Aren't my titles awesome?
Some of you may have seen what Ubisoft gave to the attendees of their Ubidays '08.
A lot of people, including myself, couldn't help but feel bad for missing out on the Ubidays...
...but there's hope!
Upon browsing through Ubisoft's internet store, I stumbled upon this ad on the right bar.
I must get my hands on them!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
What are you Playing this Weekend? - Pata Pata Pata Pon!
I finally got my hands on [PSP] Patapon. I saw it in a bargain-bin at Wally World (Wal*Mart) and grabbed it. I loved the demo and played it to death. I still played it from time to time. Since I'm spending the weekend at my parents house (and the family cottage), I brought my PSP along. With my newest acquisition, these are the games I have with me this weekend.
- [PSP] Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
- [PSP] Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness
- [PSP] LocoRoco
- [PSP] Monster Hunter Freedom 2
- [PSP] Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
- [PSP] Patapon
- [PSP] Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
Tragic Loss
I wanted to post this yesterday, but my internet was a little unstable. Now it's back and even a little better then it was (download and upload speeds have improved).
A local NHL star, Luc Bourdon, died yesterday in a motorcycle accident not far from here. It's a news that's hitting really hard in the region. Not because he was in the NHL at such a young age, but because almost everyone knew him. He thaught kids hockey in the summertime, and did other things for his community. We're such a tight-knit region that this news affects almost everyone. The accident happened about an hour and a half from here, and 40-45 minutes from where I grew up.
My heart and prayers goes out to Luc Bourdon's family.
A local NHL star, Luc Bourdon, died yesterday in a motorcycle accident not far from here. It's a news that's hitting really hard in the region. Not because he was in the NHL at such a young age, but because almost everyone knew him. He thaught kids hockey in the summertime, and did other things for his community. We're such a tight-knit region that this news affects almost everyone. The accident happened about an hour and a half from here, and 40-45 minutes from where I grew up.
My heart and prayers goes out to Luc Bourdon's family.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
ISP Problems
I don't want to go in one of my famous detailled rant, so I'll make this short. I may be hard to reach online or update anything. I've been having internet problems for almost a week. Technical Support was a bizzihizatch to go through*.
* On two occasions, I asked the technical support agent to open a trouble-ticket to send a technician over (on-site) to troubleshoot. The agent refused. My father works for them and I had to go through him to get a trouble-ticket open for me.
Technician called me today and explained things to me. Since my dad works for them already (phone technician), I understood what he was saying and I even suggested a few things. He didn't come because I moved back in december. Where I'm at now, they need more than a ladder to get to the line-taps.
It's working on-and-off right now. Better then it was. It's supposed to be fixed by Thursday.
About MM:TF - Only about 39 minutes of videos to go through before I finish Rigging the Alien lessons. Someone emailed me asking to see something about the ship rig. Video Capture's not working for some reason, but I'll at least take shots of both rigs once I'm done.
* On two occasions, I asked the technical support agent to open a trouble-ticket to send a technician over (on-site) to troubleshoot. The agent refused. My father works for them and I had to go through him to get a trouble-ticket open for me.
Technician called me today and explained things to me. Since my dad works for them already (phone technician), I understood what he was saying and I even suggested a few things. He didn't come because I moved back in december. Where I'm at now, they need more than a ladder to get to the line-taps.
It's working on-and-off right now. Better then it was. It's supposed to be fixed by Thursday.
About MM:TF - Only about 39 minutes of videos to go through before I finish Rigging the Alien lessons. Someone emailed me asking to see something about the ship rig. Video Capture's not working for some reason, but I'll at least take shots of both rigs once I'm done.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
What are you Playing this Weekend?
Still no Microwave (we'll get off our asses to get one during the weekend). The awful thing is that the warranty expired two months ago.
In the mean time, a user on the Insomniac Games Community Forums mentionned GripShift when recommending good PSP games to another user. It reminded me of the times when I had the game on my PSP. This is one of those games that was packed with fun, but sometimes the PSP controls hindered the game. The game required really precise moves, but sometimes your thumb would slip or your speed would've been a little too high. But it was still a load of fun.
