A Little Sad

Its a little sad to read about how some gamers out there actually believe pirating games is the right thing to do. What is the logic? Because these big game companies are fucking them over by "screwing up" the game they apparently love.

The game in question? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

There have been articles on various game news sites about how Modern Warfare 2 has the highest piracy amongst games. And there are people out there actually defending this because and as I mentioned before, Infinity Ward/ Activision screwed PC gamers by not giving them what they wanted.

I mean really? So because a game doesn't have what you wanted, the answer is to go and steal the game and try to ruin the company? What is this world coming to? So maybe if I wanted a new Honda Civic because of a set of particular features in an older model and the newest model no long have them, I suppose that gives me the right to go steal a car to fuck with their profit?

Yikes...

This thing just bugs me just a little bit with how irritatingly stupid it all is. If the game developers "screwed" you so bad, why even bother buying the game? Don't buy it at all! Is that so very hard to do? Let me share that method just one more time: Don't touch it, don't rent it, don't buy it, don't even play it! DO-NOT-SUPPORT-IT! That will send a HUGE message to the developer, no doubt about that at all!

All of this reminds me of a story my girlfriend shared with me from her workplace. She works in an electronics department and within the department, there are various vendors (ex: Song, Bose, etc) and one of the guys that works in one of these areas had a book of DVDs. He uses these to play to help demonstrate the products he is trying to sell.

Now with it being the holiday season, the store was obviously a little busy. As this guy's area beings to get crowded, he leaves the book of DVDs on the counter as he is helping other customers and forgets about it for a while.

Fast forward about an hour later and he realizes that the book is gone! Where could it have gone? Well he goes to security and they play back the video. A kid had taken the book from the counter and, as luck would have it, security was suspicious of this kid and stopped him. They bring the kid (and his father) back and question him as to why he took the book.

The answer? Dig this, this answer came from the father, a military man of all people:

"Well it shouldn't have been on the counter in the first place! You leave that stuff out and its fair game!"

So rather then going after his kid for stealing, he is actually defending him instead?! Granted it was sitting out in the open, but that does not give anyone the right to just take it either! Or in today's world, I guess it means you can...

Does This Change Everything?

As I sat here and wandered about the internet as I tend to do, I came across an article of interest. It pertained to Final Fantasy XIII, which I never really shy away from sharing my long rooted love affair for the series. However, after having read this article over at Kotaku, I think it is safe to say that I end up wondering just what kind of "game" Final Fantasy XIII will truly be.

One thing that caught my eye was the fact that there were no more towns in the game. Surely that does speed everything up some and it will certainly be a change of pace, considering how towns have always been a staple of any RPG.

I like the idea of shopping from save points though. That means if you've managed to forget (or have used up) your supplies, you could purchase more in the field rather then having to exit the whole place and backtrack.

The battle system sounded interesting, but it just rattled my brain trying to read it out and make sense of the whole thing. But like the Gambit system in FFXII, I'm sure this is nothing that a little hands on time won't remedy.

Now the one aspect that has me curious and a little worried is the last part of the article. So you spend a lot more time in cut scenes? Does this mean it'll be more like a movie with little pockets of interaction here and there? I don't think I really like the sound of that, no. But I suppose I will just continue to wait and come March, will find out first hand just what is truly up with this game. And to answer the question posed in the title of this writing: Does this change everything? The easy answer remains to be... no. I haven't bailed out and abandoned the ship. Not yet anyway and that will be that until the release of the game next year.

However, it does raise up some red flags in my mind after having read through the article. What has become of Final Fantasy? Has it finally lost everything that made it so great? Cut scenes are good, but I enjoy playing a game and not watching it. While I will stick to what I had just said previously; I still anticpate the release of this game here in the States, but reading this article has opened my eyes and raised a great deal of questions.

Worried I am...

Sherlock Holmes

It was a true work of art yesterday, to be able to watch a movie on X-Mas Day with so much family just beating down our doors to have us over to spend this joyous day together (note sarcasm). Regardless, yesterday we (girlfriend and myself) decided to brave the outside world and had actually hoped to watch Sherlock Holmes in a relatively empty theater.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Who'da thunk that many people would be out on Christmas day?! Hell I guess you could call us old fashioned because Dole Cannery was PACKED! It seemed a great deal of people were heading off to see Avatar, which had us both wondering just how good that one really is. But that will be saved for another day; we were there to see us some crime solvin'!

And Sherlock Holmes did not disappoint and it was entirely not how I expected it to be. It was actually a lot better in my book. I read a critic's review of this movie and said this was "designed for the ADD crowd." Huh. I guess I must have ADD for enjoying this one...

It is fast paced and it hardly does slow down to a crawl, as the way some movies of this type tend to do *coughAngels&Demonscough*. I would personally rather watch a movie like Sherlock Holmes over well... Angels & Demons.

I think a large part of the appeal here is Robert Downey Jr., as well as Jude Law and their portrayals of their characters. They are absolutely awesome together! Seriously, is there really a pairing that involves Robert Downey Jr. that isn't/hasn't been good? Man that guy is on a roll...

And I can't forget about Rachel McAdams, who very much holds her own amongst the infamous Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

One last little note and it is about the movie's main villain played by Mark Strong. I like this guy! He plays a very convincing villain. Very natural, very... arrogant? I don't know how to explain it right, but he just works so well. Perhaps he has a naturally sinister look? Anyway I thought he was better here then he was in Stardust. And he was pretty good there, too.

Overall, I felt it was worth sitting in a packed theater that smelt of sour popcorn butter. And like with all movies nowadays, there looks to be a sequel in the horizon for this as well. Speaking of Robert Downey Jr. and sequels, Iron Man 2 looks awesome!

Brittany Murphy

So I sat down tonight and was browsing about the internet when a story of particular interest caught my eye. An actress has passed away? Intrigue overtook my interests and I clicked the link to see what has happened today. What I read surprised me as it was someone I wouldn't even have thought would be gone.

Brittany Murphy, known for movies such as Sin City and 8 Mile, died today at the age of 32.

It is sad in a way, to hear about yet another famous person dead and gone and at such a young age. I have read some articles that say she had a drug problem, which it is unfortunate that she had not sought help to control. Death, it would seem, was the price of such oversight.

Rest in peace...

The Blight is Over! For now...

One thing I forgot to write about yesterday was that I also finished off Dragon Age: Origins recently as well. I played it like Fable 2 in that I kept to the path of good or kept to it as closely as I thought I could. Alistair was none too pleased that I allowed Arl Eamon's wife to sacrifice herself and Morrigan wasn't too pleased that I left her ass for Leliana. But overall, I thought I did the best I could to lead a path of righteousness.

My only real regret was allowing that old guy that was searching for the ashes of Andraste to live. I felt like the location of her ashes were kept secret to prevent the world from exploiting it and there this fame hungry fool goes to spill the beans to the world.

It isn't really a problem though, because I have an asshole of an Elf that will remedy my previously good ways. I've already lied, murdered and been a jerk to man, woman and child. What? I believe in equality...

I'm Baaack..!

I've been quiet so far this month just because of the fact that, well... I've just not had all that much to write about lately. I can't say that that part has changed much, but here I am anyway just because of the fact that there have been some disturbances in the force...! And by that I mean the announcement for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II.

What I am most curious about now is what will be different this time around. I've read that the character portrayed in the trailer was Starkiller, whom it was to be believed had died at the end of the original Force Unleashed game. Oops, spoiler?

But let's just say he survived the encounter. What happened to him during the events of the final three Star Wars movies? And if had turned away from the Dark Side, does that mean his powers have been affected?

With this many questions, It could drive a gamer mad. But considering the game was just released, I suppose I shall have to depend upon my near non-existent patience until the time comes when hopefully more revealing information surfaces.

