There are 4, count em, 4 movies coming out this Friday that I want to see. I'm not sure that's ever happened before. If so, I certainly don't remember it. What are these movies, you ask? Let me tell you.
Capitalism: A Love Story. I enjoy Michael Moore. Call me a bleeding heart liberal (or whatever the nom du jour for lefties is right now), but the man makes a good documentary.
The Invention of Lying. David Brent (Ricky Gervais) and Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner)? Yes, please!
Whip It. Even if I hadn't promised to go see this with my roller derby-loving friend, I'd go see this movie. Hot chicks participating in a contact sport? What's not to like?
Zombieland. This is like the movie version of Dead Rising. I'm so there.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Guitar Hero 5 (PS3) Impressions
Bought it the first day it came out, based on buzz and the fact that by doing so I could get the Van Halen track pack for free. Now, I haven't been a fan of the Guitar Hero games since Rocks the 80s (which, not coincidentally, was the last GH game that Harmonix worked on before switching to Rock Band), but I thought GH5 would bring me back into the fold.
Despite overwhelmingly popular reviews, I find GH5 to be a much inferior game to any Rock Band title, or GH1 or GH2, for that matter.
First off, the track list is varied and hits a lot of songs that haven't been covered in other music games (although there is some repetition with RB). But the career mode makes you play through some shit tunes to get to the good stuff, and there's a lot of really boring note charts. Granted, there are a few gems that are really fun to play, but overall I prefer Rock Band's solid quality charts. Also, the guitar parts (I haven't tried drums yet) don't seem...substantial, I guess is the word, to me. It's like there's a disconnect between me fretting and strumming, the notes hitting on the note chart, and the sound playing in the game. Maybe it's HDTV lag, but when I'm playing Rock Band, it feels solid, like I'm playing the music (in a button-pressing-timing-sound-feedback sense, of course), but I don't get the same feeling with GH5.
Second, the added features don't really do it for me. For instance, party mode allows the game to run in the background, and if someone feels like picking up an instrument and playing, they can drop in to the game, and then drop out at any time. Do people really do that at parties? Maybe I'm just going to the wrong parties. The ability to have two guitarists or three drummers or 4 singers on one song is interesting, but again, is anyone ever going to do that? Online, I suppose, but certainly not locally. Just like Rock Band, there's the option to switch between guitar and bass before each song, but for some reason, the option isn't there when playing with more than one player. Unless I missed it, but if not, that's a severe oversight. I do like open notes on bass guitar, and the individual or band challenges add replayability, but some of them seem unnecessarily difficult while others are ridiculously simple. And why is the default volume so low? Even when the sound options are cranked all the way up, it's still not at the same level as all my other games.
At this point, I've spent about 3 or 4 hours with the game, and am halfway through the game's 85 tracks. In case it isn't obvious, I'm unimpressed so far, and not satisfied I've gotten my 60 bucks worth, even with the gratis Van Halen.
Despite overwhelmingly popular reviews, I find GH5 to be a much inferior game to any Rock Band title, or GH1 or GH2, for that matter.
First off, the track list is varied and hits a lot of songs that haven't been covered in other music games (although there is some repetition with RB). But the career mode makes you play through some shit tunes to get to the good stuff, and there's a lot of really boring note charts. Granted, there are a few gems that are really fun to play, but overall I prefer Rock Band's solid quality charts. Also, the guitar parts (I haven't tried drums yet) don't seem...substantial, I guess is the word, to me. It's like there's a disconnect between me fretting and strumming, the notes hitting on the note chart, and the sound playing in the game. Maybe it's HDTV lag, but when I'm playing Rock Band, it feels solid, like I'm playing the music (in a button-pressing-timing-sound-feedback sense, of course), but I don't get the same feeling with GH5.
Second, the added features don't really do it for me. For instance, party mode allows the game to run in the background, and if someone feels like picking up an instrument and playing, they can drop in to the game, and then drop out at any time. Do people really do that at parties? Maybe I'm just going to the wrong parties. The ability to have two guitarists or three drummers or 4 singers on one song is interesting, but again, is anyone ever going to do that? Online, I suppose, but certainly not locally. Just like Rock Band, there's the option to switch between guitar and bass before each song, but for some reason, the option isn't there when playing with more than one player. Unless I missed it, but if not, that's a severe oversight. I do like open notes on bass guitar, and the individual or band challenges add replayability, but some of them seem unnecessarily difficult while others are ridiculously simple. And why is the default volume so low? Even when the sound options are cranked all the way up, it's still not at the same level as all my other games.
At this point, I've spent about 3 or 4 hours with the game, and am halfway through the game's 85 tracks. In case it isn't obvious, I'm unimpressed so far, and not satisfied I've gotten my 60 bucks worth, even with the gratis Van Halen.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Batman (PS3) Postmortem
I couldn't finish the game in a 5 day rental period. If not for the fact that I'm well over halfway through(I'd say I'm about 75% done), it would be a purchase for sure. The voiceacting is phenomenal, the controls are tight, the story is intriguing and original, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. Two thumbs way up.
Sent from my BlackBerry® on the MetroPCS Network
Sent from my BlackBerry® on the MetroPCS Network
Friday, August 28, 2009
Batman: Arkham Asylum Impressions (PS3)
I rented this last night and played for a couple hours. So far, my impressions can be summed up in two words (and this is a good thing): I'm Batman!
