Can you believe it's been over 2 years since I posted here? Crazy, isn't it. Well, I'm not dead. I'm still here and still a gamer. I've just been disconnected for most of the past year and I'm just now getting back online. I'm playing catch up right now. I honestly have no idea what's going on in the gaming world except for a few things. I know Hell froze over because Diablo 3 finally released. I know I'm looking forwad to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. I know Uncharted 3 is awesome! :P

But that's about all I have to say right now. I'm here and I'm still playing despite the fact that my "baby girl" is turning 4 next week (and I'll be celebrating the first anniversay of my 29th birthday...).

So I know in my last blog, I said I was going to post some reviews shortly after I got a few more written. Well, that's been a few weeks and the two I had done were never posted and the new ones were never written. I guess it's time to change part of that.

I have posted my reviews for DiRT 2 and for Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time. You can read the DiRT 2 review here and the Ratchet & Clank review here.

I've been playing Final Fantasy XIII a ton recently. Despite it's linear design, I'm still enjoying it. I'm in Chapter 12 now trying to get through the 5th and 6th floors of the tower. I should be done with that by tonight.

I also played Perfect Dark a little bit. Breezed through the first level, but haven't gone much farther. Ahhh...sweet memories of the younger years.

Let me know what you think of my reviews!

Until next time,
- Ebi

I started playing through Bioshock 2 last night and it felt great to be back in Rapture again. It is definitely different being a Big Daddy this time around as compared to being Jack from Bioshock 1. I've made it to the point where I'm in Ryan Amusements heading to get Incinerate.

As I did with the first game, I'm playing through it on Hard. I also decided to turn off the Vita Chambers for kicks and giggles and it is most definitely more difficult than the first game, but not enough to make it frustratingly so. At least not yet. I'm just getting myself into the routine of clearing a room, saving the game, repeat.

Unfortunately, it's going to be the last of my Bioshock playing for a while anyways as I'll be picking up Final Fantasy XIII today. I've been looking forward to that game for much longer than Bioshock 2, so it will be taking priority for now.

I'm also working on writing a few reviews for several games. It's been too long since my last review! I've completed Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time and DiRT 2. I'm going to try to write a few more and then post them all at once.

I can't wait to get my hands on FFXIII. That stupid clock isn't ticking fast enough...

As I said in my previous blog, I finally got my 360 back and have returned to the Capital Wasteland in Fallout 3. Well, over the past few days, I have been hunting down the last few bobbleheads and making the last of the weapons before finally finishing the main story line.

How the heck anyone would find some of the bobbleheads on their own is beyond me. The world is just incredibly huge with so many extra areas to explore that aren't related to any quests but rather just there to be explored. I never would have found Rockopolis if it weren't for a guide! But I did at least find over half of them by myself, which I think is good enough. I also had to look up the Deathclaw Gauntlet schematic location. I had the rest of them and plenty of materials stored up in a cabinet.

As for the ending...

[spoiler] I was very dissapointed with the ending. I know with past games, the ending told the aftermath of what happened to everyone in the game that you either helped or hindered. I found out about Project Purity's success and that I "was never seen again", but nothing else. After a game as huge as Fallout 3 was, I was expecting a whole lot more from the ending.

I feel let down by this, but still had a fun time playing. [/spoiler]

Now I'm starting to once again stick asside a little bit of cash so I can eventually get Bioshock 2 and catch up with my buddies who have already beaten it. I'm really looking forward to diving back into Rapture (no pun intended).

In the meantime, I've picked The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion back up and am continuing my game in it. I haven't played it since last May, so it took me a while to get reaquainted with the game, but I'm getting the hang of it again. I'm working through the Mage's Guild questline now. One more Recommendation and I'm in.

Until next time,
- Ebi

Well, my wait finally came to an end this past week as I FINALLY did enough extra work to earn enough "fun money" and get a new Xbox 360. My previous one got the RROD and crapped out on me back in October. It helped that I sold it on Craigslist for $40! So I now have a new "Arcade" 360 and I'm using the Hard Drive from my old system.

