Improvements made in Totally Rad Review

• new microphone
• shorter recording takes
• more clarification of the role of Matty Jay
• longer review by 2 minutes
• much more personality, clarity and consistency in voicework
• louder voicework (that was my fault)

Further Issues to Work on

• the Totally Rad review dragged on a little long
• be straight to the point
• the writing should match up with the video more often
• still some white noise in the background
• some mouse clicking between pauses
• introduction is still a bit too long; 40 seconds
• the video, voicework and writing needs to feel more consistent and flowing, so no more boring bits of writing, voicework inconsistencies etc

I’m not sure how many of these issues will be iron out for the next review as we have already recorded the follow up review. But I might change the order around and do a new review next time.

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Today I wanted to share something that a fellow blogger wrote about success. Stephen Welton set his readers a challenge, titled Stephen Welton?’s Blogging Success Challenge! Stephen’s idea is that visual images of what we want to achieve in life continuously inspire us to try and reach that goal. This is because when we visualize that image it reminds us of how much we want to be successful and it motivates us to do so. Now Stephen’s challenge was for his readers to:

Go out and take a photo of something you want of something you really care about that you consider to be part of YOUR success. It could be something you already achieved or something you want. It could be something you consider important to you like your family. Whatever it is post it on your site explaining how and WHY it?’s part of YOUR success and the feelings you associate to it.

So here is my image:

Racoon Mario from Super Mario Bros. 3

Probably doesn’t make a lot of sense right? Allow me to explain. When I reflect back on my life I always remember that I was the most happiest when I was a child. Growing up my brother and I where the biggest fans of Super Mario Bros. And nothing made us happier than Mario. We loved that Italian so much.

Something that I strive for in life is working hard and being happy with my life. And nothing represents that more so than Mario in his finest form(Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World). Therefore my success is being happy with my life. I definitely believe that I currently live a happy life but I don’t think that I am as happy as I could be.

To live an even happier life I think that I need to have more time and freedom for my creative output. So once I finish Uni, get some more time to build some projects of my own and have more balance in life. Therefore being happy is a continuous goal of mine.

I encourage other bloggers to take part in this clever blogging challenge. All of the details can be found here. I hope that you find this concept as helpful and insightful as I have.

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I hardly ever blog about gaming but considering that I’ve spent the last few days gaming I figure it’d be best talking about that. But before that just a quick talk about other stuff. Next week is my last week of holidays. Which I guess is a bad thing, although it will be great getting some routine back into my life. It won’t be that bad really, I have Thursday off and I only have to go in for an hour on Friday and Thursday. So it will still be fine.I’ve decided that if I continue to get few hours at work then I’ll apply for another place or see about what I can do to get some $ thru the internet. Work isn’t too bad really but I’d still like more.—Now onward to gaming. Since I’m going to 2 Uni’s that means double the possibilities for joining clubs. I’ll probably join the respective anime and video games clubs. There really isn’t much else there to choose from. Altho I should join a chinese club, its a pity that there’s no photography club.

Anyway the gaming clubs should help me play games more socially, as Chris is always bitching about how I never play games with him. I’m a wee pity particular about multiplayer gaming. I hate playing multiplayer games on the PC. But I’ll play a round of Mario Kart any day.

This week I’ve been majorly whoring out Resident Evil 4. This is odd for me as I never whore out a game, infact I despise it. But RE4 is different, although I’ve been playing it a lot I haven’t been rushing thru it. I’ve just played it a lot. You see I’ve been dying to find out what happens in the end. Now because the only released media of the game is on the first disc, I assumed that the game is shorter than it is. So I get to a point and I’m like, ‘c’mon Dan just to the end of this map and I can find out what happens’. Then once I’ve finished the map I’ll see another one and then think ‘ok, this HAS to be the last one, just keep going’.

I haven’t been playing much of the GBA Castlevania twin pack that I bought last weekend. I just got use to the feel of the game and then played RE4. I’m still a bit stuck with the gameplay, its too hard to figure out when I can just play some RE4.

