Good ole' days...

Hey remember when game add ons were free?.....I am just saying.....

No, says the man in Moscow, it belongs to everyone.

Killing and snapping a pic of poor Sander Cohen's dead body was easier than expected. I do admit the freezing scene was splendid. It kept the story tight. So on to kill Andrew Ryan, simple right? Nothing could possibly stop me now. A handful of big daddy's later I am given a typical smash and grab based mission. Go find X and Y will happen. Kind of routine filler, but the atmosphere of Bioshock makes this seem different and exciting. I encounter a lot of hacking and security cameras during the exploration. Not to mention a few more little girls and big daddy's.


As I forge my entry into Rapture central control and crawl in via the air duct, everything changes. WOW !! Would you kindly... Would you kindly??? This crazy bastard is going to blow the place up unless I do something about it and fast!! The little sister is talking to me? WTF....she is whaaaatttt?? I have to trust my instincts and follow. This part of the game just seemed to fly by, so I am taking the liberty of highlighting what I recall. I searched the scientists suite and discovered Lot 192. . Finally back to full strength and itching for a fight. I have no fear now as I walk freely. I do not feel challenged by any splicer. I am ready...I think. Another ride in the bathysphere and I stop here. I feel something big is coming so I want to pause to savor it.


Check back shortly for part 4 of this walk-a-long. Will it finally end? Lets hope not.

Diamond in the Rough

I may contradict myself in this article, but just bear with me and hopefully you will see my point. I will start off by saying that I have fallen prey to all the media hype and advertising of the large game developers. Looking at the past games that I have bought I see titles such as Fable II, Star Wars Unleashed, Grand Theft Auto IV and a basketball game that I will not mention, because it caused me so much aggro. Even the games that I have rented; Fallout 3 and Afro Samurai, all good games, some better than others, but that’s a whole other article.

Anyway, during the past couple months I have been walking the aisles of various retail and game/video rental stores, upset with the selection that was being offered. I can almost hear my childish moans of disappointment when I walked out of the stores empty handed. The holiday rush of new releases has been over for a while and there haven’t been too many hyped released recently. I know there are games that I am forgetting, but this is my confessional! (Feel free to leave a comment of games that I should try.)

If there is nothing out there worth playing what is filling all the shelves at the stores and how are these stores staying in business? Then a buddy gave me King Kong to play. Kong…seriously? The movie was alright and I heard the game spat out gamerpoints, but did I really want to invest time into this title? I thought about it and those easy G’s made up my mind for me, so I insert the game into the Xbox.

As soon as I start the game I feel justified about my preconceived notions of the game. The graphics are lacking, the camera feels sluggish and the beginning scenes didn’t excite even though they were actual shots from the movie. I’m only 20 minutes into the game and just tell myself to get used to the graphics and stop whining.

I play the first level and realize that I am having fun! Alright, let’s get through the second level and see if the pace can maintain. When I finish the second level I can feel the adrenaline racing. On to the third level….HOLY COW a T-Rex is chasing me!

I am shocked at how much fun the game is and can’t wait to play some more. Don’t get me wrong; this game isn’t great and has flaws, as stated above. I can also see why other games, such as Fallout 3 get all the acclaim, but there are some gems out there to be discovered. Kong has opened my eyes and I am going to make a conscious effort to play some of those lesser known titles. It’s a given that I will find some real garbage in my search, but hopefully I will find that one gem to share with all of you.

Do you have a Gamestop story?

Well this past weekend presented to us the legendary 2 for 1 offer for all used games in the store or online. They kicked in an extra 10% on all trade in games as well. If you tend to hold onto games for awhile then you know how good of a deal this can be. The downside is that you have to deal with the crowds, employees, and traffic getting to and from said Gamestop. I am more of an instant gratification guy so no online for me. Had to be on the shelf, and spontaneously compulsion to purchase.

Almost everyone I talked to this weekend has an unique Gamestop story. They all involve scoring some excellent games. Fellow contributor here on this site had an interesting run in with what can only be described as Thug Life. Thankfully he is pretty Gangsta himself and managed to bond with the individual before he left. Funny thing is the thug actually gave him excellent advice on choosing which used games to buy. No, it wasn't 50 Cent Sands of Time, of all genre's it was an single player RPG. Consider the stereotype shattered. Not sure if gamertags were exchanged or not.

My experience did not involve me meeting any new "friends" but did involve a blockbuster bounty of tier 1 used games. Contrary to what I wrote above, this time around there was planning and forethought. I had a list of fairly new games I wanted to buy used, and a list of Badges I still needed G's for, from one of my favorite sites (360voice.com). My plan was to buy 3 used games priced at $54.99. This would net me a savings of $54.99 right away. I then planned on wading through the vast collection of used titles priced at $12-14.99. Another savings of $12.99. Total savings would have been around $65 bucks. I brought with me a few used games and shaved another $8.50 off the total price. It was a great plan......as things unraveled, I was stuck. I had only 1 game priced at $54.99 and 2 games priced at $14.99. No way I was going to spend $$$ and only save $14.99. I couldn't believe it, I was going to walk out of the store with no new games to play. Last ditch effort, lets look at the used Wii games and maybe find something there. I mean I only needed 1 more $14.99 game to complete one transaction. I think Gamestop was on to me, none of the Wii titles caught my attention, and they are all priced funky like around $29.99.

As I turn back the 360 area, head down, feet shuffling back to wall of shame, I noticed a tall stack of used games sitting on the end of the rack. Near where the new "hot" releases were positioned. It was like the Leaning stack of Pisa...well only in plastic. Here is where I found the holy grail of used games.

