elektrixxx's GameSpot Blog Posts

Today Off The Spot

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:20:32 -0700

Finally.

I knew I would grow tired of this place and decide to leave, or get banned without actively trying. I'm surprised I'm not banned already, but instead it has led to this. I don't want to continue doing this anymore.

I am leaving GameSpot permanently.

To put it simply, I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the site telling me that it's my fault there are HTML errors. I'm sick of pointless moderations. I'm sick of the same threads being reposted every month and I'm sick of the waves of old threads being bumped.

James Kozanecki sent me a private message at the start of this month. Part of it reads:

kozanecki wrote:

We noticed that you've been moderated a fair bit lately and under the Terms of Service you're rapidly approaching a ban. You're a great forum poster and it would be a shame to lose you, so try to keep it clean and above board.

Yeah well screw that. Lose me. I don't want to be a GameSpot forum poster anymore, and I won't let moderators have the satisfaction of moderating me anymore or banning me. I am clean. I am above board, but GameSpot's moderation system is flawed and doesn't allow for the least bit of fun, joke or innuendo. I will no longer subject myself to this virtual prison.

There isn't even a reason outside of the forum to visit this website and hasn't been for years. The news is always a day late, the reviews are late and the video content is bland.

This website is no longer relevant and has no reason to be visited.

So there's my reasoning. No real surprises there, but why exactly have I chosen to leave on the 22nd of September?

Before being a regular at GameSpot I used to post very frequently on a wrestling forum at wrestling.net.au. As seen by this screenshot taken before the forum was relaunched, I made nearly 6000 posts there! However after having enough of one moderator on the team who had hated me ever since I signed up I decided I would leave. I did so, on the 22/09/2007. The exact same date I registered there in 2003. Now I'm going to do it again. Same date, same signature, and just like last time I will never return. Even after writing this the similarities continued with one of my last threads on GameSpot being closed just like on the wrestling forum.

As for where I'm going next, I don't feel like writing anything on the internet for a while. I want to sit back, wind down, reflect, forget and refresh. I want to rid my mind of the evil of the past before moving on to something better.

But it wasn't all bad. The most important part of this website for me were the same people who read my posts and blog entries throughout the years. You. Your personalities, forum posts, blog posts, Community Games Nights and Pick-up threads kept me coming back all these years and I thank all those who gave me a laugh. You all know who you are!

And... I guess that is it.

It's time for me to stop. What you're reading now is the last thing I'll ever do on GameSpot before signing out for eternity. Time to walk away from almost 100 blog entries, over 1000 users tracking me, over 11000 profile views and over 12000 posts. It may be drastic, but this is something I feel I need to do and it's in my best interests that I say... Goodbye!

And then, there was nothing.

elektrixxx.....

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"Today Off The Spot" was posted by elektrixxx on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:20:32 -0700

The Blackboard 2009

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:39:02 -0700

As some of you may remember, at the end of last year I started keeping a record of certain quotes from the GameSpot AU forum. I used to update them on my profile whenever I updated my blog, but once I found a permanent job I couldn't keep my blog as updated as I would like. I removed The Blackboard from my profile, but I have been keeping it going this whole time! So, I give to you what I've been saving for months: The Blackboard 2009.

Nintendo_Man wrote:

faviourite has a u in it.

cjdillow77 wrote:

What is Micropoints? Are they like monet you use to diwnload stuff on LIVE? Sorry I am jjust unsure on what thye are.

casket56 wrote:

I just want you, paul939 to know I have a massive mancrush on you, I love you dude

Jaguar_Shade wrote:

I think when it comes to doodles, a big head is a good thing.

Jaguar_Shade wrote:

are there doodles in this thread?

COD4ME wrote:

I AM NOW REMOVING MY PANTS FROM MY LOWER BODY

Turbo-Evil wrote:

I used to watch it, never wachted it though.

Plartus wrote:

Ok guys I'm a bit spectical about this

freek666 wrote:

ARGH WHY IS THIS HTML NOT INFORMED

Nintendo_Man wrote:

I meant there could be other life in another universe, not aliens (they don't exist).

curtdoggLP5 wrote:

you just one the fail of the century award.

niisan wrote:

Dear Mr. Atkinson, where do you get off?

freek666 wrote:

When you're taking a dump, do you wipe from the back or the front?

carving_a_giant wrote:

remember the days when you could poo in your pants....everyday.

Turbo-Evil wrote:

I got my hairy legs from *shudders* my mother...

sAndroid17 wrote:

Brad pitt! i could turn gay for him

Turbo-Evil wrote:

I feel so homosexual right now

Turbo-Evil wrote:

Maybe one day that special guy will come along...

COD4ME wrote:

Mine was pink and hairy but it was banished..

stevoqwerty wrote:

do The Lost and the Damned avaliable in eb game store in Australia?

freek666 wrote:

Hey baby, ever dated a guy who got advice from a video on a game website? Didnt think so

iownyounub wrote:

True, PST check your messaged but change that time to 10om your time ok nub.

FoRzA_FaN1337 wrote:

So seriously, I was like a huge fan of Tom Clancy's games. What a great developer!

monkeyd_93 wrote:

i was wondering why it was called banjo tooie for ages till i realised it was a sequel so it was banjo 2-ie

COD4_Shinedown wrote:

By the way, don't a word from you Thisnickstolen .

