I'm sure you wanted to know
That glorious time of the year, the point where a million-bazillion games all come out at once but you can only afford so many when you're a responsible adult. I think I've gotten all the ones I'm gonna get pre-Xmas (if I even get any then).
Super Mario Galaxy... man, I don't even know where to start. I knew I'd like it. I'd seen so much of it that it was impossible not to like it. But to experience it... then, you start to appreciate it on a nearly celestial level. It's no secret to anyone that Mario games are highly appealing, but this game may be the very definition of the word whimsy. Every galaxy you visit is so bizarre, so multi-dimensional, so disorienting and enchanting all at once. It's been a while since I've played a game where I'm searching every tiny nook and cranny, just in case, not just to see what I can find but also to see what I can see. It's that good. Anything else I good talk about -- great visuals, sweeping orchestral score, turning into a bee, reasonable challenges... shoot, that's all just gravy.
I'll stop italicizing now.
Link's Crossbow Training surprised me. The Zapper itself does not; it performs the basic function of housing the Wiimote and nunchuk in a plastic shell that kinda looks like a tommygun, sans the circular thingy in front of the trigger (what is that thing for? Extra bullets? Or is it just someplace to put your keys, or maybe hold spare change?). It's a bit clunky to hold and doesn't really affect the game itself at all. The game is shockingly addictive, even if it is pretty much limited to presenting somewhat more grandiose versions of the challenges offered by classic NES Zapper games the likes of Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley et al. Everything is set in the world of Twilight Princess, music and all. Hearing the dissonent chant-style music of the Celestial Temple while shooting targets being toted by the freaky chicken-nipple-thingy Oocoos is an experience I can't even put into words, but IT IS THERE, and it's pretty well done. I'm not a fan of the "defender" missions, where you stand in one place and rotate on the spot to shoot at obstacles on all sides, but no one's forcing me to play them, so there. As far as I'm concerned, regarding the overall Crossbow Training/Zapper package, I bought a cheap game that came with a free plastic gun.
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles did not surprise me, because I got exactly what I wanted; specifically, a somewhat more fleshed out take on the game play from Sega's House of the Dead series. What did surprise me is that, in my house, I'm not the game's biggest fan. My beautiful wife, whose gaming tastes lean primarily towards the likes of Brain Age and Picross DS and "safe" platformers in the vein of Mario and Sonic, loves this game, and we play it together on an almost nightly basis. I certainly enjoy the game well enough; I'm a big Resident Evil fan, but not big enough to get caught up in the story-related inconsistencies Umbrella Chronicles presents. Thundercat, on the other, just likes to shoot zombies, and that shows me that, one way or another, the game's developers accomplished exactly what they set out to do. Well played, Capcom. Well played.
Yesterday, I did something I hadn't done in a good, long time; I bought a new Game Boy Advance game. The store was clearing out copies of Drill Dozer, and I snagged one on the cheap. Haven't played it yet, but I've heard nothing but good things.
A very merry non-denominational, inoffensive early-winter festivity to all, and to all a good something or the other.
Super Mario Galaxy... man, I don't even know where to start. I knew I'd like it. I'd seen so much of it that it was impossible not to like it. But to experience it... then, you start to appreciate it on a nearly celestial level. It's no secret to anyone that Mario games are highly appealing, but this game may be the very definition of the word whimsy. Every galaxy you visit is so bizarre, so multi-dimensional, so disorienting and enchanting all at once. It's been a while since I've played a game where I'm searching every tiny nook and cranny, just in case, not just to see what I can find but also to see what I can see. It's that good. Anything else I good talk about -- great visuals, sweeping orchestral score, turning into a bee, reasonable challenges... shoot, that's all just gravy.
I'll stop italicizing now.
Link's Crossbow Training surprised me. The Zapper itself does not; it performs the basic function of housing the Wiimote and nunchuk in a plastic shell that kinda looks like a tommygun, sans the circular thingy in front of the trigger (what is that thing for? Extra bullets? Or is it just someplace to put your keys, or maybe hold spare change?). It's a bit clunky to hold and doesn't really affect the game itself at all. The game is shockingly addictive, even if it is pretty much limited to presenting somewhat more grandiose versions of the challenges offered by classic NES Zapper games the likes of Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley et al. Everything is set in the world of Twilight Princess, music and all. Hearing the dissonent chant-style music of the Celestial Temple while shooting targets being toted by the freaky chicken-nipple-thingy Oocoos is an experience I can't even put into words, but IT IS THERE, and it's pretty well done. I'm not a fan of the "defender" missions, where you stand in one place and rotate on the spot to shoot at obstacles on all sides, but no one's forcing me to play them, so there. As far as I'm concerned, regarding the overall Crossbow Training/Zapper package, I bought a cheap game that came with a free plastic gun.
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles did not surprise me, because I got exactly what I wanted; specifically, a somewhat more fleshed out take on the game play from Sega's House of the Dead series. What did surprise me is that, in my house, I'm not the game's biggest fan. My beautiful wife, whose gaming tastes lean primarily towards the likes of Brain Age and Picross DS and "safe" platformers in the vein of Mario and Sonic, loves this game, and we play it together on an almost nightly basis. I certainly enjoy the game well enough; I'm a big Resident Evil fan, but not big enough to get caught up in the story-related inconsistencies Umbrella Chronicles presents. Thundercat, on the other, just likes to shoot zombies, and that shows me that, one way or another, the game's developers accomplished exactly what they set out to do. Well played, Capcom. Well played.
Yesterday, I did something I hadn't done in a good, long time; I bought a new Game Boy Advance game. The store was clearing out copies of Drill Dozer, and I snagged one on the cheap. Haven't played it yet, but I've heard nothing but good things.
A very merry non-denominational, inoffensive early-winter festivity to all, and to all a good something or the other.
posted by TM520 | 8:47 AM
|
1 comments
