Ice Cavern Studios

Ok, so last week I was bemoaning the sudden influx of games coming up. And I know I was slightly worried about the high concentration of RPG’s. Well, things have changed. Some of the games have dropped off the radar, but new ones have sprung up. I figured I’d give some kind of update for the gamers who read this:

Currently Playing
• Contact - I’m seriously enjoyig this RPG. If you have a DS and don’t have this game, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s a really good RPG. It’s a bit quirky, but I think it’s great. I’m totally hooked.
• Lumines - This is my new casual game de jur. This game almost had me being a PSP, but it wasn’t enough to buy the system. Thankfully, it came to the arcade, and I love it. Very very fun.
• Touch Detective – I’m slowly getting into this game. It’s what I pop in my DS when I want a small break from Contact. I’m still just getting into it, but the game is growing on me.

On Deck
• Children of Mana - An action/RPG from Square in a series that I already love? Oh yeah. It also doesn’t hurt that my office mate is into it and we’re nearing completion of our project. It’s pre-ordered, I’m picking it up on the way home.
• Final Fantasy 12 – This was one that I was going to skip. I didn’t play 10 and figured I’d be ok. But now that I own a PS2, I have no excuse. As my buddy Kratville put it:
  

  Kratville: well, whatever, I’m just saying, piss off the girlfriend or not, you are NOT missing out on FFXII
  Me: you won’t stand for such a thing
  Kratville: fuck no I won’t
  I mean, there is a rather finite number of things which fall into that category
  (1) watching the Super Bowl
  (2) eating a lot of food on Thanksgiving
  (3) playing every game that is a true iteration of the FF series

  So yeah, I’m picking this up along with Children of Mana.

In The Hole
• Gears of War - A game from MS that is going to be awesome. A friend of mine on the Zune team has already played it and said it was awesome. I trust his opinion on such things. I’m psyched.
• Final Fantasy 3 – This game has never been released in the states before. It’s coming out for the DS and it looks friggen awesome. So yeah, another RPG for the DS. As I said before, I’m going to be playing games on Planes, Trains, and Automobiles for a while.
• Elite Beat Agents - An American release of Ouendan. I’m going to be on this like a fat kid on a cupcake.
• The Wii and Games – I should be getting it from Amazon at the end of November. This is another one I’m looking forward to. Although, if I dont’ get it soon after launch, I won’t be destroyed for the reasons above. Plus Kratville is getting one.

Riding the Pine
• Dead Rising - This is a good game, and I like it a bunch. But it leaves me so drained after playing it that I have to leave it and come back. Unfortunatly, I last left it and kept playing other games. I’m going to get back to this, but for now, it just isn’t a huge priority.
• Enchanted Arms - I’m over half way through and just haven’t been able to get back into it. I’ll probably get back to finishing it once I’ve completed a bunch of other games. Maybe.
• Megaman ZX - So I’m basically done with this game. I need to find the last level and beat it. Which shouldn’t take too much time, but it’s not very story driven (it’s a Megaman game) and so I basically know how it ends. I’ll probably finish it when I have a serious platforming jones. Till then, it’s just not going to get the playing time that a lot of upcoming games will be. Consider it the Bernie Williams of my DS lineup.

The Bullpen (Not everyday games, but still get good attention)
• 99 Nights – It’s mindless and fun to play. A lot of people didn’t like this game but I got into it. So much that I basically tore through it in about a week. I come back when I just need to stop thinking. Think of it as the anti-Lumines.
• NCAA 2007 Football - This is the serious middle reliever of my game lineup. I can use it for quick games with friends to unwind by myself. At the same time, I can rock this game for a couple of hours playing back to back games. Dan and I have made this game last whole nights. It’s really good. I also see this one getting me through the college football offseason.
• Mario Kart DS - This game is fun. I picked this up to play in the car going to Chuck and Rebecca’s wedding and I still just break it out. It’s a great game, and I definitely see myself playing this a lot with friends over the internet. Plus it’s Mario Kart. How can you hate it?

Wow…that’s a lot. Yeah, I’m definitely a gamer.

Nintendo DS, Playstation 2, RPGs, Video Games, XBox 360