Ok, so after giving the whole 'games vs. toys' thing way too much thought (as per previous entry), I got myself off the proverbial fence and exchanged a bunch of unopened toys I had lying around for the game I'd been pushing off, Capcom's Okami.  I got to play it for about an hour before the baseball game came on (Go Cards!), and my first impression is:

Holy Crap This Game is The Coolest Thing Ever!

I'll have some better thoughts after the weekend once I've had a chance to play more, but I should say that if you've only seen still images of this game, they don't even come close to doing it justice.  The visual style is totally amazing, even more so than Wind Waker.  All the screen shots look like a flat painting but when it's moving, everything feels 3-D.  Trust me, you'd just have to play it.

I totally know what I'm going to be doing all weekend.  Hope no-one expected me to do any chores or anything.

Ok, so here's the deal.  As soon as I buy new Transformers, I get this case of buyer's remorse because I wish I had some new video games.  As soon as I start saving for a game, I start wanting all the new Transformers.  Eventually I'm just going to have to pick one, it's too expensive for both.  Video games are a lot more interactive, but toys are more tactile and tangible.

I'm just messed up in the head.  There's no way I'm not buying Final Fantasy XII though.  Maybe playing that will get me off the fence.  I still need an X360 and that's not going to pay for itself, especially if I keep buying toys.

...to the melodrama, for now.  Things have calmed down since the last post; the wife is back to being happy, work has returned to normalcy most of the way, and we're back to just our simple life.  Good times. :)

I'm back to enjoying the Transformers for now, so between that and saving back some for the Twelve (Oct. 31!), it looks like Okami will be waiting a bit longer, perhaps until Christmas.  Sorry, Amaterasu.  It's not like I can't have fun with the 300-or-so games I already have, anyway.  Not so on the next release; I *will* have it as soon as possible.

We're staying around home this weekend, so maybe I'll get in some gaming worth reporting about.  Wouldn't you worry about a guy who starts up a video-game blog and then stops playing video games?  (If not, you probably should.)  I'll be making up for the lack of playing after the 31st though, I guarantee.

Ok, so I'm stopping in for a second so as to stop neglecting the blog.  I'm still not convinced there's anyone reading this, but I hadn't planned to let it rot *this* early on.

Work has been busy and I haven't been playing much video games recently.  I have been able to get a little R&R on weekends, though; Harrah's St. Louis has a new shuttle service that comes as far as Cuba down I-44, so Dana and I have been meeting the bus there and going to play on weekends since our vacation.  It's good fun.

I did finally fire up the XBox last night; I gave up on the Cardinals game once they were down 8-0 and kicked back with some DOAX.  I know it's a guilty pleasure but it sure is a nice game to relax by. :D

Still haven't picked up Okami yet, either.  But it's going to be worth the wait!

We're back from our trip to see the St. Louis Cardinals and our stay at Harrah's Casino.  We had fun, but the Cardinals got shut out the night we were there (and then, of course, the next night sees Albert Pujols hit three home runs in one game).  We also didn't do that much winning at Harrah's but it was great fun and we're already excited to go back.

So, now we have the last three days of our nine-day vacation coming up; Mom & Dad are coming for a visit today, then just a weekend until back to work.  I think the vacation was good enough to recharge a little, though.

I got the Transformers' Cybertron/Primus yesterday, and he is awesome.  Primus is, according to the mythos, the true creator of all Transformers, but had always been one of those "intangible" concepts.  But the newest Transformers series has revealed that the planet Cybertron is actually the body of Primus in the most literal sense, when the entire planet transforms into a giant robot.  I got the one that comes with the head of Dead Unicron (which G1 buffs might remember was in orbit around the planet post-movie).  Unfortunately, I used the money I was going to spend on Okami, and just in general I was trying not to get hooked on Transformers again because they're seriously going to cut into the video-game budget.

But what can I say?  I just do what I like.  Okami will still be there, I just won't be one of the first-to-have's.  And I'm OK with that these days.

I got up at at 3:30 this morning to go in to work early, because people are changing offices to accommodate a new hire and so computers must be moved, plus I set up a new graphics station after hours last night and needed to plan to provide tech support for that.  All this had to be done by 8:00.

So, it's 6:45, all the computers are moved, and the graphics station is running like a top.  Bluh.  Now I get to be bored and sleepy in my office for an hour.

Which brings me to my musing for the day:  Why is it that nothing takes as long as you think it will unless you don't plan enough time for it?

On topic of video games, I saw a trailer for the new Ghosts & Goblins for PSP on Cinematech last weekend and I'm unnaturally excited about that.  That has got to be the catchiest VG music ever.  Did I see Dead Arthur get back up and keep going as a skeleton??  (Apparently, it releases today.  I need a PSP :( )

Today is my sister's birthday.  If you happen to stop by, Happy Birthday, sis!

Also, I played Legendary Wings for NES last night and again this morning, and decided it was interesting enough for a review, so my second NES review is up.

I'm counting down the last week until vacation.  We're going to Harrah's St. Louis for an overnight stay, and otherwise it'll just be some good R&R at home.  Unless we hit it big, then we might go shopping.

Musing for the day:  Why is it that so many people are only optimistic when they *know* they're going to be wrong?

Ok, well, here goes.  For a while, my friends were telling me that I should get a website and start my own blog.  Everyone has one these days, they said.  *They* had them.  Heck, they even said some insightful stuff on them occasionally; I enjoy reading blogs like everyone else.  But, what do I have to make a whole website about?  Mostly I just play video games for fun.

Now, look at this!  Somebody else went and made a website about video games, so I don't have to.  And they gave me space to make a blog of my own!  So, I guess there's no more excuses.  Of course, the friends that used to tell me that have moved on to other jobs now, so I don't know who all's going to read this except maybe my sister or something, but who knows?  I can ramble just like everyone else.

On a serious note, for any guests that don't know me personally, an introduction:  I go by "SFGMaster" online, and as far as I know I'm the only one, so if you see that nick (or a minor variation like SFGMaster624) somewhere, chances are it's me.  I'm from south-central Missouri, and I work in IT at a wholesale manufacturer.  I'm married, but there won't be any children (except for me).  My plans for this blog are to give my thoughts about mainly video games, but probably other random stuff as well, like toy collecting perhaps.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to try to put up ratings on Gamespot for games that I own or play, and review any that I think are worth commenting on; my Metroid review is already up.  Maybe my writing style will get noticed and I can become world-famous!   Heh.

Don't worry, you can expect future, non-christening posts to be shorter.