New Super Mario Bros 2

The ghost house level was really fun

Date played: August 29th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played through the the Mushroom world, the hidden one I found in the first world. The levels were pretty simple for the most part but those hidden coins are really a bitch sometimes. There are also quite a few hidden paths that I wasn't able to find... I really wish there was an indicator on levels to know if they have a secret exit or not. After finishing that world, I went back to World 2 to get some of the coins I missed which got me to hit 15000 coins total, yay!

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Date played: August 28th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played a few matches of Team Deathmatch and tried out the bouncing betties. These are explosives that can be set on the ground that then jump in the air and explode when someone walks close by. They are kind of like C4 except they get people that hide behind crates and stuff. The range seems shorter though. Either way, they work pretty well if placed in high traffic areas that don't often get grenades lobbed close by.

I then finally started playing the single player campaign. It starts with a bang, following a Navy Seal named Frost through two missions in New York city. The first was pretty standard Call of Duty except it had skyscrapers blowing up and stuff. It also had a predator missile section and a turret sequence while riding a Blackhawk.

The next mission was the cool E3 demo that had Frost and his fellow Seals using motorized underwater vehicles to ambush a nuclear Russian Sub. Once it was immobilized by our explosives, I boarded the thing and just shot everyone until we could disable the entire sub. We then escaped in a small rubber boat in an amazing looking, if boring sequence. I stopped playing there.

This is a typical COD game in all aspects. The AI is as dumb as ever with dozens of dudes running into a room in a line, letting me gun them down like the fodder they are. It's really jarring seeing the difference between a human and a shitty AI. Thankfully, the missions were somewhat interesting, if not very challenging.

NHL 13 demo

Claude Giroux

Date played: August 27th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played two games of the NHL 13 demo with my brother. We are huge NHL fans and while the real season may be in jeopardy, the game is still coming out soon. The demo only has two teams and one period per game but it was enough to give us a sense of the changes made to the game. I played one game as the Kings and one as the Devils.

The biggest change seems to be stick play. Everything is a little bit slower than before but the sticks have better reach and it's easier to take the puck away from a carrier than it was last year. There is also backwards skating with the puck and the graphics have changed for the better. The frame rate is better than ever and the players look more accurate. Overall, it seems like these are minor changes but will change the way we play the game. I can't wait to play my Sens in their new and improved glory!

Darksiders 2

Date played: August 27th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 8/10

I completed the dungeon I was playing and found the construct I was looking for. There was a pretty epic boss fight where I had to avoid it's attacks and throw explosive goo at it to defeat him. Then I woke the construct who opened the way to the next dungeon, the Forge. I'm trying to find a guardian that is supposed to be able to help me get to the tree of life.

I beat this guy. Fuck yeah.

The new dungeon is interesting, full of lava and dangerous platforms. I need to find three Maker souls in there to power the big construct. Again, lots of platforming, puzzle solving and combat. There's a good balance between all these things and for a game starring Death, one of the horsemen of the Apocalypse, there's a surprising number of green vistas and color. I was expecting the game to be darker than the first but so far, it's been more light hearted and easier on the eyes. I only found of the the souls and am now searching for the next two. One of the makers is following me and helping me jump big gaps and open enormous doors.

Family nostalgia time

Yep, this is Burnout 1.

Date played: August 26th
Platform: Gamecube and N64
Session fun rating: 8/10

My brother and I had a bit of a nostalgia moment today when we played a bunch of older games. First up was the original Burnout on Gamecube. While the graphics are a little rough by today's standards, it's really the primitive gameplay that was most interesting. The boost was only used when full, there was a checkpoint timer like an arcade game and the crashes were cool but nothing close to even looking like the Burnout that we know and love today. It was still fun though. Then there was a few minutes of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 from the Sonic Mega Collection.

Jumping back in time to the N64, we found ourselves playing Top Gear Rally (a family classic), Wipeout 64, Wave Race 63 and last but not least, 1080 Snowboarding. We loved that game so much back in the day and I kind of don't see why anymore. The graphics are good, surprisingly, but the trick mechanics are completely crazy. Doing a 1080 involved lots of R trigger presses, a couple of B button presses, at least three full circle motions on the analog stick and one very time sensitive Z trigger press. In the end, I only managed a 900 but my bro landed a few 1080's in the half pipe. 

Sound Shapes

Date played: August 26th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 9/10

My brother and his girlfriend came over for dinner today and to kill some time, we played some Sound Shapes on PS3. We started with the awesome Beck level, Cities, to show off the game and it's mechanics but soon after, we were digging through some of the best levels created by other players. While some were less than great, three of them really stood out. One for it's amazing music, one for it's crazy but manageable difficulty and the other for it's great balance of music and gameplay. We actually played one level over about 5 or 6 times, trying to improve our times and reach the top end of the leaderboard. The level had over 200 plays and we placed 8th overall, not too shabby I say!