Nintendo_Man wrote:

I have been current playing Smackdown vs Brawl 08

freek666 wrote:

Care to film me in?

raghraghragh wrote:

And seeing as you don't celebrate Christmas because you're a Christmas, when do you plan on stopping the use the Gregorian calender?

Counter:

Turbo-Evil 4
freek666 4
Nintendo_Man 3
COD4ME 2
Jaguar_Shade 2
COD4_Shinedown 1
monkeyd_93 1
FoRzA_FaN1337 1
iownyounub 1
stevoqwerty 1
sAndroid17 1
carving_a_giant 1
niisan 1
curtdoggLP5 1
Plartus 1
casket56 1
cjdillow77 1
raghraghragh 1

Turbo & Freek, you "win"!

Nintendo_Man wrote:

elektrixxx is the pro

elektrixxx.

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"The Blackboard 2009" was posted by elektrixxx on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:39:02 -0700

Blogenomic Downsizing To Reduce (Time) Spending

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:03:33 -0700

A month ago there were some changes in my life, and it meant that some of the things that I did to pass the time became too much and I couldn't make time for them.

A lot of the television shows I downloaded and watched are now off my regular playlist, and my podcast listening habits have also been cut down drastically. I liked writing reviews but it took too much of my time, so it also had to go.

One of the things to go was this very blog, which I've always enjoyed writing for on a semi-regular basis. It's just that I'm too busy to do these "extra" things anymore, and I'd prefer to focus my remaining time on other things like playing games and drinking beer. You know, important stuff.

Something's gonna happen with The Blackboard in the near future. This page is gonna be a ghost town now so there's no point putting it here anymore.

I've got some things in testing at the moment that may or may not amount to anything, but you never know. The point is that If I do get back into creating content for my blog, it won't be any time soon.

So anyway, thank you for visiting my blog in the past. I still always make time to read your stuff, so please keep it up.

Finally, I've dumped my remaining leftover items I had been working on a while ago. Please keep in mind that all content was not completed and finalised, so forgive me if something doesn't make sense.

Enjoy!

elektrixxx.

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"Blogenomic Downsizing To Reduce (Time) Spending" was posted by elektrixxx on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:03:33 -0700

Offcuts #2

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:01:34 -0700

Thanks for scrolling down a bit!

After a few weeks of using Twitter, I had written nothing in my blog until my Level 3 podcast promo. I never wanted to use the term "macro" in a title also because I had used it previously in "Macrotransactions".

Macro-blogging (Working Title)

It's been ## days since I posted a new entry.

I normally have something to write, but there's been something keeping me from doing it.

After some thought I've come to the conclusion that it's twitter that's killing my blog.

I could've wrote about things like my McDonalds apple pie wrapped in a Hotcake, or fainting while getting a blood test or getting a new job but instead it was all wasted on throw away bite sized posts.

This pre-dates me using my Twitter account. Looking back it would've been perfect for it.

The Fresh Food People (Working Title)

The Woolworths song annoys the hell out of me. What makes it worse is that whenever you're in their supermarket they play it in there too!

This was written before Christmas 2008.

20GB HDD Lives! (Working Title)

After upgrading to a 120GB hard drive for my Xbox 360, my 20GB hard drive lay dormant in the new hard drives packaging... until now.

Among my group of friends I am the resident Rock Band/Guitar Hero DLC downloader (and the only one with a drum kit), so whenever a gaming night was planned, I had to pack up my mic, guitar and drums. My brother also couldn't play the 360 while I was away becauseI took the HDD.

My 20GB hard drive is now set up with a copy of all my purchased Rock Band and Guitar Hero: World Tour DLC, as well as three extra profiles set up for instant band play.

I could copy most of my data using my Memory Unit, but the larger files: "Metallica - Death Magnetic" and the ACDC Track Pack had to be redownloaded.

This was written during my play though and review of skate 2.

From "Review" (Working Title)

I Always wanted to write game reviews, but issues like not wanting to take notes while playing and difficulty describing situations because I don't have enough words in the dictionary in my head have held me back for a while.

I've attempted reviews in the past, but my method of writing them was unplanned

A good review is hard work.

I hate reviews that focus too much on simply outlining the features of a game. Anyone can look up a game's features elsewhere. A review should focus on the reviewers opinion and not just reading the back of the box. Many of GameSpot's reviews are guilty of this, leaving you with no real opinion on whether a game is good.

I find it easier to talk about the negatives in detail. Saying that something works well doesn't seem neccessary to talk about in detail. That information can be found in previews and press releases.

I also decided to post my review at multiple areas. My review's been posted at GameSpot, Giant Bomb, IGN, 1UP and Level 3.

learning how to use everyone's review scales. Considerations to make with innacuracies across websites. Why did I give skate 2 a 7.5 here and a 7.7 on IGN? Because I can.

To my surprise I've had a couple of personal offers from two game websites to write for them, after only one review. I checked 'em out and the PM's weren't from bots or anything like that. I'd love to do something with that, but my priority at the moment is to get a paying job first before setting any of my time for other stuff.

elektrixxx.

