OH, Gamespot. Have I neglected you? No... oh no. Not at all. Sometimes I still check the site. I just, well... honestly, haven't had much time. To do much of anything.

I've been working a lot. Tons in fact. Though, it never seems like its enough work... life is still hard, still poor. Work is still hard, yet, less fruitful. I'm going to be heading to a camp... no, no final solution here. Just an oil workers camp. Will I be working with oil? Hells naw!

But I will be pulling in... $3000+ every 3 Weeks!!! Which means, no more poor.

My shifts are 12 on, 12 off (obviously lol, there are only 24 hours in a day), and all I have to do is make beds, and empty garbages. Which... I don't think is too hard lol. Catch 22 is I'll be spending 3 weeks out there, with one week off. So, I'll have quite a bit more gaming time... once I get a laptop... :( I can't bring any consoles out there, and even if I could, I couldn't bring Halo 3 to play XBox Live with all you guys sadly.

Anyways, thats the update for now. Talk back in a little bit.

Marc, aka. MB_E102

Well, it more or less took a big boot to its... CRUM...

Good news is, my computer defaults everything to High, well, except for the Direct X 10 jazz, obviously. But... unfortunetly... it drinks my Frames Per Second like a sweaty farmer drinks some wicked nice Lemonade...

And EVEN better news is, I CAN PLAY THE GAME WITH NO SLOW DOWN AT 640x480x32... yay.... not really.

XBox 360... you have won this round! Unreal Engine 3, you scare computers!

And I hate iTunes, so damn much!!! Most useless piece of software EVER!!! Grr!

~ROUGHLY 10 MINUTES LATER~ HAHA, iTunes can delete my music, but it can't empty my recycle bin!!! Eat that Mac!

Well, since Bioshock has brought... err, quite the shock to the XBox 360, as high profile first-person shooters tend to do with Microsoft's beloved Mothership aka. the XBox 360, bringing it back to the second iteration of what really put Microsoft's and it's flag-ship, first born, the XBox aka. The Big Black Green Machine, into the fray is Halo.

Now, we're talking about Halo 2, not on XBox 360, and no, not on Vista, I'm talking about XP. How'd I do it? I'd rather not say, thanks. Sort of against the terms and all that fancy jazz. But why am I bringing it up? Well, Halo started out as a RTS on the iMac, then a 3rd Person Shooter, then a first person shooter on the PC, and then was retooled, and redone in a lot of ways for the XBox, with the PC seeing its version 2 years later.

But why? I've played a good 3 hours of Halo 2 on XP, 1 and a bit of it on Windows Vista Home Premium, and have beaten the game on XBox. I played the game with the Mouse/Keyboard Configuration, and plugged the XBox 360 Controller in for good measure. Just to see both sides of the story.

The performance difference between the XBox/360, XP, and Vista, usually depends on the Hardware. But as it stands, the best and most shining example of playing Halo 2 is actually on where its not supposed to be played. Halo 2 is just for Vista, just like Halo: Combat Evolved saw more consoles and platforms than a dirty hooker. And though Halo 2 on Vista may utilize the hardware, and performance according to what you have, the Vista/Windows Gaming Platform just isn't ready... well, no one's hardware really is, but thats not really our fault. Halo 2 on XP takes less Visual Spizazz from your Video Card, uses less RAM, and reads and writes to your hard drive (checkpoints and load times) a lot faster than Vista, because XP just requires less.

And to be honest: The Controller is a load of crock! If it weren't for Bungie's patented "Sticky Aim" FPS Software, the only thing I'd be able to do with the damn controller is make myself dizzy. Going from a Flat Tubed 20" TV, to a brand-spanking new 20" Samsung Syncmaster TFT-LCD Monitor, playing the game at a 1680x1050 (Wide) Resolution on High beats the console experience, hands-down. Not because of the graphics you see. And no, not because the keyboard/mouse beats the controller. Its the fact that one hand is your head, the other your movements, the screen, your eyes.

