I kind of saw where it was going. Nintendo created a new market, and gimmicky, active motion gaming was in. All three showed off their motion tech. Cool stuff, but I’m not interested until there’s a good game to go along with it. The only games I was surprised about were Metroid and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. I enjoy the Mario platformers, and I am a huge Metroid fan. The past few 3D ones were fun, but not Metroid, and the GBA games were just watered down Super Metroids.

While expected, I am interested in the PSP Go. I do not like the physical media in a handheld. Especially with movable parts. Right there you can cut out load-times (I presume…) and save space.

…and really, that was it. I’m glad E3 was in full force, but these shows really only shine when it’s new console season. But apparently, Microsoft still has until 2015.

This weekend I played through a lot of Raiden Fighters Aces. I’m a SHMUPS fanattic, so no complaints here. A genuinely fun game. I had this one Gamefly’d but chose the keep it option…just to be waiting another full week for Gamefly to send me out two games. Is it even worth it if I go a full week without a game? Well, Sean got back on Gamefly and had Mercs2 sent to him so we can do some co-op. Some of those timed driving missions are just insane. And the game is just buggy…I had to clear my cache, start up the game, not choose to download update, and then I get an achievement I earned last year. All I can say is, I want a Mercs 3, and I want it to look good. Just Cause 2 might beat you to it.

Sean and I tried doing a Bluecast tonight, but it just didn’t have the feel to it. If you are a hardcore gamer, great speaker, and aren’t afraid of dolphins, shoot the Blugamers a line and let us know you’re interested in being a part of the show. I would like to pay you…but I’m not even getting anything. I’m actually paying to keep this site up.

I started off the weekend by finishing Conflict: Denied Ops. Despite the somewhat lack of polish, this game is very fun. The entire game you play two different characters, and switch between them depending on the task at hand. This would be great for co-op. As soon as Sean grabs a copy, we’ll be all in it. The action is frantic, with many explosions and ways to die. There is no mercy here. Not only do you have your counter part which you may command, but you will also get other allies at times, which by not letting them die you’ll receive achievements. It’s brutal, but rewarding.

Saturday I received Wolverine from Gamefly. Sunday, I beat it. It wasn’t a short game, but it was slightly repetitive. I will let that slide since the combat system is awesome. Now, I also found it to be easy, but that could have just been the fact that I really mastered the controls; playing it two days straight drills the moves into your head. This is a game that’s just worth playing. It’s everyone’s favorite, Wolverine, and you get to do what you want to do with him. I’m glad Activision let Raven get away with all the gore, since the movie is rated PG-13 and a T-rating could have possibly bumped up sales numbers (not sure how factual that occurrence is, but it’s just a guess since Fox did it with the movie). Definitely play this one.

E3 is this week. There’s a few things I’m looking forward too, mainly some new IP for Sony and Microsoft. In regards to the recently announced PSP Go, I’m hoping there’s some way to transfer the already purchased UMD’s into digital format which would then be toes to my PSN ID. That idea is already a rumor…a rumor that went along with the PSP Go rumor. So, there is a possibility there.

IMO, Sony is in a position where they realize their arrogance wasn’t getting them anywhere, and I want to almost say that Microsoft is getting there. Sony’s intent with the PSP Go is to delve into the market currently owned by the iPhone, and, as soon as Ninteno gets it’s head out of it’s ass, the DSi. Portable digital download gaming. The only one left? Microsoft. They did announce the Zune HD. Most likely in preparation for E3 since announcing the device there wouldn’t make sense, but some gaming features would. Live Arcade titles on the Zune HD, or a whole new Microsoft gaming handheld. I can’t wait to see what happens.

P.S. Looking at my gamercard, the games shown were completed in that order. I jumped from one to another, demolishing them. You can add Killzone II in there right before World at War. It was a fun game, but not worth the hype.

