Games: Lego Batman
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BATMAN!!
Man, I love Batman. Pretty much all Batman stuff is awesome, right? Well, the less said about “Batman & Robin” (with Mr Freeze) and the awful Halle Berry “Catwoman” films, the better.
But even Adam West’s camp crusader was charming. The modern Christian Bale incarnation is awesome, but the cheesey films with Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer will always hold a special place in my heart.
And I think this is one of the main reasons Lego Batman won me over so much – it’s a cheese fest! You get to play a whole host of characters, including the adorable Harley Quinn and the infamous “Mr Freeze”. Look out for the cringe-worthy Man-bat and Killer Moth, too. And of course, you get to be the Caped Crusader himself, or, if you’re so inclined, his bumbling sidekick, Robin.
Every character has their pros and cons – my personal favourite is to play Poison Ivy, but the Joker is good fun too.
I got VERY sucked into the Batman world – lots of things to smash up (in order to collect “studs”, “mini-kit” and Power Blocks, which all unlock extra goodies in the game) and plenty of little puzzles to solve.
Certain parts of the game are off-limits the first time you play through, but once you have unlocked “free play” in a chapter, you can switch between characters at your leisure, therefore making previously unobtainable goodies accessible (e.g. if something was too high up for Batman to get, then use Poison Ivy – she can double-jump).
The game is not without its faults – lots of things to fall off, which gets frustrating rather than just challenging, and I got “stuck” several times. Also, the two-player mode is not perfect – when you go in opposite directions, you can only go so far, because the game does not go split screen. So be prepared to argue about who is in charge – but then, I suppose that’s why they call it co-op.
All in all, a fine romp. Ben and his sister tell me that it’s the lest fun of the Lego games, which bodes well for the others – because I love it.
Games: House of the Dead: Overkill
I have a special relationship with this game – when I was still going out with the ex, his best friend was helping to develop this game. So imagine my glee when the opening credits rolled, and the first name that popped up for Headstrong Games was Dave Bliss, aka the ex’s friend. I was probably too excited by this, but how often do you get to point at the screen and say “I used to get drunk with that guy! He called me “Striddles”! I crocheted a panda for him!”
I haven’t seen Dave since I broke up with the ex over two years ago now (nor have I seen the ex, or in fact ANY of his friends – I’m fairly sure they don’t really want to see me). But I did send him a little “hello, bought your game and thought of you, hope you’re well” type message, and he was sweet enough to reply. Very strange feeling, but nice to know everyone is well.
But enough reminiscing – House of the Dead is, as to be expected, a bit of a cheese fest. It is very much like the old arcade game you probably played in your early teens – it’s a rail shooter, where your character has a predetermined path, and you can point and shoot at zombies in your way.
It’s cheesey, retro loveliness is one of the things that makes Overkill so. Much. Fun. You essentially get to blast the crap out of an assortment of nasties, whilst enjoying the scenery.
Definitely best to play this game with a mate – Ben and I were slumped on the sofa & armchair like proper gamers, and not really paying attention to our scores. Also, Wii = perfect for shooting games. Point and blast!
The story is not of any particular consequence, but it follows Detective Washington (who swears an awful motherf’in’ lot) and Agent G (who likes country & Western music) as they try to get to the bottom of a zombie/mutant outbreak.
Plenty of horribleness all in all – but that’s half the joy of it. Good shootin’ to you.
