Okay now that E3 is over I wanted to put down my impressions of what I saw online and what I'm hearing from people. I'm impressed with the lineup of DS games that are coming out soon; I think this is what Nintendo needs to have the system pick up some steam (although it would have been nice if some of these titles were available from day one but whatever). Mario looks awesome. I've been waiting for a 3-D side scroller from Nintendo for like ten years now. Both Fire Emblem games have peaked my interest so I'm going to have to give the first GBA game a spin soon. Metroid looks very sweet, I'm psyched about Mario and Luigi Super Star Saga 2. Even Mario Kart kind of catches my eye as being something fun, and I don't even care about racing games. The musician in me is curious of the possibilities Electroplankton could have in pieces that I write in the future and that intrigues me about it. I may send that info over to my composers collegues (there's a marriage between my career and my hobby in the works). And I don't care whatever stupid boys say about Nintendogs, I think it looks awesome, and since I can't afford a real dog this will do. Hey I'm a girl, I can't help being a sucker for cute things at least sometimes :) It also goes without saying that as soon as a release date for Zelda Twilight Princess is announced, I'm preordering it like there's no tomorrow. :D

Okay onto Sony: DQ8 and KH2 look AMAZING! I'm so glad they are coming out this year. I've already put them on my list of things to ask Santa for Christmas. After playing through Devil May Cry recently I think Dirge of Cerberus may interest me, so I've put it on my wish list. The Phantasy Star games look nice (sigh Sega...) I still need more info on FFXII before I think it may be worth playing. I think it's a rental at best. I've been dissappointed in the way the FF series has gone.

Now on to the Next Gen systems and such. With more Japanese developers interested in the X360, I may have to get one. Dave and I have already talked about it, never thought I would taint my living room with more Microsoft crap, but it's about the games for me. Sony's PS3 looks amazing (I don't care what Wada says, a FFVII remake will come eventually). I'm curious as to whether or not those are FMV's they showed or real in game footage. Either way I'm sure tons of RPG's will eventually come out for it so I'll definitely get one. Everyone needs to stop picking on Nintendo. So they didn't have all the specs. They said originally they wouldn't be showing anything, so the fact that they did was a pleasant surprise. Yeah theyre behind on the online gaming front and it's nice they're finally catching up. We haven't seen the controller which was dissappointing. Not much is known, but what is know is enough for me to want to get one: downloading old NES, SNES, and N64 games is pretty sweet in itself. Yeah ROMS have been around, but they're not really legal, and you can't play ROMS on your TV with nice sound systems. Even if they charge I think it will be worth it. Plus the reason why they haven't revealed anything is because they don't want Microsoft and Sony to steal it (wavebird, L and R buttons, analog stick). They want to wait until the dust settles before revealing their product. While it's dissappointing, I think it's smart and I respect them for doing it. In the end I'll probably get all three systems, and like them for different reasons. I don't care about system wars and which is better. That's stupid. Are there good games out for the system? Then I'll get it, regardless of horse power and features. I think that is what any TRUE gamer would say. Just my two cents.

All in all, E3 was fun. One of these days, either by me writing music for a game company or scoring tickets on ebay, Dave and I WILL go to E3 someday. It's on the list of things I plan on doing in my life time.

If Nintendo stinks so much, then how come the new gamecube Zelda game is on more wish lists on gamespot than any other game (finally beating Halo 2 out of the spot)? Huh?

Gamestop is buying out EB?? Why? I guess it's not the end of the world, but I'm kind of annoyed. I never cared for the whole Monopoly concept (other than the board game). What I wonder is who's price scheme will they use? I always liked being able to choose, usually because one store was generally cheaper than the other...

I've read a number of forums and discussions on the current and predictions of the next gen systems. I hear a lot of "Sony rulz" and "Microsoft is teh bst! OMG" and "Nintendo sux and is kiddy." What I think surprises me is the reasons why people like the systems that they do. My personal preference has nothing to do with the specs but has only to do with the games on the system. I care much more about a good story and gameplay than whether or not the blood looks realistic. So basically I have PS2, a Gamecube, and DS/GBA. The reason why is because there are games on those systems that I like. Am I anti X-box? No (but I'm not much of a fan of Bill Gates, but thats another story). Theres not enough games for me to want to play it. X-Box Live looks great, but I don't feel like spending a monthly fee on top of spending the money on the game itself.

Having said all that the people who think Nintendo stinks and is going Bankrupt are just ridiculous. For those of you don't know, Nintendo has been making games since the 1850's. Yes that is right the 18 as in 19th century 1850's. I don't think they're going away any time soon. As for the people who think only morons play Nintendo games, well allow me to introduce myself: my name is moron.

