~Well, I haven't written a blog in a while. I started to write this about three days ago, but when I was halfway throughI left the computer for a break and my momclosed the window I was writing in. : / Oh well, Lets try this again.

Its that time of year, game awards are being handed out, and the most prestigeous of all is on the line. "Game of The Year" (GOTY). Everyone has their opinions of who will win and why, so hereare mine, plus some of the games that were close, but not quite close enough, the Runner-Ups. I will Start with the Runner-Ups.

Runner-Ups:

Runner Up 1: Infamous:

~Face it, you will never be as cool as Cole

I am sure I won't have many arguments here. Sucker Punch, the developers of Sly Cooper, are back at it again with yet another awesome game: Infamous. An open-world sandbox game with two storylines dependent upon the players moral choices, Infamous is big, engrossing, and unforgetable. The story is told through artsy comic-booklike cutscenes that are very unique. Solid controls and an awesome climbing system that makes spider-man games pea themselvescombined withan ever growing arsenal of electric powers rounds out this awesome package. This is what Prototype wishes it was. :p

Runner-Up 2: Batman

~A Batman game thats good? Wow, thats a good idea..

Batman: Arkham Asylum captures what it is to be Batman. Your not bullet-proof, shadows don't make you completely dissapear (You listening, Tom Clancy?), and stealth is the name of the game. Steath and gadgets. And puzzles. And fighting..ok, there is alot in this game. The stealth element is perfectly executed, from the tense mission and challenges, to the worried expressions of badies as they watch there fellow henchmen picked off. And when yourcover is broken, and awesome-but simple-combo based fighting system makes you look as skilled as any choreography in a big-budget batman movie. This, combined with a sick skill upgrading (a la an RPG), a sick time-attack tyoe mode, and sick puzzles, makes for an awesome game, even for people who aren't remotely fans of Batman...or super heros in general.

Runner-Up 3: Little Big Planet

~Sackboy, Love him or your heartless

Little Big Planet is quiet possibly the new face of Sony. Too bold of a statement, you say? Ok, here is this: Little Big Planet is Sony's Mario. This thing may be simple, but it has such undeniable charm, it will win your heart. Although the platforming is simple (hey, 2.5D is still more than Super Mario Bros can boast!), the gameplay is made fun by whimsical levels saturated with boisterous, unbounded creativity and amusing gameplay mechanics (not to mention the awesome physics engine). Even though the campaign is short, multiplayer is rowdy and hilarious; it has the potential to steal alot of your time. But what really makes this game is user-generated content and the endless levels of customizing. Beat the campaign and played-out multiplayer? Customize sack-boy beyond reason and play a plethora of levels created by other Little Big Planet users. None of them good enough for you? Make your own. The level designer is in-depth and complex, but well worth your time. If you have a PS3, don't miss this game.

Runner-Up 4: Demon's Souls

~You will look like him by the time your done with this game

Demon's Souls is a punishingly hard, highly satisfying, way huge RPG. But, would you expect anything else From Atlus? Oh, and my love of Atlus has nothing at all to do with this game making it in the runner-up section. There have been alot of good RPGs on consoles lately, and suprisingly alot of good western RPGs. Elder Scrols: Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Dragon Age: Origins are all great games. But lets face it, no one does RPGS like the Japs, and since its Atlus, you can expect three things: Its long, its really difficult, and it has an awesome story-line. Now, some of you western gamers (oh wait...I am a western gamer...) don't care for super hard games, but the Japs know how its done. This is no Assasin's Creed 2, its gonna take a while to beat. But don't worry, your gonna have alot of stuff to do during your stay. Life-like, voice acted characters and a vast land to explore in a non-linear fashion mean you will keep coming back.

Runner-Up 5:Killzone 2

~What Halo wishes it was, and what Halo will never be

After the first Killzone game was met with lackluster response, Sony knew they would have to up the ante next time around in order to beat Halo. Boy, did they do it. Killzone 2 has amazing, drool inducing graphics, a kickin'campaign, and a social-life destroying online multiplayer. Like I said, the campaign is cool, but online is where its at. Awesome levels (with many more available through DLC), crazy cool weapons, an array of game types, andtons of ranks to climb all add up to an awesome experience. The dark, gritty, almost deisel-punk look of the game is oh-so right, and the sound is brutal. Overal, this game is brutal. Notridiculously bloody to a comical extent, like Gears of War, but just plain brutal in the way the weapons work (one gun impales people, sticking them to nearby walls before detonating inside its victim), the animations whenenemies die (blood is overly thick and quite abundant), and the superb sound thatimmerses you in the game(hyper-believable guns sounds and the quite audible indicator that your enemies make when downed). Best shooter ever? No, probably not. Bestfuturistic shooter you can buy this generation? Most certainly.

P.S.: The inventor of Halo was having a vivid dream that he was playing what he wished Halo was. It was amazing,just like he had envisionedHalobefore it wasactually time to design it. With a start, he woke-up. He lookeddown and noticed a PS3 controller in his hands. Upon looking up,he realized Killzone 2was on the TV screen. He had been playing what he wished Halo was! It just went by a different name, "Killzone 2".

Ok, now for what you all have been waiting for with baited breath (lol), my pick for Game of The Year.

VXLBeast's Pick for "Game of The Year" goes to:

Drake's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

~Keep hanging Drake, we want Uncharted 3!!!

