Ryan

Beat both Halo 2 and Rainbow Six: Vegas today.

Powered through the rest of Halo 2, and with my normal complaints withstanding, I enjoyed the experience way more than I originally did. Very ready for Halo 3 now. Please.

I've been putting Rainbow Six off for a while, and I'm not sure why. Stopped half way through the last level months ago, and finally came back to finish it off. The ending was a bit on the weak side, but the journey was super fun. Really love the way the game does cover, and am looking damn forward to a sequel.

Just started up the Obelisk bit in Tomb Raider Anniversary, yay. So few games have made me catch my breath as much as the original Tomb Raider - making leaps of faith and barely grabbing onto ledges hundreds of feet above death - so few that I almost forgot what it felt like. Well, until now.

Liking Brave Story: New Traveler even more now, embracing it's generic nature, and getting into the overall story and characters. Plus doing lots of bird fighting. Really enjoying the writing as well. Just got to chapter 5, and it's finally getting somewhat difficult.

Got a bit further in Brave Story: New Traveler, enough to grab the first gem.

I'm still very impressed, but the game is a tad generic. Beautifully done in every way - visuals, writing, loading, music - but it doesn't really feel compelling in that Chrono Cross / Grandia way. Still planning to play though, sometimes just being incredibly solid is enough.

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I haven't bought a PSP game in a while, but I kept hearing great things about Brave Story: New Traveler that I had to give it a try.

I only played for a few minutes, but so far I'm more than impressed. The visuals are freaking incredible for a handheld game, and the lack of loading is insane.

I started playing Halo 2 for some strange reason this afternoon.

Guess I'm starting to get back into the mood, or something.

Anyways, I really, really wanted to love this game when it first came out, and it left me more than a little disappointed thanks to the single player campaign. Hated playing the Arbiter back then, and yeah...still do now. And the level design still feels like small, broken up pieces (instead of the incredible, vast areas the first offered) that are disjointed both in natural flow and visual cohesion (really now, going from middle-eastern town, to a beach, to a long underground freeway, to a super long bridge?). Also, really hated the monkeys.

That said, I'm able to appreciate it more now that the initial shock has swayed. Gotten past my issues with playing something I used to shoot at, and just taking the levels for what they are - areas that are solid, just not as good (for the most part) as ones found in the first game.

I've got to say, though, that the visuals still blow. Seeing geometry constantly blink to higher-res versions is annoying, and while the back-compat seemed to fix most of the now-you-see-them-now-you-don't characters in the cinematics, it now apparently leaves a "film" onscreen after certain parts (almost like a ghost image), that I have quit and restart the game to get rid of.

I beat The Darkness after a marathon session. Yeah. It's great. Flawed, but great.

The whole end bit had me a little irritated - the way it removes control at strange times - and I hated the last fight. Not sure if there's another way to do it, but I kept trying the "non obvious" way, and got all shot up for my troubles. Also, strange ending.

Played a bit more of The Darkness and got out of hell. NEAT. I only played for a bit, the part against the helicopter took a while - I kept trying to kill it, and it wasn't all that clear that they wanted me to run away at first. Sigh.

The Darkness, never mind, it's great.

I got past my issues (was standing too close to things while trying to make my "slithering" thingy work. I'm getting into the groove now.

It's most certainly a game that forces to you play that like the designers intended - which normally bothers me in games that seem to offer an "open" way to approach situations - but in this case it works. Got to hell, and am totally engrossed.

Got past the Colosseum area in Tomb Raider Anniversary, brings back such great memories.

This was a game I always wanted to replay, but was afraid to - knew it didn't age all that well. Damn, I love remakes.

Metroid Prime, wow.

Yes, I know. I'm lame and late - every time I've tried to get into it before, something didn't really set right, and - in the past - I constantly stopped after landing on the planet.

This time I finally started really playing, got past the plant boss and am having fun in the magma areas. Great level design, lots of fun.

It certainly took a small while to get into though - it's not really a shooter, even though it seems like one at first. Which was probably why it was giving me so much trouble before...

The Darkness, still not that fun.

It's actually irritatingly strange - sometimes things work, other times they don't. I don't know what the fuck is going on, and the guy moves like he's underwater.

SUPER pretty though and I love the lighting, both with the knocking them out and with the ways your "eyes" adjust to the different levels. Just not really digging the experience as a whole though...

Now that Resident Evil 4 is done, I was finally able to try out a couple Codemasters games a pal sent me, along with picking up a classic remake again.

Really enjoying Overlord, it's like this strange combination of Pikmin (control and gameplay) and Fable (visual style and humor), but it works. For the most part. I just finished the hobbits bit (which was great), but the area I'm at now is kicking my ass, and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Oh, and the game could really use a freaking map.

