Short Review: Need for Speed Most Wanted
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Game Reviews At A Glance
Okay, so I've been falling behind on my blogging (big surprise). I seem to do pretty well for a bit, then I lapse for some reason or another (some Martian Plague or something this time) and then I post a flurry of things for a bit and crap out again. But hey, whatever works, right?

Back on track though, over the holidays I got about 5 new games:

• X-Men Legends II for the PSP
  
• Need for Speed Most Wanted for the PS2
  
• Some old Jet Ski racing game for the Xbox
  
• Lord of the Rings Return of the King for Xbox
  
• Shenmue II for the Xbox
  

Most likely the last 3 games on the list will be traded in at Gamestop or something. I'm not a big racing game fan, I hate hack and slash rpgs, and Shenmue II... I couldn't even remember what game it was for like 5 minutes, it just doesn't seem like my style of game.

The first two I mentioned though, I'm happy about. X-Men not surprisingly because I already have the Xbox version and loved it, and I wanted the extra missions and characters the PSP version has. Need for Speed Most Wanted (from here on out NFSMW) however was a pleasant surprise. I mentioned above I don't really care fore racing games, so I held little hope for NFSMW, but it is a good game.

It's not just race after race, there are about eight different race styles from drag racing to checkpoint racing, sprints and lap racing, and more. My favorite type of race so far is when you are racing through radar check points and it doesn't matter who gets to the finish line first, but the goal is to have the highest total MPH through the radar checkpoints.

The goal is to move up thorough a 15 opponent "Blacklist" and win back your car that you lost in a race earlier (due to sabotage). Each blacklist opponent has a set of criteria which you have to meet before they will race you. There are races to win, milestones to pass (things like passing through radar checkpoints at or above certain MPH) and bounty to be met.

You earn bounty by being involved in police chases. This is by far one of the most fun parts of the game. There is not a lot that can be explained abot them in writing really, so I guess believe me or not.

This is not meant to be a racing sim though. The car you drive is pretty much indestrutible. You aren't racing on tracks, you are racing through city and countryside (which is cool). Also the police chases can get pretty unbelieveable after a while (>23 minute chase involving 101 police vehicles, etc. etc.) although the police AI is pretty good (they will box you in).

All in all, this gets my seal of approval as a:

X-Men Legends II
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Game Reviews At A Glance
Okay, gonna try and not let the crappy day affect this post. Besides Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne I also just recently bought X-Men Legends II(XBox version): Rise of Apocalypse... I think the games I play have way too long of titles... anyways here's my thoughts on it(might have played it for a little longer than 5 hours by now):

I really enjoyed the first X-Men Legends, it was a fun and different game, it was a superhero game and(gasp) it was good (and Nightcrawler kicked mucho ass, he's my fave X-man). So I was really anticipating the release of X-Men II, hoping they could do well with the franchise, and so far I am not disappointed. The graphics are better, the characters are deeper and more involved (way more skills) and the item base has grown immensely.

The storyline works well, but the best thing is the variety of mutants you get, including members of the brotherhood of evil mutants. I'm enjoying this game as much as I did the first and the only way it could be better is if I could get some people to come over to my house and play the damn game with me in co-op mode. The bonuses you get for certain mutant combinations are a nice perk too.

The one drawback? I'm probably going to have to get the PSP version of the game too, what with the four exclusive characters and 9 other missions... damn...

Oh well, this game also gets my seal of approval as a:

At a glance
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Game Reviews At A Glance
Okay, I'm going to try a new thing here, I'm going to to two different types of video game reviews. I'll do reviews at a glance(having played them for a short time) and I'll also do reviews in depth (on games I have completed). So here we go with my first review at a glance:

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

Okay, I'll start this by saying I am an RPGer. Old school RPGer. Original Final Fantasy RPGer. If it's the old turn based battle system, chances are I'll like it, and Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is no exception. It is a great RPG, with an interesting battle system (name one other RPG where there's a chance the enemy will stop the fight and bribe you to not hurt them anymore), and an original storyline.

I've only played it for about 5 hours, but it is such an engaging game that it is right near the top of my list of must play games when I get home (Competing with X-Men Legends II, EverQuest, and many other games).

So far this game gets my seal of approval as a: