I'm gonna build me a castle!

My taste in games has evolved over the years, right along with the evolution of games themselves.  Way back in the mid-1990s when I first really started getting into computer games, there was never a lot of depth.  You ran down a pixelated hallway killing things, and that was pretty much it.  But no one cared about the simplicity, because it was damned fun.  It wasn't until 1994 that the type of games that I love the most started being made -- the Sandbox game.

1994 saw the release of The Elder Scrolls, which was one of the first attempts at creating a 3D open-ended non-linear game world.  It was a modest success, and was improved upon all the way up to the release of Oblivion in 2006.  1997 treated us to both Grand Theft Auto and Fallout, two of the greatest game series of all time, both of which have only improved with each subsequent release.  (Arguable, sure, but in my opinion GTA4 and Fallout 3, the most recent installments in both, are the best games in both.)

The idea of a sandbox game greatly appeals to my playstyle.  There's nothing I enjoy more than diving into a game world where I have no rails, no direction that I *have* to go, and no one thing that I must do first.  Checking my Steam account, I have spent over 20 hours of play-time in Fallout 3 after I finished the main story-line.  All that time was spent exploring all the areas of the map that I hadn't yet discovered, and in doing so I found more quests and so many cool places/people/things. 

I'm bringing all this up because Mafia II is due to be released this summer -- end of August to be exact.  If the game lives up to it's potential, it will earn itself a place in the very elite group of games that have been able to keep my interest in them for over 50 hours of play-time.  Here's hoping.

Whrrrrrrgrrrrrrblllllll

Whrrrrrrgrrrrrrblllllll

If I had to choose a theme song for my life, it would be this song.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyhLDz7_ye0


Not because it encompasses the type of music I like.  Not because it's my favorite song.  But because the lyrics are frighteningly true to my life. 

I just had an idea to help people exercise.  Make it so cell phone batteries had to be recharged just like a Chinese guy on a stationary bike can power his shack.  You want your precious little iPhone or Droid?  Start running, bitch. 

PDComic 009

Well now, this comic I really enjoy.  Senseless violence in a comic is always a favorite of mine. 

Today was interesting, because I went to a Japanese restaurant for lunch.  Call me an uncultured twit, but I’ve never had Japanese food before.  Not the real stuff, anyway — the closest I’ve gotten before today was getting ramen noodles or instant miso soup at the supermarket.  Today though, we decided to head out to this new restaurant that just opened up not far from the office at work.  A place called Saga. 

I was impressed.  The place looked great, and it’s a hibachi restaurant as well, so you can get the whole deal where you watch them cook your food in front of you.  Since we were doing this for lunch during work, we opted to not do the hibachi thing.  But the food was still great.  My lunch consisted of miso soup and tempura chicken, both of which were excellent.  The chicken came with a big onion ring along with a slice of potato, a slice of sweet potato, one large broccoli, a mushroom (all of which were breaded in a batter and fried), and rice. 

I was quite disgusted with myself after I finished it all.

Now playing: The Bravery - Above And Below

So a few weeks ago, it was announced that the entire Dark Tower series would be adapted into a trilogy of films, with Ron Howard directing. 

I'm not sure what to say to that.  Ron Howard makes good movies.  Really good movies.  But The Dark Tower is not the kind of material he usually works with.  He's done work in a completely fantastical setting with his Grinch movie, but that was also a completely uplifting and feel-good movie.  He's also done some dark themes in his Da Vinci Code films, but these are also very realistic movies.  With the Dark Tower, we're talking about a story that crosses many different genres.  No matter who decides to tackle it, it's going to be a challenge for them. 

I'm also not sure what to make of the plan to convert seven books into three films.  I guess I should be thankful for that, though.  I mean, if they decided to do a film for each book, it would take, what, 35 years to complete the project?  If ther are going to be Dark Tower movies, I'd like to see them before I'm ready to retire.  I have issues with how long it takes to make a movie, really, but that's a topic for another day.  (Ten years to make Avatar, James Cameron?  What the fuck?)

It's also reported the Akiva Goldsman will be writing the screenplays for the three Dark Tower films.  This I can get behind.  He wrote both the Da Vinci movies, he wrote Constantine (which is such an underrated film in my opinion), and he writes for the Fringe TV series.  I believe he's got what it takes to write a great adaptation of this series. 

Now, how about getting this shit rolling and enter pre-production already?

PDComic 008

First of all, if I don’t get off my ass and make some new comics, I’m going to run out.  I’ve only got two left in the reserves.  Curses! 

On the bright side, it means I still have a week and a half to rectify this situation, and you get a new comic today, on schedule.  Oh boy. 

One thing I have always commented about when referring to the whole commmunity of World of Warcraft is just how much Blizzard talks to its users.  Honestly, I’ve not seen another MMO (or any game developer for that matter) that communicates so often and offers so many details with their loyal fans.

It’s a double-edged sword, because it leaves you open to a whole shit-storm of complaining about things that are utterly irrevelant, just because the people doing the whining know you’re listening.  Admittedly, Blizzard handles it fairly well.  But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to make fun of it. 

In other news, if you’ve ever heard of a band called Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and are furthermore familiar with their song Red Right Hand, then first allow me to applaud you for having a very unique and broad taste in music that may or may not be similar to mine.  And secondly, allow me to direct you to the cover of Red Right Hand that Arctic Monkeys did.  It’s not bad.  Nice take on a song that I love.

Now playing: Arctic Monkeys - Red Right Hand