It's been awhile since I last uploaded a colored pic, hasn't it? To be honest, it's been awhile since I last picked up my tablet and opened PhotoShop... I still draw (those of you who check my scraps know this), but... well, drawing still isn't very high on my list of priorities - the sketches are all being made while I'm on break at work, and I just haven't been interested in coloring. If you still want to see new drawings from me, I've been uploading a lot of sketches to my Scraps section, so make sure to check that section out if you haven't already (although most of you who actually comment on my work already do, I've noticed). I'm still holding off on drawing more Melee, though I've been having a little trouble trying to think of what to draw next - I already know what person I want to make a sketch for next (and even the character), I just... need to figure out just how to get that on paper without it looking like total crap.

Work is still insanely boring (fun fact, this week will mark my one-year anniversary there! Gotta remember to demand ask for a raise...), I'm still focusing on my resolutions (albeit slowly)... Oh, I finally got my license two weeks ago. Indeed, I had a road test on April 27th, and the New Jersey state government decided I was worthy of driving an automobile on my own! I probably would've mentioned it sooner, but... well, not a lot has really changed since I got it. The only chances I ever get to drive are on the weekends, and even then it's just to run some errands that are right in town. I have been looking into getting a car of my own (currently, I use my stepfather's SUV for when I have to do errands - it's a nice ride, if not a little bulky for my tastes); I'm hoping for something small... like, something in the compact/subcompact range (ex. Civics, a Geo... saw this one Hyundai I really liked...). I don't need a lot of space and it'll (hopefully) be good on gas. Don't know how long it'll be before I finally get one.

Not much new in games, though I did manage to get copies of Rayman Origins and Assassin's Creed Revelations last week. I have yet to give the Rayman game a try yet, though I've played a fair bit of Revelations... from what I've played so far, it really feels like the developers don't know where to go with the series gameplay-wise - I had this same problem with Brotherhood, which felt less like a "real" sequel and more like Assassin's Creed 2.5, where you could tell they made improvements to the formula, but they're very minute improvements that don't really change the experience a great deal. Revelations takes that to another level, with many of the features feeling kind of pointless; the tower defense minigame, while fun, is really hard to activate (even when you're purposely trying to activate it) and the fact that I can upgrade my assassins enough to prevent the game from coming up altogether only serves to make the entire minigame largely pointless. Also, unlike previous games, the entire city and many of its resources are available to you almost immediately - a good idea on paper, but in practice makes the game very easy to break (especially since rebuilding the city gives you, among other things, some of the best armor in the game). The new weapon wheel (or should I say wheels) also feels a little cumbersome; yes, it's nice to be able to dual-wield almost any combination of melee and projectile weapons I want, but giving us only four hotkey slots? That may have worked in Brotherhood, but Revelations gives us so much crap to carry (enough to warrant a second wheel, in fact) that I was frequently having to bring up the wheel to switch weapons and it's a pain in the ass... did you guys forget that the d-pad also had diagonal keys? That would've doubled the number of hotkeys and made things a lot more convenient (Oblivion, a game from 2006, proved that it could be done).

I could go on about how the hookblade feels like a pretty pointless addition, how the most memorable thing about the new characters is how that Yusuf character kind of looks like the protagonist from that Prince of Persia game that was made a few years back, and that many of bombs you can make feel rather unneeded (though the variety is nice). So, I'm really hoping the upcoming Assassin's Creed III changes things up - so far, it's looking that way (judging from a recent trailer), but this is one franchise I really don't want to see become stagnant. Do I still like Revelations? Yes, and I'm gonna keep playing until the end. I'm just... a little disheartened at how the developers couldn't seem to think up much in the way of improvements; if Brotherhood was Assassin's Creed 2.5, then Revelations feels like Assassin's Creed 2.75, if even that.