Yeah as the title of the article says, I'm leaving on my Industrial Visit trip to Bangalore\Mysore (How many of you have atleast heard of Bangalore?) It's a three day trip and I'll be returning on Monday morning. Actually the trip to the industry is scheduled for tomorrow(Friday) morning, according to the local time, so we'll be goofing around the rest of the time... some sightseeing and maybe a little shopping. See ya.

Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction update:

The game may be old but it is a great game. Defeated Andariel at the end of Act I a few days back, but only yesterday did I take the trip east to Lut Gholein. I was levelling up my character in Act I. Gotta kill Radament next in the Lut Gholein sewers.

Stats

Name: Neo
Basic Character C-lass: Necromancer
C-lass Specialization: Summancer
Level: 19
Gold in possession: 251,117
Strength: 48
Dexterity: 51
Vitality: 36
Energy: 43
Skills learnt: Blood Golem(L1), Clay Golem(L2), Raise Skeleton(L2), Raise Skeletal Mage(L2), Bone Armor(L1), Bone Wall(L1), Teeth(L1), Corpse Explosion(L1), Amplify Damage(L1), Iron Maiden(L1), Dim Vision(L1), Weaken(L1), Poison Dagger(L1), Skeletal Mastery(L2), Golem Mastery(L1)

(PS. GS does not allow the use of the word spelled by C.L.A.S.S)

My collection of games has just increased with the addition of Crysis, Dungeon Siege and Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction. For the past few times I get new games, it's always like I get 2 or more games at the same time, which results in not able to give attention to all the games. And I also just finished Fable the last week.

A few words on Fable: The Lost Chapters - It was quite an experience. This is the only other RPG game that I liked after Diablo 2. The game was quite short though(just 18 hours), and the main quest was entirely linear. Of course there were a few side missions, but they didn't keep me occupied long enough. The storyline was neat and it let me do some decision making without having to pulling the hair off my head. And it didn't sidetrack me either, just like Elder Scrolls 3 did. The graphics was also neat.

Gaming Update

Games I have finished till date

-CnC3: Kane's Wrath
-CnC3
-Comapny of Heroes
-PoP:SoT
-Pokemon Red/Blue(finished both once)
-Age of Empires: Age of Kings
-Medal of Honor Airborne
-Call of Duty Modern Warfare
-Pharaoh
-Pokemon Silver
-Portal
-Fable: The Lost Chapters

Games I am currently playing

-Crysis
-Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction

First Impressions

Crysis - Genre redifining. Though my experience with the demo was not so exciting, I gotta tell you that this game's really good. It runs with no problems on my PC at medium settings and even on that the graphics are great. The new features that you get in the form of the Crysis suit give a new angle to FPS gameplay. But it sharply resembles Far Cry, with its exotic outdoor locales and waves of enemies.

Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction - The first thing I noticed after installing it was the absence of my D2 character in the characters list, but after a little googling I learnt that a patch would do the trick and got it. The new features in LoD and the new resolution spruce up the gameplay. I am now at the end of Act I, with my Necromancer at L18.

Dungeon Siege - I found it to be nothing more than sub-standard copy of Diablo. The graphics are 3D, unlike the isometric view in D2, and that's where the fault is. Poor 3D implementation was a turn off. Anyway I found the gameplay no better than Diablo. The story also started off on a corny note... a farmer saving the land

I just wanted feedback from you guys on my new idea of posting the story I'm writing in my blog. There have hardly been many comments for the last 3 blogs. What do you think of this idea? Is it worth it? Or is it totally boring/useless? Is each story blog post too long?

If you have any suggestions or expectations for a blog, please do mention it.

P.S. I have been posting in a lot of blogs, but only a few have posted in mine. Since I post in your blogs, I expect you to do the same for me, not big comments, just a few words.

I have chosen a temporary title for my story, since it was hard referring to a nameless story. If you have missed the Prologue here is the link. I have divided this chapter into two sections, so that it doesn't appear to be too long to read.

Feel free to point out any mistake and make suggestions. Please comment. Even if you have read it but have nothing to comment, at least post "I've read it".

CHAPTER 1

10 years ago

The boy was lying flat on his abdomen. He was in an old air shaft under a tower. All around him the walls were crumbling and cobwebs lined the corners, a testimony to the ages that have passed since the shafts were built or even used. It had been long since anyone even remembered it.

The tower known as Ina Rotra or the Prison Tower in the tongue of the old, was built nine hundred years ago, to imprison the greatest dark mage of all times. The tower was completely sealed with no doors or windows in order to prevent anyone from freeing him. However unknown to most, secret air shafts were built under the tower to provide air supply.

The wizard could not be killed right away because his death would have caused the sudden release of massive amounts of dark that he had gathered within him that could very well flatten large cities. So he was put in a state of eternal sleep and sealed off in the tower, so that he might die of old age. That would give enough time for most of that dark power to be drained. The inner walls of the tower were lined with Gaiud stones which prevented the wizard, or anyone as a matter of fact, from using their magical energy, just in case the he wakes up from his 'sleep' too early.

Roughly two hundred and fifty years ago, King Atorn, who ruled the kingdom of Uceri, ordered the tower to be rebuilt in order to house the royal jewels, when he shifted his capital to the city of Attla and built his palace close to the tower. Since only the top part of the tower was rebuilt, the shafts went unnoticed. By then, almost no one knew of the existence of these shafts.