Dirt is damn pretty, and fun. Only played a few races, but I'm really, really impressed by the polish in the UI and the overall visuals. And player-enabled slow motion in the replays is the hotness.

Played another hour or so of Tomb Raider Anniversary, and got a bit into the Abby before the sound bug started up again. Grrr...

Finished off Resident Evil 4 after a marathon playing session today, took about 16 hours total.

And was every bit as fun as it was playing through the first time...

Finally got to the island in Resident Evil 4.

Geeze that castle was huge, and I'm having tons of fun killing "regular zombie guys" again, especially with the tactics they're using now - the island's outdoor areas really require a different play style than I was used to earlier in the game.

Only played a little Resident Evil 4 today, and I'm finally nearing the end of the castle.

The really, really, really large castle. I remember it being substantial, but this area alone is easily as large as some of the previous RE games in their entirety... Not that I really mind, as it's still a kick-ass experience.

Screw everything bad I said about Resident Evil 4, holy crap it's fun.

I forgot how great this game is, and the controls (once you get used to them) are near perfect. I'm doing head-shots like a pro, and I really like the visceral feel of "slashing" at boxes and zombie-like creatures.

In the castle right now, fighting the urge to shoot Ashley every time she speaks.

I picked up the Wii version of Resident Evil 4 a few days ago, but never had the chance to play until now.

And didn't really enjoy it. At all.

Don't get me wrong, I love RE4 - like, lots - but the controls on the Wii version (B Button to go into shoot mode, and A to fire...whaaa??) were driving me nuts. So I stopped playing for a while and threw in The Darkness, which had one of the most amazing intros in any game ever.

After an hour or so of shooting light-bulbs and mafia dudes, I went back to RE4 and somehow "got it," then started loving the experience.

Strange that.

Played a little more Tomb Raider Anniversary this afternoon, and got to the Abby after much fun.

I love how Tomb Raider often takes simple-looking tasks (such as getting past the waterfall), and makes them these epic challenges that take you ten times longer (and through ten times more content) than you'd expect. Really gives a great sense of satisfaction that way...

Got a bit further in Tomb Raider Anniversary today, did the T-Rex thing. I heard some people didn't really like what the fight turned into. I, on the other hand, think it was quite keen.

Also, super rad with that part being outdoors now... Was totally shocked when I saw the clouds. :)

Tried out Tomb Raider Anniversary again tonight - after the sound issues I had last time - with much success. Both in terms of no strange aural effects (wonder if the 1.81 update had anything to do with that...) and with the fun I had.

Tomb Raider will always have a special place in my heart, it was the first game that really made me look around in game environments, and it's rad that the formula still works today.

OK, now officially tired of Max Payne 2, as I beat this enough times now that it feels like I'm just going through the motions. Near the end, not sure if I'll pick this up again. At least not for a while.

Also played some Rise of Nations, and took down nearly half the world in just a few hours of play. It's funny how easy it is to purchase land next to capitols, then take them over.

Finally unwrapped Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth today as well, it's been sitting on a shelf forever. Not sure what I think yet, it's one of those games that bleeds being awesome on PS1, but I was damn happy when the first save point appeared so I could take a break.

Because I'm still in the Max Payne mood, I started up the second one again tonight.

For - at least as far as I can tell - the 5th time.

I got to the "fun house" area after a couple of hours of play. Hot damn is it easy, especially compared to the first. Tons of painkillers, tons of ammo, and a "bullet time" mode that can easily be manipulated to knock out everyone in the room before they get a shot off. But hot damn is it fun, and keen looking.

Well, considering its age, that is.

Beat Max Payne tonight.

Hot damn it was a fun experience, and anything that gives me an excuse to play through Max Payne 2 again is a grand thing in my book. Damn grand.

It's quite interesting to see how Max Payne 2 re-hashes many of the same elements, just in a super-refined form.

Finished off the rest of Act 1 and all of Act 2 today - I can't believe I never finished Max Payne back in the day. Very rough - especially compared to its sequel - but still incredibly fun.

I've always been a fan of Real Time Strategy games - back in the days of GameFan, constant Command and Conquer or Warcraft II matches during downtimes (or sorta-downtimes) were the norm, and I've been addicted to them since.

It doesn't happen as frequently anymore, but the RTS bug hit this afternoon, and I reinstalled my favorite - Rise of Nations.

There's just something...grand about taking over the world. Er, virtually.

Played for a good three hours and ended with a couple of contrives down and a good ten territories in my pocket. And my eyes red and hurting... Ah, fun.

