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2009-07-26T08:29:00.001-04:00

Here's an update.

Review - Rainbow Six Vegas 2

2008-03-28T18:30:00.003-04:00

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the first Rainbow Six game I have ever played. A large complaint about the game seems to be that it is too similar to the first game. Seeing as I never played the first game I can't say that the game is identical to the first. What I can say, however, is the game never quite shakes the feeling of being something you've felt like you've played before. However, clever cover mechanics and good team mechanics (for the most part) give what would be an average game a layer of engaging individuality.

The story is typical of all Tom Clancy games. If you pay attention to every little detail of the game, you can probably deduce exactly what's going on and why you're on the missions you're on. Most of the time is spent killing terrorists because you were told to. However, a strong story isn't the reason to play any Tom Clancy game. It's the strategic and robust gameplay that draws you in. In most areas, RSV2 delivers on this note.

When your teammate's respond to what is going on, the game is extremely fun. In most cases, they do. But there are many times where the AI goes haywire to the point where basic things such as trying to get them to stop blocking a doorway become a difficult and aggravating task. But for the most part, the AI in the game works. It's not the best, but your teammates usually will be able to go in a room and take everyone out, provided you support cover.

Where the game truly flourishes is when you're surrounded by terrorists and the only thing keeping you from immediate death is a small slab of concrete. This is when using your team wisely becomes essential. The game does an extremely good job of providing a very heroic feel to every fire fight. Many instances feel like they could very easily be implemented in an action movie. These moments are when the games shine. Hiding behind a door, and popping out for half a second to quickly take down a turret gunner is an immensely satisfying feeling. However, these moments are all too often disrupted by a struggling framerate.

It seems like every game released using the Unreal 3 engine has issues. Some worse than others. Far too often RSV2 feels like it should have spent another month or so being tested and debugged. The single player campaign gets hit hardest. The game is supposed to run at 30 frames per second, but having the game maintain that framerate is a rarity whenever you are in combat. The game can slow down to the point where it feels like you're watching a slideshow rather than watching a movie. One thing I did notice, however, is that the problem seems to let up the farther you get in the single player game. Framerate drops were so frequent at the beginning of the game that I almost stopped playing. If you give the game a chance though, and make it past the third act, the game gets better. The slowdown still exists, mind you, but it isn't as bad.

One great element the game contains is its leveling system. You have an experience bar, which can be leveled depending on how you play. There are three categories: Marksman, Close-quarters Combat, and Assault. Rest assured, no matter how you prefer to play the game, you will find your niche in at least one of the categories. Every kill you get, be it offline or online, goes towards your overall experience. The system works really was, as people who prefer to play offline will still be able to build a good character that is ready for combat for if they decide to go online, and vice versa.

The online play feels slightly dated. While it is fun, the game might seem stripped down in some ways to anyone who has played a lot of Call of Duty 4 online. For one, the absence of any type of melee weapon is a big disappointment. Without it, you are essentially an open target any time you reload or if someone catches you off guard. What really keeps the online from flourishing, however, is the lack of importance the cover system has online. Taking cover is crucial to the single player game, both in terms of survivability and enjoyment. More often than not, trying to take advantage of the cover system online will simply get you killed. Taking away the most enjoyable aspect of the game's structure is what really kept the online play from being stellar. Regardless, the vast amounts of gametypes and maps still make for an enjoyable online experience, even though there are better shooters that can be played online.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 never quite shakes the feeling that it is stuck in the past. The gameplay has a lot of major framerate issues, and the lack of standard first person shooter elements, such as melee, keep the game from reaching its full potential. Still, despite all of this, it's hard not to love the game once you sink your teeth into it. The teamwork and cover aspects of the game work remarkably well, and despite its shortcomings, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is a great game.

RSV2 hits 4 sniper shots out of 5

PC Gaming

2008-03-26T20:02:00.003-04:00

What do you think the future holds for PC gaming? To be honest, with WoW aside, I could go the rest of my life and never play a PC game again. I've grown to love consoles so much more than PC, which is crazy. I always thought I would have liked PC best, but I must admit, I prefer the simplicity of consoles.

I think it's rather ridiculous that some people spent hundreds to thousands of dollars upgrading their system to play Crysis. It's crazy that even after those upgrades, no one could run the game with absolutely everything maxed out. I just don't understand where the benefit of spending that much money on something comes from. At the moment, I have a laptop with a 7900 GS (flashed to a GTX and OC'd to 575/1150), an Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5300 @ 1.73 GHz, and 2 gigs of RAM. It's not the best system in the world, but it can handle any game that's thrown at it with decent settings. The thing is, that laptop was $2000. An Xbox 360 is $350 (prices range, but that's the standard model). It's a fraction of the price, yet runs games so much better than my computer.

Take Oblivion, for example. I would have thought that with the power my computer was packing, I could have run Oblivion maxed out and have it go pretty well. That's not the case. While it does run maxed out, the frame rate can chug and the gameplay will stutter. To get the game running smoothly, a lot of the special effects have to be turned off and the graphics have to be toned down. The 360 version, however, looks better, and runs smoother, all on a system that was a fraction of the price. I don't even want to see how my computer would react to something like Crysis being thrown at it.

Another thing that has caused me to greatly prefer consoles is online play. Sure, PC games have been online for ages, but nothing is streamlined like Xbox Live. Getting into games and having fun is usually easy and fast, making a quick match in Call of Duty 4 just a couple button presses away. Now, a lot of PC devotees will say that despite the 360's online set-up, PC gaming is better because it's free and you can use a mouse and keyboard. Yes, it is free. But to me, the $50 a year that Xbox Live costs isn't asking much for the service it provides. As for the mouse and keyboard issue, that's an argument that requires a whole new paragraph.

Yes, a mouse and keyboard is more accurate. However, I believe that that's its biggest strength and weakness. I have never played a first person shooter online on PC and actually enjoyed it. The reason is that are some crazy people out there. I remember back when I tried to play Unreal Tournament 2004 online that it would get to the point where I would die less than a minute after spawning every match. I admit I'm not great with a mouse and keyboard, but I'm not terrible either. There are just some insane people.

