Xbox, How I Missed Thee

Posted on February 15, 2010 by steve

This post is going to kind of work as a supplement to my “Broken Addiction” post from a few days ago. Among the things I mentioned that I have time to do now, considering I no longer have to think about WoW, is the ability to enjoy some other games. I’ve been playing the crap out of “Dragon Age: Origins,” but I decided that I should give some other stuff a try too. So I finally picked up “Assassin’s Creed II” and started digging into that. This is also from some pressure from Lando to play it because it’s his game and I’m sure he’ll want it back soon.

This game is so very awesome so far! The original “Assassin’s Creed” was a fantastic game but it also had a lot of shortcomings that I believe they fixed in this one. The old game got pretty repetitive pretty fast, which was really unfortunate because they put an awful lot of work into the style. The guys at Ubisoft, the company that developed the game, said that they just didn’t have as much time to flesh out the content as they really wanted. They spent tons of time working out the game engine, which explains the excellent combat and free-running system, but didn’t have time to really give you a whole lot to do with it. All of that changed with “Assassin’s Creed II.” They already had the framework done so they spent a few years really fleshing out content and adding some features. More missions, more climbing, SWIMMING, and plenty of other stuff has been added to make this game so very enjoyable. Loving it so far.

So I dug into Assassin’s Creed but I also downloaded a couple demos of some games that I’m interested in playing. One of those is “Dante’s Inferno.” There is a ton of controversy surrounding this game, and I totally understand why. Having played through the first couple scenes, you get a really good grasp on just what a “Mature” rating can mean in a game. There’s boobs within the first 10 minutes! BOOBS in a game! Who would have thought? It’s about time if you ask me. The ESRB, the ratings board for games, is way too hung up on nudity when they are willing to let somebody entrails me ripped out and spread across the floor without even a blink. This is a fundamental problem in America that I think needs fixed. I’d rather kids be shown a boob or two than some poor guys head getting ripped off, spit on, and then shoved up his rear. Anyway, I’m going way off topic. This game is so very gruesome. It’s got a quick, button mashing style of gameplay which I really dig. A lot of people have compared it to “God of War”, which I actually can’t do because I’ve never played that game. The closest thing I could think of to it is “Ninja Gaiden.” Yes, I have to go back that far in order to find a game in my memory with a combat system similar enough. Clearly I don’t play enough games.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s a crazy romp through Hell where you slash the crap out of demons and have to deal with the sins you committed in your life all to save your wife who was struck down and taken straight to Hell so very unjustly. There, done! The guys who made it based it on “The Divine Comedy,” which I’ve never read because it’s all Old English and probably way over my head anyway. Kind of like reading the original “Beowulf.” It’s just not something I’m going to run out and do, although I’m sure the original story is fantastic. Somebody tell it to me someday.

So the next big adventure for my Xbox after I finish “Assassin’s Creed II” will hopefully be “Army of Two: The 40th Day.” Steph and I played the original together and have never had so much fun with a console game. I love marrying a girl who is into video games. She’s amazing, our future is going to be so very grand .

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In Desperate Need of Vitamin D, But This Will Have To Do

Posted on February 14, 2010 by steve

There has been a significant lack of sunshine in the Northeast part of the US for the past MONTH, and I am definitely needing some valuable vitamin D. I think I know what Superman feels like when his powers have been sapped from being off planet too long. It’s been snowing here for the past 2 weeks and hasn’t really let up much at all. The sun has had about 5 minutes to poke through the never-ending overcast that continues to blanket the state, and it looks like there is no end in sight. Spring can’t get here soon enough.

Today IS Valentine’s Day though! It’s a day to spend with your loved ones, whether that be a significant other or not, and just appreciate who each other is. I celebrated Valentine’s Day yesterday with Steph up in Pittsburgh where we registered for some wedding gifts and had an awesome time at the Melting Pot stuffing our faces until they had to roll us out. It was snowy up there too, but we spent most of our time inside picking through all the kitchen stuff at Macy’s and choosing our china patterns and crystal. I’ve never had china before so I didn’t really know a whole lot about it, but Steph explained it all to me. I also got to use the little scanner thing they give you to pick out the stuff you want. Now THAT was fun. It was running Windows Mobile, which surprised me. I know, I’m a nerd.

