GregHowley.com

I've been writing less about video games recently, due largely to the fact that I now realize the readers of this site are less than interested in reading about them. To that end, I'm looking into starting a separate game-only blog and taking all my game-writing there. For the meantime, I'll fit all my game writing into this one post.

So what games have I been playing recently? No, I'm not playing GTA4. No interest. Mostly, I guess I've been playing Mariokart. The game is addictive. And it's even more so since Linda always wants to play. She generally uses the Wii wheel, while I prefer the remote and nunchuck control scheme. She absolutely hates Ghost Valley, but that's only because I haven't yet shown her the Rainbow Road. She can hit the tricks on jumps and get turbo starts just about every time now - now I've just got to get her started with the manual drift.

The first version of Mariokart I'd ever played was the DS version, so while I don't have an extensive Kart background, I do have some experience. My favorite additions to the Wii version are the two-stage kart drifts, bike wheelies, tricks on jumps, and Mii integration. Wonderful, wonderful Mii integration. How often do you see a poster in the mall with your neighbor's face on it, go through a toll booth manned by your grandmother, or see a fifty foot tall statue of your dad doing an ollie on a snowboard?

I've also been playing Assassins' Creed whenever I get a decent block of free time. After a long and agonizing decision-making process, I decided on the PS3 version of Assassins' Creed over the PC version. First, because I'd have to wait until I got a new PC to play the PC version, and I'm not getting it any time soon. Secondly, because of all the issues the PC version seems to have. I'd have liked to play the PC version's extra "Directors Cut" content, but the 11-step shutdown process wasn't a big draw.

While not the best game I've ever played, it's fun and it's got my attention. Better than Prey or Condemned, but not as good as Dark Messiah of Might and Magic or Thief: Deadly Shadows. On the bright side, it does let you sneak up behind guards and kill them before they know you're there, which is a bonus in any game. But aside from the damn cool look of counters in combat, the combat is rough. The worst thing is that when I'm in a fight, sometimes I'm able to block everything just by holding down the right shoulder button, and sometimes my block will suddenly become totally inffective for no apparent reason and everything hits me - I don't get it. And I have no idea how to run away from a fight. I try, and Altair backs away sloowly. I need to figure this crap out.

Running through the city and climbing up buildings Parkour-style is fun, although it's tougher now that I'm in a city with guards on the rooves roofs rooftops. I still don't get why it's a crime to walk fast through a city or to ride your horse at a gallop through the countryside though. Any time you do that, you get attacked. Weird. I'm not sure I'll make it 100% through this game, as I can see it getting monotonous in a hurry, but for the time being I'm still enjoying it.

The other PS3 game I've really been enjoying is Echochrome. Although Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was okay, I'm still going to say that the pseudo-casual title Echochrome is the PS3's best game. At least until Metal Gear Solid 4 comes out.

Echochrome is a puzzle game, and it's very minimalist. The graphics are black-and-white only, and the bare-bones faux-vector graphics have a very clean feel, accentuated by string quartet music very reminiscent of the music in Arcanum. You (partially) control a stick figure as he traverses an environment the likes of which M.C. Escher would create. Ever seen the end of the movie Labyrinth? Then you'll know what I mean.

You can't really tell the stick figure where to go - he'll always walk forward, and turn left at every intersection. You can stop him so you can have some time to think, but other than that the only thing you can do is rotate the environment. The trick comes when you realize that if you rotate things so that it appears that two surfaces touch, he can walk between them. If there's a hole, and he falls through, he'll land on what appears to be below. And if you rotate things so that you can't see an obstacle, it doesn't exist. This quickly becomes quite an intriguing puzzle, and it must be experienced to be fully enjoyed. I've played about a quarter of the existing levels, and they ramp up in difficulty pretty quickly. From there, the difficulty is erratic. After I'd played about six or eight levels, I hit one particular level, and just when I finally felt sure I could get through it with no trouble, I got a "time's up" message. "What!?", I shouted, "There's time??". After that, it took me three tries.

I also recently got a copy of the much-vaunted The World Ends With You. I've heard about it from Brandon, heard it reviewed on The Totally Rad Show, and heard it lauded in a number of other reviews, sites and podcasts. So now I've got it. I'm on Day 2, and haven't yet really had the time to get into things, but I can give you some initial impressions. First, battling two separate battles on two screens is hard. Second, the music, while good, is quickly getting monotonous - I hope it changes up later. Third, I think I'll really like this game once I get into it.

I haven't yet finished No More Heroes, largely because the boss battle against Jeane is effing hard. One time, I got her down to her third stage, where she shrinks the battle arena down to a dime-sized pen, but I only had a sliver of life left and died quickly. I haven't yet given up though. As soon as I muster the will to remove the MarioKart disc from my Wii, I'll give it another try.

Lastly, when the big new TV in the living room is occupied by an American Idol watching spouse, I retire to the bedroom and the PS2, and I play Final Fantasy XII. Damn, is that game a time sink. I really should stop doing side-quests if I plan on finishing the game any time this milennium. I'd really wanted to finish playing Metal Gear Solid 3 before MGS4 came out on June 12, but at this point, I'll be lucky to finish Final Fantasy XII so I can start playing MGS3.

The only Final Fantasy game I've played were FF9 back on the original Playstation and FF4 on the Nintendo DS. These are the kind of games with which I'm okay playing only every half-dozen installments or so. And I enjoy the ones I play, but they require nearly an Oblivionesque amount of time. Other than the new pseudo-real-time combat system, it's the same old, but I like leveling up characters and buying new equipment, so I'm enjoying it. And the graphics on some of the later PS2 games are amazing. They look just about as good as the first wave of PS3 games. At least the cutscenes do.

There are a lot of other games I imagine I'll be playing soon: The Lego Indiana Jones demo, Wii Fit on the 19th, Penny Arcade Adventures, and perhaps I'll buy PixelJunk Monsters or Lostwinds if I ever get the extra time. And with the rumors of an Eternal Darkness sequel, I'd better get back to the original title and beat that damn unbeatable boss. But most of all, I'm lusting after Okami. I will play that game. Oh yes, it will be mine.