Uncharted Golden Abyss

Date played: July 31st
Platform: Vita
Session fun rating: 9/10

Sully's here! I never thought he would show up but now he's riding shotgun with Drake, bringing with him a shitty canoe and losing his supplies and Drake's GPS. On the flip side, he also brought a grenade launcher!

Hey, the Vita takes screenshots! Hold PS button and Start at the same time.

The story progressed quite a bit with Chase now being the bad guy's hostage and Drake teaming up with Dante again. My favorite sections are when you have to navigate some platforms and shoot enemies at the same time. There was also a really cool chase sequence with Drake and Dante running from crumbling bridges and ledges, rigged with explosives by the enemy. I also enjoyed the slower paces canoe ride with Sully, it builds atmosphere. The game is getting better and better, it still makes me wonder how come the reviews were so negative... 

Dirt Showdown

Dirt Showdown is flashy!

Date played: July 31st
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 10/10

One of my brothers and I spent a good part of the afternoon playing split screen Dirt Showdown. We spent a lot of time playing Knock Out events which turns out is one of the cooler modes in the game. It's just good old fashioned fun, ramming into cars left and right to get some points. The double points in the last thirty seconds is a game changer and adds lots of tension at the end of a round.

We also tried a team 8 ball event which was really cool. We helped each other out to beat the AI. We also had a lot of fun with Domination though there is definitely a point where having the best car makes all the difference. This game isn't Dirt, but it sure is a lot of fun and doesn't get the credit it deserves. 

Driver San Francisco

Date played: July 28th, 29th and 30th
Platform: PC
Time played: Too many hours!
Session fun rating: 8/10

Well, I finished Driver San Francisco. I played a TON of this game in the last three days and I'm not really sure how long I've played. Steam says 27 hours in the past two weeks with a total of over 40 hours total. That's a shit load for a game like this.

Driver even has some cool looking credits!

There's really a ton of variety in this game, I played a lot of races, checkpoint events, smash events, cop chases, deliveries, tail missions, movie challenges and even a fire extinguishing mission. The whole game was surprisingly frustration free while still being challenging. The only mission that pissed me off had me driving a school bus to a destination. The twist is that it was similar to the movie "Speed" because the bus would explode if it went under a certain speed. Collisions also increase the chance of explosion. Combine that with the awful handling of the bus, it's slow speed and a fucking awful route full of tight turns and off road sections and it makes for an awful mission.

Towards the end of the game, the mechanics get a bit wilder as Tanner realizes that he's in a coma and starts to mess with the world. For example, there were a few missions where Jericho, the bad guy, is using the shift mechanic against Tanner. Another mission had Tanner drive his own car while in the body of a trailing car (the perspective shift was really cool). The last mission even had Tanner and Jericho tossing each other lighting charged cars at each other in a superhero movie kind of way.

In the end, I really enjoyed this game. It's surprisingly well made, fun to play and long to boot. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys driving cars in video games!

Dirt Showdown

I like this van, it has flowers on it!

Date played: July 27th
Platform: PC
Time played: 80 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

I played lots of Dirt Showdown with my brother last night. Split screen gaming on PC is a thing apparently, thanks Codies. Anyway, we played a ton of races, 8 ball, demolition and knock out events. I was better at the races but he was better at the knock out and demolition stuff. The game runs very well in 1080p. 5.1 and high detail even in split screen. I had two 360 controllers plugged in and it was as if I was playing the next generation of consoles really. 

Driver San Francisco

Date played: July 26th
Platform: PC
Time played: 180 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I am loving this game. It's like a mini game collection based on cars. While there's a story, it really doesn't matter much. I am still completing dozens of dares, activities and missions. They are still varied enough and fun to play. I have a bunch of upgrades now too like a money multiplier, bigger boost bar and faster recharge time. The challenges are still some of the most fun I've had in the game. This is a great game to simply kill time.

