Wow broadway shows are expensive. I am looking at available tickets and it seems like the whole place will be empty. They should give the tickets away.

Hmmmmmm, those BLOPS 2 reviews tell me that if you factor out the multiplayer the campaign is going to be a 7.0 or something. Judging by past games.

So I was bored, kicked on the 3DS and perused the eShop. If your 3DS enthusiasm is waning I suggest you do the same as the shop does a better job of enthusing and entertaining you about the 3DS then most websites do. The video seems to have improved, it's smooth as butter and the layout has changed a bit. Still not the most orderly thing to navigate but there is tons of content to check out.

I downloaded some demos:

Marvel Pinball - the title screen is epic in 3D, it has like 360 quality models which you know Capcom would do in game in realtime. But the game is a crapfest.

Shifting Worlds is an interesting but too simple black and white platform game where you flip the world upside down to make it to an exit doorway.

Art of Balance Touch is a 3DS version of the Wii game, great 3D, nice graphics and presentation really addictive too. I might pick this up. Only thing I did not like was that you had to use B to cancel a piece pick up and when you are holding a stylus in your right hand that is hard as you keep the stylus pressed on the screen to hold the piece without dropping it.

Kingdom Hearts - is this what the KH games of the past played like? WTF, barely controllable camera, bizaare combat and movement, flow settings. You slide towards objects, go all glow-ey and then fling yourself about the environment. Graphics were nice though, not brilliant but nice like a PS2 in 3D.

Mutant Mudds - cute 8 bit throwback with awesome music but too simple gameplay, got boring fast.

I was hoping for demos of retail games but no. One thing the eShop reminded me of is that I love 3D, but mostly for 2D games. The 2D title screens for most games in the eShop look great, I would love to see comic books in this form on a larger tablet device. And SNES style games in 3D look awesomely fun. Maybe I should get Mighty Switch Force?

I was really tempted to buy Pushmo/Pullblox that Intelligent Systems game that scored like 9.5 everywhere. Anyone else check it out other than Robio?

COD BLOPS 2 reviews:

• CVG: 7.8 - "Eighty-six years of technology, and there's still so little to split between Call of Duty 2's World War II and Black Ops 2's World War Next. Perhaps that is the enduring message that Black Ops 2 has to share with the world."
• Official PlayStation Magazine UK: 8/10 - " Black Ops 2 is the ultimate expression of what Call Of Duty has achieved on the current generation of consoles, but it'll take PS4 to unshackle the series from its current limitations"
• IGN: 9.3 - "The team at Treyarch could have played it safe and Black Ops II would have sold well, but instead they challenged assumptions and pushed the series forward in awesome new directions."
• Gamespot: 8.0 - "By reaching forward while remaining rooted in the things it does so well, Black Ops II offers a great shooter experience."
• Games Radar: 4.5/5 - "Treyarch introduces new ideas to the tried-and-true game mechanics of the series and improves upon them. Every aspect of the game has been honed to a razor-sharp experience, complete with beautiful visuals and rock-solid controls."
• Polygon: 8/10 - "Black Ops 2's campaign and Zombies mode are disappointments, especially coming off the across-the-board success of its predecessor. But it's a testament to the extraordinary quality of its multiplayer that Black Ops 2 won't go down as a forgotten entry."
• Joystiq: 4/5 - "Multiplayer is king in Black Ops 2, offering plenty of in-game and inherent rewards for its ravenous online community. It's paired with a lackluster story that fails the ambition shown by the branching campaign, reflecting the overall game's forward-thinking but imperfectly executed ideas."
• Giant Bomb: 4/5 - "It's the notion that Call of Duty is showing some terrific signs of life on the campaign side that left me the most impressed. It's got its share of flaws, but overall Treyarch has assembled a great, fast, and fun first-person shooter that, even if you were thinking about finally skipping a year, is still worth your time."
• OXM UK: 8/10 - "As a multiplayer game, Black Ops 2 is one of the best shooters around - sprawling and sagging under the weight of interesting systems. Offline, however, it's merely adequate."
• Destructoid: 8.5 - "It's a great game from a studio that's done everything it can with the tools at its disposal to reinvigorate Call of Duty, even if it doesn't refashion the series completely."
• Videogamer: 8/10 - "I prioritise the giddy highs of the Black Ops II's exhilarating multiplayer over the disappointment of its poor and brief campaign. Be very careful if you don't."
• Game Informer: 8.50 - . Despite some frustrations, Black Ops II is yet another massive, polished, finely tuned entry in a series that shows no signs of slowing down. Even if Treyarch misses the mark on occasion, I respect the developer for taking chances with a series that would sell just fine if it stuck with the status quo.
• Shacknews: No Score - There is fun to be had in Black Ops 2, but it can be hard to see it at times through the sea of shortcomings. The compelling narrative and Goyer's script is marred by lackluster tech that can't fully realize its vision. The fun gunplay made possible by the futuristic setting is disrupted by an overpowered weapon that upsets the game's balance. And while the standout Strike Missions prove that the franchise still has worthwhile innovation left in it, their brief appearance in the campaign will leave you wanting. Activision will need to have something truly special lined up for 2013, if they expect its already-dated technology to stutter its way for next year's game.
• G4: 4.5 - Despite the slight dings in Strike Missions and Zombies, the series continues to shine with its incredibly ambitious, globe-spanning, epic single player campaign, which is now augmented with an incredibly high replay factor. And it should come as no surprise that the multiplayer continues to shine, and will dominate the online game boards in the weeks and months to come.

I hate you Japan.

note: he reviewed the original and it was awarded 5/10

Dvader said:

This. Halo 1 was crazy at the time, huge wow factor and like Edge said still some of the very best level designs. The last few levels were great, library was not. Its really about the scale of the battles, no Halo really attempted them except parts of Halo 3 but even those areas weren't as big. And the story, flow and excitment level was better then any Halo game too. As amazing as the online multiplayer has become no Halo game has replicated the magic of having LAN party multiplayer sessions in Halo 1.

The last few levels were great? You had to backtrack through the same way you came from. The game was great despite the last few areas.

Again my mind is boggled. Amazing multiplayer........ that is trumped by wired LAN sessions.

Halo Xbox 1 battles on a larger scale....... than is acheived on hardware, vastly more powerful? And the modern games haven't been able to achieve a better or same flow, or story or excitement level? I love Halo but this is pretty sad that people still regard Halo 1 as the best. (including myself). They can't make a better flowing Halo than the first? Can't beat the story of the first? Can't make it more exciting? With the tech and experience they should be knocking Halo 1 out of the park.

You call it flow, for me, it's balance. Halo 1 feels like the most balanced Halo game and that includes flow. And the sequels have all felt like repitition of a theme. I'm not sure how they can innovate with Halo to make it feel different enough to show. Did ODST do that? At this point I want Halo to do a Star Trek 4 and warp master chief back in time to the 80s. Imagine if the Covenant did this and had shape shifting personal devices? It could be the most hilarious thing ever. The Chief could keep the helmet and ride about on a green motorbike.

Cortana could have adapted to appear like a solid human hologram and help him out with wisecracks.

Archangel3371 said:

Meh. People have different opinions on which game is better in every franchise so Halo's no different.

I agree, I'm not talking in absolutes, it's all subjective opinion.

So has anyone checked out this games website Polygon?

Is it a magazine or ex-magazine? The layout for articles is frigging awesome, it replicates the experience of reading a magazine article the same sort of design that goes into laying out a mag article is there on a web page. Huge pictures, cropped shots, screen subs, cropped quotes. I love reading the articles, so far I've checked out the Scribblenauts and Zombi U previews/interviews. Very nice.