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

I felt like this with the MK46 today

Date played: August 25th and 26th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 8/10

Well, I'm back to the PKP Pecheneg. I don't know, I wasn't getting good scores with the MK46, it felt like it was being a bit too squirrely for my liking at the time so I went with the slower PKP. I played Mercenaries, TDM and Ground War where I did fairly well, if not amazing. I think I'm really due for the M60 to unlock already but I'm still an agonizing 10 levels away.

Disgaea 3

Almaz is funny...

Date played: August 25th
Platform: Vita
Session fun rating: 6/10

This is a game that is meant to be played on a regular basis. As soon as I booted it up, I was a bit confused and forgot some mechanics and other features like Evilities and such. I did play through a simple battle which I won without much trouble. It seems the key here is to keep my group together and not to spread them out too thin. The best part of the game is the crazy humor though. The hero becomes the villain and the villain becomes the hero, complemented by a weird translation, over the top voice acting and great character animation. I want to see more of this game but it seems to require a certain commitment to enjoy.

Darksiders 2

Date played: August 25th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 8/10

Another day playing Darksiders, a few other dungeons. I actually completed two side quests, one involving the death of a wooden giant named Gorewood and the other a simple optional dungeon to retrieve a hammer for one of the makers. Both dungeons were great, high quality affairs involving much platforming, very similar to Prince of Persia actually. Both also made Death a lot more powerful with weapon drops and level ups. I've also started using a possessed weapon from one of the pre-order bonuses on Steam. A possessed weapon is basically a weapon that can be upgraded by absorbing other weapons into them. I ended up with a strong mace with critical chance, critical damage, frost and piercing damage.

Death activates a construct

Then I moved on to the next big story mission which has me looking for a big construct in the Lost Temple. A construct is basically a machine that gets powered by a soul key of sorts. The construct is supposed to be able to bring me to the Tree of Life. The dungeon revolves mostly around using smaller constructs to navigate the environment. Death rides them, uses them as a weapon and even as a platform  in some cases. It's unique and makes for some great mechanics throughout. I'm not 100% done with the dungeon but I think I'm close.

New Super Mario Bros 2

I love chain chomps

Date played: August 24th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played through the remaining levels in the desert world. While most of them were cool, I found myself repeating the same levels a lot to get a flying leaf or a missing coin. Some of these secrets are very well hidden. There are two hidden locations I wasn't able to uncover yet. In Super Mario World, it was  easier because if a level had a secret exit, it would be red instead of yellow on the world map. I think this game could have used this because as it stands, it's really hard to know if a level has a secret exit or not. The boss of the second world (blue haired skinny guy) used chain chomps in his fight, it was interesting. Now, on to world 3! Or maybe I should play the mushroom world first?

Supaboy special edition!

Date played: August 23rd
Platform: Supaboy
Session fun rating: 8/10

A buddy of mine at work talked to me about this great little device called a Supaboy. It's essentially a portable SNES that plays the original carts, has a rechargeable lithium ion battery, an RCA TV out and even two slots for real controllers. It works really nicely. I played both Super Mario World and Super Tennis on it with success and honestly, it seems to output an even cleaner picture than my original SNES.

It's more of a novelty than anything but it was interesting to see that it could act as a full SNES replacement. The screen looks nice but it's nothing really special which is why I am thankful for the TV out. The buttons are also a little stiff right now but I'm sure I will break them in nicely with time.

Wipeout 2048

Date played: August 23rd
Platform: Vita
Session fun rating: 9/10

Sad times ladies and gentlemen. After tons of great games, Studio Liverpool, formerly Psygnosis, has closed it's doors. They are responsible for every single Wipeout game ever made, easily one of my top three racing franchises in history. It's sad when such a talented team gets shut down and we see stuff like crappy free to play MMO's thriving. I can say that I have purchased every single Wipeout game with the exception of the original so I feel like I've done my part but I just can't believe I won't have a real Wipeout game on PS4 or a sequel on Vita. It's rare that I care about studios closing but this one, as Bizarre Creations did a few years ago, hit close to the heart.

I played a few events in 2048 in loving memory of this amazing game series. I raced, fought and air braked my way to victory. I got some Elite passes for the most part but hit a wall in one of the fighting events. I think it was because of the high point requirement and the lack of quake weapons but I just couldn't manage to get Elite within the time limit. To Studio Liverpool and the amazing Wipeout franchise.

Sound Shapes

The editor rocks

Date played: August 22nd
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 9/10

One of my brothers came over last night to use my balance (really, he needed to know for parachuting) and he wanted to check out Sound Shapes. We played a few levels, passing around the controller. We played a level from each album and my brother, being a big music fan, really enjoyed it. We took our time and even matched our progress to the music.

Then we checked out the level editor and while it was lots of fun on PS3, it was much easier to use on Vita because of the touch controls. I created an improvised level with a big mix of different sounds and such. It's amazing how easy it was to create a good beat and an interesting look. I'm really excited to create a real level. We also tried out a few created levels and again, it was a seamless experience. Levels loaded quickly and were mostly fun to play. We even played a level based on Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

I need rest.

