Gaming Goodness
My consoles have collected a rather nice coating of dust over the last couple of months. It’s not that I’ve lost interest in them, I just dont have the time anymore. Between a new job, my upcoming cert exam, a full roster of art projects and a precocious two year old, there just doesnt seem to be enough hours in the day to devote to a game for as long as I would like to.
However, I do make it a point to at least turn the consoles on every few weeks and check out the updates, the new demo’s etc. Last night on Live I pulled down a few demo’s: Guitar Hero 3, Crash of the Titans, HL2 Orange Box, PGR4, & Raw vs Smackdown 2008. I’ll give my thoughts on these:
Crash of the Titans - Ordinarily I dont go in for platformers, but I was looking for something somewhat mindless that doesn’t need a lot of investment from me, either with regards to time or brain cycles. Crash seemed to fit the bill nicely. Graphics were what I expected from a simple platformer, even with regards to a “next-gen” console. Although, for some reason it just lacked the Crash Bandicoot charm from early iterations of the game. Perhaps it can be found deeper in the game, beyond what the demo exposed. For my verdict, it’s a rent.
HL2 Orange Box - I seem to be the odd man in this regard, but Half-Life never wowed me like it did so many others. Granted it did more to marry story and action into a single game, but I think it was the story that just didnt appeal. Perhaps this has poisoned my opinion of the franchise, but I just didnt find myself all that interested in this game. While I am sure it is good on it’s technical merits, I just dont care. For me, I wont rent it much less buy it.
PGR4 - I like racing games. Unfortunately, I suck at them. PGR4 illustrates both of those points rather vividly. It’s a beautiful game and the machanics of the driving are better at making it an immersive experience. However, my in-game character and his car seemed to have a love-affair with the wall. It’s a game I would love to be a master at, but I don’t have the time. I already have PGR3 and I think I will stick with that.
Raw vs Smackdown 2008 - this was purely for giggles. While I will admit to being a WWF viewer for a short time, it just doesnt have it anymore and they lost me as a viewer. The games however never seemed to have it, and I occasionally look to see if they have managed it finally. They havent. Gameplay mechanics are still cloogy at best, and the characters still seem very wooden. In a fast paced environment like a wrestling ring, there should be no excuse for a computer generated opponent to stand stock still, inviting a punch. Like so many other versions before it, this one is neither a rent or a buy.
Guitar Hero 3 - I think I am one of nine people left on the planet who had not played any version of Guitar Hero. My thinking was Why should I? I’m not interested in a game that centers around music, and I am really not interested in buying a game that ideally needs a special peripheral (can anyone say light-gun?). But, I hear too often the buzz surrounding this game and it’s forebears, so I downloaded a demo and gave it a shot.
My first experience was painful to say the least. With what I did to Pearl Jam’s Evenflow, I would not be at all surprised if Eddie Vedder tracked me down to kick my ass. However, once I figured out what buttons to push (note: I don’t read tutorials), I tried again on Scorpions Rock you like a Hurricane and Pat Benetar’s Hit Me With Your Best Shot.
I did better, and better again. And, I was starting to have a LOT of fun.
I think I see the appeal of this game. It doesnt require a lot of investment of time, you play for as many songs as you want. There are no stats to keep track of, no characters to develop, no storyline to follow. Pick up your “axe” and rock out. It’s the perfect game implementation to anyone who played Air Guitar as a kid.
Face it, who didnt?
When I was done and exiting the demo, I caught a glimpse of a list of tracks that come with the full game. Smashing Pumpkins Cherub Rock caught my attention, and now I think I am doomed. That is one of the songs from my youth that entranced me with it’s guitar work. Now my mind is reeling with the possibilities. Tracks like Motly Crue’s Home Sweet Home, Metallica’s Unforgiven, or anything from Pearl Jam’s Ten album will make this a hard game to resist. If Lynard Skynard’s Freebird is anywhere on the track list, then I am buying it.
The fact this game is available for the Wii is also a plus. I see more potential with the Wii’s motion sense controller for this game than the other two platforms. Also, my Wii library is a little sparse, and this would be a good shot in the arm towards justifying my purchase of the console all those months ago.
All in all, I think it’s a forgone conclusion that I will eventualyl get this game. The demo was not deleted immediately (like most of the others) and here it is the next morning and I am still thinking about this game and the potential it has to eat up even more of my spare time.
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