Non-Halo Post coming soon.

Promise. :)

In the meantime...

Sooooo, yeah.

Sup. I've been busy...

BRB. Reach.

As expected, Halo Reach has utterly consumed my free time. Things may be a little slow around here, but don't expect the posts to stop. :)

First up, stop by Just Plain Something and wish Katie a happy birthday! Or stop by to read awesome articles about movies. Either reason is good, and Katie does a great job over at JPS.

I'd also like to draw y'all's attention to a couple of awesome recent fan trailers for movies that I'd frankly love to see. They're surprisingly well put together, and are a testament to what people can do if they're passionate about their fandom. Enjoy!

Post PAX Post #2

Still working on getting stuff up for JengaJam! If you're at all interested in Halo Reach, you should join us Tuesday at 10:30 Eastern as we play some Reach for the show. You might even get to play with us!

Also, here's our brief talk with Valve's Erik Wolpaw about the upcoming Portal 2!

PAX Post #1

Nothing to report.

...

Oh, except for maybe this...

PAX Prime checklist

Demoman costume?  Check!  Just a few little touches, but otherwise it's finished!

Media equipment?  Check!  I've got a couple batteries, a ton of memory cards, tripod, monopod, LED light, interview mic, USB mic, laptop, and chargers.

Ability to listen to the OU - Utah State game on Saturday?  Check!  I just downloaded the WWLS Sports Animal app for my Blackberry. 

Karaoke Party Set-up?  Check!  The lovely and talented Lauren AKA OboeCrazy was good enough to get the Banquet Permit for the first Wandering Gamer PAX Kick-off Party at Seattle's Best Karaoke @ 9pm!  If you can read this, you're invited!

Finally, here are a couple of press releases I literally just got!  AM I DOIN THIS RITE?

Hi –

This is Richard with the Microsoft Surface team.

As you prepare for PAX West this weekend, I wanted to give you a heads up on a few different locations where you can experience Surface at the expo!

·         The Settlers of Catan – Located in the Catan booth in the exhibition hall, the Surface gaming sensation first shown at Origins and Gen Con Indy is finally coming to Seattle. At PAX, the Vectorform team is presenting the game with new updates as they continue to collect feedback from users and provide them an opportunity to play the classic board game through the interactive, collaborative experience that is Surface.

·         Penny Arcade Sales – Located near the PAX sales desk, visitors can utilize Surface as an important purchase tool as they bypass the typical salesman for a retail experience designed specifically for PAX.

·         The Complete Package – In the hall near the console freeplay area, Surface Senior Digital Manager Eric Havir will be bringing a personalized unit featuring some Surface favorites, including several gaming and conference-focused applications. This is the perfect opportunity to check out Surface in person and get a taste of some scenarios Surface has played a role in enhancing.

Let me know if you have any questions and if you’re interested in meeting up with a member of the Surface team on-site. Eric will be around throughout the show and available for more in-depth demos, and Vectorform will also have folks at PAX for further discussion around Catan. I’d be more than happy to connect you with the right spokesperson.

Best,

Richard

Richard Chen Edelman | 206.268.2293 2301 5th Avenue, Suite 500 Seattle, WA 98121

***

Unleash Colossal Explosives with D3Publisher’s Fast-Paced Shooter, Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury at PAX West 2010

Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury Booth To Host Hands-on Demos and

 Producer Interviews for Attendees

LOS ANGELES – August 31, 2010 – Prepare for sensory overload as D3Publisher unveils Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury, the latest in the TREASURE franchise, at the Penny Arcade Expo West (PAX West) taking place at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in downtown Seattle, Washington, September 3-5, 2010.  Fans and newcomers are encouraged to visit Booth #799 during the show to get their hands on this explosive new game for Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. 

Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury is the latest in the Bangai-O franchise, available for the first time on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360, and provides gamers with addictive shooter gameplay and a massive surplus of fireworks onscreen!  The game includes strategic and tactical elements and TREASURE’s original design style that includes fruits for rewards. 

D3Publisher will also be participating in a Puzzle Quest 2 tournament on Nintendo DS™ that will be taking place in the handheld lounge area from 4:30pm - 7:30pm on Saturday, September 3^rd.  Stop by the lounge and compete by playing Puzzle Quest 2, the latest adventure, now available from Infinite Interactive.  Puzzle Quest 2 features a hallmark blend of match-3 gem matching and fantasy that offers a captivating, rewarding, and accessible journey for players of all skill levels.

To reserve a booth appointment, please contact Steven Khoo at d3publisher@fortyseven.com to view Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury, or please stop by the D3Publisher booth during show hours. 

INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE

·         Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury Executive Producer Tim Ramage will be conducting interviews and game demos on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 on all three days of PAX West.

BOOTH INFORMATION

·         Find D3Publisher at Booth #799

·         D3Publisher’s booth will be open on Friday, September 3 (10:00 AM - 7:00 PM), Saturday, September 4 (9:00 AM - 6:00 PM), and Sunday, September 5 (10:00 AM - 6:00 PM).

Previews! Previews! I WANT PREVIEWS!

Katie over at Just Plain Something posted a trailer yesterday for a movie that I'd forgotten that I was anticipating! Black Swan comes out later this year, and looks to build on the simplicity of The Wrestler while adding a psychological horror component. I'm so excited about this movie.

You probably aren't asking yourself what other movies I'm excited about, aside from Tron Legacy. Well, you're a jerk sir or madam! Here are two trailers for movies that I'm pumped for. One graces the screen in a week, while the other waits for 2011!





Two more awesome events also happen next week. OU kicks off our 2010 campaign and PAX happens in Seattle! I'll be at PAX covering the event for Late Nite JengaJam as well as cosplaying for the first time ever and just having a blast. Speaking of Late Nite JengaJam, next Tuesday is our Draft Show for the D&D 4 JOX fantasy football league! Tune in at 9pm Central for our analysis and picks and hijinks!

BRB

Baking.



Fuck you, Carl's Jr / Hardees!

As heard at tonights Dungeons & Dragons session...

We were fighting these two hunters called Wind and Wave.  My goliath barbarian pushed a rock onto Wind, doing some damage.  My character hopped down from the ledge, and declared:

Looks like I've...



broken Wind.