First thing I did was put in Fallout 3 and finally finish Operation Anchorage. Man I missed that game! I'm now collecting the Steel Ingots in The Pitt and will probably finish up that DLC this weekend. Then, it's off to finish the main storyline and get the last few achievements that I can get (speech challenges, bobble heads and behemoth hunting are all I have left to get beyond the quests).

Now I have to save up for Bioshock 2 for the 360 and Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3. Plus I need a new headset for the 360. There goes another $150... Why does gaming have to be so expensive?

At least I won't have to buy any MS Points for Perfect Dark. The 800 points I had from before are still there and that's what I'm going to use them on (you had better get that game too Xeo!)

On the PS3, I now have two Platinum Trophies! The first one I got was for Ratchet & Clank Future; A Crack In Time. That was such a fun game with a great story and excellent writing. The second one was for Dirt 2. Another fun game, especially with friends online. I'm working on my 3rd Platinum now too in Uncharted 2. All I have left is to play it on Crushing, play a competitive multiplayer game and get 200 Kills with the Chaingun. Fun fun!

Christmas has come and gone, and I must say, it was a very pleasant Christmas aside from the nasty weather. On the upside, we did wind up with a White Christmas which we have not had in several years, so that was nice.

I received three games for Christmas this year, and I am VERY happy with them all.

From my Wife, I received Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack In Time. I've played through the first few levels of it and so far, I love it. The controls are spot on and feel natural. I really like the fact that Ratchet can now throw his Omniwrench without having to come to a complete stop first. Makes things a whole lot simpler. The comedy is also great. I've already been laughing a lot at the game.

The second game I got is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. This game is incredible. The voice acting and levels are great. There is real chemistry between the characters that doesn't feel fake in any way. The action is tight and great and it really has the feel as if Nathan is there which draws you into the game even further. Right away, I did notice they tweaked the controls a little bit which felt slightly awkward at first, but quick to adapt to. There are a lot of finer details in Nathan's movements that are great. I can't wait to get further into this story.

The third game was a present to myself, and a game I previously played, although didn't actually own. I bought Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. Great game, and someday I'll play through it again.

Still no Xbox 360... I've got a computer job to do, which will get me half way to a new system. I'm planning on just getting the Hard Drive-less Arcade model, and then moving my 20GB HD from my dead system to the new one. That way I won't (hopefully) lose any of my game saves and downloads. I really want to finish Fallout 3 and get Modern Warfare 2 for the 360 (instead of the PS3 this time).

I knew something was wrong. My Xbox 360 had been acting "different" in the past few weeks. Slow to boot. Sluggish in game. Graphical "hickups" here and there. The occasional complete lockup. And then, as I was in the middle of Operation Anchorage (Fallout 3), kablooey. The screen went haywire and the last "note" of sound was playing in a high-pitched screech.

So, thinking it was just another lockup, I got up and reset the system. RROD.

"Oh s***" I said to myself. Turn it off, wait 10 seconds, turn it back on. RROD.

Waited 24 hours with the system unplugged and tried again. RROD.

I've been doing some research and it appear the most successful solution is to disassemble the unit, put heat pads on several of the chips, replace the x-bars with bolts, let it run for 30-60 minutes and restart. The kit for replacing the x-bars is cheap on ebay and I should be able to borrow a torx set from someone here at work so I may give that a shot. If it doesn't work, it's going to be months before I'm able to get back on my 360 and play again. It's not easy coming up with that kind of extra cash...

Anyone need a website designed or software written?

I have no idea what happened, but I lost my telephone and Internet service at home. I could care less about the phone. The only people who call me on my home phone are people trying to sell me stuff, get me to donate, or collect money. But it really sucks that I don't have Internet now!

That means no game night this weekend... :( Looks like I'll be scavenging the ruins of DC by myself in Fallout 3 instead of shooting up my friends in SOCOM.

I called AT&T to report the problem (which, btw, was the best computer I've ever talked to) and they are going to dispatch somebody to look at it. That's great, but what really irks me is that they're going to work on it next Monday sometime between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Gee, thanks guys. Could you be any more vague? :x Hopefully, it's something they can fix on their end and not have to access the box on my house. My killer attack puppies might try to lick them to death and scare them away.

