It's been a while since I've posted (as usual), and I've played a lot of games in the meantime. In that regard, I have lots of opinions about them, whether I've played them for countless hours or simply run through a portion of the story mode. Better get started, since this could last a while:

Bioshock: May as well start with a big name. I have mixed feelings about this game. On one hand, the atmosphere is mindblowingly amazing. Few games can match the polish on the graphics and sound, and the world they create begs to be explored. On the other, battles rarely feel fresh and fun, as emphasis is placed on plasmids (awesome the first time, increasingly annoying afterward). Also, the hacking minigame is the most annoying thing on the planet. However, I'm not too far in the game yet, so I'm sure my opinion will change for the better soon.

Call of Duty 4: Wow! Where Bioshock seems to miss the mark as a shooter, this game nails it in every regard. Single player campaign rarely has a dull moment, and the online multiplayer is among the best out there. An absolute shame that the next game is supposed to return to WWII, as this is a huge step forward for the series, and even for the genre as a whole.

Guitar Hero 3: Given this is my first Guitar Hero game, I've loved nearly every moment of it. The song selection is full of hits, though admittedly some have rather boring guitar parts. Also, hard and expert seem ridiculous in their difficulty level, especially given the introduction of the final button. As a new player, learning a new button while dealing with the huge jump in difficulty is downright silly. Still, an overall great package.

Crackdown: Not that new, but it's new for me. The free-roam gameplay is a blast to play, though it does get repetitive after a while. Being superhuman has to get old at some point, I suppose. It's worth noting that the game gets a burst of fun each time you level up your Agility, as you'll be able to go farther faster, practically reinventing travel through the city each time.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike: The best game on the DS. No, really. Nothing even remotely touches it, especially if you limit the playing field to strategy games. Need any incentive? This game came out over two years ago, and not even titles like LOZ: Phantom Hourglass can touch it's brilliance. Find a copy. Find a copy now. At the very least try Days or Ruin, which comes out next week and looks just as great!

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: Speaking of Phantom Hourglass, this game is truly a disappointment. It's not the controls (those are great!), but rather the fact that the game is short, puzzles incredibly easy, dungeons few and short, bosses fairly unexciting, and the fact that you have to go through one dungeon six times. I haven't actually beaten the game yet because I don't want to crawl through that dungeon again to face the final boss. Sad how Nintendo can make such silly mistakes with one of their flagship series, yet somehow they did. Still, it's worth playing, as the touch controls are fun and many aspects still very well done.

Mass Effect: Bioware has once again proven to be the undeniable master of RPGs. This RPG/Shooter hybrid is full of fun, from the intuitive conversation system to the huge array of sidequests and planets to explore. Sure, it's easy to pick out flaws in this game, but this game does 10 things well for every thing it messes up. Also, with a game so gargantuan in scope, it's amazing that they didn't screw it up entirely. This is an achievement in gaming, and should be cherished by everyone.

Final Fantasy VI Advance: This game was great...for a while. But after 10 hours or so of play, the game started to dry up. Like Final Fantasy III, the game shows its age the more you play it (just not nearly as badly). For example, NPCs walking around cities have a tendency to get in your way more then just look visually appealing. Blitz commands are often unresponsive, requiring you to do awkward movements with the d-pad that can easily be misread by the system. Also, the group splitting scenes where you would control three parties at once were absolutely painful to play. Still, the game often looks gorgeous, and many of the scenes you encounter are simply unforgettable. In particular, the opera sequence is a work of genius. Like Phantom Hourglass, it is worth playing despite its flaws.

Viva Pinata: Okay, so I only played this one for an hour, but I just thought I'd note that it was one of the most boring hours I've played in a long time. I'm sure the game gets better as your pinata farm ages, but the game has almost no early-game appeal. This is the kind of game that makes you wish the game would just continue with old series instead of trying new material, simply because it doesn't feel like the new material is worth it. Where is my new Banjo game, Rare?

Beautiful Katamari: Yep, the game is definately getting stale. With harder challenges, less environments to roll up (!), and lots of insults from the King of All Cosmos about your lousy rolling, I think I'll just learn to ignore any future offerings. This is the perfect example of a great series gone horribly wrong. What in the world have you done, Namco?

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga: I thought I'd end with this because, somewhat surprisingly, this game is really a lot of fun. Yes, a lot of us have already played the majority of it, but that's what makes this game shine. You can play as nearly everybody, levels from past games have been retooled to make the experience even better, and new levels are actually quite fun to play. Perhaps most importantly, they redid two of the vehicle levels from the original game (most notably the podrace) to make them more accessible to players, while still allowing players to play the originals without having to work too hard to unlock them. If you haven't played them yet, you should: it's not KotOR, but it's still among the best Star Wars games you can find.

