Attention everyone! This blog may possibly save you upwards of $10 in the near future. If you or a friend are planning to go to your local theatre to see Green Lantern, let me give you a piece of crucial advice: Don't.

I decided to go see the movie just a few days ago myself, and after seeing previews, I had some moderate hopes for it. It didn't look very spectacular, and I predicted that in the end I would still prefer Thor, but I went all the same on the hopes that maybe I was wrong, and that the movie would at least be decent. Unfortunately, the movie is at best decent. Now, I am not a big fan of Green Lantern by any means. I have never read any comic books in my life and certainly not GL. The most knowledge I had about him was a general understanding of his powers and the fact that I once took a superhero quiz, and I was best matched with him in regards to personality traits. :P But despite my lack of knowledge, I still know enough to say that the movie did not do justice to the character.

Ryan Reynolds is not at fault here, and he does, for the most part, a very believable performance as the "average messed-up guy unwillingly turned into a superhero". In fact, none of his co-stars are at fault either. The main problem with this movie was the writing, and the fact that the action was predictable and not very exciting or new. There's a lot of simple flying scenes, as if the directors thought that it's somehow exciting to see people holding their rings in front of them and shooting through the air. It's 2011, people...you have to do better than that. The dialogue is often rather cheesy, and the actors/actresses do their best to make it seem passable, and they only mildly succeed.

Instances of Hal Jordan actually using his ring powers in an interesting way are fleeting, boiling down to just a few moments in one or two scenes. Same goes for the other Lanterns.

*SPOILERS*

The main villain of the movie, Parallax, is a fallen member of the group of those funny looking blue alien guys who seem a lot wiser than they really are. He tried to harness the power of fear, got swallowed up in it, and became evil. And for some reason, the other elders that he used to be united with couldn't defeat him. And if that wasn't enough, at one point, the elders agree with Sinestro and decide to make a yellow ring in order to harness the power of fear as an attempt to defeat Parallax! Oh, sure, let's make a ring to defeat the evil power that possessed our previous member by utilizing the same evil power ourselves! That can't possibly go wrong! :roll: It's this kind of writing that just makes you shake your head. But don't worry...Hal steps up and is able to convince the elders that they shouldn't go through with their plan. Because, you know, he's wiser than them. Sure.

*END OFSPOILERS*

In short, just skip this movie and see something else instead, unless you are a very dedicated Green Lantern groupie. There are hardly any redeeming factors in this film, and nothing that really makes it stand out from the rest of the cliché superhero tales, and as such I would give it a 6.9/10 rating.

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Before I wrap this blog up, I just want to say that I'm one trophy away from my inFamous 2 Platinum. I've completed the game for the third time, this time on the Hard difficulty, and picked up the "Pain Builds Character" award. Now, all I need to do is unlock and buy all the powers for both good and evil. Only problem is, of course, XP. Right now I need about 13,000 XP to be able to buy the remaining abilities, and I only have like 500 XP or so acquired. I have no more side missions left and the story missions are obviously all over, so now all I have left to do is grind away at the UGC missions, picking up about 50-325 XP each. So, eh...it's going to take me quite a while. I did happen to read somewhere that there's some sort of exploit that allows you to farm for XP, but I never researched it. If anybody knows what it is, then please tell me in a comment for this blog, or send me a PM.

Thanks for reading, and please comment. God bless.

As you probably know, I was psyched up for inFAMOUS 2 for quite a while. I really enjoyed the original, because it had a pretty amazing storyline, interesting characters, and action-packed gameplay that really took its own approach and didn't rip-off a formula from a game in the same genre, which tends to happen with modern games. There were some gripes that I had with the first game though, and it kept the score under a 9/10 from me. I had some high hopes that INF2 could fix these issues and create the perfectly electrifying 3rd-person action game that I wanted, and in most aspects, it delivered. In this blog, I'm going to cover some fundamental elements of both inFAMOUS and inFAMOUS 2, and see how they stack up against each other. So enjoy, and be warned...this may be shocking. ;)

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The Story - inFAMOUS

In the first game that Sucker Punch threw our way, we were introduced to Cole MacGrath. He was a simple bike courier, minding his own business and getting along just fine with his girlfriend Trish and his buddy, Zeke Dunbar. But one day, he delievered a package...a very special package. The reason it was special was because it contained a bomb, which exploded upon its delivery, wiping out a large chunk of Empire City and killing everyone in its vicinity. Except for Cole. Somehow he survives, and it doesn't take long for him to realize the new incredible abailities that he can wield. His body can store electricity like a battery, and he can fire it off in bolts, create shockwaves, drain currents from electrical sources, and more. Now, Cole sets out to use his new powers to discover who was behind the setup of the blast. Apart from the main story, you can complete side missions for more XP and for trophies.

