I think I'm still having fun...

...But I do seem to be hijacking a lot of tanks in Prototype.

Prototype

Prototype is pretty cool. While it doesn't feel as fluid as Crackdown and it's very reminiscent of its spiritual predecessor, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Prototype still has a lot of good stuff to offer. The gameplay is nicely varied, the atmosphere is suitably gritty, and the story is vaguely intriguing so far (I'm about 1/3rd through)... It has managed to hold my attention.

Moving along...

Bioshock 2 got better toward the end; mostly because the characters developed at a quicker pace and the plot advanced accordingly. I was a little disappointed that a few things were hinted at but not explored at any real depth (e.g. your character's origins), and I ended-up in the same position I found myself at the end of the first game; overstocked and overpowered, ignoring 75% of my inventory, and rarely feeling particularly challenged. A very satisfying game overall, I'm still in love with the setting, though the scenario could use a bit of work. The first Bioshock is a must-play; the second one isn't quite as awesome.

So now I'm on to Prototype...

Bioshock 2 is unnecessary

I'm about half-way through Bioshock 2, and I'm feeling pretty bored and apathetic. It's like the first game, but less interesting because we've done it all before. There're new characters that I don't care about (except when I wonder why they're still in Rapture some ten years after it went to shit), new gameplay aspects that I don't enjoy (defend things against waves of idiots), and some pretty serious pacing issues (the story hasn't progressed in some time; just sayin')... Essentially, I feel like I'm grinding through something very pretty that I've already finished. It's an engaging and satisfying game, but it's just not doing anything special.

Prototype and F.E.A.R. 2 are up next.

Sudden Savant?

I accidentally finished Arkham Asylum. I sat down to put in an hour or so, and ended-up ploughing through to the end before I knew it. I dig the Bioshock-esque atmosphere and I love the character presentations, but I felt the story was a little rushed; a little too convenient at times... Fantastic concept though. Similarly, the voice-actors, while top-notch, were occasionally left to struggle with some pretty awfully clichéd lines. The final battle was just ridiculous and disappointing, but it's still a killer game, worth every penny spent on it and every minute spent with it, right on par with Assassin's Creed II... But I think I had more fun with Brütal Legend last year.

Within two days of spending some quality time with Street Fighter IV, I was able to finish the game on the hardest difficulty setting without using any continues... So I fired-up Super Street Fighter II Turbo to see if I'd somehow become a Street Fighter savant. I had not; SSF2T kicked my ass in short order.

Anyway, I bought a complete copy of Alien vs Predator for Jaguar (needed the box and overlays) and Street Fighter Alpha Anthology for PS2 (only way to get SFA2 Gold), and I'm back into NHL 07 on PSP in a big way thanks to AronVad's new (and very impressive) roster update over at the GameFAQs forum.

Anticipation

I've been playing Batman: Arkham Asylum and Street Fighter IV on the new PC, and they're both pretty amazing, despite both being out for quite a while now.

While Arkham Asylum is gorgeous, fluid, and just downright impressive, it's all a little overwhelming; I'm 20% in and just feeling a little lost... I'm sure it'll coalesce as the narrative progresses.

Street Fighter IV made sense right away, but now that I've taken the time to learn its new mechanics (so I'm not playing it like SSF2T anymore), I'm a lot more comfortable competing against other people. I've unlocked every character but Seth, and while Ken's still my go-to guy, I'm really liking Abel and I'm curious to see how Makoto (my other SF3 character) shapes-up when SSF4 is released.

Oh, and my FireWire Solo causes my USB controller to stop working when waking from sleep mode on the new PC :(