Mass Effect 2 Goes Multiplatform

Update: There is newer news that says that ME2 will come out on only PC and 360 to begin with. They are still not ruling out a PS3 version but there is also nothing to say that there will be. Check here for more deets.


Commander Shepard: FALL BACK! EVERYONE FALL BACK!

Liara: Shepard, there are too many Geth, what do we do?

Shepard: We call in reinforcements...

...and that is precisely what EA will have Bioware doing. All consoles will support Mass Effect 2 or vice versa. I suppose the Geth are really a bigger threat than we imagined... or maybe it is something else that treads into spoiler territory.


I have been thinking about this news item for almost a week now and I feel both excited, at the prospect of a new ME game, and shameful, for wanting it to remain on the 360 and PC alone.

I suppose a realistic hope would be improvements on all of the original's shortcomings. I hope they fix the texture pop in, the load times (specifically the elevators), and the handful of glitches that plagued the original. While nothing ruined the game for me (I played it through four times) it would be nice to have those shortcomings fixed.

Again I know that is ridiculous to get upset over platform exclusivity but I am and I know that I do not have a good reason for it. More people will get to experience the series but I do wonder if many PS3 owners will be picking this up or not. A better question still is how many who played the original on the 360 are going to go out and purchase this game for their PS3?

This brings me to the conclusion that the original might come to the PS3. I do not know how probable this is seeing as it was still a Microsoft Games Studio game. Microsoft may still have exclusive rights to the first one but for how long? Just keep this possibility in the back of your mind so as not to be surprised later.

In the meantime we can all fantasize about new "level design" (you know, instead of the same old rooms with different things in them) and adventures with Shepard and Company.

Now if only this Mass Effect 1 section on the Marketplace would update with some new DLC.

[Via Joystiq]

Halo Wars Demo Impressions

I was going to write this up when I woke up but having read Jarvis's own impressions of this demo I decided that I should get mine out there.

This will be the game that changes all of the preconceived notions of how an RTS is to be played on a console. This is what ENSEMBLE wants you to believe but the most important thing is - is it true?

I personally have had no interest in playing a console RTS before this but I can tell you that this feels right. One thing in particular that I noticed was that all item that are base related are all right there on the same pad. It just works.

Despite my lack of interest I also did not go into playing this demo with any skepticism. These are the creators of Age of Empires.

Like I said this game just feels right. Everything clicks and the controls are easy enough to use. The game/demo starts of with a stunning cut scene that just gets you pumped to play another Halo game. And then you are hovering twenty feet above one Warthog and you slowly begin to amass your army.

Be wary though because this is another one of those games that burns time.

Weekly Update, What Have I Been Playing, Random Complaining... Whatever

It has been a good week or so to be a gamer. I am not saying this to hurt the other week's feelings but I am sure it will be a good 10 days to be a gamer come March 3rd and 13th.

This is for the reason that the two games of which demos I have played will be launching: Halo Wars and Resident Evil 5.

Let us talk about the later first since in my last post I was unsure on whether I would be picking it up or not. I have decided, after playing through the demo again - both coop and not - that I will be picking it up. I could honestly care less about the story, which I know is strange for me, but I had a good experience playing it and I would be remiss if I did not want to continue that experience.

But before I say too much I have write ups for both of those demos for your viewing pleasure so now it is only a short amount before you may gaze upon those.

Now the real topic of this post:

You may accuse me of being a fanboy for the Xbox, or Xbot, whichever you prefer, but alas let me point out that I do want to purchase a PS3 but both the price and the game selection are not allowing for that. I have a wife and I have bills... I also am not made of money (despite many attempts by others to debunk this (I'd really rather not talk about it)).

There has been a lot of commotion surrounding Killzone 2. I am sure that it is the best shooter on PS3 to date but I am sure there are better shooters out there. I am just saying that I do not think that the MLG is going to abandon Halo 3 as their primary game in favor of Killzone 2. I believe that the graphics are the best any system has to offer and I am sure it could kill many a 360 but who really cares.

The only thing that people care about is their review score. I'll admit I have been upset by a less than 9.5 review score but not enough to well question the reviewers practices. In this review from CVG the reviewer lists the lack of co-op as a letdown or a negative mark against the game. Well as you might guess, folks have freaked out. I found this comment particularly astounding:

How can you give a game negative marks for not having co-op!!!!! You can only review that content that's there. It's like someone reviewing mario and then deducting points for it not having machine guns!!!

Me: "No it is not like that!?"

I'm sorry to say this but people have come to expect co-op from their shooters. Mario and machine guns have nothing to do with this pointless argument. This makes no sense to me at all. Somewhere in those comments someone said that COD4 did not have coop. Well woop dee doo, it still felt like an innovation from COD2 despite the fact that I didn't like COD4 to begin with. Aghhh I hate the sheer stupidity of some people.

We I have definitely worked myself up sufficiently, I think I am going to go calm down with a cup of coffee. Oh and just in case you PS3 fanboys did not get that... it was a joke.

A40 Audio System Unboxing

This is something that I have been waiting for, for a long time. It was painful to have to unbox it so slow in order to take pictures so I apologize if it is not comprehensive enough. Basically these things are awesome and after I have had enough use of them I will probably throw a review up. For now behold their glory:

Holy Crap

So here is another apology: "I'm sorry."

