I enjoy gaming and it is a real big hobby of mine, so I decided while I was on vacation this week, to go ahead and break out the much loved Dreamcast. Sad to see it only stay on the market for the short time that it did, but it did get some amazing games in that short span. I wonder why no other system implemented the vmu style , or somthing similar on their controllers? That was the best way to play sports games, like the 2K series, where no one could see your plays. Maybe because everything is online now, so I guess they feel there isn't as much split screen going on anymore.It's amazing how a lot of these Dreamcast titles withstand the test of time, with some fairing better than others. Jet Grind Radio is just pure fun. Sonic Adventures, while such a corny story, with horrible voice acting, is another just plain fun game! Then you have Crazy Taxi, and Crazy Taxi 2, which both are very entertaining. I also like 18 Wheeler Pro Trucker,which plays like a Semi Rig version of Crazy Taxi, without the ungrateful riders! One of the games that I've been playing is a very good looking game, and can probably still hold its on against some of the competition today. It is Test Drive Lemans by Infogrames. I remember playing it when I first had my Dreamcast, and the photo realistic car models blew me away! Of course they aren't as mind blowing now, but they still look very crisp. So Sega, if you guys decide to release a Dreamcast 2, I will be on board all the way. Heck, even if they still released a few Dreamcast games here and there I would buy them. So I refuse to say RIP Dreamcast because I will always play it , if not for once in a while.

I've been pondering for the last few weeks on purchasing a Wii. I currently have a 360 and PS3, and thinking of adding the Wii to my collection. There are a few things that bother me with the Wii. I have an LCD tv and I know HD isn't everything, but going from the PS3/360, to the SD resolution of the Wii is depressing.I also haven't really adjusted to the whole motion control scheme. We carry the Wii where I work at, so I play it occasionally, but it really doesn't appeal to me that much. I really wish they gave you more options to use the standard controller, but maybe they do, and I just haven't played enough games to see. I mainly want one due to Nintendo's excellent first party titles. The games that are on my radar are; Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Bros , Madworld, The Conduit, Punchout, and possibly Red Steel 2. So it is either spending $200 on a Wii, or buying several 360/PS3 games? Tough one!

I was wondering if most gamers use game sites' review scores to sway their purchase of a game? I recently put a post up on the forums, about how Gamespot was far more critical than most other gaming sites when it comes to review scoring,but all I mainly got was post replies on how it was their opinion, or how I just don't agree with their opinion. I found that Metacritic uses a average of most major gaming sites scores, then gives an average, which to me seems much more fair.It does help to have a idea of how a game reviews before you buy it, but if it is a game from a franchise that I already like, then I'll most likely buy it anyway, but if it's a game that I never played, then I may have to let the reviews decide before I spend 60.00.Does anyone else use Metacritic?If not, or if you never checked it out, I suggest you look it up, it's pretty interesting.

Well I finally got the 120gb hard drive for my 360. I was getting down to only 3.5 gb left on my original 20gb one. It's sad that when you get the hard drive(20gb) that only 13 is available. I got a deal onthe 120, thank god, so now I can download arcade game, original titles, and movies without worryingabout running out of space. Microsoft does need to drop the prices of their 60 and 120 gig hard drives if they want their console to be used as this multi-media device. Think about it, the original Ninja Gaidenfor theXbox is a 5.7gb download on marketplace. You download 3 of those titles on the original 20gb 360 and your done downloading anything else. It seems like one of the biggest companies in the world shouldn't have any problem lowering the price of that hardware. Anyways, who knows.

I decided to break out my T-16, Genesis,Jaguar and N64 the other day and do some old school gaming. The Jaguar's controller leaves a lot to be desired, although Alien vs Predator turned out to be pretty fun. Out of the 5-6 games I own for the Jaguar, AVP seems to be the only real fun title,so after putting that ancient console up I decided to hook up the old faithful Genesis. The first game I decided to fire up was Strider. The sound effects and sprites put me in nostalgia heaven immediately! But after progressing to the third stage and dying repeatedly, I found out how tough it is playing without a save system. I remember as a kid playing all night to beat a game, because you didn't want to turn it off once you got past a certain level, and have to start all over.The other game I dusted off on my Genesis was The Immortal, one of my favorite old school games. I didn't last long, as the game seems a lot harder than I remembered! Finally, after the Genesis was done, I decided to play some N64.I started with Killer Instinct. I progressed to the 5th character on arcade mode, which is pretty good seeing as how I can't remember much of their moves. Spinal is my all-time favorite character in a fighting game.I wish Rare would remake a next-gen version of this title.

