I'm writing about my most anticipated game in this useless gamespot blog, simply because none of my actual friends could care less about anything I have to say about videogames. Oh well.

Normally I would say that hands down, Final Fantasy XIII is my most anticipated game, but for a couple reasons, it's starting to fall off the radar. First of all, I'm pretty sure somebody will discover Atlantis before I get my hands on the game. Secondly, I'm getting really sick of recieving absolutely NO info from Square Enix regarding any aspect of the latest installment in their biggest franchise. We already know that the release date won't be announced for a while (and even then, it's bound to get pushed back at least twice), but can't they at least give us a couple of new screenshots or character renderings? There was some new CG footage in the trailer at E3, but really nothing substantial.

But getting to my point, Final Fantasy XIII is not my most anticipated game. Instead, that accolade goes to Street Fighter 4, which I am now even more excited about then I was when it was first announced. Every video and screenshot I've seen thus far has blown me away, and I must say, when I heard that Street Fighter theme song playing in the background of the latest trailer, I just wanted to jump into the screen and get it on with Chun-Li right there in front of Zangief. That's right baby, spread those massive thighs of yours. I mean seriously, I'm the kind of person who rolls his eyes whenever I hear John Mellencamp on the radio (and this little ditty by Mr. Ashcroft converted me to communism), but watching Guile fire Sonic Booms makes me want to enlist in the army to go kill me some terr'ists. And the icing on the cake was this video from comic-con in San Diego. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what a video game press conference is supposed to be. That one developer, the Japanese guy in the red hat, looks like he's gonna leap from his chair with excitement. Seriously, the man is just thrilled to be at Comic-Con showing off his game to all of the rabid fans there. And how awesome was it when they showed that development video, and at the part where Ryu pulls off some sort of insane finishing move to beat his opponent the crowd went crazy like they were at a ballgame. Awesome.

You want to know what the best part of the whole event was? You want to know exactly why comic-con is so much better than E3? The man actually has the audacity to ask the crowd which characters they would like to see in the game. What?! He mentioned that the fans online had voted Cammie as the unnanounced character they'd most like to see (no doubt due to her incredibly revealing outfit), and then he asks who else they want in the game, and says that he's going to offer these suggestions to the development team once he gets back to Japan. That, everybody, is how you build hype for a videogame.

But instead of that at E3 this year, we had to watch a bunch of Nintendo execs flail around onstage like the The New Kids on the Block with Down Syndrome, Jack Tretton sweat like Bill O'Reilly climaxing during phone sex, and some Nerdy Microsoft guy staring lustfully at Duff after the most out-of-place performance in the history of music.

I woke up at 5AM this morning and couldn't get back to sleep (another instance of my increasingly disturbing and unpredictable sleep patterns), so I hopped on the computer for a bit of adventuring throught the internets. I eventually found the IGN blogs page and came upon one IGN writer's blog that I found to be particularly entertaining and insightful:

MarkRyan-IGN's Blog

I really like what he has to say, especially how critical he is... Cynics of the world, unite. I disagree with most of his gripes on MGS4 though I can at least see where he's coming from, but scroll down a bit to find his May 2nd entry on Grand Theft Auto IV. So spot on that I'm convinced I must be this Mark Ryan guy, maybe a second personality a la Jim Carrey in "Me, Myself and Irene". Come to think of it, I was kinda sore this morning...

So E3 is over and here are my thoughts on all of the games and major press conferences.

Microsoft: If I owned an Xbox 360 I would be thrilled to find out that Final Fantasy XIII is coming to my console. This was a huge announcement for 360 owners, as they will now be getting the next installment of my favorite gaming franchise (which will hopefully be nothing like their last installment). But other than that, there was absolutely nothing presented that would've sparked my interest. At all. Fable 2 and Gears of War 2 seem to be pretty much what I expected them to be (is there a difference between Gears 1 and 2?), and there was nothing new presented for the 360 that I would be even remotely interested in. Lips? You're in the Movies? Not only are these ripoffs of Sony games, but they're ripoffs of boring Sony games. Which brings me to my next point: the avatars and the new dashboard. Wii 2, anyone? The most important thing I learned about this company at E3 was that the guys at Microsoft don't have a single original or creative bone in their bodies. Oh well.

