Halo Reach (Xbox)

Ok, so what's with all these "Halo" games?...
You can find quite a few tittles with Halo in it and yes, they are all related to the same game/story.

But why so many and what is each one about?
They are all parts of the same story. Like chapters of a book.

Diego never played the first 2 parts of the saga, but I'll have posts for Halo 3 and Halo ODST soon.
For now let's just focus on what this one is about.

Halo Reach tells the story before the story (yes, the 5th game finally tells the story before the 1st... Who gets that?!).
It tells how it all started, when and in which world the it all happens.

Now, let's talk about what really matter to us here: should I let my partner buy this game?  :P

Well, if you ever watched another Halo game, you know the answer...  In my opinion, the are all the same.  Shooting, dying, re-spawning, shooting, dying...  You got the idea, right?

I like the internet mode, where he can play short rounds and talk to real people. The idea of watching him play the very same section 20 times until he kills that one monster is not exciting at all.
But that is just me...

The soundtrack is not bad, but it's intense. Diego has been playing for a while now and I didn't notice the soundtrack until he mentioned (which, in my opinion is why it's not bad. If it was, I would be really annoyed in the first minute).

The visuals are the same as the others. I think they did a good job and it's one of those games that even though they move a lot, I don't get dizzy (which is always something to consider when you'll be just watching. Some games do make me really dizzy).

Pros: if you've seen it before, you know what to expect.
Cons: it's more of the same.

Wife score: 7/10

Infamous (PSN Plus)

Diego played only the demo of this game and it was enough for both of us to see it is a very weak game...

The idea is that the city was attacked and the guy started electrifying things and people and jump very high.

The idea itself is already weak, the graphics are just fine but not really nice, soundtrack is almost non-existing (only sounds of destruction).

Watching is really boring and apparently, so is playing. After the 1h demo Diego moved on to other games without thinking twice.

Pros: it was only a 1h demo.
Cons: weak story, boring to watch and play.


Wife score: 0/10

Tumble 3D + Move (PSN)

WOW!  The 1st game for Move that is also 3D!  Now that's high-technology!!   :)

The game is very basic, but loads of fun to watch and play.

You'll need a steady hand and loads of patience.  This game is all about coordination and precision.

Your goal is different in each stage but basically you'll have to add blocks on to each other to reach the stage's goal.
It can be adding vertically to build a high tower, add them anyway you want as long as you reach the number of blocks needed on a small surface, etc. The only stage that is very different is the one where you have to explode the existing tower and you gain points for each block in each point-zone (like and inside-out target).

It's very challenging and there are enough modes to keep it interesting.

There is also a variate of shapes and materials for the blocks and the game indicates how heavy or light or slippery they are. 

Pros: very non-gamer friendly (you really only use 1 button of the controller!) and fun to play and watch.
Cons: it might take some time to get used to the Move controller...


Wife score: 9/10

Sports Champions (PS3 Move)

Sony released the PS3 Move today!     :D
Finally something that non-hardcore players will enjoy playing!

The game that comes with the camera+control is a compilation of sports to be played in many ways (challenge, championship, free play, etc).

Watching is a lot of fun and playing is pretty exhaustive, to be very fair.

The difference between the Move and the Wii: the only thing that I see is the graphics...  The Wii is more to the cute side, this one to the realistic side (not that it gets close to being as realistic as Red Dead Redemption, but the bodies are proportional to human beings).

Diego played all the sports and they are very different from each other. All of them have a big range of movements, but you always play against the same 10 players.

Pros: get to "move" a lot while playing and fun to watch (it will be hard to just watch tough...  hehe)
Cons: same series of players every time (but it's not like it would make me stop playing).

Wife score: 10/10

Flower (PSN)

The most relaxing game I've ever seen/played!

 I've played it a long time ago, but it made such a good impression on me that I believe I won't forget it for a long time.

One day I was feeling very down, a bit sick... You know when you just want to stay in bed so the flu won't catch you?!  Like that.
Diego was feeling very bad for me and was trying to get me distracted from that feeling. That's when he had the idea of showing this game to me.

Wow!  I spent 3 hours playing it and absolutely did not realize! By the end of the game (yes, that short!) I was feeling so much better I could not believe. It took my mind out of the physical feeling and allowed my mind to relax.

The point of the game is to collect petals from flowers that you, the wind, goes by. It's all very slow and the graphics are gorgeous.  You can control the speed of the wind, so it makes it very easy to control everything that is going on.

Pros: extremely relaxing, gorgeous graphics.
Cons: you might get addicted (not that it's always bad...).


