GameFly Report - 20

[01] Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

Publisher: Namco

Platform: XBOX 360

It’s a fun game, but I really didn’t play too much of it, again, so I can’t give it a score.

[02] Guitar Hero: Smash Hits

Publisher: Activision

Platform: XBOX 360

This can be looked at two ways: 1. if you never played a plastic guitar music game of your own, this would be a good starter kit, if Rock Band 2 didn’t exist. 2. If you already have been playing plastic guitar games for a while now, this will give you most of the songs you have played to death on Guitar Hero 3, and the rest of the songs are on Rock Band 2, and done far better. Also, the music creation studio has not evolved past it’s release last year with Guitar Hero World Tour. I can give this game a solid [D].

[03] GRID

Publisher: Codemasters

Platform: XBOX 360

GRID is fun to play, but as a racing game, it’s just one in the crowd. There’s nothing special about it aside from the ability to rewind time if you screw up, which was already done in Full Auto 1 & 2, and it takes away the feeling that you’re doing some real racing, where every second matters and the risk/reward found in other racers. It’s still a good game, just a bit average. I give GRID a [B].

[04] Race Pro

Publisher: Atari

Platform XBOX 360

Dear Primacron, this game if fucking terrible. It’s supposed to be a Racing Sim, but the cars are about as responsive as the cars in that PS2/XBOX game called Auto Modellista, and speaking for the PS2, the graphics are on par with TOCA Race Driver 2 for the PS2. An easy [F] if I ever saw one.

[05] Terminator Salvation

Publisher: Atari

Platform: XBOX 360

Talk about bad games, this one takes the cake. Fucking garbage. [F-Fucking-Minus]

[06] Touchmaster

Publisher: Midway

Platform: Nintendo DS

This was fun, for about 20 minutes a session. It’s pretty much Midway’s take on the touch screen Mega Touch games you find in just about any bar you go to. It’s not exactly a Mega Touch rip off, since I do remember, back when Midway made coin-op games, that for about a year the full-size Touchmaster game found its way to my favorite dive bars of the time, and then the next year, it was back to Mega Touch since Midway announced they were getting out of the coin-op game market. So it’s a good port from a touch screen monitor to the DS, but these games are much more fun when you’re drunk. Still Touchmaster (and Touchmaster 2) are some of the best collection of Mini-Games for the DS right now. I’d give this game a [B-]

[07] Fuel

Publisher: Codemasters

Platform: XBOX 360

Ah Fuel. You had so much promise, but when you came in the mail, Big Surf Island in Burnout Paradise had just come out. So I can’t rate Fuel. Maybe in a few months?

GameFly Report - 19

Star Ocean: The Last Hope – XBOX 360

The game is terrible, but the combat is fun. Then again, there are other games with similar combat. The story and pacing is so 16-Bit Enix quality. Long and boring is the game.

If this was really Enix’s Last Hope, they’d be fucked.
This game gets a D+.

GameFly Report - 18

Well indeed. The nice people at GameFly just decided that after I purchased Fable II that the next three games they send me are Infinite Undiscovery, Lost Odyssey, and Star Ocean IV. Maybe it will be a rainy summer? Who knows? Back in reality I haven't touched my game platforms too much except recently to watch "Taken" (a.k.a. You Don't Fuck With Niam Leeson) and "S. Darko" (that was the worst movie ever. of all time). Mainly I've been addicted to Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Peggle Dual Shot for the Nintendo DS.

So no real updates coming soon. I know that both of my readers will be bummed out.

GameFly Report - 17

[01] Fable II - XBOX 360
Fable II is nothing short of amazing fun. The world feels very natural. I find it hard to say many things about a game this good. I give it an "A".

[02] Metroid Prime 2 - GameCube
Metroid Prime started off like the original, scanning everything, then after the first boss fight I was getting more interested. Then the system crashed. Looking at the disc I knew this was going to happen some part of the game - No more GameCube rentals from GameFly...

