A human with his/her mouth glued to a hose, and nostrils shut, can absorb approximately eight gallons of water before bursting.
Just thought you'd like to know that.
I ended up trading in my almost-finished Shadow Hearts game and the barely played and quite unsatisfying State of Emergency today for a copy of Gitaroo Man for the PS2. It's another kooky music game from Japan and just looks messed up. And since State Of Emergency had a deal where you trade it in and you get any PS2 game for $25, and my copy of Shadow Hearts was worth $30, I figured it was worth trading in two games I'd likely never play again for one that will be fun for more than an hour. Hopefully. I haven't played it, but the manual is giving me the creeps. And it's a family game!
This ought to keep me musically happy until Space Channel 5 Part 2 comes out.
Other than that, the only other thing I have to say is SEE SHAOLIN SOCCER!
Funniest movie ever... well, maybe not, but it's definately up there.
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Tuesday, February 26, 2002
Well, looks like I might have to go get an Xbox after all. Jet Grind Radio Future won't be made for any other platforms, according to the interview with the head of the design team that's up on Gamespot.
Ah well.
Ah well.
Monday, February 25, 2002
Do you like music games? I sure do. I'm no DDR freak, but Parappa the Rappa and his friends are just that kind of kooky Japanese burst that I need every so often to remind myself that I like weird stuff.
That said, if you haven't tried Frequency for the PS2, you're missing out. It's almost a DJ simulator, and if you're into electronica, hip-hop and techno or even bands like Fear Factory, you'll love the game. It's incredibly easy to start out, but as the game progresses, you'll be going insane. I love popping the game in after a long day at work though since it allows me to just sort of zone out and groove to the funky beats (hee hee... I sound so lame)...
Probably going to restart Deus Ex again to see if I can finally beat it before the PS2 version is out :)
That said, if you haven't tried Frequency for the PS2, you're missing out. It's almost a DJ simulator, and if you're into electronica, hip-hop and techno or even bands like Fear Factory, you'll love the game. It's incredibly easy to start out, but as the game progresses, you'll be going insane. I love popping the game in after a long day at work though since it allows me to just sort of zone out and groove to the funky beats (hee hee... I sound so lame)...
Probably going to restart Deus Ex again to see if I can finally beat it before the PS2 version is out :)
Sunday, February 24, 2002
Saturday, February 23, 2002
Well, I figure I'd better just post a few links that I found today that look interesting or have to do with the state of the world, since going on about how stupid my day was today would take up WAY too much space!
First off, it looks like Daniel Pearl is officially dead. Stupid times we live in when people think that this is actually a way to benefit their cause. I have no problem with violence in movies or games... ie. virtual violence. But I abhor real-life violence, for all my bluster. The sickos that did this sure didn't have any violent movies or games to screw them up. Let real life do that for you...
On an upbeat note, Canada's doing a lot better this week, Olympic wise. While most of our medal hopefuls are coming back empty-handed, a lot of surprises are happening and we're cleaning up this week!
On the game front, not much today. Worked all day, went out for supper afterwards and got back to show my friend State of Emergency and Rez. I'm kind of annoyed at Shadow Hearts right now. If you make an RPG and in the last 1/8th of the game you need to have a certain cinema trigger in order to proceed and it DOESN'T, you're not going to make your players happy. I've enjoyed the game so far, but since it refuses to let me move the story along, and I have checked the FAQ to make sure I've done everything I need to do, I'm not terribly happy with the game now and would be qute content to just return it, since most of the major plot points have been resolved anyway... ah well. I'll see.
SoE is still fun, though I'm starting to let the disappointment seep in a bit. Check out Friday's Penny Arcade to see how I'm starting to feel about it. Now, I'm still working on the Revolution Mode to see if it is as bad as they say, or if it's as fun as I think it is, and so far the fun is outweighing the bad... and I love the Last Clone Standing mini-game in the Chaos mode. I'm just starting to wonder if this shouldn't have been a rental rather than a purchase... but time will tell.
Maximo is fun too. I like it, but I haven't found it to be the pure chunk of gaming gold that a lot of reviewers seem to think it is. Fun, yes. Best Game Ever, no. But again, I've been a little off my game this past week so all opinions expressed here might be sort of messed up!