I’ve decided to invest in the previous Resident Evil games if the chance pops up. Just to experience the story, I’ve read up everything on it @ Wikipedia but I still wanna play thru.
This RE4 love has translated into love for Capcom. Which comes to the next point. Shortly after I figure out my Uni expenses(which won’t be too much) I shall probably buy a PS2 and some games. Its gonna ram up my list of games I gotta finish. But thats fine as I plan on being more particular about my games from now on. I currently have 30 games on my ‘to finish’ list, so another 20 odd PS2 would drown me out for the next 4 years. I’ve managed to clear off about 10 game this holidays, but then I had to buy a Wii and then more games.

I’m really looking forward to Devil May Cry 3 and Onimusha Dawn of Dreams. Both look like great action games. And they are Capcom as well. I’m also looking forward to some more fighting games, mainly Tekken 5 and Guilty Gear X2. Its been too long since I’ve played Tekken 3. OMFG that game rules. There’s much talk about God of War 2 so I may consider that one as well.

I’m also dying to play Sonic the Hedgehog for the Wii’s VC. Man I played it @ a friends place and its so ace. The Wii hasn’t seen much play time this holidays. Its because I need to clear off some older games now, especially the Gamecube games building up. I’ve hardly played Killer 7, Viewtiful Joe 2, Batallion Wars or RE Remake.

That should do me for now. So many games to look forward to. I’ve definitely been trying/going to continue trying to keep playing games more this year. Last year was so awful, hardly got to play any games. So I wanna keep this activity nice and snuggly this year.

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The facts

*NB: I have taken my sales data from Wikipedia

Theres no doubt about it the DS is taking the world by storm both in the hardware and software areas. Sales data from Wikipedia states that the Nintendo DS has sold 35.61 million as of December 31, 2006 and Sony have shipped 22.94 million units as of September 30, 2006. The 2 consoles have been the only real players in the handheld gaming market for the last 2/3 years.

You gotta say it the PSP is quite hawt baby

Now lets assume that over the Christmas break Sony sold the PSP that have been shipped and a few more in the past month or so and the same said for the DS in the past 2 months. So lets estimate the numbers at the current time to be something like DS : 36 million and the PSP : 24 million. Now this actually works out nicely for my market share estimate which I shall get to later.

We also need to take into account the release dates of the 2 consoles. Since there is at least a year difference in region releases for each console, I’ve roughly worked out average release dates for each console.

And to round off my collection of data I’ll throw in the best selling game for each console.

Console : Market Share : Average release date

DS : 60% Feburary 2005
PSP : 40% May 2005

Behind the facts

Now with the facts listed, lets take a closer look. The first obvious point is that the DS was released several months before the PSP therefore the DS got a little bit of a head start. Also when you look at the release dates the DS was released at more important times for the consumer, being just before Christmas in some countries. We all know that a good launch is important to get the ball rolling.

One of the biggest hurdles that the PSP has had to overcome is that before its released the general public perception of handheld videogames is that they are made for young children and teenagers. Now the Playstation audience is somewhere in the 18-30 year old market. Therefore when Sony release a portable console its inevitabal. They have two choices, fight public perception or change the perception. So there’s was no easy option for them.

Its been quality software like MGS PO selling PSPs and not the GPS or goggles

In addition to the stereotypes of portable consoles, Sony also have had to face a similar hurdle. Being that the the public relate handheld gaming to the Gameboy. This is because the Gameboy has never had any real competitors until now. Fortunately with the DS taking the Gameboy’s limelight this hasn’t been too bad.

Now despite these hurdles in which Sony has had to over come they have still managed to take 40% of the market share from Nintendo. This is what too many people seem to overlook. People tend to think that the PSP is failing because it isn’t level with the DS in sales. But this is not the case. 40% of the market for a new competitor is fantastic. This 40% market share certainly is a slap in the face for Nintendo and their whole “invading the market” stratergy. As Sony have come in and invaded some of their own market.

Well thats my spill on the whole situation. I hope that this restores some faith back into the PSP fans out there.

