Dirt Showdown

Date played: September 30th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 8/10

Mad Max without guns

I played five events in single player to kill some time. Eliminator is still lots of fun, I played a few 8 ball runs and a knockout event. I also had to buy a heavy van to survive one of the Marked Man events. This is an event where you have to survive as long as possible in a demolition derby track. The twist is that every car out there is after YOU. It gets real crazy because there are more cars added to the mix every 20-30 seconds... I just couldn't survive long enough in my regular car but as soon as I bought that van, I survived something like 40 seconds more than my last attempt. Money is scarce in this game so buying a car is a big risk, I'm glad that I made the right choice here.

NHL 13

At least we all agree on this

Date played: September 30th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played a quick online game against a Chicago player and lost 2-1, but it was a fair fight. He was definitely better than me. Then I played three games against my good friend. The first game was Sens vs Habs and he won with a humiliating 4-0. I didn't deserve to win, sure, but I definitely deserved better than 4-0. Then we played Sens vs Sens and had a closer game that ended 2-1 for him. The last game was truly amazing though. It was Habs vs Habs and we fought it out like mad men without a goal until the third period. I scored first (!), then he had two unanswered goals and I tied it up with a great rebound shot. We had a close OT period and he finally won in a shoot out with a great deke. It was easily one of the best games I've ever played and it was lots of fun.

Wipeout 2048

Date played: September 30th

Zone mode is still great

Platform: Vita
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played a combat event and a zone event without much special going on. The interesting part was that I unlocked my first prototype event which is essentially a way to unlock new ships. This one is for Feisar and I piloted a really cool ship. I only had to finish fifth but I couldn't even win that... I don't know what it was, maybe I was being sloppy or something but I only managed 6th. The trick is that the race is an epic 10 laps. It's surprising how difficult it is to keep my concentration for that long with a game this demanding. I'll come back to this event though, I WILL CONQUER.

Darksiders 2

Date played: September 29th and 30th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 10/10

I finished Darksiders 2. Wow. After the disappointing Earth chapter, the game went back to the good stuff with two more massive dungeons, both focused on the Voidwalker, the portal gun. The first dungeon was in Lostlight where I solved tons of puzzles with the portal, fought tougher enemies and jumped my way to the final boss. I had to purify water by creating portals next to light globes. It got really complicated at points, though never as crazy as the first game.

Then shit happened, someone betrayed me and I fought him. I even chopped off his fucking wings. It was great. Moving on to the last realm, Samael's. He was a major character in the first game and his dungeon was full of portals again. This time though, the Voidwalker created time portals so that I had to travel back and forth between past and present in the dungeon. It made for some really cool puzzles. Then I fought him in the best boss fight of the game.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The Money Shot

Last but not least, I reached the final boss, beat the shit out of him and redeemed War. It ended a little bit quickly but it was definitely a good ending. Of course, this wouldn't be a game about four horsemen without a glimpse of the other three. I really hope we get Darksiders 3 and 4 someday, as long as they don't make it a bad third person shooter like that Earth level.

Dyad demo

It's hard to describe the gameplay in Dyad

Date played: September 29th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 4/10

Meh. This is a cool looking game but it didn't really grab my attention so much. You control a weird thing that can hook enemies in a 360 degree tunnel. There are quite a few different objectives to the levels, each being different from the last one. I made pairs, I raced, I grazed enemies and I even lanced through them to meet the objectives. While this seems like a well made game and a good idea, it just didn't keep my attention too much.

Darksiders 2

Date played: September 28th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 7/10

I grabbed some sick loot and armed myself with a shiny new pair of possessed scythes that make me incredibly strong. I was excited to use them in the next dungeon but unfortunately, it wasn't so. I reached the next area of the Tree of Life which was very promising. It's called Lostlight and is basically a rebel camp for Angels of sorts. It's guardian said I could find the key to the Well of Souls if I brought back his rod but it turns out that the rod was on Earth.

Don't try to be a third person shooter Darksiders, you suck at it.

