tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44735523731172221322024-02-08T04:28:16.114-08:00Fractured TransmissionsDoctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-13899125612365154622011-02-26T04:39:00.000-08:002011-02-26T05:24:15.006-08:00+5 against Justin BeiberI always feel bad when I play video games and there is the one thing I don't use. During the two playthroughs of Dragon Age: Origins, I may have used the Trap making system once, but I don't recall ever actually using the said trap that I had just constructed. It may have been a fire trap, one of the most basic of medieval fantasy security systems (What better way to keep thieves out of your goods than to set everything on fire? You only live in a wooden building). I also didn't feel much need to brew my own potions considering by midgame, I was literally swimming in health potions dropped by my fallen foes.<br />The game had presented me with options to use, but my simple brain saw no point.<br /><br />Across the board though, I have always rolled my eyes at items that temporarily boost a stat or defense. I mean, what are the chances that you'll drink one of these and then getting hit by the choice element? Granted- in most games I've played, enemy magic users never use spells that can actually hurt you. They tend to stick to one or two spells, none of which are necessarily painful while you close the gap and slice them up, or nuke them with a more powerful spell.<br /><br />I want to know where the special defense potions are for cheap boss attacks? I'm not really interested in a potion that grants me a +5 to my Lightening Resistance. I'm more interested in the one that offers at least a +1 to my resistance against Demonic Cheap Bullshit Attack. I've taken issue with those a LOT more.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-83587272043763300322011-02-21T06:13:00.000-08:002011-02-21T07:04:57.326-08:00Two Worlds 2- The Mid-Play PostI'm not hating it. In fact I like it.<br /><br /><br /><br />I'm a little disappointed. I was really expecting this game to suck so far. I was expecting to get frustrated with it within the first three hours because the clunky combat killed me or something akin to it.<br /><br />But no. Been playing it pretty consistently since Wednesday, and I have to say...I like this game.<br /><br />Granted, I could probably stand to take a bit of time to experiment with some of the magic and the use of potions that I can brew rather than just doing my usual and running like a wild animal into an altercation and spamming the Right Trigger to hit things. The problem being, I really enjoying in-your-face combat and sometimes on the fly, I just don't have the patience for spell casting, and three occasions, I've been bum rushed while trying to cast magic in this game, and for some reason it not responding. Spell interuption I guess.<br /><br /><br /><br />I also like how the main character is kind of a smarmy ass while maintaining some sort of moral uprightness. He doesn't enjoy doing other peoples dirty work, but he does appreciate the results of helping people, even refusing payment for certain jobs. And he speaks for himself rather than me having to pick every speech option for him. Yeah, I can see how that is limiting in shaping how I would want the character to be, but it also makes him more of a character in his own right in the story than just an Avatar of my decisions.<br /><br />I like the guy. He's an asshole, but he's one of those endearing assholes.<br /><br /><br /><br />As for the story, I can't say I've been too dedicated to the main questline as I've been dealing with everything along the way, and my quest log is set to burst.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-38364008333623297542011-02-16T15:53:00.001-08:002011-02-16T16:11:27.657-08:00Two Worlds 2- The Pre-Play PostMy copy of Two Worlds 2 is sitting on my kitchen counter right this very minute, mere minutes after purchasing it, and I'm not sure if this feeling in my gut is deep seeded dread or deep rooted giddiness about the experience I'm about to have.<br />The first Two Worlds, to me, is best compared to a bad relationship that ended on friendly terms. We both gave it a shot, we both promised to get better, and we made good ground, but ultimately we both decided to see other people. When I say that, I mean, trade the game in for a fraction of what I paid for it towards another game.<br />So when Two World 2 came out I was actually anticipating this game to get roaringly terrible reviews, but instead, I'm seeing reviews that seem to beg gamers to be merciful, a concept most Gamers with an internet connection have no concept of.<br /><br />So I am being asked by some reviewers that I respect to be merciful, while standing at the door of a gaming experience I am not expecting to walk away from unscathed. In fact, I do believe I am excited, but I am making the decision here and now as I type this, that I am not going to take it's potentially dark narrative seriously. I am going to go into like you see most LP artists do-- like a complete jerk. Let's see if this game is man enough to handle a main character who just don't give a damn.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-57336785989732455792011-02-13T07:34:00.000-08:002011-02-13T08:00:02.586-08:00If I hear the word "useless" one more time...Me and Jo recently have been butting heads over some things in my flagship DnD 4.0 game. Mainly the topic of usefullness, and what constituted a useful player. Apparently by her definition of Useless, if you are anything of small size and are not the living personification, an Avatar even, of one if not all the Core Classifications of a RPG Party team lineup (Melee, Magic, Stealth, Diplomacy), you have no business being there. It's the cool kids table, and only tall badasses get to sit at the cool kids table.