I finally handed out a 10. Grand Theft Auto IV got the first one I've ever given out. I always said that it would take an unbelievable game to get a 10 out of me and GTA IV fits the bill. The review is up and posted.
In other news, I've (at least temporarily) cured my gaming ADD. I popped in BioShock (at several people's suggestion) and I haven't stopped yet. I'm thoroughly enjoying this one. The setting is awesome and the controls just feel right. To all that suggested BioShock...THANK YOU!
I finished off Condemned: Criminal Origins (X360) last night. I heartily recommend this one. It's atmospheric as hell and just an awesome game overall, especially for a launch title. I'm going to pick up Condemned 2 soon.
That said, I'm WAY behind on my reviews. I've finished Madden NFL '06, NBA 2K6, the entire single-player adventure on GTA IV and Condemned since I've written a review. Granted, the only functional computer I've got at home shuts down after about ten minutes and I've been trying to curtail my online goofing-off at work at least until I get a handle on how the new boss is going to run the show. I've actually debated writing them out on a sheet of paper (or two) and then typing them up during a spare moment here at work. Either way, I'm going to try to get them up soon (because I know how much you all enjoy them! :P)
Now, the dilemma is trying to decide what to play next. As usual, I've got Guitar Hero II and III and Rock Band sitting out because they're great for a quick hit when I go home for lunch. But after I finished Condemned, I had to actually sit there and think of what to play next. It's become a spaghetti test for me. I've fired up a bunch of games and I'm seeing which ones stick. I've tossed Dead Rising and Ridge Racer 6 in the box and while they're definitely going to be played through at some point, I'm not sure they're what they're what I'm looking for right now. I'll probably fire up Bioshock after I finish off my lefty career in Guitar Hero III tonight...maybe that will be what I'm looking for.
By the way, if anyone is looking for a co-op partner for Guitar Hero III, hit me up. I'm solid up to medium and I'm getting ready to start playing on hard on both II and III, just to get the practice.
That's about all for now...have a good weekend, kids!
Sometimes it's a good idea to say "yes". A couple weeks ago I helped a friend (and my former boss) move for the third time in approximately two years. Her younger brother has been my best friend since we were about seven, so I was basically helping a member of the family. Imagine my surprise when, upon returning to work from my lunch hour, I found a thank you card with a $100 gift card to Best Buy in it. I bought the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero III, the Kiss faceplate for the guitar, and the rechargeable battery pack. Here's my snazzy new guitar...
Then, I went across the street to Circuit City to see what they had. I didn't find anything special game-wise, but I did find these:
They're adhesive foam rubber pads to put over your Rock Band drums. They deaden that annoying "pop" sound and improve stick rebound. They seem to work quite well, but I'm a little worried about what kind of glue-y mess they'll leave if they fall off. If you're interested, I paid about $20 for them.
This is going to be a long one...it was a busy weekend. Where to begin?
I completed Grand Theft Auto IV 100% Sunday afternoon. It is an epic game that totally lived up to its hype. After I got done with that, I jumped online for some multiplayer, trying to gauge how hard it would be to get the "20 pistol kills" achievement. I played one ten-minute deathmatch and got 13 kills, finishing in third place. If I find myself in a longer match, it shouldn't be too hard to pick up. Incidentally, the first person I killed gave me the "Let Sleeping Rockstars Lie" achievement, confirming what I had already suspected: that the achievement is indeed viral. At any rate, I'm burning through the single player game one more time to get the "30 hours" achievement and will be spending more and more time on the multiplayer aspect of it. A review will be up soon.
Once I finished with that, I decided to play some Madden NFL '06. I used to be a Madden fanatic back in the day, but got out of the habit once I started getting into different game genres. At any rate, since I decided I must obtain and play all the launch titles for the 360, I've gotten back into Madden on a small scale. I've found that it's kind of like riding a bike...you never forget how to play. I'm playing through a season for the hell of it and have yet to give up a point in six games.
I soon got bored with that and popped in NBA 2K6 (another one of those launch games). Here's where things got a bit odd. I had never played a 2K Sports game period, so I gimped the settings until I could get used to the controls. I played about a quarter and a half and then got interrupted and had to stop. When I quit the game, four of the five achievements unlocked...needless to say, I was a bit surprised. Not only had I not actually finished the game, but I hadn't even qualified for them. The only thing I can gather is that maybe they're prorated...or just glitchy. I did go back and pick up a legit triple-double to get the last achievement. The final verdict? Half an hour of playtime, five achievements, 1,000 gamerscore points. What a waste of five bucks.
After that disappointment, I popped in Viva Pinata, which had been what I was playing before GTA IV's release and subsequent hostile takeover of my gaming time. When I stopped, I had 49 of 50 achievements for 980 points. Ten minutes after starting again, I had the last achievement. I'm going to continue until I've maxed out all the pinatas in the game (I just got the chippopotamus, the last one I hadn't seen yet, to appear), but I'm more or less finished with it.