Was there really any competition? Ok, so there was alot of competition. But Uncharted 2 is really a diamond among rubies, saphires, and emeralds. Uncharted 2 achieves a new level of video games immersion, pulling you into the action like no other gamebefore it. It is hard to focus on any single part, as the game is overall so outstanding. The awesome platforming sections, the intense gun fights, the great camera that stays trueeven in tricky hand to hand combat, the mind-bending puzzles, the superb voice acting and dialogue, theawesome story that can pull off being serious and hilarious and realistic and outrageous and light-hearted and emotional without breaking a sweat, the splendid graphics (easily the best of anyconsole game so far) with vivid, disturbingly real environments and near photorealistic character animation, the awesome cover system,and the addicting and enthralling online play, to name a few. It seems like every singleaspect of this game was executed with unheard of precision. All the cool stuff that shows up in othervideo gamesas cut scenes you actuallyplay in this game.One personwrote a blog about his impressions of the game.He was so mesmerized by every apsect of it that it made him ponder about the day that video games could become the standard media,advancing to the pointwhere they wereconsidered interactive movie experiences more than time-wasters for kids. Some of have even gone so far as to call it the downright best game ever made? So, does it threaten the throne of Legend ofZelda: Ocarina of Time? Although I don't believe Zelda's crown has been taken yet, it is interesting to see that it is possible to get close.

And so, for those reasons and much, much more, Drake's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is my pick for "Game of The Year". Go out an pick up a copy today, and happy gaming to you!

P.S: You will notice I mentioned nothing of Modern Warfare2, or Modern Warfare 1.5 as I call it. I wrote a large paragraph explainging why I didn't even give it a runner up award, but decided to remove it because it didn't fit very well with the subject matter. Stay tuned and I willre-post that paragraph as a seperate blog.

As always, thanks for reading!

Thats right, I finally got it! As some fo you know, I had mentioned how Wal-Mart had a deal where you got the PS3 for $300, but it came with Infamous, Batman: Arkuhm Asylum, and the Dark Knight on Blu-Ray. I was very excited for this, but there was only one problem: My parents have never gone Black Friday shopping and did not wan't to take me. WHat was I gonna do? I begged my sister to take me, and she said she didn't want to (she is not a morning person at all, and we would have to wake up about 5:30, lol). But, after begging profusely, show finally conceded. I set my alarm for 5:30, and to Wal-Mart we went.

We arrived about 6:00 in the morning, so I was scared all the PS3s would be gone. When we arrived at the electronics section, there were only non-bundle PS3s there. Not good...Butthere was no reason tofear, Mr. Electronics department worker man with a scraggly beard was there to save the day! Lemme explain. Worried, and with half asleep sister in tow, I waited in line to talk to an employee. When I finally got up there with the non-bundled PS3, before I could say anything, he asked me, "Don't you want a bundled one?" and plopped down a bundle PS3 Slim from behind the counter. I wanted to hug this man! But I didn't...he smelled bad.

Aaaaanyways, onward march. I got my PS3!

So, everything is hunky-dory, right? Well, not quite. Since I paid for $200 of it, and my parent's picke dup the other $100 as my Christmas gift, they won't let me play it until Christmas!!! But, I did convince them to let me set it up so we can watch the Dark Night on Blue-Ray on our brand new Sony Bravia 40-inch LCD TV. So, yah, I think I can survive.

Which brings me to my next subject! An online name. You can never change your name once you type it in for online on the PSN. So what should mine be? My username for everything has been VXLBeast for as long as I can remember, that makes it easier, plus I love the name. But, I dunno, maybe it is time for a change? What do you think of these names?:

VXLBeast

Lone Wolf

White Wolf

Inglorious (I thought this up before the movie came out, but now that "Inglorious" is associated with an ultra violent movie, I don't think I will use it.)

Any other suggestions for names? Thanks.

Also, I need money to buy Christmas gifts to my family, so I am gonna have to sell Batman Arkuhm Asylum before I get to play. it. ;( Oh wel, Blazing_quilava will just have to enjoy it for me.

Well, thats about all I got to say. If you have a PSN username, please tell me it so I can add you when I setup my PS3. See you on!

~Happy Thanksgiving!!!~

Well, I don't usually write these kinds of blogs, but I don't have the gumption to write a full length article at the moment. So, you get this!A "Happy Thanksgiving" greeting,updates about me, and other random thoughts I have at the moment.

First of all, NO SCHOOL FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK! What a relief, time to catch up on unions, blogs, and other stuff. Some of you may have noticed I haven't been active this last week or so. School was pretty hectic these past twoweeks, so sorry about that. I'm back now though!

I played Far Cry 2 and Modern Warfare 2 at my friend's house recently. Far Cry 2 was awesome! The open world was verycool and theenvironment was reactive to user input. The freedom to go anywhere and do anything combinedwith the fact that yourdecisions affected the story line made it very intriguing.

Modern Warfare 2 on the other hand...Well, I am going to save my full opinion of the game for a later blog I am going to write. I will leave it at this: MW2 was the most un-fun I have had in a long time. I played seven or so matches online, and in every single one of them, ever single person was camping. Literally everyone. No one moving around, no one fighting at points of contention, no one trying to flank. Absolutely everyone was sitting behind corners, waiting for people to walk unexpectantly by. Plain and simply, it sucked.

Moving on, I am getting into a new hobby (lol, I get new hobbys all the time. RC cars, Bonsai Trees, Wood Carving, so on, so forth). My new hobby? Airsoft guns! When I had an airsoft war with some of my friends, I knew I was hooked. So I saved up some money and got this:

Its nothing fancy, but it is a pretty M14good rifle for only $60. My friend also got a really nice shotgun, and tomorrow we are having a huge war. We are getting about eight people together to have a huge war in the woods by my friends house. A pretty good section of the woods are cleared out, so we are going to construct some barriers and forts out of scrap wood we have. It just rained recently, so its gonna be really muddy. Its gonna be grand.

