Well I've finally broke down, and my income tax refund came in, which helped in my decision a lot, and I finally bought an Xbox 360 last weekend. I also got ES:Oblivion and Quake 4 with it.

I have to say that it is a remarkable game machine. Xbox Live has really been revamped well for this generation. It's interesting, but I find myself downloading demos and trailers more then actually playing games. By the way ES:Oblivion is an amazing game... I am not even an RPG fan, and I am having an amazing time playing this game. The scope of it is breathtaking!!

Anyways, I'll have more of my impressions of the console and the games I play on it coming soon! Got to go play now!

All through the period leading to Christmas, we all have been inundated with ads advertising games for the 360 and ads for the system itself. If I got a nickel for every time I saw on G4 Tech TV those water balloon fight or the people rope skipping commercials advertising the Xbox 360, well I wouldn't be rich, but I would have a few more dollars in my pockets. All of this advertisements for a system that nobody could find anywhere.

To add injury to insult, I walked into my local Best Buy a couple of weeks before Christmas, and the MS reps were in there hard at work displaying Call of Cuty 2 and Perfect Dark Zero on large HD TVs. When I asked them where I could find a console, they of course said that none were available...then why the heck were these guys there trying to sell me a machine if none are for sale???

I know that advertisement campaign are prepared months ahead of a product launch, but TV advertisements can be cancelled at days noticed id a product is not available. Please Microsoft, next time, and there will be a next time, make sure you have enough product to answer the demand. Don't try to sell me something if you don't have anything to sell!!!

It seems that in the last couple of weeks or so, the 360 is finally making its way into stores. I was at Best Buy last weekend and they had about 20 premium systems and about 40 core systems in stock so hopefully, we are starting to see a steady stream of machines hitting the market.

By the way, I was really tempted to fork out the $500 ($CAN) for a premium system. I even had it in my hands, but then I looked at the game selection... and I then had to put it back!... I just can justify buying a system that expensive to play really 1 or 2 games that interest me. I will wait until mid-Summer and see if the selection gets better.

Well Super Mario is 20, Mario himself is actually 24 as he first appeared in Donkey Kong in 1981.  But the Super Mario that we all know, the console Super Mario, is actually 20 this year.  He first appear on the NES in 1985.

I am actually surpise that Nintendo is not publishing any real Super Mario Game this year to underline this event.  Actually, I don't think we have had a real original Super Mario game since Super Mario 64 and that was all the way back in 1996.  Sure he has been in Super Mario Sunshine, and that was a very good game, but to me, that wasn't a real Super Mario game.  I got tired really fast of the whole water cannon mechanics, and the game wasn't even set in the Mushroom Kingdom!!  It was more of a side story then an actual Super Mario adventure.  Sure, there's also been Super Mario adventures on the GB, GBA and DS, but they were all rehash of old games

Of course he's been on the party scene quit a lot with what, 6 or 7 Mario Party Game, but again, these are not Super Mario games.  He also got in a fight or two in the Super Smash Bros. games, and yes, you've guest it, not Super Mario games.  And then there's the countless sports games... tennis... golf... soccer, all... well you get the point.

So at 20 Super Mario is a no-show, with no real Super Mario game in sight... and at this rate, he might have a gray mustache and run quite slowly by the time we see him again in a genuine original Super Mario Game!!