David Eick (of Battlestar Galactica and Bionic Woman fame) is apparently working on a pilot for a proposed Children of Men TV series. He mentioned that its main influence will be the novel, which I sadly haven't read. The movie was really good though, and he seems competent enough so here's hoping.
I'll be gone for the weekend so no more updates until at least Monday. In the meantime, I want to post this Guitar Hero 3 video that blew my mind. Hell, I almost like that damn Dragonforce song now after watching it.
Friday, March 28
Wednesday, March 26
American Gods, for free!
I'm in a sort of rotten mood today, so you won't have to endure my usual rants this time, I'll get right to the point. Perhaps it's for the best.
Neil Gaiman's (author of Sandman, amongst other things, all-around god amongst men) best-selling book American Gods is now offered online for free. Arguably one of the best novels of the decade, and definitely one of my favorites of all time. It's a good book, from Gaiman, for free. What are you waiting for? Go nuts.
While on the subject of free stuff, there was an article on a Sunday paper about Greek girl musicians, this one called Olga Kouklaki stood out the most for me. She has also apparently left the country, so hopefully she won't get dragged down by the mediocrity that reigns here. Funny how MySpace is becoming an almost useful site these days though, now that the hype has died down.
Neil Gaiman's (author of Sandman, amongst other things, all-around god amongst men) best-selling book American Gods is now offered online for free. Arguably one of the best novels of the decade, and definitely one of my favorites of all time. It's a good book, from Gaiman, for free. What are you waiting for? Go nuts.
While on the subject of free stuff, there was an article on a Sunday paper about Greek girl musicians, this one called Olga Kouklaki stood out the most for me. She has also apparently left the country, so hopefully she won't get dragged down by the mediocrity that reigns here. Funny how MySpace is becoming an almost useful site these days though, now that the hype has died down.
Tuesday, March 25
If there is no self, whose arthritis is this?
Dear Namco,
Please stop butchering your Soulcalibur (formerly known as Soul Calibur) franchise. Thanks.
This is one of the new characters that will make their appearance in Soulcalibur 4, her name is Scheherazado, named after Scheherazade one assumes, and she looks like a Zelda reject. From the Ocarina of Time/Twilight Princess eras. Perhaps an obscure hidden character from a Smash Bros game, even.
So why does an elven girl named after a legendary Persian queen/poet bother me so much? I'm not sure, I mean it didn't bother me when a Greek girl dressed like a tennis player and named after a legendary doom-sayer made her appearance in Soul Calibur 2. Maybe I have become too jaded in recent years, and I'm still bitter over the whole Darth Vader/Yoda thing.
Or maybe I'm tired of seeing a franchise that prided itself in originality in design and realism in fighting styles go down this road of big boobs*, generic characters and ridiculous design.
Blah. Hopefully the gameplay will still be there.
*Though to be fair, this latest female entry to the roster is free of this specific offense. Maybe in the next game.
P.S.
The title of today's post is taken from Al Lowe's site in a collection called "Jewish Buddhism." You may, and should, remember Al Lowe as the creator for the Leisure Suit Larry series, i.e. some of the funniest games ever. His site is, unsurprisingly, hilarious and he also has a book you should check out.
Please stop butchering your Soulcalibur (formerly known as Soul Calibur) franchise. Thanks.
This is one of the new characters that will make their appearance in Soulcalibur 4, her name is Scheherazado, named after Scheherazade one assumes, and she looks like a Zelda reject. From the Ocarina of Time/Twilight Princess eras. Perhaps an obscure hidden character from a Smash Bros game, even.So why does an elven girl named after a legendary Persian queen/poet bother me so much? I'm not sure, I mean it didn't bother me when a Greek girl dressed like a tennis player and named after a legendary doom-sayer made her appearance in Soul Calibur 2. Maybe I have become too jaded in recent years, and I'm still bitter over the whole Darth Vader/Yoda thing.
Or maybe I'm tired of seeing a franchise that prided itself in originality in design and realism in fighting styles go down this road of big boobs*, generic characters and ridiculous design.
