Been playing and completing a lot of games in the past few weeks. I'm gonna give my impressions of all the games I've completed to date. Don't worry, there will be NO spoilers. Just wanna post some thoughts on them.



Portal 2 (PS3) - An incredible improvement over the original game. The puzzles are fun and intuitive and the writing is EXCELLENT. Voice acting is also superb and the music is really good too. I wasn't able to get the PC version for a while due to PSN being down. I've moved onto other games so I haven't checked out the PC version now that I have it. I heard the visuals look incredible compared to the console versions. I haven't had a chance to play the coop but the single player mode was an amazing experience. Anyway, must play! 



Gray Matter (PC) - An adventure game by Jane Jensen of Gabriel Knight fame. The game's art design and graphics look great but the puzzles were not that interesting. The voice acting went from excellent to terrible. It's quite a mixed bag. There were some really cool ideas and concepts but the story falls apart in the last third of the game. It was anticlimatic and the ending didn't make much sense. I was quite disappointed with the pay off. It felt like a large chunk of the story was missing. Anyway, it's worth playing for some of the ideas but overall, it wasn't as great as I was hoping for. 



BTTF Episode 4 (Mac) - I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed with this episode. The puzzles were convoluted or too simplistic and the story didn't move forward much. The dialogue was good as usual but this may be the weakest episode by far. I really didn't like some parts of it. I'm curious how the final episode will end but I hope it'll be more impressive than what we got here. Meh...



LA Noire (PS3) - WOW, what a great experience. A very cool detective game with a lot of cool characters and really well written dialogue. The facial capture tech is INCREDIBLE. It's so well done that it borders on the uncanny valley. It's a lot of fun seeing so many familiar faces from TV and movies. There are some really dark stuff so mature audiences only. Get someone to watch you play it cuz it felt like I was watching a good detective TV show. Anyway, this game is a breath of fresh air and is worth playing. Well done.



DeathSmiles 2X (360) - Another CAVE shmup winner. If you enjoyed the original DeathSmiles, check this one out too. It's just as good. The switch to 3D graphics didn't bother me at all. It's very colorful and vibrant. The music is also great. Check it out if you like any shmups.



The Witcher (PC) - Got this a while ago but didn't start playing this until after the sequel came out. It's a big game with a really cool lore. There are some cool stories and concepts. The game is still janky in spots but overall, it was a solid game. There are a ton of sidequests and many characters that continually pop up. I have to say that the backtracking is TERRIBLE though. It was a major problem and actually annoyed me the more I played it. I wish it had a fast travel system. If you plan on playing the sequel, I highly recommend playing this one first. It establishes the world quite well and is a good foundation for the sequel. But be warned, it's a big game that will take a while to complete. Worth checking out for RPG lovers.

I'm still playing a bunch of other stuff but I'll post impressions for them when I'm done. Thanks for reading.

Spent last Friday and Saturday building and tweaking my new gaming PC. Building it wasn't bad. I only had an issue with the front jack connectors on the motherboard. PC wasn't turning on for some reason so I had to fiddle with it and it worked afterwards. So far it's been smooth sailing over the weekend and today. I haven't built a new PC in a few years and I had forgotten how many damn updates I needed to install after a clean Windows install. Everything is super fast and quiet. Gaming with SSDs is excellent since loading is almost instant for every game. Loving it so far.

Some people asked me what parts I got so here it is:

I'm using Windows 7 64-bit version.

Mobo, CPU and RAM


GFX card


SSDs and HDDs


PSU


Case


Fully assembled. Took this shot when I was installing Windows and making sure all the hardware was working correctly. The cables and wires were hard to organize since my graphics card is so gigantic. Not a big deal since my case is not windowed so sight unseen.


New Pick-Ups:
Some Japan Quake Relief items. All proceeds from these items go to charity.

Aksys 'Hope' tee - Cute simple design.


CAVE Charity Set - They had three different sets that were shipped randomly and I got this one. I likes.


Games.

Portal 2 (PS3) - Already completed so I'll write some impressions soon. PSN has been down so I haven't been able to redeem the PC/Mac version. :(


Eschatos (360) - Another shmup. It includes two old classic games from the series which is pretty damn cool. They're actually pretty fun and aged well.


