Pick 5: Hateful Games

In this Pick 5, I’ll be calling out five games that hate me. For whatever reason the following games don’t want me to play them despite that I really want to like them. My reasons will be quick and to the point.

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance (PS2)
Dying is much easier than in the GBA game and that’s with the addition of co-op play.

Batman Returns (SNES)
If battling Catwoman and the Penguin twice isn’t bad enough, you also have to deal with the extreme range of Catwoman’s whip.

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (PS2)
Your AI allies don’t do much to help out whether it’s fighting the enemy or completing the objectives.

Sonic Riders (PS2)
This game is just too easy and too difficult at times. Plus, the player is expected to be perfect on later tracks.

Sonic Advance 3 & Sonic Rush (GBA/DS)
My problem with these two games are the same. I can’t pass the second set of stages. If I remember correctly both problematic areas consist of mainly under water levels. The first time I realized that I have trouble with these types of levels in Sonic games was, I think, Sonic 2.

GBA Madness…and Some PS2

Within the past month the following games are the newest additions to my collection. All games were new and for $20.

Sega Genesis Collection (PS2)
Astro Boy: Omega Factor (GBA)
Sonic Advance 3 (GBA)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (GBA)
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA), exception – free

These next two games were Christmas gifts.

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (PS2)
Capcom Classics Mini Mix (GBA)

Now Playing: December ’06

“Now Playing” is back at ya with last month’s carry over of Mortal Kombat II via the SNES and Final Fight One for the GBA.

Games that I’ve finished were: Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Ridge Racer V, and Astro Boy: Omega Factor.

Astro Boy was a surprisingly simple yet somewhat difficult game that was extremely fun to play. I still like going back to it. The same can be said for Ridge Racer V even though it’s super short. That’s to be expected since the game’s on a CD and not a DVD. CoD’s Big Red One is unlike any of the other games from that series. It’s story sticks with one group of guys instead of shifting off to a different group right before you get to know the characters. It’s also a bonus that a couple of the cast members from the Band of Brothers mini-series did the voice work.

A game that I’m close to finishing is Gears of War. I’m near the end of the train segment with the big baddie that was the first to take out one of the Delta squad members earlier in the game.

Other games that I put my hands on this month were: Half-Life 2, Call of Duty 3 (PS2), Sonic Advance 3, Assault Heroes, Sega Genesis Collection (PS2), Capcom Classics Mini Mix, and Street Fighter II Turbo.

The Sega Genesis Collection had all new games, at least to me. I never had a Genesis during the 16-bit era so whether I knew of the games included or not, I had never played any of them before. I liked the two Sonic the Hedgehog games way more than I thought that I would. What helps with that is that you can save your game anywhere and at anytime. It’s just like “save states” in PC emulation. It’s an awesome feature that I’m super happy that was added thanks to Digital Eclipse! Shinobi III, Comix Zone, and five early Sega arcade games (ie: the original Altered Beast) are there to sweeten the pot. RPG fans will be really pleased that no less than four games from that genre are on this PS2 disc. The lesser known Sword of Vermilion and Phantasy Star II, III, and IV. Other multi-game series’ included in the package are Ecco the Dolphin (3), Golden Axe (3), Shinobi (2), and Vectorman (2).

All in all it was a great month of gaming!