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 Today: Beautiful Katamari, Sonic the Hedgehog

The new Katamari Demo arrived the other day and it's pretty good stuff. The gameplay is identical to the other Katamari games and the control is tight. The highlight of this demo was the graphics. Katamari was always a pretty game but seeing it in vivid HD was quite a sight. Fans of the original should be pleased. One problem I foresee in Katamari's future is the limited freshness this game might have. If the gameplay stays the same the only thing you could really add is new levels. Will that be enough to justify a new game every year?

I'm almost through the original Sonic but I'm stuck on the final boss. I can't believe they shaft me with zero rings. Perhaps 50 more tries and I'll save the rest of the fuzzy bunnies.

Finally, some sad news. My XBOX 360 is having issues and is returning to Microsoft for repairs. I guess I'm stuck with my DS & PSP for the short term. Whimper.

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: DDR Universe, Sonic the Hedgehog, Pac-Man Championship Edition, Mega Man Powered Up, Gears of War, Burnout Revenge

Sorry about the delay in blogging. Vacation took away from my overall gaming but I was still able to play some new (to me) games. I played DDR Universe and Sonic the Hedgehog (next gen). DDR was surprisingly fun. I didn't expect to hate it completely and that's what I got. It plays like Guitar Hero (duh) and the music was better than expected. I might invest more than 20 minutes in the future but only in the privacy of my home.

My time spent with Sonic the Hedgehog was less worthwhile. I played for about 5 minutes and quickly sent it back. I didn't like the excessive cut scene at the beginning (despite how beautiful it looked) and had no interest in 3D Sonic. Not sure why I even tried this.

I'm still playing Mega Man but I seem to have hit a wall on the final boss battle. The smaller bosses were all fun to battle and I quite enjoy the game's save point system. However, if I can't progress much in the next few weeks, I guess I'll retire it.

Playing Today: Bullet Witch, The Bigs, Sonic the Hedgehog

Bullet Witch came in the mail yesterday. I was surprised at how above average the game was. This is in no way the stinker that some reviews led me to believe. The premise is ridiculous, the enemies are laughable (walnut head?!), and the protagonist is a bit strange. However, the gameplay works just fine (for now) and the graphics are decent. And, although, the story is strange, I found myself intrigued by the campiness of it all. Hopefully, I'll get some more time with it before I go to the beach.

Sonic the Hedgehog just arrived on XBLA. The game looks exactly how I remembered and functions as it should. I like the inclusion of leaderboards but I'll never play it long enough to earn that high of a score. I only tried the demo but am seriously considering purchasing it this week or next. I didn't get to try Golden Axe.

As far as E3 goes, I might draft something after it is all over and done with. Might.