I have not been on my computer at all as Google Reader can attest to (800+ unread items and counting). I am currently in Massachusetts on a mini-vacation and so I am currently on Matt's computer (my crappy laptop battery makes it not worth bringing my own computer places). I have been at work every day and in my free time I have been playing Fallout 3 like a madman. I finally finished the main story but I will be returning to the game in order to tie up any loose ends that I left (Operation: Anchorage DLC, bobbleheads, etc. I have not been doing anything else of any merit so I guess that is all this post will center around.

Now: more about Fallout.

I'll have to start a new game in order to attempt what I want to do - get all 1000 gamerscore - but for right now I am satisfied with myself [Ed note: I know that there is more gamerscore now with the DLC but let us not argue semantics.]. Like I said, I do have to tie up the loose ends, so that I can feel like I actually had a full play through of the game. I am a completionist and if I were enough of one I would have 100 percent gamerscore in most or all of my games. Lucky for me, I am not that much of a loon. The last thing I have to say about this game is that it had the best story of any game I played last year.

But now seeing as I have completed it, I can allow myself to play other things. I know that I will be returning to Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2 and probably Fable 2 with a vengeance. For Left 4 Dead I'll be playing whenever I get the chance and for Gears of War (since patches are finally coming out) maybe I can finally have some fun playing this game online. I know I will be awful at first but it will be well worth the pain. But Fable 2 got the short end of the stick when it came to play time last year.

I played the first half of the game at my own pace but the second half was rushed because I was completing it so that I could play Fallout (and we all know how long that took me). I need to go back and finish what I didn't get to and perhaps after that I will start a whole new character. Fable 2 is great and I want to get everything that I can out of it.

Last on the docket is the fact that I played the Resident Evil 5 Demo last night. It was a good time mainly because it felt foreign to me. I have never played a RE game before - Sacrilege! - because they have never interested me before. Now the only reason that it interests me is because I have an interest in getting all Zombie related achievements. While I know that this seems to be a lofty goal it is idea that I am entertaining.

But I did play the demo with Matt yesterday and I enjoyed myself. Perhaps I will play the retail copy when it comes out.

Grand Theft Auto Previewsplosion (DS and 360)

On January 21st MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo was invited down to Rockstar New York to check out Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned. The former has interested me the most seeing as it is "something new" that takes advantage of many, if not all, of the DS' strong suits. The latter is the long anticipated (I guess it could be argued by some) Xbox 360 DLC for Grand Theft Auto IV.

Let me start of by saying that Chinatown Wars looks to be fantastic. From what I have seen of screenshots the graphics look amazing for a DS game and from what I have read the touch screen moments of the game are something that I am greatly anticipating. Let me make a small prediction here: This could very well be the best selling GTA of this generation (I mean seriously, think about how many DS units there are out there).

Here are some key points that I pulled from Totilo's preview (I'll quote the ones I found most interesting and naturally you can just click away on that link to see anything else that might tickle the cockles of your heart).

-900,000 lines of code were optimized for the touch interface alone.

-The missions are scored with medals (Gold, Silver, Bronze) and from your garage you can later go and replay them to get a higher rank.

-It is played from the top down (ala GTA 1&2) but has a full 24 hour cycle and licensed music (with no words)

-You will be playing stylus in hand because there are that many touch based moments.

These few bullet points are just the bare bones of it but again these are elements that I think matter most. I will say though that I am a bit skeptical about the medal system because if is anything like what Sonic games turned into (making it nigh impossible to get a gold medal) then I am going to be pushing holes through my screen with my stylus. Also I do not mind at all that this game is top down instead of third person POV though I am a little sad that we will have licensed MIDI's instead of full tracks (obviously I understand the limitations here and I am sure when I play it I will not mind at all). Lastly I am happy that it looks like I will be equally using the buttons and the stylus.

The last thing that I have to say about this game is that it looks like I will have to hurry and beat The World Ends With You so that I do not feel bad about picking this game up when it comes out.


Next up on the docket is The Lost and Damned which also looks promising. This is the 20 dollar piece of DLC - dropping February 17 - that if it didn't require the GTA IV disc might as well be a whole new game.

I say this because all of the previews that I have read all lead me to believe that this piece of DLC will be in the 10-20 hour range. I paid twenty for Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 1 so I will more than likely be paying twenty for this.

Now for the bullet points that I again took from Totilo's preview (that guy is so on top of his stuff huh?):

-Rockstar is calling this a full game that only uses the GTA IV disc to render the city.

-The downloadable episode adds some extra "grit" and "lighting". It all "adds more fidelity to character models".

-There will be new weapons and rewards for riding in formation with your gang.

-The handling of the bikes will be different for the DLC.

-Rockstar says that they are not "milking it".

I am honestly excited about all of these things. I think that this "full game" is just easier for them to make seeing as it renders the city from the disc. To me this looks like a Vice City or a San Andreas to me and though I know it is not as long it does feel like something new. I like that they are improving on an already well done city by adding extra layers of "grit" and "lighting". Perhaps the thing that I am most excited for is the improved handling of the bikes because this was the only thing that I was worried about when this episode was originally announced. And lastly Rockstar says that they are not milking this and I truly believe it. This is what they are good at. One could argue that the whole franchise is milked but they have the quality to go with the quantity.

They will also have my 20 bucks come February 17.

You have heard it before but DLC is truly the way of the future.

