So having had some time in now with my vita I figured I'd give my pro's and cons of Sony's new handheld. I'd like to state in opening here that I'm in love with my vita it's a rather beautiful device and have only a few quips with the system that are somewhat explainable so I'll start with the system faults first.

Vita Faults -

• Not full PSN access - This isn't as bad as it sounds, but I was looking to do a little personalization to my vita and found that you can't really get much beyond the vita programs and currently accepted psp games from the store. This will most likely change with time. As well on the PS3 you can download avatars and such for the vita, but you can't download them to the vita from what I've found so far, if anyone has a fix for this or if I'm missing something please let me know.
• The multiple apps that the playstation 3 has simplified and much easier access.- You have a freinds ap, a trophy ap and such that could all be tied together instead of opening another window to do something as simply message a freind on your friends list. Again this may change in time.
• No UMD Support - not a major flaw, but I was smart and traded all my psp stuff in to get my vita, but for those of you whom wish to play certain games on psp on your vita until they're supported by the psn you may just want to hold on to your psp.
• Bluetooth connection to PS3 - This works great for remote play, but honestly the biggest question most of my household wanted to know is if you could almost do a reverse version. Meaning player is on vita images are displayed on PS3 I don't know if Sony will put this in the works, but since I'm the central gamer in the house and we only have 1 vita it would be a nice option.
• Certain games don't respond well to the touch. - Mod Nation Racers Road Trip is where I've had a few issues. It could be the size of my fingers, but there are some lag/no response moments on the main menu, again this could be me, but I've had a few other people try and they get a similar result.

Vita's Pro's -

• downloading and network set up a cinch - Granted I have a technical background, but my grandmother could figure this out it's really easy set up.
• Customization and app organization is easy - if you have a tablet or ipad or iphone it works basically the same way.
• Just about anything you've heard good - I'm trying to build this list on what I've experienced and to be honest Sony bragged alot and from just about everything I've tried it hold really true. This system runs like a dream and plays just as easy. I would complain about battery life, but nowadays everyone has a ps3 or a computer and as long as you have your power cord it can charge from any usb port.

     Now the only other complaint I may have Sony is the vendor preparations, most gamestops yesterday advised that they ran short on Vita games meaning they sold out faster than anything. I was advised from gamestop that they had an abundace of memory sticks and systems, but they got very short shipments in of the games themselves. Now I'm aware that just about any of the games are available on the Playstation Network. I'm cool with that, but some people like to use their memory space for the game files and personal data, not to store a game that they want to play. Granted I personally downloaded a game just because all stores were out of stock, but I would almost rather have the gamecard for some of the prices I'm paying on the network.

     Overall this is a major upgrade from my experience with the psp. I would love to have some of the support that the psp had like comic books and themes, but I rather enjoy the ap set up and the really nice layout and workings of this handheld. Sony Great Job on a product I will have to fight with my time over as I don't have many of the cross platform games yet. So between my vita and Twisted Metal you've occupied a great majority of my time. Thank you
- Jebus

Anticipating Vita

     Today I get my PS Vita, YAY!!!! I'll admit I'm not sleeping currently and I should be due to this fact. With the recent update to the playstation store I'm seeing a whole bunch of things that I have yet to try and be able to play with so I'm waiting. To quote a Mr Gene Wilder - "The anticipation is killing me, I hope it will last". Another positive a friend of mine whom is currently in the military called so we can try and sync up as he's getting his Vita today as well. I'm planning on a bit of a rebuild of this blog, not getting rid of this blog, just may reformat and update this a bit better. My reviews have been kinda bland re-reading them as I did most of them half way or in just the begining of a game and never really did a I finished this game it sucked, or it ruled. Also I'm looking into giving the games I play a rating system and possibly bringing some other players in to help me with another pov and some of their own reviews or just a different aspect as I tend to love games I purchase and some might not and vice versa.

     I'm looking to centralize my focus on my blogs to their individual topics and aspects of my life. Well I've got somethings in the works and planning Keep reading and thanks.
- Jebus

Also if anyone is looking to review or give me some feed back as it updates here please feel free to comment or contact me via email.

