After 5 days of being without power last week, today I earned my 3rd platinum, and my 1st for the PS Vita.

Gravity Rush has been platinumed!

It's been a rather slow journey, but one I enjoyed greatly. I just love the game, and is easily one of my favorite portable games I've ever played. Now it's time to 100% those future DLC packs!

Last night, I earned my second Platinum Trophy in earning all the trophies in Tekken Tag Tournament HD, in Tekken Hybrid. Playing the game a LOT back in the day helped a lot with this one, and I earned it relatively quick. I'm not much for going after all trophies in a game, but this one came naturally I suppose. I've earned quite a few 100% trophies, just not much in games with a platinum trophy attached.

I also earned all the Trophies in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue a few days before, and all the trophies in Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown as well.

As for the Tekken Hybrid as a package, I gave the set a 7.0, as Tekken Tag HD is the same game as it was , with a high texture res slapped on, but the core gameplay is as stellar and solid as it was then, and holds up very well 12 years later. It doesn't feature any online play so for better or worse, it's pretty much the same game was it was 12 years ago. It's pretty much the meat of the package.

Prologue provides a small sampling of what's to come, and features just 4 fighters based off the included movie. I'm excited as I like the new tricks and the game looks to be visually awesome. Also in the package, Tekken: Blood Venegence, is a Blu-ray Movie release, and pretty much it's an excuse to throw some high impact CGI action on screen. But who doesn't mind explosions and crazy martial arts moves right? :P Regardless, I had fun, Just make sure to get the package for $30 or less if you do.

I've picked up a few games since I've last blogged before E3:

Gravity Rush, new, PS VITA, $40 (Very awesome game. Might be my favorite vita game so far for the handheld. Highly Recommend!)

Catherine (Alternative cover edition, with artbook and soundtrack) New, PS3, $40 (a game I cancelled the preorder on last year, I finally picked it up for a low cost).

I preordered the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collector's Box Set for the PS3. It's due out this September and includes:

I can't wait!

Also, I picked up:

No More Heroes: Heroe's Paradise, PS3, New, $22 (love the Wii game, let's go for a second round!)

Tekken Hybrid, PS3, New, $30 (I dunno why people rag on this so much. Get a blu ray movie, a HD version of the great ps2 game, and a taste of the new game each with trophies. Fun trophies at that. )

Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland, PS3, New, $21 ( found a game that was dirt cheap in this series. A friend of mine highly recommend giving the series a shot)

Super Mario 3D Land, 3DS, New, $30 (yes, after almost a year, I finally buy a 3DS game. Holy Moly.)

----

Last night, I saw that Nintendo is releasing the 3DS XL in August. All I can say is, with all these revisions from Nintendo, it's part of the reason why a lot of consumers don't take portable gaming serious. That said, I appreciate the bigger screens, but wish for a second stick on the thing.

---

I also renewed my PS Plus. Now's the time to try out the service guys and gals, with all the games for free, the "instant game collection of sorts" it's a great way to play games for cheap, get lots of icon and theme goodies, and try out other games as well. It's worth the few bucks.

Just got back from vacation where I scored a bunch of games to add to my collection!

Here's the games and the prices I paid for them:

Pac-Attack, Game Gear, Cart only, $2

Super Monaco GP, Game Gear, Cart only, $2

Columns, Game Gear, Cart only, $2

Sonic Blast, Game Gear, Cart only, $2

Chase H.Q., Game Gear, Cart only, $2

Puss' N' Boots: Pero's Great Adventure, NES, Cart only, $2.50

Milon's Secret Castle, NES, Cart only, $2.50

Galaga: Demos Of Death, NES, Cart only, $2.50

Disney Adventure's In The Magic Kingdom, NES, Cart only, $2.50

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, PS1, Complete, $2 (a black label version, completed, in excellent shape!)

Sled Storm, PS1, Complete, $1

Judge Dredd, PS1, Still Sealed, $1

Tekken, PS1, Complete, GH Version, $1

Tekken 2, PS1, Complete, $1

Tekken 3, PS1, Complete, $1 (I owned this back in the day, but mine was a GH copy. This is the black label version)

Contender, PS1, Complete, $1

Die Hard Trilogy, PS1, Complete, GH Version, $1

Namco Museum Volume 1, PS1, Complete, $1

Pac-Man World 20th Anniversary, PS1, Complete, $1

Gran Turismo, PS1, Complete, $1

Gran Turismo 2, PS1, Complete, $1 (This is actually the first time I've seen both the 1st and original complete with both booklets in excellent shape, so for a buck each I'm very happy!)

