It's time to crank up the tuneage to 11, throw on One Night in Bangkok, and ready your mind to be stunned once again by the sheer magnificence of the words I lay down.  After last week's soul-draining 50 game rundown, I've got one correction and addition to make to that list, as well as some quick updates on what exactly I've actually been playing and watching. 
 
Crap, another one? 
 
I left off a game last week that I consider to be so bone-headed, I had to add it here.  Fable 2, now and when it was released, is an treasure of a game that really hearkens back to some of my favorite series of old, namely King's Quest and Quest for Glory.  It belonged very high on my list, and somehow I managed to overlook it when I was compiling lists of games on a year by year basis about a week and a half ago.  If I were to go back and add it in, it would fall in line somewhere around 5th or 6th place, so maybe consider it game #5.5 on that list o' mine. 
 
Tactful Tactician's Tactics 
 
Hey, good puns are hard.  Piss off.  I downloaded a few games via PSN this week.  Most of them are old favorites from the PS1 era, including Final Fantasy VII, Wild Arms 2, and Final Fantasy Tactics.  While my love for FF7 is unabashed (I think it's the finest turn-based RPG out there, rivaled only by its own competitor, Final Fantasy X), I've not really talked much about the Wild ARMS or Tactics series in this blog.  Let's remedy that really quick. 
 
Wild ARMS, for its part, was a relatively quiet release here in the West, but it marked an important part of my evolution as a gamer.  FF7 was my first true JRPG, and coming from that game, I was hungry for more.  Wild ARMS was that all-important second helping.  It had some solid RPG mechanics, light puzzle elements, and some fun sidequests and upgradeable items.  It certainly wasn't going to win any game of the year awards, but it was a hell of a good game, and I purchased each of its sequels (on the Playstation systems, anyways).  Actually, I should mention that all these games are double-dippers.  I have them all on PS1 discs, but I like owning them digitally for various reasons, primarily that I don't have to worry about disc scratching for resale if I ever go that route. 
 
Final Fantasy Tactics on the PS1 is near the top of my "most played" list on the PS1.  I sank a lot of hours into the Final Fantasy games, but none so much as this one.  I was mostly hooked on its addictive turn-based strategy elements, and I'm really pleased to say that I still am.  The PS3 makes PSN classic gaming easy - all you have to do is create a virtual memory card, and bam, you're ready to download and play some PS1 classics.  The simpler, the better for this twenty-something old fogey. 
 
During my breaks from Final Fantasy Tactics, I've been playing Final Fantasy Tactics A2 on the DS to compare the two.  I'm pleased to say that both hold up admirably well against the other.  The gameplay mechanics, while basically the same, offer enough variation in the job skill routes to warrant seperate playthroughs.  I'm also very pleased to see that the original's graphics still look pretty darn pleasing.  Sure, they're simple, and the animations are short, but it keeps it simple, somewhat cartoony, and has a certain unique quality. 
 
I'll also be picking up Suikoden soon, which is another long-time favorite (see my list from last week for brief blurbs on entries III and V in the series). 
 
I Play Breako... errr... Shatter! 
 
I've said a lot of great things about Shatter on the boards lately, and I mean every blessed word.  This is a superb example of arcade-like gaming brought into the modern world, and I dig every crazy second of it.  It's addictive, it's got a basic backbone, and it has a fantastic original score.  My only complaint with the game is that when things become hectic and you've got a bunch of floating items, it can be hard sometimes to track your ball - which is sort of the point, so it's not much of a complaint at all. 
 
This is the sort of game I love to have on a system, because it's great to play for just a few minutes to chill out or to kill some time.  It never tries to be grandiose or to set shocking new standards.  The developers knew exactly what sort of game they wanted, and they built the frills around it.  Kudos to them for keeping it simple, pleasant, and a whole hell of a lot of fun. 
 
Popcorn TV 
 
This week, I've been watching a ton of TV, courtesy of Netflix.  On the menu were two shows I'd never watched before - Breaking Bad and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  I'm pleased as punch (how the hell can punch be pleased?) to say that both TV shows are excellent.  Breaking Bad's premise is brilliant and its acting top-notch.  I'm surprised at the consistent quality of the show.  Almost every minute is worth watching, not because I'm afraid I'll miss something, but because I'm genuinely invested into these characters, which is a hard stunt to pull off in television. 
 
It's Always Sunny is like a mash-up of the best parts of Mamet, South Park, and Stella.  It's shocking and hilarious, and the rapid-fire succession of jokes and dialogue works really well with this particular group of characters.  I'm hoping that the show will explore each character just a touch more to seperate out the males a bit from each other, but honestly, that's some serious nitpicking.  Danny DeVito's work in the second season is nothing short of awesome.  I can't wait to get the rest of the DVD's in the mail. 
 
Question of the Week

What are your favorite holiday movies or shows?