Uncharted Golden Abyss

Date played: July 23rd and 24th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I'm not really sure why a lot of reviewers felt that this game wasn't excellent... It's easily the best third person game I've played on a handheld except Super Mario 3D Land which isn't even really third person. I mean, this is a true Uncharted game. Lots of exploration, puzzle solving, platforming and shooting. It performs well mechanically, visually, aurally and has an interesting story! Even the touch mini-games are fun...

Nate and Chase make a great team

Either way, I've played through a good portion of the game. It turns out Dante is an asshole who doesn't deserve Drake's and Chase's help. The story turned into the new team going after Chase's grandfather's trail to find treasure! And the grandpa I guess... There was a chase sequence, a sniping sequence, lots of regular cover based shooting and even a section where I had to guide Drake down a waterfall using the tilt controls.

Honestly, this game rocks and doesn't get the praise it deserves.

Alan Wake American Nightmare

Date played: July 22nd
Platform: PC
Time played: 220 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

Well, I finished American Nightmare. Boy, this game sure takes some crazy twists... I first played through the drive-in theater level which features a hot an bothered slut who wants Alan's dick. She blames it on the darkness later but I don't believe her. :-)

Then, I set up the projection room to be just like the signal received at the observatory. Late at night, fire extinguisher lit up by a lamp and at the end of summer. I just interacted with a couple of objects to do that. To my surprise, after completing the task, I was sent back to the beginning of the game! I then had to play through the three levels two more times before finishing the game. Thankfully, it's a bit different each time and takes less time. The three lady characters seem to remember me and now take steps to help. For example, the scientist already fixed the telescope so I just had to restore cooling. The idea works well but it got a little long in the tooth by the end.

I encountered some pretty cool enemies too. Bird-men, firemen, giant hulking chainsaw wielding men and even fucking spiders. The difficulty ramped up but I was never overwhelmed. I was never killed either for that matter. I did pick up a magnum, a hunting rifle and an automatic shotgun. The magnum was easily my favorite weapon in the game. It's powerful, fires quickly and has lots of ammo. The hunting rifle was my backup. I even used a few flare gun rounds and flash grenades toward the end when a lot of enemies were attacking at once.

Mr. Scratch is an asshole.

The story has a cool conclusion and it was really fun confronting Mr. Scratch throughout. This game was definitely worth my time and I would recommend it to anyone who likes atmospheric games and shooting shit.

Alan Wake American Nightmare

Date played: July 20th
Platform: PC
Time played: 90 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

The Steam Summer Sale is full of gems this year. American Nightmare was at something like 4$ and I loved the first game so I figured this would be a good buy. I was not wrong. The game starts with Alan being sucked into the world of Night Springs, the creepy TV show that Alan wrote in his early career. There seems to be three different areas in the game, a motel/diner, an observatory and a movie drive-in. I completed the first two sections and am now starting the movie drive-in section.

The game looks amazing and plays great

The game is pure Alan Wake gameplay without as much story. The whole thing seems to be built around battling Alan's weird alter ego, Mr. Scratch. I met a chick with pointy nipples in a garage who helped me follow his trail. Most of the game is either fetching items or fighting Taken. It's simple, but it works. The manuscript pages are also back, but this time, they show up on the map and are used as currency to buy hidden weapons. I've been sticking with the shotgun and the revolver but tried the pistol and the nail gun and they were both pretty cool. Flares are still a ton of fun too.

This is a great little game. I think I'm liking these short games better than the epic 60$ games now. Something that's 4-6 hours but still of good quality and can be finished quickly. Don't get me wrong, Skyrim was my favorite game of last year but not every game needs to be like that.

Driver San Francisco

Date played: July 17th
Platform: PC
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

Side quests, activities and dares made up all my time playing today. This game is really fun to just drive in. Lots of checkpoint events, chase, smash and crazy dares were all I did. One thing I really love about this game is all the great licensed music. I was surprised the great song choices they have in there and it really helps set the mood for the game. I also should mention that this game has real, licensed cars and I've realized that this makes the whole game more believable. It almost feels more real than GTA4 at times. I've opened up a large portion of the map now and going back to garages is a little annoying because it can be very far sometimes but it's not a huge problem.

