Tropico!

You can add Tropico 3 to my previous list of activities keeping me busy! I friggin love Tropico 3, which is odd considering I disliked the previous Tropico games with a passion. Tropico 3 however? It’s the same basic concept, but the game has been enhanced on so many levels! The controls have been improved, the graphics CLEARLY have been vastly improved, and the game has smooth rotations. The previous Tropico games didn’t really have a smooth rotation, you rotated and it was like your view just automatically switched to that angle, where as in Tropico 3 the camera actually pans and turns which to me gives it a more realistic feel! I love being a dictator in Tropico 3!  

Don’t get me wrong, Tropico fever hasn’t managed to pull me away from the other batch of games i’ve been hooked on, but it has certainly managed to keep me up late at night on my laptop when I thought “Hey, maybe I’ll just play a quick sandbox game of tropico 3 before falling asleep.” and then next thing I know hours have passed and my Tropico island has become this huge thriving country, and then I pause and think “Hey! Speaking of thriving countries, I think I should play some modern warfare 2″ and then the next thing you know i’m totally without sleep. It’s a vicious cycle I tell you! A fun cycle, but a vicious one none the less!

Busyness!

I know, I have ignored my wee little blog for awhile. Why is that? Well, the answer is I have been EXTREMELY busy. I haven’t even had a whole lot of time to get on the computer at ALL. The source of my busyness? Well, That would be my xbox 360. You see, a buttload of games have been coming out, and not the standard crappy games either. Games like Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Dragon Age! You can’t just ignore these games when they are released. You must hug them and embrace them and love them and show them the proper attention they deserve.

So, can I really be blamed for my recent disappearance? I think not! On the bright side, I should be burning out soon on the games, which will result in my attention being turned BACK toward my computer. However, if anyone REALLY misses me, I do still Twitter on a daily basis, several times a day, because Twitter can be accessed through Xbox Live! Plus, if you don’t want to go hunting me down on twitter, remember I have my twitter posts displayed here on my blog toward the bottom of the right hand section.

See? Now nobody has to have Shaide withdrawls!

CSI: It’s not just a series.

You know that Series that’s all kinds of crazy popular and has all those spin-offs? No, not Law & Order! I am talking about CSI. Here’s a fun fact for you. I have never watched an episode of this series, and only a couple episodes of one of it’s spin-offs. CSI:NY, and only that because it featured an online game I play called Secondlife. The episode was pretty lame, and I hope to god they aren’t all that bad!

That being said, while I have not watched the series, I have played most of the games. I love the games as a matter of fact! Though I’m not sure what genre of game they would fit into, I am guesing either adventure or hidden object games?  Either way, the games are fun as hell, and puts you in the role of a rookie CSI. The only problem I have with the games, is that they are short. Incredibly short! Though, they are quite fun!

Now, the games I played weren’t the PC releases. I played the versions that were released on various consoles, PS2, Xbox and Xbox 360. So, I sat today thinking, I would like to try some of the other game versions that are out on the PC. Like CSI: NY – The Game, and CSI: Miami – The Game, however they are older titles, and I don’t know if they will run on a Vista O/S. Which is a shame because I *REALLY* want to try these games out!

PS2 still in the running? WTF?

I have just found out that games for the Playstation 2 are being produced! This actually comes as a huge shock to me, as I assumed that they quit making Playstation 2 games years ago! I know they quit making Xbox titles soon after the 360 came out, and I just assumed the same happened with the PS2. This however is NOT the case, they are still making games for the PS2! Not just crappy games either, Top titles! For instance Marvel Ultimate Alliance? One of the hottest Role playing titles to come out within the last few months? It was also released on the PS2!

This has entirely changed my opinion on Sony and their Playstation gaming systems. They actually seem to CARE about their customer base, and realise not all their customers can afford a PS3(Or may not want to, since their PS3 slim wont allow them to play Everquest adventurers). Taking that into consideration they contnued to produce games for this last gen gaming system, and you know what? the games don’t look half bad! In fact, the newer PS2 titles could be compared to their next gen counterparts.

I’ve even unhooked my xbox 360, and started playing my PS2 again. Even considering buying a PS3 now, due to this newfound respect that I have for Sony. If their systems still allowed you to play PS2 games? I would buy a PS3 tomorrow without a second thought. As it is, the idea of a PS3 is tempting.

Wii on the other hand? I laugh in your general direction!

Twittering on Xbox

Ok, so I am participating in the Xbox LIVE update Preview, and I must say I am loving it! It’s so incredible. Your Xbox console becomes three times more useful than it already was, and considering I think the Xbox and the Xbox LIVE service is incredibly useful, that says a lot! It adds Last FM to your console so you can just sit back and listen to some great tunes. It adds Zune to the Xbox, which I prefer to the standard Xbox Video market place. It also adds Twitter to your Xbox Live features! So, you can add or recieve tweets while yer on your Xbox gaming console! Pretty snazzy huh? If that wasn’t enough you can also use your Xbox to hook up to your facebook account and post your current status, or check your friends status..even browse their photos right from the comfort of your Xbox 360 Console.

Incredible? I agree! All it needs now is a built in Pizza ordering program so you can order pizza without stepping away from your Xbox, and then I could just plant myself in front of my TV and Xbox, and just live there!

There are some options I wish Xbox had of course, like it bugs me that you still cant talk to someone on your MSN contact list through Voice while on Xbox live. It limits you to just text messages which gets annoying after awhile, especially if you are trying to watch a video or play a game. I would also LOVE to see a built in Email reader. If Microsoft blended Hotmail into their service I would switch from Gmail back to hotmail without a second thought.

