Change of Perspective

So after having my monthly break down day, I think it is pretty safe to say that my mind is back to normal and there were some things that have changed in my mind that has altered my perspective on a number of subjects in life. Hell, today I am turning 26 years old... I gotta start thinking about me and where the hell I am going in this crazy world.

For one thing, I think I am/was getting a little too involved into matters that do not concern me. If there is anything I should have learned is that people will always look out for number one: themselves. It would be stupid and foolish to believe we'd all stand up and back up other people, be it friends or co-workers. That sounds cruel doesn't it? But to expect everyone to back each other up is just setting yourself up to get angry over things outside of your control. Or in my case, outside of my control.

And I suppose with the way the world is nowadays, no one can really risk their jobs, regardless of how shitty the job might be or whatever the circumstances are.

My conclusion? While it sucks that seemingly nice people are getting fired, I cannot allow that to negatively affect me and my life. I just don't have the space to accommodate such things and trying to do so will only bring me down and that just ain't cool. So I'm just going to have to re-double my efforts and try and keep my head down and do the work in front of me as best as I can and hope for the best.

One consistent factor so far this year has been us (my girlfriend and I) with our backs to the wall. It has just been one thing after another and it just sucks! I don't know how else to say it other then it just flat out sucks right now. But what else can we do with these cards that have been dealt to us? I know the truth of the matter is a lot of our present hardships have everything to do with the fact that we just did not make smart choices and the effects of those are just dropping on our heads one after another.

The best solution my simple little brain can think up? We've already made the bad choices, so how we've just gotta weather the storm and just keep pushing forward. I just can't think of any other way of dealing with these things then just to keep going forward and keeping the hope that there will be a light at the end of this tunnel.

I know its life and we all must endure through tough times, but I gotta say this... sucks having to grow up. Which is kind of funny in a way, I mean considering how I know I spent my fair share of time thinking about how great it would be to leave home and do things my way and not having to listen to how things should be, etc, etc.

But having gotten here and spending the better part of the last 5 years slowly going further and further down the drain has opened my eyes to some serious truth: It sure as hell ain't easy, this growing up and life stuff. There is no amount of lectures and nothing in any school that can ever really prepare you for the reality of things.

If I could travel back to the past, I know the one thing I would do is find myself and slap myself stupid. Or maybe slap myself smart and just tell me to make better choices from the get go. I mean with knowledge like that, who knows what today would have been like?

Unsure

Yes I am unsure of life yet again folks and this year has been nothing but a roller coaster ride of crazy. Has that helped my current state of mind at all? Well it has only served to push my brain into a state of confusion, I think. Maybe confusion isn't really the right word for what I am feeling right now. Frustration maybe...

The only thing that bothers me is the feeling like I am not making the kind of progress in life like I should be. I mean I am relatively happy with the way my life is, but I just feel like that there might be more to this yet. What am I growing increasingly tired of is having to work for people who just don't make any sense. Add in the glaring lack of direction, purpose and I think we've got the cake there.

And how do you respond to a boss that walks in and basically tells you whatever work you've done, is absolute shit? It ain't right, it ain't good and guess what? I'll be back real soon to be sure you don't forget that point. I mean I know I could have taken the low road and responded with a suggestion pertaining to taking a certain job position and where might be a ideal place to stick it. But I am one of the many that is desperately in need of keeping this craptacular job, so that plan wouldn't exactly be a bright "career" move.

Maybe what this is is work place politics at it's most lethal form. People throwing their weight around always bothers me. I don't like bosses who only know how to talk, especially when things are down and a leader is needed. I just hate it when a boss will just sit down and bark out orders, rather then jumping in and taking charge of the situation. Work with the peons for fuck's sake! You don't like the way something is, fine. Talk to your people and explain what's wrong and what it is you expect. Hell, listen to what the person has to say and take it from there. Do you need to talk down to everyone? Do you have to make it out like they are all scum that just ain't doing shit for your company?

Or even a supervisor or even a department manager. If your workers missed something or isn't up to par, TALK. Speak the hell up!! How the fuck does it help anyone to NOT talk to the person in question and instead, go behind the person's back and talk shit about them? And since we're at it, if you hate a person or dislike their work so goddamn much, FIRE THEM ALREADY. Don't just drag them through the mud and fucking call them a stupid piece of shit everyday.

