Wow, it's been about two weeks now...haha that's awhile for me. Geez, there's a lot to talk about, not really sure where to begin but here goes:

I was trying to wait to post this today until I was able to upload some art onto my computer, but of course there was a technical problem. We've got a nice HP printer/scanner here at our home in Ohio, so before I went out and purchased my own for my work I figured I could just use that one to get my work off the ground...but I couldn't find the software disk for it >=[ So the next step was to look to the internet of course, haha, and HP is kind enough to have all their software on one handy site for download, for free. So I downloaded it and tried to install it 3 times now, and apparently it's not working...got solutions? I'm looking for that disk right now...

Other news in the real world consists of the weather...as I said, I live in Ohio...this sucks...I was snowed in from friday until sunday. I tried to leave my house on saturday, but I got five feet from my drive way and my truck got stuck hahaha...

As for the gaming world, wow I have no life...I just finished putting 50+ hours into DMC4 finishing up Son of Sparda mode with a full health bar and almost doubling my accomplishments. Then I proceeded to beat Heaven and Hell mode keeping me up until about 5 in the morning hahaha. At the end of the mode once it's beaten they literally tell you "you need to get a life" HAHAHAHA. So, yea, I'm hoping to do that soon; in other words, I'm looking to get back into the dating field...Other news in the gaming world consists of trading in Cod4 and picking up God of War: CoO for the PSP and some PSP HD cables, both of which are very nice! As for a rating for GoW, this game is a prefect 10 for the PSP, it's sadly not a surprise that GS rated it so low, still aggravating though. If you ever wanted a reason to pick up a PSP, this ten hour joy ride is it, it is a game of PS2 quality in a handheld...

Well, that's about it for now, hopefully I'll have some art up soon...other than that I'm still just waiting on Photoshop...

-SD

Post Script-Timmy, i found your lighter in my coat, which explains mostly why it smelled like smoke...I'm not going to say it, but you already know...

So0o0o...with the conclusion of Devil May Cry 4, I'm sure many of us are left with many questions unanswered. Most of these questions probably pertain to the new series bad*** and hero, Nero. Questions such as, what's up with Nero's arm? and what's the link between Nero and Dante if there is one...

Well, in this final part of my three part DMC series I'm going to theorize some possible answers to these questions so here goes:

The first question I'd like to analyze is, Who is Nero and what is his link to Dante Vergil and Sparda? Before I begin digressing on my theories I'd like to quote one of the co-creator's of the DMC series Shinji Mikami as having said, "Nero is human and he is not a son of Sparda." That kind of makes things tough, but while keeping this in mind I'd also like to bring up the fact that the dev's of the DMC series have a tendency to do or say something and then take it back...So with my theories I will keep in mind that Nero is not a son of Sparda, and I'm going to assume that they meant Nero is mostly human. Alright, here goes. Many not only believe that there is a strong link between the Son's of Sparda and Nero, but quite frankly we know it. The white hair, the bad*** attitude, the stylish combat skills, the strong possibility of demons blood, and several references to having inherited the power of Sparda? Here's my theories:

Theory Number One to Question One. One of the most accepted theories among players, and within forums is that Nero is the son of Dante, that Dante knocked up a woman and the woman left Nero as an orphan. This is a decent theory and I can agree with it on a decent level, however, the probelm i have with this is that the Game series, the Anime, and the Books all follow Dante rather closely...I don't think they would have just added this in on the side...

Theory Number Two to Question One and also my preferred theory. A theory that not many have seemed to come up with is that Nero could very well be the son of VERGIL. Nero has quite the attitude, a serious attitude, unlike Dante's upbeat goofy antix and much more like Vergil's serious attitude. Not only this but Nero's demonic power's resurrected yamato...more on this with the theories to the next question...

My Final and personally made theory. It's possible that when a baby is conceived between a human and a demon in the world of Devil May Cry that that baby has the looks of Dante, Nero and Vergil. That they have White hair, stylish skills, and a not so sunny diposition.

The next question to be answered which can help me add to my theories on the connection between Nero and the Son's of Sparda. That question is, WTF is up with Nero's Sweet ******* arm?! Well people hopefully I can ease your pain, and stop those sleepless nights with my theories...

