Day 82 - Uncharted 2

I finished Uncharted 2 today, and just like the first one, didn't disappoint. I really like the characters and how the ending turned out to be. It felt just like watching a good action movie without the crappy acting. A problem I had with the game was during the last few chapters, it was nonstop fighting, and it felt drawn out and repetitive after awhile. The fighting cut off at the right spot though, and it managed to end with a bang. I'd love to play it again.

Now that I have Uncharted 2 out of the way, I think I have to get back to FFXIII. Just like Uncharted 2, it seems like nonstop fighting at this part of the game, and it just feels repetitive and boring. I guess I needed a break from the game. Now after a week has passed, my hiatus has ended, and I will start playing once again.

That's it for today. Tired from hockey and SF4. I'll watch an episode of Gokusen 2 and go to bed. Good show so far.

G'night.

Songs of the day:

Reflection Eternal by Nujabes
Give it All by Rise Against

Day 81 - Study Hard

I'm back with another blog post. Unfortunately, I have been pretty busy with other things, mainly schoolwork and SF4. Seems like I have been slacking a little bit in school...and my marks show it. I definitely need to smarten up for the latter part of the semester, as I need to keep my 90% average intact to get my scholarship. I have a test and a quiz tomorrow, so we'll see how those go.

I finally hit the 2000 BP mark in SF4 online play, but my achievement was quickly swiped from my hands by the skills of much better players. I swiftly dropped to 1781 BP, and I'm pretty pissed at how I was playing a few moments ago. I guess I just wasn't feeling it at that moment. I can't wait for April 27th so I can snag a TE stick. I'm fed up with the dropped inputs and overall shoddy quality of my current fight stick. I know I mentioned this before, but it's been gradually annoying me ever since I tried better fight sticks. Upgrade ASAP.



How to Train your Dragon was an awesome movie. Saw it on Saturday at STC, and was pleasantly surprised. What turned out to be a last minute plan ended up becoming a great movie experience. The 3-D was great, but I could have left it out and it would have still been awesome. The visuals don't disappoint, and the underlying moral and theme is well played. 8.5/10



I also saw Gran Torino when I got home. Very good movie! The character Walt, played by Clint Eastwood, is intriguing, and unintentionally funny with his racist and rude remarks. The character progression in the movie seems fast, but works well and puts a smile on your face as you watch. Though the acting from some characters were just god-awful, the movie still manages to be enjoyable and inspiring. 9/10



Alright, that's about it for today. Had to cram in all weekend's shenanigan's in one post. Going to watch an episode of Gokusen 2 and head to bed.

G'night.

Day 80 - LAN

Went to another LAN today with my friends Andrew and Josh. This one was pretty fun, and faced a bunch of Seneca college students. There were a couple of very good players, but the rest were okay. With an entrance fee of only $2, it was totally worth going, as there was free pizza and drinks as well. Too bad there wasn't a proper scrim going, although pubbing is fun at times.

Anyways got home and practiced some SF4 and played until now. Gotta head to bed soon though, as I'm pretty exhausted and eye-sore from being in front of screens all day long.

BTW, this movie is awesome. Thanks Josh McGeown for letting me borrow it.



G'night.

Day 79 - SLACK

Wow! It's been more than a week since my last post. It's probably my longest hiatus since I started writing on this blog. Since school is starting up again, I think I should get back to my blog-writing habits once again. The March break has definitely been a busy one, and once again, I had a great time with friends and family.

I still haven't finished Final Fantasy, as I have either been away from home, or had company over. I'm about 20 or so hours into the game, and I am still loving how the story is progressing. I'll probably start playing more now, as I have some free time after school and whatnot. Sleeping habits from the break aren't helping though, and today I found myself way too tired to do anything after I got home.

Episodes of Japanese TV have stopped as well, due to the busy schedule, but I did start up Gokusen 2, and I'm determined to finish it, as well as the whole Gokusen series.

Alright time to play some FFXIII.

G'night.

Day 78 - Weekend

March break is finally here. My friends are over right now, so we're hanging out and playing SF4 and SSBM. Hoping to get some sets recorded.

I'm still playing FFXIII, and it's still just as good as when I started. I'm still spending a lot of time playing SF4 though, so it's slowing down my playthrough. Either way, I'll have lots of time to finish it, so it's really no rush.

Anyways, calling it quits on the blog for today. Just a quick update, as I haven't been on lately.

March Break here I come!

G'night.

Day 77 - Late

It's pretty late right now, and the only reason why I'm up is because I can't get my hands off my PS3 controller. FFXIII is getting much better then the start, as the characters are really starting to get better and better, and the Crystarium system is beginning to get more complex. I'm really enjoying it, and I hope it doesn't slow down anytime soon.

I'm going to download the new Pokemon game on my R4 DS for portable play when I'm out. I haven't "grown out" of the Pokemon games, and I don't know why I should. A good game is a good game, and these ones don't disappoint. There's always a certain charm in these games that bring me back to the past when I used to carry my Gameboy everywhere with me and play and trade with my friends. Nostalgia never gets old.



If you have read my previous posts, you would probably guess that my next big game pickup will be SSF4. I'm excited to see who I play good with and who I will main. I think I will try not to pick Ken again as a main, as everyone knows how to counter him. I'm hoping to get good with Dudley, Ibuki, Cody or Juri. I can't wait to get this game!!!

Time to go to sleep. Still got to wake up early tomorrow. The March break is almost here...

G'night.