Well, as you guys probably know, I love Capcom. Ever since Okami, I have had an affinity for them. I am looking forward to Monster Hunter: Tri, Lost Planet 2, and now Dark Void. Honestly, six months ago, I thought Dark Void looked lame. Lame cover, seemingly lame concept for gameplay, and lame name. Well, all that has changed. I have been watching some videos of Dark Void, and it looks awesome. Basically, you were working on a ship when it dissapeared sailing through the Burmuda (sp?) Triangle. You end up in a land called the "Void", a land where everyone who dissapears in the Burmuda Triangle appears. The humans who appear there are attacked by the alien race that populates that land, the "Watchers". The human resistance is led by none other than Nikola Tesla. If you know or are even mildly interested in electricity, you know who Tesla is. He was a beast. Anyways, he leads the human resistance, developing new technology with what they can gather throughout the "Void". I will let that be as far as I go. You really got to see the trailer for this, it is looking it will shape into something very cool. Here is a linky to the trailer:

http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/darkvoid/news.html?sid=6233000&mode=previews

Yay for Capcom! ^___^

And with Thanksgiving comes Black Friday. I have never actually done any Black Friday shopping, my parents don't like it one bit, lol. But, this year, Wal-Mart has a PS3 bundle I may not be able to pass up. PS3 + Infamous + Batman: Arhkum Asylum + Batman: Dark Knight on Blu-Ray, all for $300. Very cool. Honestly, I am not interested in the Batman game, so I would probably sell it to GameStop, but I definitely want Infamous. Even so, before I play Infamous, I am getting Drake's Uncharted 2: Among Theives. GOTY, IMO.

Haven't been playing alot of Video Games lately because of school, reading, and other stuff taking up my life, but Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is stillabsolutely amazing. This is a hard thing to say...but it might be the best RPG I have ever played. Outstanding. After I beat Shin Megami Tensei, I am thinking about getting Chrono Trigger. Its an Enix ****c, supposed to be amazing. Speaking of great games, I still haven't gotten Mazora's Mask yet. Its only $10 on Wiiware, so I don;t know why I haven't gotten it yet, lol.

So, whats new with you guys? Anybody got cool plans for thanksgiving? My family is coming over, but nothing that interesting really.

Nintendum?

If you remember in my last blog, I mentioned how I was worried that if Nintendo stayed on their current path, they could end up doing to the industry what, in years bygone, they saved the industry from. Here is my blog where I mention this:

http://www.gamespot.com/users/VXLbeast/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=m-100-25752271&tag=all-about;blog2

If you don't won't to bother reading it, essentially Nintendo saved the gaming industry, single handedly. As trashy, poorly developed games were bought up by the publicon thecheap, more expensivegames that developers poored their hearts into sat on the shelves. Studios went out of bussiness, and the video game industry was literally on the verge of collapse.But good ole' Nintendo came in to play. They inventedthe Nintendo "Official Seal of Quality". If you bought a game with this seal, you knew you were getting a good game, because Nintendo only awarded it toquality titles. In this way (although, for the sake of this article, I have shortened the story), Nintendo saved the industry. Seriously.

Like I stated before, in my previous blog, Iexpressed my distaste for Nintendo's new business model. I was worried they couldturn the game industry back to the way it was when they saved it. Although it was probable, I didn't think we were anywhere near the point where we would see evidence of of my worries, but check this out:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6240132.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;3

There is the artical if you would like to read it in its entirety, but I will be quoting the most important parts for you here.

-"True to analysts' predictions, the gaming industry was not able to lure consumers in increasing numbers to retail in October." "...drops of 19 percent...hardware drops of up to 23 percent..."

Why is that, you say?

-"According to a pair of analysts, October sales indicate that casual gamers are largely at fault for the continued decline in industry sales. As noted by Electronic Entertainment Design and Research's Jesse Divnich, casual gamers haven't returned to buy more gaming goods this year. Further, he believes this group will continue to stay away until the arrival of new hardware from platform manufacturers, such as Microsoft's Project Natal or a new DS from Nintendo."

-"The lack of sales continues to be driven down by non-traditional and casual gamers who have failed to make follow-up purchases,"

-"...deflating casual games bubble..."

Sound familiar?

So, how arethey gonna fix this mess?

-"We believe it will take the introduction of some newtype of gameplay or peripheral before we see a resurgence in the casual and non-traditional markets,"

Oh gawd...Did anyone else notice the underlined word? How arethey gonna fix this mess that was started by crappy games and an outlandish number of peripherals? Why, by peripherals of course! Endless spiral anyone? Indeed.

And what do more perihperals do? Reign in more shallow customers, which do this:

-"We believe these declines represent a current video game economy that is driven by promotions, discounts, or temporary sales,"..."Once the excitement of a bundle, discount, or permanent price drop retreats, so do sales."

These aren't return customers Nintendo! Can't you see that?!?

I could rant and rant and rant, but sometimes you can say more with less words. So, I will leave youwith these nice littles quotes and predicitions from industry analysts. Until next time.

~This is just gonna be a short little entry.

Go to this link:

http://www.gamespot.com/community/blogs/community-blog/909185261/index.html?tag=siteblogs;blog_title;2

And look under the "Blog Bunker" section. My blog is there...I can't believe it...honestly, I can't. I am so happy, I can't quite describe it.

To Gamespot: Thanks for the mention, that makes writing these blogs worth while. Your timing couldn't have been better, as I needed a little pick-me-up. Thanks again, and again, and again. Thanks a thousoand times over!

Wii Woes:

So, Iwata says the Wii has stalled, huh? No kdding! Today, Nintendo, I want to teach you a little history lesson. And, amusingly enough, you will end up learning from yourself! Here we go:

If one reads the full history of Nintendo (a Gamespot article, and a great one at that), a philosophy of Nintendo becomes quite apparent: Gameplay first, graphics last. Nintendo has always developed high quality games for its systems, as well as getting well known third party developers to do the same. Reading the history of Nintendo shows that-again and again-Nintendo's system's areoutperformed graphically by other offerings, yet succeed in sales. Why is that? When the Sega 32X (We know it as the Genesis), a 32-bit system, was getting stomped on by the NintendoSNES, a 16-bit system, a puzzled press asked a Nintendo representativethe reason for the SNES success over its technically superior partner. His response? "Games make the system, not graphics".

