Animal I Have Become

The Next Day

Awesome to me so far, but I wonder if this will be the first ever PSP game that I'll ever finish?

So now that all that sugar has left my system, I think it is safe to say that I am thinking a bit clearer then I was earlier. But moving forward now, I have been thinking about what I could do with my blog to maybe make it a little different. Or maybe just add in a bit more variety to the mix, so continuing what I started this month, I am going to be throwing out music videos throughout the month. Seems like a good idea to me and a lot of these videos are those I've either never seen before or have not seen in many, many years.

Besides that, I am thinking about being a little more organized with my writing. Then again that idea has been an ongoing process and some weeks are better for me then others.

Onto some gaming thoughts, I got Persona 3 Portable for Christmas and I am actually enjoying the game so far. I have to admit that the time it takes from the start until your first actual battle is pretty damn long, but now that the training wheels have come off I can see what all the fuss is about. What surprised me about the game was it plays nothing like the original Persona, which was exactly what I was expecting.

Changing gears here, we rented Call of Duty Black Ops in hopes that it'll be as good as some people say it was. Unfortunately, it didn't do a great job of convincing either of us and after several rounds of killing zombies... the game was done and over for us.

Last thought I'll write here is about Super Mario All-Stars, which was the other game we picked up this month. I was a little surprised with the graphic updates for the older Mario games, which now look a lot more like Super Mario World. The only game out of this collection that didn't get revamped was Mario 3, which looks the same as I can remember it.

Other then that however, the game play and everything else about the collection is absolutely faithful to the originals. I can't say that is a bad thing and playing the games did bring back a lot of childhood memories for both myself and my girlfriend. I don't think I've ever heard her swear nearly as much as when she plays a Mario game...

Merry Christmas!

I think the title of this posting says everything I wanted to say, but since I am here and with all of this open space I guess I do need to add a bit more substance to the matter. I did slap a "Merry Christmas" comment on the Facebook pages of nearly everyone I know on that site and I think it has more to do with a overload of sugar, rather then feeling the Christmas joy.

Hey, eating a chocolate ball (which consists of cream cheese dipped in grounded Oreos and dipped in chocolate) would easily make anyone crazy. I felt like a little kid again, just bouncing all over the place and I think it shows all over my Facebook page...

Oh well.

That'll be the one and only time of year where I actually write to more then 2-3 people at a time. I imagine a good majority of those I wrote to, couldn't give a shit that I wished them a merry Christmas... but whatever. What else can a person do? Hope you had a good one, if you don't care then... meh!

I am beginning to think that the sugar has not complete left my system yet as I have this urge to just write, type and go CRAZY!

I suppose you could also couple this with the fact that I am also sitting here, home alone on Christmas as to why I am losing my damn mind. Who can I talk to? Where can I channel all of this kid-like energy? I've got no outlet for this madness!

Anyway, to make a long story short here... I must say this one more time for the sake of just having to say this line just one more time this year.....

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ANY AND ALL WHO STUMBLE UPON MY BLOG! I SURELY HOPE IT WAS A AWESOME CHRISTMAS AND I HOPE YOU HAVE AN EQUALLY AWESOME NEW YEAR IN 2011!

I think I need to get some sleep now.

Where Did The Year Go?

Seriously...

I know I always say this, but I really mean it this time... where did 2010 go? I can't believe the entire year is almost gone already! It is all down to the wire at this point and with 2011 looming in the shadows, I just have an overwhelming feeling to look back at this past year and reflect...

Ok, maybe not...

But that little thought sounded pretty good for a moment right?

The only thoughts I am having at this point, in regards to this blog, is where do I want to go with it from here. I recently passed 500 posts and I realize that I haven't really had much substance to what I wrote. And don't get me wrong about that, I don't mind having the freedom to write about whatever is making me smile or making me want to hulk smash everything in front of me.

But in a lot of ways, this blog does represent myself as a person and how I conduct myself and my life. In truth, I am all over the place in nearly every aspect of life. I don't really have anything set in stone and I do not really have any long term plans as far as life goes. Which was a great feeling when I was 20 years old, but I realize that I have got to face reality. I am nearing 30 years old and things really, really do need to change and fast.

And what I am also not liking is the fact that I am already having a serious problem lying in wait in 2011 and it is a HUGE problem as far as we are concerned. I mean there is nothing like having your Realtor explain how the people you are renting from are having the idea that they should raise the amount of rent they are charging. For the renter, that is never, ever a good thing and I am actually surprised that anyone would actually want to raise rent at a time like this, but I suppose there will always be takers in the matter of living spaces. Hell we all have to live somewhere right?

