Holiday Blockbusters

I decided to upgrade the blog list on the right and switched it to the widget so you can see the posts. So please feel free to stop by friends of mine and see what they think of whatever the hell is going on.

So Laura fought a harrowing journey to get to Chicago on last Friday. The major storm that swept over the mid west and headed east did not do us a lot of good. Being a tough and smart cookie, she was able still make it and only be about an hour off her original flight. Being super awesome, Laura snagged up Banjo-Kazooie : Nuts and Bolts for us to play. I got to tell y'all : this is game is bonafide holiday blockbuster. Now what exactly does that mean? Well I feel that true holiday games are the ones that can keep you coming back but are easy to still step away from or even better, allow you to include others. N&B is not a co-op game but the sheer comedy that can come from watching people put vehicles together then test em is pretty good. Last year, Guitar Hero 3 was definetly the holiday blockbuster. Just about everyone that I spent time with was captivated by it and found themselves coming back to get some more. So far I feel that way with N&B. The game does not have a gripping story (in fact it like to make fun of itself for this) or nerve-wracking gameplay that you feel exhausted (mentally of course) afterwards. Instead it has this laid-back nature that just encourages you to have fun while at the same time providing enough direction and motivation to keep you playing.

I just realized I should probably explain what this game is all about. N&B is essentially a platformer game but with a vehicle twist. In the game, you will find several challenges (which reward you with tokens that you need to unlock more challenges, etc) that will require you to use a vehicle. Now this is where the game's awesomeness comes in. You build the vehicles. A simple to use editor allows you to take parts you've collected and construct all kinds of vehicles. Initally these are simple but the game will pull you along by giving you a new piece here or there that will make your eyes pop just thinking of possiblities. So in the beggining, you will make fairly simple land vehicles but very soon you will get wings, propellers, hoverpads and even springs. So its perfecty reasonable to build a glider with no propulsion but springs to launch it up into the air and then glide down. Its pretty mind-blowing how you can live out kid fantasies just messing around with the vehicles. My personal goal: make a truck with a breakway helicopter in it...and apparently this can be done!

From what I've been hearing from Raj, this game has even more amazing components that come later on. From what little I've done so far, I'm very much into the game. Its providing a nice relaxer to games like L4D, WoW, and RA3. Just simple and goofy. Now if only we were playing this during Thanksgiving in front of my nephew....instead of all those shooters.