skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Well well well...Looks like someone has finally finished the entire Jewel Quest...uh...quest. Looks like someone cute has beaten this arcade game of torture. And that someone is...
ME!
In your face Jewel Quest! Take that you son of a motherless goat! Bam! Bow! Woo hoo! I am free! FREEDOM!!!!!!
Ahem...In other news, I have finally acquired a copy of Call of Duty 2. Not only have I finally bought this incredibly awesome game but it is none other than that Game of the Year Edition. Oh baby...Come to Momma. I watched the extras disc last night and was quite pleased with it overall. The mission walkthroughs with the developer commentary was great, my only complaint was that there weren't more. They weren't so much "walkthroughs" as one of them playing the mission and them all talking about the game and what not. Very very cool.
So Jewel Quest is done and out of my life, I've got my COD2 and I downloaded all four maps for COD2 which are free with the GOTY edition. Life is good!
EDIT: It has come to my attention that although "Achievement Unlocked" popped up on my screen, Jewel Quest did not give me my "finished the game" achievement. Everyone stay calm...try not to panic...everything's going to be...Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Why Jewel Quest why? "Oh Mighty Smiter! Tell me who to smite and they shall be smoten!" Whew, ok better now. I do not heart Jewel Quest. 
I am a girl and I like to play video games.
I've been primarily silent on the topic of "girl gamers" and I have been so for the most part because I have experienced nothing but good things from the people I game with, the stores I buys games from and the industry that creates those games. I would like to say that while I do not doubt that there have been and continue to be female gamers that are harassed and belittled in the gaming community, I have been fortunate enough to have experienced none of that.
So I would just like to say thank you to all of the wonderful guys I game with and the great guys here at MSN Spaces. I have to say that it is a blast to play and talk with you all. For every headshot, takedown or Draw Four card I may receive from you, it's always comforting to know that I will soon be able to return the favor and we'll all laugh about it later. Thanks for the laughs, thanks for the smack talk, thanks for the games.
For a larf, I decided to Google "ICandee" and see what came up. Actually, my blog here was the second thing on the list which was very cool. Some of the other things on the list were somewhat surprising and now I really really really wish I had: a. been able to get the gamertag "ICandy" like I originally wanted and b. never Googled my gamertag. Ah well, lesson learned.
In gaming news, I didn't touch my 360 last night and now I'm going through withdrawls. But I did listen to the latest podcast over at XBL Radio. It's actually a really good podcast. There was a comment made that Geometry Wars was the only "must have" game for the Xbox Live Arcade which I heartily disagree with, but it's still a good podcast.
GameSpot has a cool article "Pieces of Flair" which talks about the good, bad and ugly in gaming apparel. They're also having contest where you can win a "Bag 'O Schwag" from E3.
Happy Memorial Day everyone!
Well, I broke down and added Rockstar's Table Tennis to my 360 library. This is actually a fun little game that induces much anger and various curses. In a good way of course. I've had fun playing (or trying to play) through the tournaments but I must admit that playing online with other people is a lot more fun. There also seems to be an option where anyone can watch you play which is a very cool mechanic...it's also a little creepy. "I always feel like...somebody's watching meeeee..." At any rate, RuFfNeCk and I played a couple of games and we discovered that there really are no losers...except for RuFfNeCk. 
I missed out on all the GRAW action last night, but I've been told that playing was harsh due to frequent drops and stutters on Live. At least this gives me a chance to get in on the rematch.
I'm still working on Jewel Quest. I'm almost done with the entire game at which point I'm planning on yanking the game out of my Arcade, spitting on it and then lighting it on fire. That'll teach it!
In superficial news, I went for a girly day today and after getting a wonderful manicure and pedicure decided to get my eyebrows waxed for the first time. Now I did not yell out, "Kelly Clarkson!" a la 40 Year Old Virgin, but I think at one point I did whisper "Ruben Studdard" under my breath.
Have a great holiday weekend everyone!
Today on my lunch break I came across an episode of X-Play on G4. This episode was a retrospective of "classic" X-Play moments and it actually turned out to be entertaining. It pulled my attention away from the Full House rerun I was watching anyway. You know, the one where Danny gets Tommy Page to sing at Stephanie's birthday party and then her and DJ fight over Tommy because they both think he's their boyfriend when actually he already has a girlfriend and the B story is Joey teaching Michelle to be funny so she can make Jesse and Rebecca's twins, Nicky and Alex, laugh? You know that one? Huh? Remember?
