Raithe

I quite enjoyed the pc port without too many difficulties. Actually I'd say I had a lot more fun with SR2 then I did with GTAIV. But that could be purely personal preference for that silly fun rather then grim angst that GTAIV had.. But no real clue on the modding community..

Just to go from brain hurt to something a tad silly.. New trailer for the upcoming Saints Row the Third.. SR - Syndication Unsurprisingly they have Daniel Dae Kim back as the voice for Johnny Gat No word yet on whether Eliza Dushku is voicing Shaundi once more, but I wouldn't be too surprised.. And apparently Sasha Grey is voicing one character this time around..

Just to follow on for the SW: The Old Republic line.. Some of the ComicCon TOR Panel..

Not to ignore the bombing incident, but I've had a nice lift for the day. Just got the phone call that told me that that report I did the other month had gone through the external examiners to everyone's satisfaction, and I've now got a job. Well, have a final "interview" of sorts to go through where I get to see how it was graded, find the flaws and figure out exactly what I'll be doing.. but still. Rahr! Now a glass of port to celebrate. Hm, I might even break out a cigar..

Sony developed SWG. That and apparently it was really crappy unless you were dedicated. Plus it was designed from the start so you had to group from what I hear. As in, classes had fatal weaknesses that you needed another class around to balance out. Which killed a lot of solo activities. Although a lot of the dedicated fans apparently left after one update that retconned the galaxy or something... The rumours had it that part of the update was because Lucas' kid played the game and thought they needed to change stuff, so it filtered though... o O (although that might have been rabid conspiracy theorists behind that one..) And while you might say it crashed and burned, it's still actually playing. Although it's to be shut down by the end of the year. So it's had enough people playing it to keep it going....

hm, Double Post error..

Well given his recovery times, and how people are amazed he's back in action so quickly compared to other post-augment surgery types.. That's pretty much a given. That or he's unknowingly a test subject for some of the girlfriends work... That's one of the litte things they've worked into how people react to you, apparently Jensen can soothe ruffled feathers or put peoples backs up from the beginning by how he handles them talking about how quickly he's back and whether he's competent to handle the work... Not sure how much effect it would have later in the game once you've left Detroit, but it's a nice little background thing I would say.

And yup. the Sarif Industries website is now "Hacked" with assorted graffiti and political slogans, plus a new set of files to find in the hacking minigame.

Yup . There's hordes of people on the TOR forums who have pre-ordered the CE of the game.. and about an equal number of Australians complaining that they can't order the CE. I just don't understand the need for it when it's that sort of price. I mean, I can sort of understand the price getting nearly doubled to include flashy metal cases rather then plastic dvd cases, a soundtrack, an artbook, and a few other physical things as well as a couple of in-game knick-knacks.. But an extra hundred bucks for it? .. All because of a simple figurine? And really, what are you going to do with a figurine like that?

Well they've always said they wanted to give access to the game for people who view it more as Kotor3 rather then an mmo. So they've pushed elements of players being able to do most of the class storyline on their own / with npc companions rather then need to form groups. Although chunks of world missions and key flashpoints will require multiple players to even start.... Throw in the whole "200 hours" to do a single classes storyline.. I guess they're thinking that some people will be happy to buy the game, and spend that first month playing then potentially leaving the game... relying on the completionist nature of a lot of gamers to be hooked into spending another month or three to finish that class' storyline..

Let me put it this way. most games over here are in the ?24-35 , so when a collectors edition comes out that happens to be ?130 I really wonder what the hell is going on. Even Fallout 3 was only about ?60 and that had the whole.. metal lunchbox + bobblehead and wotnot. Edit: Hm, and weirdness, every time I put in a pound sign, it shows up as a pound sign until I post..and then it turns into a question mark...

Yeah, i agree on that. I'm happy to shell out the money for the standard version and see what that first month is like.. but that much money for whats basically a figurine , a map, and a metal box.. (okay, and a few in-game tweaky items) seems rather on the silly side. Hm, it's kinda interesting how shuttle-run type running takes it out of you a lot quicker then running the same distance straight..

It's well known in game, and has been something floating around for the fans to hear for awhile. It's basically suped up version of anti-rejection meds similar to organ transplants today... -- Edit: And as I recall, the scientist ex-gf has some breaththrough in regards to the need for that med and is all set to make an announcement right before the attack happens.. So I do expect a chunk of conspiracy storyline to be about that.... ---- However, it seems they're pushing the advertising in a logical manner. First they showed the "in-world" advertisements and suchlike from the pro-aug viewpoints.. now they're starting to do it from the anti-aug, conspiracy viewpoint.. And didn't that trailer have some mention that they'll be hacking the Sarif website? So I'm half-expecting something to show up there in the near future...

