That New Blog Smell: Blog 2.0

It's been a long time since I last posted here (sorry friends) but I wish to make amends and try a new regular blog schedule. And by that I mean I'll try writing again. In the past year I’ve wrapped myself in my “geekness” and played many video games, read many books, watched many movies, and seen much TV.

Microsoft got its fangs into me when it invented the Gamerscore and Achievement Points system, so I spent 99.9% of my gaming time getting as many points as I could. Labeling me "Achievement Whore" wouldn’t be out of the question. I finished out 2008 with 31,660 GS. The last game I finished up in December was BioShock, which I received for X-Mass last year and I’m thankful I finally played it. If you haven’t you gotta play this, unless you hate original FPS ideas with an Art Deco 50’s flavor, wrapped around genetic experiments and life-or-death choices with Little Sisters and Big Daddies. Your psyche will thank you after this game. PLAY IT. My New Years resolution is break 60,000 GS by the end of the year. I’ve currently pasted 35,000 with Afro Samurai on Sunday, so my pattern is clear.

On TV I was late to the show with Jericho, but at least I saw the last season, which brought me to the first season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The new Doctor Who has really impressed me of late as did Robin Hood for a brief time. And thank god for South Park, as I’ve been catching up on all the episodes thanks to XBL. I tried Reality TV for a few months but left me feeling cold and shriveled. 2008’s fall season came in like a lion with a show almost every day of the week to watch. So far I’ve been following Terminator: TSCC, Heroes, Fringe, Knight Rider, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. After the Christmas hiatus I added 24, Leverage, CSI: Morpheus and Chuck. Hard to find time for games with these on.

I read through a number of Star Wars books including Darth Bane: Rule of Two and Deathstar. I always have to read Star Trek books so I tracked down some of the novels from the 70s, before ST:TMP was released, and came to the conclusion the Pocket Books era novels (and beyond) are so much better. The books I liked were the Titan series, the Klingon Empire series (especially A Burning House), and the Terok Nor series of prequels to DS9. Star Trek novels have never been canon (like Star Wars) but these novels are fitting a larger Narrative Canvas I find very pleasing since we have no new Star Trek on TV. The futurist Ray Kurzweil wrote a book called The Singularity is Near, which is quite interesting, about the future of tech and humanity. According to him Skynet may be the least of our worries. The Zombie Apocalypse has never been better told than in World War Z. Get it, read it, and be very scared. I also “knocked out” some early Michael Crichton novels from the 60s and 70s that I never read. Then he died and now I have nothing more of his stuff to read. RIP Mr. Crichton.

Movies for the most part were good last year with the likes of The Dark Knight, WALL-E, Iron Man, and Deathrace. However I did see some really bad ones like The Spirit, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and 10,000 BC. I’m still on the fence about Quantum of Solace and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I love Star Wars but Lucas “kid-ified” it again, with likes of Ahsoka Tano, so I’m having issues with it (that also carry over to the TV series). I’m not even going to mention Indy 4. We could have had Star Trek around Christmas but they bumped it to May and I’m still incredibly impatient here.

In my most impressionable years I discovered D&D (Basic and Advanced) way back when before the invention of the computer RPG. Since then I have had an almost instinctual desire to collect D&D manuals of any sort, so I immediately descended on my local Comic Book store and consumed any and all books they had. I don’t even play, I just like the books. Last week I bought the Open Graves guide to undead campaigns, with thoughts of running a game about a zombie apocalypse. Sadly, I don’t play anymore but I love collecting the books. If only the web resources we have today were around when I was in High School running games. RIP Mr. Gygax.

The biggest news I can think of from late last year was a decision of me and a few of my friends to start a Podcast. I had just bought an iPhone 3G and Bwane introduced me to podcasts. (GamerTags used to protect the innocent.) Once he had me on board we agreed to do it with a couple other friends, R moe nay and KILLAB, and I started learning HTML and how it works with DreamWeaver and started a website to support it. The Weekend Ronin site in its “under construction” phase. We have recorded 5 podcasts so far but those haven’t been “migrated” to the real internet yet (or iTunes) so please stand by. In fact just today I started a Twitter account to facilitate (I think that’s the right word) our combined efforts but also to be a mini-blog in between regular blog entrees.

