ODST

I've played through enough of Halo 3: ODST to be able to deliver some superficial thoughts...

The single-player campaign is fairly challenging so far, but is strangely linear yet not. The save system is still very old-school and frustrating at times. In my particular case, I finished a chapter (Kizingo Boulevard) but because I picked up the wrong "clue", I was forced to play the entire chapter again.

But this is a small gripe; over all, ODST is a solid romp through the streets of New Mombasa. Combat is a bit more challenging without the cushion of the Master Chief's Moljinir armor. The fragility of your avatar means that cover is more important than was previously the case.

Bottom line: More of the same yummy goodness as we had in previous Halo games, with enough change-up to keep things slightly fresh.

Burn Out!

I've been playing quite a bit lately, but I'll try and cover the topics one at a time.

Burnout Paradise

It's the driving part of GTA4, but without the tedium and accountability.
No cops, no permanently wrecked cars, just gleeful driving fun.
Very addictive.

The New Xbox Experience

Oh, lucky day! I've gotten into the second round of the NXE preview. You should be able to look over on the right and see my updated avatar.

As for the NXE itself, I'll say:

• Very slick, cool, fast, and spiffy. I really like the look.
• Installing games to the HDD is very nice, although a bit buggy at this point.
• I really want to try the new Party feature.
• I signed up for Netflix because of the new integration, and it's very nice.

Over all, big thumbs up to Microsoft and the NXE development team.

Status Update

Here's the skinny on the goings-on since last I posted.

1. Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise - It's good, a step up from the earlier version. Rather like Viva Pinata 1.5 rather than 2.0. It's what the original should have been.
   
2. The Force Unleashed - I played through the demo... Meh. The controls are lacking and it's not nearly as much fun as it looks. My son will probably rent it.
3. Rock Band 2 - I have fired it up once, but haven't been able to play yet because...
4. Red Ring of Death - AGAIN!

My original console was replaced in December 2007, and now the new one has died while I was trying to start Rock Band 2.

I am sad.

Current Wishlist

I'm looking at a list of games coming out in the near future; these are what caught my eye.

09/02/08 Viva Pinata - Trouble in Paradise (Meh)
09/14/08 Rock Band 2 (Hell yeah!)
09/16/08 Star Wars - The Force Unleashed (Yessss... and my son will be in heaven)
09/16/08 Leisure Suit Larry - Box Office Bust (Could be horrible)
09/23/08 LEGO Batman (Perhaps)
10/14/08 Rock Revolution (will probably be awful, but I'll look at it)
10/21/08 Fable 2 (Yes!)
10/26/08 Guitar Hero: World Tour (Maybe)
11/08/08 Gears of War 2 (Maybe)
02/02/09 Halo Wars (Meh)

Combined with Wrath of the Litch King, I won't have much free time this fall and winter.

Lost Cities

New on the Xbox Live Arcade this week (yesterday, in fact) is the 2- or 4-player Reiner Knizia card game, Lost Cities. After a run of 10 games (Single Player), I'm ready to offer up an opinion.

This is a rather good implementation of Lost Cities. The only difficulty I have is that I sometimes discard a card when I mean to play it. Whether this is my own digital klutziness or a design flaw is difficult to say. Fortunately, in about half of the cases where this occurs, I have been able to undo the mistake and recover.

The game itself is a bit luckish, but tolerably so. A good player can analyze the situation and divine a process to extract the best score.

I hope to play more, and against human opponents as well.

4/5

Red Ring of Death

I am sad. Christmas will come and go and I am without my 360.
Or Rock Band.
Or Mass Effect.
Or HD Movies.

Crimson Death Circle
beacon of the gaming drought
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