pwning games
I finished two games this weekend. I wanted to make it three but King Kong is actually much longer than I thought it was. Might finish that one tomorrow.
I had to cheat to finish Breakdown on Xbox. I haven't cheated in a game for ages but I was at my wits end on this one. Not only because the game is so awesome and I really wanted to see how it ended (which was totally worth it) but because they throw you at a gauntlet where the first wave and the last wave are damned near impossible. So if by some happenstance you manage to beat the first wave, you trudge through three more just to be utterly destroyed by the fifth. So run out and buy Breakdown for a whopping $10, if that, and enjoy simply one of the most cinematic video game experiences ever. Just make sure you play it through on easy that first time. There's no turning back when you realize you'll never finish it because it's gotten way too hard.
I got Advent Rising on Xbox for no more than $12, shipped and brand new. I thought it sounded like a winner when it was being heavily previewed. Then Microsoft dropped out as publisher. Majesco picked up but that's one hell of a red flag. It came out, got very mixed reviews, and I decided to let it drop to bargain prices before picking it up. Well I got on Thursday and beat it yesterday, on Saturday. And I spent all night Friday sleeping. It basically provided about 5-6 hours of gameplay. That's short, by anyone's standard. It's also the first part of a trilogy in a series that's been aborted due to poor sales. It ends on a cliffhanger and the sequels will never see the light of day. It is, however, fun as hell. And it's pretty much beautiful and the story is somewhat compelling if a little hackneyed. But the biggest showstopper here is the bugs. I got stuck in the level geometry more than once. The game on a whole locked up at least five times during the short time it took to finish it. The whole game feels like it's a beta really, which is awful. With a healthy dose of polish, this could've been an awesome game and an awesome series. As it stands though, I think I got just about what I paid for. The price of a movie and snacks for six hours (at most) of enjoyment with a couple bugs.
I'll probably finish King Kong tomorrow. Don't know where I'll go from there but I have no lack of games that I haven't finished.