Outrun Online Arcade (Xbox Live Arcade) -- It's been a long time since the high score fever of Pac-Man Championship Edition hit me, but this "new" Outrun has done the trick. It's technically very short; there are fifteen courses, but you only play through five at a time via branching paths. Playing through all the courses in one go will run you about fifteen minutes, but that's not the real draw. What keeps me coming back to the game is the scoring system, which rewards you for speediness, slipstreaming and passing other cars (and special "Rival" cars) without hitting them. It sounds a bit simplistic -- it is! -- but plotting a course through the game and mastering your own little corner is extremely rewarding. It's almost a bit daunting to think about conquering all of the courses in their entirety, to my satisfaction.
This game is incredibly refreshing in a time where gaming is choked with the smog of "realistic" dark browns and greys. The shining sun (complete with Impressive Ten Years Ago Lens-Flare) celebrates the bright blue sky and tall, healthy trees. This game is just so... happy! And that's nice.
Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (Xbox 360) -- I thought I read somewhere that this compilation boasts the highest volume of any console collection to date. Perhaps it does, but the list onscreen just scrolls by too fast. Sure, there are like seven or eight Sonic games, two Shinobi's, three Streets of Rage titles, four Phantasy Stars, and original arcade versions of stuff like Altered Beast -- well, when I guess I say it like that, it sounds a bit better. Anyhow, at 30 bucks, it's a decent deal for a blast processing of nostalgia. It's cool to play old stuff I never got around to, like Comix Zone and Vectorman, however well time has treated them.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Nintendo DS) -- I go through these phases with GTA games. When I first pop them in, I'm a bit disappointed that they're pretty much the same as their predecessors. I trudge on for a bit, because hey, I spent my money already. And somewhere along the line, I'm won over by the silly carnage and surprisingly varied missions I'm sent on. During this period, I can often be seen with a stupid grin on my face, throwing molotov cocktails at police cars and doing whatever else it is that the millions of gamers who buy these games do. And then, probably before the end, I stop cold. I might try to pick it up again, but it won't have that same grip on me. Sure enough, this is what happened with Chinatown Wars, old-school handheld flavor or no. I'm feeling pretty over GTA. Until the next game.
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