So tonight I dove in to the handheld games of the God of War series, if only to break up the order in which you probably thought I would write about these games this week. At first, I really considered playing the games in chronological order to the story (not the release dates), as this series has jumped around more than Kriss Kross in a bounce house. But, after I realized that the very first game in the story line was Ascension, which didn't actually come out until today, there was no way I was going to be able to start my week like that, yesterday - especially since I'm not privileged enough to get access to new releases early, apparently. So that pretty much screwed up any grandiose plan of having some rhyme or reason as to how I am playing the God of War series. Instead, I just decided on this order: Console game, handheld game, console game, handheld game, console game, handheld game, NEW console game. Got that? Did you take notes? I hope so, because there will be, in fact, a test later on (Pizza Guy, I'm looking at you, buddy). To reiterate, I chose to play the first of three hand held God of War games tonight, which is technically second in the chronological order of the storyline (but was the first for years until today's release), the prequel to the original game in the franchise, the fourth game actually released in the series and the second handheld game to be released. I really hope I got all that correct, because I got confused just writing it - I can't imagine what's it like to read it. I tend to think that Sony Santa Monica had pretty much this whole storyline roughly written out for a while now. Maybe not from the beginning, but at least once they got the green light to make the second game. If not, they are doing a wonderful job of filling in storyline holes - not with DLC, webisodes or anything else that games these days use to answer unanswered questions - but by just saying, "Ehhhhh, let's just make a full game about it." There are no complaints here. So, to try and stay true to God of War: Chains of Olympus being released for the PSP, before it was remastered and brought to two different PS3 collections, I wanted to play it on a handheld. Since I have the guy via a download, not on am actually PSP, I was forced to try to play it on my Vita. You know, that thing that Sony promised would be capable of great things, like being able to remotely play PS3 games on it? So that's what I did. Well, that's what I tried, I should say. Apparently, while the remote play function works for the God of War 1-3 games in the Saga, they decided it wasn't logical to make the handheld games, the downloadable titles in the Saga, able to utilize the remote play function of the Vita. Seriously. I can't make this up if I tried. That is one of Sony's new promises with the upcoming PS4 system, the ability to stream any and all games directly to your Vita for remote play. Seeing as how they can't figure it out now, you can see why I have my reservations about this guaranteed feature of The Future, the PS4. Disappointed, I was backed into a corner and brutally forced to play my PS3 game on my PS3. Thankfully, that's where the disappointed ended and the fun began. I actually sank several hours into the game tonight, just because of how fast paced and fun the action was. The story line didn't grab me right off the bat, but there are a few new elements I haven't seen in the little big of time I have spent with the franchise. The Morpheus, or the electric fog, or whatever you called it, is an interested concept for sure. The game play, the buttons, the menus, everything are very familiar and takes no time getting familiar with them, especially because I just played another God of War game last night. While the game is pretty tough on the eyes at first glance, the textures are actually smoother than you would think and the overall graphics aren't that bad. It's obvious the HD rendering has helped it out greatly, but seriously, it could have looked a lot worse. It is quite clear why this game was so highly regarded and dubbed the best PSP game. I could imagine how awesome this would have looked, booting it up for the first time your PSP. And that is why Sony is successful with their exclusive IPs. They always seem to have that "WOW" factor (usually early on in the games), and they hold up well over time. Unlocking a whole bunch of new trophies was pretty fun to, if I might say so myself. That might be one of dark horses on the race track this week for you gambling fans, as far as what will end up being my favorite part of spending the week with Kratos himself. We will see as the week progresses though, won't we?