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"Offcuts #2" was posted by elektrixxx on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:01:34 -0700

Half-Baked Review: Resident Evil 5

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:56:42 -0700

When I said half-baked, I wasn't kidding. Most of my review template is still here, along with some inaccurate statements because I never got 'round to completing the game. As well as having my free time cut, I just lost interest after the torch in the cave thing.

_____
STORY

Chris Redfield of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance is off to Africa and local Sheva Alomar (who is also a BSAA member)

investigate (missing) weapons from Umbrella corp

past RE games involving Jill
________
GRAPHICS

With the exception of the introduction, all cut scenes are in game

A few scenes sometimes surprise you with quick time events

Split-screen multiplayer does

Constant screen tearing, especially noticable during cutscenes

quality character models / animations

improved cut scene graphics

Realistic motion blur

engaging interactive cut scene

high quality character models across the board
________
GAMEPLAY

wastes no time getting into the action

Sheva picks up items, revives you, gives you ammo? Always runs out of ammo? (only if you ammo hog?)

Holding too far to the left or right makes your character stop running
____
TECH

Minimal loading

Good physics

________
CONTROLS

clunky controls prevents quick fine tuning

Too many button presses for simple tasks such as reloading, using items, melee attack

__________
CONCLUSION

The poor controls are the only thing that retains the horror.

elektrixxx.

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"Half-Baked Review: Resident Evil 5" was posted by elektrixxx on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:56:42 -0700

Level 3 Podcast: Brought To You By Level 5!

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:33:14 -0700

The podcast is getting older, slower and it's voice gives out several times for the first half, but the Level 3 podcast is still standing tall, ready to be delivered straight to your dome.

Featuring your host Darth_Homer from inside a library, and myself on location at The elektrixxx Estate we overcome the odds and wind up with another podcast you can almost be proud of!

We try our best to converse about what we've been playing, a Capcom film, a Stranglehold film, Sing Hero, a Professor Layton trilogy, THE CHAMP: John Cena and more!

Download one unit and inject into each ear as soon as possible:

http://www.archive.org/download/Level3Podcast-Episode40/Podcast40.mp3

This fine game passed the time during the break

The Odd Couple is back, complete with the theme song!

elektrixxx.

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"Level 3 Podcast: Brought To You By Level 5!" was posted by elektrixxx on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:33:14 -0700

Drum Villain II

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:09:58 -0800

The first of two important packages I'm expecting had arrived in the mail.

I received my replacement Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kit. I had heard of this happening in forums and was glad the same had happened to me. The box came back with more than the drums I sent back. Extras included cymbals, microphone, drum sticks, bass pedal and drum stand. It's great that they didn't take that stuff out, however there were some noticeable visible differences between what I received and what I had originally bought at retail.

If you've just recently purchased Guitar Hero: World Tour you may not even have known, but if you purchased the full bundle at launch you will see for yourself what the current sets look like right now with the following images. The hardware on the left is my hardware from launch and on the right is the brand new stuff.

The headset jack is no longer a seamless black. It looks like they're just prying open 360 controllers now.

The cymbals no longer have a fancy print on them. They're just smooth.

On the underside of the cymbals, the plastic is no longer aligned with the rubber.

There is a manufacturing template mark on the bass pedal. The bass pedal hinge itself is actually looser than the launch pedal, which makes it lean more to the left or right slightly.

Even the printed logo on the sticks isn't as large or as sharp as previously.

I think everyone would agree, and maybe Red Octane would probably admit that this is a cost and time saving measure. It may look slightly different to the original set, but now it's much more reliable. I don't really have a problem with the changes, but if you have a launch World Tour drum kit, your set is just a little rarer.

In the end, what matters most is that this remixed drum kit is in PERFECT working order... better than perfect in fact...

Now my drum fills are extra filling.

elektrixxx.

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"Drum Villain II" was posted by elektrixxx on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:09:58 -0800

Ten Thousand!

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:02:37 -0800

Nothing much I can really say about finally clicking 10,000 posts. Should I be proud of it? Yeah! Obviously I'm not doing anything else so I've gotta be happy with something I do.

There were a lot of things that boosted my way to 10K. The most common one's probably were:

- Posting what song I'm listening to.

- Posting my desktop.

- Posting in all those "Roll Call" threads from back in my GameSpot union days.

- Posting fail messages for anyone in System Wars who referred to the current generation of consoles as "next-gen" and also to those who said the Wii isn't from the current generation.

- Posting "OLD".

- Copy/pasting the same responses in countless threads in GameSpot AU which were already done only a month or so prior.

And there were some good posts too, I'm sure.

So, what's next for me?

I'm going to begin writing a review for Halo Wars as soon as I get it. I really enjoyed rolling out the skate 2 review and learned a lot about writing reviews.

I registered to Twitter a while ago, but only to track others. As of now I'm finally giving in to temptation. I'm gonna start "tweeting" for myself. Anyone want to join in on the radical magical fun? Darth is there, and Major Nelson, Infinity Ward and others give out redeem codes as well.

See? Isn't that awesome!

I stumbled upon my video blog test runs from mid-2008 that I never released. Maybe I should get into that again?

I was at one point going to retire this account and register under a slightly different alias, but due to unforseen circumstances, that will no longer be happening. Instead, I'm gonna stay as elektrixxx... FOREVER!