Whoops, sorry I guess I went totally in the wrong direction there... wasn't I writing about this blog?

I honestly don't really know what I want to do with this space, just that I have the desire to want to do MORE then what I have been previously. What exactly does this entail? No real solid ideas at this point, but maybe I will be having more music videos peppered throughout the coming months. I like music videos and I don't really get to see them because of the fact that I still don't have cable TV and yes, I know they are all over the place on the internet. But I am a lazy S.O.B. and looking for music videos doesn't usually ride high on my must-do list...

4 In The Morning

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The DVD covers of each of the three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I wouldn't mind owning them all myself....

This post has been in my head for a week or two now and I have been meaning to write this much sooner then I have. Now I could say that I was just keeping it in, to further process what I've seen and what I thought about it. That wouldn't be entirely false, but then that statement wouldn't be all truth either. I admit that I have gotten a bit lazy this month and this crazy weather hasn't helped my thinking process any. But anyway, onto what I am here to write!

Now before I even watched the first episode, I watched the live action movie and was absolutely not loving much of anything about it. So my expectations going into the animated series was very, very low to say the least. I was expecting a typical kids cartoon series, you know the type with the moral lessons and typical kid stuff. And don't get me wrong, there is a bit of that peppered throughout the series. But what surprised me at the very start was the amount of personality that each of the characters possessed. I just could not believe that these kids in this cartoon were supposed to be the same kids in the live action movie! They are almost NOTHING alike!

Aang, for example, is more or less a carefree kid who didn't want to be tied down by the all consuming responsibilities of becoming the Avatar (the only being capable of wielding all 4 elements). He laughs a lot, jokes even more and is just freaking happy.

Kitara is absolutely the motherly type of the group and tends to keep everyone in line as best as she can. Hell she is a strong girl and as the series progresses, her beliefs and the reasons behind her mature nature comes to the surface (I don't want to spoil anything here). Another point of interest, towards the end of the first book (season), she proves to be a formidable Water Bender and can very much hold her own right along side the Avatar himself.

Sokka, Kitara's older brother, is the comic relief whom I initially didn't care much for of the trio. For the most part, he is the awkward joker who just never seems to "get it." And he doesn't have the ability to be any element, so what good does he do in a fight? But as the story progresses, he develops from being just a sidekick to the two element benders (Aang and Kitara), to being almost the unofficial leader of the group and actually fights along side much more effectively as the story goes towards it's finale.

And what I admire about this show so much is every episode is actually tied in together. Unlike a lot of cartoons, where each episode is almost like its own world, everything that happens in each episode is carried into the story telling down the line. So ultimately everything feels like one flowing story, as it absolutely should always be.

So I guess I don't really need to share the fact that, despite feeling like this would be just another kid's cartoon, actually enjoyed this entire series. Would I recommend this to anyone? I would to anyone who likes great story telling and characters you can actually give a damn about. As for myself? I'm already starting my second watch through of the series...

Final Fantasy IV PSP Bound...

Help Cecil Become a Paladin... Again. How many more times can the world help this guy out?

Final Fantasy IV is apparently being tuned up further and will be coming out on the PSP sometime next year. The plus side of this is it will also include the stories from the After Years sequel, which was released as Wii Ware some time ago. So even better graphics, more story... is that enough to warrant another purchase?

Really, how many more times does a single game need to be remade? My only interest in this little bundle up is the After Years stories, but I am wondering if I will pick this game up again for the 100th time now. I will admit that I am looking for more good stuff for my poor PSP, which does a fantastic job of catching dust particles around my apartment...

But I do admit this: I share similar feelings with many others who have questioned why Final Fantasy IV is remade again, but not games like Final Fantasy VII or more importantly to me, Final Fantasy VI! I think that one, above all else, would be a hell of a game to remake! Why doesn't that game get a bit more love?

Maps

Crazy Train of Thought

I have a number of games that are sitting around my apartment these days, which I haven't been playing for quite some time now. The list now includes such games as Spike's VGA Game of the Year, Red Dead Redemption, Best Adventure Game of the Year, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and I dare not forget Fallout New Vegas. Its a hell of a line up of games, there is absolutely no doubts about that right?

Red Dead Redemption, Spike's VGA Awards Game of the Year Winner.

So what is occupying my time right now? What game could I possibly be playing that would actually keep me away from finishing off any one of these awesome games? It isn't Game Dev Story. I got that sorted out and now my virtual game company made over $1 billion dollars (in its 20 years of existence) and sold so many games that I think I could have killed off the entire global education system. No, that game is done with, for the time being at least.

Bejeweled 3? Ugh, I don't even want to remember or think or anything related to that game right now. I think I've reached critical gem matching overexposure and I think the only cure for that madness would be to take several long years away from it to remove its presence from my brain...

