Hindsight

Unfortunately, no Achievements for this one: I finished the single player campaign on Call of Duty 4, for PS3.

Some background: I’ve not finished any previous Call of Duty games and I got into just two hours of Call of Duty 2 when it debuted for the 360. Having to jump into the shoes of different characters didn’t stick well with me, and I lost interest fast. With COD4, however, I was compelled to keep playing. After three visits to my friend’s PS3, I completed the single player mode.

The decision to depart from the saturated WWII genre was definitely needed, and the blockbuster, Hollywood moments throughout the campaign are fantastic (the title theme is composed by Harry Gregson-Williams for that ultimate cinematic touch).

I didn’t get a chance to try multiplayer on the PS3 version but did participate in the multiplayer beta over Xbox Live. I do recall an excellent ranking and challenge system which I’d like to revisit if I get my hands on the 360 version.

COD has always been about frantic firefights and COD4 just raises the chaos bar even higher. I’m used to shooters that happened to be “quieter” or central to the player. It’s jarring at first then much more immersive after the initial shock. Ridiculous amounts of gunfire, explosions and yelling in deserts, marshes, forests and mountains. The game just takes you everwhere.

It’s definitely worth checking out, especially if you love multiplayer - all of my friends are on it while I sit around with DiRT, Halo 3 and Mass Effect. It’s an amazing month for gamers.

I previously wrote about my Toshiba laptop’s hard drive. Last weekend, I was using my laptop when the display gave way to nothing. A black screen, followed by the formation of a nice white cloud, like this:

It’s time has definitely come and I’m selling the laptop on eBay.

You’d be surprised to see lots of broken electronics being sold on eBay, but it makes sense: tech savvy individuals who can repair the stuff can either use it or simply resell it on eBay or elsewhere. It’s a win-win situation really.

No, I’m not related to Kratos.

I don’t own a PS3, but Kevin does. A few weekends ago I finally finished Heavenly Sword. Also considered “God of War 2.5″ to me, Heavenly Sword builds upon the combat system that God of War brought to PS2 gamers. Once you get it, kicking ass with Nariko (the game’s protagonist) is rather fun.

The game is short… well, for those with a lot of time. It can be finished in about 6 hours or so. But what a great 6 hours… It’s got a fairly decent story, fun gameplay and excellent, poignant cinematics. I would like to wager that the cutscenes in the game rival that of Metal Gear Solid’s - the execution is solid. The soundtrack to the game is also catchy - as I played the game, I told Kevin, “this sounds a lot like… oh it is by him!” (maestro Nitin Sawhney). I’d really like to know if they will release a soundtrack on iTunes or elsewhere… I’d certainly pick it up.

Jade Raymond. Producer, Assassin’s Creed.

Quite a few people at work are on the hypewagon known as “Assassin’s Creed“. I’m not sure what all the business is about, but Jade Raymond might have something to do with male gamers on a subconscious level. I only tried a good ten minutes of the game (i.e. a tutorial), so I can’t speak about the game just yet.

Instead, I’m waiting for Mass Effect next week. I like shooter/hybrid RPGS (see Deus Ex) and science fiction. It might be a decent fit…