Aegis Wing Review

Aegis Wing is a free (no, really, it's free!) horizontal scrolling shoot em up (shmup) available to North American xbox Live members on the xbox Live Arcade. The game was released in 2007, and developed by three interns at Microsoft, who spent three months building the game. They then handed it over to Carbonated Games to add some finishing touches.

Your ship is only equipped with one gun, and, unfortunately, it cannot be upgraded. However, by grabbing powerups that enemies drop upon death, you can pick up secondary weaponry to utilize in your quest to rid the galaxy of the galactic scum who re trying to take you out. Among the available secondary weapons you will find a beam which shoots straight and in a fixed path, but destroys enemies and enemy fire on contact, an EMP pulse which disables enemies, a shield which deflects enemy fire back at them, and heat seeking missiles.

In a bit of a twist for the genre, one hit does not result in automatic death; rather, you have a health bar, and can take a few hits before you meet your demise. This does serve to diminish the challenge somewhat, although it remains far from easy. This was likely a concession on the part of the developers for the behalf of players new to the genre. Once you do die, you lose a life, and respawn right where you were at the time of death. However, lose all of your lives, your score resets to zero, and it's back to the start of the level with you. On Normal mode. On Insane mode, you have no lives.

Another, much more interesting (and significant) twist is that, during multiplayer (more on that later) you and the other players can link your ships together at the press of a button. In linked mode, one player controls movement, and the rest of the players control the shooting. This is advantageous in that the combined fire is stronger than one ships single firepower; however, this comes at the price of reduced navigational speed.

In typical old school shmup fashion, the game presents you with a high level of challenge and pattern based AI. The enemies fill the screen, shooting at you in tandem. The game also uses the environment to add to the challenge. In addition to the enemies, you must also look out for the mines that are placed throughout the levels. These detonate on contact, and serve to further keep you on your toes. This may not be the hardest shmup ever conceived, due in part to the aforementioned health system, and also the fact that the enemies don't fill the screen with fire as they do in many other games of this type, but it will definitely present a tough challenge to anyone who plays it. The hardest difficulty should suffice to present even those hardest of the hardened genre vets with some difficulty.

Graphically, this is a simple looking game. While there are some neat background effects present, everything looks fairly simplistic and somewhat bland. The poly count for ship models seems a bit low, and they aren't terribly detailed. This doesn't detract from the gameplay of course, but things don't exactly pop, either. Sound design is fine. The music serves to punctuate the action, but nothing is terribly memorable.

As I alluded to earlier, Aegis Wing features multiplayer. Both local and online co-op modes are available for up to four players. The way lives are handled is as follows: if a player loses all of their lives, they can re-enter the game upon another player picking up a powerup (which is then discarded). If all of the players die at the same time, or the last remaining player dies before reaching a powerup, the players are returned to the start of the level, and their combined score is reset to zero (as it is in the single player mode). Online runs well enough, no major issues are present, although there have been a few instances where it seemed as though a player was killed by something that seemed to miss them. This is likely due to lag, but fortunately, it doesn't seem to be a very common occurrence.

All in all, this is a fairly entertaining game. The boss and enemy designs suffice, but don't wow, the main gun cannot be upgraded, and the graphics aren't anything to write home about. However, the linking mechanic is a nice feature, there is a fully functional multiplayer mode which allows for up to 4 people to play in tandem, the game presents a good level of challenge, the controls work flawlessly, and, it's free. You can't really go wrong with free.

Overall Score: 8/10

Regarding Game Reviews: Theory, Details, Numerical Scales: Analysis and a Proposition

In this blog, I am going to discuss what I think a general guideline for reviews should look like. I will then discuss reviews in general, followed by attempt at qualifying a top ten scale. 

So first, the review guideline.

Points of Interest: This should be fairly obvious. Story, Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Overall/Summation. Should they be done in explicit categories, or just worked into the text in an implicit but clear manner? On this point, I have mixed feelings. It looks more professional and cohesive without categories, but categories really aid with navigation, and they also tend to make the reviews look really structured. I could go either way on this one, although since most professional reviews tend to take the uncategorized approach, it must be more desirable.

