Stupidly last year I got rid of some excellent games for reasons that shall remain undisclosed. I'm in the middle of getting them all back and so far I'm doing very well.

I brought the entire Onimusha trilogy today (there's a fourth one, but to me that's not Onimusha) and I seriously believe it's one seriously underrated series of games. The first is the showcase, the second is the best one and the third one is an great blend of new and old ideas. And yes, they all hold pretty well today. Onimusha 2 is my favourite in the series because of the RPG elements, locales and interesting characters. Okay, so there's not a lot to them but whatever. It just looks gorgeous and the pre rendered stuff is some of the best Capcom has ever produced. I do recommend the entire trilogy considering I got the lot for a crisp ten pound note and I can't really find fault with any of the titles. Except the third one with Jean Reno's voice being replaced...

I also bought some new titles I never played before or played on demo but never had. I got Metal Arms: Glitch in the system. This is another underrated game. It's solid, fun and above all, frigging challenging. Imagine Wall-e but with robots killing robots and made 5 years earlier and is, quite frankly, better.

I also got The King Of Fighters 2000-2001 simply because I wanted to. I get bored with the usual staple of Street Fighter, Tekken and Soul Calibur. So I gots it and as always, I've been missing out. This is a great series of fighting games. I used to have the first one for PC but since it was difficult to install and insane to play with a keyboard I quickly forgot about it.

Capcom VS SnK 2: I know I said I get bored with STreet Fighter but I couldn't miss out on this title. Snk AND Capcom. Slight rule bending but I got away with it as in putting SNK first signifies it as a SNK game. I think....

I bought The Nightmare Before Christmas DVD because it's a great gothic musical. Yes I know it's a musical and so weird and so very Tim Burton, but it's a great film nevertheless. It's a huge accomplishment for the time and the DVD comes with special features as well. All for 50p.

Errr... There's was something else.... Damn can't remember.,...

Oh yeah! I bought Devil May Cry 2. I know I know... Where did Capcom go wrong and all that. It's not the best, I could have done better yadda yadda yadda... I know all the flaws and how very ÚN Devíl Múy Cré it is but Capcom tried to do something new and no one wants to keep playing the same games over and over and over and fifa again.

As for that malarkey that's it.

Oh I did have a chinese take away. That was nice. With chopsticks.

So I shall bid you all adieu!

New games

Simon The Sorceror 2 for 20p.
Tekken 4
Micro Machines V3
Project Zero/Fatal Frame (Xbox)
Max Payne 2 (Xbox)

I have a TV in my room now So I hooked up my stuffed N64 and Xbox. Playing greatly until the novelty wears off and I go back to the DS.

Watched Hellboy 2 Saturday, I loved it. Just remember, it's not a baby but a tumor and try to focus once in a while.

Peace In.

Judging by that you can easily assume I purchased the magnificent Defcon for the PC for the gob smackingly cheap price of 5 sterling pounds. I always wanted to play Introversion's games and this was an opportunity to good to miss. I carried it home thinking I always wanted to play Uplink as well and added that to my next game to buy list. I also bought Thief Deadly Shadows for the PC and Secret Files: Tunguska for the same system as well (Nina's jeans are quite errr.. well you know if you've played the game). I know Tunguska is no Sam and Max, Day Of The Tentacle or Broken Sword Shadow Of The Templar/Circle Of Blood (which by the way IS STLL THE BEST IN THE SERIES ) beater, but it's definitely better than Broken Sword 4. It was in Gamestation's 3 for £10 range so I scooped up the lot. I also bought Zack and Wiki and Metroid Prime 3 for the Wii. I really like Zack and Wiki. I like Metroid Prime 3, but getting the Wii mote set up properly was a harrowing nightmare because the Wii is set up on my HDTV and some idiot (me) put the settings on 4:3 ratio rather than 16:9. So everything was awkward at first and Samus kept veering to the left and escaping from the GFS Olympus was a frigging nightmare. After I sorted all that lot out I did begin to enjoy myself and it was both interesting and weird getting use to this set up for a Metroid Prime game. I nailed it down after a few minutes and I soon got back to the swing of things. I do genuinely hate the voice acting and the opening because Metroid Prime for me will always have the best opening sequence and tutorial level, this 3rd hasn't. Echoes was also great, this third game is practically giving in, so to speak. So no DS games!!! Shock or what?

Getting back to the Defcon. I opened the DVD case and to my surprise there's two discs. I first assumed that the game came on two discs but when I checked the specs again, all you need is 60MB. And what's that these days? Nothing! I also couldn't figure out why the Defcon disc was missing the label Disc 1 or something like that. So I took out the Defcon and LO and BEHOLD there was Uplink in all its hacking spelndour. I couldn't believe it. Two great games for £5 I was well over the moon. What can I say about these games? They're frigging amazing. Considering the asking price you're getting serious value for money. Defcon is one of the most harrowing gaming experiences I have ever played. And I've played some of the most scariest games ever soI do not say that lightly. I feel genuine fear when I see DEFCON 1 appearing on the screen. Then chaos assumes. And that music. OH MY GOD! That music in the background is both beautiful and depressing and just makes the atmosphere absolutely absorbingly perfect. I also love the minimal graphics. It's similar to Geometry Wars but less vibrant and busy. And the Multi player is just kick ass! A definite must own title for anyone with a PC. And look at the paltry specs, anyone can easily play this game!!! Plus the game has this great sense of humour Typical British stuff.

