Allrighty then, today is the day that I've finally set aside Uncharted II and got back to business with COD MW II. That Uncharted game really stirred things up around here and I'm happy that I tried it and stuck with it. If you read back a few days you'll see that I had a very low opinion of that game initially. As it turned out I shouldn't have prejudged because it turned out to be a pretty good game and I highly recommend it to those FPS fans that are looking for something to mix it up a bit.

So this morning I ejected Uncharted and inserted Modern Warfare which is what I consider to be 'My Game'...'The Game'. It was quite obvious from the very first gunblast that I've gotten rusty even after only a week or so of not playing regularly. Even so, I was happy to be back in the saddle again and I'm guessing that I'll be back to my old mediocre self by nightfall. Something interesting I heard or read over the weekend though. I can't remember the source, I think it was here on Gamespot-one of the 'Hotspot' videos that made mention of Modern Warfare III is a very real possibility. They said that Infinity Ward wouldn't be involved this time though but instead some company named 'Sludgehammer' would be handling production of the game. Geez, I wish I could remember more details and I'll have to go back and find it but they said that 'Sludgehammer' had created the game 'Dead Zone' or 'Dead Souls'. Dead....something or Something Dead. Anyhow, when I heard the name, it sounded familiar but like I said I'll have to go back and find out. Kind of exciting news and I'd like to see that game from another team's perspective as long as, you know, they get the basics right. I'd hate to wait for a year or more for a game that I think I'm going to love only to get it and it's total crap. Let's just hope that what I heard is more than a rumor and if so, the people that create the game give it the attention that it deserves.;)

Ok, so it's finally happened....the possibility exists that I may have judged something unfairly. I'm speaking of the last couple of blog posts regarding the lastest efforts from the crew at Naughty Dog. I probably should have waited until I finished playing the game before passing judgement but because it received such a high rating here on Gamespot I was expecting something close to sensory overload when I played it. And as I stated earlier it just didn't hit that way. In my initial eval of the game I explained how the game just seemed very lackluster and resembled something slightly more than an interactive movie and a mediocre one at that.

Fast forward three days and about twenty-five more hours of playing time....I just completed the whole game and it occurred to me at about midway through the game that it was actually a lot of fun. It just took me a while to get my head out of the mode it was in after playing a marathon "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" session that lasted about a week. I mean the difference between the two games is so vast that there really isn't any point of comparison. There was literally less than ten minutes between the end of the COD marathon and replacing it with Uncharted 2. To make matters worse I had watched a couple of Uncharted cut scenes and they full of action, FPS type and I was really hungry for that kind of action right off the bat. Unfortunately the game didn't really take off until AFTER I had posted my first blog entry about how disappointing I thought it was.

So, in the end, I found most aspects of Uncharted quite fulfilling and very satisfying. From the detailed graphics to the very interesting, almost gripping storyline. I don't think I've enjoyed a story like this since playing Metal Gear Solid years ago. Although MGS is a different type of game than Uncharted they kind of had the same feel when it came to bringing and involving you into the story. I have to admit it was different from what I was used to and it took a bit of time to wrap my head around it but once I did I couldn't set the controller down. I'll even go as far as to say that this is the best game I've ever played in terms of playing a story if 'playing a story' is the correct phrase. And with that I humbly apologize to Naughty Dog and the critics that rated the game as highly as they did. I'm still not ready to concede a rating as 9.5 however I'm definitely coming off my original rating of 6.0 and adjusting it upward to an 8.5.

Finally, and I hate to have to admit this, but I've yet to play the multi-player or co-op mode which I plan to do as soon as I close out this post. There's a chance that I might have to change that rating just one more time if it turns out that those modes are something special. With that said, I will make a promise to myself and the readers of this blog and that promise will be to play the game to it's completion before passing judgement again. Because I failed to dothat in this case I've ended up posting three separate blog entries and one pretty unfair review all about Uncharted. I'm sorry for wasting so much time on the same subject but, like I said above, being wrong once in a lifetime has happened. Till next time........

:question:Ok today I piled a couple of things on my plate that I've been eagerly waiting to do. The first is to delve into what I already reveiwed yesterday on my Gamespot Review section which is Uncharted II and the other was to jump online to play the beta version of MAG. I'll start with Mag which by the way I only played online for maybe twenty minutes just to get a taste of what I was in for and I have to say that it's looking pretty freakin' awesome. It smacks a lot of COD which is probably my favorite game in my favorite genre. The thing that intrigues me about MAG is that it is capable of processing over 240 players at a time in a single online match. How great is that going to be? Now the question is, are we going to be able to interact with one another at the same time or are they going to have individual squads sectored off from one another? If the latter is the case then I don't see that as any great feat. I mean Insomniac's Resistance franchise has already 'been there, done that' and although it's a pretty cool accomplishment from a technical standpoint, it doesn't really change the game all that much. That aside, from the little bit of time that I played I was immediately struck by the fluid motion of the soldiers and the intutiveness of the control interface. Everything is where your fingers expect it to be. Now I don't know if that's because my brain is pre-programmed from COD, RESISTANCE or KILLZONE II and they just kept the buttons in the same place or if they actually researched the placement of each button and where the populus goes to fire their weapon but, in the end, it doesn't really matter'cause it works. I'm holding back on any judgement until I've logged twenty or thirty playing hours but so far I think we've got a winner.

