My interests have shifted a little, and I'm going to do a 1-for-1 swap from the TV season portion of the backlog.
Coming off: a bunch of HBO stuff. I'm sure Carnivale and Deadwood are very compelling, but I'm just not in the mood for mystical carnivals and westerns these days. Maybe I'll put them back on, maybe not.
Going in instead: La Femme Nikita, seasons 1-5.
This is technically breaking my own rules, but I'd rather have something on the backlog that still interests me. There's no point in keeping something on there that I'm no longer interested in watching.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Elimination: Jagged Alliance 2
Cleared: 2/23/2010 at 9:00 PM
Verdict: Best PC game, ever
Wow, what a ride. I originally picked up Jagged Alliance 2 right after it came out in 1999 and had never, up until this point, beaten it. In a way, it was because I liked it too much. The game is amazingly good, and with the fan-created 1.13 patch on top (which adds lots of new weapons that have been invented since 1999 and a new inventory system based around load-bearing equipment, weather effects, and improvements to the AI) it's absolutely sublime. The graphics and voice acting are dated by today's standards, but holy cow, the gameplay is amazing. If you've never played it, it is well worth the $10 gog.com is charging for it. I was tempted to "retire" this one and take it off the backlog without completing it, and in fact, for a few days I had a post here that said that that was my intention, but then I realized how lame that was and made myself push through to the end. 11 years to beat a game. Sheesh. Better late than never, I guess.
Verdict: Best PC game, ever
Wow, what a ride. I originally picked up Jagged Alliance 2 right after it came out in 1999 and had never, up until this point, beaten it. In a way, it was because I liked it too much. The game is amazingly good, and with the fan-created 1.13 patch on top (which adds lots of new weapons that have been invented since 1999 and a new inventory system based around load-bearing equipment, weather effects, and improvements to the AI) it's absolutely sublime. The graphics and voice acting are dated by today's standards, but holy cow, the gameplay is amazing. If you've never played it, it is well worth the $10 gog.com is charging for it. I was tempted to "retire" this one and take it off the backlog without completing it, and in fact, for a few days I had a post here that said that that was my intention, but then I realized how lame that was and made myself push through to the end. 11 years to beat a game. Sheesh. Better late than never, I guess.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Addition and Elimination: Mass Effect 2
Cleared: Saturday, 1/30/2010 at around 11:30pm
Verdict: Blown away
So, uh, I know this site kinda went dark for a while. There was a reason for that: Mass Effect 2. I spent a bunch of time feverishly playing through Mass Effect 1 so I'd have a savegame I liked to import and then spent the last week playing through Mass Effect 2. It may have been the best PC game I have ever played, period. The gameplay was tightened up significantly from the first (which was still a great game) the story was absolutely jaw-dropping top-notch, and the weight of choices from game 1 carrying through was fantastic. I cannot recommend the game highly enough, but I also recommend that you play through Mass Effect 1 first and get a savegame with choices you're prepared to live with. It's an amazing experience, and the only game I've ever seen to use quicktime events in a way I genuinely liked. I'll probably expand this post later, but if you trust my opinion at all, this is one to get.
Verdict: Blown away
So, uh, I know this site kinda went dark for a while. There was a reason for that: Mass Effect 2. I spent a bunch of time feverishly playing through Mass Effect 1 so I'd have a savegame I liked to import and then spent the last week playing through Mass Effect 2. It may have been the best PC game I have ever played, period. The gameplay was tightened up significantly from the first (which was still a great game) the story was absolutely jaw-dropping top-notch, and the weight of choices from game 1 carrying through was fantastic. I cannot recommend the game highly enough, but I also recommend that you play through Mass Effect 1 first and get a savegame with choices you're prepared to live with. It's an amazing experience, and the only game I've ever seen to use quicktime events in a way I genuinely liked. I'll probably expand this post later, but if you trust my opinion at all, this is one to get.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Are you a Gamer?
If so, you may want to go check out what's going on at DrivethruRPG right now. Don't worry, if it's before the end of January 2010 as you read this, it'll be obvious.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Elimination: Prey
Cleared: 1/14/2010 at about 8:20pm
Verdict: Did not like enough to finish
Prey is an old-school first-person shooter. It's got a lot of unique mechanics in it, but ultimately, it's just a confusing, dated-looking corridor shooter. It's gruesome, but not truly scary, the graphics are old enough that it's serious "uncanny valley" and so forth. I wanted to like this game, because it's got some very cool tricks. You can walk up certain walls, there are portals in the game, the weapons are unique and different, your character can leave his body and walk around in spirit form, but it just didn't matter. The story didn't grab me, the characters didn't grab me, and wandering lost through twisting alien corridors didn't grab me. I'm done with this one. Not my thing. Oh well. Some free space on the ol' hard drive, I guess.
