Holy crap people. It's been a month since I last posted a blog. Not
because my life has been lacking nerd-related content, but really...
I'm not sure why. Lack of inspiration to write anything down, I guess.
For
those keeping track, my last blog posted about the demise of GrrlGamer,
and the formation of a new site, which is just days away from launching
(barring any unforeseen circumstances). It's name? Gamer's Intuition.
While we didn't want to have anything specifically female in the site's
name (that is, no Girl, Chick, Women, etc. phrase), Gamer's Intuition
does have a slight feminine undertone as it is a play on the phrase
"women's intuition," which I think is a nice, albeit subtle touch. As I
write this, the forum is the only portion of the site that's open to
the public (the rest of the site is basically complete, but in a "beta"
state), but that doesn't mean you can't
stop by
and get an idea of what the rest of the site will ultimately look like
- or even join the forums and say hi. Our layout may not be as modern
as, say, Giant Bomb or GameSpot, but it's a definite step up from the
archaic layout we had before, and I am really pleased with the way it
looks.
Since the site has been such a long work in progress,
I've had quite the nice break from regularly scheduled reviews, and
even though I've still written a LOT of them in the past month, this
"break" has allowed me to really dive into my 360, and buy a few games
for my collection. I picked up PGR3 thinking it would be incredibly
similar to the Need for Speed franchise [which (it's newest two
installments notwithstanding) is one of my favorite franchises] and
while it does share certain qualities, let's just say I'm glad I got
the game for $8, and not more.
Next was Beautiful Katamari,
which I picked up used for $20 (part of GS's Buy 2 Get 1 deal from a
few weeks back, which also included my purchase of PGR3). I have both
of the PS2 installments in the franchise, and absolutely love this one
as well. The game is much more difficult, imho, but that just makes
completing levels all the more satisfying. Oh, and playing online with
friends is always a good thing.
I also picked up Mirror's Edge
on clearance at Target. You might remember my talking about playing the
PS3 demo and loving it, so my finding the game for less than $10 was a
instant buy in my world. After playing and beating the game, I have to
say that the game didn't disappoint. Sure, the game isn't perfect, but
once I figured out exactly when to jump off of ramps and whatnot (I had
a bit of a depth perception issue), the game was hella fun, and I can
see myself going back to it time and time again, even if only to try
and improve my time at each of the game's time trials or speed runs.
The
last two noteworthy games are Infinite Undiscovery, which I picked up
for $10 at Wal-Mart after price-matching Best Buy's ad for this week,
and Mass Effect, which I "bought" technically for free with GS trade-in
credit. I've only played about 90 minutes of IU, but the story didn't
immediately hook me. Hopefully it'll get better as I force myself to
press on. Mass Effect, on the other hand, I completed in just a few
days (I'm now in the middle of my second playthrough - going for all of
the achievements). Easily the best 360 game I've played (granted, I've
not played many), and probably one of the best games I've ever played
period. I love anything to do with outer space, aliens, futuristic
technology, etc., so it's no wonder I liked the game so much; that and
the fact that Kaidan is one sexy piece of animation. ;-) And, needless
to say, I'm REALLY excited about the second installment now.
360 games aside, I also found out recently that my application for press credentials for
Gen Con
was accepted. This August will mark my fourth year going, and my third
as a member of the press. I had worried that the switch from GrrlGamer
--> Gamer's Intuition would hinder my ability to get a press badge,
but luckily my previous relationship with Gen Con's PR contact was
enough to seal the deal. August can't get here fast enough. :-)
Thanks for reading!