I’ve been playing a lot of games as of late. Christmas was good to me as you can see by my two previous entries and I even managed to get Sleeping Dogs, and RAGE during the last day of the Steam sale and Red Dead Redemption for $20 at Walmart. However, the side effect of all that is I haven’t been able to focus on many of them, if at all. However, there are two games I have managed to stay with among the mountain of games I have to play.

I got Grand Theft Auto IV with some Christmas money I got and I’ve sunk a good 10 hours or so into it. I’ve played GTA4 before; I’ve actually owned it previously when I had another Xbox 360 but I could never get into it. Now that I’ve really spent some time playing it, I’m find myself enjoying myself. The car controls and physics that I’ve never liked before are growing on me and I’m getting the hang of how to drive in this game. I still prefer the more loose controls of GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas but at least I can controls my cars now and enjoy myself while doing so. I really enjoy the shooting in this game. Having lock-on and free targeting mapped to the same trigger is strange but the guns feel good. Killing someone instantly with a bullet to the head is extremely gratifying and for that reason, I try to stick to just my pistol since it usually enough.

However, so far I don’t care too much for the story and it’s mostly because of the characters. Niko isn’t very sympathetic to me and I can’t find another way to care about him. All the others so far have been either overly crass or excessively annoying with maybe Dimitri being the exception. The only character I can actually say I like is Roman. He was eye roll inducing in the beginning but I like the reactions he’s been giving to the situation, as he’s essentially what many of us would be like. I like sincerity in that although he’s full of shit with his boasting and lies, he did make his life by himself, whatever little it may be. At least the missions I go on are pretty fun and varied.

Another problem is while Liberty City feels big and alive, there isn’t much to do. There’s some places to go, to eat, drink, buy clothes, and stuff but for the size of the place, there really isn’t much. I think it’s because the city feels so active that I notice more that I can’t walk into most of the buildings. Still, I’m enjoying myself, though not as much as the other GTA games.

The other game I’ve been playing is one I actually didn’t buy. Via my SNES emulator, I’ve been playing Secret of Evermore, a little known action RPG on the SNES from SquareEnix, then Squaresoft. Made by the company’s North American team, it follows a boy and his dog as they’re sucked into another world with various sections based around different periods in time, such as prehistoric, Rome, the future and more. The game plays similarly to Secret of Mana and utilizes an item based Alchemy system as magic.

So far, I’ve been having fun with it although right now I’m in a section of the game that dragging a bit. I’m not crazy about the Alchemy system since I don’t like having to constantly buying ingredients that the closest alchemy seller may not carry. The story isn’t very engaging either. So far, it’s just been “this happened, then this happened, now this is happening”. The overall goal is to get home but so far, the in-betweens have been just various random crap. The combat is fun though. Charging up your weapon to unleash a super strong attack is fun as is leveling up your Alchemy and weapons. Also, your dog is a badass. Best dog ever.

That’s all I’ve been able to focus on. I played Sonic Adventure 2, Red Dead Redemption, Sleeping Dogs, Dead or Alive 4, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Phantasy Star II via the Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection with none really sticking but that’s okay. They’ll be there for later. I’m just going to focus on GTA4 and SoE for now. However, I’m playing GTA4 and Secret of Evermore on the PC. I should be playing something on my Xbox 360. Hmm. L.A. Noire is just sitting there…

I got a bunch of money for Christmas because no one knows what to get me because I’m a difficult person to get gifts for because my family and friends don’t actually know me that well because I’m a shut in. BUT WHO CARES! I was able to get me a LOT of games thanks to my getting about $160. I got a years worth of Xbox Live so I don’t have to worry about it and also treated my mom to Christmas breakfast. Then I went on Steam and went APE SHIT!

Steam is well known as your wallet’s worst nightmare and it’s especially bad during their Winter Sale. I got *inhale big gulp of air* Armed and Dangerous, Batman Arkham City Game of the Year Edition, Call of Duty, Call of Duty: United Offense, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Far Cry 2, Grand Theft Auto 4, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, Sonic Adventure 2, and Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack. *gasps for air*

Muthafuckin’ SHARK GUN!!!

The first game, I’ll be honest. I downloaded Armed and Dangerous through “other means” a long time ago and completed it and really enjoyed it. Because I really enjoyed it I wanted to buy it so I can own it legitimately and support the game. I finally pulled the trigger and did it. If you haven’t heard of Armed and Dangerous, it’s a third person shooter from LucasArts that’s extremely funny and has creative weapons like a bomb that flips the world upside down and a gun that shoots sharks. SHARKS!

