Code Name S.T.E.A.M.

Date played: March 30th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played a single mission in Oz where I had to take out two alien queens, both of which were guarded by two large cannons overlooking the level and a ton of invisible enemies. I kept The Fox in the back to take out the invisible enemies while the rest of the team inched their way through a set of stairs on the side to eventually reach the canons and take out their operators.

Tiger Lily counter attacks

Eventually, I had to bring The Fox back towards the group as she was starting to get overwhelmed, then I used the canons to take out one of the queens and all of the smaller enemies. For the second queen, I couldn't get line of sight, so I jumped down with all my units to take her out swiftly. Tiger Lily got the last kill on a small enemy straggler. 

Halo 4

Date played: March 29th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 8/10

I completed the mission I had started last time. Using the Pelican dropship, I reached a room where Cortana was able to determine that the Didact was about to warp out of the system to the location of the Composer. In a dramatic scene, Master Chief grabs Cortana and jumps onto a ship controlled by the Didact as it prepares to warp! After warping, we ended up on a UNSC station orbiting one of the Halo installations.

It turns out, the Composer is a physical device that can build digital devices out of organic material, basically making hybrid creatures like the Prometheans. The Composer device is being studied by the USNC people on the installation, led by Dr. Tillson. As the Didact attempts to steal the Composer, Master Chief finds Dr. Tillson who reluctantly agrees to help his find a weapon large enough to destroy the installation, stopping the theft of the device.

The Didact's forces attack the USNC station

I fought my way through the installation to reach the nuclear warhead needed. The mission itself was full of great action, including an exciting segment in a Mantis, the bipedal mech. I mostly fought Covenant here, though there were a few Prometheans too. It was nice to fight on human ground again...

Cortana is definitely going fucking nuts. She spouts non-sense often, gets confused and has trouble concentrating on the task at hand. There was a pretty great scene between her and Master Chief as they talk about her imminent "death"... In the end, I found the nuke, but it was too late, the Didact was already leaving. In fact, he managed to kill every human on the installation except for Master Chief with a wicked orange beam of death. Master Chief chases after it with a sort of orbital jet, armed with the nuke, He piggybacked on the Didact's ship just before it warped out of the area. 

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Date played: March 29th
Platform: Wii
Session fun rating: 10/10

I played through the Earth Temple and almost made it to the next dungeon, though not quite. The Earth Temple was filled with lava and dangerous, fiery contraptions, including a large stone sphere that could be used to navigate through the lava.

I scored an important item in this dungeon, the bomb bag! Of course, this means I can blow up rocks and the occasional wall that has cracks in it. It's also a pretty good weapon in certain circumstances. I got to fight a new enemy type, a giant lizard warrior that has a metallic arm to act as a shield. They are pretty quick and required smart fighting and accurate aiming.

After a bunch of bomb throwing and rolling the stone sphere in rivers of lava, I made it to the boss. This dude has one eye, a rock armor and spits out giant fireballs. The battle arena was quite unusual, as it was just a giant ramp with lava pits on both sides. I used my newly acquired bombs to take him out by throwing them in his mouth, then slashing at it's eye when it was stunned. I avoided the fireballs and ran under the creature when it charged me on top of it's spindly legs.

The door to the boss room is impressive...

After the battle, I actually caught up to Zelda in person! My daughter's eyes lit up with joy... Unfortunately, our meeting was short lived as she was accompanied by the mysterious person dressed in black. It was all very cryptic, but basically, that person told Zelda that she had to continue her quest without Link for now, as he had proven himself to be a bad guardian so far... The person in black told me that if I completed the trials successfully, I would be ready to defend Zelda from the enemy.

After the temple, I went back to town, bought a few items and carried some pumpkins to pay off the chandelier. I found a few of the special chests opened on the surface. After flirting (!) with the girl from the item bank shop, I put the last stone tablet in the shrine and opened the next area, Lanayru Desert.

The desert was a lot of fun. I found some odd crystals that seem to open temporary time portals. When activated, the area around the crystals becomes green with foliage and full of colorful artifacts, as opposed to the drab browns of today's desert. There are also small, sentient robots that are walking around when the time portals are active that provide helpful advice. They also provided me with an upgrade to my beetle device which can now pick up small objects and drop them from above. The best use of this has been as a remote bombing weapon... It works incredibly well.

There were tons of little puzzles in the area that required that I drop bombs from above to open up new paths. I also used little mine carts to traverse some areas. Those carts are only powered when in range of the time portals though, so a lot of creative crystal bashing had to be done to progress.

Eventually, I found the area where Zelda and the mysterious person went, but the way was blocked. There is another way in, but it required that I power on three special devices. These all had special puzzles in small rooms that required more creative solutions, including a devious use of the beetle to pick up a small, electrical enemy and carry it across a chasm to power the device...
I powered on all three devices and must now find a way to open the secret passage. 

Halo 4

Date played: March 28th
Platform: Xbox One
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played through one mission and about half of another in Halo 4. The first mission was mostly played aboard a Mammoth, a humongous 4 wheeled vehicle that transports UNSC troops and equipment. It's so big that it can fit multiple Warthogs in it's cargo bay. I rode on top of it, using it's powerful rocket turrets to take out the covenant at a distance. At multiple spots in the mission, I had to get off and disable force fields that blocked the way. I even had a laser targeting system that aimed the Mammoth's giant cannons on larger targets.

The Mammoth is an amazing piece of machinery

At one point, the Mammoth was disabled and I had to jump off, using Warthogs, rocket launchers and other weapons to hold off the Covenant as we made repairs. I even boarded a large drop ship and blew it up as I escaped with a jetpack! There was a fun segment where I used a tank to make my way through the hordes of Covenant forces. Eventually, some Prometheans showed up and I fought my way through them too.

The story took a turn for the incomprehensible just then. What's clear is that Cortana is going crazy, she even disobeyed a direct order from her superiors. Master Chief also supported this decision... Basically, Master Chief decided to take out the Didact instead of leaving the system as his commanding officer ordered. Then there was a weird, alien librarian lady that showed up and explained things... though I didn't quite get it. Something about a Composer, and the Didact wanting to control the Composer so he could rule the universe or some shit. It's all non-sense, but I got to attack a bunch of Prometheans in the process.

Hell, I even got to pilot an iconic Pelican dropship and it's powerful machine gun as I attacked two structures. Inside the structures, I fought countless Prometheans. I love Halo 4, though I wish the story was a bit easier to follow. 

