The Horizon

Looking to purchase a game this holiday, and can't decide? I got you covered.

Summer's winding down, football is almost here, and so it my favorite season: fall.

Historically, this also marks the end of the "gaming drought". Where the movie studios make their most cash with blockbuster hits every weekend, gaming kinda dries up as it gets hot. Game companies save their big guns for the holiday season, and the first salvo's are already upon us. Madden dropped this week, which is kinda a biggie.

I like to think of this blog not just as a voice for gamers, but especcially for gamers like me. Guys that have played when there were only two buttons, all the way to no controllers at all. But more specifically, the cats who game when they can, despite all the responsiblities of being an adult and parent.

Listen if you have time to get to 10th prestige in a week, more power to you, I'm not hating. I just gotta keep the lights on and kids fed. And I'll still top your ass on the leaderboard by the way, so you're wasting your time. :)

So this time of year really drives home my "problem" with my favorite hobby: too many games, and not enough time or cash to rock them all! I need to be super frugal and selective with my game purchases. That means classics get traded in, and indy hits rarely get a shot.

It was easier when Blockbuster was around, I could give games a chance I wouldn't normally. There's Redbox, but it's usually just the big blockbusters in there.

 Maybe I'll try this Call of Duty thing
to see what the fuss is about.

There's Gamefly, and I've been thinking about going with them for years. But the monthly plan is still too expensive. But honestly, it's not the money investment, it's the TIME. Only the best and brightest make the cut.


And that's exactly why gamers out there should listen to guys like me when it comes to coppin games.  So here's what I'm currently playing, and what I'm defnitely getting this holiday. Fuck Metacritic, I got your real life reviews right here.


Transformers: Fall of Cybertron:

War of Cybertron was a great game, with underrated multiplayer. Plus SHOCKER it was a game based on a toy that was ACTUALLY GOOD. Let me quickly throw this out there too, there was another Transformers game for PS2 that actually was very good too. It didn't have an online component to speak of, but the single player was sick. Each Transformer had their strengths and weaknessses, plus their own "perks". Its never mentioned anywhere, but I believe High Moon studios cribbed a lot from that game, which was smart on thier part. Anyway, you don't need to have played War to play Fall. You just need to love Transformers and blowing the shit outta them. And that's like what, every person playing games today?? Buy this game now, if only for the multiplayer alone. It has all the standard modes (TDM, Capture the Flag etc.), and you can make your own Transformer. My nine year old prayers have been answered! It isn't Armored Core by any means, but it's fun, and very balanced. You unlock perks and weapons, you can "prestige" (Prime mode), and there's even a "Horde" style mode. The single player is dope too. You pick from real transformers, on both sides of the war, and kick ass. So you have a deep game with tons of replay value, which also happens to be based on my favorite toys of all time. SOLD. Buy it.

Madden '13:

 I know my last post kinda shit all over Madden, but in all honsesty this version looks dope. I personally haven't bought the full version yet, but the demo is sick. I love how the new physics engine, TV presentation and adlib commentary really capture Sunday Football. It's what MLB: The Show has been doing for years and Madden finally caught on. Pro sports is played within a defined set of rules, but it's the little things that make it interesting, and EA is finally starting to realize that.  Connected Careers seems very interesting too. I just need some like minded folks to really enjoy that though. I can't roll with some try hard randoms or something like that. So I'm gonna cop it. Shit, once the season kicks off next week I'll be jonesing bad, so I'll have to figure out a way get that in my rotation. Wait, I can take the JETS to the Super Bowl? And win? I'm in. Oh and, who's the top rated Defensive Player in the whole game? Derrelle Revis. #24  REVIS ISLAND BABY

Tekken Tag Tournament 2:

First of all, I love fighting games. Being that Law is the best Bruce Lee clone out of any of them (sorry Fei Long), Tekken is my favorite, so this is a no brainer for me. The original TTT was my favorite game in the series, and one of the best 4 player games EVER. I personally never thought we would see another, and I'm psyched this is almost out. Plus, they didn't fuck around with the roster. 56 fighters, spanning the entire series! And no bullshit on disc DLC (I'm looking at you SFxTK). This one is gonna be molton lava hot, and I'm going to love to rock 4 players on this again. I bought Tekken Hybrid, which included a small demo of TTT 2. The graphics are just as good as Soul Cali 5, and they added way more tag move options. The Law / Paul Deathsquad is back!

Marvel vs. Capcom Origins:

So yes, I love fighting games, and this little gem is definitly worth $15.00. It's got one of my all time favorites, Marvel Super Hereos, plus Marvel vs. Capcom 1. It sucks it's not an HD remake like SSF2: Turbo HD Remix, but I'll take the online play. I gotta break out the fight stick now and then to keep myself honest. Marvel Super Hereos I felt was underrated at the time of it's release. One of it's big gameplay hooks was inspired by one the biggest events in Marvel history: The Infinity Gauntlet. Thanos wields the Gauntlet, which grants him godlike power. Of course, he's using the guantlet to take over the universe blah blah blah queue awesome battles and general asskicking. Gameplay wise you can earn infinity gems that you can activate to buff your charecter or punish your opponent, such as flipping their controls. The VS. series is mad fun but a little too spazzy for my taste, but MSH allows me to kick ass as my favorite Marvel charecter in a more comfortable enviroment. This will be mine for sure.

HALO 4:

Just like the RB I picked up late in the 6th round of my fantasy draft, Halo 4 is the sleeper pick with big upside with XMAS season. Halo a sleeper pick? In my opinion it is. You gotta a lot of question marks surrounding this game. 343 studios is running the show on this one, as Bungie has moved on to new projects. I know we all heard the right things regarding 343: they are super Halo fans, handpicked to keep the torch glowing for M$. But still, it's a question mark. Call of Duty, and it's other "modern" war clones have replaced Halo as the gold standard in console FPS. Halo: ODST wasn't received well, and Halo: Reach, although fucking SICK in my opinion, catches mad hate from COD fanboys and the FPS elitest. Can 343 bring the series back to the throne? Time well tell, but the changes being made to the formula could be the difference, or it's deathnail. I'm voting for the former. Spartan Ops mode is basically free additional campaign content. Halo 4 will also feature loadouts, new weapons and armor abilities. I can't wait. I believe 343's tweaks will anger only the most stubborn Halo fanboys. Everyone else will welcome the changes as an eveolution the series is in desperate need of. I also think it might pull a few COD die hards away from their favorite series. Oh, and Master Chief is back. With the shottie. It's a wrap.

And that will do it folks. Only 5 games Flow? Yea. But these are safe sure bets that I won't feel I'm wasting $60 bucks on. They are all deep, replayable experiences that I can play forever if I want. Santa is coming afterall, and the kids need their stuff too! My lil man's been fiending for Skylanders: Giants (great game), so I'll be getting that too....and all the toys...and the extra adventure packs... As much fun as it is playing Gears with my boys online, nothing beats rocking out Skylanders co-op with the young prince. So add that to the list too.

And what game didn't make the list?

I love COD games ok? I'm still playing Modern Warfare 3. But I'm TIRED of Activision treating COD like a sports franchise. WE DON'T NEED YEARLY VERSIONS! I HATE COD ELITE! Activision is going to ruin COD with oversaturation just like it did with Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero etc. And this whole "future war" nonsense seems like a reach too. I'm going to be playing a future shooter. It's called Halo 4.

Then I'll play it, and want it of course. God Dam it! But I'm going to resist, just like I did with World At War. I got too many games, and not enough time. Until next time....

*buy Transformers.....

NOW!