Batman Arkham City was on sale for about $7 and I’ve been wanting to play this game ever since it was released. Batman Arkham Asylum is my favorite game of this GENERATION and so I bought it. It’s the Game of the Year edition so it has all the DLC. I’m not sure when I’ll get to it but I’m looking forward to it.

I’m still surprised by how much I liked Modern Warfare 2’s campaign.

I got a bunch of Call of Duty games that I’ve played in the past but didn’t currently owned. After having a lot of fun with the Call of Duty games on the PC as opposed to the Xbox 360, the 50% sales they were having was perfect for me. All the COD games I got were $10 except for COD1, COD2, and COD:UO which combined was $15. The only one I missed that was $10 was World at War. I didn’t have enough money and I’m not that familiar with that game. I’ve never been a multiplayer kind of guy but I’ll at least give it a shot. Online PC shooters tend to have their servers well populated even if the game in question is old so I should be able to find matches easily.

Far Cry 2 was a game I wanted to get last Christmas. It didn’t happen. I wanted it after I had rented it and enjoyed my time with it. I know the game has a mixed opinion among gamers but I’m someone who likes it, although I haven’t played it a lot of it. I’ve played the Xbox 360 version but I’ve spent some time with the PC version and I think I’ll like this version more.

This is your ultimate chance GTAIV. Prove to me you’re as good as Vice City and San Andreas.

Grand Theft Auto 4 is the game on this list I’m playing right now. It was the last game I bought and the one I questioned the most. My experiences with the game before have not been good. One of my main complaints is how hard it is to control cars and read text as the font is so small. So far, on the PC the small text is easier to read and the car controls seem a tad better but more or less the same. If I’ll like it, I’ll move on to Episodes from Liberty City. We’ll see how my play through goes. Maybe I’ll post a video of my gameplay…

I have Sonic Adventure DX on the PC. I wanted to get Sonic Adventure 2 on the 360. However, it was $10 there but only $5 on Steam. So I now have both Sonic Adventure games on the PC. I also got the Battle expansion pack with it for a dollar something. Adventure 2 is not one of my favorite Sonic games but as a Sonic devotee, I need to own it. Also, if I’m ever going to write that giant Sonic the Hedgehog retrospective someday, I need to have every Sonic game ever. Ever…

In defense of Sonic Adventure 2, it has one of the best first levels of any Sonic game.

Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack was a downloadable launch title for the Vita but I played the PC version back in August. I loved it despite the awkward controls. Steam had it for less than two dollars so I felt it was well worth that price. Also, I’m not planning on getting a Vita anytime soon.

So that’s what I got. Again. I don’t usually get new games since I’d rather get several games for a deal but these are all great games nonetheless. There is one bad thing however. While I was downloading my final game, Steam started acting weird with me and after checking it, I found out my Steam install and all my games have to be re-downloaded and installed. Which is what I’m still doing now. I’m taking breaks in order to play GTAIV, the first game I re-installed but it does suck. Oh well, I still have them. What did you get this holiday? Leave a comment and let me know.

This past Wednesday was essentially payday for me and so I did some holiday shopping. After I got presents for whomever I was going to give presents to, it was my turn. First I got a new pair of earbuds for my iPod as well as a 8 GB SD card so I can have more space on my Wii for…stuff. However, I then went to GameStop and bought six games for my Xbox 360.

Money, money, money, moonnney. MONEY!

Now when I shop for games, because it’s not often that I can afford to buy a game, I rarely buy new and I usually look towards quantity. Quality is always a factor but I’ll get Crackdown for three bucks before I’ll buy Saints Row The Third for 30. So I actually bought six games that I had owned at a previous time I owned my Xbox 360. I got my latest Xbox 360 as a Christmas present last year. It’s my fourth Xbox 360 after selling my last one in the summer of 2010 due to a lack of funds. So these games are in a way an attempt to get back what I once had.

First game was one I was planning to get when I got at GameStop. I love collections of older games. Some of my most played games back in the day were King of Fighters ‘00/01, and Midway Arcade Treasures 2. I used to always rent the Namco Museum volumes from Hollywood Video and my local video store because I love how you could walk around a virtual museum and look at old advertisements and recreations of the cabinets. One of my favorite collections is the Sega Smash Pack on the Dreamcast. Now I know now that the emulation of the titles included in that compilation was subpar but at the time, I didn’t remember how the original games were that I had played and most importantly, I hadn’t played most of them. I had never played Golden Axe or Columns or Phantasy Star II. I fell in love with Shining Force, a game I never knew about, because of that collection. Hell, I became a bigger fan of Sega in part because of Sega Smash Pack. For this reason, I seek out Sega compilations because I love the game’s they tend to include.

