Ugh. I, uh... Ugh. .... It's kind of hard to write this, because I spent the entire day in a good mood, but... Damn. The EB Games where I pre-ordered my Xbox 360 got a startlingly small shipment. So small that, on the list of pre-orders, only one page was filled. The employees of the store and even the store manager aren't getting theirs. Only pre-orders between May 5th and May 18th got their Xboxes. I pre-ordered on May 29th. Second shipment is mine, unless somebody forgets to pick up their 360 today, in which case (because I know the store manager personally) I get the system. If that doesn't happen, then, well, who knows. @#$!. Stupid @$!!ing Microsoft, I guess. .... @#%%.

I'm level 7 again! Anyway. I want to start up SC: Chaos Theory's Co-Op mode, but I can't build up the courage to share such a deep bond with someone else over Xbox Live. We need to rely on each other, and trust each other, and... Wait, we need to each be good at smacking guys in the head. Scratch that last remark. Ah, well, I'll settle for the single-player for now (oh, darn) and enjoy what I have. While I wait for Perfect Dark reviews.

I'm level 00. Look at that. Ah, well, there goes my chance of writing any reviews.

Good to see that the Xbox 360 will have a pretty solid launch line up, especially considering that I'm getting Call of Duty 2 and Perfect Dark Zero at launch. Since Gamespot appears to be refusing to review Perfect Dark, I'll be taking that one on faith. Not a long message today, I just wanted to throw that notice in there- but, wait! There's more! Go to: www.flashplayer.com/games/madnessinteractive.html Arguably the greatest flash game ever.

Okay, I basically skipped over rank 6, but that's okay- I get to write full reviews now! Look for them in the near future. I'm counting the seconds untii I pick up my 360, and there is little to no doubt in my mind that, despite reports of shortages, I will be able to get one, as I'm actually such a frequent customer at my local EB Games that I'm friends with all of the employees. Yeah, I'm that guy. Glad to see that Call of Duty 2 got a good review (I'm pretty sure that rhymes), but what I really want to see is a Perfect Dark: Zero review. If any of you guys have seen one, pleeeeeeeease send me a link. You'll be my friend for life, I promise. Speaking of friends, I accept all friend requests with only a small, few, desperate exceptions (i.e., Hitler sends me a request). I like Corran Horn, but come on, people! It's lonely over here! Mmmm. 360. ... These are the thoughts that have me daydreaming in school.

Sorry to have disappeared for so long, but school started up and my life got busy all over again. Anyways, here's what you missed: -I went to DigitalLife and got a Star Wars Galaxies demo, as well as a good look at Guitar Hero before it was released -I finally earned enough cash for the 360 and have since been a.) been counting the days until its release, and b.) figuring out which game to get when it ships (Call of Duty 2 or Perfect Dark Zero? I miss Joanna so much...) -I rocked approximately 2.38 decibels harder on my guitar (okay, I actually don't know how much harder I rock) -I played a lot of games, including Metal Gear Solid 3 a few hundred more times. I'm playing it right now. Okay, I'll be updating more recently from now on, I promise.

Okay, I have a confession to make. I'm on Disc 2 in my playthrough of Final Fantasy VII right now, and, well... This is the farthest I've ever gotten in the game. I'm not doing badly, mind you- I just got Tifa's ultimate weapon and Limit Break- but I'm just kind of embarassed it took my so long. I haven't played it that often. Anyways, what drove me to write this post was that I saw what so many gamers have claimed to see and so few believe in- I saw Aeris' ghost. It was just for a brief moment, but if you find the Key to Sector 5 and head into the church before your team automatically goes back to Midgar, you'll see her ghost flicker by for just a moment and then disappear. I mean it. What, you don't believe me?

Did you read it? I'm really scared, now. Rare is starting to look like the biggest disappointment of the last five years. Well, that and, ah, certain people in our government. I don't feel like spouting my ideals right now, but send me a message if you do. Anyways, the preview lists a number of odd or not-great-looking things about the game and then, get this, in the last paragraph it says "Perfect Dark Zero has come a long, long way from E3 and it's looking great." Uh... no it's not. I think that, if Zero turns out to be bad, Microsoft should ask for their friggin' money back and Rare should never be allowed to make video games again. Seriously.

Hrm. Howdy again. Well, I was set to get Indigo Prophecy, but I wound up picking up Far Cry: Instincts instead, and while it's certainly not perfect (and part of me thinks Indigo Prophecy would've been a better choice), I'm having fun with it. You know the game looks good, you know the guns are cool and the feral abilities add a nice touch to the game, so I'm just going to focus on the negatives. It's my thing, what can I say? First off, my reaction to the feral abilities after I got them was really sort of a, "Is that it?" There really isn't much with it- feral jump and feral speed are cool and all, but the whole slash thing is totally ripped from Halo 2's energy sword, and you don't even have the glowing to make the rip-off feel worthwhile. Actually, I noticed another rip-off of Halo- the fourth (?) level of the game, Rain Forest, is a complete jack of 343 Guilty Spark. I mean it. You are fighting through the jungle, looking for an important character to find answers, and then discover these little flood-looking things, but they're nowhere near as creepy and they're red. They even attack and swarms and go down with the prerequisite two shots. Come on, folks. That is a complete, shameless jack. Did I mention the torn-up military you see along the way, hinting at the possibility of some other force in the area? Or the run-down military base you go into and then, at the end of the level, escape from? I also am not a big fan of the frequent- and not short- loading times. After a server I was on toppled over (the lag is pretty bad), I got a "this server is unavailable" message and then had to go to a loading screen in order to get back to the Xbox Live menu. And finally, this isn't really a big deal, but what is with Ubisoft and making these really long and nearly unskippable intro videos with their games? First it was Chaos Theory, which I put up with because that game was near-perfect, now there's one in this game. And I think it's longer. By the by, if you happen to be surfing the 'net and have nothing to do, may I suggest: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-Man_%28Half-Life%29 It's an article on Wikipedia about the G-Man, and it has some very, very interesting tidbits and speculation in it. The article even lists the actual contents of his briefcase! Now that's cool. I should point ou that Wikipedia did such a good job with this article that you can know nothing about Half-Life and still enjoy this. In fact, this may make you a fan. And wouldn't that be cool?

Hoo, boy, do I have news.

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, but I haven't had the time and I've also been addicted to Counter-Strike.

Not to mention that whole "school" thing.

Anyways, I met a man named John Byrne a few days ago. I'm sure someone will read this and go "!" (and if you do, please send me a photo, I've been searching for the mysterious floating exclamation mark). John is a comic artist, and is best friends with Frank Miller. Yes, the Frank Miller.

John told me about how, when he saw Sin City, he immediately shot Frank an e-mail saying "If you were on set with a topless Carla Gugino, I will kill you."

Frank sent back a message simply saying "I was, and you will."

I should be getting Indigo Prophecy tomorrow, if everything pans out (no school! Thank you, Jewish people!). I was deciding between it and Far Cry and decided to go with the game that would be more rare.

Hey, by the by, what do you guys think of the new additions to GameSpot? I like them quite a bit, but please don't hesitate to post comments or send me a message. I do accept all friend requests, but due to this new system I don't know how I should go about accepting them.

Finally, I need to point out that I really need a job. Coming up is:

The Xbox 360 (I'm still not done saving for it yet), Indigo Prophecy, Far Cry Instincts, Gun (!!!), Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The Movies, GTA: Liberty City Stories (after Acid, I had nothing to put in my PSP- can you suggest something?), and so much more I could go on forever.

Keep on rockin'.