After purchasing MGS:TTS for the Gamecube, and looking for MGS2:Substance for the XBOX, I was thinking I could play quality Metal Gear titles on everything except the PLayStation on which they debuted. Unfortunately, in the case of MGS3:Subsistence, I will have to break down and play on the PS2.

I don't have anything against PlayStation or the PS2, I just like the higher detail offered by the other platforms. PS2 graphics can be so. . . not as attractive.

When I played the original Metal Gear on the NES, it was an awesome experience which far outclassed the Atari 2600 I had been accustomed to playing.

Should I be ashamed for desiring the best graphics possible for the most cinematic of game-playing experiences? I don't think so. There is a reason why I have waited so long to purchase any of the MGS series. . . okay, two reasons. One of which is the superior content offered in the rereleases (TTS, Substance, Subsistence). I was planning on playing chronologically (Subsistence->MG->MG2->MGS:TTS->MGS:Substance) but I broke down when I saw TTS at an offer I couldn't refuse.

With the exception of a particular woman's contact information all of the packaging was in place. Mmmmmm . . . and it was worth the price of admission. The complex and intriguing story is one I am compelled to invite my wife to partake in with me. I doubt, however, that she would be inclined. . . it being a game and all.

I don't claim to be very far along with TTS, but what I have experienced thus far has hooked me. Who knows whether I will be able to play it again now that school is resuming.

It had to happen. Tonight I lost at Mario Party. Waluigi is no longer the winner.

Good for my friend Paul, but no so good for me. That is the way it goes. My consolation: I had the most coins at the end of the game and won just about all of the mini games. Unfortunately the computer beat me too.

All's fair.

Lately I've been playing Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. Very cool. My friend from work all those years ago was right. . . MGS really is great. It takes me back to when I played Metal Gear on the NES. Same thing only better. I like the motion-captured cut scenes. The story is quite compelling as well. All of the little nuances definitely combine to form an enjoyable game experience, even though it is quite punishing.

With all of the gaming I have done this weekend, I am glad it is coming to an end. Not because I get to go to work tomorrow, but because my wife and daughter return home tomorrow. Life just isn't the same without them.

The past few days I have been trying to get over a cold/sinus infection. As a result my body has wanted more sleep. The past few days I have been without my wife. As a result I have had later nights with gaming distractions to compensate for the loneliness.

Result: later to bed, later to rise. It is almost 11:00 AM and I am just now getting out of bed. :shock:
The nine hours of sleep I got was well worth it. After church today I will probably just come back and take a nap.

I don't know what I am going to do when I need to go back to work on Tuesday. . . not that I want to. :wink:
We all know what I will do. I'm going to set my alarm, and get out of bed, get ready and go to work like a responsible adult. That's why they pay me.

My father came with me to the mall today. We made some acquisitions. He loves his racing games. He got PGR2, GT2, and is looking forward to playing them.

Good thing I brought all of my systems to his house for the weekend.

Like some of you know the Emporer comes back in FF2. Yeah, he made some deal with demons, and has brought a horde of evil flowing back into the world. Never saw that one coming.

What is it about the evil masterminds that makes them keep coming back? The guy in Die Hard, after being choked with a chain and beaten senseless still comes out to take a shot at Bruce Willis' character. In the Dark Empire comics, Emporer Palpatine comes back via cloned bodies. Let's not forget Chucky. . . he just won't die. What's up with that?

I guess you just can't keep a bad villain down.

Now that I have slogged through the Jade Canyon and fought through the maddening halls of Pandemonium I have come face to face with the Undead Emporer himself. The only problem is I am not strong enough to defeat him. So, I am going to put everyone on a strict exercise program to improve fitness. Then we'll see who wins.

Why are emporers called emporers? What is the difference between a king and an emporer? The size of the kingdom? The way you rule? And why such a negative stigma associated with emporers?

Well, either way I killed the Emporer of Palamecia last night, just outside of Fynn . . . in the middle of a tornado. I cut right through the elite guards on horseback and took the guy down with my Ripper(TM) dagger. It was satisfying.

Unfortunately, nature abhors a vacuum. That was the justification the Dark Knight (not Batman) used to ascend to the throne, and transition himself into the leadership role over all of Palamacia.

It kind o fmakes me wonder who the new dictator of Iraq will be, but that is just silly politics. There aren't any Dark Knights these days. . . except for Batman. If Batman is real, then perhaps that means Batgirl is real too.

Mmmmm . . . Batgirl

On the flight home yesterday I beat Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance again with Maxim. The game flies by using Maxim.

I was actually able to listen to the music for the first time while playing Lumines. Usually my wife asks that I not play the music, since she finds video game music to be maddeningly repetitive, so I have gotten into the habit of not hearing it. But the game's music was just as trance-inducing as the addictive gameplay. It is a shame my wife doesn't listen to it since she claims to enjoy techno muzak. . . because that is what it is. Some of the tracks are really good too.

So in preparation for my departure, and subsequent return to my apartment, I am doing laundry. Yes, the feared and much derided activity. I will miss both my wife and my daughter for the next week.

I am destined to live a solitary, single existence back at work and bound at home. But, this gives me an excellent opportunity to play some more Xbox Live or complete FF2, like I have always wanted to do.

Oh, and school starts up again next Friday. Working and MBA. . . all at the same time. . .
Happy Birthday to me.

Tonight we played Mario Party 2 again. It was part of the early birthday party my in-laws threw for me. We had veggie pizza (since meat is an adulteration of the ancient pizza tradition) and played games.

For a while it was a string of less than exciting movies, but things perked up once the N64 took the place of bad 90's movies my sister in law was watching. I was p0wn3d at Mario Cart 64. . .as usual . . . I put the classic beat down upon all who opposed me at Mario Party 2 and we also made ourselves merry with Starfox 64.

At the end of the party, I can safely say it was my party and I won since I wanted to.

Okay, yesterday I instigated a massive gaming craze with my siblings in law. It was awesome.

We played Mario Party and Mario Cart on the N64, with some excellent Tetris II, Super C, Ninja Gaiden II, and other NES game goodness. Actually, I shouldn't have put Tetris II in the goodness category.

Tetris II was very different from the original and deserves to be banned from any honor in the NES catalogue of classics. The sound was repetitve and atrocious. The most desensitized of auditory relations even commented, "Can we mute this or something?"

The gameplay was . . . weak, and sometimes confusing. Example: some blocks when placed will continue to fall to the bottom if additional space is present underneath its location. Others, merely sit there dangling above a deserved plunge.

I would venture so far as to likewise suggest the graphics, even for the NES, were stunted. Doctor Mario looked much better than Tetris II, and had more compelling gameplay.

One of these days I will get around to writing a scalding review of of one of the most puzzling puzzlers of the 8-bit era.

. . . and I am still king of the Mario Party.