The GamerSushi Power Rankings: July 2013

Company of Heroes 2

Half of 2013 has come and gone, and maybe it’s just me, but this year already seems like it’s offered us some huge surprises — almost too many, if my nasty backlog is any indication. Fortunately, July is the month that we can sort of start catching up, putting old titles behind us in preparation for the blitzkrieg of the fall.

That’s not to say there aren’t any new titles worth playing, though. Between The Last of Us, Animal Crossing 3DS and Company of Heroes, we’ve had our hands full. You’ll see these guys making appearances in our monthly top 10, along with some old classics. So here we are, the top 10 games we’ve been playing for the last 30 days.

What do you guys think of this list? What are you playing right now? Go! Continue reading The GamerSushi Power Rankings: July 2013

Ryse: When Games Play Themselves

Ryse

Hello, fine GamerSushi friends. In continuing with our summer schedule, today is “Did You See This”. Naturally, with another E3 come and gone, the industry is still buzzing and writing some fantastic pieces on the things they saw last week, so that’s where we’re headed — and more specifically, to Ryse.

For those that are unaware, Ryse is one of the games that was highlighted by Microsoft at the XBox One press event. Developed by Crytek, Ryse looks like God of War had a baby with Gladiator and Dynasty Warriors, offering historical-looking action and dozens of quick-time events.

Only the quicktime events play themselves. Continue reading Ryse: When Games Play Themselves

GamerSushi Asks: Favorite Video Game Moments?

Elizabeth Infinite

When I tend to think back on my favorite games, I tend to reminisce on particular moments rather than the experience as a whole. Sure, the experience as a whole is worth replaying as well, but usually there is one bit that I have focused on above all others, one instant where everything came together and burned itself into my brain forever.

Recently, Bioshock Infinite has held several of those moments for me. I won’t venture into spoiler territory here, but I will say that besides the ending, a moment that stood out to me was in the basement of a broken down bar, where Booker DeWiit picks up a guitar and plays Let the Circle Be Unbroken while Elizabeth sings. It’s one of those things that catapulted straight to the lead of my favorite gaming memories, and I remember being breathless in the moment itself.

There are plenty of others to choose from. Climbing that ladder in MGS3. Talking to your party members for the final time in Mass Effect 3. The ride into Mexico in Red Dead Redemption. I’m sure we’ve asked this question before, but it’s always a good time to stop and update. What are some of your recent favorite video game moments?

My Metal Gear Solid 3 Experience: The Best One Yet

MGS 3 Cover

In a series consisting primarily of odd choices, perhaps the oddest choice by Hideo Kojima was to take the Metal Gear Solid storyline back to the past, to the beginning of Big Boss’s journey. It’s always odd when a prequel has a number assigned to it that indicates it is actually a sequel, but Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater actually is worthy of the moniker. The story of Metal Gear Solid is invigorated and broadened in exciting new ways thanks to this bold decision. I had heard so much about MGS 3 being the best in the series and I was seriously surprised when it turned out to be one of the best games I have ever played. Continue reading My Metal Gear Solid 3 Experience: The Best One Yet

Watch a Man Dominate Metal Gear Solid 3’s AI

Seems that the GamerSushi staff is on something of a Metal Gear Solid kick lately, but what other video game series can inspire people to randomly bust into a musical number? (Inside joke, don’t worry.) While Anthony was adventuring through the depths of Shadow Moses, I found a video of a guy absolutely breaking Metal Gear Solid 3 and it’s pretty amusing (and maybe a little frightening).

That’s the end result of hours of hours of practice, ladies and gents. I’m impressed by this showing, and I’m always fascinated by the ways people can find to creatively bypass the “game” aspect of most titles and create something new. Do you guys have any examples of this?

GamerSushi Asks: Favorite Threequel?

Uncharted 3

Good things come in three’s. Or is that celebrity deaths? Who knows, but what we do know is that November is full of threequels, lots and lots of them. A threequel, in case this is your first day alive, is the 3rd installment of a franchise. This month alone we are treated to Uncharted 3, Saint’s Row: The Third, Modern Warfare 3, Assassin’s Creed 2: Revelations (the third game in the Assassin’s Creed 2 trilogy and yes, it counts) and already in September and October we had Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3 and Resistance 3. Whew!

Our friends at Wired’s game blog GameLife have pulled together a list of the best threequels in gaming history. There are some great games on here, including some that you may not have heard of or may not have thought were “Part 3’s” in their respective series. I look forward to finally trying Metal Gear Solid 3 when I get the Metal Gear Solid HD collection for Xmas. Take a look at the list and tell us what they left off! 1, 2, 3, GO!

Source: Wired

GamerSushi Asks: Why Do You Game?

MGS 3 We’ve talked an awful lot on GamerSushi about our gaming preferences before, but I don’t know if we’ve ever asked you guys why you continue to play games, and what got you started on this beloved hobby of ours. I started thinking about this over the weekend while playing through the Mass Effect 2 Arrival DLC, and finding myself missing the Mass Effect universe all over again. It’s like putting on a favorite sweater once winter starts up again. It’s comfortable, warm and familiar all at once.

