Well, to ft all these updates into one Journal Entry woulda made it a bit large, so I decided to break it down into bite sized pieces. Let's continue with all things Nintendo and look at my progress in one of the classics...

*Minor Spoilers Below*

Metroid Prime

I haven't had a huge amount of time to play Metroid Prime in recent weeks, but I've made some definite progress since my last update. The end of the game is definitely in sight, but I'm looking to arm myself a little better for the upcoming conflict. At our last chat, I was searching for one or two last Chozo Artifacts, and looking to complete my armament of Chozo Weaponry of varying types.

Well, I have since managed to complete my collection of Chozo Artifacts - after having a not-too difficult battle with an Omega Pirate - and acquire the last of my weapon upgrades - the Flamethrower. Combining that with all my other goodies and gadgets means that I now have every weapon, suit and visor available for the game. I've even managed to acquire quite a few Power Bomb upgrades, and I believe I now have them all - having not seen any for quite a while.

My main quest at the moment is to track down all the Missile Upgrades I passed at various earlier stages in the game. I have memories of seeing a few I wasn't able to get earlier, due to a lack of Grappling Beams, or other such item. So now I'm revisiting every area in the Game, trying to explore each section more thoroughly, to see if there's any I've missed. I believe that there's a couple more of them scattered around in some of the earlier sections of the game such as the Ruins and Overworld, but only time will tell on that one.

At this time, I now have 93% of the items available for the Game (just the pesky Missile Upgrades to go, I believe) and 93% of the Log Book entries. I think I missed Scanning a few of the enemies earlier in the game, so I don't think I'll manage 100% on my Scans for this trip through the Game. Wading through the list, I suspect the ones I missed were from some Boss battles in a much earlier section. Annoying, but not much I can do about it now. *shrug*

By my next update on this one, I should have entered the Chozo Temple, and fought my final battle to finish the Game. I suspect it's gonna be with that big flying bird-lizard thing from the Space Station earlier in the Game, but I guess we'll see what happens with that one, eh? :)

Part 3 awaits...

Well, it's about time I talked about all things Game-like once more. It's been a busy couple of weeks for me at work, with writing up new First Aid course packages and tidying up old mannikins, and whatever else I've been doing. My volunteer committments have kept me busy as well, so I've not been playing Games as much as I would like. I have however, managed to squeeze in a bit of playing whilst I'm supposed to be sleeping, so let's see what's what...

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

I've finally passed the point I was at with my previous runthrough of FFT:A, and am now forging into some unfamiliar territory. On my first run through of the game, I was a lil' unfamiliar with all the Jobs and how to achieve them. I was also not clear on the Treasure Hunt aspect of the Game, which depends on where you place each new location in Ivalice. So after a time, and with some new Games out, I put FFT:A off to one side to play again. Now I'm back, and going strong in this Tactical RPG.

At just under the 54 hour mark, I've managed to complete 193 missions (out of a possible 300) in the Game. Some simple scavenger hunts, some delivery missions, and a whole mess of combats. My main character - Malkav - is a 24th level Fighter, having previously been an Soldier, Archer and Hunter as well. I've got a few characters running around of each of the main Races (Human, Moogle, Bangaa, Nu Mou and Viera) and quite a variety of Jobs for each of them. I haven't managed to get myself a Moogle Gadgeteer or Mog Knight, or a Nu Mou Sage, or a Viera Summoner, or even a Bangaa Bishop - but it's only a matter of time 'till I achieve those goals.

I'm getting close to the end of the main Story (I think), but there are still plenty of side missions to go, so I figure I'm going to have to put another few hours of play into this one before it's done. Being the completist that I am, I like to make sure I've seen all there is to see in a Game before I consider it finished. I've still got a few Jobs to add to my list of characters, and some more missions to complete. I've also got plenty more of those lovely Abilities to earn, so I'll be chatting with you all about this Game for a lil' while to come yet.

On to Part 2...

