The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2

First off nice to see no stupid subtitle on a sequel.

Overall I enjoyed it. It wasn't as innovative as the first one. I suppose fairly obviously. There's a new story but it tries to retread most of the sick elements of the first one without doing it all quite as well. That's not to say it's not fun to play cos it is. It took me a while to get to grips with the mechanics but when it all comes together the Wii controls add a bit of fun in the slaying.. until halfway through when it switches to a lot more gun based combat. It's an ok shooter when you've got time but it's can be hard to pull of headshots cos the slightest twitch of the Wii-mote before pulling the trigger will mean you miss the crucial one hit kill and cranium explosion. It can get hard to take on multiple enemies too. There's some fun missions and it does mix it up between stalking in the dark silently killing too all out shooting and there's a nice mixture of weapons too play with. The story does enough to keep you interested. There where a couple of difficulty spikes and it's very annoying when you have to restart and watch an un-skippable cutscene before you can get back into it. It's a solid game.

First Look: Manhunt 2

It's been a while since I played Manhunt and although I got a long way in I never finished it.. It got brutally difficult and of course Rockstar hate checkpoints.

The first thing you notice about Manhunt 2 (apart from the completely useless manual) is that graphically it looks almost exactly the same.. The art style evokes the first game perfectly. The second thing you'll notice is that they've made the characters huge. Which I don't think is the best thing for a stealth based game as it limits your awareness. Combine this with a lack of being able to move the camera and your almost entirely limited to the radar.. It's a lot less instinctive than the first game.

Of course the next thing you're made aware of is the gruesome 'stealth kills'. Again it's similar to the first game, Pick an item such as a piece of broken glass, sneak up on an enemy and then press the 'attack' button for as long as you dare to perfrom a kill. The longer you hold the button the more brutal the attack. Things are complicated on the Wii by then having to perform a series of moves with both the Nunchuck and Wii to do the actual kill (you simply watched an animation in the first game). All well and good but get it wrong and you alert the enemy and your soon over powered. Get it right and the actual kill gets soaked in a blood red filter so you can't really see anyway. It feels more brutal but it's a less rewarding mechanism both gameplay wise and visually. You need to know that the risk of the kill is going to be rewarded by one less guard.. Not a potential restart.

Checkpoints are (so far anyway) frequent but it seems impossible to skip cut scenes.. Annoying when you're trying something for the fifth or sixth time. So far a mixed bag..

Credit Crunching!

And it had all been going so well.. One used copy of Just Cause, one used copy of Saints Row. A total of just over £16 spent...

Went to HMV today (I thought I might be able too pick up a second hand copy of either Resi 5 or Killzone 2) when I spied Manhunt 2 for £14 in the Wii second hand pile! I'm not expecting much from it but I really enjoyed the first game and so I thought I'd have bash...

Only to discover a brand new copy in the sale for £10.. Now I'm not a man to spend an extra £4 on principal. Besides I think a tenner for a new game is in keeping with the spirit of the challenge if not the actual rules.