Date played: August 22nd
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 6/10

Urgh, I sucked today. I think I was too tired but I just wasn't aiming that well. I played some Ground War, Team Deathmatch and Domination. Ground War was really difficult on me because I joined two lobbies that had organized teams of high level players. I spent most of my time shooting down aircraft. While I enjoyed taking out an Osprey on my own, I was always fucking dead. Terminal was really brutal from in Ground War too...it's kind of small for that many players.

I think I will enjoy the M60 when I get it because of the higher damage though since I'm pretty slow. I did better in TDM but I still had a hard time. Rest will be beneficial I think.

Darksiders 2

Date played: August 21st
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 9/10

I had time to play through a dungeon that had me restore water flow to the cauldron the Makers use. It was a pretty cool dungeon that had lots of little puzzles, amazing architecture and a cool boss. There were two places I had to re-establish water flow which resulted in two different wings to the place. Most of it involved moving energy balls to power gates and such. There were also lots of bombs to grab and move to places as well as a bunch of little enemies scattered throughout.

Amazing environments

After doing the puzzles, there was a boss fight, a giant sort of beetle thing that I had to throw a large rock at to flip it over and damage it. I've also been using my summoned ghouls quite liberally. It's cool because they keep some of the smaller enemies off me and damage the enemies quite a bit. I also have tons of loot now and am trying out different combinations. There's some stats that I don't really understand like Strength and Piercing but I see big numbers flying out of enemies so I figure we're cool.

Sound Shapes

Date played: August 20th
Platform: Vita
Session fun rating: 8/10

I hear the famous Toronto DJ did motion capture for the game. :-)

I finished the campaign in Sound Shapes. That is not to say that I've completed the game though...more on that in a bit. To finish the game, I played through the remaining Deadmau5 levels, all of which were really cool. The music fits and the level design was great. Then I finished the last two Beck levels and while the music wasn't as amazing as Cities, it was still really fun and unique. The last level had some really tough parts to it.

It wasn't really anything compared to what came next though. I unlocked Death mode and Beat mode. I haven't tried Beat yet but Death is Super Meat Boy like in many ways. Here's the recipe:

-one screen
-a ruthless timer
-a number of notes to gather
-instant respawns

This may sound simple, and it is, but it's incredibly difficult. Again, Super Meat Boy difficult. I managed to make my way through the first four levels, essentially the first album but it was demanding. I consider myself a pretty good gamer but wow, this stuff is hardcore. It's awfully addicting too since the respawn time is quick and it's clear that the goal is achievable. I liked it and got my first four trophies in the game for my efforts.

Transformers Fall of Cybertron demo

Date played: August 20th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 9/10

Holy shit this game play well! I absolutely loved War for Cybertron and the sequel seems to be even better than the original. The demo had two short sections of two levels, one for Autobots and one for Decepticons. The Autobot one was more of a tutorial, teaching me the controls and was very flashy, almost Uncharted-esque in a way. Things flying out of windows, cut-scenes mid game and even Optimus Prime being thrown at Bumblebee by Megatron. I played as Bumblebee and really, this is a third person shooter without cover mechanics. It feels good not to play another Gears clone in third person honestly.

Hurrah for non Micheal Bay Transformers!

The second part was also really cool, this time with a Decepticon I didn't know. He could transform into a helicopter and a jet and there was a lot of air combat. In fact, there was a big open section where I killed one guys with regular weapons and switching on the fly (lol) to the helicopter to flank them and shoot missiles at Autobots. It was fucking awesome.

I want to play this game but it will have to wait for now. I will be definitely getting it on PC though since I'm sure my machine will make it look nicer than the PS3.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Date played: August 20th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 8/10

I've discovered a new weapon, the powerful MK46. As my habits dictate, it's an LMG but this one is a little slower than the MG36 which seems to give me more control over it. I spent most of the night just trying it out and unlocking attachments for it. I'm currently running it with grip and red dot sight and it worked wonders for me. I had some amazing games, going as high as 14-2 and such. I'm really starting to feel that I'm getting back to form here and my K/D ratio has been going up steadily. I'm now up to 0.91 or so and creeping up on 1.0 real fast. 

New Super Mario Bros 2

Date played: August 19th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 10/10

Yay! A new Mario game came out! This is the first full game that Nintendo puts out digitally on the eShop that is also available at retail. I decided to buy a digital copy because it saved me time but more importantly, I don't have to take out the current game cart to play it. Either way, I played through the first world and the first half of the second. The reviews were fairly negative so far but honestly, I'm impressed.

The most important part, the controls, are spot on. Everything feels right. The levels are interesting and there's a bunch of new stuff to play with. The big thing about this one is the focus on collecting coins. EVERYTHING revolves around collecting coins. The game keeps track of the total amount of coins collected and I'm already sitting at more than 10 000...insane. There's a bunch of ways to collect coins like a coin hat that spits out coins as you run, a coin flower that turns bricks into coins and even golden rings that turns koopas into insane coin generating killing machines. It actually changes how the game feels a bit which is nice.

