Rochard (PSN)

I picked up Rochard based on this review. And I haven't been disappointed at all. Also, when family walked by and asked what I was playing, I got to say that it was a game where you're sort of a "space trucker." Think Lonestar and Barf from Spaceballs flying around in their space Winnebago and you pretty much have the opening scene.

Once you actually get down to it, it's a sidescrolling platformer with physics-based puzzles. Really fun ones.

Deus Ex update

I've still been playing Deus Ex off and on. Mostly off. I can't seem to find time or motivation to play this one. Although I'm starting to get comfortable enough with it that it's clicking. I'm having a much more enjoyable time on "Tell me a story" difficulty setting (Easy). This makes it so I still need to sneak around, but if I mess up and someone sees me, I can probably get my way out of the ensuing firefight without dying.

Some other things that I've noticed: It can be very "video-gamey" since you can sort of see the programming in the AI. I can get X distance away from a guard before he'll hear me.They have almost no peripheral vision.You can be almost 90 degrees from them and they won't notice. They also don't notice doors that have mysteriously opened or closed when they weren't looking. All of this aside, I like the ambient music and sense of tension when you may be caught at any time.

I made it past my first boss battle, which I've heard a lot of people complaining about. I gameFaq-ed my way through it and don't feel bad about that at all. Especially since the entire rest of the game nudges you toward stealth and these boss battles are the opposite of that.