Raw Consciousness

VIDEO GAMES- FFX-2

This is just a 1-2 hour impression of the game, and I stopped playing the game because I really want to finish Metroid Prime first (yeah, now is that I start playing it).

So in one word, here's my first impression:

* PUKE! *

God, I knew this game was supposed to be a bit cutesey but the problem is that it just seems they are trying to be funny but aren't. Reminds me of what I call a "japanese story disjoint" (FF8), where something happens that I get the impression would be kewl or funny in Japan or something but here is just an unexplainable mystery why it should be kewl or funny.

Or maybe it's not funny there either, after all.

I still see a lot of potential in the game, so I certainly won't do final judgement until I play more. And the art is pretty good, as usual. Hmm the front end seems a bit stutterish/laggish compared to what I expect to see in a console game. Actually it doesn't stutter, but the framerate is not that silky smooth console TV 60 fps (again, talking about the Front End).

Oh, and now that I already knew Rikku's voice in English is made by the same actress of one of the PowrePuff girls, I can't help but think that they just might take on Mojo Jojo at some point...

VIDEO GAMES - LOK: Defiance Rant

Alrright, as I ponder the meaning of life at the end of my vacation, and re-watch some of the Legacy of Kain : Defiance cutscenes (LOKD from this point on), I remember reading a review from a website that I respect to a degree, called GameSpot, in which this game got a "fair" - 6.9 / 10.

Gamespot, I am sorry but I think you are wrong.

While I think it's fair to critique that the game two characters gameplay wise play pretty much the same, and the game does have its glitches here and there, I think the overall production quality value of the game, and what you do and you feel like you are doing + the story truly elevate this game beyond the mere 6.9/10. I am sure there most be another game on PC or console I haven't played that matches the supreme acting and story of the Legacy of Kain series (I do include Soul Reaver 1 & 2 here), but so far I haven't seen that. To say LOKD has incredible acting, and en epic story would be an understatement.

So what I think could elevate the game further? If the gameplay had the two characters more different gameplay wise, and if they could do more of the puzzle/challenges more attuned to different abilities you acquire (think Legacy Of Kain: Blood Omen- the PS1 game), this game would get a 10/10 in my book. This is, I think, the gist of Gamespot's review, but I think a 6.9 is really, a bit low.

I do think some of the bosses were actually pretty cool.

Anyway, my verdict would be 8.30/10 (after re-reading Gamespot's review a 3rd time, I will have to agree with some of the points, just that I still think 6.9 is just too low). If you played Soul Reaver 1 & 2, and liked those games, YOU MUST RUN and buy/play this game. Seriously.

The game does its job at entertaining, and pulling you in. And for that, I just can't see a 6.9/10 being justified.

What do I think Gamespot should probably have given it given its critique? Probably something like 7.5-> 7.8 / 10.

MY LIFE - yes I live...

I went to Minnesota last weekend and had a very interesting flight-conversation. Also some really cool pictures from the airplane, from above the clouds. I am surprised how well they came out. More stuff to come....

Oh and I finally got down to playing Metroid... so I am about 1 year behind in videogaming sans Legacy of Kain: Defiance...

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY - Trip from Palm Springs to LA

Hmm... that I shouldn't take pictures while driving on the highway? Maybe you are right...

Anyway... those are shots that I like because I did not notice the windmills when I was on my way to Palm Springs Tuesday night... so I was amazed to see them and see so many. Those things are friking huge!

Also notice I have bumped into a Singleton on my way back... (geek joke)

Finally, notice how in one of the shots the mountains are lost in a cloud of smoke & decay... That's LA's direction my friend...

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY - Palm Springs Nov 2003

Well, I have two photo galleries for the photos I have taken so far. Hmm I think there are no "breath taking" photos overall, but some are allright. Thanks to FUJI for not putting a contrast control and the default F700 default aggressive constrast, I had to auto-contrast all of the photos in one of the albums so they bring detail that the camera actually DID capture.