COINS COINS COINS! GIVE ME MY FUCKING COINS MOTHERFUCKER!

The best new feature as to be the secret cannon level I unlocked (through an alternate exit yay!). Basically, it turns the game into Cannabalt or something similar in that Mario gets shot out of a cannon and starts running through the level automatically. It was real nice, sort of like those treasure chest levels in Rayman Origins. I also unlocked a new secret world, Mushroom world, but I haven't started it yet. I should also mention that the 3D in this game is really weird. It's totally subdued and is a very slight effect. It becomes obvious when turning off the 3D that the biggest effect is actually on the back grounds. When 3D is on, there is depth of field while there isn't in 2D. Anyway, I like it and the game is lots of fun.

Sound Shapes

Date played: August 18th and 19th
Platform: Vita/PS3
Session fun rating: 9/10

Can you spot my blob? Hint: It's the one that looks like an egg. Sorta.

I played through Beyonder with music from I Am Robot and Proud. The music wasn't as good as the other albums but the levels were lots of fun. It got fairly difficult in spots but still manageable. The theme of these levels was kind of industrial with lots of gears, saws, lava and even swinging chains. There was also a new element added of a little controllable space ship with a boost. It was a nice change of pace and it controlled well. I also played the first song of the Deadmau5 album which was fucking great honestly. His musical style really fits this game.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Terminal is a classic

Date played: August 19th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 9/10

I had a couple of really good games today and one or two awful ones. I actually got my first top scorer medal in Team Deathmatch... I'm a bit ashamed that it took this long but I'm really starting to get my groove now. I am much more comfortable in the maps and don't get flanked as much, I use claymores to protect my ass and I have much better control of my weapon. I am also turning into a real anti-air soldier too and I've gotten a couple of comments on it already.

The new patch also introduced Terminal, the famous Modern Warfare 2 map. I did very well in this one when it came up simply because I know every nook and cranny of the fucking thing. I played a few matches with one of my good friends on PSN and it was nice to finally play with someone I know.

Motorstorm Apocalypse

Date played: August 18th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 6/10

Mini's are fun to drive

I felt like playing a racing game so I popped in Motorstorm. I only had time to play one short race, set in the second day of the festival using a mini car. I had to retry multiple times to qualify... I mean, this game is really fun but sometimes the collision detection and the physics are very frustrating. Basically, I had to learn the track to win. It makes sense but it just got a little bit frustrating. Add to that the fact that I haven't played this in a while and it made for a difficult 20 minutes.

NHL 12

You just lost too.

Date played: August 17th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 7/10

I visited my good friend who just recently had a baby. He's exhausted and hasn't had a break in a while so while his girlfriend was sleeping, my girlfriend was taking care of their baby and we saw an opportunity to play a quick game of NHL. As usual, he played as the Canadiens and I played the Senators. He has been playing online constantly and is now very good. He beat me 2-0 but I gave him a good fight I think. I'm usually pretty good at defense and positioning, I just can't stick the fucking puck in the net. NHL 13 is coming out soon, maybe I should try to sell 12 while it's still worth more than 2$.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

I hate playing against good teams. *Flips table*

Date played: August 16th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 8/10

More Ground War. In one of the matches, I was put against a very organized team and we got absolutely slaughtered. I ended up with a score of something like 8-24, one of my worst games yet. One of the new modes is Kill Confirmed which is like Team Deathmatch but to score, we have to pick up our victim's dog tags which drop after a kill. It's interesting because you can't just camp and win, you have to go out of your way to pick up the damn thing, I kind of like it. I'm still sticking with the MG36 and it's working well for me. My current class setup is MG36 with grip and red dot sight, stun grenades, frag grenades, scavenger pro, quick draw pro, stalker pro and a Stinger missile. It works well but I have to be very careful because I reload slowly and have no secondary weapon for emergencies, I can't go rushing in like the guys using AR's and SMG's.

Darksiders 2

Date played: August 14th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 9/10

I've been pretty hyped for this game for a while. I LOVED the first Darksiders and this one looked to be much improved. I stayed away from media coverage though and when I started playing, I was very surprised and pleased with the changes that were made.

The game starts with Death trying to find a way to bring humanity back to life from the apocalypse to absolve War from the accusations against him. This takes him to the land of the Makers, the race of giants that made the ... universe I guess? Either way it's all a little convoluted but Death has to get to the Tree of Life but tons of stuff stands in his way. So far, I've repaired the cauldron of fire that the makers use to make weapons and such. Now I have to go repair another piece of the giant forge. It's all very dumb but the important part is that the game plays well.

Darksiders 2 looks great, even if some textures are a little muddy

There are a few things that stick out right away that are quite different from the first game. There is now loot, and I'm talking Borderlands/Diablo type loot. Death has a lot of equipment slots and weapon slots to customize. Loot drops randomly from enemies, bosses and chests. Also, damage numbers are now displayed on screen, again, similar to Borderlands which is very helpful in gauging which attacks are best. There is also a real overworld now, kind of like Zelda games which adds a real sense of scale. They have also added fast travel which makes things a lot easier to navigate.

