Loot of the Week

Alright, back with some games cause stuff came out!

Borderlands: Claptrap's New Robot Revolution
I downloaded this on Tuesday but should note that I only did the first objective and have yet to return to it. This is because I realized that the level cap increase wasn't included and I didn't feel like wasting my time later when I have to grind through all that again. So I am planning to wait on that until I can level up while playing soon. The release date isn't announced but it was said to be before the GOTY edition so I have less than a month to wait.

1400 Microsoft Points
I bought more of these, I think I have around 2600 at the moment. I mainly got these because of Microsoft's 800 points back deal going on this month. I already knew I wanted to get enough stuff to meet the requirements but I just needed the points and Blockbusters was giving a good amount of trade credit for Bioshock 2.

Quantum Theory
I should start off by saying that this game is garbage and I can't wait to get it out of my house. I only have 15 points in it and I know I could get more but I'd rather stab myself in the eye.



Pick of the Week

Dead Rising 2
This game was a lot of fun. I never really got into the first one, despite owning it for the last few months and having access to it for years. I don't really know why, I think it was the psychopaths if I can't remember correctly but it was years ago. I very much enjoyed my time with this and already beat it, however, with it being very sand-boxy, I can't see myself going back just to mess around.

Loot of the Week

It's been a while since I've done one of these but that was mainly cause I was moving and needed to settle in to my new place. I did get a lot of stuff since this last post (especially at PAX) but I only feel like writing about this last week's haul.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #14
Like with TWD above, this issue stood out amongst it's previous numbers. This book seems to have finished off the current story arc and it was pretty good to see how that will end. The cliff hanger at the end was also nice and got me excited to see how things are going to play out. The one downside is that I hope things don't change drastically with this story arc's ending.

1400 Microsoft Points
These are always exciting...right. I picked these up with some trade credit (along with pre-ordering Scott Pilgrim vs The World on BD). Along with my 400 or so points I already had on my account, I now have enough for both the new Borderlands DLC and Comic Jumper the following week.

Pick of the Week

The Walking Dead #77
This has probably been the issue I've enjoyed the most for the past few months. Mainly because it is starting up a new story line and it was a bit faster paced than the last few books. That isn't to say that I have been disliking these last few months of The Walking Dead, but I was starting to find it a little slow. With this issue though, I'm very excited to see where it goes from here.

Loot of the Week

I picked up a TON this week. I'm going to write about it all!

Alpha Bounce
This was the first game I ever picked up for the DSiWare. I found an article over at IGN that updates weekly with micro reviews for each DSiWare title. I basically ran through that seeing which ones they liked (or loved) and decided if the price point sounded alright. I believe this was 500 points and they really loved it. It's a traditional brick break game with some RPG elements (specifically a loot system). I definitely see myself playing this game a lot.

Escapee Go!
This was another of the DSiWare games I found from the IGN article and mainly bought because they "liked it" and it was 200 points. I find the $2 price point very appealing, that's basically pocket change and even if the game sucks, oh well. I haven't played much of it yet but the premise I got from the first level sounds interesting. Looking forward to diving more into it on the way to PAX.

Don't Cross the Line
This was the last DSiWare game I picked up this week. It's the most puzzle oriented considering it's literally a series of variations on one logic puzzle. You need to connect like images without letting your connecting lines cross - hence the name. It's very straight forward and the number of different levels make this an easy steal for $2. The one downside I find with it is the lack or a quick restart to each level.

Gunpey
I'll be honest; I know nothing about this game besides that it got some average reviews from almost everyone. I just found it for $3 and the box art immediately drew me in. The concept of a simple puzzle game developed by Q Entertainment is what sold me though. Considering the fact I'm going on a series of trips soon, it was an easy choice. I am really looking forward to playing it.


Ultimate Board Game Collection
I have no idea if this is really the ultimate in board game collections. I highly doubt it is. The fact alone that it doesn't have Scrabble is criminal, but it does have Go so there you are. It was $5 and I could really go for some Go (see what I did there?).


Shank
I am very much enjoying this game and feel that it's worth the 1200 Microsoft Point price. There is a great single player campaign and the fact that the co-op has its own prequel campaign is great. Co-op specific bosses and some great silhouetted moments are amongst my favorite parts to this game. I'll probably run through it again on hard to get every last achievement.