I then remembered that Sidhe released it on PSN as a downloadable game. I added the funds to my PSN account and downloaded it. Boy, is it a whole lot of fun. And this time, the controls are tweaked and used to perfection. The scheme is almost, or exactly, the same as the PSP game. But with an analog stick and the pressure sensitive shoulder button for gas and brake, it's a lot more "natural" to execute some of the insane moves required in some of the (later) levels.
I also now know why GripShift fans refuse to call this a port... because it's not!. There are some returning stages, but a lot of them so far are brand new with new challenges. There's also the Online leaderboard and multiplayer. It's similar to the original GripShift, but it's clearly not a port.
So I will be playing that ([PS3] GripShift 2.0) along with [PC] World of Warcraft this weekend. Taking it easy - Monday is going to be exausting.
So, what are YOU playing this weekend?
In the mean time, a user on the Insomniac Games Community Forums mentionned GripShift when recommending good PSP games to another user. It reminded me of the times when I had the game on my PSP. This is one of those games that was packed with fun, but sometimes the PSP controls hindered the game. The game required really precise moves, but sometimes your thumb would slip or your speed would've been a little too high. But it was still a load of fun.
I then remembered that Sidhe released it on PSN as a downloadable game. I added the funds to my PSN account and downloaded it. Boy, is it a whole lot of fun. And this time, the controls are tweaked and used to perfection. The scheme is almost, or exactly, the same as the PSP game. But with an analog stick and the pressure sensitive shoulder button for gas and brake, it's a lot more "natural" to execute some of the insane moves required in some of the (later) levels.
I also now know why GripShift fans refuse to call this a port... because it's not!. There are some returning stages, but a lot of them so far are brand new with new challenges. There's also the Online leaderboard and multiplayer. It's similar to the original GripShift, but it's clearly not a port.
So I will be playing that ([PS3] GripShift 2.0) along with [PC] World of Warcraft this weekend. Taking it easy - Monday is going to be exausting.
So, what are YOU playing this weekend?
Monday, May 19, 2008
New Photos on Flickr and Two Panoramas
Just a quick post to let you all know that I have uploaded five new pictures on Flickr and added two Flash 360° panoramas on my DeviantArt account.
Check out my Flickr account to see the photos, and my deviantArt account for the panoramas.
Photos
Panoramas
Check out my Flickr account to see the photos, and my deviantArt account for the panoramas.
Photos
Panoramas
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Microwave - Killed in Action
About the smoke accident mentionned in the last post, well, it's gone. Sure, it's still works, but not without blowing more smoke which stinks up the appartment more.
Maybe I'll forget this ever happened by playing more WoW...
Maybe I'll forget this ever happened by playing more WoW...
Friday, May 16, 2008
What are you Playing this Weekend—
Smoke Edition!
If you want to know the Smoke story, contact me personally and I may reveal it... All I'll say here is that it has something to do with a microwave and a KD Cup (Microwaveable mac 'n cheese).
For me, it's a no brainer. I'll be playing [PC] World of Warcraft and the recently released [PSP] Secret Agent Clank Demo.
So, what are YOU playing this weekend?
For me, it's a no brainer. I'll be playing [PC] World of Warcraft and the recently released [PSP] Secret Agent Clank Demo.
So, what are YOU playing this weekend?
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Back to Addiction Azeroth...
If you've ever played World of Warcraft and tried to quit, you'll easily get the title. But first, just some updates.
I've been away for awhile. Steph got her laptop last Friday and very happy about it. I removed some of the third-party crap that comes with any brand name computer. Surprisingly, there wasn't that much. Then installed some security applications and updated Vista.
The biggest surprise for me was the speed and performance of it with Vista on a 2.4GHz Pentium Core2 Duo and 4GB of RAM system. We're both really satisfied and makes me a little excited of getting my own as soon as I sell my current computer.
With the title, you probably figured out by now that I'm playing World of Warcraft (WoW) again. When Steph got her laptop, we wanted to test out the performance. Since she's not a hardcore-PC gamer, the biggest game she would've eventually played would've been WoW. So, I downloaded the 10-day Trial on her laptop and set everything up.
It didn't take long for me to feel like I had to play. I had a lot of fun when I did have it, but not having anyone close to me to play with wasn't as much fun. She felt the same way.