Sent from my BlackBerry® on the MetroPCS Network
Sent from my BlackBerry® on the MetroPCS Network
Sunday, August 23, 2009
D&D Post #5 plus Annotations
Sorry about the delay in getting this log posted. We've had like 3 sessions since this one, so I'll try to get those up as soon as possible.
Same players as last time: David the DM and TB the halfling rogue, Kevin the demon-born druid Alyster, Liz the rat fighter Liz, Trish the half-elf sorcerer with no name, and me the dwarf cleric Kelgar.
This log is available as streaming audio or mp3 download. It runs about 3 hours and 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Streaming:
Download:
Get It Here
Here are the annotations for this session, #5.
“His name was Tulip!” 1:07 – Kevin's summoned animals all get flower names because his character has an aversion to flowers.
“Don't you mean 1942?” 2:13 – Actually, he did mean 1943. The PC version was Battlefield 1942, the PS3 version is 1943.
“There's too much fabric to bunch up.” 5:47 – I'm referring to Kevin's now smaller dice bag that Liz fixed for him. While smaller, the bag is almost as wide as it is tall, so the drawstring won't close the bag.
“Stop picking fuzz.” 22:50 – Liz was picking lint off of Trish's shirt.
“Thank Christ it's finally over.” 23:48 – Little did I know that my long hours weren't even half over. After the initial training, we had to provide support to the reps by walking around the call center all day, post-launch of the new system.
“It generates 1.21 jigawatts of electricity.” 27:29 – Pop culture reference, “Back to the Future” film. As I go on to explain, the flux capacitor requires 1.21 jigawatts of electricity to work. The only thing that could generate that much power is a bolt of lightning, as the 1955 version of Doc Brown explains to Marty in the movie.
“Your True Name definitely has an effect.” 39:42 – Pop culture reference, “The Dresden Files” books. Anyone who knows your True Name (which is your full name, spoken from your own lips) can do all sorts of nasty things to you in Dresden's universe.
“Eww.” 45:44 – After one of Kevin's dice landed in the seven layer dip, he popped it in his mouth.
“Who here doesn't like that spell? You don't count.” 48:12 – David had raised his hand.
“Achoo. Bless you. No, man, that's my name!” 53:06 – Pop culture reference, “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” film.
“It's not a tumor!” 1:09:20 – Pop culture reference, “Kindergarten Cop” film. Yes, that's my Arnold the Governator impression. It continues later. Not bad, if I do say so myself.
“Think like a really twisted looking Dr. Zoidberg.” 1:12:08 – That's right, I compared Dr. Zoidberg from “Futurama” to a mind flayer.
“Get down! Get down again!” 1:19:58 – Viral video, “Little Tortilla Boy” comedy bit by Pablo Francisco. Kevin's Arnold impression sounds very Indian, for some reason.
“Dr Tran!” 1:20:32 – Internet meme, “Here Comes Dr. Tran.” Check out the other Dr. Tran videos, too. Especially Quiet Log Time and Summer Splash.
“I almost drank my buttons!” 1:31:49 – David has a jar of buttons that he uses as markers for enemies on the battle map. He was so distraught about how handily the party dispatched the enemies he threw at us that he picked up his jar of buttons instead of his can of Dr. Pepper, and almost drank them.
“I'm gonna turn you into poo!” 1:40:21 – Pop culture reference, “Family Guy” TV show. Chris said this to a food item. I believe it may have been a banana.
“Say Star Trek blows in Klingon.” 1:52:21 – Pop culture reference, “Fanboys” film. One of the Star Wars fanboys asked one of the Star Trek fanboys, “What's the Klingon for 'I'm gonna die a virgin?'”
“Put a spoiler on my Civic it go hella fast, dude.” 2:01:07 – Yes, it's racist, and for that, I'm sorry. I did actually know guys like that in high school, though.
“Man, we ain't found shit.” 2:04:44 – Pop culture reference, “Space Balls” film. This is what the troops “combing” the desert said to Dark Helmet. We continue talking about assholes, which was the last name of many officers on the ship.
“I am not drinking that one.” 2:34:50 – Kevin dropped a soda on the floor while getting it out of the fridge. David proceeded to open it quickly without tapping it first, and it sprayed out, all over his pants.
“I am going to papercut you. Right here, right here, and right here.” 2:39:32 – Kevin indicated the webbing between his fingers, and then the corners of his mouth. Kevin's a sadistic bastard sometimes. I am, too, for suggesting that he then dip his hands in lemon juice.
“No, that's not a knife. THIS is a knife!” 2:41:45 – Pop culture reference, “Crocodile Dundee” film.
“Bite my shiny metal ass.” 2:54:32 – Pop culture reference, “Futurama” TV show. Bender's catchphrase.
“What the hell is this? Who-what-I don't want this!” 3:01:31 – Kevin stole Liz's dice and handed them to me.
“And there goes the teeth.” 3:02:11 – Pop culture reference, “Knockout Kings” video game. In one of the Knockout Kings games on the original Playstation, there was a mode called Slugfest. In this mode, you could sometimes hit your opponent hard enough so that his mouthpiece would fly out. The announcer would then shout, “There goes the mouthpiece!” If, in the same round, you hit your opponent really hard again, white squares would fly out of his mouth, and the announcer would then shout, “There go the teeth!” I wish there was video of this on the interweb somewhere, but I can't find any. Too bad, because it's one of the funniest things I've ever experienced.
