A Few Games I've Gotta Comment On...
Well, its been over a month since I posted so I suppose I should probably post something. This was supposed to have been updated more often, but you know, laziness prevailed. So let's get this show on the road.
Since beating Half-Life 2 I've finished off 6 more games, so I'll comment on them in bullet points I suppose just to speed this up.
06-04-08
Completed: Streets of Rage (VC)
I actually finally managed to finish off Streets of Rage which had been plauging me for almost an entire year. I had a few cracks at it with Ken, but my partner Ricky and I just randomly pulled it out (or loaded it up I guess, since its a Wii VC download) and beat it. Came out of nowhere actually, considered we weren't even trying to hard. Fun game actually, old school beat em up at its best.
06-24-08
Completed: Half-Life 2: Episode One (PC)
Episode One was a pretty good continuation of the Half-Life universe, but it wasn't as compelling as Half-Life 2. As most people have said the episode is very short and nothing really new is brought in, but it was still fun.
07-01-08
Beat: God Hand (PS2)
Ah God Hand, how I love thee. I was a big fan of Clover Studios seeing as they created the amazing and over the top 2D/3D beat'em up: Viewtiful Joe. A game that didn't take itself too seriously and was hilarious and fun because of it. And it was a challenge, which is very rare these days because a lot of games are too easy.
They then went on to make the amazing "Zelda ripoff" Okami. I use that term in a good way mind you, because Okami emulated that Zelda adventure style to a T.
After that came God Hand, and it was the studios swansong. It's unfortunate because God Hand was really a game that only appeals to the hard core gamer. The gamer that has honed his skills over the years and the kind that can take a game that pokes fun at itself, its genre and gaming itself (something very akin to No More Heroes).
The game is Hard, unforgivingly so, even on Easy, and that probably alienated a lot of people. Also it has a few problems graphically and play control wise, but not so much to make the game unplayable.
Because of these issues, the game probably didn't sell very well, and IGN's completely unforgivable review of 3.0 didn't help sales either. The reviewer really didn't get the point of the game, and I think really sucked at games, because you can't fault a game for being too hard (see: Ninja Gaiden). Look at the rest of the reviews via Metacritic, you'll see a bevy of 80's and the game averages a 73. Decent dammit.
Anyways, my point is this game is awesome, and it doesn't take shit from anyone. Try it if you fucking dare. =p
07-08-08
Beat: Space Invaders Extreme (NDS)
Space Invaders was a lot of fun back in the day, I mean I didn't really grow up around the time it was huge, but I did play it a lot on my Commodore Vic-20! Good times, good times indeed. Videogames on cassette tape, wow.
Anyways, 30 years later here comes Space Invaders Extreme, a really really really good update on a classic. This is how these should be done honestly. A lot of fun, and I beat it pretty quickly, but still there's HARD MODE. I don't even want to think about that yet. =p
07-13-08
Beat: Half-Life 2: Episode Two (PC)
What to say about Episode Two? Well, it was waaaaay better than Episode One. I really liked the graphical updates and overall it was pretty damn frantic and fun. Of course, everyones favourite part is gonna be the climactic struggles against the Striders and the Hunters, throwing footballs at their heads and making them explode. Yeah, that was pretty damn awesome. :)
07-20-08
Completed: Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
Managed to polish off Mario Kart in a few months, slowly getting Gold Cups throughout the 36 Grand Prix. Overall a really fun addition to the Mario Kart line, with a very serviceable Online mode.
So there you have it. Right now I'm working on the following as we speak:
NDS - Final Fantasy IV
GCN - Beyond Good and Evil
PCDL - Bioshock
Wii - Okami
PCDL - On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One