Then, on top of all that Valentine’s Day awesomeness, Angels & Airwaves went off and released their new album for free for the masses! I know this has been done before, but this time it was a band that I’m actually really into. It’s amazing too! Tom Delonge and his crew have done it again. This one is called “Love” and it’s clear through the album that he firmly believes that love is the answer to everything. He’s right. I love that he released it on Valentine’s Day too. I donated a few bucks to them because everybody who makes something this awesome deserves some compensation, and I hope that a lot of other people donated too. These guys work hard to bring us the music we want, and at least this way we know that our money is going straight to them and not into the pockets of some crooked record producer at the top of a shiny tower. He’s probably petting a cat and laughing sinisterly too. Don’t give your money to that.

Anyway, I’m so freaking tired right now and I can’t figure out why. Maybe some Vitamin D supplements will help with my happy, but I still don’t think it’s a substitute for real live sunshine. That would be nice.

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Touch Me

Posted on February 13, 2010 by steve

Okay, before you freak out over the title of this post, I’m talking about computers with touch surfaces. Got your attention though didn’t I?

I just read one of the coolest articles about computer and technology that I’ve read in a while. It was all about revolutionizing table-top gaming. That’s right, D&D with computers! This is all made possible by none other than Microsoft: the tech company that we all love to hate. A year or two ago, Microsoft announced a computer that looks a whole lot like a coffee table, and it was called Surface. We all thought it would be cool because they showed off how you could potentially split up a check at a restaurant, compare cell phone features, and various other things by doing nothing but sitting the objects on the table and letting Surface figure out what they are. Apply that to Dungeons and Dragons and you may very well have a sweet dynamic campaign map.

If you’ve never played D&D before then this may not be that interesting to you, but if you are a table top gamer, then this is going to be of great interest. Imagine that you sit down to play a game with your miniatures and your books, but you don’t have to draw out the maps by hand or guess whether somebody is in line of sight by looking at a bunch of squares. You can just put your pieces on Surface, let it show you the piece of the map that is visible from your characters point of view, and even choose an action or attack straight from the table! Now you can even roll dice simply by touch and throwing a virtual D20 (20-sided die for you non-nerds) across the table. I would definitely want my physical dice, but the option is totally there for people who may not have any.

This system has made so much possible for the world of table-top gaming. Imagine just having to click a button if you want to bring up a Monopoly board, or play a quick game of clue. You don’t have to go dig through your closet and attempt to find all the pieces; they will just be there when you need them. Everything is LITERALLY right at your fingertips.

There is no telling how much Surface is really going to cost for us casual consumers, but it may be very well worth it to have a fun, interactive coffee table for doing any number of things. This D&D scenario is most of the reason that I decided an iPad might not be a bad device to have. I just like the idea of having all of the D&D books right at my fingertips if I need it without having to lug around 10 pounds of books, if not more. Believe me, I understand the value of a printed book. I think it is SO very necessary that we have a physical record of everything. You never know when a massive EMP is going to come and blow out every hard drive on the planet. I don’t see it coming soon, but it very well may. Look at all the data we lost when the Library at Alexandria burned. Hundreds of years of human knowledge lost in a day. We need to avoid that. Copies, copies, and more copies need to be made of everything, and I don’t mean simply digital.

I’m excited about what touch computing can bring to the way we interact with technology. Do I think it is perfect for every application? Not at all. But I think that it will open some doors to some pretty awesome things that we wouldn’t be able to do with traditional interface systems. This is awesome stuff to think about, and I’m so glad to live in the time that we do. This next decade is going to be so cool.

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Reading With My Ears

Posted on February 12, 2010 by steve

I don’t know about you guys, but in this culture where we have less and less time to do anything, one of the things I miss the most is having time to sit down and read a book. Between the podcasting, guitar playing, tv series watching, and social networking, I get may be 30 minutes to read before I go to bed at night. This is an awesome time to do it, but I barely have time to dig into a chapter and really zone out with the book. That’s where Audible.com comes in.

