Suspension of Disbelief

Predators is Finally Here

2010-07-11T16:50:00.001-07:00

Finally, the long awaited "sequel" to one of Arnold's classic 80's actionfest movies has arrived. Predators was announced in late 2008 early 2009 and was produced by Robert Rodriguez, who has stated in many interviews that he plans on doing something new with this movie. I tried to keep up with production updates as much as possible and maintaining spoiler free as well-- despite there being a copy of the script released on the internet before the movie even started filming. I will write a brief review and also keep the spoilers out of it as much as possible for those that haven't had a chance to see the movie yet. I apologize if some of this does seem like revealing information, but I'm not really giving much of anything other than what has been revealed in the trailers.

Here we go...Adrien Brody, yes Adrien Brody the pianist, plays Royce as the ex-military badass that is seemingly placed in some distant jungle game preserve, and soon discovers that he is not alone when he meets 7 other unfortunate souls who have the same predicament as he. This movie gets straight to the point with guns blazing, F-bombs dropped, and one-liners delivered by all the cast. After Royce meets up with the others they all come to the conclusion that they are all "Predators" in one sense or the other--Soldiers in combat, Assassins on the hunt, or just really bad dudes in general. After a few minutes of dialogue and several hundred feet of their journey they discover that something, or someone is tracking them. Royce for some strange reason other than Brody being the main star becomes the impromptu leader of the squad and decides that they need to figure out where they are and what they're up against. Unfortunately for them that's not what really happens as slowly they start dropping one at a time. Sounds familiar right?? Well, yes the formula is pretty much the same as the originals, but they soon find out that they are not the first people to be hunted in this preserve and that there is in actually, several things hunting them. Another interesting fact that sets this apart from the original is that instead of the heroic Special Forces group in the first movie, we get a rag tag group of people that have been picked because of the acts of violence that they were committing at the time of their abduction. They are not good guys that's for sure.

I'm going to stop where I'm at with the movie description to prevent revealing much more, but generally the plot is not tough to figure out and after the first 30 minutes the action has picked up and there is really only one thing that can happen at the end of the movie. I'm going to start with what I liked about the movie and what I hated about it.

One thing that I really liked---straight to the point. The opening of the movie starts out with intense action with almost no time wasted setting up characters. They build up the characters as they progress through their journey in the preserve. Next, I'll say that I liked the cast...all of them. Strangely enough you don't associate Adrien Brody with action movies, but he pulled it off awesome. I know the 80s movies were full of testosterone, muscles, and mullets....but Brody pulled off the Special Forces badass just as good as Arnold did back in the day. Instead of muscles, he fought with his brains and that's how he ultimately prevailed throughout the movie. The rest of the awesome cast consisted of Danny Trejo, Topher Grace, former UFC star Oleg Taktarov, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, and a couple of no namers that were really just cannon fodder. I feel that they all did an excellent job (It's an action movie, not exactly Oscar caliber performances are required) and were believable in their roles. There is one other big name actor that makes a cameo, but I will withhold his name so not to spoil his appearance.

The Predators---excellent. They were the same, but different as well. There is an interaction later in the movie that describes everything we need to know about these new bad guys and how they're different from the past Predators. Of course they don't have any lines of dialogue, but once we get the action of the hunt rolling, they really shine as the Predators in the past movies.

The Soundtrack---AWESOME!!! Unfortunately, Alan Silvestri was not available to work on this score, but John Debney stood in for him and performed an awesome homage to the original soundtrack. It just sounded perfect and intense...just like the original!!! (I have some gripes, but I'll mention them again in a minute)

Nods to the original were left and right. I personally didn't have a problem with them, but from what I've been reading elsewhere other people feel they went a little overboard with them and should've just done a few things and went on with original stuff.

Stuff I didn't like.

I'm not entirely sure how to describe this, but I really had a hard time believing some of the character's reaction to the situation. I know they are supposed to be really tough and badass, but for some reason none of them were really shocked once they discovered where they were and what was happening to them. They were just like "Woah, this sucks. We need to keep moving to find a way out of here."

They also had a seemingly endless supply of ammunition. I know this is an action movie, but they seriously never ran out of bullets. They had multiple skirmishes throughout the movie, yet none of them had a shortage of lead to feed the bad guys.

The Predator confrontations. It just seemed that they would attack then let off without pursuit. They are supposed to be agile and quick when hunting, but after the puny humans put up a fight they give up and let them run away. And towards the end of the movie they don't seem to live up to the hype and intensity that has built up during the movie. I was expecting some serious badass coming and killing the humans, but not so much.

The Soundtrack!! I know I just boasted how great it was, and it is but at times it was a little out of place and felt like it was out of sync. Not a huge deal to complain about, but it's enough to take you out of the scene which is not what a soundtrack is intended for.

Nods to the original. Yes I liked them and chuckled inside when they did happen, but they could've done less of them. It felt like they were trying too hard to impress the fans of the original. There are two big scenes of the movie, which are confrontations with the Predators that are almost an exact ripoff of a scene from the original. Hmm....for the producer to continually state that he wanted to do something completely different from the original, I just don't see it.

Overall I still really enjoyed this movie very much and it certainly takes its place amongst the Predator universe, but of course nothing beats the classic. It is in the lines of a direct sequel to Predator than the not so popular Aliens Vs. Predator movies. In my opinion it comes in second only to the original, but just barely outdoes the second Predator movie.

Car Detailing Series

2010-04-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

I've been blogging infrequently for a good portion of 2 years now. And I just realized that I have yet to do a write up of this particular passion in my life--- my car. I don't drive a fancy Porsche or Corvette, but I do drive a car that is incredibly fun and handy. My 2008 STI, my All Wheel Drive baby. Not only do I enjoy driving the car a lot, but I also have lots of fun cleaning it....strange right??? Nah...I'm one of those people that take pride in doing things myself. So, I'm going to post a series of instructions on how to properly maintain your vehicle whether it is a Civic or a Dodge Caravan.

The first post will be how I go about cleaning my wheels. Now not every car has fancy wheels, but a person should still take the time to properly clean them every once in a while. You can go to Wal-Mart or Advance Auto Parts to get your cleaning supplies, but here is my list of products that can be found at www.detailersdomain.com:

3M Adhesive Remover

P21S Wheel Cleaner Gel Formula

A couple of buckets (soap, water, and to sit on maybe)

A "Boars" hair brush

Various Sponges

P21S Polishing Soap (go light on the clear coat parts this is an abrasive)

Menzerna 85rd
Menzerna FMJ

Some random microfiber towels (for the buffing and drying of wheels)

Cleaning Procedure:

1. Here is what I did first sprayed them all down with P21S Wheel Cleaner Gel formula. I let them all soak in it while I was working on the first wheel.

2. Got the soap bucket and the boar's hair brush started the brush the dirt and grime off the wheel.

3. After that was done I used the 3m adhesive remover to get rid of the bug/tar/leftover brake dust/grime and adhesive from the weights.

