Check Out My YouTube Channel For Great Videos!

Hey, Guys & Gals!

I've been busy during the last month (October) uploading videos to my YouTube channel.

All of them were horror themed for Halloween, so check them out.

My favorite Horror Films in my collection.

My favorite Survival Horror Games in my collection.

My YouTube channel below:
http://www.youtube.com/user/chekmate07

Check it out, Everyone! "Like" and "Subscribe" to my channel to see what else I do!

Trying To Be A Master Mercenary

So, as the title of this blog entry suggests, I am in the process of becoming a Merc!

It's not easy deciding how to get ready to go and pillage unfriendly or friendly territories! For that matter, Mercs never know who is going to hire them and where they might be sent. It could be into the deep jungles of some South American country, or it can be a secluded town located in the Midwestern United States, and with only vague details about people going crazy!

Yes, sir, it's a toughie, no doubt about that! But, when the pay is good, Mercs tend not to ask questions and just do. I mean, for a few days of intense and life-threatening situations that most people will not touch with a ten foot pole -- why not!? It definitely builds character and adds more life-story experiences that makes others, who claim they're living life to the fullest, seem like pansies. Yeah, puts them to shame.

Yep, that's what I'm in for. Am I ready?

HECK NO!

I wouldn't even know what kind of socks or weekend t-shirts to pack!

Don't worry guys and gals I haven't become a gun nut. It might have been interesting though! But, alas, NO, I'm not venturing down that dark path. This is just a Resident Evil 6 news update from me to you. So far I've completed all three main campaigns and I've unlocked Ada's campaign also. However, I haven't tried her campaign yet because I've decided to give the mercenaries mini-games a try.

WHY, you ask? Well, simply because of the video below...



Now I was never one to play through the Mercenaries Mode in a Resident Evil game and the few times I tried during RE5 were met with horrid results, low points and my own disappointing ability to execute enemies and get higher combos.

However, when I saw this clip for an S Rank in the Merceneries Mode in RE6, I was surprised by how much easier it was to do. But, beware, even if it does look easy, trust me it's not! The enemies grow in numbers and can surround you making your task a hell of a lot harder to accomplish. The same can be said of the previous RE Mercenaries games, but with RE6 there are better options - tactics - for chaining a max kill combo and overall score for bonus prizes.

So far, I've gotten a C Rank with 75 total kills and a 25 max combo. Yeah, it's still pretty lame, but I actually found myself having fun! When I played RE5's Mercenary Mode, I found myself feeling frustrated and annoyed at not getting a higher overall rating and trying to unlock bonus characters. I think the reason RE5's Mercenaries Games left me with a bad taste in my mouth was because it really depended on online co-op to achieve max scores. I am not a big fan of online co-op anything, so this was a didn't help my progress.

This time, with RE6, it feels like I can actually accomplish both high score and bonus material while still having fun trying to become a Mercenaries Master!

I'm picking up the tactics, by watching the video, and I'm grasping my own method to accomplish the mission and get the highest score possible. It's a trial and error process, but I'm getting better so I know that eventually I'll have my way, Bwa Ha Ha!

I've been looking around the inter-webs and found pics on the additional characters and their alternate costumes that can be unlocked by completing the necessary objectives. Man, let me say that there are some unlockables that I want to achieve but know it will be a long and grueling task. One of them happens to be Helena's alternate costume!

Wow, that is quite a look and I like it! Some of the others include Sherry's original costume from RE2 and Leon's pirate costume. All-in-all, I just want to get better at playing through these modes and chaining combos for max scores, and getting those extras as rewards.

Well, that's all for now. It's a small part of my life, but rest assured that I will continue to practice and achieve that ultimate goal of Mercenaries Master Ranking like all the others before me!

Later, Gators!

Get Ready For The Resident Evil Overload!

 
Well hello there folks!

Yes, I've been on hiatus since my last post about a month ago, but here I am to drop some movie news, trailers, whatever that interests me. On that note, it should interest you as well!

The San Diego Comic Con happened a couple of weeks ago, and no, before you jump with curiosity, I did not go. However, the internet has been alive with news on all sorts of information concerning movies that I am ultra hype about!

Unfortunately, I will not talk about those films now as I do not have enough credible information, mainly video, to show so I rave about these other films. I know, booooo!

Fear not, however, as I will talk a bit about a certain franchise that will have a huge release during the months of September and October!

Know what it is? I kind of gave it away already. Doh!

Either way, those of you out there who know me very well, know what I'm getting at. Here's a hint.

