Those of us that are lucky enough to have some vacation time during Christmas and New Year’s have an excellent opportunity to catch up on gaming. Whether you’re locking yourself in your “man cave” with your consoles or catching up on PSP or DS titles while visiting friends and family, it’s game time!
As for me, I’m away from my consoles, but that’s cool because I wanted to catch up on Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
How about you guys and dolls? What are you playing until it’s time to go back to the grind?
Thanks for the Civ Revolution recommendation from your list Ray. Been playing that while the in-laws were in town, and while in the theater waiting for Avatar. Good times.
No problem! Glad you're enjoying. It's the best $2.99 I've spent in years!!!
Hehe I'm a month behind the times, but my house will be doing nothing but playing Dragon Age and Assassin's Creed 2. So far loving them both. My niece made fun of me for jumping when the tree folk attack you (playing thru as a human warrior). I should of expected to fight trees lol XD. Plus the commentary between Morrigan and Alistair makes for a good day too lol.
@Ray – you must have gotten it on super sale… mine was 6.99, but still worth it.
@CamiKitten Lemme know what you think of DA when you have a chance. I miss it!
@LarcenousLaugh It was indeed on sale when I bought it. For the amount of hours I put into it, the game would have been a tremendous value at $6.99. At $2.99 it's ridiculous!
I can't decide what to play this break. I'm having fun playing MW2 (when matchmaking isn't retarded) since a lot of my friends are available to play it. Borderlands is something I am interested in sinking a lot more hours in to. Eventually I have to put in L4D2 and do what I do best…kill zombies.
Already beat Uncharted and R&CF:ToD this past week. Working through Uncharted 2 now.
I really wish ME 2 came out sometime in late November. I don't think I will have much time for it over the next few months when it releases. I'm taking 600 level auditing and my third 600 level tax accounting…. Something is tipping me off that my free time will be limited.
I played Dragon Age on my PC all weekend. Feels more like KOTOR than anything else, not that that is a bad thing.
I am already back to work today (drawing plans for 7,000LF of waterlines), but I am going to try and get some time in on my Fairytale Fights, I bought it knowing nothing about it but it was only $10 so I can't complain.
more mass effect. but i need to get more games for my 360. im thinking of buying halo 3, gears of war 1 and 2, splinter cell double agent, and other exclusives i missed out on the past few years. and i need to rebuy modern warfare 2 and dragon age for the 360. probably even modern warfare 1, just to unlock achievements. so far, im loving xbox live so much. last.fm is cool, i listen to it when i go chat with my friends, or just chill. and i just played 1 vs 100 yesterday, friggin awesome!
@rbee: Pass on Splinter Cell: Double Agent. It feels very last gen…..something that the upcoming game looks to have remedied. Check out Crackdown instead. Tons of fun.
@RBEE
Gears is fun. Both of them. The second is markedly better though.
rbee: Also, CoD2 is fantastic as well as the two MW titles. It's also an Infinity Ward game. CoD:WaW is ok, but pass on CoD3. Treyarch just isn't as good at making those games.
@nightshade
i have it on the ps3, but the framerate is jst terrible. i heard that it runs good on the 360, but runs even better on the original xbox. i played the original xbox version, had like 4 playthroughs with it.
@smartguy
i know, i cant wait to get my hands on those two. i love blood, in real, or virtual life. and seeing locust getting their clavicles ripped by a chainsaw gun is just a gore fest i want to see and do.
@nightshade
man, i never played those games since they got released for the pc back then. never played cod3 though, so lucky me. i have to admit tho. cod: waw had a good single player campaign.
@Smartguy: Undoubtedly, Gears 2 is better than Gears 1. The end boss of Gears 1 is next to impossible if you're not playing co-op.
@rbee: Nothing is more fun than using a chainsaw bayonet. Nothing.
@rbee: I get very cranky with the Treyarch CoD games. The endlessly respawning enemies drive me insane. I mean, how many Nazis can you fit in the closets of the Reichstag? Seriously?!?
@Nightshade
Yes he was. Iceman and I were in full agreement on that a week or two ago.
Most "duh" moment in Gears 2: I didn't realize you could do a first person perspective for turrets. That damn part where you have to defend the satellite took me over an hour of dying to do in 3rd person.
@nightshade
the respawning annoy sthe crap out of me too. it gets repetitive, and veteran is just brutal. hated it. grenades everywhere, some random nazi gets close to you and melees the crap out of you. ugh, now that i think about it, its getting disgusting thinking about world at war.
rbee: I just played it on Normal, and the Grenade spam and respawing took all the fun out of the game. It's especially bad when you storm the Reichstag, but it's pretty bad throughout the game. But when they literally start pouring out of the closets on the upper level I wanted to break my controller in half.
