An Indepth Look Into A Geek's Soul

I've been playing Star Wars the Old Republic since the very beginning of the game, albiet with some downtime due to school and lack of money.  While I'm not a heavy player by any stretch of the means (I'm not even at max level yet), I have been enjoying the great storytelling that the game has to offer.  My main character is a Human Trooper named Corath who specialized as a Vanguard, to give me some extra staying power.  My companion characters are a pretty varied bunch, with a weird, alien gunner, an ex-Imperial healer, and a killbot.  The killbot has the best lines, while the ex-Imperial is my favorite to use, as she keeps me from dying.

With that being said, I have found that my favorite parts of the game involve out of combat stuff.  For starters, I love all the crafting that I've been doing.  I've been trying to deck myself out in self made items from the beginning.  While the items I make aren't always the best things in the world, I get a small sense of pride just because they are mine.  I also really enjoy the way that you can learn new items to make.  Essentially, you have to tear apart an item and see how it works.  Sometimes, you get lucky, and can actually improve upon the original design! This lets me make some items, in my case armors, that you can only buy from someone like me.  There is no chance of finding that same item somewhere in the wild.  Insanely awesome!

The other item I will mention today is the world of speeders.  Now, mounts have been in MMO's almost since the beginning.  Every game has them, and some games give you them from the get go.  However, I recently got my own speeder, and I love the thing.  It's just nice being able to go a lot faster than usual.  I think I'm going to become a speeder junkie in the game.  I only have one at the moment (which is pictured above), but I think I will be buying a different model when I save up the extra money.  My goal is to one day have more speeders than I do abilities in the game.  Just to prove that I can.  I know that I won't have all of the ones that are available, seeing as how some are restricted to cybertech (I believe), but that is a moot point.  They will all be super sweet.  End of story.

Peace Out.

The second book that I read for my resolution was Star Wars The Old Republic:  Fatal Alliance.  The book details the events leading up the the upcoming Bioware game, Star Wars the Old Republic.

The book was pretty much what you expect from a video game book.  Lots of action, a good enough plot, and somewhat memorable characters.  The book is told from the point of view of various characters that are meant to represent the different character classes in the video game.  It was interesting to see how the different classes might interact with each other, though it all seems kind of weird how they work together, especially because everyone seemed to be helpful on the Republic side and splintered on the Empire's side.

I found the main enemy of the book to be pretty sweet, if very hard to picture.  They are these hexagonal robots with hands at each one of their points who can self replicate and join to others to form even weirder shapes.  The only problem I had with them were that they went from impossible to deafeat to rather easy for anyone to take down.  That part didnt'n make sense.  I blame that entirely on the ending, which was rather confusing and felt a little rushed to me.  Still, if you like Star Wars books, you would like this one too.

Peace Out.

So there's this little game coming out that you may have heard of called Star Wars The Old Republic.  It's the newest game to come out of the same studio that brought you great games like Neverwinter Nights and Dragon Age:  Origins, BioWare.  It's going to be the first fully voiced MMO out there on the market.  Not only that, but it will also have individually tailored gameplay for each and every character.  No longer could you roll up different charaters and play through in different ways and get the same quests.  Even answering a quesiton differently in this game can change how the game plays for you.

It takes play about three thousand years before the traditional Star Wars movies, at a time when the Sith Empire and the Republic have declared an uneasy truce.  This pretty much allows for a huge amount of players to be both Sith and Jedi, seeing as how both were in huge abundances back in those days.  The playable races for the Republic include a trooper, a smuggler, a Jedi knight, and a Jedi Counslar.  For the Sith, you have bounty hunters, Sith warriors, imperial agents, and Sith inquisitors.  It's not going to nearly as over the top look as WoW does, but it does give you a nice "stylized realism" that you've probably seen before in other BioWare games.

