Last post of the year

Well, 2009 is only 23 hours from being over and there were a lot of ups and downs this year. Like, the time my parents banned me from playing video games for three weeks. I blame them for why I never finished the new Prince of Persia game. Or when I promised my dad that I would get my driver's license. LMAO, that never happened. Two great things that happened this year was when I got a job and when I graduated from high school. While I'm currently debating my academic future, my job is pretty solid right now. Yeah, it's fast food, but it's a start. Hell, people see that you work for McDonalds and all kinds of doors open up. One of the worst things that happened this year for me was my Xbox 360 dying on my. It was sudden and it sucked MAJOR ass. I just got Dead Space from GameFly when it happened, so you can imagine how pissed I was. Lucky for me, it came back two weeks later and I didn't miss a beat.

Speaking of gaming, I've been trying to think of the best game I played in the last decade. So, to do that, I'm going to try and narrow it down to the best game I played that year. Now, I'm going by the year I played the game, not the year it came out. I'm always behind lol. That's what she said.
2000 - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (honorable mention = Alundra LMAO)
2001 - Skies of Arcadia (a year AFTER is came out) (honorable mention = Shenmue)
2002 - Kingdom Hearts (honorable mention = Final Fantasy X)
2003 - Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (honorable mention = Zelda: Wind Waker)
2004 - Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (honorable mentions = Paper Mario 2 and Baten Kaitos)
2005 - Dragon Quest VIII (honorable mentions = Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 4, and God of War)
2006 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (honorable mention = Kingdom Hearts II)
2007 - Persona 3 (honorable mention = Raw Danger. Say what you want, I LOVED it.)
2008 - Persona 4 (honorable mention = No More Heroes)
2009 - Fallout 3 (honorable mention = Mario & Luigi 3, Dead Space, and Tales of Vesperia)
The last couple of years are pretty easy compared to the early years.
Well, you can see where my loyalty is at. Zelda, SMT, and RPGs. 6 out of 10 are turn based RPGs. I can't help it if I'm a RPG junkie. The hardest year to decide was 2005. RE4 was the first game I played in 05 and I thought there was nothing better than that. Then GOW came and BLEW my freaking mind away. The things Kratos did to enemies was INSANE! Then, Shadow of the Colossus came along and I fell in love again. The fact that the game only had 16 enemies didn't bother me one bit. It was still an awesome adventure. Dragon Quest VIII was the last game I played. I wasn't really a fan of the DQ series, but I loved Square-Enix games, so I decided to give it a try. It's still one of my favorite RPGs of all time. The story was great and I really liked how the main villain in the game wasn't the last boss. They actually fooled me. Dhoulmagus had all the makings of a last boss, but he wasn't. Well, 2005 was my favorite year for gaming this decade.

If I had to pick my top three games from this decade, it would be Fallout 3, Dragon Quest VIII, and of course, Persona 4. I know, where's MGS 4, GTA 4, Call of Duty Modern Warfare? Well, I haven't played either MGS 4 or COD and I thought GTA4 was WAY too realistic. This is just my honest opinion. These three games not only took the most time from me, but they also provided me with some of the most shocking and brutal moments in the last decade. For Fallout 3, the first time I saw Bloody Explosion in effect. I used VATS and aimed with a Shotgun. When I saw the body explode, my jaw hit the ground. One of the best moments I ever had playing a 360 game. I already explained DQ 8. Persona 4 had many moments where I felt bad for characters, laughed my ass off, and where I was completely shocked. I hated and loved the part where Nanako is in the hospital. It made me care for a character in a game for the first time ever. I also loved when everything came to light at the end. Who would've have thought Adachi was the criminal the whole time? And who would've have even guessed that the gas station attendant from the beginning of the game (for me, 65 hours earlier) was the one who gave the power to you? The game's ending was also bitter sweet, as the main character had to leave behind his new friends to go back home. I liked this ending much more than Persona 3's confusing ending. They are both good, it's just something about P4's ending that I love. Persona 4 is without a doubt, my favorite game in the last 10 years. You can say that Final Fantasy X and XII are the best two RPGs on the PS2, but I'll stick with the SMT series. I think it's funny that FF was Sony's premiere RPG franchise when SMT released 8 games on PS2 while FF had 4.