Length: Certain games merit a certain amount of effort, and while you could get away with a 500 word review for something like Tetris, something like Mass Effect 2 requires much more detail.

My idea of a rough outline for review lengths:

Indy game/DLC/Arcade game: At least 500 words.

Full retail or full downloadable game: At least 1500 words.

I like to write lengthy reviews, because I am all about detail, but I recognize not everyone wants to read (or write) 3000 word reviews. This, however, brings me to my final point:

Detail: Detail is very important. Certain games warrant more detail than others, as do certain genres, and where that detail lies is also genre specific. If you're reviewing a hack n slash game with a heavy focus on action, don't glaze over the combat system. Describe it in detail. Explain the mechanics of it.

If you're reviewing an RPG, don't just hastily mention that there's a skill tree. Describe it in detail. Explain how points are assigned, whether or not you can respec it once you're in game, etc. If the game is a combat heavy RPG, explain the combat system. If you're reviewing a survival horror game with a focus on puzzles, don't just mention that it's puzzle heavy. Describe them in detail. How numerous are they? Are they challenging? Do they make sense in the context of the game, or are they completely nonsensical? What types of puzzles do you encounter, and are they repetitive? etc.

There's nothing I hate more than a review that skimps on detail. Not to brag or anything, but compare my Tokyo Beat Down review, which I just submitted to this site on Friday, to gamespot’s review for said game, and tell me my review isn’t far superior. The author skimped on the details and obviously rushed the review. That’s bullshit, especially for a supposed professional. You can still write a detailed review without going overboard on the word count. The reader should be left with as few questions as possible after a review. That’s how I see it at least.

Now, I would like to briefly discuss reviews in general.

Game reviews are a tricky thing. Reviews in general are a tricky thing. You want to be as objective as possible, but, while there certainly are objective elements within a game, the overall nature of gaming preferences and enjoyment is absolutely subjective. I can play a game like Modern Warfare 2, be completely underwhelmed, and more inclined to notice the faults of the game, while a fan would likely glaze over them. I might say ascribe a 7 or an 8 to the game, which is still a great score, but where I see redundancy and lack of innovation (not to mention technical flaws and broken promises), others will see FPS greatness, and disparage my ‘’low’’ score. I could then face being ostracized by the gaming community at large, for what is effectively my opinion.

This is why I hesitate to fully trust professional reviews for big name, hyped games. Are you telling me that not one of the dozens of reviewers was underwhelmed by MW2, and saw fit to score it much lower than the high 9’s it was pulling everywhere? I suppose it’s possible, but I have my doubts. And when you throw in the conflict of interest that is advertising (and freebies/goodies/trips/dinners/parties, etc) one has to wonder how truthful they really are when it comes to some games.

As for review scores themselves, they are arbitrary, and this is more evident the more specific you get. I mean, clearly there’s some objectivity inherent within the scoring system. A 2 is a far cry from a 9. But what’s the difference between an 8.5 and an 8.8?

Go ahead, try and qualify that for me.

I’ll wait here.

*waits*

Thought so.

That being said, most of us like scores (although I hope you all focus more on the content of the review than you do the numerical score) and I use them myself in my reviews.

So what’s my scoring system like?

Note: Keep in mind that this isn't terribly serious, it will differ from person to person, and I didn't put exceptional amounts of thought into it. It's an on the spot, rough outline of how I see it.

1-Broken.The worst a game could ever be. Avoid, even if paid to play it. In fact, burn on sight.

2-Dreadful. Not worth it, even for free. Punch the person in the face for even offering it to you.

3-Very bad. Maybe play for the lulz, if you can get it free. Maybe. On a dreadfully boring rainy day.

4-Pretty bad, but some redeeming qualities. Sort of. Rent if you have no other options.

5-Mediocre. Few things done right, but buried amongst much bad. Decent rental, nothing more.

