Guitar Hero: The Death of a Rock Star

So who didn't see this one coming from a mile away?  Or in my case, from all the way back in July of 2008 when I did my review of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith?  If you haven't heard, this week during their annual earning's call, Activision announced the closing of their Guitar Hero facilities, cancelling the planned 2011 Guitar Hero and basically killing the franchise.  The reason they gave was because of the over saturation of the music genre of video games. 

...this is my surprised face...

Actually, as I thought about my time with Guitar Hero, it dawned on my that it's life cycle was exactly the same as a one-hit wonder, and this week that artist was just dropped from their label.  So I guess this is the E! True Hollywood Story of Guitar Hero. 

I first played the game way back in 2007 with Guitar Hero 2 on the XBox 360.  I'll never forget how completely lost I felt as I tried to play the game the first time.  Sitting there on my couch, alone, pressing the buttons like some drunk monkey and hearing "clang" after "clang" ring from my TV before I eventually failed at the song.  Realizing I was doing something terribly wrong, I stood up, cleared away my coffee table, and got ready to rock.  The next couple hours was one of the best video game experiences ever.  By the time my roommate got home, I was exhausted, sweating, and having the time of my life.

Two years and approximately 27 versions of the game later, we reached the pinnacle of the genre.  In the summer of 2009 at the opening of a new movie theater in Hoboken, NJ, they set up a Beatles Rock Band and were giving away free copies.  The set up was a huge stage, with flat screen TVs, lights, amps, and a full Beatles Rock Band set and they were asking for volunteers to play the drums, which I was more than happy to do.  As I sat up there, getting ready to play, with The30yoWife on the bass, and a crowd of about 20 people watching, I thought, we've certainly come a long way from my couch in my living room.

We rocked it out that night to "Eight Days a Week" and to this day, we still talk about how awesome an experience it was.  I don't think I'll ever forget the smattering of applause our "tribute band" got when we finished and the smile on my wife's face when it was over. It was simply put the closest we will ever be to feeling like rock stars, and when you think about it, that was what the game was all about.  It was awesome.

That was the peak of my Guitar Hero career.  I guess it followed the same pattern of any one hit wonder.  At first, not a lot of people heard about it.  Then it became bigger than they could handle, faster than they could handle.  Before you know it, it's being played in every bar across the nation.  And just like that, when they can't produce enough of them, the audience turns and no one wants it anymore.  From "Nobody", to "Superstar", to "Has Been" in a matter of a couple years. 

And this is completely Activision's fault.  They were producing on average 4 Guitar Hero games a year and each one of them had a ton of downloadable content.  It was just way too much.  I like playing Guitar Hero, but I don't need every single song I've ever heard to be in a Guitar Hero game.  It kinda defeats the purpose.  Then you combine that with all of the Rock Band and DJ Hero games and you've got a complete over saturation of the market and everyone is tired of it.  The last game they released which was Guitar Hero 5 last year was a complete failure and it costs them too much to license all of the songs for no one buying the game. 

That's the life of a rock star I guess.  And the same can be said for a rock star video game.  Years from now when I tell my kids about these games, the story will end like every E! True Hollywood Story:  It was fun while it lasted.

Until next time,

 - The 30 Year-old Gamer

Good, but not Great - Call of Duty Black Ops Review

As I mentioned in my last post, I picked up a copy of Call of Duty Black Ops a couple weeks ago when Best Buy was running this fantastic deal on games.  I beat the single player version of the game last night and have plenty to say on it, both good and bad.  Let me just get this out of the way, technically the game is the best first person shooter out there.  However, there are many frustrating aspects of the game that hold it back and I fear that it's days in my Xbox are numbered.

First let's talk about how this game is technically.  The game is easily one of the two best first person shooters out there.  The debate of whether you like Halo or Call of Duty better can go on forever, but you can't deny that Call of Duty is awesome in the area of shooting things.  The controls are awesome.  They are so tight and accurate that when you play other games like it, you have to compare it to the gold standard that is Call of Duty.  There are also a ton of weapons that all fire differently with different accuracy.  There is no one weapon that's better than other.  In some scenarios you are inside and want a shotgun, while others you are in a field and need a rifle with a scope.  All are different and all are a pure joy to use. 

The graphics are insane.  If you shoot a guy in the head, he drops instantly.  Shoot him in the leg and he'll keep firing until you riddle him with bullets.  The sounds that come from the game couldn't be more realistic.  From explosions to gun fire to the great voice work by Ed Harris and Sam Worthington, the sound is top notch from beginning to end. 

And the story is probably the best in the entire series.  You play a black ops officer named Mason who is strapped to a chair and is being questioned from a shadowy voice about his adventures.  At which point you relive all of his Cold War adventures starting with the Bay of Pigs and going through Vietnam.  There were several moments throughout the game that I'll never forget, like sailing down a river blowing up everything that moves while Sympathy for the Devil is blaring.  The ending was fantastic and for the first time in a long time the story seemed believable.  I really liked it and for it alone it was worth the $60.

Now let me get to my gripes about the game.  First of all, did Michael Bay direct this game?  I don't think 30 seconds went by during the entire game where there wasn't a huge explosion or someone wasn't yelling at me for something.  "Mason Get Down!"  "Mason Grenade!"  "Mason I Need A Beer!"  Dear lord, just shut up.  I was seriously questioning whether to turn the sound off because it was giving me a headache.  Guys, I'm no history major, but I'm sure things didn't explode this much in Vietnam.

My second gripe is that I really feel like I've been there, done that.  How many Call of Duty games have I played over the past few years?  7?  12?  It's the same game over and over again.  The game is good, there is no doubt, but I've really played this before with Modern Warfare 2 and before that with World at War and before that with Modern Warfare and so on.  The "wow factor" of this game is completely gone for me.  It was enjoyable, but sort of forgettable at the same time.

That leads me to my biggest gripe of this game which will get the biggest feedback I'm sure.  The multiplayer is just not fun at all.  In my mind, it's broken.  It rewards people who live online too much and punishes people like me who play casually.  Here's how.  The more you play the game you earn these Call of Duty Points.  You earn them from completing games, killing people, etc.  You can then spend these points on better weapons, better rewards (I'll get to those in a sec), and being quieter so people can't see you on radar.  So if you play more, you have an advantage going into an online match.

