Picked up a couple new (to me) games...

Went on a little gaming splurge during my break from school, having a blast just relaxing and getting to actually play some new games.

I picked up Oblivion and Guitar Hero 2 for the 360 and the Orange Box and Enemy Territory Quake Wars for the PC. Sadly, nothing for the Wii...nothing appeals me at the moment, but I am counting the days until the new Smash Bros.!

Oblivion and Guitar Hero 2 for the 360...Yes, I own both of these games already. Why did I pick them up for the 360? Guitar Hero 2 has Mother (Danzig) and Hush (Deep Purple) on it this time around... I love those songs. Oh yea, and THE TROOPER from Iron Maiden. That was almost reason enough to buy it. I also heard that the 360 guitar has a bit more "stiffness" in the buttons, which I really wanted to see (Yea I could have modded my PS2 guitars, but oh well). I finally beat Jordan on expert, and I really think it's all thanks to the nicer response I'm getting from the 360 X-Plorer. The shape is a bit awkward for me, but I've gotten used to it.
I never picked up Shivering Isles for the PC, so I decided to just buy the 360 version. It's a whole lot easier to pick up and play Oblivion now, especially if I'm staying over in Fresno and bring my 360 along. I've gotten a lot farther in the game than I ever did with the PC, and while I am missing out on some neat Oblivion mods, I'm still enjoying it a lot more on the 360 than I did on the PC. I just wished it looked as good as it does on my PC though.

And now comes to the showdown, TEAM FORTRESS 2 or ENEMY TERRITORY?!?! This was tough. I almost didn't buy Enemy Territory Quake Wars BECAUSE I had Orange Box preordered already. I decided to try it out and if I didn't like it, I could pass it on to my dad who loves the Battlefield-esque games (and face it, ETQW is pretty much a faster-paced Battlefield).
I played the TF2 beta and sad to say, I really could not get into it. I loved TFC to DEATH but even though I really enjoy the art style in TF2, I couldn't stay in it. Even when I was a little bit dominating and was on winning teams, I could not feel like going on for a round 2.
Quake Wars, however, really delivers on the very deliberate pace and constant "need" to get into the battle. The fights are intense and I'm having fun with the dynamic changes in the battlefields and receiving new missions. It keeps things moving and I don't see that much of a one-sided type of fight like I've seen with BF online.
Right now, I'm going to say I'm enjoying Quake Wars a whole lot more than TF2 (and yes, I did play TF2 retail, not just the beta!).

But the best deal in gaming is still the Orange Box. 5 games for $50. That's a steal. Even if you have HL2 and HL2 Episode 1, you're still getting Episode 2, TF2, and Portal. Portal alone is worth at least $30, because it's just so entertaining and FUN. Haven't tried Episode 2 yet, though.
And by the way, if you are like me and already owned HL2 and Episode 1, you get 2 free gifts for those games when you activate Orange Box on Steam! So you get to give those 2 games away to a friend... neat huh?