Sources

PSP Wikipedia
DS Wikipedia

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Ready, Set, Touch and go! Nintendo DS

Graphics 7.4/10
Gameplay 8/10
Sound 7.4/10
Lastability 6/10
Overall 7.3/10

Yoshi Touch and Go is a charming little game based in the Yoshis Island universe. If you’ve ever played any of the Yoshis Island games before then you’ll notice the similar presentation right away. The game looks and sounds like the games of the past. That is 2D sprites and pleasantly cheery tunes.Much like the other games in the series this is a platformer-esque title but what sets it apart from the rest is the different play mechanics and the full touch screen controls. Yoshi(and Baby Mario) constantly walk through the stage, you control Yoshi’s jumping and the environment around him to so that he can keep out of harms way. This is all done via the DS touch screen.You can tap on Yoshi to make him jump and flutter in the air. Tapping anywhere in the environment makes Yoshi throw an egg in that direction. Sliding the stylus around the screen creates temporary cloud platforms which Yoshi can walk over. You can also use these platforms to block of enemies. By drawing circles with the clouds you can create bubbles, if you do this around an enemy they turn into coins and then you can throw the bubble around the screen but preferably at Yoshi. To remove the clouds just blow in the DS microphone. So there’s plenty of variety in how you can play.The levels are also spread across 2 screens, so the top screen displays the sky area and the bottom screen shows the ground area. This works nicely as flying enemies like to dive down and attack you which keeps you on your toes.

Level design is what you’d expect of Nintendo but nothing spectacular. The levels themselves are based around worlds from previous games. This means you’ll be seeing world based enemies as well which makes the game constantly feel fresh. These levels progress at a steady pace and it doesn’t get too hard too quickly.

At the start of each game you don’t actually play as Yoshi(and Baby Mario), you play as Baby Mario falling from the sky. The gameplay here is similar to the main gameplay, except Mario cannot fire eggs and jump. This is all done in a vertical perspective as Baby Mario drops downwards. Fortunately Baby Mario has 3 balloons to help him land safely. Every time you hit an enemy you lose one of these balloons.

Touch and Go has several different play modes, 2 which you need to unlock by getting the high scores in the other modes. To begin with there is Score Attack, where you play for a single level(one Mario and one Yoshi) and try to get the highest score. Marathon where you try to travel as far as you can. Once you finish a level the Yoshis swap over, so its like a medly race. Time attack is where you have to rescue Baby Luigui from the toadies(flying baddies), so you have to move through the level and also try and save Luigui. Challenge mode is a mix time attack and Marathon, you have a set time limit to get as far as you can but scoring points adds to your time. Time attack and challenge mode you need to unlock.

Despite the number of modes available there isn’t a lot to do beyond getting the high scores. This is the biggest letdown as the game is great fun to play but you can beat the high scores after a day or so of playing. I would have like to have seen a full fledged platformer out of this. So picking up this title doesn’t really feel like getting your moneys worth.

Graphically the game looks fine. The sprites are only a small step up above the GBA but still look nice. There’s a bit more depth and shading to them as well which adds a nice touch. The animation is also well done, characters bounce around and everything in the game shows a good amount of character. The sound is what you would expect, typically familiar tunes from the old games and a few new but familiar songs that fit nicely. The sounds effects complements the music nicely, Yoshi and Mario have a few grunts here and there.

Closing Comments

Yoshi Touch and Go is a tidy little game. It makes great use of the DS’ features and is one of the reasons why the DS exists, for fresh new ideas like this. Unfortunately there’s not much beyond getting high scores which makes the game rather short. Despite this its still an enjoyable little romp. Pick it up at a reduced price.

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3 weeks after the console has been released down here in Australia and I am writing impressions for it. Yeah I’ve been rather busy in the last few weeks. Its only in the past 4 days that I’ve been able to sit down and have a complete blitz on the console.

The whole bundle was quite a desirable one. Wii Sports and a carry bag included. Unfortunately the carry bags ran our straight away so I only received mine about 6 days ago. I’d wished that I’d pre-ordered at JB as they had an official bag and wrist/head bands for Wii Sports. Its also great to be receiving a case for Wii Sports as the Americans didn’t.

These Wii condoms have been selling quite well, 2 of my friends have a set each.

