After a very productive May, June was slower on the games front. We took two little trips during the month (yay, vacation!) and while I did play games during that time, it was mainly just party and multiplayer stuff, which doesn't do much for my backlog.
Games Beaten
-Dead Space (360)
Dead Space is a very action-oriented horror game. That probably rubs some people the wrong way but I think the game strikes a nice balance. There is rarely a shortage of ammo but the necromorphs create a nice challenge, particularly when in groups. The story keeps things moving with always another thing to do. The oppressive, tense atmosphere on the Ishimura is great and the game still looks pretty good. The sound design is especially impressive. Headphones will really keep you on your toes. Since I've played this one and Extraction, I know that the horror aspect of the series has already peaked, but I still look forward to playing the other games.
Games Bought
"Bought" is definitely a misleading term for this month. Yes, we did buy a number of games while on vacation—House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return and MadWorld for the Wii; Frequency, Mark of Kri, and Rise of Kasai for the PS2; Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box for the DS (my first Layton game); The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse and Super Mario All-Stars/Super Mario World for the SNES; and Colony Wars: Vengeance for the PS1. That's plenty as it is but there were other random pick-ups, mostly when something was a deal, like getting a new copy of Pac-Pix (DS) for $5 and a new copy of Anarchy Reigns (360) for $6 and TWO copies of LEGO Batman 2 for the 3DS (so that my wife and I can both play) for $11. And we bought Cloudberry Kingdom while it was on sale on the Wii U eShop. My wife also got Street Fighter II Turbo (SNES), another nostalgic game for her. At the very beginning of the month we picked up Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) and that has got a lot of play time already. And for buying that we got a free download of Wii Party U.
Hmm, that seems like more games than I thought when I type them all out together. But it was vacation! The other thing is that while visiting my parents' house I picked up my old SNES and Genesis games. It's too many to list here but you can look at my backloggery memory card if you're interested. A few highlights are FFII (which I've never actually beaten), FFIII, Chrono Trigger, Super Castlevania IV, Contra: Hard Corps, and Gunstar Heroes. Good stuff! It's great having a Super Nintendo again 
Oh! I nearly forgot the PlayStation Plus games! Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (PS3/Vita), PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate (Vita), Terraria (Vita), and Trine 2: Complete Story (PS4).
Now Playing
-Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
-Pirate Code (Mac)
Finishing some side quests before the final story mission.
-Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP)
I think I'll be playing this game on the side for a long time.
-Cloudberry Kingdom (Wii U)
I wasn't sure what to expect from this game but it's really fun. It's just straight platforming goodness. And it's co-op!
Dead-space will not scare everyone. Blake and I discussed it and he wasn't afraid at all whereas I shat bricks several times playing both DS1 and DS2. 
I sort of want to get DS3 to finish the story but everyone says it's the least "horror-esque entry" and that worries me a bit. But hell,nothing wrong with a straight up 3rd person shooter so long as it is really good,aye?
The jump scares got me quite a few times during the game, which my wife found endlessly amusing. The atmosphere of the game really sets those up well, especially if you're wearing headphones like I was. I'm looking forward to DS3 because my wife and I can play it co-op. We played Extraction together, she watched me play this, and is playing on watching the next one. Then we'll be all set to go on finishing the story together, even if it isn't scary
I gotta play Dead Space sometime. One of the writers on it was Anthony Johnston who I follow in the comic world with his Wasteland, Umbral and FUSE series.
That's cool. He did a good job with the story here. Did he write the Dead Space comics?
yea, his page lists all his work. I didn't know he wrote Zombie U and Binary Domain as well.
Hmm, interesting. I wonder why he didn't write Dead Space 2 and 3.
I love Street Fighter II Turbo.
I haven't played it enough to say if I do or not but fighting games were never really my thing. But it is fun to jump in there and mash buttons lol.
That's what I used to do as well, but that game actually has simple enough combo commands to make it more about strategy. Unless some asshole uses Blanka and his electric attack.
The SNES is my favorite game console.
Probably mine too.
I like the first two deadspaces very much
I'm looking forward to playing the second one
There were so many versions of Street Fighter 2 that it's ridiculous. I remember renting Super Street Fighter 2 The New Challengers. It was a 32 MB cart! That's nothing now, but back then it was a big deal. It looks like you got some of the best games on SNES. Chrono Trigger is my favorite RPG ever. (followed closely by Final Fantasy 6)
There are a lot of version of Street Fighter IV now but SFII still easily takes the cake. I can never remember the order they came out in lol. And I'd give the RPG nod to FFVI with CT right behind, so the flip of yours
Dead Space was fun...but that cannon section gave me trouble my first playthrough
I hated the cannon part! I kept almost making it and then dying. So frustrating! There's an achievement for finishing that part with 50% or more health. I don't know how people do that.
I hear you. I ended up putting it down and not trying again until a few years ago.
I had a supremely busy June. I am amazed that I was even able to finish my third playthrough of The New Order and my initial playthrough of Shovel Knight.
Dead Space was great. 2 was plenty of fun, eventhough it did pull an Aliens compared to the first game.
I'm looking forward to playing the other Dead Space games...and The New Order...and Shovel Knight...
Isn't it lovely to have all your retro consoles back under the same roof?
enjoy in some retro goodness!
I'm still missing an NES and N64. actually, but I'm not going to complain. I've missed this 16-bit goodness!