Final Fantasy XIII releases in Japan this Thursday. Again, patience.......

Speaking of patience, I recently saw the end of Borderlands and I must say the ending was truly disappointing. I mean it just kind of ended without anything really feeling all that resolved at all.

I say that I saw the ending because just as my girlfriend and I had played through everything and had finally reached the Vault, we decided to take a short break. Upon returning, what did I find?!

My data was corrupted. Yes, good bye 50+ hours of game play and all of that collected loot.

So do I really, REALLY want to play through all of that again? Meh, not exactly no... at least not at this very moment I don't. Perhaps a little later in the future? Every time I so much as think of that game I get annoyed by this lost. Reminds me of how I ended up losing my data in Gears of War 2.

Meh.

Patience!

Wait, this whole mess has got me thinking about that movie "Role Models" now. That is a funny movie and just one line keeps popping into my mind as I kept writing "Patience":

"Game face bro! Game face!"

Eddie "Umaga" Fatu 1973-2009

I would have hoped to be able to write about something positive, but alas that is just not to be. It is a sad way to start out the month of December, hearing about yet another death in the world of Professional Wrestling.

Yesterday Eddie Fatu, also known as "Umaga" in WWE, died apparently due to a pair of massive heart attacks. That is the story I've been reading and so far there has not been any further details. What is so very sad about all of this is the fact that the man was only 36 years old. That is just too young to go...

And to think that he had just wrestled recently and now he is gone. It goes to show you just how quickly life can end.

Rest in peace and thank you for the memories.

Second Time Around? Eh...

Only recently have I begun to read some of the stuff over at Bitmob and I have to admit that they are different. And while I do respect other peoples' differences, there is a particular aritcle that just does not sit well with me.

It is titled "The Second Time Around with Chrono Trigger: Millennial Fair."

My problem here isn't the fact that the person writing about Chrono Trigger dislike of the game. To each his or her own. What disturbs me is the fact that he claims to be a RPG fan of games from both East and West. His two examples? Final Fantasy Tactics and Baldur's Gate.

To compair those games with a game like Chrono Trigger is practically impossible, as far as I am concerned. Yes they are all considered RPGs, but they play no where near the same. And by the sounds of it, the person writing was expecting a game like they are today: Filled with choices and options to chose where and how you proceed through a story. Hell, Chrono Trigger was released back in 1995! Chrono Trigger was cutting edge back then! There was no free roaming, no skill trees to work your way through. You just had what you had before you and that was it.

I just think the person who wrote the article went into Chrono Trigger with an impossible expectation. As I mentioned earlier, what he expected and what was during that time period was just unheard of really. For something of its time, Chrono Trigger was easily one of the best RPGs out there. It is just too bad some people can't give it a try with an open mind.

Busy Times

It has been quite a task, formulating these words for this writing today. I've been meaning to write a little something sooner, but I have just been far too occupied to do so. I would like to say that I have been busy working and enjoying that type of busy, but that is a lie. I've been growing miserable at work again and I guess having that second job kept me away enough to where it didn't bother me so much.

But I won't get into that so called "problem" here. I am grateful to even have a job at this point, all things considered, and so I will just make due with what I have for the time being.

Onto what I seem to fixate over more often then not, video games.

I've been fairly hooked onto Assassin's Creed II, so much so that I haven't really even touched Dragon Age Origins lately. And to say Assassin's Creed II is an improvement over the original would easily be an understatement. It truly is the type of game that the first should have been. It is a rare thing to play a sequel that thoroughly outdoes its predecessor.

Dragon Age is still a point of interest to me, but I am waiting to hear more about the next DLC for it. Apparently it will allows players to return to Ostagar to exact revenge, reclaim the armor of the fallen King and even add a second dog to your party? Hmm...

To top this all off, I just recently picked up LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition and have slowly begun to relearn what little I knew in the first place. Someday I will unleash my creations unto the world! Until then though... how do you make a three way switch work properly without having the skateboard it is attached to rocket away?

Some might think I am a little jumpy when it comes to games, that I never finish what I start. I am nearing the end for both Dragon Age and Assassin's Creed 2. As for Borderlands, eh... that is more of a co-op thing between me and my girlfriend, so that gets playtime whenever we get the chance.

Anyway, that is that for me and I guess my brain has hit an overload of gaming lately. Perhaps that is the cause of my lack of motivation? Wait, no. I don't lack motivation, I just feel like I am in a rut right now. I'll elaborate later, maybe.

Oh Hell No

It happened to me...

Again.

My XBox 360 has flashed me those three rings of everlasting frustration, irritation, anger and damn near every other bit of unhappiness a gamer experiences when a gaming console decides the time was right to fail. And to make matters worse, I have not even finished off Dragon Age: Origins. How pissed I would be if it keels over before I ever even get that chance!

Thankfully a restart of the console proved to be the trick this time, but the appears of those evil trio of red rings cannot be good. I was afraid it was only a matter of time before it happened again and it looks like I just might be correct. Now I suppose I should prepare myself with what could very well be my XBox's inevitable second death...

If I have to send my system back to goddamn Texas for yet another vacation, I will be even less happy then the first time. I mean why is this shit still even happening at this point?

Seriously, I will reconsider purchasing whatever system Microsoft comes out with whenever the next console generation begins. If they will not even solve this problem, why waste the money? What next anyway, consoles nuking entire neighborhoods? And what will be the excuse then? Oh, well it happens...

Last One For The Road

It has been a long, yet equally fast paced year this 2009. But that, as I said, is quickly becoming the past and it seems it is usually best to look forward and not back, yes? And really, how can anyone look back at 2009 when there is a great deal to come in 2010?

But before I can leave 2009 behind once and for all, there is a little matter of unfinished business yet to attend to. With that in mind, at long last I have come to what is to be the last game I buy this year: Assassin's Creed II.

Truthfully, the more I hear and read and watch about this, the more I am convinced that the game has been greatly improved over the original. Yes that is the purpose of these many promotional videos and what not, but they are just what it took to turn my distrust into pure anticipation.

Mercifully, the entire missions structure has been redone. Ubisoft says they've added new mission types, which I hope equals to saying there won't be anymore of those boring investigations and the like. Personally, I hope these missions are a little more action oriented.

And of course there are even more ways to dispatch your enemies this time around. Surely the double hidden blades are nice, but the arm gun is a nice addition as well. I wonder if my favorite weapon, the throwing knives, will be back as well? Long range, silent and deadly they were. I can't imagine they'd be left out!

But what fun would it be to kill the same dull old enemies? I am liking this addition of smarter enemies, who will actually poke around and search at places where you can hide yourself. That will make escaping the city guards quite a bit more challenging, or so I am hoping.

As for the story itself, it is one of revenge as far as I've come to know it. What helps paint a better picture is the series of live action videos called "Assassin's Creed Lineage." They tell the tale of Assassin's Creed II main character, Enzo's, father. He, too, was an assassin. What fate awaits Enzo's father and his family? Well I have my ideas, but I haven't watched the last two episodes of the video.

To me, this is one of the few games where I have to believe the sequel will surpass it's predecessor. Yeah Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 was a pretty big deal and all, but this is the game I truly have been waiting for. I am hoping the story is good, though I think it'll be hard pressed to get my full attention after Dragon Age Origins. Still, I am more then willing to give this game a chance. Hopefully I'll see the ending of this game, unlike the original...

My Hands

This song, "My Hands" by Leona Lewis, has been chosen to be the main theme song for Final Fantasy XIII. Well, at least in the US and UK as far as I know of. Perhaps they used this song for the Japan release as well, just translated over to Japanese?

Anyway...

