Game Recommendations for June Part 1

I've been playing quite a few games lately and here are the ones I can recommend:

Infamous



If you own a PS3 and haven't picked up this game, do yourself a favor and either buy it or try it out. This is one of my favorite games thus far this year and a really good time. After I beat it playing "good" I want to try out the "evil" powers, which look awesome. I have a feeling that this is what Bionic Commando was trying to be, but failed at.


Red Faction: Guerilla (360/PS3/PC)



This is one FUN game, a great game to take your frustrations out on. I liked the first two shooters on the PC, but this 3rd person sandbox feel is perfect for this universe. I just finished this one yesterday, and I can say it was a blast jumping into a walker and just wrecking everything. Multiplayer is also a lot of fun in this game, but as with all multiplayer games, you have some people on there that a just too damn good. Still a blast though.

The Sims 3 (PC/Mac)



It's the Sims, is there really anything else that needs to be said about it? Ok, well, this time around, A LOT of the things I complained about in the Sims 2 have been addressed. You have even more interactivity in your Sims lives, even at work. The graphics are improved a great deal and you can already see where they have left room open for 19 expansions (I kid). The collector's edition comes with a 2GB USB flash drive that has the Sims 3 soundtrack, The Prima eguide, a sports car download, and $10 in simpoints to buy stuff at the Sims store. I'm probably forgetting something as well, but it's a pretty good deal for an extra $20 (or cheaper).

That's all I have for now, check in next week to see what else has come my way.

J.

Gotta blow the dust off this thing....

Wow, it's been a LONG time since I've blogged on here, but I'm going to try and give it a go again. Hope this works.......

What I'm playing: Took you long enough edition!!

Hey all,

I know it's been a good long while since I've posted anything on here, and I'm not even going to make excuses other than the fact that I was being totally lazy. Let's get down to it then. I've been playing a lot of games lately and I would like to start my list of with:

Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)





This is probably one of the best PS3 games you've never played. Sega released this gem back in November. It's a tactical turn based strategy RPG. Yes, that is a mouthful, but this game possesses all of these elements. You play as a squad of Gallians who are led by Welkin who rides in his father's old tank. The stylized graphics are fantastic and the game uses a BLiTZ system that adds real-time elements to the turn based battles. I have played through this game once already but I am going to play through again to try to amass all of the secret weapons I can.








Prince of Persia(PS3/360/PC)



This is an incredibly fun game, courtesy of Ubisoft. You assume the role of "the Prince" you loses his donkey in a sandstorm. You come across Elika, a woman with some mysterious powers. The two travel in a quest to cleanse the land. This is more of a PoP reboot, and has a very casual friendly flavor to it. You never really actually "die" in this game, since Elika always saves you. The flow of the acrobatics has a very Assassin's Creed feel to it.







World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC/MAC)



Yes, I have been one of the 11+ million for nearly 3 years now. I'm enjoying the new content as well as rolling a new Death Knight, of which I have several. I don't think much needs to be said of this game, since I'm sure that most have heard of it. Check out the WotLK trailer as well as the Wrathgate video:





Well, that's it for now. Hopefully, there will be some new titles coming up that I will be playing that are post-worthy.

What I'm Playing - October 27th-31st Edition

I have been playing a huge amount of games this week.  Well, not really huge, here's what's been on my screen:

Dead Space (360, PS3, PC)



I'm sure you've heard about Dead Space, the latest space survival horror game from EA. It's a great game, perfect to play now, since Halloween is Friday.  I give you fair warning though, this game will creep you out.  Having played most of the Silent Hills, all of the Resident Evils, and many other survival horror games, I thought I would be immune to anything this put out there, but no, Dead Space made me jump quite a few times. 




Fable 2 (360)



Fable 2, the latest from Lionhead Studios, is the sequel to Fable, which was one of my favorite games for the XBOX.  You start off as either a boy or a girl (your choice), with your big sister.  You will do some quests to acquire gold so that you can buy a magic music box, that your sister thinks will grant them a wish. Even from this point, your actions shape what happens in the future.  I'm enjoying this one a lot as well. 