Mortal Kombat Kollector's (PS3) and Tournament Edition (360).



Also got Nin2-Jump and Trouble Witches NEO on XBLA.

Other stuff.

Sworcery LP


Whiskey Media tees.

Stuff from last month and this month (so far). Kinda forgot to post them since I mainly plug them on Twitter. If you read some of my recent reviews, some of the pick-ups are redundant to post but whatevs.

2011 Toyota Rav4 - My biggest pick-up of the year! It was a headache since I had specific requests and the dealership didn't have it at their lot so I had to wait. Anyway, a pretty massive pick-up. ^^

iPad2 White 16GB - Another major pick-up. Had to wait an entire month from the Apple online store for it. But it had some lint or something under the glass so I had to exchange it today. Got a new one and it's flawless so I'm happy. Waiting for the Smart Cover I ordered. 

Nintendo 3DS + Lincoln Force tee + SSFIV 3D and Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars - Yea, I bought one. Only two games I wanted with it but Amazon made it pretty easy with their credit offers and free accessories.

Wallet - Gift from my sis. Very generous of her. My old wallet was pretty much falling apart...lol.

More Games

Bullet Soul + bonus and Mamoru-kun LE - Shmups!

The 3rd Birthday LE - UK edition

Yakuza 4 - US and UK LE (next to my Yakuza 3 PS3 for comparison)

Dragon Age II LE

Crysis 2

Blazblue Continuum Shift + bonus - Part of the Aksys sale benefit for Japan.

Okamiden + bonus

YDKJ - Amazon Gold Box deals so I bought both.

Move controller - Had a gift card that was gonna expire so I splurged on this.

Blu-rays

Also bought a bunch of apps and DLC etc. Anyway, massive.

Played through a couple of DLC games over the weekend. It was pretty interesting to play through each one back to back cuz each one controlled so differently. But thankfully, my muscle memory made it easy to adapt...lol. No spoilers for the main games or the DLCs themselves so don't worry about it.

First, Mass Effect 2: Arrival DLC (360). An interesting little story that teases what we can come to expect from ME3. But I was somewhat disappointed with it compared to previous DLCs that were released. It's only about an hour and 30 minutes long and most of it consisted of battles rather than story. The battles were fun and challenging but there's nothing really new or different about them. It's worth playing if you're hyped for ME3 and want some extra upgrades that are included with it. But compared to previous DLCs like Overlord and Shadow Broker, it pales in comparison to them.Still worth checking out for diehard fans.

Second, Dead Space 2: Severed DLC (360). A really cool sidestory that expands upon the Extraction story. If you haven't played Extraction, you should. Anyway, it felt a lot scarier than the main game for some reason to me. There were some really good scares in it. This is another fairly short game lasting about an hour and 30 minutes long as well. It added a lil bit of information to the DS lore and also teased what I can probably expect in any future spinoffs or sequels. It's worth checking out but you won't find anything new with it in terms of gameplay or setpieces. Worth checking out if you want more DS2 but from a different perspective.

Third, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood: The Da Vinci Disappearance DLC (360). This was a great addition to the AC Bro storyline. Not only does it feature some stellar gameplay and missions but it also features plenty of really cool information. It expands the ending of AC Bro really well and it also does a good job teasing what we can expect from its sequel. This was quite lengthy at around 3 hours long and none of it was filler. I probably could've finished it faster but I wanted 100% sync for all missions. After I mentioned that I finished the game on Twitter, I was informed that there was something I can look up from the ending information. My mind was blown. Anyway, great DLC that any AC fan should check out. But make sure to play it AFTER you finished the main story in the core game.

Finally, spent some time playing Back to the Future Parts 2 and 3 (Mac). Part 2 was fairly weak in terms of story and gameplay. Although I admit I loved the singing voice of Trixie Trotter's voice actress. But the rest of it was kinda blah in comparison to Part 1. Anyway, it was a nice setup for Part 3 which was pretty awesome. Not only was Part 3 totally unexpected in terms of its art design but the story was quite improved over the previous two chapters. It had better writing and a much more interesting twist. The cliffhangers were killer. Anyway, worth checking out. I can't wait to play Part 4 and see where it goes.

