The explanation is of course that because the userbase of the PS2 is so enormous, even a small percentage of idiots can decide the outcome of internet polls.

Also...

"Consoles? PC RUELZ! PWNAGE! 3295 (8%)"

...fairly accurately depicts the PC gamer population as 14 year old retards.

"As long as it has dope games, I don't care if it looks like a ham sandwich. 8822 (22%)"

We all know that's the politically correct answer. Hell, we all know that's the RIGHT answer. But come on.

Mmmmm.

http://www.g4tv.com/videogamevixens/index.html

Possibly the most embarrassing thing ever.

Funny you should say that, Ken, since all of the stuff at E3 was either complete CG bullsh*t or ducks flooding a bathtub.

There's been this amazing roller coaster in my mind and heart over the last week that peaked with two big highlights. The Playstation 3 unveiling and this one small Sonic Rush video I've managed to get my grubby hands on. Sony really had me for a while with the PS3, I admit. Two years ago I would've been much more sceptical from the start, but these days due to a combination of near CG graphics and what's generally a bigger place for Sony in my heart, I really wanted the Killzone stuff to be real.

For a while there, the prospect of games looking that good was intoxicating, but more specifically, the prospect of the next Killzone looking like that had me absolutely orgasmic. I liked the first Killzone dispite it repeatedly kicking my balls with shoddy AI, controls, framerate and difficulty. There was a vision in there that I really appreciated, aswell as a realistic feeling fictional war that appealed to me far beyond the CODs and MOHs and whatever. All of that was suddenly taken away by the inevitable revelation that Sony had set us up the bomb.

In my mind, the hamfisted MTV crap Microsoft pulled was just embarrassing, but hey, at least they're trying. Showing off real games on a tangible system deserves more credit than they've been recieving. Sure, they didn't have a bunch of ducks in a tub, but you can't have everything.

Sonic Rush, slipping nicely into the peak of my Sonic phase, blew me away. I dunno if you've managed to see clips of this little gem yet, but they're bound to show up on more official outlets this week. It's everything you've ever imagined to make Sonic work properly again. 2D gameplay with 3D graphics, using both DS screens for vertical, diagonal and horizontal action. Picture the truck chase in Sonic Adventure 2, putting the truck on the above screen and Sonic racing downhill on the screen below. It's seeringly fast, animates wonderfully, and it's got more twists and turns than the final 10 minutes of SAW.

Ultimately, E3 was disappointing, at least this side of the monitor. Sonic Rush ended up being the only game that has me shaking in anticipation, and there should've been so many more of those. King Kong looks good and SHOULD be good, but there's just way too little info at this point.

And in closing, what the hell is up with all the god damned first person shooters completely flooding the market? I basically left PC gaming behind because everything was a bobbing weapon floating through corridors. Don't get me wrong, as I confessed earlier about Killzone, I do appreciate the genre to an extent, but these days everything half-exciting coming out in the future seems to be an FPS.

Actually, I feel like I could go on and on about this, but I'll just leave it alone now.

Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition is a fairly good game and a really really fun game. You buy cars, customize them and race around one of three cities jumping over rooftops and knocking cars to left and right should you drive a big one yourself. It's basically this awesomely arcadeish-yet-deep version of Need for Speed Underground that doesn't make you feel like a complete whore for playing it. In all fairness, Midnight Club 2 did a lot of the things NFSUG does several years ago, but I wager most of you peeps missed that ol' gem.

An annoying bug prevents custom soundtracks from being used in the Xbox version of the game, so what luck then that the licensed soundtrack is pretty decent if you set it to "rock" or if you're just one of those hip hop people the world is currently wrapped around. Xbox Live play works great, however, and racing your friends in your own tricked out cars is a lot more fun than trying to impress the AI opponents with your new paint job. They have this way of not caring since they're... well, AI opponents. That said, the single player career mode is also tons of fun as it turns into a collectathon not unlike something like an RPG when you just gotta do that next race because you've almost got enough cash to buy that next car. Addictive is the word, I believe, and on that topic I best get back to it.

Wooo! Another Sonic phase is here in full force, following a certain CG screenshot that basically made me forget about how retarded guns in a Sonic game is. Said image can be viewed here, under "Shadow the Hedgehog" somewhere to your left. Unless for some reason your monitor is upside down.. or perhaps you are. Either way, I can't be held responsible if that is the case and you're klicking frantically to your left which is right for us normal people.

Anyway, yeah, Sonic phase upon me again. I'm listening to a beautiful OC Remix soundtrack from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, staring at my wallpaper of Sonic and pals, while downloading another few episodes of Sonic X. Play.com has Sonic Heroes for a mere 8 quid which makes me all compelled to buy it again, dispite it being rather naff. Oh and Sonic Advance 3 is 9 quid on there, too. Good times.

About that Lumines review, it doesn't look like the initial woo-factor is gonna wane, and I'll just have to review it using incoherent language and big words like "superb" and "awesome". Much like my normal way of speaking, then.

Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition is out here friday, and I can barely wait. It's sort of unfortunate that it is, though, as I'm yearning for another PSP game and I was kinda interested in Ridge Racers. Getting two arcade racing games basically on top of eachother seems like a waste though, and I know I'll just end up playing Midnight Club more anyway.

Customizing a Ferrari, god I'll never criticise realistic games again. That said, you fly in said Ferrari over rooftops.

Lumines is still being a complete blast and shamelessly stealing all my attention away from Sam the gloriously normal mapped Fisher. I'll get back to that game eventually though, once work and school slows down a bit. Lots to do now actually.

Like, right now. I best get to it.

Alright, I actually got it like two days ago or something, complete with one dead pixel and a funky square button.

The problem with the button isn't the dreaded sticky button issue you've been hearing about, but it's rather to do with the placement of the switch, which you've maybe heard of aswell. What this means in reality is that you need to press the button a bit on the right edge of it to ensure that it registers. This isn't a deal breaker at all, in fact you get used to it pretty quickly, but it's still outrageous that Sony let it be that way. That Ken Kutaragi guy said that he didn' want to make the unit wider than it is, but surely an extra half inch would've sufficed, and he prolly wouldn't tell the difference. Oh Well.

As much as I like the DS, it really doesn't compare to the PSP in terms of design. The screen on the PSP seems bigger than any screenshot would have you believe, and while it's way different from the PS2 dual shock controller, it still manages to feel distinctly Playstationish. Putting audio and movie files on it is quite easy, and playback works great. I didn't think it'd be quite so optimized for these two tasks, but it turns out that whether you've got widescreen movies or not, there's settings on the unit for different aspect ratios, and if you've bought the value pack, the little remote that comes with it is basic but fully functional for both movies and audio, although I imagine people will find it more useful for the latter. Overall it's a damn sexy piece of hardware, and if DS is the trusting semi-pretty girl that in the long run makes you feel more special, PSP is the tall model quality hottie you never dreamed would even look your way, but in case you're willing to shell out the cash, she'll hop into your bed for some steamy action.

Boy, this analogy is disturbing.

Onto Lumines then, for which I'll provide a full review once the initial WOO-factor has passed, provided that it does. Lumines is probably the closest you'll get to a Rez sequel in a while. It doesn't offer the same mechanics at all, since it's a game in a completely different genre, but it does sort of carry the same aura. Besides being insanely stylish visually and audibly, it also sports some pretty unique gameplay for a Tetris type game. You can read/watch/listen to Greg Kasavin's words on the subject, but I'd like to point out another fundamental difference between this and your standard puzzle game, namely speed. Lumines is played way faster than a normal person plays games like Puyo Pop or Tetris. The way this game is designed means that you'll easily recognize which block goes where, and from there it's really more about combos and reflexes. The timeline that flows across the screen updates the music whenever blocks are removed, so you're constantly inclined to get stuff off screen as fast as possible. It's not STRESSFUL in a bad way though, the whole experience has that same soothing quality that Rez had.

Anyway, expect a review soon.

Okay, I've got Lumines now, but no PSP.

Dammit!

The box is nice though, and the UMD sort of has that same "aaaaaw!" effect that seeing the GBA carts had.

Although I'm sure most of you already know about it, I can't pass up on recommending the online radio www.gamingfm.com, which plays game music 24/7. Excellent for those times when you don't quite know what to listen to 'cause your mp3 collection is completely worn out and your record collection is non-existant because you're a disgusting pirate!

Or, you know... Not. Regardless, it's a neat little station.

Sam Fisher is still being quite the gentleman and treating me nicely. I'm currently only at level 3, because this game has that same quality that Hitman possesses, which means that you won't be happy with the way a mission played out until you're perfectly happy with, uh, the way the mission played out. Unlike the previous Splinter Cells, this game doesn't force the mission to be over if you screw up a bit, but you're quite capable of restarting the level yourself. It's nice to have the option of just shooting your way through it however, and, although I've already said it once, I should make things perfectly clear; Splinter Cell Chaos Theory is an absolutely mind-boggling achievement. Expect a review soon.

In other news, my PSP should arrive on monday followed by Lumines, hopefully on the same day. Now, I don't want it to appear as if I was easily convinced by this whole Playstation Portable thing, because to me, that's exactly what it is. Instead of playing games on a big screen TV with 5.1 surround, on a system that just happens to sport two analogues and plenty of shoulder buttons, making the whole experience not only bigger, but also easier to control, you opt for this small-- admittedly sexy, but even so--piece of hardware that not only lacks all of the aforementioned bits, but also dies on you within 3 hours. I'm not particularly fond of the PSP per se, but I admit that once Lumines was unveiled, I morphed into a little fangirl. Seriously, there was dancing and singing, sick stuff.

And on the subject of music/sound based puzzlers, Meteos can't possibly get here soon enough. I'm mesmerized by its undeniable appeal, thrilled by its supposedly frantic gameplay and gob-smacked by its... I dunno... Box art?

Anyway, Nintendo say June, let the wait begin.