Surrounded

Got to try the surround sound with Dead Space yesterday. ...that game shouldn't be so scary. But you already know about that game so here's...

What Does the X Button Do?

Turok:

Turok is a newer game that plays like an old school, first person shooter. In it, you're a soldier part of a squad that has crash landed onto a planet where dinosaurs live. You were hunting a terrorist who also happens to be on the planet and whose motives are secret. Your job is to find a way off the planet. It's very fast intense action in which you can use and knife or bow and arrow for silent kills, dive sideways while shooting to get out of the way of charging dinos and also dual wield multiple weapons, including two shotguns.... oh yes. The environments are gorgeous and the mercenary shoot outs are fun but the real draw is the dino fights. The X button reloads your weapon(s).

I played a little of that, which actually sounds really cool in surround sound too since there are jungle noises everywhere. Then I played some versus mode of Left 4 Dead, great game that I haven't been in the mood for lately. I wrapped up the night with some Dead Space. Played until my fragile heart and weak bladder couldn't take it anymore. No nightmares though. Yay!

Also, a good friend of mine got an Xbox 360 so I'll be playing games with him. He got Bioshock, Oblivion, Brothers in Arms: Highway to Hell, and Army of Two. All great games but no multiplayer... except for Army of Two but I traded that game on Goozex a few weeks ago. Bummer. He'll get Halo 3 and Left 4 Dead soon enough.

KS and I got Resident Evil 5 in the mail today. Here's hoping the next entry you read had some news about that (read: I hope so badly that we play a little)

My 360 had this to say:

http://360voice.gamerdna.com/tag/New%20Gunslinger

Delayed Response

Sorry for the delay. I had a lot of business to attend to. But it's done now so we're back on schedule.

What's the X Button Do?

Fable II:

This game is so all inclusive I won't be able to do it justice in a paragraph but I'll try and give you the cliff notes version. In Fable II , you play as a hero of your choice (male, female, good, evil, warrior, thief, wizard, and on and on and on) in a medieval time and from there the choices continue. As you play you can buy or rent houses and stores to manage, marry your true love and raise a family or marry multiple people (men, women, prostitutes, whatever). Learn different skills as jobs such as bar tending, wood cutting, sword forging, and more. There are coliseums, tournaments and events to partake in. You can get a huge amount of hair cuts, change your outfit, get tattoos... so much. And that's not including the quests you go on. You upgrade your shooting ability (you have a flintlock pistol), sword skills, and magic mastery. The story is really cool and although no one reading will likely play this (...people ARE reading this ...right?) I won't give anything away.

What I didn't mention is you also get a dog who follows you everywhere whether you love it or abuse it. You can name him and train him in treasure hunting and combat. But you never want to abuse him because he's so awesome! Probably the best thing about the game is how much it makes you care about your family(/ies) and dog. They really are like family. Which makes the end... really hard. No spoilers... but it actually affected me like a dramatic movie.

Anyway, I didn't play that yesterday, just thought you should know about one of the greatest games on the 360. I DID play a lot of XBLA games. Cameo and I played the demo of Worms 2, some awesome new weapons, but I'm not used to the layout of it so I'm not sure if I'll drop more money on it. I also played the demo of Battlefield 1943 again... so good. ESPECIALLY in the new surround sound I set up. Explosions everywhere! Very sweet. I WILL be dropping money on that soon. Rocked out on the Dishwasher for a while. Still dying to beat that one. Turns out a friend of mine on Xbox Live, Playdoh, is beating all my high scores in that game. Which, of course means, it's on. And then I ripped apart wave after wave of baddies in Wolverine. I got ripped up by a gattling gun and missiles from a helicopter and was literally a skeleton with a nervous system before I started to heal again. AWESOME!

My 360's pissed we lost a challenge. Sometimes he's very unreasonable:

http://360voice.gamerdna.com/tag/New%20Gunslinger

The Only Thing To Fear is Fear Itself... And Parasitic Zombie Aliens That Don't Die When Shot in the Head

Yesterday I hooked up the half of the surround sound I have (which... really defeated the point of it being SURROUND sound) and will set up the rest probably later today. I'm waiting on some parts. BUT since I took the morning off from work to hook it up... and I had a little extra time... I got to play some games.

