In Which There Are Several Short Reviews

[Jon]

I recently acquired an xbox 360. And Guitar Hero for the PS2. I have spent altogether too much money on video games in the past few months, and you will reap the rewards of my wanton spending. Or something like that.

Tomb Raider: Legend (360)
I dimly remember playing the original Tomb Raider. It was bleah; the controls weren't good enough, and the graphics were little better. I never got to go up against the famous T-Rex; the landscape did me in long before that. And let's just say that the movies did not do much to improve my opinion of the series.

So, I had fairly low expectations going into this game. I'd heard enough good reviews that I still bought it, instead of renting, though, and I'm glad I did, because it's good. It's got a physics engine: you can grab the corner of a crate with your grappling line, and when you pull, it moves like you'd expect, all diagonally. The puzzles make sense, at least physically (who knows why the Incans built massive underground tombs with pressure-sensitive idols), and usually "the obvious thing" will get the job done, although there were a few puzzles where I couldn't understand the logic. I only had to resort to the walkthrough three times, IIRC.

The storyline's basic Tomb Raider: cool artifact and the people who want to get it. But it's got some good twists and turns. The ending doesn't resolve everything, and it opens up more questions -- they might as well have ended with "To be continued," it's so obvious they're setting things up for a sequel. The game took me a little over nine hours to beat, though I'm still playing it for the unlockable items. I don't regret buying it, even at the overinflated price they charge for 360 games. The graphics are great, and if you're lucky enough to have a 360 hooked up to a HDTV, you'll probably die a lot because you're too busy watching all the awesome details on the screen.

Verdict: One and two-thirds thumbs up.

Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis (360)

I played the demo in the store. On the basis of that, and IGN's glowing review, I took it home. Besides, it was only $40.

Turns out the real game is apparently twice as hard as the demo. I like Table Tennis, but not that much. I keep hearing from lots of other people who are thoroughly enjoying it, though, so maybe it's just me.

Verdict: I want to get rid of this thing, but GameStop will only give me $17 for it, and that in store credit.

Guitar Hero (PS2)

I have no rhythm, but I'm decent at this game. More importantly, it's loads of fun. Third best PS2 game I've bought in the past 12 months.

Verdict: Thog know how to play guitar. Thog can rock out.

Kingdom Hearts II (PS2)

When I heard of the first Kingdom Hearts, I was all "Disney? Why on earth would Square hook up with them?". The answer "Because we can make an awesome game together" startled me, but it was true. Despite a bit of cheesiness, Kingdom Hearts was a great game, and KH2 is better.

The controls and graphics are better. There's tons more interface options (the changing menus for each world are a nice touch), and the addition of the various combat modes were welcome. The plot's more complex, too, with surprises around every turn. This felt much more like a proper Square RPG than the first one, and the secret ending still makes me wonder exactly what they're gonna do to top this.

Verdict: I never knew Mickey Mouse could be so badass. Two thumbs up.

Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

This is from the people who gave us Ico. If you've played that game, you know what to expect. If you haven't, it's a little hard to explain what it is about this game that's so compelling. But I think it has to do with whatever it is that makes us play RPGs ("you're pretending to be another person, but a person who can only say two different things when the girl asks him a question? what's the point of that?") and some of the better action-y games ("okay, so, great, Lara can swing from pole to pole and shoot some tigers. come on, man, the World Cup's on TV."), something which I suspect has to do with vicarious experiences.

Shadow of the Colossus taps that right from the source -- this is not just living vicariously, it's a vicarious life, with all the ambiguities of ordinary life amplified on screen. To quote Tycho of Penny Arcade, "There are elements of the story that are ambiguous from the outset, not because the story is being told poorly but because the situation you find yourself in and the powers you come into contact with are not drawn with absolute clarity. So while you go through the ordinary motions that we associate with videogames - discern objective, eradicate opposition, return for reward - you're engaged in a series of acts whose moral virtue is by no means assured."

Technically, it is a very good game -- the graphics serve it well, and the sound effects and music are excellent. In terms of the experience, some people I know just couldn't get into it. I don't know what sort of person this appeals to, all I know is that I consider it the best video game I've ever played.

Verdict: This is my game of the year.