I love football (Or American Football as it is called in my country). I was a shameless football videogames buyer. Any kind that means a gridiron on my screen was more than welcome. From Blitz to Madden, I really enjoy the games on the New Gen consoles. But I have to be more than happy to see that a new season is coming.

I have 10 comments to make regarding this season, and I want to share them with you.

1.- "With Michael Vick's absecense, the only losers are the Atlanta Falconss"

Do you really think that Michael VIck lost will affect the League. Not at all. He was not a good QB, but he was a great athlete. That's the difference. He was more like a showman that a leader. The statistics talk by themselves. Too bad he did what he did when he got a decent group of WRs. Probably he would've shown something to us.

2.- "THere is a big question mark on the Cowboys performance this year"

They were so confident that they skipped on Brady Quinn. Tony Romo must be very aware of his situation. The Cowboys have a good balanced defense. (LB doesn't convince me) and the offense seems pretty great compared to the last year. But I still think that there is something missing... Experience? Yeah, I will say it is. I think that this team will be a menace in a couple of years.

3.-"Don't put your money on the Colts..."

This is a suggestion. The team has made that "rebuilding" issue that a lot of champions make next season. I don't know why some teams like to do that. But the defense is weaker and offense is not as powerful as it seems to be. Sure, they will win their division, but I won't put my money on them... Not with a team like the Patriots over there.

4.- "Beware of the Niners"

This is the black horse... the team that no one would like to meet. THey have a foundation (Finally) and the division they belong to. (West) is shaking. Seattle has problems with the running defense... The Rams defense is still on building process... and the Cards... well, c'mon they are the Arizona Cardinals... The niners will be the surprise team of the year. PLAYOFFS...

5.-"Calvin Johnson: The next Barry Sanders?"

Different positions, yeah, but the succes will be if he can give what Barry did for the Lions. A glimpse of a light for a mediocre team. Let's face it. Detroit ain't gonna get better this year. Sure, there will be three WRs to choose from but they don't have a guy named Manning to do something really hype. Runners are nothing to be excited about. And if the defense falls sleep during games like they used to. This will be a long season... again. But hey, There is Calvin. That's worth watching. We'll see.

6.- Randy Moss WILL BEa difference in New England

This will work. Bellichik is a very good coach. Randy Moss has Tom Brady. Who can hate Tom Brady? He will get the passes, and the TD. Remember the Bulls with MJ, Philand Rodman? Same case. A true leader tries to bring the best of the teammate no matter how crazy he is. Moss will be a main target and he will be pleased with that. Pats will become a machine... again... (DAMN YOU, PATRIOTS)

7.- "Daunte Culppeper will have a LOONNNG season"

HE plays for the Raiders. Anything else to say?

8.- "NO one should dare to pass on Denver.

Dre' Bly and Champ Bailey. It is almost unfair. Is like getting an ALL MADDEN team. oh, yeah... and LYnch is there too. Tough to catch and some killer around... you have to be kidding.

9.- "NEVERMORE"

The ravens learned a valuable lesson: PLay hard, because I can. Don't expect to play like chickens. They are better and badder. And now they have changed, all their rivals should expect a big surprise.

10.- "Chicago can because nobody else can"

When you have to face a team that doesn't remember what a tradition is (GB), another one who doesn't know that they are playing... yet (Dt) and another one who is still in transition, you have to expect another GREAT season from Chicago. But in playoffs time... There is Rex Grossman again. Good season, bad playoffs.

Well, I think that's it for comments. Here are my predictions.

AFC

East: Patriots North: Baltimore South: Colts West: Chargers

Wilds: Jets, Denver

AFC championship: Baltimore vs. New England

AFC champ: NE

NFC

East: Philadelphia North: Chicago South: Saints West: San Francisco

Wilds: Dallas, Seattle

NFC Championship game: Saints vs. Philadelphia

SUper Bowl: NEW ENGLAND vs. NEW ORLEANS

Champ: NEW ENGLAND

Well, I hope this is a great season. Waiting for NO vs Indianapolis. Should bea lot of points in there. Let me know what you think. I promise I will talk about videogames next time. :p

I already checked my finances and my gaming time...