<br /><br />I always was of the mind that usefullness and uselessness were all situational rather than being a racial/class thing.<br />A rogue with a low lockpicking skill can be considered useless.<br />A fighter in a lineup of five other fighters of all possible builds can be perceived as useless.<br />The cleric that doesn't heal his companions during combat is definitely useless.<br />An Evil Aligned character in a group of Good and Lawful Good characters is useless for anything except getting everyone else in trouble.<br />A character with low strength but high dex who insists on going melee is useless.<br />The character who insists on being the diplomat and has shit for charisma is useless.<br />A Dwarf that doesn't drink isn't useless per se, but is just really really wrong.<br /><br />I'm not too sure if I'm the only one with a group where the sudden desire to be "useful" and "needed" has become such necessary terms of character creation. I know where it began, for sure. During a Star Wars game set in a military setting, one of my players wanted to play the role of Medic, which started a discussion over what role each player served. This stuck, so now instead of character they want to play, they roll the character they feel they <em>should</em> play. And I find it annoying.<br />Granted, I don't accept every character idea that hits my desk. However if someone comes to me and says "This is the character I want to play", I will certainly listen, and suggest on how best to make it work. Even if it's the Corgi Race and stats I put up on my facebook, or a Frogman warrior. I don't look for usefullness as a DM, I look for creativity.<br /><br />Maybe that's where I fail?Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-46212573261299831792011-02-06T06:58:00.000-08:002011-02-06T08:11:29.876-08:00This is how we do.Despite our nearly Brother/Sister relationship, me and Jo simply cannot discuss certain things civily. For instance, she can't even mention a combination of the words "Final Fantasy" and "13" without fire coming out of my ears, just as I can't bring up Dungeons and Dragons around Jo without her erupting into a font of rage over what 4th edition ultimately did to a ruleset she holds so very deep to her bosom, likewise she can't express her displeasure without me calling her an old fashioned, behindthetimes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludite">Ludite</a>. Then Jade throws things at our heads and tells us to stop acting like children.<br /><br />There is a small list, and it gets added to at least twice a year.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-47060176029657798292011-01-31T06:42:00.000-08:002011-01-31T07:24:14.956-08:00Was I going somewhere with this?I've never been overly fascinated with Zombies, unlike certain people I know that actually have a contingency plan if and when the Zombie Apocalypse should occur. I find the whole concept silly and illogical, and silly and illogical is my bread and butter, I just never got on the whole World War Z thing.<br />To me, Zombies have always been one of the lowest threats possible should things go bad. Zombies are usually one of the first enemies you encounter in an RPG, and are easily dispatched due to low intelligence and predictable nature.<br /><br />In other news, had to do a little cleanup of my Twitter account since either Twitter was using it itself for advertising purposes or someone got ahold of my password, so had to go in there and do som'bout'it.<br /><br />Just realized I've been going on and on about essentially nothing at all.<br />...<br />Par for the course.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-43285338999757948902011-01-21T04:14:00.000-08:002011-01-21T04:33:45.483-08:00Shepard, Thorton is not.I've made it a habit to keep a bottle of water by my bedside these days, to stave off the effects of early morning pickle mouth. If I wake up in the middle of the night and my mouth is all dry and tastes like the very bottom of a whiskey barrel, you can't just nod off from that. My mouth demands to remain moist.<br /><br />So not long ago, I gave Alpha Protocol a tour of duty at a discount price, despite the foamy mouthed negative reviews. It was one of those games where I "had to see it for myself". I wanted to see the trainwreck.<br />The end result was...not unenjoyable. I definately felt I was playing a poor mans Mass Effect with only one squad member, and the main character not being quite as Badass. In fact, the main character, Michael Thorton, is kind of a dick.<br />The game also suffers from being relatively short, and as soon as you meet some relatively interesting characters, you're already waving them goodbye as you move on to the next chapter. It almost begs to be played at least twice to test out different approaches to situations. I can name at least three places where I would have preferred a different course, or wasn't paying attention and did something I didn't want to.<br />It's at the very least a 3 out of 5 game. In the very least.<br /><br />The next game in my queu is Eternal Sonata, a game I've been meaning to get under my belt for some time now. The voice acting and story are on par with what you would expect from a Japanese RPG. That is, very campy, possibly cheesy, and the story makes no sense from a standard, logical point of view.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-33045849157141418262011-01-07T06:14:00.000-08:002011-01-07T06:19:14.973-08:00I started drawing again!So I've started drawing again recently. That's probably interesting to only a few of you out there. The decision to return to the pencil and paper was more or less made for me since we came to realize that Fractured Transmissions didn't have a vehicle to drive it forward.