Upcoming Shows I Can't Wait To See

Next month a couple of cool shows return, they are:

The Killing: A mystery series about the murder of a teenage girl and how it affects the cops trying to solve her murder, the girl's family, and a politican who may or may not have killed the girl. So many twists to this show. Just rewatched it on Netflix recently and it plays even better without commericals.

Eureka: I covered what this show was about in another blog entry. I just have to say again how much I'm looking forward to this show. Wish it wasn't the final season!

Then in May, one show returns and a new movie in a series of movies airs:

Sherlock: The U.K. has already seen the second series of this brillant show, but America is finally getting it in May. Can't wait. The first season was wonderful. A cool update bringing Sherlock and Watson into a modern day setting. And its works. Well written, well acted. Really good show.

Jesse Stone: Not a regular series, but there have been several movies staring this character. Jesse Stone is played by Tom Selleck (Magnum, Blue Bloods) and is about a small town sheriff solving different cases. Very good movies. Looking forward to the new one!

In June, one of the coolest shows from last year returns:

Falling Skies: If you've seen Walking Dead then think about that show, expect for the zombies. Replace them with Aliens. Falling Skies is a show, much like Walking Dead, thats much more about the characters and them surviving than the overall 'How did this happen?' type of thing. Its a really cool show and I'm glad its coming back for a second season.

July sees the return of another favorite for a final season:

The Closer: This is a really good police drama and has a great cast, especially Kyra Sedgwick who plays Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson. Sad to see this one go. I'm not sure if the spinoff, Major Crimes, will be as good without Sedgwick, but you never know.

There may be other good shows coming soon, but those are the main ones I'm looking forward to.

Why I love Animal Crossing

I will never stop playing Animal Crossing. NEVER. Why? Because I love the game. I've been playing the game since the FIRST Animal Crossing on the Gamecube. Loved it then, love it now. Is it perfect? No. Does it get boring sometimes? Sure. But I keep playing the game because there's always suprises; there's always fun.

There's a new animal I've never seen in the city, I found an item I've never seen before, I meet a new player, or one of my friends I haven't seen in ages suddenly plays again. And the friends I have now! Oh man, they are great. Its always wonderful to talk to them, see how their day has been going, kid around with them, etc. Its a nice break from the real world.

Animal Crossing is a game about a human moving to a town full of animals. The animals are not always smart, but they are often funny. And there's so much to do in the game. You can fish, bug hunt, collect furniture, go visit your friends online, go to the City, plant pitfalls so that the animals you don't like fall into them, and more. The game is part game and part imagination.

You HAVE to build the game yourself. Cause the game has no ending. It just goes on forever. I suppose thats why some people get tired of it after awhile. There's no end in sight. Its just the same old same old to them.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Dad and I keep our town interesting because we let animals go, Dad will change the flowers, the path, the trees. We visit with our friends, we meet new friends, and we don't play the game all day and night like we did in the beginning. You have to find yourself some great friends to meet every day and set up a time to meet them. But you must also be open to playing other times when other friends want to play.

Animal Crossing is a SIM game. Its not for everyone. Its not for VERY young kids, cause they won't know how to play the game. And its NOT for people that need ACTION, ACTION, ACTION or STORY, STORY, STORY. The action is what you make it in Animal Crossing. The story is what you make it.

Take my town with my dad for instance (please. lol), we named it Asgard and named our characters Thor, Loki, Odin, and Beowulf. So we have the whole Norse town theme going on.

Another friend has all these animals with red eyes and she's having them say BLOOD!, so her town is Vampire themed.

Another friend has a town called DISNEY. And has Winnie the Pooh on the ground and she is wonderful at making Disney patterns like the Incredibles.

You don't have to have a theme to your town, but it helps.

I just love this game. I know some people get tired of it. I know they do.

My family never will though. We have too much time invested in the game. Dad and I have been with the game since the start, mom has been with it since Wild World. We are addicted. Its just impossible to stop.

Not saying that when the new game for 3DS comes out that we will still play City Folk a lot. We may play it a little and eventually not at all, but we WILL still be playing an Animal Crossing (3DS).

So if your a friend of ours thats stopped playing, we'd love to see you again. We're still playing. We'll still be playing as long as they make the games.

I can't think of any other game series I love more.

The Kid (Icarus) is back!

