It's getting hard to wait for when M33 is going to come out with CFW ver.6 (or at least version 5.50 which was mentioned that they have no intention of making).  With games like Motorstorm Arctic Edge and Disgaea 2 out on the PSP, the wait becomes more unbearable.  Maybe I should consider applying CFW GEN 5.50 instead?  A lot of forums say that we should wait for Dark Alex but does anyone really know what happened to him or is he ever going back to the PSP homebrew scene?  Feel free to enlighten me: how bad can it be to upgrade to CFW GEN 5.50?  Should I upgrade or wait for DA's much awaited version 6?

I'm Back (again)!

Hey guys! I'm back again after another very long time to give my latest blog. My site has undergone another image (and topic) change but this time I feel like I have finally found my purpose to do a continuous blog. So to begin this new start, I am going to write what I think about one of the games that has me hooked to the Nintendo DS Lite - Geometry Wars: Galaxies.

The reason why I got to like this game is because earlier I was able to download a demo of Super Stardust HD from the Playstation Network. It got me hooked.  Although the demo would only allow you to play for five minutes then halt and tell you to buy it if you like it, I would have another go, and another, and another.  It was so addictive that I wondered if they had this on other platforms. Hmm...

Sure enough there was a similar game on the Nintendo DS called Geometry Wars: Galaxies. Hey, it's no HD game in terms of visuals but it presented loads of shooting fun just the same.

The concept is simple: you pilot a ship equiped with a drone and you shoot everything that stands in your way. Almost everything on screen is presented with lines and shapes of different colors. I even makes you feel like you're playing one of those old PC games on a green screen. Enemies are made to look like pin wheels, diamonds, circles and other kinds of shapes. As the game progresses, the screen tends to get really poplulated and razor sharp reflexes are necessary not to bump into any of those shapes flying towards your ship. The aforementioned drone has different modes to choose from before starting a level. The drone can help you shoot down baddies, act as a shield spinning around you or help you collect geoms from downed enemies. These geoms are later used to unlock drone abilities and other planets for you to blow up.

Controls are spot on although a bit awkward. You control your ship with the directional buttons and your firing direction with the stylus on the touch screen at the bottom. Your DS will tend to slowly slip from your hands as you play though so it is hard to maintain stability especially if you have sweaty palms like me. When things get too crowded onscreen with gazillions of enemies and you need a way out, just press the left or right shoulder buttons to release a bomb that wipes out every enemy ship across the entire area. Nifty.

Unless you own a PS3 and have Super Stardust HD, Geometry Wars: Galaxies  is the best portable alternative and will satisfy any gamer's space shoot-em-up craving. I just wish I knew what those different shapes are called.. I shouldn't have fallen asleep too often during geometry class..

Dude rating: 4 of 5

Tme to Rant

it's been a while but i'm back to blow off some steam. new job (not exactly), new levels of stress. it's not the job that's a pain, it's the talking to people that don't seem to make my life easier. which brings me to try blogging again, it might help relieve me of some post-meeting stress. it doesn't seem to work but that's ok. i'm rambling, can you tell? i just need some time off this spell. dealing with some people seems like hell. does all of this ring a bell? (hmm.. that kinda rhymes..)

An Actual Inter-Office Telephone Call

this phone call sounds so stupid that i had to blog it right away. this just happened a few minutes ago.

caller: may i speak with gheof.
me: i'm sorry, he's not here right now. can i help you?
caller: yes. i'd like to inquire about the security awareness seminar. is this held everyday, 4pm to 5:30pm until the 29th?
me: yes, it is.
caller: how long is each seminar?
me: uuhh.. an hour and a half. (obviously!)
caller: is the seminar going to take longer than an hour?

at this point, i just had to say yes to almost every question he asked just to get him off the phone and to save my sanity. where do they get these guys?!

Blogged with Flock

Can't We All Just Get Along...?

i currently work for a company with hundreds and maybe even thousands of employees. this is a first for me since i used to come from a company of around 15 people. one thing i noticed here is that there are always those that throw their weight around. they are, for lack of a better term, bullies. they bully other employees, especially those that they know are below them.

usually, the first time that i get to speak with them is on the internal phone line. they bark out at me to cover up their lack of knowledge in what they are asking. when i explain and they don't understand, they get all the more angry and agitated, again this is to cover up the fact that they probably missed a few details along the way. then they want to meet them at their office. ooh.. i'm soo scared.. then they finally understand and they thank me for it. that was probably hard for them to do.

can't people just ask nicely? look, we're all under the same roof, same goals (i think), and all we want is to get our jobs done right, right? so why do some people feel so defensively degraded when they ask a question from someone who's relatively new? wait a minute, is that your ego on the floor? that's it, i'm leaving.

Blogged with Flock