Just finished The Wind Waker last Sunday, now I'm working my way through this. At first, I thought it was a complete waste of money, but I'm really starting to get into it now. Graphics are less than I expected, but I'm probably gonna go play as soon as I finish typing this.

so many great memories...

I finished SSX Blur last night and am planning on reviewing it tonight. MotorStorm better be in the mail tomorrow.

Thinking about putting some hours into God of War this weekend. I've never played more than half of it and I'm planning on nabbing the sequel next week. I started a game last month and played about an hour and a half. Might pick up from there and see where I can get.

really? i heard the control/aiming is terrible, and the swordplay is extremely limited in the sense that you cant do various slashes, and the sword battles just pop up when you could just shoot the guy, no?

maybe ill rent it i guess.

my friend sent me wii play in the mail for free. ive played it for an hour, and im bored of it already. i can see it being fun with more people.

Eh, barely. It only supports two players, and the games are so limited that you'll get a couple plays out of each, tops.

I think I'm going to toss mine on eBay this week. I think the game by itself is selling for $15-20. I'll hold onto the Wiimote, I guess.

im suprised you can get as much as $20 for the game itself. i figured you couldn't get more than $10 for it.

Ding! 67! Only three more!

I'm flying out to L.A. in two weeks to cover a couple of Activision preview events. Badass.

I finally got around to renting Def Jam: Icon and it feels unfinished. The fighting system is so weak that it almost feels broken, which is a shame cuz the new "music as a weapon" thing is kinda cool. The visuals are really the only thing that kept me from taking it back early.

Just picked these up; Bust-a-Move because it was $7.49, and Spidey 2 because I'll be playing Spidey 3 in L.A. in a couple weeks and need to put in some time on the last one for research.

Had the rarity of an extra hour to kill yesterday so I dusted off this guy.

I ended up getting $25.50 for it, and got the PayPal payment right away. Score.

Just played about 45 minutes of God of War. I've probably got about three more hours before I finish it... gonna try to do that in the next two or three days, then maybe I'll start the sequel.

(Double-posting, but it's for a good cause)

God of War II is in stores now.

Let's start the discussion. I opted not to complete the original in favor of flashy new goods and went ahead and started the sequel. The entirety of the Colossus fight (of which you play maybe a third of in the demo) is pretty fucking amazing. I just finished it up and got to the next part of the game. Not too sure how much more I'll play tonight, but I'm pretty impressed thus far.

The aiming control was pretty wtf for me in the beginning, but I've been having fewer problems with it as I've gotten further. The sword fighting portions of the game are still entertaining, but I can definitely understand how someone could have wanted more out of it. The controls for it aren't that realistic since the movements onscreen are delayed, but as it gets more challenging, it's a lot more fun. I did find it a little moronic that your character automatically pulls out his swords when he could just simply shoot the person, a la Raiders Of The Lost Ark. For being a launch game, the controls are decent, but I can't wait to see what happens when developers get more time with the Wii technology.

And is Wii Play really one of the worst games out there? It's been #1 at Amazon for a while, but it's gotten the worst reviews. Must be that Wii-mote.

I still have yet to finish the first God of War, seeing as i was a late adopter of the PS2. Once i do, i'll be sure to pick up the new one.

aside: I am still amazed that Sony is supporting their "last-gen" console, let alone with top-tier stuff like GoW2. God bless you Sony.

To be sure, this will most likely be the last great or ever good title for the PS2. I think the game was in production almost as soon as GOW1 was done, so it has been a PS2 game all along. It was not a situation like Zelda:Twilight Princess where the Wii is really a Gamecube 1.5 graphically and porting it over required very little aside from the control scheme. GOW on PS3 would have been a massive overhaul of the game.

well thats a bummer. i still think it looks pretty cool and im lookiing forward for someone to rent it in my house. hopefully not me, cuz i dont have that $2.50 to rent a game. it seemed to have gotten just ok reviews and stuff from everyone though, with most people bitching about the fighting. im still gonna pretend its awesome though.

ima2postbitch
whoops

SUPER MARIO DOOM MOD VIDEO

Got these coming over the weekend for review. Def Jam: Icon was one of my most anticipated games of the next generation, but the demo sucked all of the enthusiasm out of me. Still, I'm willing to check it out since I'm not dropping coin on it. QuickSpot actually looks like a lot of fun, considering the simple concept and quirky nature of the visuals. Probably not something I'd buy, but I'm intrigued by it.

I'm about finished with MotorStorm, and hoping to write up something for MLB 2K7 early next week. I'm 120 games into my franchise season (thanks to heavy simming). I still really like it, but there are a lot of little quirks and issues that should be addressed next year (this is the rebuilding year, after all). Probably looking at a 8.3-8.5 score.

