A new beginning for an ex-online gamer?

I find out that I don’t need to go to school unless I need help. 100% of my school work is done via email attachments. For the command prompt, I did some cut and paste in MS Paint so the screenshots would appear they’ve been taken off a networked PC, so the truth is it was much faster to cheat than making a network just so I could make a screenshot. I’m completed assignments 1 and 2 of my first obligated class, technical writing, which I’ve posted online. The Documents. My brain was tired afterwards, but I continued on because I had to make room for Chapter 3 in Visual Basic text book. They ask me too post code, and they somehow put it in context, but I must comprehend the book’s technical sentences. The teacher who taught the class offered her time if I chose to drive in. I’m stuck on chapter 3 of ten chapters, and can’t stop me. I shall triumph Visual Basic, and the day shall come I’ll pass this damn course. I am smart enough to pass Visual Basic – really I am. You’ll see!

It’s been close to two weeks since I last bought a videogame, so I bought Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance II for $19.95 and World of Warcraft for $50. All I have to do is convince someone with a credit card (not me) to pay for the monthly fee in order to connect to the servers. It can be done, but would that money is better spent on other software? It is true that not all games require the gamer to pay monthly costs. I have done the same exact thing when I bought Final Fantasy XI and Anarchy Online except now I heard a rumor that Anarchy Online is free. WoW received a 9.5 at IGN.com and 9.1 from Game Informer Magazine which was part of the reason why I bought it. The only complaint the editors had was the low polygon count but the textures are indeed top notch. It shouldn’t be an issue.

Which is why console games are so attractive – just turn the power button on and play the game. I am beginning to wonder if I am afraid to play PC games. It’s been so long since I played one. I am dedicated at buying new games, but I have never play long enough to get the satisfaction out of the games I have bought. I am beginning to worry if it’s my fault I invest in something that I don’t enjoy. I can’t feel regret since that’ll keep me from buying any software at all! I do have a lot of games for old consoles, and ALL games get old some time. That’s why the Internet calls them died games. I don’t know what you call a game that’s “dead” which you’re playing currently? I heard some Internet sites call dead freeware games….abandonware? Shall I call any dead game “Abandonware” now!?! Abandonware games can be expensive especially if it’s rare find. A good example is when I bought Suikoden for a full $50. In the case of Suikoden verses Suikoden IV, the truth is I picked an old game over a new game that cost the same. I normally wouldn’t do that except if the score was very, very high in case of Suikoden (1996) from Konami. I’ve done my part in purchasing some old school videogames. In 2 years my N64 and Playstation games will be considered old school. My point is every 2 generations backwards is considered old school in my opinion. That’s 1978 – 2000 everyone, and that time is approaching quickly.

It looks like we’re getting satellite Internet from the phone company for us rural Wisconsinites. $60 for 1.1 Mpbs Internet all for myself 90% of the time! The modem will be in my office somewhere. Electricians are going to now string CATEGORY 6 RJ-45 straight-through cable throughout my place.

Okay, I’ll talk about me now. I’ve been working on my homework every other day. Exhausting work you know – spell check and writing near perfect takes 5 – 6 hours of brain work, and have been trying to write the grammar perfected assignment. I hadn’t mentioned that the Linux assignment I’ve aced.

I had an interesting conversation with admin. Admin’s the administrator at Cartharton Electronica. Gamers don’t read reviews from neither the Internet nor magazines – casual gamers buy games at random he says. I have a feeling that what he says is true, but I can’t help but think of how many bad games I’ve avoided by reading reviews? It’s true that a game is only supposed to pass the time. I find it more than that – a game must be a satisfying experience and not any average game. I find his explaining more about purchasing good software by luck more than anything else? I don’t see it his way. Since 1999, I’ve been reading IGN’s game reviews like crap on a goose.

I’m tired – goodnight Bloggers – ‘till next time, and there will be a next time.

