Games of the week for 11/23/08: Jim Sterling is now a Yank edition

9:35 PM on 11.23.2008   |   Samit Sarkar

66 comments

Today, I was finally able to accomplish a life goal: meeting our oft-venerated and oft-vilified Reviews Editor, Sir James Xavier Sterling III, Esq. (I may be getting his full name wrong). Sunday, November 23, 2008, will go down as a banner day for this great nation, as Sir Sterling has honored the country we hold so dear by deciding to grace us with his presence -- he’s making the United States of America his new permanent home.

Before Mr. Sterling ventured off into the wild blue yonder (aka the South), a few members of Dtoid New York -- myself, power-glove, and Zen Albatross -- were allowed an audience with His Eminence, and it was a life-changing experience. My shell of an existence has been unduly enriched by this encounter, and I shall never forget it as long as I live. We all were in awe of his greatness...and his monocle. I mean, look at the photo above (graciously provided by power-glove): I was hardly able to manage a decent smile because I was so star-struck!

As for events that have the comparative significance of insects relieving themselves, the editors played some games this week. Hit the jump to read all about it, and check out the gallery for a (blurry) picture that includes power-glove!

Samit: In honor of Jim, who’s moving to Mississippi, pretend I’m saying this with Orcist’s sexy Southern drawl: What’ve y’all been playin’?

Last week, I was inexplicably demoted to the New York Rangers’ second line in NHL 09 after one game in which I didn’t have any points, even though I had been kicking ass up to that point (in 24 games, I had 36 goals, seven assists, and a +25 plus/minus rating). No matter -- after continuing to kick ass on the second line, I was promoted to the top line once again.

I also spent some time with AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack before realizing it made much more sense to just import the songs into my Rock Band library and go from there. It might be time to move up to Expert drums on some of the easier AC/DC songs -- I was five-starring them while hitting over 95% of the notes. And sadly, I still haven’t been able to get into a game in the Killzone 2 beta (though, to be fair, I’ve only tried twice).

Colette: I was doing really good staying focused on Fallout 3 ... until Left 4 Dead came out. Now I can’t stop trying to get that perfect headshot ... there’s something so incredibly addictive about blowing the heads off zombies. FAST zombies.

I also got a little bit further in Order of Ecclesia, and I’ve decided it’s one of my favorite Castlevania titles ever.

Joseph: Do I really have a drawl? It tends to come out when I drink.

Anyway, I’ve been re-playing Ninja Gaiden II. The camera is still just as bad as the first time, and some of the design choices are still just as stupid, but it’s still a really fun and satisfying romp.

Also, it should probably be something akin to Whatch’all been playin’?

Jordan: The Left 4 Dead demo didn’t exactly sell me on the game, but I picked it up on Friday anyway and I’m super glad I did. I must have played a good seven hours straight, and now that I have gotten to know versus mode and the more impressive, later chapters in the game, I’m absolutely loving it. Honestly, the only thing it’s missing is a Dawn of the Dead mall level with endless waves of zombies, à la Horde mode in Gears 2.

Chad: Even though they are mostly “cheap” scares, I have screamed out loud multiple times in Dead Space. It doesn’t help that I turn off all the lights and blast the surround sound, but I like to set an atmosphere! Speaking of sound ... man, that game has some of the best sound effects I have ever heard. All in all, I am really enjoying the game! :)

Brad Rice: I’ve been playing 007: Quantum of Solace for review and am still ambivalent about the title. I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I can’t speak to anything plot-wise, and the gameplay is leaps and bounds above the last couple of Bond games I played on GameCube. Otherwise, I haven’t had time for much else, except a little romp in LittleBigPlanet, since Necros is never going to play his copy of the game.

Ashley: People with slight drawls always sound worse when they’ve been drinking. Mine gets especially bad. That’s why I drink alone.

I’ve mostly been playing Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts this week, but for the past couple of days it’s been all about Left 4 Dead. It’s the first FPS game I’ve ever had any fun playing, and my abilities show it. But I still love it, even though I suck.

Nick: Left 4 Dead. Lots of it. Lots and lots of it. Also, Sonic Unleashed on the Xbox 360, which so far is a mixed bag of awesome and misery.

Brad Nicholson: Left 4 Dead is sitting on my game rack (which has become quite full this holiday season) calling me, but I’ve been playing a megaton of Resistance 2 for review. The single-player is quite lacking, but the multiplayer components are wonderfully exciting and fun. Before the latest Insomniac offering, I was battling Super Mutants in Fallout 3. The first few hours of the title really didn’t capture me like I thought they would -- but the game has me in its clutches now and I have become a fan.

Dale: Persona 4. So good. So very good.

Hamza: I played a bunch of Hudson games the other day at Hudson’s offices. HOW EXCITING

Topher: Ketsui: Death Label on the DS is delicious. Lots of Persona 3. And some ... no, wait, that was about it.

Justin: I’ve been at a tabletop gaming convention this weekend, so not really a whole lot of videogames. I did play some Slipstream (Savage Worlds), Call of Cthulhu, Pathfinder (such a better alternative than 4th Edition D&D), Star Wars Saga Edition, and more. Lots of dice rollin’ fun.