6-Decent. The bones of a good game here, but many flaws. A rental or bargain bin purchase.

7-Good. A good game that doesn't particularly stand out, and has some flaws, but is worth your time.

8-Great. Few flaws, mostly positives. Doesn't quite stand out, perhaps held back by a few little issues.

9-Excellent. A game that must be played. Very few discernable flaws. Nothing seriously wrong with it.

10-As good as you'll ever get. Does everything right. Seemingly flawless; what devs should aspire to.

Fuck Acitivision!!

This blog is going to consist of a rant. The cynical side of me will fly, as will the profanity. If you wish to avoid such things, turn back now.



Still here? Alright, let's rock.

So, there is an article on gamespot today, detailing where exactly the evil empire, the leviathan, the bloodsucking entity known disaffectionaltely as Sequelvisi-......er, rather, NoArtisticVisio-, um....sorry, no....Activision (that's it!) is on their quest to homogenize and then eventually destroy gaming and make as much money as possible before they do so.

Here's the link:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6252764.html

So what does the article detail, exactly? Well:

MW2 is getting two paid DLC's this year!!!! Yes, exciting, isn't it? Maybe they'll include some dedicated server support and upgrades to their innovative text chat system in the PC version of the DLC's.

*rolls eyes*

Here's an excerpt:

Activision now lists the Encino, California, developer as working only on the two downloadable expansions to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, due out later this year.

But just wait folks, that's not all!

Acitivion confirmed that Treyarch is currently at work on a new COD title to be released this year (as we all already know). They then, however, went on to say the following:

The company is also for the first time announcing that a new game in the Call of Duty series is expected to be released in 2011

Oh BOY!!!!! A second Call of Duty title in the same fucking year? Yaaaay!

But wait!!! There's more!!!!:

Sledgehammer Games, a newly formed, wholly owned studio, is in development on a Call of Duty game that will extend the franchise into the action-adventure genre.
.....

So there are currently 3 Call of Duty titles in development, plus the 2 DLC's for MW2, and of course the as of yet unannounced but inevitable handheld titles, iphone game, facebook app, blah blah blah.
They didn't say in the article, but it's possible that in 2011, we'll see 3 major COD releases.

How many fucking times can Call of Duty be redone? They keep calling, and calling, and calling......

SOMEONE ANSWER THE FUCKING CALL ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jaysus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's take a look at this, just from an xbox 360 gamer's POV. The xbox 360 was released in November of 2005. Which means that it has been out for 4 years and 3 months. In 4 years and three months, the xbox 360 has been graced with SIX FUCKING COD GAMES!!!!!!

COD1 (xbla)

COD2 (retail)

COD3 (retail)

CODMW (retail)

CODWAW (retail)

CODWM2 (retail)

6 motherfucking titles in one motherfucking first fucking person fucking shooter franchise in 4 motherfucking years on one motherfucking system!!!!!!!!!!!

Let that sink in for a moment.

Now, if I were to approach you ten years ago, and tell you that there would be a franchise that would see 6 games released in 4 years on one system, what would you have thought? When did things get to the point where this is deemed okay? People are going to continue eating this shit up, and that does NOT bode well for the industry. We are already starting to see the disease of sequelitis really start to take hold. Same with remakeitis, although, fortunately, it's nowhere near to the point it has reached in Hollywood. Not even close.

Still though, it's bad. We all know that it's hard enough as it is for developers to launch successful new ip's. And when one is a success, they whore the shit out of it. Ubisoft recently announced that they are scaling back on new ip's. I have a link for that, hold on a moment....

Here:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6249972.html

Read this quote:

The scaling back on new franchises is one part of a Ubisoft plan to ultimately have its major franchises seeing more frequent and regular releases.

Hmmm......Major releases seeing more frequent and regular releases......who does that sound like?

OH YA!!!!!!! Activision!!! The financial giant, who all other companies, especially the struggling ones (Ubisoft is one of them....somehow.....) are going to emulate in the coming years.

