Bionic Commando: Hot Dogs

Today saw the release of the multiplayer demo of the new Bionic Commando. No, not the remake of the original. This is the re-imagining of the series, as it were. A brand new, fully 3D game, complete with hot dogs on the bionic arm. First, a multiplayer demo? You should have some kind of single player level included. I doubt people are seriously drooling over the game’s multiplayer. Not to say it’s bad, but not many people really care. It’s all about the single player. But hey, it gave players the chance to try out the controls and get (somewhat) familiar with the mechanics of the game. Did I like it? I’m still not sure on that one.

Insomniac Games marathon will soon commence!

That’s right, in the not too distant future (probably in June), I will be starting my first official game marathon! I’ve done some in the past, but this is OFFICIAL because it will be the first since joining Backloggery last August. It’ll be an interesting marathon, to say the least, but I hope that I get a few people to join in. I love Insomniac Games, they are one of the very few developers that I trust, and I haven’t played a single game by them I don’t like.

To start, I need to purchase (or re-purchase) some of their original games, such as Disruptor and the first three Spyro games. I can get Disruptor from Amazon for pretty cheap, and I know some of those Spyro games are available for download from the Playstation Store. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem!

I need to actually beat Disruptor, since I’ve only played it briefly. And then, I will replay the original Spyro for fun, and complete the other two Spyro games (since I’ve only beaten them originally). After THAT is the fun part. For all of the Ratchet and Clank games (excluding Ratchet: Deadlocked, which I simply need to complete) I will be doing a wrench only master runs. That’s right, WRENCH ONLY! I’m THAT CRAZY! As much as I love those games and the insane amount of weapons and gadgets there are, the wrench is also incredibly useful.

I think the original Ratchet and Clank will be the hardest to do for one simple reason: the final boss! He’s probably one of the toughest in any of the games, and I think it’ll be interesting to see how useful the wrench really is when facing him. Other than that, I don’t really see any problems. Unless there is a certain situation where I absolutely need to use a specific gun, it’s wrench only all of the way.

So that’s all of the Ratchet and Clank games, excluding Deadlocked, from the original all the way to Quest for Booty. Oh, and to top it all off, I’ll be replaying the original Resistance for fun, and trying my best to complete Resistance 2.This is going to be a long, but very interesting summer.

Anyone interested in joining the marathon, please let me know so I can add you to “the list.” You don’t have to be as crazy as I am, you can just play through any one game I plan on playing, even if it’s just another playthrough for fun. It will count! I know people usually do these marathons relying on a specific series, but I figured Insomniac has such an amazing catalog of games, why not play them all again?

Konami backs out of publishing Six Days, I grow angry

Just this morning, it was announced that Konami would no longer be publishing Six Days in Fallujah. Funny, that happens right after I make a recent post commending Konami and developer Atomic Games for taking on a project like this. This is especially strange for the Japanese company for taking on a project like this. But yeah, of course it won’t last. First of all, I generally never have anything against Konami (they do publish the Metal Gear Solid games, after all), but this just pisses me off beyond belief. I do understand the controversy surrounding the game, but Atomic is trying to do something truly special, and Konami just drops it and runs away.

It’s one thing to hand it over to another publisher, it’s another to just completely ditch the project and let all of the hard work Atomic Games has done so far go to waste. Sure, there is a chance another publisher will pick it up, but if it scared off Konami, who knows what other company will be willing to take the chance? Yes, there is a chance it could completely bomb, but I think if anything, the controversy attracts more attention.

Of course, this could be a very good thing. We could get a big name publisher like Activision or EA to pick this game up, and advertise the hell out of it. Whether or not that will actually do a damn thing is completely up in the air. But, I’d give both of those publishers a better chance of picking this game up than any other; at this point, I respect any publisher more so than Konami (yes, even Activision, at least they we know they respect shooters like this,  Call of Duty being a great example).

