Rapture

I wrote a very long blog post last night all about BioShock 2, and the pros and cons of the game...only to click the "Publish Post" button and have the system send me an error message saying something about a "failure to post." I lost the entire thing, and I was too tired/frustrated to re-write it. So, here's a short recap of what I was going to say:


*Caution: May contain spoilers*


I love the BioShock series.


Pros of the game:

• Level of detail in not only characters and backstory (the voice acting is very, very good), but also the creation and development of Rapture
• Being a Big Daddy
• Exploring the new levels
• Listening to the audio diaries (I love them!)

Cons of the game:

• Very similar story to the first one (New tyrant, splicers work for new tyrant, new tyrant is an enemy of Andrew Ryan..)
• Surprising how easily the splicers are able to take down my Big Daddy, even with the suit and big guns (seems like you start with a very small health bar in the game)
• Insufficient Funds - I'm roughly halfway through the game, and I'm just now getting enough $$$ to buy ammo and health kits

Creepiest parts of the game:

• Walking around in near darkness with a flashlight (the bloody bodies everywhere doesn't help...)
• So much water! For those of you who know me, I'm a terrible swimmer, so I'm already a little nervous around water in the real world. However, Duke Nukem totally ruined water in video games for me, so I'm even more paranoid...
• Big Sisters, and their god-awful screams

Overall:

• The story is not as good as BioShock 1 (although, it's still pretty compelling)
• Security Bots are the end-all, be-all (I sometimes set alarms off purely to summon security bots so I can hack them and have my army of 2 :D)
• Can't wait for the BioShock Movie! If they actually make it, that is...

In other news, I've only played a tiny bit of Modern Warfare 2 recently, as I've been dedicating my time to fixing my car, spending time with my bestest while playing BioShock 2 (yeah, it's a team effort), and gearing up for joining PMS. Sadly, I missed the Pre-Recruitment meeting last Sunday due to being out of town with my boyfriend and best friend (yay for seeing plays in Philly!), so hopefully I can start the 8+ training hours per week next week. Don't get me wrong - I'm dedicated - but I feel like it's going to take me a little while to get used to this new addition..not to mention re-arranging my schedule....but I'm excited!

The wait is over!

...and I didn't make it. But that's ok - I know 3 of the ladies who made it pretty well (considering I really only started talking to them on Sunday evening), and I'm SO happy for them! Congrats ladies! Please take TONS of pictures, tell me ALL the stories, and...put in a good word for me? ;-) Also, here's the link so you can see the lucky ladies.

Now that that's over...what will I do? I know! Join the PMS Clan! I've already submitted an application for the North American division of Modern Warfare 2...I'm not sure when I'll hear back or when I'll need to start scheduling in practices (8 hours a week!), but I'm pretty excited to get started. I think I want to try and hit some tournaments/events too, when I get the chance. I'm not even sure where to begin looking for those, but I think I'll get a good idea of what's going on through the PMS/H2O website.

If only PAX East weren't so soon..and so far away. I would like to go, but I hear that all the Saturday passes are  sold out...not to mention I have a b-day photoshoot to attend that Sunday (yay J. Vankim photography!). I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for any other neat events happening on the East Coast - and if anyone knows of any, drop me a line!

Off to play some Modern Warfare 2 before my guests arrive for my ever-famous GAME NIGHT! TTFN!

MW2 FTW

Mmmmm, I like it. It took me a little while to get used to when I started playing, but by the end of the evening I was holding my own on the battlefield in Modern Warfare 2. I like the interface and the way the game looks, although my only pet peeve is the button layout: Click in the right analog stick to melee?? And click and hold the left analog stick to sprint?? I was never a fan of having to click down the analog sticks for anything, but maybe I'll get used to it. Other than that, I'm quite enjoying the game :-)

I downloaded a new app to my android phone (a widget, actually) that periodically updates me on the latest news and events in the video game world. At some point in the morning, it alerted me to this article, which is probably one of the best things I've heard about in a long, long time. I love stories where people come together for a common goal or to help one another. This really brightened my day, in the midst of all the chaos and stress :-D

Frag Doll Cadette update - the Frag Dolls sent out a message through twitter last night stating the following: "To gamers who applied to our Cadette Program: we won't be able to announce new Cadettes until Friday at the earliest. Hang tight!" Well...there you have it.

Another short one for tonight - too much to do!

Starcraft 2 Beta

Sadly, I don't have the Beta for Starcraft 2, but I've heard some great things about the game from those that have been playing. In fact, a friend of mine sent me this article that lists some of the "broken" aspects, characters, and strategies of the game...most of which probably won't make it into the actual game. I haven't had a chance to watch the videos yet, but they all seem pretty interesting :-)

I'm dying for my copy of Modern Warfare 2 to arrive in the mail. This game was sent out on Feb. 18...and it's still not here. I contacted the seller, and the next day the package tracking system listed my game at a sorting facility in Virginia. So, it's close by, but it's still not here. Maybe today it'll arrive...maybe. I just want to test my skills in this FPS so I can see what my chances are in joining a PMS clan. There are even mandatory practice hours...which is both daunting and exciting. Even if I don't make it into the Frag Doll Cadettes this round, I know that I want to persue a path into competitve gaming.

