today is...

today is Stop Being Lazy and do Something Productive day. Fetivities include:

-Finishing review for Half Life 1
-Updating resume
-Distributing resume to people I know
-Not playing Metroid

Its gonna be one hell of a bash.

under my skin

A long time ago, back when I was in 8th grade, my doc told me I had some nasty looking mark/mole thing on my back. Could become precancerous, etc. Nothing I should worry about, but something to take care of in the near future.

I'm finally going today to have it looked at, six years later (Is that still the near future?). Should be a quick deal, but I realized that next time someone says "you should have that looked at", one should do it a lot quicker in case its something really serious.

Glad to get this monkey off my back though (attack of the bad puns!).

Update: I'm healthy, nothing was removed, looks like I have nothing to worry about.
Whew!

echoes of the holidays

After a deep post and the holiday shuffle its time to sit back and relax a little bit. And what better way to do so than with a good game?

For me, that game is currently Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. The original Prime is easily my favorite console game from this generation, so much so that its sequel was the only game on my holiday wishlist. After some solid play time, I can say that my initial impressions are very positive.

It is an immediately familiar game, but it is obvious that Retro Studios has tried to make this "Metroid" with a twist. Samus moves and controls the same, but her arsenal has been tweaked in order to fit the game's new light/dark motif. Story-wise, rather than being an (epic?) quest for survival like the rest of the series, Echoes plays out like a horror/mystery story, with Samus at the head of the investigation. Its is also one of the most painstakingly detailed games I've seen. Halo 2 and Doom 3 might push more polys, but the subtle detail found in Prime 2's every room makes it feel more believeable, and much more interesting.

It seems that Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is very similar to Zelda: Majora's Mask. It is the sequel to the best game on its platform, it was developed in a curiously short amount of time, and yet it manages to equal its predecessor in every way without being a carbon copy. My only question is if Prime 2 will finish the same as Majora, which was arguably more fun than Ocarina of Time, but far less grandiose and much shorter (thus preventing it from surpassing OOT overall).

Jingle around the clock

The current time: 12:42 AM December 25th. Guess I should write something about Christmas huh?

Christmas is a strange day really. Its the only major holiday that seems to change with age. These days everyone has fun during Halloween (whether its due to candy, booze, or both). On Thanksgiving, there's only one goal; stuff yourself silly all day long, young or old, hungry or not.

Things are different with Christmas. When you are a child, the month of December feels like an additional half year added to the calendar. And when the day finally comes, its all about presents, toys, games whatever. Its all about you and your stuff, and all is right with the world. Then you get older.

After a while, December slowly goes from being extra long to "far too quick". Rather than (im)patiently waiting for the 25th we curse our lack of time and the huge list of things to do before the holidays. Presents must be bought, cards written, trees are put up. All the preparations for such a "jolly" holiday don't seem so jolly does it? Its at this point that people begin to wonder about the season. Is it too commercialized? Is all that joy real or just plain courtesy? If you listen to some of the pundits, you'll even wonder if its all worth it.

It seems that more than anything, Christmas is a really confusing holiday.

So, what should we focus on? The gifts? The religious foundation? Business as usual? Unfotunately, I don't know the answer to that question quite yet. The only thing I do know is that Christmas, more than anyhting else, makes me realize just how much I really have. Not in material goods, but health, friends, and family. Real things, the kind that matter in life. It also makes you realize that time doesn't stop for the holidays, and all those little problems you might encounter along the way seem pale in comparison to some of the real tradgedies that befall people around the world in the realm called life. These days, Christmas might not be as purely fun as it wsa in years past, and yet it is not depressing either. Its just plain humbling, a way to ground yourself for another crazy year. You can't get a much better gift than that.

Well, maybe this year I did. Merry Christmas dear; you'll be in my thoughts today. And best wishes to everyone else out there. I hope yours is a safe, loving, and peaceful day. And if not, I give you my best wishes

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

(now its 1:30, this took me longer than I thought. Santa won't come if I don't go to bed ^-^).

blogger's block

I know it sounds strange, but, I don't know what to blog about...

I suppose its because nothing of real interest has happened since I returned home, although I have been out and about. Guess I'll try to think of something tonight.

Movie Sign

Just saw a coupla movies while I've been home, so I figured I'd input my 2 cents on them.

The Bourne Supremecy: Overal, the movie is one big "meh". It doesn't do anything inherently bad, it just doesn't do anything amazing. If you've seen any globe hopping, double crossing espionage/spy/action film since Missions Impossible, then you've seen this film. If you like that, then you'll have a blast. Otherwise you'll probably be end up like me: surfing the web through half the movie.

I, Robot: As an admitted geek, I should be one of the hoardes of people cursing this movie for blashpemizing Asimov's classic books. However, I haven't read any of them, so my opinion of the film comes purely from someone looking for a decent action flick and nothing more. In this aspect the movie delivers. There are some interesting scenes, good effects and a decent mystery to be found. My only problems came from the shameless product placement (which now seems commonplace in blockbusters these days) and some occasional stiff acting. There do seem to be some hints at some deeper messages about robotics that one would expect from a movie with this title, but it doesn't really go anywhere with it. How this makes you feel will ultimately affect how you will react to this movie.

or not...

guess I can't finish the job, because I forgot to bring FF7 with me. So I guess I have another job.

Beat FF8!

I know it seems silly; why play games you don't like? The answer to that is simple: I have a goal to beat all the main FF games. I may not like them all, but I'll try my best to play them all. For one reason, to say that I have. And secondly, I can actually debate with the fans as to why I think each one is good/bad/horrid etc. rather than make wild conjectures.

Off I go now.

Materia sucks anyway

After a crazy adventure involving getting a Christmas tree and driving through a sudden snowstorm, I think today is perfect for sitting down and doing nothing. And when I say nothing, I mean finish a job I shoulda done a long time ago.

Beat Final Fantasy 7.

Anyone who knows me probably knows I don't like the seminal RPG series too much, with the exception of the SNES trilogy of games. FF7 is one that I especially loathe, as much for the raving drivel its fans often spew as for what I see as a general lack of quality. Simply put, it got boring quick after Disc 1 (which was actually rather excellent for the most part) and everytime I tried to continue was met with failure. Nevertheless, the game is the stuff of legend among the community as a whole, and it just seems wrong not to finish it.

Home for the Holidays

So this is Xmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Xmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Xmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Xmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Xmas
And what have we done
Another year over
A new one just begun
And so happy Xmas
We hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear


Have a happy and safe holiday season everyone. I'm heading back home myself today. I'm looking forward to using the time off to do some things I haven't had the time for during the semester. Maybe you'll get to see some of it next year (meaning January of course).

well now

Anime if Japan's Gross National Cool!

News Brief part 2

The reason I hate EA (moreso than I already do) is because of things like this. Sega finally created a product of equal (perhaps better) quality than Madden with ESPN NFL 2k5, and releases it at a cheaper price. What does EA do to compete? It doesn't compete, it just throws its money around until it gets its way.

From a business standpoint, this is brilliant for EA. Now everyone's going to buy Madden. Fact of the matter is Joe Six Pack casual gamer is going to go for the football game with their favorite players and teams, not the one with a fake league. However, you can probably be sure that the next five iterations of the game are going to stagnate even more than they already have in the last few years. After all, why improve when there's no one to compete with you? Now EA can make more revenue, spend less money and reap the profits.