So now that jimbo, and I'm sure EightBit, and every other XBox 360 owner here on GS is diving, literally, into Bioshock, the System Shock of today... I'm going to be playing it on my computer... enjoying it? Well, thats up to the gameplay, feeling it? Your damn rights.

But, to keep it easy peasy, the XBox 360 is... VERY, EXTREMELY, USER-Friendly!!! And I'll be getting a 360 Elite by December, so, see you on XBox Live then, until then, catch 'round on GS.

Marc, aka. MB_E102!

Well, I've had some quality time with my new DS, and a surprisingly great game for it, the above titled: Pokemon Diamond. Now, I haven't played any Pokemon games since Silver. I was, yes, a little weary about picking it up. Pokemon had become to same same for, and I was a little worried about FireRed (A remake of the original Pokemon, which I'd played to death a while ago), and Sapphire to me wasn't as impactful as Silver, changewise.

Let me wax Poetic on why the Pokemon series works, and why it did. The formula is catchy, and the gameplay has an easy to pick-up, yet difficult to master type of engagement about it. And the varying types of Pokemon per version, though, while a little gimmicky, actually serves to thrust that gameplay to its Fore-Front.

I haven't played Pokemon, since... I was 13. So, thats 7 years. Pokemon Blue, the first game, was... amazing. It changed the way I looked at Hand-Helds. Changed the way I thought about RPG's, which, are still hard for me to get into mind you. It brought about a huge revolutionary step for the Gameboy, and its audience. One of the greatest adventures, that I caught all 151 (WITHOUT the Gameshark). Believe me, even WHEN you get that stupid degree, saying you've caught them all, there is still nothing more warming than the feeling saying, I just conquered a game that would take many a life-time to "Catch 'Em All!"

And with the release of Gold & Silver, came new graphics, new gameplay mechanics, TIME! like... TIME?! In a freaking Hand-Held game, what in the heck?! I mean, it just blew my mind. But the greatest thing, and something Nintendo and Gamefreaks did right with Pokemon Gold & Silver, was that it made the proper sequel. It bettered the game, was unique and individual in it's own right, but paid homeage to the original in all the ways it should have. Adding 100 new pokemon, but still making it possible to trade with older versions. Giving you a new adventure, and then allowing you to head back to the old place, seeing the changes that time had brought. Some disheartening, some quite pleasing, and some all too familiar (TEAM ROCKET!!!!! LMFAO).

But where Diamond differs is in someways, what would seem like a few steps back. But its not. In all the things it doesn't do when compared with the sequels to red/blue/yellow, is that it takes those gameplay mechanics, and instead of adding to the 'if it isn't broken don't fix it, just kind touch it up' monicker of someone that wouldn't wish to ruin what made the oringal great but also realized it needed to be touched up; is to completely go another way.

Do what was never done. If you've already built something, its typically not broken, and therefore, you wouldn't have to worry about fixing it. Pokemon Diamond broke into the Vault, found THE formula, and dropped this brand-spanken new Poke' Engine into an even more Brand-Spanken new Poke' Body.

With 3D Graphics, great sound, the feel of what makes Pokemon just right, and a whole crap load of new content, that at this time, I can barely even BEGIN to touch on, Diamond is the Silver and Gold Editions of Pokemon respecatively, but great on its own, and in its own right.

My first console. Yes. Its been almost 3 years. And oh, how I can tell I've missed it. I went out, and just BOUGHT it. No second thoughts, nothing. THEE NINTENDO DS LITE!!! And I freaking love it!!! I got two DS games and an Advance Game: Animal Crossing: Wide World, Pokemon Diamon (BEST GAME I'VE PLAYED IN A WHILE!!! I SH!T YOU NOT!), and Super Mario Advance 4?: Yoshi's Island.