Silent Hill 3, PS2, Complete w/ Soundtrack CD, $3 (I now own 2 of Silent Hill 3's Soundtrack CD's!)

Resonance of Fate, PS3, Complete, $18 ( Figured I nab a copy before it's too late)

Final Fantasy XIII-2, PS3, New, $25 (My sister wanted this, but I doubt she'll ever play it xD)

Yakuza: Dead Souls, PS3, New, $60 (Dunno why I bought this now, but I'm a huge fan of Sega as of late, especially of the Yakuza series. I just have a soft spot for Japanese games. SEGA!)

Soul Caliber 5 Collector's Edition, PS3, New, $60 (Now there's collector's edition's and there are COLLECTOR'S EDITIONS! This is some nice stuff! Inside the box is a big hardbound book with shiny gold like trim that houses the game, a making of Soul Caliber 5 Blu ray disk, a hard bound 100 page full color artbook, that has the collector's edition CD Soundtrack on the back inside cover! Also, includes a code to download the Dark and White Knight Costumes for creation mode! Nice velvet like inlay (or is it real velvet?) Overall this is one pretty collector's edition of a game.)

New commenting system? Only thing that bothers me is you can't see your old comments unless view it on a phone. I read up on the updates, said they would move the old comments over, but....that was 25 days ago.

GS, ya gotta follow things through. Way too many things unfinished.

Anyways.

I finished Xenoblade, which quite possibly be my new favorite RPG of all time (I know! It SHOCKED even me)

Came back from a 11 day trip, where I scored a bunch of games to add to the collection, I'll post the blog later today. :)

For, what it seems like ages now, I've always said that gamers need to vote with their wallets. If they don't like something, or what a company/publisher/game maker is doing, don't buy the product. If you like something, or want the industry to take notice that you want more of something, support the product.

I've been really impressed as of late with the kickstarter projects that have been happening, like Double Fine adventure, Wasteland 2, Shadowrun, and others. People are getting what they want, and letting the industry know that hey, these games or types of games are not dead, we want this product. It's an awesome thing.

What also has made me proud is how gamers have got together and said that they want these three RPGs to come to the Wii: Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower. Let's face it, the Japanese RPG genre hasn't been in full force like in the last generation of games, and the landscape has changed quite a bit. But there's tons of gamers out there that want a good Japanese RPG, and want to play them.

So, yesterday I voted with my wallet. I'm a big fan of Japanese video games. While a lot would say, the industry would say (or maybe wish), that Japanese games aren't popular anymore, I say otherwise. I love Japanese video games. I love a good Japanese RPG. I know I'm not the only one.

So, I bought Xenoblade Chronicles yesterday. With the purchase, I'm saying that I like a good Japanese RPG. I don't want them to go away. I'm saying I love Japanese games. In fact, I appreciate them more in this gen then last gen, because of how popular/dominate American/European games have become. So, I'm glad to support this game!

Today while I was at lunch, I happened across a title that I'd never thought I'd see:

The Last Blade 2: Heart of the Samurai, Dreamcast, Used, Complete, $5

For those who don't know, Last Blade was the other "Samurai" series that SNK made, besides the much more famous Samurai Shodown series.

But, Last Blade 2...is a masterpiece. The fighter has incredible graphics, insane sprite work for the era. Not to mention the soundtrack, and ambient noise is off the wall. Not to mention the fighting in it is fantastic. Button mashers beware, you must time, and make effective use your moves or the game will make you pay. Dearly.

Here's a good vid I found on youtube, that not only shows the great graphics, but great sound too.

That said, I'd love to see this series see a modern sequel. It's perhaps the most underrated fighter and forgotten gem of yesteryear, and it's sad because it's one of the best fighters you'll ever see. I'm glad to own a piece of fighting game history. Time to fight!

After working the past few weeks kinda nonstop at my job, I'm back and this time with some nice games to add to the collection!