What Does the X Button Do?
Dead Space:
Dead Space is a terrifying game in which you essentially play a mechanic who is sent to a ship in the middle of space that sent one distress call and has since gone silent. ...brilliant. Has the main character not watched ANY SCI-FI MOVIE EVER? Apparently not, because he goes aboard with a crew, half of whom are slaughtered in the first 5 minutes by alien parasites. They take many different forms but they infect their host and the host dies and then comes back to like as a zombie with talons and claws and other horrifying things. Worst of all a direct hit to the alien won't hurt it much. You need to chop it up by shooting off its limbs. It's called strategic dismemberment and it's awful. After that initial encounter your ship, your only means of escape, blows up. To save yourself you're sent all around the ship to do various tasks such as send your own distress signal, return the life support systems to normal, and repair the ship's shields since your ship is drifting through an astroid field. Oh! Forgot to mention, the "astroid field" is actually debris from a planet. The ship you're stuck on is called a planet cracker and its job is too break open a planet and mine it for resources. Because of this, most of the "weapons" at your disposal and actually mining tools you customize to preform as weapons. The best weapon, in my opinion, is The Ripper. A machine that projects a spinning saw blade several feet in front of you for about 30 seconds. You shoot it out, hold it in front of you and slice up the baddies. The X button is the heal button and is a God send because you don't have time to riffle through your inventory while in the midst of battle.

I've been playing this for a while because I only play at night and when no one's around. Makes it hard to play but it makes it so much more fun. I've never been more scared by a game. I jump (physically) at least 3 times a play session (about an hour).

I also played Wolverine earlier in the day, after I finished the surround sound. The weird thing about that game is if you just describe it to someone it sounds so boring. Slash, maim, kill, next guy, slash main kill, next guy, slash... Doing it though... whole other story. If violence was poetry, Ninja Gaiden would be Shakespeare's sonnets but Wolverine would be Langston Hughes. ...you know because it's not the best but it's way up their and amazing. ...you get it, right?

Here's what my 360 has to say about the evening:
http://360voice.gamerdna.com/tag/new%20gunslinger

Achievement Unlocked: You're Whipped

Sorry this is late. I'm not allowed to do this before I go to bed anymore because KS gets cranky and wishes I was on the same sleep schedule as her. But I didn't forget you! No new games today so let's kick off the blog with an old game.

What Does the X Button Do?

Rock Band 2:

Rock Band 2 is probably in my opinion the best video game ever created. I say probably because I don't really consider it a game at all. It's a simulation in which you pick up the guitar, bass, drums or mic and play or sing to hundreds of songs ranging from the 60's to the 90's, from Country to Heavy Metal, from popular hits like "Mr. Brightside" to more eclectic songs such as "Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld". You may create any number of rockers with different outfits, instruments and personality traits to rock a career with u to three friends or just play a quick set list. Even better is the controllers you play with aren't the regular 360 controllers but rather controllers modeled off the instruments. Drums you pound on, guitar you hit buttons on the neck and strum the strings, etc. It's awesome. Unfortunately, because songs come out for it EVERY TUESDAY and each new song is $2 and each instrument costs a pretty penny AND there are many accessories, such as the Rock Band Stage Kit which adds fog and lights to your rock session, I've sunk about $800 into this game (at least!). But it is worth every penny.

Didn't play that though. I played Dead or Alive 4 with KS (I think we found our new fighting game) and the demo of Resident Evil 5. I think we're gettin it. KS likes it because it's slow paced and she can line up shots and I love any game KS is willing to play with me. It doesn't hurt that it's a great game either. We're getting it now so that we can play when we want to, and when KS isn't in the mood (every hour but one out of the week) I'll play another one of my newer games.

Like Wolverine, which is like SEX! ...but better. ...don't visualize that though. I don't know how Raven (the developers) did it but tearing people limb from limb NEVER gets old. They have some great achievements too. Throw 10 enemies off a high area to their deaths and you get the "Drop Dead" achievement. Impale Sabretooth (main baddie) onto a broken tree branch during a fight and you get the "Stick Around" achievement. It's nice to feel accomplished and laugh out loud at the same time over things. Makes me happy.

My 360 's being cocky again. I may spite him soon. ...but how? http://360voice.gamerdna.com/tag/New%20Gunslinger

A Couple Rounds

Just got Dead or Alive 4 today. Which means it's my...

What Does the X Button Do?

