Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention

Date played: July 9th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 90 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

Ohhhh man... I am going to fall in love with this game. While the music quickly grated my ears, everything else is starting to look like an amazing game. I played through the first few tutorials which showed me things like team attacks, positioning and character management. I learned how to use the class room to create clubs that boost attributes, I learned how to recruit new characters and how to buy and sell items. I also learned about evilities that serve as battle skills. There was even a fight where the floor had attributes that affect battles. It's all a little crazy but I moved some blocks around and killed some of my guys in the process. Not too sure how that stuff works. This game is DEEP! I now have a real rivalry with the school delinquent and I've met a hero that I want to learn from to become a hero myself. The story is super Japanese and kind of dumb. I can't wait to get deeper in the mechanics.

Batman Arkham City

CLAYFACE!

Date played: July 8th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 180 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I finished Batman Arkham City! Whew, what a ride that was... There is too much going on in the ending to talk about all of it here but let's just say that the story takes a lot of twists and turns towards the end. I dethroned Strange, I caught the Joker and I fought a surprise enemy, Clayface! There was even a nice little moment with Talia and Catwoman. I didn't complete even half of the Riddler challenges and didn't complete a few of the side quests but I think it's better that way. The Riddler stuff can get pretty frustrating. Overall, I liked this game better than the first due to the better story, the fun city and the new gadgets. I hope they make another game in this series sometime.

Mortal Kombat

Date played: July 7th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 40 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I couldn't pass up this deal at 20$ for Mortal Kombat. I've heard great things about the console version but never got around to playing it so this seemed like a great fit. The only problem is that there is no local multiplayer but that's normal I guess, this is a portable... I started by just playing a ladder with Scorpion to get a feel for the game. I have never been a great or even a good Mortal Kombat player but it's a simple game to learn, if impossible to master, like every good fighting game.

GET OVER HERE!

I picked up on the basic moves here, the signature "Get over here", a teleport, a takedown and a ranged fire attack. There is also the new X-ray set of moves which show bones and arteries being destroyed in slow motion. Needless to say, it looks fucking awesome. I also managed to pull off his fatality a few times, again, gruesome and awesome.

I then started the story mode which has gotten a lot of praise from reviewers and players. It is well produced and interesting. It's cool that it seems to reset the whole universe so the kombatants don't know each other yet. Johnny Cage is first up and he makes fun of Baraka's "makeup". He is also flirting with Sonya Blade... I learned how to play Cage pretty quickly, using his fast kick and projectiles to defend and his flying kick and nut shot for offence. He plays well and is fun to play, as is the whole game so far. I'm not usually a fan of single player in fighting games but this one seems interesting enough to kill a few minutes here and there.

Batman Arkham City

Date played: July 7th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 200 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I played a shit load of Batman AC... I took down Ra's Al Ghul in a hallucination filled sequence. Ra's is a 600 year old ninja who's daughter messed around with Batman. After getting his blood, I had to bring it back to Freeze who turned against me, surprise! I fought Freeze in the GCPD. It was a pretty straight forward fight as long as I stayed hidden. While we were fighting, the fucking Joker got the only sample of the cure by drilling a hole in the wall. Fucking Joker. On the bright side, I unlocked the freeze grenade which can be used to make floating platforms in water, opening up many hidden areas.

Best side quest yet

Most of my time was spent on side quests though. I completed the Bane quest and took him out at the same time. I also encountered the Mad Hatter in a weird fight with Batman wearing a messed up mask that made him look...well, mad. I finally tracked down Zsaz and locked him up. I even managed to save another hostage from the Riddler. Now I have to track down Joker and get the cure back. He's taken control of the Steel Mill and has posted a shit ton of snipers around the area. Those guys hit hard and are hard to evade. There are new enemies too, guys with blades are more common and the thugs seem to have taken a liking to car doors as shields. It makes the fights more difficult but also more interesting.

Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention

Date played: July 7th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 30 minutes
Session fun rating: 4/10

I got Disgaea 3 to fill my need for portable turned based strategy. I didn't really have time to start the game proper, I only saw the opening story beats and started a tutorial. I can't comment on the game itself yet but the story seems interesting so far. It's all about a school in hell where students do well when they skip class, fail tests and are generally bad. The delinquents are the ones that go to class and study.

