It feels like it's been a while since I've done a proper blog post, and there's a lot of stuff to catch up on, so let's get right to it...

Fanboys May Cry

HIGH Comboing through a group of enemies like a tidal wave, leaving nothing but their shattered remains in Dante's wake.

LOW The penultimate boss fight is disappointingly pedestrian compared to the rest of the game.

WTF The battle against Bob Barbas is... is... it's...

When did the Dream Become a Nightmare?

HIGH The blistering SID-metal half of the soundtrack, courtesy of Machinae Supremacy.

LOW Puzzles that try, stretch, and ruin your patience time and again.

WTF How many precious stones can you fit in one game?!

With this console generation coming to a close, and with the strong likelihood that this will mark the end of buying modern consoles for me, I thought I'd look back and rank my top five consoles of all time. These are my rankings, my criteria, and my words. Your mileage can and will certainly vary.

The Worst of Both Worlds

HIGH That first time Fernando Alonso enthusiastically shouted "Alonso!," like an F1 Mario.

LOW When Fernando Alonso kept enthusiastically shouting his name, like an F1 Mario.

WTF "Release and then hold RT to charge KERS!"

There is a surprising downside to video game demos. With fewer and fewer options available for those that might want to try a game before buying it, demos are the default option. But demos have the adverse effect of underselling a good game or demonstrating how bad a bad game really is. Understandably, many developers and publishers aren't willing to take that chance. Where does that leave us? The guys at Extra Credits take a look.

2012 is officially in the books, which means it can be time for only one thing: this year's installment of Bracken's Best Games of the Year. If you've already listened to our year-end awards extravaganza podcast, then you're well aware of what my top four games of 2012 were—but don't bail yet! There are six other games that made my top 10 of the past year, and you'll want to stick around to see what they are. Plus, if you haven't heard the podcast, the entire list is a mystery to you at this point!

Staying Alive

HIGH Landing a well timed Power Blow that destroys the opponent—not to mention everyone and everything around them.

LOW Inconsistent netcode often leads to irritating online matches.

WTF Virtua Fighter characters made it into the series before Rachel and Momiji did? Seriously?

This is why the fighting game genre will never go away. The real thing just winds up making you look like a useless wimp.

Caution: Crude language

Still Shamelessly Crushing on Future Trunks

HIGH Seeing all of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai's story mode in bright, shiny HD; Reversible cover art!

LOW Seeing Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3's boring story mode in flat, static HD; Cheap AI.

WTF The AI abuses the crap out of the fact that combat starts when "FIGHT" appears, not when it fades like most other fighters—cheap first hits for everyone!