I have finally finished another of the countless titles that I promised myself I would eventually get around to. I just finished Castlevania Curse of Darkness for the PS2. I enjoyed the game at first, but in the end wound up finishing it out of spite.

   I have spent the last month grinding through repeated levels in order to level-up enough and assemble the right team of assistants to defeat the final boss. I am not an RPG gamer, and this is the closest I have ever come to playing an RPG since my Sega Genesis days. Needless to say, I will not be picking up any other Castlevania titles in the near future.

   This does save me time, because I bought a few RPG's on clearance because I heard they were good (Kingdom Hearts and The Bard's Tale). Castlevania had only very minor RPG elements, but these were what frustrated me. This means that I will not bother to finish the other RPG's.

   I know some people love Kingdom Hearts, and consider it offensive for me to suggest that I own a copy and will never bother to play more than 1 hour of the game. I'm not saying it's a bad game and I hold nothing against RPG fans, but life is just too short and I have too much on my plate to spend time playing games I don't really enjoy.

   I just put in Red Dead Revolver, but haven't played it yet. Between work and family I've only managed about 5 hours a week of gaming, and almost no time on GS. I resigned from some of the unions that I haven't visited in awhile simply because of my hectic schedule.

   Hope everyone is doing well, and I will try my best to get more game and GS time in the near future. We are moving next week, so I probably won't be by for awhile. I fully plan to come back with a vengence in a few weeks. Till then, best wishes. 

   I just realized that I haven't updated my blog in two weeks, which is rare for me. Things have gotten fairly hectic the last couple of weeks and look like they'll stay that way for at least another week.

   I've been in training off and on, and my schedule is all messed up. I usually work from 11 PM to 7 AM, but training is not available at those times. That means that I have to completely change my schedule to the usual 8 AM to 5 PM when training comes up. This has really been messing up my sleep, and it's been hard to get to the gym or get on GS. My son is now teething, which has caused many further adjustments to my sleep schedule.

   It's been freezing the last few days in Dallas, which most of us aren't prepared for. This means I've been staying off the roads as much as possible, and have finally gotten some quality time with my PS2. I'd been pretty much addicted to my PSP before that, simply because I can take it anywhere and pause anytime.

   I'm working my way through Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. I hadn't played a Castlevania game since the original NES, so it's fun to see where the series has gone. The plot and RPG aspects are much more confusing than I remember, but I'm gonna see this one through and hopefully finish the game later this week.

   Other than that, there's not much else going on. I've got one last week of training coming up on the 22nd, but hopefully things will return to normal after that.

   New Years is a busy time at my work, and I have put in a lot of extra hours recently. I work deep nights, so I usually like to go to bed right after I get home.I usually have plenty of time to run errands when I wake up, but when I'm really tired I tend to sleep until it is either time for work or many stores in the area are closing.

   I asked my wife if she would wake me up by 4:00 PM so that I could go to Frye's Electronics. This was the last day of a New Year's sale, and I told her that I wanted to buy some $9.99 games. She asked me which ones, and I told her Exit for the PSP and Bust-A-Move for the DS (GS didn't really like this one, but X-Play thought it was fun.).

   My wife woke me up later in the day by placing a copy of each game on the bed. While I always enjoy going to the store and looking at all the games, it was really nice to just wake up and have them there. 

   This may not sound like much, but my wife has been staying home with our son since he was born in April. It's actually a lot of work for her to pack him up and errands without a second adult there to help. This means that she went to a lot of trouble to do something nice for me.

   On top of that, my wife ran all her errands too. This means a lot because I spend a lot of my days off running errands with my wife. We meant for her to take care of things like all the shopping, but quickly discovered that it's not that easy with an infant. Truthfully, I'm a little overprotective and don't like my wife and child to be alone in crowded places, so I tag along on a lot of trips where I'm not really needed. She's a fully capable and competant woman, but I still worry.

   This meant that not only did I get my games, but I got an afternoon with no to-do list. Those things don't come along that often, so I really appreciate it when they do.  

   While I was watching G4TV this afternoon, with my infant son in the room, an ad for G4's coverage of the Adult Video Awards came on. It was fairly impressive how many things had to be blacked out and cencored in just 30 seconds of TV commercial.

   I have no problem with the fact that a porn industry exists. I don't mind that 14-19 year old boys are fascinated with adult content. I'm not even surprised that someone somewhere might be able to name more than 1 porn star or care who wins these awards. However, I don't think it has any place on a network that is supposedly about video games.

   It would be stupid for me to rail against porn. As a straight American male with an internet connection, I have to admit that at some point I have been exposed to this content. I don't think there shouldn't be any porn, but I strongly believe that it should only be seen by those people who intentionally seek it out.

   I don't care what you or anyone else chooses to view on the internet. I respect the First Ammendment to the U.S. Constitution. I do care what my infant child might be unwittingly exposed to while I am flipping through the channels.

