Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Damn the man...
I've just confirmed my suspicion that the cosmos is against me. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword are being released nine days apart.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Gamma World
Earth. After the apocalypse. Never mind the radiation—you’re gonna like it here.
In the fall of 2012, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland, embarked on a new series of high-energy experiments. No one knows exactly what they were attempting to do, but a little after 3 P.M. on a Thursday afternoon came the Big Mistake. Something unexpected happened, and in the blink of an eye, many possible universes all condensed into a single reality.
In some of these universes, little had changed; it didn't make a big difference which team won the 2011 Wold Series, for example. In other universes, there were more important divergences: The Gray Emissary, who was carrying gifts of advanced technology, wasn't shot down at Roswell in 1947, the Black Death didn't devastate the known world in the 14th century, the dinosaurs didn't die out, Nikolai Tesla did conquer the world with a robot army, and so on. The Cold War went nuclear in 83 percent of the possible universes, and in 3 percent of the possible universes, the French unloaded their entire nuclear arsenal on the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, because it had to be done. When reality stabilized again, an instant after the Big Mistake, the familiar Earth of the 21st century was replaced by one formed from many different realities.
The year is now 2162 (or 151, or 32,173, or Six Monkey Slap-Slap, depending on your point of view). It's been a hundred and fifty years since the Big Mistake, and the Earth is a very different place. The ruins of the Ancients (that's you and me) litter a landscape of radioactive deserts, mutated jungles, and vast, unexplored wildernesses. Strange new creatures, such as beetles the size of cars and super evolved badgers with Napoleonic complexes, roam the world. The survivors of humanity gather in primitive tribes or huddle in trade towns that rarely rise above the technology of the Dark Ages. Even the nature of humanity is now different, because generations of exposure to radiation, mutagens, and the debris of other realities have transformed humans into a race of mutants who have major physical alterations and potent mental abilities.
This is the world of the D&D Gamma World Roleplaying Game. It's a world of dangerous mutant monsters jungle-grown ruins of the cities of the Ancients, and mysterious artifacts of awesome technology. It's your world to survive, to explore, and to conquer - if you're up to the challenge.
- How's that for an opening to a RPG? Just picked up Gamma World and am getting my mind wrapped around the rules. I loved this game in the past, and am looking forward to trying the new version. More to come in the near future! - Mikey
Friday, October 14, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Sick Sense of Humor...
Every once and a while, something comes along that in some way reminds me that I'm a sick bastard. Case in point being the picture below...
If you get it and it made you giggle, congratulations, you're a sick bastard as well. If you don't get it... it's probably for the best.
If you get it and it made you giggle, congratulations, you're a sick bastard as well. If you don't get it... it's probably for the best.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Monday Morning Quarterback
So, I'm assuming that after reading that title, that most of you will be expecting some in depth analysis of all the football action over the weekend...
Well, you're wrong.
I watched one quarter of football this weekend, only one quarter. I thoroughly enjoyed that quarter though, as I got to see the Detroit Lions finish their comeback against the Dallas Cowboys.
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, with me working midnights, I don't get much of a chance to watch anything that takes place before 4pm. See, I like to sleep in the morning when I get home from work, then wake up in time for my kids to get off the school bus and my wife to get home from work. I found years ago, that even when I have a day off, I feel a lot better if I stick to the same schedule. Sure, I might end up missing some weekend activities that take place in the mornings or early afternoons, but the schedule seems to work well otherwise.
The nice thing about keeping this schedule is that when I do have a day off (night off) after everyone goes to bed I have the entire night to myself. This is "Mikey" time. It's the time when I play video games, watch tv, and basically do whatever the fuck I want.
Recently, I've taken an interest in re-living my youth by playing retro video games. I remember fondly when I received my first NES for my birthday, and spent the entire day playing Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, and Zelda. I explored every inch in those games I could find, several times over. I scoured Nintendo Power mags for cheats and secrets. I quizzed my friends for tips and tricks that would make the games easier. When I finished a game, I'd let a buddy borrow it in exchange for one of his games.
Those were great times...
So, in an effort to relive my youth one more time, I decided to dust off the old NES and replay one of my favorite games of all time... Bionic Commando.
Now, before I go any further, let me explain one thing. I'm an average gamer. I'm good at some games, and bad at others. Within my circle of friends and family, I've had access to just about every possible gaming system that's come out since the first Atari. I say this to you so you'll gain some kind of an understanding of my playing ability and knowledge before I continue on. For example, I recently finished Gears of War 3 on the Xbox. I had a blast running, jumping over half walls, killing tons of Locust and Lambent, reviving my team mates, and basically tearing thru the game on Normal difficulty without much of a problem. Being able to do all of those things, practically at the same time, and make it thru the game with relative ease is typical of my playing experience these days. With the new games being fairly easy, the old games should be a piece of cake right?