So then, Tomb Raider Anniversary. Wow, nice looking PS2 game. Got some some nasty sound bugs though - when I run through water it sounds like doors opening, and sometimes sound effects will just "skip" in the background - I wonder if it's because I'm playing on my PS3.

Only played for a bit, but it seemed great so far. Plus the secrets are in the same areas (at least so far), which makes this more than keen.

Also started up Max Payne again.

The original one.

I'm a huge (huge) fan of Max Payne 2, but I never really played much of the first - every time I tried something would come up. As in a few weeks ago, where the sound would skip like nuts.

Finally figured out what was going wrong (yay for Direct X sound acceleration settings) and made my way up to Part 8 of the first Act. Raw, but fun.

Mainly did the work thing this weekend. And by "work" I mean "did lots of work, but also snuck in some StarCraft."

Not sure if it's the (somewhat) upcoming release of StarCraft II, but I had the hankering to kill some Zerg. Brought back some nice memories to boot...

Wow, I really suck at killing people in Halo 3.

That said I'm really, really good at getting killed.

After finally downloading and trying the multiplayer beta, I realized why I'm no longer keen on those voice-enabled online versus games. Especially ones with shit-talking kids.

Actually, it was pretty cool. I rarely got over a third-place ranking, but I had tons of fun getting one kid all riled up after I broke his 20-something killing streak by throwing a bunch of grenades into a fight - one he was having with someone else - and then talking shit to him. :)

I've got to say, the game looks damn nice as well. Not Gears of War nice, but nice in a different way. Frankly, it's more visually appealing than Gears to me, clean but super well-lit - the Highground map as a good example. Man, I'm looking damn forward to seeing some single player levels.

Also downloaded the PS3 1.80 firmware with its rad-sounding upscaling features, so I checked out both Final Fantasy X (not a super big noticeable change) and Syphon Filter (nicer-looking character textures, still ugly) with slight disappointments.

Ah, oh well, it wasn't like this would have changed my old-game playing habits anyways.

Happy days! Following a link in a forum, I found that changing my Direct X audio settings could solve my sound issues in Lord of the Rings Online, and they did! I love it when people have the same problems I do, and actually find ways to fix them. And then, you know, post them online for everyone else.

So I got to playing, did the whole "end to the introduction mission," and I'm now in the first major city doing various keen quests. Up to level 10, and still really enjoying the experience.

I've got to say though, Turbine did a wonderful job with the introduction events; it really made you feel as if you were part of something personal rather than being in a MMORPG. Nice.

I know Final Fantasy X is old, but it never felt more old than today - going from a "cutting edge" online RPG to a five-year-old console game sure highlights its kinks.

That said, it's still fun. In a snowy area now, and fought a very difficult, then a very fun boss fight on the way. I've got to say, though, the freaking voice acting is killing me. I hate Titus' delivery on...well, everything.

Despite all my RPG fun, I had time to run through the scary lab in Stalker. And by "run through," I literally mean that.

Being the brave soul I am, I just dashed through spooky hallway after spooky hallway, killed a few messed up enemies, and then succumbed to - at least what seems like - the final bad guy (er, thing) in this area.

I'm so looking forward to getting outside again with the pockets of radiation and all the bad guys. You know, where it's safe.

I was only able to play a bit of Lord of the Rings Online, thanks to that damned sound. It almost sounds like raindrops on a roof, and it just won't go away.

I also played a little of Stalker, and got past a very cool "prison break" mission. Where I am now, though, is freaking freaky. I'm a wuss by nature, and being in a very dark laboratory filled with nasty sounds doesn't help.

Tried out a Hobbit in Lord of the Rings Online tonight, and was a little sad (but not totally surprised) that you start in the same first overall area as the Men. I guess I'll get to the Shire the way I originally planned, by sticking with the Champion and killing lots of things.

Just noticed something that's driving me crazy, though, a "pettering" sound that's always in the background. It gave me a headache after a while, and changing the audio settings don't seem to do much...

OK, ignore what I said yesterday.

Just started doing quests in Lord of the Rings Online instead of just "kill farming" (which, to my defense, was pretty much all I've done lately in Warcraft). And, yeah, the game is boss. I'm absolutely loving the way it tracks quests, not to mention the cool rewards you get.

Only a level 6 human Champion right now, but I'm so trying out a Hobbit of some sort this weekend.

I magically transformed a bunch of Best Buy Reward Zone points into a copy of Lord of the Rings Online after work today.

I've only played a bit, but I can say this - the initial game experience is better than World of Warcraft's opening(s). Hell, quite a bit better.

I love WoW, but I also go through several month-long obsessive bouts of playing, followed by equally-long periods of feeling burnt. And this game seems, at least at first, like the perfect way to fill in the months of non-Warcrafting.