I don't think Nintendo is kiddy, and even if it is, what's so bad about that? And so what if the formula is the same? With every installment of Mario, Zelda, Metroid and Kirby, they do something different to make the game fun. Even my fiancee thinks Nintedo games are fun, and yes he is a guy! He definitely is a GUY guy and likes girls (trust me, he likes girls). He's not freaking out over liking Nintendo games. Some of us adults need a fun kiddy game to keep us young at heart. For my more "adult" side (and RPG side), I have my PS2, and I am happy with that.

And finally who says you can only pick one of the three consoles and one of the two portables? Once the PSP drops in price and actually has games that interest me, I would get it in a second. I don't think I'm betraying Nintendo or "cheating" on my DS. I just like to play video games. So what if I'm almost 25?! It keeps me young at heart, and if that means playing the 20th Mario game for the latest Nintendo, I don't care. So there! :P

I accidentially got into Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories by accident and I'm now so hooked in the story that depsite being ready to go to the final dungeon in Xenosaga I, I want to beat this game first. The story has REALLY gotten interesting, and I now cannot wait until KH2. I'm a bit annoyed about the card nonsense and it takes way too much effort to actually pull off any good combos in that game, but I can get away with hacking and slashing... or at least I have made it all the way to Neverland by hacking and slashing. Maybe I'm just an awesome gamer.

Hey I've had a very poopy day. I need to build myself up.

I watched Nintendo's press release from the Game Developpers Conference and I'm definitely psyched. The Zelda trailer was gorgeous. Needless to say, I will preorder it as soon as a definite release date is made. Pro'lly by then they'll be some sort of goodie bag that comes with the preorder. That would be spiffy. I'm also looking forward to the fact that Nintendo will be offering online capabilities for their products and it will be free. That's the biggest reason why I haven't gotten into MMOG's. Why spend around $50 for a game and then spend another $13 a month to enjoy it (or fork over another 50 to get the PS2 harddrive *cough* FF11 *cough*)? It seems so pricy and eventually the servers will be discontinued. Maybe not anytime recently, but I couldn't take out FF11 when I'm 40 and be able to play it (maybe I would but I don't think it will be likely). That just seems dumb to me.

Anyway, I'm done ranting. I'm enjoying spring break which will consist of playing a lot of video games in between all the work I have to do. :D And yes I still haven't beaten Xenosaga, but I think I'm pretty far into the game.

So as the title suggests I'm slowly getting out of my video game rut. I beat Suikoden III finally which was a big relief. Now I'm working on Xenosaga. The number of movies in that game makes it very easy for me to get my homework done while playing :) It's not as long as the box says it is. But I doubt I'll beat it any time soon. I have so much stuff to do

So it's official that Dragon Quest 8 has been confirmed for North America by Sqeenix, but I'm still not holding my breath. I know Level 5 wouldn't be bastards but after the Dragon Warrior 4 PSX incident, I'm not trusting Enix until the game is in the stores and I can touch the packaging. Even then I'll still need to pinch myself from happiness. :D

Yeah I'm a geek. In other news I picked up the new Zelda game. It takes place in Hyrule!! That hasn't happened in a while.

Got a DS like a trillion other people out there. Got an ipod, too which I think is nuts considering that just those two gifts would have been enough. Also got a few games, Mario 64DS, Paper Mario 2, and Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories. Also got a lot of money, which I think will go to the purchase of at least one more game. Got a crap load of DVD's this year too. I got some clothes too but I'm also a girl and that was inevitable (plus when you have a mom working at Filenes and gets uber discounts on clothes...). Plus I preordered Zelda the Minish Cap at a Gamestop at MOA, which means I'll actually have to go BACK to the MOA, and I hate the MOA (Mall of America for the non-Minnesotans, even though the natives call it the mega mall. I think that's retahded).

I'm still in a minor rut. I've been working on the Zelda Oracle games which has been helping me sleep at night because I settle down sooner, but I'm so bored with them. I think I'm also completely overwhelmed by my video game backlog. I'm still like a year and a half behind!!! Lost Kingdoms and Xenosaga are next on my long list of games that seems to keep piling up. I wish I could get back into Suikoden III since its such a good game, but its so long. Has my attention span rotted? Do I need a break from video games? I dunno... maybe if I get a few more good nights sleep (Christmas was not one of them), I'll feel better.

Have you ever played a game that you really liked, were so passionate about and then just completely stop out of boredom? That's how I'm feeling right now. With video games in general, actually, I've been disinterested. I'm hoping it's from my lack of sleep or otherwise Christmas may stink at my house...