On the morning of February 17th at 10:17, it was with extreme sadness that I declared my PS2 a casualty of long nights of nerding it up with cheato stained hands. Arguably the best console ever made, it saw the highest highs imaginable with titles like Final Fantasy XII and Tekken V, and also the lowest lows with Monster Hunter and Unlimited Saga. It was the first console I ever truly connected with, and it was with a heavy heart that I passed it on to gaming oblivion. You may be gone but not forgotten.

On a brighter note, I welcomed a new PS2 slimline into the console family, along with a very foolish purchase of Star Ocean to try it out. The game was the special edition on sale for 20 dollars, but that was a really poor choice. I've decided my punishment shall be to finish the title. I'm not the biggest fan of anime due to the numerous amounts of clichets, innapropriate cleavage shots, and the theory that high school children can solve the worlds problems for whatever reason. Either way, I'm about five hours into it, and already I'm pining for the vast pretentiousness of Xenosaga ep I. Go figure....

I'm not sure why GS didn't really cover it, but among MMO fanatics, the EvE Online crisis involving a software dev providing his alliance with high end loot and money is dissapointing to say the least. It had apparently been going on for 6 months, and with the prior knowledge of the higher ups who should have fired him, and apparently still haven't. Shame on them.

Crackdown is going to be released shortly, with promises of free roaming and halo 3 mp beta entry. Personally I have no interest in the mp beta other than to see the weapons. I'm waiting for the game to be released so I can play the single player campaign. To hell with gamers so foul that Bungie feels the need to bind a button to mute other players, I say cooperative with a friend is the only method to enjoy the game with multiple parties.

Also slated for release this week is Supreme Commander, a game so rife with strategy that I say it may be the penultimate strategy game for people who also suffer attention deficit disorder. Definitely worth a look for TA afficienados.

Have a good week.