You are Red/Blue!
Take The Magic Dual Colour Test - Beta today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.
Last year Kyro posted a link to the bacon taco, which he then failed to make over the holidays. Our arteries still function, yes, but what a manly way to die it would have been!
I am Blue/Green
Take The Magic Dual Colour Test - Beta today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.
I am White/Green
Take The Magic Dual Colour Test - Beta today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.
This guy completely destroys "The Phantom Menace", if you like that film even a little, do NOT watch this guys total annihilation of it.
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG1AWVLnl48&feature=related
Part 3:
... you can figure out how to find the rest of them....
Cory Doctorow has a few reasons why you shouldn't buy one. Personally, I think I'd like to own one. How 'bout you?
HA HA
This is a mock Google ad that is Star Wars themed.
For Kyro, with love, and a healthy dose of "up yours!"Wow!!! This really puts it into perspective. This link is a audio/visual show of how close some of the finishes at the Olympics were.
- Excerpts from the CIA World FactBook -
Burma: "After the ruling junta in August 2007 unexpectedly increased fuel prices, tens of thousands of Burmese marched in protest, led by prodemocracy activists and Buddhist monks. In late September 2007, the government brutally suppressed the protests, killing at least 13 people and arresting thousands for participating in the demonstrations. Since then, the regime has continued to raid homes and monasteries and arrest persons suspected of participating in the pro-democracy protests."
Liberia: "An August 2003 peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who faces war crimes charges in The Hague related to his involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) maintains a strong presence throughout the country, but the security situation is still fragile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country will take many years."
The United States: "Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology."
Sorry, couldn't resist the pun. I am excited to see how this company plays out. With any luck we will see more companies like this one start to release their products.
The video is worth the watch. It is about fuel cell technology, more specifically one company.
Part 1
Part 2
Came to the realization today that the Alpha Omega system by Mindstorm Labs is just too crunchy for my casual group. Looking at a couple of options: use the 4th Shadowrun system or GURPS and keep the world, or just play standalone Shadowrun.
Switchin' to glide got me thinking about other things I'd love to try running in the next year or three (in no particular order):
octaNe
Jovian Chronicles
Ars Magica
I've also had this idea for a supers based game set in the future, a sorta Justice League Galactica if you will... I've titled the thing Amazing Year 3000 and would use either Champions or MSH d100 system (since I've recently had a super fun time in an unrelated game that used it).
Welcome to the land of Logorama, and Academy Award nominated short film that takes place in a land made up of logos and branded characters. Fun, interesting and worth 20 minutes of your time!
Category: "Ameritrash"
def. - These games are heavily themed and have gameplay that is centered around the theme. These games value theme over play mechanics, even reducing skill to make theme play out better. These are near opposite of abstract strategy games. A subset of Ameritrash games are beer and pretzel games.
Surely, they mean Monopoly, Pay Day, etc.. in which case I concur - but lumping party games (under the alternym of "beer and pretzel") is just plain wrong.
F0r this planet, and f0r this c0nfederacy 0f the 21 adjacent stars and its 76 planets, ah, the incident t00, it is a very l0ng, inv0lved and c0mplex incident. It's ab0ut 36 days. It starts 0ut n0rmally with a capture. 50me kind 0r an0ther capture. And d0n't think 0f y0urself I'm trying t0 run a capture, I'm having been any ferrying ar0und in the air and s0meb0dy s0mething 0r 0ther g0t y0u d0wn within neck and all that (untelligible). Because pe0ple at that particular time and space were walking ar0und in cl0thes which l00k very remarkably like the cl0thes they wear at this very minute. And the cars they dr0ve l00k exactly the same and the trains they ran l00k the same and the b0ats they had l00k were the same, circa 1950-1960. This civilizati0n has simply c0pied 0ur six/100th percent because they were t0ld t0. And they walk d0wn streets that l00ked like these streets and lived in h0uses that l00ked like these h0uses and s0 0n, that's what the hell.
