Monday, February 16, 2009

Decisive Move



Following the petulant tone of my last post, I've decided that firm action was required on my part...
This involved the trading in of both GTA IV and Fallout 3 (plus a few other pre-owned titles) at Blockbuster last night, meaning neither 'open-world' game can be dipped into again!


I then had to decide what I would pick up with my credit note... I was torn between two zombie blasting titles. (I often seem to revert to zombie blasting when I'm at a crossroads in my gaming life. Should I go for House Of The Dead Overkill on my much maligned Wii, or Left 4 Dead on my trusty Xbox?

I'd been bitterly disappointed by the last HOTD game I'd purchased, namely HOTD 2&3 Return for the Wii. It felt like a shoddy and cheap port, with no extras apart from some annoying bugs...



I'd got HOTDII for the Dreamcast, with a fully functional lightgun and HOTDIII for the PC. The Wii version brought nothing new to the table. Plus buying HOTD Overkill, almost necessitated me buying the new 'Magnum' Wii-mote housing/peripheral thang, meaning the whole package would have set me back nearly £50...



Left 4 Dead, my middle son 'reliably' informed me, was THE game to own this year. He'd been itching to get it since finishing Dead Space, and assured me and his two brothers, that if we bought a couple of Xbox controllers (setting me back £50), we could all play it as a 4 player co-op.

That swung it for me. I imagined us all sat round as a lovely family unit, blissfully zapping zombies whilst smiling and winking approvingly at one another. That bubble was soon burst as we got it home and realised that four player co-op meant two players in the house and two on-line... DOH!


That was a wasted purchase of two controllers then... Ho-fucking-hum! Still, the game is very satisfying if wasting fast paced zombies en-masse is your 'cup of tea'. I've enjoyed what I've seen so far, even though I've opted to play it in single player mode with the other three team members as CPU AI.

The graphics are reminiscent of the PS2, but it's well paced, camp as Christmas and has it's tongue firmly planted in it's cheek. The characters are cliche'd horror film fayre and so far ammunition and health boosts are abundant enough to stop the game from becoming a chore.


That is not to say that this is my 'new game', however, at the moment, I'm trying to decide between finishing God Of War I on the PS2 (which requires me sitiing in my son's bedroom to play...) Playing Shenmue or Headhunter on the Dreamcast (which means I'll suffer the derision of my sons for going over old ground...) or jumping straight into Gears Of War 2. Any advice my dear brothers?

10 comments:

Junlee said...

I've heard L4D is a straight riot when played when actual people, but I haven't played it obviously.

Good move in trading in GTA IV. It's just a bunch of wasted hours doing the same thing over and over again. I've heard good things about Fallout 3, but I don't know if I'll ever give it a try.

On the God of War front, if you haven't played the first two, you should, especially if you plan on playing the oh so epic looking third game.

Unknown said...

I'm not sure what I was going to say...

NebachadnezzaR said...

HotD Overkill actually looks good, at least from the trailers I've seen. Maybe you should give it a try. I hear that L4D is awesome with friends but mediocre at best when playing with the IA.

Oh, and do finish God of War, and after that go for Gears 2

Davecaster said...

Woah! I'm still reeling from what you've traded in. Two games which over the last few months you've lavished with more superlatives than lots.

Enjoy blasting some undead!

Why not give one of the Prince of Persia games a spin? They're not too long...

fatherkrishna said...

Well Junlee, I've played GOW2 and GOW Chains Of Olympus for PSP, but not finished GOW 1. I'm thinking GOW3 might be the first game I play on the PS3.

Then it must have been a lie Mr. Deitrix!

HOTD Overkill has style Nebacha, no doubt. It's based on 70s shlock horror and is full of expletives and the odd sexual reference. But I'll wait for the price too drop right down... I think I'll probably do what you've suggested. God followed by Gears.

As well as those two we got rid of HOTD 2&3 return, Oblivion and Assassin's Creed Mr.Sonnyboy! Out with the old and in with the new!

NebachadnezzaR said...

You got rid of Oblivion??? Sacrilege!!! O_o


lol...I keep forgetting that not everybody loves the game the way I do :P

gnome said...

Oh, and let me just drop into this jolly chat and agree with the Fater. Overkill has dollops of style and waiting for its price to drop is the way of the wise.

blondejon said...

overkill is where its at, it is what you should have purchased :)

fatherkrishna said...

Ah, we might be getting the Wii chipped which will mean free games... MWUAHAHAHA!!!

Random J said...

House of the dead: Overkill has been getting rave reviews. I'ma ctually surprised. I thought it'd get slated! I won't buy it now, but I'd pick it up for a tenner or 20 quid.