Nice. I'd love to play Journey and Jungle Beat.
April 2014 Recap
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 On 05/01/2014 at 10:36 PM by daftman See More From This User » |
I mentioned that March had been an exhausting month and while April was better on that front, it was also a busier one. And, well, I found myself spread thin with a few too many games going at once.
Games Beaten
-Journey (PSN)
Now I understand what all the fuss was about. I'm not even sure what to say. People who only care about game mechanics won't like this game but it's their loss. The world of Journey is beautiful and the soundtrack by Austin Wintory gives it incredible power. Discovering the wordless story is cool, but creating one of your own is even better. Journey makes brilliant use of co-op. Paired with a stranger I couldn't talk to, we somehow had a connection that deepened the game. Amazing. Sure, I decided to play it because of its short length (only took me little more than an hour and a half), but now I wish I hadn't waited more than a year since buying it to play it. And since it is so short, I can definitely see myself playing this several more times.
-Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (GameCube)
I never would have guessed that playing a platformer with a bongo drum controller would work so well. Jungle Beat is a blast to play and has a surprising amount of depth to the controls, though some of the more advanced moves can be difficult to perform. A lot of creativity went into the levels but the bosses get recycled a couple times. They're lots of fun though, especially the duels with other kongs. Even 10 years later there's nothing else like Jungle Beat. I played it back when it first came out but pulled it out this month to show it to my wife and it totally sucked me back in. This is the first game made by the team that went on to craft the Super Mario Galaxy games and 3D Land and 3D World, and it shows. Very cool game.
-LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (360)
There is not much challenge in this game but that's not the point. It was fun to play co-op with my wife, especially since we're big Harry Potter fans. The puzzles could be a little obtuse but we could usually figure it out by just trying everything if we had to. I think anyone's mileage will very depending on how much they like the series. Just know what you're getting into.
Games Bought
This section is always the big question of the month. How many new games? April wasn't too bad, all things considered. My wife found a new copy of Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (3DS) for $10. I've wanted that one for a while now, so I'm glad to have it now. She also won a copy of Yoshi's Island (SNES) on an online auction. I've never played it before and it's never seen a proper rerelease other than a compromised GBA port. The only other games we paid for were digital sales. We got Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (XBLA) on the 360 and during Sony's 99¢ flash sale we nabbed Tales of Monkey Island, Retro/Grade, and Tokyo Jungle (all PSN).
Of course, there was the month's selection of "free" games as well. Xbox LIVE Gold got me Hitman: Absolution (360), which I already had thanks to PS+, and Deadlight (XBLA), a cool-looking puzzle platformer zombie game or something. I remember it getting good reviews when it came out. PlayStation Plus got me Batman: Arkham City (PS3), which I already have for the 360, and the original and remade versions of Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (PSN). For the Vita I got Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark (also for PS3) and PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate HD. I never did finish the PSP version of that.
Oh, and Mercenary Kings for PS4. Looks cool. One day I'll be able to play it lol.
Now Playing
-Pirate Code (Mac)
I hit a story mission in the third chapter that just kept destroying me, so I went back to finish up some side quests and discovered that I'd missed a bunch of new ship designs. Once I got the story moving again I got a third captain, which means all my ships can learn a new ability including some curative ones that are really opening up some new strategies. I won one battle that looked pretty hopeless by raising a sunken ship, getting shot off before it was sunk again, and doing the same thing for the next two turns. Must have been frustrating for that enemy ship lol.
-God Eater Burst (PSP)
More progress! In difficulty tier 9 for the missions and some of them are getting really tough!
-Gears of War 3 (360)
We played this a bunch at the beginning of the month but that tapered off as we got into LEGO Harry Potter. Need to get back to blowing up them lambent chumps.
-Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)
This game kind of fell by the wayside. I did play some and am on the last level of world 4.
-Pikmin 3 (Wii U)
Poor Pikmin 3. I didn't touch it the entire month. I really like the game but I just didn't have time. Like I said, I'm spread too thin. I like being able to focus on a few games at a time. So if I can manage to not start anything new in the next couple of weeks...
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