Alright, so here we go. Just a quick little blog about my gaming:

• Beat Uncharted 2 about a week back and it was awesome.
• The right shoulder button on my DS is malfunctioning, meaning I have to stop KH: 358/2 Days and see if a friend can fix it for me. If not, I may be DS-less for a little bit.
• I still really want Batman: Arkham Asylum
• I have this strange infatuation with trophies at the moment... and I'm gonna try and get all of them for Uncharted 2 and Dragon Age.
• March 9th release for Final Fantasy XIII!!!!!
• Cannot wait for Mass Effect 2
• The God of War 3 demo rocked
• I've been tempted to get Modern Warfare 2, a lot, but I'm stopping myself from getting it.
• Really need to play more Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. Had to stop to play Uncharted 2.
• Need to beat ODST sometime here.

And finally...

• Dragon Age is the best game of the year. ^_^

That's all I have. I really think it would be fun to do more simple, short blogs and watch other people's blogs so I may be doing that in the coming weeks here.

I feel like I have bought too many games in the past month.

I bought Dissidia: Final Fantasy, then Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and then I bought three games for the price of two on a Toys R' Us deal (Halo 3: ODST, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves). Today, I bought Dragon Age: Origins.

These games are all amazing, don't get me wrong, the only regrets I have with these games are that I'm sort of broke at the moment. But these are all fantastic experiences that are so varied in what they are trying to do and have rekindled my thoughts on gaming and what I might possibly do for a career.

I beat Uncharted 2 last night, and I must say that was one hell of a ride. Naughty Dog did a fantastic job with the game and I believe it deserves the praise (most of it anyways) that it is getting. It was well polished, has a ton of replayability in both the single and multiplayer portions of the game, and it was fun.

But now I have come to discuss DLC, so the handheld games can be excused from this... for now...

Many multiplayer games are offering map packs and charging quite a hefty sum for these. That's fine, you don't have to buy them unless you want to keep getting the best experience online. Singleplayer games though, like Dragon Age, already has so much DLC. And the problem is, I don't know when to use it. Do I go buy the "Warden's Keep" now or do I wait till I beat the game to replay it again and touch on the quests? Or with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, the new DLC for that just released with four new characters and some new form of missions. The new mission system is great, but should I replay the whole game with those four characters? Should I buy the pack then play through the game for the first time with those unlockables?

I just don't know!

So I ask you when the proper time to use all this DLC is? Especially if you bought the game after a price drop and the DLC has been out for some time. Do you buy the game, then buy the DLC right away and experience it all?

I must make it clear real quick that I am sort of new to the whole DLC thing. I haven't bought any add-ons and I didn't think I would until now so please, bear with me if this problem is pointless.

Replayability is something that is considered by everyone in the video game industry.

Of course the customer wants a title with longevity so they don't feel as if they have wasted their money, but customers also want to be able to enjoy the gameplay, story, and world during a second time through the game, and a third time, and consequently as many times as they are enthralled in the world.

Developers want their games to have great replayability. They want the audience to enjoy themselves for a long time and they want the audience to come back and by a sequel to their product later on. If they have failed with replayability, a large chunk of their audience will choose to either rent the sequel or they will wait to buy it used or at lesser price, thus not profiting the developers.

But where does replayability draw the line? If you don't have the cash to purchase games all the time, of course you will get your money's worth and replay through the title as much as you can. If you really enjoy the game you will replay it more than others also.

I am currently on my second playthrough of Mass Effect. I loved the game the first time, it was terrific, epic and I can't wait for the sequel. During this second run though, I have begun to grow tired of the game. And this game has choices! You can have different powers and skills, and your character can be entirely different. I first played the game as a good biotics character, now I'm playing as a bad ass soldier. Yet the game has the "been there, done that" feel to it.

The Halo franchise is a favorite of mine, and I play through the campaign numerous times. I believe I played through Halo 3's campaign a total of five times. Played through it on Heroic and Legendary by myself, and then Legendary on co-op with one other person two times and with three other people another time. It was fun, but each time I grew more and more tired of it.

Another game I have replayed multiple times is Kingdom Hearts 2. A total of three times actually but I don't think I could play through it again any time soon.

When I replay a game, I get the feeling that I could be playing an entirely new experience instead of reliving an old one. Sure the game was fun the first time, but playing through another time doesn't have anything new to show me. I can go for different weapons or a different ending, but I've done all of it for thirty hours already, after that everything just grows stale and I think I should play something else.

That then goes to the question of is there anything else available?

Now why does that question come up? This blog is something I was wanting to do as a System Wars topic, but I decided to make it a blog first to see if I have a point. While on System Wars I have read some people have played games countless times. Someone had played Shadow of the Colossus ten times. People have played Killzone 2's campaign six or seven times and the same goes for Mass Effect.

Is this a mark of a great game with terrific replayablity? Is it just gamers that fell in love? Or could it be that some gamers have nothing else to play?

Like I said, I've played through Halo 3's campaign about five times. Once was my initial playthrough on Heroic, and then I wanted to try and beat the game on Legendary. Alright, there's two times. My next two times was with two different people, once was co-op on the night the game was released and the second was with a friend of mine who hadn't played through the game yet. My fifth time was with two and three other people, four player co-op was a fun experience.

But even those five different experiences, all of which were for different reasons, grew tiresome trekking through the same levels and same enemies.

Now how does someone go through a campaign like Killzone 2 seven times? I didn't like the game personally, but that is not why I'm asking how someone can do it; I am not bashing the game. How can someone go through a campaign that many times when it is pure singleplayer, no co-op offered and only one type of enemy really with limited vehicle segments. How? Is it really that you find the game that amazing or is it because you don't have anything else to get on the console? Maybe you can't get anything else. Understandable. But its crazy to think that you'd go through it that many times.

How about Shadow of the Colossus? Its a terrific game. I absolutely loved it. But its a puzzle game and once you figure out how to get to the weak points on the Colossi you are pretty much golden. How do you go through it ten times though? Its explore the countryside for a bit, ride your horse to the Colossus, defeat it, and do it all again. Its insane. Maybe its a mark of a good game but I don't understand how anyone could do a game like that ten times.

Maybe there isn't much of an argument or discussion topic here. You play what you like is what it really comes down to. It is insane to think how many people replay these games countless times when there are many other games out there to put your hours into and see if you enjoy something else or find a new interest. I could just lose interest in things faster than others though.