<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Grinding Down]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Paul]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/author/mylifecomics/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Adding to the Backlog – A whole bunch of drastically different&nbsp;videogames]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="2243" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/adding-to-the-backlog-%e2%80%93-a-whole-bunch-of-drastically-different-videogames/884261-mafia_20090124_015121/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/884261-mafia_20090124_015121.png" data-orig-size="1680,896" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="884261-mafia_20090124_015121" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/884261-mafia_20090124_015121.png?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/884261-mafia_20090124_015121.png?w=1024" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2243" title="884261-mafia_20090124_015121" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/884261-mafia_20090124_015121.png?w=500&#038;h=266" alt="" width="500" height="266" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/884261-mafia_20090124_015121.png?w=500&amp;h=266 500w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/884261-mafia_20090124_015121.png?w=998&amp;h=532 998w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/884261-mafia_20090124_015121.png?w=150&amp;h=80 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/884261-mafia_20090124_015121.png?w=300&amp;h=160 300w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/884261-mafia_20090124_015121.png?w=768&amp;h=410 768w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></p>
<p>Suddenly, without warning, my backlog grew tremendously over the last couple of weeks. Actually, no, not without warning&#8211;I&#8217;ve been buying games pretty frequently, mostly because I&#8217;m trying to fill out my PlayStation 2 games collection before all copies of <em>anything</em> PS2-related disappear like pay-phones, cassette tapes, and music videos on MTV. Also, Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger&#8217;s pride.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s a little summary of my recent additions:</p>
<h3>Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas</h3>
<p>I actually ended up buying a new copy of this game for around $15.00. This totally confused the GameStop employee as he claimed that he had not sold a new copy of a PlayStation game in many, many months. He had no idea where they kept them. He called three people on the phone. Time passed, and I shuffled back and forth on my feet, waiting, wondering. Anyways, I&#8217;ve yet to pop this baby into the disc tray. Soon, I&#8217;m sure.</p>
<h3>Mafia</h3>
<p>This is okay. Not quite a <strong>GTA</strong> clone, but there&#8217;s bits and pieces there, as well as a character named Pauly. However, I&#8217;m stuck on the third mission. Like, I&#8217;ve tried it six times, and I can&#8217;t get past it. You&#8217;re supposed to bash a bunch of cars up with a baseball bat and then ignite them in a blaze of glory with a molotov cocktail; the problem is that once you&#8217;ve smashed up two and a half cars, a bunch of goons with guns attack you, and within a few shots, the main character is dead. I&#8217;ve tried it a bunch of different ways, but can&#8217;t seem to avoid their shots and finish up the job at the same time.</p>
<h3>Wallace &amp; Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit</h3>
<p>Haven&#8217;t played it yet, but the store clerk was excited to see me getting this game. Seems to be more of a platformer than an adventure game, but I&#8217;ll give it a shot.</p>
<h3>Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue</h3>
<p><strong>Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, Sly</strong>&#8230;those were the staples of PS2 platforming titles. However, another series existed, one about a not-so-crazy Tasmanian tiger that kept a nifty collection of boomerangs. I have and enjoyed beating the first game in the series so I picked this one up for super cheap. Shame it has a laughingly bad name. Can&#8217;t wait to rescue some bush.</p>
<h3>The Simpsons: Road Rage</h3>
<p>Tara saw this and said something to the effect of, &#8220;The <strong>Grand Theft Auto</strong> Simpsons!&#8221; And she&#8217;s a huge fan of the show, much more than I am, so I grabbed it for her for $4.99. However, it turns out it&#8217;s more like <strong>Crazy Taxi</strong> than <strong>GTA</strong>, but it&#8217;s still pretty fun. Love that it has all the true voice actors in it. I got to be Ottoman and drive around a topless school bus.</p>
<h3>Tokobot Plus: Mysteries of the Karakuri</h3>
<p>No idea what this is, but the Capcom-esque art style and inclusion of a mini army of robots was enough to sell me. It was like $4.00. Haven&#8217;t gotten to try it yet.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>Now, if I just complete all six of these games in the next week, that&#8217;ll bring me up to 25 total for 2011, and then I can gleefully go out and purchase <strong>L.A. Noire</strong> for the extended holiday weekend. Ha, not likely. Besides, I&#8217;ve got a bunch of artsy projects I really should work on instead of playing with pixels. <a href="http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/pabba/playstation-2-games-i-should-get-sooner-than-later/46-58461/">However, I&#8217;ll still be searching for other PS2 titles I want</a>&#8230;if you have any, please send them to me as soon as possible, and I&#8217;ll repay you with a silly drawing. Seriously, that&#8217;s the deal. Unless you have <strong>Suikoden III</strong>. Then I&#8217;ll do you a silly drawing&#8230;<em>in my very own blood.</em></p>
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