The High Horse Audit (Part 1): Top 5 Games of 2010 (so far)

With another financial year having drawn to a close, I think it's an apt time to take stock of the better gaming experiences on offer from this year. I will qualify my choices for this section of the High Horse Audit using the following criteria:

• The game must have been released in Australia from 1 January, 2010
• I have to have played the game extensively (preferably to the point of completion)
• Both downloadable and full retail acquisitions are eligible

With those criteria outlined, you also need to be aware of the following limitations:

• I do not own a Wii, DS or powerful gaming PC
• While I do spend an exorbitant amount of money on games, I cannot buy everything released on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PSP and PC
• While I do spend a lot of time playing videogames, I have not been able to play though all the releases on the afformentioned systems

I am well aware that this exercise is not wholly original, however this will allow me to expand on some titles that I may have played through prior to establishing the blog. This will also impart some indications of what I believe the "Game of the Year," nominees will be for a videogame blog that can only consume and criticise within the confines of a finite budget. With the legalities out of the way, please enjoy my thoughts on what are (in my opinion) the finest offerings of the year that has so far been 2010.

5. Bayonetta (PS3/360 Played on PS3) - Put simply, this is Devil May Cry done better with lots of female nudity and unbelievably frantic action. Look further than that puerile statement and you will find one of the more visually stunning, and just plain wacky 3rd person action games on the market. In what other games can you torture angels, kill creatures with your hair and turn into a butterfly? The boss battles are of unmatched scale, the last of which tasked with conquering a massive, shapely lady that was larger than a planet! Bayonetta the character, is a walking, talking superlative; whom through her emasculation of the male members of the cast brought many a laugh. The narrative is campy to the point of being melodramatic, and while at times you may ask yourself: "What just happened?"; inevitably the ridiculousness of what is occurring on screen will only cause you to laugh harder. The jazzy theme that accompanies the majority of the action is undeniably, and at times, painfully hilarious. Everything about this game screams crazy, and that's why I love it.

4. Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (PS3/PC/360 Played on PS3) - For those unable to play with Nintendo's iconic plumber, this game is the closest you can get to the market-leading mascot racer. This was a real surprise packet for me, especially after the initial impressions left by the demo. The tracks are well-designed and the AI opponents are competitive, not cheap like their Ninty competitors. The weapons are balanced, if not a little uninspired. Perhaps most importantly, you can drive in a car shaped like a bunch of bananas! There are enough classic SEGA characters, environments and theme tunes to warm the heart of even the most cynical gamer, with special weapons that are bound to draw a wry smile. The local multiplayer is also a great joy, and I only wish there were more people close by to share it with.

3. Bioshock 2 (PS3/PC/360 Played on PS3) - My return to Rapture was much better than I could have anticipated. The submerged, art-deco dystopia was not as shocking this time around, nor was the narrative. Sofia Lamb is no Andrew Ryan. Where Bioshock 2 succeeded however, was in making the action feel different to its predecessor. As a Big Daddy, I felt as though I was a force to be reckoned with. Duel-wielding plasmid powers and firearms allowed for some truly chaotic firefights. Not to say Bioshock 2 is without challenge, the new additions to the Splicer genus were much more fearsome and deadly than those featured in the original. The Big Sisters also managed to inspire fear with the assistance of the truly exceptional score. While your character is not especially complex, your Little Sister does provide some genuine inspiration to progress. I am not a father, but I felt as though there was a real sense of urgency whenever Eleanor (the Little Sister to which you are linked) appeared. The greatest moment of the sequel is when you are forced to walk in the shoes of a Little Sister (if only for a little while), such a visual and philosophical feast!

2. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP) - I am yet to finish this game, but it has made a strong impression. So strong, that initially I had this as my pick of the litter. Peace Walker is a big deal for many reasons. One, because it has all the visual flair and narrative melodrama typical of a Metal Gear Solid game. The boss battles are for the lack of a better word: epic, and require a depth of patience and strategy not usually seen in portable action games. There are so many ways to play this game. You can repeat missions and minor boss battles to acquire troops and vehicles for your mercenary army. You can spend hours managing your troops and resources. You can develop upgrades for the arsenal you employ in standard gameplay to the point where I am now packing M16s with suppressors, RK47s with smoke grenade launchers, extremely interesting girly magazines (lol), great curries (lolololololol) and Carl Gustav recoilless rifles. Perhaps greatest of all is the soundtrack. I now have the home base theme playing in my head whenever I look at myself in the mirror, you know, because I'm so pensive and legendary.

