Choose my adventure

Instead for reaching for stories, I'll write about what I know. And what I know is Cataclysm, the next expansion for WoW, is set to release on Dec. 7th of this year.

Tokyo Game Show 2010

Since I was a kid I've always wanted the chance to go to an event similar to E3. Now that I live in Japan, I thought that I might take advantage of this opportunity to go to TGS or the Tokyo Game Show. Armed with my trusty iPhone 4 and Johnny. I'm hoping to get some exciting videos of this event. Let's get this blog a rolling!!!!!

Grown-up gaming

This has been a year of change for me. So many things are different now than they were a year ago. The biggest of these changes is the addition of my son. I knew that having a baby around would change everything, so since this is a gaming site, I'll note how it's changed that aspect of my life. The change occurred in three phases...

Woo Hoo! E3!

My two favorite times of the year are Christmas and of course E3. These are probably the best two events of the year IMO. Who doesn't want to hear what Nintendo, Sony, and M$ are up to.

Change is Going to Do You Good!

I decided that it was time for a change to the background. When I first made this blog site, I wasn't really happy with the aesthetics of the site. It was good enough but it didn't feel original. I like this simple design. What does everyone think?

Parallel Kingdom – Age of Emergence

Parallel Kingdom, Age of Emergence is a free to download MMORPG for the iPhone and Android OS smartphones. Parallel Kingdom is an interesting take on the MMO genre as it uses Google maps as the virtual world to play in. Now having played my fair share of MMO’s for several years previously, I was somewhat intrigued on how the MMO genre would work on a platform such as the iPhone. I wasn’t expecting anything ground breaking in terms of graphics, but I was interested in how they incorporated Google maps into the game and the iPhones ability to locate you pretty much anywhere in the world.

What FFXIII Did Right and What It Did Wrong!

Final Fantasy XIII was held with a lot of mix reviews. People either loved it or hated it. One thing is for sure it didn't set any new standards for RPGs. I'm actually a fan of the game myself but I can still see the many flaws that probably brought the game down. Let's crack FFXIII open and dissect what could have made this game better.

Gamefly

So I figured I try renting games for once. I made an account last Saturday and got Uncharted 2 on Wednesday. For some reason I just got a loading screen. I updated my PS3, downloaded and installed the UC2 update...and it still doesn't play. Might just have to return it to Gamefly and claim it defective. Not sure what to think of this service. :/ I want it to work out. Even if I just get two games a month I'll get a lot of gaming for just $12.

I hope the other games work for I can give a more fair review of the service. The next game on my log is Heavy Rain, so hopefully that will work.

How to Kill a God! (God of War III Review)

Most games today have a very typical main character. There's this ruggedly handsome dude or super hot chick that is out to save the world. The character starts from nothing gains tools and weapons to further their journey to save the world. Then enters Kratos probably the baddest BAMF, bad ass mother fucker, in video games. Kratos isn't out there to save the world, he is out for some heads. Kratos has little heart left in him, by standers should pray that they don't cross paths with him. He doesn't even blink when he slaughters the innocent.

Blue Toad Murder Files: Girl Friendly

The wife and I downloaded the first three episodes available on the PS3 last night in a bundle ($14.99). Damn the wireless adapter in the PS3 is slow. Anyway, this looked like a co-op adventure/puzzle game, so it was a must buy. The game will be releasing another batch of three files for sure somewhere in the near future, so I assume all six will run you about $30 when all is said and done (unless you're an idiot who buys the episodes one at a time for $7.49).

With My One Eye I Cry!

Recently, the next step in video games seems to be 3D projection. Lot's of companies like Sony and Nintendo are taking a look at the 3D video games market. What does this mean for gamers like me?

Pixeljunk Monsters: girl friendly

Yes, I'm aware this game has been out for over a year, and yes, I was an early adopter who also has the expansion pack. The point of my 'girl friendly' posts is to review games I have played, or attempted to play, with my wife and the impressions we have had. If you haven't played this game yet, and are on the fence, read on...

Beyond Good

I just finished "Beyond Good & Evil" today, writing up a review on the PC port soon.