It took a few days of playing the Trial and talking before we took the decision to play. She got the Battle Chest and I installed my own version. It took a while to take the decision because we didn't want to get addicted or have the game interfere with our lives. She's in college and I'm trying to expand my knowledge as a Multimedia Designer. We also decided to go with Game Cards. Where we buy our cards, it's cheaper for the same period than with the traditional payment plans. And, if we have to stop playing for a while, we just don't buy cards. They're not recurring like with a Credit Card, unless you buy and register a card before the previous one expires. It's just smarter and safer for us.
We're back in the land of Azeroth, having fun, but keeping a grip on reality and ourselves. We're playing a little lot these days because we're starting again, but we don't plan to over-do-it.
On a last note, Maya Progress: I almost finished rigging the Alien. I give myself a week or two to finish rigging it. I’m giving myself this much time because I'll be away for the upcoming weekend (three days) and have a few events at work to workout the logistics. There's also something very special on June 10th that I can't spill the beans about yet. You'll know more on the 11th.
I've been away for awhile. Steph got her laptop last Friday and very happy about it. I removed some of the third-party crap that comes with any brand name computer. Surprisingly, there wasn't that much. Then installed some security applications and updated Vista.
The biggest surprise for me was the speed and performance of it with Vista on a 2.4GHz Pentium Core2 Duo and 4GB of RAM system. We're both really satisfied and makes me a little excited of getting my own as soon as I sell my current computer.
With the title, you probably figured out by now that I'm playing World of Warcraft (WoW) again. When Steph got her laptop, we wanted to test out the performance. Since she's not a hardcore-PC gamer, the biggest game she would've eventually played would've been WoW. So, I downloaded the 10-day Trial on her laptop and set everything up.
It didn't take long for me to feel like I had to play. I had a lot of fun when I did have it, but not having anyone close to me to play with wasn't as much fun. She felt the same way.
It took a few days of playing the Trial and talking before we took the decision to play. She got the Battle Chest and I installed my own version. It took a while to take the decision because we didn't want to get addicted or have the game interfere with our lives. She's in college and I'm trying to expand my knowledge as a Multimedia Designer. We also decided to go with Game Cards. Where we buy our cards, it's cheaper for the same period than with the traditional payment plans. And, if we have to stop playing for a while, we just don't buy cards. They're not recurring like with a Credit Card, unless you buy and register a card before the previous one expires. It's just smarter and safer for us.
We're back in the land of Azeroth, having fun, but keeping a grip on reality and ourselves. We're playing a little lot these days because we're starting again, but we don't plan to over-do-it.
On a last note, Maya Progress: I almost finished rigging the Alien. I give myself a week or two to finish rigging it. I’m giving myself this much time because I'll be away for the upcoming weekend (three days) and have a few events at work to workout the logistics. There's also something very special on June 10th that I can't spill the beans about yet. You'll know more on the 11th.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Québec Now Claims to have Founded Canada
With everything that happened in the news today, I have to admit that the most shocking news for me was to hear Pauline Marois (Parti Québécois), Mario Dumont (ADQ), and several other political and "souverainistes" figures such as Gerald Larose, the historical-distorter, saying in the media that Québec not only founded Franco-Canada, but the country itself by being the first settlements of France in the Nouvelle-France (aka Canada).
This is outrageous? Are all the Quebecers being fed this shit in their history classes?
Yes, I said "shit" because this is bullshit. This year, the city of Quebec will be celebrating their 400 year anniversary. Historically, 4 years after the Acadians. We, the Acadians, were the first people settle in what is now Canada, in 1604. Sure, there were French colonies in the 1500s, but there were no settlements. They were there, mainly in Saguenay, for Fur Trading.
Québec claims they settled first in Nouvelle-France with Samuel de Champlain. Samuel must be turning in his grave. Samuel, with the help of Pierre Dugua sieur de Mons and Jean de Poutrincourt brought artisans (brickers, carpenters, etc) to create the first settlements in the Bay of Fundy in 1603. In 1604, these became the first official settlements in Nouvelle-France... and they were Acadian.
Samuel de Champlain later came back to France. He left, this time head of an exploration party, in 1608 to found Québec (the now city).
Acadie: 1604, the first official Nouvelle-France settlement.