I have managed to get the best games during the next 4 months. Before new year, these are the games I will be looking for, geting them as soon as they come out. Monthly. Don't expect a big list... but I wanted to share this with you. (This is based on the latest dates given by Gamespot. Nothing official happens)

September - Nothing happens... Yeah, you heard me... Nothing happens...Well, I still have a lot of Bioshock and Madden 08 toget through...not forgetting about Rainbow Six and (of course) GUITAR HERO!!!! (Cannot get enough of these two) Four amazing games which I will enjoy during this month.What?... No, I am not interested in THAT GAME... I will tellyou later why hehehe

October - Things start to get in shape as GUITAR HERO III is becoming available. BUt this is only a small start until...

NOVEMBER - Hard decission to make... I might be able to get two games... But I have four to choose from. Ok, I made my decission. Certain RPG where no one in Galaxy likes us and a game from a man un Jerusalem were the winners. I might get that soccer game and the Two men dirty job game later... probably on...

DECEMBER - Yeah, why not? Soccer on december would be cool. Pro evolution will be mine. Army of Two will do to.

I will have to keep holding Gears of War and Oblivion for a while...

Have a great day!!!

Don't try to deny it. It has happened to anyone. As some metalhead friends are bashing other groupies, you secretly hide you The Corrs album... and as you listen how bad Mariah Carey's movie Gigli is, you are wondering where to put the poster on your room. We all have had them. GUILTY PLEASURES: Things that other people dislikes... and worst, things that you are aware that are pretty bad and smells.

Obviously, something like this must happen on Videogames. You are aware that some games are bad, hideous, abismal, whatever...and still have the time to enjoy them a while. You ever master some of them. We cannot hide this fact. I had my times too. And as a way to change my life and earn redemption (Or just to fill today's blog, whatever fits to you hhehe) I want to share with you some of these games. Mostly are the ones that I remember, because maybe my memory is trying to avoid recalling such memories...

This were my guilty pleasures. Games that were bad and I enjoyed playing... at least at the time I saw the.

NFL LEGENDS 98 (PC)

This game was hideous. Crashed all the time, was extremely easy. (HB Sweep right... that's it) and incredibly stupid. Yet, I earned the chance to build my team, and manage to create a whole league. I played this game more that I should have. But, was a good momen considering how much I love footballt. But the games really was BAD.

MARIO IS MISSING (SNES)

OK, I really loved history... world history... One of my favorite topics and themes. Maybe that's why I had the patience to play this game. I don't remember why I did't completed it. Probable I found REAL games on the time. WHen you put school on the videogames, you make somekind of short circuit. Well, I really enjoyed searching about every item in order to find where was Mario. Anyway, you may remember this game as boring... not for me.

HYPERZONE (SNES)

My first SNES game besides the included SMW. Probably was the hype and emotion of owning the SNES the reason for me to really play this game like a maniac... but this game was quite simple and monotonous. If you have never heard of it, the game is similar to FZero, but you only coul move the ship and shot. All the levels were the same issue. A game that was more worried to use the MODE 7 tool. It was simple, and I enoyed it. Maybe today I would say... no thanks.

KID NIKKI (NES)

I am still wondering WTF I was thinking when I decided to trade this for Ninja Gaiden II. Well, after all the were both ninjas. But one of the coolest ninjas ever, against this bad designed worst looking ninja. What was I thinking. I don't even know how the kid attacked. It was just a spinning stick. The bosses were lame and the graphics were childish. Oh, By the way... Did I mention that I actually liked the game... But it was my brother who was able to finish it. Well, I never finished Ninja Gaiden II either.

