The Queue

By Shamus Posted Sunday Mar 15, 2009

Filed under: Notices 39 comments

People have been leaving comments, emails, and Twitters, asking me when I’m going to get to one game or another. I do not take offense at this. I’m grateful that lots of people want to read what I have to say, and I’d love to be able to play games and write all day long in an attempt to meet this demand.

But my annoying habit of needing to sleep and pay bills places unwanted constraints on my time. In the interest of letting people know when their game of interest will get its turn, I thought I’d post my current queue. This is the list of games I’ve played and that I plan to write about:

1) This week I’ll be posting about Overlord and wrapping up that series.
2) After that I’ll be doing a special dual review of Saints Row 2 vs. GTA IV.
3) After that I’ll take on Mount & Blade and Left 4 Dead, although I’m not sure which one will come first.
4) I’ve been using WiiFit for two months. I’ve lost a good bit of weight, but the thing has driven me nearly nuts. This potent ambivalence will be expressed in a series of posts at some point.

I also have a running list of titles I plan to buy at some point. This list changes often and titles come and go, so it should be taken with a grain of salt:

  • Madworld.
  • Street Fighter IV. I’m not really a true fan of fighting games. I really only enjoy putting them on easy and button-mashing through the content. DOA 4 was too hardcore and just frustrated me when I tried to do this, but word is that SF IV is accessible to newcomers. I don’t think there’s enough story to yield any comics, but I might find something funny in there. I’m not familiar with the series except by reputation.
  • Gears of War 2. I’m planning to get this one strictly because it’s a popular game with a dumb plot, which makes it prime fodder for comics. I probably won’t write about it here unless it surprises me or pisses me off.
  • Resident Evil 5. This is mostly just comic fodder, but also because I’m fascinated by the racism controversy and want to see how I react to the game.
  • The House of the Dead: Overkill: I might get this just to see what point-and-shoot gameplay is like on the Wii.
  • 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand: I was going to get this, until Penny Arcade spoiled the ending! I’m kidding. I’m just sort of curious why movie tie-ins are all horrible but a gangster rapper tie-in isn’t.
  • Afro Samurai: I played the demo, which prompted me to get the Anime, which turned me into an instant fan. The game looks like light, mindless, eviscerating fun.
  • I’m sure I’m forgetting something.

Maybe I should put this list somewhere on the site so that I can feel guilty for not keeping it up to date.

 


From The Archives:
 

39 thoughts on “The Queue

  1. Daemian Lucifer says:

    “I'm just sort of curious why movie tie-ins are all horrible but a gangster rapper tie-in isn't.”

    Its coz rap is real dawg!

  2. MRL says:

    If you really think that all movie tie-ins are horrible, you need to check out the Aladdin video games. Both the Sega Genesis and Super NES versions are wonderful, though I must confess a particular fondness for the Genesis game.

  3. Jim says:

    @MRL #2: I think the Aladdin games are the exception that proves the rule. According to GameFAQs the Genesis version came out in 1993 (and that squares away with my memory), yet it’s so good that 16 years later people still point to it as a good movie-based game.

    If this was any sort of common occurrence it seems like a more recent example would be cited.

  4. Phil says:

    Shamus, I know that I am one voice out of hundreds, but I still stand by my advice that you should try the Gothic series when you get the chance, since you like freeform RPGs.

  5. MRL says:

    @Jim #3 –

    Well, there’s also Goldeneye, a goodly number of Star Wars games, the Spider-Man movie-based games, and a few others…but yeah, the majority are schlock. It’s just not all crap.

  6. Spiral says:

    I’d suggest Persona 4, but you’d need to be a fan of JRPGs AND have alot of time to spare, since there’s alot of hours in that game.
    Besides, seems like you have a pretty well-defined queue already.

