Back to Basics - Game of the Week Restarted

Looking back on previous posts, I'm always struck by how much I like my Game of the Week posts. I never really got a long ways into a game, but it gave me some much needed focus in an otherwise fuzzy gaming picture. I also liked the growing collection of save games I made on my private memory card - each is like a pre-Achievments kind of award. So, I have decided to try it again.

To kick off this refresh, I've decided to pick two games for the same week. (This might become a new way of running GotW. As long as one of them isn't a big RPG, I could see advantages to having two different styles of games to switch between instead of getting stuck on just one.) The two games are both ones I've played on other platforms to varying degrees of success (ie, not much). They are Hitman 2 and TimeSplitters 2 for the PS2. (That's a lot of 2's.) I tried Hitman 2 on both the XBox (ugly graphics) and the Cube (better graphics but cumbersome controls) and am looking forward to a better experience on the PS2. TimeSplitters 2 has been an arch nemisis of mine for years. My goal on that one is to get through the first level, just the first level, mind you (!), on...wait for it...NORMAL DIFFICULTY! While I applaud Free Radical (may they rest in pieces) on having the ingenuity to make a game where an Easy mode gives you an abridged version of a level, it's always left me with the feeling that I need to work harder to get though the whole thing. I'm hoping the PS2, with it's better controller, will allow me to reach my goal.

Let the games begin.

Update #1: Got some hands-on time with TimeSplitters 2 last night (or early this morning, depending on how you look at it). I played though the first two episodes on Easy (of course), to get a feel for the way the PS2 version worked. Playing this gem had me thinking of two things. First, "old gen" is still just fine, and second, I'm still not as accurate in an FPS with a gamepad as I'd like to be. I need a steadying brace for my thumbs, damnit! Oh, well, it will have to do, as they say.

Update #2: To keep this short, I'm just going to add to this post for this week as I didn't get as much time in on TS2 and Hitman 2 as I wanted (ok, none on Hitman 2). I did get some time over the weekend on Tomb Raider Underworld for the 360. Nice graphics, but nothing that couldn't have been done on last gen (ie, my gen) hardware. Larger environments with less "fog" and better fire effects.