Dead or Alive 4:

A fighting game pitting ninjas against wrestlers against djs against drunks. An excellent mix of over-the-top silly warriors and deadly serious bad asses beating on each other. The best part are all the features. Story Mode, Time Attack Mode, Tag Team Mode, Survivor Mode, Team Battle Mode, Sparring Mode, Online Battles and Theatre Mode, in which you just watch two fighters go at it without even playing... that one's kind of pointless actually. Fun, diverse combos and a complex counter system that keeps every battle fresh. About 20 or so fighters, including a Spartan from the Halo universe, and maybe 15 stages, most with interactive environments, including destructible scenery and multiple levels to fight on. The X button, in my custom controls, is the punch button.

KS and I played a little to try it out since I just got it from Goozex and wanted to make sure it played all right so I could give the sender a positive review. We did tag team against AI opponents and then a few rounds against each other. I won them all, partially because I remember all the old combos from when I owned this game a few years ago and partially because I told her the controls I was using without remembering that I customized my controls. ...in other words, my block button was her punch button. ...she got hit a lot.

Also, earlier I played a little X-men Origins: Wolverine. Still as awesome and as bad ass as last night. I'm still enjoying this game tremendously.

My Xbox recapped our last week together. Didn't like some of the games we tried. http://360voice.gamerdna.com/tag/New%20Gunslinger

The Beginning to Something Beautiful

I got it! X-men Origins: Wolverine. No need to postpone it.

What Does the X Button Do?

X-men Origins: Wolverine:

This game is EXACTLY what a game about Wolverine should be. The man has (VERY) lethal claws so treat him as such, and so the developers did. The variety of ways you tear your enemies is almost endless. Dismember them, impale them on objects around you, leap onto them and gut them, catch them in the air and slam them down, throw them across the room, uppercut them into the air and cut them in a whirlwind of pain, you can even swipe at explosive materials in the area, kill your enemies with the blast, and because Wolverine has a HEALING FACTOR, GROW BACK CHUNKS of your body THAT WERE BLOWN OFF!! You can also use his feral senses to scout out hidden enemies, invisible enemies and secret pathways. ...I guarantee I will be playing this one for a while. The X button in this game is a quick, light attack. The beginning and base of every great combo.

That's all I had time for today. Spent most of my day on a bus. Whatever, the wait was worth it.

My 360 is a little obsessed with a competition I'm in right now for Who Can Gt the Most Achievement Points: http://360voice.gamerdna.com/tag/New%20Gunslinger

Marvel At This Top 5!!

No Xbox means no games today. Did a lot of trading on Goozex.com (essentially eBay for games only) today though. Since I'm home, in Massachusetts, for the weekend I looked at all my old original Xbox games and found some of them are worth some good money on there, I offered them and have already sold 3 games for a total of $35. ...that's really good for 5 year old games.

So no games means another Top 5. Today's Top 5 is in honor of the soon to be in my mailbox and then straight to my Xbox game curtousy of another Goozex.com trader: X-men Origins: Wolverine.

Top 5 Super Hero Games (in no particular order):
1. Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects -This was a fighting game that mixed Marvel comic favorites like Wolverine, Spider-man, Iron Man and pitted them against new heroes called The Imperfects. All the new characters had amazing back stories and cool powers. They didn't feel thrown in at all, very fleshed out. Only downside, there were very limited combos for each character.
2. Marvel Ultimate Alliance -A four player beat em up in which you took control of one or all four (depending on if you played co-op or not) superheroes in your squad to defeat Dr. Doom's latest scheme. Something like 35 characters were at your disposal both well known and more niche heroes. Fun to level up your characters too. Only downside, graphics left something to be desired (and the story was flimsy but, honestly, that was not why we played it).
3. Spider-man 2 -A game based of the movie (which in the video games business is equivalent to a movie based off a book ...a.k.a. the book was (far) better type deal), this game allowed you to play as Spider-man in an open city, New York, and either play the story of fight random criminals. One of the rare movie licensed games that was fun. Swinging through the city is so fun and very fluid. Combat was also cool.
4. Spider-man: Web of Shadows -Building off of the success of Spider-man 2, Spider-man: WoS was an original story in which morality came into play. You could switch, on the fly, between the good suit and the evil, black suit which was more powerful but caused much more destruction. You made good or bad choices along an interesting story. One last cool thing about it was how many Marvel characters, and Spider-man friends and foes, were thrown into the game. A nice nod to fans.
5. Watchmen: The End is Nigh -All right. To be fair, I haven't technically beaten this one yet. ...or even own it. It's an XBLA game I played the demo for but I'll be buying it soon (when the price drops). You play as Rorsach and Nite Owl in a story that preludes the comic and movie. Fun to fill in the back story AND it's an amazing XBLA game. Great graphics, movie actors leant their voices to it, the combat's very fun (oh yeah, it's a beat em up) in which their are combos, finishing moves, weapons you can utilize and special moves involving flash bang grenades....and RAGE! Only thing keeping me from beating it already is its $20 asking price.