The controller may not be as accurate, but it doesn't really matter because it's not like you are using a controller and everyone else is using mouse and keyboard. No, with console games everyone is on an equal playing field with the controller. Controllers are not as crazy accurate as a mouse and keyboard, but they are more accurate than a lot of PC-exclusive players give them credit for. When I play console games online, I usually have a blast. Sure, there are your people who are crazy and take you out pretty easily, but I never get the sense of "holy crap how the hell are they that good?!" that PC games give me. All in all, it's just a more fun experience.

Now, I am not saying PC gaming is going to die out. I'm not saying it should, either. It just isn't for me. Spending thousands of dollars on a gaming peripheral just doesn't make sense to me when I can get the same experience for so much cheaper. If you love the mouse and keyboard set-up, I get why console games would seem retarded. But I'm not a crazy gamer. I can't use the mouse and keyboard like some people can. I can, however, take a controller and go into a game of CoD4 and do just as good, if not better, than most people online. To me, that's fun. But everyone is different. I just don't see the point in spending thousands of dollars on a gaming computer, when you could get the same experience for so much cheaper on a console.

Random interesting things

2008-03-26T05:02:00.004-04:00

I don't know which update to Xfire initiated this, but I just noticed that my Xfire client has been downloading patches to games I own as they are released, without me even knowing. This can be disabled, but I think it's pretty cool. Xfire has apparently already downloaded the new World of Warcraft 2.4.0 patch, which is cool, even if I don't play the game any more. When/if I decide to play again, I won't have to sit through the drudgery of waiting for the countless patches to download and install. All in all, pretty cool.

Also, Microsoft made an interesting announcement today about "Gamerscore Corrections". Essentially, if you have cheated and downloaded a saved game file in order to obtain achievements on a game, your gamerscore will be "corrected." Corrected is used kind of lightly. Your gamerscore will be completely erased, with no potential to ever earn back those achievements. You can unlock future achievements, however, but any previously unlocked achievement is gone forever. To top that off, your Xbox Live profile will be labeled as a cheater, for the entire world to see. So don't cheat.

Top Ten List: My Favorite Villains of All Time

2008-03-25T05:38:00.005-04:00

10. G-Man ("Half-Life" Series) - Before you finish reading this, I will have adjusted my tie, picked up my briefcase, and walked away.

9. Mandark ("Dexter's Laboratory") - I love Dexter's Lab. Mandark was an awesome villain too. He had a trademark laugh, crazy gadgets, and girl obsession - all the essentials to being a trendy bad guy.

8. Lord Zedd ("Mighty Morphing Power Rangers") - Here's the breakdown: he had no skin, his brain was displayed to the world at all times, he wasn't afraid to lay down the law to keep his wife (villain Rita Repulsa) in line, he had a golden armored demon and a talking villainous pig as minions, he rode around in a mechanical dragon the size of the moon, and he spent his life trying to kill a group of high school students, all while being on a show rated TV-Y7.

7. Megatron ("Beast Wars") - The original Transformers television show was long before my time, but I did manage to see Beast Wars, one of the finest pieces of television ever put together. Megatron took the shape of a T-Rex. Not just any T-Rex. We're talking the ass-kicking, baby eating kind. He wasn't afraid to put a gun to the chest to anyone who questioned his orders, or hell, anyone he flat out didn't want to see any more. He ruled.

6. Darth Vader ("Star Wars") - He's big, he's black, he's deadly, he's James Earl Jones. With one of the most recognizable voice acting jobs ever, James Earl Jones helped to make Darth Vader one of the coolest villains to ever be seen in a galaxy far far away. He kicked ass, took names, had breathing difficulties, and wasn't afraid to throw a man into an exploding death star if he tried to hurt his kid. He even murdered both men who trained him in his life (The Emperor and Obi-Wan). You don't fuck with that.

5. The Shark ("Jaws") - Nothing says "holy fuck shit" better than a fin jetting out of water, ripping through waves, heading straight towards you. The few seconds of panic would probably be one of the scariest things that could ever happen to someone. The brutal death that followed wouldn't be too pleasant either. The shark from Jaws made the entire world afraid of the water. That's 70% of the earth. From the iconic fin, to the mass fear he caused, Jaws earns the right to swim his way into the top ten. Corny puns rule.

4. Mojo Jojo ("Powerpuff Girls") - You may be asking why an evil monkey bent on world domination is on the list. Simple: he's an evil monkey bent on world domination. He has a two foot tall brain, to boot. Mojo Jojo was one of the funniest and most unique villains ever created, even if he was a character on a kid's show. I mean, what other villain would level buildings just for hearing someone use improper grammar?

3. Virgil ("Devil May Cry" Series) - The second video game villain to make my list. Virgil is a great foil to Dante. Both demon and human forms were badass in every respect. From his awesome sword to his bitchin hair, he kicked enough ass to open up a tower to Hell and become a full demon. Also he killed Arkham. Arkham was a douchebag.

2. Vicious ("Cowboy Bebop") - He's the only villain on the list who has no super powers, uses no guns, but is still able to go into a room full of men with machine guns and murder them all. His foil, Spike, was the only man who could kill him. This was, of course, after he stabbed Spike, picked him up by the face, and threw him out of a church window. Hell, he even made the opera that was playing during that scene seem badass. Few villains can make opera cool.

1. The Joker ("Batman") - Anyone who knows me could have seen this one coming a mile away. No one is a better villain than the Joker. He's the perfect foil to Batman. He's cheery and whimsical, loves a good joke, but is a psychopathic, albeit genius, murderer. The fact that Mark Hamill played him in Batman: The Animated Series, doesn't hurt either. From his laugh, to his green hair and pale skin, to his purple suit, to his eery laugh, everything about him is what a perfect villain should be. No other villain even comes close to rivaling The Joker.

Not much to write about lately

2008-03-22T16:22:00.003-04:00

Not much has really happened in the gaming industry. I wish I had started this blog last year, when 50 million things happened in the gaming world. I've been working on one huge blog post, which is part of the reason I haven't been updating as often. Once I'm finished with it, I'll publish it, but don't expect that to be for a bit. The other thing that has been keeping me busy is Rainbow Six Vegas 2. It's going to be hard to put into words how I feel about the game, but I'll try.