I picked up a subscription with Audible.com and it has changed the way that I “read” books. Ash, of H&H fame, was giving me crap tonight about listening to books because I’ve “forgotten how to read.” I totally remember how to read, but I’ve just found a way to enjoy books without having to completely focus. I just don’t have time to sit down and read books like  I used to, so listening to them is a perfect substitute. I’m still imagining everything in the book just like I would if I was reading it. I just get to read in the car…while I’m driving! It’s so awesome to actually enjoy a book while doing something would normally not be able to do while reading. Have you ever seen somebody reading while they drive? They are NOT good multi-taskers!

So if you are like me and just don’t have time to enjoy books on your couch with your eyes, give your ears a try. It’s just as fun, as long as the person reading doesn’t sound like Gilbert Gottfried. That could be a little much. If you want to try Audible, sign up here to pick up a free audiobook for yourself!

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Broken Addiction

Posted on February 11, 2010 by steve

I am happy to say that for the last 3 months I have been completely World of Warcraft free! That’s right! I haven’t logged on a single time for anything, and I can’t be more happy about it. I know a lot of you are probably thinking, “Why is that such a big deal? Video games are dumb,” but I don’t think you understand this game. World of Warcraft has over 11 million people playing and is one of the most successful, long-running Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games of all time. There are so many people that are addicted to this game, it’s ridiculous. People in China have died in coffee shops from playing too much…well that and not drinking water.

I played on and off for about for 4 years or so, but finally got into it pretty hardcore last year. I was playing almost every night, and making time to play so that I could join my buds in slaying the evil beasts of Azeroth. This isn’t all bad, but when it costs 15 bucks a month and you know you could be doing other things, it can be an issue. I’m all for playing video games and having a blast. I mean, look at my last post about Dragon Age. But, since quitting WoW, I was able to get my Linux+ certification and I’m well on my way to Security+ as well. I’m all for earning fun virtual stuff, but earning real life stuff is so much more satisfying.

I finally deleted the game completely off my computer about a month ago in hopes that it would never return. I had a blast playing it, but now I don’t miss it at all. Even when I think about the upcoming expansion, it really doesn’t get me too excited for the game. I’m definitely going to pick up something new in the future but for now I’m just enjoying some extra time to blog and enjoy some of my other hobbies… at least until Star Wars: The Old Republic comes out.

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Synergized!

Posted on February 10, 2010 by steve

I’m just going to come right out and say it:

The internet is getting freaking ridiculous!

I mean, honestly, how many different social networking, news commenting, bookmarking, content distribution web sites does one internet need?! I’m sure by now that most of you who use a Gmail account have noticed that Google has opted you into a new service it has called Buzz. This is not going to be a “Buzz hating” post, because I actually think the service is kind of neat. My problem is that Buzz is just another cog in this ridiculous machine that does the same thing as some other service and even interconnects with that same service. Do we really need another status updating service to keep track of?

I am one of the many highly connected people that live and work on the internet. I use Twitter, Blippy, gdgt, Google Wave, Facebook, and I was even a member of Pownce when it was still around. All of these different services can pretty much interconnect with each other in one way or another. The whole “what are you doing?” concept that Twitter came up with is now invading every facet of our internet lives. Some people update Facebook which updates Twitter. I like to update Twitter which updates Facebook. Now we’ve got Buzz which can update Twitter or receive updates from Twitter. This post is way too hard to write O_o.

I guess the main thing I’m getting to is, how much is too much? I really only bother with Twitter for the most part and I have it update every other connected service. I guess I do that because that is all Twitter is made for. It’s the purpose of the service. Whereas Facebook and Buzz have other things they can do. Why would you want to use another service to update Twitter? It just doesn’t make sense. I just don’t know if I can keep up with an additional service for updated what I’m doing or what I’m thinking about at the time. It’s a social stream overload. I want to participate in all of these new tools, but I don’t know if I can keep up with them all!

