Okay, folks, it's official, I have been moved to tears! I just finished my first run of the Final Fantasy XIII demo that is packaged with the Japanese import of FF VII Advent Children Complete. OMFG! The opening movie was amazing! Now for the game demo itself...

I wish I knew Japanese, because the trial, logically since it is an import, is in Japanese, but that did not hinder any aspect of it. Starting off with a cut scene of a war battle, you start off playing one of the female protagonists, Lightning. She, and her partner, battle their way through destroyed pathways in this war-torn city. Let me tell you, the graphics on this are going to be the best thing on ANY system. And the combat system, although I don't know Japanese, was easy to pick up. It was familiar, yet new and innovative. It played great on my PS3 with no noticable problems, no drop in frame rate. And, like any game in the series, you go through battling, finding treasure and gil, while uncovering more of the story. I was so happy that it retains the feel of the Final Fantasy series (particularly VII, VIII, and X) while still seeming fresh and new.

Midway through the demo, you switch to the character of Snow, and do more of the same. His combat technique is more hand-to-hand, and he packs a wallop! You'll see familiar character designs: there is an obvious Yuna clone and a Wakka clone that brought a smile to my face.

That being said, I'll be playing this trial over and over 'til I come home with the actual game.
Do yourself a favor and find a copy of this import. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it's better than Cats!

I should preface this a little. Generally, as far as first person shooters go, I go for the games like the Unreals, the Halo series, the Doom series, and all the Quakes. I never really was able to get into war shooters. And how many WW I & II games can people endure? The more modern game, Battlefield II I enjoyed. But they are generally not my thing. Then came the first Call of Duty. I still play it occasionally on my PC. Infinity Ward raised the bar on a genre. Since then, nothing has really grabbed me except for the more sci-fi shooter types. I realize that in the FPS genre of games, comparing sci-fi shooters and war shooters is liking comparing apples to oranges. But one thing the former had over the latter in most cases were games with more intense and tense action, and (except for the arena type games) they generally had a storyline that gave the games momentum. War games for me had been bland, with the feel of a bad history class, and as far as gameplay was concerned: they all played alike.

Now let me preface this review further: I recently got back from working out of town for two months. I did take my 360, PSP, and DS with me, but didn't have much time to play, not to mention the abysmal internet connections were I was. So I have been dying to get back into some hardcore gaming. And, prior to my leaving NYC I had just finished playing the beta of Call Of Duty 4 on the 360.

Now to the review: OMG! The beta was nice. It looked brilliant, and the three maps and limited game types we had during the beta were more than satisfying. So, on the road I was chomping at the bit to get home and pick up Call of Duty 4. When I came back to NYC, I rewarded myself with some retail therapy: the purchase of a beautiful new PlayStation 3 and COD4 for it. I had played the beta on my 360, and it was amazing in that machine. The graphics were so photorealistic, I just had to see what it would do on the PS3. Well, I chose well. Damn! There were points in the game where the action looked so real that it pulled me in. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

First, this is, as the title states: Modern Warfare. Infinity Ward got it right. We were ready to get away from the historic shooters. And they delivered a single player campaign, that although short, has a tense, taught action-filled well paced story told from several perspectives. The story, combined with the stellar graphics on the PS3 alone were enough to keep me on the edge of my seat, sucking me deeper into each mission. Holding my breath, listening careful for tell tale footsteps or the sound of someone reloading, scrambling for cover when the enemy has me pinned. Factor in some incredible weaponry with impressive firepower, the ability to pick-up and swap weapons, reloading times that are not unrealistically short or arduously long and being able to call in airstrikes and you have some incredible action-packed gameplay. As for the story, the prologue starts you off with a raid and escape from a ship. It's a nice warm-up to the real action, and what follows is nothing short of breathtaking. From Middle Eastern cities to regions of the former Soviet Union you'll play as different soldiers along the way, whose paths cross and lead into each other offering various perspectives in a story revolving around trade in weapons grade plutonium and the nuclear crisis that ensues. As for production value, this one packs in everything a blockbuster movie does - a lavish, yet atmospheric score and sound design, and well done voice acting. It is so well paced, with action that is unrelenting and even nerve-racking, that I will totally forgive it shortness. Try playing it on veteran mode or hardcore and that short story becomes much longer as you replay and replay certain parts. Finishing the game unlocks a totally replayable arcade mode, and collecting intel (there are 30 of them) will unlock some cheats. Just the single player was worth my $59.

