Ok, so my last day of work was yesterday.  And unless I find another job that starts sooner, I have two weeks until I start at Bank of America.   So that means that in between hunting for jobs and going on interviews I have to get through as many games in my backlog as possible.  After perusing my collection and making determinations and decisions, here is my list in no particular order.  There are more than this but these are the ones I REALLY want to at least try before I start work again.  A few I will probably just play for a little while and say, “Yep, cool.  That game is fun,” before moving it aside and starting on something else.  The majority though I do intend to finish someday, as indicated by the astericks.  I probably won’t come close to going through the whole thing but its always better to shoot for more than is possible right?  Better to aim high than low.

1.       Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (PS2)
2.   *  Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams (PS2)
3.   *  Persona 3: FES (PS2)
4.   *  Ratchet: Deadlocked (PS2)
5.   *  Condemned 2: Bloodshot (PS3)
6.   * Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (PS3)
7.   * Lego Indiana Jones (PS3)
8.   * Portal (PS3)
9.   * The Simpsons Game (PS3)
10. * Ninja Gaiden Sigma (PS3)
11. * The Orange Box (PS3)
12.    Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (PSP)
13.    Jeanne D’Arc (PSP)
14.    FF Tactics: War of the Lions (PSP)
15. * Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
16. * Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
17. * Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (DS)
18. * Beat Uncharted on Crushing difficulty setting
19. * Finish PixelJunk Eden (PSN)
20. * Finish Bionic Commando: Rearmed (PSN)
21. * Finish Siren: Blood Curse (PSN)
22. * Finish Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)
23. * Finish Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core (PSP)
24. * Finish Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

That gives me about 14 days to play 24 games. I’ll be lucky if I get through half of them. And let’s not forget that Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty comes out next Thursday. Not to mention the fact that I will probably continue to be pulled into the occasional online session of Burnout Paradise randomly along the way. But hey, I’ll have a hell of a lot of fun trying! And who knows, if I get the job at Progressive I am trying for then I won’t start working again until Sept 29th! So I could potentially be looking at almost a month and a half of lazing about scratching my balls. Here’s hoping! I will give status updates along the way as well as a recap right before I go back to work.

I finished Uncharted: Drake's Fortune this weekend. I started playing it Friday night/Saturday morning and finished it early monday. I haven't beaten a game from the start that quick in many years. I guess its just a testament to how much I like it. It really is an incredible game. I also went back and finished it again on Hard and got every trophy except the one for finishing it on "Crushing" difficulty (and the Platinum obviously). I can't even remember the last time I played through a game twice! Now yes, I'm playing it on Crushing to get the last trophy (and thus my first Platinum!). The game was very noticably more difficult on Hard compared to Normal. The enemies are a lot more aggressive as far as moving to flank you and throw hand grenades, and I think there are more of them too. I wonder how hard it will be to play through the game on Crushing. Thankfully, I can turn on some of the cheats, including the unlimited ammo for any weapon.

Also, I have found (unsurprisingly, in retrospect) that I played the game very differently than I would have if I wasn't trying to earn trophies. I actually cared about playing skillfully to get certain achievements. I also used a guide to get some of the treasures and medals. If not for trophies, I would have just played the game once, on normal difficulty, and not cared about playing with any kind of skill. I can definately see this becoming a trend as more games that support trophies are released. While this will wreak havoc on my ability to knock out games on my to-play list in a reasonable time frame, I think that I may get more out of my games this way. And it will assuredly make me actually FINISH more games, and may even make me a better player just from earning some of the more skill-based ones. I'm looking forward to it!

Due to tomorrow being my last day at work I will have 2 weeks to catch up on some games, and I plan to play as many games in my back catelog as possible. I don't start my job at Bank of America until Sept 2, and if I get something better then I will probably start even later than that. So I am stoked to start playing Bionic Commando: Rearmed this weekend. I may even get Street Fighter Alpha too. I will have to look through my backlog and make some choices. Good choices!!!

UPDATE:  Yeah, I went ahead and bought Street Fighter Alpha.  Had to do it.

Just got a look at the new BioShock trailer for the PS3.  I know, I know, I need to get a 360, but it probably won't happen until I get my 2008 tax refund.

