Little Big Planet

The entire time Amy and I lived in Texas, we never had her Playstation 3 hooked up to the Playstation Network. I know I received at least one comment regarding the fact that we were never online anymore.

During this time, somebody hacked the Playstation Network and stole some very important "secure" information, resulting in a crash that left the PSN down for months. When we returned to Michigan, Sony offered us a gift of good faith to keep us as loyal followers: two free PS3 games, among other things.

I never had any intention to buy or play Little Big Planet, but this random series of events put the game before us. It was the first time I'd ever owned what they call a "party game." (I never even owned Super Mario Kart, and although I had a couple installations of Guitar Hero I'd never had access to any that allowed gameplay for more than two players.) The first time we had a "party" (three people: Adam, Amy and I), we played LBP.

We beat the game in four evenings, each night staying up four to six hours longer than we had planned. It's been a long time since I've been this addicted to a game. Maybe Sony will randomly award us the sequel, or maybe, once we have what they call "disposable cash," I'll buy the darn thing.

Until then, there's always the 100%. Oh, and the whole getting a job thing...

Postcard 2010: (7th Gen) Console Gaming

A couple of years ago, I went to the New York Comic Con and witnessed, at the Marvel booth, the unveiling of a mission-based Iron Man video game and a sandbox Incredible Hulk game, both for the X-Box 360. The high-definition three-dimensional environments astounded me and the game play looked fantastic. I gazed in awe at these two video game wonders before promptly forcing myself to turn away and never look back. The temptation to play seventh generation console (Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, X-Box 360) games combined with my meager earnings could only bring about suffering.

The last console games I remember playing were Xenosaga and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on Playstation 2 and X-Box respectively, archaic, outdated systems. I'd played Wii at bars and large get-togethers with friends, but it wasn't until finding that Amy owned a Playstation 3 that I actually got into the new wave of console gaming. We played Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4, Brutal Legend, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, and X-Men (a port of the original arcade game). It was quite the console renaissance, and perfectly timed, considering the fact that many believe the next (eighth) generation of consoles to be overdue. I even found myself the proud owner of an X-Box 360 game and controller by the end of the year (but sadly, no X-Box 360).

I may be behind the times, but at least I'm still trying.