Assassins Creed: Brotherhood

Whoa. I know I'm late on this one. You'll have to forgive me. If anything, I spent the past few days on and off with this game. At least you know it's worth a shot.

I was skeptical at first, but knowing that a handful of my friends were getting this, I was pretty much convinced to just pay for it and get it done. Having another Assassin's Creed title within a year of it's previous installment left me wondering. If anything, the midnight was somewhat amusing. This time, I have pictures!

Around 9:45pm, I headed up to work and saw that a few customers were soliciting in front of our store. Im not sure what bothered me most: The heavy metal booming from a black car parked right in front or the saliva drooling from guys staring at my...hoodie. They had every right. I'll show you the picture when I get a good shot of myself in it. I walked in, said hi to my co-workers. And was handed my number.

(Subtract one zero...oh yeah...)

Lucky number 7. Oh yeah. I mean, nothing could go wrong after that. I could tell, cause I actually filled out an application for IBC Banking that same day. Within hours, I was told I had a new job. Imagine my suprise. I'll be happy to highlight the pro's of my new job in a future post. My better half showed up 5 minutes later after I was discussing the changes and job with my boss. I wasn't sure of his reaction since Black Friday followed next week. We waited for my buddy, Archangellus, who was working that night to take his lunch break. Wanna know what else was lucky about that?

(Happy couple enjoying their Whataburger)

WHATABURGER!!! It's just so damn good. Seriously, all I need is Chick-Fil-A, Chipotle, and Whataburger around...and I'm pretty much hell bent on making it a lunch every week. What can I say? I love their sweet tea and breakfast taquitos. Ironically enough, we had Chick-Fil-A earlier, so I just sat down and enjoyed yet, another large sweet tea. Im not sure what's going to come first...diabetes or heart attack. It was a nice change rather then sitting up at the midnight release, waiting impatiently for a game. Also time spent well with our friend. Yes, that guy in the pic is better known as "SlayveX" I couldn't get a pic of Archangellus, only because I'm sure he doesn't want to be seen on the interwebs.

With a full stummy, we headed back at around 10:45pm. "Vex" headed back home, deciding to play a game of League of Legends instead of waiting the next hour. "Arch" clocked back in and I spent a little more time hanging at the store. My manager got permission to let customers demo the game, which was awesome. The sneak peak drew in the "cool guys" hanging out in the front. Seriously, it was nice. It meant we didn't have to hear the disturbing metal rattling our windows.

Ten minutes till midnight, everyone started lining up. A decent turn-out came for Assassin's Creed and Need for Speed. What, Need for Speed, what? I was 7 of around 35 total customers for a joint midnight release. "Vex" was 11, standing not too far behind me. Chilling in line, I still had a few guys asking about my hoodie. In all honesty, an old co-worker gave it to me when he figured my store manager couldn't fit it. Oh, and no. That's not the reason he's an "old co-worker" as of now. 12 am struck, and we were handed our games. I'll let you know, there was plenty of street racing and backstabbing to be had in the following hours.

Toonami: This Is A Dedication

A dedication to that which contributed to my fascination with robots, dark crusaders, super powered aliens that defend the earth, and space outlaws.

A dedication to what allowed me to discover life in a digital mainframe, samurai's that are not what they seem, and...last but not least, Gorillaz and Daft Punk.

Just a tiny girl, donned in a baggy pair of JNCO jeans and a red polo shirt, stepping quickly down the bus steps. Her eyes watching for the signal to cross the street. As soon as the bus driver nods and waves her hands, she makes a mad dash to the front door, busts in, throws down her backpack in front of the entertainment center, and quickly turns on the tv to flip to Cartoon Network.

And so began...the best 3 hour block to ever exist.

My life had changed. I was slowly immersing myself into what other girls wouldn't usually be enlightened by. A block that started off with Moltar disrupting the usual programming to give us Toonami. And just when you thought it was good, Toonami changed after a successful two year run. Enter Absolution. A ship that was best used for broadcasting Toonami. Of course, the Absolution was not without it's host and pilot. TOM took over Moltar's job. A chubby robot who evolved over time and was the epitome of cool. Along with his AI partner, SARA, TOM made sure that the block was running smooth and delivering the best shows. Every day, something new. Every year, a new show. It was nothing but amazing. I loved it all. I couldn't wait every time the last hour of school rolled around. I wanted to get to my babysitters ASAP. I didn't want to miss the next episode. It was even better in the late hours. Not only could I catch my block after school, but after "going to bed", I was watching Toonami past 11pm. It was my night light. Just set the TV timer, and see if I could stay up long enough through Big O.

