In ominous fashion, my internet connection went down at 1 am last night, after hours of waiting for the new Penny Arcade RPG to come out on XBLA. Does anyone have this yet? Is it worth $20? It seems that the powers that be just don't want me to know...

I'm also considering Stubbs the Zombie, which I missed when it originally came out as I was without an xbox. Is that worth it? IS ANYTHING WORTH IT?

I'm FINALLY getting around to Phantom Hourglass, which surprises me with how good it is. I read all of the reviews when it originally came out, but remained skeptical of the complete stylus control. It works, and I love it. I can't wait to delve into it more, which I'll have time to do once graduation becomes nearer and nearer.

Speaking of which, this time next month I will have my BA from Eastern Washington University. Kind of a big deal. I feel like I'm REALLY becoming an adult. Time to find a job.

Reggie

BTW, everyone is going to hate me for this... but I sold my Wii. It's kind of a long story, but it boils down to time issues. Every free moment I have for gaming draws me to my 360. Also, my friend really wanted a Wii (and offered me a good price) and I wanted it to go to a good home. So there it is. I still have visitation rights. In fact, I'm sitting right next to it at this very moment.

I completed Condemned: Criminal Origins yesterday. It was a pretty fun game... maybe a little bit too short? I don't know. I really like the survival horror genre, which isn't exactly what this game is, but it certainly has elements from that genre. It doesn't really have an engaging storyline, which is what I'm used to in my horror games (thanks to Silent Hill spoiling me). But anyways, I had a good time, and I probably will pick up the sequel once the price goes down.

I got back into Mass Effect today, and I'm liking it again. It's really addictive when I'm actually playing it, but once I leave it alone for a couple of days I have absolutley no desire to play it. Does that make sense? I really do enjoy the game, and I'm looking forward to beating it and picking up lots of sweet achievements (almost up to 20,000 ). ALSO: I bought the DLC planet that came out for Mass Effect and completed it tonight. I've heard a lot of people say that it's not worth $5, but I disagree. It adds a fun little subplot and alien race... and just a fun mission overall.

Picked up Brawl yesterday at Gamestop. While I feel weird about pre-ordering games, basically tying myself to one specific store, something can be said for it: you pretty much KNOW you're going to get a copy, and when you go to Gamestop they don't hassle you about having not pre-ordered it. I'll throw down $5 for piece of mind.

Anywho... the game is really fun. Like I said before, I didn't get much into Melee, so I don't really have any comparisons with that game. Brawl makes me nostalgic for the good old days, playing the first Smash Bros with my cousins on the N64. I was around 5th grade at that time, and Smash Bros was so fun... so magical. Brawl seems to retain some of that magic.

The game looks really good, sounds really good (when using the Wii mote to play ((which I don't recommend)) the character you select says something over the Wii speaker. It's pretty cute), and the unlockables seem to be plentiful. I've toyed around with nearly all of the characters... and I can tell you that Link doesn't seem to be as good as he used to be (back on the 64) and King Dedede is really awesome if you know how to play him. Snake can be really cool with the right player... and I must say he probably has my favorite Final Smash. I'm anxious to try Sonic, but first I have to complete the Subspace Emissary.

Which brings me to my next point, and probably my only real complaint with the game: the Subspace Emissary is pretty lame. The cutscenes are fantastic... but the platforming is very simple and takes forever. I'm only 20% in, and I don't really look forward to the next 80%. But whatever, it's still a fantastic game, and I recommend it to everyone of my friends who happens to have a Wii (as if you weren't already planning on it).

Reggie

For the first time in a LONG time, I was completely pleased with the Academy Awards. Those who deserved to be recoginzed, were (which was especially gratifying in the case of best song, when the duo from Once beat out 3 songs from Enchanted. 3 CRAPPY songs). A very good show this year... and I'm excited to see all of the new films that are coming out in the coming year.

Moving on... I purchased No More Heroes today. I'm having a good time with it so far, although I can certainly see why people have complaints about driving from place to place. Travis' motorcycle drives like a tank, and the graphics of the city are far from beautiful. I'm excited to get more into it this weekend.

I also bought Kirby 64 on the Virtual Console this week, as my girlfriend is a huge Kirby fan. I'm pretty disappointed by this one. Kirby's Adventure on the NES is one of my favorite NES games... and Kirby 64 doesn't retain that magic, but does maintain almost the exact same gameplay. It's hard to explain why I'm disappointed. I just wanted more. Oh well.

I preordered Smash Bros last weekend... and I'm really looking forward to next Sunday. I had a Gamecube for only a short amount of time, so I was never really able to dive into Melee as much as I wanted to. I'm excited to explore every nook and cranny of Brawl. I'm thinking about investing in second and third Gamecube controllers (I already have one, as well as a cla$$ic controller... and I'm not going to make any of my friends play with a Wiimote) for the event... but we'll see how that goes.

In Rock Band news... I was pretty disappointed with the DLC this weekend, which is a bit odd because I consider myself a fan of Nine Inch Nails. The problem? I don't really like any of those songs. The Perfect Drug is okay, I guess, but I think they can do better next time. I'm excited for tomorrow, when we will find out the DLC for next week. Crossing my fingers for something good.

- Reggie

This morning was the first time in about a month that I have played Assassin's Creed (that may not be totally accurate, but it feels that way), and I totally see why I left it unfinished. That game is very... frustrating. It's a great idea, but the game doesn't feel right. I really don't look forward to finishing that one... but I know that I will push myself to do it to get the points.

Speaking of points, I have been going through Call of Duty 2 on Veteran difficulty to try to earn all 1,000 points. It's a lot tougher than I expected. The end of the third British mission is extremely tough. It took me at least a couple of hours to shoot down some stupid planes. It's my first time ever playing through COD2 and I can really see why the franchise is so popular. Personally, out of the three games in the series that I have played, COD3 was a low point. COD2 does everything that 3 does, but a little bit better. And... pretty much everyone knows that COD4 is amazing.

Before seeing There Will Be Blood on Friday, I stopped in at Gamestop and picked up a couple of games for my sad, mostly forgotten Wii: Metal Slug Anthology and Zack and Wiki. I've had my eye on Metal Slug for some time now, and seeing it for less than $20 is really what pushed me to get it. The fact that XBLA can get away with charging $10 for Metal Slug 3 alone is pretty jaw-dropping. The compilation seems like a lot of fun, and I'm really anxious to get into it a bit more.

Zack and Wiki is one incredible game that I hope that everyone with a Wii eventually picks up. It's already been cut in price (from the original $40 to $30) and it's a shame that nobody is buying it. The style is a bit childish, but the gameplay is really great, with some of the puzzles being downright mind-boggling. I can't recommend this game enough.

Rock Band has also been taking up a lot of my time. I told myself I wouldn't buy it... but of course I broke down and did, and I can't think of a better decision I've ever made. The game is fantastic. I've tried to go back to Guitar Hero 3, and I can't. Guitar Hero 3 seems to be too focused on the challenge of getting through complicated solos, whereas Rock Band is about enjoying the music while you play. I'm slowly making myself go broke by downloading tons of DLC for the game. And with Smashing Pumpkins and Rush coming out tomorrow, you bet that I'll invest another few bucks.

This post feels like it has gone on for long enough...

I'll post more often from now on.

I promise.

Reggie