Rally Driving

No one was online last night, so I decided to do more of my Amateur Career in RalliSport Challenge 2.  I guess I'm getting pretty good at driving games, because I'm not having any problems.  Sure, the occasional bobble here and there, but I've gotten 20 points on each race (which is the max) and I'm nearly done.

Of course, I don't expect it to get really hard until I open up the Pro and higher Careers.

There's a new t-shirt in the ilovebees shop on cafepress.com that shows the following: "11+9+4=24".  This has fueled speculation that the actual release date for Halo 2 will be August 24th.  I am hopeful, but not convinced.

Welcome to OrpheusSail!

Well, Charon (now aka OrpheusSail) has succumbed to peer pressure and bought an XBox. He has gotten XBL and PGR2 as well (as required), so we'll have more racers in our little group. We may have to form a clan soon.

I picked up RalliSport Challenge 2 last night and ran the first race on the "Amateur" level. I was not very used to how the car handles on dirt (I've only ever raced in PGR & PGR2), so I made quite a few flubs. I still placed 1st out of 20, though.

I will be giving more thoughts on RSC2 as I progress through the career.

On a non-XBox note, I had a free PC game coupon in my hot little hand, so I went to Best Buy and picked up Korsun Pocket. There were several other choices, obviously, but I had several thoughts on the matter.

First of all, I want a game that I will play. I spend little gaming time on my PC now, so I'm not going to get any game that I can play on my XBox.

Also, I would like to get something that I can play in an "interrupted" fashion. Nothing with a long, deep storyline or that requires long periods of undivided attention.

And I don't want to have to upgrade my PC.

I may have gotten City of Heroes, but they were sold out. I don't know how much time I could devote to a MMORPG anyway.

Korsun Pocket seemed to fit the bill perfectly. I haven't played any sort of strategy board game in years and years, but it was my introduction (along with AD&D) to gaming in the first place. It's the whole reason I got into computers in the first place; I discovered that you could play games on computers.

I can play for single turns or for hours at a stretch. I can play by email.

And I don't have to change a thing on my PC. I could have waited and bought Doom 3 on release, but then I would need a whole new system. I would much rather wait for Doom 3 for the XBox.

I have the perspective now to see why consoles like the XBox are so awesome. But I also know that something like Korsun Pocket will never be on any console, nor should it be attempted.

Rainbow Six 3 and Morrowind

While assembling a deck table, I downloaded my Rainbow Six 3 content.  Then I tried the first mission.

It's a pretty tough one, and I didn't get as far on it as I did when I played on Saturday.  I am definately a more cautious player than Ed, who also played on Saturday.

I started again on Morrowind as well.  I've just been playing various games lately, hopping around.  When I was playing Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR), I pretty much just stuck with it until I was finished.

This time around, I decided to go with a meat-and-potatoes approach, playing a Scout (light warrior).  I couldn't quite bring myself to go the full Barbarian/Warrior route.

Oh, and DaftApeth called and let me know that he had finished Beyond Good and Evil.  He had just borrowed it Saturday evening.  I guess sometimes it's better to be unemployed.

XBox Live down?

I tried getting onto XBox Live last night, with limited success.  I was able to update Rainbow Six 3, but I could not download any new content.

Anyway, I am intrigued by this new www.ilovebees.com buzz about Halo 2.

Mixed weekend

I have quite a bit to catch up on.

First thing is that my kids are back from China, so my life is now noisier, messier, and more chaotic.

I picked up Rainbow Six 3 on my way to DaftApeth's house Saturday - it was gaming day.  We played some Operation Flashpoint, a little bit of Rainbow Six (I was expecting split-screen multiplayer co-op, didn't get it), and had Charon try out some of the Long Beach cars on the Test Track.  Afterward, we had a wonderful time watching a really horrible movie: Druids

Charon is a friend of ours - he usually plays PC games with DaftApeth on Saturdays.  We have been pressuring him to get an XBox and XBL, and I think he may finally be caving in.  We shall see.

I picked up Armed and Dangerous again last night, went through the first bit again.  It is rather lackluster, but potentially fun - I will have to go a bit further.

Alone again, naturally

Made another play date with DaftApeth.  Called him.  No answer.  Again.

*sigh*

Played Munch for a while, then more Gladius.  Gladius is starting to get hard!
More good reviews on Sudeki.  Looks like I'll have to pick it up in a couple of weeks.

I'm going to try to go to DaftApeth's house on Saturday and play PC games, maybe some XBoxage as well.  The kids will be coming back from China today (yikes!), so I may get less XBoxification.  Well, maybe after they go to bed.

Potpourri

A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Had a play date with DaftApeth, but he didn't answer my phone call - I have to assume he was watching Season 6 of Buffy.  So, no PGR2 last night.