The game is fun, very fun. But the fun is buried under a mound of problems. The first being the framerate. The story mode walks the line of being completely unplayable at times. I'm talking prolonged periods of about five frames per second. It seems like almost every time there are more than two or three guys on screen at a time, the game begins to chug. Seeing as the average firefight is usually between you and your two partners, and five to ten terrorists, the game slows to a haul quite a bit. However, oddly enough, I've had occurrances where it's been an all out war between my team and ten or more terrorists, and the game has run completely fine. Framerate drops just seem to be very random, but very often.

What is interesting, however, is that none of these problems seem to be anywhere else in the game. I haven't played a lot of online play, but the little I did play ran fine. I've played a bit of terrorist hunt, and even with bodies stacking up, the framerate never dropped to an unreasonable level. It seems like just the story mode could have used a serious bit of refinement.

The other major problem I have with the game is that it just feels stuck in the past. Call of Duty 4 refined and perfect multiplayer gaming with it's clever level system and engaging gameplay. The level system in Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is interesting, but just isn't as interesting or as flashed out. The main reason being that you tend to get some of the best weapons and armor pretty early on. "Elite" is the highest rank you can achieve, but there's no real incentive to work for it. All you get for even becoming Elite are some camos. Nothing major. Also, an even bigger problem is a lack of a melee button. It seems like at this day and age, having some form of physical attack in a first-person shooter is pretty expected. It didn't dawn on me how essential of an addition it is to the gameplay until I played a game without it. I took for granted the amount of times I quickly knifed someone in Call of Duty 4 if they tried to attack me while reloading, or the times I knifed someone in the back so that I could remain stealthed. Without any physical attack in RSV2, you're often left pretty open when reloading, or turning around corners. It's a small addition to the game that makes a huge addition to the gameplay.

Despite all my negativity, the game is still pretty damn great. The cover mechanics work extremely well, and the game has a constant feeling of epicness. In my opinion, it's like what a Die Hard game would be like. It has it's problems, but it's still pretty awesome. However, with some polish and updates, the franchise has potential to be the next greatest thing to happen to first person shooters.

Review: Lost - "Meet Kevin Johnson"

2008-03-22T15:35:00.010-04:00

In what can only be regarded as one of the most obvious "plot twists" Lost has ever pulled, Michael has returned to Lost. This week's episode focused on how he became Kevin Johnson, everyone's favorite deck-swabbing murderer. While the episode lacked any significant relevance to the story, seeing what has become of Michael and how he ended up in his position was surprisingly interesting. Also, the end of the episode had quite a shock that wrapped things up with a cliffhanger.

So how did Michael become Kevin Johnson? If you did not see the episode, it can best be summed up by saying he was pressured into it due to his extreme guilt from killing Libby and Ana-Lucia. It is revealed that he told Walt that he murdered the two, which caused Walt to sever ties with his father and move in with his grandmother. All throughout the episode Michael, in a heavily depressed and guilty state, tries to commit suicide. However, something keeps him from being unable to.

In Michael's flashback, Tom shows up in New York. In case you forgot who Tom was, he tried to hold Bernard, Jin, and Sayid up at gunpoint, only to wind up on the receiving end of a bullet himself. Tom finds Michael and explains to him that he still has work to do, and that the island will not let him kill himself. After Michael realizes this, Tom offers him a job to help clean his conscience of killing Libby and Ana-Lucia. He is to go undercover on Charles Widmore's boat as a spy for Ben, and eventually, kill all those that Ben deems not innocent. Michael agrees, which is how he became the working-class-hero Kevin Johnson.

The end of the episode led to Karl getting shot in the chest while on the way to The Tempest. Don't remember Karl? He is the boyfriend of Alex. Don't remember Alex? She is the daughter of Rousseau. Don't remember Rousseau? She's the French chick. I should also mention that she got shot too, but I highly doubt she's dead. If she is dead, however, she at least had a prety funny death. In the midst of being shot at, she told Alex that she loved her, and that on the count of three they would make a run for it. It really seemed like they might get away, but before she could even stand up she got shot in the back, which leads me to believe she might have had a better chance if she had counted faster.

The best word to describe the episode is "interesting." Nothing significantly relevant happened to the storyline, but Michael's flashback was entertaining. The episode ended with us wanting to know who shot Karl and Rousseau, and why. In some light, it even helped to make Ben seem like less of a villain. I doubt Ben will last long in that light, but it was interesting to see. Hopefully Michael, or Kevin Johnson I should say, has learned his lesson: You don't kill Hurley's girlfriend and not expect janatorial duties.

4 smokey monsters out of 5

A couple mini-reviews

2008-03-15T02:48:00.006-04:00

Spring break has giving me a fantastic chance to rack up some hours playing Brawl, watching Lost, and not doing much else. So on the light of those two, here are two mini-reviews of what I've been doing. From this point on, I'm going to use a 5 point system instead of 10.

Review #1 - Lost: "Ji Yeon"

With the exception of "The Constant," this was the best episode of season 4 so far. It deals with Jin and Sun, and is the first episode to use both a flashback and a flashforward in the same episode. The episode may not have been the most information filled, but it wasn't aiming to be. It was structured extremely well around creating an emotional story about Jin and Sun. By the end, I was choked up.

Of course, saying that it wasn't the most information filled episode this season does not mean that nothing relevant to the story happened. Michael has returned, under the pseudonym of Kevin Johnson. The confrontation between Sayid and Michael when they are reacquainted was one of the best parts of the episode. Little dialogue was
spoken, but the tension between the two could have been cut with a knife, or in Michael's case, shot with a gun while in search of his boy.

If you missed the episode, head on over to abc.com. It was full of shocking moments, and even more full of tear jerkers. The end result was a phenomenal episode that left the audience on the edge of the seat, waiting for next week's episode (especially since someone is slated to die next week).

"Ji Yeon" gets 4.5 smokey monsters out of 5

Review #2 - Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The original Super Smash Bros. laid the groundwork to an amazing franchise. It didn't have the most fleshed out presentation, but the core mechanics worked wondrously well. It's sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee, expanded on the original game in every department, but suffered many character balancing issues. The newest installment, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, is everything the franchise needed. Every character is completely balanced, the presentation is phenomenal, and the core gameplay is more fun than it has ever been.

Subspace Emissary, the single player mode of the game, works surprisingly well. It is lengthy, nostalgic, and for the most part, an absolute blast. However, the multiplayer is where the game truly shines. Every character is an absolute blast to play. Seeing as there are over 30 characters, that's pretty impressive. Everything about the game is over the top and amazing. From the soundtrack, graphics, gameplay, and presentation, every area has been refined to perfection.

