I decided I wanted to go ahead and do a series review, and I may do this for more series that I play in the future. I have defined some guidelines though.
a.) I will only do a series review if I've played all games in a series (excluding obvious spin offs which have no strong correlation to the main thing) b.) The series must be at least 3 games long
So with that being said...
=-=-=-The LEGACY OF KAIN series=-=-=-
Game 1: Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen (Original title - Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain)
So this is where it all began. For those unfamiliar with the Legacy of Kain series, this opens us up to the world of Nosgoth and introduces us to the antihero Kain, who is assassinated in a plot and is resurrected by a Necromancer who sets him on a path to seek his revenge. Kain, fueled by his rage, blindly accepts and embarks on a quest that will shape the course of Nosgoth's future... and maybe even rewrite history.
The game is a Playstation game from about the year 1996, so the graphics are pretty dated. This, however, is a top-down game that can be perceived as 2D, so it is not a horrible thing to look at.
PROS: Long gameplay (compared to the rest of the series) RPG elements such as obtaining new weapons/armor/spells Captivating storyline Variety of environments
CONS: Long load times (typical of PS games around this era) Sometimes tedious or repetitive gameplay Easy to become lost or unsure of what to do next Secrets in the game almost NEED a guide to be obtained
Final Score and Impressions: 8/10 I can see how certain gamers would enjoy a game like this, even before it was known to become a series. There are two endings in the game, both being the final choice you make before the credits roll basically. See Game 2 for an elaboration on this.
Game 2: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
This game picks up hundreds of years following the events of the first game. It immediately becomes obvious if you had played the first that only one of the possible endings of Blood Omen would ever fit into the universe that Soul Reaver has established, making the other ending obsolete and quickly forgotten. This game is very much different from the first one, and while it was still made on Playstation, the graphics are significantly improved. It focuses on an entirely new main character, Raziel, who once served as a lieutenant of Kain (this is sort of bridging the gap between the two games). This title does not focus on weapons, spells, and armor, and instead focuses more on exploration and adventure elements, with some (annoying) puzzles thrown here and there.
PROS: The world of Nosgoth becomes more fleshed out through the eyes of a new protagonist Gameplay feels free and allows for exploration Elimination of the Secrets system (however, there are some hidden powerups still present)
CONS: Some puzzles are pointless and make the gamer wonder how they could exist in Nosgoth The ending is a cliffhanger (if you want to call it that) and leads right into the next game with no real resolution
Final Score and Impressions: 8/10 This was actually the first Legacy of Kain game I played, and it was good enough for me at the time (this was back when I was maybe 14 I'm sure). The storyline is still kept the main overall focus, although you feel like less things happen in this game as compared to the first. The game's length is easily less than half as long as the first one's as well.
Game 3: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
This is a direct sequel to Soul Reaver 1 (as opposed to the relationship between Blood Omen and Soul Reaver) and picks up LITERALLY right where the ending of Soul Reaver 1 left off. Being that this was created for Playstation 2, the graphics have once again taken a significant step in the right direction. Effects come off very smooth. This game introduces a huge amount of new concepts to the series, and a good majority of them went over well. The storyline is massively captivating in this game, and you find yourself caring much less about the gameplay as a result. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it starts to become your reward for completing dungeons/levels/whatever. The main character is Raziel again in this title, and the ending is a bit more satisfying, while still leaving the overall conclusion unresolved (and to hopefully be tackled in a sequel).
PROS: The Legacy of Kain storyline is at its best here, and the player is introduced to never before seen aspects of Nosgoth's history through the elements of time travel that are brought into the game Improved combat system from Soul Reaver 1, so combat is more fun to engage in Puzzles make a little more sense (?)
CONS: The length of this game is even lower than Soul Reaver 1's, which is disappointing Gameplay (or perhaps gameplay goals) is a bit more repetitive than Soul Reaver 1's, and the element of freedom is much more restricted this time around
Final Score and Impressions: 8.5/10 I am rating this one higher than the other two because of what it does for the storyline of the series as a whole. It spawns a whole new outlook on a lot of concepts from the previous two games and compels the gamer to be familiar with the events of Nosgothic history.
