So unfortunately it seems that the "scheduled maintenance" that the PlayStation Network has been undergoing since the 20th appears to not actually have been scheduled maintenance... the PSN was hacked... of course, we are not surprised.
What is surprising is that it wasn't actually a denial-of-service attack that brought down the PlayStation Network - Sony actually took the PSN offline after they realized that they had a security breach, which actually occurred .... wait for it... sometime between the 17th and the 19th of LAST WEEK. Yup. And now we find out our personal information has been compromised.
Excellent.
So why is this the first I am hearing about this? Why have we not been notified sooner?
Here is a link to the PlayStation Blog where Sony is updating its customers, there has not been much to read until today's post which is listed at the very top.
Developer: Crytek Released: March 22, 2011 Platforms: PC, Xbox360, PS3 Genre: First-person shooter (both single and online multi-player options)
So I was one of the unhappy people who had excitedly purchased the original Crysis game in 2007 (as a birthday gift for my husband) only to find out that our gaming computer - while decent - was nowhere near strong enough to handle the huge scope of the open-world map nor the crazy graphics of that game.
After many frustrating sessions of attempting to play for 5-15 minutes at a time (in between video card crashes) and after researching online and realizing that this was a widespread issue, my husband finally decided to preserve his sanity and gave up trying to play. A few months after the game released I read an article that said Crysis was actually designed for computer hardware that hadn't even been made yet - so you would have had to have a cutting edge gaming machine to fully appreciate all the hard work Crytek put into it, not to mention just to be able to finish the game.
So although I was excited by the teaser trailers released for the Crysis 2 game, I was a little hesitant to preorder our copy. It was going to be released onto console as well as PC this time which means graphically it was going to be dumbed down. And there didn't appear to be much change in the main story-line: there is an alien invasion and you, as a suit-wearing-super-soldier are the only hope for human survival. My husband beta tested the online multi-player and he was underwhelmed and started reconsidering purchasing the game at all. But knowing that my husband loves first-person shooters I decided to get it anyways and hope that the single-player campaign would be worth it alone.
I am happy to say that it was an awesome game and my husband loved it. Just watching the introduction scene, while the credits were rolling, gripped me and I was hooked. Crysis 2 was cool enough that I was satisfied to just watch my husband play through the campaign. The graphics were nothing short of beautiful, the story starts off with a great plot twist which pulls you into the game immediately, the New York setting made for very diverse terrain throughout, the customizability of the Nanosuit means you can play through the game in a myriad of different ways, and the soundtrack (which is composed by Hans Zimmer) is fantastic. If you like FPS's you must, must buy this game!
From the "Mom" angle: Crysis 2 is rated Mature for Blood, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Violence. The game is not overly bloody or gory, but due to the amazing graphics, fantastic sound and great voice-acting is does feel very realistic. And your enemy changes throughout the game - sometimes you fight the invading aliens and other times you fight mercenary soldiers who were ordered to eliminate you. There is a brief cut scene involving a suicide which is more implied than shown.
Developer: Valve Corporation Release: April 19, 2011 Platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox 360, PS3 Genre: Puzzle/platform/adventure. The game includes a single-player campaign and a multi-player campaign that can be played splitscreen or online (and the online multi-player includes cross platform online play).
So there isn't going to be a game that comes out this year that I will be anticipating as much as I was anticipating the release of Portal 2... I have been waiting for months and months to get my hands on this game.
And I was not disappointed. Portal 2. Was. Amazing.
Be warned that I am basically going to gush during this review. I absolutely loved the first Portal game and although I have come to expect nothing but the best from Valve games, I was still a little skeptical... I mean, how can you improve on perfection? And that is what the first game was, just perfect: it was witty, sarcastic, laugh-out-loud funny, completely unique, and very challenging and although it was a first-person shooter of sorts, it was devoid of any violence or blood.
The 2nd game includes a multi-player campaign this time (online and/or split screen) and a much longer single player campaign, making this game worthy of its own box this time and a full price point. Without altering the already established physics laws of the portal gun, Valve introduces many ingenious ways to expand your testing and movement abilities (light bridges, repulsion gel, and speed gel are just a few) which in turn increases the challenge and problem solving aspect of the game immensely... but that translates into much more portal fun!
With new characters, excellent voice acting, great music and many twists and turns in the plot I was so quickly sucked into the story that I completed the single player campaign within two days of starting. I don't want to give away any of the plot ending, but the end of the single player campaign had a great tie-in to the multi-player campaign which I am excited to try out soon.
Without a doubt my game of the year!
From the "Mom" angle: this sequel is much harder than the first and although there isn't really anything inappropriate for children it will be much too hard for younger gamers.
Although this is a little belated (this game came out in February) I still want to put up the post because this game is worth mentioning!
Developer: Jellyvision
Released: February 8, 2011
Rated: T for Teen
Since I have never played the original PC installment of this game, I can't compare version to version but even those gamers who have never played the original will love this game. Available on PC, Xbox Wii, DS or PS3 this hysterical trivia game can be played by 1-4 players but I can't imagine that this would be much fun to play alone.
I was a little bit skeptical when we first purchased this game because I am not well versed in pop culture, but even if you end up guessing most of the answers this game is still enjoyable... and with plenty of chances throughout to make an amazing comeback and "screw" your fellow gamers this game can keep you on your toes, and I never lost interest. There were even a few instances when we were playing that I was laughing too hard to catch the entire question during the trivia section. There are over 20 different question sets so the replay value is very high.
I always prefer co-operative gaming - I would much rather play with someone than play solo, and I am a firm believer in 'the more the merrier' so I love most party/group games. A group of friends or family can improve even a moderately enjoyable game, so when you find a truly enjoyable party game like You Don't Know Jack it's definitely a must have.
The price point is about half the cost of most new game purchases, it's available on multiple platforms and with a high replay value this game is a must have!
With Valentine's day right around the corner and in honor of the fact that I received my brand new Verizon iPhone this week, I wanted to let you know about updates for two of my favorite iPhone games: Cut the Rope and Angry Birds Seasons.
Cut the Rope is such an adorable game and has been in the top 25 paid games for quite some time now, but just recently Chillingo Ltd. released an update for the game which revealed a new Valentine's themed box to conquer and it can be unlocked when you collect 300 stars in the original levels.
Angry Birds is probably one of the most well known iPhone games, and around Halloween last year Rovio Mobile Ltd. released a 2nd version of the bestseller called Angry Birds Seasons. Around Christmas another update added an advent-type game which revealed a playable level every day for 25 days...with the last and final level being revealed on Christmas morning! Well, Angry Birds Seasons also had a recent update which featured a new Valentine's level called "Hogs and Kisses". It has been very challenging and will certainly keep me busy over the next month.
If you don't already have these games I highly recommend you download them today! If you do have them, make sure to apply any recent application updates and have some Valentine's themed fun.
For anyone else who is an Angry Bird fans here is a YouTube video that you MUST watch! (language advisory)
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