X-Boxocalypse

Well, I think my painting productivity just took a solid kick to the privates. It's true, where I'm not the most avid (or hard core) video gamer, I do enjoy some laid back button mashing from time to time. I've had a PS2 for pretty much forever, and I've played some great games on it, but it was beginning to show it's age. Frankly, in the end, all it had become was a glorified Guitar Hero machine. So it had come down to either getting the next installment, GH3, or maybe even get a hand held PSP, which is awesome. All said and done though, I opted for the good ole 360, and I'm pretty happy with it. Last year I played a LOT of it up in New York with my buddy Marc, we even beat Ultimate Alliance and Gears of War while we were at it, I kinda knew I wanted one then, it's just taken me this long (about a year) to save up for one.


The system I got was a pretty modest one, it wasn't baseline, but then again it wasn't the super deluxe pro-model thingie either. The main draw was that it came with two games already, and both are fairly well regarded, they aren't chump games whatsoever.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance: As I've said, I've already beat this game, but it was a quick run through. We didn't unlock half the heroes available, nor did we unlock all the special moves, costumes, and special moves of those heroes we did use. It's a great game, a beautifully rendered button masher beer-drinkin' supreme kind of game. Think of it as a Gauntlet remake, but with Marvel supers!

Forza 2: Well, I must say I'm rather "meh" on this one, racing games are not my thing. But, this one comes highly rated in the video game world, which normally I ignore ratings and stuff, but when it comes to video game reviews, I've found they're much more reliable. One neat thing I've heard about this game is that you can load up your own music that will play while you drive. It'd be fun to tear it up to some Rush while I'm playing I guess.

Bioshock: Speaking of highly rated games, this one comes with much fanfare. I admit, I bought it pretty much due to all the hype and little else. The screen shots look fantastic, and other than the fact that it's really nothing more than "just another shooter" I've heard very little complained about. Plus, I had some trade credit, woohoo.

Dead Rising: While I'm not the biggest Zombiephile around, I do love me some senseless slaughter. Dead Rising offers that...in spades. You're a dude, stuck in a mall...full of the walking dead. What's not to love? Anything and everything is fair game when it comes to whacking the undead; golf clubs, potted plants, benches, night sticks, even stuff from the toy store. A note of sadness though, this is where it's all too apparent that my ancient television can't hold it's ground with a next-gen game system. My tv is so blurry that I can't read any of the dialog lines when they come up during the game. Some janitor guy keeps calling me on the walkie-talkie to go rescue somebody or something, and since I can't read it, I don't know what to do. Ten minutes later as I'm runing through the mall, a big "mission failed" pops up on the screen. What freakin' mission?

Halo 3: Saving the best for last? Yeah, maybe so. This game rocks, pure and simple. I'm sure there's a nation full of twelve year olds ready to kick my butt in online play, but still, on my speed, hanging out on the couch, it's a blast. My brother-in-law got his system and this game about a month ago, and that's really what got me hooked again. It's also why I picked up my first controller, well before I even had a system. The game plays fast and fun, with lots of variety and it's really open-ended in terms of where you go or what you want to use. The campaign storyline is all sci-fi goodness and the environments are just gorgeous. Endless deathmatch after deathmatch on little maps is okay, but just okay. This game really shines in campaign mode.