3 Games, No Exams and A Yearbook For Good Measure

My exams finished a bit under a week ago, but I've been a bit occupied, so I haven't been able to blog(until now).

In order of importance, here are the sins that occupied my time:
1)Jade Empire
2)Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2
3)Mass Effect - leading to PC problems somehow T_T
4)Sisyphean tasks

I might as well start explaining the items on this list, so lets go.

First and foremost, the Jade Empire I refer to is an RPG by Bioware. It's an epic RPG with an Asian mythological framework. In other words, it's Knights of the Old Republic + Buddha + Bruce Lee. I love the gameplay, it's pretty good. For those of you who are wondering, it's like maybe 3 or 4 years old (I'm not 100% sure). The story is a bit cliche though...but that doesn't make it any less fun to beat up some ghosts or Imperial soldiers. I recently beat the game following the Way of the Open Palm(simply put: what would be called the Light side in KOTOR).

I now want to replay it as a follower of the Closed Fist style(you guessed it, the Dark Side). The game dresses it up saying that Open Palm isn't necessarily good, while Closed Fist isn't necessarily evil, but I never really bothered myself with the technicalities.

Bioware, despite having this little problem with avoiding RPG cliches, are really masterful storytellers. I was impressed by KOTOR, and I'm impressed by Jade Empire. I'd give it a 9 out of 10.

You guys should totally check it out. Here's a gameplay video:



I know I'm a bit late in getting around to playing Modern Warfare 2, alright? Geez...pushy bastards. In my opinion, the game deserves the amount of hype it has been getting. However, while the multiplayer is quite fun, the single player story is pretty neat. If Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy got together to make a game, this would totally be it. It has quite a few adrenaline-filled, fast paced moments just like what you'd expect to see in the hottest military action movies; from escaping Russians in a snowmobile to chasing down arms dealers in Brazilian slums to sex scenes, there's something in it for everyone. Well, everything apart from the last thing on that list. :P



Now, we move on to Mass Effect, the third item on our list. Before I start, I'm going to say, I never finished it. In fact, I don't think I did 10% of the game. Why?

F**king HAX!!

Well no, not really. But it was buggy and my PC is a bit crappy; it crashed quite a few times while I was trying to play the game...so I'll probably put off playing it to sometime in the not-so-distant future. Still, from what I saw so far, I liked it. The film grain effect was slightly annoying (don't worry, you can turn it off, and you'll probably get used to it anyway). However, I kept it on, and was richly rewarded during cutscenes (such as conversations with NPCs and the like). It REALLY adds an element of realism to the looks of the characters. Well, the human characters anyway. Turians look a bit unnerving to me, film grain or not.

Somehow my PC got screwed up when I was playing Mass Effect. It blue screened and reset a couple times. Long story short, System Restore FTW!! Thankfully, I'd done a restore point on like the 4th of June (not to my knowledge...the system restore fairy was really looking out for me on that one), so I didn't really lose much (apart from my dignity...this is the first time I've EVER had to use system restore since it came as a feature -_-).

Now, I've saved the painful part for last. I am now finished with Community College. It will be official when I actually finish the graduation ceremony, which will be held on the 27th of June. Oh, no...wait, that wasn't the painful part...that should have been at the top heheheh.



We're not getting a yearbook. Why? I dunno. I don't know of any other years that got one though. I have decided to change that. I've started to round up a bunch of friends to make a yearbook. I can't believe that a school would just let us go like that (despite the fact we're only too glad to leave) without a yearbook. It's just so...gauche. Anyway, I've decided to step in and fix their gaffe. I'm not as insouciant about these things as I may look.

With luck, it should be done by the week after the graduation ceremony. To keep costs down, we intend to distribute it digitally. I'll let you guys know how that pans out. So far, I have some awesome people willing to help. Here's to hoping.

Risen from the Dead,
Lord Robinson

P.S. For those of you who don't know what a Sisyphean task is
go wild.

