Yep, I'm still talking about this show. It's just that good.
Since a local Greek channel decided to start showing VM again as part of its "Summer of Reruns ' 08" special, I thought this is a good opportunity to post some more videos of my favorite show ever. I won't start ranting about the show though, so rejoice.
For starters, a promo that I may or may not have posted in the past:
Secondly, a collection of some of the funniest moments in the show. Some don't work out of context, but eh.
And lastly some bloopers, because bloopers are always awesome:
TL;DR version:
"Seriously, why do birds suddenly appear every time you're near?"
Saturday, July 5
Friday, July 4
[Video Friday] A few videos for your amusement
First of all, happy 4th if July to those that applies (Americans for their Independence Day, and Greeks for their "Holy Fuck We Won the Euro" day). The menu of the day has three videos and two crazy stories for you.
Let's start with the heart-worming story of Christian the Lion. He was found as a cub by two men, who then took him and raised him as a pet. Naturally, you can't keep an adult lion as a pet, which is a damn shame if you ask me, so they eventually released him. When they saw him again after several years... well, look for yourselves:
I always wanted a lion as a pet when I was a kid, now I find myself wanting one again. ;_;
(Via Neogaf.com)
Now that you're all warm and fuzzy inside, check this story out, about a man who found out that his girlfriend was an assassin. Not a ninja assassin, as I thought at first glance (for whatever reason), but an assassin nonetheless. Amusingly, this story is bound to become a Hollywood movie, but one gets the feeling that it already has been, in one form or another. Talk about life imitating art imitating life.
(Via Neogaf.com)
And since that fuzziness inside you is probably starting to dissipate, here's a really dark and gloomy PvP video from World of Warcraft, called Diary of a Corruptor. This isn't exactly a machinima like last week's In For A Penny, but it's one of those videos that people can find entertaining even if they are not familiar with the game itself.
I understand it's kind of cheating to have this video today, but I honestly think it makes for an interesting watch for everyone. Visually it's very interesting, with top-notch editing, the soundtrack is what can be described as "awesome, dude" and the mood is fantastic. It should also be of interest to WoW players as it's from the perspective of an Affliction Warlock, as rare a breed these days as the Mutilate Rogue I used to play. Sorry, I'll start using English again.
Did I mention that it has several themes from the Silent Hill games? It's part of the reason why it's here, I'm extremely biased towards those games and their soundtracks. Watch it already:
Diary of a Corruptor - Unstable Affliction PvP from Sorrow on Vimeo.
Going from the spooky to the "What the Hell?", the story that's been in the news all day today is about that pregnant man who finally gave birth to a baby girl. If you haven't heard about this already, just read the article, I can't do justice to the... irregularity of that story.
And lastly, something different to the deluge of nuttiness, an Animaniacs compilation! A few of the best lines from their "Wheel of Morality" segment:
TL;DR version:
Muffins.
Let's start with the heart-worming story of Christian the Lion. He was found as a cub by two men, who then took him and raised him as a pet. Naturally, you can't keep an adult lion as a pet, which is a damn shame if you ask me, so they eventually released him. When they saw him again after several years... well, look for yourselves:
I always wanted a lion as a pet when I was a kid, now I find myself wanting one again. ;_;
(Via Neogaf.com)
Now that you're all warm and fuzzy inside, check this story out, about a man who found out that his girlfriend was an assassin. Not a ninja assassin, as I thought at first glance (for whatever reason), but an assassin nonetheless. Amusingly, this story is bound to become a Hollywood movie, but one gets the feeling that it already has been, in one form or another. Talk about life imitating art imitating life.
(Via Neogaf.com)
And since that fuzziness inside you is probably starting to dissipate, here's a really dark and gloomy PvP video from World of Warcraft, called Diary of a Corruptor. This isn't exactly a machinima like last week's In For A Penny, but it's one of those videos that people can find entertaining even if they are not familiar with the game itself.
I understand it's kind of cheating to have this video today, but I honestly think it makes for an interesting watch for everyone. Visually it's very interesting, with top-notch editing, the soundtrack is what can be described as "awesome, dude" and the mood is fantastic. It should also be of interest to WoW players as it's from the perspective of an Affliction Warlock, as rare a breed these days as the Mutilate Rogue I used to play. Sorry, I'll start using English again.
Did I mention that it has several themes from the Silent Hill games? It's part of the reason why it's here, I'm extremely biased towards those games and their soundtracks. Watch it already:
Diary of a Corruptor - Unstable Affliction PvP from Sorrow on Vimeo.
Going from the spooky to the "What the Hell?", the story that's been in the news all day today is about that pregnant man who finally gave birth to a baby girl. If you haven't heard about this already, just read the article, I can't do justice to the... irregularity of that story.
And lastly, something different to the deluge of nuttiness, an Animaniacs compilation! A few of the best lines from their "Wheel of Morality" segment:
TL;DR version:
Muffins.
Thursday, July 3
[Football Thursday] Euro 2008 recap
OR: How Spain won and George is eating crow.
For reference, my post from one week ago, June 26:
"If Spain goes through, I'm willing to bet a lot of money that they'll choke hard against Germany."
Yeah, totally.
So those crazy bastards did it. Even though it was the one Spanish team in recent memory that most people wouldn't call triple-A quality, and had a distinct lack of "star"-quality players, even when their fans were making t-shirts saying "Guess who's gonna get us disqualified at the quarter-finals", after all they are perennial losers when it comes to quarter-finals. They still did it.
It's funny how things work. In Euro 2004, I was waiting for Greece to eventually play like they did in this year's Euro and get mauled/disqualified. Instead they kept playing at their best, which for that year proved enough to win us the cup. Now arguably Greece's best still makes for fairly horrid football, but it was leagues above the sorry effort they put up this year. Honestly, our game against Sweden was probably the worst footbal game I've ever had the misfortune of watching.
Same deal with Spain this year. Ever since the group strage was finished, I was expecting them to choke. First against Italy, which also happens to be their arch-nemesis, but they weren't really the favorites in that game, exactly because of their history. So they won that one, even if it were in the penalty shoot-out.
Fair enough, since they were the underdog they went through so I thought that they'd choke against Russia, since now they were the favorites, and against a team they had defeated 4-1 in the same tournament. Yet they man-handled the Russians again, in a very convincing 3-0 victory over the second best team in the tournament.
Surely, then, they would choke at the final, and against Germany, a football team that has made a name after destroying young teams filled with ambition, and at their peak at that (Hungary 54, Holland 74, Czech Republic 96, etc.), right? Nope. Somehow, the Spanish team managed to defy all preconceptions/curses/expectations/call it what you will, and delivered a solid 1-0 victory over a German team that, in fact, choked hard at the most important game. All this when the Spaniards remained calm and concentrated throughout. Impressive, to say the least.
As a matter of fact, after this final and the one from the World Cup of '02 against Brazil (and perhaps the Eurobasket '05 final against Greece), I'm starting to think that perhaps this generation of German teams are starting to become chokers themselves, when it comes to finals.
All in all though, Spain rightly won by managing to do away with all their ghosts of the past, as well as being the best team of the whole tournament. Holland started out great but fizzled real quick, while Russia and Germany picked up their stride slowly, reached an impressive level, only to sink to the bottom in their most important matches again. Spain was consistant, while not exactly dazzling, and thoroughly deserved a cup they hadn't won in about five billion years.
If anything, I personally much prefer it when teams such as Spain, Greece in '04, and Denmark in '92 win such a big tournament, as it adds to the whole mythos of the Euro tournament. It's the kind of victories people still discuss years after the event, when discussions about the World Cup are rarely about its finals, as those are usually dominated by four teams in the last 30 years (Brazil, Italy, Germany and Argentina), with the exception of France in '98. Instead, people talking about the champions of Euro championships can talk about how teams can defy all expectations and win the cup against all odds.
(At this point I should point out that Spain has always been the better team, by a fairly wide margin, when compared to Denmark and Greece, but this victory was mainly a triumph against the expectations that they had been setting for themselves these past few decades).
TL;DR version:
So who do you think is going to disqualify the reigning European Champions, Spain, in the quarter finals of World Cup '10?
For reference, my post from one week ago, June 26:
"If Spain goes through, I'm willing to bet a lot of money that they'll choke hard against Germany."
Yeah, totally.
