Playing Today: Sonic the Hedgehog, Forza Motorsport 2, Bomberman Live

Finally, I have taken down Dr. Robotnik and won the original Sonic the Hedgehog. It only took me a couple games but I've finally mastered this final boss. Sonic hasn't aged perfectly but this game is still fun and challenging. Overall this game rates a B.

I picked up Forza Motorsport 2 and am aiming push forward until I have to send my XBOX back. I won my first race without hiring a drive in quite some time. I dropped all the way down to 8th place thanks to some crashing but still made my way back up.

Playing This Weekend: Alien Hominid HD, Forza Motorsport 2, Dead Rising, Pac-Man Championship Edition, Sonic the Hedgehog, Command & Conquer 3

Alien Hominid doesn't just have a great single player mode it has some excellent mini games. Somehow I have become obsessed with playing Super Soviet Missile Mastar. The achievement for this mini game is designed to be incredibly hard despite the mini game's utter simplicity. I'm merely 14km away from 5000km and I just can't seem to get it. How can such a simple game be so... insanely addictive?

I plugged away at Dead Rising, Sonic the Hedgehog, Pac-Man Championship Edition, Forza Motorsport 2, and Bomberman Live. Nothing new to report except that these games are still incredibly good.

I tried out Command & Conquer 3. It reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II - probably because both games are made by EA. I bet if I really wanted to invest the time into this game I'd enjoy it as much as I enjoyed LOTR. Too bad I see other games on my horizon and I just don't have 40 hours to re-invest for a RTS.

Playing Today: Bomberman Live, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dead Rising

Sonic the Hedgehog is proof that achievements can breathe new life into games that aren't exactly new. Having just officially paid for Sonic I decided to attempt one of the timed achievements. Now, if I were playing this on the Sega Genesis, why would I care how long it took for me to win level one? It wasn't as if I had a leaderboard to compare my time with friends. Because of achievements I spent an extra thirty minutes just trying to beat this level in under 35 seconds. And how frustrating is it that beating the level at 35 seconds still doesn't count. Score a 34 second victory or go home. This was quite an accomplishment (and although frustrating at times) for me and quite fun.

I played some more Bomberman Live and hopefully I'll get to play some more online games soon. I also tested out the two new arcade games but they didn't blow me away. Maybe I can get back to them later in the week.

Finally, I've picked up Dead Rising again to attempt some of those achievements that were just out of reach. I'll get these, hell or high water!

Playing Today: Transformers, Bomberman Live, Pac-Man Championship Edition, The Bigs

I took some time away from Transformers to finish up my first season of The Bigs. The playoffs were tougher than the regular season; however, I was still able to crack a ton of homers and pitch my first perfect game. I took down the Detroit Tigers for my first ring and hope to earn the same ring with an American League team in the future - maybe not too soon. Overall, this game lived up to my highest expectations and has only minor flaws (like mispronunciation) and a soundtrack that is light on music. I gladly give this game an A. I can't wait for next year!

Some more achievements were earned in Bomberman Live and Pac-Man Championship Edition. Both continue to stand out as the best XBLA games of the year and should be held up on a pedestal with Geometry Wars.

Finally, I spent some more quality time with Transformers. I love that that the environments are destructible. This was a feature I wasn't expecting to see and makes playing as a Transformer very cathartic. Too bad that the driving controls are atrocious. The driving portions feel identical to those in Full Auto. Is this the same engine? I'll have to do further investigating.

Playing This Week: Bomberman Live, The Bigs, WTF, Gauntlet, Transformers, Mega Man Powered Up, Blitz: The League

Wow. I have no excuse for missing a week's worth of blogs. I'll definitely try to fix that, don't you worry. I tried out Blitz: The League and was underwhelmed. It felt like one of those games that deserved more of my time - but The Bigs just kept sucking me back in. So, I sent Blitz back and am at the World Series of the The Bigs.

I also tried WTF (Work Time Fun) on my PSP. Again, this was an interesting game; however, not a game I could see myself owning or playing half as much as my other PSP games. After twenty minutes that found its way to the mailbox too.

Transformers showed up a few days back and I surprisingly enjoyed it. The environments are almost completely destructible and the narration is cool. My only issue so far (and I'm only one hour in) is the mission structure. The missions are video game cliches: race missions, protect missions, and fighting. That's cool for kids and quick playing but not likely to provide that great of an experience.

I finally defeated Mega Man Powered Up and was satisfied with that experience. I really hope that Capcom makes a sequel or takes this version to XBLA. Look for more Transformers commentary this weekend!

Playing Today: The Bigs, Pac-Man Championship Edition, Bomberman Live, Yie Ar Kung-Fu

Another day, another 33 run game. Holy crap, The Bigs was tons of fun to play. Scoring 33 runs, knocking out 8 triples, and 7 RBIs for my rookie was a blast. This helped me rack up three new Achievements in the same game! Despite that this game is relatively easy (on this difficulty) it is still fun because not every game is a blow out. I played the Cardinals and had several close calls. I can see myself investing many more hours in this game and enjoying a majority of them.

I tried out the new (classic) Bomberman game. I only played the demo and was intrigued, but not enough to drop $10. This looks like plenty of fun but the new additions and customizations are a bit obnoxious. Maybe after I buy the game I'll change my mind.

Played a ton of Pac-Man and really figured out Extra Mode 2. The more I play the more I can't stop playing. When the initial reviews compared this to Geometry Wars, I was skeptical. However, now I am a believer.

I tried the other new arcade game, Yie Ar Kung-Fu. I remember seeing this years ago... and I still have no interest.