August is almost over, so this is essentially a breakdown ofrandom stuff that has entertained/annoyed me. Some things have been interesting, others less so.

One thing that has annoyed me is my internet connection; its become very bad recently. I think it's because of the relatively poor weather,since my connection isn't very stable, and occasionally disconnects me, especially with my PS3. Whenever i try a FPS online, like Resistance 2 or KZ2, i'll be in a match for maybe five minutes before my internet connection logs me out. Even when it works, it doesn't work well. Matches in BlazBlue and Soul Calibur turn into friggin' slideshows, while the lag in the FPS games is unbearable.

Another source of aggravance is my laptop, which seems to be dying on me. It no longer plays DVDs anymore (when i try, it gets all choppy and freezes) and the internet, again, seems to work momentarily before cutting me out, so i don't know what the problem is. This is actuallymy third attempt at writing this, to the point where i've had to write it in word then copy and paste it in before i get disconnected. Technology seems to hate me

I've been playing the hell out of Demon's Souls. I've racked up twenty hours in it already, and i've really gotten into it. I've levelled up a fair bit, so now my soldier has a better survival rate. I still die a lot, but the time between deaths is slowly getting longer and longer. I've managed to get some pretty cool equipment, namely a powerful flame sword and a kickass bow that both seem to kill most enemies in a few hits with no real troubles. I've also killed a good number of bosses, including some of the big ones, the end of area bosses. The bosses have given me mixed trouble, since some are quite difficult to manage if you don't have the right equipment (the flame sword obviously didn't work on the boss made of fire) whereas some bosses are really quite easy (the giant flying manta ray was simple to kill withmy bow)

Other than Demon's Souls, i've been playing my X360 a lot more, alternating between a replay of Ninja Gaiden 2 and Tales of Vesperia. I'm about a third way through Vesperia by my reckoning, and i haven't been having too much trouble to tell the truth. Ninja Gaiden seems a little easier now that i'm replaying it, with the exception of the cheap bosses, namely the water dragon (curse you water dragon!) amongst others. What i like best about the game, though, is that button mashing, for the most part, rewards you with flashy execution moves and combos. I have no idea how to do them normally, but button mashing, coupled with spontaneous rolling, has gotten me through half the game with no real issues.

I downloaded the Arkham Asylum demo, and after playing it a few times, i'm now pumped for it's Australian release this thursday. Truthfully, when i first played the demo, i was a little unimpressed, but after playing a second time, and actually playing to the end ( i first thought the demo ended at the Harley Quinn cutscene, so i turned it off during it) i'm actually quite interested in it. The combat was fun, if a little simple, but was cool enough to watch batman swiftly kick the hell out of random criminals while all i did was mash the attack button. What i liked best about the demo, however, was the end of it, where you are put in a large room with several armed guards and you can stealthily take them out. Sneaking around behind corners then punching enemes in the back was fun, as was using the grappling hook to swing around. I'll be looking forward to it, although i'll also be looking for the cheapest price possible.

Other than that, i've just done what i usually do: watch a few movies, go to the cinema once or twice, buy a few books, etc. etc. August just seems a little dull to me. September looks to be more interesting.