Seriously. Do the people making these honestly belive that something as simple as not reading a tiny little letter will cause us all to die horrible, fiery climactic deaths? Do they honestly believe that one little Youtube comment will solve all of our romance problems?

Or is it just to waste our time and piss us all off? Probably, I just take solace in the fact that some idiot will lose his bank account to a scammer who may or may not be Nigerian (seriously, why is it always Nigeria?), and that someone will panic themselves to death over a chain mail saying he will die in precisely two hours if he doesn't *insert thing here*. For added irony, the person would not complete his tasks, but die before the two hours just to prove how bollocks the whole system is.

But alas, as long as there is an Internet, there is a little man (or woman) who may not may not be Nigerian who is trying to scam us out of our money. We can, however, treat these as regular salesmen and saleswomen; mess with their heads. They may not appreciate it, but I don't appreciate having to shift through a ****ton of scams and other crap I can really live without, so excuse me if I'm a little short on sympathy for them. Besides, if they have the time to be sending me poorly written emails to get my money (most of which involve things I can't really get at fifteen), they have time to do a proper job and guarantee some money that way. >:E

Anyway, before I vent too many spleens and bankrupt those people who may or may not be Nigerian, back to the robots. Remember how I was saying the game was challenging me? It held up that challenge for approximately seven episodes after the goddamn fighter jet swarm and went back to my mechs being too awesome for the enemy. A shame. But at the moment, I'm on Episode 32 (of 42), which for the record is the chapter I detest most on the normal modes, apart from Episode 33. Episode 32 is the culmination of about half the game's worth of being run ragged by the "Inspectors" a group of aliens that exist for the sole purpose of making your life hell. It starts fairly normally, until you destroy most of/all of the grunts. Then one of the Inspectors launches an attack that does a fair amount of damage to everyone, and a whole asston of enemies teleport in. This is where it gets hellish- an enemy battleship who for some reason seems to excel at being a douche and taking no damage, three endgame-level boss mechs, an asston of a new grunt type and the one enemy you actually need to kill to end all this. Among this, 9 of the 16 units you have aren't allowed to go down, two of which will have no upgrades. What a lovely chapter.



Episode 33 is equally fun, if not worse. Three mechs. Three. Two of which are these:

and

Yeah. Add that to the three Bergelmirs- who are just so damn annoying with their (IIRC) instant hits. =\

Oh well, I'll be home free after these two chapters. Happy-fun-time Special Mode is within my grasp. :D

musingsthoughts web development gaming related

Well, Cyber Monday was a pretty huge bust for me. I was hoping to find one of the video cards I was looking at for less then $100, but none of them went on sale. Turns out, most video cards on sale were the crappy ones, but I'd like to get a new one sometime. I'm currently looking at the ATI 4830. It's looking pretty good, getting like 30 FPS on Crysis isn't really easy. It's comparable to the 9800 GT, and with a little overclocking, can match the 4850, at just a 15% overclock. Which is there if I need it. So, yeah, Cyber Monday, a huge bust for me.



In other news, I'm pissed at Steam and my computer for *bleep*ing up on me yesterday. Won't let me reinstall Counter Strike: Source on a disk, I have to download it through Steam. The only thing worse would've been if I would've had to pay for it again.


Also, the first day of December everyone. Those of you who read this should leave a list of what you want for Christmas, that way I can have something interested to read too. Be sure to include the graphic novel, Watchmen on that list. Great book.

pc hardware

First of all, this is not a rant against those popular here at neoseeker, in fact, it’s not a rant at all.

Why do you participate in neoseeker forums? Is it to make a name for yourself, get help, or to try and climb up the ladder of popularity? There are probably countless other reasons that I haven't mentioned, but who cares.

