Weekend Playlist, 10/9/2009

10/9/2009 6:15 PM | 17 Comments | Page 1 of 1

Ryan Kuo: I'll probably lay low on gaming to catch up on other stuff. A couple hours of Gears of War at most. (Which is kicking my ass. I was not expecting this. And I hate how Marcus goes, "AW MAN!" when I miss the emergence hole.)

Probably I'll mess around a bit in Miner: Dig Deep and the new iPhone port of Beneath a Steel Sky.
Kyle Orland: Now that a few reviews are out of the way, I'm gonna catch up on this Batman: Arkham Asylum game I've been hearing so much about. Also hoping to start my early copy of Brütal Legend, and hoping it lives up to my very high expectations.

Also, I'm incredibly hooked on Spelunky, even though I am awful at it. Can't wait for the Xbox Live Arcade version...
James Fudge: I'm enjoying the brutality of Risen. Yeah, I said enjoying. It's one of those games that can take you from hero you zero in a matter of seconds, and one where an accident can turn into tragedy. I am enjoying what happens when you lead an epic monster into a camp of unsuspecting NPCs! It is amazing to watch an Ogre go through almost an entire camp of brigands. The other night I watched as 10 fighters tried to take down this Ogre who was one-shotting a lot of the hardier combatants. Only two made it out alive. Welcome to the ghost town.

I'm trying to figure out why the developers thought this was a good idea -- to let NPCs die -- when clearly this has an affect on what quests you can take later on (It's hard to take on or complete a quest when the fellow that gave it to you is pushing up daisies!).

But I love the chaos of it all.

Oh, and it's good to see that Ryan finally gave in to Miner: Dig Deep. It's an excellent game.
William Abner: NBA 2K10 for review, FIFA 10 for review and Left 4 Dead Crash Course for purely entertainment purposes.
Chris Buecheler: I downloaded Shadow Complex the other night and will definitely play that this weekend. Other than that, I'm trying to figure out if I want to buy NBA 2K10 or NBA Live 2010 ... or both. I loves me some NBA games, but NBA 2K9's franchise mode really annoyed the crap out of me for two major reasons: 1) You can set it to do a fantasy draft but can't control the randomized draft order to ensure that your team picks first (I don't care about "fair" ... I want to win!), and 2) their menu system is absolutely godawful and makes running the franchise more of a chore than it should be.

Oh, also, it was impossible to create a player in 2K9 that didn't look like some kind of half-human, half-orc spawn. Really weird player models. Kind of hoping they fixed that, too.
Steve Steinberg: Still working through Wolfenstein. Just picked up Dirt 2. Was going to grab Gran Turismo PSP, but just about everything I've heard about it has made me really sad.
Marc Saltzman: I'll be finishing Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Despite its linearity and brevity, it's one helluva game. Good times. I also hope to crack the spine of Brütal Legend since I'm a huge fan of Tim Schafer -- Day of the Tentacle was one of the games that made me want to get into this industry. I hope this one doesn't disappoint.
Jason McMaster: Demon's Souls was released in retail this week, so I'll be playing a good bit of it; as well as finishing up my play with Gran Turismo PSP for a review. I'm saving up some Dragon Quest IX and Scribblenauts playtime for a trip I'm taking next week for a friend's wedding. It's a long drive. Oh, and now I have to go get Risen. I blame James.
David Thomas: Brütal Legend for me. Why? I am a HUGE fan of umlauts.
Russ Fischer: Brütal Legend for me, as well (digging it so far), so I can do a soundtrack feature for next week. Maybe some Demon's Souls if that shows up, too. But I also have to pack so I can move at the end of next week; that might eat into the playtime. Boo.
Harold Goldberg: I'm a little like Russ this weekend: Demon's Souls for a review elsewhere. I'll play Brütal Legend and maybe join one of EA's scheduled multiplayer sessions. Also, I look forward to playing some Uncharted 2. Then, more Fairytale Fights. I'm finishing up my Will Wright chapter and will probably be appropriating some of his fine theories about popular culture to "The Game Changers" book as a whole.
Scott Jones: I'm really into Psychonauts at the moment for a CG story I'm writing (I know!) even though Brütal Legend is sitting right there in front of me on the coffee table where I have never had any coffee. I'm on my second playthrough of Uncharted 2, and yes, I'm still wishing I could shoot a baby into Chloe. I've also been playing an old Xbox copy of Star Wars: Republic Commando for some inexplicable reason. At first I thought, My god, this is so underrated! Why didn't more people play this! But after a few hours, it gets repetitive and kind of dry, and I feel like all I'm doing is forever ordering my squad to "Get some Bacta, soldier."

I've also been squiring my PSP Go around town with me, trying to see if we like each other (also for a story). So far we've had about three dates together. I tried to get to second base on our last date, and even managed to click the PSP Go open and get a look at its soft, sensual control nub, but then it ran out of power.

Sad face.

And if it sounds like I'm gaming a lot, remember, I DON'T HAVE A FAMILY OR ANYONE WHO LOVES ME, ONLY CATS AND BEER.
Gus Mastrapa Greetings from Puerto Rico. I've been pretty busy here with family stuff -- mostly chasing after my sister's kids and messing about on my dad's farm. But during my downtime I've been hooked on Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, hacking Leap Gates like a fiend and still entirely unclear what I'm supposed to be doing with the rumors puzzles.

I miss my Xbox dearly (next to the wife and cats, of course) and look forward to playing all the games you kids have sitting in your queues. I'm gonna have a bunch of mail to open Sunday night.

But before that, I'm going to watch NASA crash into the moon, roast and eat a pig and, hopefully, go to the top of Yunque and get one last look at this island before I go home.
Paul Semel: I just started playing the Saw game last night for a review, and I'm really digging it. And I don't even like those movies. Not sure what I'll play when I finish it, though. Maybe Guitar Hero 5.
Evan Narcisse: I'm going to try to explore the land of PSP Minis this weekend to see if any hidden gems lurk there. My lonely wait for the arrival of Uncharted 2 continues, too. Sigh.
Elise Vogel: I finished Fallout 3 last night, and it felt very sudden. There is so much left to do in the Capital Wasteland! I immediately downloaded Broken Steel so I could tend to unfinished business.

That said, it looks like the weekend will involve some travel on Long Island, and I've invited Ryan's copy of Scribblenauts to come along for the ride.
What's on your own playlist this weekend? Inquiring Game Trusters want to know. Leave a comment below.