So I've had a PS3 since January but I didn't have the free time to set it up until this week.  This is my impression:

Coming out of the box I was impressed.  The thing is glossy and sleek.  Just like a new piece of high-tech equipment should look.  I was impressed by the look and feel of it.  But later that night, once it was set up on my entertainment center I couldn't help but notice the sheer size of it.  It's gigantic.  It dominates the place, it's big, almost too big.   

That being said, it is awesome!  I'm loving Resistance:  Fall of Man .  While I'm not going to say that the PS3 is better than the 360 but I just haven't been interested in powering up the Xbox in a while.  For me, at least for now, there is something more attractive about the PS3.  Get back to me when Halo 3 comes out.

 I also hooked up the Wii this week.  I've had it since December but never hooked it up either.  Don't ask.  I have to say that simply powering up the Wii and going to the Mii channel or the Everybody Votes Channel fills me with glee.  This is a neat machine which is accesible to anyone.  While it may not meet the hardcore gamer requierments, the Wii will certainly make gaming a social, sit-around-the-TV feeling again.  As much as the internet has allowed the growth of multiplayer games, sitting next to your buddy while you play is a feeling that I enjoyed back in the days of the NES.

 In conclusion, both machines are awesome and will find a niche in this generation.  The Wii definately needs to be in everyone's home.  We'll just have to see how things go between the PS3 and Xbox360.  For me there are things about both that is attractive.  Although I have to admit the recent flurry of exclusives leaving the PS3 has me a little concerned.

The networks have released their fall lineups. Check out what ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and The CW are offering to pull you away from your video games. Checking out the schedules it does seem ironic is that Friday Night Lights is on Tuesday.

Now while returning favorites like, The Amazing Race, Survivor: Cook Islands, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Prison Break, and Lost will get my attention, there is room for some new shows.

Heroes 9 PM on NBC is going to get Tivoed during football season and hopefully give me something to do on Monday nights in January. Any show with superpowers is definitely worth giving a try. The Office isn’t technically a new show but I only caught it a few times this year. I’ve heard a lot of great things about it and the episodes I saw looked promising, so I’ll give it a try this season.

I’m not typically a fan of drama but every so often one catches my interest and gets me hooked. ABC’s Day Break, The Nine, and Six Degrees look like they might have that potential. I like the Groundhog Day style idea of Day Break. The unfolding mystery of The Nine seems interesting. While the premise of Six Degrees seems a little too touchy-feely, but J. J. Abrams created it so it probably is like nothing else on TV.

CBS may have a huge hit on its hands with Jericho. The post-apocalyptic theme is somewhat similar to ABS’s Lost but I want to see what other works from this genre the series will tap into. I think this show will be tense, exciting, and win huge ratings. If you watch one new show this fall, I think this should be the one.

’Til Death on Fox looks funny it’s Finch from American Pie an I like the newlywed versus established couple theme since I’m beginning to make the transition from one to the next. We’ll see if it winds up being as funny as it could be or if it just rehashes old clichés about marriage.

Happy Hour on Fox comes from the producers of That 70's Show and hopefully it will be as funny. If not I can always watch reruns of Cheers.

I’ve got one last thing to say. If you haven’t been watching Prison Break on Fox…YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS SHOW!!

I'm ashamed to admit that I even check in on G4, but I tune in every once and a while to make sure they're still awful and getting worse. But something caught my eye on this evening's Attack of the Show. They discussed why summer was the "dog days" for video game releases. It seemed an interesting topic that does deserve some attention. It would seem that with classes ending, now would be an ideal time for games releases, but it just doesn't seem to be that way.

I know that I am a little relieved that there isn't really anything on the market demanding my attention, but at the same time I am a little disappointed that my 360 isn't getting the workout it deserves. I am using this time, like many others I'm sure, to catch up on at least some of the games that never got the full attention they originally deserved.

I can't help wondering why, developers haven't seized upon this historical summer down time to schedule the release of a good game or two that might otherwise be overshadowed during the holiday release-fest. With the coming release of the PS3 and the Wii, a lot of developers are gearing up for launch titles, but this seems more of a scheduling and strategy oversight. This time of the year is fertile ground to release a game that can grab everyone's attention and garner popular approval simply due to the fact that there is no other competition. At the very least doesn't this generation of hardware deserve one last title to generate buzz for their last summer and to help pave the way for their successor?

Over the past couple of months I've been playing the Ratchet & Clank series of games.  They were one of the many games that I'd bought but never gotten around to.