Let’s be honest here, the majority of people look up to celebrities and famous people because they're...........well, famous. Browsing around the various forums on neo made me realise that there are some members who are like celebrities, and other members who do the job of treating these online personas like celebrities. But hey, is it even a bad thing? I mean, I can say that ive treated some members like they're members of the 'neo elite' in the past. For example, I was foaming at the mouth when a supermod posted in the same thread as me. And I was screaming in excitement when I got the chance to speak to moderator of loungin. Okay, I wasn't really, but im sure there are some people who find it cool that a member of the 'neo elite' has spoken to them. And we can all deny it and say 'loolol, tis kid getz ezited on teh internetz what a n000b lol', but its true, and I am brave enough to admit that I was like that in the past.

Most of the people who are like celebrities here have been here for quite some time, and they made a name for themselves by their achievements online, however silly they may be. If Redemption sent YOU a PM saying YOU can interview the one and only creator of this place Im sure you would be pleased. I would.

Wait, hold on a minute. Is there even a 'Neo elite'? Im probably looking too deeply into this thing.

Ah forget it, you never read this.

*Written by Sabre. Thoughts? opinions? The biggest load of crap you've ever read? Feel free to comment, I need all the help I can get*

musingsthoughts popularity loungin sabre

When I got up this morning (30 minutes late due to my alarm clock), my little brother came in, shouting about advent calenders, and 'Where's my Bart Simpson Calender?!' And then I realised. It's December already.

Bloody hell, this year's gone by fast.

So, when I'm sitting in my Science lesson, I'm just thinking about the year, and how quickly it's gone, and what I can actually remember from it. So, I've tried to make a list of 5 things that really stood out this year.

5: Lewis Hamilton winning the F1. Was probably all the news footage the day after that kept it in my mind.

4: All the hype before and after 'The Dark Knight' aired. Maybe because all the Joker fangirls TALKING ABOUT IT EVERYWHERE.

3: Michael Phelps rampage in Beijing, and Usian Bolt pretty much breaking the human speed barrier.

2: Everything about the LHC and CERN. Seriously, how stupid were some of us?

1: 1 surely has to be Obama winning the election.

So, that's all I've really got about this year. It's gone past really quick, and I don't have that many memories of it.

What do you lot remember about this year then?

wallpaper musingsthoughts

Lately I've found myself out job hunting for part time Christmas work. I've already scouted out one area and have given out resumes, with around 2 more places to go in the next day. The thing is, I really want a job. I need some money. I want to be able to buy things within limitation.
But going around giving these resumes is relatively easy. I do not however enjoy those stupid online applications, where they make you fill out questions about yourself. I believe that a person cannot express or represent themselves fully on paper. It's much better when demonstrated in person.
Awaiting an interview, I am wondering what are some good strategy to going well with interviews and handing in resumes. I would assume it's always good to play it cool, but how much is too much?
So far I have gathered these from Australian Men's Health Magazine, and I find it rather helpful, as you could too.

quote Australian Men's Health Magazine, AUG 2008

Impossible Interview Questions
Malcolm Nicholson, founder of employee development consultancy Aspecture, tells you how to answer flummoxing inquiries

Q "What do you want to be doing in 10 years?"
Your answer: I want to be continuing with my professional development, contributing to a team, feeling valued, rewarded and getting a sense of purpose out of work. I hope this company can provide that.
The reason: If you have genuine ambition relating to the position and/or company then say so - otherwise keep your answer limited to general but positive values.

Q "What do you think makes you unique?"
Your answer: I'm great at working individually, but I've adapted my skills to become a well-rounded team player as well.
The reason: Most companies want people who will fit in. they may say "unique", but they mean "distinctive". So list all your distinctive points and emphasise your people skills.

