I'm back to update you on my life as is. I've recently got engaged to a wonderful lady who loves me almost as much as I love her. It's an awesome feeling to be loved, and I don't know what I'd do without her. (Awww).

That being said, I've also recently received an Xbox 360, and will update you on the gaming side of my life in a second.

First of all, if you've enjoyed reading my blog over the years (and who hasn't?), you can still keep up with me despite my lack of updating on Edquarters. Twitter has become my go-to area for complaining, bitching, and insulting. You can follow along by going to www.twitter.com/edb87 and following my thoughts and life. Limited to 140 characters, of course.

Now, on to what you've really wanted: games. Since receiving an Xbox 360 for my birthday (my 4th one, BTW) and waiting for it to conk out on me any day now, I've sort of went on a buying spree when it comes to games...

If you haven't played this game, you need to quit reading this blog, go to your local game store, and sell your old consoles and possibly your first born and pick it up. It's that good.

I personally didn't get into Grand Theft Auto 4, mainly because it was simply GTA: San Andreas minus the exercising and fried chicken joints. RDR takes the GTA formula and perfects it, with enough side missions and extra quests to keep one busy for a long, long time, but without all the superfulous stuff I didn't like, like exercising and fried chicken joints. I've sunk more hours into Blackjack and hunting than I'd care to admit. I've recently completed the first area of the map, and when I say the map is huge, I mean it. It's massive.

The storyline is top-notch as well: you are John Marston, and your family has been taken hostage by the...federal government?!? Basically the government is in its final stages of taming the west, and you are their agent to help finish the job by killing off the crew of outlaws you used to run with. While doing that you will encounter people from New Austin who are good, bad and downright ugly.

Simply put, RDR is Rockstar's crowning achievement, and to miss out on it would be a crime. A crime punishable by hanging.

Here's an odd case: I wanted to pick the game up when it came out, but couldn't justify the $60 price tag. So when I saw it for $7, I couldn't say no.

I haven't got very far into it but from what I can tell, you're a member of a SpecOps group that deals with the occult. Being a member of this superhero club means you have various magic and psychic attacks you can do, from pushing walls with your mind to making a fillet mingnon out of your opponents. While sort of interesting, I can't say I haven't seen the story before, which is strange coming from Clive Barker, who created Hellraiser and Rawhead Rex.

Gameplay is basic: shoot demons here, open door there, psychic sword slice this guy. It's uninteresting until the monsters come out. That's where things get...interesting.

The monsters have enough variety to them to keep things interesting, but the game can get tough: when 3 basic grunts and 2 exploding monsters bum rush you, chances are you're going to get killed. I'd recommend picking it up for less than $10, if not for the gameplay than for the story. I mean, come on, it's Clive Barker.

Being the baseball fan that I am, I enjoy playing baseball games. Games that put all of the players on roids and lets you play pinball in Times Square.

You see, I'm not a fan of sim sports games. I could care less what my salary cap is, or who injured their pinky toe while sliding into third. I just want to play a fun game of baseball, and that's what The Bigs delivers in spades. Think NBA Jam, but with baseball. You basically accumulate points through striking people out, performing diving catches and getting on base. Once you reach a certain plateau, you can either pitch a nearly impossible to hit ball and steal some of your opponent's points, or you get a free homerun. Minigames like Baseball Pinball, set in Times Square and a story mode help flesh out the fun. It's silly fun, and I recommend it to serious and casual baseball fans alike.

That's enough for now. I'll be back later with thoughts on Too Human and Mirror's Edge.