All right…so the last post I had was nearly a month ago.  First, my computer was on the fritz.  Then, the financial world decided to crumble and guess which line of business I am in?  My job isn’t in jeopardy, but we were just so busy in the last 3 weeks that free time was very, very limited.  

That being said, I really needed gaming as an escape from reality.  However, gaming is starting to let me down in this regard.  First and foremost was the big news of the day in regards to LittleBigPlanet.  I have been looking forward to this game for a very long time.  As a matter of fact, I was probably going to not work on Tuesday so I could sink my teeth into this thing.  When Dead Space came out this past week, I was really tempted to buy it since there have been very few high quality games released as of late, but my urge to play LBP kept me from using my gaming “allowance” on Dead Space.  Now, though, I am forced to wait yet another week and spend my time in the real world instead of creating my own alternate reality in LBP.   

The fact that we live in such a world where every action (whether intentional or not) is highly scrutinized at every angle apparently cannot escape the world of video games.  Of course, we are used to games having controversy, but I can’t think of a game on the scale of LBP being recalled right before release.  And, if you think about it, LBP is the one game that you never expected to create a controversy.  Apparently I can throw molotov cocktails at the dead bodies of hookers whom I killed after having sex with them just to get my money back in any Grand Theft Auto (starting with III that is), but I can’t have some language I will never understand playing in the background of a childish platforming game.  Moreover, it isn’t even possible for a patch to be released to simply override that song from ever playing.  Why?  Because Sony had to consider the individuals that don’t have internet connections.  Instead of recalling, couldn’t a big sign be put up at all retailers to say that there could be offensive material contained within the game unless patched via the internet?  I suppose the reprinting of discs was cheaper than the potential lawsuits Sony thought they would find themselves in…

Seeing that I can’t play LBP soon, where could I go to keep reality from entering my brain?  The answer is not Burnout Paradise.  That would be because Obama ads have now turned up in the world of Paradise City.  What do I think of when I see presidential ads in a video game?  Let me see…sucky economy, war, grumpy McCain, general angerness in America about anything and everything.  Not to mention the fact that it reminds me I am trying to PLAY A VIDEO GAME!!  Most of the time when I see an in-game ad I can pass it off as something I have never heard of before and hope it is just something cooked up by the development team.  Sorry, EA, but as good as you can be you didn’t create Barack Obama (although that would be an interesting theory…)

That being said, I can at least jump into the world of Mercenaries 2 and just blow crap up at any time, right?  Yes, I can.  That is game where I have no semblance of real world attachments.  Except for the fact I am blowing up oil.  Oh well…at least it is virtual oil and I can nuke the world to my heart’s content without having to worry about radiation sickness, political consequences, or the potential innocent lives lost.  Even though Mercenaries 2 may not be as highly polished as LBP or Burnout Paradise, I can at least play it with a numb mind (which I think deserves a rating score boost across the board).

For now, I suppose I’ll complete some games that are still lingering around and I MIGHT bring myself to trading some stuff in towards Dead Space (a game that definitely has no connections to the real world).  I really can’t do much else inSoul Calibur IV and have almost completed Mercs 2 (although I want to see what the patch will bring).  Also have a Resistance 2 beta key hiding somewhere in my Gmail account and might have the wife convinced to get some Rock Band 2 on Sunday.  

As always, thanks for reading.  I promise to get an update up a lot quicker next time.  :)