Twisted Metal and a plethora of titles -

     Ok first a shoutout to Dave Jaffe on Twisted Metal PS3 not for just a great game by your team and all but for doing the whole "Shoot my Truck" event it was awesome. Second I'd like to state if you have come to this page a few times follow me if and help spread the word. I'm planning on adding this to my new twitter account and possibly it's own facebook page. Now down to games:

Twisted Metal PS3 - picked this up valentines day and am infatuated with it. I've liked the whole series but this one is an epic up to date great add on to the series. I will admit there are some infuriating points where I've gotten irked, but on the over all plus side it makes you only want to fight harder most times. Granted at the end of my night I'm ready to take a break and say till tomorrow. (otherwise I'd get no sleep) The game has changed from the old 8-10 car storyline where you pick your driver whom is set to a specific car and follow their story through and then wash rinse repeat. Granted I loved that approach, but this one is limited, but more focused on the challenge.

     You start out playing as Sweettooth in the main campaign which switches after a while over to Mr Grim and then to Doll face. I've not completed the game once yet so I don't want any spoilers or to give a few spoilers myself. The vehicles play rather tight for some of the work and sometimes you get an area which leads to a jerk which throws you for a loop like getting stuck on your back or on 2 wheels and when it comes to a Race (yes I said Race in a twisted metal game) it really screws you over. I'll get more into this after I've got a few more hours behind the controller and experience all aspects of the gameplay. As I've got a few more games to work through as well.

Anyone whom is currently a plus member as well knows that Valentines Day was one hell of a download day. Plus Members got Supersonic acrobatic robot cars, Hamsterball, Inferno Pool, Battle Fantasia and Far Cry which all have trophies so trust me until I get my vita I'll always have something to play. I've actually still not completed Final Fantasy XIII2 and Record of Agarest War which means I'm going to be really busy when it comes to gaming or some games are going to have to sit on my back burner for a while. Not to mention as well when you purchase a new copy of Twisted Metal for Ps3 you get a digital copy from the Network of Twisted Metal Black. Granted I've beaten black about a few thousand times, but I like having a copy on my non backwards compatible PS3 for those lazy days when I just want to blow something up and don't happen to have the Twisted Metal PS3 disc in.

Blog Plans: I'll admit this blog need some sprucing up to not only keep my interest as I tend to come back to it once I get a new game, but it's mostly been words not images and things to show what i'm talking about. That I'll update as I go please feel free to give me any critiques or ideas you may think improve this blog by emailing me at Dreimann1381@gmail.com Thanks.

- Jebus

Twisted Tuesday

TWISTED METAL on PS3 hits stores Today!

Gotham City Impostors Full game rev

     Have you played this yet, if not why not. This is a first person shooter I would recommend to anyone who has not played a fps. Not because it's easy, but in playing you unlock things it's not all based on wins and losses it's based on chaos. I personally find this game great, but having some basic starter issues this is where I would not recommend it. Here's my listing of what's currently wrong and before anyone asks yes I'm trying to point out the flaws so they can be fixed not complaining as the game itself is awesome and hilarious.

Game Issues -

• Network issues - from my experience it seems anytime I level up I get lagged out of the next match, this could be based on the PS3's NAT issues but it's a simple issue.
• Team Balance - This is what gets me this could be a bit better but due to some of the network issues I can see how this gets a bit groggy. I see alot of 5 on 1 or 4 on 2 where it should even out to 3 on 3. The game does try to sort to help by level but that's a little shaky

Yeah it's that short of a list. The game itself is ingenious and rather a good play for fun and the silliness of watching guys dressed up like the joker or batman (badly done of course) shoot at each other. The team death match in the full version is ok, but I'm still partial to the Psychological Warfare or The Smoggers.

    Now like any first person shooter you occasionally get a few jerks that seem to try and hunt you down repeatedly let me explain before you "humph" at the idea, part of the quests for each bit of play in the game is nemesis they have to hunt down the same person 5 times before they get it. Now personally you can get a few shots and always one or two kills out of them trying to hunt you down. My advice is the basics of all fps games keep moving. If you can find a spot to snipe from good if not don't worry about it worry more on working with your team. As I've stated previously you get bear traps and odd gadgets to help so take advantage of this system as it's actually the nicest set up I've seen.