I've left out a few (Tales of Symphonia and PGR3/4, among others), but you have to stop at some point, right? Perhaps I'll talk about the stragglers some other time. For now, it's late, and 11 games ought to be more than enough!

It's time to look to the future! Well, mostly. 2007 is looking to quite possibly be the best year in gaming ever, and even after the gaming avalanche that has started with Bioshock, we still have an amazing selection to look forward to in the future. With that said, here are my picks for the Top 10 Most Exciting Games, released anytime from now on:

10. Eye of Judgment

I love card games. More importantly, I love trading card games. They're just so fun to collect and play with! However, given that the closest card shop near me is 2 hours away, I tend to have few to no people who can play with me. When any card game gets an online adaptation, I'm usually listening. When a game is specifically created to be played with a video game system, not even being on the expensive Playstation 3 can stem my curiosity. I'm with Penny Arcade on this one: Eye of Judgment looks awesome.

9. Rock Band

Guitar Hero is awesome, but why be limited to guitars? This natural evolution of the idea will undoubtedly be hampered by the price, but the end result ought to be sweet. If you can't get some friends together to make a band, make one online. It will be worth it.

8. Burnout Paradise

Burnout is awesome! In a continual effort to perfect the formula, Paradise gives you an open city to race in and the ability to see your opponent's reaction when you smash them to pieces. I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

7. Digimon World Dawn/Dusk

Yes, a Digimon game is on the list. Being an enthusiastic fan of the anime, I've been waiting a while for a polished Digimon game to arrive. Thankfully, with an awesome fifth season on the way to the US, we're now going to get a good Digimon game. If you've ever been a fan of the series, you should look into this game. If the nostalgia doesn't get you, the quality of the game will. Give Pikachu a rest and give this game a chance. You might be surprised.

6. Grand Theft Auto IV

It's Grand Theft Auto! Is there really anything else to say? The game ought to (finally) look good, and that may just be worth the price of admission alone. I just don't know enough to rank this game any higher.

5. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Touch controls scare me. However, if there's one thing I know for certain, it's that Legend of Zelda titles tend to be good. Really good. They're the kind of games that you just don't want to put down because they're so stupidly good. I'm still skeptic about the all-touch control scheme, but so far reports from Japan are that it's still fantastic, so I'll be looking forward to this glorious return to the cel-shaded seas.

4. Project Gotham Racing 4

In case you didn't know, Project Gotham Racing 2 is one of my favorite games ever. So far, one of the biggest reasons for getting a 360 has been PGR3, but now that PGR4 is right around the corner, my priorities are starting to change. When I finally get my 360, this will be one of the first games I get so that I can satisfy my crave for quality racing. After all, the next F-Zero game doesn't appear to be coming anytime soon, and this is an amazing substitute. I do love my sports cars.

3. Bioshock

This one just came out, so I can safely say that this game is worth obssessing over. It's currently the fourth best rated game ever! The graphics are gorgeous, the setting amazing, the storyline captivating, the enemies scary, and the gameplay all too much fun. At least, that's what I hear. I have been speculative of this game (the trailer of the Big Daddy drilling through the main character's hand still freaks me out), but now I'm all too excited about spending some time in Rapture.

2. Halo 3

It's Halo 3! Even without the fancy trailers and ridiculous promotion I'd be excited about this game. More importantly, the game seems to be doing everything right, with a mid-game map editor, beautiful graphics, and as always some of the best shooting action on the planet. Halo 2 on Live was insanely fun. With the 360's capabilities, this one will be even better.

1. Mass Effect

When Bioware makes a game, people pay attention. Why? Because their RPGs are among the best out there. In particular, I love KOTOR. When I first saw the game I didn't think much of it, but once I played it I was hooked. It was just too amazing to believe. Now there's Mass Effect, and it's raw potential makes even Halo 3 look underwhelming. The game has it all: the best graphics I've ever seen, a huge universe to explore, what's sure to be a killer storyline, and they even managed to turn it into a shooter. The dialogue sequences that made KOTOR so memorable are back as well, and now you get to hear your character talk as well while you choose your words on the fly. Everything about the game looks perfect. If it isn't perfect, Bioware's doing an amazing job making it look like it is. Chances are this will be the first game I get for the 360, and it ought to be worth every penny and more.

It's a blog post about everything! I've had a lot of subjects on my mind recently, but many only warrent a paragraph or two, so this will be a little of everything.

First off, something not about video games: I saw the Simpsons Movie today, and it was definately worth the wait. Fans of the television show will find that it is very faithful to the series, poking fun at every topic they can while keeping you interested in the main plot. However, there are a number of questionable scenes (it definately earns its PG-13 rating), so you may want to avoid bringing children.

