Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Are Video Games Worth 60 Bucks?


Face it nobody likes to pay full price for anything. For years I've wasted tons of cash on things that entertain me. I spent thousands of dollars on music, movies, and video games alone. Don't even get me started on how much I've spent on all of the electronic devices that enable me to entertain myself. It's sickening. If I had saved all of that money I could be living in a decent house or be driving a kick ass car. To day I started thinking about the money I've spent on games in the past couple of years and thinking that a lot of those games weren't worth 60 bucks. For some reason I always feel the need to buy games the day or the week they are released instead of waiting for the prices to drop. I have puchased quite a few games used at Gamestop, but even those games were a bit too high priced.

There are definitely some games that I feel are worth the 60 dollar price tag. I know that a lot of people won't even buy a game these days unless it has online multiplayer modes. I'm not a huge fan of online multiplayer games unless I can play with friends or cool people. Playing with decent people isn't the easiest thing to do on Xbox Live though. I know that there are also people who base the 60 dollar price on how many hours of gameplay they'll get out of a game. I've often payed 60 bucks for very short single player campaign games. As fun as some of them were in the end I must say that I felt cheated.

I must say that out of all of the games I've ever bought I've never felt cheated with hockey games. I've always had a ton of fun with an 82 game schedule plus all of the playoff games. I also feel like I get my money's worth with most RPG's that I've played. FALLOUT 3 and FABLE 2 are both great examples. Both games were lengthy and totally addictive. At the opposite end I've played some FPS games where I finished the single player campaign in 7 hours. While I enjoy shooters I find that 7 hours of gameplay doesn't justify a 60 dollar price tag. I want to support game developers, but at the same time I don't want to spend 60 bones on an experience that only lasts 7 hours.

I don't see myself never buying a game again, but I also don't see myself buying 30 games a year anymore either.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Saints Row 2 & Some Christmas Gifts


It's funny how certain games pull you in when you never expect them to. I own the first Saints Row game, but it's so buggy that I stopped playing it. For example I'll be driving down the road and my car will disappear while my guy sits there like he's holding an invisible steering wheel while floating in mid air. Then of course the game locks up. This pissed me off enough that I quit playing it. Recently I rented Saints Row 2 expecting to play it for a few hours and declare it a shitty game. That has NOT been the case. Saints Row 2 is sooooo fun. I like pretty much everything about it. With side missions where the object is to drive a sewage truck spraying crap all over buildings to cause thousands of dollars in damage the game definitely doesn't take itself seriously. This is a good thing. After renting and re-renting SR2 I should really just go buy it. I'm definitely addicted to playing it. I'm not Fallout 3 addicted, but addicted nonetheless. I gotta say that I really do enjoy a good "sandbox" type game like this. This one is worth a rent at the very least, so check it out.

I'm calling Christmas 2008 the Christmas where my wife finally got it right! This was an awesome X-mas in the gift department. She bought me an officially licensed Dallas Stars jersey (pictured above) with my favorite player's name and number. That player is of course Mike Modano. I already own several Stars jersey's, but this one is by far my favorite. I also got a Stars calendar, license plate, license plate frame, static sticker, flag, stars logo wave suction cup thingamabob for my truck, a Marty Turco puck, and Rambo on blu-ray and regular dvd. It was a Dallas Stars Christmas!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

'Tis The Season To Play Games & Watch Movies


Well, I'm on vacation right now. I really haven't done much though I still jump on my treadmill so as to not be totally lazy. I've been playing video games and watching some movies on Netflix. Oh, and I even started a Gamefly account.

The first game I finished while on vacation was CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR. It didn't take long to finish, and I knew it wouldn't because I have heard from several sources that it wouldn't. I think there might have been about 6 hours of gameplay or maybe 7. There were times where I found myself getting bored with the game. There were also times where I was having quite a bit of fun. I loved the sections of the game where I was able to use the flame thrower and mortars. Watching enemies scream in pain while on fire was a blast. That's sounds sadistic, but I'm just being honest. I also enjoyed manning the machine guns while on the fighter plane to take down enemy ships and other planes. This was easily the best looking WW2 game I've played. The graphics are just beautiful. There were some frustrating moments in certain sections, but that's to be expected. I don't want a shooter that's a walk in the park. I found myself having to take breaks after playing for an hour or so. Then when I came back refreshed I had an easy time getting through irritating parts. I already mentioned how the game is short, but I really didn't mind that because I felt like I had played all that I wanted to when it was over. That's not really the sign of a great game, but whatever. It's a fine enough game. It's just that I've been in the WW2 genre for too long. I'm tired of it now. I haven't played any multiplayer, and I don't think I will either. If I want my multiplayer shooter fix I'll go play COD4 or FRONTLINES: FUEL OF WAR. I can't recommend this for a buy, but it's a definite rent if you're a fan of shooters. I rented it because I knew going in that it would be a short experience. Just based on the single player campaign this game is worthy of a 7.8/10

I'm also playing SAINTS ROW 2. It's a poor mans version of the GTA series. At this point I'm renting it, but depending on how I feel after putting some time into it I may end up buying it if the price is right. I'm definitely having some fun with it, but my attention span isn't the greatest, so who knows how long it will keep me entertained. Right now I'm doing a bunch of side missions like spraying sewage all over buildings and doing tons of property damage with various cars and rocket launchers. It's all just mindless fun really. It also has it's fair share of bugs that can be really annoying such as getting stuck on objects and console lock ups. Not a bad game so far.

As I said earlier I finally signed up with Gamefly. I chose to only get a game at a time. I figure I already have a bunch old games to play that I own. I also don't want to be renting two games at a time and having to pick between the two. I'll just play the one game they send me and finish it if I like or send it back if I don't. Of course this may change later on. I'll probably end up wanting two at a time. By the way they are sending me Mercenaries 2 which I have played, but haven't finished. It was probably the fifth game on my list, so I'm not thrilled about that, but I do want to play it more. It would have been nice to get Prince Of Persia or a couple of the PS3 games that I wanted above it. Oh well.

Finally, I watched a couple of movies through Netflix on my Xbox 360. First I watched NOBODY'S FOOL with Paul Newman and Jessica Tandy. I've been in the mood for serious dramas lately. Anyway I really enjoyed it. Paul Newman is/was an incredible actor. 8/10

I also watched THE BASKETBALL DIARIES which I've only ever seen bits and pieces of. For some reason I just love watching movies where people are destroying their lives with drugs. It's fascinating to me how addiction can take over a person and make them do insane things. Damn good film. I enjoyed it. 8.5/10

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Legendary Not So Bad, And An Old Dinner Sauce


From all of the game reviews for LEGENDARY you'd think the game was absolute crap or even broken. It has a total metacritic.com score percentage of 49%! 49%...seriously? Did the guys who created this game over at Gamecock Media piss a bunch of people off or something? I really don't get it. I'm not alone on this issue either. I decided to check out this game based on some comments that "Shipwreck" made on his CAG FOREPLAY Podcast. I feel exactly the way he does. This game has gotten a bad rap. With that being said I'm not saying this game is perfect or even close to a 10. I think it probably hovers around a 7 rating though. I think one reason why this game got such terrible reviews is the time it was released. It was released at the same time that a bunch of triple a titles like GEARS OF WAR 2, FABLE 2, and FALLOUT 3 were released. Is it as good as those games? Hell no it's not, but it's definitely not a 4.9 either!
I will say that some of the gameplay is dated and linear, but it's a good time imo. It's not breaking any new ground and it's not as pretty as all of the triple a titles that were released this winter, but it's worth a rent or even 20 bucks in the bargain bin.