Personally I am on the fence as far as this song is concerned and just off of hearing it for the first time, I have to agree with what some people are saying. While this song is pretty good, but a main theme song for Final Fantasy? That one is slightly in question, at least in my mind right now.

But I am not going to just write it off, not until I see for myself where and how this song is used. I mean this is Square we're talking about here and from past experiences, they usually don't disappoint when it comes down to emotional and meaningful moments in their Final Fantasy games.

I just hope that statement will remain true, once this game sees release here in the States.

March 9th, 2010

If you are like me and have been awaiting the next installment of the Final Fantasy series, the mystery that was it's release date is over. Mark down that date on your calenders folks. Why? Because that is when Final Fantasy XIII hits the U.S. for both PS3 and XBox 360! It would have been nice if it would have released at the same time as it would in Japan, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose.

And with this game being four years in the making, it is about time that the masters of RPG remind the world why they are truly the best at what they do. I miss being able to play a good old turn based RPG... it has been far too long indeed.

Oh and for the record, this is the reason why I bothered to pick up a PS3 in the first place. To me, this is the game that always screamed "must have!" since the very start. Factor in that Final Fantasy XIV will be a PS3/PC game, that should also be interesting whenever that seems the light of day.

Man, I just can't believe that the game will come out in March! I suppose I know what I can ask for for my Birthday... lol

Up 2 Speed

My writing has sort of fallen out just because of the fact that I have actually been busy. Busy with work and almost equally as much with gaming. I am now juggling between Borderlands, Dragon Age: Origins and now Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. At this point, I am more focused on Dragon Age just because I want to finish off at least my first play through.

I have been impressed with the story that is at the heart of Dragon Age. The amount of detail there is unreal to me. I am almost wanting to actually read the books, which I am hoping is as good, if not better then what is already in the game.

Another point that has impressed me is the fact that I have put in about 40 hours into the game and I am not even at the end of the road yet. Money well spent? Indeed, or at least I think so.

I've been dabbling with some of the other races or mainly that of the Elves (a male Elvan mage and a female Elvan Rogue), aside from my main character (a noble human warrior/berserker/champion).

One thing I have to say is this: I agree with what I read in a review of Dragon Age. I have not even finished my first game and I am already thinking about what I'll do during the next time through.

Borderlands has been pretty good, though it does get a little repetitive at times. Still, as a co-op game it passes through just fine. Good times to be had when you and a friend take on alien dogs, raiders and all manner of strangeness.

Then there is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

What is this I read? Modern Warfare 2 will turn kids into terrorists? Wow... really?

I've played through the airport scene (which I believe is the point where all of these talking heads are focusing their strange manner of thinking upon) and yes, it is a bit disturbing. How could it not be? But the violence isn't mindless, like you just pop into the airport and kill people for no reason. I really don't see it as a promotion of violence at all. But rather, it is a turning point which serves as a powerful tool. From that point on, everything changes...

It is frustrating as a gamer to see people just cutting everything down just because it might end up being a "popular" move. People want to complain about violence, drugs and sex in video games? Don't buy the damn thing! Don't do it! As a parent, you cannot claim ignorance as to the contents of the game. If you don't know what you are buying, then look it up! Research the game before purchasing it for your kids! There is a ton of information out there and I just don't buy the excuse that parents didn't have a clue that a game had this or that.

Hell, why not just research the ESRB website? All you need to do is type in the name of the video game in question and it will show you the rating, as well as the contents which earned the game the rating it receives.

Easy huh? I wish more people did their homework, rather then buy games for their kids blindly and then bitch and complain after the fact. Sickening...

Speaking of sickening, I won't go into a lot of detail about this but I have a declaration to make: As far as GameStop is concerned, I am done dealing with them all together. I couldn't give a care if they bundled a super extra special collector's edition of a video game I really, really want.

I am just sick and tired of so many things, it is starting to piss me off just thinking about it. As far as I am concerned, they ain't the only game store in town and I sure as hell WILL NOT spend another dollar to support their sorry asses any longer.

But this one is a whole other story, which I think I will save for next time. I have a feeling that will end up becoming a ranting, raving affair all too quickly...

Aerosmith: Over?

While they are a little beyond my time, I still have to say I am surprised to learn about Steven Tyler having quit Aerosmith after 40+ years of being in that band. Here I thought my friend at work was just bullsh*ting, it turns out to be absolute truth.

There is obviously a lot of speculation at this point as to why he left and if he'll even return to the band someday. Then there is talk about finding a replacement for him, but come on! After all that time, how could you replace your front man? The music just wouldn't be the same...

The days of this legendary rock band might very well have seen it's final days. Who knows, maybe they will end up being like Creed (another rock band that recently got back together) and reform in a couple of years. Maybe a break apart is just what the doctor ordered...

Dragon Age: Origins - First Impressions

So after nearly losing my damn mind yesterday (the game finally arrived at my door step at around 6:30 PM!), I finally got to play Dragon Age: Origins.

First off, there is a little something I am not understanding at this point. During the time I was waiting for this game to be delivered to my apartment, I had been reading comments from other gamers who got this game and had played it. So the graphics looked like shit, the frame rate was also terrible and the damned thing loaded about as fast as a senior citizen crossing the street. Needless to say, reading those comments had me worried that maybe my purchase was a mistake.

Fast forward to later that night...

After playing about 3 hours into the game, I just don't see where these problems are at. The graphics look fine to me. They aren't the most eye catching ever, but considering the amount of game here... who could have expected that? If BioWare had pushed for better graphics, this game would have probably turned out to be like some of those Japanese RPGs (2-3 discs long).

And frame rate being bad? Huh? Where? I admit that I noticed a little hiccup here and there, but nothing ever really that bad. Hell, I've had a four man party in the Wilds and got attacked by a fairly sizable group of Dark Spawns and never missed a beat.

Finally the load times...

I'm playing this on XBox 360 and I was expecting it to be bad (after reading what others had been saying). Yes, that was yet another moment where I cursed my luck of missing out on the PS3 version. But to my surprise, the loading is actually pretty quick and I didn't even install the game to my HDD.

Okay and as for the game itself, I started off as a Human Noble and I just have not found much of anything that I can complain about so far. The story has me interested (hooked), probably much more so then when I started out in Mass Effect. The origin story wasn't all too deep, but it served its purpose in that I gave actually gave a damn when your character's mother and father stay behind to give you a chance to escape. I wanted to stay back there and fight, but alas that was not to be.

My favorite part of the story thus far has got to be the Joining Ritual, which is required of anyone who wishes to join the Gray Wardens. What a brutal way to join the club, in my opinion.

Anyway, time for me to get back in there and carry onward. I am curious to see what comes next...

Any Day Now

While I am personally growing a slight bit tired about having to write about Dragon Age: Origins (or at least about the numerous experiences whilst trying to obtain a copy of the game), I just cannot escape this it would seem.

I suppose it also does not help matters that I grow rather impatient, especially when awaiting the delivery of something. It also does not help matters to know that this package arrived and left for delivery at about 8am this morning.

Understood it is that there are quite a lot of other packages out there for delivery. But does it really take all day for it to arrive? How does the process work exactly? Do they pass the package around to other drivers, before ultimately sending it to it's ultimate destination? Does that mean it makes a trip all over the island, before arriving?

There are so many little, meaningless questions that I don't really care to know the answer to. And yet here they are on display in my mind...

I could be playing the game right now! I'd actually want to be playing Borderlands, but I am determined to maintain my co-op game with my girlfriend. It has been a fun little experience, though a tad bit repetitive at times. I will write more about this game later, perhaps whenever Dragon Age decides to arrive.

I hate being inpatient...

