Hello and welcome to another edition of the Doctor's Prognosis! The only blog too big to really be considered a blog!
Good news is I am almost done with the semester which means maybe I can start dating regularly again.... maybe!
Also, maybe I can catch up on my backlog of games to play/finish as well.
Been playing Gears 2 quite a bit. Will probably have a mini-review next time. Also borrowed MK vs. DC so I will have to mention that in my next blog after having more playtime with it. Anyway got some new game impressions so lets get into it.
Left 4 Dead Demo Impressions
Ok so this game has a lot of buzz but I have to admit I did not like the demo. It got boring after a while. But it was pretty cool to be surrounded by zombies and then spin around really fast while holding down on the trigger. Guess what? I actually survived and killed them off like that. I thought that was kind of lame.
Now to be fair, this was only single-player campaign and I have the feeling that the game is great fun with a group of people (living and undead) to play with. I could see myself doing that for a couple of days before getting bored with that too. Because shooting easy-to-kill zombies with more people is more fun, but in the end is still just shooting easy-to-kill zombies.
Eh, I know that my opinion probably won't be very popular but it wasn't my cup of tea. And I was looking forward to it too.
Naruto: Broken Bond Demo Impressions
Ok so some will think I invalidate my previous opinion with this one but I actually liked this demo.
The first part wasn't all that great. You run around as Naruto and it does mimic the way Naruto and the other ninjas run around in the anime. But the controls for the running didn't feel as tight as I would have liked. I did like the little jumping minigame where you keep going faster if you time your button pressing correctly.
The fighting wasn't anything revolutionary but good enough for Naruto fans. It is simple but can be repetitive. The cool thing was being able to do hand signs to perform jutsus and playing as the different Naruto characters. Some of the jutsus help you solve little puzzles on the field map too.
Anyway, I could see myself having some fun with this game as a rental for a week or two. Not good for anyone not familiar with Naruto. Check out the demo if you're a Naruto fan. It even includes Japanese audio!
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts Demo Impressions
Alright so I was looking forward to playing a Banjo game for the first time and hoping this would be good. Well I was hoping for a platformer and what I got was a vehicular game instead. Epic meh!
Anyway, this demo gives you an idea of how to build your own vehicles which is a cool idea. You get to try out one stage to get an idea of the gameplay. I was not impressed.
I took my box-mobile and tried exploring the first level to find something to do and ran into some mole that wanted me to take part in a race. I did and had to maneuver through some rings while trying to outrace some other challengers. Yawn.....
Yeah so I could see some kids liking this game but stay away if you want a good platformer. It's not really a bad game, just not what I wanted.
Banjo-Kazooie Trial Game Impressions
I finally got to try out the original Banjo (on XBox Live Arcade) to see what all the fuss was about and boy was I hooked! It plays a lot like a Mario game with it's own brand of humor. Kazooie and that Mole made me LOL poking fun at each other.
Normally I hate collecting stuff in a game but I actually got hooked wanting to keep looking for more Jiggies and notes and stuff. Now I know what the fuss was all about. Very fun gameplay with tight controls. Forget Nuts and Bolts! Buy this addictive game on XBox Live Arcade instead!
Batman: Arkham Asylum Trailer
Just revealed! New trailer featuring actual gameplay footage and a brief look at some of the villains. Recognizable villains include Joker and Killer Croc. There is also some not so recognizable characters. One looks like it could be the obscure Amygdala, and another one could be the equally obscure Zsasz... maybe? Anyway check it out in Hi-Res!
Cosplayer of the Blog
Keeping in theme somewhat, here is the lovely Catwoman!

Ok so that's not THE Catwoman. But I don't hear anyone complaining.
Ok now one for the women. Reno of the Turks!

Hmmmm.... Actually, that one might BE a woman. Or just an effeminate man. Sometimes it's hard to tell. But that's the way Final Fantasy characters are supposed to look anyway right?
Thanks for making another appointment with The Doctor's Prognosis! I hope next time I won't wait another whole month. Maybe that way it won't be so long. Well, at least my writing is good quality with mostly correct spelling and grammar!
See you next time!
Comments
@ carljohnson: Actually, you can play Banjo-Kazooie on XBox Live now. That's how I got to play it. Oops! forgot to mention that. Will fix now.
I grew up with Banjo Kazooie on the N64, one of my favs! Although looking at Nuts and Bolts, it seems they've done things differently with the whole... vehicle thing which isn't too appealing to me, i wish they stick with he same formula as the N64 titles, we need more platform titles like the old days!
Like you, I'm going with Banjo XBLA instead,
and great find on the cosplay
I honestly still don't understand what some see in the Banjo-Kazooie series. I never really heard anybody talk about the N64 games at the time so I was surprised with the excitement for the new game.
Can't wait for Dark Asylum!!
@ langrisser: Haven't heard from you in a while but glad you are enjoying my blogs from time to time. Anyway, I agree. I wish Rare would just release a new Banjo platformer.
@ LosDaddie: I knew some peeps would agree about Banjo on XBLA. It may be older but it's a better game IMO.
@ Hart704: Well the old Banjo games were considered as good as, or better than the old Mario 64 game which was revolutionary (and fun). I had never played them but after trying the Banjo XBLA demo, I was sold.
@ Murat: Yeah L4D wasn't my thing I guess. But I think I need to try it in multiplayer to give it a fair chance. Everyone else seems to like it quite a bit.
@ NightAmazon: Yeah I will soon have that free time to play more games too. And lol it's called ARKHAM Asylum. But it's definitely one to keep an eye on.
@ NightAmazon: Well I hope you're feeling better now that the stress is off you. Having to do too much can sometimes make you sick if you let it get to you.
@ linkyshinks: I am currently enjoying Banjo quite a bit. Lots of fun and it makes me wish Rare made a new Banjo platformer instead of the vehicular game we got.
and still love that picture
TheKungFool
Good to hear from you again, and trust me, asian lady-boy or not, I'm a huge Final Fantasy fan, so I can appreciate any FFVII cosplayer, lol.
As for the games, I'm affraid I've been strickly a PlayStation guy since 1997, so I've missed most of those Xbox and N64 titles you mentioned.