*sigh*

Look, sequels aren't all bad. And I understand the problem these companies face. New IP's are a risk. You could end up pulling an Okami or even worse, a Psychonauts. Two great games that sold like shit. But then again, look at Assassin's Creed. It was new, and sold in the millions. Bayonetta sold well. Borderlands sold well. Dead Space sold well. Hell, Mirror's Edge sold well, despite stupid ass EA being disappointed with it.

New IP's can sell just fine, as long as they are marketed properly, and/or appeal to people/are good games. Every single game franchise started out as a new intellectual property. The developers and publishers seem to forget this fact. The industry can grow if they establish new, exciting brands. We all win that way. But if they do it like this.....it's going to stagnate. They're going to eventually hit a wall, it's going to stagnate, and then it's going to fucking crash, like it did one before.

And none of us want that.

But there's more.

*puts on naive idealist hat*

What about the fucking art, man?

*passes joint*

Seriously, I know that they need to make money, but can't they do it in a way that at least maintains some integrity? That shows a little passion for the art? There are many companies out there doing it right, and making money at it. Activision is like the WalMart of gaming. EA is I dunno, the KMART or something. I digress.

The point is, and I say this as an atheist who doesn't believe in souls, they way Activision is doing it is just so damn soulless. They don't give one iota of a shit for the medium. Bobby Kotick doesn't give a FUCK about gaming. Companies like Blizzard. Team ICO. Bungie. PlatinumGames. Speaking of PlatinumGames, did you know they refused to do DLC for Bayonetta? Ya, they said the game ships complete, and that's it. We wait until we have everything we could possibly want to add to it, and we do. Then it ships. We're not holding anything back to sell, and we're not shipping an incomplete game. Of course, PS3 owners could argue against that, and they'd have a point, but at least it's been patched.

Companies like Activision don't give a flying fucking shit about artistic integrity or expanding the medium. The companies I mentioned, and many more, actually do. You can be incredibly successful without whoring, and I think the people that do that should be damn proud of what they have accomplished. They have given us great games, they have created something with merit, something of value, and they have made money doing it. Shit, I'm almost inclined to say god bless.

*wipes tear*

I fucking hated EA for years, and still do (seriously, fuck EA), but man, Activision must have looked to EA and said, ''we can do that, but better (or should I say worse).'' And then they set out to do just that.

1) Establish a new brand, Guitar Hero, whore the fucking ever loving (what the fuck does ever loving mean anyways? someone explain that to me) shit out of it

2) Take their successful COD brand and begin whoring the fucking ever loving shit out of it

3) Throw a piece of shit $4 dollar toy version of night vision goggles into a super duper edition of MW2 and sell it for like $100 extra. Market it as though it comes with real night vision goggles so your COD playing basement dwellers can feel like they are soldiers as they lol at their friends cat in the dark....or what they can make of it with their $4 toy they paid $100 for.

4) Whore the fuck out of Tony Hawk, and then when people finally get bored of it....add a board (seriously.....you bored? here's a board!!) and sell a shitty, unfinished product for like $130

5) Realize you can save an extra buck or two and cut back on instruction manuals, because every penny

counts!

6) Have your shitty, asshole piece of shit president go on record saying shit like developing games shouldn't be fun, and we want to charge $90 per game

7) Remove mods from the PC version of MW2, then sell them DLC. Oh, and remove dedicated server support.

and on, and on, and on, and on and on and on and on and on......

Fuck Them.

Seriously, fuck Activision. And you.....stop buying Activision products. No, shut up, I don't want to hear it.

Just stop.

Fuck Activision.

Amen.

Copyright Free Music for Videos (including mp3's for youtube!!!)

Want to attain copyright and roaylty free songs for use in videos, free of charge?

Visit http://www.danosongs.com/ to find songs that are available under the creative commons license which means you can use them for free, for any period of time. Perfect for that cool youtube video. The only requirement on your end is to place a link back to the site in your video description. Of course, if you just want to download them to listen to, then no linking or anything is required.

