I have decided that I want to feature NOTHING this week. Call it a protest vote, whatever. When the most noteworthy game is based on a movie that many are anticipating to be thoroughly mediocre (James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game by James Cameron based on the movie James Cameron’s Avatar by James Cameron), I’ve decided that it’s better to just rickroll you and move on to my gaming thoughts for the week.

I downloaded Madden NFL Arcade and Braid this week off the PSN Store. Madden NFL Arcade is much closer to what I can deal with in a football game. It’s still no NFL Blitz (which I’m thinking for licensing reasons will never come out as a classic title), but it’s quite fun and at a more appropriate price point for what it is. It’s simple, fun to play, and doesn’t require a lot of time invested. Gamebreakers (powerups) have the potential to be maddening (see what I did there?), especially that score flip-flop one, but they can be turned off if they really annoy you, though they do add some charm and strategy to things.

As for Braid, I get the hype now. It’s well done, but bloody HARD. I didn’t anticipate having to think this much about this kind of game, but that’s not a bad thing. Manipulating time itself is another dimension I haven’t ever had to consider a lot in previous games, so it’s a breath of fresh air, if not a little frustrating at times. And yes, I have had to resort to GameFaqs or videos on a couple of occasions, because I haven’t figured out all the ways you can move your little dude around. It’s amazing when you consider that the game was done by such a small team of people.

Greg brought Borderlands over on Saturday and we played a few hours of co-op. The game is pretty good, and I enjoyed my time with it. Co-op definitely helped, though it probably reinforced that I likely won’t be putting this game on my must-play list. It really isn’t that big an RPG (though the elements are certainly there), so it’s more about shooting. I don’t know, maybe it was because I let Greg dictate the play because he knew where to go, but I didn’t really get what was going on sometimes. But I appreciate the trophy boosting and co-operative aspect. I would give the game a solid rating if I was reviewing it, but it’s not a must-buy, but that’s more a reflection of the kind of game I’m more into.

BTW, in a somewhat spooky event, Greg and our friend Striker played a quick game of Madden NFL Arcade before we left for the Bills game Sunday morning. The Madden game saw the Bills beat the Dolphins 33-19. The real game saw the Bills beat the Dolphins 31-14, not that far off, which none of us saw coming. We listened to the post-game show on a local Buffalo radio station, and the hosts were laying into the Bills for scoring the late TD instead of kneeling down and running out the clock. Maybe interim coach Perry Fewell thought he was playing Madden NFL Arcade rules and thought he had to score 30 to win.