Code Name S.T.E.A.M.

Date played: March 27th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played a few missions. There was another event with the A.B.E. robot, though that only lasted about a minute. Then I played a giant mission where I had to kill two alien queens while navigating a canyon environment. This was probably the best designed map so far. It offered balanced combat, lots of different paths and a clear goal, something that isn't always found in this game.

Who could have imagined indeed...

I had a new member on my team again, though I don't think I really like him too much. Tin Man's main ability is to transfer steam from his meter to to another party member's. For the rest of my team, I had Tiger Lily to heal, Fox to snipe and Califa to use explosives. There's not much else to say, I slowly made my way through the level, being careful not to be too hasty or too slow. Fox took care of taking out the alien queens quickly with critical shots.

The next mission has me defending a base from a very large, very angry alien. I had to use cannons set along the sides of the level to slow down the monster, even shooting down large fans from the ceiling on it's head. After this fun mission, the game got even weirder, and it's already really fucking weird.

Dorothy joined our team... I now just realized that Lion, Pumpkin and Tin Man were all from The Wizard of Oz. In fact, we took a portal to Oz and fought aliens that invaded their world... It's all complete nonsense, but it makes for a nice change of scenery. The mission was challenging too, as I had to take out two artillery aliens while fighting a new type of enemy that is invisible to my units. This means they cannot be hit by overwatch attacks, so I had to attack them head on. I barely made it out alive, but thanks to the Fox's high damage headshots and Califia's long range explosives, I reached the goal.

Code Name S.T.E.A.M.

Date played: March 25th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 8/10

Code Name S.T.E.A.M. is a cool game to play while watching Netflix because it's turn based... I played about 4 missions while watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. There's some sort of book that we are looking for, though the story is complete fucking non-sense. The missions themselves were fun though, we even fought through parts of the White House!

Two new characters joined our team in the process, both of which are useful and powerful. The Fox is a sniper. She has good overwatch capabilities, but also has very high damage when hitting a weak spot. I like her a lot, she will definitely be a permanent team member. The other character is Califa, a sort of amazon warrior woman armed with a rocket launcher. I like her a lot too, her weapon is very versatile. I'm thinking of replacing Queequeg with her.

The Fox is fucking awesome

One of the battles had me fight a large alien with five tentacled eyes, each of which were a weak spot. The Fox was the perfect character to snipe at the monster from a long distance. Another cool mission had us racing against aliens to reach a target area. We started on a catwalk, but some tiles were fragile and would collapse under a character's weight if I walked over it. This was a fun mission where I had to be a bit more reckless.

The deeper I get into this game, the more I like it, though there have been a few missions that were too frustrating. I also think some sort of mini-map or overhead view would have helped this game...

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Date played: March 24th
Platform: Wii
Session fun rating: 9/10

I think my daughter loves Skyward Sword. She really really wants us to find Zelda. I'm hoping we will see her a bit before the end of the game... I went back to Skyloft and completed a couple of side quests.

A little girl went missing and her distressed mother asked Link to find her. I had to talk to some people to find clues, eventually leading me to the town's graveyard at night, hitting a specific tombstone and going through a secret door. That's where I met an adorable, misunderstood monster. The little girl was just being it's friend, as the residents of Skyloft run away in fear when they see him. He wants to be turned into a human, which can apparently be done by collecting Gratitude Crystals, which are given by people when Link makes them happy... I then completed a quest to save a wounded Loftwing, which brought me to a total of 15 crystals. I went back to the monster and he rewarded me with a bigger wallet and a heart piece! I explored the town a bit more and flew around a little, then headed to the next area on Surface.

Eldin Volcano

Eldin Volcano is where I will find the second fountain and hopefully, Zelda. The area has a ton of lava pools all around, as well as some new friendly inhabitants, weird mole people. These guys can burrow underground and travel through the dirt. I used bomb flowers for the first time too, blowing up rock walls and tossing them at enemies.

Along the way, I met a mysterious person that helped me cross a chasm, then disappeared quickly. Not sure what's up with that dude yet, but he seems friendly. I also got a new item along the way, some digging mitts. These things can be used on certain sections of ground to reveal rupees, items or air gusts that can lift Link in the air.

When I reached the end of the path, I found a door that was missing 5 pieces of a key that were scattered around the area. Using dousing, I eventually found them all, though I got stuck a few times until I retraced my steps and explored every possible path... This opened the doors to the Earth Temple! I can't wait to play through the fiery temple...

Code Name S.T.E.A.M.

Date played: March 24th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 6/10

Man, this game is rough around the edges sometimes...

I fought an alien queen, a large creature that spawned two enemies every turn and has a stun attack. On top of that, a new enemy type littered the level and was very frustrating to fight. These underground worms would pop up randomly and hit me hard. On top of that, they have a lot of health and they move around quite a bit when being targeted... Combine that with the shitty aiming system of this game and it became really frustrating.

Thankfully, I had a new character to help me make my way through the hordes of enemies. Pumpkin is a physically weak character with a pumpkin for a head. He shoots out large pumpkin mines that stun enemies and deal decent damage. The mines blow up on the next turn or can be detonated by a shot. They were pretty useful, but can be hard to use. After failing twice, I made a huge, hail mary push at the end of the mission and succeeded, but it was really close. I didn't like this mission at all.

My crew avoids an alien attack

I played two more missions, this time, we had to save a scientist. This was a lot more fun than the previous mission. The level design was better and the monsters were less frustrating to fight. I'm really liking using Queequeg and his long range penguin explosives. I equipped him with a healing gun too, which made him into a formidable defensive character. I'm thinking Lion needs to be dropped off my team too, but his high health is always appealing. His jump has it's moments, but generally, I find him underwhelming. 

Battlefield Hardline

Date played: March 23rd
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 8/10

Let me tell you about winning as a team.

Winning isn't about having the best individual performance. Winning isn't about being the best. Winning isn't about your stats.

Winning is about teamwork. Winning is about keeping the real objective in mind. Winning is about taking actions that serve the objective, not the player.

I scored higher with a 15/14 than the dude with the 33/4... That says a lot.

My teams won a lot in Hardline last night and I performed well in most matches. While it helps that I am starting to know the heist maps and have decent guns, I think the most important factor is that I play this game to win, not to have good stats. When there are 4 snipers picking off enemies, I'm the one who throws a smoke grenade and grabs the package. When my team walks straight into enemy fire, I'm the one who revives them. When a guy needs a ride out of the dangerous areas, I'm the one to drive him. That's why I love Battlefield. It's about winning, not about individual performance.

