I like to jump around, and would lead a fairly serene and aimless existence if it weren't for my friends always getting into trouble. I love to help out, even when it puts me at risk. I seem to make friends with people who just can't stay out of trouble.

What Video Game Character Are You?

I am not, nor have I ever been, a first person shooter fan. The last FPS I played extensively was the original Doom on the PC (which, coincidentally, was also the last PC game I played). I dabbled in Goldeneye, but I never played the single player missions. I just had fun with some friends in the multiplayer arena. The FPS genre has just never really been my cup of tea when it comes to gaming. For me, video games are about relaxing and escaping to new worlds. First person shooters definitely have the new world aspect, but I don't consider the heart-pounding adrenaline rush I get from the genre to be very relaxing.

That being said, I've always wanted to be a fan of first person shooters. When the original Xbox launched with Halo as its killer app, I immediately brushed the system off. In fact, I didn't end up buying the console until a little over a year ago. I have yet to dive into the series (even though I own both games), because I didn't want my first FPS experience to be my best one. Since Halo is widely considered to be one of the best shooters, I wanted to ease myself into the genre. So, as a compromise, I started out with Metroid Prime. The mix of first person perspective with adventure-style gameplay was perfect for me, and I loved both Prime and Echoes.

I'd been oddly intrigued by 2K's Prey ever since news began to resurface a few years ago. Something about the Native American heritage juxtaposed with a sci-fi storyline really caught me. The main complaint I've read from critics is the lack of challenge, and I'm fine with that. For my first big FPS, I want an easy, leasurely run.

It took me roughly a half hour to get used to the controls and playing style, but I've really enjoyed the first few levels. The puzzles are interesting, but not frustrating. And I like not having to fight off wave upon wave of enemy soldiers. The environments are intricate and believable, though I don't get the same sense of atmosphere as I did with Metroid. Rather than relying on cutscenes for exposition, Prey uses in-game dialog for story progression. It's a nice touch, and helps captivate the audience. The difficulty seems to be on par for a newcomer like myself, but I see how it could frustrate genre veterans. I haven't ventured into the multiplayer arena yet, because I think I should spend a little more time getting my feet wet in the single player mode before I embarrass myself on Xbox Live.

After having played for a couple of hours at this point, I'm pretty confident that I'll enjoy the game enough to see it through to the end. My only fear is that, after finishing Prey, I'll take a liking to the genre and be forced to add a multitude of titles to an already extensive list of games on my To-Do list.

Maybe I'm getting too old for these new-fangled fighting games. I grew up on great 2D fighters like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and (love it or hate it) Killer Instinct. The genre has had particular difficulty moving to three dimensions and adopting an entirely new play mechanic. The only series I've stuck with during the transition is Mortal Kombat, because it has (more or less) successfully stuck to its 2D roots.

Desperate for a fighting game for my Xbox 360, I picked up the only available option: Dead or Alive 4. I just don't understand it. The visuals look amazing, both in-game and during the incomprehensible story sequences. It's obvious that a lot of polish went into the design aspects, but the core fighting engine is beyond me. I've only played the single player story mode thus far, but I can't seem to develop any strategy beyond the 'button mash - hope faulty AI makes a mistake - yay, I win' formula. Since you can string combos together from nearly any combination of the punch and kick buttons, deciding which to use when doesn't really factor into the play mechanic. And, since blocks and counter moves are nearly impossible to time correctly, my battles tend to consist of button mashing until I lose, continue, and button mashing again until I happen to win a round.

Maybe there's something I'm missing, but I just can't see how this game involves strategy or skill. It's probably much different playing against a human opponent, but what good is a fighting game without decent AI?

The Battle Network series has always been somewhat of a mixed bag for Mega Man fans. As a role-playing game that changes up the traditional blue bomber formula, it still leaves enough nods to the original titles to keep longtime fans pumping with nostalgia. The series’ gameplay has always been spot-on, if not entirely repetitive, while the graphics have yet to improve upon the original Battle Network game from 2001. For such a text-heavy game, the series has also been plagued with its fair share of translation difficulties and spelling errors. And, while each installment has tweaked the core mechanics slightly (from the incredibly useful Navi customizer to the monotonously tasking liberation missions), the core gameplay has remained relatively consistent throughout each of the thirteen various spin-offs and Pokemon-style dual SKU versions.

Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Gregar and Cybeast Falzar maintain the series’ track record competently enough. The story has improved to the point where players will actually care about reading through the entire script, especially as this apparent final entry in the series ties up a number of loose ends that began in the previous iterations. The gameplay has also been refined. Finally, playing as other Navis feels like more of a pleasure than a chore. The new Cross and Beast Out systems make switching characters on the fly easy and useful, rather than gimmicky and tacked on. Sadly, the graphics have remained the same as in previous games. They’re not bad to look at, but they sorely under-utilize the GBA’s capabilities.

It’s curious why Capcom didn’t choose to continue the Battle Network series on the DS, as the interface and extra map screen lend themselves extremely well to the role-playing genre. However, Battle Network 6 is a great entry from an increasingly short list of titles worthy of dusting off the aging GBA for a quick session on the go. If you’ve never played a Mega Man game on the Game Boy, Gregar or Falzar are great places to start. Both newcomers and longtime fans will get a considerable 24+ hours of gameplay at a value price.

I've always hated that Monty Python movie, and I've never even seen it.

Anyway, I started a new job as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) at a private ambulance company last week. 12-hour shifts are exhausting, but at least I only have to work 3 days a week. And I get to interact with real patients, which is why I wanted to go into medicine in the first place. It's so interesting talking to all of these people and seeing how where they come from influences so much of their perspective.

On a less serious note, I finally got my DS Lite today. The aforementioned job prevented me from picking one up yesterday. It's an amazing system. The screen is blindingly bright, the stylus is so much more comfortable, and it's just so much easier to hold (although the glossy finish makes me think it'll slip from my fingers). The only thing I'm still skeptical about are the face buttons, which dont' feel as responsive as the original DS. I had a hard time with precision movements and jumping in New Super Mario Bros., but the setup works excellently for games like Animal Crossing. I'll never put Meteos into this system, because the screen on my original DS is covered in scratches from that amazing game.

I also think I'm addicted to Xbox Live Arcade. I was never too impressed with the system's launch line-up, and I still only have three or four titles that I play on a regular basis. But the games on Live Arcade are perfectly suited to my style of gaming. They're easy to pick up and play for a few minutes, they're quick to learn yet difficult to master, and they're cheap. I've bought 12 or 13 Arcade titles for the equivalent of two 360 disk games. Once Lumines Live and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 come out, it'll be over for me. I doubt I'll be spending my time on any other games.

I found this amusing. Ubisoft e-mailed me a $10 gift certificate to their online store for my birthday. Here's the text of the message:

---

Yeah, we know, you're supposed to actually put down the controller and celebrate your birthday with REAL people. Well, here are three reasons why that's totally overrated:

1. Game characters don't age. And if they die, you usually have some extra lives to spare.
2. Game characters don't embarrass you by taking you to public places and singing stupid songs.
3. You just got a discount on your next game from the Ubisoft Store.

---

While this free 10 bucks doesn't really make up for my recent Ubisoft customer service nightmare, the e-mail was mildly amusing. Thought I'd share.

Ever wonder why I've got a goofy look on my face in my picture over there? It was my 21st birthday and I was throwing down whatever was put in front of me. Whatever I just drank didn't really agree with me. But, on the plus side, I stole the nifty shot glass!

Today will probably be a little more toned down with a little less debauchery. But I wouldn't expect too many more coherent thoughts from me tonight :)

I knew I was pushing my luck. I convinced myself that the early adopter window had passed, and that it was now safe to buy an Xbox 360. I even went out and bought that nice 32" LCD HD TV set. My special edition copy of Oblivion had just arrived in the mail today, and I had just left the sewer to go out and do as I pleased. Then, I came home tonight at 11:00PM, sat down next to my computer with GameSpot's Oblivion guide open in the window, and turned on my Xbox for what was sure to be a late-night gaming session.

