Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational, with something missing

I've always enjoyed the Hot Shots Golf series on the go on my PSP, and am happy to get Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational on my PSVita.  But compared to the PSP versions, one thing is lacking from the latest iteration - background noise.  Gone are the incessant whirs of the UMD disk as the game loads between levels.  Apart from that, it's the same old golfing game I've come to play and enjoy...which is not a bad thing.

Games, movies, and favorite parts

Playing some Uncharted 3 over the weekend through my second (and most difficult) playthrough, and it occurred to me how much fun the game was.  Gone were the manual labor searching for treasures (well, not for the obvious ones, anyways), the cautious walking to anticipate surprise attacks, and the need to pace oneself.  I was playing the game as it was meant to be, all along - as a movie, chuckling to the same parts that made me smile, and getting worked up on all the exciting action scenes.

Super Dungeon Explore: Gateway to miniature gaming

Not all gaming requires staring blankly at a glowing thin screen filled with moving graphics.  Some of the best games are the classic board games played on a table.  And then there are tabletop figure games like Warhammer or Heroclix.  Then there's Super Dungeon Explore, a game I played just this past weekend.

Getting into financial rhythm

Last year's E3 was a mental checklist of games to look forward to purchasing in the coming months, and Rhythm Heaven Fever and Fortune Street were both near the top of that list.  So, when the opportunity finally arrived, I scored both in one go!

Rhythm Heaven Fever

I'm a music game fanatic.  I rank the Ouendan games, Elite Beat Agents, and Rhythm Heaven for the DS to be probably the games I replay the most, so getting Rhythm Heaven Fever is a no-brainer for me.  The game is widely known for taking one- and two-button pressing into a flurry of rhythm games that are both a visual and audio treat, and Rhythm Heaven Fever doesn't disappoint.  One of my favorites has to be the Monkey watch game, where the simple second-hand ticking is absurdly described to be a monkey giving high-fives to monkeys along the watch's edge.

Fortune Street

THIS IS NOT A MARIO PARTY GAME!!!

Or at least that's what the box art should've included as one of their quotes.  So many misguided reviews of this game simply because they were expecting a bunch of mini-games to play as they go around the board.  Think of Fortune Street as a "Monopoly 2.0," but with dynamic playing boards and more ways to earn coins from other players.  In fact, that's what makes the game more dynamic - more ways to earn extra coin.  Does a certain region have most of their properties sold?  Purchase stocks for that region!  Landed on a property that you wish you had?  Muscle it out of them for 3 times the property cost!  And their version of "community chest" and "chance" cards are more random and impacting.  Some are just losing money for each property you own, to one that just closes all properties for one whole turn - which means that no one will have to pay you rent if they land on them during that turn.

Of course, these games are meant to be played for a longer period of time, so make sure you have some dedicated friends over to play.  Or a wife that's stuck at home with you.