Back in the NES days, Nintendo made a game called Kid Icarus. They did a sequel to it on the Gameboy. Then, there was nothing. Unlike Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing, etc, Kid Icarus has had only two games...well...that is...until NOW.

Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS came out on Friday. I did not plan to buy the game orignally. I wasn't a fan of the first game. Sure it was neat, but it was WAY too hard for my tastes. Never did play the second game for the Gameboy. And the new one looked great, but I wasn't sure if it was for me.

This week, though, I had been reading a lot of reviews of the game, plus seeing more videos of it. I thought it looked great: gameplay and graphics. Also, I admit, I've been really bored with my other 3DS games lately. I needed a NEW game.

So I gave in and bought Kid Icarus: Uprising.

And its a GREAT game. The graphics are amazing, the gameplay is fun (and as challenging as you want it to be), the item collection is addictive, the online multiplayer is cool fast-paced action fun, the 3D is the best the 3DS has to offer (so far), and the story is nice. I like the voice acting too. It can be a bit corny, but its also a bit funny.

Kid Icarus is a the best 3DS game out now. If you like action games, you should get this one. Its a blast.

We All Have Dreams

When I was seven years old, I decided that I wanted to be a writer. I loved reading (still do) and I had a very active imagination (still do). I was always making up stories with my friends and acting them out. I wasn't a very good writer then, because I really didn't know anything about writing stories down. I had no sense, back then, what it really takes to BE a writer.

Now, many many years later, I know how hard it is to break in. I've submitted serveal short stories over the years and not a one has been published. I haven't written a novel yet (working on one now). As someone who has written a lot of short stories, I can tell you that its really HARD to get enough material to make a book. Am I whining? Ok, maybe a little. Writing is not as easy I thought it was when I was kid.

Am I going to give up? NEVER. I can never give up, because this is my DREAM. Its always been my dream. I've always wanted to be a writer and I can't help that. I love stories and I love creating them. I wish I was better at it. I'm always reading books about writing, following writers on twitter, and reading websites from writers too. I'll do that even after I finally get something published (you can always learn more). I really do believe I will get published. Not sure when, but it'll happen.

I hope to make a career out of it too; that'll be hard. Do I think I'll ever be Stephen King? Doubt that. But wouldn't that be GREAT?

I have to keep learning the craft and I need to focus more on my writing. I'm not great at setting a schedule for myself, but I'm getting better at it. Every night now, while I'm up late searching the internet, I'll write some too. Of course, one of these days I'll get myself to stop looking around online while I write. I'll have to work on that next!

Anyway, enough about me. If you have a dream, whatever it is, don't give up on it. We All Have Dreams and we all NEED dreams. And some of us really need to start making those dreams come true. Come on Dan, get back to writing!

I'm Reading #2

Still reading A Princess of Mars, but also reading another book too. Just got the book! Its called Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade and its by William Goldman.

Goldman is a screenwriter who's written classic movies like Misery, the Princess Bride, Marathon Man, Butch Cassiday and the Sundance Kid, and many more. In Which Like Did I Tell, he tells stories from his time in hollywood.

My favorite, so far, is the Princess Bride chapter. If you haven't seen Princess Bride, you should. Especially if you fantasy movies. Bride is so well put together. Its a good family movie too. It starts with a Grandfather telling his sick grandson a story and shows you the story & goes back to the grandfather & grandson sometimes. The movie has romance, fantasy, action, adventure, and funny moments too. Its a movie some guys might think they'd not like just cause of the title. I say to them and to anybody else who might think " I don't know. Princess Bride? Not sure. ": get past it. Especially, like I said, if you like fanasy and action, and adventure and don't mind romance (or movies that don't take themselves too seriously).

Princess Bride is an older movie now. I think it come out in the 80s. Goldman talks a little bit about the creation of the book (which he wrote for his kids) and the movie. Its very interesting.

The next chapter is about the movie Misery (based on the Stephen King novel). Very good movie (good book too). Can't wait to read that chapter!

I love books like this. Of course, I wanna be a working writer, so I always love reading books about other writers and their experiances (and hopefully tips too). Goldman's book is well written and very interesting so far.

I'll continue to read A Princess of Mars too, but I wouldn't doubt that I'll be spending more time with Which Lie Did I Tell? than in the world of John Carter for awhile.

EUREKA! Its coming back!

