My 2 year old Acer notebook died. The motherboard fried. It would have cost 250-350 bucks to replace (out of warranty). I said '-bleep- that'. I got offered 50 bucks for the parts. Put that toward getting a preowned Gateway computer tower with 3 GB RAM, 200 GB HDD, and such for 300 bucks. And a 2 year service warranty for 50 bucks. Bad buy? Maybe. I hear 'oh, you should have bought a Dell laptop for 400 bucks brand new' coming left and right. Well, Dell is the bargain-bin equivalent of computers and laptops, folks. FYI, if you own an Acer or Hewlett Packard, be very careful. especially with the laptops. Those things are so small.
Red Ring of Death? For Acer, it's the flashing Green Ring of Death.
Anyway, I got internet back, and at least I can access the internet MUCH FASTER than before on the tower versus my laptop (this is through a wire for both cases too, folks). Plus...instead of having a 160 GB HDD split up in two drives, I got one set up for all 190 available gigs. But...I dunno. Dell is so-so. If I didn't hate how poorly their computers were maintained at my college, and therefore hate Dells in general, I might have gotten one.
It's the start of November. My Tuesday morning basically began with a plan. I had preordered Dragon Age: Origins for the PS3 at Gamestop. Except I shelled out the extra 15 bucks for the special edition. What did I get for that extra cash, you might ask? Well, assuming I bought the game outright, I would have gotten three in-game items, a cloth map, a bonus Blu-ray disc with content on it, and a steel case with a plastic sheath for the game. An item exclusive only to the special editions as well was the Blood Dragon Armor download (least I think it was). But all version of the game nabbed you the Stone Prisoner side quest and Shale character download for free (includes extra Trophies). At least for that, it is worth it to buy the game new since the side quest is already available for 14.99 for download on the PSN. And it'd be what, 50, 55 bucks used at Gamestop?
Instead, I preordered the special edition. The ONLY special edition at my local Gamestop. Because I did that, I got two extra items exclusive only for Gamestop preorders. So for 15 bucks, I got a total of 6 in-game items, a side quest, a new character, a cloth map, a bonus Blu-Ray dvd with bonus content on it for the game, and a collectible game case. So I went home, set up my save files. I go onto the game, find out there's another side quest available for download. It's called the Warden's Keep and it cost 6.99. So, since I had money to spend, I bought it. Got another side quest and extra Trophies.
Even though I had to work that afternoon and didn't get home until 10:30 at night, I come home and find out two fun things. First, my copy of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves arrived, so I got that installed. Second, my Best Buy order for Demon's Souls, Borderlands, and inFamous had processed and are on their way. So I'm excited on that end.
What sucks for me on the side of 'issues' is my AVG Free Anti-virus program is updating itself by the end of the year to 9.0. And it's going to conflict with my Norton Internet Security. Now, I'm pondering. On the one hand, Norton works so much better, but I'd have to spend 50 bucks and update it for a 1-year license (and maybe get the anti-viral software for it too). On the other hand, AVG is free. But freeware protection is basic. It doesn't necessarily guarantee that nothing won't get onto your computer... So one thing I would like to ask is what you would do? Would it be safer to nix AVG and go for Norton and spend the 50 bucks, or remove Norton and go with AVG 9.0?
Update: By doing a little research, I've found out that Norton is a mixed-review sort of deal. Among the top protection software, Kaspersky and BitDefender are getting much better reviews from what I read on Toptenreviews. If anyone can validate those claims, it'd be a plus.
Looks like I'm still in the running for potential work at Radioshack. Word on the grapevine is they're gonna wait until their sale volume picks up until they start hiring. I confirmed it with another Radioshack, who admitted that they just finished a hiring fair the monday of this week. For now, I did get hired for a job during the week at my local mall. Handling Day By Day Calenders, a Borders subsidiary. It is such an easy job. Earning 7.25 an hour was easier than I thought. And it isn't so much knowing what to do since you basically ring up and have to know how to open/close. It's finding the ability to kill time. I checked out a book from my school library...I ended up getting halfway through it in 2 days of working. But, I'm making money again. That's what counts.