The Ending of a Nightmare

It is an ending of sorts, but the tale of this insanity is far from over for me. To cut a long story short, I did not get the PS3 version of the game (Dragon Age: Origins) and I am now going to be getting two copies of the XBox 360 version. Why didn't I get the PS3 version? It was sold out when I tried to cancel my order for the XBox game so that I could order the PS3 version.

To my anger, it came back into stock a few days after the fact.

In my scramble to be sure I could secure a copy of the game, I panicked (after seeing the PS3 version had sold out) and placed a new order for the XBox 360 again. Now this is with me thinking my original order was canceled.

Guess what?

It wasn't.

I had been trading responses with their customer service for a few days already. I had asked if they could just cancel the order. I thought there would be no problem there and that everything was fine. Well after receiving a email saying I am now being shipped two copies of the XBox game, I go home to check what happened.

The son of a you-know-what did not cancel a damn thing! Instead he/she/it decided to tell me I should "wait for sometimes so that the order can settle and then we can surely cancel your order as well."

Ha! Great job asshole! The order settled alright and now it is coming over here! Exactly what I did not want to happen!

All I know now is this: This game has better be like the greatest game ever, EVER conceived...

Headache!

I must admit this: I'm developing a headache over this game known as Dragon Age: Origins. It didn't used to be this way. The relationship was perfect and everything just felt right, you know?

But my, oh my, how quickly things can change.

Okay, I suppose that is all just a tiny bit over exaggerated. My interests in the game has no changed, but there is still a developing mess as far as this game is concerned. At least for me. You see, this problem bloomed when I read how BioWare decided that they just would not stand for the PS3 version of the game coming out later then the rest and promptly announced that the game would release for all systems at the same time.

A little back story to fill in the blanks: I originally wanted to Dragon Age: Origins for PS3. But the only thing that deterred my decision was because of the later release date. That was the deciding factor and I was more or less at peace with the choice I had made.

And then they had to go and announce their little announcement and I went over the edge.

Now, with just little over a week before it's release, I am scrambling to cancel my original order to be able to place a new one for the PS3. What makes this scramble ever more insane is the fact that I am trying to get a hold of the collector's edition and if I miss the launch day, I lose out on the pre-order goodies.

Yeah, stupid reasons right? But I'll be damned to pass up some extra stuff if I have the means to get a hold of 'em. And I will be damned if I miss this one!

This whole thing has gotten me to thinking if all this of these headaches is really worth the trouble. I would like to say that this is the last console generation I will be a part of. But the truth of the matter is that I said the same exact thing years ago after the PS2 was released. I was going to walk away from video games forever! Ha. And yet here I am anyway.

I guess video games is like being a part of a street gang or something to that effect. Once you join up, there is no quitting, no just walking away. You stay in there until the day you die!

Gah... I think I am going for a bit more dramatic posts these days. Epic video game blog post writing in the works? Dun, duh, DUUUUN!

Game Makers Are In It For The Money?!

I've been reading about the ideas in the works for Fable III, which might include having a in-game store that will deal with real money transactions. Sounds like they want to sell special weapons and the sort in there and that sounds okay. I don't mind the idea of having something like that in the game, I mean how is it different then buying the DLC pack right? It'll just make things a little easier to access.

What kind of blows my mind is how people hit the internet and complain about how game makers are all about the money. Oh these evil bastards should just include EVERYTHING on that disk! All those quests and items and everything should be there, no excuses! And don't you dare delay the game or we'll be oh so mad! And do not, under any circumstances, are you to ever raise the price of games!

Oh the world is evil indeed. Imagine that, a company that is in the business of making video games for profit! What evils plague the world nowadays! Such madness..

Personally, if I enjoyed the game and I had fun throughout, I would put the money down and pick up a DLC pack or two for any given game. I've done that for Fable II, Gears of War 2 and even Rock Band. Hell, I intend to doing the same for Borderlands (whenever that DLC pack is released), as well as Dragon Age: Origins.

If it is/was was a good game, then why not show a little extra support by picking up the extra content? Usually these things aren't even that expensive and they add a little something more to what is already there. And really, if paying for extra content is so bad and so evil of the developers, there is really a simple solution to that "problem" as well.

Do. NOT. Buy. It.

That isn't that difficult is it? I mean last I knew, these things are not forced on gamers to having to buy. You can opt not to pick it up, it won't ruin the game. But then I suppose that old saying is oh so very true in the end: You can't please everyone.

Exclusive Game Stuff

I've noticed a little something different this year, with all of these awesome games nearing release. What is up with all of this exclusive stuff? Is that the new way to try and convince the world to buy the game? Or are these companies paying up for the game makers to come up with shit they think will help them move more of their product?

Now truth be told, I damn near lost my mind trying to figure out where to pick up Dragon Age: Origins up from. Why? Because everyone had some sort of special exclusive in-game item that sounded like it would be like a god's gift to your character. And with these things being available only through pre-ordering, you pass it up and that is it.

Case in point, there is a funny little thing about this exclusive content business going on around a game called Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. Now if you pre-ordered the game from GameStop, you get a character called Juggernaut. If you didn't? You do not get the character at all! No unlocking in the game, no picking the character up later in a DLC pack or anything. You just don't get jack! Pre-ordering, by all appearances, is a gamer's first and last chance to get the character!

I understand that something like that should not matter, but then I would love to get the most for my money. But it sucks to ultimately have to miss out on a part of the game because you didn't pre-order something ahead of time. So now this sort of thing sure has made the decision making process on which games to buy a true headache inducing affair.

The biggest pusher of this sort of thing appears to be GameStop, who seem to have attached something to just about all the big titles coming out. Some of this stuff sounds cool, others not so much. But it cannot be denied that this appears to be the new thing in gaming. And here I thought it was only going to be about more expensive special edition versions of the games.

After choosing where to buy Dragon Age: Origins, I can honestly say that I will be more careful about losing my mind over stuff like this in the future.

This is getting crazy...

Obsession Leads To The Dark Side

I am not obsessed.

I just felt like getting that bit right out in the open, because these last few posts have more or less been about nothing other then Dragon Age: Origins. I just cannot help it! These past few days have seen a little bit more news about the game by the day and I am going crazy in anticipation!

And today is absolutely not an exception of all of this.

Have you read this madness? BioWare is expecting to support Dragon Age with DLC for at least TWO years! And they are talking everything from full blown expansions, down to those nifty weapon packs! I really have to wonder about how much all of this will ultimately cost and for the love of god, how much space will all this require?!

I almost have to plea for mercy here! My XBox 360 is equiped with but a modestly outdated 20 gig hard drive! And I didn't just pick this sucker up yesterday, so I can safely say I've got some crap stored in there! And lemme tell ya, with all this talk about more and more DLC... She can't hold on forever!

What is worse, next week will see the release of both Borderlands and my own personal yearly plight known as Smackdown vs. Raw 2010.

Borderlands has my interest because of how it has been described as a "Role Playing Shooter" game. What does that mean really? A shooter with RPG aspects? Or is that meant to be the other way around? Considering how my like for FPS games has grown into a sort of love and with how much I love to play some RPGs, this seems to be a good game to me.

And come on, how can you say no to a game that apparently has over a million different guns?! Wait, I just went and looked to be sure and... what is this? The game apparently has over 17 million guns?! How in the fu...

I mean...

Holy.

Shit.

How in the world can a game be packing over 17 million different types of guns? I can't even wrap my head around such a number! What kind of weapons are these? Cow guns? Tire cannons? Super soakers?! Or maybe a full line of Nerf guns!

Huh. War of the Nerf...

Pure Awesomeness

Talk about a video of pure awesome, I am wondering just how much of what the characters in this vid do, can be done in-game? The morphing into the spider deal looks cool and what was that other lady character? Some sort of blood mage? Hmm...

