Nintendogs and Cats demo

Date played: June 23rd
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 5 minutes
Session fun rating: 2/10

Well, there isn't much to say about this demo. I'm not quite sure who this game is for but I know it's definitely not for me. I played with a cute little black and white puppy and a skinny grey cat. I just rubbed them and brushed them using the touch screen. I also threw them a tennis ball that they played with for a few seconds. Then the demo ended before I had a chance to try anything else. At least they are fuzzy and cute...

Wipeout 2048

My ship of choice for the moment

Date played: June 21st
Platform: Vita
Time played: 40 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

Ok, I love this game. I know I'm a huge sucker for Wipeout games but I was very impressed with what I played. The interface is great and looks amazing on the high resolution display, it even reacts to back touch. I played through a few races and events. It's pretty cool that since this is a prequel, the tracks are not as crazy and high tech as in the other games. There are even sections on normal roads or simply on the ground. It makes the game feel more grounded. It also makes the tracks a bit more cluttered but after a few runs on each track, I was starting to know them already.

There are more alternate routes and shortcuts than ever before, which makes things interesting. When I first started playing, I was freaking out because the default control scheme doesn't have a left and right air brake, it's just one button for both which horrified me. Thankfully, there is an option to separate the air brakes. I unlocked a few ships which now have multiple versions for each team. For example, there are three Feisar ships; speed, agility and combat I think. There are only a few ships unlocked in my game so far and I've been favoring the Feisar speed for the moment. I can't wait to play more!

PS Vita purchase special edition!

Date played: June 20th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 180 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

I bought a Playstation Vita! A local store had a deal with two free games with the purchase of the Vita, Uncharted Golden Abyss and Wipeout 2048. I am a HUGE Wipeout fan and I like Uncharted so I thought, hey why not? The first thing I'll say is that the Vita is a high tech device and it shows. It's fucking slick, it's fast and the 5 inch OLED display is simply stunning. I spent most of my time just setting up the thing, checking the settings, tying my PSN account, downloading apps and just kind of messing with it.

The interface is slick

The first thing I did was something that no game journalists really talked about as far as I know, a thing called Welcome Park. It's essentially five or six mini-games that act as tutorials. While not really fun, they did show me the cool features of the Vita like it's multitouch display, back touch pad, microphone, motion sensors and cameras. The Welcome Park game even has trophies!One thing that is apparent right away is that the 3DS is cheap hardware. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love playing on 3DS but the hardware is slow as hell compared to this thing. 

The apps are great, I downloaded Facebook, Twitter, Netflix and Skype, all of which work great and are all easier to use than on my Android phone. I also customized my home screen which is closer to a phone interface than a game system interface. It's all touch based too, the buttons are only really used in games and some apps. I made sure to connect my Vita to my PS3 for remote play but just as on PSP, there doesn't  seem to be much to do on it. There's also a thing called "near" which is a way to see what players close to me have been playing. It's pretty cool but with WiFi only, it will have limited use I think. I think one of the best features of the Vita is it's amazing ability to multitask. It takes less than 3 seconds to get out of an application and start another one. It's really impressive, better than my 3DS, PS3, 360, only rivaled by my Android phone.

I didn't even know this, but the Vita also comes with some AR cards, just like 3DS. There are only a few games that support it but they are free on PSN so I downloaded all I could find for free. I have a 16GB card so for now, I have plenty of room. I only tried out a Resistance statue thing that was really boring and useless but looked cool. I also tried a Fireworks game that was actually pretty fun. It's basically Fantavision but in augmented reality. I spent a good 15 minutes playing that and see myself playing it again. There are others but I haven't had a chance to try them yet.

In the end, I finally tried Uncharted and Wipeout after all the patches were done. Uncharted looks great and plays a lot like, well, Uncharted. The dual sticks work well but are a bit sensitive and make aiming a bit difficult. I turned on auto-aim and turned off all the motion sensor stuff and already, the game was better. I only fought a few guys but it's clear that this is going to be a good game, even if it feels closer to the first game than it's amazing sequels.

Wipeout looks amazing and moves real fast. Since I already bought Wipeout HD and it's Fury pack add on, I also got to download those for free for Vita. I haven't really had a chance to play it properly but I know I'm going to love this game, I just can't resist the Wipeout series, I even liked Fusion on PS2. I'm really excited about the Vita, it seems to be a great device so far, I just hope that good games keep coming out on it.

