Posts tagged Battlefield: Bad Company 2

The Backlog: Life During Boretime edition

There’s not much to say this week. Doug and Aaron are both on trips of varying intensity and length, and I’m once again at the helm. But I’m not jealous! There’s a quiet dignity to be found in staying at home, you know. And it saves money. Really, it’s the only reasonable way to live in these uncertain times.

Yep.

I mean, what kind of person would really want to go on a whirlwind tour of Asia for a whole month? Doug. Doug’s the guy. And, wow, big deal — the first weekend with amazing weather in the Pacific Northwest. “Hey everybody, we need to go party at the coast now!” That’s definitely what Aaron said when he left to go party at the coast with his totally awesome and probably quite attractive friends.

But no. I’m fine. I’m fine! Just, you know, read this thing and leave me to my unbridled joy.

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The Backlog: Backlog to the Future edition

Time for a mea culpa, guys. I was hoping to broadcast this backlog at its regularly scheduled time (“whenever on Friday, I guess”) but unfortunately ran into a snag where I was unable to use my computer. Something to do with driving through planned communities in Wilsonville in the middle of the night; I don’t know, let’s not dredge that episode up. Anyway, the short version is I invented a time-traveling DeLorean and traveled to the past to get the backlog posted on time.

Everything was going just fine — I survived an adventure in the wild west and I made Biff look like a total dweeb — but unfortunately, I ended up getting totally distracted by the same exact scenario and wound up just where I’d started. Except it was now Sunday.

Oh well. I guess I should be grateful; for a while there, I was kinda worried I’d end up creating a time paradox.

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The Backlog: Killer Bs edition

Lots of good things start with the letter “b”; Many games right now, for instance (Battlefield and Bayonetta being two of them). Other things start with that letter — like business school, bad tests, The Beatles…and also brains.

Wait, brains? It will make more sense in a moment! So, without further ado, here’s the log.

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The Backlog: (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bayonetta edition

Why am I so conflicted over BioShock 2? The original was great, brilliant even. And if 2K Marin’s sequel is half as good as the first, that would still make it better than all of the dust-collecting shovelware currently sitting on store shelves.

Nick doesn’t seem as wracked with indecision this week as yours truly, and I fully believe it when he predicts BioShock 2 will soon find a spot in his vast library of interactive software. However, Nick doesn’t know that upon purchasing the game he will be obligated to review it. Sorry, friend.

Doug takes this edition’s opportunity to educate us on the intricate differences between Pro Evo Soccer 2010 and FIFA 10, and it’s an extremely informative primer about a segment of gaming I’ve all but forgotten. I actually want to give soccer sims another shot after reading it. Truly, I do.

And for me, well, I’m in love with Bayonetta — the game, mind you. Though with her strength-based sex appeal and quotes such as: “Do I look like I’m a child person? Making children, on the other hand,” it’s easy to swoon over the ridiculous charm of the character and to even feel all right about it; hopefully without coming off as a chauvinist.

Also, apologies for the article headline. An Otis Redding track pack is coming to Rock Band next week, and I thought the titular pun was appropriately humorous. I was likely wrong.

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Our most anticipated games of early 2010

Editor’s note: While discussing topics for the most recent podcast, Nick and Aaron took some time to talk in detail about which games they felt might be worth paying attention to as their release dates draw near. Thanks to the bizarre magic of Google Wave, our collaboration ended up turning into a full-fledged article. We hope this list serves as a helpful guide and gives you some ideas of what to look forward to.

The heroes from just a few of the major releases coming in the next few months: Sam Fisher (Splinter Cell: Conviction), Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII) and Shepard (Mass Effect 2).

The heroes from just a few of the major releases coming in the next few months: Sam Fisher (Splinter Cell: Conviction), Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII) and Shepard (Mass Effect 2).

After building this list from a shorter one we borrowed unceremoniously from Kotaku, we weighed the evidence presented to us so far and drew up our own shortlists of essential titles, as well as a handful of potentially great purchases.

You’ll find our own lists, along with our justifications, after the break. And if we ignored a great game or missed one completely, please let us know. Thanks!

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The Backlog: Pre-Tryptophan Tidings of Gamedom edition

Turkeytime

The Holidays approach. For some that means quality time with family members not seen for a year — maybe more. Others, well…can I get a “what what” if at some point during your life you hid away in the midst of celebrations to finish Earthbound (or, insert other game reference here). However, my adult years have made me more personable when it comes to the holidays; I’m now infinitely more interested in the going-ons of my kin.

Still, I won’t lie that this year I’d prefer to mow down more of Left 4 Dead 2’s cajunized zombies with a giant plate of delicious turkey and fixins on my lap. I’m thankful for me.

We’re back on track for backlogs, and this week is mega-sized to make up for our absence. To summarize: Nick informs us he essentially played everything ever released this month, Doug gushes about his beloved Forza 3 between study sessions, and I write about why two wonderful November-born titles should be played on the PC.

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The Backlog: Pre-PAX lovefest

The funk of 40,000 nerds awaits Nick at this year's Penny Arcade Expo.

The funk of 40,000 nerds awaits Nick at this year's Penny Arcade Expo. Expect the show floor to look much like this, a scene from the exhibit hall at the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo.

Here we are. The beginning of a three-day holiday weekend, the first day of the Penny Arcade Expo up in Seattle, and time for another week’s worth of gaming recounted in our Backlog. It’s been the calm ahead of the storm here, with Nick preparing for a feast of gaming at PAX, Aaron enjoying some comfort gaming, and Doug preparing to dig into some modern classics.

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