That's right, the babyface singer of mushy music that made girls swoon, the crybaby that opened for New Kids on the Block, the Tiger Beat pin-up that caused two sisters to turn against one another on Full House was this guy. Nice hat...Silly 80's! What the heck happened to Tommy Page anyway? Ever notice how puffy his face was like he forgot to take the cotton out after leaving the dentist? Ending tangent in 5...4...3...2...
Long story short (too late), this episode of X-Play is pretty good and I must admit their spoofs are actually funny...most of the time. In regards to actual gaming, tonight we will hopefully get some Burnout Revenge action going on Live and then Thursday I believe there's some sort of TehBias-America vs. TehBias-Canada "Sharks vs. Jets-West Side Story" type rumble planned for GRAW. God help us all
Wow, three entries in one day? I must be feeling better!
New Oblivion content hit the Marketplace today: Think pirates...treasure...sneakiness...Goonies. That's right, for only 150 Microsoft points you can be the proud owner of the Thieves Den. Of course, you have to do some light cleaning at first but once the squatters are gone, woo hoo! Free place to sleep and hide your booty! Arrrr...I be gettin' me download fer sure matey....Arrrrr! Wow, I sound just like the Sea Captain. Or Patchy the Pirate...
By now, most of you know my newfound friend, the fabulous Anna that created the beautiful banner and graphic for my blog. Well, it looks like a friend of hers could use some help rejoining the 360 family after going through some hard times. You can read about and help Tiffany here. Anna is offering free customized artwork to thank people for donations given. She is also making a special faceplate with the names of the people that donated on it for Tiffany to enjoy. This would be a great way to give to a fellow gamer and do your good deed for the day. Gamers unite!
Today is just one of those days where all you can do is hope the rest of the week will be better. Today hasn't been entirely terrible, for instance my interview is up over on Gamers Behind The Spaces which is very exciting, so go check it out and really just go see BD's blog in general, he writes a good one. Also, I just found out that I have Memorial Day off next week, which is another good thing. I saw Batman Begins for the first time over the weekend and absolutely loved it. So what's the problem with today anyway?
Well, due to circumstances beyond my control, I unfortunately had to miss the XUG Girl's Night on Live so I'm really bummed about that. The Nyko Gameface is not living up to my expectations and I'm just not all that satisfied with it at the moment. I'm still in my gaming slump and I think I'm coming down with a cold or something. Anyone have cheese to go with my whine? Sheesh...LOL
Anyhoodily doodily, I'll be fine by the time I get home from work and I'll be more than ready to meet others on Live and get the newest Oblivion download, that way I'll have it handy in case I ever actually start playing the game.
Wow, I actually didn't even log into Live last night! I can't remember the last time I wasn't on Live. It was a weird feeling, let me tell you. I have been on tonight: trying to finish Jewel Quest which has really turned into a joke and playing UNO with some of the guys from TehBias. I must say that playing UNO has taught me something about myself: I'm am on the path to the Dark Side. (Achievement points to me for Star Wars reference.)
This game brings out the absolute worst in me! I pride myself on my ladylike behavior while playing games (for the most part anyway) but this game turns me into some kind of 4-letter word connoisseur with a mouth that would make sailors blush. I've noticed that this actually happens to all of us when we're playing together. We're like some kind of Mega Beasts battling for dominance in the pack. Grrrrr...But I must say that it is all in good fun. We always end every UNO session with tears and good wishes so it balances out.
Remember when you were a kid and you got all hopped up on sugar? You'd run around, screaming or hitting your sibling or whatever only to crash one hour later and not feel like doing anything?
Well, welcome to Post E3 Week. Last week I was like a kid in a candy store and this week I'm like Veruca Salt falling down the chute in Willy Wonka. I am in a gaming slump. Can anything be more depressing? I have so many good games and they all suck. So bored....
Unfortunately when I find myself bored, my hair is usually the one to suffer. It gets cut, bleached, dyed or something else bad happens to it. Happily enough, I find myself having a particularly fabulous hair day so it gets a reprieve...this time. So what do I do with this gaming boredom? Finish up the games that are currently collecting dust on my shelves? Nah... Go rent a new game I've yet to try? Nah...
