You could call me a "long-term relationship" gamer. Once I find a game I like I'll stick with it. It happened with Tetris, DDR, Quake 2, Halo 2 and especially with Everquest and World of Warcraft.
Now 8 months after its release, I'm sitting here with my brother, about to start another game of Halo 3, (at 3am) and I'm wondering why the heck is this game so good that it keeps me coming back for more?
Something in science class is coming to mind... Something about neuro-receptors or neurons associating pleasure with the game. I'm sure in Halo 3, every time we kick another teams ass, some endorphins are released.
And considering I've been playing video games since I was 2 years old, (with Pac-Man on the Atari 2600) my brain must be fully hardwired to thinking that video games = enjoyment. Since my brother also enjoys the same games, it's our family time. =)
Multi-player online games are what REALLY got me hooked. Artificial Intelligence has vastly improved over the years, but to this day it doesn't compare to playing against live competition. We can verbally strategize. Yell commands at each other. And thrill in the last minute heroics of getting the last key headshot that won us the game! (you should see my brother's reaction to getting teabagged)
We also love some of the little things about Halo 3. 1. Trying to decipher the names that people are using. Most notably, "Watch out for S...Omega...S..." "That's not S...Omega...S... That's Some...GaS" 2. Listening to little kids taunt us on the mic. It's amazing how many racist comments we hear on the mic, just because they're speaking online. (similar to comments Michael Richards made) 3. Or when we imagine the cancellation call with Microsoft: "Hi I'd like to cancel my subscription. My tagname is Always High 123."
All in all, Halo 3 is one of those games that will keep me addicted for a long time... At least until Starcraft 2 or Diablo 3 comes out. =)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Halo 3, Online Poker, Trailers of Diablo 3
Outdoor paintball is something that everyone should try. It's intense, it's a great workout, and it's great fun! But how can you get good? It's not as easy as it seems...
This was the first time that I've tried paintball outdoors (indoors sucks in comparison btw) and it's definitely the way paintball should be played. The terrain adds so much to the game. You hide in the grass, run up muddy hills, and jump through ravines in order to find your opponents.
There were 12 different fields to choose from, all with different sizes, obstacles, terrain, and possible objectives. Objectives included normal last team standing, defend the base, bombing run, escort the president, capture the flag, attack the base, and others.
So much variety! It was never boring, and even more fun with friends (to team up with, or to shoot at). Boy was it also tiring. I was totally sweating buckets after every game, partially cause you want to be fully covered so it won't hurt as much when you're hit.
It's a lot of fun, but how can you get good? Well that's the only problem. Why? You need to be ballin' (have lots of money) to play this game regularly.
$45 per bag of 500 paintballs. (which can go by super quick, and no you can't bring your own paintballs) $20 per visit including rentals. ($10 without) Want your own equipment? $300+ for a decent gun. $100+ for camoflauge gear $50 for gloves $100 for a helmet
If I was ballin' I would totally play paintball all the time. Unfortunately I'm not. =P I can live with playing once or twice is year...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Paintball Games: Attack the Base and Escort the President
"Get out the salami and cheese mama this ballgame is ova!"
The first thing I wanna say is that Bryan Colangelo is a freakin' genius! The moves that he's made since coming aboard have turned a team going downhill into a contender.
Jermaine O'Neal is a great player. He's an all-star who can still be a threat on both sides of the floor, and just needs a decent team around him in order to show his true skills.
The Raptors are a perfect fit for him. We have great 3 point scorers that will help spread the floor for him to operate. We have Bosh (also an All-Star) who will be able to move to his more natural 4 spot. We're gonna be a force under the basket!
Now I know they aren't the Twin Towers, but it'll be entertaining to see some of the weaker teams in the East handle us when both of them are on the floor.
And in exchange we lost TJ Ford. I'll admit he's a great scorer, but since two years ago I've thought that Calderon was the better player. Now we don't have to worry about splitting up playing time as Calderon will be the go-to starter. Calderon is a true-point guard who is deceptively quick, has an amazing assist to turnover ratio, and has an excellent shot.
In terms of health, TJ and Jermaine are both players notorious with injuries. So to me it's a wash...
I've always believed that the team that wins the trade is the team that gets the best player. I would take a healthy Jermaine O'Neal any day of the week over a healthy TJ Ford. So in terms of that, "Raptors win, raptors win, raptors win!"
