but I was a little disappointed by how linear it is, about half way through now), Resistance 2 (wanted to like it way more than I did, not digging the "only carry two weapons at once" thing), Rock Band (we grabbed it once Guitar Hero World Tour started getting more hard than fun near the end - which was also played quite a bit), Chrono Trigger (yay!), Far Cry 2 (about half way through, and still annoyed by the respawns), Left 4 Dead (best MP game ever!), Prince of Persia (really not feeling this, way too easy) and Saint's Row 2 (silly but fun).

But, mainly Lich King. Mmmmm... Lich King.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I powered through a good seven or eight hours of Fallout 3 today, and ended up having to stop and play some Guitar Hero World Tour because I was just getting depressed. I finished off a handful of "story" quests (including a very trippy one taking place in a different shelter) and was just wandering around the environment, killing things (or being killed) as I moved along. Everything was just so bleak and fucked it started getting me down. Heh.

Oh, I also finally downloaded and played the Mirror's Edge demo. Yeah, was always planning on buying it, but that demo sold me times two. The training was so-so, but when the action began, I was on the edge of my seat for the full two minutes it took to complete. The overall feelings of momentum are wonderful - love bursting through doors - and I was very, very impressed with the art direction and music.

 

Starting up Fallout 3 has been one hell of a chore. It's not that the intro is bad, but it had me constantly second guessing my decisions, especially near the end. Then, once I got outside, I had the same overwhelming feeling that Oblivion gave me when I left the sewers. And it wasn't exactly a good thing (gah! too much at once!). After a couple hours of play I ended up just loading up a save before exiting the shelter, as I put way too many points into things I wouldn't be able to use for a while. That said, a few hours into my "second go" have me thinking this might be one of the better games I've played in years, and it already seems to have lost the crap game design decisions Oblivion was plagued with (most notably, "dungeons" aren't repopulated with stronger enemies when you level up, yay!).

Played a bunch of Guitar Hero World Tour with the lady instead of going out, which was very fun. Playing on medium difficulty now, which has proven itself to be quite challenging on a few of the songs (second Tool song, the hell?). I also threw in Fallout 3 for a few minutes, stopping after the birthday party. It's a great intro, both in setting and as a tutorial, but I'm really looking forward to getting outside.

 

Finished off Fable II, pretty sure I picked the best of the three possible endings. Also, very nice, the game certainly doesn't end when the main quest does. After viewing the main credits, I went back in and not only completed a few old quests, I was surprised to see some new ones as well.

Planes are great for DS games, and it was the perfect time to start up Lock's Quest. It's a solid game so far, but also a bit...strange. Like, it almost feels like a Japanese game, but there's something off about the overall experience. Also, the "setting up" stage in the battles feels a little clunky. Maybe I'll enjoy it more when I'm not jammed into an airplane seat...

You know what's awesome? Guitar Hero World Tour. I don't know, I'm starting to think these music games might take off one day. Heh. The first and only other music game I've tried was the first Guitar Hero, which was fun at the time but I quickly lost interest. And, for some reason, the following versions and Rock Band never really inspired me to try them out again. That said, I'm always looking for games to play with the wife, and after watching my boss tear through World Tour on expert for a bit at work, I bit the bullet and picked up the Guitar version (not into singing, and we don't have room for the drums) and an extra (GH 3) wireless guitar. Yeah, freaking fun. We had a blast (on easy, trying out the next difficulty soon) and played until our hands hurt. Such great stuff.

I downloaded the Japanese update for PixelJunk Monsters (which now includes trophies, yay!), giving me the perfect excuse to get back into the game. The things is, the trophies aren't exactly all that easy to get - in fact, they're freaking rock-hard. And fun. In a few hours of play I came damn close to three of them, getting to the 18th or 19th wave more than once. Gah. Still, the addiction's back. Which is a good thing. I think.

Played a little more Far Cry 2 and a bunch of Fable II today. I'm trying to get over my problems with Far Cry, which includes being more patient with the checkpoints. Seems to be working so far... And Fable II. Gah, so keen. Married my second wife (the town whore, nice!) and had a baby with her, so I got the family a nicer house. I also saved lots of people, and am very close to being totally pure. You know, other than the other wife and all. I'm after the third hero now, and am looking forward to starting over once I finish and being a totally evil prat.

 

I'm not sure what to think about Far Cry 2. On one hand it's freaking beautiful and ambitious as all heck. On the other hand it has incredibly annoying enemy AI and re-spawning checkpoints. I'm about three hours in, and died thanks to being sniped from who-knows-where while trying to whittle down the same checkpoint that I cleared out five minutes before. Gah.

I also got a little further in Dead Space (cleared the sixth area) and got the second hero in Fable II. Both of these games still amaze me by their quality - neither are perfect, but they're both damn immersive and fun.

 

Finished a major part of the second quest in Fable II tonight, and got to a very, very cool (and unexpected) area. Also, I have to note, visiting many of the areas found in the first game (with some stark differences) is a major plus, gives the game a great sense of continuity.

I didn't have much to time play anything today, but I still stole and hour and got married in Fable II. My in-game wife is actually more naggy than my real life one (har, har), and she already wants to move to a bigger house. I bought a potion shop to go along with my few pieces of property, hopefully the income I'll make while not playing (LOVE THIS FEATURE) will make that possible.

I had a great gaming day, with the perfect complimentary titles. I played the heck out of Dead Space, and got to the fifth "chapter" of the game. That said, I took many, many breaks. Whenever my stress level got too high, I would pop in Fable II (which I got early, yay!) and hack away in a more light-hearted world. Then, when running around with my dog and flirting around with the townsfolk got too silly, I would return to the blood-filled corridors of nightmare-fuel.

