Games I can't get out of my head

Since the last post I've spent some time with Saints Row 2, Scribblenauts, Red Faction: Guerrilla, and finally finished Shadow Complex. Reverse that order for my favorites. But lets start with SR2. I can't avoid the inevitable comparisons to Grand Theft Auto on this one. My favorite parts of GTA4 were the story and the world, both of which are just sort of mediocre on SR2. I got my fill of ridiculous gangsta fantasy though. This game doesn't take itself very seiously, which makes it fun. But I kept finding myself more drawn to the other games I mentioned, so it got sent back after a bit.

Scribblenauts is pretty neat. It's probably best when you can share your crazy solutions to the puzzles with other people playing it too. That's been my favorite part, anyway. This is a game you need to play around other people to have fun getting ridiculous ideas from them. Or at least compare notes with another player later. In fact, I think I'll play some when I'm done writing this.

Red Faction: Guerrilla didn't make that big of a splash but a few bloggers I follow really liked it, so I gave it a try. I'm really enjoying running around destroying stuff in a world straight out of a great Mars Sci Fi book. It's gritty, it's barren, and it's wonderful. I'm leaning more towards the 'destruction targets' rather than the 3rd person combat or other missions though. You've gotta love a game where your main weapon is a sledgehammer and you're encouraged to destroy everything you come across.

Finally, Shadow Complex is one of those rare games that I'm gonna keep coming back to. There's always more to collect or a new goal to shoot for. It certainly helps that just moving around in the world is at the same time effortless, familiar and enjoyable.