The characters in the original inFAMOUS are hard not to like. Cole himself acts in much the same way a typical guy would act after nearly being blown to pieces by a bomb and coming away from the whole thing with superpowers. And basically that means...he's ticked off and confused and happyat the same time. Zeke is your standard fare when it comes to comical relief and the whole "sidekick" figure, though he does play a pretty big part in the story, so I give him that. Trish is...well, often very annoying. She, along with a bunch of other folks in Empire City, blames Cole for the explosion and does't trust him. One issue that I have is that there's just too much cursing in the game for me, but...I can look past that. There are three distinct enemy groups in the game, each with their own twisted leader, and it's your job to take them all down district by dictrict. Each group is unique and interesting in their own way, providing enough depth and realism while still pushing the limits of each (if that makes any sense). Comic-book like cutscenes do the job of presenting the story elements that need such treatment, and it's very cool to watch these.

OVERALL: 9.0

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The Story - inFAMOUS 2

The sequel starts off with a pretty epic battle scene, one that you would have expected and greatly anticipated if you had finished the first game. But after that, Cole and Zeke are whisked away to the fictional city of New Marais (basically New Orleans) by NSA agent Lucy Kuo, who promises Cole that she knows somebody named Wolfe who can help to amplify Cole's powers. When Cole arrives, he find the city under the control of The Militia, which is a gang of urban soldiers under the command of Joseph Bertrand. Bertrand is...well, pretty much a tyrant. His propaganda is everywhere and he tries to control the city's people by deceiving them at every corner, and Cole knows that he can't (and won't) let any of Bertrand's thugs get in his way as he hunts down the keys to making himself stronger. A short while later, Cole meets Nix, a devious swamp-dweller with a taste for destruction and the ability to (seemingly) control oil and teleport. And if this wasn't enough, along with The Militia, Cole will have to deal with mysterious swamp monsters that have suddenly started appearing in the city, and terrorizing the populace, as well as Conduits who have the ability to control ice.

In short...Cole has his hands full this time. The story is a heck of a lot more complicated than the first game, and though I don't like to admit it, the Gamespot review was accurate to a point when it said that the same sense of "flow" from INF1 just isn't present here. That being said, it's still a very deep story and has the potential to pull you in and keep you interested until the very end. And no matter which ending you choose, they're each very satisfying. There is still too much cursing by all the characters for my taste, probably even more than the first game, but I can still ignore it. The enemies are simply not as appealing as those found in the first game, though part of that explains itself...it's not the first game. I don't think anything could quite compare with the good old Reapers, Dust Men, or First Sons of INF1. You definitely have more allies this time, and the addition of normal cutscenes popping up very often adds a lot to the presentation of this tale. Also, INF2 adds the new feature of User-Generated Content to complement the standard side missions, so potentially, there is endless replay value this time around.

OVERALL: 8.5

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The Gameplay - inFAMOUS

Cole can wield his electric powers extremely well, and in many ways. Bolt attacks are his bread-and-butter, and they are what generally can make the game feel like a shooter. You hold L1 to aim, and tap R1 to fire. These attacks do not require any energy and will thus probably be your main attacking option. When this isn't enough though, you can throw electric "grenades", launch electric "missiles", blast enemies away with shockwaves, float around with Static Thrusters, and a whole lot more. For moving around the city, Cole can use said Static Thrusters as he freelyclimbs around the buildings all over the three districts of Empire City, and he can also grind along electric wires and along train tracks. Special sections of the story missions also task Cole with going down into the sewer system to restore power to certain areas in the city. This is where he also acquires new abilities and has fights with enemies, and they're a very nice diversion from the normal pace of the game.

Because the abilites that Cole can use will change depending on whether or not you choose to be the hero or anti-hero, it's worth playing through the game twice to see everything. Cole is basically a beast no matter which direction you choose to go with your "karma" though, and you always feel like a super-guy no matter what you're doing.

