I picked up Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin on Tuesday and after playing it a little, have found it really good, if not very similar to Dawn of Sorrow.

So far I've defeated the first few bosses and apart from having two characters and less touch screen compatability, PoR is pretty much the same in gameplay to DoS. This is not necessarily a bad thing...as DoS was a great game for the Nintendo DS, but a little innovation may have been nice.

This brings me to my next topic...innovation. And the heaps of sequels which land on our gaming shelves each year. I am the first person to admit that I cannot wait for a host of sequels; MGS4, GTA4, SSBB, FFXIII and the inevitable sequels in the Zelda and Dragon Quest series. Hell, I even find myself hoping that they'll announce that Metroid Prime was a quadrilogy and not a trilogy but at the same time I crave new types of games and new ways to game in.

I guess what I am trying to figure out is, how much of a good thing is too much... and when do developers decide to clean the slate of an old IP and try for something completely new and revolutionary (Bioshock, Assasin's Creed). I believe that the answer to this question is becoming almost the holy grail of gaming. Because without innovation gaming will stagnate...but if we abandon our favourite series and our old ways of gaming we may never enjoy playing games as much as we have again...

A leap of faith is what may be needed from the gaming community if we are going to completely change the way we play video games, but it is one which the community may not yet be able to take. For now I guess we can hope some daring developers can continue to push the envelope and find new ways to entertain while we continue to play as our favourite characters at the same time. Because as much as innovation excites me, I know I can't wait to take Solid Snake on one last mission to bring down Metal Gear...can you?

Unlike many of you, I did not get Super Smash Bros. Brawl over the past couple of days. This is due to the fact that us 'Australian gamers' are still stuck with a TBA date for when it will hit our shelves. I am glad to see that it has been recieved with such joy by most gamers and that the critics scores have been high for the game...can't wait to play it soon!

Also the other day i went to see 10,000 BC which has just been released in Australia on March 6 and contrary to the reviews of critics (which absolutely canned it) I found it really entertaining and to be honest I enjoyed it more than any movie I've seen recently. IMO it struck a good balance of adventure and action and although critics have been claiming that it is not an accurate representation of the actual year '10,000 BC, I think it is plainly obvious that that was not the intention of the film-makers. So overall I'd recommend it to anyone looking to see and entertaining action flick, 9.0/10

Well, God of War for PSP has been released in the US and will soon be coming out in Australia on the 31st of March. For me this has a huge upside but as well it has a bit of a downside as well...

For the past months my PSP has been out of action thanks to a shattered screen and to replace it I may as well buy a entire new PSP. Therefore with the release of God of War I hope to buy a PSP in order to play it. I just have to find the cash to buy one which at the moment may be hard. I now just have to make the decision whether or not it's worth buying a PSP to play God of War and make a few other sacrifices or not...I want to buy one eventually because I've got a pile of games sitting there unused but I seem to keep putting it off. So I find myself wondering if God of War alone is worth buying a new PSP for...

Finally!!! I have left the seemingly endless plains on the level known as 20 and have reached the green fields of level 21! It was a long haul but I am glad to say I have made it out the other side unscathed and a probably a little wiser when it comes to gaming.

As far as gaming goes I have not been doing heaps of late due to the fact that I recieved the adventure of Young Indiana Jones Volume 1 on DVD for my birthday and have been trawling through hours upon hours of that. But I have been having the odd session on Rogue Galaxy and have just begun playing through Castlevania: Dawn of Souls on DS again.

I have also been disappointed with what I have heard regarding Dragon Quest Swords for the Wii. Though GS have not yet reviewed it, other gaming sites are giving it lacklustre scores and a common complaint is that it is not really similar in many ways at all to previous DQ titles. I had had high hopes for this title, but now it seems I will have to hope that DQ IX on DS will be able to quench my thirst for more DQ adventuring.

Ah well, I think I might go and play some DQ VIII for old times sake.

Finally, after a little longer than I had expected our ADSL internet has been hooked up and I am glad to say that I will once again be a regular on Gamespot! It has been a little while but hopefully I haven't missed heaps over my break. I hope this blog finds everyone well and enjoying gaming as much as they were when I left.

As for me, lately I have been playing a lot of NBA 08 with my brother and I have just started playing Rogue Galaxy (I've just reached Zerard, at the start of Chapter 4). Also, recently the trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released and I am glad to say that so far it looks awesome.

Over the next few weeks I am hoping to buy No More Heroes, Zak and Wiki and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin but as it is my birthday on Friday I'll have to wait and see what I get. I haven't asked for any games but I may receive a voucher or two.

Anyways, it's good to be back!

Alk.

I'm back on Gamespot...but only for today. Good news though. My internet should be up and running in between one and two weeks so pretty soon I'll be fully active again.

Also, just some cool news you might want to know...the trailer for the new Indiana Jones movie hits cinemas on Valentine's Day and there's an interview and some new screenshots of Lego Indiana Jones on Gamespot. Definitely worth a look.

I might not be on Gamespot as much in the next week or so unfortunately. This is due to the fact that I've just moved into my Dad's house which doesn't have an internet connection and because it's a rental it might take a while for it to be installed.

I'll still get on whenever I can though because I have relatives that live pretty nearby whose internet I can use. I'm sorry if I don't post on blogs for a few days from time to time but be assured if I can, I will!

Unfortunately at the moment I am not getting many shifts at my work and therefore am not getting paid as much as I was. This in turn means I cannot buy games as regularly as I have been. I even had to layby two games yesterday. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin on DS and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions for PSP. The thing about laybying that annoys me is that by the time I have paid off the bill there is inevitably another game which I would like to get and I have had to pay off the layby instead of picking it up.

But anyway, I guess until then I'll have to make do and continue playing Starcraft which I am enjoying thoroughly. I have also started playing Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on DS again and PoP: Sands of Time on PS2 again as well.

Also some new pictures from the new Indiana Jones movie have been released and they are awesome(the best images so far). I've seen them on the net but I will probably head to the newsagancy and buy Empire which they are featured in. I cannot wait until it is finally released on Mayy 22. Only 110 days to go...

Logged on to GS this morning to discover No More Heroes getting an awesome score of 9.0! I did not see that coming. I was predicting an 8.4 but a 9.0 is an awesome effort for a third party title. I was a little bit sceptical that the controls would not be up to scratch and perhaps unresponsive but it appears SUDA-51 has got it spot on!

Although it is obviously a more mature title I don't believe it will draw new people to the Wii due to it's unique look and the fact that it is not a sequel to a big name franchise. Due to this I think it will unfortunately be another quality title, such as Okami, that will not sell all that well. All I can be sure of though is that I'll definitely be collecting a copy and am really looking forward to slashing my way across my living room.

Now I just have to wait until it's released in Australia on the 28th of Feb...

I finally saw cloverfield today with a mate and it's safe to say I really enjoyed it! After the initial 5 minutes of adjusting to the unique camera style I found a lot to like. The only thing was that the ending grated my nerves a little but hey, you can't love everything about it.

Also, while I was out I made a purchase from EB games. Yes, almost 10 years from it's original release I finally own Starcraft and it's expansion Brood War. I havn't yet played it but supposedly it's a playable as ever and with my current desktop lacking any graphical or processing power, it'll be good to start PC gaming again.

And today I heard the unfortunate news of Heath Ledger's death. He will be remembered as a great actor with uncharted potential and, as a fellow Australian, I really enjoyed watching him make his way in Hollywood. May he rest in peace.