After another long break, I finally decided to check back in. It amazes me to see that I joined this community way back in '06. I can't believe it's been so long since I've been away. Well, I'm still busy as hell, so much has been going on lately.

First off, for those of you who don't already know, my dad works as a diplomat for the US, which means he has to keep shifting countries every few years, and I get dragged along with him. So, a month back, we said sayonara Japan, and now I'm in India. I absolutely HATE the weather here. It's so hot and humid. And they don't even read manga here!! But otherwise I guess they're nice people. I've been here barely a month so I can't really judge.

Second, I'm now in final year of high school. The subjects I'm studying are: English, Japanese (2nd language, I had many other options as well), History, Political Science, Physics and Maths. I like all of these so I find them interesting more than difficult.

Lastly, regarding my presence here, I won't be here regularly until April or May '11. But since my b'day is in April and my GS anniversary in May, both work out fine ;) Oh, and this time when I return, I'll be here to stay :)

I'll try to keep everyone updated. In the meantime I'll just lurk, and hope that some of my friends are still around.

Yes, I'm still alive. And no, I wasn't waiting for a princess to come and wake me up with a kiss:P My last blog post is date Oct '08 and I can't believe it's been a year since I last logged in. Glances at the inbox though, keep me glued to reality. Why have I been away?

Well, first of all, when I first left GS there was close to zero activity, and I'd found other places to go to. Plus, I was pretty busy back then and quite literally addcited to GS so I used to end up wasting a lot of time. I'm still busy but the addiction is no longer there...

Secondly, my system back then was old, really old, and couldn't run anything new. But now I have a new rig and decided to at least come to GS to take a look at what's floating around, and lost to my urge to log in :D

My rig: Intel Core2 Duo E7500 2.93 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 1 gb, with 2 gigs of ram and 1 TB HDD. I kept telling my dad that 2 gigs ram won't be enough but he said that I can get an upgarde when I need to. Same for the CPU. The GPU should last for a while but when it falls short I can just bridge it with SLI.

The first game I played was Assassin's Creed, something I'd bought a few months after it was released and was just waiting to play it :D I intend to go get some games this weekend, which is why I looked up GS.

I know my last blog post said this too, but once again I'd like to know what's going on around here...A short update on action/racing games would be welcome. And please let me know if there's enough activity around here to sustain me or not. All this, only if you guys still remember me...:|

Wow! Things have changed so much around here.....I couldn't recognize my profile at first and now I can't help but feel that I've been hibernating:lol:

I know I said that I'd be 'inactive until the boards picked up' but well, some personal matters kept me from returning. This is my first login since June. To be honest, I won't be properly back before sometime in '09 but I might still make random blogs like this one.

So how's everyone been lately? I checked my PMs and lot of changes seem to be taking place, especially in the EAF Union.I'd be really grateful if you guys could update me on what's been going on, both in the gaming and the GS community. Any special event coming up or some really cool game. I may or may not reply to your comments, but I'll definitely read them:)

Thanks!:D

P.S. Feel free to update me on your lives too while you're at it.

The winner of this top 10 is Unreal Tournament

Masterpiece. Clasic. Game of the year. All of these describe this game accurately.

Preceded by the not-so-popular Unreal series, Unreal Tournament is a game that revolutionized the world of deathmatch. Although it was released almost a decade ago (1999) I feel that this game still tops all new FPS's like Halo, Half Life etc.

Although it's not much for graphics, and lacks vehicles and amazing gameplay modes like 2k4's Onslaught, UT's greatest strength lies in it's simple but furious gameplay.

This has all the basics like an array of weapons to use, the usual gameplay modes like deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and also UT 'specials' like domination, which involves controlling specific locations to earn points; assault, which involves infiltrating the enemy base and completing certain objectives; and a campaign only mode called lightning deathmatch....never quite understood what it's supposed to be though.

Assault

As for playing the game, forget the campaign, got for the true essence of UT - practice matches against bots...I know that sounds pretty easy but the higher levels aren't for amatuers; and of course multiplayer gameplay. What makes this game worth playing, even today, is the popularityof the game. There are more servers here than in 2k3 or 2k4, and a decent amount are populated. Of course, ping can sometimes lay restrictions, but once you find a playable server you can keep playing for hours and not realize the time. To add to the game's value, there are tons of mods and maps lying around the net and each of them brings a different flavor to the game.

The bottmline: There are 100+ reason to play this game and 0 reasons not to.

