Sonic Adventure critters

I really wanted to like Sonic Adventure. I never actually owned the game for Dreamcast but Nickle Nickle an old arcade near me had some Dreamcasts set up in the back row rigged as arcade machines and I played it a few times there. Now the classic Dreamcast game is back and ported to Xbox Live Arcade. I was thinking about buying it just to support the rerelease of more dreamcast games but I decided to pass. I was hoping the port would be given more care like Rez was, actually redone in 16:9 full smooth HD, instead it feels a bit sloppy with blue bars on the side forcing you to play in 4:3. Although Sonic Adventure isn't really a "hardcore" game it was interesting to see how much easier games have gotten in the decade since its been released. I died on the part where you do a few loops in the first level, I figured there would be more leeway but it seemed like you really had to spin the sticks around in a few circles to make it past that part, todays games would let you make it by just holding the stick one direction for sure. I thought I was automatically collecting those little critters you save from beating the enemies too, but no you really need to make an effort to collect them otherwise they are goners.
It was interesting to play Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light right after checking out Sonic. I noticed both games string loot along a path through the level to guide the player. Some loot is there just to show you where to go, and others reward exploration. Lots of games use this mechanic, and Sonic obviously wasn't the first. The critter mechanic was unique to Sonic though, and I think more games could use this. Rather than just killing nameless enemy number X, they could have a reason for being there.

More LBP impressions & others.

Amazon had a deal I couldn't refuse on Banjo Nuts & Bolts so I picked it up. They make it so easy, remembering who you are, your payment and shipping info... I tried for about an hour, the game is surprisingly meta. They talk very directly about previous Rare games, the game industries trends, and make reference to other games. I have barely started the game so I can't say if its worth a purchase or not but if you have the means or are interested, it got good reviews so I'd say its worth checking out.
I also got to play a bit of Gears 2 last weekend, co-op in Horde Mode, we got to round 10 or so before I had to go, but it was pretty fun. We were in a map where you have laser shields protecting a small area, so we'd camp in there and mow the enemies down with the machine gun that spawns in there, it is so big you have to take cover before aiming that thing, and firing it is satisfying. I was pleased by the variety in monsters that they throw at you in this game too.
I keep poking away at the Little Big Planet single player and trying random levels online, nothing has really caught me as great yet. I threw in Super Mario Galaxy just to get in the platforming mood, and remembered the amazing variety they give you in every level, LBP feels the opposite, it is more like one of those games where they give you ONE gimmick move and you have to figure out how to use it in a variety of situations. I feel like I'm playing that game that came with old computers where you move blocks around in a top down view. Although I appreciate the different backgrounds, music, and themed stuff like that, the actual mechanics just don't seem that appealing. Getting into a typical gunfight in GOW2? A blast, just a joy to control and view. Typical platforming puzzle in LBP? Dieing over and over at a checkpoint, ohh man its the last guy, replay it....

Fable 2 or Fallout 3?

Or both?
I was seriously considering passing on Fable 2 and waiting for Fallout 3 & Little Big Planet. Far Cry 2 was starting to sound pretty interesting, and I was enjoying the WOW 3.03 patch, it was low on my list. It was the pub games promotion that put me over the edge and made me pre-order it, but I am glad I got it. Its been an amazing 16 hours so far, just finished the main storyline. I am not sure what else there is to say about it though, there has already been much discussion in the blogosphere, Gamers With Jobs mention in their last podcast ties of the dog to Molyneux's previous game Black & White, and the city stuff to Populous, so maybe you can say Peter Molyneux didn't only come through on all his promises from Fable, but from all the games he has ever made? It is an excellent game, and I am glad most of my time with it has been interacting with people in cities and fun stuff that doesn't involve swinging swords at monsters in forests.

Rainbow 6 Vegas 2

Got this. I would have got it on ps3 but fry's had a sale on this one so I'll put up with the 360s loud fan this time. Too bad I played Vegas 1 because there is a well documented achievement bug if you did, preventing you from ever getting 1000/1000 points in the game. I have been hearing the term "ubisoft sequel" in the blogosphere, and there is no denying thats what this is. The company has a tradition of pumping out map packs as sequels, anyone who got GRAW2 knows about this. The actual game is definitely refined, my favorite addition is that your character is the same offline and online so as you are playing the campaign you are unlocking stuff for multiplayer which is great. Also every enemy you kill you will get experience points for, more points if you do a harder kill like long range, short range, head shots, etc., There is an EXP bar at the bottom similar to wow showing your progress through the ranks. Even if you die it saves your XP, so when you are re-playing the same sequence over and over again (And this will happen if you are playing on Realistic setting like me) at least you are getting free experience killing the same enemies again. The enemy positions will also slightly change based on what you do to avoid total repetition, but I felt that seeing them do different things seemed to devalue the experience, like getting into a memorable battle is just random coincidence, not an elaborately planned sequence of events. It also exposes how they spawn their enemies, you will see a clear rooftop one way, but if you happen to look the other way and go back, there is guards on that same roof. You can get yourself into situations where you have an eye on that same roof, and can tell once the enemies have been spawned, all of a sudden there is two guards running around on there that happend to be JUST out of your view like they were just waiting behind a vent for you to step on an invisible trigger and then they run out.



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PS3 outsells Xbox 360 two months in a row.

A month ago Microsoft put out a statement about having shortages, it only made sense a day later when the NPDs (tracker of videogame hardware and software sales) were released and it showed the PS3 had outsold the 360 for the first time. Having seen plenty of 360s on shelves in my neck of the woods I figured Microsoft was just putting out damage control. This month's results showed the PS3 still ahead. Microsoft's original statement said they would see the shortages continue for one more month and stop after that, so march will be another interesting month in the console wars.
Of course the 360 still has a much larger install base, and dominates the top selling games, so it still makes sense for developers to have the 360 version as their main sku, often porting the game over to the ps3 at the last minute or having different studios do it entirely. There is still many years left in the lifecycles of these devices, and I hope one day developers turn to the PS3 as the main sku, having a confirmed hard drive and a larger disc can really only help make better games and I think thats what we all want. Call me a Playstation fanboy but its a shame for the more powerful system to be the one getting the sloppy ports.