Backlog: Fall Clearance 2
By angularbanjo 1 Comments
Got a mother lode of 360 games in the mail this past week, most of them look pretty promising. After finishing the single player in Uncharted 2 and messing about a fair bit in multiplayer, I'm ready for some backlog stuff again.
Game 1: Tom Clancy's EndWar
BEFORE: Don't know what to expect here, to be honest. My experience with RTS games is limited, but this one promises a fresh take on it, anyway. The reviews were generally on the good side, but there wasn't really a crazy amount of buzz.
AFTER: The first achievement popped four minutes in, that was pretty quick. The voice command tutorial seemed to work well enough that I just had to play the first few missions to see if it held up in the field. Three missions in, feels pretty solid so far. Seems kinda easy, though.
Game 2: Resident Evil 5
BEFORE: I bought two copies of this game and gave one of them to my brother, since I've heard that co-op is the way to go. I'm a Resident Evil virgin, so this is going to be a new experience. The focus on co-op is apparent in the opening menus, I'm doing this session alone, though.
AFTER: Whoa, this game is... different. I needed 45 minutes and three continues to beat mission 1_1 on Normal and get the first achievement. The controls felt very slow compared to other shooters I've played, but popping zombies in the head and collecting gold got really satisfyting once I got over the hump. Can't wait to play this in co-op now. Also, after playing through Uncharted 2, the voice work and animation in the cutscenes here don't hold up.Game 3: 50 Cent Blood on the Sand
BEFORE: This should be quite a contrast to RE5. 50's quoting Eminem in the opening screen track. I played and liked The Club, I should be able to have some fun with this. Expecting ridiculousness and lots of it.
AFTER: Even more ridiculous than expected. Wild and crazy arcade-style effects and a pretty good tempo to the shooting. Way fun. It's pretty good with the achievements too, the first one (for a successful melee attack) popped near the 6-minute mark, and another 30 minutes yielded a bunch more. Could not put this down right away.
Game 4: Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe
BEFORE: Fighting games was one of the genres I didn't foresee myself getting into when I started playing games again a few years ago. I'm also more familiar with the DC Universe than Mortal Kombat, so this should be interesting. I've heard good things.
AFTER: Jumped straight into arcade mode with Scorpion, mixed opponents. Got two achievements in the first match, one for Free Fall Transition and one for Klose Kombat, both worth 25G. Pretty generous. I'm seeing some cool moves here, this should be fun once I get my Hori stick out and learn the finishers.
Game 5: Bionic Commando
BEFORE: There were a few things said about this game when it was released that kept me from buying it at full price, mainly about the collectables. I love collectables when they're done right. When they're not done right, they become an annoyance. I also tried the multiplayer demo, and it left me indifferent. I'm totally willing to give this a try at this price, though. Not expecting too much.
AFTER: Damn, the Grin guys put their logo in the intro cutscenes. Clevery done. This could have used some more polish. Combat feels pretty goot, though. Not quite 10 minutes, finished the first challenge for 5G. I'm gonna have to play through this one later, though I'm already aware of the idiotic twist.
Game 6: F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin
BEFORE: Playing this as the last game before I hit the sack at 2:45 AM may not be the greatest idea. I tried the demo for this game when it came out, it seemed OK to me. Not enough to warrand a full-price purchase, though.
AFTER: Bad idea for sure. I spent the better part of 40 minutes trying to finish the first mission because I missed the instructions and I couldn't find them again. This game look pretty. The atmosphere is almost tangible, and there are even some scary parts in there. Shooting seems solid, too. Should make for an interesting diversion someday, though I've got a feeling that once November rolls around, I won't have room for any other shooters than the obvious one.