Today I found out that one of my favorite shows is coming back soon (April 16!). The show is called Eureka and its going on its FINAL season. I wish that wasn't so. Let me explain a bit about the show (in case you haven't seen it).

Eureka centers around a small town run by the goverment. The town is mostly full of really smart people, most of whom work at a place Global Dynamics. The shows main character is Sheriff Jack Carter. Jack is the sheriff of the town, but also handles problems that come up with GD too. Jack isn't as smart as the other people in town, though he's nowhere as dumb as he might look or even act sometimes. Jack has come up with brillant solutions at unexpected times. Out of all the characters in the show, Jack really hasn't changed that much. He's still a fun character though.

As for the feel of the show, its a sci-fi/fantasy show with a mix of comedy & some drama. It tends toward the funny side mostly, but it has had some good dramatic moments here and there. The show has good effects, but the show cares more about its characters and storylines than delivering out of this world effects (so don't expect Battlestar Galactica like effects. Maybe a bit closer to Dr. Who's effects).

I'm trying to not say too much about the other characters, because I don't want to give too many plot twists away for people who have not seen the show.

One other character I would like to mention, though, is Jack Carter's house. Yes, his house is a character too. In fact, his house TALKS. It doesn't have a mouth or anything crazy like that. The voice is a computer voice that comes from some unseen speakers in the house. The house's name is SARAH. She's just a voice, but Eureka has really made her into a fun, sometimes funny character who seems just as real as any of the other characters.

Eureka is a FUN show. Its unlike anything else on TV. Also the previous season the writers really stepped up the writing and took some BIG chances and made some BIG changes. I hear this final season is supposed to be exciting too.

I wish it wasn't ending. I think they could do so much more with it. I'm not really sure why the network is canceling it. :(

If you've never seen Eureka, I recommend it. Its a really good show.

The Truth About Gamestop...

Just a Disclaimer: I'm not going to say whether I think Gamestop sucks or not in this. This is not a piece about whether its the best place to buy your games are not. I'm writing this to, TRY to clear up an issue thats been appearing with many of my online friends & people I don't know too. So, just wanted to make it clear: I'm not coming out against Gamestop (or for them even).

I'm just trying to tell you something thats TRUE here.

Warning: its kinda long. Just trying to cover everything. If you have any questions, please ask via twitter (random person question) or facebook (friends).

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The Truth About Gamestop's "release dates" for some Nintendo games is the whole title to this blog entry. Thought that was a bit too long, so I just decided to call this The Truth About Gamestop.

Now every so often some friends (via Facebook) & random people on the internet (via twitter) tell me that they have heard a RELEASE DATE for Animal Crossing 3DS. And I have to tell them, every time, that its NOT a real date. I have no fun in delivering that news. Believe me, I want a release date! I want the game NOW in fact!

But the truth is...Nintendo has NOT revealed a date for Animal Crossing 3DS yet. Nor have they revealed a date for Paper Mario, Luigi's Manison, or Fire Emblem.

The release dates that Gamestop (and probably other places too) lists for the above games are MADE UP.

Gamestop makes up dates for some games so that people can pre-order (pay ahead of time) games that don't have an official release date. I'm sure they don't just do this only for Nintendo games. They probably do that for other systems too. I can't speak to that though. I only know about Nintendo games.

These dates that Gamestop makes up are called PLACEHOLDER DATES.

They change these dates every soon often, usually when the date they had before has already passed, but sometimes if it doesn't look like the game is coming anytime soon, they'll pick a random later date (like August 2nd or something).

A good sign, in the U.S, that the date Gamestop is showing is NOT real is this: In the U.S. Nintendo only releases games on Friday or Sunday. Nintendo does not release games on Tuesday or Wednesday like other systems/developers. Most of the time its Sunday that their big games come out, but lately they've been releasing some on Fridays too.

So if you see a date from Gamestop and you look into August and see that its not a Friday or Sunday, then its definitly NOT the real date.

That said, even if it is a Sunday or Friday, you still might not be able to believe Gamestop.

The rule all Nintendo fans (especially Crossing fans---who are REALLY REALLY REALLY tired of waiting for this game) should live by, imo:

DON'T BELIEVE A RELEASE DATE UNTIL YOU SEE IT FROM NINTENDO.

If Nintendo hasn't announced a date, then its not true. Its either a rumor or a placeholder date.

Nintendo reveals release dates through press releases and sometimes through Nintendo Direct. Usually they do NOT reveal release dates durning their E3 presentation.

