So, a couple of games that I already have for the PS3, one game I barely popped in my 360 before I returned it last year, and a few brand new ones I have high expectations for. 
 

Game 1: Borderlands

 
BEFORE: This is one of the games I'm expecting to enjoy, based on reviews, quick looks and Jeff Gerstmann's obsession over it. Going for a soldier right off the bat.
 
AFTER: I really like the art style, absolutely loved the intro. Great music. I like my pistol better than my machine gun so far. Loot is fun, I wanted to continue playing when the first achievement popped 26 minutes in. 
 

Game 2: Forza Motorsport 3 

 
BEFORE: Forza 2 turned me on to simulation racers, and based on the demo for Forza 3, this is going to be class. 
 
AFTER: Oooooooohhh this game is tough to put down. Got the first achievement for jumping 5 meters nine minutes in, and that's including the optional install. Just had to try a few more races with my first F-class car, and racing a Yaris has never been more fun. This is going to last me a while. 
 

Game 3: Alone in the Dark

BEFORE: This is gonna be brutal. Based on reviews, this is at best interesting but severely flawed. Practically got it for free, have to see for myself. 
 
AFTER: There is no "after." I quit before I got an achievement. This is a real stinker. Horrible controls, clipping all over the place, cheap deaths abound. I'm removing this from my played list and throwing it Gamestop's way ASAP. 
 

Game 4: Midnight Club Los Angeles.

 
BEFORE: I'm cheating a little here. I actually bought this last fall and played it for about an hour. It felt kind of weird after coming off 250+ hours of Burnout Paradise, so I gave up on it and traded it in. Found the Complete Edition on sale and decided to give it another go. 
 
AFTER: What was I thinking? This game is awesome. I could have used a higher framerate, but zooming around LA in first person with Snoop on the radio is pretty sweet. I got pulled over and burned rubber as soon as the officer got out of his car. There's an achievement for that. 24 minutes. 
 

Game 5: Mirror's Edge

BEFORE: I've already played and finished this on PS3, I'm expecting this to be pretty much the same. 
 
AFTER: Tutorial level complete, 7:35 in. I still love the atmosphere in this game. The controls feel pretty OK, though I might prefer the bigger shoulder buttons on the DualShock. I'll probably finish this a second time on the 360. 
 

Game 6: Unreal Tournament III

BEFORE: This is another one I have on the PS3, but I picked it up real cheap and wanted to see how it feels on Xbox Live. 
 
AFTER: 6:17, "Lock and Load." A little more pop-in than I remember from the PS3. I play better with the Xbox controller. 
 

Game 7: Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time

BEFORE: I've been playing through the Ratchet series with my son the past few weeks. This is supposed to be the best of the bunch, and I'm excited. 
 
AFTER: 15 minutes, first trophy, and I can already tell this is going to be a great one. Ratchet & Clank on the PS3 is what I expected games to be like in the far-flung future when all I played was platformers on my Amiga. The production values are sky high. My son's gonna be thrilled, too.
 

Game 8: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 

 
BEFORE: For Xbox Live Arcade games, I usually play the trial version up until I get the first achievement, then I buy the full version and cash in. This game I bought on a whim while looking through the XBLA titles. It feels a little wrong to be playing this after completing Shadow Complex, but I guess it's never too late to brush up on your gaming history. 
 
AFTER: I'm guessing the VO recording budget didn't break any industry records. I love the music, though. This game must have been pretty ground-breaking at the time. "Rampage" unlocked seven minutes in. Lost all my stuff. Need to pick this up again ASAP.

Got a mother lode of 360 games in the mail this past week, most of them look pretty promising. After finishing the single player in Uncharted 2 and messing about a fair bit in multiplayer, I'm ready for some backlog stuff again.

Game 1: Tom Clancy's EndWar 

 

 BEFORE: Don't know what to expect here, to be honest. My experience with RTS games is limited, but this one promises a fresh take on it, anyway. The reviews were generally on the good side, but there wasn't really a crazy amount of buzz. 