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Well, it's that time of the month once again. Not that time of the month, but this time of the month. Well, it's not really on a schedule, either, but it's a new month regardless, which means it's that time of this month. Stop. Let me try that again. ... Hey everybody, do you remember last month (February) where I played every game in the Halo series for an entire week and then blogged about it? Well, that was actually one of the coolest, most fun things I have done with this blog project in the few months of it's existence. I actually received a lot of feedback and praise for that one week, which was awesome to see that so many other people not necessarily had the same opinions as me, but rather had a deeper connection to the Halo series past the fact of them being video games, like I did. I feel like I really connected with you all during that week, like we were cave explorers spelunking in a previously undiscovered cave (this year of gaming project) and we took an offshoot path that looked like it had some sort of light at the end of the tunnel (my week of Halo). And in the end, in the mini sub-adventure we took, we found a huge, glorious cave within the cave, with stalagmites and stalactites and everything. Following my drift? Man, I hope so, because my analogies are getting stranger, longer and more complicated by the day. So let's just put it this way: My Week of Halo was really awesome, fun for me and a good read for the readers, as far as I can tell. So, because of that, I decided to have a special week in every month, with each week featuring a new series of games. And this month, on the eve of the release of the newest addition to the franchise, I have decided to have a God of War Week. All Kratos, all his games, all week long. Now, let's clear up a few things first before I jump into the original God of War game breakdown. First, I realize that God of War is not everyone's cup of tea. It doesn't hold a special place in as many gamers' hearts as Halo does, and that's fine. Despite it's commercial success as a franchise, it's still a niche game. For one, it's Sony exclusive, which until recently, meant that not that many people we able to keep up with the series as a Microsoft franchise, or especially a cross-platform franchise. Also, due to the violent nature, game play mechanics and style, and adult themes, the God of War series isn't intended to be for everyone's liking. It just is what it is. It's a bloody, violent, fast-paced, button-mashing, hack-and-slash, sexually aggressive adventure built on the human principals of love, hatred, jealously and revenge. It never pretends to be something its not. Never, not once. And I have LOTS to say on this topic, as the week progresses. You have been warned. Secondly, if you pull out your abacus and do some quick math, you will count a total of six God of War games, including the newest one tomorrow, to be commercial released, right? God of War 1,2,3, Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta and now Ascension. Well, there was also a hidden, long-ago-forgotten-about gem in the series, but we will get to that one later on as the week progresses. So yeah, there are seven days in the week, and seven God of War games in the series. It's like it was meant to be. The God of War series, unlike a lot of fans of the series, doesn't go very far back for myself. Actually, I just played the first game for the first time last September, when I picked up the newly released God of War Saga that Sony put out to pay homage to one of their most successful franchises. It was part of the PlayStation Collections line of games they have released, including other popular franchises like Killzone, inFamous and Resistance. Unlike the other Collections, though, it featured five games for the low, low price of only $40! Five games in one bundle? Oh yeah! You see, I didn't actually own a PlayStation 3 until last March, where I bought a Vita and the PS3 on the same day - because when I jump in to something, I go all in, head first, with no life jacket. I owned a PS2 for a brief moment in my life, but that went away with my gaming hiatus as well. So, I never had a chance to play any of the awesome Sony exclusives until recently, which sadly enough, is taking up a large portion of my backlog. God of War was always a game series that intrigued me, that I thought I would like, but due to circumstances, could never enjoy. When Sony announced their God of War Saga, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to start from the beginning. Playing this game tonight, I remembered what I thought about it several months ago when I played it for the first time. Yes, even with the HD updates, it's still a dated game, graphically speaking. The fire in the background of the menu screen is an instant headache, due to the lack of graphics to actually make it look like real fire. But then you get a pretty awesome looking cut-scene, with Kratos jumping off the cliff in a suicide attempt, setting up the story that would play out of the next 5 games as well: Kratos' rise to the throne as the God of war. From there, you are pretty much thrown in to battle right off the bat, learning simple techniques as you go, instead of having the separate tutorial. Everything is going nice and kosher, and then BAM! You get your first glimpse at would eventually be one of many, many huge bosses to fight - The Hydra. It's pretty clear from the first