“That's a pretty good name for a band. Sonic Lavender.” 3:09:22 – That shall be my band name in the next Rock Band/Guitar Hero/whatever game.
Same players as last time: David the DM and TB the halfling rogue, Kevin the demon-born druid Alyster, Liz the rat fighter Liz, Trish the half-elf sorcerer with no name, and me the dwarf cleric Kelgar.
This log is available as streaming audio or mp3 download. It runs about 3 hours and 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Streaming:
Download:
Get It Here
Here are the annotations for this session, #5.
“His name was Tulip!” 1:07 – Kevin's summoned animals all get flower names because his character has an aversion to flowers.
“Don't you mean 1942?” 2:13 – Actually, he did mean 1943. The PC version was Battlefield 1942, the PS3 version is 1943.
“There's too much fabric to bunch up.” 5:47 – I'm referring to Kevin's now smaller dice bag that Liz fixed for him. While smaller, the bag is almost as wide as it is tall, so the drawstring won't close the bag.
“Stop picking fuzz.” 22:50 – Liz was picking lint off of Trish's shirt.
“Thank Christ it's finally over.” 23:48 – Little did I know that my long hours weren't even half over. After the initial training, we had to provide support to the reps by walking around the call center all day, post-launch of the new system.
“It generates 1.21 jigawatts of electricity.” 27:29 – Pop culture reference, “Back to the Future” film. As I go on to explain, the flux capacitor requires 1.21 jigawatts of electricity to work. The only thing that could generate that much power is a bolt of lightning, as the 1955 version of Doc Brown explains to Marty in the movie.
“Your True Name definitely has an effect.” 39:42 – Pop culture reference, “The Dresden Files” books. Anyone who knows your True Name (which is your full name, spoken from your own lips) can do all sorts of nasty things to you in Dresden's universe.
“Eww.” 45:44 – After one of Kevin's dice landed in the seven layer dip, he popped it in his mouth.
“Who here doesn't like that spell? You don't count.” 48:12 – David had raised his hand.
“Achoo. Bless you. No, man, that's my name!” 53:06 – Pop culture reference, “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” film.
“It's not a tumor!” 1:09:20 – Pop culture reference, “Kindergarten Cop” film. Yes, that's my Arnold the Governator impression. It continues later. Not bad, if I do say so myself.
“Think like a really twisted looking Dr. Zoidberg.” 1:12:08 – That's right, I compared Dr. Zoidberg from “Futurama” to a mind flayer.
“Get down! Get down again!” 1:19:58 – Viral video, “Little Tortilla Boy” comedy bit by Pablo Francisco. Kevin's Arnold impression sounds very Indian, for some reason.
“Dr Tran!” 1:20:32 – Internet meme, “Here Comes Dr. Tran.” Check out the other Dr. Tran videos, too. Especially Quiet Log Time and Summer Splash.
“I almost drank my buttons!” 1:31:49 – David has a jar of buttons that he uses as markers for enemies on the battle map. He was so distraught about how handily the party dispatched the enemies he threw at us that he picked up his jar of buttons instead of his can of Dr. Pepper, and almost drank them.
“I'm gonna turn you into poo!” 1:40:21 – Pop culture reference, “Family Guy” TV show. Chris said this to a food item. I believe it may have been a banana.
“Say Star Trek blows in Klingon.” 1:52:21 – Pop culture reference, “Fanboys” film. One of the Star Wars fanboys asked one of the Star Trek fanboys, “What's the Klingon for 'I'm gonna die a virgin?'”
“Put a spoiler on my Civic it go hella fast, dude.” 2:01:07 – Yes, it's racist, and for that, I'm sorry. I did actually know guys like that in high school, though.
“Man, we ain't found shit.” 2:04:44 – Pop culture reference, “Space Balls” film. This is what the troops “combing” the desert said to Dark Helmet. We continue talking about assholes, which was the last name of many officers on the ship.
“I am not drinking that one.” 2:34:50 – Kevin dropped a soda on the floor while getting it out of the fridge. David proceeded to open it quickly without tapping it first, and it sprayed out, all over his pants.
“I am going to papercut you. Right here, right here, and right here.” 2:39:32 – Kevin indicated the webbing between his fingers, and then the corners of his mouth. Kevin's a sadistic bastard sometimes. I am, too, for suggesting that he then dip his hands in lemon juice.
“No, that's not a knife. THIS is a knife!” 2:41:45 – Pop culture reference, “Crocodile Dundee” film.
“Bite my shiny metal ass.” 2:54:32 – Pop culture reference, “Futurama” TV show. Bender's catchphrase.
“What the hell is this? Who-what-I don't want this!” 3:01:31 – Kevin stole Liz's dice and handed them to me.
“And there goes the teeth.” 3:02:11 – Pop culture reference, “Knockout Kings” video game. In one of the Knockout Kings games on the original Playstation, there was a mode called Slugfest. In this mode, you could sometimes hit your opponent hard enough so that his mouthpiece would fly out. The announcer would then shout, “There goes the mouthpiece!” If, in the same round, you hit your opponent really hard again, white squares would fly out of his mouth, and the announcer would then shout, “There go the teeth!” I wish there was video of this on the interweb somewhere, but I can't find any. Too bad, because it's one of the funniest things I've ever experienced.
