My first foray into gaming happened when I was just a boy. I was probably no older than three when I played my first videogame, Super Mario Bros. 3. That game was superb, and though I may have been young, it was my father that taught me how to hold a controller.

Chrono Trigger's existence didn't happen for me until the days of the PS1, when I first bought a pack called Final Fantasy Chronicles. It was comprised of 2 discs, Final Fantasy IV, and Chrono Trigger, a game that would have an impact on me like no other.

I played Chrono Trigger for the first time, entranced by all the magic that came with it, from the characters, to the world, everything clicked. The battle system itself was turn-based, but provided tons of variety with the combo systems, that I never got tired of performing them. The pixel art of the game itself is beautiful, and I never get tired of looking at it. This is definitely one of the reasons why I love indie gaming so much nowadays, because the art style of many are unique and are a call-back to the days of the SNES and the wonderful art design of the games on it.

I wasn't done with Chrono Trigger after just one playthrough, oh no. I played it 3 or 4 more times after that throughout the year. Since my father was a SNES game collector, I even went back and found the original cartridge and played it on the SNES. Years after that I played it again a few more times on the DS. Without the shadow of a doubt, Chrono Trigger is the game I have played most in my gaming life, in terms of full playthroughs, and I could play it again and again and again, and just never get tired of it.

This game made me the gamer I am today, and I have to thank all the creators, designers, directors and everyone who ever worked on it, from the ports to the remasters, and more. It's truly marvelous, and if you haven't played it, do yourself a real favor, pick it up on the Vita, PS3, or DS, and experience this classic. Chrono Trigger is one of the greatest games you'll ever have the pleasure to play and in 20 more years, I'll have beaten it at least 10 more times.

I'm sure the lot of you can remember when you were fresh-eyed and out of college for the first time ever. Shit, it just happened to me around three months ago when I finished. I got my degree framed and everything, along with a picture of myself in a cap and gown, basically the works. It was a shining moment, though being someone who never cared about this stuff, I was just happen that it was actually over. College isn't as glamorous as they make it out to be in the movies, not for someone as socially awkward as I am, really.

Then you know, comes the job search. That's the most irritating part, signing up for hundreds of jobs and hearing back from maybe a few, going to an interview, maybe getting chosen, maybe getting rejected. It's rather annoying to deal with. Submitting all those resumes over and over and getting really far only to get shot down is a pretty shitty feeling. But you keep looking and looking, and I know I'll eventually land a spot, but hey, first you have to go through the bullshit. Every time I sign up it's, 2+ years experience, 3+ years experience, 4+ years experience, 5+ years experience, 6+ years experience, etc.

I don't have that much experience, you bastards. I swear there's barely any entry-level engineering jobs in the tri-state area. If this keeps up I'll just go back to school. May as well get my graduate degree if I can't find a job in the next few months. But I'm just ranting. It's a long road. Maybe I'll be able to find something I love doing thanks to this. Otherwise, I may actually go back to school. That may not be so bad. I hear engineering Ph.D's can get you six figures, not that I ever cared about how much I make either way. I just would like a job that makes me happy.

Thanks for reading fellas, and have a terrific weekend.

Sometimes we say things we don't want other people to know about. I'm here to capture those moments and let everybody know about them. Being in a Skype group with some great people on IGN means I get to share their less... charming moments and totally remove the context they came from. Right? ...right?

Big thanks to everyone that participated in the Skype conversation and Tim for those hilarious Hunger Games photos, they shall not remain anonymous =P, be sure to visit their MyIGN pages!

Goose --> EinyelVargas

Squirrel, Lion, Hipster --> neil_rev

Sav, Savio --> xxDisturbedSavio

Clude --> Xbro

Hamtaro --> Kralamoonard

Tim --> SmaugtheMagnificent

Otart --> OcarinaPlayerOfTime

Niko --> SecondServing

And as usual, thanks for reading!

Sometimes you just stumble on an anime that leaves quite the impression you. I'd like you present to you, those who read my block, the best 10 anime ever made. They are without a doubt, perfect. Don't you argue with me. In of course, no particular order.

A show about a kitten trying to find a stone to turn his brother back into a kitten. Fantastic. It involves kittens that can use alchemy!

This character based comedy recently added a new member to it's cast! A cat!

A cat piloting a giant robot? Now that's entertainment!

Cats and time travel. Things are about to pawsitively crazy!

What happens when a certain cat gets a book where he can kill anyone by writing their real name? Watch and find out!

RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! THEY'RE FREAKIN' HUGE!

A journey of one kitten trying to find his father cat. Touching! Moving! Meowtastic!

Even a cat can start a band!

As this group tries to link a strange case of serial murders together, one cat has all the answers.

Join this perverted kitten on his crazy adventures as a teacher!

I hope you enjoyed this April Fool's Joke! And I'd like to credit MyAnimeList and it's users for these fantastic images! I hope you didn't cringe too much reading those titles =P

Hey all, welcome to a new weekly series I plan to start. In these installments, I sort of want to make an open forum about the games you've played each weekend, your impressions on it, or anything else you feel like you wanna talk about. I'll be doing this series weekly and hope you enjoy it. To start, I'll go over the games I've played this weekend, with the first game as my current favorite. Feel free to talk about however many games you want, there are no limits here! I will also blank out spoilers for those who haven't played the games.

Current Favorite: ~Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)~

Right now, this is probably the best game that I am currently playing. I'm around 17 hours in before the Telethia boss fight. I never finished the game the first time around, but I am really enjoying the battle system, which is very much an action/turn-based hybrid, and very hotkey based, but it is extremely satisfying to pull off battles and encounters with hardly any health left. The story is interesting thus far, but not the highlight of the game for me. What really makes it special so far is the brilliant music, combat, and fantastic visuals and enemy design throughout each area. It's fantastic so far.

Super Time Force Ultra (Steam)

So I finished this game over the weekend. It was a little more than 5 hours in length. The game is a retro style platformer with a rewind mechanic that allows you to undue your mistakes with each death. It was a pretty great experience, had many characters and it was overall very fun, though I found it a little tedious in some places.

Story of Seasons (3DS)

I'll be honest, I haven't played too much of this game, I finished the training and stopped but I plan to come back to it. It seems like it has a lot of content and can be a very fun life-sim game.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS)

I love me some visual novels, and ever since completing Danganronpa I've wanted another, and so far I am loving Ace Attorney, it's filled with a fantastic cast of characters, has some really interesting cases, and keeps the player very involved. If you love visual novels, this is definitely one I'd recommend.

CS:GO

This will likely be on my list every week. Counter-Strike is and always will be my go-to multiplayer game. Nothing beats the tension of this one and it's certainly one of my all-time favorite shooters.

So what games did you play this week? Anything new? Went back to some old classics? Let me know down in the comments!

One of my most anticipated games this year is Xenoblade Chronicles X. An open world JRPG with an excellent battle system and... what's this... MECHAS? Yeah, you better believe I'm excited. So I'm here today to go over the highlights of the 30 minute stream on the mechs (or dolls as they are called in-game) and network features that aired not too long ago. All my reactions will be recording in real time at the moment.

• 9:02 AM - The colors of the many mechs shown in the intro and different types of armor seem to indicate heavy customization. They showed a little more of the first person view.
• 9:05 AM - 3 different types of mechs from light, middle to heavy. They look incredible. Customization is just insane.
• 9:08 AM - The vehicle mode looks incredibly fun to control and there are several types! Even ones that go over water! Looks like your jet pack can be changed as well! Several glimpses of the customization screen.
• 9:10 AM - Several slots for weapons! And different types! Hand, arm, spare, and back. From beam sabers to guns to drills!
• 9:14 AM - Seems like doll fuel will play a big part, and if you run out the doll won't function anymore, in battle or it will fall out of the sky. Seems like you'll be refilling it. I enjoy that aspect. Looks like you'll need to be smart about it. Seems you'll be able to trap enemies through a sort of combo. Air combat also confirmed.
• 9:19 AM - Seems like there is some sort of overdrive mode ala FFX, If your doll gets destroyed you can repair it from the looks of it. No idea if there is a sort of consequence for it. HP refills on standby. Dolls seems like they can provide an advantage to your ground unit part members.
• 9:20 AM Seems like you'll have doll suits for your character, pretty cool, sort of like your usual Gundam anime.

I get a bit confused from here on so this is just conjecture.

• 9:23 AM - Seems like you can leave a ghost of a party member in places and other players can access them. Pretty cool. Sort of like the Streetpasses in Fire Emblem: Awakening. Except maybe others can level these characters for you for a short while. Maybe collectibles can be left out as well.
• 9:24 AM - You may be able to fight these ghosts as well.
• 9:26 AM - Looks like there will be Monster Hunter style quests here where you and your friends can go on quests and fight big baddies. Something about World Enemies. Sounds very exciting. Perhaps online challenges.
• 9:27 AM - Clan tags! I hope those are clan tags!
• 9:28 AM - Online ranking look confirmed!
• 9:30 AM - And of course they end with some terrific setpieces and music. Perfectly done.

