Repetitive is a critique you dish out a lot. I bet you'll find the new Prince repetitive. You do the same moves over and over again, the environments don't vary that much, you fight with the same weapon and abilities throughout the whole game (no upgrades). Sounds awful? Yet i loved it.

I'll just borrow a quote i found on the net because i think it comes close to my feelings about the matter and i suck at writing such things:

How ironic... my repetitive critique is repetitive!

Truth is you could probably make a good argument that every game is repetitive. My guess is that I notice this more of a game when I'm not 100% into it, thus it comes up a lot when I don't like a game. It's the games that suck me in that I don't notice.

ME was a perfect example of this, as there were a few spots in the game that really felt like a grind (like the endless and slow climbing of the scaffolding to the top of a room... felt very repetitive), but when the game was moving it's amazing and it's anything but a grind. For example, playing through the early chapters in a speed run is fast and FUN, despite the fact I've done it 5 times over.

Overall, though... it was a very solid and enjoyable game, if just too short - which is not a critique I hardly ever throw out as I generally like shorter games!

And, I'm looking forward to PoP... I'll get a hold of that one shortly.

GRID - It's DiRT (made by the same peeps) goes Project Gotham Racing, with a very tiny bit of Burnout mixed in (the crashes are on the violent side). Codemasters definitely knows how to make a racing game. DiRT is one of the best racing games in this generation, and while GRID isn't quite that good, it is very solid. It looks pretty, has a great sense of speed, and the rewind function is nice as it eliminates having to restart the race endlessly. The only downside is I'm fairly worn out on the tight track races that are featured in games like this, PGR, and Forza. It's looking like a B+ or A- so far.

Mirrors Edge - A
GTA4 - A-
Hotel Giant 2 - C
Fable - B+
Oblivion - B+
Fallout 3 - B- (Sort of given up on this one out of the box)

Dead Space - I put this one off during the holiday rush thinking I would be iffy on it, but in the end this was a fantastic game and better than anything else I played that was released in November or December. My main worry was that it was going to be Doom 3... not a bad game, but repeating metal corridors for 10+ hours. And while it was very similar to Doom 3, it was much more engrossing, a better story, and I never once felt that repeating metal corridor fatigue.

While it wasn't exactly original at its core (it was Doom 3 meets Event Horizon) the presentation - from music and sound design to the visuals - was fantastic. It's the 2nd EA game I've played in a row with virtually no HUD or on screen game indicators (Mirror's Edge was the other), and I really like that trend. I was never lost for what to do or where to go, thanks to the ingenious design that allows you to click a button and be shown the path at any time. This kept the game virtually free of frustration, as I was never lost, and never had to stop to look at a guide... which also helped to keep you into the game. Along the same line... the collectables (video/audio/text logs) were easy to find (not hidden) and were interesting and added to the story. So, while it wasn't an original concept, in the end it was an original feeling experience.

On the negative side, the lead character is as bland as they come and not sure what was up with the decision to make him mute. There were clearly times that he should have talked or said something, and he would just stand there like a retarded monkey. I also intensely dislike inventory juggling and sorting, which rears its ugly head here. And, the missions (levels) could have used just a pinch of more variety in their structure.

All in all a fantastic game... it gets a solid A from me. Probably would be in my top 15 Xbox 360 games, but not quite top 10.

Played through some more fallout3 on sunday. Unfortunately something came up and I had to cut it short after only 45 minutes. I'm going to have to pencil in some time later this week to get more playing done.

Dark Sector - This is one I had in the wrapper for months, but never could bring myself to play. So, I had a break in the action and gave it a spin. It's better than expected (which isn't saying much), but it's still not great. It has moments of goodness - the glaive is a neat weapon, it looks pretty for the most part. However, the level design is crappy, the gun play is bad, it rips off things from other games (a lot of Gears of War, but not nearly as good), and it just isn't that compelling. It feels very budget title-ish.

Mirrors Edge - No grade since I didn't play too much, but the controls were a bit much. Looked pretty an everything.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn - Second play through, enjoying it even more now that Tales of Symphonia 2 was really lacking and RPG's on the Wii are just as weak and few as on the Cube, ugh. 9/10

Prince of Persia - The game looks fantastic. I really like the cel-shaded look to games like this one and Crackdown. The vibrant color is a great change of pace from all the brown and grey games that come out these days. I like the sense of humor, and the two characters are very likable. The gameplay is solid, but I'm not doing cartwheels over it. It's a little too much jumping and a little too little combat. I would have liked to seen more "normal" areas of the game with a little combat, and less pole swing, wall run, jump, grab hook, wall run, pole swing, jump, pole climb, swing, etc... Not sure about the design choice of having you fight each of the 4 bosses 5 times each in nearly identical battles. That surely doesn't get old... oh, wait... yes it does! But, it's a really solid and enjoyable game. I'm about 75% of the way through, but it's looking like an A-.

