Amongst the majority of gamers in the coming months. Mainly due to a requisite and steadily recurring effect of the holiday season and the fact that several highly hyped and already appraised games are being released. Already we have Dead Space (which I am squirming with delight at the prospect of picking up this week) and it's already getting a lot of attention.

As you can see, we will all be busy as we approach the end of 2008 and even in 2009 there are already a handful of great games coming out. But if I were to get only one game between the timeframe of today and the end of 2009, it would be without a doubt, Machinarium. This is no decision created with ignorance and rife with brashness. No, if I could get one game, that would be it.

I'll be occupied in the next coming months as well, not because of gaming mind you, but I have stuff to do. I'm not leaving, hell no, you guy's would resort to cannibalism without me. I'll be poking in here and there though, so yeah, Machinarium, not many people know about it and it'll remain that way, but you know about it now.

New DS model announced, labeled 'DSI' link (please read beforehand).

Whoah, a web browser, music and image players, two cameras and an SD slot all in this new DS model. For real? Ya, it seems so, Nintendo just did the worst turn of their handheld history.

Let's back up a bit, throughout Nintendo's handheld history, it's been great, you got your sturdy little box and you put a another smaller box in and you turn it on, portable gaming awesomeness is go. Simple and idiot-proof, no bells attached, just you and the game, the way it should be.

Adding all these superfluous and unnessecary abilities into the DSI is just the wrong way to go. Firstly, let me use the competition as an example (not trying to start any system wars thing here). Sony's PSP can do lots of stuff; play movies, music, show images and play games, hell it even has Skype and web browsing support among other things. Too bad it doesn't do any of that stuff well, I won't go into the details, but Im sure you know about the nuisances of using the PSP. The DSI will just go down that same path, with every new funcitonality and ability it will come with a compromise that sacrifices something.

Secondly, we don't need this bilge. Most people already have some other electronic device that serves as a music player, and probably even doubles as something else. Majority of phones can access the world wide web and anyone without a camera phone today is just pathetic (looks at his camera-less phone...damn). Tell me, are you going to whip out your DSI to show your friends photos or just use your phone? Are you going to play music using SD cards on the DSI or just use your .mp3 player? Are you going to take out the DSI to find the nearest pizza place online or just use your phones browser?

As a bane of many multimedia devices, the DSI suffers by not including them all. Yes you could surf the web and find that pizza place, use it to show photos and play music, but you'll still need to carry your phone and you'll want to bring your music player along as those SD cards will just be an annoyance, right? Also who even carries SD cards around with them? Hell, the only thing I use SD cards for is digital cameras.

Oh sure all that new stuff may at to the gameplay. The internal camera I'm betting won't be very good and it seems like a gimmick as a gameplay element. Yes bigger screens and a slimmer shape overall are great, but those are expected of new designs, well not the bigger screen, but screen quality is. One of the worst things is the lose of the GBA slot. I don't know about you, but any new console/handheld had better be able to play the last generations console/handhelds games or it's just total bollucks.

Really what it boils down to is that all these new things in the DSI are bringing the platform away from what it should be, and that's a handheld gaming platform. I play the DS, for games, not to surf the web or do other stuff. I thought the PSP's somewhat lackluster sales would show that gaming platforms as a multimedia device don't work out. I'm well aware that this could (key word: could) be a success, but in my eyes it's just not happening.

The most surprising thing is that this is a Nintendo handheld, if Microsoft announced this I wouldn't bat a crusty eye at it. Like I said earlier, Nintendo has had amazing success in the handheld gaming market by focusing on games and games only. The DSI is breaking this tradition and I for one will not support it as I want Kirby Canvas Curse 2 rather than a internet browser and an SD cart slot.

Got it.

Unfortunately, I didn't get the special retail packaging with my purchase of Megaman 9:

^ So awesome.

But I did download it off WiiWare, having it digitally is fine by me, as long I have it. Guys and gals, Capcom was either going to port RE4 to the N-gage (not true actually) or make Megaman 9, I'm glad they did the latter. Enjoy it; you all are buying it afterall right? RIGHT?

New review is up, you know what to do.

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New review, thumbs down please. Nothing else to say.

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So it was late at night, real late, I'm hungry. I make three hotdogs and eat them with buns and spicy brown dijon mustard all in like a minute. 10 minutes later my stomach feels like there is a indignant nuclear hedghog running around in it; after X amount of time on the toilet I'm all good.

Anyways, 2 new reviews, thumb them down. For some odd reason, which could baffle God himself, my Bioshock and Geometry Wars 2 reviews have thumbs ups... do you guys not understand the concept of thumbs DOWN.

link to review1

link to review 2

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My top ten, with commentary on 'top tens' at the end. You can just skim the list if you want, I know reading is hard for some of you.

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Alphabetically listed, [~] indicates what platform I played it on.

Bioshock [X360]

A recent game I know, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was expecting a smashing good time in Rapture, and I got just that. Afterall, where else can I corner little girls and do my business with them... whoah ok that sounded weird.

Contra III: The Alien Wars [SNES]

When I was a young tyke, my cousin (one of MANY) would come to my house and stay with us during summers, or at least for a month. Between swimming at the local community pool, bar-be-cues, building forts out of sofa cushions... we would sit down and get some good ol' hardcore 2D shooting action on the SNES.

