Mirror's Edge

Surprised.

That is what I was today when I discovered that Xbox Live had put out the demo for Mirror's Edge. I was pretty interesting in the game as it was and while I hadn't watched or looked for any videos about the game, it was almost enough for me just reading about it several months back. But I would be lying right now if I said I wasn't curious if this game could actually pull off what it promised it could.

All those doubts just vanished several minutes ago, as I just got through playing the demo for Mirror's Edge. And the verdict? I enjoyed that shit! I gave that line a thought a moment or two, you know... to maybe find a better selection of words to describe what I thought? But I just can't find 'em! It is fun and to even compare it to Assassin's Creed doesn't do this game any justice.

I mean Assassin's Creed did have you jump from some pretty high places. But Mirror's Edge? You're jumping around the rooftops of skyscrapers! The controls seem pretty easy to pick up, but I did have some trouble on performing a couple of moves. But that stuff is minor, nothing some actual game play cannot fix.

The only thing left in my mind now is simply.... November 14th cannot come soon enough!

And for anyone reading my humble little blog, hope you folks have a fun (and safe) Halloween! I hate work!

The Holidays Are Upon Us

Oh dear god.

That is the first thing that comes to mind as the month of October begins to wind down to a close. Bedlam also comes to mind, among a number of other choices of descriptive wordings associated to "chaos."

Yes it is that time of the year again folks, when shopping malls and department stores across the country go from civil places of gathering into full blown battlefields. Some people will be scarred for life, others will not make it through it to the end. One thing, however, is for certain...

The holidays are upon us.

Now say it aloud with me.

Oh. Dear. God.

And this year is no nicer to us gamers, oh no it is not. November alone will be a hell of a month in games, with titles of interest (at least for my part) include: Gears of War 2, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Mirror's Edge and The Last Remnant. And after suffering through the shit called TNA Impact, I simply cannot wait for WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 to be released to cleanse away the bitterness.

Now I just need to find more creative ways to convince myself not to quit my second job. I mean with the way games are being released, I know I will need every last penny I can muster. But I will admit this: I swear I never knew how much I hated people until this job happened. The amount of unnecessary bullshit from some of these fucking idiots I have to deal with just blows my fucking mind.

And these are the so called "adults."

Maybe that's why my boss there plans some childish activities during his meetings and, for example, we have to bring goodie goodie (note: double the goodies) bags to trade with other workers. I mean this is a fucking warehouse I'm talking about here, not just some store job or anything like that. And we're trading goodie goodie bags.

I could be wrong, but I do believe I left the second grade a long, long time ago?

I blame it on the lead paint...

Fable 2

This month, even while I've been working a lot, has been a gaming month. I think most (if not all) of my writings this month have been almost exclusively on games. And of course, it does not appear as though things will let up for the rest of the year (I'll be broke for a while)!

So today I gave in and even though I never got into the original, I picked up Fable 2.

What can I say? I never really cared much for Grand Theft Auto and yet I enjoyed Saints Row 2. With that in mind, I pretty much couldn't find any reasons why I couldn't or shouldn't give Fable 2 at least a chance.

And the verdict thus far?

I am actually enjoying it from what little way I've made through the beginning of this game. Adding the dog is an interesting touch, though so far he has proven to being a better treasure hunter then an aid in battle. Maybe I need to train him to do it...?

One difference I am experimenting with this time around is trying to play things on the 'good' side. Last game I went full on evil, with the results making for a very ugly (and bald) character. Why does evil need to be bald anyhow?

Anyway, now I must get back to shaping my future, playing fetch with my damn dog and who knows what else? Maybe I'll go and get married? Or maybe I'll go all Anakin Skywalker on people and just kill everyone I can find. That is always a plan I suppose...

Saints Row 2

While I await the release of Fable 2, I decided to change up the games I buy and chose to pick up a game called Saints Row 2. In many ways, it does play like a Grand Theft Auto, yet I will say that I actually enjoy playing this a lot more then I ever did a GTA game.

I'll admit this too... I am hooked! I've been playing it just about any and every chance I had since buying it and I've just been hooked onto it since the start. The object of my wrath have been exclusively the Ronin gang so far, who've proven to be a big pain in the ass.

The only bump I've run into the game so far is the "Push Back," where a rival gang tries to retake one of your neighborhoods. I've had no problems killing people, but I'd be damned. I've died so many cheap deaths during this thing, it's sickening. I can be shot multiple times, yet I can't take getting bumped by a car? What the fu...?

Last note here and this one is a random one in a lot of ways: Pictured below is Tera Patrick, a porn star who apparently was hired during the making of Saints Row 2 to add in some input apparently. Does this mean there is a porn section in the game?

I mean I don't want to stereotype her as doing nothing but porn, but I just don't see her as being a ex-gang member or a drug dealer (well maybe?). What could she have possibly offered input for? Makes you wonder a little, doesn't it? It sure makes me wonder, maybe they've added her into the game somewhere is what my final guess to this matter is.

Or maybe there really is a porn mini-game or something in here... hmm...

New Prince of Persia

I've been slacking off this month, in terms of writing blogs and generally all things writing-related. What can I say? I'm either feeling too lazy/tired or I'm at work when a thought I'd like to write out comes to mind.