4. Rinsed off the wheels with a sponge.

5. Dry them good.

6. Used the P21S Polishing Soap on the clean wheel to polish them up lips, inner
wheel, face of the wheel. (go light on the clear coated parts)

7. Rinsed them down again with a sponge.

8. Dried the wheel good.

9. Polished the lips with some polish that is good for clear coat (Menzerna 85rd)

10. Used the Menzerna FMJ to seal up the inner wheels, face of the wheel, and
lips.

11. Repeat on the rest of the wheels.

For me to complete the above procedure takes roughly 2 hours from start to finish. Not everyone has to do it this way, nor do they have to use this specific list of supplies. The guys from Detailersdomain posted this on IWSTI, and I've been doing it exactly the same for roughly 2 years now and the wheels always look pristine for a good couple of weeks. I wouldn't recommend doing this more than once every couple of months as you can just rinse with soapy water and use a rag and tooth brush in between the in-depth cleaning.

How Mixed Martial Arts Needs to Change its Scoring System

2010-04-28T22:51:00.001-07:00

So I've been an avid Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fan for a couple of years now. This includes Pride, Strickforce, UFC, Bellatore, and any other mixed martial arts league. Sometimes, fights will end up going to a judge's decision. Whenever this happens....there is an outrage of how the judges blew the fight for the person that lost. It is in my personal opinion that this will happen no matter what. It's risk that fighters take when they let the fight end like this.

However, like any sport, there is room for error when it comes to the judges making their decision. While I don't have a problem with people voicing their opinions with what is wrong with the judging system, I DO have a problem when said person doesn't have a valid suggestion for fixing the system. Judging in sports is never an exact science, and since the judges are human of course there will be mistakes.

I believe introducing a scoring system that has several methods for grading what happens in the ring. Cory Schafer and Nelson Hamilton have proposed a new scoring system to the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) for their review, and hopefully approval. They named it "Mixed Martial Arts Specific Scoring," or MASS for short. This new system consists of four changes to the traditional 10 point system that is still being used.

Here is a quick overview that is published in this month's issue of "Ultimate MMA" magazine. There is also more in depth description here: www.mmarefs.com

Change Number 1:

All rounds will be scored as follows:

A. 10-10 =Even round

B. 10-9.4 = Marginal advantage

C. 10-9.0 = Clear advantage

D. 10-8.5 = Dominant advantage

E. 10-8.0 = Overwhelming advantage

Although scores of 10-7.5 and 10-7.0 are possible, if the fight gets scored as this a fight this one-sided is usually ended by referee's stoppage by TKO.

Change Number 2:

Scores are based on the following criteria, listed in descending order of importance.

1. Damage inflicted

2. Effective striking and/or effective grappling

3. Cage (Octagon) control

Change Number 3:

When the referee determines that a near submission is in effect, he will signal this to the judges by raising his arm overhead until there is a tap out or until the submission is terminated. When scoring, judges should consider a near submission as effective grappling, and quite possibly, damage inflicted.

Change Number 4:

For the purpose of resolving draws, in addition to the three judges coring each bout, there is a designated fourth judge, the Table Judge. Table judges do not score the bout. Their sole responsibility is to tabulate all technical scores. Technical score totals are used to resolve all draws.

While this new system is still open to speculation, I feel that the creators are on the right path to correcting the current means of scoring fights. There is nothing wrong with the judges that still use the current scoring system, but in my personal opinion the flaws reside in the actual system. The system was designed years ago before the sport had a chance to evolve into what we have today. As with any other sport or office policy, revisions are necessary over time to keep up with the times and changes in the sport.

Blackest Night Checklist

2010-03-13T06:19:00.000-08:00

For anyone that is interested in obtaining the Blackest Night books in any format, here is the complete listing of every book and tie-in related to the Blackest Night.

Prelude to Blackest Night

Green Lantern (volume 4) #39-42 (May-July 2009)

Green Lantern Corps (volume 2) #33-38 (April-August 2009)

Titans #15 (July 2009)

Soloman Grundy #7 (November 2009)

Blackest Night

Blackest Night #0

Green Lantern volume 4, #43-52

Green Lantern Corps volume 2, #38-46

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #1-3

Blackest Night: Batman #1-3

Blackest Night: Superman #1-3

Blackest Night: Titans #1-3

Adventure Comics volume 2, #4,5,7

Booster Gold volume 2, #26-27

The Doom Patrol volume 5, #4-5

Justice League of America volume 2 #39-40

The Outsiders volume 5 #24-25

R.E.B.E.L.S. volume 2, #10-11

Superman/ Batman #66-67

Teen Titans volume 3, #77-78

Blackest Night: Flash #1-3

Blackest Night: JSA #1-3

Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1-3

The Atom & Hawkman #46

Catwoman #83

Phantom Stranger #42

The Power of Shazam! #48

The Question #37

Secret Six volume 3, #17-18

Starman #81

Suicide Squad #67

Weird Western Tales #71

Green Arrow / Black Canary #30

Collected editions

Blackest Night (#0-8)

Blackest Night: Green Lantern (Green Lantern 43-51)

Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps (39-45)

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps (1-3)

Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps:

Volume 1 (Batman, Superman, Titans 1-3)

Volume 2 (Wonder Woman, JSA, Flash 1-3)

Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns (Shazam 48, Catwoman 83, Suicide Squad 67, Question 37, Phantom Stranger 42, Weird Western Tales 71, Atom &Hawkman 46, Starman 81)

Blackest Night Recap

2010-03-13T04:52:00.000-08:00

With this epic DC chapter reaching its climatic finish, I can't help but write about my thoughts on the story based on what's been released up until this point. I'll start with my recollection:

The end of the Sinestro Corps War is in its conclusion. The Guardians Ganthet and Sayd tell the prophecy of the "Blackest Night" to the Green Lanterns of Earth (Hal, Guy, Kyle, and John). According to this prophecy, the existing Corps will be joined by 4 new ones---each driven by different spectrums of the emotions, and each represented by their own color (naturally). This would eventually lead to "The War of Light" which will then lead to the destruction of the universe.

In Gotham City, Black Hand removes Bruce Wayne's skull from his grave, and recites the Black Lantern oath...following this, Black Hand's ring begins to glow and light begins to emit from the eyes of Bruce's skull. The Guardians of Oa observe the War of Light, and admit that Ganthet and Sayd have been correct, but before they can act they are attacked by Scar who swiftly kills one of the Guardians and imprisons the remaining.

Thousands of black rings smash into the Green Lantern Corps' crypt, and formerly deceased Green Lanterns emerge as Black Lanterns. While investigating Bruce Wayne's grave in Gotham City, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen are attacked by Elongated Man, Sue Dibny, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Ronald Raymond ---who are now Black Lanterns.

Hal Jordan and Barry Allen are joined The Atom and members of the Indigo Tribe during the fight against the Black Lanterns. At this time it is shown that the Indigo Tribe has the ability to separate the Black Lanterns from their rings, allowing them to be destroyed. Indigo 1 reveals that the only way to defeat the Black Lanterns is to rally all 7 of the corps together and find the source of the Black Central Power Battery so that they can recreate the "white light of creation" to destroy the Black Lanterns.

