Monday Gaming Diary: More Than Meets the Eye

Yes, yes, as my corny title suggests, I played a LOT of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron last week, and I actually finished it in less than a week! If I hadn’t gone out of town during the week before Labor Day, I could have had that sucker done by Labor Day weekend! Ah well, them’s the breaks. The important thing is that it is done, the strategy guide review will be up very, VERY soon, and I can get back to my pursuit of finishing the following games before October 9th:

• Halo 3: ODST
• Halo: Reach
• Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Feel free to laugh at me for having such lofty goals; I know I deserve it. I can’t promise that they all will be done, but I can PROMISE you that the Halogames most definitely will be, as I am in the middle of researching lore problems between the games and the books. I’ve been reading the Halo books since about July. I finishedGhosts of Onyx a couple of weeks ago, and on a whim, decided to fire upHalo: Reacharound that same time frame. Within the first or second mission of that game, I stumbled into a huge clash between this game and that particular book. If you accept it all as canon, it doesn’t make sense. But before I confirm this, I must finishHalo: Reach first, and due to suggestions on the Internet, must read a copy of Dr. Halsey’s journal that came with the Collector’s Edition ofHalo: Reach. Thankfully, I have a fantastic Halo fanboy friend who is willing to loan me his copy, since all of the scans and summaries I found online are sub-par at best. I have to admit, I feel like I’m becoming one of those super nerds that has to point out every plot-hole and mistaken reference in comics, like the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, just without becoming a man and gaining 400 pounds.

Also, just before the Labor Day vacation, I got my hands on a 3DS XL. After scoffing its existence since its announcement, I have to admit that I caved to its brilliance. This is what Nintendo should have released in the beginning, although we all know that Nintendo never releases final products at launch. How could I not have learned this lesson from the DS Phat? Consequently, I traded in my 3DS and picked up a 3DS XL (don’t worry…I was able to transfer all of my data). While I was hanging out in GameStop, I finally picked up the most recent Professor Laytontitle, Professor Layton and the Last Specter. I’ve always loved these games, and I meant to pick it up when it released, but obviously, that never happened. Each game seems to jump the shark more than the last, but it’s always entertaining to see how it comes together in the end. Besides, I love the puzzles! Considering how much failure I’ve had with the Vita as of late–most recent game to bite the dust was Uncharted: Golden Abyss–it’s nice to find something I like to play on the handhelds.

So what aboutKingdom Hearts 3DS? I can’t say what my issue is there, except that it’s difficult to really play that gameasa handheld game. WithProfessor Layton, at least I can easily close it and put it down at the drop of a hat and pick it up with no problems. With KH3DS, it’s not so easy. I have to remember what I was doing, how I was doing it, remember what buttons do what, etc. As much as I love KH games, this one is most likely going to sit until I have nothing huge pending on the main consoles.

And that, boys and girls, is why this series needs to come out on a console already. It’s ridiculous.

Before I go on that rant, I better end this diary entry now.  Hope everyone has a great week!