SSX

Date played: March 21st
Platform: PS3
Time played: 80 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played through two more deadly descents, Alaska and Antarctica. Alaska was super fun for the most part as it had great trick courses where doing crazy tricks are easy to do and there is a lot of open space. The deadly descent is an avalanche. At first, I thought it would be lame but it turns out they decided to reverse the camera, turning the camera angle to the front of the boarder, kind of like the top down view of old ski games. The event was pretty easy, just had to trick a bit then boost out of the way of the avalanche while trying to stay on high ground.

Alaska

Antarctica is a different beast. It's filled with deadly crevasses and tunnels. It was a bit more frustrating than Alaska because of that but the tracks were still fun to play overall, they weren't too crazy. Crazy is the deadly descent for this event. It's so cold down there that staying in the shade for too long will kill you. The deal is, stay in the sun as long as you can while building up boost, then boost through the shaded areas. It works well but the final track was pretty difficult. I had to restart five or six times before I found a path that didn't leave me freezing to death at the bottom of a tunnel. I also did the first even of the Himalayas which also feature fucking Mount Everest and grinds on the Great Wall of China, I can't wait to see that!

Mass Effect 3

No spoilers here!

Date played: March 19th
Platform: Xbox 360
Time played: 150 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

Rachni, Reaper Destroyers, Thresher Maws, ruthless Salarians, growth thirsty Krogans and a Cerberus attack on the Citadel, all in one day's work! I don't want to spoil any details so I'll leave it at that. I really love this game so far but for some reason, I keep going back to SSX... I think I was due for some competitive action!

SSX

Fly you fools!

Date played: March 18th and 19th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 140 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played through the second and third mountain ranges in the story mode of SSX. This time, the focus was on wing suits and ice picks! The wing suits are fucking awesome and can be deployed at any time, creating some insane combos and tricks. The tracks themselves weren't super difficult but I did have to replay the last event two or three times to pass it without dying.

The ice picks are a bit different as they don't really do much outside of allowing for tighter turns on ice. The tracks were fun except for the final Survive It event that felt a lot more like a platformer than an SSX game. I had to learn the track by heart again to win it.

I also tried out a few Global Events, the online portion of the game. It's basically asynchronous multiplayer where people compete in set events with a time limit, ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. There is also a pretty steep entry fee. Then depending results, the player is put into a bracket for that event and will receive a payout based on their performance. I did about three or four events and managed bronze on all of them. I did hit silver with one run but it changed to bronze after other players made runs. I then moved on to try the Explore mode which seems to be the meat of the game. It's basically a single run event to get high scores. I like that.

Mass Effect 3

Sexual tension!

Date played: March 17h
Platform: Xbox 360
Time played: 90 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played a main story mission today, saving a Krogan female in the process. I brought Wrex, the iconic Krogan and met Mordin, the rebellious Salarian, on the Salarian home world. Basically, I had to negotiate the release of the female with the Salarians but as soon as I landed, Cerberus troops landed and tried to get the female themselves.

What followed was a "dungeon" full of Cerberus units and robots. I had no problems wiping them out and saving the female. I also did a bit of system scanning. As a side note, I think Wrex has a thing for the female and I think Joker has a thing for EDI. 

SSX

Date played: March 17th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 50 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

SSX was on sale for 40$ on Amazon, being a fan of the series and having enjoyed the demo, I jumped on that deal like a fat kid in a candy store. I played through some tutorial missions and a few race and trick events. I also played a deadly descent where the goal is simply to survive the run. The game is kind of weird. It feels like it wants to do a lot of things but really, all that matters is that it feels good, plays well and it's really fun to go on insane tricky runs. Add the thumping soundtrack to that and you've got an adrenaline rush going.

The controls have changed for the better as well. It's easy to play because the tricks are mapped to the second stick. There is also equipment that you can buy like boards, suits and other specialty items like the wing suit or armor.

GET TRICKY!!!

There was one race where I had to use the wing suit to make some of the jumps. It felt great to pop that wing suit open, hundreds of feet in the air, then gliding to the next part of the track. The only thing that sucks about SSX so far is that some of the tracks seem designed to be frustrating. I had to race another character down this slope riddled with holes and rocks and cliffs. I eventually had to learn the track by heart to win. Granted, winning felt good but the 15 minutes before it were frustrating as hell.

NHL 12

Michalek saves the day!