Game 4: Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2
This game takes place before the events of Soul Reaver 1 and 2, but after the events of Blood Omen 1. Blood Omen 2 is somewhat of a sequel to Blood Omen 1, but with a few "gotya's" in place. First, it becomes obvious eventually in playing that the game doesn't take place on the same timeline of Nosgoth's history as we've been told in the previous three games. Instead, we are led to assume (and perhaps not faithfully until the NEXT game confirmed this) that the time-traveling events of Soul Reaver 2 rewrote the timeline, and this is the NEW version of how things turned out as a result of the meddling. Second, Kain returns as the playable character, but he isn't all-powerful as you'd have been led to believe from the previous games (the storyline explains this). This was also released on Playstation 2, and not too far from the release of Soul Reaver 2. It was actually developed by a different team than the ones responsible for the prior games.
PROS: Moving away from Raziel is a breath of fresh air, and it's nice to see things from Kain's point of view again Gameplay is certainly longer than both of the Soul Reaver games (but still not quite as long as Blood Omen 1's) Nice selection of weapons/abilities to use on enemies
CONS: Graphics are not as improved as you'd want, and in some ways, Soul Reaver 2 is actually better Glitches and bugs are present in the gameplay The storyline as told through monologues is watered down from the intensity of Soul Reaver 2 Voice acting doesn't match up with the character models at times (see: glitches and bugs)
Final Score and Impressions: 7.5/10
This is sort of a step back from Soul Reaver 2. The average gamer finds a hard time explaining a lot of the events from this game because of the timeline edits, and the glitches sometimes make for pretty frustrating gameplay. Everything about this game is a knob turned down one notch from Soul Reaver 2 basically. The ending, while conclusive, doesn't make the gamer feel as if the overall picture of the story of Nosgoth has been considered throughout the whole journey of playing this one.
Game 5: Legacy of Kain: Defiance
Now this is what I'm talking about! Back to redeem the series' name after Blood Omen 2, this time, all bets are off, and they place Raziel and Kain as playable characters in the same game for the first and only time to date. This is a Playstation 2 release again, but the graphics are much improved from Soul Reaver 2. The combat system has also gotten a nice overhaul, and combat becomes nearly as engaging as in something like Devil May Cry. The game's story features an alternating telling of Raziel's and Kain's trek through the game, and the player likewise alternates between playing them in the game's chapters. This game also seeks to somewhat explain why the events of Blood Omen 2 were the way they turned out to be. It can be considered a sequel to Soul Reaver 2 in terms of the progression of time that began from Soul Reaver 1, and like Soul Reaver 2 picked up from the first one's ending, this game picks up from the ending of Soul Reaver 2 almost immediately.
PROS: Graphics are very respectable for a Playstation 2 game Combat is very fun this time around Storyline has become a focus again Kain is a badass instead of being weak in this one
CONS: The storytelling still doesn't reach the peak that Soul Reaver 2 did The ending warrants mixed feelings; the story could technically end there, but it would be much more satisfying if it continued into a 6th game Gameplay starts to feel repetitive at times, especially for Kain's portions
Final Score and Impressions: 8/10 This is the last Legacy of Kain game to have been developed thus far. Nothing concrete has stated that another one is in the works as far as I know, other than the early talks of former team members stating that they "intended" to have the story continue. I would be interested to know at what part in the timeline another game would fall under, but I really just want another Legacy of Kain game regardless.
The Legacy of Kain series as a whole, and how it affects gaming:
Very few games can create a story from scratch and have it become so compelling. Extra points for the world of Nosgoth not really resembling our own, and having its own history and traits.
The Legacy of Kain series will never win any awards for its gameplay, and certainly not for its use of puzzles, but as a drama, a storytelling series, it is among the top selections I could make of any game I've ever played. Take a look at gamefaqs.com if you don't believe me, and check out the 500 KB plot guide.
