I never mentioned that my girlfriend got me the best birthday present ever...a nintendo ds. Since recieving it I've been glued to it by some transparent umbilicus; the same that exists between a junior high girl and her purse. There are so many great rpg's for the system that I literally don't know what the **** to do with myself. I've gotten myself to the mid 40's level on Chrono Trigger, which is in my opinion the best turn based rpg that I've ever played. I've also been playing around with phantom hourglass, final fantasy IV, and knights in the nightmare. There's a little bit of everything in that mix...relaxing turn based with awesome characters, zelda which always makes me feel like i'm ten years old, and then there's knights in the nightmare. Knights is a great game once you get the hang of things but it does literally everything it can to intimidate you out of playing it...however, once you get a general understanding of how to get the keys from barrels and obstacles it's smooth sailing and easily one of the coolest experiences I've had on the ds so far. I've been overwhelmed with atlus titles in the last few weeks that I never knew existed. I've got an import copy of demon's souls on its way, and I've been knee deep into Persona 3 for the last few days. Despite feeling a little peculiarly about p3 in the beginning, I have to say that it's been just as addictive and engaging as most final fantasies I've played, it's just quirky (and a little childish) as **** The persona system adds an absurd level of depth to the game, especially for people like me who can't stop playing until they're all found and leveled up...it's also cool as hell to summon your persona's by shooting yourself in the head...cool in an emo way, i guess.

I have to say that today marks the first time in a long time that I am actually excited about a star trek movie. As far as geek polarization is concerned I've always leaned more towards the star wars side of the great war. That's not to say that trek never impacted me as a kid. In fact I think I originally abandoned my obsessive fervor for it at a pretty young age so as to avoid the anti-poon stigma that tends to waft from such enthusiasms, but it has always remained. Yes, I'm the kid who made starfleet insignias beaming myself around the playground in elementary school, and suffering emotional breakdowns at the end of 'Wrath of Khan' (theres just something about the way that photon torpedo whistfully arcs towards genesis *sniff*) Something about the original crew of the original series was pure magic and TNG, while good in its own distinct way, never really hit me the same way. The JJ Abrams movie looks like its nailing the tone of the original, while simultaniously injecting it with a much needed modernization...for ***** sake it looks cool in a way that will be universally acceptable for probably the first time EVER. The hope now, is that this can be done without compromising the original characters and the core spirit of trek, as that is what made the original series so compelling in the first place. Either way, looking forward to next May :D

Happiness is a warm gun

I've been waiting for this day since I picked up COD WaW. Today I hit level 37 and unlocked the STG-44...the gun I would marry if it were legal to marry guns. I'll have to write off my time with the M1-garand grenade attatchment as a sexy fling since any time I use a ranged weapon from now on my monogomy for the STG-44 shall be relentless. I still can't shake my dissapointment with Left 4 Dead. I was seriously looking forward to killing zombies en masse and something about the game just seemed unentertaining. I find almost any shooter that won't allow you to aim down the sight of your gun unbearable, not to mention no upgrades to weapons. I guess I've been spoiled by the rpg game mechanics of COD and RSV2 and anything less has a hard time holding my attention. I'll probably give it another go when its cheaper :/

I totally underestimated this game. I've ignored it like the middle red headed step child of the holiday line-up, and I am now paying dearly for my negligence. I didn't actually realize that the beta ended today and had the unholy realization that there would be no COD when I got home from class. Despaaair. I haven't really played a COD title I was so smitten with since COD 2 (which I painfully completed on Veteran difficulty btw). The story and setting of COD 4 MW just never did it for me, it felt like Rainbow Six wrapped in a COD skin and the fictional storyline just seemed kind of weird to me. I guess I never fully realized how important it was to my experience that the game be based on a historical events. WWII has also always been fascinating to me, and one of the few wars that I would've felt very strongly about fighting had I been alive at the time. I already have too many ******* games to even think about getting but it looks like I'll be throwing this one on the list as well, the multiplayer of COD 4 back in WWII is just too enticing.

I don't usually talk politics but today is an exception. I can say nothing more than that I am so extremely proud of my country at this moment in our history. You have embraced an eloquently competent leader who I believe truly has Americas best interests at heart. A man who will unify this country, and refresh the sense of hope and optimism that has distinguished us, and yet been so poorly lacking in recent years. If anyone has the ability, intelligence, and compassion to solve the collective challenges that we face, it's Barack Obama.

Because I'm a nerd, I went ahead and planned my character in advance with a tablet and the game manual since leveling on the fly left this nagging feeling that I would miss something or dump points in the wrong place (No I do not keep my fingernail clippings in nice neat chronologically labeled bottles). Since planning it all out the game has been much more fun and I've died much less. Here it is.

