As a birthday gift, my wife bought me Batman: Arkham Asylum along with a PSN card. I have always wanted to play the game Flower because it seems different and a friend once told me it was the best $10 he ever spent. So, I bought. Even though it's a very short game it was definitely worth the money. Here is the link to a short review I wrote for it.

http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/flower/player_review.html?id=730728

I am now a married man. We're currently on our honeymoon and it's about 8:53 am as I'm writing this, sitting next to my wife on the mattress that we laid in the middle of our cottage. Happy, happy feelings :). I wasn't going to blog until I got back home but since we're just waking up and relaxing, and she is gonna watch rich bride poor bride, I thought I'd take the opportunity to write bit.

I had never been more nervous in my entire life. I usually never get nervous, except for the odd time if I have to sing in front of a crowd, then I get a little nervous, but this time I was literally trying to talk myself down so I wouldn't faint. My guys and I, Abigorus in my friends list was actually my best man, got to the church an hour before the ceremony began and that's when it got the worse. I paced back and forth, talking to myself, Abigorus slapping me around saying "get a hold of yourself man!" He was a really great help haha, at times! Other times he'd just mess with me a bit for fun. But once I got onto the altar all those feelings went away and once I saw her walking down the aisle I was literally put in awe. She was extremely beautiful! Then baddabing baddaboom we're married :D. The day went on with taking of pictures and then the reception and dinner, then back to the hotel room for the night. The next day we left for our honeymoon and that's where we are now.

We're here for a week and then we're back to reality. But a nice addition to our reality together will be a brand new HDTV! I will finally be able to game it up on something other than a box. We both decided that we would buy a flat screen tv and so I'm really excited for that. So in the gaming world, once I get home, I am looking forward to a huge tv and playing Deathspank! That game looks to be pretty quirky and fun. I liked Castle Crashers when I owned an xbox 360, so Deathspank looks like something that'd I'd like. I just hope that one day LIMBO will be released for PSN because that game looks like a lot of fun. But, for now I'm gonna get back to enjoying my hooneymoon. :)

Au revoir!

This afternoon, in about 5 hours time from now, I'm going to be married! I'm feeling nervous right now because this is such a huge landmark in my life and there is always the fear of messing something up haha. Yesterday at rehearsal I got so nervous my throat closed up a bit and I nearly threw up. So I'm really hoping that today will go by A LOT more smoothly for me internally lol. I am singing to her as she is walking up the aisle as well, so I'm praying I remember all the words. I am extremely excited and am feeling really happy! :D .. Now back to getting ready again. :)

* Warning - This article contains major spoilers. Read at own discretion. *

*Disclaimer* This article expresses my personal opinions on the character Kratos from the game series of God of War. This is by no means a detriment to the video games themselves, because I loved every one of them along with its great story. These are only my thoughts on his character and choices that he made.

Kratos, a son of Sparta, a son of a god, and one tough son of a female dog, he is everything we are in shock of and yet someone we all wish we could at times become. As with many other fans, I have followed his journey from start to finish and it was one heck of a ride. With every God of War game released after the other it just seems to keep on becoming bigger and better. I am also a Greek mythology buff so I found these games all the more interesting. But I am here to write about my thoughts on the character himself, Kratos, and give my opinions on the actions he has taken in achieving his ultimate goal; destroying Olympus along with its gods.



Kratos had a lot of power at his command being a general in one of Ancient Greece's most powerful armies, and you've probably heard the saying that "power corrupts", and in his case it did. It looked like the only thing that began to matter to him was that Sparta would be the most feared nation in all the world. Although, things became worse. In the war against the barbarians, Kratos called out to Ares, the god of war, to save him and that he would surrender his life to his will. Bing bang boom; Kratos's arms then became wrapped in chains which wielded deadly blades at each end and he'd been granted the power to destroy his enemies. From then on Kratos began to lose his humanity and is on a killing spree for Ares. Later, in an attempt to make Kratos an even more unstoppable soldier, Ares tricked Kratos into killing his family so that nothing would be able to hold him back any longer. As a curse, the ashes of his family stained his body and he became white as a ghost; thus the name the Ghost of Sparta. This was the first act from the gods that put Kratos's path to vengeance into action.

