Bright Falls was more than a just an town in the Pacific Northwest of America. It was a living character in Remedy’s Alan Wake. It was creepy and cruel at night, but pleasant and welcoming during the day. It’s not easy to create a convincing world, so I can see why it took over five years to develop this game. As with anything with a long development cycle, expectations are high. I enjoyed Max Payne I & II very much and thus anything developed by the studio which brought me those games could have my money without much convincing.
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“I’ve got an idea! What if we put rocket launchers on her feet!”
“What if she could transform into a panther and a bird!?”
“What if her clothes was made out of hair and can transform into giant fists, spiders and monsters?”
Platinum Games went hog wild with the design of Bayonetta. You can get away with all sorts of shenanigans when your protagonist is 500 year old witch and not an established demon slayer.
It was clear who the target audience was for this game. The references to classic games like Afterburner, Resident Evil and Sonic the Hedgehog were strewn all over. These developers loved games and their work and it shows. If you know Hideki Kamiya by name and appreciate his works, you’ll feel right at home with Bayonetta.
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Not many people knew of Metro 2033 prior to its launch. It wasn’t well marketed or hyped despite its Xbox 360 (and PC) exclusivity status. And aside from a handful of trailers, it barely received any press attention. So how did I hear of it and why did I pick it up? To be frank, none of my reasons were for the game itself. I picked it up because:
- There was a EB Games/GameStop Power Trade promotion for it
- I was impressed by the tech
- I wanted to try an Eastern European game
Silly reasons, but more interesting than simply “because it looked cool” wouldn’t you agree?
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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 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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Simulation racers were not my cup of tea for quite some time. I’ve tried playing Gran Turismo 4 and Forza Motorsport 2, but dismissed them shortly afterwards. I’ve also tried the Project Gotham Racing series which skewed more towards the arcade style racer. I’m more of a Need For Speed fan, I guess. Need for Speed: Most Wanted was the last racer I finished which featured licensed cars. And why is that? Why can I race in Phantom speed class in a Wipeout HD, but can’t find the heart to tackle the Nurburgring in a McLaren SLR in Gran Turismo? The answer is simple; I hate wasting time.
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I never intended to pick up Halo 3: ODST primarily because I was “Halo’ed” out after Halo 3‘s campaign I didn’t want to see or hear the Master Chief again. I wanted no more Cortana and no more of the Flood either. I guess Bungie felt the same way by the looks of ODST. With this installment, Bungie took the successful Halo 3 formula and remixed it for another adventure. This prequel to 2007′s multi-million seller may feature a shorter campaign and questionable pricing, but I liked it. You could say that I liked it more than Halo 3 itself.
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