Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Batman: Arkham Asylum for PS3

You see!? This is how you do a game based on a cartoon! The player  becomes the protagonist seamlessly, rather than just riding along on the hidden track of a jungle safari ride.  Plus, there's a real writer! Ryyyyyyye-tooooooor.  (Doesn't hurt that it's Paul Dini fer cryin' out loud.)  And who's playing the Joker? Mark Hamill.  Because he always does. It's an episode of Batman the Animated Series, it's just really complex, takes longer than the usual episode, and has a lot of side quests.

The fighting is great -- you're a badass, hand to hand.  But then your XP-based power-ups are things like the skill to drop down from a gargoyle and string up your opponents.  For kicks I did a level entirely by sneaking around the rafters and stringing the bad guys up when no one was looking.

Harley Quin went and turned into a sexy-schoolgirl cliché, but the rest of the characters have all the depth and intriguing-weirdness you expect, plus a little extra something that you can only really convey in an interactive medium where the player is discovering them as part of the story and game.

I haven't gotten all the way through yet, but when I do, I'm watching every last line of the credits.  There are gonna be names I'll recognize in future games.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Monday, October 5, 2009

Evidence of Everything Exploding for Mac/PC

What a totally weird browser game.  I love it!

Zombie Apocalypse for PS3 (PSN)

You are the last hope of mankind. Use the left stick to run around, and the right stick to shoot. Every once in a while, there's a human survivor, so run over and protect them until they can escape! Eliminate all the robots zombies to advance to the next level.

You start out with a machine gun and a chain saw -- and while the machine gun might be more effective, the chainsaw offers panache, especially when wielded over your head and plunged into your adversaries' chests! You'll collect exploding, zombie-attracting teddy bears, too -- they're like grenades but whey cuter.

My favorite part is that for a moment after a zombie grabs you, you can shake the controller to throw them off you again. This is a discombobulating mode shift, and oddly fun. It's my new flavorite laundry-time game! Braaaaaaains!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Battlefield 1943 for PS3 (PSN)

I can't stop playing this one!  You switch off being a japanese or american soldier trying to gain control of all the flag points (five) on small pacific islands.  There are only a handful of maps, and a handful of strategies, and it's all so very simple, and that's exactly what makes it fun.  You can run around shooting, or get in a tank, or a jeep, or even airplanes ... and for extra fun you can jump out of your airplane and parachute onto the other teams' positions.

This is my new laundry game.  It's easy to just pop in and enjoy a few minutes of mayhem between loads of laundry.