I got a lot of gaming done this weekend. First off, I beat Wheelman finally. I took a break from it when I got my laptop back, but I sat down with it this weekend and said, “Adam, beat this.” The game is great. There would be a climatic mission in which I presume to be the end, only to be introduced to an even more climatic mission. It was a ton of fun. The story though…makes no sense. I recommend the game. There are gameplay elements to the driving that I hope to see other developers take in consideration.

I saw the Wolverine movie, which I didn’t care too much for, but the game is fantastic. Now, I’ve only played the demo, but it is pretty much what I want from a Wolverine game. Very gory, many moves, very climatic. I also like 3rd person action game to have the ‘leveling-up’ element, and from what I’ve seen, this game is doing it well. But, it’s what I expect from Raven Software. They are a good development studio.

This weekend I LANed with a couple buddies of mine. We are big RTSers, so that’s pretty much all we did. First StarCraft, then WarCraft III. Playing War3 got me into the Dawn of War mood. I like the micromanaging of the heroes, but I also like the micromanaging of the hereos and squadmates from Dawn of War. I’m goign to try to get the guys to play DoW with me next time around. I also found a race unlocker that allowes you to have a single expansion installed, but inputting the other games’ keys unlocks the other races. This way I don’t need to have four games installed.

Twitter is huge. There are a lot of people in the gaming industry I’ve been able to follow and I really enjoy this. You can fins my Twitter here, and I’ll be adding a Twitter box to this site.

We were on a roll, weren’t we? We will always have Bluecasts but they may be irregular. But in place of those missed weeks I’ve been getting the gear together for videocasts. I’ll start recording gaming sessions that may be informative or entertaining. At times I’d like to physically show people what I’m talking about.

Here’s what I’ve been playing:

RA3 Uprising
Wheelman
R-Type Dimensions
Retro Game Challenge
Matt Hazard

Hopefully you’ll be here from me soon…

I picked up my 360 today from UPS. Unfortunately they only deliver during my working hours, so I had to drive out pretty far to get it. I think that’s crap. Anyway, being a little under the weather today, I only had a chance to try a few of the demos I missed. BTW, it is a brand-new console and they included a free 1-month gold subscription.

RE5: Awesome. The most incredible looking game I’ve seen, and totally fun. RE4 was great for me, so I just want more of the same. And I can forgive the limiting control scheme versus Dead Space. Dead Space allows such a free range of movement that the ’survival-horror’ aspect is lost. But it’s still here with RE5.

Fear 2: I’m a fan of Monolith but the first Fear game was kind of boring. I loved the fire-fights when they appeared…but for me it wasn’t enough. This demo felt the same unfortunately. Great Graphics though.

Halo Wars: I could go on forever, but as an RTS fanatic, it didn’t do it for me. But, as an RTS fanatic, I will play through it, disappointed all the way. What else can I say? It’s a console RTS.

But right now I really want to play some Dawn of War 2. It’s just freaking addicting. But as I said, I’m a little sick…I need to get back to bed.

Oh…Podcast news. I got an Acer Aspire One, which included the one thing I needed to get the Bluecast rolling: XP. Brace yourself for the Bluecast come-back episode…that is, if I’m feeling better.

So I started a new career which will give me the time I need for this site. With this extra time, I’ll explain what I’ve been doing:

Red Alert 3. I’ve spent so much more time with this game in the past week, it is just amazing. At first I wasn’t impressed, but after a little more time I can see what it’s doing. It is also totally a co-op game. Every aspect promotes co-op play.

Dawn of War 2 Beta. I was afraid of the changes that could be made for this sequel, but after playing the Beta, my love was right back where it needed to be. It’s less of a base-builder, which is how I prefer my RTS’s, but it still has the base-building mechanic, so I totally dig it.

My 360 died. Yeah, it RRoD’d. I sent it out on Tuesday and just got the confirmation that repair is complete. Halo Wars and RE5 demo, here I come.

