I started Fable a couple of days ago even though I didn't have much free time to devote to it over the weekend, but what I've played I like so far. I'm creating a good character this time around and if I feel like putting the time in again I might create an evil character as well. I originally heard about Fable a few years ago, but didn't own an Xbox at the time so I never thought much about playing it. But now with all of the footage of Fable II, I started looking for a copy of the original so I could see if I liked the gameplay.

I was a bit hesitant about the whole idea at first since the only other Western RPG I've attempted to play is Oblivion and I didn't care for it that much. I'm glad I tried it anyway because it's fun and addictive. Unfortunately, I won't get to finish it any time soon because I'm going out of town tomorrow for the week. I should have enough time to play it once or twice before I pick up Mercenaries 2 hopefully.

Anyway, this was my short update. Have a good week! :)

I wasn't being as "good" as I thought. The day I said I hadn't bought any games in 2 weeks (which when I actually thought about it had only been one) I got some new games. What can I say? I like to buy games. Here's my purchases.

Shadow of the Colossus has moved up my list of games to play since I've been hearing good things about it. I just kinda got Bombastic because I felt like it, I hadn't really ever heard of it before, but I thought why not? It was only $3. Kingdom Hearts is just a replacement of my original game since I gave it to a friend a few months ago.

I finished Okami today. It was good. I loved the gameplay and the bosses. I guess what I liked about it most was that you weren't stuck button mashing all the time. I have a tendency to push the attack button over and over if I can get away with it defeating a boss, most of the time that's not the case in Okami. The use of the brush strokes definitely made this game awesome and unique. I didn't get all of the stray beads, but I can go back and get them if I ever decide I want to start a new game. At this point I just wanted to see the end. The only thing I didn't get was, what happened to the bamboo girl?

I'll probably be doing rather casual gameplay for the rest of the week unless I feel the urge to start Fable. After a game like Okami, it should take no time to beat it. Speaking of Fable, I preordered it at GameStop so I could get the pub games, so I might spend some time making money before the game comes out this fall.

LittleBigPlanet is on the horizon and they've started a new site similar to how Dojo was (I guess) for SSBB. They have a challenge right now for art with their official logo, and if I get any inspiration I might play along. I have no idea what the point is, if there even is one. Also announced today is where you can get preorder bonuses. I hate this, it's just a war for the most preorders. I think I'm just going to risk it and wait and get it when it's released. I'm still a little iffy about that one since I do want to get it when it comes out, but I'm pretty sure there will be enough on release day.

So, after E3, I try to make a list of games I'm interested in buying. It helps me to ration out the costs. This year is gonna hurt, especially after seeing release dates for future games. These are retail only:

The games in red are the ones I'm planning on getting on launch. The others I will probably get soon after. The list is subject to change, but man October 21 is going to be killer. Either I'm going to have to pick and choose this fall or I'll be broke... knowing me probably the latter.

How is your wallet going to fare during the later part of the year?

I don't have much else to talk about except my gaming updates since I didn't buy any games this week. Yep, I've practiced self-control for 2 weeks. The only exception is PixelJunk Eden, but I already had the money reserved for that so it doesn't count. I haven't started it yet, I want to finish a couple of other things up first.

Ōkami is still awesome as ever, and I'm progressing faster than I thought I would. If I pick things up a little, I might be able to finish the main story over the weekend. Thanks to everyone who recommended it. You picked the only game on my list over 20 hours and I kind of wanted something short at the time, but I'm glad it's the one that was chosen. I'm currently at 35 hours in Atlantica... I mean, um... Dragon Palace.

I'm on Floor 9 in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. I only play it a couple of times a week, so it's going pretty slow. It's the most linear RPG I've ever played. If you don't know where to go next then there's something wrong since it's the same formula over and over. I'm not sure if I'm going to try Reverse/Rebirth just yet. Anybody played it? Does it affect KH2 at all? I'm sure it does.

Even though we got minimal news from the new handheld Kingdom Hearts games, what I saw looked pretty decent. I'll probably be picking up the PSP one first; hopefully I'll have Kingdom Hearts 2 finished by then, though it shouldn't make a difference since it's a prequel.

Au revoir, baby!

It's been quite a while since I've felt this way, and I can definitely say that Okami is one of my favorite games that was released in the past couple of years. Today alone I think I put in around 6 hours, putting me up to 22 total. At the rate I'm going (since I'm trying to get everything as I go), it's looking like it will take me around 60 hours to complete. I hope I can make it that far, usually I give up and want to rush through to the end of a game, but so far so good.

I also played a bit of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, basically to just beat one extra world, but it's progress. I'm sure I'll play more tomorrow. I also promised my nephew that I'd play some Marvel Ultimate Alliance with him while he's here for the week. That's pretty much it as far as game progression goes.