Ecoding new Xvid movies. :)

Well, I’m back again. I’ve been having problems with the pirated version of MS Visual Basic .Net 2003. The programs compile correctly although can only be seen on my computer, but no one elses. So I to make certain that it was the software….I installed it on my custom PC which has a much cleaner file system, and was able to compile VB script that can run on any computer. After I backup new MP3s and internet downloads on DVDR, I’ll reformat my hard drive. I’m encoding Laurence of Arabia to Xvid format. It could have been the fact Novell Log-in 4.3x system was installed on her computer too. Yes, I mean the same bloody firewall that blocks most P2P clients and MSN Messenger. Even if I did have MSN Messenger I don’t have any one to talk too. I can’t remember the last time I talked to Bob. Dyane said that she reads her student’s script many times, and this never happened to her. I should have said,”Well it’s happening to you now! It’s your fault for burning me faulty discs.” To make sure it won’t cause future problems, Dad will get a copyrighted version for me.

I figured out that VB6 uses a different file extension than VB7. VB7 uses *.vb extension and VB6 uses *.vbs. Anyhow, Visual Basic 7 is compatible with some Visual Basic 6 files, but not the other way round. I completed the first two chapters in the book on Visual Basic. The only problem is I have never gotten a Visual Basic 6 file to work on my computer.

Updated handheld collection

I downloaded Xvid 1.1.0-beta1 today. It is noticeably faster than Xvid 1.01 forgetting I was using a 7 month old codec for couple films. Xvid developers got their source code from DivX :) 3.11 which was made open source through legal issues of MS’s WMV9 video codec. The next release of DivX would be known as DivX 4, while a new open source spin-off codec called Xvid appeared from nowhere. Both codec use the same technology, and are compatible with each other. Xvid 1.1.0 beta 1 Binary. The program I use to make Xvid video from NTSC DVDs is a brilliant tool called 1Click2DVD Ripper. It couldn’t be simpler to use. It has a Wizard for all those difficult things, and in 2 minutes you can have a movie compressing in a codec of your choice.

I also got a chance to play Resident Evil 4 two nights ago. School was holding me up for a while. Gamecube graphics look stretched on the LCDTV giving its true pixilation. The textures are very detailed for a Gamecube game, but the Gamecube isn’t powerful enough to take away the jagged lines. The “jaggies” were much less apparent on my analog TV. Anyways, I set the game audio to Pro Logic II so there is a noticeable surround sound effect with everything. Rain drops coming from RE4 are really life-like! Hmm, all Capcom had to do is record REAL RAIN plus have the developers moan, grown, and taunt! For some reason dead people (those ones where I shot the head off) keep coming back to kill Leon and Ashley. RE4 gives the gamers who play it the impression all zombies are immortal (can not be killed because they’re already dead) My LCD TV has Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Sound is sound regardless right? At least I think so. So if you want to have surround sound that’ll stay in you’re room, there isn’t any need to have 5 satellite speakers now is there? It’s a nice to have, but not essential. Problem is about speakers these days are Pro Logic II amplifiers, 2 satellite speakers, and bass speaker costs around $170. After I spend money on PSP shall I buy bigger speakers for my TV? It would sound a heck a lot better than the TV’s internal speakers. I have the President’s daughter, Ashley, and am going to exit the T-virus very smart zombies infested village once I can find the scanner (an eye ball) for the door. Actually, this game isn’t any less difficult than Resident Evil Zero only the zombies taunt you, open doors and throw grenades at Leon & Ashley. I’m not using a game FAQ either. Maybe I should – it’ll surely accelerate game play. I’m cheating with Action Replay so I can complete the game before Monday. I also have to type up a small document for technical writing Monday. Hmm, wonder if I’ll get it done in time? :) Anyhow, back to describing Resident Evil 4….I believe the voice acting is well done for any videogame. Meaning it doesn’t get much better than this people! Usually I hear untalented actors speaking lines – Leon and Ashley sound above average because this is a Resident Evil, and it MUST live up to the expectations of previously seen in Resident Evil: Reborn or Resident Evil Zero. Resident Evil 4 is also coming to Playstation 2. Don’t believe that only For Gamecube label on the case because it ain’t true!

So I got pass the door, and what do I find? – More Smart Zombie Monks of course, and they’re catapulting fireballs at me! I believe I dead once or twice. It’s safer to find shelter from fireballs than trying to dodge them! This game doesn’t scare me at all like the reviews said it would. I know it’s suppose to be scary, but I’m not scared! Wonder how much harder the game gets? I can get use to this shooting off heads with shotgun thing ….

