Console Cleanup

My attempts to polish off the uninspiring Final Fantasy XIII have failed. I was making decent headway towards my goal until I got my copy of Gran Turismo 5. Now all I want to do is drive in circles and tune up beautiful, shiny cars. It's incredible how addictive this game is. I'm not even a car enthusiast - just casually interested and easily amused. It doesn't help that individual races take around 10 minutes each, some much longer. It's easy to lose track of time as I did yesterday. Afternoon became evening before I realized that the day was gone. I'm finding the title fun as a casual player - it's clear and direct enough that I'm not having too much trouble. Advanced knowledge of historical cars would definitely be an advantage, but if I wanted to I could look up lists of the best cars to suit each challenge online. I enjoy shopping the used car lot without any outside assistance, though. It's a lot of fun to just pick a car off the listed specs and give it a try.

Also distracting me from my quest to finish up FFXIII is the arrival of Little Big Planet! I've wanted to play this game ever since I saw the first demo at the San Diego Comic Con years back, before it was released. And it seems like every time I have gone into any game or electronic store I find myself picking up a copy and toying with the idea of purchasing it. But when I am playing an MMO I do little else - I don't read, I don't go out and I certainly don't split my time with console games. So I have always held off on getting a copy until now. With the sequel coming shortly after the new year I decided I had better get my act together and explore the game so I am ready for LBP2. I have only experienced part of the tutorial thus far and have not spent enough time to offer much constructive commentary yet apart from one observation. This game has, without a doubt, the very best tutorials ever. I adore Stephen Fry, and listening to him do the voice over has caused me to actually pay attention and utilize a tutorial for perhaps the first time ever in my gaming career. The game itself is adorable and clever. It's been so long since I've played a game with such limitless possibilities and I suspect what it will show me is that my own imagination has been withering slowly over the years. I can't wait to start goofing around with the level creation tools!