Here's a message from the owner of the site:

Hi, I'm Dan-O and these are my original pop, rock, acoustic and techno songs. I put my own music up as free MP3 music downloads that are legal, safe and virus-free to listen, burn, stream, podcast or use in your personal or commercial multimedia projects. You are allowed to use the music for your business. You have my permission to use these tracks as music for YouTube or other video sites, in photo galleries, as background music on Websites, in student film projects, or whatever else you can think of.

You can use the MP3s as a game soundtrack, to record vocals over as a song or to play them on your podcast as complete finished tracks. It's up to you - have fun! The songs are available under the creative commons license which means you can use them for free if you link back to my site. If you just want to download and listen, that's great and you don't need to link back.

Here's a list of songs available to you, right now, free of charge:
 
Instrumental Music

Pop Rock Band with Guitar, Piano and Organ

The Art of Gardens - Acoustic Rock

The Wire - Modern Rock

Wait for the Dawn - Uplifting, Thoughtful

I'm Gonna Go - Light, Driving

Joker With Honey Lips - Straight, Downtempo

Gem Droids - Electro Beat Power Pop - New

Crazy from the Message - Hard Rock

Sun Spark - Alternative Rock

Flying While Weeping - Upbeat Pop Rock

Today then Tomorrow - Emo Style - New

Acoustic Guitar

Love Letters - Acoustic Pop Chords

Violet Shrine - Classical Guitar w/ Beat

Climb to Elara - Acoustic Modern Rock

Everything Begins - Fingerpicking Guitar

Imagine Magneta - Upbeat Funky Back-beats

Orchestra and Strings

Become the Heavens

Meditation and Relaxation Music

Autumn Boy - Ambient and Calm

Silver Shine - New Age Piano

Riding the Banshee - World Pop

Techno / Electronic

Snapsphere - Upbeat Techno Style

Copper Mountain - Dark Ambient

In the Deal - Acid Jazz Hip Hop

Rapid Arc - Industrial Trip Hop

Dublin Forever - Drum n Bass

Cellular Faith - Hard Rock Techno Funk

World / Ethnic

Book of the Monkey - Reggae

Ambershire - Asian

Dublin Forever - Rasta Vox Samples

Riding the Banshee - Native Chants

Game Music

Ten Ton Matrix

Songs with Vocals

Rock Band with Electric Guitar

The Time Isnt Right

King Or An Alien

Crawled Out of a Grave

Our Song

What You Think

Nuclear MakeUp

I Am You, You Are Me

Rescue Me

Techno / Electronic

Silk

Nightbirds

Acoustic Guitar Songs with Vocals

Crowd in the Palace

Love Letters

Everything Begins

Bounty Hunter

Its You

The World Will Break

Art of Gardens

Everything Dies

Blues with Band and Acoustic

Antarctic Moon Solo

Antarctic Moon Electric

Here is a video I made, using the song 'Cellular Faith':



So check out the site at http://www.danosongs.com/ and enjoy having access to free music which is free to use under the creative commons license.

Raiden IV Xbox 360 Review

Raiden IV is a top down vertical scrolling shooter, or vertical shmup, as games of this type are affectionately known, developed by Moss, and published by UFO Interactive. The xbox 360 version is an enhanced port of the 2007 arcade version. For those of you who are familiar with the genre, and know exactly what to expect, skip to the seventh paragraph of this review to get to the specific assessment of the merits (and flaw) of this particular game. For the uninitiated, it is prudent that you be appraised of exactly what it is you are going to encounter when you play this game, as these games cater to a very specific audience. If you go in not knowing what to expect, you may be severely disappointed. If you are not particularly familiar with this type of game, read on starting from the next paragraph.

The way these games play out is as follows: you control a ship equipped with various weapons, and you navigate a space filled with enemies who you must shoot, and who fire back at you en masse. The goal is to destroy the other ships while avoiding their fire. Along the way, you pick up various powerups, such as extra lives and bombs, as well as ship upgrades like shields and weapon upgrades. These games are known for having a high level of difficulty, as well as often requiring patterns memorization, due to the fact that enemies spawn and fire in a set pattern. If you can not react quickly enough to this pattern, you will be inundated by enemy fire, trapped in an unfavourable position, and ultimately, find yourself dead.

