...or at least the main story. There is still a ton of stuff I can do such as side missions, finding hidden objects, etc. The game was very satisfying. The story was presented very well (though I wish the whole story was set in the past, rather than have the present day tie-in) and was compelling enough to keep me moving forward.
I'll be diving back in on occasion to tie up all the loose ends. Having free run of the various cities is nice and there is some DLC on the way. Until then, I can get in some more time with Borderlands, Beatles: Rock Band and a couple other games I am still trying to finish up.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
A Beatles: Rock Band party!
Had a couple of friends over last night as well as my son and his lady friend. We ended up breaking out The Beatles: Rock Band and played for hours. What a blast! Everyone took a turn, even my 5 year old daughter. She played on my extra set of drums (not actually hooked up) and then had a go at the guitar. She had no idea what to do, but with no-fail mode on it was no sweat. The real fun was when she sang. She knows the words to a few Beatles songs. But when she didn't know the words she would free style, throwing in Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and such. It was too cute for words.
Barb was on drums and she did great, while my friend Pete was on guitar (I even let him use my Hofner bass!) and he's actually quite good. His wife and my son's girlfriend shared vocals. Zach was the extra guitar player. He is an old pro so he kicked the usual ass. My daughter Jessica joined in on guitar and she did great too. I never knew she could play Rock Band, let alone that she was good at it.
I hopped on drums eventually and even sang vocals while pounding the skins. It was a ton of fun. The Beatles: Rock Band is one heck of a party game if you can get your friends to leave their inhibitions at the door. Highly recommended!
Barb was on drums and she did great, while my friend Pete was on guitar (I even let him use my Hofner bass!) and he's actually quite good. His wife and my son's girlfriend shared vocals. Zach was the extra guitar player. He is an old pro so he kicked the usual ass. My daughter Jessica joined in on guitar and she did great too. I never knew she could play Rock Band, let alone that she was good at it.
I hopped on drums eventually and even sang vocals while pounding the skins. It was a ton of fun. The Beatles: Rock Band is one heck of a party game if you can get your friends to leave their inhibitions at the door. Highly recommended!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
One week from today...
...Barb officially graduates from nursing school. It's a huge day for her and our family. We have a nice party planned with family and friends invited. It's a day that has been a long time coming and one that she has worked incredibly hard for. We are very proud of you, Honey!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Game Informer issue #200
I received this last week and it included a list of their top 2oo games of all time. It's a huge, impossible list, a mash-up of every type of game from 80's arcade classics to current gen consoles and PCs. Still, it makes for interesting reading and debate.
It's hard to know how they determined the list, especially since they had the audacity to rank the games 1-200 as well. Earlier classic games seem to have been given a priority (The Legend Of Zelda from 1987 is #1 while Super Mario Bros. from 1985 and Tetris from 1984 are #2 and #3) but I am not sure if that is because of perceived innovation, influence or something else altogether.
The first "modern" game to make the list is Grand Theft Auto III at #4. It's hard to argue with the impact this game had, basically inventing the sandbox-style game where you can go anywhere within the playable world and do basically whatever you please. Many games have taken this formula and expanded upon it, put it into different settings and made these games seem unique, but they all owe a debt to GTA III. A game like Assassin's Creed II, which I am enjoying right now, is a fine example of an updated version of the sandbox style game.
I find the rankings themselves to be wildly subjective (of course). Just being included on this list ought to be a reward in an of itself. Still, I was glad to see some of my favorites not only make the list but get pretty high rankings. Bioshock comes in at #27, Diablo II at #28, Half-Life at #29 and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion at #30. Other favorites of mine include Fallout 3 (#65), God Of War (#26), the recent Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (#56) and Mass Effect (#58). I was also glad to see Halo placed somewhere I feel was appropriate. While I recognize the series' greatness, in the end it is still just a standard FPS. The original Halo is ranked at #39.
My only gripes (and they really aren't serious; this is just someone else's list after all) are that:
EDIT: I forgot to mention that Borderlands made the list and was called an "instant classic" despite the fact it was released just a couple of weeks before the list was compiled.
It's hard to know how they determined the list, especially since they had the audacity to rank the games 1-200 as well. Earlier classic games seem to have been given a priority (The Legend Of Zelda from 1987 is #1 while Super Mario Bros. from 1985 and Tetris from 1984 are #2 and #3) but I am not sure if that is because of perceived innovation, influence or something else altogether.
The first "modern" game to make the list is Grand Theft Auto III at #4. It's hard to argue with the impact this game had, basically inventing the sandbox-style game where you can go anywhere within the playable world and do basically whatever you please. Many games have taken this formula and expanded upon it, put it into different settings and made these games seem unique, but they all owe a debt to GTA III. A game like Assassin's Creed II, which I am enjoying right now, is a fine example of an updated version of the sandbox style game.
