Some excerpts:

"The only key area where FF X111 betrays fans - and this is the heartbreaking for me to admit - is the story. The narrative makes a number of small missteps but they all tie back to one larger issue: the characters."

"Square has overhauled the concept of battle, focusing more on guiding the tactical flow of the fight rather than each character's specific actions on a turn-by-turn basis. The result is a kinetic, fast-paced system that stands out as m favorite in the series"

Other game scores:

Mass Effect 2 - 9.75 :)

Bioshock 2 - 8.25

Aliens vs. Predator - 5.75 (ouch)

White Knight Chronicles - 7.25

Heavy Rain - 9.5

Dante's Inferno - 7.0

I haven't opened Tatsunoko since I got hooked on Mass Effect 2. I'm finding my house looking messy by the day. It's not often that I get hooked on games but ME2 is just one of those games where I'm always thinking of what I'm going to do next...even when I'm not playing.

I know I have a ton of things to do and I always find myself waiting for the game to go on sale or lower in price anyway but I bought into the hype. Gladly, it lives up to it (at least to me) and there are some moments in ME2.

One part is where you hang at a crazy place called Afterlife - a ghetto bar-stripper-dance club. Fine. No big deal. Seen stuff like this in other games. So I hit the bar and "Order a drink". Alien dude pulls out what looks like a whole bottle of Adios and you snort the whole cup like a shot and violently shaking your head from the aftertaste while getting tipsy from a few cups. Once you're done with that, you can get down and dance with some chick on the dance floor - all in wonderful full body armor. It's even funnier when you're grooving on the floor with a big ass helmet. In one minute, you're told to be a key player in the galaxy. The next minute, you're chillinwith a scantily-clad alien chick strip dancing on your table while your two partners are chillin in the background, arms folded, face blurred, standing there nonchalant watching you have fun. It's pretty funny. So I leave the chick and look for another bar in another part of the room - different bartender and everything. I take a shot and my character gets poisoned! Lmao! Somehow recovered in a different area, I went back for revenge ready to shoot him in the face. I see the bartender who's now scared as hell and wondering how I survived the poison. Instead of shooting him in the face, the game did one better."Scare him and let him go"or "Let him drink his own drink". Hell ya! Lol! My character watches with a coy smile as the bartender drinks to his inevitable death. The people who put this game together are on crack. Love it so far.

Thank you Toys R Us!

I then dropped by a friends house who happen to also pick up Dark Void and uhh...let's just say it's a good thing I didn't open my copy.

When I was watching, it looked fun to play. But the moment I got a chance to jump on the controller, it seemed like a typical shooter and even when my friend finally got the jet pack, it wasn't all what it was cracked up to be. It's not a horrible game by any means. Just average.

I know my expectations are a bit high but what can I say? I have high standards.

Click here to see the auction

• Suikoden III 3 (Complete and Mint) PS2
• Zelda Collector's Edition (Game, Case, No Booklet) GC

PS2, GameCube, Xbox Video Game Lot (13 Games)

• Def Jam Fight for N.Y. (Gamecube) - Condition: : Like New, Barely Played. Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• Bomberman Generation (Gamecube) - Condition: Mint, NO BOOKLET, disc, inserts, and case.
• Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection (PS2) - Condition: Mint, Complete, disc, inserts, and case.

  Comes with...

  • Metal Gear Solid 1 (Condition: : Like New, Barely Played. Complete, disc, inserts, case in Like New condition)
  • Metal Gear Solid 2 (New. Unopened. Complete)
  • Metal Gear Solid 3 (Condition: : Like New, Barely Played. Complete, disc, inserts, case in Like New condition
• Ninja Gaiden Black (XBox) - Condition: : Like New, Barely Played. Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• Shenmue II (Xbox)- Condition: Mint, Comes with booklet, insert, case in great condition. NOTE: Does not have Shenmue 1 Movie DVD
• Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox) - Condition: : Like New, Barely Played. Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 (PS2) - Condition: Mint, Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case. Rated 10 on Gamespot.com!
• Sega Sports Tennis (PS2) - Condition: Mint, Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (PS2) - Condition: Mint, Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
  NOTE: This is an IMPORT GAME! You will need a Japanese PS2 to play this game.
• Okami (PS2) - Condition: Like New, Barely Played. Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• Metal Gear Solid 2 (PS2) - Condition: Mint, Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• Street Fighter Anniversary Collection SEALED NEW PS2

PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 Video Game Lot (10 Games)

• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3) - Condition: : Good Condition. Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• Virtua Tennis 3 (PS3) - Condition: Mint, Complete, disc, inserts, and case.
• Call of Duty 3 (Wii) - Condition: Mint, Complete, disc, inserts, and case.
• House of The Dead 2 & 3 Return (Wii) - Condition: : Like New, Barely Played. Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• Grand Slam Tennis (Wii)- Condition: Mint, Comes Complete with booklet, insert, case in great condition.
• Guitar Hero: World Tour (Xbox 360) - Condition: Like New, Barely Played. Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• Blue Dragon (Xbox 360) - Condition: Mint, Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• ChromeHounds (Xbox 360) - Condition: Mint, Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Xbox 360) - Condition: Mint, Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.
• Perfect Dark Zero Collector's (Xbox 360) - Condition: Decent, Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case. NOTE: Plastic Cover (which surrounds case is torn)

Dreamcast Video Game Lot (3 Games)

• Virtua Tennis - Condition: Mint, Complete, disc, inserts, and case.
• Crazy Taxi - Condition: Mint, Complete, disc, inserts, and caase.
• Crazy Taxi 2 - Condition: : Good Condition. Complete with all booklets, disc, inserts, and case.

Diablo Action Figures Series One Lot & Diablo II Figure

Eclipse Arcade Stick for Sega Saturn (NEW)

Mad Catz RetroCON SNES-type controller (for PS2)

Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar (for Nintendo Wii)

Alundra 2 (PlayStation, 2000) Brand New Factory Sealed

Falcon 3.0 (PC) - ****c Series CD Version Complete

Virtua Tennis 2009 (Wii, 2009) Mint/Complete

Chrono Trigger (SNES) Box and Inserts Only. No Game

2 Sega Saturn Game Cases (NEW)

Sony Satellite Speakers SS-TS300

Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Season One

Ice Hockey NES Complete

Street Fighter IV 4 Arcade FightStick MadCatz!!!

360 Mad Catz Rock Band 1 and 2 Mic Microphone!!

Warcraft 3 III Muradin Bronzebeard action figure

What's better than having a huge collection of games? Having money to buy more! Yes!

This is usually that time of the year where I usually go crazy and buy games I've been holding out on the for the last couple of months.The whole rule is: "If it's not on sale, don't buy it."

That being said. Here is my Black Friday Wish list:

• Grimgrimoire (PS2)
• The Red Star (PS2)
• MGS4: Limited Edition (PS3)
• A Boy and his Blob (Wii)
• Muramasa (Wii)
• New Super Mario Bros. (Wii)
• Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles (Wii)
• FarCry 2 (PC)
• Crysis Maximum Edition (PC)
• COD4 (PC) - I'm sure this will be on sale
• COD MW2 (PC)
• Tales of Vesperia (360)
• Forza 3 (360)
• Lego Rock Band (360)
• Assassin's Creed 2 (360)
• Halo 3: ODST (360)
• GTA4: Ballad of Gay Tony (360)
• Demon Souls (PS3)
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS3)
• Knights in the Nightmare (DS)
• Devil Survivor (DS)

Recently, I picked up Uncharted 2 (PS3) and Modern Warfare 2 (360). It's seldom that I buy games on its debut but I couldn't wait for those. :)

Anyone want to suggest some other ones that are not on this list?

...and I got it for a nice price of $30 - complete. Pretty nuts considering how much this thing goes for on eBay. Some dude definitely did not know what he had in the fleamarket.