OVERALL: 8.5

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The Gameplay - inFAMOUS 2

In many ways, Cole feels a lot stronger than he was back in the first game. You start off with many of the powers which took you a while to acquire in INF1, so right from the beginning you know how much damage you can do. The previous powers are all intact, including the normal bolt shots, grenades, rockets, shockwaves, etc., in addition to some new powers, including the devastatng and extremely awesome Ionic charges. Later in the game you acquire a new way to travel around the city as well, and it's a welcome relief for those who are sick of having to slowly glide-fall everywhere they go (not that there's anything wrong with that). Another really great addition to the game is your new melee weapon, called the Amp. Using it is a lot of fun, and often it comes in handy if you need to save your energy supply. Ocassionally it will cause you some camera trouble, but it's a very minor annoyance.

My main issue with INF2's powers is that they made Cole's standard bolt attack now require energy out of the energy meter. In a word...why? Now no matter which attack I choose, aside from melee, I have to use up energy reserves and thus I have to eventually break away from an intense fight so that I can recharge. This makes Cole seem a lot less "super" to me. Maybe that's what Sucker Punch was going for, but I was of the opinion that Cole's abilities should get stronger over time, not weaker.

OVERALL: 8.7

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Karma - INF1 and INF2

Yeah, karma is a...big deal. In both the first and second inFAMOUS games, you can choose to be either the hero or anti-hero (evil dude), and depending on your choices, you will get different powers and abilities. The story will also change slightly in the first game depending on your choices, and heavily in the second game. The general look of your electricity will alter as well. It's blue if you're choosing to play the hero, and red if you decide to be Angry McLightningpants and fry everyone in your path. It's certainly worth playing through each game at least twice in order to see all the different powers and elements in the story, and how they change as a result of what you do. Even the people in the cities will react differently to you if you're evil as opposed to a hero.

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The Verdict - inFAMOUS

With a wonderdul blend of story, choice, powers, characters and originality, inFAMOUS is a game that is not to be missed. If you haven't played this game...well, why the heck not? It was offered for free as one of the downloads that you could get in the PSN "Welcome Back Package", so if you didn't choose to get it, that's your loss. This is one of my favorite games of all time, despite the low-ish score I have for it,and I give props to Sucker Punch for having the guts to put Sly 4 on hold to dish out this game and its sequel to all of us.

OVERALL: 8.5

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The Verdict - inFAMOUS 2

More powers, ice and fire abilities, a more complicated story, a fresh city, and improved melee combat...yeah, this game is worth a look, just like the original. While it may not have the same old draw and nostalgia, it's great in its own way, and you have to give Sucker Punch credit for stepping out and taking the risks that they did. First of all, they chose a new voice actor for Cole himself. That's gutsy, and for the most part, it didn't pan out among fans. Personally I thought he definitely fit the story better, and you simply have to get used to the whiny-ness of his voice, though I miss Jason Cottle just as much as the next guy. Second of all, they were planning on totally changing Cole's appearance. This met with an overwhelming response of "WHAT?!" by almost all the fans, and Sucker Punch quickly realized that they needed to switch back to the older design. Anyway, my point here is, Sucker Punch has given us two different games with a lot of the same good qualities between them. The sequel, as a whole, isn't much better of an experience than the first game, and neither is the first much better than this game.

OVERALL: 8.5

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I hope you've enjoyed the dive into both these games, and were able to cope with the length of the blog, lol. Thanks for reading and God bless.

Hello everyone. As most of you probably know, the Welcome Back Package recently landed on the PSN Store, accompanied by a flood of user traffic and thus a flood of errors as well. Lots of people had trouble downloading their free stuff, including me, though my own troubles were quickly fixed. I simply encountered an error when trying to get LittleBigPlanet, and it wouldn't download for me. So I waited a while longer, went back to the store, and was able to download the game via the tab at the top right of the screen. I had no errors when downloading Wipeout HD + Fury.

I was genuinely surprised with how much I enjoyed LBP. I'm not usually a fan of side-scrolling platformers, but there is a certain charm and level of creativity in even the standard levels that makes it both cute and fun at the same time. It honestly makes me wish that I had a "significant other" to sit down and play it with me. That's just how cute it is. But anyway, I look forward to jumping online and checking out the user-generated content after I complete the normal story levels. I can't see myself spending hours on creating intricate levels of my own, so I'll just mooch off of other peoples' creations, lol. If any of you guys have LBP and make any levels, let me know and I'll check 'em out.

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E3 is also coming up soon, so I'm pretty excited about that. I definitely am hoping for a lot of info on Batman: Arkham City, Tomb Raider (2011), Modern Warfare 3, and more. One game that I'm also hoping to get some news about is something that most of you probably haven't heard of. It's a game called Journey, and it's being made by the fine folks who brought us "flower". It's basically an exploration/puzzle game from what I can gather, and the developers have said that one of their goals was to give players a "sense of small". They remarked about how many games are trying to make players feel like gods, and that they're aim is the exact opposite with Journey. But to get to the point, the concept intrigues me (especially since the game is also online co-op), and the footage that has been shown looks very promising.