Blah. Hopefully the gameplay will still be there.
*Though to be fair, this latest female entry to the roster is free of this specific offense. Maybe in the next game.
P.S.
The title of today's post is taken from Al Lowe's site in a collection called "Jewish Buddhism." You may, and should, remember Al Lowe as the creator for the Leisure Suit Larry series, i.e. some of the funniest games ever. His site is, unsurprisingly, hilarious and he also has a book you should check out.
Sunday, March 23
The King of Fighters franchise is making a comeback
You may or may not remember SNK's 2D fighting game franchise, The King of Fighters that was pretty huge during the mid to late 90's, depending on how into the genre you were (long sentence alert!) While KOF never did manage to sell as good or receive the amount of praise the Street Fighter franchise did, it was still arguably SNK's finest series.
In the early 00's, KOF -and SNK in general- went through some bad times, with certain entries in the series that didn't quite live up to their legacy, or with the standards of the genre. In fact, the only memorably thing about those games was how unbelievably cheap the end bosses were, even by KOF standards (read: they are cheap as fuck.)
This new game though seems to be very different, starting from its name. For the first time since 1995, a KOF game won't be named after the year it is released, instead it will be called King of Fighters XII. I'm not familiar with the details over this decision, but it's hardly that important at the end of the day.
What is important is how damn good this game looks. While remaining 2D (wasn't there a god-awful 3D KOF game released a few years back? I think I've suppressed that memory), KOF XII seems like it will have the best-looking 2D graphics in any fighting game, ever. Yes, even better than Street Fighter III. About time, don't you think?
Lots of people have been suggesting, and not always in a civil manner, that this is how Street Fighter IV should look like. Highly-detailed 2D graphics instead of the 3D graphics stuck in a 2D plane approach that SFIV is going for.
They do have a point. Before KOF XII's unveiling, I was definite that SFIV going 3D was the right decision. Get along with the times and all. Even if some of the characters look rather goofy. And what's up with Chun Li's thighs? You do not mess around with some things, people! Naw, I was more worried about the lack of parries than the graphics, really. But after this, I can't really say anymore. I'll have to sleep on it. A few times.
In the meantime, take a look at KOF XII and make up your minds for yourselves:
In the early 00's, KOF -and SNK in general- went through some bad times, with certain entries in the series that didn't quite live up to their legacy, or with the standards of the genre. In fact, the only memorably thing about those games was how unbelievably cheap the end bosses were, even by KOF standards (read: they are cheap as fuck.)
This new game though seems to be very different, starting from its name. For the first time since 1995, a KOF game won't be named after the year it is released, instead it will be called King of Fighters XII. I'm not familiar with the details over this decision, but it's hardly that important at the end of the day.
What is important is how damn good this game looks. While remaining 2D (wasn't there a god-awful 3D KOF game released a few years back? I think I've suppressed that memory), KOF XII seems like it will have the best-looking 2D graphics in any fighting game, ever. Yes, even better than Street Fighter III. About time, don't you think?
Lots of people have been suggesting, and not always in a civil manner, that this is how Street Fighter IV should look like. Highly-detailed 2D graphics instead of the 3D graphics stuck in a 2D plane approach that SFIV is going for.
They do have a point. Before KOF XII's unveiling, I was definite that SFIV going 3D was the right decision. Get along with the times and all. Even if some of the characters look rather goofy. And what's up with Chun Li's thighs? You do not mess around with some things, people! Naw, I was more worried about the lack of parries than the graphics, really. But after this, I can't really say anymore. I'll have to sleep on it. A few times.
In the meantime, take a look at KOF XII and make up your minds for yourselves:
Saturday, March 22
Things worth looking forward to
I'll start off today's post with a personal favorite of mine. Dreamfall, my favorite game of 2006, is going to become part of Xbox Live's "Xbox classics" line on March 24, i.e. this coming Monday. Great news, as this is a seriously underrated game, both by adventure game fans and people who don't care much about the genre. That's usually what happens when somebody tries to make something different, there's always the danger of alienating both fans and non-fans. Hi, season 3 of Veronica Mars!