How does that kinds of things help steer a company back onto the right track? A people person, these people are not. And just thinking about all of this makes me wonder aloud to myself: What kind of people am I working for exactly?!

And just reading the things that I just wrote proves to me what I was afraid of from the start: I've fallen into that hole, that place where people fall into and just burn themselves out with all of this toxic thoughts. Now don't get me wrong, I tried to make it a point to steer clear of this sort of nonsense, but how do you dodge what comes straight for you? I can't dodge mountains unfortunately and now I'm buried under a ton of bullshit that is driving me insane.

I thought I would be out of this hell by now, but it seems that my lack of a college education has come back to haunt me. Then again, I cannot afford to take classes and the goddamn financial aid system is one of the biggest fucking jokes I've ever seen.

Gah! I'm getting off track with this mindless rage and I'm only pissing myself off more as I am going. Ranting and raving helps my mental state on some days, but today it did not. Great...

Too Bad

While I will make it no secret that I am not that into online gaming, I have had some curiosity into MMOs. But with a rather basic PC, a vast majority of these games are well out of my reach. So I am generally happy to hear whenever a potential MMO is announced for a console system as that means I'll finally get to try out something that isn't Final Fantasy XI.

For example, Champions Online.

I was a little disappointed when the PC version of this game released and the console game was delayed indefinitely. But I had hope! I had hope that the game would come through and everything was going to be OK!

How naive of me...

So now I have been reading all about how the developers (Cryptic) want to focus solely on the PC version and will no longer be porting their MMO to any console. So after reading about the game, getting a little hyped up about it, then waiting after it's delay and now seeing it all but dead, I say this:

Too bad. Too bad for the developers.

Why so? Here I am, likely amongst many, who would have mindlessly threw money at this game and now we shall not. I suppose MMOs on consoles are not the biggest money making plan a game developer can come up with, but whatever. I suppose I shall just save that money and throw it at Final Fantasy XIV later this year.

Speaking of interests, here is a little something I read about today that has gotten my attention.

Apparently Persona 5 is being developed and there is potential that it could arrive on the current generation of systems (at last!). Now I admit that the only Persona game I ever played was the original, and that the last few games in the series, while I've heard a lot of great things about (more about this in a second), I never ever played any of them.

Now as for the reason why I never picked this up? I blame that solely on a game named Odin Sphere. That was what killed RPGs for me on PS2 for a good long time and generally the reason why I stopped playing RPGs for a few years thereafter. I mean I believed the hype and I bought these so called "truths" that this game was just that damn awesome.

And the truth is, the only absolute thing that came to my mind was it was an absolute mistake on my part when I wasted money on this. While I understand that not all games are for everyone, this one just made me sick.

So I've kind of made it a point to not just jump up and buy every game I think looks even remotely interesting. While it is true that I still do that sometimes, I am far, far more weary about what I am throwing my money at these days.

Last thoughts go to a couple of movies I've seen recently; Ponyo and Law Abiding Citizen.

Let's start with Law Abiding Citizen....

The previews for this movie did wonders at making this one seem so very interesting and suspenseful. And you know what? It is just that for almost the entirety of the movie. It kept me guessing, it kept me wondering who would die next and how. And it also kept me wondering why did it get rated down so badly?

My answer came during the final 10-15 minutes of the movie. And I just want to throw out the warning now, if you've not seen this movie yet and plan to, I am about to spoil the ending so stop and skip down if so! -SPOILER ALERT!!!-

Now Gerald Butler's character is supposed to be this insane genius of a tactician. He is setting up all of these people who he feels is cancerous and he intends on purging them all since he feels the justice system is broken. Jamie Foxx's character is basically the guy who helps create this madman, all because he feared losing his near perfect conviction rating and so he strikes a deal with one of the men who murdered and raped Butler's character's wife and murders his daughter as well.

Anyway, Butler's character has everyone on edge throughout the movie and even I began to feel like there was just no goddamn way Jamie Foxx's character would walk out of these traps alive in the end.