As for Pokemon Diamond. I have played a Pokemon game since Silver. So, it may seem like the "Same ol' Same ol', more or less, blah blah blah..." but there is something about Pokemon, that I can just pick-up, play, and enjoy. And I am. Took the game out of the box, and about 5 hours later, yeah, 5 hours LATER!!!! I finally shut it off. The game is everything I ever wanted Pokemon to be, and since its been so long... there are so many new things. My gawd!!! Its just a fun game.

And as for Animal Crossing... ITS ANIMAL CROSSING!!! The cutesy, fun, cuddly, teady-bear-loving, absolutely 'The Sims'-Ass-Kickingly awesome atmosphere. I like how the map isn't tiled, like the old Zelda games. Its a little more difficult to figure out where things are, but, I've finished Tom Nook's crap, and, now its just off to paying off my House.

Lastly, but, not leastly, Super Mario Advance (screw the damn number) Yoshi's Island was one of my favourite games on the SNES. And even though things are a little bit different playing it on the DS, its still an enjoyable game. Funny, how my favourite Mario game period doesn't actually have Mario-a jumpin, smashin, and crackin the skulls of various baddies, and rather a green version of barney with a saddle saudered to his back slurping crap and screaming bum as if he was trying to tell you to stop making him birth Eggs from his Dino Anus. But, all in all, its still a loveable game.

Anyways, my next post will be to Post my friends link thingy... still haven't figured out all that jazz.

Over, out, and until next time:

MB_E102, aka. ~mArc
SIGNING OUT, PCE :D

Thats right. I'm getting out of PC Gaming. Not PC's mind you. Still gonna study hard, and be the best that I can be. (Sounds like Pokemon, I know.) but, I'd like to get back to my gaming roots. aka. THE CONSOLES!!! Starting with... hmm, I don't know. We'll see. Both are quite appealing. The Wii's gimmicky lame-o b.s., and the fact that the older games are making more money than the current generation is a word of warning to me.

The PC seems to be bloated with MMORPG's. I do like LOTRO mind you. but... I'm just, not 100% in RPG's. I really am not. A few catch me, and catch me well, such as Legend of Mana. But... other than that, I want a great gameplay experience. Halo, for instance. me and my good friend played the **** out of that game.

So, I'm looking forward to seeing some great games come out. And yes... I'M EXCITED FOR LITTLE BIG WORLD!!! IT LOOKS AWESOME!!!

Yep. This is where Bilbo gave his speech, moments before slipping on his ring, pranking all the Hobbits, young and old, whom had attended his Elventieth Birth-Day Party. Currently, its the site for Lobelia Sackville-Baggins' Birthday Party... after she aquired the Bilbo's Hobbit Hole from Frodo when he suddenly "disapeared".

Currently, I'm having to collect ingredients for Fireworks, of which Gandalf the Grey taught a Hobbit in Tuckburough how to make.

Enjoy this little sample. Resolution is 1024x768, and I'm playing the game on settings between High and Ultra-High. Though keep in mind. This image is a STILL, and its JPG quality. So its not a fair representation of what the actual ingame image quality looks like.

Be showing you more QUITE soon.

Well, due to the fact that I have no Webcam/Camera, I can't quite aquire one yet, as I'm saving all my penny's so that what happened a while back, does not, for the life of anything, happen again. But, me and my girly are planning on getting a Video Camera, so, should be seeing it soon guys.

Everything else otherwise is pretty dang good. Pce out all. See you 'round soon.

~mArc aka. MB_E102 

Oh yeah! Finally, I've been wanting to do this for years. Now my new job, which pays a s-h-!-t load, affords me that little iddy bitty amount of $'s to do it. Time will tell if 8 bucks Canadian a month is worth it. I'm thinking so.

What have I been up to? World of Warcraft... :(, I know. I'm hopeless. But it is an awesome game. I play C&C3 hither and thither, amazing game. The campaign is sheer beauty. Its not only fun, but it works, and fits its purpose in every way possible. I'd hate to say this, but... good job EA. Its about damn time!