Personally, I'm torn between who I want my first main guy to be.  I've narrowed it down of course.  I'll play for the Republic, the good side, seeing as how I'm all about honor and valor and you know, following laws.  Secondly, I've widdled it down to either the Republic Trooper of the Jedi Knight.  Both have their pros and cons, and I think I know which one I want to be, but it's still a tough choice.  On one hand, you can play as the Trooper, who gets to wear heavy armor, weild the biggest gun someone can carry, and throw sticky grenades at people who then happen to blow up.  On the other hand though, you can play as a freaking Jedi and who hasn't wanted to do that since they were like five.?  I think I'll be going as a Trooper just for the simple fact that I think it's going to be a tank class, and I love classes that can absorb a lot of damage while also dishing some back out.  We'll see how it goes when the game gets closer to launch and they tell you more about it.

I'm hoping that by the time this game comes out, I'll have a small little group of friends who most definitely want to try it out.  Maybe we'll team up and just take on the Sith Empire and bring them down.  Or maybe we'll be on other sides and have to try to take each other down.  Either way, this is sure to be a lot of fun.  If you guys are interested in learning more, go ahead and click here to go to the website to learn more and look at the awesome photos and movies that are up.  And of course, may the Force be with you.

Peace Out.

So I finally broke down.  I installed Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic on my grandfather's laptop.  You know, the one one that is actually powerful enough to play it?  Yeah, I'm rather jealous.  Anyways, the thing kicks ass.  I had no real expectations going into the game about what the gameplay or story was going to be like, but after playing the thing for a bit over five hours, I've come to really enjoy the game so far.  It's one of those games where I can die a couple of times and it won't but me that I have to replay a certain part.  Plus, it makes me actually think a bit about how everything is equipped and who does what and do I have this and this and that.  Yeah, to get me to do that in a game is rather difficult (just ask Joel) but here I am, doing it no problem in KoToR.  Man, I love this game.

I created the solider named Corath (of course) and there have been some strong hints that I'm force sensitive.  At the very least, I give off a pretty powerful aura that the Sith was able to detect.  I'm pretty sure that means when I finally am able to get off Taris, I'll be able to start my training as a jedi.  I'm not sure which path I'm going to be going down yet, but something tells me it'll be one that involves me using a green lightsaber.  At least at some point.  I already have a red doublebladed one, but my guy can't use it.  Not yet at any rate. One day though, I'll be able to.  Just you wait.  Probably not until this weekend though.

In other gaming news, I've restarted Wizardry.  The biggest reason I'm playing it (again) is so that I can finally beat the darn thing.  Yeah, it's another one of those games I've tried again and again to beat.  I was just going to pay some Time Splitters Future Perfect, but the disk wouldn't even load for me.  Not good my friends, not good.  And the only reason I need a new game is becasue I finally beat Need For Speed Underground 2.  I know, it's been a little while, but I got past that thing.  Just neeed to sit down and actually do it.

Anyways, that's mostly all I had to say today.  I might be adding some things to the Works section of the page detailing my KoToR and Wizardy going abouts.  We'll see.

Peace Out.

In celebration of Star Wars Day, this list shall be dedicated to my top ten favorite Star Wars characters, from the movies, games, comics, books, everything.  Please, feel free to disagree with me.

Number 10:  Princess Leia

Yep, Princess Leia.  And really, the only reason I like her is because she looks halfway decent in the slave girl outfit.  Yes, she does have her moments: it takes a lot of balls to kiss your own brother just to stick it in Solo, but she was able to pull it off.  I think her character got a lot better in the Extended Universe though, after the movies.  She's actually a forceful and Force wielding powehouse, as opposed to just being angry at everyone.  Though, she does have the exclusive honor of being the only chick on the countdown. Good for her.

Number Nine:  Luke Skywalker

Next we have the brother of Leia, the awesome and talented Grand Master himself, Luke Skywalker.  He use to be my favorite Jedi by far, no one could come close.  Then, I got to thinking, and while he's cool and super powerful, he's not my favorite.  Not by far.  He is an amazing Jedi though.  He's the reason why I've always wanted a green lightsaber too.  He's another character that really shines in the Extended Universe novels.  Yes, he's the leader of the New Jedi Order, and because of this isn't always involved in the fights like he used to be. He's a bit more careful, a bit more wise.  However, when he fights, it's like he's the entire universe, bottled up into one amazing little bottle of skill.  Definitely a great character, even if he's a little whiney when you first meet him.