I've been WoW'ed

Sorry, I haven't written jack in well over a week. My excuse? Gate River Run (15k) and World of Warcraft. I completed the run on Saturday in 93 minutes, which put my like 5400th out of 13.3k people, so being a more than casual runner, I was pretty happy.

As far as WoW? Well, I gave it another shot, and with Kinto's help, I'm loving it. 10 years late to the party, but oh well. This will carry me over until we all get on FFXIV. Come join WOW!

Work picked up also so I'm not getting quite as much gaming in as I'd like, but that ebbs and flows.

Also, been co-op gaming with the wife in the evenings, so I'll be writing a review of those experiences soon. Titles include Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Lego Star Wars (PS2), and Pixeljunk Monsters.

Game Achievements

I may have become addicted to in game achievements and gamer points. Recently I played some Halo 3 and went on the hunt for the hidden skulls. One skull hidden on each level. The skulls allow the player to modify certain aspects of the game such as having the enemy throw more grenades than you can juggle and turning off things like your motion radar or your HUD entirely. You also get in game achievement points for obtaining these skulls. I have only played a few games on my 360 recently but I’m up to 4000 gamer points now and it’s quite interesting looking back on all the achievements you’ve obtained throughout the different games played. Some of my friends online have in excess of 10000 gamer points or more!.

Mario's 10 Dreadful Secrets, You Probably Don't Know! (Japanese Article)

 Recently, I came across this Japanese article about video games most persistent and loved hero, Mario. The article was based on an American article written in Orange County, California but there are slight differences. Translation after the jump and links to both the ocweekly site and yahoo!Japan site. Enjoy!

Does Japan like Borderlands?

Though Borderlands has been released in the west since last October. In the land of the rising sun, Borderlands was released just last month. When it comes to RPGs we know that Japan and the west don't see eye to eye on the core mechanics. So how well does this fun to play coop game hold up in Japan?

God of War I + God of War II = God of War III

Next week the king of brutality comes back. I finally had a chance to play the 2009 E3 demo. What can I say about one of the most anticipated games for western PS3 fanboys? Well it looks really, really awesome on my HDTV.

Turn based strategy games.

So I’ve been playing through Front Mission on my NDS and am just in absolute nostalgia. Not because I’ve played Front Mission before, but simply because it’s been so long since I last touched a turn based strategy game. I’ve played Front Mission 3 on the PSX, Advance Wars on the Game Boy Advance and the Final Fantasy Tactics series too and love the simplicity of the gameplay yet the complexities in the strategy involved. At times it can seem overwhelming and in most cases I wouldn’t recommend these games for the quick “fix”. I think last night I went to bed with my NDS with the intention of falling asleep around 12ish and staying up till about 2 in the morning! Turn based games just take time a lot of time! Especially the ones where you can customize the units you use in game. Final Fantasy and Front Mission have always allowed the player to customize the load outs of the characters / mechs. Advanced Wars focused more on just having a set of units with pros and cons but then mixing it up with Commander Powers that buffed your units or debuffed your enemies.

PSP Cell really happening?

According to Kotaku (who got it from the Wall Street Journal), Sony is planning to release a smart phone that can play PSP games. Can we say, "duh"? I mean, we've only been saying they need to do this for...6 years? Or however long the PSP has been around? I'm actually pretty pumped, though. If they do that, I'm probably in. Better late than never.

What about you? Good move or more iPhone fodder?

HALO Reach Multiplayer Video (aka Tribes Returneth)

Like I've said before, I'm not going to buy a 360 for one game. But I do love me some Halo. Or at least I used to, before they became TRIBES. I LOVED Tribes. So maybe this is Bungie trying a formula that THEY KNOW DAMN WELL WORKED! I'm getting upset because I don't own a 360 and this is one games' multiplayer that I could totally get into! Compare this video with the TRIBES video, and you tell me what I'm missing.

More coming to the waste land

Looks like borderlands will be getting more DLC love as Take-Two has just let everyone know that there DLC is making such a return for them there going to keep shovelling out bit and pieces at you for more money =D. The next DLC(s) are unknown but said it could also be just stuff you can pay extra for example(making s*** up): Buy the best weapons, buy more talent points, more bag/bank space, new skins, New extra super more hot than that other girl sexy hunter model. IDK, I just like to ramble and .... BL!