Date played: March 16th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 20 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I finally won a game against my friend who is usually better than me! I had more shots and hits but he had more possession time. In the end, I managed to score a goal with 5 seconds left to the third period. It was a hard shot from Michalek that bounced off Carey Price which Michalek picked up himself and slid through Carey's five hole. It feels good man.

Journey

Date played: March 15th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

I went on a fabulous 90 minute Journey and all I got was this lousy blog post! Being a fan of Flower, Journey had been on my radar for a long time. I finished the entire game in one sitting and had a very memorable experience.

Journey is a simple game where your character has to reach the top of a distant mountain. That's pretty all the context there is for this. The game actually plays a whole lot like Flower in that you must gather scarf pieces (like petals) to increase your abilities and have to activate certain things like banners (flower clusters) to make changes to the environment so that the player can progress. I don't want to spoil details but let's just say that the game has more than the desert environment that was shown off before release.

To quote Jack Johnson : "It's always better when we're together"

Another interesting part to Journey is the weird multiplayer. At any time in the game, you might find yourself paired up with another player. There is no obligation to work together and there is no way to communicate except with one sound. It makes it really cool to just have a buddy playing with you throughout your Journey. I really enjoyed my time with Journey, enough that I even replayed a level or two after the credits. Sure it's a short game, but it's beautiful, has amazing music and really has a feel of it's own. In many ways, it's closer to a short story or short film than a typical video game.

Mass Effect 3

I spent lots of time looking at this type of display

Date played: March 15th
Platform: Xbox 360
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

More side quests! I spent most of my time exploring systems, scanning for items and running from Reapers. The scanning mechanic is kind of cool, it's quick, it's easy and the rewards are worth it, usually in the form of credits or war assets. I also completed the quest with Jack and her students which have now joined my crew. I bought a bunch of upgrades for my weapon mods also. It seems a bit difficult to compare weapons to find out which is better though... the interface really sucks for this stuff.

Blur

Motor Mash rocks

Date played: March 14th and 16th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played some split screen Blur with a friend. We mostly did races with and without AI and a few Motor Mash events. I won most of the races and he completely destroyed me in Motor Mash. I still think that Blur is the best arcade racing game this generation, rivaled only by Wipeout HD in my mind. It would have been nice to play split screen online but unfortunately, that's not possible. I did manage to win one motor mash with well timed bolts and my friend managed to win a race, leaving me in the dust.

Mass Effect 3

Date played: March 12th
Platform: Xbox 360
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played a bunch of side missions today, mostly in the Citadel. Basically, everything I'm doing is to bolster the war effort. There is even a gauge in game that shows how successful our team will be based on the types of support we receive. As an example, when I got back to the Citadel, I found the Asari who was in charge of Omega, the bandit city of the Terminus systems. She gave me some quests to gain the help of the mercenary factions she controlled before Cerberus took over Omega. When I completed one of the quests, I had points added to my war effort!

So I did a whole lot of those, whatever was easily accessible. Then I started a meatier side quest where I had to go find some school for biotics that was under attack by Cerberus and save the students. This must have been meant for a higher level player because I had to switch to disc 2 and the enemies were a lot tougher than I was used to. The worst being those engineer fuckers who drop turrets like a drunk club slut drops her panties. The turrets do a lot of damage quickly.

So I stormed the school, saving students and shooting Cerberus agents until I met someone from my past. Jack was there and she's a teacher now! She also has hair and seems more mature. I then helped her and her students escape, including a cool sequence where I got to ride a giant mech with rockets and shit. I am also using a new party member now, EDI, the Normandy's AI, decided to make herself a robotic body and join the fight. She is focused on tech powers, as is to be expected, and one of her best powers is decoy. It springs a fake EDI on the front lines and distracts enemies for a bit. She looks really cool but I'm not sure I will use her much, being an infiltrator. I kind of need someone with a shotgun and someone with biotic abilities to complement my sniping and tech powers.

I ran into a bug at the end of the mission though as for some reason, the game thought there were still enemies around but I couldn't find him and had to shut down the game since it wouldn't trigger the next cut scene. That sucks!

Mass Effect 3

Date played: March 10th and 11th
Platform: Xbox 360
Time played: 140 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

I finally got to explore the Normandy and it's received some interesting changes in the layout but it still feels like the Normandy. I talked to a bunch of my crew and started building relationships with them. I was then able to just go out into space, which is similar to Mass Effect 2. I explored a few systems but I don't get the scanning mechanic yet. Basically, I can press a button in a system to scan and discover anomalies (credits, missions, etc). There is a chance that Reapers will sense the scan and invade the system which is probably a game over.