several moments of the game, what kind of game this will be. It will be a violent, bloody hack-and-slash game. It will feature some platforming and puzzling solving elements, as well. Also, the now infamous Quick Time Events will play a crucial role in big fights, and the bosses you will encounter along the way will be massive, intimidating and downright awesome. I remember how fulfilling beating this game was a few months ago, because the story, while pretty simple and basic in it's truest form, is still quite engaging and fascinating, especially for fans of Greek mythology. Tonight, I didn't play through the whole game, obviously, but I did get a healthy start at a 5 hour or less play through that I need to complete for a gold trophy. Will I ever get it? Hopefully, thanks to the great head start on it I got tonight. But with so many games in the series to play this week, it won't be finished this week, that's for sure. I can't wait to continue this, as I haven't even played most of the games yet, so yo will get a lot of first impressions and varied opinions from me, in this God of War week. Well, I promised you a comparison between MLB 13: The Show, which I wrote about last night, and MLB 2K13, the competition to said game, didn't I? Here it is, in all its glory - and a lot sooner than I anticipated, I might add. Now, I want you to know that I played MLB 2k13 on the Xbox 360, where as The Show was played on the PS3, of course, because of its exclusivity. So I can't fairly compare the two games base on graphics or system-specific things, but in the end, I don't think it would matter anyway. MLB 2k13 sucks. Alright, maybe the term "sucks" is a tad bit harsh, but not when compared to a wonderfully fun and beautiful game like MLB 13: The Show. Seriously, this game can't hold a candle to its competitor, and it's a shame that it gets the most hype and name recognition, because after playing both, it is clear that it is by far the inferior baseball video game. Where to begin. How about on the title screen, where they show an animation of Tampa Bay pitcher David Price, with the chant of "M-V-P" in the background. That's all fine and dandy, had Price actually won the MVP this year. He didn't, but guess what? Justin Verlander did, last year, when he was the cover athlete for this game. Honest mistake or flat out laziness to just copy-and-paste a game, slap on a new year to it and call it new? I would hope it was a mistake, but it's not the only thing the game does wrong, so I would have to lean towards the recycling theory. The game plays clunky. The animations drop frame rates worse than Skyrim on PS3 (BAZINGA!), and I never feel like I am playing the latest and greatest game of this franchise. To be honest, except for the updated rosters, I don't think I could tell the difference between this year's game and one that came out two or three years ago. It's that bad. Seriously. I can't make this up. One shining star in the cloudy, dark and cold space this game occupies is still the pitching mechanics. It is ridiculously fun to try and throw that perfect pitch with the precise timing and analog stick movement it requires to do so, which ramps up the difficulty as your pitcher gets rattled or fatigued. It's awesome, and if The Show could do something similar to that, I don't think the 2K series could claim to be better at anything - except sucking more. The hitting is juvenile an unsatisfying, the plays appear to be moving quickly, only to lag down to a snail's pace as the play develops for some unknown reason, and nothing feels GOOD. I really don't know how else to explain it. Even the menus are convoluted and difficult to not only navigate, but understand. The online seasons have been removed, and lacks anything mode that's even close to being fun and riveting like the Road To The Show, found in The Show. Honestly, I just couldn't wait to stop playing this game, just so I could fire up The Show again and continue work on my RTTS campaign. What a giant waste of a game, 2K Sports. Seriously. You are getting bested by a Sony exclusive, when you clearly have more market share to appeal to. Even with direct competition, you can't be bothered to ramp it up and make the best baseball game possible? That's just sad and embarrassing. Unless you are just conceding the fact that you can't make as good of a baseball game as Sony San Diego Studios can with The Show, which in that case, stop stealing people's money and quit the arms race. Maybe just stick to basketball, huh? Unless you plan on bringing Michael Jordan back into the baseball universe once again. Because that worked out well the first time. I mean for you guys, not MJ himself, of course. I like to think that competition brings out the best creativity possible, in any form of entertainment out there. Whether it be writing, film making or video game development, without that extra push of someone trying to step on your toes, take over your turf and do what you are doing but better, people start to get complacent with doing "just enough" instead of breaking ground and