Okay, I'm exaggerating a lot here, but I have a funny, self-owning story to tell you guys...I was browsing a store the other day, shopping for some shirts (my clothes are so bad, some people think I'm bringing the punk rock era back :lol: ) and noticed this really sweet lighter...I'm still a little heartbroken that I've lost my favorite Zippo (a shiny chrome finish with a tiger carved into the metal...never found one as awesome as that one ever...and this was two years ago! :(). So I saw this Colibri butane lighter...well, not quite as flashy as a Zippo, but it was nice. Basically, these are cigar lighters, so they will do WONDERS for me on a windy day when I need to light up a petty cigarette. Without even thinking, I grabbed a sales clerk, and told him to ring me up. I wasn't even paying attention the whole time, just playing around with my new toy, and gave the man my debit card. When I was on my way to work, I just so happened to look at the recipt, and noticed I just paid $100 for the damn thing! :x Well, the postives is that this is one damn fine looking lighter, I have a flamethrower to light up my smokes, it shows me how much fuel I have left in it (no more suprisingly empty Zippos in the middle of a lonely day anymore!) and hey...I got a free can of butane fuel :P. Lesson for the day: before you rush out and buy something, check the price! If not, you may end up buying something utterly awesome, and end up crapping your pants when you see the bill.

As most of you know, I'm a huge fan of Fallen Earth :D (heck, I'm even a fan of the game on Facebook...that's how much of a nerd I am for it :P). Anyway, I've been with this game since launch, and seen it come a long way. From hilarous glitches to lost connections, Icarus has been paying attention. Now they've included campsites to create, a new expansion is in the works, a huge graphical overhaul, and a beta mode to test ideas in the works that may or may not be in the full game. Point is, while this game still isn't for everyone, it's also slowly improving over time. In the meantime, however, I'm having the time of my life thus far. In the updates section, once in a while I see how well they're faring, and it looks like it's gaining some steam. It's getting some recognition by a few big name companies, most recent is the announcement that Wal Mart is selling copies. And in my eyes, it's well deserved. While I'll admit it's still far from perfection, but in six months, they've already spoiled their subscribers with tons of goodies (seasonal events, celebrations, and such) without any extra cost. Well, this is my shot out to one criminally underrated (and Gamespot hated :P) title. I wish the company the best, and I will happily contribute my monthly subscription and enjoy the game :D. Any other underrated game you'd like to list, feel free to!

I just played the Scourge Project for a few hours, and it's a pretty good Gears of War alternative for us Steam users...I mean, it's nearly identical! :shock: From gameplay (take cover, blind-fire, well you get the idea) to the annoying "walk" movement when teammates chat...but, it's not without some serious flaws...and by flaws, I mean these are ball-smashing frustrations! For one, enemies are friggin' tanks! Added with the insult that characters have their own "identity" by wearing half armors or not the full thing, it's borderline hilarious how easy it is to get downed...checkpoints have a nasty habit of saving right before an unskippable cutscene, not to mention way too far apart, and everytime I trigger a new level or checkpoint, my weapons are switched back to default (seriously, I hate the assault rifle...everytime I find a better weapon, it gets switched when I reload a checkpoint :x). And the AI...dear God, for those of you who are planning on picking up the game, PLAY WITH A FRIEND!! I cannot stress this enough...the AI is so brain-dead, it's unbelievable these guys are actually licenced to carry guns! One, I for the love of God, cannot get them to stay in the safety of cover...you know how many times I had to revive someone who decided to run all the way to the frontline?

Or when someone is downed, no one even bothers to help the poor guy out until I tell them to...and even then, they take their sweet time :roll:. Or even better, if three party members are down, the last one standing...well, stands. I kid you not. This game alone makes me pine for the good old days where teammates were invincible...I mean, I really wished when the main character was out, the game would end...it would really put me out of my misery and save me the trouble of waiting for the revive timer to go out, or manually reload a checkpoint :evil:.

Bottom line, a pretty good and value priced (about $20) for those PC-only gamers itching for a Gears of War game (because ironically, Games for Windows Live doesn't offer the game for sale on the marketplace...although you can "download the gameplay video." :?). Despite me having some fun with it, I really won't be suprised if Gamespot gives it a horrible score, much less blame them if they don't bother reviewing it :P. Otherwise, great graphics(it is using the Unreal Engine ;)), decent gameplay, all brought down by ass-bleeding difficulty and quite possibly the worst AI I've seen in games (I cannot express this enough...if you get the game, make sure you know at least two other people who will play the game with you!). Think of it as one of those suprisingly good budget games that appeared out of nowhere, but in serious need of fine tuning. Anyway, I'm not quite done with it yet, but I figured that a game I just bought for the hell of it (and the iresistable price for a gorgeous looking game) at least warrants a blog, even if it's a little bittersweet.

