I got caught. I actually shelled out for a PlayStation3 and (re)joined the console owning army this past summer. Hell, you need to justify that widescreen TV anyway, right?
Truthfully only a couple of games interest me for the PS3. Metal Gear Solid 4 is one, every bit the elaborate military stealth thriller it promised to be. A truly involving story, interesting characters, and well paced action. It was the first game in a long while to actually scare the daylights out of me. Try playing the boss level against Laughing Octopus in the dark, and try not to get too spooked.
Grand Theft Auto 4 is another, which is actually a surprise to me. I thought I wouldn't like it too much, with all the hype surrounding it. But it is the best depiction of a sandbox game yet, with an environment which is so convincing as a depiction of New York, I recognized locations when I was there.
And I'm sure Gran Turismo 5 is going to be a great game, but Prologue is an ideal (if slightly contrived) way of demoing the game up front. And I'm happy to note that with just a couple of practice laps, I can get to be second fastest driver in the Netherlands.
On the PC Windows front, not a lot happened for me. The Sims continues to sell, but it is getting extremely evil with all the spinoffs, theme packs, expansions that a true Sim fan will have to buy. Getting connected with H&M and IKEA is a stroke of genius, but who in their right mind would pay $29.99 for 60 new pieces of Sims furniture?!
The two main games for the PC were Red Alert 3 and Spore. The latter used to be a shoe-in for release date acquisition, but the DRM mess really put it in the crapper. I mean, it is an interesting game, with a unique premise, but it is not good enough to warrant such a draconian measure to protect it from piracy. It's like having 15.000 dollars worth of alarm systems on a 7.000 dollar car. And each time you get into your car, you get hit in the nuts.
Which leaves Red Alert 3. Back in the old days, you only needed to equip your game with one or maybe two attractive women, and you would create a new fanboy addiction overnight. RA3 gives us seven women. SEVEN. That's a bit overkill. And you could argue if you want Jenny McCarthy on your computer screen in this day and age. But Gemma Atkinson made the best use of a white dress yet seen on any screen. The game was enjoyable too.
And the soundtracks this year... absolutely fantastic. I actually discovered new great music because of the soundtracks of these games. But just go back to my 2008 music review to see what I'm talking about.
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