Well a few weeks ago, I had my mock exams for my AS Levels. (A levels are split into two years, AS for the first year and A for the second year. These all go towards for me getting a place in university.) This week I got my results back and to be honest, I did VERY badly, I failed all the exams which I took. :( Thank God these were mocks! Anyway, my real AS exams are in May which isn't long and to make sure I do well in these exams I have decided to pull out drastic measures.

I have decided to ban myself from all games from now until I break up for the summer holidays. I want to do well in these exams for a good reason, the exams count for 50% of my A levels and the AS levels which I am taking in May will be used to get conditional places at University.

To make sure that I don't burn myself out, I am continuing my Taekwondo as a way to relieve stress.

So once June rolls around, lots of fun shall be had.

Come out in less than 24 hours! yeah! My girth is tingling with excitement!

Looks like Toys 'R Us is starting to seriously purge their PS2 selection. I stopped in the one by Gurnee Mills today and spotted a large number that were recently marked down to $5.

Here's what they had:
-Jak and Dexter
-King of Fighters XI
-Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
-Final Fight Battle Archives 2
-Art of Fighting Anthology
-Swashbucklers
-Sly Cooper
-Sly 3
-Pinball Hall of Fame
-Summer Athletics
-Mountain Bike Adrenaline
-Volleyball (probably with some sub-title)
-Brunswick Bowling
-Riding Star

All their GBA games are 3 for $10 but they only have 2 titles (H.S. Musical 3 and Texas Hold 'em) so I don't know how that works.

Well maybe not ever,but its going to be great.

First of all. God Of War III comes out the 16th. Which I'm going to buy it the day it is released.

Then the 17th Perfect Dark is released on XBLA. Not only that,but the new season of South Park starts. So that is going to be a great day!

Gaming in general is really hot lately with the biggest titles coming out. FF13 is already out and coming out the 16th is God Of War III and then the next day Perfect Dark is released on XBLA.

I'm going to mention all the interesting games coming out in April and May. I'm not interested in all of them,but the ones I am. I will put a *.

April:

Super Street Fighter IV *
Quantum Theory *
Splinter Cell Conviction
Nier

May:
Alan Wake *
Lost Planet 2 *
Mario Galaxy 2 *
Kane and Lynch 2

Nintendo is really got a lot of titles coming out I'm interested in. I must...

Found this on the side of a thermos box at the local Asian supermarket:



Since there's no words, I'll try to guess what the picture is saying:

1) Don't let Mr. Thermos drop too far, or else he is going to wet himself.
2) Don't let Mr. Thermos near your radiator, it's the equivalent of watching a horror movie to Mr. Thermos.
3) Don't let your kid bully Mr. Thermos. He is simply too weak to fight back.
4) Give Mr. Thermos a proper burial if he ever dies. Don't just let him lie dead on your counter.

I'm really.. peeved right now. I was playing some Final Fantasy XIII, I'm almost 12 hours in to it.

I can't really state what cutscene, but if you've played that far, you -probably- know which cutscene I feel was the important one.

Somebody walks in, ruffles through my desk for a paper while I'm watching the cutscene.

I miss a few moments and the emotional impact is lessened. (It was a pretty emotionally awesome scene.)

-_-; I'm hoping there is some way to view the cutscenes.

First off, the big news I hinted at last time is.....

*DRUMROLL*

After nearly 5 years of living here, I'm finally leaving Japan on April 22nd.
My current contracts are ending and I didn't get any of the new jobs I applied for so I figured now's as good a time as any to head back to the U.S. I know the economy's not so great, but I'm really looking forward to a fresh start back home.

On to the pick-ups!
Since I was trying to save up money last month, I got all of this stuff for about $50:


Pokemon Colosseum GC Guidebook
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon GBA & DS Guidebook
Pokemon Ranger 2 DS Guidebook
Pokemon SoulSilver/HeartGold DS All-Region Pokemon Bestiary
Klonoa Door to Phantomile PS1 Guidebook
Evangelion N64 Guidebook
Guilty Gear Petit 1 & 2 WonderSwan Color Guidebook
Sonic Adventure...

The Special Asian Hottie Blog of the day is upon us, but first a special guest intro by dv8mad......


Hey everyone! Welcome to Oswald's Asian Hottie Blog: Overdose!

I hope you enjoy my contribution below!