Beautiful.Hit the nail on the head. While the SNES was getting Mario, Link, Mortal Combat, and other such gold titles, the Genesis was getting flops, rushed projects, and poorly done ports. Who cares how good a game looks if it sucks? As for me,graphics have always been second rate in myopinion. Honestly, I don't much care for amazing graphics. Sure, its nice, but gameplay and storyline mean so much more. As an exmaple, I enjoy Call of Duty on my Wii considerably more than I do on a PS3 or 360. Are the visiuals sub-par on the Wii? Yes. But the control scheme more than makes up for it in my book.

So, right now, some of you are thinking, "Whatever, Nintendo's under poweredsystems have sold well because of kids, thats all.Graphics are the real sale point of a system". Well, here is another tidbit to back up my opinion. The PS2, despite beingnine years old, is stelling selling respectably well. Why is that? Because of its amazing graphics? Compared to todays systems, its graphics aren't anything special, so no one should be buying it anymore, right? Wrong. The PS2 has a plethora of outstanding titles spanning every imaginable genre. RPGs, FPS, rythm games, and a laudable amount of highly unique games. Titles like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Shadow of the Colossus, Time Splitters, Okami, Parapa the Rapper, ICO, Guitar Hero, and much more made this system strong. There is a wealth of instant ****cs and must-not-miss games on the PS2. Heck, their still developing games for it today!

And why has the DS become the best selling game system of all time? Amazing titles. Sure, there is alot of junk to sift through to find the good titles, but some simply outstanding games have been, are being, and will be developed for the DS. Many games on it are a can't-miss experience, and the DS's sales reflect that.

So, back on track. Nintendo, why do you think your Wii sold strong, then flat-lined a fewyears later? Maybe, I dunno, its because of the complete lack of good games bieng developed? Yah, that might be it. Almost nothing but shovel-ware and senseless periphreals have graced Wii in the last two years. There certainly are good titles for the Wii, but a steady stream (or even anoccasional stream!) of quality titles are needed to sustain a system's worth.Nintendo systems are all I have everowned, but thisgame draught for the Wii has pushed me over theedge and into buying a PS3.

Nintendo, you single handedly brought the gaming industry back from the brink of collapse by creatinga system(the NES) with high quality titles,keeping down shovel-ware by instituting the "Nintendo Seal of Quality".In this way, you pulled theentire industry back into existence, even after poor quality games had turned the publicopinion to that of believing gaming was a "fad", and that it was "done and over". So, don't fell victim to something that, by conquering, made you great. No more junk, no morefoolishness, no more periphreals, no more gimmicks, no more Mario Galaxy 2 (seriously...); bacl basics. Remember who your realfans are: not the Wii Fit buying sixty year olds, but the teen to young adults who truly love your offerings.

Learn from your past to shape your future. That is all.

~This is more like a mini-blog post, just kinda popped into my head.

When, if ever, will we get a full pokemon adventure for the Wii?

I love Pokemon games, always have loved them. But recently here I have became a little restless. The formula is waxing a little old for me. I want something new, I want something fresh. Not just a rehash of old games, or a slight update with a couple new bells and whistles. No, I want something entirely new, I want what almost every Pokemon fan on Gamespot wants. A full 3D Pokemon Adventure on the Wii. Its funny, becuase it seems like such an obvious step for the Pokemon Company. Move on up tp the home console as abreak from the series. But it has never happened. Ever. And why not? Let me deviate here, just for a second.

I love Pokemon, and I love the people who make it, but it almost seems like, heaven forbid, they have become lazy.Besides lots of simple rehashes of late, they seem to be ok with producing an "just alright" game. I am not ok with that. When Pokemon Mystery Dungeonfirst came out, I was very excited, Pokemon had taken a side step! And it worked brilliantly. The gameplay was fresh and interesting, just what thePokemon series needed, a good shot in the arm! When the second one came out, it was alot of fun, but there weren't very many new features. Even still, it was fun. Now the third one is out, and after researching it to see whether I would purchase it or not, I come to find out it is essentially the same game! Same faces, just different places. This is fine for newcomers in the Mystery Dungeon series, but what does this say about the folks at Pokemon? More and more I am worried they are less concenred with quality gaming and more concerned with making a quick buck. Pokemon Battle revolution being another example. Looks beautiful, but could have easily been so, so, so much more.

So, back to the topic at hand. I, and countless others, want a full 3D pokemon adventure on the Wii.They could easily use the Pokemon Battle Revolution engine togenerate the battles (and of course bring over all the character models as well). Then the rest of the game could be formulated from there. When I say the rest of the game, I mean the world and everything in it. All the tonws, the gyms, the elitefour, and everything elsethat makes a Pokemon game what it is. Plus, if they want to go the extra mile (and I sure hope they start doing that soon), they could add in more side quests, more Team Rocket/Team Lava and Auqa/Team Galactic Events. Expand the game even more with side stories, extra missions, and all around more stuff to do. Of course the game would be wirelessly compatible with Ds versions like Battle Revolution was, and WiFi battles are a pre-requisite.

That would certainly be amazing, so why isn't the dream of everyPokemon fan being worked on? Why isn't the Pokemon Team striving to better there games rather than pump out sequels they know people will by no matter what? Because they are too busy making My Pokemon Ranch, Pokemon Trozei, and this:

http://www.serebii.net/pokepark/pics.shtml

That isPokepark: Pikachu's Great Adventure. It is currently in the works, ready for release on December 5th in Japan. This is a full game, not a Wiiware title. And hey, who knows? Maybe it will be good! But is this really what Pokemon fans want? No. But Nintendo knows they will buy it, and money makes themhappy. Sure, thats fine, I'm down with that. But don't forget to make your fans happy every once and a while too.