A couple of comments:

* Photos in the dark are from the "Dessert Adventures" Jeep tour - evening edition. We were supposed to see possibly a mountain lion showing up but he didn't. I had the pleasure of seeing what happens when two faults meet... yes, this is also Earthquake Land(TM)

In one shot you can see the layers from the soil that came up, layers of gravel that tell "flood" stories... It was fun, but I made the great mistake (probably in preparation to my trip to Minnesota tomorrow- yes I am going there), to go in shorts and a T-shirt... Dude, it's winter and it's The Dessert At Night(TM).. on an "open Jeep" .. yeah it kinda gets cold :-)

I had a lot of fun though... I ate some palm desert fruit and it was very sweet. Oh and it's really nice to see a sky with stars again...

* I have a gratituous shot of my Saturn '96 SL2 grey car.. it just looked good (to me anyway :-P ) so I decided to take a shot of it... like new huh?

* Yes, yes, I need a haircut already

* The weird shot with lights was done by using a long exposure but with flash, and rotating the camera quickly. The flash gets a good shot of my face, and then the long exposure + moving captures the background.. not so much of my face so it doesn't really show up. New trick I learned recently...

* My camera can do a much better macro than the bee shot I got in that flower, it's just a combination of cowardice + not wanting to scare the F@$# bee which moved like 10 times already from flower to flower by the time I captured that shot (hmm I should have used Fuji's "last 5" mode earlier...)

Hmmm I was going to say something else but.. blah I forgot. And I need to get out of here soon. Get ready for Winter Land(TM)

MY LIFE - politics & gay issues

So....

Looks like 2004 will be marked by gay issues at the forefront, big time, due to Massachusset's court decision of making state marriage legal. While I have reached a point in my life where I am fine with just *equal legal rights* even if it's not called marriage, I think we are poised to see how fascist-like are many in the so called Land Of The Free(TM).

Men attracted to women, and women attracted to men, sexually speaking, also called heterosexuals or "straights" in gay slang just wake up, do their thing, work/etc. and come back home and don't even have to think about any of these issues pretty much. But now all will be forced to really look at it. And the vocal opposition is so telling...

As you can imagine, the court has been demonized already (just as a small reminder, it's the court job to say what the law is supposed to do/say so it's not like they have a 'gay agenda'). But what as usual makes me sick is the whole hypocrisy of a majority of the opposition on this issue. It's pathethic, almost like me being with a man legally somehow undermines the foundation of their marriage. Maybe gay people are the #1 cause of str8 divorce? (hah!)

Of interest of course is the fact, that I would be one of the first to respect a so called "christian" to lead their life whatever way they want to and fight for their right to believe in whater they want to believe even if we disagree, but the favor is certainly not returned. "We are right and you are wrong" - or better yet "we are going to heaven and you are going to hell."

Make no mistake, this issue will show up in 2004 in the election in plain light. I think Dean certainly has a big challenge, because he is an honest politician saying how he feels about the issue. I sincerely hope the doesn't lose becuase of that. And Bush's team of course, can bring images of the apocalypse, because just in case you didn't know, that's my #1 job every morning when I wake up: to bring apocalypse one day closer at a time by my conscious personal choice to live the Gay Lifestyle(TM).

NOT.

MY LIFE - impromptu Palm Spring vacation

Well I have been in my post - production vacation a little over a week now, and I decided that it was time to get out of my friking apartment (yeah, I was kinda stuck in there). So in an incredible display of decision, I booked a stay in Palm Springs *AND* I am going to Minnesota coming next Friday!

Yay!

So what's special about my Palm Spring vacation? Well, for a first, I am staying is what is considered a gay guest house/hotel. Yup. all gay. No women (thanks god - ok , just kidding... maybe).

I am amazed. Many ammenities that are charged extra in many places here are just.. like part of the deal. I get breakfast and lunch, plus snacks (free diet coke in a hotel? a first for me). And to my very surprise, if you come here and have no laptop, you can loan one with a wireless network card and all. Or if you are like me, you bring yours and just connect, which is what I just did, and it's also all complimentary! Wow.