But what happens? Even after all of Jamie Foxx's colleagues die, he manages to get himself promoted anyway. And Gerald Butler's character's plot gets exposed so stupidly easy, it made me sick. For the whole time, it was a belief that Butler's character had help on the outside when in fact, he had none. He had secretly dug tunnels into all of the cells in solitary confinement and was using these tunnels to sneak out and execute these people.

How did they find out about these tunnels? Foxx's character traces back money used to buy these apparently random properties and finds these tunnels. Then through that, they see a bunch of screens that show off his next target in detail. They go after Butler's character, miss him, but finds his bomb hidden so stupidly in a plain briefcase that I believed that that was a plant. A trick!

But no...

No... no tricks that time and the tables were turned just like that. The tactician was not outsmarted, he apparently just didn't really plan all that far ahead as it was made out to be. And how does it all end? Foxx takes the bomb, plants it in Butler's character's cell and tells him to make a choice. Butler's character chooses to blow 'em all up! But guess what? He learns where they put the bomb as both Foxx and his sole surviving helper (a cop) seal him in his cell as he is killed by his very own bomb.

Just thinking about this and writing it out helps bring to the surface a lot of bitterness towards what was a pretty good movie. Bah... I wasted 320 points on my Xbox for this crap...

As for Ponyo? I think I wrote enough for now. I suppose I shall save this one for next time around. For now, I will just have to leave this blog a bitter individual...

Michelle Branch Playlist

Cauldron of Thoughts

All sorts of thoughts happening in my head tonight, mostly a lot of gaming ones and a couple of other here and there things. But I'm here for the gaming ones! Maybe I'll eventually write about the other thoughts floating through my mind, but that is entirely another story for another time.

I caved in and bought... Dragon Age: Origins Awakening.

I didn't think I would get it right away, not after reading all of those complaints leveled at this expansion. Hell I think even the developers would end up doubting their own work after reading the kinds of things people are saying.

But regardless of all of that, I bought it and I can honestly say I am enjoying it quite a bit. I haven't run into any bugs or glitches or anything bad of the sort so far. And one fact that some people have pointed out is truth folks: Awakening is definitely more of the same. If you enjoyed Origins and wouldn't mind more, then this just works out great.

Another thought that carried on for me after reading what people wrote about the game was "what happened to your previous crew? Dead? Abandoned?"

-Semi-Spoiler Ahead!-

While it is true that the game makes no mention of what becomes of your old comrades at the start of the expansion, I have ran into a couple of the old guard whilst playing through Origins. For one, you do get Oghren, in his full drunk and vulgar splendor, back in your group almost at the onset. Thus far it seems that he is the only one that returns from the original game to your party.

Others I've ran into were Wynne and Loghain, both of whom seem to have gotten into other things since the end of Origins.

What surprised me and actually got me to geek out quite a bit was the appearances of both the Architect and Utha (a female Dwarf whom is both Silent Sister and a Grey Warden), both of which are characters that come from Dragon Age: The Calling (book). So now one of my burning questions in my mind was answered at last: Both the Architect and Utha disappeared at the end of the book and I wondered what happened to them. Huh. And this also explains now that the expansion seems to confirm that the Architect from the book has been laying low for a very long time (the story of the book takes place during King Meric's time *Calien's father*).

Wait...

Never mind, all of these loose ends are tying up in my brain and I'm getting all mixed the hell up! Lemme try and set this right, if only to help ease my weary mind:

- In the book, Genevieve is the Orlesian Commander of the Grey Wardens that are sent to Fereldan. She inherits the position from her brother, Bregan, whom only appears in Origins in the form of his helmet (which I believe was a part of the CE bonus items pack).

- Notable Warden amongst this group: Duncan, the man that recruits your character and is in charge of the Wardens at the beginning of Origins, is a part of this group. He is a former thief, turned Warden by Genevieve's wishes, as she had hoped Duncan would have died in the Joining as he had murdered her lover.

- Utha was also mong the group of Wardens and it was at the urging of a converted Genevieve that she sides with her Commander and Bregan, both of whom had transformed into a different sort of Dark Spawn.