<br />So we formulated Operation: What?, a webcomic dealy project thing. Hopefully it'll pan out, and be funny enough that people will read it.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-14061196212708683382010-12-21T20:48:00.000-08:002010-12-21T21:02:53.223-08:00In Memorial: Hangfire Jim listerA writer and an artist draw their inspirations from many places. Be it some event they saw on their drive in to work, or something said or done by them or to them. It is the fuel of creativity. Sometimes, it is not positive events that give energy to the creative mind, but even this wood must the carver work with, or he'll always be stuck with that piece of wood until he does something with it.<br /><br />This last Thursday, I lost my father. Him being 54, in the prime of life, working during his retirement days as an officer at ASU. He drank like a fish, but never seemed to have a hangover the next day. He was a hard worker, but cut loose with the best of them. He was worldly, he was tough. He was both a sinner and saint. He taught me the first dirty joke that got me in trouble in school. He was a lover of the Old West, and modeled himself as such. I will always believe that he was born in the wrong century for his genius and wisdom to have been truly appreciated.<br /><br />It was way too soon for him to go, but who am I to question the decisions of the Divine?<br /><br />He will be missed, but I have chosen to remain philisophical and calm, as he would like me to be. He walks a different road from me now, but one day our two roads will cross, and we'll continue on together to whatever lays beyond that next hill. But until that days comes, I have his lessons to live by, and his jokes to tell.<br /><br /><a href="http://asunews.asu.edu/20101221_lister">http://asunews.asu.edu/20101221_lister</a><br /><br /><em>--And when he gets to heaven, to St. Peter he will tell, "Another soldier reporting for duty, sir. I've done my time in Hell."</em>Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-22145100208478085592010-12-15T05:57:00.000-08:002010-12-15T06:30:49.577-08:00Verizon sells Lightening Bolts?So, we may have all seen this commercial before. A guy racing out to his mail box, really desperate for what's inside. We have some dramatic, heavy music playing like he's trying to make it to the battlefield in time. This is a man with a purpose, and that purpose is whatever is in that parcel he's clutching to his bosom.<br />He runs into a barn and hides himself away as he unwraps a a polished Mahogany box. Dude is breathing heavily, he opens it with baited breath. Light eminates from the box as...something starts to take shape, but we only see it from the mans back.<br />Next thing we see, our epic hero is striding out of the barn with a...Holy crap, is that a lightning bolt?!<br />The commercial ends with the guy stepping out of the barn and heaving the bolt into the heavens to...<br />...<br />...<br />What the hell was he throwing that thing at? Was there a Cyclops or a Hydra threatening the farmstead? Was he trying to jumpstart a transformer on a power line the Chuck Norris way?<br />He obviously had to purchase this thing, pay the billing, and then wait for the delivery-- I would imagine he signed for overnight-- and the first thing he does to throw it at someone or something. For all that, I would hope that it's not just a one-use item.<br /><br />I'm stuck this morning trying to decipher what Verizon is trying to say with this in conjuction with their phones. The commercial (which I tried to find on Youtube, but failed, sorry on that) talks about how their network is fast. Fast like lightning? Does my Verizon phone come equipped with an emergency Zeus Mode in case I have to do battle with Titans? I really need a phone that's reliable when besieged by mythical beings.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-77062963959622021862010-12-13T20:47:00.001-08:002010-12-13T21:04:55.553-08:00Gamers need to shut the hell up!Does there exist a forum community somewhere out there on the internet where Gamers can commune and discuss their hobbies in a civil manner without the forbidden laws of the interwebs taking over and reducing everyone logged in into ranting nutjobs?<br /><br />I will admit that I am not a part of a lot of online communities, possibly for good reason as my tolerance for people on message boards wears exceptionally paper thin incredibly fast, especially on gaming forums and communities. Double so when an anticipated game is still in the development stages. Oh, heavens, what is it that makes your average Gamer suddenly think he has a pipeline of influence into the makings of games? Called me old fashioned and uncreative, but I firmly believe that it's the Developers job to make the game, and it's my duty to pay them money to play it.<br />You don't badger an artist over what to put in his painting while he's working, do you? But apparently because we pay these people for our entertainment, normally $50-$60 fresh, we Gamers tend to have this complex in which we feel the Developers "owe us" in some odd way. I can safely tell you, true believers, that Developers owe us nothing.<br />While Developers may seek out player input from time to time, this does not mean the Developers are going to use us as their focus group and think tank. Developers have their own ideas. They have their own plans. They have their own vision. We gamers need to learn to shut up for a bit and let them express themselves.<br />I don't care how much money you pay for their work, it's their work. Let the Developers have their fun, and we have ours when they're done. How does that sound?Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-22888722889667259552010-12-12T04:31:00.000-08:002010-12-12T04:45:12.005-08:00Splatterhouse...Starring Winnie the PoohJim Cummings is the voice of the the Terror Mask in the new Splatterhouse game.