Now for something totally unrelated. Today before work I was thinking about what I'd eat for dinner that night after I got home. I decided on having chicken. Then I broke into that cheezy commercial jingle for Chicken Tonight sauce. It just goes to show you how deep in your brain an old jingle can bury itself.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Life After Finishing A Great Game


As you know I finished FALLOUT 3 recently. I've commented on how it's one of my favorite games ever created. I pretty much worship it at the almighty video game altar. OK, so I'm laying it on a bit thick here, but damn was it incredibly fun. Now the dilema is finding a game that is as fun an experience as FALLOUT 3. I don 't think it's going to happen for a while. I know that this is the time of the year for all of the best triple a games, but I just don't see myself having the kind of experience that I just had with FALLOUT 3.

Yesterday I took a trip to my local Hollywood Video to rent a couple of games. I went in with at least 6 games in mind for possible rentals. I picked up two games because I had a coupon to get two rentals for the price of one. One of the games that I picked up was not on the list in my mind. That game being LEGENDARY. I've heard mostly bad things about LEGENDARY, but of course I have to see for myself. If I listened to what everyone had to say Overkill wouldn't be my favorite band. Anyway, I haven't played it yet because at the moment I'm playing the other game that I rented. That game being DEAD SPACE. DEAD SPACE has gotten tons of good/great reviews. It currently has an average review score of 89.1% at gamerankings.com. Thus far it's a good game, but it's not wowing me. It looks nice. The gameplay is good, and the story isn't bad so far. Compared to the high that I just got from FALLOUT 3 it's weak though. It's kinda like that rebound g/f you end up with after a bad breakup with a girl that you loved with every fiber of your being. The new g/f is hot and all, but you just don't have that deep connection that you had with the girl before her. I'm sure I'll get over the fact that I'm done with FALLOUT 3 in time. I know a lot more video games will come and go, but none of them will equal the greatness of FALLOUT 3. I will have a few more flings with FALLOUT 3 when dlc is released next year, so at least I have that to look forward to.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

"Home" Could Be A Good Thing For The Right People


I checked out Sony's HOME last night. Right now it's basically a virtual chat room. I could see how a certain group of people would like this. I'm not in this group, but again I could see how certain people could like it. To be honest I didn't really do a whole lot even though I probably spent an hour and a half screwing around. In this virtual world what I noticed was a lot of people walking around aimlessly, virtual guys chasing after the very few virtual girls, and tons of dancing. Right now HOME is a total sausagefest. I think the guys to girls ratio is about 100 to 1. I noticed that when a girl character was around about 10 or 15 guys would make a beeline to that girl. These guys would either type dirty things, say dirty things through their headsets, or just try to pick up on said girl character. The funny thing is that sometimes a girl character would actually be a guy messing with the other guy characters. I must admit that I was having a fun time just laughing at all of the idiocy going on.

I also checked out the virtual mall where a bunch more people were hanging out and being just as stupid as they were outside the mall. I went into a few stores where you could buy (with actual money that gets charged to your credit card) outfits for your character and furniture for your house. I saw stuff as cheap as $.49 and I believe as high as $4.99! Who in their right mind is going to shell out money for virtual clothing and furniture? I think the only half way decent thing I saw in the virtual mall was a huge screen where they were showing promo stuff for the PS3.

There were other things you could do in HOME, but I honestly had no desire at all to bother with the rest of it. I'm just surprised that it took Sony this damn long to release something this lackluster. I'm not sure Sony will ever get with it for the PS3. Maybe they'll get their shit together when they release the PS4.

I can't see any diehard gamers enjoying HOME, but I can see a bunch of juvenile potty mouthed kids loving it.

Friday, December 12, 2008

An Injured & Struggling Dallas Stars Team Beats The Redwings!


I'm sure not a single person reading this cares, but damn it I do! Anyone who has known me longer than a month knows I hate the Redwings with a passion. Going into tonight's game I predicted a 5-1 Stars loss. I was thankfully proven wrong. It's been a shitty season to say the least mostly due to injuries to top Stars players. Tonight an overconfident and cocky Redwings team got beat by a hard working Stars team who probably had no business winning. It's quite impressive when you can beat the Redwings with a team with 1/3 of your players belonging in the minors. Turco played exceptional tonight. This is something that he pretty much never does against the Redwings. The final score was 3-1 and I couldn't be happier. EAT IT REDWINGS FANS!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Various Crap Floating Around Inside My Head


First I'd like to give a huge kiss my ass to the holidays. I really hate this time of year. A long time ago when I was a kid I loved it. Of course I did. I got tons of upon tons of presents from Santa and my parents. These days I couldn't care less if I got a single present from anyone. My wife will be irritated if she reads that sentence or any of this part of the blog. She loves Christmas. The holidays were fun when my daughter was younger. She's 14 now. She opens her gifts and disappears into her room. At least I think that's what she did last year. Who could blame her? I'd like to disappear on that day as well. Now where was I? Oh yeah my hatred of the holidays. It's basically one huge cash grab for big business. I hate how the holidays try and make people feel obligated to buy a bunch of people a gift. Of course I don't feel obligated because well...I just don't. I hate the ordeal of shopping for people too. I never have a clue what to buy anyone. I never know what to buy my wife. When asked what I want for Christmas I usually say that I don't want anything. When I want something I go to a store and buy it myself. I honestly think my dislike for the holidays goes much deeper than gift giving though. That's a place I'm not willing to go right now though.

As much as I hate new years resolutions I plan on having one, though I would never call it a new years resolution. I'm going to start saving a shit ton of money next year for a down payment on a new Ford Mustang. Maybe it's midlife crisis time? No, of course not. I just like the look of later Ford Mustangs, and I want one. I want one bad. Real bad. For the past year I've been driving people crazy talking about it. I obsess over it actually. Mark my words I will have one. I'm paying my truck off in 2009, so I figure either late 2009 or early 2010 I will be the owner of a Ford Mustang.

To save money means to stop buying games and start renting them. That's where Gamefly comes in. I really have no idea why in the hell I've never signed up for Gamefly. Actually I still haven't, but I will very soon. I'm beyond tired of paying 60 bucks a pop for new games. I'm sure I'll buy a few games, but I'll make sure I get a deal on the games I buy.

