That Hurricane(Ike) was stronger than what the media stated it was before it landed. Luckily, everyone in my neighborhood was unharmed. We were without power for 3 days, so instead of staying, my family and I went to San Antonio. It was fun there; despite what had happened days ago. I went to the Riverwalk, saw a free Blues concert, and got 2 games. I didn't bring my comp, which is why I wasn't on for awhile. The power is now on(we SA left when we found out it was on), and when I got home, I was able to play one of the two I got for my birthday.

The games are:

The Force Unleashed

Tales of Vesperia

I will purchase Dragon Quest 4 DS tomorrow, if the Gamestop around me is open.

My school district told us that school will begin next week. Free time with my 360.

Even though I have 3 tests when we come back.

My impression of TFU is brief, but it's a pretty good game if you are a Star Wars fan. Other than that, I would recommend renting first. The twist in the middle of the game isn't too exciting or surprising if not, unnecessary. If anyone remembers when the developers said that there will be multiple endings depending on the choices you make, I'll just candidly tell you that they lied. The plot is so linear, that I thought I was almost done with the game. There are several cheap combos that both you and your opponent can do to each other. The only reason I died multiple times is that the enemies would do continuous combos before you could get up. Also, you don't start with all the powers that you did in the demo. Other than that, the game is alright. The gameplay is fun and the physics is entertaining also.

In my next blog, I will give an impression of Tales of Vesperia.

I also made an account on Last.fm. The site is alright, but could be better. My only complain is the time limit on some songs. When I'm into a song, I get upset when it cuts off.

In other music news, I have been trying to learn the guitar. I learned the solo of 7 Nation Army. I made a few edits to my version of the song, because the tab doesn't seem right on note placement.

If you do not know the song, then here is the video:

I have just recently bought The Orange Box. I must say that the game deserves all the hype it gets. I have started Half Life 2 and Portal, with the latter being my main interest now. Portal must of been a killer to program, but whatever engine they used for it(I assume the Havok or The Source engine) it paid off in the end. Both games force the player to manipulate the game's physics. As for Half Life 2, you can start the game without any previous knowledge of the first Half Life game and still know what's going on in the game. I have to say that Valve is a great gaming company without any flaws.

Strange rank, but it sounds cool. I made the rank up from the two games I'm playing(or was in one's case).

I finished Assassin's Creed. Good story, but the gameplay is so broken, you don't need stealth. The ending was very cryptic and screams for sequel, but Ubisoft said that they will not publish a sequel unless the sales for the game increase, which means, there will not be a sequel. If there was, it would take place in Japan.

I'm rotating between the single player of COD4 and the multiplayer. In single player, I just finished Captain Price's memory sequence. In Multiplayer, I'm level 10, which is Sargant(hence the title of the blog). I have to say that it's really fun. Yeah, I do run into jerks, but overall, it's pretty fun.If you want to play me, my gamertag is in this profile.

I also played a demo of the game Braid. If you don't know what it's about, think Super Mario brothers, but with puzzle pieces. It seems good, but the 1200 MS points($15) makes it a questionable buy, since 1600 MS points are $20, I don't want to spend nearly all of the points for just one game. Once I get some MS points, they're going towards the COD4 maps, GH3 packs(not all), and Mass Effect DLC.

I think that the Mana series has taken a dramatic left turn to Trash City. The older installments were really good, each one had a good fantasy story, with pretty good gameplay(for the time). I mean, Square(at the time) was know for 2 main series on the NES and SNES: the Final Fantasy and Mana series. Now, with Square's main focus on the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest/Warrior series, the Mana series has been pushed aside, which means less time to make a good story. The games released now for the series are less than pale imitations of its predeccessors. I just hope in the future, Square remembers this series and brings it back to its former glory.

I think the site is great. It's a mix of wikipedia and Gamespot's forum. Allowing the members to contribute to the site improves the activity, which also promotes recommendations, which means more members and a bigger community. The only thing I have against it is that the moderations are a little slow, but it's gotten better. I would like to recommend  allowing users to post videos of the games(like a trailer, a review, gameplay, etc).

After being on Giantbomb for two days(after today, it will be three days), here is my impression on the site.

Organization-
For a site that opened a few days ago, this site is organized in the places a sites needs to be. The new releases, games, and the content like the reviews are organized very well, and unlike Gamespot, the reviews are FAIR!!! Yeah, that was a burn, but it's true.

Creativity-
The wikipedia-like idea is a great attraction to others and to be credited if they approve your submissions makes it even better. This site is more of a members-creation than GS, which is great.

Speed-
The transition from sending a PM to a friend to waiting to finish an upload is relatively quick. On GS, the PMs are sent quick, but there is a delay time, while for this site, the delay time is cut short. I was talking about this with my friend Lightwarrior179 yesterday. There are a few loading times when changing pages due to the bandwith, but it gets better over time

So far, I give GB a 8.5/10. Once they get the site to what they intended, the site will own!:D

Now enjoy the kickass guitar playing of Androiddab covering the theme of Love from Metal gear Solid.

Hi guys. I'm, of course, new to Giantbomb.com. I found out about this site from a friend and decided to join. For those of you from the other game site Gamespot, I'm Ipodhero176.  Here's a little bit about me.

Games-
Just like in my "About Me" page, I play a variety of games, but I often play RPGs(more specifically JRPGs). The current game I'm playing is Lost Odyssey(which I need to add to my 360 collection on GB). I just finish replaying Knights of the Old Republic after taking a break from LO. I am currently on Disc 4 of LO, training for the next boss fight. Since I'm almost finish with the game, I am now saving up for Rock Band(just $94.40 left to go!).

Music-
I am a big fan of Rock(classic and Jrock included) and metal. Some of my favorite bands are The Strokes, Metallica, Aerosmith, Nightmare, L'Arc~en~Ciel, Flow, Muse, and The Black Mages.

Other hobbies-
I'm very interested in computer programs such as C++ and Javascript. Currently, I am trying to learn C++, but it's not going so well. I always wanted to make my own game engine or just a unique program to call my own(like a new computer protection software) and share it with everyone. I also plan on becoming a game designer, and I have started on this road by creating my own game design documents for practice and to post the ideas from my head so I don't forget them later.

That's most of the things about me. If you have any questions or want to add me as your friend, just ask.