The last several days I haven't really been interested in any game installed on our computers. I think I'm burned out or flat out bored with the endless grind that mmo's have determined is the best, aka only, way to keep the attention of their players. I've fired up the Xbox the last couple of days and have been enjoying the heck out of myself, but of course the completion addict in me is also compelled to clean-up some achievements I have uncompleted on several games. I've also tried and fell in love, a couple of games we've had for ages but I never tried.
Red Dead Redemption by Rockstar Games is one of those titles. Hubby bought it when the tiled hit the On Demand menu on our 360. I always thought the game was beautiful but shooters and I generally, in the past, have had a disgruntled history. I have loved the story in games like Bioshock and Halo but the shooter aspect was always meh. However, apparently, in the last couple of years I think I've gotten over my meh block to shooter games or I'm just suddenly in the mood to play the stories and the shooter aspect doesn't bother me right now.
The story in Red Dead is the weakest of all the games I'm flitting thought right now but the environment is stunning. Sunrises and sunsets are nearly as brilliant as they are through our family room window. The weather in the game is really caught stunning. The thunderstorm mechanic in game is enough to make me find a safe spot in game and listen to the weather. The puddles, the dark atmosphere, and light effects are just fabulous.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag definitely caught my attention at this Year's E3 last week and thus I decided to put Assassin's Creed III at the top of the Gamefly queue. Game arrived and as soon as it fired up, it had my full and complete attention. The story grabbed me and held my attention. I played through the first mission in London and have made it through the first tavern mission in Boston. However, I have decided to go back and catch up on the games I missed in the past.
Hubby played through Assassin's Creed when it was released and I watched while stitching next to him (not uncommon here). I tried the original game but it didn't capture my imagination. When Assassin's Creed II was released hubby tried that game too. I thought it was beautiful and the characters much more engaging, however the dialogue drove hubby batty and neither of us finished the game. So when Brotherhood and Revelations were released we basically ignored the games and played other things.
Well, no longer will the Assassin's Creed franchise be ignored. I will go back and play through the titles I missed, ok maybe not the first one, before I pick up and finish III or start IV. Assassin's Creed II will be available for Xbox Live Gold Members for free next month and then I will be playing through it eagerly. Revelations is download and waiting, although I admit I played through some of it yesterday. The game is beautiful and has my attention.
Dead Rising 3 also caught my attention at E3 this year. Gamefly delivered Dead Rising 2 Saturday as well. Five minutes of the overly color saturated game completely failed to grasp my interest or attention. To be honest, first impression of the game reminded me of World of Warcraft style console game because of the color saturation and graphic style. Needless to say, this style of Dead Rising game doesn't have my attention and so I will wait for more information by Dead Rising 3 before committing to the new game.
Halo 5 caught my attention as well, mainly because I haven't a clue as to why Masterchief has a cracked mask on his helmet. I need to know what happened in Halo 4! . I put in Halo 3 and then hubby reminded me that I watched him play it to completion. I vaguely remember the story so I decided to give it a go and thus I fired it up. The controls and my shooter skills are never great match and so I set the game to casual. Then I realized that the fine folks over at Bungee won't give achievement points to those of us who play games for the story and not our "skills" at a shooter. I will watch hubby play through Halo 4 rather than frustrate the achievement whore (I admit it) in me by not getting credit for playing the game.
I am enjoying giving the 360 a spin while it is in triple digits outside. I am eagerly looking forward to the delivery of the Xbox One this November and I can't wait to fire up Project Spark for the first time and Zoo Tycoon.