GameFly Report - 16

[01] Advance Wars: Days of Ruin - Nintendo DS

If one has played any of Nintendo's other "Wars" games from Super FamiCom Wars though Advance Wars: Dual Strike, then you have already played this game. Aside from the Wi-Fi Multiplayer, this game is rather stale. Everything plays the same. It's still on a simple Grid System, rather than a more elegant Hex System, when it comes time to battle, it still uses the near static drawings to show the battles, it's just the same game in a different setting. It does have multiplayer, with voice, but that can't save it from itself.

I give Advance Wars: Days of Ruin a D-. If not for its online play it would get a solid F.

[02] Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars - Nintendo DS

This is easily the best portable (and most original) version of Grand Theft Auto to date. The game is a blast to play, the touch-screen elements make sense, the writing is humorous, the graphics are well animated, the aim-assisted shooting is very good, But the greatest part, IMHO, is the Lottery Tickets. Yes, using the touch screen and stylus, one can but scratch off lottery tickets. As a compulsive gambler, it lets me do something, that makes me broke in the real world, which I greatly enjoy.

I give Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars a solid A.

[03] Burnout – Nintendo GameCube

Yes, I do already own Burnout, Burnout 2: Point of Impact: Developer’s Cut, Burnout 3: Takedown, Burnout Revenge for the XBOX, Burnout Revenge & Burnout Paradise for the XBOX 360, and Burnout Legends & Burnout Dominator for the PSP, but I couldn’t help to wonder to see how the original Burnout fared on the GameCube, and to see if I was still any good at the demanding and unforgiving game.

[04] Touch Master 2 - Nintendo DS

While I can't fault the technology aspect of the game, I can say that Midway pretty much used all their god mini games on the first Touch Master. For utter lack of fun I'd give Touch Master 2 a C-

GameFly Report – 15

[01] Battle Fantasia – XBOX 360

Battle Fantasia isn’t a bad game really, it’s like Guilty Gear XX but with 3-D characters, but I really didn’t play enough of it to grade it since it came to me around the same time that Street Fighter IV came out, so it gathered little attention, and I returned it to GameFly without playing enough of it to grade it. I’ll probably rent it again when I tire of Street Fighter IV.

[02] Prince of Persia – XBOX 360

This was the first Prince of Persia game that I actually finished. Aside from the final battle, the platforming elements are a great deal of fun, and the platforming controls have been simplified to the point that my main problem during the platforming was over-thinking it causing me to hit the “A” Button an extra step than needed. If Elika wasn’t there to save me from falling to my death, I’d hate the game. The only part of the game that really bothered me was for some boss fights, one needs to really mash a face button, like the “X” button, for example, when fighting The Warrior it seemed to be a requirement for winning the fight, and my right thumb just isn’t as fast as it used to be. Overall, I’d give Prince of Persia a B-.

GameFly Report - 14

Lots of games for today.. I've been slacking off from this a bit. I blame my PSP. So many great games, so tiny screen.. But anyway..

[1] Super Princess Peach – Nintendo DS

To my Surprise, Super Princess Peach isn't that bad of a game, it's good in some parts, but still it's a third rate Mario platformer (Wario is second rate) that falls short of keeping me interested long enough to want to play more. On the 1UP.com scale, I'd give it a C.

[2] Star Ocean: First Departure – PlayStation Portable

Now this game is a treat. So far it's classic JRPG, nothing special, but it's nice to fall back into a solid JRPG after playing great Western RPGs like Fable II. I liked Star Ocean enough that after two days of having it from GameFly that I bought it, although not from GameFly, cos I found it on sale (new) from a local Independent Game Store. On the 1UP.com scale, I'd give it a B+.

[3] Gears of War 2 – XBOX 360

What a difference two years makes.. I'm not sure if that it's: 1. I'm ready to play a cover based game now in early 2009 more than I was when I played the first Gears of War, or 2. The game is tighter, more responsive, and doesn't feel like going from one "Kill-Box" to another, and that Dom is no longer a fucking retard. Or, 3. It's both. A dash here, a dash there, add some epic presentation (no pun intended), plus make it look like a grand scale war instead of a border skirmish, and this just fit better. As much as I like it, with funding only going so far, it's not high on my list of "games from 2008 I'd still like to buy." On the 1UP.com scale, I'd give it a B+.