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Battlefield Bad Company 2 recently got released on the 360, PS3 and PC platforms. It’s been a while since I last played a battlefield game, Battlefield 2142 was the last one I touched. Since then however I never felt the urge to play the original Battlefield Bad Company or the recent online only Battlefield 1943. The original Battlefield Bad Company seemed too oriented towards console gaming and not so much PC. Battlefield 1943, aside from the graphics didn’t really seem to offer anything new to the franchise. So why has Battlefield Bad Company 2 got me nursing a semi in my panties you ask? Do read on…

The Other M(ario)

Nintendo had it's media summit last week. As a big Nintendo fanboy, the past two media summits have been somewhat disappointing. Last years announcement of Punch Out wasn't anything new and it wasn't the flag ship franchise everyone was waiting to hear news from. In all due respect SMB Wii was a pleasent surprise last year. But finally a media summit that was worth reading about.

Civilization V

I've played Civilization IV, and all it's DLC's (or whatever you want to call their add-ons), plus Colonization, for hundreds of hours now over three years. I don't play it online or competitively, because I get all the challenge I want from the game AI. In fact, I have a new game I just started yesterday. So needless to say, I'm pumped it's truly being worked on. Not only that, but it's scheduled for a fall 2010 release! Seriously, why are all the greatest games ALL COMING OUT THIS YEAR! Sheesh, our wallets and lives need a break!

PS3 suffering "hiccups"

According to Kotaku, the PS3 is having a problem. I won't re-report their story. Go read it. But I checked, and I, too, am affected by this problem. Hopefully they will get this resolved soon. Like before March 9th.

PC gaming FTW!

Update: Sony has said they will have a fix in 24hours. If you have a Pre-Slim machine, they recommend you don't turn it on until tomorrow. Details in the original link.

Borderlands: Dr. Zed's Zombie Island

Late to the party, I know, but hey, this blog is about anything gaming related you want to post, and since it is what I played over the weekend (with Kinto...thanks!), I'm going to post about it.

"Dr. Zed's..." is a DLC (one of three) for 'Borderlands'. Once installed, you get there by teleporting to "Jacob's Cove". A brief intro starts, similar to the beginnings of Borderlands, where Marcus is telling a story to his kid. Seems Dr. Ned...*ahem*...Dr. Zed needs help. As far as the story goes, that's all I'll post so you can play it yourself for the story. What little there is, anyway.

March Games

March is quickly coming upon us. There were a lot of great releases this April and it's really unfortunate I couldn't play all of them. I'm still looking forward to playing games like Heavy Rain and Borderland's new DLC. The beginning of 2010 has given the year a really strong start and it doesn't seem like the momentum is going to be dying down anytime soon.

What are you looking forward to this month?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Review)

I'm going to be honest with most of you. I've never played Modern Warfare. I heard a lot of positive stuff about it, but I was on the other side of the world. In the land of the rising sun, FPS are not really popular. Plus, until recently I didn't have a good enough PC to even run a game like L4D in it's normal settings. I'm pretty much jumping on the band wagon because a lot of people have been saying that MW2 is just plain awesome.

Final Fantasy (and FF II) for iPhone

According to IGN, the first two installments of Final Fantasy will hit the iPhone app store this Thursday (25 Feb).

I can't tell you how much this game changed my life. I rented it so much the store finally gave it to me because I basically 'bought' it. It changed hands with all of my friends. I still have the cartridge to this day. My love of RPG really started with this, though I guess you could throw Link in there sort of, though he's more Adventure than RPG.

Setsubun Festival

This is gaming related because I learned about this on Cheapy D's latest podcast.

Apparently, there is an annual festival in Japan where the children, according their age, throw the corresponding number of roasted soybeans at their father, or other person, dressed as Oni (Demon from Japanese folklore) to drive away the demon spirits.

You have to listen to at least the first 5 or 10 minutes of his podcast to really appreciate it, but seriously, wtf? That is a wicked cultural difference.

Gaicha, is this celebrated where you are? Interested on your insights here.

Secret Armory of General Knoxx

For you Borderlands Fans

They finally made available some actually game footage of the new DLC and there walkthroughs to boot.

