I just semi-finished a wonderful game. It's everything that has been said it was and more. Most anyone who reads this will probably say "duh" to this. It's no big secret and most everyone who was going to play this game has probably already done so. The game is Super Mario Galaxy and it was great. It was better than great. It was a treat to play. It had all the great things that we've collectively come to expect from Mario games and it has them in spades. All of the twists, turns, challenges, secrets and hair-pullingly maddening extra levels are all there. The most beautiful part of the game is that it can be as challenging or not as you like (more or less). There are 120 possible stars to find throughout the game. The game will let you access the last boss level after about 60 stars if you just want to play the game to beat it. My six-year-old can play through most of the "required" levels with minimal assistance. It is safe, fun and kid-friendly for those of us with little ones that are into games. For us adults that are obsessive collectors; well the other 60 stars are amidst a potpourri of clever, and at times frustrating levels that use myriad challenges you must play through to earn them. I would say that one could get anywhere from a minimum of 15 hours to as many as 40 hours out of this game on the first playthrough. Just a note---many of the levels are NOT geared towards kids. They are just too challenging in my opinion. I know I used language on a few levels that was definitely NOT geared towards kids! Don't worry, it was after their bedtime. The funny thing is that several of the levels that drove me nuts my first time through aren't nearly as bad as I go back and replay them. (Yes, there is incentive to go back and play through a second time.) For some of the toughest ones, there's usually a trick or pattern that is easy to miss or well-obscured. I was watching my wife play one of the "trash-bombing" levels and noticed that if you land the bombs roughly where the coin-dispensing buttons are; that seems to be the trick to getting all the trash piles blown up in time. What took me 15 or 20 tries the first playthrough only took 2 or maybe 3 the second time. The same could be said for some of the comet levels I had trouble with. There is usually a trick or exploit that's waiting to be found. I was convinced that the game designers were clever sadists for awhile. I've since come to think that they're just really quite clever and yeah, ok--maybe just a weency bit sadistic. Not nearly as bad as I thought though! If you get the chance, I really strongly recommend playing this one. It's every bit as good as you've likely heard and I would dare suggest maybe even a little better.

Per my previous blog; I've delved into the miasma of current-gen games with reckless abandon and so far....I LIKE IT. I've padded out my collection with some big name titles; a significant number of which have been provided to me on loan by friends. Again thanks to them for that is on order. Since my initial foray into the new world, I've probably beaten more games in a shorter span of time than at any other point of my gaming days. The Wii shooter Medal of Honor Heroes 2 was the first to fall. It's a great game with great controls and a whole lot of fun. If any other Wii shooters in development need a quick, reliable template to build from, then look no further. Gears of War and Mass Effect fell victim to my thorough awesomeness next. I think those 2 have laurels that speak for themselves. They were as great as I'd hoped and then some. I'm going to change my son's name to Bioware I think. I love them that much. Parakeet Bioware Johnson. That's a good, powerful name I think. Super Mario Galaxy is simply amazing. Believe the hype as far as I'm concerned. I'm about 40 Grand Stars into it and love the thought of getting 80 more. Halo 3 was really really good too. I can't say that my mind was quite blown. But it was pretty close and H3 was a lot better than I was expecting. The whole Gravemind thing was, for my taste, a bit too much of a stretch into the total fantasy realm contrasted to the strong and gripping sci-fi elements by which Halo's bread is buttered. The 92% of the game not dealing with Audrey 3's big brother was quite damn awesome. I'm currently loving Eternal Sonata. It has to be one of the most visually and aurally striking games I've ever seen. The story so far is kind of RPG-standard but it's a good sort of standard to be sure. The gameplay is also mostly very RPG-standard and again very good. The evolving fighting system is the big standout bright spot in the game though. It's very cool and very clever. It certainly gives ES a unique identity and that's a very good thing. (Frederic Francois Chopin is a bad-ass by the way.) Crackdown is a great buddy-game. Looks good, play is fun, and the fun factor goes up about 6 notches when a friend jumps in and paints the town red with you. It's at bargain bin prices now, so it's a must-grab in my book. Okami (Wii) is coming up soonly for me. Everywhere I looked that game was gushed on. It must do something right. I'm definitely excited about it. And how could I forget Army of Two? I thought it was great. My friend and I played through it and had a blast. It's about time there was a game that actually focused on 2-player gameplay. I hope it does very well if for no other reason than to inspire other developers to make games that are tailored for you and a friend to sit and play together. It's nice to play with friends after all! It's been a good 6 weeks in my little game world. Here's to 6 more and 12 more and 24 more!!

