Dying Machine

My current PC just turned 5 years old this month, and that's old in computer standards. I've upgraded its video card once and put additional memory. So it still has enough push to run today's games. However, running S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and BioShock, graphic whoring games that they are, makes my machine cough blood. It's quite apparent that I won't be able to run games on my PC soon enough, most probably by next year. Besides the graphics, my hard drive is also getting choked up by music, anime, and pr0n files.

The hard drive problem has a simple solution: cheap external hard drive. But my gaming needs, however, won't come easy. I'm still using AGP cards and I really need to experience PCI express. So I may have to upgrade my motherboard, and other components, as well. I could still do a component by component upgrade but it'll be harder and more expensive for me since I don't know how to do it myself. So I've decided that my PC, unfortunately, needs to retire and step down from its "main gaming rig" pedestal.

I don't have any idea on what to get right now though. I guess I'll just save first (maybe around $2,000) and then decide later.

Butterflies and Hurricanes

The storm last Thursday disrupted Comcast's operations and left me without internet access at home (same goes for cable and phone). The storm was really strong and caused a lot of damages in the Chicagoland area. Although I didn't felt the storm's full intensity since I was at work, safe inside a huge hospital building. I only knew it was really raining hard and that the lightning kept splitting the dark skies that night.

While the storm was really whipping up some chaos outside the hospital, there's some good that came out of it -at least for me. People who were supposed to go home didn't leave the hospital because they were scared of being caught in maelstrom outside, my crush included. She's a medical student and she's very beautiful. Probably the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. She's has a crappy brown hair (dry and full split ends) and dresses badly sometimes, which just shows that she don't care, but she'd still look like a million bucks. With her hovering around me, anxious to leave the hospital, I just felt butterflies in my stomach (yeah, I know, it's cheesy).

First Impressions: BioShock

I was able to spend two hours playing BioShock, and all I can say is wow! The game setting, a 1950's-60's dystopia, is probably the best I've seen since Arcanum. It's also evident that game's atmosphere was largely inspired by the works of the author Ayn Rand. Even the founder of Rapture, the undersea dystopia, Andrew Ryan, shares the same initial with Ayn Rand (A.R.).

Shock and wrench combo.

As for the gameplay, BioShock is really the spiritual successor of System Shock. It's a First-Person Shooter with RPG customization. Both plays almost the same way except that the body upgrades in System Shock has cyberpunk elements while BioShock uses biopunk elements. Anyways, this game turns out to be more than what I expected, and it has kicked me back into my dystopian mood again.

Shock to the System

After two years of waiting, BioShock is finally released. So, right after work, I immediately rushed to the nearest Best Buy store and secured a copy. Although, I must say, I'm a bit disappointed since I only got the regular box. I was really gunning for a Collector's Edition (which includes a "Big Daddy" figurine, "Making of" DVD, and a soundtrack) but there wasn't any on the shelves. But that's ok, I can let that pass.

My copy of BioShock.

As of the game itself. It's too bad that I'm really tired from work. So I haven't had the time to play it...yet. I already installed the game though and had some problems with the SecuROM. But that's fixed now. I was also curious of my system's performance. I tried to start game at high setting, 1024 x 768 resolution, with no AA or AF, and it seems to run at a playable frame rate. It's too early to say though since I only played the intro. Well, I really need to get some power sleep now so I can play the game tomorrow night.

Unguilded

I'm pretty much addicted to The Lord of the Rings Online (curse MMORPGs!), and I've been playing it ever since its release back in April. I also joined a role-playing Kinship (or guild), called Ashes of Rhudaur, in the Nimrodel server, shortly after I started the game. But, a couple weeks ago, I re-rolled a new character in Landroval, which is the unofficial role-playing server of the game. I like it a lot in Landroval. The people are much friendlier, more mature and a lot of them are actually role-playing.

Ghorim (Guardian/Armorer) and Ioreleth (Hunter/Woodsman)

The only setback in moving to a new server is that I'm starting out again and, since I'm unguilded, I'm not supported craft-wise and quest-wise. Finding a Kinship in Landroval will be quite difficult. It's not because there's only a few guilds in there. But it's because there's a lot of good ones to choose from. So I just can't decide. For the meantime, to support my main character, I started two alternate characters. A Dwarven Guardian/Armorer and an Elven Hunter/Woodsman. That way, I can make tools, armors, cloaks, and spears for my main character until I find a Kinship.

Gaia Online

I got bored at work last night, after finishing everything, because I forgot to bring my Nintendo DS. I was looking for some stuff to do online and I remembered a site called Gaia Online. It's a nice forum where you can earn gold for your posts, and you can use that gold to dress up your avatar. I used to go there but stopped because I can't tolerate the immature and ignorant community. Anyways, with nothing else to do, I visited the website again.

Register at your own risk!

I was surprised to see the new look and features of the site. They have a lot of cool stuff going on in there. You can now earn gold by playing games, answering trivia question, or participating in RPG battles. They also have this quest system which is similar to any computer RPG. I kinda like what they have now. So I registered and gave it another go. After a couple of minutes, however, I quit. The site may have a new look and cool new features but its soul is still rotten as ever.

I still think the site is unique and cool, however. Too bad it's wasted on teenage angst.

Album Review: Deliver Us

Darkest Hour - Deliver Us
(8.5 of 10)





I just picked up Darkest Hour's sophomore album, Deliver Us. Like in Undying Ruin, their latest album still carries a lot metallic weight. However, Darkest Hour's music is more refined in Deliver Us. The vocals are much clear, confident, and pronounced. The music is more organized and even more dynamic. The musicianship of the group never waned as well. Especially the guitarists who showcased their talent in the song "Tunguska" -where slaughtering riffs, melancholic classical guitar, and ripping leads works harmoniously to rip your ears and heart out. If you're looking for something heavy that is out now. I highly recommend Deliver Us, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it.

Kuchiki Rukia

I obtained my second anime action figure to add to my small, but growing, collection. It's Rukia from Bleach. I was excited with the toy at first since I like Bleach and Rukia is probably the most cutest anime character. However, now, I have to say that buying the figurine was an act of impulse. I didn't examine it very well because I simply want to have it in my collection. Now I'm broke.

Here are the reasons why I don't like the toy:

1. The Stand - I wish it was just a flat, circular, and transparent stand with a small logo.
2. Too Small - The figurine doesn't measure on a 1/8 scale.
3. Not Detailed - There's less ruffles and crumples on her dress, and her skirt is not blown.
4. Kon Figure - He's annoying.

Random?

I accompanied my sister earlier today, in downtown Chicago, to get her certificate of US citizenship. We have to take the train to get there and, of course, I had my mp3 player to entertain me. I usually put my player on shuffle. But what I noticed within three hours of travel (going to and from the city) is that my player is only playing songs from Pearl Jam, Jimi Hendrix, The Cure, and Radiohead. It was probably just a coincedence . Though it kinda suck that it only played songs from four artists, considering I have 102 artists on my player.

14-Day Trial

My Lord of the Rings Online account is almost at an end. So, earlier today, right after work, I stopped by to the nearest game store (Gamestop) to get a pre-paid card, in order to renew my subscription. But instead of getting the card, I got the Guild Wars Trilogy and World of Warcraft 14-day trial DVDs (only for $2 each). This is awesome, not only these trials will fill my gaming needs for a month but will also let me try out two popular Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) at a very low cost.