So lately I've had time to actually sit down and play a few games. But, those who know me, will realize that I usually only post here when I've got a serious gripe. Yep, it's time to gripe again. And it's serious. Let's start with the latest game I've finished...

Batman: Arkham City -Fantastic game! Loved (almost) every minute of it...all 360 - 420 minutes of it (there were a few irritations...like trying to pilot the remote batarang). Now, I may be exaggerating a little, but it really seemed like I only spent 6 or 7 hours on the main story. Of course I was constantly being distracted by side quests, but I really tried to stick to the main plot for my first play-through. By the end of the game, I really felt like I hadn't been playing for very long at all. I'll go back and play it again just to see exactly how long the story mode is, but I shouldn't be done in just overa week! I picked it up the Thursday after the release and I finished it a week and 3 days later. Mind you I did have a death in the family during that time as well as children to work around, so it's not like I could play for hours on end like I used to. What bugs me the most is that Ihad to trade A LOT of stuff just to pick it up. Had I paid $60 out of pocket, I think I would have been irritated. Otherwise, a GREAT follow-up to Arkham Asylum. It's the side missions that will add so many hours of replay to it, so those of you who loved combing the island looking for the trophies and riddles in the last game, this one has almosttwice as many.

Transformers: War For Cybertron - Uhm...damn. What went wrong? Sure, I played through the entire story, but by the end of the Decepticon campaign, I was ready for it to be over. In fact, I think it took me twice as long to finish as Arkham City. There was so much potential but they took so many liberties with the story and history...they really disappointed a long-time Generation 1 fan. Really, did you have to mention the "spark"? Of all the stupidity in the first live-action movie, you had to carry that one over. Thanks. (BTW, I haven't seen the last two Transformers movies...)

Phineas And Ferb: Across The 2nd Dimension - I would say this is "inspired by" the movie instead of "based on" it. I got about half way through the game before I stopped and watched the film. (I love Phineas and Ferb. So what?) It has almost NOTHING in common with the movie except the characters and a few locations. I was actually confused as to how they went together. But I had fun and that's all that matters. My kids are going to love playing it when they get just a little bit bigger. Just wish some of the voice-actors had put a little more into their performances.

Sly Cooper Collection - I had the Sly Cooper games on the PS2 but I never got to play them, so I was very excited to get my hands on the HD collection. First of all, LEARN TO SWIM COOPER! The same could be said to Batman, but I digress. It seemed like every bug from the PS2 version was ported over to the collection and made "HD"? Not really seeing much of a graphical improvement with your HD collections, Sony. I really appreciate them, and I have the Ico/Shadow Of The Collosus collection on my shelf and Silent Hill on pre-order. But could you put a little more effort into these? Graphics aside, these had to be the absolute EASIEST platinum trophies (and I've only got 3 so far) I have ever seen! And that looks like the only redeeming factor after playing through the stories. They were fun, but not something I'll be playing again, so Ihot-footed through the levels and grabbed all the trophies then that bad boy was trade fodder.

James Bond 007: Blood Stone - I don't care what the reviews say, I LOVED this game. The pacing for the story was really good, I didn't have to curse too often while in larger firefights (unlike Transformers and my constant streaming of colorful verbage), but there were a few tiny issues. First of all, the trophies. One you can get in the opening tutorial of the game. So very easy...once you know what to do. Shoot across the water from the back of the boat at another boat. BUT WHY WOULD YOU EVER DO THAT??? It made no sense! How about finding 5 fruit baskets scattered around the game and shooting them all within a real-time 24 hours? SERIOUSLY? Were they just making this $#!& up at the end of the development cycle? I mean, really...there aren't a whole lot of breakable items in the game to begin with, so I don't know why anyone would be looking to shoot these items in the first place. Oh, and if you're a company known for making great racing games, how about, oh here's an idea...make sure your driving mechanics work! It's going to be quite some time before I'm able to get the trophy for finishing those driving sections. I do love the Bond games, so this one has a permanant place on my shelf.

So what's next? I've got a couple on the shelf that I haven't really worked on and a few others I've sacrificed many of my old games to trade up for. Topping the list are Alice (both the first one and Madness Returns), L.A. Noire,Enslaved, and Red Dead Redemtion. Yes, I'm WAY behind...I can't afford these $60 titles anymore and I'm out of things to trade after getting Batman. On the horizon, I'd love to get Uncharted 3 and Silent Hill: Downpour on release day, but I think I'll have to make some headway on these others before I can even consider trading for them. Until later, thanks for stopping by and all the best!