My hype level is over 9000. I hope you all enjoyed the reason. Definitely one of my top most anticipated games this year.

If you missed it! The full broadcast.

Every anime fanatic has their waifus or husbandos, but would you ever really date them? Some are probably crazy. Would you really date Revy? She'd get you killed eventually. Maybe you want to be more practice. Or maybe you're just lonely hugging your Revy pillow. She's not real you know. Whatever the case! List off the 6 anime characters you would date! Here are mine and reasons why.

- Totsuka Saika

He's adorable. That's my reason. Shut up.

- Mizunashi Akari

She's cute, and she's sweet and she has an adorable pet. And pink hair. That's important. Seriously look at her face. How can you NOT love her?

- Holo

Holo has that serene feeling about her. She's a mature character. She's also cute, calm, and has a head on her shoulders, seriously, I mean, not many anime characters are anywhere near her level of mature. She's witty, smart, and not too mention that adorable tail, and those ears.

P.S. Would fight Tom for her Gladiator style.

- Musubi

I mean what male wouldn't want a girl with such great assets--- that can totally kickass and protect him dating him? Yeah. That's what I meant.

- Seishirou Tsugumi

While a minor character in Nisekoi, she's definite the best character (sheisidontcarewhatyouthink) and she's downright adorable. Just look at those b--- that face. She's also a reverse trap, and I do love my traps.

- Chihaya Ayase

And my favorite girl here, and probably my favorite female character from any anime period, Chihaya from Chihayafuru. The gif speaks for itself. Chihaya is one of the deepest character from any anime I've seen and deserves a mention here. She's reliable, hilarious, and bright and not to mention very cute.

So sound off, give me your 6. What 6 anime characters would you date and what are your reasons why? No anime characters in mind or not a big anime fan? Video game and book characters count too!

I'd like to welcome you to my second install of What Games Did You Play This Weekend. I hope you guys enjoy this series, I plan to keep it going as long as I can. So let's drive right in and get to the games that I have personally been playing this weekend.

Favorite of the Week: Spec Ops: The Line (Steam)

Spec Ops: The Line is certainly not a fun game. No one in their right mind would call it a game that's "fun." Nothing you do in this game is "fun." But boy is it an engaging game, boy is it a game I could talk about for hours and hours, discuss for pages upon pages, and certainly a game I would place in at least my top 20 games of all time list. I will limit myself however, because it's a game you need to play, a game that must be played. A short unforgettable 6 hour experience but one of the best narratives in any game you can play. Nolan North does a fantastic job as the lead. Go out and play it. It's best to play this one blind. I won't ruin a single thing.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS)

Of course I continued the trials of Phoenix Wright this week and made my way to case 1 - 5. 1 - 4 is my favorite so far, and made me love Edgeworth as a character, whom I hated at first. Fantastically written case and it had such emotional and amazing character development. Loved every second.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)

I'm in the middle of World 2 of this one and so far it's a rather fantastic title. Solid platformer, great music and great look, though personally I don't think the new Donkey Kong games have quite reached the level of the original Country series but they sure are getting there.

So what games did you play this week? Anything new? Went back to some old classics? Let me know down in the comments!

Hello folks! Installment number 3 is ready to go! A big change this week is instead of focusing on the weekend, I decided to change the title to what games did you play this week! So everything you played from my last blog (which are on Sundays) to today's blog is completely applicable. I figured this would allow more people to participate since I received many comments along the lines of many being busy during the weekend. I hope this change is for the better! So let's begin. This week I dived back into my library and replayed a few of my favorites, along with one new game, Heroes of the Storm.

Favorite of the Week: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (Steam)

Blood Dragon is a standalone expansion to Far Cry 3, and in some ways, imho, is better than Far Cry 3. The game is a gigantic parady of action films like Terminator. With a super powered badass hero named REX POWER COLT, it takes its mechanics from Far Cry 3, throws you into a neon-colored futuristic overworld and tells you to wreak havoc everywhere. There's a story there, but honestly I've been ignoring that, and just running around killing bad guys, giant fucking blood dragons and having a grand old time. I highly recommend this one. It's fairly short and worth every penny.