That's right, Folks. It's Resident Evil. Now, I've been a huge Resident Evil fan since I played the original PSX Resident Evil over 12 years ago, hmm, it's probably more like 15 years ago. Ahh, I've lost count. Anyway, I've played them all - just about - but I've played every core game and side iteration that appeared of my all time favorite zombie and B.O.W. shooter.

So, with that being said, I'm really excited about Resident Evil 6 which will be arriving on October 2, 2012. There is a lot happening with this game that I am eager to try out and rest assured that I'll have something to say about it after I've maliciously neutralized zombies and whatever other mutated baddie that crosses my path.
 


The above trailer is an older version which shows the release date in November, but trust me it's coming out 10/2/2012. However, it does show the three primary campaign characters and the grand scale of each scenario.

Below is the Comic Con trailer. While it is smaller in length, it does show more of that creepy atmosphere we've enjoyed from the original games and the return of an old foe.


It's the Yawn from Resident Evil 1! The huge snake reappears in RE6; although he looks more menacing, it'll be fun to fight him again. I hope this means that maybe there will be a few surprise appearances by some old foes, namely: Hunters, Tyrants! Only time will tell.

I'm going into any detail about the gameplay mechanics here, but you can find it and more demo videos on the campaigns from Comic Con on Youtube.

Next, RE6 doesn't come out until October, but before that two Resident Evil movies will be released to keep us satiated until then.

Milla Jovovich returns to reprise her role as Alice in Resident Evil: Retribution 3D. I don't care for the 3D element, but it's good to see a new film in the RE movie franchise. By the looks of the trailer below, we're all going to get our heads turned upside down.


None of it was real! The events of RE1, Apocalypse, Extinction and Afterlife were implanted into her mind! Oh, man, I think we will all got mind-jacked or perhaps Inception reaches far beyond what Leonardo DiCaprio could have ever imagined. Either way, this new entry looks like it will definitely entertain and keep us on our seats. I mean, Leon S. Kennedy finally makes his screen debut along with the lovely and mysterious Ada Wong. I'm hyped I tell you!!!

The one element of the film that I'm a bit unhappy about is the fact that the trailer shows a big Licker causing mayhem. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look at the picture of the monster above. I can't tell you how tired I am of the Licker B.O.W. monster(s) showing up in every movie. Geez, Paul W. S.  Anderson, I know you wrote each of those scripts, but give some other monsters from the RE universe a chance to live on screen.

I'm hoping that since this film is taking the position that none of the other films happened then maybe we'll see some other monsters appear or reappear! A Hunter, Tyrant, Nemesis... a big snake or shark! Please!!

Anyway, I'm still hyped for Resident Evil: Retribution 3D which hits theaters September 14, 2012!

Finally, back in 2008, Capcom released a full-length CGI RE movie entitled Resident Evil: Degeneration. Despite the fact the movie had its flaws it was still enjoyable. Seeing a fully rendered CG Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, two of the game series' most memorable characters, fighting zombies and monsters was pure bliss. Then two years ago, the internet world was feed a teaser trailer for a new CGI full-length movie. It showed Leon, again, this time in a crumbling city fighting against Lickers. Yup, dammit, even here!

Okay, before I lose it. At Comic Con they released a new trailer for upcoming sequel titled Resident Evil: Damnation.


Oh those Lickers. You just can't get enough of them even though I keep hoping that a Hunter will show up. At least, we get a fully CG rendered Ada Wong now! This movie will not hit theaters, but it will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 24, 2012.

Well, Resident Evil will own the months of September and October on both your home consoles and on the small and big screen.

I can't wait. I'm literally going to burst into flames from the sensory overload of Resident Evil goodness. Or, I'm going to fall ill from infection by the T, G, T-Veronica, Las Plagas, Oroborous or the new C virus! Damn how many viruses has Umbrella created?

Stayed tuned folks as I reveal more information surrounding those other film trailers that were showcased at Comic Con. When I get more news on them, or course!

And, keep your eyes pealed for my massive look into the Resident Evil game and movie franchises. Whenever I get around to compiling that beast.  

Until then.

Final Fantasy XIII-2: Podcast Review

 
Well, well, here is something new. It's my first podcast, and I'm very excited to share this with the world!

So, what do I have prepared for you? Well, it's a video game review, and it's on none other than Final Fantasy XIII-2. This is the much awaited sequel to last year's FF-XIII.

