Game reviews

This post is probably going to be a little long, as I wanted to give my thoughts on some video games I have played recently. But before I get too far ahead of myself, let me start out with some current events.

First of all, I started work last week. I am working as a contractor to VeriSign, working on their product known as VeriSign® Intercarrier Multimedia Messaging Service (ICMMS). Everyone has been really great in helping me to get settled in, and I am lucky in that my commute to Santa Cruz is against the normal traffic flow. It is a 30-mile commute each way, so it takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour for the total trip depending on traffic. I can only imagine how many hours it would take to make this commute if I happened to be going the opposite ways (i.e., Santa Cruz --> Silicon Valley) ... I will drive in to the area one of these weekends so I can take a few pictures of the downtown and beach areas. Once I do that I'll make sure to post them to my Picasa web site so y'all can view them.

I am going to make it to Las Vegas this year. I am heading out to Las Vegas on Friday evening, October 19, and I will be returning to San Jose on Sunday evening, October 21. Of course, if anyone of you also plan to be out there around that time then get in contact with me so we can hook up. I will be busy part of the time there, as my family and I are helping to celebrate my sister and brother-in-law's 10-year wedding anniversary.

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Now, on to my thoughts on gaming. Of course, everything I will be saying in the next few paragraphs is entirely my opinion. Many people may very well agree with me, while many others will probably think me a fool. On to the reviews.

1.) BIOSHOCK (Xbox360)
I really cannot say much more about this game that hasn't already been said. I rented it about a week ago, and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The atmosphere, mood, story and effects (both visual and audio) are detailed and enjoyable. The difficulty is not too bad (I've seen some mention of people calling it too easy), especially for those not used to FPS games on consoles. I'm not going to claim this is the best game I have ever played, but it is one of the best I've played in a long while. I am very interested in learning as much as I can regarding the narrative that is unfolding in the game, and I fear that I simply will not finish the game before it is due later this week. Yes, I could re-rent it (again) but eventually I have to finish playing the games I own. So, I cannot say how replayable this game is. In the end, if you are a gamer I would definitely recommend that you play Bioshock.

2.) WARHAWK (Playstation 3)
I am a little biased when it comes to Warhawk. I was lucky enough to participate in the Warhawk beta, and I have loved it since day 1. For me, it has been the most addictive, online-multiplayer game that I have played since I was constantly fragging other players in Tribes. The gameplay is simple to grasp, which is not really a bad thing. For a lot of these types of games (i.e., Tribes, Unreal Tournament, Quake, etc.), I just want to log in and start fragging. I don't want to waste time figuring out how to switch weapons and how to drive a vehicle. I have found that the controls (both on foot and in vehicles) are tight and intuitive, so it is very easy to jump in to the game without much experience. There are multiple weapon types, vehicles, maps and game types to play which is nice if you get tired of playing deathmatches all the time. Oh, Warhawk is infinitely replayable. Another enjoyable game for me, so I would definitely recommend it to others.

3.) TOMB RAIDER LEGEND (Xbox360)
This game has been out for quite a while but I hadn't played it much at all until a month ago. I had played the original Tomb Raider back on the Playstation years ago, and had slowly lost interest in the franchise as each successive iteration of the game seemed to be worse than the last. I had heard that this game, Legend, would be much better so I purchased it after playing the demo that was released on Xbox Live. I have to say, a lot of what made Tomb Raider a fun game all those years ago has been rediscovered in Legend. There is a good amount of platforming, exploring, puzzle-solving and combat. I never felt like any one thing was overused or that any piece of the game was tacked on. There is some modest replayability (thanks to Xbox Achievements), as you can replay your missions on harder difficulties and against time (i.e., you have to beat a mission within a predetermined time leaving you little room for error). This game is probably not for everyone, but if you enjoyed the older Tomb Raider games then give Legend a try.

4.) MADDEN '08 (Xbox360)
What can you say about Madden? I like football, and this is one of the only football games left on the market. I got the Xbox 360 version over the PS3 simply because I have more friends who currently own Xbox360s. Ultimately, I play this game so I can compete against others online. If you are not into football (or don't have someone who can teach you the rules and how to play), then I would not recommend this.

5.) LAIR (Playstation 3)
I am currently renting this game, and have only played through the opening level. I have not read any reviews of this game, but have heard that it has been universally panned by many reviewers and other gamers. I can only speak for myself and my experience, but I haven't seen anything with my limited time playing the game that would make me think it was bad. Flying your dragon mount requires you to use the tilt-motion sense of the SIXAXIS controller, and I didn't have any problems with the flight controls at all. Graphics were incredible and I didn't notice any slowdown in the framerate, ghosting, or lag. I haven't had too much problem with combat and honestly had a fun time sinking a bunch of enemy ships. Again, maybe I just haven't played enough of the game to see why people don't like it, but from my initial impressions I have come away impressed. This is a long way from the last dragon flight simulator I played (i.e. the old SSI gold-box game, DragonStrike).


Being a gamer is such hard work! Next time I do some reviews, I should be talking about MONSTER MADNESS (Xbox360), OVERLORD (Xbox360), RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN (Playstation 3), MOTORSTORM (Playstation 3), HEAVENLY SWORD (Playstation 3) and DIRGE OF CERBERUS (Playstation 2).