So today I visited a friend I've had since my primary school years. And as usual, we played video games all day. Namely Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I understand now why the GTA series has always had to take so much flak. The violence is pretty much what the entire game is centered around. Also, notably, the whole gangster culture over in the western states. Now, I don't want to get into how mature someone has to be to play a game like this, because that'll be completely cliché and no one wants to hear about it anymore anyway. What I will say, is that GTA: San Andreas, is a huge load of fun. The gameplay is nothing fantastic, really, but the entire setting is hilarious. For one, the mechanics are totally weird. You can destroy lampposts and fences with your fists, and make cars explode by whacking them with a baseball bat. Also, there are maybe... 8 different designs of people in the entire game. This means that you can meet someone, kill him/her, then meet another person exactly the same as the previous one so that you can repeat the process. Also, you get to hijack cars, motorcycles, semi-trucks... Basically any vehicle, including bicycles. It gets quite funny when you're trying to escape from the police by hijacking a police motorcycle right in their face.

Also there was this whole thing where you could customise your look... Allowing me to create the most ridiculous outfit ever. Boxer shorts with hearts on them, along with a green rag mask and a hat worthy of Indiana Jones. Without a shirt. This basically makes him look like some kind of serial rapist, which is really amusing since you're running around the streets, jacking people's cars and sneaking into houses to loot.

It must really suck to live in any of the cities that the GTA series was set in. I mean, you'd have such a high chance of having your car stolen, then being run over by it, with your assailant laughing madly. Oh, and depending on the player, the level of sadism can vary from smashing into people at 60 miles an hour, or bumping them onto the floor, waiting for them to stand up, then knocking them over again. And again. And again. Then proceeding to beat up a poor old lady... Who interestingly, fights back.

I also happened to have brought along $50 to buy Command & Conquer 3. Yeah, I couldn't help it. Even so, I was faced with several problems.

ONE. C&C3 is now being sold as a package with the previous 12 games in the Command & Conquer series. For over seventy bucks. Now, this is an issue, because my brother already bought the part that includes everything other than C&C3 in it. So I'd be wasting my money if I bought that stupid package. And it does not make sense. Command & Conquer 3 is about to have an expansion pack released. WHY ARE THEY DUMPING IT IN WITH THE REST OF THE SERIES? IT'S NOT COMPLETE YET.

TWO. Popular Bookstore is NOT STOCKING C&C3. What the hell? Do you know what I saw today? SPLINTER CELL. DIABLO II. Last year, I hunted for WEEKS to locate those games. Because they were really, really old. And what do I see today? ENTIRE ROWS of the four Splinter Cell games, the Diablo battlechest. What the HELL are they thinking? Which IDIOT stocks Popular Bookstore? Is it logical, to stop stocking a new, popular, excellent game, and suddenly dump in literally antique games? Idiots. Bloody, effing, brainless morons.

People need to LEARN that some games are popular, and some are not. How ironic, that they call themselves POPULAR. When I was hunting for the game, I found that I was not the only one in this situation. There was a man, caucasian, looking for Guildwars. It was not there. What kind of an IDIOT doesn't stock Guildwars? I may not be a Guildwars fan, but I know for a fact that there are A LOT of players. And their numbers are growing.

So really, what kind of an imbecile would it take to stock the first three editions of Splinter Cell, whose Online Multiplayer is no longer supported? What kind of a total, scruffing, dickweed would it take to bring Diablo II back to the shelves after YEARS of absence? And oh, may I mention... GETTING RID OF THE NEW, EXCELLENT GAMES OF MODERN TIMES? Some people need to be tortured very, very painfully. Preferably with LIGHTNING and FIRE.

Sigh.

Thankfully, I found a shop somewhere in Ang Mo Kio that was willing to cut open the C&C set so that I could buy C&C3 alone. I think it still cost me more than it would have if I bought it when they were still selling it properly.

Also my mom is not being helpful at all with my enrolment fees. Sigh.

-Joe