What are you playing right now?

[soloist]

I have played the demo for The Darkness and was impressed,
so I am currently waiting to get it used! That intro is be-
yond belief in terms of realism and dramatic flair to
boot! You have to try the demo for Bioshock! W-
ould you believe that Madden 08 was availa-
ble since Friday in my area? Not many k-
new of the early release though. As
of this very moment, I am gett-
ing into Crazy Taxi for the P-
SP... and though a few v-
isual hiccups are noti-
ceable, the game
runs at a quic-
k pace and
the soun-
dtrack
opti-
on:

(is spectactular!!!)

[soloist]

I plan to play these
titles very soon!
Most of whic-
h tonight i-
f I can h-
elp it!





Gekido Advance (GBA)... a Final Fight/Double Dragon styled beat-em-up which is actually the sequel to a PSone title of the same name - sans the Advance (very hard for me to find...). This version features anime styled visuals, FMV and even some walking/conversing segments! Not bad for a fighting game for the GBA which was released in 2004...







Next is Two Worlds (360)... sort of an Oblivion-esque title which focuses more on action and even has a co-op option for up to 8 players. It even has player against player fights as well... and then there are dragons! Can't wait to battle them!!!! The collector's edition came with a table-top RPG, a map, and even a CD soundtrack!









Last but not least is Bioshock, the collector's edition! This was a huge package and featured a 6 inch die-cast metal Big Daddy (at least it feels like it being very heavy), an EP by Moby exclusively for Bioshock, and a Behind-the-scenes DVD! This was large box (though nothing beats the size of Steel Batallion's box... YIKES)!

[Nakor]

Recently Conquered: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 2 - Justice for All

Ongoing Mission: Puzzle Quest

Finished the Main Quest, but Still Working on Unlockables: Jump Ultimate Stars

Newly Acquired: Rune Factory

[Roemello]

My three new acquisitions today will keep me busy... until Lair... Heavenly Sword... Halo 3...

So now it's Bioshock, Two Worlds and Metroid Prime 3 Emphasis on Bioshock... I'm working that one over first

[soloist]

Congratulations on your progress, Nakor as well as your
latest gaming acquisition! How is Rune Factory if y-
ou do not mind my asking? I still have not even
scratched the surface of Puzzle Quest, but f-
rom what I have played, it is an enjoyab-
le and unique format. Online matche-
s are said to very entertaining as
well, though I have not played
in this fashion as of this m-
oment. Roemello? Can y-
ou now admit to how
great a game Bio-
shock is and h-
ow engross-
ing it ca-
n be?
The cre-
epy factor i-
s higher than C-
ondemned and the
fear level is beyond th-
e game F.E.A.R in many
ways in my opinion! I woul-
d speak of one scene in parti-
cular, but I know not if you have
passed that section, so I shall awai-
t your testimony. I should be playing L-
air soon. Reviews were not so great, but
one was from a 360 fanboy, and the other c-
omplained about how difficult the SIXAXIS con-
trollers were, but mentioned little about the core
game. I shall give my impressions when I have time.




L.A.I.R (front... obviously)


The back... (equally obvious)

[Nakor]

I was a bit surprised by Harvest Moon. It feels more natural than I expected for having combat in it. I'm almost through the first spring now, and I've cleared a couple of the caves, so the (combat) difficulty level doesn't seem to be high. Abusing the trade system would result in pathetically easy cash, but for those who choose to play solo, or trade for reasons other than just levelling their items, it seems to be pretty balanced.

Haven't built any monster huts yet, so I don't know how the capturing aspect will play out. (Trying to save wood up for the house upgrade instead.)

[soloist]

At least you can find wood to build
a home instead of owing for on-
e like Animal Crossing with T-
om Nook (laughs)! What ca-
n one do in a home besid-
es cosmetic contructio-
n if you don't mind m-
y asking? Storing i-
tems is a given,
but what is c-
an be done
with a h-
ome??

[Nakor]

In Rune Factory, you can add a kitchen that allows you to cook after you've got some utensils (not sure if there's any utensil-free recipes). You can also add a $200000/2000 log extension to the house which allows for the Forging (weapons/armours/tools), Decoration (accessories) and Pharmacy (medicines) skills. Other than that, the only additions to the house in Rune Factory are the fridge, cabinet, double bed (required for marriage) and (purely aesthetic) table. You can construct "Monster Huts" outside which hold the monsters you "befriend", who effectively become farm animals like in previous games. Some of the monsters provide watering or harvesting help on the farm instead, and a few you can ride, or have accompany you into dungeons. Basement add-ons can be added to the huts.

[soloist]

So there IS a practical use for the home! That is good!
Sounds like an interesting title, though I still hav-
e not progressed much in Puzzle Quest whic-
h I mentioned that I would (laughs)! I c-
ompleted Bioshock on Tuesday, an-
d I must say that I am pleased
with my journey!!! So mu-
ch in fact that I will tr-
y it on a harder di-
fficulty for mo-
re achieve-
ment po-
ints!!

(but first... I'll play this!)




John Woo's Stranglehold!

[Roemello]

Still focused on Bioshock and left off trying to become a "Big Daddy" Still can't get over what a surprise masterpiece of a game this turned out to be... fresh off of getting through 'The Darkness' a while ago... about time they made shooters more interesting Even the achievements are fun to acquire

Next will be Two Worlds or Metroid Prime 3... but then Heavenly Sword is coming too next week.... here we go again

[soloist]

Indeed Bioshock is quite the sleeper hit in my opinion and
does bring the FPS in a direction previous unventured
and/or seen! I am still playing Bioshock, trying to
obtain more photographs. Just this morning,
I did play Streets of Rage 2 on XBLA and
got many of the achievements ther-
e. Now on to Stranglehold, but
first, I was able to get th-
e invite to Call of Dut-
y 4 and have been
playing it! Call-
ing airstrik-
es after
gett-
ing 7 kil-
ls in a row is
truly rewarding!
The game does lag,
and newbies get umm,
owned rather quickly sinc-
e experience players will get
bonuses for their accomplishme-
nts, similar to the reward scheme o-
f Rainbow 6. The lagging is due to the
amount of people on the server though!!

[soloist]

Currently playing Call
of Duty 4 bea, bu-
t I should be pl-
aying this v-
ery soon
thou-
gh.





The Daxter bundle...


Which includes the new PSP, Daxter game, a Family Guy UMD and a 1 gig memory stick!

[Roemello]

Finished Bioshock, though may play through it again on the harder difficulty and try to attain the rest of the achievements I missed. It's well worth another run through I'd say

Might put it off though and start working over another title first... though it sucked a bit to start, I wanna explore Two Worlds a bit more and see how it gets over time... unless I get an urge to Prime 3... or I'll just jump between..

[KenseidenXL]

Skies of Arcadia Legends (GCN). Picked up a mint-condition used copy at GameStop today for $20. It came complete.

[Nakor]

^ Now that game was great. Although, come to think of it, I never played it through myself, lol. I always just helped my sister who was obsessed with it, so I saw the whole game played through that way.