I haven't updated recently because of being seriously busy. Between my new workout routine, a renewed eagerness to go on LJ and Gaia, as well as working feverishly on my writing talents, I haven't done much gaming. I did play Xenosaga for a while however, and I'm making a note that leaving it on overnight kinda kills your time keeping. Note to self: take 17 hours off the total amount of play time >.>

I desperately want Tales of the Abysss. I don't care if I haven't finished Legendia yet. I'm almost, almost done, and I really want to enter the new Tales world. Screw Gamespot for giving it a sorta bad score. GS seems to have a dysfunction when rating Tales games, every rating I've seen is definitely less than what it should be. Symphonia should've been an editor's choice game, no doubt, and Legendia at least deserved a few decimal points higher. Ah well, it seems the userbase agrees with me at least. Everyone else seems to be giving it insanely good scores.

I have to pimp the new Evanescence CD. It's very, very similar to Fallen, but it's more ghastly and experiements more with sounds. Amy's voice is still kicking, and the piano and guitar still rock on hard. Anyone who enjoyed their last album needs to pick this up, and anyone who likes goth/dark rock should as well. It's pretty appropriate that it was released around Halloween as well, it'd be great for any Halloween parties being thrown.

There's a plus side to my workout regiment, weight loss results. ELEVEN POUNDS IN TWO WEEKS BABY! ^_^ *bounces up and down happily* Remember kids, you can't get skinny during 10 hour WoW marathons =D

One thing else that's going to drag me away from games is the amount of new books I've got. I picked up Eragon, Dune, Weird NY (Still have Weird NJ vol 2 to finish as well) and the first volume of Trigun. I've also got a book in the mail from amazon coming, plus Frankenstein to read for school. (We're having the test for it on Halloween, ironic, no?) Hopefully I'll find a decent time this week to get some gaming done. I at least want to finish one more game, prolly FFX before getting Tales of the Abyss. I also want to get DDR Extreme for the exercise factor (Those 10,000 steps don't walk themselves.) As to the app I told you I got from EB Games, I submitted it about a week ago, and I'm waiting to hear from em. Wish me luck!

~Nighthawk~

I'm already at 43% for level 18. This seems really fast for some reason. Is it one of those helpful bugs they give you because of the lvl 20 glitch?

~Nigthawk~

Ok, so after avoiding this for almost a year, I finally went into my local EB Games on Friday and asked if they were hiring. I walked out with an application and knowledge of hope in being hired for the holiday rush.

Call me crazy, but I want to avoid my first job being at an A&P at ALL costs. There's an EB games in the local plaza that I've been looking at for a while. It's a walkable distance from my house, since I don't even have my permit yet. Plus I've wanted to work in a game store for the longest time. I want to work at the heart of the retailer so that I can understand the industry better. I'm also hoping this will help me with my decisions on the new gen consoles, seeing if the Wii completely is bought out or if I can scrape up the bottom of the bucket, as well as seeing firsthand any frustrations with launch products, like faulty consoles.

And if I really am the only girl working there, it'd be fine with me. I can hang out with the guys just as easily as with the girls. Plus, maybe seeing a girl working in the store will make any girls coming in more comfortable about walking into a game store and buying. I know it's a little intimidating walking into a game store or even the game section of a store, because it's always guys there, the only girls I ever really see are mothers buying for their sons and stuff like that. It's like coming into the "guy space", and it's annoying that it's like that. Ah well, I can't make the world perfect :)

So if you happen to walk into an EB Games in northern NJ and you spy a brown haired girl working the desk like it's a life or death situation, wave hi. Or rather, ask if it's me first, because if it's not, you're just gonna look weird. And this is also if I get the job, I'll update you on that. And no crazy stalkerish types. I don't want to have to bring a tazer to work.

~Nighthawk~

So if you read this blog, you'll know my frustrations with the Sims for the cube. I can't get past a certain level, and it's annoying me that the game is kind of linear in your ability to do things, plus the main game isn't as "neighborhoodsy" as I'd like. Then I stumbled upon a video made from the Sims 2, which I've known to be very varied, and after watching various Sims 2 videos and reading the reviews for it, I really want it now. I want to simulate all the characters I've made up (as well as some from shows I love), and live it up in a Simmy life. The difference between the two games seems startling to me, and I want to be able to experience the sims more fully.

A quick update on game playing. I only did Metroid Prime today, though it is quite fun, it's kinda frustrating to not be able to jump an extra two inches to get places, and various other things. I don't think I'll be doing a 2nd playthough, but alltogether it's a good game from what I've seen so far.

Th-thth-th-th-that's all folks!

~Nighthawk~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrJrSemTfLo


Hate me today

Hate me tomorrow

Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you

You may be thinking I've gone insane by the title of this post. Nope. It's just the imitations of the noises that have been burned into my head from playing the Sims for the Gamecube.