Garrus rocks

Either way, I decided to just go do the next mission where I had to go help the Turians protect one of their planets by fighting some dudes on a moon. I even met Garrus who joined my crew of course. He's a beast with the sniper rifle. I bought some new weapons too and combat has been easy so far. I completed that quest and now have a bunch of side quests, most of them on the Citadel. It's unclear where the other quests are though, this isn't like Skyrim where it always points you to the right place. I should also mention that Shep is flirting with Liara again.

Street Fighter IV

Cammy is so fucking hot

Date played: March 11th
Platform: Xbox 360
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played Street Fighter IV with my brother and his girlfriend for a bit yesterday. It was really cool because we were all rusty so most fights were pretty fair. I was better than them for the most part and was using random characters to give them a chance. I did lose one match to my bro's girl in a Cammy vs Cammy fight. She learned the tornado kick thing and that was enough to give her the edge. I love Street Fighter, I just wish I had people to play it with more often.

The New Tetris

Date played: March 10th
Platform: N64
Time played: 20 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

My family and I were hanging out in the basement and my girlfriend asked if we could play some of my old games. We ended up playing a game that is timeless, The New Tetris. We played some multiplayer and tried a few different modes. This is a good version of the game, it plays well and is fun, as usual. Me and my girlfriend traded wins pretty evenly. Maybe I should get the version on PSN...

Mass Effect 3

Date played: March 8th and 9th
Platform: Xbox 360
Time played: 260 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

Finally, Mass Effect 3 is out and in my disc drive! I fucking loved both of the previous games and am really excited to bring over my Commander Shepard onto to the last game. Unfortunately, there seems to be a bug where ME3 is not able to recover the physical appearance of the imported character Shepard. So I start playing and the game asks me to import a character which I do of course. The decisions are all there, the dead party members are reflected in ME3 and everything looks fine until the face shows up. Long story short, I had to remake my femshep and thankfully, I was able to make her look very similar to the original.

My Femshep is much cooler than this Femshep

The intro of the game is on Earth where Shep is hanging out. The Reapers are attacking Earth and shit is blowing up all around. Cue some tutorials about movement, shooting and cover. As soon as I could, I dug through the game's extensive codex and read every single entry. That must have taken a good hour by itself.

Shortly after the tutorials, Shepard, Ashley and James (a new guy) are headed to Mars to find Liara who is supposed to have found the schematics for a device that could destroy the Reapers. I don't want to spoil too much so I'll just say that there was some fighting to be had on Mars followed by a messed up conversation with the Illusive Man, the head of Cerberus.

After picking up Liara and digging up the info she needed from Mars, we headed to the Citadel to begin the real mission, gather help from all the other species to unite against the Reapers. I talked to the council and have a job to do for the Turian to gain his race's aid. I also had to visit a beaten up Ashley in the hospital after a rough fight on Mars.

There wasn't much to explore on the Citadel, at least not yet, but damn it feels good to see those epic vistas. This is easily of the most awe inspiring graphics I've seen in a while. It might be because I'm such a fucking sci-fi nerd but it really looks great. On the Citadel, I picked up my old Mass Effect 2 doctor to join my crew and I also allowed a reporter to join. We'll see how that pans out, my Shepard has a history of punching journalists in the face. Oh, I also punched a journalist in the face.

I had forgotten how much I love this series and it's nice to see I still do. I stopped playing before heading back to the Normandy, I can't wait to see the changes that were made in it, if any!

Rayman Origins

Date played: March 7th

Badonk-ka-donk

Platform: PS3
Time played: 40 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

Holy shit, this game is good. I played through the end of the second world and one level from the third. The levels are amazing in their platforming design. This feels like Donkey Kong Country Returns's cousin with a dash of Sonic the Hedgehog for good measure. There are also a lot of levels that remind me of Super Mario World.

Honestly, level design is really top notch in Rayman Origins. I would love this game if it had 8 bit graphics and no music. The fact that the graphics and music are amazing is just like a big dump truck of icing on the cake. There are also great chase levels where Rayman has to go through the level very quickly while chasing a chest. It sounds simple, and it is, but it is so well designed and choreographed that it's just better than the other levels in the game. It reminds me of the special secret levels in Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Dirt 3

This better not suck!