I forgot to add Final Fantasy XII and Gran Turismo 4 to my highly anticipated list about 3 posts back. It’ll add those two games to it. Final Fantasy XII will be better than Final Fantasy 10 I imagine. I played Final Fantasy X back in 2003. There are gamers who like role playing, and gamers who like action games. I like both, and many of the clerks at Toyriffic would say the same. Four out of five RPGs come from Japan – that’s not bad, it’s just how it’s been done for over a decade. Speaking of which - Gran Turismo 4 will have a lot more cars, tracks, and soundtracks this time around. I can’t wait! It’s coming out February 11, 2005. IGN and Gamespy are giving it the same score as Gran Turismo 3 - A Spec! This is absolutely excitement going on right now!

I downloaded trance totaling 100 MB off Kazaa Lite including the other 5 songs off iMesh. I found a Radio Shack advertisement on DVDRs for only 13 bucks, so I had Radio Shack mail the 25 pack spindle to me. I saved 60% off the normal cost. [4.5 x 25 = 112.5 GB] I want to use the entire DVDR, which is hard to do because IT’S A LOT OF DATA to fill. It’s easiest putting DivX movies on them. Dual-layer DVD burners are out costing anywhere from $80 – $180 though I am having a really hard time finding dual layer DVDs to buy. If it was easy to buy spindles – I would buy a dual layer DVD burner immediately. It’s a lot of storage for the dollar. Approximately 2¢ for a MB. Think of that in terms of compressed data – it’s mind boggling! Today, I’m duplicated/converting a lot of movies to MPEG4 including Saving Private Ryan, Sleepy Hollow, and 1951 version of The Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim. This version was supposed to be the best version of a dozen versions. Of course, never trust everything that Hollywood tells you.

Shining Tears (2005 SEGA) Looks good doesn't it?

I found Shining Tears for PS2 in Game Informer. It’s Sega’s next RPG. It’s 2D like Shining Force II. I might buy it because Shining Force II is a highly regarded game for Genesis. Now that Sega is a 3rd party I’ll keep buying sequels on non-Sega consoles. I’ll check out the review first, but it won’t be long before I get to play it. It’s a strategy RPG. I’ve played Shining Force II through emulation – it was fun for couple hours, but I always get distracted with Internet browsing. I don’t see how it can be a short attention span since I’ll still looking at the monitor. I don’t play old games long enough to make an accurate judgment. The new Shining Tears will be a hack ‘n slash old school RPG made recently to bring back old charm. Those of you who like old games -- look for this one from Sega in March.

I downloaded the Gamecube emulator, Dolphin 1.03 on Tuesday, and it seems to be capable with commercial games. I looked on the interface for a BIOS input, where there was none. So this means there must be a way to get Gamecube GCMs off the Internet – either from Bittorrent or Emule.

Drawn blood for blood test

Yesterday, I had to go to the Doctor for a blood test, and my blood will be sent to my consoler that I don’t like in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have type A+ blood for those who want to know. Yet the bandage the nurse stuck to my arm hurt more than the needle! I’m on medication so the doctors want to find out if it’s affecting my organs or immune system, and the test will last me another 3 or 4 years. I remember seeing LABCORP on the nurse’s shirt. LABCORP must have a super computer that can analyze my DNA in minutes. That’s kind of scary. A computer can read my DNA and terrestrial elements? The 12 hour “fastening” was some what hard to manage, but it didn’t leave me feeling too hungry. The worst thing about it was not drinking Mountain Dew for 12 hours! Guess what I did when I got home? I ate a 14” Pepperoni Pizza, and a 24 ounce bottle of Mountain Dew too. Afterwards, I logged onto Cartharon Electrica. I’m the 2nd highest distributor there.