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I wonder if it's just me, but GS seems so terriby inactive these days. Unions which were once flooded with posts are now dead, and there are people leaving or simply being inactive left and right. The only reason I've been coming since the past two weeks or so is to finish the top 10 I started, and you'll notice that towards the last few games, I couldn't be regular with the updates. I find it a bother to come to GS cause there's absolutely nothing to do but comment on friends' blogs and although it helps to keep in touch, it's not as fun as unions are.

Are there any unions which are active and will stay active for some time? If not, then I might follow suite and leave for a long time.

Another unexpected game?:P

This game is the first RPG I played and the best. Falling short of Neverwinter Nights in terms of graphics and even sound, the greatest strength of this game lies in it's gameplay system and it's amazing plot.

As in all RPGs the first thing to do is to make your character. With all the choices of race, clas etc given to you, even just creating characters can be fun. Every choice you make has it's own pros and cons and this gives you the opportunity to carve yourself into your computer character.

The game starts as a direct continuation to the prequel and you find yourself in a dungeon with a few of your old friends. Talking to your old friends gives you an insight into what happened in the first game and what you're in for now. Escaping from the dungeon also serves as a sort of tutorial mission, teaching you the basics of the gameplay and also making you aware of how certain things in the game need to be handled.

The real game kicks off when you get out of the dungeon. You'll find yourself with a huge city to explore, plenty of NPCs to ineteract with, some of which give you very inetresting information and quests. There are quite a few characters which can be taken into your party, and each of them have a personality of their own, which will make you feel almost as if they're real people. All the objectives promise to give you a very fun gameplay experience and also show you how big the city and it's surroundings are.

Although the rest of the game is like your usual RPG, one thing that makes this game stand out amongst all of them is its superb plot. You're presented with mysterious motives and even more mysterious characters early in the game. As you play further into the game, the mystery slowly starts to unravel itself but tends to get crazier. After all the twists and turns which you struggle to figure out, the final link is placed only in the last stages of the game. By this time this revelation occurs, the events in the game wil have taken you to such an exciting point that you just can't leave the game. I remember playing the last bits again after completing the whole game. That's how much fun it really was.

One last thing about thsi game is its length. It'll take a decent amount of time to finish it, but with the kind of gameplay it has, you'll be far from bored by the time you reach the end.

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This game deserves a review MUCH better than what I can write. RPG fan or not, if you want a game that's fun, last for some time and most importantly, actually runs well on your system, get this. Play this through even once, and you'll never forget it.

As for my final game......I guess it's pretty obvious but still, cookies for guessing it:P

GTA in #3......imo it's grand enough to deserve it.

GTA 3 was a revolutionary game. Not only does this game offer near-complete freedom to do anything you want, but the missions themselves are a memorable experience.

As you know, the missions in GTA 3 are all about illegal activities like stealing stuff, killing someone, dealing drugs etc. These missions have different levels of difficulty allowing you time to familirize yourself with the game early on, and even giving you scope for enjoying yourself later on. If you get tired of nerve cracking missions you can turn to easy missionsfor a break or if you get tired of easy stuff and want some actions you can go for the tough missions.

GTA3's trademark free roam system means that even when you're not on missions you can have a good time cruising around the city for fun, killing people randomly or simply messing with the cops (my favorite:P) Of course, you might wanna use this freedom to follow the law for a change but that's totally your choice.

The graphics give you a highly realistic view of the city as you go around making you feel as if it's your second life or something. Of cours, you can't buy clothes and stuff, but at least you can wreak havoc and enjoy all the destruction. All the cool visual effects make you feel as if you really ARE creating chaos in the city. Even all the cars have a disticntive look so you can learn to recognize all your favorite (or otherwise) cars from a distance.

Sound is one of the best aspects of the game. The sound effects are great and add another touch of realism to the game with sounds whencars blow up, or warnings by the police. THE best audio aspect of the game are its various radio stations. While cruising around or even during missions, you can listen to whatever kind of music you enjoy - pop, rock, love songs, or simply mindless chit-chat. I personally found a certain song called "Push it to the limit" highly inspiring during tough missions.

Whether you're a fan of FPS's, adventure games, hack n slash games, or basically any kind of action game PLAY THIS GAME RIGHT THE HELL NOW!!!!! This is at least x100 better than GTA Vice City or even San Andreas. Can't say about GTAIV though......