I know! Change my blog theme and dress up my dog!
Ah yes...A blog so pink it'll burn the retinas right out of your eyeballs. A dog that loves me so faithfully, he'll sit still while I dress him up. I so hope this slump is over soon...for my dog's sake...
This entry doesn't really have anything to do with gaming, but I'll try to tie in gaming at some point as I really wanted to share this story while it was fresh in my mind:
Tonight after dinner, I decided to take a walk around my neighborhood. As I walked around waving to people I don't know and cooing at strange dogs, it occured to me that I'm very lucky to live here. For instance, it never crossed my mind to be afraid of being attacked or harassed. Anyone I saw that were out in their yards just smiled and waved. I admired their new flower beds and moved along. Honeysuckle is starting to bloom and kudzu is still trying it's hardest to beautifully strangle the trees that border some of the houses. I began to hear the chimes of the ice cream man in the distance and it made me smile to remember being a kid and going into cardiac arrest trying to get my change together and get outside before I missed my chance at a Nutty Buddy.
I turned a corner and saw three children waiting at the end of their driveway for that ice cream man. A girl that looked to be about 8 years old and two little boys, who both looked around 6 or 7. They had their change in a big pile on the ground and were arguing about how much was whose. I smiled at them as I walked by and felt that all was right in my world.
Imagine my surprise when all of a sudden I hear the angelic voice of a six year old boy, calling out after me, "Shake that little butt, girl!" What the frak? I thought I must be dreaming until he said it again, clear as a bell. I kept on walking because I figured that there was no point in acknowledging he said it, although the lecture I wanted to give him was burning a hole in my throat.
In gaming news, there's a bush growing in my neighborhood that looks like one of the bushes in the Far Cry Instincts map editor. There, now we're back to gaming. Whew!
I am quite the Katamari fan. Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari are games that have never gotten old for me and I keep praying that somehow these gems of the PS2 will become backwards compatible on the 360. (Hey, stranger things have happened...Wii anyone? $600 PS3...anyone?) So I'm sure you can imagine the sound of my heart breaking when it was announced that there would be no more Katamari games after the release of Me and My Katamari for the PSP. No more Katamari...ever!
Well today, while on one of my promenades through Gamespot, I came across this article: Pac-Man World Rally being released for the GameCube. Now, there would seem to be nothing incredibly unusual about this article until one of the screenshots caught my eye (see below).
Now, who could this mysterious kart driver be? Mario? Samus? Pac-Man himself? NO! It's the Prince! My sweet little Prince has come back to me in the form of a Namco-GameCube-PacMan-Kart game! Woo hoo! Time to dust off the ole GameCube. At least until I can play this on the Wii. Done and done.
Jewel Quest is coming along nicely if I do say so myself (and I do). It's amazing how dedicated I am to finishing this game when I've finally reached a point that would cause me to stop playing any other game: busy work.
I suppose in an effort to make the game longer or "more interesting", you reach a rank where you are literally playing each board twice in a row. In the beginning of the game you're matching jewels and artifacts to turn the squares gold and clear the board. As you go up in rank, you'll have partial pieces or "bad" pieces to get rid of which is no big deal and is nice because it mixes the gameplay up a little bit.
But the rank I'm on now is a joke. You have to get rid of the pieces to turn the squares silver then you have to turn the silver squares gold, which essentially is playing the board all over again...Sneaky snake of an Arcade game! I can only say that I will not complain too loudly because I only have two achievements left in this game, so I will do whatever it takes to finish this bad boy. Plus, I figure that I'll finish this long before I get my 10,000 kills achievement in GRAW.
Yes, yes I've got a new banner here at ICandee, You Game. The entire banner was made for me by the Fabulous Anna of Anjo Banjo. Check out her art site and her blog. She is amazing. Thank you Anna!
In other news, Jewel Quest is driving me insane, making you basically play the game over and over again to get different rank achievements. Up yours Jewel Quest! I'm still continue to play the game so I suppose it's not Jewel Quest's fault.
Wow, what a week! So many great games and other things revealed, E3 seems to have been a success and now all we have to do is wait on the release dates on our favorite new games coming out for the 360. Aside from all of the frantic downloading and general drooling, here are my highlights:
My Diamond card came this week. It's finally here!!! The Frag Dolls added two new dolls to their ranks. TeamXbox has posted a good interview with DOAX2 daddy, Itagaki. I finally got to play with one of my MSN Spaces buddies! Noble Downfall joined the TehBias guys and I for some GRAW last night. Thanks for the game Brian, had a blast! I am officially obsessed with Viva Pinata. The figureheads over at TehBias should be posting a new podcast sometime today. Look for it here. Having trouble hunting down the Nyko Intercooler Fan for your sweaty 360? Look no further, RuFfNeCk found it at OGaming. I stumbled upon a very cool blog yesterday, Anjo Banjo. Quite the groovy chick gamer and fantastic artist, so check her out. I joined the forums over at Totally360.com this week so you can find me there as well as at TehBias.
I'm sure there's more but I'm still recovering from massive downloading on Live. Again, best week ever for gaming and I cannot wait to see these games and consoles in person, so to speak. I love gaming!
ICandee
With every E3 comes the inevitable slew of "Booth Babe" galleries on websites and blogs. Apparently regardless of any restrictions placed on booth babes, this year's E3 brought us a flurry of tube tops, micro minis, bad wigs and some chick with an engine strapped to her chest for some reason.
Well I'm here to speak out against such injustice! Why, do you ask? Is it because women have no place at a gaming expo? Yeah right. Could it be because Booth Babes give women in gaming a bad name? Nah. Maybe it's because I feel that it's sexist and demeaning to women? hee hee, nope.
These are women that get free rides to the greatest gaming event of the year and they probably have never even heard of the games they're representing. No fair! I say that they need to find Babes that not only would represent games and gaming paraphernalia but also actually be excited to be amongst all the newest gaming goodness. I say they need Babes that can find decent wigs to wear! I say they need Babes that game! I say they need me! Bring on the Gaming Booth Babes! Let the cute gamers like me cheese it up for E3 in exchange for free access to all the exhibits and schwag! I'm a gamer and I'm cute so bring on the tube tops and throw out the underwear! We're taking E3 back Hot Ladies of the Consoles...who's with me?!
ICandee
As I'm sure all of you have been waiting to hear my impressions on the newest additions to the Xbox Live Marketplace, congratulations...your wait is over! Here's part of what I've been downloading from the Marketplace this week:
Halo 3 Teaser Trailer: I was thinking of passing on this one until I got an voice message from Microsoft saying that if I failed to download this trailer, my 360 would be confiscated and I would be forced to buy the premium PS3 priced at $600. I quickly obeyed. This looks (what else?) fantastic. I actually got chills by the end of it...Halo music gets me everytime. Yay Bungie!
Viva Pinata Trailer: Yes, yes, yes! How cute is this game? It's so cute I went right up to my 360 and squeezed the preciousness right out of it. I can build a disco for my pinatas??? I'll have them doing the Hustle in no time! This game is goes right on my list of "ICandee's Don't Need to Read Anything Else About It, I'm Buying it on Day One List" This game is Far Cry's Map Editor dipped in sugar and deep fried in chocolate. Yay Disco!
DOA X2 Video (2 min version): This video is amazing! I am a DOA fan anyway, but I adore DOA Extreme Beach volleyball for the Xbox. Now I'm getting a new one! Not only is it going to be for my 360, but will now include what looks to be jet skiing, tug of war, and more shopping? Woo hoo! Unfortunately, the girls of DOA now have breasts that instead of bouncing together, do this very creepy "alternating bounce" thing. *shudder* I ran around the house this morning just to test this and I'm sorry guys, but they only bounce in unison. I hope that is just part of the video because it looks bizarre. Add this one to my "Sold!" list as well. Yay Boobs!
Fable 2: Bring it! Yes, yes I know...This is totally pre-rendered, no play shown, etc and so forth...So what?!?! This looks great and I cannot wait for this to drop! It looks like there may be a possibility of playing a chick this time around. Woo! Please let this be good, please let this be good, please don't let Lionhead frak with the original formula too much...Yay Sequels!
Adidas, Xbox Live, X-Men Gamer Pics and Themes: Free, free, free. They could post a gamer picture of someone's butt and if it's free, I'm gonna download it. Yay Sponsors!