The story part is really cool. The dungeon takes place while War is doing his thing and I met one of the lady angels that played a big part in the first game. The whole dungeon is on Earth but it didn't play like a regular dungeon. While I appreciate the effort to change things up, it was actually pretty damn boring. There is no platforming, there are no puzzles and there isn't even any real melee combat. The whole thing felt like a bad, linear third person shooter. I picked up two different guns, one felt like a sort of assault rifle/shotgun combo and the other was closer to a rocket launcher. Then I shot guys in the face for an hour with bad aiming in corridors.

Thankfully, I'm done with that, I have the rod and the guardian of Lostlight let me borrow his gryphon to reach the next area that should have the key. That part looks more interesting, we'll see how it plays out. I reached level 20 and I feel like I'm reaching the end.

Motorstorm Apocalypse

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

I finished Motorstorm Apocalypse. While the tracks and vehicles are really awesome, the debris on the tracks makes this game more frustrating than it had to be. Sometimes I would only graze a piece of debris and crash, then drop down from the top three positions to 11th or 12th. I still had fun though. I rode choppers, dirt bikes, super bikes, mud pluggers, monster trucks, minis, rally trucks and super cars all the way to victory!

There were some really cool moments in the third campaign where shit flies everywhere, helicopters shoot at everyone, jets destroy parts of the track and I even avoided a fucking jumbo jet landing on the tarmac. To be honest though, a lot of it felt like a second rate Split/Second, a game I really loved. There are rumors that Evolution Studios, responsible for Motorstorm, might be working on the Wipeout franchise now that Studio Liverpool is closed. That worries me a bit since Wipeout is about smooth racing and Motorstorm is FAR from that. Either way, I enjoyed this game but it definitely could have been better had the tracks been a bit cleaner.

Yep, that's a monster truck escaping a crashing jumbo jet. EXTREME!!!

New Super Mario Bros 2

Metalheads

Date played: September 27th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played through only two levels yesterday while watching my daughter play. I completed all of the Flower world, including all the secret exits. The level I played was actually pretty damn good, it was set in an ice cavern complete with little metal headed creatures falling from the ceiling like in Super Mario World. It also had a moving ice platform and some pretty tricky enemy placement. I also played through the canon level which only took me three attempts. While it was a dangerous one, it was also a short one. It brought me directly to World 6 but I haven't played World 5 yet so I'll go play that one first.

Darksiders 2

Date played: September 26th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played through the City of the Dead, the last big dungeon in the Land of the Dead. I thought I would have my three ghost buddies at this point but when I turned in the quest to the Lord of Bones, he just destroyed their souls in spite or something. It wasn't super clear but instead, he did give Death the ability to split his soul into two halves which can be controlled independently to solve puzzles. Basically, it turns Death into a statue and spawns two more Death's that can switched to at will. They control just like the real thing and can fight as normal. The only constraint is that they can't go too far from the statue.

It makes for some crazy cool puzzles full of switches, pressure plates and even moving platforms. The thing is, when I revert back to regular Death, I reappear at the statue. For some puzzles, that meant putting the statue on top of a movable platform so that I can move my original self past the gates that were opened by the two halves. It's really cool and challenges the mind without being impossible or frustrating.

Two Deaths, one platform

I then killed a big boss who was keeping the souls of humanity captive...or something. Either way, I cut the shit out of it's ugly head and was instructed to go back to the Tree to see the next realm. Instead, I explored a few things. I started with the Arbiter's maze. I just saw it on the map and I remembered that I had picked up items that had instructions for it. Unfortunately, when I got there it said there were 10 levels of it and I only had directions for three of the levels. I guess I'll come back later. I also spent some time getting a new possessed weapon since I leveled up to 18 and was still rocking a level 16 and level 15 weapon. I got a buckler and put critical chance, critical damage, strength and heal on critical on it. This makes me a crit and heal machine of doom! I also realized I had been doing it wrong the whole game. By equipping different weapons and checking my stats, I realized that strength was a MAJOR reason as to why my damage wasn't really going up that much. It has a direct impact on damage which I never really saw. Now I'm stacking strength.