pushing out the best. MLB '13: The Show is the shining example of this in the genre of sports video games. With the Madden series, there simply isn't any other NFL game out there competing with the market share, therefor allowing those developing Madden to not necessarily take the biggest risks or implement drastic changes to the series. The years that the Madden franchise made the biggest, most drastic improvements was when the NFL 2K franchise came out of no where on the Dreamcast and became the best NFL simulation games on the market. NBA 2K13 is the only game in town for NBA games, thanks to NBA Live going belly up over and over again. But the year in which NBA Live was supposedly supposed to make it's triumphant return to be a thing, the developers of NBA 2K knew they had to step their game up, which led to the biggest thing in basketball games ever: locking down the contract to not only use but completely feature Michael Jordan throughout the game, from the box art to the special Jordan moments mode and everything between. When that game released, the hope and future of NBA Live immediately died on the spot. With baseball games, it's a different story. There isn't a definitive, stand alone franchise representing the MLB, but instead, two. You have the mulitplatiform franchise of MLB 2K, and then you have the Platstation exclusive IP, MLB: The Show. While the MLB 2K games have thrived off of their namesake (and giving away a million dollars in the Perfect Game sweepstakes each year), The Show franchise is still trying to find their footing in the gaming landscape. Of course, there biggest hurdle is that they are exclusive to the PS3 and Vita consoles, immediately eliminating the owners of non-Sony consoles. They also don't have the classic, everybody-has-some-attachment-to name that their competition benefits from, so trying to establish themselves as the "go-to" baseball game has been tough, it seems. But it shouldn't be. This is a phenomenal game. I am brand new to the franchise myself, but I am blow away with what they have done as far as recreating a baseball experience. Baseball is probably, I imagine, the hardest of the sports to nail as far as the little idiosyncrasies that goes along with the game of a million unwritten rules. Honestly though, this is the first baseball game where I genuinely felt not only engaged, but apart of the game. And that's special to me, as a lifelong, diehard baseball fan. I've been playing this game all week, and every time I play it I have enjoyed it more and more. Every mode, every customizable feature and option, everything has been a blast. Today, I have been playing a lot of the Road to the Show mode, where you create a player and he gets thrown in the minor leagues, and you get to play your way up into the bigs. Not only are you playing the minor league games (which is done is such a smart way with the simulation up to the points where you need to hit or have a play to make in the field), but you build up XP basically, used to train your player and build up better skills. You can also do random training sessions that improve certain skill scales, and there are even challenges for you to try to accomplish to boost you even quicker. If I play nothing BUT this mode forever, I will still feel completely satisfied with this game. But, there are also the season modes, franchise modes, quick play modes and online modes as well. Overall, I don't know if they could fit more baseball into this game if they tried. So while they might not be winning the battle of biggest brand name or most popular, if they keep this up, they may eventually win the war. However, to be fair, I do plan on playing MLB 2K13 as well to do a head-to-head comparison and give a final verdict of who has the best baseball game. Either way, however, just be glad you have to fantastic franchises pushing each other to improve and get better. Dreamcast and NBA Live ... please come back. Soon. Free games. Who doesn't like free games, right? I even had a discussion on Twitter today about the difference between liking a free game because it's a good game, or liking a good game because it's a free game. Some games aren't good, even though they are free. You have to sit back and ask yourself if the free game is something you would pay for had it not been free, or if you are just finding enjoyment in it simply because you didn't spend any of your hard earned cash for it. Well today, The Walking Dead: Assault game for the iOS was being given away from free, thanks to the awesome IGN.com. When this game first came out last year, I chose not to buy it, despite how big of a Walking Dead fan I am. Why? Because I was pretty much burnt out and uninterested in mobile gaming that didn't involve my Vita or my 3DS. A guy can only play so much Angry Birds before he doesn't see his phone as a viable gaming platform any longer. So, The Walking Dead: Assault ... well, it's a top down shooter that plays out over 11 missions. The controls are super basic, as all you have to do is move your group of characters around the map, pick