Then, later on my barbarian, Red Rock, killed Wave with his longspear, after which declaring:

I appear to have...



caught the Wave.



I know there was a 3rd one, but after mountaindewgarita (1 oz tequila, 3 oz margarita mix, 3 oz Mountain Dew) #3, I can't remember it, so I'll make one up to replace it. :D

After killing the Huntmaster with his magic spear, Red Rock declared...

Turns out this was...



a bad exSPEARience for you!



I love D&D.

Random Thoughts #10

• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World premiered this weekend, and promptly got STALLOW3D!1 (thanks Davey!)  Why did this happen, when SPvTW was clearly the better pic?  Despite the marketing machine that was churning up to the release, I think that movie-goers as a whole didn't quite know what they might get with Scott Pilgrim.  Both The Expendables and Eat, Pray, Love make it very clear what kind of movie you're in for, mediocre as they may be.  Hopefully, as word-of-mouth spreads, the returns for Scott Pilgrim will improve.  I for one plan to take my friends out to see it next weekend, and hopefully you will too.

• PAX is quickly approaching.  The schedule is out and I'm looking forward to covering the event for Late Nite JengaJam along with my partner in crime, Lauren AKA OboeCrazy.  Along with covering the event as nearly legitimate media, I'll also be cosplaying for the first time at a convention.  To say I'm a little nervous would be an understatement, but I'm fully committed to this and am looking forward to the experience.  I'll be going as the Demoman from Team Fortress 2, and I'll be wielding his ubiquitous scrumpy bottle as well as the newer Eyelander.  I won't be alone as several of my friends are also joining me as an Engineer, Heavy, Medic, and Pyro.  Stay tuned for more updates!

• That's all for now.  Hopefully I'll have something more substantial for Friday. 

Midnight BONUS Review - The Expendables!

DU_Stars_Fan AKA @damnitjason joins me for a special weekend review!

Midnight Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Cave Troll

Dressing up a simple game with awesome bits is a practice that I’m beginning to warm up to.  If you read my review of Big City, you’ll see a good simple game that’s gussied up with amusing pieces can be a lot of fun.

Such is the case with Cave Troll, a game that boils down to an easy to learn area control affair.  The first edition of the game came with cards, a board, and cardboard chits representing a player’s monsters and heroes.  I remember playing this version awhile The new edition comes with plastic figures instead of chits, which goes a long way in making the game more viscerally pleasing.  here’s just something awesome about moving your orc into a room and promptly beheading one of your opponents dudes, but it’s made even more cathartic when you can handle the actual figures and make things dead.

Cave Troll is straight-forward, relatively short, and a lot of fun.  Also, it can be found fairly cheaply, so there’s there lots of incentives to pick up this little gem.  Did I mention that your orc can kill opponent’s figures?  Because that’s pretty cool.

RvBTO: Day 1

For those that don't know, RvBTO is a gathering of Red vs. Blue fans in the beautiful Canadian city of Toronto.  Some might ask, "why go to Canada to celebrate a series that's made in Austin?"  To those people I have the following two reasons:

1) Shut up.
2) Fuck you.

Now then, my trip this year started with flight to Detroit and the meeting of the first members of my party, Vicki (slvrwhispr) and Jon (k1l3rman).  After picking me up from the airport, we went to a coney place to meet with the rest of our group.  Apparently "coney" is Michigander for "diner".  We soon met up with many internet superstars, such as Cory (1984), Zak (zotaku87), Manda, (_Fire_Ball_), Larry (DSchneider) and Travie (TravieYak).  Fun was had, onion rings were eaten, and normal folk were freaked the fuck out.  :D 

After an awesome visit, said our goodbyes to Cory who would sadly not be coming with us, and told Zak and Travie that we'd soon see them in TO.  The rest of us, Larry, Vicki, Jon, and Manda, went to Wal-Mart, to get snacks and a copy of Blazing Saddles for the car's DVD player, and then to the party store for noise makers and last minute costume additions for our Bring Your Own Band performance.  Also, apparently "party store" has another meaning in Michigan, so again we those of us from further south were confused as hell.  It must be the proximity to Canada.  Yup, gotta be.  Speaking of the party (supply) store, I also acquired what later become the infamous Banhammer!  I saw it, and it immediately felt right.  This hammer would find itself in the hands of many of the other mods and admins for the site, as well it should have.

Photo by Amanda Lemmond

We set out for Toronto much later than I'd anticipated, but we were still on schedule to arrive that night with some time for hanging out.  We crossed the border, encountering the HOTTEST CANADIAN BORDER AGENT EVAR along the way, and after a harrumph-filled car ride, soon found ourselves in the magical city of Toronto.  After consulting with the rest of my group, I trekked to downtown one my own, buying the Five Subway Tokens of Destiny at the Kipling station.  The First Subway Token of Destiny was spent getting to Bloor station, where I headed to street level and started walking south. 

Here's the thing about the subway.  They put a lot of time, effort, and money into building it for a reason.  Here I thought I could walk from Bloor to Dundas and the Imperial Pub about as fast as it would take me to wait for and hop onto the southbound train for two stops.  I'd never been more wrong, and the Second Subway Token of Destiny was recklessly but aptly spent to get from the College station to Dundas. 
This was a costly mistake, as I missed Ryan (Abandoned), Britte (Brittewater), and Barbara (Blawndee) at the pub.  I was bummed, but was soon delighted to see people like Jeff (Jeff), John (RocketWhore), Chris (Spamman4587), Chris (deathbyoi), Chris (knives_kill), Amy (Fienne), Charlie (flim_geek), Dan (DangerousDan), Caleb (caleb), Matt (PeteZahut666), Joe (Microbe), and many others.  Merriment was had, and I managed to drunkenly catch the last train home thanks to the Third Subway Token of Destiny.
My night didn't end there.  Upon reaching the Islington station, I realized that I still needed to traverse the 8 km north to my hotel and the rest of my party.  Fortunately I remembered that Vicki had mentioned a 24-hour bus line that runs along Islington.  Just as she said, a bus eventually showed up at the stop not far from the subway station, and I caught it home.  But my night was still not over. 

photo by Matt Bailey

See, I'd forgotten that I'd actually need a key to get into my room.  Not a problem, I thought, I just wake up my roommate Larry and he'll let me in!  I knocked on the door.  No answer.  I knocked some more.  No answer.  I texted, and heard a beep on the other side of the door.  I have the right room at least, I thought to myself, so I'm almost there.  I called, and heard a very loud ringtone on the other side of the door, but no answer.  Well shit, I thought, I guess I'm going to have to sleep right here in the hall.  I settled in, and before I drifted off to sleep a hotel worker spotted me.  She was very nice, and after explaining my predicament and providing enough information, she gave me a key to the room.  I got in, chided Larry for sleeping like the dead, and myself finally went to sleep.