You know what 2009 was lacking? A next gen turn based RPG. I had my fill with Lost Odyssey in 2008, but there weren't too many this year was there? Was there even one? Yeah, there was Star Ocean and Magnacarta, but they weren't turn based. Is there ever going to be another turn based classic like Lost Odyssey on a next gen system? FF 13 looks amazing, but I don't think even that could capture the classic feel Lost Odyssey had.

I said 2005 was my favorite year of gaming in the last decade. 2010 looks like another promising year. We're starting 2010 with mother freaking Bayonetta. One of the most anticipated action adventure games of all time. It looks amazing. I played the demo and I can't wait until next week. Probably won't get it first day, but WOW. Oh, but that's not all in January. Darksiders and Dark Void are both coming out in the early weeks of January as well. But, the end of January is really where it's at. Whatever system you have, there's a big release the last week of January. PS3 fans will be treated to MAG, an amazing looking MMOFPS game. I would definitely play it if I had a PS3. 360 fans have the highly anticipated Mass Effect 2. Shepard is back again and this looks more amazing than the first one. The Wii is getting No More Heroes 2 the same week. This action packed sequel continues Travis Touchdown's story of trying to rise to the top, but this time, it's for revenge. If you're a fan of video games, the last week of January is for you.

February brings Dante's Inferno, for fans who couldn't get enough action goodness from Bayonetta. Bioshock 2 releases the same day. If you like story telling or just straight up action, you're bases are covered that week. PS3 fans are getting a great treat with White Knight Chronicles and then one of the games I want to play most this year Heavy Rain two weeks later. PS3 owners will finally feel like they're getting the upper hand in early 2010.

And on March 9th, 2010, I (and any other RPG junkie who didn't buy the Japanese version) will finally get my hands on FINAL FANTASY XIII. Easily the most anticipated RPG of all time, FF XIII will make its way to US shores. It promises to be one of the best RPGs of this generation. (does it have much competition?)

And that's only the first three months of 2010! We still got God of War 3, Alan Wake, Epic Mickey, Alpha Protocol, Arc Rise Fantasia, APB, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Dead Rising 2, Dead Space 2, Crackdown 2, Golden Sun DS, Lost Planet 2, I Am Alive, Metroid: Other M, Mega Man 10, hopefully Project Needlemouse, Prince of Persia, Rocket Knight, Super Mario Galaxy 2, The new Zelda on Wii (doubt it), The Grinder, The Last Guardian and many more. 2010 looks like an amazing year for gaming, maybe the best yet. January 2010 is like May for movie goers. Some many selections, so little money, lol.

Well, that's been my bit. Have a Happy New Year and God Bless anyone who is reading this. I'll post again probably on Saturday.

Recent gaming exploits

Over the last 5 days, I've bought 5 DS games, including all three Castlevanias for the DS, Black Sigil, and Henry Hatsworth. For some reason, I never played any of the DS Castlevanias, even though I'm a HUGE Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow. I ran through Dawn of Sorrow and LOVED every minute of it. I liked Soma Cruz as a main character, but how the hell did he get two games to star in? Where's Alucard's 2nd game? I appreciate the fact that you get to play with him in Julius Mode in DOS, but I would love to see a 2D SOTN sequel. Master of the Night. Good title. Anyway, Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia are both pretty good entries into the Castlevania series. POR always scared because of the two main characters, but it works really well. OOE is great, but why do normal attacks take MP? That kind of annoys me. They're both pretty difficult though. Maybe I'm underleveled?

I'm thinking of picking up Darkside Chronicles or Dead Space: Extraction. DSE is cheaper but I REALLY loved Umbrella Chronicles. It's one of my favorite Wii games along with Zack and Wiki and No More Heroes, so I'm more inclined to buy it. But once again, DSE is cheaper and I can get the Perfect Shot with it. I really don't want to use the Wii Zapper with the game because it killed my hands when I played UC. I have the money to buy everything I want, but my parents will flip out if I did something like that. "You spending all that money on video games for yourself, but you didn't buy people anything for Christmas." I don't have time to hear that stuff, so I'll probably just buy one or the other.

SHEAMUS!