Wow... did all of that help me? Nope! I'm just as confused and mixed up as ever! Oh well...

Random thoughts:

- Pikmin 3 confirmed?! Interesting...

- Played the Splinter Cell: Conviction demo. Will this be a purchase for me? Before the demo? Probably. After the demo? Probably not.

- Mass Effect 2 is start to crank up the DLC, with a hovertank DLC pack coming out soon, along with a premium costume pack and another premium pack that will add another character to yoru merry little crew. Some of this stuff is free and others are not. Which is which? You got me!

- Was playing Final Fantasy XIII up until a few days ago. Finally got down to Gran Pulse. What's stopped me? Well I've been getting absolutely SMASHED by damn near everything that moves out there! Needing time to regroup...

- I know I wrote a bunch of randomness about the new Dragon Age expansion up top, but here is a little bit more: I imported my noble Human character and he arrives at Vigil's Keep without his trusty Mabari hound! Why?? What happened to that trusty, misunderstood pup??

- Heavy Rain isn't fun. I don't mean that in a bad way, but it just isn't the type of game where "fun" seems to factor in. Well maybe it does a little bit. It is interesting and it certainly is unlike anything I've played before. Maybe once I get pass all of these other games, I will return to it.

I thought I could write with some semblance of reason and sense tonight, but obviously I was wrong. I give up! I will just stop, step away from the keyboard and return to my gaming ways. It seems that is the safe and smart thing to do...

Awakening

So today is the day the expansion for Dragon Age is released and, out of plain old curiosity, I decided to hit up BioWare's social site. Call it a habit I formed after the issues I had with Mass Effect 2. Better to stay ahead of the game and know what's up right? Anyway, so I go ahead and began to read up about this latest add on to Dragon Age and good lord it sounds like it is the biggest pile of crap EVER!

Or at least that is the way a great deal of people are making it out to be.

I give credit to BioWare for even having a forum up for their products and maybe even a little more credit that they actually do interact with their fans every now and again. How many companies do this?

But man, the way people complain about their recent games (Dragon Age: Origins, Awakening, Mass Effect 2), it sounds like all of their games amount to nothing more then dung. And having played through a few of their recent games, I just don't understand the avalanche of hate towards these guys. It ain't that bad! Most of their games are pretty damn good as a matter of fact (or a matter of opinion I suppose)!

And the dramatic internet masses continue on with their tirades with Dragon Age: Origins Awakening. I mean the list of complaints just run on and on and on! I wouldn't blame those guys for not posting anything in their forums after they release a game. Who wants to be lynched on sight? I sure as hell wouldn't!

I mean let me put it out this way: BioWare has had their share of problems, especially when it comes down to DLC. People who check their forums will know this and know that these things don't just get solved overnight! Probably the best example of this would be the latest piece of DLC, "Return to Ostegar," and the amount of problems they had there. It wasn't properly released until about 2 weeks (I think) after it's actual release date.

So anyway... having known that this is the way of things, why in the world are people still flooding the forums and bitching up a storm in there! Bugs and glitches happen in video games (maybe especially more so nowadays) and fixes will come when they are ready to roll!

But making 50,000 posts about how you are disappointed in them and how they let you down with their buggy games and a list of reasons why you think the game and the company behind it is nothing more then shit, just doesn't help anything now does it?

I swear I think I need to stop reading video game forums, right along with quitting on the game blog reading too. People just get too negative over every little detail! And some days I just want to reach out and slap the crap outta somebody!

Breathe...

Breathe....

Haven't They All Been Caught Yet?

I know I've written quite a bit about only a select few games recently and even I gotta admit that that has gotten a little stale. So! I think it is a good idea to shake things up a little bit! While yes, this change of subject does still pertain to a video game, it won't have anything to do with others I've been writing about recently.

Pokemon.

For a kids' game and for something so many people considered nothing more then a "fad," how in the world is this series still alive? And like the title of this writing states it, haven't we caught them all yet? Last I knew, there were only a hundred of these guys!

Wait, what? There are more then a hundred you say? Now I know I am out of the loop when it comes to this series of games, but come on... the total number of Pokemon couldn't possibly have gone up that much higher, right?