Secondly, I got my loan check from my school. 500 dollars later, I'm on Best Buy.com, buying Demon's Souls, Borderlands, and InFamous for the PS3 all for 120 bucks and FREE shipping! So if there's anyone who doesn't mind 1-2 weeks of patience (they're backordered, but so hot that they'll get them in stock fast) in getting 3 games for the price of 2 while they still can (offer ends at Best Buy when they close...or when midnight hits online, I think), I'd suggest doing it. As for eStarland, I was able to get my exchange out of the way and now I got Uncharted 2: Among Thieves coming in the mail within the next couple of days. Not only that, my Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition with its wealth of pre-order bonuses is out Nov 3rd (this tuesday!)...so I'm gonna have 5 new games to play...add in the Fallout 3 GOTY I got, and Assassin's Creed 2 due out Nov 17th...
And lastly, this marks the end of week 10, following a grueling two tests, a 20 plus page lab report (WITH GRAPHS/PLOTS!), and Calculus Lab assignments...and I think I got another test coming up Monday. -adjusts necktie-...
Anyway, folks! Happy Halloween! Nab Free Candy! Wear Awesome (Or Sexy) Costumes and Impress Your Friends! And See Ya Soon! =D
It's official. I'm gonna take my unopened copy of Borderlands to Gamestop, see if I can get it swapped for Uncharted 1 and 2. I was tempted to hold onto it until they released the used copies they might have, but the earliest they won't have any for sale would be November 2nd, if at all. So I might as well just get the games now. But after looking at the comparison, the second one does better what the first one kinda did well. So I'm gonna wikipedia the story and get caught up, then indulge.
I already got Little Big Planet as a multiplayer title, but some days I might not feel like being adventurous. So here are my options:
-Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (seems to be virtual PS3 perfection with great multiplayer)
-Demon's Souls (hardcore RPG with some MP options)
-Borderlands (shooter RPG that's highly anticipated and promises 4 player co-op multiplayer)
Just because I got Borderlands coming in the mail, but I might opt to get it swapped out for Uncharted 2 and purchase its predecessor for the same of story or Demon's Souls.
-duh duh duh duh, duh duh d-d-d!- You advance to Level 17. You earn +5% weight, -5% hair, -100 dollars.
Yes, I still have had no luck in finding work. It's getting to the point now where I'm going to go to a grocery store and bug for a job since I know they're gonna look for willing people. Since Radioshack interviewed me with the DM on Tuesday, and its Saturday...still no call. If they don't call back by Tuesday, the 20th, I'm gonna need to call them.
Anyway, I got bored sitting around, so I delved into Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition for the PS3. Great long game. Plenty to do. Knowing there's gonna be people who can't resist getting the complete experience for 60 bucks, here's some tips for the newbies.
-Intelligence = Fast Skill Mastery. Having an Intelligence level of 9 or 10 equals 18 or 20 Skill Points that you can distribute among your Skills when you level up. You can certainly max out your skills much faster.
-Perks. Picking Swift Learner for your first 3 levels will earn you a permanent 30% bonus toward XP gained. Getting sleep and Well Rested will boost it to a whopping 40%. The catch is you will only get the bonus if you sleep in a bed you own. Otherwise, 30% is still something.
-Skills. I found that to get the best amount of treasure with the least hassle, work on building up your Lockpick, Science, Sneak, and Repair skills. Lockpick will make getting into locked containers and doors easier. Science makes tackling computers and defense systems easier since you can hack them to your advantage. Sneak makes it much easier to get around enemies, especially in the dark. Just mind the Pip-Boy light. And Repair allows you to keep your equipment in as ideal condition as possible, and you will run into manual traps in the most unlikely of places: grenade nests, rigged shotguns, and so on. With a high Repair, disarm them and claim the weapons for yourself.
-Good or Evil? Doesn't really matter. More NPCs in the game will appeal to you if you are in their 'good' graces. Of course, if you're Very Good, you'll begin getting Talon Company mercs pursuing you in random areas. But don't count yourself out if you're Very Bad. You'll have Regulators trying to put your bad self down. If you're also gonna be looking for hangouts, Good karmic pursuants will want to stick to Megaton. For Bad karmic pursuants, Paradise Falls (which you'll need to hunt down) will be an ideal hangout. But Megaton gives you a home for Good followers. Bad followers will wanna go all the way to Tenpenny Tower to get an actual house to use.
Anyway, I'm gonna shove off and do some house stuff. Until next time.
Everyone might have heard of this lovable post-apocalyptic RPG from Bethesda Studios when it came out a year ago. It got a ton of awards, including several RPG of the Year and some Game of the Year awards (but then, so did a few others). Now, Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition has released. I feel this game is deserving of that title for many reasons.
