Busy Busy Busy

I have been extremely busy with work over the last month (I should say work and playing Texas Holdem - love that poker game). There hasn't been a lot of games released this year that I would actually play. So far this year has been all about Oblivion. Besides this we have had a handful of other game releases which were worth having a look at, but probably not worth spending your money on.

As for the most over-hyped game release of the year it would have to be Prey. This is one of the most disappointing games I have played. The demo promised so much and the game itself delivered so little. The puzzles were mundane. The implementation of the anti-gravity walking was under utilized and there was hardly any worthwhile combat in the game. In fact, the combat is so sparse and spread out between walking through areas I would hardly call this game a shooter. The story in this game is so cliched that I cannot believe that 10 years of game development supposedly went in to the games creation. The fact that you really can't die in the game makes the whole notion of playing it a relative farce. If this game is the best shooter that we have on offer at the moment then I would say that the gaming industry is really not delivering very much. This game should never have been released as a primary title.

One game that I have bought recently and I thoroughly enjoy playing is Flat Out 2. I loved the first Flat Out and I bought the sequel with no hesitation and I have not been disappointed. While I do like racing sims in general I will play the occasional arcade type racing game. The destructible environments, cars and demolition derby style of racing is something which appeals to the infant in me. Being able to smash cars as you go is excellent and the environments in this game are top notch. The racing itself is well implemented and the tracks are always interesting. Combined with three different levels of racing series and a number of mini games. Being able to throw the driver of your vehicle through a number of burning hoops or into a dart board always appeals to the masochist in me. Needless to say the rag doll physics is very well implemented and worth a look.

Hopefully, I'll be able to add some more to Cynical Gamer in the coming weeks. It's not that work has slowed down (it hasn't), but I am trying to allocate more time to this site (and maybe less time to Poker. lol. maybe not).