And another wonder to ponder; what of the other races? Can they also do the same things? Or do they have their own sets of powers and what not? Ah, so many questions and November 3rd cannot come soon enough.

Originally I wanted to pick this game up for PS3, considering how I don't exactly make much use of it these days. But after taking into consideration the difference in release dates, that much has changed for me.

Yeah...

So after I got off of work today, I had myself convinced that I wanted Demon's Souls. Yeah I heard how tough the game is and all that and curiosity was winning the better of me for most of the day. With that thought in mind, I walked to Ala Moana after I got done with work and I bought Demon's Souls today.

The verdict?

I was murdered within the first ten minutes, by a huge mutha of a boss (I assumed this was just a part of the tutorial, to get players acquainted with the different aspects of the game.) So even after the first half a dozen times of death, I was okay with all of that. I mean I was expecting as much. Why else would everyone say you'd die a lot in this game right?

Well after being revived in the Nexus, I chose to go to some castle, the name of which I can't quite recall. I had to get souls to get my physical body back huh? Demons souls required you say? Okay, easy beans! Or so I thought.

So for about an hour thereafter, I felt like a lamb to the slaughter. Oh there was blood and there was death! Oh so much death... and after dying quite a number of times all along the way, yeah I'll say it. I cracked, I tapped, I threw in the towel.

Basically I really didn't quite get anywhere in the story during that period of time. So aside from the brief intro at the beginning, that was all I ever saw of the story for the game. And as for the deaths? Yeah, I wouldn't have minded the deaths so much if it were because the enemy was tough or something of that sort. But a lot of times these deaths just came because there were multiple enemies and I happen to be in a doorway or standing next to something.

Okay those deaths were more my fault then anything, that one I'll own up to. The ones I hated were like you see an enemy standing, just standing there and you run up to a bunch of innocent looking barrels. Then ta-da! Said enemy throws a fire bomb at it and you are blown to kingdom come. Ouch.

Then you get to restart the same place all over again!

You know I have seen this sort of "challenging" game before! It was on the NES and the game was called Mario Bros. Seriously, I would think this sort of game would be perfect for people who love to play Mario games because when you die, it is like dying in one of those games.

As for me? I like Mario games to a certain degree and then I hate them. It was that game that ruined my childhood! I swear it! I totally do!

Regardless, I suppose it does live up to it's reputation of being a tough son of a gun of a game. As for it being my cup of tea? Hardly. There are just a lot of things that bugged me about the game during the brief period that I played it and I really just don't want to get stuck with a game I really won't like all that much.

So damn it! I'm going to get this sucker returned today and get my money back as quick as possible! There are a number of other possible games I could put the money to. And at least now I can consider my insatiable curiosity appeased!

It Just Don't Get Better

Going back to what I wrote yesterday about Dragon Age: Origins, apparently I only had the story half correct. What I thought was bad, wasn't entirely correct and even some small bits of info that I was missing are now clear.

So you won't get "The Stone Prisoner" DLC pack for free, even if you buy the game new or pre-order. That is, not unless you buy the Collector's Edition (which is going for about $74.99!). Then and only then will you be able to pick up that DLC pack for free. Damn!

And get this; you could even pick up a Collector's Edition guide for the game and that sucker will run you for another $34.99. Do that math, add up those numbers and damn that is a world of hurt printed on price tags.

Then again, the guide could pretty much be considered expendable. And I suppose the same could be said about the Collector's Edition of the game too. But if you like to pick up stuff to expand the gaming experience (I'm guilty of this), then it certainly is a little hard to overlook the Collector's Edition version of this game.

And as I've come to understand it, this DLC pack in question (The Stone Prisoner) will give you new items, abilities, an additional dungeon and also an additonal party member (a golem no less). Is that worth $14? I sure hope so.

Now the mental debate has begun in my mind; to buy? or not to buy? I'm not sure if GameStop is still taking reservations for this special edition or not, though I have not seen it over on their website so that may very be a no go.

My head hurts...

Dragon Age: Origins DLC!

Another RPG that has caught my attention lately is Dragon Age: Origins, which looks and sounds pretty damn interesting to me. I did think the Dwarves looked kind of funny and the Elves were creepy, but that is all beside the point! Strange looks aside, I am interested in for a big part because you really just don't see that many fantasy based RPGs around anymore.

Interesting little bit of news that I read on Kotaku; apparently there will be a few pieces of DLC on it's release day. Two of 'em to be exact. The first one is called Warden's Keep, which brings a bunch of new things such as items, abilities and things of that sort and then some. The second piece is called The Stone Prisoner, though I didn't see any details on what that one will include. I imagine it'll be more of the same as the other pack (more new items, abilities, equipment, enemies, etc).

Here is the kicker: Warden's Keep will cost ya 560 points on XBox 360 or $7 on PS3. The second DLC pack is apparently free to those that pre-ordered the game or picked it up new. If you don't, the price of the second pack is 1,200 points on XBox 360 or $14 for those that get it for PS3.

So I'm believing now that if I intend to get this game, now would seem to be a realistic time to get it. I mean that will practically ensure that $14 DLC pack will be free, so that is a good thing right? And on the flip side, not buying now will ensure nothing but pure hurt when picking up this rather expensive extra pack of mysterious content. Personally, I hope something that costs that much means there will be an extra storyline or two within.

In the end, however, I suppose this would still be smarter (pre-ordering the game and getting the free stuff) then having to shell out the extra cash later. Either way, all I can say about all this pricey extra stuff is...

Ouch.

Demon's Souls

Now I've been posting out here list after list of games that I have been keeping an eye on. One game that, while I did take notice of, didn't really pay all that much attention to it. What game is this? An apparent RPG by the name of Demon's Souls.

Thinking back now, perhaps I have heard and read about this game. But that was many months ago and I didn't exactly dig around to learn more. Even now, I do not know all that much about the game itself or its story or anything really for that matter. However, today I decided to give it a look into, seeing as it was released today.

And the first screenshot I've seen of it looks like this...

Perhaps the greatest point of interest to me is how all of the reviews I've read for this game say one thing in common: This game is brutally difficult and you will die oh so many times. My first impression upon reading that was "hell on a disk." How else can a gamer think of this?

The other commonly shared fact was how, despite the ungodly difficulty, was a great deal of them said the rewards for surviving and learning were absolutely worth the pain and suffering. Now either there is truly something great to uncover within this game or the people reviewing it are just sick, sick people.

I'm so very tempted to try and find out for myself...

Hell In A Cell

Of all the matches going down at tonight's WWE Pay Per View, the one match I thought I had figured out was the CM Punk versus Undertaker match. Surely because it is a Cell match, that fact does give the Undertaker a heck of an advantage.

But I didn't believe they (WWE) would hand CM Punk a lost this quickly. I mean from what I've read (and from what little I've gotten to watch), CM Punk has been a hell of a bad guy since turning during his feud with Jeff Hardy. Why allow Undertaker to get the title victory so quickly after returning?

The other logic behind my thinking is the fact that Undertaker seems to always end up injured after winning the world title. I mean for nearly every instance that I can recall over the past few years, 'Taker has always ended up leaving on a injury after winning the big one. And considering how he just returned after being out since WrestleMania, that would be a bad, bad thing.

John Morrison versus Dolph Ziggler... eh... I like Morrison, I think he could be a hell of a long running Intercontential Champion. It would be kind of cool to see the title stay with one wrestler for a while, rather then switching it all over the place every other month. But that's just me. With that said, this victory he picked up tonight is a step in that direction.

As for Ziggler... I couldn't care less to be honest.