Theory Number One to Question Two. The most popular and general theory among people is that Nero's arm was possessed by a powerful demon. The problem with this is theory is that people believe Nero's arm is only possesed, however this is not true. Nero's arm is Nero's arm and yes there is a demonic power within it and it is the arm of a demon. Yes this can be considered 'possessed', but consider the following: If Nero's right arm is chopped off or destroyed do you think it would become a normal arm? I don't think so...This is why i believe Nero's right arm is the arm OF a demon and not POSSESSED by a demon.

Theory Number Two to Question Two. If Nero is the son of Dante then it is possible that the spirit of Vergil came after Nero because he thought he was Dante...In that instant when Nero needed the strength to protect Kyrie, Nero's arm was changed by the soul of Vergil and now the Soul of Vergil resides within Nero and the connection between the two lies within his arm...

Theory Number Three to Question Two. Not my favorite theory but this one is very possible. It's possible that if Nero is the son of Dante, Vergil, or another powerful Demon, that he was attacked by a rival demon of their's. When Nero requiered the power to protect Kyrie or just the power to live, a higher power sealed that demon within Nero's right arm and gave him control over it.

Theory Number Four to Question Two. This theory is my favorite and the most sound out of all of them on Nero's arm. If Nero was conceived by Vergil then I think it is highly possible and probable that when Dante defeated Nelo Angelo for the final time, that Vergil's spirit came back to Nero and now resides in his right hand...this would be most logical since it was the demonic power within Nero that resurrected Yamato...

Theory Five to Question Two...The lame theory...Nero is Human, and got possessed by a demon...whoopdee

Bringing things together:

Altogether, the most logical theory is that Nero is originally completely human and his arm was possessed by the soul of vergil...but my favorite theory would be that he is either the son of Dante or Vergil and possessed by the spirit of nelo angelo. So while we still don't know much on Nero's history hopefully one of these theories will bring ease to your mind, or hopefully youll just love one of these sooo much youll go on to write a freakin book!

This is SD saying 'From that day forth my arm changed, but now that the game is over, no one still knows **** about me!'

driven into oncoming traffic in Paradise...I thought that was pretty sweet

anyways Ill have part 3 up tomorrow. It's called Nero Theory 101 so you might be able to guess what it's about...

My last Blog left me with some things I wanted to say so I'm making my review apart of a three part series...This second part has to do with what I mentioned in my secondary p.s. note from my review. That being the lack luster game play of MMO RPG's...

Don't misunderstand me I like my RPG's my MMO's my MMORPG's and my RPG's(Rocket Propelled Grenades). Yet there is something most RPG's and MMORPG's lack greatly, and that is a fast paced, smooth, flowing, stylish, high flying, intense, battle system. Games like WoW, Elder Scrolls, Balder's Gate, Guild Wars, and more all have made a name in the RPG or the MMORPG world. Those like WoW and Guild Wars made their name through creating an incredible and immersive online world, and those like Elder Scrolls and Balder's made their name through epic tales. However, they all lack something that could make these games great, and that's a faster pace battle system. Once again don't misunderstand me, it's good for some people and the slower pace works better for some games, but does it have to be in ALL of them?

There are great things about RPG's: beautiful environments, incredible magic spells, there always seems to be a cool looking pig man, and at least one half naked elf...so why does the battle system have to suck so much?! Anyone else agree?! I played WoW for a week, I was a giant beast looking dude with a big club, big muscles and a burley looking beard; yet, all he could do was stand there and swing his club once every five sconds! What is up with that? I think I saw him spin once, that was about it...

I know the problem has to do with processing power, but that shouldn't be a problem anymore. We're coming into an age where what used to be impossible is becoming possible and more in the gaming world. Developers now have an incredible untapped machine at their disposal. With a great graphics chip, a revolutionary disk drive that uses a disk with massive storage space, and 7 cell processors. Maybe it's time to create another revolutionary MMORPG devs, with everything everyone loves about our MMO's today with something they've always been lacking...the greatest, most intense sword swinging, axe wielding battle system ever...

-SD

Update: (Book) Looks like my buddy has Adobe photo shop, so looks like things are going really well! i even started my first pre-strip, which is a practice of one of the real comic strips before i actually draw it out. It looks great, the angles are coming together nicely and the action scenes (which is most of it) are being portrayed perfectly.

Update: (Gaming) I heard a rumor of the PSP2 having three screens. When I looked around the internet for any specs or truth to this nothing came up except the original PSP2 mock up also known as the "cobalt". I also checked to see if they weren't mistake, and that it wasn't really the DS-2 either, and it wasn't...but both mockups still look tight...