“That's a pretty good name for a band. Sonic Lavender.” 3:09:22 – That shall be my band name in the next Rock Band/Guitar Hero/whatever game.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Friday, August 07, 2009
Wow
I suddenly feel a lot better about the Raiders #1 Draft choice (or at least the choice they didn't make). http://bit.ly/qrvnV
Sent from my BlackBerry® on the MetroPCS Network
Sent from my BlackBerry® on the MetroPCS Network
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Twitter Down?!
Ack! Twitter's down currently. I'm bored at work. What do I do? I'm going to have to actually talk with my coworkers!
Sent from my BlackBerry® on the MetroPCS Network
Sent from my BlackBerry® on the MetroPCS Network
Saturday, July 25, 2009
D&D Annotations #4
"Badger, badger, badger." 00:10 - Internet meme, "Dancing Badgers."
"Stupid Bethesda." 6:59 - Kevin is lamenting the fact that the first piece of Fallout 3 DLC for the PS3 was not released on the schedule announced a few months ago. To date, it has still not been released (Bethesda has since announced the first DLC will not be out until late September).
"...currently 3 million people are calling their mothers..." 15:52 - The website I was visiting had a banner ad with a popup video that started playing. Since I can't fucking stand that shit, I will never visit that site again.
"Sword-chucks, yo." 24:29 - Pop culture reference, "8-Bit Theatre" web comic. Fighter thinks the ultimate weapon are sword-chucks, a pair of swords attached by a chain at the hilt.
"Have you seen the animated Hobbit? It was fucking terrible." 27:09 - Well, have you? Here, take a look and get ready to vomit.
"Benicio Del Toro." 28:56 - Benicio Del Toro. Guillermo del Toro. Two completely different people.
"I see. I mean, I don't really see, but I see." 34:31 - David couldn't see the battle map where our minis were in place because there was a bag of tortilla chips blocking his view. Hence the comments about the "Tortilla Tarrasque."
"Now say 'cool.' 'Cool.'" 46:25 - Pop culture reference, "Family Guy" TV show. For some strange reason, Kevin thinks this Cool Whip Family Guy bit is hilarious. I just find it annoying. See and judge for yourself.
"Dude, what does mine say? Sweet!" 49:47 - Pop culture reference, "Dude, Where's My Car" film. A quote from possibly the worst movie ever.
"No. I refuse to hold your sack." 59:07 - Kevin had just offered his dice bag to David. I mentioned a sleeping bag because Kevin's homemade dice bag is gigantic. It probably could be used as a sleeping bag for a cat or a small dog.
"Come back, Dave. Come back." 1:09:32 - The Dave in question being Dave Chappelle. If only Dave would come back for more Chappelle's Show, it would be glorious.
"I'd still be able to put him on my list of things I've burned." 1:21:38 - Kevin actually has a list of things he's burned with his fireball spell.
"It's reflexatory." 1:25:14 - "Reflexatory" is not actually a word. But it should be.
"Hola, cousin Speedy." 1:33:00 - Pop culture reference, "Looney Tunes" cartoon character Slowpoke Rodriguez, he was Speedy Gonzalez' cousin and complete opposite personality.
"This is the Lost Woods, isn't it?" 1:36:00 - Pop culture reference, "The Legend of Zelda" video game series. The Lost Woods originally appeared in the first Zelda game for the NES as a puzzle that required the player to walk in a series of specific directions, or else be trapped in the woods.
"Hey, it's Vince from Shampow." 1:47:12 - Viral video, "Shamwow" parody.
"That still doesn't top Clell Tickle." 1:49:02 - Viral video, "Clell Tickle: Indie Marketing Guru." Hambone is a convicted child arsonist.
"All I wanna know is where the gold at?" 2:01:49 - Viral video, "Leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama."
"Da Bears!" 2:03:34 - Pop culture reference, "Bill Swerkski's Super Fans" sketch from Saturday Night Live.
"Hey! Listen!" 2:23:52 - Pop culture reference, "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" video game. Navi is the most annoying fairy ever. Her ever present callings of "Hey! Listen!" have led many a gamer to the brink of blind rage.
"Stupid Bethesda." 6:59 - Kevin is lamenting the fact that the first piece of Fallout 3 DLC for the PS3 was not released on the schedule announced a few months ago. To date, it has still not been released (Bethesda has since announced the first DLC will not be out until late September).
"...currently 3 million people are calling their mothers..." 15:52 - The website I was visiting had a banner ad with a popup video that started playing. Since I can't fucking stand that shit, I will never visit that site again.
"Sword-chucks, yo." 24:29 - Pop culture reference, "8-Bit Theatre" web comic. Fighter thinks the ultimate weapon are sword-chucks, a pair of swords attached by a chain at the hilt.
"Have you seen the animated Hobbit? It was fucking terrible." 27:09 - Well, have you? Here, take a look and get ready to vomit.
"Benicio Del Toro." 28:56 - Benicio Del Toro. Guillermo del Toro. Two completely different people.
