OK, so I took a long time to really come back from vacation… So much has really happened. I eventually got my replacement Xbox 360. Aside from popular belief, I got it back relatively fast, Like under 8 business days! I’ve been playing Too Human, Mario Kart Wii, Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Braid, and Bionic Commando for the 360. Spore is just around the corner to add to that list.

…the Ring of Light, (rol) or at least that’s what Microsoft so lovingly calls it. Most gamers know this light as the Red Ring of Death. My Xbox was purchased in May of 2007. It as very short lived.

In the meantime, I’ve been playing games on Steam. At least I can earn generic achievements there till I get my replacement Xbox.

Good news I liked from e3 2008:

• Wii Motion Plus
• Netflix on Xbox Live
• Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360
• Wii Speak
• PS3 Greatest hits line of $30

The not so good news from e3 2008:

• Microsoft’s Mii’s (I just feel they could have come up with something else, instead of a copy of Mii’s)
• No solution for the Nintendo Wii’s “Out of Space” issue
• No major innovations this year

Some people are getting all giddy over Microsoft’s recent announcement of their ‘Miis’ (they can call them whatever they want …they are Miis), but I’m very excited over their deal with Netflix. If you are an Xbox live gold member and also a Netflix member, you can stream the digital movies in your Netflix queue to your living room using the xbox. On top of that, you can watch movies Multiplayer… or is it Multiviewer? You can watch that same movies with friends through the Xbox360. What this means is, If I rented ‘Star Trek: First Contact, I can force ask my buddy who lives in New York to watch that same movie with me. It will stream that movie to him as well. I imagine, as with multiplayer games, you can carry a conversation through voice chat.

This service is exclusive to the Xbox 360 unlike Miis.

I’m absolutely speechless. I feel like they heard me complain that the ps3 was too much money for me to buy strictly to play Final Fantasy 13. They must have heard me regret that I only bought a ps2 to play Final Fantasy X. Once I beat it, the ps2 essentially collected dust. They must have heard me wish every night that Square-Enix would Start developing for the Xbox 360. They must have heard me when I also wanted other Square games like Star Ocean to be developed for the Xbox 360.

In the absence of Wrath of the Lich King, I decided to reactivate my Phantasy Star Universe (PSU) account. I stopped playing initially because it wasnt PSO (Phantasy Star Online). PSO and PSU are an alternative to the average online game. It’s kind of surprising that they are not more popular. I think many people fail to realize PSU has absolutely nothing to do with traditional Mass Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG). It’s not a true MMORPG and it should never be compared to World of Warcraft. I always called PSO an online hack and slash game.

The Phantasy Star Online games are for those who want to play an online game with others but do not want to get involved with the current structure. These things include the issues of playing solo, customize your character’s stats a particular way in order to be accepted by others, making sure your party always has the Tank/Healer/Nuker’ mold (oh please go away already! I have nightmares about people shouting “We need a ‘Tank for Heroic WTF!”). Don’t get me wrong, I love MMORPGs and definitely love World of Warcraft, but after playing a thousand games that follow the same structure, I tend to long for something that doesn’t exist; which is an MMORPG that doesn’t follow any of the current MMORPG rules. (more…)

I have been anticipating Too Human for over 7 years now. Originally in development for the PlayStation, then it moved to the GameCube only to land on the Xbox 360. One of the biggest reasons I purchased the Xbox 360 was for its online capabilities. I’m very excited that Too Human will feature online multiplayer co-op. I absolutely love games with Co-op online game play.

While some gamers tend to enjoy being competitive, many of us that simply enjoy experiencing a game rather than embedding it into part of our ego. Like most experiences, your enjoyment is multiplied when you are joined with someone else. It’s in the same sense of watching a movie alone versus watching it with a friend.

The folks at Penny Arcade have achieved what every video game blogger could dream of… which is get a video game based off of their creations. Today, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness arrives on Xbox Live Arcade. The characters are alter egos of Penny Arcade creators Mike ‘Gabe’ Krahulik and Jerry ‘Tycho’ Holkins. If your not familiar with the Penny Arcade characters, the web comics are located here. I am looking forward to playing this game.

Finally, the following games may not have suffered completely from poor sales,  but I believe they could have received more love if they were also released on the Xbox 360.

Lost Kingdoms
Sadly, many people don’t even know this series existed. This GameCube exclusive is what you’d call a card-based action game. Unlike most card battle video games, you are still required to fight in real time. So if you have a sword card, you press a to swing the sword. You can only swing your sword as many times as sword cards in your deck. As with traditional card battle games, your deck is face down and you are dealt them as they come. So if you want good weaponry, include good weapons. This game is a full adventure with maps and puzzles to discover as opposed to what you’d think a card battle game would be. So why would this be better on Xbox? Xbox Live of course. This, not only opens up multiplayer battles and coop adventures, but the ability to trade, sell, or buy new cards online. You could go as far as build an in-game auction house where you could buy or sell your rare cards. As with Guitar Hero’s music downloads, I’m sure Activision would be more than happy to allow you to purchase ‘Booster Packs’ or other specialty cards from the Xbox Live Market Place. (more…)

Glenn Beck of CNN thinks video game bloggers are all losers. As a working professional and a video game blogger, I do take direct offense of such a statement. What exactly is his definition of ‘loser’ first of all? I could care less about CNN or him but I have no interest in attacking news industry. Aside from his blatant immaturity, the co-author of Grand Theft Childhood, Cheryl K. Olson, makes some very interesting points. Her statements make me really want to check out her book. In this video, Glenn Beck comes across what we gamers call a 12 year old. You know, those people in games (especially online) that are immature for no reason at all other than to attempt to gain attention with what they think is humorous.