Thanks to a little help from my friends; I am officially a part of the current gen. Short version of the story; I got my 360 and it didn't work and got too hot so I took it back and exchanged it. I bought it at an HEB Plus of all places. They were awesome about the whole thing. First they opened the gates to the electronics section at about 11 @ night for starters. Then when that first one overheated and scrambled my video; I took it back the next day and they exchanged it for me--NO hassle. The girl there was even flirting with a little bit while the exchange occurred. Shame on her. It's good to know that I've still got "it" I guess. Too bad so sad for HEB girl that my smokin' white-hot wife is the only one that really gets "it" though. Hee hee hee. After the epic 2-day journey to get my 360, I was ultimately successful. As my bestest friend put it (I'm paraphrasing); "MS's wonderful little machine already broke down on you? Welcome aboard!! That means you're officially part of the current gen then. Your cherry has been popped." Much as I've heard it reported, it really does hurt the first time. On the bright side; it's nice that the 360 has actually given my brother and me something new we can bond over since we're getting too old to play basketball too much these days. There were many, many years of anger and contempt followed by non-communication and distance. Fortunately, we grew up, got over it and frequently enjoy weekend marathons of Gears of War.Now my aforementioned bestest friend is even more directly involved in the second part of my current-gen expedition. He went and bought me a Wii. Best gift I ever got, that's for sure. Grabbed some good titles for it too. Metroid, MoH:H2, Zak and Wiki, and a couple more. It really is a great family system, too. The Wii Play is really fun. Sadly, I've been forced to come to terms with the fact that I'm prolly the fifth best Wii bowler in the household. My wife is by far the best of us. She's very, very good as a matter of fact. (still talking about bowling here, ya pervs) My 5-year-old son is a semi-close 2nd. That kid makes me look bad at the bowling, but I pride myself on the fact that he inherited his daddy's knack for picking up video games quickly. He will surpass me in the very near future I'm certain. My 2-year-old daughter could probably edge me out too. She doesn't care about games too much, but I think she could take me. Then Munchie our guinea pig. He's feisty as heck. I bet I could take him straight up every once in awhile, but if it went 2 out of 3; I'd get housed. Then me, then the other guinea pig Cornie (Cornelius) and lastly my fat, practically staid cat that sleeps 23.7 hours a day. To sum up---I really suck at bowling. Actually if I was just a little bit better---then I would merely suck.It was worth the wait to get on board and I'm glad I'm here. See ya out there sometime, maybe.

Had proven cheaters won the Super Bowl Sunday night, I probably would have stopped loving football. I might have still continued to watch it, but it definitely wouldn't have been the same. The improbable finish was the stuff of storybook legends and expensive Disney movies. One has to consider that the Giants started out 0-2 and nobody gave them a chance to do anything noteworthy this season. A lot of people had Manning pegged as a bust, Coach Tom Coughlin was labeled a lame duck and several didn't even give New York consideration for the playoffs. Then there are the Patriots. Where to begin? "Spygate" would be the obvious choice. We know the Patriots cheated to win games. They admitted as much by divulging that they taped their opponents' offensive/defensive signals from the sideline. And for all the talk that Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a "genius"; he sure did "misinterpret" a rule that is just about as unequivocal as a rule could possibly be. Here is the rule as stated in a 2006 memo to the entire league:

"Videotaping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches' booth, in the locker room or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game."

Really now...what's there to interpret? The short answer is, "nothing". They did exactly what that memo says you are not allowed to do. And pathetically, the reaction the Patriots (it's sad that this is the team that gets that moniker) had was one of indignation and vitriol. They acted like they felt they had been wronged and were justified in being angry at the rest of the NFL. That's just like a rotten, spoiled child who gets caught with their hand in the cookie jar. They were mad because they got caught. Not because they were wrong or that they defecated all over their own legacy; they were mad because they got caught. How many online video game players have you encountered and despised that embody this mentality?