The thing is, both of these games are super wonderful in their own ways. Fable II started a little slow (and not as fun as the opening of first game, in my opinion), but it quickly picked up once the "real" adventure began. It feels epic but not overwhelming, which is a compelling achievement in itself. I completed the first major part of the game in my four or so hours, and turned it off wanting to play more.

Oh, I also had some fun with my PS3 today as well. Downloaded the beta for Resistance 2 and died a lot in the versus mode (looking forward to trying co-op), and went through the first level of LittleBigPlanet (got it early as well, yay!). Dead Space and Fable II were sort of sucking all of my time today, though.

 

 

Just started Dead Space, SO FREAKY. Very beautiful, very scary. I'm stunned by the level of polish, it's rare that even the start screen elements and in-game HUD feel as if they received the same amount of attention as the "core game." And the combat feels very responsive and visceral - I love the feeling of power the gun gives you, it just tears enemies apart. Overall, I was expecting to be impressed, but not to this level. Also, gah. I had to stop playing once I got on the tram. I'm such a wimp when it comes to horror games...

A tad late, but I finally started Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, and beat it in the same sitting. Super fun, but my total play time was right around 3 hours, and that included some "wandering around" that I didn't have to do. Was a little surprised by the legnth, for some reason I was under the impression it was a 5-6 hour experience. And I sort of hated how you got the weapons (really like buying them, personally). That said, I think most of my disappointment comes from the fact I was having a great time, and wanted to keep playing. In a way I'd rather wait for another 20-hour (full price) experience, rather than any more bite-sized morsels. That said, it's still the best downloadable game I've played yet...

Oh, and another day off, another chapter in Yakuza 2 down. Things just got more interesting again, but it's not easy to get into after playing something so visually stunning.

 

I spent a couple couple more hours in Yakuza 2 today, now on Chapter 10. I'm still really enjoying the game, but it doesn't have the same hold over me the first game did. Maybe it's because the PS2 visuals are hard(er) to accept, or perhaps the story isn't as compelling. The first game seemed more personal, and this one is about past deeds totally unrelated to the main character (at least so far). I also took an hour and collected all of the pets in Castle Crashers, needed to consult an FAQ for a couple of them. I think I'm done with the game, I don't really have any desire to beat the harder mode. At least not right now...

 

"Played" Linger in Shadows, and I'm not totally sure why it exists. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I wasted my money or anything - it gave me a good ten or so minutes of enjoyment tonight, but it's just a curious beast. Great music, love the visual style, just not sure what the point is. The demo scene was never about making money, and I wonder what (if anything) this "experiment" will evolve into.

Finally got the chance to sit down with the LittleBigPlanet demo - such a cute game. Also, I would say surprisingly deep and interactive, if it wasn't for all the in-depth previews and information Sony's been putting out about how deep and interactive it is. Love the commentary and characters, and am really looking forward to the final version...

Man, I really hated a certain boss fight in Yakuza 2 - I was packed with health items and I had to use all of them. It wasn't that he was super difficult, but the only way to beat him was to have extreme patience and wait for openings. I'm not a very patient guy when it comes to fighting, though. Aside from that, had a great time and made it to Chapter 9.

Not much time to play today, but I still tried out one of the unlockable characters in Castle Crashers. The demon guy. Going to try sticking with magic upgrades at first, didn't really touch that in our first playthrough. Helen stuck with her level 19 character, which helped me level this one up quite a bit (think I'm around 10 now). Still fun as ever, even with replaying.

I finally got back into Yakuza 2, not sure what was keeping me away the past few weeks. Got through chapter 6, and oh boy, still fun as all heck. Hit some very troubling spots, though, and barely made it through without having to reload a 30-minute old save. Important lesson, always keep some extra health "potions" on you.

Then, when Helen got home, we fired up Castle Crashers and - much to the surprise of both of us - beat it after a couple hours of play. It's the first game we finished together, yay! Then, because we're like that, we started it up again on insane and took down the first couple bosses. Yeah, it's a bit harder, but still super fun.

 

A bit further in Dragon Quest IV this afternoon, playing very slowly. Sort of fun to just wander around and level up - perfect for quick bouts of play. Got a little further in Gears of War, beat the first boss. Funny, the game is pretty simple even on Insane, except when they put you up against a "moment" (like the screachers or the part when you have to take out four holes past the van).

 

The lady and I had a great time with Castle Crashers, she took to it way faster than I thought possible, and kicked quite a bit of ass to boot. We just got the map in the sand castle after a few hours of play. VERY fun game, and even more so with two people playing.

Still playing Dragon Quest IV when the opportunities arise, and started up Gears of War again - getting ready for the sequel and all. Insane difficulty is...well, insane. Stopped at the point when you have to hold off against the screachers. Gah.

 

Ok, my first try at Castle Crashers wasn't super pleasent, but I'm going to blame the fact that I was sick. Today, though, it just clicked. Like, in a wonderful way. Got to the forest filled with shitting animals, and I literally laughed out loud. Stopped right then, having a feeling Helen would get a kick out of the game... I grabbed Duke Nukem 3D and played that instead, finishing off the first two levels. Funny, the game is showing its age in so many ways, but is still impressive in terms of level flow and overall humor.

 

While I doubt I'll be picking up Mega Man 9 again soon, I gave Wipeout HD another go and had much more success. In fact, I had a great time playing - got a couple trophies and finished off the first round with all golds. So freaking beautiful - I really hope we start seeing more downloadable games of this caliber in the near future. That said, my hard drive is filling up. Crap.

Today I bought two new games on PSN, the most modern example of a downloadable game and the most old-school: Wipeout HD (oh, sorry, wipEout HD) and Mega Man 9. And, wow, I suck at both. Well, Wipeout I was sort of able to get a hang of, but Megaman would just constantly kick my ass. I think I had fun playing, but I can't help but feel like an bruised wife defending her abusive husband. Like, I loved (and beat, many times) Mega Man 2, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to finish a level in this one...