Uplink is also one of the most immersive games I have ever played. It just goes to show you that you don't need a billion dollars and an actor I never heard of but everyone else has to make an immersive game. Uplink is a just brilliant concept, totally unique and oh so addictive. You play as a hacker. You hack stuff. Simple. But the way it plays out and how it develops is truly brilliant. And it just brings you into this Uplink world. It really does. At first it's a bit confusing. But when you get the hang of things... WOW is the term that comes to mind. I have to admit it won't be for everyone because the learning curve and slight repetition will deter most people away. But imagine battling monsters to gain experiences to move on, that's essentially Uplink except you hack to level up. And believe me, when you have your Trace Tracker on and it beeps faster and faster as you hack away at a login account - it gets incredibly tense. The presentation is both minimal and effective. Because of this, you feel as if you're hacking into a genuine computer. And for a free throw in, there is no way I can find any fault with it. This is without doubt a very unexpected surprise.

Tunguska is a game of mixed baggage. The voice acting is cheesy and the characters I have trouble relating to because of the character depth missing that is missing. I thought I bought another Undercover game. But where that game can go ****, Tunguska is far more polished game with some far more interesting puzzles than that **** Undercover could ever... eh... I ain't never speaking of that game. Tunguska is cheap now and I say pick it up if you like the good old point and click games. It's a game that's solid with a few flaws and you can't be too disappointed by it.

Thief Deadly Shadows can't even hold a candle to the first two. The first two are bona fide classics and rank in my top ten game list. I can't seperate these two games because they're both equally great. Deadly Shadows on the other hand fails to ignite the same passion. Thief The Dark Project was an influencial game that followed no one, made up its own rules and was all the more better for it. Thief 2: The Metal Age was more of the same but far more polished and with better level designs and mission. And believe me, Thief The Dark Project has some of the best level design in the business so top them all with Thief 2 is an accomplishment itself. Those who want something different I cannot stress enough how much you need to play these two games. You can pick both up on a single DVD in the Sold Out range for five pounds, which is an absolute steal. Or, I have a spare copy of Thief The Dark Project knocking about if you want it. Also, Theif 2 has one of the best fan made mods ever created. Its free, just as long as the main game and just as well made. Maybe it's a little lacking with a protagonist who is just not as likeable as Garrett but nevertheless. For something that's free you can't complain.

Okay back to Thief Deadly Shadows. Or Splinter Cell Medieval Creed. Seriously. It feels more akin to Splinter Cell than Thief. Okay Garrett is back with the original voice actor but there's something about it that doesn't feel right. It's hard to explain it. I'll try though. You now have the third person camera perspective which straight away detroys the immersion that Thief is well known for. Plus Garrett moves in the same way as Sam Fisher, which put me off somewhat. Thankfully you have first person but it moves in a very standard FPS setup. Thief still has the best set up for keyboard sneaking stuff and Deadly Shadows just ruins it. It's far easier to use S than Ctrl+W to sneak around. That's just me though. Also, getting to explore the eponymous City was a good idea but executed badly. Far too many loading screens. It also ruins the flow of the game. And the plot mission focused structure is weakened by this. I do have to admit though, this game is not bad. Just the weakest in the trilogy. I also have to say that this one level that is so frigging scary and unsettling it puts most horror games (except Siren and Silent Hill 1-4 of course) to shame. I recommend it but if you've experienced the first two like I have, you may be a bit disappointed. Oh, I did have this for the Xbox but I got rid of that and the PC version is better than the port. Obviously.

Zack and Wiki is crazy Capcom at their very best. When they're not busy re working the Street Fighter 2 engine, they're busy working on orginal IPs and they always (not always) kick ass. Dead Rising was on. Lost Planet was another and now Zack and Wiki can be added to that list. I love it.

You know how I feel about Metroid Prime 3

I sold Phantom Hourglassa long time ago and regretted it ever since because despite that annoying Ocean Temple, it was a solid Zelda title. Well, I bought it a week ago for the paltry sum of £10!!! Brand new from Comet, one of the places that never ever cuts down on any game software prices. I was gobsmacked and just had to get it. I also bought Star Wars Robot Chicken and Planet Terror. They're both great and I also intend on seeing Hellboy 2 tonight. Looking forward to it

Bookwise I'm reading H P Lovecraft's Necronomicon. It's a commerative edition which has all his short stories and an extensive profile on the author. It's a must read for Lovecraft fans and for horror fans. H P Lovecraft is one of my three authors. Philip K Dick is the other and Agatha Christie is the other. Terry Pratchett was one of them for some time but I find his style to be annoying and I would wish he would do something else other than Discworld. He's a talented writer and his Johnny And The... series should definitely come back. I'm fed up of Discworld and none of his new stuff is as good as his old stuff. Grrr. Anyways, Necronomicon is the most evil book ever written by the mad Arab Al Alhazzred that explains many cult rituals and goes into the great depths of the Cthulhu and great gods. I mean, the backstory to all this is incredible and yet Lovecraft never actually describes the book and its true contents. It's always hinted at. The New England setting with its fictional cities such as Arkham are just rich with character and intrigue and weirdness. I do love the Cthulhu Mythos and the only medium to have ever done the source material proud is the underrated and overlooked "Call Of Cthulhu: Dark Corners Of The Earth". That game is extremely disturbing and harrowing, well presented and the voice acting... some of the best in the industry. Eternal Darkness is a game heavily influenced by Lovecraft and is worth looking into. Considering it's still the only masterpiece Silicon Knights have come up with.

So there you go.

P.S New video up about the perils of the Ring of Death!