It's all right here!

Hope it feels like the good ol' days. Enjoy. :)

Hey everyone, not sure if any of you remember me. I was the kid with the glasses, who did those video blogs and rambled about games and other things mixed with corny puns and silly actions. Remember? The youngster who for the most part posted blogs with substance? The kid, who according to some of you, wrote pretty decent game reviews?And the guy who made all those fancy-smancy profile banners andicons for the community around here?

I logged on yesterday to catch up on E3 coverage and starting skimming through my profile. First I just deleted some titles off my wish list and updated my Now Playing List. That led to me checking a few blogs, and now I'm posting one. I reallymiss those aforementioned activities. This past school year has been thebusiest ever. Itstill is in some ways, but things are truly winding down. I'll be graduating from high school in a few weeks, my prom is tonight. On top of fidning scholarships, staying on top of my art skills, attending to my loved ones, having a girlfriend, and everything else life throws out, I can't forget thatI am a part of this community. With that said, I never left, but in a way I had to come home. Nice to see everyone still active around here. I hope to be more active as well.

So, later on, I'll post some thoughts on what's been going down at E3 thus far. Other than that, catch you folks later.

-Ish

During this mid winter break I've been having some healthy time to indulge into some gaming, and it's been helping me ease off a few other timely issues in my life. Nevertheless, in an effort to get back into the activities of blogging and daily writing, I figured I'd run a series of impressions posts of three new titles I've begun playing: Prince of Persia, Fallout 3, and GTAIV: The Lost & Damned.

I am a big fan of the Prince of Persia franchise. His three part story of the last console generation garnered some of my favorite gaming experiences. When the current console generation began almost three years ago, there was skepticism of whether the agile and arrogant Prince was returning for another adventure. When Ubi Soft announced Assassin's Creed, I assumed that franchise would be this generation's PoP. However, no possibility should ever be counted out.Playing good session of the Prince's new adventure last night left me pleased and frustrated. The visuals in the game are very vibrant, and everything pops out well from the landscapes in the background to the textures on the Prince's scarf and clothing. The game just looks gorgeous, and I am sure the environments become more varied in color and geometry in later levels, especially after their fertile lands are revived. It truly delivers the fantasy-like theme that the series is initially known for in a more stylish way.

Aside from the great visuals, the other aspects of the game I've experienced thus far are split with likes and dislikes for each. I think the developers were in a nostalgic mindset when working on the design. The very first PoP was a pure platformer, and nearly twenty years later, it may serve as a refreshing reuse in this shooter, small jumps or no jump button, and strategy filled world of video games. The platforming is plentiful, and honestly I like the two levels I played through so far. At the same time, I feel the platforming element overrides the combat element. That is more faulty to the structure of the game's combat it seems. One on one fights every so often may become annoying to me after a while, especially if I play for a lengthy period of time to get to those sections and they may not be consistently captivating or memorable. Once I get to fighting segments later in the game, I hope I'm not doing the same string of attacks since the beginning levels. I felt the combat in 2003's The Sands of Time was very well done, even though it lacked the "free-form" $tyle and combo mechanics of Warrior Within and The Two Thrones. The new PoP seems to take both sides into consideration, allowing for different combo attacks while keeping things simplified. Making every fight seem like a boss fight is a neat idea; I think Shadow of the Colossus honed such gameplay ****(still need to play that game). However, some enemies in this game seem like wastes of time to have a health bar stretching across the screen, regardless if they easily deplete quickly. I really enjoy multiple enemy fights like in TSoT. From jump-street, I see what the official reviewers meant when stating this entry in the franchise was made with the "casual player" in mind. I don't really have an issue with the ease of accessibility though.

The story is very straightforward and it looks like it fits a fairy-tale format. Of course, I'm still at the game's beginning, but I've found out a lot about the game's world, history and its primary antagonist by constantly talking to Elika (those achievements for just talking to her are cool :P). There is a very modern touch to the story and atmosphere found in the actual dialogue, especially with the Prince's speech. For example, there was one line about ex-girlfriends, which I don't think was an actual term used in whatever century this story takes place. His arrogant and quirky characteristics are easily recognized and his personality here is similar to the one in The Sands of Time. Elika is poised, yet curious while at the same time skeptical due to being sheltered as a princess for so long. Traditional story elements, and it seems polished enough for me to care enough for the story.

