Well, we’re two thirds of the way through what’s been quite a crazy summer for the 4cr staff. This month, the fast pace of life and sweltering heat joined forces to try and bring us down, but we still managed to make some time for games. Read on to find out what we were playing in July, and make sure you let us know what kept you busy, too.

Jody:

I have been playing Suikoden V on PS2. The Suikoden series is the greatest series of RPGs ever, and part 5 does not disappoint. One of my top PS2 games, for sure. Aside from that I have been playing LocoRoco on PSP. Best game on PSP, hands down. Everything about it is wonderful. The graphics, the music, the gameplay, the difficulty…it’s fantastic. If you own a PSP and do not own LocoRoco stop what you’re doing right now and go buy it.

The only Nintendo game I have been playing recently is Yoshi’s Island DS which is fantastic as well. Suikoden V has been my main focus though. Screw you, Gizel Godwin!

Drew:

This month I spent a lot of time on the road, in waiting rooms, the BMV, etc…so I’m catching up on old DS favs like Starfox, Brain Age, and Hotel Dusk. On the Wii front I’m still having a blast playing SSX Blur.

What I’ve played most, though, is the Flash game Flow. I’ve been at the office a lot working like a dog and have needed a distraction from time to time. A game like Flow is just what the doctor ordered. Highly addictive. Careful how you click…you might not be able to stop.

Also, Wii Play. I picked it up just to get another controller. I played it once…doubt I’ll play it again unless I have company over.

Edgar:

I didn’t play anything new this month. On the PC side, I’ve been playing a lot of Guild Wars, and I played through Mystical Ninja, Gunstar Heroes and Golden Axe II on the Virtual Console.

Mario Strikers is coming out soon, and that should consume my gaming time for the next month… till Metroid Prime 3: Corruption on August 27th.

Greg:

I’ve recently picked up Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition. Despite having bought and played through it on the GameCube, I’m enjoying it even more this time through. The Wii controls work really well. The game still looks great, and it’s even nicer in widescreen. I’ve also been playing through Excite Truck. It’s fantastic, full of excite and truck. On the Xbox 360, I’ve been loving the Ace Combat 6 demo. One of my friends picked up the 360 version of Guitar Hero 2, so I’ve been racking up achievement points in it.

On the handheld side of things, I started into Age of Empires, which is fantastic. It’s down to $15 now, so you have no excuse not to check it out if you’re at all into strategy games. And as always, I’ve also been putting a fair amount of time into Tetris DS.

Kevin:

July was a month of music festivities. Instead of acquiring new games for my home consoles, I contented myself by playing lots and lots of music & rhythm games. I played Guitar Hero II with friends again and again and again. I might be checking out the ‘Encore: Rocks the 80’s’ expansion next month. When I wasn’t rocking out, I played some Resident Evil 4 (must get me some Chicago Typewriter guns~!) and Mario Party 8 with friends and booze. Gotta love that game.

On the portable side, I’ve been going back to Rhythm Tengoku every now and then. The game’s replayability is through the roof. I can’t stress just how much the game is worth importing. It’s my Tetris of music games :D

Another import title worth looking into this month is the recently released Taiko no Tatsujin DS (a.k.a. Taiko Drum Master DS). I’ve been having a blast playing it in the last few days. Recommended++.

Vinnk:

I’ve been playing a lot of Dragon Quest Swords. Despite being partly on rails, it is a really fun game. Swinging the “sword” around is a lot more gratifying than pressing the “a” button. It is also a pretty nice looking title. When the English version is released, I recommend it for all of you.

Still playing Excite Truck. It is close to becoming my most played game ever.

I’ve also been playing through the Metal Slug games again (as I do every year or so). The Metal Slug Anthology is a great deal if any of you don’t already have it. I still prefer to play the games on my Neo Geo, but for the price of one Metal Slug AES cart, you could buy a Wii and the anthology.

Rumas:

It was a month of Excite Truck for me. Vinnk got me into it, and I spent July absolutely addicted. So addicted, in fact, that even with my busy work schedule, I was able to reach 100% completion in about two and a half weeks. What an awesome game.

Beyond that, I’ve really gotten back into ElectroPlankton. I hold the ‘game’ to be a true masterpiece, and I don’t think I’ll ever tire of it. Game or not, it’s got a permanent place in my all-time top five. It’s the perfect thing to play just before sleeping.

Finally, I’m still putting quite a bit of time into Wii Play, which I love, and Sonic and the Secret Rings, which should have been given six more months of development time. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so utterly frustrated with a game as I do with Sonic — the core gameplay ideas are fantastic and the graphics are great, but the presentation is quite possibly the worst I’ve ever seen in my life. The confusing menus, the load times, the glitchy controls, and the awful cutscenes make it almost a chore to play at times. Total missed opportunity. Still, I see the potential, so I hope the team is given another chance to make it work.

Now all I can think about is getting Mario Strikers and Metroid. It’s gonna be a fun month :)