Hot Dog Days of Summer.

So we already had our first 100 degree weather day here where I live and today is supposed to be even hotter than that. I hope some really good games last me throughout the summer because I don't think I plan to step outside much and get baked. Texas is the reason I gave up playing Boktai years ago.

God of Bore.

You know if you had talked to me a few months ago, like say around December when I was playing through the God of War Collection on PS3, and asked me, "Hey, Ken, you ready for that God of War III?" My answer would likely have been a resounding "Yes!" But 6 months later and I'm singing an all too different tune. I had planned on preordering a copy of the game but looking back on it more and more I'm glad I didn't. Hell, I still don't own a copy and don't plan on making a purchase anytime soon. I just have little interest in it. The demo just flat failed to impress me. To me the God of War franchise is one of the most overrated franchises of all time.

Now before you start getting your hands ready to clack this angry rebuttal to my statement, I want to make this clear before I continue. I don't hate God of War and I don't think the games suck. I just think after 2 direct sequels and a PSP prequel they've gone to the well far too often and it's quickly running dry. Of course, taking a look at my page would incline one to retort with pointing out the Metal Gear Franchise, which has an equal amount of 4 games being released since 2005 as well, but the difference here is that these games all offer something different or additional gameplay elements that previous installments did not. MGS3 introduced the camo index and CQC. Portable Ops added a few RPG elements and party management. MGS4 introduced a whole new gameplay scheme altogether and gave the series a completely updated look and addressed nearly every issue that was annoying about the older titles. Peacewalker combines those gameplay elements with the party management and capture system of Portable Ops. Every entry in the series has provided something different and unique to justify so many releases in such a short time frame. Each game is noticably distinct from the last.

God of War was a great game for it's time, I'll give it that. However God of War II was really just more of the same with a crappier story. Instead of a fallen warrior seeking redemption, in this one he's more akin to a small child who kicks and screams, or in this case, bludgeons and maims because he didn't get his way. The game was essentially the same; you still stabbed stupid minotaurs in the throat, still ripped out cyclops eyeballs, still mashed buttons like a mad man just to open up a freakin door and the same crappy weapons besides the Blades of Chaos were available for use if you just felt like making the game harder than it has to be for some reason. The game wasn't really God of War II, but rather GOW 1.5 with minimal increments and contained mostly the stuff they had to cut out of the first installment. In short, it wasn't a true sequel in a gameplay sense. So now we come to God of War III and after 5 years, the gameplay design that made the first one stand out has now become a little more tired, and a little more worn and I can get my action game fix in better areas anyway. My need for puzzle solving is satisfied by Uncharted. My need for decent combos and kicking ass is satisfied by Ninja Gaiden(although in no way am I saying it had a better story than God of War) and my need for adventure is satisfied by Metal Gear. So why bother with God of War at this point?

I feel that Sony Santa Monica may be falling into the same trap that I felt Rockstar had been before finally created Red Dead Redemption in that they're returning to the well of what had been successful in years prior but not making the proper advancements necessary to justify rapid installments. If they decide to create a God of War IV I can only hope that they make stabbing minotaurs and ripping cyclops eyeballs a little more entertaining.

Spring Renovations and Cheap Plugs.

As you've no doubt noticed*, this blog has been given a complete overhaul and new scheme thanks in no small part for a good friend of mine's hatred of Bleach and consequent love of Persona 4 and my own disgust at having looked at for nearly a year. Pretty much everything is updated including the embarrassingly outdated links page. Anyway, be sure and check out a good friend of mine's story as well, you can either find it in the links page or I can just post the link right here...

http://gamiamagicacademy.blogspot.com/

Now you have no excuse. Everyone who reads her story is blessed with 10 years of good luck, so do it!

* Probably not, though. Noticing it was different would have required you to have been at my page beforehand. Don't feel bad. Not many have.

Ode to a fallen PS3.