To all of you who may have looked at the title of this latest entry in my Journal an thought "What the...?", don't worry - you are not alone. Myself, I thought the same thing when I saw the name of a curious little song that opened up the first episode of a weird cartoon show known as Azu Manga Daioh.

(Everyone who hasn't heard of this one before? Put up your hands. *pause* Erm, maybe everyone who has heard of this show - you put up your hands instead. Ah, much easier to count. :))

I was first introduced to Azu Manga Daioh several years ago, by a friend of mine in St. John. He is a massive fan of Manga in general, but thought I might enjoy a look at this show. I vaguely recall him lending me a DVD with the first episode on it, but I must admit I didn't really watch it at the time. Not much of a first exposure, really. It was a long time before I saw that episode properly, when my best mate Stan told me about a weird cartoon that his brother had lent him, and he thought I would get a chuckle out of it.

So began my journey, and several hours later - having watched the entire first DVD - I was hooked. So what's it about, you may ask? Well, that's actually a difficult question to answer. In simple terms, it's about the day to day lives of a group of school girls, and the weird and wonderful things that happen to them and their teachers. Doesn't sound like much, does it? But it's actually quite hilarious in it's weirdness.

With such characters as Miss Sakaki - a somewhat reclusive lady who loves cats (although they don't seem to like her much) - to Chiyo-Chan - the cute 10-year old prodigy - to Osaka - the somewhat slow and naieve space cadet - all the characters are interesting and amusing. Each episode is broken into four smaller stories, so the overall feel of each episode can vary quite wildly.

Being originally a Japanese cartoon, each episode has been dubbed into English. Things that are more written than verbal tend to have subtitles - including the soundtrack. "Fancy Hearing Cake" is the credited name of the opening song, which is weird enough. But when you read through the translation of what you are hearing, it gets weirder. Check out one translation here. (It's a teensy bit different from the subtitles, but it's weird enough)

All in all, it's a great show, and well worth checking out if you're looking for a laugh. I've been collecting the series for a little while now, and only have two more DVDs to track down before I'll have them all. Oh, and don't forget the little badges you get with the Collector's Editions, and the booklet that comes with each DVD detailing some of the translation issues, staff comments and various other things.

Any else out there in Gamespot-Land a fan of Azu Manga Daioh? Who is your favourite character? Feel free to drop by and make some noises about it. (Does anyone know if there's an Azu Manga Daioh Union out there? :))

Game on, people! :D

Well, I've been doing some cleaning up on my day off. The dishes have been done, I've managed to do some washing, and even tidied up a lot of junk that had been lying around at my place for a while causing a lot of clutter. So I figured I might do some cleaning up here at Gamespot as well.

In recent times, I've been looking at my Friends list and wondering what has happened to some of these people. I mean, I know one or two have left Gamespot, but what about the rest? Most of my good friends here post in their Journal from time to time, and make some sort of noise online. But others just seem to have vanished. :(

So I've decided to prune my Friends list a lil'. I've taken off those who don't seem to post in their Journals or make their presence known online at all. That has meant I've almost halved my list in the past week, but that's OK. In the days of the Butterfly (when you got a Badge for having loads of friends), it was nice to have a lot of people around, which some people abused and so the Butterflies left. I never quite got the hang of that, preferring quality over quantity. I still think that way, so I've kept around the people I like and those who tend to be a lil' active here on Gamespot.

I'd like to think that there are others out there in Gamespot-Land who think in a similar way to myself. Maybe a bit later today I might go Journal-Jumping and see if I can find any... :)

Well, I've finished my commentary on life here at Gamespot, so I better get back to work. Hope you're all having a great Sunday out there, wherever you may be on our lovely planet.

Game on! :D

Well, I seem to have managed to end an old journey recently, but begin a new one.

For a while now, I've had the idea that BloodRayne 2 was going to be coming out in Australia. As such, I managed to pre-order myself a copy and had managed to fully pay the game off some months ago. Since then, the release date of the game has shifted no less than three times - in theory it was due out much earlier this year, but the most recent date I had listed was August 2005. Now this was somewhat annoying, but I'm a patient man. Last week, I decided to check in for a more current release date, and found to my surprise that there was no longer to BE a release date. For some reason, Blood Rayne 2 was no longer going to be coming to Australia. What the...? The staff could not explain why there was no longer a release date, so it's all a bit of a mystery really...