Atomic Games is still holding out hope that the game will see the light of day soon enough, and I’m pretty sure we have yet to hear the last of it. But as for now, the game is pretty much floating around, and I doubt any publisher at this point in time will step up and take the reins. I’d give it at least few more months  before we hear any more news about a new publisher. Of course, if (or when) that day comes, we’ll have another uprising of ridiculous controversy.

And here I thought I could respect Konami as a publisher for taking on such an ambitious, potentially groundbreaking, and yes, controversial project. It’s a shame, because even if the game was quite a ways away, I was hoping on seeing something at E3. I guess we just have to wait a little bit longer for that.

Ninja Blade: Pressing one button is fun

I played Ninja Blade a little more than a week ago, but I feel like now is the appropriate time to actually write about it. Ninja Blade, while is really does want to be the next great action adventure title, falls short on so many levels for one very good reason. Now, you may like quick time events, but I guarantee even the most patient gamer will be frustrated by the fact that the majority of the game requires you to press a single button at a specific time. We’re off to a great start already guys!

Six Days in LEGO Land

I have returned! And that also means daily updates return. Hooray, time to celebrate! This won’t be a particularly lengthy post, but one that is good enough for now. I need to discuss some big news stories that broke while I was away, and one of them is probably the most ridiculous game announcement in the history of video games. Honestly, I can’t think of a single positive thing to say in regards to this announcement. It absolutely puzzles me.

New theme! And other things

Yes, I decided to go with a new theme, this being one that will hopefully last me quite some time. I do want to make a few changes with the banner, but aside from that, I think it’s looking pretty great. I just want to go over what I’m planning for my next post, which is going to be epic since it covers and will cover the past week and the next week in terms of what I’m playing and what’s going on in the world in terms of gaming.

So yeah, April 27th (or maybe April 25th) I will prepare this epic post. What will be included is:

- My impressions of Ninja Blade

- A few older releases: Fracture, Dark Sector, Soulcalibur IV, Conan, and Viking: Battle for Asgard

- A few brief words about Six Days in Fallujah.

- The game releases I’m paying attention to in May

That about covers it! Plus I may be having a guest post ready sometime soon, before the 25th, so get ready for that. Until then, happy gaming!

Daily updates to resume on April 27th

Blah blah, I’m far too behind in posts to catch up right now, and I really want to focus on finishing this semester, but on April 27th I’ll be set. Trust me! Yes, the three people who read this blog frequently are sad, but the day will be here before you know it (at least I hope it will be because these next two weeks are gonna suck).

But, I leave everyone with a video, because I care. It’s just something old I dug up, but it’s a video game rap. And it’s an awesome video game rap. Enjoy!

Happy Easter! Remember this game?

I was trying to find a game to reflect upon for an Easter related post. After searching through my game collection, I stumbled upon a game I enjoyed despite the pretty harsh criticisms it received. Not the best game in the world, not even that good by any means, but still a game I had fun with. So, to help celebrate Easter in a gaming way, I’m going to be talking briefly about Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. Remember that GameCube exclusive? Not many people do, or at least they try their best to forget it.

The most memorable moments in gaming #3: A difficult farewell

Yes, another one of these already! I felt to make up to the lack of quality posts, and the lack of posts at all yesterday, I need to do two of these in one day. Plus, I really enjoy writing these. So, let’s jump back to a more recent game once again, one that is near and dear to many gamers’ hearts. For the complex puzzles, for the innovative game design, for being incredibly funny, and for having one of the greatest credit songs in gaming history: Portal is probably one of the best games of 2007, and it introduced one of gaming’s best sidekicks. Let’s get into it!

The most memorable moments in gaming #2: No, this is NOT an extreme sport…yet

Continuing the series and going a bit old school since my first post, we’re going to be talking about what I consider to be the most extreme thing done in any video game. Or XTREME, if you prefer. Going from the emotionally powerful category to the just plain awesome category, let’s talk about a game that I consider to be the best in its respective series, and it was recently played and completed by Backloggery’s own Try4ce. Let’s take a look at Contra III: The Alien Wars!