1. Red Dead Redemption (PS3/PC/360 Played on PS3) - Obvious choice? Yes. But, if there was one game you could buy this year, this would have to be it. Will there be more compelling offerings this year? It's possible. Will there be better looking games? With Crysis 2 launching this year, that is a (red) dead certainty (plus there are loads of visual glitches to be seen in this blockbuster). However, where Red Dead Redemption will conquer all of the competition is the sheer breadth of activities available in which players can engage. If the story missions are starting to exhaust you, you can ride to a cantina and play a round of Texas Hold 'Em. If you become weary from human company, ride into the great expanse and start hunting wild game. Even if you have no interest in interacting with artificial intelligence, you can go online and posse up with friends or total strangers and tame the Wild West. Perhaps most importantly, at the heart of this robust package is a gripping tale of revenge and ultimately (and obviously), redemption.
 

What are your favourite games of the year to this point? Do you agree with any of my choices?

Deadliest Catch

Before I start ranting about the politics of acquisition in portable adventure games, I would like to mark a dubious milestone. This the 50th post on The Unbearable Lightness of Dutch. What started as an outlet for nostalgic musings has turned into a creative project in which I am now thoroughly invested. Hit or miss, there are some thanks that must be distributed:

• Alex Connolly, who created the banner for the blog and gave it a sense of identity.
• The opinionated few who comment regularly on each of my deliberations. Thank you for your support.
• Anyone who has read, or who is (hopefully) still reading my thoughts.
• Carly, my unofficial editor and love of my life

Reading the majority of critical ruminations regarding Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, I was stunned to see how many had protested that the difficulty curve employed in the portable actioner was too steep. This is not me attempting some 50th post, celebratory dick swinging, rather I believe this is a trapping of the storied franchise. Apart from the first instalment on the original Playstation, I've never thought that a Metal Gear Solid game had lacked a sufficient level of challenge. Whether it be the sneaking grind you play through for the majority of each chapter or the grand, attack-pattern heavy boss battles, I've had to replay sections of each title recurrently. I will concede that some of the boss battles are more prolonged than their home console forbears, the strategies one needs to utilize to attain victory haven't really changed as time has passed. You memorise attack patterns, and pummel your opponents when you can no longer hear/see  explosions or bullets ricocheting off of hard surfaces. These battles may be shorter and less challenging with the help of a friend (several reviewers have hinted to as much), but I'm afraid that I can't comment. If anything (and this is a concession made due to the fact Peace Walker is a portable game), some levels are so short that even if you do fail, it won't take long to progress past your last mistake. I would even go as far as to say that the regular sneaking action is punctuated so expertly and regularly, that I have not encountered anything akin to frustration.



I've read two reviews (funnily enough both from Australian sources) that have taken exception with the recruitment methods employed by Naked Snake on behalf of Militaires Sans Frontiers. Both also likened the process to that of the Pokemon games, each with its own redundant misappropriation of the franchise's battle cry: Gotta Catch 'Em All. Yes, you kidnap and brainwash enemy combatants, but how is it different to assaulting a wild animal and then poaching them with your Pokeball? I'm not defending the use of the Fulton Recovery System to abduct American (both of Central and Northern origin) soldiers, but Peace Walker isn't the first game that tasks players with the brutal subjugation of opposing forces. The alternative is far more troubling and guilt-inducing. For anyone who has ever played through the brilliant Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, there are consequences for firing a weapon. With the option to either kill or tranquilize Russian forces as you attempt to prevent Cold War tensions from boiling over, players are confronted with the faces of the fallen (combatants, even the animals you killed for sustenance) during one of the games later sequences. The result of spilling blood isn't so apparent in Peace Walker, the only noticable outcome being a reduced mission score. Still you would rather have these men alive and working with/for you as opposed to on your conscience.



The video lacks the effect of that when I first played through MGS3 and had racked up a regrettable kill count. There were so many apparitions of soldiers, boss characters and animals approaching me on my initial playthrough of the game. I believe this is one of the first post-modern boss battles which calls for reflection as opposed to observation and action. The Metal Gear Solid series has almost always presented significant challenges and features some of the more memorable boss fights that I've had the pleasure of playing through. Besides if you find it too hard, you can always lower the difficulty.