And if you want to know if my cold is still killing me softly, yes, but thankfully I can actually go outside and even to work now. Maybe sometime before May it will leave for good!
And with that, I'm off to bed.
Oh, I'm currently watching an anime called Read or Die. If ever there was an anime that summed up my feelings towards books, this is it (and not just by the title).
First off, it looks like Daniel Pearl is officially dead. Stupid times we live in when people think that this is actually a way to benefit their cause. I have no problem with violence in movies or games... ie. virtual violence. But I abhor real-life violence, for all my bluster. The sickos that did this sure didn't have any violent movies or games to screw them up. Let real life do that for you...
On an upbeat note, Canada's doing a lot better this week, Olympic wise. While most of our medal hopefuls are coming back empty-handed, a lot of surprises are happening and we're cleaning up this week!
On the game front, not much today. Worked all day, went out for supper afterwards and got back to show my friend State of Emergency and Rez. I'm kind of annoyed at Shadow Hearts right now. If you make an RPG and in the last 1/8th of the game you need to have a certain cinema trigger in order to proceed and it DOESN'T, you're not going to make your players happy. I've enjoyed the game so far, but since it refuses to let me move the story along, and I have checked the FAQ to make sure I've done everything I need to do, I'm not terribly happy with the game now and would be qute content to just return it, since most of the major plot points have been resolved anyway... ah well. I'll see.
SoE is still fun, though I'm starting to let the disappointment seep in a bit. Check out Friday's Penny Arcade to see how I'm starting to feel about it. Now, I'm still working on the Revolution Mode to see if it is as bad as they say, or if it's as fun as I think it is, and so far the fun is outweighing the bad... and I love the Last Clone Standing mini-game in the Chaos mode. I'm just starting to wonder if this shouldn't have been a rental rather than a purchase... but time will tell.
Maximo is fun too. I like it, but I haven't found it to be the pure chunk of gaming gold that a lot of reviewers seem to think it is. Fun, yes. Best Game Ever, no. But again, I've been a little off my game this past week so all opinions expressed here might be sort of messed up!
And if you want to know if my cold is still killing me softly, yes, but thankfully I can actually go outside and even to work now. Maybe sometime before May it will leave for good!
And with that, I'm off to bed.
Oh, I'm currently watching an anime called Read or Die. If ever there was an anime that summed up my feelings towards books, this is it (and not just by the title).
Friday, February 22, 2002
WOOHOO! Canada wins gold in women's hockey! Hooray!
I'm almost better now. I went outside today for the first time since last Saturday. I went to the mall for a half-hour visit to the eye-doctor and popped into EB to see if there was anything new in the past week for me to covet. Sadly, no. But this is February, and the fact that there were two great games released for the PS2 last week was rare enough. I was starting to feel a bit woozy by the time I was done at the mall, but I'm glad I got out of the house for a bit.
I'm VERY close to finishing Shadow Hearts. If all goes well, I'll have it done tomorrow. If not, early next week. I'm still on track to finish it within 30 hours, which makes it very short for an RPG (I pretty much finished it in less than a week of solid play... not too long). Granted, I thought Final Fantasy X was short, and that took me 64 hours to beat in 2 1/2 weeks. I'm just getting too good, I guess :) I'm not complaining though. I don't mind if the game is short so long as the story and gameplay hold up. In Shadow Hearts, they do. The graphics are a bit of a grab-bag, but the core gameplay and the story are fun and interesting.
I'm almost better now. I went outside today for the first time since last Saturday. I went to the mall for a half-hour visit to the eye-doctor and popped into EB to see if there was anything new in the past week for me to covet. Sadly, no. But this is February, and the fact that there were two great games released for the PS2 last week was rare enough. I was starting to feel a bit woozy by the time I was done at the mall, but I'm glad I got out of the house for a bit.
I'm VERY close to finishing Shadow Hearts. If all goes well, I'll have it done tomorrow. If not, early next week. I'm still on track to finish it within 30 hours, which makes it very short for an RPG (I pretty much finished it in less than a week of solid play... not too long). Granted, I thought Final Fantasy X was short, and that took me 64 hours to beat in 2 1/2 weeks. I'm just getting too good, I guess :) I'm not complaining though. I don't mind if the game is short so long as the story and gameplay hold up. In Shadow Hearts, they do. The graphics are a bit of a grab-bag, but the core gameplay and the story are fun and interesting.
