Well, for the first time, I got tagged. Can't say I'm too proud, though it is good to get in on one of Gamespot's oddest communication traditions. Well, here's 10 facts:

1. My favorite game series is Sonic, even the 3-D ones.
2. I'm wearing one of my favorite Death Note t-shirts right now.
3. I'm currently and professionally unemployed.
4. My all-time favorite book is Ender's Game, which should be getting an Xbox Live Marketplace game some time in the future.
5. I need to get some teeth pulled soon.
6. Favorite band: Gorillaz, and it shall always be thus.
7. I'm not a movie person.
8. Big anime fan here.
9. Lucky number
10. I currently have an unopened copy of Musashi Samurai Legend in my room.

There ya go. Hope you enjoyed this simple, though relatively uneventful post. I'll be back with news and discussion tomorrow.

With E3 over, it's back to the video game grind. Shweet.

Well, after some tireless boss battles and used Elixirs of Spiritual Life, Ninja Gaiden is finally finished and ready for reviewing. Here's AK's opinion on one of the Xbox's most brutal action games:

Ninja Gaiden for Xbox

Lately, I've been playing Burnout 3: Takedown and still enjoying it. The review should be up soon as well. I have been taking the break playing Dead Rising, a weird title with a zombie-filled mall and its photojournalist protagonist. It's fun...I guess...but the time limit, unforgiving save point locations, and overly-plentiful escort missions really hurt an otherwise hilarious title. The odd thing is that right after I started playing, we get news of a Wii version. Considering that the core mechanics in Dead Rising for the Xbox 360 are the big problems, I can't say that I'm too excited for Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop. Though you do get the RE4 engine. Hmm...maybe I will check it out.

And take a look at this.

Yeah, many people have heard of Sonic's newest Wii announcement. Yeah, just look at the guy. Scowling, holding a blade, Sonic looks prepped for battle.

Believe it or not: I actually liked Sonic and the Secret Rings. It was imaginative, had an interesting story, beautiful graphics, and actually was fast. Now people are already denouncing this continuation of the "Sonic Storybook" series as "the end of Sonic." The strange thing is that everyone has seen the Sonic Unleashed footage and given it pretty good optimism. Now we get this and the Sonic universe is (once again) on the edge of the earth. As a Sonic fan, I really enjoyed the side-scrollers and found the 3-D Sonic games to be good (with a few unnamed exceptions). So I'm going to throw caution to the wind and leave this one in the "hope it's good" category. Who knows? It might work. But I'm waiting until I see some gameplay footage before I denounce this title, something I hope many other gamers are courageous enough to do.

Well, gaming is getting back into the swing of things with E3 over. Expect more reviews soon and happy gaming to all!

With the press conferences come and gone, more demos, stories, and announcements surfaced. After watching Gamespot's coverage, here's what I thought to be big:

Sonic Unleashed 360 presentation: Being a Sonic fan since the blue hedgehog's original Genesis debut, I've found Sonic games to be worthy of a place in the gaming Pantheon. Well, at least the 2-D ones. But now we see Sonic running through what appears to be Greece and China at breakneck speeds, smashing debris and blazing around loops in a "2.5-D" environment. It looks like Sonic could actually be returning to his roots. But the surprises didn't stop there: next up was Sonic the Werehog. Arguably the weirdest twist seen in a Sonic game yet, the Werehog levels follow slower, though much more concentrated platforming. It seems like the Werehog's feral appearance is just the beginning. The combat looks pretty intense, and it does look like this piece of the Sonic Unleashed game will cater to the more traditional platforming fan, maybe a brutal and aggressive version of slower platforming heroes like Mario or Rayman. All in all, the demo looked great with plenty of action, making Sonic Unleashed one game that I will refuse to ignore.

Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood presentation: Sonic's foray into the RPG universe, courtesy of Bioware and Sega, looks to follow a Zelda-like exploration factor. However, it was the battle system that impressed me. The battle system seems to feature an Ouendan-like stylus rhythm tapping feature for extra damage and defense. The video announced online support and around 10 characters to play as. I'll need to check this out in the future, as the touch screen seems to be the major battle system factor; I'm really surprised that the microphone isn't used) but I'm really excited for this. The story remains a mystery (as is why Big the Cat is even in the game at all), though we'll see how far this RPG goes in the coming months.

Rock Band instruments compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour: Yes! I won't have to buy more instruments! This was a major worry for me, with the instrument packs being so expensive and Activision definitely avoided the worries of Rock Band fans. Thumbs-up to Activision-Blizzard!

And I'm still keeping tabs on MadWorld.

After the truckload of announcements from Microsoft, it's time for Nintendo and Sony to deliver. Here's what I thought were highlights:

Animal Crossing: City Folk announced and dated: As a fan of the series, Animal Crossing's Wii installment looks to use the new WiiSpeak peripheral to talk to friends. The inclusion of Wi-Fi support lets players talk, commune, and compete in different events. It's seems that Nintendo thinks we need another chance to live a virtual life. Say goodbye to Wild World, this is City Folk.

GTA DS: Talk about "out of the blue". Already a hit on the PSP, the Grand Theft Auto series is coming to the DS in all its free-roam glory. Will it follow the 3-D world of the PSP installment? Oh, I hope so.

And that's about it for Nintendo. Though I am disappointed with the conference, I'm not going to sell Nintendo short here. We'll see what the rest of the week holds for good 'ol Nintendo. Sony's conference also delivered some news.

Resistance 2 and Retribution: From what we saw, the newest Resistance looks epic. I mean, getting grabbed by a colossal Chimera and getting hurled through a glass bridge just shines. The PS3 sequel looks to deliver, but the PSP installment also seems to have a few tricks. Resistance is becoming a strong series for Sony, so keep it up, guys!

LittleBigPlanet: This charming platformer showed off the Sony numbers in creative and beautiful new ways. The user-generated content feature looks impressive and it just looks fun to tinker with. It could, along with MGS4, get me to buy a PS3 soon.

No price drop for PS3...PSYCHE!: The 80GB PS3 gets a huge surprise, dropping another $100 in price later this year. While they announced it having all the abilities of the 40GB, does that mean no backwards-compatibility? Well, I still have a PS2, but now I'm not sure whether to get the MGS4 bundle or not. I value backwards-compatibility a whole lot, so it's pretty crucial to me.

I have to hand it to Sony; they put on one hell of a show. Oh, and check the emblem. Sat through the whole show.

I'll still alternating between Ninja Gaiden and Burnout 3: Takedown, but expect a review of one of them soon. See ya tomorrow, for Day 3!

UPDATE: No backwards-compatibility for new 80GB Playstation 3. Absolute bummer. I still can't decide whether to wait for the price drop or not. *sigh

First day of E3! Yes, Microsoft and company have announced many new games and stories. Here's what really caught my attention:

Rock Band 2 lineup: And what a lineup it is. System of a Down, Linkin Park, Silversun Pickups, Disturbed, The Offspring, along with older hits from Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, and many, many more. Even some new stuff from Guns N' Roses! Rock Band 2 is one of my most anticipated 360 titles, and this set list really is incredible. Exciting!

Xbox Live Revamp: Avatars? I think we've seen that before somewhere...but where? Hmm...oh yeah. Well, regardless of the lack of originality, this could go well for Microsoft. Being able to customize outfits would be great; game designers could promote their games with outfits for the avatars, which could be cool, that is if you don't have to pay for it.

Final Fantasy XIII for CCCLX: That's Final Fantasy 13 for 360. Roman numerals are fun. When I heard this, my heart sank. I don't own a PS3, but I think that they need exclusive titles as much as any other system. Nintendo has a ton of exclusive titles, and so does Microsoft, so the PS3 needs them too. Sure, they have MGS4, but this has been a key problem with the PS3. Besides, I think it'd feel strange playing a Final Fantasy title on the 360; I'd rather play it on the PS3. But regardless, I'll check out FFXIII on PS3. By then, I'll probably have a PS3.

Banjo and Kazooie return: Yes, Nuts and Bolts is still in development, but what about the original Banjo-Kazooie? Well, it's gonna hit Xbox Live Arcade of all things. Having played, loved, sold, lost, rebought, and loved all over again the original Banjo-Kazooie, this was a big hit to me. I heard of improved graphics and the return of the famous Stop-N-Swop puzzle. This really should've been Nintendo's call, but revisiting Banjo-Kazooie just might be enough for me to buy it from the Xbox Live Marketplace.

So, Microsoft seems to be doing a good (albeit unoriginal) job for their Xbox 360 console. There's plenty more games that I'm excited for, but that'll have to wait. Tomorrow, it's Nintendo's turn, and guess who's excited?

See ya then.

Having completed Okami for Wii and the Orange Box for Xbox 360, I found myself in a bit of a dead end. I honestly had no idea what to play next. Fortunately, a quick drive to the game store netted me Ninja Gaiden, Burnout 3: Takedown, and Perfect Dark Zero all for less than $30. Talk about a deal.

I played Burnout 3 on my PS2, but only as a rental. I finally got around to purchasing one of my all-time favorite racing games, more than Mario Kart even. I mean, I love Mario Kart (especially the battle mode in Double Dash) but Burnout has always been a prime choice for me. Despite my slight disappointment in Burnout Paradise, I finally have what I believe to be the best game in the series.

But first I wanted to play Ninja Gaiden. Not Ninja Gaiden Black, but just the original, which I picked up for about $10. The rumors are true; Ninja Gaiden is tough. For some reason, Ryu can get damaged even when knocked down. I expected something like Devil May Cry 3, but Ninja Gaiden is apparently much more difficult. One problem can be the camera, which I really need to adjust to. Not to say that it's not fun; Ryu moves quickly and his attacks are actually quite diverse. I'm liking Ninja Gaiden a lot, and if I can hold my own throughout it, it'll get a review soon.

I still need to play Perfect Dark Zero. I'll get to that soon.

Now for news. Rock Band 2 announces the first set of songs for the next installment, and boy, they have a great selection. I'm actually surprised that System of a Down hit the list. While I personally like them, and so do many other people, they aren't particularly the most well-liked band. Some people, some I even know personally, can't stand them. Ah well, oh well. The list recently released lists some excellent acts all around. An online World Tour mode will finally let me play Rock Band with my friends online, and the Battle of the Bands looks to be a fresh new approach to the classic Rock Band formula. It's really exciting; I want to see a bigger song list soon, though.

So, who's excited for E3? Looking forward to more news on Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and Sonic Unleashed. What games at E3 are you all looking forward to?