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Saturday, December 31, 2005
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Number 9 on the Blacklist |
listening to: Fall Out Boy - Grand Theft Autumn |
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Flashing Lights and Loud Noises |
| Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are all doing well this Christmas season. These past few days I've been playing Need for Speed: Most Wanted on my PC. For those of you who have played the NFS: Underground series, Most Wanted more or less takes over where Underground 2 left off. This time, however, you do your racing during the daytime, which puts the police hot on your trail. But don't think that's the only change. Most Wanted has several differences when compared to Underground. Those expecting more of the same might end up disappointed, but don't let that dissuade you from playing this game. While Underground put more emphasis on tricking out your ride to make it look cooler, Most Wanted requires you to embrace the "dark side" of street racing. The more notorious you are, the more "Bounty Points" you get. This is done by breaking as many traffic laws as you can. Ram police and civilian vehicles, destroy property, overspeed, whatever. This will help you climb the Blacklist, the list of the top 15 most notorious racers. No matter how good a racer you are, you can't continue unless you increase your bounty. The game's graphics are intense, but that doesn't mean those with lesser video cards can't enjoy Most Wanted. I'm running the game with my crappy GeForce FX 5200. No offense, I'm just used to my old faithful GeForce FX 5600 (you are dearly missed). Anyway, despite how much I dislike the 5200, Most Wanted runs quite well on it. You'll just need to lower the detail settings a bit. Take note that even with all settings at low, the game still looks great! With every setting on high, you can see how photo-realistic the game is, but you'd need a more powerful video card to achieve decent framerates at those settings. The soundtrack has the same attitude as Underground 2 and sounds ok, but I think most will agree that the original Underground's was the best. The game's sound is great, the engine sounds are top notch and the police chatter sounds authentic. You get to choose from a great variety of cars to customize and upgrade, including some exotics like Porsches and Lamborghinis. On a personal note, my favorite, the Mazda Miata, is gone! *sobs* There are lots of great cars available, so it's not a huge loss. I'm looking forward to getting behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 and customizing it. On the subject of customizing, it's not as detailed as Underground is. Gone are the neon lights, exhaust pipes, hydraulics and other little things. Body kits are sold by the set, no longer by piece, but you still get to add roof scoops, hood mods, rims and spoilers. I'm a stickler for details myself and loved being able to customize every single part, so this is a minus to me. For the most part, it doesn't affect the gameplay too much, so most of you probably won't even care. The racing itself is pretty straightforward compared in Most Wanted, Drift and Street X modes have been scrapped. The AI drivers are pretty much what you'd expect. Earlier levels, it's easy to catch up to them even when they have huge leads, but in later levels, you pay for every mistake you make. The police chases are the icing on Most Wanted's cake. In the beginning of the game, it's fun to toy around with them, but once you get to the later levels of the game, you take a pounding. The measly squad cars are magically transformed into specialized corvettes and heavy SUVs. They become insanely aggresive and travel in packs. In the higher levels, they deploy spike strips, helicopters and roadblocks to stop you. You should never underestimate the boys in blue, they're fierce and don't give up easily. In order to get rid of them, you can either ram them until you take them out or you'll have to make use of the Pursuit breakers. These are parts of the environment marked on the map (like water towers, gas stations, yachts) that can be destroyed that will either delay or take out the cops long enough for you to make your escape. Once you're out of visual range, you have to stay hidden until a cooldown meter fills up. If a cop sees you in before this meter is filled, the chase starts all over again. The Verdict? Need for Speed: Most Wanted is huge fun, one police chase and you'll be hooked. listening to: Gorillaz - Dare |
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Taking some time to think... |