S. 1-->10 w/Nerd Rage! perk

P. 8-->9 via Those! subquest-->10 +bobblehead

E. 9-->10 +bobblehead

C. 1-->2 + bobblehead

I. 10 from the beginning to capitalize on skill points

A. 6-->10 w/Intense training perk x 3 + bobbehead

L. 5-->10 w/Finesse perk

3 "tag" skills

1.Small Guns

2.Unarmed

3.Medicine

Perks

Lvl 2 Intense training 'agility'

Lvl 3 Intense training 'agility'

Lvl 4 Educated

Lvl 5 Intense training 'agility'

Lvl 6 Fortune Finder

Lvl 7 Gunslinger

Lvl 8 Scrounger

Lvl 9 Commando

Lvl 10 Finesse

Lvl 11 Nerd Rage! req. Science 50%

Lvl 12 Here and Now

Lvl 13 Sniper

Lvl 14 Lawbringer

Lvl 15 Adamantium Skeleton

Lvl 16 Action Boy

Lvl 17 Tag (4th tag skill 'Repair')

Lvl 18 Concentrated Fire req. Small Guns 60% and Energy Weapons 60%

Lvl 19 Bloody Mess

Lvl 20 Grim Reapers Sprint

Skill point allocation minus any obtained through bobbleheads or books

Barter 7

Big guns 99

Energy Weapons 99

Explosives 30

Lockpick 21

Medicine 70

Melee Weapons 99

Repair 65

Science 25

Small Guns 99

Sneak 17

Speech 7 (not a talker i guess)

Unarmed 99

Don't get me wrong, I loved elders scrolls oblivion IV. It was the first next gen game I ever owned, and I ended up putting about 150 hours into my character. By the hundredth hour, however, several flaws began gnawing at me. Listening to the same voice actor have the same riveting conversation about mudcrabs, the level scaling which basically allowed you to go anywhere at anytime draining the game of tension or a reason to level up, and the environments and quests begin to look cut and paste due to repetition. All the elements of oblivion I loved made it into fallout 3, and everything I hated was trimmed out. There's no ridiculous level scaling, ensuring that if you set your sights on the capital and make a beeline at level 3, your ass will be handed to you and if you want to level up a specific skill you are not forced to perform that skill repeatedly. F3 is basically my ES4. I've always preferred dys-topic fiction over fantasy, so this is truly a world that I can get lost in. The environments are gorgeous and very detailed and literally dripping with atmosphere. Bethesdas character animations are beginning to look a bit dated, but its not much more than a minor nuisance as the content and gameplay are so incredibly deep. Definitely the most promising game I've played all year.

Anna is having a hard time getting pregnant (fable pregnant) and dejectedly raised the possibility that her husband is '******* sterile'...I love her so much.

LBP co-op with the girlfriend is seriously one the most hilarious gaming eperiences I've had since playing mortal kombat up into all hours of the night with a friend circa 1992 age 12. Its one of the only games that I can say is extremely fun regardless of your progress through the level. I laughed my ass off every time I would try to clear some obstacle by swinging over it only to be stopped by my girlfriend accidentally grabbing hold of me in mid-air. The presentation of the game is also incredibly polished and by comparison made Fable 2 seem a little more 'last gen'-ish (at least graphically). Fallout 3 tommorrow @ midnight :D. I wish developers didn't feel as if they have to squeeze every great game into the holiday window as my game time is becoming extremely scizophrenic :/. Fallout 3 is definitely my most aniticipated game of the year and after seeing the game guide yesterday, (which was bigger than the **** bible and Websters Dictionary combined) I fear the conflict shall only grow.

I'm not usually one for even reading blogs and this will probably end up being the equivalent of talking to myself (or a wall) but **** it. I've spent the last couple days either in class, or studying for tests. The weekend is finally here and I've had some time to get acquianted with Dead Space and Fable 2. Dead Space has been an absolute blast from the moment I started playing it. The voice acting is magically unhammish where hammishness seemed like more than a realistic possibility...but what strikes me most about it is that it is extremely fun, enjoyable, and well presented. Even though it is derivative of other titles, it does manage to combine great elements from said titles with all the fat trimmed off, and wrapped in a new aesthetic that just ****ing works. The hudless interface is another of my favorite elements, and the fact that searching for items in your inventory doesn't transport you into some magically safe 'pause' safe zone (which I discovered the first time I looked for a tube of chap stick and got skulled by a tentacle) really brought a sense of immersion and immediacy that a good horror title really should have. I've also stolen a few moments with Fable 2 as well. I've seen a lot of haters in various forums and sense a general feeling of 'underwhelm' from some...but I have to say I genuinely dig it. Its one of the few games that I actually feel relaxed while playing, which I'm sure can be attributed to the beautiful environments, lighthearted sense of humor, and generally quirky gameplay...not to mention that its one of the few games that has my girlfriend fighting me over the 360 for (which I'm not so sure is a good thing actually :/) I think I understand why some might feel underwhelmed by it...i mean, if you're expecting that its going to be some kind of titanous 'oblivion' killer hardcore rpg that will require months of grinding, then yes its a dissapointment. I think its pretty clear that Fable has its sights set on the 'casual' gamers and that is definitely reflected in this title. While many will say 'and have said' that this is a 'dumbed down rpg for the masses' I happen to think Fable offers variety and have enjoyed playing something with rpg game mechanics that is casual and relaxing as opposed to something that demands more attention and dedication, like oblivion, or Final Fantasy 'insert number here'. Besides, I'm going to need a soothing game to buffer the impact of the upcoming Fallout 3 :o