156 031108 - Backtracking on video games

11/03/2008

3000048721

I said recently that I was bored of video games. I think that what I was actually bored of is the games I have. I rented two recently (Soul Calibur IV and Far Cry 2) and had loads of fun with them.

Soul Calibur is brilliant in short spurts, normally when someone's been on your nerves and you want to bash the blood out of them with a katana. I'm told that it has online play, but I was too stupid to find it. Anyone who wants to pick up this game just to play as Darth Vader, don't waste your time - this was the only part of the game I was underwhelmed by.

Far Cry 2 is great, too. All the reviews I've read said that the story was a bit transparent and seemed to be there for the sake of updating the Crysis engine and spinning some money, but the gameplay was good enough for me to not really care about the story. The way you never leave first person was executed with incredible attention to detail, and the way you don't actually die, you just get really close and one of your buddies finds you was brilliant. This made it to my "games to buy" list and helped me realise that there definitely is a place for video games in my life. Sure, I don't have as much time for them any more, but I have a PS3 and dammit, I'm going to do my best to justify that purchase!

I've just added Fallout 3 to my rental list as well. Watched the video review on gamespot and it looks excellent, too. It's going to be my prize for my first client booked.

As you've probably spotted (unless you're reading on RSS…yoohoo!), there's been a total blog redesign. Following on from this, there's about to be some extra pages added to give a little more substance to my online presence. Please let me know what you think of the design, unless you don't like it - then I'll know you're lying.

There aren't enough synonyms for "great" to keep my cycling through them all subtle.