Q "What is your greatest weakness"
Your answer: In the past I've been good at managing the peaks of work, but less so at the troughs. So I've avoided getting unproductive by focussing on the volume of work and working the hours to enable the work to be one.
The reason: You've turned a potential lose-lose question into a winner for you by emphasising your ability to solve problems and manage your personal development, while pointing out your best qualities (you work like a Stalinist coal miner on speed)

Q "Tell me about yourself"
Your answer: What exactly would you like to know?
The reason: Be wary of generalised questions. Before you know it, you can be off babbling about surfing. Seek clarification and then focus on your best achievements.

other musingsthoughts

Who the hell is Gabe, you ask? YOU SHALL SEE SOON ENOUGH. I had the following conversation with him following this last Sunday Special, which I feel less than kosher about:

quote

VeGi: god you're such a fangirl
RCG: lmao
VeGi: u luv ur xbox
VeGi: why dont you go hug it
RCG: I WILL
VeGi: and buy it a carrying case
RCG: MAYBE I WILL
VeGi: A NICE GEARS OF WAR CASE
RCG: MAYBE I'll BUY IT TWO
VeGi: FINE
VeGi: :(
VeGi: you love gears more than you love phoenix wright!
VeGi: look what you've done to this family!
VeGi: your DS is running away with a PSP
RCG: :(

He's giving me shit for not having played Left 4 Dead yet, but it's not my fault Gears 2 is so damn sexy. Oh, by the way...

Sunday Special: "Nintendo, You Bore Me..."

I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately, so I force myself to stay up until I'm absolutely exhausted before going to bed. Trouble is, I wake up really late when I do that. Don't you just hate waking up to find that the day's half gone? I think my PS2's sobbing is what's keeping me up at night. It's the reason I'm afraid to step inside the closet.

Meanwhile, my 360 with its sexy Assassin's Creed skin featuring sexy Altair is sleeping with that sexy metal Gears of War carrying case I bought for it as an "I love you" gift two winters ago.

wii ps3 xbox 360 ds gaming playstation 3 musingsthoughts neoseeker related

So thanks to Kevin I've been playing the crap out of Fallout. I'm enjoying it immensely now and have developed a pretty severe addiction, but the road was not easy...

(Before I get into it -- if you haven't seen the video he posted of that Fallout 3 machinima, please check it out, it will make your day!)

I started getting a freezing error in a particular part of the game on Friday, in an effort to fix it I installed a 3rd party patch..this brought its own bugs, which, long story short, it seemed I could only fix by formatting my computer. I did so, encountered about every problem you can imagine, all to find my problem hadn't gone away (all this took about 24 hours). Surprisingly, I have not smashed my computer into tiny bits!

Anyway, without getting into details, I seem to have fixed everything -- just hoping I don't run into the original freezing error again. I've had to start my game over but that's fine because my first time I had no idea what I was doing (my first 20 minutes or so of playing the game in particular consisted of me wondering "What the hell is this crap!" and clicking away in frustration -- yeah, that's me, your neighbourhood game reporter). By the time I did figure it all out, I was many hours into the game and the cement was set...so, having started a new game, I now have a much sweeter character who is not dying every five seconds, as you can see from the Super Mutant slaughter above and stats below:




Yeah, I like playing as ladies, alright? :)
She's basically a martial artist/healer with brass knuckles. :D
Come to think of it, she's a lot like Sheela from Shining Force II.
Still early into the game, but making steady progress.


So to anyone whose interest has been piqued by Fallout 3, I highly recommend the first game, and presumably the second based on what I've heard (the general consensus seems to be its even better). Just note that it probably won't draw you in instantly -- as Kevin told me, give it a few hours. It's mainly getting the hang of everything, once you've got that down, you're pretty much hooked. This is one game you need to read the manual for before you play.
But yeah, amazing atmosphere, premise/story, music, combat system, etc. Very unique! I think of it as "Diablo for people who don't like Diablo". :)
And nothing against Diablo, I just dont dig it. Though the changes brought to III interest me greatly...