 

Well into Dragon Quest IV's second chapter, enjoying it slightly more than the first quest - at least after it finally got going (I really hate searching for some inane and non-descript trigger to move the story forward). The magic use is super basic but also super fun, a nice change of pace from the "hit them until they die" focus of the first chapter. Beat some sort of sub-boss, and got to the third town. Still hyped on it, which is a good sign.

Couldn't sleep last night, so I started up Dragon Quest IV for the DS. Read a few reviews that painted it as a "great if you like old school games, but prepare to be bored if not" sort of light, which worried me. Final Fantasy IV started grating on me, and most reviews said it was a much better game, and a way better remake. Truth be told, I don't care that this is a quick port of a PS2 game, it's freaking incredible. I'm only an hour or two into it (beat the prelude and first chapter), and I couldn't be happier. Yes, it is old school, but the battles are quick and fun, so I don't mind the grinding, and I really, really love the art style and engine. Super colorful with great texture work (especially considering the platform), and the "day-night cycle" is wonderful. I'm already hooked, but let's see how long that feeling lasts.

Since I'm apparently in a J-RPG mood today, I also finally really got going with Tales of Vesperia. Last time I played was while sick, and even though I found it beautiful, it was also a tad on the boring side. That's no longer the case. I only played for a couple of hours, but found it super charming and fun, especially regarding the battles. Was able to use some interesting strategies, which made them much better than the "button mashing" I first took them for. Also, wonderful music!

I also went a little nuts with the PC, finally got a character in World of Warcraft to level 55 (so I can enjoy the upcoming Lich King fun), started up Crysis Warhead (which is super great) and gave The Witcher a solid try (a little "eh" on it right now, will give it another go when I'm not focused on Japanese RPGs).

 

 

Well into chapter 5 in Yakuza 2, doing the host thing (gah, I'm as bad with ladies in the game as I was in real life) and trying to level up as much as possible before moving on. The story has gone from interesting to intreguing, with tons of potential red herrings already flying around...

I was a huge, huge, huge fan of the original Yakuza game - great RPG and story, and was easily one of my favorite games of 2005. So, needless to say, I've been anxiously waiting for Yakuza 2. Of course, being the idiot I am, I forgot to pre-order it and no EB in 100 miles has a copy. Nice. Got it through Amazon, though, and started it up today.

It's strange starting up a PS2 game again, the fonts were all blurry and everything looked...gah. I had to force my way through the first 10 minutes, but then hours had passed before I noticed. SO GOOD. More Yakuza radness with less loading, I'm very much a happy person right now. Got to Chapter 3 before calling a break, and I'm really looking forward to playing more.

Finished up Too Human today, at least as much as I'll finish it for a while. Story is done, I have a level 42 Champion with one piece of epic armor, and no desire to play any more in the near future. Last level was very "bleh," not as bad as the second, but no where near as good as the first or third. Such strange ramping, and so, so, so repetitive.

Getting near the end of Too Human, trying to level my guy up to 40 before tackling the last level. Going through the first level as many times as I've had is almost silly, I can now speak along with the lame squad voice-overs without missing a beat. I tried heading through the second level, just to die again (even at my level, sheesh) - somehow they made it even less fun in replay. Yay for enemies that can't be hurt by guns, but easily freeze you when you get close. Fuuuuuun.

Maybe it's because I'm sick, but not having much fun with Too Human today. Third level was certainly better than the second, but...I don't know, I'm already a little bored of the whole game. Which is sad, seeing how I was having a blast when I started. Just got to level 35, and have some super nice shoulderpads. Yup.

Tried out Tales of Vesperia and Castle Crashers as well. Tales is super pretty, but I'm not in a JRPG sort of mood - combo of slow pace and meds was making me fall asleep. Castle is great in an old-school kind of way, but it's not totally clicking with me yet. Great art, cool combat, but I feel like I'm just button mashing. Hmm...

 

Too Human might have the worst second level in the history of games. Well, other than Legion. I beat the first level without dying once. It was challenging and enjoyable. Second level? Died on the first bridge. Then again in the next area, and again (and again and again) as I progressed further. It's freaking hard, and not very much fun. Fuck dark elves. Also, fuck those spider things that hit you with their ground attacks even when you're jumping. And fuck areas that have two trolls, one of those spider things and fifty fucking dark elves. Ramping? Hah.

Soul Calibur 2 has a great place in my heart, as it does with many of us Dreamcast fans, so I sort of had to pick up the latest version. Even though it has *shudder* Star Wars characters in it. Sigh. You know what? I suck as Soul Calibur 4. Also, I didin't have a lot of fun with it. Gah. I hope it was just because I was on a serious "down" thanks to the ass that is Too Human's second level, but I felt like I was just button mashing. Also, I wasn't playing against my SC2 friends in Annette's house whilst eating hot dogs. Huh, maybe I just liked the people I was playing SC2 with, rather than the game itself.

 

OMG I love Too Human. What the hell? I'm playing through the first level again before passing to the second, and it's even better this time! New enemy placements and "just the right amount" of goblins to swat around. Speaking of which, there's a GREAT sense of building power here, I'm starting to really hit back enemies that used to take many strikes thanks to my new weapons - love this kind of shit.

Too Human might be one of the biggest surprises...well, ever. I was planning and expecting not to like this game, but the demo sort of won me over. Then I got the actual game and found myself LOVING it. I'm a Diablo whore, and this game fills that need perfectly. The combat has been fun so far, I got some rad armor and weapons, and I beat the first level without dying once. Neat beans!