Darksiders 2

Date played: September 23rd
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 8/10

I have two ghost soldier buddies! I completed that whole part of the game and seem to be moving towards the end of this section of the Tree of Life. Again, lots of fighting, jumping and climbing which was all enjoyable, if not amazing. There were a lot of puzzles involving sending my minions to push pressure plates or pull levers, some of which were definitely complicated. I beat a boss (easily)and at the same time, completed a side quest to kill a giant spider thing in the Psychameron dungeon. I then cashed in my junk at the goat man thing. I also upgraded my stats with some of the collectibles.

I tried out the Crucible which is a sort of combat arena with rewards at the end. What's cool about it is that you can bail out after a few waves and cash in your reward or just keep going and get a better reward, if you survive. I only played a few waves but it was pretty rough and the reward kind of sucked but I should try for a higher level reward next time.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Date played: September 23rd
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 9/10

I finished Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3! This was a short game, as all CoD's are, but it was pretty good. Everything is less impressive when it's the third time they do it but this game still managed to keep my attention and entertain me. The last act of the game really wraps up the whole story without feeling too rushed and has a satisfying conclusion.

The Juggernaut level was awesome

The third act had all sorts of crazy shit going on but the highlight has to be the last mission. I mean, it's almost like it's from another game. Yuri and Price are going after Makarov one last time and they came prepared! They both have M60's and a Juggernaut suit which makes them almost invincible, but also very slow. Then the game throws dozens of bad guys your way and I just had to mow them all down. It was really cool and had a bit of the last stand feel to it that we saw at the end of Halo Reach.

There was also a cool bit with the American team who goes out to rescue the President and his daughter. The best part was a slow motion sequence where the president is held hostage. Overall, I had fun with this game and I think I'm mostly done with it unless I fall back into the multiplayer. Worth playing though, that's for sure.

Motorstorm Apocalypse

Date played: September 23rd
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 5/10

I raced through one event that featured Rally cars. It's really one of the better car classes, they are fast, they handle well and are a lot of fun to drive. I didn't have time for more than one event unfortunately.

NHL 13

Date played: September 22nd and 23rd
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 10/10

I played a ton of NHL 13 with my brothers and some friends. We changed up the teams every game and while I wasn't amazing, I certainly wasn't a slouch either . I can make excellent plays and let one of the others finish it with a good shot. My brother gave me some pretty good advice to finish my goals and I've definitely been more successful since. It seems the trick is to stop trying to move my player after winding up the shot. I have to just stop moving and then shoot. Seems simple but it's a hard habit to break.

I also played one online game against the Habs and won 1-0. I was clearly better than the other player but there were a few close plays that almost cost me the game. 

New Super Mario Bros 2

Flower world. Get it?

Date played: September 22nd
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 8/10

I found all the hidden exits in the Flower world but haven't completed all the levels yet. One of the exits was easy to find in the Ghost house level, it was just a ledge I had to reach at the right time. The other secret exit was quite different though, I had to hit a block that would fly away and wait for it to reach the end of it's little run. Then I had to jump on it with precise timing before it flew off into the secret exit area. I had to look this one up on Youtube as I was not able to find it alone.

Dirt Showdown

Date played: September 22nd
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 9/10

The races are still the best events

I played a few single player events including two races, one gate crasher and a demolition. Gate crashers are a new type of event where I had to smash gates in a certain order and meet a target time. It's fun but nothing special. I don't really have anything else to add, this is still a good car driving game and I haven't seen anything worth complaining about just yet.

Wipeout HD/Fury

Date played: September 21st
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 9/10

Every game should have a photo mode...

I played some Wipeout HD with my brother in split screen. We started with Venom and eventually made our way to Flash speeds. He's pretty good, something that's damn rare in my social circle. He beat me only once in about an hour but he gave a good fight throughout. We used vertical split screen which I think works best in a game like this. I stuck with AG-Systems and he tried out a few, getting his best performance with Assegai. 