   I use G4 as a background when I'm watching my son. I like to watch X-Play, Icons, and even AOTS, and leave the network playing while I am doing other things (an 8-month old keeps you pretty busy). As a responsible parent, I can no longer do this if I never know when an add full of "censored" spots, lesbian foreplay, and women grinding on stage will show up on the screen.

   When Nintendo introduced the Wii, it showed that the gaming industry is trying to target more people. I support video games becoming a mainstream form of entertainment. G4 is now dedicating themselves full-time to ruining all these efforts.

  I fit some gamer stereotypes. I grew up reading comic books, and enjoyed them through college. I like the Star Wars movies, and have bought many action figures for my son to play with when he gets older. I never got enjoyed cosplay, Star Trek, or Dungeons and Dragons, but I never had anything against people who did. 

   I am now a fit 30 year old man with a professional job, a happy marriage, a young family. My hobbies and professional fighting career have kept me in good physical shape. I do not work in IT, and I groom myself daily.

   From reading your blogs, I see that most of my friends on GS are articulate people with enriching interests. Many of you have a great appreciation for music, film, literature, and art. A lot of you are dedicated to your families and homes. We are all gamers.

   This makes me wonder why G4 wants to fill up their programming schedule with Star Trek: The Next Generation and shows dedicated to the adult film industry. By doing this they are potraying all gamers as pudgy, porn-addicted geeks with no social skills. While we all know that there are many different types of gamers, we also know there a few who meet the stereotype we all want to avoid. 

   G4 is setting the industry back by choosing to air this trash, and I can no longer support them. Maybe I'm getting old, but until the network decides to show gamers as successful, intelligent people, and stops airing these adult-oriented promos in the middle of the afternoon, I can no longer dedicate any more of my time to them.

   My wife bought me a PSP as a gift on April 15, 2005. We already had high speed internet at the house, with a wireless router at the time. I loved my new handheld system, but was always just content to play games on it.

   I have always been a little behind the times when it comes to entertainment. I'm one of the few people I know who doesn't own an iPod. I kept reading about all of the PSP's other functions (internet, videos, music, photos, etc.). Still, I was content to just play games.

   I finally broke down and took the effort to link my PSP to my wireless router and take it online. It was easier than I thought, and I should've done it a long time ago.

  Of course, there are drawbacks. I didn't have enough memory to actually download anything. I spent $60 on a 1 gig memory stick. I also had no clue how to transfer my music files onto my PSP. Therefore, I bought a $20 media manager software package. Now, I have learned that my current OS (Windows ME) is inadequate and I must spend about another $100 on Windows XP.

   I probably needed a new OS anyway, but it's still a lot of money to blow. I'm in no rush, so I probably won't upgrade to XP for a few weeks. I'm not sure if I should feel proud because I finally went online, or if I should feel like a sucker for spending so much money to do so.

   I actually saw a PS3 on store shelves for the first time today. I had to go to Target to pick some things up after work, and they had just received a shipment.

   A year ago, I would've bought one instantly.  I have the money, and my wife has already agreed not to kill me if I purchase one. I had been waiting for the PS3 to come out since it's announcement because I am a die-hard PS2 and PSP fan.

   When the clerk asked me if I want one, I told him "no", looked to see if they had any good PSP titles on clearance, and went about my shopping. At this point, I just can't justufy paying $600 for a system without any great games (other than Resistance). 

   I have always been a platformer and 3rd person shooter fan, and the PS3 just doesn't have any games that I would really enjoy right now. I plan to pick one up when the new Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, and Jak games come out, but that may be awhile. I'm hoping there will have been at least a small price drop by then.

   It's weird that I have the money, but just don't want to get into a next-gen console right now. I think the limited quantities of all systems at launch gave me time to really look at what they had to offer me, and none of them are making me think I need to immediately part with $250-$600. My life is busy and I have very little time for console gaming. 

   For now, I'm hapilly playing my PSP, trying in vain to finish my massive PS2 library, and waiting to see what happens with this gen. As soon as it is determined if the 360 will ever come out with a decent platformer, if the Wii's controller is more than just a gimmick or fad, and if the PS3 is really worth $600, then I will finally commit to my new home console.

  I finally broke down and traded some more of my games. In order to prepare for the next generation, I'm tapering off my collection of games (It was getting out of hand).

   I just finished From Russia With Love for the PS2, and figured I probably wasn't going to play it again. I also traded in Maverick Hunter X and Samurai Warriors for my PSP. Both of them were decent games, but neither held my interest long enough to finish them.

   I used to hold onto almost all of my games, but have decided to be a little more realistic. I'm holding ont a few games that I really love and will probably play again. For my PS2 I'm keeping the Ratchet and Sly Cooper series, Blood Will Tell, the Star Wars Battlefront Series, the Gungrave games, Killzone, Project Snowblind, Lego Star Wars, and God of War. I'm also keeping all of my fighting games (Street Fighters, Guilty Gears, Mortal Kombats) for when friends stop by. For the PSP, I'm keeping X-Men Legends II, Daxter, Mega Man Powered Up, Street Fighter Alpha, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Lego Star Wars II. The only DS games that I'm going to hold onto are The New Super Mario Bros., Trauma Center, and Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney.

