Finished Dragon Age Origins (360) over the weekend. I played as a Human Noble and it was a blast. I was a good guy so I think I got a good ending and everyone was my ally. Very satisfying ending for me. The writing is superb and the voice acting is even more impressive. They got a lot of the same actors from Uncharted 2 which was kinda cool. I'm just really impressed with how developed the world is and how much thought was put into all my party members and NPCs. I don't think I need to say more other than this is a must play and one of my fave RPGs in this generation. I plan on playing as the other origins when I have time. It should be interesting to see how the world unfolds when I choose different dialogue options. Btw, this game probably has the longest credits roll in gaming history. Soooo many people were involved, wow... :D

Also finished Assassin's Creed 2 (360) this week. What an amazing experience. Ubisoft really improved upon everything over the original and thensome. I loved the original AC and this sequel beats it in both gameplay and story. The story actually unfolds in a similar way to the GTA franchise except with better pacing. Ezio is a really likeable guy and his story is way more developed than Altair's.

Speaking of AC1, AC2 is a direct sequel in every sense of the word. The game literally opens up with the final shot from the first game. It's pretty cool for us AC1 fans cuz AC1's cliffhanger ending is instantly resolved. Yay. There's also a ton of callbacks and information that AC1 fans will enjoy. I think if you didn't play or finish AC1, you might be missing out on a few bits of information and names that pop up. AC2 stands well on its own but people who played AC1 will definitely appreciate the story and revelations way more. And boy, the revelations are awesome.

The gameplay is incredibly addictive as one mission just keeps popping up after another. There's also a diverse amount of sidequests that kept me playing. The combat is also very satisfying and incredibly fun since you can switch weapons and upgrade your armor/outfits. The final armor looks pretty damn sessy. The collectables also make sense and actually help you and affect the main game. They're no longer simply achievement/trophy hunter type stuff. It's all really well implemented. I'm only two achievements away from getting the full 1000. :)

But not everything was perfect, the game has some minor glitches which happened a few times. They're not game-breaking stuff but they're somewhat distracting. The game also has some janky facial animation for a few characters (Lucy has it worst), but most are fine. These minor issues probably kept this game from beating Batman: AA and Uncharted 2 from my personal GOTY. But overall, this was an amazing experience with a lot of fun conspiracy stuff and the world is really well done. Must play for everyone (including people who didn't like AC1). Loved it.

I also just got God of War Collection (PS3) and I'm playing it to see all the enhancements. Looks pretty damn good. I haven't played it in a long time so there are many things that surprised me. Still awesome and still fun. I'll probably have more detailed impressions when I dig into GoW2 in the collection after I beat GoW1 all over again. Oh yea, lotsa boobies too, lol...

Some stuff.

Got:
Nintendo Club Platinum Gift - I chose the Mario hat. Very nice quality.

Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition (360) - Yea, I got it...

Assassin's Creed 2 Master Edition (360) - The tin case is even LARGER than AC1's LE. Geez... Nice design though.

Box and contents.

More games and movies.

Star Trek LE (BD) - Statue is very nice. Completely metal and quite heavy.

Box and contents.

And finally...

Diablo III!!!! Well, not really...it's a statue of the Barbarian. Sculpt is detailed and paint job is superb. Awesome quality.

Box and statue with normal head.

The Sideshow Exclusive head. Badass...

Been playing Dragon Age Origins (360) and it's AWESOME. Great story with a TON of dialogue options and great voice acting. The amount of content is pretty incredible. There are a ton of choices to be made, lots of sidequests to complete and a lot of optional stuff to find. I'm really impressed with how much time I spent with this game so far. There is so much to do and some sidequests lead right into another. Soooo addictive! I also found that my party members are fully fleshed out people with a lot of personality and backstory. They're very complex and hard to figure out which adds to the realism to the story. I'm amazed how much info each character reveals as you learn more about them. They all have a quirk or twist that you don't really expect the first time you meet them. Very well written.

Even secondary characters and NPCs have their own stories to tell. I was quite surprised at how much I learned about a NPC in a short amount of time. When you're doing sidequests for some of them, there are some genuine emotional spots that surprised me. I also found a lot of humor in some other characters that were unexpected. All these colorful characters make exploring the world very enjoyable.

Anyways, can't wait to finish it and play a different type of character to see what happens. If you like Bioware RPGs like KoToR or Mass Effect with a high fantasy setting, this is a definite must play. Love love love.

