This year's E3 was much better than last year's E3. Fact. One piece of technology unveiled at E3 that grabbed attention was Project Natal. I, honestly, can't wait for it to come out. Not to buy it mind you, but rather the controversy. Not that whole "Natal can't recognize dark skin tones" controversy. Think back... remember when the Wii was first released? Remember the kind of damage people caused with the Wii remote? Even the Wii Fit led to broken flowerpots (no, seriously) and other mishaps. Now just imagine the kind of destruction can cause with the Natal. Think of the accidents: slipping and falling, accidentally kicking the screen, etc. Are broken legs and/or arms really that unlikely? Time will tell... However, I don't think 1:1 motion control will improve EVERY genre. One games journalist said "...mind-blowing interaction, yes, but mind-blowing interaction within very limited 3D spaces". But, the Natal should be an interesting peripheral. My favorite moment of E3 '09 was not an announcement of any game I can't wait to get (Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Metroid: Other M, etc) but actually a quote destined to become a meme. I'll give you a hint what it is: No, I've never wondered what the bottom of an avatar's shoe looks like. lolz.

In this post (spawned from extreme boredom and insomnia) I will briefly ramble about the Xbox 360 and my history with Nintendo. Prepare yourself for two painfully boring paragraphs. As evidenced by my owned games list, I have always been a devoted Nintendo fan. At the same time, I have always had a huge love of RPGs. That's exactly why I consider the SNES the best console ever. Way back in the day (1995) with the announcement that Nintendo would be, for whatever reason, sticking with cartridges for the N64 made me realize the RPGs would be nowhere near as epic as those on the PlayStation. But, despite the VERY few RPGs on the system and bizarre controller, I stuck by Nintendo. So with the Gamecube having only a handful of amazing RPGs, you can understand why I bought a PS2 (mainly for Final Fantasy X). But, like many people, the main reason I initially bought a Gamecube was for Super Smash Bros Melee. For a while, I tried to convince myself that the Gamecube would be the best of it's generation. After hearing how amazing Final Fantasy X was, I scrounged up some money, bought the console and the game. So wait a minute, you're still reading this? Wow! Anyway, continuity, I seriously doubted I would ever own a non-Nintendo console. I am happy Nintendo is on top again, but at what cost? Accusing Nintendo of abandoning core gamers is just beating a dead horse with a dead horse. They are getting better by releasing more hardcore (Hate that term) games. But why I haven't bought a 360 is...I actually don't know...(game over sound effect). Not the Red Ring problem, maybe. But after wanting to experience hi-def graphics, I have toned down my loyalty to Nintendo to (drum roll) get a 360, I guess. Yeah, NovaScizor75, way to be 3 and a half years late to the party (game over sound effect). So in conclusion, if you actually read the whole blog post, you deserve some kind of award.

The Guitar Hero and Rock Band series are no stranger to criticism, for reference see countless musicians claiming the games are killing music. People hate Guitar Hero & Rock Band for either that assumption that it will prevent people from ever learning to play real instruments. Or, like I used to think, "That looks ridiculous, playing a video game with a little kid's toy". If anything, Guitar Hero & Rock Band probably HELP the sales of actual instruments (just a hunch). I know how to play guitar, I'd still rather play Rock Band (for that feeling of instant gratification). But the most hilarious/irritating complaint can be found by entering "Guitar Hero is Evil" into the Google search bar. The first result is some guy labeling...just check it out for yourself. It is some very entertaining/infuriating stuff. The main reason I love/hate the internet; ANYONE can get on the internet.

The first review for The Conduit surfaced on the internet, with a score of 8 out of 10 from Nintendo Power. You can find the Nintendo Power screen and summary here: http://www.nintendoeverything.com/?p=16684. The review basically states that the game, with the exception of the controls, isn't all THAT innovative, there are some AI issues, and has a "predictable" story. While 8 does mean good, I can't help but wonder if it will be the Wii's Halo, or just a disappointingly unoriginal and overhyped FPS. So far, I'm predicting that it'll average, probably 85-90 on Metacritic (which, by the way, pretty much RUNS the game industry).

I've just noticed that Ubisoft publishes a lot of Wii shovelware games. For example: Emergency Heroes Family Fest Presents Movie Games Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game Imagine: Champion Rider Imagine: Party Babyz The Price Is Right Totally Spies! Totally Party no less than 7 Petz games Among several others. Maybe it's just me...

The Urban Dictionary defines shovelware as "Software that is hastily made and 'shoveled' down consumers throats in order to make some quick cash". The top producer of Wii Shovelware so far is Data Design Interactive. If you don't know who Data Design Interactive is, they're the game company that has yet to create even one game to score a 3.0 or higher on IGN. Games so bad, there's even a petition begging Nintendo to ban Data Design Interactive from making any more games for the Wii. You can find the petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/mm33mn3/petition.html

As stated in the title, I will delve into the "game" Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing. It is actually the worst received game ever. With an 8/100 average on Metacritic. Curious to see how impossibly bad the game truly is, I bought and played it. I regret doing that so much. Then browsing the comments on Metacritic, several people gave it perfect scores. What!? Here are some of the comments: "The greatest game ever", "This game makes Half-Life 2 look bad", "This game is PERFECT!", etc. Apparently, these people have no taste for anything in life. I could go on and on in a review, but the critics say it best (all 5 of them).

So if you visit Metacritic enough (like me), you'll know Castlevania Judgment has a 47 out of 100 average. With that information, I know I should hate the game, but for some reason, I just don't. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who enjoy at least one poorly received game.

So while recently browsing Metacritic, I found a rather low score for an awesome game. Super Smash Bros. Brawl... 6.5. No, seriously. There were a couple of other reviewers (GamingExcellence.com) who gave it scores below 9 out of 10. If you think I'm joking, just check out Kikizo's review: http://games.kikizo.com/reviews/wii/super-smash-bros-brawl-p1.asp Ian Dransfield; Get in the ring! But whenever I game I like gets a low score, I simply say it's too innovative for the critics to understand and appreciate.

After some searching on Wikipedia, I found a list of the best selling games for each console. The Wii's best selling games (excluding Wii Sports) are listed below. 1. Wii Play: 16.15 million 2. Mario Kart Wii: 9.53 million 3. Wii Fit: 8.76 million (sold more than Galaxy!?) 4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl: 7.47 million 5. Super Mario Galaxy: 6.1 million 6. Mario Party 8: 4.86 million 7. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: 4.52 million 8. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: 3.4 million 9. Link's Crossbow Training: 2.75 million 10. Super Paper Mario: 2.28 million I hope Wii play is on this list solely because it comes packaged with a Wiimote. Note the absence of Metroid Prime 3. You can find the full list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games