<br /><br />The voice of Disney's Big Pete, the current voice of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, the Tasmanian Devil, Darkwing Duck, and a variety of other kiddie works, is the same voice as a foul mouthed Mask of bloodlust and evil.<br /><br />Every time I play this game after hearing that voice, I'm now imagining Big Pete or Tigger demanding I dismember and destroy all in my path.<br />It is both awesome and unsettling at the same time. But way more awesome than unsettling.<br />It's a good game too, but isn't without it's F--- You moments. I haven't sworn this much about Bull-S--- cheaps deaths since the Hades level in the first God of War.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-89152938281293292102010-12-07T04:11:00.000-08:002010-12-07T04:56:01.930-08:00Where the deuce is my coffee?I try very hard to keep this blog as un-wishy washy as possible. I feel that very few blogs, or at least the very successful ones can get away with being introspective. Every so often though something that was intended to be deep rather than informative or funy slips through the cracks. I would like to blame it on writing entries just after 5am.<br />An upside to waking up that early is, my brain is just addled enough that Facebook games become palleteable. Frontierville is still infuriating that you require the premium currency just to advance. Resturaunt City is trying to lure me in with Transformer-knockoff items. But I am a rock, if not anything. I'm one of those cheapskates who <em>could</em> spend good money on in-game items, but then again, what did I just buy? I just can't do it in good conscience knowing that money was spent on what was literally nothing.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-57380156471089009802010-12-06T04:59:00.000-08:002010-12-06T05:16:11.289-08:00Unstoppable, starring Not-Morgan-FreemanIn honor of my turning 26 yesterday, Jo treated me to an afternoon showing of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477080/"><span style="color:#000099;">Unstoppable</span></a>. I <em>wanted</em> to se The Warriors Way, however Jade was quite clear that if me and Jo saw it without her that she would do us great bodily harm.<br />I'll admit, I wasn't originally taken by the premise- a runaway train barreling out of control and it's up to two men to stop it. Having not read any reviews and maybe all of one trailer, I was apprehensive. I was actually convinced it was a terrorism movie, since obviously if something terrible happens, it has to be terrorists. That's just common sense.<br />But no...No terrorists. Just outright human stupidity. The Antagonist is an unmanned train carrying highly toxic material that was set on it's corpse by a dumbass trainyard worker who looks like the lovechild of Kevin Smith and Michael Moore, and it's up to Captain Kirk and Denzel "Not Morgan Freeman" Washington to stop it before shit gets real.<br /><br />It's a buddy movie, out and out, following the usual structure of both men being down on their luck in one fashion or another, and at the start they do not like each other but by the end their so buddy buddy you'd expect them to start kissing.<br /><br />My reaction being...I liked it. I was not expecting it to be good, and was really expecting a drawn out terrorist attack movie containing a lot of stock footage of trains and tracks. Instead, I got a rather thrilling and "oh shit" inducing experience.<br /><br />Now, I only refer to Denzel Washington in this movie as "Not Morgan Freeman" because, in this movie, there is very little separating him from a role usually suited for Morgan Freeman. Not that Denzel does a bad job. He does a marvelous job pulling off the close-to-retirement Train Engineer who may or may not be too old for this shit.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-40304384204228193492010-12-03T04:16:00.000-08:002010-12-03T04:37:00.890-08:00Yahtzee covers iPhone gamesThis morning's post was going to be another attempt at something introspective and deep, but then I realized that's not what you're here for. So, while I learn to stop turning my gaming/entertainment blog into an emo-fest, let me redirect your attention to "Is he British or is he Australian" Yahtzee's latest review.<br /><br />Zero Punctuation: iPhone Games<br /><a href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2506-iPhone-Games"><span style="color:#3333ff;">http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2506-iPhone-Games</span></a><span style="color:#3333ff;"><br /></span><br />And for once, I have actually played all but one of the games he talks about. Yahtzee's the type that really reaches and clutches straws when it comes to trying to find something negative to say about games, but I like his delivery.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-23748360460477569792010-12-02T04:47:00.000-08:002010-12-02T04:56:38.001-08:00Minecraft. More like MineCRACK, amirite?I have been playing a little game called Minecraft for about two months now. A lot of it. Chances are if you're reading this, you've heard of Minecraft and the digital crack that it can become. If not, then please direct yourself to <a href="http://www.minecraft.net">this page</a>, and get yourself acquainted with the Indy Game of the year.<br />It's truly an amazing game, and yet at the same time I keep talking about how it's hardly a game at all. It just barely qualifies for Game status in it's Alpha state, but it's fun seeing it evolve in real time every Friday when Notch, the creator, updates. <br />I was especially fond of his Halloween update in which he enabled the ability to create portals to a sort of hellish Underworld, and Jack-O-Lanterns. <br /><br />There being no right or wrong way to play it, I do admit, I cheat like of a son of a bitch. I've been through enough worlds and terrains and caverns and wasted through enough stone pickaxes to despise the hunt for certain resources. I'd rather play with the system and toy around with what I can do, rather than the whole survival aspect of the game, and use an Inventory Editor to get a healthy dose of whatever I'm feeling I need.