Meanwhile, the Black Lanterns break into the Hall of Justice. The Indigo Tribe departs while taking Hal Jordan with them and leaving the remaining heroes to fend for themselves until the Lantern Corps can find and eliminate the Black Lantern's power source. More Black rings arrive and begin to revive the deceased villains whose bodies' have been kept in the Hall of Justice. The Atom and Mera escape to meet with the Justice Society of America. Flash leaves and plans to tell as many heroes as possible the information they have learned about the Black Lanterns as well as the plan to defeat them. Atom and Mera arrive to find the Justice Society fighting Black Lanterns of their fallen comrades. During the fight, Jean Loring attacks Damage from behind, ripping his heart out causing the Black Lantern battery to reach full power.

Flash arrives in Coast City, where Scar transports the Black Central Power Battery. Black Hand then summons Nekron...who emerges from the ground followed by Black rings reviving the residents of Coast City. The JLA, Titans, Flash, Bart Allen, and Wally West begin fighting the Black Lantern army. Bart Allen tells them that Dove has the ability to destroy Black Lanterns with her presence (emitting a bright, white light).

As Scar attacks Wally West, Hal Jordan arrives with members from the other Corps -- Sinestro, Larifleeze, Atrocitus, Carol Ferris, Saint Walker, Indigo 1, Ganthet, and Sayd. Following this, Bruce Wayne's corpse is reanimated as a Black Lantern in order to gain a connection with the heroes who have been resurrected from the dead. Nekron claims responsibility for many heroes being resurrected and he will expose the Guardians' greatest secret. Nekron then commands Black rings to seek and connect these resurrected heroes --> Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Kid Flash, Superboy, Barry Allen, and Hal Jordan.

To escape the Black rings, Barry Allen runs faster than time and time-travels with Hal Jordan 2 seconds into the future leaving the rings with no targets and causing them to deactivate. John Stewart then arrives to warn Hal Jordan that every Black Lantern in the universe is en route to Earth and that all 7 corps need to unite every member to create the white light necessary to defeat them.

While the other corps are being summoned, Ganthet temporarily duplicates the ring's respective power of the emotional spectrum to help defend against the Black Lanterns until the other corps' members arrive. Many heroes are "deputized" as corps members in relation to their personalities ---Barry Allen becomes a Blue Lantern (Hope), Mera a Red Lantern (Rage), Lex Luthor an Orange Lantern (Greed), Scarecrow a Yellow Lantern (Fear), Wonder Woman as a Star Sapphire (Love).

The Corps leaders and new members fight against Nekron and the Black Lanterns, but begin to loose their footing and are unable to stop him. Shortly after the remaining Corps' members arrive and engage the Black Lanterns in the fight. Dove attempts to destroy the Black Lantern Battery, but is stopped by a figure coming out of it. In the battle, Nekron slices the throat of one of the Guardians and Black Hand uses their blood to form a symbol on the ground. He then says "Trespassor, Rise" followed by a cocoon emerging from the ground holding a figure in white. Ganthet then states that it is the Entity, living light bestowed upon the universe that created existence itself.

Nekron then reveals that life did not originate on Oa, but on Earth and that the Guardians lied about this to hide the Entity and justify their authority. At this time, Sinestro is enraged at the Guardians for their lies and stabs Ganthet with his ring. Hal Jordan realizes that the Entity is like Parallax, a "vessel that needs a pilot" to guide it into battle. As Hal Jordan flies towards the Entity, but he is stopped by Sinestro who claims that Jordan had his chance, and failed, with Parallax. Sinestro then flies into the Entity demanding its power and rises in a being of light stating that he will be the greatest Lantern of all while the Entity says "Thaal Sinestro of Korugar, destiny awaits."

And that is where we are left at. Right now I'm so impressed with how this story has been written that I just don't know what else to say or expect from Johns. He has been interviewed many times and has said it quite a bit -- that he has done his homework and plans to tie this story in with the DC books of the past. He doesn't want to wipe out anything that has already been done, but only to add to it and continue with a great story. Blackest Night #8 is arriving on March 31, and collections of the entire saga have already been announced to start shipping this summer. It has also been announced that the Blackest Night will immediately be followed by Brightest Day and will be written by Geoff Johns in 2010.

Another Reason Why Game Reviews are Bullshit

2010-02-12T16:57:00.001-08:00

As a life-long Science Fiction fan and lover of all monsters/creatures of this genre I usually get all kinds of excited when a great movie is closing on release. Its also no secret that I'm an avid video game junky so when we get a combination of pure Sci-Fi on a video game I always have an instant joyasm. Not for a long time have I played a Sci-Fi game and the last one I can recall off the top of my head is the critically acclaimed Dead Space, which is technically a Sci-Fi / Horror mutant. While playing this game I was in pure heaven....best of all my favorite genres.

Roughly around the time of late 2007 I read about a game that was being created that would be an EPIC level of awesome shit packed into one neat little package, and this game was titled "Colonial Marines." Taking place in the universe of James Cameron's masterpiece movies, this rumor was enough to make every Aliens/ Alien Vs. Predator fanboy do cartwheels in excitement. Well, I guess it wasn't enough for the developers to fully pledge their allegiance and Colonial Marines was put on the backburner for a bit. Rumors are still floating that this game is still going to be released.

This is not a total fail because this meant that they had something else in mind --- a new Alien Vs. Predator game. This is fantastic news!!! This will be on all the major machines...PC, Xbox 360, and the PS3 consoles. After what seemed to be an eternity (ie. One year) this game is finally coming home next week on February 16. But, there is much doubt because of one awfully bad review that was published in a magazine I shall not name. Thankfully, other reviews are finally starting to sprinkle out that are much better and proving that one review to be a fluke.

Here are a couple quotes from the questionable review:

“The human marine section (he is speaking of the campaign here) is set up like a survival horror FPS. There are a few good scares within these corridors, but after getting locked inside a room and having to fight off a horde of Xenomorphs for the 100th time, the repetition drowns the experience. It doesn't help that your flashlight is as useful at lighting up dark corners as a laser pointer.”

~~~I'm not sure what he was expecting, and I'd like him to find a game that doesn't have this.

“Curiously, Rebellion's 1999 PC release Aliens Vs. Predator, was well received, but this update captures none of that game's unique spark. Instead we have a title trying to live off the fumes of two dormant franchises.”

~~Again, based on this statement I doubt he ever played the original PC games because the developers stated that they are using the EXACT style of gameplay with a few tweaks and improvements here and there.

“The Aliens campaign plays like a combination of the other two. Like the Predator campaign, it has stealth focus, and like the Marine campaign, it sucks.”

~~~Ok, sooo he's complaining about the Stealth gameplay??? Has he ever seen the Predator movies?? Umm....the Alien's primary attacks in the movie are based on stealth and surprise attacks. This is what builds the suspense and elicits the scares in the movies. Its only natural that the game makers would want to emulate this in a game that is attempting to have the same atmospheric tension.

I'm also going to include the game trailer and hopefully it'll entice enough and get you peeps salivating in anticipation.