E3 has come and gone, and it went largely as I expected it to: Microsoft has proven that it's still the top of the heap with a lineup of awesome games coming soon, Sony has proven you still shouldn't buy a PS3 yet as the majority of the exciting games are still far from release, and Nintendo is still emphasizing that the Wii is for everyone (which will probably allow it to surpass Microsoft soon enough). While I'm pleased that Sony brought out some heavyweights (MGS4, R&C, etc), I still think Microsoft "won" because of the sheer volume of games coming out in 2007, which is what I've always wanted to see from E3. The PS3 is looking better, but I'm far from convinced it's worth $600 ($500 if you count the "fire sale"). Nintendo is just too wierd for my tastes right now, though I have to admit Wii Fit looks like it could be a really great program (not game, program).

I'm always playing with "old" games, and most recently my game of choice was Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. I finally beat it, and I must admit I'm a tad disappointed with how it turned out. The story was just way too wierd for its own good, and I can't help but feel that the game ended a lot earlier then it should have. This is where my latest hope comes from: Bioware has a mystery MMO in the works, and I've got a hunch that it will be based on the KOTOR universe. Why? I've heard that they've liscensed the HeroEngine for the game, which is from an upcoming MMO that molds the game experience around the decisions of the player. That sounds perfect for an MMO based on KOTOR. As far as I know there hasn't been any information on what it's based on yet, but with Star Wars Galaxies having killed itself in the past few years, it doesn't seem all that hard to believe.

I've also played through Phantom Dust recently, and I had a blast. I've been using a Swift Arsenal for a few weeks now, which does a lot better then a Single-School Puny Arsenal has any right to. I don't have an active Live subscription right now, but I'm thinking this might just do well online once I do. I'm glad they decided to localize this gem, and I'm excited to hear that the creator has plans for a sequel. It's quirky, but it works.

Finally, I'm currently toying around with Anarchy Online again. You see, I'm a veteran of the game, having first started playing before even the "booster pack" Notum Wars was released. Their free play program has allowed for a rejuvenation of sorts, as expansionless "froobs" get to play with the excellent core game. The game is pretty old, having recently celebrated its 6th anniversary, but I still believe it is among the best MMOs out there. Maybe it's just the nostalgia talking, but I believe that it's still as fun as it was when I first started playing 5 years ago. In case anyone is interested in playing with me, I'm "Alotrel", an Omni Adventurer on RK2 (Rimor).

That's it for now, tune in later to hear about more old games and how Bioware is not making the KOTOR MMO that I want...

First off, a quick aside: I finally got to play SSX Blur at a demo booth last month. Sadly, I was greatly disappointed. It's probably because I only played for about 5-10 minutes, but I couldn't help but be annoyed the the tracks were all redecorated tracks from 3 and On Tour, that the characters looked almost nothing like they did in the past, and I simply couldn't figure out how anyone could do well with the seemingly unresponsive controls. Perhaps it does get better as it goes on, but we ought to expect more.

On to the real purpose of the article: why I have yet to get a 360. You see, I'm a big fan of the original Xbox. It was the only console I owned for the majority of the last "console war", and therefore easily became the console I enjoyed the most. Therefore, it seems natural that I should run out and purchase a 360 Premium or Elite. However, I simply didn't have the money for a while, and as time went on I found less and less reasons to enter the next generation. It's not because of the competing Wii and PS3, but rather the things about the 360 that continue to worry me.

Primarily, I'm worried about the obvious: the infamous Red Ring of Death. You see, my old Xbox broke down in a similar fashion twice. The first time was in Summer 2002, mere months after the release of the system, which was odd to say the least. The next time was 2005, which I wrote about in my very first blog entry. As you can probably guess, I didn't like losing nearly 3 years worth of save files because my Xbox suddenly decided it didn't enjoy working anymore. Now, after reading into the 360, I hate hearing how I'm likely to buy into the exact same situation. While it is nice to be able to remove my hard drive in this case, I'm still sick of seeing my system die for no apparent reason. The new 3-year warranty regarding this error shows that Microsoft is recognizing this problem, but I'd still rather wait and make sure that their new systems are actually being fixed as well.

Second, I've heard that the power cable comes with a rather large "brick". Again, bad memories of the Xbox haunt me regarding this, mostly due to the fact that the power cable of my old system was recalled due to a fire hazard. Given that the old cable lacked a "brick" whatsoever and that this one is supposed to have a huge one, I can't say I feel too comfortable. Is this an unreasonable worry? Probably, but I reserve the right to have them when an otherwise harmless looking product is found to have a chance at failing and burning down my house. That's scary!

