(EDIT: I'm having trouble having the HTML form well in this post, specifically paragraphs screwing up and putting one word on a line or cutting off at stupid places, as you might see. Suggestions on how to aleviate this would be helpful)

I put the rank in the title because I don't think I've ever seen the actualy lvl 16 rank on anyone, and I wanted to preserve the moment. Knowing GS, I'll be level 17 by tomorrow, and I want to preserve the moment.

Anyways, I've returned from Canada. I got home yesterday, and I'm really glad to be back, I missed my lil old New Jersey. I had a weird dream last night for some reason that I was trying to buy something from the shopping center, and while in the bathroom someone started asking me if I was part of the town mafia because I was Italian. I never knew we had a town mafia :D.

As to gaming, I played a lot of Nintendogs over the vacation. It helped me a little when I missed my own dog, and I'm working on getting all the dogs (Only 20,000 points to German Shepard!) and buying the breeds I really want. Right now I've got 2 Beagles, a Daschund, a Yorkie, a Husky, and a Golden Retriever. I want a German Shepard and a Dalmatian. Anyone know the appearance rate for the Dalmatian Hat during walks? Plus, does it show up as a present or a hat, and will it show up as a "stop" on the upper map?

I also played a hell of a lot of Pokemon: Ruby. I spent about 5 hours trying to catch Latios. I'm currently raising a Vileplume to a high enough level where it's speed can make it go first, and then I'll use sleep powder. I'm already using a Raichu with Thunderwave and a Golbat with Mean Look, and I've been close to catching, but it's so damn hard! Any tips from anyone whose done it? (And no, I already used the master ball on Rayquaza).

I also played Kingdom Hearts 2 again last night. I want to finish the synthesizing collection, and I'm only missing a few items, but for some reason my Free Development list is more ???s than actual items. I equipped everyone with Lucky Lucky, hopefully that'll make it a little easier for me.

So here's the list of games I want to finish before the summer is over:

Resi Evil DS- I really got far here on the trip, I'm doing the second round of the mansion now that I've got the helmet key. The limited saves are really frustrating, and the explosion of hunters into the mansion is really annoying and has stopped me from progressing.

Tales of Legendia- I stopped at the beginning of Moses's quest, and I really want to finish this. It's a brilliant game, and I also want to review it as well as finish.
FFX- I'm like 20 hours in and I really want to see how this turns out. This is the best FF game I've played (though that's been few) and since I have FFX-2 on hold I want to be able to start that.

And finally, my ridiculously impossible goals:

Finishing Xenosaga- With all the cutscenes and long battles and all that, I really, really doubt I'll finish this in 2 weeks, but I'm willing to try. It's an interesting game so far, though whatever moron decided to switch the functions of the O and X buttons gets no love from me.

Finishing Pokemon Ruby- It'll be impossible to really "finish" (collect all 200 pokemon) but I want to get Latios and expand my collection as much as possible. I've never truly finished any of the pokemon games, and the ones that I'd consider doing it in would be Pokemon Silver and Gold, since I've got both, making trading quite easy for me, and also since Silver was the game I most enjoyed in the collection. Maybe it was because I abused the clone bug to make 6 lvl 90 something Feraligators, or maybe it was because I actually had lvl 90 something Feraligators (unbeatable at that level, even by lvl 100s I battled) but I think overall it was just one of their best games.

My last item to talk about is guild invites. I'm still getting quite a lot, and I ask that you stop sending them. I'm perfectly content with the guilds I have, and I'm most likely not going to join any of the ones you send me. I already PMed someone about it, and I hate to have to keep doing that, but I will if I have to. If it gets really bad, I'll start untracking certain people who spam me guild invites. Thanks a bunch.

Cheerio!

~Nighthawk~

So I played two things today, Resi Evil DS and Mario 64 DS. In Resi Evil I finished the gatehouse and I'm now back to exploring the mansion. This game has actually been very fun so far and worth the money, I recommend picking it up if you own a DS. I actually get slightly scared if I play this at night, because it's got such a creepy atmosphere about it. I've jumped a few times from things popping out at me.

In Mario 64 DS, I finally collected my 80th star and I'm trying to get to Bowser. Oh my god, so annoying. It's exceedingly frustrating to do because of the crappy D pad. the Dpad works for some games, but if you've got 360 degree movement, it's frustrating to work with. It really was time for an analog stick on Nintendo's handhelds, I wish they'd done it with the DS. They'd better do it with their next system.