UNO: Only 400 points? No brainer...This is one of the best things they ever did for the Arcade. (At least until I get my grubby gamer hands on Pac-Man, Contra and Street Fighter) Nice soothing music, check. Fun colorful graphics, check. Profanity for when I get multiple draw fours and skip cards laid on me in one round, check and double check! Yay F-Word!
More impressions to come as I continue in my quest to get rid of every available inch of space on my 360's hard drive, until then...Good night and good luck (getting things downloaded)
Yay Live!
ICandee
During last year's E3 I hadn't decided whether or not I was buying a 360. So for me, E3 2005 was interesting I suppose. This year's E3, however, is a different story. Combine E3 with the Xbox Live Marketplace and you've got pure Microsoft genius in my mind. This was one of the best ideas they ever had. (Although a better idea would be to somehow get downloads faster when a bajillion people are all trying to get the Halo 3 announcement at the same time. lol) Last night I got home from work and all I did was chat and download Marketplace E3 goodness. It took me over 2 hours to download UNO, but it's now mine...all mine! I was able to get the Halo 3 announcement, the trailer for Fable 2, Lost Planet Demo and UNO before I called it a night. And you can believe I'm going back for more tonight! I believe I'll wait to post impressions of all of my E3 Marketplace riches when I have all the ones I want. Until then, keep reaching for the downloads!ICandee
I was able to catch the Nintendo press conference today before work and I must say that I am even more excited about the launch of Wii. No pricing, launch dates nor launch games were announced, except for the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which will launch for Wii and GameCube. The games they did show (including Red Steel) look really great (compared to the GameCube at least). Their only comment on pricing and availability was that it would be cheaper than the other consoles and would launch in the 4th quarter of 2006.
After the disappointing Sony press conference, Nintendo was a breath of fresh air for me. I am ready for the Wii and may not even be embarassed to ask for it by name now. Go Wii!
ICandee
Alright, let's get this over and done with. Sony's press conference was last night and we got a lot of stuff: them showing GT4 for about 3 years, the PS3 controller, and the launch price.
First, I've been saying since day one that there's no way Sony is going to launch at a higher price than Microsoft. No way, no how. I said it would be suicide to launch at a higher price than your competitor and that Sony is not that stupid. So it seems that I was incorrect in that assumption. Now, I have to be honest, I do not think that this will kill Sony or the PS3. They are banking on dedicated fanboys and it seems to me that they are not interested in recruiting new Playstation gamers. Or they are depending on purchases simply because the PS3 will sub for a Blu-ray player that will cost much more.
Second, the 360/Wii/PS2 controller. I call it the "PiiS362". Nice one Sony! When I told you that the controller looked awful, I didn't mean for you to go out and bring me everyone else's. Sheesh. BTW, dual shock is out and motion is in.
That's all I have to say on it. There are other blogs and about a million websites that will give you actual information. This is just my two cents that will in no way afford me a PS3. Which I have decided that I am not getting after all. Unless Sony pulls a major rabbit out of it's hat and tells me it was just kidding...please?
ICandee
So I finally got around to playing The Outfit. This game is actually quite a bit of fun. Co-op is very intense with little time to rest which I find great in most games. I learned three things today, courtesy of The Outfit:
1. My character walks way too slow and running makes him tired.
2. Flame throwers on a tank are awesome.
3. I can't drive a tank.
Other than that, there's nothing more satisfying than blowing up vehicles and buildings in The Outfit. I had a lot more fun with this game than I thought I would. Hurray for destructible environments!
ICandee
In the days before E3, with all of the excitement and anticipation of new games being announced and shown, new consoles on the horizon (good luck PS3 online, you'll need it), we at TehBias.com are joining together tonight to ignore all of that:
Ghost Recon 2
I haven't had the chance to play this online with the guys half as much as I would have liked. It looks like tonight I will get my chance. Woo hoo! Now all I have to do is play without diamonds pointing out the baddies to me...I have been so spoiled by the 360. This could get ugly...
Let's lock and load, Boys!