Then when you are in a match on line you get a reward for having getting a kill streak.  So say you kill 3 people in a row, then you can get a radar scan which shows you where all the enemies are (not fair), which makes it easy to kill more.  Then you get 5 kills in a row and you can call in an attack chopper which will just gun down more guys for a higher kill streak where then you can get a napalm strike or some other ludicrous weapon.

So let me get this straight.  You start with better weapons and when you go on your inevitable kill streak they reward you with air support for more kills?!  I, on the other hand, start off with the equivalent of a supersoaker and run around the map with a bell on my neck.  Seriously, that's not far from the truth.  Five minutes later, I've killed 4 people and have died 16 times when I hear "Enemy Napalm Attack Imminent".  I actually spent one entire match just standing around.  Didn't touch the controller.  And you know what? I did better!  I had zero kills and nine deaths which is a better ratio than actually playing the game.  Sound broken to you, because it does to me.  I feel like a nerd getting picked on by the entire football team when I'm out there.  How is this supposed to be fun again?  Oh yeah, it isn't.  I have better ways to spend my time.

So while the game is good, it isn't great and I certainly don't consider it a masterpiece.  Play it for the single player and if you don't want to spend a significant amount of time getting owned online, skip the multiplayer. 

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

Now This is a Big Deal

So this holiday season I pitched a shutout for the first time I can remember.  It was the first year in almost forever that I didn't receive a single video game.  Not one.  Now granted I'm a new husband and new homeowner so there are other things that were a priority this holiday season.  But still, when the calendar turned to 2011, I was sitting in my new home wondering what games should I play. 

Last week, Best Buy came to my aid.  They offered a not so public special where you can buy 2 games and get a 3rd game for free.  I had to jump all over this offer.  But then came the decision.  If you could purchase any 3 games over any of the major systems, which 3 games would you choose?  I had to create a list.  It's a list of games that I've wanted to play but haven't for whatever reason over the past 6 months.  There were single player games, multiplayer games, sports games, and role playing games.  Here was my list:

* Call of Duty Black Ops - 360
* FIFA 11 - 360
* Mario Galaxy 2 - Wii
* Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - 360
* Final Fantasy 13 - 360
* Goldeneye - Wii
* Deadrising 2 - 360
* Fallout New Vegas - 360

I had to choose 3 out of 8.  This was too much to do in the store, so I had to do some research ahead of time and eliminate some choices.

First, Call of Duty Black Ops was a definite.  I've always been a Halo guy.  I just like the game more.  It suits my gameplaying style better.  I do love the Call of Duty series and couldn't wait to play this one, so it definitely makes the list.  Which leaves 2 out of 7.

FIFA 11 was a game I really wanted during the World Cup and would still love to play it.  But I fear that I would play the game for a few hours and never touch it again once I've scratched that itch, sort of speak.  So it was out.  2 out of 6

Mario Galaxy 2 I've heard great things about.  However the first Mario Galaxy was also really good but lost my interest early in the game.  While everything was good (graphics, controls, etc) it just seemed like it was aimed at a younger audience.  Which was when I realized I had outgrown Mario.  Sad but true.  2 out 5

Final Fantasy 13 has an awesome trailer.  I couldn't wait to play the game.  Then I read a review which said the game starts to get good about 25 hours into it.  What?  I don't have that kind of time.  Pass 2 out of 4

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood was a game I was originally going to pass on.  But I played and loved the first two games.  I considered the AC2 to be one of the best games of all time.  The trailer for this game looks great and the reviews have been awesome.  OK, I'm sold.  1 out of 3 remaining.

So I went to Best Buy looking to choose one from Goldeneye, Deadrising 2, and Fallout New Vegas.  I first picked up Fallout and was interested.  I like dystopian stories and love Vegas, so it was an early front runner.  Then a Best Buy associate came by and said that the game was full of glitches and he's heard customers complain a lot.  He had played it and said the graphics also looked a little dated.  Back to the shelf it went. 

I walked around with both Goldeneye and Deadrising in my hand for about 15 minutes, switching back and forth between the two.  I loved the original Deadrising and Goldeneye 64 was my 2nd favorite game of all time (before I played Mass Effect 2).  I really wanted to play Goldeneye again, I love Daniel Craig as the new Bond, and miss my Wii.  Goldeneye won out!

So I left Best Buy last week with Call of Duty Black Ops, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and Goldeneye Wii.  Best Buy saved my winter and spring.  Now the only question is, what game do I play first?

Until next time,

 - The 30 Year-old Gamer

It's About Time! - Back to the Future Review

I'm a product of the 80's.  I grew up in the 80's and 90's and love all of the classic movies from those time periods.  I loved Transformers, Ghostbusters, and more to the point Back to the Future.  The Back to the Future Trilogy was one of the best in American Cinema history.  Sure the story was formulaic and writing was pretty dry at times, but I loved the adventure.  Even now, 25 years later I can still sit down and watch all three movies with as much love in my heart as I did when I was a kid.  In fact, I did rewatch all three movies just a few weeks ago.  So if any game developer is stupid enough to create a game about the Back to the Future movies, they have very high expectations they have to meet in my eyes.  The good news is, that the people at Telltale met and exceeded those expectations with their new game Back to the Future the Game.

The game is for your PC or Mac and plays like a point and click adventure game.  No first person shooting here.  You control Marty by pointing and clicking your mouse on various objects and people and try to solve puzzles.  The controls work well, even if the puzzles can be a little simple at times.

The story takes place about 3 months after the end of the third film.  Doc is gone time travelling around the world and he's left Marty alone in 1986 Hill Valley.  Now this has two affects.  First, Marty misses his best friend, and the second is the town misses Doc's money, specifically when it comes to property taxes.  They can be funny like that.

So the town has seized Doc's house and is about to sell off his stuff.  Your first mission is to get over there and make sure no sensitive information (like how to build a time machine) falls into the wrong hands (like Biffs).  When you get through that, it's a convenient plot twist and a few puzzles later and then it's off to prohibition era Hill Valley to spring Doc out of jail.  To do this you need to enlist the help of 17 year old Doc and the fun really begins.

Here are the downsides to the game.  This is just the first episode of a promised six and it's very short.  You can get through the game in just a few hours.  Right when I was really digging the game and the story, it's the famous "To Be Continued..."  The second problem I have with the game is it's very easy.  There really wasn't anything that was majorly challenging.  Some puzzles were a little more difficult than others, but none were overly difficult and if any were, there is a hint system which basically tells you what to do.