Lvl cap up to 61
New Cars
New enemy types
New Zones

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/t-bone-junction-borderlands-general/62090
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/crimson-tollway-borderlands-general/62092
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/lakebed-walkthrough-borderlands-general/62094

Hand-held Consoles

About a year and a half ago, before my vacation in Cabo San Lucas, I finally made the plunge and bought a PSP. I was so excited! One of the first things I did was rip my DVD of "Transformers" onto a format the PSP could play, and then loaded it onto the Memory Stick Duo card. My wife and I watched the movie on the plane rides over, and it was great. But then it all went wrong.

Real Treasure

I'm a avid fan of the Angry Video Game Nerd. His latest review as of writing, Sworquest, was such an awesome concept. A game series where you can win REAL prizes. Not just money, but a real, one of a kind treasure! Real swords. The trophies and achievements you get with games today are fine, but man, getting a real gold encrusted sword with a silver blade is beyond words.

Blast From the Past! (Half-life 2)

Blast From the Past, (BFTP), Half-life 2. I'm really late in joining the millions of fans that have already beaten Half-life 2 and to be honest I'm still not completely finish. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and I think the picture to the right says everything I pretty much want to say about this game. 
 

Who wants to go for a ride for $7.50

Sony has gone and blog that there Capcom games will be going on sale including Marvel vs. Capcom 2 =D. MvC2 is on sale for $7.50 (down from $15) until Fed 25. I'm in!

Source

Shattered Horizon Free to play for the weekend

Shattered Horizon is a death match style online game that you play in outer space. Its developed by Future Mark Studio, sound familiar? Same studio that makes the GPU benchmark programs.

Note: trying to add a pic but the button does not work =-(

Update: already pre-loading

No More...WKC (You were expecting "Hero's"?)

Can't do it anymore. The fun is gone. I guess I just so desperately wanted this to work. But alas, despite all the coolness of this game, I just couldn't keep it. If I want MMO gameplay, I'm getting an MMO (Hellooo, FFXIV). A little sad, yes, but I've replaced it with CoD: MW2 (PC), so I'll be looking for you online! MUH HA HA!

Fan Made Megaman Deathmatch FPS

Cutstuff has released a trailer for for their upcoming Megaman 8-bit Deathmatch. It's a mod for Skulltag, which brings the classic Doom engine to the online world.

Excited for Halo: Reach?

I am by no means an Xbox fan boy. But I bought a 360 for two reasons. Gears of War and Halo. Halo 3 wasn't even close to next gen in my opinion. It is what I call Halo 2 complete. Halo 2 lacked a fun campaign mode and Halo 3 came in and made it better. Playing 4 player co-op was really fun but does more people players equal next gen. Halo 3 I felt was disappointing because the graphics were just a little bit shinier than Halo 2's. What about REACH?

Facebook games: Social?

Nine months ago, I joined the modern world and setup a Facebook account. In many ways, I think Facebook is pretty great. I've gotten in touch with so many friends that I probably would have lost all touch with, and my life is better for it. One of those friends quickly sent me an invite to 'play' Mafia Wars. Game? about Mafia? Sounds intriguing enough...

February the 14th!

One of the most romantic and depressing holidays is coming up this weekend. Will you and your significant other be gaming?

New WoW content in 2010?

Kinto will be lost again...

WKC: Update

Since I think I'm one of the few that actually goes back and reviews posts on older blogs (because I subscribe to be emailed on them all), I'll post my update on the game in this new post.

Fallout: New Vegas - Hopeful or Full of Hype?

First, I'm a Fallout 3 fan. I poured nearly one hundred hours into the first play-through (I like to be stealthy and do EVERYTHING). I also went back and played another 20 hours as a Renegade just to try it out. So I can't believe I was authentically surprised when I saw the trailer for a new Fallout game by Bethesda!

We are Francis

The true definition of what a WoW player is...

I give you... Francis

Do I Still Want to Play JRPG? (Final Fantasy XIII Japanese Review)

Final Fanatasy XIII is creeping closer and closer to it's international release. However, some lucky consumers, ahem me, bought the Japanese version last Decemeber. The question in my head before buying the game was, "Is this game going to be just another JRPG?"

Heavy Rain Demo Impression

Do you remember when you were a kid and you read 'Choose your own adventure books'? Sometimes you would read so far into the book only to find out that whatever choice you make ends in travesty. Quantic Dream's "Heavy Rain," may take interactive story telling to a new level.