| Yes, I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately. Every time I sit in front of the computer, the thought process just doesn't seem to want to start. Other times, I'm raring to go, but then something happens to stop me, like a brownout. There's a lot that I've been wanting to post about, fate is just not cooperating. Anyway, I'm here at home in Victorias for the Christmas weekend. Let's try to get something done today. It's almost 2006... Looking back on the past year, it's been another whirlwind of emotions and life-altering changes. Obviously, the first thing that comes to my mind would be the situation between me and Kay. All that's left for me to do is to just leave things up to God. If He will bring the two of us together again, then I'll be waiting patiently for that day. If He brings someone else into my life to heal this pain, then so be it. I'll just have to try and keep myself sane for the time being. I guess it's just this sense of hope that is holding me together. One thing is certain though, no matter what happens, I'll always be thankful that Kay is a part of my life. In terms of health, my overall condition has deteriorated over the course of the year. Several factors, including the time I spent in the studio, the time I got really sick in January, the sleepless nights from doing plate work and an overall lousy lifestyle took its toll on my health. My weight is still pretty much the same as it was in the beginning of the year, but my physical appearance is telling a different story. These past few days I've been stuffing myself with as much food as possible. Then when I get back home, I'm gonna try to do some weight lifting again. Going back to school is turning out to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The challenges are intense, just the way I like them. It's such a great feeling to be learning so much. At the same time, my classmates are the best, they're a blast to be around. Needless to say, each of them are pretty weird in their own different ways. I feel like I'm right where I belong. Hehe listening to: Pussycat Dolls - StickwitU |
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Commercial Ninja Services |
| Let's face it, ninja are a dime-a-dozen these days. It's pretty hard getting work. Many of my fellow graduates/clanmates of Ninja School haven't had a contract in a long time. To my comrades out there, if you need some extra cash, you can try these establishments and make use of your elite ninja skills for other purposes. Commercial Ninja Services - "From lawn care to chiropractors to pizza delivery, ninjas have the skills you need." |
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Wannabe photographer on the loose! |
| To my friendsters living in the Metro Bacolod area. Is your profile pic still a bunch of anime characters? Are you bored and unimpressed of your old pics scanned from your pictures laying around at home? Maybe you'd like to have a new picture taken? I'm not promising anything spectacular, but I do promise to do my best to get the shot you ask for. I'd really like to get the practice. Maybe you've got this really great or wacky idea for your pic, that's cool too. Let's put our heads together and maybe some great shots will come out. Who knows? You can message me through friendster and I'll let you know how to contact me. Okies? listening to: L'Arc~en~Ciel - Driver's High (Great Teacher Onizuka OST) |
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Frustration |
| I gave up. For the first time ever, I just sat back and allowed myself to be defeated. In reality, there was still a chance for me, but in my mind, it was just too tiring. It's not that I found it too difficult, it's just that, recently, EVERYTHING was going wrong at the same point in time. My frustration reached a new peak and it just destroyed my will to continue. This never happened before. Those who know me know that I'd never give up, He would always give me that extra nudge, but it was too much this time. The repercussions of this choice are still unclear. It could snowball into a huge problem in the future, ultimately leading to my undoing. Or, God-willing, I might get my act together, reverse my luck and recover from this fucked-up mess. Right now, I'm too depressed to have a positive oulook on my future as an Architect. There has to be some way to get myself out of this funk. I'm just praying for something, anything to go right. Just a smidgen of hope to help me get through this. I need some inspiration. listening to: L'Arc~en~Ciel - Fourth Ave. Cafe (Rurouni Kenshin OST) |
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The missing piece to my puzzle |
| Here Tonight Hale So long to you my love Don't be afraid to run away I know you'll be okay Just take your time to find But I need you here tonight I need you here inside I need you here tonight I really, really need you here tonight Made up my mind on this It’s too late for me to hold you back Maybe to short or dumb To cry for you but I will anyway (Chorus) It's all my fault To feel this way for you that day I know I am and I will Though it's wrong, so wrong, so wrong… (Chorus2) Chorus: Cause I need you here tonight I need you here inside Oh I need you here tonight I really, really need you here tonight…Oh Chorus2: Cause I need you here tonight I need you here inside Oh I need you here tonight I really, really need you here Oh I need you, I need you Oh I need you here inside Oh I need you, I need you I really, really need you here |
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© Timothy James Tupas 2005 All rights reserved
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