Crossing might (aka BETTER) be shown as a game coming this year, but they won't be like "Here's the release date". Ditto for any other games they show at E3. (and ya, probably no Wii U release date at E3, though I suppose you never know...)

Now, they may reveal the date online via press release during E3...BUT if they wait that long to reveal a date, then its likely Crossing won't be out till later this year...

So let's just HOPE we see a date BEFORE E3 IN JUNE.

Anyway, I hope this clears things up.

Just please keep your eyes open for a press release or Nintendo Direct (or both) from Nintendo. It could come at any time. Nintendo likes to SUPRISE people with dates for games (not just Crossing---they do it with ALL their games. Its so annoying). Ugh.

Also, a good source for release dates for games, is Nintendo Life. They are always reporting on things as soon as Nintendo announces it.

Oh and I'll be blabbing the date all over facebook & twitter too when its revealed. So don't worry. If you don't feel like looking for that press release/Nintendo Direct, then just stay tuned to me on twitter (@df2506) or facebook (if your a friend).

In the meantime, please don't believe Gamestop.

Music to My Ears

We all have different definations of what music is. Not everyone has the same taste in music and some of us can't stand certain types of music. Hey, I even hear there's people who don't like music at all. Is that true? I don't know. Never met a person that didn't like some kind of music. I suppose its possible though.

Instead of going on and on about the type of music I don't like, though, I'm going to go on and on about the type of music I LOVE.

At a young age, I was introduced to the Beatles by my father and they became my favorite band too. I also was introduced to tons of other 60s, 70s, and some 80s rock'n'roll too. Over the years, I've met other bands and songwriters from those times that have become big favorites: like Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, the Who, the Eagles, and many others.

I would say its the song writers that actually write their own stuff, like the Beatles, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, etc that I love the most. There's something absolutely magical and wonderful about the songs that were created in those times. I'm not sure I can fully explain what it is that makes me love the music so much.

I was born in a different time, the 80s, so rock'n'roll was still around then but it was slowly fading away. Sure there are great singers like Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springteen, the Rolling Stones, that are still out there playing and making new music, but their not what's "popular" anymore. I don't care.

Rock'n'roll lives on and its amazing how just when you think maybe its gone for good, some new song appears from an old artist or a new one, and brings it back into the spotlight. Good music never fades away. As long as we hold onto what we love, it'll always be there. Turn up the sound, sing along, forget your troubles. Music to my Ears.

Movies I Can't Wait to See This Year

Its amazing to think that the year has only just started and already there's been one really fantastic action-packed, adventure filled movie (John Carter). I wonder if any of the other movies will top it. Then I start to think of the other movies coming and I realize that probably one of them will.

In May, the second blockbuster of the year arrives. The Avengers is a movie that I thought would never get made. The Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor all in the same movie?! Years and years ago that would have just been a comic book fan's geeky dream movie. Now Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has made the Avengers movie a reality! A ton of the best Marvel heroes in one movie going against the evil Loki (half-brother of Thor). Its going to be a really EPIC movie. I'm sure Whedon will do it justice. Can't wait.

In June, Disney Pixar is bringing out a brand new film called Brave. I don't know much about it other than its about a Scottish princess. It looks quiete good though and knowing Pixar it'll be a MUST see.

Then in July, two big superhero movies arrive. The one I'm looking forward to the most is The Dark Knight Rises. This is the final movie in the Chris Nolan Batman trilogy. Christan Bale returns as Batman and all the other key players: Gary Oldman as Gordon and Micheal Caine as Alfred return. Plus villians Bane & Catwoman make their first appearance. I'm not a huge Bane fan, but I have faith in Nolan. I think he'll make him a cool villian. I also think Catwoman will be the best Catwoman ever seen on screen. It'll be an awesome movie for sure.

The other July movie is The Amazing Spider-man. I had my doubts about this one at first. They were going to redo Spider-man again?! And the new look, at first, looked a bit Twilight-like. Now that I've seen more trailers the movie looks VERY cool. I like that Peter's parents are being used in this one, plus the Lizard is a villian that never showed up in the other movies. I think this is going to be a good movie and hopefully I'll get to see it at the thearter.

There are other movies coming out this year too, like the new James Bond movie, but the movie that I'm the MOST excited about is coming at the end of the year.