Battlefield Hardline

Date played: March 22nd
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 9/10

I really like playing Hardline's Heist mode. One of the reasons it works so well is that the maps are generally well designed. There are always good choke points and good routes to take. For example, one of them is set in a building that has a marijuana farm in it's basement, which is also where the loot is. The basement is well isolated and hard to reach, but once the loot is out of the building, it's a fucking wide open battle.

This Everglades map is really cool

Another great map had us driving around the Everglades in Florida. What made that map so great was that it's completely wide open and has many vehicles. In one epic moment as the cops, I was driving an armored truck and had a good gunner on the turret. Two thieves were making a run for it on a bike, carrying the loot. Since the truck is slower than the bike, I anticipated their movement and managed to cut them off after they crossed a bridge. It was easy for my gunner to take them out after that, thanks to my good driving.

I performed well as usual, scoring high, even when I don't get that many kills. I got enough money to buy the AKM for my thief and a couple red dot sight for it. This will definitely help my game as it's a high powered, slow firing assault rifle. I tend to perform well with these types of weapons. I'm real close to getting the M16 for the cops too, so that will help my game a lot. 

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Date played: March 22nd
Platform: Wii
Session fun rating: 9/10

I completed Skyview Temple, the forest themed temple where Zelda was last seen. The forest theme was prevalent as I hacked my way through a multitude of spider webs, killed countless bats, battled ferocious spiders and swung on hanging vines to travel from place to place. The slingshot proved useful to open doors and make my way through the dungeon.

As I got deeper and deeper in the temple, I got my little elf hands on a new item, the Beetle. This little remote flying device can be used by Link to grab faraway items, hit out of reach switches or even cut small cords, such as spider web. It's fun to fly with the motion controls too.

Fuck you, tongue-face!

At the end of the dungeon, I was faced with an evil looking person called Lord Ghirahim. He says he rules the surface world and is chasing after Zelda. After a typical, evil villain speech, the disgusting fucker slithered his tongue out near Link's face... I was speechless. Of course, I had to fight him, and he's got some sick sword skills. I had to aim my sword attacks in the right direction based on the position of his hand. Thankfully, he didn't hit all that hard, so I could afford a few mistakes, even if I had to use a red potion to survive. I got a tablet piece for my troubles and an explanation of how Zelda was heading to another temple to "cleanse her body".

Local Multiplayer Mayhem!

Date played: March 21st
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 10/10

I hung out with one of my brothers, his girlfriend and 3 friends last night. As we were waiting for the other guests to arrive, my brother and I played a quick NHL 15 match, Sens vs Habs as usual. While I held my own for the entire game, my awful shooting skills led to my demise, losing 3-1.

The real fun started when everyone arrived and we started playing some Towerfall Ascension with 4 players. Now, I've played this once before with another one of my brothers and had a lot of fun, but with 4 players, it's even better!

Playing Towerfall last night was one of the best fucking things I've played in my life!

People caught on quickly, because the concept is simple. People stayed interested for a long time too, we ended up playing that almost 3 hours straight... We had 6 players, so after every match, the 2 lowest scorers gave their controllers to the 2 that didn't play. Surprisingly, the game is so well balanced that everyone won at least one match and every single game was close as fuck.

We even had small rivalries that started popping up. We started recognizing other's methods and style. We started playing head games, trying to deceive other opponents as we learned how they think. We started respecting every other player and never underestimating anyone. The game is so fast and unforgiving, the slightest mistake IS fatal. We watched slow motion replays in awe of the skill or complete bullshit on display. Everything about Towerfall is incredible. Thanks to it's versatile options, it was easy to turn off shields and auto-balance when it was clear that we were all on the same skill level.

Another feature that surprised me is the smart use to the PS4 controller's light bars. The colors matched that player's on-screen character! For example, if I was brutally murdered by the green character, all I had to do was glance at each player's controller and I knew who killed me. That way, it was easy to congratulate people... or more often than not, give them a big nice "Fuck you!" as the match ends.

Towerfall is so fucking fun!

When people got a little more drunk and a little more tired, we played a little bit of Surgeon Simulator. I didn't get to play it much, but it was really funny... We played with 2 players, each player controlling a hand. The game is fucking ridiculous as it is, but when you have two drunk guys trying to cut out intestines with a hammer and scalpel, Surgeon Simulator becomes a real comedy show. 

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Date played: March 21st
Platform: Wii
Session fun rating: 9/10

At my daughter's request, I spent a bit of the afternoon playing Skyward Sword. I finally flew my Loftwing out to the hole in the clouds left by the black tornado. I fell down into a wooded area. After exploring the large crater left by the tornado, I learned how to use dousing with my sword to locate Zelda. This meant aiming the sword in different directions until I got a signal, which meant my friend should be in that direction. I could then use the map to set a light beacon in the general direction of the signal.

The signal pointed to Faron Woods nearby, where I met an odd, forest dwelling creature. This little fur ball was under attack by red monsters with swords and such. I helped him, but he ran away, scared of Link. After chasing him down through the forest, he told me he had seen Zelda and that she was hiding with his elder, so now I had to find the elder, chief of the Kikwis.

I've seen a bit more combat now and it's clear that sword direction plays a big role in combat, though once an enemy is stunned, I've been able to just swing around a bit and stab randomly to win. I found the elder, a very large creature, who said he knew where Zelda was, but he wouldn't reveal the info until I rescued his friends from the monsters.

I used the dousing ability to find the 3 missing Kikwis in the woods and even found a heart piece along the way. I was rewarded with the infamous slingshot!!! The elder also revealed that Zelda went alone into the nearby Forest Temple. I met a Goron too. That dude has studied the legends of Link's people and helped me reveal some secret metal boxes that reveal secret chests up in the Skyloft and its surrounding floating islands.

Link chills with a Kikwi in a tree

Before heading into the temple, I figured it would be a good time to go back to town. I had a full wallet and had revealed 2 chests. My first order of business was to buy a bigger pouch for my slingshot ammo. Then, armed with my new, long range weapon, I was able to ring the bell to the floating shop. That guy has some good shit for sale, including the bug net and the bigger wallet I bought. I walked around town a little bit, catching a few insects, though I'm not quite sure what they are for yet. In the 2 secret chests, I found a piece of heart and an upgrade to my adventurer's pouch. I'm not sure I like this pouch system, but I will have to wait and see how it works with more items.