And there was quite a bit 0f h0pple ruffle and then then upset and s0 0n bef0re 0ur sixth t00k place and what it was was the l0yal 0fficers, where they b0dy, the elected b0dy, they're called the l0yal 0fficers, they were there t0 pr0tect the p0pulati0ns and s0 f0rth. And they had elected a fella by the name 0f XENU, c0uld be spelled X-E-N-U, t0 the supreme r00lah, and they were ab0ut t0 unelect him, and he t00k the last m0ments he had in 0ffice t0 really g00f the fl00f. Yes I d0n't blame y0u f0r dr0pping s0mething. He t00k these last m0ments t0 really upset it. He 0f c0urse had several key birds wh0 were cl0se t0 him. He was the suppressive t0 end all suppressives. He g0t these administrat0rs and s0 0n and heads 0f plants in vari0us p0siti0ns and places. He picked 0ut all the c0wb0ys in white hats and he g0t rid 0f them first fast and then tr00ps n0t kn0w what the hell they were d0ing and being fed all kind 0f false 0rders, were fed in against the p0pulati0n and pick them up 0ne after the 0ther rat a tat tat a tat tat a tat tat a tat tat, 0ne 0f the mechanisms they used was t0 tell them they were c0ming in f0r an inc0me tax investigati0n. (Laughs.) And, uh, the United 5tates just c0pies inc0me taxes, just (unintelligbile) six a bunch dramatizing psych0tics, and like that.
50 in they went and the tr00ps start slaughtered them and the tr00ps 0f c0urse were 0rdered 0ut t0 get a h0ld 0f certain b0dies 0f renegade tr00ps which were 0rdered t0 get certain b0dies 0f bad tr00ps and they sh0t each 0ther up and then planted each 0ther and wiped it 0ut. They were making billiard balls 0f these places. They were imp0rted, they were actually, the trick was t0 sh00t s0meb0dy, disable s0meb0dy very 0ften a needle int0 a lung and at the same time t0 hit him with fr0zen alc0h0l and glyc0l, which preparati0n is guaranteed t0 pick up a (unintelligible). H0w he had t0 d0 was pick him up and put him in refrigerat0r and they had him b0y, he tried t0 re-exterialize fr0m the b0dy and there he was fr0zen. And uh they threw him int0 c0llecti0n p0ints, b0xed them up in b0xes threw him int0 space planes which are the exact c0, DC-8's, DC-8 airplanes are the exact c0pies 0f the space planes 0f that day. N0 difference except DC-8's had pr0pellers 0n it. And the space plane didn't. And they threw them int0 refrigerati0n units and s0 0n, in view 0f the fact the Einstein was abs0lutely right, n0 man can g0 faster than the speed 0f s0und - speed 0f light - which is bunch 0f balderdash. The length 0f time fr0m the planet K0ltis t0 the planted Tikiak, which is the name 0f this planet, was nine weeks and y0u'll see that it's many light years. K0ltis is 0ne 0f the planets and is 0ne 0f these planets and is t0 this day 0ne 0f the planets 0f the N0rth 5tar.
(Unintelligible) And pe0ple were buried in here by the billi0ns and the billi0ns and the billi0ns and they were buried in here with b0xes and they were put in b0xes and stacked ar0und and the pe0ple wh0 were 0n this planet already just caught it in the teeth. They weren't b0thered, n0b0dy b0thered t0 pick them up. They just sh0t their administrat0rs fr0m guns and sh0t their c0ntr0l p0ints 0ut and they t00k these pe0ple in b0xes and dumped them and they set 0ff hydr0gen b0mbs 0n the t0p 0f each primary v0lcan0 there is 0n this particular planet. And when they blew up it blew the thetans int0 the air and after the b0mb an electr0nic ribb0n which als0 was a type 0f standing wave was erected 0ver the area. The tremend0us wiiinds 0f the planet blew every thetan there was straight int0 th0se particular vacuum z0nes which had been created. These were then br0ught d0wn, packed up, and put in fr0nt 0f pr0jecti0n machines, which with s0und and c0l0r pictures, first gave them the implant which y0u kn0w as clearing c0urse. Then a wh0le track implanted which y0u kn0w as OT-2. After this h0wever, ab0ut a remainder 0f the 36 days which is the bulk 0f it is taken up with a 3-D super-c0l0ssal m0ti0n pic-chah, has t0 d0 with G0d, the devil, space 0pera, et cetera. They g0 five pictures t0 five w0rds and we have the full rec0rd 0f what it is.