It's really quite a simple setup, and it has been utilized for decades due to its effectiveness. This type of system encourages multiple playthroughs, and, upon finally attaining a certain level of pattern recognition and memorization, one can do the thing revered by fans of the genre: the one credit playthrough. This seems impossible upon first encountering these games, but with the right level of proficiency and dedication, it's more than doable.

Two unfortunate (depending on who you ask) side effects to such a system do exist, however, and this game is no exception. First, and foremost, is the fact that these games are usually short, both because of their arcade origins (which also explains the difficulty) and because of the required pattern memorization. The second thing is the seemingly unfair difficulty encountered by new or unfamiliar players. These games are often incredibly hard and, upon first exposure, may easily be deemed unfair by new players.

This accusation could certainly be levied against Raiden IV. This is one difficult game, although concessions are made by Moss in the form of several difficulty modes (including a practice mode devoid of enemy fire) and the ability to unlock extra continues and lives, ultimately allowing one to play with a high default number of lives and continues. They have also enabled the ability for the player, upon meeting the game over screen, to restart at the level they last reached, rather than having to restart from the beginning, as so many games in this genre have you do.

The problem with the lowered level of difficulty, however, is that the fun is in the challenge. To play with complacent enemies leaves you with the distinct feeling that the game is holding back, which results in you feeling that you're not getting the full experience. It also fails to prepare you for play at the higher difficulty, so that once you start playing at the default (or higher) difficulty, you're not much better off than you would have been had you not previously played the game. So, your best bet is to just jump right in. If you're willing to do so, read on.

Raiden IV features seven stages in the enhanced xbox 360 mode (the original arcade mode is available as well). These stages must actually be played twice in a sitting to reach the secret eight stage. The stages aren't terribly lengthy, and the whole thing can be played through in about an hour or so (double that if you're going for the secret stage). There is one controllable ship, although you have the option to purchase two more, at 80 Microsoft points each, from the xbox live marketplace, giving you three ships in all. This decision seems unfair to the player, and neither of the two ships seems worth the purchase.

There are three main weapons and several secondary weapons available for use in the game. The three main weapons are a spread machine gun, a focused (but powerful) laser, and the most visually pleasing, and arguably most useful of the three, a purple laser that locks on to multiple enemies, resulting in a cool effect where it basically wraps around the screen. It's not as powerful as the focused laser, however, and it can tend to obstruct your view at times, but both of these issues are mitigated by the supremely useful lock on ability. The secondary weapons include things like missiles and heat seeking bombs.

The enemy variety is standard for the genre. It is replete with various ship types, tanks, arachnoid like robotic enemies, etc. The amount of ammunition thrown your way is quite high, and you will often find the entire screen covered in gunfire, leaving you with very little space to navigate. This is where the pattern memorization and fast reflexes come in handy.

In addition to the two new stages, this version of the game includes local co-op (no online play), online leaderboards, and the ability to save replays and post them to the leaderboard, as well as the ability to download other players replay data. This can be very useful for those trying to learn the best ways to navigate certain sections of the game, and to learn boss strategies employed by the top players. An additional, and rather interesting, new feature is the dual mode, which has you controlling two ships at the same time. This is a difficult task that requires both dexterity and good reflexes. It's a fun addition for skilled and familiar players looking to increase the challenge and try something new.

In terms of presentation, the game leaves much to be desired. While there are completely customizable controls, and a number of extra options, the menu sound effects are irritating, the graphics and sound, while adequate, leave much to be desired, the price is far too high at $40, and the two extra ships need to be purchased, which, in addition the the high price, seems almost criminal. The price is particularly problematic when you consider the fact that in early 2009, the xbox 360 received a Raiden collection, featuring three games, for half the price of this one.

