The Playstation Vita was the first time I had seen a handheld that I thought could go toe to toe with Nintendo and potentially take the crown of handheld champ. It supports better graphics, dual analog sticks, a plethora of games including some rather well known franchises, a sleek design, and a price model that looked promising. Then when the 3DS released and stumbled out the gate I began to think Nintendo might finally see their dominance of the handheld industry come to a close once the Vita released.

The 3DS lacked games and support out the gate, plus a few key features were missing (namely the online side) along with a rather high price tag. Sony seemed to be paying close attention to Nintendo's mistakes and it looked very likely that the Vita would swoop in to steal the show.

However then Nintendo dropped prices of the 3DS, games began to arrive, and developers are now on board with the system in a big way. The 3DS has now outsold the DS's first year on the market in a mere eight months and those numbers only loo to climb with the release of Mario Kart 7 just around the corner and Super Mario 3D Land moving over 500,000 units during Black Friday weekend alone. Suddenly the hill Sony had to climb quickly became a mountain and Sony's own plans are starting to work against them.

First off the Vita is releasing at the same price point the 3DS originally did, $250 for a Wi-fi only model and $300 for the 3G enabled model. When first announced this looked like a great deal next to the 3DS's own price, but now with the 3DS's price cut it looks rather unappealing and gets even worse when you look at the consoles which are around the same price. Sony has overcome a high price point before, the PS3 originally launched at $600 and they are now hot on Microsoft's heels in terms of World Wide sales.

The next misstep I believe will prove costly, in more ways than one. It has now come to light that certain Vita games, the biggest one being Uncharted: Golden Abyss, will require a memory card to not only save game data but to even boot the game up. At first I didn't think this would be an issue but then just recently Sony announced the prices of the memory cards and it isn't pretty.

4GB - $29.99

8GB - $44.99

16GB - $69.99

32GB - $129.99

That's right, for a 32GB card it will cost you over half what the base model Vita costs. Making matters worse is Sony's decision to leave out an internal storage for the Vita but also not including a memory card with the Vita (unless you buy the $350 bundle which comes with a 3G Vita, 4GB memory card, and Little Deviants). This means on top of shelling out for the Vita and a game, you'll need a memory card as well to play the main system seller at release. Sony has disregarded their own memory format (memory stick duo pro) which is still abit costly but definitely more affordable than this. Nintendo offers a free 2GB SD card with every 3DS sold and their games save onto the cartridge. The SD card is for downloadable games and other content like that, making it not even a requirement.

It gets worse from there because if you are like me then you probably want to download games from the PSN to have for your Vita on the go plus Sony has already announced the Vita will support DLC. So getting the "cheap" $30 4GB card is out unless you plan on switching out DLC and such frequently.

Another thing I believe will bite Sony in the rear is that the Vita isn't releasing with all of its feature active, something the 3DS was blasted for constantly. All those wonderful PSOne games you have on your PS3 and PSP won't be playable at launch on Vita. Sony has plans to release new firmware in the future to correct this but at launch you won't have access to your PSOne collection and select other games as well. This irks me because I have a number of PSOne ****cs and I was hoping to upload them onto my fancy new memory card which is eating into my game funding for the device.

Yes you just read that correctly, I'm still getting a Vita at launch and will be quite happy with it based on what I've seen. I know I painted a doom and gloom picture here for Vita but the truth is it'll still see quite abit of success though I don't see it toppling Nintendo and we'll probably see the next generation of handhelds play out much like the DS vs. the PSP. Both companies will see a fair bit of success but Sony won't come close to touching Nintendo's numbers.

Vita has alot to offer and I'm rather excited to get my hands on one (along with Uncharted) but I think those things will hold it back from truly exploding out the gate. Sony's decisions seem to only make the 3DS look more appealing to your average gamer and at the end of the day the price will be the ultimate factor.

Still the Vita is releasing with an impressive launch lineup, something Nintendo completely failed to do, and it looks like Sony did their homework (mostly) on what gamers were looking for in the successor to the PSP. I'm positive Vita will have a long successful life alongside the 3DS and I'm eagerly looking forward to its release with my pre-order already placed. As a gamer that thought makes me rather happy knowing that there will be plenty of great gaming coming for handhelds and maybe with the 3DS and Vita taking off we'll finally see an end to the argument that mobile devices are a better gaming choice over a dedicated handheld.