Thursday, February 21, 2002
Well, my cold seems to be mostly gone. This is evidenced most by the fact that I'm up late again, and not snoring at the moment... and not because of feverish nightmares this time.
I still have the next two days off of work, which will be a nice way for me to have a bit of fun and not feel guilty because of missing work or having fun while sick... I'm going to just sit back and relax, but this time I'll put my jeans on instead of wearing my pyjamas all day!
Speaking of fun, I just beat Serious Sam a few minutes ago. Dear Lord, what an insane game... I had to use the god-mode cheat for the last 3 or 4 levels because it was just insane trying to survive. Fun game though. Like Doom on crack.
I'm getting much further in Shadow Hearts as well. If I keep playing at the pace I've been playing the last couple days, I might actually finish the game. I think I'm more than half-way through and I'm only at the 15 hour mark... kind of short for an RPG, but hey, it's interesting and I'm interested to see how it ends.
I'm off to bed. At least Canada won in hockey tonight. About time, bunch of lazy NHLers...
I still have the next two days off of work, which will be a nice way for me to have a bit of fun and not feel guilty because of missing work or having fun while sick... I'm going to just sit back and relax, but this time I'll put my jeans on instead of wearing my pyjamas all day!
Speaking of fun, I just beat Serious Sam a few minutes ago. Dear Lord, what an insane game... I had to use the god-mode cheat for the last 3 or 4 levels because it was just insane trying to survive. Fun game though. Like Doom on crack.
I'm getting much further in Shadow Hearts as well. If I keep playing at the pace I've been playing the last couple days, I might actually finish the game. I think I'm more than half-way through and I'm only at the 15 hour mark... kind of short for an RPG, but hey, it's interesting and I'm interested to see how it ends.
I'm off to bed. At least Canada won in hockey tonight. About time, bunch of lazy NHLers...
Tuesday, February 19, 2002
I spoke too soon yesterday. My cold decided it would lull me into a state of unwariness and then SPRING from the shadows like an angry marmot... now I'm having an anti-fever... my temperature keeps dipping down to 96 degrees Farenheit and so forth... and my sinuses decided that today would be a nice day to empty themselves, starting at around 1am... sigh...
I guess on the upside I'm going to end up with a week off... oh well.
Shadow Hearts is getting pretty interesting. I'm also getting a little further in Maximo. I have managed to make it to the first boss in Maximo, but it's stupidly hard... oh well. I'll beat it someday :)
I guess on the upside I'm going to end up with a week off... oh well.
Shadow Hearts is getting pretty interesting. I'm also getting a little further in Maximo. I have managed to make it to the first boss in Maximo, but it's stupidly hard... oh well. I'll beat it someday :)
Monday, February 18, 2002
Well, I'm finally getting better. I'm still weak as a baby kitten, but I'm not doing too badly otherwise. With luck (sigh) I'll be able to go to work tomorrow.
I spent a good chunk of today playing Shadow Hearts. It's a very interesting RPG for the PS2 by the team that made Koudelka for the PSX. It's quite different than many of the RPG's I've played. But the story is interesting and the setting, turn-of-the-century China (the 1900's) is very refreshing since it allows for some neat political backstories as China and Japan and the West all play some part, along with wierd demon-summoning magicians.
It's not the prettiest PS2 game, but it does a good job of conveying a grimy and depressing world full of demons and witchcraft. Very horror-themed, though not scary.
I'm liking it so far though. The battle system is unique, and the various characters are all different from one another, rather than being the usual fantasy archetypes.
Now I'm going to go and read a book since my eyes are going to burst. I'm not quite over the death cold yet.
Oh, if you want to read a good tech site, check out Mcme.com. It's run by my good friend Pete's brother Sandy, who used to write the tech column for the Toronto Sun before they cancelled their tech section. Ah well. It's nice to see that he's still busy.