For tech news I upgraded my Mac OS from Tiger to Leopard with not a few initial issues but I’ll save that for another Blog as well as trying to integrate Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac into the flow. Stupid “.docx” files. That’s about all I remember in my beer-addled brain. See you next broadcast.

Travel Storms and Cyborgs and the Outer Zone, Oh My

I hold a huge conceit against every movie Sci-Fi channel makes. I've tried watching the Saturday night monster flicks but I usually can't take more than a few minutes before giving up. Thus, I turned to Tin Man, not expecting them to do any justice to "The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz." I came to the conclusion after the first 10 minutes, "this doesn't suck." We're not talking Shakespeare here, but the retelling is quite inventive. Maybe I should say re-imagining because this is the Wizard Of Oz in concept only. There are little tidbits of the familiar, flying monkeys, tornadoes... that's about it. The Munchkins are more like the new Oompa-Loompas, but more colors (and pissed off); No Lollipop Guild; The Yellow Brick Road isn't yellow, and barely made of bricks; Tornadoes are for dimensional travel; The Wicked Witch Of The West isn't green or ugly, she's a hottie in a chromed out bustier and shoulder armor (and she has leather clad Nazi shock troops); Dorothy is only known as DG; No dog (yet); A town of Cyborgs; The Wizard does a show in drugged out burlesque theater; The Horse Of Many Colors is a 2-and-a-half-ton truck with every color of paint from Home Depot spilled on it; The Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man aren't the Scarecrow, Lion, or Tin Man; DG is a waitress like Sarah Conner. The list goes on. This doesn't make it bad at all, however. The same kind of thing was done to BattleStar Galactica and that show turned out fantastic. BTW DG is played by Zooey Deschanel, Trillion from the new Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy movie.

For everyone that plays 2nd Life news has come out recently of a creative, yet simple hack that strips you of your in-game money. You are basically being virtually pick pocketed, which is bad (duhh) because the in-game Linden Dollar which can be traded for real money. This threat to you can easily be disabled with a trip to the menus.

Other little tidbits of news have popped up. Ready for the holiday season is a quick review/reference guide to the new Star Trek novels of the season. Since we sadly have no new Trek to watch the books do provide a good diversion until next Christmas. Use the guide to avoid the few bad Tribbles in the list. The best book on the list is a Next Generation book, Q&A, about Q and some connection to Encounter At Farpoint. This is on my Christmas wish list. Speaking of books, the Barnes & Nobles on Post Road in Orange is closing and a lot of books are going on sale. Now's a good time ransack their wares.

Wizard's Of The Coast is creating an online campaign for the Star Wars roleplaying game, Dawn Of Defiance, and the first chapter of ten became available this week. The game is set between Episode III and Star Wars, letting PCs play out one of the crucial moments in the formation of the Rebellion. I haven't picked up the game yet, but maybe this Xmas/Light Day I'll get lucky.

I'm beginning to think I should have a Nintendo Wii. After watching the trailer for No More Heroes, I decided it's about time to ad this to my Xmas list too, along with Super Mario Galaxy.

I looked around for a while trying to find a descent top 100 all time anime from Japan list and I came a cross one from TV Asahi. At some point I'd like to write a review of each of the series that are available in America. Gives me an excuse to watch more anime.

#78 on IGNs list of games is Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening. I never had a GameBoy but I did have a Super Nintendo, so I bought a Super GameBoy. The Super GB is fantastic, stick it in the SNES cartridge slot, then put your GB game in the cartridge. The screen was a little smaller than the TV screen but you could add a border and even change the game colors so they weren't black and white (okay, black and pea soup green). Like all Zelda games before me I sat in front of it with my full attention to get all the puzzles and absorb all the game play. I never imagined, at the time, that a GameBoy game could be this deep. It took me two (2) months to complete and it's a great addition to the pantheon.