Yeah, that's about what I'd give it, but I'd go as low as an even 8, what with those quirks you speak of. Mainly the fact that very important aspects of the game need to be adjusted with sliders to make things balanced. Pitcher fatigue, and pitch speed are two huge ones that just aren't realistic at the default settings. Solid game, but feels like nothing more than a step in the right direction. Soon as I get my adapter, though, I challenge you to a game online.

I haven't really had any issues with pitch speed, but fatigue is definitely a huge issue. I was pitching a game the other night with Ted Lilly; had 10 K's after 4 innings and had 50% stamina left. I could barely get five innings from him in a fantastic performance.

I haven't changed anything with the sliders. Since I'm reviewing it, I'm trying to play it with the default settings at this point. I'll probably start a season with the Red Sox on the standard difficulty once I'm done with all this and then maybe play around with settings a bit more.

i totally can't wait for a real good FPS for the wii. red steel is definitely a jump off point to something great. and for swordplay, "No More Heroes" is going to be it. i hope. check it out on 1up or whatever game site.

yeah wii play sucks.

I haven't bought a EA golf sim in ages, since before Tiger took over the franchise at least, but figured that the I needed one for the Wii.

The controls are good not great, but then I've never thought golf sim controls have been perfect. The controls take some getting used to. For instance you can't take back your swing too fast or jerky as the Wiimote will read the acceleration changes and start to swing forward before you are ready. But the controls are fun. It is just more fun to actually swing rather than press buttons according to some power guage.

The game is packed with features, which is to be expected from reading the reviews. This is my first exposure to the career mode for this franchise and its a lot of fun.

The graphics are not good. They are sort of plain looking. A lot of features are missing, such as there are no crowds. The graphics are not much better than the last time I bought one of these, which must have been for the PC at least 4-5 years ago. I suspect they made serious graphic compromises to keep the load times short.

Also the game seems easier than I remember from the past. It seems more like an arcade game than a real golf sim. I've only played a couple of hours and have already holed in three iron shots. Not that this is a bad thing. Arcade sports is often more fun than a more realistic sim, less frustrating.

But the main thing in the Wii version is whether the controls change the very nature of golf sims forever. Not sure its there yet. But the contols are manageble, providing close to the same control as past schemes, while being more fun.

Once again, Wii Play is NOT that bad. I'm still playing it with my brother almost every day, two weeks after purchase.

If you need the extra wiimote, buy it. It's worth the 10-20 bucks. If you don't need the wiimote, don't buy it retail, look for it on ebay by itself or whatever, because it's definitely not worth $50.

I'll probably buy Tiger Woods 07 eventually, but most likely for Xbox 360 or PS3. Typically, I'd rather play a game like that when I don't want to put a lot of effort or brainpower into it, plus the graphics and potential Achievement points appeal to me. I just picked up Tiger Woods 06 for 360 a couple months back, so once I wear that thin, I'll move onto 07 (or maybe 08 by then).

I reviewed Super Swing Golf for Wii and found that the swing worked pretty well in that. It sounds like Tiger Woods is even better in that regard.

What's the big deal with achievement points, anyhow? Anything to gain besides pride/possible bragging rights?

That's pretty much everything. But if I had to choose between two otherwise-equal versions, I'd go for the one with the bonus of possible bragging rights.

Microsoft is starting to hold contests that tie into the points, as well, but they're kinda fucked. I signed up for the one where the potential prize (at my point level) was a free copy of Fuzion Frenzy 2, a t-shirt, and some other stuff, but they've already been snatched up. So even if I meet the requirements, I actually get less in the way of prizes than the people who are at lower prize levels. That's dumb.

man this is cool. Alerted by a friend to the free-ness of the first two GTA games.

http://www.rockstargames.com/classics/

For me lately, its been all about classic mario gaming. Right now I'm on this one

anyone hear the rumor that online wii games are going to be friend code specific a la DS? if that is true, thank you nintendo for proving that you have no clue when it comes to online gaming. i understand that nintendo is trying to protect kids from online predators, but no one can remember their friend codes. it's such an inconvenience. other than that i fucking love it though. got my VC games, finishing up zelda(i know im lagging), and trauma center. ugh.

someone shoot down the rumor please.

Watch out now!
I just got Guitar Hero and the only reason I stop playing is that my hand is cramping up.

That is the rumor.

Friend codes suck. But what sucks more is piss poor online interfaces, such as with the DS, where even if you have friend codes, or don't mind going against random players, setting up games is a hassle. Nintendo will really have dropped the ball if they don't greatly improve the interface issues.

Of course first at bat for online play is Pokemon Colleseum, so there are bigger problems to overcome.

Wow, this fighting engine really is that bad. It's like fighting underwater... with Jim Jones.

That sounds

Seriously! It's because of this game that I finally heard that song, so... at least it's got that...

I just signed Paul Wall to a record contact by beating T.I.'s ass. I'd rather have beat Paul Wall's ass to sign T.I. Fuck.

Any SOMBies who have MLB 2K7 for 360 and want to nab the Achievement for joining an online league can freely join this one:

SOMBIEBALL (password: etcetera)

And if enough people are interested, we could actually do the league, but I think only three of us have it... and not everyone is online...