Honestly, I saw this coming a mile away...remember a few years ago, movie stores were bombarded with DVDs carrying those lame red/green paper glasses, and that awful gimmick tacked on? I won't lie, I bought my share, Night of the Living Dead 3D (word of advice, this movie was utter crap by default, and worse was I couldn't toggle that annoying off-color scheme that made it look like crap regardless of 3D or not :?) and Bloody Valentine, among others...I'll just say it was very underwhelming, from poorly animated slow-mo bullets to zombie hands that pop out the screen (and hilariously enough, full frontal nudity was not in 3D :|).

Regardless, when they announced 3D televisions in full HD, all I could say was, "about friggin' time!" Contrary to what sales clerk would tell me, this "new" technology is as old as I am, if not older...you see, when I was a kid, my mom took me to Disneyland, where we came across this Michael Jackson theatre show. Same thing with the glasses and things popping out the screen, but things LITERALLY crawled out of it and hovered over my head! :shock: Regardless, the TVs for sale isn't quite this advanced, but in no way a failure either.

Now, it's not exactly something I'd rush out and get. I mean, even at a price I'm willing to afford, 3D is something I can do without. Anyway, I tried out the display model at Best Buy, and I was wowed. They had Monsters Vs Aliens playing, and it was a pretty breathtaking experience. In full 1080p, characters literally coming to life in front of your eyes, it was very entertaining to watch. And with the added news of games getting support for the technology, adopters have something very cool to look foward to. I have no idea how well this will be implemented into gaming, because I have heard that resolution is sacrificed, but I'll give it the BOTD and assume it's because of existing games getting the feature basically forced on them...I mean, we really won't know until a game built from the ground up to support this feature will suffer the same fate, because in movies, it was perfect..

Anyway, I know I went around a few times and refused to be sucked in to the craze, and my attitude isn't changed. I can confidently say that this is one awesome experience, but one I am willing to survive without...I mean, I'm a simple man: all I need is surround sounds, and I'm all good! :D Oh, and for all the people fearing about people already wearing glasses, no fears! The glasses I tried out were fairly big, and my mom who has prescription glasses had no problem putting them on as well ;). Although we did agree on one thing...the Michael Jackson show was much, much cooler than that one :P.

Well, with a little help from mom, I got my desktop a little early! :D Let me tell you, the sales clerk was not kidding when he said the damn thing weighs 40 pounds :shock:. And, as a needless ball breaker, to upgrade the thing without voiding the warranty, I have to take it to Geek Squad if I ever decide to swap out a video card or upgrade memory :roll:. Other than that, I have no complaints...yet. Well, I set the thing up perfectly, going to pick up some surround sounds tomorrow after work, and a chord...yeah, in my anxiety, I forgot that I'm not buying a laptop this time, and it doesn't come with built-in wifi :lol: So, I'm stuck on my laptop, for now :x. Actually, I'm going to look for one of those USB wireless adapters (if those even exist :P). Well, the whole thing is set up, all I need is internet. And even still, I won't be able to play around with it until the next day: I'm predicting hours of updates, downloads and installations *sigh.*

I just bought Monster Hunter for the Wii, and holy crap...I haven't bought a game for the Wii in ages! :shock: I'm a sucker for the Monster Hunter series, so I really had to get it, regardless of platform (no matter how much disdain I have for it :|). Honestly, the game and the Wii are a perfect mix. The graphics are pretty great, it's the same game we've all known and loved (or hated), but what I love most, ironically, is the controls. With the nunchaku, I can actually lounge in my chair with both arms on the arm rest, kick back and enjoy the game. It's actually pretty comfortable. And as a sweet bonus, motion controls are purely optional. I mean, it's there, but not required for anything (swing a sword, and that's about it). Anyway, I'm pretty shocked at myself for praising the Wii...even if it's for this one moment, you have no idea how much I freaking love the Monster Hunter series! :P I honestly pour more hours into that game than any other (well, except for MMOs and such). What can I say, I'm guessing Nintendo got tired of my hate speeches about their system, so they hired Capcom to put my kryptonite on the Wii...brilliant! :o Anyway, take care fellas, and you might want to bookmark this blog...quite possibly the only time I DON'T hate the Wii :P.

That news article just caught my attention...honestly, how awesome would that have been!? I mean, it's pretty devastating it got canned because I seriously would've played that :?. Combine that with Ensemble making the game (which is a very respectable company) and I really don't see how it could've ended up in failure. There are two things I want out of Halo: the damn movie to come out already, and this MMO to be resurrected. Really, though...the Halo universe is pretty interesting, and what better way to explore it than freely roaming the entire place online with a few Spartans (or Covenant, if they went for WoW's Horde Vs Alliance...which I'm pretty sure would fit the MMO aspect just fine). *sigh* This is one of those "what ifs" that I'm confident would've paid off in both profit and entertainment value...I guess the world would never know.

