Frothing Demand

I spent the majority of this week stressing over a rather lengthy Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots review for Internode, to the point where I got virtually no other work done. So that means that today and tomorrow, I’ve got to complete the following:

– Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (360) Review
– Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 (XBLA) Review x 2
– The Incredible Hulk (360) Review
– Secret Agent Clank (PSP) Review
– Super Street Fighter 2 HD (XBLA) Preview

A copy of Top Spin 3 I’m meant to be reviewing hasn’t turned up yet.

Once this is all done, I can finally sit down and play something – seems like ages since I’ve done that. I’m planning to take a week off from the 7-14th of July to recouperate before the E3 madness.

In other news, Charly and I celebrate one year together tomorrow, go us.

While struggling with the review for Quake Wars yesterday, my mind started to drift and conceive an action game – nothing new or revolutionary, just a nice straightforward action/maze game with some modern conveniences.

Reviews
NBA Ballers: Chosen One (Xbox 360) at Internode Games Network
Okami (Wii) at Internode Games Network

Features
The Warp Pipe – Half Year Retrospective at Internode Games Network

This has been a trying week. I had some six reviews to do; I got only four done, and they’re still piling up. There’s a certain level of pressure that comes with that amount of work, and it caught up with me somewhere around Thursday. The boss over at Internode went down with appendicitis, so he’s going to be out of action for a while, which will make things trickier.

Just looking at the whiteboard, I’ve got Metal Gear Solid 4, Quake Wars, The Incredible Hulk and Wolf of the Battlefield to review for Internode, and Wolf of the Battlefield and Top Spin 3 to cover for Strategy Informer. I need to get started on pre-prepared content for Q4 as well.

Reviews
Mario Kart Wii (Wii) at Internode Games Network
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) at Strategy Informer
Aces of the Galaxy (XBLA) at Strategy Informer
Novastrike (PSN) at Strategy Informer

Features
The Warp Pipe at Internode Games Network

Forgot to update last week, but I think the only thing I wrote that was actually posted was the second Metal Gear Warp Pipe.

The early part of my week was uneventful. The latter half saw us finally take the opportunity to visit Game On. Through means beyond our control (train carpark being full), we ended up having to drive into the city. Like any other major city, certain Melbourne roads are pedestrian only, which makes crossing from one side to another rather interesting. Also amusing is when someone fucks with the traffic lights, and your green arrow doesn’t appear to earn you right of way.

The exhibition was pretty good – I think the best part about it was their classic arcade section, where they had managed to cobble up several original cabinets for classic arcade machines, including the original Space War and Pong machines. The more recent gaming things had a lot of information, but I think the game demonstration choices were a little dubious – I’d have shown off the games that the machine was noted for, but their game selections seemed a little random. The other unfortunate thing was that there was also two school groups touring – we’d aimed to go mid week to avoid the place being packed but it was not to be.

Metal Gear Solid 4 took up the remainder of my week. It’s the best game of the new generation, but I don’t think anyone that hasn’t played the previous four games will be able to fully appreciate both the story and just how far the gameplay has come. I’m honestly surprised that the bigger outlets are dishing out 10s for it. This week, I’ve got to review that, The Bourne Conspiracy, The Incredible Hulk, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Aces of the Galaxy and Novastrike – there’s also the possibility of a Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 review.

Reviews

Advance Wars: Dark Conflict (Nintendo DS) at Internode Games Network

Features

The Warp Pipe – Metal Gear Retrospective Part 2 at Internode Games Network
The Warp Pipe (15/06/2008) at Internode Games Network

It has been a long road, plagued with many awful, awful games, but tonight, I finally cracked the Australian Top 50 on MyGamerCard.net. I had previously given up hope, but a discovery of some easy achievements on games I had already played pushed me over the line.

The reason I pushed myself with the GamerScore system was because it shows my dedication to my hobby and craft. That when I recommend a game or tear it to shreds, I know what I’m talking about. That I have integrity, by not reviewing games after only 30 minutes of play. That I will play any game, good or bad, just to gain a better perspective of what makes separates a good game from a great one.

I had two objectives for the system: 1) Crack 50,000 and 2) Make it into the top 50. Now that I have achieved both, the chase for achievement points can end, and I can move on.

A relatively quiet week in Melbourne, though much work was early in the piece. Seems as though the gaps between submission and posting are being extended everywhere I work for, which would indicate the review flow is picking up again. I’m using this quiet time to plug a few gaps in my achievement record – I said I would not be pursuing raw GamerScore, and though I am dangerously close to that #50 position, this is a chase for efficiency. That said, it ultimately still resulted in me playing crappy licensed games, so I still fail. The foot long scratch the cat left down my forearm on Friday morning was less painful than Transformers: The Game.

I have many an excellent title still sitting on the backburner during these quiet times, and I am gradually pushing the pile down. This week’s victim was Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, a somewhat disappointing entry in an otherwise good series. I’m hoping to hit either Super Mario Galaxy or Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops this week.

Reviews
SpellForce Universe (PC) at Strategy Informer

Features
The Warp Pipe’s Metal Gear Retrospective – Part One at Internode Games Network