Brink

I purchased Brink based on the videos of the gameplay. Apparently it wasn't gameplay.

It sucks.

There is no balance, even in easy mode. The enemy heals almost immediately. The weapons are poor. When down you have to be healled (medics never come) or you have to restart at the last checkpoint. There are several different classes and even that is confusing. Plus someone keeps saying "Brothers" and it's annoying. The plot sucks. 

And. Graphics are poor (considering they're using ID tech, I'm surprised). Guns are so limited it isn't even funny. Grenades are almost useless. And again, this is solo play on easy.

Definitely stay away

Some recent games revisited.

I wanted to revisit some of the recent games I've purchased now that I've played them through.

I replayed Dead Space 2 probably 4 times. Great game. There was an expansion pack (another person's experience during the crisis) and it was short. Not bad, but too short. And the ending was a major downer.

Bulletstorm turned out to have almost no replay fun. Sad. 

Black Ops: So I still don't play online since I have no friends to do that with. I play combat training. I've maxed that out, and can get perfect scores on just me vs 9 other NPCs on recruit. Not so on any other level. :-) Love the M16 with the non-adjustable scope that I forget the name of. Combined with the camera, I can snipe all day. I hope more DLC becomes available. I'd love to have an FNH P90 in the game. Largely because I can't bring myself to pony up the $2K for a real one.

By far Berlin is my favorite level. It was available in the DLC. Stadium is good too. It's hard to play split screen with my 8 year old since he cheats and looks at where I am. Booo Duddy!

I also picked up Crysis 2. While the game was interesting the first time through, it doesn't seem to have much replay value. And the online requires multiple people.

Right now, I'm just dying for Portal 2. April 19th!

Quick Reviews: Dead Space 2, Bulletstorm, Call of Duty: Black Ops

Dead Space and Dead Space 2

I waited a long time to play Dead Space. It was a gift from my daughter for Christmas, but I the demo had been so hard I was hesitant.

That was stupid. The game rocked. Totally, utterly rocked. Great plot. Loved it. You can pick up Dead Space at Amazon as a $20 special edition.

Dead Space 2 is out now and I loved it. I've played it through 4 times now. I enjoyed the plot, and the gameplay was just as good as the first. It was a continuation with some evolution, not a whole new game, and that was fine by me. It's a 2 DVD game. The need to swap is a pain. But being able to play the second portion without putting in Disc 1 and then Disc 2 is good.

And as if that wasn't enough goodness, March 1 brings new DLC that includes single person gameplay (since I stay clear of the XBox Live ghetto.)

The game leaves an easy opening for a third installment. I can only home we see Issac again.

Note, there is also iPad version. It has a different take on things though, you play as a Unitarian (the religious nut jobs in the console version). The graphics are good and it's pretty fun. Worthy of the minor investment. Sorry, no link. But it's on the iTunes App Store.

Bulletstorm

Bulletstorm: part campaign, part arcade, part multiplayer. Violent as hell and the language is something that even I was hesitant to let my youngest hear (and I'm not a parent who believes that swearing in front of children will cause them to do the same, and it seems to have worked fine). And Triska is totally hot while Grayson Hunt would make a great Halloween costume.

The campaign is short. And hard, even on Very Easy. But it is fun. The arcade aspects will be re-playable. I don't know anything about the multi-player. 

Update on Bulletstorm

OK, still great game, but deployability and the arcade version just doesn't seem to be what I had hoped. Call of Duty is back in the Xbox tray, and I'll likely be sniping NPCs until Portal 2. Or the weather gets nicer and I can go and snipe in my back yard with my Talon SS. 

EA: Death by a thousand cuts

But it does bring up an issue I have with both Dead Space 2, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Bulletstorm. EA now requires that you have a separate code for playing online for each member of your family. So I pay $60 for a game, and then another $7 so my teenage son can play. I so love getting bled to death. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops: OK, so I wasn't going to buy this. I didn't play the earlier games much. And again, I hate multiplayer because of the horrible experience that Xbox Live is. I can't believe the blatant racism present online. But the Combat Training mode makes up for it, you get multiplayer of sort, but without the name calling.