This was only the first day.

Back!

I totally meant to put up some BRB, RvBTO posts this weekend, but our hotel's wireless wouldn't allow me to access the backend of this site, nor allow logmein or VPN access.  So I missed two updates, and will totally make up for them this week.

In the meantime, enjoy a video I edited for Awesome On Its Own.  :D

Limbo

For all the resources that are available to developers today, sometimes the simple approach is the most effective.  Limbo is a stark game that takes place in a dark and foreboding world.  You can't see the details of the horrors that you encounter, and perhaps that's for the best.  The music is minimal and only appears at the most critical of moments, which increases its effectiveness.  The game is isn't horribly complicated, with the puzzles ranging from diabolical to trickily unfair.

The comparisons to Braid are obvious, as both are "artsy" platformers on XBox Live Arcade.  A more appropriate comparison would be to the little known game of eversion.  Both games are platformers, and both are evil to their core.  Both games possess a delightful wickedness that is found in both their theme, atmosphere and gameplay.

Play this game, but don't do what I just did and play it in the dark, right before bed, with an electrical storm outside.  Maybe some Lucky Star will help abate the inevitable gothic nightmares that I'll be dreaming tonight.

Comic-Con Teases and Post #100

It's that time of year again, and time to get excited about the movies and media that we can expect in the coming year.  Yes, Green Lantern is on it's way as is Thor and Captain America., but there are several other projects that I'm really looking forward to.  Here are some selected pics and blurbs about what I'm talking about:

The Walking Dead


First up is the Frank Darabont-helmed TV adaptation of Robert Kirkland's graphic (and I mean GRAPHIC) novel, The Walking Dead.  Sure zombies might be so 2008, but between this series and the long-delayed World War Z movie about to start production, the shambling undead genre is about to get some serious cred.  When I first heard about the TV series and it the comic it's based off of, I was intrigued.  As a happenstance, I got the first volume of the graphic novel as a Secret Santa gift, and was hooked.  This is one of the best comics I've ever read, and I am excited to see it realized as a live-action series.

Avatar: The Legend of Korra

No, there are no fucking Na'vi, Home Trees, or unobtainium in this series.  What we are looking at is the first image from the sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender.  The new series follows the adventures of a new Avatar, 70 years after the first show left off.  I absolutely loved A:TLA, and cannot wait to see where the story goes from here.  Look for this in 2011!

Tron Legacy

Finally, we have another look at the upcoming Tron Legacy.  I purposefully have been trying to avoid finding out what happens in this movie, but the trailers are just too pretty to be ignored.  Although Inception was great, the best movie of the year just might hit in December.
As a side note for those half-a-dozen readers that have stuck with me for these last couple of years, I want to say that I truly appreciate your visits here.  I don't get a lot of feedback on what I write on this site, but when I stop updating I tend to hear about it from people that I care about.  The new Tuesday / Friday post schedule has been hard at times, but it's very rewarding to see what can be done if I stick to it.  Thanks, come back soon, and tell a friend.  <3

Random Thoughts #9

• First off, here's my spoiler-laden review for Inception!  If you've not seen it yet, you really do owe it to yourself to see it this weekend!

• Tonight on Late Nite JengaJam, it's a super podcasting mash-up, as Joe and John from The Javaheads call in and hang out.  We'll be talking about life, liberty and the pursuit of poutine, along with the upcoming RvBTO awesomeness.

• Speaking of RvBTO, that happens in just over a week!  Once again I'll be trekking into the untamed wilds of Canada with my friends on a weekend moose-hunt.  Canada and its capital of Toronto are savage lands, but the natives are friendly if not sophisticated.  :P

• Finally, I've been hard at work on the next Awesome On Its Own video for Lady Gaga's Telephone.  I'm very close to being finished, and hope to have it completed by this weekend!  After that, I really don't know what I'm going to do with myself.  Maybe catching up with True Blood would be a good place to start!

Midnight Movie Review - Inception

I'll post the spoiler-filled geek-out video on Tuesday. For now, here are my thoughts on Inception, minutes after the midnight screening up in OKC.

The Tower of Druaga

I've got a confession to make. I initially hated the first episode of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya". For those unfamiliar with this brilliant series, it's simply one of the finest animations ever made, and I nearly let it get away. All because the first episode is so extremely off-putting. The initial episode of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", "The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00", is an extremely challenging introduction to the series, so much so that I didn't start watching the rest of the series until almost a year after I'd first seen "The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00". For some reason, I gave the series a second shot, and it soon became one of my favorites.

"The Tower of Druaga" isn't as good as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", but it's still very good. At first glance, I have every reason to love this series. A well-animated series about fantasy adventurers on a quest for a mystic treasure on the top of a tower filled with monsters? "SIGN ME UP!", I said. After watching the first episode, I very nearly gave up on this series too. Just like "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", "The Tower of Druaga" starts with an episode that was so over-the-top, it totally ruined my first impression of the show. The next few episodes didn't help either, as the series was very slow to start up. It didn't help that the main character wasn't really all that interesting, as this is an important trait in any story. After seemingly having everything that I would enjoy, "The Tower of Druaga" nearly fell flat for me.

It wasn't until the 5th episode that the series finally hit its stride. The main character finally started to grow, as did the other characters around him. The story started ramping up immediately after that, and before I knew it I was done with the short 12 episode first season, known as "The Aegis of Uruk". Thankfully, the story didn't end there, as I plowed through the equally succinct 12 episode second season, "The Sword of Uruk".  Later on, I found out why I found the first episode to be so off-putting for me.  "The Tower of Druaga" is actually based on a very old video game, and the first episode is actually a parody of that video game.  Looking back, this allows me to look at that first episode in a new light and actually have some appreciation for it.

