So, I don't think I've said but I'm going to Japan for 10 days at Easter. I know that iPod Touch's are cheaper there (not that much though) so I'm in two minds as to whether save up for that and buy some games that I can play anywhere, or buy some more 360 games. Mum + Dad are discussing whether to pay for the rest of it as long as I don't buy anything else.

So I don't know what to do. The iPod Touch would replace my currenty crappy MP3 player, but the main reason for it is games. FIFA 10 - £4. Cheap. NFS Shift - £4. Bloody brilliant. OK, ok, they're not the best games ever. But they're so cheap it's close to ridiculous. Actually, it is ridiculous. Plus things like YouTube and stuff on it, and it sounds like a great all-round handheld thing. I don't want an iPhone, my current phone is ok. And I hardly use it anyway, so there's not much point shelling out a lot of money for something I don't need.

But Halo 3: ODST is just sooo tempting ...

I need help!

So I'm interested in organising a gaming day, only on XBOX. You can play CoD 4, CoD WaW, FIFA 10, and/or Forza Motorsport 3. It's all on this Sunday (17th Jan) from 3PM till 9:30PM GMT. If you're interested, just send me your gamertag in a friend request and a message saying you're from here, and what games you'd be interested in playing on that date.

Cheers.

In this blog post I'll talk about what I think makes a great SP or MP game.

Firstly, SP games. Personally for me, they have to have a long storyline, upwards of 20 hours, and great controls. The controls don't have to be simple, as you can take your time usually in single-players. The game should also run at a lag-free 60fps (trust me, the old FIFA's on PS2 slowed down so much it was ridiculous) and have good graphics.

For MP games, they should still have a single-player game, which I would expect to be around 5 hours minimum with lots of replay value and 5 difficulty levels. The online should be lag-free, even if that comes at the expense of better graphics. There should also be a compact HUD, moved to the corners of the screen, and pack in as much info as possible.

I personally prefer MP focused games, but I will get a SP game if it has a unique element or a long storyline for instance Assassin's Creed II.

I'm also looking at some DLC. I've got my eyes ATM on the CoD 4 Variety Map Pack, which I will follow with the first Assassin's Creed II DLC (Sequence 12) then the Forza Motorsport 3 January Car Pack and finally the ACII DLC (Sequence 13).

So, I hadn't played Batman: AA since Boxing Day after a slow first hour ... so I defeated a boss character today, that was decent, and then bought the Inverted Takedown. I took out a few more guys and then followed a trail in detective mode. But then I see the trail going up ... I go up ... then where the hell does it go? Absolutely no idea ... so I'm gonna look at a guide. No way I'm buying the official guide as it should be easier to find in the game ...

Call of Duty is still brilliant. Somehow, I can't get the hang of sniping. I'll have some brilliant games, especially on Countdown with deeper bullet penetration (look for feet then shoot like ****) but some others I'm completely crap ... I'll probably read about some more sniping positions.

Much to my disgust, I found that I am to be living with my Grandad this weekend. Not disgust at my Grandad, he's really kind but to be away from the games consoles!!!!!

So, I've decided I'm going to pick up some GBA games. They're cheaper, and when I get some money together I can go and buy a GBA Micro or SP rather than my chunky old console.

I've also decided to go back and buy some past classics for the original Xbox, PS2, and GameCube.

I'll still get some DLC but Final Fantasy X for £10 ... a bargain if ever I saw one.

So, then beginning of March I will try and get some more 360 games. But, I can have just as much fun with a last-gen game even if it's graphics aren't as good ...

So, right now I'm playing The Sims 3 World Adventures, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Online, and Forza Motorsport 3 Offline mixed in with a little Assassin's Creed II mixed in.

The Sims 3 World Adventures - Oh my God. This is amazingly brilliant. Seriously, I expected the normal Sims fare but this game has taken a risk, and boy has it paid off. The tombs are brilliant, if a little frustrating on occassions, but a quick trip to a guide is all that's needed to help you out there. I haven't visited China yet, but Egypt feels very authentic as does France. You get a handsome reward for visiting tombs too, so you can purchase a vacation home.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - I'm up to Act III, two missions in, trying to abort the missile launch. I always seem to go in single-player for an hour ... then that evening I'm still there. But the real thing I'm playing it for is the multi-player, which, is amazing. Absolutely brilliant. Finding that new sniper spot is brilliant, and the killcam gets rid of campers. And if it doesn't, a quickly thrown grenade will suffice. And when they try to throw that cooked grenade back at you - well, it's hilarious. This game is still the ultimate shooter, better than all the other CoD's and MW2, and better than Halo 3.

Forza Motorsport 3 - Somehow, after slipping through a period of repetetive tracks in 'Closed Course' tracks like 12 races in a row on stages of the Nurburgring, I entered the Class A tournament with three races around three of the biggest and most challenging tracks in the game, with one lap around each track. And boy was that a breath of fresh air. I can't wait to finish Season 3, as then I believe I will be able to enter the R1 World Championship!