I spent a good chunk of today playing Shadow Hearts. It's a very interesting RPG for the PS2 by the team that made Koudelka for the PSX. It's quite different than many of the RPG's I've played. But the story is interesting and the setting, turn-of-the-century China (the 1900's) is very refreshing since it allows for some neat political backstories as China and Japan and the West all play some part, along with wierd demon-summoning magicians.
It's not the prettiest PS2 game, but it does a good job of conveying a grimy and depressing world full of demons and witchcraft. Very horror-themed, though not scary.
I'm liking it so far though. The battle system is unique, and the various characters are all different from one another, rather than being the usual fantasy archetypes.
Now I'm going to go and read a book since my eyes are going to burst. I'm not quite over the death cold yet.
Oh, if you want to read a good tech site, check out Mcme.com. It's run by my good friend Pete's brother Sandy, who used to write the tech column for the Toronto Sun before they cancelled their tech section. Ah well. It's nice to see that he's still busy.
Sunday, February 17, 2002
Status of my bout with DEATH COLD tm 2002:
I barely slept at all on Friday night... spent the entire night spinning around in a feverish state... my temperature peaked yesterday afternoon at around 102 degrees Farenheit, which I have been told is a bad thing. Heck, even my TEETH were sore!
I did manage to get out of the house for a trip to Dave & Busters in the evening, but the only thing that kept me there was the fact I could sit down for the majority of the games I chose to play (I beat the Star Wars Trilogy arcade game! yay)
I slept a bit better over the night last night, and spent all day today lying on the couch watching the Olympics. You know I'm sick when I have 2 days off and I don't play any games at all (barring the 2-3 games at Dave & Buster's last night)...
I am feeling a lot better now though. My fever seems to have finally broken (no cold sweats... woo!) and my throat is allowing me to swallow solids AND liquids. Mostly. I did book tomorrow off of work though, and I won't have to work again till Tuesday afternoon, so I should be well on the road to recovery by then. Hopefully...
That's it for tonight... must attempt to have a full night's sleep...
I barely slept at all on Friday night... spent the entire night spinning around in a feverish state... my temperature peaked yesterday afternoon at around 102 degrees Farenheit, which I have been told is a bad thing. Heck, even my TEETH were sore!
I did manage to get out of the house for a trip to Dave & Busters in the evening, but the only thing that kept me there was the fact I could sit down for the majority of the games I chose to play (I beat the Star Wars Trilogy arcade game! yay)
I slept a bit better over the night last night, and spent all day today lying on the couch watching the Olympics. You know I'm sick when I have 2 days off and I don't play any games at all (barring the 2-3 games at Dave & Buster's last night)...
I am feeling a lot better now though. My fever seems to have finally broken (no cold sweats... woo!) and my throat is allowing me to swallow solids AND liquids. Mostly. I did book tomorrow off of work though, and I won't have to work again till Tuesday afternoon, so I should be well on the road to recovery by then. Hopefully...
That's it for tonight... must attempt to have a full night's sleep...
Friday, February 15, 2002
Well, my copy of State of Emergency finally came... and early, I might add... It's not supposed to be out until Saturday.
I've played a bit of it so far. Great graphics (probaby running about 60 fps with NO slowdown) and there are tonnes of weapons and modes. Heck, the story side of the game has 175 (!) missions to it, while the Chaos mode has about 5 or 6 various game modes for straight-up arcade beatdown action.
Think of SoE as what your guy from Grand Theft Auto 3 would do if he got really mad... and could destroy buildings.
Sadly, my enjoyment of the game has been somewhat marred by the recent arrival of DEATH COLDtm which decended from the rafters this morning while I slept. I've had a splitting headache, achey joints, the works... I'm starting to detect a pattern. Once, possibly twice a year I take some time off work and that's when the cold strikes. It's about a month early today... sob... thankfully my wife has been doping me up with Tylenol and chicken soup, so I should be ok by tomorrow.
AND, on a last note... The pairs figure skaters from Canada were awarded the gold medal, which is good, but it's a shame the way they had to win it. Ah well. At least now they will hopefully try to not be so biased. Oh, and last I checked, our indominatable hockey team was getting their keisters handed to them by the Swedes, 5-2... sigh.
I've played a bit of it so far. Great graphics (probaby running about 60 fps with NO slowdown) and there are tonnes of weapons and modes. Heck, the story side of the game has 175 (!) missions to it, while the Chaos mode has about 5 or 6 various game modes for straight-up arcade beatdown action.