Ultimately, the shortcomings of the game are extremely minor when the game is looked at as a whole. Some levels of the Subspace Emissary could have definitely been removed. The online play, despite working well, isn't a major selling point for the game. This is a game you want to get your friends together in one room and play until everyone is screaming, throwing fits, throwing fists, making death threats, and having an all out blast. If you have that group of friends, this is one of the best games released in years.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl earns the highest ranking, 5 out of 5.

Been Brawlin'

2008-03-10T15:08:00.002-04:00

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is finally here. I went with a group of friends to the midnight launch, and someone awesome got it for me as a gift and wow, it is amazing. I really wasn't expecting much from the game, but it packs quite a punch. It is true that it doesn't offer much in terms of evolution of the gameplay, but the sheer volume of content that has been added to the game, along with the new characters, make it feel like a very fresh and welcomed change.

The first thing I noticed about the game was the change in it's engine. Anyone who played a lot of Melee will probably notice that this game's pacing is different. At first, I wasn't a fan, but as I stuck with it I really grew to like it. The characters are very balanced, but once you get the hang of your favorite character, the gameplay all just seems to flow. Linking together big combos has never been quite as fluid. It's a game that a hardcore SSB fan can play with a newcomer, and both can walk away having a good time.

That's not to say there's not room to master the game, however. The characters are balanced very well, but if enough time is spent with the game, each can be mastered and used devastatingly. The balanced characters are perfect for newcomers to the series, but the room for improvement makes the game truly addictive to those who knew every tip and trick to Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Another thing I noticed right off is that, due to balancing issues, some series favorites have been changed a little bit. My old favorite, Fox, plays slower, and some of his moves are not as powerful. He is still a good character though, he's just more balanced. Your favorite character from before is still probably going to be your favorite character now, unless you convert to one of the new characters...which brings me to my next point.

The new characters are freaking amazing. I've been wanting Diddy Kong since the first game. To finally have him in game makes me more nostalgic than any game has made me in quite a bit. The other characters are completely awesome too. One of the most unique has to be Snake. He's difficult to play, but I can see him as being extremely rewarding if you master him. Most of his attacks revolve around range, which makes him a very unique addition.

Graphically, the game looks good. The backgrounds are extremely detailed, to the point where they can be distracting at times. The characters look detailed and polished as well. The best part, in my opinion, is that the game runs at a constant 60 frames per second and it doesn't drop. 60 frames per second = godly.

The music in the game hits home on a nostalgia level. Don't get me wrong, it sounds fantastic, but what is going to leave you impressed about the music isn't its quality, its the sheer volumes of songs included. The most random Nintendo songs you could think of are included in the game. These range from the original Donkey Kong theme all the way to the Wii Sports theme music. It's goofy, but at the same time, it adds this really fun and playful element to the game that will bring back a lot of good memories to anyone whose been long-time Nintendo fan.

I could keep talking, but not enough could be said about the lengths Nintendo went to to deliver such a stellar package. The final smashes are extremely fun. The level designer is awesome. The new characters are a blast. Subspace Emissary is unique and fun. The game is all around stunning and well done. Albeit, if you didn't like the previous entries in the series, it's really unlikely this game will change your mind. But if you love Super Smash Bros., this game is epic. I give it two thumbs up, and highly recommend it.

Review: Lost - "The Other Woman"

2008-03-07T23:15:00.005-05:00

As with all of my reviews, this review contains spoilers.

This week's episode of Lost was not as epic as last week's episode, but it was good. It dealt with Juliet and her backstory with Ben and Goodwin (if you don't remember Goodwin, he was one of the Others that was sent to spy on the tail-section survivors. He was killed by Ana-Lucia). Another key issue in the episode was the disappearance of Daniel and Charlotte. Here is a recap of the most important parts of the episode. I'm not going to cover everything that happened, so head on over to abc's website to see the episode in full.

Daniel and Charlotte have disappeared overnight, causing a lot of confusion and contempt towards them. Juliet's old therapist appears out of nowhere, informs Juliet that Charlotte and Daniel have gone to The Tempest, to release a gas that will kill everyone on the island. Then, without a second glance, the therapist was gone. Despite her quick disappearance, however, she was around long enough to establish herself as a bitch.

Charlotte and Daniel run into Kate on their way to The Tempest. Charlotte makes up a story about why they are in the jungle, but Kate immediately questions their motives. Charlotte realizes this, and knocks Kate out. Go Charlotte.

Now we switch over to Locke. Sick of making no progress with Ben, he talks to him. They make a deal: if Ben tells Locke the information Locke wants, then Locke will grant Ben more freedom. Ben takes Locke to his house and shows him a video. The video reveals that Charles Widmore is the owner of the freighter, and that he will apparently murder anyone who defies him. Locke tells Ben that he still wants to know who his spy is on the freighter, but before Ben can answer, the scene changes, in classic Lost style.

Back to Jack and Juliet. They find Kate just waking up, and Juliet offers to go get her water. Kate tells Jack that Charlotte and Daniel had gas masks. Jack calls out for Juliet, only to realize that she has ran off and abandoned Jack and Kate.

At The Tempest, we see Daniel typing commands into a computer. Juliet shows up and points a gun to his head, but Daniel reveals that he is not trying to kill anyone. Instead, Ben is trying to use the gas as a weapon, and Daniel is simply trying to render it inert. Charlotte then comes up behind Juliet and attacks her, and the two fight while Daniel continues typing into the computer. Finally, right before the gas is about to go off, Daniel stops it, which causes Juliet to believe him and trust him and Charlotte. Jack and Kate catch up to them, and Jack wants to know what is going on with Juliet. Juliet tells Jack that if he stays around her, Ben will kill him, because Ben thinks that Juliet is his own, and he knows that she has feelings for Jack. Jack then kisses her and says that Ben will know where to find him.

The episode ends with Sawyer and Hurley playing horseshoes, only to see Ben come out of his house, walking freely. Sawyer demands to know why he is out roaming, but Ben merely responds that he will see them at dinner.