That movie, of course, is The Hobbit! I love the Lord of the Rings and a trip back to that world is going to be amazing. Its great that Peter Jackson is directing it again and I'm glad a lot of the key people from LOTR are coming back. If any movie this year is, without a doubt, going to beat John Carter its THIS movie. The Hobbit is going to be wonderful; there is no doubt in my mind about that. Just wish we didn't have to wait till the end of the year to see it! *sigh*

So those are the key movies I'm looking forward to this year. I think all of them will be a lot of fun.

Still, I can't wait to get John Carter on Blu-ray. :)

I'm Reading #1

Currently I'm reading A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs! I decided to start reading it after I saw the movie.

I have the story in a sci-fi short story collection I own. A Princess of Mars really isn't a short story though. Its more like a shorter book. Its said to be science fiction, but I don't really see it as that.

Princess is actually more of a fantasy than sci-fi. I guess when it was written it was sci-fi, but now that we know more about Mars, this would fit more under fantasy. Still, its a really fun story, though totally different from what I'm use to reading..

So far, there is no dialogue in the story (this may change). The story is told via first person narration. Its a very descriptive first person narration too. At first, when John Carter was on Earth, I wasn't sure if I liked the story, but once he got on Mars I really started getting into the story.

I can't wait to read more of it! I'll let you all know if I read more of the John Carter books. I hope so. It seems like a fun series of books. Also, I'm unsure if there will be a sequel to the movie. I really hope there is! If you haven't seen the movie yet, please go see it. Its awesome!

Once Upon A Time...there was a TV show...

I like Classic Disney. When I say Classic Disney, I mean everything from Snow White to the toons they did in the 90s (like the Lion King). There's something, well, magical about Classic Disney cartoons. I think the only toons that come close are the Pixar movies, but even those are very different from what Classic Disney was doing.

So is Once Upon A Time, the new TV Show on ABC.

Its not quiete classic Disney, but it has some of the magical feel of the older cartoons. You can tell, without a doubt, this show was made by Disney. Its a show that pays tribute to all the wonderful fairy tales that Disney did, plus some they didn't do, and adds some interesting new twists to the fairy tales. Some of characters in the show are really close to their Disney couterparts (Belle, Snow White) and some are not (Grumpy in Once is so much cooler than Grumpy from the old cartoon).

Once Upon A Time is a fantastic tv show that is telling two stories really. One story is about a town full of fairy tale characters in the real world who can not remember who they are. The other story is flashbacks that show us the fairy tale world. Each episode focuses on a different character for the flashback and usually the real world couterpart gets something more to do in the town too. The fairy tale part of the show is a fantasy and much more interesting than the real world. The real world stories are more dramatic (with some soap in it) and only have a bit of fantasy to them. That said, both parts of the show are interesting and the show has a good balance of real world & fantasy.

If you love classic Disney like I do, I think you'll love Once Upon A Time. Its a really good show.

I highly recommend it. Its just a lot of fun.

John Carter (of Mars) is Awesome!

Yesterday, I saw John Carter at the thearter!

It was GREAT.

The movie had plenty of action, adventure, fantasy, and some humor. John Carter is the type of movie thats just plain FUN. If your looking for a movie with deep meaning and subtext, look elsewhere. John Carter is a movie to be ENJOYED, just like Avatar, the Star Wars movies, Lord of the Rings, etc. In my opinion, its just great to go to a movie and be completly sucked into an amazing made-up world. Thats the experiance you can expect with John Carter. Go see it and be prepared to be transported into the world of Barzoom!

Btw, I have the very first John Carter story, A Princess of Mars, and I've never read it. NOW I plan to go read it. In fact, I'll start reading it tonight! Can't wait. I'll do a blog entry sometime about the story vs. the movie. Till then, please go see this movie at the thearter! Its excellent & I really want to see a sequel!

Where Is Animal Crossing 3DS?

My family is addicted to Animal Crossing. We play AC on the Wii every day at 2pm with or without our online friends. We do miss a day once and awhile but for the most part, we play the game every day like clockwork.

Sometimes we even play it more than once a day or a friend will ask us to play at night. We really love the game and any chance to play more is fine by us!

That said, lately we've just been buying time with the Wii game. Don't get me wrong: we really love meeting up with our online friends but...we just really, really, really, REALLY wish that Animal Crossing for the 3DS was out!