I went to Gamestop's buy 2 get 1 free sale, and found some sweet finds:

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, DS, Used, Complete, $8

Shining Force Neo, PS2, Used, Complete, Free

Bloody Roar 3, PS2, Used, Complete, $7

Bulletstorm (Limited Edition Cover), PS3, Used, Complete, $17

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, PS3, Used, Complete, $18

Silent Hill 2 (GH Version, This has all the extra content that the Original did not, that the Xbox Version saw), PS2, Used, Complete, Free (Also came with a copy of Silent Hill 3's Soundtrack... previous owner must have forgotten to take it out.)

Also, finally got Ace Attorney Miles Edgeworth Investigations, DS, New, $30 (I've been putting it off for 3 years, I have to get this game now before it's too late.)

Anyway, my best advice when it comes to buy 2 get 1 free sales, Is go for the odlewr games. Especially since, they are often cheaper, and if you don't have the time to play a game now, you won't waste your dollars as if you were buing 2 $50/$40 used games).

(Updated 4/6/12 at 9:35 am: Added in missing info for Advance Wars, Bulletstorm and Silent Hill 2)

Today, I found 2 interesting games at the flea Market:

Godzilla, Gameboy, w/ manual, $2

Phelios, Sega Genesis, W/ Original Box, $2

Godzilla for the gameboy is a game made by Compile (maker of Puyo puyo, among others) that is a side-scrolling game. It's pretty neat, and a game I've read about long ago but never have seen a copy.

Phelios is a shooter by Namco, that I never ever heard of before 9a rarity these days!), for the Genesis. It's got pretty sweet graphics.

Also, a little while back, I found this at Gamestop:

Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel, New, PS3 $40 (Comes with Art book, Soundtrack CD, in a big box)

I got this for collection sakes, mainly because right now on Amazon this is running for $90 itself. These types of games usually get a small release and go up in price.

It's the first game ever to be released by NIS in America that got a M rating. It supposedly very eclectic, and a bit overthetop.

Which is fine by me. :P

Lately, I've been trying to go through Motostorm RC for Vita, trying to complete two races at a time. Tonight It hit me, I've been wasting my time.

Motorstorm RC for the Vita is very flawed.

When first getting the game (which is free mind you) the first thing that hit me was the controls. While novel in design, (using the sticks like a traditional RC controller) it doesn't translate well to racing. You can press up on the stick to trust, but often miss or not hit full force due to not having a defined path like a regular RC controller. Luckily changing the controls to use the D pad and L/R trigger helped.

Somewhat.

What really hurts the game is the fun factor. And lacked thereof.

The concept usually goes as this: You pick a track. You try to complete the goal, get in first place, beat a certain number of cars, beat a time, etc. The problem here is, the game designers allowed no give whatsoever. You mess up once, you might as well restart. Often a mess up means a complete loss, and no means to regain ground. The reset button ends up being mute, as there's no way to recover from a fumble with the robot like cars going around the track. With a racing game being non-traditional, you have to allow plays a bit of give (not a mile) but a bit of leway to be a bit less then perfect.

It's just not fun to select a track, try 25 or more times to get at least around the track decently flawlessly to *even* have a change to do decent/possibly get 3 medals in a race

The reward if you do? Chances to unlock cars, more tracks and such.

But there's no point to it. Why you ask? the new cars you get have absolutely no effect from one to the other. Yes all cars in the same cla$$ handle the same way, have the same speed, and everything. So why unlock a new car? To have a different look? considering the cars are so small on screen, it doesn't matter what the look like as you can barely see it. The tracks over a bit of variety, but that's the only reward you'll get. I love good looking cars as much the next guy, but if all the cars act the same in the cla$$, then why should I bust my behind to earn them?

Folks, from beginning to end you'll race with sub-par, unable to drive decently controls, with poor unlocks, and a slap in your face medal system with no give whatsoever. It's the same race in, race out nonstop.

When a game makes you feel there's no point, no reward for striving through a challenge, wherein the concept is to make you want to go through and challenge oneself, that is a game with a serious issue.

So, tonight I've put the game down for good. There's no point in going on with this game.

Motostorm RC for the Vita gets a 5.0 A waste of time, especially since there are much better racers past and present to enjoy.

It's a free game, but realize folks, proceed with caution.