Category: Gaming

For those who followed this site, thank you. I assumed that announcing things on twitter, etc… Would make sure everyone knew… But i have started a new blog at NuAngel.net.

I want to thank everyone who kept this site going, I was glad to be of service. The new blog is a mixture of gaming, personal, and tech, although it’s even less active than WinBreak was, due to a whole new life having started (moved, started a new job, etc…). But for the dedicated, you can always keep up with me on NuAngel.net and, of course, Twitter.

See you there.

A little over a year ago, I was playing a game that was already six months old, which was a compilation of games that were years old.  It was the God of War: Collection on PS3.  It was the game I was playing the day my PS3 stopped working.  I never had the cash to get my PS3 fixed, and in fact I still have it laying around…  along with these games.  I recently decided I missed watching things on Blu Ray and picked up a PS3 Slim.  Having only 3 PS3 discs still in my possession, I decided to pop in God of War Collection again.

 

 

I finally sat down and made my way through the first 2 parts of Kratos’ epic journey.  And I have to say: wow.  These games are fun.  They may be frustrating in some points, but as someone who only owned a PS1 for hacking and playing with exploits, and has never owned a PS2, I think there actually might have been a game I missed out on.

 

Being the God of War Collection they provide the buyer with a lot of bonus content on the Blu Ray movie portion of the disc – you can watch a good deal of behind the scenes materials,  During the “making of the game” interviews, they kept saying they wanted the game to be raw, visceral, and down right violent.  While you start to get the feeling of it in God of War, when you start playing God of War II, it really feels like they nailed what they were going for.  The animations are more fluid, the moves are more devastating, and everything simply feels more rewarding.

 

 

The enhanced graphics seen in the God of War Collection, I believe, were not specifically made for the game but rather they used the textures that they used in the FMV cut-scenes in the original games.  Now that they have the hardware, they just slapped that layer on every model and called it a day.  I’m sure there was more to it than that, of course…  but even though it doesn’t come across as a true high-resolution treat, the responsiveness of the game and smooth controls make chaining together a 50+ hit combo surprisingly easy.  And at one point in God of War II, yes, I even accomplished a 500+ hit combo.  Brutal isn’t even the word for it.

 

If you missed out on these titles the same way I had, there’s no better way to pick them up.  You can get both games for twenty bucks on a disc at Amazon, or i f you’re too impatient to wait, you can pay $30 for a code to download the content straight from the PlayStation Network.

 

After spending a few days a week for the last two weeks chugging my way through these campaigns, I can’t wait to get my hands on God of War III– it’s long overdue for me!

 

I’m cheap.  Extremely cheap.  So when I see a game like Shellshock 2, Blood Trails for $20 brand new, I have to pay it some attention.  I picked this little gem up and started playing it.  While the graphics don’t live up to a lot of contemporary titles, they’re by no means bad.  And the story?  It’s as over-the-top plot (like an exploitation film from the 70’s!) combining war and horror.  Think Full Metal Jacket meats Condemned (too obscure itself? Your loss. Fine, think Resident Evil).

 

 

The game takes it’s “M” rating and runs with it – the “F” word is only sometimes abused in dialogue, but in the “journal entries” that you see on load screens our favorite-fill-in-for-fornicate may has well replaced the space bar.  It’s so ridiculous I can’t help but get sucked in.  It’s one of those games I can only take in small doses, but for under $20 I’m sure to get my money’s worth.

 

 

What’s that?  You don’t know what Sacred 2 is?  Well, it’s a game that, according to Amazon, is $11 used right now.  It’s also about as close to Diablo 2 you’ll ever get on the Xbox 360.  Like killing things and picking up loot?  Sacred 2 may be what you’ve been looking for.

 

Finally, I have to tell you: when I heard DarkStar One: Broken Alliance was coming to the Xbox 360 I was thrilled.  I had always wanted to play DarkStar One on the PC, but never had a chance to sit down with it.  For some reason, I found it more convenient to be coming to my Xbox 360, and what made it better?  It was budget-priced!

 

 

DarkStar One is a bit like the classic Wing Commander spin off series, Privateer.  If you liked space flight sim games from the 1990’s, this looks to be another case of “as close as you’ll get on the console.”  Here’s hoping that changes in the future.