Inside the box where 2 smaller ones which had cute icons to say what was in each one. You certainly get plenty in the pack. Beyond the regular console items you get a stand, a stand for the stand, your sesnor bar, 2 manuals and a quick manual.This actually took much longer than I initially thought. Its like setting up a normal console but you also have to:

• stick batteries in the controllers
  
• sync the controllers
• calibrate with the sensor bar

And from there move thru all of the options, including setting up a name for the console. Then you probably want to create a Mii.

A sample taken from the Joystiq mock up

Chris and I started off creating our own Mii characters. I already knew what I was going to do for my Mii as I used the flash program that Joystiq made mimicing the system. My character turned out just like the one I planned on the computer, although the hair is a little dark and I may change that.

Games

Wii Sports

The initial impressions of Wii Sports were somewhat negative by myself and my brother. I think that its due to not understanding the controller very well. After a few hours of play we started to pick it up and it was actually really fun. I was surprised at how bad the graphics were. I mean I knew that they were going to be bad but Nintendo could have spent maybe a day of work and have made it look substatually better. Take the prerendered trees in Wii Tennis for example.

Wii Boxing and Tennis

I enjoy the game much more now though as I have a much improved technique. I most like Tennis and Boxing. Chris and I love to play boxing matches. Its incredibly imersive and frantic. But it certainly does hurt your arms after playing it for a few hours.

Wii Play

We then moved to Wii Play. Which is a collection of 9 games that are meant to tech you how to use the Wii remote. I reckon that Wii Play is probably better than Wii Sports its just so addictive. I don’t think that any of the games are duds at all, if I had to choose a worse one it would be the cow racing but even that is really fun.

My favourite games are:

• Tanks
• Fishing
• Target Shooting
• Table Tennis

Chris and I can’t stop playing the table tennis game, we could play it for a whole day straight and still want more and I’m not kidding. Its the king of twitch games. I haven’t been able to stop playing the tanks game, its so challenging.

Ah yes fishing, very addictive

The only faults with this game collection is that it is only a 2 player game and that some of the medals are much harder to get per each game. Some I could get Gold on my first try others I’ve wasted hours trying to nab that medal.

Super Monkey Ball Bannana Blitz

By now Chris and I wanted to play a ‘real’ game, so we put on Super Monkey Ball.

There’s not much to really say about Monkey Ball. It’s just like the other great games in the series but the single player uses the Wii remote and you can jump. There are also 50 mini games for the multiplayer component.

I haven’t had enough time on the single player game to say if the Wii remote feels better than the analogue stick. So far though I like using the analogue stick better just because it is easier to keep the stick still than the Wii remote. Which is handy for those tight corners. But the Wii remote gives you more satisfaction once you have completed a course than the analogue stick. My impressions on using the remote improved greatly rather quickly so I’m hoping that with more practice it will only get better.

One of the 50 mini games for SMB

The multiplayer is a bit of a mix bag. Out of the 50 games about 20 of them are good to great. But not as good as the original games like Monkey Race and Monkey Target. Which bugs me greatly as I loved playing those games with my friends and now I can’t get the same experience but with the Wii remote. Still need to try out the games more though.

Zelda Twilight Princess

I started playing this game about week after the release. Yes I must be crazy. But I wasn’t quite in the mood to play it right off the bat. I’m still only up to the first dungeon. What I have played has been really good. It seems very mixed up from the regular formula. Just when everything seems peaceful and back to the cliche it isn’t.

Graphically there is plenty of detail and does what Metroid Prime did for the Metroid series for Zelda TP to the Zelda franchise. The sound is also pretty neat. The music for the first time you enter Ordon village is very reminiscent of Lufia 2, which I rather enjoyed.

Red Steel

From reading the reviews that were on Game rankings I thought that this game would be garbage. After playing it for 15 minutes it seemed just like that. After sitting down with it for a bit longer it started to work. It just has a steep learning curve as well as a hide then shoot sort of method. I don’t think that people were expecting this.