ICandee
Old News: I have a love/hate relationship with Perfect Dark Zero. Well, ok...it's a "like/hate" relationship. I'm sure you have noticed my erratic blog entries: One day I make fun it, then I like it, then I hate it, then I accept it, etc. and so forth. When we last left off, I was mad at PDZ due to some ridiculous co-op "non-killing baddies rocket launcher" issue. Talk has been swirling around about new bots and new maps. Looks like the new bots are here in an auto update. Here's a little bit more info, courtesy of Major Nelson:DarkOps Bots. AI-controlled Bots are no longer relegated to DeathMatch games. Now they can challenge human players in any of the DarkOps multiplayer games. Just like in DeathMatch games, Bots can be used in either Live games or in offline games.Additional AI variants for Bots. The PDZ team was not satisfied with just one version of Bot AI. Now a total of eight Bot Personalities are available. Is someone dominating everyone else in a match? Send a Judge Bot after them. Want to add chaos and confusion? Add some Feud Bots into the mix.Vanilla = Original Bot AI. Ghost = Invisible apart from when firing its weapon. Judge = Attacks the player with the most kills. Bully = Attacks the player with the least kills. Venge = Attacks the last person that killed them. Feud = Chooses a new random target on each spawn and hunts them down. Prey = Picks on the player with lowest armor and health.Random = Uses a random Bot Personality. I am actually excited to try these bots out as I seem to enjoy "us against the AI" rather than a regular Deathmatch. And I think that, at least in theory, these bots sound like a good idea. Let's just hope they work correctly. Alright, so fine...I like Perfect Dark Zero again. At least for now...Tune in next week when I will once again loathe this game. 
ICandee
Whenever I feel stressed out or in too much of a hurry, I know that I can cut on PBS and find my favorite shrink: Bob Ross. The oil painter with a heart of gold and an afro the size of Delaware has been calming people down for years. In 20 minutes the man could take a brush, paints and create some sort of nature scene that never failed to blow me away. Well, my friends, it looks like we may finally get our chance to do the same.
In what seems now like old news (but is new to me), Bob Ross Inc. has announced an intention to bring bob Ross to the Nintendo DS and the Wii.
"The Bob Ross video game, currently untitled, is planned to be developed for PC, the Nintendo DS handheld & on Nintendo's next-gen system coming later this year, code named Revolution. Release date was not announced. AGFRAG is currently seeking a publisher."
This was listed on the Bob Ross website in March 2006 and I haven't been able to track down any more information at this time, but wow! Bob Ross is back! (In game form) Viva Nintendo!
See full news article HERE.
ICandee
Online gaming has seemingly come to a halt within the TehBias.com sector. I am sure you are asking yourself, "How can this be?! What foul temptress has destroyed the fragile bond of online gaming goodness?! And how did you get to be so cute, Oh Wonderous ICandee?!"
Well, the answer to your last question is that I have a natural talent for cuteness (and BS apparently : P) In regards to your first two questions, the answer is quite simple:
A Yoko has been discovered at TehBias! She is more commonly known by this name:
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
I remember the days of frantic racing for gems in Marble Blast, the sweet sound of sniping in GRAW, the joyous roar of crushing metal in Burnout Revenge. Alas, this is no more! Oblivion Yoko has taken the once irreplaceable nights of trash talk and team kills and turned them into isolated hours of dungeon looting, house decorating and potion making. Why has this happened? Where are the long nights of the bleary eyed Predator chases, the owning of Deathmatches and the destruction of vehicles sponsored by Hardee's? They are...no more...Thanks a lot Bethesda!
"And the award for Most Dramatic Performance in a Blog Entry goes to..."
ICandee
Last night I finally got around to downloading the demo of Jewel Quest for the Arcade. I passed the first board and then a little box popped up that said, "You've earned an Achievement! Unlock the full game now to keep your achievement and continue playing!" So of course I added more points and bought the game. I mean, come on! They're dangling achievements right in front of my face...That's below the belt Microsoft...below the belt...
"Come on little girl...you know you want this Achievement...add points so you can buy this game that costs too much and that you'll put waaayyyy too much time into...That's a good girl...Buy the game...You don't want to be the only one without this Achievement do you?...Muwahahaha"
Damn you Microsoft and your addictive Arcade games with their addictive Achievements and general addictiveness! *fist righteously shaking in air*
Ah well, it's a good enough game that should bring me hours of lost time and premature aging. Go Xbox Live Arcade! I bow to your mightiness...
ICandee