I have completed Bioshock! And with nothing better to do right now, I am gonna review this piece.
BIOSHOCK - PC
Graphics - 9/10 Granted that you have a PC good enough to run the game at max settings, you'll be treated to a pretty good visual feast here. The game, at certain points, will have minor issues with stuttering, where the screen will freeze for a second and come back, but lag is virtually nonexistent. However, these are the only flaws in a graphical setup that really comes close to some of the best you've seen up to now. Environments are fully destructible, and it's interesting to see what kind of damage you can do to a different enemy or fixture in a room and see how it affects it. I am not convinced that these effects of damage you do are completely permanent, but they last long enough for if you left the room and came back shortly after, they'd probably still be there. Basically I have no complaints with the graphics at all, and I'm sure if you by a high-end PC in a few years, you won't really experience a stuttering issue. It's not really a big deal anyway.
Controls - 9/10 Controls are done pretty well, and I'd be hard-pressed to say that they are quite as good as the Xbox360 version could have done. There are just a bunch of keys on the keyboard, and something like that helps a game like this a lot. The game works in a way that you have to cycle through your weapon inventory to change weapons, and you'll need to do this quickly in the middle of a fight. The PC version does this very well, as you can either cycle through them, or pick exactly the one you need right away, because each one has a key binding. I do not imagine the Xbox360 has enough buttons to work this well at all. As far as movement goes, that is also done pretty well too. Overall, I have no real issues with the control setup, and if one does, the PC version has the always-present key bindings reset options menu. So you can do whatever the fuck you want.
Story - 7/10 I really wanted to get into this story. Perhaps after reading an FAQ on the subject (that is, when other players start finding out what the fuck is going on too) I would give this a higher score. The way the game works is that it never really gives you a linear story that you can understand, instead, you get pieces of the picture, scattered in and out of sequence and back and forth and all around and RAHH!!! You get somewhat confused after awhile. No, not confused. Because when you're confused, you have something in front of you that you don't understand. In Bioshock, I'd be hard-pressed to say you have anything in front of you at all! So I don't know what the right word to describe this. Eventually, you seek a big payoff as you are nearing closer to the end, but the ending is so completely glossed over that it makes you wonder if you really need to give a shit about the story at all. I am hesitant to rate this category high.
Gameplay - 9/10 The gameplay is what really shines in Bioshock. You start out with no real weapons or plasmids (think of these as sort of superpowers that you can use besides guns/bullets to defeat enemies) but you gain them all in time. What's nice is that you can sort of choose the order in which you obtain these plasmids, as you select them from a menu when you have enough currency to by them. The currency for purchasing these happens to be something called ADAM, which you extract from these things called Little Sisters, but only before defeating their bodyguards called Big Daddies. Yeah. But plasmids aren't the only thing you buy with ADAM. You can also buy upgrades to your character, and certain ones will really help you out during certain situations.
What prevents this score from getting anything higher than a 9 is that eventually in the game, I'd say about halfway through, you start to... get used to it. I mean in the earlier half, you are treated to this great thing where you are finding out new key functions of the game and you're thinking like "WOW, this game was really well thought out, and I'm gonna be finding all these new game functions all the way through this and I won't know what the hell hit me!!!"
Well, that's true to a point, but eventually, you stop finding any new real ways of playing the game, and instead you just keep upgrading your character. These upgrades, don't get me wrong, invite a new way for you to play your character in a way, but it's not really the same feeling you got when you were 10 hours earlier into the game. You just feel like you are going through standard motions of 1980s RPG upgrading, where eventually you will find Fire 4 to replace your Fire 3, and Fire 4 will be more powerful so you're like "Yeah. That's cool. More powerful spell." but you don't really feel anything. That's the best I can describe the effect that Bioshock had on me as I neared the endgame.
With all of that considered, the gameplay is still incredibly fun and engaging. I just happened to like it better in the first half. This is probably because in the first half you are thinking the story is actually going to amount to something.
