Bric-a-brac

Had dinner with Big Lou (my father, for the uninitiated) last night. Came home with lumpia, stuffed shrimp, pansit, and fresh cantaloupe and pineapple. Delicious.

Went on a bit of a music binge yesterday as well. Some solid additions to the collection, I'd say.

Also picked up ESPN NFL 2K5 this weekend. No, it's not Madden, but it's supposed to be nearly as good. And for $19.99, it's worth the risk.

And while we're on the topic of games, here are a few titles (I've done this before, I think, but can't find it in the archives) on the horizon that I think would make wonderful additions to the library of any PS2 owner.

Hot Shots Golf: Fore! This will be out in a mere 10 days and looks like it has far surpassed HSG3 on every level.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Yeah, I'm one among millions awaiting the release of this game. I've yet to read one bad thing about the game. The setting this time around is actually split between three cities. The cities are based on Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas. Rockstar Games have gone out of their way to up the realism quotient, allowing you to customize the lead character by way of visiting barber shops, tattoo parlors and what you eat. That's right, diet is important to the gameplay here. I wonder if they considered making buying condoms an option before you pick up a hooker. Honestly, while I like the fact that they are trying to add realism to the game, I think it might be unnecessary, and possibly a distraction as far as the whole eating element is concerned. I mean, leave that shit to The Sims, a'ight?

Silent Hill 4 I honestly don't know why I'm looking to pick this up, because I haven't played SH2 or SH3. But I want to, and I want to play this as well. I think I should probably get one of the other titles, first, though, to make sure the series hasn't fallen off.

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater The last two MGS titles for the Playstation (not including the VR Mission training games) have been spectacular, and I expect nothing less from this installment.

Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves I bought the first Sly Cooper when it was a Greatest Hit and I loved the game. Yeah, it was a bit too easy, but the art was fantastic (I love cel-shaded games), the characters were fun, and the gameplay was enjoyable. I actually watched a demo of this playing in the store today and it looks great. I'm sure it's not much harder, but who cares? Fun is fun, no matter how much you have to work for it.

Star Wars: Battlefront I honestly don't know too much about this game yet, but they have been on a bit of a roll with their recent Star Wars titles (the Starfighter games, Knights of the Old Republic) and I'm a Star Wars mark, so there it is.

WWE: Smackdown vs. Raw Speaking of being a mark. Okay, I guess you have to be a wrestling fan to be looking forward to this. But I swear, if you look at the Smackdown games as just another "fighting" game, it more than holds its own. Always a great game with immense replay value. But again, I guess you'd have to be a wrestling fan to enjoy replay.

And did you know they're making a game for Reservoir Dogs? Well they are. Don't know if this will be good or not. Chances are no, but we'll see.