After finishing Fallout 3 my gaming life feels empty. I still have a bunch of games I need to finish, but I know that none of them will be quite as good as Fallout 3. It looks like I'll be finishing my NHL 09 season as well as killing a bunch of zombies in Left 4 Dead.

Remember how I talked about how much I hate the Holidays? Well, there are a bunch of Christmas songs that I like. That's kinda odd isn't it? I love all of those cheezy Christmas songs that normal people hate with every fiber of their being. Here are just a few examples GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER by Elmo & Patsy, WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TIME from Paul McCartney, CHRISTMAS IN HOLLIS by RUN DMC, BLUE CHRISTMAS by "Porky Pig" Bob Rivers, CHRISTMAS IS A TIME TO SAY I LOVE YOU by Billy Squire, and JINGLE BELL ROCK by Hall & Oates just to name a few. I really am one screwed up individual.

P.S. THE GRINCH AND SCROOGE RULE IT!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

It Only Took 106 Hours


Last night...no early yesterday morning I finished Fallout 3. This was the most addicted I've probably ever been to a video game. Well, it ranks high on the list anyway. It may not be as massive as Oblivion, but it sure felt like it. I haven't played every newly released game this year, but I feel safe saying that this is definitely my game of the year as well as my favorite game ever. It ranks up there with other favorites of mine such as Super Mario Bros 3, Resident Evil 4, Shadow Of The Colossus, Manhunt, Super Punch Out, and Crackdown just to name a few. As far as RPG's go I've never played a better one. I can't even imagine the man hours Bethesda put into creating this game. They did everything right with this game. I honestly don't have a single complaint EXCEPT for maybe the way the game ends, but as good as this game is I can overlook the ending. I found the exploration to be incredbly fun. The lock pick mini games were fun and addictive. The computer hacking mini games were a bit strange, but even that got addictive. The creatures and enemies were great. Bethesda could have thrown in a few more different enemies, but that's a minor complaint. The dialogue between your character and others was really good, and funny a lot of the time. I really enjoyed most of the side quests. I even had fun with the collection side quests. Collecting all 20 bobbleheads was a challenge, but felt rewarding after I got that last one. I definitely didn't mind finding all of that Nuka Cola Quantum for that hot little blonde chick with the nice little ass.

I thought about reviewing this game properly, but I just have so many things to say, and not enough time, so my above comments will have to do. Fallout 3 is a perfect 10 out of 10. It was well worth the 60 bucks I paid for it and then some. If you own a 360, PS3, or a decent PC you really need to play this game.

Monday, December 8, 2008

At Least Microsoft's Customer Service Is Top Notch


Just about anyone who has ever owned an Xbox 360 and played it for a long enough period of time knows that the console is far from perfect. Last year the dvd drive in my first Xbox 360 died. Instead of jumping on the phone and dealing with Max I decided to just use the online support by telling Microsoft what the problem was by typing instead of talking. They sent me a "coffin" for my Xbox straight away. I think it was gone for a couple of weeks. Then they sent it right back to me with a free month of Xbox Live as well. The day I sent out my first 360 I went out and bought a backup 360. Well, a few weeks ago I was having issues with that 360, so I sent that one in. I was getting dirty disc errors and freezes. It was even giving me dirty disc errors when I was trying to install games to my HDD. On top of that my 360 was also having a tough time interacting with my controller on start ups. I went the same route this time as well as far as the way I dealt with customer service. Again it was smooth sailing, but this time Microsoft replaced this console with a new one. Of course they also gave me another free month of Xbox Live.

I've heard horror stories about having to wait on the phone and having some dumbell run you through all of the steps to figure out what's wrong with your 360. I refuse to go through a trouble shooting rundown with someone from India who barely speaks english. No offense to anyone from India, but damn at least learn how to speak english before you decide to be a customer service rep.

Again, it's not the 360 console that's incredible because it's far from it. It is honestly the worst piece of electronic hardware I've ever owned. It's the great games and superior Xbox Live online service as well as customer service that keeps me using this piece of junk that Microsoft has named Xbox 360. Here's hoping that the Xbox 720 doesn't have any of these issues!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Holiday Season Blahs


Let me just start by saying that for some reason depression and the blahs always hit me this time of year. I have no idea why, but it happens every time this year. I generally just try to keep my mind off of the holidays by playing video games, watching movies, or whatever. Fallout 3 is doing a decent job at keeping me busy. I am now 96+ hours into it. I figure I have about 5-10 hours left to play. Not really sure. I'm glad to report that Sac (net friend and blog reader) also seems to be addicted to Fallout 3. I check out his progress on my friends list often. The last time I checked he was a level 10.

I think as soon as I finish Fallout 3 I'm going to sign up for Gamefly. There are a ton of games I want to play that just aren't worth buying for 60 bones. Truthfully I should have signed up a long time ago. Going to my local Hollywood Video to rent a game for 8 bucks for 5 days is just a ripoff.

Now for some food discussion. Food is basically my favorite part of the holidays. There are two things I plan on checking out. The first thing I want to try is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake Bread from The Great Harvest Bread Co. Sounds delicious! I also need to try Bubblicious Candy Canes. There's real gum in the center of the candy cane!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm happy to say that I'm on vacation the week of X-mas. Maybe I'll get to try some of those candy canes that week.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Movies I Should Have Watched, But For Some Reason Haven't


There is this small list of movies that for some reason or another I should have seen by now, but haven't. I'm not talking about recent movies. I'm talking about older classics...or at least movies that everyone has seen a million times. A few of these will probably shock you.

Ghost Busters. Yeah, That's right Ghost Busters. I've seen bits and pieces, but have never sat and watched it from beginning to end. With that being said I've never watched Ghost Busters 2 either. This really makes no sense to me either. I'm a big Bill Murray fan. I've seen pretty much everything he's ever done. It also makes no sense because 1984 was a big go to the movies year for me, but for some strange reason I never went to see it in the theatre that year. I vow to watch this movie soon via Netflix.

A Fish Called Wanda. This movie gets glowing reviews yet I've probably only ever watched about 15 minutes of it. No idea why. I just haven't seen it. This is also getting added to my Netflix queue.

Blazing Saddles. It's probably a crime that I've never watched it. I haven't even watched bits and pieces of this one. You can add YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, and HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART 1 to this list.

There are also a couple of Monty Python movies that I haven't seen like LIFE OF BRIAN,and THE MEANING OF LIFE.

Robocop. I wouldn't call it a classic, but again it's a movie that I've only seen bits and pieces of.

I realize that most of these are probably movies that I should have seen already. I plan on watching them all before I kick the bucket, but you never know. Oh, and I just remembered that I do have a dvd-r copy of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.

Ghost Busters Video In All OF It's Cheezy 80's Glory

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

A Few Random Thoughts


I just watched IGN's video review for the new PRINCE OF PERSIA game. One word that comes to mind is WOW! This game looks amazing. I love the art style they chose. It's a beautiful looking game. For a game that wasn't even on my radar this looks like it's worth a buy. It's getting some really good reviews too. As soon as I can tear myself away from FALLOUT 3 I'll probably pick it up.

