After Nintendo's E3 performance, many gamers felt quite perplexed as to Ninty's future goal as a gaming company, since they seem to have the casual mindset. Animal Crossing Wii (with Wii Speak), Wii Music, and Wii Sports Resort (with Wii Motion+) left a bad taste in many mouths, simply because there weren't any "core" games out there for those non-casual players. Add to that the half-assed announcement of a new Pikmin and it's safe to say that many gamers were certainly peeved at Nintendo for their lack of support.

Next comes September of 2008, where rumors started flying around that Nintendo was going to hold their own conference on October 2. Hype, flying around like food in a food fight during lunch time at school, got around that Nintendo was finally going to break free of their "casual" mentality and start announcing the "good stuff" at this conference.

One of the major rumors flying around was a new redesign for the Nintendo DS. Although I don't personally own one, I've been wanting to pick one up for a while now because of all of the games that are out and are coming out. Although not very surprising due to all of the rumors floating around, a new DS WAS announced at this conference. Dubbed the DSi, it sports a sleeker look over the DS Lite, along with a myriad of other functions. Although the lack of a GBA slot is disheartening, the inclusion of internal memory, SD card usage and the ability to access the Virtual Console gives access to a plethora of possibilities down the road (GB/GBA VC games?).

There were also rumors going around that one of Ninty's old franchises was going to get a new game, one that didn't have a game since the SNES or NES. A lot of speculation went around as to what this game really was, but I'm sure plenty of people were surprised that it was a new Punch-Out!!! Another game that was surprising was a sequel to the N64 shooter, Sin & Punishment.

I think Nintendo certainly caught the attention of many gamers on the morning of October 2. Although it wasn't exactly a huge announcement (ok, maybe the DSi was big, but it was expected due to all of the rumors), they have certainly stirred up many a gamers who are patiently awaiting the English conference, which is scheduled for tomorrow.

I delve further into the current generation, or I will at least, whenever I get my hands on a PS3 this /next week. Of course, the main reason why I'm getting one is because of Disgaea 3, which I'm sure is going to steal my soul like previous entries. That's not the only reason why I'm getting one, though, as LittleBigPlanet has definitely caught my eye, as well. Additionally, I'll finally be able to play my PS1 games again (I hope to get my hands on a BC version of the PS3) since my PS2 won't play CD-based games.

Yes yes. We all know about the current situation in the video game world, with a ton of new games coming out that we all seem to want to play. However, it actually seems, for some at least, like there ARE too many coming out and it's a bit daunting to say the least. Obviously, some games take precedence over others for different people. I always tend to go after RPGs and the more future-obscure titles before picking up the more popular games.

Obviously, opting for the more impending-obscure titles makes it a lot less expensive in the long run, although I definitely have a backlog of past obscure games that I want to track down and buy. It's definitely like a neverending cycle nowadays; buy older titles and get left behind in the newest generation.

The list keeps growing...

I'm not quite sure what it is, but I find myself bored of most of the games in my collection lately, which is quite a statement considering its size. After trekking about 1/3 ways through my 3rd play through of Final Fantasy XII, I found my excitement with the game burning and crashing into the ground. After testing out some unplayed games in my collection, I keep finding myself playing games that I have already gone through, but in different ways. Currently, I'm trying a Prinny-only game for Disgaea 2, but there's not telling how far I'll get before that run gets cancelled due to boredom.

The one thing that could renew my spark in gaming keeps eluding my grasp. I still haven't had any luck in tracking down an unbundled Wii nearby or online at its original price. I had a good lead with an actual advertised unit in one of the weekly ads, but the stores didn't have any in stock. Oh well, I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I'll keep trudging along in my search.

Ah yes, Christmas is a holiday that can bring many different kinds of joy to people. Of course, one of those joys comes in the form of gaming. Although my bounties were very limited this holiday, it was quite a game and the cheer of the holidays may continue to be plenty, should the chance arrive.

I may have only received one game this Christmas, but it was quite a doozy. Of course, I'm speaking of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for the PS2. This is my first endeavor into the GH series and I'm not into the musical genre as much as I want to be, but the game is a smashing success. The playlist, combined with the feel of the bundled guitar, makes for a great experience. I was quite joyous to receive such a wondrous gift.

To add to the holiday cheer even farther, my dive into the current generation of systems might be coming sooner than I had realized. Of course, that all depends on whether or not I can actually find an unbundled Wii somewhere at the original price.

I must say that there are quite a number of games that are still coming out for the PS2 that I actually want to buy. I'm psyched up for .hack//GU Volume 3 especially, since I got pretty hooked to the entire .hack universe while playing the first two games. I am a huge Wild Arms fan, so WA5 is on my list to pick up soon, as well as the various other RPGs that will soon be coming out.

Persona 3. Yes, it was quite a highly anticipated game by those waiting for it to come out. Boy, did it ever live up to the expectations that I had for it. I'll be the first to admit that the game started out a little on the slow side, but it picked up a few hours into it. I love the fact that any single battle could be your last, due to instant-death skills, albeit they can be cheap at times. The life simulation aspect is done very well also, which surprised me. There is quite a lot of management in the game, but it isn't tedious. Between Personas, worrying about which Social Links to develop, to keeping up with equipment and delving deeper into Tartarus, I don't think I will be bored of this game for quite a while.

