So it's apparent that anyone who owns a PS3 right now is having a great time making out with their television via a sweaty old man named Snake :P

I'm no exception. Although...I've been told that I'm "cheating" myself or "ruining" the overall story line. Why? Well..this will be the first MGS game I will have fully finished...ever. I've played Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation...but I didn't finish it. I have Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater...but I've not started those yet.

Why did I start MGS4 if I hadn't finished the prior games? It was a fluke...an accident. My PS3 swallowed the game disc and immediately started installing the game...I swear. :shock:

Anyway...I'm sucked in now...and I can't go back. Oh, I'll eventually finish what I started with the Essencial Collection. But for now...me and Old Snake have a lot of crawling to do...lots of crawling. >_<

So this past week I played Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Unfortunately at first I was pretty skeptical. I had downloaded the demo from the PSN and I have to say I wasn't very impressed. I'm not sure why...I guess the section of the game they decided to include as a demo wasn't the best place for me to start. I'm sure others may have played it and enjoyed it enough. But not me. I thought the gameplay was too slow and very clunky. it was a beautiful game though...there's no dispute about that.

But now that I've completed the game and have been able to get past that initial disappointment I felt with the demo, I have to say that this is the most fun I've had with a PS3 game so far. Oh sure, I love Unreal Tournament III...and of course Ninja Gaiden Sigma is a fantastic game. But very rarely do I complete a game much less play them straight through. Most of the time I usually distract myself from whatever it is I'm already playing and just jump to something else. I have gaming ADD ;)

Anyway, this game in particular hasn't really "changed the formula" so to speak. There isn't anything in it that we haven't seen before as far as pure gameplay is concerned. The thing that makes it stand out from previous games (like many of today's "next-gen games") are the visuals. I don't have an HD TV, and I have to say I was really impressed at the love, time and effort that was put into this game. Naughty Dog really outdid themselves on this one. The visuals aren't (in my opinion) "photo-realistic"...but they are pretty damn good. They have a stylised look to them that really just brings a lot of life into the game itself.

The environments are really rich with visual, artistic goodies. Oh and the sound is fantastic!! The score, sound effects and all the dialogue are some of the best I've ever heard in ANY game in a long time! Kudos to you guys!! Also, it's been a long time since I've felt driven by a game's character. Nathan Drake is a pretty good example of the combination of good animation, good voice acting and pretty tight controls. Very rarely did I ever have the "camera" issues I usually have with these third person action/adventure games. He was a good source of the game's humor as well.

It's not so much slap stick humor, but just the simple comments, sarcasm and little touches that make Nathan a step up in the usual "silent" characters in almost every single video game ever. It's refreshing to hear the character give some commentary of what's going on around him every so often. He's not a chatter box by any means, but he keeps the flow of natural human expression (or as close as they can get to it) without sounding too much like he's just scripted to spout off certain lines of dialogue depending on the situation.

The music in the game is really refreshing as well. It think SCEA is really stepping up to the plate wen it comes to their proclaimed "immersive cinematic" games that they are really trying to put out. They did the same level of work in Heavenly Sword...but for some reason that game really wasn't as much fun (in my opinion...with the limited amount of playtime I had with the game) as Uncharted. Maybe something just got mis-translated in my gamer brain. Regardless, the musical quality of Uncharted is one of the best I've ever heard in a game. It really does have that "summer movie" feel to it. It does the usual engaging music when you're in a firefight, but it's never annoying. The sound quality of the environments are fantastic as well.

Being able to run around in the jungle and actually hear the surrounding wildlife living and breathing is a treat that more and more games in our current generation of consoles are providing for us...and that's fine by me.

All in all, this is not a review by any means. I just finished the game early yesterday morning and was pleasantly surprised. There is a pretty good story line underneath all the firefights and pretty visuals. It's not an Academy Award winning screenplay...but it's definitely not a fluff "let's just move to the next plot point" story line that's usually thrown into a lot of video games now a days. If you own a PS3 definitely check this game out. I don't think you will be disappointed. If you like adventure games like Tomb Raider and action/shooter games like Gears of War or Halo 3, then Uncharted may be a very interesting middle ground between those games and genres.

So a couple of years ago I gave GameFly a chance...it was cool. I used it. It was nice. I didn't keep it. The reason at the time was due to lack of funds. I was working in a crap job, making not much munnies and was fairly miserable. And at the time I thought dumping the then $12 a month to play games that I probably woudln't have enjoyed anyway seemed to be a waste.

But last night as I was roaming around on Ebay to try to find some good ol' PS3 and PS2 games to fill my library with. Two things...First, Ebay is the mother of all sidetrackers. I can search for one thing one moment, and get completely sidetracked and start "shopping" for things I NEVER intended to even bargain for! And second, I'm so tired of people swooping in at the last minute to seelz mah gamz! It happens...a lot.