So those crazy bastards did it. Even though it was the one Spanish team in recent memory that most people wouldn't call triple-A quality, and had a distinct lack of "star"-quality players, even when their fans were making t-shirts saying "Guess who's gonna get us disqualified at the quarter-finals", after all they are perennial losers when it comes to quarter-finals. They still did it.
It's funny how things work. In Euro 2004, I was waiting for Greece to eventually play like they did in this year's Euro and get mauled/disqualified. Instead they kept playing at their best, which for that year proved enough to win us the cup. Now arguably Greece's best still makes for fairly horrid football, but it was leagues above the sorry effort they put up this year. Honestly, our game against Sweden was probably the worst footbal game I've ever had the misfortune of watching.
Same deal with Spain this year. Ever since the group strage was finished, I was expecting them to choke. First against Italy, which also happens to be their arch-nemesis, but they weren't really the favorites in that game, exactly because of their history. So they won that one, even if it were in the penalty shoot-out.
Fair enough, since they were the underdog they went through so I thought that they'd choke against Russia, since now they were the favorites, and against a team they had defeated 4-1 in the same tournament. Yet they man-handled the Russians again, in a very convincing 3-0 victory over the second best team in the tournament.
Surely, then, they would choke at the final, and against Germany, a football team that has made a name after destroying young teams filled with ambition, and at their peak at that (Hungary 54, Holland 74, Czech Republic 96, etc.), right? Nope. Somehow, the Spanish team managed to defy all preconceptions/curses/expectations/call it what you will, and delivered a solid 1-0 victory over a German team that, in fact, choked hard at the most important game. All this when the Spaniards remained calm and concentrated throughout. Impressive, to say the least.
As a matter of fact, after this final and the one from the World Cup of '02 against Brazil (and perhaps the Eurobasket '05 final against Greece), I'm starting to think that perhaps this generation of German teams are starting to become chokers themselves, when it comes to finals.
All in all though, Spain rightly won by managing to do away with all their ghosts of the past, as well as being the best team of the whole tournament. Holland started out great but fizzled real quick, while Russia and Germany picked up their stride slowly, reached an impressive level, only to sink to the bottom in their most important matches again. Spain was consistant, while not exactly dazzling, and thoroughly deserved a cup they hadn't won in about five billion years.
If anything, I personally much prefer it when teams such as Spain, Greece in '04, and Denmark in '92 win such a big tournament, as it adds to the whole mythos of the Euro tournament. It's the kind of victories people still discuss years after the event, when discussions about the World Cup are rarely about its finals, as those are usually dominated by four teams in the last 30 years (Brazil, Italy, Germany and Argentina), with the exception of France in '98. Instead, people talking about the champions of Euro championships can talk about how teams can defy all expectations and win the cup against all odds.
(At this point I should point out that Spain has always been the better team, by a fairly wide margin, when compared to Denmark and Greece, but this victory was mainly a triumph against the expectations that they had been setting for themselves these past few decades).
TL;DR version:
So who do you think is going to disqualify the reigning European Champions, Spain, in the quarter finals of World Cup '10?
Wednesday, July 2
[Webcomic Wednesday] How to not make one / [OR] It's too damn hot to write a proper post
If that's not the longest title ever, I don't know what is.
So, webcomics. According to Wikipedia, over 18,000 of them exist on the Internet currently. That's a scary number, especially if you consider that the vast majority of them is the digital equivalent of mind-numbing poison. Personally, I only follow Penny Arcade, because I'm a total nerd and proud of it, but I like xkcd and Cyanide and Happiness as well.
The problem with webcomics is the fact that they're so damn easy to make. All you need is spare time, the illusion that you possess something resembling a sense of humor, and the ability to draw a straight line. And it's a blessing that I don't possess the latter, as I would have definitely been tormenting humanity with my unfunny webcomic already.
But that's exactly the reason why there are so damn many webcomics out there. They're easy to make, and the successful ones amongst them are so unmistakably so that most others want to steal their glory, have a piece of the pie, and other horrid clichés like these.
For these reasons, I was glad to see that a genuinely funny and witty person like Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation decided to make a video targeting webcomics and their lack of quality. His description of webcomics is right on the money:
"How to make millions of gamers happy with the minimum amount of effort."
The video itself acts as a hilarious guide on what to not do if you insist on unleashing yet another webcomic on us weary readers, as well as a satire of already existing webcomics that have become famous without any apparent reason.
It might not be as funny as it should be if you're not familiar with webcomics in general, and with a certain soul-crashingly bad one in particular, but it should at least get a chuckle out of you. Watch the video here.
TL;DR version:
Filler post. Just watch the video.
Do answer me this, if you can, though: Why do people like VGCats?
So, webcomics. According to Wikipedia, over 18,000 of them exist on the Internet currently. That's a scary number, especially if you consider that the vast majority of them is the digital equivalent of mind-numbing poison. Personally, I only follow Penny Arcade, because I'm a total nerd and proud of it, but I like xkcd and Cyanide and Happiness as well.
The problem with webcomics is the fact that they're so damn easy to make. All you need is spare time, the illusion that you possess something resembling a sense of humor, and the ability to draw a straight line. And it's a blessing that I don't possess the latter, as I would have definitely been tormenting humanity with my unfunny webcomic already.
But that's exactly the reason why there are so damn many webcomics out there. They're easy to make, and the successful ones amongst them are so unmistakably so that most others want to steal their glory, have a piece of the pie, and other horrid clichés like these.
For these reasons, I was glad to see that a genuinely funny and witty person like Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation decided to make a video targeting webcomics and their lack of quality. His description of webcomics is right on the money:
"How to make millions of gamers happy with the minimum amount of effort."
The video itself acts as a hilarious guide on what to not do if you insist on unleashing yet another webcomic on us weary readers, as well as a satire of already existing webcomics that have become famous without any apparent reason.
It might not be as funny as it should be if you're not familiar with webcomics in general, and with a certain soul-crashingly bad one in particular, but it should at least get a chuckle out of you. Watch the video here.
TL;DR version:
Filler post. Just watch the video.
Do answer me this, if you can, though: Why do people like VGCats?
Tuesday, July 1
[AGS Tuesday] Engine update and new games
I've talked about the Adventure Game Studio (AGS for short) engine before, but for those that weren't around, it's a freeware game engine that one can use to create (bet you can't guess it) adventure games. It was primarily designed to create Sierra SCI games, but it's customizable enough to create all sorts of variations of adventure games, including direct control, text parser-based and other nifty stuff like that. In fact, some people have even created platformers and fighting games using this engine.
Now that the intro is out of the way, last week (approximately) saw the release of the latest version of the engine, V. 3.0.2. As one would expect, it sports a number of changes and fixes from the previous version. For the full list and a download link, click me.
With that, I thought I'd mention a few of the games that were released lately. I haven't really finished them yet as my backlog is already huge and it's catching up with me (Soviet Russia and all), but it's obvious they're all quality releases.
Quest for Yrlog: A fantasy adventure with a twist. Your master has devised this devious plan, only to have a warrior, a rogue and a sorcerer show up at his door and threatenin to stop him. As his faithful imp minion, it's up to you to stop them before they do so! For more information, screenshots and a download link, visit this thread.
Dread Mac Farlane 2: Yes, this is a sequel. You can find the original game here. As with the original, it's based on a French comic book I've never heard of, but French comic books are good, no? It features the story of a girl who "grows up in Neverland with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, who wants to become pirate like her father she never knew." The graphics are amazing for an indie game, so it's worth dowloading it, so check this thread.
Space Quest IV.5: A game created in the same style as those SCI games I mentioned earlier. Fans will appreciate the retro feeling. Check out its thread here.
Nanobots: This was the AGS game I was expecting the most, and it pains me to admit I haven't really gotten the chance to play it yet. It's by the same people that have brought us games such as Spooks and What Linus Bruckman Sees When His Eyes Are Closed, so it's bound to be interesting. I'll get back to this game next week, with (hopefully) detailed impressions. In the meantime, you can learn more about it in this thread.
TL;DR version:
In This Post: Free games, and a freeware engine to make your own. If you're even remotely interested in adventure games, knock yourselves out.
(I'm a bit bored right now, does it show? Hurr).
Now that the intro is out of the way, last week (approximately) saw the release of the latest version of the engine, V. 3.0.2. As one would expect, it sports a number of changes and fixes from the previous version. For the full list and a download link, click me.