Verdict: Did not like enough to finish
Prey is an old-school first-person shooter. It's got a lot of unique mechanics in it, but ultimately, it's just a confusing, dated-looking corridor shooter. It's gruesome, but not truly scary, the graphics are old enough that it's serious "uncanny valley" and so forth. I wanted to like this game, because it's got some very cool tricks. You can walk up certain walls, there are portals in the game, the weapons are unique and different, your character can leave his body and walk around in spirit form, but it just didn't matter. The story didn't grab me, the characters didn't grab me, and wandering lost through twisting alien corridors didn't grab me. I'm done with this one. Not my thing. Oh well. Some free space on the ol' hard drive, I guess.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Elimination: Gone Tomorrow
Cleared: 1/7/2010 a few minutes before Midnight
Verdict: Liked it
Gone tomorrow is the latest Jack Reacher novel by popular thriller writer Lee Child. For those unfamiliar, Jack Reacher is one of those literary heroes that can best be described as "badass". He's an ex-military cop who wanders the country writing wrongs and getting into trouble. The books aren't the most plausible thing you'll ever read, and Reacher is formidable and lucky beyond what could be called realistic at times, but they're gritty and a lot of fun to read, and this latest was no different. It was also a nice change of pace from God's Demon. I have to admit, however, that I didn't start this one from scratch. Like a number of things in my backlog, I was partway through when I made the list, and I just decided to finish it.
Verdict: Liked it
Gone tomorrow is the latest Jack Reacher novel by popular thriller writer Lee Child. For those unfamiliar, Jack Reacher is one of those literary heroes that can best be described as "badass". He's an ex-military cop who wanders the country writing wrongs and getting into trouble. The books aren't the most plausible thing you'll ever read, and Reacher is formidable and lucky beyond what could be called realistic at times, but they're gritty and a lot of fun to read, and this latest was no different. It was also a nice change of pace from God's Demon. I have to admit, however, that I didn't start this one from scratch. Like a number of things in my backlog, I was partway through when I made the list, and I just decided to finish it.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Elimination: Torchlight
Cleared: 1/6/2010 at around 9:00 pm
Verdict: Really enjoyed it
Torchlight is a fun little Diablo clone. It's not terribly innovative, but it's extremely polished. The game is a straightforward dungeon crawl down a 35-level dungeon and then an infinite one opens up. It's really fun, ridiculously addictive, colorful, and easy to pick up on. It's also got a bunch of nice little refinements that make playing more convenient, like a pet who functions as both a battle companion and a way of selling loot without leaving the dungeon. The story is next-to non-existent, but who cares? It's a hack & slash loot-collecting game. If you've ever enjoyed this type of game in the past, I'd say it's worth your time to check it out. I played through as an alchemist and focused on minions - by the end of the game I had my pet, 2 different golems, a half-dozen nether imps, and some spell-generated minions following me around. I was able to stand back and blast enemies from afar while my army pounded on them, which worked pretty well. On my next playthrough, I'll probably play as a vanquisher (the ranged combat class) and see how that goes.
Verdict: Really enjoyed it
Torchlight is a fun little Diablo clone. It's not terribly innovative, but it's extremely polished. The game is a straightforward dungeon crawl down a 35-level dungeon and then an infinite one opens up. It's really fun, ridiculously addictive, colorful, and easy to pick up on. It's also got a bunch of nice little refinements that make playing more convenient, like a pet who functions as both a battle companion and a way of selling loot without leaving the dungeon. The story is next-to non-existent, but who cares? It's a hack & slash loot-collecting game. If you've ever enjoyed this type of game in the past, I'd say it's worth your time to check it out. I played through as an alchemist and focused on minions - by the end of the game I had my pet, 2 different golems, a half-dozen nether imps, and some spell-generated minions following me around. I was able to stand back and blast enemies from afar while my army pounded on them, which worked pretty well. On my next playthrough, I'll probably play as a vanquisher (the ranged combat class) and see how that goes.
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