Care to share some memories of exemplary boss battles?

Best Laid Plans

In order to focus my energies this weekend I picked a genre: First Person Shooter; and even nominated some titles to play through; but I never got around to it. A psychotic, talking bunny and a 6 foot-tall dog wearing a suit hijacked the better half of the weekend. Sam and Max: Hit the Road was one of my favourite games during my childhood, where the Point-and-Click Adventure game reigned supreme for quite some time. With a dry, quirky sense of humour, the original Sam and Max featured some of the more memorable characters and (albeit nonsencial) puzzles I've played within this classic genre of videogames. More than 15 years since their debut on the PC, the Freelance Police have now made their way to the Playstation 3.



Unfortunately, PS3 owners have been made to follow on from Season 3 (The Devil's Playhouse) of the comedic duo's episodic adventures. Having now completed the first episode, The Penal Zone, I can't help but think the best days of this genre are well behind us. Sure the laughs are there, and the puzzles will force the occasional scratch of the noggin, but the whole process felt tiresome, dated, even redundant. This observation extended to the gags as well. I'm not saying that the standard of the humour was purile, but apart from a few restrained chuckles, laughs were not assured thanks to the hit-and-miss jokes employed throughout the episode. Thankfully, the episodes are now being made available individually so you can judge if the full season would be of interest; but for those of you (thanks Rubes) who paid for the entire season initially, this is a bit of a gamble. The second episode, The Tomb of Sammun-Mak is proving to be much more interesting due to the non-linear nature of the narrative, however once again the laughs do not occur as consistently as you might suspect.

Another contradiction to my words on Friday for your consideration: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker  had several protracted tours over the weekend. More challenging boss battles were punctuated by simple, yet entirely necessary micro-management, as well as some good, old-fashioned target practice. In its predecessor (Portable Ops), the recruitment and troop management system seemed pointless. In Peace Walker, with the exception of the Recon team,  the troops you employ can reap some tangible benefits that have noticeably enriched the experience. Further into the game, you can deploy squads of your recruits, as well as any vehicles you acquire to various conflicts, which in turn earns money for research and development (R&D). Any upgrades to gear and equipment can be used by the combatants you control, and by the soldiers you dispatch to various conflicts across the globe. Militaires Sans Frontiers is now packing fully-upgraded rocket launchers and tommy guns. Classy! Navigating through the menus is seldom tiresome, and the conflicts peripheral to the main adventure do require some consideration if you are wanting to expand your arsenal and make the most of your time in Nicaragua. There is a whole mercenary economy at work here which at times demanded more attention than the adventures of Naked Snake, and given the quality of the voice-acting and illustrated comic cut-scenes, that is a compliment of the highest order.



Finally, a tip of the hat to the Oranje boys who put one hell of a fight against Spain. They may not have come away with the trophy, however I am still proud of the team and their efforts at this year's tournament. Go Nederland!

Fatigue

Apart from some short sessions on Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, I haven't played anything since completing Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. My feelings about TFS are the textbook definition of a mixed reaction. There were some truly amazing sequences during the latest Prince of Persia title, experiences that every gamer needs to have; but a lot of what was on offer also felt rushed, or uninspired. When I managed to pull off some of the more difficult platforming puzzles, I felt genuinely satisfied; but when I was forced to destroy hunderds of skeleton warriors on my way to another climb I felt fatigued. As outlined in the review, you just would not believe how arbitrary the combat is in TFS. Honestly, if the developers had no intention of delivering a thrilling swashbuckling, swordfighting experience, then I would have preferred that they didn't bother with it. Just give me some parkour, with some ancient Persian seasoning. Spicy!

Now that I have completed yet another adventure from one of my favourite franchises I find myself searching for direction once again. I'm also not loving the feeler of a controller in my hand this week, I need a whole console! MGS: Peace Walker is to me, not a game that you can complete in a few, long sessions. This is truly a portable game, designed for bite-sized sessions. I am of this belief, primarily because a lot of the environments and enemies reappear frequently. If I leave it for a few days it doesn't distract too much from the action on screen. Compare this to when I first purchased the game and I logged a few longer sessions, and it did serve to cheapen the experience. Further to that, if your first experience with game after a few days is a boss battle, you pretty much fall in love with it all over again. More difficult than your average MGS boss encounter, and just as time-consuming, these conflicts have kept me well and truly engaged. So much so, that I have repeated them several times already.