I got the PS3 Collector's Edition originally, along with special items contained in the launch kit (such as a Pip-Boy 3000 t shirt buried somewhere in my dresser, even weathered to give it a textured look;a Pip Boy decal, a Survivalist Handbook...) On top of that, I got a preorder bonus of a music CD and Mini Poster alongside the CE stuff (artbook, DVD, Pip-Boy bobblehead, steel lunchbox with plastic sleeve over it). But the game itself, although good...it just missed consistency in some points. The worst of it was unlike Bethesda's last major works, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the game ended right at the main story. But no more!
The experience is COMPLETE! I waited patiently for 3 months, got my game the day it came out in the mail, opened it, installed it, and I went all orgasmic (but nothing sticky ensued, so keep your perverse thoughts in check). For 60 bucks, you get the original game (which retails for 40 bucks brand new), along with all 5 expansions for the game (which would cost around 50+ bucks separately). But the major convenience is its all on the same disc. Albeit a 6 GB install onto my hard drive, I finally have the complete game. Or better yet, the virtual ultimate collector's edition.
The base game itself had over 70-80 hours of gameplay to it to do everything humanly possible in the Capitol Wasteland. Worried about the little catch in the earlier paragraph about the game ending? No more. Broken Steel, which is an essential Fallout 3 expansion for any owner, allows you to shoot past that barrier at the end and play the game indefinitely. About 4-5 hours worth of extra gameplay, an increased level cap to 30, and the profound sense you will not have to stop playing. And the other 4 expansions are just gravy on the mashed potatoes. They add to the taste the platter delivers, making it that much more good.
Go to Pittsburgh and infiltrate a Slaver colony to either become a prominent Slaver or a Hero to the Slaves in the Pitt. Want to live in the time of Chinese Communist attacks on the US from way back when (in Fallout 3 timeline, of course)? Play out Operation Anchorage and experience a vast and ancient battle. Point Lookout thrusts you into a swampy wasteland that could be called similar to the Deep South, with accompanying wildlife and inhabitants (pending major radiation). And believe that aliens exist and are out for blood fresh out of Independence Day with Mothership Zeta when you show 'em that humans can be dangerous mo-fo's to mess with. And that promises what, an extra 20-30 hours of gameplay? Also...Trophies. Hah. That's gonna put you through the ringer a couple of times, so take the total amount of gametime for a single playthrough and double, even triple it.
Overall, the game finally earns what it deserves from me. A 9.75/10. Not as graphically sharp as its 360 counterpart, but it is just perfect enough with everything it's got to make it deserving of Game of the Year from a lot of people, including me.
Now I had gotten a few names from some of you in an earlier blog. And I am muchas gracias (yes my spanish sucks intentionally) for the submission. But I'm still looking for more GS friends of mine with PSN accounts. Look for XSkittleKrazyX on the PSN. That's yo llamo de Playstation Network...
Also, check this out. Toys R Us began a major game sale this week. All this week, games, game accessories and such are on sale for 3 for the price of 2! Now, I had ordered a copy of Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition and it should be arriving as early as tomorrow. What I am pondering is taking it to my nearest Toys R Us, along with scrounging up 6 bucks somewhere, and trying to get a second game and a third free. X_x might not go for it, but with the idea of making money out of it, who knows? I can't get Demon's Souls since TRU doesn't carry it. But I could try to get Uncharted 2 and something else. >_< but for the karma hit, I don't have 60 bucks to spend.
My job interview with Radioshack's DM is this week though. So if that works out and I get hired...well I still can't afford to shop at TRU just yet. Heck, by the time I do make enough to afford games again, GS or eBay or Amazon will have them preowned, so...-shrug- anyone who wants to splurge this week and get say...Fallout 3 GOTY, Brutal Legend, Uncharted 2, or other earlier releases...
Please, send more PSN account names!
Listen up, friends and union buddies. I'm gonna be getting Borderlands on the 20th, along with Dragon Age Origins (pending it has multiplayer), and I got LittleBIGPlanet. I'm gonna be looking for anyone who has or plans to get any of these games so we can hit up some multiplayer.
XSkittleKrazyX is my PSN Username. X_x I am also proud to announce that I am going to be campaigning this month (outside of college and trying to get a job again) to ace Bioshock and Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition. Meanwhile, revel in my hard work as I have aced 3 PS3 games =D
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