Update: An odd bug involving plugged in USB peripherals was causing a number of the performance issues I mentioned. I’m leaving the text relatively unchanged and updated my final verdict. Thanks to Joel of FrozenByte for the fix.

I’ve been wanting to buy the physics based puzzle platformer, Trine, since mid-2009. But I was always waiting and waiting for the eventual PSN release. When it was finally made available in North America, it was right in the middle of the 2009 holiday gaming blitz. I also heard unflattering things concerning the game’s performance. At $19.99? I’m wasn’t going to take the gamble on that. So I decided to wait and months later I was able to download it for $9.99.

I’m so glad I waited for the sale. This game does run like garbage and is fine example of a great idea marred by technical issues.

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BioShock 2’s multiplayer is a bit of a guilty pleasure. It isn’t like other shooters at all. It may have similarities, but it’s unique blend of plasmids and traditional shooter weaponry results in some of the most interesting multiplayer games I’ve ever played. If only the technical issues would kindly step aside and let me enjoy it consistently.

Is it video lag or network lag? BioShock 2’s multiplayer has both. The netcode isn’t especially strong and the framerate isn’t all their either. These would be real deal breakers if it were any other shooter, but BioShock 2 multiplayer. For you see, it doesn’t matter if you’re a great shot or not. BioShock 2 allows the clever to reap more rewards than the twitch marksman.

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I’d like to thank GameStop/EB Games for giving me the opportunity to pick up BioShock 2. Without their “Power Trade” promotion, I wouldn’t have given it the time of day. I wasn’t hankering for a sequel to BioShock; it felt like a complete experience and I was satiated from a narrative perspective. I also didn’t want a sequel which wasn’t handled by the original development team, Irrational Games. Discovering that the sequel was being handled by five developers and will include a multiplayer mode certainly didn’t calm those worries for quality either. But alas, for the most part, those fears were quickly put to rest once I stepped foot onto Rapture.

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The last of 2007’s fourth quarter blockbusters has landed. Like Assassin’s Creed, BioWare’s Mass Effect was a flawed game filled with promise and intrigue. Mass Effect 2 is a realization of the many ideas put forth in the original, but it is also a sequel which made some of the most dramatic changes from one installment to another. Many of the changes moved the franchise forward. Some were more lateral while a small handful felt like complete degradations. The end result, however, was the most satisfying science fiction experience I’ve ever had.

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I recently wrapped up my time with three re-releases for the PlayStation 3: Call of Duty: Classic & the God of War: Collection which includes both God of War I & II. They were interesting experiments to say the least. The idea of re-releasing old classics with visual touch ups and fixes is fantastic. I can enjoy the gaming of old without having to endure the technical hiccups or deficiencies of the past — well, that’s the idea anyway. The three titles I played were fine examples of the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” of re-releasing titles like this.

Call of Duty: Classic

Call of Duty: Classic was supposed to be an enhanced console port of Infinity Ward’s popular PC shooter of 2003. I thought the PlayStation 3 would be able to handle this game, but I was wrong. The game barely maintains 30 frames per second at times let alone 60. These technical problems are mind boggling.

I can handle the need to lean and shoot via the directional pad. I can also handle the unforgiving checkpoints. What I don’t understand is the total lack of care that went into this port. Modern Warfare 2 loads faster and runs better; a 2009 game can somehow stream and load off a disc faster than 2003’s Call of Duty. And as a cherry on top of this putrid mess, they permanently assigned the L2 and R2 triggers as aim and fire.

Do yourself a favor and play the PC version if you want to relive Call of Duty.

Verdict:
Stay Away

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LTTP or ‘late to the party’ pieces are opportunities for me to catch up and write about games I missed out on the first time around. They may contain spoilers.

I’ve never finished Diablo. In fact, I’ve never ventured beyond the second or third floor; it just didn’t click with me at the time. Time passed and so did the ever popular Diablo II. By the time I upgraded my computer and was willing to give dungeon crawlers another look, Diablo II seemed dated so I gave Dungeon Siege a tour.

I didn’t finish that either.

The next game I wanted to try was Mythos, but the demise of Flagship Studios put an end to that dream. The next logical game I would have been Blizzard’s Diablo III, but from the ashes of the fallen Flagship Studios rose Runic Games who put together one of the finest Diablo clones to-date, Torchlight.

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I did not find Assassin’s Creed to be the ideal first step for the franchise. With it, and the subsequent release of Far Cry 2, I was weary with how Ubisoft Montreal developed their open world games. Their games had solid core mechanics, but were far too repetitive and stale after the first three hours.

With that notion, I wasn’t going to give Assassin’s Creed II the time of day. But when I heard the assurances that it was an improvement over its predecessor, how could I resist? Especially when I could nab a copy for a mere $29.99. Low risk, high praise. This was going to be an awesome deal or another year where Ubisoft wastes my time.

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