Super Smash Bros. (Wii U)

With the release of Mewtwo, I went back to Smash to give him a try and have been playing quite a bit during my down time. Mewtwo is a solid character, has great control and I still fairly suck at using him, but the practice helps. Smash is definitely one of those "just one more match" games. Every time I pick it up, I have trouble putting it down.

Game Dev Tycoon (Steam)

I don't know what I find compelling about this game. Honestly it's one giant formula that you can look up online, but there's something compelling about making games within a game about making games. Gameception? Either way it's definitely a game I love throwing on when I have a podcast up. It's good to relax to.

Heroes of the Storm [Beta] (PC)

I received a battle code for Heroes of the Storm this week. I've never really dived deep into many MOBAs outside of Awesomenauts, but this game definitely has its hooks in me. I've played about 15 games this week, mostly in cooperative modes because I'm terrible at PvP, but this is one MOBA I'm definitely gonna play for the long run.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

I started this game this week, one of my all-time favorites, but I haven't delved too deep just yet. It still is one of my absolute favorite spectacle fighters and I love the soundtrack of it to death. I'm hoping to dive in a lot more in the coming week.

So what games did you play this week? Anything new? Went back to some old classics? Let me know down in the comments!

*AS THE TITLE SUGGEST THIS BLOG IS FILLED WITH SPOILERS - ALL THE NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN WHITE TEXT SO PLEASE SCROLL OVER THEM IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE SHOW, AND PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF SPOILERS IN YOUR COMMENTS, THANK YOU*

If you're an avid anime watcher like I am, there are probably moments where you see an amazing character in one of your favorite shows, before he's tragically killed off. A lot of shows definitely hit hard with an unexpected and sometimes even a death you expect. Below are my top 3 most epic anime deaths.

1. Trigun - Nicolas D. Wolfwood

Wolfwood is likely my favorite character in Trigun. The cool demeanor he exudes and his character progression while he was around Vash was phenomenal. He really grew to be much more of an empathetic character, especially as the series progressed. He held ideals that he must kill to save others but eventually grew to accept Vash's ideals. Some thing that must have been difficult to do, but it really came together during his final scene. It's a very touching scene, as he reflects back on his life and regrets he didn't have a chance to live just a little a longer, a scene that I consider one of the best in the entire show. Rest in Peace, Preacher Man.

2. Cowboy Bebop - Spike Spiegel

Spike is without a doubt my favorite anime character. He's smooth, calm, and collected. From how his hair looks to the way he conducts himself, he does it in a way that screams badass. During the final scenes of the show, he realizes he must finally face his past, and finally go back to the syndicate to kill Vicious. And during that final scene as he walks down those stairs, you just hear one word come out of his mouth: "Bang." Something that should mean so little but resonates so much, as he's one character that everyone who's watched Bebop grew extremely attached to. It hit hard, and is definitely one of my absolute favorite moments.

3. Hunter X Hunter - Mereum

Everyone and their mother saw this death coming. It was inevitable, but boy was it done absolutely perfectly. Meruem is one of the best shounen villains out there. He has a level of depth that you can hardly finds in most villains, as he starts out as a monster and eventually gains a level of compassion and understanding, so when you learned he was finally going to die, you couldn't help but feel like the journey was too short. He died in the best way possible, with someone he loved, and it was certainly one of the most tear-jerking moments for me.

I hope you guys enjoyed the read! I'd like to hear yours as well, so share away, what 3 anime deaths had the most impact on you? As stated, please be very mindful of spoilers.

Hey everyone, welcome to another edition of What Games Did You Play This Week! Finals are around the corner so I'm sure most of you still in college are studying, but whether you played for 5 minutes or 5 hours, do feel free to share! As for what I played today, I journeyed back into the depths and decided to play Dark Souls, a game I never initially finished, as well as a couple new games.

Favorites of the Week: Dark Souls (Steam) & Crypt of the NecroDancer (Steam)

I have a couple favorites to share this week. First off, Dark Souls. A game I never initially finished and thoroughly has its claws in me. I played around 10 hours in 2 - 3 days and I'm still trucking along. I've made it to the spot I quit last time, the Gaping Dragon. After I beat him, it's all new content and I can't wait. The game is fantastic so far, the bleak atmosphere, the heavy combat and the great feeling you get when you finally kill a boss is unmatched.