I’ve now beaten all four of them. It's been very interesting to go from one right into the next and not lose track of the narrative that connects all of them.  All of them that is except Deadlocked.  While it's a fun game on its own, it lacks many of the connections both thematically and mechanically that the previous three shared. Now I'm not saying I don't like the game, because I do, it’s just that when you go through them all in one continuous string, there is a distinct difference in the way Deadlocked played than the other three.

The appealing elements of the first three included their humor and the crazy weaponry “unfit for this world."  I felt like the first three didn’t focus as much on the weapons as they could have, the first most of all. Deadlocked certainly didn’t have that issue but it lost the humor that bound all the others together.

I saw screen shot of the next Ratchet & Clank game for the PS3 and from the looks of it, it would appear that they are returning to their platforming roots.  I’m looking forward to that.

After my discussion about my Connoisseur badge in my previous entry, I went out this week and bought myself a game that isn't about to help me get it back. Besides grabbing Knights of the Old Republic II, Ultimate Spiderman, and Ratchet: Deadlocked, I picked up Red Ninja for the PS2.

I picked them all up used, which is my normal modus operandi when it comes to buying games. There are a lot of games that I think I might like but am unwilling to pay $50 for, so I usually just wait until they come down to the $25 range.

Now as for Red Ninja, let me explain. I had been interested in it prior to its release. There had been a lot of buzz regarding its play mechanic and the novelty of the whip weapon. But when the game was released back in March the reviews were brutal and I wrote it off.

Jump to this week. When I saw it on the shelf for $17 I remembered that the reviews had been bad but I didn't just how bad. I figured that for $17 I could afford to take a risk and see if there was anything redeeming about it. But that being said, it certainly isn't going to get me the "Good Taste Badge."

When I get around to playing it, I'll let you know what my opinion of it is.

I just noticed that I have lost the Connoisseur badge. When did my taste in games lose its appeal? I've always tried to be a little discerning when getting games. I usually wait for Gamespot to post a review before I buy a new game and I've really come to trust the opinions of the writers here.

From time to time I'll buy a game that I was interested in, that got a lower score but I'll wait until it shows up on the used racks. Even with the occasional stinker my average Gamespot score is 8.5.

Upon further review of my collection, I have 52 games that Gamespot rated at 9.0 or higher and only 7 that got a score less than 7.0. In fact the only bad game I have is Star Wars: Obi Wan. Admitedly that was an abomination but I think everyone is intitled to one mulligan.

Oh well. I guess I have to go out and buy some more top quality games...

Well Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single game. Not that I'm complaining. I fact I didn't really want anything. My collection is pretty robust and I've got tons of games that I haven't even gotten to.
I gues that's the luxury and curse of being and adult and having a job. I make enough to not have to buy any game I want, but I've got a lot more responsibilites than when I was a kid. It did get me thinking however about what I have and whether or not I'll get to them.

So here are the current generation games that I own but never played...

Mario Kart Double Dash (GC) - I got this game thinking it would be something my wife and I could play together. Oh well, maybe she'll like...

Mario Golf Toadstool Tour (GC) - We played a bunch of Tiger Woods 2004 so I thought this would be fun change of pace.

Pac-Man Vs. (GC) - I thought this would be a fun kind of game to play with our friends. Then we moved away from the friends who play games.

Pac-Man World 2 (GC) - Came with Pac-Man Vs. Haven't even seen its load screen.

Viewtiful Joe (GC) - I think it got swamped by a bunch of other games that drew my attention first. It then got buried by some of the other games on the list here.

Dynasty Warriors 3 (PS2) - I bought it at the same time as Dynasty Warriors 2. I played 2 but never played 3. Never even put it in the PS2. This is the first of many games that are sequels to other games I own. As a general rule I don't play the sequel until I beat the original and as you can probably tell things are not going well in that department.

Final Fantasy X2 (PS2) - I'm bogged down in Final Fantasy X so this one will have to wait until the orginal is finished.

Gradius III & IV (PS2) - I don't even know when I got this. I loved this genre of games back in the NES and SNES days. Maybe I'll pop this one in a relive my days as a thirteen year old.

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (PS2) - One day I'll finish Vice City and then I check this one out. Or more likely I'll just break down and play this anyway. We'll see.

Kinetica (PS2) - I remember thinking that this game looked like a neat racing game. Then I saw it on a used rack for something like $7. One day I'll have to find out if my seven dollars were well spent.

La Pucelle Tactics (PS2) - I wanted this game for a long time and could never find it. When I finally got it I had entered the phase of gaming I'm currently in where I try to finish a game before moving on. I have the feeling that when the PS2 becomes the small TV system that is when this game will get played.

Q-ball Billiards Master (PS2) - Another super cheap game that I picked up thinking that it would be a good game to have when I wanted to take a break from the real games I was playing. Well I guess it still has hope...

Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsenal (PS2) - Well, I just started Going Commando and this is a great series so this game probably has the greatest chance of seeing the inside of a console over all the others on this list.

R-Type Final (PS2) - In the same vein as Gradius, I bought this game to satisfy a nosalgia crave that passed before I even got home.

Rygar: The Legendary Adventures (PS2) - I hear lots of good things about this game and then one day I saw it on the pre-played rack at a good price. I went home with me and has sat on my shelf ever since.

SOCOM II (PS2) - A victim of my lazyness about getting my consoles online. Now that they are I think time has passed this game by.

007 Nightfire (Xbox) - It was cheap.

Breakdown (Xbox) - This game got a lot of good pre-release press that had me interested. When I finally picked up the game in the pre-played bin though there were other things that interested me more.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Xbox) - I got this for my wife thinking that since she liked the show she might like the game. She decided to watch the show instead.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Chaos Bleeds (Xbox) - See above...

ESPN NFL 2K5 (Xbox) - I got this because I thought it would be nice to have this and Madden for a side-by-side comparison. Now I'm glad I have it because it's got T.O. in an Eagles uniform for all time. What a J-hole.

Freedom Figheters (Xbox) - The concept appealed to me more that the desire to play it instead of other games. It got great reviews though. Maybe I should dust this one off...

Lord of the Rings The Third Age (Xbox) - My wife loves the LotR story and she enjoys the concepts of RPGs. I thought, "Why not conbine both of them into one package and see what she thinks?" She decided she'd rather read the books, then watch the movies, than play the game.

Shenmue II (Xbox) - I'd heard so much great stuff about the first that I thought I should get the sequel and try to find the original for the Dreamcast. The search continues, but I have to admit I'm not looking all that hard. Alright, at all.

Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow (Xbox) - When I finish the first, I'll start the second.

Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (Xbox) - When I finish the second, I'll start the third.

Star Wars Jedi Starfighter (Xbox) - Combines two loves, flying with Star Wars. Couldn't tell you why I never tried it.

X-Men Legends (Xbox) - I bought this in anticipation of finishing a game and then starting this one. Better luck next time Professor X.

Well I beat Ratchet and Clank last night. Yeah I know, the game came out over three years ago. It fell victim, as so many games do, to the release of a newer, must-have game. It wasn't that Ratchet and Clank wasn't good; I really liked it. It was just that it couldn't hold my attention over other games. I have lots of current generation games that I started and never finished and the fact that I just finished one of them made me start thinking about what game to return to next. I thought I'd list the games that I started, but haven't completed yet (I'm leaving out sports, racing, and fighting games since you don't really finish them). Now I'll pobably never get around to all of them but is sure would be nice to get a few mor in under my belt before I get swamped by the next gen games. Remember this doesn't include all the games I have that I never started...

Eternal Darkness (GC) - I started this game, played a couple of levels, and then died having never saved. I've never played it since. It was a good game though and maybe I'll get back to it.

Pikmin (GC) - Got to about day 23 or 24 and had seven or eight parts still to collect. Moved on to another game. It was a challenge with nice atmosphere but I didn't want to commit myself to solving the last puzzles.

Starfox Adventrues (GC) - Too childish to hold my attention. Gave it a couple of hours and gave up on it. Don't think I'll get back to it.

Rogue Squadron II (GC) - Got to the final level and I can't seem to ever make it through the Death Star's tunnel. Great game that really makes the 'Cube shine.

Super Mario Sunshine (GC) - Got about 65-75 shines and petered out. Platforming puzzles got to be a bit more than I could handle.

The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker (GC) - I truly regret not finishing this one yet. I'm about two-thirds to three-quarters done and I will get back to it. Several times it has gone into the Gamecube and I've said, "I won't play another game until I finish this one." Want to guess what happens next?

Castlevania Lament of Innocence (PS2) - I just started on this one recently and then put it down for something else. I don't know if I'll get back to it.

Final Fantasy X (PS2) - I don't even know how far I am in this game. I've got about 65 hours of play time and I'm in the Calm Lands. I tend to play RPGs slowly and I have a feeling that this might be the sort of game I come back to every once in a while for years to come. Maybe.

Grand Theft Auto Vice City (PS2) - Kind of plugging away at this one. It's a good game but not good enough for me to play it over newer, better looking games. I doubt I'll ever finish it.

Kingdon Hearts (PS2) - It was overwhelmed by other games coming out after it. I don't think I made it far and I probably won't get much farther. My cubicalmate just started playing it. Maybe I can live this game vicariously through her...