Got demolished in Final Fantasy IV - not sure if I'm too low of a level or if I'm playing "stupid" again... Trying to save Rosa and I got smashed by the first group of enemies. Yay. Since I was on a plane, I threw on a bunch of other games for a few minutes each - Monster Hunter Freedom 2 and got through the training, Gunpey and unlocked a few skins, started Jake Hunter but realized I wasn't in the mood and re-started Hotel Dusk (been well over a year since my last play). Dusk is amazing, still, but I only got through 20 mins. Something about playing on planes makes it hard to keep my attention for long...

 

 

Ah, the stupid dark dwarf cave in Final Fantasy IV. Died three times in a row on the third level, such a pain in the ass - brought other games along on the trip, and they're starting to look damn tempting...

Thanks to some lazy time, I got a bit further into Final Fantasy IV. Gah, still sad when the twins die... I remember this being such a defining moment when I was a lad, and it’s nice to see that the emotion holds all these years later.

I pulled a muscle scuba diving, so I was able to get some quality time with Final Fantasy IV this night whilst in major pain sitting on the bathroom floor (didn't want to wake up the lady) - did the whole Cecil changing thing before finally succoming to sleep. Still having major fun, and I can hardly wait for the inevitable FFVI DS remake...

Finally started up Final Fantasy IV DS - was planning on playing on the plane, but got caught up watching movies on the PSP. There's something nice about sitting on a cruise ship balcony in Hawaii and playing an old-new Japanese RPG. I loved this game as a youngster, and it's great to play it again in a new (and damn visually impressive for the DS) light.

Crunch is kicking my ass, we’re pretty much done but I haven’t had time for many games lately - and when I’ve had time, I’ve been to exhausted to play. Well, I did “force” my way through a little more Uncharted today. Yeah, I really don’t understand the haters on this, the game is super fun to play and has incredible visuals. Sure, enemy spawning can be too much at times, but they’re fun to shoot at... :)

Playing Uncharted again, thanks to the reciently-added trophies (and the fact I wanted to play through it again anyways), and having much fun as a result. Got through Act 5, and finding it almost more enjoyable the second time through. Braid, on the other hand, left a super sour taste in my mouth today. To grab a few of the puzzle pieces I had to think so far outside the box it was a little silly, and I ended up not feeling “smart” for figuring them out, but a little pissed that the answer was so outside the flow that the game was teaching me.

 

Loving downloadable games lately, played a lot of Geometry Wars 2 and Braid, is shockingly good. I’ve heard nothing but praise for the game, so I wasn’t walking in totally blind, but it was way, way better than I was expecting. Music, visuals, level design...all ace.

 

Good day today - being off from work and all. Geometry Wars 2 is kickass, simply kickass. I always enjoyed the first game, blag. Dark Sector...well, I can’t get my head around it. It’s nice looking (although almost overly “post-processed” in the opening level), and plays well - but it’s almost great, and I think that’s the issue. Got to the third stage, and am sort of running out of steam. I also played a bunch of two PSN games, Eden (not easy to get all the seeds in the second level, I tell you) and Super Stardust HD , mainly to collect some trophies.

 

 

Played some more Marvel Ultimate Alliance with the lady tonight, got through the Atlantis bit. Yeah, for some reason this game is no where near as fun as the first X-Men game was, it seems a bit lazy or something. Maybe I’m just tired of dungeon crawlers, but everything seems so repetitive. Not sure if I’ll be picking it up again any time soon...

I got some more Japanese PSN points through Ebay, mainly to try out The Last Guy, and I’m damn glad I did. It’s a very fun micro-experience, sort of like Pac-Man meets Choplifter, but with zombies. And Google Earth. I also grabbed the full version of Eden. Hot shit it’s nice. Very relaxing and hectic at the same time, and I finished off the first “level” after an hour of play - just missing the “all seeds” trophy by one. Already want to play again.

 

Tried out both the Eden Demo and Final Fantasy IV today, both only for a few minutes - really, really enjoyed PixelJunk’s latest offering, at least once I figured out what the heck was going on. Final Fantasy was great, and I’m looking forward to getting more into it when I get some free time.

 

Downloaded Siren: Blood Curse through the PSN (yay for downloadable games) and got through the first episode tonight. I’m more than a small wimp when it comes to horror games, but I enjoyed this immensely. Great visuals and sound, and - despite some already awful voice acting - I have high hopes for the rest of the game. Hopefully the future episodes are longer, though.

Played through the recently-released Too Human demo this afternoon. I don’t know if it’s worth all the drama, frankly. It’s good, I like it - will likely be purchasing it soon after release, but it’s certainly not insanely great or crap. Engine has issues, as does the texturing (female hair, gah), but I love the collectathon feeling it gave and the combat - which I thought I’d hate - was fine. Also, when the demo ended, it left me wanting more. Which is always a good sign.

Today was also the first time I had the chance to download 2.41 for my PS3, so I played a bit of Super Stardust HD to get a trophy and finally changed my PSN name. Fun times.

Also, crazy crunch. No real time to play games lately. Gah!

 

Finished off Metal Gear Solid 4 today, such a great last fight. A wonderful ending to a wonderful game. Hell, a wonderful series. Well, except for MGS2, but whatever. Anyways, I had insanely high hopes for this game, and it didn’t disappoint. Yes, a few of of the cinemas were a bit long, but I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff. Looking forward to what Kojima has next - I just really hope it’s Project ‘S’.

Wow, Metal Gear Solid 4 was so made for fans of the original PlayStation game. I just hit “the part” and was floored. Made it to Act 5, and did so with such a huge smile on my face... This is easily my favorite game this year, by far.

I also finally got the chance to try out Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - only played for a few minutes (one battle worth), but the visuals and sound were amazing for the platform. Not really in a tactics mood these days, I have a feeling I’ll be holding off on playing more for a while...

