First: Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge

The mechanics of this game were of the highest quality, and for the most part the visuals were high quality, but this was one of those games that made me appreciate another game even more, in this case Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. While I'm sure the story and acting were meant to be cheesy (they were) that didn't make it any better for me, especially considering how bland it all was. Also, while the environments LOOKED nice, they were pretty bland save for the final jungle area, and there were far too few of them (four environments throughout the entirety of the game). That said, like i mentioned earlier the mechanics of the game were great. Im hoping the next entry in the franchise turns down the cheese a little bit though...

Second: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

It amazes me that it took so long to get through this game, considering how big a Castlevania fan I am. I had already finished two DS entries in the series before getting to this one, and I was shocked at how nice it looked. I occasionally forgot I was just playing a GBA game, and I have to think it is the nicest looking game to hit the Gameboy line. The gameplay was mostly the same as always, though some of the advancements that have been made between this entry and Order of Ecclesia became very obvious, making the experience feel a bit limited in retrospect. The biggest bummer of the game was the diffuculty, with the last three bosses all beaten in one attempt. the hardest boss in this entry was definately Death, but after him the fights just dont live up to the Castlevania name. Overall one of the best games the GBA has to offer. 

Third: Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

I've had this one sitting on my shelf for months now, which even I find excusable. While I had essentially finished it already, I still hadn't completed the last two Night Elf campaign missions. Most of the problems I have with the game seem to be more the fault of my own setup rather than that of the game itself, but the faults I find will likely be pretty common among RTS fans. The worst thing for me was the horribly limiting unit number. I understand the need for it to keep the framerate and performance up (though on my laptop it still chugged sometimes) but I loved having huge armies in Starcraft and Warcraft II, and Warcraft III's campaign felt more like a series of skirmishes than a war. Second was the advancement of each race in the game. Sure, Blizzard shouldnt give us every unit from the beginning, but when you dont get to use all units until the last mission in the campaign what's the point? Lastly and least importantly, was how it performed on my computer. I understand that this is a personal issue and not a game issue, but i feel the need to mention that the last campiagn mission was laggy and each of the cutscenes looked wrong. 

Now that the critic in me is satisfied let me gush a little bit. This is RTS gaming at its finest, as we've seen from Blizzard for over a decade now. The balance in most cases is great (though I wish the Night Elf "turrets" were more powerful) and while the limited scope was a negative for me, I did like how much of an emphasis it put on correct unit choice. I also really enjoyed the story, which IMO far outpaced other Blizzard works, at least the ones I have been fortunate enough to experience. I just added Illidain to my favorite characters list, and am thinking of adding Thrall. 

In all, a very successful weekend. Hopefully next weekend will be as productive, with Baten Kaitos, Geist, and Disgaea to finish.