Have no clue what I'm talking about here? check out http://www.gothamcityimpostors.com

Final Fantasy XIII 2

     Someone tell me what's going on with Final Fantasy?  I got to sit and play the latest in the series yesterday and I'm not sure if I'm amused or disappointed. It's actually kind of a disturbing game as there's this whole timeplay thing going on. Now don't get me wrong Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross were both good games that involved time travel but Final Fantasy? XIII was a bit broken but it started out drawing me into the story switching between groups and giving me a fair feeling on battles but hit this point where battles just went out on a limb. either you fought something easy or nightmarish. This current build is not as jumpy, but I feel like something is missing which is a direct story. Granted you're passing through time and so thus things will be different and you get side quests which help, but it's lacking.
     I understand they were not done with their tale of lightning and freinds but the story seems lost. It starts out with an epic battle in Valhalla which is this is a town not a home of the gods. Some kid falls from the sky and is sent back in time to get Serah to come to valhalla to aid lightning. It's emotional it's deep but it's like an overview not really helping with what the hell is going on in the game.
     Now what I like is their new monster system where you can have the monsters aid you in battle which for me is actually quite satisfying. The monsters are your new party. There's cameos by the group from the previous title but the monsters you beat are your party. This is a blessing as well as a curse because it takes alot to get one besides those which they want you to have and the leveling system for them is based on drops and bought items not from combat experience.
     Square Enix has kind of killed the final fantasy series with these iconic characters either you like them or you don't but unless the game is a part 2 you'll never really see some of them ever again. Now what brings me to this decision was recently going back and playing Final Fantasy Origins for the classic Playstation it was final fantasy and final fantasy 2 . The classic you chose your hero your party and besides the quest was pretty much a free play adventure searching caverns and the world for things that may aid in your quest. part 2 they start bringing in characters, but it's still a bit customisable. The games now are epic in their visuals but seem to be lacking in the details of gameplay. Don't get me wrong the visuals are the best they've ever been but the system of battle and detail have gotten so confusing that it feels like it's lost it's way.

Twisted Tuesday part 1

Today the playstation network released the Twisted Metal multiplayer demo for public use. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (sorry just a joy buzz) Our Favorite Serial Killer Clown returns as of 2/14 with the New Twisted Metal which is awesome as all hell from what I got from the demo. (thus this being part 1 of two)  Now to my dismay the iconic Ice Cream truck does not seem to be available from the start. But I guess with the new direction and work Dave Jaffe has put into this visual orgasm of chaos it'll will keep things intersting.

     The Twisted Metal series is one of my personal favorites since day one of the playstation. Seeing as it's lasted 15+ plus years as a memorable experience to the gaming world I would like to say this is one game I'm hoping will keep me busy for months.

A Bat, A Clown and some gigabites

     I've been playing on and off lately Trying to keep up with some other side projects lately and well now seemed like the best time for me to update and give a few reviews. First up :

Gotham City Imposters-

     This past tuesday was a treat on the playstation network as the Gotham City Imposters Beta was made available. Now for anyone that's played the beta I need not say anymore as you have seen the chaos that is. For those of you whom have not keep reading this review.

Game Style : Think Brink with the wonderful toys of batman, well not really.

     Now for those of you whom have not played Brink either this game is a FPS where apparently Batman and the Joker have left Gotham City. A group of Vigilanties and Anarchists are now fighting it out on the streets for Justice or Chaos. It sounds crazy right? that's not even the begining of it. The beta includes an initiation to the game by two idiotic batman wanna be's but they give you a taste of the gadgetry and mayhem that lay within.

     So lets get right to the chaos you start out with a typical body type an assault rifle, grenade and some back ups as well as a piece of gadgetry. From there it's alot of gaining experience which gives you unlock keys. Now unlike Brink once you get a key any weapon they show you is available once you unlock as well as weapon mods, support weapons and gadgets. Again pretty typical except it's all moded to work on that off track thinking like batman tends to do. For example there is a weapon mod that sniffs out enemy body odor so you can track them or "smell them coming".  Now batman has batarangs which act like a shuriken and a boomerang well you don't exactly get to do that exactly you can get a boomerang which can daze multiple enemies or shuriken which is a quick stab to your opponent. The game kept Brink's customization and body type workings. So you can customize your Batman or Joker outfit to stand out amongst your crazy friends and yes you can fight or commit crime in bunny slippers.

