http://kotaku.com/5593259/rumor-microsoft-killed-plans-for-pc-vs-xbox-360-online-play

I love that picture. Haha. Took me a while to figure out what the black thing was, though. Thought it was a PC case at first. 0.o My monitor’s getting old and doesn’t handle sharp contrast so well anymore. :(

As for the article. All is …as expected. My question? Why can’t console gamers use a mouse and keyboard? (some do, with hax) They can use tray tables. There will be a nice little niche market of gamer tray tables. haha Add in an option for someone to choose whether or not to play vs PC gamers and you’re set. But I guess that’s too easy, huh?

Want to back up all your Nintendo DS games onto a single cartridge, without any risk of bricking your DS? Well, Kotaku was kind enough to put together a guide for you to do just that! All you need is a DS or a DS lite. Sorry, this method won’t work with a DSi. But! The cartridge you make with a DS/DS lite will.

http://kotaku.com/5588916/hack-your-nintendo-ds-for-easy-backups-and-single+cartridge+playback

Thanks for another great article, Kotaku!

Here we are, almost a year after my last post. Responding to a comment on one of my posts brought me back here, and when I logged on I found that this blog has really become quite popular, relative to the hits I got before. Last month I had over 4,000 hits. Four months before that? 541 hits. I can’t explain the disparity there. I haven’t even posted for 10 months!!

It doesn’t make sense. But now I feel kind of bad for not posting anymore! lol I’m sure they’re just random web hits, and for whatever reason I’m getting more of them lately. But most of them are landing on the front page, so I may as well start posting again.

I’m not sure what I’ll post, though. I don’t have much time to game anymore. And when I do, I find myself replaying my old favorites, like Knights of the Old Republic. I’ll likely end up making posts that redirect to other sites using my [Recommended Read] tag. Things like good deals, legal or should-be-legal hacks, and random off-topic things. I wish I could change the name of this blog to something else and just make it an off-topic blog, but I can’t! Or if I can, I don’t know how. :P

Perhaps I’ll just make a new one and link to it. That’ll come at a later day, if it ever does. So consider this an announcement. New stuff is on the way, even if it is just a link and a (hopefully) witty remark. ;)

And of course, your anime babe. Hah…I think I just figured out why I’m getting all those hits. :P

I’ve been quite busy, so this is later in the day than I’d like. But I have still have 2 hours before this day is officially over. ;)

I just wanted to make a post to try to bring honor to all those who died that day, and to those who have served and sacrificed to protect our freedom since.

For eight years now 9/11 has been a somber day for me. Watching the different documentaries, memorials, and hearing the stories all over again each year takes me right back to the way I felt as it was happening then. I’ll never forget that moment. I was in school, in health class. My teacher was one of those soft-spoken ladies who never had a hope of keeping a group of kids under control. It was there, in that class room, that I saw the second plane hit the second tower live on the TV. I imagine most of the classrooms had the TV on by then.

I’ll never forget that dreadful feeling that came over me as the reality of what was happening set in. I was watching my country under attack. I was watching terror, horror. I was watching people die. [i]My[/i] people.

Yet, perhaps the most horrifying thing I saw that day happened right there in my own classroom. Not long after the TV came on, two girls started joking and laughing about it all. It was the most ignorant thing I’ve ever seen. One statement stands out the most, in which they called the people jumping out of the towers “stupid.” I was furious, and sincerely hoped they were just magnificently ignorant. However, eventually they too fell silent, perhaps finally feeling the reality of what was going on, or perhaps just sensing that they were alone in their amusement.

Whatever the case, though, the fact that I said nothing as they mocked and laughed remains one of the great regrets of my life. And as I sit here, watching the corruption that has infected our country at every level, I can’t help but feel like the USA is being attacked again. And this time, I won’t sit idly by and let all the sacrifice that has molded the United States be mocked.

Tomorrow, I suggest you guys watch the news. Tune in at 1-3 on Fox. I’m not sure anyone else will cover it. Look at Washington and see all the people standing up for their freedom, for their country and for what is right. They’ll be laughed at, mocked. They’ll be called “stupid.” But make no mistake that they’ll be heard.

With the sorrow, pain, and regrets of 9/11 comes the unity, purpose, and promise of 9/12. This time the ones attacking our freedom is our own government. It’s vastly corrupt, Republicans and Democrats alike. The power has gone from the people to the government and special interest groups. The minority voice of radicals, of corrupt individuals and organizations has overpowered the voice of reasonable Americans for too long.

It’s time to speak up.

http://kotaku.com/5295415/advertising-horribly-reimagined

Hello world. And hello small portion of that world that might actually have this place bookmarked. I’m sorry to say that, once again, I’ve neglected you! Like an innocent puppy tied outside in the rain, lightning, and mud, I’ve abandoned you. I apologize. (Your cries were amusing.)

I could give you excuses left and right, but really, the truth is I’ve been lazy, and I didn’t love you. But I do now! So spank me and call me Billy (don’t ask, ’cause I don’t know), and we’ll move on. :)

heh =P Really though, I’ll do my best. I doubt I do, but if I have any fans, I’d like to keep you. Maybe even hold you close and whisper sweet nothings into your ear. You know who you are. ;)

Unicorns.