Update: So shortly after I posted this it appears Sony has discussed some more of their plans about Vita. More specifically they have discussed the price model for games. It would seem that $60 Vita games are in the cards and that to me is a huge drawback for the device. $30 to $40 seems fair to me and is generally the price we expect with handheld gaming. I like the idea of scaling the price to what the game offer, as in a smaller/shorter game costs less (this is also something I think needs to happen more often with the consoles) but the idea of regularly paying the same price I do for a full console game is extremely unattractive.

The more I'm hearing about the price model here the less excited I'm becoming for the device and this is quickly turning into an expensive purchase. If games indeed start releasing at $60 then Sony has probably lost me on this one. I find it funny how in the article I linked above they say:

"I think it would be safe to assume we will take a more tailored approach than perhaps we've done in the past," he said, going on to admit it would be "foolish and naïve to ignore what's happening" in the smartphone market."

Yet they turn around and say:

"If we do that and we provide great value to the consumer on games like Uncharted, I think the possibility to sustain historic console type price points is there."

Careful Sony, you might just hand over the handheld market to Nintendo again with a few bad decisions. If you want to seriously compete with them and have a chance at coming out on top you need to listen to what the consumer wants and not what you think we want. Paying close to or over $400 for a Vita, game, and a memory card is extremely unattractive when there are console bundles floating around for $300 which come with a game or two.

So I've had this game since the day after release and spent around 30 hours playing so I figure this is as good of time as any to do an impressions piece on this. Currently I'm sitting at level 24 with my nord that specializes in Archery and One handed weapons and I prefer stealth above all else. However I can easily hold my own in a fight since I've put some time into blocking and getting fairly decent with my swordplay. Magic hasn't been much of a focus for me though since I only have a few basic skills and only just recently started using heal.

Now then, with abit about my character out of the way let's get into the meat of this piece. I wasn't too impressed with Oblivion, I felt like the area was far too small and not that diverse, I didn't like the level scaling system, and overall it just lacked that vast feeling I got from Morrowind. I ended up playing through all the guild quest lines and getting part of the way through the main story before I ultimately called it quits after about 40 hours or so. I never got that sense of power I did in Morrowind nor did it feel like I was really progressing as a character. It was a solid game but not what I was expecting for the follow up to my beloved Morrowind.

Skyrim however is what I was expecting. The huge area is back and though not quite the size of Morrowind still feels big enough that I can roam the lands for quite some time without feeling like I'm being restricted for no reason. The flow of the land feels natural, I love the diverse locations from the frozen northern section to the plains to the forest like eastern regions and everything in-between. The cities too feel far different from one another and I don't get the feeling of "this looks like a slightly reworked version of ________" that I always got from Oblivion. Alot of detail went into this region and I'm absolutely in love with the region of Skyrim.

The graphics have obviously received a very welcome overhaul that adds quite abit of detail to the world around you. Things tend to be a little ugly when closely examined but for a world this size and to be this good looking it is hard to complain. I love the way the clouds and fog move through the mountains or how as storms roll in it becomes harder to see with the snow pelting you in the face. The new effects for spells and other such things are quite impressive as well and they feel like they pack more of a punch in terms of visuals. You'll know when a power spell has been sent your way in Skyrim unlike Oblivion where the spells felt pretty lackluster in my opinion.

Game-play wise a rather dirty word was used quite frequently by Todd Howard before release; streamlined (you can thank Bioware for ruining that word). Well I'm happy to report that this is still a solid RPG that doesn't feel dumb downed or anything like that. In fact I would go as far as to say this system better fits the idea of The Elder Scrolls series far better than any of the past games because this time around there are no stats points here, but rather the more you use a skill or weapon or anything like that, the better you get at it. So if you sneak successfully, your sneak skill increases, use the bow and your archery skills increase. No longer do you pick main areas that will increase your character's level but rather everything you do works towards leveling your character up. This allows for a better character customization in my opinion since you're not locking yourself into one way to level up and now you can play your character however you want and change it on the fly if you so choose.

Another rather welcome addition to the leveling system was the perks which are tied to each skill and offer another way to customize your character. From things like the ability to zoom in with the bow or added damage on a sneak attack or a higher critical rate or the ability to block arrows with your shield, there are quite a few and each skill has its own perk tree.

This time around your stats are narrowed down to Health, Stamina, and Magicka. You can increase one of these with each level then you're allowed to select your perk. At first I was bummed to see the overall stat system gone however I quickly fell in love with the new system as everything is now tied to the skill level and not your stat level. Want to do more damage with magic? Then start using magic! Want to carry more weight? Select Stamina the next time you level up. The new system is simple yet quite effective.