So Bioware have announced that if you pre-order Star Wars The Old Republic.. a limited number will gain early access to the game. Also that they have a Collectors Edition of the game. Which retails in the ?125 / $175 range. Now that's getting a little bit silly to my mind. I mean, let's see, you get a galaxy map, game discs in a metal case, the soundtrack, the "diary" of Master Ghost-Dural, a Darth Malgus figurine...about half a dozen in-game items (such as a holographic dancer, and an in-game holocam to record events), and an exclusive in-game vendor...

Hm, I've just realised that if you don't count emails.. I haven't actually spoken to anyone outside of the family in about 3 weeks. And I know I've forgotten something. Which is bugging the crap out of me.

I've got that stack of games to get into and/or finish. AI War Fleet Command, Secrets of Monkey Island, Fear 2, Just Cause 2, a few others... But I just can't seem to get into the mood to do more then spend 10 minutes gaming before quitting to deal with other stuff.

In a lot of ways ME2 was fun in that.. space opera sense. The main flaw I found was that the moment you put in the higher difficulties which gave all enemies shields.. it nerfed any biotics. By the time you took down the shields with gunfire, you just might as well finish killing them with gunfire rather then waste time using biotics... That's what made the combat a lil tiresome..even if it kind of looked slick. Edit: So that's actually one of the things that I'll be interested to see in ME3, just how they've handled that aspect of the game...

Hm, actually it might.. if the 13% played as default DudeShep, and 83% created custom characters.. could that leave 4% who played default FemShep? Or was the 13% default Dude & Fem Shep?

Pushed through the day, but I've got this nagging sensation that there's something I'm supposed to be doing, and I'm totally blanking on it but just have that mental nagging. Hm, and the obs board keeps needing me to relog in everytime even with the "remember me" ticked.

Condolences Nightshape.

On a slightly different rail, some extra details from one of the developers on the Power Trailer for Saints Row the Third.. Saints Row Power Trailer - Developer Commentary

Hm, not quite a hate.. but I first tried reading Bram Stoker's Dracula when I was about 8. Harker's descent into madness scared the bejeesuz out of me and I couldn't finish the book. Took me years before I could get back to trying to read it. On the vampire thing - Laura K Hamilton is a bit odd. She started writing some quite decent character driven murder/urban fantasy stories with the usual vampire/paranormal sexy erotic overtones.. which made an interesting series. But then she seemed to get lost in the whole "sexy vampire/paranormal" thing and produced a couple that were ...well.. sexually driven characters with some slight plot overtones. So maybe not hate again, but a certain level of dissapointment.

Well finally managed to fall asleep around 4am again, then staggered awake around 8ish, managed to loll around for a little before getting up properly, and then had to deal with the puppy being frantic and trying to eat the cat before I could finish my first cup of tea. Trying to gather resources to focus properly and punch through this. Been resisting the urge the last few days to fritter money away on this and that and avoid getting into the retail therapy style.. Although I did end up picking up a copy of The DC Art of Jim Lee for th curiousity.. Fleabombed the house, put the animals on a couple of different anti-flea treatments.. and somehow the cat keeps turning up with fleas. So trying to figure out why and where. (he's a housecat, so definitely not from wandering outside). Our best theory is that somehow the dogs picked them up on a walk, and they jumped ot the cat at home. Family politics are turning such a joy at the moment, and I'm trying to just not get too involved and keep things at some sort of even-keel. And I have the nagging feeling I've forgotten something that I need to take care of.

For the slightly surreal.. I thought I'd put this in here.. But China has now added a bunch of new things to the banned list of what they're willing to show on tv. So they've decided to ban tv and films that contain 'fantasy, time-travel, random compilations of mythical stories, bizarre plots, absurd techniques, even propagating feudal superstitions, fatalism and reincarnation, ambiguous moral lessons, and even a lack of positive thinking CNN - China Bans Time Travel Daily Mail - China Bans Time Travel Cinema

Eh, I'm not sure whether it's related to that bout of man-flu, the general recovery from getting sick like that, or the crappy grey weather the last few days but I am definitely having trouble staying positive at the moment. That and the stretches of time spent in bed feeling crap leaves your mind wandering back and forth poking at things. Why is it some emotional wounds never really seem to heal, just get to the point you can generally ignore them until various things bring them to mind? Eh, well, Pissing it down with rain..and have to re-load the house with anti-fleabombs again because they seem to keep jumping between the animals regardless of what we've done.