I was at my fathers last week and I took the time to watch Silent Hill since it was on cable. I was mildly surprised. First off the film was not as bad as I had heard. The camera angles and locations were taken strait from the games. The plot was moving enough and some of the effects were just incredible. I really liked the world that they put you in. Unfortunately the movie loses momentum towards the end, right after they tried to cram a rock song into the mix. There was one bad actress that also hurt the experience (AKA the cop.) I have seen better films but I am glad to have seen it (for free.) I haven't played enough of the games to comment on consistency issues but it seemed in line with the times I have spent with the games. Not a bad ending either. The movie also let me know that the icon I have been using is that of the Devil. I am not quite fond of that idea so I will be changing it soon. The movie had some interesting questions it presented about the world they were in, like: how does conviction, even when your wrong, protect you from the powers of the Devil? Anyways it was a very interesting movie to analyze as a gamer; hopefully more videogame movies will have this level of polish.

I recently have discovered concerning gaming how hypocritical I am. I was all for a new Gunstar Heros being made and then it came out. Did I get it? No. Not until it was $7.20 used. I wanted Castlevania SOTN on 360. I even posted saying I would buy it. Did I? No. (Mind you I already have beaten it twice, gotten every ending, purchased the duplicator, I owned for a time the Saturn version just to play the new sections, I still own the original and I have beaten all the GBA versions; so you can see why I might not want to play it.) But still I keep rooting for all these games to be made and when they come out I don't support them. I was so zealous for Metal Slug 3 and then I bought it used 3+ years later. I just am not putting my money where my mouth is anymore. Mind you there is a lot less money than there used to be but I guess I am coming to the conclusion that it just isn't worth paying full price for a lot of stuff, I don't have the money to waste, and I just am not into games as much as I think I am. I need to start reevaluating how I think about games. "I'd buy that if it came out" should be 'that would be a great game" or "that would be a great game to remake" It just kind of stings knowing that I am not helping great games to be made anymore. Every dollar is a vote and I just am not getting to the poles. I remembered buying games to save the Dreamcast and I remember buying games to help Sega stay afloat. One day I hope to have money again so I can endorse the kind of games that I think are worth being made.

Finished Gears of War and Drakkhen this last week. I have had Gears since it came out, so hopefully now I can get started on Lost Planet. I've got the week off so I am hoping to get some gaming in. Maybe I will take Gears online instead and also get some fights in Samurai Showdown V. It doesn't look good for me getting the 1500 pts for the free copy of Contra. It just is too much work and time and I am not going to go out and rent a game to get an easy 1000 pts just to get a 5 dollar game for free. That would just be dumb. So we will see how many I end up with. The deadline is soon enough. I ended up not picking up Castlevania for 360. I just lost interest. I guess I just beat that game too many times and played too many similar sequels. The controls seemed stiff but I am sure it is just me. I was really excied about that one to. I have yet to buy 360 Arcade game. I just keep putting it off. Worms is sweet but 10 is too much for a game I already own; I am still wanting Meyhem. Street Fighter will be worthless if a new BC update comes out with SFC on it. Time Pilot is a classic and I like the update but this will be the 3rd time I've bought it. I just watched Ghost in the Shell 2. The blending of traditional animation and CG worked well. I just need to find a version that has better subtitles.

I know that, at some point, Sony will get things together and I will want something on the PS3. It is inevitable. They will get some game or some feature and I just need to accept it now. Otherwise I will be bitter about it later and then I will be lead down the dark path of fanboyism. A long dark path where anything made by Sony sucks no matter how cool it really is. I have a long list of things I don't like about Sony but they will do something right eventually. Like the PSP getting Dracula X for example. I just almost found my self consumed by the blackhole Sony created for themselves and was starting to believe that everything they have should suck by default.

Ok I just put way too much time updating my lists and reviewing games. I really need to go to sleep. I guess this is my procrastination of my up and coming papers. I really need the time, sleep and attention span to get threw this simester. ARG I really need to focus, I only have three weeks left. What the hell am I doing?

Why do I get the impression they need Trip Hawkins back at EA? Then again EA is actually trying to put up some new brands this year. We'll see how they turn out.

I'm a former 'Hard Core Collector.' I have 24 systems (not including multiple models) and collected over 500 games. I have in the past worked for two different retail videogame companies. I have over 1000 magazines filled with old rumors, forgotten treasures and broken promises. I also have lots of posters, standees and other swag. These days I am trying to cut back a bit, focus on more important things and sell off some of the old wood that is just sitting there unplayed. I hope you enjoy this site and happy gaming. Grace and peace in abundance -John

I read a blog on a users page that was talking about no game deserving a 10. This make me remember that usually a scale is flawed if you cannot reach the top and the bottom numbers. If you can't get a ten then why have it as a rating? When I rate a game I try and remember when the game came out, how much I played it, what effect it had on others, did it become the staple of the genre, does it stand out from the pack, is it the best game of it's time, and if it has held the test of time or not. It's hard to keep the numbers relative when comparing Tekken 2 to Tekken 3 or Adventure to Gears of War. Can you give a ten to a game you just bought? These concerns run threw my mind as I look at the games I've scored. I even sometimes go back and tweak scores to ballance things out a bit. One problem with giving a 10 is that you are usually giving it to a game you have played enough that you know all it's flaws. Goldeneye ran into bad framerates among other problems but was the game everyone had to own and redefined fps console gaming forever. I don't think historically you can say it doesn't deserve a ten. The question I now ask my self is what is worthy/unworthy of a 1? It is a rare occurrance to give a game a score less than 5. Usually I consider 5 a bland uninteresting game with no overall merit. A game with a score less than 5 has to be broken in some way or another. I am trying to redefine this. If I cannot give a 1 why have it? And maybe it is because I don't go around looking for bad games. I don't want to play Superman 64 just to give it a bad score. So I ask what is worthy of a 10 and what is worthy of a 1?

I called the PSP "worthless" and said that I might buy one anyways to get Ghosts and Goblins and Castlevania Rondo of Blood. I this posted on the Rondo of Blood news post and it was removed for trolling. I even said I was torn on the issue. People are touchy. I am still a bit miffed as far as why I got removed as so many people who are flinging their fanboyism back and forth are still posted. O' well I learned my lesson. For a full explanation of how I feel on the subject please read my previous blog.

Today I saw a system seller. Castlevania Rondo of Blood is being redone and rereleased on the PSP. I am a huge Castlevania fan (see my games list) and I have waited years to get my hands on this game and it has always been out of my price range. Now it may be attainable....on a system I have no interest in owning. The PSP just doesn't do much for me and it only has a few games I would consider purchasing (EA collection for Syndicate, Ghosts and Goblins and I'm curious about Infected and Afterburner) otherwise personally the system is a dud. I could care less about most of the remakes made for the system. And Ghosts and Goblins is really the only other game I'm sure I would get. And unfortunately I can't envision this or Rondo of Blood coming out on any other systems. I would love to see a PS2 release but I'm dreaming. This brings up the question though "When is a game so good you buy a system for it?" I'm used to buying systems I have some desire to own but this is one of the few times I could care less. (The other time was when I bought my Gamegear to play Super Collumns.)