An Update From the Train

This will probably be my first and las update from my phone. I just wanted to give it a shot so I apologize in advance for any erroranious mistakes or lack of linkage. Let me know how this went in the comments.

Today was a great day in the Wasteland. I scoured the ends of the DC Wasteland for bottles of Nuka Cola Quantum and explored the wastes of Vault-Tec HQ. I can't tell you how excited I get when I come upon a bottle of Quantum but I can assure you the reaction is one of giddy delight.

I expected more from the Vault-Tec offices but there was still some fun stuff in there (I found a lot of lunchboxes). I have been working on filling my Nuka Cola vending machine and I finally found Dogmeat. The former is just for fun because I have become a Nuka Cola fanboy and the latter usually just points me in the direction of some enemies.

I have since sent him back to Vault 101 for fear of him dying and I only have 7 bottles of Quantum left to collect in the Nuka Cola Challenge. Every bottle after that shall be a Nuka grenade and I shall let one bottle sit on a shelf next to my bobblehead stand. I am all about the trophies from my various quests.

As you can see I love being part of this world. I know that I will be sad to leave when I beat it but alas everyone's day must come, even Fallout's Wasteland.

I know this entry was incredibly short but typing something of any length becomes quite the chore on the iPhone. I'll speak to you quite soon about other escapades in the Wasteland or in real life.

I Feel Like I Have Been Away From the Blog for a Week

For those of you who follow my Twitter (right bar) you know that I said that I would be updating my blog about the NPD numbers a few days ago. Sadly that did not come to fruition. It has also not been as long as I thought it was between updates but still it was too long. I can safely say that work has been getting in the way of my posts and gaming lately and yesterday I just needed to play some Left 4 Dead to unwind.

My job is evil, soul-less, and soul-sucking (if you can imagine such a thing) and I have felt so drained (today is no exception). I know that is no excuse really for not updating the one thing that I am happy to do other than play games, this blog. So this here is my formal apology for sucking: "I'm sorry."

I'll say something about the NPD numbers because I did originally, in some form, promise that post.

It is good to see the XBOX doing as well as it has been since the price drop in September. I think the combination of that, the NXE, and the family oriented games have made it a more viable option to the Wii market. Granted these options to not appeal to you and me, the core gamer, but the health of this market can only mean more of the XBOX brand in years to come. That is enough to make me happy and I am sure it puts a smile on your face also.

[Via Joystiq]

Blogging 4 Dead

I would post more, but honestly, I have no time. But here's the thing about that: I do theoretically have time. I just fill it up. I'm either catching up on TV shows (like Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica) or playing Left 4 Dead all night. And I must say, every night, almost all night, me and a group of kids ply Left 4 Dead together. This sadly does not include Nate because Nate has an actual life and has been mostly playing Fallout 3 these days, but never the less, from hours as early as 8 PM to as late as 4 AM, you'll find me gaming in Left 4 Dead. Of course, this means I sleep until about noon every day and then I'm grouchy for a little while upon waking up, but still... totally worth it (and I don't care how much I have to "grow up" right now with a job and responsibilities, nothing will ever make me give up my late night gaming sessions).

Now, while I will never ever stray from the thought that Fallout 3 was the best game of last year (much to Nathan's own chagrin), I will say that the predictions I made when I put it in my number 2 spot are entirely accurate. I play this game so much that it has since become to first and only game to be installed on my hard drive. I never saw the point of installing a game until now, but now I fully understand the validation. You have no idea how annoying it is to be playing this game for several hours, have a glorious dominating victory in a game, and then your game freezes when going back to the menu. I can sometimes hear the disc spinning in the XBOX, and it was at that point that I realized maybe I'm playing it enough to justify an install.

This game provides such a unique experience. I must say, after playing with the same group of guys last night, I really have no interest in playing with all random people now. It's so much better only playing with the same guys. We are by no means a "clan" (although, in one absolutely hilarious night, we did face a clan member of xUWNx, which I will talk more about later), but rather a group of guys who all know each other and like to play with and against each other. It provides much more amusement having over 7 friends who are all available for gaming. Never have I ever felt such a sense of camaraderie in any game. Now, I will admit, there is a point in every game where I do make a gun for the safe house and leave my team mates to die if necessary, but that's a last second/split second judgment call. One of the guys I play with usually always goes back to save people, and I've seen him get annihilated before due to this. It's the zombie apocalypse, man - I want to survive. That, and at least I get us a good amount of points every round (someone described my gaming as "clutch." I'd say that this is rather accurate). However, as long as we are traveling, I will turn around and do my best to save everyone I can. This is really only because I'm playing with my friends to begin with. If I was playing with random people, I can assure you that I would not care and would only save them if it was convenient for me. I might just say something like, "Learn to play the game!" and run off. But not to my gaming friends! Oh no. I will run the distance, shotguns a-blazing, just to separate them from a nasty smoker or hunter. It's also made me a constant reviewer of XBOX gamers. There are certain things you can do in the game as the infected that are based around glitches and make the gameplay very cheap and unfair. Every time a team does this against my team (unless we know the people), I go and give every player negative reviews and make them avoided players). So good job, Valve. You've made me into a team player (somewhat). Now give us new levels to play Versus on, and I'll be happy.