I've finally hit the 400 games mark. Yay me. A game a month. Not too shabby. Plus, I don't litter my collection with garbage. I like the good stuff. There are a few guilty ones in there but it's mostly because I'm obsessed in completing a series of games.

Sadly, I haven't beaten most of them. I keep having this notion that one day I'll just retire and finish them all. It's a bit tough when you have a family and it just looks like I'm playing less and less. However, I love collecting games. I don't know what it is about having a crapload of games on my shelf. There are quite a number of them that are sealed and never opened. One time, I sold one of those games and it hit about $150 bucks. Not bad. It's a huge difference from getting shafted by GameStuck when they pay you less than 1/3 the price for some of the more recent games.

Alot going on.

Beatles gets a 8.75 while Batman got 9.5. Game Informer went as far as saying that Batman "is this year's Bioshock".

After playing a demo of Batman, I was hoping the rest of the game would be as good as the demo. Looks like it is.

I'm curious to see what Gamespot will score it. I'm sure they're in the middle of reviewing these games.

There are a couple of other games that were reviewed (i.e. Madden) but most have that game already.

There were some previews I've never heard of. More on that later.

This is in response to the comments made undersaid article:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/sidebar/909182374/26924608/first-month-of-xbox-live-now-1.html

As a owner of both the PS3 and 360 there are some stark differences aside from the cost. While the PSOnline is free it lacks many must-have features that are already on the 360. On Live, you have the ability to chat and multitask, invite friends to a game, custom avatars, etc. The PS3 is very clumsy with its game invitations and if you're in the middle of a chat and want to browse around the playstation store, or simply change some PS3 settings, you can't. You must end the chat first. On the 360, a friend can go into private chat with you during a movie or a game. The PS3 still hasn't done this. The 360 was definitely built with Xbox Live as a big centerpiece while the PS3 was built to promote the bluray format and the great content (games/movies) it provides. However, its obvious that Sony's priority is not its online community and its lackluster online experience seems secondary when comparing online experiences between the two systems. The 360 is lucky to inherit a well established community and an online framework capable of handling loads of traffic and DLC. While PS3's online system continues to stumble with its releases, I'm hopeful that they will catch up but since it's free, Sony is not prone to liabilities and nor do they need to feel obligated to improve their online systems.

On the 360 side, Live frequently updatea content and gaming highlights which effectively nurture Live's community. Live has events where you supposedly play against celebs, developers, or reach an achievement to win some prizes like a car. Xbox Live's community also has the ability to submit player reviews or even file complaints.

I'm not hating at PS3 at all, just its online component. Just take a look at my profile/images. I have almost the same number of games on both the PS3 and 360. But when it comes down to online experience, Xbox Live is currently the online system champion and is worth the cost.

Here is a side-by-side comparison between the two games.

• Campaign Mode?
  • VT9: Yes - World Tour
  • GST: Yes - Grand Slam
• Create-A-Player?
  • VT9: Yes - Home in World Tour
  • GST: Yes - The Locker Room
• Online Play and Local Multiplayer?
  • VT9: Yes
  • GST: Yes
• Can Use Nunchuk?
  • VT9: Yes
  • GST: Yes
• Practice Area
  • VT9: Yes
  • GST: Yes
• Tutorial Games

How are the Tennis Motions Handled?

• Forehand
  • VT9: Wii Motion Plus - EasilyRecognizes Motion
  • GST:Wii Motion Plus -SeldomRecognizes Motion
• Backhand
  • VT9:Wii Motion Plus - Easily Recognizes Motion
  • GST:Wii Motion Plus - Seldom Recognizes Motion
• Lobs
  • VT9:Wii Motion Plus - Easily Recognizes
  • GST: Uses "A" button and any swinging direction of WiiMote - Consistent
• Drop Shot
  • VT9:Wii Motion Plus - Moderately Recognizes Motion
  • GST: Uses "B" button and any waggling of WiiMote -Consistent
• Slice
  • VT9:Wii Motion Plus - Seldom Recognizes Motion
  • GST:Wii Motion Plus - Seldom Recognizes Motion
• Service
  • VT9:Wii Motion Plus - Easily RecognizesMotion
  • GST:Wii Motion Plus - Moderately RecognizesMotion
• Volley / Smash / Net Play
  • VT9: Wii Motion Plus - Easily Recognizes Motion. Raise WiiMote to ready volley
  • GST: Uses "Up" button for Net Play

