15,000

While playing Resident Evil 5, I managed to get my XBox Live Gamerscore over 15,000. Despite my early struggles with the game, a look at an on-line walk through helped me realize where I was making my mistakes early in the game. As of now, I am halfway through the game. I would at least like to get through one play through of the game before I return it on Tuesday evening.

There is really no specific benefit to getting 15,000. If anything, it just feels good to be playing video games again. Lately, I have been so busy with work and other obligations that I have not had much time to play anything. Christa and I haven't played Rock Band in weeks. That should change after June 5, when she is done with student teaching and I am done with the 17-week semester's obligations.

Here's to 15,000...a geek milestone.

Tales of the Black Freighter

Having seen and having loved The Watchmen, Christa and I though we would rent Tales of the Black Freighter. This short movie combines the comic within a comic that was left out of the Watchmen movie. It chronicles a marine whose ship was destroyed by a pirate ship, who slowly turns mad in his attempt to get back home and warn his family about the coming pirate ship. It is bizarre, but well-written. What surprised me was how short it was (20 minutes). The Netflix DVD jacket said it was one hour, 40 minutes.

It was the combined features of the DVD that totaled to the run time. Forty minutes of it was a documentary set in 1985 in which the host looks back on his 1975 interview with Hollis Mason. This documentary is incredible, doing a good job of weaving in the chapter intros that weren't used much during the theatrical movie. They also use commercials from the comic as well as commercials relevant to the era. If anything, I would rent this DVD to see the documentary. That alone was worth it.

Tying Up Loose Ends

The plan is that Christa and I will be heading out on Friday morning to take a small vacation until Easter. It's not much, but we could really use the chance to get away. We're not planning anything fancy. We'll be taking in the Gurnee Mills experience on Friday. I have been to Six Flags Great America many times, but I have yet to be to the mall.

On Saturday, we are heading down to Chicago to check out the Shedd Aquarium. Again, this is something we have known about for a long time, but have yet to check out. Whatever time we have left will be spent in Chicago, which is always exciting! :)

To get to that point, however, there is a lot of work that I need to get done. So, today will involve some extra hours to make sure everything gets done. A few other highlights for the day:

• Mark and I will be playing Gears of War 2 tonight. I am excited to see what allt he fuss is about.
• The beard gets shaved off for tomorrow.
  

A Gaming Realization

* geek alert *

As I have gotten back into playing Mass Effect, and making a more conscious effort to get into the story and the character development, I am finding myself interested in going back and re-playing games that I have including BioShock and Fallout 3. That's when it hit me. In the end, I enjoy RPGs when is comes to games. Whenever I try to play a game that is not in that genre, I an generally not all that excited about the game. Along with RPGs, I also like music games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Perhaps, I am concerned that if I don't play all sorts of games, I wouldn't be viewed as a true gamer. But, I've tried Halo 3...and I suck. I'm not interested in putting in the time to be better, because I don't enjoy it. I kept trying Madden games, and they only brought overall frustration. I do feel a peer pressure to be playing the games that are popular at the time, but what is it worth if it's not that enjoyable. I'd rather get a few more achievements in a replay of an RPG than try to muscle out achievements in Halo.

I need to embrace the fact that I am a niche gamer. It will probably be cheaper in the long run, and I'll be playing the games that I enjoy.

I don't know what you call that...a geek rant?

The Spring Break Agenda

As I stated in an earlier post, I will be attending a mediation training during the day Monday-Friday next week. That still leaves two weekends and some evenings without the normal evening routines. So what's on tap with all this free time?

• Christa I will finally be able to watch The Watchmen. Our weekends have not lined up very well, so without class we will have the chance to see it. There are so many people to talk with about it once we have seen it.
• We were sent Munich through the mail for Netflix, which Christa and I both want to see. Depending on how quickly we get to it, we could get the last episose of Planet Earth before spring break is over.
• I purchase Left 4 Dead, a game that Christa and I both enjoyed playing. When you combine that with the new songs we downloaded for Rock Band 2, we should have a good time gaming next week as well.
• Hopefully, I will have a chance to work ahead on some stuff for gaming. We only have so many weeks left in the spring semester to play.
• Our church will be having a long term ministry planning meeting on Tuesday. I am excited and intrigued to hear from my fellow parishioners about their ideas for the church.