On to the other part of my weekend. A new GameStop recently opened up in my town. I was pretty excited about that because, although GameStop has a hit-or-miss reputation, it gives me a choice within fifty miles besides Wal-Mart. After three trips, it would unfortunately appear that this store is going to be one of the bad ones...for several reasons.
The first trip I made out there was relatively uneventful, although I did happen to overhear one of the worker bees do everything she could think of to get someone to subscribe to Game Informer and get an Edge Card. It was mildly annoying, but her utter lack of success amused me. One of the things that annoys me about any GameStop is their pushiness when it comes to things like the Edge Card and preorders. I understand that word comes from the corporate office to do so, but it honestly turns some people off. But that's not the big problem here.
I'm not too sure about the hiring policies of GameStop or whether they differ from region to region, but my two most recent forays to the new store have given me the impression that neither gaming knowledge nor customer service ability are part of the criteria. For example...
The second time I stopped in, a guy that I could only assume was a manager made me and several others stand in line while one guy tried to ring us all up. Now, there are at least two registers there, so he was just being lazy. I honestly wouldn't have noticed had he not actually announced that he did not feel like dealing with it.
I walked in there the other day to poke around and overheard the trendily-mopped sales associates expound some of the following nuggets of wisdom:
-Whenever a big name sequel nears release (such as the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4), the previous editions of the series go up in price. Whether this is true or not, I don't know. But if it is, it's a dumb policy and probably not something an employee should be announcing to the general public. I've worked in retail before and there are certain things you don't tell the unsuspecting customer...this seems to be one of them.
-Another guy was trying so hard to sell Rock Band to someone that he said, and I quote, "It has bass now, so it comes with two guitars." and "Rock Band and Guitar Hero III are made by the same company." It was all I could do not to jump in. Luckily, the customer read the box, noticed that there was only one guitar included, and called the doofus on it. After hemming and hawing a bit and eventually conceding that he was wrong, he then tried to claim that he'd played it (which would seem to be another lie because I would think that if you had in fact played Rock Band, you would know that it only had one guitar and a second one would have to be purchased separately).
At this point, I'd had all the stupidity I could reasonably stand and walked out without purchasing anything. I would love to see this store succeed. My town literally has nothing other than a Wal-Mart and a couple pawn shops for game shopping. But unfortunately, it would appear that you don't have to know a damn thing about video games in order to work there, but you DO have to look like a lost member of The Strokes. I know a ton of kids who are eminently more qualified to work there and would do a great job. But of the ones I know that applied, ONE got an interview and he said they seemed pretty bored by the whole thing.
I understand that they're trying to make sales (and in some cases, their jobs may depend upon it), but they're going to sell more by knowing about what they're trying to get you to buy instead of feeding you any line they think you want to hear. I'm afraid that this store is going to be run into the ground by mass stupidity before it really has a chance to take off.
Before I even get started, this is not an "I'm leaving GameSpot because of the way they do this or that" post. It's just a quick line to let people know (specifically those who are already members of the site) that I've started a membership at gametrailers.com. This is in no way an indictment of GameSpot, CNet or anyone even remotely associated with them...merely a change of pace. My reviews will be posted in both places and I will continue to spend the largest amount of my time here. At any rate, my name over there is jollyroger3251.
I squeezed the last two achievements out of Uno yesterday. That's my first Live Arcade game with 200/200 points. The review should be up tomorrow.
I've already posted this for my CCU buddies, but I thought I'd share this with everyone...
If you've got a Gmail account, you know that when you open a message there are advertisements that pertain to keywords that get picked out of it. After exchanging an email or two regarding Viva Pinata, I came across this little nugget:
At first I thought it might be a joke, but who'd spend the money to advertise a farce on Google? I've decided that the guy's daughter is naturally wired for survival of the fittest and instinctively knows that her father is a sniveling idiot...she was trying to take him out.
Read through it, laugh along with me...especially when the guy compares Viva Pinata to GTA.
You will notice a few links at the top of my blog now. They're links to my collection, wish list, and the games I've completed. Unfortunately, my html skills are pretty weak, so I don't know how to set them up to load in a different window or tab. At any rate, the titles are always there and never go missing like they do here from time to time. Plus, they're a little easier to get to.
***EDIT***
The links will no longer remove you from GameSpot. They will open in a new tab. Thank you, hart704...I bow to your superior html skills!
Wow, I feel almost guilty taking the achievement points for that game. It's definitely one of the easiest games I've played in a long time. That said, it wasn't the awful train wreck I expected it to be. Review will be up later.
***EDIT***
Review's written. It'll be up whenever GameSpot gets around to posting it.
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