Gooder Than Hell!

Ever watched an unboxing video? That’s a video in which someone gets a new toy and they film themselves opening it, taking each piece out, obsessing over how beautiful it all is. As I mention in the video below, it’s kinda like porn for people who can’t afford stuff.

And yes, as you might infer from the phrase “the video below,” I’ve made an unboxing video. It took something pretty special to get me to take the step, and that something special is the Special Edition of “Bioshock 2,” a game that I’ve been excited about for more than a year. It’s the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time, and one of the most memorable gaming experiences I’ve ever had.

So, without further delay, let’s crack open the box, shall we?

So you got an Xbox 360 or a PS3 for the kids this holiday, yeah? But if someone asks you about it, you mumble something like “Oh, that’s not for me, that’s for the kids, I don’t play it.” Is that you? Are you that guy?

Well, let me introduce you to a couple of games that you, the non-video-gamer, are going to want to play. These are all downloads, so there’s no need to go to the store; they’re also very inexpensive, a fraction of what you’d pay for a new boxed game. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not very good with the Christmas decorations. I’m the first to admit that. And I live next to some guys that are totally into it – like, they actually use ladders and stuff. Not me, boy, not me. I’ve got an inflatable Santa out front and some lights wrapped around the banister, but I am not getting on a ladder for this. I’ve got a high enough center of gravity as it is.

That said, this guy is probably the coolest dad ever – he evidently works for Disney Imagineering, with a focus on “non-screen projection, complex distortion correction, moving eye point, spatial illusions and scenic projection.” In other words, greatest job ever. Read the rest of this entry »

At my house lately, it’s all about “The Beatles: Rock Band.” This game is so well done, so affectionate to the source material, and so durned enjoyable. This is a game that my wife – who previously had never once turned on the Xbox – seeks out and plays when she has a moment to herself. That’s some sort of litmus test right there.

I’ll confess to getting a little bit misty the first time I saw the animated introduction to the game, which is seen here:

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve had a computer of my own since I was a very young boy, and I’ve done a lot of fun things with those computers. But I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun as I’ve had over the past few weeks playing a little game called “Plants vs. Zombies.” Read the rest of this entry »

I haven’t played a role-playing game in a long, long time, but Eternal Sonata captivated me immediately and hasn’t let go yet. The story is unlike any I’ve seen in a video game: the composer Frederic Chopin lays on his death bed, dreaming of a young girl named Polka who assembles a team of wandering kids to fight a cruel monarch.

There’s a strong environmental message at the core – the only thing the government doesn’t tax is mineral powder, which heals sickness but has dreaded side-effects; meanwhile, the benevolent floral powder goes unharvested. Read the rest of this entry »

This little game didn’t make much of an impact on American markets when first released for the Playstation 2, but now that it has arrived on the Xbox 360 Arcade in full high-definition wide-screen glory, it’s time to play catch-up. And what a feeling of play, solid unabashed unfettered play, washes over you from the moment the game starts.

Likened by some to an electrified Kandinsky painting, Rez puts you in control of an on-screen avatar that flies on a pre-determined course through an electronic landscape, zapping, um, things and picking up other things and evolving into different iterations of yourself. There’s more story than that, of course, but the story is secondary to the visuals – and the sounds. For when you zap things, they don’t go “pow” – they emit a musical tone.

By holding down the A button and hovering the cursor over multiple baddies, then releasing the button, you zap multiples at once, creating chords of sound. The result of all this is a singular creation that resides somewhere between video game escapism and performance art.

One thing that isn’t available yet for the Xbox version of the game is the Trance Vibrator, an optional peripheral for the PS2 that vibrated in time with the game. What was the point, since the PS 2 controller already vibrated? Well, use your imagination.

I love video games, but have a really low threshold for frustration. I grew up in the era of Atari, which was long before the endless litany of boss-battles and repetition by design.

As a result, there are only a handful of modern games that delight me – but the Lego Star Wars series is one of them. It’s pure fun, a game where you have an infinite number of lives and therefore an infinite number of attempts to solve the puzzles.

The puzzles themselves are great, slightly tied into the plot of the films but not so much that you’re at a disadvantage if you haven’t watched them 100 times. And the cut scenes are pretty fun – it’s interesting how many of them work so much better without dialogue.

Also, I cannot recommend these games highly enough for parents looking for something to play with their kids. My five-year-old and I have absolutely worn these games out, and keep playing them over and over. There is a heavy emphasis on teamwork and group problem solving that makes them a really positive experience, especially for parent/child working together, making plans together, figuring things out together. This is probably the best parent/child video game I’ve ever encountered.

And the big exciting news is that there’s another great-looking Lego game on the way this summer – place your pre-orders now for Lego Indiana Jones! Simply can’t wait for this.

This game might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but if you’re the kind of alpha-nerd who loves turn-based strategy and Tolkien in equal parts, Lord of the Rings Tactics is an absolute delight.

It’s an ultra-simple interface that is made crystal clear in a 10-minute tutorial. The game structure itself is really well designed; think really really high-end chess, on a variety of terrain-ish gameboards, with Frodo and Aragorn and Gandalf as the pieces. Outstandinger than hell.

To my knowledge, this is only available for the PSP. To be honest, up until now I’ve mainly used my PSP as a video device, and it’s great for that – but this is the first game for it that’s really turned me on in a long time.