It g0es 0n f0r ab0ut 36 days and these p00r bastards were let wandered 0ut. Pard0n me. They were then b0xed up again, and the b0xes were mixed s0 that there were tw0 assembly areas, 0ne was Las Palmas and the 0ther was Hawaii. And in these tw0 assembly areas, they t00k samples fr0m each v0lcan0 area, and put it in little b0xes. They had an assembly line and at Las Palmas it runs the Main 5treet in Las Palmas. Were had m0re damned accidents d0wn that street than y0u can shake a stick at. One 0f 0ur captains was feeling rather questi0ns until I t0ld her wh0a, the 0ld assembly line 0f 0ur six is just 25 feet fr0m y0u and y0u lie here 0n the sitway. That blew the charge. (Laughs.)
The t0wns that were left and s0 0n were just battered int0 ruins. Where y0u had the renegades that had been hired and s0 0n and the administrat0rs that had been l0yal t0 XEMU were still trying t0 h0ld 0ut.
Within a year he was in, in uh under arrest, and within six years, the l0ck had been wiped 0ut they l0yal 0fficer had been triumphant, Xemu was put with several 0f his c0h0rts in the center 0f a m0untain which is still 0n this planet and in a wire cage which is charged with an eternal battery. He's n0t likely t0 ever get 0ut. There is a base 0n this planet and it is s0 shredded away as t0 be hardly rec0gnizable.
Whatever, then anyb0dy tries t0 d0 anything ab0ut this, he's apt t0 get a flashback. 50 y0u mustn't g0 ar0und talking ab0ut being the pe0ple wh0 are g0ing t0 save the planet. Y0u are the pe0ple the planet 0beys. Y0u are the pe0ple wh0 0wn the planet. Y0u are n0t the pe0ple wh0 are g0ing t0 save the planet. And thereby y0u WILL save it.
I am sure many of you know of this story already, but I find her last words... well... funny as hell...
And driving. And shopping. And eating. And working. Somewhere, somehow, they're different now, none of 'em are the same, they all got chewed up and spit back out, and they don't taste like living anymore! Don't you see what it's like in this deranged Whirring Blender of a world?! Every day is an agonizing ordeal, like balancing a pot of scalding water on your head while people whip your legs and butt … Aaaah, you never forget your senior prom … YOU think I'm "sick"?! Well the only disease I've got is "Modern Life," a schnutbusting gauntlet of inefficiency and misery that's one long parade of let-downs, put-downs, trickle downs, shutouts, freeze outs, sell-outs, numnuts, nincompoops and nimrods, all making every day as much fun as waxing a flaming Pontiac with your tongue, where even if you do luck into the possibility of some fleeting pleasure, like, say, if some nymphomaniac telephone operator with the muscle control of Romanian mat-slappers agree to a little strip air hockey, it'll be over before it starts 'cuz some vowel-lacking, feta-reeking cab-jockey slams his checker up your hatchback and the cab is owned by some pinata spanker from a Santeria cult in Xoacalpa who starts shaking chicken bones at you and gives you a boil on your neck so big all it needs is Michael Jordan's autograph to make it complete, and even with all this, with ALL THIS, I still drag my sorry butt off the Sealy every morning and stick my face in the reaping machine for one more day, knowing when it's time to flash the cosmic card key at those Pearly Gates, I won't be in the coffin anyway 'cuz some underhanded undertaker sold my heart, pancreas and other assorted Good 'N' Plenty to that same Santeria cult so does anybody really wonder why anybody is hanging onto sanity by the atoms on the tips of their fingernails while life dirty-dances on their digits, and is it really any wonder that I seem DERANGED???!!
Raindrop is a standalone player for OS X.
There is a ton of interesting indie music coming from SoundCloud these days and I still highly recommend people check it out. Even if you're not in the mood to produce, the content is worth a peruse. Just my two cents.
Also checkout radioclouds a super neat social-networked way to browse for music.
Mos-Eisley Burlesque
http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/synthful/star-wars-burlesque-mos-eisley/
Audio-Surf (via steam) :: ride your music
http://www.audio-surf.com/
Audiosurf on Steam includes The Orange Box soundtrack, integrated with the game to enable "Still Alive" surfing....
I like that "Still Alive" track quite a bit. It's always popular in RockBand, even thought it's not very challenging.
Hobnox is probably the coolest web-app I've ever seen.
Cast aside your Reason and Logic, get de-Cubase'd! With just a browser, or as Google calls it: an "operating system", you can get wikkity-wick-tricky-bit-bicky.
With a few minutes at it, you can build the next big anthem. Fo shizzle!
