GIMME NAO!

Well, finally settled in to my new place.

Let's get back to blogging.

I want to talk video games, because I haven't really had the chance to in awhile. The video gaming season is officially here, now that blockbuster title "Deus Ex: Human Revolution" has hit the shelves. Just about every week from now til the end of the year has something coming out, so I'm going to do my top 5 "GIMME NAO" list.

5) NBA Jam: On-Fire Edition
NBA Jam defined arcade sports games. It was such a big phenomenon back in the day, I recall hearing stories of big name athletes buying multiple arcade coin-op units to install them in all the places they would stay while out on the road. Some of the Marv Alberts inspired calls from the game are still legendary, redefining how my generation literally saw someone on a shooting streak as "on-fire." An updated disc version came out last year, but is now going to be released as a direct download Xbox Live Arcade/Playstation Network title, meaning we're looking at a $15 title instead of a $50 one. How awesome is that? Preliminary reports have promises of roster updates and whatnot, so this is looking really awesome to me.

4) Awesomenauts
I first heard about this game during E3, and it looks like my kind of title. Again, it's going to be an arcade title so it'll be $15 tops. It looks like someone decided to combine the mayhem of 2-D action shooters (think Metal Slug or Megaman) and make a team-based game out of it. Two teams go head to head in 2d Arena Shooter combat. There's multiple classes. At the end of the day, I'm a sucker for simple games who understand the 2nd dimension built the video game industry and can still totally rock its world.

3) Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Alright, so sue me. This one is technically out already. I picked it up and have been enjoying it. The first DX game blew the minds of everyone by expanding how we approached looking at first person games. Without it, we don't have FPS games outside the scope of run/jump/shoot. The story is complex and twisted and genuinely gets you to think. The fact the combat actually runs pretty smoothly now (the only real downside to the original) is just icing on the cake.

2) Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
As any fan of the Elder Scrolls series can tell you, the games keep you occupied for months, if not years at a time. The depth of exploration and sheer amount of things to do in the games are pretty astronomical, and unlike a lot of other sandbox titles where you can run around and do whatever whenever you feel like it, they have always had just enough direction to keep me interested in playing. My biggest issue with the Grand Theft Auto series is openness to a fault. I hate games that are so open, I lose interest due to being overwhelmed by options. Elder Scrolls, while having more to do in most cases, always seems to have a course of action in it. Plus, Bethesda does pretty solid RPGs. I trust the dev team.

1) Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
Hnnnnnnnggggg. I am probably the only person nerding out hardcore about this title as it's going under the radar of a lot of folks. I absolutely love the Warhammer 40k fanchise and it's grimdark darkiness of grim proportions. Basically, the game is like Gears of War except faster paced, in a richer sci-fi setting, and with a better dev team. Nothing against Epic, but all their games lack a tactile feel to them (as in when I am shooting something, I often don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything). The demo for it is out now, so I recommend you all go give it a shot. When you punch the head off an ork twice the size as you (which is saying something as Space Marines are 8 feet tall superhuman badasses), hopefully you'll get the same case of the "THAT JUST HAPPENED" giggles I experienced.