Three days ago, I drove to WITC in 2 below freezing weather – my windows had frost on them. It’s all apart of being a Wisconsinite and completely normal this time of year. I wanted to burn copies of all three discs of MS Visual Basic .NET 2003 because the school wanted me to buy off Microsoft.com. The school is with an alliance with Microsoft! Grrrr. I used my negotiating skills and convinced the Visual Basic teacher, Dyane, to burn a copy of Visual Basic .Net 2003. Yay! I was reading the prelude to the book which tells me about the bold terms of programming. A nice feature of Visual Basic 7.1 is the “source code spell checker” called Visual C++ Remote Debugger. I’ve worked with Visual Basic briefly in 11th grade in high school and made a Tic Tac Toe program only to get carried away with my own project afterwards. How can I plug-in the open source GTK 2x compiler into Visual Basic? The answer is unclear to me now. Most people use Visual Basic’s internal compiler. I’m going to find some MP3 VB script that automatically detects WMP’s MP3 codec, and have music playing when my program opens!

Why when I download Tic Tac Toe script from a site to compile it asks me to upgrade to v7.1 so I do it, and the result gives errors! It’s a simple script – 82K uncompressed. Is the Update Wizard dialog box going to give me problems in the future? If v7.1 is truly better than v6.0….why won’t the source compile? My point is I didn’t program the code and if I got it at Free Visual Basic Code – it should work! That’s bugging the heck out of me. My instincts tell me that maybe I should downgrade to Visual Basic 6.0, while another part of me says keep VB7 because that’s what the text book says to use.

Meanwhile, I've figured out that VB makes an EXE file in the BIN folder of the My Project Folder when my project is saved. How nice of Microsoft. No wonder I couldn’t find a “Create EXE” command somewhere on the tool bar.

One thing I’m wondering about my site is why aren’t I an advance user yet? I could go over to Dynamic Drive where that slide-in menu is, and add it too my site any time I wanted too. Yes, I know where Addicted2Yew gets her script. In fact, I tried to have my own JavaScript drop-down menu from the top of the page generated by Xara Menu maker. I have everything it takes to be an advance user is my point yet I am not. I can redesign sites God dang it! I’m talented with Namo Webeditor. I can make things happen. Yet, no body will know because I’m freelancing for free, and working in an entirely different field at the same time. Wasn’t that Template 7 great? I got no help developing Ian’s Quintessential Blog 2x either. I did all the code cleaning and art making for that site including all the writing you see before you. The fact remands that I’m my own administrator of my Angelfire and Geocities sites where everything is my choice.

Well, I went to Toyriffic, I got a really bad welcome at the game store. Let me guess I can’t be talented there. That’s sucks. I would walk out (like I did in school) Anyways, I found the new Zelda game for Gameboy Advance called The Minish Cap. I also choose Legacy of Kain Defiance. I can’t be talented because I played 300+ games in my life. What kind of world do we live in anyhow? I can see that games aren’t the apex of many people’s lives. There is always some gamer with a bigger collection! I found out that the store guy there plays ROMs illegally and doesn’t seem to bother him at all. Okay, that’s what I do, but that’s my little secret which I only tell about here. The point is school will start and cut my playing time in half.

Today, I happen to have 1964 installed on my computer so I went to NGemu.com to find what’s happen’n. There wasn’t anything useful in the last 2 weeks except 1 file – Rice’s N64 Graphic plug-in 6.0.0c. It works for N64 roms, and Rice is the leading contributor for N64 graphics plug-ins for emulators Project 64k and 1964. The couple last versions of Rice’s N64 video plug-in works great – and I was playing Extreme G and Ocarina of Time on my computer. Remember, the plugin makes N64 games look high resolution on the monitor. The Legend of Zelda - Minish Cap is based on Link to the Past duplicating game play which was apart of The Four Swords on Gameboy Advance.

My friend couldn’t make it over this week. He’s the non-geek friend I have. It looks like he’s my only friend now. Previously, I claimed Bob stopped talking too me and Chuck is no longer “available”. I wanted to play Playstation 2 with someone. I’m not mean to my friend. It’s obviously more difficult getting through to him.

Well, that’s it for now.

