Back in the Game

For all of you that noticed that I dropped off of the radar for a while: I'm not dead. I've just been busy. Back in August I wound up in crunch-time developer mode and had no time to blog, let alone keep up with things. By the end of September I was weeks behind in my current news and furiously trying to catch up. Thanks to a combination of Google Reader and fall cleaning, I've fully caught up. Now I just need to find time to put words to page.

But I'm back, and hoping to blog more as things turn around in the holiday season, and the new year. I've also been gaming more lately. That's a good thing.

So here's a quick look at what I've been playing, and some off the cuff impressions.

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
I was hooked in this for about 2-3 week after I got it. It was light, fun, and easy to play in half-hour segments on the bus to or from work. I even dropped the occasional evening on it to scour a dungeon. Then I hit just past the half-way mark and the game became all slog. The dungeons became too large to manage in a lunch break, or on a bus. The side quests became more tedious than fun, and fishing is just boring.

I only have the final (that is, main, repeating, annoying) dungeon and boss to beat. I've been at this point for about 3-4 weeks and haven't had the time or desire to continue. I want to finish this game, but it now just feels like too much work.

Sam & Max, Season 2, Episode 1
The dynamic, deadly duo return in their second episodic series. This time they have to save Christmas. That bodes ill for the holidays. The writing is full on course with this episode, and it is fun, clever, and easily playable in a single evening. This is the only game so far in the last half-year I've been able to finish and enjoy all the way through. I highly recommend playing it (or at least one of the Telltale crew's Freelance Police episodes). You can get them direct or through GameTap.

Overlord
Which leads me to another game I've gotten to play a little bit of. I don't own an X360 yet. I don't have the TV for it, I don't have the money for it, and I so much want one. So when my friend picked up Overlord for it, I was disappointed that I had another game I couldn't play. Until I found out that it's on GameTap. Joy!

The game itself (so far) is a mad romp through every fantasy cliche, except that you get to inflict bodily harm (somewhat indirectly) on the lovable inhabitants of the world. Controlling your horde of minions is rather intuitive, just point them at something you want killed, or broken, or desecrated, and they'll happily take care of it for you. You hardly have to lift a finger. And you get to be evil, or at least malevolent, which is always a nice escape from constantly being the icon of good. I've only had the time to play the first couple of missions, but they've been fun. I'll need to get on my computer more just so I can play this.

Super Mario Galaxy
My wife got me Super Paper Mario for my birthday, back in August. I feel bad because I have barely cracked the case on it. However, getting Galaxy I think makes up for it. Not only is it incredibly fun, but I can play the game with her. It makes the game a lot easier when I don't have to worry about collecting all the star bits myself, or she can hold off some of the dangers while I blunder around. While some levels are a little headache inducing (winding up upside down with stars swirling in the background can be a little much) the creative use of space and classic platforming constantly makes me smile. I'm addicted (at least for now).

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And I think that brings me up to date. I'm also sitting at about 60% done Okami (and have been since July). However, that game sets off my OCD so playing is a study in list and checkmarks. I also recently bought Ico, but have no idea when I'll get to it.

So many games, so little time. Oh, almost forgot about Worms 2 for DS. They fixed everything that was stupid and broken about the first Worms for DS. Apparently they did it by giving the license to someone else and throwing out all the code and design from the first try. Good for them. The game brings back the fun of madly destroying your opponent with overpowered explosives and oddball weapons. There is nothing so totally Worms as dropping a concrete donkey on your enemies. It is worth the money if you can find it. It also has WiFi, so if you have a copy let me know and we can blow each other up some time.

Psychonauts on GameTap

If you haven't heard me ramble on about GameTap, the you probably haven't been paying attention. If you haven't heard of GameTap at all, then you need to check it out. Turner Broadcasting has, for more than a year, been serving up a great big heap of PC, emulated, and old skool gaming via a subscription game service. This month it shifted into high gear as they released version 3.0 of their client. And a whole new subscription plan.

