I am liking this girl.

Nothing going on in my life but for the fact that I'm looking to change...

I've reached a weight where I am no longer comfortable in my own skin. I need to watch what I eat and go to the gym regularly. I have an appointment with a dietician on March 31st, I will listen to her advice and start my diet and training on April 1st. No April's Fools!

Tom Clancy' s Splinter Cell by David Michaels.

Being a huge Splinter Cell fan myself after having finished all three games available for the Xbox, I thought I could delve deeper inside the world of this favourite of mine shadowy spy by reading the novel written by David Michaels, an author I had never heard about before but who does a great job at expanding the Tom Clancy universe beyond the family, technology, acolytes and abilities of the first ever Splinter Cell, Sam Fisher.

First of all, you' ll be amazed at the recent events the book references, such as the arrest of Saddam Hussein and the Madrid bombings, I thought it was published way before any of that stuff ever happenned yet the book is firmly rooted in reality and the current state of international politics.

Most of the storyline happens in the Middle-East, with episodes spanning the Asian and European continents as well as the U.S of course. The plot features an upcoming terrorist organization on the international scene calling themselves the Shadows but also a Russian band of arms dealer only known as "the Shop". While uncovering ties between the two factions, Sam will have to infiltrate and sabotage many facilities or pose as a diplomat and interact in the face of his most fearsome enemies without them even knowing it. As the story progresses, he will find himself engaged in a mission far more important, dangerous and personal than what he ever faced...

Funny fact: everyone in the book, including the leaders of both groups, seem to be 50 years old or more (even Sam is said to be 47!). Although there are a couple of youngsters here and there, such as Sarah and her good friends, most main characters are about to make Viagra use one of their daily habits! :P

So, I' ve always been disappointed towards the lack of exposure that Sarah, Sam' s daughter, has beneficiated from in the Splinter Cell games. I was happy to read more about her and discover that she is quite the naughty one (not at all the "daddy' s little girl" that I expected) but also very courageous in some of the most difficult situations she faces. She was a in a good portion of cut-scenes in the orignal masterpiece only to disappear in the next two versions for finally being hit and killed by a drunk driver in the upcoming release of Double Agent. Needless to say, I am a bit saddened by the fact that "they" decided to get rid of her because I' ve always found to her a certain charm, kinda like Sam' s soft side; an unusual weakness for an otherwise gruff and robust character...

I' d recommend this book, even if I went through it only one or two chapters at a time; it was very enjoyable, although some of the writing will have you figuring out the true identity of certain characters before they are even revealed; but you' ll get your dose of suspense and intrigue, I promise! I' m looking forward to reading the second book from the same name: "Operation Barracuda".

I' d give it 8.5/10.

I have returned to the Montreal studios to play once again Far Cry but in multiplayer this time. This will probably be my last contract for a while and I hope to be called back once they start testing X360 games like Ghost Recon 3.

The PC version of Far Cry was said to be a great single player experience but not so good in multiplayer. This is about to change with Instincts. As I was playing Steal the Sample, Predator mode and Chaos, I discovered a new and addictive multiplayer game that made it seem like time was flying by. I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone!

Sam dismembered.

Game station in the lobby (not working).

The building.

I wasn' t allowed to hang out in the corridors too much so I didn' t take more pictures with my phone. There was also a Prince of Persia statue (we were the same height!) and the different dev. teams. Nothing going on there but for T.V. screens and computers...

Besides that, I' ve had an interview at Best Buy for a position in the Media section (games, music and movies). I hope they' ll call me back because I' d like to get my X360 at a discount and I' m going to need to start working now...

Well, I have finished the entire single player campaign in two days. They said it' s never been done before but how many times has it been attempted? Anyways, I left the other testers in the dust. They decided to pay me for half of the third day as well, and let me go as soon as I was done with it. A cool company...

FC: I is a shooter for the purists that takes place in a stunning environnement, don' t be the fooled by the fact that the game already came out on PC, this version is radically different from what my neighbour in the lab told me. He had already played it before but he still needed the 3 days to finish it entirely.

I' d suggest everyone to grab a copy when it ships, the weapons are fun, you can dual-wield some of them. The control scheme ressembles the ones from Halo with the two triggers to shoot and throw grenades. You can still sneak on your enemies and there are also some satisfying melee kills. You' ll be stunned when you' ll see each indivdual sprig of grass rendered on a console.

The other modes on the game, Multiplayer and Map Creator seal the package, plus the boxart looks killler, I recommend it to everyone.

Well, I have completed my first day of playtest at Ubisoft. Contrary to what I expected, it went pretty smoothly but darn there is too much time to use for pauses and lunch so I started smoking again to relieve the pressure. No biggie, I just bought a pack for those 3 days and then I' m done again.

FarCry is a cool game, from what I' ve played today, I think it will achieve a really good score over here. I' m on single player though, the other group was doing multiplayer matches, so I don' t know what that aspect of the game will be like. They have made me sign something about confidentiality so I' m not allowed to divulge too much info but I can' t tell you that the graphics are gorgeous and the overall gameplay feels very smooth, I had trouble handling the vehicles but surely it will come with time.

Anyways, today was a good day, I hope tomorrow and the day after will be the same.

As I' m sommersaulting and slashing my way through waves and waves of Zombies, I come to realize that Ubisoft was a very important part of my gaming experiences this gen. I have been a spy 3 games in a row as well as the leader of a counter-terrorist squad, I have made my way to Hill 30 with my Brothers in Arms and I' m currently trying to avenge the death of my father in Prince of Persia.

I have a sour love story with the UBI studios here in Montreal, while I have only discovered them with the Xbox, I made the necessary to be hired as a full time tester over there. I went through the whole interview process where I had to find the differences in two similar pictures as well as identify all buttons, thumbstocks and D-pads for ALL consoles. After that, I had a one-on-one interview that I think went pretty well...

The guy waited 3 weeks to call me back, but he did, he delivered the good news and gave me a date for training day. I only stayed two days and I quit. :( That was 8 months ago.

I wasn' t feeling well at the time and the work environnement was too dense, the people I was paired with weren' t very likeable at first either. I should have given them a shot though...

Anyways, while applying I also filed for beta test, and they have called me back for the third time to come and give my impressions on FarCry Instincts for Xbox!!! I am very excited as this could be my chance to go back there and maybe get this dream job again. For the moment, I am only scheduled to come in for 3 days and test the game, I have the choice to either get paid or take some games. I think I' ve played them all so I' ll probably pick PoP: Warrior Within...

I can' t wait to go visit the studios again, hopefully it should all go well on the 18, 19 and 20th of july...

I am very glad to live on this soil, it is a perfect balance between rural areas and urban metropoles. Montreal feels like Europe meets America, I feel very at home over here but I know I would prefer to live somewhere under the sun... Hopefully later. I ain' t doing anyhting tonight, just eating some nuts and drinking some beers with a splash of GTA.

I went to the video game store tonight, my grandma will be here for two months and she has brought me a lot of cool stuff, including some cash and a red/white Lacoste suit. I' ll be wearing this one for quite a while... If it fits!!! Lucky me, I ve been allowed to bring the computer downstairs so it won' t be a problem accessing it at any time.

Anyways, I went to get a game: GTA San Andreas, I can' t wait to play it, it' s sitting on the counter in the kitchen. It' s the first time that I' m going to fully invest a lot of time in a GTA game. I have a lot to play, Mercenaries is coming up as well as the first Prince of Persia and I still got to master those moves in DOA Ultimate (Ryu and Jann-Lee).

Now, I' m almost off to a full night of Grand Theft Auto goodness...