Notes on a bunch of games I haven't finished yet

I do intend to go back to these games and finish them at some point - usually I don't let myself play a new game until a previous game is finished - and I only let myself buy a new game if I don't have any games that I haven't played yet.  But somehow the system broke down.

Anyhow.

Mercenaries:  The pandering to the player (take a rocket propelled grenade in the face and you live;  make sure to hide behind a rock and catch your breath, though, otherwise you might not be able to take a second one to the face) is perfect for what they're doing here.  The desturctible environment is unparalleled - if I was a younger man with more free time I might see if I could destroy every single building in the game.  Pave the earth...a little like back when I filled the ocean in Ultima II with ships...I completely lost count of the number of enemies I killed in this game so far but it must be over a thousand.

Resident Evil 4:  Finally, a Resident Evil that I can stand the controls of.  It's still unweildy;  you still drive your character a little like a truck;  but it fits in with the game.  The zombies are coming at you slowly, so the slow controls seem to harmonize.  And it has the continuous world and the RPG-lite shopping and this treasure-hunting side event...kind of neat.  One thing it's not, however, is scary.  You need Fatal Frame 2 or Eternal Darkness for that.  My kill count is over 400 so far.

Wik and The Fable of Lost Souls:  Discovered this thanks to the Gama postmortem that they published today.  Obviously, I'm partial to swinging as a gameplay mechanic.  So this is right up my street.  I think it may also be the best example of controlling a character in a 2d game with a mouse I've ever seen.  Also a good example of a small number of different elements creating a wide variety of interesting levels...interesting choices abound, all the time, hectically.  http://www.wikgame.com.  I forgot to count kills - I'm sure it's in the hundreds.  Enemies--in this case, bugs--are only one or two clicks to kill, and you can sometimes kill lots with one stroke, so I expect to push a thousand before I'm done.

Batman:  Vengeance:  Coming to this a little late.  (Four years late.)  Hey, it got mediocre reviews, so I figured...why bother?  It's actually not bad, so far.  I like the art direction and level design;  particularly the rooftops of Gotham.  Hope they have more of those.  Only beat a few dozen enemies so far.

Seems like I like everything, doesn't it?  Maybe I need to refine my tastes.

Comments

[Billy Zelsnack]

:Seems like I like everything, doesn't it? Maybe I need to refine my tastes.

I have such a bad attitude about everything else, but with games I often hear myself say..

It's really not as bad as everyone says. This, this, this, and this are good!

Here's my quite embarassing list of unfinished games that I want to finish (just from last year).. Doom3 (1/3), GTA3:SA (1/4), Halo2 (3/4), and HL2 (1/3).

[Obi Busta Nobi]

If you're playing "Batman: Vengence," then you should also try playing the new "The Incredibles" game by THQ. Their similair. It's not great, but it's very good at capturing the mood and feel of the movie from which the concepts came from. It's probably a "B - B+" game. I could do a whole review here, but I would be more interested if anyone who played any of the Spider-Man games and that played The Incredibles saw a HUGE similarity in combat moves (and animations?). Is it because some of this sort of stuff is generic, or is there a close similarity? Or, is it because all super heroes move the same?

Lots of times we play each others games and I'm sure on a subconscience level we "borrow" from one another. And, it might just be me. But the more I play superhero games the more I notice this subtlety.

I need to finish Knights of the Old Republic. Just got it for the PC (1/3). Sheesh! It can be long! :o) Great voice over and cutscenes though. I'm hoping to finish it and jump right into the sequel.

I also just picked up the latest Rachet and Klank game.

[Hamumu]

As an indie, it just KILLS me whenever I see things like this. Overwhelming evidence of just how deep deep underground we really are. Wik is one of the biggest indie games of the past year (I don't really like it myself, but it's very popular). And here's someone who isn't in the mainstream, but rather a part of a gamer subculture, who had never heard of it until it showed up on Gamasutra. That's not a jab at Jamie at all, but a really depressing image when the 'biggest' of indie games is completely unnoticed by people who are actually IN the game culture (and it's something I see across the board). What does that mean for my little efforts? Yeesh.

For those who do want to learn about what's up in indiedom, I recommend checking out www.gametunnel.com - I'm even a little mini-reviewer on there in the Monthly Roundup, which is a great article, gives quickie reviews of over a dozen games each month, so you get an idea of what's coming out. Indies and retail are so vastly separate, it's just a really weird disconnect. One that's bad for my business, no less!

[Hamumu]

and PS - http://hamumu.com !! The best indie games ever!!!!!!!!!!
Well, you know, IMHO and all that.
(not my actual opinion, but as a marketing guy, it's my opinion)