Now Playing: Fallout: New Vegas

 

If I was going to play Fallout: New Vegas, I was going to have to do it now. When speaking of just overall performance and graphical output, Skyrim – a game I have yet to play - is far superior to the brown, buggy and sluggish performance of both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. I imagine the transition from Skyrim to New Vegas being the equivalent of sleeping on a mattress, to sleeping a solid wood floor.

While being completely aware of the situation, I somewhat forcefully adventured, again, through the post apocalyptic wastelands of the Fallout universe.  Although I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the wasteland the first time around, the reality of the Vaults and the desolation between cities has settled in firmly, leaving me comfortable with my surroundings, not foreign like in Fallout 3. My curiosity still overpowers me when passing by an unexplored, vacant neighborhood of houses. The idea of what treasures could be hidden away is more than enough incentive to steer me away from my main goal.

My favorite games of 2011

 

With 2011 over and the new year in full swing, I thought I should put together a list of not the best games of 2011, but my personal favorites. With school occupying most of my free time during the second half of last year, I missed a few titles like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Saints Row and Skyrim. And while those are huge titles worth considering when talking about 2011’s best games, I probably won’t get to them until much later in the year. So while it is still relevant, I want to put together a short list of games that I enjoyed the most in 2011.

Review: Batman: Arkham City - Gliding through the night

 

The problem with making a game so amazing the first time, is following up that game with an even better sequel. Room for improvement is small, forcing the developers to dig deep into their creative wells, to introduce new concepts or ideas to impress the players.

No one expected Batman: Arkham Asylum to be as well executed as it was; dismissing its existence was the common attitude towards it. Rocksteady delivered an experience so contrary to what we believed, pushing Batman to the forefront of quality video games in 2009. With our expectations now set high and our attention drawn in, it would be impossible for Batman: Arkham City to duplicate such a lofty achievement. Batman: Arkham City won’t wow its players like its predecessor, but the fluid melee combat and wide cast of stellar characters that populate Arkham City, are enough reasons to slip on the bat suit once more.

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Soaring high

 

25 years of Zelda. That’s a lot of potions consumed, boomerangs thrown and rupees collected. And nothing is more appropriate to celebrate the quarter of a century existence, than to do it with a Zelda game in which embodies the spirit and structure the best installments in the franchise had. Most game enthusiasts often look back at games like A Link to the Past or Ocarina of Time as the important games in the Zelda timeline. Ocarina of Time is widely regarded as possibly the best game ever made because of what the game had done with its use of time travel and creativity. The overall design was years, maybe decades ahead of its time. Even today, aside from the visuals, it is nearly impossible to find a game so cleverly crafted and well thought through. But the newest Zelda, Skyward Sword, doesn’t impress or amaze like it’s previous installments, but provides a familiar experience to players who are looking to enjoy the time spent with Link. Zelda: Skyward Sword utilizes all the right tools in making a recognizable and well crafted Zelda experience, and even slightly evolves from its set in stone formula.

My resistance to play Skyrim

 

I was sitting in my Monday morning 10:30 lecture, wondering why I even bothered to show up when the professor just reads off the lecture notes she posts online anyways. So to distract myself from looking at my watch every 10 seconds, I looked around the room out of curiosity. And of course, to the left of me about 5 rows down, this guy was playing Skyrim on his laptop, shooting arrows at armored covered skeletons he encountered while exploring a cave or ruin. Then I began to think, is Skyrim really that good? Am I making a huge mistake by not jumping at the chance to explore the mountainous terrain of Skyrim? These last few days as I play Zelda: Skyward Sword, the probability of that mistake is falling more and more in favor of Skyrim.

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