And what benefit is there for the NFL? If they release multiple licenses, then they earn royalties from more than one game. With this move, EA will get more customers should 2K/Blits fans jump ship to Madden, but those that don't equal lost money for the NFL. EA must have thrown some serious cash their way to get them to make such a move.

This news wouldn't worry me nearly as much if it had nothing to do with EA. Unfortunately it does, and Electronic Arts has screwwed up too many franchises, destroyed too many gerat development houses and scoffed at actual innovation and quality in their releases for far too long for me to trust them. If this ends up being as big a money maker for them as it should, then there is no stopping them from trying it with other leagues, or with other licenses franchises. It also encourages other large publishers like Vivendi to do the same, making oppurtunities for upstart developers and teams slim to none.

EA Sports: Its all the same.

today's news brief

Today's news brief: I hate Electronic Arts.

Check back tonight for a detailed post as to why.

Once a Met, always a Met

My favorite Met and probably my favorite current pitcher Al Leiter has left the Mets to return to play for the Florida Marlins. While I am indeed sad to see him leave the team, at least he's going back to his old club, where friends still reside and he will be at home. I'll miss ya Al. Thanks for some great years of pitching, and sticking through even the bad times.

Gmail

Yes, I finally got my hands on a Gmail address (taidan19@gmail.com)thanks to my 15 year old brother no less (Thanks Tim). Unfortunately they don't give out invites right away, but I'm thinking I'll only use a few of them for friends and family. If any are up for grabs I'll announce it here.

Just got a major component for my computer engineering project finished. It feels pretty good to finally overcome something that has given you frustration for over a month. If the rest of the week goes this smoothly I might be able to get a head start on studying for finals (I'm crossing my fingers)

And now, its time for the computer scientist tradition of cold pizza and Mountain Dew at 2:30 in the morning.

Sotuhpaws unite!

Do you freak out pitchers when you step up to bat? Do lacrosse players pass the ball at your face rather than your stick? Do you hold your pen "really wierd"? Do you get confused when trying to shake someone's hand?

If you said yes, then (like me), you're probably left handed. What used to be associated with the devil STILL can't be explained by the world of science, but it looks like they're getting closer.
It was interesting to discover that lefties are more likely to be dislexic (something I'm beginning to notice in my fast scribblings), but also more musically inclined (played trumpet for ten years, still would if I had the time). Whatever's the case for lefties, there's gotta be something important in them, or they would've vanished a long time ago (that or they will in a million years or so). Here's to the few, the proud.... the southpaws.

The Dallas Cowboys have been utterly humiliated in their last few games, but after a victory over Seattle it seems that sports writers have them gunning for the NFC wild card .

Are you guys dense? Never mind their 5-7 record; a lot of teams are in that area. Look at how they've played all season. Parcells and crew have been outclassed time and again. They pretty much had to win this game after so many crushing defeats. But that doesn't make them playoff contenders any more so than my equally poor-playing Giants. I wonder if those sports guys are still calling the Seahawks a good matchup for New England in the playoffs? I honestly don't know where they get this stuff.

assemble this

Small little update at LC1201; just some programs I wrote in assembly language. Nothing too grand, but I figured it didn't hurt to upload them.

Week's been busy like I assumed, which is why I've been quiet on the blog. Thankfully its the winter break is coming soon, giving me more time to crank out some planned reviews.

In other news...

MLB. Steroids. Who didn't see it coming? My only question: are they just going to chastise them for something that was (technically) allowed, or actually do something about it like the NFL a decade ago?

Rolling Stone's 500 greatest songs. Considering all the classical and non popular music that has been created since the beginning of history the title is somewhat inappropriate. Still, in terms of songs you've heard about, its an excellent list. Check it out if you're bored.

Half Life 2 deathmatch. Nice little gift. I'll look into it once the lag goes down (and there are more maps). Nothing says "owned" like a toiled to the face

Goodbye, City 17

I just got finished with Half Life 2.

I still have to re-play through it (or at least parts of it) to really gauge my final opinion on it, but this is easily one of my top 5 favorite games ever.

I hope to review it in the near future, but finals fast approaching means my time is limited. I also want to make sure this one is special, a real knockout.

Anyway, Thanksgiving is over and its time to hit the books again. Hope everyone had fun.

Happy Thanksgiving

Probably heard it from more than a few people already, but Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope that whoever reads the blog is safe,comfortable, and with good friends and family this Thursday. Take care of yourselves.

assembler

Learning to program in assembly is a bitch.

But I'm going to do it.

Double Impact

Another review up at LC1201 for Street Fighter III, as well as a few fixed links. This one is somewhat boring if you don't like fighting games, but its there nonetheless.

I've gotten quite a few compliments for some of my recent reviews, all of which I am very grateful for. I am often unsure about the quality of my writing, and am often critical of it, so I am glad to see that some people out there have enjoyed it.

On the topic of my criticalness, I was thinking of going back and re-writing some of the older reviews, which now seem confused and unable to convey some of the points I wanted to make as well as they could have. Instead I have decided in the end to leave them be with the exception of some grammatical errors. For one, they can act as a barometer of my hopefull improvement. Second, as Aldous Huxley said of his own work "Brave New World", going back to improve on something you once did is pointless, as you'll never be truly happy with it no matter what you decide to change.

Welcome to City 17

Here's a pic of my desktop from a few minutes ago.

Six years in the making. Still seems strange to think its actually here.

Don't expect another blog post till this baby's done folks. Game on.

potshots

The blog is looking a little lonely. Let's change that shall we?

Looks like Michael Moore isn't quite done yet. While I'm squarely in the middle ground politcally, I've never like Moore one bit. He tries to act like the friend of the common man, yet he's whined and complained in the past for not being payed enough for college appearences, and since success has moved himself into the safety of the hollywood elite. That, and he just rubs me the wrong way.

Moore says "Fifty-one percent of the American people lacked information (in this election) and we want to educate and enlighten them", and while I agree that the people may not have been knowledgable of certain issues, I doubt anyone can trust this schmuck to give them the real facts instead of whatever it is he wants them to believe. Moore's films are edited and scripted to be entertainment, and to push his point. They are far from being documentaries in the classical sense of the term, and it is sad to see these films winning so many awards.

Halo 2 sells a truckload. No matter how you slice it, this is great for the gaming industry. Anything that sells this much and makes this much noise makes it only harder for the general public to ignore the fact that gaming is poised to become the dominant force in entertainment. Anti-social? Yeah right

What this also means however is that the gaming community will be flooded with even more Halo fanboys, which is the console equivalent of the Coutnerstrike community. I'm sorry, but I've rarely enjoyed a system link game of Halo 1 not because of the game (which isn't terribly fun, but is serviceable), but because of the smacktards I was playing with. Looks like my frag count is going through the roof this year...

Take a Shower and Shine your Shoes

So I'm feeling a lot better tonight after a wierd funk I was in throughout the weekend. I'll spare you the details; I'm just feeling that this means a much smoother schedule in the time before Thanksgiving break. Guess we'll find out.

Mafia Review

Yes you heard right... a new review at LC1201, the first official non-blog update since August.

Willie Randolph is the new Manager of the Mets

Can't be too worse than what we've seen.

Halo 2 being sold early

Now if only someone did that for Half Life 2 so Valve is forced to unlock in over Steam

Improvise

Woke up at 6:30 today, the earliest yet this semester, and I feel great. This means one of two things:

1) Early to bed early to rise is true
2) I have a lot of adrenaline

Guess I'm gonna find out which soon enough. I hope its number 1, 'cause I could use the energy.