Alright, I promised some pick-ups posts but I'll do that next time.

So I finished Dragon Age 2 (360) last week. I played as a Male Warrior. Once again, BioWare came through with a game that has a cast of very colorful characters and a very interesting world. It's too bad the world has been shrunken down to one major city and a few other locations.

The game's graphics are an improvement over DA: Origins and everyone is very expressive. The new elf designs caught me offguard tho. They look a lil odd at first but I like that the elves actually look different than the humans.  Btw, EVERY human female in the game has some of the biggest boobs in any video game. It's pretty funny. Although I guess no one beats Isabela in that dept. Whoa momma. Anyway, the environments also look better than Origins but it's not at the level of the Mass Effect games.

I liked the gameplay changes. The combat is fun and much less tedious than Origins. Yea, I know that the PC crowd hated the changes but I played Origins on the 360 and this was an improvement. It's much more streamlined and the new interface is much easier to navigate. Unlike Origins, DA2's conversation and mission structure is basically Mass Effect 2 reskinned. It's scary how similar it is to ME2. Fans of ME2 will know what to expect.

But I have to mention that the dialogue system is much improved over both DA: Origins and the ME games. The choices aren't so easy to figure out and your party members may not agree with your choices even if you think is right. Speaking of your party, the banter between them is EXCELLENT. The amount of hilarious conversations is truly well done. If you have the right combo of members on at the same time, you may even get a fun conversation from all three guys on the team. I also loved all the optional dialogue that pops up if you have a specific member on your team during a Companion or any other sidequest. Isabela is my fave. She comes up with some of the funniest lines in the game. <3

But the game has two MAJOR issues I need to point out for the uninitiated. There's a bug with Merrill's Companion Quest where the end cutscene plays out of order when you talk to her at the beginning of Act 3. It spoils the mission ending and it cannot be avoided unless you ignore her quest. There is also a sidequest in Act 3 where you need to rescue a kidnapped person but the quest doesn't trigger. Both of these bugs are in ALL versions of the game and CANNOT be fixed in anyyway . It's annoying so I hope a patch comes out soon before I my NG+ run.

Anyway, DA2 is worth a look if you loved DA: Origins. Don't fret over the changes and just enjoy the game for the characters. It's not as good as Origins but if you like the world, it's worth checking out.

I also completed Crysis 2 (360) after a mega marathon. I actually almost finished the game in one sitting but it's so long that I had to take a break. Yea, the game is surprisingly long and incredibly satisfying. Reviewers weren't kidding.

First thing that caught my eye were the graphics. It's a great looking with some really nice looking environments. I didn't find the game as crisp as another recent FPS like Bulletstorm but Crysis 2 is full of detail. I wish there were more enemy variety though. The voice acting was surprisingly good too. The actors managed to take the somewhat cliche script and make it their own. The guy who does Hargreave is pretty awesome.

The Nanosuit powers are pretty good but upgrading is a bit of a chore. You have to manually collect the particles from downed aliens which is just plain tedious. I also don't understand why some power are locked out until later even when I had enough points for them. That takes away some customization. They don't break the game even if I got them a lil early. But yea, the powers are fun when you start to figure out which power is best for you. Armor and Cloak is your friend. Oh yea, the voice for the suit is pretty badass and never gets old. 

The story ain't bad. I disagree with people who say the story is terrible. At least this story is cohesive and made sense. It's not anything amazing but there were some pretty epic and unexpected moments. I also liked the various twists and turns along the way. It kept the plot fresh and kept me playing. I also thought the ending was very satisfying. 

I discovered a few minor bugs but it didn't break the game so I wouldn't worry about it. If any pops up, just restart the checkpoints. Overall, fun game and quite lengthy. Highly recommended.

New pick-ups blog next.   

I beat Bulletstorm (360) about a week ago in one sitting and it was a blast. Incredibly fun with a lot of variety in the levels. The ability to grab most enemies and chain moves for various combos never gets old. The weapons are all incredibly powerful and satisfying. Controls are spot on and easy to pick up and play. Gorgeous graphics with many amazing vistas and visual designs. I found myself pausing a few times during the quiet moments. 

