Leveling Down

L.A Noire & Heavy Rain – two games that should not be missed for their excellent storylines.

I have some games that I can write reviews on, but I’ve been lazy the last few days so I’m just going to write about what I’ve been up to lately. In the last couple of weeks I’ve been spending a lot of time playing games that cmfl3x has already beaten and reviewed, so I’ll use this entry to sort of give my quick viewpoint on each of the ones I’ve beaten lately. I also hit 100,000 Gamerscore on my Xbox Live account recently, which will probably be the last gaming milestone of my life so I’ll toot my horn a little on that.

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Take in the sights of 1940s LA in this ground breaking game

I’ll start by saying this: LA Noire is great. I really loved the game, and I was super addicted to it, blowing through the 15-20 hour campaign in about a week and a half which is pretty fast for me these days with my limited gaming schedule. I’ve also already bought the Rockstar Pass to get me all the DLC up until July. What I’m not sure about, however, is whether LA Noire is a great video game. How the heck am I gonna give it a score?

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The second half of our two part feature revisits cmfl3x’s picks from the beginning of the year.

Aside from Starcraft II, espion4ge and I had pretty different lists of anticipated games for 2010. As espion4ge pointed out on Monday, a lot of his picks turned out to be busts. My list fared a little bit better – hit the jump to see why.

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It all boils down to this: our game of the year for 2010. cmfl3x and I had some discussion over the various games we decided to nominate for game of the year this year, so have a look and see what we have to say. Keep in mind that all games on this list are worth playing, but if you can only play one…look no further than our game of the year.

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Our Awards & Holiday Shopping Guide are just about done, but today I get to talk about some of my favorite categories. Which stories really stuck with me this year? What new IPs are out there that might stand the test of time? And how do all the sequels this year stack up? Hit the jump to find out!

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Everyone knows Rock Band is a huge hit, but what else appeals to non-gamers?

Last week I started the conversation about the types of games non-gamers (specifically, wives and girlfriends) could enjoy or at least tolerate. After laying out some general principles and looking at some broad areas of gaming, this week I’ll be narrowing my focus and talking about some specific genres that might appeal to non-gamers. I’ve organized the games from most appealing to least, in general. As always, your mileage may vary, and I’d love to hear others’ ideas as well!

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Mundane moments with your family set you up for a heavy emotional payoff later

The first trophy you unlock in Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain is called “interactive drama”. It’s an apt trophy name, and it sets the tone for the rest of the game. Heavy Rain is a PS3 Exclusive, and it’s an amazing game (and another argument for all games being multiplatform so I can stop stealing my friends’ PS3s), but now that I’m done with it I think I can hold off on getting a PS3 for awhile, or until espion4ge gets one at the very least! The game creates a brand new experience and perhaps a new genre in video games, but small issues prevent the game from truly realizing it’s potential.

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I managed to get my hands on a PS3 (temporarily) and the first thing I did was download the Heavy Rain demo, which isn’t officially out, but can be accessed early. Despite not owning a PS3, Heavy Rain is one of my most anticipated games of the year, so I was thrilled to take the demo for a whirl. My enthusiasm was tempered a little bit after playing through the demo, although I still think the title shows a lot of potential. Hit the jump to find out why.

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Crazily enough, this site has been around for over a year already. Looking back, I noticed that my first ever post was on my top 5 most anticipated games of 2009, and here I am, anticipating 2010 with two repeats from that list. That’s kind of sad, but at the same time my excitement keeps building and I am hoping all these games live up to the hype…in my mind.

The games I listed last year were Mass Effect 2, Starcraft 2, The Conduit, The Beatles: Rock Band, and Halo Wars. Halo Wars and The Beatles: Rock Band turned out to be pretty awesome, The Conduit, not so much, and Mass Effect 2 and Starcraft 2 are still MIA. So what am I looking forward to this year?

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