Oh and about the election: I have nothing to say about the election. How's that for a political diatribe?

Picture This

Between the Freshman face book, school directory and online photo rosters, it seems like Loyola College give its students plenty of oppurtunities to stalk one another. Now all this has become obsolete thanks to the facebook.com. Not only can students now find out things they already know about their friends (because who on campus cares about strangers?), but they can also add whatever pictures and info they want to fuel the inner Narccicist! Sounds like a match to me, and considering how much buzz there is about it recently it looks like I'm right.

Of course as much as I might joke about the idea, I'm still on there somewhere. Man's gotta represent.

In other news, it looks as if Resident Evil 4 is no longer a Gamecube exclusive. This is much to the dismay as many a Nintendo fan, as one of the best (and last) reasons to own a Cube has now been shot to shit. While the move is bad for Nintendo, its great for gaming. Think of it this way; Cube owners will still be getting it first (by a long shot), and will probably be getting the better version (there's no way they'll manage those graphics on the PS2). Also, anyone who really wanted to play the game has probably already bought a Gamecube, or still will to avoid the wait. And if they haven't, it means PS2 owners (many who might be RE vets) get the chance to play the first real bit sequel in the series since Code Veronica. Sounds good to me, although this announcement makes me curious as to just what kind of agreement the two companies had that allows Capcom to bring all of their 4 exclusive Cube titles to the PS2 as well, without creating a breach of contract.

Two Weeks to Half Life 2. I feel like a kid after the first week of December, when Christmas is close but feels like an eternity.

Its so dark in here

I'm typing this from computer engineering

Why?

Because I can.

And yes, it is dark in this room.

again....

Yet another reason why I hate IGN. There's nothing wrong with throwing a little bit of humor into your website, but why take potshots at your other game channels, and the other two gaming systems out there? The article sounds like something I'd see on a forum whipped up by a tired fanboy at 2 in the morning. How anyone can trust their journalistic integrity is beyond me.

Thank God its Finished

All nighters are curious events.... when they're over you feel like a king for getting everything done, and you feel strangely awake as well. Then the adrenaline wears off, you feel like crap, and a few days later all the lost sleep creeps up and bites you in the ass at the worst possible time. I suppose that's what you get for putting things off.

Anyway, enough of that. The weekend is here, Halloween weekend to be specific. Back in the day this would mean my brother and I would eat the candy bought for Trick or Treaters while watching Treehouse of Horror. In college it means the same as every weekend, only the day after is November and winter depression knocks on the door. Expect lots of angsty poems and lengthy dissertations about my emotions in the future (just kidding there folks. Winter sucks but I'm not a tool. As with everything in life you deal with it.)

In other news, Sony has announced and incredbly dirt cheap price for the PSP, roughly equivilating to $180 American. Apparently its just as I thought; they found a way to cut manufacturing cost to less than originally predicted. Still, they'll definitely be losing money for each unit sold. This could either be their final coup against Nintendo, or their greatest blunder.

Which leads to the Question of the Blog: Do you think the PSP will be the next Game Gear, or is the Playstation name the ultimate license to print money? Post your answers in the comments section. Oh, and Happy Halloween

The greatest of them all

The Red Sox, in four games, are the champions of baseball.

For one brief moment, all was right in the world.

Hypercondriosleepomaniaphiliac?

The strangest thing just happened. I was in the lab working on Statistics, feeling fine and dandy (I had an energy drink earlier in the day, got a decent amount of sleep). Then all of a sudden I'm asleep in the chair, rapidly dosing off. I kept trying to wake up; typing, staring at the screen, anything to keep me working, but my body refused to do anything but sleep. For the few seconds I could wrestle myself to consciousness I was in a halfe-awake at best, meaning my sentences made no sense at all. I'm thinking it was the heat in the room and the dead-quiet atmosphere. Like all college students my sleep leel is pathetically low, but not bad enough that I should be dozing off at random periods in the day. Hope its not one of those wierd diseases ....*snore*.

I finally bit the bullet and pre-purchased Half Life 2 over Steam now that a release date has been cemented and all the legal troubles between Valve and Vivendi won't prevent the game's release over Steam. This also means that have access to Counterstrike: Source, and yes, I have played it. But that's for another entry. Stay tuned

The Soul Still Burns

Wow, last night's DDR tourney was incredible. The turnout was huge, and everyone had a good time.... even people who never played before gave it a chance. The EGC will definitely be doing this again.

The highlight for me however, was playing some Soul Calibur. We had it hooked up to a small TV near the back, just in case someone got bored. To my surprise, a fair amount of people began to play, and of course, I challenged them all. The whole night I only lost 2, maybe 3 fights, and won a whole lot more to gain the best record of the night. The feeling of victory was indeed grand; Soul Calibur is my favorite game ever, something I play once a week out of tradition(as well as practice). Its also one of the few games where I actually care about winning. I know one day someone is going to destroy me, and I'll begin to doubt myself, but for now I am enjoying the view from the top.

welcome, to the stage of history

Finally, new, probably skilled opponents in Soul Calibur. In case you don't know, Soul Calibur for Dreamcast is my favorite game ever. I'll be back tonight with the results

Boston Wins the Pennant

Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for making the World Series and history. My team may have taken it from you in '86, but this time I'm with you all the way. Win one for me too.

Random thoughts whilst coding

I dont see why everyone in Maryland is calling the weather "Crazy". Its the middle of October; its bound to get colder. Granted, this week has been a little too cold, but nothing to cause alarm. Try moving to my home, where the winter season lasts from November to April and a 75 degree week can be followed by snow a few days later. That, my friends, is crazy. The only thing I've noticed about Maryland weather is that the temperature is dropping a little faster than expected, but like I said, its October!! Its not going to break 70 every day. Did all you people from New England and New York forget where you come from?

Now everyone is saying its going to be a harsh winter. I don't see where its coming from. The fall has been great. I think its just the fact that every year a few people (like the Farmer's Almanac) predict a bad season, and everyone spreads the word just so they can sound smart, when in fact they wouldn't know either way.

Whatever happens, it won't bother me. Chances are whatever Maryland can dish out I've already seen before. For me, every winter is mild here!

Oh, and go Red Sox... If there's one thing a Mets fan hates more than the Yankees, its Yankee fans (yes I realize Boston fans aren't the nicest people, but they're the lesser of two evils, trust me). If Schilling can pitch the game of his life, we're gonna see a historic game 7. And who knows what will happen after that?

If you are tired of hearing the same bad pop on the radio (and listening to people who actually like it), I suggest you check out these videos. I can't say I agree with all the bands this guy has flamed, but its damn funny either way.

That gets me steamed... clean

I just went downstairs to grab my laundry, only to find that my laundry basket has been swiped. The general Loyola College population has been getting on my nerves as of late, and while this isn't the end of the world, the principle of it is the figurative last straw for me. If you are a student at Loyola College that I don't know personally, let me speak to you now (as personally as I can get):

1) You are not God's gift to the world. Everyone who tells you you are special is lying. If you are a beer chugging business major who skips two classes a week and complains about getting up at 10 o' clock, get in line. You are in large company (not good company mind you, just large). Why then you all seem to insist that I get out of your way when you fill the entire hallway, or hold the door for you when you never do for me, I have no clue. I don't know you, I probably never will, and you have yet to show me why I should feel sorry for behaving like a person rather than a servant.