<br />And I doubt I am alone. If on Youtube you see anyone with really elaborate settups, you know they've cheated with resources. It's legit even still, but we're playing it with different goals than that of those who are playing it strictly for the day and night survival aspects. <br /><br />So far, best $15 investment I've made in a long time.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-77231682274096778792010-11-29T12:14:00.000-08:002010-11-29T13:00:52.809-08:00Review: Fallout New VegasWell, this one has certainly been in the works for a while now, being more than a month since the games release, so here comes Scrappy Come Lately with his lot to throw into the quagmire of Gaming Journalism in it's deepest form, the review.<br /><br />Fallout: New Vegas was a hand off title developed by Obsidian by people who once worked for the ill-fated Black Isles company, makers of the orignal Fallout games, as well as the Baldurs Gate series. Because of their connection to the franchise, many Fallout Fan-Bois took this as a sign of the coming of what was dubbed in message boards across the web as "The True Fallout 3", while the rest of us who started their interest in the series WITH Fallout 3 just stood their scratching their heads and wondering why everyone was suddenly foaming at the mouth. <br />I was more confused on what was considered a "True" Fallout game, and the response I got back baffled me even more. Apparently, the True Fallout Game is the game...I'm sorry...The Game...that will surpass all other games-- So First Person Shooter that it makes Call of Duty look like a launch Day Noob, so Epic in storytelling that you half expect the cast to consist of Conan the Barbarian, Chuck Norris, Neil Patrick Harris and Former President Van Buren, so Role Playing Game that it makes your old D&D books burst into flames, and so Survival and Simulationist that Sid Meier commits suicide by cutting his throat with a broken CD of The Sims.<br />Apparently, these morons and psychopaths have forgotten that Video Games are meant to be fun and entertaining, not the fucking meaning of life itself.<br /><br />Around that point was when I made the logical and sensible decision to decree the Fallout Fandom, message boards, and communties, were a bucnh of delusional twits. Especially the likes of groups like No Mutants Allowed which will call you a retard and then permanently ban you for daring to think Fallout 3 by Bethesda Softworks was any good and denying the holy awesomeness that was Fallouts 1 and 2. Elitist much?<br /><br />So onto the actual game then. <br />New Vegas opens with the usual "War Never Changes" monologue delivered by Ron Perlman in which we learn some basic factoids about where we're starting, with our role cast as a mail courier with zero backgrounds in an attempt to remove any dramatic potential for him or her as a character, with a run in of bad luck as you wake up after a knock on the head and find out your package has been stolen by a well dressed man and a band of goons, and the well dressed man puts two bullets in your head.<br />At first I was afraid I'd missed a prompt to avoid my appointed fate, but it turns out that we miraculously survive the double tap thanks to a backwater surgeon after being drug out of our shallow grave by a Cowboy Robot who is totally not suspicious in his vague reasons for saving you. <br />After the Doctor is done patching you up in the character settup, establishing stats and what have you, you are free to do as you will, for better or for worse. Granted, the game pelts you over the head that you're hunting the well dressed man and what he stole from you, but if you want, you can ignore that and be on your way...as long as that way is south.<br /><br />New Vegas has what I like to refer to as The Rape Zone. <br />-To the north of where you begin, there is a territory infested with Cazadors, or as I call them, Rape Flies, which early on in the game will kill you, and kill you so hard you want to file a restraining order against Chris Avelone. <br />-In the middle from there, there be Deathclaws. As on NPC put it "they just get mad when you shoot them", and that's advice well taken to heart at the start. <br />-Farther on to the East you'll find a gathering of Super Mutants inhabiting the nearby Black Mountains <br />-Past that is more Deathclaws.<br />That said, any path that isn't south is certain suicide from the outstart, like the game is trying to guide you away from the most direct route away from the shiny city of New Vegas in the background, where it mocks you in all it's always-visible splendor. It knows you can't get there yet, but at light, look at all those lights. The fucking tease.<br /><br />Granted, your journey is peppered with a variety of missions in which people require your assistance, and we learn that much more about the world and the factions we'll be contending with later on. Missions are often simple and plentiful, and with the right skills, some missions are about as easy as finding someone and passing a simple Speech check.<br />Speaking of Speech, if you have a high enough speech, almost any mission can be passed without a single punch or bullet fired, granted that your objective requires you to deal with people that can be reasoned with or intimidated. You can even make the end of the game that much easier by convinvcing the final adversary to walk away. <br /><br />Following the trail of our failed hitman in the checkered suit finally takes us all the way to New Vegas. At this point on arrival, you are ready for whores, gambling, and Rat Pack mayhem. Unfortuantely, you learn that you require a Pass or a 2000 Cap credit check to make it past the Dalek Guard Squad out front of The Strip, forcing you to become an errand boy (seeing a pattern in this?) for the surrounding ghetto's and beyond. <br />Once you actually get into The Strip, the main story can actually begin and alliances can finally be made and broken.