The biggest improvement is combat though. First, the block is gone, replaced with a more aggressive offense and a very effective evade. It feels a lot better because it's faster and easier to chain combos together. I'm playing on PC with 5.1 and my HDTV but I had to drop the resolution down to 720p. The frame rate was fine in 1080p but there were vsync issues, even with vsync enabled. It still looks great though and it's smooth as butter for the most part, a huge improvement over the PS3 version of the first game. I can't wait to play some more.

Tales of the Abyss

Date played: August 13th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played quite a bit of Tales of the Abyss. Luke was accused of stealing food in the small village of Engeve and after investigating a little bit, he found out that Cheagles were responsible for the theft. To prove his innocence (after being forgiven...) he heads out to Cheagle woods, home of the furry little monsters, to find evidence of theft. This was my first real dungeon and it was pretty typical including a fun boss battle against a giant liger. A small Cheagle named Mieu has joined the party. The little fucker is really annoying but aside from that, he's pretty useful as he can breathe fire to unlock new areas.

My first dungeon!

Then, the story went crazy. There's a Fon Master, a bad ass military dude named Jade and the Fon Master's preteen body guard. Basically, they knew Luke was from the other empire and took him and Tear prisoner on a giant land ship. While having a conversation, the ship was attacked by gryphons and ligers so we fought our way to the bridge of the ship to retake control.

There's a lot I don't understand from a story perspective yet but at least I'm starting to get the combat system a bit better. Oh yeah and Guy joined the party, he was looking for Luke. I now have four people in the group which makes combat a lot more interesting.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

The Stealth Bomber is deadly!

Date played: August 13th and 14th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 8/10

I started playing Ground War at my brother's suggestion and I did a lot better in there. I also took my time a bit more and managed my first 10 kill streak. I've also started using the stealth bomber as one of my support kill streaks. It works wonders in a large lobby like Ground War. I'm back to the MG36 as I wasn't performing as well with the PKP. It felt good, having positive scores consistently as opposed to barely hitting 1.0. I've also started using Scavenger because I've been staying alive longer and running out of ammo (I have shitty accuracy).

Team Fortress 2

This guy was missing

Date played: August 11th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 5/10

I played a bit of TF2 with my friend but I wasn't feeling it. I only played on 2Fort and the server limit was set to more than an hour so I didn't even finish the match. I had a few good runs as a Medic with my buddy as a Heavy but most of my time was spent trying to learn the Soldier a bit better. While he's very powerful, his reload time is a really a killer. He also has kind of low ammo so it's hard to take a base without running out of rockets. I think I would have had more fun if more than one person on the whole damn server was willing to play Medic.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

PKP

Date played: August 11th and 12th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 8/10

All right, I'm starting to get a better feel for the maps and starting to do better overall. I switched guns and am now using the PKP, a slower LMG. I seem to do better with large, slow machine guns. It was rough for a while but once I unlocked the grip, it felt a lot better. I had my first really good game of Team Deathmatch at something like 19-8. It felt good! I also played a whole bunch of Domination which seems to give my playstyle more flexibility. I'm also loving the Stinger that I recently unlocked and am providing anti-air support for my team. I am now level 40 or so, this is a double exp weekend so I got a big boost out of it.

Alice Madness Returns

Date played: August 10th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 7/10

Wonderland is back to normal, at least, as normal as it can be.

I finished Alice Madness Returns. The last level, The Dollhouse, was pretty awful compared to some of the other levels. The only really fun part was a sort of Super Monkey Ball level, just replace the monkey with a hairless doll head. The ending was pretty cool though, it turns out that Alice's psychiatrist was a child abusing son of a bitch who also killed her family. The fucker was acting as a pimp for child prostitutes. Disturbing stuff. In the end, she fought him in a typical boss battle that wasn't easy or frustrating, just challenging enough. I'm glad I played this game, it's rare these days that a good, adult platforming game comes out. 

Sound Shapes

Cities is the best track in the game so far

Date played: August 10th, 11th and 12th
Platform: Vita and PS3
Session fun rating: 10/10

This game is amazing. I showed it to my brother who was visiting on Friday, playing some of the earlier songs. We also played what I think is the best song so far, Cities by Beck. The level is based in a city where a nuclear bomb is about to blow. It's really hard to describe but there are platforms that appear and disappear based on when Beck is singing. Some of these platforms change depending on the words in the song, etc. It's really unique refreshing. I also played all of the second album that was set in a corporate building. I've also been just replaying levels because...well, it's fun. The only thing that is pissing me off right now is that I can't seem to always stay connected to PSN which means I haven't been able to try other people's levels.

