The Summer Vacation Report or: Why I Haven’t Posted in 4 Months

Salutations Readers,

First off, I’ll apologize for my extended absence. But, summertime is quite busy for me and my family. Lots of weekends outdoors can put a dent in the amount of time to play games or write about them. Also, my brother got me involved in a softball league that nabbed a normally free night from my schedule.  All these little things add up and cause things like this blog to get set on the back burner.  Sadly this blog is no stranger to a setback like this.

Now, I’m back to resume blogging and roll out more great content to my readers and friends. I’m unsure of the rate that new articles will be released, but I would rather post something than nothing at all.

The reason I decided to kick-start this now is the Extra Life 24 Hour Marathon.  I’m signed up and ready for October 15th!  I hope to raise some money for Children’s Miracle Network and specifically St. Louis Children’s Hospital.  Look for more information including how to get involved or donate in the next few weeks!  If you can’t wait that long, visit http://www.Extra-Life.org/participant/commandercody83 to make a donation.

Now that I’ve got all the big stuff out of the way, I want to talk about games for just a bit.  I’ve been playing a ton of games as usual.  I’ve managed to finish Call of Duty: Black Ops, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Tornado Outbreak, Rez HD, Transformers: War for Cybertron, Red Dead Redemption, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Duke Nukem Forever, Nail’d and now Crysis 2.  I’m also caught up on Fallout: New Vegas including all the DLC that has been released and the Hardcore achievement.

So obviously I’ve had the time to game, but writing a review or article might take up to three hours.  But now things are slowing down and the weather is cooling down.  So I’ll hopefully have more time to write and produce some fun stuff.

Thanks everyone around me for your continued love and support.

Cody

Demo Weekend: Transformers Snoopy Aqua Harry Doom Earthworm Zeno Raystorm Rocket

I’m forever glad that Microsoft decided to incorporate demos into Xbox Live. I’ve bought several titles on Live and a few retail games that I would have passed on otherwise thanks to a demo. The ones that stand out gave a huge chunk of gameplay allowing me to figure out if it was for me. So now I make a habit of checking out all the new demos hitting the Live Marketplace. Here are a few games from this month and some I missed from May.

Transformers: War for Cybertron
Release Date: June 22, 2010
Price: $60
I love Transformers. Naturally, I’m excited for Transformers: War for Cybertron. This multiplayer demo was well populated on a saturday afternoon (about 4200 players) which makes me think that other people are ready to play this game too! I jumped in as a soldier class player and died mostly. But, this did afford me the chance to see how the game feels and looks running on my own TV. Character models are awesome, yet easily blend into the background of the level I played on. Transformations are slick and fast. Weapons and melee attacks are extremely powerful. Health is abundant on the map, trust me when I say “you will need it.” The multiplayer options seem as varied as a game like Modern Warfare 2. There is lots of customization that could be unlocked if you spend time with it. I hope it takes off in the community with lots of activity and DLC in the future! I decided to give this another go on Sunday and there were about 7200 players online. I was actually able to do some damage this time ending a game with 6 kills and 0 deaths. That was before we started to have network problems and some lag. With some luck I think this will be one of the top games of the summer.

Snoopy Flying Ace
Release Date: June 2, 2010
Price: $15
Besides Transformers, I have a soft spot for the Peanuts gang. I grew up watching the cartoons, and was happy to see Snoopy get his own flying game. If you have never seen the Snoopy and Red Baron short, go to Youtube. Don’t worry, this will be here when you get back. The demo is very short (you really only get the tutorial), but the flying feels good and not complicated like other games of the genre. Weapons are simple but fun. Shooting down other planes is easy enough, but I’m not sure how repetitive the game could get. There are 16 different planes you can customize. The story looks fun, hopefully down the road I can buy it and give a full review. Multiplayer expands the experience to some extent. The game I jumped into looked heavily populated and there are a lot of different modes. Your Avatar can even jump into the mix online. There are also some cooperative challenges for you and a friend. I’d consider this a must buy for fans of Snoopy and Peanuts.

Aqua
Release Date: May 19, 2010
Price: $10
Aqua is a game that I wouldn’t be interested by the title alone. It originally was cut from this list, but I decided to try the demo. Aqua is a dual stick shooter set in an aquatic world stripped from a world that could have to belonged to the imagination of Jules Verne. There is quite a bit of depth here. There are 3 types of ship you can command from light to heavy. Weapons include the all purpose turret which is used to damage most enemies. There are also mines, torpedoes, and a special attack (awesome raining missiles) that vary the combat. Excpect to see lots of sea enemes and a few airplanes too. Players can also enlist help from special stations which you can order around. Aside from the story there is a skirmish mode that pits you against endless waves of enemeis. Multiplayer is simply local and limited to skirmish and chase (basically racing against and killing nuetral vessels). The story is injected via comic like scenes and looks interesting. Also, I found there are Avatar Awardables in the game so there is yet another reason to check it out.