Other Notes:

In GST, it doesn't account for the wind-up of the racquet before hitting the ball. For example, if you are bringing your WiiMote back to anticipate a forehand or backhand, GST will record it as a swing. In VT9, the player's A.I. goes into wind-up animation to anticipate the hit. This avoids mistaking the wind-up from the actual swing. However, if the person holding the WiiMote anticipates it as a backhand and the screen shows a forehand, well then VT9 just made you look silly. In GST, you can get away from just waggling the controller but not VT9. However, VT9 is sometimes too forgiving.

Detailed Ratings (1-horrible / 10-superb):

• Menu Presentation
  • VT9: 5
  • GST: 8
• Career Mode
  • VT9: 8 (has an edge because of the multi-tennis court games and multiple ways of training)
  • GST: 7 (assimilates the abilities of tennis legends)
• Consistently Follows Player's Motion
  • VT9: 8 (usually follows mostly but is more forgiving)
  • GST: 4 (character is mostly hitting ball off feet)
• Sounds / Music
  • VT9: 7
  • GST: 8
• Player's A.I. and A.I. Positioning
  • VT9: 8 (your character is erratic on an opponent's weak dropshots. Very noticeable when doing VT Coach)
  • GST: 1 (this is what makes GST frustrating)
• Player control with Nunchuk
  • VT9: 8 (works well with Nunchuk)
  • GST: 7 (still hits ball at feet whether you perform a backhand/forehand even when positioning character correctly)
• Online Play and Setup
  • VT9: 8
  • GST: 8
• Most realistic feel of tennis
  • VT9: 7 (very inconsistent recognition on forehand/backhand slicing)
  • GST: 3 (uses buttons in combination with swinging. Holding "A" button and swinging downward will still produce a lob)
• Overall Experience
  • VT9: 7
  • GST: 5

It seems like to me that those who favor one game over the other are disappointed by either Wii Motion Control, Player Placement, Online, etc. In terms of the better realistic feel for Tennis, I think Virtua Tennis has the edge mostly because their A.I. is much better, no use of buttons, forced calibration, and the wind-up animations trick the player into thinking it's full 1:1. GST has a much better lineup of players to select from but they are resorting to waggling in combination with buttons for lob and drop shot. Some people like this since they feel they have more control with the way strokes are done on the court but that defeats the purpose of WM+. GST also does not accomodate for wind-up. When you bring your WiiMote back for the swing, the game will take that as a swing. VT9 accomodates the wind-up by putting an animation in between hoping that the player will mimic that swing. As for online, my experience between both games were lagfree most of the time but in GST both you and the opponent will have to use Nunchuk to minimze the horrible A.I. not accomodating for wind-up. Some people are experiencing lag on both games and it would be wrong to judge based on lag since each match can differ depending where your opponent is located. Virtua Tennis 2009 does its best to mimic tennis movements. It does it pretty well but has trouble with slicing. Slicing is completely different from how it's mimicked in real life. VT9 also annoys you by continuously asking you to choose between Standard control and WiiMotionPlus even with WM+ plugged in.

Between both games, VT9 definitely has a deeper learning curve but the VT Coach helps with this (except for slicing - which is horrible). GST is much quicker to pick up since you can waggle the WiiMote but the Nunchuk is must. Also be prepared to play corner-to-corner rallies because that happens often no matter how well you time your swings. Both are still sequels away from creating true 1:1 motion of tennis but VT9 takes the edge mostly because it tries to make use of all the various swings with WiiMotion.

Detailed Review for VT9 to come soon