Ian Benedict

2009 is finally here, though 2008 was pretty good to me. The holidays have ended (already) and the new school semester has begun. I don’t think many of the courses this semester will be too much of a pain so I should have enough time to get back into things like Kendo and guitar practice. As for new year’s resolutions, I think I’ll go with the general self-betterment plan this time around. I haven’t really had much to reflect upon this past year, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to aim to become a better person.

I’ve picked up a few things over the break. I got a brand new high definition monitor from BenQ. It is the E2200HD model to be exact. It supports up to 1080p which is ideal for my Xbox 360. I’ve been rediscovering all of the games in my collection in glorious high definition. It’s also pretty stunning to see anime in high definition. I also picked up a copy of Watchmen, the graphic novel that I’ve heard so much about but have yet to read. I’ve been going through that at a steady pace.

Also, after playing through Persona 4 on PS2, I have to say that the soundtrack for this game is very well done. I find myself listening to it a lot during my commutes. Sometimes, even more so than my regular stuff. I guess it goes to show that sometimes art can transcend the medium.

Here’s hoping for a happy and healthy 2009!

The fall semester is drawing to a close with only a few assignments and the exams remaining. Overall, I think I enjoyed my courses a lot more than I thought I would. Computer graphics was a pretty interesting course and actually put those dull linear algebra classes to use. I hope next semester is just as good, if not better.

On the gaming front, I finally got my hands on a PSP slim. It has opened a huge door to multitudes of Japanese RPGs and an assortment of other PSP exclusive games. My favourites so far would have to be Crisis Core and Initial D: Street Stage. Being able to play PS1 games on it pretty much sweetened the deal for me. As well, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo: HD Remix finally hit Xbox Live! Being the huge Street Fighter dork that I am, I had to pick this up. This game has been rebalanced by David Sirlin, who is a competitive tournament player and Capcom employee. It’s a must-have if you’re into fighting games at all, and it’s available on both XBLA and PSN.

I’d better wrap up now and get back to studying.

The semester draws to its midpoint and so things start to get really hectic these days. Having a multitude of assignments and tests each week is stressful, but it tends to keep you on your toes.

Kendo-wise, practices are going really well this semester. There is an upcoming intercollegiate tournament at York University this weekend, and so I am very psyched about that. There is so much that you can learn from each of your practice matches that it is surreal. You learn a lot about yourself and your tendencies, in addition to your opponent’s. Even though I don’t have any high expectations for placing well in the tournament, just getting the notch on my belt and having that experience will be fruitful to my Kendo.

I haven’t really been playing playing many games due to not having the time. I may sometimes hop on Kongregate to do the latest card challenge for their Kongai collectible card game. One game I have just started playing, however, is Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the Nintendo DS. It seems to be the typical Castlevania fare (2D platformer with vampire slaying goodness), but the game is much more difficult than its other DS counterparts. This is good as far as I’m concerned since I found the previous ones to be too easy.

Other than the above, I haven’t really been up to much lately. This should change once the midterms blows over.

MMORPGs are unsurpassed at giving you an overwhelming sense of achievement. Being able to show off your character’s pimped out gear and abilities has been one of the draws of this genre, in addition to persistent awards for your achievements. The Xbox 360 has mastered this formula as well with the achievement system, even going so far as bringing out the dormant “achievement whores” in all of us. It’s a fact of life these days: we just like having markers for our gaming progress and love showing them off to friends. Enter Kongregate, a flash gaming website with integrated achievements in their flash games.

Kongregate has a great collection of flash games from around the internet, as well as some very high quality original games. It has popular games like Desktop Tower Defence, Portal: The Flash Version, Johnny Rocketfingers, and a ton more all with integrated achievements. My personal favourite of these is Kongai, an online collectible card game where you can gain cards by playing other games on Kongregate. It is surprisingly very well-balanced and deep for a flash card game, and quite addictive with online battling gameplay. I recently found out that it was created by David Sirlin, who is a high level SSF2: Turbo player and Capcom employee. He wrote a pretty interesting book called Playing To Win, which is available for free on his website, on the attitudes and mindsets that are common in all top players in competitive games. It’s a pretty good length and is an interesting read.

Overall, Kongregate is a great flash gaming site with games for just about anyone. It’s an excellent way to waste time and yet still track your achievements with most games.