If my Xbox had his way I'd have beat it already too. ...and every other game available.
http://360voice.gamerdna.com/tag/New%20Gunslinger

Peers of War

Didn't blog last night. That's because I finished playing Gears of War 2 with my good friend Lefty at 2 in the morning. Ok, here's something new. Instead of JUST telling you about a new game, I'm gonna tell you what the X button on the controller does. That way I can call this segment:

What Does the X Button Do?
Gears of War 2:
GoW2 is the sequel to a blockbuster hit. You play as a member of a squadron of soldiers on a planet that's being attacked by alien/monsters who live underground. Some are big scary monsters and some are smarter grunts who wield guns. It's very action oriented with a heavy reliance on taking cover. The first one was great (and the online multiplayer was a massive success... if not incredibly daunting because of all the hardcore players). The sequel is still fun but didn't quite deliver the same epic punch the first did. Although they did introduce Horde Mode in which you fight wave after wave of enemies. That's really fun. The X button helps you "Interact" with the world. E.i. open doors, pick up ammo, heal a fallen team mate, etc.

We played through about half the game in 4 hours. I ported my Gamertag onto his Xbox so I could get any achievements I gained (because I've actually played the same chunk of that game with Lefty before. HOWEVER, I didn't know how to port my Gamertag (my account, essentially) to his Xbox so I didn't wind up getting any achievements. So now, I'm going for some achievements and to beat the story because the game is definitely fun enough for me to give it a co-op play through... just not good enough to deserve my money.

Since I ported my Gamertag to Lefty's Xbox, however, my Xbox is pissed and actually said he felt "betrayed". ...it will be an awkward reunion tomorrow.
http://360voice.gamerdna.com/tag/New%20Gunslinger

XBLA Night

Another fairly slow gaming day.

...well actually that's not true.

I downloaded a demo for the XBLA game 1943.

1943:

A multiplayer only (no single player story, no split screen multiplayer or co-op, nothing but single online players playing together) WWII game in which you play as an American or a Japanese. The great thing about it is there are three different classes of soldiers to play as all with different weapons and perks, different vehicles to fly, drive or shot in, and you try to beat the other team by capturing all the command points.

Lots of fun! I whipped right through the 30 minute trial and am seriously considering ponying up the $15 asking price to play more. I got the hang of it very quickly, was getting most of my points by killing and had a blast winning dog fights as a pilot. Turns out, not many players are good at flying planes.

As I waited for KS to come home I played a small chunk of Turok. Fun, old school style game in which you battle dinosaurs and mercenaries. ...I know, right?

Then KS offered to play Small Arms (what a sweet heart) but Cameo was busy with homework (nerd!) so I offered to skip a 2 player tournament and we played one level of Castle Crashers. That's one of the greatest XBLA games ever and KS hates it. It's really quite heart breaking. But she helped me get an achievement then went to bed.

After I put her to sleep I redownloaded an old favorite: Prince of Persia classic, another XBLA game (are we seeing the pattern? the title is making a little more sense now, huh?) ad played through the first 1/4 of that. Trying to get an old achievement that eluded me the first time around.

I capped off the night with Dishwasher: The Dead Samurai. I'll tell you about that one soon. I tried to pay through on normal but even THAT was too hard, so I'm replaying on easy hoping to score some achievements.

Fun night. Expecting X-men Origins: Wolverine the game to come in the mail any day now. ...Trust me. You'll KNOW when I get that one.

My Xbox is getting more competitive and is now competing with Baddog007 and LeftyBear81. ...I don't like it when he gets like this: http://360voice.gamerdna.com/tag/New%20Gunslinger

Off To A Bad Start

No games today. Made me sad. I had plans to play Small Arms with all my room mates but Lilly had friends over so that didn't work out.

