Wiitopia | PlayStation 3

Artificial Intelligencer

• A special technology supplement to The Mattopia Times •

PlayStation 3: Random Thoughts

Batman: Arkham City

Yeah. Um. I still have a loooong way to go before I complete Batman: Arkham Asylum, but I couldn't resist going for the highly-rated follow-up, Arkham City, when it appeared as a Black Friday Lightning Deal on Amazon. Only $28. And I managed to snag one! I'm looking forward to tinkering with it. But... Gosh. Take a look at my brief notes below about Arkham Asylum. That was written... hmmm... almost two years ago? Seriously? Yikes.

Yep. I'm still at 3% complete on that one.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Grade 10/10

I finally gave into the temptation and picked up Batman during a post-holiday sale (and with a gift card). Wow! This one's superb; it's really impressed me as a game and as a PS3 experience.

Having managed to unlock the PS3 Home Batcave (thanks to a little help from the Web), that bonus item has, in turn, introduced me to the extravagance of PS3 Home, a system feature I had left untouched until this incentive came along.

As for the game itself, it's on par with that "game changing" experience I had with RE4 on Wii. The fluidity of the action, the investigative mode, the gadgets and upgrades, the characters... It really is an opportunity to live in Batman's world.

I thought I was on cruise control, taking on challenges, downing opponents, and navigating through the asylum as if I was back in my old stomping grounds. After a few hours of playtime though, I've come to find out I've completed only 3% of the game!

Resident Evil 5

Grade 9/10

Several months after street date, I can say I'm pleased with how things are going so far. I just completed Chaper 1-2!

RE4 was a revolutionary gaming experience, a must-get-home-to-play kind of obssession that's rare. Thankfully, RE5 has many of the same play mechanisms as its immediate predecessor and it's great to hear some of the familiar sound effects and graphic elements, such as picking up coins and herbs.

But it's all been ramped up with superb graphics, fantastic surround sound and very impressive, cinematic cut scenes.

UPDATE 10 Oct. 2010: I've now completed a whopping 5%. That doesn't sound like much, but I can say I'm still thrilled by Resident Evil's gameplay and challenges. I picked up a Move motion controller, which is compatible with the RE5 Gold Edition, and it's made the play mechanics even more fluid. Looking forward to unlocking the extra content one of these years and getting into that mansion.

Metal Gear Solid 4

Grade: TBD

The Wii and PS3 lured me back into the home game systems last year. After many years being out of the loop, I hadn't even heard of the MGS series until the hype started building for MGS4. In a nutshell, having only scratched the surface of the game, this is truly a cutting-edge masterpiece. This isn't a simple "game," it's quite an experience and it completely justifies my decision to go the PS3 route for entry into the Blu-ray platform.

Stay tuned.

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures

Grade: 9/10

Absolutely hilarious. As a huge Indy fan, this one is a delight to play.

While the main adventure is fairly short, there's loads of replay value in finding all the free play treasures and seeing what happens back at Barnett College.

Uhhh...

Once again, stay tuned.