Also, of course an internet browser would be ULTRA cool, that’s one of the only thing that makes me envy PS3 owners. It’s not the few exclusive titles, in fact I think the exclusive titles pretty much suck on the PS3 and those kind of make me feel sorry for them. It’s not even the Blu-Ray! While that’s KIND of cool, it’s not a big deal. I am fine with DVD, hell I would be fine with VHS…If it’s a movie and it plays, im cool with it! Format doesn’t matter to me.

The ONLY thing I am envious of is that they have a web browser. I’m not sure how well it works, but it’s better than the Xbox one. You know, because Xbox doesn’t have one.

Building Trees?!?

I have mentioned this a thousand times now, however I will mention it again to save people from having to rummage around in my Blog. I play this game called Second Life and in the game I run a store. Now, I used to run a fashion store, where I would design clothes for men and women to wear in this virtual world, however recently I got bored of it, and have since shut the store down.

Instead, I have decided to use my break away from fashion designing and instead open up a new in-world store brand. This new store focuses on creating Medieval creations, Everything from water wells, to thrones. Pretty much a whole variety of medieval stuff. The items are geared mainly toward Gorean Role Play but is also suitable for most any medieval style Role play setting.

Anyway, enough rambling! The main reason for my post was to mention my lastest creation. It’s a sculpted tree! I think it came out rather well considering it was my first attempt at tree making. Here, let me show you the boxart for my tree.

See? Pretty nifty huh? I call it the Forked Dogwood tree. In case you are wondering, as far as I know, there’s no such thing as a Forked Dogwood Tree. It was a name I made up for the above pictured tree.

Termination

After several weeks of Left 4 Dead gaming action, I have decided to take a break. Currently I am playing the game “Terminator: Salvation” on the xbox 360. The game is interesting. It’s not great by any stretch of the imagination. However it actually is better than I expected. It’s one of those games that play best if you adopt the “If you don’t expect too much from it, you might not be let down.” mindset. It plays sort of like a clone of Gears of War, but without the coolness of GoW. 

Also, the game has a T rating, because theres no gore from what I have seen so far. I mean, come on! You’re fighting advanced laptops with guns really. It’s not like the bleed, they just shoot out sparks and fall over. So, the fact that it’s T rated means it’s good if you are trying to shield the little ones from blood guts and gore.

As I said before, it’s a decent game. That might be appealing to some. At the very least it’s a mild amusement, and you might find yourself actually enjoying the game.

Gaming and TV watchin’?

I discovered a pretty damn keen program today called “PlayOn“! It’s easy to install, for the most part, and it will connect to your Xbox 360(or PS3 or Wii…or whatever your current generation of gaming system is) and allow you to watch Hulu on your TV through your gaming system. It will also stream YouTube, CBS, CNN, ESPN and your NetFlix view instantly video queue! Sound pretty cool right? Well, the program does cost, but there’s a free 14 day trial for you to check out to determine if this is your thing. Then, if you like it, just pay a small cost…less than the cost of a video game, and keep using it. That’s another good by the way, it’s one flat rate! It’s not subscription based like you might initially assume.

Now, some of the features are already made available through Xbox Live, such as the ability to watch your netflix view instantly queue. However many of the options are NOT available. So, it really is worth it. Definately something to check out at the very least.

Lucca Brazzi sleeps with the fishes…

Ok, as everyone who’s EVERYONE knows, I love games. It’s my weakness. I also love Zombies, but after Zombies I adore a good mafia/gangster story. As well everyone should, am I right? Well, is it any big surprise that I am currently hooked on the facebook application called Mobsters 2?

It’s a sequel obviously, hence the number 2 located at the end of the name. Now, the original started out on Myspace I believe, and quite honestly, I thought the game stunk. I still do. I don’t like the game at all, which is odd, because playwise theres not a lot of difference between the two versions. I just quite simply prefer the second one.

One difference about Mobsters 2 is that there is actually a storyline. Which makes it more gamelike. I suppose that’s probably what my main interest is. I mean, without a story its just a button clicking game, and honestly I don’t see how anyone could get any enjoyment out of sitting around just pushing a button every few minutes…I mean the survivors of oceanic flight 815 sure as hell didn’t enjoy pushing a button every little bit!

Anyway, yea I am hooked on that game, which oddly enough I am not overly popular! In fact a good number of people seem to hate me, and wish me bodily harm! :O I mean, I am my usual loving kind and caring self in there as well…whats not to love? seriously! I love me!

Sucks to be Gametap

Once upon a time, I used to subscribe to this online service called Gametap, and it was good. The service really had everything a gamer like myself could want. What attracted me most to this service however is the fact that they included a good number of AD&D games. The Baldur Gate series, The Icewind Dale series and even Torment(Which is an extremely difficult to find dungeons and dragons title, but is oh so good!). Like many of you already know, I am not just a game junkie, I am a Role Play junkie as well, and my main love has always been dungeons and dragons. I mean I played the pen and paper version way back in high school, so it has a lot of fond memories.

Recently however Gametap got a huge smack from…someone! Im not sure if it’s the developers, or what but whoever it was forced them to pull down all their AD&D titles! Not just that, but also a good number of other major licenses like Homeworld, Incredible machine and so fourth.

So, now there REALLY isn’t a reason to be subscribed to Gametap. They lost their hottest titles, and while they do still carry some incredible games, like the fallout series and the Space Quest titles, it’s really not worth the subscription cost, at least in my eye.