So, mumbling under my breath I chose to convert my prepaid game into two games that had actually been released at some point. Thankfully, due to some price matching and a local store having a sale going, I managed to secure a couple of decent games for less than I would normally have paid, so I was pretty happy all round. In keeping with my recent Nintendo trend in games, I managed to pick up a couple of titles from series I already have titles from. More specifically? The Legend of Zelda - The Wind Waker, and Metroid Fusion - for the 'Cube and GBA respectively.

Now after checking both games out for a while, I'm fairly impressed. After being quite used to playing Samus Aran in the slightly more 3D Metroid Prime, I must admit it was a step back to be playing a more side-scrolling adventure. But the game itself seems decent enough, so I'll have to play it more thoroughly when I finish up on some other Gaming projects. The Wind Waker is almost exactly the opposite, funnily enough. I've played The Minish Cap on the GBA previously, so to suddenly be running around in 3D in a Zelda game is quite nice. Again, I have only barely scratched the surface of the game - but what I've seen so far has been good fun. :)

I must admit, the 'Cube is rapidly becoming my favourite Console of all of those I currently own. The DS holds a close second, and I really should be playing around with the PS2 and 'Box occasionally. It's just that there are so many GREAT Games out on the Gamecube. It truly is an undervalued Console in the big scheme of things. I look forward to seeing what Nintendo manages to do with the Revolution (whenever it manages to be released, or developed, or designed, or whatever... *grin*)

On another note, I should update you on my search on E-Bay for The Longest Journey. The previously mentioned copy I bid on was a bit of a failure. I actually forgot I had put a bid in, and the closing date for the auction passed before I realised it. Of course this means that someone else won the game, but that is just to be expected. My second attempt was more successful, and so about a week ago I received in a sturdy package my very own copy of this classic adventure from the recent past. Having read of this Game in other's Journals, and checked out some online reviews, I'm looking forward to making my way through this adventure in the nearish future. It looks like I'm going to have to reinstall Half Life 2 at some point due to some buggy behaviour, so I might make this one my next PC Game to play. *grin*

I am doing quite well in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, having now completed over 150 missions in my second run through of the game. I've now developed some quite useful mixes of characters and broadened the skills I have available, as well as laid out Ivalice slightly more efficiently. This has netted me more than a few nice items, so I'm pretty happy with the way things are going. A more specific update of my progress will follow in a future Journal Entry.

Well, that should do me for the evening. I'm going to go back and explore some more of the Forsaken Fortress in The Wind Waker before getting some well earned sleep. Hope all is well out there in Gamespot Land people, and that you're all getting some sleep from time to time.

Game on! :D

Why do people always only seem to celebrate the nice round numbers? I keep reading in other people's Journals about how they've reached 200 posts, or 600 posts, or 2,000 posts. Now that's all well and fine for people who manage to post in nice round blocks of 100, but what happens to the rest of us who only post to the Forums on the odd occasion?

(Actually, it's a bit weird that you can come up with a different number of postings made, depending on what you actually count. For example, I've managed to only post 171 times in the Forums, but in total I've managed 942 posts on Gamespot. Which one should I count?)

I think it's a bit off that we don't celebrate all the OTHER numbers of posts that we've achieved, so I think it's time someone stood up for the oppressed numbers - the other 99 numbers out of every 100 that are forever overlooked by the masses of posters here at Gamespot.

Who's with me out there? Who's willing to stand up and be counted and defy the norm of the round-number Posters? Who's willing to speak loudly and proudly, stating "Yes! I've posted 62 times!". Or am I alone in my crusade, a lone voice crying out in the night?

