Getting started with Adobe Illustrator; Monster Kingdom Jewel Summoner

One of the benefits of having computer access right in your very own home is that it has practically became a tool for me to express myself “artistically”  whenever my muse comes up and gives me a hard rap on the noggin.  In the past year, CorelDraw/Corel R.A.V.E.  along with Adobe Photoshop have managed to fill that need; now I can truly personalize not only my MySpace page but even my greetings/comments (I’ve always hated these blinking free-to-download monstrosities available in many MySpace customization pages, full of glitter and signifying nothing) .  Over the past several weeks,  I have been slowly trying to learn at my own pace how to use Adobe Illustrator.   What sold me to the application was its ability to render 3D structures more believably.  Realizing, though, that my Illustrator was going to be a bitch on filespace, I have decided to finally let go of Sacred – a Diablo-styled RPG that I used to play a lot of since late last year when my nephew had it installed (but not anymore, since I got my PSP) - as well as WarCraft III: Frozen Throne (which I hardly play anyway).  I wasn’t really missing Sacred  much…in one of the higher stages, the play started getting buggy, as a result of my GeForce graphics card really getting tested to its limits.

 On the PSP front, I have been preoccupied over the past week with upgrading my monster lineup in Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner.  Come to think of it, I found myself with a case of dragon envy when I found out my nephew had a Sacred Dragon in his line-up (even when he arrived in the game later than me);  I already had a wind-based King Wyvern and was well on my way to upping my armadillo to an earth-based Triceratops (check out his Tectonic Upheaval!!!!).  Soon enough, my fighting menagerie would include a Sacred Dragon (captured) as well as a Steel Ray and an earth-based Naga (upped from Viper).  There was a point when I  suddenly found myself in a prison with apparently no hope for escape; I then stopped and opted to restart the game from last save where I made the alternate choice.  Bad move on my part – upon rechecking the walkthrough I realized that I missed a crucial stage where I was supposed to make my way  through an underground maze and face the Destroyer boss. 

I stopped momentarily at the boss stage in the Monolith, where I would admit facing difficulty trying to beat Razni and his wind/thunder-aligned sidekicks.  Since then, I’ve been rediscovering Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex as well as Monster Hunter Freedom (just as I am anticipating the release of the English-language version of Monster Hunter Freedom 2).  Anytime this week I am attending this ad hoc EB where i’d be going head-to-head with other MHF players in quests…hopefully to beef up my stats and armor (I still have this tinge of frustration whenever I find myself beaten to a pulp by a Kut-Ku or a Gypceros dragon).  Speaking of upcoming titles, I am also anticipating  the release later this year of Final Fantasy (I am staying away, though, from the FF 1 & 2 ports being pitched for the console) as well as Devil May Cry & God Of War for the PSP.  I am sooo disappointed that the summer is showing nothing much but easy movie tie-in titles for the PSP (given that a lot of the summer multiplex offerings sucked balls)