{"id":9752,"date":"2012-02-13T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2012-02-13T09:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.badreputation.org.uk\/?p=9752"},"modified":"2012-02-13T09:00:10","modified_gmt":"2012-02-13T09:00:10","slug":"gamer-diary-what-ive-been-playing-january-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badreputation.org.uk\/2012\/02\/13\/gamer-diary-what-ive-been-playing-january-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"[Gamer Diary] – What I’ve been playing… January 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have decided to ape some of the monthly features of gaming print mags and introduce a \u201cWhat I\u2019ve been playing\u2026\u201d summary post.\u00a0 Sometimes I can play very few games and other times I can get through quite a bit; more to the point, there’s always something to say but often it might not be strictly in the feminist vein, or there might not be enough<\/em> to develop into a full article.\u00a0 So this post will be a bit of a test run \u2013 I know we\u2019re in February now but I\u2019m looking back at the completed month of Jan here \u2013 let\u2019s see how we go, shall we?<\/p>\n

Batman: Arkham City<\/h3>\n

\"Batman<\/a><\/p>\n

There were \u2018issues\u2019 with Arkham City<\/a><\/strong> (as you can read in my previous article<\/a>), but there were still some good things to say as well.\u00a0 The styling and the graphics were great (as they were in Asylum<\/a><\/strong>), and I enjoyed the noir feel that they went for, although it didn\u2019t feel as gritty as the first game. \u00a0I suspect that may be because once you\u2019ve seen something for the first time it loses its special impact.<\/p>\n

City<\/strong> felt a bit too<\/em> big coming after Asylum<\/strong> without the storyline longevity to really back it up.\u00a0 There’re a lot of side quests and other bits to do and investigate, so the game has expanded in width as opposed to length.\u00a0 Personally, I tend to let the side quests fall by the wayside as I power through the story.\u00a0 It was a fairly competent and engaging(ish) story until the ending (I won\u2019t spoiler but it sucked) despite the near \u2018deus ex machina<\/em>\u2019 way in which they ended the stories of four key characters.<\/p>\n

Playing as Catwoman was novel to begin with, but in the end wasn\u2019t a big enough plus as one might have hoped.\u00a0 Adding to the boiling pot were even more gadgets and even more complicated combat moves that you had to remember in order to beat certain baddies.\u00a0 Overall, I think they over-complicated a sound concept that could\u2019ve done a lot better.\u00a0 If you played the first game and are thinking about getting City<\/strong>, wait until it comes down in price first or until they release a copy with the DLCs included.<\/p>\n

Assassin\u2019s Creed II<\/h3>\n

\"The<\/a>This may seem an odd choice considering Revelations<\/strong> <\/a>came out at the end of last year, but I played Brotherhood<\/strong> <\/a>before AC2<\/strong> <\/a>so I had a whole 22 years of story to catch up on before I went on to the newest instalment.\u00a0 This is another game series I was late getting into, as evidenced by me still<\/em> not having completed the first game(s), but I enjoy it nonetheless.<\/p>\n

The graphics and world design are always fantastic with these games; they build entire cities before your eyes.\u00a0 The characters are ones that you can invest in; \u2018sandboxing\u2019 can be just as fun as the main story; the controls aren’t always the easiest (on PC) but you can get there in the end.\u00a0 This game is super fun, and now I’m clued in on Ezio\u2019s <\/a>pre-Brotherhood story I can look forward to Revelations<\/strong>.\u00a0 My only quibble is that there are only so many times I can listen to passers-by shouting \u201cHe\u2019ll break something, the idiot!\u201d<\/em> (or any of their repetitive comments) before I’ll consider risking desynchronisation just to kill a few civvies.<\/p>\n

Machinarium<\/h3>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

A cute little indie puzzle game, Machinarium<\/strong> <\/a>was a little bit of a distraction in between Arkham and AC2 to cleanse the palette of my brain, as it were.\u00a0 It\u2019s a clever little offering set in a robot city, in which you have to stop some bad robots from killing the King robot and free your girlfriend from the evilbots\u2019 grasps.\u00a0 Various puzzles and stages lead you all over the city until you finally save the day.\u00a0 Artistically it\u2019s simple but charming and my only issue was the overused-in-indie trope of saving a damsel in distress.<\/p>\n

Other gaming from January 2012<\/h3>\n

Those three are, admittedly, the only three games I have completed, but I’ve been dipping in and out of others too!\u00a0Serious Sam 3: Before First Encounter<\/strong><\/a> has so far been good nostalgia-laden fun, but my brain really has been in Open World mode recently and my FPS-ing has suffered as a result.\u00a0 Sonic Generations<\/strong><\/a> on PC has also been providing me with some chilled gaming \u2013 apart from when I get stuck \u2013 as it is bright, colourful and cheery, even in the face of a big baddie who is destroying time.\u00a0 Finally, not one I<\/em> have been playing, but Skate<\/strong> <\/a>on Xbox 360 has been my favourite Let\u2019s-Watch-Someone-Else game as I curl up on the sofa and watch my partner switch nollie heel something-or-other around San Vanelona \u2013 it is a good game, but the controls can be a bit pesky for a PC purist, and the complete and total absence of any<\/em> female boarders is a bit dull.<\/p>\n

Plans for February<\/h3>\n

So far, I don\u2019t have any hard-and-fast plans on games; I might <\/em>revisit Brotherhood<\/strong> as I enjoyed AC2 so much (and I lost my Broho<\/strong> save game).\u00a0 I may also stretch to buying Revelations<\/strong> as I would like to make sure March is clear for Mass Effect 3<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

What has everyone else been playing so far in 2012?<\/p>\n