Boy, was I wrong.
I died about 4 times in the first 4 minutes of Bionic Commando. I got so upset after about 10 minutes that I had to take a break. I mean, come on, where's the FUCKING JUMP BUTTON?!? I couldn't get the bionic arm to work right, I kept getting knocked off platforms, and once I even swung myself right into a small body of water and died. I was frustrated.
After a little cool down break, I went back to playing. I started getting the controls down, and things started going right. I was on my way to saving Super Joe again, just like I did when I was a kid.
I have to admit that I'm having fun. There are parts of this game I've completely forgotten about, and it's entertaining to see them again. I'll do a complete "retro review" at a later date and fill you all in on the experience. For now though, Super Joe needs me!
Well, you're wrong.
I watched one quarter of football this weekend, only one quarter. I thoroughly enjoyed that quarter though, as I got to see the Detroit Lions finish their comeback against the Dallas Cowboys.
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, with me working midnights, I don't get much of a chance to watch anything that takes place before 4pm. See, I like to sleep in the morning when I get home from work, then wake up in time for my kids to get off the school bus and my wife to get home from work. I found years ago, that even when I have a day off, I feel a lot better if I stick to the same schedule. Sure, I might end up missing some weekend activities that take place in the mornings or early afternoons, but the schedule seems to work well otherwise.
The nice thing about keeping this schedule is that when I do have a day off (night off) after everyone goes to bed I have the entire night to myself. This is "Mikey" time. It's the time when I play video games, watch tv, and basically do whatever the fuck I want.
Recently, I've taken an interest in re-living my youth by playing retro video games. I remember fondly when I received my first NES for my birthday, and spent the entire day playing Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, and Zelda. I explored every inch in those games I could find, several times over. I scoured Nintendo Power mags for cheats and secrets. I quizzed my friends for tips and tricks that would make the games easier. When I finished a game, I'd let a buddy borrow it in exchange for one of his games.
Those were great times...
So, in an effort to relive my youth one more time, I decided to dust off the old NES and replay one of my favorite games of all time... Bionic Commando.
Now, before I go any further, let me explain one thing. I'm an average gamer. I'm good at some games, and bad at others. Within my circle of friends and family, I've had access to just about every possible gaming system that's come out since the first Atari. I say this to you so you'll gain some kind of an understanding of my playing ability and knowledge before I continue on. For example, I recently finished Gears of War 3 on the Xbox. I had a blast running, jumping over half walls, killing tons of Locust and Lambent, reviving my team mates, and basically tearing thru the game on Normal difficulty without much of a problem. Being able to do all of those things, practically at the same time, and make it thru the game with relative ease is typical of my playing experience these days. With the new games being fairly easy, the old games should be a piece of cake right?
Boy, was I wrong.
I died about 4 times in the first 4 minutes of Bionic Commando. I got so upset after about 10 minutes that I had to take a break. I mean, come on, where's the FUCKING JUMP BUTTON?!? I couldn't get the bionic arm to work right, I kept getting knocked off platforms, and once I even swung myself right into a small body of water and died. I was frustrated.
After a little cool down break, I went back to playing. I started getting the controls down, and things started going right. I was on my way to saving Super Joe again, just like I did when I was a kid.
I have to admit that I'm having fun. There are parts of this game I've completely forgotten about, and it's entertaining to see them again. I'll do a complete "retro review" at a later date and fill you all in on the experience. For now though, Super Joe needs me!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
I want a sequel to Mutant League Football!
I love football. NFL, NCAA, hell, I'll even watch the CFL if it's on. But dose those teams with lethal levels of toxic waste, and make them play the game against xenomorphs on an asteroid in space, I'd want to freaking marry it.
Mutant League Football is one of my all time favorite games. With the possible exception of NHL 99 for the N64, I've dumped more time into that game than any other sports title. While I usually played as the Slaycity Slayers, I eventually lead all 16 teams to Mutant Bowl titles. And while it's still fun to play, I think it's time for an update.
I want MLF with full season play and stat tracking. Give me franchise mode with multiple seasons, death/retirement, drafts and trades. And while I'd take it, I don't even need updated graphics and sound. Make it a retro arcade game on Xbox Live. Just make it happen, EA.
While I've been waiting all these years for a sequel, I've tried to get my alternative football fix from other sources. Both the tabletop and video game versions of Blood Bowl have come close to filling the void, but being turn-based, it isn't quite the same. I threw a Hail Mary with Disney Sports: Football, but no luck. It was terrible. And while I compulsively dumped dozens of hours into the Cartoon Network flash game, Bugs vs. Daffy, it still didn't quite get the job done. I need Mutant League. I need Gorth.
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