Replayability - 7/10 This game also has some decent replayability options. You can choose to Harvest or Rescue the Little Sisters I had mentioned, and doing one of these, or a mixture of both, will lead to 3 possible endings. The problem is that the ending, no matter which you get, is completely unrewarding in my opinion, but it's still a different ending, I guess. I'm sure you could just find them on the internet soon enough anyway. What does make the game replayable is that, at least for me, even Harvesting all the Little Sisters, I had not obtained enough ADAM to completely upgrade my character in every way. Now unless rescuing them gives an overall more amount of ADAM to your character, you will be left with a choice to make on some upgrades. You could hypothetically go back and replay the game, making different choices, and focusing on different ways of upgrading, and the gameplay might be a little bit different. But honestly, the way I did it leaves me with no real motivation to go back and seriously play the game again. It's something that might be nice to pop in again in a year or more, but I was left with no real motivation to pick the game up again right away.
Overall - 9/10 I would still recommend this game to anyone looking for something new. You haven't quite played a game like this before, and the minor hiccups that I speak of in depth might deter you from what my overall point is... so, I just want to say you WILL enjoy the game. I have no doubts about that.
Haven't made a post on this joint in like 6 months or something! I have no clue what has drawn me out of hiding but... perhaps it's the fact that for the first time since I've been at target I've had some sort of non-vacational weekend off. And I'm off today too! What the hell...
Or maybe it's that school is coming up and I sort of dread it. I have always associated school with my LiveJournal I guess. Back in the day my friends and all used to actually post on this and it was a good way to keep in touch after school was over every day. Now I guess we just hang out instead.
Well, I take that back. I don't really dread school as much as I dread the prospect of working AND going to school. But the simple fact of the matter is, I really can't quit for two reasons. 1.) I'd be letting down those who saw it fit to promote me and have me stay on board a bit longer and 2.) I'd be making like no money during the school year, which really can't fly. I feel like my life would be sort of a waste if I wasn't making some sort of money during the time I'm in school. Even if all that would entail is money to go out to eat and socialize with friends and stuff.
Truthfully, perhaps I'm sort of thinking about it too much and maybe it'll all work out fine. I intentionally structured my classes to not include anything overly difficult. Time-wise, I'm sure the Japanese 201 (should she let me in it) would include the most time spent. But she loves the 3 Musketeers so much that I'm sure she'd give us nothing less than a B as she always has.
B, プリーズ。PLZ.
I don't want to do like gayass projects though. The ones that make me group up with people I don't know and spend hours doing useless BS.
Well I got back from Ocean City Trip '07 a few weeks ago. That was pretty fun. So many quotes from that trip, which I will outline as I have for all the previous years.
---Quotes---
"Beso!" "NUTS!" "Hey dad... when can I do NUTS!!!" "This really is your decision." "When you grow hair on your balls." "A Bay Bay!" "Meatgazer..." "I'm going with him to Shakura's." "Get big." "Dylan you're WEAK!" "The Braaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiinnn!!!!!"
So lately I've been all into the HD movies scene and all that. Like this whole Blu-Ray/HD-DVD thing needs to end.
Maybe my opinion is sort of biased on this being that I don't own a Blu-Ray player (read: PS3) right now and I do own an HD-DVD player, but I don't really think one format is in any way better than the other.
HD-DVD has combo discs, which while they cost a bit more, they do allow you to feel more comfortable in knowing you only have to buy one version of a movie which is then transportable to any place you might go and you can still watch it. Blu-Ray, at least as of now, has no discs which support that feature. This, in certain situations, could leave one feeling a bit screwed.
Blu-Ray currently has more movie studios supporting it, but that is not to deny the pull that companies such as Warner Brothers and Universal have, which release a lot of great films and remain HD-DVD exclusive. But numbers wise, more films have probably been released in Blu-Ray format than HD-DVD format.