Check out this amazing track list!

22-20s Devil In Me

Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir 10,000 Years

Alan Hawkshaw Beat Me Till I'm Blue

All Thieves Only Of You

Archie Bronson Outfit Cherry Lips

Aretha Franklin Rock Steady (alt mix)

Basement Freaks Gypsy Breaks Tal M Klein Remix

Beastie Boys Suco De Tangerina

Beck Black Tambourine

Big Joe Louis Go Go Train

Billy Boy on Poison On My Way

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Weapon Of Choice

Clarence Wheeler & The Enforcers Right On

ColdCut Everything Is Under Control

Death in Vegas Sons of Rother

Desert Sessions Subcutaneous Phat

DJ Shadow 100 Metre Dash

DJ Shadow Dark Days

Dr John Everybody Wanna Get Rich Rite Away

Dr Rubberfunk Northern Comfort feat. John Turrell

Edenheight Peaceboy

Editors In This Light And On This Evening

Elbow Grounds For Divorce

Fatal Tuned up

Fort Knox Five Kool It Man

Funkadelic As Good As I Can Feel (1969 Version)

Hound Dog Taylor Sitting At Home Alone

Jamiroquai Whatever it is, I just can’t stop

Kram Ridin High

LCD Soundsystem No Love Lost (Joy Division cover)

Leaving the fold On You

Liars Plaster Casts Of Everything

Maps Let go of the fear

Marlena Shaw California Soul (Diplo Remix)

Narco Worth It

Northern Light Cocaine

OC Tolbert Along came a woman

Overseer Pump Action

Pedro Fear & Resilience (Cherrystones)

Presets Steamworks

Primal Scream Kowalski

Primal Scream If They Move, Kill 'Em

Queens of the Stone Age Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret

Recoil Backslider

Robert Palmer Sneakin' Sally Thru The Alley

Seasick Steve Big Green and Yeller

Southside Movement I've Been Watching You

Span Baby's Come Back (Radio Edit)

Stephen Yerkey Link Wray's Girlfriend

Sugarman Three Funky So-And-So

The Black Keys Black Door

The Black Keys Strange Times

The Black Keys Lies

The Black Keys Your Touch

The ChiLites Are You My Woman Tell Me So

The Cure Labyrinth

The Dirtbombs Chains of Love

The Eels Prizefighter

The Flaming Lips The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine

The Heavy Big Bad Wolf

The Heavy How You Like Me Now

The Heavy The Sleeping Ignoramus instr

The Heavy Trash Good Man

The Herbaliser On Your Knees

The Hustlers Inertia

The Noisettes Dont Give Up

The Prodigy World's On Fire

The Stooges 1969 (Alternate Vocal)

These New Puritans We Want War

TV on the Radio Wolf Like Me

Two Fingers Two Fingers (Instrumental)

Two Lone Swordsman Born Bad _ Born Beautiful

UNKLE Eye For An Eye

UNKLE Unreal

Viva Voce Devotion - Viva Vode

zZz Soul

Mario Kart 7

Date played: July 17th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 20 minutes
Session fun rating: 6/10

I just played a few outstanding street pass ghost races while bored at work. This game is always fun in short bursts and it's easy to just get in and out without any hassles.

Dirt Showdown

Date played: July 16th
Platform: PC
Time played: 90 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

Wow, this game is pretty unique. I loved the demo but the full game is a lot more fun than I expected. I mainly played online in a bunch of very varied events. It's actually more like a shooter than a racing game because it has games like capture the flag, races and some other weird modes. Capture the flag was by far the most exciting mode. The speed is what makes this mode crazy as fuck. People are driving around like crazy trying to steal flags and score them, it's really interesting. I actually won one of those matches and it was blood pumping to say the least.

Demolition events are lots of fun!