I stumbled onto a large floating island that was turned into a pumpkin farm. The restaurant inside had a huge chandelier that had a heart piece on it... I rolled into the railing and made the whole thing fall down to get my heart piece. Unfortunately, the owner didn't like my recklessness, so he made me deliver piping hot pumpkin soup to the trainer in town, but I only had 5 minutes to do it! It wasn't super clear who I was supposed to deliver it to, so I ran around a bit in town, talking to people, but I got the right guy before the timer expired. I'm ready for the Forest Temple now.

Battlefield Hardline

Date played: March 20th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 9/10

Well, I don't even have any of the fun weapons unlocked and I'm already having a lot of fun with Battlefield Hardline's multiplayer Heist mode! Even with the default weapons, attachments and equipment, I still managed to get the top score in the entire lobby twice in 5 games. I had a negative kill/death ratio only once. In short, I love playing Hardline and I'm pretty good at it.

The thing that really distinguishes this game from other shooters is that teamwork is actually encouraged. The scores reflect a player's impact on the match outcome a lot more than something like Call of Duty. For example, sniping and camping in Heist mode is not really rewarding for anyone. High K/D ratios don't mean jack shit if you're shooting players that are not going for the objective. I love that. It rewards smart play.

This map is impressive

I got into a few new maps for Heist mode, namely a large house near a forest fire and a very cool villa. In fact, there were even some getaway boats, cars and other vehicles in the villa map, which made the action even more intense. I love the Heist mode...

Code Name S.T.E.A.M.

Date played: March 20th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played through 5 missions, including one that was very frustrating and one that was very cool. I was joined by a new member, Tom Sayer. Yep. Maybe I'm not really using him right, but I really didn't like him very much. He only had a short range, low cost punch attack. While it was pretty cool to have him when enemies rushed me, he was completely useless the rest of the time.

The first mission I played had me rescue 6 frozen survivors from around the level. These civilians were kind of hard to see and find though. There was also a new enemy type that was extremely annoying, a small flying monster that can stun my characters. The problem with them is that they are very difficult to hit and require a lot of fucking around with the camera to line up a shot. I found 5 of 6 survivors but then couldn't find the last one. I ran around the level for a while until reinforcements got the best of me and wiped out my squad. For the first time in the game, I had to restart a mission. I found the last survivor my second time around, hidden behind a wooden crate.

Anthropomorphized Battle Engine, or A.B.E.

On our way to the United States, we were ambushed by a giant boss monster. Abe Lincoln decided to bring out his secret weapon, the Anthropomorphized Battle Engine, or A.B.E.... In a huge change of pace, I had direct control over the giant robot as I fought with the alien. It actually played like a bad first person shooter, which was actually pretty cool.

After the battle, we made it to America where we discovered that the aliens were invading, same as in England. We decided to take back an Army base and that's where the next 3 missions took place. Another new character joined, Queequeg. He is a native American man who shoots out walking penguin bombs... These three missions were all rather straight forward.

I like having Henry for his general versatility, Lion for his jumps and his precision crossbow, Tiger Lily for healing and Queequeg for his long range explosives. This game requires the player to play very carefully and methodically. In some ways, I absolutely love that, but in other ways, it makes the game a little too slow for my tastes, depending on the map.

Battlefield Hardline

Date played: March 19th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 8/10

I had a real blast playing the Battlefield Hardline beta. I was fun, it wasn't too buggy, the connection was stable. In short, it was really cool and I wanted to play more of it, so I bought the game. As it was installing the multiplayer component, I gave the single player campaign a go.

I was surprised at the production... Battlefield has always been all about the multiplayer and I've never really played any of the single player modes. Hardline is full of cut scenes, dialogue, grand set pieces and scripted events. The player character, Nicholas Mendoza, is a crooked Miami cop on the vice team. A new drug called Hot Shot is the new craze on the streets and it's coming from a single supplier. He and his partner, a young woman, must investigate the situation.

The first thing that stood out to me is how fucking good the game looks. Wandering in the slums of Miami on a rainy night looks incredible. The game plays well too, but there's a bit more stealth than I expected so far... I mean, there is literally a radar that looks exactly like the one from Metal Gear Solid... There's also a bizarre mechanic where Mendoza can flash his badge and aim his gun at enemies to subdue them for a short period, but it's a little bit hard to use and the rules aren't super clear. There was even a pretty cool car chase thrown in there.

This scene was really tense

The mission I played had me infiltrating a dilapidated school to find a drug dealer. After taking out all the enemies using my baton, taser, gun and handcuffs, all I could find was the computer that was used to video chat... The hints from the computer led us to a man's house. As we were talking to him, my partner was shot in the shoulder by unseen assailants. In a thrilling scene, I put pressure on the wound with one hand as I shot enemies with the other until reinforcements arrived.

I was surprised at how well made the single player campaign is, but I am really here for the multiplayer. I can't wait to try it out.

Code Name S.T.E.A.M.

Tiger Lily is a great healer

Date played: March 19th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played a single mission with my 4 man team. Our job was to rescue some civilians that had been frozen by the alien invaders. The map had a weird layout... It was setup with two very long corridors, separated by a large pipe that cannot be crossed. There were also two large cannons on each side of the map that could wipe me out quickly. In addition, some new, blind enemies were added. These guys can't see me, but they focus on sound. They weren't really a problem, but the cannons were intimidating.

To succeed, I had to move forward slowly until I reached a large tank! This thing was able to take out the 2 cannons and every other enemy in my way. The incessant respawns made the tank a real requirement to get to the target area. 

OlliOlli 2

Date played: March 17th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 10/10

Well, fuck. OlliOlli 2 is awesome.

While I liked the first game on Vita, it became too difficult too quickly for me. The same could happen with this sequel, but so far, it has some significant improvements. The only thing I really don't like is that they changed the graphics style. Gone is the incredible pixel art from the first game, now replaced with clean 2D art that doesn't look great.

The game plays a lot like the first, but with some added kinks to make things crazier. The first is the addition of launchers. These are little ramps that can propel the skater in the air if timed perfectly, allowing him to reach higher platforms or grind spots.

The second addition changes the game completely... Manuals. As when Tony Hawk introduced manuals to the game, their addition to OlliOlli 2 makes infinite combos feasible and fun. I played through the first area, Olliwood, pretty easily. When I reached the second area, an Aztec temple, I had to learn some new skills.

