I figured I would do a quick summary of what I have been playing lately. I’m not a huge gamer anymore, so I only play every now and then. Even at that pace, my list spans several consoles, so it may seem like a lot.
Xbox 360:
Braid
This is a quirky Xbox Live game that just came out. It is a puzzle platformer which lets you handle time to solve the puzzles. While the time gimmick has been done before, never has it been done so well. Each world has different characteristics that force you to think outside the box. In one world, walking forward (to the right) advances time, while walking to the left reverses time. Thus baddies that had died are brought back to life if you walk too far to your left. Some items are not affected by time change and continue moving as usual. While it is a short game, I had a lot of fun with it and the ending is really well done. It is a bit steep at 15$ for an Arcade title, but I highly recommend it!
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja
I picked this up for 10$ while I was in Nova Scotia for Ride the Lobster. I have not gotten very far in it, but it is a fun adventurer mixed with a fighting engine. While sometimes the cpu feels cheap, the pay off from winning is always a great feeling. There is also a lot of “fetch x amount of y items” quests, but somehow, it does not really become annoying, which is a feat in itself. I would recommend it if you are a Naruto fan, otherwise try it out first to see if it is your cup of tea.
Need to get back into/play:
Grand Theft Auto 4
Stranglehold
Wii:
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Tresure
This is a really fun puzzle game which fell completely under the radar for most gamers. It features characters that were not in any prequels and had a more relaxed thinking approach to gaming. I don’t think it will be picked up by many mainly because it is a new IP, but it definitely needs to be checked out. If you want something different and you have a Wii, check out this game!
Need to get back into:
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
SSX Blur
Smash Brothers Brawl
DS:
Pokemon Pearl
I bought this game about a year ago, yet I never played it. Reason was that when I bought teh game, it came with a free copy of Spectrobes. I had been curious about Spectrobes so I played it first and then other games came out on DS and well, I never went back to Pokemon. I kept it in view all these months and I finally decided to give it a chance. So far, I am quite liking it, but I find it very slow (fights need a fast forward button) and I am hit with a huge sense of “I’ve played this before”. Pokemon Blue back in the day was really fresh and original and every other iteration felt like a copy. Nonetheless, it still sucks you in and you end up enjoying it.
Civilization Revolution
What can I say about this game? It is just like the other Civilization games we played in the past, but finally made for consoles. This game is addictive as hell, and I have to be careful playing it. Often I go to sleep way too late since I want to play just one more turn. I tend to always finish a game on one session. If you like Civ and want to play it on the go, you pretty much need this game. Very awesome and lots of fun.
Need to get back into:
Puzzle Quest
Spectrobes
Guitar Hero
Picross DS
Crosswords DS
(I have way too many DS games.. but it is the best gaming machine out there)
PC:
Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People - Episode 1 - Homestar Ruiner
I am a huge fan of Sam n Max, and I really enjoyed the episodic variations that TellTale games came out with for the series. Being a fan of Strong Bad, I pretty much HAD to pick this up. So far it has not disappointed. It feels exactly like the cartoon (in a good way) and the humour is jam packed. It does seem a tad slow, but it is the first episode. If Sam n Max is any indication, the other episodes in the season will simply get better and better!
On the Rain-slick Precipice of Darkness - Penny Arcade Adventures - Episode 1
I picked this up on Steam since it was half price. I’m not the biggest fan of Penny Arcade, but I love the whole mythology idea behind the series. The game feels very accurate to the web comic and the humour is the same. It is an rpg and while I would have preferred an adventure game, they did a good job incorporating the role playing elements with the Penny Arcade universe. I’m not far enough to fully give a rating, but I like what I see so far.
Need to get back into:
Toonstruck (I need to replay this game.. thanks Jiahui)
- Juggling Mike