Oh, and yes, we did pay the bill. Our cell phones (which are on the same bill) still work just fine.

-

One last side-note... GORDON FTW!

It has been a little while since I posted a gaming update, so I though I would take some time to post one. I know it is a little long as I tend to get long winded...or fingered as the case may be, but it's everything that is going on in the past, present and future of my gaming.

Currently Playing

I'm borrowing Fallout 3 (Xbox 360) from a friend of mine while he borrows my copy of Bioshock. So far, I love it. Bethesda Game Studios is becoming one of my favorite developers as every game I have played of theirs so far, I have thoroughly enjoyed. I have not progressed that far into the story line of Fallout 3 yet, but that is only because the DC Wasteland is absolutely huge and fun to explore. In fact, I just met 3 Dog, which is at the beginning of the story, and I have been playing nearly 10 hours and am almost at level 10. Fun stuff. Unfortunately, it has locked up on my several times and I've had to reset my Xbox 360 to resume play, but after installing the game to my Hard Drive, it hasn't happened yet. My system is old (one of the originals actually) so I'm not sure if it is the game of my Xbox.

On the PS3, I have been working on Battlefield: Bad Company and love the game. I have restarted the campaign on Hard which offers a great challenge, but still a lot of fun. And the online, even though there are only two game modes, is also a blast to play, especially with friends. I played the Demo of the game a while back and wasn't too thrilled with it, but now that I have the full game, and have played the whole thing through, my opinion of it has changed drastically.

Just Finished

I have recently completed Fable 2 for now. Eventually, I'll buy the DLC and continue playing in Knothole Island and See The Future. Fable 2 was fun and I really enjoyed it, although it did become a bit stale doing the later quests. A lot of "been there, done that", but still overall enjoyable. I got most of the achievements (880/1000) and the biggest ones I have left are finding the gargoyles, the stupid Hero Dolls and getting all the expressions, but I refuse to buy the Pub Games just to get that achievement. I think that is the stupidest thing and refuse to do it just for the 50 gamer points.

Before that, I completed Half Life 2 and it's Episodes in The Orange Box. Those were absolutely amazing and very fun to play. I enjoyed playing Half Life 2 so much, I had to hunt down a copy of Half Life on the PS2. I haven't played it all the way through yet, but even it is a blast. Now I'm looking forward to either Half Life 3 or at least Half Life 2: Episode 3. Portal is also an amazing game that messes with your mind in places, but I love it. The Advanced Stages and Challenges are very tough, even after watching Youtube videos of them. I don't think I'll continue with it, although that is where the bulk of my remaining achievements are. I have played Team Fortress 2 a little bit, but not a lot. I cranked through most of the achievements you can earn solo just to get a feel of the game, but I don't see myself returning to it soon. Overall, I have 760/1000 gamerscore for The Orange Box.

I have been contiplating writing reviews for both of these games. I need to get caught up on my review writing as the last one I did was back in April of this year. For Fable 2, I would probably give it an 8/10 and for The Orange Box, a 9.5/10.

Future Gaming

I have a gaming dilemma right now; there are too many games I want coming out this fall and cash is nonexistant.

The first game actually comes out next Tuesday: Halo: ODST. I have some of the money, but not enough and I'm afraid, even if I pre-order, I'll won't be able to pay in full in time to receive the Halo: Reach BETA Key. The key is the only reason I even considered pre-ordering the game.

Another thing I'm considering doing, which is something I rarely do, is actually trading in some of my games! I'm one of these people that once I buy a game, I keep the game. That's why I have such a huge game collection. But, money is tight and I want too many games, so something has to give. I'm going to try trading Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (PS3), Call of Duty: World at War (PS3), TimeShift (Xbox 360...sory Safad0), Devil May Cry (PS2), Shadow Man: 2econd Coming (PS2) and Enter the Matrix (PS2 with Guide). I doubt I will get much trade in value for most of these, but it's worth a shot at least.

Anyways, next up is GranTurismo (PSP). Several of the guys at work are big GT fans, and I would love to be able to race with them, even though they will kick my butt all over the track... Don't get me wrong, I love GT as well, just not as much as these guys who have been playing it since the original do.