Also, happy new years to everybody, '09 is in the books, let's stay focused on 2010~!
Well, it's another Christmas in the books and I have to say that it was a great one. theKid is now full time cellular (unlimited texting, 300 minutes) and we are looking at ditching our landline as of Jan 1st. This means that you will have to call CPMDrama, Kyro or theKid directly on our cells. I think this is a good thing anyway, since our landline has been a call center magnet ever since putting the number on the Canadian DNC List. If you need any of our numbers, please email me and I'll furnish you with all of them.
With the Christmas money that came our way, CPMDrama was able to find us a good camera today, so we've joined the digital camera revolution. I think this means that I'll be twitpic'ing or flikr'ing or whatever soon. I haven't decided if that's a good thing or not yet. It certainly DOES mean that I'll have some high quality pictures of my completed 'falcon to post this week.
Other notables: the entire G.I.Joe cartoon box set w. dog tags (the dog tag is actually a USB key that has a schwack of comics on it), and a baseball style jersey that says 'Las Vegas' on it. When I wear the jersey with the dog tags I look like I'm ready to rumble (could be from the haircut though). Also got some fantastic Yves St. Laurent cologne from CPMDrama.
I'm hoping to play some board games tomorrow afternoon and then checkout some movies tomorrow night, or something. I want to hit Dragon's Den on Monday or Tuesday because they are having their big 40% sale on board games and 'Santa' gave us a Gift Certificate. Not sure what's up for NYE yet, I'm supposed to play a quick set with Ruxpin (Psience DJs) from 10pm to 11.
Just a few more pieces to complete the upper surface and front and then I'll take the final shots and post. I also received some very nice new small kits that will look fantastic with this model. I can't wait to get the whole diorama together.
This map signifies the total number of Wikis tied to each country. The designer learned there are literally more articles written about Antarctica and even Middle Earth than many countries in Africa.
Found this image interesting. I know there are lots out there similar, just thought I would share this one with you all.
You know what can replace two turn-tables, a mixer and a good DJ?
NOTHING.
That's right, none of this gimmicky crap can replace two mix sources with a MIXER in between. I'm okay with CDJs, Vinyl decks, even two MP3 players as long as they support pitch control, a la Numark iDJ... but if there is no mixer in the center and no DJ intelligently doing the mixing, I'm not interested.
It's the newest installment of this ongoing, huge series. It was a very highly anticipated game. It made $550 million in the first 5 days. I figure someone should talk about it.
If you liked Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, or any other first person shooter, you will very likely enjoy this game. It is very nearly the exact same game. I played a pretty serious session on Remembrance day, and completed the main story line on normal difficulty, logged about 3 hours into multiplayer, and finished just over half the Special Op's coop missions. My buddy and I did the hardened difficult for most of the Spec Ops. So, if you ignore the time sink that is multiplayer, you can experience this whole game in about 6 or 8 hours. The main story isn't that exciting. Terrorists orchestrate this war between the US and Russia. You kill Russians, Terrorists, and almost anything else that moves. There is a bit of controversy as well, as there is a level where you play as an undercover agent trying to get close to a Terrorist, who is taking part in a bloody massacre at an airport. You do feel a little disturbed (I hope) when you spray bullets into a crowd of unarmed civilians. It's somewhat important from a storyline point of view.
Single Player wasn't bad, but not great. They did a good job of making the missions a wide variety of objectives, while killing terrorists. I really enjoyed the levels, as you fight in some very neat places. All the levels where the US is attacked, and you are trying to defend it are excellent. You have an outpost setup in a Taco Joint, and are asked to do a recon mission at the Burger Barn! Sweet! They did a very good job of capturing the suburban neighbourhood. You also fight at the Washington monument, and the whitehouse. I really enjoyed watching those structures burn. It's how I envision the War of 1812 looking, but more planes and choppers.
Multiplayer is where this game shines though. They level progression system seems much faster. You get experience for a lot more stuff now. They added tons of challenges for weapon unlocks. But they also added so many levels of customization that you can spend forever trying to unlock everything. I still haven't fully unlocked the first assault rifle, and I have since gotten 3 more. I haven't even started upgrading secondary weapons, like pistols, and such. I think I will hit the level cap long before I finish upgrading weapons. A lot of the levels are a ton of fun. They are well made to support many different play styles. One of my peeves though is it's a small multiplayer game. There is 1 mode that suports up to 18 players total. Most games hover around the 10-12 player mark. It's not that it's not fun, I just enjoy some of the larger multiplayer games, like Battlefield, or the upcoming MAG. Since numbers are often so low, it really makes it an individual based game. You never have to work with your teammates to accomplish anything. That said, I like following a teammate around, and use him as a human shield / enemy detector.