Double Dragon Neon demo

Date played: September 21st
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 8/10

I had tons of fun with this demo! I would probably be bored of it in an hour, just like any great arcade game, but I enjoyed the time I played. I played Double Dragon with my brother back on the NES when I was a kid and while we were pretty awful, I still have good memories of this game. This is a remake-ish game made by WayForward, the team responsible for such gems as A Boy and his Blob and Contra 4.

The demo has two or three levels, truly amazing music, a cool visual style and some crazy weapons and beat-em up moves. The best part is the intro though. Thug walks up to woman, punches her in the stomach, straight up, and kidnaps her. I also played co-op with my brother and that actually a lot better than playing alone since the characters don't have any blocking or anything. That means me and my bro could help each other out and not take as much damage. Also, you can do high fives. That is all.

Darksiders 2

Date played: September 20th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played through about 2/3 of the next dungeon. Again, I had to find three "things" in the dungeon to move on and unlock the second ghost warrior guy. The dungeon itself was pretty cool, it has a very dark atmosphere, actually closer to what I thought this game was going to be when I first bought it. There's skulls, bones and dark gothic architecture all over the damn place. Then again, it IS called the City of the Dead.

The City of the Dead is a nice dungeon

There were a few sub bosses in here and I've been switching up my gear a bit so I found them a bit easier than the last dungeon. There was also some pretty intricate, Prince of Persia style platforming going on. Once I finish this thing, I should have two ghosts to summon which should open more some secret areas and such. 

F1 2012 demo

Date played: September 20th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 6/10

Codemasters keeps impressing me at every turn. They have made another high quality F1 racing game with F1 2012 that looks simply sublime in glorious 1080p and high settings. In the demo, I only played the new driver tutorials which weren't super fun but show that the game is well made and controls well. The racing line in particular is really cool looking because it has 3D effects. Basically, if I need to brake a lot, the racing line will have 3D blocks at car height to make it easier to understand if you need to brake more or not. It's hard to explain but it works really well. Also, this is one of the most visually impressive games I've played on this PC. The reflections and shadows are kind of insane... Either way, I won't buy this at full price, I still have Dirt Showdown to play with, but if there's a nice sale around Christmas on Steam, this would be a good game to pick up on the cheap.

Team Fortress 2

Date played: September 19th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played some TF2 with my buddy again, on 2Fort again. This time, I spent most of my time as a scout and I've been kind of getting back to old form here. I've been using the pistol mostly as I can never seem to be very successful with the shotgun. I've managed a few kills, spies in particular, but I focused on winning.

The Scout is awesome

It seems that the server I play on really enjoys building large defenses and never really builds a solid attack force so I try my luck with a solo scout run. I've been extremely successful with that. While I often get killed by turrets or enemies, I notice the easy paths and go around the well guarded areas. Sometimes, that means I HAVE to make that double jump run over the bridge since the courtyard is often well protected. In one of the matches, I actually captured all three briefcases ALONE. We won 3-0 and it seems like I was the only person that even tried to win. I even got an achievement for it, feels good man.

New Super Mario Bros 2

Fish

Date played: September 19th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 9/10

The Flower world is more difficult than anything before it. I played through all of the regular levels but haven't gone back to unlock the secret exits yet. One level in particular was extremely well designed and challenging. It involves a purple lava floor, a giant Mario eating fish that lives in the purple lava and some rotating platforms that help Mario cover the distance between each solid ground area. While the idea is simple, the placement of the platforms is genius. It took me several attempts to clear the level with all three secret coins. It didn't feel cheap, like a seedy strip club. Rather, it felt difficult but fair, like a car race. I think this has to be one of the best levels in the entire game. In the process, I've hit the 30k coin mark.

Team Fortress 2

Date played: September 18th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played some TF2 on fucking 2Fort again. Fuck 2Fort man, I am so tired of this stupid map. I mean, I had fun and all, playing with my friend but holy shit at fucking 2Fort. Again.