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes demo

Date played: June 19th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 25 minutes
Session fun rating: 5/10

Meh. This is how I feel about most Lego games. The demo was pretty long, I confronted and beat Harley Quinn, The Penguin, The Riddler and fought the Joker. The Lego games all follow the same formula. It's a giant collect-a-thon with some simple puzzles and some basic brawling. Batman still has his batarang and now has a stealth suit that helps him sneak past enemies and security cameras. Robin was my partner and he is acrobatic so he can get to places that Batman can't. The graphics are pretty cool, they've also added some slow motion moves that look great.

Diablo 3

Date played: June 18th
Platform: PC
Time played: 50 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I'm not feeling it with this game. I loved my first run through but I don't want to just go through the other difficulty levels, grinding my way to better loot. I mean, I get it, it's a great mechanic and all but I have other games I want to play and playing this one over and over again is not something I am prepared to do.

Do I smell an expansion pack?

My friend wanted to play though so I went in there, smashed some skulls in Nightmare mode in Act 1. He has a level 38 Monk and my Barbarian is now level 32. He also sports a shiny new helmet. After killing a few undead and completing a quest, my friend asked me if I had been to Whimsyshire? I had not, so he took me there.

Boy, this has to be one of the coolest levels in a video game ever. There are pink teddy bears, unicorns, rainbows, presents, smiling clouds, lots of flowers and even a mini-map that looks like a child drew it in crayon. It's one of the most creative, interesting ideas I've seen in a while. It's a stark contrast to the grim, depressing state of the world of Diablo. Did I mention that we get to decapitate and butcher all these cute things? Plus, there's gallons of unicorn blood on the ground after a fight. That HAS to count for something right?

Batman Arkham City

Date played: June 18th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

After finishing Vanquish, I wanted to keep working on my backlog of PS3 games which I've been chopping down at a steady rate in the last few weeks. It turns out I completely forgot how to play Batman so I spent a bit of time in menus, just re-learning the combos, gadgets and moves. This is clearly not a game for someone who doesn't play a lot of games. It's actually kind of staggering the amount of moves that are available to Batman...

I assaulted the Joker's base and got tricked into getting knocked the fuck out by the Joker as I was looking at his double. The fucker infused Batman with some infected Titan blood, the stuff that made Bane. I played a Catwoman chapter and it was pretty standard fare, though I keep forgetting that she can walk on certain ceilings. She is "negotiating" with Poison Ivy to get...something, I forget.

Fucking Joker, always a pain in the ass

I then kind of just wandered around as Batman, completing a few side quests, some AR missions which can give me free upgrades and some Riddler puzzles. I think this is the kind of game that can get boring if I don't go to the next mission after a bit of wandering. The side missions are cool and all but it all feels disjointed, like a GTA game. Thankfully, the missions themselves are awesome. Next, I have to find the coldest spot in Arkham City to retrieve the antidote held by Mr. Freeze!

Vanquish

Vanquish was amazing, if short

Date played: June 18th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 150 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

Whew, I finished Vanquish! It was a short game but it was so intense, I think I had my fill after about 5 or 6 hours of play. The second half of the game was just as fucking crazy as the rest of it. They even tossed in some betrayals, a high profile suicide and some holographic Russian robot clones. Further in the game, there were more large enemies so I swapped my sniper rifle for a missile launcher for many missions. In the end though, any upgraded weapon was good enough to take down almost anything.

The ending cinematic was really epic. One scene in particular had our hero, Sam, smoking a cigarette while hanging from a ledge over a bottomless pit. Yeah. And the credits were a space shooter. That's Vanquish!

Sonic Generations

Date played: June 18th
Platform: PC
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I've been looking at this game for a while, having enjoyed the demo and having not played a Sonic game proper since Sonic Adventure. Sonic Generations feels good, plays well for the most part and looks great, especially on PC.

Chemical Plant is better here than in Sonic 2

I played the first four levels, each having two acts, one for old Sonic and one for new Sonic. I also killed a boss. There are also some challenges to play to unlock the bosses and the next set of levels. The challenges are all sorts of different types, races, 1-ring runs, a weird Tails flying level, etc. It's refreshing and I don't need to complete all of them to progress which is cool. It also changes the whole level to add difficulty by adding falling blocks and more enemies to them. I like this game so far but it's kind of like video game fast food. No substance, all flash, still fun. I should also mention that I skipped the story cut-scenes after watching two of them. They are pretty fucking horrible.

Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

Slowing things down is good sometimes

Date played: June 17th and 18th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 110 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

After playing some Vanquish, I needed something a bit slower paced so I decided to continue playing Shadow Wars. I got through a tough mission where we had to derail a train. Then one short skirmish that I failed once but won when I kept my team close to each other (that's always key in this game). I also played another full sized level where I had to save some civilians that were being attacked by drones. I failed on my first attempt because I shot an important truck so I had to start the whole mission over, where it was super easy, seeing as I knew the map and it's enemies.