RunMan: Race Around the World

RunMan: Race Around the World is a spastic 2d platformer from Tom Sennett and Matt Thorson. The emphasis on blazing through levels is reminiscent of Sonic the Hedgehog, but more satisfyingly bouncy. With bright, primary colors, and ironic MS Paint-style art design, RunMan is cute and memorable.

Gameplay vid after the jump.

Precinct 52 (Heavy Rain: Demo)

For those of you with a PS3 and are anticipating Heavy Rain, click at the bottom to head on over to Precinct 52. Upon completing the users can get a chance to play a demo of Heavy Rain. What are you waiting for gumshoe? Click away!!!!

Precinct 52

(Update:If you have a US PSN account first you have to register here then go to the above link.)

Knytt Stories Design Tour

These design tours are old news, but the uninitiated should check them out. Courtesy of the most excellent Wolfire Games Blog. They provide a rich, sophisticated analysis of some lesser-known gems. This design tour is about Knytt Stories, an atmospheric 2d platformer with clever art and tight controls.

Wolfire Games are also behind Overgrowth, and have posted fascinating development articles about their engine's use of triangle mesh voxelization, among other things.

White Knight Chronicles: Review

I just picked up the international release on opening day. I have currently played exactly...one hour...so this is to kick off my on-going review. I want to be detailed, so I'll chronicle a lot. Check back to this post often for updates.

30 Commercial Games Released For Free

GamesRadar has a post on 30 commercial games that are, in one way or another, now playable for free. If you never played the original Grand Theft Auto (pictured), you should give it a play. This was probably one of the first violent, subversive games that I ever experienced. You get mega bonus points for running over an entire group of Hare Krishnas.

Steam down for Maintenance Thursday, the 4th

Heads up. Just read that Steam will be down for maintenance tomorrow starting at 1800h PST. No downloads, updates, online play, etc. Off-line Steam games will still work though. So no Borderlands co-op tomorrow. :( However, that works out well for me, because I pick up White Knight Chronicles today, so I'll be able to play it tomorrow :)

What will you play without Steam online?

Project Natal vs. PS3 Wand

Gaming has entered the waggle generation. The Wii has probably changed gaming forever and Microsoft was calling the system a gimick. Sony on other hand tried to jump on the band wagon with a last minute add of the SIXAXIS to the PS3 controller. Micosoft was kind of right because the SIXAXIS became a cheap gimick. The Wii-mote was beyound a gimick to some extent. Many complained about the lack of one to one controls. Two years later that has been fixed with an add-on called the Wii Motion Plus.

Borderlands: PC version update (and PC specs)

Just a quick post to say I got it, so co-op is now possible. Also let me say that the Unreal engine is incredible on the PC. I didn't think it would look better on my PC than the PS3, but damn, it looks AWESOME! I guess it uses the graphics card heavily, which is not where the PS3 shines. Games built exclusively for PS3 look incredible because they've learned how to write the code to utilize the cell processor. As games on PC start writing their code to multi-thread, I can't wait to see what graphics are pushed out (because the CPU will be able to take over all non-graphic specific functions like physics, background rendering, etc). Also, I'm not on an SLI machine. I built this one back in November on a tight budget and used some existing parts I had, so my PC specs are:

CPU: Quad-Core Intel 8200 (2.3 ghz stock, overclocked to 3 ghz)
Video: Nvidia GTS 250 (Software overclock a bit for a 15% boost)
Case: Cooler Master (How I get away with keeping temps low)
MB: Gigabyte (Don't remember exact model, but great for tweaking overclocks)
HDD: 7200 RPM Samsung, 500 gb. Next will be a SSD for the Operating System only.

Only thing I need to get now is a mic so I can chat in our games! I'll try to get one before this weekend.

How about y'all? What kind of rig are you playing on?

Look into the future of 2010

What games are you looking forward to this year? I know the two games for the first quarter of 2010 are Heavy Rain for the PS3 and No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise! I've really been jealous of Wii owners for this one and will be happy to get my hands on it when it gets released this year. With no American release date in sight, I might have to import this one.

What are we going to co-op next?

