I have finally decided it's time to go with a better video card and sound card. I cant stand the choppy gameplay and graphic limitation, as welll as the rare audio problems. Right now I have been playing most of todays games, with a Geforce 3 64MB and a Creative PCI 64MB. The games are still playable, but I want better sound and graphics. Now I have gone ahead and bought a PNY FX 5700 128MB. As well as a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Internal Sound Card.

One thing for sure, is that out of all the games I have ever played in my entire life, FPS games are the most long lasting games on my shelf. These days I have filtered a lot of them out, since so many of todays games are worth playing more. Except for the occasional super-classic like Ultimate DOOM, DOOM 2, Final DOOM. I will explain some of the reasons why I chose to have the following games the only part of my collection.

DOOM 3: First of all I should mention DOOM 3 and its expansion, Resurrection of Evil. I am a major veteran-fan-boy of this game. Nothing will pull me away from it. Even the slight problems that are in the game cant pull me away from it. Truth is, the DOOM 3 series is like a refreshing reminder of the days when I played classic DOOM, even if the gameplay experience is a little different. I have to say that the games graphics are the best at faking realistic environment, IMO. They have that realism that makes you feel like you can reach out and touch something, right through your screen. And I say fake realism, because if you manage to look close enough, certain things seem just not right. But, not paying attention to that, and letting the games engine do its work, make it an awesome game. I have to say that the difficulty of this game varies throughout the game. It doesnt matter where you are. Sometimes its hard sometimes its not. But, off course, the Hell level will be the biggest challenge for most anyone. This game may be one of the best HORROR action games I have ever played. Also ID Software made everything in the game almost believable to real life. The characters, demons, buildings, environments, all seem to have the, "that could be real" feeling. So, thats what makes the game so scary too.

Half-Life 2: I enjoyed playing the classic game, for what it was. But, as time went on, I just got sick of dealing with the bugs in the game. And the game didnt seem so clean cut for my liking. The menu screens where the worst. I would have problems installing certain things. And choosing the right mods and maps, and deleting ones I didnt like, just drove me crazy. It wasnt perfect. And today, I just dont like the graphics. But, Half-Life 2 is amazing. Unlike DOOM 3, the game can be more enjoyable. Fighting demons alone, for the sake of your life and protection of Earth, kind of puts a big burden on your shoulder; and, keeps you on the edge of the seat. Its not a fun task, but its got to be done. With Half-Life 2, the scares are still there; but, you feel like you have more control over the environment. So your virtual life isn't hopeless/helpless in this game. I loved the AI too. I remember slamming a door on a zombie, then it flew through the window, glass flying everyhere. Just a great game all around. The graphics are perfect for the style of game it is.

RIDDICK: I havent played this game much. I just got a new sound card, to fix some problems the game was having. The game isnt so fun when the sound is messed up. But, the graphics of the game are as good as DOOM 3. I like the stealth of the game; and I dont have a lot to say about it yet. But I heard a lot of good things about this game.

FAR CRY: So far this is the only game In my collection, that I have actually completed. because its the only game I played, when it first was released, and I had more time to play. This game was a great time filler when waiting for DOOM 3. The action is never boring. And the environment of the game, just makes you want to explore deeper into the game. Stealth and combat realism made this game have the most fun, during stealthy jungle combat. I loved sneaking around, and putting the AI on edge.

For the first time today, I dominated the Deatmatch, on an island level for Half-Life 2 DM. I cant think of the exact name. But it had a lighthouse and a couple old shacks and houses. I came in first place with a score of 50 kills and about 24 deaths. My advantage was constantly being on the move, and getting plenty of direct hits. It was easy to sneak up on people in that level too. 30% of my kills where sneaking up on people. My strongest weapon during that game was the shogtun. I just love the spread shot. Shotgun is my all-time favorite, for all FPS. For long range the cross-bow did nicely. I look foreward to playing that map again.

http://www.doomchronicles.com/index.php At this site is a demo, and information on the best game mod I have ever played for any game. It is the DOOM 3 mod that goes by the name of DoomChronicles.

DoomChronicles most noticable change to the game is, of course, the new levels. But, even more so, the new weapon mods. The weapons now have multiple fire modes which are all great. The particle effects are improved, and the new sounds for them are awesome. You can even throw flares in dark corners, before you make a mistake, and get face to face with an imp. Another noticable change is the imp and spectre. The new imp is like a ghost, glowing orange like its own fireball. And it even throws it's fireballs faster. Good news is you can dodge them right back at the imp with a gravity gun. The mods version, not ID Software's. Guess that gun is getting popular. You can even toss smaller enemies around, including zombies. The spectre is crystal clear like water. But, I would like to see him more as a shadow spectre. I saw some screenshots of the later Hell levels. And, they remind me a lot of the classic games. With hanging corpses, tons of blood, guts, bones, fortresses of evil, and tons of fire glowing pentagrams.

Here are some other DOOM 3 mods I have my eye one:

http://www.planetdoom.com/edgeofchaos/ Edge of Chaos - A full conversion for Hexen!!

http://www.mindplaces.com/darkmod/ The Dark Mod- DOOM 3's version of the Thief 3 game. I dont know if you play a thief, though.

http://www.doomworld.com/unholy/future/ Phobos - a continuation of DOOM 3?

http://www.planetdoom.com/optd/ Operation Take Down - No info yet

http://www.planetdoom.com/d3f/info.html DOOM 3's version of TFC

http://www.d3jedi.com/ DOOM 3 Jedi - A Star Wars Jedi game for DOOM 3

http://www.planetdoom.com/theevil/story.htm The Evil - Massive worlwide zombie infection

http://recalltohell.d3files.com/rth_eng/news.htm Recall to Hell - A DOOM 3 continuation?

http://www.planetdoom.com/zombie/ Zombie Brain Repository - Another zombie mod

http://www.facinghell.com/?cid=faq#1.1 Facing HELL - A Doom 3 3rd party add-on

http://cdoom.d3files.com/index.php?page=news Classic DOOM for DOOM 3 - obvious

Still waiting for an ALIENS or Predator based Mod.

