Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow whips it good.

I don't know how Castlevania: Lords of Shadow slipped past my radar, but it's a game that I completely overlooked. No previews, no reviews, not even a small video of the game in action. That said, after putting in a few hours into the game, I can honestly say I'm absolutely hooked. And I never thought I'd say that about a 3D Castlevania game, too.

Seriously, though...the game is freaken gorgeous. Playing it through on Hard, and it's brutally good.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed...finished!

While the game was plagued with some of the most terrible bugs I've seen in years, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was still an enjoyable game. I probably did more force grabs than any other Force power available, but could anyone blame me? Yeah, I was a Jedi, I had a lightsaber - but I couldn't chuck it a hundred feet ahead of me, can I?

Despite the sometimes-button-mash gameplay, the story was an interesting one to play out. Being a rogue Jedi and able to take down anyone, whether Rebel or Empire, is liberating. If they're in your way, take 'em out. It's just that simple.

I think, in the end, I'm just glad I'm done with the game. Not for the buggy gameplay, not for the interesting storyline...but simply for the fact that I don't have to see those weird fish-like eyeballs of your main character. Seriously, those are some drug-induced eyes...

Sunday, October 17, 2010

The Force Unleashed all over Borderlands

It's been a while since I binged out on some games, so I've decided to tackle two of some games released a while back.

Borderlands: Since no one I know is playing Uncharted 2 online, I've come to an agreement with my Borderlands friend and agreed to play with him co-op if he plays Uncharted 2 co-op with me later.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: The sequel has re-peaked my interest in the franchise again, and Guybrush Threepwood will be a playable character in the game as well! Now THAT'S some LucasArts love there!!

Both Borderlands and Force Unleashed were games I sampled and tried in the past, but just never really got into them. But, in dusting off some games to blow through and play, I thought "what the hell" and gave them another try. And I'm enjoying it!

I think for a while, I was aching for a FPS game to play...to the point of checking out any Modern Warfare or Medal of Honor game. With Borderlands, not only can I satisfy that need, but I can buddy up with my friend online and bust it out co-op!

With Force Unleashed, I think I underestimated the Force...so to speak. Force Pushing guards off cliffs and using it to hurl heavy objects to enemies far away is both intuitive and engrossingly fun! Sure, the fighting is sometimes mindless lightsaber action, but anything to hear the "whoosh" sound it makes as it cuts the air.

By the end of the month, both games will have received some sort of update treatment on retail shelves. Borderlands: GOTY edition has been already released, which contains all 4 DLC content in one game disc. The end of October will see the release of The Force Unleashed 2, so the first game will probably be pushed up the "finished" queue.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Little Big Planet PSP...finished!

While creating levels is possible in both the PS3 and PSP version, the PSP controls make things a little more complicated in the portable version of Little Big Planet. The game, like its big-brother version, has a decent story going on for it, with regular level progression and item collecting. But the placement of stickers was so painful - to have to hold the L2 trigger button while rotating AND scaling the sticker using only the analog stick? That is beyond annoying.

So this is why this game will only receive my playthrough attention. I'll leave the level creation to its PS3 counterpart, where it's easier to share levels anyways.

Flower...finished!

Sometimes it's just good to play a game just to purely kill time, and that's what Flower allowed me to do. There's no one to kill, no missions to complete, and no cluttered HUD to observe - just going with the flow and riding the wind.

And the game wasn't really begging to be finished. I just found myself idle between games, and thought that I haven't played it in a while. And before I knew it, it's finished.

Flower's calming atmosphere and music are enough for me to return to it again when I need a break from any big-name games. Or if I want some nice and pleasant background on my TV.