The campaign mode is all over the place time-wise. Hard to follow, but fun nonetheless.

The zombie mode is awesome, especially playing a split screen game with one of my kids, as is Combat Training.

And I've played Combat Training dozens and dozens of times by myself. The new DLC that included 4 new levels is awesome. I love playing the Berlin and Stadium levels with 4 good NPCs and 8 bad.

Waiting For...

So, the next little bit looks like it'll be replay time. At least until Portal 2 comes out on April 19. It's been moved up by months and I hope its worth the rush. And F.E.A.R. 3 in May. And beyond that Bioshock Infinite, December 31, 2012.

The LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean and LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars games come out March 22, my little guy will love those.

One other surprise was the trailer for the Dead Island zombie game. I wish there was in-game play though. Trailers and previews without in-game play is kind of a lost leader.

BTW - All of those links do take you to Amazon and I do get a cut if you buy through them. I'm not going to hide that. :-)

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, and Call of Duty: Black Ops

I've recently picked up all three of these games for my Xbox (spit). They're a mixed bag, at best.

Let me say up front: I am a single player. I don't play multiplayer except on rare occasions when I can do so with the kids split screen, or in the house between my son's machine and mine. So if your company can't produce a decent single player experience, you can suck my c***. Too many companies just don't care. AI is hard, so make it so that the other players provide AI.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Single player experience is excellent. I love this game. Some was too hard, and I was never able to completely own Rome, but the same itself was wonderful. A technical achievement as well. I've heard the multiplayer is good. When it comes out as a download only I'll get a copy so my son and I can try it.

Buy via Amazon -  Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Oh, and I need more DLC.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

Single player is interesting and frustrating. Most of the cars above sport are un-driveable for me, and I've driven some pretty significant cars in real life. I hate the races and the Rapid Response events. They make it impossible to enjoy the other events because without passing them, you're stuck. Also, having to pay MORE so that the other two players can get online when I'm already paying $60 for a game? Suck it.

Buy via Amazon -  Need for Speed Hot Pursuit

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Poor AI. Short single player campaign that jumps all over the place in time and location. Too much torture of the Mason player.

And (slight spoiler) I found the putting glass in the one character's mouth and then slugging him in the mouth appalling. But that's the CIA.

I found the Zombie modes more amusing, but it's something that I'll let my son play with his multi-player buddies and won't touch again.

And, I wanted to know who played the characters, not who wrote the game. You made me sit through way too much in the line of credits to get to that.

Buy via Amazon -  Call of Duty: Black Ops

Waiting for...

I'm waiting for F.E.A.R. 3  and Dead Space 2 . I'm hoping they bring a good solid single player game.

More games - Crackdown 2, Prototype, Singularity

These are all fairly recent Xbox 360 releases I've played through. All were worth their money, although Singularity was $34 when I picked it up. (Disclosure, the Amazon links are affiliate links, so you help support my habit.)

Crackdown 2

Crackdown 2 is a sequel to Crackdown . The series is a sandbox style game where you have a group of islands making up a metropolitan area that you can throughly explore. In the original Crackdown you were battling gangs. You played a genetically enhanced agent that evolved as they became more proficient at shooting, agility, strength, driving, and using explosives. When agility was getting high, you could climb dizzily high buildings to do battle with the gangs and bosses. I played the game several times when it first came out and revisited it before the sequel was released. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that you can't play as the same character in the sequel.

Crackdown 2 looked like it was going to disappoint in the trailers. But fortunately it didn't. It's 10 years later and the mutants that were being cooked up by one of the gangs in the original story have become rampant. It's the same set of islands, same city. But war torn from the fight with the mutants. Huge concrete walls are in place in some areas, breached in others. You play as a genetically enhanced Agency clone. The building of capabilities in the shooting, agility, etc... areas is the same in this version. 

