A very dirty, hateful game was played last night between the Cardinals and the Steelers, and I loved every minute. I love games where tempers are short and flags are flying. I say let 'em go at it, and the last team standing gets the trophy. I really had no preference going in, other than thinking it'd be cool for the Cardinals to snag a Super Bowl ring, so, ummm, yay Steelers, I guess.

The commercials were another mixed bag again, as the much hyped 3D ads were just kind of there, but the "Crystal Ball" Doritos ad was hilarious (as many have noted), and I got to finally see a teaser for my most anticipated movie of the year, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra! Hoot mon!

On the homefront of gaming news, I'm picking away at Stranglehold, having finished the game, but a chunk of Achievements still elude me. It's a good enough game to whittle away a few hours, and it's certainly been worth the whopping $10 bucks I paid for it, so what more can one ask?

Finally, the wifey has put in a request that my next conquest be the Encore Playthrough of Eternal Sonata, a request I feel no ill will towards. The only trade-off, I informed her, is that after that, I will likely have to dip into what she calls "the crappy games", but such is the sacrifice one must make for Resident Evil 5.

So the Academy Award Nominations were announced this morning, and aside from a Supporting Actor nod for Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight was pretty well snubbed, which is a shame. I figured a Best Picture nomination would be a long shot at best, but I thought that at least Chris Nolan would nab a shot a Best Director. Feh, I say balls to the Oscars this year, I'll be playing video games.

With that opening, I finished Fable 2's story a few days back, and I have to say, this ending stuck with me a bit better than Fallout 3's, plus being able to continue playing after the credits is a big plus. I haven't gotten ahold of Knothole Island yet, as I seem to have a negative MS Point flow right now, but I'm sure I'll pick it up soon.

With Resident Evil 5 the next big game on my radar, I believe I'll be taking a break from Gamefly in order to concentrate my efforts in building up some trade-in fodder. I really need to clear out some deadwood in the ol' collection.

Finally, I recommend Paul Blart: Mall Cop to anyone looking for a light little comedy to kill a couple hours. Not too bad at all, although I caught myself thinking more than once that the script and the type of physical comedy would've been perfect for Chris Farley.

After a harrowing drive to the airport highlighted by an excruciatingly slow traffic jam, the wifey is off to Florida while I get to stay behind with a savage kitten who demands hot dogs. Seriously, the little guy goes ape-poopy whenever he smells them cooking, and he won't stop attacking you until he gets a piece.

Perhaps I've been spoiled by Target's Clearance section, but once in a while I'll swing by Blockbuster to take advantage of their great used DVD sales. For instance, I snagged 4 movies (priced 9.99 or lower) for $20. They also had a sweet deal with their used games, which I'd forgotten Blockbuster was doing now, with Buy One, Get One Free on games under $14.99. I snagged GTA IV (PS3) and Turok (360).

After dropping the woman off at the airport, I returned home to find Lego Batman (360) waiting in my mailbox from Gamefly. I like the game well enough, but I kind of wish they'd gone the movie route like with Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Still, it's an entertaining little romp.

Logging on this morning, I'm greeted with the news of EGM going under, which is a shame, as I've been a subscriber for a few years now. It's strange to realize that the last issue of EGM I got is the last issue I'll ever get. I almost feel like I should get it framed or something.

So now I'm off to fill a week with various gaming activities, general laziness, and seeing how long I can keep hot dogs away from Klaus until he goes for my jugular. He's a vicious little sucker.