The Special Op's missions are a ton of fun. Unfortunately, they are just the coolest and most fun parts of Singleplayer, in shorter, more direct, format. After finishing Singleplayer, I had already done all of them, but I get to do them again... If you do them first, Singleplayer gets a little boring, and drags on. I highly recommend you do them with a friend, as most of them are way easier with a buddy. (Xbox live gamertag: Toad008 =) )
Final verdict? If you liked the first Modern Warfare, you should get this game, as it's an improved version of it. If you like first person shooters, I'd wait and pick it up in a couple months, after a price decrease / used copies are available, as the multiplayer servers will still be packed. (Estimated 7 million copies in 24 hours? Jesus). If you don't like first person shooters, why did you read this whole article? Moron.
Also worth noting: I've got some review plans queued for Left 4 Dead 2, and Assassin's Creed 2, once I play more of both of those. Also, since Board Games are getting less love, I'm thinking of writing a review of Last Night on Earth, and Dominion. I just want another couple sessions in both so I can take a bunch of pictures. Last Night on Earth review may moreso be a retelling of the story the game unveiled for us. Seems like it would be fun.
recall: http://gnoschitt.blogspot.com/2009/10/during-assembly-kit-7778.html
This kit continues to be a huge joy to assemble. I've been intentionally taking my time, doing a panel of instructions each day, sometimes I'll do three panels if I'm feeling really squirrely.
Again, I've gotta stress how impressed I am that the kit uses few to no custom/molded parts. The entire bridge arm (seen above) is done completely with normal pieces.
I can't wait to complete the kit, let it sit for a few weeks to a month, then tear it apart and start building a few of my own creations with it.
Just an early reminder... if you're in town on Dec 25th and have 'wrapped' up your activities with family, please come out to Vanscoy and enjoy the rest of the evening with us for our annual 'unwrapped' party!
We'll have seasonal cheer, food, games, camaraderie, cards and RockBand! Morgan is studying a number of holiday season classics on piano and I even have fanciful ideas of signing some carols together while she plays. Children are very welcome to come. There will be some Dance Dance Revolution and kids movies available too.
Please mention it to anybody who might be interested, we love to have a big crew. I'll email out as we get closer to the event!
I attended the Central Canada Comic Con this past weekend. It was held in downtown Winnipeg's Convention Centre. First year at this location, and very accessible with decent parking.
Of course, I knew that the convention would only be a fraction of the size of San Diego's Comic Con. Still, I saw more Klingons in Winnipeg!
It was far less 'Hollywood'-- no mega-name booths like "DC" or "Marvel", and more space was set aside for table top gaming than video gaming. It was very grassroots.
Costumes were pretty decent displays, overall. My favourite costumes were those whose wearers clearly used ingenuity in their designs.
One could likely spend a good day taking in all the con offerings, but if next year you are considering driving to Winnipeg for the event, you might want to make plans to take in additional sights to round out your weekend. (for instance, I saw an AWESOME show of Yousuf Karsh's B&W photography at the Winnipeg Art Gallery on Sunday)
Joss Whedon sent an open letter to the owners of the beleaguered Terminator franchise:
An Open Letter to the Terminator Owners. From a Very Important Hollywood Mogul
Dear Sirs/Ma'ams,
I am Joss Whedon, the mastermind behind Titan A.E., Parenthood (not the movie) (or the new series) (or the one where 'hood' was capitalized 'cause it was a pun), and myriad other legendary tales. I have heard through the 'grapevine' that the Terminator franchise is for sale, and I am prepared to make a pre-emptive bid RIGHT NOW to wrap this dealio up. This is not a joke, this is not a scam, this is not available on TV. I will write a check TODAY for $10,000, and viola! Terminator off your hands.