I know it has been a week already, but Sheamus!!! Holy crap! Did WWE really allow Cena to be beaten by a rookie? The guy who never backs down, who never quits? The guy who made Triple H and HBK tap out in back-to-back Wrestlemanias? I'm still in shock a week later. Sheamus and Drew both have big futures in WWE. Mark my words, Drew will be World Champion by Survivor Series 2010. Just my guess.

The Slammy Awards last week were horrible. They had two big matches and they ruined both of them. I'm really disappointed in them. It was more about entertainment than wrestling last week. And Sheamus didn't even wrestle. How dumb was that? The WWE Champion wasn't even in action his first night as champion. (Sigh) If WWE keeps this up, WWE is going to have a rocky 2010.

My next post (which I'm going to do later tonight) is going to be about my recent gaming exploits, which include ALL the Castlevanias on the DS, Henry Hatsworth, Black Sigil, and some 360 stuff.

A whole decade of gaming Part 1

In 2000, I was 9 years old, (10 after October) and I was still playing PS1 games, but I also had a N64 and a Dreamcast. I'll never forget the days of coming home from school and playing Sonic Adventure without a VMU. Basically, trying to beat the game in one sitting. Little did I know that Sonic wasn't the only character in the game. When I finally got a VMU, I easily beat the game. Later in 2000, I played Shenmue for the very first time and found it groundbreaking. I never played anything like it. That's one game I never replayed and I regret that. Skies of Arcadia came out in 2000, but I didn't play it until 2001, when I first played GTA III. Yes, I was only 11, but I loved the fact that I could do ANYTHING I wanted. I never had that much freedom with a game EVER. I loved SOA when I first played it. It was pretty difficult for me and a little scary at some points, (that black abyss place!) and it was one of the RPGs that made me a lifelong fan of the genre.

2002 was the year I got a Gamecube. The first two games I got was Sonic Adventure 2 and Super Smash Bros Melee. Melee was my favorite game on the system and I loved unlocking everything. Also, in 2002, I really got into Final Fantasy X. It came out at the end of the 2001, but my brother hogged the game until he beat it. It was the first FF game I really got into and it was crazy awesome. Thanks to that game, I became a huge fan of the FF series. I played FF 1-9 in the years to come. 2003 was the year for Zelda as I got the Wind Waker the first day it came out. Whatever your opinion is, I loved the game. The graphics were eye opening and it was pretty funny as well. Anytime a Zelda game comes out, it's always good. That is one series that has NEVER disappointed me. Can't say that for FF can I? Skip to 2004, a life changing year for me. Two games that stick out are Paper Mario 2 and Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. I loved the first Paper Mario, so I was really excited when they decided to do another one. It surpassed the first one one every point and was so funny. The game was pretty tough and the last boss was one of the hardest in Mario history, it's probably my favorite Mario and GC ever. Nocturne. What can I say about the game that I haven't already? I saw it in Game Informer magazine and I noticed Dante was in it, but I already told my Mom I wanted Paper Mario for my birthday. I guess it was meant for me to play that game, because my uncle, who I NEVER talk to, gave me 65 bucks for my birthday, which was more than enough. I still remember the guy behind the counter telling my mom that this game was a little dark and that I should reconsider buying it, but, my awesome mom knows that I can tell the difference between what's real and what's not, so see bought it. I didn't play the game the first day I got it (which was a Sunday) because I had some work to do for school, but I TORE into it when I got home on Monday. I instantly saw that this game was not easy. 5 hours into the game, I met Matador, the boss from Hell. I tried everything to beat the stupid guy, but nothing worked. After 3 levels later, I won the battle by luck. My first save data for the game was ERASED BY THAT STUPID PS2 HOLIDAY DEMO DISC, so not only did I lose my SMT data, but my GTA San Andreas data. I went crazy and asked my mom to buy me the strategy guide for the game for Christmas. On my 2nd playthrough, I was ready for everything and anything. I know that a guide can ruin a game, but it didn't ruin it for me. Without out it, I couldn't face Lucifer or get through some of those dungeons (the park and the last dungeon were CRAZY confusing). Overall though, this experience made me not only a better gamer, it made me much more patient with things in life. The next four years were also exciting!