My second favorite game this week is a new release, Crypt of the NecroDancer. What a surprise this one was. I've put a couple hours into it now, and plan to play tons more. It's what you would call a rhythm rogue-like, which seems like a bad combination, but it works ridiculously well, allowing you move a space with each beat. You can even upload your own tracks, but right now, I'm just aiming to finish the stock soundtrack, which is fantastic, before using my own music.

Dino D-Day (Steam)

I played about an hour of this one. It's certainly a fun game, but very barren in terms of content. For $1 however, I did enjoy my time with it and may come back to it in the near future. As of now, nothing has pulled me away from CS:GO, probably still the finest multiplayer shooter I have ever played.

Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

With the release of the 200cc, I had some fun going back to this one and testing out the new tracks. Being a big F-Zero fan (pls Nintendo pls make a new one), I love the new Big Blue track, and that one along with the Animal Crossing track are probably my two new favorites.

So what games did you play this week? Anything new? Went back to some old classics? Let me know down in the comments!

Koufuku Graffiti was my first food-related anime, and I enjoyed it for what it was. It was a very calm, serene and relaxing show about cooking. Going into Food Wars, I expected something similar (though honestly the "Wars" part should really have tipped me off), and my expectations weren't high, but I never suspected it would be this good. The premise of the show is rather simple. Yukihira Souma is a student in middle school who wants to take over his father's restaurant, but one day out of the blue, his father closes it down and decides to move away to become a chef elsewhere to help a friend of his. Souma is rather devastated by this, but soon after, he is enrolled by his father into the top culinary high school in the country, where only 10% of the entire student body, numbering about 1000, end up graduating. His father tells him that if he can't graduate from here, he'll never be as good a chef as he is. Souma decides to take his father's challenge on.

As the episodes roll on by, you meet more and more characters, from the very colorful main cast of Souma, the tsundere Erina, and the shy and bashful Megumi, to the supporting cast of professors and the other students encompassing the culinary academy. The cast is solid, and immediately likable. As pompous as the main character may seem, the types of characters I usually never like, I found myself rooting for him throughout each episode thus far. Each episode is incredibly well-paced as well. I can't remember the last time I watched an anime where the episode ended before I realized it, and it just had me craving more after.

What really drew me into this series was the complete, over the top crazy bonkers nature of the show, from how they portray Souma's culinary skills to the crazy fantasies some of the characters fall into when tasting his cooking. It can be downright hilarious at times. Each dish he makes is creative is also explained in a completely over the top fashion, and kept me smiling all the way through. The is the one show I recommend everyone watch this season, you will not be disappointed.

Hello folks! It's still finals season, so gaming has been sparse for many, but I hope some of you found time to game even a little. For this week, I got re-addicted to Monster Hunter 4, and gave Valve's second biggest shooter, Team Fortress 2, a try.

Favorites of the Week: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS) & Risk of Rain (Steam)

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate was a game I played for about 20 hours, a few months before 4 released. It was solid, but wasn't exactly something that kept my attention. When I got Monster Hunter 4 for the 3DS, I was immediately hooked in. I put in 50 hours for the first week and stopped, since I got a little tired of it, I recently came back this week I've put in around 15 more hours into this game and recently reached HR6 in quest level and Caravan 6 in the main quest line. Right now I'm working on finishing the single player so I can have access to all the monsters. It's got its claws in me and I've been playing this game for days on end and will be playing for many, many more.

I love Risk of Rain. It's one of my favorite rogue-like games. I came back to it on Steam after a few months and I have been loving every second. It's concept is simple. You start out in a randomly generated level and have to find the boss door to summon the boss, all while collecting pick ups along the way. The catch is the game gets harder every five minutes. The farthest I've made it is level three, as you can probably guess the game gets extremely hectic the longer you take to complete each level. It's an amazing rogue-like I wholeheartedly recommend.

Team Fortress 2 (Steam)

The first time I tried this game, I wasn't really a big fan, but recently I've been getting more into it, and boy do I love the Sniper class in this game. Headshots just feel incredible. For a co-op multiplayer shooter, this isn't my absolute favorite, but it's one I will be spending much more time with in the coming months.

Dark Souls (Steam)

Of course I'm still making my way through Dark Souls. I recently made it to Sen's Fortress and the bonfire there, so I'm about a 1/4 of the way finished with the game from the boss list I saw. I'm loving the game so far, and hope it continues to impress. I also hear I'm getting near Anor Londo, the most rage inducing area of the game.