Here's to a bright future for Pokemon, and all of Pokemon's fans!

~ You kin Do it!

~Sorry about this blog being a little on the short side, but I don't have a lot of time available to write at the moment.

U63R 1337 )(aX0rs (Thats uber leet haxors, or very elite hackers).

Why that title? Well, cause I played with some Uber le- uh, very skilled hackers recently on Call of Duty: World at War. It was rather insane, so crazy I wish I could have it happen again. Alot of you have seen my youtube video of a glitched, unlimited ammo match: (For those who haven't, Linky provided bellow)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPp995-bW-g

Ok, so imagine that match, but like times a bazzilion. When the match started I noticed a guy on the opposite team was named, "IM A CHEAT!". Immediately three of the enemies were kicked from the game, so it was me and my team against "IM A CHEAT!". I was looking through the scope of my sniper at him when he jumped straight up into the air, way above the level (nothing new, I have seen hackers do that before). But, when I pulled the trigger to shoot at him, my Springfeild fired at least 20 bullets. The sound was ungodly, and I had unlimited ammo to boot. Turns out everything fire ridiculously fast and never runs out of ammo, even grenades! So I ran around the level holding down the fire button and watching my double barrel shotty shoot as fast as a PPSH-41! It was insane, and very very fun. While I was running around, I happened to jump, which sent me flying into the air. Yup, low gravity. That was alot of fun, as the low gravity allowed me to jump almost halfway across the level, dropping grenades all the way (grenages were rapid fire as well, allowing me to drop (I am guessing) around fifty something in only a couple of seconds). The best of all was firing rifle grenades (nnob tubes). Holding down the fire bottom and spinning in a circle caused a ring of destruction to envelop the level. Amazing. That match was awesome, and I really wish I could do it again! Oh well, at least it was fun while it lasted (especially when I jumped around the level, completely covering in smoke grenades. XD )

So, now for some random little news tidbits. I went to a gamenight with a bunch of my friends and we played COD: WaW on the PS3. I was worried I would get destroyed because I wasn't very good with the analog control scheme (me being used to the Wii's superior FPS interface). But, the worrying was for naught. In the first match alone I got 3 sets of dogs, and the owner of the game stopped playing after a while. Ity was total pownage. Can't wait to get my PS3.

OH yah! My friend and I finally beat Shadow of the Colossus (OMG, the last two bosses were insanely hard!)! That game is amazing, astounding, breathtaking, blah blah blah. Basically what I am saying is that, if you have a PS2 (or first gen PS3 with PS2 backwards compatibility) you MUST get this game. It is one of the most unique games I have ever played (rivaling even Okami!) and is interesting throughout the entire adventure, practically reinventing itself with every new colossi. I planned to write a review of the game this weekend,, but time slipped away from me. Oh well, I will write it eventually. Now I plan to move on to ICO, a game made by the same people who made Shadow of the Colossus. Can't wait to play that one as well.

Now for the random, mini updates:

~ My next blog will probably be about the future of Sonic video games. I won't elaborate anymore than that, so you will just have to tune in when I wrote my next entry.

~ The youtube Channel MEGA64 has some new videos that are majorly funny. Check out, "Hope your Happy, Bungie", "Heroes over Europe", and "Punch Out" for starters. Great stuff. Ooh, also check out, "Elite Beat Agents", that ones great.

~M games list I am considering is begin to narrow down quite a bit. I will probably post a revised, fianl version farily soon.

~Don;t you hate that? It seems like I have something else to say...but I can't remember what it was. Oh well, guess it will come to me later.

I will leave you with this pardoy video of Shadow of the Colossus by Mega64:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqd9GiaJUos

Until next time!

~Well shoot, I wrote an entire blog, and then deleted it by accident! Man, that just burns me up. Oh well, lets try this again.

My friend brought his PS2 over to my house for the weekend so we could play some more Shdaow of the Colossus, and that we did. Last you heard, we were on the third colossus. Now, after pulling a playing marathon from 4:00 in the afternoon till 1:00 on the morning, I am mildly proud to say we made it all the way to the twelth collossus! This game just keeps getting better and better. LIkewise, the difficulty has ramped up as well. Amusingly, at exactly the half way point, the game got much harder. The Colossi become very dificult to find, requiring quite a bit of searching. Luckily, the beautiful landscape and vibrant scenery make this hunting enjoyable. Besides, there is nothing like letting out a resounding, "Yes!" when you finally find the Colossus you have been searching for for fifteen minutes.

But finding the Colossus is the easy part, taking them down is another entirely, especially in the case of colossus number nine. This Colossi was extremely difficult, taking at least 30 minutes to beat. But boy was it gratfiying when that giant beast finally fell. And that really is alot of the attraction of this game. Searching high and low for a Colossus, spending for ever trying to figure out how to take him down,then delivering that final blow;it all adds up to an extremely gratfiying experience, leaving you cheering as the seemingly invincible Colossus breaths its last. There is no instant gratification here, but for those willing to do the work, this game is truly a masterpeice.

So anyways, here is a picture of Colossus number nine, although it does not do him justice-at all:

~Collossus numero 9

*SPOILER ALERT!!!

I would like to show some pictures of some of the more creative Colossi, but if you are planning on playing this game, and don't want to see the Colossi until you get to them (like me), then read no further! You have been warned.

This one, the first flying Colossus, was alot of fun! Though not very difficult, it was alot of fun:

~To defeat this one, you had to jump on its wing and hang on for dear life.

