Got an email from MS that my Live account has been returned to me intact! YAY! There was no suspicious activity in my account so they simply gave it back. They actually emailed me at the end of last week but I didn't check that email so I had no clue I had it back over the Columbus Day weekend. I guess they should've called me but they didn't. O well. Anyways, glad to have my account back, now I can play a day of Live before Uncharted 2 arrives this week, lol.

I started playing Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS3) over the weekend. I'm playing Way of the Warrior and boy is it EASY! Hell, Warrior mode in Sigma 2 is easier than Acolyte mode in the 360 version. I wish the harder difficulties were unlocked already so NGII veterans like myself could get some challenge. I was able to sail through most of the game easily and I didn't even need to use my health items that much. The only issues I had were with the new bosses since I had to learn their patterns (which wasn't too hard after one or two retries). I'm slowly taking my time with the game.

Oh yea, I miss the gore alot. The new glowing effects are nice but the lack of blood makes the Ultimate and Obliteration techniques less exciting to watch. They also took out some enemy moves and attacks to make the game way easier as well. This version definitely feels much tamer than the 360 one. The lack of blood sorta reminds me when I first played MK on the SNES. Meh.

Anyways, there are lots of nice improvements to the gameplay that makes the game less frustrating. For example, you now have unlimited arrows for your bow. It's good to not look for arrows or buy them anymore. BUT they took out the ability to charge up which BLOWS CHUNKS! It was fun charging up my arrows to take out some bosses strategically but I guess if you have unlimited arrows, why include this feature? Guh.

I enjoyed playing the new characters like Momoji and Rachel too. They added some variety to the game and expanded the story a bit. But the level design for these characters are simply retreads with some new sections which turned out kinda boring. But at least you got some new stuff to lengthen the gameplay. And I don't mind being able to look at some hot video game chicks once in a while. ;)

So far, the game is fun but I don't think I'm enjoying it quite as much as the 360 version because of the easy difficulty. I can't wait to beat the game on Warrior mode and jump into the higher difficulties later. I need the challenge when I play Ninja Gaiden and Sigma 2 is just not doing it for me. I'll do a more detailed 360 vs PS3 comparison later when I finish the game. But with Uncharted 2 coming this week, I'm not sure when I'll post that blog. ^^;;

Still waiting for my Live account to return to me. It's only been a week but I think I'm in withdrawal already. I haven't felt like playing my other games at all. Anyways, just one more week to go! Although I'll probably be busy with a lot of PS3 games by the time I get it back (yes, it's ironic). I forgot to post my Sept stuff so I included them in this month's post...

Got:

Wacom Intuos4 Tablet - My major purchase from last month. My old Intuos' software kept crapping out on me so it was worthless. Not even the "upgraded" software from Wacom worked. I finally upgraded. Digital art, I am back!

Samus Phazon Suit Statue - Paint job ain't perfect but the light-up feature is sweet.

*PEW PEW!*

Games and Movies - Pics will speak for themselves.

So both my Gmail and Xbox Live accounts were hacked yesterday. Someone changed the passwords for both so I was locked out. Thankfully, I was able to recover my Gmail on the same day so I was able to also reset the password for my Windows Live ID account. The annoying thing was that I had called MS about this earlier so they had to suspend my Live account due to an investigation. Even though I was able to recover my Windows Live ID account later in the day, they said the investigation had "escalated" so I need to wait out the full 14 DAYS. Anyways, I was lucky cuz nothing from my Gmail account was deleted and there was no activity in my Xbox account since I used it so that's safe as well.

I have to mention that my experience with the MS CSRs were surprisingly pleasant. They were really nice and efficient. They asked me a ton of questions to verify my identity and they double-checked what I told them so the info would be accurate. I called around 4 times and they were nice everytime. It seems MS CSRs have changed quite a bit since I last spoke to them 2 years ago concerning a different issue. Btw, the specific dept was for Accounts and Billing so I guess they have to take things more seriously when it comes to hacking issues.

I just hope that everything is resolved at the end and I get my account back without any issues. I was told that if it's resolved, my Live account gamerscore/achievements would stay intact and I would get a free month of Gold added to my account because of the investigation.

So I guess I'll need to play my other systems while I wait for the investigation to end. Pretty bad timing cuz I wanted to play Halo ODST online. It's only 14 days, I'll be back online when it's done hopefully. *crosses fingers*

I finished Halo 3: ODST (360) today on Heroic in Solo mode. Really great game with a lot of atmosphere. The way the game's story is structured is a way more creative than the previous Halo games. I think Bungie has evolved as storytellers. Just when you thought it was gonna be your typical squad war story, it turns out to be bit more unusual.

