Hmmm... if you haven't noticed, or are perhaps curious. I won't be around here much longer. An inevitable fate, nay... opportunity has arisen and I'm taking neccessary steps to insure that I will be allowed to take this chance, is fast approaching. So, I've been trying to come less onto the forums and computer in general as it is a big hobby and time killer of mine.

I find it a bit hard, because quite frankly, I enjoy being active here and talking/posting with people here and being active to meet new people as well. However, from my estimate I believe that in about ... 1 month and a half I'll have an answer for you all and will be able to tell you what is up with my life. So about 6-8 weeks I want to say... starting next week. It could be this, I'm not sure. I just know that very soon I shall be leaving and be somewhere else for quite some time. How much time you ask? Approximately 2 years exactly. So, I thought I'd let you all know just for now, a heads up really. If I don't reply to blogs posts, or do very lately, it's because of htis. Now, it's nothing to be sad about, I am sure I shall come check-in when I return. Just hope to see all you people when I get back. :)

Ok, so... in Zack and Wiki, I'm... stuck. I mean, not forever will I be stuck, that I'll put off the game for good, but... just stuck. There's a puzzle that's stumping me, and it's critical to the story of the game (only puzzle of choice in other words, whereas you get lke 2-3 to choose from normally.)

In FFT, for the life of me... I'm struggling with the battle against Wiegraf. More correctly, the battle when he turns into Velius, the Zodiac Brave beast. The problem here is... the first battle is a one-on-one as Wiegraf in Human form, but that battle is a bit challenging. I beat it fine, but the problem is after it, where Wiegraf and his minions casts Giga Flare (A no charge time attack) and Dark Holy (ironic name, no? :P ) that just take me down. Now, I equip some items to reduce dark attacks and Giga Flare isn't as powerful as it seems (takes between 70-80 points of damage.) It's the damn SEAL move he uses, that petrifies my team. I've got like to accessories that combat it, but the problem here lies in the fact that...the ones I give them to die as they are targeted by dark holys and giga flares. The map is small so it's hard to seperate myself a good distance to allow spells to charge. My characters are good, but my Calculator needs help still... A Holy with Math Skill only hurts Velius, but... not enough my summoner can do twice the amount of damage my Priest does, understandable because her class is stronger in magic power plus other skills I have for her. Ok, point is... I'm just having it tough on this level, for two days. :|

Last bit of news.. quite good actually, I'm unstuck in FF VI Advance now! :D So, I had more time put into that... >.> Gosh, I love this game.

So yes, I come a little late with this blog post, but just curious. How was everyone's holidays? Mine was good. Despite the setting and cleaning up we had to do (because dinner was at our house... :x) it wasn't bad. Lots of food to eat, and I still have some leftovers of my favorite dish, which I shall be eating later today. :D

Now, we move onto the christmas spirit, and things are looking good. I tried persuading my parents to get me the PS3 Bundle at Best Buy for a christmas present, the one for the 60GB version. I hope I get it, even if I may not be playing it very long or at all... >.> Reason being will come up shortly if you don't know why. I just want a full BC PS3, not the gimped versions. I still have MANY, MANY PS2 games to buy as well, so I can't risk one of them not working with my system.

So, how was the holidays for you people? Any good food/parties/events/etc?

Well, well... time for thanking and giving will be upon us! The time for reflecting, finding yourself, gaining experience to grow up, and .. well you know. Same thing every other year... well maybe not the same every year. It just seems to me, that the days get shorter, time goes faster... I mean... I felt like Halloween was just yesterday, and that New Years was like a few months ago. I can remember these events so vividly... it just feels like time has been speeding up. Perhaps it's the fact that I remember them so well? Maybe if I'd forgotten, time would feel slower?

Well, enough ranting about time and all that stuff. Anyone have any plans for this week? Or the coming holidays? This year, Thanksgiving will be held at my house... something that's different from the 19 years I've been living on this earth and having it at my Grandmother's house every year since then. Oh well... Might be nice.

Also, I have been pretty absent here I think... I mean I may have signed on here, or been on for like a few minutes, but forgive me for not posting/replying to any past blogs. I just haven't been fully "here" lately...

What has to be my worst luck in gaming so far... well... not worst, but it's the worst in most recent memory.

