I've been playing my shiny new 360 for a couple of days now, and I gotta say, it's great. The controller, the graphics, the interface--I'm really pleased with all of it. The only negative that's come up is that I got 3 terrific games with the console (Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, and Grand Theft Auto 4), and there aren't enough hours in a day to play them all as much as I'd like. I was also missing out on not being able to download demos when I was only gaming on the Wii. Voice chat is another thing Microsoft has really nailed. So, in short, I'm giving the Xbox 360 two emphatic thumbs up. Feel free to add me to your friends, as well.

I finally gave in and ordered myself an Xbox 360 today. Got it off Amazon with GTA4, COD4, and Mass Effect. It should be here the middle of next week. I'd been debating whether to take the plunge for a while now, and decided that a 360 would be cheaper than springing for a new gaming PC, so I pulled the trigger. I've been hanging out with some friends who all had 360's, and what little bit they let me try out theirs, I really enjoyed. I still like my Wii (been playing some Zack and Wiki lately), but I just felt like there was some great stuff going on in Xbox land that I was missing out on. Now I feel like I'll have the best of both worlds. I'll try to put up some impressions when it gets here, if I can pull myself away long enough.

Well, looks like gaming is going to have to take a back seat for a while. I've got a new guitar amp on the way that's going to be taking priority in my bank account, so no money for new games. Oh well, I think it'll be worth it to actually sound decent in the band I play in. Hopefully money will stop being so tight at some point in the near future too... I guess time will tell.

I recieved Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga for Wii as a Christmas gift, and have been playing it way too much lately. I never played the two previous iterations, other than the demos for each on my computer. I always put off buying them because I figured there would be an updated compilation down the road, and I was right.

Anyway, this game is very fun. It's simple enough that if you want to just blaze through and beat all the levels, you can without breaking a sweat. But where it really shines, in my opinion, is when you go back to replay each level to find all the hidden goodies you missed. Puzzles, action, platforming, goofy Lego silliness- it's all there. And it stays amazingly true to the spirit of Star Wars.

The vehicle levels aren't quite up to par with the on foot segments, and the camera can sometimes be a little wonky, but those are minor complaints when compared to the hours of fun I've already had with this game. It also boasts one of the most enjoyable local co-op modes I've played. The Wii remote doesn't add a ton to the game, and I usually just use the button equivalent to a given Wii motion. Overall, this game is great for anyone who loves Star Wars, or Legos, or if you're like me, both.

The other day I started thinking about what my favotite games are. I've played plenty in my day, and came up with a handful that really stood out to me in retrospect. Now, these are my personal choices, and I'm not necessarily saying they're the best games, just my sentimental favorites. I've narrowed it down to 5, in no particular order, because trying to rank them against each other would be a royal pain. Anyway, here are my favotite games.

Quake (pc/Mac)

I played a hell of a lot of Doom when I was a kid, and when id released Quake, it pretty much blew my mind. The weapons, the enemies, the level design, everything about this game was just diabolical. I consider this the first game I got into in a "hardcore" way. When I used to play Doom, for example, I'd always use the famous cheats (IDDQD, IDKFA, etc.) But I felt a drive to play Quake the "right" way, something I hadn't felt the urge to do in previous games. So those are the basic reasons Quake is in this list (and in my avatar.)

Knights of the Old Republic (pc/Mac/XBox)

I don't like RPG's very much. At all. I've never been interested in the stories, the gameplay, the visual style--nothing. Then I tried KOTOR. My GOD, what a great game. The only reason I gave the game a chance is that I'm a huge Star Wars nerd. But while Star Wars got me to try KOTOR, the merits of the game itself are the reasons it's on my list. A true sense of accomplishment is something that you rarely feel in a video game, but "Knights of the Old Republic" has it in droves. Start to finish, I truly loved every second I spent playing this game.

Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube/Wii)

Not many games in recent years have caused me to obsess over them as much as RE4 did. I bought the GC version when that first came out, played it through about 20 times, then bought the Wii version on release day and have since played through another 10-12 times. I'm not really sure what else to say about this one. It just kicks so much ass that words can barely do it justice. I'm not sure what "perfect" gameplay is, but RE4 is as close as I've ever come to experiencing it. If I had to guess, I'd say, to date, I've spent well over 150 hours playing this game.

TIE Fighter (pc/Mac)

Possibly the best flight simulator ever made. I spent countless hours in my youth inside the cockpit of a TIE Interceptor, hunting down those cowardly Rebel X-wings. Once again, my love of Star Wars got me interested in this game, but what I soon discovered was a game that is incredibly fun to play, challenging, and rewarding. Some of the missions in this game were so challenging to me that even while cheating, they were incredibly difficult to pass, let alone ace. I can't think of a single bad thing about this game, except that I haven't been able to play it recently because I'm a loyal Mac user, and there was never an update that would make it playable on my OS X machine.