So why go through all the headache and potential guilty of spending money buying games I may never play more than once? It's a battle I've tried to win but have not. I do that all the time. I have games that I'll buy (most of the time used and cheap) but I'll leave them sitting on my shelf for months. Shame really. So I decided...why not use that money to in turn rent these games, play them for a bit...if they are buy worthy..then go pick them up at my local store or just buy the copy right from GF if they have it available?

All is well. :) I'm sure a lot of you guys already do just that. It just took me a little while to get off my lazy bum and sigh up for GF again ;)

So...I've had my PS3 for about a week now. And I can honestly say I'm pretty pleased with it :) Sure I bought it used...and it's a 20GB version. But I was never really bothered with that system to begin with. I have all my stuff hooked into my router in my room...and for now I've been able to link it to my PC and use other devices to dance around the fact that it doesn't have memory card slots. No biggie.

And I'm loving Ninja Gaiden Sigma! I've not had this much fun with an action game since God of War. But...I do have 3 problems with the game. Yes yes...things that can almost alter the gaming experience...for me anyway.

First thing to note is...in cerain areas..the camera is absolutely FRUSTRATING! It's almost as bad as those certain "sweet spots" in Tomb Raider Anniversary where it just fought with you to gain control. But I suppose I can't say I've played a single game that had perfect camera control just yet. But seriously...this thing that camera has been the cause of my death more than once...and it always amazes me when it decides to face away from the enemy, especially in those tight corners, and get me killed. It's a conspiracy! :P

My second problem with the game I'm currently playing is...I've unwhittingly been playing it on easy mode and didn't realize it until last night. *sigh* I was wondering why the game seemed so easy for the most part. What happend was that the first night I had the game, I went over to a buddy's house and we were playing it....died several times and it obviously unlocked the easy mode. Well..I had started a second game later on...but didn't want to keep hat other one. So I delted it...or so I thought. (the two games were saved at the same area..I just either didn't bother to look at the save time and date or didn't notice)

So yesterday while it was saving my progress..(about halfway through the game already) I noticed it said Difficulty: Ninja Dog. I was like... :shock: So...I've started a new game and made sure not to die in the begining :P So now...yeah...I feel like I will not get the true NGS experience until I get my ass handed to me in Normal difficulty ;)

But that's nothing that couldn't be handled like an adult. This next point however...is ridiculous.

So there's this girl...she's kinda' cute..kinda' creepy. She walks around (or runs) looking like she just left a Dominatrix Fetish club and wants to enjoy a night on the town with her FRIGGIN' HUGE BATTLE HAMMER! Wow..the sheer force it must take to weild this weapon is...yeah...crazy crazy! Oh but boys and girls...the only thing in this game that's larger and almost more ridiculous than that are her boobs. :shock: OMG...what the hell. I don't mind (I've gotten used to it...and I'm a guy...I won't be the first to admit...guys love boobs. it's a law of nature) the size necessarily...I've gotten accustomed to TECMO's design of the female form. And Rachel does indeed have the lumps of her DOA sisters...but dear lord...those things just move on their own! It's freaky!

When I'm playing as her...all I have to do is just make a 180 turn...and they move for like...10 seconds it seems. I've not timed it. Maybe I should :) She also walks like she's got a sack of potatoes in between her knees. She looks like a footballer huffin' it down the street with a giant hammer on her back. So what's the deal with her TECMO? You could make Ryu all bad ass...and then have this blonde bombshell feel like she just fell out of the Playboy mold and didn't have enough time to cook :P

I think the funniest thing I've seen so far...is when she gets knocked out and carried off midway thorugh the game. She falls unconcious...and I swear to god...her boobs jiggle for like 30 minutes :P nah..not that long. But they sat there and quivered in fear for a good while.

Crazy. Anyway...yeah...Camera and Rachel's boobs/running are two things that take the NGS experiene to a whole other level of odd. ;) But it's a great game otherwise. And now if you'll excuse me...I'm going to time the jiggling... O_o

...the day...I never thought would come. Don't get me wrong now...I've never had anything against SONY. Actually, I like SONY products a lot. I've always trusted them back in the day when I would buy my portable CD and Cassette players and stereos and DVD players...yadda yadda so on and so fourth. oh wait..forth ;p

So yesterday...I bought another SONY product. One that has had a pretty shaky first year. I'm now the owner of a lovely PSWii..I mean..3. :) And I'm happy with the purchase.

Now...don't go and think I went and robbed a bank to get it. I got a really REALLY good deal. It was one of those "if I don't act on this I'll regret it.." kind of situations.

Anyway...all in all I got my system for a decent price. The only thing is (and I mean..."only thing" as if I cared) is that it's not a 60 gig...not an 80 gig...and not even the truncated 40 gig. It's a 20. So...no Wi-Fi for me..and no memory slots.

O_O

And so...that's it. It's still a friggin' PS3! Memory slots and Wi-Fi are not important and not needed for awesome blu-ray "in your face"ness. So I'm happy :) I probably wouldn't have gotten it if I didn't get that good deal...I'm a bargain gamer after all. But it was calling my name :)

And now...I must go slice things up like the bad ass Ninja that Ryu is ;) Ninja Gaiden Sigma rocks my face!!! Now all I need is Ratchet and Clank and I'll be good until...oh wait...Unreal 3. Yeah..then I'll be fine...oh wait..no no...Heavenly Sword is kinda' cool...oKay..after THAT one...then I'll be done.