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Morality Games

Posted on February 9, 2010 by steve

My big addiction for the past few days has been a wonderful little Xbox 360 game called “Dragon Age: Origins.” There is a good chance that if you are a gamer in any way shape or form that you’ve either played it or at least know someone who has. This game amazes me. I finally beat it the other day after about 40 hours of gameplay. To sum it up, it’s a game where you play a strapping young hero who gets pulled into an elite army of “Grey Wardens.” These guys are responsible for taking down an army of “Darkspawn.” These evil beasts descend from mages who tried to break into heaven and “The Maker” was all like, “heck no! Get out o’ my house!” So he cursed them and sent them back to earth distorted and monstrous, just like they were inside. Every so often there is a “Blight” where these Darkspawn come back and attempt to kill EVERYONE. In true RPG tradition, you are the only one who can save the world.

The real interesting thing about this game is the morality engine they use to gauge the choices you make as you interact with the team mates you find, and the world around you. Every one of your team mates has a different idea of what kind of hero you should be. Some think you should stand for all that is right, other’s want you to go for money, and some just want you to shrug off everyone and be as ruthless as possible. I played through my first time being as good as I could be. I helped out everyone who needed it and did it all with honor. I never asked for a thing in return. The fun thing about this is that it didn’t turn out as awesome as one would think. Believe it or not, sometimes making the right choice can really cause some poor consequences. By the end of the game, I’d lost two people I care about, and I’m pretty sure an entire nation of dwarves hates my guts. Keep in mind this all seemed well and fine while I was making these choices throughout the game.

What makes this game different is that there is no “black and white” morality. You make the best decisions you know how to, but you still have to deal with some great or sometimes really gnarly consequences. After beating the game trying to play the upright enforcer of law and order, I decided that I wanted to give it a go at being as utterly ruthless as I could possibly be. One of the first opportunities I had to be evil, and I mean REALLY evil, was when my bride to be, cousin, and her friend were all kidnapped by human diplomats who wanted to do HORRIBLE things to them. This is a very dark game by the way. So I wander into the castle to save them, because, hey, even evil heroes have standards. I was given the opportunity to walk away from the whole situation for 40 gold (very hard to come by at early levels), but I couldn’t save the women. The intense part of this is that my cousin was on the floor crying for help. How can you walk away from that?! What the heck kind of person do you have to be to leave a family member crying on the floor of some horny diplomat’s palace!? I realized then and there, that I could NOT be evil in this game. This game puts you in too many extreme situations to lean completely to the dark side. I found myself caring for these characters even though I know good and well that they aren’t real.

Bioware, the game’s developer, has done an amazing job at making you feel the weight of each and every decision you make. Sometimes no choice seems right, or you just don’t know which choice is the best. There are very few clear cut scenarios in this game where you can say this is right, or that is wrong. I LOVE IT! I’m going to attempt to be an evil dude, but thus far I’m failing pretty bad. I may have to settle for snarky A-hole with a tender, caring soul. Kind of like Dr. House.

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Tony Horton is Evil

Posted on February 8, 2010 by steve

For those of you scratching your noggins over who the heck I’m talking about, he is the evil mastermind for the P90X program. P90X is a deadly concoction put together by madmen to make your body hate you for 90 days, but in the end come back to love you forever. According to the program, it’s designed for those who are already somewhat fit to build more muscle and get a wee bit more toned and built. Maybe I should say “ripped” or “cut” in order to hang with these new age hip cats.

I gave this program a try for the first time tonight and decided that it feels really good to get up and get your blood moving. Steph and I did an hour of Kenpo, which, from what I could tell, is some kind of martial art aimed at kicking people in the nuts. I kid you not, there is a kick simply called the “ball kick”. I’ll let you visualize what that one looks like. I just read that sentence to Steph, and now I know just how little of a grasp I have on what Kenpo is. I’m satisfied with my simple definition however. So I spent an hour learning to kick invisible people in the balls.

It did wear me out quite a bit though. By about 25 minutes in, my arms were hating me, my calves wanted to eat my soul, and my groin was giving me the cold shoulder. I failed at breaking through “The Wall” at 25 minutes in though and took a short breather. Steph, however, is like a machine. I learned just how unfit I am simply by watching her laugh at Tony Horton’s feeble attempts at making her sweat. I also learned that if I am going to continue to do this stuff with her, then I need some real exercise pants. Justice League pajama pants just aren’t going to cut it.