Space is the Place

Robotech, Dragon Ball series, Gundam series, ReBoot, Ronin Warriors, Tenchi series, Batman, Outlaw Star, Big O, Zoids, .hack//SIGN, Neon Genesis Evnagelion, Rurouni Kenshin, Star Wars: Clone Wars (Shorts were so bad ass!). These were all shows I absolutely loved and remember watching.

Not only was Toonami my choice addiction when it came to t.v, it also drew its crowd in for interactive games and the cherished TIEs. The TIE's (Total Immersion Events) were what gave us a glimpse of who or what TOM and SARA were. It was up to the audience to decide on TOM's fate at one point, and help defend the ship against The Intruder. The games were fun. It felt like a child's version of a dark, horror story. Sure, that doesn't make sense to some. But others would remember. Others who were lucky to know what Toonami was can probably remember TOM's final cry out before he died.

One of my other favorite memories of Toonami was it's one-time air of Daft Punk and Gorillaz. I was sitting in the living room with my best friend and my somewhat inebriated father just mesmerized. Sure it was only two music videos from them, but I was immediately hooked. I had to go out and buy both albums. Interstella 5555 and Gorillaz are still my preferred choice of music to listen to.

There was much that I missed after growing up and finally not in need of a babysitter. Toonami was my only form of entertainment. That and A Sega Genesis with Sonic 2. Yes. I did indeed spend quality time with the blue hedgehog...enough time to beat the game 8 times. I shit you not. My babysitter remembered each time I ran in and said "I beat Sonic!" or "I beat Sonic again!" Years passed, and I was allowed to stay home by myself. Toonami became a side dish. My main dish were my video games and computer. It faded away as I developed more into who you now know as Femmefatality. It saddens me that I missed the final airing. It hurts even more knowing they killed off the best thing to come to American television for kids. Cartoon Network's policy of "Get rid of Anime programs" was the death of Toonami. A stab in the heart.

I searched online for some way to remember my childhood. As I did, I conversed with my boyfriend that if it was possible, I would collect every show that I loved and all the Toonami promos on a hard drive. It would be what our kids could watch while doing homework. I want them to experience what I was privileged to. When I thought it to be impossible and I would have to turn to the expensive way of doing it, a good friend of mines heard me out.

Toonamiaftermath.com

Not a day goes by when I'm not on that site. Remembering the good days.

This was my dedication to you Toonami. Stay golden.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Surprisingly enough, CoD had half the crowd than last year from Modern Warfare 2. But all in all, a very good turnout. It peaked out at 300 numbers given  out to hold a spot in line, and an estimated 60 stragglers that came at the last minute.

The numbers were given out, which started at 6pm, and a steady flow of customers came to pay off their game. Number 1 was sitting outside our door at 2:18pm. He was most determined, especially with how hot it was outside. To keep the energy going, NOS provided free cans of their awful energy drinks. No offense NOS, but they weren't being picked up fast.

Around 10:45pm, 190 numbers were handed out. The 1v1 tournament was the highlight of the entertainment. I followed Mr. 190 out the door to watch Modern Warfare 2 being played on two small flat screens. A good kill, and all you'd hear are loud "Ohhhh's!" and occasionally, one random guy waited for the right time to mutter out "U mad?". The maturity was definitely showing...because the teens outnumbered the young'uns and adults. Not that I don't mind the occasional trolling at least. You could see the serious business going on. Some matches were very one sided. A brutal game ended up 4-1 within 3 minutes of the time the match started. I would say it was worth the "Put your game face on." attitude. The winner walked away with a free copy of Black Ops on 360.

Midnight brought shit-eating grins to many faces. I highly doubt not one guy picked up his game, just to go home and sleep. No. It was time to pull the trigger...

Which Dream Vacation to Pursue?

Tomorrow is Call of Duty: Black Ops. I can't sleep. I'm excited. I timed this blog just for it. If the fact that my boss gave me a ton of hours wasn't enough to say "This is going to be a huge week for us", then the number of reservations should have been enough.