Re-reading some of the reviews that slam the game I think that the people must have only played the game for a short while because I absolutely loved it. All of these comments like the controls are set up in a weird fashion and comments just stating that the controls don’t work are completely garbage. If I had to think of how to play Red Steel before I played the game then it would have been just like how the game plays. Point with the Wii remote and straft with the nunchuck. How is that weird?

Some of the nice effects for shooting different surfaces, the explosions are prerendered

The game is a pretty hard one, I must have died at least 4 times per mission. Some of the end missions I would die all the time. It is a particularly hard game, due to the amount of damage the enemies take off. Its a good thing that they have the health regeneration or else it would still be stuck on the early missions. The health regeneration actually helps the game play more like a hide and shoot kind of game.

Saying all of this there are some minor glitches with the auto aiming and controls, the action feels a bit scripted, there are some low res textures and the sound can be a little bit repetitve. But I love Red Steel so much for being such a challenge and working well for the most part.

That will wrap me up on the Wii for now. I might post a bit more on particular games later on.

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Hulk rages out on the Gamecube

Graphics 8.8/10
Gameplay 9.3/10
Sound 9.2/10
Lastability 9.0/10
Overall 9.2/10

Being a gamer in the know I approached Hulk with a fair bit of caution due to its license and the tendency that license games are poor quality that rely on the license to sell. But to put it straight I am very impressed with this new Hulk game.It’s a sequel to the movie based Hulk game made by the same studio. The game follows a similar vein to the original although this time around the developers have given the control to the gamers. This is what makes Hulk so much fun. Instead of forcing you to follow the rules set by the developers you are given the freedom to explore 2 main areas. One of which is dense city and the other an open desert. There’s also a few boss battles to break the game up from the mission based structure. There are two types of mission, the story ones in which need to be completed to progress through the story and the extra missions in which earn extra unlockables. There is plenty unlockable content as well; developer videos, comic book covers, game cheats and more moves for the Hulk.

All of the games freedom would be pointless if the Hulk didn’t play right and luckily for us he is fine tuned to perfection. Personally I think that he can jump too high and too far in fact he could probably traverse a city quicker than Spidey. Also when jumping and running up buildings the camera and Hulk himself becomes somewhat difficult and turn in crazy directions that put you in the wrong direction. This becomes frustraing in missions that require you to get from A to be in a tight time limit. Hulk can punch, kick, do combos of both, smash down on the ground etc. As you progress through the game you unlock points for creating destruction that can be spent on buying new moves for out green friend. Theres a lot to do with Hulk. It’s not what Hulk can do that makes playing around with him enjoyable, its how he can interact with the environment. You can rip trees out of the ground and use it as a bat to smack pedestrians into the sea, tear cars into boxing gloves, surf the streets on a truck there’s just so much that you can do with the environment around you.

In between missions you can go around and do whatever. You can move between the church(main hub for the game) to the city and badlands(desert). Although the church links the main areas the city is where you’ll be spending most of your time.

Presentation wise Hulk is rather nice. FMVs accompany the main game which contain professional voice actors. Hulk of which is done by the voice actor doing the voice in the new cartoon series. The main menu looks nice enough but is a bit tacky. Another element that that makes this game a Hulk fans dream is the story line which much like the voice acting is made by people already working on the Hulk franchise. The story itself is one of twists and turns and is quite typical of most superhero plots not in a bad way though.

Graphically Hulk looks very solid, the grity art style that the developers have opted for works a treat and fits into the Hulk universe. The characters are all very well animated and use motion capture that gives it a realistic feel. The draw distance in the game is rather impressive. From the city level you can see most of what is in the background scaled down to a realistic view. Since Hulk is all about destroying things the explosions are done very well. They are very flexible and don’t look bad when your up close.

Just like the graphics and presentation further time and effort was put into creating realistic sound effects. Any form of destruction leads to some sort of realistic sound effect. From buildings crashing to throwing someone into a wall. All characters in the game contain full voice acting and as mentioned before are very well done. There’s plenty of variety in sounds that come out of Hulk. So he never sounds repetitive and annoying.

The whole Hulk game engine is very diverse an is made so well. There are a few glitches and the ocassional bad camera angle but for the most part it works lovely. I was amazed that some things in the game occurred. It is something that I’d expect from an upcoming gen title. When you think something isn’t covered it probably is.

