Obviously, if the game has the letter M on it, I cannot sell it to you. By law, I need to see a valid drivers license or have a parent/guardian approve the purchase for you. This does not mean run out to the car to get your mother’s drivers license to show to me. This also does not mean that you should ask the next customer in line to buy the inappropriate game for you. If you are not old enough to buy the game, you shouldn’t be asking for it.
I don’t care if you’re parent is right outside; they need to be standing right there with you to approve the game you chose. Now, when I rant about this, I have thoughts of society in general. When did we become a people that want what they want right now, if not any other time? Why is it so difficult to understand that if you are not old enough, you cannot acquire certain things like cigarettes, alcohol, insurance, and mature-rated games!
When I say that you’re not old enough to buy this game, don’t look at me as if you didn’t know. And if you really didn’t know, maybe you should look up some information about the ESRB and why the rating system is there in the first place. Bottom line; it is illegal to sell a mature-rated game to someone who is not seventeen or over.
Writing, believing…
-V
Monday, June 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Why don't I believe in God?
"Belief is a beautiful armor; it makes for the heaviest sword. Like punching underwater, you never can hit who you're trying for."
John Mayer- Belief
Lately, the subject of God has come up in a few different conversations. I recently created an account with Associated Content, and there was a subject about why individuals don’t believe in God. Since the subject was taken before I could bag it, I wanted to post my thoughts here.
I grew up in a house with three women, and none of them took me to church on a regular basis. When I became a teenager, my mother encouraged me to go with her to services, and most of the time, I didn’t have a choice. She said there were lessons to be learned from the sermons, and I didn’t doubt her. I don’t even blame her for making me go. She wanted to teach me some things, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, I wasn’t ready, or open-minded about the topic at hand, and I believe I would have been if I were more of an open young man
However, at thirteen years old, I could care less about life lessons when I was awoken from my slumber at seven in the morning to listen to someone talk. This, by no means, is meant to make fun or criticize how individuals follow their faith, but it wasn’t for me. It brings me to why I don’t believe in God.
For starters, none of the adults in my life raised me to believe in the existence of a higher power. When I became old enough to understand the concept of a God, I was simply not interested. And I was criticized because I didn’t have a faith and I sometimes lashed out when I felt it was being forced upon me.
In the past, I’ve had friends that believed they could speak to God and that they had a special connection with Him. That doesn’t register with me as something that is possible since everyone that I’m able to speak with is either in front of me, or can be reached via telephone or by other means. It has always puzzled me why God, if there is such a being, doesn’t talk to everyone. He certainly didn’t talk to me, and if He did, I might not have heard Him. If that’s the case, I wish He would speak up so we could have a back and forth about why the world is the way it is. Or why He would allow something like Alpha Protocol to be unleashed on the almost seven billion people that inhabit the Earth.
Part of why I don’t have a faith is out of rebellion. When I sat in those church services, I couldn’t engage myself with the culture, and because I didn’t understand it, I had a prejudice against it. It’s hard to believe in something when there’s no physical evidence provided for anything the Bible says to be true.
And it’s not that I want physical proof for everything that I don’t believe in. There are things I don’t follow simply because I don’t agree with them. In the case of God, I won’t follow Him even when I see some type of proof that He exists.
After all this explanation, the main reason I don’t believe in God is because I don’t feel the need or urge to. It’s just who I am, and it’s nice to exercise my freedom of choice. I’m perfectly content believing that I control my destiny. If I want something, I know that I can go out and get it, which is a big reason I’m working so hard on my writing.
I appreciate and respect that others may follow a faith or religion, but it’s not for me. And on a side note, it’s quite difficult to say ‘God bless you’ when someone sneezes. I only say ‘bless you’, but it has no meaning coming from me. It’s been programmed in me to say the term, but I can’t seem to stop without seeming rude for not saying anything when someone sneezes. I welcome any suggestions of what I could say instead. ☺
Writing, believing…
-V
John Mayer- Belief
Lately, the subject of God has come up in a few different conversations. I recently created an account with Associated Content, and there was a subject about why individuals don’t believe in God. Since the subject was taken before I could bag it, I wanted to post my thoughts here.
