Between some very fun client work, my wedding, and the "mini moon" I haven't been doing too much gaming lately. Hence not much in the way of blogging about gaming.
I don't have much time to write tonight, but here's a list of things I would like to write about when I get a chance:
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The ubiquitous Plants vs. Zombies. Short review: It lives up to its incredible hype. Mucho enjoyment and I've still got lots of game play left (I've been playing it mostly on long plane flights). Great learn-as-you-play; the motif and art direction is entertaining enough to keep me motivated during some of the less-challenging mid game (which was probably plenty challenging enough for non RTS gamers); and there's a ton of fun unlockable content that allows you to "play your mood" (e.g., I want challenge I try one mode; I want pleasant time wasting I try a different mode).
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Educational games at the Monterey Aquarium. I didn't play much of these (or watch kids play them too much) but it's worth thinking a bit more about how teaching/academics approach game development.
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The And Yet It Moves demo. Like Braid, it's a lot more hard core than you'd think but also contains some fun "eureka" moments. Unlike Braid, there are some usability quirks with the control scheme that merit further examination. Most specifically: Why do I always (always) rotate the camera the opposite direction I intend to. Always.
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I've also got to update my "games to play" list. I'm sitting on a couple of Gamefly games, there are a ton of demos, and I'm just way, way, way behind on my gaming. Perhaps more frustratingly, I haven't been looking ahead and am having a tough time answering folks who ask me "what are you looking forward to playing?" It's hard for me to keep saying Call of Duty 4 when World at War has already been out for months. Sigh.
One more week of travel, then E3 the following week. Then, I swear, I'm going to just dedicate a week to playing games.