I decided to post this blog because I had so much fun breaking out some of the older games, even though I kept waiting for a achievement sound to pop up whenever I completed a level. My wife asks me why do I keep those old games and systems, but she doesn't really understand how these games, while they may not have the graphics, theystill have the amazing gameplay. Not to mention the warm fuzzy feelings they give me as they bring back memories of past christmas'.I was actually shocked that all of the systems I played still worked after all these years. They sure don't make them like they used to. Anyonewho owns some older gaming consoles surely understand the true value of these once great, heck still great, consoles!

It seems that Blu-rays are finally dropping a little in price. Finally! I just picked up Eagle Eye for 19.99 @ Best Buy and they had a few other relatively new movies that were in that same price range. I did see some others that are still 29.99, but there aren't many in the 30.00 - 34.99 price range. So now I can finally increase my Blu-ray collection a little easier with these price drops, which I also found @ Wal-mart several Blu-ray movies for 10.00! They had Punisher, Total Recall,Terminator 2, Universal soldier, and others.

After speaking to two customer support specialist(one that didn't speak good english), I finally decided to call back and ask to speak directly to a supervisor. Well guess what, It worked! I explained that I usually have my Xbox Live Gold membership renewed annually, but after not having the funds this year to renew, my acct. was suspended. After going out and buying the 49.99 Gold card from retail, coming home, opening it up, and getting nowhere because the dashboard kept kicking me out, I decided to call Xbox Live. I asked the supervisor why my $$ wasn't any good in the form of a card?And why a Xbox Live member for over 5 years can't decide to renew his acct. via a card vs auto renewal?Well after about 3-5 minutes of ranting with him, he decided to give me a year of Live and I still have the 12 month card. Maybe Microsoft needs to train their customer service reps better or put warning labels on the retail copies of the 12month Gold Card mentioning that if you have a auto renewal membership you are limited to renewal by that method. Or just give auto renewal cust. a year free after 3 harrassing phone calls. At least they did fix it, and now I'm much happier.

I have never been so irrated with a service then I was with Xbox Live.I am a Gold member who has my subscription renewed automatically every year. Well this year $$ was kind of tight, so I didn't have the funds in there to renew when the time came.So after about a month and a half being without Xbox Live, I decided to go to Circuit City and purchase the 12 month subscription. Bad mistake. According to Xbox Live support, if you have your membership auto drafted, and it is suspended due to nonpayment, then you cannot redeem it via a subscription card.WTF!!! This is the craziest load of crap I've ever heard of. Whats the difference? I love the Xbox Live service but this just really blew me away. The rep at Xbox Live told me there was nothing he could do, and suggested I take the card back. Well guess what.I opened the package in preperation to enter the code in the dashboard of my 360. So now I am basically screwed.The first rep at Xbox Live kept telling me since my account was suspended, and since there is money owed, I couldn't use the 12 month card. Isn't Xbox Live a pay in advance service?The funds werent available at the time for renewal so they cut off the service. I completely understand that, but to tell me that I must put the money on a prepaid card or use another credit card before I can resume service is ridiculous. I' m starting to think that the PSN is not that bad after all. F U Microsoft.

With so many good games coming out and not enough cash to keep up. Having 3 kids, mortgage, bills, and now school fees, its getting real hard to keep up with all the good games being released. I still haven't picked up Ninja Gaiden, Soul Caliber, Madden 09, Army of Two, Too Human, etc.. Not to mention the good ones still coming out like Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, Legendary, Golden Axe, Brothers in Arms Hells Highway, Star Wars Force Unleashed, Resistence 2, Mortal Kombat vs DC, Prince of Persia,etc,. It just so happens that my kids also have a 360 in their room, so I can get by with buying them some of these great games for Christmas and get to enjoy playing them as well. I don't like to buy used games, simply because the developers don't see any of the $$ , so I'm glad to see certain games that are pretty decent, now being reduced to 29.00 and below.

Last but not least, has anyone seen the new screenshots for the new Batman game? Its called Batman Arkham Asylum. It is the best looking game I have ever seen. It uses the Unreal Engine 3, and if you haven't seen it then you need to go and get the new Game Informer mag and check it out. Simply stunning!!

It looks as if all three consoles are going to enjoy a lot of success.Right now it seems that the Wii is selling the most consoles, the 360 coming in second, but having the highest attach rate of games, and the PS3 now picking up a lot of steam. While I love my 360, I do see Microsoft being the first one to release a new console, and then we are in danger of them giving up support on our beloved 360. I think Sony will support their Super Computer(PS3) the longest, as they are still supporting their PS2.It seems like the 3rd party developers are having trouble figuring out the Wii. It seems like its getting watered down ports of 360/PS3 titles, adding motion gimmicks, and then there you have it. Shovelware. Nintendo had trouble surviving last gen with the Gamecube, with little 3rd party support, but the Gamecube didn't sell nearly as well as the Wii . I'm glad to be a gamer at this competitive state of the gaming industry and if you can afford to own all 3 consoles, I say go for it.