Teaser Trailer

Gameplay Footage

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I saw Kung Fu Panda 2 in the theatre a few days ago. Just like the first movie, it was very well made and a step above other animated films in the same genre. It wasn't quite as good as the first movie, though to be truthful I expected that. Still, if you enjoyed Kung Fu Panda then you will certainly like this sequel.

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Finally...yeah, only two days left until inFamous 2. IGN and Gamespot have both recently given us their reviews, with the former praising the game with a 9/10 and the latter shaming it with a 7.5/10, which is 1.5 points less than the first game. Seriously, I read and watched the Gamespot review, and a lot of it was just whining. The guy (Tom McShea I believe) complained that during fights, the camera turns black and white when you take damage, and that it can make things hard to see. Uhh...that's the same way it was in the first game. Recharge your battery cores on the fly and get better, Tom. He also said that the story lacked the same flow as the original or something like that. What? That may be true, but you can't tell me that a fan of the first game won't be really excited to see how the plot develops in inFamous 2, to the point to where "flow" isn't too big of an issue. To make a long(er) story short, I didn't agree with this review, and I haven't even played the full game yet. -_-

All I know is, my gaming time will be devoted entirely to inFamous 2 until I beat it...probably as both good and evil. I may sprinkle in some Black Ops or LBP here and there, but not much. I'm coming for you, New Marais...and I will be ready. To collect all your freakin' Blast Shards. Just like in Empire City. 8)

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Thanks for reading, and please comment.

This will be a shorter blog, as I don't have much to say, lol.

Well, I'm one year older now. I'm 17 as of 3:15 PM today. Overall it was a pretty good birthday. Had a nice dinner, got some good gifts, and will probably watch Inception for the first time in just a bit. Supposedly "even the biggest Batman-nut has to admit that Inception was worth Christopher Nolan's time", so I have some high hopes for it.

Speaking of the gifts that I got, I'm all set now with $100 worth of gift cards to Gamestop, and $20 for the PSN Store, once it comes back online. I also got some money and two PS3 games.

I'm pretty happy about getting Portal 2 especially, though the thing is, I'm getting inFamous 2 on June 7 (release day). And since I know for a fact that that game will suck away my gaming time entirely for a while, I'm reluctant to begin the Portal 2 story, because I don't want to get into the middle of it and then become distracted by another game. Because it's a puzzle game, and supposedly a very good one, I want to immerse myself in it and play through it, without playing other games inbetween levels and losing my portal mojo. :P

I guess that's it then. Oh, I'm also planning to go see Kung Fu Panda 2 in the theatre sometime soon...probably this week, or the next. Hopefully it's just as good as the first, but admittedly that's a high bar to reach.

Thanks for reading.

(^Gag gift from my brother...a Chuck Norris wall poster, lol)

So recently I've been going on sort of a movie splurge, and decided to go ahead and give some brief reviews about all of them here. Some are a slightly older movies, but they're all well-known.

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The Matrix

Rating: 7.2

For the longest time, I had never watched any of the Matrix films. I didn't care much for the concept, though based on the series' popularity, I figured that at least the first one had to be a pretty great movie. So finally I got around to watching it, and generally speaking, it left me feeling...disappointed. The plot was unique, but the sci-fi element, while cool, seemed unneccessary and pointless. Why exactly are they all walking around in sunglasses and capes? I still enjoyed the movie overall, but mostly it just made me hope that the sequel would bring explanations and improvements that the first really lacked.

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The Matrix 2 (The Matrix: Reloaded)

Rating: 7.4

Only a slight upgrade from the first film, this sequel brings more action, better fight scenes (especially one memorable scene between Neo and a horde of Smiths), and a better, more thorough story than the original. The bad news? Well, it doesn't quite improve enough to bring the movie past a "meh, it was good" kind of mentality when you've finished watching it. It also doesn't help that many things in this movie only serve to futher complicate the already complex storyline.

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The Matrix 3 (The Matrix: Revolutions)

Rating: 7.0

Although it serves the purpose of wrapping up the trilogy's story decently well, the general feel and quality of this film is lacking more-so than the others. It's the worst of the bunch, with only two semi-decent action scenes. The rest is either simple dialogue or istoo focused on giant mechs battling against mechanical jellyfish looking things. And while the latter is fine, it doesn't really seem like it should be in a Matrix movie.