My system crashed:( I was doing something when Windows suddenly restarted and then it refused to work no matter what I did. It kept rebooting everytime it was upposed to bring up the logon screen. So I ended up reinstalling it, and now everything's fine. The only problem is that I'll have to reinstall all the programs and games too:|

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Game #4 Jazz Jackrabbit 2

What do you know? A 2D platformer! Bet you guys didn't expect that:P

This game is a classic, even in today's date. You get to pick either Jazz or Spaz to play the game, with both of them having respective pros and cons. The game starts off in a dungeon you're supposed to escape from, and the first level does a very good job of familirizing you with the game. Out of all the different types of ammo you can find in the game, the first two are found in the game's first two levels. Of course, getting through the second level can be a bit complicated, since it's a boss stage and it's pretty different from the rest of the boss stages but once you figure it out it's fun.

As a typical side scrolling shooter, you have a wide variety of ammo, all with unique and interesting effects, and a hoard of enemies to get past. There are 4 'episodes' in the game, each episode featuring 6 levels. The game also prsents you with diverse environments to play in, ranging from Alice in Wonderland style gardens and monkey forests to haunted castles and a victorian era city. Every environment gives you two levels to play, with the exception of two environments that come on later in the game, spanning over one level each.

Along with the enemies and usual bosses, you also have to get through certain traps, and of course getting around the place itself is not a very easy task.

Another thing about this game that makes it so great is it's music. Every level of the game features a different soundtrack that perfectly matches the level. True, some of the soundtracks can get a bit annoying, but they still serve to fit in with the level and some of the more extraordinary tracks more than compensate for them.

A truly memorable part of this game is a whole level hidden away in ones of the stages. Even the entrance to that hiddden level is in a place you won't think about looking in.

One lastpro about this game is it's multiplayer. It allows you to play race, treasure hunt, battle or even co-op. Naturally, one of the multiplayer modes is split screen and although the game says taht there's online gameplay I don't thinnk the servers are ative any more, so you're pretty much stuck with split screen. But if you can find a good player, it's still amazingly fun.

I've played this game 6 times till date, once on all three skill levels - easy, medium, hard, once more on hard, and twice more on medium. And I'm still not bored of this game:D

Game #5 Prince of Persia 3D

In 1999 Jordan Mechner's original clasic returned to complete the trilogy....in 3D. This added dimension brought a whole new level of excitement to a clasic.

The game still features the original's trademark challenges like traps and strategic setups. However, since the game is now in 3D, so are the challenges which means you'll have to get through them like never before. Ropes hanging over pits of spikes, pools of water you need to get through, and stuff which was impossible in the original two games.

There's also a drastic change in the combat system as the prince now weilds four different weapons. One of them is obviously his trusty sword. The other two melee weapons include a quarterstaff and a pair of hand-held blades. The last weapon, being a bow brings an interesting aspect to the game - killing oppponents without actually engaging in combat. There are also a host of magical arrows, some of which can be quite fun to use.

Otherwise the gameplay remains more or less the same, with health and other potions sprewn around, a princess to save and guards after you.

Two major flaws in this game are it's graphics and sluggish controls. It's still really fun but it would've been a lot better if these two flaws could be fixed.

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Sorry for the delay.....I was busy. And I'm now level 25 Defias Brotherhood:D Anyone know what that means?

Game #6 Halo

This game is a masterpiece. Stunning visuals, excellent sounds, unforgettable gameplay experience, and a plot that keeps you asking for more. You name it, this game's got it.

This game is about a last remaining hero who happens to be the only one who can save the human race from aliens. And you are the one who has to play that hero - The Master Chief. The game presents an interesting concept of playing in a battle suit. This suit has a shield which recharges itself after a while, thereby making health packs a rare appearance in the game. However, even with a battle suit like yours you'll find the game a challenge to get through. There are different kinds of enemies and different weapons too, each weapon effective against a certain type of enemy. What makes it more interesting is that you can only carry two weapons at a time which means you'll be exchanging them quite a lot through the length of the game.

Halo always gives you the opportunity to engage in combat with a vehicle. Although there isn't a lot of choice in vehicles and they don't even make a very frequent appearance in the game, they're there in spots where you need them. And at a certain point in the game it can be quite fun to raid your enemies from the air without them being able to touch you. And you'll also have a few comrades with you at some points of the game, but they make a rarer appearance than the vehicles. You are after all their Master Chief.

Another fun aspect of the game is the environment. It ranges from a battlefield strewn with casualties to a secluded place in a mountain. And you'll find marshy areas as well as snow covered fields.

The campaign also presents itself with different difficulty levels, making this game really fun for amatuers as well as pros. And while you're playing this, don't forget it's multiplayer mode. Tons of maps and different gameplay modes make it a must try. Although Halo has a very famous lag the games are still really exciting once you manage to find a low ping server.

Played even a single FPS in your life but not this? GO OUT AND GET IT!