I knew I had slacked but wow it's almost been a month.  In that time I have moved, like I said I would, and I really like my new place.  Quiet, next to work, and it's saving me money.  Using money as a transition, that's what this month has not been saving me.  Of course that means I caved in to buying a number of games.
 
Of the ones from last month, I've only played more of Borderlands.  That means I'm slacking on Batman, because everything else I finished, which is a surprise.
 
New additions are DJ Hero, Dragon Age: Origins, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Demon's Souls, Forza 3.  I believe that is all, just five.  Just five.  Damn you, Q4.
 
Starting with DJ Hero, it's nice to have an innovative rhythm game.  The last major new rhythm game was Rock Band which, hard to believe, was out two years ago.  This is probably the rhythm game with the most multitasking going on.  I'm not a huge fan of the music in the game, but the game itself makes it worth it.  Very fun.
 
Dragon Age was on I didn't think I would get.  I downloaded the character creator and looking at it, it made it seem like the game was more simple than some had made it out to be, which was okay, because I did not like NWN was I thought it was a little too indepth for me.  Then watching some videos on it I had doubts again.  Thankfully I picked this up because I am loving it.  Great story, great gameplay.  This one might last quite a while, as my hour to percent completed ratio is about 1:1.  It's a lot like WoW, except with a more detailed story that you feel like you have an impact on, and most important of all no monthly fee and the game ends eventually.
 
New Super Mario Bros. Wii truly is the next game after 3 and World.  In fact I'd rank it third behind 3 and World.  There's not a whole lot to say about this, it's a new Mario.  The only things I could say negatively about it is the lack of classic controller support for a more traditional game rather than having to waggle every so often, and the fact that this really was their last opportunity to name something Super Mario Bros. 4.  I think I've finally given up on that dream.  Still, it's nice to be able to use my Wii again.
 
Then there's Demon's Souls, the game that is becoming known for it's good reviews and the way it slaps you around.  It is a very difficult game.  The first level was reasonable, but after that, wow.  The non-linear aspect of it is not a good idea because you really need to work you way up and it's difficult to figure out what the next best level is to complete, and if you pick and level and it's not a good idea, too late, you're dead.  Hope you can get back to your body so you don't lose your souls.  I'm glad I picked it up when I did, just because of the Atlus track record of not reprinting games, although they already have done an additional reprint.
 
Can't say much about Forza 3, as I'm still trying to finish Forza 2.  I just happened to pick it up because it was on sale, so I threw it in and installed disc 2, which has now shot my hard drive.  I am not willing to pay 150 for a 120gig hard drive.  That's ridiculous.  Guess I'll be downloading one demo at a time for a while.  Anyway, I do like the game's interface, but it does feel slightly different from the second game.  That may be because I am going from a point where I'm racing R1 cars to F cars.  
 
One game that just came out that I am going to be skipping over for a while is Assassin's Creed 2.  While I liked the first game to an extent, it was repetitive.  I did spend a lot of time trying to collect everything, and I should probably have stopped that, because it was getting absurd.  I should have really focused on the actual game first.   I picked that one up for $30 and I'll probably do the same for this one, after I finish the first.  Hopefully.
 
Another one coming up that I'm unsure of is The Saboteur.  I'll have to keep a lookout for reviews and more in-depth previews of this one.
 
The next guaranteed buy coming up on my radar is Mass Effect 2, in fact I already took some days off work for it.  I'm a sad man, considering my vacation after that is for PAX East.  Two video game vacations in a row?  That is a little nerdy.
 
Speaking of PAX, I think I finally have my first game I'm looking forward to seeing there:  3D Dot Game Heroes.  If this really is a homage to Zelda, and I mean real Zelda, not that Ocarina of Time or later nonsense, then I'm on board.  Hope it's there to check out.

Another psuedo-weekend has come to an end, and this makes two weeks in a row I've actually finished a game.  Amazing.  This week was Shadow Complex, which I was way behind on.  I didn't have a whole lot left, but it's over now.  I'd like to go back and finish up my map and item percentage.  I'm normally not one of those people, but when it comes to Metroidvania games, I am, that's why I'm upset that the last save point in the game is an inch in front of what triggers the final boss battle.  Maybe I'll go get what I can, maybe I'll just start over.  Maybe I'll just go play Symphony of the Night again.
 
Aside from that, I'm a little over halfway through Arkham Asylum's story.  There is an insane amount of extra stuff that I doubt I'll find it all or even bother trying.  Real good so far, but the story drags along and there is a lot of repitition.
 
Went back to Forza 2 as I usually do a little each week, my podcast racer as I call it since I'm usually listening to a podcast while playing.  It's hard to believe I was playing that game back in my last apartment which I haven't been in for over two years, and now I'm moving to another one and I'm still playing it.  I'm hoping that this will encourage me to hold off buying Forza 3 until I've done as much of 2 as I think I can.  I've been buying way too many games lately, especially considering how much my upcoming move has been costing me.
 
Trine finally came out for PS3 so I picked that up.  The PC demo seemed a lot less frustrating than the PS3 version.  Might have just been my mindset at the time, but I was getting really frustrated playing it.   Also on PSN was the Uncharted motion comic.  The first one was free, just like a drug, and honestly wasn't compelling enough to get me to buy the rest of the installments, which are supposedly $5 total along with game content.  I'll assume it's multiplayer content, which I have no interest in.
 