Speaking of FALLOUT 3 it's been a while since I've enjoyed a game this much. I'm 75+ hours into it and I'm still left wanting more every day. At this point I gotta say it may be my favorite video game ever. I've played a lot of games, so that's gotta tell you something.

Well, the New Xbox Experience is now the old Xbox experience. I'm finding that I'd rather just hit the guide button to do everything versus looking through all of the panels or whatever the hell they are called. It's a bit of a pain to cycle through all of your friends with the panels as well. Let's not even talk about avatars. I don't hate em, but I don't love em either. For me the best features of NXE are installing games on my HDD and Netflix.

I've watched a few movies through Netflix on my Xbox 360 now. I haven't had a single problem with streaming. It's been flawless. So far I've watched Dan In Real Life, Cool Hand Luke, One Crazy Summer, Cashback, Comedians of Comedy: Live at the El Rey, and the first episode of The Office. If you like movies with quite a bit of hot naked women you should probably go watch Cashback. One of the most beautiful women I've ever seen is in this movie. Just watch the for the scene with the Swedish exchange student who walks up the stairs after getting out of the shower. That's all I'm gonna say.

My Thanksgiving holiday was enjoyable for the most part. I got a lot of gaming in. I finished Gears Of War 2 with my nephew. See Phil, I do finish games. :)GOW2 is one of the best looking games I've ever seen graphically. It was a lot of fun as well. Horde mode is also a blast, but with only two people it's a bitch. Me and my nephew couldn't get past wave 18. If we had a couple more people playing I'm pretty sure we would have gotten much farther.

My Dallas Stars are having a crap season mostly due to injuries to top players. I'm talking top line players here. Injuries suck. What the hell can you do though? It looks like they may be turning things around though because they've won their last two games.

Watch This Review For Prince Of Persia

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Left 4 Dead Left Me Feeling Underwhelmed


This zombie survival game has been getting a lot of praise. It's hovering between a high 8 and a high 9 as far as number ratings go. On top of that all of the gaming podcasts that I listen to are praising it as well. Before I go into my thoughts on Left 4 Dead I should probably let it be known that I've only played the split screen co-op mode with my nephew for a total of about 3 hours. I figure that's enough play time to give some opinions on the game.

You start out by being able to pick one of four characters. From what I could tell the characters were all pretty much the same and didn't have strengths that the others didn't have. Basically it doesn't matter who you choose. That to me is kinda lame. I would also have liked to have seen more characters to choose from.

The weapons are pretty standard. You get pistols, shotguns, machine guns, and a scoped rifle that I totally don't understand why was even put in the game. Combat is close and in your face all of the time. If a zombie is far away you definitely don't have time to bust out a scoped sniper rifle to shoot it. I'm also finding that using a shotgun for melee attacks is usually better than using it to actually shoot zombies. You can clear out rooms of zombies just using melee attacks with your gun.

It's also a rather short game with only four levels to beat. Id this were a 40 dollar game I'd have no issue with it being short, but it's a 60 dollar game. Sure you can get a lot of gameplay out of it by playing co-op, but I see myself getting bored with only four levels to beat. This is where DLC will come in. Instead of shipping the game with 6 or 7 levels we'll no doubt have to shell out cash for extra downloadable levels.

I'm not saying this game is bad. What I am saying is that it's overpriced and doesn't wow me graphically. It's an ok game. If you plan on buying Left 4 Dead I would personally wait untill you can find it for about 40 bucks. More levels would have probably made it worth 60 bucks.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Things I'm Thankful For Video Games & Robster Craw Style


It won't be long before we're all stuffing our faces with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pie lots of glorious glorious pie! While sitting here trying to decide just what the hell to blog about I decided I'd give a list of things I'm thankful for. I'm not going to give that long boring "I'm thankful for my health and my wife" and all of that bullshit list though. I'm going to give you what the title of this blog suggests.

I'm thankful that the new NXE update didn't "brick" either of my Xbox 360 consoles.

I'm thankful that I didn't have to pay shipping costs for my second Xbox 360 to be sent out to Texas for repairs.

I'm thankful that even though Xbox 360 consoles are basically junk they do have a lot of good games to play unlike my PS3.

I'm thankful that my PS3 still works even though their aren't really shit for games to be played on it. It probably works so well because I rarely use it.

I'm thankful that my Nintendo Wii still works...wait does it actually still work? I wouldn't know because it's sitting in my living room collecting dust because I never use it!

I'm thankful that the guys at ThisXboxLife.com have decided to STOP talking about music games on their podcast though they were smart asses for a bit on episode 15. HaHa!

I'm thankful that FALLOUT 3 has given me way more than my money's worth. I've put in 60 hours now. That's a buck an hour, and I still have a long way to go before I finish it.

I'm thankful that my wife has decided to show an interest in my hobby of gaming by playing Little Big Planet with me no matter how bad she stinks at it. It's headache inducing to play games with her, but at least she's trying.

I'm thankful that Sac has picked up an Xbox 360, so that he too can feel the pain of having it break down on him right after he bought it.

I'm thankful that Phil still swings by here to read the random bullshit that I blog about. I swear to you Phil we will play some co-op of some game one day on the PS3.

I'm thankful that I'm still stuck in the 80's and can recite REVENGE OF THE NERDS word for word while watching it...that goes for FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH as well.

I'm thankful for streaming Netflix movies on the Xbox 360.

Right now I'm thankful that I finally ran out of things to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving Video Games & Robster Craws readers! CHOW DOWN! I know I will.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Another One Bites The Dust


I shipped out my second Xbox 360 for repairs today. The idiot thing that I didn't do was put my return address or repair # on the box. My return address is on the UPS shipping label though. Also my console is registered and Microsoft knows it's being shipped because they sent me an e-mail. Of course they sent me the e-mail well after I had already shipped the box. The online instructions they gave me were to print out the UPS label and tape it on the box. I did, and sent it out. Hopefully all will go well and they'll send it back to me repaired. From what I've read online I'm not the first person to do this, and I'm sure I won't be the last. I guess it just makes it easier on the repair center if they don't have to go looking up your serial number and info in their computer. Oh well, what's done is done. I'll track the box online. If it takes them forever I'll call customer service. This is my second Xbox that has had a dvd drive take a dump on me. Luckily my warranty isn't up untill the middle of December. Man these consoles are junk, but the games are awesome.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The New Xbox Experience Is Here


I got the update today just like millions of other Xbox 360 owners. I played around with it for a little over an hour. Here are some first impressions...

I loved the opening intro. Very cool, and nice to look at.

The total time for the update took about 3 minutes for me. Quicker than I expected.

I spent about 20 minutes making my "Avatar". I tried to make him look as close as possible to what I actually look like. Of course the Avatar looks better. HaHa! I noticed that other people's avatars that I know really don't look like them, but I guess some people don't want their little dudes looking like them. I guess myu only complaint with avatars is that there just aren't enough clothing options right now. We all know that will change in the form of DLC that we'll have to spend space bucks on err I mean Microsoft Points. Hey, if they offer me Iron Maiden shirts for my Avatar or a Dallas Stars jersey I'm all over it.