CS:GO (Steam)

CS:GO will never die out for me as my favorite competitive shooter, or even multiplayer shooter in general. I managed to get in a few matches this week as always.

So what games did you play this week? Anything new? Went back to some old classics? Let me know down in the comments!

Shounen is one of the most popular anime genres. Big hitters like Bleach, One Piece, Naruto and probably the most famous among even non-anime fans, Dragonball Z, are extremely well received and well-known shounen. Here I want to highlight my two absolute personal favorite shounen series and why I love them so much.

Hunter X Hunter

I was never a huge fan of battle shounen outside of the incredible Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Naruto and Bleach never caught my attention when I first saw them and I never cared to continue. However, about half a year ago when Hunter x Hunter ended, a series by the same man who made Yu Yu Hakusho, I finished all 148 episodes in about a month and a half.

The premise immediately grabbed me, the characters were well made, the animation was excellent, and although it took a few episode to really pick up, it eventually hooked me. I began to love the characters, the stories, and every single arc I watched. I loved how it took shounen conventions like tournaments, and concepts of different powers and did something completely different with them. I loved how the protagonists weren't nearly invincible and had more of an element of realism to them.

Every character was crafted well, and you began to even care for the antagonists of the series, who were every bit as memorable as the main cast, and one villain in the later arcs is one I would call one of the best shounen villains, and simply one of the best villains, in any series. This series is a special one, and one I wholeheartedly recommend.

Gintama

While Hunter X Hunter is incredible in its own right, my favorite shounen anime of all time has to be Gintama. The cast of this series is enormous, yet every character is memorable in their own right and that to me is an incredible feat to pull off. There isn't one character that fades into the background.

The sheer level of craziness, the hilarious punchlines, and even the serious arcs are some of the most enjoyable I've ever watched in a shounen series. It always knows when to make you laugh, make you cry and make you care for each and every character, no matter how major or how minor.

I've been watching Gintama since it began back in 2006, and every time it goes on hiatus, it's always the show I'm most happy to see come back, and one I hope just never ends. I need my Gintama fix just like Gintoki needs his strawberry milk.

So what are your favorite shounen anime! Share down in the comments below and feel free to add me on MyAnimeList here!

Finals are almost over! I'm sure you'll have your freedom soon and you'll be able to play a lot more. For others, they already ended! I hope you all did well . This week I stuck to only a few games, and replayed one in particular that I never finished.

Favorite of the Week: Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (Steam)

I love arcade-like shooters. Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is the definition of one. The story isn't too complicated. A man named Silas Greaves comes into a bar where people recognize him, and he tells his story of revenge. The voice-acting is fantastic, but what really makes this game fantastic is the gameplay. The authentic guns and revolvers from the Wild West era, the skill based mechanics that allow you to slow down time for multiple headshots, and the point system. I love every second. I never finished this gem the first time, but I have two chapters left now and I am loving it.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)

Continue my Monster Hunter 4 obsession, I made it through more of the campaign this week. I'm almost up to Caravan 8 trying to get my armor and weapon set ready for higher ranks and still hunting with a few groups of friends. Right now I could very easily call MH4U my GOTY so far. I can't see many games topping it.

Team Fortress 2 (Steam)

I'm still playing a few matches of TF2 now and again and trying to get into it. It certainly feels much different to CS:GO and is much faster paced, but I am enjoying it quite a bit, though it still hasn't hooked me in completely yet.

-----------------------------

Most Anticipated Weekly Release: Axiom Verge (May 14th on Steam)

A new part of the blog which I wanted to add this week is my most anticipated weekly release! For the week of May 10th, there's only one game I am looking forward to. It's on PS4 but I have no PS4, so the Steam release is welcome. I love the Metroidvania genre, and the Metroid inspirations here are quite visible so I cannot wait to play Axiom Verge.

So what games did you play this week? Anything new? Went back to some old classics? Let me know down in the comments!

I'd like to say that I've had tons of fun here, and I hope that I'm around for many more years. I've met some fantastic people, and made some great friends, whether it's here in the wonderful blog community, the mod team, the comment sections or the boards, I am glad I met each and every single of you. You guys are the best!

P.S. I'm lazy so I made this short. The sentiment is the same though!

Hello everyone, welcome to the next edition of What Games Did You Play This Week! I hope the week's been good to you all. This week I didn't play as much as I usually do, so there isn't a definite favorite, but I did play a few new games for a bit and continued with a couple from last week.

