What We’ve Been Playing May 2012

We’ve had a fabulous response from the community with last weeks Childhood Video Game Memories article. The staff have had a lot of fun getting back into the old DOS games.  And speaking of old-school video games another friendly reminder to all Pokémon enthusiasts to Save your Pokémon before it’s too late.

Daniel:

Finally got Mass Effect 3 out of the way, tried a few of the endings. Without giving anything away, I quite liked the end. I can understand where some of the rage is coming from. But I treat the last game as an ending and I think it delivered. Rage all you want in the comments below or at me on Twitter. Just keep spoilers to a private conversation.

Thanks to Chazz, I’ve been playing some Tribes: Ascend, jet packs and projectile weapons in an open environment make for great fun. Free to play is always a bonus and I think they have done it the right way. I’ll probably be doing some live streaming of myself getting destroyed on our very own Twitch.tv channel.

Having a lot of fun with Trials Evolution from Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA). It’s rare that I indulge in an XBLA game but this one reminds me of the old ElastoMania. Silly humor, dirt bikes and insane tracks. While I don’t usually go for leader boards, I’ve found myself incredibly competitive with this one. Looking forward to downloading some user generated tracks to see what the community can come up with.

Follow Daniel on Twitter @nfgdan

Senior Stiv:

This week I’ve been continuing my long and dangerous trek through the tunnels of Metro 2033. I’ve finally made it off the surface with Bourbon and now have to deal with more bandits. Playing on hardcore mood hasn’t made things easier, but so far I’m still having fun playing the game. I’ve also been replaying Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne as the Max Payne 3 release date slowly approaches. I’ve forgotten how much fun leaping through the air in slow motion was and from what I’ve seen of Max Payne 3 is going to be making bullet time even more badass. Can’t wait for May 15.

Finally, I’ve been trying the new cloud gaming program OnLive on my PC. So far I’m very pleased with how it’s been working. With the games streaming to my computer, my simple laptop can actually process some gorgeous games. Also, a lot of the games allow for quick 30-minute free trials if you want to try one before purchasing a game. If you haven’t checked it out I highly recommend it.

Follow Stiv on Twitter @stivostiv1

Emma K:

This week I’ve cleaned the dust off my Xbox 360 and jumped back on to try and get through story mode on Mortal Kombat. It’s no wonder it’s rated R with lots of blood and gore but it’s given me lots of fun. I’m by no means a pro at the fighting genre so my thumbs have being getting a good work out button mashing combos.

I also downloaded Trials Evolution from Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA). Daniel and I have being having a blast trying to compete against each other’s times. It’s simplicity is a delight to play through and the detail gone in to all the tracks is amazing.

Follow Emma on Twitter @Kwate7

Chazz:

The last week I have gone old school and taken merciless advantage of another Steam special. I discovered and downloaded Mount and Blade and it’s various expansions. At first I was dubious as the graphics don’t hold up to modern day adventures. But I stuck it out and I haven’t looked back since. The game offers a large amount of depth which I haven’t yet untapped. Any game where I can one day be king and own a winery is a win on my list.

I’ve also been keeping up my Tribes death match games, pwning as many opponents as I can catch unawares. The key, keep momentum and smash them when they’re distracted with another player. Honourable? Not so much. Effective? You bet. On the iPad I’ve downloaded and been playing Ski Safari. Riding on a snow mobile, with a yeti, penguin and eagle. Mind. Blown. My best score is around 200,000 at the moment. My friend texted me with his 3.4 million score. I was sent into a shame spiral for days.

Follow Chazz on Twitter @Chazz_NFG