Alas, all of that awaits once we have closed the building, which occurs at 8:00 PM tonight.

Bioshock 2

After earlier concerns that my subscription to Game Informer may have expired, I received a new copy for the month of April in my mailbox. On the cover was a tagline for a preview of BioShock 2. Next to Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, BioShock is one of my favorite games. I am curious to read more about the game. When you combine this with the potential for a Mass Effect 2 in the near future, gaming looks bright :).

Slient Vendetta

My friends Nick and Jason got me hooked into a game called Silent Vendetta. The best thing it has going for it is that it is turn-based. Thus, you only have so many points to spend and then your turn is over and it takes time to recharge. It can be a quick distraction, but does not get you sucked in for hours.

You are a gangster and you commit crimes and train at the gym to improve yourself. Gather money and items to help you. Eventually, you can join a gang and receive additional resources.

If you're interested in trying it out, please go HERE. I get points for referring folks.

Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon

I remember this cartoon. It aired in 1983. That 25 years ago. Recently, a few friends have purchased boxed set containing the entire 24-episode series. I have borrowed the series and I am slowly watching the whole series. So, a few thoughts thus far. Please keep in mind, these are my perspectives on the series now:

*** Caution...dorky material to follow ***

1. It pains me to see such powerful monsters reduced to being easily defeated. Would Lolth really die by having a baby unicorn cut her web? Did I just write this? Needless to say, Tiamat gets scared off by one magical spell. It's not right. Those characters would totally be dead.
2. The cavalier's main weapon is a shield? Really??
3. I do appreciate seeing monsters and places from the game being put into the cartoon. Same goes with the character classes.
4. Peter Cullen does the voice of the main villian. No, Jim, it's not Optimus Prime.
5. The cartoon is so very 80s. I love it! It's dated, but in a funny retro way. It'd be interesting to see what it would look like with today's cartoon standards.
6. I wonder why the series only lasted 24 episodes. For a kid's cartoon, it was quite good.

Note: If you buy the complete series, you are provided with the AD&D 3rd Edition equivalent of their character sheets. Can't we just have the mystery?

Focus & Control: A Softball Update

Our Monday softball team came up on the losing end again in our game. It was a bizarre turn of events during the game. In the first inning we scored five runs, and they scored zero. Then we added four more and things were looking up. It looked great until the bottom of the second inning when they dropped 15 runs on us. That was the end of of it. The team did an excellent job of hitting balls just over the infield and right in from of the outfield. It was a rough evening. We managed to put 13 runs up there...but they put up 24.

Now for a little wisdom from Yoda:

Yoda: "All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph."

Yoda: "Control, control. You must learn control!"

Last night I went 2-4 in the game and had four RBI. The big difference for me over the last few weeks has been patience at the plate. I have been better at taking pitches until I get the pitch that I want. As a result, I made excellent contact at every at bat, and two of them happened to go toward the center fielder. I have also learned to not feel so much pressure when I'm up and there and just have fun.

Now I think of Yoda when I play softball. Focus and control. Focus and control.

Shadowrun

In addition to renting Bobby, I also rented Shadowrun for the XBox 360. When Nick brought his XBox 360 over for the bachelor party, I had the opportunity to watch him play the demo for the game. From what I saw, it looked pretty cool. Before jumping in and buying the game, I took the opportunity to rent the title. I have played through the six training sessions and have played a few multi-player games with computer bots. So far, I would submit the following thoughts:

Pros

• While not role-playing, it has enough elements to be passable.
• I appreciate the magic/tech enhancements and how they make combat fun. Nothing like having a machine gun, but also having the ability to fly and pass through walls. You don't usually expect that.
• Races allow you to pursue RPG-like classes. Elves make good healers, Trolls good fighters, Dwarves actually have some thief-like abilities.
• Matches consist of a series of games, so one match can take some time. You earn money for doing good stuff and you can buy enhancements. It's a unique system.

Cons

• As many folks have commented, there is no campaign mode. Given the deep RPG background of the Shadowrun game, it would seem to cater itself to a campaign mode.
• For $60 new, you don't get a whole lot of variety. Nine boards, 4 races, eight weapons and various enhancements. I can see this game getting old after awhile and it doesn't seem to warrant the price tag.
• Switching between magic and tech enhancements can be confusing and time consuming. You also only have 10 seconds between rounds to buy enhancements. I wish you could modify this.