I did have a couple of issues while messing around with this new interface. I decided to check out my friends list. After I was done looking at a friend's profile my Xbox froze up for about 40 seconds and then went back to the main interface. I've already read online about this happening to other people, but others have actually had to shut their Xbox off and then on again. Microsoft will need to patch this if it's a widespread problem.

The other issue I had was a dirty disc error while installing FALLOUT 3 to my HDD. I of course ejected the disc to check it out even though I was 100% sure the disc was totally clean. I then tried again and it installed just fine.

I plan on getting Netflix, so I'll blog about that in the future, so I can tell you just how good or not so good that will work as far as streaming to my 360 goes.

My favorite feature is definitely installing games to the HDD. There are a few reasons why. I'm directing this part to anyone who thinks this feature isn't important. Forget about tghe few seconds faster that a game may load during certain sections. I couldn't care less about that. Forget that it makes your 360 pur like a kitten because that disc drive isn't working overtime. How about the fact that an installed game will save wear and tear on your already crappy disc drive. Believe me I know they are junk. I had top send my first 360 in because of a faulty disc drive. On top of that your 360 shouldn't get as hot and red ring because your disc drive doesn't have to spin for hours on end while you're gaming. While I do feel kinda sorry for you people without the 120 HDD I gotta say that I'm happy that I bought one the week after they released. It was a steep price, but hey a hardcore gamer has do what a hardcore gamer has to do. At this point if you still have a 20 gig HDD I really think you're a fool if you can afford to spend the money on a 120 gig HDD and don't.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Low Blow Sony, Low Blow


I know a lot of Xbox 360 owners are excited about being able to stream Netflix movies with the New Xbox Experience update. It's just too bad that Sony has decided to play hardball by not allowing Xbox 360 users to stream Sony's Columbia Pictures movies. I'm not surprised, but man does Sony suck ass for this!

Here's the story from joystiq.com

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/18/nxe-netflix-streaming-queues-suddenly-gimped/

[Original headline: "NXE Netflix streaming queues suddenly gimped"]

Our Netflix streaming queues just got considerably shorter on the eve of the NXE launch. Acting on a tip, we popped into our Netflix account and sure enough, our "Instant Queue" had a new "Notes" column with an oft-repeated, red (nobody likes red!) notice: "Not available on Xbox." Logging onto Xbox Live (with an NXE account) confirmed that these titles were no longer available for streaming on Xbox 360.

We've reached out to Microsoft for a full explanation -- so keep your fingers crossed that this is just a launch period mishap (like someone flipped the wrong switch ... or something). We're betting on licensing issues, though, which could further cripple the service. Currently, there's no way to tell if a title is excluded from Xbox streaming until it's added to the Queue (reminder: this can only be done from a separate computer). We're not much for statistics, but we can tell you that 13 of 110 items in our Instant Queue are now unavailable, all of which are feature films. The blackout seems to have hit a range of flicks, from: Superbad to Bad Boys; Drunken Master to the entire Karate Kid trilogy (that's right -- the entire trilogy! We don't count that Next Karate Kid noise). We'll update when we learn more.

Update: We've found a common thread! All of the affected titles from our Queue are distributed by Columbia Pictures. Columbia Pictures, of course, is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Microsoft rival Sony. Case closed?

Oddly enough, Sony Picture Entertainment movies (listed here) are still Xbox-enabled.

Update 2: It appears that the sudden yoinking of Columbia Pictures films from NXE Instant Queue access is a licensing issue with Sony after all. MTV Multiplayer pinged us with word that, on the rental service's official blog, Netflix corp. communications VP Steve Swasey writes:

"As watching instantly becomes a more prominent part of the Netflix service, our goal is to have all of our streaming content licensed for all of our partner devices. We're doing well in this area, but it will take some time before we fully achieve that goal. Today, titles regularly come in and out of license and there is a natural ebb and flow to what we have on license at any given point in time. In the case of Xbox 360, a few hundred titles are temporarily unavailable to be streamed via the Xbox game console. Those titles are still available to be watched on subscribers' computers and on TVs via other partner devices, and we hope they'll be licensed for Xbox 360 shortly."

[Thanks, Mark]

Monday, November 17, 2008

Gripes About People That Play Music Games


First let me start out by saying that not all people who play Rock Band and Guitar Hero bother me. I'd also like to let it be known that I bought the very first GUITAR HERO game in late 2005 for the PS2. I was on board LOOOONG before it was cool and trendy like it is now. I also own GUITAR HERO 2 for the PS2. No, I'm not trying to act like I'm the shit because I owned them from the beginning. I'm just saying I'm not one of these bandwagon music game jumpers like most people seem to be these days. I have a few gripes, so let me get started....

After buying and playing GUITAR HERO I had a lot of fun. The song selection got old quick. A while later I picked up GH2. That was fun for a short time. Then it got extremely boring. This is the main reason why I haven't bothered buying any other music games for the Xbox 360 or PS3. It got old. That and the fact that the song selections mostly suck. It seems like the music games cater to people with really shitty taste in music. Yes, I realize that opinions on music differ, but I'm a bit of a music snob. I've been into music much longer than I've been into gaming. When the two mix you get a bunch of people who really have no idea what the hell they're talking about. Basically what I'm saying is gamer nerds shouldn't try and act like they know something about Rock & Roll or Metal when they clearly have no clue...

If you're reading this you know I listen to several gaming podcasts. Most of the hosts of these podcasts are gaming nerds who play music games. NOTE: I have no problem with gaming nerds. They are generally fine people, but hey they're nerds. Stick to being gaming nerds. Don't try and act like you know a thing or two about Rock & Metal when you don't. Recently I listened to a podcast where the hosts were talking about the Beatles music game that is supposed to be released next year. Two of the hosts ragged The Beatles saying their songs were old and boring. Then a question came up about what artists they liked and what songs they would enjoy playing in a music game. One of the hosts actually said Third Eye Blind! Are you kidding me!? Seriously!? You're going to sit there and rag an influential band like The Beatles and then turn around and say you want a music game where you can play Third Eye Blind songs? HaHaHa WHAT A FUCKING JOKE! One of the other hosts then stated that he didn't mind The Beatles stuff from the 50's. He didn't mind the music they made in the 60's though. Hey jackass, their first studio album wasn't released untill 1963! If you don't know what you're talking about please just shut up because you sound like idiots.

Another thing that annoys me is when I hear people say they actually felt like they were rocking out with a real band? Seriously? You felt like you were rocking out while holding a plastic guitar with a plastic strum bar? You feel like you're rocking out when you play a tiny plastic drum kit? Like whoa dude I feel like I'm in a real band when I'm playing ROCK BAND! Hilarious!

