PS Vita hardware impressions

I went to Best Buy over my lunch hour and completely forgot the PS Vita had released until I saw the system just waiting for somebody to test it out. This is a very, very limited impression since I didn't actually play any games. I did get a good feel of the hardware and I messed around with the menu a little bit. Just from what I could tell, the hardware is extremely impressive. It has a very robust and durable feel while holding it and it's incredibly slick. I could tell that the screen is a fingerprint magnant, though, so a screen protector is a must in my opinion.

The main menu seems pretty simple with the little bubble icons and I liked it. Like I said, I didn't get a chance to play any games because, as I was starting the Uncharted demo, one of the Best Buy sales guy started talking to me and I never got around to it before have to get back to work. But what I did see of Uncharted looked spectacular, especially for a handheld. Crazy graphics!

Just based on my short time with the Vita, I was pretty impressed. Of course, the system should really be judged on it's games, so I can't really say much outside of the hardware. I will still probably wait for a price drop but, from a hardware standpoint, it's leaps and bounds better than the PSP.

Oh yeah...I'm getting an apartment!!!

I've been looking at apartments for a little bit now. Well, to be honest, I've mainly be looking at one complex. I really like it's location and the prices are reasonable. I went to go check out the actual apartment I would be moving into and I was very pleasantly surprised. They just did some upgrades in there with new paint, new countertops, and (best of all) some fresh looking tile in the dining area and hallway. And I got a patio, to boot! It was very nice. It's an older complex with some older appliances but that doesn't bother me. It's a good size for me (677 sq. ft.) and, again, the location is great. I'm excited!

My move in date is the 27th and I never thought I would be pumped to start packing things up but I am. The parents are being kind enough to buy me some furniture but the rest is up to me. I need a new bookshelf (my old one is overflowing) and I will definitely be buying a Keurig Coffee Machine. I'm hooked to the one at my parent's house. I'm also going to be getting a few things from muh buddy Cory, aka Deitrix, to put up on the walls. I'm looking at a couple of specific pieces right now that I think would look awesome in the apartment.

New car, new apartment...I could get used to this!

DmC: Devil May Cry - who am I kidding, I'll be buying this game

Get More: GameTrailers.com, DmC: Devil May Cry - The Secret Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

I know I've bitched about this game in the past but, who am I kidding, I'll probably end up buying it. I am very curious to see what they do with the lore and with the characters. And, I must say, I'm impressed with the combat so far. It has a certain weightiness to it that I really like.

This game will become pretty big on my radar the closer it gets to release.

Work be stressin'

In case any of my readers (all...2 of you? Maybe I have that many?) didn't know, I work in a job where numbers mean everything. Fortunately, my income isn't based on those numbers. But with good numbers come job security and if you have bad numbers, well, try to get better or start updating that resume. Because after a while, if you suck for too long, the boss peeps will start to take notice and there will be a paper trail. Once there's a paper trail and you're still sucking? I think you know the rest.

I have been at my job for about 7 months and I'm kind of starting to get the hang of it. My numbers are looking better than they ever have and I've been constantly busy for the last 3 weeks. But getting better at my job has also given way to more stress. I hate being stressed out about anything, much less my job. Stress can sometimes be good to help you step your game up but it can also be detrimental. If I can't somewhat enjoy the job I go to everyday, it's time to find something else. I don't want to get to that point with this job, not yet. I enjoy pretty much everybody I work with and, when things are going well, I actually like where I work. Regardless of how much I fully believe in everything I'm doing at all times, I do think I can make a positive difference in people's lives with this job. It just has to be the right person in the right situation.

And there's my two cents on my job. I should do this more often!

Final Fantasy XIII-2 demo impressions

I finally got around to playing the demo for Final Fantasy XIII-2. I wasn't particularly excited to get into it, as it went unplayed for a few days after I downloaded it. I guess the extremely mediocre and disappointing taste FFXIII left in my mouth was still lingering. I was so fed up and disgusted with that game by the end, I decided to trade it in towards something else, without even thinking about it. Now I might end up regretting that decision since I have a strong feeling I'll be buying FFXIII-2 after all. And since this is technically a sequel, I can't have one without the other. Damn you, Square-Enix. Damn you.