The final thing I'd like to say about Left 4 Dead is that it brings a great amount of sheer hilarity. I'll offer up two examples. The first is that one night, me and 3 of my friends were in a lobby. This kid joins named xUWNx FOUL, and we all instinctively laugh at him. He, of course, attacks me, and begins spouting of anti-Semitic slurs (if you don't know already, my gamertag is Jewnado, as in a tornado of Jewish hatred). He begins to rant and rave about how much better he is at the game than me and us, so I begin the game. Needless to say, we absolutely dominate, to the point where, in the finale, the other team just gives up and kills each other. Back in the lobby, Mr. FOUL gets a barrage of insults, such as, "Why don't you take your game back to GameStop and trade it in for a Wii and Party Babyz?" Of course he gets apologetic and begins saying, "Well, maybe if I had a better team..." No. You're just a horrible horrible player, and now you're on ignore. The second example is similar. My friends and I played against a team that ultimately gave up in the end, and killed each other. Everyone left but one player and his guest, and we laughed at him similarly in the lobby after the game. The thing was he didn't have a microphone at first, so after a few minutes of insults, he finally put one in and revealed himself to be a 13/14 year old boy. It was about 4:00 AM at this point, so we began saying things like, "Hey, did you remember to do your reading for English class? The Great Gatsby isn't going to read itself!" He finally said, and I quote, "Listen, gay guys, why don't you stop sucking each others dicks and start the game?" This is hilarious on two levels. The first level is "gay guys" - he didn't use any of the millions of slurs, he said gay and guys together in his sentence, and I just lost it. The second level is that he was such a bad player his team mates shot him and quit the game, and he wanted to play us again ... with no new team mates. No one had joined the lobby. It was 4:00 AM! So, instead of playing the game, I leaned over to my bookshelf, grabbed my copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's great American classic, and said, "Ok, are you ready?" When he replied, "Yes," I then began to read The Great Gatsby outloud to him and all my friends in the room. I made it through six pages of the novel before he quit. SIX PAGES. After he quit, we invited him back in the room, at which point I read another whole page before he just turned off the XBOX and the rest of us, laughing, went to bed. There is much debate as to why the kid stayed in the room as long as he did. Some speculate that he really did need to read the book for class, but I like to think that I just have a great speaking voice (which I do). And as much as I love Fallout 3, the one thing it will never have is an opportunity for me to read The Great Gatsby to an angry child.

So good job, Valve. I fully commend you on another job well done. You consistently make online games with endless replayability, and at that you absolutely stand out among the other game publishers. Here's to awaiting the patch that finally gives us new levels to play. Now, it's about noon, meaning it's still day, meaning I have to get out and do all those things that I do in the day time that allow me to be up all night killing the infected, so I bid you a fond adieu until my next entry.

Fallout 3

Today I will make my triumphant return to the wasteland and while that is good news it does leave me with something sad to say: "I will not be making a post proper today." This is all I can offer you. I'll see you on the other side.

Gaming from the Cloud

This is a two-fold entry of sorts seeing as it will be about two different topics. Why you ask? My answer to you is that these topics of conversation these days do no merit posts of their own.

The first topic of the day is the comments recently made by Aaron Greenburg on the size increase of your Xbox LIVE Friends list. He said, “It’s definitely something we’re looking at expanding and, as this social network grows, we’ve absolutely heard the pleas for that. It’s on the list. (Via Platform Nation)” While I personally do not need this increase I have heard it talked about for the past two or so years. I know that it was a common request when the updates to the console were released biannually and I think that if they could finally figure out a way to do party chat then they could figure out a way to bump up that friends list cap (which currently stands at one-hundred).

Now I personally do not care about this feature upgrade because I am constantly weeding out people whom I’ve added but never have played with beyond that one initial time (the time that you liked playing with that person enough so you added them but now they are never on at the same time anymore). There are definitely mainstays on my friends list but until I blow up in the blogosphere I am betting that I will not care about the size of my friends list. How about you? Do you need the friends list increase?


The second and more interesting topic on hand is this. From the floor of CES there are talks about gaming from the cloud. Let me first explain what this could mean. This could mean that one could play a game with the highest of specs from say an iPhone or a crappy PC. I have not fully wrapped my head around this but I think that this is long off. Please click the link above for a better description.

This topic has me thinking (through a completely rationale thought process) about a “one console” future and it is a little unnerving. We need the “big three” to keep competing so that we can have all of these innovations (Avatars, Mii's, Home, etc). I like being a 360 Fanboy and Fanboyism will be threatened if there are no specs required to run a game. Every system will be able to run that game. It will be MADNESS! Okay enough of that, I have worked myself into a tizzy. I am just thinking worst case scenario and I would be willing to bet that the big three will be around for years to come. Thoughts?


Again that is all the rambling I have for you so return back soon for more of my clever and witty diatribe.

Game Diary: Futile Attempts to Play EVERYTHING

Seeing as there has not been a glut of news to talk about I will talk about the glut of games that I still have to finish at least once. This “list” of games that I still have to play does not even include the games that I have consistently been playing which are Left 4 Dead and Gears of War 2.

I haven’t touched Gears’ multiplayer mainly because I just cannot get into a game. Horde has been enough to keep me playing. Left 4 Dead is keeping me from playing Fallout 3. I’ll cite a specific instance: The other day I had at least four hours to devote to get back into the Wasteland but I ended up playing versus mode in L4D with friends. It was the most fun I have had with the game so far and I personally think that is saying something for me.