Resident Evil 4 in near future

Latest PS2 Collection picture - 220KB (All 62 Games)

1.) Star Ocean 3 - Till the End of Time (Director's Cut Version) (RPG)

2a.) Mega Man (Mega Man Anniversary Collection) (A)

2b.) Mega Man 2 (MMAC) (A)

2c.) Mega Man 3 (MMAC) (A)

2d.) Mega Man 4 (MMAC) (A)

2e.) Mega Man 5 (MMAC) (A)

2f.) Mega Man 6 (MMAC) (A)

2g.) Mega Man 7 (MMAC) (A)

2i.) Mega Man 8 (MMAC) (A)

2j.) Mega Man Battle (MMAC) (A)

2k.) Mega Man Battle 2 (MMAC) (A)

3.) Jak and Dexter (APL, A)

4.) Castlevania - Lament of Innocence (S, A)

5.) Jak 2 (APL, A)

6.) Ratchet and Clank (APL, A)

7.) Ratchet and Clank 2 - Going Commando (APL, A)

8.) Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec (RA)

9.) Final Fantasy 10 (RPG)

10.) Final FAntasy 10-2 (RPG)

11.) Rayman 3 - Hoodlum Havoc (PL)

12.) Tekken 4 (F)

13.) SSX 3 (SP)(RA)

14.) Breath of Fire 5 - Dragon Quarter (RPG)

15.) Xenosaga Episode 1 (RPG)

16.) Soul Caliber 2 (F)

17.) ESPN Football 2K5 (SP)

18.) Grand Theft Auto 3 (RA)

19.) Grand Theft Auto Vice City (RA)

20.) Summoner 2 (RPG)

21a.) Virua Fighter 4 Evolution (F)

21b.) Virua Fighter (F)

22.) Ridge Racer V (RA)

23.) Devil May Cry (S, A)

24.) Toyko Extreme Racer Zero (RA)

25.) Toyko Extreme Racer 3 (RA)

26.) Twisted Metal Black (RA)(S)

27.) Suikoden III (RPG)

28.) Ace Combat 04 (MJS)

29.) Winning Eleven Soccer 6 (SP)

30.) Winning Eleven Soccer 7 (SP)

31.) Madden Football 2002 (SP)

32.) Disgaea Hour of Darkness (RPG)

33.) Kingdom Hearts (RPG)

34.) Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty (S, A)

35.) Ico (PUZ)

36.) MidNight Club (RA)

37.) MidNight Club 2 (RA)

38.) Thunderstrike (S, A )

39.) Onimusha 2 Samurai's Destiny (AF, A)

40.) Onimusha 3 - Demon Siege (AF, A)

41.) Soul Reaver 2 (AF)

42.) Dark Cloud (RPG)

43.) Dark Cloud 2 (RPG)

44.) Grandia Xtreme (RPG)

45.) Arc the Lad 4 - Twlight of the Spirits (RPG)

46.) La Pucelle - Tactics (RPG)

47.) Phantom Brave (RPG)

48.) Wipeout Fusion (RA)

49.) Shadow Hearts 2 - Covenant (RPG)

50.) Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus (APL, A)

51.) Gradius V (S. A )

52.) Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas (RA) (S)

53.) Guilty Gear X (F)

54.) Fatal Frame 2 Crimson Butterfly (Director's Cut version) (SH, A)

55.) Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater (S, A)

56.) Guilty Gear Isuka (also Guilty Gear X3) (F)

57.) Jak 3 (APL, A)

58.) Ratchet and Clank - Up Your Arsenal (APL, A)

59a.) Growlancer II (Growlancer Generations) RPG

59b.) Growlancer III (Growlancer Generations) RPG

60.) Star Wars Jedi Starfighter (S)

61.) Grandia II (RPG)

62.) Ace Combat 5 (AJS)

Thanks to Modblog’s Administrator, Gorman, who was nice enough to make a screenshot [PRINT SCREEN --> Clipboard] of W.Bloggar's account dialog box so I knew what the heck I was doing when I imported my Modblog account to it. I added his screenshot to my server for everyone to view. The screenshot was very helpful to me. Thanks Stuff5 for letting me know this program exists. It will never replace the good old fashioned “Add Blog Entry” on the website itself, but that’s my opinion.

copy these settings in W.Bloggar's Settings Dialog Box to post online

I originally was getting Resident Evil 4, and I should stay with my first choice. I believe I’ll buy it for $50 since I can always make up the $50 in two months. Playstation Pocket is retailing for $150 in March. You’ll have to read my next post to see what could happen in the future. I might have to discipline myself after I get Resident Evil 4. The graphics in Resident Evil 4 look as good as Metroid Prime 2 Echoes. The textures are better than Resident Evil Zero which was known for its extremely good horrifying textures amongst Gamecube owners. IGN.com gave the game a 9.8/10. They have a list of highest ranked videogames and Resident Evil is ranked 4 or 5 at Gamestats.com. I read off the review that Resident Evil is twice as hard as Resident Evil Zero. That might be a problem, but I’ll still buy it because it a lot of game review sites are saying it is the best Resident Evil ever made. I know I agree with that part.

