Labor(less) Day weekend!!

Oh, and FYI...I'll only make posts during the weekdays. So the weekends are MINE!!

See you guys back on Tuesday!

Hit two cars, and call me in the morning.

This has been a crappy week. First, my Wii's out of commission when one of the best games to come out on the Wii is released. Second, hearing this news and seeing these screenshots is making me have second thoughts. Third, learning that things may not all be well at Nintendo about GH3 is difficult to take, considering how well-received Mario Strikers Charged has been. (What? What pokemon game?)

I don't even think a good round of "Monkey Wrench" in GH2 can soothe my frustration.

Maybe a bit of Road Rage in Burnout thrown in...

Peer Pressure, Sony style...

I admire Sony. Really, I do. Hell, I thank them for all the great RPGs I have played in the past. And, to be quite honest, I didn't think they had a good chance when they first came out with the original Playstation. So how come I feel like they're painting me into a corner with their whole "oh-noes, our PS3 60GB system is gone from the warehouses, so buy the rest out in stores" scare?

There are several reasons why I didn't buy the PS3 from the start, with the obvious one being that it would make my wallet $600 lighter. Another reason was the games that came out. I didn't feel that any game irked me strong enough to warrant a system purchase, what with all the publishers taking the "release on all systems" approach. Also, I'm not an active "media-format war" fanatic - I like to see who stands after the dust settles, and then accept the victor. Call me anything you want, but that's how I handle my decision-making.

True, I don't have an XBox 360 either, but, with the way things are panning out, I'm more inclined to purchase that system over the PS3. I know a few people who own 360s, so I would have no problems finding people I can play with (yeah, I know...random online players, but I'm not a big fan of online. That's for another day, though...), and I only know one person with a PS3. One.

What's that, Sony? The 60GB version has an Emotion Chip, and the 80GB version won't? Backwards compatibility done by software and whatnot? Meh. Seriously, I still have my PS2, and am not going to trade it in to trade or something. Hell, I even got the PS2 Slim as well, only because I like the size and that it would make my entertainment center look more sleek.

Oh, the Blu-Ray player addition is cheap compared to the stand-alone Blu-Ray players? I'm sure it is. But that's not a game, is it? More like a feature, and we all know how you love your features. I don't mind my movies, but I have my DVD player already, and if you think I want to spend more money on a different (and universally undecided) format, think again!

Am I banning the thought of a PS3 purchase? Absolutely not! In trying to be true as a gamer, I welcome anything that will give me good games, and eventually Sony will release some good games that may sway me closer to that PS3 purchase. But until then, I'm keeping my money close and my games closer.

I'll tell you what's really making my fingers twitch...this.

Luke Edwards, I am not...

I'll admit, I'm one of those gamers who constantly buy games and play them halfway - or until the next great game is released and purchased, and then played halfway until...well, you get the idea. Of course, this is a costly endeavor that needs to change.

So, I've been trying my best to dedicate myself in a game wholeheartedly, blocking any upcoming releases and current games I own until I finish that game. I'm happy to report that my first game completed in this format is Odin Sphere (which, by the way, is an awesome game), and am almost through my second game, Okami (which I have put aside since...*gulp*...last year).

That doesn't mean I don't finish games. But, the majority of those finished titles were on my DS, like Ouendan 2, Phoenix Wright, and the like - games that don't require too much knowledge from the start. That way, I don't have to remember too much when I return to them after a 1-2 month hiatus. It's just the console games that kill me, since my game time's severely limited, what with my workload and...what is it called...a life.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily stop me from buying games and not opening them until when appropriate - or whenever I cave in. But even this is limited to any games that I truly, truly am willing to spend money on. So, perhaps during playing one game, I might buy 2 more for later. Believe it or not, this is better than before.

And what's up with those critics complaining on a game's short play-through? I'll tell you this - I'm probably the only person out there who was (briefly) pleasantly happy when I finished Starfox Command. And when I say "finished," I mean just the story and not going through another play-through for more unlockables. Believe me, "finished" and "completed" can be drawn out into a whole new debate, but I'll save that one for later...

And this isn't my first attempt trying to finish the games in my library. I've made a list of games a couple of years ago that I haven't finished yet and, needless to say, that seriously punched me in the video-game balls after that list grew past the 40s.

Would you believe that back in the NES days, I called myself "The Wizard" and was proudly making a list of completed games I've finished on my 386, printing them out on paper with the removable paper-feed notches on the side?

Great...now I feel depressed and embarrassed. Better finish Okami soon so I can feel better...until the next game I need to finish.

Timing is NOT on my side...

Know what's coming out this week on the Wii? That's right, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Wonderful game, from what the reviews rave about. I also played it last year at the last E3 in the world. Great controls, nice interaction, and just the overall immense gameplay experience that I've come to expect from Retro Studios. But guess who's just about to go on a trip? No, not me...but my Wii system.

I'm one of the unlucky few who has a bad case of vertical artifacting on their screens in the Wii menus and during gameplay. I can't even replay Zelda: TP without it invoking a mental gag reflex in my mind. So, while my system is going off to be repaired, I'll be sitting on my hands, awaiting its return.

It's not like I'll be bored or anything. I still have to finish Okami, and I have a slew of other games that need "closure"...but it's just that, not since Super Paper Mario had I anticipated a Wii game this much. In the long run, performing this repair is better now than later. But I'll be damned if some other unfortunate mishap prevents me from the goodness that comes on the 3rd of December.

It's time to post!

Yes, I'll keep this simple and sweet - I'm posting something today, and, if you're reading this, then I haven't bored you yet. The site is called "Gameritis" - a site for all the people who just can't stop thinking about everything game-related, whether it is consoles or PC, trading card or board games, or anything in between.

*throws confetti*

First post!