In ominous fashion, my internet connection went down at 1 am last night, after hours of waiting for the new Penny Arcade RPG to come out on XBLA. Does anyone have this yet? Is it worth $20? It seems that the powers that be just don't want me to know...

I'm also considering Stubbs the Zombie, which I missed when it originally came out as I was without an xbox. Is that worth it? IS ANYTHING WORTH IT?

I'm FINALLY getting around to Phantom Hourglass, which surprises me with how good it is. I read all of the reviews when it originally came out, but remained skeptical of the complete stylus control. It works, and I love it. I can't wait to delve into it more, which I'll have time to do once graduation becomes nearer and nearer.

Speaking of which, this time next month I will have my BA from Eastern Washington University. Kind of a big deal. I feel like I'm REALLY becoming an adult. Time to find a job.

Reggie

BTW, everyone is going to hate me for this... but I sold my Wii. It's kind of a long story, but it boils down to time issues. Every free moment I have for gaming draws me to my 360. Also, my friend really wanted a Wii (and offered me a good price) and I wanted it to go to a good home. So there it is. I still have visitation rights. In fact, I'm sitting right next to it at this very moment.

I completed Condemned: Criminal Origins yesterday. It was a pretty fun game... maybe a little bit too short? I don't know. I really like the survival horror genre, which isn't exactly what this game is, but it certainly has elements from that genre. It doesn't really have an engaging storyline, which is what I'm used to in my horror games (thanks to Silent Hill spoiling me). But anyways, I had a good time, and I probably will pick up the sequel once the price goes down.

I got back into Mass Effect today, and I'm liking it again. It's really addictive when I'm actually playing it, but once I leave it alone for a couple of days I have absolutley no desire to play it. Does that make sense? I really do enjoy the game, and I'm looking forward to beating it and picking up lots of sweet achievements (almost up to 20,000 ). ALSO: I bought the DLC planet that came out for Mass Effect and completed it tonight. I've heard a lot of people say that it's not worth $5, but I disagree. It adds a fun little subplot and alien race... and just a fun mission overall.

Picked up Brawl yesterday at Gamestop. While I feel weird about pre-ordering games, basically tying myself to one specific store, something can be said for it: you pretty much KNOW you're going to get a copy, and when you go to Gamestop they don't hassle you about having not pre-ordered it. I'll throw down $5 for piece of mind.

Anywho... the game is really fun. Like I said before, I didn't get much into Melee, so I don't really have any comparisons with that game. Brawl makes me nostalgic for the good old days, playing the first Smash Bros with my cousins on the N64. I was around 5th grade at that time, and Smash Bros was so fun... so magical. Brawl seems to retain some of that magic.

The game looks really good, sounds really good (when using the Wii mote to play ((which I don't recommend)) the character you select says something over the Wii speaker. It's pretty cute), and the unlockables seem to be plentiful. I've toyed around with nearly all of the characters... and I can tell you that Link doesn't seem to be as good as he used to be (back on the 64) and King Dedede is really awesome if you know how to play him. Snake can be really cool with the right player... and I must say he probably has my favorite Final Smash. I'm anxious to try Sonic, but first I have to complete the Subspace Emissary.

Which brings me to my next point, and probably my only real complaint with the game: the Subspace Emissary is pretty lame. The cutscenes are fantastic... but the platforming is very simple and takes forever. I'm only 20% in, and I don't really look forward to the next 80%. But whatever, it's still a fantastic game, and I recommend it to everyone of my friends who happens to have a Wii (as if you weren't already planning on it).

Reggie

For the first time in a LONG time, I was completely pleased with the Academy Awards. Those who deserved to be recoginzed, were (which was especially gratifying in the case of best song, when the duo from Once beat out 3 songs from Enchanted. 3 CRAPPY songs). A very good show this year... and I'm excited to see all of the new films that are coming out in the coming year.

Moving on... I purchased No More Heroes today. I'm having a good time with it so far, although I can certainly see why people have complaints about driving from place to place. Travis' motorcycle drives like a tank, and the graphics of the city are far from beautiful. I'm excited to get more into it this weekend.

I also bought Kirby 64 on the Virtual Console this week, as my girlfriend is a huge Kirby fan. I'm pretty disappointed by this one. Kirby's Adventure on the NES is one of my favorite NES games... and Kirby 64 doesn't retain that magic, but does maintain almost the exact same gameplay. It's hard to explain why I'm disappointed. I just wanted more. Oh well.

