Getting Ready for American Idol!

It has been quite some time since I last saw this show, due to the fact I was in Canada last year, and previous years I spent all my time on Xbox instead of watching some television. But not this year. Beginning this Tuesday, American Idol is back on Fox, and I can hardly wait. Many of you may have noticed the Writer’s Strike, which put many of your favorite shows on hold. Luckily American Idol was not affected too much by this event, so I am sure this season of Idol will be the most watched yet.

Having been a huge Idol fan since its first season, and even voting for the contestants along the way, it has been quite a ride for me seeing who passes elimination. At times I have gotten very upset who stayed and who got voted out, but overall those that became the one Idol for that season more or less deserved it. To me, American Idol is a show where there can be multiple winners. I feel that anyone who made it to the top spots certainly has talent. Some of my favorites certainly did not become ‘Idol,’ but did develop their own fanbase.

Those that want to be a part of the show are hoping to make their American Dream come true, and it certainly is magical seeing the last few rounds unfold on American Idol.

Let’s not forget the three judges, Simon, Paula, and Randy, each who have their own very unique personality. I like each of them in their own way, but sometimes I feel Simon crosses the line every once in awhile. I try not to be a judgmental person, but at times Simon seems to result to ad hominems, (personal attacks) that just aggravate me.

To date, I have only purchased one American Idol game, and that was for the Game Boy Advance. No, it was not the best game at all. But for some reason I played that game for awhile. I guess I am just a huge music fan. The game consisted of pressing the ‘a’ and ‘b’ button to a rhythm, a concept that when I look back on was very simple. But nevertheless, I still enjoyed this game.

On February 5th, Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore is being released for consoles, and I can not wait. It has been over 2 years since the last Karaoke game came out on Xbox consoles, which on other words, its about time this game came out!

While I can not predict who will win this year’s coveted name as ‘Idol,’ I can predict that I will enjoy watching the show. Here’s to a great 2008 season!

Have you ever watched American Idol? Do you have any favorites from the show?

Spotlight on Ikaruga

Quite possibly one of the best side scrolling shooters ever made, Ikaruga is the spiritual successor to Sega Saturn’s Radiant Silvergun. It originally began as an arcade game, but was ported onto home consoles a few months later. Released on Sega Dreamcast in Japan, and on Nintendo Gamecube worldwide a few years later, this game received excellent ratings but hardly made a dent on the sales chart.

Fortunately, it has been announced for quite some time that Ikaruga would make its way to Xbox Live Arcade soon.

Ikaruga featured an ingenious setup, which allowed the user to switch between two different color variations- black and white. When facing enemies, it would be best to be the opposite color of the enemy in order to inflict more damage.

This game also had a crazy 2 player game mode, and I have fond recollections playing with my brother, trying to coordinate a strategy with him. Ikaruga featured five very intense levels, complete with spectacular graphics and an interesting soundtrack.

Take a look at this insane video of a guy playing as both players, and you can see why this game is so amazing.

Hopefully when this game is released on Xbox Live Arcade, it will finally gain the attention and recognition it deserves.

Have you ever played Ikaruga before? What are your thoughts on the game?