Dreamfall definitely has its share of flaws, the worst offender being gameplay since there's too few puzzles in the game, and the ones that are there are very easy, for the most part. That's always a problem when you're trying to create an adventure game that contains puzzles that are brought about by the game's story, rather than just being there, arbitrarily. A sad fact that comes with the limitations of the genre, I guess. It has to be said though, others have done a much better job at it, the original two Monkey Island games come to mind.
Still, while not reaching the quality of the original game of the series, The Longest Journey, Dreamfall is nonetheless a great game. Beautifully designed graphics, even if they show their age nowadays, some of the best voice-acting in any videogame, and an excellent story, quite different than what gamers are used to seeing. Sadly, the storyline itself suffers from being the middle part in an apparent trilogy, but I for one was willing to oversee that.
Hopefully, with its release on the Live network for a price of 1200 Microsoft Points (about 15 euros) the game will manage to find a new audience. From what I've heard, it did quite well when it was released on Valve's Steam network, which is somewhat similar to Live, so here's hoping.
Even though I already own a copy of the game (the PC collector's edition in fact, thank you very much) I'd be tempted to buy one more, just for the heck of it. Turns out, Dreamfall will only be released on a few countries, which kind of sucks. For the whole story, including the list of countries, check this link.
In other news, there's only a few days left until the fourth, and final, season of Battlestar Galactica begins. Suffice to say, I am really hyped for it. I thought the season 3 finale was nothing short of epic, and I really want to see where the storyline will head after the positively cataclysmic revelations of that finale.
I understand that a lot of people weren't too keen on the previous season, but what I don't get is the hate for the latter part of season 3. I thought the early episodes were rather dull and took forever to go... nowhere, while most of the episodes near the end of the season were fast-paced and revealed a fuckton of lore/secret identities/prophecies/etc to us.
Oh, well. I'd like to think that even the most jaded of BSG viewers will at least like to know how the whole thing ends, even if it will be a while from now until we find out. I know I will.
And if stuff like finding out just who is that last member of the Original Five is doesn't appeal to you, here's ten more reasons why you should watch season 4 of BSG:
Ah, Tigh, you crack me up.
Lastly, this isn't something to look forward to, but it's funny nonetheless. Apparently, some dude got himself arrested for calling 911 over 27,000 times over the last 10 months. His excuse? "Because it's free."
See kids, if he had been playing videogames or watching TV shows, he'd probably wouldn't have enough free time to waste on stupid shit like that. If you're a parent, here's a reason for you to think twice before telling your kids videogames are a waste of time.
Υ.Γ.
Η ολυμπιακή φλόγα δεν αρχίζει το ταξίδι της τη Δευτέρα. Όχι, άρχισε το ταξίδι της από τον περασμένο Αύγουστο. Από δέντρο σε δέντρο... (κλεμμένο, από ακροατή του Supersport FM).
Dreamfall definitely has its share of flaws, the worst offender being gameplay since there's too few puzzles in the game, and the ones that are there are very easy, for the most part. That's always a problem when you're trying to create an adventure game that contains puzzles that are brought about by the game's story, rather than just being there, arbitrarily. A sad fact that comes with the limitations of the genre, I guess. It has to be said though, others have done a much better job at it, the original two Monkey Island games come to mind.
Still, while not reaching the quality of the original game of the series, The Longest Journey, Dreamfall is nonetheless a great game. Beautifully designed graphics, even if they show their age nowadays, some of the best voice-acting in any videogame, and an excellent story, quite different than what gamers are used to seeing. Sadly, the storyline itself suffers from being the middle part in an apparent trilogy, but I for one was willing to oversee that.
Hopefully, with its release on the Live network for a price of 1200 Microsoft Points (about 15 euros) the game will manage to find a new audience. From what I've heard, it did quite well when it was released on Valve's Steam network, which is somewhat similar to Live, so here's hoping.