Alright. Have we assembled? Check. Are we actively posting and communicating? Check (Well, three out of five :P). Are we gaming? Like it needs to be said. Check.

Sooooo, what do we all need to get for some great co-op play together? I've heard rumors of L4D2 arriving at Gaicha's and Kinto's for...PC? Is that confirmed? Unfortunately my Borderlands is for PS3, so I can't hook up with your PC version.

Girlfriend + Mario = Fun time (New Super Mario Bros. Wii Review)

I remember the first time I played a video game while my girlfriend was over. It was such a noob mistake I can't believe I didn't see the ramifications of my actions. I consulted with a few friends and everyone's conclusion was girlfriend + videogames = upset girlfriend. I know there are those of you that have the exception when it comes to girlfriends that can tolerate videogames. Recently, I picked up the mighty red copy of Super Mario Bros. Wii. I really wanted it for the four player catastrophy that's still waiting to happen. The day after I got my girlfriend came over and she saw the red box and that's when I took a leap of faith and asked her to try and play with me. Her face didn't exactly light up with glee but becuase she loves she was willing to bare a few minutes of gameplay.

Gamertags

Post a comment with your Gamer Tags

Watcha playing this weekend?

Post comments about what you're planning to play, buy, or any other gaming news.

Dragon Age: Origins

First off, if you haven't bought this and played, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! But be forewarned, you should really buy the PC version if your 'Puter can handle it. I've read that it ports well to consoles, but certain functionality is not available, which I found vital.

My Love Letter to Uncharted 2 (Review)

Dear Uncharted 2,

This is kind of embarrassing for me to say, but ever since I saw screen-shots of Uncharted, I knew it was time to buy a PS3. The gorgeous graphics, the Indiana Jones like exploration, and the cover-fire gameplay, probably made me feel that love at first sight feeling I had. When I pictured next gen games, Uncharted was the type of game that I imagined. I was instantly hooked and I couldn't stop playing you until the end. My only complaint was, "Damn, you're already finished?" Two years later and Uncharted 2 comes out.

steam! Steam!! STEAM!!!

Maybe I've been neglecting my steam account since I've moved to Japan but recently I really feel like there are some awesome deals right now on Steam. It's not really a money issue anymore as much as it is a time issue.

Right now if you pre-order Bioshock 2, you get a free copy of Bioshock and 10% off the price of Bioshock 2. *Awesome*

Tim Schaffer has really started to build steam as a video game director. Until the end of this week you can buy Psychonauts for $2. Never played it before but I hear the story is awesome and the gameplay is fun. For $2 I don't see why I shouldn't check it out.

Borderlands: Discuss amongst yourselves

So to start, I haven't finished all the single player missions yet, so this isn't a complete review, just a collection of my thoughts so far. I'm currently level 27 in my first playthrough, and I think I've visited almost all of the areas in Borderlands. I'm playing as Mordecai, the sniper/hunter.

I bought this because it was labled as an RPG/Shooter. RPG is what drew me in. Also, the cell-shaded approach is gaining popularity (I've played those graphics in Etenal Sonata and Valkyria Chronicles), and I tend to like the approach at times, since it is a nice break from the UBER-realism that other blockbusters go for. Not saying I don't like the hi-def graphics, because I love them, but I don't want to play all games like that. The key to gaming longevity is variety.

Intro to Landoram

First, SO glad Gaicha got this up and running. All of us gamers always want a place to discuss, and it's definitely more fun with people you know. I look forward to growing and getting to know more in this community!

I've been a gamer since I was old enough to hold an Atari Joystick. My dad was the original gamer, and was a master on the Atari of games like Pacman, Adventure, Yar's Revenge, and Space Invaders. In 1986, I got a Nintendo for Christmas, and the beast was released. I have played or owned nearly every major system since, and love the escape that games offer. Interactive media is always superior to movies or reading, if the energy is high enough to be interactive, IMO.

I have a baby boy to care for now, so he definitely eats into my former gaming time, but I still find plenty of time to game.