Oh, and just so you know I'm a complete courtesan for Good Old Games (GOG.com) -- this is where I got the game for a cool 6 bucks. I have no financial affiliation with them though so its okay. :)
Once payday hits I'm going for Giants: Citizen Kabuto (freaking hilarious and also pretty!), MDK, MDK 2 (same to both), and I'm considering Colin McRae Rally 2005 (need a good arcadey racer), Earthworm Jim 1 + 2 (how could I not?), Unreal Gold, and Sacrifice. I tried the demo for that last one and I'm not sure what to think...they're all raving about it over there though so I'm curious. I figure it's probably like Fallout in that it doesn't hook you immediately and requires some dedication in learning its intricacies and idiosyncracies. But maybe it's just not my thing! I'm generally not into strategy/RTS type games..but this one seems special. We shall see.

On the note of the blogs and what people can post -- it was great to see many users outspoken on the issue. If you haven't noticed, there are now not one, but two new categories available for you to exercise all your thoughts with. Hurrah. Personally I feel this is a great choice -- while yes, in a way site-related only posts would be cool, our sister site GameGrep already affords this opportunity, no? Speaking of which, I've seen some great blogs here on Neo already and have been making use of that handy 'Grep It' button as such..:)
Great to see people so involved already. Can't wait to see how this evolves. Props to tek and everyone else involved for all the work done.

Hope you all had a pleasant weekend.

pc neoseeker related gaming related

We've all seen the articles about gaming on a budget, but in my opinion they all seem to fall short because their main focus is on buying used games. Buying used is definitely a good way to save a buck or two, but here's some more tips for the gamer who is on a strict budget.

My wife and I have 4 kids between us and keeping the household up has definitely forced me to be a bit more frugal in my spending. I have learned how to juggle my household budget with my gaming needs mostly through trial and error and I hope that you all can take some of these points and use them for your own benefit:

SAVE!!- This is probably one of the most difficult things to achieve, but definitely worth it. It took me a few raises and paying down some bills to achieve this. When you get to this point, stash away the money in an account that is your own and separate from the bill pile. You'd be amazed at how quickly even $15 a payday adds up to afford a game that's in your sites. This is by far one of the best ways to enjoy guilt free spending on new games.

If you're still in your teenage years, save those allowances!! Do some extra yard work for the neighbors, or recycle some cans to get that extra change.

Avoid The Hype- Every game seems to have a decent amount of hype that comes with it. Whether it's the "Game of the year", "RPG of the year", or "Shooter of the Year".....you've heard all of the slogans that seem to permeate the gaming hobby. Don't fall for it!!! Out of the 10 games saying they are the "game of the year", only 1 will actually win that title.

Do your research! Read reviews! Read the forums! What are your friends saying? What about other users? Avoid sites where fanboys are lowering scores on purpose such as metacritic. Talk to trusted gamers and get their honest opinions. What are people in your friend's list playing, and why? Find out the pros and cons before you buy and make an educated decision, not a random guess.

Visit the website for the game in mind. Watch trailers, read commentary, and get an overall feel for the game. Does it match your game play style? You may find in the end that the game you had your heart set on is actually a waste of time and money.

Wait it out!- Sometimes a game can drop significantly in price in just a few short weeks. Right now you can find Midnight Club LA for $40....that's 1/3 off the price in just three weeks of its release!!

A lot of stores do promotional sales to get rid of unused stock. Watch the Sunday ads and be ready to pounce with your savings. Trade in your unused games during certain promotions and you could earn nearly double of their value. Keep your eyes peeled and your options open and you can score big with little effort.

Avoid Credit Cards!!- With the average consumer paying around 15% interest, that new PS3 or 360 game will tack on an extra $9 (after taxes) if not paid off quickly. Consumers need to quit spending and racking up debt anyway.....but if you must........

Use your rewards!- There are actually very intelligent ways of using credit cards to your favor. Take for instance the Amazon card. I received a $25 Amazon gift card for opening a new credit card! I also receive a $25 Amazon gift card for every 2500 points.....earned by racking up debt of course. So it's up to you to trick the system.

