Undergoing a project in Minecraft 360. I am building the Dragon Warrior world. I have two dungeons left and a LOT of the surface world to build.

I've had to improvise for two of the dungeons (Charlock Castle & Garin's Grave), as the stairs don't sync up. It's been pretty fun so far, but it is a lot of work.

Decided to take a closer look at the Indie games on Xbox. Every now and then there's a gem. The latest game I've been playing is "Oozi: Earth Adventure." This game is a throw back to the classic platformers of the Nintendo era. The only problem I really have with it is that it is segregated into four episodes, so if you want to play the whole story, you have to download them all. But, at 80 creds a pop, that's not too terrible. It adds up to a total of 320 creds, and if episodes 3 & 4 are as long and fun as the first two, I think it's worth it.

The platforming can be tricky at times, but with a little patience and observation (and some trial and error) all the maps are moderately challenging, but easy. And since there is no timer, take your sweet time! Most of the enemies are killable by jumping on them. The untouchables have a slight red aura around them, depicting they are unstompable. In episode two, some enemies are stunable and can be thrown at other enemies to kill them. In certain areas you get bombs. These, too, can be used to kill the tougher enemies. The bosses that I've fought are pretty easy. As per the classic side-scrolling platformer, you simply need to learn their pattern. It may take a couple of tries, but with infinite continues, nothing to worry about there.

The biggest problem area I had was the last bonus star in episode two. You can get it before the checkpoint, but if you die before hitting that check point, there is a lot of obstacle to traverse in order to get back to that point. If you hit the checkpoint before going after the star, you will restart there every time, but you will wish you could hit the checkpoint again after getting the star, as just that little area is frustrating and may kill you time and time again. Not to mention, you still have an entire section of obstacles to cover before the next checkpoint. Die and you have to get the bonus start AGAIN before taking another go at the deathtraps between you and the end of the stage.

All in all this game is pretty fun. Occasionally it's blind luck that gets you through, but most of the time it is patience and observation. So download it and give it a try! I think you'll enjoy it!

FINALLY started playing Skies of Arcadia, and I am loving it! Still riding that enjoyment of playing games without achievements/trophies. It IS so nice to play a game JUST for the game and not some silly bragging rights.

On the flip side, I've also been spending time in the cubical world of Minecraft. Already got all the achievements and now I am just striving to complete my vision. I may be revisiting Skyrim again soon, as the Hearthfire expansion has got my interest. Dawn Guard will have to go on sale for 50% before I pick it up, though.

Also, recently had some fun revisiting Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach! A friend and I sat down and play from beginning to end. No achievement hunting, just playing the game and sort of speed-running it. We started Halo Wars, but we're taking our time with it since it's my first play through. The nice thing is we are just playing for the story line and not worrying about achievements. They can be gotten on second play through.

Summers almost over (another couple of weeks yet), so that means I'll be hacking away at my back log of games. Lately I've been feeling like reconnecting with an old friend... my PS2.