Tony

I tried to get as much gaming in as I could during my free week, and I was fairly successful. I rented EA’s NBA Street Homecourt and gave that a try. While I played the NBA Street series a lot, I never owned any of the 3 games. I enjoyed them, just not enough to ever buy one. I had read that Homecourt is a cross between NBA Street and NBA Jams, losing some of the charm of each individual title. I was a huge NBA Jam freak back in the day, so I didn’t think that was a bad thing so I figured it was worth a go. I’ve played a bunch of Homecourt now and I’d give the game a thumbs-up. Some of the gravity-defying dunks are simply too much to swallow, but the game overall is very enjoyable. The gamebreaker portion, where you dance and jump around with the ball in a sort of break-dance free-style, is simply hilarious. Can’t get enough of that. The problem I have is seeing players in the game that couldn’t dunk a basketball with a trampoline doing high flying acrobatics. Give me a break. I’ve seen Antoine Walker jump. He’s got a five inch vertical. That cat’s not dunking over anyone, even with the best trampoline.

I also had a copy of Oblivion I borrowed off Bobster which I never got around to playing until this weekend. I can definitely see how this game sucked months of gaming away from a lot of 360 owners. If I didn’t have EQ2 to fall back on, I can see this game being my RPG of choice for a very long time. Everything about Oblivion oozed awesomeness. I wish I had more time to give this a thorough playing, it’s just currently not in the cards. Especially after my brother-in-law told me about Two Worlds. It may even give EQ2 a run for my RPG time.

I mentioned I be trying the 7-day survivor (again) in Dead Rising one last time, but I met an very untimely death about two days into the game by that Army Freak in the Hardware store and I swore that game off forever. It’s still my favorite 360 game to date, but I just can’t take another heartbreak in survivor mode. Enough of that, I’m waiting for DR 2 now.

I rented Splinter Cell Double Agent, but was so busy with the other games that I never got around to it. Hopefully I’ll have some time this week to give that a try. I figure it will be like all the other SC, but that’s not a bad thing.

Finally, I had a nice marathon session of Everquest 2. I finished up my Tier 2 armor set (that I mocked earlier) and wrapped up a few more quests. Every time I get ready to head to a new area, I end up spending more time in the old areas wrapping up loose ends and I never make it. My goal is to be in the Thundering Steppes full time some time this week.

I’m proclaiming this year’s extravaganza a resounding success.

(Remember that scene in the Christmas Story, when Ralphie opens the present from his Aunt Clara and it’s the pink bunny suit? His mom makes him try it on and he comes down the stairs, looking miserable and horrified that he has donned this obviously girly set of pajamas? That was pretty hilarious, right?

Okay, keep that in mind and hit the jump as I set a new stage for a horribly similar scene.)
[Read more…] about Man, this is uncomfortable

It’s that time of year — time for Mrs. Buttonmasher to pack up the little mashers and head to the masher-in-laws for the week, leaving Mr. Buttonmasher a whole week of fun and excitement! I got things started off today with a round of golf and I got to watch the painful Game 3 loss of the Cavaliers to the Spurs. But I’m not going to let that dampen my spirits! This is my week!

Sure, I’ve got a honey to-do list to take care of, but there will be plenty of time for video games. I plan on copious amounts of Everquest 2, Forza 2 and much more gaming. I broke down and picked up a copy of Forza 2 and I rented a couple games from Blockbuster. I’m also thinking of giving that Survivor challenge in Dead Rising one more chance. I’ve got a whole plan for that one worked out. We’ll see what happens there.

I also hope to get more blogging in than is usual. There’s also a possibility I will be adding a 3rd semi-regular poster here, but that’s still up in the air.

So I hope you’ll join me in the extravaganza! Games for all!

I picked up Forza 2 over the weekend and I have been playing it every chance I get. Instead of impressions, let me say I’m impressed. Forza Motorsports 2 is impressive.

Forza, at its core, is a game I will probably never fully appreciate. There are depths to Forza 2 that I’m not willing to plumb. Even though I can control the air pressure in my tires and tweak my suspension system in a hundred different ways, I probably never will. The level of customization available is staggering. You want options to customize the look of your car, make it a one-of-a-kind? You’ve got hundreds of layers to work with. Hundreds. I, for one, am not that comitted. Luckily, other people are, and I can still appreciate what can be done with this game.

As it’s been said before, Forza 2 is not really a game. It is a driving simulation. You can’t put the pedal to the medal and hope the guard-rails keep you on the path. They don’t. They twist you in ways you didn’t think would happen. You just can’t fly around the track, using the brakes occasionally. This is not that kind of game. Once I accepted that fact and got the hang of racing without flooring it the whole race, things got very enjoyable. In fact, I’m getting pretty good at it. Not “jump to the top of the Xbox Live Leaderboards” good, but “change the difficulty from Easy to Medium” good. They’re baby steps.

Forza 2 is also about amassing as many cars as you can. The rewards of winning races are usually in the form of a new vehicle for your garage or new relationships with car manufacturers. This works on two levels. The drive to collect ’em all is something that’s hardwired in a gamer’s brain. It’s an irrestible force. It also serves to drive the game along, as you continue to earn new cars, new tracks and races become available to you.

Of course, you don’t abandon the cars in your garage, as they are able to earn “levels” in the same manner you as the driver earns “levels.” Again, another game mechanic gamers crave. Now you can do it two different ways. It’s very addicting. Add in all the customization and upgrades you can buy, and you’ve got a full plate. There’s also the ability to post your souped up cars on the Xbox Live Auction as well as gifting cars to your buds on Live. If you can collect something, you can sell and trade it as well. Quite a tidy package.

Overall, I really don’t have any major issues with FM2. I haven’t jumped online yet to try that mode out. It’s daunting. I don’t want to be embarassed, which is the inevitable end result of my racing endeavors online. I’m sure the multiplayer modes are fun, but I’m honestly okay with playing the game by myself. So far, so good.

Elsewhere:
Matt Brett on Forza 2
Masem’s Gaming Blog
Dan at The Blog for the Sportsgamer