But in the meantime, damn this game looks cool.  I've been hearing so many good things about this game and I'm anxious to see what all the fuss is about.  I love the fantasy-sounding music at the start how it sets the mood for this amazing underwater utopia and the promise of bliss.  Then it gets more ominous and you get the feel from the imagery that something is not quite right.  Then, it gets downright action-y and the images get even more bizarre and it shows you gameplay footage.  This will be a day one purchase for me; hell, I'll probably reserve it!

My interest in Dead Space just went up several notches!  I hadn't really paid this game too much attention until I watched the new trailers.  Wow!  This game looks amazingly creepy, especially the "Lullaby Trailer" with the revised version of Twinkle Twinkle over the quick, gruesome cuts.  Of course, they were cut by the director of the movie Saw, and the influence is definately obvious.  If they can maintain the scare factor for the full game I will be super excited to play this one.  Dead Space has just landed on my radar in a BIG way.

I think I'm done with Super Stardust.  I've gotten about 11 trophies but I'm going to have a hard time getting more.  There were a couple that I'm just not good enough to get, one that I need to buy the Co-Op patch to get, and one that I will keep trying for (the 10x multiplier trophy).  I want that 10x multiplier trophy, but I just can't quite get do it.  I'll get it eventually.

I downloaded PixelJunk Monsters and really like it.  I also bought Pain (just because it was on sale for $5) but its ok.  Its fun but I don't see myself playing it a whole bunch.  Maybe if it gets trophies.  There is talk of both PJ Monsters and Pain getting updates for trophy support and I really hope it happens.  I'm trying not to play too much PJ Monsters until the update.

I also bought the first 4 episodes of Siren: Blood Curse and downloaded the PixelJunk Eden demo.  I really like Eden.  I'll definately get it this week.  And more trophies!  Siren is really cool too, the trailer looked awesome.  Its a bit wierd though.  The presentation is a little confusing.  There's not really any set-up, they just drop you in on the characters and you switch off between who you control.  You collect "archive" info that fills in background on the characters and you follow the timeline with each character in turn.  I like it, it seems to have nailed the creepy horror vibe with the extremely low light, music, and enemies.  So far though it seems really linear.  It tells you what to do and your pathway is limited.  Most everything is blocked off except where you need to go to accomplish your next goal.  We'll see how it goes the further I get, I'm only up to episode 3 so far.

I'm still enjoying Metal Gear Solid 4.  I need to finish it before Uncharted gets trophies in late august.  Really enjoying Giant Bomb too.  The site is just a massive database with almost every video game related piece of info you could think of interconnected.  And since it has Wiki features, its really easy to add to it or update it.  Once they catch up with the backlog of submissions it will really be amazing.  There are just a couple things that I like better about GameSpot so far though.  You can make as many customizable lists as you want, which is awesome, but there is no way to alphabetize them so the info in those lists is unorganized and a pain to look through if you're looking for something specific.  Not sure if there is a way to add this functionality in the future, it seems that they took the structure for the Comicvine site and modified it to work with different info.  That being the case, the ability to alphabetize a list or not may be part of the dna of the site and not as changeable.  That's really the only major complaint I have about GB right now.  The wealth of info that is available and what will be available going forward is just mind blowing.  Easily the most ambitiously comprehensive source I've ever seen for video game info.  I can't wait to see how they develop the editorial and news aspects of it.

Is it just me or did E3 seem underwhelming this year?  There wasn’t really anything at any of the Big Three’s press conferences that blew me away.  Sure, there were some things that surprised me, but nothing that really made me go, “Holy shit!”  I guess its ok though, because there were a TON of great games being shown and/or announced and a bunch that I didn’t really anticipate being excited about that ended up piquing my interest.  Off the top of my head, here’s my take on the things that caught my eye:

Xbox 360 Dashboard update - Seems to me like XMB inspired navigation with a suspiciously Mii-like avatar identity.  Hmmm…very curious.  Its too early to tell, but it seems like Sony is catching up and Microsoft is borrowing a bit from their competitors.  The next 12 months will be interesting indeed.

Final Fantasy XIII on 360 - Wow, I didn’t see this coming!  Can’t complain though.  Anything that gets their game to a bigger audience is great, it will allow SquareEnix to continue making great games.  All the Sony fanboys need to stop crying and grow up.  You know what makes someone a “real” gamer?  Enjoying ALL games, regardless of what system they’re on!