Number Eight: Teemto Pagalies

I think this one might surprise a couple of you.  And the others will probably be like, who the hell is Teemto Pagalies?  Let me tell you:  he's the single coolest podracer ever.  Like, by a mile and a half.  Yeah, he dies in the movie, so what?  He was always my favorite podracer in the game Star Wars Podracer.  I've beaten the entire game with him a couple of times, and then beat the entire sequel with him as well.  He's just hardcore.  Plus, he has one of the longest pods on the circuit.  Next time you're watching The Phantom Menace, check him out.  He's pretty much a raw pimp, right up until he gets shot by some Sand People.

Number Seven:  Emperor Palpatine

Ah yes, the mastermind behind the movies, Darth Sidious.  He's fairly cool, for being an evil dude.  Definitely an evil genius, and you always need one of those on your list.  I think the coolest thing about him is the fact that you get to see him shot lightning.  And I love lightning.  That one power alone would be enough to sway me to the dark side.  He's pretty hardcore though.  I mean, he killed his Master, had at least three apprentices, and was able to come back from beyond the grave.  Mind you, it was with the use of clones, but hey, he cloned himself!  Mad props to that.  Plus, his bodyguards wore red cloaks.  Not sure why he had guars, seeing as how he was a raw beast, but hey, anyone who can defeat Yoda in lightsaber combat is allowed to do whatever the hell he wants.

Number Six:  Admiral Ackbar

IT'S A TRAP!

Number Five:  Mace Windu

Ah, Mace Windu.  Perhaps the greatest warrior of the Old Republic.  Plus, he's black and has a purple lightsaber.  Seriously though, he invented Vaapaad.  That's just a badass technique.  He had this one cool Force ability too, that I think might be unique to him.  He was able to see fracture points in the force, which were like, realy big turning points surrounding a person or an object.  Almost like seeing into the future, but not really.  Anyways, he's a great warrior.  I like him just for the sheer power he has.  I'm not sure why he's higher up on the council than Yoda, but hey, that's okay.  Affirmative action at it's finest if you ask me.

Number Four:  Han Solo

Han Solo is just the pimp of the Star Wars universe.  He is just able to cause so  much havoc and mayhem, and at the same time, kick so much ass.  He's a wiz with that pistol of his, plus he flies the second coolest ship in the galaxy.  He has the single greatest line in the universe too.  "I know."  Can you say pimp?  Yeah, you can.  Plus, for as rough and tumble as he is, he still takes the death of loved ones super hard.  The man is a legend, in any galaxy.  Plus, he's sexy.

See?

Number Three:  Yoda

It's Yoda dude.  He has to be on the list.  Seriously though, out of all the charcters, he's my favorite green one.  He changes the most out of all the characters too.  He's wise and powerful in the new trilogy, and all man hermit in the original trilogy.  Wicked funny though.  I was one of the happiest people in the world when he wiped out his lightsaber in episode 2 and fought Count Dooku.  Plus, in Episode 3, when he's fighting the clones outside the Jedi Temple, he unleahses complete and utter kick ass all over those clones.  And it's amazing.  And that's why he is here.

Number 2:  General Grievous

General Grievous is my favorite villian of all time.  No joke.  Oh, yeah, I know, I get a lot of flak because I like him more than Darth Vader, but this guy is a real Jedi Killer.  The original one.  Plus, he's part robot.  And he has at least 4 lightsabers.  And he can use them all at the same time.  I was flipping out during that fight scene with Obi Wan.  Seriously, I would have been perfectly fine with Grievous winning that fight.  He is amazing.  Cyborgs for the win.

Number One:  Obi Wan Kenobi

Obi Wan Kenobi.  The man, the mth, the legendary vanquisher of General Grievous.  This man slowly grew on me.  I didn't like him so much at first, but as the I rewatched the movies, I've become a huge fan of his.  He's so dedicated to his cause, and yet he has the hardest time going against his friends when he knows there is good in him.  Seriously guys, if I could be any Jedi, I would be Obi Wan.  He's super laid back, but according to Mace, he's the best fighter that the Order has.  He's just amazing all around.  There is simply no better character in all of Star Wars.