I feel like I have about 40 hours left to go in Fallout but that is just a rough estimation. This is the biggest game that I need to complete and after that I might be “on track” for the new games coming out in 2009. I want to be able to go back to Fable 2 when the DLC comes out but I do not think I’ll have beaten Fallout. I am also interested in playing “The Lost and Damned” DLC because I honestly think I’ll enjoy the return to Liberty City.

I am on a ticking timeline until Halo Wars comes out which will undoubtedly take up a lot of my time and will because one of my go to multiplayer games of choice. I have until March 3rd to feel as if I have played all of the holiday games sufficiently.

The annoying part of this is that I haven’t touched three games that I would like to play to completion: Mirror’s Edge, Dead Space, and Prince of Persia. I feel like at least one of these games is going to be forgotten for a while and I will bet that it will be Dead Space. Perhaps I could borrow that game from my little brother next time I visit my parent’s house. I am sure that would include trading one of my games for a temporary period of time, an idea I am not too keen on.

Honestly I am hoping for a slow gaming summer so that I can catch up because I just do not see how it is feasible otherwise.

It might sound like I am complaining about all of the games that I have to play but that is not the case. I just wish the publishers would space their games out so a person could actually give their game a shot.

As a last note I have not even touched my DS since I have been playing games again. I think portable gaming does go through spurts.

Next: Perhaps a blog entry that is somewhat news related.

Games Anticipated for 2009

I remember this time last year thinking that there was no way that 2008 could be as good a year for gaming as 2007 had been. As we all know, I was sorely mistaken and 2008 was a grand year to be a gamer and I feel that 2009 is going to be just as good. I only have my eyes and ears on a few games but I have listed other games that I am also interested in playing.


My Personal Most Anticipated

Halo Wars – This game looks deliciously fun and if it succeeds at its main promise, (intuitive control system) I am sure it will be one of my top games of the year.

Mass Effect 2 – If this actually comes out in 2009 I would be surprised. I haven’t heard anything to say that it is coming out this year but I haven’t heard anything on the contrary. Saying that it is coming out this year is just going on the assumption that it is going on the two year development plan (Gears of War 2, etc.) that so many games seem to have adopted.

Brutal Legend – This is my top anticipation for 2009 because Psychonauts was my favorite game of the last generation. Tim Schafer is a genius and I believe that this will be my favorite game of 2009 just based on whom it is coming from.


Games on 1UP’s List That I Will Probably Play

I had trouble remembering all of the games that were mentioned to come out this year so I was browsing Digg and came up with 1UP’s list and these are the few that I am interested in.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – This seems like it can be one of the most innovative games of 2009 (for its control system) and that is enough for me to play it. I am so very impressed with a lot of the games that come out for the DS.

Star Wars: The Old Republic – There are so many games that I am considering buying a new PC for and this is one of them. If this is any bit as good as the Knights of the Old Republic Games then I am sold. The fact that it is an MMO does nothing to dissuade me and knowing my addictive personality, once I start playing this game, I will not stop – unless it is awful.

Wolfenstein – I think I have to play this by proxy seeing as Wolfenstein 3D was the first game that I ever played where I started to play games seriously (as in more than just going over to my friends out to play his NES with him).

Diablo 3 – Do I need to even say anything? I realize that I probably do need to say something for all of those that read this who do not know who I am but seriously it is a Diablo game so yes, I do not really need to say anything more. I will say that this is another game that I am going to need a PC for.

Assassin’s Creed 2 – This was a game that I did not find on many ’09 lists but I would like to see where Ubisoft is taking this story.


Games I Might Consider Played Just to Say That I Am Open Minded

Prototype – I know nothing about this game and I probably will not until it comes out and I play it. The name is interesting enough and a friend has told me that he is interested. That is enough for me to be interested in it. How presumptuous is that?

Resident Evil 5 – I have no interest but I think I might rent this one just to say that I gave it a shot. Maybe I will love it. Maybe.


Others

Bioshock 2 – I want this game to be great but like everyone else, I have huge doubts.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game – Read Bioshock 2

Halo 3: ODST – It is another Halo game and I’m not excited.

APB (All Points Bulletin) – I have my doubts on whether this one will come out this year but it is the one out of this set (“Others”) that I am the most interested in. It is from Realtime Worlds, which as we all know made Crackdown. This is also an MMO and if it comes out this year alongside The Old Republic then my time is in trouble.


It looks to be a solid year and I am sure this is only half of the list of games that will be on my games played post come the year’s end. It will be good to see what comes out of all of the conventions this year and I must say as a final note that I am anticipating the year to come.

P.S. - I also wanted to add that I am glad that I am not the only one who is observing this barren blogging wasteland. The only information that came out of CES was the reaffirmation of XBOX LIVE Primetime, a Halo Wars demo/release date that we already knew, some community game the is supposed to be like LittleBigPlanet, etc. Thanks to Joystiq for all of the information but seriously these are not new stories.

Game of the Year 2008 (GOTY)

10. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – This was a fun enough game that it deserves to be in my top ten. It was the best action Star Wars game that I have ever played and the story could not have been better in my opinion.

9. Too Human – This could have been higher in my top ten if the story parts of the game weren’t so poorly constructed. By no means am I saying that the game itself had a poor story, seeing as I want to see where it goes, but there was so little of it and the cut scenes were almost painful to watch at times because they were so poorly animated and put together. Though it does not really factor in, I am sure anyone who played the game will never forget the death animation. All in all the game was fun to play and when you knew what you were doing you truly felt like a Norse God.

8. Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 – For this game to not be in my ten would be a crime because this is my go to game when I do not know what I want to play. I might see Fallout or Gears of War in my game tray but if I am not feeling up to it Geo Wars is always what is booted up. The six modes that this game has, offers a game play style for any mood you might possibly be in. This is truly one fantastic game.

7. Grand Theft Auto IV – This is one of the games this year that I sunk a lot of my time into. It had a great cohesive whole. If you were to break off pieces you could see the flaws but still as a whole the game accomplished a lot. I had good fun with this game and though everyone is basically saying that this should be in no top ten I obviously disagree. It is not the greatest game ever made but it still does what does the best and I had a lot of fun with it (though I still want Crackdown 2).

6. Braid – Oh the horror, Braid is not even in my top five. It was a fantastic experience but ultimately I did not want to go back to it even though I am sure I forgot how to solve half of the puzzles. When I was playing it I had the greatest time and I thought it was ingenious. I still do. It does not change the fact that I had more fun with those games that are in the top five. Sorry but at least I can say that I am looking forward to Jonathan Blow’s next game.

5. Castle Crashers – Honest Fact: I absolutely love this game but still not as much as the hype had me wanting to. It is honestly the best game aesthetically that I have laid eyes on all year and definitely the most humorous (sorry Penny Arcade). The ending was unbelievably fantastic and it was definitely long enough. What was missing I cannot say but I expected to never want to play any other arcade game… ever and that is not the case. I probably have too high of expectations but I am a Behemoth fanboy and I cannot wait to see some DLC for this game.

4. Fable 2 – Fable 2 fixed all of Fable’s problems and I could probably leave it right there and that would be enough but alas I do have more to say. This game is clever, witty, and has one of the best campaigns in games all year. I love spending time in Albion but not as much as I love spending time in the Wasteland. Oops.

3. Gears of War 2 – This game is not at number three because of its campaign. It is in this spot because after all is said and done this is the game that will probably have the most longevity for me (that and my number one game). It has multiplayer that will undoubtedly be fixed and therefore be played by many for years to come. Millions purchased it so there will always be someone to play with. Oh yeah and horde is f’in delicious.

2. Fallout 3 – I know I have not completed this game but I also know that when I play it, I feel like I am part of this world. I love this game and that is all there needs to be said about that.

1. Left 4 Dead – This game is at number one because it has provided my friends and myself with an experience never had before. I freak out when I play this game and so does everyone around me. My wife plays this game with me. My wife does not play any game with me. There is not enough that I can say about this game other than the fact that I want more. I am not even worried about not having someone to play with in the future because I know I always have a team of four ready to play.


Honorable Mentions

Battlefield: Bad Company

N+

Penny Arcade Adventures

Professor Layton and the Curious Village


Games Not Finished/Touched Upon

Mirrors Edge

Dead Space

The World Ends With You –
I know I did not say anything about the other games that were not on my top ten but I do not feel that I had enough time with this game in order to properly judge it. I am sure it would have been in my top ten if I had finished it in time.

Prince of Persia

Games Played This Past Year (2008)

These are the games that I played this year regardless of whether they came out this year or not. I am still not convinced that the list is long enough but I put more time into gaming this year than I ever have before. I do not think that this is because I am “more” into gaming than I was last year instead I think it results from the fact that more games came out this year than any other (at least that I wanted to play).

I am going to fully admit to cribbing Stephen Totilo’s style for this entry because I like the way he set up this kind of entry. I’ll list all of the games that I have put my hands on this year and italicize the completed ones.

Games played in 2008:

Battlefield: Bad Company
I completed the story of this game, which I found enjoyable and funny. The multiplayer was good fun but I never gave it the time it deserved.

Mass Effect
Though I know it is a game from 2007 I only completed it at the beginning of this year. Not only did I complete it, I think I played through it a full four times. It may be the only full-length title I have ever done that with (that is including the original Halo (which coincidentally was one of the only games that I had for the original Xbox (I think I have mentioned this before))).

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Another game from 2007 but the difference between this one and Mass Effect is that I did not complete the single player and I did not play the multiplayer enough. I’ll go back to it but I think that it will be a strictly gamescore venture. I am a little sad that I couldn’t be more into this title.

Grand Theft Auto IV
I did not love this game as some others loved it and I did not hate it as some others did. I liked this game for what it was. I believe that I liked this game so much when I played through it because I am a New Yorker and I felt like I was living this fantasy lifestyle in my own backyard. I think this game always deserved more points if you were a New Yorker. I enjoyed the story but by the end I just wanted the whole thing to be over. Since then it has lost some of its luster but it is still the only GTA game I have ever played to completion. And yes, I will probably be one of those who return to Liberty City for the DLC. I think it is worth it to return and drive around some more in my backyard.

Lego Indiana Jones
This was a game that was bought as a gift for my wife and I as a wedding present. We didn’t make it through mostly because we do not get a lot of time to game together.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance
This game was a gift for my birthday from my fellow blogger. He and I need to play through this since he lost all of his save data. I would like to complete this game but I always get distracted.

