Grand Theft Auto Diary.

Niko Bellic ("NB") has been busy lately. As I mentioned previously, NB dispatched of a gay-bashing bigot with great vengeance and furious anger. What I didn't mention was... NB was riding a Vespa in "Middle Park" and shooting left handed with a H&K MP5 :|

So below is an incomplete list of what NB did today:
1. Do some odd jobs for the mob (stealing coke and heroin from the Russian mob),
2. Did some cleaning (assassinated a mob boss and dispatched his bodyguards with some drive-by grenade dropping action),
3. Took a bunch of cab rides around the city & drove around in the Lambo (the reward for dispatching the gay-bashing bigot).

Anyway... I've always started playing Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It is essentially this mix of Indiana Jones + Tomb Raider. I say this because the main character is a dude, but has no real respect for archeological goods (like Laura Croft). Although the endless shooting of Filipinos, Indonesians, and evil Anglo-Saxon expedition bounty-hunters gets a little tedious at times, it is a pretty fun game.

Introducing the Playstation 3.

It has been a while since I've updated. Studying for the bar exam is boring, and after a full day of studying, I have very little motivation to read/write and update this blog.

Instead I have been spending my late afternoons getting acquainted with my PlayStation 3. I've been spending most of my gaming time playing Battlefield: Bad Company and Grand Theft Auto IV.

For those unacquainted with the GTA franchise... it is essentially a nonlinear/sandbox game where the player controls a Serbian immigrant called Niko Bellic, who has joined his idiot cousin in "Liberty City" (NYC). There is a whole series of missions that the player can decide to complete, or you can always just roam around the city and wreck havoc.

Below is a sample of what "Niko" did today:
1. Shot up a homophobic idiot (who was beating up gay people jogging in "Middle Park").
2. Take possession of a truckload of cocaine from a Chinese Triad.
3. Drove around NYC streets at something like 100mph.

Good times in Liberty City.

I've purchased a Playstation 3.

After intense deliberation, I have purchased a PlayStation 3.

As previously stated, I've been studying for the bar exam, and I've been finding myself incredibly and increasingly bored during my study sessions. The decision to purchase the PS3 was largely motivated by my desire to recharge after the daily rather tedious studying.

I've always enjoyed video games. I've just never committed financial resources to seriously pursue them. PC games increasingly require consumers to purchase expensive graphics cards to run them, particularly if the consumer wishes to enjoy the quality graphics. PC games are also not particularly well suited for playing on the couch in the company of friends and family.

So I decided to invest in a console.

I could not seriously consider the Wii because it didn't really have any games that I was particularly interested in. In addition, the console's hardware was hampering future software developments, and I don't see how it will continue to keep pace with Xbox 360 and PS3 content once Microsoft and Sony produce hardware attachments that actually makes motion-controllers interesting.

Some people have also tried to steer me towards the Xbox 360, but I just couldn't bring myself to buying it. As an initial matter, I do not like the idea of having to annually pay a fee to be able to play games online.

The Xbox 360 is a Microsoft product. In order to get WiFi on the 360, one has to purchase a $99.99 wireless adapter from Microsoft, even though a solid third-party USB adapter can be purchased for less than half the price.

A comparable PS3 retails at a price point $100 dollars more than the 360, however, it comes with a wireless adapter built in (rendering the 360s lower price moot if you want WiFi), a Blu-ray drive, Bluetooth compatibility, free multiplayer support, and better USB support for non-proprietary accessories. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I prefer the exclusives for the PS3.

In any case, stay tuned for updates after I start playing with the console when it arrives.