Then comes my next biggest wish: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. I absolutely loved the first game and have been looking forward to the second ever since I heard about it (and even more so after seeing the E3 Trailer!).

Later in October is Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. I love Ratchet & Clank...just look at my header image! Nuff said.

In November, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 comes out. I will not be getting this game right away, but eventually I will pick it up.

And then, on the PSP sometime later this year, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier and SOCOM: US Navy Seals Fireteam Bravo 3 will be arriving.

And those are just the games I want for this year. Next year we have Bioshock 2, StarCraft 2 (hopefully), Final Fantasy XIII, Army of Two: The 40th Day and MAG. At $60 a pop, that's a lot of money.

Yesterday, I figured up how much I have spent on games over my lifetime. I bought a lot of them used and a lot of them new, so I estimated an average game cost of $40. With 234 games in my collection, it comes to $9,360.00 worth of games. That's just the games, not the consoles. Crazy money! And before the end of the year alone, there is probably $350+ worth of games I want.

And game publishers wonder why people buy used games cheaper...

Demos

I don't often play game demos as most of them just don't interest me, but there are a few I have played recently on the PS3.

The first is the demo of Wet. Based on the demo, I can honestly say the game will be interesting. Unfortunately, I was not impressed enough to want to buy it and will be passing on this title. Maybe in the future if I can find a cheap used copy I will pick it up.

The second demo was much more fun. It was for Dirt 2. The demo only has two tracks and two vehicles, but it is enough of a taste to make me look forward to buying the game...eventually. It all depends on when Gran Turismo 5 comes out...

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Well, that is it for now. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.

I have been putting a lot of thought into the All Time Greatest Video Game Hero brackets currently going on at GameSpot. Actually, I have probably been putting too much thought into it. But it brings up a real question: what truly makes a video game hero/heroine? The dictionary defines a Hero as "A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life" which, for most of the characters, fits well.

The first time I created my bracket, I created it based on the characters I liked the most, as I am sure many felow GameSpotters did as well. I never really took into consideration whether they were true heroes or not. Now, don't get me wrong, each one is the hero of their own realm, otherwise they wouldn't have been nominated. But are some better heroes than others? I say yes, and I truly hope others have as well.

With that in mind, what I began to look at next was the scope of their heroic influence. Did they do whatever they did for themselves, for a few people or for a lot of people? Are they a hero that everyone knew about and who basked in the glory, or are they an unsung hero, someone who did something great that not many actually know about? This is where it really comes down to your own personal beliefs and your own ideas of what makes a hero. Personally, I think the unsung hero who helps the many is the best hero, and my bracket now reflects such an idea. (Sorry Yoshi...)

I admit that there are several characters on there I either do not know or do not know a lot about, so those were a bit tougher to vote for and most were weeded out early on. And with that, I present my bracket:

(Click Image for Full Size)

As you can see, I came down to Nathan Drake (Uncharted: Drake's Fortune) and The Apprentice (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed).

Nathan Drake
Nathan is one of those unsung heroes that not many will ever know about or know the evil he prevented from spreading across the world.

The Apprentice
Another one of those unsung heroes. The Apprentice had a huge influence on the entire Star Wars story line.

[spoiler] For Nathan: By stopping Navarro from removing the cursed treasure of El Dorado, they prevented the curse, which turned the Spaniards into the monsters found late in the game, from spreading across the world. It was a weapon that nobody would be able to control; that could not know friend from foe and would curse everyone who came in contact with it.

For The Apprentice: As it turns out, it was The Apprentice who actually formed the Rebel Alliance. Without this alliance, the forces of the Dark Side would have gone uncontested and the Jedi would have lost. Luke Skywalker would have never been able to defeat Darth Vader had the Rebel Alliance not been started. [/spoiler]

Voting between these two was a tough decision and I ultimately chose The Apprentice because his actions reached farther than those of Nathan's.

So, who did you vote for? Did you put some thought into it? Did you vote for the most popular? Did you vote at all? Let me hear your thoughts on what makes the Greatest Video Game Hero for you in the comments.