Ah, well I've already got the 360 version, so I'll either soldier through that at some point or just skip it altogether. I haven't played enough to accurately judge it in any way, but it didn't seem to warrant the immense praise lavished on it.

I've been following the blue guy since 91, and yeah, this is his best game in at least 8 years. I'm enjoying it so far, the learning curve is steep as hell though.

The problem is you're playing on a 360. The AI in F.E.A.R is fucking unreal. The developers used some tricks to get it all to work. The results are spectacular though. By the time you're running through the offices with the camouflaged dudes jumping off the walls and shit? Probably the most visceral gunplay in a FPS. I was exhausted after some of those segments. Multiplayer is good too. Need a hefty rig to enjoy it in all it's glory.

my roommate bought this on friday, but we haven't been playing it much at all. it's way too hard to control when you first start, and after about three hours of experience, i still feel like i'm doing something wrong when i try to control the character. it's really hard to stop/turn on a dime (which is a hassle when you're in those missions where you can't break a single pot).

also, that metal song that plays between every mission is hilarious. there's no such thing as an accidental dre-eeeeeeyeeeeeam...make believe is all~!

I'm hoping to get a crack at that at some point. Nothing since Sonic Adventure (on the console side) has been worthwhile, let alone very playable (for some of them, at least).

In other news, I might wrap up Crackdown tonight. All I have left is one sub-boss and the final boss of Shai-Gen. After that, I'll see about maxing out my skills (already maxed Strength, 4 Stars on Agility, 3 Stars on Explosives and Firearms) and picking up some of the stray Achievements.

Also in the playoffs in MVP 07 NCAA Baseball currently. By the time I wrap these two games up, I should have review copies of SSX Blur (Wii) and MLB 2K7 (360/PS3 [hopefully 360]) incoming.

is that what he's saying?

We thought it was christian rock, we made up lyrics about boycotting harry potter and your faith being reborn.

SEVEN RINGS IN HAAAAAND

I want this album.

There's been a Sonic game that was easy to control?

Let me know how MLB 2K7 is, Andy. I've had a serious hunkering for a new baseball game, and if it's worthwhile I'll definitely pick it up soon... even though it'll just be for the XBox.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vaporwares

Uh...Sonic 1-3 and S&K had one button gameplay, I don't know how much easier you can get than that.

Anyway, I beat this, really liked it. Definitely a redemption after the crap that's been passing as sonic games lately.

I'm thinking about eBaying my used copy of Crackdown. On the plus side, I'd get as much as possible for it by selling early, and I have no other income aside from eBay. On the minus end, the downloadable content could be pretty interesting, especially since it holds the additional 100 Achievement Points. I can't say I care too much about the Halo 3 beta, but I'm marginally interested as a gamer in general. Dunno. It's a tough call.

Should have MLB 2K7 and Dance Dance Revolution Universe for Xbox 360 by the end of the week for review. Badass!

How quickly the addiction ends. I'm moving on to greener pastures as well (see: Dead Rising).

How does a working member of the media get his hands on some games for "review"?

It was awesome, but I finished it and now feel no compulsion to keep playing. Meh.



Write for a publication that covers games; cover said games. Repeat.

I don't have them sent to me directly. They're sent to the websites that I write for and then are sent to me as needed/desired.

Ding! 65

So it seems like The Show '07 is getting a better reception than MLB 2K7. I just wish it wasn't $40 for the PS2 version. $40? For a last-gen sports game?

Yeah, The Show looks to be the best of the last-gen MLB games. That IGN review of 2K7 for PS2/XBX made it sound awful, even though they gave it a 7.

But hey, if you get The Show, you can mail in for a cap... yeah... awesome...



I picked up this bitch today. Getting a review copy as reimbursement in the near future, but I wanted to start while I have an extra day or two. Will check it out in a bit after I finish writing.

Just got a 360! Fight Night rules, NBA Street drools.
Do I need to get Crackdown? I was pondering waiting for some used copies, but I'm not sure how soon those will be showing up.

You do, but what you first need to do is hop on Xbox Live and download a heap of demos and test out everything that rocked within the last year-plus. I can't even imagine how that treasure trove must look to a new owner...

Man, I was just playing MVP 07 NCAA Baseball online and I really fucked up. I had a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and just needed to put this fucker away. What do I do? Give up a run. Flash-forward an inning to the bottom of the tenth and this assbag hits a two-run shot. Motherfucker.