Nintendo - I agree with Giant Bomb, they seem to be heading down the road to foregoing the hardcore gamer altogether to focus on casual and toy-like games.  I guess I see where they’re coming from on the business side of things, but this makes it no less heartbreaking.  Nintendo is the very reason I (and many people my age) became gamers in the first place.  I can’t really think of anything that I am excited for from the Big N for the foreseeable future.  Its awesome they're innovating, they shouldn't stop, but PLEASE Nintendo, don’t alienate the fans that have kept you alive in the video game market for over 20 years!

PSN movie and TV downloads - Cool.  I’m the kind of guy who likes having a physical copy of my movies though, so I probably won’t ever buy a movie this way, especially since the majority of the movies available for purchase are in standard-def.  Lame.  Now rentals, those I might use someday.

Gran Tourismo TV - Come on guys, you’d have GT5 the full game done way quicker if you weren’t pretending to be television producers.  I guess its cool for people that would enjoy it, but it seems like it’s a bit too close to focused marketing for my taste.  I guess it depends on what the final line-up of content ends up being.

Resistance Retribution - This is probably the only game that came completely out of nowhere for me.  I’m not sure how I feel about the third person perspective, but I’m really interested in seeing how this one turns out.

Ratchet and Clank Quest for Booty - I’m stoked!  I knew there would be a new Ratchet game but I didn’t think it would come so soon and the fact that it will be a smaller, cheaper PSN title is very cool.  Here’s hoping for more “episodes.”

Infamous - This is one that I didn’t expect to be interested in but the video seemed really cool.  Seems a bit too similar to Force Unleashed though with all the lightning powers.  We’ll see how the reviews turn out.  I’m wondering what the hook will be for me.

Fallout 3 - Another one that surprised me.  It’s looking really cool.  I just might buy it, we’ll see how the review are.

Prince of Persia - I like the new art style.  This one is on my radar.  Don’t know if I’ll buy it, but I want to see more.

Sonic Unleashed - I don’t know man.  I am pretty skeptical of Sonic games these days, and the whole were-hedgehog thing sounds a little retarded.  Not sure where the hell this idea came from but we’ll see.  I’ll read the reviews but I'm not hopeful.

LittleBigPlanet - Sackboy is pretty cool.  I won’t be making many levels myself but I’m tempted to get this game to play all kinds of insane creations from other people.  The Sony sales numbers presentation was awesome!

Siren: Blood Curse - I had no clue about this game before E3.  The trailers look amazing!  It really looks like a Japanese horror movie.  I like the downloadable episode idea.  And it comes out this week!  I’ll definitely buy it.

Soul Calibur IV - About what I expected.  Looked awesome, anxious to play as Darth Vader and the Apprentice.  I’m getting it.

Lego Batman - Stoked!

Bionic Commando Rearmed - Stoked again!  Probably even more so than for the new Bionic Commando game.

Geometry Wars 2 and Portal Still Alive - Awesome on both counts, I’m just disappointed that they will be 360 exclusive.

De Blob and Flock - These games looked really cool and fun.  Looking forward to seeing more of them.

Puzzle Quest Galactrix - More Puzzle Quest?  Yes, please!

Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2 - Where will it end?  I don’t have the money to keep up with a yearly music game war, never mind Konami's music game.  I haven’t even bought the first RB yet.  As cool as GHWT sounds, I’m going to have to go with Rock Band when the time comes because they have a much bigger song library and the first game, second game, and all their DLC will be compatible with each other.  I don’t have the creativity, time, or patience to create my own music anyway.

Resident Evil 5 - Definitely buying it.  Not sure yet how much I’ll like the co-op though.  We'll see exactly how much a part of the gameplay it is.

God of War 3 on PS3 confirmed - This will be the greatest game ever made.  That is all.

Giant Bomb interviewing Alex Navarro - Loved it : )  It must feel so weird for him to be on the other side of things.

Mega Man 9 - They’re making another old school Mega Man game!!!  REAL Mega Man!!!  OMG!!!

Castlevania Judgement - A Castlevania fighting game?  Ummmm….what?  In the words of Dr. Evil, riiiigggghhhht…..  How bout no!!!  This series needs to just stop and stay 2D on the DS.  2D is the only way Castlevania will ever work.  Now if they made a true sequel to Super Castlevania IV on XBL and PSN, then they’d have something amazing.

