Now Playing

It's time again to filled you in on what I've been playing.

Tabula Rasa (PC)
As was probably clear from my review, I've really been enjoying this MMO. The aesthetics, which I had criticized, got more interesting when I finally got off-planet. It's still nowhere near as consistently inspired as WoW, but it's a bit better. I'm very close to the next class split, which will mean that I can finally get my flamethrower. Believe me, I am stoked to flame some fools, but even if it's not as awesome as it is in my head I can always flip over to one of my clones and experiment with a different class branch. The game has gotten a little more grindy as I've approached level 30, but it still moves along way faster than any other MMO.

There was a bit of news a month ago that NCSoft would be making a console MMO. And I think that there's a good chance that could be a port of Tabula Rasa. I've never played an MMO so apt for console play; the interface would be a no brainer to map to a controller. It's true that there are other challenges in bringing an online persistent game to the consoles, but most people write off the possibility of a console MMO because of the interface, and Tabula Rasa wouldn't have that problem.

Lord of the Rings Online (PC)
Actually, I'm not playing LotRO. I officially canceled my subscription last week. LotRO was always a bit on the slow side, but after playing Tabula Rasa I just couldn't handle it. I couldn't even power through one more level to make a clean 40. So I decided to call it quits. I'm not sure if the recently announced expansion will be enough to lure me back. I totally want to explore Moria, but I don't know if that'll be enough. I've already written about what I think is wrong with the game, but don't be surprised if you see more posts as I examine it further, even if I'm no longer playing it.

Rock Band (Xbox360)
It's amazing that I haven't posted a review of Rock Band yet. But I usually only write about a game when I'm done with it… and I'm still playing a ton of Rock Band after all these months. The weekly DLC has definitely help keep it fresh. With so many tracks and so many ways to perform them, this game ain't going anywhere anytime soon. But yes, I will get off my duff and post a proper review.

Smash Bros Brawl (Wii)
I played the crap out of Smash Bros Melee on the Gamecube, which firmly planted Brawl as one of my most anticipated Wii titles. It hasn't disappointed me yet. That's not to say that it's exceeded any expectations - it's met them precisely. Basically it's exactly like Melee except with a couple more small features. It's more of the same, so if you loved Melee you'll love Brawl.

DS
I haven't used my DS in months. When work was crazy I got into the habit of working on my laptop on the bus instead of playing. Unfortunately the habit stayed even after things calmed down. I'll probably have to pick up something like Phantom Hourglass to get my motivated again, because Portrait of Ruin wasn't cutting it.

Pile of Shame
Here are the games that somehow got pushed to the side and I haven't given the attention they deserve:

• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
• Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
• Resident Evil 4 (Wii)

There was certainly a long period of there being no high quality Wii titles. But it seems that when they finally did come out I wasn't ready for them.

Review Backlog
Given the large list of AAA titles from last fall, I'm a little behind on my reviews. Here's the list of games that are pending a write-up:

• The Orange Box (Xbox360)
• Rock Band (Xbox360)
• BioShock (Xbox360)
• Beautiful Katamari (Xbox360)
• My Sims (Wii)
• John Woo Presents Stranglehold (Xbox360)
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Xbox360)

Now Playing

The Orange Box (Xbox 360)
I've already pumped a ton of time into The Orange Box and I still feel like I've barely scratched the surface. I started out with Portal, which is a little slice of gaming perfection. I then moved on to play Half-Life 2 for my third time (yes, it's that good), but for my first time on a console and my first time with achievements (Ravenholm with only the gravity gun = good times). I've only cracked open Team Fortress 2 for one round but it was a total blast. I'm big supporter of renting these days, but really no one with a 360 should be without The Orange Box.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360)
More of a good thing is still a good thing, and with Guitar Hero all I really need are more songs. Thankfully Guitar Hero III delivers a quality set list. Sure they've added multiplayer and that crazy battle thing, but that's not really what'll sustain me. I'm looking to Rock Band to evolve the experience, but in the meantime I'm content with more of the same from GH3.

Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
Really, who hasn't been playing Halo 3? As awesome as Halo's multiplayer is, I'm a member of the "singleplayer first" crowd, so right out of the gate I holed to play through the Chief's latest rumble in the jungle. I was not disappointed, as that Halo's level design seems to have caught up with the excellent gameplay. I've been squeezing in some multiplayer as well whenever I've had the opportunity, but there are so many games on my plate right now that it's hard to justify prioritizing another round of Slayer over other games. There's no rush, because we all know that Halo 3 multiplayer will be rocking until the End of Time.