In one of the most satisfying 45 seconds of my gaming life, I managed to complete a full combo throughout the entire level by grinding, jumping, flipping and riding manuals. I scored an insane amount of points too! Now, that didn't happen in a single attempt... I had to retry this over 30 times before I succeeded. Throughout my attempts, I knew I was getting closer and closer to getting it, so it was pretty motivating. The pumping soundtrack also helped a lot...

OlliOlli 2 is scary. It's difficult. It's fun.

Code Name S.T.E.A.M.

Date played: March 16th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 8/10

Queen Victoria is aboard the Lady Liberty airship with Abe Lincoln. The president is trying to convince the queen to come to America to hide from the alien invaders. That's when a large alien started attacking our ship. The monster acted as a sort of artillery cannon, launching large rounds of highly dangerous material.

The S.T.E.A.M. agents jumped out and went on to attack the monster. In the first of two missions, I had the opportunity to use a large cannon to deal heavy damage from a safe position. I also used some of the new sub weapons I acquired including a really cool Shuriken gun that shoots out three projectiles at different angles. I also used a powerful shotgun that works wonders in close range, but is limited otherwise.

The next mission added a fourth member to our squad, Tiger Lily. She is a young woman who specializes in healing, though she can use sub weapons like everyone else. The mission was easily the most difficult yet. Not only where there many high powered enemies, but there were also some "eyes" that could trigger very strong artillery attacks from the monster if in sight of one of my soldiers.

The aliens are pissed that we killed their artillery...

In fact, I had to use the newly unlocked "specials" that were made available to succeed. These attacks deal high damage, stun or heal in a large area, but can only be used once per battle. It's a nice mechanic. I used most of them near the very end as I was fighting the large monster and was nearing death to win! Unfortunately, as we hopped back into the airship, a bunch of angry aliens shot us and heavily damaged the Lady Liberty.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Date played: March 15th
Platform: Wii
Session fun rating: 8/10

I finally started playing Skyward Sword. I've wanted to play it for years, but never really got around to it. Besides, it was hard to find in the first place, and pretty expensive. I played through most of the intro. The game is set in Skyloft, a small village floating above the clouds. It's residents have never been on the surface below, in fact, they aren't even sure there is something below the clouds. Every adult in the village has a Loftwing, giant birds.

Link is an aspiring sky knight. To become an knight, he must win a Loftwing race against his peers. The winner also gets to perform a special ceremony with a student representing a goddess. The student this year is a young, beautiful girl named... Zelda. Unfortunately, Link's crimson Loftwing is missing...

Link and his Loftwing

There were many tutorials to complete. There are two major mechanics that I've never seen in other Zelda games. First, the obvious changes to sword combat. Skyward Sword is heavily focused on using the motion controls for combat. There are stabs, horizontal, diagonal and vertical slices, shield bashes, killing blows and spin attacks. All of them require different movements of the remote and nunchuk. It works rather well, but it might get tiresome if there is a lot of combat...

Secondly, there is a stamina meter that depletes when using certain actions. This includes some special sword attacks, climbing and holding on to ledges and rolling. Most importantly, it also manages the new dashing mechanic. It's a welcome addition and it feels pretty good so far.

I met Groose and his crew, fellow students who were to race against me. He is a pompous motherfucker that wants to be with Zelda and bullies Link a lot. After speaking to most of the villagers, I found out that Groose is the one who stole my Loftwing and imprisoned it in a cave. I had to go through the cave, where I had my first taste of combat. I fought only bats and weird, jiggly monsters, but already, I can see that motion control combat will be different than what I'm used to doing.

When I recovered Loftwing, I was given a tutorial on how to fly him. It controls pretty well overall and is fun. I then completed the race, where I had to catch another bird before my opponents, Quidditch style. I got to complete the ceremony with Zelda! This version of Zelda is really cool... She is strong, opinionated, but still very feminine. She also has a great look. She gave Link a sailcloth used to glide while in the air.

We went for a ride on our Lofwings when everything went wrong real fast. A giant black tornado sucked in Zelda and her bird and Link was knocked down back to Skyloft... While resting, Link had a dream where he had to go save Zelda. When he woke up, a weird, floating blue person appeared and led him to the statue of the Goddess.

Tons of "destiny, fate, etc" talk happened then, but I got a proper sword and must jump down to the surface to save Zelda! I explored the town a little bit but there wasn't much to find. I can't wait to see what I can find below the clouds!

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Date played: March 15th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 10/10

I finished Valiant Hearts. The last time I cried this much at the ending of a video game was when I played Brothers.

Valiant Hearts' last chapter started with the battle of Vimy, a battle that was won mainly by the Canadian Corps. The American, Freddie, helped fight the German troops by using artillery. There were some pretty cool sequences here where I had to use a viewfinder to determine how to aim the artillery.

Karl made it home in the next chapter, only to find his wife and son on the verge of death due to toxic gas attacks. With some help from Walt, the dog, I made my way through the dangerous gas, solving puzzles and breaking windows to air out some of the gas an increase visibility. Karl finally reached his wife and son, though they only had one gas mask for both of them. His wife was unconscious and his son was crying for help. Karl bravely gave his wife his gas mask and pulled them out of the toxic area, only to collapse under the strength of the poison.

That's when Anna came in to rescue them. She brought them all to the taxi and sped to the nearest town in hopes of finding some medical supplies to save Karl. In a fucking intense sequence, I had to scour the hospital for the right supplies as I saw my patient slowly dying on screen! I made it back to Karl just in time and saved him by completing another timing based minigame. Karl woke up and was overjoyed to see his smiling wife and son.

As if this wasn't emotional enough, it was finally time to wrap up Emile's story... As the war intensified, even wounded soldiers were made to fight by overly eager command staff. In a macabre scene, Emile fought alongside his fellow soldiers in a battlefield that felt more like a mass grave than a combat zone... There were a few intense trench digging moments too, as I had to quickly dig myself out of trouble while avoiding explosives.

Emile reached his limit. As his superior was ordering soldiers to their death, Emile took his shovel and killed his commanding officer... Mutiny. Treason. Desertion. Murder.

Our hero was jailed for his actions and sentenced to execution. The game ends with the narrator reading a letter from Emile to his daughter as the man walks to his own execution. His deep words and the intense piano song made me cry so much...

