Game Diary.......finale...

Well here it is the series finale for the semi-daily game diary. The year long streak is complete. 360voice.com updated today and now officially shows 365 straight days. A year straight of powering on the xbox 360 night after night. So lets give a nod to Microsoft for sending me a pretty good quality refurbished machine after my first one got the red rings of death. Comcast also gets a thank you for providing me a high speed Internet connection for a year straight. Finally it all could not have been possible for 360voice.com and of course my friends.

The streak was celebrated with a late Friday night playing of 1 vs. 100. A sprinkle of drunken Rock Band 2 was also attempted. Saturday and Sunday both had me playing NBA2K9 and Fallout 3. I felt they got me this far, the least I could do was play them today.



This brings to a close the diary. The blog will return to it's normally unscheduled posts as usual. There might be a new feature up our sleeves. Stay tuned.. and as always thanks for reading.

Game Diary, Thursday's game play

Streak is sitting at 363 straight days. I extended tonight with a heavy dose of Arkadian Warriors. Actually Darth Slagus and myself finished the game and score ourselves 75 G's!! Arkadian warriors ranks up there with one of the best values for a XBLA game. I put a ton of hours into the game. Something like 10 different levels, but it felt like more. A huge selection of magic and weapons. A story line that is cheezy enough to make you laugh, but serious enough to make you want to finish it. Just a great game.

I also played some more Bully and 1 vs. 100. Starting this weekend, prizes will begin to roll out of 1 vs. 1oo. Yes I know they are still in Beta, but it clearly says Beta : Now with prizes, on the dashboard.

A year straight is now within my grasp, I still can't believe it. It sure doesn't feel like a year straight. I wonder what I have missed in the last year? Check back the next 2 days to see what I play to finish out my year. I am not going to lie to you...there will be some Fallout3 being played.

Thanks for reading

Game Diary, Wednesday's game play

To keep the streak alive, I dedicated most of Wednesday to Bully. I was able to get 95 G's out it. I am starting to like this game again. I guess what I most like about sandbox type games is the freedom to do whatever I like, whenever I like. During work today I listened to a podcast from 1-UP and they mentioned Bully and how the sound track was put together quite well. The in game music helps set the tone and mood for the scene. Tonight I did notice Bully excels at this, and in general ALL of Rockstar's games do this. GTA is a very heavily musically driven game. From the in car radio, to the back round music at the strip club, it is all well thought out.

I should mention this little blog I stumbled upon. http://trailerpark-boys.blogspot.com/ Check it out...you will like what you see.

Streak lives on at 362.

Thanks for reading.

Game Diary, catch up edition.

We are back with another check up addition. The holidays wreak havoc upon my Diary schedule. Well folks we are in the home stretch. 361 straight days. 4 more for a full year. I am getting nervously excited.

A recent influx of new games has kept the drive alive. AlmoustFamous24 has generously donated a handful of games. Halo Wars and RockStar Table Tennis are new. Fellow contributor Darth Slagus lent me Ghostbusters, so needless to say my plate is full. I am making a new push on a few fronts. First I need to finish Fallout3 so I can shake this addiction. I am also pushing for the Sandbox badge over at 360voice.com. For this badge, I have Bully to work through. It has been ever so slowly, slipping G's out. Finally I am involved in a 2 week challenge also at 360voice.com. I am currently in first, by a few hundred G's. I am not letting my guard down, as this weekend will have me away from the Xbox for extended periods of time.

I had the unfortunate displeasure of renting Overlord, which I mention previously. I grew tired of it and Overlord sits on the shelf. I should just take it back. I should be posting every night for these last 4 nights until I reach a year straight.

Question for the readers, "Do I stop my streak at 365 days exactly, or do I push to just see how long it will last?" Drop a note in the comments and help me decide!!

Thanks for reading

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Rating: 6/10

Achievements: 7/10
By completing the main story and checking out the online play you should be able to walk away with 450 – 550 gamerpoints. For each mission completed you receive 20 G’s with additional G’s coming from scanning artifacts & ghosts with your PKE meter…you do remember the PKE don’t you? Trapping ghosts with the various versions of the proton pack will also net you a few more achievements.