"I see. I mean, I don't really see, but I see." 34:31 - David couldn't see the battle map where our minis were in place because there was a bag of tortilla chips blocking his view. Hence the comments about the "Tortilla Tarrasque."
"Now say 'cool.' 'Cool.'" 46:25 - Pop culture reference, "Family Guy" TV show. For some strange reason, Kevin thinks this Cool Whip Family Guy bit is hilarious. I just find it annoying. See and judge for yourself.
"Dude, what does mine say? Sweet!" 49:47 - Pop culture reference, "Dude, Where's My Car" film. A quote from possibly the worst movie ever.
"No. I refuse to hold your sack." 59:07 - Kevin had just offered his dice bag to David. I mentioned a sleeping bag because Kevin's homemade dice bag is gigantic. It probably could be used as a sleeping bag for a cat or a small dog.
"Come back, Dave. Come back." 1:09:32 - The Dave in question being Dave Chappelle. If only Dave would come back for more Chappelle's Show, it would be glorious.
"I'd still be able to put him on my list of things I've burned." 1:21:38 - Kevin actually has a list of things he's burned with his fireball spell.
"It's reflexatory." 1:25:14 - "Reflexatory" is not actually a word. But it should be.
"Hola, cousin Speedy." 1:33:00 - Pop culture reference, "Looney Tunes" cartoon character Slowpoke Rodriguez, he was Speedy Gonzalez' cousin and complete opposite personality.
"This is the Lost Woods, isn't it?" 1:36:00 - Pop culture reference, "The Legend of Zelda" video game series. The Lost Woods originally appeared in the first Zelda game for the NES as a puzzle that required the player to walk in a series of specific directions, or else be trapped in the woods.
"Hey, it's Vince from Shampow." 1:47:12 - Viral video, "Shamwow" parody.
"That still doesn't top Clell Tickle." 1:49:02 - Viral video, "Clell Tickle: Indie Marketing Guru." Hambone is a convicted child arsonist.
"All I wanna know is where the gold at?" 2:01:49 - Viral video, "Leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama."
"Da Bears!" 2:03:34 - Pop culture reference, "Bill Swerkski's Super Fans" sketch from Saturday Night Live.
"Hey! Listen!" 2:23:52 - Pop culture reference, "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" video game. Navi is the most annoying fairy ever. Her ever present callings of "Hey! Listen!" have led many a gamer to the brink of blind rage.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
D&D Post #4 plus Annotations for #3
It's that time again! Here's the log for the last D&D session we had. Plus, I've annotated the third session at the end of this post.
Same players as last time: David the DM and TB the halfling rogue, Kevin the demon-born druid Alyster, Liz the rat fighter Liz, Trish the half-elf sorcerer with no name, and me the dwarf cleric Kelgar.
Only one part this time, available as streaming audio or mp3 download. It runs about 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Enjoy!
Streaming:
Download:
Get It Here
Here are the annotations for session 3.
Part 1
"Ok, monkey man." 29:11 - Kevin was picking up a towel on the floor with his foot.
"Even in the Nevernever." 42:28 - Pop culture reference, "The Dresden Files" series of books. The Dresden Files is like Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Philip Marlowe, or what you would get if you crossed Spenser with Merlin or Harry Potter with Jim Rockford. The Nevernever is the plane where fairies and whatnot come from.
"No, it's Chris' worst nightmare." 59:25 - Chris was a douchebag who Justin and I used to hang around with in high school. He made a character for D&D that was based on himself. He included his paralyzing fear of spiders and mild asthma, among other things, so he could munchkin his way to a powerful character. Realizing this, Justin exploited it in such a way that after running for his life from a giant spider, "Chris" had an asthma attack, collapsed, and then was caught and eaten by the spider.
"What the hell?" 1:04:49 - David had just finished his soda and then crushed the can on his forehead.
"1 plus 1!" 1:08:27 - Kevin flipped David the double bird, because David had been demonstrating how to do multiplication of 9s on his fingers.
"I notice how your dice just fell down Tetris-style." 1:12:14 - I had my d6s arranged in two rows of 4, but they were split apart in the "z-block" Tetris shapes.
"You've got your ascot, and your flippie-floppies." 1:13:47 - Pop culture reference, "On a Boat" by The Lonely Island.
"Were you petting the can?" 1:47:19 - Liz was making a motion over her Dr. Pepper can like she was petting a small animal. Later, she was smelling my empty can of Rockstar.
"I found a badger scroll on Shiren." 1:49:10 - We talk about Shiren a lot. "Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer" is a DS game that is awesome. It's incredibly hard and unforgiving (if you die, you lose all your stuff and have to start over from the beginning), but very addicting and satisfying once you can make it to the end.
"Tis but a flesh wound!" 1:56:00 - Pop culture reference, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" film.
Part 2
"There's certain things you don't do in life, and one of them is gambling with a Sicilian in a game of life and death." 4:55 - Pop culture reference, "The Princess Bride" film.
"Don't piss on the electric fence." 5:00 - Pop culture reference, "Ren and Stimpy" TV show.
"I have comic ideas on my Blackberry." 10:03 - Yes, I have a list of comic ideas on my Blackberry.
"Want a helmet?" 19:03 - Kevin was referring to his half a watermelon that he had just finished hollowing out.
"The cheese is old and moldy." 21:16 - Pop culture reference, "Encino Man" film.
