Gears of War 2

I was fortunate enough to be able to finish two great games this weekend. Mostly due in part to not wanting to be idle and needing to get my mind off things. Gaming is a great way for me to relax and escape for a bit. I tackled Gears of War this weekend along with Shadow of the Colossus. Two very different games but two very good games in their own right.

Gears picks up right where the last one left off as the humans of Sera continue to fight off the locust invasion and protect one of the last human strongholds of Jacinto. If you've played the first game then you should be able to hop right into this one with no problem. I didn't really notice too many significant changes to the gameplay this time around. It still follows the duck and cover style of gameplay. Of course there's nothing wrong with that. It works well for the game and why fix what ain't broke right? Story-wise, the sequel does do a great job of making you feel like your part of a much larger world and there's much more at stake than the first did. You really feel like the fate of humanity hinges on your shoulders in this one. The addition of the sub-plot involving Dom's search for his wife was well done and made you feel for the guy. It gave the game more character and depth than the first. 2nd game I finish this week that has a guy trying to be reunited with his lost love. Parallels anyone? It usually takes me awhile to finish a game as I like to take my time. It took me a couple months to finally getting around to finishing Shadow of the Colossus but I was able to finish this one in 2 weeks. I don't know if it's because I played it more than I normally play or if the game is just short. I think it is a little a both but the game still sucked me in and made want to stick it to the locust and finish them off.

While not much was done to change the gameplay from the first, they made some pretty significant additions to the mulitplayer portion. Instead of 4 on 4 matches, they now allow for 5 on 5 games which makes the game more well-rounded. They also added some clever modes to play online including Guardian and Wingman. Look them up if you don't already know what they are, you are already on the internet anyway. The addition that'll probably have the biggest impact is the addition of Horde mode. It basically pits you and however many friends you're playing with against a crap-load of enemies coming at you in waves. I've had a blast playing this mode and when you get to the tougher waves, you'll get toasted fast if you don't use teamwork and strategy. If you liked the first game then you definitely need to pick this one up. Even if you never played the first one this is still one you should play if you own a 360.

Shadow of the Colossus

Just got through beating Shadow of the Colossus and I must say that it is a spectacular game. It works on so many levels and it is one of the best games available on the PS2 platform. With the current-gen systems chugging along with their HD graphics you may be asking yourself why I'd go back and play this last-gen game. Well a great game is a great game no matter when it was released or how it looks compared to current games. I had heard so much hype about this game and I saw it for $5 at Target one day so I snatched it up. I think they may have had it at that price in error because I've never seen even crappy discount games going for that cheap.

The game is different than your typical sword fighting game. Instead of there being several mini enemies as you progress through a stage, there are only 16 enemies in the ENTIRE game. That's no typo, 16. The thing is that these enemies are colossi and they sometimes take up the entire screen. You pretty much start out as a dude who needs to kill 16 colossi to bring his girl back to life. It's as simple as that. The simplicity of the game is another thing that makes it so appealing. It's just you, your faithful horse, your sword, and bow. That's it. You travel to various locations in the game world and take down these huge beasts. It gets pretty intimidating each time you encounter a colossi and it all plays out kind of like a puzzle game. You need to locate their weakness and find a way to attack it. Repeat 16 times and you got yourself a classic. Even the story elements are very simple and you never get much plot other than at the very end of the game. This is one you're going to want to watch until the end of the credits too and the ending is one of the best I've seen in a video game.

The only complaint I would have about this game would be that sometimes the controls can get to be pretty wonky and so does the camera. It's not a big deal but sometimes it gets in the way of what you want to do. I would highly recommend that anyone who appreciates good games pick this one up. It elevates gaming to an art form and the simple story speaks to how sometimes man can destroy their surroundings with no regard to the consequences while at the same time telling the story of a man who will stop at nothing to be reunited with his love.

Jaxon's IPA

Went to go have a beer with a friend from work and we decided to go to Jaxon's. They have $2 pints all day Wednesday and that is a fantastic price for their beer. For those who have never been, they have anywhere from 6-9 offerings on any given time depending on the season and availability. I've gone a couple times where they simply run out of their best brews. If you ever decide to hit it up there are a couple I'd recommend. First would be the Chihuahua Brown Ale which I hope to review soon but if you're a fan of Brown Ales you really can't go wrong with this one and it's one of their best sellers. I'd also try the Black Jack Stout for those Stout/Guinness fans out there. The Cactus Jack Amber Ale is solid and I was surprised how great the Rosa's Raspberry Ale was compared to other fruit beers I've had.

On this particular evening I decided to go with the Andale IPA. As many of you know just from reading my blog, I'm a big fan of IPA's and I don't know that I've ever tried one that I haven't liked and this one did not disappoint. This one has a light hazy golden-amber appearance which is fairly typical of most IPA's. There is a little head on top of the glass which gives off a nice aroma. This brew has a sweet flowery, hop smell not unlike most other selections of the style. I think IPA's and Stouts probably have the best smells of all beers. There are exceptions of course but for the most part I love taking a big whiff of those. That and Travis' hair are among the sweetest smelling things on this earth. Waking up with one on each side of me has to be one of the best experiences in my life. Never thought I could be aroused by smell, I was wrong. This beer has a sweet hoppy taste which surprised me because I thought I remembered it being much more bitter. I guess it's just this batch that came out like this but I'll need to retry it again soon for confirmation. Oh wait, the bitterness emerges more in the aftertaste but still not at the level I remember or expect from a good IPA. I swear I remember it having more. There's some light lacing on the glass. That's something I'd like to see more in a beer. I rarely drink my beer out of a glass but when I do I like to see some good solid lacing on the sides. The beer gets better as it warms and this is definitely a solid choice, especially at the price. Also, I'd like to thank Carmen for the gratuitous boobage shot. Enjoy!

Samuel Adams Octoberfest

Been awhile since I posted a beer review. Not for lack of trying new beers but because I've just been lazy. Been meaning to get to this one and I guess as you can tell from the title I'm behind about a month on it. Oh well, at least you'll know to avoid this one for next year. Sorry for those I wasn't able to reach in time. This is the first and only Octoberfest beer I've tried so I have nothing to compare it to but I've heard it's a good style. I had it a couple years ago when I first got into beers and don't remember it being too great and this cemented that belief.

Had this one from the bottle at the bar after one of our softball games. Smell is decent. Smells very malty and doughy in the background. I'm picking up a slight spice/pumpkin scent too. Wow, taste is very light and tame, especially by Sam Adams standards. Decent malt up front and a tame wheaty aftertaste but I'm not picking up much else, I'll let it warm a little to see if it brings out more of the flavor. This beer remains unchanged throughout even after it warmed. Have to say I'm pretty disappointed with this offering from Sam. Probably the worst I've had from them. I'd say avoid it unless you really want to give it a try or to sample the style. This beer turned me off to trying more Octoberfests which it shouldn't because this is most likely a weak offering of the style (I'm hoping).