Since the last entry..
*I got to the bottom of my new-game stack and reached into my old-games-I-need-to-mess-around-with pile. In there I found "Silent Hill 4," "Rogue Galaxy," and "Final Fantasy XII" all for the PS2.
I tried them each but don't plan on finishing any of them unless any reader of this diary can change my mind.
I've played "FF XII" for more than 20 hours and have already been advised to quit. I loaded up my save on Sunday and the game immediately failed by not catching me up on where I'd left off. It made it easy to re-quit.
I skipped "Silent Hill"s One and Three, rather enjoyed Two and was intrigued by the locked-in-a-room premise of the Fourth. Unfortunately, the reviews I scouted make the gameplay sound terrible. The portion of the combat I sampled on Sunday reinforced that impression. I can live without finishing this game, yes?
"Rogue Galaxy" is as pretty as any Level 5-developed game -- all of which are beauties, all of which are stuffed with gameplay and all of which have felt flat when I play them. Even rave reviews of this game claim it's monotonous. I didn't even get off the first planet. Is that okay?
*I also finished "Lego Indiana Jones," and decided to stop playing after discovering 75% of the game's content. There are some cool hidden bonuses in the game but it's also healthy to not be obsessive compulsive.
*Dabbled a little more with "Super Smash Bros. Brawl"'s Subspace Emissary (I'm now at 12%) and returned to an old misunderstood favorite "P.N. 03," which I'll write about more in a future diary.
*Tried "Haze," though it was competent but unexciting. It's too bad. I'm still waiting for the first great anti-war game.
*Oh, yeah, I also played the game I thought would dominate my weekend: "Ninja Gaiden II." I'm basically a newcomer to the series, having only spent much time with the DS' "Dragon Sword" edition. This Xbox 360 sequel features some of the bloodiest, most deftly controllable action I've ever choreographed with a game controller/ But it does not have the level design or enemy variety to compel me to battle past the game's second level. I respect the achievement of its combat but, like the flashier yet clunkier "Devil May Cry 4," the game feels imbalanced. It's far more fun during its hero's fights than in its hero's travels from corridor to corridor.
Next: I go on vacation. I'll be back Monday.
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