I spend a lot at Amazon through out the year, and I earn 3 points for every dollar spent. I use my credit card and IMMEDIATELY pay it off with my savings. This nets me bonus points AND I avoid the interest involved. I have a $25 gift card on the way thanks to my Christmas shopping, and a near zero balance on my card. ;)

I also travel frequently for business trips. I use my Discover card to pay for my expenses and my company reimburses me. Therefore I benefit from the rewards. I just recently received a $60 voucher that I used to pick up BUZZ.

Amazon.com- Check out Amazon's lightening deals daily, there is always someone who posts some sort of hints and they often do a day centered on a specific video game system. They also have a video game deal of the day nearly every single day. Most of them are crap to be honest, but every once in a while you find a gem.

Keep a wishlist, it will be handy to give to your friends and loved ones for your birthday, Christmas, graduation, etc. Also in the US they offer free shipping for orders over $25. There are times where I only need a $10 item but don't want to pay another $10 for shipping.....look for a bargain on a game and get the free shipping!!!! Sometimes it's better to pay $15 for a new game and avoid the shipping costs, then to pay $10 extra for just the shipping.

Enter Contests!- A lot of game websites and even magazines put on contests and promotions....enter them. Enter them ALL!!! I won a copy of Lego Batman for the PC just for participating on Gamegrep. I kick myself when I miss entering a contest as it just goes without saying that nothing is more budget friendly than a free game. And as my Dad says about the lottery "You won't win if you don't play".

Make Your Games LAST!!!- OK, so you picked up some bargains....traded in some bonus rewards on your credit card and won a few contests.....now that you have 5 games on the shelf waiting for you what do you do now?

Play the damn things!!! But get your money's worth!! Xbox has achievements, and now PS3 has trophies, so earn them! If your game doesn't support anything, get all of the items and achievements in game. My philosophy is that every $1 spent should net you at least 1 hour of entertainment......which is why most RPG's work for me.

Get the online awards and push the game to it's limits!! If, after all of the research you did didn't pan out and you still ended up picking up a crap game....don't force yourself to play it. Just trade it in and use it towards something you WILL enjoy. Sometimes it's better to take a hit and get something worth while than to let something sit on the shelf and collect dust.

And there you have it....just a few more rounds of ammunition to add to your arsenal when it comes to gaming on a budget. Sales are everywhere and used games definitely help cut the cost, but sometimes it's up to you as a gamer and as a consumer to make it all work for you. I hope that you enjoyed the post and hopefully I will post some more in the near future.

playstation 3 xbox 360 wii pc playstation 2 ds playstation portable

Now, I'm not stealing this idea from tekmosis, I thought of it yesterday morning... I just never got around to it.

Theres my bad-ass. Yes, that is s hold in the side of it. I didn't feel like spending $50 on a new case so I can have a see through side. I still need to buy some plexi-glass to put in there. The true DIY. :D

The line coming out of my computer in the bottom front is audio going to an off screen surround sound system. On top is a "Careers & Colleges" magazine that my mom got me. >.<

Well, thats what my setup is like. Hopefully in less than a year I'll do another one of these, but with a new custom computer and a new location! :D



Here is where I sit everyday. That is my throne, and my, "bad-ass" computer. Please excuse the crappy quality.

Now since my laser mouse wont work on the fabric of my recliner, my mouse pad is an Adobe Premiere Elements User Guide. I do have a second monitor behind my LCD one. Thats mainly for computers I'm working on.

technology pc hardware home office computer

So I'm sitting here bored out of my mind, trying to decide what to do. My TV is turned off because there is nothing engaging my interests at the moment. I could try and take a nap, but I'm as aware as I'll ever be and I don't think my body would respond well to me shutting it down. I could hit the my.neoforum button over and over again until something new comes up, but I already do that all day every day.

What about video games? I could probably get a half an hour of enjoyment out of my DS, but trying to beat my Time Trials records on Mario Kart DS is frustrating anymore. And I gave back the copy of Animal Crossing: Wild World I was borrowing, so my options are limited to Pokemon, Digimon, Mario Kart, and the new Castlevania game that I have already beat. So I'm going to skip picking up my DS, although that's not the purpose of this blog.