The big one for my weekend was Borderlands.  This game was not on my radar at all until about two weeks ago and all the positivity and descriptions of game play sold me on it.  I do like it, I'd probably give it a 3 out of 5 at level 15.  We'll see how the rest of the game goes.  I will say that I already have a list of over a dozen complaints and it's growing.  The formula is compelling enough for me that I keep coming back to it, though.
 
I'm going to try and stick with these games for now and not jump onto anything until the move is complete and paid for.  I have plenty of backlog I could be working on.  There aren't too many left this year that I want anyway.  I also have to convince myself that even though I'll be riding my bicycle to work now, that gas money I'm saving is not for games.

I'm sure a ton of people got chosen for the Xbox Live preview nonsense, but it still makes you feel a little special to get called up for it, right?  So far I find the whole thing pretty useless.  I think what would make it really special is if Twitter and Facebook updates were somehow tied into the console, but with some limitations.  Like once a day it would say "so and so played this today and got these achievements."  Something so it's not a high level of annoying.  Browsing status updates and tweets on a console isn't that great.  It's not like it runs in the background or anything. 
 
To me the most important part of this update, and it's not even that important to me, is the Zune marketplace.  I am a Zune HD owner and love it, and if for some reason I chose to buy content it's nice to know I could watch it on my Zune, PC or 360.  It makes it seem a little less pointless I guess you could say.  
 
Speaking of music, probably the most useful update for the majority of folks would be last.fm.  I know a lot of people like that Pandora-type experience, but I'm pretty selective about my music and already have a Zune pass which I love so it's not too useful to me, but it's presented well and I could see why people would like it.
 
There is also an "internet video" area with MSNBC content, and Dilbert and New Yorker cartoons.  It's not that great and the video quality is pretty poor.  
 
Anyway, how can this update compete with the PSN's new and free Hot Pockets theme?

I'm sure a lot of folks have succumbed to the temptation that is the Toys 'Backwards-R' Us B2G1F (that's retail for Buy 2, Get 1 Free of equal or lesser value in stock items only no pre orders) game sale.  I was waiting for Uncharted 2, Arkham Asylum and ODST to hit 40 bucks.  Thanks to the sale, they all did.  At the same time.  I had to buy them at the same time.  In the midst of my move.  How is this saving money?
 
So my plan to get into Yakuza, play some more Mario & Luigi and Kingdom Hearts DS and Muramasa just went out the window.  For now at least.  Also, I searched for Phantasy Star Portable on Amazon to see what the lowest price I could find was and damn, Universe shot up in price.  Glad I got it for 15 bucks back when at Best Buy.  They had accidentally put it in a box that had a sticker and barcode for a $15 game.  Boom, as the kids say in excitement.
 
Whelp, guess I need to start playing through these.  I need a wheel to spin to figure out which I want to play first. 

One of the many "things always happen for a reason" moments popped up in my life recently.  My lease renewal came up and my place which I've been at for two years has decided to start charging for cable.  I don't want cable, especially not their cable.  So, inspired by my upsetedness (look it up) I decided to hunt for a new place.  Within two hours I found a place in a nicer area, a half mile from work, it's newer, it has a washer and dryer, alarm and most importantly, programmable thermostat.  Bonus amongst all that, it's significantly cheaper.  With all the fees I've cut out in my life recently and now cutting even more I can save way more a month than I was before.  Hopefully I'll actually save it and not just blow it on games.  
 
Speaking of, in my gaming world I already shifted away from NFS: Shift (har har) and went back to Forza 2.  I'm not looking forward to getting Forza 3 and installing 2 gigs of additional content on my tiny 20 gig hard drive that hardly has any space left.  That Blu-Ray drive doesn't seem so silly now, does it?  Either way I probably won't get it, or a larger hard drive, or bother cleaning up my hard drive until I move.  Same with DJ Hero.  I'll have to hold off on that one, again, thanks to the move.
 
In the wayback machine I've been playing a lot of Ridge Racer for the PSP.  It's time for a new Ridge Racer, I believe, or I'll just hunt down a copy of Ridge Racers when I exhaust this one.  Also thanks to the Silent Hill delay, I decided to pick up the cheap PSN version of the original Silent Hill.  I've never played it, which is crazy, I know.  
 
I remember back in high school when that game first came out and a friend at school was telling me everything that went on in that game.  That was the moment when I realized that we had come a long way from Mario and Luigi jumping around on screen collecting coins.
 
Speaking of Mario and Luigi (how bout that segway?) I haven't touched Bowser's Inside Story for a while.  I really don't like the Bowser parts, and I have a feeling every time I get to one it's going to slow my roll in the game.  Shame, but I'll get over it.  It's fantastic otherwise.
 
Kingdom Hearts 7-8-9-10 or whatever you wish to call it is decent now that I'm past the tutorials.  I like the quest system, perfect for a portable game.  Little chunks of fun, just like these new Mini Drummers, which are miniature Drumstick cones, now available in your grocer's freezer.
 
Oh, and speaking of food, that Phantasy Star Portable 2 / Pizza Hut thing is a new level of ridiculous.  Unless you could order pizza while you were playing the game and have it delivered.  Then it's okay.  Maybe.
 
Now I'm off to install the Dragon Age: Origins Character Creator, so I can convince myself that it's way too hardcore RPG for me and I don't want it.
 
One last thing, I really want Picross 3D to come out.  Now.