Argh! These stupid mosquitos keep biting me. I swear, I can deal with bees and spiders and ants, but there is no point to mosquitos in the environment, they're just a pest. That's the one good thing about winter.

~Nighthawk~

I've finally done it. I beat KH2 tonight. I thought I wasn't going to be able to accomplish it before I leave for Canada tomorrow morning, but I beat it, and I'm so happy. It was pretty easy, except for the last battle, which gave me a little bit of a difficult time. The ending cutscene was so heartwarming too, I actually cried at the very end a little, it was really moving. And now there's a possibility for a KH3!! Wohoo! This is a good time.

Now I'm going to watch PotC: CotBP, which I've actually never seen before. It's ironic that I played the KH2 level before I saw the movie xD. I'm pulling an allnighter tonight because I have to leave at quarter to five tomorrow morning on my long journey up the East Coast to Moose Country, and it's not worth it to sleep. We're doing a 10 hour ride to just across the border, then grabbing a hotel, and on Sunday we're hitting Halifax for a few days before heading to Cape Breton. This means a few things:

1. I won't have access to a computer on Saturday.
2. Depending on circumstances, I may not have a computer until Wednesday the 16th. This depends on whether I can get access to a computer at my cousin's apartment in Halifax or not. (You know, this would've been a really good time to have that Opera web browser for my DS...)

So you won't be seeing me around for a little while. Don't let the entire gaming community collapse without me, ok? ;)

I'll be stuck playing all DS and GBA games while I'm gone. Hopefully this will mean some shmexy game reviews for you all when I return :D. And I'll probably post my KH2 review while in Canada when I get the chance. Adios for now!

~Nighthawk~

My shmexy DS. Ness from Earthbound is the sticker on the left, and Pit from Kid Icarus is on the right. The four in the corner are element stickers from the Pokemon TCG.



Front cover. Again, Pokemon TCG sticker dot the four corners. N64 logo on the left, old school link in the middle, and SNES Samus on the right. The unknown pokemon letters spell out "Nighthawk"


Demonstrating how I hold the DS Lite pen in place

And finally...

Because it can't be fully customized without a little Mario :)

~Nighthawk~ (Who is POed because GS kept making her pics huge and messing up her post until she finally figured out how to fix it -.-)

I started off the day like I said, making a collage in my room on a bare section of wall. I also dug up tons of game posters from old issues of Nintendo Power, and a good portion of wall space is now covered in such. It feels more "me" now.

I went to Best Buy later to pick up some pens for my DS, since I lost my old one. What do they tell me? "They don't make old DS pens anymore." WTF? The DS Lite only came out like a month ago and already they're screwing over normal DS owners? Where's the fairness in that? Not everyone is running out to replace their DS with a Lite, I certainly am not. They just disenfranchised millions of regular DS owners, which was a ridiculously stupid move. Ah well. I ended up buying the Lite pen pack, since that was my only option. My pen is now held on by a loop of tape on the top of the DS, and I'll be attaching a string from the pen end to the DS so I don't have to worry about loosing it again. I'm still a little pissed though, discontinuing old DS pens hurts all of us who can't afford to upgrade.

On the upside, I decided to browse the PS2 aisle momentarily, and I spotted a bargain I couldn't refuse. Brand spankin new copies of FFX-2 for FIFTEEN DOLLARS. Not used, not broken. FIFTEEN FRIGGIN DOLLARS! I mean come on, it's from 2003, but still! That's nuts! I bought it immediately, since I would've never thought I could get it for that price. I was even expecting to be told at the register that it was actualy 30 bucks or something, but it went through and I walked out with it. I haven't finished FFX yet, but a bargain like that was way too good to pass up.

I also did a little shopping on Amazon.com on Sunday, and all the stuff arrived today. I got three things. One was an Al Franken Book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them (I won't go into this, as to leave my blogging non-political). I also got Johnny the Homicidal Maniac: The Directors Cut. My history with JTHM goes back a few years, when a  camp counselor of mine had it and showed it to me. Being 12, at first it was horrifying, then intruiguing. I forgot about it for a few years, but I remembered it after a while and realized the author was the same person who did the Invader Zim series on Nickelodeon which I loved. I started looking into it and found out more about it. I finally was able to find it on Amazon and now it's all mine to enjoy. I've already done one readover, and it's just as brilliant as I remember.