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The Italian Job

Rating: 8.3

I'm pretty sure the first time I heard of "The Italian Job" was really when my friend brought the old video game that was based on the movie over to my house. What I took away from it was that the film would be about people racing around in Mini Coopers. That was, eh, quite wrong. For the most part, anyway. The film centers around a group of thieves who attempts to steal back their gold from one of their own former team members, who backstabbed them in the past. Mark Whalberg, Jason Stathom (who would do an excellent job playing Cole in an inFamous movie, by the way), Seth Green, and more star in this action movie that keeps your attention fairly well all the way through until the end. I really don't have any complaints to make about it, to be honest.

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Quantum of Solace (007)

Rating: 8.6

After initially seeing Casino Royale and being generally unimpressed with Daniel Craig's version of James Bond, I decided to pass on QoS for the longest time, until recently, after I re-watched Casino Royale and changed my mind about it. The next thing that stopped me was that I didn't care for what the possible "sexual content" was that was listed to be in QoS, but eventually I figured that it couldn't be too bad and finally sat down to watch it. As it turns out, the content in QoS is actually a bit milder than what was in Casino Royale. :roll: Go figure. Anyway, the film has Bond tracking down members of the mysterious "Quantum" organization before they can suck the oil, water, and other resources away from a region in secret. Craig plays essentially the same Bond as before...more physical than other versions of the suave spy, and with only one facial expression. His new female ally is interesting in her own way, and in her own backstory. There's plenty of action, and the fact that this film is shorter than typical Bond films is actually a good thing.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Rating: 8.7

Well yes, I went to see this movie today, in 2D. Captain Jack is back, and he brings with him the best Pirates movie since the first of the series. Gone are Will and Elizabeth (hopefully forever), and Johnny Depp now is free to use the spotlight all to himself, and he uses it well. Of course, he has some help from Geoffrey Rush (Barbossa) and Penelope Cruz (Angelica) as well. The movie centers around several groups trying to lead expeditions to find the Fountain of Youth. The English want it, the Spanish want it, Jack wants it, Blackbeard wants it...you get the idea. Speaking of Blackbeard, he fits into the plot relatively well, as do the mermaids and zombies. I was afraid that the zombies would not mesh well and that they would feel tacked on, but thankfully they have only a minor role. The mermaids however are a major plot point, and I was genuinely surprised that a Disney movie would include and portray them the way that they did. Although no nudity is shown, these mermaids are topless, and it's quite evident all through the film. Clever camera work and hair placement are the only things keeping this thing PG-13. Two other characters (I won't mention them for possible spoiler reasons) also have a pretty sensual relationship most of the time, in action and dialogue. Overall, what I'm trying to say is that this film is a little more "adult" than previous Pirates of the Caribbean movies, in my opinion. Nothing terrible, but it certainly pushed the bounderies for a Disney flick. One other thing worth mentioning is that you do not need to see the last two Pirates movies to enjoy this one, as hardly any references to them are made.

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Thanks for reading. In one final bit of news, I finally got around to pre-ordering my copy of inFamous 2. I'm getting it from Gamestop, so I'll be getting the pre-order bonus of the Lightning Hook. I really wanted the Hero Edition so that I could get the Kessler skin, but I can't justify paying $100 for it in my mind, and pre-ordering from Best Buy to get itwas out of the question because I would have missed out on said Lightning Hook. So I plan to check around on Ebay after I get my copy of the game, and see how much a Kessler skin code is going for. God bless and please comment. :)

So it appears I've just reached rank 51 here at Gamespot, and I am now an "Alien Hominid", whatever the heck that is. It's a little sad to leave rank 50 in the dust, but, I can't say that I miss being Strawberry Candy. Seriously, who came up with the bright idea of making that the title for such a "prestigious" rank? Oh well.