Nintendo: Nintendo fans, you're company has abandoned you. There wasn't a single game showcased during E3 that would interest most longtime Nintendo fans (except maybe Animal Crossing. Maybe). I really don't know what else to say, but Reggie and Cammie looked ridiculous up on that stage pretending like Shaun White Snowboarding and Wii Sports Resort are remotely exciting. And from what we've heard from the floor, Wii Music isn't looking too good either. Oh yeah, that's why I sold my Wii. And you know what the worst part is? They continually demonstrate a severe lack of understanding with what non-casual Wii owners want. When asked what he would say to "hardcore" gamers who were disappointed by Nintendo's press conference, he slapped everyone in the face with this response: "How could you feel left out? The Animal Crossing that we've been hearing about that people wanted. Fully connected to the internet, go to other people's towns. Plus, as I said, Grand Theft Auto on the DS. How do you feel left out with those types of announcements?" Do I really have to answer that?

Sony: Easily the best of a pretty shallow group. They didn't pull out any surprises (certainly nothing to match the FFXIII bombshell by Microsoft) but they showed off the the greatest number of exclusive games... That look good. The God of War 3 announcement wasn't exactly surprising, but it's still big, and games like Resistance 2 (that leviathan trailer looked sweet) and Killzone 2 look like they're coming along really well. LittleBigPlanet gets my vote for game of the show, because in less than a week I've gone from "looks okay, I guess" to "I can't wait to play it". Here's what it all comes down to: which console features the best upcoming exclusives? Obviously it's all opinionated, but I don't see how you could go against this list:

• Resistance 2
• Killzone 2
• LittleBigPlanet
• Motorstorm 2
• Valkyria Chronicles
• InFamous
• Final Fantasy Versus XIII
• God of War 3
• MAG
• White Knight Chronicles
• DC Universe Online
• Socom: Confrontation

That's just off the top of my head, and I expect that we'll hear more news in the upcoming months. Square Enix teased us earlier in the week by revealing that a "massive" announcement regarding Final Fantasy VII is on the way, and there are sure to be a lot of exciting announcements from the Tokyo Game Show (which will almost exclusively focus on Sony and Nintendo, since the Xbox 360 has sold a grand total of 4 consoles in Japan). In my opinion, Sony had the best show this year (and notice how I didn't say that they "won", as I don't see how a company can "win" E3).

So E3 kicks off tomorrow morning with Microsoft's press conference, and I have to say I'm kind of excited. Last year I waited anxiously for Nintendo's big surprise and instead they showed me the Wii balance board, which I could use to exercise, and also to throw out the window. So that was thrilling.

This year I have a PS3, so now I can actually get excited and expect to hear some updates on the REAL games that I'm looking forward to as well as the unveiling of some REAL games that we don't know of yet. By the way, I love my Playstation 3 so far. Sometimes we get in arguments, but hey, that's to be expected when a couple is in it for the long haul (the make up sex is incredible). I only have Metal Gear Solid 4 right now, but I honestly don't plan on expanding that library any time soon since I'm enjoying MGS4 so much (my review will be up soon). I think my next purchase, whenever that occurs, will be Uncharted since it really looks like my kind of game, but MGS4 will be more than enough to get me through the summer. It's that good.

Back to E3. One game that I'm really looking forward to is Mirror's Edge. Gamespot posted a couple videos the other day, and the presentation just blew me away. See for yourself. The concept is really interesting, and I just loved the pristine look of the city along with that Coldplay-esque background music. I can really appreciate atmosphere and immersion in a video game, and this one really drew my attention. Resistance 2... Eh, I could take it or leave it. I'm really not the biggest fan of First Person Shooters so I don't have plans to pick up the first one, but the game does look impressive. I know the 2nd one takes place across the United States, which will be cool. I saw some screenshots of a multiplayer area set in the Redwood forests of Northern California, and being a resident of the area, I can tell you that these look spot on.

So yeah, I could spend a lot of time talking about which games I'm excited for, but I really don't feel like typing for much longer. LittleBigPlanet looks unique, etc. etc. I know Street Fighter 4 will bring back memories of me shooting "habooken" fireballs like Ryu at my kindergarten friends on the playground, and then electrocuting myself just like Blanca. Now it burns when I pee. But hey, I was just a young'n, and those were the good old days.

And one final note for all you Xbox owners out there: I'm calling Halo 4 by the end of the week. You heard it hear first (Halo sucks, by the way).

