Dragonaut - The Resonance:
Looks like this will be a good action oriented science fiction/fantasy/space drama. I have a few things to say. Makoto Uno of Gravion fame is the character designer so you know there will be more than a few well endowed women. Second, I’m going to dock a point from my rating because the main character resembles Sasuke Uchiha. Third, I predict this will probably be the fourth most popular show of the season behind Gundam OO, Clannad, and Shana. This looks like a good show to keep up with. 9/10

Genshiken 2:
More of the same from this sequel. If you liked the original series, this picks up right where it left off. Otaku’d. 7/10

Gundam OO:
Androgynous men. I don’t think this was all that interesting. Gundam has really gone downhill ever since Seed. Check it out if you like mechs or you’re loyal to this franchise. To be fair I’ll give it an average score. 5/10

Kaiji:
The artstyle in this show is really old-school. I also haven’t seen noses this big since The Vision of Escaflowne. Cough. Kaiji is an apathetic slacker that has been stuck with the debt from a deadbeat friend. The “lending company” (ie. Yakuza) tells Kaiji of a cruise boat where he can eliminate his debt and even become rich in the process. Faced with the decision of a decade of debt or the chance to eliminate it in one fell swoop, he falls into the elaborate trap. This will probably be the sleeper hit of the season. 7.5/10

I spent the day playing the original Super Mario Bros. 2 on the Virtual Console and it’s pretty hardcore. This is the first time in a while that a game has metaphorically kicked my ass and threw sand in my eyes afterwards.

Despite its age it’s still very fun. They just don’t make games this tough anymore, which is really a pity. With the way Nintendo and video games in general are catering to mainstream gamers, we probably won’t see very many games of this sheer difficulty in the future.

The way to sell games these days is to give in to the casual gamers and make games easy. Don’t get me wrong though. There are still games being released for the hardcore crowd but they are becoming something of a dying breed. All too often these days you will hear fellow gamers complaining because games are just too easy these days. At least we still have the old-school games…

I went off on a rant there. Check out SMB: The Lost Levels if you have a Wii and 600 points to spare. You won’t regret it.