The very first thing I liked about the demo was who you're playing as. I haven't been following the game at all so I have no idea who Noel is. But I like him. He seems like a cool dude and I like his weapon. He's already much better than Snow, Hope, and that annoying bitch (you know the one) all put together. Serah is there but I didn't really notice her. Maybe that's because she made little to no impact on me during the last game. Anyway, I like Noel. The battle system is largely the same but they're added a few things, which I like. You now have the option to get monsters you've defeated to fight with you. You can have up to three and, with paradigm shifts being all the craze again, this gives you even more combat options. And in my opinion, when you have a lot of options, that's when this battle system really shines. If things are really easy and you only have two characters, it's kind of dull because you're just pushing X over and over again. But with more people, there are more shifts. With more shifts, there are more attacks and combos you can pull out of the bag. Once you get into the groove of things, it all starts to feel very intuitive. If you're fighting a really powerful enemy, you can shift to one of your more defensive sets (which you've hopefully taken the time to customize). For example, you can have Noel as a Sentinel, Serah as a Ravager or Commando, and have one of your monsters as a Medic. Once you get back on even terms, go back on the offensive (like Cerberus X or whatever). Like I said, the combat system really shows what it's made of when things get hectic. That's how it was in the first game and I'm sure that's how it'll be this time around.

This game also introduces "cinematic actions". That's really just a fancy way of saying quick time events. You'll find these in a lot of game now a days so it's not like SE is breaking ground here. But it does provide a nice change up simply because you're not expecting it out of this type of game. Or at least I wasn't. Again, haven't been following. Another thing this game has - moogles! There's one actually following you around throughout the demo, discovering secret floating things (yes, those are back). It is kind of weird hearing it string together full sentences but it's still nice to see them. Back to the floating ball thingies, it seems like these will still be our only way to save and get items, although you can now buy things from this chocobo chick.

Overall, I really liked the demo. I played it for damn near 2 hours and that is pretty huge. There was more exploration in this demo than the first half of FFXIII, although it still wasn't that much. It should go without saying that the game looked fantastic, especially with the rain. I was set on not even giving this game the time of day but I'm afraid that I might end up getting it. It's almost like SE puts a spell on gamers, whenever a new FF is about to release, that makes them forget how bad the previous game in the series was.

For collection purposes, and because I'm OCD about these things, I'm going to try and find the first game for really (dirt) cheap. I can't have 2 and not have one. My brain won't allow it.

Amazingly lazy vacation week PLUS...I BEAT DARK SOULS!!!

My vacation week is about to come to an end, sadly. But I really couldn't have asked for a more lazy, bum worthy vacation. It was definitely a "crusty week", as blogger buddy Random J like to call it. I haven't done a damn thing but lounge and play video games. Since I'm always behind on my games and books, I figured this week would be a good time to try and beat Dark Souls. I didn't actually expect to spend the entire week trying to finish it but that's just how this game rolls.

After 86 hours and some change, I finally conquered Dark Souls! Par the course, the game made me rage at the very end. I made it all the way through only to continuously get owned by the final boss, over and over again. There's one big trick that should have made this boss a piece of cake. You can actually parry him! If you can pull if off right, the boss is kind of a joke. But me? I like to make things difficult. I had no trouble parrying all of the knights on the way there but couldn't cut it against the boss. So, I leveled my shield all the way up, changed weapons, changed armor, and got a completely different strategy. I beat him first try doing it the new way. Who knew?! As always, big sense of satisfaction. There wasn't much of an ending but I really wasn't expecting one. This isn't one of those games that gets a huge send off with a 30 minute cutscene.