The next one I would like to mention was almost like a gecko. YOu faced it inside a coloseum and had to fight it as it climbed the walls and shot some sort of poison at you:

~Not very difficult, but very fun.

I am glad they threw on a smaller Colossus to mix things up, very neat. Collossus number 11 was not huge, but was fast, nimble, and could attack swiftly. It was tricky.

~This Colossus had multiple stages to defeat

Next up is the tenth Colossus. This one was a giant serpent that swam around under the sand. It was very tough, and took forever too defeat:

~Absolutely no justice done here, this thing is a beast

Collosus number seven was a challenge, but not terribly hard. It was a very creative battle though, perfect timing being the only thing keeping you from death:

~Getting dragged under water by this electric eel was intense

Colossus number four, although early on in the game, was rather difficult, and pretty darn cool:

~Harder than it looks, you had to climb its braids to get onto its head

And thats a wrap! Thanks for reading my blog, I truly appreciate it! I have two weeks left with the game, so hopefully I will beat it within that time. Expect a review when/if I do beat it.

Well, since I had so many pictures, I thought I would leave you with one more. I am not sure how many of you have heard of "O rly", but when I saw this picture, it made my LOLZ:

~Oh Really?

My friends birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and he has finished all the games he currently owns. His only system is a PS2, so I decided to get him Shadow of the Collosus. I called around and found a local Gamestop that was selling a used copy for $18. When I got it home, I took it to a different friends house to test it out and make sure it worked properly...Ok, so I just wanted to play the game. But can you blame me? I gotta say, it is awesome. The graphics wereamazing for a PS2 game. Lighting effects, clothes and hair areaffected by movement, and (the best of all) an insane amount of motion blur that really added to the experience.

Me and my friend sat down and took on the first Collosus; a huge bipedal one that weilded a hammer. It took somewhere around five tries to get it, but we took him down. The fights are awesome. Visceral and fast paced, there is no room for error and quick reaction time is imperative. Suprisingly, there is quite a bit of strategy goes into the boss fight (and this strategy is ever changing as his weak points change). A stamina meter shows how much strength you have to hold on. This meter goes down as you perform actions and goes up when you are not exerting energy. It sound ssimple, but it adds alot to the gameplay and is quite ingenious. Despite my first inclinations, climbing is actually quite fun: requiring precision timing, charging, and careful thought planning your route.

To sum this up, this game is awesome. If they make this downloadable on the PS3, that will push me over the edge to get that system. Spectacular.

Me and my friend beat 2 of the 16 Colossi. We were on the third one, but just could not beat it. And so I will end this blog with a pic:

~This is the one we could not beat, numero three.

Well, it is about that time of year huh? The Summer gaming drought is almost over, the holiday season is quickly approaching, and everyone is posting the games that have their attention. I find these fun to read, they really let you see what a person is into. So, without further adieu, "Games thatI am considering/and or have cuaght my attention".

On the Wii:

Monster Hunter Tri

Call of Duty: ModernWarfare~ (or"Reflex", if that floats your boat)

Rune Factory: Frontier ~ (This game is like Harvest Moon)

Metroid Prime: Trilogy

Need for Speed: Undercover

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On the DS:

Shin Megami Tenseievil Survivor~ (I amdefinetly getting this game)

The World Ends withYou~ (I am considering this game, not certain though)

Scribblenauts

Pokemon Soul Silver

Fire Emblem

Call of Duty: Mobilized ~ (I am considering this game, but others have higher priority)

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days

Advanced Wars: Dual Strike ~ (or maybe Advanced Wars: Days of Ruin)

Okamiden: Little Sun ~ (Got to wait a while for that one, lol)

_______________________________________________________

On the Gamecube: (I am considering getting some old Gamecube titles, there are some good ones)

Fire Emblem: Radiant Path

Baten Kaitos ~ (maybe)

Soul Kalibur

________________________________________________________

On the PS3: (if I get a PS3)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Valkyria Chronicles

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Fallout 3

Bioshock

Infamous

The Orange Box ~ (This includes Portal and Team Fortress)

Phantasy Star Online 4

Battlefield 1943 or Bad Company

The Last Guardian

Dirt 2 ~ (Maybe)

______________________________________________________

On the PS2: (I don't have a PS2, and the PS3 isn't backwards-compatible, but if they releaase PS2 games for download on the Play Station Network, these are some I will get)

ICO

Shadow of the Collosus

FFVIII

Kingdom Hearts I and II

______________________________________________________

I know there are some I am forgetting, but you get the picture.

Of course, I will only be getting two or three of these this holiday, so I sitll need to narrow it down a bit more, lol.

So, what are you guys looking forward too?

All right, so this blog is gonna be a little on the shorter side.

As you guys probably know, I looooove Okami. Like, love it to death. So much so that I actually just bought this shirt:

It was $25 (thats crazy for me, I don't spend much on clothes), but this is totally worth it. That is once harcore shirt.

Anyways, the folks behind Okami, Capcom (yah, I know, so it was technically Clover, but whatevs) are working on a new game, "Monster Hunter Tri". Most people have heard of it, but if you haven't, it is basically a huge RPG where you do quests and hunt monsters with a focus on cooperative play. Anyways, for the first time ever, it is coming to the Wii, and to the Wii exclusively. But that is not what has me so excited. Capcom, the ones responsible for the Wii title, has announced it will have online cooperative play. Yah, you can do quests for the story mode with friends...or complete strangers!!! That is awesome, majorly cool. Now, while there won't be Wiispeak between two strangers (too bad), there will be a gesture system that will allow some level of communication. Another feature is splitscreen, something us Wii owners have not seen enough of lately. So, all that is good and nice, but why am I so stoked? Well, take a gander at this screenshot:

http://gamescom.gamespot.com/image_viewer/6215911/monster-hunter-tri-hands-on/8/?tag=thumbs_below;thumb;3#site_nav

And there is more where that came from. This game looks absolutely gorgeous. I mean, look at the detail of the fur and scales of the creatures! The lighting effects, the sharpness of the water, the detail on the environments. This game doesn't just look good, it looks downright awesome. I amm beginning to love Capcom. They, among a select group of others, have decided to take the Wiiseriously, and develop some quality games to prove it.