Even if anyone had found the shafts, the confusing labyrinth of passages that more often than not lead to a dead end and the innumerous traps set in those shafts prevented anyone from getting into the prison room. Gaiud stones were embedded in the walls of the shafts also to prevent anyone from using magic to detect or disable the traps.

However, the Gaiud stones had lost their potency and most of them had turned to dust now. Most of the traps had also become defunct and those in the working condition could be easily detected and disabled using magic.

The party that was crawling through the deteriorating tunnels consisted of four – three men and the boy, all in a single file. The first in line wore a silken tunic and chainmail trousers – a wacky combination. The other three were dressed in light, tough garments, more suited for this kind of work.

The first one was a wizard and his main job there was to take care of the traps and light the path ahead. The other three were from the infamous Thieves Guild of Taslon. The first two thieves in the line were of a heavy build. Last in line was the boy. Lithe and quick-footed, he looked more a thief than his other two counterparts.

"How much further?" enquired the first thief.

"Just a little more." answered the wizard, "Be patient Grawm. If we can pull this off, you're in for a big reward. So just stay quiet and follow my lead."

Grawm was one of the more experienced and higher ranked members of the guild. In fact he was in the High council of the Thieves Guild, which offered its services including high level thievery, espionage and on special occasions even assassinations. This High Council worked directly under the Guild master, the highest post in the management of the Guild.

Gone were the days when Grawm was in his prime as a thief. Under any other circumstances he would have flatly refused to get his hands dirty again, but the situation that presented itself to him were so enticing. An old man had approached him and promised a large sum to the guild and an even larger sum to him, if he manages to retrieve a certain blue crystal. Two men, handpicked by the old man himself, one a wizard and other a member of the Guild were to accompany Grawm.

The old man had told him there were no guards in the Crystal chamber and that the wizard knew a secret path that would lead them right into the chamber. There were a few magically activated traps and alarms inside the chamber. The reason why the wizard couldn't do the task all by himself was because the glass case that held the crystal was enchanted to prevent anyone with even the slightest hint of magic in their blood from even touching the case. And that was why a non-magical person was needed. The reason why Grawm had been chosen, the old man had said, was because he had heard about Grawm's reputation as being capable of detecting almost any trap.

Grawm still knew he was too old and clumsy for the job. He needed someone young and agile. After going through a long list of prospective thieves who would accompany him on his mission, he zeroed in on Wisp. Wisp, who was just fifteen years old had already earned the distinction as one of the best young bloods of the Guild. He could sneak past almost any trap or guard and get out of the tightest spots without raising the alarm. With Grawm's ability to detect traps and the boy's ability to evade, Grawm knew that they would make an excellent team. What he didn't know was the impact the inclusion of the boy in the mission was going to have in the events of the future.

I have run out of ideas for a blog and even if I have any I either get bored with it or am too lazy to type it out elaborately here. So I have decided to blog a story that I have been working on for sometime now(Don't laugh). And yeah as usual, Pardon my mediocre English and please comment

FOREWORD

This story is a fantasy story set in the land of Taslon, where the magic is an important part of the culture and creatures that you don't see in our world roam the lands freely (excuse that corny last line). I would like to thank all the games, the anime, other books and my previous story that inspired me in this new venture.

PROLOGUE

The sky was cloudy and a slight drizzle was falling over the vast extent of the Ceratean grasslands. The wind was blowing hard, whistling and howling as it blew fiercely through the knee-high grass. Faint flashes of lightning streaked past the grey clouds. In fact it was just noon. A storm was approaching.

Yet none of that mattered to the two men standing in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Grass, grass and only more grass was visible stretching for miles around them. Interspersed among the grass were trees, that looked so frail that they seemed to barely cling to the ground against the wind, and these were also few and far in between. No other living thing seemed to be here, animal or plant. It was an odd sight, seeing those two stand there facing each other in such a desolate place.

What made this scene even more intriguing were their costumes. Both were clad in heavy armour, leaving as little part of their body uncovered with metal or leather clothing. Both were holding swords, raised and poised to strike. However their gait suggested otherwise. Both were standing with their feet planted straight and hunched forward - definitely not a fighting stance. Both were panting, as beads of perspiration ran down their cheeks.

"Alright", growled one of the men, "Time to finish what we started"

"Sure", said the other in a soft voice.

"Pray for a swift death", sneered the first, "This time I'll show you how a real blade master fights"

I had vowed not to download any demos, trials, etc of Spore until the full game is out, which I had planned to buy. Fortunatley curiosity got the better of me and here I am writing the first impressions of Spore Creature Creator. It was a nice experience. First thing you gotta do is register as a Spore user which hardly takes a minute. Then you're in the menu with options to create a new creature or edit a previous one. Select the 'Create new' icon and you're started.

The interface is simple and attractive. There's a centre screen where the main body of creature is already present. You can alter it your liking. Then comes the mouth, limbs, weapons, etc., the choices for which are displayed in a side panel under tabs for each. For the trial version the choice of body parts are limited, but even with that there's a large combination of parts to be created. After that choose your colour and skin, and name the creature. Voila! Your creature is ready. Share it over the Spore network if you want to.

As I said the creature creator is simple and easy to use. It's fun trying out the different combinations, and how it affects your creature. With so many new parts to be added in the full game, you're gonna be spoilt for choice. You can take your creature on a 'Test ride', see how it perfroms some simple actions like moving, dancing and enacting emotions.

Oh well, it's not something that can be conveyed in words. You have to try it to fully appreciate it. The download's available here on GS and weighs about 250MB. Get it.