The saddest video game ever made? Maybe.

The closing scene has to be one of the best endings I've played through in a video game. The entire game was amazing and I'm really glad I played it. I hope they take this concept and let me feel what I felt playing Valiant Hearts in different wars, like WWII or even more modern wars. Afghanistan would be good...

Starships

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

I continue my conquest of the galaxy and expand my fleet in Starships. I now have a formidable fleet of 6 ships, all of which are equipped differently. I'm starting to get familiar with the systems in the game, so I'm specializing my ships a bit. I'm not sure if this is a good idea yet, but it seems to work so far. Again, I'm finding the game a bit on the easy side, at least in combat.

To battle!

The game has a nice pace to it. Upgrades come often and I'm starting to face other nations in combat. I'm starting to use torpedoes a bit more on the first turn of combat. Even if they miss completely, it's still worth shooting them. I also use the little deployable fighters more, as they make excellent decoys. 

Grow Home

Date played: March 14th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 8/10

I was chilling with my brother this afternoon and we decided to try out Grow Home, a weird little game about a robot who must help a large beanstalk-type plant grow large enough to go back to his spaceship up in the atmosphere. The visual design is very unique and interesting, but it's the original mechanics that kept me interested.

The robot can use each hand independently to grab onto objects and walls. This means I have to alternate using the controls for each hand to climb a wall for example. The jiggly physics help make the experience really enjoyable and fun. There are crystals to gather all around the world, some of which require intense climbing skills. Flowers scattered around the world can be picked up and used as a makeshift parachute when falling down long distances. I also earned a sort of rocket boost ability that can help B.U.D. (Botanical Utility Droid) gain some speed while in the air.

Grow Home is pretty fucking cool

To reach the spaceship, our hero must help the giant plant grow by riding it's fresh buds into the sky. This is a controllable sequence, which means the levels were partially designed by me as I guided the plant to floating islands in the sky. Grow Home is an interesting game and I'm glad to be playing it.

Code Name S.T.E.A.M.

Date played: March 14th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played a bit more of Code Name S.T.E.A.M., though again, I had to replay some of the missions from the very long demo I played a few weeks ago. There were a few extra missions in between, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. I think playing the demo really prepared me well for the real game. Many times, I found myself in situations where I could apply the lessons I learned in the demo.

I gained the ability to use sub weapons which plays a big role. I now have a medic gun to heal my team. I gained a boiler too, but I'm not sure what those things even do or how to equip them. I've been learning to use overwatch efficiently. In the demo, I was using a lot more than now. It's mainly because I've learned to target enemy weak points a bit better. I have a third party member too, Lion. He is literally a lion...with a crossbow. He can also jump on top of platforms and enemies for heavy damage.

The coolest new mission was right inside Buckingham Palace in London. Abe Lincoln ordered us to save Queen Victoria from the alien invaders. Yep. I like this game, but it's a bit on the slow side sometimes. 

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.

Date played: March 13th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 4/10

Well, I bought Code Name S.T.E.A.M. and played a bit of it, but honestly, I played nothing I hadn't already seen in the demo already... so look here for details. It's kind of boring playing the same thing again, but that's what I get for playing so much of the demo...

Starships

Date played: March 12th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 9/10

Firaxis is easily one of my favorite developers of all time. Games like Civilization and XCOM have always been excellent, so I keep a close eye on anything Firaxis puts out. Sid Meier's Starships is a game about piloting a fleet of starships through the galaxy, engaging in turn based combat.

The big thing that makes this a lot different than Civ is that you only get to control the fleet itself. This isn't a game about sending multiple fleets on giant wars, it's about controlling that single fleet. There are planets, cities and improvements to the planets, but the real meat of the game is in the ship battles. The other stuff is mostly just to gain resources to upgrade my ships and technology.

I really like what I've played so far. The combat is pretty deep, though It's been a bit too easy. Of course, this is my first game, so I left the default "Easy" difficulty on, so I think next game I will crank it up a notch. The bulk of the game is played on a grid where units of my fleet navigate through asteroids, planets and other obstacles to fight enemy ships.

Depending on how the ship is equipped, many different actions are made available. For example, my flagship is setup with some extremely powerful long range lasers, a couple of short range guns, one torpedo, a stealth module and some sensors. It has strong engines to power all this equipment and modest shields and armor. Another of my ships is setup as a very fast attack ship that can also deploy small fighter ships from it's cargo bay. There are tons of ways to upgrade the ships, though it will take a bit of time to find a setup I really like.

The missions are rather straight forward, but fun. Kill all enemies, reach a target or escort a ship have been the main ones so far. There are other factions in space too that compete for conquest of the galaxy, but I haven't really tried out the diplomacy options yet. I really like Starships. It combines elements of turn based combat that I love and the awesomeness of space and galactic conquest. It also keeps itself simple, fast and easy to play, which I appreciate.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Date played: March 11th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 9/10

I completed chapter 2 and played through chapter 3. It started with a Freddie, Emile and Walt being ambushed by the German Baron, this time, wielding a flame throwing armored vehicle. There were a few puzzles right before that with flamethrowers. Most of it required me to throw dynamite at the right angle through the fires to blow up walls and machines. The same mechanics applied when I fought the vehicle. We managed to destroy it, but it appeared that Freddie, Walt and Anna's father had died in the explosion.

The next chapter featured Karl quite a bit, the German father, now held in a POW camp. Most of his levels were stealth focused. I even hid behind some sheep and some scarecrows to avoid giant flares and soldiers with flashlights in the dead of night.

Soon enough, it was revealed that Freddie, Walt and Anna's father had survived! I guided them out of the wreckage by repairing the German flame throwing tank through a series of small puzzles. We escaped the facility, but soon found ourselves stranded with toxic gas all around us... Freddie found a gas mask for himself. Walt also had one that made the dog look absolutely adorable!

After his triumphant return, Freddie was assigned as the driver of the Allies' new tank units. I shot down enemy war planes and carved a path for friendly troops in a fun vehicle segment. At the end of it, he had a fist fight with the enemy Baron that had caused us so much fucking trouble and captured him! The Baron was demoted and will never be seen again I'm sure...

Freddie charges in his tank!

Karl wanted to get home to his family after having received news that his son was sick. He walked and walked and walked until he was very close to his home town. There was another great level here where Karl had to sneak through the countryside and disguise himself as an officer and as a soldier. Finally, Anna came to his rescue in her taxi cab!