So when I arrived I decide to check on some publications that catter to the gay public (no, not porn). Chuckle a bit at the Bud Light ad in one of them (you may be surprised how many well known brands have a gay-oriented ad equivalent). And then met this lawyer guy from Washington...

We talked for a while during I realized the following:

#1. Damn, it's nice to talk to someone, anyone from the human race that is not from work, to some degree of depth

#2. I wish I was more self confident about my looks earlier in my life. But now I have some self confidence born probably out of "I really dont' care, let's see what happens, " which is more accidental than really.. um..developmental? Not bad anyway... more confirmation that when "you don't look for, you attract"

#3. If you are gay, it's really easy to get laid. But no, for the record, I didn't :-P

#4. That there are many married men out there that, play both fields (and no, this guy is not "str8" but he was telling me about all the married men he has been with).

Um... I actually knew about #3 & #4, but #1 & #2 are an interesting information tidbit.

Anyway, I plan to go on a "Living Desert" tour or whatever, and see some of the shopping places here + restaurants tomorrow. I was checking the book/catalog they have here and all the places look like they have the MOON as a backdrop, soil-terrain-wise.... I kind of like the "barren" view and the emptiness of it suggests my mind into a relaxing/zen state but I wonder when it will get to a point where I will miss the trees.

FILM - Starship Troopers

I know I know.. long overdue. This movie was on my list of "you haven't seen this yet?!" that I get when I talk to people about it.

Well, for some reason I was expecting something semi-lameo, but I thought it actually was pretty good. Here's the nice difference between a movie that is "honest" - as in doesn't pretend to be more than it is, and executes that well accordingly and The Matrix: Reloaded (I won't comment more on The Matrix).

But then when I see who is behind this, is the same director and same screen writter behind robocop... no wonder those ads had the same style. And talking about style, God, Blizzard borrowed freely when creating StarCraft because the Zergs and the Humans have certainly drawn a lot of inspiration from this movie. In fact, if I woke up from a comma and someone showed me this movie saying "this is Blizzard's StarCraft made a movie" I would have believed it for a moment (it's not identical, no).

One thing that did catch my attention, is I normally on DVD's with extra features play a bit with the "extras" and I just wanted to hear some of the early commentary.... They talk about the "smart" character of the movie, how he is smart and ends up becoming a fascist. Then the narrator (the director?) ads "just like reality. It's pretty close to reality, just as we see the development of American politics in the next couple of years..."

My God. How prophetic.

FILM - Terminator 3

Hey, I just watched Terminator 3 at home. It doesn't suck as I originally thought it would. And from reviews I thought it would have super corny lines but somehow it didn't. It was allright.

It did feel though like one of those "expansions" that sometimes Disney does to their franchinses, meaning somehow the effects are not on the same caliber with "big usual movies" or felt kinda "TV series made" in a way. Also, one thing that this movie does not really solve is the fact that the terminator despicted in the 2nd movie was just so kick ass that I can't help but feel this is an obsolete model (the new one).

There were other "science facts" that seemed a bit wrong to me... like at the end... (if you watch the movie you know what I mean) and some part of the movie were metal parts were supposed to "stick" but somehow our heroes had nothign metallic on their bodies (very doubtful).

The framing of scenes and camera shots seemed a bit sub-par compared to the 2nd one (again, that TV-series feel to it), but all in all, I think it was allright.

GAMES - Legacy Of Kain: Defiance (update 2)

Allright, as Paul foretold, I am done with the game :-) I have some mixed feelings on the gameplay, but overall this has been one of the most enjoyable rides I have ever had with my PS2.

Some of the levels and the art are simply stunningly amazing. Character animation is pretty kick ass also. And the story is pretty damn good... they were able to highlight some particular moments with undescribable irony and sweet justice... I am not telling, that would be a major spoiler.

The only big drawback here is that if you never played any of the Soul Reaver series, particularly the second, a lot of the moments won't have the same impact they could have had. Also there are references even to the very first Legacy of Kain game.

I can say that the end in the trilogy does answer A LOT of questions, and maybe raise one or two.

(Yes, I would consider this to be "Soul Reaver 3")

- Raist