Here are the positives.  It's Back to the Future!  They did a great job recreating Hill Valley and the adventure seems very authentic.  I loved walking around the town and talking to people.  The actor who does the voice over for Marty is completely spot on.  You would think it was Michael J Fox.  The animation is fantastic and the game is just very fun.  I plan on going through the game again just to play different choices and to see if anything different happens.

Overall the game is great and it's perfect for Back to the Future fans of all ages.  The next episode comes out next month and I can't wait to see where they go from here considering the cliff hanger they leave this episode off with.  I hope the game gets a little bit harder and maybe throw in a different game play element from time to time.  But overall, if you are a Back to the Future fan, this game is a must play at $25.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer 

What a Year - 2010 Review

2010 was a landmark year in my life for many reasons.  Getting married and buying my first house top the list.  And when I look at the year in video games there are a few things that really stand out.  Let's take a look at the big themes for 2010 and how they affected the video game industry.

Economy

The lagging recession and subsequent struggling economy had a major impact on video games in 2010.  First of all, there really are only two major developers left in the industry, Electronic Arts and Activision.  Back in the day, there were several equally important video game developers, but as the cost of creating a video game has risen to Hollywood blockbuster levels (over $100M), the small development company has become extinct.  In 2010, we saw that in full effect as Bungie (Halo series) was purchased by Microsoft and Infinity Ward (Call of Duty series) was purchased by Activision. 

This is going to have two major effects on the industry over the next several years.  The first effect is going to be the numerous iterations of very similar titles.  There's too much money at stake for these companies to go out on a limb with new untested video games.  Instead, they know they will make a fortune by repackaging an already successful series.  This was very apparent in 2010 with titles like Halo 5, er Halo Reach.  Call of Duty 7, er Call of Duty Black Ops, Fallout 3, Fable 3, Assassins Creed 2.5, er Assassins Creed Brotherhood, and Mass Effect 2.  All very successful titles.  All sequels.  And all will have many other sequels in the upcoming years.

The second effect will be the increased production of these games.  Have you ever felt that during the summer, there are just simply too many movies to see?  The same thing is going to happen to the video game industry.  It's easy to put a new coat of paint on a Call of Duty game and ship it out.  So instead of having a new Halo game every three years, we will see a new game every single year.  A huge blockbuster game will be released every single week leading up to Black Friday every year.  The gamer will just have to decide what game they want and stick with it.  You are either a Halo fan or Call of Duty fan.  Either Fallout or Fable.  There will be no room for in between which is a shame because all of the games are very good and I'd love to play them all.  But being a 30 year-old married homeowner, I don't exactly have the time.  And if you are a 17 year-old high school student, you don't exactly have the money.  So make your choice and stick with it.

Death of the Console Casual Gamer

Casual gaming was all of the rage a couple years ago when the Wii was first introduced.  But in 2010, with the struggling economy, the Casual gamer focused their funds elsewhere.  No one was buying Wii games in 2010 and the developers took notice and took their games to other systems.  The Wii for the first time ever was not the most popular console sold, and took a backseat to the Xbox 360.  What does this mean?  It means that the casual gamer bought their Wii for Wii Sports and now it's sitting in their living rooms collecting dust. 

It also means that the big launches of Xbox Kinect and Sony Move fell flat.  The devices are impressive, especially the Kinect, but the games aren't there.  People who thought the technology was cool bought the systems during the initial launch and then the sales fell off a cliff.  There just aren't any games that would get the hard core gamer to buy the equipment.  And since there are no gamers, the developers can't afford to develop games.  At the end of the day, Microsoft and Sony jumped into the game too late as the casual gamer has moved onto something else.

Welcome to the App Store

And where have those casual gamers gone?   To their phones.  There was a huge explosion of games for all of the Apple Iphones and Droid devices that have got those casual gamers flocking to.  With wildly successful titles like Angry Birds, Bejeweled, and Plants vs Zombies, the wireless video game industry has arrived.  Now casual gamers are simply turning on their phones and playing a game for a few minutes at a time.  They don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on a system and then $60 a pop for a game.  They can simply download a game in a minute which will entertain them for a few hours for .99c. 

This wave has taken over the industry and has been a place where the independent developer can really shine.  It doesn't cost much to create a game and a good game can make you millions.  Something as simple as Angry Birds can be one of your most enjoyable gaming experiences of the year.  It certainly was for me.

And this industry is just in its infancy.  The possibilities are endless.  Games are just starting to sync up with Facebook so you can casually play with your friends.  It's truly a huge growth area for 2011.

Overall, 2010 gave us some great games and while some areas of the industry are taking off others are cruising right along.  There were more people playing video games in 2010 then in any other year ever.  I can only hope the industry and people in it really take another step forward in 2011.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

You're Simply The Best! - Review of Mass Effect 2

The first Mass Effect was released a couple years ago at the exact same time as the first Assassin's Creed.  I was lucky enough to receive both of them for the holidays and so I had the very difficult decision of choosing which one to play first.  So I decided to play Assassin's Creed while the 30YO Roommate played Mass Effect.  In the original Mass Effect, you had several choices throughout the game to do a heroic action or to be a bad guy.  The story for the most part played out the same way.  My roommate played the hero in his playthrough of the game so when it was my turn to play I decided to be the biggest asshole in the universe.  It was hysterical.  At least until Mass Effect 2 was released earlier this year.

For the first time ever the sequel to a video game remembered all of the individual actions you chose in the first game and carried those actions into the sequel.  So if you killed a character off in the first game, they would still be dead in the second.  So guess who was remembered for being the universe's biggest asshole?  That's right, The 30 Year-old Gamer.

Well, I'm happy to report that by the end of Mass Effect 2, I had successfully changed my image back to the true hero that I really am, saved the universe once again, and had one of the most memorable video game experiences in a long time.  Simply put, Mass Effect 2 was the best video game of the year.

You play as Commander Shepard, and the impending doom of the entire universe is once again your responsibility to avoid.  To do this you must recruit a team of the baddest, smartest, strongest mercenaries in the galaxy for a suicide mission to the other end of the galaxy.  The game plays like a great episodic show on TV.  Each mission takes about an hour to an hour and a half to complete.  There's a mission to recruit each member and another loyalty mission for each member to become loyal to you.  This is important later.