Then we have the whole thing with PS3's piece of this pie. I mean to me it was a great move to include Blu-Ray playback in a console, but it almost seems wasted because the console sucks right now. While Xbox 360 released their HD-DVD player add-on in an attempt to make the playing ground even again, this still hasn't made things wonderful because you can find a decent HD-DVD player for a similar price, and you won't have to own a Xbox 360 to use it.
So frankly I don't know what the outcome of this "war" will be, but I sort of think of it like video games sometimes. Like why don't people complain this much about video game wars? Just think about it.
Like pretend that instead of movie formats that we're talking about consoles here, like pretend Blu-Ray is instead a PS3 and HD-DVD is instead a Xbox 360.
Games are released exclusive to each console, and to play them you'll have to own the respective console. Some fans of certain series are left alienated unless they happen to pick up the other system. Then there are some popular games which make it to both consoles.
I mean with the High-Def movie thing, it's the same way. Some movies make it to one format and not to another. Some are ported to both.
So why do we put up with this same concept for our video games but not for our movies?
I really would like to know the answer to this someday.
Personally I think a decent solution to all of this is to just keep things the way they are and just eventually reduce the price on the players/dvds/hd televisions. Or, release a decently priced hybrid-player, but to me the idea of hybrid-discs is stupid and a waste of money. If everyone has a hybrid-player then there's no need to introduce hybrid discs.
RANDOM ATTENTION GRABBER IMAGE
Yeah sorry about all that. I haven't made a post in so long that I suppose I lost myself!
Just like these two men that I dare to call friends of mine lost their virginity to each other mere minutes after that picture was taken.
Today, my Japanese teacher, to herself, spoke one of the most epic things I have ever heard. The bane of our existance is contained in this quote, which I have reproduced here for review; first in Japanese for accuracy, and then translated into English.
Graphics: 8.5/10 There are some good visuals here, but this essentially is a Gamecube game ported to Wii. I'll give it, though, that for a Gamecube game, this is probably about the best the system can do. Water effects are done well here. Nothing sticks out elsewhere, just overall, a fine thing to look at.
Controls: 8/10 In rating how the Wii remote seems to play into the experience, I'd say it's done pretty well. You slash the remote, and Link slashes the sword. What I would've liked to see is a little more emphasis on movements involving the Wii remote when Link uses items he finds, such as the Clawshot, Boomerang, or others. Just pointing on the screen and pressing a button seems dumbed down and something more would've helped.
Story: 4/10 Story? What story? Anyone who thinks there's a story to speak of here is a fool, there simply is nothing to be found on the subject. I cared nothing for what was going on, and only for playing the game. A story really could've helped the score on this subject, and what's funny is, this is a Zelda game, and Zelda hardly makes an appearance at all. Not that I give a shit, but they make it seem like she's this high and mighty thing in the game and then they don't care anymore. So the story fails, really.
Gameplay: 8.5/10 The gameplay though is pretty solid and is typical Zelda game fare. You go through the dungeons, solve the puzzles, fight the bosses, travel the world map, and repeat. You have some new items to play with which enhance the experience that you're used to with Zelda games, but in the end, the formula is still too cut-and-dry and could use a sort of revamping. The whole wolf thing is hard to accept, and to me is just one crazy Furry-lover's idea of a good game element. Go back to 4chan.
Anyway, if you've liked previous Zelda games (the recent ones, I can't really compare this to anything 8-bit or that bullshit) then you'll like this one. But you've done this crap before, admit it.
Replayability: 5/10 Not much of a reason to replay this game, unless you like collecting all the optional items and stuff, but in the end it doesn't matter, you'll just have an easier time with the final dungeon, and do you really want to replay that? Come on. Every crucial item worth getting is story-driven and non-skippable, so really you're just looking at more arrows or more hearts. Not really worth replaying the game for. It takes long enough already.
Final Score: 8.5/10
Gears of War (Xbox 360)
Graphics: 10/10 You're not going to see anything better right now on this console or the Wii, I guarantee it. There's alot of detail in this game, and it doesn't stretch just to the environments, it goes to the characters and enemies as well. When you shoot something, blood will spurt out like no other, and you'll see it, glistening before you, and when the corpse drops, you'll realize just how amazing this game looks.