With that, I thought I'd mention a few of the games that were released lately. I haven't really finished them yet as my backlog is already huge and it's catching up with me (Soviet Russia and all), but it's obvious they're all quality releases.
Quest for Yrlog: A fantasy adventure with a twist. Your master has devised this devious plan, only to have a warrior, a rogue and a sorcerer show up at his door and threatenin to stop him. As his faithful imp minion, it's up to you to stop them before they do so! For more information, screenshots and a download link, visit this thread.
Dread Mac Farlane 2: Yes, this is a sequel. You can find the original game here. As with the original, it's based on a French comic book I've never heard of, but French comic books are good, no? It features the story of a girl who "grows up in Neverland with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, who wants to become pirate like her father she never knew." The graphics are amazing for an indie game, so it's worth dowloading it, so check this thread.
Space Quest IV.5: A game created in the same style as those SCI games I mentioned earlier. Fans will appreciate the retro feeling. Check out its thread here.
Nanobots: This was the AGS game I was expecting the most, and it pains me to admit I haven't really gotten the chance to play it yet. It's by the same people that have brought us games such as Spooks and What Linus Bruckman Sees When His Eyes Are Closed, so it's bound to be interesting. I'll get back to this game next week, with (hopefully) detailed impressions. In the meantime, you can learn more about it in this thread.
TL;DR version:
In This Post: Free games, and a freeware engine to make your own. If you're even remotely interested in adventure games, knock yourselves out.
(I'm a bit bored right now, does it show? Hurr).
Monday, June 30
[WTF Monday] Oh Konami, where art thou?
I swear, if Konami were an actual person instead of a gaming company, right now I'd be thinking that somebody had kidnapped and replaced him with his evil alien cross-dressing clone.
What's the reason behind such a colorful remark, you ask? Quite simply, the fact that they've apparently decided to create a Castlevania fighting game (via Kotaku.com).
It was a real Death-Star-Destroying-Alderaan moment, as countless fans of the series held their collective breaths when heard that Konami would make a new Castlevania game for the home consoles... only to learn that it's not an arcade-adventure-RPG-platformer like the previous iterations, but rather a game in a genre that Konami hasn't touched in more than a decade. And that was probably a good thing.
Hell, I'd go as far as saying that Konami has only made two good fighters. Yi Ar Kung Fu, which came out more than 20 years ago and is not playable any longer (seriously, get over it), and this little gem:
This reminds me, I need to get a copy of this game again.
But I digress. On to the offender in this case, Castlevania: Judgement being its name, and the Nintendo Wii will be its home, if it ever gets one. The ugly little mutt. Truth be told, we don't know enough about the game yet to pass judgement on it, but... The whole thing reeks of Masters of Teras Kasi...ty. I'm not sure what's up with that pun.
At any rate, it feels like the exact same thing as MoTK. A half-assed attempt at milking a franchise, rather than trying something genuinely different. And to make matters worse, at least Star Wars: MoTK came out at a time when 3D fighters were still big in the market. Nowadays, people have moved on and the genre has lost its mainstream popularity, which is another reason why this move makes little to no sense. It's as if Namco decided to release a Tekken Point n' Click adventure. A good franchise and a good genre don't always make for a good combination.
Whatever Konami apologists will tell you, such a move does not promote progress or trying out new ideas. If the company was so sure they had a good fighting game engine in their hands, why not try out a new IP, instead of wrapping it around Castlevania characters*? It's not about making progress, it's about being lazy.
And speaking of lazy, you've probably heard already about Diablo 3. Not the most surprising of announcements, to be sure, but at least it was one that pleased all fans of the series. Undoubtedly, people are preparing their spreadsheets already in sheer glee. Me, that's not my cup of tea. I liked the original Diablo way back when, but I was a teenager back then, and much more impressionable, especially when it came to things that were gritty, dark and violent. I openly confess to playing Diablo 2 simply for the story, graphics but mostly those jaw-dropping cinematics. The game was... eh, but oh my gods, those cinematics were amazing.
I predict I'll play the same game for the exact same reasons, provided that my PC will be able to run it. I'm sure a lot of people will go nuts over its hack n'slash gameplay, and obsess over its items and whatnot, but I really can't bring myself to care about those things anymore.
Can't really blame Blizzard for giving people what they want, though. People have been bitching forever... I mean wishing that this game would be eventually released, so it's a win-win situation. The fans get what they want, D3, and Blizzard execs get what they want, i.e. huge piles of money.
Now if only somebody would think of what us disaffected and picky elitists want, we would finally get our Lost Vikings sequel on the Nintendo DS. One can only hope.
Until we get that, feel free to drool over D3's cinematic teaser, it's worth every drop of saliva:
I wanted to write a mini-review of Alone in the Dark, but this post is already too long. Something for next week, I guess.
* I refuse to mention the parallels with the Smash Bros franchise, since that's a discussion I don't want to get into.
TL;DR version:
Konami execs seem to have gone batshit insane, while the ones at Blizzard seem to be right on the money. Literally.
(Ha, ha. I doth slay me.)
Seriously though. The Lost Vikings DS. The Lost Vikings Touch. The Lost Vikings Whatever. Make it happen!
What's the reason behind such a colorful remark, you ask? Quite simply, the fact that they've apparently decided to create a Castlevania fighting game (via Kotaku.com).
It was a real Death-Star-Destroying-Alderaan moment, as countless fans of the series held their collective breaths when heard that Konami would make a new Castlevania game for the home consoles... only to learn that it's not an arcade-adventure-RPG-platformer like the previous iterations, but rather a game in a genre that Konami hasn't touched in more than a decade. And that was probably a good thing.
Hell, I'd go as far as saying that Konami has only made two good fighters. Yi Ar Kung Fu, which came out more than 20 years ago and is not playable any longer (seriously, get over it), and this little gem:
This reminds me, I need to get a copy of this game again.But I digress. On to the offender in this case, Castlevania: Judgement being its name, and the Nintendo Wii will be its home, if it ever gets one. The ugly little mutt. Truth be told, we don't know enough about the game yet to pass judgement on it, but... The whole thing reeks of Masters of Teras Kasi...ty. I'm not sure what's up with that pun.
At any rate, it feels like the exact same thing as MoTK. A half-assed attempt at milking a franchise, rather than trying something genuinely different. And to make matters worse, at least Star Wars: MoTK came out at a time when 3D fighters were still big in the market. Nowadays, people have moved on and the genre has lost its mainstream popularity, which is another reason why this move makes little to no sense. It's as if Namco decided to release a Tekken Point n' Click adventure. A good franchise and a good genre don't always make for a good combination.
Whatever Konami apologists will tell you, such a move does not promote progress or trying out new ideas. If the company was so sure they had a good fighting game engine in their hands, why not try out a new IP, instead of wrapping it around Castlevania characters*? It's not about making progress, it's about being lazy.
And speaking of lazy, you've probably heard already about Diablo 3. Not the most surprising of announcements, to be sure, but at least it was one that pleased all fans of the series. Undoubtedly, people are preparing their spreadsheets already in sheer glee. Me, that's not my cup of tea. I liked the original Diablo way back when, but I was a teenager back then, and much more impressionable, especially when it came to things that were gritty, dark and violent. I openly confess to playing Diablo 2 simply for the story, graphics but mostly those jaw-dropping cinematics. The game was... eh, but oh my gods, those cinematics were amazing.
I predict I'll play the same game for the exact same reasons, provided that my PC will be able to run it. I'm sure a lot of people will go nuts over its hack n'slash gameplay, and obsess over its items and whatnot, but I really can't bring myself to care about those things anymore.
Can't really blame Blizzard for giving people what they want, though. People have been bitching forever... I mean wishing that this game would be eventually released, so it's a win-win situation. The fans get what they want, D3, and Blizzard execs get what they want, i.e. huge piles of money.
Now if only somebody would think of what us disaffected and picky elitists want, we would finally get our Lost Vikings sequel on the Nintendo DS. One can only hope.
Until we get that, feel free to drool over D3's cinematic teaser, it's worth every drop of saliva:
I wanted to write a mini-review of Alone in the Dark, but this post is already too long. Something for next week, I guess.
* I refuse to mention the parallels with the Smash Bros franchise, since that's a discussion I don't want to get into.