This was the first episode in a while to use a flashback. It dealt with Juliet coming to the island and meeting her therapist, Harper. The two don't quite hit it off, and small feelings of tension develop between the two. Juliet then meets Goodwin, and they become friends quickly. We find out that Harper is Goodwin's wife, and that Juliet and Goodwin have been having an affair. Harper finds out, and confronts Juliet, ultimately telling her that she needs to end the relationship with Goodwin, or there will be consequences with Ben. We then fast-forward to the day Oceanic 815 crashed. Ben told Goodwin to go to the tail section, knowing that he would not survive. After he has been confirmed dead, Ben takes Juliet to his corpse, and tells Juliet that she is his.

End recap.

The episode did a fantastic job of revealing a more sympathetic side to Juliet, as well as portraying her as a very likable character. In contrast with the "Eggtown" episode, this episode actually left me liking Juliet a whole lot more. At this point, she is one of my favorite characters. It also established Ben as an even more diabolical, yet ingenious villain.

We still do not know much about who Charles Widmore is, aside from being Penny's dad, but he's becoming more and more a central part of the show. Hopefully, before too long, we will get to see who he is.

All in all, the episode was pretty good. It let us know more about who the people on the freighter are, but we still do not know why they are trying to wage war against Ben. Ben has been established as an evil mastermind, and at this point, it seems likely that he would kill everyone on the island if he had to.

If there was any area of complaint about the episode, it felt like not enough happened. In comparison to last week's episode, no major answers were given, and the flashback subplot, while very emotional, was not very exciting. Still, a good episode overall.

8 smokey monsters out of 10.

Overdue Update

2008-03-06T23:24:00.006-05:00

It has been entirely too long since I've posted anything here. However, I just finished my last class before spring break, so now I can officially relax. It feels good.

So what is new in the world? The site is finally fully functional. No longer do you need to type in the "www" when trying to get to the site. That pretty much made my day, as sad as that may be. Also, due to class, I missed Lost tonight. It will be on abc.com by tomorrow though, so for now, I shall play an epic match of the waiting game. I hope I win.

So a lot has happened in gaming news. First, at the time of writing this, Super Smash Bros Brawl has a Metacritic score of 96. I've been teeter-tottering on getting the game, but it seems pretty solid, so I'll pick it up. I know a lot of people would probably want me dead for even debating whether the game is worthy of purchase, but in my defense, the game looks quite a bit like Melee. I realize it's a sequel, but I played the hell out of Melee. I played it to the point where I got sick of the game. That feeling is what's keeping me from being super enthused on picking it up. I'm sure it will be epic though.

In completely epic news, Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis announced that they have started a new site today, called Giant Bomb (dot com). At the moment, it's pretty much a blog, however Jeff Gerstmann went on X-Play and talked about how, by summer, it's going to be a fully functional game review site. I'm insanely excited about this news. Jeff Gerstmann, Ryan Davis, Greg Kasavin, and Alex Navarro were all four my favorite personalities from Gamespot. Greg left to develop games, Jeff was fired, and Alex and Ryan left due to Jeff's firing. It was a pretty sad year for what was once my favorite site. However, hearing that a new site is coming with half of my favorite team from Gamespot is incredibly exciting. It hasn't been confirmed, but it seems strongly hinted at that Alex Navarro will be in some way, shape, or form, part of the site as well. It's pretty awesome.

In non-gaming news, I got a copy of the "Return of the Dark Knight" Batman comic, written by Frank Miller. I've heard that it's supposed to be great, and what I've read so far does not disappoint. I've read about a fourth of the entire comic, and it is interesting the way plot moves and is transitioned through Bruce Wayne's thoughts and memories. It's hard to explain, but it is a very unique way of telling a story, and it's a testament to Frank Miller's story telling abilities. Being inside Batman's head as he takes down a mob of murderers is awesome.

So that's all for tonight. It'd been entirely too long since I had updated. But spring break is here, and more shall come.

Wow, school

2008-03-02T07:16:00.006-05:00

One week. One week away from spring break. College has been killing me. There's always something huge to do. Finish one giant assignment and then move on to the next. One thing's for sure, I need spring break. My sleep schedule is crazier than it has ever been (I went to bed at 5 PM yesterday and woke up at about 6:30). It does feel good to be doing something though, and not just waisting the day every day. But man, a break is going to feel amazing.

Tonight's Lost

2008-02-28T22:26:00.003-05:00

You know, it's easy to point out all the things something does wrong. That's why writing a review of something bad always seems to be easier than something that was truly magnificent. In my opinion, it's because when something does everything perfectly, it's just too hard to evaluate what made the experience so great. It is something that must be seen instead of read about. That's how I feel about tonight's Lost. I'm not going to recap tonight's episode. If you missed it, it will be posted on abc.com by Friday morning. If you are a fan of the show, this episode needs to be seen, and not recapped.

Tonight's episode did everything right. It filled in a lot of major information about what's going on, and it had an extremely good side story with Desmond. That's all I'm going to say about it. Make sure to watch it, it was one of the best episodes of Lost ever made.

I give it 10 smokey monsters out of 10.

Review: Devil May Cry 4

2008-02-26T23:50:00.005-05:00

Capcom's long running Devil May Cry series has always held a special place in my heart. The first DMC game was breathtaking. The second was not as stellar. The third game, however, is one of my favorite games of all time. Devil May Cry 4 lives up to the expectations that the third installment set, and is a worthy successor in the series.

I was skeptical when I heard that Dante would not be the main character this time around. He gets 7 missions in the story mode, but the game's main focus is on the newcomer Nero. However, by the third mission in the game, Nero had already proven to be an exemplary new character. His witty yet serious sense of humor, combined with his love for Kyrie, create a very dynamic character that is one of the best the series has ever introduced.

In terms of gameplay, Nero is reminiscent of Devil May Cry 1 Dante. What makes him shine though is his Devil Bringer arm. The demonic arm allows for creating of very unique attacks, ranging from simple grab moves that bring an enemy towards you, all the way to a move where you take a knight's lance and shove it through his stomach. Nero also has a new attack system known as the Exceed system. This essentially allows Nero to rev up his sword like a motorcycle and use more powerful sword attacks. It's an interesting system that becomes very handy the more you level it up. As cool as the new additions to Nero are, it would have been nice to see them more fleshed out. The Devil Bringer only has a couple (albeit awesome) moves at its arsenal and the Exceed system simply amplifies the damage and look of your core moves. Nero is still an extremely fun character, he just does not seem to have the depth that Dante has.