I am "digging" this Prince of Persia. Initially, I was hoping to fall in love with it instantly like I did with the previous three; more so The Sands of Time. However, I still have a lot more to play of it. My impressions in a nutshell: great visuals, really good platforming thus far, I'd like to fight some more though.



Thanks for reading, I aim to be around tomorrow with impressions of The Lost & Damned. See you soon...brothers (had to throw it in there :P).

Video blog is here!

Hey everyone. Enjoy the vlog, I gotta get back to gaming. Rock Band 2=awesome. Madden 09=pretty damn good. More detailed impressions tomorrow along with a lot of other stuff. I actually have quite a bit to discuss this time around :P.

Whoooooohooooo! I'm back (for the time being) and with a video blog. In this edition of I4I, I have a "slight return" from a hiatus and discuss the reasons as to why I haven't been as active with blogging on Giant Bomb and Gamespot lately. There is also talk of the games I've been playing lately and games I'm looking forward to getting in a couple of weeks. Another long one, but I've thrown some nice visual treats in there; especially at the beginning. I hope you enjoy and please drop a comment.

I for an I: Vlog Dweller

Thinking of content to post soon; not exactly sure of what though. I think I may do a review of Trackmania Nations Forever, perhaps even a matching video review. We'll see.Peace. :)

Hey everyone, I entered a scholarship contest in which I need a lot of votes in order to win...a lot of votes. The contest site is listed below and all it requires is a quick registration; it takes less than five minutes (you guys can give me five minutes ). Then you just watch & vote for my short film.
I'd gladly appreciate all your votes and support, thanks!

P.S.

The voting process ends September 15th, so feel free to forward this to your friends, Romans, and countrymen so they can vote too!

And the site itself is sometimes buggy so if theregistration doesn't activate properly, give it some time or come back and try later if you can.

The Contest Site


Direct link to video (This is where you place your vote)


If you want to see the entire short film (which you should) in all of its awesomeness, then watch it at the YouTube link below.

Also, the name of the movie is "Jazzy Artistry", so when you're browsing for it on the contest site, look for that title.

Jazzy Artistry (Complete)

You can definitely see it was inspired by Fallout 3! :D

Peace and blessings!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, I know I have been dead around here, but school is becoming more busy everyday and to be honest, there hasn't been much interesting stuff going on with my gaming life. It's the month of Ramadan too, so I really haven't been playing much. But come next month, I shall be back in full force, actually--maybe sooner than that. :)

I found this in a Kotaku post in which they posted via indie dev Stardock. A Bill of Rights for PC gamers, but some of these could appeal to gamers of other platforms as well. All ten are significant and while a few have been met, they all should be presented to other indie and major developers and practiced.

The Gamer's Bill of Rights:

1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.

2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.

3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.

4. Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.

5. Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.

6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.

7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.

8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.

9. Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.

10. Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.

And hey, its my 400th blog! Sweet! Here's to 400 more, times ten, added by another one-hundred. :P

This game is awesome! I played an hour of it tonight out of boredom and it was a blast. Even though I started on the easiest difficulty just to accustom to the gameplay, the sense of accomplishment still felt good. I got bronze, silver and gold medals in each of the first five races. I love how straightforward it is; controls are simple, no extravagant HUD, graphics are simple but have a very sleek look plus the physics are cool along with the motion blur effect (I'm a sucker for good motion blur :P).

I'm not big on racing games but what I also like about TrackMania is its simple 'jump right into the action' design. No need for, "tune this, modify suspension, blah blah blah," just focus on racing and beating the clock. Don't get me wrong I enjoy those types of racers too (my best friend and I had good times with Gran Turismo 2 back in the day). Just the mere fact that its now free is even more of a reason to get into it. If you play as well, let's hit up the multiplayer, my account name for it is: BrooklynGrenade.

