I angered the internet.

...to rock a rhyme.

Get the fuck out.

Me and Satan are best friends, 
Our friendship will never end. 
 
Poetry.

As many people are well aware, Microsoft banned several users (some estimates put the number at over a million) from its XBox Live service a few months ago. They did this by banning the consoles and not the Gamertags. If you want you can buy another 360 and happily resume giving them money on a non-modified console. 
 
There is a law firm named Abington IP investigating the possibility of pursuing a class action law suit against MS for some of the peripheral effects of the banning. I haven't heard anything about the case since November, but being largely ignorant of legal proceedings, I don't know if that means it's dead in the water or not. My understanding is that the firm is looking at the effects of the ban that don't have anything to do with XBox Live, for instance the removed ability to install games to the hard drive. 
 
I was (perhaps incorrectly) under the impression that making changes to a person's 360 wasn't legal, but Microsoft didn't have any problems doing it to possibly a million people. The corporation has definitely demonstrated in the past that it is willing to push the boundaries of the law, as evidenced by the anti-trust ruling against them and the recent MS Word patent ruling. I'm really curious if they actually broke the law in doing what they did. Obviously they can restrict people's access to their service, but it seems to me that they did much more than that.

I've played Resident Evil since the series' inception on the PS1, but for some reason never got in to the Silent Hill series. With the Giant Bomb crew naming Shattered Memories as its Wii game of the year I finally decided to go back and take a look at this classic series. From the outside looking in it has always been my understanding that Silent Hill suffered a marked decline after the third game, so I was surprised at the positive reception that Shattered Memories received. Once I found out that Shattered Memories was a remake of the original game I realized I couldn't play it without delving into the roots of the series, so I picked up the original on the PSP for $6 a few nights ago and have played a few bite size chunks of the game. Even with the dated graphics and the clunky controls I find the game to be compelling, largely due to the sense of mystery and psychological terror the game presents. I'm really looking forward to finishing, and I should also be acquiring Silent Hill 2 via Goozex within the next few weeks. 
 
I'm planning on picking up Shattered Memories once I finish the original game, but I'm not sure what platform I'm going to buy it on. If I read favorable reviews of the PS2 version I'll buy that one as it retails for about $20 cheaper than on the Wii. I'm just not sure that the extra features that utilize the Wiimote justify the cost. I never thought I'd be buying a new PS2 game in 2010, but there it is.

I've been very quiet as of late. The end of the semester arrived, and brought with it a deluge of responsibility. Mix in holiday travel to visit the family and you've got a recipe for not much gaming going on.

There is still hope however. I had my last final exam of the semester yesterday, and though I'm pretty sure I did poorly on it there is no time to worry about that now. It is behind me, and ahead of me three glorious weeks off of class. This is the longest break I've had this year as I took classes all summer long.

Since my final exam ended yesterday, I've really sunk my teeth into Dragon Age. I'm really enjoying it, although I realize that a game of this magnitude requires multiple playthroughs because of all the choices and the various party members. Even though I can be a smart ass in the game, and some times down right mean, I just don't have it in me to be cruel. I have a legitimately hard time playing a sociopath in the game, although the option is definitely there. My next run through I'm going to play as a lunatic dwarf commoner I think, and just screw people over every chance I get. 

SPOILER WARNING:

I did kill Wynne. I tried to find a peaceful resolution where I could enter the tower without her barging into my party, but she wouldn't take no for an answer, and I've grown close with my current members and wasn't willing to put one on the bench for this uppity mage. So, the game left me with no choice but to kill her.

I did manage to work my way through Majora's Mask so I can cross that off my list, but I finished that a few weeks ago and then didn't really pick anything up until Dragon Age. Actually I dabbled with Demon's Souls a bit one weekend, but I only made it past Phalanx and stopped playing. That game looks like it's going to be a lot of fun, so I'm excited to get into it. Once I finish my initial run through Dragon Age I'll have to decide what to play next. I'm trying not to spend money on games because I have so many unfinished ones in my category, but Steam is really tempting me with $10 Torchlight. That and the glut of PS1 games on the PSN have made it very hard. Also with Mass Effect 2 about a month away it's hard not to plunk down the cash, but I will be strong.