Controls: 8/10 The controls make sense. There isn't a whole lot to mess up about a game like this, you move, shoot, switch weapons, all that good stuff. What irked me was the inability to do a 180-turn fast to run from an enemy (e.g. the newer resident evil games) and how you had to crouch before any obstacle first in order to jump over it. It isn't realistic, but I can let it slide because of the deep roots that taking cover have in this game and how it by default will crouch you behind an object before you can do anything else.
Story: 7/10 The story itself is rather interesting, but the creators didn't seem to want to expand it a whole lot to make it REALLY compelling to follow. You'll definitely be into each specific situation you're thrown in, but the overall picture isn't elaborated on as much as it could be. The ending of this game leaves room for a sequel, and a more story-elaborated one at that (just the vibe I got from the end cinematics). So I'm not giving up just yet, and I'm eager to see what they can do with this.
Gameplay: 9/10 This is some of the most fun gameplay in an action game I've had in years. The graphics make everything so lifelike that you're really drawn into the experience of tension, fright, and aggression as you fight hundreds and hundreds of enemies throughout your time in the game. I wish there were a few more weapons to play around with, but what you have definitely gets the job done. The game does a really good job of giving you a challenging but not impossible gameplay experience (assuming you are on normal difficulty), and in order to progress to the end, you will need to have mastered everything. You have teammates whose AI will assist you in the battles, but there is a Co-op mode in which you can take control of one of these teammates and play with a friend, which would make the game even more fun than it already is. There's a multiplayer mode and an online mode, both of which I haven't touched, but would probably look solid.
Replayability: 7/10 There are a few reasons to go through this game again on the unlockable Hard difficulty, but mostly it's for Achievement points (xbox 360's ploy to get people to play their games I guess). Speaking of these points, most of them will be gathered from online mode, so you could take a long while just playing that and getting the Achievements. The game could easily be replayed on Co-op with no other goal other than to play with a friend, and that's good enough. I could easily see myself coming back to this game one day.
1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before? Dropped a class, changed my major, kept a job for more than 3 months.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? If I made any last year, I don't remember them. There is nothing that I want to change about myself so badly that I have to actually say "hey, in 365 days, you need to have accomplished this."
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My cousin Amy gave birth to her daughter Mya. Mya is a cool one.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Not exactly, but someone from my graduating class (high school) did. I didn't really know him as a friend.
5. What countries did you visit? Nothing. lol.
6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? Probably a Playstation 3. Praises to the Playstation.
7. What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Jenn! November 17.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting a C in calc, lol. Also just keeping it real.
9. What was your biggest failure? One could say I failed at computer science, but hey. It failed at me.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing major.
11. What was the best thing you bought? I guess the Wii, my whole family seems to love it.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My cousin Shannon for getting back into school again.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? lol, my dad will never change, at least not when I'll actually want him to.
14. Where did most of your money go? At least 75% of my money goes to food I'm sure.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Haha, I'll pretend to be a fanboy for james for a second and say something like the sighting of Reggie.
16. What song will always remind you of 2006? Probably any of the musicals I first got to see in '06. Rent especially.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: A. Happier or sadder? I guess you could say I'm happier. But I don't really get "sad." lol. B. Thinner or fatter? I've gained probably 10 pounds since then. C. Richer or poorer? Richer, I didn't have a job then.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Math homework.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Playing Battlefield(s).
20. How will you be spending Christmas? I spent it at my house with my family and it wasn't terrible.
21. Did you fall in love in 2006? You could say that.
22. How many one-night stands? That's not really how I roll lolz!
23. What was your favorite TV program? 24, easily.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Over time I've come to start to define people more into "the types," as evident in my posts about the "types" of people I hate in certain situations. So while I don't hate more than I did, I've found that upon classifying the species of those I hate, I can better embrace it.
