Well I’ve been following the E3 coverage on G4 Tech TV as much as I can because… well… I find it interesting!  Nice to know what new games and such are coming down the pipe.  So these are some of the things that caught my eye (mostly 360 and Wii based as I don’t own a PS3).

Metal Gear Solid: Rising, appears to feature Raiden as the main character not Solid Snake as previous games did.  Also it’s coming to 360 (and PS3).

All Points Bulliten (APB) is a Crime Based MMO,  it features highly customized characters (way more than I’ve seen in other MMOs from what the video showed), you can join / create gangs, and have up to 100 people in a given area at any time.  Become famous or infamous for the evil deeds you do.  Seems like a different take on an MMO.  Should draw the GTA crowd.

The Saboteur, is a stealth action game set in Nazi filled

Assassins’ Creed 2, set in a Renaissance Italy you play a man forced to become an assassin to survive.  Graphics look beautiful and in the trailer the main character has a flint lock gun attached to his forearm.  Pretty cool looking.

Avatar,a game being made with director James Cameron by Ubisoft based off his movie (to come out later this year), is slated to be the worlds first 3D video game.  A demo should be out next week and no trailer or footage was shown.  The game takes place on a planet called Pandora where a band of humans have travelled and end up at odds with the local race called the Na’vi that has their own language and culture.  It is unknown if you’ll need 3D glasses to play it or not.

Facebook and Twitter both coming to Xbox 360, along with On Demand ability to download games.  30 Titles will be available on launch and will be priced similar to their retail counter parts.  I’m still waiting for Netflix for Canadian users!  And new avatar content is on the way too!

The Old Republic is a new MMO to replace the failing horrid mess of Star Wars Galaxy.  Little real information, but the trailer was pretty bad ass.  I’m assuming it’s for PC.

Final Fantasy XIV for PS3 and PC is the next MMO in the series set for release in 2010, little else is known about it aside from the fact that Chocobos will be present!

Mass Effect 2, Crysis 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Modern Warfare 2, Crackdown 2, Halo 3 ODST, are all big name sequels that are slated and look pretty awesome.

New Super Mario Wii, will support four player co-op play, with you being able to play as various characters like Mario, Luigi, Toad, Princess, etc…  Still a side scroller with hills, boxes, pipes, and bad guys.  But the four player co-op looked really fun.  Reminded me of playing Little Big Planet in Co-op mode.

Metroid: Other M, a new instalment in the Metroid series which could be a little more hardcore as it’s being made by Team Ninja, who made Ninja Gaiden, so the combat should be fast and furious.

More Wii Hardware in the form of, Wii Vitality sensor that will go over your thumb and track your pulse, giving a visual representation of your own emotion to your Mii.  Also, Wii MotionPlus (which was introduced last year), an add-on for the Wiimote that makes it more sensitive and accurate to motion.  It was demoed with Wii Sports: Resort, that has new games from sky diving, to archery, to table tennis.

So Microsoft seem to have continued to bring their A game this year, Nintendo did much better as they didn’t bring anything to the table last year, and Sony has promised 35 PS3 exclusive titles to launch over the next twelve months and more than 100 titles in total.  So we will see if they can finally get into the competition.

So I’m back from Toronto and actually going to blog!  CAiNE (Canadian Annual National Event) is the big con for a gaming group I used to be part of.  A few years ago I parted ways with the group for my own reasons and this year by events I’m still not sure how they came to pass I ended up getting back into it.  I never thought I would be part of that group again when I left but going again, playing, and most importantly seeing old friends was really good.  Those that went for the first time in a few years have called it “Coming home”, and I think that is the perfect words for it.  And we were welcomed home with open arms.  So thanks to everyone that made us feel that way.

Now on to a quick recap of the trip.  We went by train which was a 24ish hour trip.  Which although fun in some aspects is not something I’ll do again.  Just too long for my long legs!  Going through Montreal’s big station and Union Station in Toronto was pretty cool though.  Thursday when we got there Jody picked us up and drove us to the hotel.  Many thanks to him!  We spent that night just getting caught up with some friends and taking it easy.