Today, I was playing FFT on my PS2, and... UGH!! Ok, I love this game, it's really brilliant and the gameplay is top notch with strategy and planning your method of attacks. I rarely get a mission I do where I perhaps will have to restart once or twice at most, or just have drawn out really, really long.

But today... I could not complete ONE mission. ONE! It wasn't like this is the HARDEST mission either.. This mission is challenging. Where I'm at, it's a one-on-one fight with my main character (who is very strong) and then my four teammates are left to defend themselves against a barrage of enemies.

So, I know who to pick. My trusty Holy Knight, my wonderful Preist who's second abilities are Time magic. (Slow, Haste and Don't move work wonderfully here) then, I have another magic user, my Oracle. She can silence that annoying Summoner, blind the knights and archers or paralyze them to have them unable to attack at all. Then, I can use my power house Holy Knight and Knight (my Orace's staff kicks ass too.) but... one thing. I KEEP DYING!. :x Someone, somehow, I ... die somewhere. or the game screws me over.

Like for instance... one battle, I had my Preistess go down, her chance for revival with Raise was 94%, that's right NINTEY-FOUR PERCENT!

And what happens? IT misses... :| Somehow, somewhere, my attack misses and what happens? My Oracle dies moments later when she gets bombarded with attacks while waiting for the next charge up time... so... I can't revive anyone, there's no way I'll kill the bad guys in time to finish the match and save my people... so I have to restart.

Another time... I don't know WHAT happened, but... the computer was pulling off criticals left and right. Not to mention Gafgarion, whom I'm fighting one-on-one with Ramza... he pulls off a critical with his night sword attack, which usually pulled off 54 points of damage, thus... it did 30 more points killing Ramza before I could do the final blow... :| I had to restart now after that... cause there's no way I can reach him with my mages when he's on the other side of the gate

Overall.. I've been having a bad run, so I stopped... two hours on the same mission, and somehow I keep dieing. I'll have to grind now, because... this is just sad and embarassing.

Another note of bad news, I tried to relinquish my anger through another game, and lost multiple times on that. I wasn't playing with a clear head I guess, but I just stopped after a few matches of Halo online, so... I'm not too upset about it... but... I'm just off today. :x

I have to say, Final Fantasy Tactics is a really great game. It's just so awesome, I'm a huge fan of SRPGs, and I played Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for the GBA, FFT is just sooo much better. I'm not too far into FFT, and for the record I'm playing this game on my PS2. I don't have the PSP version, because about a little over a month ago, I found FFT for the PS1 brand NEW for only the low, low price of $5. So I HAD to buy it, since 1. I loved FFTA and 2. I always wanted this game and the wait for the PSP version was so long away. :P

But I plan to get that version sometime in the future, when it's budgeted. So I can play it again, and I hear it has an online mode, which would be cool. I'll make a great team, you'll see. :D

So yes, if you haven't played this game I highly recommend it, it's on the PSP right now and it surely will be worth EVERY penny you spend on it I'm sure. (It also has two new classes, characters, and LAN/Online play modes. So a great deal indeed I'm sure. Not sure if the graphics or sprites are improved, but they should be on the PSP. )

So right now, I'm pretty early in the game, but the story is really gripping and interesting so far. I'm not too far out the game, and don't wanna spoil it. But where I'm at, someone was just kidnapped, fought this girl and the dialouge scene during the fight was interesting and the music for that area was just fitting! Oh man, the music is great too, I keep finding myself humming the music... anyways, it's a great game, buy NOW!

Another MUST BUY is Phantom Hourglass for the DS. It's just the most inventive, smart use of the DS's features to date. The touch screen controls are honestly so good, that I realy want MORE games to play with just touch screen controls. I'm ready to embrace this new method of gaming, if it's done right like PH. (NG: DS don't let me down please, and of course It's a Wonderful Life by Square-Enix. :D )

Some of the puzzles even require use of the DS in more ways than you knew, or at least I did, before. I won't say much... but sometimes you don't "press" things with just the stylus. ;) Also, the boss battles are AMAZING!. They may be a bit easy, but they are the most inventive boss battles I've ever seen. Each one is different, and they have a lot of them that use the dual screens smartly. One boss battle in the game, for example, had you staring in the eyes of the boss, and he was invisible in your screen, so hitting him required some method and thinking as you had to know when to hit him. (Remember, viewing through it's eyes.) I won't spoil anymore, but it's truly amazing how Nintendo did this.. especially when they were both in 3D. I couldn't tell, if they used any tricks or what kind of tricks, cause I always heard the DS had 2 seperate processors but there is one that produces 3D images easily, while the other one would most likely be only able to use 2D images... guess I was wrong. :P Glad to be by the way..

