And the beat goes on - I continue to plug away at Freespace 2. Currently on Mission 30, "Bearbaiting." I can't be 100% sure, but I'm pretty positive that the mission after this one is where I stopped playing the game previously.

In "Bearbaiting," you have to destroy the beam turrets of the Shivan juggernaut Sathanas - and how many you take out has direct bearing on how difficult the next mission is. When I stopped playing the game years ago, I only destroyed two beam cannons (the bear minimum you need to pass the mission). This meant that the following mission was next to impossible, and I gave up on it after many futile attempts.

So, here I am - almost as close to where I stopped before. I can't give up now! I've got to destroy at least three cannons this time, or I know I'll be right back where I was before. And yes, I am giving myself a pep talk here.

Still, I have been enjoying the game - I don't remember everything about the story, so as the plot unfolds I am still suprised from time to time (i.e., when the Knossos portal explodes). And what is Admiral Aken Bosch up to? What is the ETAK project I found about about on my stealth operations run? I think it had something to do with communicating with Shivans, but I can't remember.

Another enjoyment: the GTW-66 Maxim Cannon. The recoil and power of this gun is something you can really feel; it reminds you you're in a very powerful ship flying in space.

I'll finish this thing - and hopefully soon.

Currently playing through TMNT for the GBA and at first I wasn't sure how much I liked it; then something happened - I beat the first level. Many times a game might not seem like a good investment, but then you make some actual progress - and the game is as good as gold.

This is the case with TMNT, and I'm sitting pretty at Act 3. I forgot how much I enjoyed the turtles as a kid, never missing one second of the cartoon and going to see the first movie in the theatres. (I'm sure I saw the second movie in theatres as well, but I don't know about the third one - the first movie was the good one though.)

Playing through the game got me thinking about my gaming with turtles past. First up, the arcade game. This was out at the height of the turtles (first round of) popularity, and it was a great beat'em up that you could play with a friend. I can remember forking over quarter after quarter in order to keep Donatello and the others alive as long as I could. I never beat the arcade game; either because I wasn't good enough or wasn't rich enough - probably both.

Next up was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesfor the NES, and it was a must-own for any fan. The game, however, took advantage of that fact and was awful. Annoying levels (swimming through electric seaweed) and punishing difficulty sucked most of the fun out of this one, although picking your turtle and a well done intro-sequence helped to ease the pain a little.

I vaguely remember playing (or renting) some other turtle games, mostly emulating the side scrolling multiplayer fighting action of the original arcade game - which was a good thing.

I know there have been a slew of TMNT games in recent years, but this GBA title seems to be the only one with a decent score. I haven't played them, so I can't personally vouch for how good they are. However, it has been fun to re-visit a franchise I enjoyed as a kid and find there is still some life there.

Turtle power!

This will be my first entry into a series about great moments from my gaming past. These wrinkles in time refuse to go away in my conscience, and I want to get them down before all the details are lost. The events won't be in chronological order, but in the order I get them down.

The first wrinkle in gaming came on a late night Thief II: The Metal Age session in 2003 (I think it was '03 - around that time anyway). I had been playing the game for awhile, and my roommate had started to take an interest - hanging around and just watching while I was going through a level.

This night was a little different, however, because a couple of our friends has also found their way to our room - so a total of about three other people are now watching Garrett and his daring do as he explores the City.

It was in one of the later levels - you're walking around a graveyard looking for loot. Some of the exposed corpses have money on them (they say you can't take it with you, but I guess these guys tried), so I was making easy pocket change taking whatever I could find.

Now anyone who has played a Thief game knows that magic and sorcery usually play a part, and this graveyard was no exception...

To set the scene: I'm playing the game with all the lights off the keep the glare down, the volume is turned way up since you need to hear everything going on, everyone is quietly watching my every move, and it's late at night.

I go to pick the pocket of the last corpse, and the thing jumps up at me with a loud "UUUHHNNN!"

At this point, several things happened, all at the exact same time:

1.) I yelled "WHOA!" and nearly lost my balance in the chair - while this is an unconfirmed estimate, I think I flew back about fifty feet from the screen.

2.) Everyone else reacted - most people screaming, with my one buddy actually falling off the bed.

3.) Friends who lived one floor directly above us heard loud noises - and came downstairs minutes later to see what had happened.

4.) Somewhere, a developer from the now-defunct Looking Glass Studios smiled.

I highlight this "zombie incident" because not only is the scene of my friends and I getting the crap scared out of us funny to remember and a great college memory, but because I am continually amazed at how the good games can "pull you in."

Sure, I was immersed in the game - had been for awhile. But it took no time at all for my friends to stop by, get caught up, and have a thought-to-be-dead body take away a year of their lives.

So, here's to getting sucked into the gaming world; and to that smiling developer, you owe me a new pair of pants.

I haven't played it since last December, but two nights ago I hooked up Freespace 2 again and actually made some progress. Last night I made it to the mission "Rebels & and Renegades," having decided to take the assignment offered to me by the special operations.

Naturally, I failed the first time through and was executed. NTF policies are harsh, but what can you do?

And now, some random thoughts on the game:

- According to various game guides, this Special Operations story loop is three missions long, so I hope to complete it soon and get back to the main campaign. This "side quest" will be interesting, but I hope I don't get bogged down on a tough mission - something like that could make me put the game away for another few months (or years), and then I'll never finish this thing.

- Whatever the outcome, I'm glad to be out of the nebula - graphically, it works very well...but it still gets monotonous. Not to mention flying blind! Give me the cold expanse of wide open space any day.

