I was pretty excited about the 360 after the MTV special last night, but it looks like not everyone had the same impressions. I admit, the games didn't look SPECTACULAR, but I figured they were just very early builds with a brand new console, which they mostly are I guess... but that doesn't seem to be a good enough excuse.

When Greg Kasavin comes out and says the games just aren't good that bluntly, you know you're in trouble. I'm terribly worried about the 360... I want it to succeed, but yeah... I'm just worried. PS3 could come out at E3 and say "Yeah, 360 is pretty powerful... but ours is about three times as powerful." And basically, that'd be the end of 360 to a lot of people I think. And then you have Nintendo, who may actually have a good idea, even if it is unlikely.

Right now 360 seems to be replying on Rare for some solid launch titles by moving both PD0 and Kameo to the 360. And even though I love Rare and always will, they may not deliver. There's no way Halo 3 will be ready very soon... 360 could go its first year without a great game. Hell, if Bungie doesn't deliver, 360 could be like this gen except with no Halo. Imagine that... ouch.

My greatest fear right now though is that PS3 just smacks 360 in the face with some CRAZY hardware power at E3.

The journal entry title may seem narrow-minded, but that's as simple as it gets. GameCube has officially flopped in my opinion. Yeah, the new Zelda will get rave reviews and easily be AAA I'm sure, but will it even be fun? Cause I'm sure as hell all the other "masterpieces" that Nintendo has created for its struggling GameCube aren't fun at all..

It's all personal opinion of course, and I can actually see how some people would enjoy GameCube's hit exclusive titles like Metriod Prime and Wind Waker... but I can't stand them. I haven't played more than around six hours of either of them, and that's because I just can't stand the games. Metriod Prime is flat-out boring, especially when I'm used to the fast pace and thrilling experiences games like Halo and classics like GoldenEye have offered. The backtracking makes half the game seem like a chore and a waste of time. And, perhaps innovative and a good way around the whole one joystick problem, the lock-on aiming system takes away much of the game's challenge. Obviously Nintendo wasn't trying to mimic Halo at all, but still... it's a mess. And boring.

Wind Waker, or like my brother calls it, Fart Faker (so stupid but kind of funny nevertheless), is even worst. Sure, it's got charm and some nice visual moments, but (from what I played of it) you're just hopping from one island to the next. Yeah, they give you a new little toy to play with, but giving me a slingshot after roaming around a dungeon for an hour and a half doesn't quite do it.

I guess the problem is me. I've been a long-time fan of these Nintendo series, and I'm aware that the experiences of the past games in the series are very similar to the GameCube games I'm bashing... so I guess I'm just changing. But still... to me, GameCube sucks. And I just had to get that out. I try to believe each console has it's pros and cons... and in the end, it's all just what you like and that no one console is better than the others. But man, I've really tried to give GameCube a chance, and it's been a huge disappointment.

I was going to talk about the XBox 360 because it's a damn interesting time right now with all the next-gen stuff, but I'll wait until after at least the MTV special tonight so the entire discussion's foundation isn't relying on speculations.

So I've been playing some consoles games lately. For a guy that's been playing just Warcraft III and a little Halo 2 for the entire year so far, it's pretty crazy. I'm not really sure why I'm doing it either. I saw Brute Force for $10 bucks at Walmart, and my brother said he'd split the cost, so we bought it. It's not the greatest game ever created (7.9 GS), but it's solid console entertainment. I've been pretty disappointed by both GCN and XBox since they were released basically (I don't have a PS2), and I've basically stopped playing the consoles for the past two years I guess. Until a few days ago, I thought I was, except for a couple daily games of WC3, I was done with gaming, and especially console gaming. I wasn't planning to buy any next-gen consoles... but now I'm back and very leisurely playing some XBox games. Specifically, Brute Force, Turok: Evolution, and Crimson Skies. All pretty mediocre with Crimson Skies a little ahead of the pack, but none are AAA.

Surprisingly enough, I'm enjoying the like hour I've been playing these mediocre games each day. I don't play online or anything (only Crimson has online play anyway), and it's just really relaxing. I don't have to worry about people trash-talking like in Halo 2 and WC3, and I can go at my own slow pace. I've always been good at seeing the perks in games I guess, because while my brother is calling Brute Force a complete piece of sh*t, I'm genuinely enjoying the experience.

So the last few days I've been scavaging through GameSpot and finding XBox games that I'm interested in. Most of them are older (I refuse to pay more than $30 bucks for a game anymore) and in the 8 score range, and I dunno... maybe I'll buy a couple of them soon. (I've added them all to my wishlist if you're interested in seeing the complete list)

Anyway, I'll probably be writing reader reviews when/if I complete the games, and check back here if you're interested to see where this sudden revival of gaming interested goes.


Oh, and I'm looking for some cool WC3 people to play with... my names are MrB (main) and iam99x (practice) on U.S. East server, so if you're good and want to play, feel free to whisper me if you see me on. (I'm level 25)

Thanks for reading.