Okay, first thing, if you're not a gamer...listen anyway! If you are, well check us out, hear the voices of two gamers from NYC. Seriously, I'm being serious now and maybe a bit comical, but gamer or not, I think you'll enjoy the podcast.

We're gamer nerds! Well, I am to a certain degree.

Hey, it's one of several other things that I do besides write stories about robots, zombies, etc. Ha!

I'm joined by me good friend, Jose. We talk about improvements, overall gameplay, and other Final Fantasyisms while comparing XIII-2 to its predecessor to see how the whole thing fared as a final product.

What did I and my fellow gamer co-podcaster think about it? Just listen...





As always Internet listeners, leave feedback! This is something new for me so I'm trying it out to see how it goes. Advice, pointers and comments are helpful and greatly appreciated.

Until next time, peace!

PS3 Status and Japan Society

Hello, all!

Happy New Year 2011!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and are enjoying or at least planning a fantastic agenda for the new year.

Anyway, a few things I wanted to bring you up-to-date on.

Yesterday I had a pretty fulfilling day. A friend and I went to the Japan Society in lower Manhattan and registered ourselves for their spring semester Japanese course. We even signed up to become members, so we could enjoy the discounts to all their events and classes.

I had been planning to enroll at the Japan Society for some time, but never really committed to it or I didn't have the money for it. So, it was a big deal for me once I finally went there and enrolled. I'm excited to say the least! One thing is for sure; my hands are gong to be quite full during the next five months. My schedule and live will be divided between my part-time job, teaching martial arts, grad school and now Japanese classes.

My plate is pretty full!

On the good side, I have a year left of grad school before I'm finished with my MFA! This semester I will handle the infamous third semester project. I have a couple ideas of what I want to do, but I'm still a little nervous about it. I sure that during the residency I'll get a chance to speak to several potential mentors and get a better idea of what I will work on.

Also, my martial arts teaching schedule is going to shift a bit, and that will allow for flexibility. Yeah, I'll find my middle ground to balance the work load that will hit me during the next few months.

On another note, I finally put my PS3 back into working order. A few posts before I had mentioned several hiccups that I ran into during my PS3 upgrade project. Luckily, all those bumps are past me and I completed the upgrade flawlessly.

Out with the old! I backed up the hard drive to my portable storage device before removing the old 60 gig HDD.

I never was able to remove the tray, so I bought an extra tray. Funny, out with the old, entirely!

Originally, I was going to replace the 60 gig with a 320 gig. In the end, I settled for a 500 gig.

Afterward, I uploaded the backed up data onto the new hard drive. I was surprised when I realized that everything was transferred over. The entire process took about two and a half hours. An hour to back up the data, and another hour to upload it again, with twenty minutes in-between to swap the HDD.

I spent several hours afterward downloading game updates, synchronizing my trophies and installing games on the new hard drive.

Like I said, a pretty eventful day!

Well, that's it for this post. Until next post!!

PS3 Update! (Sort of)

Hey, all or some,

Well a few posts back I reported that my PS3 needed eye surgery. Now, I believe I reported on this already, but that went well and my system is back in fine working order. (For the time being)

Anyway, I had been planning a major hard drive upgrade for some time now.

I bought a new internal hard drive, a Western Digital 500gb notebook drive, and I'm ready to begin with that process. I read and viewed many videos on the back up and swap procedures and I'm confident that it will go well.

Wouldn't you know it! I ran into another problem. I've said it before, it seems that the game gods are against me when it comes to my gadgets. I removed the old 60gb HDD out of the PS3, and of all the things to give me the worst trouble, the screws which hold the hard drive to the tray won't come out. After a few hours, a few different screw drivers I only managed to wear down or round off the screws. AARRGGHH!!

I am so pissed right now. Then again maybe not. I'm just disappointed that it's taking this long to do something so simple. On top of that, why does something so simple end up becoming such a headache.

I did the next logical thing. I emailed Sony and asked them if they could send me a replacement tray and screws. I read that they supplied them for free at one point, so it didn't hurt to ask. Hopefully they still do, and even if they charge it shouldn't be that expensive. My only other option is to shop around for a replacement on ebay or at the game shop that handles repairs.

My goodness, its been one set back after another for my old PS3. It's a trooper though!The upgrade will also give me some much needed room to move, and I need that!

And, let me tell you that this HDD upgrade is also coming with its share is issues concerning game saves. Some will transfer over while others not. But, I'll talk about those in my full upgrade post and my after thoughts on the whole process.

That's all on this for now.

Later gators!