TL;DR version:
Konami execs seem to have gone batshit insane, while the ones at Blizzard seem to be right on the money. Literally.
(Ha, ha. I doth slay me.)
Seriously though. The Lost Vikings DS. The Lost Vikings Touch. The Lost Vikings Whatever. Make it happen!
Saturday, June 28
[TV Saturday] Boston Legal
Not a lot of TV-related news this week (aside from a god-awful teaser for the third season of Heroes with which I won't bother), so I thought this was a good opportunity to post a Boston Legal video.
Boston Legal, a spin-off of The Practice, is a dramedy that premiered in 2004 and follows the lives of Alan Shore, Denny Crane and their co-workers at the law firm Crane, Poole and Schmidt, most of which are characters that first appeared in The Practice. The series emphasizes both on the court action, with several wacky cases in a lot of episodes, as well as the personal lives of the lawyers from Crane, Poole and Schmidt, and their interaction with each other.
I only started watching this show about three months ago, and I haven't even finished the second season yet, but so far I really like it. It has several rather obvious flaws, for example the supporting cast is largely forgettable and they don't tend to stick around for too long, the resolution of several cases is highly improbable, and several of the characters are very inconsistent as far as their morality is concerned. Even for lawyers. Hurr, hurr.
The heart of the show, however, is its two male protagonists, Alan Shore and Denny Crane, portrayed by James Spader and William "Cpt. Kirk" Shatner respectively. It's the relationship of these two remarkable yet also incredibly quirky men that makes the show so interesting to watch. From Crane scolding Shore for being a Democrat, to Shore bailing Crane from yet another of his fuck-ups, the bond between the two is really strong, and most importantly, it feels real. I'd go as far as to say that it's one of the best portrayals of male friendship I've seen in several years in a TV show.
It's not always as serious as the above paragraph may have you thinking, however. In fact, I'd say that the show is first and foremost a comedy, despite the fact that there are several "serious" moments in every episode.
Not to mention that I never thought I'd end up respecting, and even liking, William Shatner as an actor. He might be impersonating, well, himself (I wouldn't know, but that's my best guess) but he really does an astonishing job at bringing the character of Denny Crane to life. Surprisingly, he's at his best whenever Denny stops acting like an (adorable) asshat, and instead reflects on his life and what he has become. I really wasn't expecting such a performance from Shatner, but life is full of surprises, I guess.
Instead of an epilogue, I'll end this post with a video (now this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone). Sadly, I couldn't find a better Alan/Denny video, as this one is a bit tacky. But I guess it's not bad either.
TL;DR version:
"Denny Crane."
Boston Legal, a spin-off of The Practice, is a dramedy that premiered in 2004 and follows the lives of Alan Shore, Denny Crane and their co-workers at the law firm Crane, Poole and Schmidt, most of which are characters that first appeared in The Practice. The series emphasizes both on the court action, with several wacky cases in a lot of episodes, as well as the personal lives of the lawyers from Crane, Poole and Schmidt, and their interaction with each other.
I only started watching this show about three months ago, and I haven't even finished the second season yet, but so far I really like it. It has several rather obvious flaws, for example the supporting cast is largely forgettable and they don't tend to stick around for too long, the resolution of several cases is highly improbable, and several of the characters are very inconsistent as far as their morality is concerned. Even for lawyers. Hurr, hurr.
The heart of the show, however, is its two male protagonists, Alan Shore and Denny Crane, portrayed by James Spader and William "Cpt. Kirk" Shatner respectively. It's the relationship of these two remarkable yet also incredibly quirky men that makes the show so interesting to watch. From Crane scolding Shore for being a Democrat, to Shore bailing Crane from yet another of his fuck-ups, the bond between the two is really strong, and most importantly, it feels real. I'd go as far as to say that it's one of the best portrayals of male friendship I've seen in several years in a TV show.
It's not always as serious as the above paragraph may have you thinking, however. In fact, I'd say that the show is first and foremost a comedy, despite the fact that there are several "serious" moments in every episode.
Not to mention that I never thought I'd end up respecting, and even liking, William Shatner as an actor. He might be impersonating, well, himself (I wouldn't know, but that's my best guess) but he really does an astonishing job at bringing the character of Denny Crane to life. Surprisingly, he's at his best whenever Denny stops acting like an (adorable) asshat, and instead reflects on his life and what he has become. I really wasn't expecting such a performance from Shatner, but life is full of surprises, I guess.
Instead of an epilogue, I'll end this post with a video (now this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone). Sadly, I couldn't find a better Alan/Denny video, as this one is a bit tacky. But I guess it's not bad either.
TL;DR version:
"Denny Crane."
Friday, June 27
[Machinima Friday] In For A Penny
While I haven't played World of Warcraft in about five months (my name is George and I'm OKAY), I'm still following the machinima scene. There's several projects that are worth watching even if you're not in the game, even though several just dissolve into Manowar-style epiccy bullshit, like Tales of the Past and such.
(Oh, I went there.)
You see, I much prefer the comedy machinimas, as well as the completety trippy ones like this one. The one I'm presenting today, In For A Penny falls in neither category, but it's an attempt at a noir film using the WoW engine, and for that reason alone I have to recommend it. That, and the first part has a Tori Amos song in it.
Personal biases aside, In For A Penny is a really well-made machinima. The editing, atmosphere and voice-acting are all of very high quality, and the story is quite interesting as well, so far. Keep in mind that this is all the work of just one person, which makes the result all the more commendable, if you ask me.
Having a machinima which emphasises on atmosphere and story-telling over action and "RAGH!" yowls is a refreshing change after all those testosterone-filled, overly melodramatic nonsense that came out for a while. It doesn't come as a big surprise, then, that In For A Penny was created by a woman. Under the alias Selserene, she's the person behind this series and you can find her blog here, along with her other work besides the IFAP series. Her slogan, "Turning Blood Elves Straight Since 2008" cracks me up every time.
Now that I'm done ranting though, let's get on the videos themselves. The first part is a prologue, and features no voice acting, but it has a fantastic atmosphere. Selserene's description is as follows:
"When a young blonde stumbles into the wrong room at a seedy nightclub, her panic leads her to escape into a world not her own."
IFAP-720.divx
(Full Warcraft Movies page, including download link, here)
The second video, entitled "On All Eight" has voice acting for all characters (and that Tori Amos song I mentioned above) and is the real start of the story. Which makes sense, what with being Part 1 and all. Aaanyway, on to Selserene's description again:
"In For A Penny- Part 1 ‘On All Eight’” picks up where IFAP: Prologue leaves off. It is the first of a multi-part series which follows Thayle – a man falsely convicted, a fugitive from the law, a gambler who places his bet on the woman who holds the key to both his freedom, and perhaps his heart."
IFAP1-HQ-16x9-sub.mp4
(Full Warcraft Movies page, including download link, here)
TL;DR version:
In For A Penny is a noir machinima with Blood Elves. Go watch it already.
Also, make sure to dissuade me from buying Wrath of the Lich King, whenever it eventually comes out.
(Oh, I went there.)
You see, I much prefer the comedy machinimas, as well as the completety trippy ones like this one. The one I'm presenting today, In For A Penny falls in neither category, but it's an attempt at a noir film using the WoW engine, and for that reason alone I have to recommend it. That, and the first part has a Tori Amos song in it.
Personal biases aside, In For A Penny is a really well-made machinima. The editing, atmosphere and voice-acting are all of very high quality, and the story is quite interesting as well, so far. Keep in mind that this is all the work of just one person, which makes the result all the more commendable, if you ask me.
Having a machinima which emphasises on atmosphere and story-telling over action and "RAGH!" yowls is a refreshing change after all those testosterone-filled, overly melodramatic nonsense that came out for a while. It doesn't come as a big surprise, then, that In For A Penny was created by a woman. Under the alias Selserene, she's the person behind this series and you can find her blog here, along with her other work besides the IFAP series. Her slogan, "Turning Blood Elves Straight Since 2008" cracks me up every time.
Now that I'm done ranting though, let's get on the videos themselves. The first part is a prologue, and features no voice acting, but it has a fantastic atmosphere. Selserene's description is as follows:
"When a young blonde stumbles into the wrong room at a seedy nightclub, her panic leads her to escape into a world not her own."
