Andy Laub

I was extremely happy to reach the conclusion of Dead Space for a number of reasons:

1. No more monsters jumping out of vents
2. I can play another game without feeling guilty

I had initially started playing Far Cry 2 while in the midst of Dead Space, and all the freedom it offered had the interesting effect of making me long for the more structured missions of the very game I was avoiding. I managed to put about five hours into it before giving it up and returning to the land of linearity.

And so with the conclusion of Monster Zombies in Space™, Far Cry was forgotten in favor of a new contender: Metal Gear Solid 4. I’ll be honest; I didn’t have high hopes. I’ve played games in the series before and not done overly well, but given that this is the flagship game for the PS3 and beat out my favorite game ever for GameSpot’s Game of the Year, I expected that it would at least provide for an interesting and entertaining experience.

I was not wrong.

Like other games in the Metal Gear Solid line, MGS4 has a healthy serving of dialogue and cutscenes to accompany the gameplay – there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be watching just as much as you’ll be playing. But the Metal Gear universe is so deliciously convoluted that every bit of dialogue becomes important to understanding just what the hell is happening. Before playing through I had only a passing knowledge of the series, and even I wasn’t completely confused.

That’s not to say it’s brilliant or clever; more appropriate descriptions would be weird, or twisted, or just plain crazy. Still, it’s definitely interesting and keeps you intrigued. And you’re rewarded for your wait with some really good gameplay. Metal Gear games have always relied heavily on stealth elements, and while this one certainly is no exception, you’re provided with adequate firepower from the get-go that will make the occasional skirmish less of a punishment.

There’s not much else I can really say about this game except that it’s really fun, and you should play it if you have a PS3. After a stream of averageness, this is the first game I’ve played that really gives me hope for the console.

A long while ago, like August, I endeavored to make a list of all the video games I own. I was successful in completing the list and kind of keeping it up to date, but I wanted to also add descriptions of the games and never really got past the B’s. So instead, I logged on to GameSpot and lo and behold, they let you keep track not only of all the games you have, but of those that you want to have and those you’re currently playing. Pretty neat and worth a look if you dig that sort of thing.

Despite the advice of Gamespot.com, I went ahead and bought the Getaway anyway. My main intention was driving around london instead of Miami or somewhere else, and it had some added appeal in that it used licensed cars (ie Lexus, Rover) instead of making them up. But I have to say that after completing the game over the weekend (it loses some points for shortness), I am looking forward to the next installment. The driving is average, and the cutscenes are sometimes ridiculously long, but it remains fun to play, and less frustrating than others when it comes to the combat side of things. And I think that combat is where this game really shines over its peers, the sole reason being Stealth Mode. More things should have stealth mode. Anyway, stealth mode is a neat little series of actions that allows you to (easily) strafe along walls, and crouch behind boxes. It is this feature alone that makes me really relish the combat in the game instead of dreading it. Things are straightforward instead of being overly complicated, which seems to be a theme. It doesn’t have you doing side missions and have big plot twists, and I think it works without them. I also really enjoyed the detail and accuracy of the game. Abe and I were actually able to find the dorm he stayed in when he lived in London for school, which is pretty neat. The only thing I could really ask for is more length to the game, and also more interior environments, which will hopefully be remedied by Black Monday.

So yeah, on to the part that sucks. The weather here has been absolutely terrible for about 90% of this month, so far. According to the forecast for the rest of the week, it’s either going to be cloudy or raining. I guess that’d be fine if I lived in Seattle, but then again I wouldn’t have to deal with excessive cold so it’d be a nice trade. Here I get both. Yay.

I watched Kill Bill again yesterday, and it was still awesome.