2) It doesn't matter how much money your parents have: This is college people. While it is perfectly easy to spot all of you (what with the excessant Abercrombie and those nasty Uggs boots), that doesn't mean I'm going to treat you any better. If you want respect, you have to earn it. You may be used to things being different back at home, but this ain't Long Island. Here you are on the same level as everyone else. You have to clean up after yourself, take care of yourself and be responsible for your actions. Dont like it? Get used to it. One day those checks will stop rolling in, and you'll have to go into the "real" real world. And when you have no true friends and no clue what to do because you treated college like one big game back in the day you're gonna be screwed. And I'm gonna laugh. A lot.

So please. Get your noses out of the air (it smells the same at eye level folks, trust me), be respectful of others (and their stuff), and grow a pair and admit that sometimes, you just might be wrong.

In other news, my brother is insisting I put up some funny links for your amusement (or annoyance, take your pick). Here goes:

http://www.mysharona.com/
www.soundslikefun.com

Gone Gold

November 16th. Mark it

Warrior Within

By taking a look at the title, a smart gamer can tell I played through the Prince of Persia 2 demo.
Here's what I got from it:

1) this game NEEDS a controller. The keyboard didn't necessarily make things harder, but it makes it far more difficult to maneuver and attack with precision. Make no mistake: get this game for a console, or get a gamepad.

2) POP 2 is supposed to have a beefed up, "branching" combat system. From playing the demo I really wouldn't know; the tutorial tells you what buttons to press for different attacks, but not what you are actually doing. It appears as if there's a new "grab" style button that can be used in tandem wtih jump and attack, and creates some really flashy moves. It also seems that the moves can be linked combo style, but it may have simply appeared to be that way due to my incessant button mashing. The game is also supposed to introduce new ways for the prince to interact with the environment during combat. Other than the usual wall attacks (which seem to be even more important this time around), I only saw one new move in which the prince spins aroudn a pole, kicking and slashing his foes. Pretty cool, but I wanted to see more, which unfortunately the demo didn't provide. There is also two weapon fighting, which actually mixes things up a bit by giving you control over each weapon (as opposed to hitting attack and having the prince wildly slash). There are also different types of weapons you can hold, but I didn't see any differences in how they behave. To sum up the combat: At its very worst its the same as in the original POP, which is not a bad thing. There are certainly some new additions, but in honesty the demo could have done a better job at highlighting them.

3) The graphics are for the most part similar to the original. Textures on the PC version are obviously better, and there are some new touches added with the water and flame effects. Other than that, its looks a lot the same (which is still solid in my book).

4) When I say looks the same, however, I only mean it from a purely technical standpoint, as the art direction is completely different. The original POP could best be described as having an ancient egypt/persian style that makes you think "Arabian Nights". For the fun, but not ultra serious adventure that it was, the setting was perfect. POP 2 goes in the completely different direction. In order to match the game's theme of death and destruction, this game is dark, brooding, almost depressing. When I first learned of the game I agreed that this was the best direction to take the series in; it not only makes for strong character development, but sets up the Prince for even greater conflicts and makes him more human. The fact that the game is getting an M rating also made me believe that Ubi Soft was more concerned in making the game they wanted to make than getting the coveted extra sales a Teen rating provides. Instead the demo makes me believe that the "mature" content is there in hopes that the excessant violence and gore will help boost popularity like it has in GTA, Silent Hill and (probably) the new Bloodrayne.

First off, there's blood everywhere. The logo, the loading screen, the character deaths.... you can't even walk past a wall without seeing a blotch of red. I know they are trying for a darker, morbid tone, but it gets a little ridiculous. Second, the monsters are still generic demon/sand monster types. The orignal POP had some clever designs with its sand monsters, but I want something a little different for the sequel. Instead we get what seem to be either holdovers from the orignal, or creatures we've seen before in a thousand other games.

Also, what's with the rock music? I always figured a game like this would go great with an epic muscial score. Instead we get Godsmack-esque rock playing during fights. At first it seemed to go along well, but after a while it almost felt cheesy and innapropriate. There's only one reason I can think of for its inclusion, and that's for an added "cool" factor.

One last note: the demo was somewhat buggy at the end. The final boss got stuck on things often, and couldn't be injured. I actually couldn't beat it because of this

Conclusion: I am going to own Warrior Within eventually, if not at launch then when it goes down in price. I enjoyed Sands of Time too much not to own its sequel. As with any good game, however, one always hopes the sequel will be even bigger and better, while retaining the things that made the original so great. The POP 2 demo proved the game should be just as good as its predecessor, but I was hard pressed to find anything that proved it would go above and beyond. Indeed, it actually made me concerned that Ubi Soft, dissapointed with the poor sales of Sands of Time, are going to concentrate on making the game cooler-than-school in order to better attract the mass market (those ads on the internet with "uncut footage" are sure to entice 'em) rather than continue to build upon the great gameplay formula they started. Only time will tell.

done and done

Perhaps the biggest assignment I had this semester is finished and handed in. That's not to say there's more work to be done, but getting through that has lifted a lot of weight off the proverbial shoulders.

Time to sleep now... After tomorrow its a four day weekend for me.

New Look... Same Great Taste

So the blog looks different, but don't worry, its still the same damn thing. I realized the other style was just a bit too busy, and the mix of colors a little too juvenile. I'll probably be keeping this setup for a while, then.

Not much to type right now. Classes are of course busy, which makes me college student #445, 516,123 to say that phrase. As for gaming, I've become addicted to Fire Emblem in the last few days, but more on that later.

The first entry in Bits and Blue Chips, my planned series of discussions on gaming, is almost ready to go, and will be the first update to LC1201 in over a month.

I really need some feedback from any possible readers out there. Keeps me motivated.

Anyway you want it...

The above title is an homage to the song by Journey, featured in the classic Caddyshack starring Rodney Dangerfield, who passed away this Monday. An incredible comic who even today is remembered by many. Rest in Peace Rod; you now have the respect of the world.

For some unknown reason I was browsing IGN today. Something inside me keeps thinking that out of nowhere the site is ging to come back to its once former, pre-Insider goodness, even though I know, not think, know the place is going to be even worse. I guess I like pain or something.

Anyway, there was a top 25 feature on the greatest sports games of all time. Usually all time lists suck, because they are so subjective, and the pool of possible entries is just too mammoth to get them all down. IGN proved me right with the first 10 entries of their list. Either it was an ancient relic from the NES or Atari (the only two I could pick out was Double dribble and 720) or EA titles that were less than a year old. Now last time I checked, something on an all time list had to, um, stand the test of time, unbested by competitors, or at the very least still be fun. So how are Madden 2005 and NFL 2K5 on the list? This isnt' even a judgement I'm making on my own opinions (which says that neither has changed that much in five years). IGN themselves have rated both games in the 9.0 range, with the reviews getting better each year. What happens when 2006 comes out? Are you gonna redo the list? I doubt it. There's no way a sports franchise that has yealry updates should have the most recent entry on an all time list, because the next one is just going to replace it. If they put the original Gameday for Playstation, or the first NBA 2K I might agree, as these games really shook up the scene. But no way should five of your first ten games on your all friggin time list should be less than three years old.

This isn't even mentioning the fact that most of those "old" games aren't really that good anymore. I don't know anyone, even old grognards that remember Atari baseball. There's a difference between classic and old, and only two titles were actually classic.

What am I trying to get to here? Basically, the list is some bullshit they threw together in a day in order to impress and attract the coveted casual gamer demographic. By including recent games the list includes things these gamers know, and by throwing a bunch of old names into the hat that Joe Six Pack probably never heard of, it creates the illusion that IGN is knowledgable and "hardcore" about their games. Someone they can trust. Yeah right. I've seen a lot of shaky reviews and fanboy-ish diatribes at IGN, but now I can be assured that I wasn't crazy. They really are a bunch of tools.