Now back to UNCHARTED II. As I mentioned, I published my review a bit prematurely last evening after playing about six hours worth of the game. It received, in my humble opinion, an unrealistic 9.5 from the critics and I think an even higher 9.6 from the cumulative member population. When I saw that rare rating I figured it had to be a great game and hauled but to my local Blockbuster to rent it. Having brought it home, popped it into my Playstation and firing it up I was pretty disappointed and felt as though I'd been duped by the game-playing masses. I was thinking to myself "how in the heck did this game garner such a strong rating?" I mean, to me, it seemed like nothing more that a mediocre interactive movie loaded with interuptions along the way in order to explain the storyline which also was just mediocre. Then it occurred to me that perhaps I was being unduly harsh and hadn't given it enough playing time. Well, twelve hours more into the game and very little has changed. The only thing that I can come up with as to why it got such high marks is because I'm just not a read-me-a-story type game player. And I guess I'm also just not that into the action/adventure genre. So taking a step back and re-assessing things, putting myself in the shoes of someone who IS into action/adventure gaming and asking myself "Is this a great game?" I still have to answer with an 'ennhh'. If that's the way I'm going then I still stay the game doesn't deserve an almost perfect score. And once again I will hedge a little here and continue to play today to see if my perspective will change. I also haven't played the cooperative or multi-player mode which has been rated quite well. All of these comments aside I will say that the game has improved since I reviewed it last evening. I'm saying that had I waited till this moring to review it I would have given it a more positive reflection but it still wouldn't be near perfect. I'm thinking somewhere in the 7.7-8.0 range at best. So let's give her some more time here and see what floats. Till next time.............

:evil: Having a blast with this game. Although it started out of curiousity after reading/watching Gamespot's Game of The Year info, I'm really glad I gave it a chance. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, it isn't on the same level as COD but the more I play it the more I've come to respect Gamespot's decision to include it as one of the top games for '09. I'm currently on the seventh mission in campaign mode and even in 'recruit' mode it's still quite challenging. I've got two more missions to go before I finish and I'm already looking forward to another run-through at a more competitive level.

Yesterday I spent a few hours in online multi-player mode and that was a good time as well. One of the things that I noticed immediately was the level of competitive play from the other challengers. No where near as brutal as those that I encounter online with COD or Insomniacs all time great game "Resistance:Fall of Man" and "Resistance II". It's like night and day regarding the caliber and skill level of players between Killzone and the other two games I just mentioned. Their reaction time is what seems to be about three quarter speed which also makes it a good time. I say that because I'm definitely not the fastest gun in the west and sometimes the intensity to which COD and or Resistance is played compared to KILLZONE II is vastly different and I enjoy the downgrade a bit. It allows you a lot more reaction time before getting fried and that time allows you to relax a little and enjoy the 'atmosphere'. You have time to look around and perhaps even develop a short term strategy for upcoming encounters. So, yeah, I have to say that while some guys might see the lessened abilities of online players as a drawback, I see it as a plus. In fact the whole reason that I spend more time playing in campaign mode is because of the level of control I have over my gaming experience. It's not that I mind getting shot up so much as I hate playing against groups of people that are so into the experience and live by the "take no prisoners" or "no compromise" dogmathat kind of sucks all the fun out of the experience. I like that the game developers have taken that into consideration by grouping less experienced players to compete against one another in online multiplayer. What I mean is that when the game is staging and you are in the lobby waiting for the game to start (at least this happens in COD and RESISTANCE) and you can see the computer forming the teams with supposedly many of the same rank so that both teams are equal on both sides, I think that's a great concept. The thing is, even though the computer is supposed to make both teams as even as possible in regards to individual experience or rank, it fails miserabley. Right now in COD I'm a mid-level sergeant and in EVERY game I'm teamed up with mostly top players. Players who are, for lack of a better term, super generals to the tenth power. I mean it's obvious that these guys are going to eat my lunch before the game even starts and even though I like a good fight, I'd at least like to have a chance. I guess in a way that system helps me improve my game but while doing so, I'm not having a whole lot of fun and isn't that what the gaming experience is supposed to be all about. Oh well, enough of my whining.