Darksiders 2

Date played: September 17th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played through the Phariseer's Tomb, one of the three dungeons I was tasked to clear by the King of the Dead. I am looking for his three assistants. The Phariseer's Tomb was full of clever platforming, explosive bombs and levers. The puzzles were actually pretty interesting even if they were a little generic. This is a four level dungeon with an elevator in the middle. I've also started using Murder, a spell that summons crows to fight for you. They are extremely weak at this point but I imagine when I start putting more points into them that they might be worth it, we'll see. I have also bought all combat abilities so now money will be all for gear basically.

Death fighting stuff and looking awesome.

At the end of the dungeon, I was granted a new ability that summons the Phariseer for assistance at certain locations. He will be able to push pressure plates for me and can walk through gates to pull levers and such. I think this will complicate the puzzles quite a bit and I wouldn't be surprised if I had three different guys to summon after doing the next two dungeons. I can't wait to see what the next one is!

Dirt Showdown

Date played: September 16th and 17th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 7/10

Big Picture mode is awesome!

I played a few split screen events with a buddy who was visiting. We played some races, 8 Ball, Knockout and Demolition events. He wasn't very good with the races but he did well in Knockout and Demolition. He was more impressed with how seamless my PC gaming is, due to the TV as monitor, the surround sound, the two controller support, the split screen and Steam's Big Picture mode. This is a new interface that Valve made for customers like me, those who use their PC's as a next gen console. It makes the Steam interface easily controlled with a controller and easy to read at a distance. In fact, it works better than the interfaces for PS3 and 360 if you ask me.

I also played a whole lot of split screen with my uncle who was visiting. He's not a gamer at all but he managed to get pretty good after a few events. In fact, he was really good at the demolition derby event, often outscoring me.

New Super Mario Bros 2

Date played: September 15th, 16th and 17th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played through all of the fourth world, getting all it's secret exits and almost all secret coins. There were quite a few auto-scrolling levels in this world, including a few underwater, including parts of the boss battle! While I generally like auto-scrolling levels, the underwater ones are kind of a bad idea. Water levels are almost always bad and boring and this game is no exception. There's also a weird thing going on where some secrets are hidden in mini pipes and the only way to get them is with a mini mushroom, however, they don't spawn in regular item blocks. As far as I can tell, they are only available through the Toad houses which are limited. So far, I've been able to get what I need to get the secrets but I hope there isn't a point where I can't get a secret because I'm out of Toad houses.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Soap is DEAD! NOOOOO!!!

Date played: September 15th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played through a couple of missions, all of which with Yuri, Price and Soap. The first mission was pretty cool, I had a nice sniper rifle and had to protect Price from across a large distance while he raided a building. Then there was an infiltration type mission, again with the silenced sniper rifle. While most of the mission structure was pretty standard, there was a nice moment where Soap dies. It was pretty dramatic and sort of crazy. Plus, it seems that Yuri knew Makarov from before, there was even a flashback to the "No Russian" from the last game. 

NHL 13

Date played: September 14th, 15th and 16th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played a ton of online NHL 13 matches this weekend. I stand at something like 8-14-2. I am losing more than I am winning but at least I'm getting a few wins here and there. I tend to be better than most of my opponents but I don't have the magic touch in the end to put the puck in the net. I had one game against Montreal where I had 38 shots and the other guy had 10, he won 2-1. Either way, I love this game, I just have to be a little better with shooting.

Kingdom Hearts 3D demo

Date played: September 12th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 2/10

Well, this game controls like a broken PS1 game. It's rough, the camera sucks, the aiming sucks and there are too many different controls to learn. I played through the tutorial and a explored the first area for a few minutes but I was turned off right away by the weird controls. I will never play this game. It's unfortunate too because it actually seems interesting, has great graphics and I have a new affinity for Disney cartoons since my 2 year old daughter is a big Disney princesses fan. Too bad I guess.

NHL 13

The goalies are more acrobatic than ever.

