Guitar Hero 3 (Xbox 360) - What a crapfest. Maybe if Rock Band never existed this would be fine, but it does, and Guitar Hero 3 isn't. It's even worse than Guitar Hero II by a ways. It rarely gives the illusion that you are really playing the guitar, like the other games. It's limiting in retrospect with Rock Band (only guitar/bass). The jarring difficulty jump from medium to hard sucks (hard is damn near impossible near the end). The songs that are ONLY playable in co-op is a stupid idea. The achievement points are too difficult. There are a couple minor bright spots... it is colorful, the stages are interesting, and I like the progression of the setlist/career... very linear and straightforward. But overall it's a turd... Activision is killing the franchise. Grade: D

Brain Challenge (Xbox Live Arcade) - A ripoff of Brain Age on the DS, but not as good. It's mildly entertaining playing the mini games, but it never feels like a true test of your brain capacity/ability, and there just isn't enough variety... Grade: C-

Golf: Tee it Up! (Xbox Live Arcade) - A ripoff of Hot Shots golf on the PlayStation. It's semi-cute, works well for what it is, and has some good variety. Grade: C+

On deck: Fallout 3, Burnout Paradise, finishing the other 10 games I am currently playing....

haha

i was playing L4D right now and this annoying person holding a propane was not being a team player

i shot his propane tank

Currently playing Viking and the games kicks ass. No idea what's with the hate against it. And at 15 bucks, there's no regret whatsoever.

I played about 1 hour of the Viking game and hated it. I'll have to get back at it one day and see if I misjudged it.

Anyhow, I'm playing several at once:

Fallout 3 - I'm not fond of the combat. As a gun game, it's kind of stinky. The VATS system isn't my thing... just let me point and shoot... don't give me this dice roll RPG shit. The layout of the land if annoying... getting from point A to point B can be a pain early on (before quick travel is available). Also, the juggling of items/inventory and stats are a little too overwhelming (seems more so than Oblivion). But, the story, side quests, and world are interesting enough to keep me playing. Too early to grade yet, but it's in the B- area for me so far.

Guitar Hero Aerosmith - What a total piece of crapola. Easy achievement points, though... at least compared to GHIII. Grade: D

Burnout Paradise - Mixed feelings on the open world. Overall, I think I like it, but it needs tweaking. Some type of fast travel, a GPS system, and easier way to change cars. Early on, I'd say it's a B+/A-.

Facebreaker - I want to like the game... it reminds me of Ready to Rumble... but, the gameplay is severely broken. It's very frustratingly hard on the easiest difficulty level, and it's just a terrible system. The presentation and everything else is very good, but without good gameplay, it just doesn't matter. I have to play it more to be sure, but it's looking like a D-

Thrillville off the Rails - Mostly Mrs. Montana's, but I've helped her here and there with the mini-games. The theme park strategy stuff looks decent... the mini games are mostly crappy.

I could not agree more with your Saints Row 2 assessment... glad you're enjoying it.

I haven't gotten very far into Banjo yet, but it's definitely not grabbing me yet.

Have you played more of Tomb Raider yet? If so, how'd it stack up to Anniversarry and Legend? I'm leaning toward getting that one next after I finish Fallout 3... whenever that might be. I hate long games.

I can not approve of this. You're playing them in the reverse order of what is acceptable to me.

Quantum of Solace - PS3

I played it on the easiest level possible. I didn't really want to challenge myself with it yet. I liked it. I thought the way they divided both the events in Casino Royale and QoS was a little odd - it starts off chasing Mr. White then goes into QoS's plotline for a little bit and then the events from CR are brought back through a flashback Bond has while talking to Camille while they're in the cave and then goes from there - but it works. Lots of action, lots of Bond music and some of the challenges we're a little difficult despite it being on the easiest level of play possible. I had fun.

Dead Space>Saint's Row 2>You

Resistence 2.
Singleplayer campaign is much more fun and diverse than Gears Of War 2. Its not bad for a shooter game which is really not my cup of tea but the game is rather short

B+

FarCry 2
Boy this game is long, its quite a fun sandbox game but I really hate how my vehicles tip over too easily. The level difficulty is quite hard for me and some glitches ruin the entire game for me. If you get close to the final part in Act 2 make alot of backups because there are times that the saved games gets corrupted.

B+

About half finished Prince of Persia. It's a good game, but the original game is far superior. In terms of graphics and style, this one is incredible. But I like the old type of PoP -- that is, fighting hundreds of enemies (like God of War). In this, it's 95% running around (which gets far too repetitive, especially when covering the same grounds again and again) and 5% battle, which is now one-on-one instead of multiple enemies. It's not as fun this way.