I bet most of you didn’t even own 49 Genesis games back in the day!

So for $20, I got Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection. It’s one of the greatest collections ever made, clocking in at 49 Sega Genesis games as well as a few Arcade and Master System titles. If there’s anything bad to say about it, it’s that there’s some emulation issues (that I’m aware of now that I’ve played many of these games on an original Sega Genesis model 1), there’s not that many options in terms of filters, and none of the Sonic lock on titles are here. Also, no Gunstar Heroes. Still, all of the other Genesis Sonic games, Phantasy Star 1-4, and both the Genesis and Arcade versions of Altered Beast are here. I’ve been playing Phantasy Star II and having a blast. Maybe I’ll actually beat it this time. Yeah, I know it was on the Sega Smash Pack but most of my time was devoted to Shining Force and Virtua Cop 2. I didn’t even play Vectorman.

The second game was another I planned on getting. I don’t like the Dead or Alive series. In fact, you may say that I detest it. As a fighting game fan, I find it to be extremely shallow, both in its depiction of women and in its gameplay. It’s counter system seems to be based more on luck than any sure fire technique and it’s essentially centered around that one mechanic. Also, the games have pressure sensitive buttons. Tapping punch gives you a different attack than if you were to hold it. However the sensitivity of what the game registers as a tap or a hold was so close, you could never do the moves consistently. Also, face buttons are digital, not analog. WTF!?

One of the few pictures I could find of this game that was an up skirt shot of some kind.

So that’s why I bought Dead or Alive 4 for 10 bucks. Huh? Well, people love this series and its even the fighting game of choice at many tournaments. Despite other better games being available. However, that’s changing now but I digress. Point is I want to give this series another shot. Truth be told, I used to like Dead or Alive. I always thought the big-boobed girls was odd but I used to play Dead or Alive 2 Hardcore all the time. I’ve actually owned all of the games at some point. Except the handheld games and the Xtreme series. The handheld games I may want to try out some day but the Xtreme series? Come on. If I want porn, I’ll look it up online.

So far, I kind of like the game but there’s a lot that just pisses me off. The pressure sensitive buttons are gone but the A.I. is just impossible sometimes; the boss especially. Countering makes a bit more sense but not much. I like that there isn’t as much of a focus on different outfits, especially for the women, but the end cut scenes is just way too much. “Oh beautiful water. Great way to show off the power of the Xbox 36-WHY IS THIS BITCH A MERMAID!? WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING!? Oh. It was a dream. How utterly POINTLESS! Didn’t I just defeat her genetically engineered clone!? What about that!?”

So different compared to the picture before this, huh?

After those two games, I just started looking around for something that caught my eye. I was shocked to see Virtua Fighter 5, one of my favorite fighting games, just there with the other games. Not that it’s rare or even expensive. It was only five bucks. However, for some reason, my local GameStop never had it in stock. So I picked that up real quick. I also own Virtua Fighter 4 on the PlayStation 2, another game I love. Hell, I just love the Virtua Fighter series in general. When I had a Saturn, I had Virtua Fighter 1, 2 and Remix. When I had a Dreamcast, I owned Virtua Fighter 3tb, although that game was somewhat disappointing. Actually that reminds me. Virtua Fighter 2 was recently released on XBLA. I should get that. Hm. Maybe I’ll get some MS Points for Christmas. But I digress.

When I used to have a PlayStation 3 (which was early in that console’s life), I got Virtua Fighter 5 for that. I pretty much had to since the only good game out at the time was Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorstorm. While I had fun with it, it did feel a bit empty. Like there was something missing from it. Then the Xbox 360 version came out and included gameplay tweaks, more costume items, and ONLINE PLAY! Despite the Xbox 360’s inferior d-pad, this is my preferred version of VF5. Even the recently released VIrtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown doesn’t have as many features as this does. It’s more balanced but the game was pretty balanced to begin with.

They wear those masks because everyone on the team’s a chronic farter.