Date played: September 10th and 11th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 9/10

My local game store had an NHL 13 tournament with the game itself as the grand prize at midnight! I went with a friend and we picked a team at random from a bucket. I scored the Oilers and he got the Canucks. He was set up against Calgary and I was against my favorite team, the Sens. Unfortunately, we both got knocked out in the first round. He lost 2-0 and I lost 1-0 in OT. In the end though it was a lot of fun. We met a bunch of cool players and there was a lot of testosterone in the air but it never got ugly.

The next day, I bought the game and played five online matches. It was a rough start though. Using the Sens as usual, I lost 1-0, 2-1 and 3-0. I then finally got a damned win with a solid 3-0 and lost my final match 2-0. The game is definitely improved from last year's, I seem to do better than before due to my good positioning and solid defense. Unfortunately, I still can't fucking score on a regular basis but I believe that if I just practice often, I will start scoring a lot more.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

My worst enemy.

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


I had a few good games with my trusty M60. In fact, I played quite a few games on Terminal for some reason, it seems my lobby was a big fan of it. I am starting to be very comfortable with it now and am more confident than ever. I still struggle with very good snipers or great shotgun rushers but I can usually handle any assault rifle, smg, pistol or LMG user without much trouble. I am still vulnerable to predator missiles in particular because of my low speed and radar visibility.

Dirt Showdown

I love this car for Gymkhana

Date played: September 9th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 8/10

I felt like playing a racing game so I played a bit of Dirt Showdown single player. I completed the first of four tiers of events, winning gold in all events. It was a really varied experience with races, demolition derbies, gymkhana, 8-ball, elimination and knockout events. I also upgrade two cars to maximum, one in the demolition types and one in the racing types. For now, this seems to be doing the trick. Money in this game is generous but the new cars are all pretty expensive, it seems like I will have to stay focused on a few cars to upgrade only.

Zen Pinball 2 demo

Date played: September 9th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 3/10

Well, this is video pinball all right. I played the demo for this which includes four tables but I only played two. Both were pretty interesting but I mean, this is just video pinball. It's well made, plays great but again, it's fucking video pinball. It's a pretty good deal though since it's available on both Vita and PS3 as one purchase and it's the kind of game that is perfect to play on the go so I might give it a try  some other time. It also supports 3D on PS3 which could look really cool in pinball form.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

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

I played a bit of multiplayer and I had a few really amazing games, stuff like 19-2, 14-3 and a 12-2. It seems that my new kill streaks are helping a lot. Care packages give me some good stuff most of the time, the predator is almost always a guaranteed kill and the attack helicopter is surprisingly effective. I wonder why no one shoots it down?

Yeah, that happened.

Then I played a lot of single player. I had a crazy ride in a subway, chasing it down in a truck. Then I rescued the American vice president from a hostage situation using a chopper gunner. Then shit happened. Makarov unleashed a chemical attack all over Europe, starting with London, then Berlin and Paris. In Berlin, the level felt a lot like the WW2 Normandy Beach assault. Paris was fucking crazy though, we even visited the catacombs. There was an AC-130 segment which seems to have become sort of a staple of the series. The cherry on the cake was a three or four minute siege segment near the Eifel tower. The damned thing was shot down... Crazy shit.

New Super Mario Bros 2

This level rocks

Date played: September 8th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 7/10

I replayed a few levels to open up secret paths and get some of those nasty hidden coins. I actually had to resort to a youtube video twice because I just couldn't find the secret exits. Then I played the new levels which were all decent but not amazing.

A lot of this game feels like that. It's clearly good but it's rarely spectacular, as opposed to 3D Land which was almost always great. I also played a few levels of the third world. One of them was actually really cool with spider webs scattered throughout that act as temporary climbing platforms. There was also another good level that was filled with plant vines to climb, complete with vertical auto-scrolling. I have unlocked the Flower world as well but I won't play it until I finish world 3.

Darksiders 2

I fought a purple thing. It was cool.