IFAP-720.divx
(Full Warcraft Movies page, including download link, here)
The second video, entitled "On All Eight" has voice acting for all characters (and that Tori Amos song I mentioned above) and is the real start of the story. Which makes sense, what with being Part 1 and all. Aaanyway, on to Selserene's description again:
"In For A Penny- Part 1 ‘On All Eight’” picks up where IFAP: Prologue leaves off. It is the first of a multi-part series which follows Thayle – a man falsely convicted, a fugitive from the law, a gambler who places his bet on the woman who holds the key to both his freedom, and perhaps his heart."
IFAP1-HQ-16x9-sub.mp4
(Full Warcraft Movies page, including download link, here)
TL;DR version:
In For A Penny is a noir machinima with Blood Elves. Go watch it already.
Also, make sure to dissuade me from buying Wrath of the Lich King, whenever it eventually comes out.
Thursday, June 26
[Headache Thursday] So like, Euro 08 and stuff.
My head is killing me today, so this post will be really short.
Basically, I think that this year's Euro 08 championship has been alright, but nothing special. Yet most others seem to disagree and think that it's the best competition in years. It's definitely better than any of the recent World Cups I've seen, but eh, I'm not feeling it.
Last night's match was a good one, the first semifinal: Germany Vs. Turkey. I was kind of hoping Turkey would win so all the nationalistic pricks in this country would go crazy, but that striker dude Turkey had was so damn obnoxious with his "Shh" celebration after every goal he scored. Don't ruin the move, ass.
Plus the Turks, who have been pulling crazy comeback after crazy comeback in this tournament, made the mistake of scoring first. You just don't do that against the Germans, they're the people that invented the comeback.
As for the second semifinal, Russia Vs. Spain, it's currently on the 60th minute and Spain is up 1-0. Boring game so far, which is a shame because you'd expect more from two teams that are so good offensively.
*Update* So the score is 3-0 now, damn, the Spaniards bitchslapped the Russians again. I wasn't expecting that.
If Spain goes through, I'm willing to bet a lot of money that they'll choke hard against Germany. It sucks, since I don't like the German team, but I guess the old saying is true:
"Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win."
Gary Lineker
TL;DR version:
Score, you damn Russians. (so much for that)
Basically, I think that this year's Euro 08 championship has been alright, but nothing special. Yet most others seem to disagree and think that it's the best competition in years. It's definitely better than any of the recent World Cups I've seen, but eh, I'm not feeling it.
Last night's match was a good one, the first semifinal: Germany Vs. Turkey. I was kind of hoping Turkey would win so all the nationalistic pricks in this country would go crazy, but that striker dude Turkey had was so damn obnoxious with his "Shh" celebration after every goal he scored. Don't ruin the move, ass.
Plus the Turks, who have been pulling crazy comeback after crazy comeback in this tournament, made the mistake of scoring first. You just don't do that against the Germans, they're the people that invented the comeback.
As for the second semifinal, Russia Vs. Spain, it's currently on the 60th minute and Spain is up 1-0. Boring game so far, which is a shame because you'd expect more from two teams that are so good offensively.
*Update* So the score is 3-0 now, damn, the Spaniards bitchslapped the Russians again. I wasn't expecting that.
If Spain goes through, I'm willing to bet a lot of money that they'll choke hard against Germany. It sucks, since I don't like the German team, but I guess the old saying is true:
"Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win."
Gary Lineker
TL;DR version:
Score, you damn Russians. (so much for that)
Wednesday, June 25
[Book Wednesday] A Preorder of Dragons
My puns keep getting worse. Way worse.
According to an article from Publisher's Weekly (via Tower of the Hand and Westeros.org), the upcoming new entry in George R.R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire, entitled A Dance With Dragons, is planned to have an initial print of 350,000 copies. Not a small amount to be sure, and apparently an increase over the previous entry, A Feast for Crows.
This is very interesting, as it shows that people still have a great interest in ASOIAF despite the general concencous clearly naming AFFC as the weakest entry in the series so far, and the numberous delays for ADWD, which was originally planned to be released in 2006.
The lack of a definitive release date is a bit troubling, especially given that GRRM still hasn't finished the book, but hey, patience is a virtue of the few, as they say. Plus I can't hold a grudge against the guy for wanting to live a little. Nobody should work when they're practically on vacation.
Next Wednesday will probably be the day when I'll finally post that article on the new volume of Thor, hopefully I'll have finished my comics backlog by then.
TL;DR version:
There won't be any dragons dancing any time in the near future, but when they do, it's gonna be a fucking party. Also, never forget that good things come to those who wait. Now if only good things came to the people that avoid reading spoiler chapters, then I'd be all set.
According to an article from Publisher's Weekly (via Tower of the Hand and Westeros.org), the upcoming new entry in George R.R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire, entitled A Dance With Dragons, is planned to have an initial print of 350,000 copies. Not a small amount to be sure, and apparently an increase over the previous entry, A Feast for Crows.
This is very interesting, as it shows that people still have a great interest in ASOIAF despite the general concencous clearly naming AFFC as the weakest entry in the series so far, and the numberous delays for ADWD, which was originally planned to be released in 2006.
The lack of a definitive release date is a bit troubling, especially given that GRRM still hasn't finished the book, but hey, patience is a virtue of the few, as they say. Plus I can't hold a grudge against the guy for wanting to live a little. Nobody should work when they're practically on vacation.
Next Wednesday will probably be the day when I'll finally post that article on the new volume of Thor, hopefully I'll have finished my comics backlog by then.
TL;DR version:
There won't be any dragons dancing any time in the near future, but when they do, it's gonna be a fucking party. Also, never forget that good things come to those who wait. Now if only good things came to the people that avoid reading spoiler chapters, then I'd be all set.
Tuesday, June 24
[Indie-gaming Tuesday] Limbo of the Lost (LoL)
Never before has the abbreviation "LoL" worked on so many levels.
I'm certain that the Internet-savvy among you have already heard about Limbo of the Lost, the game that so blatantly copied its graphics from about half a billion games. Seriously, they're so many that people have made a Wiki where they collect all the games Limbo of the Lost stole from.
I won't detail the whole story behind this game since the wiki does a really good job at it, but here's the gist of it: The game was "created" by Majestic studios, which is basically comprised of three people in their mid-to-late 30's from Kent, England, with their (now defunct) official site being a Geocities account. Wait, it gets better.
These three have been apparently been working on the game since the early 90's, since there's even a handful of screenshots from an Amiga version around. Which I find highly amusing, as those screenshots, and especially the main character, have nothing to do with the released version of the game on PC's. If anything, this raises the question if these people were indeed working on the game, or just waiting for more sources to steal from. I'm mentioning this especially since the current version of the main character looks exactly like Edward Norton's character from The Illusionist, a movie that's only a couple of years old.
As for the old version of the protagonist (seen here), I could swear I've seen him before, even though I can't quite say where exactly. I want to say I've seen him in Shadow of the Comet, but I know that's not right. I also feel like he was some sort of native American in the game where he originated from, but again I'm not too sure about that. In the off-chance that I'm wrong and he's an original creation, well, mea culpa.
(credit for this picture: Xabora from NeoGAF)
To make matters worse, the actual game is, according to most sources and from what we can see from in-game videos, an absolute pile of shit. The original graphics are atrocious (unaltered Poser models are unacceptable in free games, let alone retail ones), the voice-acting is worse than a House of the Dead game, and the gameplay and story seem to be unintentionally hilarious. I don't make a habit out of judging games without playing them, but some things are obvious. See for yourselves in this video which includes the intro sequence and the first 10 minutes of gameplay.
What makes my mind boggle is how this game ever managed to find a publisher. Assuming that nobody noticed how bad this game was, or perhaps that they did notice and decided it'll sell as a cult-"Oh my gods this game is unbelievably shitty"-hit, how could this game have passed whatever passes for quality control these days, when it has so obviously stolen from virtually most of the big-name games in recent years? I really can't wrap my head around that.
Whatever the truth behind this story is, we'll probably never find out since the people responsible for this mess have seemingly disappeared. I don't blame them for that, and I don't offer any sympathy for them as they deserve whatever comes to them, but I have to say I do feel kind of bad for their families. C'est la vie, I guess.