So, when can we get our hands on this bad boy? It is looking like March 2010. Not horrible, but not anytime soon. Oh well, make sure to track it to keep up with all the updates. Can't wait for this one.

EDIT: Well, even though this is off topic, I feel I must share this. There is new Okamiden gameplay released! It looks gorgeous. Here ya go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tFlCWUlZMI&feature=player_embedded

Man, can you believe those are DS graphics? Awesome.

*This was originally part of my other blog post, but I decided to make it seperate.

How will Nintendo Follow-up the Wii and DS?

Well, with over a 100 million DS's sold and over 50 million Wiis sold,it is no stretch to say Nintendo has done quite well. In both the handheld and console fields they have come up with innovative ways to play games, ways we have never experience before. Obviously people responded quite well to Nintendos new, original ideas. But the question at hand is, "Will they be victims of their own success?" Let me expound upon that statement. First off, the Wii. For a next-gen console, what will Nintendo do? Will they go back to a contoller with buttons system? That would alienate their new-found customer base. Will they continue withthe samemotion controll scheme and just make simple improvements? If that is the case, whatnew content would they offer to convincecustomers that they should replace they Wii? Or will they come up with a completely new way of playing games all over again? If so, I can't fathom wehat it would be; it seems liek all routes of "innovation" are explored. Maybe I am wrong though, who knows. Personally, I think the"Wii HD" rumor that has been circling around is very probable. With a Wii HD-aWii with high processing abilitiesequal to or exceeding the PS3/360-many games that were not possible on the Wii could come alive. Having aWii would no longer mean giving up exceptional grahpics and productionvalues for motioncontrols. (Fallout 3 with motion controls anyone?) Games could be just as long and complex as 360/PS3 games, but with motion-controls intelligently implemented. Imagine it, no more PS2 ports! Furthermore, with motion controlls still being used, older Wii games could be played on a Wii HD. It could easily be advertised as a, "New andimproved Wii that far exceeds the older one in every way!" People would buy it, even the ones that are notneccesarily hardcore gamers. Is this what is going to transpire? I haven't the foggiestidea. Nintendo has been pouring tons of money intoresearch anddevelopment lately, so we woul dbe fools to think nothing is going on behind the scenes.I can say that, if it is aWii HD, I won't be dissapointed.

So, with that covered, what about the DS? This one is even more tricky. How do you expand upon a touch screen interface? Nintendo's current game-plan of periodic, minor updates along the way has worked well so far, but cannot be a permanent solution. So whats next? I don't believe a graphical boost is in order. In my opinion, the DS is at a sweet spot as far as graphics are concerned. With the DS being designed to involve the gamer with the gamer on a deeper level, how do you acheive a deeper level of involvement? There is already two screens, a touch screen, a microphone, and a camera. What else could be implemented? A pressure pad? A light sensor (like that one vampire game fot the GameBoy Advanced had)? I don' think that is the answer. So what then? And entirely new concept? Like with the Wii, I don't think Nintendo's handheld can return to a purely button based gaming experience. I really am stumped as to what direction they will take. What do you guys think? As before, I would love to hear your feed-back!

With no real answers in sight, I guess all we have to do is sit back, play some good old Wii, and speculate.

I usually don't like to write blogs with more than one topic, but I have alot I want to cover.

Is Beast Getting a PS3?

First off I will tackle the question, "Is Beast gona get a PS3?" Maybe. I am pretty tired of all the crap we Wii owners get shoved down our throat, and with the PS3 now only $300, it is always an option. I have been weighing the pros and cons of the PS3 versus the 360, and I have concluded that if I am to buy another system, it will certainly not be a broke-box. Between an unnaccetpable failure rate, $70 microphone, $100 network adapter, $50 a year Xbox live subscription, and same price tag as the PS3, the PS3, to me, seems to be a no-brainer. Of course, IMO, the 360 does have a more diverse game library; which brings me to my next point. What good games are there for the PS3? If someone asks you, "List some good 360 games", you could rattle off a bunch like Fallout 3, Elder Scrolls Oblivion, Chromehounds,Prototype,Gears of War, leftfor dead,Halo,ect. But, thats a little harder to do for the PS3. I mean, can you name a bunch off the top of your head (and Little Big Planet doesn't count, lol)? It takes a while to think of some outstanding PS3 titles, but they are there. Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance 2, uhhhh...yah...you see my dilema. Of course, there are some titles that give me hope. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was supposed to be amazing. In fact, GameSpot gave it a 10 out of 10. I have never seen them give any game a perfect score before. So, that is a major plus. Also in the mix is The Last Guardian. This game is being developed by the studio that made ICO and Shadow of Collossus for the PS2, both of these games being A+ titles with originality to spare. Check out the Last Guardian trailer, it looks likeit is going to be one big asset for the PS3. Of course, I can't forget Infamous. Having played it, I can personally say this game is wicked cool.ThinkGrand Theft Auto, without the vulgarity, but with super powers. Yes? Yes. It is awesome. It feels right, controls right; it is right. Awesome sand box game. And, of course, you can't exclude the Call of Duty series. Although it is for all three systems, (and I am trying to deal with exclusives here) it is a game not to be forgotten. Good campaign, betteronlinemultiplayer. Also, I would like to quickly mention Battlefield 1943. While this is also for the Xbox 360 as well,I can't leave it out.This is the best $15 you will spend on a game. Huge maps, expertly balanced classes, destructable environments, and well executed vehicles (besides the ridiculously hard to control planes): this game is truly fun. There are a couple flaws (when playing, I experience a couple times where a building simply wouldn't blow up), but the fun factor far out-weighs any technical problemsten-fold.