"Well, whaddya know. It disintegrated." 37:59 - Pop culture reference, "Looney Tunes" cartoon "Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century."
"Yeah, I said Wizard Sight." "Using my Third Eye?" 40:05 - Pop culture reference, "The Dresden Files." By opening their third eye, wizards can see things that are invisible otherwise.
"Speaking of which, I forgot how awesome 'Dead Beat' was." 44:00 - "Dead Beat" is the 7th book of the Dresden Files. In it, he reanimates the skeleton of a T-Rex and rides it through the streets of Chicago.
"Crap, someone fed the Mogwai." 1:26:43 - Pop culture reference, "Gremlins" film. A Mogwai is a fuzzy creature that has 3 simple rules of care: Don't expose it to bright light, don't get it wet, and never, ever, feed it after midnight.
"What the fuck? That was weird sounding." 1:50:26 - Trish's phone was on vibrate and sitting on the table, and it made a funny "woob woob woob" sound.
"Twitter sucks balls. I fuckin hate Twitter." 2:00:46 - Yes, I'm aware of the irony that I continue to say I hate Twitter, and yet I use it all the time.
"Yeah, you're insane." 2:03:46 - Turns out, Kevin's absolutely right. "The Dishwasher" is not, in fact, a Playstation Network game as David claimed, but an Xbox Live Arcade game.
Same players as last time: David the DM and TB the halfling rogue, Kevin the demon-born druid Alyster, Liz the rat fighter Liz, Trish the half-elf sorcerer with no name, and me the dwarf cleric Kelgar.
Only one part this time, available as streaming audio or mp3 download. It runs about 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Enjoy!
Streaming:
Download:
Get It Here
Here are the annotations for session 3.
Part 1
"Ok, monkey man." 29:11 - Kevin was picking up a towel on the floor with his foot.
"Even in the Nevernever." 42:28 - Pop culture reference, "The Dresden Files" series of books. The Dresden Files is like Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Philip Marlowe, or what you would get if you crossed Spenser with Merlin or Harry Potter with Jim Rockford. The Nevernever is the plane where fairies and whatnot come from.
"No, it's Chris' worst nightmare." 59:25 - Chris was a douchebag who Justin and I used to hang around with in high school. He made a character for D&D that was based on himself. He included his paralyzing fear of spiders and mild asthma, among other things, so he could munchkin his way to a powerful character. Realizing this, Justin exploited it in such a way that after running for his life from a giant spider, "Chris" had an asthma attack, collapsed, and then was caught and eaten by the spider.
"What the hell?" 1:04:49 - David had just finished his soda and then crushed the can on his forehead.
"1 plus 1!" 1:08:27 - Kevin flipped David the double bird, because David had been demonstrating how to do multiplication of 9s on his fingers.
"I notice how your dice just fell down Tetris-style." 1:12:14 - I had my d6s arranged in two rows of 4, but they were split apart in the "z-block" Tetris shapes.
"You've got your ascot, and your flippie-floppies." 1:13:47 - Pop culture reference, "On a Boat" by The Lonely Island.
"Were you petting the can?" 1:47:19 - Liz was making a motion over her Dr. Pepper can like she was petting a small animal. Later, she was smelling my empty can of Rockstar.
"I found a badger scroll on Shiren." 1:49:10 - We talk about Shiren a lot. "Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer" is a DS game that is awesome. It's incredibly hard and unforgiving (if you die, you lose all your stuff and have to start over from the beginning), but very addicting and satisfying once you can make it to the end.
"Tis but a flesh wound!" 1:56:00 - Pop culture reference, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" film.
Part 2
"There's certain things you don't do in life, and one of them is gambling with a Sicilian in a game of life and death." 4:55 - Pop culture reference, "The Princess Bride" film.
"Don't piss on the electric fence." 5:00 - Pop culture reference, "Ren and Stimpy" TV show.
"I have comic ideas on my Blackberry." 10:03 - Yes, I have a list of comic ideas on my Blackberry.
"Want a helmet?" 19:03 - Kevin was referring to his half a watermelon that he had just finished hollowing out.
"The cheese is old and moldy." 21:16 - Pop culture reference, "Encino Man" film.
"Well, whaddya know. It disintegrated." 37:59 - Pop culture reference, "Looney Tunes" cartoon "Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century."
"Yeah, I said Wizard Sight." "Using my Third Eye?" 40:05 - Pop culture reference, "The Dresden Files." By opening their third eye, wizards can see things that are invisible otherwise.
"Speaking of which, I forgot how awesome 'Dead Beat' was." 44:00 - "Dead Beat" is the 7th book of the Dresden Files. In it, he reanimates the skeleton of a T-Rex and rides it through the streets of Chicago.
"Crap, someone fed the Mogwai." 1:26:43 - Pop culture reference, "Gremlins" film. A Mogwai is a fuzzy creature that has 3 simple rules of care: Don't expose it to bright light, don't get it wet, and never, ever, feed it after midnight.
"What the fuck? That was weird sounding." 1:50:26 - Trish's phone was on vibrate and sitting on the table, and it made a funny "woob woob woob" sound.
"Twitter sucks balls. I fuckin hate Twitter." 2:00:46 - Yes, I'm aware of the irony that I continue to say I hate Twitter, and yet I use it all the time.