The next game is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. I’ve owned it before but never really played it, and I’ve rented and beaten it without really enjoying myself. However, not too long ago, I played the sequel, Modern Warfare 2, and really enjoyed it. So I thought I’d give this a try again but as soon as I started it up, it just didn’t feel right. However, now I know why. I played Modern Warfare 2 on the PC using a mouse and keyboard and I think that’s the issue. For some reason, the Modern Warfare series just doesn’t feel right to me on a controller. On a mouse and keyboard, my aim is great and I’m constantly moving fluidly. On the 360, my aim is always a bit off and I’m constantly running into walls. I loved Call of Duty 2 on the 360 but that seems to just be the exception.

So I took it back. It was only 10 bucks but I manage to get two games out of that: Gears of War and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Like the other games, I have owned them before. Gears of War, I’ve even completed. However, they’re still good games and more importantly, I haven’t beaten Oblivion and I still have my old save and the expansion packs. The Gears of War copy I got also had the two map packs so I also now have those. While I did complete Gears of War, I haven’t gone through it on a harder difficulty or through Co-Op. I guess at this point I’m just achievement hunting and I wonder if anyone’s still online but at three bucks, I am totally fine with that.

HOLY SHIT! RUN! RUPAUL ATE TOO MANY PEPPERS!

I’ve played Oblivion on the PC. I’ve even owned it for PC. However, something does not feel right about that game on PC. The exact opposite of the Modern Warfare series. The menu’s are not really meant for a mouse, and the faster movements a mouse gives you don’t fit the slower approach the game’s combat is designed for. This game was made with the Xbox 360 controller in mind and I know the PC version has a ton of mods and cool stuff like that but I haven’t even gone through everything that’s included from the get go, let alone the expansion packs and let alone the mod stuff.

Finally I got a game I had no idea I would be getting. Although I like a lot of games that came out this generation, there aren’t many that have been a spectacular experience to me. There’s Braid, Castle Crashers, Rock Band, and maybe a few others. Eternal Sonata is definitely on that list and at 18 bucks, it’s a steal. One of the best things about this game is just the premise. You play as one of the greatest composers and pianist of the romantic music era Frédéric Chopin in a fictitious world dreamt up by him while on his death bed. It’s done in a JRPG style but the world is inspired by Chopin’s life.

Oooh! Pretty!

I played the game right until the end for over 38 hours total but never completed it due to me stubbornly wanting to complete this optional dungeon near the end that I kept failing at. One thing that kinda sucks is I still have my save from back then but I’m completely loss in the final area because I have no idea what’s going on. I’m debating whether to just start fresh but all I know is I’m so glad to finally have this game back in my possession. It really is one of my favorite games from this generation and if I need to, I’ll gladly start from the beginning of this game. One of my favorite RPGs ever, for sure.

Well, that’s what I got myself for Christmas. Are there any games you’ve gotten yourself for Christmas already? Let me know in the comments below!

This gaming landscape is going to be a bit all over the place because I was sick for about three weeks and I didn’t play too many games and instead just watched TV. Also, I’ve recently been listening to a lot of music because I like to hear new music, both mainstream and indie, and as the year winds down, I want to hear everything the year had to offer. But enough of that! We’re here to talk games! Top of the list is the Prototype series. I bought quite a few games last month. Awesomenauts, L.A. Noire, I also got the Humble THQ Bundle so I’ve just been swimming in games but I did get both Prototype games on Amazon for $10 and decided to focus on those. I’ve already written a piece on that, which you can read here so I won’t say too much. Those were the games I was focusing on for a majority of the month, like two and a half weeks. I did a majority of the side missions in both and completed both games in I think 14 and 18 hours respectively. I definitely got my money’s worth at $10 and I would’ve been willing to pay like $30 or so for both. If you can get both cheap, go for it, and if you can get only one, go for Prototype 2. Much better than the first.

Before playing the Prototype games, I played Need for Speed Most Wanted for review and I also did a quick lets play video. Again, I won’t get into it too much because you can read the review and watch the video for more of an explanation but I will reiterate that it is a great game. Completely worth the money and although the direct multiplayer isn’t great, the leaderboard stuff that’s built into the world is awesome. I also started playing Jamestown on Steam. It was another Humble Indie Bundle game that I never got to and it is AMAZING! I love Shoot-em-Ups and am a fan of the Gradius series but they’ve always been much too hard for me to get completely into and I’m just not that good at them. This game is just so well balanced and fun while being hard and challenging. Now that said, I stopped playing because I’m stuck but I’m near the end of the game and this is a title I can recommend to fans of shmups and old school games. One thing that’s weird is it’s only available on PC, a platform not usually associated with Shmups.