Québec: 1608, after 6 previous settlements in the Bay of Fundy (New-Brunswick, Nova-Scotia).
Yvon Godin said it right: "It's outrageous!"
This is outrageous? Are all the Quebecers being fed this shit in their history classes?
Yes, I said "shit" because this is bullshit. This year, the city of Quebec will be celebrating their 400 year anniversary. Historically, 4 years after the Acadians. We, the Acadians, were the first people settle in what is now Canada, in 1604. Sure, there were French colonies in the 1500s, but there were no settlements. They were there, mainly in Saguenay, for Fur Trading.
Québec claims they settled first in Nouvelle-France with Samuel de Champlain. Samuel must be turning in his grave. Samuel, with the help of Pierre Dugua sieur de Mons and Jean de Poutrincourt brought artisans (brickers, carpenters, etc) to create the first settlements in the Bay of Fundy in 1603. In 1604, these became the first official settlements in Nouvelle-France... and they were Acadian.
Samuel de Champlain later came back to France. He left, this time head of an exploration party, in 1608 to found Québec (the now city).
Acadie: 1604, the first official Nouvelle-France settlement.
Québec: 1608, after 6 previous settlements in the Bay of Fundy (New-Brunswick, Nova-Scotia).
Yvon Godin said it right: "It's outrageous!"
Monday, May 5, 2008
Limited Lifetime Warranty... Very Limited...
The first half of Stéphanie's laptop came in today: The carrying bag and Logitech V220 Mouse.
Upon checking the bag, we found Belkin's (very) Limited Lifetime Warranty. I'm wondering why this was even included with the bag. You'll wonder the same thing after reading this...
The Belkin NE-Model Laptop Case Warranty does not protect against acts of God such as flood, earthquake, war, vandalism, theft, normal-use wear and tear, erosion, depletion, obsolescence, or abuse.
Is there anything covered? Please post in a comment any theories or things you think the very-Limited Warranty covers.
Note: I always loved Belkin products, I'm just sharing this for laughs. Seriously, if you're looking for ergonomical computer accessories or laptop carrying bags and sleeves, look for Belkin products.
Upon checking the bag, we found Belkin's (very) Limited Lifetime Warranty. I'm wondering why this was even included with the bag. You'll wonder the same thing after reading this...
The Belkin NE-Model Laptop Case Warranty does not protect against acts of God such as flood, earthquake, war, vandalism, theft, normal-use wear and tear, erosion, depletion, obsolescence, or abuse.
Is there anything covered? Please post in a comment any theories or things you think the very-Limited Warranty covers.
Note: I always loved Belkin products, I'm just sharing this for laughs. Seriously, if you're looking for ergonomical computer accessories or laptop carrying bags and sleeves, look for Belkin products.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Grand Theft Auto IV Impressions
A little later than I promised, but it's here: My GTA IV impressions.
I recently rented Grand Theft Auto IV. I don't have to tell you how good it is... it has taken the place of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Gamerankings.com. If you want a "score'd" review, go elsewhere.
As soon as you start the game, the opening credits immediatly gives a guide to the production value throughout the game. It's no lie: the game is filled with tiny details. From the smoke coming out of your car when Little Jacob rides with you, to the three-point perspective when you look up, giving an extreme sense of height—you'll notice little detail after little detail. The latter still impresses me after 15-20 hours of gameplay.
If you haven't known already, you play the role of Niko Bellic, a Eastern-European coming to America to leave his past behind while trying to avoid catching up with his inner-demons. The true star of the game, though, is the city. Liberty City is not only gorgeous to look at, it's also insanely overwhelming to see either all the details of a huge city or to see how the pedestrian reacts to their environment. You litterally can spend hours just running around and people-watch.
The quality of missions is impressive. It's often hard to destinguish a side-mission, or alternate mission-path, from the story-missions. The same attention to quality of story-driven missions has been given to the majority of missions in the game, excluding jobs. Even the jobs are fun to do. They don't seem randomly generated to the point where you'll come across an insanely hard job. There's balance everywhere.
The shooting controls and mechanics have been greatly improved from the other GTA titles. Virtually anything can be used as cover and aiming/shooting is a breeze... even while driving.