Games to add to v1.20 videogame list:

• Ace Combat 5 (PS2)

• Suikoden (PS)

• Grandia 2 (PS2)

I found the Gamecube extended hardware review entertaining. One thing that caught my eye was the Flipper would have had 128 MB of (G)raphics (P)rocessing (U)nit DDR S-DRAM if ArtX was absorbed into ATI sooner. ArtX could only offer Nintendo 64-MB in the Flipper graphics chip. If anything, Gamecube is still more advance than PS2. I didn’t know Gamecube used 24MB of 1T-SDRAM. It’s 1 transistor instead of 6 to reduce costs of RAM for it. It’s less costly than normal SDRAM (with six transistors) used in PCs.

Metroid Prime Hunters is coming out on May 08, 2005. It is Nintendo’s first first person shooter for the Dual Screen. I’ve played the demo, and I haven't figured out how to shoot the gun while moving using the touch pad. Anyhow, Wipeout Pure and Ridge Racers are two excellent videogames at launch for the Playstation Pocket.

Visual Basic starts on the 13th for me, and will be an online course similar to Cisco. I’ll be getting my books tomorrow with a blank check, and be sure to share copies of my work because my site is on computers. Typing up code might come easy for me if I happen to have natural programming skills. I am excellent at setting down at a computer for hours on end – this is certain. I’ll only touch the surface of Visual Basic next week. My goal is to become an accomplished network technician or programmer, and I hope I never get mad and walk out. I don’t know – it’ll be fun come Thursday.

This is Ian signing out.

2005: The Highly Anticipated Videogames

I’ll name the top six videogames I’m excited to get this year:

Xenosaga Episode 2 - Xenosaga part 2 launches February 15th. This space RPG is a prequel saga to Xenogears. This game is suppose to look better than previous RPGs on PS2 before it. There has never been a game with as many cutscenes as Xenosaga. The last episode takes place after humans go to war with an alien species (again). Humans have conquered space and the Gnosis stand in their way. The Gnosis want a monolith known as an Zohar which looks exactly like the one at the end of the movie, 2010. At the beginning, the aliens took the Zohar emulator mistaking it for the real monolith hidden from everyone. Humans were able to unlock some alien technology from Zohar, but not all of it, which why it is a quest for the Holy Grail. Fortunately, Earth scientists have created an android called KOS-MOS inferior to the enemy unlike humans are. KOS-MOS is a first prototype of a whole army of KOS-MOSs to defend the Earth Federation against the Gnosis. The game makes you go to different planets to rescue androids. The party isn’t entirely human – about 2/3s android – they only look the same as us. In battle sequences, the game allows 3 players, and you have your 3 different attacks, several special attacks and my favorite – MECHs, the game calls them (A)nti (G)nosis (W)eapon (S)ystems instead.

Resident Evil 4 - I forgot about this one so I had to add it. Resident Evil 4 puts you in the eyes of Resident Evil 2 hero, Leon Kennedy. After the fall of the Umbrella Corporation only a year before, he goes to a European town to investigate there. Leon finds out the villagers are trying to kill him not to mention the T-virus as infected villagers, and sometimes created T-virus monsters. The question is why it is here and not only Raccoon City or that place in Code Veronica? It’s your favorite horror survival game onto its eighth chapter. The game really does push Gamecube graphics to the limit! IGN gave it a 9.8, the highest score for a Gamecube game for them. The adventure is supposed to last 20 hours. The game is made by Capcom Production Studio 4.

Suikoden IV - Also called Gensou Suikoden IV in Japan coming out in 7 days. This weird renaissance turn-based RPG seems to take after the events of Suikoden III, supposedly 2002 Role Playing Game of the Year by IGN. I bought Suikoden for Playstation, a very rare Playstation game which is why it’s as much as a new PS2 game. I suspect Konami made Suikoden III much like Final Fantasy X, added a 3D engine, more audio driven cut-scenes, and an above average ‘turn-based battle thing’. Yes, another anime-based RPG importing from Japan the US seems to get six or more of these on PS2 each year.

