IN "insert place" NO ONE CAN HERE YOU "insert vocal sound"

In the latest issue of Game Informer there is a cover image, and associated article, about Dead Space. This is supposed to be the scariest game EVER made. The developers had to immerse themselves in a pantheon of sci-fi/horror movies that is a perfect list of geek related movies. The list includes Alien, Event Horizon, and The Thing as well as the games Resident Evil and Silent Hill. They have the right source material, and they came up with a Survival/Horror game, played in both First and Third person, that in many ways reminds me of DOOM 3 but less weapons and more creatures. You play an engineer (not a soldier) with a plasma torch and what looks like an armored zero-gee suit. You're trying to fix a ship that's been taken over by, uh... something, and you need to survive. Sounds generic but they're trying to do it right. The first previews of the game were unveiled by EA a couple days ago. Click here to view. Previews like this make me drool for a movie.

This brings up an interesting conundrum that I've been mulling over since the new batch of horror movies hit theaters for halloween. I don't like horror films so I rarely watch them, however I do like sci-fi/horror (like the above mentioned movies) for reasons I can't explain. And I like playing survival/horror games at nite, in the dark, in full surround sound. I believe the reason is due to the fact I get to react how I want. I know I'm in a horror story and react accordingly. From Silent Hill to Condemned I've enjoyed and dreaded every minute. Movies are different due to their passive nature. Maybe puting horror in a sci-fi setting forces a certain amount of plot and character work that elevates the movie above the usual horror plot. My biggest problem with horror is I don't identify with the characters and I'd like to think that in the same situation I'd react differently and survive the encounter (sorry Freddy and Jason). I may not identify with the game characters, but it is still me playing, not him/her. In fact, once you realize you're in a horror story (examine the situation like the movie "Stranger Than Fiction") you should immediatly go into survival mode. In sci-fi/horror I think characters act a bit more realistic, even given the setting. Look at the Colonial Marines from Aliens, they were far more human and realistic than they could have been. One of those things movie geeks ought to know are the names of at least some of the Marines. This made easier by well crafted characters by James Cameron.

Alright, I opened it up. What should geeks get out of Aliens? Why is Aliens a geek movie? The movie is well paced, even the extended directors cut, and it takes place in the future. Everyone wants to know what the future looks like, right? So the movie takes us slowly through Earth's space station Ripley doesn't even recognize, the Colonial Marines personal starship Sulaco and all their awesome gear and weapons, and many, many scenes detailing the "Shake & Bake" colony of LV-426. All this careful prep lets the characters develop enough, and we learn a bit about them. Other than Ripley there is Newt, Burke, Hicks, Hudson, Apone, Drake, Vazquez, Bishop, Frost, Ferro, Wierzbowski, Spunkmeyer, Dietrich, Crowe, and Gorman. Lots and lots of aliens on screen this time with my favorite piece of hardware, the gun camera turrets (which come in handy in Half-Life 2), in one of the most intense scenes of the movie. Aliens provides many great terms and quotes: "Xenomorph"; "Power Loader"; "Game Over, Man"; "What are we supposed to use, harsh language"; "Nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure."; "They mostly come out at night, mostly"; "This colony has a substantial dollar value"; "Get away from her, you bitch!"; "Hey, Vazquez, anyone ever mistake you for a man?" These are mostly dredged from my memory so I might have mashed the quote but you get the idea. The end scene with the Queen on the Sulaco is so good Nintendo 64 borrowed the scene for a level in Conker's Bad Fur Day (they also used the Matrix lobby scene too).

Tonight I begin the final leg of Half-Life 2 with Episode 2. This carries on the tradition of excellent gameplay started in HL2, and it still seems fresh. I don't know how Valve does it. One of the most tempting achievements, worth 20 points (a lot on this game of 99 achievements), requires me to kill 333 larvae of an alien insectoid called a Sand Lion. They look like "The Bugs" from Starship Troopers, and die with the same satisfaction. I even ran around in thier hive, which also looks "Bug" inspired, from the Roughnecks TV show. What kind of number is 333. It's not a round number like 300 or 50. How the hell am I supposed to find 333. I can find 50 things in a game, but not even a Final Fantasy game has you looking for 333 anything. Arrrgh. I once had to find 76 pieces of something for a Final Fantasy game on GameBoy, then it turned out that there is one more I didn't know about right after I lost them all. That's when god stepped in and I had to fight him and some angels or something. It was a really wierd FF game. I kicked his ass though, and still 76 is 257 less than 333. There are so many larva in some areas I squished them by accident by stepping on them. When you kill one a little green pellet "poops" out and gives a little health back. I can't wait to see the guide for all 333 larvae. GTA doesn't even have a combined item location game of over 300. Yeesh. I missed my mark by six (6) larvae. You know, that's still nearly geneocide of their species (since I'm shooting and the adults, anyway). Doesn't that count for something?

Tomorrow night begins a new 6-part series on Mars, and I'm looking forward to it. If there is an ounce of an Astronomy geek in you I recommend the show, even if it just a primer on the history of Mars Exploration. It's so close and yet so far away, and everytime one of our Mars Rovers, Spirit or Opportunity, send a new picture home, Mars seems so much closer.

I hope to figure out how to post pictures soon, and then these blogs will come alive. Once I figure it out I'll post a picture of the new Yoda stamps that just came out, which I intend to frame and mount somewhere. I told you I'll buy anything Star Wars. You can click here for a picture, though. That's all I got tonight. EmpTass reminded me of the second Star Wars starship collectible game that you build out of cardboard (like the Pirates game) but I haven't found it yet. When I do I'll try it out. See you next broadcast.