Oh! Every blog I'm gonna explain one new game I mention. So...

SMALL ARMS:

An Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) game that plays like Super Smash Bros (you know that game! if you don't just stop reading this). 4 player brawler with quirky characters and imaginative levels. Only difference is no Nintendo characters and instead of melee fighting, they all use guns.

I was also considering playing a game at night before I went to sleep but that, too, did not work out. So no games today. Great bog material, eh? Can't wait to come back for more? Here's some incentive: every day I don't play any games I'll give you a Top 5. Today's Top 5 is:

Top 5 Co-Op Games (in no particular order):

1. Army of Two -greatest co-op experience I've ever had. I played through this with KS and it was a legitimately great game which was only aided by KS' excellent gun play.

2. Kane & Lynch -this game subscribed to the philosophy of quantity over quality. Instead of making smart bad guys they threw hundreds at you. Still, the story is one of the darkest, most enthralling plots I've ever played through and playing with Cameo was fun.

3. Halo 3 -I've played the whole Halo trilogy with my sister and this was the coup de gra (sp?). Each game built on the last bringing more and more memorable moments of nonstop, varying action. This epic finale was a love letter to fans and we appreciated it whole heartedly. On a side note, each game we beat twice: once on hardcore and once on legendary. ...the women gamers in my life are good. And I fuckin love it.

4. Left 4 Dead -The whole point of the game is 4 players fighting to survive and escape a zombie infestation. No (real) story, no plot twists, nothing but co-op action. KS whipped through this with me too. Once (only important to bring up because it's not a story you play through once. it's 4 constantly changing scenarios that brings surprises each time).

5. Rock Band 2 -Need I say more?

What do you think? Did I miss any? Got any co-op moments you'd like to share? Please do so. Leave a post!

My 360 has this to say: http://360voice.gamerdna.com/tag/New%20Gunslinger

The Intro

KS wouldn't stop complaining until I did this so here we go:

Hi, my name is Aidan and I play video games. Xbox 360 to be exact. I'm living in New York with my girlfriend, Kelsey, and my two room mates, Lilly and Cameron. But from now on we're referring to them as KS, Lilly and Cameo, respectively.

I play a lot of games, and I'm trying to cut down so recently I signed up with a game trading website, called "Goozex.com", to get rid of some I've already beaten or gotten tired of. It's great because you get fair prices for your games (fuck YOU, Gamestop) and every game is represented.

Which reminds me: up until last week I worked at Gamestop. I only worked there for 5 weeks because, even though selling video games and getting discounts sounded awesome, I had forgotten all about the unrivaled thrills of slave labor (I mean, minimum wage retail). So I got out of there fast (but not before purchasing the Rock Band Stage Kit... more on that later).

My room mates aren't real gamers. Cameo plays a bit. He has a PSP and he likes playing some games with me. We're playing through Kane & Lynch: Dead Men now. Great game. Intensely dark, complex, brilliant story and fun game play. Lilly doesn't play anything unless the whole room is playing. The whole apartment likes: Mad Tracks (XBLA), Scene It! Blockbuster Smash and, of course, Rock Band 2. KS used to play a lot of games with me but has recently sworn off. ...no idea why. She likes (or at least used to like): Army of Two (one of the best experiences I've ever had playing a game was playing through that story with her... she's really good actually), Soulcalibur 4 (...KS gets really competitive), Left 4 Dead (who doesn't?), Small Arms (that's when she "goes back to her roots") and, of course, Rock Band 2 (where she shreds the bass and guitar on expert or wails on vocals... on medium). She's pretty good at any game she actually puts herself into. She usually hates a game after playing it for 5 minutes because she doesn't get it right away but she she gives it a shot she rocks and I have great times with her.

And that pretty much brings us all up to speed. I know some of that didn't make sense but it will in later blogs. I'm hating myself already for doing this so I'm done now.

Oh! One last thing. My 360 has a blog too. It's automated so no one writes it. The Xbox just writes a one paragraph recap of all the games we played and how fun it was and what our gamer score is. Apparently, my Xbox is really competitive but obsessed with gaming. He also thinks I don't play enough. I'll wrap up every entry with a link to his blog. Here it is: http://360voice.gamerdna.com/tag/new%20gunslinger