This weekend I'm going to kill some time by reacquainting myself with the First Person Shooter. This is by no means a declaration of intent to purchase the Resurgence Map Pack for Modern Warfare 2, but I am planning to log some time on the Infinity Ward RPG/FPS. I also want to revisit Team Fortress 2 now that the Engineer Update has finally hit the interwebs. Last but not least, I am going to give MAG another go. First impressions were good, but there was nothing on offer to rival Bad Company 2 or Modern Warfare (or its sequel).



What are you playing this weekend?

In case you haven't played it: Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands Review (PS3)

I can remember when I first played a Prince of Persia game. My Uncle Peter (RIP) had gifted my brothers and I with an Amstrad PC and a copy of PoP on floppy disk. The titular prince had white hair, pink (fuchsia, almost purple) skin and a white jumpsuit. He died a lot; at least in my hands he did. Luckily, my older brother possessed a greater level of skill with the classic, keyboard-controlled platformer; and, as a result, I got to view his first adventure in full. I have plenty of fond memories of the original, including its DRM. In order to play PoP, you had to complete comprehension questions using the game's manual. The Prince made appearances on several consoles after his PC debut, but you need not notice until the release of The Sands of Time (TSoT) on Playstation 2, Xbox and Gamecube in 2003. Not only was it one of the better looking games of the previous generation, it was also a joy to play and it truly reinvigorated the franchise. I never played the sequels to TSoT because, from all accounts, they focused more on combat, which was the weakest aspect of this modern classic. In addition, they seemed to ooze a level of cliched darkness and baditude that I found repulsive. Fast forward to 2008, and the PoP franchise was once again the recipient of a reboot in terms of both artistic and narrative direction which for me, elicited a mixed reaction. The cel-shaded visuals looked beautiful, and the platforming was (for the most part) enjoyable, but the open-ended structure and lacklustre combat (in respect to the lack of variety in both moves and enemies) ensured that I did not find motivation to complete the adventure. I must not have been the only one to greet the previous PoP title with mixed emotions, as Ubisoft has decided to return to TSoT lore for The Forgotten Sands (TFS). Released to coincide with the release of the live-action feature film, TFS is a good game suffering from a lack of direction.



The Good
Jump around - If there is one thing the Prince of Persia should do, and do well, it is to jump. Over the course of TFS, you will find yourself not only jumping; but wall running, rolling and pole-swinging across, around and through a vast, intricate castle. The ratio of platforming to combat is heavily in favor of the acrobats amongst you, and the game is all the better for it.

Art direction - While the Prince is now looking somewhat more generic than the disheveled vagrant from the 2008 reboot; the environments and some of the enemies are truly memorable. Personal favourites include the larger creatures who sport fascinatingly detailed, menacing suits of armour, and the home of your Djinn ally: Razia. Her floating palace, with fragments of structures floating in clear view is a nod to TSoT, which provides a tranquil break from the (usually) frantic action.

Mr.Dependable - While it is not the most technically or artistically proficient title on the market, TFS enjoys a consistent frame rate and very few other noticable visual hitches. There are some moments of note, such as the descent on a (massive) crumbling staircase and the Persian version of an observatory; but for the most part, the game is pretty enough with not much to make the jaw drop. Despite the scale of the environments, instances of screen tearing and clipping are sparse. Without many noticable glitches to pull you away from the action on screen, I found myself engaged for the entirety of the experience, taking very few breaks.

The Bad
Short, as in dwarven - TFS is a short game, with very little to encourage repeat playthroughs. There are only two difficulty settings available (Normal and Easy), and a playthrough on Normal difficulty lasted about 8 hours. There is a God of War-esque Challenge Mode on offer, but there are only two different levels available and they offer absolutley no resistance to a prince that has been taken through the main campaign. If you refuse to sign up for a U-Play account, one of the two levels will be locked.