Viva Pinata
I’ll highlight this game as completed though one can never really complete it. The reason is that I had purchased this game a while ago and another game distracted me. Earlier this year, in early August, I decided that I needed to play through it to the best of my ability… and I did. I was greatly enjoyable and though I do not think I will go back to it, it has prompted me to be interested in VP: TIP (the sequel). I’ll probably play that when there is another dry spell of no games.

Fable 2
I finished this game albeit a few side quests that I will go back to. I want to play through for the other endings and I am sure I will when I find the time.

Too Human
This really was not a bad game. It had a few problems but nothing that won’t be remedied in an inevitable sequel. I learned something new (in terms of new attacks) about how to play this game until the moment I stopped playing it. The more one played this game the more one understood it and the more it became better and better.

Fallout 3
I have not yet completed this game but it is one of the greatest games I have ever played.

Gears of War 2
I can say that I have completed the story mode, though I am working through it on insane with two other people, but that is about all I can say. I haven’t properly played Horde mode and I haven’t properly played multiplayer.

Left 4 Dead
The only reason I can call this completed is because I played through all four campaigns but I will never “complete” this game because I do not ever want to stop playing it. No game has ever done for me what this game does for me… but more on that later… like next post later.

The World Ends With You
Once again… I have not yet completed this amazing game. It has taught me something else about games – you can always learn something new – how to use two screens at once to create an amazing experience.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village
This game was great fun and occupied a lot of my time. It probably would have been better if I hadn’t spoiled the ending for myself.

Castle Crashers
This was the best beat-em-up that I have played since TMNT. It is incredible and has my vote for the best art of the year. Again, more on this one later.

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2
One cannot complete this game but one can have their soul tormented by pink blocks and blue diamonds. This sequel also caused me to have resurgence in interest in the original. I became better at the game and beat all of my friend’s high scores in the original. Now if only I could do the same in all of the modes of the sequel.

Braid
This was one of the greatest game play mechanics of this year and also one of the greatest game stories. It was also one of the most confusing game stories ever. More later.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
I greatly enjoyed this game but for more on that see my review. I want to play through it again (mostly for gamerscore reasons).

N+
I wish I were skilled enough to be able to beat this game. It is a possibility that it will happen one day.

Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 1
Funny, witty, and amazing! Now I must find the time to play the second piece of it.

Scene It! BOS
Good times with friends but no end in sight.

Games I missed:

Ninja Gaiden 2
I played most of the original so that I could play this one but I have still yet to complete it so until then the sequel remains on hold.

Burnout Paradise
I know that at this point I am just waiting for the Ultimate Box version but I am exited to play it. This one was just a time issue. When it came out I was caught up in the world of Mass Effect and nothing was going to stop me from playing.

Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 2
See above.

Prince of Persia
This is another one that you know I have expressed interest in.

Dead Space
I want to play this but I feel like I am not going to like it as much as I want to. Don’t ask I really can’t explain.

Mirror’s Edge
And on the opposite end of the Dead Space spectrum I feel like I will love this game. I played the demo and now I just need to complete some other games and I will come back to play this.

All in all this was a good year for gaming and my next post will be my game of the year post in which you will see just what I thought of all of the games that I have played.

The Week of No Gaming Made Me Feel Accomplished

I finished my week of no gaming at midnight on New Years Eve.

I did not play a game until 10am that morning and that game ended up being Castle Crashers. I later played the demo of World of Goo on the Mac and I think that I will end up buying that game though I do not fully grasp it yet. I think the art and style of the game is what has me sold.

As I was playing I was thinking that playing after not playing for a while did not feel climactic. I think I expected to feel something more than, "Oh, okay, I am playing again." It is possible that I am not as addicted as I thought but I am just probably not reacting to this feeling - the same way it is for me when it comes to everything else in life.

I find that I want to play too many games at the same time still. I want to play Fallout, Left 4 Dead, some Horde in GOW2, Prince of Persia (don't even own it), Mirror's Edge (also do not have it).

I also want to make my GOTY post but I do feel like I am qualified, though in the end I think I am just going to make it based on what I have played. I also want to go through the games that I have played this year/played to completion but that is more for myself than anyone else (though I am sure you are gripping your seat at the prospect of knowing). I do find that I like to see the lists of games played by others, just the same as always hoping that your favorite game made the GOTY post of your favorite blog. It is nice to know that people that you relate to relate to you on an even closer level.

So I am playing again and even though I have no desire to play anything right now (I really still have to finish that book) I'll see you on LIVE.

Day 6: Complete; Day 7: In Progress

Before I say anything about anything else I would like to say that the recent Left 4 Dead news has made me happy. I was fairly doubtful that the news could be this good. According to Kotaku, versus mode is coming to the remaining two campaigns and new campaigns are coming also. The best part of the news is that this DLC is coming out on the same day for both the PC and the XBOX. I am rolling all over the floor salivating because of this and I'll say right here that even though everyone is saying that this content should be free... I will pay at least ten bucks for it. My predictions are two more campaigns and versus on all of the campaigns. Fun, Fun, Fun. F is for friends who do stuff tog-

Okay! Enough of that and more about this.

Yesterday passed uneventful though instead of reading (which I mostly prefer to do on the train) I watched far too much of The Office: Season 3. I feel like I have cheated myself a little bit because I do not know if I am going to have adequate time enough to finish the book. I love the book, don't get me wrong, it is just as though the author is still writing it as I continue to read. I hope that the ending is as good as the rest of the book because I would rather it didn't just end. This is the book that does not end yes it goes on and on my frie-

Okay enough with breaking off into song.