Review:
I don’t know anybody who was around during the eighties, child or adult, who was not a fan of the Ghostbusters. I had the Ghostbusters lunch box that obviously had the Hi-C Ecto Cooler. Heck, I even had the slimmer grape toothpaste…it sure tasted great, but not sure how well it cleaned the teeth. So you can imagine my excitement when I first heard that there was going to be a video game; that was three years ago. What made this even more intriguing was that the story was written by Harold Ramis & Dan Akroyd with all the original cast members coming back to lend their voices. Sorry all you Rick Moranis fans, he must have been too busy blowing up his kids.

I get the game home and throw it in the Xbox and instantly I have a big smile on my face when I hear the theme music. Bobby Brown tried, but just couldn’t beat the original. So I start my career as a rookie Ghostbuster tagging along with the original crew and the story starts off superbly. The characters are cracking jokes and the cut scenes look fantastic. Get used to the cut scenes, because there are a bunch of them. I haven’t tried, but you can go back and view all the scenes that you have unlocked in chronological order. This story could have been the third movie.

The game play looks sharp as well from the different characters, ghosts to the backgrounds. The proton pack and its various streams look as good as they did in the movies if not better. Speaking of the proton packs; you have three additional experimental streams that can be switched back & forth pretty easily. Well…that’s about it…Thanks for reading.

What, you say my praise of this magnificent franchise was short winded? Alright, alright, so I am a little biased since I was such a fan of the movies. I wanted this game to be so good, but in the end was disappointed. Watching the many cut scenes was entertaining, but I had to play the game to unlock each scene. The game play quickly became monotonous.

You start each level and walk a very linear path to the boss encounter. That doesn’t sound that bad, but the problem is there weren’t enough ghosts. The story can be completed in seven to nine hours and there is an achievement for capturing 20 ghosts and retrieving the traps…seriously, that’s all? The majority of the enemies that are encountered are small and weak, which can be killed easily with a charged proton shot. Don’t give me levels full of filler…I want to battle some ghosts and reel them into the trap like a giant marlin.

However, if the developers did include some additional ghosts to fight this would be a whole different complaint. During the boss battles your ghost busting partners were too busy lying on the ground waiting to be rescued to be of any assistance. I was so furious with the final boss, because I actually thought that I was doing more running around playing doctor than fighting. I seemed to finish each level more frustrated than having that sense of accomplishment.

As you are running through the levels be sure to blow up everything in your path as this is an effective way to earn cash that can be used to upgrade your different proton pack streams & PKE meter. This function made the levels entertaining and a great way to earn some G’s.

Once I completed the story I no longer have a desire to go back and play it through again on a harder difficulty…maybe just to clean up some achievements that I missed. The online play is where it’s at. Since you are not playing with the terrible AI the online players are actually helpful. And get this…you do nothing but capture ghosts.

Game Diary, Wednesday's game play

Quick one tonight. Streak lives on. Forged ahead in a little more Overlord. Finished the night up with Fallout3. Just about to launch Point Lookout. It should hold me over the long holiday weekend.

Thanks for reading

Game Diary, Tuesday's game play

Well Tuesday brought a new game to the table. Overlord, the first one, was rented and weakly played for about 30 minutes. A quick 30 G's kept me interested. It has a quirky funny dialogue that has me engaged for now. An interesting control scheme, is still giving me a little trouble. A particularly interesting health relationship with the minions you control. You can sacrifice them, for more health to you. A neat sort of risk and reward.

I found a strangely familiar destruction sequence, that reminded me an awful lot of Red Faction. Now Red Faction is supposed to be know for the physics tied to the destruction of the buildings in Red Faction. I tell you what, the physics that control the building destruction in Overlord, looked very very similar. Overlord is 2 years old. I just find it very strange. I did a quick search and could not find any connection with the games. They were developed by 2 different companies. With Code Masters and Triumph Studios handling Overlord and Volition with THQ handling Red Faction. I just find it odd. I will research more and report back if I find out why. Expect a full review later next week, after I log some more hours with the game.

I also played some Fallout 3, Arkadian Warriors, and 1 Vs. 100. Streak lives on at 353 straight days. We are getting close people!!

Thanks for reading.