Psych is back!

FINALLY Psych, the comedy series about a guy pretending to be a psychic so he can solve crimes with the police (with the help of his best friend), has returned!

Psych is pretty much the ONLY comedy show I watch on TV right now. Why? Because is FUNNY, something thats a very rare thing on TV right now. The only other show I can actually say thats funny and on TV right now is 30 Rock and even that has seen better days. On the hand, Psych is seeing some of its best days right now. The show has been hilarous this season. Yes, it can be goofy, silly, stupid, but all those things help to make it funny.

Maybe my favorite part of the show is its theme song though. I love that song. " I know, you know..." Really funny and catchy. Its also a rare thing for a TV SHOW to have a theme song, with lyrics, these days.

If you haven't checked out Psych yet and you have Netflix, you can find it on there. They have quite a few seasons and I'm sure they will add more. The show isn't over yet and it just keeps getting better & better imo.

Hugo should have won best picture

Tonight, I watched the movie Hugo for the first time.

And WOW! I loved it.

I went into the movie thinking it was just going to be a fantasy kid's movie.

It was not a fantasy movie, although it had elements of fantasy and it was much more than a kid's movie.

Its a very different from anything else Martin Scorsese has done. Its full of wonder, excitement, adventure, and its a movie the whole family can enjoy. I really do think the young & the old will enjoy this movie. Its got two layers really: the kid's adventure movie & the movie that just loves movies and wants to tell a story around that. If I say anything about the plot I'll ruin it. I just know it. So I won't. I'll just say that its a wonderful, fantastic, amazing movie.

Oh and it should have won best picture. Hugo is a movie that celebrates everything that the Oscars is saying its celebrating. Its a love letter to movies. I can see why it was nominated and I'm not sure why it didn't win. The Artist will have to be a really jaw-dropping movie to make me believe that it deserved the award over Hugo. I'll guess I'll find out sooner or later if it did.

Where Genre Shows Go To Die

Why do people keep taking sci-fi/fantasy shows to the Fox Network? Why does the Fox Network keep making them? Heck, why do I even keep trying these shows out? I do know that sooner or later, Fox WILL cancel them.

As to the first question, I have no idea. There is plenty of evidence (that anyone can see) that FOX does not like genre shows and will cancel them if they do bad in Friday night time slots.

Why does FOX even keep making them? I have no idea. They've had SO many fantasy and sci-fi shows on Friday nights at 8 over the years and everytime (EVERY) time they get canceled (the only success was X-Files and even that had to be moved from Fridays to Sundays). Sure, this season they branched out to Mondays with Alcatraz & Terra Nova. Amazing. Still the shows didn't/havent been doing well in the ratings. Why does FOX bother?

Oh and why do I bother? I know these brillant shows will be canceled. I keep saying everytime: " If "fill in the blank" is canceled, I will not watch any new Fox shows next season. And what do I do? I go watch the new shows.

This cycle WILL end next season though if none of my current shows come back. Things are not looking great on that front. I'm sure Terra Nova isn't coming back and Alcatraz is doing worse in the ratings than Terra Nova did. Touch doesn't have much of a chance. And things are looking bleak for Fringe (my fav Fox network show).

So, basically, it looks like nothing I'm watching/will watch on FOX will be back next season. Sounds like a VERY good time to stop watching FOX if so.

Sure, I'm rooting for these shows. I hope they come back. It would be great.

I doubt it though. History has told us that FOX is trigger happy when it comes to genre shows. Well, expect for X-Files. That show got really lucky!

A Vita Suprise

I was going around the corner to look at the cheap PS3 games section in Walmart today and I stumbled into a hidden Vita demo unit.

First thing I noticed about it was how huge the touch screen is. Wow. Very cool. I also liked the twin analog sticks and the button placements. Though, the touch screen was all fingerprinted up. Still, that didn't stop me from trying out some game demos.

The first demo I tried was Uncharted: Golden Abyss. The graphics are the first thing I'd noticed about the demo. Uncharted really looks like your playing a PS3 game in the palm of your hand. Very impressive. Next thing I was noticed was the touch screen controls. Moving the menus with the touch screen is not very quick and a bit gimmicky. So is touching rails to grab them. Though it seems that you can use the buttons to grab rails too. Thats good. The button controls were really good & I liked that the second analog stick was there to change the camera. Overall, it was a fun demo.