Over 10,000 profile views, over 1,000 people tracking me, nearly 1,000 friends, 90 blog posts and... 1 written review. I'll work on that.

elektrixxx.

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"Ten Thousand!" was posted by elektrixxx on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:02:37 -0800

Second Life

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 02:21:05 -0800

Okay, so my Xbox 360 finally crapped itself, and it's about damn time.

No, it wasn't the ye olde ring of death but my video output was totally tripping out before giving out entirely. Observe:

Today's achievement clean up must've tipped it over the edge

The Psychedelic Xbox Experience

The end was nigh, and my life with the Xbox 360 flashed before my eyes...

Playing Gears Of War in 1080p for the first time...

Buying my first XBLA title, Pac-Man Championship Edition...

Unlocking 1000G in Burnout Paradise, and 200G in Uno, which were my first retail and arcade games with all achievements unlocked...

And then... what?

IT FIXED ITSELF SOMEHOW!

I don't know why, but all of a sudden it works fine again. I had talked to "Jim" from India for nothing, because everything is rocknrolla again. I guess all's well that ends well. This experience was not aimless though; I did learn a few things. It's harder than it seems to force the Red Ring Of Death, and I learned how to remove the faceplate.

I was meant to miss the release of the Halo Wars demo and the Burnout Paradise DLC, but a 360 death at this point would still have been in good timing. My Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kit is out for replacement anyway, so what better time to be without the box? Besides, the backup plan wasn't really going to cut it...

And to think, I was going to get Animal Crossing tomorrow! Bah!

The things we say in desperation.

elektrixxx.

[edit] It seems that this problem has come back again, so please ignore my positive outcome!

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"Second Life" was posted by elektrixxx on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 02:21:05 -0800

Level 3 Podcast Featuring... ME!

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:35:22 -0800

On location at a bar in a back shed 20 kilometres from town, I skip breakfast and brace myself through 35 degree heat for my worldwide podcast debut!

Join me in New South Wales and host Darth_Homer in Victoria for a new awesome episode of the Level 3 Podcast.

Amongst my burping throughout this week's show we chat about what we've been playing, Guitar Hero, Red Ant's closure, a Mass Effect re-release, PS3 exclusivity, Final Fantasy XIII's release date, Nintendo_Man, The 1UP Network and more!

Get your podcast fill right here:
http://www.archive.org/download/Level3Podcast-Episode33/Podcast33.mp3

I'm not up myself that much. Honest!

And I think the Guitar Hero mic worked out quite well.

elektrixxx.

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"Level 3 Podcast Featuring... ME!" was posted by elektrixxx on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:35:22 -0800

Drum Villain

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:06:01 -0800

Guitar Hero: World Tour. Rock Band. Drum kit supremacy is a varying opinion among consumers, with their decisions being swayed by price, availability and hardware choices such as an extra drum, cymbals, drum size, and more minor discretions.

I've made my opinion and experience of the World Tour kit known within forum posts, private messages and blog comments, but I cannot keep lying any longer.

I've been keeping secrets from you all.

I'd been praising the Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kit since it's release, when this whole time my own kit has been riddled with problems; most of which I have never disclosed, until now. For the first time, I will give my negative experience with the drums of Guitar Hero: World Tour and now, I give you eight reasons to hate:

#1 TOC - TOC - TOC - TOC - TOC

Straight out of the box my orange cymbal was not sensitive enough. The problem would not be fixed until my MIDI cable arrived in the mail. In the mean time I had to hit orange extremely hard, which ended up giving me muscle pains from playing for too long, as well as making gameplay unpleasant to listen to.

#2 Problem Getting It Up

I don't lift the cymbal height at all. If I move them any higher than the lowest it makes too much of a rattling noise when you hit it. Again, another issue from a brand new kit.

#3 Unwired For Sound

On one drunken pre New Years Eve party some mistakes were made which led to the wire for orange being ripped apart.

I couldn't send my kit off at the time because I needed it for New Year's Eve, which was in-between two other important parties. My only option was to solder new wire on it myself.

It works fine now; looks ugly though!

#4 Velcro Independence

After an extended gaming session I proceeded to pack up my drum kit. When I lifted the pedal off the floor, the Velcro didn't co-operate! The Velcro had ripped right off the bottom of the pedal, and after just sticking it back on a couple of times I wound up using super glue to fix the problem.

#5 The Kangaroo Pedal

I didn't have the problem at my house with a moving bass pedal because the rug that I sit my kit on sticks with the Velcro very well, but at my friend's house the pedal was in a new location after every track. Eventually we set up a rug just so that we could play drums properly at his house.

#6 Crashed Cymbal

Eventually my Yellow cymbal began having issues and MIDI cable tuning couldn't fix the oversensitivity of the cymbal. It registered a hit when the orange was struck, and requires a sensitivity tune that was so low it was unreliable for gameplay.

I had to get it replaced.

#7 Pain In The bAss

If you hit the bass pedal too hard (and maybe even if you don't) the plastic cover that the pedal touches splits and lifts up. It makes a clicking noise from the plastic, and eventually you have no choice but to peel it off.

Peeling the plastic off can also bring a sensitivity issue from the glue. It would register a second hit when you lifted the pedal up.

#8 Self-Uncovering

And finally, the plastic outside which houses the buttons and battery compartment is loose on one side. It may be contributing to further rattling.