SUPER HIGH IMPACT (SNES)

I don't know if you ever played this game. It was not that bad. But it was too easy. I really loved how easy it was to block the FG attemp. Plus the graphics were not spectacular. But I had a great time with all the people I played it with. It was a SNES game, and Tecmo Bowl was way better and more complete. But you gotta love to fight and kick your apponents. It was NFL BLITZ grandfather. "OUTRAGEOUS"

TECMO TAG TEAM WRESTLING (NES)

I remember when I played this game the first time. I enjoyed playing with my friend. He got tired and I kept playing. I went to buy a well deserved new game and they told me they were out of it. I SEARCHED LIKE CRAZY FOR THIS GAMES!!! I decided to get Castlevania III: Belmont's Revenge, which recently came out but I wasn't aware of that. That display of impulsive behaviour was smarter I think. But I didn't see that until time later. I rented the game weeks later and played it EVEN MORE than Castlevania. More that 10 years later, I see the game on SEANBABY's list for worst NES games ever. HAHAHAHA

ROCKETEER (SNES)

This games was bad and I spend three annoying weeks with it. I remember it becasue I took it with me on vacation with my cousin and I was the only one playing it. No one understood why I played this game. They even though I was playing the game over and over. That was because all the levels were the same.

ROBOCOP (NES)

This is a very special case: This is my top worst favorite game. I was able to finish and master this game. I really loved it. And as a good movie based videogame it was pretty bad. BUt I really loved playing it over and over and over... Probably the game deserved better, but I think not much people liked it...

Well, these are the ones I can remember now. As you might see I am smarter to select my games nowadays. Games should be fun and a lot failed on this. BUt if we are able to find some good on the worst...I think we have too much free time... because sometimes it is impossible...

And ... Which are yours?

I just read in another blog from another user (Mr Chupon). He was playing Chrono Trigger. What a game it was. For me, is one of the best ever. I really never cared too much about Final Fantasy series. Chrono Trigger is unique and deserves a special spot not only in RPG's gut in gaming itslef.

Anyway, when I started thinking I remembered the impact of the game in my perspective as a game player. I remember the time when I started. I was too happy killing goombas and koopas... I was happy as long as Contra, Castlevania and Mario had adventures to show. I never really wanted to play nothing but Plataform games and sports games. (Football mainly).

My eyes were closed until some other games came. Four exactly. They changed my perspective of the games. If I put them on a list of my favorites ever, probably won't be on the top, but I can assure you... They make such impact in my life, that some made some genres my favorites.

1.- Zelda: A link to the past.

I was a young silly boy when the Zelda's were available on NES. When I saw them I said "Boring". When I got the SNES I had the chance to own Zelda: A Link to the Past. I was hooked at the moment by his playability. And stablished myself to a great series of games. I loved the game and blamed that little kid I was for missing the first two games of the series. Zelda changed my perception for adventure games.

What happened next: I play this kind of games a lot. Searching and investigating is now a part of my gaming style. I look around and observe every detail even knowing that the game doesn't have secrets at all.

2.- DOOM

THe first time I played DOOM I was amazed that such kind of games were available. MY PC was never used as much as it was then. (I didn't have internet yet) The main reason: Search and Destroy. First Person Shooters were rare on my country by then. Being able to play a game that looked and played so realistic was amazing. FPS became a reason for me to live as a gameplayer. Excitement. Environments. cool characters. Online playing. Thrilling enemies. For the first time I really felt like a character playing. "My kind of game" I said.

What happened next: I obtained a FPS called BLOOD. Probably some of you knew it. And then...a long history has gone through the years... that story is currently on BIOSHOCK chapter... BTW, BIOSHOCK RULES!!!! lol

3.-Chrono Trigger

I hated RPG's when I heard about them. How the hell would I want to read in a game. That's why books exist. Action!!!! PLease!!! But I decided to gave an opportunity to one of them. The so called Chrono Trigger. RPG's were not popular on my country either, but I was able to get a copy. I was immersed in a new kind of games. The story and strategy, and the graphics. OMG. What have I missed... Now, RPG's are part of my favorite games. I don't have too many because they absorbe a lot of my time. (Stupid work). But hey... When you play the best RPG in the time... the least you can do is say. I was wrong.

What happened next: One day, I remember that clearly... I decided to play Chrono Trigger from the beginning to the end without stop. 12 hours took me. Longest time ever I played without stop. I was punished by my parents. Worth it!!!