Capcom has done a major overhaul in how Dante plays. Unlike in Devil May Cry 3, all of Dante's fighting styles can now be switched during combat. This opens up an entire world of new combos at your disposal. Being able to switch between Swordmaster and Gunslinger during the middle of battle makes for some of the most interesting and satisfying combos ever seen in a Devil May Cry game. But for the two steps forward Capcom took with Dante, they manages to take one step back. All of the styles, especially trickster, have been downgraded. Dante can no longer run on walls, step on enemies and shoot them, throw his sword into them and impale them to the ground, or jump on top of a fallen enemy and ride them as if they were a skateboard. The basic moves that were available at level 1 of each style list from Devil May Cry 3 is what you get with each style in 4. Increasing the level of each style simply increases the strength of your attacks with that style (or, in Trickster's case, the distance you dash). However, despite the disappointment in losing some of the best moves from the third game, the ability to change styles during combat more than makes up for it.

Dante also has many new weapons at his arsenal. The Ebony & Ivory pistols, Rebellion sword, and Coyote-A shotgun all make their returns. The rocket launcher and hand to hand melee weapon are back as well, but with every Devil May Cry game, they have new names. The melee weapon is now called Gilgamesh. Aside from the name change, it is the same weapon as it has always been. The rocket launcher is a different story. It is now part of a weapon package known as Pandora. Describing Pandora in a text review is somewhat hard; it is something that must be seen in person. Think of it as a rocket launcher, grenade launcher, laser cannon, deadly boomerang, and a hover tank all in one. Suffice it to say, the guns in the game are exceptional. However, the same thing can not be said about the swords. Rebellion is still a blast to use. Gilgamesh gives you access to the same melee moves as always, so if that's been one of your favorite weapons (it has always been my least favorite) then you will be right at home. The Lucifer is the only truly new melee weapon to the game, and it feels lacking. Attacking with it sticks blades in the enemy, and then you can detonate the blades to cause the enemy to explode. It is a cool effect, but it isn't as damaging as Gilgamesh nor is it as fun to use as the Rebellion. That's not to say it's a bad weapon though. It is very useful in dealing with groups of enemies, and watching demons explode is very amusing. It just is not as fun to use as the Rebellion, Gilgamesh, or Yamato. The Yamato is available when you switch to the Dark Slayer style. It essentially has the same moveset that Vergil had from the special edition of Devil May Cry 3. Using the Yamato in combination with the Rebellion and Pandora proves for some of the most satisfying gameplay that you can get out of the game.

Suffice it to say that no matter which character you choose to use, the experience will be fun. The bosses are very unique and a complete riot, and the levels are all interestingly designed and beautiful to look at. It's just a shame that all of the game's bosses are heavily repeated (you fight most bosses three times) and you have to backtrack through levels previously beaten many times. Backtracking is, at this point, expected from a Devil May Cry game, but the fourth is the only one that has ever really stood out as a problem to me. You spend a good amount of time backtracking through a forest that, quite frankly, is not very fun. The whole area is filled with puzzles that are focused on trial and error, rather than actual skill, and it detracts from the gameplay. However, despite these issues, they are largely overshadowed by the elegant story, adrenaline fueled gameplay, and extraordinary sound effects and voice acting.

Visually, the game is a powerhouse. It's rare for the game to slow down, and it's even more rare to find a place in the game that does not look simply stunning. As tedious as the forest level was to play, it was an absolute delight to look at. Hacking and slashing through demons looks and feels devastating, thanks in no small part to the game's sound design so heavily complimenting the gameplay and visuals. Every demon grunts and groans as the swift sound of your blade or gun tears them apart. The entire experience is purely nostalgic, and makes it one of the best aspects the game has to offer. Determining the best aspect of the game is a hard task, because as amazing as the gameplay is, as stunning as the visuals and sound effects are, the story is just completely over the top and wonderful.

Devil May Cry 3 brought more cinematic sequences to the series than any previous entry had before. It was well written and well told, despite being filled with a lot of cheesy dialogue. Devil May Cry 4 not only has a very deep and emotional story to tell, but the voice work is over the top. Each character portrays their emotions extremely well, which helps create some of the most memorable characters and cutscenes to ever be featured in a Devil May Cry game. Johnny Yong Bosch does an amazing job of bringing Nero to life. Nero's witty jokes are well told, scenes where he explodes with anger are very believable, and his love for Kyrie feels real. The rest of the cast all is voiced excellently as well, Nero just seems to outshine the rest.

From the well told, breathtaking story to the visually immerssive and addictive gameplay, Devil May Cry 4 is a stellar package. Sure Nero could have been more fleshed out, Dante could have retained more of his moves from the third game, and there could have been less repetition, but none of this really matters in the long run because the game is just so far over the top and extraordinary. Devil May Cry 4 is a worthy addition to the series, being a pure blast from start to finish. It is safe to say that Devil May Cry 5 will have some big shoes to fill.

The Good:
-Very addictive, visually stunning gameplay
-A deep, well told story with terrific voice acting
-Nero is an awesome new character
-Fun and well designed enemies and bosses

The Bad:
-Nero feels slightly lacking
-Dante is missing some of his best moves from previous games
-Level and boss repetition gets old

Final score: 9.0/10

Dishwasher Coming to XBLA

2008-02-26T04:58:00.004-05:00

Or so says wikipedia. I'm pretty stoked. Maybe more XNA games will come to XBLA. Right now though, all I care about is playing the Dishwasher. The rest of the games on XNA seemed trivial, but not worth paying money for. Anyways, it looks like Microsoft caught on to its popularity (unless you lie, wikipedia).

If you are reading this and own a 360, you owe it to yourself to buy the game when it comes out. Words can not describe its awesomeness.

One last update: I finished this big paper I had due for my World Religions class, so I will be able to write the DMC4 review tomorrow.

Finished

2008-02-25T17:13:00.000-05:00

I beat Devil May Cry 4. When I catch a break from school I'll write up a review. Here's a preview: it was awesome.

Raisin Bran rocks

2008-02-23T04:58:00.004-05:00

Raisins suck. Bran sucks. Raisin Bran is fucking amazing. I was about to watch an episode of House, so I got a bowl, but its awesomeness inspired me to write a blog about it. Cereal in general rocks. If I met someone who didn't like cereal, I'd probably say to them "Hey pal...wait we aren't pals. Hey dick lord, what's your problem?" Before they could even answer I'd uppercut them.