Even though I already own a copy of the game (the PC collector's edition in fact, thank you very much) I'd be tempted to buy one more, just for the heck of it. Turns out, Dreamfall will only be released on a few countries, which kind of sucks. For the whole story, including the list of countries, check this link.
In other news, there's only a few days left until the fourth, and final, season of Battlestar Galactica begins. Suffice to say, I am really hyped for it. I thought the season 3 finale was nothing short of epic, and I really want to see where the storyline will head after the positively cataclysmic revelations of that finale.
I understand that a lot of people weren't too keen on the previous season, but what I don't get is the hate for the latter part of season 3. I thought the early episodes were rather dull and took forever to go... nowhere, while most of the episodes near the end of the season were fast-paced and revealed a fuckton of lore/secret identities/prophecies/etc to us.
Oh, well. I'd like to think that even the most jaded of BSG viewers will at least like to know how the whole thing ends, even if it will be a while from now until we find out. I know I will.
And if stuff like finding out just who is that last member of the Original Five is doesn't appeal to you, here's ten more reasons why you should watch season 4 of BSG:
Ah, Tigh, you crack me up.
Lastly, this isn't something to look forward to, but it's funny nonetheless. Apparently, some dude got himself arrested for calling 911 over 27,000 times over the last 10 months. His excuse? "Because it's free."
See kids, if he had been playing videogames or watching TV shows, he'd probably wouldn't have enough free time to waste on stupid shit like that. If you're a parent, here's a reason for you to think twice before telling your kids videogames are a waste of time.
Υ.Γ.
Η ολυμπιακή φλόγα δεν αρχίζει το ταξίδι της τη Δευτέρα. Όχι, άρχισε το ταξίδι της από τον περασμένο Αύγουστο. Από δέντρο σε δέντρο... (κλεμμένο, από ακροατή του Supersport FM).
Friday, March 21
I'd like to borrow a time machine
Willing to pay for it.
Why? Well...
Need I say more? Alright, I will. I watched episodes 2 to 8 over the last two days (and got a headache in the process, but it was so worth it) and oh my gods, what a season it's been so far. So much for my "I'm not so hyped about this season" nonsense, I'm Lost's bitch oncemore. Season 4 is nothing short of astounding. Lots of answers, more questions, great use of flashbacks, flashforwards and uh, flashbetweens (!) all around. Lost is back, baby!
Glad to hear we'll be getting the whole season this year, too. It's going to be a painful wait until the break is over, but if the above preview is any indication, it's definitely going to be worth it.
On a different note, I planned to write a long, detailed post with my opinion on why Panathinaikos didn't make it to the Euroleague play-offs, but I decided I won't do it after all. Why? Because, well, I don't wanna.
Long-story short, you can't go far in the Euroleague championship with two of your Centers injured and out of commission for months. You just can't survive on that level of competition without your big guys. The same thing happened to us back in '03 and '04.
Could Jasikevicious's paycheck have been used to buy one or two sorta-good Centers? Quite possibly. Would that have made a big difference? I personally doubt it. Saras was one of the few players actually trying these last couple of months (I'm looking at you, Becirovic) and last year we won everything, despite having two players with huge wages (Tony Delk and Robertas Javtokas) that contributed very, very little all year long.
Shit happens, at the end of the day. That's all there is to it.
Why? Well...
Need I say more? Alright, I will. I watched episodes 2 to 8 over the last two days (and got a headache in the process, but it was so worth it) and oh my gods, what a season it's been so far. So much for my "I'm not so hyped about this season" nonsense, I'm Lost's bitch oncemore. Season 4 is nothing short of astounding. Lots of answers, more questions, great use of flashbacks, flashforwards and uh, flashbetweens (!) all around. Lost is back, baby!
Glad to hear we'll be getting the whole season this year, too. It's going to be a painful wait until the break is over, but if the above preview is any indication, it's definitely going to be worth it.
On a different note, I planned to write a long, detailed post with my opinion on why Panathinaikos didn't make it to the Euroleague play-offs, but I decided I won't do it after all. Why? Because, well, I don't wanna.