On the bright side of things, as soon as I finish this post I'm going back to kill me some more Hellghast and then later on I'm going to refer to Gamespots year end ratings and see if I can't find me another great game to experience tonight. Man I DO love this age that we live in.

:P All riiiight! The Call of Duty Modern Warfare II marathon is in full swing in our house. Much to my son's pleasure, Santa dropped off a nice sized LCD monitor so that his gaming vision is now crystal clear. The detail that this screen allows for the graphics is unparalleled.I am blown away by the clarity and eagerly await his return to school so that Dad (me) will have some time on it. I guess I should be promoting other activities besides video games but the boy is really enjoying himself and I know there isn't anything he'd rather be doing right now. As far as me, well I'm a big video gamer myself and I really like MW II however, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I decided to take a break and try something new. Recently I took a ride over to my local game rental store and pulled KILLZONE II off the shelf. Although I've reviewed it here on Gamespot and gave it an overall rating of 7.5 it still has some pretty great aspects to it. In fact as I was playing campaign mode last night and a little past the half-way point I've been engaged in some pretty cool battles. Those dudes with the glowing red eyes actually put up a pretty interesting fight. And one of the bright spots on the game is those red eyed dudes AI. I mean for the most part you would think that a live person was controlling them. The way that they hide, the way that they react to suppressive fire, the way that they sneak up on you and the ways that they rush you when you least expect them to is all too real...in fact it's down right creepy. The only thing that detracts from the AI reality is that there as some spots were the soldiers continually re-spawn and as we all know, that just doesn't happen in an actual battle situation. Oh well, whatcha gonna do? Keep on fighting I guess. I'm figuring that I'll be wrapping up campaign mode in the next day or so and then onto online multiplayer which, according to the Gamespot year end ratings, is pretty good. Can't wait. And the 2009 Christmas Vacation Marathon continues in this house. Happy New Year!

To me winter is a great time of year. Aside from the major holidays and the fact that sweaters help to hide my ever growing belly it's also the perfect season for gaming. Not that summer is a bad time to play video games its just that in the summertime, there's so many other things that a person has available in the way of activities. And if you grew up in a household like I did you were taught to believe that sitting inside on a beautiful day was shameful. "Get out of the house" my mother used to say "Go out and get some fresh air". Of course back then she was shooing me away from the television as video games weren't really an option. Never the less, if video games had been available back then I guarantee you that I would've been one of those guys planted in front of the TV playing the summer away. Anyways, back to the season at hand, winter. Winter is tailor made for gaming...well, it is for a guy like me anyhow. I mean, I guess I could be out chasing powder on my skis or snowmobiling or ice skating but in this case no one is going to judge me for not doing those things and, in fact, video gaming has become so mainstream these days that choosing to do this instead of the other is actually the popular thing to do and boy am I glad.

Absolute guilt free fun for the next four months....well, three months for sure. And to make it even better, my son has become of the age where its something we can share. Not that he and I both haven't enjoyed gaming for years now, it's just that he's at an age where we actually enjoy the same games and this gives us some common ground for conversation. That alone is worth the price of admission. I can't tell you how many people I know that tell me how difficult it is to engage their kids in conversation of any quality. Now I know some folks out there might argue the quality of conversation related to the virtual world however our conversations segue in some pretty heady stuff and it's pretty much non-stop and interesting. Add all of these things together and I'm hard pressed to come up with a satisfying activity....and that goes for any season. It just so happens that winter is, in my humble opinion, the best season for it. Oh, and did I mention how the companies that produce video games like to release their games during the most magical time of year as well? That's right, I mean what better time to sell games than Christmas? And in what season does Christmas fall...? Wait, let me think....

12/18/2004

Finished MGS/SE on 12/14/04. I enjoyed most of it however towards the end I was pretty much fed up with the cut scenes. There were times when I actually set the controller down for periods of up to fifteen minutes or more. I liked the hunt and felt that the animation was a touch above average but over all it just wasn''t worth waitng each time the game had a story to tell. All in all I'd rate it about a six point five. I started my foray into "Shell Shock-Nam 67" after setting it down about a month ago. The one thing I'm grateful for regarding Snake Eater is that it is the first game that I have played all the way through. Up until then I was of the mind that some of these games were unbeatalbe unless you were some kind of a freak. So having completed a video game I felt ready for a new challange and Shell Shock was calling my name. To date I've successfully reached the forth mission and I'm enjoying it. I've been tempted to slide over to GTA/San Andreas but I've held steady with Shell Shock. I'm really trying to stay focused on completion of this game before I move on to another.