The character creation tool has also been overhauled and now allows you to tweak everything about your character's appearance so you can now create that exact face you had in your mind instead of browsing through only a hand full of prebuilt faces. I didn't spend too much time with it since I play in the first version view and pretty much never see my character.

Yes there be dragons in Skyrim and plenty of them. As you all are well aware by now Skyrim has an unlimited amount of dragons and they play a major role here. The addition of dragons adds a whole new level to the game as they are definitely a threat and vary in level. They are completely unscripted as well so you never know when you'll stumble upon one or worse one will stumble upon you. Just recently I had one attack the town of Dawnstar out of no where and the battle that followed was nothing short of epic. The occupants of the town ran for cover, abandoning their day to day routine as the city guard took up arms and I followed them into battle. The dragon would circle the city blasting it with its ice breath, landing on roofs to keep out of our reach as he continued to lay waste to anything that moved. Eventually he mvoed to just outside the city and finally landed, killing most of the town's guards with ease until only one soldier and myself remained.

We fought with everything we had, launching arrows as it flew overhead and charging in when he landed. Sadly my companion would not make it to the end as I was surprised to see the dragon snatch up the last guard in his mouth, shaking her violently from side to side before chucking her lifeless body over the cliff leaving just him and I. Moments later I would claim victory as I struck him down with a thrust of my sword throuh the top of his skull, claiming his soul as my own.

What made this all the more epic was this wasn't a scripted battle, this happened purely at random. Now the dragon's skeleton sits on the side of that hill, as a reminder to the battle that was fought and those who were lost. Every time I see it that's all I can think about.

Skyrim is truly an amazing game and has been nothing short of pure joy for me as I make my way through its many locations and 120+ plus dungeons, which thus far have yet to even remotely look like they are repeating themselves. Bethesda has really outdone themselves this time and this just gets me all the more excited to see what the future holds (both in terms of DLC and other games coming from Bethesda). I'm already planning on doing a review once I get plenty more play time in and it will follow my Super Mario 3D Land review. As it stands right now though this is my Game of the Year and has far exceeded my expectations in every way.

Well today when I went into work I had a surprise waiting for me; Super Mario 3D Land. When I say it was a surpirse this is because it takes the mail about two weeks to get to where I'm deployed and Amazon shipped my copy just a few days ago. Somehow this managed to beat Skyrim Collector's Edition here even! So I spent most of my evening playing through a decent chunk of the game and I figured I'd give my impressions before doing a full on review.

At first things got off to a rough start, my 3DS had died since I had left it on and forgot about it so I was charging it off a completely dead battery. Despite being plugged in Super Mario 3D Land made me wait to install the update from the game cartridge because my battery was too low... At first this rather annoyed me since before I've had my 3DS tell me to plug in before updating which is understandable, if the system dies mid way through the update it could really mess things up. However I was connected to a power source and still told to wait. However this gave me the perfect reason to sit down and play some Super Mario Land 2 while my 3DS charged. After about ten minutes it was ready to go and I was jumping into the game.

The first thing that hit me was how much this reminded me of the New Super Mario Bros. series, the look, the sound effects, the music, all of it made me think of that series (which is a good thing) and even some of the gameplay elements feel like they were lifted from those games and dropped onto the 3DS. However there is quite abit more going on here than simply being another game in the New Super Mario Bros. series.

Despite lacking that unique twist the "Land" series had carried in the past this game definitely stands on its own as being different from everything that has come before it. Gameplay is a cross between 2D and 3D, often having you run either left or right though the level contains depth much like Little Big Planet. Then at other times it has you running around in areas that remind me of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. This provides a great blend of gaming that keeps the experience from getting repetitive and manages to make each level feel new and refreshing.

Personally I love the mixture of old school and new as Super Mario 3D Land seems to draw on something from Mario's last outings while also throwing in some new stuff we haven't seen before. Whether it is the classic setup of playing through a level from to start to finish, using power ups like the Tanooki Leaf, making your way through airships, and other things like that Mario definitely draws on his past in a big way.

The 3D didn't really impress me out the gate, sure the graphics are great and 3D was awesome, but it didn't have that pop I had heard about. It was basically the same stuff I had seen before with a few new twists here and there such as playing with depth and viewing angle. That was until I discovered the 3D enhanced mode which brought the game out of the screen. Suddenly as I moved towards the camera Mario and the world him popped out, in one level you're moving along a folding platform which moves out of the stage for a brief time and it really looked like Mario had come off the screen. What was the standard affair before suddenly was rather impressive and was using the 3D in ways I haven't experienced yet on the 3DS.

