Quarter Recap

Hey Central gamers,
I've had a blast sharing my passion for gaming with those who dared to read my work and helped inspire the birth of Game Over's Andy & Brett comic series. I managed to take looks at the insanity of Heavy Rain, Dante's Inferno and its visual battle, and some of Mass Effect 2's alien love affairs. I also had a little time with Batman: Arkham Asylum 2, Bayonetta, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 along with other random bits of gaming news and trivia. I'll be back next quarter to keep up the strip with even more news and fun looks at current gaming releases. Please keep an eye out for the last comics to come out next week. I am hoping to get at least two more for the blog and one giant six-panel quasi-motion comic on the Pulse site. Thanks for support and suggestions for new ideas. Spring break!

That Really is Heavy

I finished Heavy Rain in two days, four sittings. That may sound extreme but my friend did it in one single session the day it came out because as he told me, "I could NOT put it down." I felt much the same way. I've never played any game where I was so completely invested in the characters and the outcome of the story. Heavy Rain offers a cinematic experience with a level of interactivity that few games can hold a candle to. There are minor hick-ups with controls, camera issues that are few and far between, and some dialogue isn't delivered with proper emotional emphasis but nothing that disrupts the gameplay to large degrees or dampens the overall experience. There are a few minor plot holes that don't seem to be resolved by the time the finale plays out but they may be disclosed in one of the hundreds of possible sequences that can progress the game based on the player's choices. You will be forced to make decisions you don't want to make: your life or your child's, a man dies or you lose everything, giving up the case or fighting the entire police department to defend the suspect. There are plenty of rewards in the forms of trophies and other payoffs that allow for replayability on a level rarely seen in modern games. With all that said, Heavy Rain receives a highly deserved 4.5 out of 5 stars and a place on my list of greatest games of all time. See you next week for God of War III, more on Dante's Inferno and Final Fantasy XIII.

That's Heavy

Heavy Rain is something of a mystery. It can't be defined as a specific genre and can seem dull to some but those who attempt it will be engaged in the cinematic scope of this thriller. I'm only two chapters in and I have already had to stop to recollect my thoughts on what has happened. I can't even count how many alternative methods I could have pursued while handling each scene. Maybe I should stop now before I gush too much about a game I just started...how fair would that be? So let's just say Heavy Rain is amazing and that's that...kidding. Some of the mundane tasks that happen early on like taking a shower and brushing your teeth are fillers but still fun and oddly fulfilling. It lead me to create this comic about the very tasks like drinking coffee and opening a letter. Anyway, I'll have more info on the game after it's done and a better review along with it. See you all next week!

Groundhog Day

This whole thing is thanks to the amazing and random rantings of one of my best friends. He has the ability to control the stream of thoughts that come into his head and convert them into a coherent dialogue that is absolutely hilarious. Most of the time he requires alcohol but this one came out while he was completely sober. Who knew? We somehow got on the topic of PETA and what was going on with Pike Place and Phil. A little far removed from the gaming world but something I think people can understand. I just feel that PETA has lost touch with what it stood for: a special organization that protected animals from cruel treatment and needless slaughter. Now they just seem to be the equivalent of kid who can't get his or her way and the best way to shut them up is to give in the idiotic whining...but that is just me ranting again. I'll be posting another comic today as well more towards the video game genre: Heavy Rain.

Addict Gamer

This is old news but I was asked to make this comic for another story on the Pulse website. I know people get way too into this sort of game, myself included. Modern Warfare 2 is still one of the leading games out on the market and only gaining popularity. Matches can get heated and people become the personal property of someone else. I wanted to make a comic with Andy and Brett that showed this element. I hope the joke comes across in the strip, Andy flipping on the lights and all. I know I had said last week that I was going to comment on the new Aliens vs Predator but this sort of took precedence over that for the moment. I'm hearing good buzz on the game for fans of the series but nothing good in the field of a quality experience on its own. I can expect to be further thrown off schedule with Heavy Rain being released on Tuesday. Thankfully my tax refund can cover the expense so I'll have enough to also pick up Final Fantasy XIII in March. OMG.

Out of Gas

I love Mass Effect 2 right down to the sparse little issues that are few and far between. The comic above reflects one of the minor issues I have with how the Illusive Man works. He can finance missions and acts as your boss and yet gas for the Normandy always comes out of Shepard's pocket. Even if it's only a simple 1,500 credits, I don't know why the guy can't fudge a little spare cash for his team to actually reach the areas he intends them to. Just one of those random things that caught my attention. Check back in next week when I look at the new Aliens vs Predator for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. "Game over, man!"

Plugged In the News

According to a report on Yahoo!'s Plugged In, heading the Yahoo! page, there is some sort of controversy over the advertisement for "God of War protege" Dante's Inferno released this past Tuesday. The commercial ran during Super Bowl XLIV featuring a rendered CG scene of what the game would entail. Apparently some people are becoming confused as to what the game looks like in-game versus the ad. Really? Are we really going to have a "controversy" over THIS? It's like saying I saw the Matrix and thought it was a documentary. The commercial even uses a disclaimer on the screen stating that images are not representative of the actual product. Isn't this true of all merchandise advertised on TV or anywhere else? It will do this or do that, they say. So can we please just find something legitimate to b&#@! about this year...like maybe why Uwe Boll is still allowed to make movies or why a girl with a rare condition can sleep for 14 days when I can't even get six hours.