Happy E3!

It's that time of year again! (Which is actually a bit earlier than last year, if I remember right.) E3 has come and gone, sadly, all too soon. I'm not going to fool around searching for stuff, so here's what I remember most.

Nintendo really threw down this year. They unveiled the 3DS, proving that there are more variations to the DS system than flavors at Baskin Robins. This one might be good though, with the 3D graphics. I don't know specifics, but supposedly it's 3D without the glasses, which may or may not work out for them. But more importantly, what do they preview with the 3DS? A new Kid Icarus! It's about time angel boy got some respect again. Another downside, though, is that the game looks like it's only going to be on the 3DS, not compatible with the older DS systems. I would love to play the game, but I'm not going to buy an entirely new system for it when I've got one remarkably similar that still works fine. I was also really excited about the new Zelda game. Sure, it looks pretty good (graphics could've been better) but I noticed a little lag on the Wii, which could majorly affect the game.

Probably what I'm most excited about is the Metal Gear Solid: Rising game. If you watch the trailer, you know what I'm talkin about. That watermelon didn't stand a chance. Secondly would be Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. A continuation to ACII (which had a total WTF ending), Ezio is now, unfortunately, old. Oldish. Actually not really that old. Vic Mignogna is 47 and he's still hot. Anyway, this looks like it'll be well worth the wait due to a new multiplayer mode. Female assassins! Power to the women! Although without X-Box Live (or PSN, whichever one you're on) the multiplayer would probably be a LOT harder to appreciate.

*FREE PORTAL!*

Yeah, you read that right! Steam's now in cahoots with Mac, so to celebrate, you can download Portal for the low low price of FREE for Mac or PC! Check that out here.

I gotta tell you, though, it'll take about an hour or so to download, and I'm on DSL, so I pity tha fool with dial-up. Other things include having to install the Steam program and some drivers, which isn't much, and making an actual account with Steam, also not much. In other words, they'll make you work a bit for it, if nothing else. I gotta check my computer over, though, since I can pull up the game, get to the Valve logo screen, and it'll crash. I'm more of a software person so I have no idea if I'm missing RAM or something. You do however, need DirectX 9 for it to work, so go update if you ain't got it.

Still can't get Portal? Here's one of my favorite things on the internet: Flash Portal! Go to a website called yousaytoo.com to get it past a blocking program, such as when you're at school. There are also a lot of other cool games there, like both the Impossible Quizzes, Super Mario Bros., and Tetris! Happy gaming, y'all!

Zombies Saved My (Gaming) Life!

I recently came into a copy of Left 4 Dead 2, via my brother. I just have to say...

WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!

Yes, L4D made me remember why I love sitting at home for hours on end in front of the TV with my 360. Unfortunately, those hours on end are more like an hour and a half right now since I've got a cold. But some's better than none, right?

Basically if you've played Halo, you can play L4D. It's actually kind of the same, only with zombies instead of aliens. Why doesn't Halo give me the same satisfaction? Don't ask me, I'm mildly insane like that. I mean, even Final Fantasy was having it's downfalls. For some reason, there's something about some of my games that made me not want to play.

Hey, y'know what? I feel like I'm talking too much when I could be killing zombies or watching cartoon ninjas. Happy gaming!

OMGEVILTHINGIES

Whoooaaaaah man, it's been like a month.

OK, so this is a quickie filler thing. Actually there hasn't been a whole lot going on in gaming. BUT I heard about some Halo: Reach footage, so I'd go YouTube or IGN that stuff and see for myself. Still working on FFXIII, actually. I went through a bit of a gaming hiatus. What was I thinking? Either way, third disk, pretty close to the end I think. Look forward to a review sometime between now and... A while.

Actually picked up my DS a couple weeks ago! Ever notice how there are no good DS games anymore? It was all like OMG TOUCH SCREEN MUST HAVE and now it's all meh. Now it's funny because they're trying to boost sales by making a million different DS consoles. Basically there are more versions of the DS than there are flavors at Baskin Robins. Maybe not, but you smell what I'm stepping in.