I don't want to spoil anything but I really like the melancholy feel when you're in the main world. You really feel isolated and alone exploring the empty city for your squadmates. This proves to me that you should play this game solo FIRST so you don't have this experience ruined with a bunch of dudes yappin' at each other in co-op.

The graphics are pretty nice, especially the VISR mode effects but you can tell that the engine hasn't aged well. The human faces for the characters don't look that great and their facial animation looks a tad goofy. They look cartoony when they move and talk. I think maybe the Halo animators should've toned it down. But the locations, weapons and vehicles look great. Lighting is especially nice. The music is absolutely beautiful and really adds to the weight of the story. Voice acting is decent too.

I haven't played the multi yet but the single player is well worth it. If you're into the Halo games or the lore, it's a must play. I think FPS fans in general should check it out as well.

I've also been finishing my huge backlog of JRPGs. Here are my thoughts about a few of them.

Finished Infinite Undiscovery (360) on Normal. This game really surprised me. The characters actually grew on me and I liked the story. The voice acting is inconsistent but most of them were actually quite good. I was especially impressed with Capell and Aya's voice actors. There were some pretty intense scenes and their performances were spot on. Lots of emotions can be felt. There's a fairly HUGE amount of characters that join your party which made the game feel more epic even with the simple story. I also discovered some easter eggs where they have some fully voiced dialogue cutscenes which are completely optional and add to the story. I also need to point out the excellent localization for the script. The dialogue flowed naturally and everyone's reactions felt real to what was going on. Whoever translated this game should win some award. Good stuff.

The gameplay is simple and straightforward. There aren't a lot of sidequests compared to most modern RPGs so this game can be finished quite quickly. It's fairly linear with ALOT of backtracking in a few dungeons. I'm not a fan but at least the combat was simple and fun.

My biggest gripe are the graphics. They are completely last gen! The character designs are solid but the actual graphics are fugly. They look like high res PS2 models...sigh. Character animations are stiff and facial animations are stiff as well. If it weren't for the great voice acting, I would've been totally letdown.The good news is the loading is pretty much nonexistent when you're traveling and exploring towns and cities. The ONLY time I saw the loading screen was for the in-game cutscenes. But other than that, there were no loading when entering buildings and the like. Quite refreshing to see.

Overall, it's a good RPG that old school JRPG fans should probably check out. If you can look past the disappointing graphics, you might end up enjoying it like me. I found the characters charming and the story interesting.

I also finished Tales of Vesperia (360). I was actually doing some sidequests before the final dungeon but I decided to skip them to finish the damn game. I can always do the sidequests later when I'm bored or something. Anyways, excellent game with a lot of great characters. The voice acting is great and they really add to the chemistry between the main cast. It's a long and very satisfying journey with lots of excellent character development. Localization is also uber great.

The graphics are gorgeous and quite beautiful. Very colorful and easy on the eyes. The music is also quite excellent from beginning to end. I found the combat incredibly fun and enjoyable. One thing many people may not notice at first glance are the huge amount easter eggs and bonus stuff to look for. The extra titles, costumes and various secret items and characters will add a ton more to the playing time. Personally, I can't find myself doing everything cuz it's quite exhaustive but it shows a lot of attention was paid to make this a worthwhile experience.

Overall, this is one of my fave RPGs in this generation. It's a must play! I'm gonna be curious when/if the US version of the PS3 version comes out. They added an extra character and I think that's interesting because I really love the main crew in the 360 version. They have perfect chemistry, imo. I'm wondering if this new PS3-exclusive character is gonna break the story for me. Guess I'll wait and see cuz I'll be happy to replay this with the new story changes.

FINALLY, I'm currently playing The Last Remnant (360). What a great game so far. Even with the technical issues like pop-up textures and some slowdown, everything else has been pretty great so far. The story has been quite intriguing and the characters are slowly building up with some nice revelations. The way the story unfolds is pretty interesting.

The graphics for the in-game cutscenes are quite good. The facial animation and lip sync is EXCELLENT. I'm really shocked at how well they animate and look. There's a lot of subtlety with their emotions and movement. The voice acting is also TOP NOTCH. Every single person sounds excellent. It's all very natural and conversations flow really well. I really hope FFXIII's lip sync and voice actors will be just as good because The Last Remnant shows that a JRPG in English can be done right. It's perfect. I will admit that during the gameplay cut-scenes, some characters have an awkward walk animation. Minor nitpick.

