I’m In Your Wahoo!

When it comes to colds, there’s nothing I find more annoying than a sore throat. It’s a constant, itchy annoyance that requires me to gulp down hundreds of Halls candy and drink as much OJ and water as possible. It keeps me up at night with the incessant coughing and drains me from doing anything physically demanding.

On the upside, I just received my next two titles from Armchair. The first is Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena for the PS3, starring Vin “I’m in your face” Diesal.

This game’s been readily available for pretty much every independant website, so scoring a copy isn’t exactly as exciting as getting Persona 3 a month early, but the buzz has been pretty good on this game, so I’ll give it a shot. The labeling on the cover says it also contains the “complete Butcher Bay campaign”. Having never played the first game, I’m intrigued to just how much is carried over; Does it really feature the entire game, story and all, or just its highlights?

The 2nd game I received, however, deserves much more cause for celebration: Klonoa on the Wii.

Klonoa is like one of those secret series, where it’s only known to the select few who have played it. I come from personal experience with the PS1 original, and let me tell you, it’s one of the best games ever made. A 2D platforming classic with a wonderful soundtrack, lovable characters, and one of the most dramatic stories you’ll ever experience in a videogame. Seriously.

I do wonder if I can review this Wiimake without any bias, because of what I’ve seen in videos, it is by all accounts the exact same game as the original, minus some redone visuals. I just wish they didn’t mess up Klonoa’s english voice, which sounds way too old compared to his adorable, childish Japanese/Phantomise voice. It doesn’t have the same emotional impact if they’re trying to play Klonoa off as a teenager instead of a young boy/cat/koala/thing.

In addition to those two, I’ve also got a free copy of Plants vs Zombies, and a code for Killing Floor incoming. I’ve also been playing betas of Cogs, Trine, and Dragonica, with full review copies set to be delivered soon.

And of course, there’s still my “secret project”, which I hope to officially unveil soon.

A Moment of Silence

Today, I’m sad to report that my great grandmother has passed away.

Ninety-six years is a long and wonderful time to live, and she made great use of that time to support her family. She didn’t look her age, nor did she act like it…she had greater strength than most thirty to forty year olds I know.

That’s why it hurts that she had to pass on in a rather uncomfortable circumstance, laying on a hospital bed for two weeks until her doctors determined that she was past the point of no return. All she wanted was a chance to breathe properly, hence her decision to receive a valve transplant. She made her choice despite the odds, and she fought long and hard until the end. Her last coherent words were “I want to live”.

I had hoped that she could at least live on for a couple more years with a new chance to breathe without pain. Whether she is experiencing that now, I can’t say for certain. I want to believe she is at peace above, but my prayers to keep her in our world went unanswered.

Life’s been going good for me lately, which is why I’m doing what I can to take my mind off my grief. It’s what she would have wanted, and it’s the sanest way for me to cope.

But that doesn’t mean I’ll ever forget her and all the love she’s provided to me.

This one’s for you, for inspiring me to live to the fullest, no matter how old I get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0PAmYq13fI

Belated Birthday Post: It’s Japanese for “Goodbye”

It was my birthday three days ago. I wanted to write up a post on said day, but circumstances kept me busy. Good circumstances, mostly. I went to see Star Trek on Imax (highly enjoyable, though I wonder if the midway twist was a brilliant nod for fans, or a haphazard attempt at deus ex machina) and ate at the Cheesecake Factory (I must be getting old, because I couldn’t finish the double BBQ bacon burger I ordered).

I’m posting now on a new laptop I purchased. So far it’s worth every penny, although the bottom left side is pretty darn hot. I’m sure this is something common with all laptops though, which is why I guess they call them “notebooks” nowadays. Seriously, it is pretty hot on my lap.

I’m planning a bigger post next time, to showcase my “gift” to you all, but in the meantime, I just wanted to mention how brilliant these Punch-Out Wii ads are.

I’m not happy at all with many of Nintendo’s decisions lately, but stuff like this still makes me glad to have them around.