So, now that I have Dark Souls out of the way, I can catch up on some reading. I'm currently making my way through The Hobbit because the movie trailer got me so excited. I still have several more to read after that, so it seems that gaming is going to take a back seat for a bit. Until, of course, games like Kingdom of Amular: Reckoning and Mass Effect 3 come out.

Gaming Journal: Dark Souls - Vol. 6: THIS is why you play Dark Souls!!!!!!

I just beat the most difficult boss in Dark Souls (so far). It took me several times and several youtube videos and guides but I finally did it. Orenstein and Smough. Or, as they'll be called from now on, quick bitch and fat bitch. You have to fight both of them at once and they are bastards. I hate them with a passion and I can't describe the relief I felt once I landed the killing blow on fat bitch. The worst part about this fight, other than having to fight them both at once, is once you kill one (which is difficult enough), the other absorbs the dead ones powers and becomes even that much more difficult. I get pains just thinking about it.

The quick bitch is, in my opinion, the best one to kill first because the fat bitch is easier by himself. I went in with 10 estss flasks and came out with none. I was down to 1/4 health and the fat bitch was grinding me down. Seriously, fighting these bitches by yourself (I had no humanity and no one to summon for help) is draining. I'm currently resting my character at the next bon fire and resting myself by doing this post. Once I finally killed the fat bitch, my heart was POUNDING and an immense amount of relief engulfed me. Dark Souls is really the only game where I've felt so much grief and frustration and then feel just as much elation and relief 5 minutes later. It's kind of amazing.

According to what I've heard, after beating these guys, I should be over half way through the game. That's kind of crazy because I've been playing it for 55 hours.

Belated Merry Christmas

I can't believe I didn't make any posts on Christmas but...yeah, I just didn't. How's that for an explanation?

How was your Christmas? Mine was pretty good, actually. Christmas Day was fun and I really do like getting other people gifts, I've found out. I received some really cool gifts (including some awesome black and orange shoes that make me smile just looking at them - you want pics, don't you?). My mom and I came up with a last second gift idea for my dad which went wrong once we actually opened the piece of shit on Christmas Day. We decided to get him a ping pong table because he, and coincidentally (or not) I, really enjoy ping pong. He hasn't played in a long time and it's been a little while for me but it's just a lot of fun. Here was the plan:

Since it was last second, we had to rush to try and find one and then get it home. Dad is the only one with a truck so we had to find someway to get it without him knowing. Luckily, he asked me to go play tennis with him and his friends Saturday morning. I decided to drive so my mom took the truck while we were gone. How she managed to get the ping pong table from the truck and into the driveway all by herself is still a mystery but she was able to hide it. So, Christmas Day, after everybody opens their presents, we giddily walk into the garage with the aforementioned "I thiiiiiink we have one more gift..." while trying not to look at dad because I'm smiling.

Long story short, we decided to put it together later after we had left the house for a bit. We come back, take everything out of the box with the intent of putting the damn thing together only to find out that the tables inside the box looked like beat up shit. Do the dumb shits at Target just throw their merchandise around when they get it off the truck? I can't believe they would even sell something in this condition. We were going to try and make a go of it but just found too much wrong with it. Dad just said "We're not paying for that shit." and rightly so. Whenever it's not rainy outside *shakes fist at window* we're taking it back. Hopefully, one day, we'll get another one.

But other than that one incident, it was a great Christmas. We never have a lot of family around for the Holidays (just the 5 of us) because everybody else lives up north, about 700 miles away. No matter, though. We make the best of it and still have a good time. So again, how was your Christmas? I don't get very many comments anymore but, to be fair, I don't really post that much anymore. Maybe I should try that again and see how it works out.

Happy Holidays!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I am so excited about this movie...

It looks fantastic! It almost feels like I'm going back in time and getting excited all over again for the next The Lord of Rings movie. PUMPED that all of the big actors are back and having watched the BBC series, Sherlock (which you should check out if you haven't), I can tell you that Martin Freeman is going to be PERFECT as Bilbo. I really need to go ahead and read the book. It's just sitting on my shelf.

Can't wait!!!