The combat is unusual and way different than most other JRPGs. I really like it because it makes sense that you're traveling with a large group of people for your epic quest. When you're in battle, it's kinda cool that you're giving commands to a bunch of soldiers and mercs. I never got bored when I'm doing a sidequests or grinding cuz you're constantly leveling up with new moves and spells for your party. The way they structure your battle choices are pretty random and keeps things fresh. Btw, the save system is great. You can save pretty much anywhere. It's a godsend when I need to take a break in a middle of a long sidequest or if I just wanna do something else. Save points are so passe. ;)

I need to point out that when I'm traveling around town or doing the sidequests, it feels like I'm playing FFXII. The art design and look of the game is quite similar to FFXII. You also have political stuff going on which also reminded me of FFXII. So aside from the combat engine, I think people who like FFXII will really enjoy this game's aesthetics. Are we in Ivalice? :P

Anyways, I'm really enjoying the game so far. I don't understand the hate. I installed the game to my HDD so the technical issues ain't that bad. They're not that different than the technical issues in Mass Effect so if you can deal with that, you can deal with this. Give it a chance folks.

Oh yea, there seems to be something I found in common with all three RPGs in this list. Lunaglyphs, Blastia and Remnants? If you played these games, you'll understand what I mean. ;)

New pick-ups in the next post, bye!

So I've been playing nothing but Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS360) since its release. I love this game a lot. Great gameplay, slick graphics, superb script and tons of amazing voice work. I finished the game on Normal for the 360 first and then I finished it on Hard on the PS3. I decided to replay the game on Hard for the 360 to get the achievement. I only grabbed the riddles that I needed and it only took around 5 hours to beat. Sweet. Like I said, this is one awesome game.

Anyways, after some exhausting and very tough times with the Challenges, I managed to get a Platinum AND full 1000/1000 for both versions. Love it! :)

Btw, I'm currently ranked 110th in the world for Sewer Bat (Extreme) on the 360. Can you beat my score of 93,135?

:D

Final Aug post.

Got Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS360) - AMAZING game so far. I'm loving every second of it. One of the best games this year and THE best Batman game ever made. Period. Must BUY!!!

Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii) + Preorder Bonus T-shirt

FF: Dissidia (PSP) + Preorder Bonus Slip Covers

Incredible Crisis (PS1) - Got this used and it's in PERFECT condition. Thanks to Giant Bomb for doing a Quick Look about it.

Non-gaming:

Cable Amp - Works great! Love it.

BSG Complete Series + True Blood Season 1 (BD)

TRS T-shirt

Finally, Mai and Reco figures.

More stuff.

Shadow Complex (360) - Completed the campaign on Normal. AWESOME game. Really well designed. MUST-BUY! Nuff' said.

MAG Beta (PS3) - Can't tell you any impressions. The servers were down when I tried logging in. Will try again later.

Also just started playing Bionic Commando (360) finally. Played for 2 hours and it's kinda meh right now. I love the swinging mechanic but the level design is horrible and you can die so easily, even on NORMAL! I can't imagine how much harder the higher difficulties are. Anyways, it's alright so far.

Part 2 of the stuff I got this month:

HD Cable Box for the kitchen.

FREE Digital Adapters cuz my family was using an older plan. Woot!

And of course, various figures and statues.

Bought a bunch of XBLA/PSN games about 2 weeks ago. I haven't bothered with anything too recent though. I haven't finished some of these games since I'm juggling them around depending on my mood. So here are my quick impressions.

Marvel VS Capcom 2 (360) - Great port. Played perfectly with my TE Fight Stick. I only played through the Arcade mode for the achievements so I can't tell you what the online is like. Anyways, this is still a great game and loads of fun. I also have the PS3 retail version coming. Must-have.

Fat Princess (PS3) - Fun game with plenty of charm. I played some online and I finished the single player mode. Definitely recommended.

Splosion Man (360) - SUPER fun and challenging. An awesome platformer with lots of dark humor. LOVE IT!

Shatter (PS3) - Very fun and simple game. I'm not in love with it as some other people but it's definitely recommended.

So I finally started playing PROTOTYPE (360) this past weekend. It started okay during the first hour but I started really enjoying it after that. It's been fun even though the characters bore me and the overall look of the game is pretty sterile (with lots of blood). The graphics are pretty fugly with bland textures, generic designs and less than interesting cutscenes. The really interesting part of the game is the Web of Intrigue that you slowly collect through the game. It's highly stylized and well done. It's probably the main driving force behind my motivation to keep playing the game. I like the overall presentation of it and how it slowly gives out some important background info to the story. I wish it wasn't a collectathon though because people who rush through the main story will probably miss out on it.