All I wanted to do was get through Get a Life mode. Then the raging party effect came. I threw one raging one, but I couldn't get anyone to move out with me. Now I've got someone up to a good level of friendship, and I even did the cheat codes so I could get all the awesome stuff for it. I've got the TV on, two stereos (one inside, one out), the drink bar, the beverage cooler, the hot tub, the basket ball hoop, the VR goggles, at least 3 plates of food, balloons. Every time I throw it, I first get everyone to eat, then take them outside to the hot tub. Yet I can't get it to throw another frigging raging party! Everyone always leaves and the cops fine me every frigging time! ARGH! What am I doing wrong? I've completed every goal for the level, hell, I've even got enough for job lvl 6. I've got the person  I want to move in with, Leon, up to around 90 in friendship, he's even at the heart stage. I just can't get the thing to let me throw a raging party! I've been playing this literally all weekend. I was planning on playing Xenosaga, but this ate up all of my time. Can someone, for the love of god, help me before I start talking like the Sims?

In other, non game related news, I've been doing a lot of preliminary work on college hunting this week. We went to a college fair at a local college, saw at least two dozen out of hundreds there, and found some really nice ones. I've wanted to go to NYC for college for the longest time, and we were looking at placed like Fordham, Manhattan, and others in the vicinity. I think it'd be really cool if me and one of my other friends were able to go to college together, at Manhattan most likely because of the profession she's choosing. I'd like to have at least one friend with me when I'm starting someplace new.

We also picked up the SAT study guide book, the "official one." I'm not paying 500 dollars to take a course when I can just as easily use this 20 dollar book and still make great grades. I've always been good at Standardized testing, so I'm not as worried as you might think I should be. I didn't even study really for the PSATs last year, and I still got an 1160. Hopefully the PSAT this year can show me about the range I'm looking for on the SATs. If I can only bring up that math grade a tad, then I'll be really happy!

I also picked up a copy of Weird NJ vol 2. As a native New Jersian, I love knowing all these weird facts about my state and looking for them whenever I'm driving around. If your state has been done in book form by the Marks already, pick up a copy. You'll probably find some interesting things about your state that you never knew before. If not, pick up Weird US, you'll probably find a small section on your state as well in there.

Cheerio!

~Nighthawk~

I recently was able to start gaming again, after all of the crap of starting school again. The first one I went back to was Soul Calibur 2, and I blazed through it over the course of 3 days. I finished the first weapons master mode, completed nearly all of the second weapons master mode, bought all of the weapons that were available (except the soul edges, I'm still working on those), unlocked so many things like new costumes and modes, and basically I've almost fully completed the game. I've got very few complaints against it, and hope to write a review of it soon.

I also did session of Xenosaga yesterday, and Gamespot was right about all the cutscenes. However, I'm a very cutsceney person, so I enjoyed it, and it is sort of like watching a season of anime. There was almost enough battling to tide me over, but that was probably because I was able to avoid a lot of fighting. It's insane how close you can get to enemies if you walk and they still don't notice you!
Are you supposed to be confused with the story line in the beginning, because I certainly am. 12 hours into the game and I'm still unsure of aliances and history and symbolic meanings. Hopefully everything will get cleared up by the end, but it certainly is like a mystery movie of sorts.

So my cousin is obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and has the DVD collection. I kept asking what was so great, and he lent me the first season to watch. I watched the first DVD last night, and I have to say, it certainly is interesting. The first two episodes grated on me a little, there were so many stereotypes to mock, like the nazi mother or the moronic cheerleader type or the "shy girl." I think Willow's character was a little overdone in the beginning, her shyness and low self esteem were way too "out there". She did get better after the beginning though. And I absolutely love Rupert, I wish I had a teacher like that :D. Of course, the whole vampire slaying life or death thing is kinda iffy, but as Xander said, "It's either this or Chemistry." For me, it'd be a hard choice between the two.

(And on a side note, whomever decided it was good for high schoolers to look about 4 years above their supposed age needs to be hurt. Badly. Also, I did not know they talked like that in 1997. I'm being exposed to slang I never would have heard of. Just goes to show you how a decade can really change around things like that)

Well, I've made my decision. I'm going to ask for the Xbox 360 as well as the Wii this year for Christmas. If you check my wishlist, you'll already see it's been filled with quite a few Xbox and 360 games that I've been wanting. While like Nintendo it's not a console filled with RPGs, it has it's fair share and the games I've wishlisted all look interesting and have very good reviews. Once again, my wishlist has skyrocketed past my collection. I can never win :D

If I get the 360, I'll officially be an all console system player. I think I'm going to really get all the variety I wish with this purchase, and after being Nintendo only for 7 years, I'm glad that I can branch out. I think this also officially makes me hardcore. Though considering the amount of gaming I've already done, I think I took that title a while ago >.>

The reason I haven't been on in a while is that I've been extremely busy with school, specifially summer reading. I had to read 3 400 or so page books that I'd neglected, and I got through them all this weekend, plus the homework, which all meant I haven't played a game in about a week or so, at least since the overnight blackout we had, which just had to happen in the middle of playing Xenosaga. Ah well, good thing I've got a surge protector. And by Friday I'll be once again diving into the gaming world.