P.S. Dear pedo tagger. My wife, who is 29, but built very similarly to the girls in this post and many other posts from Oswald, says thank you for stereotyping. She has always been very self-conscious of her small breast size. People like you really help in making her feel undervalued based solely on her appearance. Great job tough guy.

-dv8mad

THANK YOU dv8mad for your contribution...

After hearing CheapyD, Wombat and Shipwreck talk about the Just Cause 2 demo on CAGCast 191, I thought I'd share my first impressions video as after hearing what they had to say, I realized they mentioned some of the same stuff I had done in my video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziXERfCbeqg

It's been a very long time coming. Due to not being in a gaming mood, not being able to game or too tired from filling an application for college to getting enrolled and registered in one weekend, I've put it off onto the backburner.

Needless to say, I've finished it.

I really enjoyed the game. I went from being scared to walk down hallways to just running around shotgunning splicers in the face. The story was phenomenal with all the twists and turns. The ending was great and very satisfying.

I thought the fight with Fontaine was shockingly easy, considering I played on Hard Mode. I would have never had thought that the Electric Gel ammo would own him so thoroughly, especially since I personally never relied on the Chemical Thrower at all in my play through.

I am glad that I didn't trade this game in when I got it for free. I'm happy that I gave it a chance because I never would have had an experience like this with any other game....

I'm one of those few rare girls....a gamer and a gamer's girlfriend. I don't have a specific genre of games that I like the way other gamers do and I'm not always that willing to listen to suggestions from other gamers, my boyfriend included. I'm not that hardcore a gamer either that feels I have to absolutely finish a game before I'll trade it in. I can get bored with a game and not touch it again til weeks or months later, or I can get bored with the same game and decide to just trade it in for something that's more likely to hold my interest longer.

All in all, I'm not that easy to get games for. If someone wants to get me a game as a gift, the best thing is to just ask if there's anything in particular I really want to have and make sure I'm not working towards getting the game myself.

[B] [SIZE=4][URL="http://superphillipcentral.blogspot.com/2010/03/200th-review-darksiders-ps3-360.html"]200th Review! - Darksiders (PS3, 360)[/URL][/SIZE] [/B]


Here we are. It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here- my 200th review! I wanted to choose a game that was anticipated for such an anticipated moment here on SPC. It's the God of War/Zelda clone, Darksiders, for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3!
[CENTER][B]
The Apocalypse Was Never [I]This[/I] Much Fun.[/B]


[URL="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfze0xaVI/AAAAAAAAEVU/HNDhd7bRp7U/s1600-h/darksiders-walkthrough-artwork.jpg"][IMG]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfze0xaVI/AAAAAAAAEVU/HNDhd7bRp7U/s400/darksiders-walkthrough-artwork.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[/CENTER]
So these two games walk into a bar, all right? The first one is named God of War, and he's a buff, tough, bad dude and doesn't afraid of anything. The other one's a legendary girl named Zelda. They get a few drinks in 'em, start talking together, and God of War gives Zelda his motel key. Seeing that Zelda's been around the block a few times and is liquored up, she accepts. The two passionately and romantically rumble in the bedroom, and what do you know? A baby is born nine months later. They name it Darksiders. Is this game inspired by two of the top franchises in their respective genres worth taking a walk on the dark side?

It is said when the apocalypse reigns supreme on Earth, the horseman, War, will lay siege to the land. Unfortunately, War was duped into coming onto a false alarm orchestrated by someone duly sinister as they are crafty. War is wrongly charged as starting the destruction of Earth and is thereby punished, having all of his sweet moves and abilities stripped from him. Now with a demonic creature known as the Watcher, voiced by veteran actor Mark Hamill, keeping War on probation, the once mighty horseman is now thirsty for revenge. The game's story has you going after the hearts of the four Chosen, The Destroyer's hand-picked bodyguards in order to access the big bad's tower. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but it serves its purpose well enough. There's just enough story to make mowing down countless demons have some much needed purpose.