The thing about most of these faults was that Rock Band could still be played despite these issues. Before I fixed the orange wire I could still play Rock Band, and when I sent the yellow cymbal away for replacement I put the orange in it's place and could continue playing. Most sensitivity problems that plagued Guitar Hero were non-issues in Rock Band.

But you know what, even after all this, I would STILL get the World Tour kit if I were to purchase it now. I cannot deny that I prefer the bigger pads, cymbal pads, bass pedal that's free to placed where I want, quieter pads and the fact that it's not from a 2007 game. What I remind myself regarding the Rock Band drum kit is that the drum noise, drum size, lack of sensitivity detection and being less one drum for an untrue Guitar Hero experience cannot be repaired of replaced.

Take full advantage of your warranty, before it's too late.

elektrixxx.

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"Drum Villain" was posted by elektrixxx on Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:06:01 -0800

MicroComments #5

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:16:49 -0800

dandb on GB

On a recent Giant Bomb update email, a recognisable user appeared the featured blogs.

www.giantbomb.com/profile/thenewagentdandb/

To no surprise, he's sporting a Banjo-Kazooie avatar, and some familiar forum posts!

www.giantbomb.com/forums/general-discussion/30/am-i-ugly-or-am-i-not-ugly-please-give-a-response/116790/

www.giantbomb.com/forums/off-topic/31/does-this-dream-mean-anything/115375/

I jokingly added him to my Xbox LIVE friend's list and praised his work on the GameSpot AU forum a while ago, but reading his blog and forum posts reminded me of how much pain he brings from facepalms.

I found your account as well, Mr. Cowley. 0 points? How tragic!

The FlopSpot

I tried my best to stomach the first episode of The HotSpot for 2009, but it was painfully BORING.

I thought I had been listening to it for nearly an hour. I looked at the timer and it was at 24 minutes!

Does anyone still listen to the show? This episode runs for over two hours. I don't think anyone with taste can listen to this.

Luckily we now have The OzSpot on a weekly basis to fill the gap that The HotSpot has left since Vinny Caravella left.

The 1UPaypal Network

As a fan of the 1UP podcasts and the 1UP Show, I was devastated to read about the release of nearly all the employees that were a part of all the great content.

Many of the ex-staffers are working on new (fan funded) things which bear similarity to their previous work, like Rebel FM and an unnamed video project, but I want to preserve the past before UGO realises that they don't need it.

It's going to take a while because I have download limits, but over the next two or three months I plan on saving every episode of their podcasts and every 1UP Show. It's expected to exceed over 50GB, but it will be totally worth it.

Pink On The Inside And Outside

I think I'm starting to develop a liking to this anime chick that's on Turbo's avatar and sig.

I never paid extra attention to his avatar and signature until he featured the lady in figure form on his Pick-up Of The Year post.

Sometimes when he posts I look at his avatar for up to ten seconds at a time.

Moka Latte? Mokaccino? What's her name? I hope Youtube and some torrents can answer all these questions.

Always Use A Clean Pad

I had been thinking of a good way to clean my Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kit for a while now.

I don't cover it or anything like that, so it always collects dust, which is hard to remove from the rubber pads.

My new way of cleaning it is to get a roll of masking tape and lay it across the pads, then pull it off and repeat the process on a new area. It actually works quite good.

It's like you're waxing your kit.

elektrixxx.

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"MicroComments #5" was posted by elektrixxx on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:16:49 -0800

Daggi Noodles

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:34:00 -0800

When was the last time you ate Maggi 2 Minute Noodles? Did you like them? Well if you've had one of these new packets over the past few months you've probably started hating them. Observe:

To the right you see the previous packaging for 2 Minute Noodles. That packaging had changed a few times over the years, but the cIassic great taste remained; One that hasn't really changed for as long as I can remember.

What you see on the left is a WMD.

The flavouring tastes and smells bad, the new vegetable packet smells really bad and even after cooking the noodles properly they're still hard. The new packet claims it's "extra Delicious" and a "Better Choice" but I think they increase the risk of tongue cancer.

These new noodle packs are radiated, just like your food in Fallout 3.

A friend of mine regularly buys low fat milk. I once accidently referred to it as "low life" milk, with hilarious results. Since then it's been what I call all similar low fat products, including these new noodles. Eating smaller portions or avoiding snacks is a much better alternative than submitting yourself to these low fat cyanide meals.

I urge anyone out there who likes Maggi 2 Minute Noodles to go out and find the old styIe packet. If you can find those 5-packs get them immediately! When you run out of those, switch to those Xtra Saucy whatever they're called brand noodles, because they are the wave of the future.

Everyone probably already took the good ones on Boxing Day.

elektrixxx.

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"Daggi Noodles" was posted by elektrixxx on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:34:00 -0800

Your POTY Awards Backstage Pass

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 05:00:22 -0800

I'd already gotten most of my photos done for the this month's Pick-up thread, but there was just one left and it was the hardest one of all: The Pick-up group photo of 2008.

Posting all the stuff I bought in 2008 in a single photo seemed like an easy idea to me, but as I found out this morning, it was more complicated than I had imagined. From carrying large and delicate boxes to something as simple as to whether I bought something last year and not this year made for an interesting pre-breakfast activity.

Here's your exclusive look at the making of my group photo!