With all of that out of the way, the game that I've been playing these past few days (and having a blast with) has actually been...

Toy Story 3... Whodathunkit?!

That's right, Toy Story 3...

Have I, at long last, lost my proverbial marbles? Has things in life gotten so bad that I now regress back to childhood in a futile attempt at hiding from my present day woes?

Like this game, I don't think the reasoning behind this is as complicated as it seems. And I also don't think I've gone that crazy yet, but maybe it is this game's genius in it's simple design. There are no political conspiracies, no plots of murder and revenge to be found here folks. Maybe, like with Bejeweled 3, I have had an overload in complicated. A lot of games these days are just crazy with details, that sometimes taking a step back and going simple makes all the difference in the world.

I have been playing a lot of the game's Toy Box mode, which is basically a open world game where you can just do all kinds of stuff. Racing, platforming, shooting... and customizations! My town looks like a psychedelic world in the middle of a desert.

But now that I think about it, maybe I have regressed ever so slightly back to my childhood years. I say this only because the next game I am wanting to pick up is this...

The Sweet Escape

Mobile Blogging

So now I'm testing out something new here. Is mobile blogging the way to go? I wish I had more space to write, but it is what it is I guess. Back to work I go...

Bejeweled 3

It feels so strange to be so hooked to a game that is as simple yet complex as Bejeweled. But considering how I've been playing games from this series for years now and I'll admit each new iteration is good but has generally been more of the same for the most part. I mean how could a developer expand and improve on such a simple concept?

Cue in Bejeweled 3.

The first thing that caught my eyes about this game was how much the graphics were improved this time around. I never would have thought I'd ever say that about a puzzle game, but it is very true. The game is much, much better looking then its predecessors in every way.

As for the game itself, it is packed up with a number of additional modes (including the tried and true Classic mode), which includes Quest, Lightning and Zen modes. After you've tried those out, you can unlock four more modes (Poker, Butterflies, Ice Storm and Diamond Mine) for more jewel matching mayhem. Of these, my favorite modes have been Butterflies, Ice Storm and Lightning. Let me explain...

Despite having such a weird yet appropriate name, the Butterflies mode has you try and capture butterflies before they reach the top of the columns and into the waiting arms (and mouth) of a spider, whom is perched at the top of the screen.

It sounds easy doesn't it?

The reality is as you progress forward, more butterflies begin to appear in more rows and if you aren't paying attention to all 8 lanes, one of those butterflies could very well slip by and end your game in an instant. I've lost quite a few games by thinking I've got it all under control, only to realize that a butterfly had reached near the top and I had nothing to bring it back down.

Lighting mode is basically a time attack game, where you've only got 1 minute to score as much points as you possibly can. There are jewels that give you small boosts of time that drop as well, which even having 5 extra seconds can make all the difference.

Ice Storm (pictured above) has you trying to match up jewels to prevent the ice from hitting the top of the screen. If it reaches there, you generally only have a few seconds before the column freezes and its game over at that point.

I guess I don't really need to say anything about enjoying the heck out of this game and how I spent a good part of yesterday afternoon glued in front of my screen. I will say that having only 1 computer is a bit of a hassle sometimes and yesterday was one such day. Why? Well every time I would hit a high score, my girlfriend would get antsy and want to play. Then she would be that score and I'd want to play.

Yes, yes... madness...

But you know what? If all casual games were done as well as Bejeweled 3 or Plants vs. Zombies, I think I wouldn't mind playing more causal stuff.

Game Dev Story

I didn't hear or read anything about this game called Game Dev Story until about a week ago. As pictured above, this game is on iTunes and just simply by looking at it I was interested. Hired on as the head of a up-and-coming video game development studio? What's not to love right?

And I read other people saying how they were hooked to the game and just couldn't put it down. I didn't quite believe it myself, because a game like that does not exist as far as a app game is concerned. That sort of insanity is reserved for console or PC games right?

Well I was wrong.

Upon purchasing the app, I proceeded to play the game and I didn't stop until about 5-6 hours later. How in the world did that happen?

It is a simple game for sure, but something about it just drives a person to keep playing on and on. For me, the drive was to create a better game. I mean most of my initial creations bombed fairly badly and by that I mean it scored bad reviews and sold like a pile of you know what. So there was a ton of room for improvement on my "products" and I just kept on developing.

So now I am nearly finished my first play through (the game gives you 20 years in-game time to build up your company, I am on my 18th year) and I have learned a lot about the everything works in this world. So I think the next time around, I will be a bit smarter and maybe I will finally be able to develop my own console for a change and really rock the damn world!

Undead