  7. Danath says:

    SFIV is not newbie friendly, Sirlin says it better than me though. Although if you want to play through the game on easy as opposed to get into more advanced stuff, you should be fine.
    http://www.sirlin.net/blog/2009/2/22/a-few-things-about-street-fighter-4.html

  8. A fan says:

    You haven’t played Gothic, Shamus?Knowing you as a fan of freeform RPGs I am amazed.The story is not bad either.
    Anyway, the Spiderman games are dissapointing, you don’t even feel like you actually HIT something.And some levels are really frustrating.

  9. Gregory Weir says:

    Regarding good licensed games:

    Alien vs. Predator 2
    Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
    Tron 2.0 (sort of)
    Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force
    Kingdom Hearts (?)

  10. Microphobe says:

    Dead Space would be right up your alley, now that you have a 360. Survival Horror without all those annoying Survival Horror mechanics – plus, cutting up zombie-aliens with mining equipment is loads of fun.

    Speaking of which, why is all this mining equipment so incredibly dangerous? Don’t they have OSHA compliance in the future?

  11. Patrick J McGraw says:

    I despise rap, but Def Jam: Fight For NY was one of my favorite games for a good while.

  12. Mari says:

    @Microphobe – I’m thinking that one of the necessary steps to becoming a space-faring civilisation is probably violent revolution that abolishes all bureaucracy so no, there will be no OSHA compliance in the future. This theory is based on the premise that the more bureaucratic our society becomes, the less capable our current space technology becomes and the less people seem to actually care about it anyway (possibly because they’re too busy giving the state OAG the address to which the office should send correspondence verifying the addresses of employees whose addresses have been reported in the last three weeks…and I only wish I were making that up).

  13. Sam says:

    Heh, mount and blade. I bhought the beta years ago. Most fun I had with it was when I installed the Lotr mod. It’s a really good game. Hope it does well. And also.

    Hah! I was into it before it got all /popular/. So there!

  14. Julian says:

    Here’s a recommendation: Fatal Frame IV for the Wii. Survival Horror the way you, Shamus, like it: the game looks like it’s trying to kill you, so it keeps you on the edge of your seat, but I never saw an immersion-breaking Game Over screen in the entire game. Dark, of course, no wacky or silly parts, true Japanese horror and not OMGCHAINSAWGRRRRRR American horror, some first person elements (whenever you’re in Camera mode, you’re of course in first person view, and the most damaging shots are made when ghosts are about to attack you, which forces you to look at them right in their ethereal mugs.

  15. Coffee says:

    I enjoyed Def Jam: Fight For NY also.

    I want to know your comments on Watchmen, too. The movie, I mean. I know you mainly do games, but given that nerds seem under-represented in the reviews available currently, I’d like to hear some views.

  16. Sam says:

    I look forward to your MadWorld review. I’m seriously considering making it my next Wii purchase.

    On another note, I feel like the only person in the world who thinks Mount & Blade didn’t live up to the hype. Maybe it was just me, but I absolutely hated the camera angle you’re forced into. I was not a fan at all. But I’m sure that won’t discourage you or anyone else from trying it out.

  17. SatansBestBuddy says:

    I bought MadWorld and RE5 on Friday.

    So far, it’s been almost a chore to play through RE5, unless I get somebody to steer Sheva for me, whereas MadWorld is so much fun I’m wondering why I’m writing this post instead of playing it right now I’m gonnna play it right now bye

  18. mrmurphy says:

    I am thoroughly enjoying the gameplay of Madworld while equally thoroughly being annoyed by most of the elements of the world (ahahahah, lets have a pimp explain the minigames! Hilarous! -wrong-.)

  19. freykin says:

    If you like fighting games in general, SF IV is well done. I’m really impressed by it’s play on xbox live, I haven’t hit any lag yet and I’ve hosted/joined around 100 matches so far. My only complaint is that the end boss of arcade mode feels like a cop-out character, way too generic I AM SUPER POWERFUL A HA HA HA HA type of villain.

    That said, I can play as Dan, and he’s my favorite SF character, so it’s all good :)

  20. gahazakul says:

    Remember, when you play Left 4 Dead that she is meant as online almost exclusively. Offline play is like a weird meta game, fighting the zombies and wrangling the AI.

    If you plan on getting it on PC say so, I would love to go along with ya!

  21. Mark says:

    The rumor that Street Fighter IV is newbie-friendly is just that.

  22. vdgmprgrmr says:

    Shamus, I think it would be cool if you started doing sort of mini-reviews of some indie games.

    Perhaps you could work your magic with a game like Spelunky, Battle for Wesnoth, or Flatspace?

  23. Sesoron says:

    I look forward to M&B. I went and bought it almost immediately after Shamus first mentioned it, and it’s been eating fair chunks of my time ever since. I’ve been playing it for hours a week since then and I haven’t even found the need to install any of the mods yet. I can only really think of one gripe with it: an NPC suggested (which tends to indicate that it’s the absolute truth) that the game’s factions can never be wholly defeated. That would render a lot of the work I’ve done curbstomping Rhodoks rather pointless, if Jelkala is to remain an ever-present tumor in the middle of our empire.

  24. SatansBestBuddy says:

    @mrmurphy: You don’t like the Black Baron?

    How is that even possible?

    If you like him, you’ll love it every time he shows up, and if you hate him, you get to see him die every time he shows up, it’s a win/win scenario!

  25. MadTinkerer says:

    @Shamus: “I'm sure I'm forgetting something. ”

    Bioshock, perhaps?

    (Just kidding.)

    But seriously: I’ve heard great things about The Last Remnant, and that’s just the console version. Apparently the PC version is even more awesome. They added and changed a few things while they were busy porting it. That’s if you have a PC that doesn’t cry for mercy when you run the demo and it slows down to 9 fps(like mine does).

    It’s a great fusion of Unreal Engine and Squaresoft Tactics RPG goodness. Allegedly. I won’t find out for certain until I upgrade my computer later this year.

    Also, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard looks ridiculously fun. It’s a game wherein a Duke Nukem-esque hero has to fight for his life through various videogame stages in order to revive his career. XB360 and PS3

  26. CrushU says:

    Mount and Blade is amazing.
    I, too was into it before it was ‘popular’. I played the demo back in .470 or somesuch, thought it was worth $8 and spent it. Stopped playing around .850 because I finally got bored with it… Just started it up today and <3’d it all over again. Had to dig out my serial.
    Got two more interested in it as well.
    The only real problem is that the game isn’t multiplayer. It’s so well-executed and polished compared to waybackwhen… Anyway, hope you enjoy it.

  27. Rofure says:

    Shamus,

    While I consider SF4 to be one of the best games I’ve played in the past year, which is high praise considering the lineup in the past fifteen months, I’m not sure how “accessable” I would consider it. If you are planning to use a gamepad, some of the moves are decently hard to do and take considerable getting used to.

    I’m a fighting game fan, and I consider SF4 to be harder than DOA4 by a good ways. While it is true that the computer doesn’t block on easy, you still need to do the moves in appropriate way, and button mashing to get through won’t net you much.

    The arcade mode is made up of some random battles, then two set battles. The set battles are your “rival” and the boss Seth. While you will easily blow through the first few battles mashing buttons, the rival battle is slightly more difficult, and Seth himself is quite difficult, even on the easiest difficulty.

    I don’t have any doubts that you could do this if you wanted to. I just wanted to give you a heads up. The complexity in DOA4 (and SC4) rose mainly from the guarding techniques. In this game, the difficulty comes from using the right moves at the right times to create a favorable situation, and mixing in focus moves when appropriate.

    Also, not all characters are created equally. During my playthroughs on “Easiest” difficulty, with best of one matches, some characters I was able to do it without continues (after playing with a friend for a half dozen hours in versus), and one character took me 18 continues. Keep in mind that this is on eastiest difficulty with best of one – the easiest setting you can do in the game.