I also played some fun demolition modes and even a sort of king of the hill mode with bonus points for pushing people off some platforms. I did a few races but they seemed bland compared to the capture the flag mode. The game looks amazing on my pc and runs super smooth. Paired with a controller, a large TV and a home theater system, it feels like I'm playing next gen games. Stupid Steam sale, stealing my money.

Wipeout 2048

ZONE MODE SEIZURES!

Date played: July 15th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 30 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played a time trial event that I just couldn't manage to get Elite in so I settled for a pass. I also played a Zone event which now look cooler than ever and got an Elite pass there. I also tried out the Wipeout HD and Fury campaigns for the first time on Vita and they are amazing as usual. The best part is that all the skins are unlocked by default, most of which I had never seen on the PS3 versions due to the unlocking method. I had a good time but I was a little too tired to perform well.

Uncharted Golden Abyss

Date played: July 15th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 90 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10


Well this game is turning out to be better than what I was expecting from reviews. Reviewers were bitching that the game was bland, not very spectacular and over run with Vita gimmicks. I find that it's a really fun third person action game with a few more Vita gimmicks than is healthy. 

This fire sequence was impressive

I played through about seven chapters and the story is starting to be more interesting. It turns out Dante, my little side kick man, is kind of a douche with his own agenda who practically sold me out to the bad guy. I also met Chase, a lady with some sort of deal with Dante who is also getting screwed. She's pretty much my new partner now. She's great too. She has a good voice actor, is funny and on top of that, she's really useful!


Nate also got captured by the bad guys at one point but Chase put my prison building on fire and I had to escape. The fire sequence was quite impressive on a small screen and it was actually fun and interesting to play. I'm kind of hooked on this game now.

Driver San Francisco

Date played: July 15th
Platform: PC
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I love this game because it's just mindless driving. I started skipping the story as it wasn't very interesting anyway. The driving is so good though that I just want to play missions. There are a LOT of side missions in this game and they are pretty varied. Many of them are checkpoint events but there are tons of different activities. I also played some challenges that are unlocked as I grab movie tokens around the city. These challenges are a bit more difficult but the real feature here is doing some old school missions and chases. They are sometimes set in the 70's like the original game and are a ton of fun.

I also unlocked a feature that lets me jump around two different cop cars to complete a mission, sort of a buddy system. It's really cool to ram a car with one police cruiser then shifting to another cruiser to finish the job. I've also started using shift in a more aggressive way, jumping ahead and making competing cars crash and stuff. 

Sonic Generations

Date played: July 14th
Platform: PC
Time played: 40 minutes
Session fun rating: 5/10

Well, fuck this game. I played through the last couple of regular levels and played a few challenges to unlock the last boss. Those were fine, lots of fun and pretty to look at. The last boss however, is another story. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with him but I tried to beat him for 20 minutes and after dozens of deaths, I just quit. It's the last boss anyway and I got the fun I wanted out of this game. This is by far the best Sonic game I've played in a very long time.

Driver San Francisco

Date played: July 12th
Platform: PC
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played a bit more of Driver SF and it's a really fun, simple driving game that knows that it's a little ridiculous and embraces it. I mostly played side missions like dares and activities. I've played races, speed stunts, jump stunts and even a funny TV filming mission. I rode a TV truck to some nice spots and changed into other cars to make a show. It's actually super dumb but lots of fun. I also made my first little movie with the built in editor. I crashed a bus into a car at full speed... I also unlocked two new features, a boost and a ram mechanic. This makes events a lot more dynamic, feeling almost like a Burnout lite.

Driver San Francisco

Date played: July 11th
Platform: PC
Time played: 35 minutes
Session fun rating: 6/10

I got this game on sale for 7$ on Steam because I enjoyed the demo last year. The game looks great on PC and runs very well. I am playing on my HDTV with surround sound and controller. I'm on a next gen console already! I pretty much just saw story exposition and some tutorials. The story is fucking nuts. Tanner, the hero, is chasing some bad dude from the previous games. He gets in a major accident and ends up in a coma at the hospital. The thing is, he's still conscious and he thinks nothing has changed. The big hook here is that he can change bodies at will at the press of a button. That means I can change cars in the middle of a chase. That could help me force an enemy to crash and stuff.

