First impressions

With my game reviewing stint at a magazine drawing to a close next month, I’m looking at games in a different light. Instead of “is this something my readers would be interested in?” or “is this something I want to tell them about because it’s much better or worse or more worthy of their attention than they might think?”, I’m now thinking “what would I like to play?”

I have a huge pile of games I’ve played too little of over the past eighteen months or so and quite a few ones I haven’t even opened yet. I’m now going through some of those off the top of my head to see which ones I really want to get into – and why.

Mirror’s Edge (PS3)

Oh how I wanted to love this game. Unfortunately the combat and the often unclear level design conspire against it. It’s still an exhilarating, genuinely new experience when it works. I look forward to completing it, despite my misgivings about the game design.

Far Cry 2 (PS3)

Something about the Africa in this game just beckons me. Traveling across the map can be a pain and the missions really aren’t varied enough, but the beautiful vistas can carry the game for some time. I also really like the feeling of combat here. It’s great how all your guns are rusting, sand-gritted beasts prone to jamming in the worst possible moment. I hope they don’t get any better as the game progresses as the unreliable weapons add a lot to the overall feel.

Gears Of War & Gears Of War 2 (Xbox 360)

For some reason I never got into Gears Of War when it was frist released. I only picked it up a month ago and have been enjoying my time with it. Looking forward to finishing it and playing the sequel in co-op. Horde has been a lot of fun at the office.

Dead Space (PS3)

Dead Space is more well-crafted than it really should be. It’s got an over-abundance of quality, coupled to the steaming remains of every working horror movie and survival horror game cliche you could think of. The resulting over-familiarity bothers somewhat, but the sheer quality of work in evidence makes me a fan. I hope to complete it.

Lips (Xbox 360)

Based on a couple of nights with it, Lips is a considerable improvement over SingStar, simply due to removing difficulty levels, not punishing you for vibrato and for being wireless. The motion sensitive mics add a lot to the experience as you’re striking poses while singing. Of course the song selection is not all that as of yet, as the game is brand new.

Fable II (Xbox 360)

I have a feeling I might be done with some of the diverting stuff by now (being a landlord, a wife and an entrepreneur), so I guess I might just as well try being a hero for a change. I am somewhat intrigued to see where the story goes, actually.

Fallout 3 (PS3)

I am twenty-plus hours into this and really, really like it. Hitting enemies with a baseball bat in slow motion does not get old. I have a way of playing by the skin of my teeth, always out of ammo, always out of functioning weapons and armor, always on the verge of being critically wounded, always suffering from radiation poisoning… but then again, that’s what I want from Fallout. Great stuff.

Grim Grimoire (PS2)

Hey, gotta have some loving for the PS2, as well. Might get into real-time strategy cartoon witchery game when my wife’s playing on the HDTV. The last-gen games look better on an SDTV, anyway. Hey, did I have an uncompleted Resident Evil 4 lying around here somewhere? (Oh yeah, and Shadow Of The Colossus.)

Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

I am on the last map, where I ended up after a week of obsessive playing and then frogetting about the game for a few months. I have an estimated around fifteen minutes of playtime left plus the allegedly couple of hours of cinematics until I wrap up. It’s been such a great game that I’m seriously considering going at it again.

Little Big Planet (PS3)

We’re some three quarters done with the main game with my wife. I want to complete this game, sample some of the user-generated stuff and make a level of my own. That is “a level”, nothing more, nothing less.