Our little boy is all grows up

After this weekend, I'll have to change my blog photo.  My little brother is getting hitched.  We leave for VA in a couple of hours.  I'm the a-hole brother that misses most of the rehearsal dinner, but I'll be there just in time to take part in the rest of the 'night before' festivities.  I can't believe my little brother is getting married.  He is three years younger than me and I just had my two month anniversary last night.  Crazy stuff.

I'm picking up my tux when I get there, so all I have packed for the trip are my wife's dresses (that's right, two), a change of street clothes, two DS's (with Mario and Magnetica for the flight), and my PSP (with Armored Core, for when she falls asleep), and a couple of extra games (just in case).  I am bringing more game systems than clothes.

On the topic of Armored Core.  This game is turning out to be well worth my journey to get it.  I love when you stumble on a game that turns out to be a bunch of fun.  The matches are quick and fun to watch and it's a blast tinkering with your mech parts and AI to help tailor it to defeat the opponent.  I'll admit the load times make it a little frustrating.  You can't modify the programming in between battles without popping through three or four load screens. 

Posted by Whamolla @ 2:15 pm EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments

A glimpse into my addiction

A week or so ago I posted on the boards abotu a PSP game I was interested in.  The game was Armored Core Formula Front.  I have been looking to revive the console and further justify the money I spent over a year ago.  Also, my brother is getting married this weekend so I have some flying to do.  I hadn't gotten much of a response from the community here, but my curiosity and OCD caused me read every review, visit some fan sites, search 5 stores, and order the game online. 

You may say that after all that it had better be good, but I'm not even sure if that's necessary.  Sometimes I obsess about a game or game theme.  I usually don't rest until I get it and then after playing it for a couple of weeks I'm on to the next one.

Off the top of my head I've also done this with Phantom Dust, Neverwinter Nights, Front Mission, and Morrowind (which I bought and sold back twice).  You could argue I've done it with most of my games.  Hell I went on a crusade for Advance Wars games after I bought Field Commander.  My point is, I have an addiction to buying new games.  Sometimes I am able to keep it at bay by playing old games, but most of the time I would trade them in (hence the morrowind fiasco). 

I really go through portable games since I never have anyone around me to play with.  At least if I had a multiplayer buddy I could prolong the magic.

Anyway, on to Armored Core Formula Front.  The game is pretty damn sweet.  It's devoid of plot, which is fine.  The controls are a bit cumbersome, but I always had a problem with the armored core controls on PS2.  I tried the controls a couple of times, but I am going to stick with the AI.  There are load times, but they don't seem to be too bad.  The fun part is modifying and optimizing your mech and the AI.  You have so much control over how they fight, it's crazy.

I can see how such a complex level of control could be a turnoff.  I beat the first three opponents without really knowingwhat I was doing.  It wasn't until I started losing that I started to grasp how my equipment and AI changes would affect my performance.  I feel like the light is only starting to come on and the fights are fun to watch.

One of the coolest parts is that people at these fan sites post their mech construction and AI programming details so I can test them against my creations.  It's like multiplayer without the other person.  It's also not a test of reflexes or accuracy, but a competition to see who better understands the art of tuning.

If there are a few of you out there who are reading this, let me know and we can share designs.

 

Posted by Whamolla @ 11:39 am EDT | Permalink | 2 Comments

Or not...

Well, it looks like the grad school loan payments are going to be a bit more than we had thought.  My dreams of a new car are disappearing before my eyes.  We spent most of the weekend evaluating our financial mortality and we realized if I start making car payments, our margin for error would be way too thin.  So, now we are trying to figure out how long a 1995 civic with 147,000 miles will last.  Damn, I hate that car. 

Posted by Whamolla @ 7:28 am EDT | Permalink | 2 Comments

Time to buy a new car

How exciting...yeah right.

So, my wife's 10 year old Honda is a miserable ride and is on it's way out.  We've made a deal.  Since she has a crap load of loans from grad school, I give her my car and I get a new ride.  Yea me.

Now I get to deal with salesmen, and trying to figure out how I am going to come up with a downpayment.  If anyone has any tips for dealing with these guys, like avoiding them altogether, let me know.

I think I've decided we are going to spend our newleywed years with a Wrangler.  We've got no kids.  We've been married a month.  We've got plenty of time to be practical, for now let's have some fun.  I am excited.  Everytime I see one on the road I get excited and want to just go to the dealership.  I am just scared as hell.  I'm not a homeowner and I haven't bought anything that big since my last car, five years ago.

 

Posted by Whamolla @ 4:00 pm EDT | Permalink | 4 Comments

What a ride

I just got back from my honeymoon. 

The last 12 or so days have been crazy.  We had our wedding on an incredibly beautiful day.  All of my closest friends and family were there.  And I am now married to the most amazing woman I have ever met.  People were not kidding when they said it would go by fast.  I can't believe it's over.  Except for our cake getting into a car accident (it was promptly replaced) and the shuttle leaving a bridesmaid on the side of the road, everything seemed to go off without a hitch.

 10 days in St. Lucia has made me unable to survive around a computer and I can no longer post a picture.  I have a couple I would like to throw up here, so once I figure it out I can share the magic.

St. Lucia was dope.  We split our stay between two places.  One place was a villa right near the water (www.tikaye.com 4 days), and the second was supposed to be a villa in the mtns (www.ladera.com 6 days).  When we got to the second one, they screwed up and our room wasn't ready.  Instead of a plunge pool and a view of the pitons, we got a tiny room with a small deck that faced out over a road.  The deck was so small that if you unfolded the folding chairs that were on it, your legs would be on the deck and you torso would be in the room.  We were pretty bummed and had considered just scrapping it and going back to the first resort.

It was only for one night and of course they covered all of our expenses for that day.  But then they took it to the next level...they upgraded us to a three bedroom villa with a fantastic view and a private pool  where you could park two mini vans lengthwise.  Not much reason for two newlyweds to hit the beach, when you have a private pool and an all inlcusive package.  In short, the honeymoon was legit.  I even found sum time to read the Da Vinci Code and The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy and beat the new mario game and the original advance wars on my DS (which I got for my birthday, two days before my wedding). 

I know I will probably get slammed for this one, but the all inclusive package at the second place also included a free spa treatment, so I got my first pedicure...and I loved it. 

Right now, life is pretty damn good.

Hopefully I can get some pictures up, but check out those weblinks to the resorts.  I would say Ladera was probably better, and would have been even if we had gottne the room we booked, instead of being upgraded to the uber-villa.

 

Posted by Whamolla @ 4:28 pm EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments