A few days ago, I made a comment to Elaine that pretty much sums up my recent gaming habits, and it was this: I can’t just like a game; I have to be obsessed with it. That’s about where I am this week. I’m still playing Star Ocean (even though it’s gotten weeeeeeeird), I’m still pretty much ignoring Ratchet and Clank (even though I really do enjoy it when I get around to it), and I’m right back to my old habits with Puzzle Quest: Galactrix. There’s Resident Evil 5 as well, but that’s a bit of a different story.
Let me start off by saying that yes, I do realize that I am playing a science-fiction/fantasy game. I know that this isn’t real. These are fictional characters. I get it. So when I say that the believability went straight out the damn window with Star Ocean, you can probably take that with a rather large grain of salt. I don’t want to spoil anything for folks that are playing the game, so I won’t go into much detail, but I will say this: up until the thirteen or fourteen hour mark, there was a certain degree of consistency involved with Star Ocean’s story. Then, things kind of went off the rails. I believe the phrase, actually, is “jumped the shark.” I really, really want to give details here, and I can’t figure out how to start without spilling pretty much everything, so let me simply say that while I was playing, I was giving a sort of running commentary to Elaine, and her replies mainly consisted of expletives and capital letters. I think she was a little confused. I know I was. Anyway, now there’s a cat girl, and a chick with wings, and the cat girl wants to eat the chick with wings, and… well, that’s beside the point. I’m still playing; in fact, I think I’m playing more than before. The gameplay hasn’t changed a bit, after all, and the story… well, the story is fucked right up, and I kind of want to see what happens next. After my departure into Crazyville for a few in-game hours, I appear to be back in… Consistencyland? (It’s the best I could do…) I’m curious to see where the next diversion takes me.
I’ve never been that big a fan of the Resident Evil games (not that I have anything against them, really, I’m just too slow to get the hang of the controls for the most part), but the fifth installment, I have to say, is pretty awesome. If I were playing it by myself, I don’t think I’d be having nearly as good a time with it, but since they made co-op play such a big part of this, I’m really enjoying the game. Elaine and I have been playing it in chunks, and contrary to what I’ve been hearing, I think they actually got the “scary” part down pat (particularly with those damn dogs). Ammo is scarce, enemies come in swarms, and the bosses require some creative thinking and quick moves. If you’re not on your toes, you’re zombie food. That’s scary to me.
And then there’s Puzzle Quest. Sigh. Puzzle Quest and I have…. something of a history. The first installment of the series was the very first game that I played on my pink DS (after I traded in my original silver system), and the cart didn’t budge for literally months. Not because I wasn’t playing it, mind you, but rather because there was just SO MUCH to do that the game kept on going forever. I’ve said before that I’m glad there wasn’t a game clock, because I don’t think I would want to know; there isn’t a game clock in Galactrix either, and I’m equally glad. It’s only been a week, but I shudder to think about how many hours I’ve already pumped into questing the galaxy to challenge all comers to a rousing match of Bejeweled. It took me a while to get used to the new board, which is hex-based instead of straight up-and-down like the first game, but now that I’ve found my stride, I find it very hard to put down my DS (not without One More Match, anyway). I think the fact that I am a very task-based person plays into this game’s basic premise very well; I love methodically working my way through the side missions of every planet out there before I go back to the main quest line, because I just can’t bear to leave any little silver question marks or exclamation points on the board. And there are plenty to clear. Like, right now. I, uh… have to go…. take care of….. stuff…….
Recap:
Current backlog total: 112
Now playing: Star Ocean: The Last Hope (360); Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3); Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (DS); Resident Evil 5 (360)
New games added: Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (DS); Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume (DS); Suikoden Tierkreis (DS)
Games completed: none… shame on me