So far the game has been a mixture of easy to moderate in terms of difficulty. however I'm only on world six at the moment and the game contains a total of 16 worlds (8 to begin with then 8 special worlds after you beat the game). Each world contains on average five levels though some have more. Most of the difficulty has come from my wanting to complete levels by getting all three star coins which I've managed to do on most levels thus far. Plus Star Coins are used for unlocking certain levels and from what I'm told you use them to unlock on the levels in the special worlds. Some of these coins are rather well hidden a few times I found myself doubling back in an attempt to find them or playing a level over again to collect all three. Others however are hidden in plain sight but rather difficult to get without dying while others you're given one chance to snag on your way through the level.

Certain levels tend to be on the shorter side and you'll quickly find yourself hitting the mid way mark when you feel like you are still just getting warmed up. At the same time though this game is designed so you can pick it up and play through a few levels in a short amount of time and later levels have you racing through due to time constraints. This was something else that at first I didn't really care for but now that it has grown on me I rather like the pacing and the return of a time limit.

There is alot here for any Mario fan to enjoy and this game does a great job at showcasing the 3DS's strengths and if this is an early look at what Nintendo's new work will be like on the handheld then the 3DS will have a long successful life on the market.

Sorry for the back to back quick updates but after some prodding from a friend of mine I've decided to do a little sharing from my personal life.

Not sure how many of you out there are fans of Hey Ash Whatcha Playing but I happen to find their work to be pretty hilarious. Definitely worth a look if you are a gamer with a sense of humor.

However Ash from the show runs a blog called How Games Saved My Life which is a collection of user submitted stories about how games had a meaningful impact on their lives and in a sense saved them. They range from Ash's own story about how she would play Harvest Moon 64 to get through anxiety attacks to dealing with death, painful break ups, parents getting divorced, bonding with friends and family, and other things like that. Some of the stories rather touching on there and it goes to show that sometimes gaming provides a much deeper connection that just being a form of entertainment.

In fact, I have my own story on there, which is part of the reason why I was a little hesitant because it revolves around a pretty bad time in life. However part of moving on and that good stuff is not hiding from things anymore. I figure if the fans of HAWP can see it and read it then why can't those who read my blog here.

When I first told Ash about it I didn't expect her to post it or anything, just wanted to let her know that she wasn't alone in feeling like video games had a meaningful impact on their life. Much to my surprise the next day she had emailed me back telling me she had posted it and rather liked it.

So enough stringing this out and I'll save you (those who are interested) the trouble of sorting through and trying to figure out which one is me.

How Gaming Saved Me and My Cat

That is my story, well some of it. Ash had edited out some because the original was quite lengthy since I gave her the back story of all that was going on. So I hope you enjoy and if you have any meaningful stories please feel free to submit them to Ash through the site.

Also I leave you with a quick look at how my buddy Baxter is doing and how far our love for gaming goes.

That's right, my cat comes to Epona's song.

Thanks for your time and I hope you enjoyed.

So I find myself deployed again and looking at my blog as a means of entertainment. It has been quite some time since I posted on here but I figured why not start updating this again and see what happens.

First and foremost I'm actually getting back into writing reviews again. In fact I just recently posted my Sonic Generations review and up next on the list is Deus Ex: Human Revolution with The Witcher to follow once I complete that, so keep your eyes peeled for those.

Secondly I've got a new addition to my gaming family. I got myself a shiny new gaming laptop since I didn't want to lug my rig all the way out to the desert. This thing runs like a dream and maxes out anything I throw at it. So between that and my rig this year I've dropped alittle over $3,000 on computer hardware but it was totally worth it.

Thirdly I'm going to be posting a few articles over the next few months discussing stuff like the need for review scores and the direction gaming is heading in regards to online passes and such. Had a few ideas rolling around for abit and I figure may as well post them to see what people think (along with submitting them to The Escapist).

Lastly I've been enjoying Skyrim quite abit, in fact this is by far my new favorite Bethesda game and has far exceeded what I was hoping for. Sure it isn't the perfect experience but the improvements over Oblivion are massive. The gripes and complaints I had with Oblivion have pretty much been resolved and I can already tell this is going to eat up a few hundred hours of my life.

Well that's it from me, though stay tuned (those three of you who are paying attention) for more updates, reviews, and articles coming.

