Busy Again

My XBOX 360 doesn't seem to be displaying blue fuzz anymore; I kept the newer Jaguar (and power adapter, and controllers) once I was informed that the warranty sticker on the older one wasn't an Atari sticker, and once I discovered that neither of the consoles had the analog-input circuit; and I traded the old Jaguar and extra games for copies of Sin & Punishment: Star Successor and Super Castlevania IV... Though I haven't had time to play either of them.

128-bit?

I bought a second Atari Jaguar. This one's in better condition, cosmetically, than my first one; it's a later model (higher serial number, smaller power adapter), and doesn't have a warranty sticker like the first one. This second system came with two controllers, an RF switch, and loose copies of Atari Karts, Evolution: Dino Dudes, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, Tempest 2000, and Val D'Isere Skiing & Snowboarding.

I'll keep Atari Karts for sure, but I'm not sure which of the consoles, controllers, and power adapters to hang on to, and which to sell.

Fuzzy

My XBOX 360 started displaying blue visual artifacts while playing Braid... The issue was still apparent when I popped-in SSF4. It wasn't a particularly hot day or anything and visual artifacts are a common symptom in overheating GPUs, so I'm guessing that my console is on its last legs. Some may recall that I got this 360 near the end of December 2006; that means that in three days, this system will be 3.5 years old... Or exactly six months out of warranty. So do I play it until it dies? Pay to get it repaired? Trade it toward a used replacement? Splurge and grab a new 360 S? Then again, I played Price Of Persia for a while without issue after the fact, so perhaps it's not quite over yet.

NHL 07's playoff situation is getting more frustrating by the day. Six-game suspensions for too many game misconducts after one playoff game? Disappearing simmed games? I give up. I really hope that NHL 11 is coming to PSP; I will buy it as soon as it's available.

Thirteenth? Sixteenth?

Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars is the 13th game in the "Vs." series, right? I guess if we're counting both versions of the original Card Fighters' Clash games, the "Pro" version of Capcom Vs. SNK, and the "Cross Generation of Heroes" version of Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, it becomes the 16th...

Anyway, I took the time to get familiar with it this past weekend, and I'm loving it! Great graphics, plays beautifully with an arcade stick, the music is far less annoying than what we got in Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, and the gameplay mechanics feel genuinely fresh. I'm especially impressed at the versatility of the controls; how it's not terribly overwhelming for newcomers to the genre, but deep enough to keep more serious players interested. By the way, I'm sticking with Casshan and Batsu as my team at the moment.

Es... Three Of Them.

Rayman Origins is the real show-stealer at this point; that thing looks awesome.

Otherwise, I think Nintendo's had the most impressive showing overall. Goldeneye 007 seems confused (Daniel Craig?) and Donkey Kong Country Returns feels like a step backward after Jungle Beat, yet both still look like a hell of a lot of fun. Kirby's Epic Yarn is amazing in terms of its visual presentation and gameplay design, 3DS has me genuinely excited, and Epic Mickey is looking much better than I expected after seeing those early screenshots. The new Metroid, Zelda, and Kid Icarus games are all intriguing, but haven't really gripped me like the others.

I've seen some pretty impressive stuff from all companies (for example, I'm really digging the look of Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow), but Rayman and that tidal wave of Nintendo goodness is just drowning out all the Halos and Killzones...

Oh, and I can't seem to get past the first round of the playoffs in NHL 07 on PSP. I've now beaten Florida six times (something like 5-2, 10-1, 3-1, 8-1, 3-0, 3-0), but it keeps making me play them. If I sim to the end of the series, it doesn't start the next one. Grrr...

Playoffs

The playoffs in NHL 07 on PSP seem to be broken... The game crashed consistently when trying to start the first round (I saved manually, simulated the first game, then re-loaded the save to get around that), the calendar doesn't seem to track games properly (my 10-1 game two win over Florida seems to have disappeared from the record books), and there doesn't seem to be any way to check playoff stats. Not fun.

Profit

I found Final Fantasy Tactics, Front Mission 3, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, and Xenogears for PlayStation (all complete, non-Greatest Hits) for ~$40 at a used record store, bought them, and then walked down the street and got ~$80 for them at a used game store.

I've also recently picked-up Prince Of Persia (360); The Conduit, Punch-Out!!, and Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom (Wii); Kirby 64 (N64); Uniracers (SNES); Aoi Blink, Barunba, Rabio Lepus Special, and Ryūkyū (PCE); as well as Ninja Gaiden II and III (NES). I also snagged an Hori Fighting Stick Wii and a Turbo Booster for my TurboGrafx-16.

Now then, to follow-up on my last post, Tomb Raider: Underworld is easily one of the best of the series, and I highly recommend playing through Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld. There're issues with these games, and those issues are even more apparent after great titles like Assassin's Creed raised the standard of the genre, but these modern Tomb Raiders are still very entertaining. Regarding Anniversary, while it is a remake, it serves as a reminder of past events that are important to recall when playing Underworld... I didn't finish Anniversary, so I had to read the Wikipedia entry on the Underworld plot to make sense of some parts :)

F.E.A.R. 2 really feels like more of the same from the first game, but rendered with MUCH nicer graphics and presented with a few new gameplay elements. I loved the first one and I really enjoyed this sequel, but it just didn't blow me away this time. Worth your time if you're a fan or if you've never played any part of the series before, but not exactly groundbreaking.

Prince Of Persia is visually gorgeous and an intriguing change of pace for the series. It feels more deliberate than the three previous games; more akin to the original in terms of control and pacing. The exposition is a little awkward at first, but I hear it gets better as the game progresses... Unfortunately, I don't think they'll suddenly re-cast the voice actors and tone down the ham-fisted clichés. Considering that you can get this one for $15 now, I'll gladly overlook the cheesiness and backtracking... At $60, however, I would've been much more disappointed.

So very tired...

Tomb Raider: Underworld was pretty sweet, but not without its faults; F.E.A.R. 2 was really good despite feeling like more of the same from the first game; Prince Of Persia (2008) is off to a solid start, but I'm already noticing potentially big annoyances; Tales Of Monkey Island has been great throughout.

I'll go into more detail when I'm not half asleep.