Vanquish

Spider tank boss thing

Date played: June 16th and 17th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I shot more dudes. Lots more dudes. I even fought two giant bosses at the same time. I rode a monorail full of ambushes, I played a lamp-shooting stealth segment and I boosted my way off of a crumbling highway while shooting more dudes in the face. In slow-mo. This game is an adrenaline junkie's dream. It's fast, it's pretty and it's just fun.

Rayman Origins

FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

Date played: June 16th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I banged my head against one of the treasure chest levels. I had the whole damn thing memorized but just couldn't be fast enough at the very end. After 30 minutes and dozens of attempts, I finally made it to the by wall jumping even before I hit the stupid wall. I then played two other levels and have now unlocked a whole other set of worlds to complete. This game is always fun, even when it's a cruel fucking mistress.

Darksiders

Date played: June 16th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 20 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

The Destroyer was destroyed! Ohhhh the irony.

I finished Darksiders. I decided to try cleaning the disc again and it worked! I was at the final boss so I just went ahead and fought him and beat him easily, simply dodging The Destroyer's attacks. He took the form of a really fucking cool dragon while I rode around on Ruin, jousting with him. Then he turned to angel form and I just dodged and hit him when he was vulnerable. Without spoiling the ending, let's just say that I enjoyed it and I look forward to Darksiders II. 

Vanquish

Date played: June 13th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 150 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

Holy shit, Vanquish is fucking crazy! This is like Gears of War on cocaine or something. While technically a third person cover based shooter, the speed at which everything moves makes things feel completely different, new and interesting. The game is set on a giant space colony that reminds me of the ship in Rama, the great book series. The graphics are just amazing, everything is flashy and moves at a solid frame rate.

The suit is AMAZING!

I played through the first act and a good chunk of the second. As far as I can tell, the game will be pretty short but that's ok because it's very intense. I killed some giant robots in slow motion. Lots of them. I also learned about the cool upgrading feature. Essentially, if you have full ammo for any weapon, if you pick up another of the same on the ground, the weapon gains a level, improving accuracy, firepower, spread or magazine size.

The weapons are varied but I think I found my sweet combination that includes the LMG, the shotgun and the sniper rifle. A weapon for every range basically. I can't wait to play more of it, it's just good old dumb fun. Oh yeah and the story involves space Russians or something.

Darksiders

Date played: June 12th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 150 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

Well, it looks like I'm never going to finish Darksiders. I collected the amazing looking Abyssal armor, I completed the last minute fetch quest to find all the pieces of the Armageddon blade and then, my PS3 crashed. I tried to boot the game back up, frozen. I tried a different disc, everything works. It seems like my only problem is the actual disc is broken, just before the last boss.

The new armor is killer!

Maybe I'll rent the disc somewhere but there aren't lots of places renting video games anymore. Maybe if I see it for 5-10$, I'll buy it and kill the last boss but it seems like I saw all there is to see in this game. Thankfully, it was really good. This is one of the best action-adventure games I've ever played. I can't wait for Darksiders II! DEATH!

Vanquish

Fucking technology...why do you stop working?!?

Date played: June 10th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 15 minutes
Session fun rating: 2/10

I really shouldn't post about this but basically, my PS3's dead. The machine still works but the BD drive is broken. Frustrated, I went out and bought a new slim model right away...weird I know. I did the whole save transfer thing through a USB stick and even replaced the hard drive on the new machine with the 500GB drive that was sitting in the broken one. Long story short, I wanted to try the BD drive so I popped in Vanquish, a game that had been sitting on my shelf for a few months unopened.

I only did the tutorial and it the game felt great and seems to have good ideas. Once I finish Darksiders, this is my next game I think.

Darksiders

Date played: June 9th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 70 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I completed the Black Throne dungeon by killing the last guardian and releasing Azrael, the Angel of Death. He guided me to Straga's lair deep in the dungeon. Straga is the big fucking demon from the opening of the game who destroyed Earth. The fight against Straga was kind of disappointing, it was too easy actually. I had to just a portal on the ground and another on the demon's weapon so that when he raises it to hit me, I jump in the portal and drop in on the dude's back so I can whack his weak spot.

After killing him, Azrael had to save my ass because the Black Throne was collapsing. He teleported me to a secret place, Eden, to gather information and power so that I could finally kill the Destroyer. I received the mask of shadows, an item that reveals secret items and pathways in the world. To prove my worth to the forces of Heaven, I had to fight myself, just like Link! The fight was pretty cool actually.