No, you didn't miscount. That's four -- FOUR! -- zeroes after that one. That's to show you I mean business. And I mean show business. Nikki Finke says the Terminator concept is played. Well, here's what I have to say to Nikki Finke: you are a fine journalist and please don't ever notice me. The Terminator story is as formative and important in our culture -- and my pretend play -- as any I can think of. It's far from over. And before you Terminator-Owners (I have trouble remembering names) rush to cash that sweet cheque, let me give you a taste of what I could do with that franchise:
1) Terminator... of the Rings! Yeah, what if he time-travelled TOO far... back to when there was dragons and wizards? (I think it was the Dark Ages.) Hasta La Vista, Boramir! Cool, huh? "Now you gonna be Gandalf the Red!" RRRRIP! But then he totally helps, because he's a cyborg and he doesn't give a s#&% about the ring -- it has no power over him! And he can carry it AND Frodo AND Sam AND f@%& up some orcs while he's doing it. This stuff just comes to me. I mean it. (I will also offer $10,000 for the Lord of the Rings franchise).
2) More Glau. Hey. There's a reason they're called "Summer" movies.
3) Can you say... musical? Well don't. Even I know that's an awful idea.
4) Christian Bale's John Connor will get a throat lozenge. This will also help his Batwork (ten grand for that franchise too, btw.)
5) More porn. John Connor never told Kyle Reese this, but his main objective in going to the past was to get some. What if there's a lot of future-babies that have to be made? Cue wah-wah pedal guitar -- and dollar signs!
6) The movies will stop getting less cool.
Okay. There's more -- this brain don't quit! (though it has occasionally been fired) -- but I think you get my drift. I really believe the Terminator franchise has only begun to plumb the depths of questioning the human condition during awesome stunts, and I'd like to shepherd it through the next phase. The money is there, but more importantly, the heart is there. But more importantly, money. Think about it. End this bloody bidding war before it begins, and put the Terminator in the hands of someone who watched the first one more than any other movie in college, including "Song of Norway" (no current franchise offer).
Sincerely, Joss Whedon.
Oh please let it happen!!!!!!
For about three months now, I've been watching this crew. It started near the end of spring with my primary interest - the Remnant arms dealer who calls himself Gunn. I'd been following him at the direction of my Great Schema* but for what purpose I am still unsure.
It would be two weeks after I'd picked up Gunn's trail that he would cross paths with another warrior of note. The Grigori and he stood off at first, but I'm certain they recognized each others capability and value - they continued to travel south together.
In this broken world they are Ronin, but in different times and places each would have served mighty Emperors and been given their due. While listening to them trade guarded stories of their pasts over food and drink, I overhead the Grigori speak his name: Raksha.
Further south they traveled, and I followed.
It was twelve dawns ago, as I watched them scour ruins for anything salvageable in the morning mist, that they chanced across a scene of an Ophanum warscout who had captured a Seraph Nephilim in a ruined pit that perhaps once was a foundation. I observed that the oppressor was still fighting to maintain control using a whip like bond held tightly around the Seraph's wrists, a fact not lost on either of my pseudo-companions.
I had seen the Grigori fight once before, but the fury with which he plunged himself down into the space where the Ophanum stood was greater than in earlier encounters. With a smooth motion, Gunn brought his firearms to bear on the monstrous black winged creature and squeezed off a short burst.
Even with Raksha's hand weapons dug deep into it's back, and it's inky blood spraying freely, the Ophanum easily moved to get out from under Raksha's weight. Moving defensively forced it to release the bond over the Seraph and quickly it found itself surrounded by three deadly opponents. The Seraph retrieved his deadly blade from the ground and pressed the attack.
I watched them kill it.
They had the situation clearly under control, so I did feel a need to intervene. I found myself admiring how quickly they adapted to working together. The synergy was not lost on them either I guess - even though we reached Farthington more than 6 days ago they have stayed together as a unit. The Seraph calls himself Solo, but I can see that he finds comfort in some companionship. They are unfamiliar to one another, but they are effective together.
I've just spoken to my Great Schema and she has instructed me to stay with them, but the objective is still unknown to me.
* a wise and venerated teacher in Necrosi culture
Here she is, partially complete on my desk at work:
Isn't she going to be a beauty?
Farthington was built on the ruins of the city of Atlanta in the former American state of Georgia and is a Freezone town on the rise. About 5,000 people make their permanent home here with another 2500, or so, travelers making their way through town on any given day. This constant influx of new people brings trade (and plenty of rumors), legitimate and otherwise. If it were not for the rampant corruption that plagues the town, Farthington could become a truly great community.
