Break Time

Hey there people, time for me to give some news as to what I've been up to lately, especially considering that there has been a slight decrease in activity on my side. Everyone has their times, of course, and now it's mine.

I've been extremely busy with work for the most part, not because of insane amounts of overtime, but because I'd soon be going crazy if it weren't for the one week vacation I took on the 22nd of August. We're at a point where we still do some minor overtime over at my job, but we're also at the end of the project. Basically put: I've been doing nothing and to top it off, I do nothing in overtime. I don't have the slightest problem with extended work hours when it serves a purpose, but when it is purely because a client equals money and therefore we need a tester on their project although we know there's nothing to do on it, it kind of irritates me and creates a small fire burning inside, ready to burst at any moment. So I've made it clear with them that it was time for me to take a one week vacation as soon as possible. I could have taken two weeks.. but in such an industry, it's always better to keep a couple vacation days for the low season when we start lacking hours on the pay check.

This also means that I've been taking a break from most everything apart from gaming and watching movies/animes here and there, working around on my computer and such. So without further delay, here's what I've been up to lately. And since it is me, I'll put up some YouTube videos of the different things when applicable.


WipEout has always been my favorite racing franchise ever since the PS1 era, which back then, I unfortunately did not have the money to buy games. After seeing that my sister's boyfriend got his hands on the original WipEout for PS1, I thought "Why not?" and went ahead and bought it. I am now on a WipEout rampage accross eBay and the likes, grabbing myself some pure classic WipEout action. I currently have WipEout and WipEout 3, both original titles for PS1, in the mail coming my way. It probably won't be long before I grab the remaining titles that I miss in that franchise, namely being WipEout XL (PS1), WipEout Fusion (PS2) and WipEout Pulse (PSP), which I will then have the complete collection of this anti-gravity racing that has been my all-time favorite in the genre.

With this project in the works, I also went ahead and started playing WipEout HD again in an effort to finally complete my task: Unlock the Platinum Trophy, known to the gamers as one of the hardest Platinum out there. To earn it, I merely miss Elite Campaign Legend (finish the HD campaign with Gold medals in every cell on Elite difficulty) and Arcade Perfect (finish 1st on all 16 HD tracks on Elite difficulty, Phantom speed). My progress has been going very well, where I bumped my 4/16 Arcade Perfect score to a nice 10 tracks on 16 achieved. Only 6 more tracks left to dominate and Arcade Perfect is mine, only then will I complete my run for ECL, in which I only have the last event to complete on Elite. Wish me good luck, as I might decide to abandon this completion once more, as I did in the past.


WipEout HD Trailer

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Lately I've been watching Ergo Proxy, some kind of.. science fiction anime or something. It is actually quite interesting and is the type of anime I'd recommend even to those who dislike animes in general. Unfortunately, I don't really feel like explaining much of the plot, especially when everytime you think you got it.. you soon find out that it goes in a completely new direction. It started off by giving me a feeling of a corrupted 'government' of the sorts, then went on about a specific character and its origins, and now everyone is entirely lost. It takes place in the future where autoraves, or 'robots' if you prefer, are evrywhere and Pino, what I would consider as the main autorave of the show, is quite literally too cute despite being infected with a virus.

Anyway, if you want an anime with action, scien-fiction, futuristic stuff and deep story, I suggest you give Ergo Proxy a shot. The show consists of 23 episodes, all nicely put together in a single box set. Be aware that for those who prefer it the 'original' way, there are two box sets: One with English as the only audio track, and one that contains both Japanese and English audio tracks. So if you think about buying it, make sure you buy the one that suits you if you prefer having it subtitled (which I personally don't). The video isn't of great quality, but it's as good as I could find for the actual Official Trailer.


Ergo Proxy Official Trailer

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While working around in my computer, I came to the conclusion that my case was too small. Not only does it make it hard to work in, but it also doesn't allow for the best wire manegement in the world and the bunch of wires laying around prevents a good air circulation as well, especially since my Graphics card is so close to my Power Supply, thanks to the design of my Motherboard (it's a very good m/b, it just has a strange design). Plus, my GPU itself barely fits in there, and despite how much I love mid-towers for their convenient sizes, it is now time for me to move forward and enter the world of full towers, especially considering that as time goes, PC components only become bigger and bigger.

Not long after coming up with this conclusion, I discovered the new creaion from NZXT, the name we could consider as one of my favorite as it offers convenience, space, design and style all in one case, while I have discovered that most other brands only offer one or two of these features. For such, I have decided to stick with them, especially after seeing their new Phantom in their Crafted case series. For the interested, I put up a couple of pictures in the PC & MAC forum in the Computer Cases topic. For the even more interested, I'll include an early unboxing video of the case. It is due to release this September I believe, which I'll gladly make the switch when the time comes.


NZXT Phantom Unboxing

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These are pretty much my plans for the time being. I still have a few things arriving soon enough, such as 3D Dot Game Heroes which should get here on Monday, but I'll keep my impression for a later blog. I haven't forgotten about my future Megaman blog, although with how things have been going lately, I haven't put much time in it as I'd rather take out my aggressivity into WipEout HD.. being aggressive in that game when playing on Elite is a requirement ;p

Until then, have fun and remember, I'm still hovering around here and there, keeping an eye out on all of you o_o

Oh and be sure to check out my Penumbra Series review, if you haven't or if you feel like it, that is ;p