up supplies and getting in range to take out the surrounding walkers. The pace is fast and frantic, with patience and skill getting pushed to the back burner for the most part. There isn't much strategy while playing the game, but before each level, you get to chose which four characters you will use in your squad. Why is that important, you ask? That's because each character has a different weapon (pistol, shotgun, riffle, etc.) and special moves. Does it effect the game play dramatically? Not especially, but each level does play a little differently, so your choice can effect how easy or hard the mission is. The best thing about this game, hands down, is that it is based off the comic book series directly. The 11 chapters takes place over the first few books of the comic series, with characters and senescence ripped right out of the universe that Robert Kirkman created. It's all in black and white, with blood in red and ammo/supplies highlighted in yellow, and objects you can interact with in green. The limited amount of color looks gorgeous when dropped cautiously on the B&W backdrop of the zombie apocalypse. This game does stay very true to the foundation of the comics and the universe, which is phenomenal. They could have easily slapped the Walking Dead moniker on any old top-down shooter game and made some money just on the name itself. And while it does feature a small microtransaction option for leveling up your characters, it's not forced down your throat, either. It's a nice addition to the Walking Dead universe, which is refreshing (as I have my doubts about The Walking Dead: Survivor Instinct game coming out next month). Again, it was free, and is all month, apparently. Is it a good free game, or a game that's good because it's free? Well... You tell me. Inspiration sometimes comes in the most unlikely times and unexpected moments. Tonight was one of those moments in time, for sure, where inspiration popped out of thin air. I was having a twitter conversation with an awesome gamer lady, Elaine, who hosts the fantastic Hell Yeah Podcast that I recently became a big fan of after it was highly recommended to me (thanks, Pizza Guy!). Anyway, she had mentioned how she felt like a "bad bitch" when using the bow in the new Tomb Raider game (and yes, that's her quote, not mine). I was curious if it was the character or actually the weapon, because I have been struggling to find a game that utilizes the bow successfully as a weapon. Every game seems to make it feel forced and efficient as a weapon itself, like it was in Far Cry 3. If it wasn't for the hunting side quests that forced you to use the bow, I never had that thing equipped. Ever. And honestly, I used my knife to shank those tigers and komodo dragons instead of the bow, which technically counted still, somehow. She suggested the bow in Crysis 3 was good, but honestly, that game was so uninteresting, uninspired and complicated that there was no way I was going to be able to enjoy the weapon in the short amount of time that I played it. The commercials made it look cool, and the brief time I had with it, I was able to feel the potential in it being not only a viable, but a go-to weapon. But again, I had no fun with the game itself, much less any weapons. I jokingly tossed out Link's Crossbow Training, and while a crossbow technically isn't the type of bow I was referring to, but still, it worked and felt better than any crappy bow in recent games. I don't know what it is, but there is a certain feeling to having a bow seem like a proper weapon in a game. It's hard to explain, but I know I haven't found one in a long, long time. So, of course, I immediately wanted to play Link's Crossbow Training for tonight's blog entry. It seemed like the only appropriate thing to do, really. Plus, I could say I beat the game for the blog, which is cool, since it only takes an hour or so to get through the nine levels. It's just weird that this is the first Zelda game I've played for the blog. Who saw that coming? A lot of people have probably forgotten about this game, most likely because they never played it. It was basically the Legend of Zelda Battle Quest mini-game attraction in the NintendoLand game for the Wii U - just way ahead of it's time. It was originally a spin-off game of the Twilight Princess, until it got demoted to pack-in mini game, despite the game obviously taking place in the same world as Twilight Princess did. And the best thing about the game? It came with the infamous Wii Zapper - for free! Or did you get the game for free when you bought the Wii Zapper? You tell me! Ahh, the Wii Zapper. What a great yet horrible plastic peripheral. The concept of it alone is what originally got me so excited for it, with the promise of being able to use it efficiently for all future shooters coming to the Wii. Aside from the Resident Evil on-rails shooter Umbrella Chronicles, I don't ever remember using the damn thing ever. The design of it is great, with the remote locking in perfectly, the nunchuck fitting nice and securely and even having the chords