Think of SoE as what your guy from Grand Theft Auto 3 would do if he got really mad... and could destroy buildings.
Sadly, my enjoyment of the game has been somewhat marred by the recent arrival of DEATH COLDtm which decended from the rafters this morning while I slept. I've had a splitting headache, achey joints, the works... I'm starting to detect a pattern. Once, possibly twice a year I take some time off work and that's when the cold strikes. It's about a month early today... sob... thankfully my wife has been doping me up with Tylenol and chicken soup, so I should be ok by tomorrow.
AND, on a last note... The pairs figure skaters from Canada were awarded the gold medal, which is good, but it's a shame the way they had to win it. Ah well. At least now they will hopefully try to not be so biased. Oh, and last I checked, our indominatable hockey team was getting their keisters handed to them by the Swedes, 5-2... sigh.
Grr. Why is it that every time I have a day off and actually make plans to go out I end up getting sick?
It's not like I'm a real social butterfly. My ideal day consists of getting up, playing games till my eyes hurt, having something to eat and then reading a book. There ya go. While being sick gives me an excuse not to leave the house, it also makes staying IN the house less enjoyable... ah well.
Could be the fact that my apartment is kept at a balmy 15 or so degrees Centigrade... Our Farenheit thermometer says it's 62 or 64 degrees F, but I always thought water froze at 32 degrees... (no water is actually freezing... it just feels that way)
Ah well. I'm off to play some Shadow Hearts on the PS2... or some Maximo... I'm not sure which I am in the mood for.
It's not like I'm a real social butterfly. My ideal day consists of getting up, playing games till my eyes hurt, having something to eat and then reading a book. There ya go. While being sick gives me an excuse not to leave the house, it also makes staying IN the house less enjoyable... ah well.
Could be the fact that my apartment is kept at a balmy 15 or so degrees Centigrade... Our Farenheit thermometer says it's 62 or 64 degrees F, but I always thought water froze at 32 degrees... (no water is actually freezing... it just feels that way)
Ah well. I'm off to play some Shadow Hearts on the PS2... or some Maximo... I'm not sure which I am in the mood for.
Ok. Believe the hype. Maximo is, by far, the hardest game I have on the PS2 at the moment. I played for about 2 hours tonight and wasn't even able to save it.
Did I mention you're only allowed to save after every boss battle, of which there are but 4? And that there are about 5 levels per world that you have to defeat before fighting the boss? I got through 2 levels, then died on the 3rd... repeatedly...
Ah well. It's still fun and the graphics are gorgeous. And the first level is, literally, the beginning of Ghosts N' Goblins in 3D.
Did I mention you're only allowed to save after every boss battle, of which there are but 4? And that there are about 5 levels per world that you have to defeat before fighting the boss? I got through 2 levels, then died on the 3rd... repeatedly...
Ah well. It's still fun and the graphics are gorgeous. And the first level is, literally, the beginning of Ghosts N' Goblins in 3D.
Thursday, February 14, 2002
Back on the game front, I just traded in Jade Cocoon 2 and Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore for Maximo: Ghosts to Glory. I haven't played Maximo yet, but it has been getting amazing reviews and I'll post something here in a day or so when I've had some time to fiddle with it.
Jade Cocoon 2 was a beautiful game, but after 10 hours of play and lots of stilted and nonsensical dialogue, I just got tired of it. The original was much better.
DoA2:HC was great too, but I just hadn't played it in almost a year and frankly, I was only hanging onto it because of my friend Luke, who loved to play it. Don't get me wrong. It was a great launch game. I just had played the snot out of it and it was ready to go to a more deserving home!
Jade Cocoon 2 was a beautiful game, but after 10 hours of play and lots of stilted and nonsensical dialogue, I just got tired of it. The original was much better.
DoA2:HC was great too, but I just hadn't played it in almost a year and frankly, I was only hanging onto it because of my friend Luke, who loved to play it. Don't get me wrong. It was a great launch game. I just had played the snot out of it and it was ready to go to a more deserving home!
