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I think it's time for an update, as of March 1, 2011:

Dementium 2 - NDS
Call of Duty: World at War - 360
Call of Duty: World at War Final Fronts - PS2
Call of Duty: Black Ops - NDS
Quantum of Solace - 360
Quantum of Solace - PS2
Resistance Retribution - PSP
NEW - Yakuza 3 - PS3
NEW - Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer - PS2
NEW - Jak X: Combat Racing - PS2
NEW - Daxter - PSP

TOTAL: 11

I didn't complete as many games this month, but it was a busy month at work, midterms, and my wife is two months pregnant (rough phase right now, because of the nausea and vomiting).

Daxter:

Anyways, I literally finished Daxter at 2 am and I'm sure my wife is wondering what her husband was doing hunched over a little screen and mouthing expletives under his breath while controlling a mischievous ottsel known as Daxter. Based on my username, I obviously own ferrets. Therefore, I love the idea of a half otter/half weasel and I actually named one of my ferrets after Daxter (picture attached)

Moving on, I went to bed at about 11:30pm and I decided that I was going to finish this game no matter what. To be honest, it felt really good to just push towards the end and take care of some business in that game. I finished with roughly 80% complete (I tried to collect as much as I could) and I really enjoyed the game. For a game that was released in 2006 on PSP, it is still as breathtaking today as I'm sure it was for people who enjoyed it in 2006.

Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer:

I picked this game up for $3.59 from Gamestop in mint condition. Truthfully, I purchased the game because my wife used to surf and I felt in the mood for a laid back atmosphere (beaches, ocean, some Jack Johnson music - the game has a track by him). I didn't expect, however, that I would end up enjoying this game as much as I did. I really felt like I needed to write a check to Treyarch because I purchased the game for pennies. At first I felt intimidated, but as I progressed forward, I was pulling off ridiculously long and complex combos. I was also surprised by how well the game held up after nearly a decade. The graphics were nice and the game just played really well. In the end, I felt like I got a fantastic deal out of this game and for once got my money's worth.

Yakuza 3:

Ahh, what else can I say about Yakuza 3 except the long lost yearning for a sequel to my beloved Shenmue games. Yakuza 3, however, fills some of that void really well and I enjoyed the story and gameplay presented in this game. I think Kazuma Kiryu is a great character and the supporting cast just makes the story and characters come to life. In addition, I really enjoyed the fact that they kept the Japanese voice overs and just subtitled the dialogue. Of course, I think I spent the first hour alone just exploring a new world, going into shops, and enjoying all the details similar to my experiences in Shenmue 1/2. In the end, I loved it and I even went ahead and imported Ryu ga Gotoku: Kenzan and I will play through it with a guide and videos off youtube (all cutscenes have been subtitled on youtube). I'm also looking forward to Yakuza 4.

Jak X: Combat Racing:

This was another game that I got in mint condition for an extremely cheap price ($4.49) at Gamestop. It was just about what I expected from Naughty Dog based on the old classic Crash Team Racing. It was definitely well worth the small price of admission and the game holds up really well. There's not much to really say other than if you enjoy the Jak and Daxter series and racing, then you know what to expect from this game.

All in all, I had a fun month and played some really great games.

1. Lego Indiana Jones 2 (360) - 1000/1000
2. Star Wars The Force Unleashed II (360) - 1200/1200
3. Afterburner Climax (XBLA) - 200/200 + both avatar awards
4. Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing (360) - 1000/1000
5. Bully Scholarship Edition (360) - 1000/1000
6. Conan (360) - 1000/1000
7. Aegis Wing (XBLA) - 200/200
8. Harm's Way (XBLA) - 200/200

Two free games this time, one a product of a team of 3 interns at Microsoft and the other designed by a Doritos contest winner. Both were quite fun and well done.

Aegis Wing is a basic space shooter that has an interesting multiplayer mechanic where you attach to another player's ship and then one person flies and the others shoot. You can have up to 4 ships locked together like this unleashing a torrent of firepower. It's a fair little game alone, but vastly better with multiple players. I played with a friend and we pushed through to the end, having a lot of fun in the process. The music is probably the weakest link in Aegis wing, just a single theme endlessly repeated like an 8 bit game from the past - but unlike classic themes like the Zelda overworld or Super Mario Bros. iconic music, this one is rather unmemorable. Still, it was fun and it was free, so no complaints.

