Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

To this day Uncharted stands as one of my favorite PS3 games. Granted there are other games out there that are just as amazing graphically and game-play wise, like MGS4, Little Big Planet, and even Ratchet and Clank. None of these seemed to suck me in as much as Drake's Fortune did the first time i played it. I couldn't set the controller down and just continued to press farther and farther into the game world until i had finished. Even now i still want to play through other sections of the game not only to discover the other artifacts that i missed, but also just to enjoy the wonderfully animated and detailed vistas in the game. 

Well recently Naughty Dog released a "teaser trailer" for the upcoming and as of yet un dated sequel, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The trailer so far is pretty dang short and really doesn't give you any info short of the fact that Nathan is back, and there will be blood... I mean snow. Apparently they are planning on releasing another trailer or more info during the VGA's on Spike this year (December 14th at 9pm, check local listings). I can't wait to see more of this game. Rumor is that the trailer they released is rendered in real time with the in game engine. If that is to be believed then this game could look better (and probably should) than the first game. I guess we will have to wait and see on the 14th, to see if and what Naughty Dog has in store for us. I can't wait, the first game was a big reason why i got a PS3 in the first place.

Ducktales (NES)

So here is a game that you may not have thought anyone would review. I for one loved this game back in the day (and still play it every now and then on roms).

Ducktales came out on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the late 80's early 90's. Obviously based on the hit kids show of the same name. You played as Scrooge McDuck, and along with the help of your nephews, and personal pilot Launch Pad, went on adventures through several different environments to get treasure. Scrooge, as usual, is on a quest to be the richest duck in the world. 

Developed and published by Capcom this game was memorable for several different reasons. As always with Capcom the game play was very tight and precise. Scrooge carries a cane which he can use several different ways. He could use it as a weapon to hit enemies with, a tool to break rocks and such, and also as a mode of transportation, if you will, as a pogo stick that he could bounce around the stage. Also being from Capcom, the music was amazing in the game (for its time). I still listen to several different versions of the "Moon Surface" song by groups like "The Advantage", "Minibosses", and "Entertainment System". Over all it was a very easy game to get into and play over and over. 

Also this game had something very strange for the time it was released with, "Non-Linear Gameplay". You could choose which place you wanted to go to from the very beginning. Locations such as "Amazon", "Snow Mountain", "Underground" and the afore mentioned "Moon Surface". Each of these locations had vastly different terrain for you to go through, different "Boss Fights" to overcome, as well as a different treasure for Scrooge to collect.

This is one of those games that (at least in my head) should get a sequel on the current generation of systems. Not like the "Golden Axe; Beast Riders" sequal but more like the "Mega Man 9" kind. Which is pretty handy considering that Mega Man and Ducktales were both done by Capcom. However i won't hold my breath considering that Ducktales isn't really the hit show it was when i was 10 years old. Just like the Rescue Rangers game for NES... ahhh memories. 

All hope is not lost, like i said you can play it as a rom if you like. Also if you have an old NES like i do you can probably find it on ebay or something and still play it... hey wait a second. I DO still have my old NES... Ebay here I come!

Combat!!

Wow does this game take me back. I mean way way back. Combat was probably the most memorable game for me on the Atari 2600. More so even than "Boxing" or the horrible port of "Pac-Man". 

If you have never played Combat on the 2600 then you don't and probably won't understand the nostalgia for this game. You and a friend could play as many as 27 different variations of "Combat" on one cart. Tanks, Bi-Planes, and Jets were all present and accounted for. Most of the modes just involved you destroying the other player how ever you could. The variables came in with the different "Surroundings" as well as all the different types of, i guess you could say, ammo you used. Some bullets would only go a certain distance, some would go farther, some would bounce around the screen. You could play as invisible tanks, the only way to know where you were on screen was the bullet ts coming out of the cannon. 

I can't even count the number of hours that my sister and I would play this game. It helped settle many a family dispute. Who ever wins doesn't have to take out the trash, that kinda thing. My father, and mother would also play against each other some times, which was absolutely hilarious. 

We used to keep a little red notebook beside the Atari that we would log out win/losses in. Which just goes to show that not only do some games not create violence in the home, but they diffuse it. 

