Lineage II - So Close! SO CLOSE!!

When F1tZ introduced me to the new MMORPG, Lineage II, I was instantly fascinated. When he went on to explain that L2 was still in beta, I started to twitch. Then, when I managed to get into the beta and create a character, my pants started getting damp. And finally, when I dashed through the game in the form of a dark elf mystic, I had a complete seizure! "THIS GAME IS AWESOME!" I blurted, reblurted, and reiterated in the form of another blurt. And Royale saw Lineage II, and it was D*MN good...

It was good, that is, until the Asian Ebay adena farmers took control. You see, there are...organizations, it seems, who make money by hiring people to create characters, and hang out in dungeons all day, collecting adena (gold). This adena is made available for purchase to people who are too lazy to play the game themselves. That doesn't sound too bad, does it? I thought not also, until things started getting rough. The farmers tend to be higher-level characters, possessive of the dungeon space they inhabit. I started losing count after the tenth time I was "encouraged", verbally or forcibly, to vacate the area.

I'm not a complainer by nature, but it seems to me that if I'm committing $14.99 a month to NCSoft, this potentially GREAT game's creator, not to mention the $49.99 in the game's purchase, my gaming experience should at least resemble that which is described on the package. Instead, I'm limited dramatically by the opportunist ASSHOLES and ICBs (InConsiderate Bastards) with no thought to those of us who aren't major WANKERS!

Okay, okay, I know I'm getting a little hostile over here. To NCSoft's credit, they have announced a coming update, entitled "Chronicle One," which in addition to correcting any number of game bugs, will also remove "bots" from the system. Any of you with MMORPG experience know these THINGS are constructs which automatically kill and collect, kill and collect, etc. Again a toy for those too fucking lazy to get on their computers and play the game themselves. Now read that last sentence again, please. Do you see my point? I tell ya, wankers, every one. So this update that's coming, right, the one to correct this problem? It's been "coming out" ever since the game was released almost a month ago!

I don't use this phrase very often, but BUYER BEWARE!

Thanks, All.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Well, what can I say? This was a great movie. Even with a change of directors, it still seemed to remain on course with the previous two movies. The biggest difference is the dark overtone. It seems as the characters in the series grow up, so does the feel and subject matter of the movies. I am told that the next few movies will continue this trend.

As far as the technical aspects, you could not hope for improvements. The CG in the first two movies seemed a little too rubbery. It seems that problem is all but gone. Cinematography and sound as always remained excellent. It's hard to do a movie with such dark overtones, and still have it remain pleasant to the eye; without overshadowing the film. Alfonso Cuarón and his crew, however, pulled it off.

I would suggest you see this on the big screen. With all of the action and grandeur, it's worth the money. A warning to parents: this one gets scary. I would suggest you bring no one younger than twelve to this film.

Movies... The spice of life.

Hello, there. My name is Nicole, and movies are my life. I am an actress in training: I love theatre in all its forms. I see movies often with my boyfriend and brothers. So here is my chance to help you by letting you know what to see and what to skip. Along with my brother, I will give you the scoop on who was hot and what sucked in every movie we see. So if movies are your passion--like they are ours--you're in luck!

Let the ride Begin.

Ahhhh..... What she said. Yep, I'm a movie buff. I've done a few short films and studied movie and video production. So while sis will give you the 411 on the acting half, I'll give you that good old techno mumbo jumbo that comes with production.