My football team is 3-1 (here's a hint as to who it is: I bleed blue), and everyone is jumping up and down. I can only imagine what the callers on WFAN back in NY are proclaiming. While I'm glad to see the Giants in such a good early position, I'm gonna hold my breath about the future of the season. They haven't beaten any really good teams except Green Bay, and they were without their QB. If the Giants can take out Dallas and their next opponent I might tend to agree, but for now its too early to celebrate. Whatever elation you get from a 3-1 record won't be there if they're 5-11 in the winter. We'll see though.

Bits and Blue Chips

After many talks with my good friend Kyle, I’ve decided to write a series of articles on gaming. I know that doesn’t sound very interesting; when have I not written something about gaming. This time, however, I plan on getting a little deeper, more serious about innovation, the business of the industry and commenting some more on classic gaming. Once I get a few done these writings will be placed somewhere on LC1201(its not exactly blog material).

Now its time to get writing.

Doing it right ways....

So its Family weekend at Loyola College, the time when kids go home or have their parents spoil the hell out of them like they were back home. That, or get high school siblings drunk. My folks are here, or at least in a hotel for now. All I know is that I have to be up at school time on the weekend for some awards processional. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not too big on awards. Seems that America loves to pat itself on the back for everything they do. the average celebrity probably earns about 20 awards a year. In the academic world, it seems even a sneeze is enough to get you a certificate or something. Its as if doing anything is not justifiable without a piece of paper and random applause from an audience just trying to be polite to accompany it.

Now, I don't want to sound as if I'm ungrateful. I simply don't see the need. My award is for the research I did during the summer, but to me, that was just work. Nothing special. Maybe it will lead to something great, but for now there are far more people who have done far more important things than me who aren't getting any sort of recognition at all. The respect of my peers and family is all I really need, and even if I didn't have that, the feeling of a job well done works just fine.

Speaking of research, today was the Hauber poster presentation. I've done these poster things quite a few times during high school, and it was always the same; spend over two hours printing graphs and huge paragraphs of text that no one usually reads, making sure its all nice and neat. Spend a few hours explaining your project to bewildered parents and professors that scare the crap out of you. Finish it all up, and after a year no one remembers. I was relieved then when I was told not to stress out with this one; keep the thign simple, and back it up with words is what they told me. Not to mention that computer science research doesn't exactly include large amounts of charts and graphs. The final product consisted of three pages glued to poster board. Not much but it would get the job done.

Apparently though, quite a few students and professors were taken back at just how poor it looked. Here they were spending all their time making theirs look presentable, and I walk in with an embarrassment of a poster. I'll admit that I could have put some more effort into the glueing and scissoring. But the simplistic design was deliberate. When people look at these things, they don't want to be staring at 9 paragraphs at 12 point font from the stuffy lab report you wrote for your professors to read. They won't understand, or they'll get bored real quick. Neither will they care for some fucked up graph you drew. Its all Greek to them. My page of code and two diagrams didn't look like much, but it was all I needed (along with my knowledge) to explain everything the audience could possibly want to know about my project. No one walked away from me confused, and some even asked more specific questions to get a better understanding of things. Mission complete if you ask me.

The Jury is Out

So.....close

Final Demo Report

A few days ago I realized I had almost as many game demos installed as I did actual games. The many impressions I've written in the blog are a testament to that. But now I'm kinda getting tired of them, so in one day of hardcore play I burned through them all. Here, then, is the final Demo Report:

Tribes Vengeance Single Player: As is expected with a Tribes game, everyone has been talking about this title's multiplayer, which has made me curious as to the quality of hte Single Player portion, which hasn't had much talk since the game was announced. The production values are top notch, with great voice acting and the same solid game engine. The gameplay though felt like nothing more than an ego booster for the multiplay. Its basically MP with AI teammates and enemies, and on smaller maps. In a way this is a bad thing; Tribes weapons are powerful as hell, but are hard to hit with when your opponent is jumping and jetting like a madman while firing back at you. This makes combat challenging, but the computer controlled enemies do nothing more than hop a few feet back and forth, making it anything but hard. I managed to nail three enemies in a row with my spinfusor, from the air..... not something you see often in a Tribes game

The only challenge to the game is brought by the fact that there is no save ability (at least not in this level). The action was fierce enough that it was still enjoyable, but if every level is like this I can see many a person becoming very frustrated.

Still, combined with the MP, Tribes Vengeance has rised high on my anticipated games list. As easy as the SP is, the story behind it seems very promising, and would easily be worth blasting through the entire thing to watch. Combined with the rock solid multiplay, this may be a purchase.

Doom 3: I, uh, got it running. And that's about it. Seriously though, I only got about 10 minutes into the game before I decided to have some fun with the config file. Apparently ID doesn't want people screwing with it in the demo, so it became corrupted. All I can say is that yes, it looks damn good. Damn fucking good. Maybe not as good as I wanted it to be on my machine; my settings were 800x600 high quality (hence my attempt at tweaking), but certainly playable. I have gone at some of the actual gameplay with my friends copy of the game, however, and from that I can deduce far more. For one, its scary even with the lights on. Its not as much the environment that does it as it is the fact that enemies will jump out of the least likely places, and when they're as grotesque as these fellas you can get a little bit jumpy. I was most impressed however with the enemies. I don't know why people are complaining so much about the simplistic gameplay. Yes they mostly stagger at you, but some of those bastards stagger pretty damn fast. And some of them carry riot shields, which they know how to use. Conclusion: this game is harder than you'd think. And I want to play some more.

Full Spectrum Warrior: The popular Xbox game is now on PC! And unlike some other Xbox to PC ports *cough Halo cough*, the engine is stable and runs incredibly well. As for the gameplay, it certainly isn't as advanced as people claimed it'd be (at least in the retail version), there is more than enough tactical goodness to be found. What impressed me most however is how much it simulates the tension of a real battle, and the confidence and ability of the US military. The banter between the troops, and the efficiency in which they carry out orders gives these troops a lot more life than your usual squad of AI cronies. If they got shot, it was because of a choice I made, not because of their stupidity. The aforementioned tension comes from the incredible level design. What looked to be a small area of the city became a death trap, with plenty of places for enemies to hide, and plenty of objectives to complete. The dirty, broken buildings and junk skewed everywhere provided plenty of cover, and also gave the sense of a real battlefield. The army always pushes the idea of "no man left behind" and goddamn if I didn't do everything I could to bring those boys back in one piece. Games can't create emotion? My ass.

Rome: Total War: Creative Assembly's fans revere the Total War franchise above all (my brother happens to be one of them). gamers that play these games play nothing else for stretches at a time. For me, they've been a little too complex, more akin to reading a history textbook than gaming. So I was a little nervous when starting this up.

A while ago Creative said they'd make the game easier for new fans, and while I don't know how they did, it sure feels that way. I had no trouble understanding the tutorial, and even learned enough to win the demo's only skirmish, the Battle of Trebia without much hassle. There's still that whole diplomacy part of the game I didn't get to see, but the battles alone (which look incredible thanks to the excellent new 3d engine) were enticing.

Overall, a great batch of demos. Anyone who says PC gaming is in trouble this holiday is crazy (or is a raving fanboy that lives here). Now all we need is Half Life 2, if it ever comes out....