<br />-Do you fight for the independence of the people of the Mojave Wasteland from foreign powers?<br />-Do you strive to bring order, democracy, and bureacracy to New Vegas with the New California Republic?<br />-Do you march under the banner of Ceasar and his Legion to usher in a new Rome?<br />-Or do you work for a shady, secretive ruler who only cares about the maintaining of New Vegas as a power?<br /><br />Unfortuantely, as far as I know, there is no "Fuck it all, burn it to the ground" path. <br />Along with the usual Karma system, it is unfortunately outweighed by the Faction Reputation system, which you will find vastly more interesting than whether or not you are good or evil. <br /><br />Everrything aside you might be thinking to yourself, "This feels a lot like Fallout 3", and you would be right. Most of the graphics and the engine itself have been lifted straight from Bethesda's Fallout 3 or Obsidians use. Whether this is a good or a bad thing depends where on the Fan-Boi stratum you fall into. If you're like me and could give less of a spit about the graphics, you'll do fine. However, if you're not, you'll likely be raging to the heavens. <br />The game engine though is not perfect, and a legion of bugs and glitches still abound, with everyone clogging message boards for news of the long-awaited patch-up rather than biding their time with other business that their lives demand.<br />There are also some glitches with the companions, some of which require you to take them to a certain place and talk to a certain NPC to unlock their special quests. For instance, I had to take Veronica, a BOS Scribe, to The Silver Rush weapon shop in Freeside to unlock a part of her dialogue. She just stood there with me nudging her trying to coax a response out of her. And then there's Raul, the Danny Trejo character, whom requires you to speak to a couple of old farts, many of which are bugged and won't even speak to you.<br /><br />Bugs and frustrations aside...I had fun with this game and maintain a firm belief that naysayers can blow it out their ass. That probably places me in a different category of Fan-Boi than previously mentioned, but I'm comfortable in my niche in the fandom where I can still enjoy the game and not feel insulted by it like the game is oweing me money and it spent the last of it's paycheck on beer.<br /><br />Final verdict--<br />OOOO- (4/5)Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-15929691451969830092010-10-27T05:22:00.000-07:002010-10-27T05:49:18.331-07:00Getting on up there.Ever have a moment where you suddenly realize that with age, that there's things that you'd rather do than watch anime or play video games? It usually happens as you approach the age of 30, as I am only a few short years shy of. The maturity comes in like a ghost and sometimes you don't even realize that you'd rather get laundry done or do the dishes when you get home from work rather than good off.<br /><br />Granted, I am not one who believes in abandoning your pastimes just because you might be too old. Some would tease you that nerds don't get to enjoy the finer points of adulthood, I would say we tend to avoid the more mundane and self destructive points of adulthood.<br />Insert comment about getting laid here.<br /><br />But I do worry about my age sometimes, that I'm not where I should be. I reflect and recall that Eddie Murphey was only around 21 when he got his start. That I could have worked a little harder in highschool or even dedicated a little time to where I was going with my life. <br /><br />But what's the use worrying and regretting when there's no way of reversing it? You know? I prefer to live my life Bohemian. I live it the way I live it, and I enjoy being the weird little nutjob I am. If it's a lifestyle you can be happy with, don't change for anything, baby.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-877280938677828632010-10-04T03:50:00.000-07:002010-10-04T04:07:56.328-07:00iMomoThere is something undisputably therapeutic about harassing Catgirls, and that seems to be exactly the idea when it comes to the Amamiya Momo app for the iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad, etc.<br /><br />The execution is simple. You are presented with a chibi Cat Girl named Momo. Touch her, shake her, try and flip up her skirt (a touch screen action I've only able to pull off twice, and both times it crashed the app)...But regardless of what you do, and the app's <a href="http://i-momo.jp/pc/about_en.html">website</a> says this perfectly, "Basically, she doesn't like to be touched."<br />And this is true. She really doesn't. Anything you do to interact with her will illicit a variety of swearing, threats, and general nastiness. It's like the Anti-Dating Sim.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fe_M8tvOkgQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fe_M8tvOkgQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />One of her lines even has her threatening sexual harassment.<br />And yet for a $0.99 App, there's something endearing about giving her hell.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-28011824355695535552010-10-03T08:30:00.001-07:002010-10-03T12:00:34.376-07:00Saboten Con 2010Three times over the course of out two day adventure, we tried to record something to contribute to the Podcast and even had some ideas for some unofficial "panel" thingamadoo's...<br />But...