In more interesting news, I have finally achieved my Platinum Trophy for inFamous, just in time for the sequel I might add. To get it, I had to get the "good" trophy in one mission (which I had unintentionally failed to get like three times, lol), get "Oh, you've done this before", and get "Get off my cloud". In addition to that, I had to pick up the rest of the Blast Shards. The trophies were pretty easy, and so was getting that good award for the mission. The Blast Shards, however...that was tough. It took me over four hours to round up about a hundred of them, with the last two taking up maybe an hour of that time. My overall strategy was simple...first, I rode the train tracks and found every single shard that was within range of a scan. By doing that, I killed the possibility of shards being near the trains. Then, I simply ran around each city and collected shards as I repeatedly scanned for them, until they became too scare for this method to suffice. At this point, I decided to clear all of the docks around the edge of each of the three maps. By the time I was done with this, I had only the two shards left. One was on top of a gas station in the Warren I believe, and I still don't understand how I ever missed seeing it for so long. The last one was on the side of a building, near the top of the map in the Warren. The really funny thing about this one was that earlier in the same day, on a different save file, I can distinctly remember finding this particular shard. Anyway, I have to tell you, it felt really good when I finally saw that Platinum Trophy pop up. Now I'm really ready for the sequel, and so far, I've been trying to avoid the overload of info and spoilers that Gamespot is hurling at me, lol. It's been going well.

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Now I said something about portals, didn't I? Yes, that would be a reference to Portal 2. I don't own it if that's what you're thinking, and for a long time, I had my mind made up that I wouldn't get it. The puzzles can be seriously mind-bending and that's one thing I generally don't care for at all in my video games. When I sit down to play, I want to have fun, not pull my hair out over a difficult puzzle. But after seeing the insanely high review scores, hearing it be called "possibly the greatest game of all time", having the game strongly recommended to me by a friend, and after watching trailers and the first 15 minutes of gameplay...I have changed my mind. I definitely want to pick this game up sometime soon, as it seems like a very different, immersive, and genuinely humorous take on the puzzle/platforming genre. I'm planning to see if I get this for my birthday, but if I don't, I'll check into getting it when I pick up inFamous 2 (which I am going to pre-order at Gamestop soon). I have a nice little coupon from Gamestop to whack off 20% of the price tag on any pre-owned title, so I could potentially take about $11 off of the price of a used copy of Portal 2.

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(MINOR POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

The "pirates" par if this blog's title is a reference to the upcoming movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Lots of people are excited for this movie, and lost still are assuming that it will be a flop. Personally, I'm looking forward to it. I don't plan to catch it on release day, but I certainly want to see it as soon as possible. The story intrigues me, and I for one am so glad that Will and Elizabeth are gone. It was just...time for them to go. Now the focu in on the main man himself, Jack Sparrow, along with some help from Angelica (Penelope Cruz) and Blackbeard. One other thing that looks interesting is the mermaids. I'd like to see how they fit into the story. The idea of zombies sounds...eh, admittedly quite dumb. But I'll see how it all pans out.

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For the last part of the blog, no, I am not giving you free games. Hopefully you've already realized that I was referring to the upcoming return of the PSN Store (scheduled for May 24), and along with it, the batch of free games that Sony is releasing as a way to say "Sorry guys, we really messed up". The games include inFamous, Little Big Planet, Dead Nation, Wipeout HD + Fury, and Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty. If you want my opinion, this list is a heck of a lot better than what Sony easily could have thrown at us. The fact that such big hits like inFamous and LBP are on the list shows that they're making an effort. And speaking of inFamous...if you have never played it, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE! There's no better price than free, and since Sony is letting each person download two of these games, I suggest inFamous and LBP. Since I already have the former, though, I will be getting LBP and Wipeout HD + Fury.

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Well thanks for reading everyone. I'l leave you with the awesome (and kind of cute) bots trailer for Portal 2. God bless.

Well this is it, the final entry into this blog series. There were fewer parts than I initially expected, due to the fact that I combined the Madden, FIFA, NHL, and Need for Speed games. But anyway, here are the last four...

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World's Scariest Police Chases (PS1)

Rating: 6.7

Familiarity: 7.4

This is a game that's based on the popular TV show with John Bunnell, and he lends his voice-work as well. Basically you play as a cop who goes through various driving-based missions to catch the bad guys, in a lot of different (and often absurd) situations. There's also free patrol mode, which lets you cruise around the city and arrest everybody who tries to flee from you. Which is, on average, about 1/5 cars. Needless to say, that must be a terrible city to live in if there's that many criminals. The biggest flaw with this game is the uneven damage meter. If your car so much as touches a light pole, you take a chunk of damage. If a suspect smashes head-on into the same pole, he takes hardly any damage at all, if any. This gets tedious.

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X-Men 2: Clone Wars (Sega Genesis)

Rating: 7.1

Familiarity: 2.6

I think I may have mentioned before how some of my Genesis games are too hard for my taste. This is yet another one of those games. It's not a bad game in any way, really, but it's very difficult. Essentially it's a side-scrolling platformer similar to theShinobi games, but instead of a ninja, you're playing as the X-Men. Several of the levels can be very tricky and pull-your-hair-out frustrating, but of course that only leads to a feeling of greater satisfaction when you make it through. One of the best parts of this game was that you could battle Magneto, defeat him, and then unlock him. Man, he kicked some serious butt when you played as him.