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

I played through the Gilded Arena dungeon. It was a pretty standard dungeon with a fairly boring setting. The twist was that I had to carry lanterns and set them on rotating statues to open different paths. It seems like I'm a little bit overpowered as the enemies were really easy to kill compared to the last dungeon I completed. The boss was interesting though, a sort of crawling skeleton worm thing that had to be taken down with the grip ability. He was easy but lots of fun to kill. I then got to talk to the King of the Dead who tasked me with finding his three minions of some sort which will give me access to the Well of Souls. Again, mostly gibberish but lots of fun.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

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

I played a bit of multiplayer but I wasn't very good, my reflexes just weren't there. I should mention that I've now started using the Assault kill streak package as I am definitely getting more kills in one life now that I have the M60. I have it setup with a care package, predator and attack helicopter. It works out pretty well I guess.

After that, I played through three missions in single player. The first mission I played featured captain Price, Soap and a new guy, Yuri. I'm not really clear on what they were looking for, Makarov I think, but the mission involved clearing some streets of enemies and driving a little remote tank. The remote tank was lots of fun to use and could take down helicopters in a flash or grande large groups of enemies. The next mission was fucking INSANE! I played as a security agent on board the Russian president's plane. Of course, it wouldn't be a CoD mission without a terrorist hijack. The coolest part of the mission was when the plane dipped or swerved, gravity was affected, there were even sections where I could shoot enemies while being in a sort of zero g state....fucking great! In the end, the plane crashed and I had to rescue the president. I failed, Makarov got to him and shot the guy I was controlling in the head.

Haters be haters, this is one of the best CoD missions I've played.

The last mission I played was set in Sierra Leone and had a lot of stealth segments. Along with Price and Soap, I sniped militia men while hiding in the brush. There were even some damned hyenas that attacked us. The mission was more standard fare but it was fun. The only problem I have with this game (aside from the usual AI issues) is that the pacing is way off. It's like the dial is always turned to 11 which ends up making the cool segments feel more bland. I think it would feel better if there were 5-10 minute sections of quiet, of non-combat. It would help give more weight to the crazy action set pieces.

Darksiders 2

Date played: September 6th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 9/10

Whew, this game just picked up some steam! I reached the Tree of Life with the guardian's help to clear the path. Then, to my surprise, I was confronted by Corruption itself, formerly Death's brother. It's all a little crazy but basically, I was sent to the Land of the Dead by him and now I'm kind of stuck there. the Land of the Dead has a grim atmosphere and almost no vegetation so it really feels like a different realm.

Death kills his brother

I started by doing a nearby side quest that had been given to me by a Maker in the previous world. I think the dungeon was a bit higher level than I was because the regular enemies were sort of tough but the last boss (after countless puzzles and platforming sections) was a real bitch. I had very little room for error as he could sometimes kill me in one shot with a freezing hammer attack. I must have died at least seven or eight times until I got a good rhythm going and finally evaded him well enough to land good hits and take him down. I have now managed to level up my summoned ghouls to their maximum level and they are pretty powerful as well as inexpensive to cast. I use them extensively whenever I deal with more than three enemies at a time.

Then I moved on to the main quest again which had me explore the land a bit and eventually find two gargantuan flying snakes pulling a ghost ship. It was one of the most epic moments I've played in a game in a long time. It almost felt like God of War. Death jumped on them and rode Despair until he could find solid footing on the ship. After some fun platforming, I reached a hub area hosted by a few lingering ghosts, all working for the Lord of the Dead. It seems I have to speak with him to get the fuck out and he won't talk to me until I complete his arena challenge. It turns out the arena is really a full dungeon with the last boss being the arena champ. I can't wait to see how this plays out!

The Walking Dead Episode 3

Date played: September 5th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 9/10

So I finished Episode 3 of The Walking Dead and the second half of the episode was a bit lighter in tone. While the first half was full of tragedy, killing and drama, the second half ends in a bit of an upbeat tone. While riding the train towards the coast, we hit an obstacle that forced our small team to stop and figure out a way to remove the obstacle. In the process of solving the puzzle, we met two new survivors, a young couple.

