Well it’s been relatively quiet here at the ‘bag lately, partly due to Rock Band, partly due to us planning for holiday next week. But that has not stopped me gaming, so here’s a breakdown of whats kept me (in)sane for the last few weeks.

Ninja Gaiden 2 (Xbox 360)

I never played Ninja Gaiden Black on the original Xbox, it just didn’t seem like the kind of game I would enjoy, and I originally felt much the same about Ninja Gaiden 2. Yeah it looked slick with all the limb chopping and decapitation, but as my father always says ‘you can’t polish a turd’. But then I played Ninja Gaiden: Dragons Sword for the DS, and loved it, so when the demo for NG2 was released earlier this week I downloaded it just to see what the fuss was about, and I was astonished. Apart from the stunning graphics and gratuitous amount of blood, the gameplay is smooth and the control system beautifully simple. The sticking point for most will be the difficulty. It is brutally tough, even on the easiest difficulty setting (of four!) I am having my ass handed to me regularly, and some of the later bosses are just ridiculous! But that doesn’t bother me, in fact I’m relishing the challenge compared to a lot of newer games that seem far too easy… I would seriously recommend everybody download the demo and check this game out for themselves! Truly Epic!

Rock Band (Xbox 360)

I really cannot think of enough superlatives to describe Rock Band, my favorite 360 game to date? Probably (sorry Dead Rising!). It’s the depth of the game that amazes me though, the fact you have 3 single player careers, each with 4 difficulties, plus the multiplayer band career to complete, and with the mountain of DLC available, you can easily have well over 100 songs to choose from. On a slightly funnier note, Xbox live doesn’t like the name of our band, Team Teabag, and won’t allow it on live, but my second band, Autofelacio, they are fine with… Go figure?

Call of Duty 4 (Xbox 360)

I’ve now been stuck at the same point in the single player campaign for about a month now… At the end of the penultimate level, where you are racing against the countdown to enter the missile abort codes, on veteran difficulty. It’s only the second major problem I’ve had on veteran (and it is the first time I’ve played it through), the other being the part where you have to protect yourself and the crippled chap while waiting for the evac chopper to arrive, and I refuse to give up! And that’s all I’m going to say on this game now, as I’m sure everybody knows about this game by now, and if not, what rock have you been hiding under?

Other TTB Posts Like This One

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• This Week In Rock Band: Night Ranger Smell Like Teen Spirit Edition
• This Week in Rock Band: Sgt. Pepper, Dave Grohl & AFI Walk Like Egyptians Edition
• Video Friday: ‘I Ain’t Afraid Of No Ghosts’ Edition