Yes, it's that time...it's time for the DMC4 Assessment. Initially my intent was to beat the third difficulty but not much changes in it so here goes:

When I purchased my copy of DMC4 I had the collector's edition reserved, now for me this was kind of tough because I wasn't sure that the game would be worth a full $80 US investment. "It seems not many games this console generation are actually worth the the full $60 investment" (worthofnote), most have little to no replay value, the shooters are all the same, and action advetures don't last long enough. Even with all these negatives, the massive Devil May Cry fan that I am, I couldn't help but want the game on the first day it came out. Then I proceeded to do the normal stupid thing that I do and I called off work and skipped classes for an entire day to play the game.

COMPLAINTS

Im going to begin here with the most common complaints I've heard people have about the game and then Ill deliver with my own grievances.

I have found that the biggest complaint within the forums and that I've heard from others is one of two things. The first complaint is this: The third game in the series was too hard so I don't want the forth to be hard either. Now this is understandable seeing as how DMC3 was rough on the unseasoned or even seasoned DMC players. One thing I found demanding in DMC3 was that, if you wanted to be the game, going back and training in other missions was unavoidable. Another harsh characteristic of the game was that if you died in a level, you had to play the whole level over again. Well Capcom definately learned from their prior mistakes because now the game is much much easier in almost all the modes and there are continue points throughout the levels so you don't have to play levels all over again. The second complaint that I've heard is that it doesnt bring anything new to the table and that it's just like the previous games with a good look. Hmm, I can't help but ask what you want then? With assassin's creed many raved about how revolutionary it was but then complained that it was so repetitive. With Drake's and Heavenly Sword many said they were too short and had game play issues...these were "revolutionary games" with different gameplay but when it came down to it they just didn't hit the nail on the head. Now the combat and game mechanics of DMC may not have changed in the forth installation, but should they need to be changed? They are fun and exciting, and it makes the game just right. Besides there are many other things that have changed about the game. This is not a shooter, to those of you who play games strictly for gameplay, this game is as much about the story as it is the gameplay. I know that many people like to just play games and skip all the cutscenes nowadays but that would be a massive mistake. Devil May Cry 4's cutscene's are incredible and rival that of scenes from FFVII Advent Children.

Now on to my complaints...and there are few. Timm I'm sure your looking to read these since we pretty much have the same opinion on the series, so here goes. My first, and largest complaint is that Nero does not get any other primary weapons other than the Devil Bringer (of freaking sweetness!!!), the Red Queen, and the Blue rose. Now this was kind of a let down seeing as how I wanted to know how capcom would do in combining different weapons with the Dev Bringer. Unfortuantely they didn't, but that's ok seeing as how Nero and the Devil Bringer are two new and great elements to the DMC series. On that note, Nero is amazing to play as and he's a refreshing difference from the over seasoned series Vet. Dante. My second complaint, and this is my complaint as a DMCFreak, there were not enough enemies. Haha i know some may look at me like I'm crazy, but Bloody Palace and Son of Sparda Mode make up for this in full.

VISUALS

The best looking game and most photo realistic looking game to date. It even looks good on SD tv's, but the visuals look most photo realistic on HD. Quite frankly it's more photo realistic than COD4.

The movements in cinema and out of cinema are smooth, and the most realistic I've seen to date.

The only complaint about the visuals in the game and, really, in the series is this: when a character in a cutscene gets stabbed or shot or gets a sword threw their entire body...leave a whole for at least 5 seconds!!! I mean C'mon!!!

NERO

Happier playing as him than I am Dante. Honestly, I kid you not. Yes, the weapons (Timm your gonna love Pandoras Box) that Dante packs are amazing, but Nero's combos flow so much smoother and the devil bringer just puts him in a league of his own.

Some people call him emo...I dunno what the **** is up with that. He's just as bad-*** as dante (nowhere near as commical, but just as bad***). All around I'm incredibly happy with Nero, Timm you'll enjoy the experience with him, and I hope they put him in the next game or they at least include him in the anime if theyre going to have a new season.

MY RATING AND CLOSING REMARKS

9.0 out of 10

In this generation a game that's actually worth the full price is hard to come by. Many games just aren't worth it because they don't have any replay value, and if they don't have online multiplayer the full price is usually out of the question. So what does that make Devil May Cry 4? A breath of fresh air. This game is worth every penny and if your a PS3 owner it's a must own for the collection.

Thus far I've beaten Human, Devil hunter and the First Circle of Bloody Palace. Right now I'm taking my time with Son of Sparda mode... The only thing this game needed was "more demons"

This is SD saying "Let's Rock!"