25. What was the best book you read? You know, in '06 I don't even remember reading anything but The Stand, and I didn't even finish it. Probably got like 200 pages in. It wasn't bad, just got sidetracked I guess.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Myself. lol. I always like seeing how I've grown over time.
27. What did you want and get? All those Seinfeld DVDs.
28. What was your favorite film of this year? If it was something that had to have been released this year I'd probably say Casino Royale. But I like some other movies that I first saw this year that were from previous years.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 19, and I don't remember anything that happened on that day other than I know I was at work.
30. What would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? To have gotten some sort of raise/promotion/appreciation/fucking anything to compensate for the shit I be doin.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? I usually will wear clothing that represents something that appeals to me. And I've been that way for years so I guess that's just me.
32. What kept you sane? Myself? lol. I've been sane the whole time I think.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Elisha Cuthbert! Sweet Jesus...
34. What political issue stirred you the most? George Bush's War. lol. not really. I don't care about politics much but how about this, Maryland is going to hell!
35. Who did you miss? In '06 my time with Tracey and Craig was less than normal but I talk to them a decent deal now and see them occasionally so I'm alright.
36. Who was the best new person you met? Jenn!!!
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006: Be very observant. You can learn alot from seeing people fail around you, so you won't have to.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "You are a God Warrior... but does God love the battles fought in His name?" lol I didn't know what to put for this but nick would love to see his gay lyrics in here.
[[[Disclaimer: This post has not been lj-cut because let's face it, how often do you see a post from me?
It shall be shown in its true form. With that out of the way...]]]
School is ending. Could I be happier? Doubtful.
For those who don't already know, this semester I took the opportunity to drop Computer Science like it was something to do! I am done with you fuckaz. Sue Evans, Charles Nicholas, Dawn "The Cock" Block, all of you can suck at fat one. Preferably not mine.
So I've been playing some of the new Zelda, and guess what guys?! Unless the first 15 hours of play isn't representative of the whole game, this isn't the masterpiece you bastards say it is! Remember a little review posted by Gamespot? He was right! lol! But yeah I'll give it 8.8 for now. I'm signaling Venus to come over here and we'll discuss it a bit. How far have you gotten?
Moving on.
Yeah. I don't understand.
"I'm on day 6 guys, lol! Time for more of the same shit I did on days 1-5. It's kinda cramped in here."
My hair is looking Faaaaabulouuuuuus!
And while I'm here:
These Mac commercials seem to do less and less to actually help Apple, as time goes on. I still laugh at their attempts to prove Windows sucks, when they really make no valid claims on their behalf to prove otherwise. What we have here is a situation where the Mac enjoys playing emo music, and PC hates it. So we can understand and infer that Macs would be better suited for media and music. Well guess what?! Apple, your main market has always been emos, and they are still using Windows computers! After all, the commercial shows that at least one emo is using a Windows computer to play music, right now. F-f-f-fail.
I went to New York this weekend for their whole Nintendo Wii launch thing.
Kevin, James, and I made the trip by car starting early Friday morning, it took about 3.5 hours to get there. One thing immediately noticeable about New York traffic is that no one has patience. If just one mistake or delay is made, drivers often will use their horns abusively. In fact, I started to eventually think that they did it for no real reason at all, just to kind of make it known that their car is approaching the general area.
Obviously enough, things in New York are expensive. Things that already seem expensive enough in Maryland are much more so in New York. In fact, you can't really seem to walk away with a fast food meal without spending $2-3 more than you're used to. Just to park one car for the weekend, there was a fee of over $60. And it almost got stolen. Or something.
So Friday, mainly what we did was walk around and explore places, eat stuff, I bought a game to keep me occupied (Trauma Center for DS, pretty fun) and went to sleep. I had not gotten any sleep at all (except for an hour or less) the previous night, so I was feeling pretty tired and went to sleep the earliest I have in a little while.
