There isn't much I like more than tanks with nuclear bombs and Tesla coils, but free things are up there.

Pure dumb luck led me to find a PC version of The Orange Box on sale at Amazon, and so now I've finally got a copy of Portal I can call my own (along with the box's other bajillion games). Of course I knew I would be able to play through most of it in a single sitting, and I've already watched my friends struggle through the game so many times that it wasn't really challenging at all. But it's still super-cool.

Progress: Testchamber 19

I've actually had this sitting in my DS for about two months now. I played it a little the night after I got it, and then didn't touch it again until the other evening, when my complex's transformers blew out and all my other games were unplayable.

It's not that I dislike the game, but, it hasn't really hooked me yet. The super-complex combat gameplay I was looking for has barely even come up, as most of what I've played so far is scrolling through dialog. And the story is intriguing, but also slightly off-putting because of the bizarre turns it takes (and because the main character is a total douche).

One of these days I'll get back to it; but right now the DS is just at the back of my list.

Progress: Gave Up -- Day 2

I keep taking extended breaks from Toki Tori, but I'm consistently pleased with it when I pick the game back up again. The challenge level is really satisfying, and real-time actions are rarely a significant factor, making it great for just sitting back and thinking of how to complete the level.

And new items keep showing up, which really keeps the formula fresh even well into the game. In World 4, Toki Tori falls underwater, and a sort of diving suit is introduced that allows you to swim upward for a limited number of spaces. It dramatically changes the movement mechanics that drove the game previously, which is awesome.

Progress: Bubble Barrage Level 2

I haven't been glogging my way through Jak and Daxter because, well, because there wasn't a whole lot to say about it. My first impressions were that it had little to offer over an N64-era platformer; and that stayed pretty consistent through the end.

If you've played a 3D platformer, Jak won't surprise you in any significant way. You run around, jump on ledges, punch enemies, all the while collecting power cells (stars), Precursor orbs (coins), and scout flies (red coins). There is a green plains level. There is an ice level. There is a lava level. There is a swamp level. There is even a fucking annoying level full of giant fucking spiders.

The game does succeed in at least two ways: technologically, because the game possesses a physics engine relatively sophisticated for its time, as well as a slick no-loading-screens setup that helps the game world come together; and in flavor, through the mostly-great voice acting and comedic script. Overall though the narrative falls short of stellar, since when it gets dramatic it gets very melodramatic - the ending, for instance, is remarkably dull and unfulfilling.

While parts of the implementation are pretty impressive, Jak fails to present anything gameplay-wise that it can really call its own. There are occasional vehicle segments, and infrequent instances of different-colored Eco powers to perform special tasks, but neither of these stand out as exceptionally fun or unique.

Like Sly Cooper, I don't really hesitate to say that Jak is comparable to platformers that came a whole generation before it. In fairness, Jak is put together better than Sly (though it certainly isn't without its fair share of hair-pulling frustration moments, either); but Sly also shows its unique mettle in the stealth tactics and level diversity, where Jak is a clone first and its own game second. Judging by what I've read about the sequels, this doesn't really change. Jak may be a fun platformer... but so are dozens of other games.

Progress: 100%

It is a wicked cool concept, and based on some multiplayer I tried when a co-worker brought the game in for lunch breaks, it is very fun in a party-style setting. However, from what I've seen and heard of the multiplayer, the part I was really interested in - a lengthy, challenging, solo puzzle-solving mode - is seriously lacking. I'm glad I got to try it, but I think I've already gotten what I can out of Boom Blox.

Progress: Gave Up

Mechanically, Republic Commando is well put-together; the shooting combat is very fun once you've got the hang of the different weapon types, and the team tactics work extremely well. And despite the prequel trilogy backdrop, the game benefits from being placed in the Star Wars universe, what with lasers and robots and so on (plus the sheer satisfaction of kicking ass with John Williams in the background). But there's so much chintzy crap wrong with the game that, like a delicious cake swarming with flies, the experience leaves me with an uncomfortable taste in my mouth.

The game's relatively short length is something I could live with. But having only three campaigns (e.g. three distinct environment types) left me wanting; I would much rather have had more, shorter campaigns, especially since all three of them felt rather dragging toward the end. The rare bugs are not so bad, forgiving one time that a teammate actually became hostile to me, and I had to kill him but could not revive (and thus had to restart from an earlier save file); but there are particular combat situations which seem disproportionately frustrating to be bugs, like small, nimble enemies that deal ridiculous damage, or an enemy spawner next to the only mannable laser turret in the area. The characterization of the clone troopers is interesting at first, but is ultimately meaningless, as each trooper can do each assignable task equally well, and they all use the same AI.

The game is rife with basic design oversights - radio is jammed in much of campaign 2, but that doesn't stop command from being able to make a snarky comment when you die; relatedly, in the rare instance where you have an objective other than surviving, failure results in a tirade from command, followed by an automatic death to force the "Retry?" screen. And everyone refers to everyone else as Delta: "Delta, go slice that console" or "Nice work, Delta" or "Take cover, Delta!" Also, the ending was trite even by shooter standards. (After all four Deltas split up to take down a Separatist battleship with turbolaser cannons, 07 is heard dying over the comlink; command orders the unit out, there is some strong-hearted protest, and then moments later everyone is stoked to keep fighting in the implied sequel.)

Like I've said: it's pretty good for a Star Wars game, and not terrible, but not exactly a must-play.

Progress: Complete

We all knew it was going to happen, but this is a bit sooner than I expected!

Though it is shorter than its followers, GTA3 has its fair share of extra stuff too: rampages, vigilante/rescue/taxi missions, optional mission chains, stunt jumps, et cetera; not that I bothered with almost all of them, but they are there for your inner completionist if you have one. And, in the end, I was pleasantly surprised by the story cohesion - it was still generally weak, but more than I was expecting.

All in all, I'm not sure what more I can say except, it's a fun game that has its problems, much like the sequels.

Progress: Cleaner (1616), finished main missions

As the game goes on, it's hard to judge it by its own merits rather than in terms of its sequels. The gap between GTA3 and Vice City seems significant, but is really just the result of a few new features and improvements - an in-game map on the pause menu, a narrative to tie the missions together, more and better radio music, helicopters, motorcycles. I've already discussed the incremental development of the GTA series, but I cannot overemphasize how easy it is to miss the sequels' improvements when returning to an earlier entry.

On its own, GTA3 feels like it has a very solid formula that needs more polish before it can really be great. The improvements in subsequent GTA games make it seem obsolete and irrelevant, but that also speaks to the strength of the core mechanisms at work here. So yeah, it's good, but you're not missing anything if you skip it for the later games.

Progress: Fixer (963)