Closing comments

The depth of the game, freedom that is given to the player and the load of unloackables make this game one of the best action games for the Gamecube of the year. The effort that has been put into this title shows, despite a few common flaws Hulk is a must have title for any super hero fan.

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Beat the mini games to win the girl 
Nintendo DS

Graphics 7.8/10
Gameplay 8.3/10
Sound 8.0/10
Lastability 8.2/10
Overall 8.2/10

The games themselves range from average to very good. Nothing stands out too much and there are few duds. Most of them require using the touch screen to move, hit or direct something. There’s a few microphone and blowing games as well. Not a heap of variety just different ways to do the same thing. Most game concepts are made out of ridiculous situations such as the main character being eaten by a snake or hitting the scorpions off your girls back. There not meant to make sense there meant to make use of the DS touch screen. My favourite games are the cleverly designed ones, for example you and the girl are on an island and your clothes are wet, you need to dry her clothes by letting the fire continue burning and also undo her buttons at the same time, neato. Similar to a few DS games that have been released Project Rub doesn’t use the regular buttons at all and relies on the touch screen to do everything.

There are close to 30 mini games in the overall game. Not to forget unlockable content and harder difficulty levels. One of my favourite extras is that you can buy clothes for your girl. There is a range of 3 items, hair, torso and legs. The range is nice, you get different hair colours, bras, mini skirts and boots. Very kool.

The sounds effects accompany the overall quirky theme to the game. With weird tunes and interesting voices from the cast. The music is sometimes a bit hard on the ears and clashes which will prompt you to turn the sound down. Most of the time its bearable, but not for everyones tastes. The voice acting is in english but is done by Japanese people, so most of the time the voice acting is strange and a bit out there.The groovy sounds flow nicely with the art direction. Its simple but it is rather effective. It makes the game feel more like a package. In game graphics aren’t bad for a DS launch title but have some noticeable flaws. Textures aren’t the greatest and are often pixelated. There is also a limitation on the amount of 3D used, since too many of the mini games are in 2D which is quite disappointing. Something that really impressed me was the opening cut scene which is really sexy. Animation in the mini games is a bit sudden but everything else is animated relatively well. The mini game graphics aren’t much but the cut scenes do look nice.

Closing comments

Sonic team have created a new and unique franchise to add to their stable. Project Rub is an interesting title that plays quite well. Its got a few flaws but plays well enough to enjoy for a while. A nice addition to the DS library.

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• set up my new email account(2 weeks)
  
• code the new PrimeScape(4+ weeks)
• remove the Ubuntu partition on my hard drive
• fix up the wireless network so that I can listen to the latest podcasts(1 week)

I’m starting to get really fed up of this.

I’ve also had to work both days this past weekend. It was actually quite enjoyable, I spent the whole weekend with Aaron whom use to work with Chris this time last year. The best part about working is dealing with the digital cameras. I love talking to customers about which camera would be right for them. Trying to suggest something ideal for their tastes and also explaining the features of the respective cameras. I get a sense that they are really appreciative of me taking the time out to help them. I not only talk about the cameras, I base what I say around the audience. So if I was dealing with a new camera user then I would explain things simpler and also provide a few tips on how to overcome most of the difficulties that new users have with the digital camera. I really enjoy it.

Something else thats been on my mind is gaming as a culture. Watching Pure Pwnage during the week got me thinking about the types of people who play games, people loosing interest in games and the culture of gaming. One question that I asked myself was: Can someone’s social life be totally based on video games?

When I say this question I should also mention that I mean a significant social life. Significant being (at least) above the norm for the age group of well anyone. So I then thought of all of the social events that would be classed as game based that would make up a social life:

• LANs
  
• playing games with your friends
• game expos
• game torunaments
• online discussion of video games(forum, IM, Skype, IRC, etc.)
• game events/parties(eg. Launch parties, DDR/Singstar party(???))

Thinking about it, I reckon that it would most definitely be possible. The difficulty would also be based on where you live as well as here in South Australia we don’t get many expos, tournaments or launch events and also less LANs. But in an area where this is so I think that it would definitely be possible.

