I haven't been posting recently, I've been pretty busy at work but for the last couple of days I been at home and I completely dedicated it too catching up on a few games I missed out on the first time around.
Saints row 2 was the first game, I did buy this as a day one release way back when it first came out but because I was still engrossed in GTA IV and at the time I felt like saints row was just a poor imitation. I couldn't have been more wrong, although both games share similar traits, open world "gangster" games with carjacking and combat mission's saints row doesn't take itself as serious as Rockstar's saga.
What inspired me too buy this again was my son , his unrelenting enthusiasm for the game means that he constantly plays on it whenever he gets the chance so I decided to jump in and play some co-op with him over Xbox Live.
Doing co-op missions is great but the bulk of the fun in this game comes from the players themselves, between missions we would literally just cruise around making trouble and doing stunts, at one point I had me on the ground taking out squads of police with a solid mixture of RPG and assault rifle, just as the pressure was getting up beyond what I could handle an attack helicopter appears over the crest of the nearby high rise and peppers the police squads with .50cal and missile fire. My son then landed the chopper and I jumped in and took control of the guns, our getaway was short lived however as my son decides to jump out of the copter as we pass over the hideout leaving plummeting towards the concrete jungle. A short parachute ride and base jump later and I'm safely back on terra firma miles from anywhere with only an extensive arsenal of weapons and a bunch of random pedestrians and vehicles to keep me entertained, can you guess what happened next? :P
One amazing thing about the game is that it doesn't place artificial constraints on the players distance from each other so literally the entire island is open for exploration missions and distraction mini games can be done in co-op or solo. So you and a friend can have a lot of fun teaming up or just chatting as you wreak havoc.
A great game, I think I will post a review later on tonight if I get time.
The second game I decide to play was Smackdown versus Raw 2009, I have shamelessly neglected the last few releases and the first thing I noticed when I loaded up this one was the complete lack of developments in the games engine since it first was released on the current gen.
In fact in many ways the game has taken two steps backwards the career mode which at one point was a highlight of the game has been toned down to a series of uneventful ladders which you simply score points in , score enough get a belt match win and move on to another belt. I remember when you started off fighting for your WWE contract and the story followed your rise through the ranks and subsequent shot at the title. You would have a storyline and make friends and enemies in the shows, which were presented just like its TV counterpart. It makes me sad that the series has gone stale.
As a final question can anyone recommend any older games I may have missed ? i welcome any suggestions.
edit
my reiveiw of saint row 2 is now online
http://uk.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/saintsrow2/player_review.html?id=709473
check it out if you get a chance