Once you feel it's time for the suicide mission, off you go.  But be warned, if your team is not fully prepared, or if you made some bad decisions along the way, not all of your team will survive the mission.  I've talked to many people who have played this game and everyone of us has a different experience.  Some people of my crew who died, lived in their story and vice-versa making the story of Mass Effect truly unique to everyone who plays it.

Each mission is action packed and the voice over work is the best I've ever seen.  The graphics are stunningly beautiful as you fly across the galaxy from industrial planets to rural planets.  The universe that the developers have created feels real and massive.  And finally, the story is just captivating.  I simply did not want this game to end. 

You don't need to play the first Mass Effect to play the sequel, but I don't know why you wouldn't want to.  If the promised third Mass Effect is anywhere near as good as the first two games have been then we will be talking about this trilogy for decades to come.  Mass Effect 2, you are simply the best.

Until next time,

 - The 30 Year-old Gamer

The Old Arcade, Blew Every Dollar We Ever Made

One of the harsh realities of growing older is that some of the things you remember so fondly when you were younger may not be as great as you remember.  Some things just don't age well.  For example, have you ever seen an episode of the original GI Joe cartoon recently?  Man is that animation choppy and the plot is just stupid and physics just don't exist.  Someone can fire a missile at an airplane sitting on the ground and the pilot has enough time to open the canopy, climb out of the airplane, and run to a safe distance before the plane explodes.   Riiiiight.  Unfortunately, the same concept holds true for video games.  I found out this harsh reality recently when I downloaded X-Men: The Arcade Game on Xbox Live.

To say that this game was my favorite arcade game is an understatement.  When I was a teenager my best friend and I would pour over $20 in quarters into this game and play it until we beat it every single summer.  It was the video game that got me into comic books and I've been an X-Men fan ever since.  Arcades have basically disappeared and this game disappeared along with them.  I literally haven't played this game in over 15 years.  That is until, it was finally released this week on Xbox Live.

The game is simple enough.  You play as one of six X-Men characters and you have to battle the forces of Magneto through various levels beating up an army of bad guys and various boss villains until you defeat Magneto himself and save the day.  The cool part of the arcade game was that you could play along side 5 other people at once.  The game was huge and was the original widescreen game.  They pulled off the widescreen the old school way of putting two tv screens beside each other.

In the 15 years since I played this game, my fondness of it grew and grew.  I remember thinking this game was an epic adventure that took dedication to finish.  It was the game of ultimate teamwork where you played along side 5 strangers and only together could you defeat Magneto.  I thought it was a genre defining video game and couldn't figure out why they never released it to a console before today.

Then I downloaded the game...

My first sign of concern was during the download process.  I downloaded a pinball game earlier this week and it took over 300 megs of memory.  X-Men took only 42 megs.  Uh oh.

The graphics couldn't look worse.  Every character looks like they had too much fiber for breakfast.  And the story doesn't make any sense.  In today's comic books, Magneto and Prof X have buried the hatchet and are best friends.  The White Queen (Magneto's woman in the game) is now sleeping with Cyclops and is the X-Men's #2 in command.  And half of the other bad guys died in the comics over 5 years ago.  So why are we all fighting again?

Oh and this epic game of teamwork couldn't be more repetitive.  Press the X button to attack, repeat.  That's the game.  It gets pretty old very quickly.  And speaking of quickly, this epic adventure of dedication was beaten this afternoon in 27 minutes.

It was a nice walk down memory lane, but sometimes some things should stay fond memories.  I'll probably go back and play it again and just laugh at how silly the whole game has become.  Just because I was brought up in the old school, doesn't mean I don't appreciate how good the new school is.  I truly believe that we are in the golden age of video games and I challenge anyone to tell me that the games that they played 10 years ago are any way better than the ones out now.   Its ok to appreciate the memories of the old games, but lets play the new games instead and leave the old games in the past.

Until next time,

 -The 30 Year-old Gamer

Blinded By the Light - Review of Alan Wake

Everyone has heard of the game Red Dead Redemption. It's basically Grand Theft Auto on horses in the Wild West. The game sold huge numbers the week it was released. Which is why for the life of me I don't understand why the good people at Remedy decided to release their game Alan Wake on the exact same day. That week I walked into a Gamestop looking to buy a game and was torn between which of the two to buy. The teenage kid working behind the counter was giving me this hard sell or Red Dead, at which point he said something like, "I'm sure who ever your are buying this game for will love Red Dead Redemption." At which point I looked right at him and said, "In that case, I'll get a copy of Alan Wake." What a great decision, because Alan Wake is simply one of the best games of the year that no one is talking about.

Alan Wake is the story of a writer named (you guessed it) Alan Wake, who goes on a vacation with his wife Alice to the town of Bright Falls located in the Pacific Northwest. Think the town of Twin Peaks crossed with the town from Twilight. It's cold and dreary and everyone in the town is really nice but all very odd. Shortly after arriving at your rented lake house, Alice goes missing and Alan blacks out. When he wakes up, he's in the middle of the forest at night with the only his flashlight and gun to protect him. Here's where things get all higgledy piggledy. Alan gets attacked by all kinds of locals who are possessed by some kind of darkness and the only way to kill them is to shine the flashlight on them until the darkness disappears and then shoot them dead.

The story is absolutely great. It's engaging and you truely want to know what is going on in this town and what happend to Alice. The atmosphere is awesome. The use of shadows in this game are amazing. Light is your only safe haven and you find yourself frantically looking for it at all times. The idea of using batteries for your flashlight like ammo for a gun is ingenius. When you are running through the woods and the flashlight starts to flicker out because your battery is dying, you start to feel real terror.