How about 500? Or to be a little more precise, 498 according to Wikipidia. That is a whole lot of catching to do folks... Damn, who knew these guys could breed and multiply so quickly!

Now the reason I even mention this game here is, obviously, because there is some interest in these games for me lately. Granted, the last time I actually played these games was back in 2003, with Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire games. And the last time I actually played anything of this series seriously, was back when these games were first released here in the States (Red and Blue I believe?).

Anyway, there are two new games coming out next week called HeartGold and SoulSilver and like I said, I am ever so slightly interested in checking these out again. That;'s right! I said that! Me, an old guy, wanting to check out Pokemon games. Is that so bad? Really? Okay maybe it is a little bad, but whatever. What drew me back towards these games was just by sheer amazement.

Amazement that the series was still alive even after all of these years. And further amazement that the graphics for these games have gotten so much better then the last time I saw any of these games on a hand held console. I still wonder how or why these games were never really succeeded on the home consoles, but I guess that is another issue entirely.

So there it is; I am interested in these new (apparently remade) Pokemon games. This fact I didn't know of until I looked up more info about the pair of games. So they're actually re-releases of Pokemon Gold and Silver (how could anyone miss that one huh). Still, considering I've never played either, this could end up being interesting...

Besides, if memory serves me correct, the last time I played these games was at the behest of my girlfriend, whom was giggly school girl like, over these "cute monsters," we each got a color and off to the races we went, so to speak.

And, begrudgingly, I must admit that we did duel our enslaved armies against each other from time to time. The results of those battles? Well....

I lost. I lost more of those battles then I had won. And it doesn't bother me, not one bit mind you! I am an adult and as such, childish grudges from the past will not have the effect they may have on a kid who doesn't know better.

So with that said, I can maturely and confidently say that perhaps the timing of these games is nothing short of perfect. Why is that? Well, I think it is the right time to exact my revenge! This war was 6 years in the making! Why shouldn't it be the right time?! AH HA!

Vengeance will be mine!

Beyond The Fantasy

After about 25 hours into Final Fantasy XIII, I can honestly say that I just am not disappointed with the game as I thought I might some how have been. What surprises me is how far into the game you must go before this group actually comes together! The process did bother me a little at first, but then I came to appreciate this change of pace. It certainly allows the player to get to know the characters better in these smaller cells, rather then trying to tell their individual stories amongst the others and risking on getting lost in the shuffle of things.

As far as characters are concerned (READ: SPOILERS BELOW!), I think the character I'm liking the most is easily Sazh. I mean at first glance (back when the characters were being revealed), I didn't think much about the guy who had a Chocobo living in his afro. But after playing through and seeing his story and his struggles, I actually believe and feel for his character a whole world more then I do with what's happening between Snow and Serah.

How can you not feel something about a father whose only wish in the world is to have his son back? And more so, how can you not feel for a man who has no choice, no power but to watch his whole world get taken away from him, right before his very eyes?

I think I can say something similar for Vanille as well, which is actually an interesting thing for me because during my last post, I said I didn't care much for either her or Sazh. Now here I am, thinking these two have a hell of a story behind them and I don't really think they are a bad pairing after all (Snow and Hope, on the other hand, bleh!).

What I like about Vanille is the conflict she endures: She seems to be a kind soul and in an effort to try and stop any more suffering, she fakes memory lost (telling her partner Fang that she knows nothing of what they were supposed to be doing on Cocoon), which in turn sparks a chain of events that leads is the basis of Final Fantasy XIII.

The conflict arises when it is revealed that she (Vanille) was part of the reason why Sazh's son was turned into a l'Ciel, which is the secret that she hid from Sazh more and more once she realized who he was and why the man always seemed so gloomy.

I mean that is a brutal secret to keep! Especially so when you end up traveling with someone you've caused so much inadvertent pain to.

All I can say is those two (Sazh and Vanille) are my two favorite characters by far...

And I was going to yack about some other games I have my eye on in the near/distant future, but I'll just throw out a couple of the names and give a thought or two for the time being. I know I titled this post as "Beyond The Fantasy," but really... I'm not even beyond it just yet!