Saying all of this probably makes me look like I want to get into this and well I’m too honest to lie to you folks. So I think that it would be nice to have a social life based on games alone. But my interests extend beyond games so that isn’t the case and most people(me included) aren’t that game crazy to only do social activities that are game related.

I think that all I really just need more competitive gaming sessions. I haven’t entered a tournament at all this year or had a LAN. Now lets not even start on expo’s here.

On a final note, when I mention online activity I mean one that doesn’t override the normal social life.

Whenever Chris gets this PrimeScape template coded I shall have a series of indepth entries up, I might do one on gaming as a culture. I have a few finished so far. I also want to do 2 on digital cameras.

-DP

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Current longing: Wii Launch!

Okay Dan, lets see, how many weeks are left until freedom? 9 Weeks! 2 of which are meant to be a holiday. Thats not too bad. The next 2 weeks are gonna fly by anyways and then the holiday can provide some rest. Phew.

I have trial exams in a bit over a weeks time, they count for 18% of Physics, Maths Studies and Specialist for the year which is pretty big. The finals count for 50% for the respective subjects. Man thats just so unfair. I’ve had a look over past exams and they seem rather tricky. Maths is my biggest worry. Not that I’ll do terribly bad really. I just need to focus on the problem solving questions which are ever so frustrating. The upcoming week is pretty much totally dedicated to revision which is great. We have Friday off as some exams start then and Chris and I don’t have work on Saturday. So that should help me out quite a bit.

The thing about revision is that its just such an effort. Summers rolling in and its back in _that_ sort of mood again. The one which makes you feel so totally down on yourself and question what the point of doing all the revision is for. I can’t bare it, its such an agonizing time to live thru. I just wanna give up and stop doing it. I also have 2 orals next week. A Physics one which I am totally pumped for and a Chinese one which is killing me to learn. Argh it was okay memorizing a whole presentation last year but this year, man its a challenge.

On other news I am so thrilled that the Wii is coming out this year in Australia. December 7th is the date. I am so overwhelmed at the console. Its just so beautiful, Nintendo are back, this is the revolution/megaton! I knew that the Wii was going to be good but after watching the conference video of the clip of new games coming out for it, discovering the new UI options, the Mii IM program, Weather Channel, Messageboard and Picture viewer and finding out that even more developers are bringing out even more games. Not just one or two but heaps! I am just astounded and Nintendo have proven that it works and that they can make it work. All of the talk about it and the overall good vibe surrounding it, the strong launch line up and continual support is just magnificent. I’ve never been so clearer in my mind that the Wii shall take off. If Nintendo keep up the press talks and publicity stuff thats been done so far. And also if people can accept it, if it does its job and that will come down to Nintendo aggressively making sure that it does that.

There’s no doubt about it that Nintendo have already got Japan held firmly, the DS’ success, the 360s poor performance and the Japanese losing trust in Sony proves this. The rest of the world is arguable and I think that much more effort is needed to ensure this. But with the PS3 delays, PSP’s slumping sales, 360 not having an killer app until next year and the success of the DS I am sure that they will make a mark of some kind. Until then.

Love.

+DP

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Remedy-Seether As well as a remote control Mario kart, my brother picked up a 2nd one and Collision Course by Linkin Park and Jay-z. Been listening to them a fair bit.

Had a 3hr Chinese trial exam on Wednesday which was a real marathon. Didn’t do any homework for the rest of the week only to remember that I had a physics prac write up due on Friday.:( Don’t worry it was finished and handed in.

