I figure an entire year having elapsed is enough to make it time to post a new blog. Man it really goes just so fast. My baby turned 4, my oldest kiddo is 7 now and me; well I still play video games. So I guess other than the cosmic odometer flipping a few numbers not much has changed. Well, except we have a new president, the Steelers won another Super Bowl, the Celtics won their first title in 23 years, I lost about 35 pounds, the global economy tanked, Toys 'R' Us and Wal-Mart have gotten into the game-trading business, Midway Austin went under, Miss CALIFORNIA (of all states) was too conservative for her own good, irony proved it's still alive and well, and I got some new flip-flops. They have stars on them. Oh yeah.

I'm coming up on 30 this year. Next month in fact, and I couldn't be more......ummmm.....begrudgingly accepting of the fact that it's inevitable. You know I'm sure some good things will come out of being in my 30's. Most of which I bet I won't realize or understand until I'm in my 40's and it's too late. Well onto the last year in games then I suppose.

Fallout 3---love it, love it, love it. My personal game of the year. Does everything I like in a game with style and lots of room for your own personal touches.
Fable 2---wonderful game. Light-hearted, beautiful looking, and easy to pick up and just roam around. Something still kinda feels like it's missing from the Fable formula but far be it from me to be able to tell what that might be. I very highly recommend it in any case.
CoD4---time to put on my flame-retardant suit from all the retards that would flame me for saying this: I didn't like it very much. Sorry. Some really cool parts but when it mattered most (namely the finale, the climax, the crescendo!); my squad all turned into bumbling toerags that couldn't find engage enemy to save my life, much less theirs. And if they did, sure as hell couldn't seem to figure out how to actually shoot them. Your (player character) soldier dying after the nuke goes off was a heavy OS! moment that will stay with me though.
Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES---Fun but a bit tedious even for a JRPG. It's just so LONG. VERY LONG. It may be too much of a grind for even me. Oh man...i didn't think i'd ever see the day a game made me say that. This one does.
Far Cry 2---A very well thought out game in a huge world. The basic formula hinges on repetition a bit but your own creativity and use of the environment is key in how you achieve your objectives. However I was 50+ hours in and a bug that Ubisoft apparently KNEW needed to be patched (and recently was finally) corrupted both my game saves and locked up my system. I lost every last bit of my progress. 50+ hours *toilet-flushing noise followed by me weeping and swearing nosie*. Needless to say I was left with a taste in my mouth that is roughly a cross between donkey urine and that stuff that grows behind the washer where it's always a bit wet and that old sweatsock fell all those months ago.
Zack and Wiki---Capcom shows it's versatility with a game that I can say nothing bad about. A very fun Rube Goldberg-esque puzzler that makes my brain work and the kids cuddle with me when I play. I believe that's called a win-win-win situation.
Zelda Phantom Hourglass---*puts flaming retard suit back on* Damn this thing is heavy.
OK it was great for a good long while. Then I had to go BACK through the entire damn dungeon of the Ocean King for what must have been the fifth (sixth?) time. And that dungeon is big. I saw the same enemies doing the same things and had to perform the same chicanery over and over and I just got sick of it. They do try to temper it just a tad with a check point about halfway through the dungeon. It's still so big that even after hitting the halfway point, you still have to retread so much of the same levels over and over it's still just too daunting. And there is no option B. You just have to keep doing the same things in the same places too many times.
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime---My 7 year old loves this game. And for good reason. It's fun, it's neat and it's cute. A lot of people would hate it for those same last 2 reasons. I love it. More importantly, so does my son. I think he has logged Final Fantasy-like game hours on that game. I think that's a good thing....?

Ok that's enough for now I guess. There are a few others that I could throw on but I'm rambla-ambling as it is.

Godspeed all!

