It's been a while since my last post. What have I been up to? Well, a few weeks ago my fiance and I went through very stressful week of trying to buy a house. In the end the sale didn't go through, but we learned some good lessons about the house buying process so the next time we put an offer in it should be easier. I just wish that going through this learning process didn't cost us more than a grand, after the builder's inspection report and lawyers costs etc was added up. Ouch.
Since then, we've decided to take a brief hiatus from the house hunting to clear our heads a bit. During that super stressful week I hardly played any games, all I could think about was THE HOUSE. Since then, I've been getting into the bunch of second hand PS3 games I mentioned a few posts ago.
I've dabbled in Assassin's Creed II for five or six hours so far, and even though it's early days yet I already find it much more enjoyable than the first game. By this point in the first game I was already growing increasingly bored with the routine that the game presents you with ( gather evidence, locate target, assassinate target, run from guards, repeat ad infinitum ). But AC II is far more varied in the tasks that it gives you. The free running aspect is just as enjoyable as before, but now it is mixed in with genuinely interesting goals. The combat is still a bit jinky, but it's definitely an improvement on the orignal. AC II is not the type of game that I can imagine myself sitting down with and having super long gaming sessions, but I'll definitely keep chipping away at it.
F.E.A.R 2, the sequel to one of my favourite first person shooters, has been pretty good for the few hours I've played so far. I played the orignal on my PC years ago, so it's been a bit strange playing the sequel using a PS3 controller. The basic experience so far is similar to the first game, the gameplay mechanics are essentially identical as you would expect. There haven't been any really big scares yet ( something which the first game definitely had in spades ), but there is a constant sense of unease which keeps you on edge while you're playing. The bad points? Well, I must say, the graphics are a bit shoddy. Definitely a case of a multiplatform game not really being tailored towards a particular platform. The PS3 is capable of much better graphics than this game has, that's for sure. Otherwise, it's a sold game so far, and I'm looking forward to playing through the rest of it.
The game that I've spent most of my time on is Brutal Legend. I'm about half way through the game, and a lot of that time has been spent driving around finding all the hidden secrets. This is a game that definitely triggers the "gotta catch 'em all" part of my brain. Overall, the game is a mixed bag. The dialogue, voice acting, graphics and music are totally brilliant. The combat leaves a bit to be desired, I find that you're generally just rushed by a bunch of enemies so there's very little chance to try out combos. More often than not combat just dissolves into button mashing. Driving The Deuce around is a lot of fun, and honestly just exploring the world has been my favourite part of the game so far. But, yes, definitely a mixed bag. It feels like the game just tries too many things instead of focussing on a handful of core game ideas. It definitely has a few rough edges, such as not being able to jump and getting stuck in holes in the scenery. Still, it's a hell of a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to getting back into it over the coming weekend.
So, these are the games that have been entertaining me in my spare time. I'm looking forward to grabbing God Of War 3 at some stage, along with Heavy Rain and Bayonetta, but I'll probably wait again until I can get them second hand.