So in conclusion, cereal rocks, Rasin Bran rocks, if you don't like either, save me some trouble and uppercut yourself.

Lost: "Eggtown" Review

2008-02-22T20:48:00.005-05:00

-This review contains spoilers-

This week's episode of Lost, "Eggtown," focused on Kate and her life in a flash-forward. It had its ups and downs, but ultimately left me feeling a lot of contempt and near-hate towards Kate (this sentence earns two points for rhyming). Here's a quick recap:

Locke has captured Miles and has him held captive. Kate wants to talk to him to see if the rest of the world remembers that she was a criminal and a murderer. After talking to Miles, he tells her that he will answer her questions if he can get a single minute to speak with Ben Linus. Knowing Locke would never allow this, Kate seeks Sawyer's help, who seemingly betrays (however, he turns out to be helping her after all). Anyways, some shit goes down, and Kate's plan works.

Miles talks to Ben and makes some references to the guy he works for, who apparently has been searching for Ben. Miles blackmails Ben, offering to tell his boss that Ben is dead in exchange for $3.2 million. At first Ben mocks Miles, as was to be expected, but nevertheless, he agrees to pay the money.

Locke proceeds to go apeshit. He asks Kate what Miles and Ben talked about, and after she tells them, he tells her to pack her shit and head to the beach. Sawyer, however, offers to protect her. The next morning, however, Sawyer tells her that if she had been pregnant it would have been the worst thing in the world. After proceeding to slap the fuck out of Sawyer, Kate leaves to go back to the beach.

The flash-forward in the episode was Kate's court case after she got back from the island. Jack ends up saving Kate by testifying and lying, claiming she was a hero and that she saved six out of the eight survivors from drowning. The jury sympathizes with this, and Kate gets off on 10 years in-state probation. At the end of the flash-forward, we find out that Kate has Aaron, Claire's son, and she is referring to him as her own child.

The episode had a lot of ups and downs. Some good notes: it continued this season's style of answering more questions than it brings up (which is what the series needs right now). Also the moment when we find out that Desmond and Sayid never made it back to the freighter was intense. Finally, the plot twist at the end, where we find out that Kate has Aaron, was completely shocking.

However, the bad outweighed the good. It seems like the show pretty much wants us to hate Kate. Sawyer has turned into this good guy, but she still treats him like ass. It's getting kind of old, too. Kate and Sawyer either need to get together or stay apart, no more of this "have sex on occasion and then start drama" bullshit.

Speaking of Sawyer becoming such a good guy, this does not bode well for him. Anytime a character has a personality change or revelation, they usually die. Last season Charlie kicked cocaine out of his life, and became a true father figure for Aaron. Then he drowned. Sawyer is my favorite character, and if he is killed off, I'll be pissed.

On the same note of Kate and Sawyer getting old, Jack and Kate is getting old too. The whole "I love you, but am not going to be with you" conflict between the two is played out. Move on and bring in something more interesting.

"Eggtown" was a decent episode overall. While I don't hate Kate, I can certainly understand why those who do hate her do. This episode highlights how useless and interfering she can be, and how much drama she can create. Overall, it was okay. There were no huge questions answered, no huge revelations, and nothing major overall. It almost felt like filler, but there was enough relevant plot twists and information presented to keep it from being so. All in all, Lost can do better.

6.5/10

Microsoft XNA

2008-02-21T23:39:00.007-05:00

If you haven't checked it out yet, Microsoft has just released a bunch of free games that were designed by Xbox players using Microsoft's new XNA software (which can be downloaded here for free). I downloaded the Dishwasher: Dead Samurai demo last night and gave it a spin, and it's amazing. I'd pay $5, $10, or even $15 for it if it went on XBLA...but sadly it won't be.

Microsoft's plan for these games is to make them part of a $50 per four months or $99 per year package deal. Meaning if you want to play any user created games, you'll have to lay down a bejmanin (it's all about the benjamins, after all). You could go the $50 route, but your subscription to the XNA Creator's Club would be for four months, meaning at the end of the year, you'd end up paying $150 if you decide to keep renewing. So essentially, Microsoft is going to be making $100 from every person who wants to play these games.

Now, for developers, $100 is a steal. Getting your name and work out to such a large user base for only $100 a year is like a dream come true. To everyone else, however (myself included), it sucks. I would love to see the user created games go up on XBLA. Hell, The Dishwasher is better than a lot of XBLA games made by corporate developers. If Microsoft was able to work out a marketing system to where the independent developers who create these awesome games could get them licensed and put on XBLA, then I believe Microsoft XNA would be a much better success. As I said, $100 is a bargain for developers, but your average gamer probably isn't going to pay that much just to play a couple games.

I could be wrong though. XNA could be a huge success, and hell, I could even end up paying for it. It's unlikely though. Unless every title released is as good as The Dishwasher, I don't see it being worth it.

And a random note, due to night classes I missed Lost tonight.

Testing

2008-02-21T02:35:00.001-05:00

I bought the domain to www.theloneliestwebsite.com

Woot! Now the nobody that reads this can read it at its own domain!

Fun songs to play on Audio Surf

2008-02-19T17:33:00.005-05:00

Here's a couple songs that are a blast to play in Audio Surf:

-"Fuel" - Metallica
-"Southside" - Moby ft. Gwen Stefani
-The Power Rangers Theme Song
-"The Hand That Feeds" - Nine Inch Nails
-"Looking Up The Sun" - Poets of the Fall
-"The Adventure" - Angels and Airwaves
-"Through the Fire and Flames" - Dragon Force
-"Anthem (We Are The Fire)" - Trivium
-"Prayer of the Refugee" - Rise Against
-"Zombie" - The Cranberries
-"Stronger" - Kanye West
-"How Far We've Come" - Matchbox Twenty
-"The Kids Aren't Alright" - Offspring
-"All My Life" - Foo Fighters
-"One" - Metallica
-"Dream On" - Aerosmith

Unfortunately, my hard drive (which had thousands of songs on it) was recently erased, and I haven't rebuilt my music collection yet. However, all of those songs are extremely fun to play. Feel free to leave comments suggesting any songs and I will add them to the list (I'll also be adding more songs as I play more).