Now on to the multiplayer. I mean, that's why we by these type of games. right? Right. Well, friends, if you haven't tried it, I just don't want to talk to you until you do. It's that damn good. The maps are thoughtfully laid out. They look real. They have depth, and they are pretty vast. There is always cover to duck behind. Some levels have grass and vegetation to crawl through. Sniping points are attainable, and with the new kill cam where once you've been killed, you see your death through your assassin's sights, so camping on a good sniping spot is dangerous. (Campers really chapped my ass in other games!) The multiplayer game types are familiar, and the more objective driven ones have a fresh feel to them, although we've done them before. In multiplayer, there are some interesting tactical moves you can open as you play. For instance, get three consecutive kills without dying enables a UAV radar, and seven consecutive kills will give you helicopter support. As you start the multiplayer, you have a few clsses to chose from, each with it's own weapons and perks. As you advance in rank and level, you open up more as well as new perks. These "perks" are an ingenious and satisfying upgrade system. They are anything from deep impact, which allows for deeper bullet penetration to juggernaut which allows you to sprint further, to last stand, where upon being dealt a fatal shot, you pull out your pistol in an effort to take 'em with you. Oh, and I almost forgot - those grenades being lobbed way, they can be tossed back with a pull on a trigger. Loving it.

All in all, this ranks among my top games of 2007, and one of the best shooters of all time. Look for me on my PS3. I'll be up for a match.

Where do I begin? Well, for the last two months I have been in Las Vegas, opening a new restaurant. For those who don't know, I am in management with Hawaiian Tropic Zone, a rather high tech restaurant featuring cuisine by celebrity chef David Burke served by beautiful Hawaiian Tropic ladies. In a nutshell, my job entailed me basically writing the book on the restaurant, i.e.: all of the training materials for each position, as well as assisting with the hiring, and heading up the training of the front-of-the-house staff. I put in a lot of long hours on this project, so I had very little time to enjoy Vegas. (Honestly, I prefer New York, and I am glad to be home.) It was a rewarding experience altogether, and I made some new friends in the process. Although the hours were long (averaging 12 hours a day/6 days a week) I did manage to get out every once in a while, and the geek in me came through. Yes, good people, I went to the Star Trek Experience! (Yes I did hit the casinos and shows - you can't spit without hitting one of those!) I was like a kid at Christmas. They had two cool simulations: The Borg Invasion and The Klingon Encounter. I was impressed. Actually, I was grinning from ear to ear during them!

Knowing that I was in for some long hard hours of work, I did pack with me my therapy: video games. I took my 360, DS, and PSP with me. Now, you would think that with all the glam and glitz of Vegas their internet services would be up to par. I beg to differ. All throughout Vegas, businesses, hotels, and residences had internet providers that frequently went down. As well, while evryone had high-speed, which wasn't that fast at all, their broadband was too narrow to be called broad. The first hotel I stayed at (The Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino) charges $12 a day for internet access! The other hotel I was in had free high speed, but it was just a step up from dial-up. Bottom line: my 360 functionality was severely compromised. Forget about playing Halo 3 where you need to have an open NAT. I really couldn't enjoy any online game that needed broadband or high speed. Then, because the bandwidth wasn't broad enough, I couldn't access many half the XBox live features: videos, movies, etc. This really pissed me off. I realize that evolving technology in games and systems makes more demands on ISPs and their technology, but this is also making a lot of features inaccessable to part of the country, and even the world. It made me appreciate what I have taken for granted in New York.

I did get some quality time in with my 360. I finished the Shivering Isles expansion for Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. I have to say that was probably the best expansion I have ever played on a game. I also downloaded the latest from the Live Arcade: Mutant Storm Empire and Battlestar Galactica. I have been a huge fan of Mutant Storm since it came out on the original Xbox Live Arcade. This one is pure joy.

Now, while I was away several titles came out that I have been looking forward to, and I picked them up yesterday, first thing. My first day back in NYC: Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Mass Effect, and Call of Duty 4. I played the COD4 beta on 360, but I got this version for my new console purchase - my brand new PS3. Yes, folks, I finally did it. Well, let me rephrase that - I could finally afford it! OMG! COD4 looks brilliant on it. I can't wait for more titles to come out that would show off what the PS3 can do!

That's all for now. Gonna catch up on some gaming. See you online!