Oh yea, I took a break from Dragon Age to play Modern Warfare 2 (360). I beat the game in Hardened mode in two sittings. I could've finished it in one sitting but I had work the next day so you know. Great game with a ton of shocking moments. It may seem a bit much at times but I liked it. The controversial level that was mentioned was definitely disturbing to me. I didn't enjoy playing it but I didn't find it offensive at all. It was important for the story and it made sense. Infinity Ward definitely took a chance with this one.

Btw, I suggest you play the first Modern Warfare before digging into the campaign for MW2. Why? Because the stories are directly linked with returning characters and some call backs to the first game. If you don't know who Soap is then you should definitely play MW1 NOW. Besides, MW1 was awesome so why deny yourself greatness?

Anyways, Hardened mode in the sequel was way easier than the first game simply because there are no more infinite spawning enemies anymore. I died a lot less but it was still tough and frustrating in spots. The campaign was very satisfying and well worth playing through for the twists and turns. I haven't tried the multi or Spec Ops modes yet but I will try them when I finish Dragon Age. Must play!

New stuff for the second half of October. I already finished some of these games if you check my blog daily. ;)

Got:
Uncharted 2 (PS3) - Such an amazing experience.
Brutal Legend (360) - Great story, okay gameplay.

Uncharted 2 LEs (PS3) - Special thanks to Pete D. for the UK version and my other contact for the Aussie version. :D

Tekken 6 Wireless Stick Bundles (PS360) - Gamestop.com didn't ship my preorder bonuses. I had to call to get replacements. They're not here yet as of this post. The one pictured was from a local Gamestop. The guy gave me one simply because I asked. Best B&M Gamestop in my area.
Forza Motorsport 3 LE (360) - Great game.
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time (PS3) - I need to play the previous two first, lol.

Transformers 2 (BD) - The one with the IMAX scenes. Best cover out of all of them too, imo.

PS3 Charger - Definitely needed one.

Dead Space and Halo ODST figures

Finished Brutal Legend (360) on Normal over the weekend. This may be my least favorite game from Tim Shafer. I've loved every game he's done even with their flaws, but something about Brutal Legend didn't hit that note for me (pun not intended). I'll have to side with people who complained about the gameplay. The whole game felt clunky and wasn't much fun to play. On the other hand, the story and characters were great. I also loved the world it's based in. And even though I'm not a huge fan of metal music, I was enjoying the music in this game quite a lot. Anyways, I'm just gonna list my impressions.

Liked:
-Characters - Very likeable cast with lots of personality.
-Humor - Lots of funny moments.
-Designs - Love the character designs.
-World - Interesting motif and very unique.
-Music - Pretty solid soundtrack.

Disliked:
-Sidequests - Repetitive and boring.
-RTS section - I love RTS games but this was clunky and frustrating. Should've been more streamlined or not included at all. Not fun at all.
-Audio loops - The characters repeat the same lines over an over again in the open world. Also, certain long conversations actually repeat themselves in less than 5 seconds. What the?
-Graphical issues - Some framerate issues here and there and minor popup.

Overall, I found the game alright. It was enjoyable simply because the characters and writing was so good. I kept playing for the story and not the gameplay. I would've liked it if they fleshed out the story more because it goes by pretty fast and made the overall game pretty short. There were some moments that felt like they didn't flow that well. For example, I found the characters talking about something that wasn't mentioned before in the main story later in the game.

This made me think I was missing some important backstory info because I skipped most of the secondary stuff. Which reminds me that they also relegated some very cool backstory for the world to these Legendary statues that you need to find to unlock them. BIG mistake because they added a lot to the story. I wish they made these things easier to find or made them story-related in some way during my first playthrough. I didn't bother finding them until I was near the end of the game cuz I had no clue what they did. Btw, I only found two so far and I'm looking forward to finding the rest soon.

Anyways, recommended for Shafer and Metal fans, but I think everyone else should give it a rental at least.

Also started playing Demon's Souls (PS3) after I finished Brutal Legend. Good news is I managed to beat the infamous 1-1 level on my first try with no problems. I killed Phalanx without too much trouble. I didn't face the issues most people had complained about in various podcasts. BUT, after I passed that, I'm pretty much stuck in level grinding mode right now. The rest of the game ramps up in difficulty quite a bit. For some reason, I'm pretty addicted to trying to get my character up to a point where I can take on more guys without too much trouble.

Great graphics, stellar voice acting and tough enemies definitely make this a dungeon crawl winner. It's very moody and works on many levels. Anyways, I might update again when I make some more progress. But for now, it's been an interesting (and punishing) experience.