Farthington’s people suffer under the yoke of organized crime and politicians whose ethics are so utterly rotten that it is sometimes impossible to tell the two groups apart. To get anything done in Farthington you have to grease the palms of half a dozen different individuals. Everyone’s hand is out, everyone is on the take and by the time they have all had their ‘taste’, those who work for a living often barely scrape by. Could be worse though, could be out in the barrens.
Great place to start up an outfit, no?
Proof of concept for a D&D app for the Microsoft Surface.
Surfacescapes Demo Walkthrough from Visual Story TAs on Vimeo.
Taking a lead from Kyro, I figured we needed someone to review games who would be willing to review Xbox360 games. So I'm going to start with some reviews. That said, my first review is a cross-platform game, but one I think many Schittheads will enjoy:
GHOSTBUSTERS!
Total Time: 6-10 hours. Harder for me to lock down, as I restarted once.
Played on: Xbox360, available for PS3, Wii.
Verdict:
If you like Ghostbusters, this game is a must play. The story is a typical Ghostbusters story. Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, who wrote the movies, helped with the script. Dan Aykroyd is quoted as saying "It is essentially the third movie". It helps immensely that you know the plot of the two movies, as it takes place 2 years after Ghostbusters 2, and involves elements from the previous movies. Also, most of the cast contributed voice acting, making all the characters sound like you want them too. They also keep a lot of the humourous banter that makes Ghostbusters entertaining.
You play as "Rookie", a character who never talks, and never gets named, as they don't want to become too attached to him. At first I was upset at this, because I wanted to be a "real Ghostbuster" but I quickly changed my tune. They did such a good job of capturing the personalities of the Ghostbusters, I enjoyed being the 5th wheel. If I was, say, playing as Peter, I wouldn't have been so set on impressing the female character. I much preferred leaving the AI to being him while I wrangled me some ghosts.
That is where Ghostbusters shines. Trapping ghosts. You start with your Proton Pack and they nailed how it should feel to use it. You blast the ghost to weaken him, then it automatically switches to capture mode where you struggle to move the ghost where you want him. Usually this is where I realize I neglected to throw my trap down. Release him, throw trap, and quickly re-capture. First ghosts are easy. Then you fight a couple at a time. Then they add possessed people, who you have to slime to knock the ghost out of the body, then capture. Possessed items which you can just destroy. They did a really good job of making a lot of variety while maintaining the same weaken then capture gameplay. They give you a couple other weapons too, your slime blower, Shock blaster, and Hadron Collider, that are better on some enemies for weakening them, and add some puzzle elements. I found I spent a lot of time using my good old reliable proton stream though. Which will cause explosions if you cross streams for too long though.
You can trash almost everything. Infact, that's half the fun. Fighting Slimer in a pirate themed bar? I broke so many bottles of liquor, set chairs on fire, blasted art work off the walls. They actually tally how much property damage you do. It's also very satifying to pick up your hot trap with the ghost you just wrangled, and survey the smashed, burning wreck of a "room" you left behind.
The difficulty of the game was perfect. It was challenging, but not frustrating. Typically the boss fights took a second to figure out what you had to do, then it was just a matter of doing it right. Usually your Ghostbuster teammates will shout out tips, or hints. So if you are stumped, you can just try to stay alive until hints make it more obvious. Once I got to the last level, it was dark, and confusing to navigate, but it was a maze, so that was it's intent. If you just follow your teammates, often they will lead you to the next key area, but I'm not very good at that. The last boss was epic, and a beautiful environment to fight in, but easier than the couple ghost attacks just before him.
Downsides to the game?
First annoying thing is the save system. It's all autosaves, which is fine, but they used very confusing messages when you launch the game. Also, there was no way to turn off autosaves, resulting in me over writting my first play through as I was showing a friend the cool intro video, and first boss. (Seriously, the first boss you fight is Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, how awesome is that!)
Second peeve, the Multiplayer portion. It's a lot of fun, but has bad network code, resulting in a lot of lag. Also, it was written by a different company, giving a very disjointed feel to getting to the multiplayer. Gameplay-wise it is very similar to single player, but with less intelligent AI.
They made a big deal about the face animations of the characters, and how amazing it was they lined up with what they were saying, but I really didn't think it was impressive. Or even close a lot of the time. Compared to other titles coming out, it wasn't a feature they should have promoted.