     As it's currently a beta I hope they keep alot of what they have and work on the server issues as that seems to be the primary issue I keep having with this game. It's chaotic and a relatively basic game currently but they hint with some of the tasks and innerworkings that a single player story will be unveiled with the full game. Right now it's multiplayer mayhem with a limit to stages, but with whats available for your play it's rather worth it. Now since I can't give a full recall of all weapons, I'll give you a list of gadgetry and support items that the game offers and you'll get a better idea of the fun behind this title -
Support Items:

• Bear Traps
• Jack in the Boxes with Dynamite
• Anti Air Tazer gnomes
• Grenades
• Pipe Bombs
• Grapple Gun

Gadgetry:

• Rollerskates
• Glider packs
• Spring and bounce shoes
• Xray Goggles

Now I don't have the entire list in front of me as well I don't currently have the game running as I'm watching Fooly Cooly while typing this out. That though is enough of a taste for you to get an idea of what is available I'm sure youtube has video's explaining more and or the intro video which is a laugh in and of itself.

Game Review 2
Record of Agarest War

     I'll explain this one with a tale from the birth of the Playstation 3. When the system was new I found out you could use the japanese playstation store if you followed the profile set up and set it to area = Japan. I don't think it's as easy to do now as the network has gotten more complicated. Back to my story though I had a Japanese Profile which I was downloading demo's left and right This game happen to be one of the titles I played and ironically it's because I thought it was dealing with "The Record of Lodoss War" Anime. It was almost all in japanese so I didn't really get the gist of the story. Well this weekend searching the psn for something new to play I re came across the title and looked it up on youtube and was shocked to see something I only remember in japanese.

Game Type: Strategy RPG
Think: Final Fantasy Tactics or Front Mission

    Now as my gaming experience has grown quite substantially I recognize the characters in this game from Cross Edge which is very similar in it's base ideas. The story is basically a general from an army quits as he see's corruption in his fellow officers and strikes out to bring balance to the people.

     I'll be honest the gameplay itself is somewhat trivial as you can download beginner packs which give you a substantial amount of items and a decent start to the game. Now gladly most of these packs are free in comparison to the $30 you're spending for the game itself . The other part of this being on the network that really made this a pain was the 9 gig download to install the game and if you only have 9 or so gigs on your hd don't bother getting this game until you have another 9 gigs free as it requires that space to unpack and install the game files. Now it sounds like I'm badmouthing this game somewhat and I partially am it's only that the waiting and cost don't exactly equall the gameplay thrill, but I've yet to speak of the bonuses which might not be a plus to everyone.

    The game plays on older graphics so those of you whom have a taste for oldschool rpgs will love this, or if you're a fan of the Disgaia series you'll like the familiarity of it. Now as well If you were a fan of CrossEdge you'll recognize some of the characters and be familiar with the enemies and gameplay as it has that wonderful combo special move build up to it. Meaning if you chose your attacks wisely you can go from a simple slash to a screen glowing mind dizzying combo which will whomp your opponent into the dirt. As well if you've played Cross Edge you're familliar with the town/tower set up where you can use alchemy to create, spend TP on items or Ep to improve your weaponry. Spend money for things you created once at a possible reduced price or simply collect on your titles.

     The title system is relatively simple compared to Cross Edge's version as you don't need to pull off a 5000 hit combo and master everymove to get some of the more difficult titles. This as well makes the game a bit more user friendly.

Well I'm starting to drowse out and that's what I'm currently playing folks as of 2/14 I'm going Twisted Metal and Possibly 1/31 I may be playing Final Fantasy XIII 2. I'll update as I play. G'nite all.

New vs Old - Final Fantasy

With the upcoming release of Final Fantasy XIII - 2 I've been playing older games. Thankfully the playstation network put out Final Fantasy Origins Ps1 classic. So I've been playing Final Fantasy the original remixed for playstation of course but still essentially the same game. This got me thinking to the difference between the old and the new. Thus I've decided to show not only the growth but the flaws I feel alot of the newer games in the franchise have obtained.