For 2 (almost 3) years now, we've known about Crossing for the 3DS. Back when we each bought our 3DS, we bought it because of this one game. We knew we'd have to have Animal Crossing 3DS.

We thought it would be out a lot sooner though.

It seems like Nintendo is taking forever to release this game. They have teased it at two E3 events now and various other events too. STILL no release date. We know some things about the game, but not, I suspect, everything. The worst is that release date though. We know its coming in 2012, yes, but thats ALL we know. Nintendo won't give us a date.

Meanwhile, like I said in another entry, they keep releasing Mario games. Super Mario 3D Land & Mario Kart 7 came out last year and Mario Tennis, just announced early this year, is coming out in May. BEFORE Crossing. Nintendo is finally getting Kid Icarus out though (one of the few non-Mario games from them). Why can't they get Animal Crossing out too?

I don't understand why Nintendo is taking so long with this game. Do they think Nintendo fans only like Mario games? Is Crossing not important to them? Or do they just like seeing Animal Crossing fans unhappy? Maybe its all three. I don't know....

I do wish Nintendo would tell us a season or a month or something. I'm hoping that it'll be Summer when it comes out. I really hope they don't make us wait longer than that. Waiting all year for Crossing? That would be horrible.

Animal Crossing for the Wii is great, but its time for that new Animal Crossing to come out!

Wow! Have you seen this?

Just awhile ago, I saw something really cool over at the Playstation Blog.

The makers of Heavy Rain have made a TECH DEMO called Kara. This is NOT an upcoming game from them. Instead, its a short "movie" showing off their new motion capture technology. And wow. It looks amazing. Kara's face looks so real.

Here, check it out: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/03/07/kara-is-not-quantic-dreams-next-game-but-you-may-wish-it-was/

I'm stunned by this. I really hope they actually DO make this into a game!

Alas Terra Nova...

And another TV Show bites the dust.

This time Terra Nova from FOX Network here in the U.S was canceled.

Terra Nova was a show about people from the future going to the past, the time of the dinosaurs, to start over because the future is so messed up.

The show was a bit of family drama, along with a bit of sci-fi & fantasy too. It started off interesting, got a bit slow during the middle and ended with a really awesome finale. It wasn't a great series, but it was a good one.

It also did good in the ratings. So its cancelation is a bit of mystery. Well, until you realize that the show was expensive to make. The cancelation of the show was mostly because of money, but I think also it wasn't a favorite show at FOX either.

The network has now canceled TWO Monday night shows: House & Terra Nova. I'm expecting them to cancel Alcatraz (a really good show) because its doing poor in the ratings. Another Monday show. And Fringe, a Friday night show, seems doomed too. I think I said it in another blog entry, but if they keep this up there really won't be any reason for me to keep watching FOX next season. It looks like every show I care about on the network right now is likely to be canceled.

I guess time will tell...

It Came From Outer Space!

Today on Twitter, I won a copy of a PS3 downloadable game from IGN. The game is called Tales From Outer Space: About A Blob. Here are my impressions of the game so far:

About A Blob is a 2D platformer/puzzle game where you control a blob who is trying to survive in a world that does not like him one bit. In order to survive, the blob absorbs items around the stages into itself in order to grow bigger. Each stage you go through has one or two size limits for the blob. You have to get the blob a certain size in order for it to continue on its journey. Each stage the blob's size is reset and he has to grow again. Along the way, he must also jump over obstacles, figure out puzzles, and shoot things that want to harm him with objects he spits out. About A Blob is a really fun game.

The game's graphics are cartoony and nice. The gameplay is well done and each stage offers new & interesting challenges. The game has a wacky sense of humor too. Some of the stuff the blob can absorb is rather bizarre. I have not beat the game yet. I'm trying to take it slow. So I haven't seen all the stages yet, but I like the stages I've seen. Oh and the game has an off-line two-player mode too if you want to play it with somebody. I have no tried the multiplayer, but I'm sure its neat. I'm really glad I won this game!

So would I have paid for this game? I had tried the demo for this game before, but it hadn't been on my buy radar. That was a mistake because this is a really cool game and I was missing out on something here. If you like platformers/puzzle games & have a PS3, I recommend downloading the demo to see if its to your taste.

I'm glad I got it. This was a really unexpected win. I'm very happy with it and can't wait to play more of it!