Killzone 2 demo. My post from CoG:

Graphics look great, but very jaggedy. I guess the screenshots and videos we see are with AA turned up. With the graphics smoothed out, it would be the best looking FPS. The controls are ok. I think it’s odd how they give you some options…but leave others out. Very awkward…and speaking of which, the dual analog setup for the DS3 is just annoying. The ‘C’-shape required by my thumb and pointer finger puts too much of an unnatural strain on my hand. Remember, the original pad was designed before analog…they should have done a redesign with analog sticks.

But playing it was fun. Like what has been said, it’s your normal generic run-n-gun FPS. That’s not bad, but it’s not going to stand out. I think the cover system worked well too. A similar system was used in Shadow Ops.

I see no reason to give this a bad score despite controls. It’s not doing anything wrong really, and it seems to be a fun title.

In the past few months my PC gaming time went down. This was due to my Gateway P6860FX overheating and just shutting off. So, after a long time of research I came across a laptop cooler. ZALMAN ZM-NC2000 B Notebook Cooler. Not only does my PC no longer shut down, but my in-game improvement has sky-rocketed. I clearly get more frames in-game, and I can even now use higher AA than I could stomach. So, I was able to improve my laptop’s gaming performance without even upgrading the CPU to the $300 intel I plan on using in the future. This laptop was definitley worth the price.

Bluecast. This should start back up soon. I was hoping to do one last weekend, but PowerGramo won’t work correctly on my system, which I attribute to Vista64. I don’t have an XP system to use, but I’ve been eyeing a netbook lately, and I now have a reason to jump on one.

With Gamefly, money is not really an issue anymore when wanting to play all the Fall releases. The Fall release schedule sucks every year. There’s just no time to get into what I’d like. And some things I have to hold out on, which hurts when some people want to start discussing a game I haven’t really got into yet. Here’s what I’m really wanting to play. Bolded titles are ones that I will buy….or will hopefully.

Dead Space
Far Cry 2
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Quantum of Solace
Gears of War 2
Call of Duty 5 (zombie mode won me over)
Mirror’s Edge
Resistance 2
Left4Dead
Metal Slug 7
Sonic Unleashed
Prince of Persia

And this is being lite on the titles. There are many others I would like to try. MK vs DC for instance, but luckily with the recent edits, I can push this aside for later. Other games I’m interested in but may have to wait out on:

End War
Banjo-Kazooie
Castlevania Judgment (Hey, I’m just a CV fan)
King of Fighters Collection
Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force (That just sounds fucking awesome)
Spiderman: Web of Shadows

Another problem I’m having is with Far Cry 2. The game will run like cinnamon butter on my system, but with all the work and playtime involved, I would almost rather get it on the 360 for comfort (gamepad, sitting in front of LCD) and achievements. I can Gamefly it on 360, or download it via Steam. Cheaper than a console copy plus I’ll have it on my Steam account - I like that shit.

And then I think of Fracture…it’s fun. The battles are crazy, the graphics are great, and the music is excellent. BUT, I can see myself pushing this aside for now. I just feel there are other titles out there that I’d like to get my hands on. Like, Dead Space is spoken as GotY.

Well, Red Alert 3 ships tomorrow. That is the one game I’m anticipating the most. And if in case you didn’t know; PC version, Premier Edition.

I had to upgrade my GameFly service to TWO games. There’s some downtime between sending out titles, and I’d like to get some gaming done during that time. But this just had to be done, as all the titles are flooding in. I received Mercs2 as a gift, which is totally worth $60. Through Gamefly I rented Too Human, which is a fun game but just could not keep my attention for too long. I might play through that some time next year in co-op. I’ve recently been playing Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway. I never really got into the previous titles, but this one has a certain mechanic to it that’s pretty fun. Let’s get into that.

