Fuck. Shit. Bleep. Bleep-bleep.

Sorry, but after so much stupidity on the front of my computer and it’s lame anti-virus system, I’m sitting at someone else’s house ( Tasha ) on someone else’s ( Gonzo ) computer. I’m so against using other people’s computers unless it’s a dire emergency. I consider a dire emergency being when I can’t get on my computer to check business and personal emails and letting everyone know that I’m alive, to be a dire situation.

However, here I am and I’m on a computer that is not of my own. I hate the fact that it must be done, but situations aren’t as they always seem to be. .. what? Anyways, it won’t be too long before I’m re-installing Windows XP onto my computer once my great friend Tasha prints out the CD.

So, to keep everyone up to date on the subject of my gaming habits — I’ve been making fierce attempts to finish up the Da Vinci Code so I can get that review out to you guys. I’m also getting ready to do those patches for Oblivion so maybe I can actually PLAY THE EFFING game, already.

Other than that, I bet everyone’s ecstatic over their DS Lite and I’m hoping I’ll get one one of these days. Right now, I’m just trying to keep my head above water because I’m notorious for drowning.

Eh, that’s what “Item>Phoenix Down” is for.
Talk to you guys soon!

Ever since recieving it yesterday, I’ve been daunted by the mystique of the entire title. I made some lame attempts at reading the book, I read the jacket of the one my Mom got from the library and put it down. Then, I downloaded ( Oh, shut up. ) the eBook and transferred it to my PSP. So, I shuffled through the pages and perhaps got to the ninth or so chapter. I figured it made sense to read the book before playing the game and/or seeing the movie.

Because why take on a title like that without any actual knowledge of the background? I mean, sure I know that Paul Bettany plays a crazy-ass albino in it. Anyone who watched the trailers knew that. And anyone with a brain and eyeballs knew that Tom .. is it Tom? Tom Hanks is in the movie as well as some chick that kinda looks like Catherine Zeta-Jones, but isn’t.

Oh, and there are tricksy little codes that everyone was all up in arms about. Actual theories and such that were developed over quite a long time, which has the church all insane and everyone else mad at the churches which makes the churches mad at us. And Dan Brown. EVERYONE is mad at him.

So anyways, I popped in the disk and completely tossed away the thought of reading it first. I figured, hey.. it’s best to be a LITTLE surprised. That’s important, you know? Because in the first twenty minutes of the game, I pretty much Harry Potter’d my way around. As with any game that’s from a movie franchise, if you knew about the books that came out beforehand — you’re not surprised at all by the movie and you sure as shit can figure out the games.

So it all went very simple-like, where I looked for evidence, called the number, went to the bathroom, threw the soap and like every single chapter come to life, I listened to what my book would sound like with top-rate actors playing it out.

Weird.

Anyways, more on this as it develops. Also, more on this when I can find that stupid black-light that someone might’ve dropped somewhere around the goddamn museum. Ugh.

—–

On another note entirely, I’m really tired of being censored because I’m told it speaks more professionally. I can’t curse and whoop it up because it could possibly make me viewed as immature, possibly a loose-cannon. Does anyone here think of me that way? Who here thinks I should just shut up with all the cutesy kisses and such and move back into the opinionated, overtly enraged gamer girl that I was once upon a 1up.com?

Anyone? Anybody?

There is something strangely fulfilling about seeing new candy. I think it’s also the same thing that makes me excited as when a new beverage comes out. I’m psychotic about that kind of stuff and I always wondered why. New food? I could care less. New cookies or chips? I hardly ever give a shit about those kinds of things. However, when a new beverage comes out I will dart to my local store and buy three of them. When I’m at the store and I see uniquely shaped bottles and containers that house said beverages, I’m like an animal unleashed. I once spent forty dollars at Raley’s here in town when I saw all their new and fancy bottled drinks. Most people have their achille’s heel when it comes to spending money and drinks, those are mine. Drinks and candy. Yesterday, I about peed myself when I saw that they came out with Tropical Tootsie Rolls. You don’t know pleasure until you’re sucking on a pineapple tootsie roll pop.

I bring this up because my seemingly strange oral fixation for candy always gets in the way with my gaming. I can never suck on a lollipop while playing a game because it takes at least one hand to suck upon the lollipop. I could always leave it in my mouth, but why? I can’t enjoy the spherical shape of the lollipop and evenly make it’s candy-shell shrink if I just pop it in and devote all my attention to the game. See where I run into the problem?

If only they could make a candy that you could pop into your mouth and have a good time with WHILE not having to think too hard about it while playing. Sure, there’s things like M&Ms and Skittles — but those don’t last long. You still have to take one hand off the controller to grab some. With gum, it loses it flavor too fast and then you’re stuck chewing on nasty gum until you can find a safe place to pause.

I know, of all the things to blog about. Of all the things to whine about, I chose candy and my laziness due to ease of consumption. I never said I had a good argument, I just thought to post about it.

Any suggestions?

I think it’s completely awesome that Got-Next has swept up the blogging revolution into their collective hand. Being here since September of last year, I saw this site before it’s redesign and NOW before it was allowing blogs. I’ve always felt that Chris Scantleberry was a genius though. One of those eccentric geniuses, but one none the less.