So, just though I'd let you all know. PH and FFT have stolen my life, taking me away from other games I'd said I'd finish up... but it's ok. :D

What are you all playing right now?

Well, this is pretty interesting. VC games got Neo Geo games now, and now Nintendo's bringing imported games to Wii's VC. I really want to download Sin and Punishment for the VC now, and will wait on the Neo Geo games. I just remember having some deep interest in the game when I first saw it, but then sadden a bit that it was not coming to the states. So, now I can finally try this out and see how it lives up to in my expectations. I'm sure it will be a blast, Treasure is known for that and I still play Gunstar Heroes on my VC too. :P

Neo Geo games are interesting now, but I'm so certain now I'll have to delete older VC games as the time comes to make room for new ones, then go through a redownload process to get my others back... unless Nintendo sends an update alllow you to use memory cards, like my 2 GB SD one for my digital camera. So, I have to wonder... what games do you think should come to the VC's newest addition? I personally want Samurai Showdown and the KoF games. I love to play 2D fighters, and remember loving those games in the arcades. To have now, for 900 Wii points would be great. Also, anyone getting any new games this month? (Yeah, my blogs a bore a bit today, I'm trying to push down my horrendous blog that's a 56k warning... Mozilla seems to have a tough time loading it... :x )

Orange Box looks like a sweet deal that I want, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations comes out this month too. Plus E for All looks great. I may go to that, because I'm only 20 mins from LA. Though, that would be true if I left say... around 5 in the morning.. :P I have to go through Downtown LA to get to it, and traffic is horrendous in LA... making the trip more like an hour. Especially if there's gonna be that event.... hmmm.. guess we'll see. :)

Well, I said was I gonna write a review of the first book, but seeing how I kind of went through it all I'm gonna probably just leave it. Scoreless as well. Actually I'm not gonna use a point score, I'm gonna go with a letter grade on the book. I feel that's the best way to rate the book. Also, it's my first review, so any comments would help. I've never reviewed a book, but any criticism will be noted and also I will refrain from detailing any major spoilers.

As the sequel to Twilight, Stephenie Meyer's next book plays more with the reader's emotions. Our protagonist, Bella Swan now has the love of her life. A definition she takes literally, as there is only one thing in life she cannot live without, and that's the love she has for Edward Cullen. However, Bella soon realizes that there is a danger to being in love with a vampire, and it not only puts her at risk, but everyone dear and near her.

Bella begins to realize that as each and every day passes on, she's becoming older and older by the minute. Edward Cullen however is immortal and will never age beyond the looks of a 17 year old. So, when Bella's 18th, birthday comes up, Bella's perfect little life becomes a nightmare.

While the first book was more on the love and romance side. Meyer takes the book to a more emotional and even suspenful side. The emotions are played by the reader's care for these two's unconventional relationship. My personal experience with this book has been very engrossed and filled with much sympathy for Bella's latest troubles.

The first five chatpers had me filled with hope and enlightenment. However, quickly afterwards, things turned for the worse for our fragile love stricken Bella. for the next 10 chapters, it had me filled with many emotions ranging from sorrow to hopeful, and troubled to calm. Bella's life was lost and how she struggled on kept me turning the pages. Hoping and wishing that her life would return and she'd have a ray of sunshine to lighten her blackened skies.

Perhaps the most profounding and rewarding experience I had in the book was at the climax of the book. Meyer's wonderful writing kept the reader informed enough to still keep guessing the outcome of the next page or even paragraph, heck sometimes the sentence. She did a wonderful job at keeping the events detailed enough without slowing the pace down to keep up the high momentum of the storyline unfolding.

Then, when things began to slow down to a descent, Meyer's transitions are so fluid and smooth, it doesn't just feel like things come to a sudden stop, because she still keeps a few things in the back of the reader's mind so they continue flipping through till the next twist comes up.

Shortly afterwards, when all is said and done. Meyer's conclusion of the second book, leaves the reader with a feeling of joy, yet one feels the next glaring danger looming overheard for the next installment, Eclipse.