Post Script- This is a review for the PS# version, note that I have played both version for the 360 and PS3, in my opinion one sucks and one is amazing...

Secondary Post Script- Maybe some MMO creators should get a clue and create an MMO with this kind of stylish action! It would be so much greater than the slow pace of the MMO's that are out...just a thought...

Oy ya, things are still going slow, not to mention that Adobe Photoshop still costs $649 US...

Well, actually I can't lie now that I'm home and have a great amount of time to myself things are actually speeding up, still...without photo shop I dunno if ill reach 8/15/08 as easily as I thought I would. Then theres the fact that some of my buddies thought it would be funny to go on pornographic sites and save pictures to my photos file...which lead to me having to dump my photos file due to a "malicious script." I had somewhere over 72 hours worth of work that was not backed up in there, so I lost that, and not to mention I lost some friends when I kicked the ******* outta my house. As you can tell I'm very heart broken and torn over loosing those ****** bags. Honestly, it feels like I should care, but I don't...

I think theres an age where we should grow out of putting porn, or just in general, messing with our friends computers, or any electronic devices for that matter. That age is...oh wait...MAYBE YOU SHOULD NEVER ******* MESS WITH IMPORTANT **** LIKE THAT!!! I lost about 1/5 of the work I had done (about 1 to 2 months worth of work), and I could have lost everything that wasn't backed up that's on here. Now should I have had it backed up? YEEEESSSS. Should I have had to learn through people I thought I could trust to just go on my computer to go on myspace or sits that won't molest my computer?...NO!

Is it just me? I never realized it until recently, but it really aggravates me inside when people use some of my electronics (PS3, palm, computer) to do what ever they feel like, without asking. It really does make a big difference to me when someone just asks nicely to use my stuff, and I always say yes. I don't know why it rubs me the wrong way...oh, yeah, actually I know why it bothers me so much...THIS ****'S EXPENSIVE! Honestly though, it's actually disrespectful.

Let's put this in perspective. Let's say you have a nice house, or let's just say you have a house of your own. You paid for it, you own it, you love your house, and you've never owned your own house before. Well, one day while your out shopping, your neighbor and good friend decides to walk into your house to borrow a cup of sugar. While he's looking for this cup of sugar, Tyler Durden awakens within him and they commence operation "blow up yo house foo, mayhem"...got the point?

Anyways, I've really been inspired to get more work done on my book lately, mostly by Tim Buckley. If you don't know who that is check out his kick-***ness at ctrlaltdel-online.com. Hopefully, I'll be able to share some of my stuff with you guys soon.

[DMC4 Assessment coming soon]

-SD

Post Script-Oh, I was actually thinking about selling my PS3 and games for Adobe...then I punched myself in the face and came to my senses...

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one noticing this lately, but I'm pretty sure I'll be one of the first to put it like this. Lately, there has been a slight shift in the wind and little by little things are changing. What wind is this? It's that uncontrollable wind known as the gaming world. "Alright, but WTF are you talking about SD?!" Well boys and girls if you haven't noticed there's been a slight shift in the way things are being done in the gaming industry, if you haven't noticed, things are shifting in a 'PS3ward' direction.

When I joined GS everyone knew I was a Sony fan boy, but I tried to make it clear that I like the 360 and the PS3, I've just been an avid PS3 supporter because there seems to be a larger crowd against it than for it. So, getting to the point, and dare I say, have things been shifting in favor of the infamous, and loathed system? Wait! Did the terrible and evil corporate giant Sony *gasp* actually do something good and right?! Is it possible that they actually knew what they were doing when they put a very large HDD in all of their systems capable of storing large amounts of information; capable of supporting a large patch that wiill allow for a new cover system for a very popular online game and it's competitor won't be recieving this patch (COD4 rumblings); capable of downloading an amazing demo with very short load times, incredible action and smooth gameplay, that it's competitor was incapable of running at the same quality?! No that's just nuts, none of that happened...oh wait...yea, that's quite possilbe

"Wait, a ****ing second SD, Sony did something right?!" Yes, boys and girls, they did, but wait, dare I say that theyve known what theyve been doing this entire time?! Even though people have questioned them since square one? ...duh...