Date played: March 5th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 100 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I am so close to the end of the Dirt Tour now, most of the really fun stuff is done. I have no rally, no rally cross and no trailblazer events left on the board, leaving only a few events like Gymkhana and land rush. I loved these final events though because the different legs of each event take place in different locations. I had a greedy little crash when trying to push my car a little too fast. I fucking love this series because it mixes fun with realistic looking racing very well. I can't wait to see what happens next for Dirt. Will Dirt Showdown suck? Time will tell.

Rayman Origins

Date played: March 4th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 30 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

Rayman gets fat and Globox goes on a diet

I finally got a chance to try some two player Rayman Origins! My girlfriend and I played about three levels together and we had lots of fun. She seems to enjoy the game although she really wasn't a fan of using Globox as she found him fat and ugly. As soon as we unlocked new characters she changed to the blue Rayman.

She is pretty good at 2D platformers and so far, she's been a good partner although the game is pretty easy in the first few levels. It gets a bit busy sometimes when there are a lot of enemies, platforms and Lums floating around but we died only once in total. I hope she likes it enough to keep playing with me!

Resident Evil Revelations

Date played: March 3rd
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 40 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

This area reminds me of the mansion in RE1

The game is starting to show it's meat and potatoes here. I played through Episode 2 which had me trying to find my partner as well as my weapons and equipment. It's weird, the last time I played, Jill got poisoned and woke up in a room. I got her out of there and soon learned about the dodge mechanic in the game. Basically, I just have to press a direction and a button when I'm about to be attacked and Jill will dodge. It works well enough it seems but I need more practice.

So I went through a whole section of the ship that looked a whole lot like the mansion from the first RE game, dodging and running from creatures the whole time. The sequence had a surprising amount of tension to it and that was really enjoyable. I soon reached a room where my equipment was stored, fought a bunch of bad guys and got back to my starting point where I could now shoot a padlock off a door and continue with my partner. Chapter 3, here I come!

Street Fighter IV

I want this so bad!!!

Date played: March 3rd
Platform: Xbox 360
Time played: 15 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played a few random rounds of Street Fighter with my girlfriend. It was nothing serious, we were kind of just trying to distract our daughter. I won all the matches but it's been a long time since she had played so it makes sense. I even managed a few Ultra combos after all this time. 

Darksiders

Date played: March 2nd
Platform: PS3
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I picked up where I left off a long time ago, at the beginning of the spider dungeon. It took me a while to get my bearings and remember how to control this game but after that, I was rolling through that dungeon like my name was Link. I had to kill four mini spider bosses before reaching the main boss. To kill the mini spiders, I had to use my new gadget, the grapple hook.

Darksiders in 2D would work

Basically, it's both a useful tool when navigating the area and a decent combat tool, stunning enemies and even removing their armor, some sort of ice shield in the spider's case. I reached the final boss after a lot of platforming, fighting and exploring but the game froze during the cut scene so I stopped playing there. Next time, spider boss!

Re-Volt

Date played: March 2nd
Platform: Dreamcast
Time played: 15 minutes
Session fun rating: 4/10

Man, this game kinda sucks now. The concept is cool, it's kind of like Mario Kart but with RC cars in real environments like a museum, street and super market. The problem is with the car physics. They seem to be  pretty close to what a real RC car would feel like but that doesn't make it fun, it makes it mostly frustrating.

Still, I wasted 15 minutes and Re-Volt was serviceable in that regard.

Machinarium

I love the art style in this game

Date played: March 2nd
Platform: PC
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

Machinarium is a point and click adventure game that I've had sitting in my Steam library for a while. I wanted to play something calm so I booted it up and played through the first 4 or 5 screens. Each screen is a puzzle where the hero, a stretchable robot, tries to move forward. I'm not quite sure what the point is but the puzzles are ingenious and the art is pretty so it seems worth my time.

The puzzles are varied so far, having rebuilt myself, fooled a robot guard into thinking I was one of them, derailed a cart of berries and even been captured by two evil robots. I can't wait to see where this game goes as the puzzles were a lot of fun so far.

Starhawk beta

Date played: March 2nd
Platform: PS3
Time played: 0 minutes
Session fun rating: 0/10

Try as I would, after two massive patches and multiple attempts, I was not able to join a game in the Starhawk beta. I might give it another go later on, it is a beta after all. 

