Summer Games in General

Summer is a good time to play games, usually. Schools let out, people take their vacations, and for the most part it may be either too hot, too frustrating, or maybe you're even too tired to even do some outdoor activities. I always recommend them, but as good as they can make you feel and help your body and health, sometimes you just need some action.

Sadly, summer is often not the time for too many video game releases. Usually we are given the releases that accompany movies or games that have been pushed back so long that now we're just not sure if they'll be good with all the time taken to delay them, though we always hope that time will polish the games and make them better, past results and let downs have shown that waiting sometimes gives us that "oh crap" sigh that escapes our lips while a bad purchase runs off with our hard-earned money.

There are a few games that I'm reviewing now, and while I still plan to put the whole reviews down and let you in on all I've found, good, bad and otherwise, I just thought that for now, I'd list some games and summize why they're worth the time, and as always, you can rent to try them first, since everyone has different tastes!

Ghostbusters (Playstation 3) While short, the multiplayer aspect of this game is great and fun with lots of variety for you to do, and a good way to enjoy time with friends. I have found, though, that it does help if you have seen the movies (or at least the first one, I didn't hate the second movie, but liked it less, though the game has some great tie-ins with both movies and makes them both enjoyable. Basically, if you have seen the movies and liked the great one-liners and overall funny/spooky cross it had, the game could be for you. The full review is coming very soon.

City of Heroes (PC and Mac too now I believe): I have been aching to review this game, as I play it a LOT when I can and am just about to dive into Paragon City again after this post. If you can simply try it without purchasing the game (I'm not sure if that is possible, but NCSoft tends to be very good at being consumer friendly) you can definately try it out for one month free, which should be plenty of time to fall in love with this MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game for the few of you that don't know, but hey, we all learn something new every day). It's simplistic yet oddly in-depth game mechanics and cross of fighting computer enemies or even other players gets very fun. If you like to role play, then it's even better for you, though if you don't, there are plenty of others that don't do it either and use it as a fun way to get through some time. I'll be fully talking about this one soon, since it is a very good game, and an established one at that.

Downloadable games in general! Anyone that reads my blog probably has figured out that I'm a Playstation 3 kind of person. I don't dislike the other systems, it's just my particular choice. If I had the money and time, I'd own em all! They all have something that makes me just cringe that I can't play this or that game on them, but I'm very happy with my choice. Also, downloadable add-ons and games are often great ways to find amazing fun that will keep you entertained for long periods of time and can be well worth getting through either your points or dollars depending on the system you use. The ones I recommend are currently through the Playstation Network (obviously), and are: Flower for it's relaxing and beautiful use of fun and simple controls to make a world come to life and bring me into it. Zen Pinball for really bringing back some good old style pinball with a very modern feel and great online setup to challenge others and see who is doing what while you play or between matches. Finally, Super Stardust HD (the complete pack) since it really provides an old "space shooter" feel with the graphics you'll hardly believe combined with a pretty good soundtrack that can be perfect...since you can make it yourself!

I hope these help ya beat the heat and/or just relax after that trip to the wild to camp for the 4th of July weekend and will be posting more and more games soon. I'm a Daddy first, Husband second, and somewhere not too terribly far down I try to be a gamer and someone that tries to pass on some good info to others. As usual, feel free to post games you think beat the heat and we can look into them. If I don't own the system I can always look them up and tell you what others think, or just rent it and try it out myself.

Not sure? Rent it first!