AFTER: The first achievement popped four minutes in, that was pretty quick. The voice command tutorial seemed to work well enough that I just had to play the first few missions to see if it held up in the field. Three missions in, feels pretty solid so far. Seems kinda easy, though.

Game 2: Resident Evil 5

 

 BEFORE: I bought two copies of this game and gave one of them to my brother, since I've heard that co-op is the way to go. I'm a Resident Evil virgin, so this is going to be a new experience. The focus on co-op is apparent in the opening menus, I'm doing this session alone, though. 

AFTER: Whoa, this game is... different. I needed 45 minutes and three continues to beat mission 1_1 on Normal and get the first achievement. The controls felt very slow compared to other shooters I've played, but popping zombies in the head and collecting gold got really satisfyting once I got over the hump. Can't wait to play this in co-op now. Also, after playing through Uncharted 2, the voice work and animation in the cutscenes here don't hold up.  
 

Game 3: 50 Cent Blood on the Sand 

 
BEFORE: This should be quite a contrast to RE5. 50's quoting Eminem in the opening screen track. I played and liked The Club, I should be able to have some fun with this. Expecting ridiculousness and lots of it.
 
AFTER: Even more ridiculous than expected. Wild and crazy arcade-style effects and a pretty good tempo to the shooting. Way fun. It's pretty good with the achievements too, the first one (for a successful melee attack) popped near the 6-minute mark, and another 30 minutes yielded a bunch more. Could not put this down right away.  
 

Game 4: Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe 

 
BEFORE: Fighting games was one of the genres I didn't foresee myself getting into when I started playing games again a few years ago. I'm also more familiar with the DC Universe than Mortal Kombat, so this should be interesting. I've heard good things. 
 
AFTER: Jumped straight into arcade mode with Scorpion, mixed opponents. Got two achievements in the first match, one for Free Fall Transition and one for Klose Kombat, both worth 25G. Pretty generous. I'm seeing some cool moves here, this should be fun once I get my Hori stick out and learn the finishers. 
 

Game 5: Bionic Commando 

 
BEFORE: There were a few things said about this game when it was released that kept me from buying it at full price, mainly about the collectables. I love collectables when they're done right. When they're not done right, they become an annoyance. I also tried the multiplayer demo, and it left me indifferent. I'm totally willing to give this a try at this price, though. Not expecting too much. 
 
AFTER: Damn, the Grin guys put their logo in the intro cutscenes. Clevery done. This could have used some more polish. Combat feels pretty goot, though. Not quite 10 minutes, finished the first challenge for 5G. I'm gonna have to play through this one later, though I'm already aware of the idiotic twist. 
 

Game 6: F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin

 
BEFORE: Playing this as the last game before I hit the sack at 2:45 AM may not be the greatest idea. I tried the demo for this game when it came out, it seemed OK to me. Not enough to warrand a full-price purchase, though. 
 
AFTER: Bad idea for sure. I spent the better part of 40 minutes trying to finish the first mission because I missed the instructions and I couldn't find them again. This game look pretty. The atmosphere is almost tangible, and there are even some scary parts in there. Shooting seems solid, too. Should make for an interesting diversion someday, though I've got a feeling that once November rolls around, I won't have room for any other shooters than the obvious one.

With the advent of the US holiday season, big games are coming out, and the big games of yesteryear (or even from last month) are dumped into bargain bins by the dozen. With FIFA 10 and NHL 10 in the house and already on my gamercard, it's time to get an overview of the other games I've picked up over the past few months, backlog style. 
 

Game 1: Katamari Forever

 
BEFORE: The Katamari series has been intrigueing to me for some time, maybe more so because the original isn't available here in Europe unless you get time-consumingly creative. I've played Beautiful Katamari only briefly on my 360, but I have it on pretty good authority that Forever is a much better starting point for a curious newbie. 
 