So there you have it.  The best of the best in the Star Wars universe. May the Force be with you all.

Peace Out.

There isn't a whole lot going on recently, well at least not a whole lot of any real importance.  We'll just do another random jump around post where I don't really accomplish anything besides waste a couple minutes of your time and a great chunk of mine.  Interesting note on these blogs:  for as short as they are, the time I take writing them would seem to be rather disproportional. 

I think the biggest news is that the fridge in the house just recently took a nose dive.  I'm not entirely sure what's wrong with it. It's been making a lot of noise lately, which I'm going to assume isn't a good thing.  Then tonight it was all like, "I'M FLOODING THE FLOOR!!" and preceeded to do so without even asking the human occupants of the house if we were okay with that.  Obviously this fridge does not have manners, just a cold heart.  My grandpa will be looking at it tomorrow, but more than likely will be getting a new one.  Money is tight, which really sucks, so hopefully this won't break him.

Lets see, what else has been happening lately?  Oh, I did get some new comcis today.  I picked up two more copies of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic as well as the first issue of Ultimate X Men.  Yeah, I love the X Men, what can I say.  Not sure if it's X-Men or X Men though.  Need to look into that.  Anyways, unknown to my limited brain, there happened to be a copy of the first issue of the Ultimate Fantastic Four on the reverse flip side of my X Men comic.  It was like a double issue type thing.  So hey, I'll read that I guess.  See how bad it is.  Who knows, the movies weren't great, but comics don't always translate well onto those new fangled movie picture boxes.

And to wrap things up, I'm sorry if I've been creeping anyone out lately.  I know I bug a lot of you at random times of the day.  Like Diana on facebook in the morning and Jen on twitter at night.  Heck, even Ashley too, around class time, but seeing as how she doesn't know about this, she might not get this apology.  If it's getting too bad for you guys, call me out on it.  I sometimes don't always know when to stop.

Also, if anyone knows how to stop thinking, I would greatly appreciate a tip on that.  At night it gets really hard to fall asleep because my mind dwells on all the signs I should have picked up that Amanda wasn't happy in the relationship, and yeah, it makes for a sad Jon.  So unless you want me to be sad everynight, which I know you don't, you should help me out.

Peace Out.

So I'm half stealing this from Joel, who origianally posted this kind of thing on his MySpace blog, and which I was going to on livejournal.  However, I've decided to put it on over here.  It's something that I'll try to do about once a week, on Monday hopefully, but you know how I am, so that could easily not happen.  So without further ado, here it is, my top 10 favorite movies (as of right now.)

Number 10:  Star Trek Generations

This is my favorite of the Star Trek movies.  It's really the movie that got me into Star Trek big time.  Maybe it's because you get a little bit of the old with a lot of the new, or maybe I just like the story, it just is a great, all around movie.  Yeah, the main villian is kind of weird to be honest, but his purpose is at least somewhat noble, if a bit greedy.  I think the best thing about this movie that you don't get in the other movies is a less of a focus on Data.  Though, he is hilarious in this movie, and he does swear.  All that adds up to one hell of a good movie.

Number Nine:  The Emperor's New Groove

At first I was a little unsure about this movie.  I didn't really like it when I first saw previews for it, then I sw it on VHS one day, and I fell in love with it.  It's so funny and utterly stupid that I couldn't help but like it.  Plus Kronk is so freaking funny.  He's just utterly clueless and a wonderful offset to the villian.  It has just enough humor in it without over doing it, while still offering up tons of laughs.  As Kronk once said, "IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY?"

Number Eight:  Spaceballs

I don't even know where to start with this movie.  This was my first introduction to Mel Brooks, and Joel actually introduced me to this classic which I think came out in the same year that I was born.  The references to the all the classic science fiction movies, from Alien to Star Wars (even Dune I think), this movie doesn't miss a beat.  Plus, Lone Star drives a Winnabago (which I'm fairly certain is spelled totally differently) and that in itself is just awesome.  In fact, this is the only movie on the list that I actually have two copies of, and one of them is still in it's orignal shrink wrapped seal.  For any lover of comedies or parodies, this is a must have.