I am. So tired. I’ve had a busy schedule this week at my (ugh) night job. Last night = 3.5 hours of sleep. Yuck.

But, money is worth some sleep deprivation, no? :)

Here’s some “updates,” for lack of a better word, that I wanted to throw out there:

1.) Use Cheapassgamer.com It’s no secret, but that is a pretty good place for finding (and posting) gaming deals. The name really says it all. You just have to look past all the junk on there that is of no use to you. And there will be a lot of it.

I don’t know how this site escaped me when I wrote my attempt at a guide to budget gaming. Forgive meh?

2.) Want a cheap handheld? Buy one on ebay with a scratched screen. Not horribly scratched, mind you, but scratched. The mint-condition ones sell for a lot more, and you can remove (hide) the scratches using your RL alchemy profession.

I was skeptical, too. Then I did some more digging and found a forum with several people saying this method worked for them. I’m still a bit skeptical, of course, but considering you can get a beater psp on ebay for $50 if you’re lucky, I think it’s worth the risk. I assume this method would work with a DS as well.

For the psp, though, I recommend you wait a while before buying even a used one. There’s rumors flying around of a whole new psp revision, more than just your run-of-the-mill Sony 1001 -> 2001 -> 3001 minor upgrades. If true, this thing will drive the cost of the older psp’s down.

If you found anything in this post useful, leave a comment and tell me about it! 8)

After one of my friends mentioned Fable II, I did a Google search looking for a review and found that I had an interest in the game before even reading one sentence about it. Why? Box art. There’s just something about good box art that draws me in. From there I will determine whether or not I’m interested based on other facts, of course, but I love me some good box art. In the case of the Fable II Collector’s Edition box art, it’s the subtlety of the shadow that made me like it so much. I dunno, when I saw it I was just like “sweet!” I love little things like that on video game boxes.

I especially love great-looking game boxes because they make for wonderful trophies you can proudly display on your desk or shelf. For instance, one of my all-time favorite game boxes is the Knights of the Old Republic box, and I just love to look at it. I’m likely biased because it also happens to be my all-time favorite game…but still, I think the cover art is just awesome. It screams “riveting galactic adventure.” And that’s exactly what you get.

Bastila will have to count as your anime babe for this post. ;P

I’ve put about 3-4 hours into Valkyria Chronicles so far. I know, I’ve been slouching! But I wanted to give some of my first impressions anyway. :)

So far I have loved every second of it. It’s definitely a unique game, and very hard to put down. One of the things I love the most is the chapter system. And this may sound contradictory, but it makes it easy to stop playing, even though you don’t want to. Easy because there’s good spots to stop, breaks from the story and action because you have to select the next chapter from the “book mode” first. Hard to stop because it’s just so fun.

Did that make sense? I hope so. lol If you’ve seen screenshots then you already know this, but the game looks marvelous. The cel-shaded art style is beautiful, and perfect for this game because it is being told from a book. It gives it that “illustrated” feel that fits so perfectly.

As for combat, I am loving it. It’s turn-based and strategy heavy. The strategy is getting more important as I go along, so I suspect (and hope for) some very intense strategy gameplay soon. You have to think about what you’re doing, especially since you’re managing a whole squadron of characters. And man are there a ton of characters to choose from! You assign who is in your squad, and can change them from town whenever. It’s a lot of fun.

Lastly, I’m really getting sucked into the story. That’s the mark of a good story, and of course story is arguably the most important part of an RPG. A story can be ruined at any time, though, and especially with a bad ending. So once I finish I’ll tell you if it holds up! But for now: I give everything an easy A. :)

And with that said, it’s time to play some more Valkyria Chronicles!

I rented Elite Beat Agents a long time ago with Gamefly. Loved every second of it. I was playing on the easiest difficulty setting, and still it kicked my ass many a time. But I loved it. So when I saw a used version in perfect condition for $10 the other day, you can be sure I snatched it up.

Then I got home and booted it up…and heard angels sing. The person who had it last was a real pro. They had unlocked everything and beaten everything. This mystery person even unlocked the hardest difficulty level and then annihilated it. They have insane high scores on everything. Now, first off I am perplexed how someone could just part with a game they obviously put so much time into. They had to love it, or they wouldn’t have tortured themselves to get those scores. The game is HARD on anything but the easy setting, and even that gets rough later on. This person played through the 3 difficulty levels above that! They even unlocked the “Elite Beat Divas” difficulty level that I didn’t even know existed. Amazing.

So that brings me to the second thing. … I can’t bring myself to clear the memory and start from scratch with my own progress. And I can’t play it myself unless I do. Instead, I just boot it up, look at all his/her progress and scores and just sit there with my jaw open, unable to delete it. Either it’s too beautiful, or I’m too crazy. I’m not sure which.

I’ve gotten to the “erase all save data” yes/no screen 3-4 times now and just couldn’t do it. I’ll keep trying…but I might have to get someone else to do it for me.

Heh, I think I’m just crazy.