Anyway. I just played a game against some random and won 3-1. Decent experience. I pegged his A-Rod in the head and got Zambrano tossed in the 4th. Then he was pitching like a dick but I just stopped swinging and eventually found a couple decent pitches to hit. Add that to some fielding gaffes (both on his part and because of the game) and I chalked up a couple runs. Woo.

My wife has been playing a lot of New Super Mario Bros while home sick. She's in World 3 now and I just heard her say "Wait, how did I get fire?" Bless her heart, she never bothered to press the B button

GridWars2

a-fucking-mazing.

runs perfectly in WINE.

This is so much more fun than the newest Smackdown vs. Raw game. If only they would make a new wrestling game with the graphics, match selection, and CAW of the new games and combine them with the game engine, storymode, and move selection that No Mercy has, then they would actually be making progress with these games instead of going backwards.

This game has swallowed my soul.

...I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.


Oh, and this one too ... when I'm "on th' go"!

I honestly thought the CAW modes in those games were much better than the newer ones. I guess there are just TOO many options for my wee-brain to take in. But yeah, you are OTM with all of that. No Mercy will forever go down in my books as one of my all time favorites. Everything about it was great. It was so simple, yet you could play it for hours. And anyone could pick it up and figure it out in a matter of seconds, which was amazing, as well. I really should fish that game up and give it a whirl....if only I owned a 64:(.

Ahhh... No Mercy. I still remember the first time i pulled a bell from the crowd (or was it from under the ring, now i forget) and tombstoned some sucka into it. AND IT RANG!! That is up there with my all-time favorite videogame memories.

Very, very top notch. Gameplay wise, it's not even in the same league as the new games. The only reason I look into new wrestling games is for the hilarity of season mode with a CAW. Judged solely as games, the new ones are pretty god awful.

Lately, I've gone back even further into the wrestling game past, with an underrated Capcom classic:

I pulled out my Nintendo and Super NES this past weekend for the first time since I got my Wii. I want to try and beat Red Steel and Metroid Prime before I drop any more money on older games to add to the collection, but this one is high on the list when I finally do. Dammit, I should buy it right now. Someone please tell me how awesome that game is.



Ooh, SNSM is another good one. Can never get tired of that game. El Stingray is my amigo all the way. Pair him up with Haggar and you've got an unstoppable duo.

EDIT: I just remembered while looking at the cover that Scorpion is really El Stingray's partner in crime when I'm playing tag team mode. Now that's an unfuckwitable duo.

Finished Def Jam: Icon tonight. Story doesn't really go anywhere. Took it online; fighting engine seems even less user-friendly when two people are going at it.

Tried out custom soundtracks -- now there's something that's pretty cool. Tried out these tracks with variously amusing results:

The Pipettes - Pull Shapes
Gil Mantera's Party Dream - Elmo's Dream
Boston - More Than a Feeling
Air Supply - All Out of Love
Annie - Heartbeat
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Copeland - When You Thought You'd Never Stand Out

For whatever reason, the Xbox 360 wasn't showing the new Feist record on my iPod, otherwise I would've tried out "The Limit to Your Love." Anyway, the environments get torn up faster (regardless of the track, it seems), but it's amusing nonetheless. Having a gas station burn to the ground while "All Out of Love" blares in the background seems oddly well-matched. Jim Jones yelling "Ballin!" every few seconds just improves the sitch.

i wish i could see that. i'd probably roll around and laugh till it hurt.

Enjoying this a lot, maybe more than the couple of GTA games I've played. As is becoming the case with all these Wii games, the Wii control adds a lot to the fun. It is just more fun to point the Wiimote when aiming your gun, to actually punch the Wiimote when beating up somebody or throwing them off a building.


This is a very pleasant surprise. It is basically Bejeweled, but the role playing elements add quite a bit and this could get very additive. The Gamespot review is dead on for this. As you level up your character you take greater advantage of making certain combos in the Bejeweled battles and you gain access to various spells to damage your opponent, heal yourself, change to Bejeweled board to your favor, etc. One of these design ideas where you wonder why no one has done this before. Even more surprising that they seem to have pulled it off.

Dude!



I'm fucking hooked. I accidentally had the review copy sent to me (from the publisher) for the site I used to work more regularly for, but I'm a puzzle junkie, so I volunteered to review it anyway. I've played at least six or seven hours of this in the last three days. I'm leaving for L.A. on Tuesday, and I was only planning on bringing my DS, but it'll be hard for me to leave my PSP behind when I can spend the whole plane ride playing this shit.

Day 3 on this game and I'm hooked too. Puzzle Quest is easily the most originally addictive game I've played in a long, long while. It is not often in gaming that a new genre is uncovered, but Puzzle Quest has done it as a Puzzle/RPG. It might not be your type of game, but if you are into gaming, this is a game you need to try.