<br />We got tired...And did an Irish Goodbye and just up and left before the bad weather really set in Saturday night.<br />Project 14 was a failure at this Saboten Con, but you know what? I don't care.<br />For some, Conventions are about self-indorsement...commingling...Showing off...But this time around, for me, it was to relax and unwind, and the resort the con was hosted at had that in spades. The staff were very chill with the whole scene and were very accomodating, unlike some we've had to deal with in the past.<br /><br />For the con itself, it was good times if not a little bit of a tight fit despite the large venue. Not to mention I was dressed up as the Tom Baker 4th Doctor, I just want to take a minute to tell you that wearing a longcoat, scarf and a fedora in 100+ degree temperature really really sucks. Every so often, I would find myself in moments where the heat wasn't bothering me and I was wondering if I was just adjusting or if this was an early stage of dehydration.<br /><br />The 4th Doctor outfit went over very well, even to the point where a Master Chief walked up to me, handed me his plasma rifle, put his arm around me and posed for a photo op- I didn't request a photo, so I'm wondering if he was just doing that, or if he wanted a photo with Doctor Who.<br />Also, Jelly Babies were had by all.<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfisgGuuUD8">Jelly Babies were very instrumental in the 4th Doctors run. </a><br /><br />Jo and Jade did a joint cosplay as Mocha from Rosario+Vampire, a series I am only vaguely familiar with, but am making a conscious effort to get to know, since I've been without an anime to obsess over since K-On! ended it's second season.<br /><br />The Dealers room was more geared towards independant artists and booths than I've seen yet at a Con. In fact I think only one booth was associated with a major manga distributor. I liked the smaller time feel, artists and the like selling their wares.<br /><br />I had to duck out of the rave for obvious reasons...That damn overcoat.<br /><br />Also, a note on that overcoat, I bought it as a Savers here in Casa Grande. I should have checked the pockets...because when I was digging around for my camera, I found it covered in a mysterious brown substance.<br />"Chocolate or poop, Scraps?" Jo chimed in.<br />A sniff revealed chocolate.<br />An investigation turned up the scrunched and melted remains of an ancient Hersheys Kiss.<br />I'm glad it wasn't poop. Some may feel that simply goes without saying, but I feel I must be clear.<br /><br />The panels attended were few. We do not do a lot of the more professionally geared panels, aimed at the aspiring, as Jo and Jade are not as fond of more dry affairs as I am. Friday night, however, because I wanted to, I attended the "let's play an Ero" panel at midnight.<br />What it was, essentially, was an LP of a Japanese Ero game, in which the audience decided to decisions made. There were very few instances of this. In fact, most of the panel was a group of men (go figure) making fun of the writing you find in your average Ero game. And the writing was paritcularly bad. I began to think about how much people who write those things make.<br /><br />On Saturday, jointly, we attended the Whose Line is it Anime, however we were unable to perform because the lampoons who were running it never looked in our direction when calling for hands. Funny show regardless. Even more so the How to Gamerscore panel, which devolved from dating tips for Gamers to dialogues about pwning noobs and screwing around with friends. Good fun.<br /><br />Well, let's wrap up this 48 hour flashback...A fine con, perhaps the finest I'd been to in a long while. Now then...Where'd I leave that scarf...?Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-61106716915532571102010-07-05T08:27:00.001-07:002010-07-05T08:45:36.671-07:00Red Dead Redemption-- Alright!Red Dead Redemption is everything that it's predecessor Red Dead Revolver and fellow Cowboy Free-Roam GUN always strove to be- Grand Theft Auto with cowboys. And it works. By God it works.<br />It's amazing what happens when you take the Grand Theft Auto formula and you apply it to an out-of-city location. It's something a lot of games have tried in the past, and very few have ever come close to getting it right.<br /><br />The story is simple and straight Wild West film fodder. You play as John Marston, who barely has a passing resemblance to Red from the previous game. John's a crony for the Bureau, an early incarnation of the FBI, and is on a mission to hunt down people from his own bloody past in order to see the safe return of his wife and son.<br />And like Niko Bellic before him, everyone has a problem, and John seems to be the only one capable getting the job down, distracting him from his quest in classic GTA Clone form.<br /><br />And for the record, I suck at Horseshoes just as bad in this game as I do in real life. I have also finally learned the nuances of Texas Hold'em. I still do not know what constitutes a Full House, but by God I got one somehow.<br /><br />It really helps the game that John Marston isn't too terribly down on himself that his family is being held hostage by the government. He's actually quite a peppy guy, coming off more like a Doc Holiday than a Wyatt Earp. He definately doesn't lend himself well to the kind of murderous rampaging that's normally associated with this kind of game, but it's a wonderful deterrent to unnecessary violence.<br />It's much in the same vein as Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect series coming off as a total military badass in most interactions, but sounding like a complete and utter tool when he's hitting on the female members of his crew. Unless pissed off, Marstons a pretty cool cat.<br /><br />This game doesn't render a rental, it definately is well worth the money to own. There is far too much game here to complete in five days.