Sadly, the Patriots went on to make history a few different ways this year. Tom Brady the quarterback threw a record 50 touchdowns only a few short years after the previous "untouchable" record of 49 was set by Peyton Manning. His favorite wide receiver, Randy Moss, set a record of 23 touchdown catches; beating the old record of 22 that the legend Jerry Rice held. They scored an NFL record 589 points in the regular season. Oh yeah--they also won every single game in the regular season to go 16-0. That had never been done since the NFL went to a 16 game schedule. That included one win against the Giants. They stampeded through their otherwise unremarkable playoff games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and then the San Diego Chargers. Neither team seemed to offer much resistance. Jacksonville and San Diego pretty much just grabbed their ankles after the first quarter or two and said, "Go ahead, have at it." In what was no big surprise after all that; the Patriots were 18-0 and heading to the Super Bowl.

Now let's look at the path of the Giants. They lost their (arguably) best all around player in running back Tiki Barber in the off season. He wanted to retire while he could still comfortably walk, navigate stairs and other such small things we take for granted. He chose quality of life (and a cushy TV job I might add) over fighting through one more year. At least that's what he said. And I believe that part of what he said too. I just highly doubt that is the only reason he quit. We'll get to that in a minute. Furthermore, their defensive leader, teams' heart and soul and 15 year veteran Michael Strahan was in doubt of returning as the retirement bug was buzzing through his mind too. The quarterback, Eli Manning, was starting to be viewed as a bust and that he would always be his brother Peyton's inferior. The team had a new defensive coordinator in Steve Spagnola. As with anytime there are fundamental changes in a routine, there were growing pains. The Giants lost their first two games and lost them badly. They gave up a combined 80 points in those games. Incidentally, the teams they lost to were Green Bay in week 1 and Dallas in week 2. That would end up being more significant as the season took shape. But then in that third game, something seemed to kind of click. They won that game. And then they won some more games. And more. They reeled off six wins in a row. One of those wins was an embarrassingly thorough trouncing of the Philadelphia Eagles that saw Donovan McNabb get sacked 12 times. The defense that was laughed at in the first two games to the point that some doubted the Giants chances at the playoffs; was suddenly feared and revered. During their winning stretch, Tiki Barber took it upon himself to run his former team, coach and quarterback down by insulting Eli's leadership skills by describing him as "comical", and impugning Tom Coughlin as a poor coach. Maybe it was sour grapes, and maybe he's just a jerk or maybe he just came off sounding like a jerk for stating his honest opinion. Or-as I tend to think-maybe he was revealing the truest reason that he left his team. Namely, he had stopped believing in them. Whatever the case, there was no good reason for Tiki to risk sabotaging his former brethren. And Eli in a rare show of obvious anger, fired back at Tiki. His team responded in kind and sided with the young quarterback. That seemed to be one of the crucial moments of the season where Eli staked his claim as a true leader and the rest of the team as a whole really gelled.

The final 8 regular season games were noticeably more challenging for the Giants. That is generally how it goes as the playoffs approach. The Giants went 4-4 to close out the year, losing once again to the Cowboys and then barely succumbing to defeat in a stunningly close Week 17 game against the Patriots. This game was rare in that the AFC Patriots can only play the NFC Giants once every several years in the regular season due to the scheduling structure. It was also rare in that the quality of play from both teams was unusually abundant. Both teams had their spots secured in the playoffs. Neither winning nor losing would make a shred of difference to their standing. Neither team cared about that. They went at each other for 4 quarters of balls-to-the-walls football. The heavily favored Patriots just squeezed out the 38-35 victory. But the game was pivotal in that it seemed to be the catalyst that drove the Giants from being a good team to being a great team. That narrow loss against what the piles of talking heads out there were calling the "greatest team ever" seemed to breed within them a confidence that they didn't have before. Sure enough once the playoffs got rolling, so did the Giants. They started with a convincing (albeit unsurprising) win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa's conference was weak and they had secured their division-winning status two weeks prior. Tampa coach Jon Gruden had chosen to rest his starters those two weeks. Needless to say, Tampa looked rusty and out of synch. The next week was where the road was supposed to end for the Giants year. They were going into Dallas. They had already lost to Dallas twice in the regular season. Dallas had the best record with in the NFC at 13-3. New York was an 11-6 wild card team. Dallas had gotten to rest the entire week while the Giants had to play in muggy Tampa. Dallas has twelve Pro Bowl players. New York has one. There was no way New York could win according to most. They were going to lose and lose BIG. Guess what? They won. They played Dallas tough and never let up on them. They even drove some of the Cowboys to tears. (See Dallas wide receiver Terrell Owens's post-game interview.) What was their reward for this huge upset victory? They got to go into Green Bay and play the also 13-3 Packers. That meant facing the NFL's last gunslinger in Packer quarterback Brett Favre. That meant playing on the cement-hard "frozen tundra" of Lambeau Field. Both Brett and Lambeau are legends for all time in the NFL. Just like with Dallas; they played with the toughness of a two-dollar steak. And again, they won. They had to go into overtime and win it on the foot of their shaky kicker who had missed his previous two (shorter) attempts in that game. But somehow, they won it. Their reward this time was The New England Patriots. Yes they were going on to face the big, bad, mean, unstoppable, history-making cheaters themselves. With a few notable exceptions, this team had been machine-like in their dissection and decimation of each team they had faced. Most of their victories were so one-sided; it almost seemed like they knew what the other team was going to do before they did it.