Raiden IV plays well, and while it does nothing terribly innovative, it is both fun and challenging. It also comes with several interesting extras, making this a decent package. Unfortunately, the price of entry is far too high, and the paid DLC just adds to this. Releasing just months after the previous Raiden package on the same system, selling for half the price with triple the content, renders this even more objectionable. The game can be played by anybody, but it definitely caters to fans of the genre, and while they may be more inclined to shell out the money, this game still seems far more suited to a much lower price point. A rental or bargain bin purchase seems to be the best recommendation here.

Overall Score: 7/10

I had a One Night Stand.

This blog is regarding my night last night. I am quite tired atm, in pain, and not feeling all that concerned with form, so I'm just sort of blahing on the page, so forgive any grammatical or other sorts of mistakes, and forgive the lackadaisical (is that even a word?) writing style......


Okay, on to my night!!

Allow me to set the scene:

A nice, long, romantic walk?

Check.

Romanitc dinner, featuring:

Candles?

Check.

Wine?

Check.

Great food?

Check.

Okay, so far so good. So, we head to the living room, start a fire, get comfortable, and then he tells me, dude.....I'm going to let you play with it tonight.

''For real and for true?'' I ask, my lower lip quivering ever so slightly, signaling the physcial manifestation of the desire burning deep inside me.

''Yes, for real and for true.''

And so, having said that, I leaned over, looked him deep in the eyes, and said ''Okay, turn it on for me.'' I then grabbed the sleek, beautiful controller on the little table next to him, faced the tv, and watched that PS3 logo hit the screen.

It was game time.

It was PS3 time.

It had been far too long (a month or so).

The following is the tale of this Wii60 gamer's one night stand with a Sony Playstation 3. All names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Okay, so I'm settled in, I have my hands wrapped around that sleep PS3 controller (seriously, wtf is with those triggers though......yikes. They always bug me) and the only question left is, what to play?

Heavy Rain demo, duh.

*boots up heavy rain demo*

Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awes-

What the fuck? R2 to walk?

Huh?

Um.....k......what?

....

Okay, let's just keep playing.......

Okay, walking along, nice fucking visuals btw, walking along......okay, wtf? I have to hold down 3 buttons to shimmy behind a dumpster? Is this somehow more immersive? I don't get it......Oi, alright, fine....let's keep playing....

Walking, entering building, paying off office....person......talking to weird looking hooker...don't like how thoughts are floating around my head, kinda dumb, but I guess I understand why....okay, anyways......more talking.....starting to feel for her......commecting to characters.....intrigued, feel sad for woman, leaving, asthma, bad looking dude, definitely trouble, back to room, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!!!!......leaving, getting in car, oh cool, another scene, talking, walking, whoa, cool technology, few clues, talking, talking, huh, intrigued, okay, ah fuck, it's over :(

Okay, couple of design choices that leave me perplexed, but all in all, quite the unique experience. I'm intruiged. Wish I had the full game to play. Can't wait to borrow PS3 down the road, this will be the first game I play through.

Okay, next game.

Hmm, let's check the demo store, my friend suggests.

OH MY FUCKING SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


GOD OF WAR 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friend is very excited, downloads demo. I must now hand over controller....*sigh*

Friend plays demo twice, laughing like a schoolgirl all the way through. I must admit that it was pretty fucking impressive, even though, yet again, the combat is lacking, but I don't say this, let him have his moment.

I get the controller back, and alright, fuck it, might as well try GOW3, eevn though I'm not a fan.

Start playing, okay ya, doing this, doing that, blah blah blah. Meh, quit halfway through to a chorus of taunts from my GOW fanboy friend, who accuses me of being crazy.

Now we're playfully arguing about Bayonetta pwns GOW, no way nuh uh GOW pwns Bayonetta, blah blah.

Friend goes to bed.

I debate on what to play, swearing to myself that I am goign to stay away from Ninja Gaiden Sigma, because last time I had the PS3 to myself, I played Ninja Gaiden Sigma for 5 hours and didn't even get to play any of the other games I still haven't got to play, like Resistance.