Instead, I played some Gladius (about half a dozen battles completed) and Munch's Oddysee.  I was going to play some DOAXBV, but I inadvertantly left the game at my workplace.

On Munch, I just started again.  I had played to a certain point last time and got stuck.  In just one night's play I have gotten to that point and beyond.

The reviews seem to indicate that Sudeki is a bit above average.  I'm still in wait-and-see mode.

Charleston, SC

The Wife and I headed over to Charleston, South Carolina this weekend, so I didn't get to play much.  Just a few battles in Gladius.
 
In the Good News category, I'm supposed to race with DaftApeth tonight.  Maybe others will be online.
 
In the Even Better News department, Sudeki is being released tomorrow!  I have good hopes for it.  I will not be getting it on release; I will wait for the reviews, and the inevitable short-term price cut which should come in two weeks.

Minimal XBoxage

I'm deep into checkbook balancing, so no XBoxing for me.
 
Well, maybe a little.
 
I did three rounds of Gladius, just enough to complete the tournament I was working on.
 
I'm planning some PGR2 tonight, with a full set of opponents.  We shall see how that works out.

Nothing. I got nothing.

No XBoxin' last night. Checkbook-balancing time. WOH-PAH!

Yet, the blog calls to me. I must update.

Don't know why... no one is reading. Yet.

Sudeki is coming out next week. It is one of the few titles that I am really looking forward to. I don't know if I will pick it up right away, though. I think I will monitor the reviews first.

Phobos22 was jonesin' for Driv3r - I had to warn him off. Whew! That was a close one. Few things at this point are worse than wasting good money on a bad game.

Halo

I tried some PGR2 racing last night, but was unsuccessful. BeltFed5000 was the only one on, and he was Away From XBox (AFX).

So I played Halo instead. I haven't really played at all alone. I played co-op with DaftApeth, and with six other players during a LAN party.

Playing on Normal level, I got through Pillar of Autumn and partially through the next section. Then SWMBO came down and fussed at me for playing too much.

Looks like tonight I will be balancing the checkbooks.

Gladius continues

I had no real desire for anything else.
Sure, I thought about Munch's Oddysee for about 5 seconds, but the thought of more gladiatorial battles pulled me back in.

I made quite a bit of progress, but nothing earth-shattering.

More later if something interesting happens.

Gladius begins

I have dived into Gladius with a gusto, clearing a significant number of challenges.

I bought the game from a friend who did not like it. This is understandable, considering the types of game that he usually likes. He is more of a hack-and-slash type, whereas Gladius is a much more tactical game.

There is not really a walk-through type FAQ for Gladius that I have seen, so I may just start again and create one.

Later in the evening, SWMBO came downstairs to check on me. She tried to pick up PGR2 again, but she had lost her touch. I put in Munch's Oddysee so that she could try a platformer, but she was completely disinterested.

The Wife played PGR2!

It's an incredible development. My wife has only ever tried PGR2 once before and was horrible. Fortunately, I had an insight; let her start out with a very slow car on a track without too many turns. Obvious in retrospect.

It started out rough, but she gradually improved. She drove for three hours last night and now has three medals; one Steel and two Bronze. That's not much, I know, but that is quite an accomplishment for her!

I played for a bit offline as well, and ranked up to 27. I tried to find some friends to race online, but there was some sort of major malfunction, so nothing was done.

I also started Gladius, which I quite enjoy. It reminds me a great deal of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which I did complete.

PGR2 Offline

With regard to my offline status in PGR2, I just wanted to document my status.

I have finished all but the last two sections of the Kudos World Series (KWS), so I have only Extreme and Ultimate remaining. Most of them I just ran through on Steel level, but I am gradually going through and re-running them on Silver level. Currently, I have four sections on Silver. My long-term goal is to complete them all on Silver so that I can unlock the Porsche 911 GT1.

More updates as I progress.

Long Beach goodness

Well, I have upgraded my PGR2 with the Long Beach Pack, so I wanted to give you my first impressions.

The new tracks: Pretty good, overall. Some very nice straightaways and some wicked turns. There are a couple of nice jumps on the tracks, but they only occur right at turns - I would have loved for them to be on a straight bit - I just love getting the "Cool Air" kudos!

The new cars: Some OK, some excellent. The Radical SR3 is an incredible rocket, as long as you don't drop the revs. The Ariel Atom 2 is a very, very fun car to drive. The Nardo is sweet as well; I will have to find a niche for it. The others don't thrill me too much, but I haven't tried all of them yet.

I also ranked up last night, so I am now rank 8 online. I ranked up a couple of time offline as well, so I am rank 26 offline. I still have much more to go.

PGR2 News!

My favorite (and pretty much only) XBox Live game is Project Gotham Racing 2. Bizarre Creations has announced today that the second downloadable content pack for PGR2 will soon be available. DLC1 was the Paris Booster Pack; DLC2 is the Long Beach Booster Pack. It looks to have some sweet new cars and some hopefully great tracks. I am definately looking forward to seeing this one. Game on!

