Play-asia has this new thing going if you go through my link and buy something I get some credit. Fair enough I guess. Go for it!

I remember back in the day in the days of the dreamcast I played Dead or Alive 2. I never bought it, because I couldn't afford it. It made me think of many years earlier when I saw a video of Dead or Alive on saturn. The original Dead or Alive was never going to come to the US... at least at that point. It looked awesome. It was so much faster and intuitive than virtua fighter (my other favorite fighter).

If they were racing games Virtua Fighter would be Gran Tourismo and Dead or Alive would be Ridge Racer. Both are great games, but a completely different play $tyle.

After the dreamcast supposedly died, I was still an avid supporter. In fact, it was like a fire sale for me. I bought so many games it wasn't even funny. I bought a lot of US version game because they were cheap, but games were still being made for the dreamcast in japan. I ebayed quite a few japanese import games, one of them being Dead or Alive 2 Limited Edition. It was 70 dollars. That was the most I had paid for a game up until that point.

I thought that that was the greatest thing. It had extras that never madeit into the US version. I loved it. It was the ultimate fighting game for me. Then Dead or Alive 2 Hardcore was released for ps2, which built even further on the limited edition. It had extra levels and costumes whathaveyou. I was jealous, but wasn't goign to buy the ps2 just to get it. That is just dumb.

Fast forward to the xbox 360 (i skipped the xbox) and I have Dead or Alive 4. I like it, but I feel that the AI is just brutal. It's brutal to the point that its no fun anymore. It just overly hard. The difficulty level in Dead or Alive 2 was perfect. "Normal" in DOA2 was manageable, but still a challenge. Normal in DOA4 is eough to smash the controller through the tv screen five times over. Well, I should be more specific-- Alpha 154 is a [insert expiative]. She is way too powerful and fast. I can get through the main game without much trouble at all. The only reason why I need to leave it on normal is because she is [insert explative] CHEAP and a [insert explative] CHEAT! Team Ninja if you are listening-- "Normal" is not supposed to be that hard. Normal is supposed to be manageable for the average gamer. That is what the harder difficulty levels are for.

I was in ebgames many times and spotted Dead or Alive Ultimate just as mant times. We've had a secret flirting since my senior year of college. Finally, now, (well-- two weeks ago) I spy a deal. Dead or Alive Ultimate and Dead or Alive 3 for 15 dollars. I'm a grad student, so I've had a lot of my plate recently. I didn't get to play any of them until tonight. I played through DOA1 Ultimate. It was nostalgic. It was high-res with low polygon count with 2d backdrops. Pretty standard fair for an updated saturn game-- it was a direct port and still has all the saturn trademark credits. It was good for one playthough. It was actually very hard. Raidou is a d-bag.

I pop in DOA2 Ultimate next. My eyes go wild with the blossoming colors. The opening cinematic was amazing. The menu is updated to look almost exactly like DOA4's menu. The sweet goodness that is DOA2 is fully intact and the graphics are almost on par with DOA4! There are maybe a few more jaggies here and there. I'm in complete bliss. The updated visuals, especially on the final battle are so amazing! The final battle is truly something that needs to be seen to be understood.

I have not tried DOA3 yet, but I already like DOA2 Ultimate so much more than DOA4 that why should I bother?

triggerheart is is short, but sweet. the game mechanics are awesome. i've beat it twice already, but the emphasis is on mindbending high sccores, so there will be no end. haha. this will tide me over until ikaruga. we need more shooters like this on xbla. bring the whole catelog of shooters from dreamcast!!!!

Lost Odyssey is bad ass! The voice acting is awesome. The writing, the wording is the best I've seen in an RPG, any game, and 90% of the movies that come out. I'm about 5 hours into it the so-called flaws of the game are barely noticeable. The loading screens are the same as any other rpg. It loads between areas.... rpgs do that... i don't think it's something to start **** about now. The longest load time I've come across in the first 5 hours is about a 10 second load screen. there are hiccups for like .0001 seconds at the transition screen to a fight... NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL.. seriously, most people won't notice, let alone care

reviewers made this sound like a game-breaking flaw... but the graphics, and dialogue make the game worth it. graphics are amazing, but i think the biggest treat are the "dreams"... seriously read them.. they are very well written and often poignant.

the ring system is awesome too because it make the fights more engaging because you have to pay attention if you want to make use of the rings.

i give this one 9/10. It's not perfect but it's a new breed of addiction.

I didn't like COD4 at first... the single player... then it started to grow on me... i finished the game and time goes by... not until today did i try the multiplayer.. months later... and OMG it's awesome. I was doin ok, but it was just so much fun. Thats pretty much it. I'm a shoddy blogger.

i guess i've not been around gamespot.com much lately. I certainly haven't written in this blog. I have been working and using 1up.com a lot. I started up a profile over there just for a change of pace. I noticed something though. Their servers suck. I mean. It's a great website, but I get a dropped connection from their page at LEAST twice a day. It's not my connection because all other sites work fine. It's just annoying. I still like the site though.

It's like progressions through life cycles.... when I was in highschool I read ign.com, In college I read gamespot, now i read 1up.com..... except 1up is pissing me off right now, so i am back here.
I've recently gotten paid a hefty sum/// thinkin what 360 games I wanna pick up.....

i don't like call of duty 4 much...

edit: its starting to grow on me

got my console back today--- very quick, but it got the rrod within 15 minutes--- and its in a very well ventilated spot so... yeah.... they are sending another box... be here in like 5 days... they guy gave me a whole lecture about how they won't repair it if it was tampered with.... I had it for 20 minutes at most! i am not that efficient! lol

Things that are higher in a persons field of view appear bigger/more important. My roommate and I got a new tv stand yesterday. the new tv stand is about 5 inches taller than than the one we had before.

the reasons for getting this new stand vary, but we have a 5-dvd receiver with surround sound, our cable box, a wii, a 360 and the hd-dvd player for the 360. We just needed more room!

Anyway, after we sort out the jungle of wires ad plugs and transfer everything to the new stand-- right away the whole setup looks infinitely better.

One of our neighbors stops by and says, did you get a new tv?

mind you, she's been over many many times since I've lived here. She lives across the hall. And it's true. Our tv does look slightly bigger, even if it's only psychological. I can digg it!

i was debating getting a zune... the new 80gb model..... my only problem is that it doesn't work with OS X in any meaningful way.. and the car/radio adaptor i already have is made for ipod.... and i don't feel like spending 80 dollars on the proprietary zune car kit.... oh well, microsoft limited their product too much. i mean... ipod and itunes work for both windows and mac... guess im not getting a zune. i do like the look and feel of the zune better than ipod though.