I was all excited when I was able to pick up a copy of Trauma Center this week. It was supposedly reissued along with Phoenix Wright a few weeks back but remained impossible to find (unless buying it through Amazon…which I am far too lazy to actually do…I’d rather wander into random game stores in Jersey and Ohio and Florida while traveling…I am one weird dude).

So I popped into my hometown EB and asked “I know you don’t have one but I thought I’d ask again for a Trauma Center…”. Joe E.B. looked it up and surprise, surprise, one was in stock. I grabbed it and headed home with a bigger smile on my face than normal.

I made it through the first chapter well enough - a few mistakes, a couple of dead patients, hey, that’s medicine! - but holy *#!@ the damn game gets hard as HELL pretty soon after that. Now I know what John from 1UP Yours was talking about this week when he mentioned that he now hates the game. I’m not to that point….yet….but for God’s sake I will likely be there after a few NJ Transit rides to work this week. It’s just a matter of figuring out what point I will want to smash my DS Lite and quit about 10 seconds before that.

On the 360 front, I’ve been able to spend some more time with Saints Row and unfortunately it’s not proving to be as great as I thought after spending a couple of hours with it. Yes, it looks damn fine, but the fact that the main protagonist is a mute (again!!!! weren’t we done with this problem by Vice City?!?!?!) is taking away from the story from me. Also, the online play is laggy beyond belief (even when I am hosting, for crap’s sake) so that’s no good either. I’m going to play it for a bit, though - it’s not bad, just not as mega-fantastic as I was hoping.

So it appears that I’m still (yes, still) in some sort of funk. My guess is that I simply have too much time on my hands and simply need to return to work. But it’s funny, I’ve been unemployed before and don’t recall it ever having such a significant impact on my hobbies before.

As much as I hate dwelling on the subject, it’s eating at me. I’ve been making an effort to start gaming again, something that’s been a hit-or-miss with me as of late. [sigh] I’m just bothered by the fact my enthusiasm isn’t what it used to because it’s starting to effect my passion towards the site (which is an entirely discussion in itself)… and just my whole attitude in general. I’ve just hit a wall and want to get back on the path.

Well, my new job starts next Tuesday, which I couldn’t be happier about. If anything, I’ll have less time to ponder with self-doubt and focus my energy on something more constructive.

So I picked up Saints Row a few days ago, with lower expectations than I would normally have simply because I am tired of getting my hopes dashed.

And you know what?

It turns out that, at least about 4 hours into it, it lives up to the hype. Simply put, it’s pretty gorgeous. I’ve always been an unapologetic fanboy for the Grand Theft Auto series (I love it, there, I said it) and have dreamed of the day when I could have a similar experience in a truly next-generation game.

Well, that day is here.

It’s not perfect (there’s sadly a little pop-up here and there) and it is a shameless ripoff of GTA in many, many ways, but at first glance there is a ton of fun to be had causing mayhem on the streets of Stillwater. The explosions are magnificent, the cars look and drive superbly, the story is brutally “gangsta” and takes no prisoners (Jack Thompson can be seen sharpening his pencils right now), and the soundtrack is expansive and eclectic.

Now if I could only get home to play it!