as concealed and tidy as possible. Sadly, the trigger didn't work well and the overall shape of the Zapper was an ergonomic nightmare. It was clear that using the controller without the shell was much easier and effective. I liked playing it again tonight, though. It was and still is a fun little game. But with the NintendoLand game, it's hard to ever go back and play it again after tonight. But don't worry, the Wii Zapper will find a nice resting spot next to my two Wii Wheels and Fitness Board, tucked in the far depths of my gaming cabinet. Thanks again for the inspiration, Elaine! And yes, I will be writing about Tomb Raider soon, and hopefully, I will feel like a bad bitch as well when using the bow. Which reminds me, dear readers. Are there any games you can think of that utilize the bow as a great weapon? Let me know! Looking back at last night's blog post, I realize it was a train wreck. A complete disaster, if you will. I really don't know what came over me, but I realized while I was writing that it sucked, but reading it again, I think the term "sucked" is being awful grateful. My thoughts were scattered all over the place - maybe because I was more focused about writing about a movie about games than I was the game about the movie about games. Or, maybe I just suffered from spontaneous writing fatigue. Can't say for sure, but hopefully I can SNAP out of it long enough to get a much better blog up tonight. I would like to apologize for that disaster last night, to anyone who had to read that garbage. But I would also like to apologize for not taking advantage of an obvious opportunity to play my first Nintendo 64 game on the 64th day of the blog project. DUH. Didn't even cross my mind until today. I think I am already starting to plan in the future that the present day opportunities are slipping right by me. So, to make it up, I decided to play an awesome Nintendo 64 game, and one of my personal favorites ... Pokemon Snap. Now, I can't say that I ever imagined that this game would be the first 64 game I played for this year long project, but that's the beauty of what I have created. The unknown, the mystery ... and not just from you, the reader, but even for myself. Actually, I was inspired to play this game after I posed a question on twitter. I asked if anyone could guess what franchise my next "Week Of..." series would cover, and Chris (@HolyHeadShot) from EverydayGamers.com guessed a slew of franchises, all of which were good guesses, but wrong. One of the names he dropped, however, was Pokemon, and while that series hadn't even struck me as a possibility, I checked and we are now entering the 6th generation of Pokemon games with the announced Pokemon X & Y games later this year. And since the 4th generation had two sets of games, Diamond & Pearl and also HeartGold & SoulSilver, it is very possible to do a full week of Pokemon games just using the base, standard games (spin-offs, like Snap, don't count). That's crazy to think, that as long as they have been around, does it really feel like there have been 7 different sets of Pokemon games? So, with my mind on Pokemon and Pokemon on my mind, I decided to whip out Pokemon Snap and give my photographer skills a test. Yes, the game is still super-easy and anything but complicated. Yes it is still an awesome collection of the old-school, first generation Pokemon that we all know and love. And yes, I freakin' love this game. I can't remember how long after it came originally did I play it, but I remember going back through over and over again trying to get that PERFECT shot. What a blast to not worry about dying, not worrying about puzzle solving ... just taking pictures of amazing looking Pokemon. I feel like this game has been the gold standard for games using a camera to take pictures, whether the entire game is based around it (Endless Ocean series for the Wii) or just using it as a tool within the game. And while there are much better looking camera games since Snap, this one still has a special place in my heart. The first generation of Pokemon are so memorable, thanks to the groundbreaking Red & Blue (and eventually Yellow) games, the cartoon series, the trading cards and everything else that capitalized on the Pocket Monsters phenomenon. This game was really the first time we got to see the Pokemon in full 3D, and it was amazing. Anyone remember finally catching the surfing Pikachu on camera for the first time? Yeahhhhhh.... Anyway, I enjoyed playing this game all over again. It's a game I like to go back to every now and then, just because. And seriously, if there was EVER a game that was way before its time, this is it. Tell me this game wouldn't be absolutely perfect for the new Wii U system? Seriously, just take this game, HD it up, add some more features, throw it on a Wii U disk and I guarantee this struggling system will start flying off the shelves. I GUARANTEE IT. Of course Nintendo won't do it, though. They apparently don't like money. Or making good decisions. Or doing the obvious actions to obtain success. They insist on doing