Hurry Up and Wait

It's no secret that I used my ps3 a lot more often than my nintendo Wii, I liked the online functionality of the system and even when i'm not busy downloading a file off PSN in the background I would still logged in while gaming. Having my live community of gamer friends there online is like a reality check sometimes if i get too carried away into the wee hours I would be constantly remind to stop soon by presence of my friends signing off.

Another benefit of being signed onto PSN network while you are playing is the immediate access to any update patch that may be been made available to the game. This will improve the gameplay experience like the ability to have game data install for Bayonetta or even provide additional content such is the case for Yakuza 3 japanese edition.

During PSN network downtime this past week I rarely turn on the system without the online functionality there. I have grown used to having my new trophies synced the moment I quit the game and without that assurance, the drive to chase trophies just isn't there. I was almost done with my third run through Dead Rising 2 at a point where I would achieve a couple more trophies and I just stop momentarily while Sony sort out this mess. Apparently PSN will be back online within a week and during this time I have been keeping myself busy with the Wii. I feel sorry for my Wii now that its impending successor has been made official as I never got the most out of it. I kept waiting and waiting for the Wii to have a truly great year to call its own with a software lineup that will shed some of the public misconception of the system and it never really happened. Instead I waited and I found out that it's going to be replaced soon now.

Dressed to Kill

Part of the appeal of the No More Heroes games is you get to play dress-up with the main hero, fashioning his clothing style to your delight. All this comes at a price from the local airport 51 store but when you see your new garments in all its glory during the cutscenes you will made the extra effort to afford these new clothings.

A glitch in the second game threatens to ruin the experience as some of your purchases tend to disappear from the wardrobe forcing you to buy them again. It isn't detrimental to the game however and appears to be unavoidable considering how much of the game consists of dressing up Travis touchdown. If you don't focus on what GHM didn't improve in the second game you will surely be impressed with what they did, the environments don't look as sparse as in the first and the wardrobe has a nice set of options. Travis is certainly dressed to kill in NMH2 it's just a shame there wasn't a worthy opponent to kill anymore.

The Foreigner

I have a very unique history with the Castlevania series considering I was more familiar with the handheld games than its console brethens. My first Castlevania game was Belmont's Revenge on the original Gameboy a game far too easy back then to seriously considered a classic.
Then on, I have pretty much possessed or played every Castlevania handheld game before and after Belmont's Revenge save perhaps the legendary Castlevania Legends. I even have the Tiger handheld game system of Simon's Quest to indicate how far my roots with Castlevania portable goes.

The Castlevania fan in me had little interest in any new Castlevania without team IGA participation like the recent reboot, Lord of Shadows. That was until I decided to try the demo on PSN network and discovered how polished the game was. Castlevania most prominent features like the art design and music remained as striking as ever despite the absence of series mainstays Michiru Yamane and Ayami Kojima. Ultimately when the Red Dead Redemption GOTY edition announcement turns out to be a little premature, I decided to get Lord of Shadows instead. The Limited Edition was still readily available on local game forums and being priced at a standard game was just too good an offer for me to resist. I have learnt to be more open-minded about foreign developers working on big Japanese game franchise after taking the chance and being pleasantly surprised with Dead Rising 2. At the very least Lords of Shadow looks like a really good horror-themed action game, whether it can do justice to the franchise would be icing on the cake for a long time fan like myself.

I Got your Back

As great as NBA 2K11 is, it's lacking the core emotions of the game which makes the real games so compelling to watch. Now before you call me a sadist for sports violence let me make it clear that when I said compelling to watch, I was referring to the bond between team-mates to stick up for one another when they get into a scruffle or in the players' words " I have got your back brother".

I remember playing the 8-bit games on Ice Hockey on the Gameboy and you could actually engage in a fight with your opponent after getting tangled up at the side. I don't watch enough of ice hockey to know how prevalent is violence in hockey but things can get real testy in a heated NBA game because players are always in such close contact of one another. Perhaps 2K sports should step up their game in making the games as realistic as possible? If the games are already simulating in-game injuries then I don't see why suspensions and technical fouls are out of the question.