- I'll have to go back in the mission simulator and play the previous level, "Feint! Perry! Riposte!" when I have a chance. The NTD Repulse jets in and and collides with the GTVA Colossus, resulting in a huge explosion. Unfortunately, it was an explosion I never got to see. There is so much going on with fighters after me, beam weapons firing, just trying to stay alive, etc., I sometimes miss some of the better scenes the game has to offer.

- The game really does a good job of making you feel like your a part of a futuristic military unit, from the first rate briefings to the in-game chatter. Hats off to whoever made that happen.

Being thankful isn't something I do enough of. I know it's cliché, but I need to strive at being more aware of the blessings I enjoy each and every day.

This is no different when it comes to video games, and I want take time out with this blog to review what an amazing 4-5 months it's been in my gaming world.

Due to the generosity of family at Christmas and our tax return, I've been able to advance more in my game library is these past few months than I have in quite a while:

Xbox:

Chessmaster

Forza Motorsport

Jade Empire: Limited Edition

Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders

Project Gotham Racing 2

Project: Snowblind

Sid Meier's Pirates!

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow

DS:

Astro Boy: Omega Factor (GBA)

Diner Dash: Sizzle and Serve

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Mario Kart DS

Mario Party DS

New Super Mario Brothers

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

Risk / Battleship / Clue (GBA)

Star Fox Command

Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 (GBA)

TMNT (GBA)

Uno / Skipbo / Uno Freefall

Hardware:

Nintendo DS Lite (2)

Fanatec Speedster 3 Forceshock Xbox Racing Wheel

I look at this list with a sense of awe and intimidation, both excited about the purchases but wondering how I'm going to find time for all of them.

That's the problem with my gaming hobby - I'm acquiring games faster than I can play through them.

I'm not the first person to have this problem, nor will I be the last - and as far as problems go, I think having an abundance of games is probably the best kind to have.

Puzzle Quest for the DS came in the mail yesterday, and now I have a copy of my own. I originally had a copy, but my wife enjoyed the game - so much so she effectively took it over - and told me to take a hike.

So I did - a hike to eBay, that is, and now we can play each other and I can start the single-player campaign.

Here's to the Quest!

A new Gamestop opened up near our home, and I thought I'd help their bottom line by buying a game. I mean, it's the least I can do, right?

Anyway, after making my way through the games - enhanced by the new carpet smell - I settled on Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga for the DS. It's been a while since I've had a new Star Wars game, and I'm enjoying it so far.

There's no real fear of dying in the game, you just go through the various levels at your own pace and collect the bricks. This highlights an area of gaming that I haven't really been a part of before, and that's the "casual" block. I know that term gets kicked around a lot - and I won't define it here - but the game is fun, and almost relaxing in a way. It's really just fan service if you enjoy Star Wars (or Legos, for that matter).

And if you don't enjoy either of those, then I think you have some serious issues you need to work through.

I seem to have a Mario theme going, and I'm going to stick with it - for at least one more post. I recently purchased Super Mario Brothers(the original NES game) for my DS and ended up taking it back within a few days.

Why, you ask? Simple - I wanted more than a port. Of course I loved the game on the NES, but now that I wanted to get it on an updated system I was hoping for an improved version. I don't mean updated graphics or a ton of new levels, just something that shows me they put a little thought into bringing this teasured game to the portable system. Specifically, I mean a save feature.

I'm no game designer - but a save feature seems like something pretty basic to add. Maybe I'm in the minority, but you can't honestly expect me to sit down and play through the entire game on my DS, do you? One of the main points of the system (or any portable, for that matter) is being able to pick up, play, and put down at a moments notice. Take away that feature, and I'm tethered in front of my DS the same way I would be a TV - thus instantly taking away one of the main reasons to play the game in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic game - but simply adding a save feature would have made me hang on to it. In light of the added save feature of Super Mario World when it was made portable, I feel it's something Nintendo should have included.

Amazingly, Miyamoto didn't call me when they were making the game. Can you believe that guy? ;)

February 23, 2008, around 11:30 PM - Defeated Bowser to beat the New Super Mario Brothers game on the DS. I'm proud (or maybe I should be ashamed) to say it's the first Mario game I've ever beaten completely on my own. I've had some help on the other games from either strategy guides or Game Genie (remember those?), but this time it was just me and my wits against Bowser Jr. and his crew.

This game has garnered a lot of praise, and I'm here to say it's completely justified. Everything you remember loving about the world-famous plumber and his 2-D adventures can be found in spades here, from colorful worlds to excellent music. I haven't had this much fun since Super Mario Brothers 3, and as I've mentioned in a previous blog this game will have a ton of replay value for me.

They say it's not the destination, but the journey - and the New Super Mario Brothers proves that point. Standing in front of the final castle in World 8 was bittersweet, since I knew this was the end. Truly a great game and highly recommendable to anyone! Go out there and play this thing!

Purchased the Transformers DVD the other day and it got me thinking about the game. I was able to play a little on the rented 360 when I had some friends over, and my opinion of the game pretty much falls in line with the Gamespot score: disappointing.

This follows the tried-and-true formula of games based on movies - they must be terrible. It would have been nice to see Transformers: The Game buck this trend, and you think it wouldn't be that hard. I mean, you're transforming machines that blow stuff up! How can that not be made into a fun game?

I guess I need to be more specific - it's not that there wasn't any fun to be had, it's just there was so much potential that was lost.

But who knows? More movies are to come so there will be more chances to get it right. . .

Autobots, roll out!