Recently, I been playing Saints Row 2 a bit and it’s fun but I’m having trouble getting into it. I may put it back on the shelf and try something else. I mean spraying buildings, cars and people with waste is fun but there’s a routine feel to everything. I don’t know. In a few days, I’ll be getting my Christmas gifts for myself so I’ll probably post about that and that’ll be what I’ll be playing. So what have you been playing? Let me know in the comments below!

and I will say that I have an abusive relationship with this series. I like and hate this series at the same time. It’s frustrating, especially when you play them back to back, like I did, or compare the two, like I’m about to do.I got both games recently through a deal on Amazon that gave you both games plus DLC for the second game for Steam for only 10 bucks. On one end I would’ve like to see where this series would’ve gone if developer Radical Entertainment hadn’t gone out of business. On the other end, it was inevitable that they would go under because you can’t make a triple A title like the Prototype series at the quality it was. It is.

Lets start with the first game. The first Prototype game is such a mixed bag of a game, I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me that it wasn’t actually completed or major components and features of the game were taken out at the last minute. First thing I noticed were the graphics. Holy crap is this game ugly. It looks like a PS2 game with its resolution raised so it could pass for high definition. The story is paced like a subpar PS2 action title also. The only thing that’s not last gen is that a game like this wouldn’t have been an open world game just because the PS2, Xbox and GameCube wouldn’t have been able to do what this game does. It would’ve been an action title.

The other thing I noticed right away is the controls are really finicky. They are not precise and are real loose. You’ll constantly be doing things you didn’t mean to and you’ll start to get confused since the camera sucks as well. That being said, when you do have proper control, which thankfully is a considerable amount of the time, you see that the combat is fun. Destroying helicopters in one to two hits was fun and in the chaotic environment the game puts you in, there is a sense of direction. However, overall the story was just too uninteresting, and the side missions were equally unappealing. I had actually rented Prototype 1 before and I had said that the only way I would buy that game would be if I could get it for $10 or less. Which is what happened. This isn’t a proper review per se but the first game is definitely mediocre and I would give it a 2.5 or 3 out of 5.

Prototype 2 is definitely better. I have more positive things to say about this game so I’ll get the negative stuff out of the way. The most irritating thing about this game is the protagonist himself. James Heller is such an unbelievable bastard it’s really surprising he’s not actually the villain at the end of the game. Alex Mercer, the protagonist of the first game and the antagonist in this game, was an anti-hero, as he really didn’t care about anyone other than himself. Heller however is just an unlikable person right from the beginning. He’s way too brash, has a rotten attitude and uses the word fuck like it’s a punctuation mark. The other issue, and this is really the biggest issue, is the stuff that is here is good but it’s not great. There’s enough to do but none of it is really engaging. Lastly, this may be a minor gripe but it’s so strange, I’m willing to call it a glitch. Heller doesn’t like grabbing barrels. I’ve had instances where when I try to grab barrels, he runs away from them. Doesn’t even grab anything else. This sucks since there’s side missions where all you do is grab barrels but there you go.

Now for the good, which is everything else. The graphics are much improved and the game has a more polished feel to it. The controls are improved and although the game is slower than in the first game, it’s for the better as you just have more of an idea of what’s going on. The powers you get are also scaled back but more of them are useful. Plus new powers like the tendrills are just extremely useful. For what it’s worth, Heller does feel different from Mercer from the first game. The side missions have you doing things that are more meaningful such as finding recordings that add development to the overall plot or clearing out lairs that usually contain creatures of which absorbing them upgrades one of your powers. Some are still kinda dumb like your diving off of ledges and smashing enemy targets on the ground missions but they are less frequent. The game just feels more organic overall and less forced in its execution. Again, this isn’t a proper review but overall, I would score this somewhere around 3.5 or 4.

Overall, the series is still sort of underwhelming. The second game is better and I would actually recommend picking that game up if you can find it cheap (like $30 or less) but considering what the game’s premise is, it could’ve been better. Both the first and the second game fail to deliver on the idea of being this super being with an assortment of powers and flexible abilities while not having to be this beacon of chivalry or wear rainbow colored tights. A series like this that is decidedly second tier would’ve been fine last generation or even the generation before it but nowadays, there is no space for a second tier game and I have to agree with this game’s lack of popularity. For as much money that must’ve been sunk into this series, they have little to show for it. If you took out some of the more extraneous stuff that’s in the second game, you would’ve had a great downloadable title. Sure the game would be 12 hours long rather than 18 but I’ll sacrifice length for quality. Oh and the first game just needs work, downloadable or otherwise.