The third problem is something I'm already partially familiar with: microtransactions via Xbox Live. On the original Xbox, while most downloadable content was free, some content packs like the original releases of Halo 2 maps required a "minimal fee". In the greatly upgraded Xbox Live on the 360, I understand that this content is much more frequent. Being a gamer who hates paying too much, I can't stand that these releases are allowed to continue. Additional content is always nice, but you better deliver when you ask us to pay for additional content. Oblivion, for example, looks like a definate buy should I get a 360, but there's no way I'll pay for some decorative horse armor. Again, maybe I'm just blowing this out of proportion, but it doesn't take too much of this to drive me nuts.

Of course there is plenty of reason to go ahead and buy one anyway. There are sequels to some of my favorite series (PGR, Halo) as well as exciting original titles (Mass Effect, Gears of War). There's the comprehensive Xbox Live Arcade, with titles ranging from Pac-Man to Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. There's a more comprehensive Live experience, from the aforementioned Marketplace to the Gamercards to the achievements that can be earned in each game. Still, $400 for the Premium and $480 for the Elite is steep, so I'd rather wait until Microsoft finally decides to have a price drop. Despite not having a price drop at their E3 press conference, I'm confident that the rising threat of the Wii will eventually cause a drop in price to compete, thereby nearly guaranteeing my purchase.

In short, I'm just wary of the potential problems with 360, and therefore are tempted to continue waiting until problems ranging from minor (Price) to major (RRoD) are fixed, or at least improved. As much as I love what is offered, I'd rather make sure that it's worth every penny first. I had my problems with the original, and there's bound to be some with the 360, but I'd rather avoid what I can. Till then, patience is a virtue!

I just got back into On Tour and finally beat it, and now I just can't stop thinking about the obvious comparison between it and it's prequel, SSX 3.  The thing is, SSX 3 makes SSX On Tour look like a terrible game, even though it is technically SSX 4.  Why is that?  I think it's time for a rant!

Reason #1: The Rock Theme Sucks!  Whoever thought that SSX needed to be injected with horrid sketchbook-style menus and rock 'n' roll music needs their head checked.  SSX has traditionally always been about style, with it's amazing locales and wild characters tearing down the slopes.  SSX 3 did it perfectly, utilizing fluid graphics and a killer soundtrack that made you feel one with the mountain.  SSX On Tour seems to be an exhibition on what SSX absolutely does not need.  I'm thrilled that Blur fixed this.  Speaking of graphics...

Reason #2: The graphics are worse!  Maybe it was just because I played 3 on the Xbox and On Tour on the PS2, but the graphics seem notably worse.  The only real improvement I saw was the killer snow weather effects, which seemed oddly cool for a game that generally doesn't take itself seriously.  The rest felt as if it was rushed, not comparing favorably to its predecessor.

Reason #3: What happened to my characters?  First off, you get to play through the game as a created character.  That would be cool, except that the character editor is horrid.  I eventually got someone I liked, but it was almost entirely because of the outfit, and not due to natural features that a character editor ought to allow you to create.  Also, the returning characters were given a rock makeover, and they didn't even do it well.  I could also complain that Griff didn't return from 3 (more props to Blur for that), but that's somewhat unimportant.

Reason #4: The courses are boring.  If you've ever played Tricky, it's hard to forget the wild tracks.  The first three games all had amazing courses, each accented by some particular theme or obstacle that made it tons of fun to explore.  On Tour doesn't do that, seemlessly blending together different themes and tracks so that you can't be sure what is what, and I still don't have a clue what some of them are named after beating the game.  There are some fun parts (like a gigantic jump off a dam), but most of it is lost to bad design.

Reason #5: Longer isn't better.  The thing is, most of the tracks are criminally short and are really quite easy.  To add difficulty as the game goes along, multiple courses are chained together to create long, tiring challenges that often aren't all that challenging.  In fact, it just makes it frustrating when one mistake on a course ruins the work you had on the two courses before.  Ironically, this leads to the Legendary Shred, equivalent to 3's All-Peak Race except with 4 people racing against you, being only about half the length and not nearly as exciting.  What a shame.

Reason #6: There are too many shortcuts.  My final complaint (for now) is that the game literally has too many shortcuts.  You see, shortcuts have been one of the mainstays of the SSX series, allowing for exciting new experiences that often help shave time off your races and rarely offer extra areas for your tricks.  This time, there are so many you can't be sure what you should do in a race.  This often leads to embaressing losses as the computer knows exactly where the best routes are, especially on the harder difficulties.  It takes forever to really learn a course, and even then it's still hard to figure out exactly what to do.

There's more to complain about, but that'll do for now.  Please note that On Tour really isn't a bad game; it's just that it sucks in comparison to the other titles in the series.  Do yourself a favor and pick up 3 instead, and hope that more SSX games like it are released for the next-gen.