[CENTER][URL="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfkO2Xh8I/AAAAAAAAEVE/cxr-tiPwSmw/s1600-h/darksiders.jpg"][IMG]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfkO2Xh8I/AAAAAAAAEVE/cxr-tiPwSmw/s400/darksiders.jpg[/IMG][/URL][B]

War. Huh. Good God, y'all.[/B]
[/CENTER]

As stated already, Darksiders seems to draw inspiration from both the God of War series and The Legend of Zelda franchise. The combat is very similar to Kratos' escapades as you slash and slice your way through hordes of demons, devils, and the undead, leaving a bloody trail behind. This is all the while keeping your combo amount tallying high. When an enemy is weak enough, a contextual clue will pop up over that opponent's head. That's War's cue to unleash a finishing move. These are always big, bloody, and beautiful to watch. War also gets a moment of invincibility while in these finishing animations which makes combat against six demons all the more manageable. Unlike God of War, however, there's hardly any quick-time event sequences to speak of. It's simply hit the grab button when the context clue pops up. Nothing more, nothing less. War also has the ability to lift and toss automobiles, desks, and other unlikely weapons at enemies. These little nuances help differentiate Darksiders from other games of God of War's ilk.

[CENTER][URL="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfj-KW6gI/AAAAAAAAEU8/pW57CyTcX4k/s1600-h/darksiders.01.lg_.jpg"][IMG]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfj-KW6gI/AAAAAAAAEU8/pW57CyTcX4k/s400/darksiders.01.lg_.jpg[/IMG][/URL][B]

Big sword, big insecurities.
...Or just a bad-ass dude.
[/B][/CENTER]

Speaking of combat, the game has enough different enemies to keep the game feeling fresh. Sure, there's your stereotypical locked rooms which will only open until all enemies have been vanquished, but the game still chugs on at a sweet pace. Each enemy telegraphs their moves, so either War has to dash out of the way or block. However, not all enemy attacks can be blocked. Then come the big, bad bosses that await War, readied to fight. These aren't taken down with just good old brute force. Each boss is like a puzzle. The bat woman, Tiamat, for instance, can only be downed by tossing a bomb onto her, using a boomerang-like weapon to transfer flame to the bomb to cause it to detonate, damaging the boss. Easier said than done when you have someone very big and ugly who eagerly wishes to get her fangs into you!

[CENTER][URL="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfjHBqvmI/AAAAAAAAEU0/x0fYAfOo5dw/s1600-h/darksiders+screenshot.jpg"][IMG]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfjHBqvmI/AAAAAAAAEU0/x0fYAfOo5dw/s400/darksiders+screenshot.jpg[/IMG][/URL][B]

Every hero needs a trusty steed, right?
[/B][/CENTER]

Darksiders especially feels like The Legend of Zelda with five dungeons each with cryptic puzzles, hidden treasures, a special item needed to defeat the dungeon's boss, and yes, plenty of enemies to destroy. Fans of Zelda will definitely get a sense of deja vu playing through this game right down to riding a trusty steed across an overworld map. Dungeon puzzles are rather clever, but few will necessarily have you scratching your head in frustration. Usually the solution is with the special item you pick up in each dungeon. These items have a wide range of abilities from a grappling hook to swing across chasms to a musical horn that wakes up sleeping rock titans to a shuriken boomerang that can attack faraway enemies or hit away switches opening up bridges and doors. Some puzzles are of the obvious variety while others will test your mental mettle and force you to think outside of the box. One such puzzle involves blowing up a red crystal blocking the way to proceed. You have to throw a bunch of defused bombs in a line leading from an active bomb to the red crystal. Set the active bomb to explode the line of bombs, thus destroying the crystal. You can be sure there's plenty of block-pushing, lever-pulling, bait-and-switching puzzles in store for War.

[CENTER][URL="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfkfTctYI/AAAAAAAAEVM/lW42llLQ2fQ/s1600-h/darksiders1.jpg"][IMG]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfkfTctYI/AAAAAAAAEVM/lW42llLQ2fQ/s400/darksiders1.jpg[/IMG][/URL][B]

Shot through the heart, and you're to blame.
[/B][/CENTER]

War uses wrath in order to conjure up various magic spells and abilities. He can learn new spells, skills, and abilities from the demon shop-keep who always has time for souls, the currency of the underworld. War can purchase new weapons, new attacks, and wrath moves such as a stone shield that raises his defense and attack for as long as his wrath meter has energy in it. It's hard not to think of Zelda when you think of how War's wrath and life energy increases. Stop me if you've heard this one before. War has to collect four lifestones in order to increase his health. Alternatively, he needs to collect four wrath cores in order to boost his wrath. It might be borrowed from Zelda, but why not borrow from the best? Treasures, artifacts, and pieces of an armor set are all hidden in very clever locations. One might have to resort to a walkthrough just to find them all! In fact, just beating the game will take anywhere from 15-20 hours total, and that's with no filler except for a final "Triforce Shard" like quest near the end of the game which involves a lot of backtracking.

