Warning:  Venting to follow.
 
Someone linked me to a review for Kingdom Hearts:  358/2 Days at gaygamer.net.  It's not a website that I normally visit, but I've been playing and enjoying the game, and it's interesting seeing how the reviews have compared to each other.  However, this review in particular is one of the worst I've ever read, and what's worse is the reviewer was completely open about slacking on the job.  He didn't even come close to finishing the game.
 
I'll admit that I've stopped playing plenty of games in the middle because they were either not fun or too frustrating to finish.  I'll also note that I respect the reviewer's opinion in his dislike of the game.  Still, when write a review, you should make sure that you've finished it first.  Don't give up five worlds in and slap a 4 out of 10 at the bottom just because you couldn't be bothered to finish it.  If you review a game for an editorial website of any nature, I expect you to complete as much of the game as one could reasonably ask, whether that be beating the campaign and experiencing the entire narrative, playing through all of the modes in a fighting game as well as giving the online a fair go (if said online is actually operational), or playing through a season in a sports game.  Don't just quit in the middle and call it good (or bad).
 
Do not trust the reviews posted on gaygamer.net.  There are better sources out there.

I picked up Dead Space: Extraction yesterday, along with a copy of the PS3 version of the original Dead Space.  I elected to start Extraction first since the game is shorter, and I'm interested to see if the horror in Dead Space is still able to hold weight if I play the prequel first.  So far, I'm really liking it.
 
I'm about halfway through the game and playing on Normal difficulty.  I refuse to call it the "guided first-person experience" EA's marketing reps tried to nail into our heads, but for a rail shooter, it's very advanced.  The pacing and camera angles feel more like the movements of a person than watching something filmed on a steady-cam and there are more tools at my disposal than the basic strategy of gun ---> bigger gun ---> BFG.  It's possible to slow enemies down by using a stasis attack, which really helps when dealing with crowd control even with its limited use, all weapons have basic and alternate fire which can be switch back and forth from by twisting the Wii Remote, and debris can be cleared and moved using the kinesis beam, which doubles as the tool for gathering weapons, ammo, and health.  One of my favorite touches is the way that the audio logs are piped through the Wii Remote speaker; they come in clearly despite the speaker's low quality.
 
As someone that thoroughly enjoyed House of the Dead:  Overkill earlier this year, Extraction is giving me more of what I want, which is a solid on-rails experience that benefits from being designed for a home console rather than being targeted as an arcade release.  The story is well-told if stock horror movie fare with some standard character archetypes filling the lead roles, but the cast is likeable.  I kind of wonder if Isaac in the original Dead Space will be as likeable given that his face is masked.
 
I imagine that it won't take me much longer to beat the game.  Another evening or two in front of the Wii is probably all I'll need, but I'd say that this is definitely a game I'd play through again.  I should also give the Challenge Mode a shot once I've beaten the story.
 
The game also comes with an unlockable six-issue Dead Space video comic book.  The copyright attached to it is 2008, so I don't know if it was previously published in paper form, but it tells a story regarding other characters on the colony as sanity breaks down.  It's interesting, but unfortunately the art has a lot left to be desired, and the voice acting isn't as sharp as that found in the actual game.  Still, it's not a bad bonus earned for progressing through the game.  I still have two chapters to unlock, so hopefully it ends with a bang.

Out of the cast of Street Fighter Alpha 3, my favorite character to play has always been Juli.  Not exactly the strongest personality in Street Fighter, but her moves clicked for me more than other characters in the game.  Still, given that she's not exactly a frequenter of favorite Street Fighter character lists, I can't say I ever expected her to appear in any other game beyond the odd Alpha 3 port or remix.
 
So today, word started leaking about some more of the characters to be included in the next edition of Street Fighter IV.  One of the character names that I saw crop up was "Juri."  Not exactly the same, but it's similar enough given the longstanding l/r translation issues from Japanese.  Could it be?  Did Capcom somehow randomly decide to put my favorite Alpha 3 character in Super Street Fighter IV?

Instead of my favorite of Bison's dolls, we're apparently getting a raver chick that's into Tae Kwon Do.
 
Huh.  Well, all right.  At least I didn't have time to get my hopes up.  Also, she's a better inclusion than T. Hawk, at any rate.  But god damn you, Capcom.  You've created so many awesome characters, and then you come up with characters like this.  :P

I don't have to many other games for the rest of 2009 that I consider "must-own."  I'm not into Modern Warfare at all, so no one should be shocked that it's missing from my list, but here it is:
 

• Shin Megami Tensei:  Persona
• Sakura Wars:  So Long, My Love
• ???

 
Yeah, I'm not exactly hyped on the big-name games this year.  I am interested in Super Mario Bros. Wii, but the big guns I want from Nintendo aren't coming out until next year.  For the next four months, it's pretty much going to be niche games for me.

A Quick Look of the just-release hack-and-slasher Muramasa:  The Demon Blade was posted on the site today.  Aside from Ryan's inexplicable reluctance to find out what the B Button does, the video does a good job of showing just how pretty the game looks in motion.  It's an excellent game and one of the best Wii games yet.  From the time I've spent with it, I'd recommend it to anyone with the console.  It's just a shame that any time a game like this comes along, there's always that group of knuckleheads that feels the need to post comments like these:
 
"I would play this if it was on PS3, PS2 or X360
 
No thanks to a Wii version though"
 
"Man, I'm really sold on this game but I don't think I'm ready to buy a Wii just yet... I wish it would come to 360 or PS3."
 
"If this was on XBL Arcade, I'd be willing to pay 15 bucks for it.  But nothing makes we want a Wii."
 
"Can't help thinking that this should have been a downloadable PSN/XBLA game. Too bad."
 
"word, I want this game in HD."
 
I can understand not wanting it if it's not your cup of tea, or if you just don't have the time or money for it, or in general just don't have the interest.  But seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you guys?  The moment a Wii game that would appeal to a crowd other than the casual party game player comes out, you leap on it like a bunch of starving wolves, only to reject it for the fact that it's on a console you don't like, or you're too spoiled to play it in anything other than HD.  What does it matter if it's in HD or not?  It's a beautiful looking game in the resolution it was made for.
 
This generation has done nothing but produce a bunch of graphics whores of the worst kind.  They ignore the beauty that exists in a game's art, pay more attention to hardware specs, and don't believe a game is worth a disc-based release if it's in 2D.  Apparently, as consoles become more powerful, the people playing those consoles are becoming progressively dumber.  It's depressing, really.
 
And I say all of this despite owning both a Wii and a PS3.  Why should I ignore a fun game on one console because of some petulent desire to play it on the other?  If a game is engaging and looks gorgeous on less-powerful hardware, why should I ignore it if I have the means to play it?  Why should I announce to the world that I have no interest in the game if the sole reason is that it isn't on an HD console?
 
In other words, why should I make myself look like a hardware-elitist douche?