There was another car driving sequence, this one more challenging than the others. There was even some light combat here as I destroyed a large tank and smaller cars by throwing dynamite their way. Once again, the incredible music matched the explosions and animation. The darker tone of the music was fitting too.

Finally, as Karl and Anna reached their destination, they were caught... Anna was sent back to nursing and Karl forced back into the army. I solved some puzzles around the camp but was interrupted by an attack from the Allies. I am just starting chapter 4 and can't wait to see how this game wraps up.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

Date played: March 9th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played one level where Luigi was looking for some sort of key. The level was pretty straightforward... I explored some new rooms, though nothing really exciting happened until I reached the graveyard. It's there that I found a Toad that was imprisoned in a painting and had to escort him to safety.

I was ambushed by a trio of female ghosts wielding cute hats and large mirrors. This was kind of a tough battle because the three ghosts spun around Luigi, holding their mirrors up to their face to protect themselves from my stunning light attack. I had to wait for an moment when they showed their face to attack, and still I had to avoid the other two ghosts. I got through it and saved Toad, but still haven't found the key.

Metroid: Other M

Date played: March 7th
Platform: Wii
Session fun rating: 10/10

I finished Metroid Other M!

I spent a good amount of time just going back to different areas to grab items I missed and open up Super Missile doors. I went back to sector 1 to continue the story and find any remaining civilians before the BOTTLE SHIP crashes into the Galactic Federation Headquarters.

That's when I found a mysterious woman hiding in a cell. Before talking to her, I had to fight the abomination that destroyed a wounded Ridley, the Metroid Queen. This thing looks like a gigantic crocodile, but inside it's transparent belly, dozens of baby metroids are growing... The battle was very intense. I had to fight metroids directly and avoid the queen's attacks at the same time, then land some super missile hits on the queen whenever I saw an opening. After I seriously wounded the creature, the BOTTLE SHIP stopped abruptly. In a last ditch effort to conquer the beast, Samus grapples into it's mouth, got into morph ball mode and used a power bomb inside it's stomach! The queen was dead. I had only 13 HP left after the battle, but I was proud that I didn't die once during the final battle.

Samus is one of my favorite video game characters, even after the cheesy parts of Other M

Following the battle was a very long ending cinematic. As it turns out, the mysterious woman was the REAL Dr. Madeline Bergman. The blonde that Samus had met earlier was actually MB, the AI meant to replicate Mother Brain. There was a whole lot of talking about the relationship between MB and Dr. Bergman and how it all went to shit. In the end though, the doctor froze MB, who was later shot by a group of "late to the party" Galactic Federation soldiers.

Either way, all is well that ends well, mostly. The BOTTLE SHIP was stopped, the metroids are dead (or are they?) and Samus is free to continue her regular bounty hunting activities. After the credits, there was an epilogue where Samus says she must go back to the ship and recover something important.

I spent more time gathering items I had missed during the main game, using power bombs to discover new secrets. Interestingly, every power bomb door is guarded by a very fast, very strong enemy. These guys were difficult to fight... As I was exploring sector 1, I found a big corridor that led to a gauntlet through many strong enemies. At the end of the corridor I found a bonus boss battle, Phantoon.

This disgusting creature can only be damaged by shooting it's giant glowing eye. He shot out blue floating orbs, as he did in Super Metroid's ghost ship. He wasn't super difficult to beat, but I had to be quick with the dodging. After it was defeated, I found what I was looking for, Adam's helmet. As Samus picked it up, the ship's self destruct mechanism turned on (wtf?) and I had to escape to my ship!

With the alarm blaring and the 5 minute timer counting down, Samus fled to her ship. She was in her zero suit though, which means I had none of my normal suit abilities. I was armed with a small pistol and had to avoid combat as much as possible. It was a pretty cool way to end the game. I liked Other M a lot more than I expected.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Date played: March 7th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played through a good portion of Chapter 2, mainly starring Anna, the lady who saved our asses with her taxi cab in the first chapter. Her chapter begins in her home in Paris. Early in the war, taxis were asked to contribute to the French war effort by transporting troops to the front lines. Anna, restless, goes outside to help and ends up driving a taxi to the battlefront.

She has some nurse training and many of her levels focus on healing and rescuing both civilians and military people. In fact, she is so devoted to her art, she even saves some German soldiers. There's a mini game when she nurses people that is very simple rhythm game. I healed many people on the front lines as Anna. Hell, I even sawed off a man's wounded leg...

She eventually learned that her father, the scientist, had been captured by the Germans and was held on the dirigible. At the end of Chapter 1, our team had managed to take out the dirigible. Anna scoured the wreckage to find her father, but instead she found Karl, trapped under the wreck. She saved him and learned that her father had been taken away by the baron in an airplane.

Anna explores the wreckage of the zeppelin

Meanwhile, Emile and Freddy were charged with desertion, but sent back to the front lines. Now equipped with a shovel instead of a ladle, Emile is stationed in the trenches. He decides to write a letter to his daughter, but must find ink and a feather. The feather wasn't too hard, I lured a pigeon with some bread. The ink though, that was a lot of work.

Step 1-Find a dirty sock on some barb wire.
Step 2-Wait for the dishwashers to be away from the water basins.
Step 3-Pick up the clean sock from the water basins.
Step 4-Dry the wet sock by putting on the stove top.
Step 5-Trade the sock for the ink with the sockless man.

I love this game...

Skylanders Swap Force

Date played: March 7th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played one level of Swap Force with my daughter. This one was set in town run by a malicious crab dude and was filled with railroad tracks. The fucker even captured my bird mount creature and made it evil! I was determined to take him down.

These rail sequences are pretty cool

I solved puzzles with minecarts, fought many enemies, grinded on the railroads with ease and even used some cannons to blow up barriers. As usual, my daughter was in charge of the toys, so she picked who I played as. Mainly, I ended up playing with the dark sorceress Hex, the giant Tree Rex, the Ninja Stealth Elf and the swap force combo Blast Kraken. Honestly, most of the Skylanders are fun to play with and all of them have unique abilities, so I love that my daughter just picks the ones she likes. I fought my flying friend and made it nice again, then fought the crab leader. This was one of the better levels in the game so far. 

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Date played: March 5th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 9/10

March is a pretty awesome month for PS Plus, Valiant Hearts being one of the free games. It's a game that is hard to describe... It's a 2D game that uses the same game engine as Child of Light and Rayman, so it has a very colorful, distinctive, hand drawn art style.