I could easily imagine that after reading all this, you'd be somewhat intrigued by Limbo of the Lost and the story behind it, if probably for the wrong reasons. I've been there, myself. Trust me when I say that life is too short to waste time and money on something as shitty as this. For that reason, here's a video of the game's ending, hopefully it'll satisfy your curiosity and you'll move on to other, more worthwhile things.
On the bright side, this catastrophe of a game release has inspired some people to get creative and give us some laughs. It ain't all bad!
In other news, I rented the new Alone in the Dark game today, and while that's been receiving some fairly bad reviews itself, I'm still looking forward to playing it. Alone in the Dark 3 will always be the definitive game of the franchise for me, though. If partly for nostalgia reasons.
TL;DR version:
Remember kids, stealing and plagiarism is bad. Especially in this era, where Internet sleuths investigate every little detail about you and your products. So do yourself a favor and don't end up like the dumbfucks responsible for Limbo of the Lost, a game worthy of ridicule and little else.
And if you're a douchebag and still decide to steal assets from other games, thus helping to give the indie scene a bad name, at least make sure your game is actually decent. Do us all a favor, or the universe will most likely assplode as a result of having two games like LoL around.
Monday, June 23
[Adventure Monday] Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice
I've never tried to hide the fact that I'm a huge fan of the Ace Attorney series. Even though it's been only two years since I played the first game, then called Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, it has become one of my favorite series in gaming, among other long-time faves such as Castlevania or the Legend of Zelda.
No small feat, to be sure, but since apparently today's post is all about honesty, I have to confess I had set my expectations rather low for the latest entry in the franchise, Apollo Justice. Not only because changing the whole cast from previous iterations is an idea that rarely, if ever, works, but also because thanks to a major fuck-up the publisher's part, the previous entry in the series, Trials and Tribulations hasn't been released in Europe yet. So basically us Europeans jumped straight to the fourth game in the series from the second one. Thanks for that, Capcom.
The following is my first impressions after having played through the first case and most of the second one in the game.
I have to say, the (almost) entirely new cast was what worried me the most at first. Aside from a couple of returning minor secondary characters, we're only treated to cameos of former protagonist Phoenix Wright, and Emma Skye, who played a central role in the fifth case of the first game.
And these characters... Nick and Emma have changed, perhaps a bit too much from the previous games. Apollo Justice takes place seven years after Trials and Tribulations and while that's enough time for a person in real life to become bitter and melancholic, but this is a game, and these are characters which were introduced as cheerful and optimistic to us. Seeing them all brooding and cynical feels a bit strange, to say the least.
As for the rest of the cast, they certainly lack the charisma of their predecessors. Apollo is funny, but lacks that special charm that Phoenix had, with his "Chords of Steel" tag-line especially making me want to bathe myself in H2S04, and while Trucy, his sidekick, is quite adorable, she feels almost a carbon-copy of Maya. They not only share a rather quirky personality, but they also share several mannerisms to the point that, at times, I could swear that the creators took Maya's sprite and repainted it as Trucy. The secondary characters are as nuts as ever, and they get the job done, but nobody really steals the show.
Naturally, since I haven't finished the game there's still a good chance I'll be pleasantly surprised by the time it's over. I won't be holding my breath about that, though. If anything, I'm still slightly worried over its writing. One case in specific really stood out to me, as the whole "mission" where you had to find 15-year old Trucy's stolen panties, with her making all sorts of awkward comments on how "My customers will be waiting to see my panties at night" and somesuch felt a little bit too much like Pedobear territory for my taste. While I did laugh at times, it was also rather embarrassing to go through. And videogames, especially good ones, really shouldn't make their audience feel embarrassed for playing them. I'm looking at you, Soulcalibur IV, with your scientifically-enhanced balloon animals, I mean female warriors.
Lastly, I can't help but think that removing an excellent character like Phoenix Wright from the spotlight of the series was a bad move. Nick had that certain something that characters like Guybrush Threepwood did. Guybrush wanted to be a pirate, in other words an adventurer, and Nick wanted to be a lawyer because he believed in truth and that it's worth fighting for it. Both things most people can and will relate to. Apollo just comes off as a scared kid who's trying his hand at something that looks cool, and the difference between the two really shows.
TL;DR version:
George is missing virtual characters from a game he played like 17 months ago, and also hopes he won't have to search for any more panties before he finishes Apollo Justice.
The game is still pretty fun mind you, despite my bitching.
P.S.
I've apparently been banned from Xbox Live, and for no apparent reason. That's great.
Saturday, June 21
[TV Saturday] Daria
Since all the major TV shows have ended their run for this season, I figured I'd kick off the first TV Saturday with something a little older. Namely, MTV's Beavis and Butthead spin-off, Daria.
I'll openly admit that I hated this show when I first saw it, all the way back in 1997. I was 16 back then, visiting Athens (the only place in Greece back then that had MTV) on a short vacation and expecting to watch Beavis and Butthead, like the male teenager that I was. What I got instead was this show about a girl, with a sense of humor a lot more sophisticated than the one in Beavis and Butthead, and for that reason, a lot less interesting to my 16-year old self. When I decided to give it a second chance however (on the following day, no less), I found myself charmed by the misanthropic Miss Morgendorffer and her misadventures in teenage life.
In a sense, Daria was a defining part of the latter half of the 90's, with its strong, completely apathetic and unsocial female lead, the dry, sarcastic humor and its fairly realistic/negative depiction of school life. We may take several of these things for granted nowadays, but don't forget that back then it wasn't as common for a show to have a girl as a main character (one of the reasons it struck me as so odd the first time), and especially one as, shall we say... unusual? as Daria.
Naturally, things have moved on in the eleven years since Daria debuted, so the show doesn't have quite the same impact nowadays. In fact, it might feel a little too much by-the-numbers to a new viewer. For example, Daria is so incredibly apathetic that it might seem implausible to some, not to mention the fact that the supporting cast is for the most part made up from glorified stock characters, though this is most likely intended. After all, the show is all about its protagonist, and Daria doesn't care about them at all, why should the viewer?
More importantly, however, since Daria can seemingly never do anything wrong, it could be argued that the show overglorifies the "outsider" type of person, which has since become as much an annoying cliché as the sports jock. Not that Daria is responsible for the emo kids of today, not even remotely so. Daria is a witty misanthropist and a strong, invidivual character, and not a whiny kid overreacting about every little thing in life. I thought I should clear that up.
At any rate, Daria should be judged for what it is. A witty, inspired, just-plain-amusing cartoon back from the era when MTV wasn't afraid of promoting and supporting alternative music/shows/lifestyle in general, and less about sucking ass. While it may not have the same appeal to somebody going through their teenage years in the 00's, it's definitely worth watching for anyone who grew up in the 90's and still reminisces those years.
TL;DR version:
(Meh, I keep forgetting to add this part lately.)
Instead of reiterating what I said above, and especially for those of you who have never watched a single episode of this show, here's the first part of one of my favorite episodes from season 1, Cafe Disaffecto. See for yourselves why a show based on a misanthropist is always a good idea, and why the 90's kick the 00's('s?) sorry ass. You can find the rest in YouTube, as well.
Friday, June 20
Tales of the Bored, Episode IV: A New Hope
First of all, let me get this out of the way real quick: I'm no longer in the army. I won't post the how's and why's here as it's too public a place, but those of you genuinely interested in finding out, you know how to contact me.
Now then, out with the useless, in with the useful. I've decided to re-create this blog into something more... coherent, I think is the word.
For the past two years, Tales of the Bored has been a random collection of all kinds of stuff, from being a repository of things I like, to long-winded rants closely resembling mental diarrhea. And while at times I liked what I posted, it always bothered me that this blog lacked a defining something, a factor which sometimes prohibited me from taking the whole thing seriously.
And in those cases, my rants (not unlike this one) were pretty damn painful to read.
However! As of today, this changes. While I still like too many damn things to focus simply on one of them, I've decided to add some method to this madness. By that I mean that, from now on, each day will have its own theme, with a discussion/analysis/what have you relevant to the theme of the day. More specifically:
To that effect, today's Internets-related news is about Vreel*... wait that's not working, so today's news is about... Firefox 3.0! You know Firefox already, a very reliable and pretty stable (as stable as anything can be on a PC, really) Interwebs browser, and 3.0 is the best version yet. Opera remains a pretty good alternative, but Firefox has a better name, so get to downloading it already!
