The Gaming Grid

First off, I never thought the Halo series was all that great. Well to the extent most people give it. I have however played and beaten all of them so far. Until now that is. I reserved Halo Wars in the thought that others will grab this and I will have someone to play with. Now this is the odd thing. That stops me from buying most games, so I really don’t know why I got this game. I know it has co-op but I don’t really know if I will play with friends or if I’ll be forced to play with some dick online.

Turns out that most of the people I know did not pick this game up, and there are good reasons for this. Normally I don’t like to give a review on something until I finish the game, but its just killing me. This game is not really that hard, in fact its to easy. Most RTS the units just do straight damage, in this game its a rock, paper, scissors match. The biggest problem is that you are a rock and they are always scissors, and you have a big rock. The funny thing is all you have to do is make marines. That’s it. just run around with them and kill everything. I have found my only reason to have vehicles is if they give them to me.

I also think the controls are not intuitive for this platform. This really just needed to be a PC release. To select units you can select al, select local, or use the painter. 90% of the time you will move some units one way and then select all units by accident and mess up your whole plan. I have found that if I just bunch them all up into a large mobile horde, they kill faster and its less frustrating. The game has programed events that no matter what you do, X will happen. I thought we got past that point 5 years ago. This game has taken the genre back to the original command and conquer, which in my opinion is a better game.

If them made the interface more like End Wars it would have been a better game. It did not even need the voice command, just the general controler layout and level layout. I think I will eventually beat this game, but I just don’t really want to play it. Maybe ill go play some Gears of War 2, they have a new DLC at the end of the month. I will also write a second look when I beat the game. Who knows maybe it will grow on me.

Nominated Games
* A Kingdom for Keflings
* Portal
* Braid
* Castle Crashers
* Bionic Commando Rearmed
* Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2
* Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
* N+
* Penny Arcade Episode 1
* Schizoid
* Age of Booty
* Boogie Bunnies
* Roogoo
* Meteos Wars
* Soul Calibur
* Mega Man 9
* Rez HD
* Fable II Pub Games
* Duke Nukem 3D
* Galaga Legions
I have been really enjoying whats been on the XBLA so far. So does Microsoft. Hit up their site and let them know what you think. Yes we can. On this list I have played a few, I really loved that they have Duke Nukem 3D. Mega Man 9 made you feel like a kid again playing on the NES. That goes to show you that graphics don’t count for everything. Castle Crashers is a fun golden axe style side scroller with a new look. For a few extra Microsoft points you and a group of buddies can have fun. Taking you back to the days of old, where trash talk wasn’t a string of four letter words.

So check it out. Vote!
Awards 2008

Unfortunately I do not own a Nintendo DS, but I love the Fire Emblem series. Not many people know of them, since not many have been released outside Japan. But with the release of Smash Brothers, you could find a fan sub of the games. Even with really bad Engrish you could get a general idea of what is going on. The last one I owned was the first one to come out for the Game boy advanced.

I owned the SP and loved it. Now I love tactical turn based squad games. The story was decent and the game play was really well done. One thing I love about these style games, is that the art work is usually better than most other games. They don’t have to put to much time into 3D rendering, so they can put that time into other things.

One of the cool things that I see with this, is the duel screen which is awesome, but also the multiplayer. I think having a quick reference on your second screen can save time, and help you from making those silly mistakes. The multiplayer may be great, depending on what kind of units you can field. Now not owning one I’ll have to steal someones to play this, But what I would think would make a great multiplayer experience, is that you can unlock characters through the single player to start with. Fighting either co-op or vs. you can level them your own way. Unlocking additional character through multiplayer gaming. This would allow for great variety and game play.

The Nintendo site says that you pick character you have raised from battles, but not sure if these are the guys you start off with or what. If you like Turn based Tactics, I would pick this up for the DS. If you do I’m Jealous.

This episode was originally for The Man Cast. We don’t announce who we are, we just hit the record button and go. We also don’t edit, its just a nice fire side chat with A. David, Paul, and I. Well Sans the fire but you get my point. This conversation drifted to games, so A. David gave me the episode. Now I give it to you.

Have fun.

 

 Tactics Talk [30:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In my very last post, I stated that I wanted more. Well looks like I got my wish. They just released a deleted scene. This is an extra level but didn’t make the cut. But the big question on my mind is a single level worth 100 XBL points. I’m sure Ill wind up getting this anyways, but it still feels like I’m being ripped off. I think if they had a little more for this DLC I would have no problem.

The pinnacle of alien evolution, Maw is a cowardly fat blob concerned mostly with snacking and lounging. He can, however, absorb the traits of anything he eats, is virtually indestructible, and can grow to unlimited size. If he wasn’t a danger to all life in the universe, he’d make the perfect pet. In this action/adventure game, he’s the best friend of our hero Frank, and only by working together can Maw eat their way to freedom. The Maw was honored with the Audience Choice Award in the 2008 PAX-10 showcase of independent games.