On a walkabout

What Soul Calibur character am I?

theOtaku.com: What Soul Calibur 2 Character Are You?

Considering he's my best Soul Calibur character, I think this is pretty fitting

This is how we do it

Its Friday night and I'm here typing on the blog. Yes I realize this is rather sad, but then I realize that the only thing everyone else is doing is getting shitfaced enough to lose all ability to create conscious thought for the 100th or so weekend in a row. Not exactly an impressive alternative.

I've been on a demo high lately, and I've got some more to report on. The Tribes single player was short, but enjoyable. Not exactly what I expected from it (actually, I don't know what I'd expect, considering neither of the Tribes games had single player components), but interesting nontheless.

The big one was the Call of Duty: United Offensive demo. It was only one mission, taking place in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, but it was damn good. Some reviewers have claimed that the expansion looses some of the magic that the orginal game had. I can't really agree or not considering I only played one level, but there were many aspects that I found to be, well, curious. For one, most of the mission was nothing more than a shooting gallery. It starts off with you manning the gun on a jeep as it drives past droves of Germans, while the rest of the mission has you jumping from different foxholes and taking out various enemy units. It was still hectic, and like the original, taking cover and moving with teamates helps keep you alive. However, the excellent gunfights alongside your squad were practically absent, and there were a few objectives that seemed to be mroe about trial and error than genuine player skill. In short, it played a little bit too much like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. That kind of gameplay worked when AA was the only thing around, but COD and other WWII themed shooters removed the need for such cheap tactics. I'd still buy the pack once it dips into the sub $30 range however; I doubt the rest of the game is exactly like Bastogne, and even if it was, the level was still more fun than all of MOH: Breakthrough. That's gotta be worth something.

It seems that after many successful rounds of playing the "buy your textbooks online" game, I've finally lost a hand. One of my books has yet to arrive after a week of waiting, and judging by the seller ratings (which I stupidly didn't read), I may have found a shitty seller. I've emailed him, but I have a feeling I may not get a response. Whatever happens, I'll be sure to post the results.

New review for LC1201 in the works, this time for the game Mafia. Keep you eyes peeled.

When it comes to politics, I'm not a fan of Bush or Kerry, but I found this to be one of the stupidest things I've seen. I like how they claim that we shouldn't worry about terrorism becasue they only spend "less than one cookie" on military resources. I guess that's how they blew up some of our buildings. I agree that our nations money could be better spent, but there's more to world politics than how many cookies you have. Its all about how you use them.

Finally, congrats to Gabe for his firstborn. His account of the goings on was incredibly moving, and I wish him and his wife the best of luck. I can't believe that, even on his own friggin website, Gabe was practically apologizing for talking about it, when in fact the entire PA community was waiting to hear from him. Tycho and Gabe rarely get personal, since they'd rather talk games and make fun of people, so when they do its always worth reading. I believe it is that level of sincerity, modesty, and selectivity that makes their relationship with the fans that strong, and why I love reading PA every week.

On the other hand, we have a bitch complaining about how she hates ribs. How people worship any of the MT crew as such godlike figures is far beyond me. Put a sock in it and read some angsty poetry you moaning fucks.

You gotta boil it, till the glue gets soft

Rise From Your Grave

I knew this would be a busy semester, and damn was I right. Its been tough just to play my traditional-game-a-day (screw apples), let alone blog.

Speaking of games, I've been playing a lot of demos lately. The first being for Dawn of War. I've always been a fan of Relic's games, and this one seems to continue their tradition of excellence. In theory its a strategy game in the ilk of Warcraft III, but there are quite a few twists to the formula. For instance, units are built in squads, and the cap on them is much more restrictive than even WCIII was. These squads can have more units added on the fly, as well as commanders and special weapons. Rather than sending wave after wave of cannon fodder, the key to victory is to use a few fully upgraded squads and sound tactics to take out larger groups of enemies. Its often difficult to keep track of even three squads in larger conflicts, but the results pay off when you're not rebuilding your attack force every half hour. Its very nice to see an RTS that doesn't rely on the swarm and rush tactics that have been par since Starcraft. The game also sports some very nice animations - characters are shredded booted and bloodied in a variety of ways, and is certainly deserving of its M rating. (After all, it is Warhammer here). Seems like a small addition, but RTS games are some of the most repetitive out there. The more variety the better.

I've also tried my hand at the Tribes: Vengeance beta. Let's just say its Tribes on speed. For the most part, the game feels authentic, with plenty of jetpacking and all the classic weapons. With the addition of land skiing, and faster movements, however, the game is much more frentic, especially on the smaller maps. This is a good thing, as many of the old Tribes maps were far too spaced out, and were useless for small groups of players. I remember when Vengeance was first announced, and all the focus was on the Single Player portion. Fans everywhere were worried that they'd get a half assed multiplayer portion that would be a complete bastardization of Tribes. Fear no longer my friends, your game is back, bigger than ever before.

This Sunday was a disgrace for all Giants fans. I knew they'd loose to the much improved Eagles, but they hardly put up a fight. Its one thing to go down by a touchdown or something, but letting T.O. and pals gloat their way through the whole game is ridiculous. I have a feeling this will be an interesting season, and not in a good way. I'm just glad Im' out of Pennsylvania where the nastiest, rowdiest Eagles fans roam. On the other hand, it will be funny to listen to them when their team folds in half in the playoffs and misses the Super Bowl yet again. The Eagles are the Atlanta Braves of the NFL, and will continue to be so as long as McNabb is their QB. Maybe I should just follow the Packers this season. Who knew old guys could kick so much ass?

Its like a Koala crapped a rainbow in my brain

needs food badly

I'd comment about my return to college, but it all went so fast and smooth that nothing monumental came of it. It felt like I was back to the old routine in no time, and campus hasn't changed at all.

At least, in everything but food. My first year's experience with Loyola's food services could be described as good (for a college at least) but expensive. It was possible to get a decent meal without breaking the bank, but careful plannign was required.

This year, I have a feeling budgeting will be impossible. The prices on nearly everything have been raised, with no indication of an improvement in quality. They've also taken to making each order individually, meaning a long friggin wait added onto the wait to even order food. All of these are inconveniences and annoyances, but I could have lived with them.

But they took Taco Bell away, and that I can't forgive.

Not only was Taco Bell some of the best junk food on campus by far, it was also the cheapest. A few TB lunches through the week was essential to keeping the cash reserves solid. Without it, there's nothing beside hamburgers that doesn't cost below four dollars. Throw in a drink and maybe some chips (or appropriate side), and a meal could cost as much as an entree at a casual restaurant, at about half the quality.

"How could they get away with this Christian?"

Easy; The majority of Loyola students have rich famillies and care nothing of how much anything costs. They may notice a price increase but it means nothing to them. But to the average guy, from an average income, its a big deal. I average about $800 a semester out of a possible $1000. That limit isn't just a number, it is real to me. If I were to eat anything I wanted, I'd burn through a grand before finals. Its ridiculous , and I have no idea as to why there is such a drastic increase. All I know is that I'll be learning to cook better very soon....

In other news, I finally got around to trying out the demo for Medal Of Honor: Pacific Assault. AFter the excellent performance of Call of Duty, I was hoping EA would step up and match them with another excellent MOH entry on the PC. Oh how wrong I was. The demo took forever to load, sometimes skipping over huge parts of the intro scene and sometimes simply freezing up. If the game actually loaded (which wasn't a guarantee), it ran horribly slow. This machine runs Far Cry at 1024 with only a few memory related hiccups. It looks incredible. Pacific Assault ran 15 fps at most, and looked nothing better than COD save for some more complex lighting. From what I coudl decipher from the gameplay, there's nothing new here. Lots of scripted sequences and stupid enemies. They actually charge at you. While I understand that the Japanese troops really did this in battle, it is the easiest shot you'll ever have. The only new feature was the ability to order troops around, but there was no indication of it actually making a difference.

