So, What Did I Play This Bank Holiday?

This past Monday was a bank holiday here in the UK, so naturally I took the opportunity to secure some downtime with my games consoles (after a three-hour lie-in, Pop Tarts and coffee and three episodes of Dragon's Den). So, what did I play?

First of All, I Got Out My PS2!

Yes, that's right folks- after two or three years of old-console-induced exile, my PlayStation 2 (as pictured above, not the pretty little Slim model) has returned to my room- right next to my PlayStation 3.

Why, you ask? So I can finish (or actually start) some of my remaining PS2 games- which brings me to the first game I played this past Bank Holiday Monday...

Canis Canem Edit (PS2)

Released in 2006, Canis Canem Edit (known as Bully in North America, later re-released as Bully: Scholarship Edition on Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 in 2008) is basically Grand Theft Auto in school, as I keep telling anyone who I try to explain the game's concept to.

You play as fifteen-year-old ginger hard nut Jimmy Hopkins, who is dumped at the notorious Bullworth Academy after being kicked out of every other school you've ever been to. You're a target as the new kid and, surrounded by Townies, Greasers, Jocks and Geeks, you must fight your way to the top of the school, by any means necessary.

Wayne Rooney makes a cameo appearance as- oh wait sorry, that's just the 15-year-old protagonist, Jimmy Jopkins. Huh.

The original title of Bully suggests that, well, you're probably gonna be doing some actual bullying somewhere along the line- which is the non-lethal equivalent of going on murderous rampages in GTA. Stuffing fat kids into bins, dealing out wedgies and Chinese burns and raiding the girls' dorms are among your teenage torment tactics.

You'll get up to general mischief, with an arsenal of juvenile weapons at your disposal, including stink bombs, marbles and your trusty slingshot, as you progress through each mission in order to achieve the eventual goal. The story is pretty strong, there is a lot to do in terms of skill building, side quests and general exploration, and is genuinely a whole lot of fun. Canis Canem Edit/Bully was late to the party on the PS2, but is a true gem and one of the best and most fun games I've ever played.

FIFA 2011 (PS3)

I know, I know, damned FIFA again. Not much to say really though- won fifth place in the Premier League with Coventry City and got them into the Europa League. I'm so done with this game it's not even funny... and yet I can't stop playing it.

Pokemon White (DS)

After a brief hiatus, it seems I am back into Pokemon- a passion reignited by nerding off about it with my mates on Sunday (this kinda thing happens to me all the time). I've picked up where I left off, trying to capture the remaining of the "Seven Sages" who are at large after you complete the main story of the game. Naturally I had no clue where they were, so I consulted GameFAQs for assistance.

I also journeyed to Relic Castle and captured the Fire/Bug moth Pokemon known as Volcarona, which I may actually use since I lack a decent Fire type.

... That's a freaking big moth. The girlfriend will love it.

The Sims Social (Facebook)

I've gotta be straight with you here- I don't much like Facebook games. In fact, I've often thought that the innermost circle of hell is probably reserved for Facebook game developers. I also don't really like The Sims. Sure, I loved it when it first came out in 2002, and I played it a lot. But then it got too complicated for my liking.

So, I'm actually disgusted with myself that I've been playing- I've all games- The Sims Social.

I thought this was the greatest April Fools joke ever- until I realised it was August. And that everyone on my Facebook was playing it.

Persuaded into getting it by my girlfriend, I reluctantly gave it a shot- and then kept giving it a shot, until I realised that I'd spent like two hours playing it.

In all fairness, for a Facebook adaption of one of the most popular PC games in history, it's pretty good, and I can see why people would like it- it's easy to get into, it's very accessible, and you don't have to have played any The Sims game before in order to grasp its concept. Quite simply, you're you, in a virtual world, on your Facebook. It's a great little game to play in the background at home that you can come back to every now and then, and it is a bit addictive.

However, it does have it's problems. First of all, there's this new mechanic called "Energy", whereby you have a number of Energy points, and most of the actions your Sim carries out in the game cost a certain amount of Energy points- and once you've spent them, you have to wait in a real time X amount of minutes for them to replenish (sure, you can acquire them via other means but that's by the by). Fortunately I've only had to wait like five minutes thus far, but I have a feeling it might get worse as the game goes on for my Sim.

My second and biggest grievance with this game is with the SimCash that you can get in the game- and these are not the same as Simoleons, the usual Sim currency also in the game- this is unique to Social, sometimes required to buy certain items. You start with something like fifteen of them, and once they are gone, there's a catch to getting them back.

You can either sign up to loads of promotional offers, surveys or spammy Facebook apps or, worse yet, spent actual money on more SimCash! (This reminded me a lot of that soulless, money-grabbing time sink known as Spiral Knights which I have discussed here previously). I might do one or two of the less-demanding promotional bits and fill out the odd survey, but there's no way I am signing up to a full LoveFilm subscription in order to get more virtual currency. Forget that.

So, that's what I played this past Monday. Stayed tuned because my copy of Portal 2 has arrived, and I'm just about to play it now at the time of writing this, so I may be back with my first impressions next week.