Metroid Prime (Gamecube)

I had never really played a Metroid game before Prime, so I really didn't know what to expect. I thought, "Oh another first person shooter, this could be fun." Boy was I in for a shock. I had never experienced such a deeply atmospheric game before, and may never again. While graphics keep getting more and more advanced and shiny, Prime has, for lack of a better word, a "magic" about it that is just as impossible to replicate as it is to describe. Fun, challenging, beautiful, and truly epic, Metroid Prime is another one of those games you just have to play to truly appreciate.

So there they are. Thanks for taking the time to read my rambling list. I guess the one thing I can take from this list is that I enjoy games that are good, and also fun to play. Imagine that. I tried to cover as wide a timeframe and range of systems as I could think of, and I guess I also got a pretty good variety of genres in there too.

Until next time, later.

Well I picked up The Godfather: Blackhand Edition for Wii today. I kept hearing people say it's a fun game, so I figured it was worth risking $30 to try it for myself.

I've only played it for a couple of hours so far, but all in all I'm getting a good first impression from it. The controls seem to be working very well, and the story is satisfactory.

The graphics, though, are a little on the rough side. For example, when driving down the drab streets of 1940's New York, I couldn't help but think how the texture popup in the distance reminded me of the original Driver on the PS1. Definitely not the prettiest game on the Wii, but a lot of fun for anyone looking for a gritty sandbox-style game.

I'll probably put up a full review when I've played it more thoroughly.

Well, my Wii finally found its way back home today. UPS dropped it off this afternoon, much to my surprise, considering Nintendo said not to expect it for another 2-3 days. Two thumbs up to Nintendo's customer service, by the way, they were great the whole way through the process.

Whatever was wrong with my system was bad enough that they couldn't salvage any of my data. That's not a huge deal because I did have all my game data backed up on an SD card, so I dodged a bullet there. The real pain in the you-know-what, though, is that I got a new friend code, so I had to redo my address book from scratch. Not fun. Sixteen digit numbers don't really lend themselves to convenience. I mean, my GOD, it's almost twice as long as a freaking social security number!

Anyway, the important thing is that it's back and ready to rumble. And waggle. And whatever else I plan on using it for.

Nintendo sent me an email at 6 this morning saying they'd recieved my Wii for repair. So, if everything goes well, I should be up and waggling again in about a week. Fingers crossed...

I guess I should just consider myself lucky that it died during a relative dry spell, and will be ready for Galaxy next month.

Well, looks like Microsoft isn't the only company capable of technical difficulties. I just tried to turn on my Wii for a little Zelda fix, and got an unpleasant surprise. After the startup screen, the main menu popped up but almost instantly froze. I powered down and rebooted. Same result. I tried a couple more times, waiting a little longer each time before starting up again, but no dice.

It had given me a little trouble yesterday when my friend was playing Resident Evil 4--sometimes freezing while trying to load the next level or screen. But when I fired it up today, i couldn't even get into any of the channels. A coffin box is on the way from Ninty, so I'm gonna be without my Wii for a week or more, in all likelihood. The online repair procedure was actually pretty painless, and I've heard good things about Nintendo's customer service. I'm disappointed that my Wii died but, hey, stuff happens. I'm under warrante, so it's really just a minor inconvenience. And I did just back up my game saves to an SD card yesterday, so I dodged a bullet there. Looks like I'm gonna be a full-time Mac gamer for the time being, though.

I'll keep you posted on how the situation works out...

I've got a decision to make. As of right now the only game system I have that I use with any regularity is my Wii. I've been a big Nintendo guy ever since the SNES, but I've also picked up other systems along the way, such as Genesis and PS1.

Here's where my decision comes in. I'm going to pick up a new console soon, and I can't decide if I want to go for the xbox 360 or ps2, seeing as I missed out on it last gen, as I only had a gamecube. I figure now is as good a time as any to grab a ps2 for cheap and catch up on games like GTA, God of War, and Gran Turismo that I haven't played yet. Then again, the 360 has a ton of good games either out or on the way, but it would obviously be way more expensive than going the ps2 route.

Either way, I know I'll get a ton of entertainment out of which ever system I choose, so it's really just a matter of making up my mind. I'll get both eventually, but as of right now, I'm leaning towards the ps2 and waiting on picking up a cheap 360 next gen (hopefully the hardware stability will be improved by then). Well, I guess only time will tell...