 

Another Sunday means another day off, which means more Metal Gear Solid 4 played. Yeah, really, really, really loving this game. Sure, some of the cinemas are a little too long (almost fell asleep in the briefing before Act 3), but most are perfect and packed to the brim with MGS spoilers. Konami weren’t joking about explaining everything... Anyways, pretty far into Act 3, had one hell of a fun chase sequence and beat the second boss. OMG awesome. Can’t wait until next Sunday! :)

Oh, I also finally tried the Haze demo. Er, yeah. No thanks. Combat was mediocre, and the freaking voice acting was killing me.

 

Had horrible insomnia this evening, so I was able to put in a bit of time with The World Ends with You, now onto the the 5th day. Still really enjoying it, and have had some fun leveling up new pins. It’s funny, I hate the first few battles with each new “deck,” but then end up loving them - this game has almost too much depth...

Well into Act 2 in Metal Gear Solid 4, holy shit. Seriously. Finished off the first boss, which - despite it being a “traditional” Metal Gear boss fight - was super epic. And the battle’s ending sent shivers down my spine. Want to keep playing, and really wishing this crunch was over...

We’re on pretty heavy crunch, so I haven’t had time to play much lately. That said, I did install Metal Gear Solid 4 and played for a few minutes tonight. After the OMG and WTF opening and a few minutes of re-adjusting to the controls, I’m looking very (very, very) forward to playing more.

Played a little The World Ends with You while waiting to pick up the wedding rings during lunch. Yeah, I think my favorite feature is the auto-aquiring of pin points while the game’s off - every game needs to reward you for not playing, it’s like you get a little rad gift every time you turn it back on...

Wow, Fight Night Round 3 is death on the fingers. My thumbs were killing me, thanks to the “workout” I gave them yesterday, so I only got through one fight before putting Grand Theft Auto 4 back in. I actually beat the bank robbery mission, which was insane. I also opened up the final island. That said, I’m only a good 40% through the game, so freaking ridiculous in scope. Oh, I also saw some “old faces” I spared earlier, and either accidently killed or pissed them off in my second meeting(s). Oh well.

 

Being all hung over I needed something basic and brutal, so I threw in Fight Night Round 3 for an hour. During that time I learned that hitting the body is almost better than aiming for the face, and now I’m winning fights. I still have no idea how to block, though. Huh.

I have a strong feeling the “time limit” in The World Ends with You is a bit fake, I ended up spending more time just running around and leveling than than I supposedly had to “finish the quest.” Which is good, I freaking hate time limits... Still loving the game though!

Couldn’t sleep tonight, so I ended up playing The World Ends with You for a few hours, mainly just “grinded” for a while, maxing out all of my pins except one. Really enjoy the feature / ability that levels up pins when you’re not playing - sort of like WoW, you don’t feel like you’re “losing out” when not playing.

Tried out the “co-op” mode in Boom Blox today, and I’m very, very confused. With the “same time” shooting games, we both had our own remotes, but in the “take turn” block games, we had to share the same remote. Like, mine would just turn off, and only her remote would work. I put new batteries in, we reset the game, I don’t know... It really seems like a bug, or at least I hope it is, because - if it’s intentional - that’s one of the strangest design decisions I’ve ever heard of. It seems like a small thing, but having to constantly hand remotes back and forth is slightly dumb if you each have your own, and it got to be surprisingly annoying.

Played a little more The World Ends with You today. And by “little” I mean “lot” - now about done with the third day, and I’m still very, very happy with the experience. The combat just keeps getting better, almost reminds me of Phantom Dust, in the way you can “assign” yourself abilities and use them in combos. Very fast paced, a great use of the DS screen/stylus, and I still feel like I’ve barely caught a glimpse of the game’s content.

I was able to get quite a bit further in Grand Theft Auto 4 this afternoon, thanks to having the first “totally off” day I’ve had in months. Which was nice. I also started up The World Ends with You in the morning, as a way to pass the time until the lady was done with the TV, and found myself enthralled. I finished the first “day,” and can’t believe how deep of a game experience this seems to be. I say “seems” because I’m a good hour in, and there are tons (and I mean tons) of “?” marks covering the menus, meaning there’s lots of stuff yet to be unlocked. And the combat so far has been wonderful, but I’ve only tried out a good 5 out of (I’m guessing) many dozens of different attack pins. I’ve been a bit “out” of DS games lately, but I’ve got a feeling this is going to pull me back in... Oh, lastly I also grabbed some additional content for Final Fantasy Chronicles: My Life as a King (everything except for the costumes) and played enough to “unlock” the other race’s houses. The only issue is most of my characters are lvl 22+, and I’m not sure if I want to “start over” with any new low level characters.

 

We got off a little early today (thanks to the holiday weekend), so I hightaled it home and got some Grand Theft Auto 4 time in before the lady returned from work. I’ve got to say, my favorite part of GTA games have always been the “just fucking around” bits, but I actually am almost enjoying the story missions more this time around.

Left work early again (gah, hate being sick), but I was able to play a little more Final Fantasy Chronicles: My Life as a King after waking up. I’m now on chapter 4 and my town is slowly filling out, both with buildings and visitors. It is flawed in a few ways (menus are non-consistant and you can’t help feeling detatched from the “real action” thanks to the nature of the game), but hot damn is it fun in a simple, relaxing way. I’ll likely pick up some of the extra content soon...

Went home sick today, and after napping and trying a little Grand Theft Auto 4 (which made me insanely dizzy), I instead opted for Final Fantasy Chronicles: My Life as a King. Which was a great choice, as it requires zero eye-hand coordination and you can easily zone out for a few seconds without killing yourself. Made some serious headway in terms of town growth, and got to chapter 3.