#76 is FINAL FANTASY VII. This is one of the most important games ever made. Why it's so low on the list makes me question the validity of this list. This game moved the esoteric, fan-boy loving RPG genre into a gloriously weaved story of artistic proportions. I bought a PSX just to own this game, and it was well worth it. There isn't much more I can say that hasn't been experienced/written before. My love of Square Soft (now Square Enix) began here, and it continues to be my favorite. From the pre-rendered cut scenes to random Star Wars references, this game created the standard for future installments, brilliantly leading to FFX. This game, however, created my true hatred, Sephiroth. I don't need to tell you of my love of Aris (I prefer this over the re-release Aerith). I spent so much time with her, learning the city, understanding the resistance, traveling the world. I trained as best I could to be a warrior and spurned other women in the party just for her attention. I loved her. Until Sephiroth stabbed her in the F'ING BACK and ended my happiness, forever. I hate him so much. I ruined a relationship with the girl I was seeing to kill him. It took 20 minutes and everybody I had, down to my last spell and hit point. I thought it was over. Then he resurrected somehow, and with great joy I watched his punk-ass die again. Rewind, and I get to watch him die, again and again and again. I F'ING HATE HIM. I hope I never meet the voice of him because, so help me, I'll snap. I'll have a flashback/PTSD moment and kill him. Sorry, my therapist told me not to bottle up stuff like this.

#75 is GoldenEye 007. Best damn FPS made, until Half-Life & Halo. Using only one (1) analogue stick on the N64 you could still play the game. Prior to this was Turok, but it didn't compare. GoldenEye created a polygon filled environment that just seemed right. All the weapons and enemies, and friends, were perfect. This is a rare moment when everything in development of a game meshes, creating an experience, more than a game. The familiar music and the incredible multi-player just added frosting to the 007 cake. Proximity Mines have got to be the most important weapon created for an FPS until the Gravity Gun in Half-Life 2. This team of developers would later go on to make Perfect Dark.

#73 is Resident Evil. I have one tale to tell, a listen well. At a friends house he powered up the extraordinary PSX (at the time there was nothing like the pixilated 3D worlds of Sony) and loaded Resident Evil. I was amazed at the mansion I ran around in. Trying to get a feel for menus and clunky controls I bravely walked down the corridor of doom that introduced me to survival horror. This isn't the unsettling environs of Silent Hill, RE created the in-your-face Survival Horror genre. As I walk down the quite corridor I pulled out me pistol. I didn't trust the hallway but the reassurance of a nine-millimeter in my hand was almost as good as liquid courage. I approached a window when suddenly two (2) undead dogs burst forth in shattered glass and barking and howling. I think I dropped my controller. What ever happened I stabbed every button I could in three seconds time and to no avail. The dogs ended me in no time. I threw the controller down and never played again. I thought the first movie was great. Those few seconds of horror I experienced was well put into the movie, and then some.

Here's the viral video of the week. Don't try this at home unless you're a drunk guy with a Suzuki Sidekick, and a giant dirt ramp. See you next broadcast.

Say Uncle

It took the grapevine some time but I finally got word that Gandy just celebrated another first Uncle Day with a new nephew. Uncle Day being the day one becomes an Uncle. it's even possible to become an Uncle more tha once. Congradulations, Gandy, on your repeat Uncle-ing. You have now become the "cool" adult relative that isn't your nephews parents. Good for you. It's been a long time in coming but you've earned it, again.

My race for the 15K Gamescore just came to a crashing halt. I own Guitar Hero III. The need for achievements has been replaced with a need to Rock Out (on Easy, anyway). Playing the game is like interacting with the music. You're not exactly playing each note but you're enabling the guitar to keep playing (on Easy, anyway). My brief foray on Hard with Foghat netted me 4% completed before I was booed and booted off stage (or 96% failed if your cup is half empty). I did manage to score one achievement, probably the easiest achievement in the game. After playing about 5 songs on Easy, I tried my luck on Normal (Foghat once again) and blew it after about 40%. I've got a lot of learning to do. Barracuda has become my favorite (on Easy). If anyone has no idea what I'm talking about watch the Guitar Hero episode of South Park. This segment from the beginning explains everything. I'm even writing this early in the evening so I can go back and play until I pass out. BTW a rum and coke goes well with the game (on Easy).

Growing up as a child I had two great loves (okay three if you count video games), Star Wars and LEGOs. Like the man who invented the peanut butter cup, these are two great tastes that taste great together. Thus LEGO Star Wars is born as a video game. I missed the first iteration (the prequel trilogy), and I own the Holy Trilogy version, I just haven't played it yet. Since I'll be putting all gaming aside indefinately save Guitar Hero III (and Rock Band) I'm going to holfd out for LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and save myself the trouble of loading two discs. The producers/developers of the game have found an excellent balance of humor and respect for the source material. Of course Traveller's Tales, the makers of all the LEGO insert movie franchise, knows not insult the fans so there are lots of hidden extras to find in the game, not to mention 160 PLAYABLE CHARACTERS to acquire. I'll bet that's an Achievement.