That said, I'm killing lots of wolves. And aside from the initial few minutes of play (which, again, are rad) it's already feeling a little basic...

Got another five hours into Final Fantasy X this afternoon.

Yeah, I was pretty much lame for dissing the game back in the day. Even with huge problems, it's still a damn great experience with an equally damn great battle system.

Also, because it's the weekend, I had some time to get into Stalker. I made the mistake of getting a certain group pissed off at me, which sort of ruined a part of the game. Not in a bad way, but it just cut off a large part of potential fun. So I reloaded an old save and started doing missions for that group.

You know, instead of killing them.

Won't say anything, but man, SUCH a great prison break sub-mission. Still loving this game. Dammit.

It's one of my sort of slightly embarrassing secrets, but I never beat Final Fantasy X. Yes, I know, that make's me lame.

The thing is I didn't enjoy it at first, as it was a bit too different from previous FFs for my tastes. A pal recommended that I give it another chance, and I'm glad I did. Got a good 30 hours into it before other games came along.

I picked it up again today (after a good two years of letting it collect dust), and played for a good six hours. And had tons of fun, despite the clear aging it's gone through. Not to mention that awful voice "acting."

I also grabbed Calling all Cars from the PS3 Store. What can I say, I'm a sucker for cheap PS3 games. Especially ones headed up by Jaffe.

First thoughts are: "Polished! Fun! Neat!" That said, not sure how much I'll be playing it in the future. I suck at multiplayer action games - the freaking AI was kicking my ass on the third map, I fear playing against real people.

Wow, lots of weeds.

Still picking the green stuff in Animal Crossing: Wild World, trying to make my town look normal'ish once again.

And everyone keeps complaining I've been gone for too long. Sigh.

I started playing Animal Crossing: Wild World again for the heck of it and was faced with a sea of weeds.

A sea of weeds. They were everywhere!

I totally forgot about this fun part of the game. Yikes.

I picked up both Syphon Filter and Crash Bandicoot through the PS3 store a while ago to try out on my PSP. While I never got the chance to play them much in the past (transferring them from PS3 to PSP was a pain), I was more than happy to re-download them now that they're actually supported by the system I originally purchased them on.

Playing them again does bring back great memories, but man...man do they look bad on my TV. Virtual console stuff works great for 2D. Early 3D, on the other hand... Yeah, not quite as much.

Still going strong with Pokemon, I can't believe I already put in over 14 hours with it. Especially seeing how I'm not really all that far into the game (only two badges down, etc.), but I guess that's a part of its charm.

Stalker never fails to impress, and I spent most of today trying out missions different ways in order to see outcomes. Finally got to the Bar and started up missions around there, including an incredibly cool escort mission with a certain scientist. I'm also happy with the way the guns keep improving, almost all of mine now have sights and other keen upgrades.

Spent some time with the Ninja Gaiden Sigma demo this morning, and...yeah, it's beautiful. I've got a feeling I'll eventually pick this up for more than one reason - I never beat it on Xbox (yes, I know, weaksauce), but also because I'm just starved for PS3 games.

I also had some time to get back into Jak 3, which was one of those (sadly) many PS2 games I bought for full price, but never really played.

What can I say, wasn't a big fan of Jak 2's "forced hardcore" feel.

Anyways, one of my pals said the third game was a huge improvement over its predecessor, and while I wouldn't go as far as to say huge, it's still more than impressive. And fun.

Lastly, more Stalker, because I'm addicted. Yes, it's rough in more than a few areas, but as a whole, I haven't has this much fun playing a PC shooter since the original Farcry.

How the hell did Stalker go from near-vaperware to one of the best shooters I've ever played?

Spent an hour with it tonight, just fighting (and dying) in the same area countless times, but it never got frustrating or tiring. In fact, I was having such a great time going up against 20 or so soldiers in an abandoned town - trying out different tactics and the such - I was actually sad when I finally found one that worked...

Spent almost all of today (and yesterday) "learning" CSS, so I didn't have much time to play much. That said, Pokemon. Having to catch them all and the such.

And, of course, Psychonauts. I will never, ever understand how a game this fun sold so terribly. Well, maybe some people thought the game was too weird. But those people are lame.

While I bought Psychonauts the day it came out, a combination of 1) my Xbox being in a box by the time I got around to playing and 2) a laziness to take said Xbox out of the box stopped me from playing it. Much.

I gave in for several keen sessions, but the strain of hooking up my Xbox every time I wanted to play (an act that forced me to perilously balance on one leg behind my TV) brought this fun to an end.

Not anymore though, yay for Xbox 360 back-compat.