In the end, "The Tower of Druaga" is a great all-around anime. The humor is carefully balanced with the more serious moments, and there's plenty of action to be had through the entire run of the show. I can't recommend it enough for fans of not only anime, but also to fans of fantasy games and novels.

Random Thoughts #8

• I just finished both seasons of The Tower of Druaga. Very cool, and I'll have more in-depth thoughts next week!
  
• Today was also a big day on the PAX front for Late Nite JengaJam. We've just gotten word that we've been approved to receive media passes for PAX Prime 2010. What does this mean? First off, our passes are free. Also, there are special media-only events that we'll be able to go to. We're still trying to figure out how to best take advantage of this opportunity, but count on lots of interviews and maybe even a special live show. We'll see!
  
• Well, The Last Airbender may have been a bust, but I'm looking forward to Predators this weekend, and Inception next week!
  
• I picked up Borderlands on Steam. I haven't gotten to play much, but I get the feeling I missed a bunch of exposition by running the opening without my headphones. Oh well, you just shoot stuff and make them dead, right?
  
• Must not think about the sweet STI Trojan in 9mm that I shot last week. Must not think about the sweet STI Trojan in 9mm that I shot last week. Must not…
  
• Moving on, this whole dog and pony show featuring LeBron James has been absurd. ESPN started this crap 3 years ago right after the Spurs kicked the ever-loving shit out of the Cavs in the NBA Finals. Since then, it's been "WHERE'S LEBRON GOING TO GO?!?!?!" practically every night on Sportscenter. "Hey assholes", I would tell the indifferent TV set, "LeBron's got a team. Let's not talk this up while he's still a Cavalier!". This always came off as very rude to the fans that had been rooting for their hometown hero for 7 years. I'd never thought ill of LeBron, and always thought it was cool that he got to play professional ball in his home state. As for the talk of free agency, the NBA itself was more than happy to play along with this shameful display. Sadly, a lot of people bought into the hype, and it finally came to a head last night as James joined Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat. Echoing a comment I made on Facebook, the whole thing has been utterly disrespectful to the Cleveland fans. Sure, this is probably the best shot at a championship than he's ever had or will ever have again. However, it's not fair to Cleveland to not only be flippant about the decision to stay or go, but to help feed the media hype that's constantly reminding Cavs fans about what they might lose. LeBron has come off like a twat, and it seems to me that he could learn a thing or two from OKC's own Kevin Durant, who handled his contract talks with poise and dignity. Also, I can't wait for the Spurs or the Thunder to walk into Miami and whip the Heat's ass. I hope that LeBron James is remembered as the greatest player to never win a title. That's a petty thought to have, especially considering that D. Wade's already been to the top, and Bosh is a talent like few others. As long as Miami can actually fill out the team with the proper supporting players, they will be a force to be reckoned with. I instead choose to be spiteful for no good reason, and hope that he fails again to rise to the top.
  

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

I'm huge fan of anime, although I seem to go through varying phases of pickiness. Sometimes I'm all about the zany romantic comedy series, and other times I want the action-packed mecha battle-fests. About five years ago, I saw the first Fullmetal Alchemist series, and loved it. The heroes, the villains, the notions of life, death, and magic, all were perfectly suited to my tastes at the time. 




I was aware of the manga upon which the anime was based, but it wasn't until much later that I learned of the extreme differences between the manga and the animated series. At first, I was annoyed. Several of the characters that had developed over the course of the anime were killed very early in the anime, particularly the homunculi Lust and Greed. The motivations and sometimes the very identities of the protagonists and antagonists were very different or even changed completely. I refused to let these changes get in the way of my fond memories of the series, and I stopped following the manga for some time. I later learned that the changes to the anime from the manga were necessary, as the anime was finished long before the manga was. The liberties taken in the anime had to be done, since there was no end for the manga in sight. I was alright with this, and was content to ignore the manga.




All this changed last year when Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood premiered. At first, I was offended. "What was wrong with the first series?!?", I wondered. I was perturbed that this anime was being remade so quickly, and I failed to see what a new series could possibly bring. Like a sucker and despite myself, I started watching the new series, largely thanks to its free availability on hulu. At first, I didn't notice much of a difference. There's an extra fight with some exposition, and one of the enemies is almost immediately revealed. Other than that Brotherhood, like the series before it, starts in much the same way as the manga so there aren't that many liberties to be taken. 




After a few more episodes, the differences between the first anime and the new Brotherhood series begin to become more apparent. New characters were introduced to me, and I soon learned that Brotherhood was actually following the manga very closely. It made little sense why this series stay so faithful to the manga when the last series didn't, until something finally occurred to me. The creators of the manga had the end of their story figured finally figured out. Now that they had the ending for the manga, they could produce a anime series that follows the manga almost exactly, and actually have them both end it in the same way. 




After more episodes, I began to realize that the plot, especially the plans and machinations of the "Final Boss" were much more grand and epic than the first series. The origins of the villainous homunculi made much more sense and every character, including all of the new additions from the manga, were much more fleshed out. 

The series is now over, both in manga and anime form.  It was an awe-inspiring journey, and although I'm huge fan of the characters and setting and am sad to see them all go, I'm glad that the complete story was told.  I encourage you to check it out on hulu while it's still free.




I liked the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime quite a lot. I liked Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood even more. Everything about the new series is bigger and better, and while I'll always have fond memories of my first exposure to the Fullmetal Alchemist universe, the first series has been completely and utterly outdone.  Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is simply awesome, from beginning to end and is nearly peerless.

Gratuitous Space Battles

We're living in a strange time for video games. The days of going to the store to get your video game fix are long over, so that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm referring to is the battle for your downloadable gaming dollar. I've mentioned in some previous posts that the games and downloadable content on XBox Live have skirted the line between worth and not worth my money for the amount of entertainment that you actually get. As I write this, I have still not gotten either of the two $15 map packs for Modern Warfare 2, and it's looking more and more likely that I simply may not. 