Now I'm past the point of gory things scaring me. I don't get scared by the Resident Evil games or anything like that. But this game, with it's use of darkness, had me on the edge of my seat and jumpy the entire time playing it. One time, in the middle of the night, I'm playing Alan Wake and The 30YO Wife sneaks up behind me and says hello at which point I screamed which made her scream which made me scream louder. That's the sign of an engrossing game.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with Alan Wake and beat the game in about 10 hours. There's two extra downloadable contents that are about an hour each, so overall your adventure with Alan is about 10-12 hours. The game ends with a cliffhanger leading us into a sequel. My only concern is because these guys got killed at retail by Red Dead Redemption, I'm not sure if a sequel will be greenlit. I certainly hope it does because Alan Wake was a great example of great story telling and engrossing game play. If you are looking for an intense thriller for a video game, look no further.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

The Return of The 30 Year-Old Gamer

It's March of 2010 and The 30 Year-old Gamer is living in a one bedroom apartment with his Fiancee, The 30YO Fiancee, in Hoboken New Jersey. We are two months away from from our wedding day and everything is going great. I'm sitting in my "man cave" which can best be described as a "man corner" because our apartment is so small. I'm playing online when a kid sees my gamertag and asks, "Hey 30YoGamer, what are you going to do when you get older? Are you going to change your gamertag or will you always be The30YoGamer?" I thought about it for a second when I replied, "No, I will always be The 30 Year-old Gamer."

It's now December and as I look back at the past ten months a lot of things have changed. For starters, The 30YO Fiancee is now The 30YO Wife. We no longer live in a one bedroom apartment in Hoboken. We bought a townhouse in Morristown New Jersey. My "Man Cave" has been disassembled, but is in the process of being rebuilt bigger and better than ever. My Blog was put on hold, because, well I simply just didn't have any time to get to it. But as I turn toward the New Year and look toward the future, I will get back into my blog and talk more about video games and the things I notice.

Because even though my life has had some major changes this past year, there are some constants that haven't changed. I'm still playing games whenever I can. I still think that video games are for everyone, hardcore and casual gamers alike. And I still believe that I can provide a unique perspective, the thoughts of a 30 Year-old Gamer.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

Too Many Good Games

I never thought I would complain about this. In fact, don't even call it a complaint. Call it a very good frustration. But seriously, aren't there just way too many good games out there right now?

This past weekend I had some time to play some games and I sat down in my "Man Cave" and looked at the pile of games I had to choose from to play and seriously had no idea what game to play. Going into the holidays I was playing and finished

* Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

* Halo 3 ODST

* Batman Arkham Asylum

I'll give you my reviews on two of those games in upcoming blogs. Right after the holidays I played and finished (because it's seriously very short) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. So that just leaves for me to play:

* Assassin's Creed 2

* Left 4 Dead 2

* Fallout 3

* Dragon Age Origins

That's 4 games that I want to play and beat, but don't have time to. And it doesn't even take into consideration that I still want to play COD multiplayer and am in the middle of my second season of NHL 09.

A very good friend of mine has been raving about Mass Effect 2 and how I absolutely have to pick that game up. I figured I would have some time maybe this summer after I get through these games, but oh no. Also on the horizon of games to be released that I want to play include Red Dead Revolver and Final Fantasy 13.

I'll tell you all about my reviews on these games but here's a hint, they are all good. I mean holy crap. I could lose my entire social life playing all of these games and am not too sure if I would regret it.

We truly are in a golden age of video games. I love it. Not sure how my fiancee feels about it though.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

Avengers Assemble!

The past couple of months have been tough on my gaming career. Getting married and all of the extracurricular activities associated with it have taken a major chunk out of my free time. As we speak there are a pile of video games at home that I'm partially the way through and would love to finish if I could just find the time. I guess that's the major challenge of a 30 Year-old Gamer, finding the time to play. You have to prioritze your games and the one game out of all of them that I put ahead of the rest was Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.I picked up a copy of MUA2 (as I'll call it for short) back in September and although it's a relatively short game it took me to November to finish it. The game is set in the Marvel universe and consists of all of the major Marvel characters that you are well familiar with thanks to the movies, such as Wolverine, Iron Man, Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, etc. If you read the comics (which I admittedly do regularly), then you will be familiar with the story line. The Marvel heroes have been messing up lately. In the process of defeating the bad guys, they've caused a lot of collateral damage. In one major incident a few hundred people died which caused the US Government to create the Superhero Registration Act. It forces all superheros to register with the government and give up their secret identities, if they don't they become outlaws. This causes a split right down the middle between heroes for the act and those against it. This causes a Civil War between the forces of Iron Man (Pro-act) and Captian America (Anti-act).

I love this story and the game does a great job following along with the story. You actually get to choose if you are going to side with Iron Man or Captain America, and your choices have a huge affect on the outcome of the game. Potential allies will become enemies and missions will change considerably. In this regard the game is a lot of fun.

MUA2 isn't without it's flaws however. If you've played the original Marvel Ultimate Alliance from a couple years ago you are going to have a major feeling of deja vu. It's basically the same game. If I was in another room and told a friend to put either game in my Xbox and go to a random stage, I would have a hard time figuring out which game I was playing. It seems like this could be a straight copy and paste from the prior version. Also, the game is repetitive. You are going to be doing the same thing over and over for 6-8 hours. It's a good thing what you are doing is a lot of fun, or the repetitiveness would be brutal.

Finally, every character from the Marvel universe is in this game. I read a Marvel comic every night and I've never even heard of half of these characters, nevermind know their backstory. At times it feels like you need a PHD in Marvel history to get all of the nuances of this game.

Despite all of that, the game is a lot of fun and it's family friendly. You can let your little 30yo Gamers out there play the game without any worries. It's about as violent as Lego Star Wars. You can team up with multiple people and cooperative destroy bad guys. It's a lot of fun.

Overall, I enjoyed playing MUA2 a lot and will probably play through it again making different choices. That is if I can find the time after the next 4 games I have to play.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost

This past summer was the slowest summer of gaming that I can remember. It was brutal. Absolutely nothing came out that was worth playing. I haven't posted anything to the blog, because frankly there was nothing to talk about. There was however one game that I took a chance on, and I really enjoyed it, Ghostbusters: The Video Game.

Ghostbusters didn't receive a lot of press. It was released, and people generally liked it, and then no one talked about it ever again. I played Ghostbusters for about 4 - 6 weeks. I didn't play it relentlessly. It was just a casual gaming experience and it was great.

You play as the 5th Ghostbuster. You are a rookie and your job is to use the new experimental equipment that Ray and Egon have invented. Right when you join the team, the whole city goes to hell. Apparently the worshipers of Gozer are back and they brought reinforcements. You spend the game fighting ghosts along side the original team and revisit all of the famous movie landmarks, like the Sedwick Hotel, and fight some of the famous movie ghosts, such as Slimer and the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man.