Here's to my original PS3. You've given approximately 1.5 years of faitful service...just enough time for the warranty to expire. What a worthless piece of shit you were. Ah well I guess I'm a victim of Sony's grand scheme to get a slim into everyones home. Rest assured your "fattie" is NOT safe from the YLOD. No matter what you do. It will come. It will come....

Wile E. Coyote mug and cheap alarm clock not part of assembly.

$399 well spent!



The game you see before you would happen to be Uncharted 2. You see, I had to completely dismantle the mother fucker to retrieve it.

This is the cover to the Blu Ray drive itself. Take this off and you get...

Ain't technology wonderful!? (For about 2 years anyway.)

And finally Yuna to perform the sending. May you rest forever in videogame heaven.

Anyway, the whole thing pretty much pissed me the off and I went ahead and bought a slim. You happy now Sony? And a word of advice, I had my PS3 sat upright like a tower. I would probably recommend against that since the heat escapes from the side of the console and thus it probably doesn't get good enough circulation. Also, dust is more likely to enter the port holes with it sitting upright like that.

And so it begins.

Seriously, fuck you and the horse you rode in on THQ. What if someone wants to rent the game before they buy it? Even if they decide to go buy it they'll have to pay an additional fee now if they want online access. I hope this doesn't become a far reaching trend in the gaming industry.

My Top 10 Best Playstation Games Ever.

This is just a list of what I consider to be the ten best PSX games of all time. I haven't played every single game on the system out there out a library that runs into the thousands obviously, so I'm not considering this list as the end all be all of greatest of all time lists. This is just my favorite out of the hundreds of PSX games I've played over the years. Without further ado, my personal list...

10. Final Fantasy VII: FFVII is arguably the most polarizing game of all time. You wanna start a flame war, just drop the name FFVII and you'll likely send all fanboys into a frothing frenzy of hate. To some its the greatest game ever made, to others it hailed the death knell to RPG games as we know it. Me? I kind of fall in between the two extremes. While no one can doubt it's impact on the industry and the RPG genre as a whole, the game itself has not aged well at all and a fairly ambiguous and slightly confusing storyline marred by a shoddy translation didn't help matters. Still, its good enough to make number 10 on my list for its contributions to the RPG genre alone.

9. Xenogears: Yet another controversial title that can at times raise the ire of many who didn't care much for its gameplay. While the game itself was fairly unremarkable it makes my list simply for being arguably the greatest story ever told in a videogame. It's a shame the gameplay itself, while not bad per se, failed to live up to the amazing storyline and music it had. Still this is a bonafide classic RPG by any definition and its a shame those lousy Xenosaga games failed to capture the magic of this one.

8. Chrono Cross: This game has the unfortunate stigma of being one of the most disappointing sequels of all time. After all, how in the world do you follow up an RPG created by a team that created both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest with character designs by the man who created Dragonball? Poor Chrono Cross couldn't possibly live up to such lofty expectations in mine and many other fans eyes, but make no mistake. This is still a superb game with a near flawless combat system and a unforgettable music score. I just wish it had a better ending.

7. Tekken 3: I hate the Tekken franchise. It's overrated and pales in comparison to the much more superior Virtua Fighter and I never could understand its popularity.....unless you're talking about Tekken 3. Tekken 3 addressed many of the issues that plagued the first two games; the characters were more balanced and the gameplay was mercifully sped up to something resembling action. Plus the inclusion of the Tekken Force beat em up mode only adds to the entertainment. While I still don't think Tekken is as good as Virtua Fighter, the series has really come into its own and it all started with this game.

6. Valkyrie Profile: Tri-Ace isn't exactly known for creating games with amazing storylines, but in the case of VP they nailed it and as a result it is to this day their greatest game of all time. Not only that but the game also was a breath of fresh air, taking elements from Actraiser and combining them with traditional RPG gameplay. The game is arguably the most gorgeous looking 2D game on PSX and will always stand as Tri-Ace's greatest triumph.

