What I've Been Playing

So, as I'm sure many (if not all) of us bloggers here at Zombie Outbreak are, I'm a huge video game fan. I was rocking a Sega Mega Drive when I was six, and these days it's all about the PS3, as well as the occasional, somewhat adulterous fling with the little white number known as the Wii (he says this stroking his PS3 lovingly and assuring it that it is actually a proper console, unlike it's Nintendo opposite). And so, I thought I would share the games I've been playing recently; I implore you to give 'em a go- or, for those of an addictive nature, avoid at least three of them like the plague.

(There will be pictures in this post; I'm just getting to grips with embedding the images and getting the sizes right, so bear with me...)

Killzone 3

If you want a good shoot 'em up that isn't some mindless, uninspired, hideously overrated Middle East-or-Russia-versus-UN-war-based dirge (I'm looking at you, Call of Duty), then play Killzone 3. The graphics are awesome, the weapons are rewarding to use and the maps are varied and pretty to look at. The gameplay is your standard fare shoot-em-up but it does it well, and although it comes with its own control scheme, the player is free to choose an alternative which is more like the meat-and-potatoes layout most shooters employ today. The storyline is decent, although it does all boil down to "here's this race of bitter, brainwashed intergalactic fascists hell-bent on ending the opposition and occupying it's planet".

There is the arbitrary online multiplayer- which is very good- and also, more surprisingly, a split-screen local co-op mode (this is how I have been playing the game through, with my girlfriend in fact). And finally, slitting someone's throat from behind or jamming your thumbs into their eyeballs until they ooze blood has never been so fun.

Minecraft

So, if you use the internet and you haven't heard of Minecraft, you're probably still using Internet Explorer 6 and still find GIF animations of dancing, 3D-rendered babies both astounding and amusing. Minecraft is the construction sandbox game taking the web by storm with it's intentionally lacklustre- yet geekily charming- graphics and it's penchant for taking over a person's life. It hasn't managed to grab me that way, but that's probably because I have almost no imagination and am the sort who think that creating an underground tunnel from A to B is a massive feat. But eh, the game's still fun (unless you get killed and lose all of your stuff- in which case you're likely to just stop playing it for three months like I did...).

FIFA 11

I shamelessly admit that I have been fighting an addiction to a football game- and losing. Since purchasing this game in September I have poured so much time into it, particularly managing a team through seasons after a taste of cup of league glory. Seriously though, I am a football fan, and this is the best football simulation game I've ever played. Although perhaps a bit too realistic at times, if you're into football and you want to play a football game, then this is the one for you; all the licensed teams and leagues that you could expect/want are in there, it's brilliant to look at and fun to play.

Besides, my addiction has worn off considerably because of the fourth and final game in this post...

Pokemon White

I swore that I would not buy this game, yet sheer peer pressure and an awakening love of this franchise tipped me over the edge and led me to purchasing the White version.

It stays true to the tried and test formula, and while not innovating as much as it could have perhaps, it is still good, solid, fun gameplay, with updated and more 3D graphics to boot. I'll be honest, some of the new Pokemon blow, a lot, but there are times where you will be saying to yourself either "woah, that's awesome" or "wow, I want that".

I have had the game six days and, given I have a full-time job, I have already sunk nineteen-and-a-half hours into it (four badges and about 50 Pokemon in the new Pokedex). I really am past the point of caring what anyone thinks, however, because I love the Pokemon games and this is no exception.