Staying Alive

That song, apart from being awesome, serves two other purposes. First and foremost, it represents what people in the eastern part of the island are probably trying to do right now, in the midst of all the unrest being caused by the attempted arrest of Dudus. (For those of you who don't know, google Christopher Dudus Coke and Jamaica). Secondly, it represents what I need to do next week, when the bulk of my exams descend upon me. From Tuesday to Friday, I have exams. All long papers. That's Biology, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, all on sequential days. No time to swat during the week. I'm not too worried though.

Thankfully I haven't (entirely) wasted the two weeks I got before these exams. I really feel like I have a lot more Biology in my head at this point in my life than I ever will, including after graduation from medical school. T_T

Bring on the summer!! Now I've gotta go on MSN and have a quick study session with some friends (seriously, studying on instant messenger actually works).

TTFN,
Gavin.

Dubstep and T-2 Weeks To Exams

As of late, I've started listening to a lot of Dubstep. It's really awesome stuff.






I really love the warbled basslines most of them have.



Dr. Philth has really earned a place in my heart. Well two really. One for awesome music, the other for the most awesome name EVER!! Now I finally have real motivation to mess around with that copy of Fruity Loops Studio I have lying around on my computer. With a bit of effort (and the grace of God) I can probably make something that sounds as filthy as these slime monsters (yeah, that was a lame one...bear with me, I'm new at this).

I finally got my exam timetable. I have my Caribbean Studies exam in two weeks (plus my SAT subject tests next week Saturday). Should be manageable. I don't intend to touch a Caribbean Studies book, much less look in its general direction. I also intend to get a distinction doing that too. Don't follow me. I'm what you call an idler, or to be more politically correct, a wasteman.

So while I'm here, making beats on the eve of probably the most important exams of my life, remember what your good friend Gavin Robinson told you. Don't be like him.

Later folks,
Gavin.

Mmmm...Asteroids

The other day, I started playing this copy of Homeworld 1 that I ummm..."got". :)
It is an awesome game. A VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY most verily, I say unto thou, an awesome game.

I first heard of it almost a decade ago, when I was a lot younger, and my feet never used to be able to touch the ground when I was vegetating in a chair around my PC. I had gotten a copy of Half Life for Christmas, and was reading the instruction manual that came with it in the form of HTML pages. They advertised Team Fortress (something which had not crossed my mind in the ten years before this sentence), and Homeworld.

The other day, feeling like a pregnant woman, but with game cravings instead of food cravings, I tracked down a copy and started playing. The plot seems pretty interesting so far, and I love the mothership design, it is really cool.

I'm out of prison, at least until the 12th of April. Mock exams finished on Wednesday morning, and in the afternoon I went to a function for the honour roll students (no, I'm not on it, I just snuck in to get free food....fine, I am on it, so what?). The food tasted gre- umm, no, I mean, the food tasted free.

CAPE exams are coming up within a month and a half. But then, I realize I whine and grumble and moan and bitch about them every blog post, so I'll spare you this time.

I'm thinking about getting up to some idleness this Easter Holiday. Not rob a store and spend my life in jail idleness, but scientific idleness. (No dear schoolmates, not biological weapons either). I was thinking about building some circuits slightly more advanced than those we're required to do for Physics class, just for the fun of it. If I run into extra money that is, money is always my limiting factor.

I can't remember if I mentioned this in a blog post, but I think I'll do a simple webshow. Something 15 minutes to half an hour long. The premise of the show is simple, its just me commenting about world issues and giving my personal views and the historical background on them, as well as me talking about my personal life, and random things or cool webcomics I might stumble across on the internet.

By the way, you guys need to listen to some GOOD music. You know, like Benny Benassi. I can't believe that none of my friends know who he is...I'm like, in a state of SHOCK right now. I know that electronic music isn't for everyone (seizure warning), but damn, open your minds people!! Here, I'll save you some work, here are some of his songs:





Get off your lazy ass and go look for the rest yourself.

But, no ranting. I'm a nice guy. And ranting doesn't go well with my sexy, sexy face. Right ladies? :)

Anyway, I suppose thats all for now. In the meantime, entertain yourself with this cool Lego video.



Later guys (じゃまた）、
Gavin.

P.S. I finished the Physics syllabus, and the mock exam was great, with luck, I may have something in the high 80s or 90s.