Day 76 - AWESOME

FFXIII is awesome. I'm quickly getting used to the Paradigm Shifts, which I find really interesting and fun to use. I need a little more practice with it, but so far so good. The Crystarium level-up system is great, and brings back the great memories of the Sphere Grid of FFX. Very similar, but much more linear and simple to use. I think it'll get a bit more complex later, but I really don't mind.

The story starts out very confusing, but it's really starting to open up and reveal character histories and future plans. I know there's still one more character to be revealed, but I feel the cast is already fun to watch and play with.

In other news, Hakan has finally been revealed for SSF4. He looks like a mix between Darun, Zangief, Wario, and a gay Julius Caesar. He looks like a joke character, but I think he might be a fairly good fighter. He probably deals a bunch of damage and has a good mixup game, with his Blanka style slides, swift dodges, and an array of quirky grapples. I can't wait to try him out.

Time to go to bed. Almost done all the work this week has to offer. There's a test tomorrow, a project due Friday, and an annotated bibliography due Thursday. Definitely still a bunch of stuff to do, but it's almost over.

G'night.

Song of the Day:

If I'm James Dean, then you're Audrey Hepburn by Sleeping with Sirens

Day 75 - PUMPED + Kimi wa Petto

Tomorrow is the release of Final Fantasy XIII, and I'm very excited to finally get to play it. Hopefully it lives up to expectations and doesn't disappoint like XII did. Had a few games of SF4, but quickly got frustrated. I wasn't focusing on the game, so I decided to just practice Dictator for fun. Awesome to play, but block strings are much harder with charge characters. After, I headed over to Uncharted 2 in hopes of beating it before tomorrow, but that plan fell short when I realized I still had some homework to do.

For homework today, I'm reading a book by Ernest Hemingway and another written by John Steinbeck. Hopefully, both are going to be good reads. I need these books read soon for my English class, so I better get some done this week and during March break. Other work is piling up as well, and it never seems to end. I have multiple things due within the next few days, and they are important and take a long time to do. I think I also have a test later this week. It's getting hectic. I just hope I make it through to enjoy my break.

Finished Kimi wa Petto not too long ago. It was just what I needed. It wasn't serious and it had a nice amount of humour to set me in a good mood. A good show, and can possibly be one I might revisit in the future. I restarted Hana Kimi, but fell asleep. I'll catch up on the episode tomorrow or later tonight.

Anyways, heading to bed now. I think I'm almost done Uncharted 2, so maybe I'll finish that soon and return it to my friend by the end of week or March break the latest.

G'night.

Day 74 - Sets

Just got off my PS3 after lots of time on SF4 and Uncharted 2. I played a lengthy set with my friend Vince, and improved a lot during the matches. It's good to play someone around the same level of skill, so it's easy to improve and learn from one another. I ended up winning the most overall, but it was very casual. If anyone is interested in playing a few sets with me, add me on PSN. My username is maki__G. Note, that it is two underscores.

I haven't been updating as much because I've been really tired after school. I was planning on doing a post yesterday, but I got home from hockey at around midnight, and was too tired to do anything other then sit on my ass and fall asleep. Our team played well and won the playoff game 3-2. I ended up with one assist, and finally ended my little point drought.

Keeping this one short. Still not done Kimi wa Petto, so I'm going to watch a few episodes right now. Tomorrow is my uncle's birthday, so we're going to have a little family get-together. I'll keep posted and busy.

G'night.

Songs of the day:

Sailor's Mouth by Farewell Flight
男孩像你 by 薛凱琪

Day 73 - Back up.

PSN was back up when I got home, and I sneaked in a few SF4 matches. Having trouble against some veteran players, but I can take down way more challengers then when I first started online play. There has been some big progress, and I'm happy I stepped up my game before SSF4 comes out. I don't know if it was me or my cheap fight stick, but it seemed like a button input was dropped and I lost the match due to me giving up my guard and losing my ground. It's pretty frustrating when you know you have control, but it doesn't work out the way you want it. Sanwa, where are you?

How I Met Your Mother is a very funny show. Caught a few episodes at a friends today and I love the characters and the things that go on. I also think the narration and concept is interesting and unique. Neil Patrick Harris is also hilarious!

Alright, time to watch one more episode of Kimi wa Petto and head to bed. Oh I am also starting to write on the team FTN blog for my friend's CS 1.6 CEVO team. Find my posts at: http://teamftn.blogspot.com/

G'night.

Song of the Day:

With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear by Sleeping with Sirens

Day 72 - Freak Out

Seems like PSN is down for all "fat" PS3 owners. I haven't tried it personally, but now I don't want to risk hurting my PS3 by playing with it now. Damn, I really wanted to get started with my serious SF4 practice too. I guess it'll have to wait.

I want to get a new fighting stick so bad. Mine is doing its job, but it's not that responsive, and I felt that I played way better on the arcade cabinet at Pmall outfitted with all Japanese parts. I definitely want Sanwa buttons and ball top joystick. I was also contemplating possibly getting a "Fanta" joy stick, which is the Korean version of the baseball bat top. I'm really not sure if that's going to work, because then I would have to mod the stick all on my own, and that could be costly and risky. For Sanwa, I could just buy a tournament edition and be happy. I'll have to make my decision sooner or later, and I'm more towards the Sanwas at the moment.

I changed my mind again about which drama to start. Watched the first episode of Kimi wa Petto, and it's not bad so far. Matsumoto Jun co-stars and really puts on a show. He's one hell of an actor, even back in 2003 when this show was filmed.

Alright, time to sleep. Maybe one more episode...