Mickie James defeating Alicia Fox isn't all that awesome, just because of the fact that I don't think Fox has much wrestling experience. Why the WWE even has two divisions is beyond me, especially when they couldn't even muster a decent division when they had only one title out there. Anyway, maybe this will lead towards a rekindling of James's feud with Beth Phoenix, this time for the Divas Championship.

I feel a little bad for Batista. I feel bad for the guy because he jumps back to Smackdown and ends up right back into a tag team with the returning Rey Mysterio. Don't get me wrong, that isn't bad and the fact that they are facing the Unified Tag Team Champs Chris Jericho and Big Show, certainly helps matters. I suppose this will be the start of a new feud, though I can't help but wonder what is wrong with the few other actual tag teams out there right now (Legecy, Cryme Tyme, Hart Dynasty or how about even MVP & Mark Henry?)...

Randy Orton and John Cena are still beating the living hell out of each other? Wow. I would think that these guys would have managed to kill each other by now, considering how long these two guys have been at each other. Like Punk vs. Undertaker, I am surprised to see Orton winning the title back so quickly. I guess they'll continue on and beat the sh*t out of each other further?

I agree with some fans saying they are tired of seeing these two in matches against each other. But really, who else can fight for the title now? Triple H and HBK are doing the DX thing (again) and basically everyone else hasn't quite been built up to step into the big picture yet. Maybe Edge could...?

I like Kofi Kingston as United States Champion. I like the fact that there are actually legit contenders after him in Jack Swagger and The Miz. I think if given enough time, this feud could potentially make all three guys into top level stars. Wow, did I just say that?

R-Truth and that Drew guy... yeah, just like Ziggler, I couldn't care less about this match all together. Maybe they could form a stable together? They could call themselves R-Drew McIn-Ziggles. Classic! Sounds like a law firm... or a new, futuristic McDonalds sandwich.

DX versus Legacy reminds me of DX versus the Spirt Squad. Wow, I just insulted Legacy that time. I mean this feud kind of reminds me DX's battles against the cheerleaders in that they tend to lose a lot to the pair of veterans. Then again, Legacy did beat the crap out of DX last month so...

So I wonder where this is all going?

Overall, I am glad I don't spend money to watch these Pay Per View shows like I used to many, many years ago. I am content with just reading about what happened, rather then spend $30 to be disappointed with a craptacular show. Believe me when I say that I've fallen victim to that many, many times.

Random, Useless Knowledge...

Wow, I'm a little shocked by this late discovery... I had no idea that Kristen Bell (from Heroes, Veronica Mars) was in the original Assassin's Creed! When exactly did this happen? I didn't even... wow.

What's more, she has returned to her role as "Lucy" (the Animus tech, pictured below) for Assassin's Creed II. I suppose that means she will continue to talk to Desmond throughout the course of the game. When I first saw the posting of this, I thought maybe she would be voicing a new character in the game or something.

Huh.

I guess I should have paid more attention to this Lucy character after all...

Impact? Not quite...

Here is a post of a different kind for me, or at least one based on a subject I just don't write a lot about these days. That's right, wrestling. Pro wrestling to be exact. Tonight was the first time in a while that I've actually gone out of my way to watch a TNA show. Generally speaking, things don't usually make all that much sense and there seems to be a lot of random match ups and what not. Needless to say, tonight was absolutely no different.

Yeah I know not every show in the world will be to everyone's liking, I get that part. But after all of this time, I was hoping that maybe things would have changed by now. You know, maybe their story telling would have gotten better? Well like I said, tonight was absolutely no different I'm afraid.

First off, Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan for Bound For Glory? Now I get there is a bit of revenge to be had, since apparently Morgan had "cost" Angle the TNA World title. But from the way Angle played it off, his losing the title didn't seem to bother him all that much. Hell, I thought it was kind of funny when he said the Main Event Mafia continued their dominance by holding onto most of their titles. Oops! That's right, everyone but you!

Speaking of the TNA World title, AJ Styles as Champion is awesome to me. I've been a fan of his for a long while, definitely longer then I have been a TNA fan. What bugged me is how he came across during his first promo as champ. He called Sting out to the ring and exchanged some words of praise and then Sting goes to leave.

But!

Then Styles says he knows what Sting did for him at No Surrender. What did he do exactly? Well he could have pinned Angle and won the title for himself. Instead he dove out and took out Matt Morgan, leaving Styles to win the title. He (Sting) stepped aside for him and handed him the title!

I don't know, to me that whole promo came across as if Styles was actually undermining himself as champion. What I am hoping won't happen is Styles turns (or Sting turns) heel again. Please! Don't. Do. It!

Another point of confusion for me was the street fight between Suicide and D'Angelo Dinero (formerly Eljiah Burke). Who was the heel here? It sure seemed like everyone was more behind Dinero then Suicide, whom I assumed was the good guy in this exchange.

Truthfully, I don't care much for the Suicide character all that much. On the flip side though, it was pretty cool to see Dinero in action. Glad to see the guy getting more TV time then when he was with WWE. Hopefully there will be a title reign in his future somewhere.

The TNA Knockouts Tag Title match between the new champs Sarita & Taylor Wilde against ODB & Tara was an okay match. I guess it could have been a lot better or even great, but for whatever reason Awesome Kong walked down and Tara went on the attack, leaving ODB alone against the newly crowned champions.

What does this accomplish? Heck if I know! Are they trying to set up a possible triple threat between Kong, Tara and ODB? It appears that way to me...

Samoa Joe versus Daniels versus Homicide wasn't all that much better. If TNA was trying to recapture the magic of old, it was a failure in my opinion. I mean Joe and Homicide spent most of the match beating down Daniels and it wasn't until the end when Joe and Homicide turned on each other and Joe destroyed him.

Let me put it this way: The match was pretty dull.

Speaking of which, why the hell is Christopher Daniels just called Daniels now? Being a wrestling fan who reads more recaps then is able to watch the shows, I was a little confused for a while when I kept reading Daniels. I think his trip as Curry Man, then Suicide ruined this guy's career. So sad...

Matt Morgan & Hernandez versus Kurt Angle & Eric Young served a little purpose I suppose, in that the divide between the MEM and World Elite seems to be widening by the week. Truthfully I was surprised when Morgan and Hernandez didn't jump out of the ring and attack both the Mafia and World Elite. They have issues with both sides and these guys are freakin' human towers! But meh, that is just me I guess.

Bobby Lashley kills Jethro Holliday. Need I say more?

I'm actually intrigued by the TNA Tag Team Champions, Scott Steiner and Booker T. These two guys have a lot of history with each other and they've exchanged the WCW World title a few times as well. And I have to agree, they do look pretty good as tag team. I never, ever would have thought I'd see one half of Harlem Heat teaming with one half of the Steiner brothers.

As far as Mick Foley and Abyss is concerned... what the hell is this? Foley is mad over a busted picture and Abyss is still an emotional "monster"? I can't believe they wasted the main event spot for this "match," which seemed to only serve the purpose of allowing Foley to beat the hell out of Abyss over said picture. What is even sadder is the fact that actual teams like Lethal Consequences and the Motor City Machine Guns are used in the stupid backstage crap.

Overall, as I'm sure it is a little obvious by now, I didn't really enjoy the show all that much. It was my hope that the show would have gotten better since the last time I watched and to be fair it has, to a certain degree. What saddens me is I felt like I was still watching a WWE show, with all of these ex-WWE wrestlers running all over the place.

Like others have stated, I would love to see the X-Division returned to its former glory. It was a spot fest some days, sure. But the action was a much faster pace and it was certainly different then having to always watch these slower matches. It is a nice change of pace. And hell, if these tag teams of X-Division guys won't ever be used as teams, then why not break it up and have them return to the X-Division? At least they would be able to have matches more often or so I'd think.

AJ Styles as TNA World Champion is cool.