This isn't really a blog entry, I just need to tell everyone who reads this (i.e nobody) that my Wii and nine games are up on ebay with 4 and a half hours to go, and the highest current bid is $300. Now, I'm hoping that people are just waiting until the last minute to toss up their bidding cards, because I was really hoping to get more than that (closer to 400) so it could go towards a PS3... Come on, people.

Fox News Alert: It's up to $356.10 with just under 2 hours to go!! Not sure why the bidder added that extra 10 cents, but whatever. Brainstorm time: what can I buy with 10 cents? I know, I'll just head into the city and find one of those guys playing guitar on the street, and I'll toss a dime into his little hat. After that I'll stand there and listen to him play for a little while, then I'll walk up and take the 10 cents back and walk away.

-Update- Final score... $415! Sweet!

Am I the only person who's disappointed by the news that the next installment in the Guitar Hero franchise would basically become Rock Band 2? Am I the only one disappointed with the inclusion of drum and microphone peripherals? Now, I am of the opinion that Guitar Hero 2 was the best of the trio, beating GH3 in the song selection, and beating the original Guitar Hero in the fact that I never played it. So 2 is the best.

But all you hungry capitalists need to watch what you wish for. The Guitar Hero series was revolutionary in that it allowed the player to feel like he/she was actually playing the guitar, and so Rock Band 1-upped it by including drums and vocals. Now, in order to compete, Guitar Hero must improve their product and include some sort of drum/microphone scheme as well, and all of mankind will be better off because of it. Right?

Wrong, because Rock Band and Guitar Hero should be considered entirely seperate from one another. Rock Band was fun, but it got old very quickly when you're playing with other people with no musical rythm and are satisfied with a 50% song accuracy rate. "haha, these lyrics suck. What do they even mean, haha. No, I don't wanna sing. Okay, fine... Oh, this is so emberassing, haha. 'Nature is a whore?' That makes no sense. That Kurt Cobain was one crazy guy, and I'm not singing this song. Let's play 'Here it Goes Again' for the 23rd time because it's a pop song and it's fun. Haha, this is so emberassing. Teehee." And the worst part is, even when you're alone and you just wanna rock out to some Nirvana and maybe a little R.E.M, it just doesn't feel right. The songs just aren't done so that they feel smooth and challenging. It's boring. The songs in Guitar Hero just had a certain flow to them that RB lacked. You felt the challenge, and therefore the reward was much greater when you pulled off "Beast and the Harlot" on hard with five stars. Also, it was one of the best stress relievers out there.

But now, my beloved Guitar Hero franchise has sold itself out, and I'll never get to rock out with satisfaction by myself in my room ever again. What's that? I'm a loner, you say? Lick my nine.

You know that show Ace of Cakes on Food Network, where those guys in Baltimore make whimsical cakes and stuff? Well, if I could be anyone else in the world, I would want to be Duff, from Ace of Cakes. If you've ever watched the show, you know that Duff and Geoff are really the only two... Um... Bakers, I guess you could call them, who really have a firm grasp on what they're doing. Here is how an episode of Ace of Cakes generally pans out: Geoff is in his own little nook of the kitchen working on some insanely elaborate piece, like the Taj Majal or something, engineering the entire thing perfectly and blowing our minds with intricate details and such. He never has a problem that isn't solved immediately following the commercial break. On the other hand, we have the whiny intern-like cake decorators who spend an entire half-hour episode crying about how the dinosaur cake they're building looks like it's passing a kidney stone instead of smiling gleefully. Cut to Duff, who has just woken up from a nap in which he was apparently dreaming about grinning dinosaurs, and walks downstairs to calmly console his failure employee and fix the whole thing in like, three seconds. Any other boss in the world would have slapped her and sent her back to the textile mills for the rest of her life out of shame, but Duff somehow manages to keep his cool and make everyone happy by the end of the episode. I wish I could be as laid back and easygoing as Duff. My hero.

So yeah, that's what I'm talking about today. No video games... Just cake building. On a different note, I have a Fox News Alert for you guys regarding my money situation: I still haven't decided whether or not to buy MGS4/a PS3. I'll keep you updated daily though, so stay on the edge of your seats. Wow, this is just like I have my own reality show, except I'm not a middle-aged idiot with a gigantic clock around my neck who makes out with hideous chicks with crazy names like "New York", and "Bootz", and "Big-ass sugar ****". That last one was eliminated on the first episode of season two. She totally lacked the depth of personality and sharp mind that New York clearly exhibited.