The hero is the son of the overlord and decided that in order to overthrow him, he would have to become a hero, as so many comic books, movies and video games have proven. The game is well produced, it has voice acting, cool looking menus and the writing is decent so far. The graphics are good for this type of game but nothing spectacular. I can't wait to dig in for real and see what the gameplay is all about.

Machinarium

Musicians!

Date played: July 6th
Platform: PC
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10


I played through the first six or seven rooms in Machinarium. There's not much to say... The puzzles are cool and not too hard for the most part, although I have had to use hints twice to go through without a FAQ. The game is actually pretty funny too, mostly due to the characters having a lot of personality. Plungers, door code puzzles and tipping over chairs are all part of the first section of the game.

Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

This cart is still worth something! Yay for physical media!

Date played: July 5th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 130 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I finished Ghost Recon Shadow Wars today by clearing the last two missions. The first one was a giant corridor where positioning was important and fun. The enemies were strong and relentless but smart positioning won it for me. There was also a section at the end where Mint had to shut down something and it took him a lot of turns to get it done. While doing that, I had to defend the area on two fronts which stretched my forces real thin. The last mission was cool too because we had to block off some areas by shutting doors and eventually killing the bad guy. I was treated to the longest cut scene in the game which was like two minutes hehehe.... This is one of the best games I've played on 3DS, bested only by Super Mario 3D Land in my opinion. After 31 hours of play, I've had my fill and am ready for something new.

Hot Shots Golf World Invitational demo

Hey, this is my Vita!

Date played: July 5th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 20 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

There is something so relaxing about golf games, Hot Shots Golf being the best at what it does. This version looks very close to the demo I played on PS3 but that's not a bad thing. The game looks good, plays well and is just a "happy" game. I played the three holes offered in the demo and got two birdies and a par. A simple game that knows what it is and what it isn't, I respect that. If I ever feel like playing a golf game on Vita, this seems like a great choice.

Dynasty Warriors Next demo

Slice them fools

Date played: July 5th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 10 minutes
Session fun rating: 2/10

I've given these Dynasty Warriors games a chance and I just don't like them. The idea is to have a super powerful character decimate hundreds of enemies in a giant field while trying to capture control points then fighting a boss. The game looks good, handles well and has somewhat interesting mechanics but I could never really enjoy it for some reason. There are some cool applications of the touch screen and back touch pad for magic spells and boss fights but it's just not for me.

Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

Gotta have balls. Strategy balls.

Date played: July 2nd and 3rd
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 180 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

I completed chapter 6 which was all about blowing up a giant ship. We then moved on to chase down the bad guy in his own base in chapter 7. Things are getting hairier and hairier every mission. I had to run away from half a dozen tanks, I destroyed a dozen drones using only two ghosts. I infiltrated a section of the compound by splitting my squad in two who assisted each other from walkways and ledges.

The last mission I played even had me fight a giant, 200hp monster drone. It was a tough fight. I seem to get through almost on luck but in the end, my sound strategy seems to be the clincher. I wonder where I'll get my turn based strategy fix after this is over? I heard good things about Disgea...

Sonic Generations

Sonic Generations has to be seen in motion to really understand how technically impressive it really is

Date played: July 2nd
Platform: PC
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played through the second third of the game mindlessly while having a conversation with my mom. The levels are definitely getting harder but the game is well made, fun and it's just a good platformer. People give Sonic games shit all the time but this one is not half bad. It controls well, has very good graphics and is mostly frustration free. The Shadow levels are very cool too, feeling more like battle races than anything.

I played through three levels, six acts, a few challenge levels and one boss, including a section where Sonic is being chased by a giant fucking truck.

The Walking Dead Episode 2

Date played: July 1st
Platform: PC
Time played: 150 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

The Walking Dead feels like my favorite game of the year...

