PSP Go on Sale Tomorrow; World Yawns

Sony's foray into the digital download gaming market is coming out tomorrow, but I could care less. Apparently some other people aren't excited about the PSP Go either. So what will I be doing tomorrow? Doing something a lot more interesting than trying out at the PSP Go: watching grass grow at the 56th annual Grass and Wet Paint Watching Festival. I hear this year they'll actually have grass from Brazil we can watch!

I'll also rather get sunburned and jump into seawater than buy any other PSP products.

My hatred of Sony and their handling of the PSP is pretty well known. Long story short, Sony screwed over everyone (myself included) who had actually bought the old PSP by making it impossible to use games that we have already purchased on UMD on the PSP Go, all for a wonderful $250.

Mind you, that's only $50 less than a PS3 or Xbox 360, for a thing that has nowhere near the usefulness of either gaming console. I wouldn't be so harsh if they bothered to upgrade the PSP Go's media and web support, but they didn't. So what are you getting for $250? Absolutely nothing worthwhile.

Quick Look: Halo 3: ODST

If you liked Halo 3, you'll Like Halo 3: ODST Rise of the Abbreviations. That said, I enjoyed it and its focus on the characters. All of the cutscenes were charming, thanks to the Firefly crew voicing the main characters. I even didn't mind the slightly hammy romantic scene near the end.

Charm aside, mechanically the game is supposed to play differently than Halo 3 thanks to you being a 'ordinary' grunt instead of the Master Chief, but honestly I didn't notice a substantial difference. You'll take cover more and be more cautious, but since the game throws much fewer enemies at you your weakness are kind of subdued. So the game isn't too hard, and it feels rather short as well once you finish. You'll definitely be left wanting more once the credits hit.

ODST is a good direction for the franchise to go in, with the beautiful open-world night time exploration, and its great attempts at bringing in more character to the Halo universe. But the Halo formula is starting to wear thin a bit, and it remains to be seen how Bungie can keep the next Halo game as fresh as ODST is.

Yea. I'm done. I'm off to play Firefight for another 3 hours.

So, I heard there was a Halo anime

So you know how I was talking about the Halo anime earlier?

Yeeeea.

Anime this isn't. While the animation and art might might be anime-inspired, the writing and dialogue were clearly created by the same dudes who write all the stuff that show up on Cartoon Network. Judging from this clip, it doesn't look horrible, but Halo Legends isn't something that I'd consider quality.

Of course, this isn't a surprise to anybody. But watching this clip did fulfill my weekly quota of Master Chief punching Brutes to death.

Quick Look: Eden of the East

There's anime that you watch to pass the time, and then there's anime you make time to watch. Eden of the East is definitely in the latter half of that spectrum. It's a action/thriller that made all the other shows this past summer anime season look rather half-baked and boring, and it's one of the few shows that I will unhesitatingly recommend to anyone.

And the OP song for the show was by friggen Oasis. That should tell you about how much care and effort was spent on Eden of the East.

The director for the series, Kenji Kamiyama, also directed Ghost in the Shell, and the mood is similar here. But unlike Ghost in the Shell (which got utterly dense and moody in the second season), Eden of the East never bogs down in its political-social commentary thanks to its charming characters. In fact, some people might miss all the social commentary thanks to the all the charisma that the main character Akira Takizawa seemingly generates out of nowhere.

From the first episode (from which the hilarious screenshot is posted) to the epic action-packed last episode, it's a non-stop roller coaster of intrigue. The plot and setting aren't entirely fresh, but East of Eden keeps things going through it's sheer charm and well-designed characters. With two movies in the near future, thankfully we won't be seeing the last of this charismatic series.

Hail to the King, baby.

Yea, Another New iPod

But this time, this one has radio functionality, voice recording features, and a freaking camera. Why? God knows. Maybe Steve woke up one day and said; "THERE SHALL BE A CAMERA IN THE NANO, SINCE OBVIOUSLY THE NANO NEEDS THE ABILITY TO CAPTURE SHITTY FOOTAGE."

Crummy camera aside, Apple is brilliantly solidifying their grip on the portable electronic market. Why buy a full on digital camera when you're just filming some hijinks with your friends? Just pull out your iPod, which you'll have on you anyways.

A lot of the popular consumer electronics are low-cost, 'good-enough' items. Cheap items like the Acer Aspire Netbook and Flip Ultra have taken over their respective markets with their versatility and low price points. And Apple is using this strategy to aim straight for dominance. With the 16GB Nano clocking in at only $180, it's bound for success.

I don't like this, but it doesn't mean other people won't. We may be in the age of High Definition, but many of us are perfectly happy with 'Good-Enough' Definition.

Obituary: My Xbox 360

Yup, my 360 bit the Three-Red-Rings-Of-Death this week. And this is my second RROD in 3 years to boot too. To top this off, the 300$ PS3 slim came out not too long ago too. So will I hang up my old and worn white 360 controller for a shiny new Dualshock 3 controller?

It's tempting, but no.

I've said this to my friends; right now, just looking at value for money, the PS3 beats out the 360. It's hard to say no to a $300 Blu-ray player/game console with a solid library of games. But just like how it's hard to say goodbye to our first car, I have too many memories invested in the stubborn white brick that's broken down on me three times.

From nights rocking out to Weezer in Rockband, to early mornings spent headshotting n00bs in CoD 4, I have a lot besides money invested in this console. I have distant friends made while playing on Xbox Live, I have roommates who are always down for that infamous 'just one more game' at 3 in the morning, and more importantly, I have many more memories waiting ahead of me on the 360.

So I'm sticking with the 360, even though right now I feel like punching Bill Gates in the face. But since he's picking up my tab for repairing my console (for the third time), I'll stick with just being angry at him. Can't turn down a free repair.