Easy, as in cake walk - Despite a few areas that provide a moderate level of challenge, most players should find themselves breezing through the adventure without care for their mortality. I know that this is partly due to one of the game's central mechanics (specifically, the ability to rewind time), but TFS is simple. Ridiculously simple.

Confused camera - The game employs fixed camera angles for the entirety of the single player adventure. As a result, I often found myself losing my sense of direction. Not as in, get from Point A to Point B; rather that the camera was fixed in a way that I should be pressing left and jump to jump to my left, but because of the previous fixed angle, I would have been wanting to press up and jump to what was in front of me. Sounds confusing? Try it in practice when you have two saw blades approaching you from opposite ends of a track, it can get frustrating to the point of controller destruction.

Convoluted control scheme - It won't appear so early on, when there are few abilities at your command; but when you are required  to freeze water, wall scale, jump back, freeze water, and rebound jump about 3 times in the space of 5 seconds it can get a bit hectic. Especially considering that the sequence described above would require the well-timed use of 3 shoulder buttons, a face button and directional inputs (camera permitting). Let's just say you make an error in the midst of that sequence, that means you can add the final shoulder button to the sequence. What if you are required to use the Power of Flight? Then add another face button. Shit be gettin' crazy bout this time fo' sho' homeez.



The Ugly
The story and characters, as in what of them? - So there is the prince, his jerk of a brother and some attractive, elder god. There's also a central villain, but he isn't really given much depth, apart form the fact that he is packing some armageddon-bringing powers. You don't really care about the relationship between Princey and Malik, as they don't appear to care much for each other. Razia acts as a history teacher, but due to the cold delivery of her analysis throughout the adventure, you don't connect to her either. When it is all said and done, you don't feel as though you have achieved anything tangible, and the cliffhanger is disgraceful. It essentially concludes with: The End...... OR IS IT?!?!?! I assume (and hope) that the true conclusion will come via DLC in much the same way that an epilogue chapter was released for the 2008 iteration. If however, that is how the story ends the writers should be ashamed of themselves.

Superficial, unbalanced combat: Smash square and she'll be right mate. Honestly, save for some sequences during boss fights where you are required to mount gargantuan enemy combatants, you can mow down most enemies with mindless mashing of the attack button. To add to the farcical nature of the action, the magic powers, while visually appealing (not impressive, but pretty) completely undermine your opponents. One power (Stone Armour) renders you completely impervious to harm. This includes from boss characters as well! Up on the D-Pad is an "I Win!" button. Your enemies also lack the intelligence and attack power to cause you any trouble, so in every respect, fighting in TFS is an absolute mess.



No blood - This might sound like a  petty complaint, but the prince has been bleeding since his first adventures on the PC, and bleeding a lot. If you fall into a pit of spikes, you should be impaled, mangled and dripping crimson. If an enemy combatant strikes you with a sword, you should be leaking plasma. There are a variety of sharp hazards within the castle gates, but none of them will cause you to bleed. Also troubling is the prince's merciful dalliances with the undead. Sometimes when preforming close-quarter finishers you only knee your opponents in the face, or bash them with the butt of your sword. You don't often enough stab demons, and twist the hilt to ensure their return to the afterlife. TFS lacks any real visual representation of punishment for n00bery, and in an iteration of a franchise like Prince of Persia, where I've been bleeding to death for twenty something years, that is hard to forgive.

6.5/10: Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands is short, easy and lacking any replay value. As a full retail purchase, this game is not deserving of your hard-earned cash. The game is not entirely without charm, but for every step forward there are two steps back. For those of you looking for an attractive platformer without a narrative (or difficult combat sequences) to distract you, this is however a great choice.

Dutch note: PoP - TFS appears to be one of the notable victims of the packed May release schedule. I picked up my copy for $39 from GAME, and several other retailers have it on special for less than half the retail price. At a budget price, you might (as I did) find yourself very happy with the game. If I paid $110 for this game (and that is the RRP), I would be very unimpressed. I liked the game and I would like to have scored it higher, but there are too many issues to give it the praise deserving of the game's best moments.

Like Riding a Bike

Embarrassing admission: I can not ride a bike. Unless of course it has training wheels, then I'm sweet. More to the point, the saying "Like riding a bike," means nothing (other than of course, humiliation) for me. More apt would be something along the lines of, "Like playing Super Mario Bros. (or any early 90s 2D platformer)."  Sure it doesn't flow as well, but its implications are essentially the same.