On the other side of the spectrum, we have the much maligned Steam. What started as means by which to get Valve games conveniently has turned into one of the largest providers of PC games out there. These days there are few games that aren't available from Steam, from casual games like Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies, to the hardest of core games like the before-mentioned Modern Warfare 2 and Dragon Age. Every day it seems that Steam not only has more games available, but they also have a constant list of items for sale. Want Deus Ex and all its expansions? That'll be about $20. All of the id games? That'll run you around $35. Older games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas or BioShock? That's $5 or less. One of my friends suggested that they're simply assigning a small reasonable value to an item, like an old game, that's basically worthless. Maybe so, but it is nice to be able to pick up an old title and re-live some video game nostalgia.
So these days we have the premium services on two ends of the price spectrum. Is one "better" than the other? Is it "good" to have cheap games at your fingertips, or "bad" to charge $30 for a few maps or $2 for one song on Rock Band? It's a tough questions, and while I hate to sound like I'm taking a cop-out, I have to believe that the answer is up to the gamer. Cheap games are good, but the nostalgia can fade really fast. It's also stupid to pay for half the game again just to get a few multiplayer maps. $5 is fine, $10 is pushing it, and $15 for maps is out of the question. On the other hand, services like XBox Live and especially Steam are giving smaller game publishers an opportunity to get their game out to the masses. Games like Braid and Gratuitous Space Battles are neat gaming gems that would've never gotten to me had it not been for XBox Live or Steam.






So it's obvious that I like Gratuitous Space Battles. It's really cool, and perfectly fits my style of gaming right now. I don't need to set aside an hour or two in order to play through a campaign or series of missions. The battles, while part of a bigger war, are fairly discrete and it's very easy to sit down, play a battle or two, then move on to something else. GSB is not an Real-Time Strategy game so after you assign your ships, give your orders, and hit Fight you can sit back and watch the action unfold. The battle commences on a 2-D map, but the effects, backgrounds, and ships are rendered beautifully. If that wasn't enough, there's also the ability to design your own ships and download new races and campaigns.






Gratuitous Space Battles is currently on sale for $10 and this is a great price. The normal $20 cost is just a little too high for this one, so I'd recommend picking up while it's on sale. It's great fun, and a good value. Also lots of stuff blows up real nice, so that's a big plus.

Random Thoughts #7

• I've been studying for a certification test all this week, and having thus been slacking on my writing.  I'll have a review for Gratuitous Space Battles and The Last Airbender up soon. 
• I'm also working on completing the next AOIO video for Lady Gaga's Telephone.  I got some really good stuff, and it's time to start making some hard cuts.  Thanks to all you guys who submitting something, I'll have the video up by next week hopefully!
• In the midst of my studying, I'll get a break tonight for Late Nite JengaJam as we have two awesome people to talk about the World Cup tonight at 9:30 Central.  Jessie "koolkeeper11" Falls is a former collegiate goalkeeper, and Dan "strider165" VanderClock is an RvB moderator and futbol fan!  And yes, the World Cup is still going on even though the US is out.  I think we did better than most people expected, and we'll be discussing this and more on tonight's show.  Join us as we plan for the inevitable counterattack against the evil forces of the vuvuzelas!

Big City and Filthy Rich

More board game reviews? SHOCKING.

Big City




There are some games that are way too complicated for their own good. Tribute is one example of an elaborate game, full of spectacular art and a big board, for a game that is essentially Bohnanza. It's fun enough, but the setup of the game takes some almost more effort than it's worth. Cleopatra almost falls into this trap as well, but manages to rise above its modest game mechanics with fantastic bits and amazing art. Big City falls somewhere in the middle of these two examples. It's more fun than Tribute because building a city with little plastic buildings is viscerally satisfying and cool, although it lacks some of the complexity and eye-catching art of Cleopatra.

Big City is all about area control. Players attempt to erect (tee hee) buildings in certain area to score the most points possible while meeting the prerequisites of the structure. Got an area that's on the "outskirts" of town? Put a residential area there! Want to add big multipliers to the business that you're about to construct? Add a train nearby. There are several buildings with varying degrees of requirements, but players are still able to build most of the time.





The game itself is fun and light, but lacks any real strategy and ends up being somewhat random at times. All that is trumped by the major attraction of Big City, which are the city pieces. Building a little city on the table ends up being more fun than it ought to be, and that's why this game is worth a play every once in a while.

Filthy Rich




I'm not only a sucker for cool bits in a game, I'm also a fool for a clever game play mechanic. A game like Schrille Stille has both, with its awesome and ingenious secret CD player shaped voting machine. Filthy Rich may not be as innovative, but it's still a cool fusion of game mechanic and game pieces.

When you first sit down to play Filthy Rich, the central "board", might be familiar to you. That is, it is recognizable to those people who either collected sports cards or played collectible card games. It should come as no surprise than that the designer for Filthy Rich is none other than Richard Garfield, creator of Magic: The Gathering. It's also not a stretch to see how he might have gotten the idea for the game, as I'm sure Mr. Garfield has seen many binders full of clear card holders. He probably noticed that because of empty card slots, it was possible to see a card in a pocket several pages below whatever part of the binder he was in. I would imagine that Filthy Rich was born soon after.

The game is simple. To win, you must buy three expensive luxury cards that do nothing except win you the game. To buy the cards, you'll need money, and to get money, you'll need to buy and place ads. After an ad is bought it's sleeved in one of the game binder's clear sheets. A die is rolled, and you check to see if anyone noticed your ad so you can get paid. Every turn, the page could turn, and your ad might get covered up by someone else's ad. The game progresses like this, with special action cards spicing up the game along the way.

Overall this is a relatively quick and enjoyable game, that will make you look at card binders just a little differently from now on.

Pimping time!

• At this point, Twitter is pretty ubiquitous.  What's not so well known, but ought to be, is my JengaJam buddy OboeCrazy's Musiter project.  Every week, we get 140 different notes, which is more often than some people update their actual twitters.  Subscribe to her youtube channel for weekly micro-music-blogging goodness!

