Blog O’ Obscurity

For at least a year now I have been looking forward to the release of the newest entry into the huge library of Star Wars related video games, Star Wars Unleashed. Now that it’s out… meh.

I was hoping for something unbelievable and outstanding. I got something pedestrian and clunky.

Granted, I have only played the PS2 version of the game and am still willing to give the other consoles’ versions a chance, but… meh.

The controls a pain, and most disappointingly, the use of the force powers is the most difficult to control. The game feels more like a fighting game with big levels than the first person shooter with force powers game that I was hoping for. And there’s no multiplayer either, even for the PS3 and 360 versions.

Hopefully, the destructible environment and improved AI that were featured so prominently in the previews will be used in the future to make better games than this.

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In this new world where everything is Chuck Norris, you may now have the privilege of controlling Chuck Norris in a new cell phone video game.

Don’t let the idea go to your head. You will never control the real Chuck Norris. Even your control of the video game Chuck Norris is only illusionary.

I like it when Chuck picks up the truck and even better when he destroys the helicopter by saying, “Bang!”

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The strangest things seem to occupy my time on the internet. Some games I give a shot and let pass by, but sometimes there is a really strange one that I play and play and play. It’s not usually the greatest animation or graphics and definitely not the greatest music, but I play.

My most recent addiction for an afternoon was Hedgehog Launcher.

Purchase upgrades for your hedgehog launcher and then steer your hog through the floating coins and bars. Don’t worry, everything that you can hit is good. Your eventual goal is to launch the large smiling rodent into space. That said, I was kind of disappointed when I finally did. I was having too much fun collecting the coins.

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In only a couple of hours now the newest release by the Guitar Hero franchise will be released for all. The Aerosmith edition features mostly songs from the legendary band with a few other bands thrown in. I was somewhat disappointed with the effort put into the 80’s edition, but I’m somewhat optimistic about this newest version. The songlist looks great, and I’ll let you know what I think as soon as I can give it a test drive.

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While Guitar Hero broke new ground in what a video game could be, Rock Band takes things a bit further. Guitar Hero remains one of my favorite games because of the fun and the challenge of playing cool songs on the guitar. However, no matter how much fun it is, it’s still only a toy guitar and is a poor substitute for actually playing a guitar.

Rock Band’s introduction of the microphone and drum kit gives a measure of reality into this genre of video game. Even though the drum kit is a very much toned down version of a typical set of drums, the player is still playing the drums. The singer is given some latitude in pitch depending on the difficulty level but is still singing the song.

The only drawback of the game is the wireless guitar. The strum bar is loose and difficult to play, the neck is too thin and painful to hold. The buttons are at the same level as the rest of the fret board, making them difficult to distinguish from each other just by touch. The gravity switch is difficult to activate when you lift the neck of the guitar and yet sometimes activates at the slightest movement at an unwanted time.

Thankfully, I can just keep using my Guitar Hero guitar on this game.

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If you were in grade school in the mid to late 80’s and especially if you had a Nintendo Entertainment System during that time period than you definitely know about two things. First, if your Nintendo is on the fritz, try blowing into the cartridge or the console. Second, The Legend of Zelda rocks because you can save your game.

Talk about your innovation.

The cartoon series soon followed and featured our hero, Link, trying to save the kingdom of Hyrule and win the heart (or hearts) of the princess, Zelda. (Come to think of it, Zelda isn’t the sexiest sounding name. Sounds too much like Helga.)

Looks like they’re finally making a movie out of this one too. (Be sure to check the release date at the end of the trailer)

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In honor of the holiday season and that classic of American cinema, “A Christmas Story”, comes the ultimate in air rifle online games. (Or maybe the only air rifle online game).

Don’t Shoot Your Eye Out features Ralphie and his Red Rider BB Gun. You try to get as many ricochets as possible without shooting your eye out.

Merry Christmas and “Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra Ra Ra.”

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One of the drawbacks to shoot ‘em up games in the past has always been the opponents ability to shoot you. In older games the baddies either shot at you in a predictable pattern, or with extremely slow moving and easily avoidable ammunition. The side scroller, Ownage Burst, is slightly different. It’s a flash game that looks like an older side-scroller from the Super Nintendo days, but the villains are much better shots. They will occasionally miss, but it’s almost impossible to avoid their shots. The only ways to avoid being riddled with lead is to shoot them before they aim and shoot at you or to duck behind the cars on the side of the street.

I had fun with it. Hopefully more levels are available soon.

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Ever want to find some way to waste about 5 hours.

The Tower Defense style of games have become more and more popular since their initial development from the Warcraft series.

Onslaught is a fun variant that allows you to combine the powers of the different towers to fend off the baddies for hours.

Just wanted to share with everyone out there what I’ve been doing for the past few hours.

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After trying it out in the store and seeing some youtube posts of the game, …

I CAN’T WAIT TO GET THIS!

Thank God it’s still for the PS2. I really don’t want to shell out hundreds of dollars for the latest system.

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