Dungeon Siege 2 - It’s another RPG, but for PC developed by Gas Powered Games, a new game developer under Microsoft’s reign. The first game supported a very advanced engine for 2001, but not very good looking in 2005. Dungeon Siege is a dungeon-crawler like Forgotten Realms series or Diablo. Basically, it’s a 3D Diablo-like hack & slash PC game. The sequel is larger, has more weapons and armor, an upgraded engine also used in the original with much better textures, improved mod support. It looks cool and suppose to be as good as Neverwinter Nights. I used to be big on played Dungeon Siege in 2001 when it came out.

Super Mario 128 - A true sequel to Super Mario 64 unlike Super Mario Sunshine. The game will be presented at E3 2005 for Gamecube. I do know it’ll look better than Super Mario Sunshine texture wise! One of the faults of that game was the low resolution textures, but the characters and game engine were high resolution.

Knights of the Old Republic 2: Revenge of the Siths - This Star Wars game is the sequel to Bioware’s unbelievable action-RPG. Around now, the Jedi have decreased in numbers by a large margin, and the old republic is at the blink of war. The Xbox version is already out, but the PC version is suppose use the same hack and slash method as the prequel. KotOR looked great at 1600x1200, and got above 9.2 on practically every review site on the Internet. The graphics generally were above 9.0. Sound was about a 9.5. Game play was always above 9.0, replay value was either an 8.5 to 9.5 depending on the reviewer. KotOR2 allows you to pick the Old Republic’s fate.

At Toyriffic yesterday, I met a black man there at the store. He asked me about the game I bought. Then he asked me why I bought it. I didn’t answer him, I’d never seen him in my life. It was very cold yesterday, around freezing so I was wearing fleece under a heavy winter coat so I was very warm out in the cold. The same day, I went too visit a consoler in Minneapolis, who asked me several questions. Anyhow, I hated my visit there, and I’m not coming back.

On New Years, I had all my younger cousins over including Joshua who’s in 9th grade. What a pain, they wanted to borrow my videogames to take home with them. I said, “No.” Lars knows it’s free – that’s why! He’s just a little guy though – mean not what he says. I buy the games, they take it home for free? – sorry. I want all my games behind glass now. Anyways, I wanted to show Josh, the oldest one, my favorite videogames out of the collection. Uli is also mature for his age, not as mature as I though, but I do agree with him that Halo and Fable are great games since he kept commenting on how great Fable was. I wonder why Fable was rated M anyways? Joshua wanted to see Soul Reaver - Legacy of Kain 2, and he played that for a while. I also showed my cousin, Sherry (his mom) Fatal Frame 2 - Crimson Butterfly since she’s into videogames as well. Last time I saw Sherry was on Halloween. Joshua kept calling me crazy because of all the games on my shelves. It’s not crazy…. just a little obsession….that’s all. He likes Bran Stroker’s Dracula & Matrix Revolutions so he watched both. I tried to get someone interested in watching Saving Private Ryan, but no one cared. Don’t these kids want to watch a reenactment of the greatest generation? The same generation that destroyed The 3rd Reign ? I must mention the Brits, Canadians, Russians, and Free French who made victory possible, otherwise - my comment would be very one-sided which isn’t true. The film glorifies war too, lots and lots of gore from the D-Day scene (June 06, 1944) on Normandy Beach or other invaded beaches in German occupied France. Those who watched the film would know! If those kids can play Halo 2 you start to wonder why videogames are more important than our country’s history. 1.) None of my cousins like History Class. 2.) None of my cousins seen so many videogames in their life. 3.) Both.

Today, I was also playing with the hero maker, the idea just dawned on me that there would be such a thing on Google. I was right and the third hit was the best version. I thought, “Wonderful!” The program does weapons, cloaks, 6 different shields, 4 different kinds of bikini mails for female, 6 different faces too choose from, and 30 different skins for each gender. The program allows you to pick from basketball cheerleader, female fantasy warrior or male knight. Hero Maker Homepage