Well, that last entry certainly seemed to get some attention. Most of the respondents seemed to miss the fact that I wasn't calling for an end to Achievement Points, only better implementation, but at least it got people talking, right? Anyway, I've packed my editorial pen away for a while so I can throw out some quick thoughts and introduce a new feature.

I've never considered myself a graphics whore, but playing several 360 games and then deciding to try Bully really made how ugly that game is stand out. I had to skip the later bikes and stick with the slower ones, because the frame rate and camera tracking are so bad at higher speeds that I began to feel nauseous.

I then moved on to a game that was at one point known for its graphics: Doom III. I got as far as one of the Alpha labs, and I'm having a really hard time finding the interest to continue. People complain about Halo's environments looking the same, but Doom III's alcove-ridden industrial hallways make them seem like the winning entrants of a Completely Dissimilar contest. OK, so that didn't make much sense, but I basically mean that Doom III's maps are incredibly tedious. I honestly don't know if I'll finish playing through this one.

As a diversion from the tedium of Mars City, I opened my copy of DOA4. Wow, the game is pretty! All the seismic activity that goes on for ten minutes after one of the characters make a sudden movement--like a blink--is hypnotic. The stages are detailed and in some cases quite elaborate. The gameplay, however, feels terrible to me. True, I've never taken the time to get a good handle on any of the DOA games, but it doesn't look like this is going to be an exception. To me the game (what admittedly little I experienced, at least) seemed basically like that hand-slapping game that tests reaction time with a truckload of cheesecake dumped on it. Maybe I'll try this one again sometime and see if I can get into it.

As for the feature, its an idea I've been toying with for a while now, of reviewing a game based solely on whether I feel ripped off or not for buying it. The next entry will serve as an introduction to the series, and has to be a separate entry so that I can link it in each of the reviews so people will be able to tell what the review criteria are. Stay tuned!