Alice Madness Returns

Date played: August 9th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 9/10

All right, the Queen's castle is easily the best part of the game. While it still had the great platforming and the fast paced combat, the level was actually quite varied and interesting this time. There was a nice little mini-game on a chess board where I had to get two pieces on a specific spot while avoiding enemies. It's a nice little distraction. The only thing I was disappointed in is that there was an option to skip the event...lame.

Then there was the twist. A giant card guard freak. Taking cues from Nemesis in Resident Evil, he chases Alice around the level at different intervals and she has no choice but to run. Eventually, I reached an area with magic cake (it wasn't a lie) that made Alice into a giant. This was one of the better sequences in the game because the levels are still the same but scaled to the new castle sized Alice. I stomped and swatted hundreds of card guards and destroyed large portions of the castle. Then I met the Red Queen. She was freaky but also surprisingly human in many ways. It seems the Queen was defeated in the first game and is now replaced with the flaming train from earlier in the game. She wants her spot back. Badly.

The asylum is really depressing and a big contrast to the look of Wonderland. Parts of it felt like Dead Space!

Anyway, that was the end of that chapter. I should also mention that all my weapons are fully upgraded and the Tea Pot is really one of the best weapons now that it's at full power. It can take out normal enemies in one shot but is slow and doesn't recharge quickly. The next portion was back in London but now, Alice is now completely fucking insane and is in an asylum, straight jacket and all. After walking through it for a bit, she fell back into Wonderland and the Doll House, the last chapter of the game.

The Doll House is kind of boring compared to the Red Queen's castle. It's a little corny and there isn't much new in here except the visuals. The platforming is getting more difficult in every level though and that keeps me interested. I should finish this game the next time I play.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Date played: August 9th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 8/10

Well, I'm getting the hang of this. I still suck of course but I've been learning the maps slowly and getting used to the guns. I unlocked the PKP, another LMG and tried it out for a bit but I didn't like it too much, I seem to have more success with the MG46. A major difference between this game and the previous ones is that the maps are all fairly small, at least so far. It's cool but it's an adjustment for sure. I've also been a bit smarter, slowing things down for myself. It's always a temptation to run right into the fray but that just doesn't work with my machine gun heavy play style. I got lot level 15 or so and am starting to have a solid class setup.so I'm still settling in. 

Sound Shapes

Date played: August 8th
Platform: Vita
Session fun rating: 10/10

Holy shit. Jonathan Mak is a genius. His first console game, Everyday Shooter, has been one of my favorite arcade type games on PS3 and Sound Shapes is his latest game. Sound Shapes is a 2D platformer with a musical twist. Everything in the game makes sound to the beat of the music. It's really hard to describe in text but every jump, slide, enemy and platform is part of the music. This turns a pretty basic platformer into a musical experience!

The thing that holds it all together is the quality of the music though. There's music from Jim Guthie, Deadmau5, Beck and a couple of others. It's also really cool that buying the game once gets you both the PS3 and Vita versions. More people need to do that, seriously, it's great. I've played through the first album (world) and started a bit of the second one, all of which was excellent. The campaign mode is great but I think that playing other people's levels will be the meat of the game. Oh yeah, did I mention? You can make your own levels/music and share it! It's like Little Big Planet. I can't wait to play more of this game, bobbing my head to the beat of the music penetrating my eardrums.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

CODHeads Anonymous

Date played: August 8th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 8/10

*Transcript from CODHeads Anonymous meeting of August 9th 2012*

Seb: Hi my name is Seb and I'm a Call of Duty user.

Group: Hi Seb!

Seb: I have been clean for over a year but yesterday..... *sobs*, I cracked. I bought Modern Warfare 3 and jumped online. I don't know what it was, maybe it was that amazing multiplayer trailer for Black Ops 2 that got me going, maybe I just haven't played a competitive shooter in so long but here I was, sitting in my living room putting the dirty disc in my PS3.

Group: It's ok, we understand.

Seb: I didn't even do any preliminaries, I just played Team Deathmatch right away. It felt good at first. I got the rush I used to get when I got my first kill. I played more. Then it hit me. I've done this shit before, why am I doing it again?

Group: Good job!

Seb: But you know what? I still love it. Is that wrong? I reached level 8, created a class with an MG46 and while I wasn't even close to my skill level from a year ago, I knew I could be good again. I'm hoping that distractions like Sound Shapes, Alice Madness Returns, Darksiders 2 and Wipeout 2048 can show me the loving ways of playing more than one game at a time and keep my CoD addiction in check. Thank you for listening.

Group: Thanks Seb!

Alice Madness Returns

Date played: August 7th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 5/10

Urgh. This game doesn't know when to stop. While the platforming is really top notch and the combat is surprisingly good, the levels are just a little too long and repetitive. I completed the third chapter and I'm sitting at something like 9 hours played. That's a lot for a game like this. There were two more 2D levels and two block puzzles but this time, no fetch quests. I just had to reach the top of the mountain where the Caterpillar lives. It was a bit of a bland ending to the chapter compared to the first two. All that happened was a conversation with the guy who told me I should go after the Queen next.

Porcelain bitches and knives. Fuck yeah.