Wife score: 10/10

Red Dead Redemption (Xbox)

The game to watch!

Watching this game is just like watching an old western movie, with lots of action and beautiful scenery. Whoever drew this was really inspired!

Another thing that I really really liked about this game is that Diego gets to be the good guy.
He gets "honor points" for catching bad guys!  :)

The soundtrack is also very relaxing, with sounds of wild animals in the back ground and all.
Another cool thing is that it changes day/night and the moon changes with time!

One down point for me is that he has to hunt... But it makes sense (the man has to eat and it's the far-west, right?!).

Pros: relaxing to watch, gorgeous scenery, relaxing soundtrack, honor points.
Cons: he hunts (I just can't help feeling bad for the animals...).


Wife score: 8/10

Bayonetta (PS3)

The picture should say it all:  made exclusively for men.

It is so annoying that I could hardly be in the same room as Diego.

The story is nonsense, the soundtrack is fairly annoying, the (female) characters were drawn by those kind of guys that don't really understand the basics of human anatomy...

She carries 4 weapons (both hands and both feet!) and her HAIR is another weapon!  Her hair?! Really?!  Oh, not to mention, it's also part of her clothes....  Needless to say more.

The visuals, as a whole,  are not that sexy either. It feels like it's a 3D game seen without glasses. It's all blurry and confusing.
For a couple of seconds Diego and I actually thought if it could be a 3D game, but it wouldn't make sense since the PS3 software will only be updated next month to support 3D games from discs (now only some online games work on 3D).

Pros: none.
Cons: nonsense story, annoying soundtrack, overall annoying and stupid.


Wife score: 0/10

MotorStorm 3D (PSN)

Really fun game to play with friends!

We had our first "3D game night with friends" last night and this was the winner game as far as fun to play in a group.
Each round is fairly quick so others don't get bored but enough for the player to feel the adrenaline.

The soundtrack is very compatible with the kind of game, the 3D is very realistic, the visuals are nice. But the most fun were the accidents and explosions!  hehehe

Pros: overall fun to play and watch
Cons: the 3D glasses made me tired after a few hours...


Wife score: 8/10

Super Stardust HD - 3D (PSN)

First off all: what is "PSN"? Play Station Network.
It's like XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade), but for the Play Station.  :)

This is the first game in 3D Diego and I ever played (at home, at least).

The main idea of the game is pretty simple: spaceship shoots rocks (and ETs as you go further along).
But the 3D makes it very interesting to play and the explosions are very much like the in movies!

It's fun to play but it's like the old games: when you die, you start over (from the very beginning!). It doesn't have an "auto-save" so you can start from where you died and this makes it really annoying when you are trying to go through the very same level for the 7th time.

Pros: fun to play and the 3D is very realistic.
Cons: no auto-save.


Wife score: 8/10

Shank (XBLA)

This is another "boys' game"...

Loads of blood, some language, barely dressed girls with a waist that is 1/3 of their own heads, the story is blurry and there is nothing honorable about it...

To make it even better, Diego has been playing against the same guy for the past one and a half hours!  How can he be able to get there if he won't be able to kill the guy?!?!

Anyways, besides all that, the looks are kind of funny (looked like I was watching a cartoon) and the soundtrack is not bad.

Bottom line is: if you don't mind the blood/language, it's kind of fun to watch. But I still had zero interest in playing it.

Diego told me there is a different story for the multi-player mode, but I decided it'll have to wait for another opportunity.

Pros: funny graphics (the looks) and not bad soundtrack.
Cons: too much blood, characters drawn for boys, silly story (revenge).

Wife score: 5/10

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Movie

As you can guess by now, I couldn't find anyone to watch this with Diego... 'What don't we do for love?'

As any movie made from a written original, it's just not as good.
Or at least that's what Diego told me... He read the 6 comic books (I didn't).

The perspective from someone that read the whole thing: lots of changes in the story, but nice visual effects resembling both the comic book drawings and a video-game.
The perspective from someone that didn't read and was not really interested in the movie either: very silly, but I have to agree that the visuals are kind of funny and not too much so it would be annoying.

My overall opinion about the movie:
If you think you might be interested, don't read the comic books and go for the movie. Or vice-verse...  I just don't recommend doing both (from Diego's experience).
If you can go to the movies just to keep company to you loved one, go for it. Don't expect to have a blast, but count on getting some points with him (and you can always use them later!  hehe).
If you don't think you can tolerate such a boys' movie, find him a friend that does...  ;)

Pros: earn some points for being such a nice wife.
Cons: it is kind of a waste of time and money...


Wife score: 5/10