7/21/03 - Looks like I didn't need to replay those 5 hours I didn't get any lightside points when I thought I should have and the guys on the IGN boards didn't either.

And even though that time loss got me down I was so happy last night as I got a Purple lightsaber right before going to bed. Also the C3PO type droid that you get later on is hilarious. Way better than C3PO ever was.

I'm pretty sure they got Frank Oz to do the Yoda-looking guy. So he sounds the same however he doesn't speak all backwards.

Halfway through the game and it's looking pretty damn good so far.

7/20/03 - I experience one of those oh so familiar X-box crashes. When the game booted back up I had gained and lost credits, lightside & darkside points and the save time was now reading "107879343 hrs 29mins" From what I can tell the time was keeping acurate after that but I don't much like the looks of it all. Also I it appears I'm not gettting lightside points when I should be. I'm going to have to start from the 2nd to most recent save, 5 hours before!

7/19/03 – Getting a little tired of planet # 2. This seems to be an inherent flaw in the genre. Yet, I didn’t have this problem with GTA3. Hmmm.

7/19/03 – Ok, I’m sold now. After you save the Jedi girl the game really picks up! The relationship between your avatar and her is a lot more interesting than with the other characters in your ragtag group of freedom fighters. While said relationship isn’t overtly romantic, I wonder how this plays out if you choose a female form. From the point that Bastila enters the picture I’ve started to really enjoy the game. A change of scenery and a montage later I’m a Jedi with my own lightsaber! The opened-ended nature of the game means that you could be stuck in the same location and travel through the same areas multiple times. I guess I could try and complete less of the sidequests, but right now I’m trying to do as many as I can.

7/18/03 - I'm glad Pajamo’s digging it. But for me the jury is still out. On one hand I have played quite a bit (6.5hrs) of it already and show no sighs of stopping. But it's not like I'm really into it either. Unlike that one guy on the Gamefaqs boards I'm NOT getting the same kind of FF7 or FF8 vibe to this game. I am glad that a party of characters accompanies you on your way and the world isn't silent & dead like Morrowind. But the fact that I have to wander around so much keeps the story from popping for me. I also don't like the fact that I always have to choose a response. I find it tedious at times and really takes me out of the story.

Yes, Carth's story is a nice addition, but doesn't the way they progress his story (Carth seems upset, maybe you should talk to him) feel a bit forced? I don't want to dwell on the negative here but it's all I got until I can leave work!

Those guys over at the Gamefaqs boards are jags! I've read some of their posts and they are either crazy kids or just mindless Xbox fanboys. I'll stick to the IGN boards, they're not very good either but compared to gamefaqs they're great.

July 15, 2003 10:58 PM

Talking with Pajamo today has got me somewhat excited about the new Star Wars game "Knights of the Old Republic" But I regardless of what glowing praise Greg Kasavin give it I can't help but be a bit skeptical. Sure it slices but can it really dice? And it almost certainly cannot cut through this empty can. And while Greg's review is favorable his mention of how it's not like a console game and players need to make more choices in order to progress worries me. Sure that sounds really good but normally my choices are limited to 2 maybe 3 different but equally lame options and the story lacks focus. I haven't forgotten about Morrowind, but I'm still going to pick it up.

b-ruce

The good folks at Pajamo got review crazy over the weekend – T3, Legally Blond 2, 28 Days Later, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Check it all out.

b-ruce

July 10, 2003 11:16 PM

Don’t look at me!!! Don’t look at me!!!

I just watched an extended trailer for this upcoming game “Drakengard”. I only downloaded it because it’s a Square Enix (The Final Fantasy people – I love Final Fantasy!) game and now a couple weeks after getting it I finally watched it. What I saw was not all that surprising or remarkable - solid CGI video, good mood music. But about halfway through the video I thought to myself “man, that looks really cool… but didn’t I just spoil what looks to be a great dramatic scene? Now right before I get to see this scene in the game I’ll know it’s coming and the complete impact will be lost.” I thought of conversations I had with friends after seeing “The Matrix Reloaded”. How we had all agreed that what we saw in the film would have been much more impressive had we not seen it a million times in commercials or trailers. I came to a conclusion: I should not view this sort of material prior to playing/viewing the work. I think Rockstar did it best last year when their official website for “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” contained no complete scenes from the game. They showed us a little of the new motorcycles and weapons in action. They gave us sound and video clips of the characters, but not in any way that gave away anything. All it did was intrigue.

But now I remember seeing those Final Fantasy 7 commercials – the reason why I bought a Playstation in the winter of ’97, rekindling my gamming career. But I remember playing FF7 for the first time very vividly and not thinking that I had known what as about to happen at any given point in the game. Ditto with Final Fantasy 8. So I guess the point is there is a right way and a wrong way to promote your product via a video segment. Still, at this point I must say that I will try and play it safe in the future. No more trailers for me please.

b-ruce

July 7, 2003 8:30 PM

He's a robot who's been sent back in time...

I liked the Terminator 3; it was a nice brainless summer action flick. It wasn’t all good though; the chase scene was way too long and nothing really happens unlike The Matrix Reloaded highway scene where they went from inside a car to on motorcycles and then on top of a truck. T3 also has the dumbest line I've heard in some time: John Connor asks the Terminator "What, do you guys come off an assembly line or something?"

Well fuckin' duh man

Also I would feel bad for Eddie Furlong if I didn't hate his punk ass for being so whiny in T2.

Gamespot just announced their Final Fantasy XI beta contest and your favorite blogger didn’t win. I didn’t win either =(

b-ruce

July 6, 2003 9:13 AM

IGN had a new trailer up for "Way of the Samurai 2" and although its predecessor left me a bit disappointed I found myself very excited about the sequel as the trailer ended. From the looks of things it's just more of the same stuff as the first game but if it has more gameplay and less of the bad stuff and voice acting then it could really be a game I would enjoy.

IGN was also talking about how game designers are already starting on PS3 games. I know you're all excited about the next generation consol and all but my initial reaction was: "I hope this doesn't mean we'll have a craptastical 2004." This year is weak enough as it is. No Grand Theft Auto game, no Metal Gear game, no Final Fantasy XI, no Halo 2. Really the only games that are on my radar for the rest of the year are: Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Final Fantasy X-2, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, Pac man party game, Top Spin, and Viewtiful Joe. Well, ok fine, I guess that's enough for one year. Damn, I took the wind out of my own sails... LOOK OVER THERE!!!

b-ruce

July 3, 2003

Pajamo has finally posted my latest game review. The subject:Enter the Matrix. Check it out.

b-ruce

July 1, 2003 7:00 AM

Just wanted to let y'all know that I finished the Harry Potter book. It was good, very good, but not quite the best of the series. I'm still undecided about Shadowbane, which is the other thing I spent my weekend on. There's far too much lag; the graphics look old for a few month old game and there's really a general lack of things to do, except power level your characters. However since Shadowbane is all about the kingdom vs.kingdom battles I've decided to withhold judgement until I participate in one of thems.

b-ruce