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 - A Mrs. Montana game, but I watched. She thought it would be like Civilization Revolution, so gave it a spin. It's real time instead of turned base, and she finds it very anti-girl friendly as the characters are always calling her a "him" and all the females have non-regulation army outfits. I pointed out they put in the ultra hunky Tim Curry to even things out. Anyhow... their anti-feminist agenda aside, it looks decent to her, but "it is no Civilization Revolution". The cut-scenes with live actors are definitely the highlight. The controls are definitely something that would work better on a PC, though.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe - I was playing this with my brother and I wondered why Spiderman had a gun and a knife, and he went into great detail about how it wasn't Spiderman and who the character really was and his complete life history. Point being, my brother is a geek and I don't know much about comic books because I'm too cool. He thinks the game was fantastic, and I thought it was average. Point being... it's a game that you'll like in direct proportion to how cool you think it would be to see Spiderman fighting Sub Zero.

Karaoke Revolution: American Idol - Hilariously bad.

Mind youtubing your gameplay?

Unfortunately this will remain my hidden shame. I can't even con the wife into getting me these points, so it's all me. I hum the songs and then watch Randy, Paula and Simon tell me how great I am. I suspect this is a scam to get more delusional people to try out for AI...

Before I get on to my currently played game, I should note that I was recently named the next American Idol, and Simon in particular loves me.

Don King's Prizefighter - Since the awesome FNR3 I have been craving a good boxing game. DKP is not it. It has a great structure and presentation of the career mode (live action actors, a decent story)... better than anything we saw in FNR3. However, the actual boxing is broken. The controls are clunky and unresponsive. If you work long enough at it, you can get used to it (reminds me of Facebreaker), but no game should be like that. Too bad because it has a lot of potential... mix FNR3's buttery smooth gameplay and DKP's awesome presentation and you'd have a game that I'd want to have my babies. Grade: a very generous C- for the presentation.

Turok - I don't like it. I'm about halfway through, and I'd say there's a 90% chance I won't even finish it. The aiming is twitchy, it's easy to get turned around as everything looks the same, the checkpoint system is bad, it's too easy to fall off a ledge (combined with terrible checkpoints... ugh!), and it's often far too difficult at times even on the easiest setting (again... combine this with terrible checkpoints...). Except for some cool dinosuars, it's terrible generic. To top it all off, the achievements are horrible for the game. around 800 of the 1000 are for multiplayer, and there is no online community left for the game. Ugh... what a piece of shit.

You're in the Movies (or, "Urine Movies", as I like to call it) - For starters it sucked that I couldn't buy a copy without the Vision Camera - now I've got two. It's a great concept... in a Mad Libs type of a way they have you act out scenes for the camera and then splice your performance into a short trailer of a fake movie. They have several movies spoofing every genre, and most are funny/cheesy.

The problem is that the game does a terrible job at being able to cut you out from the background. Unless you hang up a white sheet behind you and spend hours lighting the area, you end up looking like swiss cheese. If you do take the time to get it right it can be fun, but you shouldn't have to work this hard at a game. If the tech catches up with the concept, this would be very cool. Grade: C

Need for Speed Undercover - As a fan of need for Speed Most Wanted, this sequel is on the disappointing side. The game looks dated (has framerate issues), and I almost think NFS:MW - a 3+ year old game - looks better. The plot is even worse than MW (the one weak point of that game). The streets are weirdly devoid of traffic, which lessens the intensity of races and police chases. The open world environment feels very stale, closed, and not at all like a living breathing city area. It's not a terrible game, and the police chases do have their entertainment value, but it feels like a step back from MW, and it's hard to believe this game was made 3 years after that. Grade: C+

Tetris DS

It's tetris with a few new ways to play. 8.5

Prince of Persia - I have like 20% of the game left to finish but I just love this game. The graphics are stunning. The interaction between Prince and Elika is great. The only problem is that some things you have to do over and over and over again. But right now I'm giving this game an A

Braid - Looks like an artistic, puzzle based Super Mario Brothers so far... so, it looks pretty cool. (it's on sale for 800 pts this week).

Smash Court Tennis 3 - While not a big tennis fan, I've managed to play just about every tennis game in the last couple generations. This is the worst I have ever played. Clunky, unresponsive, terrible control system... etc...

Playing back through the original Splinter Cell at the moment. I'm hoping I can be all the way caught up through the first 4 by the time Conviction finally comes out. Whenever that ends up being...

How does the first Splinter Cell hold up over time? It's been years since I played it. I still have all the Xbox SC games (as well as DA on the 360)... I'll have to put it in again someday.

I seem to remember that it took a while to get some of the fun toys (sticky cameras, and stuff) in the first one, and that it didn't get really good until then, but it was a beautiful game back in the time.

