Have you ever played the board game Operation? Growing up, I used to always wonder when someone would take the idea of making surgery a game and make that into a video game.Thanks to the advent of the Nintendo DS and touch screen gaming, the idea of surgery-based gameplay came to life in 2005 thanks to Trauma Center: Under the Knife.
One of the last EGM issues I ever bought was the issue when Ico was declared game of the month. They wrote about it as if it was a game that came out of nowhere and won them over in a big way. Based on what I read at the time, I thought the game wouldn’t be interested in. Even if I were interested at the time, I was a devout Nintendo fanboy, so going out of my way to play Ico on the PlayStation 2 just wasn’t an option.
Years have passed, console allegiances have dissolved and interest has piqued, which is why I find myself writing about my time playing Ico from the Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection. 10+ years later, is Ico still a game worth playing?
When I first completed the original Portal not too long ago, I did not feel the need to experience any more of it. Sure, Portal is a fantastic game, but within the three or so hours it took me to complete it, I felt like the game had said everything it needed to say. Although I was crazy late to the party and Portal 2 had been out for months, I wasn’t sure what Valve would do to keep the experience going without tarnishing the legacy of the original.
Ever since the release of the iTunes app store, I have been a devout Scrabble for iPhone fan. I took pride in having the real deal, even though there were countless other imitators that were available for free. As much as I’ve enjoyed iPhone Scrabble over the years, I’ve never had any friends to play with online. The majority of them aren’t willing to pay, mainly because they were playing Words With Friends. I’ve heard a ton about it, but my elitist ways have led me to ignore the title for years.
That is, until a few weeks ago, when I found out that a large number of my coworkers who had iPhone or Android devices had the game, and were all playing together without me. Though I may be years late to the party, I figured if there was any time to give Words With Friends a shot, it was now.
The original Portal has already cemented itself as one of the landmark games of this generation. Though it was originally positioned as an add-on to the Half-Life 2 Orange Box that could be beaten in about 3 hours, Portal has taken on a life of its own thanks to its revolutionary game design that does something truly new. Critics loved it, fans bought into it in droves and elements of the game, such as in-game lines and ‘the song’ have worked their way into popular gaming culture. While it’s sequel may not have the cultural cache as its predecessor, the game is still one of the best of the year and it sold extremely well.
Portal is without a doubt, a must-play game if there ever was one this generation. With that said, I’ve been ducking this game for years. I tried it in passing once, but I made the mistake of trying it out on my brother’s file, when he was over half way through the game. Needless to say, I was immediately overwhelmed and thought I was too stupid for Portal. Only recently did I put my initial impressions aside and try the game from scratch.
Shortly after writing my previous post on my time with the Catherine demo, I decided that I was going to purchase the game. Normally, when I’ve made the decision to buy a game before its release, I patiently wait until launch day and buy said game at a store. I like the experience of going into a store and getting the game immediately, rather than having the release date pass by while my game is in transit at the mercy of the postal service.
This time, I pre-ordered it online. I grabbed the PlayStation 3 version so that my girlfriend can play my copy too. I’ve never pre-ordered any games online before, and this is only the second time I’ve ever purchased a game online. No, I didn’t go out of my way to pre-order it so that I could get the bonus soundtrack and art book (though it’s a nice bonus, I guess). I pre-ordered it to save myself from any potential embarrassment.
When this game was first announced, I immediately wrote it off as simply one of those erotic Japanese games that never make their way to my country. There’s a market for those types of games, but they’re not for me. However, the more I read about Catherine and its premise, the more I was intrigued to learn more.
With the demo out now on XBOX Live and PlayStation Network, I gave it a shot.
The makers of Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies are back! Sort of. From PopCap Games 4th and Battery division comes Candy Train, a universal app for the iPhone and iPad that is free as I type this. I’m not sure if that’s going to change by the time you read this. In any case, if you have either of those devices and the app is still free, you don’t need me to give you a review. Just go grab it already and come to your own conclusion. If you’d still like to hear what I’d think, then I’m not stopping you from reading my review, either.
I’m not sure if I’ve said this on my blog before, but I’ve said it aloud many times to anyone that talks to me about iPhone games: I love Peggle. If you have not played Pop Cap’s digital version of cocaine, you are missing out on one of the most fun games in the last few years. I admit to being late to this party, too, since I didn’t buy a version of Peggle until it hit the iTunes store. By then, the sequel, Peggle Nights, was already available on PC and Mac. For us iPhone Peggle addicts, we’ve been waiting for over a year for the sequel to hit the iTunes store.
A few weeks ago, it did, along with a patch that for me, made both games worse.
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I had no interest in picking up Osmos when it first rocketed to the top of the iPad charts. Having only seen screenshots and read the game’s description, it did not sound like anything I wanted to play. However, the strong buzz and sale price a few weeks ago of $0.99 made it hard to refuse. When I first played the game, I was totally turned off by the game’s simple concept and initially awkward controls. But then…it clicked.
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In Third Person 