Lets Start with an Outline of classic Final Fantasy -

Final Fantasy

• Random encounters
• Turn based battle
• 6 Classes
• Monsters based on animals and lore
• transportaion by boat, airship, canoe
• Class upgrades
• Spells were bought
• Lvl 50 was originally max

Simplistic no. I got alot of play and really was a staple for the series. Now things came like moogles and chocobo's that I've got no real dislike of but look at the features of XIII and Continued in XIII - 2.

Final Fantasy XIII /XIII-2

• Classes set but can be learned by all
• Battle is action based but still somewhat turn choice.
• Random Encounters are avoidable
• Monsters are a mix of crazy creations, myth and technology
• Spells are known, but you need experience to unlock
• max lvl 99 and possibly higher
• Weapons mutate and are not really bought but upgraded

Now it doesn't seem like to much of a change the visuals are sure a hell of a lot nicer. The problems I'm seeing here are actually this whole character set. I don't mind following a story but I really do miss the ability to set my team and pick my hero. Also there is a mix of overmassing of crystals and technology. Granted the world had to evolve but parts of it are still not what they could be and others are outlandishly excessive. Also transport is really cut down in the newer games to either chocobo riding or catching a ride from a airship which eventually turns into your next stage of action.

Don't get me wrong here I'm not saying the newer games are bad, but lacking. After playing the classics it's hard to ignore that we lost alot of originality and replaced it with a tale people actually cry over.

What I've learned from Video Games -

• Little brothers get Luigi
• good things are found in pots
• When life gives you Lemons ... Burn Life's house down
• If it's left around on a stage it's probably breakable
• Reaching for a star is great grabbing a star makes everything flash and play in high speed
• Pac man was a raver, he sat in a dark room eating pills and listening to techno music while running from ghosts.
• when stuck light all the torches
• The Konami Code is the answer
• Eating mushrooms makes you huge but plants, feathers and such give you super powers
• Bannana's may trip you up but turtle shells will ruin you.
• when in doubt break stuff
• Candles and walls hold things of great interest
• If you cant reach it jump on someone to get closer
• If that doesn't work make sure you have a boomerang or bow.
• 100 coins, rings or the such equal free guy.

Gamer History -

Some gamers talk about how good they are at a certain type of game others about how long they've been around games. I personally like the latter, depending on your roots explains what you may or may not know about the games you play today.

I personally come from classic Nintendo roots yeah I played arcade and some atari depending on what relative I was visiting. I grew up from NES to SNES to playstation and have stuck with Sony since. Yes I've played games on the Wii and Xbox but Sony is home. Thus is how I come to my views on the console wars. This is nothing new folks. It used to be the war between Nintendo and Sega. Yeah the arguments never were as huge as we did not have the internet to start our arguments upon but really it's nothing new.

If you look at the gaming industry as a resume are not the hardcore gamers the ones with the most experience? Now I know this will lead to alot of debate so here's my retort to all arguments from the Hardcore gamers going well I grew up on Playstation only so your dinosaur gaming can shove it. Have you beaten Castlevania or Pitfall? Have you experienced the frustration of gaming that has slower more timed controls over faster responding controllers? The older games actually taught alot of what makes some gamers good at some of the games out today.

Example here's my console experience:

• Atari 2600
• NES
• SNES
• Genesis
• Sega CD
• Playstation
• Nintendo 64
• Playstation 2
• Gamecube
• Wii
• Xbox
• Playstation 3

And my portable gaming experience:

• Gameboy
• Gamegear
• Gameboy Color
• Gameboy Advance
• Nokia NGage
• PSP

So now I can't say that I've played the entire library of any of them, but I've got some experience in the different avenues of controllers so experience in how some of these devices flaws and strengths so to be honest I can say I know alot about gaming. I'm currently working on a Resume type experience to be a backbone to this "hardcore gamer" arguement. I'm not looking to put anyone down, but I'd like to be able to say yeah I might not be a flawless soldier in "modern warfare" or "Halo" but I've been around and am in no way a Noob. Unless your talking older Mortal Kombat games then Noob Saibot was definately someone I would choose for battle.

To simplify this all and get to my overall point. Gaming should not be about what you can do but how you can help and enjoy a gaming experience. If your goal is to annoy another player or just put them in their place... keep it friendly, because you never know whom is on the other end of the controller on the other side.