It's been about two weeks now since I got my 3DS XL and about a week since I got most of my games and I have to say I already amassed a backlog of 3DS games to play.

So far I've only been playing two games; Animal Crossing New Leaf and Project X Zone.

Project X Zone was actually the first game I got the system and it's the digital version. I put about 20 hours into it thus far and I am loving every minuite of it. I highly recommend this game to any rpg/strategy fan or anyone that loves the cast of characters

Animal Crossing New Leaf, been playing it casually, just like it's meant to be played and I am still learning it. Luckily I spent hundereds of hours on Animal Crossing Wild World for the DS, so I was able to adapt to this game just fine and it looks like I will be spending hundreds of hours in this game too. I don't know how long I spent on this game in total so far, but I'd average somewhere between 10-20 hours.
 

Then there's the backlog of games. I haven't even started these yet

Monster Hunter 3
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning
Spirit Camera
Heroes of Ruin
Resident Evil: Revelations
Castlevania: Mirror of Fate (digital version)
Kingdom Hearts 3D
Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (digital version) 

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There are several other games I plan to purchase before the year ends. Two of the main ones are Pokemon X/Y and Legend of Zelda A link Between Worlds. I also plan to pick up Fire Emblem sometime soon too (maybe when I complete Project X Zone)

I finally got a 3DS XL last week and I'm still trying to figure out how it works. I was content with my DSi and all the games I have for it, but Pokemon X/Y was the main reason I decided to upgrade and I have to say, I am really impressed with it and it was money well spent.

First thing I did was transfer all my DSiware games to the 3DS.

Then I ordered several games:

Animal Crossing New Leaf
Monster Hunter 3
Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns
Harvest Moon: A New beginning
Spirit Camera
Heroes of Ruin
Resident Evil: Revelations

I also purchased 3 $50 credit cards ($150) for the eshop that I plan to spend soon cause I managed to amass a rather large wishlist. 

Downloaded Walking Dead 400 Days today. Played it, finished it and well...it left me wanting more! I know it's just one episode, but god man...it was so good. The sad thing is I have to wait until next year for the sequel? Maybe I should have just waited for all the episodes to be released and play them in succession like I did with the walking dead episodes 1-5...damn. I should have listened to my inner voice, now I'm suffering!

By now everyone knows the deal with the Xbox One and PS4. There's no point in me ranting or reharshing what is/still being said because if you're reading this, you already know what's going on.

This blog is about one thing I would love to see on the next gen consoles; Digital game rentals.

Microsoft was heading in the direction of a total digital future with their console, but we all knew how that turned out. Since they cannot eliminate hard copy used game. Maybe they should implement a system of digital game rentals were we pay a set price for game for a certain period of time. The money we pay would go directly to the developer/publisher. Even Sony could adopt a system like this. It will make a lot of games accessible to a lot of gamers and we can all enjoy them for a fraction of the price instead of paying full retail to own a game. 

Adopting a system like this is a lot better than the elimination of used games, always online and only digital purchases. Not everywhere in the world has access to gamefly or those other game rentals stores. Having an online rental store will cause games to reach the masses and to be honest, I think developers will make a lot more money this way because sometimes people want a taste of the final game instead of some rubbish of a demo that plays nothing like the final product. Maybe even after the rental of the game, you can purchase the full version at a slightly discounted price. Think about this concept, it's a win-win for gamers.

Obviously some games will be worth full retail based on replayability and content, but let's be real here, we are all gamers and we've all purchased games at full price and then thought to ourselves "What the F*ck is this garbage. Did I just buy this $hit?"

For 2013 I have completed a few game on the Xbox 360:

DMC: Devil May Cry
Dead Space 3 
Metal Gear Rising 

Tomb Raider was the latest game I've been playing. I was enjoying the game a lot and I do mean A LOT! I haven't enjoyed a third person action game like this in a long time...then all of a sudden bam! I was hit with a f*cking game breaking glitch almost to the end of the game. The glitch hit me at the Chasm Stronghold, where the enemies refused to spawn and I cannot progress. I did quite a bit of searching for a solution and nothing is possible (unless a patch is released). It seemed to affect all console and PC versions of the game. After cursing very loud today and getting in a rage. I am calmly going to toss this game aside and start Crysis 3!...shame this game could have been a firm contender for GOTY 2013 for me

The year has now started, but I'm preparing for purchases I am going to make later in the year.