 

Aside from playing a bit more Grand Theft Auto 4 (finally got to the center major island, huzzah), I also downloaded both Final Fantasy Chronicles: My Life as a King and LostWinds from WiiWare. Both are super great, and surprisingly polished - wasn't expecting the level of detail Lost Winds provided... While Lost Winds was fun for a few (and I'm sure I'll get more into it soon), most of the time was spent with My Life as a King. I'm about 15 days in, and already addicted. The lady and I also finally got the chance to play some Boom Blox. She's surprisingly good at the multiplayer mode. Hmmm...

 

 

Another Sunday and another chance to play Grand Theft Auto 4. Gah, times like this make me hate crunch - not much time to play games lately... About 20 percent in, and it's still going strong. Funny thing is I never really cared about the characters in GTA games before, but this one has me super involved in the story. Neat stuff...

Got a few more hours into Grand Theft Auto 4 today, 13 percent done and still loving it. New favorite thing to do between missions: drive up to the roadblocks on the bridges, shoot the cops and cross the line, then run back to my car and see how long I can survive. Neat!

Was able to get Grand Theft Auto 4 a few hours early today, and played for a bit. Not sure what I think. I mean, it's great, just like GTA always has been. Also, it's freaking super overwhelming. Like, drove around for 30 minutes, and I don't think I ever ran out of new stuff to look at. Went on a date, beat up some guys and made a wicked jump in the yugo-type thing I was driving. Yeah. This is going to take up my (little) free time for months.

After a few false starts, finally had the chance to play some Metal Gear Solid Online tody. Yeah. Impressed. Great engine, no lag and super fun matches. I also downloaded Pixel Junk Monsters Encore from the Japanese store, and the addiction's back.

Saved up for an M3 in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and was a bit sad that I was only able to use it in one race. Which I decimated. But still. Huh, I guess reading which cars can be used for which races is a good idea. Now I'm back to grinding for more cars. Yay!

I haven't had a chance to play much lately, thanks to crunches at work and the such, but I sure as hell picked a good game to break my streak. The funny thing is I've never been much of a Gran Tursimo fan (I've always been more of a Ridge Racer kind of guy), but that might have just changed. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue - despite being a glorified $40 beta - is freaking fantastic. Fantastic.

I started off with my real life car, and just had a keen time finishing off a few races. I also played a bit online, and actually got 4th once... I can so see myself getting way too addicted to this game. Which is great, seeing how much free time I have these days. Guh.

Because I enjoy being timely, I finally really started playing Fight Night Round 3 this evening. You know, the game that came out two years ago. Anyways, I can't believe it holds up this well, both in visuals and gameplay. The "interactive" camera is still shockingly good, and I must admit I was having a great time playing. You know, despite the music.

Beat a couple more bosses in Fantasy VII: Crisis Core as well, and it was neat because I almost died - the fast-action-RPG gameplay actually way better than I thought it would. The "random" slot thingy is still strange, though. I love it when it magically saves my ass, but when it gives me something cool after the fight is pretty much over? Lame.

 

Got a little further into Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (huzzah, now in Vegas), and I'm still enjoying it. Well, as long as I tell myself I'm playing an expansion pack, and not an actual new game. Maybe I lied a little bit before - it's more than a year later, and I want new stuff. Also, had fun with Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core during lunch, just got to the end of the first major "dungeon." PSP games are so perfect when they dish out bite-sized chunks between saves.

 

Wow Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core has one hell of an intro. Super amazing CG and music, and the gameplay wasn't half bad either. A bit more hack-and-slash than I was expecting, but it was super fast and quite fun. Very much looking forward to playing this more, and I'm getting hardcore desires to throw the original VII back in as well...

Picked up Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 the other day; as such a huge fan of the first, I couldn't let this one pass by. Only played for a few minutes tonight, but I'm already much happier with it than I was with Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 in terms of a sophomore release. It's more of the same, yes, but it's a good same.

OMG Marvel Ultimate Alliance's in-game cinemas are horrible. Like, PS1 horrible. Also, second level is somehow even more dark and generic than the first - yay for running around mechanical basement-type areas. Oh well, it seems like Atlantis will be next. That said, if Namor's kingdom is dark and metallic, I'm quitting the game.

Grabbed Marvel Ultimate Alliance last night so I'd have some fun to play with the lady. I was a fan of the X-Men games (I got through most of X-Men Legends II on my PSP - it's a great plane game), and I thought this would be more of the same. It's fun, but man is the first area boring looking. Also, it almost has too many characters to start with - made the "story" feel a little disjointed.

OK, so many wows - I am such the wimp. I put in Condemned for the second time, ever, because I wanted something creepy to play (also, it should be noted, the lady was home so I would be less scardy-cat). According to my save game, the last time I played was in November. Um, 2005. It freaked me out so much back then I had to put it in the closet after the first level. Anyways, I gave it a second go, and got through the second level. And now I think I'll put it back into the closet, ready to be played again in two years. Yikes. WIMP!

This morning I also played a bit more of God of War: Chains of Olympus, and I'm still super impressed. It's totally not as good as the full-sized games (control blows on a PSP and the bosses have been a bit...underwhelming so far), but that's a lame point, as it's easily better than most games I've played lately.

 

After making some bad decisions with the first time I played Mass Effect, late last year, I put it down - almost, at that point, for good (note: don't got to the ice planet first. Also, don't rely on auto-saves). Since I'm forgiving (and was hankering for a sci-fi experience), I gave it another try and walked away at the five hour mark much more impressed. I'm still not a huge fan of the slightly clunky fighting or the story as a whole (I really couldn't give a damn about these characters, and I love sci-fi...), but hot damn does the game work when you're not over-hyped for the experience. And don't rely on auto-saves.

