What I'm Playing...

Since 'Games' is actually a part of this blog's title, I figure I should finally start well, you know, actually blogging about them. Every Tuesday I'll have a rundown of what I've been playing in the video game world, and my general impressions.

Madden NFL 07 (360)

Well, my Madden 07 Seattle Seahawk season continues. After going 4-0 during the preseason (and no, I didn't play my starters the entire time), I worked over the Lions in Detroit to open the regular season, then squeaked out a 30-27 victory at home against the surprisingly resilient Cardinals.


Now why the heck am I playing Madden 07, when Madden 08 has just come out? Well, to be honest, I never got around to playing 07 too much, and I really can't justify giving EA more money to replace a game I never played. Yes, I know 07 is glitchy. I actually won a week three game against the Giants, only to have the game freeze with 0:00 left in the fourth quarter. And I know 07 on the 360 actually has less features than previous incarnations (What do you mean I can't edit players?), and yes, the player creation mode is retarded (instead of just inputting that Calvin Johnson is fast using a slider, you now have to run the forty with him, using a NES Track & Field control scheme of finger tapping...let's just say there was an audible gasp of horror (nice touch, btw) from the combine peanut gallery when Mr. Johnson ran a paltry 4.77 thanks to my apparently clumsy thumbs). Still, I never got around to taking the 07 Seahawks to the Super Bowl (and beyond?), that's why I'm sitting here now comptemplating the best way to beat the Giants (ahem, again).

Gradius (NES)

After beating Super Mario last week, my old school tour moved on to Gradius, the grandaddy of shooter games. After getting about halfway through it, I wonder how in the hell anyone ever beat this game without cheat codes or save states? It's impossible, right? There's simply no way it could be done. The damn game is too hard. I'm suddenly remembering why I never beat a lot of NES when I was growing up. It wasn't because I sucked, it was because NES games made up for their graphical simplicity with bone-crushing difficulty.

What I'm Playing...

Since 'Games' is actually a part of this blog's title, I figure I should finally start well, you know, actually blogging about them. Every Tuesday I'll have a rundown of what I've been playing in the video game world, and my general impressions.

The Godfather: Blackhand Edition (Wii)


I beat this over the past weekend, after logging about 30 hours taking over the mean mafioso streets of New York City. The Godfather is a sandbox game, very much like the Grand Theft Auto series, but built around the first Godfather feature film for its story. Many of the missions are right out of the movie (guess who gets to fly to LA with Robert Duvall and practice equine decapitations!), but a major portion of the game deals with extorting businesses and taking over rackets, all whilst fighting off rival mob families.

To be honest, this would just be an average game on any other console, but the Wii controls allow for some fun melee combat and the free-aim feature really comes in handy during long-distance gunplay.

I'd recommend it for fans of the film and Wii owners jonesing for a GTA-style world.

Madden NFL Football 07 (360)


I picked this up last year when I got my 360 and barely touched it (aside from taking a few online ass-whooping from (thankfully) anonymous 11-year-olds). With football less than three weeks away I felt the urge, so I started a franchise with my beloved Seahawks. Two games into the preseason now, and both have gone into OT. Doesn't the friggin' AI understand the point of preseason? Why is it kicking last second FGs to tie the score? And why is Peyton Manning playing the entire game against me?

Super Mario Bros. (NES)


My retro game of the moment. And no, I don't have an NES anymore. I'm playing this emulated on my Xbox. I of course had this as a kid, but strangely never beat it. I'm trying to rectify that now (thank God for save states!).