Personal Gaming - Eating Casuals for Breakfast

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Reviews

2012-02-08T01:04:00.000+01:00

There are some reviews for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning out. Until now the game clocks in at a respectable 82% average with 26 reviews. Personally I played the demo and was not as happy with the game as I hoped to be. Maybe it was the combination of Disney comic style with brutal execution and stabbing attacks or the lack of voice for the main character. The gameplay itself was good but not good enough for me. Plus when it comes to fantasy there's really just Lord of the Rings for me and the demo seemed like a rip off to me. Might be I am doing the game injustice here, but that just what the demo did to me. With so many good RPGs you just have to make a decision.

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - Review, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

The Darkness II: Openining, Assecution

2012-02-07T00:28:00.000+01:00

According to the first review The Darkness II seems to be a worthy sequel, yet a bit short. Check out these video to get an impression.

The Voice Cast of Mass Effect 3

2012-02-01T00:18:00.002+01:00

How the hell did Jessica Chobot make it in there?

Dragon's Dogma Trailer And Random Gameplay

2012-02-01T00:10:00.002+01:00

Don't know yet what to think of this one. Guess I'll wait and drink tea.

Random Gameplay

Which Game? All Those Nice RPGs!

2012-01-30T20:53:00.000+01:00

I might be too busy for gaming but I'm not too busy for thinking about gaming. Plus the semester soon ends, naturally giving me some more time...
Can you believe that I just completely missed out on Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning? As far as I reconstructed the game was introduced at last year's E3. Well at the time I was busy with my BA thesis, shit happens. Anyway, the game looks surprisingly good and I found myself watching some videos on it.
Then came to my mind the fact that I still have a bunch of games here that need finishment and that I haven't played Skyrim (waiting for the complete GOTY edition might be a good idea) yet. Plus the fact that Mass Effect 3 is just weeks away. There's no way around Mass Effect 3 for me, one of my most anticipated games this year and a safe hit. In April comes The Witcher 2, a game which should be more than good as well, but I'm afraid that my time capacities won't be sufficent for this one as well. And then comes the game I am waiting for since 10 years... Diablo III. I just hope my laptop will be able to run this (it runs Starcraft II on medium settings...). I drop a few videos of the mentioned titles below for my and your viewing pleasure. I hope some amongst you can empathize.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Mass Effect 3

Skyrim

The Witcher 2

Diablo III

The History of Street Fighter: Parts 1 And 2

2012-01-30T20:18:00.002+01:00

There goes my childhood. Played Street Fighter II up and down with my neighbor. Every serious core gamer loves Street Fighter. See how it all started in this Machinima series. Also don't forget about this great Street Fighter Retrospective the NostalgicGamer did a few years back.

The Witcher 2: Pirates Trailer

2012-01-29T13:07:00.000+01:00

Goddamn, what a nice trailer. Knowing that this is an extremely good RPG, I am looking forward to the 360 release.

Aliens: Colonial Marines Acid Drops Trailer

2012-01-29T13:02:00.000+01:00

Very cinematic one. Like in the Aliens movie (the old school one with Sigourney Weaver) things get more frightening with every level below.

2x Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of 2012

2012-01-28T16:17:00.001+01:00

I like the user's choice list way better. Not even putting Diablo III there, phhh.

GT's Top Ten

Get More: GameTrailers.com, GT Countdown - Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of 2012, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

User's Choice Top Ten

Get More: GameTrailers.com, GT Countdown - Users' Choice Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of 2012 HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Funny Kinect Star Wars Trailer

2012-01-28T12:44:00.001+01:00

No gameplay here, but a funny re-enactment of the famous Vader - Obi Wan duel from Star Wars IV A New Hope.

The Darkness II Launch Trailer

2012-01-27T17:39:00.000+01:00

It's coming out 10th of February 2012. That's too soon for me. I hope nonetheless that it can catch up to the spirit of its predecessor.

Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Trailer

2012-01-27T17:36:00.000+01:00

Let's see about that. If done cooperatively and with a decent story it could work out. Could be fun. Most important is that Mass Effect 3's campaign doesn't suffer from artificially added multiplayer.

Street Fighter X Tekken - PS3, Vita Gets Excl. Content, 360 Nothing

2012-01-27T17:03:00.002+01:00

The reasons to end up with a PS3 this year are rising and rising with Microsoft doing nothing to please the core gaming crowd and Sony constantly getting nice exclusives and additional content. Like in this new Street Fighter title. Damn you, Microsoft.

Darksiders II - Death Eternal

2012-01-27T16:57:00.000+01:00

_ I'm just too excited about this one. Check out the interview below, there's many gameplay scenes! _

Resident Evil 6 Debut Trailer

2012-01-21T16:08:00.000+01:00

Resident Evil 6 is coming this November. I was really surprised because after 5 they said it will take 6 more years for another Resident Evil main game, which would be in 2015. Also it was said that RE6 would be a ground breaking revolution of the series like RE4 had been. Well, since RE5 despite all the criticism had been the best selling game in the series Capcom seems to have changed their mind. RE6 is in the clear tradition of its predecessor. So, I won't freak out here, but I am expecting a very good action game, nothing more or less.

Street Fighter X Tekken Trailers

2012-01-21T15:57:00.001+01:00

I am a little skeptical if SFxT can dethrone SSF IV but I am convinced to see for myself.

Darksiders II: Death Character Dev Diary

2012-01-21T15:48:00.002+01:00

One of my favorite action adventures of this generation finally gets a sequel this year. It's not about War, rider of the apocalypse, anymore but about his brother, Death. That's so epic.

Mass Effect 3: Kinect And James

2012-01-21T15:35:00.001+01:00

I don't know about you but I am very excited for Mass Effect 3. I don't own a Kinect, but it seems to come in handy giving voice commands. However, since the Kinect itself is not used I hope they will patch this voice functionality to the standard head set. Of course, for capitalism's sake it's not going to happen but from the techniqual standpoint it should be possible.

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Mass Effect 3 - Better With Kinect Featurette HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Mass Effect 3 - CES 2012: Kinect Walkthrough HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

A featurette on a new character named James Vega. There's some interesting gameplay footage here showing the Rachni queen and Liara and Ashley in action

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Mass Effect 3 - James Vega Featurette HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Christmas Gaming 2011

