30 Days of Gaming: Day 19

Day 19 - A Game Everyone Should Play

Wow...ummm, well?  I can always recommend Mass Effect, Borderlands, the Uncharted series and the Final Fantasy series.  Those are classics in their own rights and deserve to be enjoyed by almost everyone who plays games.  These either have amazing stories (Mass Effect) or superb gameplay (Borderlands) or a combination of the two (Uncharted and Final Fantasy).  

You can fight like a Krogan, run like a leopard...

The intrepid Vault Hunters of Borderlands

These are the games that anyone who enjoys video games should at least try.  I've not met many that dislike the rich fiction and amazing universe created by Mass Effect.  I know many people that lost hours to hunting loot on Pandora with friends in Borderlands.  Hell, even folks that don't like FPS games enjoyed Borderlands.  Then you have the summer blockbuster movies of Uncharted that allow you to play the explosive scenes and adventure about the globe.  And lastly, you have the deep mechanics, stellar stories and great worlds of Final Fantasy that keep even jaded gamers coming back.  All of these are brought up whenever I am comparing titles or looking to find a new game to run through.

Nathan Drake gets into so much trouble in Uncharted 3

Oh, Final Fantasy X, how I love you

Though, I think one that everyone needs to experience, not play, experience, is L.A. Noire. The story, the mental challenge of the investigations and the brilliant use of facial motion capturing lends itself to an experience like none other. L.A. Noire is, frankly, the next step for facial graphics and character interaction. It should be enjoyed by everyone at least once, if only to see the amazing tech and the story telling.  I know people get fidgety about the noir themes of the story, but the fact that it is such a great tale makes it one that everyone should buy into at some point.

Hero Cole Phelps of L.A. Noire

And last, but certainly not least, is that benchmark for all things Super Mario Bros. 3.  This game was the high water mark for the NES days.  Everyone I know that grew up playing NES loved this game.  It's still super fun, and it still has some of the best (if not the best) mechanics and gameplay of any 2D platformer.  I know that my daughter will play this gem (providing she's into games) because it is something that all gamers should play.

The amazing Giant World from Super Mario Bros 3

News Roundup: 18 December 2011

Last news update before Christmas!  And with that comes one last plea for those of you who can to donate to Child's Play!  A few stories after the jump.  It's mostly quiet as we head into the Holiday Week, but come January, it all picks back up!  Have a great week, everyone!

30 Days of Gaming: Day 18

Day 18 - A Game You Plan on Playing


Oh dear.  There are so many...  Welp, we'll just throw out a few (with trailers) and call it good!

Rayman: Origins
I'm super stoked about this one.  The art, animation and tight platforming sold me through the demo.  We got this as a Christmas present, so I have to wait till the 25th to enjoy it.  :-/

It's so pretty!

Syndicate
I know.  Lots of folks are upset that their isometric tactical action game is being remade as an FPS.  Oh, the tragedy!  Oh the humanity!  Oh the...no, you know what?  This looks awesome!  It looks interesting to play, it has some neat ideas with the on-the-fly hacking and it looks fun as hell!  I'm also excited for 4 player co-op that takes missions from the original game and remakes them.  So, you don't like the new direction?  Replay the original!

Agent Kilo, thank you for your service

Corporate raiding with friends looks awesome!

Mass Effect 3
Nothing really needs to be said about this.  This trilogy was amazing, I'm super excited to finish it out and see where all my choices will lead.  And Shepard is one of my favorite characters, after all.

Reaper VS Thresher Maw?  Yes!

30 Days of Gaming: Day 17

Day 17 - A Game You are Currently Playing


Ohhh, boy!  Getting closer to the end!  Pretty short post today as it's really just a few screens and all.

Really, I've got a few games that have been in rotation.  These are games that I've had for a while, but I haven't finished for one reason or another.  That reason is usually, "Meh, it's fun, but it's not what I want to play right now."  This, inevitably, leads to the game getting shelved for a while.  After that "while" passes, I pick it back up, forgetting where I was, and usually have to start over.  These are the first games in a long while where I have picked them up after months (or over a year) and have just rolled with it.

First up is the one that I'm heavily into, and that's Darksiders.  It's a super-fun action/adventure game set during and after the apocalypse.  Playing as War, one of the Four Horsemen, you travel the destroyed world trying to unravel a conspiracy that laid the blame for said apocalypse at your feet.  It's a game that cribs most of it's ideas from other games.  The dungeons are filled with Zelda-like puzzles, while the combat is pure God of War.  I loved what I played, but I got tired of it for some reason.  Honestly, I picked it up yesterday and wondered why I walked away in the first place.  Strange.

War is such a badass!

Comic great Joe Madureira does the art/character design

I'm also dabbling in El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron.  This is another God of War-like game.  The combat is based around three weapons, and instead of having a deeply confusing set of moves, each one has combos that build based on timing.  This means that you "feel" more than "think" about combat.  It's really great once you get the "feeling" down.  The game itself is a totally nutty idea: it's the story of the heretical book of Enoch as seen by the Japanese.  You play Enoch, the only living man allowed into Heaven.  God sends you to rein in some rebellious angels that have run away from Heaven and have bred with Humans.  This leads to the birth of Nephilim, hybrid beings that will eventually consume each other and the world.  If you fail, God will flood the Earth and start anew.  What's crazy about this game is that you are aided by Lucifel.  He transcends time and dresses well.  He gives you the best armor, including a pair of designer jeans and acts as your save/checkpoints where he talks to God via cell phone.  Honestly, just look at the screens below.  It's a gorgeous game, but really messed up.  Each level in the Tower of Babel (where the angels have hidden themselves and their followers) is different.  Some look like children's drawings, others appear to be straight out of Tron!  I wanted to review it before the end of the year because I feel it should be in Game of the Year discussions, but I cannot seem to make headway.  It's so fun, but there is something keeping me from finishing it.

Enoch fights a follower of the renegade angels

Lucifel (game art).  He's pretty and talks to God on a mobile a lot

This is what one of the levels looks like

30 Days of Gaming: Day 16

Day 16 - A Video Game Setting You Wish You Lived In


Ahh, life on good ol' Earth.  It's not bad, all things considered.  But, what if we could go to someplace more fantastic?  Someplace that has different day-to-day challenges?  Someplace that's so different from our own that our lives would be completely different?  This is what video games do (or should do): they offer a chance to live another life in a fantastical setting.  No spoilers today (that I know of)!

30 Days of Gaming: Day 15

Day 15 - Saddest Game Scene

There are very few scenes that drive me to tears.  Games stir emotion regularly in me, but true sadness has only come twice for me.  These really are MASSIVE, GAME RUINING SPOILERS ahead.  The games (Final Fantasy X and Valkyria Chronicles) have big moments ruined if you haven't played them.  So grab your kleenex and read on if you'd like...

30 Days of Gaming: Day 14

Day 14 - Most Epic Game Scene


We all love those set-piece moments in gaming.  The moments where Hollywood-style action meets our controller and we are in for a roller coaster ride.  Those moments where we just have to shout out loud.  Those moments where adrenaline surges and our pulse quickens.  I'm talking about those epic moments of epic epicness!  There will be SPOILERS here, as I have to describe scenes, so read on if you'd like!