Lord of the Rings Online (PC)
I spoke awhile ago about potentially putting down WoW and trying out LotRO. But I never proceeded to mention that I actually followed through. You heard me - I successfully broke free of WoW. You could say that I didn't quit, I just changed cigarette brands; but I haven't really been playing LotRO much at all, so it's more like switching to a nicotine patch instead. Don't get me wrong - LotRO is a very capable MMO and has a leg up on WoW in some ways. I like that they planned for varying group sizes (and even have solo instances). I like the ongoing epic quests. I love those moments when you connect to the book (like getting lost in the Old Forest, or climbing Weathertop). I love the deed system (i.e. MMO achievements). But although the game is technically more powerful it ends up feeling rough around the edges. The UI is unintuitive and clunky in a lot of places, and the art direction overall just isn't as good. It's still fun, but I have a hard time deciding if I'm not playing much because of some flaw or if I'm just burned out on MMOs in general.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
I'd probably be raving about Metroid all over the place right now if there weren't so many other great games also keeping me busy. Halo and the Orange Box came along and totally derailed my ongoing Metroid campaign. I'm hoping to get back to it now that I have some more free time, because what I've played so far has been great. The control scheme works really well, the action is great, and the environments are gorgeous. What more can you ask for from a Metroid title?

Guitar Hero 2: Rocks the 80's (PS2)
I think this one's destined to gather some dust for awhile given that GH3 is commanding my attention right now. But as a rental or a budget title Rocks the 80's is better than the bad press it got. There are some fun songs in there, just don't pay full price for this one.

Puzzle Quest (Xbox 360)
I heard that the DS version of this game wasn't quite as good as the widescreen version on the PSP, so I decided to wait until it hit Xbox Live Arcade so I could try the trial for free. Little did I know what I was missing all these months. Puzzle Quest is freaking brilliant. It takes the short term game from a puzzle game like Bejeweled and combines it with the long term structure of your average RPG. The result is an RPG that is fun all of the time, not just in the abstract. RPG elements have been tacked onto many other genres before in order to give them longer appeal, but this particular blend comes off really well.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)
Taking a little vacation a couple of weeks ago gave me enough plane time to sit down with the latest Castlevania. I've had a hard time getting into it because it is so similar to its predecessor. More of the same gameplay wise isn't necessarily a bad thing, but recycled art sure is. You don't want people to feel like they're playing the exact same game. And that's what it feels like, except the characters and script are even more obnoxious. But hey, you gotta pass time on the bus somehow.

Final Fantasy VI (GBA)
I've had some frustration with the modern RPG lately, so I just had to go back and play one of the classics to cleanse my palate. I'm still a little burned out after WoW, and I've had to whore out my bus time to work for the past couple months, so I've been proceeding slowly. But FF6 really is as charming as ever.

Now Playing

GameSpy has a periodic article that they do called What We're Playing where all the staff weighs in on what games they're playing (aptly named, yes). I find it interesting because comparing all their lists can give you an idea of what games have broad and/or lasting value. But it's also nice because you get little two sentence impressions without the pressure of a full preview or review. And as I continue this blog I'm seeing the value in that from their end. I try to complete every game I come across and have something interesting to say, but sometimes the journey to get there is so long that it's worth throwing in offhand comments along the way.

Guitar Hero II (360): It's hard to say how much I love this game. Currently I'm working on 5-starring Hard and scraping by in Expert (currently in tier 6). Both of which are totally owning me, so I don't know if I'm gonna make it, but it's still fun anyway. Seriously, if you have a 360, get this game.

Command & Conquer 3 (PC): I'm towards the end of the GDI campaign. The game totally brings together the classic C&C setting with streamlined gameplay from Generals. However it does seem like I can always succeed by just turtling and then building the uber army (no unit caps FTW?).

Final Fantasy V Advance (GBA): Holy crap old school RPGs are long; I've been playing this one pretty solid during my commute for months. But at least the job system is interesting, making me feel like I'm not grinding the whole time. After killing lots of time getting uber job combos and all the legendary weapons I'm finally enroute to the final boss.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC): I'm actually approaching my criteria for being "done" with the game. I've completed every soloable quest in Outland and most of the group quests, leaving me for a relatively small quest log. It's actually kinda annoying because there's no longer a point for me to play at any time other than in a group. The stuff coming in the next patch looks interesting, but outside of that I may end up putting this game down for awhile after a couple weekends more.

Twilight Princes (Wii): Haven't got back to this for a couple weeks because of other games. I've only finished the first dungeon so I've got a lot ahead of me. I'm not yet sold on the wiimote gestures for fighting but everything else seems pretty good.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS): In my commute time I've decided to put this on hold so that I can focus completely on finishing FFV. But I'm eager to return to it as that I had a good time with its predecessor.