I've decided to start doing a "winner" or "prize pick" section to these each week. The prize pick (maybe "choice pick"?) will always be at the end and will be either the item I had the best time with, or maybe spent the longest with. It may also be the purchase I'm most interested in and haven't even tried out yet. I'll go about explaining them each time they come up.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game
My love for achievements made me wait for this game to finally come to the XBLA and I'm glad I did because they are easy. I've played through the game three times now and I'm already on my fourth and awaiting my fifth. Really great game, can't say that enough. Despite the numerous bugs I've found it still remains incredibly charming. There is so much detail in this game and the fact that it came out for 800 was amazing.

Loot of the Week

This week was packed with games old and new!

Street Fighter 4
I constantly heard good things about this game and, though I'm no where near as competitive as the core audience for these games, I always wanted to play it. I have only put it on once so far and choose to turn on the anyone-can-jump-in-and-play-you-whenever feature which was a huge mistake since. I'm really bad at this game.

Bioshock 2
I am really enjoying this game, it feels great and the controls are smooth. I played through the first one far too long after it was out but did enjoy it. I'm only about four hours into this game so I am planning on wrapping that up soon.


X-Men Origins: Wolverine
This was a game I got in a three for $25 deal (along with Street Fighter 4 and Bioshock 2) and ran through it completely this week. I mainly picked it up after enjoying Singularity so much and wanting to try out some more from Raven Software. I love the references those guys put in their games. For the most part this game was great but it dragged on near the end.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
This was last week's XBLA release and the final item in Microsoft's Summer of Arcade '10. I ran through it completely in the local co-op with a friend and really enjoyed it. There are some, surprisingly, really good set pieces in that game. I do recommend it and I can't wait for the announced DLC.

Nintendo Points
I bought these to finally use on my DSi. I am hoping to pick up some DSiWare games before my plan trip to PAX this year. I'm currently looking at games like Divergent Shift and Chronos Twins. Hopefully I can find something good to occupy me. It's ridiculous that your points can't be used on both the Wii and the DSi.

Loot of the Week

It's Sunday again (actually is 12:40 in the morning on Monday but that's close enough!) so let's talk about what I picked up this week.

Split/Second
This is a racing game that focuses heavily on blowing up and destroying the track you're competing on. What makes it so cool is just how many different ways there are to cause explosions and destroy the other competitors. One of my favorite moments was causing a dam to blow and crush four cars in front of me as I stole first place. I will say this though: the AI is mad cheap and can cause the latter half of the game to be a drag, this might be a rent (read some reviews!).

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #13
This is a series I enjoy quite a bit. It follows Peter Parker in his high school days and features some team ups with Ice Man and the Human Torch. This one in particular is dealing with a kidnapping and some body switching and is a good lead up for what is sure to be some cool events.

The Walking Dead #76
I cannot get enough of these. It has to be my favorite on going series right now; to the point that I open it up and start reading on my walk home. This issue is quite good in terms of dealing with the main character psychological situation. It however leads to a great cliff hanger to what will hopefully be some great character development next month.

Daytripper #9
I can't say much about this issue since I haven't read it yet. I really enjoy the series though. It follows an obituary writer depicting specific moments of his life. What makes it so interesting though is that at the end of each book, our main character dies in some form or another.

Loot of the Week

It's Sunday and as I wait for some Tales of Vesperia video walkthroughs to load and enjoy some great Tested.com video features I figured I should show what I picked up this week. There was a lot.

Chew trade 1 & 2
This is a series of comics by writer John Layman and artist Rob Guillory about Tony Chu, a cop, who has an unusual psychic power. He is a Cibopath, a person that gets visions when they eat food. With this power and the writers bizarre sense of humor, the comic is a great read. Can't recommend it enough and now is the time to get into it before filming begins on the television series.

Kick-Ass (Blu-ray)
If any of you follow my podcast (Top Down Perspective) then you know I'm a huge fan of this movie and that it came out this week on dvd/blu-ray. I picked it up on the first day and watched it twice since then. Still a great movie and I'm told that the fact Lionsgate did the disc is a good thing? Can't recommend this movie enough.

James and the Giant Peach (Blu-ray)
This was an old movie from the 90s that never got ported onto blu-ray over the past few years that this media format has taken off. I'll be honest, this was more of an impulse buy as my friend gave me a $10 off coupon and his excitement increased mine. Still haven't watched it yet but do enjoy the film.


Singularity (360)
The last this from this week was an Xbox 360 copy of Singularity. This came out a couple weeks ago but I was so busy with other games that I wasn't able to find time to grab it. I've already jumped into it and am enjoying it quite a bit. For a more detailed break down of the game, stay tuned for my podcast in the next few days.