Alright just got through running through this a few times and I have to say I'm slightly disappointed it was only a single stage and there wasn't a 3D stage (wanted to see how that played but oh well).

However what was here I absolutely loved.

I'll talk about the negative at first, or at least the things that stood out in my mind as being a little off. Sonic's jump (in my opinion) could use a little more height to it. I feel like I'm playing as Knuckles again and not quite able to jump as high as my blue counterpart. Sometimes his spin dash wouldn't work right, he'd bend down to do it and when I'd tap A he'd just kind of jump a little bit. However once I discovered X was a dedicated spin dash problem that issue went away (I think it has more to do with the layout of the stage, it seemed like Sonic couldn't quite get a footing). I really hope they can fix this by the time this ships because I've been playing Sonic from the get go and I'm not used to having a dedicated button like that. It almost feels like the game wants you to use that instead of the normal down and whatever button you're using for jump. Neither of these really take away from the gameplay experience either, once I adapted I was playing just fine and it only took a few seconds to get into the swing of things.

The stage was a little weird to look at when I first started off. The screen felt a little busy and I found myself being distracted by everything in the background and just how good everything looked (I was just recently playing Sonic 3 and Knuckles), but once I got centered in on Sonic I was good and screaming along at top speed like the good ol' days. A few framerate problems here and there, but this is a demo that contains a single stage so I'm not going to harp on it (plus this is the consoles we're talking about here).

The only other thing that got me was when you get hit and drop your rings. In past games they all scattered and continue to bounce in their original direction until you collect them or they vanish after a few seconds. Here they just scatter out slightly then bounce up and down in the same spot. Makes it quite abit easier to collect your rings after getting hit but also at the same time removes that panic attack of "OH CRAP! MY RINGS! MY LIFE!" as you try to decide which direction has more rings you can snag in the next three seconds. Again this doesn't ruin the experience or hamper it in any way, but I felt foolish the first time I got nailed by an enemy and took off left to collect rings that stayed pretty much where I got hit.

Now onto the good stuff. This plays and feels like an old school Sonic game. I was actually a little surprised to hear the usual chirp as a friend signed online and see the little update pop up at the bottom of the screen. Beyond the HD graphics and Sonic's jump height being a little off this felt like a Genesis Sonic game. From the music, the look, the feel, how Sonic moved, even his little annoyed look when you leave him standing still for too long. Plus their own little additions to things, like the new animations for enemies we already know, the added effects like when Sonic goes into his spin dash and puts up a cel-shaded looking dust cloud behind him before taking off. Sonic picked up speed in the right ways, handled perfectly well when doing the platforming sections. The level has several paths which is awesome in my opinion and a few times I found myself noticing something as I flew past and making a mental note (just like the old days) to not be moving so fast next time I came through there.

Really wish I could have gotten a boss fight in there but I can wait for that.

The music is awesome too, this was one of my complaints about Sonic 4 is that it just felt off. It didn't have that familiar Sonic sound to it and this time around the music feels spot on from what I've heard. Yes I understand some of the music is from the older games and reworked, but that is what makes it so memorable and gives it that Sonic feel. It's like how the songs in Final Fantasy and Zelda always stay the same, yet change slightly from version to version. This feels like a natural evolution to the series (both in music and gameplay), this is what Sonic 4 should have been and hopefully Sega goes back to the drawing board (read: Sonic Generations) to rework their movement system for Episode II.

Thus far I'm sold, though I want to see a little more (3D levels and a boss fight for each) before I make the decision to go in on this day one. So far it is looking likely and I highly enjoyed my time spent with this (I'll run through it again after posting this). Definitely worth it to check out for any old school Sonic fan or anyone wondering why people like myself still get a little excited at the prospect of a good Sonic game releasing. So check it out doods and doodettes, Sonic's back and you heard it first.

Thermaltake Black Widow 850w PSU

Sandy Bridge Intel i5 2500k 3.3ghz (OCed to 4.2ghz)

XFX Radeon HD 6950 2gig 256-bit GDDR5

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2x4GB)

OCZ Vertex 2 60 gig SSD Boot Drive

Seagate 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache HDD

COOLER MASTER CM690 Case

ASRock P67 Pro3 LGA 1155

Corsair CAFA50 120mm CPU Cooler

Windows 7

HP DVD/CDRW +- Disk Drive

Total - $1,438.87 (with shipping and taxes, plus I overpaid for Windows 7 at the store by paying $200 instead of getting the $99 version on Newegg)

I have all my fans (three, CPU, front, and rear) set at 1900 RPM at idle and it is barely noticeable, no worse than either console when at idle. While playing Crysis 1 at max settings while OCing my CPU to 4.2ghz for nearly two hours my temps afterwards were 38C for CPU and 37C for motherboard, so my aircooling system is doing its job rather well. I know need some major cable management, I'm looking into ording some longer cables that don't have four or five additional connections that I don't need. Plus if I have longer cords as well I can run them different routes instead of clustering everything together like that. I have everything currently set to fire up to max RPM (2500 for my front and rear fans and my CPU fan runs at 2,000 RPM.

