Category Archives: Video Games

In Part 1, I described the motivations behind what would become a goal of completing every console-based title[1] in the The Legend of Zelda series before the release of Skyward Sword the weekend before Thanksgiving. In this entry, I give a brief review of my experience playing each of these games.

The Legend of Zelda

Sitting down and playing the Legend of Zelda for the first time in 20 years was pure, concentrated joy. I was amazed at both how much I remembered and how little I remembered. I still remembered the location of every heart container, and the locations of all the hidden rupees. I had no trouble navigating inside the dungeons–the secret passageways and bomb-doors were all easily found without effort. However…what blew me away was how TERRIBLE I was at the game.

I got killed. Over and over and over. Read the rest of this entry →

When I was a kid, like many others, I fell in love with the first Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). There were a number of titles that I played for hours and hours–Metroid, various Mario Bros games, Mike Tyson’s Punchout, Tecmo Bowl, to name a few. One game, though, has always held a special place in my heart that no other title has ever approached: The Legend of Zelda. I can’t honestly recall the first time I played Zelda, but I will never forget the seemingly endless fun I had exploring every aspect of a game which didn’t constrain me to time limits, forced side-scrolling, or plot/strategy linearity. Fearless, clever, able to carry an awesome array of weapons, tools, and gadgets, and decked out in all green, Link was always my favorite video game character. Read the rest of this entry →

This is an other entry in my occasional series where I demonstrate how out of touch with modern pop culture I am by reviewing something that was all the rage months ago but which I’m just getting to. Last time was my review of New Moon. This week I turn to video games. All around Christmas I was hearing how the first major take on the whole political turmoil of the war on terror was a video game rather than a movie. Yes, Hollywood has been pretty ham-fisted and out of touch dealing with the war on terror. And most of the movies have been disappointing. I kept hearing how Modern Warfare 2 was complex and brought you to understanding what is going on. (I’m going to abbreviate it as MW2) Then there was the notorious level where you play a terrorist.

OK, let me tell it like it is. First this game does not live up to the hype. Maybe it is a killer game if you are playing it on XBox Live. That’s where most games aim nowdays anyway: the multiplay competitions. I’m judging it on its own merits as a single player scenario. The problem is that it wants to be Tom Clancy with all these characters everywhere. That’s great in a novel but just doesn’t work well in a video game. (Halo tried this with Halo 2 but wisely moved away from it with Halo 3 — but there we had only two characters not tons) This switching between characters lets you see events around the world but de-engages the player from the game which also dilutes the effect of the game. It loses a certain “virtual reality” quality to it.

Read the rest of this entry →

LostWinds, a game I bought for only 1000 Wii points ($10) just might be one of my favorite games on the console. It’s beautiful, a joy to play, and makes very good use out of the Wii’s motion controls. It’s not terribly long or deep, but for the price and the experience, it’s can’t miss. Read the rest of this entry →

We recently had a discussion here about the video game Rock Band, and in the comments someone was saying they wanted to see a similar videogame but with a real guitar.

I didn’t think it was possible. But check it out:

Their website says the game should be out late this year.