I preordered Smash Bros last weekend... and I'm really looking forward to next Sunday. I had a Gamecube for only a short amount of time, so I was never really able to dive into Melee as much as I wanted to. I'm excited to explore every nook and cranny of Brawl. I'm thinking about investing in second and third Gamecube controllers (I already have one, as well as a cla$$ic controller... and I'm not going to make any of my friends play with a Wiimote) for the event... but we'll see how that goes.

In Rock Band news... I was pretty disappointed with the DLC this weekend, which is a bit odd because I consider myself a fan of Nine Inch Nails. The problem? I don't really like any of those songs. The Perfect Drug is okay, I guess, but I think they can do better next time. I'm excited for tomorrow, when we will find out the DLC for next week. Crossing my fingers for something good.

- Reggie

This morning was the first time in about a month that I have played Assassin's Creed (that may not be totally accurate, but it feels that way), and I totally see why I left it unfinished. That game is very... frustrating. It's a great idea, but the game doesn't feel right. I really don't look forward to finishing that one... but I know that I will push myself to do it to get the points.

Speaking of points, I have been going through Call of Duty 2 on Veteran difficulty to try to earn all 1,000 points. It's a lot tougher than I expected. The end of the third British mission is extremely tough. It took me at least a couple of hours to shoot down some stupid planes. It's my first time ever playing through COD2 and I can really see why the franchise is so popular. Personally, out of the three games in the series that I have played, COD3 was a low point. COD2 does everything that 3 does, but a little bit better. And... pretty much everyone knows that COD4 is amazing.

Before seeing There Will Be Blood on Friday, I stopped in at Gamestop and picked up a couple of games for my sad, mostly forgotten Wii: Metal Slug Anthology and Zack and Wiki. I've had my eye on Metal Slug for some time now, and seeing it for less than $20 is really what pushed me to get it. The fact that XBLA can get away with charging $10 for Metal Slug 3 alone is pretty jaw-dropping. The compilation seems like a lot of fun, and I'm really anxious to get into it a bit more.

Zack and Wiki is one incredible game that I hope that everyone with a Wii eventually picks up. It's already been cut in price (from the original $40 to $30) and it's a shame that nobody is buying it. The style is a bit childish, but the gameplay is really great, with some of the puzzles being downright mind-boggling. I can't recommend this game enough.

Rock Band has also been taking up a lot of my time. I told myself I wouldn't buy it... but of course I broke down and did, and I can't think of a better decision I've ever made. The game is fantastic. I've tried to go back to Guitar Hero 3, and I can't. Guitar Hero 3 seems to be too focused on the challenge of getting through complicated solos, whereas Rock Band is about enjoying the music while you play. I'm slowly making myself go broke by downloading tons of DLC for the game. And with Smashing Pumpkins and Rush coming out tomorrow, you bet that I'll invest another few bucks.

This post feels like it has gone on for long enough...

I'll post more often from now on.

I promise.

Reggie

... and it's a great game. No surprise there. Is it my game of the year? Definitely not. While I really enjoyed Halo 3, Bioshock was a much more awesome experience. Halo does come in at a close 2nd though. I bought the Limited Edition of the game, and I'mlooking forward to checking out what's on disc 2.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass comes out on Monday, and I'mconsidering picking up a copy. I haven't had much use of my DS as of late (ever since the elite four went down, so did my DS), and I'm thinking this might be a good opportunity to pick it up again. The complete stylus controlmakes me worry a little bit, but who knows,it probably works really well.

Guitar Hero 3 is officially less than a month away, and I am SO psyched. The tracklist is more than awesome, and I'm really anxious to see what Activision has in store with this sequel. I really am more hyped for GH3 than Rock Band, because of the $100+ price difference (I already have a 360 guitar from GH2, and I don't see a reason to pick up another one), and really because of the songs. I know that it's only a matter of taste, but I think the GH3 tracklist is the best that we've seen on a music game to date.

Anywho... summer is officially over and I've been back at school for a week. Expect to see me on more and more now, as I will probably have less and less to do.

I just finished Bioshock moments ago, and I can safely say that it is one of my favorite games of all time. Everything about it is breathtaking. If you have a 360, you should really get it. As far as that goes, I think I've said all that I need to say.

I'm left with a blank as to what I'm going to play next. I still have 3 or 4 weeks until I have to go back to school, and I really need to pick up a new game to keep me busy. I've been thinking Saints Row, since I've heard great things about it and I missed it back when it came out. Also, Saints Row might curb the pain I've had in my heart since GTA IV was delayed.

