Mini Ninjas demo: verdict so far

 Troll in the Corner  No Responses »
Aug 292009
 

I am watching my daughter (12yrs) play the Mini Ninjas demo on my PS3. She’s been playing for about 1/2 an hour now and is having great fun.

The initial gameplay takes you through some backstory & controller directions with further relevant info being given along the way. The graphics are ‘cute’ according to daughter but she feels the controls are a little difficult, at least at first.

You can take over animals to help in you attacks and your ninja enemies are fairly easy to defeat at first. There’s plenty of other stuff going on too – little quests for extra goodies for instance. Freeing caged animals gains you goodies too. Using your hat as a boat you can ferry yourself around, shot the rapids and catch fish for your dinner.

Verdict so far: Cute, entertaining and a little weird.

(Do You Wanna Date [Her]) Avatar

 Movies and TV  2 Responses »
Aug 292009
 

This is at the same time to most awesome and disturbing thing I have seen in a long time.

Background: The Guild is the creation of Felicia Day, actress of Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog fame. (And if you don’t know what that is look it up immediately, it’s probably the funniest, geekiest creation of Joss Whedon ever)  It’s a web series about the real life activities of a guild in a WoW type game, a guild that is to a man neurotic and dysfunctional in a wide range of hilarious ways.  Seasons 1 and 2 have aired, and can be seen on Youtube.  This music video was made in part to help finance season 3, and is available on iTunes in MP3 and video form.

[tags]Dr. Horrible, Felicia Day, The Guild, Music Videos[/tags]

Sandman Slim a magic noir revenge novel that contains no effing elves

 Literature  1 Response »
Aug 282009
 

Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim kicks ass.  I mean, the protagonist literally left the text and physically kicked me in my ass.  Yeah, it’s that much fun.

James Stark spent 11 years killing monsters in Lucifer’s arena for the entertainment of fallen angels, but now he’s back in seedy, magic-riddled L.A., trying to avenge his girlfriend’s murder and hunt down Mason Faim, the black magician responsible for getting him sent downtown.  After that it really starts to get interesting.

I found the book to be a fantastic read. If I went to the beach, this would have been my beach book for the past two days and then I would have had to found something else as I had a real hard time putting it down.  It’s the first book I’ve read in a long time that’s compelled me to stay up well past a sensible hour reading.

Kadrey’s L.A. is a grim, noir-esque landscape populated with supernatural entities and magic.  His landscapes and his characters aren’t just gritty, they’re sand in your favorite sandwich gritty.  You can feel every bite but you sure as hell don’t want to stop eating.  I’m holding back the urge to swear right now in emulation of his style.

Stark is a purpose driven monster in human form who you and I can sympathize with  – that’s probably the best way I’ll be able to describe our protagonist.  He was a magic using street punk and now he’s a magic using street punk who’s spent the last 11 years as the only living human in Hell.  He has a beef with his once friends who sent him there in the first place and then murdered the love of his life.

Kadrey’s book is full of biting humor, and fun scenes that would be completely at home on the silver screen as well.  The plot moves quickly and I found myself rooting for the least bad guy.  I’m not really sure there are any good guys in this book.

Therein lies the major flaw – Stark is an anti-hero and as such seems to adhere to every stereotype that goes along with that title.  Think Bruce Willis playing a cop and you’ll know what I mean.  It’s not a deal killing flaw though.  I’ll read this book again and enjoy the hell out of it, just like I enjoy the Die Hard movies.

It’s somewhat typical of the modern urban-fantasy scene that the characters are archetypal.  Sandman Slim just strips the archetypes down to their base matter and Kadrey runs with that.  If you can look past the over-the-top obvious/platonic characters and just enjoy this book for a fun romp through an L.A. that never was, you’ll enjoy the hell out of it as well.