The story is silly and not deep but that's how it was meant to be. I admit that they do take themselves a tad too seriously later in the game. But at least 80% of it is just a wild ride. The characters all have great banter and there are many genuinely funny lines and moments. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Gray and Ishii through the whole game. Btw, if you want to hear Jennifer Hale (aka Female Commander Shepard) curse like a sailor, this is the game for you. Overall, fantastic game and highly recommended.

I decided to finally open up my copy of Dead Space Extraction (Wii) in preparation for the DS2 DLC: Severed. I also have the PS3 version but I don't have a Move so I went with the Wii version. I want to play it the way it was meant to be played. I beat it in one sitting which wasn't difficult since all I did was shoot.

Anyway, great game. The gameplay is your typical Wii lightgun shooter so it was easy to get into. What really surprised me were the story and characters. I really loved the pacing and interactions between the people you encounter. It was really well done and always exciting and suspenseful. The actual game wasn't scary at all like with DS1 but it was a fun adventure. Some nice twists and turns and I was really glad to see what happened before DS1 started. Overall, a must play if you love the Dead Space series or lightgun games in general.

Finally, beat Killzone 3 (PS3) as well and it was a pretty epic experience. The game is drop dead gorgeous and real eye candy. The game was also surprisingly colorful. Unlike KZ2 which was drab and gray/brown, KZ3 has a ton of color especially in a few levels which wowed me. I liked that the devs added more visual variety this time. It was a good move.

So while I praised the visuals, the audio was another story. There seemed to be some weird glitches and quirks with the audio in the game. The AI allies would have their audio cut off without finishing their lines and some lines would repeat on a loop for a bit which made them sound like malfunctioning robots. It was REALLY annoying and really pulled me out of the experience. Not sure how this problem wasn't fixed since it's not random. Thankfully, it seems like it only happened in the first third of the game.  I also found that the surround during the FMVs were not as good as the in-game stuff. Another inconsistent issue which also annoyed me. Ah well.

The story is a direct sequel to KZ2 so it was nice to see what happened after that cliffhanger. The characters were better written this time and feature some actual development with their personalities. The villains were the most fun to watch. I dunno about you guys but KZ1 (YES, the first game) had a really good villain that I liked. I'm glad KZ3 returned to its roots with the storytelling. But the game had some pretty jarring transitions that didn't work at all from level to level. You would sometimes jump from one location to another with barely any idea how the characters got there. Bummer. 

Overall, I liked the new weapons (you can carry 3 this time!) and the jetpack was actually fun to use. Some of the later levels were really well done and exciting. I haven't tried the MP yet so I'm not gonna comment on it. This is worth playing for the visuals alone and if you enjoyed KZ2, KZ3 is a much improved version of that.

Some notable pick-ups this month:

Killzone 3 CE - UK edition. I love steelcases so I bought this version in addition to the US Helghast version. Yea, Bulletstorm is there too, BROS!

Radiant Historia (DS) - It's getting a ton of great reviews so I bought it. But I haven't been in the mood to play it yet. 

Dragon Quest V and VI (DS) - Bought VI from the Amazon sale BUT V cost me $20 more than retail. I was surprised that V was OOP and prices on eBay and Amazon resellers were pretty high. I found a seller who had it brand new for the lowest price available from my search on eBay so I jumped on it. Now my DQ DS collection is complete.

Muchi Muchi Pork & Pink Sweets LE (360) - Another CAVE shmup and it's a combo pack this time. Both games are really fun and HARD. Pink Sweets in particular is incredibly brutal and one of the hardest bullet hell shmups I ever played. The LE comes with an OST.

Gray Matter (PC) - It's a NEW adventure game from legendary adventure game writer/creator, Jane Jensen. It got positive reviews so I splurged on it blind. I wish it was Mac compatible cuz I've been too lazy to turn on my main PC to play it. ^^;;;

CAVE artbooks. Awesome art for Mushihime Futari and Espgaluda II.

Finally, Samanosuke 1/6 figure from Enterbay. Pretty expensive but it was an impulse purchase. I'm glad he finally got a high quality face sculpt. 