I can understand his pain. Well, I mean I have never killed my family before, but I can understand how heart broken and guilty Kratos would have felt about what he did. Even though he blamed Ares for what happened, it's evident that he also blamed himself, and that's reasonable. So he began to work for Athena and the other gods in a quest for redemption. But does he deserve to suffer for what he commited even though he was tricked? Or was it unfair and not his fault because Ares corrupted him making it perhaps nearly impossible for him to think clearly? Either way Kratos does a lot of things from there on. He's sent on a quest to gain Pandora's box because it is the only thing that will allow him to kill Ares, and in doing so he made some choices to sacrifice people along the way. Obviously the only thing that haunted him about his conscience was the part about killing his family. Basically, screw everyone else.



His entire mission was about revenge on the god who set him up and to have the other gods erase the memory of his horrible sin. Although we know that the gods sort of "two time" Kratos by not being completely forward with him, did he ever really deserve that kind of mercy? He was drunk with power even before he became a puppet of Ares and cared more about the glory of Sparta over his own family. Even though he was moved by Ares to preform such a horrible task, personally, I don't believe he ever deserved the right to have what he did erased from his memory. There would be nothing in the world that he could do to allow him forget that. But everyone deserves a second chance, no matter what they've done. The first step to being forgiven, is being able to forgive yourself.

The story continues that he doesn't really change his ways after becoming the god of war, and actually wages even more war against the other gods, and Zeus puts his foot down after Kratos decides to invade Rome. Kratos's resentment towards to gods of Olympus takes over him after being denied what he had asked for after he killed Ares. But like I said, he never deserved that much so he's basically being an idiot at this point. After Zeus puts him in his place and kills him, he's magically revived by Gaia, and then set on a journey guided the Titans to kill the sisters of fate and change his destiny. In Greek mythology these three sisters are who basically controls peoples fate. They decide who lives and who dies at which appointed time and no one, god or man, can change what they see. If it's your thread that they hold in their hands, there is no stopping them. But of course Kratos being the mad dog that he is, he storms in and dishes out a whooping only he can deliver. You've got to admit, it's pretty awesome how insane he can be. When he sets his mind to something there is no stopping him. But what was all it for? What will killing the gods accomplish? Will it bring back his family? After his revenge then what? Had the gods done really that much to him that he felt he had to kill them?



This is off topic, but the one thing that I truly wished the developers of the game never would have even considered, was that Kratos is actually the son of Zeus. I hate that idea. It's nothing that would make or break the game's story, but it's not that original. Anyway, back to Kratos. He had so much anger and rage built up inside of him that destroying Olympus is the only thing that mattered to him. He was close to killing Zeus, but then Athena jumped in the way and sacrificed herself. You could see that Kratos was upset, but he obviously wasn't too phased by it cause he keeps on trucking.

Now in the third installment of the series, he is as brutal as ever. And this is what I meant about he's someone that leaves us in shock, but sometimes we wish that we had that kind of determination and craziness. Kratos was so close to his goal, and then was betrayed by the Titans and learns he was also their pawn all along. Then his fury was unleashed. With every god that Kratos killed something happened to the planet. When he killed Poseidon the ocean swallowed the earth, when he killed Helios the sun vanished, when he killed Hermes pestilence was spread, and finally by the time reached his ultimate goal and killed Zeus the entire planet was literally in ruins. Not only did he kill the gods, he basically killed all the planets inhabitants as well. At least, that's what it looked like. Although Athena's ethereal form sort of hinted otherwise. Either way, did that really make him any better than the gods who's lives he ended? He was angry about the death of his famil then killed so many other families by completing his revenge.



In the end, before he's able to finish off Zeus, he finds the strength to forgive himself for murdering his family, and releases the "hope" that laid dormant within him since he opened Pandora's box, allowing him to finish off Zeus. And we learn that his act of opening Pandora's Box in the beginning actually led the gods to being corrupted anyway. Although, it's sort of a plothole because if Zeus and the gods knew Pandora's box contained all that bad stuff that was in there, why would they have led Kratos to obtaining it to destroy Ares? Because Zeus himself made an appearance to help and gave him his thunderbolts in the first game. Anyway, after killing Zeus, Kratos looks at the messed he'd made and then kills himself. I guess there would be no point in living since the entire world is a mess. What would he go back to? I actually felt bad for some of the people he met along his quest. For example: He led one of Poseidon's daughters to hold up a lever only to be crushed by it once he passed through gate. He is just a bad dude.

