During the Microsoft E3 press conference, this trailer blew me away the most. If one game could finally convince me to buy a 360, it would be this one... this one. A racing game.

It tends to happen every year, I guess. That forbidden game that makes me regret not owning such and such. I've entered a period of this gen where I own two of the three consoles, thereby granting me the opportunity to play 95% of all titles. But Forza is part of the 5% of games I'll never play. It's a cruel world.

Of course, my intentions have always been clear with Microsoft. I refuse to buy a 360 considering its shoddy state of hardware. I don't care if MS has a ridiculous warranty or the game library is by all accounts, pretty awesome. I'm allowed to be bitter and biased here, ok?

I guess what I'm trying to say here... my guard is lowering and Microsoft is getting ready to pounce.

The money I want to spend, just to play a racing game.

Earlier today I went on a bit of an adventure to find an old used videogame store that has seemingly defied the times and survived despite economic turmoil and the abundance of large chain stores. It was about a half hour out of my way and a fair lot of kilometres, but as it turns out, it was probably worth the trip.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the store, hilariously enough, was the stench... it smelt like old sweat and no deodorant. Of course I looked past it and was impressed by the collection of games scattered all across the place. I didn't just see 360 and Wii titles either, but there was also a pretty decent SNES, Genesis, NES, and Gameboy collection as well.

Looking through the store, there was a bunch of totally nerdy but totally awesome memorabila as well. Transformers action figures, Millenium falcons, and get this... a power glove! I wanted to buy it just for the sheer thrill that I would have one!

It's so... pointlessly...... cool!

I bought Killzone 2, used, for cheaper than I've seen elsewhere (ala, EB Games). I also picked up a shhhhweeeeeet pair of Nintendo dice to throw in my car. My brother bought the new Tales of Symphonia game.

I may just head over there more often, if only to throw some more support towards the little guys. It's not often you see places like these around, and that brings massive lukewarm tears to my masculine, chiseled cheek bones.

I'm generally an offline gamer. Despite being a member of this tube of internets, seldom do I play online games against people. But in 2005, I was addicted to a little game called Battlefield 2. It basically consumed me. I was 19 at the time, fresh out of my parents basement and living on my own, and all I did was play BF until the wee hours of the morning. I vividly remember staying up all night and coming into work in the morning a total zombie.

(A zombie, guys! A zombie!)

Eventually, I quit the game. I moved and my internet connection didn't move with me. I went cold turkey.

Sure, I had some run ins with a little game called BF2142. But nothing had me hooked.

Now Battlefield: Heroes comes into play. It's free, the cartoon visuals work on my computer, 8 vs 8 online battles, and best of all, it's a lot of fun to play. And oh yeah, it's free!

Like all Battlefield games before it, your primary goal is to capture enemy bases and defend until the game ends. Easier said than done however, since the action can get intense in any split second. But that's just part of the fun!

There's only three maps (1 big, 1 medium, and 1 small), but they're all fun and offer a little mix of both close range and long distance targeting... besides, it's not like you SHOULD complain over something like that with a free game! You can only create 4 characters spread between the two factions, so that's unfortunate. But, this is still beta mode, so who knows what'll happen as EA tweaks a few of the game's components.

The reason you come back for more, however, is the character customization. With enough points earned on the battlefield, eventually you will level up. Every two level ups allow you to upgrade a character stat, so you can be slightly more devastating in game. You also earn silver points periodically, which you can use to purchase different (not necessarily stronger) guns. There's a fair bit to it which adds a little bit of depth to an already impressive (free) package.

I recommend it. Keep an eye open for a National soldier called MellowYellow. That would be I.