• Speaking of Late Nite JengaJam, we've got a special guest and programming note this week.  We'll be kicking off at the normal 10:30 Eastern time, but on Wednesday, instead of tonight.  Our guest this week is Jon Graham creator of Arby 'n' The Chief , a hilarious web series chronicling the adventures of our favorite Master Chief and Arbiter action figures.  

• Finally, A WILD BLOG APPEARS.  My very good friend and fellow Awesome On Its Own editor FinchLynch has started sharing his thoughts with the greater blogging population.  Check out his stuff, as he rips the internet, celebrities, and gaming culture a new one.

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 Review from Jonathan Serna on Vimeo.

Was that review not enough for you? Check the last three posts over at Just Plain Something, where Katie deftly ranks her preferences in Pixar movies!  While I think most of us can agree on the bottom 2 Pixar flicks, the other eight's standings are highly debatable and controversial.

The Young and The Restless: My take on Realignment

The following article was written before the events of today, which sadly renders most of this moot.  Still, pretend that I didn't write this in advance or maybe imagine that I'm behind the times and that I deserve your pity or something.  :P

This really has gotten to be a big soap opera.  This is how we stand right now.  Nebraska to the Big Ten, Colorado to the PAC-10, and everyone else waiting. 

Before I list off my thoughts on the subject, I need to make one thing clear.  While it was fun to write the following paragraphs, I really don't have much animosity towards and of the schools or people I mention here.  Sure, I'd have liked the Big XII to remain intact, but I'm wondering how much that's just me holding onto a familiar and comfortable concept.  Despite my early fandom of Texas A&M, I've never really known anything other than the Big XII.  See, I cheered for the Aggies when I was a kid, but I had no concept of the NCAA, or athletic conferences, or anything like that.  There were no fond memories of the Southwest Conference for me, as I started attending OU in 1996.  The Big XII was all that I'd known, and after an initially rough first few years OU rose to the top, and became consistently the top team in the conference.  It's been a great run, but with new rivals in Oregon, USC and Stanford emerging perhaps a change would truly be in the Sooners' best interests.  With that, here we go:

To Big XII commissioner Dan Beebe, congratulations.  You have just given a master class in inept and flaccid leadership.  You constantly denied that any of your schools were talking to other conferences, but the speed at which the current changes have come is a clear sign that you were very wrong.  You hid in your office, telling yourself and the press that everything was OK, as the building collapsed around you.  I can understand if I get blind-sided by these developments, as I'm not an insider nor a reporter.  You, on the other hand, have absolutely no excuse.  Instead of reassuring your conference that things would be better, and promising that you'd tirelessly work for a better TV deal, you let the PAC-10 and Big Ten raid your house and make off with your stuff.  You let them sweet talk your schools away from you, as you did nothing.  It angers me when I look at the how this has turned out, and I'm convinced that I or just about anyone I know could have done a better job than you.  Your lack of vision and your absence of cunning is sickening, and I hope that the only thing you run after this is a 7-11.  Not even the nice one, but the OTHER 7-11 that everyone's afraid to go to.

To Colorado, fuck you.  I hope that you're in the pit of the PAC-10, a whipping boy in football just like Baylor was for us.  If Texas and OU end up in your division, this will not be pretty.  Expect both Bob Stoops and Mack Brown to run up the score on your pitiful defense, and attack your shell-shocked offense for four whole quarters every year.  Your coach will whine, your school's administrators will complain, and we'll be too busy getting ready for the conference championship to bother laughing at you.

To Nebraska, have fun in the Big Ten.  Also, remember a few things in your new home.  Remember how good the Big XII was to you when Michigan, OSU, Iowa, and Penn State all put a foot in your ass.  Remember the feeling of being the big dog of the North, while you're down and being beaten by double-digits week in and week out.  Remember that you yourself put you into the position as the Big Ten's bitch, and never forget what could have been.  The stink of your failure to put Texas down in the 2009 Big XII Championship game will never fade from your whore garments. 

To Texas A&M, I hope that you follow us to the BigPAC16.  You were my first college team, and you always hold a special place in my sports heart.  Going to the SEC might be good for you, or it might not.  Please understand that the SEC might be interested in your great institution, but they have ulterior motives in courting you.  They really REALLY want Texas and OU, and they hope to use you to get to both of us.  Moreso Texas, but best believe that they want the Sooners too.  Please don't get played, and if you do go I hope that our teams meet up in some epic bowl games.

To Baylor Kansas, Kansas State, and Iowa State, I'm sorry this is happening to you guys.  You didn't do anything to deserve this, except for maybe being too cautious.  I truly hope that you all end up in good competitive leagues, and continue to thrive.  To Baylor especially, it's too bad you can't come along.  Despite constantly ragging on you guys, I really did have a respect for the level of academics you brought to our league.  You made the Big XII especially classy, and you were just starting to find your way in football.  Good luck.

To Texas, Texas Tech, and OK State, see y'all on the other side.  As much as I hate all of you, your programs help us get to where we're going year after year.  The quality of your competition has a direct impact on your success, and this is especially true for OU.  Every year, the strength of the Big XII South is demonstrated time and time again.  We may not always win, but we always bring our best.  More often than not, that's more than good enough, and we of the Sooner Nation thank you.  Also, fuck all y'all. :P

Finally to the PAC-10, please change your goddamn name.  If you're going to be the premier conference in college sports, at least recognize that your better teams are going to be nowhere near the Pacific Ocean.  The Big West is appropriate, or perhaps simply The West.  Swallow your pride, lose the PAC, and brace for impact.  A force that you've only seen from afar is about to rock your world.

Random Thoughts #6

• Movie season is really starting to ramp-up in the next few weeks, with The A-Team movie coming out today, and Toy Story 3 coming out next week. Reviews for both will be forthcoming.

• :D Rock Band 3 looks like it's actually going to be very cool!

