So I beat BioShock over the weekend.  And while the game, story, and the immersiveness of Rapture were all amazing, I was slightly disappointed to find out that I was greatly overthinking the supposed spoiler I read a while back.  I saw the trophy for “Become a Big Daddy” and my mind was racing with possibilities about the implications of this.  Unfortunately, the only reason you put on the Big Daddy suit is to get through a few doors in the last stage of the game.  I was both happy that the plot wasn’t spoiled, and disappointed by the simplicity of it.  Imagine how awesome it would be if your character met some horrible fate at the end of the game and you were destined to spend the rest of your life trapped in a Big Daddy suit, protecting little sisters and living with the degredation of the city and its tortured former citizens?!

Still, it was a great game, even if the ending wasn’t quite as tragic as my mind was conjuring up.  I went back and harvested a couple of little sisters at the end to see the bad ending.  I am trying to go back through the game on Hard to get a few more trophies but am having a hard time with it.  I foresee either giving up or it taking a really long time.  We’ll see if I’m able to stick with it.  Especially considering the fact that I started playing Resistance 2 the very next day.

I am having a lot of fun with Resistance 2.  However, I agree with some of the comments out there that it seems as if Insomniac made the multiplayer modes the main focus and the single player campaign suffered a little bit as a result.  It is still really fun, but I am having a hard time getting into the story in the single player campaign.  Its super fun to play through the levels, but it seems to me that the bosses are easier than the stages themselves a lot of the time.  Also, the 1Up Yours Podcast was right, they give you a specific weapon right before you need to use it.  The only thing is, I sometimes don’t find it until after I’ve already defeated the enemies that the weapon was put there to dispose of.  Lastly, it definately seems shorter than the first Resistance.  I’m already on the last stage and should be able to beat it soon.  Oh well, I am still enjoying it quite a bit and can’t wait to start playing multiplayer.  Everything I’m hearing about multiplayer sounds really cool.  This is a game where I might be able to get a platinum trophy!  We’ll see how it goes.  Once this game is beaten I can finally start playing Dead Space.

I have decided to abandon my Now Playing list somewhat for the time being simply because between now and the end of the year there are so many good games coming out and I am going to be trying to play as many of them as possible.  Therefore, it is unreasonable to think that I will be able to keep up the list when I won’t even be able to keep up with the games themselves.  Basically, here’s how things are looking.  Through the end of the year I will be playing Penny Arcade Adventures, Flock, Sam & Max Season 1 on Wii, BioShock, WipEout HD, LittleBigPlanet, Dead Space, Resistance 2, Valkyria Chronicles, possibly  Fallout 3 (not sure if I want it yet), and lastly, I have to play GTA4 again for trophies.  AND Burnout Paradise is getting more updates, not to mention that I am paying pretty close attention to Mirror’s Edge and MK vs. DC Universe.  They look really cool but I’m not sure if I want them yet.  There’s too many damn games!  I haven’t played my DS or PSP in a while now just trying to keep up with the PS3 stuff.  I eventually plan to play Lego Batman too.  I’m sure I’m forgetting a few but that’s just off the top of my head.

As to what I’ve played recently, I finally beat Bionic Commando Rearmed.  Very nice payoff at the end there : )  I never beat the original but I had heard about it.  Nice to actually see it.  I am continuing to play WipEout HD here and there and I’m enjoying Penny Arcade Adventures more than I thought I would.  I downloaded Everyday Shooter, LocoRoco Cocoreccho, and flOw as well.  Everyday Shooter is pretty cool.  Very trippy and psychadelic.  And really difficult.  I like that the mechanics of defeating enemies change with every stage and that as you play you constantly build up points that you can use to unlock additional stuff.

LocoRoco is possibly the most bizarre, insane game I’ve ever played, even slightly more so than the original game for the PSP.  I think I like the PSP one better.  flOw is pretty cool, very serene and calming.  I can see myself playing it after a rough day just to unwind or chill out for a while when I’m bored.  It seems like it is a game that just doesn’t end.  I’m very curious to see how Flower turns out, since its by the same people.  Ooh, and I almost forgot about Fat Princess!  I can’t wait to see how that turns out, it looks hilarious!

So bottom line, too many awesome games, too little time.  Just like last year.  Lame, but also awesome!

Ok, real quick.

Finally got the platinum trophy in Burnout Paradise.  I was able to find an Eye Toy at Best Buy (apparently the only one left in the whole damn city) for only $10 so I was able to get the trophy for sending a mugshot.  So I am happily playing my original save file again.  Whooo!

I am very pleased to announce that I beat Mega Man 9.  I understand the initial reaction that it is insanely difficult, but after going back to play a little Mega Man Anniversary Collection for comparison I have come to the realization that it is really no harder than any of the original games.  In fact, the argument could be made that its actually easier.  The reason is because in the old days of Mega Man 1 & 2, there were no such things as Energy Tanks.  The simple addition of this life saver makes the game incredibly easier.  Other than that, the same basic strategy used in the original games is what is required to excel at MM9.  I believe this is the reason people think that it is so much more difficult.

In these days of finger-contorting control schemes and almost unlimited options to take out your enemies, playing an original Mega Man game feels very crippling.  You no longer have ten different ways to approach a given task, there is only a jump button and a fire button, the only relief being the weapons you earn from the bosses.  In order to win at these games, you must focus on memorizing the levels and enemies that occupy them, what it takes to eliminate them most effectively, and honing your platforming skills to a needle-fine point.  For those gamers that grew up post-SNES, they have never known limits and challenge like this.  I feel sorry for them.

Let's see, what else.  I finally figured out that I could use my bionic arm to repel the final boss's missles in Bionic Commando Rearmed.  I should've figured.  So now I will be able to finish it.  Nice.  Also, I am slowly getting the hang of Wipeout HD.  It's still pretty tricky, but I feel like I am getting better little by little.  Picked up Linger in Shadows the other day.  Pretty wierd but pretty cool at the same time.  I can definately appreciate what they are trying to do.  It was cool to watch and manipulate and find the hidden stuff in that "game."  And it was an easy batch of trophies too

Picked up Dead Space last week and am super excited to play it, but I just haven't been able to find the time to even start it.  I was at my in-laws house all weekend and I am back to working nights, so its been difficult to find the time.  Not to mention that I am car-pooling to work with my wife who starts work an hour earlier than me, so that just subtracts free time from my schedule.  I'm trying to move and get things situated at my new job so things are a bit crazy right now.  I have a feeling Dead Space will consume a considerable amount of time once I start it and I'm not sure when I'll be able to put aside big chunks of time.  And LittleBigPlanet and BioShock are coming very very soon so I will be back to being extremely behind again.  Oh well.  I would rather have to many games to play than not enough!

I guess that wasn't very quick at all was it?  Eh, whatever.  Who needs sleep right?