I’m at the point now where playing video games is as natural as the process of taking off my shoes and khakis after being in the office all day. Just as normal as getting up and preparing breakfast. It’s a part of my routine, inseparable from who I am as a person. If I didn’t have games, I simply wouldn’t be me.

When I consider why it is that I game, it ultimately comes down to escape. Not that I have anything about my life that I’m particularly disdainful of, mind you. I think I just love that feeling of total absorption, where I forget I’m sitting on the couch and playing Metal Gear Solid 3 for several hours straight. I enjoy the momentary flight to some place far away, whether it be a sci-fi world where I shoot aliens or something closer to home where I chase outlaws down on horseback. There’s something about that transportation that sinks its hooks into me and has never let go since I was a kid.

So what about you guys? What is it about games that you love, and that keeps you gaming? When did you first start? Go!

GamerSushi Asks: HD Remakes?

Metal Gear Solid 3

If there’s anything that the HD console generation has brought us, it’s the tantalizing promise of HD remakes of some of our old favorites. Inspired by this new (and hopefully spreading) trend, GamesRadar put together a wish list of 13 Playstation 2 HD remakes. I have to say, just thinking about that kind of thing gets my engines going. As one of the best consoles we’ve had, the idea of seeing Jak and Daxter, Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid restored and remastered for HD would be more than a bit incredible.

Ideally, we could spread that around a little bit to older developers and consoles, but that’s a bit more of a stretch than upgrading things from the PS2, no doubt. I’d love an HD Super Mario 64 (if Nintendo could get in on the HD game), as well as Link to the Past and some of the older Final Fantasy games. What would be on your wishlist for an HD remake? Go!

Source – GamesRadar

GamerSushi Asks: What Are Your “S” Games?

One of the things that the GamerSushi staff likes to debate in lengthy e-mail threads and occasionally on podcasts is the difference between an “A” rated game and an “S” rated game, based on the qualifications laid out in our grade chart. As some of you know, our review system underwent a major overhaul last year, where we tried to spread out our grades a little more. So often, review sites fail to distinguish between great games and classic games.

For me, an “S” game isn’t just a great “A” game that you love. It’s something a little more than that. One of my favorite games of this generation is Resident Evil 5, and I wouldn’t distinguish it with that remarkable rating because I feel like it lacks that intangible quality that stamps it as one of the greats.

Ideally, there are only a handful of games that reach that mark every generation. For this gen I would say Portal, Call of Duty 4 and Uncharted 2 easily fall into that category. I would also say Red Dead Redemption, but that’s another issue altogether. For last gen I would say Shadow of the Colossus and Metal Gear Solid 3 are the top two that come to mind, though there are definitely many others (side argument: did last gen have the most “S” games?).

Anyway, as we are taking another look at our review system as some new changes (hint: get excited) are in the works here at GamerSushi, I wanted to ask what you think gives a game that special something, that quality that makes it stand out from the pack. In addition, what games this generation would you give an “S” to, and can you remember any from last gen? Go!

Great Moments In Video Game Music: Metal Gear Solid 3 – Snake Eater

This one goes out to my loyal listeners Mitch and Eddy, who submitted this idea to me and after a few listens, I fell in love with it. This song plays during the opening credits of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and is very James Bond-ish, which I think works in its favor. The images that play during the movie are very cool, but I think the song works just by itself, which is the point of these posts: game music you can enjoy without having played the game. Enjoy and may the mullet be with you!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CbFAZ2ztlE[/youtube]

GamerSushi Asks: Best Sequel?

Metal Gear Solid 3Last night, I stayed up ludicrously late to beat Assassin’s Creed 2. It was one of those things where I knew I was closing in on the end of the game, and was willing to do whatever I had to in order to see the end. Fortunately for me, the game is a blast, and has easily become one of my favorites for this past year, if not one of my favorites of the generation.

Part of what is so fascinating about the game is that as a sequel, it is such a ludicrous improvement over the original it’s hard to even compare the two. The gameplay that was only hinted at in the first one seems fully realized here, and the story is way better to boot. I’d even recommend it to people that hated the first one, it’s such a great open world game in comparison.

When I really think about it, next to maybe Metal Gear Solid 3, it’s one of the best video game sequels I’ve ever played. Seriously. Maybe one of the greatest sequels ever made. Lots of games improve with new iterations, but there are some that occasionally take gigantic leaps over the predecessors in a way that’s hard to imagine. Metal Gear Solid 3 was one such game for me, because it blew MGS 2 out of the water completely. Uncharted 2 is a great sequel and game, but the first game was already good, where as the original Assassin’s Creed was just mediocre.

Anywho, all of that to ask you guys- what’s the best sequel to a game you’ve ever played? As good as AC2 is, I think MGS3 is still the king of all sequels. One of the greatest games of all time, hands down. What about you? Go!