Hey guys. Long time no blog. Thought I'd let you know what's been happening with yours truly these past couple of weeks.
I've acquired a couple of games this past month. NHL 10 is, without a doubt, my favorite amongst these. Yes, I enjoy it even more than The Beatles: Rock Band. Surprising? Not quite. After I went through the Story mode and played some online with a couple of friends, the game got really old, really fast. I think the very limited track list (only 45 songs, plus All You Need Is Love that I downloaded) is to blame here. Now, I'm not saying the game is horrible, absolutely not. It's just very... limited for now. However, that's soon to change with the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as DLC in October, Rubber Soul in November, and Abbey Road in December. I guess it's a long-term love affair.
Back to NHL 10. The game is just freaking incredible. The one thing that stands out in this year's edition for me, aside from the subtle gameplay tweeks, board play and GM Mode, is the ambiance. The guys at EA Sports have done an incredible job recreating it. You actually feel like you're taking part in a good ol' hockey game, with fans bouncing out of their seats when the home team scores a goal, people banging on the glass when there's a big hit along the boards, the "oohs" and "aahs" when there's a great save or when a player hits the goal post. That's what makes this game so lifelike and spectacular this year. Once again, kudos to EA for another outstanding job.
I've also played some Halo 3: ODST. I completed the game on normal difficulty, by myself. I have to say that Bungie did a great job with this game. Once again, it's all about atmosphere. I loved the parts when I was playing as The Rookie, wandering alone in the dark streets of New Mombasa, trying to avoid (as much as possible) enemy platoons. The music blew my mind as well, such an immersive and profound score by Martin O'Donnell. As for when you get to play as other ODST, I didn't find those situations to be all that great. Yeah, they're fun to go through, but there's not a whole lot of meat on the bone here. I would have rather played as The Rookie the entire way through. Nonetheless, it's still a pretty good game and I'm always up for some Firefight or going through the campaign in co-op on Legendary.
Other games I've been playing include Lips, which is a surprisingly good game. The track list is quite good, and the fact that you can import songs directly from your PC or portable music device (ie iPod) into the game is very clever. There is a lot of potential behind this game, and I hope it gets pushed farther in future iterations. I've also completed Saints Row 2 for a second time, but this time around, I was playing co-op with Mr. Tony Smith. It was good fun, until the game started glitching out like crazy on us. It wasn't uncommon that my character would get stuck in vehicles or in a surface. That kind of took away from the enjoyment of the game. Mr. Smith and myself have now partaken in another co-op adventure. This time around, we're trying to go through Gears of War 2 on Insane (him) and Hardcore (me). We'll see where that leads us.
In conclusion, it looks like October is going to be another big month for video games. The ones I'm most definitely getting are DJ Hero, Brutal Legend, Borderlands and Forza 3. My poor wallet will hate me. Which games are you guys picking up next month?
Until next time, thank you for reading and have a safe, happy October.
Comments
I guess now's the time to buy Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition.As for the Beatles Rock Band. I'm honestly surprised to see so many high scores for a game that has only 40 or so songs. A lot of that DLC could very easily have been added to the game right from the start (making it a better and much more appealing package than what it is). I don't like the model the music games follow, particularly one focused on just one band. They're fun (my cousin has Rock Band, I have Guitar Hero), especially in groups, but they do get old when other people aren't around.
As for ODST, I totally agree about the atmosphere. The flashback missions are fun and very much Halo. But playing as the Rookie is so startlingly different and yet still has the same Halo feel! I love it! I love that YOU are the Rookie and that you have to find out what's going on. That's what makes it so good. The Rookie isn't another character who you're following, it's YOU, just like in Half-Life which makes the story-telling mechanic that much cooler, even if the story isn't the best one. The soundtrack and the detective/noir feel are totally delivered and it is the best starting point for anyone looking to play a Halo game for the first time. Very moody, very intimate experience. I don't think the campaign should be played on co-op though, it really takes away from the experience.
Gen_Warbuff