With a smile only the "Big Book of British Smiles" can compare to, I ran out of Gamestop spending only around $90 bucks and taking home these excellent games :

1.) Call of Duty : World at War

2.) Gears of War 2

3.) Fable II

I was very happy!! If you have a interesting Gamestop story or would like to share you big score this weekend, drop us a note in the comments.

No, says the man in the Vatican, it belongs to God.

Ah the quest to find Atlas's family turns now towards Andrew Ryan. As I entered the Bathysphere for the second time, I couldn't help to notice I was sweating. My heart beat quickens as I float to Fort Frolic, I didn't really know what to expect.





Not to worry, I have a new friend, Mr. Cohen to guide me. Perfectly sane gentlemen. Simply interested in the fine arts and dedicates himself to his work. I can't argue with that. But as all things here in Rapture nothing is as it appears.
But if I am to find Ryan I guess I must do as he asks. It kind of sounds fun anyway. Kill a couple people and take their picture. Right up my alley. I need to get better with the camera and this exercise is geared toward that practice.

As always my fear of running into Big Daddy's is limiting my exploration of Fort Frolic. As beautiful as this level is, it is as equally creepy. The music only increased the feel of tension. I want to slow down and explore this level, but those incessant security bots are forcing me to proceed faster than I want. I wonder what happens when I shoot those damn security cameras? My wrench is too short to reach them......maybe a shotgun blast will set them right.

As I round the corner and head towards an interesting looking tobacco shop, a couple spider splicers jump. And what is the cause of the vibration? Oh no.... it is a big daddy and a little girl. This is going to be nasty!! I reach deep into my arsenal and pull out the last of my exploding shells. You know what? Those bad boys quickly fell the big fella. I have to make a note of that for later. As I snap my requested pic. of the first gentlemen caller I am called upon to quickly return to the stage area in the theater. Note to self!!! Do not take piano lessons from Cohen, he is unforgiving. As darkness brings sleep, I begin to power myself down for the night.

As I drift off to sleep, I cant help wondering to myself is Atlas surviving on his own?
Check back this weekend to find part 3 of our first walk along together. Will we find Ryan, Atlas, or our own untimely death?

Bikini's and Zombies....

What could be better than a couple pre-teen, Japanese speaking, zombie slaying, chicks wearing bikini's??? How about bamboo shoots under your finger nails, that should give you some perspective on how the rest of this rant will go.

Remember when the old NES controllers "A" and "B" buttons would eventually wear out? Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad is an attempt to wear out your Xbox controller's buttons and your own spirit. This simple hack and slash game is brutal.

I have played about 2 hours of this game. I would like to tell you that I made it to stage...level... but I can't make heads or tails of how the levels work. When I look at the achievements there is one for completing Quest No. 1 LV 1 ~3......WTF does that even mean? I played to 5 something.

There are a few hints of graphic accomplishment. I mean the floor of the parking garage, looks real. It looks fantastic. Well it ends there. The blood splatter on the screen is a nice touch, but quickly grows stale. The zombies are on par for a Xbox game, not a 360 game. The cut scenes are well put together and represent the rare highlight of this game.

The controls are borderline insane. I truly believe you could finish this whole game without ever hitting another button besides A. Oh you can lock on a zombie with the RB but with 2 sword slashes they are reduced to pieces? Why lock on at all. In certain parts of the game, using the right trigger will switch between 2 characters. You can jump!!! The only hint of uniqueness to this game is a interesting sword unload mechanism. Once your sword gets bloody, you must unload the blood with a swing of the sword. Does not really add anything at all to the game.

Lets talk a little about the camera work.

What the frick where they thinking? The camera work in this game is a slap in the face. The camera is often stuck facing your character. Awesome!! This forces you to look at the mini map and swing your bloody sword at red dots. FUN !! A huge step back in the world of gaming. This right here is reason enough never to play this game. Do not reward this developer with any of your money for their shawdy work.

But what about level design you ask? Well I hope you like backtracking and retracing your steps. This mess of a game has you walking to random squares on a map, killing some zombies, picking up a random key type object, walking back to unlock a door to another square. Seriously, these levels must have been designed on a etch-a-sketch.

This rant is running long, so in all fairness I will force myself to play some more and re-post a follow up review. I just wanted to vent my frustrations and alert others to this poor excuse of a Xbox 360 game. I have played better games on a turbo graphix. This junk feels rushed to market, never beta tested, and technically flawed.

Stay tuned to Achievement Unlocked for more on this game.

No, says the man in Washington; it belongs to the poor.

Bioshock is progressing nicely.





Getting deep into the story now. Not sure if I trust Atlas any longer. His desire to find his family is borderline, lunacy. He seems determined to get me killed in the process.



I am starting to see more and more metal monsters without little girls? Is this a sign that the supply of ADAM is dwindling? My wrench appears useless against them, my upgraded shotgun seems to hurt them a little. Nothing a little jolt of electricity can't fix. I am still a rookie with my left hand. I love to shock, but hesitate to ignite or "force" push anyone yet. I am sure it will come with time.





Hacking...hacking...hacking.........will it ever end? I have dreams of pipes, deadends, security alerts. Clogs and pipes not even The Mario Bro's can fix. Why do I hate RC Helicopters with machine guns attached to them? Because they are relentless. Stupid security system!! Question: Why use health packs? Surely there must be some penalty for respawning down the hallway.