And here's to hoping the Giants take Justin Smoak with the fifth pick in today's MLB draft. Smooooaaak on the waaaterrrrr, and fire in the skyyy...

So I haven't posted in like, two weeks, and if you don't understand why then I would kindly direct you to my previous blog post. If you still don't get it, then I envy you. Really, I do. But it's not like it matters anyway, because nobody actually reads this stuff.

But now I'd like to talk about something else that has been on my mind of late: Stumbling across those times in life when we have to make a major decision that could have implications for years to come. No, I'm not talking about things like getting married, or starting a new career, or denouncing the opposite sex for the rest of your life. This is a gaming website, and I'm talking about the major decisions that relate to video games. Specifically, I'm talking about the big question on my mind at this very moment: To buy a PS3/MGS4 bundle, or not to buy a PS3/MGS4 bundle. If I sell my Wii and all the games (and one way or the other, I'm getting rid of this thing) I'll have just enough for the $500 bundle. The dilemma is, $500 is a lot of money, and I could do so many different things with it, such as A) buy a 3 month membership to the local gym for $145, thus preventing myself from getting ripped off for ten bucks by some punk with 50 inch biceps each time I go in, B) save the $500 along with whatever money I make at a job this summer, and put it towards vacation over spring break (NOT to Cancun, Cabo San Lucas or any other Girls Gone Wild destination), or C) buy a hooker Pretty Woman style and keep her for a week, except she would be more attractive than Julia Roberts. Not that Julia Roberts isn't attractive... She just isn't my type. Actually, I almost forgot, I don't have a type anymore because women are insane.

Back to the point on hand, I honestly haven't made up my mind on whether I should buy the bundle or not. I honestly think the best thing to do would be to save the money and see what I have at the end of the summer, but by that time I'll be leaving the lovely California sunshine for eight months of soul-sucking rain and hordes of drunken, sex-craved college idiots to keep me company. Not a healthy gaming environment. Plus, I really really really really want that limited edition gun-metal gray PS3. I don't know why, because curiously enough I think the shiny black is far more attractive.... But I just want that gray one. Hey, maybe the gray reminds me of my old SNES, and my internal desire for a gray PS3 is merely the demons of my retro-gaming preferences reaching out to me from deep within my subconscious? No. Screw psychology, I just want something that YOU don't have. Seriously, once everyone starting getting an iphone, I wanted to throw mine out the window. Hopefully Paris Hilton will be spotted walking down Santa Monica Boulevard with some new phone that everyone will rush out and buy, and then I'll be the only one with an iphone again. Make yourself useful, you hooker.

Anyway, I'll see you all (all 2 of my loyal readers) in a couple weeks or so, since Gamespot's likely gonna kick me off for using the word "hooker" (thrice now!) in my post. Last time they booted me from the message boards because the sentence, "I'm disappointed in the lack of third party Wii support" was too inflammatory and instigative. That's me, raising hell in the gaming world with my viscious opinions since 1989.

Now that my summer vacation has finally begun and I'm back in my gorgeous home state of California, I can finally relax and clear my mind of all the worries that have spawned there this past year.

If only that were true. You see, unfortunately for me I'm a guy- and a fairly simple one at that- so I've been burdened with the eternal struggles of dealing with women problems. I could seriously sit here and type for an hour or two about the vast abyss into which I seem to be falling, but this is a gaming blog and I'd like to keep it that way, so instead I'll give you the Cliff Notes version: Women are utterly confusing, we will never understand why, and therefore we are damned to an eternity of suffering and fruitless pining. So instead of 3 1/2 months of basking in the glorious California sun, I get to worry and wonder what's going to happen with some girl once September rolls around. Can I get a witness, please?