I had to go up and down this ladder several times over to get my stuff.

Was that this year, or last year that I waited ages for that nunchuk?

Time to pick out all my 2008 DVD buys.

I decided that I wanted my image to look as authentic as possible to being as new, so I had to get all my collector's edition boxes for my games and movies and put them back on, as well as putting some peripherals back in their boxes.

Why did I make things so hard for myself?
(Even a picture of Fable II has the bloom effect!)

Bah, I can't be buggered fitting the cord into the box.

I knew I forgot something in this month's pick-up thread post!
(There were red sticks and a red strap. I put my stock stuff in that packet)

Time for a break!

Hell yeah.

Yeah, that's good vodka, I mean coffee. Anyway, back to work...

Hmm, I'm gonna need this.

This will need to come out of it's hidey hole.

I really should've asked for my Wii games back from my friend.

I've thought of everything!

Hmm, I know there's more pick-up stuff in here.

Woah, nearly forgot the Mario merch!

And that's it. I took the group photo. It's a little dark, but it does the job. I also decided to take a second picture with only games.

You'll see them in the Pick-up Of The Year thread soon. I hope to see yours too!

Ahh, great. Now I've got to put all my stuff back again!

That was some good Hot Coffee.

elektrixxx.

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"Your POTY Awards Backstage Pass" was posted by elektrixxx on Sun, 21 Dec 2008 05:00:22 -0800

MicroComments #4

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:36:44 -0800

Normally my non-gaming topics go at the end, but how about I stick the garbage in the front?

Yeah, well I'm gonna do it anyway.

Hot For Teacher(s)

My job (which just concluded for the holidays) involved installing computers at public schools around the Central Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales.

I've noticed a trend which has spiked since this time last year. That trend is beautiful Kindergarden teachers!

Where are these hotties coming from? Why did these teachers wait until now to emerge?

There was one particular school in which every female employee was attractive. Even the older office lady was quite the looker!

Maybe this should be used as a promotion for going to school. I still go!...

I have now realised that I have done practically nothing but go to school all my life. How depressing. Will I ever get a real job?

Picking Up The Thread

I have a great December pick-up thread planned, but to go ahead with it would be to do two things that I consider to be evil:

- Stealing the thread from mjcowley.

- Posting before the 25th.

The thing is that both of these "rules" have been walked on for a few months straight, so I think I'll just step in and run the show for this most important of months this one time.

Get your camera ready for the Pick-up Of The Year (or POTY) photo's, and squeeze all your game boxes together for your group photo of 2008!

R* Trax

I recently purchased Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Most aspects of the game are good so far, but one thing that is a complete downer for me is the soundtrack. It makes the game feel like a Need For Speed game, which is certainly not what I'm looking for in a racing game.

At least N.E.R.D isn't in a soundtrack FOR ONCE.

I've dropped in my personal playlist that I use in Burnout Paradise and now use it in this game, so I guess everything works out. Metallica makes me drive better.

The Game That Never Comes

Guitar Hero: Metallica is my most anticipated title for 2009, and with some of the setlist being revealed I can say that I'm very pleased so far.

Quite honestly, I'd buy the game if "Wherever I May Roam" were the only track in the game. It certainly is in there, among many more significant tracks.

I urge everyone out there to put down their Street Fighters, Sonics and other junk and play something proper. Damn proper.

Rock Scam

In THIS interview Axl Rose talks about the possibility of Chinese Democracy making it to Rock Band as Downloadable content. Of course with Shackler's Revenge already on Rock Band 2 this is just another tick on my conspiracy.

I might be on to their plan, and it's a pretty good one.

Some of their downloadable albums are missing a track, which just so happens to be in Rock Band 2. If you still only have the first Rock Band, you're getting screwed on the album DLC!

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and Megadeth all have DLC albums from which one track is on RB2, and if Chinese Democracy releases for Rock Band, you can add Guns N' Roses to the list.

Of course this isn't a big deal at all and hardly a scam, but merely an observation. This is just an issue for me personally because Rock Band 2 hasn't released in Australia.

The real scam here is the tentative AU$50 price tag on the AC/DC Track Pack!

Maybe we can use this method to guess upcoming content?...

Billy Idol compilation confirmed!

elektrixxx.

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"MicroComments #4" was posted by elektrixxx on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:36:44 -0800

Offcuts #1

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:59:44 -0800

A lot of the time I'll never post things because of quality issues, writer's block, poor topic ideas or simply not having enough time to finish things that eventually become too old to continue.

I don't like having my work being wasted, so why don't I just wrap up the half-full glasses into one neat little package?... I dunno either. We'll see how it goes for a first run.

I'll add extra notes within []'s if needed.

From "MicroComments #4"

MicroComments 4 wrote:

Mega Death

I'd never played any of the Mega Man series but with a personal demand for an old school platformer I wanted to give Mega Man 9 a go.

I've decided not to buy it. It's totally difficult. In fact I only got past the first hole in the ground on the first level ONCE.

Apart from that, I don't like the graphics.

It's nothing to do with the mostly 8-bit graphics, it's more to do with the lack of widescreen and sharpness. It even teases me by having sharp graphics on the Leaderboards screen, but not during gameplay.

Turning off Legacy Mode should have included 16:9 support and upscaling to cater for all.