Rayman Origins

Date played: Platform: Time played: Session fun rating:
Date played: March 1st
Platform: PS3
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I'm way into platforming lately it seems! Uncharted 3, Super Mario 3D Land and now Rayman, I've played the first world of Rayman Origins and it's pretty awesome, just as the demo was. The music in particular is really great, full of didgeridoos and miscellaneous instruments. The game is also amazing to look at in glorious 1080p on a 24 inch monitor, hand drawn cuteness. The levels are well designed and just fun to play! I bet it will get difficult though, we'll see.

I beat this guy. He was awesome, wish he was on my side!

Motorstorm Apocalypse

This tech works great!

Date played: March 1st
Platform: PS3
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

I played some Simulview Motorstorm with my brother today and we had lots of fun, mainly because he can race a fucking car in a video game, he is a good competitor. We traded wins the  whole time, avoiding falling buildings, exploding buses, crumbling bridges and caved in roads, it was actually exciting stuff!

I love this game and it's great in multiplayer.

NHL 12

Gonchar on offense?!?

Date played: March 1st
Platform: PS3
Time played: 20 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

Played against my brother who was visiting, me as Sens, him as Habs. He won 3-1 but I played pretty well. He plays the game a lot more than me so he's better of course but I still held my own and scored with Gonchar of all pêople!

Dirt 3

I've been playing this series since PS1

Date played: February 29th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 30 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played through a grueling 8 lap Rally Cross. In the snow. I changed my style a bit because now I run with no HUD at all but I added the racing line on corners. It's less distracting and as efficient as the mini map so I'll stick to that. I also played a four round Rally event in Monte Carlo, the DLC track. I'm reaching the end of the Dirt Tour now with only the last "triangle" of events left to complete. I look forward to it!

Super Mario 3D Land

I killed these two guys dozens of times now

Date played: February 29th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 115 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I've finished Super Mario 3D Land and holy fucking mother of God this game is hard. Seriously, this game just got serious. I played through the end of Special World 7 and all of Special World 8 and I really had to concentrate on some of these levels. The worst ones is where there is very limited time, there are clocks to gather and there's a giant homicidal Mario chasing after regular ass Mario.

I had to go back in a few earlier levels to gather some special coins to access the last level and the contrast in difficulty is kind of crazy. At the very end, there was a last fight with Bowser where he had amazing fireballs that go through walls and shit. Then when I finally beat him, I was rewarded with a dance with Princess and a Tanooki powered flight through the credits. There was also a cute picture of Princess in Tanooki suit where it's like a fur dress. Cute!

Apparently, there is a secret level that unlocks if I play through the game with Luigi and get all golden flag poles but it really doesn't seem worth the trouble so I am done with this game. It was easily one of the best Mario games, up there with Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros 3.

Uncharted 3

Date played: February 28th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

It seems I've finished Uncharted 3. It was a great game but I feel like I liked the second game a bit more, I think it's because there wasn't enough Helena in this one. Either way, I started by exploring the ruins of an old city in the desert, which, of course, was full of enemies. There was some cool stuff in there though like destructible ruins and stuff. After that, I was rescued by mysterious strangers on horseback who gave me a horse.

This was one of the better levels in the game

I then chased a convoy on horseback where Sully was being kept prisoner. It was a lot like the airfield level from the multiplayer beta I played this summer, jumping from truck to truck and back to my horse. After saving Sully, we discovered the hidden city we had been looking for the whole time.

This is where the game got a little too weird. Drake drank some water from a well in the hidden city and started to hallucinate. There were even some weird flaming head turban men who explode when they die... It was a bit silly and the visual effect used to show how Nate is drugged was annoying and ugly. To finish it off, he and Sully found the source of the water beneath the city. It turns out that this is what everyone was going after. It was a large relic at the bottom of the cave that was leaking a weird chemical that made people go crazy.

In the end, the old bitch died from quick sand without fanfare and I had a hand to hand fight with her right hand while the whole city crumbled around me. It was very similar to the end of Uncharted 2 actually. The epilogue was nice but it felt like the game didn't really have a story to hold it together. Time for an Uncharted break Naughty Dog?

Mass Effect 3 demo

Date played: February 27th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 40 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

Don't get me wrong, I'm playing this demo on PS3 simply because that's where I spend most of my gaming time but I will be playing the full game on Xbox 360. The reason is simple, I want MY Commander Shepard, not some new made up fake-Shep bullshit.

This will be epic

Either way, I didn't get that choice with the demo but at least I got to pick Fem Shep. The demo was pretty great but it gives off a bad first impression because the frame rate in the first cut scene really sucks. The demo starts off with Shepard being summoned by high officials on Earth. It turns out the Reapers are here and they need me to go get help from the other races of the universe.