The tree of knowledge in Eden

Then I received visions from the giant tree in Eden telling me that Abaddon, one of the angels, was actually betrayed and used as a pawn to destroy the world. It's all a little crazy. Now I have to gather the pieces of the Armageddon blade as fortold by the visions. Backtracking time! I backtracked to two of the earlier sections and found two pieces. I also started using a FAQ to find the remaining pieces of Abyssal armor, the best armor in the game. I can smell the end of the game now.

Couch gaming spectaular

Beer!

Date played: June 9th
Platform: PS3/SNES
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played a few games on the couch with my good friend and one of my brothers. We started the evening with some old school Mortal Kombat on SNES. While still tons of fun, we ran into some technical issues... the game froze multiple times. Either way, I loved playing as Scorpion. I know he's the poster boy for Mortal Kombat and all but he really fits my playstyle compared to the others.

We also played a few races in Blur, getting our split screen on. My brother was a little drunk I think because he sucked and normally he holds his own. Me and my friend battled over the top positions with me coming out as the winner two times out of three.

Last but not least, we played a few matches of NHL 12. The first game was me and my bro against my friend. My friend DESTROYED us 7-1. After that, we played a game with all three of us on the same team against AI, using the Legends teams on both sides. Having Gretzky, Lemieux and Howe all on the ice at the same time is really cool. To spice things up, we set the game up so that we would always only control one position on the ice. I went with left D and enjoyed it quite a bit. It changes the way the game is played really since you have to stay in position, you can't just use a different player to pick up messes.

Darksiders

Date played: June 8th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 150 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

All this E3 stuff makes me want to play some of the games in my library that I haven't completed that are getting sequels soon. Chief among them is Darksiders, the Zelda game on 'roids and HD. The last time I played, I killed a boss, this time, I brought it's heart back to Samael, the cool looking demon I struck a deal with. Samael held up his end of the deal and opened a portal for me. I'm not sure exactly how it all went down but I basically met the Angel of Death on the other side. War accepted to help the Angel of Death escape from his prison. In return, the big demon from the opening sequence will get a sword in the face or something. All of that bullshit lead to a new dungeon! Woot!

The cake is a lie!

The dungeon is the Black Throne, probably the biggest yet. The big twist in this dungeon is...portals! You know, just like in that game, Portal. Actually, it's more like in Prey as the portals can only be placed on very specific areas. Still, the puzzles it creates are kind of crazy, in a good way. We're talking mirrors, light beams, boomerang switches, moving platforms and portals all at the same time here. It made my head hurt a few times actually. I beat two of the mini bosses of three in the dungeon, both of which required War to use his new, Valve inspired gadget. I expect the next dungeon will feature a crowbar.

You Don't Know Jack

Date played: June 6th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 15 minutes
Session fun rating: 6/10

To finish the night, my girlfriend, my friend and I played two rounds of You Don't Know Jack. This was my friend's first time playing and he was really impressed with the concept. Surprisingly, he won the first round! I won the second but it was close. My buddy was very good with math and science questions and even managed to snag the wrong answer of the game. Good show Dan.

Everyday Shooter

Date played: June 6th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 15 minutes
Session fun rating: 6/10


My buddy was hanging out with me and was browsing my PS3 library. He found Everyday Shooter and gave it a shot. It's a tough game so he didn't beat the first level. I jumped in and played the firt three levels before dying. I lost all my progression in this game last year when my PS3 died so I only had 4 lives... Rough. I wonder what Jonathan Mak is doing now?

Split/Second

ALL GOLDS!!!

Date played: June 6th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 25 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

My friend was visiting with his wife and while the girls were chatting, we started talking about this game. He just bought it on PSN after seeing me play and when I told him I had all golds, he freaked out and wanted to see me play to get some tips.

I played one low level race and won easily then we played few split screen races where he held his own but was ultimately destroyed by me. Good times.

Family fun time!

Date played: June 3rd
Platform: PS3, N64
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

This was a weird day for me as I ended up playing some games with my grandmother and one of my brothers. My grandmother is a gamer and has been since the Atari 2600. She has a Wii and doesn't really know what's out there. She asked me for some good games and since she loves platformers, I suggested Rayman Origins. Then she asked to see it so we played a level together. It was hard for her but she managed to make it to the end of the level. I also played a few levels with my brother.

Couch gaming is the best

Then, after my grandma left, my brother and I played some Bomberman 64 and Diddy Kong Racing. Bomberman 64 was fun but it is NOT classic Bomberman. The game is played in an open arena and the bombs don't explode vertically and horizontally anymore, they are a normal looking radius explosion. This changes the game quite a bit. Anyway, I suck at Bomberman and my bro won almost every round.