Rock Revolution - It does virtually nothing better than Rock Band. There is no character creation, no vocals, and nearly all the songs are covers. However, it does have a good selection of 80's rock, which the other games are lacking a bit. It also has a couple semi-interesting modes/mini games. And, a few of the venues are pretty (the Vegas one and Route 66 ones were particularly good). The scrolling note from the top takes a bit to get used to, as does the drum foot pedal being depicted as a note, instead of a line, and the star power feature is used pretty lamely. It is mildly fun overall, though, and it's not quite as bad as reviews suggest, but with much better Rock games out on the market, there is just no reason for this one to exist. Grade: C-

Guitar Hero: World Tour - Better than Guitar Hero III, but nowhere near as good as Rock Band. I hate that if one person fails, the whole band does. I also dislike the way star power is triggered for the drums, and I don't like how it is used individually for each member. All the major improvements from GHIII just feel like a ripoff of Rock Band (character create, addition of the drums and vocals, etc...). Grade: B

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts - I tried to pawn this one off on the wife. She played it for a few hours and gave it a big thumbs down and refused to play it anymore.

So no points for Tony

No "free" points that I don't have to work for. I have to earn them myself now.

Tomb Raider Underworld - I'm definitely enjoying this one. At its core, TRU is very similar to Legend and Anniversary (which is good), but looks a notch prettier from the environments to Lara's animations. There are some minor knocks - the motorcycle parts feel unneeded, the combat is a little dated, and it really doesn't do anything new or different in the gameplay arena. However, the immersive environments, solid gameplay, and graphical upgrade make this a very good game. I'm about 75% through, but this should end up being an A or A-.

Lost: Via Domus - Somewhere buried in here, I see the potential for a good game. It does an adequate job of weaving itself around the plot of the show from season 1 to 3 (that's back when I still watched the show). The characters and setting look decent. However, the gameplay is just terrible. I'm not even sure you can call this a "game". It does nothing right in there - the point and click adventure parts are horrible and boring. The actiony parts are just as bad. They have the same 2 or 3 puzzles repeated - fix a fuse box 20 times and then try to find your way through the jungle 10 times. Grade: F+ (it gets the + for being easy achievement points!)

Conan - There is just something about games starring half naked dudes in loin cloths that turn me off. Conan looks like it was made about 7 years ago, and plays like it too (static camera angles, really dumb enemy AI, and voice acting that is horrendously bad). However, it seems to realize this and it is so cheesy and over the top at times that it is *almost* fun at times.

Finished Left 4 Dead tonight. Pretty great game, I gotta say.

It's short, yeah, but the replayability is wayyyy up there. I got through all four campaigns quickly, but still wanted to go back and play each a few times more for achievements (I know, "is that you, Zing?") and it's mad fun to play with friends just to mess around for an hour or two. Online multiplier is also great fun.

I got to get back to L4D now that the holiday rush is dying down. I technically finished the game, but I left a lot of achievement points out there, and I've only played a few of the movies once. I've also never tried the multiplayer, just co-op.

Sega Superstars Tennis - It's neat seeing all of their classic characters - NiGHTS, Ulala, the Jet Set Radio dude, Sonic, the Monkey Ball monkey, etc... But, it was also kind of sad because it made me realize how many good franchises Sega had, and that they aren't doing shit with any of them right now. As a tennis game, it is mediocre and simplistic, but definitely gets nostalgia points. Grade: C+

Conan - Almost finished with this one. Kind of enjoyable in a weird and cheesy way, but the whole thing feels horribly outdated. Hard to believe this game was made in 2008. Grade: C+

Anyone played the new Prince of Persia? Finished it recently. An audiovisual delight, two sympathetic leads, quite a magical, touching fairy tale. Loved it.

My younger brother got it and loved it. I'll probably steal his copy soon and give it a spin. I've only heard good things about it.

Mirror's Edge (Xbox 360) - ME strikes me as kind of a mix of Portal and Crackdown, but it's not quite as good as either. It's definitely best when you know where you are going and are quickly running, jumping, and dodging. It's at its worst when your lost standing around with your thumb planted inside your derriere, or your attempting the same damn jump 15 times without success. I'm about 70% through the game in less than 4 hours too... so, it's really short. It's definitely a unique experience... mostly good, but I can't say it is great either. It's looking like a B or B+ so far.

Tiger Woods 08 (Xbox 360) - I got this solely for the face mapping feature that works for the vision camera. I love that concept, and TW08 does it really well. It's not bad for a golf game too... it's hard, though. I've yet to win a tourney or get better than 1 under par on a course.

I liked Mirrors Edge very much. Similarly to Prince of Persia, it has quite a striking art style and it features a great soundtrack. Found the first person platforming unique and enjoyable. The campaign is too short and it ends kind of in the middle, though.

I like it, but I find that I like replaying a level much more than I do going through it the first time. Plus, for as short as it is... it feels a little repetitive. I swear I've crawled into the exact same heating duct 25 times in just 7 levels. At times I feel like they create some cool and unique environments (like the mall or being on the street level), only to have you run through it for a couple minutes and then put you back on the same rooftops you've spent 90% of the game on.

I keep getting the feeling the game is a few tweaks away from greatness.