Number Seven:  Jurassic Park

I remember being a little kid watching this movie and being scared absolutely shitless by the raptor attack at the very beginning of the movie.  This movie really does stand the test of time though.  Even today it still looks fairly real, even if is starting to show it's age a little bit.  The story is absolutely amazing, and stays fairly true to the book.  This one movie caused my entire obession with dinosaurs and made me start reading way above my reading level just so I could read this book.  I always considered this a science fiction movie, but I guess it's one of the top ranking horror movies of all time.  Everyone who hasn't see this should, as it's an amazingly good movie.

Number Six: The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers

This is my favorite movie out of the trilogy for one single reason: Ents.  Freaking Ents.  Treebeard is just awesome, and even though this strays a bit from the book, it makes up for it in contenet.  The long running time is a bit for me, especially in the extended edition, but it's well worth it.  I'm glad that the characters all get a fair portion of screen time, and the final battle scenes at the end are just glorious.  Seriously, when the Ents are attacking, it is just pure glory.  It inspired me to write all kinds of terrible fan fiction and is a major reason I've read the books and am playing the Third Age.

Number Five:  The Matrix

I missed this one in the movie theaters.  That still rates as one of my top 10 mistakes of all time (that's for another list though.)  I remember seeing Trinity kicking the police officer in the opening shots and I just fel in love.  It helps that the girl is gorgeous to look at.  The movie was pulled of with a style that most movies lack, and I couldn't be happier with it.  It's nice because it wraps up the majority of the problems, and for a second there, you really do think that Neo dies.  The backstabbing in the movie now seems a little obvious, but at first it's hard to swallow.  Side note:  this movie was also the first oen that introduced me to any kind of club scene.

Number Four:  Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back

Oh Star Wars.  I think you all know why one of these movies have made it on the list.  Mostly, it's because it's an amazing series of movies, no matter what anyone says about them.  Why do I like this one the best?  Probably because it's the most GBAMF one out of all of them.  You meet Yoda in it,  it has a nice sleek look to it, and it doesn't rehash a single idea.  Plus, you find out that Luke is related to Vader.  And Han delivers the best line ever uttered in the history of movies.  This movie combines all that is awesome about Star Wars with a perfect execution.  Even those who hate science fiction movies I think would love this movie.

Number Three:

This takes the top spot for an animated movie on my list, as well as the highest rated Disney movie.  I've always have been in love with this movie.  I think I may have even seen this move in the movie theaters.  Even now I"m still in love with all the songs in this movie.  I really don't think Disney has come close to releasing anything of this calibur since this movie, but it's a hard one to top.  I still get wrapped up in the movie and actually have the sound track on my computer.  Everyone needs to own a copy of this movie.

Number 2:  Grease

Grease Lightning!  No musical will ever ever ever ever come close to reaching the majesty this movie has.  I love almost all the songs, the only one I really don't like is the one Rizo does about halfway through the movie.  Even still, I'll randomly break into those songs all the time just walking down the street or at work or something.  I've gotten plenty of strange looks.  Yeah, the story is highschoolish, and yeah, the actors can't see too well, and the dances are terrible, but hey, that's why we all love this movie.  I don't care what the lot of you say, this is the best musical of all time, and no one will ever take it's place.  I'd say without this movie, there wouldn't be such a tremendous love for musicals today.

Number One:  Forrest Gump

This may have come to a shocker to a good chunk of you.  I don't think that most of you know realize how much I really love this movie.  I can't even begin to tell you how much this movie means to me.  Everytime this movie is on, I'll watch it.  It could be the third time it's on that day, and you will have bet I've watched as much as I could in that one day.  This movie is so great, that I'm afraid to read the book because I know that it can't be nearly as good as the movie.  People are amazed that I can quote so much of the movie considering it's length.  I've based so much of my life on this movie in little ways.  I'm always looking or my Jenny, and even though that may not happen to me anytime soon, it gives me hope that if Forrest can get the girl, even I can.  Life is like a box of chocolates my friends, and maybe that's why I don't always get along well with it.