We probably need 1 or 2 more pieces to win a championship, but I have faith that Colangelo will pull another magic act if we're in serious contention.
Now we just gotta figure out how to beat Boston...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Ball Players: Jermaine O'Neal, and NOT Kobe Bryant
I've always thought of poker freerolls as crapshoots. Normally 5000 entrants or more, and only 50 some odd people will make the next round. And then you have to make the cut twice more...
Obviously there's "some" skill involved... Cause Chris Moneymaker was able to win the World Series. (Moneymaker is another topic completely) But all the stars in the sky have to align just right in order to win it all.
So another day, another freeroll entry. This time it's to win a $17000 package to Vegas to meet Daniel Negreanu and get a learning session from him, and $2000 in spending cash. This one's for Canadians only. Check it here.
I couldn't resist cause only 1586 people entered the tournament and 1000 people get a ticket to the semi-final round. Knowing the online poker player syndrome (loose, loose and more loose), I just had to bide my time, and play big hands only.
The tourney started at 8:15pm... Ended at 8:49pm... I played 10 hands out of only 37 hands total lol. I won 4 of those hands I played.
I wish all freerolls were this easy. =P
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Online Poker, Wii Fit
This year's dragon boat races were intense as usual.
I've been involved in this sport since 1996, and I can't believe I've been doing it for this long. But there's something about the competition that keeps me coming back for more. It's one of the fastest growing sports, and I've seen it grow exponentially over the years.
If you don't know what it's about, here's a video from last year. This particular race is held yearly at Centre Island in Toronto Canada. We're in lane 6 and I'm the coxswain (steersperson):
It's been the second year since joining Smokin' Tuna, and they've been very welcoming. A friend of mine had a few extra spots last year, and I expressed interest in steering the boat. (previously I've solely paddled) So I was lucky enough to join their team as a rookie steersman.
They were very patient with me, and despite the few times that I forced the boat to stop cause I was about to lead them into a wall, or the beach, I've done a pretty good job.
It's a tough job, cause you won't hear much in terms of recognition if you're doing well. But if you steer poorly, you'll have 20 people in the boat angry at you. =P Honestly though, it was a lot of fun! I totally lost my voice from all the yelling. "GO! GO! GO! FINISH! EVERYTHING!" is what I was yelling when we were finishing the race. I could barely speak the next day at work...
We were favored to win our division in the final race. And despite a great start, unfortunately we finished 3rd. You can't win them all. But we still got a medal.
It was a great ride this year. Perhaps I'll go back to paddling next year... =)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Games played at Dragon Boating: Hacky Sack, Poker, Frisbee Golf
A few months ago I received a letter and CD in the mail from mansionpoker.com offering me: "$15 FREE CASH - NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED"
It goes on to say that there's no catch and it's an exclusive opportunity blah blah blah... I totally didn't believe it, but I left it on a chair to collect dust.
So recently I found it on the chair again, and decided to give it a go. Now it took me a good 30 minutes after installation to find the area to put in the bonus code, but I actually got $15 for free!
I was reading up on it and saw that it's very stringent before you're allowed to pull your money from Mansion Poker. Apparently they ask for a copy of your passport or driver's license. It's talked about on numerous sites and confirmed on mansion pokers' website here
If I'm able to turn my $15 into $500 then perhaps I'll consider it. =P
Despite my brother's suggestion to make one attempt in the biggest tourney I can afford with the $15, I decided to take the "slow and steady" approach, and take on the limit tables at 5cent/10cent.
After 3 sessions I'm happy to report that I'm up to $18.92! Lol retirement here I come!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Mansionpoker, Wii Fit
I hope you've all tried Acrophobia. It was definitely the most addictive word game I've ever played. Way better than Word Racer ever was...
I remember being introduced to the game and being instantly hooked. My cousins and I have had 5 computers going in the same house playing Acrophobia against each other and the rest of the room.
I beg anyone who can, please please bring the game back.
There have been plenty of imitators, but nothing duplicated the sounds and feel of this version of the game. Describing it doesn't do it justice, so check out this memorial site here: http://www.kabwebs.com/acrophobiashrine/
And apparently after doing some research, someone IS trying to bring it back! http://www.originalacro.com/ It doesn't look like it's working as of yet, but here's hoping...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Fav Games: Wii Fit, Halo 3
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