Don't get me wrong I know it can be fun, but some of you gaming geeks take it way too seriously. Do me a favor and at least get to know about the music you're pretending to play before you get on a podcast and make yourself sound like a complete tool.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Gears Of War 2 Second Impression


After playing alone and having a mediocre experience I decided to have my nephew come over and play it via local co-op. What a difference that made. GOW2 alone = boring! GOW2 co-op = FUN AS HELL!!! I generally hate playing games on co-op with a split screen, but it didn't bother me at all. Something else that surprised me was a certain giant worm swallowing you level that I've heard quite a few people say is lame. It's far from lame. It's one of the most awesome levels in any game I've ever played in terms of gameplay and graphics. Oh, and the graphics are are just breath taking. This is a beatuiful game to look at even though the color pallet is full of grey and black. I'm on board with GOW2 now. I figured I would be as soon as I started a co-op campaign. The only problem now is that I won't being finishing the campaign untill my nephew comes back for a four day Thanksgiving weekend. Oh well, I can wait, I still have a lot of FALLOUT 3 to go. Man, it's great to be a gamer right now!

One last thing, the flame thrower in GOW2 is THE best flame thrower in a video game ever. Finally a flame thrower that works! If you own a 360 you need to own this game.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Mirror's Edge Demo...Meh


Before Mirror's Edge was released I was hearing a ton of good things about it. The guys who do the In Game Chat podcast (formerly Evil Avatar Radio) were gushing about how great the demo was. After hearing them talk nonstop about it I had to check it out for myself. In case you don't know what this game is all about it's a first person platformer where you are constantly running and jumping from bulilding top to building top. When I played it I found that a lot of it had to do with trial and error. You basically die a bunch of times untill you figure out exactly where it is that you have to jump. I also found that at the times the controls were unforgiving. The art style is actually quite cool, and probably the best thing about the game. From what I'm hearing there is some combat in the game, and that combat truly sucks. On top of all of this the game is a short 5 to 6 hours to finish. $60.00 for a game that will frustrate me and that I'll be able to finish in 5 to 6 hours? No thanks. I'll pass.

Watch The IGN Mirror's Edge Review

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

My Early Game Of The Year Pick & GOW2 First Impression


After playing FALLOUT 3 for 25 hours now it's clear to me that this game is the best game I've played all year. It's clear that Bethesda spent 3 years making it. I spent 70+ hours on their other title OBLIVION. I never finished that game because well it got rather boring after playing it that long. I really don't see that happening with FALLOUT 3. There is no doubt in my mind that I will easily be able toi get 100+ hours out of FALLOUT 3. The side quests alone have me fully immersed in this post apocalyptic world. The characters are interesting. The creatures you battle are interesting. The side quest stories are also interesting. Once again I have to say that even people who don't care for role playing games will probably like this game. I definitely feel like I'm getting my 60 dollars worth as well. At this point I don't even want to make time for all of the new games being released. I'm fully addicted to this one. Time will tell if I continue to feel this way, but I'm pretty sure my mind won't be changed.

I actually did take a day off from playing FALLOUT 3 to finally pop Gears Of War 2 into my Xbox 360. After listening to podcast after podcast over the past year as well as reading previews and reading reviews I already knew what to expect from GOW2. It's a prettier version of GOW with better multi-player modes. With that being said I haven't played any of the multi-player or co-op modes yet. I started the single player campaign though. To me it was underwhelming. I've never been a huge GOW fan, but I do consider myself a fan of the GOW world. Afterall this was the second game I ever played on the Xbox 360. I also remember that I had a ton of fun playing the original GOW campaign on co-op with a good friend of mine. I decided to start the GOW2 campaign on Hardcore mode because I had heard over and over again that if you had played GOW and finished it this is where you should start. I'm glad I did because I found the first level to be a cakewalk. Then again I never really had a lot of trouble with hardcore on the first GOW either. All in all I spent an hour playing GOW2 because I just wasn't wowed by it. I thinking if I were co-oping the game with a friend or polaying Horde mode I'd be having fun with it. Playing it alone just isn't floating my boat though. I think my other issue with it right now is how linear it feels after playing 25 hours of FALLOUT 3 where I can go and do whatever I want in a vast world full of things to do. NOT that I'm comparing GOW2 to FO3 because I'm definitely. not. Just saying...

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Gears Of War 2...I Own It And Still Haven't Played It


I decided to cash my check on my lunch break this past Friday, so I could go pick up Gears Of War 2. I'm hearing nothing but great things about it, but I still haven't played it. How do game developers expect us to drop one game we're playing and start another one? All of these awesome games being released over the course of a couple of months is just insane. I'm at the point where I feel like I have to rush through one game to get to the next one. I refuse to do that with FALLOUT 3. Hell, this game could take me 100 hours to finish depending on how much exploring I plan on doing. I'd also really like to co-op GOW2 my first time through it, but I'll probably end up playing the single player campaign first. It's not like I'm bitching about having a lot of great video game choices, but the least game developers and publishers could do is spread out these games through the year instead of expecting that gamers will have the time and money to play all of these great games. It's madness I tell you...MADNESS! Now I must go, so I can play FALLOUT 3 or hell maybe even GOW2.

Gears Of War 2 IGN Review

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The Bleakest Game Ever Created?


I started playing FALLOUT 3 this past Monday. In case you weren't aware it's a first or third person (depending on how you want to play it. I choose to play it in the first person view) action rpg set in the post apocalyptic world of Washington D.C.
I can honestly say that I've never played a game that is as bleak and hopeless as this one. There are no happy fun times. There are no bright vibrant colors in this world. Everything about this game is dismal and depressing. Bethesda really nailed this world perfectly. The vibe of the game is like no other I've ever played. I'm about 9 hours in and I have to say early on that this is one of THE best games I've ever played. I like the fact that you're on your own to wander and explore always having to watch your back so some crazed mutant or insanely big radiated creature doesn't kill you. I see myself spending a lot of time with FALLOUT 3. I'm liking it so much that I may actually hold off on buying any other triple a titles untill after I finish this game.

Watch The Gametrailers.com Review For Fallout 3

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

I Really Couldn't Care Less About Politics


Let me start out by saying that I've only ever voted once. I voted for Clinton the first time around. I didn't want George Bush in office again. With that being said I think all politicians are scum of the earth. You can dig up dirt on pretty much all of them. I didn't vote today. I may never vote as long as I live. One major problem I have besides the fact that the candidates make a lot of empty promises to get my vote and yours is that we don't have enough choices here in America. We get a democrat, a republican, and haha an independent that will never get voted in. Damn it, I want more choices! I want like 12 different candidates. I want more choices. I don't want to vote for the man or woman who is the lesser evil of the two. I don't want McCain or Obama to lead this country. They both suck if you ask me. BTW I'd also like to address the bullshit statement about not being able to complain if I don't vote. As an American I can bitch and complain all damn day long. I can bitch about the fact that both candidates suck monkey nuts.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

GAME CRAZY!


