• 24Aug 08

  The Sands of Prime

  Hey everyone! It's been a while since my last blog, so I figured I would drop a line just to see how everyone is doing. Not much is going on this way. Just work mostly.

  I did purchase Bionic Commando Rearmed. I never beat Bionic Commando on the NES. So beating BCR was a personal mission for me. Though it was frustrating (challenging) in quite a few parts, I did slay the beast. It was a satisfying feeling. Not better than sex, but satisfying nonetheless.

  A Game That Everyone Should Buy:

  Heavy Rain

  This game will be one of the reasons to own a PS3 in my opinion. I knew it would be something special when the tech demo was shown back in 2006 at E3. Quantic Dream really is working on something great. I have a lot of faith in them. Indigo Prophecy was a great game up until the end and David Cage, Quantic Dream's CEO, admitted that they made some mistakes with the game. Mistakes that he said they have learned from. I believe him. After reading GS's impressions, Heavy Rain has me intrigued more than ever.

  Now Playing:

  Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

  

  This is my third playthrough of PoP: TSoT. What can I say, it is a damn great game. It always breaks my heart when I think how crap the other two games in the trilogy were. I can honestly see why Jordan Mechner, the original creator of PoP, doesn't acknowledge Warrior Within and The Two Thrones. They were nothing more than Ubisoft's pitiful attempt to garner a wider audience by going in the same dark direction the rest of the industry was going in at the time. [I'm looking at you Naughty Dog. What you did to the Jak and Daxter series after the first installment was just shameful.]

  I might be purchasing two games this week depending on how the reviews are. Tales of Vesperia and Infinite Undiscovery are on deck. With Tales of Legendia as the exception, the Tales series has been quite good on consoles. So I'm hoping ToV will be a good game. IGN gave it a positive review, so it is off to a good start. Infinite Undiscovery I'm not too sure about. Max kept talking to me about it so much that I finally started to be a bit more open to it. I'm hoping that wasn't a mistake. XD

  I hope everyone has been doing well. Later peeps!

  • Posted Aug 24, 2008 9:38 pm PT
  • Category: General
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• 30Jul 08

  E3 2008-related

  E3 2008 has been over for a while and I never really discussed what it did for me. Don't worry, I'm not going to make this one of those blogs where I give a complete rundown of the conferences and whatnot. Instead, I'm going to talk about the games that I want right now thanks to the convention, the games that deserve honorable mentions, the game that intrigued me the most, the game I'm still on the fence about, the game that disappointed me the most, the game that was the biggest surprise, and the most disappointing no-shows.

  Games I Want Right Now:

  Prince of Persia

  Everyone who knows me on a personal level knows how much I love Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It was a fantastic game that I consider to be among my favorites of all-time. Short, yes it was. Yet, it was enjoyable for every hour it lasted. I couldn't say the same for the two sequels that followed PoP: TSoT though. I thought Warrior Within and The Two Thrones ruined what The Sands of Time had built. That could have been an amazing trilogy if Ubisoft hadn't tried to take the series in a direction it had no business going in. But that is in the past now. One of my main reasons for anticipating the new PoP is that it brings back that vibe from The Sands of Time. Another reason is that the game looks damn gorgeous. Also, PoP seems to be retaining the platforming elements that I loved about TSoT and having a new female character to help you out certainly doesn't hurt it. I find myself wondering if Elika and the new Prince will have some kind of relationship or will it be strictly business.

  Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

  First off, let me say that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed had one of the greatest trailers I've seen in quite some time. That alone got me hyped for the game. But then, GameSpot had a Stage Show Demo for it. That made my anticipation rise to an even higher level. Not only does the game look great, but it looks fun as hell to play. This could possibly be a Star Wars game that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I and II. At this point, it would take a lot for this game to disappoint me. It certainly couldn't be worse than Star Wars Episode I, II, and III...could it? Dear Lord I hope not.

  Tomb Raider Underworld

  Besides the trailer being cool, I liked what I saw during the Stage Show Demo for it. Ironically, I never really got into the Tomb Raider series during the PS1 era like everyone else did. I didn't really become a fan until Eidos brought in Crystal Dynamics to revitalize the series. Because of their work on Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Anniversary, that is what made me keep an eye on Tomb Raider Underworld. So far, I would say that it looks like another hit for Lara Croft and Crystal Dynamics.