Do I need a Gold account to get demos and stuff, or will silver do me just fine? (Wow, those last seven words really sounded wrong when i read that out loud.)

Silver's fine for demos and such. You only need Gold for gameplay and the occasional exclusive download.

im curious to see if the controls arent too weird. big time ssx fan.

whats everyone playing on the virtual console? im itching to spend some points. so far i got golden axe(meh), and gunstar heroes. no mario or zelda games yet because ive had enough separation anxiety from the early mario and zelda games.

The controls are extremely weird, but I'm getting the hang of it. I can do pretty well in the various race and downhill modes, but the half-pipe stuff is still killing me. I just can't keep up the speed and always be in the right physical position to keep pulling off tricks. Dunno.

I'm not typically a big fan of digital downloads, so the only VC game I've purchased is Super Mario 64, and I played all of 10 minutes of it. Ah well. Someday, perhaps.

When it comes to old games, I'd rather just hunt down an original copy and play it on the real system. I'm more interested to see if they can dig out some imports and translate them for the VC. I've always been interested in playing Sin & Punishment for the N64, but it never came over from Japan.

yeah i dont know if i can get into ssx with arms flailing everywhere. maybe ill rent it first.



this is the only game im really waiting for on the VC. king slender back breakers all day.

If you go to a place like half.com or Amazon, a used copy will show up in no time. Last year, I got a game used for $10 cheaper than it was new... one week after it came out.

Sooner than you think. Andyroo might even have a copy for ya.

So i finally got around to playing Dead Rising, and it kicks all kinds of ass. However, i have these two gripes: a ) the controls can be a bit sketch here and there, and b ) sometimes the whole 72-hour timer things just seems like an excuse to add a linear experience when, in reality, it didn't need one. Oh well, lets hope that gets reworked for the inevitable Dead Rising 2.

Kinda looking forward to Def Jam Icon. And i still gotta give the new NBA Street a spin.

I restarted Dead Rising at least twice on my way to finally completing it. A bit flawed, but a glorious game overall. My second favorite game of last year.

I'd been looking forward to Def Jam Icon for a long time, but the demo really didn't interest me at all. The fighting seemed so-so and the atmosphere isn't a deal-maker for me; I need quality gameplay first.

Got DDR Universe and MLB 2K7 in the mail today. DDR Universe looks beautiful (for a DDR game) in HD and widescreen. The song selection isn't the best of recent games, but it has some New Order and Depeche Mode remixes, that Cascada track, Chris Brown's "Run It," and this Jenny Rom track that I love from several arcade versions ago that never before was in an American home version. So overall, pretty sweet. I'll spend some time with the Quest mode tonight and see what that's all about. I can't believe 1UP gave it a 3.0... one of those extremely rare situations in which I have trouble respecting a reviewers' opinion. It just didn't seem like he was playing the same thing.

Oh well. I'm gonna go fire up MLB 2K7 and begin my quest to take the Cubs to the World Series.

NBA Street Homecourt was one of the two titles I bought with my 360, and boy do I regret it.
I've been a fan of the series from the beginning, and Homecourt is the worst Street title to date. To sum it up, EA has made the jumpshot entirely useless, as any player can goaltend all day long, Allen Iverson included. Unless you're dunking, there's a great chance that your shot will be swatted away by one of the computer players camped out underneath the basket. As you can imagine, this is unbelievably frustrating.
Also, your teammates have almost no AI whatsoever, making it feel like 1-on-3 alot of the time. Another gripe of mine is that stats in the game seem to be entirely useless. In the Homecourt mode, which is the closest thing to a Career there is, your player levels up throughout the game. At level 5, you have the opportunity to choose a "Freak Skill" which immediately maxes out at 100 attribute points. I chose ball handling, and the very next game, the ball was being picked cleanly from me by Tyson f-ing Chandler.

The game isn't without it's perks, though. The dunks are very cool, and are the most entertaining ever seen in an Arcade basketball game. The trick system is alright, but not very expansive, and the Gamebreaker system is nothing special. Same old risk/reward stuff we've come to appreciate from Street.
Simply put, all style, no substance.

Thanks for the heads up on Homecourt. I was gonna pick it up after work today, but now i think i'll give it a rental first.