It's a cool idea, even if the story justification is nuts. The intro had me chase some cars, drive an ambulance to the hospital, navigate a circuit and even test drive a Ford GT. The game handles well, the cars have a different feel and the missions seem varied and interesting. I can't wait to see more of the game, I've barely started it really.

Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention

Date played: July 9th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 90 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

Ohhhh man... I am going to fall in love with this game. While the music quickly grated my ears, everything else is starting to look like an amazing game. I played through the first few tutorials which showed me things like team attacks, positioning and character management. I learned how to use the class room to create clubs that boost attributes, I learned how to recruit new characters and how to buy and sell items. I also learned about evilities that serve as battle skills. There was even a fight where the floor had attributes that affect battles. It's all a little crazy but I moved some blocks around and killed some of my guys in the process. Not too sure how that stuff works. This game is DEEP! I now have a real rivalry with the school delinquent and I've met a hero that I want to learn from to become a hero myself. The story is super Japanese and kind of dumb. I can't wait to get deeper in the mechanics.

Batman Arkham City

CLAYFACE!

Date played: July 8th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 180 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I finished Batman Arkham City! Whew, what a ride that was... There is too much going on in the ending to talk about all of it here but let's just say that the story takes a lot of twists and turns towards the end. I dethroned Strange, I caught the Joker and I fought a surprise enemy, Clayface! There was even a nice little moment with Talia and Catwoman. I didn't complete even half of the Riddler challenges and didn't complete a few of the side quests but I think it's better that way. The Riddler stuff can get pretty frustrating. Overall, I liked this game better than the first due to the better story, the fun city and the new gadgets. I hope they make another game in this series sometime.

Mortal Kombat

Date played: July 7th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 40 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I couldn't pass up this deal at 20$ for Mortal Kombat. I've heard great things about the console version but never got around to playing it so this seemed like a great fit. The only problem is that there is no local multiplayer but that's normal I guess, this is a portable... I started by just playing a ladder with Scorpion to get a feel for the game. I have never been a great or even a good Mortal Kombat player but it's a simple game to learn, if impossible to master, like every good fighting game.

GET OVER HERE!

I picked up on the basic moves here, the signature "Get over here", a teleport, a takedown and a ranged fire attack. There is also the new X-ray set of moves which show bones and arteries being destroyed in slow motion. Needless to say, it looks fucking awesome. I also managed to pull off his fatality a few times, again, gruesome and awesome.

I then started the story mode which has gotten a lot of praise from reviewers and players. It is well produced and interesting. It's cool that it seems to reset the whole universe so the kombatants don't know each other yet. Johnny Cage is first up and he makes fun of Baraka's "makeup". He is also flirting with Sonya Blade... I learned how to play Cage pretty quickly, using his fast kick and projectiles to defend and his flying kick and nut shot for offence. He plays well and is fun to play, as is the whole game so far. I'm not usually a fan of single player in fighting games but this one seems interesting enough to kill a few minutes here and there.

Batman Arkham City

Date played: July 7th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 200 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played a shit load of Batman AC... I took down Ra's Al Ghul in a hallucination filled sequence. Ra's is a 600 year old ninja who's daughter messed around with Batman. After getting his blood, I had to bring it back to Freeze who turned against me, surprise! I fought Freeze in the GCPD. It was a pretty straight forward fight as long as I stayed hidden. While we were fighting, the fucking Joker got the only sample of the cure by drilling a hole in the wall. Fucking Joker. On the bright side, I unlocked the freeze grenade which can be used to make floating platforms in water, opening up many hidden areas.

