Whats going on with me? Well, the usual stuff. Just had surgery about 4 weeks ago...still recovering from that....I got some new games, lost some old ones and I upgraded my (over 2 year old) computer. Also got some art supplies...another hobby that I haven't talked much about here.
You want specifics? Sure.
Games obtained:
- Age of Conan (The reason for the computer upgrade)
- Grand Theft Auto IV
I had GTA 4 pre-ordered for the PS3 and I went to pick it up on the 29th of April, launch day. I played it feverishly until May 13th, which was my surgery date. I completed it May 12th. It may or may not be a well known fact that it received a 10.0 at Gamespot. While I agree this is by far the best in the series so far, it isn't quite a 10 in my book. I won't go into details here, but I'll probably write a full review elsewhere at some point.
Age of Conan is good so far. It killed my old computer, and forced me to face the fact that my 2 year old machine just wasn't cutting it anymore. I had used that machine longer then any other before upgrading. I used to do full overhauls every 6 months, at least. It was kind of comforting to not have to worry about that sort of thing for a full 2 years. The main reason I didn't want to upgrade for so long, was that I didn't want to make the jump to Vista. I still haven't, actually. I don't really see much point in upgrading to Vista right now. Not a whole lot games require DX10, and even less utilize it. Also, a lot of people see a performance decrease using Vista instead of XP.
The game looks great running on max settings with my new machine though. I'm still making a bunch of alts and just trying stuff out at the moment. I hear a lot about how "this and that are way OP" and "so and so is totally weak." I don't pay it much attention though. I just play what I like and think is cool, which right now happens to be the Necromancer. I've always been a fan of Necromancers. (See my EQ2 characters.) I'll say one thing though: There are a lot of whiners in AoC right now. People don't seem to understand that this is a new game, and there are bound to be bugs.
I'm also continuing to play WAR beta. It's really shaping up into a nice game. I'm having a lot of fun with it, and can't wait for launch.
Some people may want to know what my computer upgrade contains. Well, here it is:
Old System
- Intel E6400 Core 2 Duo
- eVGA Nvidia 7900GTX
- 2GB Corsair XMS
- Intel Q6600 Quad Core @ 3.0GHz
- MSI Nvidia 8800GTS
- 2GB Corsair XMS
I also did some overclocking on this machine, which I haven't done in years. The CPU was running at 17c, so it was asking for it. I easily got it to 3.0GHz and it's running at a stable 20-25c idle. This thing is a monster though....I've never seen it go over 40c on any load amount.
Lets see....what else is going on....I have Beyond Good and Evil rented from Gamefly. I received it a few days before BG&E2 was announced. Coincidence? I think not. I've been wanting to play it for a while, but never got around to it. It's sitting in my PS3 now, waiting to be played.
I also have Okami for the Wii rented. My love for Okami knows no bounds. I played the original PS2 version when it first came out and fell in love with it and everything about it. I own the Okami Artbook, which I got from Amazon Japan (well worth the yen.) as well as the Official Soundtrack, a Piano Arrangement soundtrack (beautifully done.) and a Retro Arrangement soundtrack. The music for Okami is one of it's main assets. I've yet to begin playing through the Wii version, but I will get around to it. I hear the controls are a bit lackluster.
Despite my love for Okami, I've never actually finished it. I started playing it, as I said, when it came out which was a point in my life where things were going a bit crazy. I was near the end of the game when I discovered my cancer had returned and I never had time to finish it. I will some day though! So, even though the game brings up some bad memories of times when things weren't going so well, I still love it. I always look at hardships as oppourtunities to grow and improve oneself. What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger; and I've been through a lot, so I'm pretty damn strong. ;)
What else was I going to say...? Oh yeah, art supplies. I got some stuff. A few sets of Prismacolor markers, colored pencils, various types of papers, some China Markers, a few Sakura Pigma Micron Pens and a few other various things. Those markers have a bit of a learning curve that I'm still getting over....also, they smell. The colored pencils and creamy and gooey and yummy, I like them a lot. I'm also experimenting with different types of paper. I got some Bristol Board (Smooth finish) which is my current favorite; A lighter and larger sketchbook; And some marker paper which kind of sucks. It says it won't bleed, but it does. The paper is thin as parchment paper, I don't see how it wouldn't bleed. Ironically, the colored pencils look really good on this paper though.
I spent over $250 on these things. Wouldn't you know it, but I forgot to get some stuff. I'll order it later.... I also had to due a bit of re-arranging and furniture ordering for my room. I got a new TV stand, which is real nice. (Much nicer then the old worn out desk it was setting on.) I also got the remaining pieces for my desk. It was an "L" shaped desk unit, which I originally only bought the main piece for, but I needed more surface area to work with so I got the other pieces. It's a great desk.
One last thing, as if I haven't wrote enough already. I ordered Yotsuba Vol. 6 over two months ago from Amazon and have yet to receive it. I started doing some investigation, and it turns out the publisher, ADV Manga is notorious for this type of thing. It seems things aren't going so well for their Manga department, so they decided to shift all their focus to the Anime department. Even though Yotsuba is their best seller......It seems that the verdict is that Yotsuba Vol. 6 is on indefinite hold. (however, if you are so inclined a quick search will net you a translated scan of both volumes 6 and 7....It doesn't compare to having the actual book in your hands, but if you're desperate enough....)
Well, you wanted an update, so there it is. I've been meaning to post some pictures of my gaming setup and whatnot. I'll try to get those done at some point.
