Geekcore

I have to say that Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions was a poor-man's version of Arkham Asylum, which isn't really a bad thing. It's kind of like calling Serria Mist a poor man's version of Sprite. I'll drink both, but I prefer one over the other.

I finished Spider-Man: SD last night; and, besides some uneven difficulty spikes and some annoying repetitive dialogue, Spider-Man: SD is one of the better Spider-Man games I have played. Admittedly, I haven't played too many Spider-Man games because a lot of them are garbage.

When reflecting over the experience, I couldn't help but compare SD to Arkham Asylum because it takes so many cues from the previously mentioned game. If you look at the Noir segments (especially the Mysterio section), it becomes apparent that someone said, "Let's do what Rocksteady did, but we'll do it with Spider-Man." And the result is a fun game that doesn't hold a candle to its sister game.

But in the end, it was better than a lot of the crap out there, and it is good enough to keep me playing for the entirety of the game.

So I bought Red Dead Redemption last Tuesday, and it's been an engrossing experience. My wife has been annoyed with the late night shootouts in Pikes Basin, my students have been jealous of my achievement whoring (me and a few students have an ongoing achievement contest), and I've--well--I've been lulled into John Marston's world, and I'm just waking from this week-long slumber.

But now that the single player campaign is over and I've hung my poncho on the coat rack, I've been thinking about the ending of the game (no spoilers I promise). I've come to the conclusion that the final "boss" encounter was very appropriate. It seems that many games--Mass Effect 2 and Bioshock come to mind--have final bosses that don't fit the ebb and flow of the game. While I love both Mass Effect 2 and Bioshock, the final bosses felt like they were trying to match what consumers want from a final encounter. Apparently, we all want big bosses and epic encounters even if they don't sensibly fit into the story. These types of encounters seem to be disconnected with the process that built to the end of the game.

Luckily, Red Dead Redemption doesn't fall into that trap. The end encounter (it doesn't really have a singular boss per se) matches the game's sense of climax. And that is where Red Dead Redemption hits all the right note--its gives the player great highs and good lows. Red Dead Redemption gives the player a chance to sit back and let things sink in. I was never given that false sense of "hurry or the world will end" that many games resort to. The worst part of that scenario is that it's almost always a lie. Normally, I see these moments and decide that I'm going to finish up all my sidequests before beating the game. Red Dead Redemption doesn't have to do this because, like a good essay or movie, you have an idea that the end is looming, you feel it coming. And while you don't want it to end, you know it has to.

I've found myself playing Words with Friends, Shibuya, Sword & Poker 2, and Canabalt  the most. Anyone got suggestions?

I love the new releases segment of the bombcast, but I would be willing to sacrifice some new release segment time for more emails. It's one of the best parts of the show, in my opinion. Am I wrong in wanting more emails? It just seems to be the section to get shafted because it is the last segment. 
 
I've had one email read on the bombcast and it made me feel like I won a contest or something. I want more people to share in the email joy.

That stinks because I want to support the site, but I can't afford the 50$ right now. I would pay some cash for an appropriate iPhone update. I think it would be sick to be able to log in to my personal account from the app.  
 
Wishful thinking, I guess.

I was totally stoked to buy this app, but there hasn't been an update (that I can remember) and now members get the mobile site. Does that mean the app is never going to be updated?