I bought some games recently, 7 games in the last 3 days.

Mario Kart Wii. It was my most anticipated game since Super Mario Galaxy. I know that the Mario Kart series is just normally rehashed, but I love each installment, year after year. It is a series that can have almost anyone come over, sit down, and enjoy. The review here and at IGN got me very excited, because I really didn't think that it would score in the 8's. The online function alone makes it as good as the DS installment. On top of that, to see the high quality of how online was implemented is utter brilliance (this is Nintendo people, not the superb company of Microsoft that is the standard of online play.....Nintendo is slowly getting there or at least closer). I love this game so far. I want to unlock the single player modes/characters/karts before heading online. I just want the best chances before committing myself to taking on the world.

I got The World Ends With You too. I might not play it right away, but the game looks very impressive. I don't have a lot of time each week to devote to games, and as of right now, I have so many other games that I want to play first. I got The World Ends With You, because I don't know how many copies are going to be available in the long run. I don't know if this will be a sleeper game to the casual public, or a huge hit.

The other 5 games that I bought today are PSP titles. I'm getting the red GOW PSP bundle in June. I went out today and got some less expensive (all were $19.99 new and one was $14.99), but great titles. The games I got were Patapon, Tekken Dark Ressurrection, Daxter, Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops, and Syphon Filter Logan's Shadow. I'm going to love the PSP when it comes, and GOW, Lumines, and Crisis Core will be great future additions too.

Just my two cents, I haven't written a blog in quite a while.

I've been wanting to get a PSP for a while, and I've almost purchased the Daxter silver bundle numerous times, but I just never pulled the trigger. I think that my major concern was that there just wasn't enough games that I wanted to buy and play to warrant the purchase. The red PSP bundle with God of War, may just change my mind.

The PSP has had a great showing this past two weeks or so. Patapon looks amazing, and seems to be a whole lot of fun. God of War Chains of Olympus looks spectacular, and from reviews I've seen out there, the only negative is that is seems short in length. The new Final Fantasy seems to be promising, and EGM has a great review in its latest issue, Silver Award.

So not including the new Final Fantasy, I will have 7 games that I will buy immediately (see my profile for a list..Wish List) once I get this bundle. The red PSP looks really sharp, and being a GOW fan, it seems that June can't get here soon enough.

Here's to the PSP finally coming around to my taste in quantity of titles.

I got this game when it was first released, and I have to say, I got bored with it right away. It just didn't catch my eye like newer FF releases that were out on the PS2. Final Fantasy III just sat and sat in my library. I wanted to pick it up and play it, after recently beating more newer quality titles for the DS and Wii. I finally had some extra time, and after a while the game was quite engaging, boring at times, but engaging.

Don't be thrown off by the score, the mini review is very honest, and I give reasons why the game isn't great according to today's standards. I look forward to Final Fantasy IV, and I hope Square corrects the minor mistakes it made with this release.

Final Fantasy III review

This will be a brief post since I can't wait to get back to the game. I just wanted to let you all know I went to Gamestop today and picked up my copy of Super Mario Galaxy. I got the pre-order collector's coin too (I'm thinking about selling it, but I might use it as a card holder when I play Hold'em).

I'm two hours in so far, and as of right now, I'm completly impressed with everything so far. I can't add anything that hasn't already been said to praise this masterpiece other than "WOW!"

I went into my local video game store for a couple of things yesterday. The first thing I wanted to buy was a second classic controller for the Wii. With all of the VC titles I own, and due to playing MLB Power Pros constantly, it seems that it was well needed for another player to join in on the fun.

The second item I picked up was Zack & Wiki - Quest for Barbaros' Treasure. With the great reviews both online and in magazines, the game looks and sounds like a total gem. I'm going to start playing it sometime later today, I hope I like it.

But what I took out of this trip to the store will last me for a lifetime. I have never seen a demo (which I was told was the finished product) which has moved me in such a way. Super Mario Galaxy....oh was it a beautiful sight. I'm pretty sure I was going to buy this game on day one, especially since I was going to pre-order the game that day for the 'special' coin offer.

Super Mario Galaxy looked absolutey amazing. This twelve year old (I guessing) kid looked like he knew what he was doing already too, at least he caught on to the controls rather well. Just by watching him play, I've never before been more hyped for a new game (the most I've ever wanted a game was for Zelda - TP, and I think most of that hype was for trying to obtain a Wii though too). I want this game now! I'm sure I'll be playing it to death for a long time to come. I usually put $5.00 down to reserve a copy, but I had the extra cash and I pre-bought the whole game due to the total excitement.

For fans of Windwalker, this DS installment of Zelda is probably going to suit your needs. Visually it is directly stylized after the Gamecube predecessor. The graphics are one of the best for any DS game. There are times when this game looks beautiful (cutscenes are gorgeous, and the normal 'top down' view is the best I've ever seen in a handheld Zelda game....which it should be using the DS's stronger hardware). But there are some times where the graphics look very fugly.

I'm not going to dive into the story for you. You all should know the basic premise to any Zelda game. To break it down so that a caveman man could understand, 'Link find Zelda (Tetra) and save the world.' Phantom Hourglass was designed around the DS hardware. Using the stylus or another foreign object with the touch pad to move Link around works near flawlessly. Attacking is somewhat easy to use, and using specific weapons collected is also pretty easy to do. Like Windwalker, a lot of time is out on a ship at sea traveling from island to island. Using the touch pad to navigate from place to place is super easy and is a definite plus to this game, much easier than sailing in Windwalker.

Pardon the pun, but the double edged sword to this game has to be using the stylus to take notes on maps, etc. Yes it is one of the best features to the game, and it helps you out dramatically when in a temple to help solve riddles and puzzles. I feel that it makes the game a little too easy, and takes a lot of the challenge away from a player. Would it be too hard without writing down the notes? I don't know, but for a Zelda game, it seemed that this was one, if not the easiest game to complete. I don't feel that this aspect takes away from the game that much however. For a game that was so easy for me at least to complete, I thought it was one of the most fun and engaging Zelda titles to play to date. I had so much fun that I couldn't put the game down. It was thrilling to me, and I just had to keep playing and playing.

There was only one part of the game that it 'felt like a drag' playing at times. The temple of the Ocean King is a focal point in the game, and a place where Link has to constantly return to. You have to redo some of the same levels over and over, and it can be somewhat of a drag. But this is where the 'Phantom Hourglass' is introduced and is utilized. It is a time keeper hourglass (like all hourglasses are...I know, Duh!) and it is used to complete levels in a certain amount of time spent in the temple. Once the time runs out, so does Link's time and then there is his near certain death.

That being said, the levels or dungeons or temples throughout the game are pretty straight forward, and simple compared to many other Zelda titles. As mentioned before, I think that the note taking ability downgrades the level of difficulty. Which brings me to the boss fights. They were easily engaging and fun, but a lot of the bosses were simple. After playing countless Zelda titles, knowing that you normally have to beat the boss in that dungeon/temple using the 'new item' collected, the level of difficulty is pretty easy expecting this.

Multiplayer and online play is fun for how simple (yet it can be mastered) it really is. I would say that it is an added bonus, but the main adventure is what the game is all about. I don't replay a lot of games and I sell most games after completion, so I'm saying that the multiplayer and online mode isn't keeping me from selling this game. However if you are a collector or any DS owner, this game should be in your library. At least rent it for a week or two until you beat it. It is a great game.

Overall, the game is thrilling and breathtaking. It is a perfect fit for the DS, and easily one of the systems best games to date and eventually all time. Nintendo made a high quality game that shows off the DS hardware. As stated earlier, the game is simple for a Zelda game, but the overall experience is engaging and a lot of fun.

http://www.gamespot.com/ds/adventure/thelegendofzeldads/player_review.html?id=506035&tag=readerreviews;continue