I sit here, barely able to keep my eyes open. I'm so TIRED it isn't funny. (No really, it's not! Go ahead - try laughing at the situation. See? Not funny at all) Over the past couple of days I've been busy with work and some of my volunteer committments. Last night I only managed to have about three hours sleep, so I'm kinda tired tonight.

Just wanted to drop in with a quick message about what's what, which I have since decided can wait for another night. My bed is calling, and I am not going to be able to resist it long. My eyes keep closing, and my head keeps hitting the keyboard. Need sleep...

I'll update my Gaming and Real Lives over the next few days, OK? Hope all is well out there in Gamespot-Land, people!

Game on! :D

What have I done to deserve this? I've been good. I've written in my Journal. I've reviewed Games. I've chatted to my Gamespot friends. I've read news and reviews. I've been a good lil' Gamespotter...

So WHY am I being punished? :(

As you know, once your activity here at Gamespot is sufficient, you earn yourself new ranks. I've been pretty happy with this system for the last six months or so, as I've managed to acquire some pretty kewl titles to parade around in front of everyone. But then, the system was shuffled somewhat - the names were re-arranged. Normally, I'd be pretty happy to go up a rank and acquire a new title - but when I logged on today I discovered that the horror was back... :(

It's true - I've acquired an old title back again. One I thought I had escaped once before, but true horror lives on. Once more, I must endure the title of:

Toobin'

I'm sure Gitaroo Man is out there somewhere. One day... *sigh*

It's been a while in the making, but it's finally here. Yes, I know you've all been eagerly anticipating this moment. Rest assured, your long wait is over people. What the heck am I talking about? Well, I've finally gotten around to posting my review of the Bard's Tale. :D

Those of you interested in it can check it out here.

Just a short entry for the moment. Enjoy the Review and Game on, people! :)

I just had the BEST weekend, people! :D

I'm home now, and before I head off to the Land of Nod I figured I should let you all know what I've been up to. As you might have read in a previous entry of mine, I've had some plans to go out a bit this weekend just gone and they all worked out pretty good, all things considered.

Friday night was a lovely dinner with my family. We went to a Hotel down in Brighton, just on the waterfront near the jetty. Now even though it was a cold night, it was still a pleasant view. Was good to go out with my family again and have a night off from eating at home. The meals were good - nice steak for my dinner, although I helped eat some pretty good schnitzel as well. So the weekend was off to a good start.

Saturday, I managed to catch up with my friend Louise who is down from Queensland for a week or so. We caught up in the afternoon and managed to spend quite an enjoyable day together. Managed to chat about what's been going on in each other's lives, and even visit a common friend in Adelaide to see her baby. Went out to dinner in town, and had a lovely pasta meal and a couple of drinks. After dinner we headed into Sky City (Adelaide's Casino) and chilled out at a club called Loco for a few hours, listening to DJ Judo scratch it up on the turntables with some pretty awesome dance music. Now, I'm no spring chicken - but Louise was getting tired before midnight, so I dropped her back where she was staying and headed home myself. Young kids today - where's their stamina? :P

(On a side note - managed to find the Phazon Suit in Metroid Prime once I got home, and another couple of Chozo Artifacts. One to go, and some more Missile Expansions to find. Then I'll be ready to find out what's under the Chozo Temple... It's all terribly exciting. *grin*)

Today? Well, today was good too! Went out to dinner with my ex-gf Sues at a Mexican restaurant in Melbourne Street, and had some yummy enchiladas, beans and rice. And tried myself a Margerita - not bad, all things considered. Then we had the fun time of trying to find a park for the concert we were going to. Took us a while, and could probably comprise an Entry in itself - but I doubt you'd be interested in it.

The Delta Goodrem concert ROCKED! :D

I dunno what else to say there really. The music was AWESOME (I got to sing along, 'coz no-one could hear me. :)), Delta is a truly stunning young lady with a good sense of humour, and the company wasn't bad either. All in all, a great evening, capping off a great weekend. I don't have these all that often, so I'm treasuring this one while I can.

Hope you all had as good a weeked as I have, people. Chat to you again soon! :)