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-23827967433324498772010-04-25T08:15:00.001-07:002010-04-25T08:15:23.353-07:00Country music has a very specific demographic. Recently when I've been forced to dwell in a room or vehicle in which those particular melodies are playing, I take notice how they are usually about love, breakups, rowdy but apparently whole country living, and waxing poetic on the relationships one has with their parents.<br /><br />The demographic country music targets is more often than not Married People with kids. It's safe to listen to around your kids and you can relate to it probably.<br />Despite my country upbringings, me and the musical genre to not agree on a lot of things philosophically. Also I am a 25 year old single male who only enters drinking establishments two times a month at most. On top of that, cowboy boots are incredibly goofy looking. Country Western, needless to say, does not put a wiggle in my step.<br /><br />Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-38919933783730903392010-04-15T07:55:00.000-07:002010-04-15T08:05:08.774-07:00So yeah~~We recently recorded another episode of the Podcast, which you might find on any of the seemingly random venues we post our digital drivel at. Leo joined us on the mic this time around, in which we christened him with the sub-title: 00.5. He's not quite a Double-O Zero, but not yet a Double-O One. I say he's neither because he's neither British nor a spy.<br /><br />We spent a lot of time recording the podcast stepping on each others toes, and even at one point had three different conversations going on at once. It's at that point that I can picture everyone switch to a different Podcast on their playlist. And if we were the only Podcast you'd happen to be listening to at the time in question, we probably ruined your day. Sorry about that.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-25535071965473381132010-04-02T06:41:00.000-07:002010-04-02T06:58:47.003-07:00Scraps plays a lot of games.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/doctorscraps@gmail.com">Scraps</a> here~~<br /><br />So. Dragon Age: Awakening. Finally knocked that off recently. I think I can honestly say I am done with Dragon Age for the time being. I'm just going to put that on the shelf and let it stand as one of many victories and triumphs in gaming that I have completed.<br />Awakening has a lot of interesting ideas, but the bulk of the expansion consists of request boards and fetch quests over actual quests.<br />The story involves this character called The Architect, and a character called The Mother, whom are two Intelligent Darkspawn warring against each other. I won't spoil it for you, because, it is indeed an awesome, eye-opening revelation if you've been paying attention to the player codex of Origins.<br />The problem being, it feels like it ends just as it's getting good. Things are finally falling into place, and everything is going good, and then you get pigeonholed into the final scenario.<br /><br />I may delete Awakening from my hard drive just to open up space, and later on, if I ever feel the need to play it again, just buy the disc version.<br /><br />I think Awakening would have faired better as a book, as it draws heavily from the Dragon Age novel, The Calling. Since I did not read the book, nor was I even aware there was a book, I sort of felt like I was getting only half the experience.<br /><br />Since I got Dragon Age done with, and am kinda bored with my current 360 library, I've been digging myself hip deep into Persona 3 FES, starting to get to work on the mountain of old PS2 titles I have and have yet to even start. I will probably focus on them for a time, until something comes along for 360 that catches my time and attention.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4473552373117222132.post-87302066804855788032010-03-16T09:38:00.000-07:002010-03-16T10:15:53.747-07:00Scraps vs. The InternetsDoctor Scraps here--<br /><br />A new party member named Kasumi has been announced for DLC in Mass Effect 2 on April 6th. Is anybody else envisioning a <a href="http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5700000/Kasumi-art-dead-or-alive-5794260-337-500.jpg">buxom, blue and white gi-wearing kung fu girl </a>jump kicking Collectors and Krogans? It would indeed be teh hawtness, but also highly inpractical.<br />Ah, see <a href="http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Kasumi_Goto">this is why ole' Scrappy needs to do this homework before he starts typing</a>-- Kasumi is a Thief character, one of those Sly Cooper types. And she looks like a Sith Lord. As long as she is more interactable than Zaeed wound up being, I'll be happy. I've been looking for an excuse to play ME2 for a while.<br /><br />You know-- I have quite a few pet peeves when it comes to the internet. One of them is people who post on forums for specific games...for this example, we're going to say Mass Effect since I just got done talking about it. You browse a Mass Effect forum andf some jackhole makes a post entitled "How would you compare this to Final Fantasy 13?"<br />I wouldn't. Different genre, different play style, dingus.<br />Another variant is "This game or this game?"<br />Make your own decision, moron. If you're browsing the Mass Effect forum on Gamefaqs, don't ask whether Mass Effect 2 is better than Bioshock 2, you know what answer you're going to get!<br />Of course, we have this wonderful thing on the internet called Moderated Free Speach, which prevents me from scalding these fools verbally, because I'm then officially "infringing upon their right to have an opinion", even if they are idiots.Doctor Scrapshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16762451020376991352noreply@blogger.com0