I find the rankings themselves to be wildly subjective (of course). Just being included on this list ought to be a reward in an of itself. Still, I was glad to see some of my favorites not only make the list but get pretty high rankings. Bioshock comes in at #27, Diablo II at #28, Half-Life at #29 and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion at #30. Other favorites of mine include Fallout 3 (#65), God Of War (#26), the recent Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (#56) and Mass Effect (#58). I was also glad to see Halo placed somewhere I feel was appropriate. While I recognize the series' greatness, in the end it is still just a standard FPS. The original Halo is ranked at #39.
My only gripes (and they really aren't serious; this is just someone else's list after all) are that:
- X-COM: UFO Defense, a PC game from 1993 that is in my top 5 games of all time, came in at only 164.
- The Front Page Sports Football series, a PC American football simulation that was completely innovative for the time and helped usher in season modes into modern sports games, was totally left off. It's also in my top 5 games of all time.
- The Beatles: Rock Band didn't make the list. This last gripe is actually quite understandable; they only put a couple of music games on the entire list and that seemed to be for innovation only. The original Guitar Hero and Rock Band 2 cover that genre very adequately.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that Borderlands made the list and was called an "instant classic" despite the fact it was released just a couple of weeks before the list was compiled.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Borderlands - The Zombie Island Of Dr. Ned
I have just about finished the first DLC for Borderlands and it has been terrific. I put a good 10 hours into it so far (I have been very thorough in order to make sure I am not missing anything) and for $10, that's a pretty good value, IMO. Heck, some full-priced titles have single player games that take only 10 hours to finish.
As with the original content, the humor in The Zombie Island Of Dr. Ned is tremendous. Lots of subtle (and not-so-subtle) comments on things that have transpired in the original game as well as some nice pop culture references to the whole overplayed zombie thing. The missions are basically the same sort as in the original game. And there is even a bounty board for side missions, just as there is in each major area in the original content. So there is plenty to do here and there are some nifty new creatures to slaughter. What else could you ask for?
The atmosphere is appropriately creepy, playing up the horror movie theme of the DLC. Once again the voice acting is hysterical and the visuals, so unique to Borderlands, are top-notch.
I have not found any killer weapons so far. In fact, for a large part of the time it seemed as though the weapons I was finding were a bit lower leveled than what they should have been. As I got closer to the end of the campaign, they did get noticeably better.
In the end it is very easy to give a strong recommendation to The Zombie Island Of Dr. Ned. As you know, Borderlands is one of my favorite games of the year and this add-on makes it even better. Thumbs up!!!
As with the original content, the humor in The Zombie Island Of Dr. Ned is tremendous. Lots of subtle (and not-so-subtle) comments on things that have transpired in the original game as well as some nice pop culture references to the whole overplayed zombie thing. The missions are basically the same sort as in the original game. And there is even a bounty board for side missions, just as there is in each major area in the original content. So there is plenty to do here and there are some nifty new creatures to slaughter. What else could you ask for?
The atmosphere is appropriately creepy, playing up the horror movie theme of the DLC. Once again the voice acting is hysterical and the visuals, so unique to Borderlands, are top-notch.
I have not found any killer weapons so far. In fact, for a large part of the time it seemed as though the weapons I was finding were a bit lower leveled than what they should have been. As I got closer to the end of the campaign, they did get noticeably better.
In the end it is very easy to give a strong recommendation to The Zombie Island Of Dr. Ned. As you know, Borderlands is one of my favorite games of the year and this add-on makes it even better. Thumbs up!!!
Friday, November 27, 2009
2009 Game Of The Year nominees
With the major releases out of the way for the remainder of the year, I feel confident that I can go ahead and name the games that I feel merit serious consideration for the Game Of The Year award. I will be picking one game from this list as the GOTY and will probably be doing some sub-categories this year as well, such as best story, voice acting, etc.
Before I get into this any further, I must mention these 2 huge caveats:
As you can see, I played all of these games on the 360, except for Uncharted 2, which is a PS3 exclusive game. You are probably wondering why and I will tell you. First, I prefer the 360 controller over the PS3 controller. I like the analog triggers on the 360 controller and just the overall heft of the thing. I don't dislike the PS3 controller, but I do prefer the 360's. Second, you can install games onto your hard drive on the 360, which helps with loading times while playing games. And third, downloading patches, DLC, etc. is much faster for me on the 360 than on the PS3. Don't get me wrong, I think the PS3 is a fantastic console and no doubt it is much more reliable than the 360. But when push comes to shove, I just prefer to game on my 360.
The fact that NHL 10 made the list is probably going to alienate me from my Canadian buddy Pete Anderson. He has real problems with the way the skaters control in the game and he knows more about hockey than I could ever pretend to. Still, the game works for me and it is a wonderfully complete package. Sorry, Pete!