The game is basically a FPS-Puzzler. Each action scene is a progressing map with enemies strewn about behind cover. The objective here is to suppress, move out, suppress, move out, and kill along the way. Each situation is just given a different layout in which you have to navigate correctly. This is fun really, but as tactical as it seems, it is shallow. There are a few problems I’ve encountered that really piss me off: Sometimes when moving a squad to a certain location, they might circle the cover exposing themselves to the enemy, and inevitably die. I hate loosing my Bazooka guy early on. But really these are minor complaints, but with how ’simple’ the game really is, I would hope more time would have been focused on refining a revolutionary A.I. Another problem I have with the game is somewhat subjective as I feel I’m in the minority here. Story. I like Band of Brothers and would watch it through again many times. The problem with BiA is I’m trying to play a game, but will lose interest during the many drawn out cut-scenes. I just don’t care about this while I play. I skipped the cut scenes in Too Human as well. But again, I know many gamers love story. But I’d rather keep that for movies or books.

But all in all, BiA is definitely worth your time. I haven’t even touched multi-player yet, which I would love to do.

So Dead Space is out and the verdict is in. I’m currently listening to my brother playing it over XBox Live, and all I hear are good things. Here’s the thing about Dead Space though…and I’ve never seen this spoken about but could be wrong: It looks like EA just wanted to create their own Bioshock - which I have no problem with. The game has an empty, creepy vibe to it, and while you weren’t a Big Daddy in Bioshock, they were very popular and very recognizable. The Dead Space protagonist has that same look. I see no problem with any of this, I just like seeing EA recognize success and trying to go beyond it, which IMO they have. I wasn’t a fan of Bioshock, but Dead Space seems to be more action oriented which is what I’m looking for.

Anytime soon I should be getting Dead Space, Fracture, and Silent Hill from GameFly, so stay tuned for impressions of those games.

My brother got me a CoD: World at War beta key. I played a little of it, but just got bored. It really just is more CoD4 which I liked, but got bored of very fast. It really just is the same thing over and over again. But I will play this for the campaign.

On the PC front I tried out the Quantum of Solace demo, which was horribly short. I really can’t believe that was the demo. But I liked what I played, and as a James Bond fan, I’ll be purchasing this. Though, this looks to be a console title for me…

Alright, so through the month of August I played through TimeShift. I mentioned this before, but simply, if you enjoy FPS’s then TimeShift is a game you need to play. It has great graphics, great controls, and the time mechanic works well. You will love the explosive crossbow.

Explosive crossbow.

I also got Mercenaries 2 and have really been enjoying it. It is totally fun, but here are a few issues: The game looks like ass. Just Cause is a game that came out much earlier, and pretty much looks a lot better and also plays better. That doesn’t mean Mercs2 is bad, it means JC is just fucking awesome. That was the first game that I got all 1k achievement points. I loved it. Sequel should be hitting sometime soon…right? Anyway, Mercs2 adds in co-op which works exceptionally well and is the first time I’ve actually enjoyed co-op since Syphon Filter: Omega Strain. I usually play co-op because everyone else wants to, but it never really pulls me. Mercs2 is a light version of what SF offered for co-op; each player takes on their own tasks to complete the mission as a whole. Like I said, Mercs 2 is a light version of that, but it’s there.

Other than that, Mercs 2 does have its bugs. A few times I’ve been stuck; wedged between a couple rocks. After a few moments of frantically nailing every button on my gamepad, I’ll eventually get out. Oh, and apparently you never die. I’ll fall out of an exploding helicopter, fall off a mountain, get pummeled by artillery, and run over by a car. Yet, my health will still be at 2-6%, and gradually work its way up. But honestly it works well in this game. When you play it you’ll understand. Definitely worth $60.

The Force Unleashed just came out earlier this week, and I am enjoying myself. First of all, it’s a poorer version of God of War. It even makes Conan, a game I love but recognize its flaws, look really good. The thing that TFU has going for it is Star Wars. It has the music, characters, environments, and force-resistant stormtroopers - what? Yeah, but I guess it being a game, they have to add in some challenge for the player. Yeah, and I’m playing on the hardest difficulty - it’s hard as hell.