*Curses, my plans, foiled! Vreel is supposed to be the new Stage6, and the beta was supposed to go live yesterday. However, besides the 404 error, right now I can only access their bulletin board. Oh well, something for next week, I guess.
TL;DR version:
George is making his New Year's resolutions a bit early this time around, and also makes lame references to popular movies. Missed me? I didn't think so.
Now then, out with the useless, in with the useful. I've decided to re-create this blog into something more... coherent, I think is the word.
For the past two years, Tales of the Bored has been a random collection of all kinds of stuff, from being a repository of things I like, to long-winded rants closely resembling mental diarrhea. And while at times I liked what I posted, it always bothered me that this blog lacked a defining something, a factor which sometimes prohibited me from taking the whole thing seriously.
And in those cases, my rants (not unlike this one) were pretty damn painful to read.
However! As of today, this changes. While I still like too many damn things to focus simply on one of them, I've decided to add some method to this madness. By that I mean that, from now on, each day will have its own theme, with a discussion/analysis/what have you relevant to the theme of the day. More specifically:
- Mondays will be about contemporary gaming, in general. From the X360, to the DS, to MMORPG's and so on.
- Tuesdays will be about retro and independent games. I'm a huge fan of retro gaming, so I need one day exclusively to complain about why they don't make games like "X game from the 90's" anymore, and I'm also a big supporter of the independent scene.
- Wednesdays' focus will be on comic books and literature in general. Where "literature" means "stuff about the 'Song of Ice and Fire' series and anything written by Neil Gaiman".
- Thursdays' theme will be sports, with a mockery of the Greek national football team as a recurring theme, most likely.
- Fridays will focus on news and stuff from the Internets. From funny videos to annoying memes and more funny videos, in other words all those useless stuff I usually post when I'm not in the mood for a real post.
- Saturdays will feature analyses of TV shows and movies in general. The reason I'm doing this on Saturdays is so that I'll have time to comment on the latest Battlestar Galactica, in case you're wondering. Which you probably aren't.
- Sundays will be a "free topic" day about whatever I feel like on that day. Which on most occasions will probably be simply nothing at all.
To that effect, today's Internets-related news is about Vreel*... wait that's not working, so today's news is about... Firefox 3.0! You know Firefox already, a very reliable and pretty stable (as stable as anything can be on a PC, really) Interwebs browser, and 3.0 is the best version yet. Opera remains a pretty good alternative, but Firefox has a better name, so get to downloading it already!
*Curses, my plans, foiled! Vreel is supposed to be the new Stage6, and the beta was supposed to go live yesterday. However, besides the 404 error, right now I can only access their bulletin board. Oh well, something for next week, I guess.
TL;DR version:
George is making his New Year's resolutions a bit early this time around, and also makes lame references to popular movies. Missed me? I didn't think so.
Monday, June 9
An interlude
Why, hello there. Long time no see, etc.
I could talk about a lot of things; Obama winning the primaries after so long, the NBA finals and how a new Celtics Vs. Lakers feud could be the best thing to happen to the league since Jordan left, the new Indy movie (which is awesome, and if you didn't like it then you suck), the Lost season finale or the situation in the army and how utterly pathetic it is.
But I won't. Mainly because I don't wanna. But also because I still haven't seen the Lost season finale.
Instead, I'll do what I usually do: post a video. A video from the best episode of season 4 of Battlestar Galactica, an episode that firmly cemented BSG's place in my "Top-5 best TV shows ever" list. It's that fucking good. It's a video of a song that's playing throughout the episode, and its glum, waiful mood kinda works well with mine these days. Though I still have both my legs.
'Till later.
I could talk about a lot of things; Obama winning the primaries after so long, the NBA finals and how a new Celtics Vs. Lakers feud could be the best thing to happen to the league since Jordan left, the new Indy movie (which is awesome, and if you didn't like it then you suck), the Lost season finale or the situation in the army and how utterly pathetic it is.
But I won't. Mainly because I don't wanna. But also because I still haven't seen the Lost season finale.
Instead, I'll do what I usually do: post a video. A video from the best episode of season 4 of Battlestar Galactica, an episode that firmly cemented BSG's place in my "Top-5 best TV shows ever" list. It's that fucking good. It's a video of a song that's playing throughout the episode, and its glum, waiful mood kinda works well with mine these days. Though I still have both my legs.
'Till later.
Friday, May 9
A farewell, at least for now
I really did not feel like blogging lately. I came back from my vacation about five days ago, and while I did stumble across some interesting news, not to mention thinking about revisiting a few ideas from before like that Thor article... I really did not feel like blogging lately. Feeling like shite will do that to you, I guess.
Which is not to say that I like to act like a spoiled brat, I'm hardly the first/last person to ever join the army in this country, but the whole issue is rather more complicated and more personal than I'd feel like sharing in a public place such as this blog.
Ah, but I'm ranting, the kind of personal, angsty, rant I always wanted to avoid when I started Tales of the Bored. So I'll stop here. I'm not sure when my next post will be, and what its subject is going to be. Probably some angry rant about the terrible condition of the Greek army, I doubt I'll have the frame of reference needed for anything else. Also, given the fact that I won't have access to a PC for a good while yet, it's really hard to say when I'll be blogging again.
So a farewell is in order, to anyone (?) still reading this blog. Hopefully, after this whole malarkey is over, I'll have a renewed interest in this blog when I come back. In the meantime, and as always, remember to smile, ya bastards.
TL;DR version:
George is acting like an emo kid. Laf.
The army still sucks, though.
Which is not to say that I like to act like a spoiled brat, I'm hardly the first/last person to ever join the army in this country, but the whole issue is rather more complicated and more personal than I'd feel like sharing in a public place such as this blog.
Ah, but I'm ranting, the kind of personal, angsty, rant I always wanted to avoid when I started Tales of the Bored. So I'll stop here. I'm not sure when my next post will be, and what its subject is going to be. Probably some angry rant about the terrible condition of the Greek army, I doubt I'll have the frame of reference needed for anything else. Also, given the fact that I won't have access to a PC for a good while yet, it's really hard to say when I'll be blogging again.
So a farewell is in order, to anyone (?) still reading this blog. Hopefully, after this whole malarkey is over, I'll have a renewed interest in this blog when I come back. In the meantime, and as always, remember to smile, ya bastards.
TL;DR version:
George is acting like an emo kid. Laf.
The army still sucks, though.
Tuesday, April 22
Scheduled downtime
Easter vacation is finally upon us in the Orthodox world and one of my best friends is getting married in a few days in my hometown. So these add up to a good excuse for me to visit that hellhole. I'm not exactly thrilled about it, and I'm not sure how long I'll stay, since I'm supposed to join the army on May 12. We'll see how it goes.
As a parting gift, here's a leaked trailer from the new X-Files movie, though I wouldn't be surprised if it's pulled off YouTube in a few hours.
TL;DR version:
Cookies.
As a parting gift, here's a leaked trailer from the new X-Files movie, though I wouldn't be surprised if it's pulled off YouTube in a few hours.
TL;DR version:
Cookies.
Monday, April 21
Stop the press! Edgeworth is back!
Miles Edgeworth that is. If the name still doesn't ring a bell, I feel sorry for you since it means you've missed out on the Ace Attorney series of games. You can't really see me right now, but this is me mocking you. Ner ner!
The Ace Attorney series is arguably one of the best adventure game franchises in recent years, and the games themselves are without a doubt the best adventure games on the Nintendo DS. Excellent dialogs, great balance between comedy and drama, clever gameplay, I've been through it before.
(Ner ner!)
What came as a surprise to me is the fact that Capcom is going to release a new spin-off based on the series, starring none other than everyone's favorite Prosecutor/Antagonist/All-around Badass, Miles Edgeworth. Since Edgeworth is one of my favorite characters in the series/genre, I'm personally thrilled.
(Ner ne... all right, I'll drop it.)
The game itself looks to be different from the main Ace Attorney franchise as these screenshots from Famitsu show, since it will be sporting a third-person camera, and perhaps even two playable characters? At least that's what I get from seeing Detective Gumshoe follow Edgeworth around, and his "Objection!" screenshot.
Apparently, there won't be any courtroom scenes in this game this time around, which is kind of a bummer, but I guess a little change is always good. Not to mention that it needs to differentiate itself from the previous games, which were all about the courtroom drama.