Ah, it feels good to have goals :-)

[Update...]


I received Modern Warfare 2 today - FINALLY! Although, I also received a "bonus" gift in the same package...

WHAAAA??? Weird freebie, but at least I got my game!

The Waiting Game

I'm really not trying to get my hopes up for this...but it's nearly all I think about. I'm literally refreshing my email every 5 minutes. I keep going back to the Frag Doll forums and re-reading what people post. Two Frag Dolls were even kind enough to post their "encouragement" of the forums as well, although their posts have made us all more nervous and excited. It would be nice to just know, and have it over and done with - whatever the outcome.


Random side note - I've been craving a good book to read. I'm thinking of re-starting the "Song of Fire and Ice" series, as I stopped halfway through the second book. I'm also getting excited about the HBO show based on the series...looks pretty intense! Although I'll most likely start that book series again, please feel free to leave comments and let me know of some other good books/authors I should look into :D


I guess that's all for now...I'll post an update if anything interesting happens on the Frag Doll front.

Anger Resurgence

Really, how user-UNfriendly can one system be?


I just received my new Xbox Live Gold membership in the mail today, and am getting ready to delete my current account so I can use the same Gamertag...when I'm on the Xbox Live website and I can't find a "delete account" section anywhere on the site. So, I check the forums. Turns out...there is NO way to delete an account. Um, excuse me? So...you're saying that in order for me to use the same gamertag on a different account, I have to:

1. Pay MONEY to my current account (the one that I want to delete)
2. Use that money to change my Gamertag to something else (like...Kimmington123)
3. Then sign up the REAL Kimmington account (the one that is currently offline but has all my gamer stats) so that I can get the "Kimmington" gamertag
4. And I can't even delete Kimmington123? EVER???

That's stupid. What a stupid system. Way to be totally awesome, Microsoft. Forget that.

Here's my solution: I'm going to have a private funeral for the Gamertag: Kimmington, which I will never be able to use on Xbox Live because I refuse to pay more money to fix this. IF POSSIBLE, please delete Kimmington from your friends list on Xbox Live. I will send you all a new friend request from whatever new Gamertag I create when I sign up the real "Kimmington" offline account to Xbox Live tonight.

Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Oh, and /hate. Again, delete "Kimmington" from your friends list - that's no longer my Gamertag.

STUPID.

[Update...]\


Oh...it gets worse.

So, I'm setting up my new account (NEW GAMERTAG: Selisona) when I hit an error during the account creation. I attempt to re-create my account about 5 times before I resign myself to the forums. Looks like it's not just me experiencing stupidness from Xbox Live, again. Turns out I have to create a whole new Windows Live email address and account before I can create a new Xbox Live account. Did I mention this is stupid?

So, it's up and running. I'll be friending you all (I saved all your Gamertags/PSN IDs in a word document) with this new gamertag, so please please please delete Kimmington...it'll only clutter up your friends list (unless you want that +1 to popularity).

::sigh:: I hope this is the last of it...

This is the week....

....when we find out who the lucky 12 new Frag Doll Cadettes are! I've already been checking my phone/email like crazy - but I need to seriously not get my hopes up. It doesn't help that I had a great time chatting with some of the other Frag Doll Cadette applicants last night over a Skype-conference call - These ladies are incredible, sweet, and gamer-ific! It was so nice to be able to chat about all things girl and gaming related :-)

I'm seriously considering trying out for one of the PMS clans. Of the few girls that I've met so far, this seems like the perfect place for me to cultivate my skill in FPS's and make some great friends. I'm a little worried that I won't be "good enough" to join, but there's no hurt in trying huh? Plus, I keep surprising myself in the games I'm playing, so perhaps I'm better than I think ;-)

A friend of mine sent me this link about the PlayStation Network being down - I have totally missed this, considering my recent obsession/fight with Xbox Live. But sad times - I hope they're able to fix it soon so we all can get back to the important thing in life: gaming. And if you can, please avoid logging into the PlayStation Network - looks like just logging in will mess with your console and shut it down :-(

My boo just sent me this link, which I found hilarious. Not video game related, but still fun (for all you table-top RPGers out there).  Oh, and alternative text FTW. Also, Duck Pin Bowling = super weird.

And finally, here is a link to the latest Frag Doll commercial - now playing on G4TV. Maybe someday, I'll at least get to meet these fantastic women :-D That's all for now!