I was really hoping for another grat MOH experience, but once again EA has proven their inability to make a quality game. At one point they still made a few really good games, but now they are worthless to me. Considering how many copies the Madden franchise alone sells they won't exactly miss my business, but it only makes me more hopefull that one day gamers will realize their incompetence and stop buying their products.

Challenge everything? The only thing EA challenges is my patience.

Back later if anything interesting pops up.

Gameweek?

I got a letter in the mail today asking me to renew my subscription to PC Gamer magazine, and for the first time I actually threw it away. For three years I've been receiving the mag, and have been reading it for even longer. I have always considered it one of the better gaming publications out there. The demo disc has been home to many great trials, and the writing is always serious and balanced. Its not quite on par with the critical and classy pages of Next Generation, but when that magazine tragiclly keeled over, PC Gamer was the next best thing.

I decided, however, not to renew my subscription. PCG's quality is fading, and its not practical while away at college. For someone who has been reading game magazines since 6th grade, I thought the choice would cause some feeling of sadness, the kind you get when breaking a tradition that makes no sense to anyone but you. Instead it made me think about the state of gaming publications in the age of the internet. In their current state they are unecessary. In the age of the internet, gaming news changes every day. Even if most of it is of little importance, something big always comes around, but when a gaming mag reports it its usually old news. It makes sense considering they only come out once a month and are written far in advance (you December issue is probably started in October). It also makes sense to see that this is a broken system. No one wants to pay for old news after all. Not even the "Exclusive" features are worthing reading. Exclusives used to be the highlight of the isssue, something special, original, as if given by the gods to the chosen readers. These days and exclusive is usually a preview of a hot game that offer pages of speculation and basic information that has floated on the 'net for weeks, a few new tidbits that mean nothing in the long run, and no more than ten screenshots, just so the publication can say they were the first with the "Real Scoop". Their other form is in first reviews. It isn't odd to see a game's review a week before release, but it is when it comes from a magazine. How can something written a month in advance would be able to play final code of a game? All the controversy surrounding the early reviews of Driver 3 proved that they can't, and now its hard to trust that anyone with an early review actually sat down with the same game that would ship to retail.

The only redeming quality of magazines over internet documents is that a good publication will hire talented writers that offer a wit and wisdom not found elsewhere, as well as well written articles. Unfortunately, this is never the case in the world of gaming print mags. Do you honestly think the guys from Gamepro are masters of their craft?

So, is there a way to fix what was once the most coveted source for gaming news? Absolutely. If the media conglomorates like Future and Ziff Davis want to remian relevant, they need a weekly gaming news publication. Something along the lines of Time or Newsweek. I read these types of magazines whenever I come across them. By highlighting only the major events of the week, they aren't reporting old news, and are great for catching up on the stories you didn't catch or couldn't find more information about. The are also opinion articles that offer interesting takes on topics that would most likely be left uncovered by the press at large. This is exactly what gamers could use. Imagine grabbing a weekly gaming mag and checking out some new Final Fantasy screens you might have overlooked on a tired night, or reading about some new
announcements and press releases from a few days ago, without having to scour the web or sign up for a subcription service (aftar all, magazine subcriptions are generally the same price or cheaper). Its all there in one neat package, not too long (no reviews) and not crammed with cheats and tips no one reads. Some might think the idea is a little too serious for gaming, but all I have to do is point to how much money the industry makes and how much more it will grow to prove that gaming is even more legitimate than TV music and movies these days. Now it just needs a legitimate voice on paper.

That PC Gamer letter said my game would go to hell in a handbasket without their mag. Sorry, but I think my game will be just fine.

Ever since Kobe Bryant's case was dropped the only thing all the celebrity gossip shows can talk about is whether he'll lose all his sponsorships. I think Kobe would much rather loose some money that is now a drop in the bucket for him than go to jail for twenty years, loose his career and come out as a convicted sex offender. But that's just me.

In other news, my brother has made it a hobby of typing random words and phrases into the address bar and finding if they are actual web sites. I'm not sure what's more surprising, the fact that he has succeeded, or that he's only come across two porno sites. Anyway, here are a fe in case you're curious. I'm haven't explored them that well(all I know is that they aren't porn), so surf at your own risk.

www.whatthefuck.com
www.slammajamma.com

Have fun kiddies.

I only got one slice!!

The Dark Side Beckons You...

I haven't posted in a few days, and for good reason. I bought Knights of the Old Republic for PC. Not gonna review the thing till its done, but it hasn't dissapointed yet. I could think of a few improvements, but so can any picky sumabtich who's played too many games for their own good.

As for LC1201, I doubt I'll finish anything of worth before returning to college unless packing goes quicker than planned. If its anything, it'll be the first Dreamcast game I review (but certianly not the last).

I saw American gymnast Paul Hamm on a daily talk show a few days ago, discussing how the Olympic Committee asked for him to give up his medal to the South Korean who was cheated of it due to faulty judging. When I heard this I agreed with Hamm (who refused); he simply performed, and the medal was given to him. Can't blame the kid. What he said next was what made me realize just why every other nation in the world sees the American Olympic team as the new East Germans. This situation has happened before, and most times the gold winners plead and demand that the cheated participant also be given a gold. Hamm insisted that he would not do this, saying that "we can't just give out gold medals to everyone."

Paul, you should keep your medal, even if you didn't deserve it. It is there because someone else screwed up. But at the same time, the South Korean gymnast lost his chance at it because someone else screwed up. The only reason he lost was because no one from South Korea contested the judges decision (and all rulings are final). Its bad enough that the judges can't do their job. But why didn't anyone contest them? Now you can't ask the gymnast to do this; they just gave the performance of their life. What more do you want from them? Its up to his supporters and his team. Instead, the best male gymnast at the Olypmics was cheated of gold because of other's mistakes.

In the spirit of sportsmanship, Hamm should realize this, and realize that his oppenent did better. The fact that Paul fell, and the Korean didn't is enough of an indicator of who did better. Instead he has decided he is the best, and America wouldn't have it any other way. The entire world is looking at him, and he doesn't want to share. People need to look out for themselves, true, but that doesn't mean they can't be respectful. If our own citizens can't behave like this, its no wonder that our government isn't looked to highly upon by so many other nations.

I have no doubt the entire sport of gymnastics will have to go through some serious changes if it wants to retain legitimacy (kinda sad when a Russian knew that Carly Patterson would win gold before even competing), and I'm glad for it. I also think that the IOC should take a serious look at their judged sports. I don't know if there's bias or bribery or anything, but something just didn't seem right with them this year.

I never have been a huge fan of the Olympics; usually I observe them from a distance, picking up on the major news but not really watching them. This year, however, I actually loathed them. That's right; I was glad to see the Olympics end. Every year it becomes more of a three ring circus both in NBC coverage and the conflicts that pop up. Rather than praise themselves for holding an event with a vast amount of empty seats and low ratings, I wish the people in charge would get back to what its all about; the competition, the heart, and the shear athelticism of each person participating. The torch still burns, but for me (and so many others) its at the strength of a Zippo.