[4] Resident Evil 5 – XBOX 360

Pathetic. Garbage. Capcom says it's an action game now, but still, for every weapon in Resident Evil 5, the player has to stop moving to shoot. Hell you gotta stop moving to use a KNIFE! I'm no S.T.A.R.S. member, but there this other Capcom made series of action games where one can move and shoot with pistols (Devil May Cry) and I'm sure one doesn't have to be half-demon to accomplish such a thing. Then there's Sheva, your dumb as fuck partner (who Player 2 controls in co-op) that makes the shit-for-brains girl in Ico seem like a Rhodes Scholar. Sheva is the new Dom. The best thing about RE5 has to be that the Infected civilians have no problems moving and using a weapon, be it a farming tool or an RPG.

But none of that would really be a problem if the controls of RE5 were not so stale. It uses basically the same controls as RE4, which came out FOUR YEARS AGO, or a modified two stick control that feels like the Wii version of Resident Evil 4, which still isn't good enough to satisfy myself, especially when other games from Capcom affer so much more in ease of control, like Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, Devil May Cry 4, and Lost Planet. On the 1UP.com scale, I'd give it a D-. (It's playable, but it's not fun. People will say, "but co-op is fun," to which I'd reply, 'co-op is fun in most any game, but I'd rather play a fun game in co-op over a non-fun game in co-op.')

[5] Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection – XBOX 360

This is a great collection of many great Master System, Genesis/Mega Drive, and SEGA Arcade titles, and at a MSRP of $29.99 USD, a good deal, but since I have all these games either through my own Master System & Genesis games or Emulation (for the coin-op games) it's not worth a whole lot to me. Still, on the 1UP.com scale, I'd give it a solid B+.

[6] Headhunter Redemption – XBOX

The game here is not the greatest, but I have been looking all over for a copy of this for my game collection, and bought it from GameFly for $4.76 USD. I have not played it enough to give it a review, but I'm guessing a C or C+.

[7] Full Auto 2 – PlayStation Portable

A nice try, but Full Auto 2 just doesn't translate to the PSP. On the 1UP.com scale, I'd give it a D.

[8] Midnight Club: Los Angeles – XBOX 360

There are two things that I really hate in racing games these days. 1. A story. It's a racing game. I want to race. That's why I still play Burnout Paradise. 2. Driving piece of shit cars that I could actually afford to buy in real life, if I wanted to downgrade from what I own in real life. Seriously, I want to drive expensive high performance cars, things I cannot afford, even in this economy, not a beaten down Honda Civic, for example. On the 1UP.com scale, I'd give it a D+.

GameFly Report – 13

[01] Sonic Chronicles – DS

Was this really made by BioWare? I find that hard to swallow, since the game is a total turd.

[02] Mega Man ZX – DS

Fun game, but hard as heck.

[03] GRID - XBOX 360

Great racer, but I’d still rather be playing Burnout Paradise.

Maybe this spring I’ll want another racer, and GRID would fill that spot perfectly.

.

GameFly Report - 12

[1] Starfox Assault - GameCube

Garbage. A 1 out of 10. A Total waste of time.

[2] Sonic Unleashed - XBOX 360

I thought the game was gonna be shit, but actually it's pretty darn good. It's the best Sonic game (not counting the Sonic Advance, Rush, and Rivals) on a console since Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast. The graphics are good, the controls are almost spot on, the challenge is there, the boss battles are amazing. The "Were-Hedgehog" parts aren't as bad as I thought they would be, in fact, they are much deeper than I thought they would be. It's just too bad that the balance between classic type levels and "Were-Hedgehog" levels isn't 50/50, but tilts more for the "Were-Hedgehog", and that is one of it's biggest problems. It's not a GOTY contender at all, but it still is fun.

Sonic X-Treme

Why oh why did SEGA not finish this? This could have saved the Saturn. (edit.. No. Saved is going a bit far. Besides, if the Saturn was "saved" would the Dreamcast exist as we know it, would Soul Calibur get the amazing DC port? Would Jet Set/Grind Radio, Phantasy Star Online, or Seaman ever see the light of day?)

Crazy Taxi would probably be a footnote judging from the awful Acclaim ports.

Then again, Capcom's 4 Meg RAM Cart and localized fighting games could have done the job as well.