Far Cry 2 (360, PS3, PC)





Far Cry 2, which I have only played about an hour, seems to be a fun game, with some great graphics, but I do have some issues with it.  For one, its the damn weapons durability system.  I had to scout out this one camp with the monocular, then go and rescue my friend.  I made my way down the hill, creeping and hiding in the bushes, then I shot a barrel that a few of the guys were by, killing them instantly.  Then the fight was on.  I ran out of ammo on my main machine gun, so I dropped it and picked up a rusty shotgun off of one of the dead guys.  I'm in the middle of a firefight and the gun jams. Now I am mashing the reload button to unjam the gun, taking multiple bullets to the chest and face as I do so.  Still, not a bad game at all. 





Hinterland (PC)



Hinterland really took me by surprise.  It's from Tilted Mill, the developers of Children of the Nile and Caesar IV. It's a combination of town building and Diablo action-style RPG.  You can set up different game modes, and how long you will play, and the map is randomly generated each time.  Every once in awhile, enemies will conduct raids on your town.  Well equipped villagers will be able to fight them off, but it's best to have some guard towers.  This is a $19.99 download only title that can be purchased off Steam, Impulse, Direct2Drive, and GamersGate.  This is another nice gem. 




Check back in with me next week, when I will give you my impressions on the new titles that I get to pick up, most notably:  Fallout 3

 -J

Hayden Panettiere PSA

$10 off Dead Space at Entertaniment Outlet with ad from AMNY newspaper

If you are in Manhattan today, Pick up today's copy of AMNY (the weekend editon) and use the ad on page 25 to get Dead Space for $49.99 for either the 360 or the PS3.  You can also pick up SOCOM: Confrontation for $54.99 with the headset or $34.99 without the headset for the PS3.  See the coupon below:



Entertainment Outlet has two locations:  8 West 40th Street (across from Bryant Part) Between 5th and 6th Avenue, and a 110 West 14th Street between 6th and 7th Avenue.  Enjoy!!

What I'm playing

I have been playing a fair number of games recently. Three of these titles are MMOs, the others are console games. The games are listed below in no particular order:

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (MMORPG)



I have really been enjoying Warhammer Online. Many have complained that the gameplay too closely resembles World of Warcraft. To me, that is one of the games strengths. I have no difficulty picking up and playing this game after two years of exclusively playing WoW. The launch was smooth, but not without it's hiccups (like disappearing icons and texture popping). I feel that this will be a game I continue to play along with World of Warcraft for the time being. Which leads me to......

World of Warcraft (MMORPG)



This game really needs no introduction. With nearly 12 million subscribers, I am pretty sure you know what this game is. I don't play hardcore at all, I mostly use my Level 70 Rogue to do daily quests and amass some cash before the expansion: Wrath of the Lich King. This is the MMORPG I have played the most, and while I do find myself getting bored at times, this is one of the reasons why I put it down and try other games. Besides Warhammer Online, the other game I decided to try was......


Tabula Rasa (MMORPG)



Tabula Rasa was so cheap ($5 for the standard edition and $30 for the Collector's Edition) that I had to give it a go. What I found was that it is actually a pretty fun game with some great ideas. I love the sci-fi setting and the combat is interesting. The only thing I fear about this game is that it won't last long enough to live up to it's potential. It's still definitely worth a shot, and hey, the price is right.

On the console side of things, I have been playing a lot of Soul Caliber 4 (360/PS3), Grand Theft Auto 4 (360/PS3), Burnout Paradise (360/PS3), Castle Crashers (XBLA), and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (360/PS3/PS2/PC). I plan on reviewing each of these games shortly. Well, there you have it, what I have been playing lately. I will be back in a bit to let you know what I have been reading and watching as well as what I have been listening to. As always, thanks for reading.

Jon

More than a month later, and still no Authenticators!!!

Blizzard, Blizzard, Blizzard. I mean seriously. Can it be that hard to make these things? SecurID has been making them for years, so what's your excuse? Here's what I got when I checked today: Blizz Store