There's also a short trailer available, and while it doesn't really show much, it's enough to hype people up. I really love the art in this game so far.
Looks like a lot of characters from previous games are making a comeback, yay for Franziska!
TL;DR version:
Release Ace Attorney 3 and 4 in PAL-land, Capcom, please. Willing to grovel. Thanks.
The Ace Attorney series is arguably one of the best adventure game franchises in recent years, and the games themselves are without a doubt the best adventure games on the Nintendo DS. Excellent dialogs, great balance between comedy and drama, clever gameplay, I've been through it before.
(Ner ner!)
What came as a surprise to me is the fact that Capcom is going to release a new spin-off based on the series, starring none other than everyone's favorite Prosecutor/Antagonist/All-around Badass, Miles Edgeworth. Since Edgeworth is one of my favorite characters in the series/genre, I'm personally thrilled.
(Ner ne... all right, I'll drop it.)
The game itself looks to be different from the main Ace Attorney franchise as these screenshots from Famitsu show, since it will be sporting a third-person camera, and perhaps even two playable characters? At least that's what I get from seeing Detective Gumshoe follow Edgeworth around, and his "Objection!" screenshot.
Apparently, there won't be any courtroom scenes in this game this time around, which is kind of a bummer, but I guess a little change is always good. Not to mention that it needs to differentiate itself from the previous games, which were all about the courtroom drama.
There's also a short trailer available, and while it doesn't really show much, it's enough to hype people up. I really love the art in this game so far.
Looks like a lot of characters from previous games are making a comeback, yay for Franziska!
TL;DR version:
Release Ace Attorney 3 and 4 in PAL-land, Capcom, please. Willing to grovel. Thanks.
Sunday, April 20
Things that blow your mind
I came across a thread in the NeoGAF forums today that's been around for a while, with the subject of things that blow your mind. Several really do live up to their name, for example this picture, or perhaps this one (not a .gif!) or rather this one that is guaranteed to make you feel like a small, insignificant gnat.
Or better yet, the fact that Hugh Laurie, the guy playing Greg House in House M.D., played the role of the father in the Stewart Little movies. I said "what the fuck."
But then I tried the beer I picked up at a local place yesterday. It's called Timmermans and it's cherry-flavored.
"But cherry is for sissies!" I can hear some dickbags shout already. Fuck right off, is my response.
Yes, cherry flavor is not the first thing I associate beer with, but damn. This thing tastes like cough syrup, you know, the kind you had as a kid, the one that tasted so damn delicious you had to pretend you were sick so you could drink some more. Only this baby also has alcohol, which makes it even better by default.
In fact, it's the combination of these two that make this beer a strong candidate for the Best Thing Ever award. My lone cause for concern is the fact that, due to its sweetness, this drink is deceptively strong, and you tend to drink it rather fast so it gets to you even faster. Of course, this is not necessarily a bad thing, so you know.
TL;DR version:
Laugh at George as he gets a bit tipsy on a single bottle of beer, but don't neglect to try this beer for yourselves. Seriously. I'm not even using italics, that's how serious I am right now.
Or better yet, the fact that Hugh Laurie, the guy playing Greg House in House M.D., played the role of the father in the Stewart Little movies. I said "what the fuck."
But then I tried the beer I picked up at a local place yesterday. It's called Timmermans and it's cherry-flavored.
"But cherry is for sissies!" I can hear some dickbags shout already. Fuck right off, is my response.
Yes, cherry flavor is not the first thing I associate beer with, but damn. This thing tastes like cough syrup, you know, the kind you had as a kid, the one that tasted so damn delicious you had to pretend you were sick so you could drink some more. Only this baby also has alcohol, which makes it even better by default.
In fact, it's the combination of these two that make this beer a strong candidate for the Best Thing Ever award. My lone cause for concern is the fact that, due to its sweetness, this drink is deceptively strong, and you tend to drink it rather fast so it gets to you even faster. Of course, this is not necessarily a bad thing, so you know.
TL;DR version:
Laugh at George as he gets a bit tipsy on a single bottle of beer, but don't neglect to try this beer for yourselves. Seriously. I'm not even using italics, that's how serious I am right now.
Friday, April 18
A Siren, of the Forbidden kind
Forbidden Siren was a 2003 PS2 survival horror game created by a subsidiary of Sony, made up from -amongst others- former Silent Hill employees. As such, it sported a fantastic atmosphere, an engaging storyline, and lots of scary moments. However, the gameplay itself was somewhat lacking. Still, it was a radically different entry in the genre of survival horror, which had by that time already begun to feel really stale.
The game emphasized mostly on avoiding confrontations with enemies altogether, rather than killing them. In fact, enemies could not be killed at all, which was a genre first I believe. Of course there were certain unkillable enemies before, such as the Nemesis or Pyramid Head*, but this time you couldn't even kill Zombie Joe Average. This made for more intense sequences of stealth, frenzied attempts at running and hiding from the shibito, but they were perhaps a bit too intense.
Having the constant fear that your enemies will eventually rise up and hunt you again, even after bludgeoning them for the 50th time, knowing that there's no real safe place to hide from them as they can also open doors and effectively seek you out wherever you be... It certainly makes for a more frightening experience, but it's not really fun. And while it could be argued that Silent Hill 2 wasn't exactly all about the fun either, there was some form of entertainment to be had there, perverse though it may have been. This wasn't the case with Forbidden Siren, however, on the contrary it was more of an annoyance than anything. Not to mention that a whole village made of unkillable entities required a far deeper suspension of disbelief than I was willing to indulge myself in.
A sequel was eventually released, and though it addressed many of the flaws of the first game, it didn't really sell that well. Which was a shame, but what can you do?
On the brighter side of things, Sony is preparing a remake of the first game for the Playstation 3, which hopefully will also address the flaws of the original version. Its name will be Siren: New Translation and while that's not the catchiest name ever, I'll have to repeat my point from my last post, it's just a name.
Judging from the first trailer, they certainly got the scares right... I think this is easily the spookiest game trailer I've seen so far. Hopefully the finished game will be just as mind-fuckingly scary.
TL;DR version:
George gets scared by a simple trailer of a videogame and cries like a little bitch. Siren: New Translation is a name worthy of yet another translation but what can you do. In the meantime, George decides to kill some demon fools in Viking: Battle for Asgard so he can feel like a man again. Italics.
* Yes, both were eventually killed in their respective games, but not before the very end, before which they always came back to... well you can't really call it life, but you catch my drift.
The game emphasized mostly on avoiding confrontations with enemies altogether, rather than killing them. In fact, enemies could not be killed at all, which was a genre first I believe. Of course there were certain unkillable enemies before, such as the Nemesis or Pyramid Head*, but this time you couldn't even kill Zombie Joe Average. This made for more intense sequences of stealth, frenzied attempts at running and hiding from the shibito, but they were perhaps a bit too intense.
Having the constant fear that your enemies will eventually rise up and hunt you again, even after bludgeoning them for the 50th time, knowing that there's no real safe place to hide from them as they can also open doors and effectively seek you out wherever you be... It certainly makes for a more frightening experience, but it's not really fun. And while it could be argued that Silent Hill 2 wasn't exactly all about the fun either, there was some form of entertainment to be had there, perverse though it may have been. This wasn't the case with Forbidden Siren, however, on the contrary it was more of an annoyance than anything. Not to mention that a whole village made of unkillable entities required a far deeper suspension of disbelief than I was willing to indulge myself in.
A sequel was eventually released, and though it addressed many of the flaws of the first game, it didn't really sell that well. Which was a shame, but what can you do?
On the brighter side of things, Sony is preparing a remake of the first game for the Playstation 3, which hopefully will also address the flaws of the original version. Its name will be Siren: New Translation and while that's not the catchiest name ever, I'll have to repeat my point from my last post, it's just a name.
Judging from the first trailer, they certainly got the scares right... I think this is easily the spookiest game trailer I've seen so far. Hopefully the finished game will be just as mind-fuckingly scary.
TL;DR version:
George gets scared by a simple trailer of a videogame and cries like a little bitch. Siren: New Translation is a name worthy of yet another translation but what can you do. In the meantime, George decides to kill some demon fools in Viking: Battle for Asgard so he can feel like a man again. Italics.
* Yes, both were eventually killed in their respective games, but not before the very end, before which they always came back to... well you can't really call it life, but you catch my drift.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)