Still I think it is a pretty good job for my first build in quite some time (last time I built a comptuer Intel had just released the Pentium 3).

My original plan was to get two 6950's to run CrossFireX but I stupidly didn't check my motherboard and went with a board that only has one PCI 2.0 slot. So that idea went out the window as did my idea for going liquid cooled at that point which explains why I have the monster PSU in there. Next year I may purchase a new motherboard and go that route but for now I think the above works quite well. Everything I've throw at it thus far it has handled with ease.

During the build I had next to no issues until I went to power it up and nothing happened. Turned out that I hadn't pushed the power connection completely into the MB and the same thing happened with the GPU after that. Then had a minor hard drive issue when I first loaded up because my system would only recognize the SSD as an actual drive but it would recognize the space from the 1TB HDD. Turns out I just needed to reformat and assign it a drive name. Everything from then on has been glass smooth.

So there is my pride and joy now, I've pretty much forsaken console gaming outside of exclusives and a few upcoming games I already have pre-ordered. Also this is my 50th post in my blog in nearly six years, so we're getting there. Hopefully it won't take another six to get to 100 posts, especially now that I have plenty of reasons to be on here with the new computer and all.

Very happy to have this new computer though, always something I wanted as a kid when I was growing up. I'd always make plans to buy some super nice computer and then would nearly have the money saved up and something would happen and I'd end up spending a huge porition of what I had saved. Time and time again this happened and I always ended up settling for a mid range machine that would get the job done but it wasn't anything to write home about. You can see in the pictures above my original gaming computer I had built from an E-Machine my mom got me for Christmas one year. I was floored that she got me a computer and even though it wasn't quite the right setup for gaming I still did my best to make it work and upgraded the heck out of it despite its limited capacity.

It feels good to be back into PC gaming and I'm looking forward to being on Steam quite abit so feel free to look me up on there (Keji Goto).

So I finally purchased everything I needed for my new rig and it is all on its way now as I type this. So by this time next week I should be up and running with the new rig.

The final build:

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

Thermaltake Black Widow W0319RU 850W ATX 12V v2.3, EPS 12V v2.91 CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active ...

OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN3 CM690 II Basic Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Thermaltake Frio Universal CPU Cooler support Intel lastest 6-core Processors - Retail

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack

Total: $1,360.89 ($1,486.97 with shipping and tax)

Big thanks to the guys over at GUFU for helping me out and answering my questions. I'm very pleased with the final build and can't wait to get everything all setup. Already starting making gaming purchases through Steam and GOG.com as well.

Also anyone who is looking to get in some gaming feel free to add me on Steam (keji goto). I'll slowly be beefing up my library of games over the next few months so don't be shy about leaving any suggestions either. Already snagged things like Team Fortress 2 and Portal 2 with plans to grab Left 4 Dead series, Battlefield 3 and RAGE when they release, and other games like that.

Glad I finally managed to make this purchase and nothing got in the way this time. I know about a year ago I was talking about getting a new rig but sadly life got in the way and decided money that was for gaming would go to pay bills instead lol. Oh well better late than never, plus if you got back and look at the build I was originally going with I definitely ended up with a better build overall (and it does help that I spent nearly double what I originally wanted to spend lol).

The clock is ticking for my consoles now and once I get this rig all good to go the 360 and PS3 are pretty much for exclusives and Netflix. I already pre-ordered Duke Nukem Forever on the 360 so that will probably be my last console multiplatform purchase unless something like Portal 2 on the PS3 happens again.

It is no secret in the gaming community that SEGA has seen a serious fall from grace since exiting the console race shortly after the release of the Dreamcast. Where gamers would get excited at the mere mention of the next Sonic game is now met with groans and complaints of past entries doing everything but giving us the game we've been asking for. SEGA has been reduced to making sub par games and somehow managing to squeak by year after year as gamers all but care about much going on over at the house that Sonic built.