Well, those are my thoughts on Prototype 1 and 2 but what are yours? Let me know in the comments below and Santa will get you a Mega Wii U for Christmas. That’s a Wii U with a terabyte of internal memory, a touch screen with multi-touch, and Metroid Prime 4, Super Smash Bros U, Legend of Zelda U, and Earthbound U all included before anyone else gets to have it. So, you know, leave a comment. Please. Mega Wii U.

I’m a completionist. In everything I do really. If I try to fix anything, I won’t stop when it’s at least functional. I keep going until its working as its supposed to. In video games, I strive to get every collectable item, finish all the side quests, and do so before finishing the game proper so I don’t have to go through the game again. Also, when I get games used (which is always) I try to get the case and manual to the point where I’ll not buy it if both are not available. With this in mind, you should also know that I’m a big advocate of moving video games to an all digital format. It would mean cheaper prices for consumers and more convenience and support for titles. Steam is a great example of what this digital exclusive version of the video game industry could be like.

Every hidden package, every side mission, I’ve done it all.

Another reason I support a digital only format for games is because of the benefits it would have towards the environment. Without all those cases and manuals for video games, there would be less waste and less clutter. I am a eco-conscious person who recycles, likes to buy eco-friendly products and who has already gotten rid of my DVD collection in favor of AVI files on my PC. Playing Sonic the Hedgehog a lot and being a big fan of The Lorax as a kid will do that to you, I guess.

I saw this video featuring Adam Sessler of X-Play fame, now working as Editor-in-Chief of games content at Revision 3. In the video, he expressed his distress over throwing away his game cases and putting the game discs in disc binders in order to save space in his new house. The aftermath resulted in numerous bags of cases that would be thrown away and replaced by about five disc binders. Obviously, that’s a lot of space saved not to mention a lot of waste that seems below necessary. He then talked about what seems like a primal need to collect items like game cases or various other types of media. This got me thinking and I realized that while I do some things to be helpful to the environment, I too have this inert desire to collect things regardless of my desire to not be wasteful and for a digital future in video games.

So what did I do? I happen to have an extra disc binder and I put all my games that were disc based into the binder. Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Wii, all of them into one binder. I still have room. As for the cases, for the time being they’re just stacked in my shelf as I contemplate what to do with them. More importantly though is I’ve resolved to care less about obtaining a case and manual when buying used games. I already buy titles on Steam without batting an eye and the same goes for XBLA titles. If there’s a good deal on buying a full Xbox 360 game on the Xbox Marketplace, I’ll get that as well. It’s admittedly rare, as Microsoft appears to just be ignoring what Valve is doing with Steam, but I do have Halo: Reach, Kameo: Elements of Power, Perfect Dark Zero, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter digitally on the Xbox 360 already.

My Steam library looks like this too.

Backtracking a bit, why did I have this need to collect the cases and manuals to begin with? Well, I remember when I was younger, the box art for games were these flashy but artistic endeavors that got you pumped for the game while also telling you vaguely the experience you were about to have. Manuals in turn were these fully colored books with impressive art in addition to helpful information as to how to play the game. How many times have you been stuck in the game back in the day and pause it to look something up in the manual?

Sadly nowadays, none of this is true. While the front cover is still sometimes great to look at, most of the time they are merely an image of the protagonist of the game with little else and more importantly, you still get that image in digital markets. Manuals have all been removed from games and replaced by flaccid pamphlets that are four pages long and in black and white. More importantly, they are not really manuals as they explain hardly anything about the game. Most of that content has been moved into the game itself via in game tutorials or a How to Play option in the settings menu.

I swear, there’s a meme for everything now.

I know some people who are not in favor of a digital only market because they enjoy their cases and manuals but these have essentially been already taken away. Therefore, my own desire to have cases and manuals to my games is purely on tradition. I will say that for those who want that kind of product should have it available to them as a special edition. Pay an extra five bucks and get a full featured 60 page manual that doubles as an art book as well as an instructional manual with imaginative box art that isn’t covered with legal text and quotes from reviews and previews and is printed on both the front and back of the inlay.

I may sell my cases and manuals on eBay, store them in a box and put it in my storage room, or I may recycle them. One thing I do know already is having all my games in a single disc binder is already extremely convenient. How do you feel about being eco-friendly with your games? What about physical media in general? Comment below and let me know. Oh and here’s the video I was talking about with Adam Sessler. It’s thought-provoking!