it the hard way. More power to them, but there is a legion of Pokemon fans, old school and newer adapters of the series, that would kill for an awesome Wii U Pokemon game. Just saying, Nintendo ... just saying. So there you have it. My first Nintendo 64 game. And that "My Week Of..." I mentioned earlier? Yeah, that starts Monday. Be ready for another epic week packed full of one game franchise. Also, on a final note, I am tossing the idea around of taking on suggestions for games to play, and if possible, taking the recommendations and turning them into a blog post. Maybe one a week, maybe one or two a month, I'm not sure yet. And I wouldn't ask for really hard to get, obscure suggestions either, but just something to be more interactive with the readers and keep things even more fresh around here. I'm hoping things like that would prevent posts like my Wreck-It Ralph blog to ever happen. But sometimes, the tsunami just can't be stopped. Today was an awesome, awesome day for releases, and marks the start of several weeks in a row crammed full of great games coming out. Tuesdays have been my favorite non-weekend day of the week for YEARS now, as all new games, music and movies usually is released on Tuesdays. I actually picked up two new games and downloaded another 4 or 5 I think. On top of all that, however, was the release of possibly the coolest thing to happen for the video game industry in a very long time. Disney's Wreck-It Ralph (the movie) came out today, and I happily picked that Blu-Ray up as well. I took my two boys to see it in theaters, but since my little girl hasn't seen it yet, I got to sit down and watch it with them all tonight, which was awesome. I can't say it was a fun day up to that point, however, as my little princess got sick at daycare only 20 minutes or so after I dropped her off this morning, so I had to leave work and pick her up. I joked on twitter the other day about taking a sick day to catch up on my gaming back-log, but this wasn't what I had in mind. Taking care of a sick kid (even though she was feeling pretty good after puking) is exhausting, and doesn't leave as much time to game as an empty house would wield, although I did catch up a little bit. ANYWAY ... Wreck-It Ralph. This is an excellent movie, beautifully done by Disney's animation studio, that sheds an awesome light on the video game universe, especially arcade gaming and "retro" games. There is even a line in the film about "being retro means it's old, but cool," or something like that. This is a perfect homage to the glory days of arcade games and the transition from that era to the new one. The cameos, the references, the nods to other video games throughout is such a nice touch, and isn't over the top for people who don't have a vast wealth of gaming knowledge, but still enough to ensure those of us with a rich history of gaming are entertained as well. So, because of how much I love this movie, and how excited I was to finally get to watch it again, I played the movie tie-in game that was released on the Wii. Now, I played this earlier today, so I have no idea why I waited so long to write about it, but hey, that's life I suppose. The game is OK at best, nothing special. It's a follow up to the movie, a side-scrolling adventure. You go back and play through all the levels you see in the movie, but honestly, it just kind of falls flat. Especially when you have the movie right there to compare it to. I also recently found out that at Disneyland, they have an arcade modeled after Wreck-It Ralph, which is awesome. And, considering we are surprising the kids at the end of this month with a trip down there, I am super pumped to check that out. Think I could work some of those games there into my blog? I fully plan on it! Long story short, Wreck-It Ralph is awesome. The movie, I mean, not necessarily the game. If you love games, watch the movie. If you love the movie, you don't need to play the game. Get it? Got it? Good... If you read my blog posting yesterday, you'll remember I talked about wanting to try a daily fitness routine using a Kinect game. Well, I figured, that I might as well try it out, instead of just talking about thinking about trying it. So, with that being said, I thought I would give UFC Personal Trainer for the Xbox 360, a Kinect game a chance to be that game. Now, I don't go to a gym. I've been really been a gym guy, but I have thought about it now and then. But like everyone else who doesn't go to a gym, I have plenty of excuses. The biggest one, and most logical, is my lack of time at this point. With having a full time job, and my lovely wife working two jobs, that leaves me at home with the kids all evening. Sure, I could go after 10 pm, or wake up super early and go before work, but I'm mentally and physically exhausted as it is. I know, I know ... it's just all excuses, and I should just get up and go do it. But ehhhhhh... So I've had UFC Personal Trainer sitting around for a while. My lovely, better half mentioned one time about being interested in fitness video games after seeing one