Some of the Achievements / trophies. I don't really care about the points, but I dislike things that are impossible to figure out without a guide. They have things that involve cooking a ham in 1 specific level. I didn't even notice the ham when I played the game. It was smaller than a plate, in a banquet hall.
I've also heard reports that they rendered the PS3 version with lower quality textures, a move that seems stupid to me, but I can't confirm that.
The credits. When you finish the game, it starts the Ghostbuster theme, which is awesome! Then it interrupts it to go to a less exciting tune, after about 20 seconds. Then the credits go on for 10 minutes. It's a bit understandable, as it's a big title, and they had a lot of companies involved, but honestly, does Dan Aykroyd's legal representative's personal assistant's secretary really need a mention? This is a peeve of mine for a lot of blockbuster games lately though.
Overall, I had a lot of fun playing it. If you like Ghostbusters, it's a must play. However, due to it's length, and limited replay value, I'd say you can rent it, and finish it one weekend. (Or if you own a xbox360, borrow my copy for a weekend)
Total Cutscene Time: around 15 to 16 hours, I lost track (that's an astonishing 38%)
Difficulty Setting: Naked Normal
Verdict: I really loved this game, even though in places I was bored as shit and the story really didn't make a ton of sense. I guess that's going to require some explanation, so even though I started with my verdict let's back it up and take a look at some of the details.
First off, I think there is a handful of main things you have to talk about when doing an analysis of MGS4.
Sure, you can talk about polygon counts or the use of Blu-Ray or system exclusivity, but who really gives a f*&$ about that nonsense; this is where it's at...
Tragic Story
I think MGS4 is best described as a tragedy. I absolutely loved the way this story was emotionally framed. Even though I literally "lost the plot" at a few spots (see my Q&A a bit further down), it was clear that Snake was dying and at no point did I feel assured that the power of the leading character would see him through to a victorious conclusion. This was a refreshing change of pace from the usual: good guy wins, gets the girl, walks away into the sunset (usually rich and/or powerful).
Focus on Cut Scene
More than any other game in history, MGS4 makes extensive use of the age old cut scene. It's hard to imagine, but this is a game where at some point in a cut scene you are going to say: "WTF is going on here? didn't I buy a game?", and you'll be right. That said, most of it is top notch and very engaging - except for some of the Drebin voice only sections whici I'll proudly admit I skipped right through a couple of times.
Mixed Gameplay
It's hard to say what this game is. Action? Sure it's got action. Espionage? Yes, actually there were lots of situations where stealth and avoidance produced more effective results than direct combat. Romance? Ahh.. well, sorta, it was. You don't get to play that part of the game sadly, but there are these weird romantic sub-plots all over the place. I'm not sure how you'd make that sort of thing playable without it being juvenile or cheesy. The one title tag that really feels like it has no meaning is "Tactical". Honestly, this game is no more or less tactical than hundreds of other games out there that don't have tactical in the name (try any hockey game, they are almost all more tactical by default, but don't brag about it - can you imagine? NTHL 2010? ridiculous).
Bored of the same old games? Need some cash? Have an annoying neighbor you hate? Well now is your chance to make some cash while turning in everyone you know for even the mildest of offenses!
Sorry for those broken images, Photobucket recently beefed up security and I had to login and do some maintenance before the images would serve again. I have local image caching enabled, so I wasn't initially seeing that images were missing (thanks for pointing it out LordJim).
Anyway, we're back in business now.
But while the topic is open, would people like change of theme?
Next time you get a piece of junk mail with one of those prepaid-postage envelopes just print off this great little pamphlet and send it back.
After all the world changes one person at a time!
A website dedicated to, according to them, "satirical social commentary of the extraordinary sights found at America’s favorite store. Walmart is Americana baby, Enjoy!"
There is some genuinely scary and funny stuff to look at. It's like watching a train wreck, in Arkansas...
Another site for daily chuckles is FailBlog - well worth your time!
It's international TLAPD tomorrow, so since nobody will be here at work for it, we decided we'd express ourselves (variously) on Friday the 18th.
Thanks to Screwloose, I've got an outfit kicking around. I've now had two chances to wear it and I'm sure there will be more upcoming (Halloween anybody?).
That's Phoenix/Snow with me in the photo for those who've not met her.
Am I the kinda guy that would pony up $120 to feel sick to my stomach? Maybe actually...
