A 360 Glance
Jul. 2nd, 2009 12:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
emeraldstagSo it's been roughly two and a half weeks that I've owned a Xbox 360 and the amount of gaming I do has tripled or more (of course prior my gaming time was non-existent so that's not saying that much). I went ahead and purchased some affordable used games because I'm at the point where I won't pay more than $25 for a game unless it's something I absolutely need and most games these days are in the $50-60 range. Since they were used I made sure to try them all right away in case I had any defects (none) and here's what I think so far.
Kung Fu Panda - This was one of the games that came in the console bundle. It's pretty much a 3rd-person button smasher. As far as I know they have all the voices from the movie, and I played through the first level. I haven't figured out if this is a sequel to the movie or a reanactment but it was easy to jump right into and fun for the most part. Not a lot of substance but plenty of action.
LEGO Indiana Jones - The other game that came in the bundle and the much more entertaining game. Like the other LEGO games it's easy to jump right in and play with little or no consequence. The one problem I had is with the silent cutscenes, you have to really remember the movies to know what's going on, if not it can get pretty tedious. Is there a LEGO game I don't want? Star Wars, Batman, and the upcoming Harry Potter one. Great franchise direction for LEGO. It also reminds me I need to get the Indiana Jones movies on DVD.
Mass Effect - One of the games that made me want a 360 in the first place. And upon putting in the disc, it lived up to my expectations and then BLEW THEM AWAY. I love the RPG aspect, the multiple conversational choices and how things change due to it. The graphics are fantastic, the cutscenes as well and it is very easy to get sucked into the game for multiple hours. I had to literally rip myself away from it so that I would write some nights. I'm looking forward to going through the complete game.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Easily the best game of the franchise yet. I loved that they moved focus away from combat to exploration, puzzle solving and wand waving. I loved the use of the right analog stick for wand movements and just how expansive Hogwarts was. This was definitely a step in the right direction. It makes my dreams for a truly open HP RPG or MMORPG much more realistic (if EA could work with BioWare). I did not like how you had to press a button to run instead of just pressing the analog stick more, and I thought the camera control was awful. A few tweaks and they'd have a near perfect game to play. I finished the story aspect the other day and now just have the other secrets and achievements left in the castle. Can't wait for the HBP game.
Sonic the Hedgehog - I can see why this game was so thoroughly panned by critics when it came out. I played through the first part and barely got through that. The cutscenes looked beautiful, other than that I wasn't impressed. The point of a Sonic game to me is speed, and collecting rings while being a platformer like mario and jumping and spinning into enemies. It was not a good thing to have to explore the city and talk to people which really slows the game down and defeats the purpose of having a speedy hedgehog. Got this for $2 at a yard sale and honestly, I don't see myself playing it again.
Viva Pinata - Another yard sale game, and one I'd heard was decently popular with people. I really don't see how after playing it for an hour or so. I found it really boring and tedious with very little action at all. It's all stamp the ground of your garden. Plant the grass. Oh look you attracted a bug. You attracted another bug. Build a home for them. You have a bird now. Et cetera, et cetera. I lost interest pretty quick and felt underwhelmed.
Gears of War - One of the games that made me want the 360 and wow does it look great. I like the action and the sound, but I found it really hard to jump right in and couldn't really figure out the controls fast enough (even when taking the 'training route'). I will continue playing it, but the difficulty level seems a lot higher than any of the other games I've played. I ran out of ammo way too quickly. Hopefully I find a groove when i return to the game.
Assassin's Creed - Another of those must-have games and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I like the concept of the game and the easyness to jump right in is very appealing. Having the moves pretty much spelled out for you as you do them along with a much better 'tutorial mode' makes me want to play this game again as quickly as possible. Surprised to like it so much after seeing critics being fairly harsh on it.