Wii Space

Nintendo finally gave some sort of idea of what they're gonna do about storage space, but it seems I'm the only one who doesn't have a problem with the way it is now.

Maybe if there was something to get in the first place, then Wii'd have a problem.

Reloaded On The Revolution

Nintendo haters may have new ammo regarding the "Let's Play On Wii" announcement, but I'm all for having GameCube titles updated and released specifically for Wii.

I haven't played any GameCube titles in a while, so this is a good chance to come crawling back to them with enhanced features. I was always put off by the controls in the Metroid Prime series until MP3: Corruption, which had an excellent control scheme. If they remade Super Mario Sunshine or Zelda: The Wind Waker with widescreen and progressive scan I'd get into those again too.

Nintendo DSi Dunno

I had a little think about whether the DSi is something I'd really want.

This all goes back to the reason I didn't get a DS lite in the first place. If I'm out of the house, I'm either busy or drunk. If I'm at home I have two consoles to... console me.

Nintendo Conference Games Reveal List

Does anyone else reckon that all these titles have been overrated?

A Punch Out! sequel? Random JRPG's?

I feel bad about it because I'm not feeling any love for ANY of the new titles shown. I don't know why, but nothing from the video package interested me.

From "The Ultimate RPG" (Working Title)

The Ultimate RPG wrote:

Many people like having all their actions mean something in games. Whether it be statistic tracking in games like Fable II and Grand Theft Auto IV or gaining Experience Points.

In the past, keeping track of everything was generally limited to RPG's. For me, I liked knowing that everything I did actually meant something.

Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Resistance 2, Battlefield: Bad Company and more all give you "XP" for shooting people and carrying out objectives.

Your gamerscore is the ultimate RPG. It tracks a score of all your games [INCOMPLETE]

From "Nintendo" (Working Title)

Nintendo wrote:

Price of Virtual Console games is too much. It takes titles out of the "Impulse buy" category and into the "I'll have to think about it" category.

Emulation is poor and offers now new features. At least in the US you can run things in 480p. We don't even have that option for nearly all titles.

Games like Alex Kidd In Miracle World and Street Fighter II originally had 16:9 resolutions [NEVER RESEARCHED]. Back in the day this was probably done to sidestep graphical limitations, but it can be taken advantage of today with widescreen displays. Most untouched XBLA titles feature an option to adjust the screen size.

While on the Virtual Console, not only are we subjected to a letterboxed screen on the above mentioned titles,[INCOMPLETE]

I think Nintendo stuff on my offcuts will be common.

elektrixxx.

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"Offcuts #1" was posted by elektrixxx on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:59:44 -0800

Not Worth Fighting For

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 02:22:26 -0800

This may be my rantiest and crappiest blog entry ever, but I don't care. I'm angry.

I've given in twice to fighting games in a desperate attempt to join in on the so-called fun, and once again I've been screwed. It was SoulCalibur IV earlier this year, and now it's Super Street Fighter II: Turbo HD Remix. Luckily in this case, not only was Street Fighter cheap by comparison, but the game itself has given me a strong warning about Street Fighter IV before I potentially make another big mistake.

Speaking of which, why don't I list all of Capcom's mistakes?

What the hell is P?
Were the original devs using an Irish controller?

What the hell is K?
Just tell us whether it's A, B, X or Y please? We shouldn't have to decipher clues just to find out how to do a move.

How do you Charge?
Why do they insist on keeping this function a secret?

Where's the run button?
It shouldn't be quicker to jump than walk, but then again, all you do is jump because the 360 D-pads are so busted.

I cannot do Zangief's Super move.
It either does the wrong move or he jumps. And yeah, I filled the bar too.

Why can't I go back out of the character select screen?
Why is every button all of a sudden the confirm button? I don't see the point in this limited functionality. You think they would fix this crap.

Why doesn't the character select screen fill my TV display?
Do they think we would just never notice? Jeez, this isn't like the Wii; people actually notice this stuff.

Why isn't the gameplay in true widescreen?
What the hell is up with that? This was one aspect of the promotion of this game, and it's all a lie!

I could've used the Microsoft Points to buy the rest of the Rock Band DLC that I want, but it's too late now. It's all my fault, but it will never happen again. Unless we're talking about the Super Smash Bros. series, FIGHTING GAMES SUCK.

Get angry.

elektrixxx.

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"Not Worth Fighting For" was posted by elektrixxx on Sun, 30 Nov 2008 02:22:26 -0800

Timewarp 2002

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:35 -0700

I recently relocated a TV of mine to another location in the house. I hadn't used it in a while and the remote was a little dusty so I cleaned it. All of a sudden, I dropped the remote and to my surprise, this is what lay inside...

WOW. Talk about random. Me at age 15. I had completely forgotten about this note.

Back in high school I had a bottle of Coke every day. I dunno how I didn't gain a butt-load of weight from that.

Anyway, what else happened in 2002? Well, with the help of Wikipedia I'm gonna pick out a few things that stand out to me:

- Ansett Australia died.

- Queen Elizabeth died.

- Kath & Kim debuted.

- CNNNN debuted.

- Spider-Man released.

- Xbox LIVE launched, but no one cared until Halo 2 came out.

- The WWF officially became the WWE. N00bs would still call it WWF to this day.

