I tried so hard but the temptation was too great to handle.  After much personal turmoil and soul searching, I finally gave in to my evil desires.  Yes, I bought another laptop!

The Gateway P-7801u is far from an ordinary laptop.  It’s a behemoth for gamers on the road.  Thanks to my speedy purchase at NewEgg.com, I can now leave a path of virtual destruction away from home.  A perfect companion for those long hours in the shopping mall, especially when my wife can spend an eternity looking for shoes.

Gateway P-7801u with Intel Core 2 Duo, 17.0″ Wide UXGA &
NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS 1gb.  Available at Newegg.com

This is not your typical laptop with wimpy on-board graphics or long battery life.  The Gateway P-7801u takes everything politically correct about laptops and throws it into the gutter.  Weighing in at almost 10 pounds, you can debate whether or not the notebook is portable at all.  Despite all this Liberal nitpicking, the laptop, ultimately, serves one real purpose (and does it really well); a no frills excuse for playing hardcore games with phenomenal performance.

If you’re looking for a gaming laptop that won’t break your bank account, the Gateway P-7801u FX Notebook is a perfect choice.  Similar offerings from Alienware, Dell, Sager, VoodooPC, etc, can cost up to three times as much.  Gateway continues to prove their naysayers wrong by bringing added value to a segment that’s well known for its overbloated price.  Please note: this model is selling fast so don’t wait too long to make a decision.  The Gateway P-7801u is available at NewEgg.com.  Click here to see the latest price.

I am not impressed!  The leaked ads for Black Friday have been very disappointing so far.  Compared to last year, a majority of the highly vaunted door crashers are not worth picking up. 

Since I shop online all the time, a better price can be found with popular marketplaces, like eBay or TigerDirect.  Plus, their prices are available throughout the year!

Despite my state of sadness , I still have a glimmer of hope that additional door crashers will become available before the big day.  Imaginary Diva and I also plan to spend the weekend in Seattle, so we’re bound to find a good deal or two!  Ugh…I forsee a trunk load of shoes already!

Low and Behold!  “Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3″ has finally been released for the PC and Xbox 360!  As a quirky counterpart to C&C: Tiberian series, Red Alert 3 brings an added dose of over-the-top humor to a well packaged game.  Even though I’m only a couple hours into the single player campaign, its been an enjoyable experience so far.  Multiplayer has been pretty fun as well.

Red Alert 3 is not the most strategic RTS game in the market but it retains a quintessential charm that most titles are lacking today.  A polished game that doesn’t take itself too seriously but packs a boatload of fun in single player or multiplayer mode.

Amid much fanfare and marketing hype, Far Cry 2 (FC 2) was a highly anticipated game for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.  Developed by Ubisoft Montreal, the free person shooter (FPS) was heralded as a next generation title, where players are given the liberty to explore a fictitious African nation and 50 square kilometers of vast terrain.  With game play similar to the popular Grand Theft Auto Series, does FC 2 really live up to its hype?

Based on my past experience, I am not easily suckered into glitzy commercials or multi-million dollar marketing campaigns.  My hardnosed approach to PC gaming stems from the fact I’ve been playing Free Person Shooters since the early 1990s.  From “Wolfenstein 3D” to “Crysis Warhead”, I’ve seen the genre evolve as computer hardware become faster through time.  On the other hand, I’ve also played my fair share of lousy titles with questionable game play and graphics (ie. Daikatana).  Since FC2 was also released for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, this fact left me to question the overall quality, especially when development resources need to be split up for various platforms.

First of all, Ubisoft Montreal developed a beautiful looking game with an open-world concept.  My wallet can also take a break from further upgrades since a powerful gaming rig is not necessary to play at a high setting.  The DUNIA graphics engine is pretty immaculate and scales pretty well with older computers.  Furthermore, I was immersed into a wild African landscape, full of lush jungles and arid deserts.  And thanks to a wide availability of boats, buses, cars and jeeps, I was never relegated to walking the terrain. 

Another cool feature is the ability to set fires within the game.  Torching a nearby brush or tree is a sight to behold, plus it makes a great strategic option against the enemy.  Even the sound effects was a pleasure to hear as tribal hymns and musical scores filled my ears.  Unfortunately, all this gluttonous eye candy and quality soundtrack doesn’t make up for various flaws within FC 2.

No Pun Intended But Far Cry 2 is Too Easy to Burn!

The most annoying aspect of FC 2 has got to be respawning enemies.  Practically every corner is patrolled by an armed faction, where an inevitable gun fight is bound to happen.  Once I finally clear the area of baddies, the game rewards me by having them reappear a couple minutes later.  This means when I come back to the same stretch of road, another worthless fight is bound to happen again.  I know, I know, FPS games are all about action but I was forced into way too many repetitive fights that didn’t forward the storyline at all.  Too much time is wasted by completing mundane battles so I can finally progress to an objective or perform a mission.

Did I mention the boring storyline?  For the first three quarters of the game, I was relegated to completing tasks for different people.  My entire experience was equivalent to a 9 to 5 job; where I was clocking in to receive a mission and clocking out to reap my reward.  Most of these missions are way too repetitive and carried no sense of anticipation or excitement.  In addition, the pacing was so bad it made me feel so detached with all of the characters, including myself!!!

Epic adventures are supposed to be unique and full of adrenaline but FC 2 felt like a boring African safari in a chartered bus.  This leads to another big problem, like the sheer amount of traveling involved.  75% of my game play was relegated to driving a jeep, scanning a map and, finally, getting to a required destination.  Picture perfect surroundings can take away some of the monotony but boredom eventually takes over as the game lingers on.

Don’t even get me started about the AI scripts, controls, and physics.  In fact, I’ll spare you the torture by using one simple phrase, “IT NEEDS WORK”.  A .50 Caliber bullet can hit an enemy square in the chest with little or no damage?  Is this realism?

If you’re a dedicated PC gamer, think twice about purchasing Far Cry 2.  The game felt like a dumbed-down car ride that caters to “Bubble Gum” console players on the Xbox 360 or PS3.  Overall, FC 2 is like a hazy vision with so much potential, but in the end, an experience that makes you go to sleep out of sheer boredom.