The Tekken series has been a roller coaster of quality. From the heralded heights of its PlayStation era to the lukewarm waters of its more recent releases, Tekken has always managed to be good if not great and it started with the second entry in the series. The first game was a solid title in the series and there are many, myself included, who still enjoy it. However, it felt like a first attempt and the game lacked polish in various aspects. The second game was an improvement in every way and when asked which is the best in the series, this game along with the third game are usually your answer. I recently bought it again so I could play it on my PS2 and coming back to it after all these years, the game is still as incredibly deep and fun as I remember.

Tekken 2 was one of the first games I got for my new PlayStation. You see, for the first year or so I had an original Sony PlayStation, I was flying blindly sort to speak as I didn’t know many of the games being released for the platform. I hadn’t heard much in the magazines I was subscribed to and I had grew up on Sonic the Hedgehog, Mortal Kombat, and Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. I didn’t know who Crash Bandicoot was or what Twisted Metal was about. So when I wanted a fighting game to play on my new fangled disc based video game system I picked up Tekken 2, a series I’d never heard of. I had however heard of Virtua Fighter and it looked similar to that. Luckily, my gamble paid off and I was introduced to Tekken with one of the best entries in the series.

Story in many fighting games usually doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things and Tekken 2 falls into that opinion. However, the story that is in place is good in that it’s not overly complicated, a trait that would change as the series went on. Kazuya Mishima, the protagonist of the first game, won the first King of the Iron Fist tournament by defeating his father, Heihachi Mishima, and dropped his body off of a cliff. Kazuya then took control of his father’s organization, the Mishima Zaibatsu, and used it to deal in illegal operations such as extortion, kidnapping and animal experimentation. In order to make sure no one would challenge his power, Kazuya announces a second King of the Iron Fist tournament.

Like many fighting games, the individual characters you get to play as are the reason you become intrigued in the story. The overarching plot may not be anything that engrossing but the varied, colorful cast is. Each of the combatants in Tekken 2 has their own fighting style with only a few repeated and those that are usually have been changed to give that character its own take on the style. You’ll want to see each character’s ending to see what happens to them, especially with the opening cut scene laying out the motivations for each character (vaguely).

Of course story and characters do not a good fighting game make. Fighting mechanics are key to any fighting title and Tekken’s is a lot of fun. Unlike fighters like Street Fighter, there are no projectiles in this game and it’s all about close combat. You use left and right punches and kicks along with the directional pad to execute moves and combos. Throwing is emphasized as powerful attacks. When your opponent is knocked down, you can do a ground attack that will hit them while they’re vulnerable.

Fighting in Tekken is all about two aspects: timing and combos. To excel in Tekken 2, you need to know how long a particular attack will take to execute, how much time you have to attack and if you can continue attacking after the initial blow. Counter attacks are a huge factor in this as they take more damage than if it had been a normal attack. It’s all about avoiding an attack and then executing a move quickly enough before they can block or continue a combo.

This also brings up the fighting mechanics’ sole problem. Tekken 2 is very deliberate in what a hit is and what isn’t. If you are a pixel off, it won’t register. Consequently, characters barely move without initiating a dash maneuver, meaning everyone moves very rigidly. This makes Tekken 2 a slow game at times as the only real way to move fluidly is by doing attacks and taking advantage of the animations. Time has not been too kind to this facet of the gameplay but because of the timing and combo mechanics, Tekken 2 still manages to be fun to this day, if a bit dated.

What good is a solid fighting system if you don’t have anything to use it for? Not much but Tekken 2 features several modes to keep players busy. Along with the basic Arcade, Versus and Options modes, Tekken 2 has Time Attack, Survival, Team Battle and Practice modes. Time Attack has you go through a series of matches is fast as possible, Survival throws opponents at the player until they lose, Team Battle pits two teams of up to eight against each other, and Practice allows players to learn moves and fighting strategies with any of the characters. While these modes are mostly commonplace today, they were not back in 1996 and they are still nice to have today. Practice mode is essential in every fighting game now and Team Battle is a lot of fun. After you’ve gone through the Arcade mode and unlocked all the characters in the game, you still have these various modes to keep the game fresh.