I had the chance to sit down and play some of the new XMen game for the Xbox yesterday. A friend was playing it when I came over and when I had comfortably sat upon the couch, he was weaving Nightcrawler in and out of a strange basement-looking-thing. I was kind of interested because they had gone away from the styling of the movie and turned the cells FROM the movie, into a comic book style. I liked it, then again — I’m a comic book fangirl. My friend stepped away and he told me to play it for a bit, and starting over from the beginning, I picked up the controller.

I still hate platform games. This hasn’t changed. Just because I’m playing one again and not because I’m reviewing it, it doesn’t mean my love is steadfast and true. If you can’t understand that, fuck off.

Anyways, I start over in what seems to be the tutorial stages. Wolverine is chastising himself and Iceman through the Danger Room levels. Wolverine’s fighting style wasn’t revolutionary and I couldn’t fault them on it, because he’s fucking Wolverine. What else do they expect him to do? Knit? He’s got claws and that’s about it. Superhuman healing and all that crap, but he can’t really do anything too new. He’s always been the claw guy. Cyclops is the laserbeam-eye-guy, Storm is the Brr-windy-cold guy and Wolverine is the snickety-snang-guy. It’s just the formula. I didn’t make it up. It’s just how it is.

So, I’m playing it and I’m not too impressed. It’s a bit too simplistic. The formula was to kill the bad guys, try out your buttons and move on. With Iceman, it was to play Quidditch (I’m not joking, it was the same as playing Quidditch World Cup.) through a series of little blue hoops and then put out fires with your cool ice ray. There were some flying idiots around there too, but they were easily dispatched with a B press. So, no big deal there.

When I actually got the chance to play as Nightcrawler, I was expecting more retarded-let-us-underreact-to-our-target-audience crap. I flashed around a bit, teleported all over things and gathered little bits of technology along the way. True, I’m a jackass and I was teleporting when I didn’t have to — but it was the coolest part of the game so far! Can you blame me? The music was more recycled Xmen music and while I was already pissed off at the fact it was a platform game, you can’t gather impressions of the game off me. I’m not the person to come to if you’re like… “Hey, how is that new Xmen game?” because all you’ll hear me say is: “It’s a fucking platform game.” and I’ll walk away. I might mutter under my breath about Chicken Little, or I’ll throw things at you from afar. It’s a toss-up.

Anyways, so I played that game. I played it and still it didn’t dampen my excitement to go see the movie this Friday. Why? Because I’m a goddamn fangirl and everyone just needs to leave me alone about it.

Psh.

I’m not sure, but I think I was the most excited about this new feature. True, being a staffer — I can essentially update whenever I want to anyways. In fact, I’m still supposed to check over my reviews and send them in. Perhaps it’s the amount of things going on here in “Real Life” that are keeping me away, but I should really get back on the ball. Having something to focus on is always good for you anyways. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself right now as the pile of things to finish up is slowly amassing to legendary (for me anyways) proportions. I’m hardly a slacker here in the Land of Got-Next, so I find this all very depressing.

Some people consider this to be something telling. My trip to E3 had been difficult on my psyche when I got a phone call from my Mother stating that my Father’s and her’s worst fears were realized. He has all the signs of MS and his doctor was telling him that more tests would need to be done, but that basically — he shouldn’t be too hopeful. Can you believe that? A doctor said that. So, my trip in Los Angeles was something my Mother told me to worry about and keep focused on, but I had that playing over and over in my head. Situations and scenarios of a family that I’m very loyal to, dealing with and helping my Father through MS. Family would call and come over and they’d talk about Dad’s condition but never infront of him.

So where does one find focus and clarity at a time like this? Growing up, it was always my Mother who was sickly and who fought through cancer. When she was dealing with ovarian cancer and yet having children anyways, we all worried about a day where she’d push a bit too hard. We always stood at her bed side and we never once imagined that it would be any of us in her position. Especially, my Father. The pillar of strength for our family — he didn’t get sick and when he did, recovery was always a day later. Even hospital visits and serious injuries, he always picked himself up quickly and rarely ever showed us a glimmer of emotion over it.

When he found out he was being diagnosed with a physically debilitating illness, I was miles away in Los Angeles and there was very little I could do about it. My mother’s biggest fear was depression on his end because he’s not good at being told there is no way to fight. He’s never been good at not having an option and I’m the same way. I’m just as stubborn as he is and when standing infront of my Mother and asking her about what happened… I rebelled in quite the same stance. How could they say there were no warning signs? How could it be this?

I’m sure this is all some reason to bring my family closer together, grab my brother from Minnesota and perhaps either make or break the relationships between us and our extended family. Nowadays, it’s so difficult to know who your friends are which makes it even more difficult when family gives you that same trouble. Who is really compassionate? Who really cares? Who will stand beside us during these most tubulent days? The answer is usually nobody and we’ll all have to get used to that fact sooner or later.

I turned my first blog post into something that is all too melancholy for my usual cheerful banter here on Got-Next. I apologize but if anything, know that the next you hear from me will be sadness-free and glitteringly happy. Opinionated as I may be, I still really treasure having the chance to say something to all you people here in Internet Land. Thanks for sticking around and actually giving me an audience to talk to.

– Candice Shane