Waddup peeps! Hopefully everyone has been doing good. Been really busy when it comes to gaming lately. So let's get this blog started.

Recently Completed:

Borderlands (PS3)

I'm not gonna front and act like I was hyped for Borderlands from the get-go. Initially, it looked like nothing more than a generic shooter thrown into a Max Max-styIe world to me. But then I ended up viewing IGN's awesome video for the game. It was a wrap from there. I had to purchase this game!

I've had so much fun playing the game with my friends that I'm eagerly anticipating the DLC and sequel. The game did have its flaws though. The vending machines that sell guns, shields, and grenades are pretty much useless. All the good stuff is found out in the wastelands. Killing enemies (and a lot of them) is how you are gonna find the best gear. Unfortunately, the randomization is a bit off (and I might be being too generous when I say that). 97% of the time, I found myself getting gear that was crap compared to what I was currently using. Also, the game could be quite glitchy online. Ranging from enemies, loot, vehicles, and/or even your friends becoming invisible to you (but enemies still being able to kill you nonetheless); headsets going completely haywire; and even missions not registering as being completed when you complete them with friends (but oddly enough, can get it to register as being complete if you turn it in during a single-player campaign). With all that said though, the game is still worth your time. The fun factor with friends makes up for all those flaws. The downside to that fun factor would be this though; the single-player campaign can be extremely boring once you play this game with a friend or a group of friends. So there's your warning.

Another warning. This game has a crap ending. The kind of ending that kinda pisses you off. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting the ending to be epic or anything close to that since there was basically no storyline in the game. But damn...Gearbox could have done better than that.

Rating: 8.5

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3)

Everybody who has known me for a while knows that I'm not a fan of FPSs. Unless they are developed by Infinity Ward. So me getting MW2 was a sure thing. The single-player campaign was short, just like it was in MW (took me about 6 hours). Though I don't mind that. Honestly, IW does enough with their single-player campaigns during those short hours in my opinion. It's fun, intense, and doesn't drag at any points. Frankly, I like that. The story wasn't better than the one in MW, but I still enjoyed it. Sure as hell had a lot more action sequences in it this time around though. Felt like I was playing a game produced by Michael Bay on a few occasions.

I plan on going back at some point to play the Spec Ops mode with some pals, but for now I'm gonna put MW2 on the shelf until I'm done with DA:O and ACII.

Rating: 9.5

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)

R&CF:ACiT is one hell of a way to send off a franchise. What is rumored to be the last game of the series was damn close to being the best in the series in my opinion. I enjoyed this game from beginning to end. It did everything that Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty didn't. Though Up Your Arsenal is still the best in the series, ACiT showed that even a series that has been around as long as R&C has can still be entertaining. Though I saw the ending coming a mile away once I got to a certain part of the game, it didn't stop it from having the same impact.

One thing that has always kept me coming back to R&C is the guns, humor, characters, and just all out fun. I find myself hoping that the series isn't over.

Rating: 9.0

On Deck:

Dragon Age: Origins (PS3)

This is sure to please Angel (KenshinGirl) and Glazkrak. I plan on starting this tonight. So expect impressions on DA:O in my next blog. I'm looking forward to playing it since I'm a BioWare groupie. Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect are among my favorite RPGs. So there was no way I wasn't picking up this Bioware title. We shall see how it goes.

So that's that. The end of another blog. This has certainly been an expensive holiday season for me when it comes to gaming and I still have to pick up ACII when I get paid this week. Add in the fact that my daughter's birthday is Saturday and that Christmas is around the corner...yeah, I'm gonna be broke.

What games have been keeping y'all busy lately? Do you think this is the best holiday season of all-time when it comes to gaming?

Well, I've recently been focused on my gaming. Beat 3 games in the past week. I'm quite proud of that accomplishment. But I still have about 20-something games that are unfinished/unplayed in my collection. That number is going to grow before the end of the year with Dragon Age: Origins, Modern Warfare 2, and possibly Assassin's Creed II.

Recently Completed:

Uncharted 2: Among Theives (PS3)

Game of the year. Most definitely. No doubt about it.

If you're into shooters, action games, and/or adventure games; there is absolutely no reason you shouldn't have U2:AT in your collection. The game is just great. The animation, the characters, the voice-acting, the presentation (production is through the roof!!!), the cinematography, the gameplay, and the story...it is the complete package. Just go get the game if you haven't already. NOW!!!

Rating: 9.5

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)

R&CF:ToD was a damn good game. But it wasn't as good as the PS2 installments. Mainly because the boss encounters weren't as challenging. The boss battles were quite easy, especially the final boss. Now I'll admit that could have been due to my weapons being high-leveled though. Nevertheless, it was worth my time and I had a good fun with it.

Rating: 8.5

Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty (PS3)

R&CF:QfB is good. But it changes up the typical R&C formula. There is no Clank and the usage of guns mostly takes a backseat to the platforming and puzzle-solving. Now I'm not really complaining about that since I don't mind platforming and puzzle-solving. But in my opinion, the appeal of the R&C franchise is its weapons. So it was a tad bit disappointing that they weren't the focus. In the end though, it was worth the price of admission. The game served its purpose: to bridge the gap between Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time.

Rating: 8.0

On Deck:

Eternal Sonata (PS3)

While I'm waiting for Borderlands and Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time to arrive, I figured I would go through Eternal Sonata. I already played and beat the 360 version. The game was good, but it felt like something was missing by time the credits were rolling. So I'll see if the PS3 version's additions will make it feel more complete.

Recent Purchases:

Borderlands (PS3)

Can't wait to play Borderlands! Not concerned with the single-player campaign really. It's the multiplayer co-op I'm looking forward to. I have fond memories of playing Modern Warfare with Anthony (amlabella) and Andy (Thingol4), Crackdown with Max (AzelKosMos) and Andy, and recently I had a riot with Max and Andy when playing Uncharted 2. Borderlands is gonna bring some memorable moments. I can feel it in me bones!!!

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)

The R&C series is quality. So I'm damn sure ACiT will be good. Looking forward to playing it so I can see how things get wrapped up.

Well, that's the end of another blog. Hopefully everyone has been doing good. Take care of yourselves. Later peeps!

I don't think I have ever been hyped about a game like I am for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was quite a surprise for me. First, I never had any plans of playing the game initially. With it mainly being a shooter (which is a genre that I'm not a fan of), I was willing to let it pass me by. But the more I saw on it, something told me that it might be worth my time. I wasn't disappointed...for the most part. Don't get me wrong. Uncharted was a damn good game. But I could have gone without all the Resident Evil business at the end. I still scored it an 8.5 nevertheless. With Uncharted 2 releasing Tuesday, my voyage on the hype train comes to an end and I finally get a chance to get my hands on what I'm expecting to be my Game of the Year (dethroning Batman: Arkham Asylum).

Now Playing:

Okami (PS2)

I'm about 20-something hours in on Okami and find it to be an enjoyable experience. Gameplay is fun, good sense of humor, interesting characters, satisfying soundtrack, and the graphics look good. Can't find anything to really complain about right now. Though I can say that a lock-on feature would have been helpful for some of the battles.

On Deck:

Uncharted 2: Among Theives (PS3)

Can't wait! Nothing more needs to be said.

Most Recent Disappointing News:

Alpha Protocol

Well, Alpha Protocol got pushed back til Spring 2010 (it was supposed to release on October 6th...OF THIS YEAR!!!). Breaks my heart really, especially since Sega waited til the day of the release to semi-announce the delay. I was looking forward to it. No official word on why it was pushed back. Rumors say that Sega was displeased that the game didn't feel like a RPG at all (they were expecting it to feel more like Mass Effect). Sending Obsidian back to the drawing board. I will admit that the game seemed like a shooter or stealth game depending on how it was played, but the RPG elements were there. I'm not sure what Sega was expecting (if the rumors are true). Did they want a Mass Effect rip-off?

Recent Purchases:

The Blueprint 3 - Jay-Z

Jay-Z is one of my favorite hip-hop artists. Lyrically, I think he's the best (though artists like Joe Budden are on his heels). But Jay has gradually been on a downward spiral when it comes to the quality of his albums since his 8th studio album, The Black Album. The Blueprint 3, his 11th studio album, is better than his 9th and 10th...thank God. Don't get me wrong. Kingdom Come and American Gangster weren't horrible albums. But it just seemed like Jay was in cruise control for those albums. You can tell the hunger is gone, but I guess when you've had 9 of your 11 albums land #1 on the billboard (his first two didn't) and all your albums have gone platinum (1,000,000 sold) or more in sales, then the hunger is gonna be non-existent. The Blueprint 3 isn't his best work, but it's a good album. I didn't like it much when I first listened to it. It has grown on me the more I have listened to it though. I would say that my favorite tracks are Already Home, Hate, and Empire State Of Mind.