Diddy Kong Racing is still lots of fun but the music sucks and I only had four tracks unlocked so we had a limited experience.

Midnight Club L.A. Remix

This thing is dead

Date played: June 3rd
Platform: PSP
Time played: 5 minutes
Session fun rating: 3/10

I found my PSP while cleaning and decided to give it a go for old times sake. It turns out, I really hate the ghosting on my PSP-1000. I played one race with my trusty Volkswagen and won easily. I remember that this game was fun but I don't usually like open world racing like this as it's hard to be good at them until you know the whole city, kind of like Burnout Paradise. I should sell my PSP...

Darksiders

Date played: June 3rd
Platform: PS3
Time played: 20 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I want to beat this game before the sequel comes out so I played a bit of it when I had free time. I basically just played a boss, Silitha, a giant spider bitch. I kept getting killed by her teleport attack but I eventually managed to figure out the pattern and kill the boss in a very bloody way. I think this is the next game I will focus on...

Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations demo

KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!

Date played: June 3rd
Platform: PS3
Time played: 15 minutes
Session fun rating: 5/10

I don't like Naruto but the animation in this series has been enough for me to at least try it's demos. This is an arena fighting game with full 3d movement. It has weird mechanics that I didn't take the time to learn properly but I managed to pull off some fancy looking moves. I got to the third fight in the demo and couldn't beat him so I stopped but I enjoyed the animation and graphics in this game...which also has one of the longest titles I've ever seen.

Split/Second

Blackrock Studio was wrecked by Disney

Date played: June 2nd and 3rd
Platform: PS3
Time played: 90 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I finished Split/Second! I played through the last two episodes without too much trouble except for one of the last eliminator events. I've now unlocked all the tracks and cars so that's gonna be the last time I play this game in single player. I also played a little bit with my brother when he came over and he was pretty good the little fucker. I won the first race but he was getting used to the controls, then he owned me in the second race and I won the last one by a hair. RIP Blackrock Studio, you did good work.

Split/Second

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

I played through four events of the 11th episode. There was a race, an eliminator, a survival and a detonator in the episode so it was quite varied. I didn't manage to unlock the bonus round but I did play the elite race and ended 2nd. I ran out of playing time before managing first place so when I get back to the game, I should be able to finish all golds in episode 11 and start the season finale!

Diablo 3

WIZARD!

Date played: May 31st
Platform: PC
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

My brother decided to play Diablo 3 so me and my buddy made some new characters to play with him. Unfortunately, my brother wasn't online but we still played up to level 5. He made a Demon Hunter and I made a Wizard. One thing that was apparent right away is that I'm going to have to play this differently... The wizard is squishy and ranged while my barbarian is tough and melee.

My wizard has a magic missile combined with a sort of ice beam. He also has frost nova which freezes enemies in place around him. The ice beam is great because it slows down enemies and being with a demon hunter, enemies died before they even got close to us. I also tried out a lighting spell that could become very powerful depending on the runes. It sends out a bunch of lightning on the ground in front of the wizard, acting as a sort of area of effect attack. I'm really more excited about just playing with my bro.

Super Mario Bros.

SMB holds up, 25 years later

Date played: May 30th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 10 minutes
Session fun rating: 6/10

This was my first time playing this game since it was patched. It turns out, Nintendo now has a proper virtual console setup for this game, as opposed to all the other freebies given to ambassadors. Basically, it adds save states which is great! I used the shortest route to the last world, using the warp pipes in worlds 1-2 and 4-2. When I got to 8-1 though, I was kind of tired and failed to get past the mid point. Thankfully, with the save state feature, I can try again anytime I want!

Split/Second

Killer trucks!

Date played: May 30th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 90 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played through another good chunk of this game, I now only have two episodes left! Things are starting to get more difficult but what's great about this game is that even though the Power Plays change the track and attack other racers, there's almost always a way to avoid crashing if you're careful and skilled. I think I'm pretty good at this so far, I have all golds for the first ten episodes! I think one of my favorite non-race events is the survival mode. It's the mode where huge trucks drop explosive barrels all over the track. The reason it's so much fun is because of the combo system. Every time you pass three trucks, you get a multiplier for your points. This makes having extended runs without crashing very valuable and gives the game an arcade feel. Survival mode would have made for a great arcade machine on it's own if you ask me. I plan on getting all golds on all events before getting Dirt Showdown.

Metroid Fusion

Those guys killed me. Twice.