I then fought some dudes with a pistol while escorting Anders, the old guy. Eventually, I got on the Normady (greeted by Ashley!) and head off into adventure. There was a second part of the demo where Shepard, Garrus, Liara, Mordin and Wrex all team up to go rescue the last female Krogan. It was more a combat scenario and tit felt pretty good. There was even a boss fight that was kind of tough. I cannot wait for this game but now I'm thinking I let Mordin die in the last game... Maybe I should go back to Mass Effect 2 and get a better ending?

Metal Gear Solid 3D Snake Eater demo

Snake? Snake?! SNAAAAAAAAAKE!

Date played: February 27th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 10 minutes
Session fun rating: 1/10

Well, MGS3 is as boring now as it was when I tried playing it on PS2. The 3DS version is decent enough. Graphics are ok, controls work and the voice acting is still great but the frame rate sucks ass and some of the design decisions are really iffy. For example, having to go in a menu to change not one, but TWO types of camo is just plain old boring.

I guess I stopped being a Metal Gear player a while ago...

Uncharted 3

Date played: February 27th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 180 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

Whoa, amazing! I fought my way through the ship graveyard just to end up chasing a cruise ship where Nathan thinks Sully is imprisoned. Most of it was pretty standard third person shooting. It seems that this game has a lot of armored guys with shotguns running around and flanking. On multiple occasions, I got killed in one shot because I got flanked by these guys and it seems like they're a bit cheap sometimes.

After that, I pretty much sunk the cruise ship. It was a really cool sequence because as the mission progressed, the ship became more and more at risk of sinking. At one point, there were literally waves going from one side of the ship to the other. I even ended up running on the side of the ship and on walls and stuff.

I washed ashore and met up with Helena who got more info on Sully's location. We head out together to catch a cargo plane that was headed where we needed to be. We stormed the air base and Nate managed to jump onto the plane's landing gear and hijack the plane from the cargo bay. This being Uncharted, the fucking plane went down in flames because of Drake and there was even a short free falling sequence! I then landed stranded in the desert as seen in the trailers.

Ruins in the desert

This was one of the most bizarre sequences in a game as Drake was simply walking in the sand and the action was cut into short segments of a long journey. Either way, after braving the heat, the cold, the thirst and mirages, Nate reached a ruined city. I should also mention I had to turn off the 3D for a bit because of the sun outside my room making it difficult to see the screen properly.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning demo

Date played: February 27th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 30 minutes
Session fun rating: 4/10

After playing Skyrim for so long, another WRPG probably isn't a good idea. I tried Reckoning but it didn't really interest me. The combat is the best part of the demo with fast, easy to pull off combos and multiple weapons. It also has some decent magic and cool character designs. The game runs super well, has nice graphics and is smooth as butter.

However, the text is boring and there's too much of it, the quests I played were very generic and had almost no story. This game reminds me of what Fable was supposed to be in many ways. Unfortunately, that's not for me, at least not right now. At least I made a hot dark elf chick who's good with daggers, that counts for something fun right?

Dirt 3

Date played: February 26th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played a few events like rallies, land rushes and gymkhana. I made two nice videos, one at night in Kenya with an Audi and a cool looking run in the same car during the day. I still think this is the best racing game with wheels of this generation. I'm nearing the end of the single player campaign soon so hopefully Dirt 4 isn't too far away.

SSX demo

Yippee!

Date played: February 26th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 20 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

SSX is back baby! I had a lot of fun with this demo, it's basically just old SSX but now with dual stick controls. It feels good, plays well, is fast and fun, I might just pick this up.

The demo starts with a cool jump from a plane way up in the air and I did a bunch of tricks while free falling, as a tutorial. Then I just shred some slopes, grinding and flipping my way through to the end. It was fun for sure but I was left a bit underwhelmed.

Binary Domain demo

A binary domain might look like this

Date played: February 26th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 25 minutes
Session fun rating: 6/10

This game is the definition of generic. I was kind of excited for it since the story seemed cool but the demo so was just a Gears of War knockoff that was less fun.The weapons felt decent and the combat was actually pretty fun but the framerate sucks, the voice acting is some of the worst I've heard and it just feels like a B game. It might be worth it at 20$ though as it's still a competent third person shooter.