Peace ouuuuuuuuut!

~Nighthawk~

So VGM's post got me thinking about my console options this coming Xmas season. I knew right off the bat that either Mom or Dad was going to get me the Wii (Divorced parents= mucho profits. And no I'm not being greedy, I'm being smart.) Then I had to decide the "big thing" the other parent would get me. At first I was thinking of adding the PS3, but I don't want to make one of em spend that much (Even I have a heart :P). So I know a lot of people are getting the idea of getting the 360 and the Wii, IE. 2 consoles for the price of one (PS3). There are a few good reasons why it's better to get the combo this season.

1. Quality control- the 360 has already been out a year, enough time to manage the product and ensure that all the bugs seen at launch day are fixed by now. The PS3 will only have been out a minimal amount of time, meaning the buggy stuff will still be in market. As for the Wii, you know that Nintendo is best known for durable, reliable hardware, so having it conk out isn't a huge worry for me.

2. Price- Making one parent spend $250 and the other $600 isn't fair. However, making one spend $250 and the other $400 is way more reasonable. The $250 parent can be in charge of the game buying, taking some of the load off the other one. You're going to have to be really dedicated to Sony to be able to stomach the price this year.

3. Games- The Wii has plenty of games I'm dying to get. The 360 definitely impressed me with games like Saint's Row and Dead Rising. The PS3's only weight for me is Kingdom Hearts 3 and FFXIII. I'm not a hardcore FF fan as of yet, so I can wait to play it. As to KH3, it's not even announced yet, so it won't be coming most likely for another 2-4 years, giving me plenty of time for the price drop to occur and then to purchase it.

Now I want your opinion. Am I making a viable choice by taking the Xbox 360 over the PS3? Should I not get both and opt to get the Wii and my fall back choice, a DS Lite?

It's up to you Planeteers! The power is yours!

~Nighthawk~

Yes it's true. Last night we finally went to the mall to get new cell phones. We've used our old ones for 2 years, and I'd been poking them about getting new ones, because of all the crap we've been going through with a certain company I will not name here, and also because I really wanted a flip phone :D. So last night we went to the mall and parused the phone kiosks. I also wanted to change over to Verizon, hearing it was better, and we just so happened to have gotten an offer in the mail about getting free camera phones if we first purchased one. So after talking it over at dinner, we went to verizon and spent about an hour there, finally getting the phones. A nice thing about it is that Mom and Dad got Samsung phones, and I got an LG, so we won't have trouble telling them apart anymore (PS, never get 3 identical phones, pain in the arse to figure out whose is whose.)

Here now are the shmexy pictures!


And yes, that's a snapple bottle. And no, I'm not crazy, I'm just happy that now I've got a really nice cell phone I can actually customize. For instance, I couldn't buy ringtones on the old one, I've already bought a nice tone for this one. And I also got Tetris because I wanted at least one game for times when I really need something to do, and the old phone didn't even have friggin snake, just really horrible demos and stuff.

Anyways, on to other news. Because of Ernesto (and my friend's horrible working hours), I prolly won't be able to see SoaP tonight. I was so looking forwards to it too! Ah well, at least I've got stuff to do around here. I need to finish my summer reading. I still have Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice to read, plus I'm not that far into the current book I'm reading, The Hot Zone. If you're thinking, "you left one week to read all that? You're insane!" then guess again. I read like wildfire :D. Check my Brain Age stats if you must, I've always been a fast reader.

I finally "finished" KH2, in that I got everything I wanted to accomplish done. This includes getting the Ultima Weapon and the "Save the" weapons for Donald and Goofy. I gotta tell ya, the Ultima Weapon is muy Sexy :D. So that can go on my "finished" shelf. I've also gotten even farther on Legendia, I'm in the middle of Grune's quest, and I should finish the game fully sometime this week. I love the game, but it's time to be done with so I can move on and add that to my "done" collection.

I also began Xenosaga again. I'm about 4 hours in and just about to leave the first area now. They were right, it's a friggin long winded game. It's still highly enjoyable though, like watching an anime but getting to actually do the fight scenes.

That's all for now folks!

~Nighthawk~