Date played: May 30th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 20 minutes
Session fun rating: 3/10

Urgh.. I played a bit of Metroid Fusion while lounging on the couch and was at a section that requires Samus to shoot five fans to remove some weird gas infecting certain rooms. My mistake was that I didn't go back to the save and recharge rooms between fans so when I got to the last one, I was too weak to survive. The worst thing is, I made the same mistake twice! I will try again one day but this time, I will run back to the safe areas between fans...

Split/Second

Date played: May 29th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 20 mintues
Session fun rating: 7/10

My mom and girlfriend were busy talking about relationships and other things I don't care about so I booted up Split/Second to have something to do except listen. I only played two events, one was a race that took me two or three attempts and the other was an air revenge that I restarted only once. I really need to get Dirt Showdown, I crave good online racing for some reason.

Syndicate

Date played: May 27th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 150 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I finished Syndicate's single player mode last night. While the story was a bit dumb and hard to follow, this was some of the best first person shooting action I've played in a long time. The last shooter with shooting mechanics that felt this good to me was Crysis 2. I fought a few bosses including one that was quite different from the rest. It felt more like a Ratchet and Clank or a boss from the 3D Mario games. Basically, I had to hack a guy's missiles in mid air until I hit him with them often enough. At first it was easy but it didn't take long before he was shooting five fast missiles at once and was even dropping EMP grenades. I had to use the DART overlay and sprinting to get passed it, it was quite a challenge while still being fun.

The last boss had a section where two high powered agents are after me and they can revive each other. It took me a while to realize this so they kept reviving each other. It wasn't until I understood this that I was able to kill them. The last boss was a fairly standard fight but the stakes were higher. The last boss is fast, tough and hits very hard but since he's a traditional fight, I didn't have much trouble.

Syndicate is a great, underrated shooter.

I used two new weapons also, a flamethrower (AWESOME) and a sort of laser weapon. While the laser weapon is very strong, it has a slow firing rate and doesn't have much ammo. I went through two big areas, Downzone in New York City and The Spire. The Downzone was more interesting because it's in the gritty, dark streets of the city where people run around without chips. This also meant that I couldn't use advanced powers on them. The last area was more boring and was filled with kill rooms basically. The conclusion of the story is pretty cool too.

The game was short but didn't outstay it's welcome. It's a very impressive game from both a technical and from a mechanics perspective. I was also excited to try co-op but I wasn't able to find a game at all and no one joined mine for 10 minutes. Too bad, it looked fun...

Rayman Origins demo

Bad 3DS version, bad!

Date played: May 27th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 5 minutes
Session fun rating: 1/10

Wow, what a garbage fucking port. I played some of Rayman on the PS3 and was curious to see how it looks in 3D on a handheld so I downloaded the demo for it. First, the 3D is awful and reminds me of the 3D in the Nintendo Video app. Two, the graphics are bad simply because of the low resolution, this is a game with high res in mind. Three, the controls are fucking sluggish as hell. I don't know why but it just wasn't as responsive. I imagine the Vita version would be the best on a portable device.

Split/Second

Power Plant is a cool track

Date played: May 24th and 25th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 200 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played through a big fucking chunk of this game on Saturday. Basically, I completed about four complete episodes, getting all golds on each event. One of the detonator events took me as solid hour on it's own but I just couldn't walk away without winning. It took all my skill and I had to learn the event by heart but I finally got it, with some help from a friendly Youtuber.

There is also a new event, air revenge, that has me build up power by avoiding missiles from a helicopter then unleashing the built up power as a missile deflector. It's a pretty cool concept and to win first place, I really had to get almost all perfect missile dodges. I also enjoyed one of the new tracks that is set in and around a nuclear power plant. There are two cooling towers that can be destroyed and some tough turns in there so it makes it a really fun track. I now have four episodes to go before the end.

Diablo 3

Date played: May 24th
Platform: PC
Time played: 150 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

Diablo is dead yo.

Holy shit, I finished Diablo 3 and it was fucking amazing! I can't say much without spoiling the whole thing but I beat the Act III boss by myself and it was super easy. Act IV is simply amazing, if a little short. The pre-rendered cut-scenes are some of the best I've ever seen and the final fight was pretty cool. I died once near the end but thankfully, I was playing with my witch doctor friend who revived me. I also replaced most of the gems I had with higher level ones and saw a massive increase in DPS.

I think I may have to go sword and board at some point soon though because I take a lot of damage sometimes, even with all my healing stats. I guess we will see when I get deeper into Nightmare mode!