As far as game genre's preferred, I have always been a fan of RPG first and foremost. Story is critical to me, seconded by graphics and gameplay. I want to feel like I'm developing my character in the world that's been created, and nowadays, I want the leisure to explore that world. Favorite RPG's are quickly becoming the Western RPG's, like (TES IV:) Oblivion, Fallout 3, Dragon Age: Origins, and Mass Effect. But I have played all Final Fantasy games, and while I was not terribly into some of them, I am looking forward to the next-gen version of FFXIII.

That said, I do play a variety of Genre's, but only if they are great games. Tactical, turn-based games always suck me in, like King's Bounty, the old Panzer General games, Civilization, Military Madness, etc. Those are some of my favorite in this genre.

I don't tend to play shooters very often, but then I buy them and get sucked in. Right now, Borderlands is consuming me, and I'll probably post about that game first. I've enjoyed Halo back in the day, and the Call of Duty series were fun, though I will admit I haven't played those on the next-gen, yet. Last CoD I played was 3.

The last genre I really look for are adventure games. Like my fellow posters, Tales of Monkey Island is high on that list. I've also enjoyed the puzze adventure games like Myst, Syberia, and other point-and-click adventures. I hate that those are dying out, because I REALLY enjoy that kind of exploration.

I currently game on PS3 and PC. Looking forward to this!

BAYONETTA is Like Diet Coke (Bayonetta Review)

I've never been a big fan of Diet Coke or anything with diet attached to it. Sure it tastes like normal Coke at first, than a moment later you get that nasty fake sugar after taste. Splenda isn't so splendid. Hedeki Kamiya's newest action-adventure shooter, in my opinion, falls short to the Devil May Cry series. (For those of you wondering which version I played, I played the much criticized PS3 version.) My disappointment in the game doesn't come from the lack of polished graphics. In my opinion there's not a big enough difference in the graphics for me to gripe about which version I'll buy. I do agree that the Xbox 360 version looks 10% better than the PS3 version, but like I said not enough for me to care.

BK Tetsujin

Hey, I’m BK Tetsujin. You can just call me BKT. I just got back from Japan after living there for fifteen months. My current gaming habits now are rhythm based games like the Bemani series such as IIDX, JuBeat, DDR, etc. Although I don’t care for Rock Band or Guitar Hero for reasons I will get into some other time. Those games are for a completely different demographic.

My favorite genre is pure adventure games such as The Secret of Monkey Island, Broken Sword, Phoenix Wright, Hotel Dusk, etc. The story and puzzles always suck me in deep! It is a shame that the genre is dying. Thankfully the DS has been getting some gems as of late, but I really want a good next-gen adventure game to get me going! At least I have the re-make of The Secret of Monkey Island off STEAM (but I think for nostalgic reasons, I prefer the old-school graphics).

I used to play RPGs a lot in the Pre-PS2 days. But as of late, I don’t play JRPG’s that much. I think I will pick up Final Fantasy XIII when the Japanese release gets cheap, but I can’t think of any MUST HAVES for the future. If I’m going to turn on my PS3, I normally play games like Assassins Creed, Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid, etc. I do like gaming on my PC too for FPS’s. Although I haven’t played much outside of Half Life, Left for Dead, Duke Nukem, Theif, and a few others.

As of late, I have been playing Death Label Ketsui and Taiko no Tatsujin for my DS. Not much on the console side except for trying to get back into IIDX (AKA: Beatmania in the states). When I get more free time, I like to try Demons Souls. It seems to have a lot of press that is hard to ignore. It sounds like an old-school Mega Man game. You play, you die, you learn how to advance, you die, rinse, repeat. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to pick it up soon.

Stange Gamer

What's up? For a while now I've been wanting to start a blog site dedicated to just discussing whatever game related topic comes to my head. My handle name is Gaicha and I am a strange gamer. I'm probably between a casual gamer and a hardcore gamer. In my high school and jr. high school days I was a hardcore gamer. Life eventually caught up to me so now I only play games maybe every now and then.


My favorite games are action plat-formers, adventure games, FPS, and RPGs. I play Wii games, PS3 games, computer games, and exclusive Xbox 360 games. My favorite game series of all time has to be "The Legend of Zelda" series. Link and I go way back.


I live in Japan right now and I just started to be able to play Japanese games. So, right now I am in the middle of Final Fantasy XIII, which I think is pretty awesome. On the Wii side I am playing New Super Mario Brothers Wii and on computer I am playing Borderlands.