Man on the Moon: The End of Day - Kid Cudi

I am currently loving this album. Even more than The Blueprint 3. Kid Cudi is no lyrical genius, but this album is so different from what is currently happening in the hip-hop scene; and that's a good thing. This album feels fresh. Funny thing is, I had no intentions on buying this album at all cause I honestly thought dude was gonna be a one-hit wonder. I listened to the album on the day of release on some website that was providing a free listening session for the album because I had nothing else better to do at the time, and I ended up very surprised. Definite favorites are Soundtrack 2 My Life, Simple As..., Day N Nite, Sky Might Fall, Enter Galactic, Cudi Zone, and Pursuit of Happiness.

Life Starts Now - Three Days Grace

I had no doubts this album wouldn't be good. 3DG is proven product for me. They haven't let me down yet. This is their 3rd album and the quality of this album does nothing more than solidify their position as one of my favorite bands. Favorites from this one would be World So Cold, The Good Life, Last To Know, Someone Who Cares, Without You, and Life Starts Now.

Brand New Eyes - Paramore

I can admit that I ignored Paramore until I caught their video for Decode on MTV2 one morning. I thought the song was cool, but just brushed it off afterwards. Later, I found that they were signed to Fueled By Ramen, which is a record label that has several bands I like. So I decided to give some more of their stuff a listen. Next thing you know, I purchase both their 1st and 2nd album not too long after that. So here we are with their 3rd album; and to my satisfaction, it is a very good album. An album that almost didn't happen. The pressure of Hayley getting all the attention was driving the band apart and they almost broke up. It may sound wrong, but I think that animosity between them helped them make Brand New Eyes what it is. Paramore has climbed their way into my favorite bands list thanks to this album. Favorite songs are Ignorance, Playing God, Brick By Boring Brick, Turn It Off, Misguided Ghosts, and All I Wanted.

That's a wrap peeps! Sorry for the long blog, but it had been a while since I had done a proper one. Had a lot to fill you in on this time around.

Later!

Hey peeps! I just wanted to do a quick blog to let y'all know I made some modifications to my GS friends list, PSN friends list, and XBL friends list. Made some cuts mostly. Those who I haven't talked to in a while in the Temple, through my blog, or by other means were mainly the ones that were cut.

I'll be back with a proper blog later in the week more than likely.

I hope everyone is doing well and that your getting a chance to play the game(s) that you want to spend time with. I had a good weekend. Didn't really do much, but got to enjoy a visit to Arkham Asylum. But let me not rush into that just yet.

Recently Completed:

Tomb Raider: Legend (PS2)

This was my 2nd time playing through Tomb Raider: Legend. I must say that it was just as fun this time around as it was the 1st time. Of course, the graphics didn't look any where near as good as they did on the 360 version, but I was able to deal with it since I'm not a graphics whore. The gameplay was fun though. And the controls were handled well. Control issues was why I didn't like Tomb Raider initially. I thought the PS1 games were simply horrid due to the control. Thank God they don't play like that anymore. Playing this again makes me wonder what happened with Tomb Raider: Underworld. Did Eidos just rush Crystal Dynamics, causing the quality of the game to be sacrificed? Or has Lara Croft just run her course? Well, at least this is one of the Tomb Raider games worth playing. It certainly had its flaws, but they weren't something that made the game a bad experience.

I give it an 8.

Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3)

If you are a comic book fan or a fan of the action-adventure genre, you owe it to yourself to play Batman: Arkham Asylum. Rocksteady really got the essence of Batman right. It had the perfect balance of exploration, action, and story development. The presentation and production values were top-notch and the soundtrack was great. Even the way Batman's gadgets were used was smartly done. I hope this will not be the last time we see a Rocksteady production starring Batman. Gotham City begs to be visited. The way Arkham was presented in B:AA...I would love to see what they would do with Gotham.

I give it a 9. Definitely my Game of the Year so far. I certainly didn't expect anything to knock inFamous off the throne until Uncharted 2 came out, so this was a welcome surprise.

On Deck:

Xenosaga Episode III (PS2)

Well, Xenosaga Episode I was a decent RPG. Nothing spectacular really. Episode II...I'm not gonna even bother talking about what a fail that was. So you can see that my expectations for Episode III are certainly not high. I'll let y'all know what I think of it by time all is said-and-done. Of course, those in the Temple will get updates on my progress as I play through the game. I hope it will be worth my time.

Later peeps!