You know I’m an arcade gamer. I’m not just a fan of old retro arcade games, but modern arcade-style games as well. I just find them much more motivating than many other genres and enjoy their simplicity. But as you probably know, the modern video game controller is less than optimal for these types of games.

I remember having the first Tomb Raider game on the Playstation. I played it to death. It was one of those games you just kept chipping away at until you were done, no distractions. I played through Tomb Raider II as well, but after that sort of lost touch with the franchise until now.

I’m typing this entry on an iPad. My department got an ipD to test with our app and for browser testing. I got to take home for a nightb and try it out in some real-world applications, like blogging.

I’m a big fan of the Xbox Live Arcade, but so far this year’s Summer of Arcade has been less than exciting. The first title to get any sort of eyebrow raise from me has been Monday Night Combat, a tower defense/shooter all in one. And it’s not bad.

I rarely go back and revisit and/or rebuild anything. I usually work on web projects for the learning challenge and once that’s conquered, move on. I then take all what I learned and add it to the next project, so each new project gets better. However, Hot Wheels is clearly something that deserves love and attention.

Wait a second. You’re telling me that game makers spent years trying to find the formula to create games that people love to play online, and now that’s a problem? Gee, I’m sorry you have a fun game. I see two solutions.

To date, the Nintendo Wii has been one of my worst gadget-buying blunders. I was blinded by the promise of something different. At the time I was ready for different, and that somehow made me forget that I’m not a big fan of Nintendo games. The marketing worked.

A couple months ago I praised the new racing game Blur for being the best of both worlds, a great real-world racing game while channeling Mario Kart. That review was based on the XBL demo which was naturally limited and only offered on-line multiplayer. Well, after I fixed my Xbox, I treated myself to Blur and I can confirm that it is still awesome.