Things I like about TFU:

-Physics
-Darth Vader
-That pilot chick (why would I need to know her name?)
-Force grip
-Throwing a jawa with said force grip
-Can I force remove that pilot chick’s clothing? Eh…that might be rape. Oh, “You want to remove your clothes”. *waves hand* That would work.

Things I don’t like about TFU:

-Loading into menus. Yes. When I go into my upgrade screen, it has to load. Same with getting out. Lame.
-Non-Star Wars stuff. Imperial Guards with lightsabers? Was this explained in some expanded-universe story that I missed? Giant stormtroopers. Did they recruit tall aliens? Use Wookies? And just the enemy weapons in general. They were all equipped to fight the sith apparently.
-In-game cutscenes. You know, when you die and have to replay the small part where the camera zooms in ahead of you showing enemies walk into the foreground. One: yeah, I know. Two: I just want to fucking play.
-Lightsabers take multiple hits to actually kill someone.
-The whole upgrade system is just wacky. I like the ability to do this stuff, but it’s as if these developers have never
played GoW or Conan…or any other game that allows stat upgrades.

And that’s about it. The game is great, not sure if it’s worth $60 for all, but it was to me. Just one final thing: This is the Star Wars I.P., and Lucasarts should have done a better job with it.

My mailman didn’t pick up my Gamefly disc for THREE days. He finally did today. WTF!

So because of my job, recent engagement and other plans, BlueGamer.net hasn’t been updated in a while. Not only that, but we haven’t seen a podcast in a while.

I have my PAX badge. I’m even getting the media emails where I could set up interviews for some great content.

But because of other things, I won’t be at PAX this year.

Things will change though, and here’s what’s going down:

By October (most likely), I’ll be in Brazil. My gaming will be limited to my 360, PC Gaming, DS, PSP, and PS3 remote access (and possibly a PS2). I’m not sure how easily I’ll be getting the newer games for each platform, but, TecToy was a huge distributor in Brazil for Sega from the Master System to the Dreamcast. I’m thinking I’ll be able get my hands on these products. Not only do they have a badass portable Genesis, but there were some games produced exclusively in Brazil. Also, word yesterday is that Microsoft is introducing an Asian/Latin America only gamepad with a modified D-pad. So really, I don’t see my gaming habits dwindling too much, but I’m obviously going to try to be out often to enjoy my stay in Brazil. Really. It’s all about Brazil.

While there, I’ll keep this blog updated about my gaming experience in a foreign land. But when I get back, the site will get an over-haul. I’ll be using new software and trying my darndest to make this place look slick. Along with that, we’ll reintroduce the Blucast as well as a Videocast. And my goal is to attend as many gaming cons as possible. My life will be very different at this point, so I should have the time for this - but who knows, things change.

But on to the gaming…

There are an amazing amount of great GBA games I’ve been meaning to play through. The other day I noticed my GBA Micro sitting on the ‘handhelds’ shelf. He’s a cute little guy - I miss using him. So, I set off to Gamestop to see what they had. I picked up Sigma Star Saga, Gunstar Super Heroes, and Blackthorne. All for a total of $15. Sweet, eh? But there are more I’m looking for:

Sonic Advance 2/3
Ninja Five-0
Guardian Heroes
…
Ok, I had a huge list in my head…I guess I need to write this stuff down (or just update it here).

I had Too Human next on my Gamefly queue, but instead got TimeShift. I must have been too late making Too human the only game on my queue… Anyway, Time shift is great. Graphics, Story, Gameplay…great game. But you know what made it underrated? The constant delays and apparently an entire re-design. It turned out great IMO, but you know how game reviewers are with this games. This is one game that I suggest everyone try.

Bionic Commando: Rearmed. Holy crap. I barely remember playing the original, but the game play in this just felt so familiar. So punishingly familiar. TimeShift threw me of course, but I should be back into this one soon enough.

Next gaming plan? Well, my birthday is the 30th. Maybe I can talk my family into getting me Mercenaries 2?