Having a lot of fun with the 360, and this doesn't even cover the media capabilities I now have in regards to playing things from my computer onto my TV through the 360. Nearly a perfect machine, I just wish it had a blu-ray player so I could start getting those. I know Microsoft is pushing digital downloads since HD-DVD lost but I've always had a more tactile response to things I own. As I complete games or come up with things to say about them I'll post again about video games.
Kung Fu Panda - This was one of the games that came in the console bundle. It's pretty much a 3rd-person button smasher. As far as I know they have all the voices from the movie, and I played through the first level. I haven't figured out if this is a sequel to the movie or a reanactment but it was easy to jump right into and fun for the most part. Not a lot of substance but plenty of action.
LEGO Indiana Jones - The other game that came in the bundle and the much more entertaining game. Like the other LEGO games it's easy to jump right in and play with little or no consequence. The one problem I had is with the silent cutscenes, you have to really remember the movies to know what's going on, if not it can get pretty tedious. Is there a LEGO game I don't want? Star Wars, Batman, and the upcoming Harry Potter one. Great franchise direction for LEGO. It also reminds me I need to get the Indiana Jones movies on DVD.
Mass Effect - One of the games that made me want a 360 in the first place. And upon putting in the disc, it lived up to my expectations and then BLEW THEM AWAY. I love the RPG aspect, the multiple conversational choices and how things change due to it. The graphics are fantastic, the cutscenes as well and it is very easy to get sucked into the game for multiple hours. I had to literally rip myself away from it so that I would write some nights. I'm looking forward to going through the complete game.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Easily the best game of the franchise yet. I loved that they moved focus away from combat to exploration, puzzle solving and wand waving. I loved the use of the right analog stick for wand movements and just how expansive Hogwarts was. This was definitely a step in the right direction. It makes my dreams for a truly open HP RPG or MMORPG much more realistic (if EA could work with BioWare). I did not like how you had to press a button to run instead of just pressing the analog stick more, and I thought the camera control was awful. A few tweaks and they'd have a near perfect game to play. I finished the story aspect the other day and now just have the other secrets and achievements left in the castle. Can't wait for the HBP game.
Sonic the Hedgehog - I can see why this game was so thoroughly panned by critics when it came out. I played through the first part and barely got through that. The cutscenes looked beautiful, other than that I wasn't impressed. The point of a Sonic game to me is speed, and collecting rings while being a platformer like mario and jumping and spinning into enemies. It was not a good thing to have to explore the city and talk to people which really slows the game down and defeats the purpose of having a speedy hedgehog. Got this for $2 at a yard sale and honestly, I don't see myself playing it again.
Viva Pinata - Another yard sale game, and one I'd heard was decently popular with people. I really don't see how after playing it for an hour or so. I found it really boring and tedious with very little action at all. It's all stamp the ground of your garden. Plant the grass. Oh look you attracted a bug. You attracted another bug. Build a home for them. You have a bird now. Et cetera, et cetera. I lost interest pretty quick and felt underwhelmed.
Gears of War - One of the games that made me want the 360 and wow does it look great. I like the action and the sound, but I found it really hard to jump right in and couldn't really figure out the controls fast enough (even when taking the 'training route'). I will continue playing it, but the difficulty level seems a lot higher than any of the other games I've played. I ran out of ammo way too quickly. Hopefully I find a groove when i return to the game.
Assassin's Creed - Another of those must-have games and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I like the concept of the game and the easyness to jump right in is very appealing. Having the moves pretty much spelled out for you as you do them along with a much better 'tutorial mode' makes me want to play this game again as quickly as possible. Surprised to like it so much after seeing critics being fairly harsh on it.
Having a lot of fun with the 360, and this doesn't even cover the media capabilities I now have in regards to playing things from my computer onto my TV through the 360. Nearly a perfect machine, I just wish it had a blu-ray player so I could start getting those. I know Microsoft is pushing digital downloads since HD-DVD lost but I've always had a more tactile response to things I own. As I complete games or come up with things to say about them I'll post again about video games.