Tonight will be the hardest part of all: New Year's Eve. Rock Band, Scene It!, Left 4 Dead, and others are all up for the playing and I will not be part of it until the ball drops. What a shame.

I will survive... and you will enjoy the festivities.

Matt's Top Ten Of 2008

In all honesty, I thought this was pretty hard to do. I went on to Wikipedia and looked at the list of all games released in 2008 and realized how much I had actually played. I really played a lot of games this year. Furthermore, I was really disappointed by a lot of games this year. Army Of Two should have been much more fun than it was, for example, and don't get me started on Alone In The Dark. After I had gone through the giant list of games into the list of games I thought would stand a chance, I was left with a pretty disappointing list. Honestly, and this might sound odd, but I don't think some of the games on my list deserve to be on my list. The reason for this is that I feel that, while I enjoyed these games, that the games that make a Top Ten list should be much more epic in scale than some of the games I picked. However, when it comes down to it, these really are just the most fun I've had in video games through out the year. So without further ado, I bring you my Top Ten of 2008.

10. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots

Let me start by saying: I did not beat this game. I have no way to. I don't own a PS3. But I did play it for a short time, and I have watched it being played. A guy I worked with bought it, and we went to his house down the street from where we worked and played for an hour on our lunch break. Now, while I do not know the end of the game, I do know two things about this game. The first is that it is beyond epic. BEYOND epic. The second thing I know is that the scale of this game is so extraordinarily huge that the fact it is not popping up on more top ten lists makes me sad. So I decided it would be my number 10 as a reminder that yes, this game happened, and it's hour and a half long ending owned you. It's not for everyone, that's for sure, but it is a game that is important to remember as it completely aims to blur the line between gameplay experience and cinematic experience. Some might hate that, but I think it's important.

9. Fable II
8. Penny Arcade Adventures Episodes 1 and 2
7. Too Human
6. Mirror's Edge
5. Castle Crashers
4. Dead Space

All of these games are arguable as to whether or not they deserve list status. Two of these games (technically three) are just XBOX Live Arcade games. But I think they all stand the test. I am not a huge fan of Fable II but it was fun. And all of the other games are repeat play through games for me. Dead Space was amazingly fun, as well as Mirror's Edge and Too Human, and I think a lot of people looked over these games. Too Human had it's share of flaws, sure, but that game was amazingly fun and worth multiple play throughs. Plus, both it and Mirror's Edge are just the first of their trilogies, so the bugs in both those games can be worked out for sequels. I have faith.

3. Braid

This game is phenomenal. If you didn't play it, I feel bad for you. It's a bit of a high concept thing, but my God was it a brain challenger. I like puzzle games for the most part, and this one had me feeling bad about how I couldn't do some of the puzzles. I had my girlfriend, who is good with puzzles, sit down and make an attempt at it, and she just faltered. That made me feel all that much better about having completed it. When you beat Braid, you join a special club of braggers. You get to sit there and watch other people play it and say, "Oh, it's not that hard. Look, the answer is right there." Braid is 100% phenomenal.

2. Left 4 Dead

The game known as Left 4 Dead is the game you will probably catch me playing the most in the new year. Talk about being open for multiple play throughs! That's all this game is! You keep playing it with newer and newer people, and each time the gameplay is different. I don't know what else you could want from a game. Not to mention the fact that if you put the game on it's hardest setting you're going to have the most insanely fun zombie experience ever.

1. Fallout 3

If you didn't see this coming, you're an idiot.

And that's just about it. I'd also like to nominated Imagine: Party Babyz for creepiest game of the year. Seriously. Party babys?

Day 5: Thinking About What I Will Be Playing

The best thing that happened today was when I read, "Your Party Stands Before the Cave of Tits." Please pardon my language on this one though I would like to believe that anyone who is reading this is above any age that matters.

Lately - or for the past few days - I have been thinking about what my first game to play is going to be. The obvious go to game would probably be Fallout 3 but I have been considering Castle Crashers since the title update has gone live. Everyone I know who has this game needs to get on board with this because I want to play with four players throughout the whole game... in one shot. I am sure some Gears of War will occupy my time along with some Left 4 Dead with some friends. So I have a fairly good idea it is just a matter of what lands in the disk tray, so to speak, first.

As an afterthought I have also been thinking of playing World of Goo on my Mac.

And another thing that I have also been thinking about is the possibility of using a Zune as extra storage for my Xbox. It would not only give me extra Xbox storage, it would give me an excuse to finally have a Zune.

Day 4: Not Yet Hard, Still Too Busy

Yesterday passed uneventful but the night before that I was asked if a wanted to play Scene It! Box Office Smash.

Naturally I declined but it did not help that the person asking was Matt, the other writer for the blog (ask him where his entries are). He didn't push the issue but I knew it would come up when he came over. We ended the night in a game a Scrabble (the real board version folks) in which I got my hind quarters handed to me before I gave up. In my defense I was tired but what kind of excuse is that?

I have still been following the news daily but nothing is going on so I have been bored with that. The only interesting thing that has been going on is this, this, this and maybe this. For the last one scroll to the bottom to see the picture I am talking about.

I have still been reading my book and I am progressing quite nicely though I still have a good bit to go. I have to buckle down if I am to finish.

I feel like I have less to write when I am not playing but that should not be true.