@Anyone playing and enjoying Dragon Age Origins
I brought this up over the holiday, but I got Dragon Age Origins and I played it for what seemed like a long time. I am just not liking it at all. I got it on my PS3 and to fight I just hit the 'X' button and wait for the other guy to die the hit 'X' again to fight the next guy. I know I can't be very far into yet because I just finished the "joining" and just couldn't bear anymore of it.
So I'll ask again am I missing something or is that what there is to the game?
@Slicky, What are you playing it on, casual? Believe me, it ain't that easy for the rest of the game. Even on Normal difficulty it gets quite challenging at times.
@SlickyFats
Try a Mage then. That should keep you plenty busy during the fights.
@Nightshade
I am playing it on whatever the default was.
@slicky – think RTS instead of action so much. if you're just hitting X you aren't doing it right, although I will admit on casual it is possible to just run up to a group of enemies and kill them with no strategy at all.
@Slicky – I take it you never played Kotor or Jade Empire?
Anyone else notice how Darksiders disappeared under the radar? I know it goes on sale in Jan but I swear they stopped talking about it in October.
@CamiKitten: You obviously missed the interview my site did with Vigil Studios about Darksiders last week.
http://www.gamerswishlist.com/home
I think Darksiders looks really cool. if they can pull off all of the different game play types they are working with it could be full of win.
@Nightshade386 – oh snap, thanks! reading it now ^^
@Shockwave: Lando's getting me a review copy. ;-)
@nightshade- that's pretty awesome. I figured after the exclusive interview that Vigil would be so kind.
@Shockwave: Yeah, game looks cool. It's definitely one I'm looking forward to. Q1 2010 is gonna be crazy with new stuff.
@nightshade – I know it! Bioware didn't allow me enough recovery time between Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2.
Between Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 2, MAG, Splinter Cell, and others I know more games are going to fall through the cracks. My back log is already getting pretty big
mass effect 2 is going to own Q1 o 2010
i'm most looking forward to Bioshock 2 and Darksiders in the first quarter. I just don't have the time for Mass Effect 2 until probably closer to summer.
Yeah, there were a couple of new Mass Effect 2 vids that I posted today. EA's promotion machine has been plopping out ME2 vids almost every day it seems.
@Shockwave
I haven't gotten into all that many fights in Dragon Age. I fought a quite few guys while leaving the castle with my mom and a servant, then maybe 4 group of bad guys with 3 other guys when looking for vials of blood, then I turned the game off because I was bored with it after the joining.
Dragon Age seems like a game I should have bought for my PC.
@Smartguy: I've gotta be honest, I'm just not that excited for Bioshock 2. I loved the first one, but I fear that the sequel may have way too much in the way of escort missions for my taste. due to the fact that you are a Big Daddy. Hopefully they find a way around that, because that would just kill the game for me.
@Smartguy – I hope Bioshock 2 lives up to the expectations created by the original. I just don't see how the story will be quite as compelling without Kevin Levine at the helm. it almost seems wrong that he isn't involved. The trailers do look promising, however. I'm sure there will be plenty of fun there as well.
BTW – sorry about yesterday, that was a tough loss.
@slicky #40 – I'll definitely agree with that. since I'm nearly done with achievements I'll probablby pick it up for the PC and be done with the console version. I still just have to get a few more plays in….haha
By the way if you've just done the joining you haven't even begun to learn what the game is all about yet. At that point I was a little less than thrilled about DA myself. it's a massive RPG so I'd give it a bit more time to unfold. I always was disappointed with people who never even bothered to make it out of the sewer on Oblivion. lol
@Nightshade
Yeah, the first one had an original style to it that will make it hard to match.
@shockwave
People seem to have faith in God of War 3 w/o Jaffe, so perhaps this one will work out. I probably won't get it on release.
Tell me about it yesterday….I was there…I wanted to throw up. I blame that on the coaches. They pulled everyone but Brees for most of the 2nd and 3rd quarter. There were so many piss poor decisions made I don't have enough space on here to go over them. I think all will be fine come the post season, but the last month or so of the regular season is pure crap. It's like they are overly complacent since they locked up a bye.
@Slicky: You've really gotta give the game more of a chance. You just can't really give up on a 60hr RPG after the first 3 hours.
@Smartguy – ya well if you didn't catch the news on the Colts I think you guys handeled the unimportant game a lot more appropriately. Stupid Indy just decided not even to bother trying yesterday which I think they should be ashamed about.
