Heavy Rain Complete

I knew I was getting toward the end, but didn't know it was just about done. I finished Heavy Rain last night, and finally got down to the truth of the story. Expertly well done, great conclusion to the story, and as tragic as the events were, a pretty happy ending, mostly. Glad to see that the loose ends were tied up well in an epilogue of sorts, allowing you to enjoy your victory (or stare on in chagrin at your defeat). As I thought, Kasey did have her theory straight way before I had worked things out. I knew I kept her around for a reason.

Overall, the game is a big success. It keeps you tied to the stories and the characters that populate it, and really care about what happens to them. Even if the controls occasionally made me wander around like an idiot in the free-move mode, the quick-time events and on-rails sections are so superb it's worth the tiny frustration to get the game to its close.

I can't wait to discuss my version of the game's events with other players to see how what I did influenced the story.

Crysis: Warhead Complete

I picked up the Crysis Maximum Edition on Steam on sale last fall for $13. It was less than regular Warhead alone, so I just got it all. I'd never played Warhead, and although it was some time before I got to it, I was in for a delight. Although the fresh feel of the original game was worn off just a little, some new innovations added some kick to the experience. Several big boss fights were a great highlight, combined with the great stealth-action-shooter gameplay of the first game. I had a great time rocking through the game up to its explosive conclusion. Expertly paced, amazing graphics, tight controls, an open environment in which to accomplish your goals, there still hasn't been a better first-person shooter than Crysis and Crysis: Warhead.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time Story Mode Complete

I completed the story mode of Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time yesterday evening. Great conclusion to the story and a couple good boss fights, very satisfying. I did not complete a bunch of the collectible stuff by the end, but luckily there is an option after completing the story that you can go back in time before the last boss battle and continue to explore the galaxy, searching for components, plans, and other collectibles.

I chose to continue my search, and in doing so I picked up the ultimate weapon, the RYNO V. A combination mini-gun and rocket launcher, the RYNO V (aka Rip You a New One) mows down enemies and plays Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture as you blast away. I literally could not stop giggling it was so hilarious. I love this game so much.

Quest for Booty Complete, Crack in Time Purchased

Finished Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty last night, and immediately went out and picked up Crack in Time. Just from playing the beginning of Crack in Time, I feel like it's the best of the bunch, and the first couple were really good. Of course it's had a couple extra years of polish, but the first couple levels really pop and the interview with Quark to start out the game sets a hilarious tone. This is going to be fun.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction Complete

Finished Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction last night. Great ending, good fight at the end and makes me interested to play the next game in the series, the downloadable smaller Quest for Booty. A lot of things about this series really appeal to me, from the quick action gameplay to the high production values and great voice work and humor in the cut-scenes and story elements. I can't believe I haven't played them before, they're exactly my style. Picked that up Quest for Booty last night and should be ready for the snowy weekend coming our way.

Mass Effect 2 Complete

Finished the single-player story of Mass Effect 2 last night. I'm really at a loss for words.

I was having a conversation with a friend a couple nights ago, about how there's a certain plausibility that I like about the universe of Mass Effect 2. It feels genuine, everything is explained, and even the science isn't too far removed from what could be possible. You can buy into what they're selling, and I think that makes the events that take place in the universe between the characters that much more impactful. You believe that the character exists, and you can feel sympathy to what is going on with them.

Throw all that out the window in the final mission in Mass Effect 2. Without going into too many details, they break every rule and throw realism out the window. The ending was fun, don't get me wrong, but it was so incredibly outlandish that it seemed I lost the actual Mass Effect 2 somewhere along the way and played the end to some other game that happened to have all the same characters as Mass Effect 2.

There were some great moments, though. Some of the best run-and-gun action with a real reason to hurry, as someone's life depended on you being quick about it. The interpersonal events, the choices that you make, will make you second and third-guess yourself, and that's the game's strong point. I think I can write off the ridiculousness and take hold of the grounding effects of the relationships between the strong characters, the love and loss and shared trials of the cast of great individuals. No matter how implausible or outright silly their task, they accomplished it at great odds and did it together, and that's how I'll remember the game.

Especially because I have no words to explain anything that happened in the story. Seriously, what just happened?

God of War Complete

Even though it's been out several years, I just completed my first ever play-through of the original God of War as part of the newly-released God of War Collection on PS3. The graphical update stands up pretty well, even though some of the pre-rendered movies look a little dated.