I haven't turned on my Wii in over three weeks. It's becomeaproblem. I hear that there have been two updates since I've last turned it on, which is really shocking to me. I need something to light a fire under my ***, and preferably something in game form. I'm pretty sure Metroid Prime 3 ain't gonna do it.

While I haven't been actively posting on the Gamespot boards or here on my blog, I have been checking my account almost every day to see what everyone else is up to, and for the most part it's one thing: Bioshock. I too have entered Rapture and have not looked back.

First off, the game is so beautiful. When the plane crashes into the ocean at the beginning of the game, I literally just stared at the plane as the tail sunk below the water's surface. Even if the gameplay sucked (which, by the way, it so does NOT), I would just leave it running constantly in my room as it's more beautiful than any piece of art I've ever seen.

Secondly, the story is pretty amazing. While I haven't picked up all the pieces to the puzzle as far as the plot goes, I'm really enjoying every bit of voice-over that the game throws at me (of which there is many).

Lastly, theaction in the game handles so very very well. There might be nothing more satisfying than freezing a jumping enemy and shattering him with a shotgun blast. The customizable weapons are just icing on the cake, and really leave ways to destroy the baddies completely up to the player.

Anywho, I'm still around... everyone should keep posting... because I am watching. ALWAYS. I know. Scary.

Love,
Reggie

When I got back from school a month ago, I was reunited with my Xbox 360. Since my brother and I each threw in $200+ for the machine, it stayed home with him while I was away, allowing him to master all of our games as well as stomp my achievement score. For the past month, almost all of my time has been spent with my 360, thus my Wii has been getting no love.

So I got to this point where I was thinking that I would sell my Wii, and save up a little money on top of that, eventually purchasing my own 360. I was going to do it, because it just felt so... right.

The lackluster Nintendo E3 Press Conference changed all of that.

I got up early to watch Reggie boast about numbers, and tell me mostly stuff I already knew, and I was a little bit disappointed that I could have been sleeping instead of watching it... but for some reason, towards the end, the presentation charmed me. Nintendo has always been there for me, since before I can remember I have had Nintendo consoles. Nintendo defines what gaming means to me, as Link, Mario, and Kirby will always define fun.

Even though I can't get achievement points with it (or watch DVDs on it, which has proved to be annoying since I had to send my Xbox to Microsoft), I'm going to keep my Wii. It's hard to have patience when Microsoft has so many good games out now, but I know that Nintendo will not let me down.

If I'm wrong, and Nintendo's Wii lineup turns out to be a total flop, at least I'll be able to lose a little weight with WiiFit.

I beat Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem the Monday night... and I REALLY dug it. I'm sure that a lot of you guys have already played it by now, but if you haven't, I highly recommend it. I just put my review up a few moments ago... so if you like you could click on it and give it a recommendation! That would be awesome

As for recent purchases, I bought Sim City on the VC yesterday, even though I already own it for SNES. I really love that game. It remains my favorite Sim City of all time.

Next week comes Scarface for the Wii, which I think I'll give a rent. I'm not the biggest fan of the film (it's probably De Palma's 4th or 5th best film, in my opinion), but I always thought that it would be fun to play as Tony Montana, so this would be my best chance.

 Anyways... I'm off to play Sim City. There's a new Top Chef on tonight! Everyone should watch it.

 - Reggie

I bought ActRaiser yesterday morning on the Wii VC, and I have to say it's a really great game. I blind-bought it, so I really didn't know if I would like it or not, but I ended up loving it. I just posted my review. You should read it if you have some spare time.

I'm about 25 hours and 6 badges into Pokemon Diamond. It's a really fun game, and more often than not I have to force myself to put it down.

In other news... I might be getting a job at Game Stop this summer. I think it would be a lot of fun if I did because I really like talking with people about games (and I would be getting some discounts, which would be really awesome )

Anywho... thanks for reading this. I hope you're doing well.

I broke down this weekend and picked up a copy of Pokemon. It appears to be a game that will soak up absolutely all of my time. It's such a hard game to put down. I spent 6 hours on it today

I received a copy of Sonic and Secret Rings as a gift last week. I think it's one of the prettier games that I've seen on the Wii thus far. As for the actual gameplay... eh. I find it to be very frusterating much of the time.

I'm excited that Metroid is coming out in August With Madden coming out one week and then Metroid the next, I'm going to be a busy boy in August.