First let me start with Fable 2. Yes, I'm still plugging away at it. There are just so many side quests to do. Obviously I want the full experience, so I'm going to do most of the side quests. There are a few that I don't really care about, so I'll probably skip those. There are some evil side quests that I'm not touching because I'm a "good guy". I'll go back a second time eventually and play evil as hell though.
I'm having way more fun than I expected. I knew I was in for a good game, but this is a great game that I'm hooked on. When I finish I might be a bit bummed out though I doubt it because Friday I picked up FALLOUT 3, so I have that waiting in the wings.

Little Big Planet isn't an incredible game. There I said it. So many people are acting like it's the second coming of Christ or something. It is a really good game, but it's not perfect. I've played it for a few hours alone and on co-op with the wife. The controls just aren't as precise as they need to be sometimes. Also going from the foreground to the background can be a pain in the ass at times. I do like the style of the game. I need to finish single play before I can start using user created content. That's actually what I'm most interested in. I doubt if I'll ever create my own levels. It just looks like too much damn work.

This coming week my wallet takes another couple of hits with Gears Of War 2 and Resistance 2 being released. Both are must haves if you own the 360 and PS3. Where the hell am I going to find the time for all of these games? The week after this it's Call of Duty: World at War and Mirror's Edge. Left 4 Dead the week after that.

I hope you all had a good Halloween. Mine was swell.

Oh, one more thing a certain idiot in Maine can suck it for this comment "haha the Bruins gave the Stars a lesson in violence last night! Beeeez win with an exclamation point 5 to 1!" My comment is this: The last Stanley Cup the B's won was in 1972. That was the year I was born. :D They'll be lucky to win another one before I'm dead and burried.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

So Much To Do That My Head Is Spinning


It's entertainment overload for me right now. This is the time of year that I go insane because I have a million things I want to do, but not enough time to do everything I want to do. I'm a gamer, so I want to play all of the awesome games that are being released. I'm a big Dallas Stars fan, so I watch every Stars game. Yes, all 82 games plus the playoffs. There are movies I want to be watching. There are new cds I want to be listening to. There are also a select few tv shows that I have to watch as well. The things that are getting in my way are work and sleep. I obviously need to do both though I really wish I didn't have to.

My wallet took another hit today because I picked up Little Big Planet. My intent was to also grab Fallout 3 for the Xbox 360, but the only copies I could find were the limited edition packages that come in a lunchbox. I'm not shelling out 80 bucks for some extra garbage that I couldn't care less about. It's pretty obvious that most people felt the same way because there were a bunch of them at three stores that I went to today. Oh, there were also copies of Fallout 3 for the PS3 at every store I visited today. I own a PS3, but there is no way in hell I'm playing it on the PS3 vs the 360. I need my Achievement Points. Trophies be damned! Not to mention who even knows if there are trophies for Fallout 3. I decided I really don't need to buy Fallout 3 just yet anyway. I still have to finish Fable 2.

I did spend a small amount of time with Little Big Planet. The art style is awesome. The gameplay was fun. I have a feeling I'll be spending quite a bit of time with it. It will probably end up being one of those games I go to when I have an extra 20 or 30 minutes to play a game that isn't super involved like an rpg or a shooter is.

Fable 2 is a great game. I'm having a ton of fun with it. I still have a long way to go even though I've played it for several hours. I've been doing tons of side quests before I get to the main quests. I'm also grinding away killing bandits and beetles, so my dude can be a major stud. As soon as I finish Fable 2 I'll have more to say about it. I don't want to review it untill I've finished it.

IGN's Little Big Planet Review

Thursday, October 23, 2008

No Time For Blog Entries Must Play New Games


My mind just isn't on things that go bump in the night. My mind is new games. I picked up Fable 2 on Tuesday, so I've been preoccupied with that. So far I'm really enjoying it. It's not perfect, but it's a damn good game. It's one of the better action rpg's that I've played in a while. Fallout 3 comes out next week. That's a definite buy, and I'll probably stop playing Fable 2 and start playing Fallout 3. This is the time of year when gamers are in heaven, but also broke from buying games.
My wallet is already sad.

IGN Fable 2 Review

Monday, October 20, 2008

Psycho Ward...More Like Romper Room


I don't have much to judge the Psycho Ward Haunted House on because I don't go to these things. It was beyond weak. It was a lot of walking around in the dark woods through designated paths while guys and girls jumped out and screamed at you dressed up in lame costumes. It was so bad that I didn't even get startled. Not even once did I jump or get remotely scared. My daughter and her four friends screamed quite a bit just so they could have a little fun. Me and my nephew made smart assed comments all the way through to the "actors" who didn't seem half as amused as we were. There were four different "actors" who had real chain saws blazing. My nephew told a couple of them out loud that that was a waste of gas. Again they weren't amused. At a few different points you couldn't see where the hell you were going, so my nephew had his cell phone out for light. A woman who was one of the "ghouls" told him "Come on, put the cell phone away". My wife then gave her a smart ass comment that I don't exactly remember. Anyway, this was a waste of our time and money. After we were done a couple of guys asked us how it was and I told them exactly how bad it sucked. They got back in their truck and left. At least I saved them some cash.

One Of The Best Movie Scenes Ever

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Psycho Ward Haunted House


Tomorrow is my daughter's birthday. One of the many things that will be going on tomorrow is a trip to the Psycho Ward Haunted House. As much as I like horror and gore and scary crap these types of attractions just don't float my boat. I've never bothered going to one because I just figure it will be lame and I'll just laugh at the cheeziness of the whole spectacle. My wife and daughter go to these haunted houses every year. I generally stay home and watch the Stars play hockey. I'm really not expecting much from this trip except to laugh at a bunch of retards trying their best to scare me. I have nerves of steel, so I doubt if I'll even flinch. Not like I'm trying to sound like a badass because remember I'm a straight up Nancy boy when I see a praying mantis. I do hope hope I at least jump a few times, but I doubt it. If they had a room full of praying mantis' I'd run out of the place at full speed.

Psycho Ward

Thursday, October 16, 2008

A Couple Of Things That Creeped Me Out When I was Really Young


I skipped a day of blogging due to a Stars game that I stayed up to watch. Funny yet not so funny story tonight...I record all of the Stars games and watch them when I get home from work. I make my dinner and sit down to watch the Stars game. I grab my remote and try to change the channel. My game was over, but still recording a black out screen. Retarded I know. Anyway my screen freezes up, and then I finally get the channel to change. I then go to my list to find my recorded game. It was nowhere to be seen. I was sooooooooooo pissed off. Obviously something went screwy when the screen froze thus deleting my game. Right away I say fuck it and check out the NHL Network for the scores. Dallas lost tonight 6-1 to the Blues. That deletion saved me 2 1/2 hours of not having to watch my team get their asses kicked. Now on to things that creeped me out when I was really young.