There was then a brief scene in the real world where Alice had been imprisoned by the guards because of her rambling and such. As soon as she was released, she fell back into Wonderland, this time in the Queen's playing card world. I played through the first little platforming section which was set in the sky with floating playing cards as the platforms. I reached a castle (of cards of course) then I stopped playing. This section was definitely ramping up the platorming difficulty. I wonder how far from the end I am?

Wipeout 2048

Date played: August 6th
Platform: Vita
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played a few events in Wipeout 2048 and ended the first season. I am now about to start the 2049 season. One of the main things that is very different in this game from the others in the series is that there are now two item pad types, one for offensive weapons like missiles and quake and another for defensive weapons like shields and auto-pilot. This adds a bit more strategy to weapon pick ups as you can chose to be either more offensive or defensive, something that would work great in a game like Mario Kart.

Every single game should have a photo mode.

I unlocked a few new ships including two from AG-Systems, now my favorite team. I also played four or five combat events which are basically a big demolition derby in anti-gravity. The objective is to gather lots of points by damaging and destroying other ships while avoiding your own ship's destruction. It's a really fun mode but it was a bit too easy so far, I managed the Elite pass and more on the first try. On to 2049!

Tales of the Abyss

Date played: August 6th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 6/10

I've never played a Tales game before but I've been wanting to play a simple and relaxing RPG for a while now and this series seems to fit the bill. I wouldn't play this on my console though, it's the kind of thing I will play in the bed or something so I got Tales of the Abyss on 3DS, a port from the PS2. I only played about an hour of it but it seems pretty good so far.

This is like a giant JRPG stereotype

The game starts off kind of slow, with the hero, Luke, chilling in his huge royal mansion. I think he's a prince or something. The story is kind of non-sense but I know there's a war between two empires and that Luke is confined to the mansion for his protection. I completed some basic tutorials but was interrupted by some chick and we got teleported (What?) to a field in the other empire.

I don't get it but now Luke and the lady are trying to go back home. The combat is interesting because it's real time and in 2D. There's blocking, sword attacks and special attacks known as Artes. It's also pretty cool that different moves can be used by pressing a different direction on the analog stick. Anyway, this is a typical JRPG that should be simple enough to just relax and play without really paying too much attention.

Little Big Planet 2

We decided to continue

Date played: August 6th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 8/10

My girlfriend and I wanted to play something together so we decided to play a bit of LBP 2. I soon realized that I had never played it on this PS3 since my old one broke so I had 15 fucking patches to download. After that, it was soon apparent that my save game had not been transferred so we had to start over from the beginning. It didn't matter much though since this game is always fun to play multiplayer.

We played through the first world and a few levels from the second. It went pretty quickly since we didn't bother with the mini games this time around and we already had a good idea of how to use the different items like the cake gun and the grapple gun. The cake gun level is one of the cutest things I've ever played and didn't mind playing it again for a second. 

Alice Madness Returns

I loved the 2D level

Date played: August 5th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 7/10

I started playing the Caterpillar's level which is set in an oriental setting and it's been interesting so far. The enemies are getting a little bit tougher, requiring guard blocks with the hobby horse before I could even damage them. So far though, it's manageable. There was also a really cool 2D platforming section where Alice warps into a painting. It's a refreshing change of pace and the level has an amazing art style.

Unit 13 demo

The graphics are adequate but not amazing

Date played: August 5th
Platform: Vita
Session fun rating: 8/10

Well, this game was pretty damn impressive. I played a short demo of Unit 13, a third person shooter. The demo only had the tutorial and one mission, both of which were very generic and unoriginal. The cool thing about it though is that it controls extremely well. When I played Uncharted, the shooting was ok but it wasn't super precise. In Unit 13 though, the controls feel just like a console game. This basically shows that when Call of Duty comes out on Vita, it has the potential to be amazing.

Unit 13 seems to have a mission structure that lends itself well to mobile play with short missions that son't seem to be connected to each other very much. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of the side missions in Final Fantasy Crisis Core on PSP. That's really cool and if I feel like playing a shooter on Vita, Unit 13 seems like a good buy. I'll wait until it hits the bargain bin though.

Jurassic Park The Game: Episode 1

Mr. T at his best.

Date played: August 5th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 5/10

I recently bought the Blu-Ray Jurassic Park box set and to my surprise, it came with a free code for the first episode of Telltale's Jurassic Park adventure game. It's set both during and after the events of the first movie. There is a latino woman that was hired as a "plan B" should Dennis Nedry fail to bring back the stolen embryo's. As any self respecting fan of the movie knows, Nedry fails and is eaten by a dilophosaurus, leaving behind the valuable can of shaving cream.

The game is kind of like The Walking Dead but buggier and without the cool decision making. This leaves the game as a giant quick time event that is actually pretty boring to play. I was interested by the story but it wasn't enough to get me to spend more money for the remaining three episodes. There are some cool scenes in there though, like a fight between a T-Rex and a Triceratops and a game of hide and seek with the big carnivore. 