[tags]scifi, fantasy, literature, sandman slim[/tags]

The Dead Gentlemen Live! Check out their new web presence

 Ben's Corner  No Responses »
Aug 282009
 

Like role playing games?  Humor?  Movies?  Critical fumbles?  We’ve talked a lot about and with various folks from the Dead Gentlemen.  They’re not dead and they’re not all gentlemen and they’ve been getting their new site ready for launch.  Today it has sprung fully formed on to the Internet!

Very slick looking too.

Be sure to check them out.  They’re the people responsible for Gamers, Gamers: Dorkness Rising and Demon Hunters to name a few.  They’ve also got a brand new web series coming out in September.

If you like any of those things I mentioned above, you really owe it to yourself to get a copy of Gamers and Gamers: Dorkness Rising at the very least.  Demon Hunters kicks ass too.  Hell, just buy the whole catalog, put it on your netflix queue or grab them from Amazon.

[tags]dead gentlement, gamers, dorkness rising, jen page[/tags]

You’re going to backstab him with a ballista?

Lords Online is a MMOSLG, whatever the hell that means

 Video Games  No Responses »
Aug 272009
 

Yes folks, the next generation of mold breaking MMOs are on their way, parading out of their development studios and on to a computer near you!  What the heck is an MMOSLG?  I see it as massive multiplayer online slog but maybe it’s just the original Everquest speaking through my fingers.  Massive Multiplayer Online Simulate Life Game.   From the screen shots, it appears to be something of a cross between the original Diablo’s graphics and Sim City circa 1263.   Hopefully the game play is worth it.

Here’s an idea for a MMO that has yet to be done.  Call it the Body Fantastic.  It takes place inside the human body where players can be on the ‘good’ side (red blood cells, etc) or the bad side (Swine Flu Faction, etc.) and they get to duke it out in tiny, 3D battles.  Well, on to IGG’s press release.

As IGG prepares to unveil their latest title, Lords Online, they’re giving players a first time peek at the brand new game logo and some never-before-seen screenshots.

Breaking the typical MMO mold, the new game incorporates an SLG style. Set amidst an elaborate medieval-style land in constant conflict, Lords Online features high a degree of freedom in gameplay choices, encouraging creative battle tactics and kingdom management. Players are tasked with guiding the development of their kingdom toward a prosperous future, either as a feared military power or an influential trade empire.

The game provides two map modes for players to choose from: Lord mode and Hero mode. Those who love the detached SLG style can use Lord mode and focus their attention on city development and arms coordination, while those who prefer RPGs can choose Hero mode and experience epic adventures. Lords Online encompasses a variety of types of heroes and battles, providing far more choices for players. Whether the heroes are excellent at managing city or leading armies, each can directly influence the development of the kingdom.

IGG is now working hard to ensure the Alpha Test is ready soon, so stay tuned to the official Lords Online forum at http://forum.lo.igg.com for the latest news and sneak peeks.

[tags]MMO, SLG, ASAP, video games, lords online[/tags]

Sins of a Solar Empire: Diplomacy micro-expansion on the way!

 Video Games  1 Response »
Aug 252009
 

I’ve just found out via Stardock that the next micro-expansion for their time eating game Sins of a Solar Empire is in development!  Diplomacy will “vastly increase the amount of diplomatic options available to players in the game and help make forging good relations with other empires a major option for would-be galactic conquerors. The beta is due out this Fall with the general release Winter 2010.”

Big win for all of us Sins fans.  This game is a 4X RTS and one of the few RTS games I can actually enjoy playing.  When their first micro-expansion, Entrenchment came out I was very happy with it.

I purchased Sins about a week after it was published.  Since that time it is the one game I constantly find myself going back to after I get tired of the latest in high end graphical frag fests.  It’s an intelligent game that requires a bit of for thought but is quick enough that I’m never bored.

I also am very enamored with Stardock and their stance on DRM, game piracy and overall being cool to the gaming community.  As soon as I learn about a beta release date, you’ll all know about it too.  In general, if you pre-purchase the game, you get to participate in the beta as well.

[tags]stardock, sins of a solar empire, diplomacy, video games[/tags]