Overall, the game is great fun. What really adds to the fun of the game is the writing and the voice acting. All of the major movie stars from the original are back to lend their voices to the game. Bill Murray is classically brilliant as is Harold Ramis as Egon. At one point in the game you are travelling through a hell version of Central Park where Winston says, "This isn't like any Central Park I remember." And Egon comes right back and says, "What? You still have your wallet?" Classic. These lines were used throughout the game.

The gameplay is nothing you haven't seen before. It's a classic run and gun type game from the Gears of War / Resident Evil genre. It starts to get a little repetitive and during the more intense scenes is a little crazy. When you have 5 people firing proton packs at a dozen ghosts flying around the screen, it's a little hard to not "cross the streams". The boss fights are kinda cool, but it's a little cheesy when the bosses have big glowing "hit me here" spots on their bodies.

Overall, the game was a lot of fun and was a great way to pass the time through a very boring summer. I'm sure the game will get lost during the holidays with all of the other new releases, which is sad, because it was a good fun game. And at the end of the day, that's all we really want out of our games.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

What a Slow Summer of Gaming

Wow has it been a slow summer of gaming. Here we are in the middle of July and there is nothing really to talk about. There are no new games out there and it doesn't look like anything interesting is going to be released for at least another month. So here are just some quick notes about some things that are going on in the industry.

Bioshock 2 Delayed Until 2010

It was announced earlier this week, that the sequel to one of the best video games I've played in the past 5 years has been delayed. Bioshock was a huge hit two years ago for the Xbox and the much anticipated sequel was originally scheduled to be released this holiday season. Apparently due to quality issues, they have decided to delay the game until the 1st half of 2010.

I personally think this is a good thing. There will be plenty of game to play this holiday season and this fantastic game could get lost in the mix. And it would be very disappointing if they released this game and it was buggy and sucked. What a let down that would be considering how fantastic the first game was. If it means that they need another 6 months to get the game right, I can wait. I think more publishers should care more about the quality of their games and do this. Besides the first Bioshock was released during the spring and it did fantastically well. There is no reason this game can't do the same.

Marvel vs Capcom 2 to be Released July 28th

I don't usually play Xbox Arcade games. They are usually throw back games and when I do play them, I realize how dated the games are and after 20 minutes I usually don't play the game ever again. That won't be the case with Marvel vs Capcom 2. This was an arcade game that I played til my fingers hurt in college. It pit the best Marvel characters vs the best Capcom characters from their games. You wanna know who would win in a fight between Iron Man and Mega Man? Now you can find out.

This game will get an update in graphics and controls and be released for the Xbox Live Arcade on July 28th. I can't wait. I'll be there the day of with my arcade fighting stick and taking Ryu apart with Wolverine. It's going to be awesome!

My Nintendo Wii is a Paperweight

What seemed to be just a no-brainer when I first bought the system, the Nintendo Wii has done nothing but disappoint. Have they even released a game in the past 6 months? My Nintendo Wii sits there underneath my TV begging for me to play with it. But every time I get an hour or two to play games, I always turn on my Xbox. This is very disappointing, because the Nintendo Wii had so much potential. But I feel that the games are just not that deep and get boring after 30 minutes of playing. Maybe my feeling will change as I fight through the dog days of summer, but right now, my Nintendo Wii is a lonely lonely system.

Those are just some of the things going on right now. Have a great weekend and I'll see you next week.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

Everybody Was Kung Fu (Street) Fighting!

For those of you around my age, I don't have to tell you how much of a phenomenon Street Fighter 2 was for the arcade. It was simply the last hurrah of the now defunct video game arcade. Back in the mid-90's, Capcom released a game that was so simple to play, but hard to master, that it was incredibly addicting young teenage gamers around the nation. Every arcade or mall had one and for each game there was always that one kid who was awesome at it. Kids would line up for their chance to beat him. I was not that kid. I was the kid who waited 25 minutes to put two quarters in the machine just so "Street Fighter Scotty" could embarrass me in front of everyone. The game was simple. You would choose a fighter and then fight against one other fighter. If you beat the fighter you would move onto the next round and play a harder fighter. After 8 rounds, you fought the big boss and then you beat the game. Controls were easy. There were three buttons for punch, and another three buttons for kick (light, medium, and strong). Each character had different moves and a different combination of the buttons would make each character perform a different move. Here's the rub though. Anyone in the arcade could walk up to the machine and challenge you by putting in 50 cents. If they beat you, you were bounced from the machine and the winner would take over your progress in the game. The game became so popular, the actual single player game never finished. It was just a line of challengers.

It's been over ten years since those glory days, but last month Capcom brought them all back with the release of Street Fighter 4 for Xbox and PS3.

This game is a great advancement for the series. And while the basics remain the same, the game is much deeper. For starters, each character now has "Special" and "Ultra" attacks. These are meters that fill up at the bottom of the screen throughout the fight. If you fill your meter and can hit your opponent with one of these attacks, look out. That guy is screwed. The graphics have the full high-def treatment which make the game look outstanding.

What really makes this game standout is the online features. You can completely recreate that old arcade feeling by opening up your game to challengers. You just start your game like you normally would and then randomly "A New Challenger has Entered the Arena". Your game stops as a random player from Xbox Live now challenges your game, just like the old days. Awesome!!!

There is one major drawback to this game and I have to mention it. If you want to play this game somewhat seriously, you need to buy a new controller. The game was originally designed to be played in an arcade. That means an arcade stick with 6 buttons. Some of the major moves require you to hit three buttons at the same time. While that's easy as pie in an arcade, you practically have to break your thumb to do it with the Xbox controller. These arcade fighting sticks are $60 extra on the cheap end and as much as $140 if you want a professional stick that they use in tournaments. So that means this game could cost anywhere between $120 to $200 to get the full experience from. I'm not sure about you, but that's a lot of dough to drop on a single game regardless of how good it is.