5. Street Fighter Alpha 3: Simply put still to this day my favorite 2D fighting game. Give me this over SF4 any day.

4. Final Fantasy Tactics: My favorite FF game isn't even a numbered one. Final Fantasy Tactics, in addition to being one of the greatest strategy games of all time, also happened to present a mature, intriguing plot full of twists and intrigue and introduced the world to the land of Ivalice and I thank Yasumi Matsuno for that. Absolutely brilliant game. The tranlsation was legendarily awful though.

3. Suikoden II: If only it weren't so easy, this game would be my greatest RPG of all time, period. It's that awesome. From the music, to the story to the absolutely gorgeous 2D graphics, this game stands as a benchmark for RPGs and is the last gasp for really good traditional RPGs with 2D graphics. Simply put, a masterpiece that absolutely must be experienced by any RPG faithful. Too bad it runs for $200 on Ebay/Amazon. Here's hoping for a PS One release.

2. Metal Gear Solid: The ground Metal Gear Solid broke in 1998 simply cannot be understated. The game sought to revolutionalize gaming much like its NES counterpart over 10 years prior. And boy did it ever. MGS was the game that proved that games can present a well designed story that is every bit equal to and many times superior to most action movies and that action games can be something more than just violent crap. The gameplay has not aged very well in comparison to later games in the series, but make no mistake. This game is one of the most influential and ground breaking games of all time with a presentation and a superb plot that still holds up and evokes emotion like no other even today. In a word, play it!

1. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: Numero uno. While Metal Gear Solid was better in terms of telling a story and contains scenes that resonate with me to this day, nothing and I mean nothing compares to the sheer perfection and brillance of SOTN. While there are some that challenge that games are not art, in my opinion this game represents the finest arguement against that. From the character designs to the absoultely gorgeous backgrounds and haunting music, every moment of SOTN is one to be savored. Fusing Metroid like gameplay with Castlevania elements proved to be a successful model and gave new life to a dying series. 20 years of 2D platforming all culminated with the creation of this game and no platformer of yet has even come close to topping it. Best PSX game? Hell, its a contender for best game ever, period!

Rockstar's Redemption

There aren't many times where I can say "wow, that was unexpected." But in the case of Red Dead Redemption I can safely say that it has turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It is entirely more fun than I would have given it credit for. It's not just a good western game (well, the best western game of all time really) but just a good game period.

You see, after the colossal disappointment that was GTA4 I was pretty much ready to swear off Rockstar for good, As they seemed poised to be unable to replicate the success of the initial GTA games that made them famous (GTA 3/Vice City) and fail to recapture the magic of what made those games so fresh and original for their time. Every sandbox style game subsequently made thereafter was simply window dressing. Different time periods, pointless minigames, polished graphics, a dumb dating mechanic...all of these simply only made temporary fixes. Sort of like putting a fresh coat of paint on a termite infested house. RDR mercifully gets to the root of the problem of the GTA games and addresses each one of them while actually expanding on the concepts that DID work and made GTA fun in the first place.

For starters, gone is the wacky silliness of GTA in favor of a more mature and realistic presentation. Sure you can still do what you want, but just like in real life people react to your behavior. Bad behavior has consequences. People remember and don't forget your misdeeds. Shooting up a town and killing everyone like a maniac will do that. Even if you manage to evade the law temporarily, rather than forget about you like an idiot, they actually chase after you until you pay your bounty. Unlike just about every GTA game ever made, action sequences are actually FUN to play and when you die you don't feel like it was due to sloppy controls and more to do with your bad aim/judgement. Couple all of this with soemthing else GTA has needed for a long time, characters and a story both worth a damn and you've got a nice recipe for a fantastic game.

I tip my hat to you Rockstar, there's hope for you yet.

Where did "Ambrosia" go?

A question I'm sure a grand total of zero people are asking. But nonetheless if you happen to be some crazy straggler who happens to have lucked your way to this page you can now check it out here....

Hope to not see you there!