AFTER: Loving the intro and the tutorial - oh! First trophy already 4:56 after pressing start. Need to play five minutes more. The audio is amazing, especially the vocoder bits. 
 

Game 2: Halo Wars

 
BEFORE: Lately, I've been getting into a bit of strategy. I've always had a thing for turn-based games like Civilization, but lately I've played a bunch of tower defense games, as well as the League of Legends beta. To my surprise, I've really enjoyed it. I picked up a discounted copy of Halo Wars along with ODST, and I'm actually more excited to play this one. Jumping straight into the tutorial. 
 
AFTER: Just shy of the half-hour mark, achievement for completing the first mission. This seems like a pretty satisfying action RTS, need to play more. The CG story sections look great.
 

Game 3: Sonic Unleashed

 
BEFORE: I've read the reviews. I know it's supposed to be horrible. After playing the demo with my 4-year-old, I decided to pick it up on the cheap. 
 
AFTER: 40 minutes in, first achievement for leveling up my werehog's combat skills to 5. I can see how reviewers would hate having to play through this for review. The werehog sections aren't totally awful, just a little bland, gameplay-wise. The daytime stages are stronger, though it sucks when you lose momentum. It's a kids game, and I bet my kids are gonna love it. 
 

Game 4: Halo 3 ODST

 
BEFORE: I'm not the biggest Halo fan, but after 40 minutes of Sonic, I'm reasonably psyched to play ODST. Seeing as this is a North American game, the achievements should be more sensibly distributed here. 
 
AFTER: 8 minutes, "Heal Up." Ominous atmosphere, solid combat. This is my kind of Halo game, I would very much like to continue playing this right now. Pressing on, though. 
 

Game 5: NBA Street Homecourt

 
BEFORE: I bought this game on sale on the strength of FIFA Street, which I enjoyed for what it was. This should be a comparative experience.
 
AFTER: Wow, that took longer than expected. I had to consult an achievement guide and play three games before getting this down. If I didn't suck so much, I might have had the achievement come naturally. 45 minutes, two achievements at once for 100G. Apparently, this game's got some easy ones. NBA Street seems to have more personality than FIFA. Really digging the music. 
 

Game 6: Marvel Ultimate Alliance

 
BEFORE: Reviews for MUA 2 were fairly good, though most of them expressed a preference for the original MUA. I've been a little interested in this game for a long time, and the arrival of the sequel finally pushed me over the edge. 
 
AFTER: Excellent intro cutscene. Now for some gameplay. OK, I killed 5 guys pretty quickly and got the "Fledgling Hero" achievement after 7:24. How come I haven't played this before, though? Sure, it you can tell that it's an early 360 game, but it still feels great. 
 
There's a bunch more bargain bin games incoming, including Resident Evil 5, Bionic Commando, FEAR 2, MK vs. DC, EndWar and 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. The next backlog session's gonna be meaty.

Yesterday's backlog session left me with a taste for more. I've got 12 PS3 games on my shelf that I haven't started. Only four of these have trophies. 
 
Let's do it. 
 
Game 1: Unreal Tournament III. I found this on sale and decided to get it for PS3 because of the mod support. Not that I'll be using any mods, though. First off, five minute patch download. Yay PS3. 14 minutes in, "Lock and Load" for killing my sister over and over. Apparently, someone felt the need to give this game a story. Really solid, fast-paced shooter action, though. Some Gears of War-looking dudes (Dom, specifically) in the cinematics. Seems to be pretty nice with the trophies, being multi-platform probably helped with that. Had a quick online match, too. Fun. Much prefer this to Halo. Will be playing more.
 
Game 2: Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. Installing Game Data. Five minutes and counting. No progress bar. Don't have my hopes too high for this one. Should be some fun explosions, though I feel Bad Company and, in particular, Red Faction: Guerilla have set the standard in that department. First trophy, "School's Out" squarely at the five minute mark. Not a train wreck so far. The first mission was actually pretty enjoyable. Seems like a good discount purchase. 
 
