I don't think I have ever been hyped about a game like I am for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was quite a surprise for me. First, I never had any plans of playing the game initially. With it mainly being a shooter (which is a genre that I'm not a fan of), I was willing to let it pass me by. But the more I saw on it, something told me that it might be worth my time. I wasn't disappointed...for the most part. Don't get me wrong. Uncharted was a damn good game. But I could have gone without all the Resident Evil business at the end. I still scored it an 8.5 nevertheless. With Uncharted 2 releasing Tuesday, my voyage on the hype train comes to an end and I finally get a chance to get my hands on what I'm expecting to be my Game of the Year (dethroning Batman: Arkham Asylum).

Now Playing:

Okami (PS2)

I'm about 20-something hours in on Okami and find it to be an enjoyable experience. Gameplay is fun, good sense of humor, interesting characters, satisfying soundtrack, and the graphics look good. Can't find anything to really complain about right now. Though I can say that a lock-on feature would have been helpful for some of the battles.

On Deck:

Uncharted 2: Among Theives (PS3)

Can't wait! Nothing more needs to be said.

Most Recent Disappointing News:

Alpha Protocol

Well, Alpha Protocol got pushed back til Spring 2010 (it was supposed to release on October 6th...OF THIS YEAR!!!). Breaks my heart really, especially since Sega waited til the day of the release to semi-announce the delay. I was looking forward to it. No official word on why it was pushed back. Rumors say that Sega was displeased that the game didn't feel like a RPG at all (they were expecting it to feel more like Mass Effect). Sending Obsidian back to the drawing board. I will admit that the game seemed like a shooter or stealth game depending on how it was played, but the RPG elements were there. I'm not sure what Sega was expecting (if the rumors are true). Did they want a Mass Effect rip-off?

Recent Purchases:

The Blueprint 3 - Jay-Z

Jay-Z is one of my favorite hip-hop artists. Lyrically, I think he's the best (though artists like Joe Budden are on his heels). But Jay has gradually been on a downward spiral when it comes to the quality of his albums since his 8th studio album, The Black Album. The Blueprint 3, his 11th studio album, is better than his 9th and 10th...thank God. Don't get me wrong. Kingdom Come and American Gangster weren't horrible albums. But it just seemed like Jay was in cruise control for those albums. You can tell the hunger is gone, but I guess when you've had 9 of your 11 albums land #1 on the billboard (his first two didn't) and all your albums have gone platinum (1,000,000 sold) or more in sales, then the hunger is gonna be non-existent. The Blueprint 3 isn't his best work, but it's a good album. I didn't like it much when I first listened to it. It has grown on me the more I have listened to it though. I would say that my favorite tracks are Already Home, Hate, and Empire State Of Mind.

Man on the Moon: The End of Day - Kid Cudi

I am currently loving this album. Even more than The Blueprint 3. Kid Cudi is no lyrical genius, but this album is so different from what is currently happening in the hip-hop scene; and that's a good thing. This album feels fresh. Funny thing is, I had no intentions on buying this album at all cause I honestly thought dude was gonna be a one-hit wonder. I listened to the album on the day of release on some website that was providing a free listening session for the album because I had nothing else better to do at the time, and I ended up very surprised. Definite favorites are Soundtrack 2 My Life, Simple As..., Day N Nite, Sky Might Fall, Enter Galactic, Cudi Zone, and Pursuit of Happiness.

Life Starts Now - Three Days Grace

I had no doubts this album wouldn't be good. 3DG is proven product for me. They haven't let me down yet. This is their 3rd album and the quality of this album does nothing more than solidify their position as one of my favorite bands. Favorites from this one would be World So Cold, The Good Life, Last To Know, Someone Who Cares, Without You, and Life Starts Now.

Brand New Eyes - Paramore

I can admit that I ignored Paramore until I caught their video for Decode on MTV2 one morning. I thought the song was cool, but just brushed it off afterwards. Later, I found that they were signed to Fueled By Ramen, which is a record label that has several bands I like. So I decided to give some more of their stuff a listen. Next thing you know, I purchase both their 1st and 2nd album not too long after that. So here we are with their 3rd album; and to my satisfaction, it is a very good album. An album that almost didn't happen. The pressure of Hayley getting all the attention was driving the band apart and they almost broke up. It may sound wrong, but I think that animosity between them helped them make Brand New Eyes what it is. Paramore has climbed their way into my favorite bands list thanks to this album. Favorite songs are Ignorance, Playing God, Brick By Boring Brick, Turn It Off, Misguided Ghosts, and All I Wanted.

That's a wrap peeps! Sorry for the long blog, but it had been a while since I had done a proper one. Had a lot to fill you in on this time around.

Later!