So, although this is personal opinion, I think the PS3 library could use a litle work. Either way, with the price drop will come a larger installed user base, which equates to more developers making games for it. I think the future is bright for PS3 gaming, and I may want to be a part of the future. So what is stopping me? Well, only a couple things really. One, I really, really don't like the PS3 controller. I know this sounds trivial, but I have to play every game I would buy with that controller, and if I hate the controller, that might be a problem. Maybe I would get used to it, maybe not, but I don't like the gamble there. Two: None of my friends have PS3s. Literally none. So, sure, I would make new friends online, but it is always nice to play with school or neighborhood friends as well. Lastly, I don't really consider myself a hardcore gamer. I play hardcore games and keep up with the latest gaming news, but I play games in spurts. I will play like crazy for a month or two, then not really play at all for a month or two. That makes me wonder: Is the price of a PS3 really worth it if I am not ging to be playing a whole lot of games? I am not really sure. I continue to mull it over in my mind, but have never really come to adefinite conclusion. If I did get a PS3, it would probably be for Christmas (with my Parents paying a $100, and me paying the other $200). So, I guess I have another couple months to think it overbefoe Imake a decision. What do you guys think? Any input is greatly appreciated.With that about wrapped up, lets move on to the next topic.

Well, I haven't been on lately because our internet was out. Fried router, oh joy. Anyways, just got it back tonight, so I decided to tell you all what was up. I have alot I want to blog about, but I have to pack for a camp I am going to this weekend. I will just run over some topics I am going to blog on in the near future (if school will let up for a single minute, lol).

- Me considering PS3? Unlikely, but possible.

-How will Nintendo follow up on the success of the DS and Wii? Wii HD?

-What in the world does Xanadu mean?

-What can we expect from the last guardian?

-Is mega64 the funniest youtube channel ever? Probably.

-Am I the only one who loves Ramen noodles? (ok, so I am not blogging on that)

-And much more that my School-fried brain can't recall.

Oh yah, might make a video of me playing my Ocarina. Those are real fun. Anyways, got to pack, so talk to you guys on Sunday or Monday.

You may remember my last blog, entitled "Could it be???". This blog covered the fact that Capcom filed for the rights to the name "Okamiden", which hints at some sort of sequel. Well, it is so.

http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/okami/news.html?sid=6216582&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures;title;1

I don't know why I never thought of it, but the DS is perfect! Imagine drawing with a stylus, even better than the Wii paint brush system! I have high hopes for this, Okami deserves to live on, and Capcom deserves to succeed with this game. Lets all cross our fingers! Oh, but don't hold your breath, as it isn't do out in The Pan for another year, so we won't see it state-side for at least two years. Oh well, certainly worth the wait.

Could the one of the best adventure games besides Legend of Zelda be getting a sequel? As anyone who has played it knows, Okami is a stunning and fantastic game. The game is beautiful to look at, beautiful to hear, and just plain funny. So, could this be true?

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/08/21/is-okamiden-a-new-okami-game/

My initial thoughts are, "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!". But, then again, there could also be a chance that they screw it up, making a sub par game to milk the last drops form the cash cow. But, for now, I wil stick with the first one. YESSSSSSSSSS!!! To anyone who has never played ok, you are shooting yourself in the foot. Okami is one of the most refreshing games I have played in a long time. Puzzles (albeit not quite as hard as Legend of Zelda), action, beautiful artwork, amazing music, hilarious dialogue, very long story; this game has got it all. Anyone who owns a Wii owes it to themselves to be this master-peice.

And thanks to Asian Pride for bringing this article to my attention.

Well, just saw this article, and I think I will let it do the talking.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6215590.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=hot-stories&tag=hot-stories;story;2

A word to Microsoft. You are gonna need moe then Milo to sell your Broke-box.

BTW, not sure if any heard, but Milo is planning world domination. I knew there was something sinister about that British accent.

Check this out:

http://uk.gamespot.com/news/blogs/preview-blog/909185203/26998989/dirt-2-hands-on-with-the-wii-version.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gsupdates&tag=updates;title;3

This is disgusting, look at those P.O.S graphics. Goodness! Here were my comments:

"I agree with you guys, I own a Wii and have seen some games with great graphics. In fact, the Wii has greater graphics capabilities than the original Xbox. This game will probably join the pile of sub standard games us Wii owners have to put up with. I am sick and tired of shovel-ware. We need more people like HVS to take us seriously."

"I like driving games with the wiimote, Prostreet was alot of fun. But looking at these videos, I want to wipe my butt with these graphics. Seriously, did they even try? I mean, my gamecube need for speed games looked much better. Will their be online? That would be sweet.

Anyways, I hope for the best, but looking at this (and hearing those terrible, DS quality car sounds), I am not expecting much."

My friends are trying to get me to buy an Xbox360. I really don't want one that badly, but the lack of quality games on the Wii is sickening. The 360 becomes more appealing evrytimea new exercising game is released...

http://pokebeach.com/

Scroll down to see that a new pokemon movie has been announced! It will feature Arceus, the beast-mode pokemon. I can't wait! One of the lines is, "Judgment has come!" That takes second place for the greatest pokemon line ever. Can anybody guess what the best is? Winner gets a pat on the back (but you have to do it yourself)

Also, if you scroll even farther down, that website has some awesome pokemon cards pictures. There is a Lucario card I MUST have.

Anyways, guess that is all for now, well, no wait. I just wanted to thank you guys for reading my mindless ramblings, er, blogs. I really appreciate it, and try to read all your blogs as well!

Also, thanks to SonicTrainer for the link to the website.