Games Played: Phantasy Star Universe (X360), Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (X360), Jetpack: Refueled (XBLA), Gunpey (PSP), Star Control II [a.k.a. The Ur-Quan Masters] (PC)
Movies Watched: Children of Men, This Film is Not Yet Rated
Books Read: 100 Bullets Vol. 9, 100 Bullets Vol. 10
I finished up Phantasy Star Universe story mode. It was fun to play with all the content that was locked out of the network mode. The story fell pretty flat (though no one had high expectations for it) and the game suffered from huge design and AI control problems but the game is better than the sum of its parts. Enjoyable combat and lots of cool toys (weapons) to play with made it a great dungeon crawler. Maybe someday I'll go back to the network mode.
Oblivion was picked back up so I could work on some achievements. I made my way through some of the fighter's guild content. I finished up the Defense of Bruma quest line, but it seems to have died and I can't move the main story along. I need to do some more research to figure out what I'm missing. Also, the Thieves Guild questline seems dead too. I should be kicking it off after meeting with an NPC and two others. One of those two never shows up and eventually the other NPCs just leave. Hopefully that's not permanently bugged otherwise Shivering Isles may get left behind...
Gunpey on PSP is fantastic in its presentation but horrible in its control. You simply need to move faster than the dpad can let you do. Or I'm not that good at it yet. The DS version has a horrible presentation but its control is very precise. It's obviously geared towards the touch screen even though this first came out on the WonderSwan. Regardless, Gunpey is more Lumines in presentation than Lumines II is and will appeal to that gamer sentimentality.
Jetpack: Refueled is pretty awesome. Enough for me to buy it after playing the demo anyway. It has action that scratches that twitch itch. The achievements are pretty well designed with some that will be pretty hard to get. As of Sunday I think I was #257 on the high score list but for some reason I can't stay alive through the first 10 levels to get that achievement. The retro mode seems really hard too.
I can't say enough good things about Star Control II. I play it probably once a year. I'll maybe post more about it as time goes on.
Children of Men was pretty fantastic; particularly with the art direction. Very subversive, but clearly stated, in its political commentary. However, it didn't quite have the meaty sci-fi core that it seemed to have been billed with so that might put people off. And the main plot didn't really seem to drive the movie so much as the fantastic "sets" and action sequences did. I don't quite understand why the movie made the top of so many critical lists (especially in light of some of the other unbelievable movies of last year), but I can't help but recommend it.
With 100 Bullets, I skipped ahead from Vol. 5. Interestingly enough, I'm not lost at all. The story seems to be unraveling at a snail's pace. But, the art and the "post-crime noir" storytelling comes off as solidly as it had in previous volumes. I will probably finish this series.
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