The other thing I like about the game is how powerful you feel. You have a ton of different powers to play with and traveling around is exhilirating. The way you can mix and match some of your powers makes you feel like an one man army. Alex has a ton of different animations for all his powers and they all look badass. But even though you're powerful, the enemy is even more so. This game is tough and very difficult at times. You basically get swarmed when you're discovered. There isn't much to the AI from what I've seen. I also like the ability to be in disguise and consume anyone. It's a nice lil creepy power you have and it looks pretty cool.

Anyways, I'm almost done with it but I'm sorta achievement hunting and trying to find all the Web of Intrigue guys before I do the final two missions. When it comes to open-world games that came out this year, Prototype isn't as fun or as polished as Red Faction: Guerrilla and not quite as addictive and focused as inFamous, but it's still enjoyable if you simply want to be a powerful mean angry killer. Recommended.

Finally, got a bunch of stuff this month from sales and price drops. Gonna post mainly my movies (ALOT) and games for this post. More to come...

Got:

Red2Blu program for these.

Watchmen AGAIN! Steelbook version along with a free journal. Canada exclusive. :D

Won this game from a random drawing. Thanks to DesertEagleXIX of tech-gaming.com! :)

So I'm finally going through my backlog. I managed to finish three over the weekend with some major marathons. I'm just gonna post my general thoughts on what I think of them. I'm gonna list them in order of completion. Oh yea, I got the new NXE update preview but I'm not gonna bother talking about it. You guys will get it this week anyways. I also bought a lot of XBLA/PSN games last week but I'll mention them in the next post.

Quantum of Solace (360) - A decent game with some simple combat mechanics. I liked that you simply tap the right stick to start a short melee button sequence. It's much better than the normal melee attack in most FPS games and adds some variety to the visuals. Anyways, the game's plot is a bit bizarre compared to the movie. They included some story from Casino Royale which tied the game's plot together since the QoS movie is a direct sequel. They changed many parts to the story to match the game and it sorta works. The movie is better though. The game's graphics are average at best and the character models are pretty fugly compared to their movie counterparts. Anyways, I liked some of the shooting mechanics and I liked some level designs but it's an average game. Worth playing if you liked the movie but it's rental at best. Btw, the game's opening song is better than the movie's, imo.

Viking: Battle for Asgard (360) - Wow, this was a big surprise. I bought this game on a whim because it was on sale and it turned out great. The game actually turned out to play more like Zelda and Fable than a typical hack and slash. You actually travel around liberating locations for your war effort. You also get to hunt around for treasure and complete quests. This whole section of the game wasn't what I was expecting. I also found the game's combat to be addictive and fun. It was great unlocking new moves and finishing off enemies was always fun. I would compare it greatly to the PS360 Conan game. Pure bloody awesome action. And of course, the game includes some epic Dynasty Warriors-s7yle battles for the Assault missions. They were pretty well done and cinematic. The stealth missions were somewhat annoying though but if you're good enough, you can fight your way through some of them. My only gripe with the game is the overly simplistic story and lack of character development. The main character NEVER speaks which is a missed opportunity. I liked some of little bits of humor here and there for some missions but they're rare. The ending had a nice twist which made up for the lackluster story. Overall, I really had a lot of fun and really enjoyed it. This game is worth checking out even with its flaws. It's a solid game and highly underrated.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (360) - This game turned out soooo much better than the movie. Not only were the production values fairly high but the action is fast and furious (oh yes, I said it). It felt like I was playing the 3D Ninja Gaiden games which is a good thing. It's sooo much fun ripping apart all the enemies in the game and they looked BRUTAL! The exploration sections were alright but I felt the puzzles were unnecessary. They added some variety to the level designs but I felt they halted the action too much. The story is a bit better than the movie and made more sense. But I felt bad that Raven had to include all the crap movie (cinema) sections into the game. If this game had a completely original story, then it would be the greatest Wolverine game ever. It's still the best Wolverine game released so far though in terms of gameplay. You can tell which parts of the story were forced and which were original. Like I said, if you like the 3D NG games then this is definitely worth checking out. If you hated the Wolverine movie, then you should play this game as well to see a better version of the movie...lol. Btw, I found it sorta funny that Logan's accent kept changing around. Anyways, GREAT game and loads of fun.

I am officially 1 year older today. Happy Birthday to me.

Anyways, I forgot to post these pick-ups yesterday. (Yes, I had more...) Special thanks to CAG for these specific deals.

Got:
Prototype (360) - Amazon DotD, why not?

Bionic Commando w/ patches (PS360) - Gamestop $20 sale.

Singstar ABBA (PS3) + HAWX (360) - Gamestop $20 sale also. Singstar is a gift for my sis.