And so now the table was set for history. One way or the other, something monumental was going to happen. This is a fairy tale legend of a story that started all the way back into the 2006 season when the Giants were a mediocre 8-8 and had well-documented team/coach infighting. The Patriots last loss had been in the 2006 AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts who were/are lead by Peyton Manning. New England had vastly improved their already accomplished team (especially on offense) and New York had lost their most valuable player to retirement with no clear replacement to step into the gap he left. The Giants fought and struggled through the season. They used their players strength's and spread the ball around to account for the departed Tiki Barber. Their oft-injured star wide receiver Plaxico Burress stepped up his level of play as did their primary running back Brandon Jacobs. And their defense seemed to become truly possessed and their play often showed it. But they always had to bear the underdog label no matter how talented they appeared to become. Conversely though, the vile, contemptuous Patriots slaughtered one valiant challenger after another, including their previous year's foil; the Colts and Peyton Manning. Once the playoffs arrived; the Patriots (having secured home-field advantage throughout) practically walked right through their opposition just like they did in the regular season. The Giants had had to win 3 straight games on the road. Two of those wins were against teams that had beaten them at least once before in the season. And those wins afforded them the reward of playing in the Super Bowl in Arizona! That means the closest the Giants ever got to New York during the entire playoffs was WISCONSIN! (~900 miles!!) You just couldn't write a script this good.

Eli; the young, heretofore untested neophyte; who's own brother as well as every other challenger fell at the hands of the despicable Patriots juggernaut; took up the mantle of hero and defender. The Giants defense seemingly played beyond human levels. They more closely resembled starving, wild animals. Almost nobody believed that it was possible for anyone to kill this Patriots beast, least of all the Giants. But the Giants became giant-killers themselves. Just like the storybook hero, they rose up, they found strength from deep within and when the final bell tolled; they had done the impossible. They had found a way to win. The Giants had absolutely dominated the indomitable Patriots. The little team that supposedly couldn't---DID. And they did it with a ferocity and effectiveness that defied explanation. After 20 long weeks of desperation and the mounting collective despair of the villain achieving victory upon victory; there was beautiful vindication. There was testimony that there truly is a greater justice out there. It showed us that sometimes the noble underdog can rise above his assigned status and dictate his own place in the world. They proved that sometimes the only way to defeat the biggest bully on the block is to reach back and punch him so hard that he can't get up.

Good job Giants and thank you. You practically saved football for a legion of NFL devotees.

You gave us a reason to believe.

And you gave us a reason to say: "Thank God that sometimes the good guys do win."

Well it's that magical time of year. Texas actually has frosty cold weather. Football season winds down while basketball season really hits its stride. The cats are mating and pooing freely in my lawn. And I will be getting my yearly bonus! 2 years ago, that meant a PS2 and some games. Last year it was a new TV. This year---X360!!! Yes, I'm very excited. My buddy has a big head start on me so he'll have plenty of hand-me-down games that I can borrow. And I'll get to finally be all connected to network-X with all the folks that have been urging me to get on/e. The clock is ticking down and my nipples are like frozen sewing thimbles with anticipation!! Now if only I could think of a good name......hrmmm.....one that nobody else is using. Oh well, I'm sure it'll come to me.

