Wow, it's definitely been a while since I last posted a blog on here. (I wonder if anyone will even read this.) I basically stated in my last post that I'd be leaving GameSpot and making a home for myself over at GameTrailers. It's been over one year since I did just that, and I enjoy it a lot over there. Unlike the majority of my early blogs here, all of my entries on GT are pretty lengthy and a lot more meaningful.

I can't believe I'm at level 30 over here. I haven't even reached level 20 on GT! Maybe leveling up is easier here, or maybe it was because I used to post in the forums like crazy here. Not to mention all the blogs.

Anyway, I still check in regularly. If any of you read this, how are you doing? What have you been up to?

Hello, everyone. I know it's been awhile since I last posted something here on Gamespot. The truth is, you could very well be looking at my final blog post here on this site. I grew tired of GS not too long ago, and I just lost interest in posting as well as researching games through here. The reviews take too long to come out, a lot of my favorite GS personnel are gone, and I am just bored with this website.

I have decided to jump over to Gametrailers. I first heard about that site from Warfust, and after doing some research on it, I decided that that was the games website for me. It's a very well-managed site, and some of you should definitely check it out. (And if you decide to join, please refer me when you register, as that'll help me out a lot.) The community there is positive, and although I haven't figured out the site completely, there is a lot to see and do there.

I never forget my roots though. GS was my first games website, and when I joined, I was truly devoted to it. I feel that I accomplished great things here: I earned a few badges; joined a few unions; got through that dreaded level 20; wrote some of my best reviews; and most importantly, "met" a lot of cool people. IppaiMetaru, gugi_nayar, redbandana2, Redertainment (now a member of 1UP), Warfust (fellow Gametrailers member), SuikodenFantasy, Video_Tycoon (Didn't get to know you much, but you were still a cool buddy!), blackthegame, and last, but certainly not least, the lovely veni-vidi-vici (Your blogs were always some of the most interesting reads I did all day.). You were all a blast to talk to on here. Hopefully I'll hear from you.

I will come back sparodically to see what you are all up to, and maybe to do a little tagging while I'm at it. Other than that, you can find me at Gametrailers. I'm still interpolred over there. Feel free to email me if you wish at blink182bcrtp@sbcglobal.net!

Peace, everyone! Thanks for letting me share and for sharing with me. Have fun and keep gaming!

Upon beating RE4, I unlocked some extra content which gave this near 20-hour game even more life.

The first bonus mode I played was Seperate Ways. This is Ada Wong's side of the story, and although the gameplay wasn't as fully fledged out as that of the main game's, it still made for an interesting game mode and it had plenty of story to boot.

I finished that last night, clocking in four and a half hours into it. This morning I played through Assignment Ada, which is basically a bonus mission for Ada. There were a few checkpoints, yet no save points, as it was mainly an extended mission, not a full story mode. Still, it was a nice distraction and pretty fun to play through.

I have yet to attempt Professional mode. That will follow soon enough. For now, it's on to The Mercenaries.

Well, I finally got through Geometry Wars: Galaxies a few days ago. It was a fun, intense arcade-style shooter. There's one galaxy left, but I can only unlock it by syncing the DS game with the Wii version of the game. (Someday, someday...) I plan on going back and earning a gold medal in each of the planets (attainable only by achieving the highest score) as well as leveling up each of my ship's helper drones. Also, I'll look to play the Retro Evolved mini-game and set an impressive high score there as well.

Also worth noting is the fact that I just beat Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition a couple of hours ago. I enjoyed this game for what it is: a really solid action adventure title. The story was interesting, but took a back seat to the above average gameplay. This is a really great game any way you see it. I unlocked a few extras, and I'll be sure to check those out first thing when I wake up. Of special interest is Professional Mode. I'm a big fan of tougher difficulties, and I look forward to experiencing that challenge.

I have decided to share some of my drawings with you. They're no technical masterpieces, but they do take time, effort, and patience to make. I hope you enjoy them.

I've been drawing Luckie (the guy with the beard) since I was in high school.

This is a rare watercolor piece. I rarely use color.

Sometimes I try to capture different emotions in my drawings. Some are cheery, while others are a bit darker.

This one was a lot of fun. Luckie's been gaining weight. Here, he's seen without a beard.

One of my girlfriend's doors. She has three doors full of my stuff like this and about half of her ceiling.

I wanted to try something a little different.

A little something my girlfriend put together for me.

Yesterday, in just a few short hours, I completed Helen's Dream in NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams. Overall, I feel Helen had better missions than Will, although Will's story was a bit better, mainly because he wasn't as selfish of a character as Helen. It was really interesting to see how each character's stories were connected. After beating the final boss, Wizeman, I went back and made sure I got at least a C ranking on each of the missions. Once I did that...

*SPOILERS*

...I went back and played through the final boss battle again. This time around there was a bonus battle with Reala (one of Wizeman's followers) as well as an extended ending. Then, at night, I went back with Will and played through the final boss fight to see his extended ending and unlock some extra stuff.

*SPOILERS END HERE*

Overall, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams provided a fresh gameplay experience unlike much of what's out there nowadays. The game is heavy on story elements, and that seems to be one of the game's main driving forces, even moreso than the gameplay itself. The soundtrack has some standout music, as well as some themes that are just a bit odd, but overall it's pretty good. The voice-acting ranges from impressive (Owl is a really cool charcter, by my standards) to somewhat dull (Helen is a very dry character, probably by anyone's standards). The graphics are artistically and stylistically gorgeous to look at. Although the game has two different quests to play through, it is indeed a very short game; but throughout its entirity, I couldn't help but feel that Sonic Team wanted to create a game that was mostly light-hearted. (The story, although a bit cheesy, is very nice.)