I'm not quite sure what the problem is, but I constantly see myself looking at the prospect of creating a FAQ for every single damn game that I play. Of course, that might make me burn out on the game before I ever get a chance to complete it. Okay, maybe it doesn't make me stop playing the game completely, but I constantly find myself throwing around ideas in my head. It's bad enough that I have plenty of imcomplete FAQs sitting around chatting to each other how incredibly lazy I am and complaining how they would like to be finished...

I had a dream a few weeks ago where I had wrote a FAQ/Walkthrough for every single game that I own. Of course, as one could see from my game collection, I own quite a few games (read that as I own too many fucking games). Naturally, I began thinking of doing such a thing, or at least create a FAQ for a majority of my games (specifically going through GameFAQs and seeing which games have less than 10 guides).

On another note, I am becoming increasingly interested in the PSP. Of course, the only games that grab my attention are the plethora of RPGs that seem to be pouring out in droves recently (and looks like the PSP is becoming a safe haven for some great RPGs from reviews I have seen, while the DS is dominating everything else).

Bleh, it seems that Persona 3 has been delayed one week and while it might not seem all too big, it is something bad for me. At this moment in time, I don't have a license and the person who was supposed to take me to get the game is going on vacation next week, which means I might not have a way to get the game.

Thankfully, I have some new games I have recently bought to keep my craving for Persona 3 to a minimum. I got Final Fantasy VI Advance, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2, Ratchet: Deadlocked and Hot Shots Tennis. I must say that I am surprised at Naruto. The "story" mode, for the parts that actually followed the true storyline, is pretty good. The fighting is fast and intense, which is definitely what a fighting game should be. The game looks fantastic and the VAs that do the English dub also did this game, which means that it is very well done. Apart from some cheap battles (the AI can be cheap, plus the winning conditions are sometimes heavily stack against you), the game is brilliant and the huge amount of unlockables will keep me glued to it.

Hot Shots Tennis is a game that can best be described as Hot Shots Golf in tennis form. The same physics that you would find in the golf games is present in the tennis one. The visuals and audio are quite appealing, although some of the voices sound a bit weird. The only bad things about the game are it doesn't seem all too difficult and it's not very long. All of the unlockables are acquired as you go through the Challenge mode. While the difficulty does increase some, I have pretty much slaughtered any of the opponents I have faced thus far. Of course, the game is fun and that's all that matters to me. The $30 price tag is pretty appealing too, but some people might want to wait for it drop to $20, which I am sure will bound to happen soon.

Final Fantasy VI Advance is pretty standard and is a great port of a great RPG. I haven't gotten a chance to play Deadlocked yet, so I can't comment on that game. If I had the money, I probably would've bought the Super Robot Taisen games for the GBA, but I didn't (those are next on my list to buy).

I swear that the AI in some games really piss me off. To make a long story short, I'm playing Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 and I'm currently doing Event 30 of the World Racing Championship. The McLarens are very fast cars and this particular event has you doing a 10 lap race on a decently sized track. Now, the track is pretty easy except for a series of nasty curves in a particular section, but there are ways to outgun the competition (I'm getting away from the point now, however).

I'm in first place most of the race, or at least at the end of each lap. There is a shortcut that allows me to get ahead of the AI by like 4-5 seconds, but the bad part is that the cheating AI ALWAYS manages to close the gap to under a second near the starting point. Of course, on the very last lap and on the very last stretch of the race, the 2nd place AI car manages to pass me up somehow and I end up ****ing losing the race. All of the cars are the same and I don't hit anything, but somehow the AI manages to speed past me and win the race.

On a completely different, but related, note, EA needs to cut the crap with the street racing games and make another Need for Speed similar to Hot Pursuit 2. I would very much buy that game in a heartbeat...

While going through my PS2 collection, grasping at something to play while I wait to get some new games with my birthday money, I decided to put in Chaos Legion (although I tried Legaia 2: Duel Saga first, I wanted something quick and action-packed instead). Although the beginning of the game was rather confusing 'cause of the lack of good tutorial and confusing manual, I began to understand the game a lot better after the first few missions. Once I understood what the hell I was doing, I began to like the game more and more. Although the voices aren't anything special and the story is about average, the gameplay is definitely the highlight of the game. The Legion system makes for an exciting, and quite necessary considering Seig seems to be made out of paper, option.

I must also say that I'm actually looking forward to playing a licensed game that doesn't seem to be a waste of a DVD, like most licensed games. That game is Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2. In addition, I should be picking up Hot Shots Tennis this week, plus Persona 3 next week. It looks like I have a lot of gaming ahead of me. Now, if I wasn't so lazy so that I would actually finish my incomplete FAQs...

Although the excitement loses its feeling as one gets older, a birthday is still always something to celebrate and tomorrow I will be turning the ripe age of 25!

To add to the "excitement," Hot Shots Tennis is coming out this week, which I am very enthusiastic to play. I have enjoyed all of Clap Handz's games that they have released, and I will be sure to get my hands (no pun intended) on their newest one. Of course, the game I'm most looking forward to comes out next week, and that game is Persona 3.

It sickens me to think how far I have fallen behind in regards to recent games. I must say that there are so many games that I want to buy that are out or coming out soon, that whenever I get enough money to buy one, two or three more pop up to replace the bought one. Sigh...