Soon the Long Summer Begins!

Goodbye mild temperatures :(

With summer rapidly approaching and temperatures rapidly rising, spring will soon come to an end. To mark the occasion I’ve decided to write a little wrap up of my spring as it relates to gaming. Tomorrow I will (hopefully) have up a companion blog talking about the games of the summer. For now, though, I would like to delve into my recent past and astound you with the games I played this spring.

Mass Effect 3



We’ll start with a game that wasn’t technically released in spring, but was certainly relevant come March 20th. I played this game non-stop the week of release. By the time I came out on the other side of the tunnel I immediately went to the internet to see how the rest of the populace felt about the game, in particular the ending. I wrote a blog around that time expressing my abject hatred and borderline rage about where Bioware decided to take the franchise, so in terms of this blog I’ll leave my feelings about that particular subject on the on the cutting room floor. In other news, the rest of the game was incredibly rewarding. The shooting was tight and the choices made throughout the game left me contemplating my choices long after I put the controller down. I can’t think of a better way to kick off spring.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City



Hot off the heels of Mass Effect 3 came what many fans feel was a huge disappointment for the Resident Evil franchise. Raccoon City, for me, wasn’t the failure many people labeled it as. I got more than a few hours of enjoyment playing through the campaign and a small amount of multiplayer with 3 of my closest friends. The only slight disappointment for me was the lack of interaction with legacy characters from the previous games, that, and the obviously cut content that Capcom later sold as DLC. At least this time it wasn’t on the disc!

Tales of Graces f



At this point in time, I was ready to get my JRPG on. Tales games are always on my radar, and this was the first new game to come to the west since Vesperia. When I first started the game I was very lukewarm on the whole thing, but it soon stuck it’s talons in me. I was obsessed with this game throughout the month of April, and 140 hours later I had obtained my first platinum trophy.

Operation Darkness



I had heard of this game a long time ago, but never even thought about it since. Then one day I was at GameStop and saw a used copy of this game for only $8.99, and it was well worth it. Even though there is virtually no chance that I will finish this game, I have gotten more than enough entertainment out of it. It’s a WW2 strategy game that has werewolves fighting Nazi vampires and skeletons. If that’s not enough to get you interested, just look at the image above. It’s a werewolf punching Hitler!

Battlefield 3



I know I’m late to this party, but I’m glad I finally picked this game up. Battlefield 3 is a game of extreme highs and lows. One minute you might be taking down a helicopter by ramming it with a jet, the next you might get spawn killed by an enemy sniper from across the map. I rage a lot when I’m playing multiplayer games, but this game just shakes me to the core sometimes. I’ll probably still be playing this game throughout the summer, at least until I snap the disc in half in a fit of Hulk-like rage.

Left 4 Dead 2



One of my best friends recently gave me this game as a gift, and I always enjoy free shit. This isn’t my first experience with the game, but it’s definitely my most lengthy. I must have played the game for 4 hours just trying to beat Dark Carnival on Expert with my friend who bought me the game. Even though we died multiple times and never actually got past the last chapter, I enjoyed my time with the game immensely. Also did you know there’s new DLC coming on the 360? I must say that’s pretty impressive for a 3 year old game.

Prototype 2



Last but not least for the retail roundup is a little gem known as Prototype 2. I just started this game yesterday and I must say I’m surprised at how good this game turned out to be. The controls are a little loose and the game is incredibly easy, but it is some of the most visceral fun I’ve had in a game. I’m not too far and I’ve already torn up hundreds of Blackwatch troopers and got my tentacles into multiple helicopters and their pilots. I’m not sure how well the game sold, but I hope it turns out to be a success.

The best of the rest



In terms of downloadable games, two stood out to me among the pack. The first game up is Telltale’s The Walking Dead. This game came out of nowhere and blew me away. As my first Telltale game, I’m not sure how representative the game is of their other works, but I can say I really want to play Back to the Future now. The choices you make in the game are truly compelling, and the whole scene at the motel was great. Pick this up if you’re in any way interested.

The other game is one that became a phenomenon for the second time; Minecraft. Not being much of a PC gamer the XBLA version is my first experience with the game. I was instantly sucked in when I first started playing the game, mining my ass off for just a little more iron ore. Then about 10 hours later I lost the my initial drive and ended up just going for achievements, then once that was done I stopped playing altogether. From what I’ve seen and heard the PC version is vastly superior, but I doubt I’ll ever play it.