THE TAPUFACE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN.
We played videogames this week at Destructoid. Hard to imagine, I realize. Read on to find out what games made the cut this week.
Chester: A bunch of stuff, most of which I can’t say too much about: Time Crisis: Razing Storm for PlayStation 3; Enslaved on Xbox 360; Halo: Reach on Wii (jokes people); Def Jam Rapstar for 360 (I’m working on my flow); and Heroes Del Ring for 360. Games! I play them!
Aziz: Halo: Reach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
H. Bennett: Thanks to the copious amounts of flying I’ve done recently, Pokémon has completely occupied my time. Myself and Daniel Carneiro were racing to level up on the flight, He called his pokémon ‘The Clamps’, whenever we got drunk at PAX we would run around screaming ‘THE CLAAAAAMPS’.
Toletino: Playing Amnesia: Dark Descent for review. After the shakes subside, I relax with Valkyria Chronicles II.
Ross: I just bought a PSP this week, so I’ve been spending a lot of time with Valkyria Chronicles 2, Patapon 2, and Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max. Also my normal Street Fighter IVing.
The surprise of this week was Recettear. I really thought I would hate it, but it’s actually turned out to be quite enjoyable.
C. Bennett: Working through hard difficulty on Scott Pilgrim now that my stats are maxed out!
Perlee: Ooooh, I forgot there was a hard mode in Scott Pilgrim. I need to get going on that maxing out characters.
As for me, it’s been a somewhat lackluster week in games. Played a bit of the Dead Space 2 multiplayer, which you’ll all hear about on Monday, as well as some Warriors of Rock. Nothing amazing.
But I have an admission to make: I’ve picked up PC gaming. Yeah, sure, it’s for the beta of LEGO Universe, but damn if that game is not fun. It’s super simple, and my friends playing it says it’s a lot like WoW, which is good to hear for that game. There’s a whole lot of polish in that title, and I love how it seems to run better than Firefox. Also, it’s infinitely playable without a mouse, meaning there is one less thing to deal with that game. Love it.
Carey: Been digging on Case Zero, great little slice of gaming and story for five bucks. Got a taste of Civilization V multi-player (preview coming). Also been playing a ridiculous brawler for iPhone called Corporate Fury — it’s as silly as it sounds.
Concelmo: Every since I got back from PAX I have been playing nothing but Metroid: Other M.
I feel a feature coming on about my numerous thoughts on the game, but here are some quick feelings:
At the beginning, I was not a fan, which is surprising for me since the Metroid series may be my favorite videogame series of all time. But, as I got farther in the game, it started growing on me. Looking past the game’s numerous flaws, there is something rather special about it. I don’t know. It obviously has a COMPLETELY different vibe than other Metroid games, but I am nearing the end and feeling pretty satisfied.
Who knows? Maybe I am cutting it some slack because it is a Metroid game. Whatever the reason, I like it much more than I did in the first few hours, which is definitely not a bad thing.
I look forward to finishing it.
Morris: I am still playing the shit out of Dragon Quest IX, especially now that I have millions of maps from canvassing at PAX.
Devore: Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario Land (for the first time ever [I know, right?]), Plants vs. Zombies XBLA, and Monaco.
Zimmerman: I’ve been playing Plants vs. Zombies XBLA for review. I’ve also been playing Recettear, which has wound up being an unexpected surprise in that it has managed to capture my interest for more than 10 hours of gameplay.
Sterling: I played some Halo: Reach which … well, let’s just say that, while I don’t think Halo games are particularly bad, I don’t think I am going to ever see in the series what so many others do. I just can’t see what it is this series is doing, outside of a huge marketing budget, that makes everyone so excited about the franchise. No disrespect to those who love Halo, I just don’t understand it.
What I do understand, however, is Fallout 3. Having given the original Fallout a try, I was able to “get” Fallout 3 a lot more. Hence, I have been kicking absolute ass at that game and having loads of fun. It’s still stupidly glitchy and I’m getting a little tired of wandering the wastes in search of new quests, but it’s a fantastic experience and I’m really excited to see what Obsidian can bring with New Vegas. I would never have predicted a few weeks ago that I’d suddenly turn into such a big Fallout fan, but there you go!
Also, I’ve been playing Ivy The Kiwi? which is a pretty fun little game. That’s about it!
Razak: Metroid: Other M. Like Chad, I find it flawed, but also immensely interesting. It could just be the Metroid love I have, but I don’t that that is it. In fact once I got use to it I liked the switching controller stuff and found it very interesting and one of those things that raised the tension a lot. I’m glad Nintendo tried to go a different direction once again with the series it just didn’t turn out as well as the Primes did, but hating on them for trying something different is a bit hypocritical, I just hope they have all the kinks worked out for the next one. I really think the biggest flaw is the simple fact that they made a world that didn’t feel like it was open or non-linear. All the games in the series are actually entirely linear, but they fake it so well and Other M just stunk at faking it.
Holmes: Just tried the Recettear demo. It’s like Rune Factory Frontier crossed with Tingles Freshly Picked Rosy Rupeeland. Not bad, but with so many other more original games out right now, it’s hard to prioritize it.
Speaking of which, other than all the games I played at PAX, I’ve been primarly focused on Ivy the Kiwi? and Metroid: Other M. It’s amazing how much my sentiments towards the game mirror those of my fellow Dtoid editors. Nick, Chad, and Matt all seemed initially disappointed with the game, but could appreciate the fact that it tries to be different. I feel the same way.
Still, it would have been so much better if they ditched the auto-aim for I.R. pointing. Due to auto-aim, I often feel totally uninvolved with the combat. I can just stand in one place, and shoot. If they had infused the game with a bit of Sin and Punishment 2 style bullet dodging and manual targeting, the game could have been a 10/10.
Speaking of 10/10, I love Ivy The Kiwi?. Haven’t finished yet, but for a $30 budget title ($20 on the DS), I’m not sure what else you could ask for.