Best side quest yet

Most of my time was spent on side quests though. I completed the Bane quest and took him out at the same time. I also encountered the Mad Hatter in a weird fight with Batman wearing a messed up mask that made him look...well, mad. I finally tracked down Zsaz and locked him up. I even managed to save another hostage from the Riddler. Now I have to track down Joker and get the cure back. He's taken control of the Steel Mill and has posted a shit ton of snipers around the area. Those guys hit hard and are hard to evade. There are new enemies too, guys with blades are more common and the thugs seem to have taken a liking to car doors as shields. It makes the fights more difficult but also more interesting.

Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention

Date played: July 7th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 30 minutes
Session fun rating: 4/10

I got Disgaea 3 to fill my need for portable turned based strategy. I didn't really have time to start the game proper, I only saw the opening story beats and started a tutorial. I can't comment on the game itself yet but the story seems interesting so far. It's all about a school in hell where students do well when they skip class, fail tests and are generally bad. The delinquents are the ones that go to class and study.

The hero is the son of the overlord and decided that in order to overthrow him, he would have to become a hero, as so many comic books, movies and video games have proven. The game is well produced, it has voice acting, cool looking menus and the writing is decent so far. The graphics are good for this type of game but nothing spectacular. I can't wait to dig in for real and see what the gameplay is all about.

Machinarium

Musicians!

Date played: July 6th
Platform: PC
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10


I played through the first six or seven rooms in Machinarium. There's not much to say... The puzzles are cool and not too hard for the most part, although I have had to use hints twice to go through without a FAQ. The game is actually pretty funny too, mostly due to the characters having a lot of personality. Plungers, door code puzzles and tipping over chairs are all part of the first section of the game.

Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

This cart is still worth something! Yay for physical media!

Date played: July 5th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 130 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I finished Ghost Recon Shadow Wars today by clearing the last two missions. The first one was a giant corridor where positioning was important and fun. The enemies were strong and relentless but smart positioning won it for me. There was also a section at the end where Mint had to shut down something and it took him a lot of turns to get it done. While doing that, I had to defend the area on two fronts which stretched my forces real thin. The last mission was cool too because we had to block off some areas by shutting doors and eventually killing the bad guy. I was treated to the longest cut scene in the game which was like two minutes hehehe.... This is one of the best games I've played on 3DS, bested only by Super Mario 3D Land in my opinion. After 31 hours of play, I've had my fill and am ready for something new.

Hot Shots Golf World Invitational demo

Hey, this is my Vita!

Date played: July 5th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 20 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

There is something so relaxing about golf games, Hot Shots Golf being the best at what it does. This version looks very close to the demo I played on PS3 but that's not a bad thing. The game looks good, plays well and is just a "happy" game. I played the three holes offered in the demo and got two birdies and a par. A simple game that knows what it is and what it isn't, I respect that. If I ever feel like playing a golf game on Vita, this seems like a great choice.

Dynasty Warriors Next demo

Slice them fools

Date played: July 5th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 10 minutes
Session fun rating: 2/10

I've given these Dynasty Warriors games a chance and I just don't like them. The idea is to have a super powerful character decimate hundreds of enemies in a giant field while trying to capture control points then fighting a boss. The game looks good, handles well and has somewhat interesting mechanics but I could never really enjoy it for some reason. There are some cool applications of the touch screen and back touch pad for magic spells and boss fights but it's just not for me.

Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

Gotta have balls. Strategy balls.

Date played: July 2nd and 3rd
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 180 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I completed chapter 6 which was all about blowing up a giant ship. We then moved on to chase down the bad guy in his own base in chapter 7. Things are getting hairier and hairier every mission. I had to run away from half a dozen tanks, I destroyed a dozen drones using only two ghosts. I infiltrated a section of the compound by splitting my squad in two who assisted each other from walkways and ledges.

The last mission I played even had me fight a giant, 200hp monster drone. It was a tough fight. I seem to get through almost on luck but in the end, my sound strategy seems to be the clincher. I wonder where I'll get my turn based strategy fix after this is over? I heard good things about Disgea...