Ok, so what's been great about this book so far is that Meyer's pace is very steady and well kept. I never felt once that she was going off on something too unimportant, and beating something important over my head too much. It was well balanced and thoroughly enjoyable. If anything, I felt that she improved much on the second book. Her strengths are definitely keeping the reader interested in what's about to happen next and also her flow of pace keeps things well suited for the mood. In a moment of haste and desperation she keeps the movement speedy and informative, yet still is able to keep it very detailed and filled with tons of great imagery. Then on moments of slower speed, she knows how to unravel the key elements and give great vitality and life to the characters that run high on emotions.

If I have to say anything bad about the book (and why do I?) it's that I believe this book may not be for anyone who want's something really deep and though provoking. While the book isn't the most difficult to absorb, it's not very easy either. It's a light read, about 567 pages long. Another thing is that this book is in the real world with fantasy like elements that may or may not be one's flavor I find this story to be quite enjoyable and even plausible to me. Making me wish it were somewhat true.

Overall, I must say that this book is a enjoyable read, and I highly recommend anyone looking for something a bit light, but not predictabl. It's a great book I highly recommend if you're interest in anything about love and looking for something new to read. It's certainly unique in it's own way.

Grade: A

Well, I'm unsure of a topic to write, generally I don't post too many details on my life. I feel it's quite a bore to some people, and am unsure of what response I would look for as well. Also, I don't know if it even interests anyone, and so generally I do the typical topics on video games. You know... like everyone else. :P

Well I haven't been gaming much lately, because of quite a few things in life so I'd though it was time to update my blog. With no gaming new that stands out right now (well maybe Halo 3's score) and my game time has decreased over the week (will explain shortly) I figured "Why not?"

So let me first start off with some gaming news.

First and foremost, my lastest game I'm working on is Bioshock for the 360. Now, that may be a sound of hope and gleam to some, but sadly my experience with this game has been... underwhelming in some fashion. Allow me to explain. The gameplay first off is quite fun, I enjoy using plasmids to destroy my adversaries and solve some simple puzzle like elements. (i.e. electrifying a switch, grabbing items via telekinesis, melting ice holding a door shut with incinerate, etc) While the gunplay itself isn't too overwhelming, (reloads are long but understandable given the weapons being use and their characteristics) and the A.I. is... sadly predictable, albeit it quite understanding in some cases. (If you're on fire, wouldn't you jump in that pool of water, or heal yourself if low on health to my hacked health station?) So the game never becomes too challenging really.

However, with all that said, the experience is something I would find more enjoyable if one thing wasn't going on. The framerate problems that plague the game all over. If feels like this game never was fully optimized on the 360, or something... I hear it's the works of a recent patch, and perhaps HDD cache problems. Unsure of which is true, I've heard how one can clear updates on the 360, so I may try this last resort to see if it will help my game next time I play. The problem is.. in my experience through the game. I've had the screen freeze on me in place from anywhere ranging 2-5 seconds. I've had the framerate stutter to a crawl in heavy firefights, and I've experienced this problem much more while fighting the "Elite Bouncer" Big Daddies. (They stomp the ground, causing you to slow down and when they come bull rushing me, it starts happening.)

So before I go another paragraph on this game and then have to force myself to change my blog title, I'm gonna leave it at that and will be writing a review on this game when I finish it. (Almost done)

Now, what more news in gaming do I have? Well I had seen the Halo 3's review score. I watched the video review, and I must say... I'm not surprised at it's score. Do I feel it deserves it? Well we'll find out when I get it midnight tonight. (or at least my little brother will.) Still, last game getting a score near that was Gears of War, and I must say... I wasn't too fond of that game... and am now even more mad at Epic mostly for releasing superior PC version with substance that felt should have been in the game in the first place.) Though that's not to say I think Halo 3 will feel like it was gimped in any way, maybe, maybe not... but I'm just gonna try and see if I agree with him or not. That's all.

Well now... we arrive to really what's the highlight of my life so far. It's something I perhaps should have posted first, because I feel Bioshock and my comments on it will be the essence of the responses.