...until Metal Gear Solid 4. And then that's really it ;)

Oh wait..there's that Team ICO game..whenever it's released. O_o OH..and Killzone 2 >_> Oh lordy..and Little Big Planet... :shock:

Does anyone know why the "I own" part in the Games section of our profile not showing like...actual games? It's odd...it's been like that for a while now. It shows some odd screens for some obscure titles...but not my games. Anyone have any answers? Theories?

No, I'm not talking about a fear of water. I'm drowning...in games. Games I've bought. Games I have not put forth enough time to play. I'm drowining in guilt :P

So, it's been a little while. In the days I've been "gone" I've gotten some really great games. I ruv my babies. OH OH..and some great movies too!! I just don't have time to enjoy them all it seems! :cry:

I'm sure that happens a lot. :) We get all excited for a new title, we rush out to buy it, and then we play like an hour or two of it, and then get caught up in LIFE! It saddens me to say I have some great games of note that have yet to have some playtime with me!

Here are my new babies...I wantz to play with them!!

And here are my new movies

So yeah, I've got my hands full to say the least :P I do have a tendency of just going all out sometimes and then I'm like..."crap...I haz no timez to playz!" Luckily it's the holidays and I'll have some free time coming up soon to catch up on some gaming and movie time. Of course...Mass Effect came out today...:shock: I'll have to wait on that one. I still want to get Bioshock...*sigh*

I love entertainment! :) :D So yeah..that's what's new with me. Not much ;)

EDIT: Oh..and I realized after I posted the blog that it sounded like a very self-sentered "look-it me look-it me I'm swimming in games and you're not!" type of blog. Not the case. ;)

It's more of a..."don't look-it me..I'm a shameful spender and don't give enough time and effort into my passions as of late" :P I usually have to put a stop to my spending (which isn't by any means as large of a scale as this blog implies).

I usually buy a litt here and there..and I'm a bargain gamer, rarely spending more than $20 on a game unless I absolutely have to have it...which is almost never ;) So there..I feel slightly justified :shock: Which by the way..I just bought 300 Special Edition at Amazon for like...$9 with shipping. >_> Go get it now kidz!

So I've spent my very first week on Xbox Live mostly playing Halo 3 and a few games of TMNT arcade. So far so good :) I'm really enjoying all that comes with the service and it's by far (the 360) the best purchase I've made this fall. Now that I have the ability to keep up with the gaming scene and not feel left behind like I did a few years ago, my gaming possibilities have opened up quite a bit. My only new problem is finding the time to play all these wonderful games ;)

I find myself purchasing them and then feeling bad that I don't play them as often as I feel I should to "justify" the purchase. But I suppose that any time I spend really doesn't have to be judged. So long as I continue to enjoy these games and playing online then I suppose those silly worries will just be getting in the way ;)

So speaking of things to look forward to. Today I received this image file at work. :D This collection is looking pretty good. I'm especially excited for the Penny Arcade boolket that's included! I know that some of my friends and co-workers are tired of "lame collections" that have just...bonus DVDs and crap premiums, especially if they're requiring you to cough up an extra $10-$20. But this one at least seems like it has some value inside of the box as opposed to just a shiny cover. What do you guys think? Are these Limited and Collector's editions really worth it? I for one am looking forward to this game and this Limited Edition :)

So...how did I do? The photo speaks for itself. Oh...yes that's me in the red. :cry:

You know there are times in my l life I question my motives for getting involved in certain things. Gaming for me used to be something that I almost felt guilty spending so much time doing when I could have been doing something "more productive." But I've realized that my own perceptions of "productive" and the perception of others are totally different...and I should give two flying poos what other people think of how I spend my own free time...except my mother. ;)

I mean...most people outside of the gaming realm think that video games are like Trixx...stricky for kids. Well..whatever. They're missing out. I mean what could be better than running around a huge world slashing at unsuspecting vermin and hitting trees with a shovel? :P Most of my other passions in life also have some kind of connection to gaming wether I wanted them to or not. So it seems only natural for me to enjoy it as much as I do.

So in saying that, I have no problem in understanding that a good portion of my time when I'm not busy with other things in life will include gaming. And I've made some great friends because of it. So I'm not ashamed of it at all.

But...:cry:

When things in the gaming realm seem to be beyond my comprehension...then it creates an unfillable void in my little gamer soul.

So long story short...I didn't realize that I wouldn't be able to access my saved games from my profile once I made an Xbox Live profile. I guess it never occured to me that I would lose the ability to access that stuff and that you would have to make a seperate profile to play on live.

So needless to say, I've had to start all over again on my games to be able to have the one profile to play on and off line. *sigh* Oh well...at least I'm on Live now ;)