Mercenaries 2 - About 6-8 hours in, and still not sure what to think of this one. There are times I hate it, but there are times I enjoy it... it's probably 55% dislike it and 45% like it. Frequently it is frustrating and directionless, with horrible missions of the escort variety (protect person A or building B for X amount of time over and over and over until you get it right). Other times you're making spectacular/pretty explosions with unique weapons, or calling in large air strikes, as well as grappling helicopters and flying all over hell. Several times I almost quit playing it, and every time I ended up thinking that I was glad I didn't... only to think I'm going to quit playing it again... and so on and so on. It certainly feels a lot like Mercenaries 1 to me... I liked that one at times, but never finished it.

Blitz II: the League - Extreme football with a story mode. Complete with grotesque injuries, illegal juicing of players, sex, prison, naughty words... all the stuff you won't find in Madden. Mildly entertaining, a well thought out fake football league, and some good Blitz style football. There is a massively frustrating game in the middle of the campaign that makes you go WTF and want to punch one or all of the developers in the gonads, but all in all a solid diversion from realistic football. Grade: B

Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway - Just in the first couple levels. Looks to be a lot more story based than most war games, which might help with my general apathy toward war games. Still too early to tell yet, though.

Pokemon Colosseum - 7.5

Getting excited for Pokemon Platinum, but didn't want to restart a new game on Pearl and remembered I started a new game on Pokemon Colosseum like a year ago maybe and played a few hours today. After Pokemon Battle Revolutions severely limited single player mode, and boring online play, I almost want the next game to go back to how Colosseum/Gale of Darkness were. They need to do something with the console games anyway.

Brothers In Arms: Hells Highway - I'm generally iffy on war shooters or squad based shooters... this being both, I didn't have high hopes. However, I must say that I like it so far. Really good WWII feel to it, and it's a lot more character/story driven then most war games. The graphics are surprisingly decent and it does a great job of setting the mood and environment. It's a little slower paced then most shooters, and managing the squad is easy, but I still find I'd rather do my thang than babysit the squad, but all in all I'm having fun with it. It's shaping up to be a B/B+

Civil War: Secret Missions - Quick and easy to play, and a nice change of pace on the typical WWII shooters. I'm more interested in the CW than WWII, so it probably helped me enjoy it a little more. Grade: B

Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai - Half naked girls slaughtering Zombies... what could go wrong? Apparently everything... horrendous graphics, terrible level design (confusing, lots of backtracking), boring environments, clunky gameplay... a complete stinker. Grade: D-

Tomb Raider: Underworld - Lara's Shadow (DLC) - Better than the last DLC, Beneath the Ashes. You get to play as Lara's Doppleganger... complete with new moves and abilities. It also has more story than the last one. A little too much backtracking (some areas are visited 3 times), and dreaded speed run achievements return, but was worth the $10. Grade: B

NBA Live 09 - Every year NBA Live gets a little better, but still quite a ways away from being as good as NBA 2K series. Live still feels a little slow and clunky, but it's set of features, such as the new DNA and rewind features, are a nice addition. Grade: C+

Shrek the Third - Typical kids game based on a movie... looks like it was designed on the PS2. Grade: D

Finally did alot of catching up. I still have to try Killzone 2

Star Ocean 4 - decent game with a horrible storyline and annoyingly cliched anime angst dialogue. The cutscenes are way too long but combat at least isnt turn based like so many jrpgs. I like the skill crafts in the game and its well done. More games should implement this feature of allowing you to combine components to get an item. B-

Resident Evil 5 - Too slow compared to the last RE on the Gamecube. I heard the game is only 12 hours long and I think Im a little more than halfway through the game. So far Im not really that impressed with the game because theres too little action. B-

Madworld - I like the style of the game. I havent got much time to get into it but so far Im enjoying it. I give it around a B

Demos Ive tried are Chronicles of Riddick and Wheelman. Both of them I like especially Wheelman because the tv gameplay didnt look too good till I tried the demo. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it and I will definately buy that game instead of renting it. Who knew Vin Diesel has good taste in the selection of games hes attaching himself to?

I'm on quite a roll of crappy games lately:

Onechanbara - Couldn't play anymore of it, and gave up.

NFL Head Coach 09 - It's not a game... it's staring at menus for hours. Bleh!

Eternal Sonata - Stunning visually, and probably a great game if you like turn based RPGs with lots of item tinkering. I do not.

Baja: Edge of Control - Bland, repetitive, and way too long for the type of game it is (30+ hours to complete). It is awfully difficult, even on the easiest difficulty. It doesn't help that steering feels more liks a suggestion than something you can really do.

Scene It: Box Office Smash - The lone good game here. Great use of the Avatars, better announcer than the first game, and an improved presentation.