3DS - Budget $200 - Finally going to get one this year because of Pokemon X/Y. I have decided to go with the 3DS XL. I know how nintendo is with the redesign and upgrade of the hardware. I have also learned NOT to believe anything they say because last E3 Regi announced there will be NO resign of the 3DS, but, 3 days later the 3DS XL was announced, so this year, I am waiting until August or September before making my purchase because the new Pokemon game has a worldwide release in October

New Android OS Phone - Budget $200-300. I'm going with a mid-range device. I am very particular with the specs. At CES I saw a lot of mid range phones with the specs I want. Mainly Quad-Core, Tegra 3, 16/32 internal memory, expandable memory, must have gorilla glass, a large battery (over 2000mAh), the latest Android software and a screen size between 4-5 inches and less than 1cm in width. I currently have the Xperia Play and I am satisfied with it, but it's just an emulation device and it's clear to see, that's what it was create for because it excels at it. However phone features and performance really lacks...especially battery life which usually dies after 3-4 hours of Playstation gaming on the lowest brightness setting.

New Tablet - Budget $300-400. I currently have an Acer Iconia A200. It's a 1GH dual core, Tegra 2 device so performance isn't the best, but it's workable. The main reason I got this tablet was because it was affordable and has an actual USB port built into the system. I am unsure if I'll get another Android Tablet (obviously Tegra 3, Quad Core and 10 inches) or make a change with a Windows 8 tablet.

It's always hard to name a single game Game of the Year because there are usually several games that just stood out as the cream of the crop. This year was no different and it was extremely difficult for me to choose just one from all the games I played this year. I managed to narrow my list to the below games

• Assassin's Creed III
• Far Cry III
• Darksiders II
• Hitman: Absolution
• The Walking Dead Series
• Dragon's Dogma
• Mass Effect 3

After much, much, much arguing with myself and sleepless nights I was able to further narrow the list to just The Walking Dead Series, Hitman: Absolution and Far Cry 3.

Far Cry 3 eventually took the title because of the eye popping visuals (best I've seen this generation), outstanding gameplay, voice acting, replay value and overall addictiveness (plus I love Vaas). Farcry 3 was a masterpiece despite some glitches, but the experience was like no other I've played this generation.

I started keeping track of my GOTYs from time I got my first Xbox 360 back in 2007 so below is the timeline of games

• 2012 - Far Cry 3
• 2011 - Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• 2010 - Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
• 2009 - Vanquish
• 2008 - Dead Space
• 2007 - Bioshock

Slightly passed the anniversary date, but I managed to survive on this site for a whopping 9 years.

I am not as active on the site as I used to be due to my own personal life. Overall the site, community and staff has changed so much over the years, that everything is totally different now. To be honest I liked the site better in the earlier days than now, but change is inevitable and it's something we all have to deal with.

I no longer keep track of post counts, levels, emblems or other site achievements because they are useless to me and means nothing in real life, but for 9 years, I am Level 71 with 20908 posts. Virtually, it means a lot, in reality, it's useless.

I don't know how long I would last on this site activity wise, but it is my primary source for gaming news and reviews (and controversy *cough*RE6*cough*)

OMG...where have I been? I am around...you know...here, there and everywhere lol

Anyway I recently started university again, so I'm currently working and studying full time. It's exhausting but I'm surviving!

Most of my gaming has shifted to mobile devices, mostly my phone and tablet.

I've been spending a lot of time gaming on the Xperia Play. This device I currently use solely for legal emulation or some android games (that are too large for my tablet)

I've also been spending time on my 10.1' Acer Iconia tab. My leveno notebook, just wasn't cutting it anymore. I got the tab to use as a multimedia and gaming device while I am at my classes. So far I have no regrets, but I may eventually get the 32GB Nexus 7 when it's released this holiday.

Most of the games I've been playing recently are

• Haunt
• Plague Inc.
• Final Fantasy III
• Wild Blood
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Lemegeton
• Crystal Defenders
• Empress
• Broken Sword
• Grave Defense
• Bloody Mary Ghost

I do have A LOT more, but those are just the ones I am currently playing

Finally the only console game I've played recently was Resident Evil 6. I still have Ada's campaign to complete, but so far, the game wasn't good, but it wasn't a total disaster either. However as it stands, I cannot recommend this game. I would say replay or play Resident Evil 5

I haven't been around much because I have been spending my free time playing Darksiders II. I finally beat the game today and I must say, I enjoyed the game A LOT despite several flaws and glitches. One highlight of the game was the awesome, over the top audio and soundtrack!

Currently, I spent about 30 hours on the game and I plan to play it a little longer for the collectables.

Two major flaws with the game are:

1. Camera angles. It often gets in the way of combat and is especially annoying in difficult combat situations.
2. Huge world and only a handful of side missions (and most of them can be completed early in the game). Really with the size of the world, I'm surprised the developers didn't throw in a few dozen side missions. I know I would have enjoyed them a lot!

I encountered several glitches, luckily nothing game breaking. I did encounter an audio glitch that muted several sound effects in the game. Reloading fixed it. Another was getting access to areas early because of the fast travel system (using the merchant as the point of travel). This happened to me in the second area of the game. There were several other minor glitches, but nothing too major.

The glitches and camera angles would actually make or break this game for some. But I haven't had this much fun playing a 'Zelda'-type game since...I believe the first Darksiders.

Darksiders III, I await thee!