Give me the Whistle

Saved by the Bell Sucked Anyway

After what was literally my shortest summer break ever, its time to prepare for another semester. The good news is that I don't actually leave until September 5th. The bad news is that everyone else is shipping out now, leaving me virtually alone for a week.
Guess I'll be pestering Kyle whenever I can.

As quick as my free time went, I really don't mind the trip back. Returning to college is a quirky thing; you know there will be plenty of work and all the stress that goes with it (unless your a business major, in which the biggest challenge is floating a case by yourself).
At the same time, you realize that college is also a four year Kindergarten for "adults" complete with boozeahol. The end result: no one exactly jumps for joy when heading back to university, but you also really don't care. This is directly opposite of High School, in which millions of tired, confused children return to their penal colony of choice and participate in the "educational endeavor" known as standadized testing. I think the reason they call it "No Child Left Behind" is because none of them are going anywhere. But that's for another day.

In preparation for the new semester, I have spent the last two days searching for textbooks. Its an interesting little game usually ends up being far harder than it would seem. The first part requires one to find out which books will be needed, which can range from clicking to an online syllabus, to calling up a professor. Once this is done, its off to find the texts on your online store of choice. This is arguably the worst part; not only must they be found at reasonable prices, but the correct editions must be purchased, a feat that is far harder than it should be. The final round of the game is timing, making sure to purchase the books withenough time left over to have them shipped before the semester's start. So far I've done rather well, getting half my books for a little over $200. Only problem is I wasn't exactly clutch. You see, ordering online on Thrusday and Friday can be a curse, as it sucks up business days in the next week for processing that could be used for shipping. Plus, I'm leaving next Sunday, giving my texts less than a week's time to travel by Post Office standards. Whether they'll make it in time is anyone's guess, but its a gamble i'm willing to take. The less time I must spend in my bookstore, the better. I think of the place as a wretched hive of scum and villainry,
where prices are gouged daily, and words like "cash", "check" and "my own hard earned money" are forbidden.

Maker's Mark Whisky is the smoothest drink I have ever experienced. Friends often wonder why I enjoy an "olds man's" drink like whisky, as opposed to something like vodka. The reason is simple; I drink for enjoyment, not for the sole purpose of getting drunk. To that extent, I find Whisky has a strong, yet distinctive taste, and is far more enjoyable than drinking what is, in essence, edible rubbing alcohol. Plus, the vodka industry has delved into the most ridiculous flavors (green apple?). Not only does it encourage underage drinking, but who in the world wants their booze to taste like a Charm's Blow Pop? I'm not sure how it happened, or why, but what was once the favorite drink of James Bond and Communists is now the choice drink of bubbly school girls and guys who want to score with them. By the time my younger brother is in college I won't be surprised to see the Kool-Aid Man with a shot glass in his hand.

Idle hands spend time near the genitals. And we know how much God hates that.

ugh

I just typed a huge blog entry about this stupid little machine, only to loose it all by hitting a link.

I guess I'll condense it all into this: good marketing, bad hardware. Here's a quote:

"market research that says teens are considered the tech gurus in today's families and dictate electronics purchases"

"tech gurus" my ass. Tweens are the number 1 biggest offenders in destroying perfectly good machines. The Hip-E looks slow enough as it is (1.5 Ghz CPU?), and they'll only make it worse.
Teens would enjoy the bells and whistles, but once the thing starts to slow to a crawl they'll wish they didn't spend $1700 on it.

There's a reason the Hip-E's the first of its kind. Making a PC that balances performance and power is hard enough. Trying to do that and market it to finicky teens is impossible.

P.S.- two new Mega Man reviews at LC 1201, this time for 3 and 4. 5 and 6 should be up tonight

return of the post

I never get tired of the Lord of the Rings films. Which makes me wonder; why haven't I finished the final book? I'll get to it eventually (translation; next summer)

I finally got around to updating LC1201. I'm goddamn ashamed for letting it slip so far. Hell, I'm no better than Freddy boy really. I can only hope my sorry excuses and lateness will bring me lots of fame and money. I mean, if it works for him, why not me?

Oh right, that's why.

Anyway, the update is a bunch of Mega Man reviews, part of a new segment I will call "series reviews". So many of the games I've wanted to write about lately have been parts of large series. Rather than do one or two, it made sense to write about all of them, comparing each one and observing how the series evolved, then put all the documents in one place. I plan to do the same with Final Fantasy (THAT's gonna take a while), Mario, Sonic, etc. But first things first; I've got a lot more Mega Man games to clear through.

The Radeon 9800 Pro has been a dream come true. Demos for Far Cry, Deus Ex 2 and Unreal tournament ran at choppy, almost unplayable framerates. Now they run smoothly at even the highest details. There's a bit of stuttering at some parts, but that's a memory issue. Its hard to believe that 512 megs isn't enough, but that's the way it is, and I intend to correct it during the fall. As for now, its just a minor hindrance. I say bring on Half Life 2.

I don't know about you, but when I first heard about this I couldn't think of anything but the beginning of a bad movie. Or maybe an episode of Lupin III. I just hope that the painting is found and the greedy pricks are put to justice. Let's just hope Zenigata isn't on the case.

Getting it is easy. Filling it with illegal substances and sending it across the border is the hard part.

Juicin' up

This morning a great thing happened. My brand new ATI Radeon 9800 Pro video card came in the mail. Ever since my family bought their first legitimate computer, my video cards have been as follows:

Voodoo 3 3000 PCI - this wasn't too bad at the time, played Homeworld well and that's all that mattered back then

Geforce Mx 440 - I got this over a Geforce 3, not realizing my error. It now serves my brother in playing all his old games. Kinda feel like I wasted my money here.

Geforce Fx 5200 - Came with my new machine, and was, at the time, the best card I could afford. It played everything I had just fine, but with the arrival of UT 2004, Far Cry, and now Doom 3 I knew it was time to put it to pasture. Later I would find out that this card, especially the "Generic, vanilla" flavor of it that I have, was a pretty weak, budget card that didn't actually outperform an older model Geforce 4 Ti 4600.

Basically, they've all served their purpose for only a year before they needed to be replaced. While this 9800 pro is not the newest hardware in the market, it was the top banana less than a year ago rather than some cheaper alternative, and I have heard nothing but good things about it even today. It plays Doom and Half Life 2 at high detail and high res; considering that graphical tech won't be surpassing either of those for a while to come, right now that's all I need.

A shame, then, that I'll be out today and won't be able to do more than install the thing. If I get to using it tonight I'll be sure to update with the results.

hmm... As for LC1201, I have something new to post very soon, but I'm not sure what to call it. Its a suite of reviews, specifically of the Mega Man series of games. I plan on reviewing many differnt games series this way; its great for organization, and to see how each one stacks up to each other. Anyway, who the hell cares what the name is as long as its good?

Give us the money.... Elmo knows where you live!!!

One more thing....

The greatest episode of South Park is the one with the Chinpokomon, and anyone who disagrees is a filthy Communist (the China kind, not the comrade-Russian kind).

If starbucks makes coffee ice cream I bet its made of burnt beans. Stupid bastards

I'll break things, I swear to god I will!!!!

The reason for this blog is simple; to put some of the more chatty bullshit from my website LC1201 into a blog. This is a hell of a lot easier to update, and no one really wants to read that shit right? RIGHT?!?!?! Dear god why am I making this then!!??? Well if you do, here it is.

I'll come back with something worth reading later, but this coffee ice cream is demanding my attention at the current time.

Christmas still sucked, in a big way.....