In the end, whether you love or hate Kratos, the game is still amazing. There's a captivating and excellent story that never let up for a moment along with memorable battles on an epic proportion. I love Greek mythology so there was no way that I could have passed up on these games. They are definitely some of my favorite video games I've ever played. So even though I personally thought that Kratos did a lot of things that I thought were wrong and ultimately only made things worse, the chance to follow him on his journey and experience it all was worth it.

I don't know why, but lately I've been having some terrific luck in getting some games I've been wanting (brand new) for only $20. Heavenly Sword, Folklore, Resistance 2, Dead Space, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, and now finally Eternal Sonata!

The fact that I got this game at all, especially at the price of $20, is nothing but luck. I have been searching high and low for Eternal Sonata for the PS3 and have had no luck at all in getting it. It would come in at EB Games at times, rarely, and you'd basically have to be there at the right time to get it if you wanted it. They can't order in games for you so that's the way it goes. So today before I was needing to go pick up my lady from work I decided to stop in at the game store just to browse around, not really planning on buying anything. And not even 15 seconds that I'm in there I walked a few steps, looked down at a display rack and there it was, Eternal Sonata ON SALE for $19.99! The only place I've ever been able to find this game for PS3 is online, like Ebay, and they've all been $30+ and that's not including the price of shipping, so I'd be paying between $40-$50 just to get it. I declare that today has been a VERY good day!

I used to own Eternal Sonata when I owned an Xbox 360, but those days are no more. And ever since I have had my PS3 this game has been on my most wanted list. For those of you who have never experienced Eternal Sonata, you are missing out. I am a fan of clas-sical music, Chopin actually being a favorite of mine, and this game has plenty of his work. There are sections in the game that tell of his life's story which I find interesting, but perhaps to other people it'd be sort of stale if you're not interested in that sort of thing. But the gameplay is a lot of fun. I am not that big of a fan of turn-based fighting games, but this one is pretty innovative in how it does it. Ever since I've experienced Star Ocean: The Second Story's battle mechanics, I've never been able to look at turn-based battles the same way again. I love the free roam battle system. Eternal Sonata does a wonderful job on incorporating both of these fighting mechanics into one play s-t-y-l-e. (Gamespot won't allow certain words to be written correctly due to exploits. That why I added " - " to some of them.)

When it's your characters time to attack (turn-based) they will be able to move at will and preform anything that want to utnil their time has run out (free roam), and as the game progresses it keeps on bringing it up a level so it doesn't get stale. Something else that I really liked about the battle mechanics is that depending on whether you are standing in the light or in the shade you will be able to preform different special attacks. It's a great way to use that to your advantage to gain an edge in battle and be strategic. The battle system is probably one of my favorite parts about this game.

Even though the story to this game is a little out there and a bit hard to comprehend I still really enjoyed it. The graphics are very nice and artistic and vibrant with colors. The cast of characters are excellent and really help to bring life to the story! One thing I look for the most in a game is a great story to tell. I love getting lost in a games story and not wanting to put it away because I need to know what happens next. If executed properly, gaming is my favorite kind of storytelling. And Eternal Sonata has a very nice story to tell. Frederic Chopin is lying on his death bed, and all the while he is "dreaming" and is lost into a world of fantasy and magic. I won't go into much detail because I hate spoilers that just pop out of nowhere without warning.

So I am extremely happy right now. I told my lady that I wouldn't buy anymore games because we are getting married in 8 days and I would save my money, but how could someone pass up a deal like that?! I mean what luck! But she wasn't angry. The only thing I had to do to make it square was that I was to buy her pizza. Pizza and Eternal Sonata in one night. Like that's punishment! Today has been a good day.

There are some nice things about a certain "deal" video game stores can give you today, although sometimes you wish you hadn't done it. If you're thinking that what I am talking about is the exposing of your **** (boobs and moobs alike) in hopes of getting a discount for a game, it doesn't work. People don't like moobs. At least none of the people I've tried to this method with liked it. But once an elderly lady did wink at me totally checking out mah sugar lumps. That's a deal in itself! AMIRITE?!