Halo 2 and Fable

Not that it really matters, but I guess I should blog it for completeness, as I am blogging everything XBox-related. I have just pre-ordered Halo 2 and Fable. Halo 2 should be out November 9th, and Fable should be here September 13th.

There are other games I am interested in (Sudeki, Jade Empire, Starcraft: Ghost, Operation Flashpoint, DOA Ultimate, Leisure Suit Larry, Conker, et al), but these are two that I am willing to pay full price for. For Halo 2, I want the Limited Edition version. For Fable, the bonus disc.

For most games, I am content to wait until they are available as Used, or until they drop in price a bit. For example, I would like to have Full Spectrum Warrior, Ninja Gaiden, Pandora Tomorrow, Rainbow Six 3, and a few others. I have enough games to play for now that I can wait until the price drops a bit.

Quiet weekend

Several things kept me from gaming too much this weekend. The Wife started speaking to me again, I went to my mom's house for July 4th, and there were several household chores that had backed up a bit.

I did play for a few hours, though, off and on. Mostly Ghost Recon; ISuperGeek had expressed an interest in playing, and I had not played a single mission yet.

I played through the first mission once. Lost the second mission a couple of times. More later.

DOA3 Story complete

Still in a freeze-out, so I did about 2 hours of racing last night. I managed to race with 3 friends and several other aquaintances. Not enough kudos to rank up, but I didn't do too badly.

I also aquired a couple of new games, thanks to a friend. Add Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy and Gladius to my list.

After racing burnout, I went back to DOA3 Story mode and finished the last five characters. Yay! Story finished, and I got the end credits.

I went ahead and unlocked Ein as well, so I guess that's not too bad for a night's work.

PGR2 & DOA3 Training

Logged into XBox Live (XBL) and saw that BeltFed5000 was on PGR2. Again. Upon loading up PGR2, I saw that instead of being idle (as is standard), he was actually playing a solo game! I quickly created a game and invited him.

It wasn't long before he joined. Finally we get to race!
We are both pretty close to the next Kudos Rank, so I create the best car/track kudos combination I know of (so far); Moscow St. Basil's Circle and the Saleen S7. If someone knows of a better combination, please feel free to educate me. On a good run, I can usually get 2000+ kudos.

It took a few times, but we both leveled up. One of BeltFed's friends joined and we switched to the Nürburgring for a quick run (in which I did horribly). Signoff time for BeltFed.

Hmmm... I really should be doing story mode in DOA3, but I've been reading up on Lei Fang's moves and I really want to get away from all the button mashing. I do some Sparring for a bit, seeing how the moves work. After a good bit of this, I go back to story mode and do Brad Wong's section. Woah - there is quite a difference in style, and much of what I learned from Lei Fang's sparring does not transfer. I wind up button mashing my way through a lot of it, although I was able to pull off a few throws. Eleven down, five to go.

It's getting late, and I know of no better way to wind down the evening than with some Volleyball. I finish up Christie's vacation early and start with Lei Fang, mainly so that I can check on the status of her collection.

I refuse the tour and go looking for Christie (during Christie's vacation, she partnered with Lei Fang). I don't find her for three days. I ask her to partner, but she is not interested. Bummer. I butter her up with a couple of "like" gifts and a "love" gift and finally she agrees to join me. We play a few games of ass-kicking v-ball and I call it a night.

Since Lei Fang is behind on her collection, I plan to finish out her vacation and then I will go through one vacation each for the girls I haven't played yet (Helena, Ayane, and Kasumi).

DOA3 Story: Part 2. Plus, volleyball.

More freeze-out from the spouse, so that means more XBox!

Started out doing more DOA3 story mode, got through six more characters. Ten down, six more to go.
Also did some survival mode with Ayane.

I like Ayane's moves, perhaps even better than Lei Fang. I'm going to have to experiment with her a bit more.

Anyway, that took about 90 minutes, and the tip of my thumb is now bruised. I think I'm going to have to go with something a bit less stressful. Ah, I have just the thing!

Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (DOAXBV)!
Last time I played, it was Hitomi. Since I'm trying to keep track of how my collections are going, I figure I had better go back to Christie. I had played with her earlier but had not kept track of her items.

I wound up playing longer than I had intended, a couple of hours, actually. But at least I now have a full record of exactly where she is in her collection.

Of all the girls I have played with in DOAXBV, I like Christie the best. As an added bonus, her best partner is Lei Fang, who is very cute.

I have only played through as Lisa, Tina, Lei Fang, Hitomi, and Christie. That means I still have Kasumi, Ayane, and Helena to do. I haven't completed any sets yet, so I'm just going through to get a sampling of each for now.

Finally, sleep.