If publishers and developers could find a way to harness the essence of Combat into a new generation of video games i would be all over it. I actually think that they are headed in the general direction of doing just that. Think about how Co-Op centered some games have become, not to mention all the games that offer a wide variety of variations on regular Vs. matches. If they could find a way to make a new game that was as readily assessable as that game was, and make it just as much fun to play today as it was then, they would have a hit for sure.

The game has not aged well, that kinda goes without saying considering it was on the 2600. However, if you are as much a game dork as i am (very few are) then it would be worth just seeing where some of these War Games possibly got their start. 

Flash Back

Back before life and jobs and responsibility, my friends and I would just make really stupid movie, TV shows, and commercials all day. Some of them were really bad (Bill you know what I am talking about) some of them were really good, some were just straight up crazy stupid funny, and possibly (quite probably) offensive. Here is an example of what i am talking about. This video was recently dug up from the vault and i think it deserves a view or two. No midgets were harmed in the making of this video.

Wrath of the Lich King

I have avoided a post like this for a while now, but I guess I can no longer ignore it.

I... Have never and WILL never play WOW... There I said it. 

Here is the thing, I absolutely LOVE RPGs. I have owned every Final Fantasy game since the original NES version (including original Gameboy, and Mystic Quest versions). As well as countless other RPG's spanning several different systems.  I also have played all of Blizzards previous games like Diablo one and two, Warcraft, and it's sequels (excluding WOW). 

The reason I don't play is I think due to the fact that I have an addictive personality when it comes to games (no, really I do) and I know that should I try the game out, I may not return. It's like the alcoholic that has been sober for 15 years and doesn't go to parties or Bars where there is booze b/c he knows he may just slip and fall back into old habits. I don't play the game b/c I know that I may like it and not be able to stop myself. 

I have several friends that play WOW on a regular basis. They tell me how much fun it is, and how amazing the game as a whole is. I just agree, and sip my ginger ale. I only bring this up b/c of course the newest expansion for the game "Wrath of the Lich King" just dropped and most people that were sucked in before are back into it and talking about the game again. 

Also the more I think about it, the longer I go without playing the game the better. By this point i would be so far behind the rest of the herd that in order for me to try and close the level gap between myself and my friends i would have to "poop-sock" this game for about 2 months in order to get anywhere close. 

I don't talk down to my friends that play the game, they do what they want it is their own business. However when several of them talked about getting the new expansion, I did try to convince them that they didn't need it, and they were better off in their lives not having it. Much like a long sober friend tries to talk a buddy out of that shot of Jager they just got from some chick at the bar. 

So play on my friends that have been sucked back into the Realm of Azeroth. Enjoy leveling up till you can't get any higher, Say hi to the Lich King for me, Have fun storming the castles. I shall never join your ranks on the hills of Northrend, but it is for the best, trust me.

Valkyria Chronicles

I hate to say it but this game just didn't get the time devoted to it that it should have. I rented this one midst the wave of games that came out over the past several weeks, and i just couldn't seem to devote enough time to it. 

That being said, I am not giving up on this game. From the 10 or so hours that i did spend with it, I was quite pleased. The art style is amazing, kinda like watching someone paint a comic book on canvas right infont of you. Playing mostly like a RTS it was able to catch my interest on the PS3 simply b/c there aren't a lot of original games on that system in this style. It also throws in a dash of third person shooter in the way that your characters are controlled. The story was involving enough (a small town caught up in a World War), and the characters themselves were likable. 

Like I said I just didn't devote enough time to it as I should have. I put the blame solely on myself and nothing else. I have sent it back to Gamefly but I anticipate as the holiday gift giving season approaches I will soon own this one. I don't want to commit to a review of the game as a whole but i think saying simply that i will purchase the game, or rent it again speaks to the fact that it is a game worth checking out. 

Batman is Cut!

I don't mean cut like, from the team cut, I mean like he has been lifting for the past several months and been hitting the Bow-Flex a little too hard. The latest (and i guess First) trailer for the upcoming PS3 and 360 game "Batman: Arhkam Asylum" has arrived, and it looks pretty sweet. 

Batman has beefed up and is ready to take on the residents of Arkham (who were mostly put in there by him). From the screen shots I have seen and the trailer, I will keep this one on my radar. There hasn't been a really good batman game in, well forever, so it has a long climb over the empty husks of previous games. At least it looks like it is headed in the right direction. 

Batman: Arkham Asylum Trailer

Batman: Arkham Asylum official site