Blur

Blur is starting to feel like this

Date played: May 21st
Platform: PS3
Time played: 30 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played a few races against my buddy, in a 12 person lobby. He sucked for some reason and I placed between 4th and 6th in the four races we did. I still love this game and am super excited for Dirt Showdown as it seems like it will have similar experiences. It's funny how Blur and NHL 12 have become sort of evergreen games for me. If I have nothing to play, these two games are always there for me and fun. The only problem I have is that I'm afraid people will stop playing Blur on PS3. Already, there was less than 100 people on the servers when we played. I hope Dirt Showdown can take it's place... Shit, that reminds me, I have to buy that!

NHL 12

Date played: May 21st
Platform: PS3
Time played: 70 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

NO GOAL!

I played three games against my buddy Dan over PSN. He won the first game 4-2 as the Habs while I lost as the Sens. He played well as usual... I had one weird goal though, a shot from the point hit the goalie in the mask, then rebounded off my forward's thigh into the net. It was waived off at first but was deemed a goal after video review. It was a funny scene though since my girlfriend was watching and was captivated by the ref announcing his verdict.

I won the second game 2-1 in a shootout with an amazing wrist shot. I was playing the Devils and he was playing the Rangers to match the current playoff matchup. The last game he won 2-1 but it was a really close one that's for sure. I had better puck control in the last two games, it felt good.

Split/Second

I unlocked this track where a motherfucking train falls from the sky.

Date played: May 21st
Platform: PS3
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played a lot of Split/Second today. My daughter was playing by herself and having fun in the living room so I booted up the old PS3 and played one of the few non violent games I have for it, this fine racing game. Having completed Dirt 3, I had no where else to go so I played through two episodes of the campaign, getting golds on all events but not without having to retry some of those detonator events multiple times.

Detonator is really just a time trial with shit exploding around the car and track. Some of them are really tight to get the gold time though, I had to be nearly flawless on two of them... This game is still a lot of fun and is still one of the more enjoyable racing games out there, it's just too bad there won't be a sequel and that no one plays online anymore.

Diablo 3

Date played: May 20th and 21st
Platform: PC
Time played: 345 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

Blizzard is really good at making pre-rendered cut-scenes...

Well, Act II was awesome and Act III is shaping up to be just as cool. I don't want to spoil much but me and my witch doctor friend beat the living shit out of the messed up creature in charge of Act II, Belial. The fight itself was pretty cool, forcing us to move constantly to avoid poison pools and AOE attacks. We also killed another boss in Act III, a giant spider lady thing. We chopped her to bits by just spamming stuns and damage...

The highlight of my long session has to be the CG cinematic between acts II and III. Blizzard really has a knack for making the most cutting edge, coolest looking stuff out there. My character is also progressing nicely, at a strong level 26 and some 230 dps or so, he seems to be doing well for himself. This game addictive like a slot machine. Except it's the slot machine isn't covered in blood, guts and limbs...

Diablo 3

Date played: May 19th
Platform: PC
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I didn't have as much time to play and I was too tired so I only played a short portion of a new area in the desert with my witch doctor friend who is level 23. He has lots of cool new spells and summons, it's great!

Click click click, loot loot loot.

Syndicate

Date played: May 19th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I shot my way through La Ballena, mostly fighting on exterior balconies and ledges. One of the fights killed me at least 3 times....it was those stupid shielded fucking drones. They suck. I made it eventually using a new weapon, the rocket launcher. It has a lock on feature and can hit three targets in one salvo, it's very satisfying!

Tropico 4

Mining is easy and profitable

Date played: May 19th
Platform: PC
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I completed the first mission, but I'm not exactly sure how... I just completed a bunch of objectives such as export 500 crude oil or hire a ministry. The ministry is one of the more important new features as it unlocks the higher level edicts and buildings.

Then I played a good chunk of the next mission where I had to help an American set up a successful mining operation. I focused on production and cash and spend less on other things. It works so far... This is the best version of Tropico yet and I actually find it better than any type of sim, including Sim City.

Diablo 3

Date played: May 17th
Platform: PC
Time played: 170 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

Amazing. This time, I played with my witch doctor friend again but he brought in two of his friends, a monk and a demon hunter that were all close in levels. I really can't stress this enough, Diablo 3 is meant to be played in co-op. We had voice chat going through Steam and basically ploughed through most of the second part of Act 1, ending our run with the iconic Butcher.

I mean, there isn't much I can say here, we fucked up baddies, we picked up and traded loot, we fought a few mini bosses and took a ferry to another down being ransacked by Diablo's minions. The environments were more varied than I expected though, we saw everything from a prison to rainbows and lush waterfalls.