Games I picked up:

I actually got Fable a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to post that I got it. It might be my next game since I heard it's not very long and it would be nice to play a game in just a few days.

About the GameSpot beta... I've been soley using it to see what I like and dislike about it. I'm growing to like it more, it's not terrible. Overall, I don't feel like it's changed the site any, just kinda gave it a layer of paint. A couple of things are glitchy even for GameSpot, though. P.S. I hate the feed. :D

I haven't done much in the way of game progression even though I've wanted to, I've just been kinda busy lately. I started Okami, and it's awesome so far. However, I don't have much to go on since I've only had 3 hours with it. I also have been playing a bit of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. At first, I didn't really like it much at all, but the more I've played it the more i like it. It's definitely not the best game I've played for the GBA, but it's pretty good for what it's worth... a game bridge. I wanted to play it before starting Kingdom Hearts 2. Elefunk is a fun little PSN game I've been playing. It's pretty challenging, but I like it a lot. It's probably my favorite PSN game to date. I'm sure that will change with the addition of the new levels and multiplayer to PAIN, and also I'm really looking forward to PixelJunk Eden.

Here are some of the recent games I bought:

I was trying to slow down on my purchases, but I keep seeing games I want. I should probably stop going to the store then.

For those of you who didn't already know, I do have a profile on Giant Bomb. Add me if you want, it won't be my main account, but I'll be around.

When I requested a recommendation in my last blog, I had every intention to actually play the game that had the most votes. However, I had a friend over last week and we broke out Lego Indiana Jones. Since it doesn't seem hard to do I'll probably go for 100%. Too bad trophies haven't been added to this game, nor have I heard word that it is supposed to. If it does, I would probably play it again, because it's a fun little game. I can't say that I would replay every game in my collection for trophies, but I could see myself redoing this one.

In case you were wondering, Okami (PS2) won the poll. After Lego Indy, I am planning to play Okami, but it might not be for another week or two. The cause? The Cagney update is being released for Burnout Paradise later this week and I probably won't play many games during E3 because I love gaming news, no matter how sad and pitiful E3 has become. So unless I'm otherwise distracted (which has been known to happen) Okami is next on my list.

I stopped playing Secret Agent Clank because it frustrated me. It doesn't have the same feel as the other games from the series, even though I knew that when I bought it. I just can't get into gameplay that requires stealth, I get too impatient with it. I may go back to it eventually, but for now it's gone back on the shelf. Instead, I decided to try Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. I had mixed feelings about it at first, but I think I like it better than my initial reaction.

I never imagined court cases to be much fun; however, that's exactly what it is with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. I finished the game last night and the story presented one plot twist after another. Each case is more complex than the last, and many times the defendants are less than compliant so your work as a defense attorney is cut out for you. The game was also much longer than I thought it would be. Playing through all the cases took about 25 hours I'm guessing because it doesn't time you. I'm sure you could do it in less time, but I'm kind of obsessive about finding evidence the same way I was in Professor Layton.

I picked up Secret Agent Clank last week and I started playing this morning, but I still haven't decided on my next console game. I'll hopefully be finishing my first play through of Metal Gear Solid 4 over the next couple of days so I'll most likely be playing one of the following when I'm finished: God of War, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Castlevania (NES), Persona 3 FES, or Okami. Input is appreciated :)

Vote Count (some people didn't exactly vote just kinda said what was good, hence the "-ish", lol):

Okami: 5 or 6-ish
Persona 3: 2 or 3-ish
God of War 2
Uncharted: 1
Castlevania: 1

As far as game progress goes, I completed Me and My Katamari with 100% collection over the past week, and finished 2 Phoenix Wright cases. Katamari was addictive as usual. I'd have to say it's my favorite PSP game so far. That's mainly because I didn't put it down until I was finished, and that doesn't happen very often with me. Short attenti.... huh? right. Phoenix Wright is pretty fun too, and I hope to finish that one sometime soon as well.

I visited my sister for the past week and picked up a few games at a local shop (why don't they have any near me that I know of?). Here's what I got :)

Recently, the strum bar in my Rock Band guitar gave up the ghost. Thankfully, EA has an awesome service department (at least in this case) and my new guitar was in my home in less than a week. Speaking of Rock Band, I've been playing it quite a bit lately. I've been working on my vocal career on hard. I've also been playing the other peripherals online, but I've completed the career modes as far as I can go at this point in both guitar and drums. There is still quite a bit of room for improvement, though.

I also finally finished Crisis Core today. I still liked the original Final Fantasy VII much better. I mean, it does give plenty of back story to appease the fans, but I still found the gameplay in general to be less than compelling. I only got a little over 40% of the missions completed and will probably never go back and try to finish them.

So what's next? I'm glad you asked. I'll be playing one or more of the following in the next week or so: Me and My Katamari, Phoenix Wright Ace Attourney, or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.