Portal (Steam)

Portal 2 is one of my all-time favorite games. The writing, the gameplay, everything is so perfectly executed, and Cave Johnson is easily one of the most quotable characters in gaming, so I decided to go back and play the original Portal, a game I never played. While I only played about an hour so far, I am enjoying it, even though it's not as engaging as the second one is thus far.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (Steam)

Without a doubt one of the hidden gems of last gen, I urge you to get this arcadey-style FPS. I sung its praises last week, so it doesn't get the spotlight this time, but having finished it, the ending was absolutely perfect. The only issue I had with it was the difficulty spike with the last chapter, but other than that, this is one of the best FPS games you will ever play.

Metroid Fusion (GBA)

It's been a while since I started my Metroid restrospective, so I decided it's time I continue it, and started Metroid Fusion the other day. It's still quite excellent and though I have some issues with the design choices, I'm enjoying it greatly. Certainly one of the better 2D Metroid games out there.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)

Still trucking my way through MH4. 100% done with Caravan 1 - 5 so far, and hoping to finish it all. I finally made it to G-rank in multiplayer as well and finished my G-rank armor set. This is a game I will likely be playing for a good while longer.

Antichamber (Steam)

I left this one out purposefully. While I adore the artstyle and the creativity of this game, I'm just a big puzzle game fan. Sans a few well known ones, I just find them frustrating, and couldn't continue Antichamber, so I dropped it, and likely won't be coming back. However if you do enjoy mindbending puzzles, I encourage you to check this one out.

-----------------------------

Most Anticipated Weekly Release: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (May 19th on PC, PS4, and Xbox One)

It's preordered. It's preloaded. What else is there to really say? Witcher 2 is my 3rd favorite game of all time. I absolutely cannot wait for this.

So what games did you play this week? Anything new? Went back to some old classics? Let me know down in the comments!

Warning: There are story spoilers in this review. They are marked in red for your convenience.

In 2002, two Metroid games were released. One was Metroid Prime, the first Metroid game that strayed away from the 2D sidescrolling aspect to give us a full first-person Metroid adventure game, one developed by a new studio, Retro. The second was Metroid Fusion. A side scroller developed by the man who made Metroid, Sakamoto. While the game has its caveats and does some thing I am just not very fond of, it has a lot more positives that paint it as a fantastic Metroid game.

To get the negatives out of the way first, and these are more subjective, personal ones, the game sort of dulls in the exploration aspects of the others. With an objective based system and zones that separate each area, you are basically told where to go and most every turn. It's not really a system where you can find your own way to the objective either. The maps themselves are sort of a distraction, which make the game never really feel linear, but by the end it's all too clear.

This is generally due to the more story based nature of the game, which is fine, and I did enjoy the narrative throughout, but that takes a lot away from the game being better, which if these maps were more fleshed out and not objective based, could have been a game that surpassed ever Super Metroid, but it certainly did not come close. Another negative is the boss battles. Some are just far, far too easy, and take a minute or two to beat. Even the climactic battle with SA-X feels very very underwhelming.

Finally, the music is not memorable. I did not really think the soundtracks were enjoyable at all, and while Metroid II was a weaker game overall, I believe the SR388 theme alone was far better than every tune in Metroid Fusion.

While the game has several negatives, a lot of the game's positives actually greatly outshine them. First of all the combat and the mechanics. They are really, really well done, fluid, easy to control and possibly the best mechanics overall in any Metroid game. Movement feels tight, fast, and responsive, and I loved platforming as Samus.

Streamlining the game a bit by combining missiles into super missiles seemed iffy at first, but overall I liked it as an addition to the game, since you never feel overpowered and the enemies continually scale, with harder normal foes and bosses you have to fight. This was welcome. You never felt like the game was impossible, even if at points it was too easy with the boss fights, the enemies themselves provided a challenge, forcing you to avoid them or kill them outright.

Another gigantic plus is the level design. While I had caveats with the linearity, the levels are designed extremely well, with plenty of power-ups and secrets hidden everywhere. With my playthrough I only found 50% of the secrets, when I was certain I found many many more. This was great to see and shows that they went in depth with all the hidden secrets and nuances in each room.

The power up in the game are solid, though I would have enjoyed more new power ups overall. The diffusion missile wasn't entirely well implemented and I used it way too little in the long run (though, it may have been designed to find more secrets), but every other power up controlled well and served a purpose to open new passages and find new secrets.

