It's been a while since I've posted (as usual), and I've played a lot of games in the meantime. In that regard, I have lots of opinions about them, whether I've played them for countless hours or simply run through a portion of the story mode. Better get started, since this could last a while:
Bioshock: May as well start with a big name. I have mixed feelings about this game. On one hand, the atmosphere is mindblowingly amazing. Few games can match the polish on the graphics and sound, and the world they create begs to be explored. On the other, battles rarely feel fresh and fun, as emphasis is placed on plasmids (awesome the first time, increasingly annoying afterward). Also, the hacking minigame is the most annoying thing on the planet. However, I'm not too far in the game yet, so I'm sure my opinion will change for the better soon.
Call of Duty 4: Wow! Where Bioshock seems to miss the mark as a shooter, this game nails it in every regard. Single player campaign rarely has a dull moment, and the online multiplayer is among the best out there. An absolute shame that the next game is supposed to return to WWII, as this is a huge step forward for the series, and even for the genre as a whole.
Guitar Hero 3: Given this is my first Guitar Hero game, I've loved nearly every moment of it. The song selection is full of hits, though admittedly some have rather boring guitar parts. Also, hard and expert seem ridiculous in their difficulty level, especially given the introduction of the final button. As a new player, learning a new button while dealing with the huge jump in difficulty is downright silly. Still, an overall great package.
Crackdown: Not that new, but it's new for me. The free-roam gameplay is a blast to play, though it does get repetitive after a while. Being superhuman has to get old at some point, I suppose. It's worth noting that the game gets a burst of fun each time you level up your Agility, as you'll be able to go farther faster, practically reinventing travel through the city each time.
Advance Wars: Dual Strike: The best game on the DS. No, really. Nothing even remotely touches it, especially if you limit the playing field to strategy games. Need any incentive? This game came out over two years ago, and not even titles like LOZ: Phantom Hourglass can touch it's brilliance. Find a copy. Find a copy now. At the very least try Days or Ruin, which comes out next week and looks just as great!
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: Speaking of Phantom Hourglass, this game is truly a disappointment. It's not the controls (those are great!), but rather the fact that the game is short, puzzles incredibly easy, dungeons few and short, bosses fairly unexciting, and the fact that you have to go through one dungeon six times. I haven't actually beaten the game yet because I don't want to crawl through that dungeon again to face the final boss. Sad how Nintendo can make such silly mistakes with one of their flagship series, yet somehow they did. Still, it's worth playing, as the touch controls are fun and many aspects still very well done.
Mass Effect: Bioware has once again proven to be the undeniable master of RPGs. This RPG/Shooter hybrid is full of fun, from the intuitive conversation system to the huge array of sidequests and planets to explore. Sure, it's easy to pick out flaws in this game, but this game does 10 things well for every thing it messes up. Also, with a game so gargantuan in scope, it's amazing that they didn't screw it up entirely. This is an achievement in gaming, and should be cherished by everyone.
Final Fantasy VI Advance: This game was great...for a while. But after 10 hours or so of play, the game started to dry up. Like Final Fantasy III, the game shows its age the more you play it (just not nearly as badly). For example, NPCs walking around cities have a tendency to get in your way more then just look visually appealing. Blitz commands are often unresponsive, requiring you to do awkward movements with the d-pad that can easily be misread by the system. Also, the group splitting scenes where you would control three parties at once were absolutely painful to play. Still, the game often looks gorgeous, and many of the scenes you encounter are simply unforgettable. In particular, the opera sequence is a work of genius. Like Phantom Hourglass, it is worth playing despite its flaws.
Viva Pinata: Okay, so I only played this one for an hour, but I just thought I'd note that it was one of the most boring hours I've played in a long time. I'm sure the game gets better as your pinata farm ages, but the game has almost no early-game appeal. This is the kind of game that makes you wish the game would just continue with old series instead of trying new material, simply because it doesn't feel like the new material is worth it. Where is my new Banjo game, Rare?
Beautiful Katamari: Yep, the game is definately getting stale. With harder challenges, less environments to roll up (!), and lots of insults from the King of All Cosmos about your lousy rolling, I think I'll just learn to ignore any future offerings. This is the perfect example of a great series gone horribly wrong. What in the world have you done, Namco?
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga: I thought I'd end with this because, somewhat surprisingly, this game is really a lot of fun. Yes, a lot of us have already played the majority of it, but that's what makes this game shine. You can play as nearly everybody, levels from past games have been retooled to make the experience even better, and new levels are actually quite fun to play. Perhaps most importantly, they redid two of the vehicle levels from the original game (most notably the podrace) to make them more accessible to players, while still allowing players to play the originals without having to work too hard to unlock them. If you haven't played them yet, you should: it's not KotOR, but it's still among the best Star Wars games you can find.
I've left out a few (Tales of Symphonia and PGR3/4, among others), but you have to stop at some point, right? Perhaps I'll talk about the stragglers some other time. For now, it's late, and 11 games ought to be more than enough!