Alice Madness Returns

Date played: August 3rd
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 6/10

I love the pepper grinder!

I completed the second world, the Carpenter's, and it was pretty cool throughout. The last little bit had me fighting monsters in an arena which wasn't super fun because it became a bit too repetitive but the last scene was so gory and disturbing that it made it all worth it. Basically, the Carpenter, who is a giant sea lion, eats a bunch of cute dancing clams in a bloody mess. I have to say, this game is kind of... haunting in a way. It's weird, the music is creepy and the whole thing is just disturbing, in a good way.

I started the next world which is the Caterpillar's and it looks promising so far although it took a bit too long to get started. It has a nice look to it. I also picked up a new weapon which I'm not sure I like yet. It's a tea kettle that acts as a cannon of sorts. The problem is that it's a little bit slow to charge up and has to be selected over the pepper grinder, something I'm not too happy about, I LOVE my pepper grinder! Speaking of which, the weapons can be upgraded. I upgraded the Vorpal blade first and am now working on the pepper grinder. 

Alice Madness Returns

Date played: August 2nd
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 7/10

Here's another piece of loot from the plunder that is the Steam summer sale. This is a 3rd person platforming game with combat set in the mind of Alice, from Alice in Wonderland. The game starts in Victorian London where Alice lives in an orphanage. She's fucked in the head though. She gets hallucinations and is just...insane I guess. When she meets a weird looking lady in the streets, the game starts in her mind in the world of the Mad Hatter.

I played through the whole level which was quite large. It's set in a foundry or some kind of factory and my job was to get pieces of the Hatter back to him so he could help me stop some train or something. The story is kind of useless and hard to follow but the game itself is quite fun. It actually reminds me of stuff like Banjo Kazooie or Super Mario 64 in a lot of ways. In addition, the combat is pretty deep with a nice dodging mechanic and some cool combos. I also played a large portion of the second level, this time set in an underwater type world in which Alice has to gather parts for a play. There was also a nice little side scrolling shooter level kind of like those in Rayman Origins which was a nice change of pace.

The art in Madness Returns is amazing

The first thing that stands out about this game is the amazing art direction and cool looking environments. It really has a unique look that you don't see in games too often. It's whimsical, it's crazy and it's kind of old school in a lot of ways. The mechanics are fine for the most part, full of invisible platforms, a shrinking mechanic (Alice drinks a potion as in the books) and some pretty devious platforming. The combat is quick and fun, complete with different weapons like bombs, a gun, a blade and.... a wooden horse head. The only problem I really have with the game so far is that the levels are a bit long and it gets a bit tedious. Oh yeah and the camera sucks in close quarters which fucks up the fighting sometimes. Otherwise, this is a great little summer game. It looks great on PC also so that's great.

Gravity Rush demo

You're welcome.

Date played: August 2nd
Platform: Vita
Session fun rating: 6/10

I had this demo sitting on my home screen for a while and never got around to play it until today. It turns out, Gravity Rush seems like a good game with some really cool gravity shifting mechanics. Essentially, the heroine, Kat, can float in the air and set any axis as the "floor". There is also combat which is pretty simple with the exception that Kat can do a flying gravity kick, launching herself at an enemy from any position. The controls are tight but there is forced motion sensing aiming which could get troublesome. The story is mostly presented in motion comic format with a cool twist. The panels can be moved using the motion sensors, it looked so cool it made me wish the Vita had a 3D display, it would have looked amazing. The demo was really short but I like this game and will consider buying it next time I need a new game.

Uncharted Golden Abyss

Date played: August 1st
Platform: Vita
Session fun rating: 9/10

I finished Uncharted Golden Abyss today. Wow, what a game! I was a bit lukewarm to it at first but it really picks up in the second half of the game. Enemies are stronger, weapons are bigger and the story starts to get more interesting. The last third of the game is all about Drake, Sully and Chase exploring some South American ruins to find the city of gold, AKA, The Golden Abyss.

Being an Uncharted game, you just know they are going to find it, blow it up and run away while evading crumbling...things. That's just what happens here and it's really well done. The only gripe I have is that the two boss fights feel just like the ending of the first game, full of quick time events. The difference is that this time, it's all touch screen based and a bit too lengthy for it's own good. Dante is a double crossing motherfucker who gets what was coming to him and Guerro, the general, goes down by Drake's hand, literally from a punch! Oh yeah and of course, Drake gets the girl. He's like James Bond for that.

GRRRRRR! You're going down Guerro, let me just touch you repeatedly.

Either way, this was an amazing game that I feel was even better than Uncharted 3. Uncharted 2 still reigns as king of the franchise of course but Golden Abyss was truly a great game. I didn't use many of the features that they used to pimp the Vita, stuff like touch climbing and back touch rope groping so it felt a lot more like a normal game to me and that's great. Even the tilt aiming was actually pretty useful for fine tuning my shots at times. I'm glad I played it and hope more Uncharted comes to the powerful handheld.