YAY! Canada has finally won a Gold medal. Of course, we might not get it because the winner, Catrina Lemay-Doan, Speedskater Extraordinaire, was stuck in traffic on her way to the medal ceremony and I guess they just don't wait for Olympians...
Strange strange stuff...
That's my Olympic report for the day.
Strange strange stuff...
That's my Olympic report for the day.
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
I'm not a big fruit fan... however, I can't seem to figure out how to alter the background on this site :) ph34r the avacado!
Woohoo! Figured out how to edit the template. I kind of like this one with the robot, though I think it's a wee bit too narrow, but I like how the name of the site (No, I'm not l33t) is in his mouth :) *shrug*... I'll see how I feel tomorrow.
Woohoo! Figured out how to edit the template. I kind of like this one with the robot, though I think it's a wee bit too narrow, but I like how the name of the site (No, I'm not l33t) is in his mouth :) *shrug*... I'll see how I feel tomorrow.
Grr... stupid thing... I just spent 30 minutes typing out a nice little rant about a recent article in the New York Times re: the game Grand Theft Auto 3 (which I am on the last mission for, thank you very much...)
Anyway, I just finished my piece and went to publish it... "Sorry, you are not logged into the Blogger site."... it had timed me out... so I had to go back, re-log, then when I came back to this Blog my writing was gone... grr...
Ah well. The article is here and I pretty much said that the rating system needs to be enforced, it's not just about bashing (the game, not the rating system) and that to compare a masterpiece like GTA3 to tripe like a game based on V.I.P. shows just how out of touch with the adult gaming world (ie. over 20) the writer of the piece is.
Only it took longer to say it :)
Ah well. What can ya do?
Anyway, I just finished my piece and went to publish it... "Sorry, you are not logged into the Blogger site."... it had timed me out... so I had to go back, re-log, then when I came back to this Blog my writing was gone... grr...
Ah well. The article is here and I pretty much said that the rating system needs to be enforced, it's not just about bashing (the game, not the rating system) and that to compare a masterpiece like GTA3 to tripe like a game based on V.I.P. shows just how out of touch with the adult gaming world (ie. over 20) the writer of the piece is.
Only it took longer to say it :)
Ah well. What can ya do?
Don't be an anti-whatever-console prick!
Sure, the Xbox is dumb, but at least recognize that there is a game (JSRF) and maybe one or two other ones out there for it that are decent. It really doesn't matter the system (though you can steer people to a PS2 or GC by sheer dint of the fact that there are better games on those) but it doesn't really help to get into a fanboy arguement with someone... esp. teenagers these days...
they always seem to be the ones at the game store who have one console which is AMAZING (and which they, of course, don't own, since they only have a Genesis, or it's the only one they own, and they don't have anything else at all) or they go the "GameCube is for kiddies."... which is the stupidest reason of all.
My little brother, who has a GC and is also a fully trained combat engineer (aka demolitions), was telling me that his friends were making fun of his GameCube and saying, "I can play Halo on my Xbox."... to which he responded, "I've been playing Halo (by which he meant FPS's of that level of quality aka Half-Life) for the last 4 years on my PC." Hee hee... Too true.
Sure, the Xbox is dumb, but at least recognize that there is a game (JSRF) and maybe one or two other ones out there for it that are decent. It really doesn't matter the system (though you can steer people to a PS2 or GC by sheer dint of the fact that there are better games on those) but it doesn't really help to get into a fanboy arguement with someone... esp. teenagers these days...
they always seem to be the ones at the game store who have one console which is AMAZING (and which they, of course, don't own, since they only have a Genesis, or it's the only one they own, and they don't have anything else at all) or they go the "GameCube is for kiddies."... which is the stupidest reason of all.
My little brother, who has a GC and is also a fully trained combat engineer (aka demolitions), was telling me that his friends were making fun of his GameCube and saying, "I can play Halo on my Xbox."... to which he responded, "I've been playing Halo (by which he meant FPS's of that level of quality aka Half-Life) for the last 4 years on my PC." Hee hee... Too true.
Hey there. I wanted to post something sort of game-related and this is what I came up with. I'll probably just post some ramble about whatever game (PC or console) I'm playing or looking forward to at any given time. I do this most days anyway with my friend in the States, but now I can share it with whomever might stumble across this site.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)