I’ll keep you guys posted on this hardcore exercise thing that I seem to have wrapped myself up in. I’m not going to be doing full on P90X though. Steph has planned out a mix of stuff to do, and I think I’m just going to follow along with what she does. We’ll see what happens. I guess I should just start by trying to stay on it for more than a few days. As odd as this may sound, the only real reason I did it tonight was because I wanted an interesting subject to blog about. I think it worked!

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Who Dat?!

Posted on February 7, 2010 by steve

Today was Super Bowl XLIV. That’s Super Bowl 44 for those not so “up” on the old school Roman numerals. I’m going to be honest and say that I had no idea who was going to win this one going in. I’ve never been a fan of the Colts or the Saints, so I just rooted for the team I thought wanted it the most. Which is kind of silly, because you know that if they are at the Super Bowl to begin with then they want it pretty bad. I decided that the Saints were going to win this a few days ago, and I really have no basis for why I thought they were. They have a lot of heart I guess

Steph and I were going to go over to a party tonight to watch it, but the snow totally ruined those plans. Didn’t bother us all that much though because we still had some killer spinach dip, a comfy couch, and an HDTV. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty sure that’s all you really need to have an awesome night watching some football.

This snow looks like it’s going to mess up more than a Super Bowl party night though. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to make it to work tomorrow or not. I think I’m going to have to pass. From looking at the way these cars are moving out there, it would not be wise for me to get out on the road in the morning. It’s not like the ice is going to melt in this 15 degree weather. I’ll just have to make up the time later in the week. Steph doesn’t have school tomorrow, so that is half the reason that I’m thinking I’m going to have to stay out as well. WVU never cancels classes, so clearly they think it’s too dangerous for the students to get out on the road. Which means that it’s probably too dangerous for normal humans too

We’ll see what happens! Until next time, mortals!

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Internet Junk

Posted on February 6, 2010 by steve

I’ve pretty much spent this entire day poking around on the internet trying to get into whatever it is one can get into on the internet. Minus the porn, though. I don’t really need to get into any of that. I’ve really just been trying to find some nifty software or websites that can do some stuff I want to do. One of the things that I have really been hunting down for the past few months is a decent comic collecting application for the Mac. I have Comic Collector Live for the PC and I absolutely LOVE it. The only problem with it is that it’s on Windows! Since I don’t use Windows as a primary machine, it’s kind of annoying to have to switch over to Parallels or Boot Camp in order to add comics to my database. It’s not that big of a deal, but why isn’t there software like this for Mac? It seems like something that would be very Mac-centric, but nobody makes anything good enough. If any of you know of something, please tell me in the comments.

Another thing I’ve been fiddling with and trying to figure out is Blippy. It’s a different kind of service that I’m trying to find a use for. Think of it as Twitter for your purchases or the items you get from services like Audible or Netflix. I think it’s kind of neat and I, of course, have a Blippy  page that you can visit and check out what I’ve been getting, though it’s pretty short. The one piece I haven’t jumped on is the credit card purchases tool. I’m currently showing my purchases from Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. I think the credit card piece could be pretty awesome, but I think one would definitely want a “special” credit card that you wanted Blippy to track. That way you could hide Christmas presents or birthday presents by using a different card. I’m still trying to figure out what purpose this will serve in my all around social networking world, but I think it has some possibilities. If you are on Blippy, follow me on my page!

I’ve also hooked up Ashley, of “The Penguin Legion”, with a URL that points straight to her blog of, you guessed it, www.thepenguinlegion.com. I don’t think she knows yet, but she will once she reads this post. So add her blog to your list of favorites and visit often. She’s brilliant.

I’m pretty sure that’s all I’ve really messed with today. That’s not to say it wasn’t time consuming. Searching for good software can be such a pain, especially when you have to test each one to see if it meets your needs. I think I’m going to go find some food now. Hopefully I don’t have to look much beyond the kitchen because there is about 2 feet of snow outside that I would rather not venture out into.

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