It’s been over a decade since I’ve played a console hockey game. I’m not into the sport enough to keep up with the yearly releases, but I still have fond memories of playing NHL 94 and Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey. Coming into NHL 11, I was understandably intimidated. Video game hockey has evolved quite a bit, which makes jumping in with my primitive video game hockey skills scary.
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Thoughts on Blur’s Career Mode
I really like Blur’s Career Mode in concept. It’s designed in a way to make sure that you’re never stuck on one thing. You always have multiple races you can choose from and different goals to work towards in order to unlock the next series of races or the next rival race. Even when you lose races, you can still earn fans or new cars.
But what happens when you get stuck on every available option? This is what’s happened to me in Blur. I’m not very far into the career mode at all, but I’ve already hit the wall. Maybe more determined (or skilled) players would fight through it, but I’m going to have to disappoint Vin Diesel on this one.
Street Fighter: The Complete History Review
Reading books is generally not my thing. I like to read magazines and websites, but novels and other content in book format are generally a turn-off for me. I get very intimidated at the commitment required to read through hundreds of pages of text. When it comes to reading, I prefer my content in smaller chunks that I can plow through in short order and be done with it.
With that said, I avidly read through Street Fighter: The Complete History, which I received as a Christmas gift from my girlfriend. I’m by no means a book reviewer, nor am I going to turn this into Oprah’s Book Club, but I thought I’d share my thoughts about it now that I’ve read through this 160+ page chronicle of my favourite video game franchise.
Uncharted 2 Single Player Mode Review
For the first few sections of the game, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves made me wonder what all the hype was about. The game starts out with a stealth sequence that I didn’t find very fun to play, followed by a pass through a jungle, which was 95% of the original game. I had high hopes for Uncharted 2 surpassing the good but flawed original, but things did not start off on the right foot for me.
But then you’re running through a city with an armored vehicle trailing close behind you. Then you’re running away from a helicopter. Then you have to escape a collapsing building. From that point on, Uncharted 2 was pretty awesome.
Closing Thoughts on Donkey Kong Country Returns
After wrapping up Donkey Kong Country Returns, many of my original sentiments still rang true. It’s still a great game that surpasses the scope and quality of the original by leaps and bounds. The only real flag I need to wave here is that it gets really difficult.
Early Impressions of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2 was the main reason I picked up a PlayStation 3. Based on everything I saw and heard about this game, this was one of those games that I could not miss. Before I got around to this though, I decided to play Uncharted 1, which was really good, but flawed on a number of levels. If Uncharted 2 were to really live up to the hype for me, it would have a lot of obstacles to overcome that soured me on the first game.
Heavy Rain Review
For a game I’ve been dying to play all year, I’ve taken my sweet time to get around to it. For starters, I’ve only had a PlayStation 3 since September. Even then, that’s given me months to pick this game up. I’ve come very close to buying it on my own many times, but have consistently passed on it for ‘safer’ games, like Uncharted and God of War.
Thankfully, my girlfriend righted this wrong I set months ago by giving this to me as a Christmas present. Having played it to completion, I’m mad at myself for not having played this game earlier. Heavy Rain is one of the most refreshing and unique games I’ve ever played.
Super Mario All-Stars Wii Review
I have the best girlfriend ever. I put this on my Christmas list, thinking that this release wouldn’t actually be limited (just like every other supposed limited video game release). Little did I know that this would sell out immediately and go for way more than retail value on the resale circuit. I figured that any chance of me getting this was slim-to-none. To my surprise, I found a copy of this along with my other awesome Christmas presents from her. To ensure that she was able to get this game for Christmas, she actually went to a midnight launch for this game. She ended up scoring the last copy. To quote one of her favourite bands, “If that ain’t love, then I don’t know what love is.”
There may have been a bit of an urge to keep this in mint condition, but I don’t like having games I don’t play. Besides, how can anyone say no to a compilation containing some of the best video games of all-time? I’ve cracked open my copy and I’ll let you know what you get if you score a copy and open it.
Early Impressions of Donkey Kong Country Returns
The Donkey Kong Country series used to be a staple of Christmas cheer in my household. I received all three Donkey Kong Country games from Santa on the years they came out. Though I have extra-fond memories of the first one, all three games were pretty good. However, ever since Donkey Kong 64 in the late 90s, DK hasn’t really starred in his own platformer. Instead, he’s spent over a decade starring in spin-off titles and making regular guest appearances in games like Mario Party.
Donkey Kong Country Returns is a welcome return to form. Besides being a return to Christmas tradition for me, this game goes back to the series 2D platforming roots. As of writing, I’ve just beaten world 2, but I wanted to share a few thoughts on what I’ve experienced so far.
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for iPhone Review
It’s like 1992 all over again, this time on the iPhone. Street Fighter has dominated the iPhone fighting game scene for the past year and Mortal Kombat has just arrived, trying to take the throne. While the initial Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat debate carried on for a number of years and across multiple iterations of each series, even the most dedicated Mortal Kombat fans can’t make a case in this battle. Not only does Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on the iPhone fall short of the bar set by Street Fighter IV, it also falls short as a Mortal Kombat game.
In Third Person 