Maybe, just maybe, Sony knew what they were doing when they put a large hard disk drive in each of their systems. Maybe just maybe they knew what they were doing when they but a blu-ray disk drive in their game system. Maybe just maybe they knew what they were doing when they put 9 of the complicated cell processor's in their game system. Just like theyve always known what theyve been doing with everything else they do, as they get questioned with everything they do while all the nay sayers say "NaY b****" the whole way through. Just as it went with the Pro Duo, just as it did with blu-tooth, just as it did with bravia tv's, just as it went with blu-ray disks, and here's the funny thing. They've done it, and they've always done it better than everyone else...

So my final point is, what is the PS3 and is it becoming? Well, lets look at it this way...Say your walking through a museum, I know it's a stretch for some of you but just stick with me. So, you and your buddy are walking through a museum and you can already see this massive painting at the end of this long section of museum. You say "WTF is that?!" Your buddy says "I dunno but it looks like s***!" Now you could be right, it could be another crappy piece of art work that doesn't really deserve to be in a museum...but slowly as you get closer to the end of this museum and this painting, you begin to see it for what it is, you begin to see what is really important. You start seeing the incredible fine details, as you get closer you start to see that the artist who painted this thing just might have known what they were doing. So, what is it that you find at the end as the picture becomes crystal clear? You might just find a masterpiece...

Last night I finished Assassin's Creed after having it in my possesion for a week and a half. Then, 5 minutes after I woke up this morning I got in my truck and drove to gamestop to trade the game in. Now there are 2 things wrong with that:

1.) Never, ever, get in a vehicle 5 minutes after you wake up in drive...I almost fell asleep twice in the short 10 minute drive (but this proves how fast i wanted to be rid of the game)

2.) Those of you who know me, you already know this, I rarely trade in video games, ever! I've never traded in a game right after beating it! I've never traded in an action adveture game!

Now many of you are probably saying so? Well there's a big problem with that, and it's probably a problem with thy creed. Now don't me wrong it was a great game ( for the first 2 assassinations ). I could write a review but there's no real point, since everyone else has...So here's my assessment: Assassin's creed is an incredible game that takes your breath away when you start playing it, but it lacks everything to keep that impression going. Once your done with the first 2 assassinations you could honestly end the game because it gets incredibly repetitive. They could have done soooo much more with the plot! Instead of having the same events over and over and over after each assassination you could have been captured and locked up for trial maybe once? with all your weapons taken away? and then have to improvise to kill the guards and escape a damascan prison?! Wouldn't that have been awesome? Also why did we have to run down each assassination?! Arent you supposed to be...oh i dunno...an incredible, STEALTHY ASSASSIN? Shouldn't we just be able to come up behind our target in front of a massive crowd, say 'hi' introduce ourselves, have a spot of tea, blade 'em, sleep with their wife, and walk away without anyone noticing? Don't even get me started on the fact that you can't swim...

Anyways Gamespot congrats you scored this game properly...

So, once again, it's been awhile...big surprise, semester closed out well, and now that im home ill have time to wor on my books and catch up on gaming haha. Oh, and the gaming I'll have to catch up on, turns out i got an Ice Silver PSP for christmas, and then i just couldn't wait another month so i went ahead and charged a new 80gig PS3.

As you might be able to tell from the title, I picked up Assassin's Creed for the PS3 and Daxter came with the PSP. Now these games are great but what I'm really pumped about is High Velocity Bowling from the Playstation Store. What a great, addictive, zany, fun for everyone game! First off, yes I know, many would say "OMG STUPID SONY COPY THE WII NOW THEY GO BANKRUPETED HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!11111111ONEELEVENTWELVE@." Guess what, that's what this console generation is all about, so, as I've said many times before, SUCK IT UP AND DEAL! Anywho, back to the game...

High Velocity Bowling is great, and highly addictive, and proves what the Six Axis controller is really for. The game can be purchased through the store for 10 USD, which is a real bargain for what you get. It does have workings just like WiiBowling, however the graphics are much better, and instead of using Mii's your given several characters that you will literally love to hate. I'd say more on the game itself but I'm planning on writing a review. So, for now, I'll end my summary with this, using the SIX AXIS is awesome! In the tutorialthey tell you to grip the controller in the center, and that's great but i like to grip it at the end near the R2 button and hold it like a pistol. I hope this persuades some to look into the game, but if not maybe my review will...

As for the coming months ahead, I'm looking into picking up COD4 since i hear it's a must have, I'm also going to pick up Drake's Fortune, possibly the orange box, and Little Big Planet is supposed to be coming out in Q1 unless things have changed...Not much else to be said, except: it's good to be home:)