10 Best Video Game Soundtracks

2010-01-22T04:51:00.000-08:00

I have had a lot of downtime lately while searching for a job. To occupy myself I have been playing lots of video games and working out. While sitting in my room last night I started to think about the awesome music that has graced our presence in the games that we play. More often than not we don't even focus on the music or realize how great it is until after the fact. Many games have soundtracks that set the mood and atmosphere that is responsible for the greatness of the stories that are told.

Unfortunately many of the composers of these extraordinary soundtracks go unnoticed because they aren't "Pop" music that gets played on the public radio stations. Well thanks to AOL Radio and other sites that broadcast music online there is a way to listen to many of these incredible scores without having to actually purchase them. Of course, I hope that after listening to some of these songs that you'll be interested in supporting these composers by purchasing the soundtrack or their specific releases.

To help people with suggestions, I will provide a top 10 list of MY favorite soundtracks to search for and give a listen to. After the list I will also provide some other notable soundtracks that are great as well, just not on my favorites' list.

10. SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS

Orchestrated by Kow Otani, music was only used during the battles with each colossus and during the cut scenes. The rest of the game contained no music while the protagonist traveled the land searching for the next colossus. In 2005, Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded the soundtrack as soundtrack of the year.

9. SILENT HILL 2

The amazingly eery music for this soundtrack was composed by Akira Yamaoka. He is well known for his contributions for many of the Silent Hill soundtracks as he is the sound director and producer of the soundtracks for the entire game series.

8. CASTLEVANIA: LAMENT OF INNOCENCE

Michiru Yamane has become famous for her music in many of the Castlevania games, but according to ratings on AOL Radio, Lament of Innocence is the best in the series. This soundtrack has an eclectic mix of styles that range from dance beats to classical music, and is perfect for the spooky atmosphere of this Castlevania game.

7. HALO 2

The actual score was composed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatore, but volume 1 of the soundtrack contains all new music written and performed by popular rock bands such as Breaking Benjamin and Incubus.

6. THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER

Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi, and Koji Kondo collaborated for this soundtrack. They used pan flutes and uilleann pipes in many of the songs throughout the score, and several of the songs are used again in Super Smash Brothers' Brawl. Several of the songs in the soundtrack are also influenced from past Zelda music and the fuse together quite nicely.

5. METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SNAKE EATER

How can this list be complete without MGS3?? This soundtrack consists of 2 discs and contains music from various artists. Harry Gregson Williams, Norihiko Hibino, Cynthia Harrell, TAPPY, and Starsailor collaborated on this OST for a mixture of orchestral, chorus, and techno beats. This soundtrack is an example of how atmospheric music can make a great game Excellent.

4. KINGDOM HEARTS 2

This one is a crowd pleaser. While the majority of this OST was composed by Yoko Shimomura, the main theme song, "Passion," was performed by Hikaru Utada. The music in the opening and closing of the game was performed by Kaoru Wada and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

3. DONKEY KONG COUNTRY 2

No, I'm not joking. This soundtrack is one of those rare oddities that you don't realize how great it is until well after the fact. This was composed by David Wise and Stephen Hurst, and has been well reviewed with raves for it's "majestic" and "serious" sounds.

2. MODERN WARFARE 2

I know, I know the game isn't even 6 months old. But my reason for this soundtrack being so high on my list -------- HANS ZIMMER. Infinity Ward pulled out all the cards for this game. Hans Zimmer has been making and producing soundtracks for movies forever. He's multi-talented and has won numerous Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and Grammy Awards for his soundtracks. Many of his works are memorable for integrating electronic music with traditional orchestral arrangements.