I ended up buying the lower end arcade stick and I love it. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a good video game. Perhaps I just wanted to recapture some of my youth. Or perhaps I just wanted to kick the crap out of complete strangers on line like Street Fighter Scotty used to kick the crap out of me over 10 years ago. Either way, I can see this game staying in my active rotation for a long time to come.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

I Chose The Wrong Game

I've always enjoyed Christmas. And I think that getting presents for me is a pretty easy deal. I usually give everyone a suggested list of the games that I'm interested in and they go out and get them. Last Christmas, there were a lot of video games on the market that I was interested in and I couldn't give the entire list to everyone, so I had to eliminate a few. In particular, there were two role playing games that seemed very similar, Fable 2 and Fallout 3. I had to choose one over the other. I had heard some pretty good things about both games and so I made a tough decision. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong game. I chose Fable 2.Now don't get me wrong. Fable 2 is not a bad game. I just don't like it. It's a simple as that. I could give you many specific reasons and break down the graphics, the game play, etc. But at the end of the day, I found this game incredibly boring.

Here's a quick background on the game. You play as a small boy (or girl) in this medieval land. You get called up to the castle and meet the prince where he unexpected murders your sister and tries to murder you. You escape but it takes like 10 years to recover from your wounds. Now you are set free on a path of revenge and redemption. You go out into the land and are faced with choices on your quest where you can be either good or bad. Depending on your decision, your appearance will change as will the environment around you.

Now I like video games and I try to give every game I own every chance to win my affections. Fable 2 I gave two chances, there won't be a third. In both chances I came across the same problem. The story forces you to stop playing the storyline and forces you to do other things in the world. It will say things like "you aren't renown enough to continue." Basically, you have to do more side quests to become more famous before some priest will entrust you to continue on with the main story line.

Here lies the problem. I don't want to do the side quests. They are stupid and a waste of time. And you don't know where the side quests take place. So you have to roam through the open land following some yellow trail like Dorothy fighting off birds, beetles, robbers, and every thing else in the land to play the stupid quest. Two weeks ago, I had a little time before dinner to play the game. When I sat down, the 30 Year-old Fiancee asked me how the game was. With my head in my hands, "I played for over an hour and I've done nothing. I'm literally nowhere farther in this game than I was 90 minutes ago."

That, to put it bluntly, sucks. This game is trying to be bigger than it is. It tries to show you that this world is full of life. You can get a job as a blacksmith to earn money. Or you can get married, buy a house, and have some kids. But who cares? If none of that gets you any closer to revenging your sister's death, why do it. What a waste of time. And those "moral decisions" that the game markets? Pointless as well. It doesn't matter if you slaughter half a village in cold blood. The moment you make a joke in public the remaining villagers forget what you've done and think you're a swell guy.

No, I'm done with this game. I don't have much time to play video games in my life, and I'm not wasting another minute of that time doing nothing within the land of Fable 2. This game was awarded "Game of the Year". In my opinion, it was the most disappointing game to see my Xbox console in 2 years.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

The Return of E3

Well folks, this is a very exciting week in the world of gaming. It's the week where all the major players in the gaming industry meet the press and the gamers. They introduce and show off all of the new toys and games that we will be killing each other for this holiday season. They show us the stuff that is almost done and the stuff that is just in development and still a year or so away. It's a time where we can all get together to celebrate everything that is gaming. It's the week of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It's E3!

E3 started on Monday with the big keynote speech from Microsoft. Then on Tuesday it was Nintendo and Sony's turn. There are also presentations from the big game developers such as Electronic Arts. Then it's time to hit the floor to check out all of the booths and play a level or two from some of the games that won't be released for months to come. I've been following along all week long and I have one word to describe this year's E3...."yawn".

I'll get into what the big announcements were from the different companies in a bit, but first let me touch upon something I mentioned a few months back...the recession. I felt that this was going to be a bad year for gaming. Discretionary income is way down, and that means so is discretionary spending. The cost of creating a video game is astronomical and game developers aren't going to spend that kind of money this year on a game that doesn't have an installed fanbase already. So that means we are going to see more sequels than ever before. And sure enough, that's what the big announcements were for this year.

Microsoft

Microsoft's big announcement was the development of a new kind of controller where you can play with your arms and use the motion of your arms to control the character's on the screen. Sound familiar? It should, because it's a blatant rip off of the Nintendo Wiimote. Sure Microsoft says theirs takes that technology to another level by introducing a camera that will recognize you and your actions. But seriously, this won't be released for at least 12-18 months, so really who cares?

As for games that Microsoft will be rolling out this holiday season. They announced sequels to some very successful games including Left 4 Dead 2, Mass Effect 2, and Assassin's Creed 2. All three were great games and I'm sure the sequels will be good as well, but there's really nothing new here. On the shooter side of life, they introduced Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Halo 3: ODST, which is Halo 3: the sequel. All of which will be good, but again, nothing new. It's a safe secure holiday for Microsoft.

Nintendo

Nintendo is really going to push their Wii Fit franchise this year with Wii Fit Plus. They really think they have something here and are going to really push some programming for it as well. It could be pretty successful, but again, the Wii Fit was introduced last year, so nothing new.

Mario is back. They introduced a new Mario game with Co-op gameplay. It looks like a basic Mario game, and I'm sure it will sell like hotcakes.

They also introduced a new advanced Wii Motion Plus, which when attached to the Wii-mote makes it more sensitive to your actions. So when you play Tiger Woods Golf, it really takes into account every mistake in your swing. Sounds pretty cool, but we'll see if it makes games to hard. Sometimes forgiving gameplay is ok. I'm pretty sure that I can't beat Tiger Woods in real life, so there's no need to make me face that humiliation in my living room.

Sony

Sony is still playing catch up. And guess what they introduced? Yup, it's a Wii-mote like device that will "revolutionize" gameplay. Again, like Microsoft, this is a blatant rip-off of the Wii-mote and is at least 12-18 months away from release, so who cares?

To Sony's credit however, they have introduced some original gaming with the game Heavy Rain. The game looks beautiful and has a very artsy "Blade Runner" look to it. I think it could be one hell of a good game, and I hope it gets the commercial success it deserves. Otherwise it's just going to me more sequels with higher and higher numbers at the end of the titles.

Overall

Overall, I'm happy that the gaming industry is moving forward and fighting the recessions with everything it can. I really liked some of the original games these sequels are based on, so I'm happy to sit down and have another Assassin's Creed adventure. I just hope that this isn't a long-term trend. Without new "real" innovation and new games with new themes, the gaming industry will hurt itself more than any recession ever could.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

Everybody Was IPhone Gaming!

