Put on your blue suede shoes and board the plane, boys and girls, because your sideburned, peanut-butter-and-banana-sandwich eating hero Sparky has returned with yet another Gaming Update.  No, I'm not the ghost of Elvis.  I just rock, and I rock hard! 
 
Dancin' Robots, Rednecks Galore, and a Fistful of Boomstick 
 
It's fair to say that Borderlands is my new flavor of the moment.  I just finished up my first playthrough last night, and holy crap, what a game.  Look, I know all the haters claim it's unpolished or buggy, but I'm here to tell you that other than (very) occasionally getting my buggy stuck in the odd corner or crevice, I've encountered no serious bugs or problems.  This is not a game to be missed simply because BobGizmoGrizFan390 tells you not to check it out.  This is a gamer's game, damn it, and you owe it to yourself, your country, and the universe in general to check it out. 
 
If I had one complaint about the game, it's that the quests get sort of repetitive.  A greater enemy variety would also go a long ways towards increasing the replay value.  Regardless, these issues are trivial and hardly deal-breakers.  Gearbox, keep this general formula going with any sequels you have planned, and you'll have one giant, rabid, slightly stinky fanboy on your hands. 
 
A Priest, a Rabbi, and a DS Walk Into a Bar 
 
Since I was on the road for most of this last week, my DS got some sweet, sweet gamer lovin'.  I packed up a few classics, and mostly played some meatier RPG efforts.  Mostly, I worked on leveling in Final Fantasy IV up until the "magnetic cave" level, which annoys me to no end.  Clever idea, terrible thing to fight as a gamer.  Eh, I'll plow through it on my next trip.  I also delved a bit deeper into the excellent Chrono Trigger, which I'm still thoroughly enjoying.  I'd love to see new Chrono games either on the Wii or DS, as I've enjoyed both immensely. 
 
Those Things With Pages.  You Know, Books? 
 
Since my Gaming Update is a little light on padding these days, I thought I'd expand out to write about any noteworthy books I've read or movies I've seen recently. 
 
Picked up a ton of books in St. Louis.  Started with C.S. Lewis's Abolition of Man, which I'd read back in college and want to re-read.  I also decided to pick up a collection of the Narnia books, since I'm working on the backbone of a fantasy world and I want to revisit all my old favorites. 
 
Also picked up Diana Pharoah Francis's newest, "Bitter Night."  I'm not normally a fan of contemporary fantasy, but Francis's other novels have all been superb, so I picked this one up and read most of it on the plane home.  It's one hell of a page turner, and I highly recommend checking it out. 
 
Also picked up but have not delved into - Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn and The Gathering Storm, Andy Remic's War Machine (Remic's a guilty pleasure - fun pulp sci-fi), and a couple of Terry Pratchett novels. 
 
In the dollar theater, I watched The Hangover.  Holy hell, I laughed hard.  I watched this several hours after the hardest moment of my life, and if it could pull me out of that funk so well, you know it's gotta be good.  The casting choices are excellent, and the comedic timing is just spot-on. 
 
Question of the Week 
 
Since Borderlands advertizes itself as having "gazillions" of guns, I figure a gun-related question is in order.  What are your favorite guns in video games, fictional or otherwise?

Hey folks- 
 
I'm going to be traveling to St. Louis tomorrow.  Although my business there is a funeral, unfortunately, I'll be spending a few extra days there to visit friends and take in the city.  If any of you are St. Louis-ites and know of some excellent areas to visit, I'd greatly appreciate the tips.  I'm looking for just about anything - tourist spots, great restaurants unique to the area, shopping areas, and other fun and random stuff.  I'll be staying near St. Charles, and keep in mind that I'll be traveling primarily by taxi, so if there are any spots where I can visit multiple things at once, that would be ideal.  Fire away your thoughts, and thanks in advance.

Sorry, guys.  Gaming Update is going to be brief today.  I lost one of my best friends on Sunday, and I'm just not all that enthused about games right now. 
 
BORDERLANDS

 Awesome game, slick multiplayer, and a hell of a start for what I hope will be a series of games.  Gearbox knocked this one out of the park.  Color me addicted. 
 
Other games I picked up during the Amazon/Toys R Us sale

 Lego Star Wars & Lego Indiana Jones (only going to keep one and use the other as a birthday present to a friend - any suggestions on which one to keep or give?) 
Burnout Paradise (another birthday present) 
Tony Hawk Underground (sadly, no Project 8 was available) 
The Bigs 2 (a gift for a family member) 
 
Question of the Week

What are your interests outside of video games?  Got any fun hobbies or the like?

Welcome, you hooligans, once again to the man-god Sparky_Buzzsaw's (hopefully) weekly blog, where I discuss all the games I've been playing and any gaming related topics that spring to mind.  Readers of my last post know that I've been purchasing up a mad, mad storm of games.  Let's take a look at the first batch to arrive today, courtesy of Amazon's 3 for 2 sale. 
 
First up is Ratchet and Clank Future, a PS3 Classic (or so it tells me on the packaging).  I was thoroughly addicted to the demo.  It was the first game demo I've played through multiple times in the last couple of years, so I was stoked to get this one in the mail.  Haven't got very far into it, but let me tell you, besides Mario and his funky crew, this is adventuring and platforming at its very best.  As soon as I get a PS2 (again), I'll be buying the older R&C games as well as the new one to get myself caught up. 
 
Next up?  Civilization Revolution.  I played this once, way back after it was first released, and I thouroughly enjoyed my brief time with my brother's copy.  I only had a brief dose of its quality gameplay.   
 
And finally, it's time I felt a little funky with the new Ghostbusters!  I've been playing that for about an hour and a half, and I don't think you could wipe the smile off my face.  This game is everything I wanted from a Ghostbusters game.  It's high-quality writing, the gameplay is solid, and the voicework is, of course, fantastic. 
 
Tomorrow brings my copy of Borderlands.  From Toys R Us, I'll also be receiving copies of Wii Sports Resort, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Lego Indiana Jones, Burnout Paradise, and The Bigs 2, all of which will be gifts for others.  It was a hell of a sale, and I'm glad it hit when I had some extra cash on hand. 
 
Questions of the Week

How have you all been?  Played anything particularly exciting or awesome?

You can breathe a sigh of relief.  Good ol' Sparky's back, and guess what?  My laptop has returned to the land of the living with me.  It's been a long couple of months, but I'm not here to bore you with the details of my personal life.  Look for new entries in my weekly blog, starting sometime this week with what I've purchased from sales at Toys R' Us and Amazon.  Suffice it to say that I won't be short on games for a long, long time. 
 
Drop me a line or a comment, folks.  Tell me how you've been and what you're playing.  I've missed ya, Giant Bombers, but never fear.  Big Daddy Sparky's back, hopefully for a good long while.