- Kung Pow! Enter the Fist. They are yet to apologise for that one.

- 8 Mile released, and 8 miles of rip-offs would follow for years to come.

- Minority Report. This pre-dates the "Let's hate Tom Cruise" bandwagon.

- The South Sydney Rabbitohs crawled back to the NRL. They wasted so much money on "We're back!" bumper stickers that they couldn't sign players that were actually good.

- Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne released, and people worldwide got just a little bit angrier.

- The Bourne Identity released. Michael J. Fox was the cameraman.

Man, that US Kath & Kim sucked.

elektrixxx.

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"Timewarp 2002" was posted by elektrixxx on Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:35 -0700

Reversal!: Wussy Topic Title Edition

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:03:30 -0700

I've kept myself out of the wrestling videogame world after getting sick of SmackDown! Vs. RAW's slow motion gameplay. Every year their only new feature was some awful minigame within a match to slow it down.

After a few years out of the wrestling game loop, I caved last week to TNA iMPACT!: The Video Game.

I've been a fan of TNA since it's inception, and although I'm not as dedicated to wrestling a I used to be, I still manage to catch it since it's been on FOX8.

TNA's gameplay and mechanics were good for the most part, but that's basically all you get on the game disc. The game lacks moves, wrestlers, custom wrestler options, weapons and MANY other small things which would normally make for a decent wrestling title.

To top things off, my Xbox 360 would freeze whenever I tried to join an online game. Midway customer support rounded it down to being a faulty game disc as this was a unique case.

So, still with a hunger for a wrestling game, I'm now gonna come crawling back to the WWE SmackDown Vs. RAW series. I have no idea what the WWE series has done over the years, but at this point I don't care.

This whole deal isn't all bad though. The reason why I gave in and bought the game in the first place despite knowing of it's issues was because of the extra content that came with it. Inside the case was a bonus disc with three matches and a documentary on the making of the game. What also lay inside was a card to send away for two free TNA PPV DVD's. I didn't waste any time sending that away when I bought it.

So in summary:
A free six day rental of TNA iMPACT!.
345 gamerscore, which took me over the 10000G mark.
Two FREE TNA wrestling DVD's, which should be coming soon.

A better deal than renting!

elektrixxx.

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"Reversal!: Wussy Topic Title Edition" was posted by elektrixxx on Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:03:30 -0700

MicroComments #3

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:00:05 -0700

I had written most of this weeks ago, which is why I mostly refer to games released last month. I didn't really get a chance to post; getting suspended twice over would do that.

Console Crashers

I wanted to show Castle Crashers to a friend of mine, so I took my hard drive to his house and plugged it into his 360. When I fired up the game, I was shocked to see that my game save didn't exist when it was in his console, and when I got home it didn't come back either. I had since started a new, completed game save (and isn't the game just so awesome!) but they really should have noticed and fixed this before release.

The exact same issue is in Braid as well, so I couldn't show off one of the later levels to the same friend. My save wiped for it too, but luckily not only have I already finished it but I really enjoyed finishing it again.

Olympic Cheater Revealed

My friend that I spoke of earlier is a highly proficient button-masher. He played a bunch of Track & Field while signed in with my gamertag.

He thrashed all of my records and half the achievements were unlocked by him. I feel kinda bad about that.

Since then I haven't been playing it at all. The fact that they aren't really my records on the leaderboards actually makes me feel worthless when I play it now.

D-Pad Of Death

I've never had a problem with the Xbox 360's D-pad. This was only because I was yet to own a game that should mainly use the D-pad.

My day has finally come.

After playing a good amount of SoulCalibur IV, my D-pad has become a hideous monster. It's forced me to use the control stick in Bionic Commando Rearmed.

I guess in a way it's good timing that these new controllers with the fixed D-pads may be obtainable, but damn that Microsoft. They should've fixed all these hardware issues a lot sooner.

If my D-pad had red lights they would've burnt out by now.

Playstation NotWork

I've come across a seemingly unimportant issue, but for someone who likes his internet alias to be the same everywhere, this is big.

The letters "XXX" are not permitted within a PSN ID, and as a result the global name of elektrixxx will never be on the Playstation Network. I've had to settle for the horrible alternative of "elektrixx".

I've tried to get some PSN AU support staff to register the alias for me, with a small hope that they can bypass banned phrases, but they can't do it.

A simple thing like this means that the Xbox 360 will definitely be my main outlet for multiplatform games. Sorry Sony, you've lost me for yet another generation, and possibly forever if these PSN ID's are a forever type thing too.

Double-D L C-Cups

The latest SoulCalibur IV bundle comes complete with a school girl outfit, sailor outfit and other junk. This goes perfect with the previous DLC consisting of maid outfits and other stupid garbage.

First of all, don't get me wrong, I dig hot chicks in games, but they really need something better in their DLC than what they're rolling out now.

I don't really need to rant about this in particular. I've already bought a game which features Ivy, Sophitia and other eye-opening women so I can't talk. Instead I'll just conclude with:

When creating custom chick characters you can't lose when you set the physique to max and set the muscularity up a slight amount. The only reason for that is so that their skin shines a little better. You'll see...

You're welcome.

elektrixxx.

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"MicroComments #3" was posted by elektrixxx on Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:00:05 -0700