Just started playing City of Heroes/City of Villians on the PC
damn it's addicting. I haven't touched guitar hero in two weeks

10 days for me and GH, but I know in the back of my mind that I will never leave her for good. Seriously thinking about getting the 360 version too, since I don't really own the PS2 game.
With downloadable content, GH 2 will be the greatest rhythm game of all time.

So what's everyone been playing lately?

I'm grinding on SSX Blur (Wii) and DDR Universe (360) currently, as well as quite a bit of MLB 2K7 (360) in between (though I should be focusing on the first two). I finally unlocked the second peak on SSX Blur tonight. I was held back by being unable to slalom (the first slalom course is insanely difficult), and had to change the control scheme to finally finish in time to move on. Yesterday, I was throwing my Wiimote around the room in frustration... now I'm just glad to be moving on.

MLB 2K7 is much better than expected. The gameplay isn't as fluid or pick-up-and-play as MVP 07, but the visuals, audio, and various intangibles are just fantastic. I'm strangely captivated by it. Currently 12-4 with the Cubs, woo.

wario ware. lots of wario ware, though its passing me by really fast. its still fun though. gunstar heroes on wii virtual console. i need to get a 360. and a DS. and if i had money to burn i guess id pick up a PS3. no PSP for me though.

i was playing the demo today and decided to continually bean every batter. i managed to get tony la russa and every pitcher except carpenter thrown out. seems when you only have one pitcher left, they'll let you bean as many players as you please. things like this and taking a driver to the crowd in tiger woods gives me an odd sort of satisfaction.

Having a bit of trouble playing with friends, but the games against the computer are pretty good. A few gripes here and there, but overall the graphics and overall feel of the game is making me fall in love with it. Do you use the swing stick of the classic control style, Andyroo?

I stuck with the stick. It doesn't give me the same feeling as the MVP analog swing, but I enjoy it more than just pressing a button. Contact swings are kind of a bummer; I typically only use them with my lesser batters (Izturis, the pitcher, maybe DeRosa). With power swings, I get an inordinate amount of homers, but I also get some solid line drives and such. I've played probably four or five full games, and have only driven in a single run from anything other than a home run (and it was almost a home run).

Are you on Live? My gamertag is: deja andyroo

Not on Live yet, as the wireless adapter is alot of the $$. Soon, though. Very soon.
I found pretty much the same results by using the basic button press to swing, ala MVP baseball 05, still my favorite baseball game of all time. I found that with the swing stick, I spent just a split second more time worrying about contact/power that my swing was off pretty much every time. The game is sorta frustrating to me so far, though, as it has all the gameplay depth and elements of the perfect baseball game, but fails to get the core gameplay just right. It's definitely a step in the right direction, though.

Fucking SSX uber-tricks. Pulling that shit off takes hours of practice.

I'm pretty sure I still haven't nailed one during actual play. If I have, it was by accident and I didn't even notice.

Ding!

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After getting bored by Final Fantasy XII in record time, I've opted to start up GTA: San Andreas again. I forgot all about the Easy E lookalike.

anyone notice the heavenly sword footage they snuck in during the last heroes episode? it wasnt hard to miss i guess. that game looks sweet.

Yeah, I dunno. I guess I'd like to see more in-game footage before I can really get an impression of it. At this point, it just seems like Goddess of War. When is it shipping, anyway? I thought it was pegged for sometime this month... must have been delayed.

I've got Motorstorm coming later this week. It's been my most anticipated PS3 game since I played the demo. Should probably see it on Friday or Saturday. I'd rush out and buy it on Wednesday, but I've got enough to keep me busy until the weekend. It seems doubtful that I'll get a review copy of Burnout Dominator, so I'll pick that up pretty soon, as well. Maybe next week, once I get through some of the games I'm working on.

yeah it was supposed to come out this month, but i guess its being pushed back. dont know the release date now. it was supposed to be a PS3 exclusive, but now its coming out on 360. i dont know if that had anything to do with the delay.

i still need to get one of them systems anyway.

I don't keep up on video games at all.

Someone tell me what's up with God of War 2

It's gonna be fucking awesome, that's what's up. From what I understand, the core gameplay will remain the same, with a few minor tweaks. Also, four times as many boss battles, and a possibility for longer combos into the thousands. Plus levels where Kratos rides Pegasus. Comes out next Tuesday!!