It was cool seeing the monk and demon hunter in action. The monk is fast and seems to focus on single enemy DPS. He hits hard but can get overwhelmed quickly. The demon hunter is an archer as far as I can tell. He shoots people from the back row with the witch doctor while me and the monk jump in the middle of the pack.

The Butcher is scary

The Butcher was an awesome fight as he hits really hard and forces players to move around to avoid fire on the ground. It was tough, our two ranged guys died. I survived probably simply since I have way more HP than the other classes because I was kind of sloppy. I reached level 15 by the end and had replaced most of my gear, some from crafting, some from random drops. I have a few new skills too like a passive thing that increases armor and a weapon throw. I found the weapon throw to be useful against the Butcher because I had to stay at range but otherwise, it seemed useless so I guess it's situational.

I love this game but don't get caught playing alone, that's boring!

Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 demo

This may look fun but it's not, trust me.

Date played: May 17th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 5 minutes
Session fun rating: 1/10

What a shitty demo. I kind of like Sonic games in general and this one has good graphics, nice music and some cool stunts but the problem is that Sonic is SLOW! What the fuck Sega... Plus, the enemy and level design is really boring. The demo was very short but I can't imagine this game being very good. The Sonic Generations demo blew me away compared to this steaming pile of shit.

Syndicate

La Balena is fucking cool

Date played: May 16th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I had a bit of time to kill this morning so I played a bit of Syndicate. I completed chapter 8 and started chapter 10. I had a frustrating experience though, the game/PS3 froze several times in the same section, a fight with two normal enemies and an armored minigun wielding guy. Eventually, it worked out and I killed them but I had to restart the PS3 about five times...

The sequence ended on a balcony where the hero almost got ran over by a transport ship but he managed to get on it and hold on for dear life for the duration of the trip. Eventually, we got to La Balena, Cayman Global's giant floating city and I was tasked with infiltrating it, though I'm never quite sure why. As usual, the game mechanics and cyber-punk aesthetics steal the show. The shooting is still top notch which is really the only reason I'm still playing this. It's a top tier shooter that seems to have been overlooked by pretty much everyone. 

Diablo 3

Date played: May 15th
Platform: PC
Time played: 160 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

I haven't been hyped for a game on PC for a long time now, I think the last one must have been Civ V, but Diablo 3's hype got to me. Everyone at work was talking about it, all my friends were talking about it and of course, the Internet is ablaze with comments, criticism and glee. I was not disappointed. In a way, Diablo 3 feels old. I mean, it plays a lot like the first game which came out way back in 1996. But see, that's not such a bad thing since the concept still works 16 years later. It also may not seem like it to younger or jaded players, but they really did a lot to bring this game into the modern era of gaming.

My young barbarian

The quests are like WoW, exclamation point and journal included. The party system is super easy, no need for stupid server browsers. The tutorials are helpful. The interface is clean and simple. Simply put, the game may feel old to some but it is modern, no doubt.

I played with a friend from work who had played the beta. We started our characters together and played co-op the whole time. He plays a witch doctor, a sort of ranged voodoo chick who summons creatures from the dead and spits poison from a little wooden tube. I chose the barbarian, to fuck shit up in close quarters with giant weapons. We made it to the Skeleton King and killed him which was the end of the beta.

Tropico 4

Date played: May 15th
Platform: PC
Time played: 30 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I bought Tropico 4 for my girlfriend's birthday, she's been a huge fan of this series since the first game. Tropico is to my girlfriend as Civilization is to me. I didn't have time to do much but I created a customer leader who wears a pirate outfit and a pipe, is a farmer, scholar and financial genius. Seems like a funny mix I know...

I started the first mission, built some corn and tobacco farms, set up a church, police station, market, clinic and added some very cheap housing. So far, it seems like a better version of Tropico 3, so this is not a big upgrade but it has a lot of new buildings, edicts and seems a bit deeper than before. 

Just Cause 2

Yes, Rico can stunt jump on a passenger jet

Date played: May 11th
Platform: PC
Time played: 30 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

After some Audiosurf, my friend and I jumped into Just Cause 2. He loves open world games and blowing shit up so this was right up his alley. He was really impressed with the graphics, noticing the higher resolution and better lighting compared to his PS3.

We just messed around for a half hour, stealing cars, grapple-parachuting, base jumping, shooting dudes, stunt jumping and even stealing a commercial jet. This is easily the most fun I've had just fucking around in a game. We also took the jet to the highest possible point and just jumped down. It was amazing, parachuting above the clouds and free falling for minutes... Not to mention our amazing run in a high powered speed boat, filled with crazy jumps and stunts.

I wonder if the missions are any good?