So yea, seems like a lot of people who check out my blog actually like the pick-ups stuff so I'll continue posting stuff I bought. I won't post everything like I used to, just stuff I think is cool and worth sharing. Thanks for the feedback!

Marvel vs Capcom 3 SE (PS360) + bonus t-shirt - Gotta mention my annoyance with the wait for this game. Capcom shop had some issue with their shipments so a lot of guys had their orders stuck at some post office in IN and NJ. Anyway, didn't get the game until last Friday which was outrageous. To add insult to injury, Capcom shop only shipped me ONE t-shirt when I made two separate preorders. Never again Capcom, your store sucks. Btw, GREAT game, really fun.

Catherine (PS360) + preorder bonuses - Made by the Persona team. The preorder bonuses were different depending on which version you bought. Evil.

Gyakuten Kenji 2 CE (DS) + e-Capcom exclusive figure and strap - I don't want to get into this too much but getting this was a pain and was very expensive. Anyone who follows me on Twitter will know what I went through. Now I want a Phoenix Wright figure!

Hyperdimension Neptunia Premium (PS3) + bonus cards - Sure, why not?

Dead Space 2 LE (PS3) + Figure - Loved the game so much that when Amazon had the LE on sale I jumped on it. HD Extraction and better audio made it a no-brainer. The figure was a separate purchase.

Tactics Ogre x2 (PSP) + bonus cards - So yea, why two copies? For the awesome Tarot cards of course!

That's it for now. More games coming out this week so I might post those as well. BOOSH!

I beat Dead Space 2 (360) last weekend. Forgot to post my impressions since I've been busy with the massive snowstorms all this week. Anyone else sick of the snow?

Anyway, AWESOME game. The first Dead Space was my 2008 GOTY and DS2 doesn't disappoint. I loved it so much that I had a mega marathon where I played from Chapter 5 to the end in one day. It's that damn good. The gameplay is much improved over the first game and everything seems faster. Isaac moves faster, aims faster and stomps faster. Isaac is less of a tank and feels more like a fighter which makes sense after the first game. Many of DS1's weapons return but most of them feature new alt fire modes. They seem much more useful and the primary fire for most weapons seem much stronger than the weapons in DS1. Levels flow by quickly with little backtracking and there are some glorious set pieces which were exciting. My only gripe with the game was some of the puzzles. They were not that fun or interesting and most of them were very simple. At least they're not frustrating to solve. I remember getting stuck in a few puzzles in DS1.

The story is much better told than the first game and talky Isaac was a good idea. Not only does it give the game more personality but his interactions with the various NPCs made the story better as well. There were some cutscenes I found amusing rather than disturbing because of the interactions. Not sure if the humor was intended or not but it kept things light at times and it made me care about the NPCs a little more unlike in DS1. It's hard not to compare certain aspects of the game to being influenced by the Uncharted series. The game is a lot less scary than the first game and less tense, imo. In fact, I wasn't creeped out until during the second half of the game. Maybe it's because I'm a DS1 veteran and since I kicked so much Necro ass in the first game, the Necros weren't a big deal to me in this game.

The graphics are simply gorgeous. Lots of detail with Isaac's various armors, weapons and the locations around him. Great lighting and some very smooth animations. There are some gorgeous views which made me pause. It's a nice contrast to the grossness of the Necromorphs you encounter throughout the game. The various locations look great and really kept things fresh as you move from one area to another. The visuals will not disappoint. Very moody and diverse.

But the real winner is the audio. It's incredible just like the first game. The surround is great with plenty of ambient noise to keep you on your toes. The first game's audio was what scared me and it's the same in DS2. There are some jump scares primarily because of the audio from the surrounding environments or Necromorphs. I also need to mention that your bass will get a good workout. It simply sounds amazing during some set pieces with some really nice sound effects. Anyone with a good surround system is gonna enjoy the audio a lot. I can't imagine playing this game in stereo or with cheap headphones. The impact for some of the set pieces and cutscenes might be lessened without a good sound system, imo.

Overall, Dead Space 2 was a great game with a good story and characters. It's a lot of fun and worth checking out for anyone who's into action games. The horror and gore might turn some people away but it's not that bad, imo. Fans who beat the first game will find a lot of great callbacks and references. The ending in particular was a real treat if you beat the first game. Must play!