Shinobi (PS2) - The reviews that said this game was painfully hard were right. It's been several years shince this disc saw the inside of a Playstation and it probably never will. If I want video game ninja abuse I'll turn to Ninja Gaiden (see below).

Sly Cooper (PS2) - Did a couple of levels, not sure how many, moved on. Nice platformer, not too much challenge. I just might finish this one so I can try the two sequels. But realistically speaking this will probably never be inside a PS2 again.

SOCOM (PS2) - At the time I didn't have my PS2 hooked to the internet. Once, I did drag a 50 foot ethernet cable from my office to the living room and tried this game online. I got my brains beat in. Maybe if I'd been a regular online things might have gone a little different for this game, but I doubt it.

Batman Vengence (Xbox) - At first I couldn't figure out how to beat Mr. Freeze, and then I didn't care.

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (Xbox) - When I stopped playing this I told myself that it was just to give another game a quick try. I never looked back. Maybe now that it has a sequel I'll try wrapping this one up.

The Chronicles of Riddick (Xbox) - Got to the third level prison (or whatever it's called) and sort of got stuck. I couldn't figure out if this game was supposed to be a stealthy action title or a guns-blazing frag fest.

Crimson Skies (Xbox) - Another victim of not having my consoles hooked to the internet.

Fable (Xbox) - I really wanted to play this one. I read all about it before it came out and I was really jazzed about its release. Then it got overshadowed by games that came after it. It's another one of the RPGs that I keep telling myself that I should get back to.

Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox) - Got stuck a little over halfway through (I think) and moved on to something where I had a little more control over the proceedings.

Ghost Recon Island Thunder (Xbox) - Couldn't keep my attention over superior games. Seeing as how the game is so short I should just give myself a Saturday afternoon to knock this one out.

Gladius (Xbox) - Like Fable, this was a game I really wanted to play. Like Fable, the length and depth of the Rpg genre couldn't compete with the demands of my real life and the influx of newer games that didn't demand such a time commitment.

Jade Empire (Xbox) - Like all the other RPGs, I really looked forward to this one. But it too eventually fell victim to its own demands on my time.

Lord of the Rings The Two Towers & Lord of the Rings The Return of the King (Xbox) - Got pretty far in both these games but I was eventully overwhelmed by the tide of orcs and hit roadblocks in both.

Ninja Gaiden (Xbox) - Brutal. Didn't make it past the dinosaur monsters in the first city level. Moved on to something that didn't make my thumbs bleed. My hat is off to those who got through this gem.

Splinter Cell (Xbox) - I don't really know why I haven't finished this one. I've made it over halfway but keep getting distracted by life and then moving on to something else when I get a chance to get back to gaming. I want to finish this one so I can move on to its sequels.

Spiderman (Xbox) - A game that really isn't worth finishing.

Spiderman 2 (Xbox) - A better game than the first, that had me stuck trying to get out to the Statue of Liberty to fight Mysterio. I finally made it past that part recently and then put it away for something better. This is an alright game. It's not great but I love Spiderman so I think I might come back to this one some time in the future.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox) - See Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts, Fable, Gladius, and Jade Empire. Another great game that is too long to fit into my life.

Star Wars Obi Wan (Xbox) - Garbage.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Xbox) - I knew what the reviews said but it was only $12 or so and I loved the Eastman and Laird comics. Wish I'd just stuck with the Gamespot reviewers on this one. I could have invested that $12 and now I'd have $12.03. I think that would have been better.

Seriously, it would have been very difficult to avoid all the media and hoopla regarding last week's Xbox 360. I think it's pretty telling as to the progress that video gaming has made in popular culture. The amount of main-stream media that covered the release of the Xbox360 was dramatic when you consider the absolute lack of coverage that gaming got even just a few years ago.

I noticed the other day as I was driving to work that there was a billboard advertising the new True Crime: New York City. Since then I've seen that billboard all over town. I think that's the first time that I've ever noticed a general advertising campaign for a video game.

All in all, in the seven years since I graduated from college I've seen a gradual, but steady, main streamification of this industry. When I graduated only a handful of college students had a Playstation. Now, nearly everyone owns at least one of the major systems and the demographic of game players has grown to enclude 20-somethings. I understand that part of that is the fact that people who grew up with videogames are now in their mid- to late-twenties but I still think it's interesting that the industry has been able to remain relavent to a deomgraphic of consumers as they have grown up and their tastes have changed.

All in all I think the recent talk that video games are going to grow into an accepted main-stream leisure activity is true and that the future will see more and more demographics owning consoles and playing games. I think a primary indicator of this development is the fact that the person in my home who wants a Xbox360 is not me, but rather my wife.

As technology advances and allows greater immersion the number of people who aren't "video gamers" playing video games will only grow.