This last year has been a big shift in GameTap. In October they opened their service to Canada. They have been serving up some of the best episodic gaming to hit the internet, by co-producing Sam & Max Season 1, and they continue to show a dedication to episodic gaming by having two more announced episodic games on the radar for the next year (Galactic Command & Grimm). They have revitalized the Myst Online community by giving it a legitimate home, and money to create new active content.

In the last month they released a free to play, ad-supported version of their service. You get access to GameTap TV, which is a variety of game news shows, short cartoons, and GameTap self-promotion, via your browser (for certain values of browser). While much of the content is throw-away, they do have the original Sam & Max animated series, and are going to be hosting the Re\Visioned Tomb Raider Animated Series. You can also download their Lite Client and get access to a small rotating selection of their game library. Free.

I've been constantly impressed by both the selection of games, and the commitment of the GameTap team to bringing new content to their users on a very regular basis. Every month they release at least 5 new games into the library. Some of them are old games. Some of them are classic games. Some of them are obscure games. And some of them are great games.

Just released: Psychonauts. It's not currently available to Lite Players, but it is there.

If you have the time, I'd encourage you to go and browse their library. Chances are you'll find at least a handful of games you'd like to play, or play again. Try the Lite service, at least it's free. Everything I've seen GameTap has shown me that this is subscription gaming done right. Or at least done enthusiastically.

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Disclaimer - I have not been asked by GameTap, or anyone affiliated with it to promote it. I have not been paid to write any of this. I do have a GameTap subscription, that I paid for, which was mostly to play Sam & Max, and Uru Live. As far as I'm concerned, I got my money's worth.

Found in the Games

I’ve really been meaning to write more lately. I mean, I think there are things that I have to say. Nothing that is ground-breaking or new. Nothing world-shattering. Nothing moving, or touching, or poignant. Just stuff, really. Game stuff.

You see, my wife* and I finally bought a Playstation 2. Actually, we got it a few days after Corvus did. I meant to post about it back then. We initially got Karaoke Revolution Country with it (the explanation of which probably deserves it’s very own post), and for the first week or so, was all we had. Thanks to a couple of our good friends, who have far too many video games, we were able to borrow a better selection. I’ve gotten to play Shadow of the Colossus, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy X, Lego Star Wars, and the wife has been playing Fable (on our little-played Xbox). I’ve gone from having and playing a meagre collection of console games, to having too many to play at once.

Not that I don’t want more.

I’ve actually spent a fair amount of time drooling over used titles in eBay, and looking for cheap ways to get older and rarer games. There are some lovely, and obscure, PS1 titles that I’d like to pick up. Plus a healthy list of PS2 titles that have wound their way onto my “Must Play Eventually” list. If you know of a good source, or a game I must play, let me know.

Needless to say, I have things that I want to say. And as I’m one to procrastinate and make excuses… the weather has been sweltering, and the consoles at least produce less heat than any of the various computers that I own. I can turn my computer room into a sauna in less than 10 minutes just by checking my blogroll**. Sitting to write out my experiences as I slowly bake to death hasn’t been at the top of my list of things to do. So, I’ve been lazy, and I’ve been letting my observations fall by the wayside.

I’m not going to say that I’ll get everything I want to post up here. The longer things get left, the more they fade, or mutate. But there may yet be hope for some of my lost posts, as I do have a long weekend coming up. And I can probably count on my wife wanting to play some too. I may have a few spare minutes to type when she chases me from the TV so she can get on with kicking chickens, or whatever it is she’s doing in Fable.

And I want to write these things; I feel energised and interested again because I’ve been playing games again. And I love it. I love playing them more now than ever. I can see aspects of them I never saw before. I realize now that there is more to get from the game than the pretty graphics, or the story (if there is one), or the fiero. I can look to play types, level design, story layout, and a hundred other things I had no names for before I began my blog a few months ago. I can learn from the games that I play, and I can put my observations here.

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* I really must find a way to refer to this lovely lady of mine in a more comfortable way. It just feels so formal and awkward this way. I need a nickname (everyone else has one for their SOs). Perhaps I’ll ask her.

** I need to update my blogroll on the site. I actually just noticed that I’ve made it onto the lists of some of the blogs I read. This is cool, and I really must link back.