I was a kid in the late 90s, and like any self-respecting kid-geek in the late 90s, I was way into Pokemon.
 I bought the games, I watched the anime, I collected the cards (and pretended I knew how to play the card game), the whole nine yards.  For a while, it was all my friends and I could ever talk or think about.  When I think about a moment in my childhood when I was really happy, I think about (along with other, more important things) how excited I was when my mom's boyfriend got me that Charizard card, and how jealous my friends were.  Pokemon used to be a big part of my life.

   But then, around 6th grade, I stopped caring about the series. Why? Probably for a lot of reasons. My friends weren't into it so much anymore, the anime seemed more and more lame the older I got, and I just got tired of the whole "Japan has 5000 new Pokemon that you're not gonna see for years!" thing.  So that was it. No more Pokemon.  I used to be able to name all of the original 151, no I care barely remember a few, let alone the hundreds of new ones they've added over the years.

   Fast foward to 2009. After almost a full year of slowly going through it, I finally beat Lost Odyssey.  It had it problems, and it wasn't ground-breaking by any means, but it's probably the first traditional turn-based JRPG I've beaten since, well.... Pokemon.  And it reminded me how much I like the genre.  At this point, it's a relic that hasn't evolved in ages, but that's just something about it that hooks you (maybe I'm still suffering from "anything's better if it's made in Japan" syndrome, who knows).

  After that, I needed more RPGs.  I bought Chrono Trigger on DS, and have been enjoying it a lot.  I tried playing Persona 4, but I couldn't really get into it.  Then there is stuff like Star Ocean 4 and Last Remnant I might like, but that's a whole other story.

That's when I saw the commercial: Pokemon Platinum.  Holy crap.  I haven't played these games in forever, and just when I'm feeling in the mood, a new one is just about a month away.  I really wonder, can this series hook me again? Can 19-year-old me see what 8-year-old me likes so much about this series?  Will I be able to wrap my head around all these new fangled Pokemon?  Will playing it make me feel like some pathetic manchild? I can't wait to find out!

 

I just beat Lost Odyssey, and I still have Fallout 3, Fable II, Banjo 3, and a bunch of other games from 08 that I want to play.  But hey, Killzone 2 looks pretty awesome, and nothing can keep me away from Resident Evil 5 when that comes out.

10. Killzone 2
9. inFamous
8. White Knight Chronicles
7. MadWorld
6. Prototype
5. BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams
4. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
3. God of War III
2. Resident Evil 5
1. Bayonetta

I love Rock Band, but over the past 9 months that I've had the game, I've had plenty of misfortunes with it.

1. Guitar strum bar broke. (sent that to Harmonix, got a new one)
2. Disc got scratched, so I could only play in Practice Mode. (still scratched)
3. Drum pedal broke. (Bought new one off eBay)
4. And now, the green drum pad has become extemely unresponsive. (just happened, don't know what I'll do about it yet)

I'm thinking of just getting the Guitar Hero: World Tour Bundle and using those intruments for Rock Band and Rock Band 2, but then I'll have to wait over a month after RB2 comes out for World Tour. I guess I'll just get my drum pads replaced by EA.


Anyone else have Rock Band troubles? Any troubles like this with another game?

Got Soul Calibur.   My first impression, really easy to get achievements. I'm no whore, but I like getting achivements where I can.  Yoda and the apprentice are really fun to play as, although  Yoda is a pain to fight since he's so short. But Mitsurugi and Tira are still great, and I was able to play online with no lag that I could see. Can't wait to dig deeper into the character creation mode.

Also got Geometry Wars 2.  The fact that you have to collect little gems to add to your multiplier really changes the game.  All the modes I've tried are fun too. This should be a no-brainer for everybody.

With Dark Knight come and gone, the best of the summer is behind us.  However, I am interested in two more summer movies.  I'm a big fan of the Mummy, so I'm looker foward to Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.  They have always been good fun goofy movies. I'm just afraid this one could ruin the series for the rest of me.  There's also Clone Wars. I like Star Wars, and I liked the Cartoon Network shorts, so what the hell, right?

And because I see other people doing it, here's some games I'm looking foward to:

Too Human
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Little Big Planet
Valkyria Chronicles
Gears of War 2
Resistance 2
Lips
Rock Band 2
Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe
EDIT:
Fable II
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

..and some other stuff I'm sure, but that's all I feel like listing.