There is a little bit of replay value to be found in NiGHTS. I may go back eventually to try and achieve an A ranking on the missions. Also, there are collectible items called Dream Drops scattered throughout the levels, and I would like to obtain all of them, as doing so earns another unlockable. In addition to all of that, there is an alternate mode called My Dream. Here, you create a civilization with the different characters you encounter throughout story mode. I haven't tried it out yet, but it seems like the kind of mode I would really enjoy. I'll most likely give that a look within the next few days.

For now, however, I will focus most of my attention on Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, which I started a short while ago.

*Geometry Wars: Galaxies status: Two galaxies left!

Last night I completed Will's Dream in NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams. For those of you who don't know, the game is split up into two quests: Will's Dream and Helen's Dream. So, quite obviously, I will start playing through Helen's Dream today. It took me about three hours to complete Will's Dream (and that includes going back and getting at least a C ranking on each of the missions). It's evident that this is by no means a lengthy game, but the fact that there are two quests is pretty cool.

Also, I've been making steady progress in Geometry Wars: Galaxies. I need to complete four more galaxies, each containing a handful of planets (levels). I've been able to achieve gold medals on a few planets. Once I beat all the levels I'm going to go back and try to earn gold medals in every level.

Those are the games I'll be focusing on for a while. No doubt I'll be doing some art as well. And I think I'll get started on Mick Foley's The Hardcore Diaries today. I've been wanting to read it for a good while now.

*EDIT* Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that I was recently moderated for usage of foul language. I used the F-word in a recent blog post and replaced the U with a V just for the heck of it. Then my blog was censored and I received an e-mail telling me I had been moderated. Oh, well. Live and learn.

*SPOILERS*

In other news, I collected all 120 Stars in Super Mario Galaxy. The prize: the ability to play through the game as Luigi. I guess it's pretty cool. I'm going to play a few other games, and then I'll play through the game all over again as Luigi.

1.16.2008

My girlfriend's cat Cedric died on Wednesday. Poor little guy was really sick. He was suffering, and although what happened sucks, at least the poor little animal isn't in pain anymore. I felt really bad for my girlfriend; her animals mean the world to her. He's resting now though.

R.I.P. Cedric

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1.17.2008

Yesterday morning, while I was in bed, my Mom came into the room and told me that King Cash (formerly known as Cashdogg) had died. He was my first bird; I got him sophomore year in high school. The little guy was old already, and I had seen this coming for weeks. I'm going to miss that bird.

R.I.P. King Cash

These are the top ten games I played in 2007. (Comments will be appreciated). I'm late, but **** it:

10. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (DS) - The first game had a lot of levels, but didn't provide much of a challenge, yet was still a lot of fun. This game was much the same in that aspect (albeit a bit longer). It wasn't about the difficulty, it was about having fun. This puzzle game kept me entertained as long as it lasted. One of the biggest improvements over its predecessor was the addition of a level editor where you could create and trade levels with other people online, which meant you could keep playing this game for a very long time.

9. Super Mario World (SNES) - This game proved to be one of Mario's best adventures. There were tons of levels, many of which contained secrets to go back and look for. This game may forever be one of the best side-scrolling platformers ever created.

8. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) - One of the most iconic games of its time, LttP was not only a big game in terms of length, but also in terms of structure and gameplay.

7. The Warriors (PS2) - An impressive beat-em-up that didn't feel repetitive. There was always something to do other than just beat the crap out of other gang members (although that was great too). The sound was excellent, the voice acting was top notch, and the gameplay was just plain fun.

6. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) - This game was a fun role-playing game that contained humor, colorful graphics, and charming music. There was a lot to do outside of the main quest, so this was no short game by any means.

5. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) - This melancholy game was eerie and dreamy at the same time. It provided an intense feeling that was just as grand as the Colossi found in the game.

4. God of War II (PS2) - This game didn't mess with the first game's formula much. In reality, it was more of the same. But after playing the first GoW, isn't that what we all really wanted?

3. God of War (PS2) - Graphics that pushed the PS2 to its limits, an epic soundtrack, and all the right action adventure elements came together to create one of the greatest adventures seen on the system.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) - A lengthy hand-held adventure that took full advantage of every aspect of the DS hardware. It was a Zelda game through and through, and the new control scheme provided a fresh experience in addition to the time-tested Zelda formula.

1. Okami (PS2) - The most artistic graphics I've ever seen on any system and a beautiful sountrack were just the icing on the cake for this lengthy, story-driven adventure. It was hard to find a game that even came close to this in 2007. Okami was also full of great writing. The story kept going, so this game wasn't over fast. As big as the quest was, the environments were even bigger. This game had large locales to explore and there was not a dull moment to be found.

Sometimes I'll come up with an idea for a drawing, so I'll keep that idea in mind. There are times when that single idea will branch out into a few different ideas. That's when that future drawing becomes three drawings. To some it may seem like an easy way out of actually thinking up each and every one of my drawings, but to me it's just my thought process. Many times I've had one idea turn into many different, albeit similar, ideas. This process may not work for everyone, and some people may not agree with it, but it keeps me thinking as well as creating a vast multitude of drawings.

I got back from my trip yesterday. We stayed longer than we had planned. Had a lot of fun, ate good food, and just kicked back. I also got to hang out with my cousins. It was a good couple of days.

My friends dropped me off at my girlfriend's house and I spent a few hours with her. Then I took the bus home (I live a couple of cities away from her), stopped by a 7-11 for some donuts and a breakfast burrito, walked home, and then went to sleep for a while. It's good to be back with my family, my friends, my girlfriend, my birds...and this sh!tty-a$$ computer.

It's good to be back!