lemons and more lemons

I successfully revived my dying wireless mouse. Thanks to Google and a step-by-step guide that I found over at overclock.net, I managed to fix my auto-double-clicking  Logitech M305 mouse.

I’ve never had so much hassle over a piece of disposable PC peripheral because I usually buy the cheap ones which I just throw away once they get broken.

If you will notice, Logitech is not really a cheap brand. The mouse that I bought actually costs five times more than the unbranded ones. And it really annoys me that of all the mice that I bought, this is the only one that did not even reach 6 months of sporadic use. Considering that the only reason why I bought this is for its ‘renowned’ quality, it’s annoyingly ironic.

We don’t have service centers for Logitech from where I’m from and I’ve already lost the purchase receipt so I really can’t do anything about this but try to fix it myself.

With the help of the step-by-step guide that I found, I replaced the problematic copper springs with ones that I took off of an old set that I no longer use.

 

So far, it has been working properly. Due to this experience (and another one on my ‘lemon’ Logitech Wireless Keyboard), I don’t think I will be buying anything Logitech in the near future – or until they’ve established a service center locally.

bugs galore

Dragon Age 2 for PS3 has bugs all over the place. From faulty game mechanics, to stuck quests, to comedic epileptic seizures that some NPCs seems to have during cut scenes, this game has it all. But still, I managed to finish the game with 70% trophies. That’s good enough for now. I think I need to finish the game twice to be able to get all the trophies – which I’m not really in the mood for.

For what it’s worth, I did enjoy playing this. The one thing that I hated about it was having to spend lots of time figuring out bugged quests. I would have been finished weeks earlier if only I knew those stupid quests can’t be completed.

Next game on my backlog list:

Okay, okay… Mass Effect 2 it is.

Another Bioware game. I hope the PS3 version of Mass Effect 2 is not as buggy as Dragon Age 2.

oil and water

There’s going to be a Street Fighter vs. Tekken crossover game. I’ve been addicted to both of these titles during different times in my life and I like how both games played. I’m just not sure if it’s a good idea to merge them – they have way different styles.

It would be nice though if Street Fighter will be the one adjusting to the Tekken mechanics. I’d like to see Ryu do his signature flashy moves in a more ‘martial-artsy’ 10-hit combo fashion.

Now that I’m thinking about fighting games, I just realized that I haven’t actually played one since Tekken Tag. I tried playing Marvel vs. Capcom (the latest one whose number I forgot) just to try it out and I quickly remembered why I don’t like games of this kind. I just button-mashed my way to victory while trying to understand what all those flashing lights were about.

sibling rivalry

Apparently, it’s the iPad’s first year anniversary.

I never bought one because as soon as I’ve convinced myself that it’s okay to waste money on ridiculous fads, Apple announced the iPad 2. Imagine that – the first generation iPad just turned one but it felt like it was as old as I am. And considering that it took almost 8 months for that device to officially arrive on our shores, it “aged” really fast. Nowadays, with the newer version out, people are avoiding this old device like a disease. If it’s only a year old and it took 8 months for it to become locally available (read as “stabilized it’s price”), the iPad is, technically, only 4 months old . Poor thing. For its four months of existence here, it never did became happy because the iPad 2 rumors / hype were already going around since the start of the year.

The first born inferiority complex.

Anyway, I’m saving up money for an iPad 2 because I really would like to know how it feels like to browse sites while lying in bed. Haha… Hopefully, the iPad 3 won’t come out yet a year from now. We don’t want the iPad 2 to become the rebellious black sheep.

game trailer hypes

Dead Island’s trailer is so cool. I like the original version with the reverse chronological sequence better. The ‘rewind’ adds a little bit more drama to the story. The re-released trailer that had the normal chronological order just looked like any ordinary scene from common zombie movies.

Anyway, I hope this gets to be a cinematic game. There are too many zombie ‘shooter’ games already – and I’m not a fan of them. I want more games that play like Uncharted 2. Curse you, Naughty Dog, for leaving me wanting more.

blame it on Isabella

As if I haven’t said it enough, my current project is to finish all of the games that I’ve started on the PS3. After setting this personal goal for this year, I’ve already finished the following games:

• Final Fantasy 13 (100% Trophies)
• Uncharted 2 (Crushing Hard with a few missing trophies left – watching youtube videos on how to find the hidden treasures is just plain pointless.)
• Dragon Age 2 (Ongoing)

The next game on my list is Dead Space 2 (or until something else good comes along before I begin). I love horror movies but I’m not really sure if I’m a fan of these “survival-type” games. I think the only game of this genre that I was able to actually finish was Resident Evil 2. And I cheated just to beat it. Hopefully, with Dead Space 2, I won’t have to do that and still be able to enjoy the game from beginning to end. 

So far, I’m liking its story. Since I wasn’t able to play its 1st installment, I downloaded all of the necessary materials needed to be able to understand the Dead Space universe. I watched both of its movies and I’ve read the Wikipedia article on the first game. This got me all psyched-up and excited to play. All that’s left now is to finish Dragon Age 2 and then I can move on.

Tag! You’re it.

Unfortunately, I can’t do so. Dragon Age 2 has this stupid “Isabella bug” that I can’t seem to avoid. I’ve already reached the final act last weekend but I kept repeating it because I’m always getting the bug. So far, my efforts to avoid the issue haven’t paid off yet. I’m going to try next a workaround that I read on some forum. All I’ve got to do is to play for 2-3 hours without ever stopping and without ever saving the game. Haha… Easier said than done.

I was planning on doing this next weekend but since I’m also trying to mange my ever dwindling social life, I may need to put this off for another week. Human interaction comes first. I also can’t do it during weeknights because I’m sure that if I did so, I won’t be able to report for work the next day.

Poor me. Hehe… Now you know what a nerd has to go through everyday.

dragon age pacquiao

Whenever I play role-playing games, I don’t usually customize my character’s name and appearance. I like using the game’s default settings for two reasons:

1. Characters are made that way for a reason. A group of designers and writers agreed on a specific look and name that fits the characters whom their stories revolve around on.
2. I like to be able to talk about the characters with other players. If I gave my character a custom name, say like “Bob” or “Brittney”, there will be a time when I’ll slip and say my custom names – which can be both humiliating and confusing. The conversation will most probably be like:
   
   You: So, what builds are you using in Final Fantasy 12?
   Me: My Brittney is a Sentinel while my Bob is a Ravager.
   You: Say what?!

Given this behavior, it really annoys me that the lead character of Dragon Age II, the game that I’m currently playing, looks a lot like Manny Pacquiao.

I dub thee, Manny Hawke.

Its a good thing that he carries a weapon and not throw punches during battle.