What we’ve been playing: Week of 20/2/2011

Hi it’s time for this thing again! And guess what? We only got another bloody writer! His name is Stan Spurgiesz and he does news and a new feature which I haven’t read yet sorry I’ve been busy will you ever forgive me anyone please stop looking at me like that, GOD. Yeah that.

Hit the jump to see what he (and everyone else) had been playing last week. Cause you love it, you minx.

[Header from OddLookingBird.com]

Stevie Grant- Writer of Top 10 Worst and Boss Attack:
Nothing but bad Sonic games. Oh and Deathsmiles. That is really fun. I’m sure everyone below me will mention Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and in which case, yes I have been playing that too. I even played against famed Sega Addicts fan GoodlyMike AND WON (after several losses cause I’m not very good at it). So that.

Brett Hatfield- Community Manager and Writer of Megadriving:
Oh, why, hello there. In the spirit of Sonic, “LONG TIME NO SEE~!”. Remind me to bash myself with a brick for that, will ya? Anyways, I had an issue with my PS3 last month, forcing me to buy a new one and redo all my games, so I’ve basically been going through stuff like Tekken 6 (Had a 20 win streak online earlier tonight even), Sonic Unleashed, GT5, All Stars Racing… A lot of stuff like that. Been trying to make the best of a bad situation for the most part, and it’s been fun. I’ve really forgotten how much I loved some of these games.

Alexander Sargeant- Writer of Retro Reviews:
What else IS there to play? Marvel Vs Capcom 3 of course! Putting in an awful lot of time to create a team I really like, and while I was a little worried it was going to be a generic action hero team, I seem to have ended up favouring Dormammu and MODOK. There are some very weird omissions, but the core game is a wonderful rich crossover game where ever character is just as overpowered as each other.

Deathsmiles too, which is bloody brilliant. The music is incredible. Still learning the ropes, and I’m not really very good at manipulating the familiar yet, but me and Sakura are on a mission to 1 CC the whole game, and we’ll win dammit. Well we would, if it wasn’t up to Tyrannosatan.

Finally Baten Kaitos, which is the BEST GAME EVER. Fighting with cards? Awesome. Fighting with cards that can have SIX different numerical values on them at any one time? So many numbers! Currently that’s it, but expect a review of MVC3 in the next day or so.

John Doherty- Writer of Take Cover:
My journey into the PS3’s backlog continued this week. After officially giving up on Uncharted, I started playing Metal Gear Solid 4. SPOILER ALERT it rules. Not much to say about it seeing as I’m not very far in but so far so good. I played a little bit of Rocket Knight Adventures on the Genesis as well for old times sake.

Stan Spurgiesz- Writer of Night of the Living Console
I’ve just started playing Shenmue again for the first time since I beat it in 2001. I forgot what an immersive and well crafted game it is. There is so much detail to be found within the game. For some reason, I am especially drawn in by the game’s cinematic music. It truly is a testament to the imagination and polish of Yu Suzuki’s work. You can feel love and dedication that was put into it.

I am also trying to wrap up the first Super Mario Galaxy. I beat the game last year, but still have 39 stars remaining. I can’t wait to see what happens upon full star completion. The suspense is killing me!

Josh Newey – Writer of With Great Power Comes Great Games and Underappreciated Gems:
Ever since those stupid asses from the stupid USPS finally decided to deliver my stupid package on stupid FRIDAY, I’ve been obsessively playing Marvel Vs Capcom 3. It’s been a fantastic ride so far, and for a noob/scrub like me, the character training missions are a godsend. I’m delighted to see Alex S enjoying MODOK, too. I’m glad that SOMEBODY is. I’ve been wanting to face him at least once online, and it hasn’t happened yet. Everyone on my level seems in love with X-23… and sadly, I’m one of them.

Also started up a game of Dead Space 2 on Zealot difficulty, and I’m surprised to say that it’s a lot easier than I expected. No, I’m not boasting. Just pleasantly surprised. At first I saw the requirements for Hardcore and let out a loud and defiant “PFFFFT. I’m not doing that.” Now, I’m not so sure.

Pat Reddick- Community Manager/ Writer of Forum News and Not-so Classics:
This week was not my week. My friends and I are having a Pokemon Tournament thing so between that and essays I haven’t really had time for anything. I have got my total to about 290 Pokemon so that’s something I’m somewhat proud of. It’s odd though because I always feel like I could have so many more. I promise next week I’ll have something interesting to write about. Like Condemned! I’ll do it, I promise.

Tom Kyzivat- Artist and Podcast Co-host:
Mike and I have been playing Marvel vs Capcom 3, pretty much exclusively. I already hate the game. I thought it would fix some of the imbalance and bullshit of the last game, but it’s FUCKING WORSE!!!

Kris Knigge- Reviewer and Podcast Co-host:
Not a whole lot, for me. A bit of Tatsunoko vs Capcom, since I’m bitter about not having MvC3 yet, followed by some FFXIII, which I will eventually beat, I swear!

Alex Riggen- Editor in Chief and Podcast Host:
I didn’t play much this week besides all of Hard Corps: Uprising. I liked the game a lot more than I expected especially since it was incredibly hard at first. A review is coming soon but if you’re a run and gun fan or Contra fan I recommend it.

Oh, I guess I did play R-Type on the Master System for a little while. Although I still suck at the game my skills are slowly improving.

Wow everyone came out for this week hey? How about that, a nice long article to waste your time! Well make sure to waste more of your time by welcoming our new writer (welcome from me, by the way) and telling me what you’ve been playing.

Also I’ll say it here loud and clear: I, STEVIE GRANT, CHALLENGE YOU, KRIS KNIGGE TO A FIGHT TO THE DEATH IN TATSUNOKO VS. CAPCOM! AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO HAS MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3 TOO! Bring it on. See you next week folks!