However the wind of change may be blowing and things over at SEGA might be starting to turn around as several major games have recently been announced that look exactly like what the fans have been asking for. I'll start with the biggest game starring a character that needs no introduction: Sonic. Yes SEGA's blue furred mascot is back in action in a whole new console adventure and I know many of you are reading this right now and probably collectively groaning but things could be different here.

Take a look at Sonic: Generations gameplay

Yes that's right our favorite hedgehog is back and this time each level will feature 2D and 3D gameplay. The 2D gameplay is drawing from the older Sonic games from back on the Genesis while the 3D levels are designed around last year's Sonic Colors and the day levels from Sonic Unleashed. SEGA has also addressed the issues players had with how Sonic controlled in Sonic 4: Episode 1 and that they are completely reworking that system for Sonic: Generations.

Not only this but the game will feature a storyline that will have ****c Sonic from the Genesis Era and modern Sonic from recent years coming together to tackle a common evil. So we've got the best levels being used as inspiration for level design in both 2D and 3D, no mention of the 90 other Sonic characters, and SEGA has pretty much addressed the past issues from their pervious games. Could this be Sonic's big come back? I'm just going to say this is the first time I've been excited for a Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2 was announced.

Next up on our list is an old favorite of mine and a sequel I've been waiting on for quite some time. Phantasy Star Online 2 will be releasing later this year (in Japan at least) for PC (only platform that has been confirmed) and I'm hoping to hear more from this game at E3. This was by far one of my favorite games on the Dreamcast and Gamecube, also I'm sure this was many gamers first time (mine included) playing co-op like that online. It was amazing being able to connect with other gamers from so many different corners of the world from the comfort of my livingroom. Phantasy Star Online was the first game to truly showcase what online gaming could be for console system.

Not familiar with Phantasy Star Online or just want to take a look at what the sequel holds? Take a look at Phantasy Star Online 2's gameplay. Not the best quality video but you can clearly see what the game is about and that this is a true sequel to Phantasy Star Online and not another spin off series. I for one can't wait for this game and will no doubt be picking this up on day one when it releases later on this year or next year here in the states.

Up next on this little list is an old school game making a comeback on XBLA and will be releasing this fall. Originally released in 1996 on the SEGA Saturn Guardian Heroes will be re-released this fall on XBLA and though it won't feature an HD makeover SEGA will be updating it to support online play (which can now feature up to 12 players). Check out the article above for more information on that one but sadly at this time there is no word on a PSN release.

Another older series making a comeback, though this time getting a whole new release, is Shining Force. There isn't much information out yet on the project so this is one we're going to have to keep our eyes on. It is important to note that SEGA is attempting to bring Golden Sun developer Camelot, which gives fans hope that the series may see a return to its ****c strategy roots from the Genesis era.

And last but not least is Shenmue 3, which series creator Yu Suzuki recently teased that "I think Sega will let me make it." It is no secret that SEGA has been thinking about Shenmue 3 for quite some time. Just last year they were teasing the idea of it and telling fans "Never say never." Could we be seeing Shenmue 3 soon? My magic 8 Ball is telling me "outlook is good" so I'll be paying attention to SEGA as wel roll into E3.

So there you have it folks, a few great looking games coming up from a developer we thought was down and out. Could this be SEGA's return to gaming or are we getting out hopes up for nothing once more? It has been awhile since we've seen projects like this coming from SEGA and each one appears to have quite abit of thought behind it and plenty of desire from the fans to see the project come to life. Just know this SEGA, you've still got at least one fan out there who is excited for what you've got coming up. Keep up the good work and let's up that this is the start of many more great things to come.

Also I wouldn't complain if you decided to release another Jet Grind Radio.

Man did I luck out when I got in line for my 3DS, basically I was the first one there (with my roommate) and we got there just as the manager did. Instead of making us wait to the two hours for the place to open he lets us in and hands over our 3DS's right there on the spot. So before the store is even open I'm back home playing 3DS and enjoying life while everyone else is just now getting into the store. Oh yea, also got a free 3DS shirt too.

Let me just start off by saying what I experienced in Best Buy the other day was nothing compared to actually having the unit in hand and being able to toy with every little feature to my heart's content. Nintendo has definitely knocked this one out of the park and anyone who is waiting for a redesign you're wasting your time and should be picking this up now.

