The Games: Rez HD
Xbox Live Arcade is one of those things that you appreciate, but hardly ever use. Yes, they release some amazing games, like Puzzle Quest, Street Fighter Puzzle, Geometry Wars, and etc. But most of the games on the Arcade lack the depth of stronger and more expensive retail games. And almost all of them are remakes of games from years past. However, Rez HD is this rare beast that completely destroys the competition, and makes retail games with all the hype and flash seem pale and boring in comparison.
Rez HD is the High Definition remake of Rez, the Dreamcast classic. The original Rez was hard to find for some, even though it got amazing reviews. This new version has all the power and class of the original, with HD flare and 5.1 flash, with bonus extras! (more…)
Quantum of Solace
I’ve always liked the new James Bond. It is the proper answer to the Jason Bourne and his wonderful movies. But I’ve always been concerned with how much the old Bond concepts interfere with this new world. Bond still is getting the girl, still being insane, still not following orders. What I do like is the lack of gadgets. This bond would rather punch you in the face, rather than drill a hole with a laser. Watch the trailer, children…
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The Games: Ninja Gaiden 2 Review
You might not know this, but gamers have a certain, unspoken code. We enjoy doing better than others. At the core, that is why we play games. We want to achieve more than other people. We compete. We want to crush our opponents to the dust and raise our high scores up in the air with overwhelming pride. Sometimes, that causes us gamers to be a bit masochistic. Hence, why I love and hate Ninja Gaiden 2.
The original Ninja Gaiden (not the old school Nintendo game, the Xbox version) is concerned to be the hardest game ever. Ever. I never finished the first one. I had a bad save, had absolutely no health, and a 3-story tall monster made of bone coming at me. I turned off my box and read comic books instead.
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Nightlife: New bar on the block Edition
Human beings are creatures of habit. We do things that we like, over and over and over again. It isn’t so much hedonistic as it is just lazy. Why try something new when I’m perfectly happy doing what I’m doing? For example, my typical diet is frozen pizzas, pop tarts and/or chocolate chip ice cream. In a pinch, I might eat a bag of microwave popcorn as a meal. My digestive system can process steel I-beams, homey.
Our habits are on my brain recently because of the influx of new drinking establishments that have pervaded the Port City recently. These places have the advantage of being new and hip. But they are at a disadvantage because they don’t have a part of the community’s mindshare. We don’t know about these new bars, and aren’t too concerned with them. That is why new bars have such a short lifespan. There is no guarantee that a new place is going to be any better than our old standbys.
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The Games: Ninja Gaiden 2 End Boss
So, I’m battling my way through Ninja Gaiden 2 when I come across this guy. He is the second to the final boss of the game. I haven’t beaten him yet. I have watched the video of this guy beating him. But the game he’s playing must be different than the game I’m playing. The monster punches me a lot. And does other horrible things. Oh. And notice how this guy has power-ups. Yeah, I don’t have any. I like the game. But I like the game when it isn’t almost impossible. Do I continue to play though it? Even though I know I won’t beat this guy? Or do I struggle on, damned and determined to beat this boss? Yes. This is the biggest problem in my life right now. Be jealous.
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The Movies: The Incredible Hulk
A lot of us were burned by the first Hulk movie. We thought we were getting something amazing. Ang Lee is a great director. But, I think something has to be said about a Foreign director directing something horribly American. I wouldn’t want Speilberg to direct a kung-fu movie. He wouldn’t know the first thing about it. But Ang Lee can do it anytime he wants. That’s why this new Hulk fits, and works. Some places it falls apart. But others, we get the sense that the movie is working on the proper levels. But, those proper levels might be the root of a larger problem cooking under the service. SPOILER ALERT! I’ll be ruining the movie after the break. (more…)
The Games: Otogi
It always frustrates me when an amazing game receives absolutely no love. Not only is it frustrating, but it’s not fair. There are thousands of games a person should play. But there are a select few that people need to play. Otogi: Myth of Demons is one of these games.