So there you have it.  There are some notable exceptions to the list include the Harry Potter Films, Toy Story, and Transformers, but hey, there is only so many spots here.  Feel free to leave some comments and bash my chocies, and I could care less.  I love these movies, so you all can just deal with it.

Peace Out.

I feel like rambling on and on today.  Not sure exactly how long, but long enough to make at least one of you happy.  Lets start with my recent Star Wars fixation.  This is something that comes and goes. It's nice, cause I always have tons of material to fall back on when it does rear it's head again.  Well it's here again, and this time around I'm getting into the Star Wars Miniatures game (which was what the last post was about) and some of the comics.  Yes, comics.  I think that pretty much completes the circuit of loserdom right?  Role playing game?  Check.  Miniatures?  Check.  Fanfiction?  Check.  Comics?  Check.  But I digress, lets get back onto track.

The comics I've been reading are Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.  It's published by Dark Horse, which is kind of weird for me, seeing as how I'm mostly a Marvel man, though Superman is one of my favorites (if not my favorite) and it's DC.  Oh well, lets get back on topic again.  The Knights of the Old Repbulic (KoToR) storyline goes something like this:  a group of jedis has visions that one of their padawans are going to turn to the dark side.  They try to kill them, only one survives, Zayne Carrick.  The Jedi Masters frame him for the murders of his pupils, he's on the run. He meets a Mandalorian on the way, as well as a criminal, hott alien chick, and crazy old guy, all while trying to clear his name.  Sorry that was so long winded.  It's pretty sweet though.  And the alien chick is hot.  The art is up and down, some just looks shitty, but overall it's not that bad.  The story is rather the same as everything else, so nothing super there, though it is very Star Wars-ish, which makes it even more awesome.  I love light sabers, what can I say?  Read it, you'll enjoy it.

And you know what?  Just because I found this you should go to it.  Now.  http://xkcd.com/275/. ; Not sure how to do a hyperlink in the text... yeah.  Go to it.

And... BREAK!

Happy Easter y'all.

Peace Out.

Alright guys, as some of you may have heard, I've recently taken an interest in that Star Wars Miniatures game.  It's a lot of fun.  I think the biggest reason I like it is because they aren't making the Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures game anymore.  They'll still have the pieces but will only be for the role playing game aspect of it now.  Nope, with the Star Wars Miniatures, the game is still (I think) going strong.  Plus, I'm actually going to play the game instead of just using them mostly for role playing, seeing as how I don't own any of the Star Wars RPG books, nor do I plan on getting them any time soon (though an Ewok Jedi would be freaking sweet to play.)

I've made two squads so far, using the standard 100 point varation game.  One is an Empire squad, the other one is my Rebel squad (if just barely.)  I played one game between the two of them, and really, the Rebels won, but I think it was by pure luck.  let me give you a quick run down of who is each squad.

Empire Squad

Darth Vader, Legacy of the Force x1

181st Imperial Pilot x1

Elite Stormtrooper x1

Stomtrooper x1

Rebel Squad

Merecenary General x1

Chiss Mercenary x4

Mouse Droid x1

Bothan Commando x1

Yeah, Darth Vader, Legacy of the Force is just raw awesome.  Seriously, the only way that the Rebels manged to win that game is because they were able to score three critical hits in a row on Vader.  I think that's the only way any of the Rebels hurt Vader by the way, was with criticals.  He has insane powers and super high defense compared to the other figures I have.  The closest other one I have is my mouse droid.  Yeah, silly, but the mouse droid doesn't do any damage either, so who knows.

Seriously though guys, you should pick up a start pack for yourselves and give it a try.  I tink you'll have a lot of fun.  Alright, that's good for now.  I'm at NMC and really should be getting some work done.  Probably won't though, I think the rest of the site is calling for some updating as well. 

Peace Out.