My overall experience with the game was pretty mixed. There were high points, and then there were really low points. Some of the platforming sections of the game were intensely hard and unforgiving. In fact, most of the stretch of the game in Hades was ridiculously punishing, including the insta-death falls from the horizontal spinning blades of death. Not content only to test your will to throw a controller in one dimension, the vertical blades of death didn't kill you outright, but only forced you to replay the same stupidly difficult section endlessly until you passed it. My relief was short-lived, as I was then greeted by yet another set of vertical spinning blades of death. Yay.

Prior to Hades, there's a section were you have to kick a box across the room in a race to (once again) avoid instant death. You have to get your timing exact, otherwise you have to play it over again, watching the same annoying intro screen. Then there's the Blades of Hades section (not actually in Hades, but in Pandora's Temple) where you have to tight-walk on wooden beams and avoid more spinning blades. What is with these spinning blades? One mis-step, then, and you either fall off straight away or get chopped and pushed off, and you start over.

So, the platforming sections were pretty bad. However, the fights for the most part were intense and rewarding. Especially towards the end of the game, when your Blades of Chaos are maxed you, you can string together immense combos, working your enemies over in a mix of speed and brutality. It was most rewarding, strangely, in Hades, where the toughest sets of normal enemies meet you, and one brief section in Athens facing pumped-up, towering giants. You have so many weapons and moves at your disposal, you can work anyway you want, and this free-form battle system that aids you just enough to never worry too much about targeting or the camera is the greatest strength and greatest enjoyment in the whole game.

It is then incredible that these fight sections are the briefest of the entire experience. For a game that bills itself as a brutal brawler, you do a whole lot of jumping over ridiculous obstacles. I played the game through on normal, and I never once got offered "Easy Mode" (a result of dying too much) on combat sections. Maybe once or twice would I fail a fight, but then get the right of it, and move on. In the platforming sections, it would take me dozens of tries to get it right. Incredibly frustrating.

The final fight of the game then was just the icing on a terrible cake. I simply could not win. By that time, it was 2am, I was incredibly pissed after pulling my butt through Hades and beating two fights already, and the only way I won was by giving into Easy Mode for the first time in the whole gaming and winning with like three button presses. FYI, Easy Mode is Easy. Why couldn't Normal Mode be Just A Bit Challenging?

Given my experience with the game, I doubt I'll play God of War II, or even look much at the new installment coming out for PS3 in the next couple months. I was originally interested in it, but if they put any insta-death platforming sections in that force me to endlessly play the same section of gameplay again, it's not worth my time.

Platinum Sackboy

Last night, with a little help from my friends, I got the platinum, 100% complete trophy on LittleBigPlanet. So yeah, just about as complete as you can get.

Assassin's Creed Complete

Finished up the story mode of Assassin's Creed last night. Managed to collect up all the hidden fragments as well. I really liked the ending, and events leading up to it. Little echoes of the first game, in how Ezio approaches the final fight. The ending added a lot to the fiction of the world, and really gets me excited for the end of the trilogy. There are a few ways they can go with this, and all could be cool. Also, the game had one of the best end credits sequences ever.

Braid Complete

Finished the story mode and managed to collect all of the puzzle pieces along the way in Braid. Quite a few devilish puzzles -- I have to admit I didn't solve all of them without help. And the final level, incredible. I knew what was coming, but I was still affected by the conclusion. What an experience.

Plants vs. Zombies Complete!

As I mentioned before, I've been having fun with Plants vs. Zombies. I finally managed to clear the adventure twice, and each mini-game, puzzle, and survival mode to get the gold sunflower trophy! Bobsled Bonanza was particularly tough.

Woo I'm awesome.

Mirror's Edge Complete

Finished the story mode of Mirror's Edge over the weekend. It was a fitting ending, and one obviously left open for a sequel. Given that there have been statements confirming an eventual sequel, it wasn't surprising. But it was properly dramatic and a good end to the admittedly brief story.

I tried going back to do some of the time trial stuff, but I'd really lost my patience. I wanted to get to the end of the story, but falling over and over just to beat the clock doesn't drive me. Maybe I'll go back to it. But probably not. Maybe the sequel will clear up spiking difficulty and sequences of unarmed Faith versus legions of dudes with automatic weapons.

Dragon Age: Origins Complete

Though my problems with crash and loading bugs conspired to keep me down, I was finally able to finish the main campaign in Dragon Age: Origins.

The end battle and boss fight was a treat, properly epic and allowed you to see lots of character cameos. It was pretty tricky, too. Very well done.

I felt a little let down at the end, because a lot of my decisions drove off or doomed different characters or factions. I'm hopeful that in a second play-through I can improve the world a little rather than get by. I suppose that says a lot about how you can get emotionally invested in the characters and setting of Dragon Age, in that you can regret making the wrong decisions in a simulated world. I certainly did. But I was happy to finish. On to round 2.