You’ve probably never heard of this game before, which is ridiculous. Developed by From Software, Otogi is about an undead warrior that is sent back to Earth to kill demons released from a broken seal. The demons roam Japan, wrecking the world. Your job is to go from village to village, cleansing the land of these demons. The more you kill, the more weapons you get, the more magic you unlock and the stronger you become. This game has some Role Playing elements in it, but at its heart, Otogi is a button mashing genius. You can string combos the more you hit enemies. And when you unlock the different magical elements, the game play levels up to brilliance. I once got a 300 hit combo. That’s just wonderful.
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The Games: Alone in the Dark
This originally ran at www.starnewsonline.com
When Alone in the Dark was first announced by Atari, you could hear the fan boys roll their eyes. Atari has been plagued by bad games and bad game decisions. And developer Eden was taking on some fierce competition. Silent Hill and Resident Evil Games have always been a gamer’s go-to source for horror gaming entertainment. Recently, Atari allowed game journalists to play some of the game and get a feel for what they can expect later this June. And, judging from a video interview on 1up.com and a walkthrough session by Joystiq’s Andrew Yoon, this could really be a triple-A game title and contender for game of the year.
Alone in the Dark is about a guy caught in the middle of a supernatural disaster, with zombies attacking him and everything on fire. So, you can sort of imagine what the game is going to be like. Zombies coming after you. You have to kill them. Blah, blah, blah. The twist, and where Alone in the Dark could be successful, is the game play. (more…)
The Comics: Fell
Warren Ellis is a strange guy. But he is always consistent, and actually pretty morally aware of the world. His “Fell” series is a good example of this. Detective Rich Fell is shipped off to a really bad part of a city, nicknamed “Snowtown”. It is your basic urban hell, ran rampant with lawlessness and backwash. Pretty much the section of a city that has been given up on. Fell is smarter than most, and he knows it. That makes for some really interesting reading, watching how Fell solves crimes, gets the bad guys to give them selves up, etc. The book does get a bit repetitive, over time. Towards the end, I was getting tired of Fell just being mister awesome cop. I was more ready to see him in another light. That is the one-trick part of Warren Ellis. His characters are what they do, not who they are. And, I actually like Ben Templesmith’s art in this. Most time I’m grossed out, but in this I find his humor and his story telling actually very on point. It is a must-read for Warren Ellis fans. Regular people should give it a try, too.
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Nightlife: Hungover Edition
When you are perusing this, dear reader, my birthday would have came and went. My age and cumulating years is a concern for me and a common topic for this column. I can’t stop the passage of time. I can complain about it and act like I’m twenty, swarming around the town like an moron and spending my paycheck on top shelf vodka like Grey Goose, Skye, and Absolut. My real, true friends.
There is a price to be paid for 3 am kamikaze shots and finishing a six-pack when the sun is rising. The enemy of the workingman: The Hangover. Drink too much and the next morning you’ll have headaches, upset stomach, body aches, hot flashes, cold chills, light headiness and an all around horrible disposition. There are ways to ease your pain, your suffering, your just bad social decisions. I’m here to help you. That’s what kind of guy I am.
We keep forgetting that alcohol is a drug. It isn’t meant to be in our bodies, and when it gets in there the body wants to push it out. Normally, if you drink one beer, the body can metabolize the toxins and you’ll be fine. But who has one beer? Once you get over the limit of our bodies abilities, the toxins attack. Acetaldehyde? It’s the byproduct of the breaking down. That’s what makes your stomach hurt and your muscles ache. The headache? That comes from dehydration. The body needs water for stuff, I guess, like processing alcohol in the liver and kidney. Booze is a diuretic. You can’t process anything if you keep peeing it out. That’s why your back hurts after a power night at Slick and Red’s. That’s your kidneys complaining. And that’s why your head hurts. Cause you’re an idiot.
Jarvis Slacks
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