I just semi-finished a wonderful game. It's everything that has been said it was and more. Most anyone who reads this will probably say "duh" to this. It's no big secret and most everyone who was going to play this game has probably already done so. The game is Super Mario Galaxy and it was great. It was better than great. It was a treat to play. It had all the great things that we've collectively come to expect from Mario games and it has them in spades. All of the twists, turns, challenges, secrets and hair-pullingly maddening extra levels are all there. The most beautiful part of the game is that it can be as challenging or not as you like (more or less). There are 120 possible stars to find throughout the game. The game will let you access the last boss level after about 60 stars if you just want to play the game to beat it. My six-year-old can play through most of the "required" levels with minimal assistance. It is safe, fun and kid-friendly for those of us with little ones that are into games. For us adults that are obsessive collectors; well the other 60 stars are amidst a potpourri of clever, and at times frustrating levels that use myriad challenges you must play through to earn them. I would say that one could get anywhere from a minimum of 15 hours to as many as 40 hours out of this game on the first playthrough. Just a note---many of the levels are NOT geared towards kids. They are just too challenging in my opinion. I know I used language on a few levels that was definitely NOT geared towards kids! Don't worry, it was after their bedtime. The funny thing is that several of the levels that drove me nuts my first time through aren't nearly as bad as I go back and replay them. (Yes, there is incentive to go back and play through a second time.) For some of the toughest ones, there's usually a trick or pattern that is easy to miss or well-obscured. I was watching my wife play one of the "trash-bombing" levels and noticed that if you land the bombs roughly where the coin-dispensing buttons are; that seems to be the trick to getting all the trash piles blown up in time. What took me 15 or 20 tries the first playthrough only took 2 or maybe 3 the second time. The same could be said for some of the comet levels I had trouble with. There is usually a trick or exploit that's waiting to be found. I was convinced that the game designers were clever sadists for awhile. I've since come to think that they're just really quite clever and yeah, ok--maybe just a weency bit sadistic. Not nearly as bad as I thought though! If you get the chance, I really strongly recommend playing this one. It's every bit as good as you've likely heard and I would dare suggest maybe even a little better.

Per my previous blog; I've delved into the miasma of current-gen games with reckless abandon and so far....I LIKE IT. I've padded out my collection with some big name titles; a significant number of which have been provided to me on loan by friends. Again thanks to them for that is on order. Since my initial foray into the new world, I've probably beaten more games in a shorter span of time than at any other point of my gaming days. The Wii shooter Medal of Honor Heroes 2 was the first to fall. It's a great game with great controls and a whole lot of fun. If any other Wii shooters in development need a quick, reliable template to build from, then look no further. Gears of War and Mass Effect fell victim to my thorough awesomeness next. I think those 2 have laurels that speak for themselves. They were as great as I'd hoped and then some. I'm going to change my son's name to Bioware I think. I love them that much. Parakeet Bioware Johnson. That's a good, powerful name I think. Super Mario Galaxy is simply amazing. Believe the hype as far as I'm concerned. I'm about 40 Grand Stars into it and love the thought of getting 80 more. Halo 3 was really really good too. I can't say that my mind was quite blown. But it was pretty close and H3 was a lot better than I was expecting. The whole Gravemind thing was, for my taste, a bit too much of a stretch into the total fantasy realm contrasted to the strong and gripping sci-fi elements by which Halo's bread is buttered. The 92% of the game not dealing with Audrey 3's big brother was quite damn awesome. I'm currently loving Eternal Sonata. It has to be one of the most visually and aurally striking games I've ever seen. The story so far is kind of RPG-standard but it's a good sort of standard to be sure. The gameplay is also mostly very RPG-standard and again very good. The evolving fighting system is the big standout bright spot in the game though. It's very cool and very clever. It certainly gives ES a unique identity and that's a very good thing. (Frederic Francois Chopin is a bad-ass by the way.) Crackdown is a great buddy-game. Looks good, play is fun, and the fun factor goes up about 6 notches when a friend jumps in and paints the town red with you. It's at bargain bin prices now, so it's a must-grab in my book. Okami (Wii) is coming up soonly for me. Everywhere I looked that game was gushed on. It must do something right. I'm definitely excited about it. And how could I forget Army of Two? I thought it was great. My friend and I played through it and had a blast. It's about time there was a game that actually focused on 2-player gameplay. I hope it does very well if for no other reason than to inspire other developers to make games that are tailored for you and a friend to sit and play together. It's nice to play with friends after all! It's been a good 6 weeks in my little game world. Here's to 6 more and 12 more and 24 more!!