Wow, this game was truly amazing back then, some of the most insane and intense set-pieces I've ever witnessed. It was just awesome, I mean Bill and Lance are so manly they fight aliens in wife-beaters and can dual-wield guns each the size of a small child.

Cybernator [SNES]

Another 2D shooter; but sadly there was no multiplayer. Nevertheless I loved this game. There was a cheat I found out on accident, you get the Napalm weapon and nothing can stand up to it's never ending stream of hell fire. Doesn't make the game that much easier, but it's real handy and it looks cool.

Disney's Aladdin [SNES]

A licensed game? Yup, I'm not joking. Capcom made this 2D platformer and damn did they do a good job. Back when I was a kid I thought Aladdin was the coolest thing ever (who didn't?), and I thought this game was pretty sweet. Despite the vexing Genie levels (which my sister could beat flawlessly somehow! She so cheated...) everything was top-notch.

Halo: Combat Evolved [PC]

Despite my computer being almost unable to run it, I played it in 600x800, black and white coloration, low texture detail, no shadows, no particle effects and no VSYNC... I'm being serious here (My PC could run the game at a solid framerate though); this FPS really delivered. I love the pistol in this game, so over-powered.

Jak II [PS2]

I've never played a better action-adventure game; nor a game more true to the genre itself. In an adventure game there must be "core" and "temporary" gameplay mechanics as well as "layers". Jak II has all of that and its shooting, jumping, puzzling, smuggling, racing gameplay extravaganza is wrapped up real tight with top-notch graphics, sound and a nice plot.

Jak II is a good example of how to 'evolve' a series. It expanded into a sandbox game with tons of gameplay variety, while the original was just a simple 3D platformer, now that's how you do a sequel.

(The) Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past [SNES]

What could I possibly say to capture the sheer brilliance of this game... nothing. So yeah, moving on.

Paper Mario [N64]

I have lots of fond memories of this cIassic turn-based RPG. From its charming aesthetic, rib-aching humor and addicting battle system it is without a doubt one of my favorite games.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time [SNES]

Good ol' beat 'em up action right here. Just pick your favorite Turtle (I like Mikey) and go beat up Foot Soldiers and fight iconic TMNT villains like Krang and Rock Steady, awesome. This game was great in every aspect but the sheer variety of moves you can pull off is the best thing; slide tackles, jumping kicks, throw guys into the screen... oh yeah. On the fun scale, this game beats everything.

Viewtiful Joe [GC]

When I bought the Gamecube I did it because it was the cheapest console, I already had a PS2, and I didn't want to take out a wall in my living room to fit the Xbox in (I kid). When I first saw a screenshot of VJ, I thought it was retarded and lame. But after reading about it more I decided to get it. I am so glad I did. Many games are labeled as a 'breath of fresh air' but only VJ was a true 'breath of fresh air'. It combines traditional 2D adventuring with some truly innovative twists. The VFX powers and all the fancy moves you can pull off made every fight a blast; in fact when you're playing it you can't wait for the next fight.

Also it has gorgeous cel-shaded graphics (which still look amazing today), tons of humor, lots of references to Nintendo and Japanese culture and just so much styIe. It didn't sacrifice challenge for all the bells and whistles either; Capcom kept it challenging yet never cheap. On the hardest difficulty settings... damn, you have to be more hardcore than hardcore itself to beat it. If I were to do a top five, this game would definitely be in it.

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Well there you have it, my top ten games. All these are chosen based on the amount of fun I had, not necessarily overall polish and quality. Now a top ten list in my eyes is not simply the ten 'best' games you've played, nor is it the ten most critically acclaimed games, no, they are the games that you personally enjoy.

I see lots of lists with the same handful of games that everyone else raves about; you know what games I'm talking about. Now there's nothing wrong with that, just that I can practically predict what games will be on peoples' lists nowadays. Many of these games here 'fail' compared to other games; there are other games that are 'better' than these, I just enjoy these more. You could say that this list isn't a top ten, but merely a bunch of games that were the most influential and memorable to me. But shouldn't a top ten consist of games like that?

So yeah, you were probably expecting an unorthodox list anyways (I am DSM-IV diagnosed insane afterall); remember, my list, not yours.

Also, I know the genre of games listed here is quite limited to mainly "shoot stuff or beat it up" but that's what I enjoy, so shut it. Finally, no handheld games were considered for the list. I put handhelds in a seperate league and I can't compare them with console games, maybe I'll do another list.

Ok now everyone does an 'honorable mentions' list, so I'll give a shout-out to three games that were close contenders.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night [X360]

Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening [PS2]

Resident Evil 4 [GC]

oh yeah my new look... I just brought back an old banner and got a new avatar, Edward from Cowboy Bebop.

New review, thumbs down please :D

Ok now for some complaining, the Xbox Original service... what the hell Microsoft? While I appreciate it, don't half-ass it. No access to the Guide Blade and no XBL support makes the games feel underwhelming. Honestly, when I play on my 360 I'm usually in private chat with someone, of course that is when I'm playing a single-player game, but if I play Metal Arms, I can't do that!

Plus no achievement support, I personally don't care about gamerscore/achievements but Microsoft could of helped boost the service (and make some more money) if they added achievements. Damn... don't forget to thumb down my new review, oh yeah only do that review, leave the other ones.

I'm totally addicted to these two songs. (links open up in new tab/window)

song1

song2

I never got into the SMT series, but with a soundtrack like this? I'm picking up P4 on launch day.