Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - PS3

I played this through in about 10 sessions, and each of them got more and more difficult as the levels got increasingly tedious. I played the first two Call of Duty games on the PC and really enjoyed it. I think the mouse made it a bit easier to control because of my experience from Unreal Tournament. I told myself to try the COD4 because it's one of the games that made the current generation systems legit. People bought their Xbox 360 and PS3's for this title and it deserved the 20 or so odd hours I put on it.

(image: battle in the night) The game is good. The game is a bit too realistic in the fact that you can die easily, like actual warfare. I'll expound on this. The next thing is the graphics. Even though all games on the PS3 are HD, most of them are 720p - not many extend to the 1080p graphics which maximizes your television's limits. You can see specs of dust from your rifle and every demolished building is rendered to the closest detail. Lastly the story is actually engaging. Pieces of it must be from actual stories from the soldiers; I recognized the Black Hawk Down episode. I mean it actually moves like a movie, using the soundless slow-motion sequences and everything.

(Image: completing the game)I have to say that the worst part about the game is that I went from playing Resistance 2 to Call of Duty and the way you play is totally changed. I'm used to being a hero and gunning down grims with a shield on or camping in far off tower trying to mow down a giant alien behemoth. But now you're doing tasks that are done in a way that if you don't do it right, you will die and start over. And there are so many ways to die: bullets, rockets, grenades, exploding cars, and even getting mauled by a dog. I guess I wanted a God-mode through it all, but hell, it probably would have made the victories less satisfying. And this game does give you some sort of warrior's satisfaction. I mean, anybody that's done mission where you're fending the farm town from four tanks and you take them down one at a time with the javelin rocket will know that when it's over, you just can't help but smile. Or the level where you're playing Price when he was a greenhorn and you had to pull your mentor to safety as you snipe down scores of enemy combatants, it goes to say that when it's done and over, you just wonder if the game changed you into a gun-wielding crazy. It feels good to kill, and if the reason is because you're doing it out of self-preservation and the bad guy is truly a bad guy, it feels even better. I'm sure the game-makers at Infinity Ward knows this. They know that there is a dormant violent spirit within us, and they're just giving it a little push with their games.

The ending, when Price tosses you the side-arm and you know what you gotta do, it's nothing but pure satisfaction.

• Game Time: 20 Hrs
• Completed the game once on normal difficulty

Castlevania 1, 2, and 3 - NES

Castlevania is not just a game, but an entire franchise for Konami. Yeah, we tend to think of the Wii title that flopped recently, but it's definitely one of those series that will go on for a long time. The story is simple: Dracula is alive and well; he commands an army of darkness; the Belmont family has a tradition of killing vampires. Yes, we all remember the whips, the crosses, and funny potions. Where else can you battle the Grim Reaper, the Sand Man, Frankenstein, and Medussa in one game? Let's travel back in time for a minute and look back at these classic games. 

The first one was basic. You side-scrolled your way through levels, grabbed hearts, and fought bosses. You had a whip and a little knife to throw, and that was enough to make a classic. I know I beat this game, but I can't even remember what the pitiful ending was. It might have just been a picture of you looking at the castle with words scrolling up... which is usually the case in old NES games. 

The second one was totally different. Coined as, "Simon's Quest", it became more of an RPG mixed with elements from Metroid. You had to complete quests and find runes, all while defeating ghouls and goblins of all types. Bosses lead to more questions and questions lead to more quests. There were events in the day and events in the night. I remember beating this game, but I don't think I liked it too much. 

The third one of the first trilogy involved one of my favorite characters, Alucard (of course that's Dracula spelled backwards). He's on his quest to defeat his own father. Now the gameplay of this one is more like the first one, but for the first time, there were more than one main character. The clock-tower was one of those places that burned into my memory; something about jumping and having medusa heads loom towards you made me hate that level. 

The Belmont family continues!

Completion: Beat the game:

Castlevania - 20 hrs

Castlevania 2 - 40 hrs

Castlevania 3 - 20 hrs 

Hours Spent: approx. 60 hrs.

Check out the Angry Video-game Nerd bashing Castlevania 2:

God of War - PS2

God of War is one of those games that are so hyped these days that I find myself at odds with playing it for the first time in 2009. I did not have a chance for it when it just came out, as I was in Japan at the time, and it didn't really appeal to me. "Another slasher with cinematics?" I thought. But as I started playing it, I realize there was more to it. There was a great story.

After the first scenario, the Aegean sea where you fought the Hydra, you realize that there were more to just hack and slash. You'd have to think to defeat the bosses or fulfill the scene's objectives. So it became a puzzle game for me. I did get lost in the buttons for awhile (and am still learning the plethora of moves for Kratos), but I could get by with the Square, Square, Triangle combo. Just like Dynasty Warriors right? Perhaps. 

From there I learned more about Kratos's love-hate relationship with the Gods and his Spartan history. Rushing through the Temple of Athena, he defeats goblins, minatours, and medusas. I did hate medusas, as they could stone you and destroy you with one hit afterwards. I acquired their ability to solidify people, and started my way through the sewers. There was a lot of work involved but I found it relatively enjoyable. I didn't really start liking the game until I got the Sword of Artemis (shouldn't it be the bow?). But anyway, yes, I felt that the blades that Kratos used were a bit weak against the monsters, but the Sword of Artemis really got the job done. 

There was a time when I was really into Greek mythology, but I had forgotten it as school went by. Somehow my favorite was the story of Arachnid, the story of the spider woman. Or was it the story about how Zeus turned into a swan to court (or rape) the girl. Ahh, the Gods are crazy. 

From here I am walking through the maze known  as the Temple of Pandora. More medusas awaits!  

Super Mario Brothers 1, 2, and 3

How can we forget about Mario? He's only the most recognized video-game character in the world. So yes, I've had my share of Mario. Heck, I had to because when you bought a Nintendo in 1989, it CAME WITH MARIO. Remember that? When video-game console systems came with stuff? Yes, it came with Super Mario Brothers, Duckhunt, the zapper, and two controllers. Fun.

While I spent a lot of time on Super Mario Bros., I really didn't master it. I didn't "grock" it like the guys on youtube. No, I cannot beat the game in 20 minutes or however fast. I just learned basic plat-form gaming. It was a great time, and I have to admit, you miss those simple side-scroll games here and now.

Super Mario Brothers 2 enabled you to use the Princess, Toad, and Luigi. Yes, we all loved Luigi, but the Princess can float. Each of them had special abilities, so it became a sort of "Lost Vikings" kind of game. Not the greatest game, but I remember a lot of fun getting the star: 23 seconds of invincibility? Not bad.

Super Mario Brothers 3 was the one that everyone loved. I remember when it was the rave when we saw it in the movie "the Wizard" with Fred Savage. God that was a silly movie, but of course we all wanted to be that wiz kid. My favorite aspect of SMB3 was the suits. Yes, you gotta love the suits! I mean, back then all you had were the overalls and then the white over-alls if you had the fire-flower. But in SMB3 you had the Frog Suit, Racoon Suit, Hammer Bro's Suit, etc. Awesome fun. These three games will live on as the great ones, but will I ever play them again? Most likely not.

Completion: Completed
Hours: aprox. 60hrs.