Vita Again

I went to Walmart today and had the chance to check out the Vita again. So here are some more impressions:

This time I checked out something called Welcome Park on Vita. I suppose its a program that welcomes you to the Vita. Not sure. Pretty vague intro to it. I checked out one portion of it, a little "game" where you have to touch all of the numbers in order: 1, 2, 3, 4 and they are all over the screen. I guess its trying to get you use to using the Touch Screen.

Speaking of the Touch Screen, I think that the Vita uses the touch screen WAY too much. On the 3DS/DS, there are/were some touch screen controls but most games let you use buttons instead of the touch screen if you wanted to. There is no option for this on most Vita games. On the Vita games that use the touch screen for menus or interacting with objects, etc, you HAVE to use the touch screen. The only time I say another option was on Uncharted where you could push a button to grab some rails too. Otherwise, most Vita games seem to be forcing the Touch Screen on you. And to me, Touch screen controls are like Motion Controls. Gimmicky for the most part & a hassle. Give me buttons any day (one expection to this rule is Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I loved the Motion Controls in that game).

Anyway, after trying out Welcome Park, I decided to try some other demos that I didn't play the first time.

A game called Little Deviants was the first one I tried. This game was a collection of mini-games. I tried three of the mini-games out of the ones offered (I think there was four or five). The mini-game called Botz Invasion felt like Face Raiders from the 3DS. Basically, it was an AR game where you look around your enviorment & shoot at the Deviants. The second mini-game was a game where you used the back touch screen to push some Deviants out of houses. The last one was a skydiving game where you moved the Vita around & tried to hit rings as you fell. Overall, NOT an impressive game. Too gimmicky, graphics were ok, and just not enough value in it. I recommend not buying this one if you plan to get a Vita.

Next I tried another demo called Escape Plan. The demo used the touch screen completly. The graphics were black & white and kind of neat. The gameplay wasn't that impressive though. You had to swipe in front of the character to move him forward & stop him before he killed himself by stumbling into different obstacles. A rather ho hum game. Not recommended.

Wipeout, a futurisic racing game, was the next demo I tried. The game had a bit of a load time. It felt like I was downloading a small piece of dlc on the PS3. Kind of fast, kind of not. After it loaded, I have to say I was impressed by the graphics. Very nice. The racing was good too. I wasn't great at it, but I liked it. I'm sure this would be a good game for racing fans, especially if it has multiplayer.

The last demo I checked out was a game I had briefly checked out last time. It was Gravity Rush. I was VERY impressed by the graphics the first time I played this game, but I had no idea what the game was. This time I got to find out! In turns out Gravity Rush is a platformer/action game. In it, you can push a button (the R button I think) and your character goes floating into the air. Aim her with the control stick and push her toward a building. She will stand on the building and run up it. I also took her to some floating object in the sky and she ran sideways that. You push the L button to return the character to normal gravity. The game also has combat. The character can kick enimies and if you push the R button, she can float up and kick enimies in the sky. VERY COOL.

The game also has Comic Book style cutscenes. The touch screen is put to good use here by having you swipe toward the next panel to see it. Neat.

Overall, Gravity Rush was the most impressive demo I saw on the Vita (both times). Yes, more impressive than Uncharted. It has great graphics & fun gameplay. If I had a Vita, this would be a game I'd want.

So that was my second play time with the Vita. The first time really wowed me. The second time I played some demos that I thought were so-so and one that I thought was ultra cool. The system is neat, but not what I'm looking for. I think it focuses WAY too much on Touch Screen controls and it doesn't seem to have too many games I want. Plus, man, that demo Vita screen was DIRTY. Does this system have a Stylus? I think the screen would get way too dirty too fast if it doesn't.

Still, if I get a chance to play more Gravity Rush at the demo Vita, that would be nice.

Are you Awake?

Thursday night a new program started on NBC in America. The show is called AWAKE.

The show is about this: After a car wreck, a man starts living two lives in two different realities. In one reality, his wife is dead & his son is alive, in the other, his son is dead, but his wife is alive. The man is a cop and has a different partner in each reality, different cases, and a different shrink he's talking to. He doesn't know which reality is real (or if either one is real). He goes to sleep and wakes up in one, when he goes to sleep again, he wakes up in the other.

I think its a really cool show. The characters are all well written & acted. The concept is complex and intersting and different from anything else on TV.

Only one episode has aired, plenty of time to check out the show if your able. I think its going to be a great series. I hope it lasts.