Smosh and KH3?!

Been a while, huh? Well this won't be very long anyway. First of all I want ya'll to check out my new favorite YouTubers, smosh, and their take on video games.

Next is some pretty big news for all those rabid Kingdom Hearts fans out there. Word has it that three new KH games are being planned right now, two spin offs and the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3, one of which should be released in Japan by the end of this year. Hopefully they'll think of us 360 fans when developing it, KH has a bad reputation for being PS or handheld only. Speaking of which, I still haven't finished 358.... But it's a DS game, what are you gonna do?

FFXIII Character Review

OK, so it's midnight and I can't sleep. Thought I'd tackle some junk. Not literally, but y'know.

First you've got Lightning. Fighting, she's pretty good with Commando, but don't ignore her Ravenger, either. She's good with chaining. Personality, she's a bit cold-hearted, but I hear that's what the military can do to you. She's just trying to look out for her sister is all...

Next I think is Sazh. Why the 'h'? I don't know. He's kinda like Basch for me, it took me forever just to figure out how to say his name. Fighting, just find a good weapon, it'll make a difference. Personality, he really cares about his son, you can tell. Tends to joke around, I guess. I don't use him in my party, so I don't really know how to describe him. The chocobo is awesome, though.

Vanille is your quirky type that has to be in ever FF. She's just really carefree, which must be hard considering what all she's been through. Also may or may not be lesbian, hopefully not though, 'cause she's my favorite character... Anyway, she's great will magic and is just about the second best Medic, though you may want to stick with her since she's got more HP.

Dang, I forgot Snow, didn't I? Barbara thinks his name is ironic, because who ever heard of hot snow? Anyway, he's got a pretty loud personality to say the least. Kind of impulsive. But he really cares about Serah, I could've just cried when he proposed. Fighting, he's going to be your best Sentinel and a good Commando, but no magic for him.

I'll tell you what, Hope is probably the character who surprised me the most. I thought he was like 16. Nope, y'know how old? 14. How does a 14-year-old kid get dragged into THIS kind of mess? Anyway, he's got guts, I'll tell you what. You just really see him grow throughout the game. Hope's also got my favorite line in the game: Vanille - "You OK?" Hope - "Oh yeah, I'm great." (You just have to see it.) Fighting's not much his style, he's got low HP but great magic capabilities, so Medic, Synergist, Sabateur, and maybe Ravenger are more his speed.

OK, Fang. Oh, was she still supposed to be a secret? ..... Oh well, you would've found out eventually. She's kinda feisty, I guess, I don't put her in battle often enough. The other half to the possible lesbian equation, but I don't know, sometimes Hope looks like he's got it for Vanille. Wow, you know you've gotten pathetic when you're discussing the love lives of video game characters. Anyway, she comes pre-packaged with a ton of CP and the Sentinal paradigm, so that helps out in later battles. She's actually a pretty well-rounded character... I just don't like her too much.

A Glance at FFXIII

This is just a quick overview of my first impressions of XIII, so nothing big here.

OK, the graphics are WOW. Y'know how every FF has OK graphics, then really good graphics for specific cutscenes? You can barely tell the difference here. Speaking of cutscenes, there are a heck of a lot of them. And people complained about XII having too many!

Battle system is like a cross between X, X-2, and XII. Overall good, but sometimes you just can't get that Cure out fast enough. You don't have levels, but your character advancing system is like a cross between the Sphere Grid and License Board. Easy to maneuver, but in the later stages of the game you have to have a LOT of CP to get it going good.

Characters are great. They all feel like main characters without really totally being main characters. I love Lightning because she's popular, but not because her boobs are bigger than her head. Story is fantastic, I was always kept guessing at what would happen next.

Lastly, this is probably the hardest FF yet. I'm on the third disc, and all my characters have 1000-2000 HP, while taking out enemies with HP up in the hundred thousands, if not millions. Plus I never have any money so I always end up short on items, and Phoenix Down is your best friend.

Well, happy gaming! I'm off to go catch up on my YouTube watching and try to remember what I did with my life before this game...