The second demo I tried was Hot Shots Golf. This game impressed me even more than Uncharted. Really good graphics and you just used the buttons to hit the ball. Simple & fun. Very nice.

The next demo I tried was Modnation Racers. Never actually played much of it though because I couldn't figure out how to get a race started with the touch screen controls. lol. I admit by this point I was in a rush too because I was going to have to leave Walmart.

I did have time to briefly check out another demo. The last demo I tried was a game called Gravity Rush. I'm not sure what type game it was. Maybe RPG? I didn't see a combat system, just a girl wandering around a town. But the graphics! WOW! Possibly the most impressive graphics of all the demos I played. Very nice!

My play time with the Vita today was really good. I walked away from it wishing I had one! lol.

That said, the $250-300 price tag is just too high for me. I'm already invested in the 3DS and there's more games I want on the 3DS (whenever they come out) than Vita.

Still, if I was rich....

So the way I see it is this: if you have to have PS3-type graphics and cool gameplay and you have a ton of money, go for the Vita. If you want something a bit cheaper, that has very nice graphics and great gameplay, go with the 3DS. If you have a TON of money, go for both.

They are both very cool & really fun.

Yes, I was impressed by the Vita. I will, without a doubt, be checking out that demo unit again when I go to Walmart next time!

Why the Playstation 3 Rules

The Playstation 3 is the best home console this generation.

Yes, I'm saying that the PS3 is better than the Wii and better than the X-box 360. I've owned all three consoles. Well, I still own my PS3 and Wii (I no longer have the 360). So I can safely say that the Playstation 3 is the best. I'm not a Sony fanboy nor am I a 360 hater. I enjoyed my time with the 360 (well expect for that time when Halo 3 killed Xbox Live...otherwise...).

I've played every home console this generation and to me the Playstation 3 rules them all.

Why? Its not just graphics. The graphics on the PS3 are amazing, yes, but the PS3 has a lot of other things going for it too.

For instance, the PS3's online is FREE, whereas you have to pay for Xbox Live. Sure Live is pretty good, but I think Sony does a great job with PSN. Yes, its not perfect (as the recent hacking showed), but it offers some great online playing and you don't have to pay for it. Sure you don't pay for the Wii's online, but its not very good at all...

The Playstation also has a fantastic lineup of games, from Uncharted 1, 2, and 3, Ratchet & Clank series, Infamous 1 & 2, Resistence series, Metal Gear Solid 4, and many more titles. And the best of the multi-console games in my opinon. Mass Effect 1 looked/played great on the Xbox, but Mass Effect 2 and 3 look jaw dropping on the Playstation 3 and play even better. Games like Final Fantasy XIII and XIII2 look and play great too and many more games are enhanced because of the PS3's blu-ray power.

I also think the PS3 has the best controller; its easy to pick up and use. It fits better in your hands than a 360 controller and I like it better than the Wii-mote.

Sure, the PS3 isn't perfect. I'm not a fan of the Move and there is that hacking I mentioned before, but overall, Sony has done a great job with the system and continues to put out some really amazing games. Look at the Last of Us coming this year and Final Fantasy Versus 13 coming sometime in the future. There are other games I'm forgetting too.

Oh and the system plays BLU-RAY movies too. If you have an HD TV, you gotta have Blu-ray. The movies look so great on it.

Overall, the Playstation 3 is just the must have system. 360 is a good system and seems to be the more mainstream safe choice. The Wii is the best fit for casual gamers and people that love the Nintendo franchises. PS3, on the other hand, offers all the best: video games of all types, great looking movies, cool downloadable games, and more.

If you haven't checked it out, now is a great time. The Playstation 3 is a lot cheaper than it use to be. Of course, you could always wait a bit longer too. The next generation of consoles is upon us, so the PS3 will be dropping in even further in price soon. Its a can't miss system for sure!

Nintendo's Epic Fail

Last blog entry I talked about 3DS VS. Vita and I mentioned how Nintendo had a big Nintendo Direct video coming up that would talk about 3DS stuff. I had high hopes for the video. I really thought they'd mention big games like Animal Crossing and Paper Mario, but instead, well, you see the title...

Nintendo played it safe on Wednesday. They showed Kid Icarus, which is coming in March, announced Mario Tennis for May, talked about downloadable titles, etc. Most of this info we already knew. Even Mario Tennis had already been rumored for May. So there were NO big suprises during the video. Why Nintendo even bothered putting this up against Vita I don't know. Maybe in their mind they were having a great video. This was big news to them or perhaps it was a concidence that the video went up on Vita day. I know thats a big concidence, but I'm not sure how else to explain what happened.