Harm's way has 2 distinct gameplay styles - you can race around the desert tracks in trucks, buggies, etc. picking up powerups and trying not to be destroyed or you can man a turret and attack the racers on opposing teams so that your racer comes in first. When I first grabbed this game I was less impressed with it than the other Doritos game which is a Ninja Warrior/MXC/Wipeout style obstacle course that your avatar runs through. However, after giving Harm's way more attention, I found it to be a lot of fun, especially with a group of people online. If you're playing alone, competent bots will play the part of the other players. For a free game, Harm's Way is surprisingly fun and has a lot of replay value.

1/11 Guardian Heroes (SAT)
1/14 Sonic Adventure (GCN)
1/17 Marvel vs Capcom 2 (DC)
1/17 X-Men vs Street Fighter (SAT)
1/22 Dragon Ball Z Budokai (GCN)
1/24 Street Fighter III - The New Generation (DC)
1/24 Street Fighter Alpha 3 (DC)
1/25 Mega Man X (GCN)
1/26 Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure (GBA)
1/31 Tatsunoko vs Capcom (Wii)
2/1 Megaman X2 (GCN)
2/2 Marvel vs Capcom (DC)
2/3 Megaman X3 (GCN)
2/3 Megaman X4 (GCN)
2/4 Megaman X5 (GCN)
2/5 Megaman X6 (GCN)
2/7 Gundam SEED: Never Ending Tomorrow (PS2)
2/8 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (DC)
2/9 Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams (PS2)
2/9 The King of Fighters XI (PS2)
2/11 The King of Fighters '99 Dream Match (DC)
2/13 SNK Gals Fighter (NGPC)
2/16 The King of Fighters '98 (Wii)
2/17 The King of Fighters '96 (Wii)
2/17 Metal Slug (Wii)
2/17 Metal Slug 2 (Wii)
2/18 SNK vs Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (NGPC)
2/19 The King of Fighters '97 (Wii)
2/19 Street Fighter II' (Wii / VC)
2/22 Metal Slug 3 (Wii)
2/25 Super Street Fighter IV (PS3)
2/27 Capcom vs SNK 2 (DC)
2/27 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
3/3 Mega Man II (GB)

Had a crap day today so I popped in an old classic. I have always held this particular Mega Man game in high regard - it has an unbeatable roster of Robot Masters, the stages are designed with the special weapons in mind (a feature forgotten in later games), and some very catchy music.

Oh and it also has an evil Mega Man from the future on a killer pogo-stick. Hell yeah!

just beat okami for the wii. Did not expect that to be the amazing game it was.

1/11 Guardian Heroes (SAT)
1/14 Sonic Adventure (GCN)
1/17 Marvel vs Capcom 2 (DC)
1/17 X-Men vs Street Fighter (SAT)
1/22 Dragon Ball Z Budokai (GCN)
1/24 Street Fighter III - The New Generation (DC)
1/24 Street Fighter Alpha 3 (DC)
1/25 Mega Man X (GCN)
1/26 Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure (GBA)
1/31 Tatsunoko vs Capcom (Wii)
2/1 Megaman X2 (GCN)
2/2 Marvel vs Capcom (DC)
2/3 Megaman X3 (GCN)
2/3 Megaman X4 (GCN)
2/4 Megaman X5 (GCN)
2/5 Megaman X6 (GCN)
2/7 Gundam SEED: Never Ending Tomorrow (PS2)
2/8 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (DC)
2/9 Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams (PS2)
2/9 The King of Fighters XI (PS2)
2/11 The King of Fighters '99 Dream Match (DC)
2/13 SNK Gals Fighter (NGPC)
2/16 The King of Fighters '98 (Wii)
2/17 The King of Fighters '96 (Wii)
2/17 Metal Slug (Wii)
2/17 Metal Slug 2 (Wii)
2/18 SNK vs Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (NGPC)
2/19 The King of Fighters '97 (Wii)
2/19 Street Fighter II' (Wii / VC)
2/22 Metal Slug 3 (Wii)
2/25 Super Street Fighter IV (PS3)
2/27 Capcom vs SNK 2 (DC)
2/27 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
3/3 Mega Man II (GB)
3/5 Super Street Fighter II: HD Remix (PS3)
3/6 Mega Man III (GB)

Bought this one at Dsheinem's suggestion - I am glad I listened to the Prof on this one. This game really is like a love song to an old Arcade great - and it's fun to see a remake of Street Fighter II that really adds something. They did not draw Chun Li's thighs quite large enough, though...

