The Beatles: Rock Band

While my Guitar gently clacks.

Source // PlayStation

I'm going to come right out and say it. I'm not playing The Beatles: Rock Band.

I'm not going to hunt down plastic instruments and multiple USB microphones - I don't even know how they'd all connect to the PlayStation 3 anyway. I'm not going to welcome people into my home to join me in clacking and bashing those instruments or wailing into those microphones. I'm just not going to do it.

(Insert record scratch here)

But part of me wants to.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

"Yeah, good luck, Pal. That's almost impossible to- Oh, you did it."

Source // PlayStation

Two things are true with regards to this post: you really should have played Uncharted 2: Among Thieves by now, and no, I couldn't tell you which spectacular set pieces are in this one rather than in the other games of the series.

Yes, my memories of Uncharted are a little hazy, but I blame that on the fact that all of them are worthy of your time, taking you on adventures across the world, through myth, and mystery, and the exciting life in general of modern-day explorer/treasure hunter/thief Nathan Drake.

Pistols at the ready, wise-cracks and wit sharpened to a point... we've got some adventuring to do.

Skate 2

Blaow!

Source // PlayStation

Do you know the reason why so many folks have been trying to get EA to do Skate 4? Skate 2.

You'd think it'd be because of the Skate series in general, but after Skate 3 took things a little too far, and then absolutely nothing interesting happened in the world of skateboarding video games for the next decade, players wanted a return to the kind of sports game that was a breath of fresh air, refined a little.

That's a long way of saying Skate was great, but Skate 2 was the bee's knees, the dog's danglies, the shit, so to speak.

The Flickit system was back and better than ev- oh, I'm sorry. Let's introduce the Flickit system for those of you who only know of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater...

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout...

Source // MobyGames

A long, long time ago, in the arcades of the early 1980s, was a puzzler by the name of Qix. You had to draw lines to create boxes, sectioning off the screen from the enemies buzzing about and ruining your chances of filling up your level quota. Carve out 75% of the play area and the level is yours. Rinse and repeat as enemies moved faster and there were more of them.

It was addictive, it was tricky, but it was ultimately short lived. But what if it was given a complete makeover? What if it could be thematic, rather than abstract? What if it could have a story, a point to doing it all?

Strictly speaking, Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor isn't Qix remade, but it's a good place to start thinking about it.

The Sims 3

Reddage!

Source // Steam

My history with The Sims series has been minimal at best. The Sims has never grabbed my attention. I've never seen the point in playing it, I don't know what the fuss is about, but do enjoy your digital dolls house without me, I'm fine over here, thanks.

It wasn't until playing The Sims 2 for this 1001 list the way it was meant to be played - as a joke - that I started to get an idea of why people spend hours and hours in this absurd life simulation. But even then, I know for sure I didn't pass the hour mark and would bet I barely got to 30 minutes before calling it quits.

So how will The Sims 3 fare? I know how it's meant to be played now: with absolutely no semblance of sense or purpose. The playground is ready and waiting... and so is the rest of the neighbourhood.

Sin & Punishment: Successor to the Skies

"There's no escape from the Nebulox."

Back on the Nintendo 64, there was an on-rails shooter by the name of Sin and Punishment that was incredibly weird but playable, despite being a Japanese-only release. The only reason I know of it is because of this 1001 list, and my conclusions after playing it were along the lines of "well, that's was fun, I guess, but I don't really need more, do I?"

Apparently, damnit, we do need more, because it has a sequel on the Nintendo Wii, Sin & Punishment: Successor to the Skies, or your regional subtitle equivalent.

Last time out, mostly because it was all in Japanese, I had to hit the Internet to learn just what on Earth was going on. This time out... well, I've got to do the same.

Resident Evil 5

"More and more I find myself wondering if it's all worth fighting for. Maybe one day, I'll find out."

An awful lot of games can trace back some of their DNA to Resident Evil 4, the third-person, over-the-shoulder survival horror that managed to merge the old with the new. Despite not quite liking how it feels to play and still stumbling to get to grips with it, I can see how it shines to many people.

But how do you follow RE4? Do you lean into that new control scheme, even if it means pushing the gameplay towards the action genre, potentially bringing you a new audience, but perhaps irking some of your old fans? Do you play it safe and stick with what works, tweaking what needs tweaking to keep everything up to date?

Resident Evil 5 had some big footsteps to follow, and from what I can tell, for every player that thought it succeeded, there's another player who thought it didn't. Maybe they should buddy up and work things out together in the scorching heat of a bio-terrorized Africa.

Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid

Keep rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling.

Source // Apple

The iPhone, iPod Touch, and later iPad did absolute wonders not just for mobile gaming, but for new ways of playing games using accelerometers and touchpads. While you could thoroughly enjoy playing LocoRoco on the PlayStation Portable, nudging shoulder buttons to rotate the planet you're playing on just isn't the same as rotating an entire device to solve a puzzle involving similarly circular childlike blobs in Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid.

The Kingdom of Rolando has been infected by the Kilgorean Flu, and only the Golden Orchid can save the day. Enter Sir Richard and his skilled underlings, and you, some sort of overlord that manipulates the world around them so that they can platform their way to success.

Have you got what it takes to help Rolando out?

Rhythm Heaven

How many times will I mistype Rhythym?

I'm not terribly in sync if this 1001 list is any indication. There have been many different must-play rhythm games for me to practice with, some I like, some I hate, and pretty much none that I'm skilled enough to get anywhere with.

And so Rhythm Heaven sounds like it's going to be a challenge, but as its 1001 write up mentions, it's done by the same folks as the later WarioWare titles, and the accompanying screenshot looks like it's welcoming enough for fools like me, so I am feeling quite positive about it.

How long will that positivity last? At least it looks more interesting than Guitar Hero.

EyePet

What is that thing?

Source // PlayStation

I definitely remember thinking "wouldn't it be cool if every other footballer in this game was actually controlled by a human somewhere else in the world" when I was younger, and clearly before I knew what the Internet was. We're not there yet with 22-player online football, so far as I know, but the point is that in the future, technology could lead us anywhere.

But never did I think that "one day I'm going own some kind of augmented reality digital pet". Technology can't do pets, can it? Tamagotchi's aren't pets. Furby's aren't pets. They're both a pain in the arse, whereas a pet is a companion.

Other folks - smarter folks than me - thought otherwise, and with camera tracking and motion controls, something like EyePet could finally be unleashed upon living room floors the world over.

Should it have been is a question we're about to find out.