In unrelated news, I'm halfway through DMC4 and it's fucking amazing. I should have no problem making it last until March 9th.

Buy Audio Surf

2008-02-18T05:02:00.002-05:00

It's 5 A.M. I have to get up at 6:30 A.M. Buy Audio Surf.

Useless Thoughts and Ramblings

2008-02-18T00:50:00.005-05:00

I should be busy revising this major paper I have due tomorrow for English 111, but I'm not, so here's some thoughts and ramblings.

First off, after reading Gamespot's preview of Warhammer Online I must say, I'm pretty impressed. I am a big fan of WoW, but a breath of air and change of pace would definitely be nice. However, competing with WoW in terms of scale is going to be really tough. Deciding to get into a MMORPG was a tough decision for me, due to the monthly fees. After playing WoW, I inevitably decided that the customer support was so good and there was so much depth to the game that it was ultimately worth the $15 I shelled out every month. For me to pay any more money monthly for a game, it better deliver a lot.

Warhammer Online sounds like it is shaping up to deliver quite a bit. It has PvE, PvP, and RvR (region versus region combat, something I'm pretty interested in). It even has an auction house and really awesome quest mechanics. However, it is the combination of all of that as well as a lot of other elements that make WoW so popular. Patches keep the game ever evolving, stuff like holiday events add personality and fun to the game and keep it interesting for the casual player, while an extremely deep character customization system and massive amounts of tactical instances keep the hardcore players happy. If Warhammer is going to compete, it needs these elements too. I'm not saying it should rip-off WoW...well actually I am. It pretty much needs to emulate everything WoW does successfully while improving on WoW's weaker aspects (repetitive quests, large amounts of grinding). Also, one huge draw in WoW has for a lot of people is it's scalability. WoW looks good from an artistic stand-point, and can run on pretty much any computer. That's one of the main reasons it has 9 million+ players. Warhammer is shaping up to look great, but whether or not it will scale well is another question. I'm really hoping the game does well though. It has potential, I would just like to see it met.

In other news, in an interview with Alan Flores (lead designer in the Guitar Hero games), he gives insight into what to expect in the next Guitar Hero game. It's respectable that he's trying to bring something new to the table, but honestly, Guitar Hero seems pretty played out to me. It was pretty much a stepping stone to Rock Band (which, if you can afford it, pretty much renders the need for a Guitar Hero game uselss). Flores talks about taking GH in new directions. One of those directions seems to be Guitar Hero Aerosmith. Seriously? Do they realize that Aerosmith hasn't had anything good since the 80s, and that the key demographic for the GH games is 18-24 year olds (meaning the majority of GH players either weren't born or were in elementary school during Aerosmith's golden days). Who is going to buy that? Seriously, who wants a game dedicated to Aerosmith? They aren't a bad band by any means, but their biggest hit was "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" - the theme song for Armageddon, and one of the worst songs ever composed. Not only will that song be included in the game, but 30+ others will be as well. Here is my list of Aerosmith songs I would like to play:

-"Walk This Way"
-"Sweet Emotion"
-"Dream On"

Actually "Dream On" was just released for free over Xbox Live for download in Guitar Hero III, so cross that off the list of songs I'd buy the game for. That leaves two. Out of 30-40 songs, I would want to play two. That's a winner if I've ever seen one. And finally, here is the first screenshot from the game:

At least they did a good job of replicating Steve Tyler's gigantic mouth. His mouth is bigger than the shark's from Jaws. Don't believe me? Look:

I can't tell whose is bigger.

Also, I'm downloading Audio Surf. I'll give a review/update at a later date.

Devil May Cry 4

2008-02-17T00:37:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the loneliest blog in the world. If you are reading this, I thank you for making this site a little less lonely (but at the same time resent you for removing the truth in the site's title).

So I picked up Devil May Cry 4 yesterday (as the blog title just might suggest) and am loving it. New character Nero = awesome. Is he Dante? No. But Dante couldn't be in most of the game due to his full schedule of murdering cult assassins. A lot of reviews have pointed out the game is too similar to its predecessors (I'm looking at you, Xplay), and while this is pretty much true, I don't see why it's a bad thing. It's sort of the "why fix what isn't broken" logic I guess. It's not that DMC4 is at all a rehash, as Nero brings a lot of cool new abilities to the table, but at its core components, the game still follows the steps that DMC and DMC3 (DMC2 was a failure and will not be acknowledged) set.

Basically if you didn't like the previous entries (excluding 2) you won't like this one. But if you are a Devil May Cry fan, the game is fantastic. But Xplay brought up the question of whether or not games need to diversify themselves more from their predecessors in this generation. Personally, I think that no one wants to buy a rehashed game, but at the same time, people buy sequels to games for a reason: they want an experience similar to the first. I think Devil May Cry 4 has done a pretty good job of playing safe and delivering want fans want. It's a much more cinematic adventure (something that, in my opinion, bodes well for the series) with a new character that handles a bit different than Dante, due to the Devil Bringer moveset. Dante is still available at later levels too, so veteran fans won't be disappointed either. I think a lot of games are pushing for innovation these days, and while I'm a fan of games trying something new and pushing the boundaries, majority of games released can't seem to do it right.

The biggest example is the Wii. How many games have really taken advantage of what everyone hoped for when the Wii was announced? I'm still waiting for an awesome first person sword/gun game that really takes advantage of what the Wii could do (fuck you Red Steel). The best game on the Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, barely uses the motion controls. Too many third party developers are using the same generic "shake the wiimote to [insert pointless action]" and calling it "innovating gameplay." That's not innovating. I could think of something more innovating than that:

The game is called "Extreme Rapist: Just Say No!" The premise? Don't get raped. Shake the wiimote to shake your finger left and right signaling to the rapist "No!" and that you mean business. If the rapist doesn't give up, point the wiimote towards the screen to cover your ass and run. It's genius.

In the end, Devil May Cry 4 is a great game, regardless of whether or not it reinvents the series. It diversifies itself from previous entries, but not to the extent where it alienates its former audience. It might be nice to see the next entry into the series go in a new direction, but DMC4 shouldn't be penalized for remaining true to what makes the game a blast to play. In my opinion the formula still feels fresh and is a blast to play, so why change it?

Entry

2008-02-16T23:17:00.001-05:00

It has begun.