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flower (PS3 - Downloadable Only)

Rating: 7.4

Familiarity: 8.3

This is just simply one of those unique games that you only feel like playing when you're in a certain mood. But when you're in that mood...well, it's a great game. Basically, you control the wind. By pressing and holding any button on your controller, you can blow the wind, and you can steer it with the SIXAXIS motion sensor. The objective is to release flower petals and create a chain of them in the wind, and by releasing more and more petals as well as completing some simple paths and "puzzles", you restore color intodull parts of the environment. It's a very relaxing experience, and also very simple to pick up and play without even thinking about it. Even somebody who is really not into gaming can easily grab a controller and become immersed in flower. This is one title I recommend. Play the demo, see if you like it.

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inFamous (PS3)

Rating: 8.7

Familiarity: 8.7

This was one of the first few games on the PS3 that I seriously enjoyed, and one major reason why I loved owning the console for quite a while. The story is extremely good, the gameplay is solid, the missions are varied, the powers are great, and the free-roaming is excellent. My only complaint about this game is pretty much everybody's complaint about it...it has a lack of replay value. Sure, you'll definitely want to play through the game at least twice, once as the hero and once as the anti-hero, but after that there isn't much incentive to come back other than to blast more goons with your electrical superpowers. Sucker Punch realized this issue though, and thanks to the implementation of user-created content in inFamous 2, it looks like this problem may be solved. If you haven't played this game yet, play it now, so that you'll be ready in time for the sequel.

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Thanks for reading, and I hope you've all enjoyed the dive into my stash of games. I'll be happy to get back to some other blogs now, that's for sure, lol. Oh, also, if anybody's interested in a great website to find some video game themes, check this out: www.gamethemesongs.com

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

Rating: 8.9

Familiarity: 9.0

The multiplayer beta for this game was actually the first ever time I played any video game (on a console) online. Seriously. And ever since that beta, my gaming life has forever changed, so I guess I owe Naughty Dog a big "thank you". That fact aside, this is an awesome game. The single-player story is very good, though not the best I've played I'll admit, with some interesting puzzles and stylish combat. Multiplayer also fares extremely well, offering something different than typical FPS games without straying too far from the same target audience. Co-op is also very well crafted, having both survival modes and objective based mini-missions. If I was to point out the flaws in this game, I'd have to say that matchmaking takes too long, there was too much cursing in the story mode (for my taste), and co-op modes can't be played offline. Oh, and one other thing I like about this game is that it has male and female characters playable in multiplayer. Yay for gaming equality.

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Vigilante 8 (PS1)

Rating: 9.7

Familiarity: 9.6

You know all those people who are die-hard Twisted Metal fans? Who say that every other car combat game is just a cheap knockoff? Well those people are wrong. The proof? Vigilante 8. This was one of my absolute favorite games growing up, and playing it with my dad and my brother was extremely fun. In fact, it's still one of my favorite games. If you're at all interested in the car combat genre, please do not limit yourself to Twisted Metal and thus ignore this gem or its sequel.

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Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense (PS1)

Rating: 9.8

Familiarity: 9.4

Awesome game? Yes. Better than the awesome original? Yes. Worth buying? Absolutely. In V8:SO, you get more cars, more arenas, a more developed story, futuristic weaponry (to complement your 70's gear), and a heck of a lot more. Secrets, codes, unlockables, giant mutant alien ants...yeah, seriously, this game is just plain great. In my opinion it's the pinnacle of the car combat genre, past or present. Period.

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Warpath: Jurassic Park (PS1)

Rating: 6.8

Familiarity: 3.2

Okay, so, Gamespot trashed this game. They didn't like it and they said is was laggy and more of a chore to play than it was fun. But as for me, I genuinely had a lot of fun with it...for a while. There's a nice variety of dinosaurs to choose from, each with their own "museum" setup where you can learn about them and study them. The gameplay itself is also fine in my opinion, though it takes a good amount of getting used to the controls and combos and such to really get a "feel" for the fighting.

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Who Wants to Be a Millionaire 3rd Edition (PS1)

Rating: 3.5

Familiarity: 4.0

"Hey Bill, let's make another 'Millionaire' game for the PS1! I know just how to make it challenging and...what's that? By making the questions better and more complex? No no, you dufus, by including a timer! Who cares if it isn't in the actual game show, it will be awesome watching people freak out because they only have 30 seconds to answer each question! And then...hurt sales? It won't hurt sales. The game has Regis Philbin on the cover, how could it not sell?"