Anyway, that is besides the point of this writing today. Over the weekend (Sunday to be precise), I was just browsing through the many trailer videos on Xbox Live. What caught my eye was a new trailer for Prince of Persia, which had already caught my eye as it was. But while I had only seen pictures of the game, I wanted to see what it looked like in motion.

Let me tell you folks, I am more hyped up about this game then I am Fable 2. Maybe it does not help Fable's cause that the first game fell flat for me (twice). But that isn't to say that I am not interested in the new Fable...

But now I am getting a little too sidetracked with that, which obviously is not the focus right here, right now. I will say the major aspect (so far) that I admire so much about this game is it's design or rather, it's art style. I like it!

The game play itself 'looks' good to me, but I shall reserve my opinion on that until either a demo is released or I can get my hands on the game. Here's hoping there is a demo in the near future!

Gaming Ups & Downs

I've been trying to keep myself (and my XBox) busy lately, but I just haven't had as much time to play as I did before. I also realized that I wrote about a few games, but never really fleshed those thoughts out.

I will amend that tonight. And at the top of this short list, Too Human.

This would have probably been a game I would have enjoyed more, if it wasn't for the fact that you can die a great many times in a short span of time. What makes that insult all that much more painful is having to watch the inescapable death scene. EACH. AND. EVERY. TIME.

Now that I think about it, the story too is a little hard to grasp onto. Ok, I'll just cut to the chase here and spill what I really mean to say...

What the f*ck is up with this game? I didn't really care much for the demo, though some where in my mind I thought maybe it would have improved in the final version. Talk about being wrong, all wrong about that idea.

Second game up is Warriors Orochi 2, the sequel to the crossover team-up of the Dynasty and Samurai Warriors games (pictured above is Orochi himself, rather, that is his 'true' form). For anyone who has ever played more then one Dynasty Warriors game will know that these buggers are more of the same with practically NO real changes made.

Then again, I guess that statement is practically a lie because the graphics have been getting better over the years. Big deal right? Same dull game play, year after year, game after game. And yet I still come back and buy another and another anyway, even while knowing what I already do. I also must admit that I think I enjoy the 'game play' more now then I did before. However, one aspect that I wished Koei would somehow address is the horrible voice acting.

Granted, some of the voices are fine and they do match the character they are associated with. But the ones that don't, well... they definitely do not match. I wish I could hit those characters as well as the bad guys.

Last game I feel like mentioning right now is Final Fantasy XIII, which I have gotten a little confused about lately. I thought I read somewhere that it would not be released for another year and yet tonight I see on GameStop's website that the scheduled release date is in December of this year. Huh!?

It surprised the heck out of me because I haven't seen much info about the game and if it is being released at the end of this year, the lack of info can't be a good thing. Then again, maybe I am just severely out of the loop of things and may have missed that much?

Note: I suppose I have misread it, because now that I look at the site again... I did not see any dates at all. Hmmm... am I losing my mind here? And one last thing, I am totally looking forward to Fable 2!

Why? No idea, but I will say that I felt pretty stupid after falling for the hype around the first game. I am hoping that this time around, things will be different (better).

No Need for Title!

Talk about a random way to end a night after work...

So there I am, just walking home after seeing my girlfriend off as she heads to work tonight. I am minding my own business, just listening to my MP3 player and just focused and getting the hell home.

Now as I am awaiting the signal to walk across one of the many treacherous crosswalks on Oahu, there is this guy on a bike that stops next to me.

Remember now folks, I have my headset in, though I don't keep the volume up too high for obvious reasons.

Next thing I know, I feel a tug on my jacket sleeve.

What could this be about?

Oh, the guy wants a couple of dollars I don't have. And so I tell him so and he seemed acceptive enough over that answer.

Then...

"I thought you were fucking ignoring me... if you fucking ignoring me I fuckin' false you..."

Maybe the headphones in my ears (they are a white pair too, for the record) just wasn't a good enough sign for some? My theory is this bugger was on a little bit of something on the illegal side, if you know what I mean.

That is really the only way I can actually understand how a person can be so oblivious to something so plainly obvious. Either that or maybe he was just a few cards short of a full deck? Or maybe it could just be all of the above, ya know?

In any event, I apologize for throwing out something so trivial as this. But it pisses me off and at the same time, it makes me worry too. The neighborhood I live in has always been good to my girlfriend and I. But these past few years... man, want a dive things have taken. Two things I am hoping for out of all of this:

1. This doesn't become a normal occurrence.

2. It never happens to my girlfriend.

Ah well... changing subjects! This stuff just bugs the shit out of me when this kind of thing happens. I know I should just be thankful that it didn't escalate into anything serious.

Castle Crashers (pictured above are the four starting characters)! We've been having fun with this lately and it (the environments and enemies) are getting stranger by the minute. To be truthful, I am a little... how can I say this? Displeased...? Eh, that works.

I am a little 'displeased' that my girlfriend's character has a lightsaber and I just a lowly sword...

I think what I like the most about this game is that it is just so very simple to just pick it up and start playing. Nothing complicated about it at all, just a little of slashing, bashing and beheading to be had.

At this point I think I fully had intended on writing more then I just did. But then, this writing alone has been longer then most others I've written in the past month or so and so I guess this should count for something. Besides, I have been strongly considering on downloading the first 2 episodes of Heroes: Villains -Season 3- on XBox Live. Actually, thinking about to how season 2 ended... yeah screw this, I've got some catching up to do!