New Super Mario Brothers Wii Complete

Well, when I say complete, I mean I beat Bowser. And wow, what a fun boss fight that was. A great trick in the beginning, and a crazy run for your life afterwards. Ah, what fun. We'll all look back on this later and laugh.

But really, the game has been a lot of fun, and there's still a bunch more to do. I skipped around a little bit (and yes, I took warps in the form of cannons, bad form to be sure) so I have some levels to go back and enjoy. Lots of Star Coins to pick up, secrets to find.

There's also the whole subject of World 9. A new twist, to have a world past Bowser's domain! Maybe I shouldn't give too much away for those who haven't finished the game. Suffice to say that while entirely optional, it taunts you, and it's not easy to get to any of the worlds within...

Uncharted 2 Completed

What a roller-coaster ride. Finally finished Uncharted 2 and it was a ton of fun. The ending was just as explosive as the rest of the entire game. I can't say enough things about it. From the over-the-top run-and-gun sessions, to the moving sequences on the top of trains and trucks, stealth action, and puzzle platforming, there's a lot here to like and it moves seamlessly in between genres. That and it looked and played the entire game, I was rarely frustrated or at a loss of where to head next. Certainly worth a replay to experience again.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story Complete

Finished Bowser's Inside Story this afternoon. The last fight was a lot of fun, but certainly tricky. Had to pull out all the stops. Just tough enough -- it was the first battle I'd actually failed.

I was expecting one more battle, but the ending was very appropriate. Funny to the end.

Defense Grid Awakened

Finished the story mode of Defense Grid: The Awakening. Last missions was a great finisher, took me a couple tries but I knocked it out.

It's worth going back and re-playing the missions, as there are different modes to try out, including the Grinder mode where you face 99 waves of creeps, and tower-limited modes where you can only have either 10 or 20 towers at one time. Have to give some of those a shot.

Gold Trophies in Mario Kart all Grand Prix Events

At long last, I finally managed to make gold in all events in Mario, woo! I hope Laura has newfound respect for me. Of course I don't have even close to a decent grade in any of those races, but hey, once step at a time. At least I unlocked a bunch more stuff.

Only took a year and a half.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Completed

I also forgot to mention that I completed Uncharted: Drake's Fortune last week. The ending was good, but man it was frustrating at times. I probably did the end sequence a dozen times before I figured out what I had to do. I was just throwing my hands up going "WTF?!" But I was glad I played it. Turns out there weren't nazi undead, but there were undead and nazis, much to my surprise! The creepy sequences weren't that bad, and didn't make me stop playing. In all, a decent shooter and fun action-adventure game. The sequel comes out in October, but I'm likely to wait on that one for a while.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Completed

I picked up the second Professor Layton game last week. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box sees the Professor and apprentice Luke seeking out the Elysian Box, a supposedly cursed artifact of a mysterious origin that kills all who open it. Once the box kills his mentor, Layton promises to find the box and its origin in the hopes of explaining his teacher's death.

I enjoyed the game a great deal. First of all the writing, voice work, and visual design are all top notch. The presentation of the game is incredibly polished and unique, blending anime style with old English conventions. The full motion video sequences are a delight, and add greatly to the text-driven conversations in presenting the story.

And what a story it is. The characters within are interesting, if a little caricatured, but Layton and the other main story characters are nuanced and likable. You're forever rooting for the cool and calm Layton and his plucky apprentice, along with all the other protagonists. Predictably, the story takes a huge twist, but ends perfectly.

The puzzles that make up a huge majority of the gameplay are satisfying. Few take the cop-out of tricks, but just enough to make yourself feel clever. The best are three-dimensional visualization puzzles, such as filling boxes with irregularly shaped objects or imagining how an unfolded cube would look folded back up. The rope and maze puzzles are also fun, made easier by a memo function that allows you to draw freely on an overlay without interacting on the puzzle below, tracing the paths of wires, ropes, and other objects. A few puzzles deeply puzzled me, but not so much that the hints didn't help, making the search for hint coins a fun and necessary part of the game.

The additional mini-games, such as the camera assembly and subsequent photo mode, hamster exercise, and tea brewing games are a fun distraction, adding to the main story and giving great benefits if you choose to complete them.

In all, the second puzzling adventure from Level-5 Games is a fun time, and you won't be able to put it down once you start because you, just like Layton and friends, will want to find out the real mystery of the Elysian Box. The final puzzle is a fantastic payoff not to be missed!