   The games I'm keeping are all games that I will conceivably play multiple times. There are many great games that I loved playing, but will eventually trade because they have little to offer after you have finished the story mode. I currently have too many games to finish to even worry about replaying too many games.

   I was saving the credit for the purchase of a Wii or 360, but broke down and picked up Justice League Heroes for the PSP. I want to get into next gen gaming, but I saw a bunch of PSP titles that I'm anxious to play. Because I can take my PSP anywhere, I'm actually playing it more than any other system.

  I figure that by the time I finish the huge amount of PS2 games that I haven't even played yet, the new systems will all be readilly available and in stock. I probably won't get too much credit for the PS2 games, but every little bit helps.

  I have recently gotten several PM's from people who's blogs I read asking what I do for a living. I was thinking this is a little odd because I have never asked any of my GS friends what they do.

   There area couple of reasons I don't post what I do for a living. I may be alittle paranoid, but I don't give out too much information on the internet. I think the risks of ID theft or anything like that is minimal at best, but it still freaks me out a little to give away too much info about myself or my family.

   Secondly, the administration where I work has recently become paranoid about what employees do online. We have received briefings and e-mails about what is appropriate and what is not appropriate to post on a My Space page. This bothers me on some levels, but I can kind of understand.

   I was a teacher and now have a job working for the city. I think personal freedoms are very important, but I can see how people look at what teachers and civil employees differently. I understand that the city department I work for could catch some flack if I posted things that made me look like a racist, or that the school district I worked for would be in trouble if I looked like a pervert. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if someone complained that their child was being taught by someone who liked the GTA and Resident Evil series (I would think they were making a rash judgement, but the complaint wouldn't surprise me).

   I know more and more companies are looking into their employee's web activities. I'm torn between thinking this is a strict invasion of privacy, and seeing the employer's point. I know that anyone who deals with decisions that affect the lives of customers (loan officers, administrators, city officials, etc.) can get their companies sued if they post something that leads people to think any sort of prejudice or discrimination has ever been involved in their decisions. 

   Lastly, I come to GS to get away from work. I love my job and have great friendships with many of the people I work with. Still, when I come home the last thing I want to talk about is work. I enjoy reading blogs about people's opinions or the important things going on in their lives (families, houses, etc.). I figure that if I wanted to talk about work, I'd just e-mail my co-workers.

   I was just wondering if I'm being too paranoid or sensitive.  Please let me know what you think about talking about work on GS or My Space.  

   Life is moving quickly, and the holiday season sure isn't helping to slow the pace. I have little or no desire to buy a PS3 right now, which quite frankly surptises me. However, I'm having trouble not rushing out to buy a Wii.

   It's easy to resist the PS3 because it costs way too much and it would be impossible to find one. I also have so many great PS2 games to finish that I really don't feel the need to upgrade right now.

   The Wii is perfectly affordible and really looks fun. I work odd hours, so it's actually easier for me to shop in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning. This means that I stand a decent chance of actually finding a Wii on store shelves.

   My wife and I are trying to buy a new house, which we are very excited about. I plan to buy at least one HDTV if we get the new house, and it would be perfect for gaming. I'm trying to wait to buy a new system until we move, which would be in late December or early January.

  Technically, I could get a new HDTV now, but my current house is so small. My gaming room is the size of most people's closets, and it's now crammed with stuff we had to move when our son arrived. I also don't feel like going to the extra effort of purchasing and installing anything in a house I plan to leave within a matter of weeks. 

   I feel bad about not wanting a PS3 because I love my PS2 and don't even own an XBOX. The very limited supply and high price have just turned me off for right now. It actually makes me angry when a company knows they have a hot product, and intentionally don't make enough units to fill demand. At least Nintendo is trying to produce a reasonable number of consoles in time for Christmas. It's gonna take some really killer game releases by Sony (new Ratchet and Clanks, Jax, and Resident Evils) to make me even consider picking up a PS3 within the next few years.

  At this rate, I may change my life completely within the next few monts. I could wind up in a new house with an XBOX 360 and a Wii hooked up to my HDTV. That is nothing like what I pictured for myself a year ago.

   I have made my best efforts to understand the and get into the hype of a system launch. I'm almost as excited about new systems as other gamers, but I feel old when I see people waiting in line for days for a PS3.

  I can't tell if I have just lost my enthusiasm, or have finally mastered math. Most of the lines I see have many more people in them than the store could possibly supply with PS3's. No store is getting 50 units, so why would any sane and reasonable person get into a 50 person line?

   Maybe waiting in line is more fun than I think. Perhaps I just don't enjoy lines as much as others. I can tell I'm getting old, because every time I see a line like that I think "Don't you people have jobs?" I wonder how these people can even afford a $600 system after taking three days off work to wait in line.

   Just thought I'd get that off my chest. Maybe now the news will stop showing a PS3 related line story every time I turn on the TV.