Well, I just dug out my old laptop I used to marathon a few years ago under piles of torn clothes and bags of expired potato chips...crap so insignificant, they don't even warrant a trip to the trash can :P. I gotta tell you, this thing still has a ton of juice left in it! :shock: I mean, I loaded up Saints Row 2, cranked it to High, and didn't experience that much slowdown (sure there's some here and there, but it's playable...probably if I lowered the AA it would be seamless). Of coure I'm pretty sure Metro 2033 is out of the question, but nonetheless I was rather suprised that this old thing can run better than I expected. I was about to sell this thing to a friend, and just booted it up one last time to clean out my harddrive and play one last round of games before I said my goodbyes...well, I may just keep this thing after all. I was browsing online to make sure this Alenware netbook was something I really wanted to buy, and stumbled on this really sick desktop for just about the same price (and it's been since my teens I've stretched my legs with a desktop :D). Well come to think of it, I really wouldn't mind the bigger size to carry around when I travel. Aside from a few keys I had to superglue back on (top of my desk fell apart, and landed...of all places, on my laptop :x At least it broke off keys I never use, right side Ctrl, Alt and print button) and a harddrive with a whopping 7 gigs of space, this thing runs flawlessly...even if I do miss my 1920x1080 resolution and Intel i7 proccessor :P.

I know I ditched this thing because laptops (at least this one) can't be upgraded, so I got the other one and stuck with it to keep up with the newer games. Now that I'm planning on getting a desktop, which now I can at least go power hungry and upgrade to my heart's content...that leaves the question on what the hell am I going to do with my super-laptop!? I'm dead set on getting a desktop, and for that price I can afford it in a few months (maybe even fewer if I can convince a relative to lend me some money for "educational investments." :P). Anyway, here's to old reliable...before today, I completely forgot I had this thing in my possession, and I just don't have the heart to part ways with something that used to be my prized baby all those years ago. I mean, so many memories with this thing...an $800 laptop with seriously outdated specs! Well, take care guys, and I'm going to see if I can run Dragon Age and Mass Effect on this thing.

Well, it's been a few months (and an active subscription I forgot to cancel :x) but started up Fallen Earth again (seriously, not as bad as the review states...it's more of an acquired taste than a flat-out disappointing game). Anyway, I let my co-worker borrow my PS3 for the week (long story...let's just say he was waiting for the 360 version of God of War 3 to come out, and I had to give him the bad news). Anyway, what better time to boot up a good time waster until I get it back: MMORPGs! Especially considering I'm still paying for it :P. And for you PS3 owners, mind telling me what I missed out on Thursday? I'm really more interested in any new PSone classics or PSP games for download :). Oh, and perhaps the worst idea of wasting money I have thought of yet, I'm now saving $1,500 for the M11X Alienware netbook. I saw it on Steam, and it's pretty damn cool for what it is. And a lot convenient to bring around. Anyway, take care fellas, and I'll be here...not buying anything and playing my 6.0 MMO 8).

Actually, I finished it a couple days ago, but never got around to blog it. Anyway, I really defied myself for not giving it a 10. By all means an epic game, except for [spoiler] the battle with Zeus, which was pretty underwhelming in my eyes...honestly, I was hoping for a bigger bang [/spoiler] . Oh, and Metro 2033 finally had that update I was waiting for. I still get that stupid D3D message, but the game doesn't crash anymore. It's one of those games that didn't give me a good first impression. The first hour or two was as straightfoward as it gets, and I didn't really start enjoying the game until I was on my own. After that, the game became a total blast. Sort of like a blend of Half-Life, FEAR and some Riddick thrown in (kill the lights and kill people in pitch black). There are some akward moments, like enemies able to see me when I'm hiding behind a box (:?), or stealth kills that don't always work. Not to mention, enemies are pretty good shots at hitting a target hiding in a black abyss. Although I do admire the attention to detail. The game is gorgeous, even if I don't have it maxed out. Those that wear helmets make headshots useless, and I really dig the concept of relying on salvaging to stay well-equipped.

Anyway, picking up Just Cause 2 in a couple days. The first one was mediocre at best in my eyes, but this one looks like one very improved sequel (like how Assassin's Creed 2 blows away the first one). I may also pick up Mount And Blade: Warband. I sort of liked the first one, but I'm impressed with this one. The first one looked like crap. After seeing a few screenshots, I was pretty wowed.

Well, that's about it for such an adventurous day, unless you really want to hear of my oddyssey to Wal Mart to pick up work pants and tank tops. Take care guys :D.