2011-12-17T12:55:00.000+01:00

Once again things don't work out as smoothly as I was hoping for in the last weeks, which is the reason for the desertion on the blog. Being a graduate student is a full time job... This might have killed the idea that I am able to update PG regularly as back in the old days, but anyway, I can't change it right now and I am hoping for better days in that sense. Let's get back to business and let me state what my personal gaming experience has come down to in the last weeks or months. Also I will detail why I am looking forward to Christmas, gamingwise. I still have lots of unfinished games lying around here at PG headquarters. They might seem old to you, but still gold to me. To these titles on my To Finish List are games like Alan Wake, Enslaved, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and maybe even Fallout: New Vegas (I might have given up on this one, realized that it is too big for me and not motivating enough since it can't keep up with Fallout 3, which I loved). Especially Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is a game I really adore. It's the perfect action adventure and I am kind of sad that I find the time to play it only once every few weeks. Plus I really want to play AC Revelations since it does not only round the story up, but as well is situated in Constantinople (later known as Istanbul) where I spend some great months of my real life. New games breaks down to Gears of War 3 and Rage for me. Gears 3 is probably the best 3rd Person Shooter of all times, I really have fun with this one. The gameplay is perfect and the online is fun. A must have for every 360 owner for sure. And Rage suits me well since it is not more or less than I expected. Rage is the definition of an old skool corridor shooter if you may, but I like it very much. Okay, the world is small and freedom of movement is an illusion in Rage since everything is "just around the corner", but hey, it's satisfying to blow up those mutants. And this might have been the nicest gaming surprise for me: Sonic The Hedgehog CD became available on Xbox Live Arcade just a few days ago. Since I am a hard core 16Bit Sonic fan who didn't own the Sega Mega CD back in the 1990s now there was not any excuse for me to miss this one. I am fascinated. It is on par with Sonic 2 and 3 and that's something since those are the best Sonic games ever made. The graphics look superb since there is an option to sharpen everything which makes the game truly beatiful on a widescreen HD TV. I just finished it but saw that there is much more to it, since beating the game unlocks Tails and also there is a time attack mode waiting. And yet I haven't really understood what it is all about with Past and Future but since levels drastically change when changing time this should add some revisit value. Also the price is more than fair with only 400 MS points. Having won in a christmas lottery over at German site Gaming Universe I was gifted with the Kinect title Michael Phelps - Push The Limit. I don't own a Kinect device since it is absolutely unnecessary for core gamers (you hear that, Microsoft?) I just traded the game in and got another high profile game I was missing out on for far too long: DEAD FUCKING SPACE 2. Well, I loved the first one, even when it nearly scared me to death and this one was far too long on my To Buy List. Now I finally have it and after finishing the first chapter yesterday I am amazed. Isaac can speak and it doesn't suck! Opposite is truer since it gives the game more depth. Gameplay seems to be improved perfection and it's so brutal and god damn scary! I am glad that I finally can play this survival horror masterpiece! Anyway, christmas is right around the corner. Christmas for me is and always has been about leaning back with the family and enjoying some quality video games (I am leaving out here on the religious part since I in RL tend to critizise the materialism mania christmas has evolved into, which seems to come with secularization and keeping traditions.). We will play a lot. My brother has marked Uncharted 3 and Modern Warfare 3 on his wish list, while I chose Batman Arkham City. I am super excited for Batman since the predecessor was one outstanding extraordinary game with a dense and believable world and story combined with gameplay perfection. It makes my heart jump that Arkham City is said to even surpass this. It won Best 360 game of the year, btw: http://www.spike.com/events/video-game-awards-2011-nominees/voting/best-xbox-360-game What are my plans for the next year? Gamingwise I still have a lot of titles to finish, as you see. And there are must haves for me like Mass Effect 3, Bioshock Infinite and Diablo III. When it comes to movies I can't wait for The Expendables II! But in general I hope to find some more time for posting on PG since I don't like the site being left outdated. Since my real life is getting heavier and heavier I won't make false promises here, however. I will use PG at least to speak out my opinion on games I play as I did with this post. I hope those of you reading this can understand. That's it from me again. Merry Christmas and a happy new year! Hans

Mass Effect 3: Collector's Edition Trailer

2011-11-18T23:37:00.001+01:00

One of the games I find myself playing the most even with my rare time is the Mass Effect series. Usually I don't buy CEs but this one seems really interesting to me since it includes an additional character and a bonus mission. Of course the soundtrack and art book are nice as well. Might be a CE worth getting. I'm just afraid Kaidan Alenko won't make it back into my team since both my characters favored saving Ash.

Prototype 2 New York Zero Trailer

2011-11-18T23:32:00.001+01:00

Prototype 2 seems to improve on a lot of criticism from the first. It looks really good to me.

Skyrim Making of Trailer

2011-11-03T21:28:00.001+01:00

You'll get the full documentary with the special edition of the game. It looks so nice.

Gears of War 3 Command Pack Trailer

2011-11-03T21:25:00.001+01:00

First DLC is here.

Grand Theft Auto V Debut Trailer

2011-11-03T21:22:00.001+01:00

Not surprising, but certainly very welcome.

The Voices of Bioshock Infinite

2011-10-29T13:56:00.001+02:00

This game looks highly promising. I always loved Bioshock. The first is one of the best games of all times, the 2nd was a good but not as good sequel and Infinite will not disappoint.