Game Spot just put up the demo for Republic Commando. One of the games I have been watching closely, with a few other upcoming shooters. It is in the process of being downloaded. 55 minutes and counting. I cant wait to try it. I hope its good. Finally a Star Wars shooter game that Looks great. I never really got into the Jedi Knight Games. They where good though.

Ok, I've already learned in the past that I hate MMORPG. Well, this game is a singleplayer; and wow, does it look amazing. I'm probably going to need a powerhouse of a PC. This is the one and only rpg, besides STALKER, that I have on my list. This one Im sure not to pass by. I cant wait, but, the waits always worth it.

Its like myst IV meets the action rpg world.

Well, if you read my last entry, you might understand I'm not such a big fan of games outside of 1st person shooter. I actually saw some videos of the Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War (Strategy Game). I couldn't resist. While I may not buy the strategy game, I might as well try the demo. I'm just curious, because it looks pretty good. But I'll probably find out, like all other strategy games, that this will give me a headache.

Though, I did like some of the characters, as well as music.

But, in tthe long run, I think Invisible Wars will be more pleasing to me.

I haven't played the first Deus Ex game, but the second one looks pretty interesting. I haven't bought it yet, but I was thinking about it.

First of all, the soundtrack is awesome. Its kind of a (X-Files, Myst & Matrix Mix). Or at least something similar to that. I could almost listen to this stuff in my car, its so good. Maybe it's the fact that it was so well put together.

As for the demo. It was pretty cool. For one, the graphics are much better than the last one. I am not a big fan of rpg type shooters, but this one I just cant turn from. Not to mention I am a huge sci-fi fan. And most of my game collection consists of sci-fi shooters. No other game type can really please me, as much as a well put together sci-fi shooter. As long as I can shoot, and do other actions myself, without just a click of a button. Thats what makes a good rpg shooter. I mean, for some things thats necessary, though. But at least let me walk and shoot by my own command. I like to feel like I am in the first person shooter. As you could imagine, that would make me not such a fan of 3rd person. A lot of 3rd person shooters seem too (adventury and consolish)-two made up words

I am growing away from the pure rpg, strategy, racing, sports, adventure, and puzzle games. I mean all game types are starting t look better these days. Might as well stick to the genres that please you the most.

Well, Im already on the ninth Invisible Wars track, and it still sounds great. Its some of the best game music I've heard, in a while.

Just recently, I got Windows XP Home Edition SP2, and was successfully able to play DOOM 3. I had problems when trying to play it on Millennium. I bought DOOM 3 the day it was released. This game, I have been waiting for, for so long. I actually have been expecting this game since I stopped playing Classic DOOM, for a while.

Since, maybe, back in '98. I was in the phase of trying new systems and games at the time. But, I played Classic DOOM so much in the past, that it got glued to my mind. For at least 4 years I was Hardcore in classic DOOM. I even had crazy nightmares. The kind of nightmares a war veteran would have if he had bad experiences in war. Night sweats and all. I had them at least up until the point of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for the N64. LOL, thats when games and other life issues started intertwining with life issues in my nightmares and dreams. I dont know. It must have been my male hormones, puberty, or something.

Anyway, the reason I liked the classic DOOM games so much back then, was because they were interesting. Let me elaborate. First of all, I thought those where the best and most realistic graphics at the time. Even some of the 3D stuff, back then, didn't look as good as Classic DOOM. Next, the back-story. At that time in my life, supernatural, paranormal, and extra-terrestrial all interested me. And this game offered that all. Plus it was fun. And Hell yes, it was scary back then. Now, at 23yo, I dont give myself time to be interested in the paranormal. I have much more important things to think about. Like my life, and getting ready for the big world. Although, I like to be entertained my sci-fi still, through movies, tv, and games.

Today, I really had the chance to sit down and trance into the world of DOOM 3. From what I remember of all my Classic DOOM experiences, this game brings it back at a whole new level. The game is amazing, and I dont care what anyone says, otherwise. Like those people that say "It's the same old classic DOOM linear game." Well, if your a DOOM fan like me, its not an issue. Not all linear games are bad. The shadows, dark corners, and lighting really make the game dramatically horrifying. That is, if you have a system thats supports such graphics. I got lucky. And I also have heard whimpers about how the textures are plain, pale, and dull. First of all, this is on a Hostile planet. where weather is constantly tearing at man-kinds creations. I have seen many colorful textures in the game. In fact the way they did the textures really brought me back to some classic DOOM moments. It also makes the game extremely realistic. And thats what makes the game even more scary. The sound is also another plus. I thought classic DOOM's sound was good, back then. Well, this is far better than any other games, and I have a older sound card, without surround sound. Ok, I use headphones. Hey, it works for me. I'v also heard people complain about weapon sounds. Like they aren't real enough. To me, they are the most realistic sounding ever. Oh and about the flashlight weapon switch. DONT MOD IT. I think ID intended for that to be, to add to the horror of the game. Believe me, it works. Besides, you dont always want to see the ugly faces your shooting at. It could give you nightmares:). And its true what they say about playing late in the dark. Although, you can still get a couple chills playing on a sunny day.

THIS GAME WAS WORTH THE WAIT AND MONEY. Get your copy now.

Anyway, I'd like to close with: Thanks to video games, and my desire for art and computers, I have planned to make video game art and design part of my future career. Or, at least, something like it. I've been drawing and playing games since I was 5.