The presentation is where Tekken 2 really falters as the menus and graphics are lacking. No music during loading screens or any of the menus, and static pictures or just black in the backgrounds of said menus as well as the levels. Characters are blocky looking, have a LOT of clipping issues and look worse than in the first Tekken game. All of this gives the game a minimalistic feel that works against it as the characters don’t lend themselves well to a more serene experience. Future Tekken titles would be presented more energetically.

Of course, this is not to say that this is a badly presented game. The music is great in this game and there’s both the original arcade soundtrack as well as an arranged version to listen to. Sound effects have a great chunky sound to them as well. The various cut scenes are entertaining and amusing in a cheesy kind of way. Furthermore, although the characters look bad, their animations are more fluid than before, although still unimpressive and highly aged by today’s standards.

Tekken 2 represents the best that came from a time when third dimensional fighting games was a new thing. It introduced a new kind of fighter that relied a bit less on special attacks such as fireballs and more on in close combat. It may show its age but it remains a fun game. It lacks the presentational polish later Tekken titles and even its sister franchise Soul Edge would show soon after. However, because of that, the focus was the fighting mechanics. It wasn’t the flashy, competition ready presentation that later installments would focus on. If you haven’t played it by now, I highly recommend you try it. It’s one of the best titles early 3D fighters have to offer.

Final Verdict: 4 out of 5

I’ve been in a shooter vibe recently. I’ve also been in a PlayStation 1 vibe but that’s another blog. I’m not a big fan of shooters. I’m not very good at them and many shooters tend to focus on reflexes rather than strategy. Not that having a quick reaction timing isn’t a skill but there isn’t many instances in shooters where you outsmart your opponent like in a strategy game or counter your enemy like in a fighting game. Of course, there are exceptions and the Brothers in Arms series is one of them.

I recently finished going through Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2’s campaign and after being pleasantly surprised, I thought about getting the new Call of Duty Black Ops II. However, I currently don’t have $60 just lying around so I decided to play something more familiar. A game I know and love in the shooter genre but haven’t played in a long time. So I fired up Steam, and booted up Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30. Within minutes, I had my controls configured and I was deep into the story of Sgt. Matt Baker.

Brothers in Arms is really more of a more meticulous game. As squad leader, you order around your troops and instruct them to cover or to administer suppressing fire. Flanking your opposition is an important part of this game and you are not going to find many enemies that are just standing out in the open trying to shoot you. You’ll have to find ways around your enemies cover in order to get to them. Shooting your foes is really the easy part of the game. The difficulty is in finding that simple shot.

Although the game shows its age, the Brothers in Arms games had great graphics for its time. Sonically, the voice actors deliver their lines with conviction, which supports the tone of the game. Many of the skirmishes are light on the giant set pieces and usually involve two to three enemies for you to have a chess game with. In a time where Hollywood style military shooters are the status quo, a shooter with more thought required to do well would be a welcome diversion for current gamers to try out.

The Brothers in Arms games have three games in the series. Two of them were released during the last console generation but I would suggest that the third game, which was already released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, also be included. Now unlike some other HD collections I’ve suggested, this would be a simpler compilation. Basically Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 and Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood would get a raise in resolution and the graphics would be cleaned up for its HD debut.

Achievements and Trophies will be included and the only real addition I would suggest would be the ability to save at any point. Together, that would be three games with two last gen titles and one current gen title (similar to the Tomb Raider collection, mind you) for $40. So what do you think? Would you like to see Brothers in Arms in HD? You think developer Gearbox Software is too busy with the Borderlands series or the next Duke Nukem game to give us Brothers in Arms in HD? Comment below and let me know.

So Call of Duty Black Ops 2 has been released to store shelves and this is the most excited I’ve been for a Call of Duty game since Modern Warfare 2. I don’t typically like the Call of Duty series or FPS games for that matter but the reviews have been positive and, in one of the many reasons to actually read reviews rather than just look at the score, I’m impressed with what I’m hearing is in the game. An engaging story with choices to make and a less linear path, multiplayer with new weapons and bots to play against to train, and the Zombies portion of the game expanded into three different modes including a story mode of sorts.

This all culminates into a game I see as really doing something different for the series. As such, I’m trying to see how I can find the money to get this game, specifically the PC version’s digital deluxe version which comes with some extra content and, most importantly, Call of Duty World at War. Yup. 80 bucks will nab you two Call of Duty games. This version is only available to the PC version and although the series is known for being primarily geared towards Xbox 360 users, I think the PC community will be just fine. Are you going to pick up Black Ops 2? Have you gotten it already? Let me know in the comments below.