And I'm playing Ninja Gaiden Sigma.......

*sigh*

But it's so awesome.....yes but you have all of the ninja gaiden's, it's still the same game, play somehting original.....ya but, no but, ya but.....ah shut up

*keeps playing, huge smile on face*

And I'm off to bed.

*goes to bed*

End of One Night Stand

Okay, so allow me to give a half assed ''review'' if you will of each demo. Keep in mind, I say review very lightly. I'm not putting on my review hat for these. Just a quick paragraph or two, and totaly informal ones at that.

Heavy Rain

So, despite some cumbersome and clunky controls (and a really fucking curious decision to have a walk button), the iffy floating/circular thoughts, and a few moments of weak dialogue and voice acting (which for the most part are both strong) Heavy Rain ended up being pretty damn awesome. I'm really looking forward to experiencing the full thing. I won't be able to for a few months, however, so I must avoid spoilers at all costs, so no Heavy Rain message board.

I rate the Heavy Rain demo a very solid 7.5/10. It was a decent length, definitely left me wanting more, and the game is solid, but the few few issues I mentioned really detracted from the experience for me.

Keep in mind, however, that in my scale, a 7.5 is pretty damn good.

God of War 3

God of War 3 is quite the experience......to watch. I actually really enjoyed watching my friend play it (despite the fact that he's a button masher, even by GOW standards). Sick ass enemy designs, nice graphics, awesome backgrounds/landscapes, visceral as hell finishers, sweet music....OH! and did I say awesome enemy designs? Seriously, when that Minotaur appeared, even this jaded motherfucker named magx let out an ''OH COOL!!!!'' (And then watched my friend get pwnd by it......*Sigh*).

Anyways, yes, GOW3 seems to excell in all of the areas the other ones do: the presentation, design, intensity, etc. But the combat, and I'm sorry GOW fans, I'm not saying it's terrible, but to me, it's lackluster. It looks good, but it's really quite lacking by my standards, and frankly, for the standards of the genre. The entire system needs to be reworked, and that actually reminds me, they didn't seem to have expanded it very much for this game, but it is a demo, so I won't make a final proclamation on that point.

I also guess in a way that it makes sense for what they are trying to convey. I suppose that Kratos zooming around the screen like Ryu or Bayonetta wouldn't make much sense, but they still could add some combo variety, give him more leeway in terms of cancelling stun properties and animations (like the roll), add a few extra luanchers and aerial moves to add some more emphasis on, and variety to, aerial combat (which my friend never once even used...wtf) and tighten up the evasive manouver (new button map, scrap the current animation in favour of a new, faster one. The AI also needs some work.

But that's just me.

I rate the GOW3 demo a 5.5/10 to play, and a 9/10 to watch. That shit was really fun to watch. I might just watch him play the full game when it releases lol.

Oh, and the ending......hehehehe. I had a feeling they'd hold back on the bosss fight, and they did. My friend got so excited when he saw Kratos come flying out of that ventilation shaft and zone in on that (awesome looking btw) bosses head....and when the demo suddenly ended his face was absolutely pricelss. I think he stared at the screen in silence for a full minute, with his mouth agape and a faraway look in his eyes......hehehehehe.

Oh, and of course, I rate my time with Ninja Gaiden Sigma an 11/10.

Oh, shit, almost forgot. In the morning (I crashed at his place) we downloaded the Yakuza 3 demo, and I got my first taste of Yakuza. Suffice it to say, I hope somebody makes a proper 3D beat em up one day.......

I rate Yakuza an underwhelming and clunky combat/10.

Is it so hard to do good combat in a 3D beat em up, people? I mean, come on, they can't just copy the formula of something like Dynamite Cop or God Hand?

If not, then shut up and make 2D ones, damn it.

Ciao....for now......

New Way to Access The Thoughtful Gamer!

This blog can now be reached via the url http://www.thethoughtfulgamer.com/ which means there are now two direct routes to soul corrupting atheism and morality destroying video games :)

Just thought I'd let you know :)