I was visiting my parents recently when my dad dropped a bombshell on me: "I'm going to buy The Beatles Rock Band when it comes out on September 9." After my initial shock, I tried to explain to my dad that he would need a system to play it. "That's okay," he said. "I'll buy that, too." WTF?

He said he wasn't concerned with the potential $400 total price tag for the system and game, and he had no preference for any one system. So naturally, since I already own a 360 and Wii, it made sense that he would get a PS3. My parents also love their HD programming so the Blu Ray player sold him. This means that not only can I save the $150 I was going to spend on The Beatles RB, I can also save several hundred more on the PS3 I was going to buy this holiday season. Sweet!!!

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Final Fantasy IV
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
5. Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
6. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
7. Resident Evil 4
8. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
9. Starcraft
10. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

I kind of struggled with 7-10, and I see these changing frequently. 1-3 have been constant for 10+ years and will likely never change.

From the months of January to July, I was buying games pretty regularly but didn't have any time to play them b/c it was my last semester of law school and then I took the Bar Exam. But now that I'm finished with school and have a broken leg, it's the perfect combination for the summer of gaming.

So here's how my summer breakdown looks:

Currently playing:

• Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
• Super Paper Mario
• Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
• Assassin's Creed
• Forza Motorsport 2
• Star Wars: KOTOR

Already beat/finished (since I made this post):

• Gears of War
• Fable: The Lost Chapters
• Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
• Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
• Braid
• The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion GOTY Edition
• Civilization Revolution (DS)
• Madden NFL 09
• MLB 2k8
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
• Final Fantasy VII
• Professor Layton and the Curious Village
• Fallout 3

Games I own but haven't played:

• Bioshock
• Bionic Commando Rearmed
• Battalion Wars
• Chrono Cross
• Dragon Quest VIII
• Fable 2
• Final Fantasy VIII
• FF IX
• God of War
• Mass Effect
• Metal of Honor: Airborne
• Megal Gear Solid Essential Collection
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
• Midnight Club: Los Angeles
• Mirror's Edge
• Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
• Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
• RE 4: Wii Edition
• RE Code: Veronica X
• RE Umbrella Chronicles
• Skies of Arcadia Legends
• Star Fox Adventures
• Gost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
• Viva Pinata

Wow, I had no idea how big this list was until I typed it. It looks like I have my work cut out for me, but since I still can't walk for another month I've got nothing but time on my hands.

*updated 9/30/09

It's been a long time coming, but I finally got a 360. I decided to go with an Elite. I also got these games:

• Oblivion GOTY Edition
• Halo 3
• GRAW
• Viva Pinata
• Perfect Dark Zero
• DiRT
• Kameo
• Fable: The Lost Chapters (XBox)

I got most of them used for really good prices (except Oblivion and Halo). I also got the bundled games that came with it (Marvel UA and Forza 2), but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them. I already have MUA for Wii, and I'm not really interested in Forza. The only problem is that everybody has them now, so they aren't selling for much on Ebay. I guess I'll keep them.

As I was typing this and setting up my system, it just froze. As soon as the welcome video finished playing it completely froze. I really hope this is not a sign of things to come!

Anyway, I'm really excited to finally have my 360 and I'm going to take it online right away. I've never really played a Halo game before, so I have a lot of practicing to do!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

UPDATE: I just added this picture of my setup. 26" LCD TV and 360 Elite. Pretty sweet, huh?

I went to Wal-Mart with the intention of buying a 26" Vizio for $464, as advertised. The 27" tube TV in my bedroom just broke, so I thought this was a perfect time to go HD. When I got there, however, I watched all the 26" LCDs on display for close to 20 minutes. The Vizio was the cheapest, but also the worst picture quality of the group. I settled on a Sanyo for $33 more. The picture quality was so much more impressive, and it had an extra HDMI port and Composite jack.

Anyway, this is all in preparation of the XBox 360 I'm getting for Christmas (finally!). I had been waiting for so many rumored features, such as the new, smaller chip, and a possible HD-DVD internal drive, but I decided to stop waiting. I'll just upgrade in a couple years if those things really happen.

I think I'll leave my Wii in the living room b/c there is more room to move around, and I'm not really worried about graphics on the Wii.

(Feel free to copy if you see anything you like)

Mini-Turbos: "Using mini-turbos is a technique for boosting your speed while drifting."

When do you drift, you ask?

Drifting: "While holding A, press and hold R and press (left) or (right) to power-slide sideways through turns.  Drifting allows you to take corners without decreasing your speed."

And there you have it.  The instruction booklet specifically says that mini-turbos are designed to be used on turns.  Not during the whole race.  But then, we already knew that.  FTW

PS: The above argument doesn't even address the fact that NOA staff ghosts don't snake in their runs, proving that snaking was never intended.