Batman Arkham Asylum

Batman Arkham Asylum was a game I really enjoyed. It was a cleverly disguised Metroidvania type game and every element of this game, except the samey boss fights, were exceptionally good. I liked the save system especially when fighting bosses, instead of making you face them from the beginning, you carried on from where you left off, so Rocksteady totally understood rage quits. I didn't complete many of the Riddler side quests (most of the ones I did find were by mostly accident, and could only be found with a fully equipped Batman and going back and playing the game once you had finished), but even so I felt the game was short, perhaps at most ten or twelve solid hours. I am looking forward to Arkham City sequel.

I did go back and replay this recently but gave up while fighting Poison Ivy. I had too many other games to burn through to push this game again.

Xbox 360 Purchase and Dead Space 1 & 2

I finally got enough money together and bought an Xbox 360. I knew a few people who owned the console. I wasn't tempted to get a Playstation 3 as I didn't know anyone who did, and it wasn't exactly flooded with good exclusive games, plus I didn't have remarkable memories of the Playstation 2. The decision to get the Xbox 360 first was easy. It would take the unique game Journey on the Playstation 3 to convince me to buy one.

The Dead Space series of games both 1 and 2 are visually stunning and genuinely scary games. I completed the first game for a second time, but gave up on the second game on the final chapter right near the end as the game had too big of an ask to complete it. I watched a video of someone completing the last two chapters and it was ridiculous. You faced ever increasing number of enemies with no respite, and one persistent monster who you couldn't kill, only temporarily immobilise. I have the third installment which from the various reviews I’ve read isn't a game that should have the Dead Space tag on it. Its less survival horror and more science fiction action shooter. Its strange that while I didn't enjoy the Resident Evil style of games, I took to Dead Space instantly, had I not been lent the game, I doubt I would have tried it myself. The games are relentless and rarely give you time to relax or collect yourself. I enjoy the physics based puzzles that both the stasis module and the gravity module allow you to. I would have liked to have seen more of this puzzle solving.

One element that really got my heart racing in the second game was any scene in which velociraptor like creatures stalked you whilst hiding from the light. These were always tense long battles that were the closest thing to shitting yourself as you could get. I have the third game on Playstation 3 and have heard middling reviews about it. I will give it a good run out.