Now, DON'T think about moobs. You're not thinking about it right? Great big hairy nipplebeards!.. I just scared myself. Anyway enough about that before I cause you to drink yourself to death. What I am actually talking about is the trading in your game for store credit deal. Sometimes it's nice when you feel that you have no need of a couple games, so perhaps you could trade it in and put it towards getting that new release you've been waiting for. I mean, when you're low on cash it seems like a reasonable option. I've done this plenty of times in the past myself, but when I begin to think about it I regret it.

If I would have never traded in any of my video games for store credit, I would need a shelf dedicated solely to my collection alone. With trading-in, later on you miss the games you once had. But that is the price to pay if you want to keep up with the times and play on. I guess you could always just go out and rent them instead of dishing out sixty dollars or trading in a couple of games? I personally don't care much for renting, because I like the feeling of owning something rather than knowing I am borrowing it. But at the speed I finish games it'd probably be best if I did end up doing that. But I will continue with the buying. :P

But I am through with trading in. I've decided that I am going to start collection again and one day I might just have an entire bookcase dedicated to them. It's easier to keep your games at certain times of the year though. It always seems like the rush of sought after titles always come out in bunches, and then leave a long stretch of time where only a couple good ones are released. But if you're willing to wait it out, like I have for Heavenly Sword, eventually it'll show up in the bargain bin for about twenty bucks.

This was just something totally random that I had on my mind, and I thought I'd share it. There are pros and cons about trading in.

I like the rain. Random? Yeah, but here's the story. I'm sitting here in my computer chair, looking at my monitor, reading different forum posts, and then - rain. I got up and spread open the window blinds, looked out and watched the heavy rain pour down creating tiny streams of water flowing down the pavement. My first thought was "That's heavy." A slight pause... then, "I want to lay in it." But I didn't. Because I have electrical air conditioning! This could indeed by an absolutely random and pointless post, yes, or perhaps it's part of my epic quest to reach level 3 as a Gamespot user so I can re-post my reviews from an older, previous account? Love, love love. In other news, I'm currently working on an article about my opinion on Kratos, the protagonist from the God of War series. I've followed his journey from start to finish and it was one heck of a ride. Soon I will post about what I have to say about it. Kthxbai! Scott_inWriting

I'm a big UFC fan. As a part of my gaming collection I have UFC Undisputed 2010, and I play it religiously. I love that the cast of fighters in the game are instantly recognizable and it's a lot of fun to create different dream match ups. Well, I just wish that the match up of Shane Carwin VS. Brock Lesnar during UFC 116 would have gone the same way as it did during my fight in the game. I had really hoped that Shane Carwin would have KO'd Brock Lesnar tonight, but instead the fight went into a different direction. As a blogger on Gamespot I am not going to blog a lot about UFC stuff, only big events such as these. This is my first blog and so I wanted to make that clear. I intend to blog about all types of different game stuff. But for tonight, this is what's on my mind. The fight went like this. First round - Shane Carwin was able to gets a flurry of punches in sending Brock Lesnar to the ground. Carwin hops onto Lesnar and begins a vicious ground and pound which seemed like the fight would be over in moments. But Lesnar held in and Carwin eventually tired himself out from continuous punches. For the first time in his MMA career, Carwin goes into his second round. Second round - Carwin is looking a bit tired, and Lesnar is able to take him to the ground. Lesnar quickly moves from side mount into full mount, and then flips over and puts Carwin into an arm triangle. Shane Carwin taps out due to Brock Lesnar's arm triangle choke. I am genuinely disappointed. I was hoping Carwin would have knocked Lesnar out cold, but he proved he was able to take some punches and stay alive long enough to win the fight. During the first round, when Carwin was giving his ground and pound, I was yelling at my computer monitor and punching an imagery Lesnar face within my hand screaming victory. I can't believe he lasted through the punches. I mean it was literally inches away from being a TKO Stoppage. I got to hand it to him, he's tough. But at least Carwin give him a few cuts about his brow. Now I need to get back to UFC Undisputed 2010 to watch Brock Lesnar get knocked out at least once tonight.