1. FINAL FANTASY 7

Yes, I'm a fanboy. This game is the one that started it all for me. I'm ashamed to admit that this is the first Final Fantasy game that I ever played. After playing this game I got hooked and have played every one since. This OST spanned FOUR discs, and was the first in the game series to include a track with digitized vocals. Many Final Fantasy fans consider this soundtrack to be Nobuo Uematsu's greatest musical achievement.

~~~Notable mentions. Here's a small list of other game soundtracks that I find very great, and would definitely make the list if I did a top 20.

Metal Gear Solid 4

Shinobi (PS2)

Chrono Cross

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Little Big Planet

Halo 3: ODST

Final Fantasy 9

Chrono Cross

Exclusive PS3 games that MUST be played in 2010

2009-10-23T04:22:00.000-07:00

Sooo this is supposed to be a companion to the 360 post I just made earlier. With 2009 coming to a conclusion, I expect many happy gamers in the next year. Happily, I'm stuck in the crossfire of the 360 and PS3. With this generation of consoles in full swing, only the gamers are winning. With this in mind here is my top 10 of MUST own games for the 2009/2010 calendar year.

1. GOD OF WAR III --- March cannot come fast enough for PS3 owners. Kratos is the ultimate B.A. and this game alone has sold many,many PS3 systems.

2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves --- Any PS3 owner that's worth their salt has played the first game. Just recently unleashed, this game is quickly becoming one of the best selling game in years.

3. God of War Collection -- Both God of War I & II remastered in HD and put on a single Blu Ray disc. Basically answering the prayers of ALL PS2 owners....not only are the games remastered in HD, but they now have trophy support for trophy collecting whores such as myself.

4. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time -- Another universe, another mission with the dynamic duo of this long running, fan favorite series.

5. Massive Action Game (MAG) -- Recruiting people for battle in January, this is basically a Massive Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter. With WARS of over 200 players at once, this game will be the most immersive online shooter EVER to date.

6. Gran Turismo 5 -- Seemingly in development forever, the latest and greatest launch date is for March of 2010. We'll see.

7. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 -- Debatable of whether or not this is actually an Exclusive or just a fancy Remake of the 360 version. If you like/love the Ninja Gaiden series and only own a PS3, this game is a must have.

8. Demon's Souls -- Sneaking into the limelight like a ninja hellbent on killing someone, this game is selling out all over the world and getting great reviews across the board.

9. Final Fantasy XIII --- Exclusive and guaranteed to be absolutely B.A. 'nuff said.

10. Deux Ex III --- Not much is known about this prequel, but I guarantee that if Eidos drops the ball on it there will be riots, rapes, and murders across the planet.

Where here is my list of the 10 Must have games of late 2009 and early 2010 for the PS3. Love it, hate it, whatever.

Exclusive 360 Games that Must be played in 2010.

2009-10-23T03:36:00.000-07:00

With the 2009 X-mas season approaching REALLY fast I think its time to make a tally of the games that all 360 owners should at the very least rent. Most of these will be releasing in the next couple of months, but some others are scheduled for later in the 2010 calendar.

1. Mass Effect 2--- This game is going to be aces all around. I still have fond memories of spending late nights with the first game. Hopefully some of the bugs from the first game will be fixed, but either way I look forward to resuming missions as Commander Shepherd once again in January.

2. Alan Wake --- Yes, this game is still scheduled for release. Hopefully the last 5 years in development Limbo make this game worth the wait.

3. Halo 3: ODST -- What teenager/ Master Chief fanboy doesn't know about this game??? Already released, this game sold over 2 million copies in the first couple of weeks so I'm sure its on a lot of X-mas wishlists.

4. Forza Motorsport 3 -- The biggest racing game on the 360 is ready to deliver on Oct. 27th. The early reviews of this game are already pretty darn good, and it looks like not just an awesome racing game, but a great game overall.

5. Fable III --- This game is planned for late 2010, but the franchise fans area already counting down the days.

6. Left 4 Dead 2 -- The first game was a smash hit!!! Loyal players of the first game are gearing up for the sequels' release just before X-mas.

7. Splinter Cell: Conviction -- Sam Fisher is back, and the creators promise something truly amazing. Touted as the 360's answer to Metal Gear, Sam Fisher's exploits have revolutionized how stealth action games are supposed to be.

8. Crackdown 2 -- The GTA clone's first exploit was nothing short of awesome. This sequel should be nothing short of more awesome for fans of gangbanging sandbox games.

9. GTA IV: Ballad of Gay Tony --- Exclusive DLC for GTA IV coming out on October 29th 2009. 'nuff said.

10. Halo: Reach -- I know, a Halo game that isn't first on a list??? Well, I'm not sure what to expect out of this prequel other than I believe it will be awesome. Time will tell.

That's my list of "10 Must Have" games for the 360 I'll post my list for the PS3 soon.

What is going on with Hulk???

2009-09-01T17:06:00.001-07:00

So we have an interesting crapfest going on with Hulk. We have an upcoming World War Hulks coming soon. Yes, plural for TWO Hulks. I tried to read and keep up with the recent Rulk storyline, but it got a little to darn crazy for my tastes. Here's a little 411 for some of the peeps that are trying to figure out what's been going on in the past couple years with Hulk.
A while back some of the Marvel super heroes got tired of Hulk smashing and breaking things. They also thought it would be a good idea to load him up in a rocket ship and send him on his merry way to a unpopulated planet so he wouldn't get angry and smash stuff. Well, that's boring so the writers imposed fate that his ship got off course and he landed on a savage planet full of gladiators and smoking hot aliens.
Hulk started to have some fun partaking in his favorite hobby--Smashing everything in sight. After much ass-kicking he managed to become king and bag one of the hot alien chicks. Of course, she got pregnant. Somehow the rocket blew up killing the wife and the child...Hulk was not happy. Hulk came back to Earth to talk through his emotions with some of the people responsible for his trip. Well, Hulk isn't a fan of small talk so this really turned into him breaking a LOT of stuff and kicking everyone's teeth in. After the fact, his accomplices, the Warbound informed him that the superheroes actually weren't responsible for the explosion so he wasted time smashing stuff. He then turned back into Bruce Banner and turned himself in.
Shortly, after Hulk started blowing things up and kicking major asses, and killed some people. Turns out this Hulk was red, smart, and could burn stuff. He was cleverly named Rulk.

This is where I left off with the reading. After reading 8 episodes of the Rulk books I got bored of the "who is who, and what is going on?" and gave up. But, here's a breakdown of what I have confirmed, or sort of confirmed, on what is possible going on right now and in the near future with the Hulk-verse:
There is now 2 Hulks
There is 2 Hulk bastard children
There is at least 2 She-Hulks
And there have been too many personality types to mention and describe.

At the very least I'd recommend buying and reading the first World War Hulk TPB because the art and story are amazing.

My Top 5 Batman Stories

2009-08-17T22:23:00.001-07:00

Yes. I am a Batman fanboy. He's always been one of my favorite comic characters. I can't really explain why he sticks out so much to me other than he's the world's greatest detective. He's a billionaire, expert martial artist, and a chick magnet. There's the great popcorn TV show from the past, there was the great movies from the 80's that starred Michael Keaton (followed by several crappy movies), and now we have the fantastic reboot of Batman that stars Christian Bale as the Dark Knight.

As of late I've been reading a lot of the latest DC big story arc -- the Blackest Night, which evolves around the new Black Lanterns and how they are going around terrorizing the DC universe. With this, my interest has been re-sparked and I've been re-reading some of the great Batman storylines. Well, here is my current top 5 reads. While they may not be everyone's favorites, they are mine and these are what I've been recommending to others when they ask about what good Batman stories there are.

5. Batman: The Man Who Laughs --> Any respectable Batman fan knows the story and background of his most famous arch nemesis --the Joker. Ed Brubaker re-tells the story of the very first battle between Batman and the Joker. This is Batman's first sample of Joker's crazy games, and well, he's not up to it at first and has to re-think his methods in order to defeat him. Up to this point Batman has only been battling the gangsters, thugs, and murderers. But after this there is no turning back, and this is just the beginning for what is in store for Batman and Gotham City.