So then on Saturday, we began to line up for the Nintendo Wii release line, and we found this one guy, dubbed from here on out as Frosty Tips had fabulous hair and was forming his own system for organization which helped keep himself occupied and the few people around him in some sort of civil order. But it was completely unnecessary and not official by any means, so we left the line eventually and saw Casino Royale. Good movie by the way, I'd say 8.5/10. I'd almost be interested in reading the book sometime.
We got back in the line after it was over and then stayed there for about a good 7-8 hours (... I know) but we got food and stuff in between so we were able to break away SOMEWHAT. The Wii shit had started though at around 8 so we saw all the festivities involved with that. I wish I could've gotten a picture with Reggie but oh well. I have pictures OF Reggie. I think.
They claimed to have thousands of Wii units and I definately saw hundreds of them myself, so James and I were certainly able to get them without hassle, and the games we wanted as well (for me that was Zelda and Budokai Tenkaichi 2). During all of this we hung out with some new people (shoutouts to Leach, Ceaser, and Sara, without the h), did some interviews (some footage of us appeared on Gamespot and shit like that too), pondered the existance of DJ Ravi Drums, weaved in and out, tricked Nick, smelled the many smells, debated "George Bush's war," named the highest fruits [Lance Bass], called time of deaths, and spit hot fire.
I have pictures of the trip but need to get them developed sometime, so if there are any worth posting I'll do that in due time maybe. I guess I'll get Jenn to handle this mission personally!
Speaking of which, I almost forgot! Jenn is someone from my job (Target) who I began hanging out with more about a month or so ago, I think? Anyway, I think we've grown to be good friends over the last few months and I found myself liking her very much, so beginning on November 17, 2006 I have officially become in a relationship with Jennifer Lanore. None of you really know her. But in time, I hope you would.
Quotes: "It's a Shiragirl world, bitch, I thought you knew." "Jesus, take the Wii." "Niiiice." "What are you guys in line for?" "Nuts 4 Nuts" "I'm sleeping on the floor." "I'm just a black guy, I don't bite." "You guys like Hip-Hop?" "I see the Wii!" "That last hand nearly killed me." "Wanna go to a comedy show?" "Time of death....... she's gone."
1) List ten things you want to say to people but know you never will. 2) Don't say who they are. 3) Tag at least 3 other people who you want to do this.
--- these are all for different people, one each ---
1.) We're not quite as good of friends as we once were, and I think we both know why. You just hope that what you're doing is right. 2.) You've changed somewhat. I don't know the point you're trying to make with what you're doing, but it isn't helping anything. Sometimes I want to remember the old you. 3.) You need to be more reliant, stand up on your own two feet and do something with yourself. All you've done since I've known you is complain about everything. In many ways, at different points in your life you like to say you've changed, but you haven't. You're the same exact person, and you're still as much of a child as you were years ago. 4.) No one, or at least anyone who matters, cares about anything you say. Your need to better yourself over other people gets you nowhere and only proves how ignorant you really are. Don't ignore the people who do somehow find it in themselves to care about you... otherwise you'll have nothing left. 5.) You aren't always right. Trust those around you who know better. 6.) There are times when I worry about you. What we shared was in the past, but it still means something to me. Your insistance to continue to choose to associate yourself with the people who hurt you, also in some way hurts me. Keep yourself levelheaded. Do what you want, but think about what you really want before you make decisions. You're ruining yourself. 7.) Do you get any pleasure out of anything but being noticed? Your entire life has revolved around putting yourself in the spotlight, and having people flock to you. In some ways, I'm sorry that I even entertained the idea of playing into your charades. Maybe one day you'll settle down... but then, what would your life contain? Find something else to be happy about. 8.) In some ways, I care about you, and in some ways, I despise you. Your life consists of the same daily routine over and over, and you won't stop until it's all pulled out from under you. Your idea of who your friends are has become tainted over the years. Sometimes I wish I could help you escape it all. 9.) I'd like if you became more open-minded. There are many things I've liked to do with you in the past, but I haven't been able to, because of your reluctantness to experience them. It's okay to step out of the box every once in awhile. I know that one day we could create something great. Yet, in some ways, we already have. 10.) I'm into you.
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