Dare to Play the Game

Netflix on the Wii, Drugs & Guitar Hero: Metallica & Call of Duty Dogs vs Nintendogs - Welcome to the column that think this is the gateway drug to Benny Hill episodes & Jerry Springer reruns known as Dare to Play the Game.

I mentioned last week that I didn’t think I was actually going to complete Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection. My defining sentence is that honestly I don’t think I’m going to get the achievement for Mean Bean Machine. I was wrong. I got three achievements this week. First I got enough Photons in Vectorman and then I found my way through the first episode in Comix Zone (which is actually a fun game if you can figure out the best way to tackle each room). Last but not least, I found my way to defeating Robotnik in Mean Bean Machine with a very well placed triple combo. Yatta, indeed!

Sony Are Their Own Bosses, Stranglehold without Chow-Yun Fat & Capcom hates complaining - Welcome to the column that thought they were in the charge of their own destiny until they met Miss Dare to Play the Game known as Dare to Play the Game.

My gaming this week has consisted solely of beating the crap out of Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis collection for 360. If you remember, I was at about 360 achievement points last week. This week? 710. I beat my own estimates (600) and exceeded them. In fact, out of the 34 achievements available, I only have 7 left to achieve. What is still giving me trouble you ask?

Extinction of Xbox 360 Elite, Van Halen Hero & Is there anybody left who can break EA’s NFL Monopoly - Welcome to the column that is considering releasing Gaming Column Hero where you write bad jokes, deliver second hand news and post pictures of hot women known as Dare to Play the Game.

My gaming week was taken up by Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection for my 360. Even after my review was posted on Thursday, I spent most of the weekend exploring every sort of Genesis game I wanted to try out. However, the difference this time was that I was starting to get achievements. There were of course the easy style achievements like the ones in the Golden Axe series but then I also started to get some of the harder achievements like Columns (where the achievement title is very misleading). I have amassed 360 achievement points so far and while that may not seem a lot, it is a giant improvement from last week.

Nintendo does not compete with cell phones, EA did not make Hits in ‘08 & Midway wants to sell off Mortal Kombat - Welcome to the column that does intend to play something besides Lego Star Wars in the near future known as Dare to Play the Game.

So, I did say I was going to be done with Lego Star Wars last week. Well I was right and I was wrong. I did finally put it away this week. However, I accumulated some of the more difficult achievements first. All the red bricks, check; max out stud counter, check; all the mini-kits, check; all the gold bricks (yes all 160 of them), check!! After a mass onslaught from the last column until Sunday I was getting every nook and cranny of the game. 820 achievement points. 4 miscellaneous achievements and in-famous 100% is all that is left.

Overpaid Severance, Everquest 2 Server Logs & Xbox Live Hackers on the Rise - Welcome to the column that promises to not knock anybody off-line unless they are on a 14.4k baud modem known as Dare to Play the Game.

This past weekend I finally beat Lego Star Wars Complete Saga for the Xbox 360. The game came to a satisfying conclusion and many achievements were gained. I found my way to 620 achievement points out of 1000. The most unexpected achievements were riding all the mounts and vehicles in the game as well as gaining access to all playable characters. It’s nice to get an achievement you weren’t even expecting. I really think I can get a few more achievements before I am said and done with the game.

Gamestop Shafting Employees, Guild Wars delay & the Final Roster for Legends of Wrestlemania - Welcome to the column that is the Santino Marella of the gaming community known as Dare to Play the Game.

My first full week back with my Xbox 360 has been an exercise in finishing up some old games. I now have every achievement in Fable II Pub Games with the exception of the locksmith achievement which is gained by unlocking all games. This will take sometime as Keystone is an exercise in torture. I am also halfway through the fifth episode in Lego Star Wars CS. I should finish the normal game portion by Sunday. The sad part of the debacle is I will probably only have half of the achievement points at this point. I could make a rant about why some games only give you such a small amount for beating the actual game but we don’t have that kinda time.

Red Dead Revolver Sequel, Splatterhouse yanked & People try harder against other people - Welcome to the column that now has a value menu, twice the terrible jokes and only half the content known as Dare to Play the Game.

On Monday, I received back my beloved Xbox 360. WOOHOO! *jump for joy* I unpacked it as quickly as I could and then proceeded to play Fable II Pub Games for about 15 minutes before I turned it off. Then I went off to my computer to play my turns on BRE. A freaking text war simulator. I need help. Seriously, I do plan to get back into my 360 but with several weeks of not having it at all, I got used to it not being there.

Hardcore Gamer Demographics, Standoff in Ohio Gamestop and the World of Goo in bankruptcy? - Welcome to the column that held a survey and determined that Morgan Webb should stop trying to be a Barbie doll and go back to her roots known as Dare to Play the Game.

On Thursday of this week, I received my coffin. On Friday, after packing the console securely, the Xbox 360 was sent back to Microsoft (their Mesquite, Tx location). Now come 2-3 of the hardest gaming weeks of my life. I’ve found things to occupy my time ranging from general household chores to pc games (like World of Warcraft) to PS2 games to just spending more time with the love of my life, Sarah. On Warcraft, I decided to finally take my rogue to the Outlands and leveled him to 61. I leveled my mage to 20, for some reason that was more entertaining. Maybe cause I got a whole new set of spells for my mage at 20 and simply got more of the same for my rogue at 61.

Guitar Hero: Metallica tracklist, Tax Break for Game Developers and the US Senate concerned about Microsoft layoffs - Welcome to the column that had to lay off all of their fact checkers to stay liquid (not that we had any fact checkers before) known as Dare to Play the Game.

It happened. Again. For the second time in roughly 2 ½ years, I got the fatal Xbox 360 blow. The Red Rings of Death. It had glitched a couple of times after the last column and got only worse up until Saturday where it decided to go kaput. I never did get to the five star rating for Fable II Pub Games or completing the 4th episode of Lego Star Wars even though I was clearly within spitting distance. I really miss my 360.

Nintendo has growth issues, Rockers who can't play RockBand and Circuit City is all gone - Welcome to the column that says it is responsible for 99% of the bad jokes against the Wii, Nintendo 64, and Portal known as Dare to Play the Game.

There were essentially three games that I played this week: Lego Star Wars CS, Fable II Pub Games, and RockBand 2. In Lego Star Wars, I played half-way through the 4th episode. I've noticed that the stages are a lot longer and you simply can't zoom through them as much as you would like. I am also up to 270 achievement points, about a 1/3rd of the points we have on Lego Batman (775) but we are slowly getting there. However, I am getting true jedi on every stage and for most, the red-brick. No stud multipliers though which is kinda depressing since I still have a few items in the extras menu, I don't want to waste the coinage on because I would rather spend it elsewhere. Fun game, though I still contend Lego Batman is a better made game. Star Wars just has that nostalgia factor going for it.