4. Batman: A Death in the Family --> Jason Todd (Dick Grayson's replacement for Robin) finds out that his mother is still alive when thought to be dead for many years. Jason runs away from home to find her. The Joker steals a nuclear missile to sell to the highest bidder. In this whole mess Batman runs into both of them and during so the Joker ends up killing Jason Todd. Batman goes after Joker and in a fit of rage/revenge, comes close to killing Joker only to be stopped by ---Superman. While not many people liked Jason Todd as the new Robin this is one of the most significant moments in life of Batman/ Bruce Wayne.

3. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight --> This is one of the DC Elseworlds stories that I have grown to love over the years. It takes place during the Victorian-era Gotham City and pits Bruce/Batman against none other than Jack the Ripper. In this story Jack the Ripper continues his murder spree, but decides to move to Gotham City for fresh blood. In this book, Bruce returns from England and his timing is perfect--his arrival coincides with grisly murders within the city. With Bruce Wayne as the prime subject, time is of the essence as Bruce must not only prove his innocence, but stop the Ripper from killing more people.

2. Batman: The Long Halloween --> This story takes place during Batman's early days in his crime-fighting career. This story emphasizes Batman's ability as a Detective as he struggles to find the true identity of a serial killer--who kills his victims on National Holidays. This story also has Batman battling the mob and is one of the benchmark stories that every Batman fan should own in their collection. Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb are the masterminds behind this story (I call them the dynamic duo because they have such a fantastic history of working together) and create a legendary story that the recent movies pull a lot of inspiration from.

This was so hard for me. It was so hard to decide from 1 & 2 that each day I could pick one over the other. Next week I think I'll post a list of honorable mentions just to emphasize difficult this list was for me to compile.

1. Batman: Hush --> This book was written by Jeph Loeb (see a pattern??) and drawn by the great Jim Lee. This book flipped the Batman universe upside down and spun it around. In this year-long story, Batman begins dating Catwoman, Jason Todd's (Robin) body is found missing from his grave, Two - Face gets plastic surgery to fix his face, and ---oh yeah, fights every villain in the Batman universe. No, I'm not kidding. He starts off going toe to toe with Killer Croc, then moves onto the Joker, Riddler, Poison Ivy, and Superman. Yes, I freaking said Superman. And on top of all of this there is a new villain introduced, perhaps the most destructive and dangerous one yet.

Well, there it is, my top 5 Batman stories/books of all time. Let me know what you think and/or if you agree or disagree. Remember, these are just my favorites, and I plan on listing the top noteworthy mentions later this week.

Some New Stuff

2009-07-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

AWESOME!!! I'm officially 10 days left at my internship!!! Then graduate. Hopefully I'll be able to find a job real quick like. Here's a quick update on what is going on in the nerdy Star Wars collector's world:

Summer of Suckage

2009-06-29T16:43:00.001-07:00

So far this summer has been very un-inspiring as far as movie going goes. It started out in May with Wolverine, which to me wasn't that bad, but at the same time not so great. Then it was followed by Angels & Demons that I found very un-fulfilling in comparison to the book. Terminator: Salvation followed suit in peaking my interest, but fell on its face in the end. I really wanted to love the movie, and was 100% prepared to ignore the stupid crap in it...but I couldn't do that when I walked out of the theater. Now, I have seen the crappiest of the crap--- Transformers 2. This movie was just fucking retarded. When I view a Michael Bay movie I expect nothing but a special effects-fest with not much added to it. This movie takes that and adds 100 pounds of stupid into the mix. Between explosions around every corner, to the boring robot designs...which gets even worse when almost all of the robots look the same, to the stupid dialogue between Shia Lebouf and Megan Fox (who still looks like a total whore throughout all of the film).

Another Day, Another Dollar

2009-05-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. It's been another long time since the last time I posted. I've been super busy and I guess everything non-essential got pushed to the backburners. Since the last post I've moved back to Tampa and have started working my internship at the hospital. Of course, I have been catching up on my reading...I've read the first Dexter book titled "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" that the show is based off of. The book is just as exciting as the show and of course, given the media it gives a much more thorough development of the characters and stories. Also, I finally managed to track down a copy of Daredevil Yellow that is the famous Reboot of the series by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. This book is awesome!!! Great storytelling and it really puts you into the mind of the Daredevil himself. Its great because afer reading this book I finally put it together and read the books that gave most of the inspiration for the movie. Since reading that I have ordered another book by this dynamic duo titled "Spiderman: Blue." Here's to hoping it'll be as good as Daredevil.
Some other news is that I have made a couple other preorders including the Hot Toys Marcus Wright, Billy (from Preadator), T-600 1/6 figures. Tonight I ordered the Sideshow Collectibles T-600 1:1 scale bust. The bust looks awesome and very intimidating. I'm hoping that it'll compliment the other three busts that I have and the upcoming Admiral Ackbar and Iron Man bust. I guess this is about it for now so I'll just post a couple pics of the bust before heading out.

Long Time, No Post

2009-04-30T22:22:00.000-07:00

I know I've been promising an actual update, but I've been so busy with the semester wrapping up and getting ready to move. So here's my mini-update until I get settled in back in Tampa next week. Classes went well and I feel like I did really great, but I'm still getting really nervous about the beginning of the internship. It is good to realize that I'm at least getting paid for my time, but I'm just anxious because I feel that I don't know everything and that I should've dedicated more time to reading and learning. I have decided to write off one of my best friends...He isn't the same person I knew from 9 years ago. Since he moved up here back in 2004 he has changed entirely. He is so pessimistic and opinionated I cannot stand to be around him when he starts to open his mouth. He does nothing but sit on his ass all day long and bitch about everything. I find it humorous that he is constantly berating others, but cannot claim responsibility for his own faults and failures. For a good part of five years he has been working on finishing his Bachelor's degree since getting his Associate's degree and moving up here to Tallahassee. In that same amount of time I completely started over with school and have received my Associate's, Bachelor's and soon my Master's degree while he still claims to have "One more class" to finish and graduate. He has such a shitty outlook on life and constantly starts arguments with people just to start arguments. And when he fails his classes he concocts some ridiculous excuse about how his professor is an asshole, or his professor didn't like him, or even the most recent one that I've heard--"She's a damn socialist and I can't stand to hear her talk. So I haven't shown up to class in three weeks." Wow, that's one way to show your teacher how much you dislike them. And then completely disregards that his failing the class is his own doing. I hate to wish this upon him, but I hope that he gets kicked out of school and his father cuts him off because then he might just realize that he is the only person responsible for his position in life....Angry, miserable, and soon lonely. Well, enough venting about that, but enough is enough. I can only sympathize for someone for so long before I feel its time to move on. I'll post again in a few days because the new Hot Toys Iron Man MK II figure should be arriving shortly and I'll have to take some pictures of the new living arrangements.

More Hot Toys Goodness

2009-03-31T23:10:00.000-07:00

Wow...so it seems Hot Toys doesn't want me to have any money. Every time I get a newsletter from them or read on the forums about their latest announcement its a grand slam. Tonight is no different. I got home from class just to find out that Hot Toys was gonna hit me below the belt with the new Cop Joker....but instead of just releasing a single figure they are starting a new line of "double" figures I guess. Essentially what this is is one figure, but with two (or more) head sculpts, costumes, and multiple hands/guns/accessories to compliment it. Now, at first I said no thanks with the Cop Joker because I already own both their previous Joker and Bank Robber Joker. Oh well, I guess it depends on the money situation when it comes time to pay. Here's some pics to show how awesome Hot Toys is making this figure:

$$$Expensive 2009 Year $$$$

2009-03-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

So I was going through my Bento invoices while backing up my computer today and I came to the crazy realization that 2009 is already shaping up to being an expensive year for collectibles.... and its only freaking March!! I will admit that most of the items I have on order aren't coming out until the 3rd and 4th quarter, but this is the first time I've ever had this much stuff on order this early on in the year. So here's the breakdown of everything I have as of yesterday:
HOT TOYS IRON MAN MKIII

HOT TOYS TWO FACE / HARVEY DENT

SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES OBI WAN KENOBI EPISODE II VERSION

HOT TOYS "DUTCH" from PREDATOR

HOT TOYS PREDATOR 1

HOT TOYS JOHN CONNOR FROM T4

SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES CAPTAIN AMERICA LEGENDARY SCALE "EXCLUSIVE" BUST

SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES SCOUT TROOPER PREMIUM FORMAT

SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES ADMIRAL ACBAR 1:1 FULL SCALE BUST

And the worst part is that this is just the stuff I have on order. Sometimes I end up buying other stuff that I didn't order after I see pics that others post when they get them.

Obi Wan Kenobi-- A New Hope

2009-03-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

So it is pretty easy to figure out that I am indeed a Star Wars nerd/fanboy. Since I was a kid and saw that epic battle between Obi Wan and Darth Vader I have been hypnotized. Darth Vader was such a badass!!! He was and still is one of the most menacing villains ever to grace the screen. The first time he strolls into view in A New Hope you just know he's the villain and is up to no good. But that's not all, Obi Wan-- the "crazy old wizard" has the same powers that Darth Vader has. And shortly into the movie he discloses that Vader murdered Luke's father, who was a good friend of Obi Wan. Now, he's either pitching the best sale ever or he's just praying on the naivety of young Luke by telling what he wants to hear. He also tells Luke that he needs to come with him to start his training to become a Jedi Knight like his father...at the same time failing to mention that Vader is actually his father who turned from hero to villain at the drop of the dime and is personally responsible for destroying the Jedi Order as well as the Galactic Republic (with some help from Palpatine).
From his first appearance on screen Sir Alec Guiness' presence engulfs us with Obi Wan's "classical" representation of an extinct order. He is dressed as a common beggar with his large and tarnished robes as well as his seasoned appearance. Obi Wan takes Luke in and begins teaching him the basics of the Force. He mentors the young apprentice and carries the burden of knowing that Luke is the last hope to destroying the Empire and defeating Darth Vader. He knows all too well that if rushed, Luke can turn to the dark side and become a Sith just like his father did before him. Obi Wan has witnessed first hand what it is like to see the wrath of the dark side of the Force.
Here I'll get to the actual figure. I have before you the Sideshow Collectibles Obi Wan Kenobi from A New Hope in the Jedi Order line. Sideshow has produced Four versions of Obi Wan as of now. In this version we get an exact replication of Sir Alec Guiness' face, but in 1/6 form. Of course he gets the standard setup: Outer Jedi Robe, Inner and Outer Tunic, Lit and Unlit Lightsaber, Several hands for multiple displays, and a Star Wars stand. The detail on this figure is incredible. I can't capture the correct words to describe how awesome this figure truly is. If by any chance you are trying to decide which version of Obi Wan to get---this is THE one to get. I have yet to receive the Episode II figure, but as of now the likeness of Alec Guiness blows away any previous version of Ewan MacGregor. And if you plan on getting the forth coming Darth Vader 1/6 from Sideshow you NEED to get this figure to accompany him on your shelf.
Sooo, without further ado here is a picture of him. Please forgive my phone camera as I do not have a proper digital camera yet.

Bank Robber Joker

2009-02-25T16:46:00.000-08:00

After looking at pics of Hot Toys' second version of the oh so popular Joker from The Dark Knight I decided I needed to get one for myself. I thought the first Joker was totally insane, but this figure totally blows the first one away. The new head sculpt looks like Heath himself jumped out of the screen and onto my shelf. The newest figure is a variant that is in the form that we first see the new Joker. This figure comes armed to the teeth with a: machine gun, machine-gun pistol, duffel bag, and a slew of grenades. The absolute best part of this figure are the TWO head sculpts. One version is meant to be coupled with the included clown mask and the other is just an awesome portrait of the Joker. Of course, I did the insane thing and gave the machine gun and the regular head to the original Joker that I have. This figure has to be the best of The Dark Knight figures yet. So I cannot wait until they give us the upcoming Two Face and the recently announced Police Officer Joker.

The Joker

2009-02-23T12:03:00.001-08:00

Alright, so now that the Oscars have come and gone I will say that I'm really excited about Heath Ledger winning the best supporting actor award for his Joker performance in The Dark Knight. Of course I am a super fanboy of the new Batman movies and ended up seeing it 6 times in the theater and countless times at home on Blu Ray. In my opinion the Joker was the main show and Batman and all of Gotham were just along for the ride. For a character that claimed he isn't someone who makes plans he certainly showed how well they work for him. Also, I plan to do a quick product review for the Hot Toys Bank Robber Joker that I have on the way. I can't guarantee when exactly, but it will get done.

Leverage

2009-02-17T23:57:00.000-08:00

I started watching this show on a whim. Never knowing anything or hearing anything about this show I had no clue what I was getting into. When I read that Christian Kane was going to be in this series I quickly perked interest and decided to give the first episode a viewing. What an extremely pleasant surprise I found after just the first ten minutes into the pilot episode. The best way to describe this show is to just come out and say that it is like a weekly Ocean's 11 tv show. They have the planner, master thief, computer geek, ex-military spy for the muscle, and the incredibly beautiful actress for pulling the cons. Basically the main character, Nathan Ford, used to be an investigator for the big insurance company. And his main job was to "look" into their best intersts by tracking down the thives and con artists that threaten to steal from the company. Now he is working with some of the people he used to chase down. The ragtag group now works as a new age "Robin Hood and his merry men." Because Ford is the only honest man in the lot, he requires to take on the charity cases that help good people get "Leverage" and payback on the corporations that have wronged them in any way.

One of my favorite aspects of the show is the chemistry between the team members. In the beginning of the pilot they all claim that they all prefer to work alone and wish to keep it that way. When you mix them all together is when the team shines. They all have their expertise, but yet when they are working they all have fun with each other and it translates extremely well.

I recommend watching the first episode and giving this show a chance because I think you'll be quite hooked by the end of the show. Next thing you know you're on the fourth episode waiting to see what next week's show will bring you.

Ridiculous

2009-02-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

As a movie fan I am a member of various different movie critic forums and visit them quite frequently. To pay for the costs of maintenance many of the sites have memberships that you can pay for in return to certain perks that the regular non-paying member can't see. Well, in my personal opinion if you are going to operate a site like this you need to maintain a level of professionalism just like a normal business establishment. They have administrators and moderators that monitor all the posts, site maintenance, and anything else. In a recent visit to a forum by the name of High Definition Digest Forums there was a thread created for the recent review of a movie. The movie isn't really important, but the behavior of the moderators and staff members that really annoy me. To sum it up several of the regular members expressed that they disagreed with the reviewer's opinion of the movie, and from the beginning they were respectful and didn't attack or harass the reviewer himself. Shortly after the review was posted a staff member posted in the thread and expressed how much he hated the movie and also attacked the members by saying that he was "disgusted in the fact that anyone likes the movie at all." Hmmm... I know it might sound really childish to make an issue about this, but I really found it un-professional and completely void of objectivity (which is when I found it insulting). Thankfully many members called him out on this back quoting his statement and adding the dissapppointment that a staff member would act so inappropriately towards other members. Next that same staff member continued to blast those members that questioned him and also continued to say some ridiculous statements about the movie and foolishly attacked the book that the movie was based off of. After reading through all the posts I was really surprised that none of the other moderators made any attempt to intervene or lock the thread, but actually encouraged the staff member's attitude and opinion. At this point I was really offended by not only the original person's attitude, but the fact that the other moderators supported him and added to the problem by attacking some of the members. So I decided to bring this point up I made a comment on how shocked I was at the level of unprofessionalism in everyone that represented the site and that it's really pathetic that they are attacking the members that are paying to support the site. Later I logged in to see if anyone had taken note of my points I find that I have been banned from the site for "Attacking the moderators and/or staff members." This is completely absurd, and plan on confronting the moderator responsible for the ban as to how I attacked anyone and why nobody has seen fit to keep the lapdog staff members in check. After I'm finished with this situation I feel I will no longer visit the High Def Digest Forums and will look for another site to visit and contribute to. I suggest others to do the same by avoiding this site like the plague.

