Fall Games two minute drill.

I both love and hate this time of year for videogaming. At the start of the holiday shopping period, big game after big game is released, all trying to grab that 'gift-buying' cash just starting to peep out from wallets and purses.

Since I spend nowhere near what I used to on these things, Gamefly has been an absolute godsend in helping me keep up with the rush. It's montly rental service that sends games via the mail, and you can keep them as long as you want. Even with the $20-$30 montly charge, I save much, much more than I would by buying the games or renting them from local chains.

Since I've been using the service so much, I figured I'd throw out a quick list of games I've played recently along with a quick rating, to help other gamers navagate the onslaught!

Here goes:

ESPN NHL 2K5

Time Put In: Some
Expectations: Moderate
Reality: Met
+ Fixed super goalies, better CPU offense, decent ‘out-of-the-box’
- Money Goals L, clueless teammates at times, players bounce off of each other too often
Meaningless Letter Grade: B
Quick Comments: ESPN was my least favorite hockey game last year, favorite this year. Very happy with the improvement!

Sly 2: Band of Thieves

Time Put In: Some
Expectations: High
Reality: Met
+ Great Saturday morning cartoony graphics, interesting characters, unique stealth-platformer with a variety of gameplay types
- controls not completely customizable
Meaningless Letter Grade: A
Quick Comments: The original was a modest success, but unlike any other platformer out there. The second adds length and gameplay, while keeping the charm and style. Get both!

Fable:

Time Put In: Some
Expectations: Moderate
Reality: Met (Barely)
+ Fun battle system, Impressive storybook graphics, Great Music
- Can’t live up to massive hype/aspirations, short, good-vs-evil really just a gimmick
Meaningless Letter Grade: C+
Quick Comments: Expectations were lowered after initial reviews, and still only found it to be okay. Pretty much a simplistic action game in a slice of a world that you can just tell was supposed to be so much more.


Def Jam Fight for NY

Time Put In: Just a little
Expectations: Moderate
Reality: Met
+ Best ‘wrestling’ game currently out, good story, fighting fast and fun
- Some camera problems, very poor manual!
Meaningless Letter Grade: B
Quick Comments: IMO, the best ‘wrestling’ game currently out. The Exaggerated high-flying violence is a trip.

Test Drive: Eve of Destruction

Time Put In: Some
Expectations: Low (None, even Thanks Scoop!)
Reality: Exceeded
+ Old school destruction derby fun, decently challenging
- Old school graphics, lack of speed, repetitive
Meaningless Letter Grade: C+
Quick Comments: Not a great game, but fun, and revived a genre for me that I thought was dead.

Nascar Chase For the Cup 2005

Time Put In: Some
Expectations: Low (Thanks PK!)
Reality: Exceeded
+ Great, Great AI racing, Involving Career mode, personally liked the sim/arcade balance
- Mediocre Graphics and framerate problems leave a very bad first impression, Drafting/intimidation overdone
Meaningless Letter Grade: B
Quick Comments: I’m not a Nascar fan, but I will be putting time into a nascar game for the first time ever.

Burnout 3, Takedown

Time Put In: Lots
Expectations: Moderate
Reality: Exceeded
+ Insanely fast speeds and framerate, variety of modes, sweet Live Play, lots to do
- Loading times are annoying, especially in crash mode, EA Live issues
Meaningless Letter Grade: A
Quick Comments: I liked the first two games in the series, love the third. Starts, perhaps, a little slow, but gets better the more you play. Fantastically addictive in the ‘Just one more race’ kind of way.

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy

Time Put In: Lots
Expectations: Moderate
Reality: Met
+ Psi Powers are new and innovative mechanic, great physics, good controls,
- Short, could have had more interesting environments
Meaningless Letter Grade: B
Quick Comments: Innovation does happen, occasionally! The psi powers add so much to the genre. Seems like so much work was done there and on the physics, though, that the game world was cut short. Sequel should be amazing.


Powerdrome

Time Put In: Lots
Expectations: Moderate
Reality: Exceeded
+ Fast, challenging arcade racer, very cinematic gameplay, nice replays
- Early tracks are boring, Live problems, no one else is playing
Meaningless Letter Grade: B
Quick Comments: The best game no one is playing.

Pro Fishing Challenge

Time Put In: Some
Expectations: Low (thanks Granato!)
Reality: Exceeded
+ Great relaxing yet competitive Live play, lots of options, fight with the fish well done
- Below average graphics, very comprehensive inventory of lures, line, etc. with no instructions how to use each
Meaningless Letter Grade: B
Quick Comments: Not a fisherman, but still finding this to be a ton of fun

Star Wars Battlefront

Time Put In: Just a little
Expectations: Low
Reality: Exceeded
+ Captures chaos of battle, most ambitious Live game in terms of players, bots, etc, chill inducing moments for Star Wars fans
- Dumb Bot AI, lack of game modes, lag problems
Meaningless Letter Grade: B
Quick Comments: Must Have for a star wars fan, good game to pop in and blast away!

(Also posted on the DSP forums, where you can get more good info on mainly sports, but often other, games.)