Friday I woke up not feeling that well but it soon past.  Jess, Jared, and I took the bus downtown to the subway which led us to Union Station.  It was not hard to find our first stop, the CN Tower since it loomed over us.  While waiting in the rather short line for the elevator I started to feel ill again but figured it would pass.  We got up to the top and I had to run for the washroom, but after being sick I felt fine again.  I took some pictures and we headed up to the Skypod, the highest point you can access in the Tower.  Everything looks fake from that height… it’s kinda odd.  I think the pictures do it justice as all the buildings look like models.  Our next stop was the Hockey Hall of Fame, which we had to travel back the way we came from to find.  Again, while waiting in line I had to run for the washroom.  Maybe my stomach did not like lines… I prefer to think it hated the idea of the 100th Anniversary of the Montreal Canadians exhibit that was inside.  We did get to look around and see most of the displays but my stomach would not allow me to do the interactive things.  Twice I’ve been to the HHoF and twice I’ve been unable to do the interactive bits… gives me a reason to try a third time in the future I guess!  Finally we headed back to the airport by cab.  I spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping and happily felt well enough to play Requiem that night and hang out with friends til the wee hours.

Saturday Phil took Jess and I down to Chinatown for Dim Sum.  I had never had it and to be honest had no idea what it was!  Come to find out it’s a way of serving Chinese food.  You sit at your table and they circle around with carts of food.  You take what you want and they mark it off on your food scoresheet ;o).  I learned to eat with chopsticks and really enjoyed the experience!  It was great food and really cheap.  We checked out the shops along Kensington which were all very cool retro shops before heading to the Silver Snail.  It was HUGE!  Felt like a storage house for everything I’ve ever seen in the Previews catalog.  Saturday night I played Requiem again and we finished off a plot we’d been chasing since I made my character.  It was very cool.  Also got to interact with the Unholy a bit, which probably does not mean anything to most but it was pretty awesome.   After game we stayed up til the wee hours partying with friends and drinking Jody’s evil Black Rum.

Sunday was the closing ceremonies and a lazy day of just hanging out before taking the very long train ride home Monday morning.  Jared being the silly monkey he is missed his plane but managed to get home eventually.  All in all the trip was well worth it.  I had a blast the whole time (even while being sick).  Really looking forward to seeing everyone next year at Trois-Rivieres!

All the pictures of my Toronto adventures can be found here.  Feel free to check them out and comment!  Also here are pictures from Mortal and Changeling.

This past weekend Greg and Chris hosted the sequel to the murder mystery we played last year “Murder at the Four Deuces”. 

A lot of people got out to play in this one and reprise their characters as well as having a few new faces to add to the mix.  It was great fun!  Just enough LARP to remind me why I enjoyed playing but conversation afterwords reminded me of why we don’t bother anymore. 

The best thing as usual was seeing friends from out of town.  It was really fun to get Chris & Anita down for it, if only as an excuse to see them.  Hope peeps enjoy the pictures, as always please feel free to comment on any of them.  I like the feedback!

(For facebook users click either of the pictures to see the full album hosted on my website.)

Still have no done much updating so I thought I’d just post what has been going on as of late.  I’ve been spending a lot of time watching hockey.  It is the first time the Boston Bruins have made the playoffs since I started watching again.  Sadly they drew the Montreal Canadians in the first round so it’s an uphill battle.  Until last night they had lost 13 games in a row to the Habs dating back to last season.  The Canadians hold the series 2-1 at the moment but the Bruins are playing far better in the post season then they ever did against the Habs all year long.  I think if they can tie the series at 2 they stand a chance of upsetting the clear favourite team.  Which I would love to see… far too many Canadians fans around here that I have to take crap from every time they win.  :oP

Also been spending a good deal of time painting and playing Warhammer 40K.  It is a miniature strategy game put out by Games Workshop.  A bunch of my friends have started playing in the last month too so it is becoming even more fun.  I’m going to take some pictures of finished models to post just for fun.  I’m kinda proud of some of them.

