So I dropped out of school for now. I just did. Meh. My two jobs will suffice untill I actually figure out where this life is going. 

Far Cry 2 as I said, is spectacular. The game sticks SO well to its source material (that being Africa/conflict in Africa.) It also helps that this is the only game I can even recall EVER being set in Africa. The combination of the unique setting and the unrelenting faithfulness to it make for a INCREDIBLY unique and unforgettable experience. If you are unaware of the present situation in Africa, you should pay more attention to the events of this world. Basically, Africa is a continent (not a nation) engulfed in never ending conflict, wide-spread illness, and a mix of over-population and famine. Far Cry 2 manages to capture the feeling of this in very simple, but easily recognizable ways. The game gives you a great first impression in the form of a (sort-of) interactive cab ride to your hotel in the town of Palo (think the car ride prior to the execution of Yasir Al-Fulani in Call of Duty 4.) You get to see alot of what is to come, including corrupt local militia, the ever-present danger of brush fire, and lack of a division between civilization and wild-life. I was also impressed by little things like diamonds being used as currency, weapons that jam and are unreliable, and the WIDE variety of terrain (swampy marshes, deserts, jungles, villiages, cities.) The gameplay feels REALLY tight. The shooting is spot on, feels deadly, and is as effective as it should be. The way that the game displays the player actually doing EVERY action makes it so there is no point in the game where you are EVER taken out of the experience. For example, instead of teleporting from one seat in a vehicle to the next, you will see the character's arms actually reach up behind him, grab the roll bar, and pull himself into the gunner's position. Far Cry 2 also does a really good job with its mission structure. When it says you can play the mission in any way you want, you can actually play the mission in any. Way. You. Want. Lets just leave it at that, as I feel I'm getting a little carried away.

I also am REALLY enjoying Saints Row 2. Thank you Volition, for keeping the spirit of Grand Theft Auto alive and atoning for the sins of that virtual crime drama simulator realeased in back in April.

Hoo-ray! Previously mentioned virtual crime drama simulator is getting a trophies update! Now I actually feel like going back to play it! Maybe I'll finish it this time..

Well, thats all I got in me for now, I am not feeling well. I have a headache and maybe a fever. Take it easy chaps.

-snake

The cast seemed a little iffy. We know Mark Wahlberg can be awesome, and The Departed is a prime example of such. I also have a hard time taking Mila Kunis seriously. It seems that they messed with Jim Bravura (who in the video game was an aging white man), just to get a Ludacris cameo in there.

 The movie does alot of name dropping that makes you think that they are trying to save as much from the original plot as possible, but overall the plot is loosely fitted onto this largely action-based movie. There was only ONE point in the movie where it really FELT like a Max Payne action scene, and it left alot to be desired. However, I did enjoy this alot more than any other video game movie that I can remember. I will definitely be purchasing this when it comes out. 

If I were to give it a rating I would have to go with 6/10.

I have been playing alot of strategy games lately. Theres just something in my brain that loves seeing battle plans succeed on the tactical level, and it's that feeling that has had me captivated by strategy gaming since middle-school. There is one game 

I have been playing however that succeeds in recreating the feeling of controlling an army in the midst of battle, with all the tension and frenzy of real combat; World in Conflict. I've had this game for quite some time now but have never been able to play it because of the weak system I had previous to this one. In fact, I knew I couldn't play it, and I only bought it so I could ensure I would get the collector's edition. The WiC collector's edition has a bonus like no other, an actual piece of history that made the CE madly appealing to me. An actual, certified piece of the Berlin Wall. 

Aside from that, the game is really fantastic. I don't know if I've ever seen an RTS that had a story I actually cared about. For anyone who has not yet experienced this game, I recommend that you do. Even if you aren't a fan of the RTS genre, even if you HATE the RTS genre, you should STILL check this game out. Why is that? Because World in Conflict plays out less like a strategy game, but more like an action game where you control more than one character. There are so few of the traditional RTS elements within WiC that make for a quicker, more satisfying, and most importantly, FUNNER experience than you would have with a game like Age of Empires. Do not be mistaken, World in Conflict is STILL a strategy game. But it manages to pull it off in such a way that make you feel like you are playing a shooter from 2-miles in the sky.

I can't say enough how much fun I am having with this game, and I am fairly confident that this game will be the subject of my next review. The only part I have yet to experience is the multiplayer, mostly because I am afraid it will ruin my over-all opinion of the game. I have never had a good experience with online strategy gaming, whether it be getting Zerg rushed in StarCraft and losing in less than a minute, or getting destroyed by a gigantic force of war elephants in Age of Empires (take your pick, they all have war elephants >.<) and losing in less than a minute. 

I have not just limited myself to WiC however, I have also been playing Spore, Civilization IV, LotR: Battle for Middle-Earth, and Star Wars: Empire at War. I also really want to play Company of Heroes. I am a huge World War 2 buff, and not even the mass-saturation of the World War 2 gaming market can satisfy my love for the games. When this game first released I had to convince myself I wouldn't like it mostly because I had no chance of ever being able to play it. 

Speaking of games I had to convince myself I wouldn't like... Crysis. That is all. 

So long everybody, and untill next time. I have to go work on a speech due tomorrow that I have had three weeks to prepare for. My middle name is procrastination.  

If you look at the part I wrote in the WiC wiki (about 3/4 of the plot information) and what I wrote in the Second Sight wiki (the ENTIRE article), you'll notice that their sizes are quite different. However, take a look at the points I earned, and youll notice that I earned 120 for my WiC edit, and 47 (thats FOURTY SEVEN) for my Second Sight ARTICLE. At least someone is dishing out fair point totals...

Anyway, I finally got my new desktop! After hours of clearing space on my desk for the massive monitor (with a saw) and hooking up cables, I own my first gaming machine in six years! \

Here are the specs (because thats all that matters when dealing with computers)

-3.16 GHz Dual-Core proccessor from Intel
-500GB Hard Drive

-4 GB  RAM

-Two nVidia GeForce 9800 GTs with 512MB video memory each (SLI equipped)

-22 Inch flat panel dell monitor

I've never had a monitor this large. It's massive. I don't know if I'll get used to looking at so many things at once with still so much space available.

So far, this computer has been able to handle everything I've thrown at it on maximum graphics settings. I hope I can at least play some of Crysis with this rig, although I'm pretty sure I can. With all this power, does it seem like kind of a waste to still be playing a shit load of Rogue Squadron 3D? I love that game. 

I also, under no circumstances will purchase or play greatest hits versions of video games (I also will not buy greatest hits CDs.) The red labels annoy me to the point of wanting to pull my hair out, and the namel "greatest hits" just detracts from the games over-all value in my mind. 

Am I weird? I think so, but it doesn't make me want to change.