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Thanks for reading.

Timesplitters (PS2)

Rating: 6.8

Familiarity: 2.2

This is the first entry into the Timesplitters trilogy, and to be honest, I never played it much at all. It was given to me as a gift because I mistakenly requested it instead of Timesplitters 2, which is what I really wanted. All the same, it's still a decent local-multiplayer-focused game. The characters are interesting and so are the maps, and the only real issues I have with the game are that it is a CD and not a DVD, and thus will not work on my fat PS2, and that you die super quickly unless you give your player a higher damage handicap.

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Timesplitters 2 (PS2)

Rating: 9.2

Familiarity: 8.7

This is one of the best FPS games you'll find if you're looking to compete locally against friends. Tons of unlockables, completely customizable controls, varied weapons (even ifa lot of them are a bit too sci-fi for my taste), memorable characters, great maps, etc. Heck, you can even build your own map! This is one of those games that was simply built for replay value, and trust me, you'll find it's there. The only downside? Well...some of the special challenges in the game are extremely tough to complete with a gold medal, and the story mode is fairly weak. But that's it. Everything else is golden.

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Timesplitters: Future Perfect (PS2)

Rating: 9.3

Familiarity: 9.0

No, not quite perfect, but still pretty darn great. Moving up to an "M" rating didn't kill the cartoon-like fun of the two previous games the way I thought it would, and there are even more characters, weapons, maps, and modes than the past titles. The story mode was also given a major overhaul and is actually very fun to play through (though if you can make it through some of the puzzles in the campaign without looking up a FAQ about them online, you must be a certified genius). If you want an FPS game with which to mess around with friends in local competition, look no further. It's a real shame that TS4 will probably never see the light of day, or the inside of my PS3. We miss you, Cortez, and those wacky monkeys as well.

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Turbo Prop Racing (PS1)

Rating: 6.8

Familiarity: 5.0

This is a boat racing game. If you want any more info, you'll have to play it for yourself, because it's hard for me to think of anything. The gameplay is pretty solid, and the different "courses" to race on are pretty neat. There's plenty of boats to pick from and also plenty of cheats, including the ability to turn all of the boats into rubber duckies that quack when they're bumped. Gotta love that. You can also race on a river of lava, which...doesn't make much sense, but is still awesome.

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Thanks for reading.

NOTE: I skipped Tiger Woods PGA Tour '10 in my last blog because, even though I was given it as a gift, I have yet to even try it. I also haven't tried From Russia with Love, so I haven't mentioned it either.

Before I start this entry into the series, I want to briefly mention my experience at the theatre today.

THOR WAS AWESOME

Eh, that's pretty much it. I saw the movie in 3D, and I must say that just about every part of it was extremely good. The story, characters, acting, plot, effects, etc. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you're missing out. This film...I like it. ANOTHER! *smashes cup*

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Terminator 2: The Arcade Game (Sega Genesis)

Rating: 6.3

Familiarity: 2.5

This is standard fare when it comes to arcade ports being brought to consoles. It's the light-gun shooter from the arcades, on the Genesis. I had some fun with it when I was a kid, but I always found it too difficult for my taste.

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Test Drive Unlimited (PS2)

Rating: 7.8

Familiarity: 7.5

I sort of missed out when I bought this game, because I was never able to play online. Despite that, it still holds up as a very solid, free-roaming racing game. There is a HUGE map to drive around in, and you can get involved in police chases as well. There are clubs, body shops, houses, car dealerships, rental shops, and more located on the beautiful island of O'ahu. Even if you never get to play it online, I still think this game is worth a look.

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Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (PS2)

Rating: 9.0

Familiarity: 8.0

If you want a good, cheap golfing sim...this is it. Player customization is phenomenal, and there is a plethora of different games modes to play around in, including several mini-games. The courses, including the fantasy ones, are all crafted very well and the gameplay is rock solid. This game is great fun when you have friends playing with you, but it's also a lot of fun playing solo if that be the case.

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Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 (PS2)

Rating: 8.4

Familiarity: 7.7

This game, eh...is pretty much the same as the one listed above, minus a few features and game modes. In fact, the only real reason I upgraded to TWPGA07 was becase this game started freezing every time I tried to play it with family. If you don't ever hit that problem however, it's an excellent game and a great golfing sim.

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Thanks for reading.