on a commercial or something, so despite her not liking video games at all, I thought it was a great idea to get it for her. Well, she never used it. Not once. Hell, I don't think the disc has ever been taken out of the case until tonight. I got all ready for my first of maybe many nights training using the oh-so-wonderful Kinect. I moved the couch back, turned on all the lights, moved the coffee table out of the way and threw on some basketball shorts. Basically, I had a whole pre-training workout before the training. Thanks, Kinect! I love having to rearrange my entire game room just to use you!!! I struggled to get through all the menus, using Kinect hand and voice gestures, of course. Once I did, and got my profile selected and stats put in, it was time to do the first training test to see where I stood physically, I guess. And that's exactly when the wheels fell off this whole attempt to play this game. The camera stopped recognizing me, and I would constantly have to re-select my profile. That of course was a chore in itself, and would take me out of the game itself each time. Then I was having trouble staying the view of the camera, as it instructed me to lay down on the ground sideways, for a sit-up drill, but wanted me to wave and hold my cursor hand over the "NEXT" button. This, quite simply, is impossible to do from the ground. Once I finally got past that, and started the sit-up drill, I would constantly be too low for the camera to see, having to go to the profile selection screen each time. I tried moving farther away (which is never an issue with the Kinect), but then it couldn't pick up what I was doing at all. I was stuck in Kinect Hell, Sensor Limbo. Forty-five minutes later, I still hadn't completed the full first work-out, due to all the stupid complications. After all that, I had enough. I moved everything back and realized that I literally did do more working setting up and breaking down the room to play this stupid game than I did in the game itself. I hate the Kinect. I hate it with a passion. Again, I will reiterate the fact that had I not got it for free in a giveaway, I still would not have this horrible failure of technology. I bet you can guess my excitement over all the rumors of the Kinect 2.0 being packed in with the next Xbox... There is no question in my mind that I can firmly, unequivocally say UFC Personal Trainer will NOT be that game that I play daily for a workout. I would rather sacrifice even more sleep to go to the gym than play this again. But hey, maybe that is the point anyway? Talk about going off the grid for today's game. This one is so out in left field, it even surprised me. But hey, when the gaming gods give me a sign, I have to follow it and see where it takes me. And today, it took me to Brain Age. We had a busy day with the family today. Actually, it was a busy weekend, with baseball sign ups and tryouts for my two boys going on most of the day yesterday, and then today was spent at the zoo followed by dinner at the in-laws. Why I am telling you all of this? For one, to give you a peak behind the curtains, but also to explain how I came about to play Brain Age. Digging around in the van this weekend led me to discover a Brain Age cartridge, randomly floating around, most likely the victim of being dropped and forgotten about long ago by my seven year old. Regardless, we randomly found it today, even though we didn't even know it was gone. Naturally, I took that as a sign that it was the game I supposed to play today. Now, I could have played it on my Nintendo 3DS, but I am actually on strike from my own console and refuse to even flip open the screen until I pull the trigger on upgrading to the XL version. After seeing the XL in a store and playing around with it, looking at the small, tiny and cheap looking original 3DS just makes me sick. So, I vowed not to play a single 3DS game until I get my XL, which hopefully, will be sooner than later, as I have a massive backlog of games going on. So anyway, I played on his old DSi, which he will only continue using until I hand off my 3DS to him when I upgrade. But, Brain Age is a DS game, so I felt it only right to play it on it's native system. Let's get right to the point. My brain sucks, according to the game. I haven't put nearly the proper amount of training in as I should, apparently. That's OK, though, as the newest version of the series, on the 3DS, actually has intrigued me. I would like to play a game like this, for a few minutes each day, to see if it actually increases my brain functionality at all. I've also had this crazy idea of playing one of the Kinect fitness games every day, for a daily workout, just to see what kind of results that would produce. Playing Brain Age today, however, confirmed a few things. The DSi was an awesome system, but man, is it dated now. Also, I really need to start brain training again. Maybe I'll start it up ... once I get my 3DS XL, of course. |
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February 2014
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