I'm sure Sony is NOT worried now. They might be over in their corner pointing and laughing now. " See what they did yesterday? Guess we were right! No worries there!"

I think they are wrong about that. Yes, I was upset with Nintendo yesterday and I'm still upset. I think I did say yesterday that Sony shouldn't worry (on Twitter). But like I pointed out yesterday, the 3DS sells are better in Japan and here. I hear Vita isn't selling too great here yet. So yes they should worry about the 3DS. The hardware anyway. I'm not so sure about the software. Nintendo just keeps dragging their feet there.

Then again, maybe my Nintendo bias is showing. Maybe Sony shouldn't worry. Maybe I should start worrying about the 3DS. The lack of great software reminds me of when the system came out back in March last year. They barely had anything coming out and now it looks like we're back to that. Sure, I guess Kid Icarus is a big game. Hopefully that'll sell.

 Honestly, though, Mario Tennis is the best announcement they had for the video? TENNIS?! Ugh. Its disgusting. They have so many great games (Animal Crossing 3DS) in the pipeline. They need to get them OUT. Most of these games they've been working on for two or three years now (especially Crossing). Its time to let the kids out of the playpen. Show Sony what you got!

Anyway, you can see I have conflicted feelings. I want to believe in Nintendo. I really do. Their epic failure yesterday is NOT helping.

3DS VS. VITA

Sony says that the Playstation Vita is not in competition with Nintendo's 3DS and that they are aiming for a completly different market. Yet, the Vita has many of the same features that the 3DS has such as a Touch Screen (two actually), AR, a camera, etc. The Vita doesn't seem all that different from the 3DS really. The only thing different that the Vita has going for it is graphical power, which is very impressive I'll admit. Better than the 3DS? Sure. Gameplay wise there's nothing too impressive though imo. Vita is, without a doubt, in competition with the 3DS.

Nintendo knows that they are going up against the Vita too. Why else would they have a Nintendo Direct Video on the very day the Vita comes out? Thats NOT a concidence. Thats a carefully planned event that screams " We know Vita could be an issue. Here's what we have coming for the 3DS."

Sony needs to smarten up. Look at how the Vita is doing in Japan. The number of sales has improved for the Vita since launch, but the 3DS is still out selling it (especially after the price drop). You would think that Sony would have seen what happened with the 3DS at $250 and made sure their price was lower from the start, but nope, Sony doesn't think it'll be an issue. And who knows. Maybe it won't be an issue in America. We do love our gadgets here. I suppose if the Vita could hook in the Cellphone crowd with apps and cheap games to buy, maybe it'll sell better here than Japan. I don't know. I kind of doubt it'll catch on, but then again, maybe it will. The 3DS is doing good here in the U.S., but I don't think its doing as well here as in Japan. Of course, I'm mostly going by evidence in my small non-Nintendo friendly part of the country. I'm not sure what's happening elsewhere.

In any case, the 3DS and Vita will be going head to head. Some people with a lot of income (or people who just saved up a lot) will have both systems. I think MOST people will have to decide whether they want a 3DS or Vita.

To make it clear, finally, where I stand on the issue: I have a 3DS already and don't plan on buying a Vita.

That said, I don't want Vita to fail. I own a PS3. I like Sony. I hope that the Vita does well. Do I want it outsell the 3DS? Nope. I love my 3DS. I hope it beats the Vita in sells. I'm just saying I don't want Sony to fail. I'd like to think there's room in the market for BOTH handhelds. That said, they will be going head to head and one of them will win out eventually.

I think tomorrow might be a defining point in the battle between 3DS & Vita. What Nintendo reveals tomorrow at their conference will set the tone for the fight. If Nintendo comes out with some big game reveals for 3DS and shows they are going to have the content, then Sony should worry. Though its very possible that Nintendo might come out showing Kid Icarus, a couple of downloadable games, and not really announce anything new. If so, Sony might be laughing and pointing a finger at Nintendo saying "Guess we were right. Different audiences. No worries there."

I do like Sony, but I also want them to worry about the 3DS. I think competition will make both companys try harder with both systems. Here's hoping for some awesome news about the 3DS tomorrow that makes Sony realize that they are not the only handheld on the market.