Due to its pick up and play structure I see my downtime comprising of playing this during the fastly approaching school year when my AP language cl@ss kicks my ass on weekdays. I also see myself binging on this to the point of creating custom tracks. Hell, I might even upgrade to the United expansion. I may however need to acquire a gamepad, I was on my way to carpol tunnel when I played tonight, lol. I might just pick up a wired 360 controller which will serve an expanded use between my PC games and Xbox. That's just another thing on the list of endless game purchases, heh.

It's games like this that justify the great service that is Steam. Speaking of which, the first two games of the Oddworld franchise are available for download. I am definitely going to check those out at some point.

More blogging coming this weekend.

Peace.

Hey Gamespot, please, forgive me for my absence. I have just been absentminded with some things lately, lol. But seriously, it's just been a matter of preparing for school, attempting to get this daunting summer assignment done for AP Language, along with other things. And truthfully, my activity and interest in gaming has been real wishy-washy for the past couple of weeks. Many days I just did not feel inclined to play anything. Hell, two games I was adamant on finishing before school starts; Uncharted and Super Mario Galaxy have yet to be beat. However, I am going to make the push to beat both in this last week of summer vacation. But the reason for this lost of interest? The summer drought is one thing, the main reason that I haven't purchased any new game since GTAIV. I think the most important reason is getting into other things for the summer, enjoying the weather, advancing my artistic skill (need to get this portfolio together), etc.

But after tonight's session of GTAIV multiplayer with ShredX and Gears of War with the usual crew (it was a hell of a lot of fun guys, can't wait to kick it up a notch in Gears 2), I have a renewed inclination towards gaming. Besides, autumn is pratically here, and all the big guns are starting to roll out. Speaking of which, here is my list of games that I definitely want for the remainder of this year.

Games Wishlist for Fall 2008

Fallout 3 (Xbox360) October 28th

Gears of War 2 (Xbox360) November 7th

Dead Space (Xbox360) October 31st

The Last Remnant (Xbox360) November 20th

Street Fighter IV (PS3 or Xbox360) TBA

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (PC) October 28th

Madden NFL 09 (Xbox360) Available Now

NBA2K9 (Xbox360) October 7th

Guitar Hero World Tour (Xbox360) October 27th

Rock Band 2 (Xbox360) September 14th

Little Big Planet (PS3) TBA October 21st?

Prince of Persia (Xbox360) TBA

Call of Duty: World at War (Xbox360) November 11th

Chrono Trigger (DS) November 25th

Now, I'm expecting a few of these titles to be knocked off, and I probably will just rent them granted with stick with Gamefly longer this time around.

Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword is what I rented out with the renewed Gamefly subscription, and while I didn't finish it, I experienced basically everything there is to do with that game. It's one of those "ultimate rentals" if you will. I dunno if you'd want to throw down $30-$40 dollars for it. The gameplay gets reptitive and it is easier than the console iterations. Overall though, it is a good DS game. Hopefully I will be able to rent Mercenaries 2 next if the timing with the return goes right. Which it doubt it will :P.

A few side notes:

Castle Crashers is out this week. Hope to get it.

Juno is a good movie. Its soundtrack is very good.

I can't stop listening to RadioHead.

Hopefully my senior cl@sschedule will be easy to give me more free time for gaming and other fun stuff, as well as trying to get this college process together.

Maybe we'll see one last I4I this week before I hit the books again?

Lastly, for those who have started cl@sses and those who are beginning this week, I wish you all the best of luck this year. Kick ass with the pencils, and if that doesn't work, do the "magic pencil trick" :P. Peace.

See, nerdiness can fit into anything :P. But seriously, I'm ecstatic about his accomplishments tonight. Swimming cl@sses will be booked everywhere, endorsements will be plentiful, his rate of getting girls will skyrocket, and he'll go down as one of the greatest. Everyone wants to be like Mike...Phelps. :)