AJ Styles underselling himself and saying the title was handed to him? Not so much. I had flashbacks to when Eric Bischoff handed Triple H the World Heavyweight title, back in the day when Brock Lesner took the WWE Undisputed Championship to Smackdown.

I'm not wrestling genius, but I don't think that is how you'd want to start to build up a World Champion. My only guess to the reason why this was done is because there is something brewing... and I hope my predictions on what is entirely wrong.

One thing I forgot to mention that I actually liked was Alissa Flash's attack on Hamada. The attack seemed to drag a little too long, but I am liking how TNA is actually building up some heels for their Knockouts Division. From my limited knowledge, it sure seems like they are lacking in that respect.

Speaking of whom, where were the Beautiful People tonight?

Last thing here, I wonder where this rivalry between the Main Event Mafia and World Elite is going? Both are heel groups and I can't see either side being able to flip over to being entirely good guys. Hmm...

Overall, I am a little disappointed with the show just because of the fact that I would love to be a fan of this company. But nine times out of ten, the shows just aren't all that enjoyable for me. I guess all I can do now is back off, keep an eye on the recaps and perhaps try this yet again in the future.

The Dark Side Is Strong

October is going to be a rough month in my opinion, mostly because of the fact that there are quite a few games I'd like to get. The question is which? RPGs concerned, there are some good ones that will be released (I still hate you Alpha Protocol) and I am looking forward to those too.

First one on my list is Dragon Age Origins, which I did not know was made by Bioware (makers of Mass Effect). Yes, technically this game won't be released until the beginning of November, but after reading into this more I just had to make a mention of it here.

There were actually a couple of things that caught my eye about this game and the top of the list is the promise that the game will be double the size of Mass Effect. That is cool and all, but I am hoping that there is a bit more variety in the environments, especially since this is in a fantasy setting.

The other thing that catches my attention is the promise that you'll have to face moral issues and the game apparently won't be telling you if you've chosen right or wrong. You just gotta go.

After Mass Effect, evil seems like my path...

Second game is Borderlands, which I mentioned in my previous writing. I still have not read all that much into what the game is about, other then it being another post-apocalyptic world in which you have to survive. What makes this game stand out to me is because I noticed it being called a FPS meets RPG. I am interested indeed!

Third game I am keeping my eye on during this coming month is Way of the Samurai 3. Now any game that allows me to play a Samurai, earns points in my book straight away. This one, unlike the others I've wrote about, will be one I'll be waiting to see how it gets reviewed. That will help me decide if this will be worth picking up...

Last game on my list is WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010. As I've said before and I will state here again, I am a sucker for these games just on the sheer fact that it allows a lot of room for creation. Despite that, I honestly thought 2009 would have been the last Smackdown game I'd get, but this year resparked my interests because of this year's game theme.

Unlike 2009, which was based more around tag teams, this year it is all about creation. They (THQ) has expanded the create-a-wrestler mode, plus they've opened up much more room to customize all sorts of things. I could write it all down, but I've seen a lot of this stuff popping up at IGN lately, so I won't. I will just say this: Looks like I will be hooked into this series for yet another year.

So that is a small list of some of the games that I am looking at this month. One other thing I feel like adding is I am actually looking towards getting more PS3 games. The main reason for this is because my XBox 360 is starting to act up again (heating up) and if memory serves me right, that was the prelude to it getting those goddamn red rings of death. So unlike before, I'm going to try and spread my games out and not just horde everything over to my XBox.

I love that system and then I hate it. I am looking at it on the bright side though, at least I haven't had to send it in 4-5 times...

Life in General

It has been a little while since I posted anything outside of video games and I guess I'm just having one of those days today. You know, where your mind begins to think and then over think? That is the kind of day I am having today.

The one thing I am hating is the feeling like I've gone and "miss the boat," so to speak. I feel like I've already hit the point in life where I'll be a failure forever. Perhaps that is a little over dramatic for a guy only 25 years old?

The thing that gets me is how the people I went to school with, everyone is either married or getting married. And a lot of them have kids! I know this is the way of things, I get that part. Maybe it is just a part of my mind that doesn't believe the world is actually moving forward, that time had not stopped and we are all, in fact, getting older.

Of all the things I felt in life, older has not been one that ranked all that high on the list. But oh man, how that has changed for me lately.

The other feeling I'm having is the need to formulate a plan. A plan to get me on the right track in life and at the very least, find a way where I wouldn't have to worry about being so broke all the time. And the games aren't all that much a factor these days! I've been trading or just avoiding games, rather then trying to buy anything and everything that looks interesting. Believe me, I've not gotten a number of those already!

I just felt like writing some of that out, just to maybe help me clear my mind some. Maybe this call all be attributed to being a little stir crazy. Using up two weeks of vacation and doing nothing but sitting at home is a little nuts, as I am finding out.

I think I gotta get the heck out of here!

350

Yesterday I finished off Halo 3 ODST's campaign in co-op with my girlfriend. Just feel like saying she has gotten a lot better since the first few FPS games we co-oped together. She actually kills more enemies, more often, then she does me

So anyhow, the fight is over. Again. And that begs the question: What next? As far as Halo is concerned, there seems to be their next game "Halo: Reach." I kind of have an idea of what that is and if I'm right, it sounds like it'll be a prequel to the original Halo game.

As for my thoughts of ODST, the game is pretty good and I wouldn't dare say the price wasn't justified. I mean I've read how some people complain about seeing the same enemies and using the same weapons, etc. But seriously, what should be entirely different about a game that takes place during the Halo trilogy? In a lot of ways, this reminds me of the days when Final Fantasy X-2 was released and people complained about how everything looks the same.

It is a funny thing to me, to read how people can complain and cut a game down so easily. Change too little and that will strike a nerve. Change too much and you're ramming this stuff down the "fan's throats." At the end of the day I suppose it really is impossible to please everyone, especially when it comes to video games.

Like I think I've said before, what drew me to the game was the difference in not the game play, but just the overall tone. Sounds a little stupid to be a key reason for picking up a game huh? But I enjoy playing games that are different and I will say this about ODST: It is different then any of the previous Halo games and yet it strikes a pretty good balance with that and yet still managing to feel familiar. Does that make sense?

Going back, again, to a previous point, another area that is different to me is the music. God, I can't believe how much I actually liked the music for this game. I don't think I've ever really enjoyed the music from a FPS game, but today that idea has an exception. In my opinion, it was perfect for the game and it managed to fit pretty much every step of the day.

In the end, the game is worth the price in my opinion because while it is familiar, there is enough content in there to the point where it feels new again. Hell, even with the campaign being over, there is always the Firefight to keep busy with.

Case in point, two nights ago my girlfriend and I decided to try the mode out on easy, just to see how far it goes. Well, two and a half hours later, we had fought through four sets (consisting of three rounds per set, five waves of enemies per round). To our horror, the enemies kept dropping in until we were finally bested. What made it worse, we were 5,000 points shy of reaching one of the achievements that require racking up 200,000 points to unlock. Will we attempt another run at it? Most likely, yes! The fights were fast and frantic and it lets up for short periods of time but let me tell you... you ain't going to go bored there.

Anyway, one last thing before I keep rattling and rambling... can you imagine? 350 posts and counting. I look back at the archives and I can't believe I'm still writing for this blog of mine even after all of these years. I think I said that before too! Deja vu?! I wonder what games I'll be hooked into by this time next year? Hopefully all of these long awaited Final Fantasy games are released by then...

Alpha FAIL

I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed in the slightest at the apparent delay of Alpha Protocol, from the makers of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2. How or why would I be disappointed by the delay of a game that was set for release on October 6th, which is now set for sometime in the summer of 2010? Because it surely appears as though everyone is running away to 2010 (rumor has it, it is all because of Modern Warfare 2), which isn't all that entirely bad considering how these games will be a little more spaced apart.