- Dragon Age: The Awakening: I thought about picking this up on day one, but meh... things are looking otherwise for me at this point. With Final Fantasy XIII taking up all of my attention now and with Heavy Rain still in need of finishing, I suppose this expansion will have to wait a little bit.

- Might And Magic: Clash of Heroes: I was actually extremely interesting in this DS game and was so very close to buying it on a few occasions since the ending of last year. But to my surprise, the game is being ported over (and spiffied up) for release on PSN and Xbox Live sometime this year. Guess it was a good thing I didn't get when I wanted to...

- Just Cause 2: I never played the first Just Cause and I was curious about this one because of the amount of area you can play through (over 30 square miles I believe) and after having played the demo, I must say there is interest here. Truth be told though, I am thinking this is more likely a rental for me (if possible).

FINAL FANTASY XIII

How appropriate is it that my 400th post shall be used to absolutely geek out over Final Fantasy XIII? After these past several years, it is an absolute pleasure to be able to play this latest addition to the Final Fantasy series. How much of a pleasure? Having the day off today, I've gone about 8 hours straight so far and I am enjoying myself too much to stop, more or less.

Of all the things that have been said about this game, one statement I must agree with is that this Final Fantasy is truly unlike any that has come before it. It does indeed do things differently then it's predecessors and that isn't exactly a bad thing. The changes, while drastic in some cases, are actually refreshing in my opinion. For instance, I worried about how it was said that the game play itself is quite linear. I'm liking it so far because it surely does keep a fast pace to the play and the story too.

Another thing that is a little different for me is how the group seems to stay separated, at least that has been so during the time I have played. Again, not quite a bad thing as it does give the various characters room to branch out and it does allow the player to get a little better acquainted with the characters themselves.

I am also loving the music so far too! Some good stuff, but I am finding myself missing that good old victory fanfare...

Ok, so it hasn't quite been all great and here are a couple of things that kind of bug me about the game. Nothing game breaking, but just minor things that kind of are annoying to me.

Speaking of characters, they are quite a motley crew (more so then the gang from FFXII in my opinion) and of them all, the only one I am finding a little irritating is Hope. Not enough to want to make me toss him off of a cliff, but still. I just have to wonder this: Will he ever stop whining?

- Leader dies, game over: This does up the challenge, but what sucks is when you get SMASHED during the opening round of a fight. I've had this happen to me a few times already...

- The team of Sazh and Vanille is terrible! Fights that usually end quickly, ends up taking this dysfunctional duo an upward of 5 minutes! Okay, maybe they aren't as bad... but I am liking this combo much better after Sazh gains access to the Commando role.

- The battles in the beginning are pretty dull! Things surely pick up after opening up the Paradigms, but until then... snooze fest...

Other then that, yes I am enjoying the game quite a bit so far and I am hoping to throw in another couple of hours before I call it quits. I want to see when these guys get their acts together and join up once and for all!

One last thought: That collector's edition guide for the game... er... what was so great about this thing again? I love how I've managed to misread the description and expected there to be a art section in this pricey guide. Was there such? NOPE! The label on the cover says the guide is illustrated with exclusive art! Doh!

On The Horizon

This waiting game business is just getting to my head and getting to it very, very badly. Tuesday (more about this in a moment) is just too close for me to keep calm about it! Okay, so maybe I haven't done a great job of keeping myself from losing my goddamn mind over this game in the first place, but I just cannot help it! It is an addiction which I have been living with for some years now and it is just too powerful for me to resist.

And if by happenstance a random passerby just happens upon my humble little blog, the cause of my madness these days has everything to do with a little game called Final Fantasy XIII. Why? Because it is being released in just a little over a day now (or some time close to that)!

Now I know a number of places are going to be doing a midnight release for FFXIII, but this time around I won't be standing in that crazy line. After standing in line back in 2006 for Final Fantasy XII until midnight (we got in line at around 7:45-8:00 pm) and that was just more then enough for myself and my girlfriend.

Besides, I want to be awake and ready to get into this shit! Sleep?! Bah! NO such thing when there is a Final Fantasy to be explored!