Super Mario 3D Land

Poison mushrooms suck

Date played: February 26th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

I played through the end of Special World 3 and completed 4, 5 and 6. I also started Special World 7. 7-2 and 7-4 were bitches. The game just keeps getting better and better. Level design is top notch, difficulty is just right and the special coins are really fun to hunt down. I can't really ask for better, love this game.

Metroid Fusion

GBA goodness

Date played: February 25th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 20 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

This seems to be a much better game than I expected. I never played Fusion but I love most Metroid games. This one is really close to Super Metroid in terms of mechanics and aesthetic. I got missiles and the morph ball so far and have fought a boss who was infected with X, an evil virus thingy. I'll play this some more later.

Dead or Alive Dimensions

Sexy

Date played: February 25th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I was watching a quick look of Tekken 3D Prime at Giantbomb.com and it put me in the mood for an online fighting game so I popped in Dead or Alive. I played a few online matches, winning about half of my matches. It was kind of difficult to get matches so I also played one arcade round, a survival round ans a couple of time trials. I've been using Christie as she seems to fit my play style.

Dead or Alive has cool mechanics. It's not too complicated, not too simple, fast and gorgeous. It's actually one of my favorite fighting series, up there with Street Fighter and Soul Calibur.

Outland

Date played: February 25th
Platform: Xbox 360
Time played: 30 minutes
Session fun rating: 5/10

Meh, I was bored after watching a movie on Netflix so I just played a bit of Outland. Nothing special to report, the game is pretty simple really. I destroyed some ants, absorbed bullet fire and progressed slightly in the story. This is a great time waster even if it's not an amazing game.

Uncharted 3

Date played: February 24th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 75 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played Uncharted 3 in 3D for the first time today, or should I say Unchart3d? Lame puns aside, I actually had a good time playing this in 3D. I was skeptical at first because I had seen reports of lower quality graphics when using 3D but I have to say, I didn't notice anything like that. In fact, the game seems to look that much better because of the added depth.

Helena looks even better in 3D! Just look at those nice B cups...

On the flip side, there is a bit of ghosting when in darker areas but it wasn't that distracting. I continued the story. Helena, Drake and Sully adventured through a dungeon full of devious and fun puzzles. We then found some vital information that Drake decided not to write down, instead asking Sully to remember it. Good thing he did because shortly after leaving the dungeon, Nate got drugged by the crazy old blonde bitch. This led to a weird sequence where Drake runs around drugged. The perspective changes, the sounds are messed up Nate is difficult to control. It was ok I guess but it felt a little out of place.

When I woke up, the blonde bitch had stolen all my evidence except for what Sully is guarding in his brain. I then escaped and went through one of the coolest foot chases I've ever played. I was chasing one of her major henchmen. Unfortunately, he got away and I somehow ended up in a boat yard where I finally got to use my guns a bit. That's where I stopped playing.

Battlefield 3

BF3 felt like this today

Date played: February 24th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 30 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I felt like shooting people in the face today. Unfortunately, in my 30 minutes of BF3, I only killed 3 guys. I thought this was a shooter? Either way, I still had a ton of points as I am always good at capturing and defending control points. It got boring without any opposition to shoot at though. I'm thinking this game must be a lot better on PC, with 64 players and all.

Motorstorm Apocalypse

I raced a tornado. A FUCKING TORNADO.

Date played: February 23rd
Platform: PS3
Time played: 90 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

Life after Skyrim... I didn't really want to get into a very involved game just yet, having just spent so much time with Skyrim, so I gave my 3D monitor another go with Motorstorm. I played a good chunk of the single player mode. The game is split into three characters, each with their own set of races and events. I completed the first character, Mash, and did about half of the second character.

Mash was pretty easy overall but the second guy is a bit tougher. The tracks are getting crazier too, many of them with crumbling buildings and even one track with a tornado and a hurricane! It's pretty epic. The game also handles much better than Pacific Rift, a game I wanted to love but couldn't. It's also worth noting that this game gives out trophies like candy. After almost every event, I get a bronze trophy. I should try this game online sometime.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Date played: February 21st
Platform: PS3
Time played: 100 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

OMG I did it. I am completely done with Skyrim! Until they release DLC that is. I basically went through the Stormcloaks VS Imperials quest line, completely crushing all opposition. My Dremora summon, decked out Lydia and killer sword and board skills combined to just decimate everything without effort. I took over a bunch of fortresses then took on Solitude.