But why this one? Why an RPG? I suppose I should reserve any judgment until maybe there is a reason or something to explain this. But in all likelihood, the game is delayed and I guess I just have to pull my reservation off of this and put it elsewhere. Perhaps Borderlands (which I have absolutely no idea what the game is about) or maybe even the big, bad Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2? The only game I am certain to try and pick up is Assassin's Creed 2...

Either way, it looks like my RPG playing fun is all but over for this year. After playing through and finishing Infinite Undiscovery and Mass Effect, I was hopeful to continue onto Alpha Protocol. So much for that one! Meh.

XIV

Despite my feelings about Final Fantasy XI, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in FFXIV. The starting races all do seem practically identical to those in FFXI, but there seems to have been at least some changes besides their names. And, just like with Halo 3 ODST, this video has helped raise my interests some. I have to be honest, it certainly looks interesting to my eyes.

I am wondering though... there is a particualr scene in the video where there seems to be a few characters on a boat, fighting off an army of jellyfish looking creatures. My wonder is if the battles will be like that? That would mean the combat would have to be much faster then it was in FFXI. Now that is cool, should that be true.

I'd dodge this game if the battles are like in FFXI. That many monsters? Good lord, you'd be fighting for a full day just to hack those bastards all apart!

Dropped Into Hell

So after picking up Halo 3 ODST yesterday and after playing through a part of the campaign and running through a few rounds of Firefight, I have reached a conclusion. A little surprising to reach that point so quickly huh?

My overall impressions of the game is this: It isn't a bad game and despite the differences between a Spartan and a ODST, I can't really see the what is all that different about them. Then again, perhaps because I have not played a Halo game in quite a while, the differences would be harder to see.

The campaign itself is okay too, but I have to agree with what some other gamers have said in that the story itself is kind of all over the place. Factor in the point that there really isn't all that much to build up the other ODST and you've got a group of characters that is a little hard to give a damn about.

Gameplay wise, like I said before, I don't really see any real significant differences and so to me it plays like I remembered Halo to play. The visor mode is a nice touch though, it certainly helps out since this story takes place at night.

Another plus and I can't believe I'm saying this about a FPS, but the music in this game is actually pretty damn good. I was surprised at how well it meshes with the game, especially considering I heard a few jazz pieces in there. I will surely be keeping an eye out for the soundtrack.

And after finishing a few sections of it and watching the scenes with what the other ODST did during the few hours after their drop was disrupted, I still don't quite understand the whole purpose of it all. From the start, it appeared as though there was something more then just dropping in and fighting back the Covenant. Anyhow, I don't mind a good mystery to be truthful. But I am hoping the pieces come together by the time the campaign ends.

I hate cliffhangers.

Lastly, I agree that Firefight is similar to Gears of War 2's Horde mode. They are similar in that there are a waves of enemies rushing up to shoot, smash and otherwise rip your f*cking head off. The big difference to me is that this mode doesn't just send certain types of enemies at you. Oh no, they throw the whole goddamn shabang at you and you'd better have a plan or it'll be a fast game.

Then again, how much planning can a person do when you see a giant ape with a hammer that is taller then it, running full speed in your direction? Yes you can fire your weapon to your heart's content, but they don't go down quite that easily. And yes, I have met the business end of said hammer and I can still see my character's dead body sailing through the air.

On side note, it sure was graceful...

Halo 3 ODST

Truth be told, I wasn't sure what to make of Halo 3 ODST and it had been something I have been pondering about for a while now. To play? Or not to play? That has certainly been the question on my mind these past few months. But thanks to this video...



And having to hear radio commercials and reading about it all over the place, I think I've caved in at last. Try and try as I might, I guess I just couldn't withhold against the hype machine behind this one. Heh, so much for the fight being finished after all...

A major factor at my caving in actually has a bit more to it then just a video and a few radio ads. What intrigues me about this is the change in game play. Yes, you still shoot the hell out of damn near everything that moves. BUT. The difference now is you do not play a Spartan and so the challenge already is ramped up a bit there. Slower movement, no shields, no regenerating health, no duel weapons and a few other cut offs.

Challenge? Sure sounds like it to me.

What also catches my interest is the Firefight mode, which sounds similar to Gears of War 2's Horde mode. This place explains it better then I ever can.

Anyway, looks like tomorrow I'll be running down to good old GameStop to reserve this sucker at the last minute. Same goes for Kingdom Hearts 358/2. Damn it! What happened to my restraint?! Damn you game hyping people! Damn you all!!

Memory Lane...

Double post on my part, I know. But this couldn't be helped! I just felt so very compelled to get this up into this blog. And if for nothing else, it just reminds me of the adventures from yesteryear. Doesn't that just make you feel a little old (I know it makes me feel the age a little bit).

Anyway, I just went through YouTube a bit and came across a number of videos for some of the old Final Fantasy ending songs. I'm posting here the links to the ending songs from Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy XII. Good, good stuff. To say that these bring back some memories is an understatement.

The first video here is of Faye Wong, the original singer for Eyes on Me from Final Fantasy VIII. I am amazed that through all of the videos I watched of her singing this song, she sings it damn near the same every time. Usually singers seem to have different tones, I guess depending on how they feel? I can't say, but anyway classic stuff here.



Second video is Angela Aki with her version of Eyes on Me (I wonder why they didn't get Faye Wong? Hmm). It isn't bad, but like a number of people have said, she does sing the song a bit faster then Faye Wong. But alas, to each their own. It is still good in my opinion, it just might take a little getting used to.



Lastly is Angela Aki again with Kiss Me Good-Bye from Final Fantasy XII. Now I am a little embarrassed to say that I didn't even realize it was her singing the song up until only recently.

Everlasting Love

I was listening to the remix to a little song called Everlasting Love from the latest Katamari game, Katamari Forever, and it got me looking around for the original. I wanted to hear the original! While the video itself is rather small, that is just because of the fact that it is basically only audio.

Regardless, this is easily my favorite song out of all of the Katamari games I've ever played. Didn't matter what level, this was my song of choice whenever I was out and about and rolling up schools and eldery folk alike.

Strange thing is this: All I could ever find out about this song is it's title and it is performed by a singer named Alisa. I would like to listen to more of her music (if there is anything else), but anything further has been elusive at best. I'm thinking I don't have her full name (or maybe she's in a band?)

Hmm...

Patrick Swayze

Wow, just read about the passing of Patrick Swayze late last night and I gotta say it is a little shocking I suppose. I read that he was sick, but always saw articles about how he hated people saying he was going to die soon and how he was responding well to treatment. I guess things weren't going as well as hoped.

For those who somehow don't know who Patrick Swayze is, hopefully you at least know the movie Dirty Dancing. How could you not know this?! Wow, just thinking about these last few lines I've written here makes me feel a little old...

Personally, I can say I remember the movie quite fondly, because it was a part of my growing up. No, I wasn't alive when this movie was released, but back when I was a kid (back in the early 90's), I remember my mom being all giddy like a little school girl when she found this movie on VHS back in the day. At the time, for obvious reasons, a dance movie wasn't something I was all that interested in watching. I would rather be watching some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or something, you know?

Anyway, needless to say I got to watch this movie quite a few times that year. And what can I say? It grew on me.

I think it was because of this movie that I picked up that hopeless romantic bug? I really don't love stories that don't have a happy ending to it. If the guy doesn't get the girl, how can everything be right in the world?! But that's another story for another time.

This could be a sad thing, but I guess people should really get too down about his passing. Surely he was still fairly young, but I look at it this way; at least the man isn't suffering anymore.

R.I.P.