Sonic Generations

Sonic Generations has to be seen in motion to really understand how technically impressive it really is

Date played: July 2nd
Platform: PC
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played through the second third of the game mindlessly while having a conversation with my mom. The levels are definitely getting harder but the game is well made, fun and it's just a good platformer. People give Sonic games shit all the time but this one is not half bad. It controls well, has very good graphics and is mostly frustration free. The Shadow levels are very cool too, feeling more like battle races than anything.

I played through three levels, six acts, a few challenge levels and one boss, including a section where Sonic is being chased by a giant fucking truck.

The Walking Dead Episode 2

Date played: July 1st
Platform: PC
Time played: 150 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

The Walking Dead feels like my favorite game of the year...

Holy fucking shit man, this was intense. I finished Episode 2 in one sitting and was very impressed. The story is just so stressful and incredibly well written, it's amazing. I wonder why there aren't more games like this? Are there not enough good writers out there? Is no one willing to finance this great stuff? I don't want to spoil the game since it just came out but let's just say that there were some very difficult decisions, some truly scary moments and some incredibly human reactions to all this stuff. This is like a suspenseful comic book or tv show with a huge cliffhanger.

Batman Arkham City

Date played: July 1st
Platform: PS3
Time played: 150 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

Well, I think this game is kind of settling in now. I'm comfortable with the combat, I have a good flow to how I take missions and the game is progressing well. I did a lot of side quests, rescuing hostages from the Riddler, helping dumb civilians, hunting down question mark trophies and other random things.

Solomon Grundy was a fun fight

I also completed the entire Penguin story line. This is where the game is at it's best, when confined to a building where the level is well designed and the enemies are positioned in a smart and fun way. I ran into some enemies with thermal vision and assault rifles which made things a bit tougher but there's nothing that Batman can't deal with. I found out that Penguin had some Titan mutants and fought a couple of those dudes. Oh yeah, and there was a part where a giant shark ate Batman because I walked too quickly on thin ice. By liberating Mr Freeze, he helped me neutralize Penguin. The latter still had a surprise in store though in the form of Solomon Grundy, a giant immortal fuck that I had to kill with explosive gel while avoiding metal balls of death.

Either way, I'm off to find another bad guy that runs a ninja school of sorts to get his blood to Freeze so he can make the antidote to Joker's poison. Also, Robin came along and saved my ass. And not Nightwing Robin, plain old regular ass second Robin. He's lame lol...

Uncharted Golden Abyss

Date played: July 1st
Platform: Vita
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played some Golden Abyss seriously for a bit, mainly playing the intro and the first chapter. This feels just like Uncharted 1 with added Vita funk. For example, there were a few puzzles that required rubbing the screen, nothing super creative. Swinging on ropes by rubbing the back touch pad is pretty cool. Otherwise, there was lots of jumping, climbing and shooting going on, as expected. There is also another character that roped in Drake into the adventure and hints of a South American general being an asshole. Speaking of assholes, the new guy isn't a lot of fun either. He is cocky and wears fucking turtle shell shoes.

Uncharted looks amazing on Vita

There's another thing that's fun too, there are "mysteries" to solve that seem to span the whole game. They involve finding treasure, taking pictures and solving puzzles. It's nice to see the treasures mean more than just a PSN trophy now. I look forward to playing more.

Motorstorm RC

Date played: June 30th and July 1st
Platform: Vita
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

Motorstorm RC was a lot of fun!

I pretty much finished the main events in Motorstorm RC. The game isn't really hard but it takes a few laps to adjust to each type of car as the physics make a huge difference in the handling. The buggies are difficult to handle... I love big rigs, though they don't turn very well. In either case, I played a shit load of races and got all three medals in each event. After the whole thing was completed, supercars were unlocked along with an event for it on each track. Unfortunately, all the events are time trials so I played a few of them but soon got bored. I will probably finish them slowly when I have a few minutes but I won't play marathon sessions like this again. Too bad there's no online play too.