Holy fucking shit man, this was intense. I finished Episode 2 in one sitting and was very impressed. The story is just so stressful and incredibly well written, it's amazing. I wonder why there aren't more games like this? Are there not enough good writers out there? Is no one willing to finance this great stuff? I don't want to spoil the game since it just came out but let's just say that there were some very difficult decisions, some truly scary moments and some incredibly human reactions to all this stuff. This is like a suspenseful comic book or tv show with a huge cliffhanger.

Batman Arkham City

Date played: July 1st
Platform: PS3
Time played: 150 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

Well, I think this game is kind of settling in now. I'm comfortable with the combat, I have a good flow to how I take missions and the game is progressing well. I did a lot of side quests, rescuing hostages from the Riddler, helping dumb civilians, hunting down question mark trophies and other random things.

Solomon Grundy was a fun fight

I also completed the entire Penguin story line. This is where the game is at it's best, when confined to a building where the level is well designed and the enemies are positioned in a smart and fun way. I ran into some enemies with thermal vision and assault rifles which made things a bit tougher but there's nothing that Batman can't deal with. I found out that Penguin had some Titan mutants and fought a couple of those dudes. Oh yeah, and there was a part where a giant shark ate Batman because I walked too quickly on thin ice. By liberating Mr Freeze, he helped me neutralize Penguin. The latter still had a surprise in store though in the form of Solomon Grundy, a giant immortal fuck that I had to kill with explosive gel while avoiding metal balls of death.

Either way, I'm off to find another bad guy that runs a ninja school of sorts to get his blood to Freeze so he can make the antidote to Joker's poison. Also, Robin came along and saved my ass. And not Nightwing Robin, plain old regular ass second Robin. He's lame lol...

Uncharted Golden Abyss

Date played: July 1st
Platform: Vita
Time played: 45 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I played some Golden Abyss seriously for a bit, mainly playing the intro and the first chapter. This feels just like Uncharted 1 with added Vita funk. For example, there were a few puzzles that required rubbing the screen, nothing super creative. Swinging on ropes by rubbing the back touch pad is pretty cool. Otherwise, there was lots of jumping, climbing and shooting going on, as expected. There is also another character that roped in Drake into the adventure and hints of a South American general being an asshole. Speaking of assholes, the new guy isn't a lot of fun either. He is cocky and wears fucking turtle shell shoes.

Uncharted looks amazing on Vita

There's another thing that's fun too, there are "mysteries" to solve that seem to span the whole game. They involve finding treasure, taking pictures and solving puzzles. It's nice to see the treasures mean more than just a PSN trophy now. I look forward to playing more.

Motorstorm RC

Date played: June 30th and July 1st
Platform: Vita
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

Motorstorm RC was a lot of fun!

I pretty much finished the main events in Motorstorm RC. The game isn't really hard but it takes a few laps to adjust to each type of car as the physics make a huge difference in the handling. The buggies are difficult to handle... I love big rigs, though they don't turn very well. In either case, I played a shit load of races and got all three medals in each event. After the whole thing was completed, supercars were unlocked along with an event for it on each track. Unfortunately, all the events are time trials so I played a few of them but soon got bored. I will probably finish them slowly when I have a few minutes but I won't play marathon sessions like this again. Too bad there's no online play too.

Super Stardust Delta demo

Date played: June 27th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 15 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

Missiles are fucking cool

OMG, this game is just as awesome as it was on PS3, except it's better! The graphics are sick, as usual and the dual stick mechanics work very well using the Vita's second analog stick. There are also a few new features like missiles that got me out of trouble a few times and a black hole, activated by touching the rear touch pad. The black hole is super powerful. I don't know what else to say, this game is quite simple but I think I will buy it soon, it's just super polished and well made.

Pinball Arcade demo

Date played: June 26th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 15 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

This is an arcade pinball game that features real pinball tables. There's Arabian Nights, Black Hole and two others that I forget. The tables are well made and the physics are good. The graphics are serviceable but the sounds are really great. They really sound like real pinball tables. All the tables were pretty fun but Black Hole is obviously a lot older as it doesn't have a lot going on. This seems like a good pinball game but I think Zen Pinball is more interesting. 

Lumines Electronic Symphony demo

Date played: June 26th
Platform: Vita
Time played: 10 minutes
Session fun rating: 3/10

Meh, it's still Lumines. It looks better than any other version but that's really all I have to say...

Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

I blame this guy for the boring story

Date played: June 25th
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 9/10

More strategy gaming goodness! I played through three missions in Chapter 6, set in Siberia. The first mission I failed horribly when I got ambushed by a tank who just hit a little too hard. I passed the mission easily the second time, focusing on my target and ignoring the other enemies a bit more. Then I destroyed a bunch of trucks on a road using only three ghosts.

I've found that my sniper has been becoming more and more useful all the time due to getting more powerful rifles. I love to stim pack him so that I can get two shots in during the same turn. The last mission I played was an assault then defend kind of scenario. At one point, there was an obscene amount of drones on the map, something like 9 or 10 or them. I managed to win but I had to use my air strike and sacrificed one of my drones.

Batman Arkham City

I hope this happens...

Date played: June 24th
Platform: PS3
Time played: 60 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

I played a bunch of side missions here and there, chasing ringing phones, finding Titan containers and messing with the Riddler. The bulk of my session came from destroying jamming equipment placed around the museum by the Penguin. Fat Cobblepot seems to have kidnapped Freeze who still holds the antidote to Joker's poison.

I had to find three jamming radios, including one that was hidden in the Subway system. The best part of this game is just how much power Batman has. Sure, if I take on three guys with guns, I'm going to fail, but if I take my time and stalk these guys, it seems impossible not to have fun. I think the next part of the game will be in the museum.

Motorstorm RC

Date played: June 22nd and 23rd
Platform: Vita
Time played: 90 minutes
Session fun rating: 8/10

Motorstorm RC looks and runs great on Vita

Holy shit, this game is free on Vita! GET IT. This is a top down arcade racer based on the Motorstorm franchise. I played the demo a while ago and enjoyed it so I'm really happy to get it free. It really surprised me how much I had fun here... The game is simple, it has races, time trials and overtake events, all of which are great and short. This seems like the perfect portable game for a racing junkie like me. It has eight different types of cars, all of which handle very differently. It's just too bad that the cars unlocked are not any different, they are just model and palette swaps. I actually played through about half of the game already so it seems pretty short but it's lots of fun.

Batman Arkham City

Catwoman uses charm. It's super effective!

Date played: June 23rd
Platform: PS3
Time played: 40 minutes
Session fun rating: 7/10

I decided to play around a bit in the city, shooting joker balloons and video cameras. I'm not quite sure if that stuff has any effect on anything but it does give XP. Then I found the place where Mr. Freeze is hiding. I knocked out the thugs that were guarding the place, all of them equipped with guns which made things a bit tougher. I actually ambushed two of them using explosive gel which I didn't think would work but it was super effective.

I then spent an embarrassing amount of  time trying to figure out how to get through a small opening in in a door. I tried shooting remote controlled batarangs, setting explosive gel and even crouching but to no avail. After a solid 15 minutes of exploring every nook and cranny of the building, I finally cracked and checked online. It turns out I had forgotten that Batman can crouch slide... One of the downsides of playing games 6 months after starting them. I finally got in and stopped playing.

Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

Date played: June 23rd
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 120 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10

I think I was really due for some intellectual gaming and that's the role this strategy game played for me yesterday. I played quite a few missions, including one that lasted over an hour. I killed one of the main villains in the game but was later betrayed by someone I trusted! I don't want to spoil anything but I think the campaign is coming to a close soon. I simply love this game, I wish there were more turn-based strategy games based in modern and future times instead of always being sword and magic affairs.

The Amazing Spider-Man demo

UGLY!

Date played: June 23rd
Platform: 3DS
Time played: 15 minutes
Session fun rating: 4/10

Well, here is another boring demo. There are some good ideas in this Spider-Man game but it's obvious that this game was not in development for as long as "good" games. The graphics are awful, the camera is wonky and I had no idea what I had to do next on several occasions. On the bright side, the combat is pretty good, similar to Batman's, it's almost a copy, just uglier, slower and less fun. I beat up some thugs and fought a latex wearing lady. The best part of the game was just swinging from the ceilings, it's easy to do and is a lot of fun. I will never buy this game but I see it being good enough for kids who love Spider-Man.

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.