"Yeah, you're insane." 2:03:46 - Turns out, Kevin's absolutely right. "The Dishwasher" is not, in fact, a Playstation Network game as David claimed, but an Xbox Live Arcade game.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Red Faction: Guerrilla (PS3) Impressions
This game makes me giggle like a schoolgirl. That's not hyperbole. The first time I toppled a building using nothing more than a sledgehammer and a couple of shaped charges, I was filled with a childish joy that I haven't felt in a long time.
Not only does this game make it so much fun to break, smash, explode, and just plain destroy everything, the missions aren't bad, either. Of course, they're centered around complete and utter obliteration of everything around you, but this is very much a 3 am game. In case you're unfamiliar with the term, it's the type of game you sit down to play in the evening, and the next time you look at the clock, it's 3 am.
Not only does this game make it so much fun to break, smash, explode, and just plain destroy everything, the missions aren't bad, either. Of course, they're centered around complete and utter obliteration of everything around you, but this is very much a 3 am game. In case you're unfamiliar with the term, it's the type of game you sit down to play in the evening, and the next time you look at the clock, it's 3 am.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Ghostbusters (PS3) Postmortem
I finished Ghostbusters today. I'd say it was about 8-10 hours of gameplay total for the single player campaign. I haven't touched multiplayer, and don't really plan to. Instead of talking about good points and bad points, I'm going to just list the bad things that really stood out.
Uneven difficulty. I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Certain parts of the game were cakewalks, while others were exercises in frustration, for no good reason.
Load times. Again, it's so bad I had to mention it again. I don't mind failing missions if I can jump right back in and try again. But waiting a good half a minute to do so, all the while listening to Ray Parker, Jr, is not a good thing. Yes, it's a good song. Yes, it gets annoying after a while.
Save game bugs. While I didn't experience a complete loss of my savegame, the game did somehow manage to lose my scans of paranormal activity and cursed artifacts I had collected halfway through the story. Gamebreaker, no, strange and aggravating (as it cost me some trophies), yes.
That's all I didn't like. Everything else, the controls, the story, the graphics, the voice acting and sound, all spectacular. But that short list of bad stuff (and the fact I finished the storyline on a 5-day rental period) is enough to make this a rental recommendation only. Maybe once the price drops to 30 bucks or below and my homies pick it up too, I'll buy it and get some multiplayer ghostbusting action going. Until then, though, it's just not worth $60.
Uneven difficulty. I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Certain parts of the game were cakewalks, while others were exercises in frustration, for no good reason.
Load times. Again, it's so bad I had to mention it again. I don't mind failing missions if I can jump right back in and try again. But waiting a good half a minute to do so, all the while listening to Ray Parker, Jr, is not a good thing. Yes, it's a good song. Yes, it gets annoying after a while.
Save game bugs. While I didn't experience a complete loss of my savegame, the game did somehow manage to lose my scans of paranormal activity and cursed artifacts I had collected halfway through the story. Gamebreaker, no, strange and aggravating (as it cost me some trophies), yes.
That's all I didn't like. Everything else, the controls, the story, the graphics, the voice acting and sound, all spectacular. But that short list of bad stuff (and the fact I finished the storyline on a 5-day rental period) is enough to make this a rental recommendation only. Maybe once the price drops to 30 bucks or below and my homies pick it up too, I'll buy it and get some multiplayer ghostbusting action going. Until then, though, it's just not worth $60.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
D&D Post #3
It's almost time for another session of D&D, but first, here's the log from the last one!
Same players as last time: David the DM and TB the halfling rogue, Kevin the demon-born druid Alyster, Liz the rat fighter Liz, Trish the half-elf sorcerer with no name, and me the dwarf cleric Kelgar.
Another two parter. Both are available just as last time, streaming audio or mp3 download. Each part is roughly 2 hours.
Enjoy!
Streaming:
Part 1
Part 2
Download:
Get Part 1 Here
Get Part 2 Here
Same players as last time: David the DM and TB the halfling rogue, Kevin the demon-born druid Alyster, Liz the rat fighter Liz, Trish the half-elf sorcerer with no name, and me the dwarf cleric Kelgar.
Another two parter. Both are available just as last time, streaming audio or mp3 download. Each part is roughly 2 hours.
Enjoy!
Streaming:
Part 1
Part 2
Download:
Get Part 1 Here
Get Part 2 Here
Monday, June 22, 2009
Ghostbusters (PS3) Impressions
I've played for about 3-4 hours, through the first 3 missions.
It feels very much like Ghostbusters, which is not unusual since it stars all four of the OG Ghostbusters and was written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It has enough callbacks to the first two films to feel very familiar, and yet has enough new thrown in to be a solid extension of the universe.
The difficulty level is a bit ragged, due mostly to the fact that the game holds your hand during certain parts, and then lets you flounder in others. Also, load times after failing a mission are absolutely criminal, and I experienced some slowdown - no, slowdown isn't the right word, it was more like stopping - in the visuals during a sequence with darkness and smoke. Stuff like that is almost common place with badly coded PC games on poor hardware, but it's completely unacceptable on a console.
Still, I'm enjoying it, and haven't had a gamebreaker yet. It's Ghostbusters, after all.