I grew up in a house with three women, and none of them took me to church on a regular basis. When I became a teenager, my mother encouraged me to go with her to services, and most of the time, I didn’t have a choice. She said there were lessons to be learned from the sermons, and I didn’t doubt her. I don’t even blame her for making me go. She wanted to teach me some things, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, I wasn’t ready, or open-minded about the topic at hand, and I believe I would have been if I were more of an open young man
However, at thirteen years old, I could care less about life lessons when I was awoken from my slumber at seven in the morning to listen to someone talk. This, by no means, is meant to make fun or criticize how individuals follow their faith, but it wasn’t for me. It brings me to why I don’t believe in God.
For starters, none of the adults in my life raised me to believe in the existence of a higher power. When I became old enough to understand the concept of a God, I was simply not interested. And I was criticized because I didn’t have a faith and I sometimes lashed out when I felt it was being forced upon me.
In the past, I’ve had friends that believed they could speak to God and that they had a special connection with Him. That doesn’t register with me as something that is possible since everyone that I’m able to speak with is either in front of me, or can be reached via telephone or by other means. It has always puzzled me why God, if there is such a being, doesn’t talk to everyone. He certainly didn’t talk to me, and if He did, I might not have heard Him. If that’s the case, I wish He would speak up so we could have a back and forth about why the world is the way it is. Or why He would allow something like Alpha Protocol to be unleashed on the almost seven billion people that inhabit the Earth.
Part of why I don’t have a faith is out of rebellion. When I sat in those church services, I couldn’t engage myself with the culture, and because I didn’t understand it, I had a prejudice against it. It’s hard to believe in something when there’s no physical evidence provided for anything the Bible says to be true.
And it’s not that I want physical proof for everything that I don’t believe in. There are things I don’t follow simply because I don’t agree with them. In the case of God, I won’t follow Him even when I see some type of proof that He exists.
After all this explanation, the main reason I don’t believe in God is because I don’t feel the need or urge to. It’s just who I am, and it’s nice to exercise my freedom of choice. I’m perfectly content believing that I control my destiny. If I want something, I know that I can go out and get it, which is a big reason I’m working so hard on my writing.
I appreciate and respect that others may follow a faith or religion, but it’s not for me. And on a side note, it’s quite difficult to say ‘God bless you’ when someone sneezes. I only say ‘bless you’, but it has no meaning coming from me. It’s been programmed in me to say the term, but I can’t seem to stop without seeming rude for not saying anything when someone sneezes. I welcome any suggestions of what I could say instead. ☺
Writing, believing…
-V
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
New Xbox Revealed and Released!
When it comes to new innovations in gaming from movement sensors to 3-D visualization, the E3 convention is where the latest and greatest is unveiled. And thanks to my detective work, and a little birdie at Gamestop, I came across a new version of the Xbox 360 that is being released today (June 15th). After looking up the specs for this remodeled system, I’m impressed, to say the least.
First, the memory is built right into the system for a whopping 250 gigabytes of sheer downloading, game-saving pleasure. It is also swappable, so players can switch when or if a larger hard drive is released. Luckily, the sleeker Xbox is still backwards compatible, so don’t throw away your old games just yet. The new and improved system will have two fans to keep the system cool, and the console will run more quietly than before.
Along with the slimmer, glossy look, the technicians at Microsoft have supposedly solved the red-ring issue and all the other glitches so the system will last longer than the previous models. And last, but not least, MS decided to install 802.11n Wi-Fi instead of selling a separate adapter. This will make it much simpler for gamers to connect to Xbox Live and play with others.
For all the features the slim Xbox comes with, it’s seems to be worth the price of $299, but let’s wait until the consumer reviews come out.
Writing, believing…
-V
First, the memory is built right into the system for a whopping 250 gigabytes of sheer downloading, game-saving pleasure. It is also swappable, so players can switch when or if a larger hard drive is released. Luckily, the sleeker Xbox is still backwards compatible, so don’t throw away your old games just yet. The new and improved system will have two fans to keep the system cool, and the console will run more quietly than before.
Along with the slimmer, glossy look, the technicians at Microsoft have supposedly solved the red-ring issue and all the other glitches so the system will last longer than the previous models. And last, but not least, MS decided to install 802.11n Wi-Fi instead of selling a separate adapter. This will make it much simpler for gamers to connect to Xbox Live and play with others.
For all the features the slim Xbox comes with, it’s seems to be worth the price of $299, but let’s wait until the consumer reviews come out.