    As I’m writing this, I realize I’m doing it to protect your time, not dissuade you from doing the review, because I REALLY want to see your take on the game. I’d just say that if you have a friend that will lend it to you, borrow it before you buy it. You may find it frustrating.

  28. LintMan says:

    Bummer. Besides Overlord which I’ve played, there’s only one game on the list I’d even remotely consider getting (Mount & Blade).

  29. mrmurphy says:

    @SatansBestBuddy

    Because -I- don’t get to kill him, and because he -keeps coming back-. After the first time, I was,” Hey, that’s kinda cute. How offensive, but he’s gone now.”

    And then he came back. Again. And again.

  30. MaxEd says:

    Wow, this queue is a bit disappointing for a console-hater like me! Shamus, maybe you would try Drakensang some time in future? I’m playing it now, and I think it made PC gaming worthy again for a long while (this games is NOT short). I think it beats Fallout 3 in all RPG aspects, but freedom of action. While it’s not exactly “The New Baldur’s Gate”, it has good writing, OK combat system, lots of stats (yay, numbers!).

    1. Shamus says:

      MaxEd: Mount & Blade is decidedly a PC game. I also have the PC version of Left 4 Dead.

  31. Silvarin says:

    Yeah, i know, i’m new here and normally, i don’t like blogs. But this one i like. The more because it told me Jade Empire was a great game after all and didn’t deserve me neglecting it.
    I agree with MaxEd; Drakensang is worth playing. No ME story, no Fallout 3 freedom, but lots of fun.

    And Shamus, ever played Shenmue on the DC? If not, the least you can do is add it to the queue.

  32. Robyrt says:

    I’d love to see your take on Street Fighter IV, which is visually and technically impressive, actually has a storyline now, and is loads of fun to button mash through on Easiest difficulty.

    Until you get to final boss Seth, who is not affected by your difficulty setting(!) He is weak against 2-hit attacks like Sagat’s roundhouse kick, but otherwise prepare to get murdered. Heck, I can’t beat him 100% and I won the local Gamestop tournament.

  33. Lupis42 says:

    Shamus…
    No strategy games?

  34. gtb says:

    Lemme know if you want to play some l4d co-op.

    Steam: gawaintheblind

  35. MaxEd says:

    Mount & Blade is decidedly a PC game

    Oops, missed it :) Sorry :) I’ve tried this game, but found it a bit boring, because I don’t really like story-free worlds.

  36. gtb says:

    M&B was awesome in its scope- but after a while you realize nothing is really going on, and you’re doing the same thing over and over until you get tired of it and quit.

    If it had a storyline, some kind of overplot, it would be amazing. As it is, its a very, very well done sandbox.

  37. Noble Bear says:

    Shamus,

    I am going to shamelessly beg you to please step back one generation and review:

    Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem

    Please
    pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
    pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaasssssseeeee!!!!!!

    That is all,
    Thank you

    (ps: I will also add that Dead Space is such a terrible game story/writing wise that your skewering of it would be a true delight. Ok, *now* I’m finished. Thank you)

  38. Bret says:

    The Half Life Mod Minerva Metastasis seems up your alley for a playthrough.
    System Shock Marathon kind of feel (You and mysterious, not entirely on your side voice V. The world, which is planning something nasty), excellent map designs, and free.

    Mind you, it needs Steam to work, so that might be an objection, but it’s good stuff. Solid soundtrack too.

Thanks for joining the discussion. Be nice, don't post angry, and enjoy yourself. This is supposed to be fun. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked*

You can enclose spoilers in <strike> tags like so:
<strike>Darth Vader is Luke's father!</strike>

You can make things italics like this:
Can you imagine having Darth Vader as your <i>father</i>?

You can make things bold like this:
I'm <b>very</b> glad Darth Vader isn't my father.

You can make links like this:
I'm reading about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darth_Vader">Darth Vader</a> on Wikipedia!

You can quote someone like this:
Darth Vader said <blockquote>Luke, I am your father.</blockquote>

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.