This weekend I spent some time with a Wii at my parents' place. It wasn't entirely horrible. When I think about it, I don't think I have ever discussed my feelings about the Wii with you all. In detail at least. To be frank, I am deeply troubled that this console is leading the market and the direction of the industry at large. Why? I don't have a huge problem with motion control. I am yet to see it implemented to great effect, but that is not why I object to the Gamecube Plus. I detest the Wii because it is the foremost, and unrivalled platform for shovelware. That, and almost any game worth owning on the system has been released on the Gamecube minus a few features. Even then, if it was not on the Gamecube, it would have been released on some other Nintendo console in some way, shape or form.

Case and point: New Super Mario Bros Wii. New Super Mario Bros Wii is startlingly similar to New Super Mario Bros released on the Nintendo DS, both in terms of gameplay and visual presentation. This isn't a game-breaker by any means, but the sense of deja-va is palpable. At times it even registers as a distraction. I swear that I had played through some of these levels before. I'd stop dead still in the midst of the game's 2D planes, and my mind would be cast back in time a few years. I got over it eventually, but I couldn't help but think that the iconic plumber hadn't come that far since the game's portable predecessor, released not even 4 years ago. Since Super Maio World even (in this iteration at least). As a matter of fact, I'd recommend Wii owners save some money and download Super Mario World for the Virtual Console instead.

I also spent some time with Mario & Sonic at Winter Olympic Games and I was surprised to find that there was actually some fun to be had. Simplistic, shallow fun, but fun all the same. As with the generalisation mentioned previously, the motion controls are functional but they did not allow for me to fully engage in the activities I was supposedly replicating. Holding a Wiimote to my chest and bobbing from left to right is a poor emulation of Skeleton, it is however as close as I am prepared to get to the real-life sport. What forced me care about what was going on was the competition, and the spectator. My fiance picked up the fundamentals very quickly, and before long she was almost lapping me in Speed Skating. My Mum was the lone spectator, and she mocked any demonstrations of n00bery with her infectious cackle. After a few rounds of Curling, with my hands mimicking the most personal of rituals and two loved ones laughing to the point of tears; I realised the true power of this device. Motion controls, in all of their ridiculousness, allow everyone in close proximity of the console to engage with games due to either the action on screen, or the displays of vicacity from those people actually playing.         



I am still yet to play the most acclaimed games on the Wii (specifically: Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel), but my cynicism will not allow me to be anything but a Weekend Warrior when it comes to Ninty's foray into motion-contolled gaming.

What are your thoughts on the Wii? What did you play this weekend?

Waiting for the End

This is it my friends. Less than an hour away from the quarter-final confrontation between Brazil and the Netherlands. The Dutch have gone one better than their effort in the 2006 tournament, but I lack faith that they will be able to overcome this South American hurdle. I am more nervous than I am excited, and as a result, my attention span is shorter than that of the average goldfish.

When I have been able to sit still and focus, I've enjoyed playing LocoRoco Midnight Carnival. I haven't been compelled to play through the first two installments, as they both travelled a little too slow for my liking. Midnight Carnival however, with its Boing mechanic is fast, striking in its use of colour and endearing. LRMC has you bounding across dark, cartoonish landscapes filled with crumbling platforms, hostile monkeys, beautifully-animated boss monsters and killer gaps. The unforgiving nature of some of the later levels is reminscent of the platformers of old. If you die, you are punished. You go back to the beginning of the level, and are then forced to remember your errors and learn from them. I love it! My only complaint is that the whole adventure is nearly over; and of late I haven't been one for score attack gameplay, so replay value is limited.



I also got to check out the Ron Mueck exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane today. Do yourself a favour and check out if you're in town. The sculptures on show are so unnervingly life-like that I will struggle to forget them.

This weekend I'm catching up with some good friends and enjoying some Gamecube classics. There weren't many good games on the Wii's predecessor, but there were a handful of true classics: Super Monkey Ball, Mario Golf, Mario Kart: Double Dash and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Not that we'll get to those gems. I'm pretty sure we'll be playing through some old, lovable trash like GoldenEye: Rogue Agent or even (hopefully) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005.



What are you playing this weekend? What are your guilty gaming pleasures?