Beyond that I’m doing the photography thing when I can.  Just got a letter from NBCC today giving me some details on what kind of funds I’ll need.  I’m going to go to the HR building this week or next to talk to someone about options and such before applying for student loans in May.  Still keeping my fingers crossed the money matters work out.  The school has an open house this Saturday that I’m going to.  I’m looking forward to seeing the school and studios it has to offer.

Now that the weather isn’t so cold I think I want to do some simple portrait photography.  Nothing crazy, just simple outdoor portraits of friends, couples, and even some young family pics.  Just have to find a time to get people out to sit for me.  Or indoors to sit in the case of the Henderson’s little one.  :o)

Realized I had not posted in a while so I thought I should give an update.  Got my new Dell Monday but have not had a lot of time to spend with it yet.  Just trying to get things transferred over for the most part.  Really loving the new 22″ monitor and Vista isn’t so bad so far.  Time will tell though.

Good friends Phil and Jared had a good visit the other week.  Was out and about with Phil (who is an actor in Toronto) and did some head shots for him.  I think he liked what he saw on the camera.  Now I just have to get them off the memory card and into his inbox.  Should be able to do that tonight and post a few of the better ones for peeps to check out.

Been working on some Warhammer 40K (a miniature war strategy game) figures in preparation for Impossible Realities (a gaming convention) in March.  Looking forward to playing in the 500pt tournament and maybe joining forces with a couple of friends for the 1500pt tournament.  Might take some pictures of some of the figures to post here too.

So one of my favorite sites to visit for “interesting” stuff recently became blocked to Canadian IP addresses.  I was really hoping it would only be a temp thing, but from the look of it, it’s that way for good.  Which totally sucked.  There are lots of other sites like the one that was forced to start blocking Canadian IP’s but none that I felt were as good.  Luckily, after a bit of research I found a work around that again allows me access to the site!  Woot woot!  It’s a bit slower browsing than before, but I can live with that.

Also, a shutterbug friend of mine has a 50mm f1.8 lens for her older Canon she is looking to sell.  I’ve been a bit blah with the photography thing as of late but the thought of using a sharp f1.8 lens for some portrait photography has me excited again.  I’m going to be borrowing the lens tomorrow to try it out, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be buying it.  The price is great and is something I was looking for anyway!

And last but not least another friend has some Warhammer 40k stuff that he is willing to sell me.  I bought a few gaming things off him in the past and got a great deal so I’m excited to see what he’ll be willing to part with!

So for the last week or so I been kinda blah… unable to shake it for any length of time.  Nothing wrong per say just feeling drained without a reason.  Wishing I had some creativity to do some photography or photoshop or something like that but I got nothing.  Been doing a lot of painting on Warhammer 40k miniatures.  Yet another hobby I seem to have picked up.  Might post some pics of those when I get some done.  Painting them seems to be the only thing that keeps my attention and my mind from wandering to strange thoughts. 

Seriously need to break this funk so I can get some good ideas for my Dark Ages game flowing… and get back into the LARP games.  I just haven’t had the mental energy for it the last few weeks… but feel bad for not going and missing out when I hear how much fun the games are afterwords.

Also want to do some creative photography… still want to get people in costume or poses to photoshop over into sci-fi / fantasy picutres…  Want to get out and take pictures of fall before all the pretty leaves are gone.  Want to go to some Sea Dog games to take pictures… and even try some studio style photography.  Perhaps not sit down school type pictures but more like fashion magainze photos.  Just a matter of finding the time and volunteers to do it I guess.  I’ve had people say they’d be interested but I guess without them following up to say “When would you like to?”  I just feel like they’re being nice and dont’ really want to…  guess I’ve just been mentally odd as of late… feeling alone even in a group of my closest friends.  *shrugs*  I’m sure it will pass, it always does.  And I promise to keep this blogspace better updated and more full of creative and happy things then this post of kinda sad thoughts.