Game 3: Warhawk. Again, it's gonna take a while to patch and install. I like my PS3, but this is semi-ridiculous. I'm too old for this. I played the Warhawk demo and found it enjoyable up to the final Warhawk air combat tutorial. Also, it failed to connect to any multiplayer matches, which put me off the full-price PSN purchase. When I found it in a bargain bin with the headset pack-in, it was a different story. First impression: The music in the menu screens is awesome. I did a quick online match before I resorted to running the ground training to pick up the trophy. There's a bit of a learning curve here, but I managed to notch up a few kills, as well as getting spectacularly shot down in a Warhawk a couple of times. Kind of a Battlefield vibe, must be explored further.
 
Game 4: Resistance 2. Major title update. I've easily spent 40 minutes waiting for stuff to download and install these past hours. Reminds me of the time that I bought Burnout Paradise for my buddy, went over to his house to surprise him, and promptly stared at an update screen for two straight hours. Oh, well. 17:50 into a very action-packed, scripted start to the campaign, first trophy pops up. This is a quality product. I need to go back and play Resistance: Fall of Man before I play this, I think. 
 
I'd love to do a backlog write-up of my other PS3 games as well, as soon as I find an OK way of doing it. First half hour? First level? Tutorial completed? First in-game reward? That might actually be less arbitrary than going for the first achievement or trophy. I'll come back to that. 
 
These are the other PS3 games in my backlog: 
 
Devil May Cry 4 
Heavenly Sword 
Valkyria Chronicles 
MotorStorm 
Lost Planet Extreme Condition 
Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty 
Everybody's Gold: World Tour 
Resistance: Fall of Man 

I've got a bunch of new games on my shelf, some new titles I've got high hopes for, some potentially entertaining games I've picked up on sale. Time to get an overview with a new round of play-to-the-first-blip action. 
 
First up: 
 
Game 1: Wolfenstein. Now that's an old school shooter intro. The premise of this game is, of course, totally ridiculous, but the action seems very satisfying. Can't wait to blast through this. Got my first achievement 18 minutes in for shooting three mysteriously floating enemies. 
  
Game 2: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. Apparently, Ray McCall can take all the bullets in the world, but drop down three feet, and: "Failure! You are dead." This game has an unfamiliar cover system that takes a little getting used to. Quite stingy with the achievements, too. A few seconds past the 29-minute mark, I shot an enemy through a wall, and got the None Shall Hide achievement. Here's hoping the actual western part of the game is better than the civil war introduction.
 
Game 3: The Beatles: Rock Band. I just bought this today, on launch. Still added it to my backlog pile, had to get an achievement or two in for launch day. Feel a bit cheated now, though - it only took 1:40 to reach the end of the calibration adjustment and get my first 5G. Need to play a few songs before I move on.   
 
Edit: I couldn't stop playing The Beatles: Rock Band. It's amazing. Went for the Day Tripper achievement in my first go-around. Can't wait to play it with friends. 
 
Game 4: Dark Sector. Low expectations. Old game dressed up in Unreal Engine 3. The prologue, and with it, the first achievement, took about half an hour. Wonder what this game was like before they made it a Gears clone. Thank God I didn't pay a lot of money for this. The glaive looks like fun, though. If I ever totally run out of games, I might play this some more.
 
Game 5: Tomb Raider Underworld. That was weird. Prologue, 10 minutes. This seems pretty solid. I'm gonna have to play through both Legend and Underworld some day. Today is DiRT 2 day, though. 
 
OK, one more. 
 
Game 6: Batman: Arkham Asylum. Based on reviews, I feel I should set aside some time to do this right. It's too bright in my living room now, though. First achievement: Freeflow Combo 5. First fight after the intro.