EDIT: Mega Man III (GB) - this game was really amazing to play so soon after clearing Megaman II. Mega Man II felt like what it was - a cheap, simple gameboy game. Mega Man III felt like a fully featured entry in the series with a depth of presentation that beat down most of of the NES originals. Oh and it was really damn hard. Like...Megaman 9 hard. A great game.

Plants Vs Zombies - PC
Halo 3: ODST - 360
Enslaved: Odyssey To The West - 360
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - NDS
Unreal Tournament 3 - 360
Dead Space - 360
Harms Way - XBLA
Starfox Assault - GC
Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift - IOS
The House of the Dead: Overkill - Wii
Fallout 3 - 360
Peggle Extreme - PC
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast - PC
Marvel Vs Capcom 3 - 360
Portal - PC
The Great Gatsby - Browser


Total: 16

Thoughts on the Game(s)
The Great Gatsby, Despite being so short and easy it was a pretty fun little game, very solid for a Flash game.

castle of illusion - sega
disney's aladdin - sega
the lion king - sega
mickey mania: the timeless adventure of mickey mouse - sega
mickey mania: the timeless adventure of mickey mouse - sega cd
disney's the jungle book - sega
dungeon explorer - sega cd
phelios - sega
doom - 32x
kolibri - 32x
mega turrican - sega
bc racers - sega cd
bloodlines x2 - sega

i absolutely love bloodlines. hands down, it is better than IV on the snes. i think the controls are much more fluid on the genesis. also, this may sound stupid, but another reason why i love bloodlines better than IV is that you are able to jump while walking on the steps. in IV, you are glued to the steps when you are walking on them.

i beat it with the spear guy; i forget his name. i like the spear guy because of his jump and because you can double hit. for example, when attacking, the first hit is when you thrust the spear through the enemy and the second hit is when you pull it back through the enemy. i am pretty sure the whip dude doesn't do this.

i also beat it twice. first time was a rust buster. in fact, i beat it through my first play through. during my second run i wanted to see if i could 1cc it. but, i ended up dying three times. i will probably end up playing it again at some point.

Trax for Gameboy
Super Mario RPG for SNES
Ikaruga for Gamecube
Mercs for PSP
A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! for PSP
Psychonauts for PS2
Firemen for SFC *new* Really short but a lot of fun. The AI for your partner in the game is surprisingly good and he genuinely came in helpful throughout the game. I think you can get through the game without knowing Japanese but being able to read it definitely made the game easier to understand.
Crash Bandicoot for PS1 *new* I don't think I'll be playing a Crash game for a while. There were times when I thought the game was alright and there were other times I hated it. The jumping mechanics and controls are off and there were a number of times I died because I couldn't read the jump properly or control it like I wanted. I also despised the saving system. The game would make you play 2/3 of the way through a level, put you on a bonus stage, and if you completed the bonus stage you could save. If you died on the bonus stage, too bad, you just lost your only chance to save on that level. All in all I hope the other Crash games are better because I was disappointed with this.

Metal Torrent- DSiWare
Kirby Super Star Ultra - NDS
DoDonPachi - PS1
Cruis'n USA - N64
Cruis'n World - N64
DonPachi - PS1
Cut the Rope - iPhone
Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift - iPhone
Mass Effect - 360
Galaga Remix - Wii
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom - Wii
Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 - 360
DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou - PS2
DoDonPachi Resurrection - iPhone
Triggerheart Exelcia - DC
Heavy Barrel - Wii/Arcade
Tetris (Rev A and Rev B) - Game Boy
Street Fighter IV - iPhone
Killzone - PS2
Dead Space 2 - PS3
Marvel vs Capcom 3- PS3
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess - PSP
Killzone 3- PS3
Lost Planet 2 - PS3 *new*
Star Wars: Dark Forces - PC *new*

Total: 25

I went ahead and finished Lost Planet 2 a week or so ago with some folks online. The last level is a real slug fest, but other than a few stages here and there (e.g. the cannon on Stage 3), I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the gameplay. I completely skipped the story cutscenes so I can't comment on that....but I will probably try to play through the first one now before the year is out. The game is undeservedly panned.

I've been posting thoughts on Dark Forces over in the Together Retro forum - quite an amazing game and well worth a play through for any fan of SW, FPSs, or well done classic PC games.

Working on Mass Effect 2 presently...

Heh, it's been five pages since I beat a game, or roughly two weeks since I played anything beyond Minecraft.

Ooph...guess it's time to get back on the horse.