Btw, I was gonna post my new pick-ups but I think I'm done posting them in blogs. Don't really feel like it anymore. If you wanna see them, check the pick-up threads in NeoGAF or follow me on Twitter. Ciao.

I've been on fire with my portable games this month. I think mainly because I wanted to catch up on my backlog and there has been some stellar titles released for the consoles so far. So here are my impressions for the following games.

Completed Ghost Trick (DS) and it's AWESOME. It's written by the same writer of the Ace Attorney games so it's no surprise that the story is excellent here as well. Great characters, twists and some really great humor. The gameplay is much more involved though. The puzzles require trial and error but it was never frustrating. I found the game pretty easy and I never got stuck. It's very well done. The graphics are GORGEOUS and feature incredible smooth animation. I love the designs and art in the game. The music is also stellar and never gets old. AA fans will probably hear many familiar tunes in this game and the way they're presented. One of the best games this year and worth checking out. MUST PLAY.

I also finished BOTH PSP God of War games earlier this week in one day. I was LTTP and it was quite an experience. I started with GoW: Chains of Olympus and it was pretty cool to see the story leading up to the first game. I really enjoyed the level design and weapon/magic powers. The levels were pretty direct and not frustrating and the weapons/magic powers were a lot of fun to use and very helpful. I enjoyed using the weapons and magic in this game more than the console versions. The story was interesting and made certain parts of GoW3 make more sense. I really enjoyed it.

After CoO, I jumped into GoW: Ghost of Sparta. It's much improved graphically and features a lot of aspects of GoW3 in it like the QTE button placements on screen. But I have to admit I didn't like the level designs as much. It featured some terrible traversal involving those balance beams which I HATED in the console games. It also features needless backtracking where you moved to one section and ended up having to backtrack a minute later to the same area. It felt like padding rather than smart design. The story was interesting but not quite as epic as CoO. It was a nice addition to the main storyline and helped resolve a story thread that was mentioned in the first GoW which I liked. 

 Overall, both games were great and worth playing especially if you enjoy the GoW games on the PS2/PS3. These PSP games really did a nice job explaining why Kratos is so damn angry and why he wants to destroy everything (especially in GoW3). Highly recommended.

Oh yea, been playing Jake Hunter: Memories of the Past (DS) as well. It's an adventure game I didn't really check out until Aksys had their awesome sale. It's pretty cool and actually contains all the content from the first game (which I bought without knowing). Anyway, heard this version is better localized and featured many improvements so I jumped right into this one. The stories are pretty good and it features two awesome characters. I really like Jake Hunter but I'm in love with Yulia Marks, his assistant. One of the most well-written female characters in any game. The dialogue is really smart and intelligent. Both of them have great chemistry. Kudos to the original writers and Aksys for the translation.

It's a pretty old school game and some might say archaic in design and graphics. But the localization is great (except for the typos I encountered). The stories are interesting and features some nice twists. The entire game is grounded in reality though so no weird stuff like in the AA or Layton games if you were expecting that. I'm enjoying it so far and the bonus stuff you can unlock is really fun and interesting. I highly recommend this title for anyone who's into visual novels and detective stories.

Anyway, new games are incoming so a new pick-ups post next time. Thanks for reading.

 Was gonna post this earlier but I forgot. I'm just gonna post my list. These were my favorite games in 2010.
 
10. Starcraft 2
9. God of War 3
8. Halo: Reach
7. Bayonetta
6. Yakuza 3
5. Deadly Premonition
4. 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors
3. Red Dead Redemptopn
2. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
1. Mass Effect 2
 
Honorable Mentions - These games almost made it and were great too.
Alan Wake
Vanquish
Heavy Rain
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

Bonus!
My top iPhone/iPod Touch GOTY for 2010.
 
5. Mirror's Edge
4. Robot Unicorn Attack
3. Dodonpachi Resurrection
2. Espgaluda II 
1. Infinity Blade
 
A lot of great games came out in 2010 and 2011 looks INSANE. It's gonna be a good and very expensive year this year. Thanks for reading.