This brings me to the Multiplayer mode... finally, Rockstar listened to their fans and did it right. It's virtually lag-free (even with my network) and it's hell of a lot of fun. Because there are no rankings, it's just people having fun.
Outisde of all that is good and heavenly about the game, there is one problem that seems to have plagued a lot of people on both the 360 and PS3... including myself. The game is filled with in-game lockups and the introduction-loading freezes (I experienced the latter). There are temporary-fixes (none of the good ones requiring to delete your save file or format your HDD) that do work (I have yet to hear or read about them not working). I honestly most likely won't buy the game until Rockstar releases a patch for these (but I will keep on renting it...). It just sucks that when your HDD is fragmented and that you reach a certain point in the game where you constantly get the initial loading lock-up...
My personal score about the game: 9.5/10. I probably would've given a 9.8 if it wasn't for the lock-up problem. Outside of the lock-ups, the game is almost perfect. There are little things here and there, but it does a near flawless execution of what the game tries to accomplish. It is what GTA was always meant to be.
I recently rented Grand Theft Auto IV. I don't have to tell you how good it is... it has taken the place of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Gamerankings.com. If you want a "score'd" review, go elsewhere.
As soon as you start the game, the opening credits immediatly gives a guide to the production value throughout the game. It's no lie: the game is filled with tiny details. From the smoke coming out of your car when Little Jacob rides with you, to the three-point perspective when you look up, giving an extreme sense of height—you'll notice little detail after little detail. The latter still impresses me after 15-20 hours of gameplay.
If you haven't known already, you play the role of Niko Bellic, a Eastern-European coming to America to leave his past behind while trying to avoid catching up with his inner-demons. The true star of the game, though, is the city. Liberty City is not only gorgeous to look at, it's also insanely overwhelming to see either all the details of a huge city or to see how the pedestrian reacts to their environment. You litterally can spend hours just running around and people-watch.
The quality of missions is impressive. It's often hard to destinguish a side-mission, or alternate mission-path, from the story-missions. The same attention to quality of story-driven missions has been given to the majority of missions in the game, excluding jobs. Even the jobs are fun to do. They don't seem randomly generated to the point where you'll come across an insanely hard job. There's balance everywhere.
The shooting controls and mechanics have been greatly improved from the other GTA titles. Virtually anything can be used as cover and aiming/shooting is a breeze... even while driving.
This brings me to the Multiplayer mode... finally, Rockstar listened to their fans and did it right. It's virtually lag-free (even with my network) and it's hell of a lot of fun. Because there are no rankings, it's just people having fun.
Outisde of all that is good and heavenly about the game, there is one problem that seems to have plagued a lot of people on both the 360 and PS3... including myself. The game is filled with in-game lockups and the introduction-loading freezes (I experienced the latter). There are temporary-fixes (none of the good ones requiring to delete your save file or format your HDD) that do work (I have yet to hear or read about them not working). I honestly most likely won't buy the game until Rockstar releases a patch for these (but I will keep on renting it...). It just sucks that when your HDD is fragmented and that you reach a certain point in the game where you constantly get the initial loading lock-up...
My personal score about the game: 9.5/10. I probably would've given a 9.8 if it wasn't for the lock-up problem. Outside of the lock-ups, the game is almost perfect. There are little things here and there, but it does a near flawless execution of what the game tries to accomplish. It is what GTA was always meant to be.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Scariest Pic You Will See This Week
source: Kotaku; Gamepolitics
I came across this two days ago on multiple sources on the Web, but I forgot to share it because of everything that happened this week.
For those that don't recognize this face, it's the "famous" John Bruce "Jack" Thompson, the man himself with a copy of GTA IV. By the looks of his scruffiness, it "clearly" indicates (;)) that he scored that game at a midnight launch, somewhere in Miami.
Jokes asside, this was sent to numerous industry blogs with the title "Evidence". Jack is probably going to announce that he organised a 'sting' with his son again later this week. Am I the only one who's not affected anymore by any Jack Thompson news? Sure, he called me an idiot a few years ago for asking him his motive for fighting against video games in general (not just violent ones). But I'm passed that.
[offtopic]Speaking of GTA IV, I got my hands on it (rental) and will give my impressions later today or tomorrow.[/offtopic]