Assassin's Cred II - I haven't progressed much in the story, but I have collected all the statuettes and quite a few feathers too. I'm probably going to collect some more Codex pages then carry on with the story so as to unlock more of Venice.

After reading @SadPSPAddict 's review of GT on the PSP I have been convinced to put the game at the top of the list. Rather than concentrating on the lack of structured career mode, he went into detail about how that makes the game, in a way, better. I now realise that I can customise the entire game to my needs, my favourite tracks, cars, and my playing style in the best racer on PSP.

Having said that, I won't be getting it for a while. I still have too many games to play + complete and I will get that game in February instead of Halo 3: ODST!

Thanks SPA!

So, 13 days after the first one arrived the Sims 3 World Adventures is finally working - after getting another copy, fighting to get our money back, reporting someone to Amazon, uninstalling 3rd party content and all patches, and uninstalling and installing twice, the game is WORKING! PARTY!

What can I say - it's brilliant. Everybody who has The Sims 3 and likes traditional games on consoles should get this. I thought the Adventures would be a bad thing - I mean, do I really want to to complete what seemed like tricky puzzles just to be able to buy a vacation home and purchase longer holidays and more souvenirs? Nope. But it improves the game so much, whereas before I might have been at a loss as to what I should do now, now I can accept an adventure and enter a tomb or just do the task. The puzzles aren't too easy, but not too difficult either, some require thinking about but it's perfect for me.

And the destinations are so unique. The music is unique, the markets are unique, the tombs are unique, the skills are unique, the buildings are unique.

My score for the game - 9.0. Seriously, EVERYBODY, and I mean EVERYBODY should buy this game. And with that, my estimation of EA has gone up so much ... count on me to get all the stuff packs and expansion packs as soon as they're released!

I thought I would tell all you guys what games, and DLC I hope to buy in 2010.

Starting with the new releases, I have 11 in mind (although if some of them are rated 18 I will not be allowed to buy them) and those 11 are: Splinter Cell: Conviction, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Just Cause 2, Crackdown 2, Fable III, Halo Reach, Medal of Honor, Red Dead Redemption, Call of Duty 7, and Split/Second (or Blur, depending on reviews).

Oh, and, depending on reviews of it and how many decent games utilising it are available at launch, Project Natal!

Now, onto the games released last year or before that I would like: PES 2010 on the PSP, Halo 3: ODST on 360, Gran Turismo on PSP, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on 360, and NHL10 on 360. That seems to me like a good mix of games.

Finally, I would like the new stuff pack for The Sims 3, and I daresay another Expansion Pack will be released too, so I'll get that.

On XBLA, there are a few games I would like: Trials HD, Battlefield 1943, and Worms. Finally, the DLC. First of all, I would like the Call of Duty 4: Variety Map Pack which sounds really good. Then the Forza Motorsport 3 Hot Holidays Car Pack, and Call of Duty: World At War Map Packs 1 & 2. As well as maybe a couple of other Car Packs for Forza.

That sounds like a lot. It is, especially seeing as I don't get pocket money. I have to earn all my money ... but I can earn about £10 a week, which is enough for one new release a month, and I won't be getting any games until middle of February at the earliest so I can get lots of the DLC. Then I'll probably get a coupla games from last year, and then one from this year, and so on. Then for Christmas I will ask for money, rather than presents so I can spend them on what I want.

Hi all.

Still enjoying all my birthday and christmas presents, with the exception of The Simpsons game which sucks balls, and then laughs at you :|

Forza 3 is still amazing, and I've started downloading lots of vinyl groups to customise my car with. Currently I've got BMW 4x4 which has a Chelsea skin, a Fiat Abarth 500 with a Forza Motorsport 3 theme, and when I get back I'll choose one of the other cars which I can make a police car with some stuff I downloaded. The only bad thing I have to say about the game is some of the events can get a bit tedious. For instance, the track days. There are four events in the competition, and in each event there is 3 heats comprised of 1 lap each. So thats, what, 12 events on virtually the same track! The other events are brill though, so I really can't complain.

DiRT 2 I haven't played too much, but I'm trying to complete all the 'Pro' division events and then complete all 'All-Star' events before finishing off with the World Tour events I need. And then there's the online ...

Assassin's Creed II I haven't played in a couple of days but I'm racing through the storyline. Up to Sequence 7, or 8 I think now, and have unlocked Venice. I'll go around today collecting some viewpoints and investing in some new weapons, then after that I'll maybe get some Codex pages and then carry on with the story and kick some ass.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. What can I say that hasn't already been said. Well, it's better than Modern Warfare 2. That been said before? Maybe. Still, thats what I firmly believe. No camping n00bs, or as I like to call them, n0bs. Sure, there's a load of Juggernauts and Grenade Launchers around the place and a few of the maps are similar, but it sure is better than that + a load of verbal on MW2. Seriously, I've only been a called a ***** once. And that guy had a rep of 2 stars, and has a load of crappy old games so I really can't blame him for being a sad low-life.

Thats all my games. Cheers.