Funky Fresh

2009-02-06T16:37:00.000-08:00

This week has been pretty darn awesome. Classes are going great, got some spare cash in the bank, and the new demos for Halo Wars and Killzone 2 were released. My first impressions of both are very good, and I look forward to playing both full versions of them. Halo Wars' skirmish mode is gonna be great, especially with the co-op online feature. I also really like the concept of the campaign co-op in regards to being able to collaborate with your ally to plan attacks. One person can build quick recon strikes to distract the enemy while the other can build the formidable attack force to bring the pain. I freaking love RTS games!!! Killzone 2... what else can be said except for WOW. Finally after roughly 5 years, yes 5 years of development we get to see Guerilla's masterpiece in full motion. The demo is a 2GB download and depressingly short playtime. The animation is really great, but nothing that hasn't been seen before (Metal Gear Solid 4 quality). The sound is what sticks out the most to me...you can tell that this game is meant for full Dolby goodness. The beginning part of the demo is a beach invasion and you can hear the blasts, shots, and yelling in each part of the 5.1 with great, rich detail. I read somewhere that campaign co-op is NOT included in the game right off the bat, but you need to download a patch for it. I'm not sure if this patch is ready for day one or if it will be shortly after release. The MP is already getting great rants and reviews based on the Beta users so I'm not even stressing that part at all. I'm more concerned about the overall Single player and co-op campaign. Hopefully it won't fail to impress like the first Killzone.

Playing with the Car

2009-01-26T12:07:00.000-08:00

So the past couple of months I've been spending a little bit of time doing small things to the car. I haven't really done a "Big" install project since I put the exhaust on it back in April. Since then I've been contempt with the way it is. Well now I'm looking into the overall feel and look of the car so suspension, aesthetics, and random things are where I've been putting my time towards. For Christmas I got a little crazy and bought some "presents for the car." This list includes: a new Shift Knob, Front and Rear Shift Bushings, LED kit for the entire car, Sub Frame Bushings, and Tranny Cross Member Bushings. Here are a couple quick pics of some of them. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of some of the installs.
Front Grill Repaint:

New Shift Knob:

And the Car at the park the day before painting:

Firefly Quotes

2009-01-06T19:04:00.001-08:00

Firefly is definitely one of my favorite shows around. Since I'm re-watching it again for the 20th time I will compile a list for you of the best quotes:

Shepherd Book:"If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of hell, a level they reserved for Child molesters and people who talk at the theater."

Simon to Jayne -"How did your brain ever master human language ?"

Wash: "Oh, no. What could it be? We're all doomed!! WHO'S FLYING THIS THING?!?! Oh, right. That would be me."

Wash: "were i unwed, i would take you in a manly fashion...."

Mal: "If someone tries to kill you, you kill them right back."

Mal: "I aim to misbehave"

Mal: "We are just too pretty for God to let us die."

Jayne: "Do you know what the chain of command is?, its a chain i go get and beat you with till you learn whos in ruttin' command"

Jayne: "Ten percent of nuthin' is…let me do the math here…nuthin' into nuthin'…carry the nuthin'…"

Batman Vs. Daredevil

2009-01-06T18:56:00.001-08:00

Ultimate Showdown Number 2!!!!
Batman and Daredevil are Marvel and DCs intelligent crimefighters. Each of them are highly skilled fighters, both are acrobatic junkies, and both possess insurmountable deductive reasoning abilities. I'm gonna give a quick rundown of both characters to compare and contrast to decide which one can achieve victory in battle.

1. Fated Origins.
Both heroes have come from traumatic childhoods. Matthew Murdock (Daredevil)was raised by his father in Hell's Kitchen and appreciated the fact that laws were in place to keep people from acting a fool. To help ensure this he became a lawyer to protect the innocent and send the criminals where they belong. Before completion his father was murdered for refusing to throw a fight, and in retaliation Matt went into action as the "Daredevil" to seek justice. Bruce Wayne (Batman) was born into wealth as his parents Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne were rich Gotham socialites. Raised in luxury Bruce never had to want for anything. Until one night on the way home from the theater Bruce witnessesd his parents murdered. At this point Bruce made an oath to rid Gotham of the evil criminals that were responsible.
Advantage: Daredevil

2. Intelligence.
Well, since both are known for their intellect I figured we could see how they stack up. Daredevil is a lawyer during the day and graduated with his "Juris Doctorate" from Columbia law. That's pretty dam impressive considering he's freaking blind!!! Batman is known for his awesome Detective skills. While I don't recall where he went to school, being from Gotham's elite upper class he was highly educated. Since he has no "Powers" he relies only on his own scientific knowledge and deductive reasoning. He's also a super businessman --- like Bill Gates, so he's smart enough to keep the money coming in from Wayne Enterprises.
Advantage: Batman

3. Powers
Daredevil came to be from radioactive chemicals that blinded him, but at the same time enhanced his other senses to super human levels. His sense of touch is enhanced enough to read with his fingers (not just Braille) and detect changes of temperature--body heat detection to the point that he can tell if someone is alive or dead. He can smell people's distinct odors and can track them for up to 50 feet in a crowd of other people. So remember that if you fart in public!!!! His taste enables him to remember the exact ingredients of anything he eats or drinks. And his hearing gives him the ability to hear people through soundproof walls, differentiate others' heartbeats, and possess a Sonar-like ablity that allows his brain to render a 3-D like map of his surroundings.
Batman---ummm....he doesn't have any "Powers"
Advantage: Daredevil

4. Equipment
Daredevil carries his trademark "Billy Club" which doubles as his cane during the 9-5 grind. It contains thirty feet of aircraft control cable, which is connected to a case-hardened steel grapnel. It also has a mechanism that allows it to wind and unwind at the flip of a switch. He also carries two batons that are pretty much the standard baton that you can use to club someone with.
Batman---where to start?? Well, since he possesses the mechanical know-how that makes McGyver his bitch Batman designs and creates everyting in his aresenal. His trademark item is his utility belt, and it has everything from tear gas to handcuffs to condoms in it. Batman also likes to ride around in the Batmobile, and its so fast and furious it makes Vin Diesel jealous.
Advantage: Batman

5. Fighting Skills
Daredevil was taught by martial arts master "Stick" and combining his powers with his sweet bo staff skills he makes Chuck Norris head for the hills. Because of his heightened senses its almost unfair to the point that every time he fights the ninja clan "The Hand" they explode in a puff of smoke before dying. That's badassery right there.
Batman is the "Mutt" of martial arts practitioners. Since he has a grab bag of different fighting styles its not odd to see him doing karate then transitioning from head butts to kicks to the gonads. I would describe this as the precursor of MMA fighting. Maybe he can moonlight in the UFC?
Advantage: Daredevil.

Well, that does it. While I think the fight would be closer than anyone can predict, Daredevil would end up wiping the floor with Batman. Batman would surely use some of his gadgets to his advantage, but Daredevil's heightened senses and abilities would negate this and give him the win.

Battlestar Galactica is Almost Finished

2009-01-06T18:53:00.000-08:00

Well it seems that the end is near and the day I've been anticipating AND dreading at the same time is approaching. January 16 is the beginning of the end of BSG's final episodes. Last year the writers / producers announced that they were gonna end the show after season 4 on their own will. I can appreciate this mentality as it shows that they are willing to do what they started out to do and not drag it out to the point that the show is a pathetic version of its former self. Here's the article that confirms it:
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/10677.html
Hopefully they'll get season 4 onto Blu Ray before summer so I can have all the episodes at my command.