4.- Guitar Hero

When I watched every gadget for simulating. (Remember the carpet that you used on the NES) I laughed off loud. Dance revolution was the games for geeks for me. I should've been able to see it coming. What happened when a game shows songs that you like, and gives you the chance to play them "on a guitar". My curiosity raised and my brother got me to the game. I became a geek myslef since then. Playing without a control feels different. And Rock band should be a game to expect.

What happened next: I shall never never criticize games for geeks again.... lol just kidding. On my way to finish expert on GH2... Expecting rock band.

Well... I feel great remembering my first time playing these games. Thanks to them I can enjoy games like Bioshock (duh), Hitman, GTA, Rock Band. That's the reason I expect games like Mass Effect, Assasins Creed, GH3 (duh), Army of two. I love videogames. My brother told me once "When is about video games... you behave like a kid"... I don't care.

I find amusing my behavior in the past weeks. 2K should pay me good money for all the publicity I am giving to his Bioshock game. But I can't help it... I really loved the game. I can't remember the last time I talked about a game with so many people... And I cannot remember when was the last time I became annoying. Even Rainbow Six and Guitar Hero (MY two all time favorite XBOX 360 games... curious I suck in both) didn't make me behave like that. And well, I even forgot that those games existed during the first day I played it... That is something to worry about.

Anyways, I still recommend Bioshock. It is a very nice experience in the shooter genre. Is not as good as Gears of War or RS: las Vegas. But it has something different on it. And BTW, the big daddy is the coolest character that I have ever seen on a game for a long time... If only it had an online option...

Some of my friends and union partners do not agree with me. BUt that is fine... Can you imagine a world where everyone likes the same?... Boring!

GET BIOSHOCK!!! IT RULES!!!!

I was told today by one of my friends that I am too old for Videogames.

Is there any chance to have a reference on when you are too old to play?

As I recall, I belong to the second generation of videogaming (correct me if I am wrong) as I was able to get Intellevision, Atari and NES. I grew up with videogames. So... I keep playing sports too. AM I too old to play sports?

One of the main reasons that Playstation and XBox were so succesful is because they gave something Nintendo didn't: Games for the old time gamers. When you played Zelda and Mario the first time, those were awesome games... and they still are. BUt that time I was 8 years old... You cannot expect that 10 years later (Talking about 1998) I would expect to still like the same genres and the same things. But Nintendo didn't follow up their first and loyal fans. They stuck with the new generation and forgot about us. :( What did I do? I got rid of my Nintendo 64 and started to play PC games.

Console fashion ended for me. During 5 years (Believe it or not) I didnt own any console. And then I met XBOX and PS. That is exactly what I was talking about. They gave the old time gamers something worth playing: Mature games. After all, we all are still pure hearted videogamers. And then, that sensation that you feel when playing a great game and feel good about it was back... well, actually it never went away.

So, it is not how old you are, is how old you feel. We can be cooler parents because we can play with our children (I can imagine my son getting angry because I won't let go the X Box Gen 3 or whatever we can call it). It is like when you play baseball with your parents. Sharing will be important. And that is something that all videogamers generation will have.

As we grow old, we know that videoames are ok if worked properly, that is something we didn't have, because our parents were not familiar with such phenomenom. We, by the other hand, can guide our children to a healthy perception of videogames, because we grew with them.

Old? Better told... experienced!!!!! I have played for almost 20 years... I consider myself a veteran.

Cheers everyone and grow up with health. Teach the good of videogaming: Play good.

I've been playing BIOSHOCK a long time for now. IT is a very amazing game. If you want to know more about what I think about it, please refer to my review on the game. Meanwhile, the game itself inspired me to write a new topic. What does a FPS needs to be amazingly good? Since the good all timer DOOM, a lot of people has been using that kind of games as a money factory. Unfortunately for the genre, the games became annoying and ver ridiculous in some aspects.

