Ben's Week In Review: June 21

Splinter Cell: Conviction

Yay, it's the longest day of the year! ...I have no idea why that's a good thing.

I LIKE Splinter Cell, all right?

Despite the fact that Ubisoft doesn't feel inclined to bring Splinter Cell: Conviction to the PlayStation 3, it's still a must-buy for me. I fell in love with the series when the original debuted back in 2002 on the Xbox and in fact, it was my favorite game of that year. Now, I know people will make the inevitable comparisons to Hideo Kojima's stellar Metal Gear Solid franchise, just because both are firmly cemented in the concept of stealth. However, I think we can all admit that MGS4 infused a bit more action than we're used to seeing in those titles, and every single SC game is almost entirely reliant on stealth. I really love this. I still think Chaos Theory is the best installment in the series; the most recent was Double Agent, and it threw a wrench into the works that didn't really engage me as much (I won't give it away if you still want to play it). The point is, I think we all know that MGS is king when it comes to storyline and character development; Kojima is a verified master and in all honesty, I doubt anyone plays Splinter Cell for the plot. No, it's about the authenticity and the gameplay...and I'm about to get ripped apart for this but I'm gonna say it anyway (I know, it's masochistic):

Up until MGS4, I always thought the SC games had far more fluid control schemes. I remember playing MGS3 and saying to myself, "so...I have to hold down how many buttons to fire my rifle?" SC just lent itself to more authenticity and yes, even realism. MGS has always been more fantasy-based in my eyes. However, all this being said, I'm not about to say SC is the better franchise. No way am I going to say that; I think you all know how much I love a great story, and for this very reason, MGS stands head-and-shoulders above SC. But for a great stealth experience, I say SC can't be missed.

PS3 Slim and a price cut at TGS...?

So the current rumor is that Sony will unveil the PS3 Slim at the Tokyo Game Show and as it's in September, it may be the perfect time for a price cut as well. We've been theorizing that Sony would issue the price drop in conjunction with a huge exclusive release, and earlier this year, we predicted that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves would usher in the much-anticipated price cut announcement. However, we didn't really think of the possibility that a drop in price might actually come with another cosmetic revamping of the machine. If they do release a slimmed-down version of the console - which seems entirely plausible, even if it doesn't happen this year - it might make perfect sense to make the consumers even happier. For my part, I'm wondering if they might issue a special 160GB Slim machine for the current price of the system, because I might actually partake... I've really come to the end of my 60GB hard drive, which means I don't want to erase what's on there, but it may be necessary to do so if I want to play/install more games. Wouldn't I be happy if a snazzy, slimmer PS3 came out with a bigger hard drive...?

Of course, I would have to assume that most people don't care about the "slimmer" part; they just want a price cut. Then again, I'm always surprised when consumers respond to little more than cosmetic overhauls...they seem to really gravitate towards things that don't matter in terms of functionality. So maybe Sony will use this to their advantage and issue the PS3 Slim without any price cut. Just a theory.

Personal gaming update

Beat inFamous today! I maxed out all my skills, found all the Dead Drops, maxed my Good/Hero meter, cleared 100% of all three islands, and even beat Kessler without dying. I figured the whole idea was just to dodge around non-stop until he's kneeling, and then let him have it. It wasn't exactly hard; just time-consuming. I'm also close to finding all the shards...I believe I only have 14 left to find, but that's something I may not do. I finished it and it's done, so it's time to move on. I loved the game, obviously. It's my second favorite game of 2009 thus far next to Killzone 2, and if I had the time, I'd definitely consider playing it through again so I can be crazy Evil. ;) But as of now, I started a new character in Top Spin 3 (sorry, it's tennis season and I see no Top Spin 4, so...), and I'll go back to FFVIII. I also want to finish LittleBigPlanet, and I plan to finally play Resident Evil 5, which is the only game this year I regret missing.

Not much else is happening. Ms. Courtney isn't talking to me (no idea why) and Ms. Amy is officially a few corn dogs shy of a picnic. You ever know someone and you figure the best way to explain that person is to say, "oh yeah, she's great...nice, cute, sometimes even sexy and adorable as hell...and she's a also a Fruit Loop"...? Ever have this happen? Well, anyway. I'm kinda sick of the drama and I'd just rather go back to playing games and taking it easy for a while. Heh.