Mini-reviews on what I've played since my last entry in October:

Orange Box (360) - Best value in gaming. I never played through Half Life before and I'm glad to say it lived up to the hype. There were some slow spots, especially in Half Life 2, but overall its a great experience and I eagerly anticipate finding out where the narrative goes in Episode 3. Team Fortress 2 is the best multi-player shooter I've played and I still get sessions in a few times a month. Portal was a fun, smart, well written little game that was WAY over-hyped. Plush Companion Cubes are dumb, but not as dumb as people who want them. Did anyone really get attached to a box with a heart you used for 5 minutes in one level? Orange Box gets extra points for the creative achievements and for allowing players to track their progress towards them.

Dead Rising (360) - Fantastic game despite a weak story and annoying survivor AI. I finally got around to this one and I'm glad I did. Killing zombies in creative ways is always fun. I recommend unlocking the Mega Man gun as soon as possible as it is the best weapon in the game and you'll level your character up in the process making the game less frustrating to play through. This one also had creative achievements although the 7 day survivor requires you to play for 14 hours without a break since you can't save. I started at 9 AM and didn't get finish until 11 PM. I got a lot of reading done that day.

Mass Effect (360) - Greatest RPG I've played in a long time. I enjoyed this game tremendously. I loved how the same situation could play out completely differently depending on what type of character you chose to play or the conversation option you picked. The main story was well written and I enjoyed the side quests which I've heard so many complaints about. The best thing about it to me was the gameplay. Its going to be hard to return to turn based, old school Final Fantasy combat after throwing out powers and shotgunning aliens in real time. The ability to lower someone's shields, throw them up in the air and unleash an explosive round into them was so satisfying. Its that kind of fun that kept me coming back through the Veteran, Hardcore & Insanity difficulty levels. I eagerly await March 10th and the release of the first DLC batch.

NBA2k8 & NHL08 (360) - Near perfect sports simulations. Both get the feel of their respective sports spot on with tight controls and slick animations. Both have deep franchise modes that could keep you busy for months, but also deliver extras such as NBA's Blacktop & Dunk Contest modes and NHL's Create-A-Play mode. Add their online offerings and you couldn't ask for more. Too bad my NBA disc is scratched and won't let me play more than 2 minutes of any game....

Undertow (360) - Boring single player game that is almost impossible due to dumb "teammates", but can be fun with friends working together in campaign mode. The story may be incoherent, but the mix of twin stick shooter and control point gameplay has its moments and looks pretty good. And hey, it was free. Thankfully I was playing Mass Effect during most of the problems with Live so it really didn't effect me.

Doom (360) - Classic that actually lives up to the hype. Too many people get wrapped up in being retro, contending that games today aren't as good as they were in the past. For the most part they are just being overly nostalgic with a few exceptions. I think Doom qualifies as one of those exceptions. I never really gave FPS games a shot before Bioshock. The motion always bothered me and the games all seemed so generic. After BioShock & Half Life 2 proved that I could now handle playing from that perspective and that in the right hands FPS can be great fun, I figured I should go back to the roots of FPS and finally play Doom. I am happy to report that it still holds up all these years later. The level design and the variety of weapons & enemies all contribute to a very enjoyable experience. Ultra-Violent was just challenging enough without being overly frustrating. I'm glad to get this one under my belt.

The Simpsons Game (360) - Its a good game worth at least renting to play through if you've ever enjoyed The Simpsons and like platformers. The writing is clever, the spoofs are entertaining and the different powers given each character are fun to use. Like many third person 3D games, the camera can be a pain from time to time, but its not a game breaker by any means. The story itself will only run you 8-10 hours but to get the full 1,000 pts you'll have to do a good amount of item collecting and at least 2 runthroughs of every level to meet the time target.

Marvel:Ultimate Alliance (360) - Great action "RPG" with a lot of variety. One of the better uses of comic characters in video game history. A nice long story mode with supplemental Comic missions will have you playing for a while. The co-op is some of the best available as you can mix and match characters to create a really effective super group. I've been through the story mode on Normal and have been making my way through Hard with a group on Tuesday nights. Good mindless smashing fun.

Now I just have to find time to get through Assassins Creed, Lego Star Wars: TCS, Uncharted, Heavenly Sword, Spider-Man 3 & All Pro Football 2k8. Those will have to wait since I'm planning on picking up the Lost game this week. I'm a sucker for that show.

Hope everyone has been enjoying themselves.