When I was about 5 years old I was staying over at my Grandma and Grandpa's house. My Aunt decided to take me on a walk down the street. A few houses down the road sat this really old man in a chair on the side of the road. This guy for some reason was just really creepy. He stared at us the whole time we were walking towards him. He had this kinda mean expression on his face and his eyes looked like they were void of any type of feeling. I can remember nervously saying hi to the old guy, but he never said a word back to me. It was almost like the guy was a ghost. I'm not saying he was, but there was just something really scary about this guy. Put it this way that happened some 31 years ago, and I still haven't forgotten it. He actually reminds me of that old guy in Poltergeist 2. I'm not even kidding.

Now a couple of really stupid things that scared me when I was right around 4 or 5 years old. Anyone remember the song "Fire" from The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown? Well, I remember hearing that song and seeing him perform it on some television show and it scared the crap out of me. I'll post the video at the end of this blog of that performance.

Last, but not least the most retarded thing that creeped me out was the wicked witch from the Wizard Of Oz. She was probably the first real monster type thing I had ever seen. It was a total mind fuck to see her when I was just 4 years old. Over the years when The Wizard Of Oz would play on television my mom would always tease me about it. HaHa That's just one of the many reasons why my mom scarred me for life.

The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown "Fire" He wore corpse paint before all of those cool black metal cats.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

My Top 5 Stephen King Books


Let me start off by saying that I really don't read many books. I have read many Stephen King books though. The first Stephen King book I ever read was Misery. That was back in early 1991. I borrowed it from my then and still significant other. I had already seen the movie which I thought was really good. The book was even better. From that point on I vowed not to watch a King movie based on one of his books untill I read the book first. I think the one thing that I love about King's book is his attention to detail. His character developement is top notch, and keeps me interested all the way through his tales of terror.

Here is my top 5 Stephen King books in no particular order.

1) Gerald's Game
2) Misery
3) Needful Things
4) Dreamcatcher
5) The Green Mile

After agonizing over this top 5 I realize that I should have made it a top 10. Oh well....

Monday, October 13, 2008

Top 5 Worst Horror Movie Sequels


There have been some really bad ones. Here are the ones that to me are the worst.

1) Exorcist 2: The Heretic (To this day I still haven't made it through the entire movie.)

2) Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (Yeah, I know that there were some bad sequels before this one, but this one stooped to new lows. It was more of a comedy than a horror flick.)

3) Halloween III - Season of the Witch (I can still remember people freaking out about this having nothing at all to do with Michael Myers. A mask company that makes masks that will kill children? Seriously?)

4) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (THis was so bad I should be ashamed to say I watched it.)

5) Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (A lame attempt at cashing in on the success of the original movie. I seem to remember a couple of nice boobie shots in this movie. When that's all I can remember you know it was bad.)

Jason Takes Manhattan Movie Trailer

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Dead Space


This survival horror game has been on my radar for a while now. Part of me says buy it. Part of me says wait to buy it. This is the time of year where tons of great triple A games are being released. At 60 bucks a pop gamers wallets are going to take a hit. With Fable 2 coming out next week and Fallout 3 coming out the week after that it's not only about money, but time as well.

After seeing the video review for Dead Space over at IGN.com I'm really wanting to play this. The gore factor looks outrageous. The aliens look incredibly awesome. Combine that with a story that's supposed to be really good and it looks like we've got ourselves a game. It's been a while since I've played a really good survival horror game. The last two I've played were Condemned and Condemned 2. Condemned 2 really just didn't do it for me due to lousy controls. I guess the only downside to this game is that there isn't any co-op or multiplayer modes. This may end up being one of those games where I just wait for it to hit the $40.00 price range in the used section of my local GameStop. At this point I'm undecided, but I'll definitely pick this up at some point. Right now this game is at a disadvantage because of other titles that I want more being released very soon.

Watch The IGN Dead Space Review

Friday, October 10, 2008

Top 5 Worst Things To Find In Your Trick Or Treat Bag


Most people handing out candy on Halloween got it right, but there were also those numbskulls who got it so so wrong!

1) Raisins (Raisins? Seriously? I think it was mostly old people who handed out those small boxes of raisins. I know old people are out of touch, but damn.)

2) Apples (First of all kids don't want an apple when they go out on Halloween. Second of all it's so easy to stick needles in these things.)

3) Loose Change (Kids don't want nickels and pennies in their bags. Dollar bills would be ok though.)

4) Tooth Brushes (Is this just a slap in the face or what?)

5) Mary Jane Candy (These things are just horrible. I think I only ever ate one of these and that was when I was really young and didn't know any better. This might be the worst candy ever created.)
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On a totally unrelated note check out Geekologie. I just happened to find it while surfing the net. There are some really cool things on this blog that you may enjoy.

Bert & Ernie like you've never seen them before !!!NSFW!!!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Best Survival Horror Game Ever


I've played just about every Resident Evil game there is. Some are clearly better than others. Part of the scare factor in the earlier RE games was the not so great combat. It was just a pain in the ass to kill the monsters in those earlier games. Factor in something jumping through a window while you're character is walking down a dark hall with creepy music playing and then trying to kill that creature with not so responsive controls. It's a scary ordeal. Later on in the series they finally got it right with Resident Evil 4. I've played a shit ton of games over the years, and this one is still one of my favorite games of all time. I'd say it's easily in my top 5. Hell, it's probably in my top 3. It's that damn good. The contols are spot on, and it's still a creepy game. They did a great job with "zombies" that are trying to kill you as well. One monster in particular always gave me fits. That monster being the bastard with a potato sack over it's head wielding a chainsaw. I can't tell you how many times those bastards lopped off my head. RE4 is just one of those games that I had to keep playing and finish. If you are at all into shooters or horror or both you owe it to yourself to play RE4.

One of my favorite Halloween songs.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Pumpkin Art

I know a certain individual who would get all excited if he saw this blog entry. HaHa!















Tuesday, October 7, 2008

My Top 5 Candy Bars


I rarely eat candy bars anymore. They are just plain bad for you. They are full of sugar and saturated fats. Some even contain trans fat which I try to stay away from. These days when I grab a candy bar at the store it's a Payday. They taste great, and probably contain the least amount of fat. Man, do I sound like health nerd or what? The following are candy bars I'd like to find in my trick or treat bag.

1) Chocolate Payday (They're back! They made these in the 80's, and then they disappeared for years. These are heavenly!)

2) Caramello (Cadbury knows how to make some awesome chocolate candy! Can you say Creme Eggs?)

3) Heath Bar (I love Heath Bars, but I wish they were bigger.)

4) Zero (Zero bars are so unique. An old friend of mine loves these things. I like em too mostly because they are so different from all of the other candy bars out there.)

5) 100 Grand (I haven't had one of these in a long time, but I remember eating tons of them when I was a kid.)

Games I'm Playing:

Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)







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Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
I'm 38. I'm addicted to Xbox 360 gaming and Dallas Stars hockey. I make a decent living at a boring job where I run two autoclaves and do various other tasks. My escape from this boring as hell life is video games, hockey, and music. I generally listen to Metal music, but I also love 80's tunes as well as 70's tunes. I have an unusual love for the band Overkill. They do it for me for some reason. Blitz is GOD!

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