ugh.. its been a while.

i've been gaming so long now, there's very little i see that surprises me. 400, 500 for a system was surprising, but not shocking. but 600!? for a ps2 system on steroids? no, i shouldnt say that, it is more than likely that the ps3 will be a great system, not like the 360, which, unless microsoft completely surprises the market and busts out with 2 dozen truly unique and masterful games, should hang it up and leave it to the veteranos like sony and nintendo.

whats going to happen when the ps4 hits? $750/800 bux!? ps5 900-1,000!?! i know its roughly 4-7 years from now but it seem utterly innevitable.

but you know what the problem is? kids will buy this. people with money will buy this. and people without money will find someway to buy this. is there something wrong with this? yes and no.

"taste" relies on perception, experience, and a mixture of other human emotions. in other words, its an abstract notion. it varies from one person to another, and we're all allowed to buy whatever we please. but all this b.s. i'm hearing about the ps3 will rely on the aesthetic value of the of what the system is capable of. kids swear hd capability is such a big deal, and that graphx play such an important role. its utter nonsense. the visual differences are barely visable, and unless your really looking for it, the eye candy shouldnt matter.

a good system you see, is like a good woman. the best will alwyas look good throughout the test of time. and like the old saying goes "good graphx do not a good game make". kids seem to have the impression that the ps3's capabilities will ensure them a great game every time. but veteran gamer, who really knows his stuff, will tell you solid snake on ps is much better than any metal gear that has followed. it relied on gameplay, control, sound, storyline, and graphx but only to a certain extent. the best game now on the 360 is geometry wars, on the psp its still lumines! both are hardly technologically advanced, but even more ludicrious is the fact that both were released near launch time. meaning that since birth and now, these systems have accomplished jacksh1tt upon their release. there is absolutely nothing evolutionary, revolutionary, or unique about their launch.

but what do they care? all they care about is your money, kidbittch. hey, i've mentioned before, feel free to fork over 700+ dollars for a new system with an average, recycled game. save your money from now till then. ask your wife or mom if she'll get it for you. put it on credit and finish paying it off once a really good game comes out- which, given sony's recent launch experiences from the ps2 and psp, wont be till months after release.

anyway kiddies, i can afford a ps3. but i dont think any system is worth that farking much. and if youve got money to burn, then be my guest. money wont buy respect, neither will a ps3 till it proves itself.

these are the first two imports i ever purchased and they have yet to dissapoint me. nevermind the reviews you hear from fanboys et al, they tend to overrate the games. i'll tell you how good the games are.

jump superstars is preety good, very similar to super smash bros. but if you lack the ability to read and translate japanese then youll have a terrible time understanding whats going on. naruto 4 is more your traditional 2D fighter, but the simple control resembles jump superstars greatly. again, its fun to play but in order to milk this game for its entirety you would have to learn japanese. in the end, eric sux big nalgas, mischief makers es un pedazo de mierda, and i'm gonna go make love to my cat. (there, that should attract more readers!) since i know youre going to be the only one to read this mike larry, i want to confess my love for you...>ahem< haha! youre blushing!?! dude, i cant  believe your blushing!! AND giggling like a little school girl as you read this!? man, you have issues. go read a book!

okay, so after writing my rant on why i though castlevania was completely overated by fans, and deserving of a rating anywhere between an 8.5 and a 9 for a number of reasons, i got alot of feedback from brother and arch nemesis mike larry as to why the game deserved a ten (i know, theyre so full of themselves). anyway, as you can see, the last rant was deleted by the stoopid bug in this not-so-improved website which i cant help but dislike at times. but i digress...

my brother was upset initially from my review on dawn of soul becuase i played it for a little under an hour (something like 45 minutes). i've played it more thoroughly since then, but ive acknowledged that all i needed was to spend 45 minutes to see all that this game has to offer. improved graphix, new weapons and powers, and the ability to chip ice with your stylus.........>cough<..... I think most non-biased reviewers will agree that this game does not deserve a ten, and that its basically a regurgitation of aria of sorrw. but enough about that, let me elaborate a bit more on the initial impression of the game.

my fellow gamers insist you cannot judge a game based on its first impression, especially if that first impression last about half an hour. now, this is absolutely true. a true gamer will not do that. but for someone like me - whose been gaming for two decades, works full time, goes to school full time, is married, in a band (sort of), and enjoys a good drink with his bud's everyweekend - playing and investing my time with the right game is of the utmost importance. therefore, i cant afford to play a game for three hours before it actually gets interesting. i dont have the time, as i'm sure many suffer from the same dilema. as a result, i feel many software developers are in understanding of this and make it one of their top priorities while creating a game to make the first level or stage of any game thee most unique and memorable, comparable only to the last level. and no one established this understanding more so than the creaters of the two greatest games of the year: resident evil 4 and god of war.

the creaters of both these gems put out an incredible amount of effort, creativity, and ambition into the first level of their games that they decided to include it in their demo as well. and what a demo they were. for those of you that played them, i know you cant forget the immediate impact they had on you, followed by the ravenous desire to purchase and play them at your own leisure. in god of war and resident evil 4, different game sequences stir poingnant memories: the tight controls, nice graphx, adult and seriuos storyline, and so on. but most importantly is that first impression it had on gamers. who can forget cratos ability to rip his enemies in half, his variety of obstacles while climbing the ships nets, and his legendary battle with the hydra boss. the same thing can be said about re 4. a great targeting system, the ability to barricade from danger fed more to the terror tone, and the great amount of enemies as well as diverse surrounding. in general both games offered a much improved gameplay and essence of originialty and ingenuity over similar games of the past. yes, god of war is a rip off of devil may cry, onimusha, rygar, and many others, but it excells in everyfield: story, sound, graphx, gameplay, control, etc. the same with re 4, which is more of mixing of time crisis, with the og resident evils and syphon filter. again, the game is simply better in all fields.

i cant say the same about dawn of souls. i played it for 25 minutes using soma, and found it to be almost exactly the same as aria of sorrow. i played it for 20 minutes more using julius and the girl, and it couldnt match up to circle of the moon. hell it couldnt match up to any castlevania on the nes. my point is, the castlevania had to show me something new to prove it was something great. it didnt do that. its still a very good game, and even though konami continues to publish worthy games of the castlevania series, the franchise hit its peak with symphony of the night on the ps, and it hasnt been able to reach that level again. as a castlevania fan since the mid 80's, i hope this changes soon. my problem again, lies with konami's inability to be a bit more original with the series, and the overrated attention it seems to be getting from fellow gamers. i mean, c'mon! Soma? Soma Cruz!? are you serious!? any game can pit you in a gloomy stage to fight monsters and vampires. yet  only one game can boast to owning one, if not thee greatest family of hunters in gaming: the belmonts. the belmonts and dracula's kin were and will always be what castlevania is all about! i cant stand the fact that konami is aggressively welding the castlevania series with anime. Soma Cruz is a douche bag. any one who tells you otherwise is in denial. but thats another story.