I’ve shelved Oblivion before completion, possibly for ever. Mostly because I had the game freeze on multiple times (having to restart the PS3) within a short period of time. I knew the game has these bugs, but I was hoping they would materialize further into the game as the save gets bigger, just like Fallout 3 and other Bethesda games. While the game is good (great in some ways and problematic in others) I just can’t stand freezing. Especially not when I have other games waiting. So I turned to Assassin’s Creed 2 instead.

Have barely begun AC2, but I still have a few impressions, mostly comparisons to the first one which I finished not long ago.

AC2 is more colorful. Both in literal colors (although it still looks a little bland color-wise, but less than before, and the overall graphics is good), but also in other ways such as characters and story. AC1 is a very serious game where you play an Eastwood-esque silent loner killer, while AC2 has a more playful feeling to it.

Plus it’s set in renaissance Italy rather than the stony medieval cities of AC1.

All in all the overall “feel” is somewhat different despite the many similarities (such as the game mechanics, which also has some differences though, notably AC2 is a little faster, climbing and such).

There is more variety in AC2, like more mission types, more weapons and the option to buy different clothes.

Perhaps more on this later.

To get the most out of playing I think it’s good to have a plan of some sort, and this is it.

So far I’ve only bought one game (out of 40+ games) at release, and that was GT 5. I planned on buying New Vegas at release, in fact I waited for that moment for months, but before it was released in Europe the gamers in US started to complain about serious bugs so I never got it.

This year it looks like I’m getting three games upon release, and they are:

• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• Battlefield 3
• Skyrim

Not entirely certain about Skyrim, and in any case it won’t be exactly at release (but not long after) because I need to have my minions testing it for bugs first. My earlier experiences with Bethesda demands that.

These purchases come with some responsibilities. I need to be done with some games first: Oblivion before Skyrim, and Bad Company 1 och 2 before Battlefield 3. Not entirely easy, because I haven’t even got Bad Company 2 yet, and I’m far from done with BC 1.

Deus Ex is probably the one I’m looking forward to the most.

Of course, if Thief 4 is released this year I’ll get it in a heartbeat, but if so we’d probably know by now. And if Twisted Metal is really awesome I might consider getting it.

Yeah. I got this game a long time ago and I’ve been playing it now and then, but only very recently getting into it more deeply. The verdict? Let’s just say that there is picture of this game next to the definition of awesome. At least for a while.

This game has involved going through four phases:

1. You begin playing. You like it. The superb graphics and hits you like a sledgehammer and there’s nothing to complain about. But what does it have to offer to distinguish itself? You remember something about a grappling hook and a parachute…

2. The discover the awesomeness of the parachute and the grappling hook. Even the most basic use of each, like gliding in the sky looking at the sunset or whatever (very pretty), is like the best gaming you’ve ever done. This phase lasts for hours. You just sort of travel around randomly exploring the island and doing some killing here and there, trying out vehicles etc.

Lots of parachuting, because, you realize after a while that it’s possible to use the grappling hook to gain momentum, so you basically use the parachute to get around everywhere, even to climb mountains if you like (not entirely easy though, but it gets you a trophy!). Parachuting is really fun, partly, I’m guessing, because it’s unusual, but also because it’s so well done, so smooth and with nice game physics.

But then…

3. After a while it starts to get a little old. You don’t know why, but it’s not as fun anymore. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the game and it almost feels like blasphemy to say anything negative about it, but… “let’s just shelve it for a while” is the unspoken feeling, and that’s what I did.

But then… once more.

4. At some point you realize something and start to play the game again, or if it’s the other way around. Maybe it’s just the lack of progress and purpose that’s the problem? I mean, during phase two I was so enthralled by the free-roaming type of gameplay, which is so much fun for a while, that I basically played like a hippie-junkie of some sort, i.e. without purpose or progression — without doing much missions or even trying to collect things from the map (which brings upgrades and the like).

Unlike GTA 4 this game lets you have access to the whole island from the start so there is less incentive to progress, which makes it even more open world (and the world is huge and beautiful btw, it certainly beats GTA in that regard and I’m saying that as a huge fan of the GTA world).

So anyway, I started to play with purpose (missions, collecting, blowing things up — yes the last makes you progress too, even when you’re not in a mission!) to get a sense of progress. The result? The return of awesomeness. Apparently it really was the lack of a sense or progress that eventually made the game less fun. Now I combine “work and play” in the game and it’s great. It’s absurd in a way that even being frustrated and angry because of repeatedly failing something makes the game more fun in the end.

[end of phase 4]

The story is not that great but the missions are well created and fun.

I still have a long way to go before completing the game (there’s a lot of things to do, definitely a game that lasts) so maybe there are more phases, we shall see.

Here’s some gameplay:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD1GUO_15kw]

Over a month ago a new patch was released for New Vegas and I’ve been watching the official forum (and also amazon reviews) since, and it looks like this patch really had an effect on some serious bugs. Some are even able to play the game without game-braking bugs like terrible freezing requiring a restart.

Well, that’s a start, but some people still get freezing (and stuttering, and getting stuck in things…), and there still quest bugs that require special knowledge to get around. Ugh. Why do some of the best games this generation, the two latest Fallouts, also have to be the buggiest?

Almost ready to buy the game, and maybe I will, but I’d prefer if they release at least one more patch to remove the worst of the remaining bugs.

Meanwhile I continue playing Oblivion.