There are a number of really high quality games that I played this year that didn't quite make the nominees list. I'd like to give these Honorable Mentions some recognition: Demon's Souls (PS3), IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds Of Prey (360), Dragon Age: Origins (360), FIFA 10 (360), Sacred 2 (360), MLB '09: The Show (PS3), Street Fighter 4 (PS3), Red Faction: Guerrilla (PS3), Madden NFL 10 (360).
In addition, besides the already-mentioned Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Forza Mototsport 3, here are some of the games that I did not play this year that would probably have a good chance at making the nominees list: Dirt 2 (360), Infamous (PS3), Resident Evil 5 (360), Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time (PS3). I have had Resident Evil 5 for over a month from GameFly, but have been busy with other games. I may yet play it before the awards are announced and if so, it will be given full consideration.
The decision this year will be a tough one. While the last couple of years have had tons of excellent games, in 2007 and 2008 one game stood out head and shoulders above the rest (Bioshock and Fallout 3 respectively), making the actual GOTY announcement itself not so difficult. This year I have no idea which way I am going to go. I have some ideas here and there but I can make a serious case for each one of the nominees and I really do not know which game will come out on top. I have a lot of different things to consider. Any feedback would be welcome.
Before I get into this any further, I must mention these 2 huge caveats:
- I have not played (and will not be playing) some of the biggest releases of the year such as Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Forza Motorsport 3. As such, these games are not eligible for GOTY. I know this makes the list null and void for some people but COD:MW2 and L4D2 are mainly multiplayer games and I am not much of a multiplayer gamer, so there is no sense in me spending money on these games. If you can handle these games being ineligible, then you may find these awards worth browsing.
- These awards are for Xbox 360 and PS3 games only. I am not into the Wii, DS, PSP or PC gaming.
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
- Batman: Arkham Asylum (360)
- The Beatles: Rock Band (360)
- NHL 10 (360)
- Borderlands (360)
- Assassin's Creed II (360)
As you can see, I played all of these games on the 360, except for Uncharted 2, which is a PS3 exclusive game. You are probably wondering why and I will tell you. First, I prefer the 360 controller over the PS3 controller. I like the analog triggers on the 360 controller and just the overall heft of the thing. I don't dislike the PS3 controller, but I do prefer the 360's. Second, you can install games onto your hard drive on the 360, which helps with loading times while playing games. And third, downloading patches, DLC, etc. is much faster for me on the 360 than on the PS3. Don't get me wrong, I think the PS3 is a fantastic console and no doubt it is much more reliable than the 360. But when push comes to shove, I just prefer to game on my 360.
The fact that NHL 10 made the list is probably going to alienate me from my Canadian buddy Pete Anderson. He has real problems with the way the skaters control in the game and he knows more about hockey than I could ever pretend to. Still, the game works for me and it is a wonderfully complete package. Sorry, Pete!
There are a number of really high quality games that I played this year that didn't quite make the nominees list. I'd like to give these Honorable Mentions some recognition: Demon's Souls (PS3), IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds Of Prey (360), Dragon Age: Origins (360), FIFA 10 (360), Sacred 2 (360), MLB '09: The Show (PS3), Street Fighter 4 (PS3), Red Faction: Guerrilla (PS3), Madden NFL 10 (360).
In addition, besides the already-mentioned Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Forza Mototsport 3, here are some of the games that I did not play this year that would probably have a good chance at making the nominees list: Dirt 2 (360), Infamous (PS3), Resident Evil 5 (360), Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time (PS3). I have had Resident Evil 5 for over a month from GameFly, but have been busy with other games. I may yet play it before the awards are announced and if so, it will be given full consideration.
The decision this year will be a tough one. While the last couple of years have had tons of excellent games, in 2007 and 2008 one game stood out head and shoulders above the rest (Bioshock and Fallout 3 respectively), making the actual GOTY announcement itself not so difficult. This year I have no idea which way I am going to go. I have some ideas here and there but I can make a serious case for each one of the nominees and I really do not know which game will come out on top. I have a lot of different things to consider. Any feedback would be welcome.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Borderlands DLC
The first of what is hopefully many DLCs for Borderlands was released today. The Zombie Island Of Dr. Ned looks to be a pretty large add-on as the download itself was quite big. I have not had a chance to check it out yet (gaming time has been limited lately and when I do get to play I am knee-deep into Assassin's Creed II), but it looks like it is swarming with bad guys (zombies, natch) ala the recently released Left 4 Dead 2. That's probably not a coincidence.
Anyway, Borderlands is such great fun that I am sure I will be getting around to it before too long.
Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!
Anyway, Borderlands is such great fun that I am sure I will be getting around to it before too long.
Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!
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