  Honorable Mentions:

  LittleBigPlanet

  Sony using the game to show the business segment of their Press Conference was brilliant. I love this game and can't wait for it to release. It's adorable, charming, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the community does with it from a creative standpoint.

  inFAMOUS

  What Sucker Punch showed of it at E3 2008 did nothing but soldify my purchase. I had faith in the development group due to their work on the Sly Cooper series. But them trying something new with inFAMOUS has impressed me. I'll be expecting good things from this group for years to come. Several things have me interested in the title. Besides it looking fun to play. There appears to be a good storyline and some interesting characters in the game. I'm also looking forward to seeing how the environment will come in-to-play when battling against the game's enemies. Since your character controls electricity, he will share the strengths and weaknesses of controlling that element. This could lead to you actually having to think about the surrounding environment while taking on an enemy or enemies. Cool stuff.

  Fable II

  Since I enjoyed Fable I, I was surely anticipating Fable II. After E3 2008, that hasn't changed. But I must say that nothing I saw or read about it during E3 made me want the game more than I did already. Many expected so much out of the first installment and it fell short of expectations. So I guess I'm not trying to get overhyped for FII, just in case history repeats itself.

  Most Intriguing:

  I Am Alive

  I don't know what the hell it is about (a survival game?). But I find myself interested in it. More than likely it will end up being a genre that I don't like.

  Still Not Interested:

  Fallout 3

  Watching the trailer and the million demos of the game didn't do anything to make me want it. Am I in the minority when it comes to the people who don't want this game? Yep. Do I give a damn? Hell nah.

  Biggest Disappointment:

  Tales of Vesperia

  I'm not sure if Tales of Vesperia was shown at E3 2008 or not, but I know a demo was released on XBL Marketplace. My thoughts on the demo...unimpressed. I guess I was hoping for something along the lines of Tales of Symphonia (which is a great RPG). I'm not going to count it out just yet though. It was just a demo afterall (and a short one might I add).

  Biggest Surprise:

  Too Human

  MS made a big mistake by not showing a demo of Too Human during their Press Conference. I would have enjoyed a demo of TH more than I would have the demos of Fallout 3 and Gears of War 2 (though I don't have any interest in the RE series, the demo of RE5 was neat). Too Human didn't go ignored though. Thankfully, Jay (2ndWonder) came by The Temple and told everyone that an unexpected demo had landed on the XBL Marketplace. I immediately downloaded it because I had been on the fence about the game for some time (much to Max's dismay). After playing the demo (which was quite long by the way), I would say most of my worries have been eliminated. My only problem with the game is the attacks being linked to the right analog stick. It feels...I guess clunky is a good word for it. But that didn't stop me from playing the demo several times. Maybe I'll get used to it as the game goes on. In my opinion, Dennis Dyack and Silicon Knights made a good decision by putting a demo on XBL Marketplace. After all the drama surrounding the title, they made me a believer.

  Most Disappointing No-Shows:

  Heavy Rain

  When Heavy Rain wasn't mentioned at Sony's Press Conference or at E3 2008, I became worried. Until PS3 Fanboy pretty much confirmed that the game was still in existence (and still is a PS3 exclusive). As long as it is a quality game when it releases, then I can't complain too much. Quantic Dream did a good job with Indigo Prophecy, though it felt rushed at the end (no doubt due to Atari pressuring Quantic Dream to hurry-up toward the end of the game's development cycle). So I believe Heavy Rain will be worth my time.

  Alan Wake

  It has been two years since the game was publicly shown. MS and Remedy keep saying the game is not cancelled, so what the hell is the problem?! Things are looking dry for the X360's 2009 lineup, so perhaps Alan Wake is being saved for that. I just wish they would tell us something or even show us a new trailer. I'm tired of waiting.

  I hope everybody enjoyed this blog. As always, feel free to comment. Later peeps!

  • Posted Jul 30, 2008 10:49 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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• 21Jul 08

  The grass isn't always greener...

  After Gerstmann-gate happened, I was prepared to leave GS for greener pastures. The only problem was that when it came to content, not too many sites competed with GS. I like IGN, but their community doesn't come close in my opinion. So moving to IGN wasn't going to work out. Another site that you hear mentioned alot is 1UP. But I'm not a fan of them. I read EGM, but I just find the 1UP website to be crap. So when Jeff Gerstmann mentioned that he was going to be starting a website, I was truly excited. After all the anticipation and waiting, Giant Bomb has finally launched...and I couldn't be more disappointed.
  • Posted Jul 21, 2008 7:57 pm PT
  • Category: Opinion
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