• All this talk of college sports and what will happen to the PAC-10, Big Televen, and Big XII is bothersome.  All that said, comments like the ones made by Bob Stoops about the possibility of playing in the Big PAC 16 make me think that it's a very real possibily, and that the PAC-10 will indeed invite all or most of the current Big XII South to join them in a super conference.  No offense to Sherri Cole (hottest. coach. evar. <3), but Bob Stoops is a company man.  It seems out of character for him to make such fanciful remarks, unless he felt like he in line with the people making the decision like OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione.  That still makes Mizzou a goddamn whore that will probably get left out in the cold, or at best in with the Mountain West.  So is this good for OU?  Yes and no.  Yes, because it will intensify the new rivalries that are developing between PAC-10 schools and OU, namely Oregon and USC.  The conference champion of this new league will have to be a better team as a whole, and that makes me feel better about not only going to a title game, but actually winning it.  No, because OU had an easy road to the Championship game in the last few years, assuming that we took care of business.  The case for Big XII Women's Basketball, which has flourished in the Big XII, also must be considered.  There's also talk of each division champion in this BigPAC16 getting an automatic BCS bid.  I suppose we'll see, probably in the very near future, how this all shakes out.

El Grande

A little while ago I posted what was essentially my Dungeons & Dragons origin story on how I got into the game. My beginnings in board games are not really all that different. My group of friends from college played a lot of games in the dorms, mainly Magic: The Gathering and PC games on the LAN. After school, we all eventually ended up back in Norman, living around town and getting together for football games and other fun stuff. Along the way we started playing some board games that we’d previously never heard of. Games like Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, Tigris & Euphrates, and Puerto Rico soon became staples at our parties alone side another game called El Grande.

El Grande was one of the first games we’d played that used no dice at all. Like Carcassone, Tigris & Euphrates, and Puerto Rico, the random elements of the game came from drawing cards or tiles and from the decisions of the other players. El Grande was also the first game to introduce me to the ubiquitous multicolored wooden cubes. It was such a different experience from what I’d been used to from board games, and it was a welcome change.

El Grande plays like a war game, but without the war. The game is all about political influence in Renaissance Spain, and the players use their pieces (known as caballeros) to control various regions of Spain. There’s also a Castillo, a large fortress where players can deposit caballeros for a surprise “attack” every three rounds. Play continues for 9 rounds, and the player with the highest score wins.

The game provides players with a myriad of strategies for victory, and there’s no single “right” way to win. Some players favor controlling a single high-value region throughout the game, and other try to get second place (which also gets some points) in lots of regions. Still others favor keeping their “strongholds” mobile, and will shift their caballeros over the entire board over the course of the game.

El Grande is sublime, and easy to teach to people who are new to European-style board games. This remains, even after the hundreds of different games that I’ve played since my first El Grande session, one of my favorite games. To be honest, I’m shocked that I don’t already own it. I’ll go ahead and change that, right now.

How to Destroy Angels

When I saw what could possibly be the last Nine Inch Nails concert I'd ever see back in September of 2008, I was a more than a little morose. I had been a fan of NIN since middle school, and had been lucky enough to see Nine Inch Nails on several occasions over the last few years. This part of my life was coming to an end and I was a bit bummed. On the other hand, I was very excited as I and other fans considered the question of what Trent Reznor might do next. After almost two years, we now have our answer.

How To Destroy Angels is the new group featuring Mariqueen Maandig, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross. While Trent is well-known to most mainstream music fans, Mariqueen and Atticus might not be. A composer and producer, Atticus Ross has been one of the influences on post-Fragile Nine Inch Nails, helping to produce all of NIN's albums since. Mariqueen Maandig is formerly of the band West Indian Girl, and married Trent Reznor just after Nine Inch Nails went on hiatus.

So what does all this mean for the self-titled EP that just dropped on Tuesday? How to Destroy Angels initially sounds very similar to the more cacophonous parts of Year Zero, including the track "BBB" and especially "Parasite". The later tracks are much more melodic, but Parasite is definitely the most challenging. That said, Mariqueen's ethereal voice is a pleasingly stark contrast to the heavy beats and riffs delivered by Atticus and Trent, most particularly in my favorite track of "A Drowning". There are many clear references and inspirations from previous Ross/Reznor colaborations. "Fur Lined" invokes memories of "Only" from With Teeth and "Demon Seed" from The Slip, and "The Believers" is like a Ghost brought back to life.

Finally there's "The Space Between", which deserves mention not only as the opening track of the album but as the song for which the first video was made. The song itself introduces the listener to the group's modus operandi: Heavy and deliberate electronic music versus a beautiful female voice. All that's well and good until you see the video, which is astounding-looking and is what sold me on this group. The video is subtle at first, but stayed with me long after my first viewing. Director Rupert Sanders takes a simple idea and progressively adds layers of dread to a song that is clearly building to a rising climax. The video is outstanding, and is easily the best way to introduce someone new to the group.

After all this, the direction of the group is one that I very much want to go in. Once again I find myself asking, as I did almost two years ago, "What are they going to do next?"

How To Destroy Angels: The Space in Between [HD] from How To Destroy Angels on Vimeo.

Doing Random Right

I wandered to two very different but very fun gaming sessions over the last couple of nights. Saturday night was spent in Dallas doing party games and a teaching Dominion to a complete newcomer to premium board games. There was also beer pong and trivia, and I was once again reminded why most mainstream trivia games like Cranium suck so hard. No matter how good you might be, you might get screwed by a die roll, or by some other happenstance that makes the outcome of the game totally random. You play for an hour or two, and it might be fun but all of the energy is lost in either a grind or in what amounts to a roll of the dice or a coin flip. In the end, only one team or person's having fun, while everyone else wonders if this was really worth their time.

Then there was Sunday night with my usually group of gamers in OKC, where I played three games that properly used dice as the primary mechanic, but managed to each be quite fun in their own ways.

Can't Stop

It's easy to dismiss a game that's old for no better reason than just that. It's old, and surely something better has come along since then. Games like Monopoly, Risk, and Life, are all trumped by games like Agricola, Small World, and Verflixxt! (more on this one later). This cannot be said about the excellent Can't Stop.

Can't Stop severely lacks in the aesthetic department. The packaging for Can't Stop is almost comically antiquated. The cheesy-looking plastic board and cheap plastic pieces belie the truly awesome game this is. The idea is simple. Roll dice and work to roll the same number a certain number of times. You can stop at anytime and "save" your progress, or you can risk losing whatever ground you've gained to beat everyone else to the goal. It's an ingenious implementation of risk versus reward, and well worth trying out at least once. The game is played in about 15 to 20 minutes even with new players, and rivals Bluff as my favorite light social dice-rolling game.