Apparently when I wasn't looking; I became a big-time Level 5 fanboy. Dragon Quest 8 started it all and now this game....Rogue Galaxy....woo boy. I love it. I love it more than Dragon Quest 8. I love it more than BREATHING. Yeah not really that much. But the 120 hours or so I put into it the first time through went about as fast as any 120 hours of my life. Well except maybe that 120 straight hours I spent makin' loooooove. That seemed to go pretty fast too. It also never really happened in reality. Rogue Galaxy did though! This is another one of those games that seems to have been pretty well-received but didn't exactly make a surfeit of noise. (Using arcane adjectives rules!) If my tiny, insignificant rebellion, errr, blog can cause even a minute (my-newt) swell of renewed interest in the game; then I will feel proud.

The gameplay is top notch. A 9.5 at least. The combat is real-time, fast-paced and includes a manual targeting system. You can fight up to (I think as many as) 6 creatures at a time. You have magical powers, specific team-based attacks and solo uber-strong attacks, called burning strikes, that you can execute via collected orbs from damaged enemies. There's a "revelation flow" chart for every character where you collect items from chests and fallen foes to unlock more unique abilities which is a very cool feature. Oh yeah---there are boss fights. Big, kick-arse bossfights. The level's are diverse and very well laid out. The story that serves as the backbone revolves around a young dreamer named Jaster and his wish to explore the galaxy. While not earth-shattering; it is very intriguing and well done. It so fun, you just might pee. Reason its not a 10? I just don't normally give 10's. Perfect is too lofty and we truly love things because of their warts not because they lack them. If I had to nitpick; there is the rare occasion where the camera gets uppity during combat and messes with your groove. You could count the times this happens and/or minutes it costs you on your available upper torso digits. You might have to level-grind a bit too, and some folks don't care for that. Personally, I don't mind grinding (rrrowww) but it's not everyone's Sippy cup of juice.

The graphics are a 10 in my book. See, I lied--I do give 10's sometimes. The character models are cartoon-like but not cartoonish. It's perfect for this game. The environments are rich and detailed. And the cut-scenes during the story cinematics as well as the burning strikes are amazing looking. I can't really imagine anyone being able to get much more out of the PS2 as far as graphics go.

The sound is a solid 9. The music is rich and each level has its own suitable theme. The opening piece is almost haunting and I'd put it right up there with the "Halo chant" for memorable intro music. The voices are almost all great. The reasons it falls short are: A) There is a lot of repetition in the comments that characters make while exploring and during battle. B) A few of the voices are horribly grating and/or annoying. Maybe knocking off a full point is harsh, but whenever I have a party member that I want to kill with my bare hands almost every time they open their mouth; well I gotta speak up.

All the rest I give a 9-9.5. I know it's cheap to throw a range out there rather than a single, solid number. Here's why I have to make it a spread: there is just SO much stuff in this game. Just the story part of the game is long. 50 hours maybe? 60? And then of course, there are the extras. Anyone who's played DQ8 knows about Level 5's penchant for killer extras. Rogue Galaxy takes the DQ8 formula a big step forward. During the game, you get an alchemy pot-like character that allows you combine and form new, upgraded weapons. You could conceivably tinker with that mechanic for hours. You unlock a factory where you can build new stuff and have it dispersed to different worlds to buy en masse later. Again--could take hours. There is an "Insectron Tournament" that allows you to have staged bug fights with insects you catch around the galaxy. (Think Monster Arena from DQ8 on a slightly smaller scale.) There are conditional Hunting Quarries that boost your hunter rep. Once you beat the main game there is a bonus level unlocked. It's huge. When you beat that bonus level, it gives you the opportunity to unlock a bonus bonus level. The bonus bonus level?? MOMMA PAJAMA. It's simply freakin' massive. And I'm certain that there's more I'm forgetting to mention. In short, there is something for everyone and a lot for anyone who plays. It might even be too much for some. Just to put it into perspective; I'm at about 120 hours and might be at 60%-70% total completion.

Overall, I give this action RPG a 9.5 easy. It's about as close to ideal for me as a game can get. The few minor shortcomings it has just serve to remind you how great the immense game that thoroughly drowns them out really is.