The third item I got was the Tales of Legendia Soundtrack. I've never tried importing something before, but I think this will be worth it. I absolutely adore the music in the game, and I wanted it madly for my iPod, which I can do now finally. If I can just figure out the kanjii, it would be nice. I don't get why they print half the thing in English and half in Japanese. If it's a Japanese product, shouldn't it be in all kanji? It just doesn't make sense X_x.

I'm going to barrel through some of FFX and Kingdom Hearts tonight. I also did Brain Age again, my brain age is now at 26. Only 6 more years to take off! Oh, did I mention that while digging through the Nintendo Power issues, I found a crapload of stickers they sometimes include? My DS has even more stickers on it now, I even spelled Nighthawk on the front using the "Unknown Pokemon" letters :D

Cheerio for now!

~Nighthawk~

So as to ignore that subject aforementioned, I'll update you on my gaming status. I've been playing FFX and Brain Age for the past two days. For Brain Age, I've already deduced that I in fact perform better in the afternoons than in the mornings. Now if I could only convince my school to let me come in around a more opportune learning time... say, noon? My brain check today was at 38, up from 33 yesterday. Ah well, at least I'm getting better at multiplication. Fear me next year, PreCalculus!

As to FFX, it's a really interesting plotline right now, though still highly predictable. (*FFX, Tales of Symphonia, and Tales of Legendia SPOILERS AHEAD!*) For instance, the first time I saw Seymour, I thought, freakishly awesome hair, flowing robes, and son of peacekeeper? Definite villan possibility. And after the first convo about Chappu where Tidus realizes something went on between Lulu, Wakka and Chappu, I was 99% positive that Lulu and Chappu had been involved in the past and that it would be a good setup for a Wakka and Lulu relationship, especially after the scene in the Locker room between them after the first blitzball match. And then there's the whole twist with Yevon's teachings vs. The Al Bhed. It screams "blind adherance to religion is really, really BAD." It reminds me of Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Legendia, especially since I believe The Final Summoning is supposed to kill Yuna (though don't tell me if it is, I'm only up to the Birkani Island or whatever it's called where they're searching for Yuna), as the Journey of Regeneration is supposed to "kill" Colette, and the Merines Transformation is supposed to change Shirley and make her in turn kill all Ferines. It's just saying "think for yourself, don't blindly praise Yevon when there's no substantial proof to do so, especially with all this Sin stuff going on." The atheist in me is pushing me to compare it to modern theism, but I won't go there ;) (*SPOILERS ENDED*)

I prolly won't be gaming much tomorrow, I plan to scour the interweb and print out pictures of bands/games/inspirational people I admire and do a collage on my wall. my room just looks too bare. I need more game posters and the like. If I do play tomorrow, it'll prolly be Xenosaga, since I've been ignoring that one a little. Damn, there are a lot of friggin cutscenes! The first save point I didn't find until like, an hour into the game, and the next one after that took another hour or so to unlock. Ah well, I knew what I was getting into. I'll just look at this as watching a really cool anime that I can play along with.

And lastly. Auron frigging OWNS. He is so freaking awesome, though the one thing that annoys me is how he carries his arm in his robe, instead of putting it through the sleeve. Apparently he can fight with the arm, but putting it through a sleeve is just too hard? Ah well. I still love his awesome grizzled look and sunglasses. <3

~Nighthawk~

I love video gaming. I'm a complete and total addict. It's expensive, but I'll pump out the cash to be able to enjoy the wonderful games that are created. 49.99 seems to pop up everywhere I go, all my favorite games being marked up to get me to pay a lot for the experience. But then I discovered something.

I can be money savvy.

80 bucks for 5 games. I never thought I could pull that off. I first bought Metroid Prime and Soul Calibur on Thursday, both used. Total price? Under 30 dollars.

Then today I headed to my local Game Zone to pick up a few more titles. Since recieving my tips from camp on Friday, the whole video gaming world is my footstool, to put it as nicely as possible. I got Xenosaga Ep 1, FFX, and Brain Age, PLUS 3 packs of Magic cards. Total cost? 62.45.

There's a little sticker paper on the side of the FFX box and a price tag on it, but you know what? For 18 bucks, it's worth it.