That's Life! (Verflixxt!)

I thought I was done with Roll-and-Move games like Chutes and Ladders and The Game of Life when I hit puberty. The before-mentioned games are great for kids, but offer very little for adults. If board games for kids were analogous to movies for kids, Verflixxt! would be a Pixar movie. There is literally something for all ages.

The rules are extremely simple. Roll the die and move one of your two tokens. If yours is the last token leave a space, you take that space for yourself. Once both your tokens have reached the finish line, you count the score on your collected spaces. The player with the highest score wins. There are a few catches and caveats, but nothing overly complicated. This is a very simple game at heart, and it's amazing how much fun a roll-and-move game can be as an adult. There's backstabbing and conniving that is seemingly out of place for such a straight-forward game, and it's wonderful to find this kind of thing fun again.

Pyramid (Fluch der Mumie)

Last week I reviewed Nuns on the Run, and expressed my disappointment in what I thought was a good game that simply got lost in itself. The theme was neat, but the game took too long to play and was heavily weighted for the Nun team. This weekend, I got to play yet another hide-and-seek board game called Fluch der Mumie, or Pyramid here in the states.

Using a clever board and magnet system, the players try to gather treasure in a recently discovered Egyptian pyramid. Their goal is to get all of their assigned treasure before anyone else. Opposing them is the pyramid's original inhabitant, a mummy, who's not too happy about his stuff getting stolen. His job is to capture the players a total of seven times, and catching any one player three times eliminates that player.

This game is far superior to Nuns on the Run in all ways. The game is shorter, the theme is just as funny, and the mummy never really feels like he's completely out of the game. The balance just about perfect, as was demonstrated by the mummy winning twice and a player winning once in our three plays. Just for reference, we learned Fluch der Mumie and played three games in the same time as one learn/play session of Nuns on the Run. Given the fact that the box and board art are well-done and hilarious, this game is a great addition to the collection.

Nuns on the Run and Real Life Mini-Games (We Didn't Playtest This At All and Bounce It-In Game)

As much as I loved summarizing both Lost and The Pacific, it's time to get back to what I came here to do. POST GRATUITOUS NUDES... I mean, review board games. Yes, that's what I mean.

Nuns on the Run

There are some games that are pretty friendly to new players. Games like Alhambra and Ticket to Ride are all in a category of "gateway" games that allow new players to be on more even terms with veteran gamers. Not to say that they're easy, but they are easier to learn than a lot of other games. With gateway games it's almost never too late for a player to figure out how to recover from a deficit and perhaps even win. "Forgiving" would be a better term for these games than "simple" or "easy". Nuns on the Run might be simple to learn, but it is far from forgiving.

The game plays like Scotland Yard or Fury of Dracula in reverse. Instead of a solitary villain trying to evade a team of players, the team of players are trying to avoid capture by two senior nuns, the Abbess and Prioress. The theme of the game is light and cute, as the team of players are young nuns escaping from their cells in the abbey to fulfill a "secret wish". No, not that kind of "secret wish" you perverts. The various goals of the nuns are innocent pleasures, like a soft mattress or a midnight snack, and the nuns must go out into the abbey to find them. There are several steps to fulfilling a nun's secret wish, and should any of the nuns succeed, the entire nun team wins. Meanwhile, the Abbess and the Prioress are both on the prowl looking for disobedient nuns. Should they detect a nun, they can hunt them down in an attempt to catch them. The nun must then return to her cell, and the chase begins again. The Abbess/Prioress team need to make six captures in all in order to win, or dawn must arrive without the nuns returning to their cells with their secret wish.

While the theme is cute and I love the reversal on the Scotland Yard mechanic, the game is imbalanced as the Abbess/Prioress team has a tough time trying to find and catch the nuns. The A/P team must walk through the abbey on a preselected path that is public knowledge. They are only allowed to deviate from that path when a nun is detected. From there, the Abbess or Prioress can attempt to pursue the nuns to find and capture them. I say both find and capture, because simply finding a nun isn't enough for the A/P team. They must also land in the same space as the quarried nun. This can make for an Abbess or Prioress getting distracted with one nun, while the other nuns make a dash for their goals. It also discourages the A/P team from working as a team, since getting the Abbess and Prioress tied up pursuing one nun is a futile exercise. Once one or two nuns are on their way back to their cells, the game is essentially over and it's impossible for the A/P team to recover. This is the definition of unforgiving.

I'm not sure how to fix the game as it is. Perhaps giving the Abbess and Prioress more movement options would help, or a broader range of detetion. Overall this is a game I want to like, but it feels incomplete at the moment.

Mini-Games?

There are a growing number of actual real-life mini-games. Games that both take minutes to learn and minutes to play. Generally these games are mostly seen at big gaming gathering, where one group has just finished their game and are now waiting on another group to finish whatever they're playing. That's where these mini-games come in. Games like We Didn't Playtest This At All and Bounce It-In Game are both excellent examples of games that make for great time wasters in-between larger more complicated games.

We Didn't Playtest This At All

While at PAX East, I was introduced to Fluxx. The game reminded me of Risk, in that you could be potentially playing for a long time and strategy was largely absent. In both games it comes down to who gets the right random cards at the right random moment. Random is fine, but I don't like playing a game for an hour where the circumstances for victory are essentially arbitrary. You can't plan for anything, so it comes down to luck. We Didn't Playtest This At All (WDPTAA) is very much the same game as Fluxx except it takes 5 minutes to play, tops. The both games have random and hilarious cards that make your opponents do some pretty awesome stuff, and winning comes down to luck as well. There is, however, a minimum of a time commitment and many games of WDPTAA can be played for one game of Fluxx. This little game is awesome, and I highly recommend it.

Bounce It-In Game

Another simple game, but this time involving random dexterity rather than cards. Bounce your balls into the target. You get points if it stays in the tray, and you get even more points if you land on your own color. Think beer pong for kids, although you could add booze if you wanted.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, and this video runs at around 20 frames a second, well that's a whole lot of fucking words. :D

 

Again, great little game that's worth far more than the time you actually play.