Writing, believing…
-V
Friday, June 4, 2010
Alpha Protocol review
I’ve played games like Mass Effect and Red Dead Redemption, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed playing those games simply for the ability to roam vast environments and take on missions that have nothing to do with the actual story.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Alpha Protocol for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Obsidian Games promoted the crap out of the Espionage RPG and bolstered it with specialized guns players can obtain if they reserve a copy of the game. It was exciting to see the trailers because the cut scenes were interesting, but like all trailers or previews, it’s a 50/50 shot that whatever is being advertised will be a slam-dunk or a failure when released. Alpha Protocol was one of those failures.
I’d like to point out that if you can kill someone with a tranquilizer gun, the game isn’t worth it. It was hard enough to aim and shoot, but there were times where I had an enemy in the crosshairs, and the shot went right through him. I found myself being confused by where I was and I often got dizzy because the camera moved way too fast to catch what was happening.
The character’s movements looked completely unnatural and engineered rather than lifelike. You can perform a crouched walk that looks like a cross between a charging gorilla and an old woman with a cane. One thing that totally bothered me was the dialogue and voice acting. During one cut scene, he is talking to a mysterious woman who helps him out of a facility, but they looked like Muppets when they spoke. Even the voice acting reminded me of those one liners you hear in movies like Shoot Em Up; where the character cuts off a bad guy’s hand and says, “Nothing like a good hand job.”
In the game, there are mini-challenges where you pick locks and disable computer/alarm systems, but they are so out of place since the characters wakes up in an unknown facility with armed guards after him. By the way, I’m not sure what’s in those tranquilizer darts, but I killed fifteen guys with them. Is it possible to play the game using those darts? If so, I’m even more let down by this game.
Since I hadn’t played the game in-depth, I can’t tell you the story, but maybe that’s a good thing. You don’t need to know the plot to realize that the graphics are reminiscent of anything before Tekken 3. The voice acting is as good as Rogue Warrior, except the voice acting in that game was a lot more entertaining.
Overall, if you reserved a copy of Alpha Protocol, move that money to another reservation. And if you’ve gotten a copy already, I hope the gun pack codes overshadow all the genius stupidity of the game play, sound, and graphics, but I doubt it. Alpha Protocol gets a 1.5 out of 10 from me.
Writing, believing
-V
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Alpha Protocol for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Obsidian Games promoted the crap out of the Espionage RPG and bolstered it with specialized guns players can obtain if they reserve a copy of the game. It was exciting to see the trailers because the cut scenes were interesting, but like all trailers or previews, it’s a 50/50 shot that whatever is being advertised will be a slam-dunk or a failure when released. Alpha Protocol was one of those failures.
I’d like to point out that if you can kill someone with a tranquilizer gun, the game isn’t worth it. It was hard enough to aim and shoot, but there were times where I had an enemy in the crosshairs, and the shot went right through him. I found myself being confused by where I was and I often got dizzy because the camera moved way too fast to catch what was happening.
The character’s movements looked completely unnatural and engineered rather than lifelike. You can perform a crouched walk that looks like a cross between a charging gorilla and an old woman with a cane. One thing that totally bothered me was the dialogue and voice acting. During one cut scene, he is talking to a mysterious woman who helps him out of a facility, but they looked like Muppets when they spoke. Even the voice acting reminded me of those one liners you hear in movies like Shoot Em Up; where the character cuts off a bad guy’s hand and says, “Nothing like a good hand job.”
In the game, there are mini-challenges where you pick locks and disable computer/alarm systems, but they are so out of place since the characters wakes up in an unknown facility with armed guards after him. By the way, I’m not sure what’s in those tranquilizer darts, but I killed fifteen guys with them. Is it possible to play the game using those darts? If so, I’m even more let down by this game.
Since I hadn’t played the game in-depth, I can’t tell you the story, but maybe that’s a good thing. You don’t need to know the plot to realize that the graphics are reminiscent of anything before Tekken 3. The voice acting is as good as Rogue Warrior, except the voice acting in that game was a lot more entertaining.
Overall, if you reserved a copy of Alpha Protocol, move that money to another reservation. And if you’ve gotten a copy already, I hope the gun pack codes overshadow all the genius stupidity of the game play, sound, and graphics, but I doubt it. Alpha Protocol gets a 1.5 out of 10 from me.
Writing, believing
-V
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