Pre-E3 News Isn't Wowing Me

A lot of interesting tidbits have been released (or leaked?), and E3 hasn't even started yet. Yes, lots of FFXIII info should be at E3, there's already been a released date for Bioshock 2 announced, along with a possible new Metal Gear Solid announcement and, of course, Microsoft's new Zune HD with Xbox Live integration. Yet, most of the presumed news from E3 really interests me (yes, the FFXIII stuff does, but that's about it).

What I'm more interested in is the possible new iPhone announcement coming out of Apple in the coming weeks. Zune HD? What's that? It would be nice to have my portable media device compatible with my Xbox (and, in fact, most of the music I've purchased lately from iTunes should be, because its DRM-free, yet oddly it doesn't play on my console), but I'm too familiar with the iPod devices and iTunes service now that I don't intend to change anytime soon. Its good hardware and I haven't had any problems with anything related to Apple or iTunes. Why fix what isn't broken by changing the way I purchase and listen to music? Sorry Microsoft, better luck next time.

I've been wanting to upgrade to an iPhone for a while now, and my two year contract ends this summer, probably just in time for a new iPhone release. You can bet that will be my next phone (and, it doesn't hurt that there are tons of games for it). ;)

Biding My Time

I'll be quite blunt, the one game this year I would say I bought my Xbox 360 for is Star Ocean: The Last Hope, due out later this month (2/24 to be exact). I absolutely loved the previous game for the PS2, its one of my favorite RPGs ever.

But, in the meantime, and since I've finished all the games I really wanted to play (except Tales of Vesperia, which I might as well not even start now), I'm playing a few non-RPGs to pass my time and expand my gaming horizons.

I have Tomb Raider Underworld in from GameFly and I've played that a bit, I also have Midnight Club: Los Angeles, which I've played quite extensively the last few days. I have the 360 version of Bioshock sitting idly by waiting for some screen time, as well. As if that wasn't enough, finally decided to use some of my left over Microsoft spacebucks and buy Portal: Still Alive. I played Portal through once on the PS3 quite a while ago and loved it, now I'm ready for another, more in-depth play through.

So...hopefully I'll be done with all or most of that by the end of the month and can delve face-first into SO4. I'm sure that game will then consume my soul for the foreseeable future, assuming it lives up to expectations.

Game Status Update: Nov. 1, 2008

I'm considering doing one of these "status updates" every month, much like several other gaming blogs. Its basically a list of what I've tried, what I'm playing completely through, what I've decided I'm completely skipping, etc. Depending how things go, I may do this bi-weekly, but I've got a lot of games to play and Wrath of the Lich King coming out this month so...perhaps monthly is the way to go.

Games I've tried and will likely not finish for various reasons: Eternal Sonata, Metal Gear Solid 4 (yes, yes, cry me a river).

Games I'm currently playing and intend to finish: LittleBigPlanet ("finish" as in, at least clear the developer-made levels), Tales of the Abyss.

Games I don't intend to play for quite some time: Tomb Raider: Underworld, Fallout 3 (more tears, let me have them).

Games I intend to play through: Valkyria Chronicles, Star Ocean: First Departure, Rock Band 2, Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Persona 4, Bioshock, Mirror's Edge.

Games I intend to try if/when I get a 360: Fable II, Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant, Mass Effect.

Game the will likely take up most of my play time and cause me to not get any of the above games finished: Wrath of the Lich King.

And, there you have it. If I had to put two games (besides WotLK) at the top of my list to play this holiday season, it would most likely be Valkyria Chronicles and Persona 4.

The Most Games Evar!

The most games ever that I've wanted in a single 24-hour period hit store shelves today. I will be buying...none of them. At least, not today. Here's a list.

• Bioshock
• Eternal Sonata
• Midnight Club: Los Angeles
• Rock Band 2
• Star Ocean: First Departure

LittleBigPlanet should have been on this list, but its been delayed by at least a week here in North America. Also, if I had a 360, this list would be even longer. Long live October 21, 2008!

Bioshock Demo Impressions

One of the first things I did when I got home yesterday afternoon was to download the Bioshock demo onto my PS3. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't expecting much. First off, I'm not a big FPS fan. Secondly, demos of FPS games I've tried out in the past didn't do a whole lot to change my mind about the genre. Perhaps this is because most FPS games concentrate too heavily on some sort of multi-player or online aspect and not enough on one of my favorite part of games - the story.

But, because I've heard so many good things about Bioshock, I decided to give the demo a shot. What I played through last night was surprisingly deep (pun not intended, so hush) and immersive. It really drew me into the demo so much I felt I was playing a full copy of the game. The atmosphere the game presents almost right off the bat is unlike anything I've really seen in a game before, especially not the FPS genre. I was thinking the whole time, "This would make an awesome RPG". The environments bring out your imagination and make you believe something like this underwater dystopian city of Rapture could really have happened. The whole 1940s/50s feel to everything is just icing on the cake that is the look and feel of the game.

The controls were easier to grasp than I would have imagined, because most FPS games are unnecessarily complex. The left trigger buttons are for activating and using your "powers", the right are for physical weapons. The four face buttons are equally simple in their use for in-game actions. The audio just added to the immersion, playing tunes from the middle part of last century and providing eerie voices for the more unfortunate citizens of Rapture, as well as diary entries from when the city was a safe haven. Your constant companion, a survivor of the devastation, is with you always, guiding you through what is a game tutorial, but it doesn't feel like one.

And, need I remind you again, this is only the demo. I look forward to playing the entire game in the not-too-distant future. Unfortunately, there are way too many games coming out in the next couple months that I'm unsure when I'll get around to picking this one up.