It's true that I have become something of a shutter bug. In fact I have probably invested way too much time in the photography/invention portion of Dark Cloud 2. Technically I've poured about five or six hours into the game and I've only just left the sewers. I can see a more focused player reaching the same place in maybe an hour. The sad part is that I have almost nothing to show for my time. My long hours of picture snapping have yielded very few actual inventions. I spend most of my time trying to combine pumpkins, trees and the sun in the hopes of inviting some kind of super pumpkin tree. That has yet to pan out.
Apex really came out of nowhere for us. I had never even heard of the game until the first reviews started coming in. When I saw a racing game getting high scores from almost every major site I decided I should probably check it out. And thank God I did, Apex might as well be called Ridge Racer 5. Yeah, Yeah I know there actually was a Ridge Racer 5 but it sucked and I prefer to pretend it never happened. Apex is a perfect sequel to Ridge Racer 4. The RPG elements introduced in that game are pushed even further in Apex. The idea behind it's story mode is actually to develop your own brand of cars and grow your company. You start out with a filthy old garage and a mechanic. The better you race the more attention your company gets and the more cars you will sell. As your company grows your tiny garage becomes a giant factory packed full of employees and state of the art equipment. I've heard that Apex got a fairly small release and that it's become pretty hard to find. If that's the case it's unfortunate because this game is fucking great. Do yourself a favor and try to find a copy of it, you won't be disappointed.
There is a new Hook Up available. Equal parts Audiophile and Ladies man Stormy dishes out his usual blend of rock solid advice and boob analogies. I think he's just swell.
Thanks to Ramius for all his hard work on the Forums. After a few months of being down they are back and better than ever. Please don't post any pictures of poop.
-Gabe out