My end game Argonian with Lydia and my Dremora Lord

It was cool and all, I think the Stormcloaks are better than the Imperials, they act cooler, they are proud and strong. The only problem is that they are fucking racists. I think Skyrim is the best game I've played this generation and cannot wait for DLC.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Date played: February 19th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

Well, I've finished the main quest in Skyrim. It was really cool actually, after trapping Odahviing in Dragon's Reach, he agreed to help me defeat Alduin by flying me to his secret lair that has a portal to his location. It was one of the few cut scenes that took away control of my character and camera and it looked amazing as I flew on the big red dragon's back to fulfill my destiny.

Alduin was a fun fight

Then there was a large outdoor dungeon where I was attacked by a whole mob of strong Draugr and multiple dragons. It was really epic fighting these dragons while fending off the Draugr. Then I fought him. It was the best fight in the game as the background looked amazing, Alduin is a fucking badass, fireballs were dropping to the ground like rain and the music was truly epic. After that it was all kind of flat though, Alduin, I get teleported back to the Throat of the World and talk to Paathurnaax and his brothers.

I also did the Bard's College quest which was cool but short. There was a nice sequence that asked that I fill out parts of a book that weren't readable. I also started the Imperial VS Stormcloaks thing and cleared out a few Imperial forts and stuff. I should be able to finish this quest next time I play and that will be the end of Skyrim until DLC for me.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

This door talks!

Date played: February 18th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 75 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

Well, I am nearing the end of this game, at least the end of the parts I care about. All I have left to do that I WANT to do is the Stormcloaks vs Imperial, the Bard's College and the main quest.

I did two sidequests today, one where I killed all the Dark Brotherhood in their lair and the other where I hunted a vampire, neither of which were terribly exciting.

Resident Evil Revelations

Chris and his dumb blonde

Date played: February 18th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

Well, it turns out that this is a Resident Evil game for better or for worse. It really feels like RE4 with a bit of the action from RE5. I played through two sections, one on the ship with Jill and one in the snow with Chris Redfield.

I shot some zombies as Jill and discovered a fake Chris in an empty room. All I can remember as Chris is bad voice acting, ferocious zombie dogs, a shotgun and a sequence where Chris has to crawl and defend himself at the same time. I like this game, it's creepy, cheesy and pretty.

NHL 12

Right.

Date played: February 15th, 16th and 18th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 100 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

Played a close game that ended with me losing in shootouts 0-1 to Edmonton. I played well but again, couldn't score. The next day, I played three games against my friend online. The first was between the Binghamptom Senators and the Hamilton Bulldogs. I won 3-0 woot!

Then he beat me 1-0 when we did Sweden VS Russia. He also beat me 3-0 as the Sens and me playing the Habs. Then I got beat AGAIN 3-1 this time. I have to get better at this stupid game.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Date played: February 14th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 140 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

Most of my time with Skyrim today was spent doing those stupid fetch quests for the Thieve's guild. I got it done though and I became GM.

The guild is cool now there's a bunch of new vendors with lots of cash so I will come sell my shit here. Then I hit level 50! Yay! In the process, I got the Dremora lord summon who slices people's fucking heads off on a regular basis, and I got the perk that gives me 50% more powerful summons so I just got a lot more powerful.

115 hours, 50 levels, 3 guild leaderships, dozens of dragons slain and a partridge in a pear tree!

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Date played: February 13th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 240 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

Patch 1.4 is out, yippee! I played a shitload of Skyrim today and completed both the Thieve's guild quest line and the Companion's quest line. The last time I played some Companion missions, the game bugged out but this patch fixed it for me.

The Companion's quest wasn't that great, I had to go retrieve the fragments of Wuuthrad in a dungeon and I had to attend their dead leader's funeral. I also had to find his spirit in another dungeon and free him of lycanthropy by dropping some witch heads in a fire. Whatever, I'm their leader now and I'm done with the Companions.

As for the Thieve's guild, it was a lot better. I finally killed Mercer in a room that had a giant statue of what the Falmer looked like before they were blind. Then I had to bring the skeleton key to the Daedric princess. Unfortunately, that isn't enough for the thieves, they want me to improve their reputation by doing repeatable quests before I become their leader. These are by far the worst quests I've played in Skyrim so far. As far as I can tell, I need to complete five mini quests in each of the four major holds, Whiterun, Markath, Windhelm and Solitude. I managed to complete the five in Whiterun and got a final quest that had me forge some ledgers to free a man from jail. I have yet to receive a quest in Markath but I'm close to being done in Solitude and Windhelm.