I'm realizing more and more with every day that my DS goes unused. My Wii has completely taken over all of my gaming time, which sadly is not as much as I would like.

I planned on getting Pokemon this summer, since I didn't think I'd have much else to do, but I'm reconsidering that. Pokemon just doesn't appeal to me as much now as it once did, and I really can't see myself investing a good chunk of time into one of those games. Without Pokemon, my DS will be even more unloved. Maybe I should get Puzzle Quest... I hear good things about that game.

Anyways, I went to see Spidey 3 on Friday and I really enjoyed it. It definitely had some flaws, and it's not as good as the two films preceeding it in the franchise, but I still think it's a solid movie.

The game on the other hand... well, I put my in-depth review up. I wasn't very happy.

- Reggie

I beat Super Paper Mario (SPM) last week. I love the game.... it's really fun, cute, and just all-around a good time. BUT... when I beat the game, I was unaware of the sidequest to get the Piccolo pixl. After I got it, I started trying to collect all of the cards in the game, a feat that I now realize I will never be able to accomplish.

There are two blocks that Piccolo can break down for you to unveil cards, one in Flipside and one in Flopside. You can get to the one in Flipside just fine: on the outskirts of town, take the pipe that goes up (the one that is blocked by blocks) and you will get the Merlee card. When I go to Flopside to do the same thing... there is no platform underneath the pipe. I realized that the only way to get up that pipe is to use Tippi to find it, and Tippi no longer hangs out with you after you beat the game.

Needless to say, I'm pretty upset about this. I wasn't necessarily going to collect all of the cards, but now I'm not even going to bother trying, since there's no way I'll be able to get them all. Now, the only way to get all of the cards is to beat the game again, remembering to retrieve Piccolo faster than I did the first time around.

You got me this time, Nintendo. *shakes fist*

Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64 is a rare case in the gaming world. This game based on the popular film was not only good, but it was the N64's biggest success stories, and certainly one of the most remembered games for that console.

Released in 1997, this first person shooter had you take control of James Bond, allowing you to feel like you yourself are smoking fools with the golden gun.

The story mode to the game was fairly deep for its time, designating the player to complete objectives, but also giving the opportunity to complete optional objectives, in case said player REALLY wants to feel like a hero.

The game really shines, and is remembered for, its split-screen multi-player mode. Allowing players to pick from many different characters in the film series' past (from Bond to Oddjob), those players were then allowed to completely waste each other in a well crafted, fairly fast-twitched (for its time) deathmatch.

Goldeneye 007 will be remembered for making multiplayer FPS matches fun for home consoles. That and the ability to virtually shoot Pierce Brosnan in the face.

I went to see Hot Fuzz this morning. While it wasn't quite as good as Shaun of the Dead, it definitely had its moments. I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

After taking into account all of the homework I have this weekend (a rought cut of my fiction film and a 16-page rough draft of a screenplay based on James Joyce's Araby are both due Monday), I have decided that I will continue my list of great games based on movies on Monday.

Last night I was thinking about the coming year and all of the great games that are coming out... all of the games that I know I'm going to buy:

Spider-Man 3
Madden 08
Smackdown vs Raw 2008
Mario Galaxy
Smash Bros Brawl
Metroid Prime 3
Manhunt 2
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles
Battalion Wars

With Resident Evil 4 being tentatively $30, that brings the total to $480. That's absolutely insane.

Especially since I'm considering buying Escape from Bug Island, simply for the cheese factor, bringing the total to over $500 for the rest of the year. I'd never really thought about how expensive gaming habits are until recently. Time to start saving!

Everyone of my friends here on Gamespot really should join the Wii the People union. I think it has really great potential, and could become a great place to chat if everyone participates!

Wii the People Union

I'm having an arguement on the OT board if KISS is or is not considered an 80's hair band.

1) KISS thrived in the 70's. While they had albums come out in the 80's, those are typically not the ones they are remembered for (they had albums come out in the 90's, but you wouldn't call them a 90's band would you?)
2) Hair bands are ****fied as bands that came out in the LA metal scene during the 80's, such as Motley Crue and LA Guns. Back then, they were not considered "hair bands" (not right away, at least), but rather metal bands. Hair bands are what they are referred to now, and since KISS wasn't a part of that scene, they really have no business being called a hair band.
3) Just because the members have hair doesn't make them a hair band.

Come on people.... Read some Klosterman.