Long-story short, you can't go far in the Euroleague championship with two of your Centers injured and out of commission for months. You just can't survive on that level of competition without your big guys. The same thing happened to us back in '03 and '04.
Could Jasikevicious's paycheck have been used to buy one or two sorta-good Centers? Quite possibly. Would that have made a big difference? I personally doubt it. Saras was one of the few players actually trying these last couple of months (I'm looking at you, Becirovic) and last year we won everything, despite having two players with huge wages (Tony Delk and Robertas Javtokas) that contributed very, very little all year long.
Shit happens, at the end of the day. That's all there is to it.
Wednesday, March 19
HAL do you read me, HAL?
Today marked not one, but two great losses.
Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey and a multitude of other classic novels, a true pioneer in the field of sci-fi literature passed away at the age of 90. He had a good run, but it's still sad to see him go, he truly was one of the greats. In fact, there should be a law or something against such people passing away.
Anthony Minghella, director of such movies as The English Patient, Cold Mountain and others, also passed away unexpectedly, at 54. While I was never his biggest fan -I especially find The English Patient to be insufferably dull- he was still a very accomplished director, with a lot of talent. Moreover, he was still relatively young and had a lot of productive years ahead of him. A true shame.
In other news, Euroleague 2007 champions Panathinaikos (and incidentally, my favorite team) managed to get knocked out of the competition during the group phase, but I'll cover the backlash from that tomorrow. Shame there's no media strike in Greece tomorrow as well, it ends in a few hours, in fact.
Instead, I'll close this post with a video that is probably quite popular on the Internet today, Arthur Clarke's 90th birthday reflections, which also served as a farewell to his friends and fans. I could commend on this, but it would be highly unnecessary, I find.
Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey and a multitude of other classic novels, a true pioneer in the field of sci-fi literature passed away at the age of 90. He had a good run, but it's still sad to see him go, he truly was one of the greats. In fact, there should be a law or something against such people passing away.
Anthony Minghella, director of such movies as The English Patient, Cold Mountain and others, also passed away unexpectedly, at 54. While I was never his biggest fan -I especially find The English Patient to be insufferably dull- he was still a very accomplished director, with a lot of talent. Moreover, he was still relatively young and had a lot of productive years ahead of him. A true shame.
In other news, Euroleague 2007 champions Panathinaikos (and incidentally, my favorite team) managed to get knocked out of the competition during the group phase, but I'll cover the backlash from that tomorrow. Shame there's no media strike in Greece tomorrow as well, it ends in a few hours, in fact.
Instead, I'll close this post with a video that is probably quite popular on the Internet today, Arthur Clarke's 90th birthday reflections, which also served as a farewell to his friends and fans. I could commend on this, but it would be highly unnecessary, I find.
Tuesday, March 18
Yes. OH YES
'Scuse the almost-orgasmic title of this post, but I just found about this:
I know, it's just the cover, and we still don't know when the actual book is going to be ready (fall? Please make it fall) but just looking at the cover makes me ecstatic. I finished A Feast for Crows while I was PC-less, and the wait for the new book is killing me.
I know, it's just the cover, and we still don't know when the actual book is going to be ready (fall? Please make it fall) but just looking at the cover makes me ecstatic. I finished A Feast for Crows while I was PC-less, and the wait for the new book is killing me.
Back with a Vengeance
I finally have my computer back after several weeks. It's an odd feeling, being part of the civilized world again. To celebrate this glorious occasion, this rather lengthy post will contain two (2) things:
1) Jack
and
2) Shit
Good night everybody.
P.S.
All these weeks passed by since I last checked, and there's still no release date for the European version of Rock Band. WHY GOD, WHY DO YOU HATE US SO.
In order for the Jedi mind trick to work, you have to be a Jedi.
1) Jack
and
2) Shit
Good night everybody.
P.S.
All these weeks passed by since I last checked, and there's still no release date for the European version of Rock Band. WHY GOD, WHY DO YOU HATE US SO.
In order for the Jedi mind trick to work, you have to be a Jedi.
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