And as for my Nintendo Wii? That's almost laughable at this point. My Wii is actually packed up in its carrying case because I took it to a friend's house. I ended up not using it there, and I haven't had the motivation to set it up again. At my friends house we play Guitar Hero: World Tour and a bit of Brawl, but it wasn't as much gaming as I had expected. What did we do instead? Spent hours using the "Compare People" application on Facebook.

You are probably thinking one of two things: 1.) How on Earth is Facebook more fun than the Nintendo Wii? or 2.) Why are you hanging out with losers who spend their days using the "Compare People" application on Facebook? To the latter, I can't offer much of an explanation. But to the first though, I can say this: I am losing my faith in the Nintendo Wii, and am currently facing a huge case of Buyer's Remorse.

Back in November 2006 when I bought the Wii, I was in love. Wii Sports was cute and fun and all of that, and even my parents were getting in on the action. I bought Red Steel along with my Wii, and I even got a lot of enjoyment out of that sub par game. Things were great.

The first year of the Wii's lifetime were pretty exciting. Games like Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and WarioWare: Smooth Moves graced my Wii for hours upon hours at a time. The first party support for the system was incredible, even if the third party support was still a bit lackluster.

But now there seems to be a huge role reversal in terms of game quality: Nintendo offers a new Animal Crossing title, and Wii Music, while third party developers pump out titles like Guitar Hero: World Tour, de Blob, Call of Duty: World at War, The Conduit. It's almost like Nintendo is purposely cutting me off, leaving me with no options and a bad taste in my mouth.

Don't get me wrong here; Nintendo has brought some stellar titles to the Wii. I still play Brawl whenever I have a group of friends over, and games like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Paper Mario brought me endless hours of delight. But what do I have now? A crappy music simulator and the promise of good games next year. What if I don't want to wait until next year?

Nintendo seems to have thrown me under the proverbial bus in favor of the larger crowd of casual gamers. It's like Miyamoto has thrown up the bird in my face while conducting a cacophonous symphony of grandma's playing Wii Music. And the sad thing is, I am just going to sit here and take it.

Why? Well, for starters, I'm dead broke. Being broke means that I can't go out and buy a 360 out of spite. Believe me, I would if I could. The 360 has so many good games it hurts. Mirror's Edge, Halo 3, Left 4 Dead, Dead Space, even the latest FIFA is supposed to be tons of fun. But I won't have the opportunity to play any of those games because I'm stuck with Nintendo's ill-fated little bugger.

And I won't be selling the Wii. I am actually pretty excited about Wii MotionPlus (which is really just another middle finger from Nintendo, but that's for a different day, and a different rant), and more importantly, The Conduit. The Conduit is really the one game that is preventing me from driving to my nearest GameStop and getting 30 bucks for my mint condition Wii and 12 games.

So there you have it. A rant from a peeved Nintendo fan who can't find any redeemable qualities about the Wii at present. Is there hope for the console? I think so. Nintendo has always been a producer of high quality first party titles, and I haven't completely lost my faith in the company.

wii gaming related nintendo nintendo wii rant

Hi jes here.

I'll probably be using this mostly for talking about the football matches I attend while following The Posh around the country but occasionally something else will get thrown in as I think about it.

I'll start off with a few stats about my travels in the last 12 years with Posh. I've visited 25 different grounds from Carlisle to Plymouth, I've travelled almost 7,500 miles, I've seen 116 games against 67 different teams from Premiership to Ryman League, I've seen 52 players score 176 goals for Posh and I've seen 7 people manage Posh including Barry Fry, Ron Atkinson and Darren Ferguson.

More next time.

Next Match Attending

Lille v Toulouse
6/12/08 8pm
Stadium Lille-Metropole

peterborough united football other