Still waiting for a Bully: Scholarship Edition patch before I really get into it (yay for random locks), but I played for an hour today, mainly completing side quests (and saving like crazy). Really hope that patch comes soon...

 

Finished off the second area in Army of Two, and I'm now well into the third. I'm not sure I've ever been so "wow, this is almost good" about a game before. Like, it's not quite good enough for me to get obsessed over, but it's also not bad enough to label it mediocre. Which, well, I guess is a compliment. Still haven't played it with the friend, though, and I'm looking forward to the experience.

I got through Army of Two's first level, and I'm not sure what to think of it yet. Great presentation, combat has been solid, and the characters are only annoying, rather than the "incredibly annoying" I thought they would be. I'm holding off really getting into it, as I promised a friend we'd play together.

The lady and I played a bit Super Smash Bros. Brawl this afternoon. It's fun, but a little messy in terms of figuring out what the hell is going on.

I started up God of War: Chains of Olympus as well, and - despite my high expectations - I was blown away. It doesn't seem to have the "omg" of its console brothers, but the very fact I'm playing something this high quality on a handheld almost freaks me out.

 

After starting up the single player Super Smash Bros. Brawl campaign, I stopped after 30 mins or so - holding off to play with the lady. Platforming - at least so far - is messy, crazy fun.

Wow, Bully: Scholarship Edition is great. And, wow, is it buggy - crashed three or four times in the few hours I played. Yikes.

I also finally started up Patapon for real, just did a few hunting missions and got the musical tree thingy down enough to grab some nice branches - now I'm up against the first boss again.

 

Played a few minutes of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the lady, which was insanely fun. After a bit of confusion she got into the swing of it and took me down more than a few times. :) Really looking forward to getting into the single player game, though, and unlocking some new characters - I want R.O.B.!

I finally finished Call of Duty 4 on Veteran. Well, more or less. Beat the main game, but not having much luck with the Mile High Club mission. Got close a couple times...and that's it.

Also finally was able to try out Crysis, and after many tweaks on my machine I got to a happy place - no real shaders, but good shadows and high textures. So far the experience been great, super happy with the battles. Only an hour or so in (just rescued the hostage), and the battle getting through the town was excellent.

 

Wait, wow. After trying for hours (many hours) to get past a certain area in Call of Duty 4 on Veteran - the part after taking "the shot" - I gave up with much frustration early this month. Today, though, I gave it another try. And passed the area in two tries. Sigh. I got through a couple more levels (including the completely insane "escape to the extraction point" one) with slight ease, and I'm on the last series of missions.

I'm really not sure about Lost Odyssey, I want to like it, but I'm having trouble getting past the incredibly "overdone" story and characters - it just feels as if the developers were trying too hard to make a "bigger" Final Fantasy that they overlooked what makes Final Fantasy good in the first place, like the pacing and characters and constant feelings of reward. Half the reason I'm still playing is for the "1000 Years of Dreams" sections, and for really, really pretty backdrops. I hope the story doesn't turn out half as dull as it already seems to be (just did the "twist," and...yeah), or else I'm not sure if I'll be able to take it past the first disc...

OMG. I bought Spider-Man 3 off a friend for cheap, and I think I got really, really ripped off. Horrible intro area, messy controls and camera, and the visuals are poor (crappy textures in cinemas, low framerates abound and zero shadows) - it just feels rushed. Plus, when I failed the first mission, it made a noise come out of my speakers so dreadful I dropped my controller in shock. I took a few pictures of lizards, and now...yeah. Not sure I'll be playing this again soon.

 

Finished off Burnout Paradise today, or at least I got the end credits. Wow, lots of fun. It did get a little repetitive, and there's no way I'm going to try for 100% completion, but it was a damn enjoyable (and incredible-looking) ride.

I'm also further in Lost Odyssey, finally started the action "game" part of the adventure, doing battle and the like. I'm not totally sure I'm liking where it's going, so far the story has been very heavy-handed, the villain is clear, and the characters mostly-unlikeable.

 

Got my "A License" in Burnout Paradise after a few hours of play. Still really loving it, finding myself just driving around hunting cars when I'm bored of the events. Strange there's no people, though. Like, anywhere - not even in the cars. It's almost like you're in a strange Cars world, just without the big happy eyes. Also, more violence.

Started up Lost Odyssey today as well, amazing opening cinema and the gameplay has been solid so far. Story already hints of super-lameness, though. Or, at least in terms of the characters...

 

OMG. I've always liked Burnout as a series. Neat crashes, but aside from the destruction, I never really "got into" the games. Thanks to a present from a friend, though, that just changed. Burnout Paradise is so freaking incredible. I love Ridge Racer (RR7 had me entranced for a solid week), and this is the first game that I've played that matches the same feel. SUCH a good sense of speed, great crashes, intense races and it just feels so polished. I was glued for several hours straight and got my B license in the process. Gah, and now my eyes hurt.

I also finished off Chapter 2 of Professor Layton and the Curious Village last night during a bit of insomnia, and I'm still pleasantly shocked by its quality.

 

Professor Layton and the Curious Village comes off as a surprise. I knew it was going to be good, everyone said it would be - and the developers are damn talented. That said, the very fact this game is as good as it is...well, it's shocking. I just finished the first Chapter, with a good 10 puzzles completed, and it was hard to set it down. The setting, characters, story, music, and even the puzzles... All great stuff.

Sweet, I actually had a bit of rhythm when showing off the game at work, and was able to totally destroy the boss. I am so, so, so looking forward to the final copy - quick side-scrolling missions to upgrade your army, perfect for play-and-go. I so hope this does well, even though I've got a feeling it's going to crash and burn, even at 20 bucks. Yeah, already have it pre-bought at EB.