Set during World War 1, the game follows the story of a few characters. The main story is about a French grandfather, Emile, who gets drafted as a flag carrying soldier. His daughter is married to a German man, Karl, who is drafted into the German army, leaving his wife and son to tend their farm in rural France.

During his first combat assignment, Emile carries the flag and avoids gun fire and bombs, only to be captured by Karl's unit. During training, he met an American who enlisted in the French army, Freddie. The American can use a set of pliers that can be used to cut through barb wire and other objects. In a few levels, he had to place dynamite to blow up Axis installations.

As a prisoner of war, Emile becomes a chef for the Germans. After I made some delicious soup for them, the camp was attacked and gave Emile a chance to escape. A German war dog helped him out of the debris and became his best ally. Many of the following levels had me guide the dog to different objects to progress. He could fetch levels, distract enemies and dig holes to find useful items.

In a stressful scene, Walt, the dog, became stuck in some barb wire as a large vehicle was speeding towards his position as Emile unsuccessfully tries to free the animal. Freddie happened to be in the same area and saved them in the nick of time. They teamed up from there and moved forward, trying to survive. There's a plot about a scientist that was captured by the Germans too. This guy is held in a large dirigible piloted by none other than Karl, the husband.

There's some light puzzles, a few stealth sequences and other fun stuff to do in Valiant Hearts, but it's the good story, excellent characters and beautiful art that keeps me interested. At the end of the chapter, there was sort of a boss battle where Freddie threw grenades at the dirigible's engines until it flew away. We made a narrow escape by jumping into a car that was speeding away. The driver of the car is a young woman who is looking for her father, the scientist captured aboard the dirigible.

The 4 heroes escape chlorine gas

In one of the most memorable action sequences in recent memory, I drove the car away from debris, machine gun fire and bombs. On it's own, the gameplay wouldn't be that awesome, but the whole sequence was set to Hungarian Dance N.5. The sound effects were synchronized perfectly to the music. It's awesome...

Chapter 1 ended on a cliffhanger as the dirigible was about to crash. Chapter 2 will star the girl who drove the car, but that's all I know so far. I can't wait to play more of this awesome little game.

Pokemon Shuffle

Nope.

Date played: March 4th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 2/10

Pokemon Shuffle is so forgettable, I forgot to write a blog post about it yesterday... This is a free to play Match-3 game on 3DS featuring Pokemon. It's a type of Match-3 I've never played before, where an item can be moved anywhere on the screen using the touch screen. While this makes matches very easy to do, it also creates pretty complex combos. The player is rewarded for completing the objective in as few turns as possible with a higher chance of catching the enemy Pokemon.

It's kind of mindless drivel honestly. The worst part is, there is an energy meter thing that has a timer on it. Without energy, you can't play, unless you pay some cash. It's boring, doesn't even use 3D and I won't be playing it again.

Driveclub

Date played: March 4th
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played a few more events of the Ignite single player DLC pack. It started easily enough with a drift event in a new car, the BMW M4. It took me only 4 or 5 attempts to get the three stars on it. It's the next event that really dug it's claws into me. Using another new car, the nervous KTM X-Bow R, I completed a 4 lap race.

The KTM X-Bow R is kind of a bitch to drive

That's where I spent most of my time... That car is just very difficult to handle at high speeds. While it's pretty solid on the road, the slightest bit of grass, dirt or gravel will send it spinning out of control It didn't help that the track itself was narrow and there were 9 other AI cars taking up space on it... The time target for a lap was very tight too. The event was already difficult enough, but on top of that, the last lap took place in the total darkness of night. It took me a good hour to get all three stars on this event. It was pretty frustrating, but also incredibly satisfying in the end.

The next event, a 2 race lightweight series was a piece of cake in comparison. I was given the option to use the BAC Mono, a car I learned to love in other events. Once again, the little beast was up to the task. I only had to restart the event twice before I got all three stars on my 3rd try. 

Transistor

Date played: March 1st
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 10/10

I instantly fell in love with Transistor. It looks and sounds absolutely wonderful, so much that if all this game was, I would still give it a few hours. Thankfully, there's also an intriguing story and setting, including some very cool narration from the main character's sword. Yep, her sword talks.

The heroine runs through the beautiful city of Transistor

Using an isometric, bird's eye view perspective, I used my giant sword to chop down some nasty robots, though it's really unclear why I'm fighting so far. The real kicker here is the combat system. I'm still learning it, but it seems to be a hybrid between action and turn-based inputs. There are abilities assigned to each of the 4 face buttons and they can be used in real time, but it's far more efficient to use the "planning" function.

Pressing R2 brings up a grid that can be used to plan movement and attacks, then unleashed in an instant. It's hard to describe in words, but it's extremely satisfying. Of course, there is a limit to the amount of actions that can be planned. Once executed, there is a timer that counts down until the next action can be planned. This leads to running around for a while, avoiding enemy attacks until I was ready for the next attack.

There is also a system that allows me to customize my attacks, but honestly, I haven't had time to play with it yet. It looks to be very fun and powerful though, so I'm looking forward to playing more of this awesome, unique game.

Driveclub

Date played: March 1st
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 9/10

The Lebanese Lykan HyperSport

Since I last played Driveclub, many single player events, cars and a track were added for free to the game. I had an itch to drive a virtual car as fast as I could, so I tried out one of the new events. This was a single time trial event using a new car, the Lykan HyperSport. This thing is kind of clumsy, but it's fast and fun to drive. The event itself was quite challenging as I always aim for the top time. In my first lap, I managed the 2 star target, but it took me a solid 20 minutes to shave 0.5 seconds off my time to get the 3 star target. It was very satisfying to get the target time.

Apotheon

Date played: March 1st
Platform: PS4
Session fun rating: 6/10

I'm not quite sure what kind of game Apotheon is yet, but it's kind of interesting, though I have to play more of it to really know if I like it or not. It certainly looks amazing as it sports a unique, 2D art style. It feels like playing an old painting.

I killed that dude!

Set in ancient Greece, a warrior must fight off invaders that swarm his home town. So far, I've only played a few tutorial-like missions. Most of the game seems to be about combat and exploration. Combat is weird, but oddly satisfying. There are a variety of weapons that can be picked up, swung and thrown. Knives, swords, clubs, lances, shields, etc. It's kinda cool, but I'm not 100% sold on this game just yet.