Lego Harry Potter
Release Date: June 29, 2010
Price: $50
Like all the other Lego games that have come before it, Lego Harry Potter is a mixed bag of cute, fun, and frustrating. The controls take some getting used to along with each of the character abilities. Instead of hand to hand combat you use wands and a few weapons. The block building animation is also automated by the wands. Kind of interesting, but the few building puzzles (stairs) I crossed usually ended with me cheating to get past them. The demo gives you Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fang, and Hagrid. The level starts in a classroom and ends up in the forest. It is surprisingly long and gives a nice nice look at the game. The cutscenes are the normal voiceless miming you’re used to in the series. I can imagine this game will be fairly popular (like all Lego games and Harry Potter merchandise). If you like either or both things in the title, prepare to spend some time with the full game when it comes out. And make sure to keep an eye out for the eventual sequel that will surely drop sometime next year! I mean they can’t leave it on a cliffhanger in the middle of the series… or can they?

Doom II
Release Date: May 26, 2010
Price: $10
I loved playing Doom as a kid. Yep. My parents were cool and bought me games I probably had no business playing. That aside, I was hoping for Doom II on XBLA to be awesome. Instead it’s mediocre at best. Playing on a HDTV I was dissappointed by the black bars on the side of the screen. Even the version of Duke Nukem on XBLA fills the entire screen (who cares if its only one static image, that is something). The demo was short, but had some variety. When the first level ended, I was scared that was it. But, a second level gives you more enemies and weapons to play with. Lots of difficulty levels, multiplayer, and leaderboards extend the replayability beyond the campaign (which is longer with nine new “extra tough” levels created by Nerve). I read a review about how the game was dated, which is true. It did come out in 1994. Despite that, I think this game is worth a shot especially as a history lesson. Doom II is a trip back to a more simple time where you couldn’t look up. That never stopped me from blowing demons to bits, so it shouldn’t stop anyone else.

Earthworm Jim HD
Release Date: June 9, 2010
Price: $10
WOW! I loved playing Earthworm Jim on Sega Genesis and now I can relive the memory. Such a unique game that deserved a graphical update and re-release. The graphic pop and our hero looks even cooler in high definition. But that’s not all, the game is still fun too. The demo gives you the first level (in the Junkyard) and the boss, which I made short work of. The platforming remains solid and still feels fresh. The only real gripes I had with the game is when I thought I’d found glitches. My gun seemed to fire inconsistently. Writing this, I realized my ammo was running low. The other had to do with jumping between things and Jim just falling. I wanted to jump from a lower chain to one about it. But what I really needed to do was go further left and jump to the top from there. Guess I sort of take for granted how much games have changed when all this stuff just got tossed by the wayside (in a good way). I’m sad that I don’t remember much else of the game. It’s almost a buy for me soley because I want to rediscover it. As a bonus, there is a rocket race to try out. Overall, the demo felt tiny. Of course, it does give a good idea of what you’ll be in for if purchased. Apparently there is some type of multiplayer too. Not sure what that is about, but I’m intrigued.

Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition
Release Date: May 5, 2010
Price: $15
When I heard about Zeno Clash it sounded like my cup of tea. Hand-to-hand combat in first person is a unique gameplay mechanic that I can get behind. The demo starts out with a nice tutorial with your character learning from a “master.” The controls aren’t laid out the best, but they are manageable. I’m sure it just takes time. Punching, kicking, and blocking aren’t well varied with only a few types of attacks that may feel repetitive. Luckily there are some guns and grenades to help break up the monotony. The “master” returns to teach you how to utilize those as well. The demo was fairly lengthy allowing a few good fights. The game also has a unique look with lots of strange friends and foes. I’m not sure about the story, but it sounds oddly charming. Once you finish the story theres more. A few co-op (split screen and online) modes like survival help Zeno Clash earn the Ultimate Edition title. Expect to spend some time with this one for those brave enough to pick it up.

Raystorm HD
Release Date: May 5, 2010
Price: $15
Usually when I read “HD” in the title I assume there is a some degree of quality to the game. Then again, that descriptor only applies to the visuals. Raystorm HD looks stunning, but the game is very shallow in the gameplay department. This vertical scrolling shoot ’em up makes your ship feel like its on another planet compared to the enemies. The vehicles on the ground make this worse since they are only vulnerable with the lock-on. The genre is much better when everything is on the same “plane” of existence. The demo was only one level and didn’t compel me to own it. For fans of the original game or the genre, Raystorm HD is for you.

Rocket Knight
Release Date: May 12, 2010
Price: $15
The HD rerelease is fastly becoming its own genre. And with standouts like Rocket Knight I hope it will definitely be something that continues! The game looks beautiful from the character models to the world they occupy. The platforming is still solid and the combat holds up well. You play as Sparkster who feels quite powerful against even the strongest enemies. The dash is probably one of the coolest things in the game. The tutorial is well integrated as “billboards” in the background which allows you to zip by them if need be. Rocket Knight flows well between levels with cute animations filling the void. The lenghthy demo lets you try two different level types (platforming and flying) and a boss fight. I had a smile on my face the entire time. Hopefully we get even more HD remakes with as high of quality as this one.

Last Word
If you’re sitting the fence on any of these games grab the demos. It’s free (if you’re a Gold subscriber) and a no-brainer. From this batch my picks are Transformers: War for Cybertron, Aqua, Earthworm Jim HD, and Rocket Knight. The rest are winners too, so vote with your wallet!