Got the Patapon Demo as a gift from a friend, and holy moly is it keen. It took a small while to get into - the whole idea of controlling everything with just a few commands given to beats took a few to accept - but once everything clicked, I was having a blast. Building up my army to take on the final boss (I had to escape the first time we fought), and ended the game with it on sleep. Ah, no save function sucks, especially after playing for over an hour...

I grabbed Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 on sale a few days ago - hell, I enjoyed the first and I need a shooter to help with the CoD4 withdraw. Wow, this wasn't the the best choice. I got a small ways into it (finished off the first major mission?), and was a little let down by the inane dialog, slow battles, and mediocre setups. I really don't remember the first GRAW being this bad, will have to go back one day and jog my memory.

I really wanted to enjoy Just Cause's demo back in the day - the messy gameplay subdued the amazing engine, through. That said, I couldn't pass a used copy for 10 bucks. Only played for an hour, but it's already easily worth the money.

Also about over with trying to get through Call of Duty 4 on the hardest difficulty. Just did the sniper shot, and am getting a bit overwhelmed trying to get past the first wave(s) of enemies on the ground. Yikes.

 

Picked up my PSP for the first time in a small while, and threw in Silent Hill Origins and Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness. Origins is super impressive, at least from a technical standpoint. The fire in the first building and the flashlight effects, most notably. Not sure if I'll play much, I'm a wimp when it comes to horror games, and playing this with headphones was already freaking me out.

I've played a bit of Disgaea on the PS2, but never really had time to get into it - an excuse I no longer have with the PSP version. Only played through a few missions, but it's super great (and super deep) already. Love the humor...

 

I only played Rez HD for a little while tonight, but - I've got to say - experiencing it with the lights out, cranking up the sound through headphones and having a second controller (set to Trance Vibration) in the small of your back... Yeah. Also, wow.

Also, $10. That was the price I paid for War Tech: Senko No Ronde a few days ago. A shmup-meets-fighting Xbox 360 game, for only ten bucks? Really? Well, it was a surprise - very rough, not super fun, but easily worth the money. I beat one of the story modes, and I'm sure I'll pick it up again one day in the future.

 

OMG. I've always loved Rez - spent many hours with it on the PS2, even still have an extra sealed "white strip" version someplace - but this is almost silly in terms of how well Rez HD made its transition the current generation. So vivid! So much fun... Very, very happy this came out.

Today was a nice one for games - raining and all... Played a little bit of No More Heroes (just did a few side missions) and a bunch of E4. Wow, great game. Got a couple more achievements and a score over 20 billion (hah, love how over-the-top it is) in less time than it took me to get the 14 billion yesterday. The funny thing is I think I really could keep playing forever - and looking at some of the high scores (with over 1500 billion), apparently some people have...

Also got through another level in Blacksite - Area 51. Man, I really wish that game was better - it has moments of "hey! cool!" but way too many bugs and glitches and mediocre firefights.

Threw in Bioshock again, thinking I'm going to try for the Brass Balls achievement one of these days. Going to take it slow, though. Got a little burnt on Rapture after going through it (nearly) twice without any breaks. Opening is still ace, though. Wow.

And, on the DS side, started up Days of Ruin. I'm such a fanboy for Advance Wars, and this one doesn't disappoint. At all.

 

 

Wow, I really, really love the style of No More Heroes. That said, the driving around bits are incredibly bad - no where near as nice as those found in the original GTA 3, which is sort of sad. Got through two bosses (finally "got" the game by the time I reached the second), and am really looking forward to playing more.

Also finally tried out E4, after having it sitting in my Xbox Arcade menu for the past few months. Great stuff. Also took a few minutes to get into, but once I did... Yeah. 14 billion points in unlimited mode, after a little more than an hour playing.

Lastly, of course, I played a little more Diablo II, now well into the second act. It's getting tougher now, my army of wolves and crows are starting to get torn apart. Heh, I guess now I have to start clicking on enemies instead of just hanging out in the background...

 

Just finished up the first act in Diablo II, and I'm still amazed how well it's aged. Sure, the visuals are a tad dated (which you seem to forget after a few minutes of play), and the action is about as basic as you can get (click, click, click), but the very fact the game never stops giving you rewards keeps you going. And going. And going. Sleep hasn't been that great this week... :)

You know what's really cool? Diablo II. Think this game might take off one day. :)

After having a co-worker bring it up (lots) in the past few days, I got the itch and grabbed the Diablo Battle Chest at Best Buy on the way home. I never never tried any of the characters from the expansion, but I'm having a great time now using the Druid. Finished up the first few quests after many hours of play, forgot how addicting this is...

Finished off Assassin's Creed this afternoon. Yeah, way too repetitive, but had some great ideas and experiences, and the ending made me want a sequel - just more modern and less doing the same half-dozen things over and over again, please.

Beat a couple of Call of Duty 4 levels on veteran as well, fun but punishing. Very punishing...

 

Finally beat Call of Duty 4 today, which was something I had a feeling I'd never do - playing on hardcore difficulty, and got a tad screwed during the last auto-save of a certain sniper mission. After dying a dozen more times, I did what I should have done from the beginning, and finally passed the area by wimping out and hiding behind my partner. The final areas were a breeze, and I started to play again on veteran - not sure if I'll keep playing, though...

Also played a little more Assassin's Creed, but I wasn't really in the mood - nearing the end and now I'm just blowing through it as fast as possible...

 

Got a couple of more hours into Blue Dragon, and it's starting to pick up. I've got to say, it was a super slow start, but I'm seeing where it might go. Command and Conquer 3, however...I don't know. I enjoyed the PC version enough to get half-way through, but I'm not feeling the 360 version after a few missions. At least not yet.