Overall, this is a game that I might buy when it comes down from its initial price tag. I can see paying $30 for a used copy, but not $60 for a new copy.

Weekend Duty: Day #1

Well, let's just say that the evening had a little adventure than I anticipated. Hopefully Saturday night is a little more relaxed.

Friday evening represented a large step forward in the XBox 330 department. A few improvements:

• I posted by gamer score on my blog now. Now you can track my geekiness.
• I rented Viva Pinata for the weekend. I have tried it here and there. It is OK.
• I purchased Galaga, Bejeweled 2 & Uno on the XBoix Marketplace.
• I achieved all 200 achievement points for Galaga in 30 minutes.
• I have become a big fan on playing Uno on-line. You meet some crazy people at night, but I have also met some really fun people to play with.
• I got Christa onto XBox Live.
• My gamer score is up to 1,500.

Yes...I am a dork.

Running Away

As I was playing Oblivion last night, I came upon an interesting realization. As with any game, the more you play it the more you realize the subtle nuances and the easier it is to be more efficient in your playing. That has been the case. I have discovered that sometimes the best strategy for survival in this game is to run away.

Now, the game won't necessarily let you run away from creatures...they will keep going after you. What I mean is that instead of going in with guns blazing, you go in with a hit and back off plan. This allows you to re-group and plan your next strategy. On a gaming level, I can cast spells on a creature and stay out of attacking range or I can heal my character to get ready for the next round.

This seems to go against our common perceptions of facing life. Instead of always needing to go in right away and get it done right away, there is something to be said for taking things ins chunks or taking care of what is reasonable and knowing that the rest of it can get done later. Sometimes it is OK to run away :).

I realize my posts of been erratic lately. I am trying to make a commitment to post more often. I also want my posts to be more meaningful. Some of them have really stunk lately.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Mark, my 1st floor CA, told me about a game that I would really like...it's called The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It is a role-playing game, and unique to many of the RPGs I have played before. I resisted for as long as possible, but I picked up the game a couple weeks ago and I have already put about 20 hours into the game thus far. Here is what I really like about the game:

• Experience - In most RPGs, you gain experience based on the creatures that you kill. in Oblivion, your character has seven major skills (blade, light armor, spells, etc). When you use these skills, they improve. When you improve 10 levels in these skills, you go up a level. It is a new and refreshing way to level.
• Versatility - This game is wide open in terms of the path you choose. You can pick from a large variety of quests and do them in any order you want. If you are stuck on one quest line, you can move to another and then you will unlock more quests. It is impossible to get bored...there is always something new. I have around 10 open quests at the moment.
• Alignment - Along with quest versatility, there is also character versatility. If you want to be "evil", you can. You can steal, kill innocents, be part of the dark brotherhood and run around with a bounty on your head. You can be nice and do all things lawful. Everything has a rating.

I would recommend checking this game out for your XBox 360. It is pretty sweet and quite addicting. I am resisting the urge to play right now.

A Return to Geekiness

Today has been a busy and stressful week. I have had many meetings and much work to do. I have a few things to finish up today and then I can have a relatively relaxing weekend. There is some business to take care of tomorrow. I have 13.1 miles to run on Saturday morning. Woot!

But, after that...I can truly return to geekiness. I will be participating in a Breese Hall 24-hour video gaming marathon that ends Sunday at 9:00 AM. I am not sure how long I'll be able to go, but I'll do my best. Our AD&D group will also be meeting again this Sunday. After one month off, we return!

Geek Information

I thought I might enlighten the less geeky on two interesting things that were brought to my attention in recent days:

Star Wars Stamps
You can have a say in the new Star Wars stamps coming out from the United States Postal Service. May be they think they can mask the price hike (to $0.41) by coming out with this nice, geeky collection. You can even have a vote in what stamps they uses. Start here!

"The Gamers"
My friend Nick brought this movie to our most recent AD&D session and since the session was canceled, we watched this movie. It was created and produced by the Dead Gentlemen. Regardless on your level of knowledge about role-playing games, you will find this movie very funny. It has the quality of a student film and brilliantly captures the culture and humor to be found in AD&D and similar games.

That's all for today folks.