It feels very much like Ghostbusters, which is not unusual since it stars all four of the OG Ghostbusters and was written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It has enough callbacks to the first two films to feel very familiar, and yet has enough new thrown in to be a solid extension of the universe.
The difficulty level is a bit ragged, due mostly to the fact that the game holds your hand during certain parts, and then lets you flounder in others. Also, load times after failing a mission are absolutely criminal, and I experienced some slowdown - no, slowdown isn't the right word, it was more like stopping - in the visuals during a sequence with darkness and smoke. Stuff like that is almost common place with badly coded PC games on poor hardware, but it's completely unacceptable on a console.
Still, I'm enjoying it, and haven't had a gamebreaker yet. It's Ghostbusters, after all.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
D&D Post #3 Coming Soon
There is a new recording of D&D as we had a session on Sunday night. However, I have not had a chance to do some cleanup in Audacity and upload it yet. Soon, I promise!
Sent from my BlackBerry® on the MetroPCS Network
Sent from my BlackBerry® on the MetroPCS Network
Sunday, May 31, 2009
D&D Post #2
Here's the next session of D&D.
Same players as last time: David the DM and TB the halfling rogue, Kevin the demon-born druid Alyster, Liz the rat fighter Liz, Trish the half-elf sorcerer with no name, and me the dwarf cleric Kelgar.
This session went so long I've split it into two parts. Both are available just as last time, streaming audio or mp3 download. First part is about 2 and a half hours, second part is about 1 and a half hours.
Enjoy!
Streaming:
Part 1
Part 2
Download:
Get Part 1 Here
Get Part 2 Here
Same players as last time: David the DM and TB the halfling rogue, Kevin the demon-born druid Alyster, Liz the rat fighter Liz, Trish the half-elf sorcerer with no name, and me the dwarf cleric Kelgar.
This session went so long I've split it into two parts. Both are available just as last time, streaming audio or mp3 download. First part is about 2 and a half hours, second part is about 1 and a half hours.
Enjoy!
Streaming:
Part 1
Part 2
Download:
Get Part 1 Here
Get Part 2 Here
Monday, May 25, 2009
Nathan Fillion is...Hal Jordan
Fan-made trailers usually suck pretty bad, for a number of reasons: bad editing, bad music, ill-fitting stock footage, etc. This one, though, is incredible. It may have something to do with Nathan Fillion, but it has a lot of other great things going for it, too. Definitely one to view in High Quality. Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
I Love Being Right
Especially when it benefits me. Check it.
Now, I didn't call that on this blog, so there's really no proof per se, but I've held to the belief since it was announced that Fallout 3 DLC was not exclusive for Microsoft, but merely a timed exclusive. Just like Rock Band 2 was, just like Bioshock was, just like GTA IV would have been if it weren't delayed, just like the DLC for GTA IV will be, and maybe, just like the Mass Effect games will be.
Suck on that, naysayers.
Now, I didn't call that on this blog, so there's really no proof per se, but I've held to the belief since it was announced that Fallout 3 DLC was not exclusive for Microsoft, but merely a timed exclusive. Just like Rock Band 2 was, just like Bioshock was, just like GTA IV would have been if it weren't delayed, just like the DLC for GTA IV will be, and maybe, just like the Mass Effect games will be.
Suck on that, naysayers.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Tabletop D&D
Every other Friday night, The Crew gets together and plays D&D. Traditional pen and paper style D&D: in person, around the tabletop, with physical maps, minis, and dice. Snacks, adult beverages, laughs and good times are had by all.
This last Friday I decided to bring my laptop to the game and record the session. What follows is the audio of that session. The Crew members present consist of: David, the DM, who also plays the part of a halfling rogue named Taylor Bronx (or TB for short); Kevin, a demon-born druid named Alyster with a summoned dire bat named Sonic (but christened Lavender by the rest of the group, as Alyster has an aversion to flowers); Liz, a bipedal rat fighter named Liz (short for a name that I can't remember or pronounce); Trish, a half-elf sorcerer who has yet to be named; and myself, a dwarf cleric named Kelgar Ironballs who worships Pelor, the Sun god.
I have made the recording available in two ways: as streaming audio and as a downloadable mp3 for your portable listening device. Warning: this track contains adult language and situations. Listener discretion is advised. Also, as the track runs almost 3 hours, I don't recommend listening to it all at once unless you are incredibly bored, or as big a geek as we all are.
Enjoy!
Streaming:
Download:
Get it Here
This last Friday I decided to bring my laptop to the game and record the session. What follows is the audio of that session. The Crew members present consist of: David, the DM, who also plays the part of a halfling rogue named Taylor Bronx (or TB for short); Kevin, a demon-born druid named Alyster with a summoned dire bat named Sonic (but christened Lavender by the rest of the group, as Alyster has an aversion to flowers); Liz, a bipedal rat fighter named Liz (short for a name that I can't remember or pronounce); Trish, a half-elf sorcerer who has yet to be named; and myself, a dwarf cleric named Kelgar Ironballs who worships Pelor, the Sun god.
I have made the recording available in two ways: as streaming audio and as a downloadable mp3 for your portable listening device. Warning: this track contains adult language and situations. Listener discretion is advised. Also, as the track runs almost 3 hours, I don't recommend listening to it all at once unless you are incredibly bored, or as big a geek as we all are.
Enjoy!
Streaming:
Download:
Get it Here
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