One thirty minute phone call with Microsoft later, and I find out that the three blinking red lights of death (instead of the happy green circle) mean I have a hardware failure. I never move my console, and I take pristine care of all of my games. I don't even have the system standing up because I'm afraid it'll tip over. On a positive note, my hard drive seems to be working fine, so I won't lose my progress. On the other hand, I'll be without my Xbox for two weeks. On Friday, I'll be getting Tomb Raider Legend and PGR3 from my girlfriend, who made me promise not to buy the games myself so that she'd have something to give me for my 23rd birthday. Now she feels bad because I'll have to wait longer to play them (again).

And that's the end of my pity party. Honestly, I saw this one coming. The girl on the phone at Microsoft was very nice about it, and sounded like she'd had the same conversation quite a few times. I was actually surprised, since the conversation was most likely being recorded, that she was so open about the malfunctions. Fatal hardware malfunctions aside, it was actually a nice conversation.

And I was just starting to rack up the GamerPoints, too....

So this coming Friday, June 2, will be my 23rd birthday. My parents wanted to get me a big gift, and I had't really looked into getting an HD TV set yet, so I decided to poke around in a few electronics departments. I wanted to be able to hook up all three major systems to the TV along with a few other classic consoles (SNES, N64, and NES) without having to use a switchbox. I found a 32" 720p Sony LCD with an HDMI input for the PS3 (eventually, a long way down the line), 2 component inputs (for the Xbox 360 and the GameCube - I can finally use the GCN component cables I ordered from Japan!), and 3 S video jacks for the other systems.

So far, the 360 looks amazing. It's such a huge leap in graphics over using the system on a standard set. I haven't noticed that much of a difference using component cables on the GameCube. I guess maybe it looks a little crisper than normal. But with all three systems and a Tivo, I may never leave my bedroom again. Silly outdoors. 

For the past few years, game fans have been inundated with requests from journalists to avoid E3. As the conference has grown in both scope and popularity, the crowds have become a nuisance to people trying to do their jobs by providing event coverage for the unlucky majority of gamers stuck watching from the sidelines. Newly coined events like the "running of the nerds" provide entertainment for established journalists who've already gotten their exclusive peeks at the show floor earlier that morning.

I understand that journalists have a job to do, and that the massive number of people really do prevent them from giving us spectators adequate E3 coverage. GameSpot has done a relatively good, albeit somewhat hypocritical, job of explaining this predicament to its subscribers. Editors have repeatedly talked about how much of a hastle it is to sift through all the people at E3 who shouldn't be there. Yet they hold their own Undercover Contest so that one of the aforementioned unworthy individuals can bum a ticket to the show. 

Recently, a number of publications' requests for independent journalists or specialty store employees to stay away from E3 have become increasingly insulting (listen to the first few minutes of radiOPM's May 22nd podcast to see what I mean).

Yes, E3 is an industry trade show and, no, it should not be open to the public. But give us a break, guys. E3 needs Average Joe Gamer to spread the news by word-of-mouth. Sites like GameSpot, IGN, GameSpy, or 1UP offer great professional coverage, but sometimes we just want that "awe factor" that can only come from first-hand stories. And call me crazy, but when I walk into my local game store, I like for the employees to be informed about what's going on in the industry. I don't appreciate it when I know more about the product I'm purchasing than the salesman who's hocking the wares. And fan sites, run by the independent journalists that people from professional publications like radiOPM deride so heavily, are the lifeblood of the gaming industry. The care and dedication that these individuals have for their sites and the games that they cover is unrivaled, even by more "reputable" sources.

So, the next time you're tempted to complain about the sweaty doofus standing in front of you in the three hour Twilight Princess line, try to remember how you felt at your first E3. Or how you would have killed to attend the show before going the professional route and getting your legitimate pass. Game fans really only have one time of year where they can all rally behind the hobby they love so much. All I ask is that you let them.