This was the best scene in Episode 3

The girl is a hard ass who seems to have an issue with groups while the man is a wimpy little bitch that follows her around. In the end, we made it through the obstacle and are back on our way to the coast. Along the way. I had a chance to talk with Clementine a lot and in the process, showed her how to shoot a gun and cut her hair short to avoid being grabbed by zombies. I should also mention that I was stuck replaying a section of the game when Lee vanished into thin air due to some bug. I wasn't able to interact with anything and the character model wasn't even there. Weird. Some of the decisions in this episode were very difficult and I can't wait to see what happens with Episode 4.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

My favorite gun, the M60!

Date played: September 3rd and 4th
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 7/10

Finally! I have the M60! I spent a prestige token to get double weapon exp and get the grip as soon as possible. The M60 is a two shot kill at close range which really gives me a huge advantage. I had a few amazing games, stuff like 15-2 and 19-3 and I could see that I will definitely improve with the M60. I'm still learning it but I did better than usual so far. 

The Walking Dead Episode 3

Date played: September 1st
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 10/10

Wow. This game series has surpassed my expectations twice over... I haven't been able to finish Episode 3 in one sitting but a lot has happened in the time I've played. The team starts starts off holed up in a motel but soon have to move due to bandit attacks. There was a short sniping sequence which didn't play all that well since this is an adventure game. Then we drove all the way to a train which was blocking the road.

A lot of what I've played was in this area as we decided to try and start the train. We picked up another traveller along the way, a hobo who lived in one of the train wagons. We finally managed to get the train going and that's where shit got crazy. I mean, our team lost at least four members since the start of the episode and Tell Tale isn't afraid of shocking the player. I don't want to spoil more of it but wow, I love this fucking game.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Yep.

Date played: September 1st and 2nd
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 7/10

Urgh, I can't wait to get the M60. I've been messing around with different weapons and while I can always fall back on the PKP, I sometimes seem to lose the "touch" with it. When all goes badly, I try a different one like the MK47 or the MG36. I've also been taking out air support more aggressively because it contributes to the kill streak bonus. I've done okay in the last two days but at level 69, level 72 is within grasp and so is the M60.

Darksiders 2

Date played: September 1st
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 10/10

I completed the dungeon I had started where I needed to get three Maker souls to activate a large guardian construct. He was supposed to lead the way to the Tree of Life. When I finished the platform filled dungeon, we found out that one of the three souls was corrupted and it infected the giant construct. The Maker leader tried to stop him by using some fancy magic but it wasn't enough. The construct had to be destroyed in order to be cleansed and rebuilt from scratch.

Time for an EPIC fight! I was let loose in a large open area to battle the construct. This was a two phase fight, most of it fought while riding my trusty steed, Despair. The fight was a bit like those in Shadow of the Colossus or something. The first phase had me shooting some glowy bits and jump on the guardian's arm and attack it. The second phase had me redirect large balls of explosives towards the guardian. After taking out both it's arms, the fight was over and the Maker leader could reactivate the construct safely.

The fight with the guardian was totally EPIC!

At this point, I decided to go out and do some side quests. I killed a giant flaming dragon thing that wasn't available before I got the Deathgrip ability, a hookshot essentially. The fight was a bit tough so I resorted to cheap tactics. Every time the dragon was getting too close for comfort, I jumped off a platform and that reset the encounter, but not the dragon's health! I also found a construct head that is looking for his limbs which are scattered throughout the land. I only found one arm so far. There was also another full, optional dungeon to kill a lava dude gone rogue. It was quite surprising as it was a real dungeon with tons of enemies, platforms and puzzles but it was all optional. Next up, the Tree of Life.

NHL 13 demo and NHL 12 with a pinch of Pac-Man

How we pick home ice

Date played: August 31st
Platform: PS3
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played three periods of the NHL 13 demo with a friend. He's a great player and won the first period 2-0 but the other two periods were ties. It seems my defensive skills are much improved by the new physics and stronger poke checks.

We then played a few games online as a team against randoms in NHL 12. We had one win, one tie and one loss. It was pretty amazing to see how much the game actually changed between 12 and 13, it feels like a new game almost. I also played a 5 minute round of the Pac-Man Championship Edition DX demo while my friend was in the can.