Darksiders is a gore-geous game with plenty of visceral killings to be had. The textures are nice and crisp, the lands are heavily detailed, and there's enough level variety to keep things fresh. The art work is tremendous, and the game feels like a dark, brooding comic book. It's no surprise that the man who did the 90s Uncanny X-Men also did the art for this game. Visually the game is a winner. That isn't to say everything is perfect on the technical side. There's a small amount of tearing and slowdown when things get dicey and there's a lot of enemies on screen at the same time. The voicework and soundtrack is fitting for this game, and they're both done very well. There aren't really that many memorable or recognizable tracks to be heard, but what is there works. We weren't expecting pop tunes, after all.

[CENTER][URL="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfi0O4ksI/AAAAAAAAEUs/XJYqgYsww2c/s1600-h/942007_20091211_screen008.jpg"][IMG]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9MOywHCf_4Y/S5sfi0O4ksI/AAAAAAAAEUs/XJYqgYsww2c/s400/942007_20091211_screen008.jpg[/IMG][/URL][B]

Say hello to my not-so-little friend.
[/B][/CENTER]

Darksiders may be a mishmash between God of War and The Legend of Zelda, but the title does enough things that are new to make the game feel like not just another Zelda clone. The combat is tight, responsive (for the most part), and feels right, the dungeon design is textbook-worthy stuff, and the presentation is very much high-budget and high-class. For those looking for a violent, more adult-oriented, visually-stunning take on Zelda, there is no better choice than Vigil's Darksiders.

[SIZE=4][B][SuperPhillip Says: 9.0/10][/B][/SIZE]

こんにちは
It has been raining a lot lately and this afternoon we finally got a nice sunny day. The rain is a inconvenience and it makes colder so 雨が悪いね。 Appropriately with the sunny weather, spirits go up. I finished my first test today and I think I passed both the conversation and written portions.
I managed to catch some swans so I snapped a few pics of them and the pond that I walk by every day on the way to class. When I was finished taking pictures, the swans appropriately moved away into the water.

...

Click for more HaHa










...

With Selection Sunday nearing, the Sixth Annual CAG March Madness Tournament Contest is up and running, so I wanted to get the word out for those that want a chance to win some prizes. The initial batch of prizes contains games like Deadly Premonition, Brutal Legend, and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon for the DS.

Go to the thread in the contest forum for the details and instructions for signing up. Thanks.

There's the abundance of Mario Kart titles all of ranging merits, the awesome Diddy Kong Racing that threw an adventure mode into the mix, Crash Team Racing that was a competent DKR clone starring Universal's characters, and now there's Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing, another great new racer with fast speed and fun tracks. Then there's a bunch of others that I won't even start on! [B]Which is your favorite?[/B]

...

So, after hunting for over a month, I finally found a Zuckuss.



I had $15 in Target giftcards though, so I said it and bought the three figures I needed to get the HK-50 Build-a-Droid parts. I now have HK-50... and a cloud city guard, the ice cream maker guy, and a snowspeeder pilot Luke.



Ice cream maker guy is fat.

ENJOY!!! TOMORROW IS THE OVERDOSE HOTTIE DAY!!!!

After buying a new 360 battery for my controller I came to find out that it was in fact that controller, not the battery. I have needed a 2nd battery for a long time but also didn't need to spend the money, or want to retire my ODST controller already. (It's the one that wouldn't charge). Halo controller's are bad luck seeing as I broke the Halo 3 controller out of anger and this one I probably dropped a few times onto concrete while transporting it... All this is funny also because I have only used my 360 maybe 4 times in the past month because I have been playing Dragon Age almost non-stop. I think I should be about half way through the main quest (15 or so hours in.) So I might still be on track to beat it before the end of the month, which was my original goal.

Last week I mainly played: Dragon Age: Origins. I also played: Gears of War 2, Punch-Out, Resistance: Fall of Man.

I swear I played more... I guess not. No Halo 3 or COD...