While you fight a single gang "The Cell", your other enemy, and the one you're ultimately trying to defeat are the mutants. The mutants have hives where they return every day (they hate light). You have to take over installations that The Cell have seized and turn on the special devices at each. When the combination of three are taken back and enabled, you can attack a hive. Hives are underground, in areas that you're familiar with from the first game. The battles increase in difficulty. Once all the hives are cleared and The Cell is defeated there is still one more major battle. Again, I won't spoil it, but it was hard, took me several tries, and I felt good about the effort when completed. 

When the story is done, you're not necessarily done with the game. You can continue to search for the agility and hidden orbs. I managed to find all of them in the first version, and I will get them all in this one eventually. There are also audio tapes that really help move the story along. I've not found all those either, yet.

Buy this one now.

Prototype

Prototype ($30) is another game that I really enjoyed. Another sandbox game, this time based in NYC. It isn't an accurate representation of the city though. The story is complex and I'm still not sure I understand the complete story. You play a man infected with a genetic virus. The virus is spreading throughout the city, creating mutants of various strengths. But you respond differently than most people. Your capabilities evolve over time, allowing faster movements, more fighting capabilities, and the ability to scale buildings and glide. Mini-games are strewn throughout the city, most are challenges related to your specific skills. You battle the military and the monsters. You 'absorb' others to gain their memories and unlock details of the story, or just to gain their health or physical appearance (to allow stealth access and hiding).

I really enjoyed this game as well. I'm a sucker for mutant/zombie sandbox games I guess.

This is another I'd really suggest picking up. And it's a Platinum hit, so cheap.

Singularity

The final game I picked up was Singularity . I'm surprised this game didn't get more press, although it is a bit short, and definitely linear in play. You're a US military agent sent to investigate a radiation event in Russia. There is an alternate history timeline involved, although that wasn't terribly clear until the end. I may have just missed it though. Your weapon of no-choice is the TMD (it's attached to your left-hand), along with conventional military gear that you find as the game progresses.

The graphics were really good, based on the Unreal engine. And the whole story (which occasionally bounced you back in time at the same location) had sort of a Half-Life vibe to it, but not near that quality. Aged audio recordings, supply boxes and equipment can be brought back into working order using the TMD, which evolves as you find upgrade instructions and the locations that can modify the device.

It is most definitely a linear game though. You had a set path you had to follow and missions and objectives you had to complete to progress. You could stray slightly from the path to do some searching, but that was about it. Still, a good game. Not anywhere near the first two, but good.

The ending(s) left me feeling like a bad guy either way. That was rather the suck. If you can get it when Amazon has it for $34 it's worth it. But sometimes they pop it up to $55. I think all the current generation games are too expensive. Unless it's something I really want, like Crackdown 2, I tend to wait a while.

I will probably give Singularity a second play, just in case I missed anything.

Waiting for...

There are a few more sequels I'm waiting for that are on the way. Portal 2 of course (delayed until next year). F.E.A.R. 3 is another. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood , and Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars.

Plus there is new DLC for Bioshock 2 that is single player (I don't play Xbox Live, other than my son). And also new DLC for Alan Wake (another I enjoyed).

And single player DLC for Red Dead Redemption (wow, huge sandbox, missions, just awesome) apparently with zombies is coming eventually. I love me some zombies.

(I'd love a PS3, but until I get the TV on the wall and things organized, ain't happening).

Toy Soldiers - XBOX 360 Arcade Game

My 7 year old convinced me to download the demo for Toy Soldiers. It's a military strategy game that is played with little toy soldiers. They have mortars, tanks, flame throwers, the whole business.

You set up your battlefield as the opposing army is coming towards you, and it's all based on cash. The more of them you take out, the more money you accumulate to upgrade you hardware, buy more, etc.

This thing is addictive. What's worse, he can kick my ass at it when we play multiplayer. After a certain number of enemy kills, you get a 'barrage'. Essentially, bombs rain from the sky on your side of the battlefield. Every time he gets one, he stands up and salutes. Cute has hell, the little shit.

There are also 3 campaigns, although one is a downloadable content piece.

It's been a great game from the arcade selection. And he and I love to play it together. But he's way too good at the strategy. I see military college or a ruthless business man in his future.