Gaming (AKA .... Gaming)

I have Steambot Chronicles, but haven't gotten too far into it, having no time to play over the weekend. I have played it however, and so far the only
real statement I can make about it is that this isn't some tragic, woefully ignored masterpiece that more people need to play (like Fumito Ueda's stuff). Instead, I consider this to be (so far) a thoroughly enjoyable game that was made for the hardcore, by the hardcore. If you can't stand bad graphics and slowdown, if you've never played or had interest in Virtual On, or can't fathom a "sandbox", GTA-style game without rampant violence and destruction, then I would not at all reccomend this game to you. Of course, if any of that applies to you, don't think of yourself to be any less of a gamer because you might not enjoy Steambot. On the contrary, I sometimes wonder if there is something wrong with me when a game netting 7.0-8.0 review scores is shaping
up to be a potential game of the year candidate for me. Obscure gamers ho!

Actual, detailed impressions later, when I've gotten more than 3 hours of play under my belt.

There are still a lot of good games out or coming out this month, which is all the better that I'm getting paid this weekend. I still need to get Half Life Episode 1 (and I'd like to get Sin, but that can wait), and Street Figher Alpha Anthology is only approaching nearer. I also found out that GTA: Liberty City Stories is making its PS2 debut today. Friends of mine who know my stance on GTA might be thinking me crazy of wanting this game, but it actually makes sense.
Yes, I don't consider it the greatest series out there, and yes, I couldn't stand San Andreas for more than two hours. But GTA 3, both in scope (big but not too big) and style (NYC baby) is my favorite entry in the series, so the thought of playing a new, simpler GTA set in Liberty City, with Tony Cipriatti as the hero (and one of my favorite GTA 3 characters), and costing only 20 bucks is a very tempting offer for me. The only thing that would be a hindrance is the PS2
controller. I've gotten accustomed to playing GTA on a keyboard and mouse, and without them the games just don't seem the same.

There might be a new review of mine up at Videolamer this week. I say might becasue it isn't a very good one, and it isn't for a good game, so I instructed Site-master Jay to use his iscretion and good taste, and only post it if he really likes it. Regradless, I should have a long, quality, most likely assholeish review of Dragon Quest 8 in the near future. All I can say is that in its current, early version, it is very harsh toward certain Square games and their fans (in relation to Enix and Dragon Quest). Part of me hopes Jay reads it and tones down the final version, but another part of my mind is sitting there, finger on the button, with a strange
desire to piss off a large group of gamers (many of which I'm friends with) and see what happens.

Edit: Look for the review on Thursday.