Was exhausted on Friday, Mum had Chinese with some friends for her Birthday I had to prepare a proper route for the Smash Bros tournament.. Rang up one of my friends who forgot about it and was at Victor Harbour for the weekend. Herm…quite disappointed. The other 2 mates that were going to come had a slight car crash on the way and couldn’t come. Initially I thought that it was pretty sad but it wasn’t really. It gave my brother and I a good chance to meet other people and get use to the whole thing. With our mates there it would have been slightly awkward. The whole event for the console players was pretty sloppily arranged. It had real potential. It was fine though, meeting people that I knew over the net. I met Tom the Bomb and aX. aX was a great dude we got along quite well and Tom was much more quieter than I had imagined. But he had been up for ages. Also got to met a few other people that I sorta knew which was nice. Got a chance to play Burnout revenge which is pretty neat. The best part would have been the 8 player Mario Kart. It was just as I had imagined. Infact better. It had no slowdown except in the first 3 seconds of showing the track into, the rest was flawless. I was so impressed. The random courses and players were okay as well. I had a great time with that. Ah yes. I am eagerly awaiting to play it again and with some better racers.

The transport there and back was easy as well except that the busses ran a bit late. Got to pick up something small from shin Tokyo as well. Damn I need my work hrs now, a whole tonn of great CDs I want from there.

Spent Saturday doing chores, preparing and planning for the holidays as well as some revision. I want to get back up to speed at school. I need to. I have so much planned to do so I better get busy.

Oh and today I had some mates around. Chris and I set up the PSone at my request the day before so we played some Worms Armageddon and the usuals. Should start work very soon which will be good as I’ll need some cash.
Another fantastic highlight has been the availability of PSP homebrew dev for 2.0 firmware. This rocks and means that I will be able to do homebrew by the years end. Can’t wait.

BTW I also managed make some PS brushes, my first attempt. I need to make some more before they go public on NRX. Got to make some tutorials as well. Anyways I have hardly been on the net for the past few days so that’s it. Cheers for reading.

Damn I was meant to shave like last week as well.:(

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Lets see here, last weekend picked up these CDs:

Fix you-Coldplay
Parachutes-Coldplay
Seven Days-Jamiroquai
Remedy-Seether

As well as a remote control Mario kart, my brother picked up a 2nd one and Collision Course by Linkin Park and Jay-z. Been listening to them a fair bit.

Had a 3hr Chinese trial exam on Wednesday which was a real marathon. Didn’t do any homework for the rest of the week only to remember that I had a physics prac write up due on Friday.:( Don’t worry it was finished and handed in.

Was exhausted on Friday, Mum had Chinese with some friends for her Birthday I had to prepare a proper route for the Smash Bros tournament.. Rang up one of my friends who forgot about it and was at Victor Harbour for the weekend. Herm….quite disappointed. The other 2 mates that were going to come had a slight car crash on the way and couldn’t come. Initially I thought that it was pretty sad but it wasn’t really. It gave my brother and I a good chance to meet other people and get use to the whole thing. With our mates there it would have been slightly awkward. The whole event for the console players was pretty sloppily arranged. It had real potential. It was fine though, meeting people that I knew over the net. I met Tom the Bomb and aX. aX was a great dude we got along quite well and Tom was much more quieter than I had imagined. But he had been up for ages. Also got to met a few other people that I sorta knew which was nice. Got a chance to play Burnout revenge which is pretty neat. The best part would have been the 8 player Mario Kart. It was just as I had imagined. Infact better. It had no slowdown except in the first 3 seconds of showing the track into, the rest was flawless. I was so impressed. The random courses and players were okay as well. I had a great time with that. Ah yes. I am eagerly awaiting to play it again and with some better racers.

The transport there and back was easy as well except that the busses ran a bit late. Got to pick up something small from shin Tokyo as well. Damn I need my work hrs now, a whole tonn of great CDs I want from there.

Spent Saturday doing chores, preparing and planning for the holidays as well as some revision. I want to get back up to speed at school. I need to. I have so much planned to do so I better get busy.

Oh and today I had some mates around. Chris and I set up the PSone at my request the day before so we played some Worms Armageddon and the usuals. Should start work very soon which will be good as I’ll need some cash.

Another fantastic highlight has been the availability of PSP homebrew dev for 2.0 firmware. This rocks and means that I will be able to do homebrew by the years end. Can’t wait.

BTW I also managed make some PS brushes, my first attempt. I need to make some more before they go public on NRX. Got to make some tutorials as well. Anyways I have hardly been on the net for the past few days so that’s it. Cheers for reading.

Damn I was meant to shave like last week as well.:(

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