~Nighthawk~

PS. To everyone who has been spamming me union invites, please, for the love of god STOP IT. If you really think I'd be interested in fully participating in a union, that it falls under my interests and I'd really post a lot, then send me one, but don't send me ones to unions whose genres I never play (Fighting, Sports) or series I've never played (Halo, DOA) or to things I don't agree with (System hate groups or zealotous support groups). The examples listed are just some of the things I've gotten invites to, and I'll never join any of them. And spamming invites to the same unions over and over will not get me to join them, it'll just make me more annoyed at the inviters. This is why I rarely if ever send invites, I don't know anyone's interested well enough to send them. I only actively participate in a few unions, and the invites you send will just usually get deleted. Much thanks)

So yeah, about the whole reviews thing... I've got no time for it, now that I think about it. I'm going to end up with a crapload of new games, I'm already working on KHII, Metroid Prime, Soul Caliber II, and Counterstrike: CZ, plus with my tip money I'll prolly get at least 2 or 3 more. That'll take up all my time this month and well into the school year. Maybe I'll try some month when I actually have more free time.

There are way too many moves available to use in Soul Calibur. I don't know how I'm supposed to remember all the exact button combos for each character, but unless you've got a photographic memory, I think anyone playing it will end up mashing the two main attach buttons and that's about it. And instead of frigign talking about the K button and the B button (which is actually Y on the cube controller), how about localizing the friggin game instructions for each console! I don't want to have to remember that the X button is actually the K button! I want the instructions to say "press X to kick!" It wouldn't have taken that long to specialize it for each console, jeez! Other than that, it's a great game, but a few things just bug me about it.

Counterstrike is pretty friggin fun, but I really need to get a headset so I can try out the online part. And the one thing that bugs me is how racist this version seems (Condition Zero). One of the levels on the Deleted Scenes part is an entire rompfest through "Northern Africa" with Muslim extremists dressed in turbans and carrying machetes. WTF? No one takes a machete at a machine gun toting solider. Yes, apparently all terrorists are grisled Muslims chanting Allah as they charge at you with their machetes. The whole game screams "WE'RE TRYING TO BE PATRIOTIC BECAUSE WE'RE IN WARTIME!" There's even a little wanted poster for the 9/11 hijackers in the Training Level. I don't need to reenact what I see on the news every night and become drawn into the propoganda machine.

Metroid Prime is fun so far, but The Super Flash Bros. were right, loosing every friggin powerup at the beginning of the adventure is REALLY STUPID. If getting thrown against a wall causes Samus's suit to malfunction that easily, then she needs to go to the guy who built that thing and smash his head against the floor. No space suit should malfunction that easily.

Just a side note, it may seem like I'm really annoyed by these games, but all three are really enjoyable. It's just these little things in each that bug me to no end. Even so, I have a lot of fun with them, and they're reccomendable to everyone.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2006/20060731.jpg

IN MEMORIAM
~E3~
1995-2006

My new goal is to get to PAX someday.

~Nighthawk~

(PS. Sorry, the review is going to be a little late, I just got a copy of Counterstrike from my cousin. So yeah, I get an excuse)

Oilers99 posted a really interesting challenge to his blog recently, and I've decided to try my luck against it. The idea is this: Pick 10 games from your collection that you've either barely played or haven't played in years and create a schedule through which you will play each game and write a detailed review for it. Set a time frame over a month, and schedule beforehand days you will post your reviews and try best to stick to the schedule you've created.

This challenge is to test your mettle for keeping a timeframe, as well as for perfecting your writing skills. It's to show yourself how well you work on a schedule and if you can perform well under such constraints. This is a very good challenge for me because I'm a huge procrastinator, and I need to find a way to overcome it, which so far I have been having trouble doing. However, I'm going to have to modify the challenge slightly for myself because of the time constraints I have because I'm leaving for Canada mid-August. Therefore, I've gone with 9 games, and two of them I have in fact been playing recently. Here's my update schedule for the month:

August 2nd- 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue
August 5th- Final Fantasy: Tactics Advance
August 9th- Lego Island 2
August 12th- Tales of Legendia
August 27th- Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
August 29th- Wario Land 4
August 31st- Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
September 2nd- The Hobbit
September 5th- Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean

During the big gap I'll be playing DS and GBA games since I can't bring my consoles with me, and I'll be taking time to write out reviews up there as well, hence the quick update schedule between the 27th and 31st. If all goes well I may end up continuing this until I've gotten all of my games reviewed, but with the school year approaching, I might not be able to.

Hopefully this will work out well. Wish me luck!

~Nighthawk~