Amazon Buy 3 Games for the Price of 2

  Now through Saturday, November 6th, buy three games from the select list of games for the price of two. Add three titles to your cart and the third game of equal or lesser value will be discounted at check-out. One free title per order.Note: You may need to add the games to your cart separately if they are not on the same page. Amazon Video Game Sale

Testing PS3 Backwards Compatibility

So, I decided to see how many of my PS2 games actually worked on my PS3 80GB MotorStorm Edition Console. Obviously, I did not go through my whole PS2 library as I am simply too lazy to do so. The games that did not work or had problems with so far include:

DJ Hero (Game does not load. Turntable controller seems to work though. Able to navigate through XMB menu)
Guitar Hero 1-3 and World Tour (All load normally, some parts appear laggy/glitchy. The strum on the guitar controller does not work, so I am unable to to move up and down in the menu, however this could just be due to my adapter plug)
Dance Dance Revolution (Games load normally. Dancemat is not responsive, only top and bottom arrows respond, while both left and right do not work, but this problem could also be due to my adapter plug)

 I stopped after this. All my other PS2 games such as my Final Fantasy titles and Resident Evil titles worked fine. Surprisingly, my EyeToy camera and the games for it worked as well. Overall, I guess I am satisfied with the partial backwards compatibility. I'll slowly update this list over time.

Halloween Sale On Steam

  So Steam is currently having a sale on select game titles from now through November 1, and I think it's worth checking out. A few good/decent ones that stand out are:

Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition $4.99 old price $9.99

OverLord Complete Pack $7.49 old price $29.99

Zombie Bowl-o-Rama $2.49 old price $9.99

BioShock $4.99 old price $19.99

Left 4 Dead Bundle (1 and 2) - 14.99 or 9.99 each

Worms Reloaded $9.99 old price $19.99

Resident Evil 5 $14.99 old price $29.99

Dead Space $9.99 old price $19.99

Team Fortress 2 $9.99 old price $19.99

Devil May Cry 4 $9.99 old price $19.99

Aliens vs. Predator $9.99 old price $19.99

So if your interested in any of these games or don't have any games to play ATM, you have until Nov. 1 to buy a game. Purchase using your steam client or go to http://store.steampowered.com/sale/trickortreat

PSP2? Playstation Phone? WTF!

  So there has been a lot of talk over the web lately about the upcoming release of the PSP2 with codename "Veta" and the Sony Ericsson Playstation Phone. The design of the PSP2 is still TBD and could either go looking like the PSP Go or standard PSP. One things for sure is that it will definitely go UMD-less like the PSP Go. I own a PSP-1001 and love it so much simply because of CFW and the ability to use homebrew apps. I personally was not attracted to the PSP Go when it came out, nor the whole idea of it. The only thing I liked about it was the sleek design, other than that, I didn't care much for it. One source states that the PSP2 "will be a much more powerful gaming device than its predecessor with “twice the RAM of the Xbox 360″. The PSP2 will have 1 GB of RAM – to put that in perspective, the PSP Go and PSP 3000 have 64 MB of RAM, and the Xbox 360 has 512 MB of RAM." I find that too good to be true, and by being too good, I predict the release price to be way overpriced and possible hardware failure/problems due to Sony trying to up the ante in the competitive market for portable gaming.
  Now as for the PSP Phone, it appears its going to be official as the prototype is already in the making and actual release of the pics are available here (PSP Phone Prototype Pics). It looks very similar to the Sony Mylo, the portable internet device, except without the qwerty keyboard. "The rumored Sony Ericsson PlayStation phone includes a slide-out gaming pad that features standard PSP controls with a few twists. The most notable is what looks to be a long touch control pad. It is expected to include a version of the Google Android operating system and have access to a special marketplace where you can download games. There's a microSD card slot, but no UMD or Memory Stick support. Screen size is around 4 inches."

My PS3 Arrived Today!

   As the title says, my PS3 was sitting on my front porch this morning. I never realized how heavy the console was until today. Everything was there, just like new and works accordingly. On eBay, I had also purchased dualshock controllers (white and black) even though I knew they were most likely counterfeit. Well, I tried them out and they worked just fine. The only issue I have with the controllers is that the start/select buttons are hard to push. I also found it to be a fail when I saw that both controllers were packaged inside their box saying the color was deep red. Other than that, for $18, I am satisfied. I just despise the fact that Sony dualshock controllers are $45. Anyways, here's the pics of the PS3 and etc:

Update On Ebay Scam

  Finally, after having opened a case with PayPal, I received an email back saying "We have concluded our investigation into your case and have decided in your favor." The $190.50 was returned to my account and although it took 4-5 weeks to settle, I am just relieved I got my money back. This experience has taught me to be a more safe and conscious online shopper. Well, even though this whole fiasco occurred, I still chose to go ahead and purchase another PS3 on eBay. This time it was from a legitimate seller (based on his positive feedback) and offered a tracking #. Unfortunately, instead of $190, I paid $220. On the other hand, I earned $4 in eBay bucks and $6 using Mr. Rebates! Plus, it came bundled with two controllers (no dualshock *sad face*), Motorstorm game, and an ethernet cable. According to the tracking info, my package arrived at my post office this morning, so I'm expecting it either tomorrow or saturday. I'll post up the pic of it once I have my hands on it. Oh that also reminds me! I received my $25 amazon giftcard from Viewpoints as well. I am in a very happy mood indeed.

Frustration Is The Only Emotion I Feel Right Now

  You might be asking why I posted a blog with such a title. No, it's not because I have midterms coming up or relationship problems, but actually has to do with a dear friend named eBay. Just a heads up, this story of mines is quite long. So I have been arguing and complaining to eBay customer support for the past 4-5 weeks now about my case. The case I speak of occurred on Sept. 11, which I had won an auction for a PS3 80gb system for $190. I was ecstatic and overwhelmed by joy that I had now owned a PS3. So I immediately payed the amount via Paypal. About an hour later I receive a email back from the seller saying that he is having issues with his Paypal, so he refunded me and asked me to send the money to his other Paypal account. I was a little suspicious at first, but the seller sounded sincere in the email, so I did as he said. The seller said he had shipped the package via USPS Parcel Post, so it should not take longer than two weeks. Two weeks go by and I still have not received my package. Being worried, I emailed the seller multiple times of my concerns. The seller never responded to any of messages. It was only after this I decided to open a case on eBay about not receiving my item. Unfortunately, after the seller gave my refund, eBay did not allow me to open a case due to the fact that the auction did not record as completed/paid for. I was now forced to use the eBay Live Chat support. After waiting over an hour, I finally got to speak to eBay support. The person I spoke to was courteous, but did not help at all and directed me to send a email stating my problem to resolve@ebay.com. Annoyed, I sent the email and finally received a reply after 5 days. The replied email talked about how I could pay for my eBay fees and invoices. I'm talking about how to get my money back, and instead of addressing the problem, they reply saying how I can pay them the fees. I was confused and angry by the response and replied back saying the information given to me was of no use, nor did it pertain to the issue at hand. I clearly stated my problem was not receiving an item and exactly what happened in the whole process. Ebay replied back again, this time in 3 days, and yet again they resent me the same information. All I have to say is screw eBay customer support and that eBay buyer protection. I'm sure they have helped many others, but in my case, they did not. I'm very pessimistic about this whole thing and don't think I'm going to get my money back. Dropping eBay completely for help, I opened a case on Paypal and informed them of my problem. The case is now being investigated, so I'll see how that goes. I guess I was ignorant for believing that there are still honest people out there selling.