Eternal Sonata coming to PS3 - Awesome!

PixelJunk Eden - Looks really cool, did not expect to be excited about it.  I will be buying it.  Also, trophies!

The Force Unleashed - What can I say that I haven’t already said previously?  I am chomping at the bit to play this game.

Resistance 2 - Totally stoked for this game, especially since it will have trophies.  It looks great!

Bioshock PS3 - Another one I am really looking forward to after hearing so many great things about it.  With trophies.

Killzone 2 - This one has me interested, but I don’t see too much to make it stand out to me.

MK vs. DC Universe - I gotta admit, the more I hear and see of this game, the more intrigued I become.  I was skeptical when I first heard about it, but I am slowly getting excited about it.

GameSpot’s Kristin Reilly - She is really hot, and she’s into video games!  I haven’t missed an episode of On the Spot since she started doing the show.  Kristin you are my dream girl!

I finally got internet hooked up at home so I’ve been taking my PS3 and Wii online like crazy (god the Wii is finicky with its internet, isn’t it? It always seems to be a crapshoot as to weather or not it decides to cooperate with my router). I started playing Call of Duty 4 online and really enjoyed it. It is so much harder playing with real live people who know the game inside out. I pretty much died my way through the first few experience levels. Once I play for a while I start to do the “just one more match” thing. I tend to have more fun with the first couple hours of a session though. After a while, usually late at night, I start getting matched up with people of a much higher level and they just wipe the floor with me, causing me to turn the game off in a stream of curses. Burnout however, I am continuing to play regularly since Cagney came out. I have fallen in love with that game all over again, completing all of the new 2 and 3 player challenges and all of the old 2 player challenges. I have made a bunch of friends playing Paradise and am working towards completing my second set of old challenges so I can unlock the last car. I even played with one of the developers the other day!  I sent him a friend request but I don’t know if he accepts them from random fools he meets online like me.  I am up to about 112 hours with that game. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever played one game this much. With the Davis update, Eastwood update, and trophies coming to Burnout, I have a feeling I will still be playing it when they finish their “Year of Paradise.” Bring it on, I say!!! I like the new car too, the Rai-Jin Turbo. Its really hard to drive though. Its fast as hell so it doesn’t have boost, but its acceleration isn’t great so if you have to make a jump and don’t have a lot of room to build up speed (like jumping off the roof of a parking lot onto the roof of another), you need to use a different car. Most importantly though, it turns like a freakin truck. Between the insane speed and heavy turning, it’s a big challenge to race in, but it looks awesome and is very fun. I can’t wait to win the Hunter Olympus next weekend!

So, yeah. PlayStation finally has a reward system now in the form of trophies. Whooooo!!! It’s about time, I say. Sony is finally starting to get to a point where their online offerings are able to compete with Microsoft’s. The games are looking great and we will soon have a reason to play them beyond the end credits. I’m not sure yet if I agree with the way the experience level system was implemented (seems needlessly more complicated and confusing than Xbox’s simple point structure), but I can already tell that I am going to get addicted to earning trophies. I bought Super Stardust HD strictly to start my collection. It’s actually a pretty great game in its own right, I may even like it better than Geometry Wars. I like the three-weapon system and the fact that you can go anywhere along the surface of a sphere. However, I think the trophies for it were a bit slapped together just so they could have a game playable with trophies from the start. Some of the Bronze ones are way harder to get than the Silver or Golds. That small gripe aside, I already have 12 of them and am anxious for them to start showing up in new games. I’m totally stoked that they are coming to Burnout Paradise and Uncharted. Even better that the Burnout ones will be retroactive (those guys at Criterion are some of the smartest and most customer focused people I’ve ever seen in this industry)! I decided that I won’t start playing Uncharted again until the patch for trophies comes out. Should be sometime in august, so that will give me time to finish MGS4.

I've also been downloading all kinds of free demos, trailers, and even a few games. Echochrome on the PS3 was my very first online game download. I like the game, really love and appreciate the concept, but I don’t think I’m smart enough to play it. Every time I play it I get about 3-4 levels in before I’m left staring at the screen and moving the camera around with a blank look on my face for about 30 mins straight. I can just tell the more difficult stages would only succeed in splitting my brain in half and give me an anyeurism in the process. Oh well, at the very least I voted with my dollars and supported the game and the people who made it. That’s what its about, right?