But fortunately we have the great vessels of escapism called video games: God's gift to humanity so that we can endure his other gift of reality. Oddly enough, over the past couple of days or so I've been spending most of my gaming time replaying other games that I've already completed in past summers. I know that I focused my last blog post on summer handheld games, but to be honest I just bought Professor Layton and the Curious Village to occupy me during a six hour cross-country airline flight, and it didn't even get me through Tennessee before I decided that "27 Dresses" (from the makers of Knocked Up!) was a better option. So when I got home I booted up my trusty PS2 (sorry Nintendo, but playing Wii Sports and Mario Kart for half-hour intervals just isn't gonna help me here) and shuffled through my gaming cabinet to dust off some of the classics that I enjoyed in years past. Without further ado, I present to you my ratings of the best and worst games (at least, the ones in my library) to play when you're trying to distract yourself from worrying about some girl who "really cares about you, but needs more time to figure things out":

Shadow of the Colossus (PS2): I actually loved this game as its a true testament to the artistic potential of video games (eat it, Roger), as well as an entirely unique experience unlike anything else out there. But unfortunately, the atmosphere is fairly melancholy and the story gets a bit depressing towards the end. Not really a good choice to nurture a fragile psyche. 2/5

Final Fantasy X (PS2): Now this is more like it. A lot of challenge here to keep your mind occupied, and one of the most engrossing stories in any video game I've played. The problem is, there's a love story behind the whole thing which may not be a good thing at this point... Especially once you reach the final few hours. I recommend that you start up a new file and play through the first 15 to 30 hours, but beware of the conclusion. 3/5

Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 (PS2): Snake clearly has a troubled past here. He seems unusually stoic at best, and downright anti-social and melancholy at worst... Just like you! 4/5

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2): This game sucks. 1/5

Super Mario Sunshine (GCN): Heck yeah! Only Satan or Jack Thompson could play Mario Sunshine and resist the urge to smile. Its got a tropical setting, whimsical characters, a giant amusement park, and squirt guns! Plus, in true Nintendo fashion, the game is completely devoid of any sort of deep or touching storyline, but if you're desperately searching for something uplifting, I've got it: Spoiler Alert: Mario wins over Peach in the end. See, even the short, pudgy plumber can get the hot blonde! 5/5

Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 (PS2): Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 take the crown in this competition. There's a surprising amount of depth in both gameplay and story (especially in the sequel), and check it out... It's got Disney characters! Ballin'! Cloud does make several rather depressing cameos in both games and Squall has a downer of a central role (what did you expect) but with a plot line filled with hearts and friendship and whatnot, you'll definitely find something here to relate to (I've lost it, haven't I?) 5/5

The summer after my 8th grade year, right before I began serving my 4 year prison sentence in high school, my parents bought me Golden Sun for the Game Boy Advance along with the prima game guide (don't judge me, I was young and uneducated regarding the ways of the real world). Since then, that particular season has been officially deemed the Summer of the Golden Sun, which sounds kind of like something out of Lord of the Rings (or imperial Japan...). Again, don't judge. Anyway, to make a long story short, I zipped through what has since become one of my all-time favorite games in little under a month. I know this for a fact because I remember sitting in a lawn chair watching 4th of July fireworks while my friend peered anxiously over my shoulder as I defeated the final boss high atop the Mercury Lighthouse. On July 5, I was in Circuit City purchasing the sequel, Golden Sun: The Lost Age. The games didn't eat up my entire summer, as that particular summer was a fairly eventful one for me, but when I look back on it my fondest memories are Golden Sun-related.

In subsequent summers I played through other fantastic handheld RPGs that also rank up there on my favorite games list. Fire Emblem and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga are the first titles that come to mind. The point I am trying to make here is that the wonderful creation that is handheld gaming was practically inventedfor the summer time. Seriously, we've all sat through those Griswold family road trips and completely missed the states of Arizona and New Mexico because we were working on the Elite Four and that guy with all that Dragon-type pokemon seriously just wiped out our entire party with a friggin' Dragonite. And Dad's up front trying to bond with you by asking you to explain what a "Poke-man" is. Pwned!! Good times.

Seeing as this was my first year of college, I really didn't have much time to pick up some the DS games that I've really been looking forward to playing, specifically Professor Layton, The World Ends With You and that new Advance Wars. I'm a bit disappointed, I'll admit, because thus far the DS just hasn't lived up to the level of fun I had with my GBA (where are all the epic RPGs?), but nevertheless I look forward to clocking some serious hours on the DS over the next three and a half months while a clock some other hours at my job, wherever that ends up being. And this also seems like a timely... Uh... Time, to recommend Golden Sun to any RPG fan who hasn't yet picked it up. Refer to my review for more a more in-depth evaluation.