Speaking of Final Fantasy XII, tonight was the first time I've played that game in a few years. And you know what is the most perfect way to be reintroduced to a video game? By walking straight into a boss fight! Yes!

Er... no...

Let me tell ya, it is a hell of an experience to have to remember how stuff works and what to cast on who and why, when there is a bastard with multiple arms (each handling a sword no less) and he and his dog are just beating the holy hell out of your ass. But even after the few years away and all that, it took a total of three attempts (the third time being the charm) before I succeeded. Yes I was finally able to vanquish that bastard Gilgamesh and his damned dog too.

But as pleased as I am with myself (dork, yes I know), I just cannot focus even on this menial of a victory when the real battle still lays ahead. I mean there is a whole new world to explore, a brand new crew to learn about and fight with and on top of that, there are a ton of new bad guys that desperately need to be smacked down. Or blown up. Or both.

Oops, sorry... thinking about Borderlands and my endless fun of firing rockets at unsuspecting bandits. Regardless of that, however, with FFXIII practically a day away from release here in the West, I just don't think there is anything out there right now that can or will deter me from thing game.

So sorry Heavy Rain, looks like your murder solving needs just took the back seat!

Can't Function! 3 DAYS AWAY~

Try as I might, my mind just cannot be swayed away from the pending release of Final Fantasy XIII. I mean this game is so close that I just cannot function anymore! All my mind is focused on right now is 3 DAYS LEFT!

What does not help is my girlfriend, she works at a retail store that has a decent electronics department within it. Well she casually tells me that they've gotten their shipment of FFXIII in their stockroom. The conversation following this revelation went a little something like this...

Me: So you guys got the game already huh?

Her: Yep.

Me: So... where is it?

Her: What?

Me: The game... where is it?

Her: The game is at the store? In the stock room?

Me: Yeah but didn't you buy it already? For me?

Her: You know it isn't even out yet! I can't buy it ahead of the street date!

Me: I suppose not. Couldn't you borrow it from the store instead?

Her: No...

Me: But... why not?

I guess it would be safe to say that rational thinking was long gone with the wind and my mind was overtaken by the insatiable need to play this game. It might not be the greatest game ever conceived by mankind, but that isn't even an issue at this point. It could very well be the biggest pile of Blu-Ray crap ever and it wouldn't even matter. I just NEED to own it! I just NEED to play it!

Like NOW.

Hell my own insanity has ensured that I even bought two copies of the collector's edition guide. Why in the world would I need two copies of a $30+ hard cover guide? Well it does claim to be the complete guide so...

And truth be told, it was entirely not my fault that I ended up with two of these babies! It was purely a miscalculation on my part. Wait, I guess that does mean it was my fault for getting two guides. Anyway, that isn't important! What is is the fact that I wouldn't really buy two of these guides... really! What kind of sort would I be for doing something like that right?

Ok, so maybe I should have gotten this game for the Xbox 360 as well?

Never mind, forget I even said that and forget that I even wrote that here in this blog. It did not happen and I that thought never even crossed my mind for a single solitary second! Because that kind of thinking is just loco!

But then, I think I've lost my mind...

Again...

Great...

The Countdown Has Begun

Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Wait a second here! When? How? Where in the world did March just suddenly sneak in? Having been born in March, I thought I understood the month and all of that. But did I know it was agile as a ninja? Nope... the things we learn in life...

Anyway, being that it is March, that means just one thing on my mind and it isn't my birthday. Wow, I am about to underscore my own birthday over a video game. Is that bad?

Well getting to the point I am trying to get at, FINAL FANTASY XIII is just 8 days away from being unleashed here in the U.S.! Just 8 days! This is going to be a very long week to endure, but after these past few years (following FFXII), it ain't nothing. It is a little hard to believe that it has been over three years since Final Fantasy XII...

Goes to show just how quickly time can fly by I suppose. Before the we all know it, we'll be sitting in front of whatever new consoles comes next, playing Final Fantasy XVII or something to that effect. Maybe by then this motion control craze will have worked itself out and we'll be playing some sort of futuristic madness!

8 DAYS!