The story itself, was a rather well-told tale, although, not as interesting as I would have liked it. It works in context however, but I personally would have enjoyed it more to learn about the monsters and the world of Fusion, even though it was simple. However, I did enjoy Samus's ramblings and the twist in the middle. The only problem I had was the end, which felt like pandering to Super Metroid, with the whole countdown aspect and SA-X saving Samus at the very end (though I would have liked to know the motivation of these creatures, which we are ultimately left in the dark about). Also the fact that the intelligent life somehow transferred Adam's computer to Samus's ship, which I felt was a little unbelievable.

I did enjoy the tension between Samus and SA-X heavily. The chase sequence in particular. He was menacing. The added element of fear really contributes to the atmosphere of the game overall and was definitely one of the best parts of the game. I do wish that the story had more moments like these, more than the text based story-telling aspect that is more prevalent.

And finally, my absolute favorite part of this game is the enemy and art design. The colors are bright, and fit well with the tone of the game. The X are a great new nemesis, and each enemy and boss felt unique with even the space pirate X-copies have a new spin on them. I greatly enjoyed this aspect and it was without a doubt the most interesting part of the game, but as I stated before, I do wish we could have learned more about the X and more about the lore surrounding them. There is a lot of potential for growth.

tl;dr: Overall, this is a fantastic Metroid game, and a fantastic game in its own right, and while it may deviate from the formula, certainly is one of the best Metroid games you can play. I wholeheartedly recommend it!

I hope you all enjoyed the read. I was doing these in order of release, but I will be going a bit out of order for the next game and doing Metroid: Zero Mission first, after I will continue on with the Prime trilogy, the extra Prime games and Metroid: Other M, plus I will be doing a story and lore retrospective, to finally close off this series. Thanks a lot for reading guys!

I've played quite a few games recently and listened to some tracks from some old favorites, and I'd like to highlight a few more recent games and a few not so well known ones, for their excellent music. Here's a list of my recent favorite videogame soundtracks! I hope you enjoy it.

Call Of Juarez: Gunslinger

The Western feel of the soundtrack for this game speaks for itself. It's just phenomenal and captures the tone extremely well.

Dust: An Elysian Tale

Dust is quite honestly one of my favorite indie games. It's right up there with bigger ones like Bastion. And the soundtrack for it? Just absolutely incredible.

FTL: Faster Than Light

The ambient soundtrack of FTL can be both simultaneously relaxing and filled with tension, but overall, it's one of the best soundtracks you can listen to.

Risk of Rain

Another amazing soundtrack filled with very ambient like tunes, that just add so much to the atmosphere of this gem.

The Witcher 3

With the recent release of The Witcher 3, I had to place it on here, especially when I find myself humming some of the amazing music the game has.

I haven't gotten much sleep this past week. Witcher 3 also came out this past week. There's a connection there somewhere I know it. Welcome to another edition of What Games Did You Play This Week! I obviously spend a lot of time exploring the Witcher 3's world over the past few days, but I also continues my Metroid series retrospective as well!

Favorites of the Week: The Witcher 3 (GOG) + Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA)

I've been waiting for The Witcher 3 since it was first revealed and boy oh boy does it deliver on every front. There are tons and tons to do in its open world, it has fantastic combat, great character customization, fantastic side quests and dialogue and the main story line is just amazing so far. I've put in about 30 hours so far, and I'm still not even remotely tired of it.

Zero Mission is likely my favorite 2D Metroid game, right up there with Super Metroid. The level design is great, the way Samus controls is smooth and this game is probably one of the best remakes of all-time. Playing through it again confirms that. Though I have some issues with the extra parts added to the end, which I will go over in my review, this is one Metroid game I wholeheartedly recommend.

Metal Slug 3 (Steam)

I recently completed Metal Slug 3 with SecondServing. It was quite a ride. I never actually played through a Metal Slug game before, but boy did it get weird when the last level when from military battlefield to alien ship. It is a great shoot 'em up game.

Orcs Must Die! (Steam)

Although I didn't play much, I did play a few rounds of Orcs Must Die! this week, and as one of my favorite horde defense games, it was a blast. I plan to hopefully finish this one soon and move on to the bigger and better sequel.

Metroid Fusion (GBA)

I recently finished Metroid Fusion and reviewed it. While I had some ups and downs with the game, I can safely say this is one of the best 2D Metroids made (not that there are that many to choose from). I highly recommend it if you're a fan of 2D action platformers.

So what games did you play this week? Anything new? Went back to some old classics? Let me know down in the comments!