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• 18Dec 08

  My Video Game State of the Union Address 2008

  Ok well the title may be misleading if you think that I am going to talk about all things video games in 2008. The truth is I am not. The sadder truth is the reason why I am unable to do that. The reason behind the fact that I cannot discuss all of the great games from 2008 is because I have not played them all. Boo, yes I know. I was unable to play any of the PS3 exclusives such as MGS4, LBP, Valkyria Chronicles, or Resistance 2. This is extra saddening because I have wanted a PS3 for some time now, and I work a decent amount of hours each week, but the majority of my money has to go to the bank. Fun times... not. With the money and consoles thing, I also have a dilemma, which I will get to later.

  Enough with the negatives.. for now, and on to some positives. With the large, I mean extremely large of great games to come out, I got to play a decent amount of them. Some of the games that I got to log a decent amount of time on were GTAIV, Dead Space, Fable 2, Rock Band 2, and some others. I liked all of them, but I wish I had more time with them than I did.

  Time has also been an issue. Minus the fact that I don't have a next gen console (oh wait, I have a Wii...), I don't have time. I have been sick recently and have been able to play some games though. I've just been re-beating some old titles, and just started playing a game that is new for me. This game is the game of the year... from 2005. That game would be Resident Evil 4. Minus a couple games such as the God of War series, I've been trying to get all of the "great" PS2 games that I have not gotten to play yet. A question that may come up is, "why didn't I get RE4 for the Wii?" There are a couple of reasons for that. 1) I enjoy gaming more with regular controllers. 2) I bought it on sale for ten bucks. 3) The Wii is in the living room, and my parents wouldn't want to see gory games that they don't like all of the time. To the game though, I can easily see why it is so decorated with awards. The controls took a little while to get used to (seriously why use only one analog stick?), but the way the camera works adds to the suspense. When push comes to shove, this game is already one of my favorites, and head shooting zombies with a super upgraded shotgun is awesome. I'm looking forward to finishing it and playing RE5 early next year.

  I feel that I have been harsh on the Wii, and maybe a little bit too much. I did buy Super Smash Bros. Brawl earlier this year. I did enjoy it a lot too (not getting much playing time lately with that one). I do feel that I need to invest in some more games before ripping on it too much. Overall though, when my PS2 to Wii playing time ratio is probably around 12:1, I think that says something about how much the Wii doesn't do it for me. I hope to actually get spending money and pick up a couple games on my Wii wishlist, which I don't know what that is. I did rent Super Mario Galaxy and Boom Blox, and enjoyed them. I liked Okami on the PS2 and wouldn't mind picking that one up.

  Dilemma Time|

  For the longest time I've wanted a PS3. For the longest time, the only system I've really played (360 or PS3) is the 360. The reason for that is that most of my friends have a 360. This never really bothered me, but lately I've had this feeling of wanting the 360 a little bit. If I had the means, I would obviously get both. So here is how I break it down. PS3 (MGS4(the number 1 game on my want to play list) LBP, R2, Killzone 2, other exclusives, built in wireless adapter) vs. 360 (Friends having it, Fable 2, Gears 2, other exclusives). Its rough.

  Ok, so I feel that that was all about me, so I would like to close out with something not about me. The video game industry has pumped out a huge back to back year combo with amazing games in 2007 & 2008. I hope that you all got to enjoy these games to their fullest, and that 2009 brings some games as well (it should).

  • Posted Dec 18, 2008 12:54 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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• 15May 08

  SSBB and Boom Blox: The Pros and Cons

  So my parents bought a Wii a while back for our late Christmas present, and I'd just been chillin' with Wii Sports. Its fun but its not amazing. So then I figured, why not get the best game out for the system (1 of the 2 tied in the overall rankings)? Besides gas I hadn't spent any of my bday money on anything for myself, and I went out and bought Super Smash Bros. Brawl. While it is a great game, it isn't really a Wii game. It is a Gamecube game made for the Wii. There is nothing to implement the Wii-mote whatsoever. My thoughts on what they could have done was to have the attacks be holding down A or B button and moving the mote in whatever direction. This would make it easier to distinguish moving, jumping, and attacking, while at the same time not just having it be a a Gamecube game on the Wii played with no Wii-mote integration whatsoever. That is my only real complaint (besides the overcensoring of WiiConnect online play; not being able to talk, no leaderboards or any stat anything to make you feel good about yourself). That being established, this game is great. Its fun, addicting, and every friend loves it. Super kind of mini-review rating 9.55 screw .5 intervals. Side note: This is the second highest score I've given a game. I gave Subsistence a 9.6

  Another game I've played recently is Boom Blox. I rented it and got to play it a decent amount. I had read mixed reviews, but the ones that gave it really high scores made me really excited. It delivered to my expectations. I was thinking that when I rate this game I'll give it a 9.5 just like SSBB. When the initial reaction wore off it when from awesome to great. Its ridiculously fun, simple, and it uses the mote well. It is kind of childish though, the graphics are very underwhelming, and the build mode isn't as good as I thought it would be (mainly cause I don't feel like putting in tons of time to make something that is already made for me).

  Final Score 8.9

  • Posted May 15, 2008 6:41 pm PT
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• 12Apr 08

  Finally got a Wii

  So I have been looking around and waiting to get a Wii for a long time. The better part is that my parents wanted one. So I gave up calling our Walmart, the nearest Best Buy, and wherever. I went to go buy There Will be Blood when it came out this Tuesday. Tuesday is the day our Walmart would occasionally get a Wii. That means a Wii about every other week which was sold at midnight Tuesday. So I went after school and I saw four there. I called my parents and told them there was some there and they should pick one up, and I guess they really wanted to. So I've been playing Wii Sports and am planning on getting Brawl within the next couple days.
  • Posted Apr 12, 2008 4:42 pm PT
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