Dragon Quest IX has a firm grip on me. I am kicking myself for not picking this title up when it first came out, as it's REALLY hitting the spot. This is a VERY traditional JRPG through and through.
Oh I did uncover a neat innovation in DQIX after all! It seems to have a local multiplayer mode, where you and up to 3 friends can go off and quest. I've not been able to try out this functionality, but with any luck I'll run into someone with DQIX.
On the other side of things, my favorite "CarPG", Gran Turismo 5 still brings the fun. I am currently slowly chipping away at the normal A-Spec races, which hasn't been too bad now that I've got a really mean grinding setup (A 663hp SKyline and the Expert Turbo race circuit leads to fast and easy money). 2 more races in the Amateur Supercar Nostalgia circuit and I'll have gotten Gold medals in every Amateur race (which will of course lead to a that sweet sweet chime of a PS3 Trophy).
Speaking of Trophies, I managed to unlock a bunch of hidden ones - There are 2 weird photography Trophies that are dead simple to get, but I don't know how anyone would have figured them out on their own. Who opts to photograph the people in the background when you're taking car photos?!
Anyway, I am so glad not to be writing about the PSN being down.
There is some maintenance happening as I type this, but it's only for the website - PS3 consoles are not affected.