In some sort of random fashion...after finishing my Fable III rounds, making coconut chai tea, and taking a most relaxing shower...I tried to come up with a huge goal. I've always wanted to take a weekend off and just go somewhere. Not too far out. San Antonio was definitely my top choice next to Kemah and Galveston, but the weather isn't worth it now. But after staring at a blue screen with "No Signal!" in white letters bouncing around, I came up with a better, bigger, ginormous goal.

What kind of vacation could I take...to a convention? I'm so used to going to nothing but Anime conventions, I want to go to a different setting. I wanna be surrounded by gamers, geeks, nerds. My kind of crowd and I'm proud to say it. I've been asked to Comic Con twice now. Someday, for sure, I will see the godfather of conventions. PAX...Blizzcon...so many choices. So little money.

Blizzcon does scream out to me as a top choice. I'm so tempted to dust off my rogue and get back on my account. Why not go to the convention and see Blizzard's legacy take over a city? Millions of people shouting "For the Horde!" and "For the Alliance!" decked out in their favorite JiNX wear. I might as well get this out the way: My TOP PRIORITY...has to do with that "Thundergod" guy. If you know what I mean, kudos to you understanding the reference. I can see my boyfriend having to contain me, trying not to laugh.
I'll possibly post on this topic later in the future.

What's The G Spot?

A blog. Duh!

Kidding. But it really is. My purpose is to give insight about the hottest games and how they do at midnight releases. Being an employee at Gamestop has it's perks, and working the midnight releases are fun. We get to interact with the customers, share our knowledge about the upcoming tittle, and they get to entertain us too. Not a lot of people really know about midnight releases.

My home store is one of the busiest in our district. It's not in awesomecity or anything, and we don't get the glamour that some stores do, but we do our best. It can be a crowd of 5 people coming or a crowd of 300, and we'll still have some way to make use of it. Even if it means boring work or keeping the crowd tamed.

So I'll take notes, pics, whatever I can from time to time and elaborate on what went on. Gotta keep it exciting somehow.

You'll Have To Know Me To Get Me

Well, you do. Im not good with "About Me's" at all, so I'll just put some random Q's and A's.

-Name: Ashley Johnson (AKA: Femmefatality, Femmefatality07, Femme Fatal- I hope you get it by now...)

-Favorite Game: Don't have a complete favorite. I suppose if I had to give an honorable mention, it'd have to be Shadow of the Colossus.

-Preferred console: I own just bout all current ones, but I love my PS3.

-Do you enjoy working at Gamestop?: Sometimes. The best thing about work are my co-workers. They know who I really am and it's great talking to them. I also have a great Store Manager who has been nothing but a very great boss.

-Hobbies: Watching anime with my friends, playing games obviously, listening to music while working on something productive, writing. Just to name a few.

-Nerd at heart: Im not full on 100% nerd or geek. But I do find myself getting deeper into all sorts of things classified as a nerd activity. I loved my first Dungeons and Dragons game, even if we didn't finish the campaign. My boyfriend has a vast comic collection that I peek into from time to time (I love his Deadpool fascination and he introduced me to the hilarious merc when we first started dating.) My best friend taught me to play Magic and I remember spending 40$ on a couple of starter packs and making my first deck. I love it all.

-Cosplay: I do cosplay. I wish I knew how to make my own, but my friends help me. So dressing up seems like child's play, but when you put time and effort into something, it becomes so much more. As a black female, it's very challenging to find a character you can pull off well. That's why I like creating my own characters. I've cosplayed the merchant from Resident Evil 4, Maha from .hack//sign, Nobooru from Legend of Zelda: OoT, and (my personal best) Sheva Alomar from Resident Evil 5. I hope to cosplay more in the future.

-MMO?: Yes. Indeed. But at the moment, it's only about World of Warcraft. Since a few months after it's release, I've been a WoW nut. I've played both factions, but prefer Horde. The character I'm still playing is Kallistia. Blood Elf Rogue on Balnazaar. I have played other MMO's such as Everquest, Aion, Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star, and Warhammer.

-Guilty Pleasure?: Seriously? Everyone always gets asked this question. I guess it's just spur of curiosity. I have this fangirl crush on Damon Baird of Gears of War. I can't help it. I also crush on Chris Metzen. He's just too cool.