That's why, today I want to talk about the 10 things that a FPS cannot miss in order to be able to keep the track with modern perception of one of the most important genres in gaming history:

10.- BIG LEVELS:

So, if you think that this is so obvious, you must then establish that this kind of games are for enjoying. The bigger the level, the best opportunity to check a lot of things about it. And one more thing to add. Big levels means a lot of secrets. Make the journey worthy.

9.- MAIN CHARACTER WITH A SOB ATTITUDE

From Sargeant Joe to Marcus Phoenix... there is nothing as great as knowing that your character is a real tough guy, SOB, careless bastard. You really want to get together with a guy who enjoys what he is doing... after all you are.

8.- COOL ENEMIES

If you like to shoot living beings, at least make them worthy of killing. I really enjoyed DOOM because of that. The enemies are so cool that you can memorize their names. (Mancubus... I really hated them). THe enemies must be aggresive and very cool. And if you have to fight humans... well, you cannot always win.

7.- LEVEL DESIGN - ENVIRONMENT

I really loveany kind of game that shows great levels. The kind of environment that is commanding you to take a look around. I think BIOSHOCK does that in a very significant way. A great thrilling environment that wants and needs to be explored. Whn you look around at that you can only think. "They really wanted me to do it. I am going to explore". The view lets you use more than imagination to figure out everything that is surronding you.

6.- A TOUGH GUY WHO MUST BE YOUR ENEMY

Oh, yeah.. Nothing like a very tough guy you must get in order to feel good with yourself, right? What about the CYberdemon. Wasn't he tough on his old times... What about General RAAM? Or the flood? When you have to get tougher to get a guy, it makes the game so good that you want to face him again and again. BIG DADDY is tough BTW... Well, not that much

5.- WEAPONS... OH YEAH

I think this is the only point that we all will agree, and by far, the only point that any game can't be wrong. One of the points of this game is to make weapons that almost nobody can imagine, hence, make this guns a great reward for finding them. Examples? You really think that names like Gravity Gun, Rail Gun, BFG 9000 doesn't mean anything to you? After all... Weapons are the reason why are we playing this.

4.-ONLINE GAMING

TOday, the only reason why BIOSHOCK is a better game now is because they didn't add an online option. You have to. Because sooner or later, the game will not give anything more. After that, What can we do? Plus, nothing is better that try the new options and strategies on other people. I think this is the main reason why FPS are one of the best genres ever. HALO and GEARS are the perfect example...

3.- INNOVATION

If you are not able to show smething new, then it is not a very good choice. THis kind of games need to give more everytime. DOOM gave a very interesting beginning, followed by QUake, Half Life, Halo, etc. All these games gave something new to the genre, and that is why they all became references. If you are going to make a game like this, please consider making something different. But please... Make something we really might care or notice...

2.- A HISTORY

With all this PEACE TALKING... we need to understand why are we fighting. There is nothing worse for a human being with some morality to know why the heck is he shooting all these creatures. That's why we need a story to follow. That way you can say this is not my fight but I am glad to help. With these and the environment you really feel you are playing a complete game.

1.- SURPRISE FACTOR

When you finish to check all the previous point, is the game itself that makes all worthy. Knowing that you are about to get killed and suddenly you find behind a wall a MDW and use it to save the day. When you are listening something and suddenly you are attacked. THose are the special feelings about what I am playing.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this. Feel free to add your own perceptions. These are not rules, they are comments about what I like about it.

REGARDS AND SEE YOU AGAIN SOOO... BTW, BIOSHOCK rules!!!!

Some people may think that the songs that have been included on Guitar Hero are not popular enough... but I think that the most important thing is not the popularity, but the gameplay that such song can give to the game.

Have you considered the fact that some songs, popular as they are, might not be fun to play? I cannot think about some songs. But I can tell you a example like Aerosmith which Last Child song is not its most popular but its most playable, maybe. Same thing with Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden and many others.

We should see that when they pick the next songs.

The list they have displayed is very good. I think of a list, with some of my favorite bands that might be good for the game.

ACDC: Let There be rock

LED ZEPPELLIN: Trampled Underfoot

MEGADETH: Rattlehead

METALLICA: Master of Puppets

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: Give it away

IRON MAIDEN: Hallowed be thy name