About a year ago, I wrote a blog about how I thought if done correctly the IPhone could become the killer of the PSP. Well here we are about a year later and that has truly come full circle. As I write this blog, millions of people are currently downloading all kinds of games from ITunes to play on their IPhone and IPod Touch. Games generally cost anywhere between Free and $10, and here is the real secret...they're good!

Apple has done mobile gaming right. Each game is relatively easy to play, and all can be played in very short periods of time. This is key. For the most part when you are playing games on the go, you really have less than 15 minutes of where you can play the game. Maybe you are on the subway or you are waiting in line somewhere and you want to kill time. You can't pull out your PSP and start getting into a very involved stage of something. It will take you 5 minutes alone just to get to the start screen. With the Iphone, you're gaming in seconds.

The biggest problem with the PSP was what I described last year. There is no way to play your PSP without making it look completely obvious that you are playing your PSP. Last year I carried my PSP around with me for two weeks trying to find opportunities to play it. Say I'm out at a restaurant with the 30 Year-old Fiancee, and she steps away to go to the bathroom, I can't pull out my PSP and start playing a game of Madden. She would be furious. She's understanding when it comes to my gaming, but that's pushing it. However now, I can pull out my Iphone and start playing Tiger Woods Golf, and it looks to everyone in the restaurant that I'm texting someone. This is completely socially acceptable. No one has any idea that I'm on hole 17 at Pebble Beach putting for par. Awesome!

It didn't take too long before I figured out the greatness of this and started playing games like a madman. I've got Monopoly, Tiger Woods Golf, Metal Gear Solid, and the Price is Right. True story...a few weeks back I'm in Washington DC with a buddy of mine and we're having a few beers before we have to meet his parents for dinner. I slide over to him my phone and he starts playing the Price is Right. He's loving the game. Gets to spin the wheel and makes it to the showcase showdown. Needless to say we ended up running late to dinner. The cost of that game was half of the cost of one pint of beer.

Apple is really onto something here and the more 3rd party developers get on board the greater it's going to be. This fall Iphone Madden comes out. I can't wait to take my Patriots to the Superbowl...all while sitting at my desk at work.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

Delightfully Evil

Now This Looks Promising

You have to give Xbox a little credit when it comes to one thing, and that's their online gaming. Almost every game that you buy today has some sort of multiplayer component of the game. In fact, a lot of gamers will buy a game because of it's multiplayer than it's solo game. Take the game Left 4 Dead for example. This game is played with 4 people working together to survive the zombie apocalypse. Now while you can play this game with three computer partners, they don't quite react the same way as a live person when your screaming for help because some huge monster is ripping your nipples off.

Over the past few years, Microsoft has done a great job at perfecting the online experience and while I'll be the first to admit that there is still a long way to go, I think they are making great strides. And one shining example of this, is a game that they are bringing to Xbox Live Arcade later this summer, 1 vs 100.

If you've never seen the live game show here's a quick summary of how the game is played. There is one person who is the main contestant and they have to answer trivia questions. The more they answer correctly, the more money they earn. There is also 100 other people, known as The Mob, who are also answering the questions. The members of The Mob that get the question wrong are eliminated. The contestant can quit at any time and walk with the money they have, or they can go up against The Mob. If the contestant answers a question wrong, then the remaining members of The Mob split the money and the contestant gets nothing.

Later this summer, this game show will be played live via Xbox Live. Gamers can sign up at a scheduled time and play the show for real prizes. You can be either "The One" or "The Mob". You use your Xbox Live Avatar to represent yourself and you can win Xbox Live Microsoft Points or even video games.

I for one am a huge trivia nut and this is right up my alley. I posted the trailer of the game on the left and if the game is half as good as the trailer, then this will be a huge success. I know I'm looking forward to it and hope this is just the beginning of games like this. It's a great way to help unite the Xbox Live community and something that the Nintendo Wii will never have.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer

The Best Sports Game I've Ever Played

For all two of you who are still reading this blog, welcome back. If you are wondering where I've been, the answer is simple. I've been on the ice of the Boston Garden for the past 4 months. Let me explain.

Over the holidays I was given a nice gift card to Best Buy, where on a whim I picked up a copy of NHL 09. I know there aren't a lot of hockey fans out there, but I"m one of them. And let me tell you, this game is the best sports game I've ever played.

Let's start with the basics. The graphics are great, the game play is innovative, easy to learn and hard to master. Basically, everything you would expect from a top quality sports game is here, but it goes way beyond that.

They have a game mode called "Be a Pro" mode. I started in this mode by creating myself as a left winger and joining the Bruins organization. They start by putting me as a rookie in the Providence Bruins on their 3rd line. When you play in this mode, you can only play as yourself. You can't change players and when your shift on the ice is over, then you sit (not playing the game) waiting for your turn again. It's a very compelling way to play hockey, and you learn a lot about how to play the game when you don't have the puck. Hint, positioning is key.

I start playing on the P-Bruins struggling at first, but then finding some success. I work my way up to their 1st scoring line and about 33 games into the season I get the call up to the Boston Bruins. My first game with the Bruins is at home against the rival Montreal Canadians where half way through the third period I score the winning goal. (by the way, scoring is really hard so this is a big deal) I have so much fun playing through the season helping the Bruins make their way up the standings that before I know it, i've played 82 games and the playoffs are here.

In the opening round, I get the Atlanta Thrashers. They jump out to a quick 2-1 series lead before I come roaring back and win the series 4-2. In the 2nd round I play the rival Montreal Canadians again. This series isn't nearly as close and I beat them 4 games to 1. Then it's off to the Eastern Conference finals against the Pittsburg Penguins, and boy are they good. Three of our games go to overtime and the phenom Sidney Crosby is just unstoppable. He scores 7 goals in the series and I painfully get eliminated 4-2 by the eventual Stanley Cup Champs, Pittsburg Penguins.

At the end of the last game, after I punched the couch for 15 minutes, I walked to the local bar and had a couple beers to one hell of a great season. I personally can't believe how into this game I got. I would drive home at night from work looking forward to playing whoever my match up was that night. I would travel home to Boston and watch a Bruins game on TV and tell my brother, "Oh, I easily beat these guys 4-1 when I played them last week."

I tip my hat to Electronic Arts. This is the best sports game I've ever played and is probably on my top 5 games of all time. It's a must play for any sports fan, whether you like hockey or not. The game is just that awesome.

Now it's time to look to the offseason to see if the Bruins will offer me a 2 year $3 million deal.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer