So I decided that today, the celebration of the anniversary of my birth, I'd write a blog post. And yes, I know that's a weird way of writing birthday, but for some reason, I've always liked the way that sounds. Anyways...let's see what I've been up to.

I was going to see The Watchmen with friends this morning, but for some reason they thought this morning meant 8am. Theaters around me show Friday openings starting at 8am for some reason. Now, I don't know about you, but morning to me means wake up at 7am, hit the snooze button, hit the snooze button again, then sleep for another 20 minutes. So I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see it I guess.

I played some more Killzone 2 multiplayer today, and I'm getting the increased feeling that playing that game at a certain time of day increases the chances you'll play alongside those who don't know what they're doing. When a teammate who is a Tactician class asks 'what's a Tactician do?', you get the overwhelming...

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Maybe this is a touchy subject for those higher ups who want to keep your Achievements/Trophies/etc. earned legitimate, but honestly the most fun out of some games is being able to mess around with stuff others' earned. You know that Sword that kills every enemy on screen with one hit, but takes 500 hours to unlock? In the past, all you had to do was load up another person's save file (either through a memory card or internet game save) and there you go, you're killing level 1 demons with the best of them.

But now it seems developers don't want you to access the cooler side of games. I don't know about you, but I always enjoyed taking my console/game/memory card of one game to a friend's house, turning it on, and saying 'hey, check this out' while their face becomes lit with amazement and jealousy. But now, because of arbitrary things (like locked memory cards and save files, oh and those achievement things) you can't. And you know what? That sucks. A LOT.
...

Earlier this month I chronicled what games I had completed in January, and games I had hopes of completing in February. GREAT NEWS! I DID EVERYTHING LAST MONTH! Anyways, let's look at what I completed this month, in order:

Castlevania: Order of Eclessia (Beat the game)
After beating the final boss in Rondo of Blood I was on a Castlevania High so to speak, so after a few hours, and about 5 hours of grinding before the final boss OMG! IT WAS DRACULA! and another 2 hours of learning his pattern and how to beat him, I beat the game finally. It was really hard, but really enjoyable...for the most part.

Burnout Paradise (Get Elite License, became 100%)
After the Restart Patch came out, I made quick work of the Elite License, barely having to use the Restart option (I used it...maybe 10 times for the final 30 or so events I needed it for). Afterwards, 40x Stunt Run Multiplier and 20x Boost Chain allowed me to become Criterion Elite, giving...

Because of the ever constant desire for blog views, it's time for another one of your personal favorites (As well as mine), a full on ranting blog post where I discuss various topics that have come up over the last week or two. And as always, this lovely filler paragraph which has no point at all except to make you want to continue reading on. Prizes inside...maybe.

NOTE: I don't care about blog views...that much

The world demands Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat
As some of you should be aware, Midway filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this week (That's Chapter 11, 7 would mean bye bye, Midway). What this means is that Midway is teetering on the edge of disaster and most likely they're franchises are going to go away soon. Well, I am here to plead my case to Capcom to buy the Mortal Kombat license so that we may once and for all determine who's superior: SF or MK? We need SF vs. MK. I know people are really down on MK, and have been ever...

I know a lot of us have beaten a lot of games, but how many have you actually completed (aka you've done everything the game has to offer, gotten everything, used everything, every way, every ending, etc.)? It's a not something people do regularly. People beat games, but they don't do everything.

Earlier this morning I COMPLETED Burnout Paradise, aka 100% in-game status (I still have to do all the online challenges, though), and I really felt proud that I did everything the game asked me to do. The last time I felt this way was when I completed Super Mario Galaxy (Yes, all 242 Stars), and that was the last game I got 100% on as well. And yes, I even got the special 9999 Star Bits Watermelon re-skin for Mario and Luigi.

I mean, sure, you can say I got all the Achievements or Trophies in Halo 3, or Prince of Persia, or LittleBigPlanet, but Achievements/Trophies aren't something that truly make you satisfied when you "Complete" a game. Getting 1000g...

So if you've been checking my backlog post on this very CAG blog (It's quite popular, you know) you will notice that my initial backlog of 29 games & challenges has shrunk quite a bit in the past 31 days. I have widdled down the backlog to a meager 23 games & challenges, and I appear to be on my way to getting rid of 6 more by Month's end! So in this blog post I will detail what those upcoming 6 are, but first, let's take a look back at the 6 I completed in January.

Backlog Completed in January 2009
- Tomb Raider Undeworld [1000/1000]
This was a very easy 1000g. Master Difficulty is barely a challenge because you can start with all your Treasures/Relics in tact, meaning you start with 2 full health bars instead of 1. The only challenge was skipping cutscenes and getting past the 1 tricky jump I trouble with in my first playthrough.

- Fable 2 [1100/1100]
I had to pickup the Knothole Island expansion to do this, but I'm...

So...I've actually been thinking about this the last couple of days. We know there are some pretty big gaming franchises out there (Let's, for now, throw the "Wii" franchise out of the discussion, okay?). So, what defines mainstream for a gaming franchise? I would guess that if you asked your mom or someone with the same mindset towards games which gaming franchises they knew about it'd be small. But I'd just list a couple of names and ask if you guys could think of any other ones.

- The Mario Franchise
The first big gaming franchise. Its' legacy lives on to this very day.

- The Pokemon Franchise
They will devour your soul

- The Halo Franchise
The current big, most overhyped gaming franchise

- The Grand Theft Auto Franchise
Jack Thompson needs someone to listen to him

Now, it's up to you guys for some reasoning behind other franchises. I have a couple in mind, but I'll leave it up to...

NOTE: This post does detail what happens in said game demo. If you fear spoilers, don't read this until you play the demo.

To say that Resident Evil 4 changed everything is probably the biggest understatement one can make about the survival horror genre, as well as the Resident Evil series in general. To say Resident Evil 5 changes nothing for the better however, would be a correct statement, if the demo is to be believed. The demo gives you 2 scenarios, both similar in delivery, but vague and under-deliver what many gamers have been waiting for a taste of after 3 years of waiting.

The first scenario starts you out in a junkyard setting with the girl, Shiva tailing your ass for no good reason. After fiddling with the default controls (AKA RE4's controls were fine for me) I found an early problem. Similar to RE4 you can give your ally helper vague controls, in this case either attack or cover using the B button. But if it were only that simple. You see,...

When you go to the Movies, what do you usually get from the Concession Stand? When I go, I usually get either Popcorn or Nachos. I don't get the horrible "Butter" on the popcorn though, as that stuff makes me sick as hell. But I'm always torn about which one to get when I go. Whenever I get Nachos, I feel bad that I didn't get Popcorn, and vice versa. It's just weird. So, I thought I'd ask CAG what they get when they go out for a flick.

So I felt like writing something in the ol' blog again, but I've been struggling with what to write about. So I thought I'd just touch on a few subjects again. Nothing too long or in-depth, but just something to keep the readers entertained and maybe informed. If I'm informing people, I'd sure like to know about it. Because I find that absolutely horrifying Anyway, onto the writing extravaganza!

The West getting Final Fantasy XIII after April 2010
Okay, seriously, I just want to say something here. If you thought Final Fantasy XIII was going to be released at the same time worldwide, you're pretty stupid. When was the last time Square ever released one of their Marquee titles worldwide? And no, Infinite Undiscovery and Last Remnant don't count. Why? They're not marquee. The answer is NEVER. It took them 7 months to localise Final Fantasy XII for North America, and 4 months for Europe. Needless to say with it being ported, as well as localised for the...

We all know Xbox Live is #1 in terms of online multiplayer. I'm sorry Wii fans, we know how precious your Friend Codes are to you, but I think text comes out the winner here. Well, unless your GT begins and/or ends with X's or !'s or about 6 numbers consecutively. But that's not really what I'm getting at. On Xbox Live, and I guess all forms of online gaming, there exists the "Ranked" side of online mode.

Now I don't get ranked online multiplayer. What's the point of it? To determine who's best? Okay, what do you get if you're #1 in some arbitrary ranking system that no one can see (This is purely an Xbox Live POV, and may not apply to other platforms)? You don't get a damn thing. I remember hearing about how Xbox Live would be used to give out prizes to the best of the best. Well, where is this shit? I know I suck enough not to get any of this glory, but you'd at least think they'd promote something like this, you know?

And what's more. ...

So if you've been reading my blog, and know my passion for sports, namely...wait for it...FOOTBALL! you will know that I went to this past Saturday's NFC Divisional Playoff Game between the Arizona Cardinals with Jake Delhomme and the Carolina Panthers, who were without a Quarterback. Why do I say that? Well, anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures with everyone that I took. I only took 6 shots, and I thought I'd turn it into a little bit a story of sorts. But I thought I'd first start with the results of the game, namely one Jake Delhomme.

Well, I have my theory. Remember, 100% opinion, by me. Right now.


This guy has serious gambling debts.
...

So I decided to take a timeout from gaming posts to talk about sports again. I don't think many CAG's watch sports, or read about other CAG's ranting/discussing sports, if any blog posts of mine are any indication. And since College Football just ended and the 2nd round of the NFL Playoffs are starting today (I'm going to the Panthers-Cardinals game myself; except horrible, horrible cell-phone pictures showing Southerners arriving 20 minutes late to the game), I thought I'd discuss Football.


Looking back at the Pre-Season picks
For my division winners I was 4 out of 8, while I picked 6 of 12 Playoff teams (if you count division winners as playoff spots). I was right about Buffalo taking a step back, Jacksonville being in a Defensive and Disciplined mess, and while Denver posed a threat, Kansas City and Oakland were once again laughing stocks.

I was wrong about the Giants not being as good defensively this year, but I can just tout the easy schedule...

So I thought I'd make a blog post detailing to you about the most thoughtful thing ever. Why? Because I'm just that nice. I wait now for your applause.



Thank you, thank you. I try very hard you know. Anyway, I would just like to say that I am first and foremost sharing it with the CAG community. Why? Because the CAG community is loving, and caring, and unlike other internet communities, you care about other people? How, because you're saving them money. Other people are like "My Deal, MINE! MINE! NO SAVINGS FOR YOU! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I don't like these people very much. I'm sure you don't either. What a bunch of jerks. Anyway, if you'd like to continue reading this, please visit this website for INSPIRATION among CAG blog posting.

http://thisblogmeansnothing.blogspot.com/

Thank you

So I can't really think of what to do for a new blog post, so I just thought I'd rant a little bit. Everyone loves to hear people bitching on the internet, right? Of course you do. I guess I'll touch on 5 topics. Not too long, either. Keep in mind, they may not all be gaming related.


Button Mashing Events can go to hell
I've run into quite a few of these lately (Prince of Persia, LittleBigPlanet's new DLC pack, Chrono Trigger) and I've got to say these can just go to hell. They're not fun, and especially in a competitive sort of way, they don't work at all. I have problems with these, and even though some people say they're easy, using a table to push a button fast enough isn't conventional or my kind of easy. Get rid of them, or make them less stressful.

NFL Refereeing
(The next one will be gaming, don't fret)
This past weekend, the Chargers-Colts game went to Overtime, and I would say on a crucial third down play, the referees...

So this blog space might not be much to you, the reader, as it should (hopefully) be to me, the writer. I'm putting up a checklist of games I need to finish before 2009 is over, and hopefully finish my impressive backlog of games. I'll mention the goals of course, but if you're into looking into the perspective realm of games that I play, then I must say, you are sick and sad individual

Let's get this checklist started, shall we?

Playstation 2 - 3 games
Devil May Cry 2 (Beat the game)
Dragon Quest VIII (Beat the game)
Final Fantasy X (Beat the game)

Playstation 3 - 2 games
Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds (Unlock everything)
Bionic Commando (Beat the game)

Xbox 360 - 3 games
Fallout 3: GOTY (Beat the game)*
Rock Band 2 (World Tour completed)
The Beatles Rock Band (Story Mode completed)*

Nintendo Wii - 3 games
Muramasa:...

I know everyone marveled at my Game of the Year 2008 Build-Up Blog Posts, so I thought I'd do another. And now that I've alienated you all, FREE PUDDING FOR ALL!

Okay, just kidding. If you want pudding though, the grocery store is right down the street. After all, it's always right down the street. Anyway, what games were overlooked in 2008? Quite a few actually. And I'll just insert the obligatory "If you own Console X, but not Game Y you're part of the problem" line here so we can avoid many hateful comments later on. On with the show.

The World Ends With You - Nintendo DS
Pretty much the most unique RPG released in a long time, TWEWY is a change of sorts for games. You get to control 2 characters at once, it has a deep leveling system (for characters...and pins) that pretty much allows you to level up to your heart's content and it has some of the best music on the DS. It allows you to change your difficulty on the fly (even if you...

Through the tests of time, one game stood above the rest. Many challengers entered the arena, but only one remained in the end. Challengers tried to grab the crown, but in the end, they failed. Let us look back at how early the fell to the Champion. First, the ones that fell behind the curtains on their way to the ring.

#10 – Tales of Vesperia
#9 – No More Heroes
#8 – Prince of Persia
#7 – Burnout Paradise

Now to remember the ones that fell in the ring of digital justice!

#6 – Fable II
#5 – Gears of War 2
#4 – Super Smash Bros. Brawl
#3 – LittleBigPlanet
#2 – The World Ends With You

9 of them all great, but in the end, could not dethrone the Champion. There cannot be...okay, this has gone on way too long, let's just get to it already. My 2008 Game of the Year is...






*Dramatic Pause


...

I've got quite a few I can choose from. Most of which I haven't put much time into, but I'd like to. So I thought I'd ask the CAG community for help in a blog post, and not some mundane forum post that shouldn't even be made. So anyways, here are my options right now:

Final Fantasy XII
- I've put about 55 hours into this game from what I remember. I've been trying to finish this game for over 2 years now, but I feel it'll take another push of 20-25 hours to beat it.

Dragon Quest VIII (with FFXII demo)
- I don't think I'm going to play the demo. But I've put about 10 minutes into this game since I bought it 2 months ago, and think maybe I should put some more time into it.

Devil May Cry 3
- I want to beat that Vampire bitch so bad. But I feel like I'm going to have to farm a bit before I even attempt her again (I've tried once)

God Hand
- I think I've played 2 levels of this (I got it when I bought DQVIII...