Well what is it that has kept me away from games all week? It's this book. Yes a book! :o And to put some style... here's the pic of the

Twilight

So yes, this is the book I've been reading. It's really brilliant I think. Maybe I'm not one to claim much on where this book stands in literature...umm.. "awesomeness." :D But... I have to say that I've been looking for a read that would be just like this one in a long time. Nothing hard, nor difficult. However, it's just a wonderful read. I really have found myself caring for the characters in the book, and I can't stop myself from reading it. Right now I'm reading the sequel New Moon and it's just as every bit enthralling as the original. I think almost even better in some ways. :P

For anyone unfamilar with the story. It's kind of a love story between this outcast of a girl and a vampire. However, their relationship isn't exactly normal, and soon trouble comes and it has some great suspenseful moments and quick pace moments that really keep you flipping the pages. The first book is a nice setup, because it helps you become more in touch with the characters. Of course this is basically a romance novel, but it's a fantasy type in a real world setting that keeps things very down to earth, yet just a pinch of that magic in the book is delicately balanced to keep it from being too boring and in fact it makes things all the more interesting because it almost feels like this could be a possibility. Almost.

Now with that said, my favorite parts of this book was definitely the relatiionship between Isabella (Nicknamed Bella) Swan and her undying love for a not-so-human vampire named Edward Cullen. The most intruiging aspect of this novel is at first, you feel Edward is a bad person, and you side with Bella's conspicions about her avoiding him. Yet when she becomes inexplicably in love with him, you almost wish you could go in and talk some sense into her, then... finally. Things just flow together smoothly and you realize why she needs him, and why these two belong together. It's brilliantly told, and soon you form a watchful eye over the two feeling they should live life together forever.

In the last 7 chapters of the story, an unforseen event occurs and this thrilling supsense in the book really tightens their bond, and your beliefs about these two. All characters are well told, and our protagonists are very likeable, along with other supporting characters in the story. So it's no surprise when an unexpected group comes along and causes trouble for not just Edward and Bella, but the life of others around Bella. Through these chapters, I could not stop till I finished the book, because it had me engrossed.

Well I'd probably give the book a real review, but I don't know how to review it. Maybe after I finished the second one, I'll write something up for both. I got the third book yesterday, but I won't read it till I'm done with this one. (Which may be soon, I'm just 3 chapters away as of this time, and I started yesterday. :P )

So, there you go. A little update, hope you all enjoyed it. :)

Ok, well today I've beaten MP 3, and I have to say. This game is just wonderful, definitely better than Prime 2, and much improved on Prime. Also, great controls for FPS style shooting, I hope to see Retro try a new IP possibly an FPS genre or RPG/FPS hyrbid, who knows... well I do wish Retro luck and hope to just see something new from them. Nintendo, please don't make them do another installed series, let them tinker with something else.

So, the ending... Well I got 100% completion, unlocked Hyper mode (which I'll do after my playthrough on Bioshock and finishing of Shadow of the Colossus. I also want to unlock everything, so if you have any Friend Voucher's you'd like to send. My Wii Number is on that tag list where the 360/PS3 PSN ID tags are. I'm too lazy too look it up.. I only know the first four numbers... 8666

Also, another treat today. My order gift for renewing my Nintendo Power subscription came in. It's the "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Official Soundtrack." I have to say... for an "Official Soundtrack" I was hoping there would be... well I don't know.. the songs in the game...

It turns out, this CD comes only with 7, that's right SEVEN songs... A little disappointing I might say, considering TP had like... oh I dunno... 20+ some songs... You have some nice ones, like an Orchestrated song piece of Zelda that wasn't in the game... (at least in my playthroughs... and no this isn't that one that plays if you leave the start screen idle for a long time. It's something different.) There's also Illia's Theme and the Hyrule Overworld Theme. Along with Kakariko Village... those are some of the best. The others "Midna's Theme" (which is only like 1:20) and Ordon Village (forgot... 2:00 or something near there I believe) are a little short and not too enjoyable due to the length and some arangements (like fading at the wrong moment I feel for Midna's theme...)

Then there's Death Mountain's theme song.. or that Goron Theme song, whichever you prefer calling it. It's nice.. but there's better choices... and not to mention more songs that should have been in it. Well, that's about it.. The CD is free though, but... I wish there was more, seeing how buying any video game CDs/Soundtracks over here are very hard to do without importing or doing illegal stuff... >.> Also for the "Official Soundtrack" You'd expect more... right?

Well, that's about it... So now On to Bioshock! ... (except for a little tiff I'm having with the game right now, I'm not so eager to play it actually.. disappointing I must say. I don't know what it is, but this game is suffering MASSIVE framerate issues. Maybe it's my copy, maybe it was the latest patch, or the HDD thing, I don't know... but it's killing the game for me. Serious...)