I despise this trend in the NFL where teams sit the last few games out. Most of the time it comes back to bite those same teams in the ass in the playoffs, so I don't know why the trend continues.
I agree Nightshade – I think what the Colts did yesterday was awful. The starters have already earned time off by securing the by-week in the playoffs. I don't see how taking an extra 2 weeks on top of the by week is going to help them out. if anything I think it may hurt them.
@shockwave & nightshade
I think they played Brees solely for MVP considerations. I honestly don't know what was going through Payton's head. Pierre Thomas ate that team alive in the first quarter and then he was pulled because of a prior rib injury and they didn't want him to take any more hits that game. Reggie Bush couldn't be stopped either….so they pulled him to save him for the playoffs. They stopped throwing the normal passes to wideouts…again to not expose them to that much risk. The defense was just doing vanilla schemes for the sake of being out there. Made me sick. I can't believe teams and the NFL think this is appropriate for 75k fans that paid good money for tickets and over priced concessions.
I love my Saints…I love football…but I think I just went to my last game yesterday. A smack in the face by my home team.
The thing is, it doesn't even work most of the time when teams sit players at the end of the year. They almost always get bounced in the playoffs. So I just don't see the logic in it.
@Shockwave
Yeah Smartguy and I discussed that over the weekend. I didn't know if the game was supposed to get better or if I had seen the major components already. I'll pick it back up this weekend and give it some more time.
Did anyone play the God of War 3 demo yet? I played it 3 times through over the holiday. It looks gorgeous and plays great.
@nightshade
Yeah, I don't agree with sitting players either unless you don't have the bye. Most of all though, I hate the disservice to the paying fans. It's worse than charging for the 4th preseason game if it is at home. Ridiculous.
@slicky
Can you download the demo or was it a pack in with the GoW set?
well said smartguy – especially at home, I would be furious if I paid to go to the Colts game yesterday too.
@shockwave
Ticket = $75
Parking = $25 (split 4 ways though)
Fuel = $10 (60 mile round trip. 15mpg, fuel at $2.50 p/gallon)
Beer = $14 (2 beers in first quarter)
I'm at about $125 for the game. It's more if you factor in me and my friends like to go to Bucktown and eat or into the French Quarter after the game and get a bite.
Makes me sick.
@slicky
that demo was awesome, but most game sites are saying that we haven't seen anything yet.
@smartguy
if i were you i would go to some local gamestop and look behind the game manuals of the gow collections, i did that with the fallout 3 goty set, boy, was i happy. copied the hell out o those codes, when i got back to my local gamestop they changed the case lol.
Speaking of demos, anyone play the Dante's Inferno demo over the weekend.
@Smartguy
Its only available through a redeem code found in the God of War Collection. But Like Rbee said you could always go over to some place that has the cases sitting out and swipe a code from there. I know I rented the Saboteur and got the Midnight Show code from the game rental display box. I don't know why they let the code in the box but they did and it worked.
@Sandrock
Yeah I played Dante's Inferno Demo. Unfortunately one of my friend's kids was in the room during one of the cut scenes (nudity). It was just okay. It it not as much like God of War as it looks. I thought it was similar until I went back and played God of War over the weekend. I was unimpressed with Dante's Inferno and felt like a real button masher. I couldn't get the combos down right though because my hand started cramping. Its been a long time since I played a game like that.
Did anyone get a chance to play the Beta of Mod Nation Racers yet? I have been enjoying the heck out of it. It feels like the original Mario Cart.
oops Kart with a K not a C
@slicky
i enjoyed the dante demo, especially the death boss fight. im a big fan of the original poems. but nothing beats god of war. and about modnation racers, i want to get in the beta soooooo bad, i was looking for vouchers in LBP goty cases, but there werent any.
@rbee90
About Dante's Inferno, you can't help but to think that they ripped everything from God of War.
@RROD
hi rrod. i know they did, from the health cases to the combat. although i thought the scythe was kinda wonky. after playing that demo i went through god of wars 1,2, and the gow 3 demo, god of war is definitely better. i enjoyed the demo because i wanted something different, not a big fan for his weapon,a nd that's it. i dig the cross thing though.
I didn't find the combat gratifying, but the settings and story seemed interesting to me. Never read the poem though.
@RROD
Someone from the God of War team is working on Dante's Inferno. Not sure who, but I remember them talking about it in the dev dairies for Dante's Inferno.
If you have an itouch or iPhone, check out Babel Rising, it's a tower defense game where you play as God keeping people from building the tower of babble. It's been keeping me busy for the past few days. I'm hoping to play Mirror's Edge soon, my little brother and sister got that for me and I've been excited to experience the cool gameplay.