Got:
Shadow Hearts: From the New World (PS2)
Radiata Stories (PS2)
Lumines II (PSP)
Harvey Birdman (PSP)
ASH (DS)
Mario Kart (Wii) - Got this when it was on Amazon's site for 2 minutes.

So I completed Battlefield: Bad Company (360) over the weekend on Normal. It was a decent experience with some fun missions in certain spots in the single player mode. The missions were a bit repetitive during the first half of the game while the second half mixed it up more with a larger variety of vehicles and weapons. The last mission was just insane and if it weren't for the multiplayer-type respawning feature, I would've tossed my controller at the TV screen. Yea, so I have mixed reactions about the game in general.

The graphics are gorgeous. The character models and textures are quite detailed and the weapons look pretty damn good. The maps are incredibly large with no loading whatsoever while you go from point A to point B which was pretty cool. There is a lot of detail in the maps even though some parts are a bit sparse. The water effects are beautiful and the trees sway and move in the sunlight. Certain parts of the maps feature really nice effects with the sky which added to the mood for the missions. The vehicles also look great and are detailed as well. I do have to say that the explosions aren't as well done as the rest of the game.

The sound is a bit strange. There's a weird echo with a majority of the gunshots and explosions to accentuate the wide open battles. But they kind of take away the visceral feeling that CoD4 had. Explosions lacked the boominess that other shooters have as well. But the sound for the guns, vehicles and destruction of buildings were really good. I also have to say that the voice acting is excellent and the characters are quite likeable because of that. It's not amazing as MGS4 but it's better than a lot of other shooters out there. The music ranges from meh to good. I like some of the tracks but there's nothing that stands out.

The gameplay is good. The game is basically a multiplayer game crammed into the single player mode. As I've said the objectives are quite repetitve and will actually wear you out over time. I wasn't able to complete any one map in one sitting. They are quite large and you'll basically have to keep going from one point to another under heavy fire in spots. The only time you have any breaks is when you find yourself a tank (but that's up to you). The majority of the game will have you and your three teammates taking on an entire army. It's really disappointing that the game didn't include a lot of AI allies to help you out in the majority of the maps. Considering the huge settings, I was puzzled why the devs didn't have sections in the map where we had your allies helping out. It was a missed opportunity for some great set pieces.

Anyways, fun game but I think this game should be played for the multiplayer more. I haven't tried it out yet but I heard it's good. The single player had its moments but it wasn't as exciting or fun as CoD4 and it's missing a lot of fundamental gameplay mechanics that would've made it more fun and interesting. The story is decent but it's pretty bland and there aren't a lot of wow moments. It's worth checking out for FPS fans.

I also started playing my backlog games. The first game in the list this summer is Ninety-Nine Nights (360). I completed one character so far and I'm currently playing the second character and it has been full of frustration. The actual gameplay is pretty fun and quite manageable. I didn't have too much trouble with the majority of the maps. But the last mission for the first and second character is just annoying as hell. The main problem is the lack of checkpoints and healing items. Your army is completely useless. They are mere cannon fodder and "eye candy". There are some impressive missions when tons of enemy and ally soldiers fight it out. Btw, the lack of the checkpoint system not only forces you to restart the mission from the beginning, but you lose EVERYTHING you found including some very useful items and accessories. GAH!

The graphics are actually still good looking by today's standards even though the chara designs are hit and miss. The animations for your main character and their special moves are still impressive and well done. The maps are simple yet detailed enough that they're passable. Let's just say that this game is much prettier and better looking than the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors games for the 360. The English dub is terrible though. I wish they included a dual language option because I ended up meeting one character that spoke Japanese and that one line completely destroyed everyone else's performance. Music is good and not annoying. The story is pretty mediocre so far and won't win any awards. There's nothing interesting from what I played so far.

Anyways, I'll keep playing because I like destroying a huge wave of enemies with ridiculous attacks. If the game had implemented a checkpoint system then this would've been a much better experience. This game certainly has that ridiculous Rouge-like dungeon crawler system in place which I'm not a big fan of.

Got most of these due to sales or coupons I had.

Got:
Nights (Wii)
Lost Via Domus (360)
Burnout Paradise (360)
Conan (360)
Unreal Tournament III (360)
Initial D Extreme Stage w/ Keychain (PS3) - Asian version
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII w/ Artbook (PSP) - UK version

Quick and dirty impressions for what caught my eye for all three press conferences this year.

Microsoft
Good:
- New Dashboard looks good.
- XBLA titles look great (Geometry Wars 2 etc)
- Gears of War 2 looks awesome.
- Resident Evil 5 trailer is nice.
- Square-Enix games plus...FFXIII...HOLY CRAP!!!!

Meh:
- Fable 2 looks like Fable 1 in HD.
- Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2 presentations.
- Lips (no thanks)

Bad:
- Avatars...wtf...
- In Your Movies demonstration was totally lame and embarrassing.
- Horrible presenters...we miss you Peter Moore!

Nintendo
Good:
- Motion-plus accessory.

Meh:
- Wiispeak (now you can curse on the Wii!)
- GTA for DS (but totally ignored by the presenter after the announcement)

Bad:
- MORE casual minigames...
- The entire Wii Sports Resort demonstration.
- Wii Music is lame.
- That lady presenting the show. "Oh you guys!"

Sony
Good:
- Ratchet for PSN looks decent.
- God of War III trailer wasn't 3 seconds long.
- inFamous looks great.
- MAG looks very ambitious.

Meh:
- Resistance for PSP (who cares when Resistance 2 is coming out)
- GT TV but did it really deserve such a long boring trailer?
- LittleBigPlanet (I just don't care anymore)

Bad:
- Nothing from Square-Enix.
- HOME trailer for a friggin' BETA! (It's coming, yea right....)
- Gimped 80GB will replace the 40GB.
- More lame PS2/PSP bundles for the children.
- DC Online trailer looked terrible and Jim Lee's presentation was stiff and boring.
- Jack Tretton stammering and stuttering through the whole show. "That's awesome..."

Overall, I was disappointed in this year's E3 from the big three. Aside from MS's FFXIII megaton announcement, everything else was pretty boring or bad. All the presenters were terrible this year and we didn't get anything new or exciting. Maybe a few cool things but nothing to stand up and cheer for. It was abysmal this year with Nintendo coming up with the worst press conference evar. Your thoughts?

EPIC FAIL! That is all...