I walked out of the store with a black 3DS, Pilot Wings Resort, and Super Street Fighter IV 3D. The 3DS itself looks awesome! The top of the unit is black while the bottom half almost looks like it is carbon fiber and the gray is very similar to that look as well. The unit's build is very solid and feels great in my hands. The weight feels just right, I can reach all the buttons with ease though the start and select buttons could have used better placement. The screens display a beautiful image and the colors really pop on everything I've tried thus far.

Before even opening a game I found alot of joy in blasting some faces in Face Raiders. This has to be one of my favorite things that came with the 3DS and it is an excellent way to show off the system's features in an extremely fun manner. Basically you take a picture of your face (or someone else), then the game morphs it slightly, and then you'll use the 3DS to aim around the room and blast the faces as they attempt to attack you. The really cool part is how you can blast holes in your walls and see pieces of wall come flying towards you that you have to blast in order to avoid taking damage. After a few minutes a boss face will arrive and once you beat the boss you'll add that face to your collection.

Each stage gets a little more difficult than the last, throwing in things like unbreakable spike balls that will knock out holes in the wall, damage enemies, and things like that. Thus far I've used my own face that worked pretty well (the 3DS was able to recognize that I was young male, I was rather impressed by this) and also did a great job with my cat's face as well (which it just gave ??? for his age and sex lol). This had me moving around the room and blasting things for awhile, and it was awesome!

The AR cards are extremely impressive, though I need to mess around with them abit more. I've only messed with the shooting gallery one but my roommate was telling me there is pool and other things like that which you can play. I'll report in later on about these when I've spent more time with them, however I will say trying to maintain the 14 inch distance at times is kind of hard and a few times I lost track of the AR card which caused everything to vanish. However all I had to do was bring the AR card back into view and the game resumed like nothing had happened.

The Mii maker works well, just like on the Wii though you can take a picture of yourself and it will make a Mii that looks like you. Mine did a pretty good job but I didn't mess it much, I've done the Mii thing before.

Now onto the games, which I'll probably be doing an individual review for at a later date. First one I popped in (after like an hour of screwing around with everything else) was Super Street Fighter IV 3D and this game blew me away. The fact that this looks so close to what I've played on the 360 and I'm holding this in the palm of my hand was incredible. The frame rate is top notch, even with the 3D slider at max I barely noticed any slow down at all and everything looked just as good as it did in 2D. The controls I think work awesome, I don't have any issues reaching L and R, and unless you're a purist who only plays with an arcade stick then you'll be right at home here. The touch screen interface is a nice addition, though I don't use it that much since I can pull the moves off with ease using the slider pad. The only time I use the touch screen is for ultra combos simply because they are a pain to pull off, even on the consoles.

I didn't care for the 3D Versus since I find it harder to keep a beat on what my opponent is doing. It is a nice way to showcase the 3D but when playing competitively I feel like I'm at a slight disadvantage since I'm not used to seeing character movements from this angle and it is hard to recognize what your opponent is going to do next.

Overall if you're a Street Fighter fan you should own this game. It comes with every character unlocked (Akuma, Seth, Gouken, the works) and each character has 3 costumes (no paying for costume packs here!). The game plays awesome, feels great, and looks incredible.

Pilot Wings Resort was one I was iffy on until I played it at Best Buy and then I was sold. I was a little bummed to find that free roam mode only allows you 2 minutes to explore the island and collect items and I'm hoping that later on that time limit will be raised. I've only spent maybe 20 minutes with this one because I've played it already, but I'm glad I picked it up when I did.

Now about the viewing angle, honestly unless you play your handhelds at a weird angle this won't cause you any issues at all. In fact I completely forgot about it until I went to show my roommate something I was doing and turned it away from me and saw the screen go blurry. Even when moving around playing Face Raiders and such the screen looks awesome and keeps the 3D effects going very nicely.

I couldn't be happier with my purchase today and for anyone that is on the fence, you're missing out on a great gaming experience. This is definitely going to be a game changer I think and Nintendo has really opened the door to 3D since there are no limitations here. Anyone can pick it up and check it out, not having glasses is incredible to me (especially since I wear glasses already). I've been playing for about two hours straight, going from 2D to 3D, trying all kinds of games, and really putting the system through its paces. I'm experiencing zero eye strain, I don't have a head ache, and I feel just fine. My roommate said he had a little eye strain after playing for awhile, but after a few minutes he said it went away and he's just fine. Also he is only just recently getting into handheld gaming, two months ago he finally bought a DS Lite and this is his second handheld.

Well that's it for now from me, feel free to ask any questions or anything like that. I'll be more than happy to answer anything that I can.