As a child/teenager of the 80s all things from that decade attract me like a bug zapper. One of those things happens to be GhostBusters. Apparently the Atari 2600 game wasn't good enough, now we'll get a next gen console excursion. Gameinformer has the same idea I do, this will be awesome. And a trip down memory lane. Which reminds me of all the awesome 80s tracks from Guitar Hero III. Carry on "axe weilders" for tonight we dine on Rock. And for those about to Rock, We Salute You. See you next broadcast.

Dancing With Smurfy Metaphores

Ace Combat 6 carries a long tradition, from its roots in PS1 (or PSX if you prefer) on up to the current generation of consoles, for fantastic gamepley. The presentation is very realistic and you almost forget the arcade handling. There is no point it should feel realistic to fly into combat with 190 missiles to use against 20 bandits. Yet, the game is so believable you don't care that your weapons reappear after a few seconds. You even have unlimited guns. This is all to let you feel like you're Maverick from Top Gun. Some missions are rediculous, like flying against 20 bandits, flying through tunnels, and attacking sky carriers. Yeah. Then there's the in flight dialog. There is so much radio chatter you tend to filter it out because you know what's going on. It does serve the purpose of fleshing out the battles knowing that other people are counting on you. Where the game gets on my nerves are the cut-scene movies. In between missions you are treated to the ongoing drama of a couple people on the ground. For the most part its entertaining and it helps the story feel more epic, until the English dubbed dialog begins. I wish the option to hear this in Japanese was available. And most of the dialog surrounds the metaphore, "Dancing With The Angels." It's Ace Combat's version of "Smurf". It goes from meaning "flight" to "see you later" to "go screw yourself." Uggh. I would like to point out that the dub of the radio chatter is perfectly fine. Just ignore the 20% of the game you don't play, anyway.

I am becoming more obsessed with Guitar Hero III. By weeks end (aka Payday) I will own one. I've been researching the music of the game and not only are there over 70 songs available (not to mention downloadable content) but they are based on the original masters, unlike the first two. I realized the addictive quality of this game is the simplification of musical talent. This turns the ability to play guitar into an arcade twitchy experience that makes you feel like a "rock star." And the difficulty level lets you set the "realism," metaphorically like the difference between Ridge Race to Grand Turismo. The highest setting, while not enough to teach you guitar, at least feels like an accomplishment of the grandest gaming order, and one probably gets an appreciation of the real talent. And now with Rock Band on the horizon I may have to go back to GameStop and pre-order a copy. The super-copy with all the instruments. It's been a lifelong dream I developed this past week to be the best drummer I can. Look out Neil Peart and Dave Grohl, Fox is on the virtual drum kit playing your songs.

"Back in the day," when gaming was simpler, we had a choice, Street Fighter 2 or Mortal Kombat. Those are two separate camps. You could claim to like both, but its a lire. You either like one or the other. It's okay to sneek into the other camp and play a couple games, but you are loyal to one (or none) but not both. What differentiates the two? The controls. The graphics are a close second, but what makes or breaks your first impression are the controls. Every fighting game since has copied on or the other, sometimes both at the same time. I "heart" Mortal Kombat. I found it easier and the more realistic character animation just made it more entertaining. Which is odd, because Street Fighter looks like you're playing anime. And don't forget Fatalities (Friendships & Animalities) which SF2 didn't have. Hah. I could never play SF2 for the controls. For a brief, nostalgic look at some of my favorite fatalities see this movie from gametrailers.com. I want Mortal Kombat: Armageddon but I understand it doesn't work on the 360. I'll have to do more research.

Back to one of my favorite topics, Star Wars. Many talented fans love Star Wars and one guy made a movie poster representing All 6 movies. Since we already have two LEGO Star Wars games covering Prequel and Holy Trilogy, what will the new game do that the others haven't? On that note I want more Rogue Squadron or Jedi Starfighter games. I just want to fly around and shoot stuff in the Star Wars universe, and I want it to look as good as Ace Combat 6. The makers of the greatest Star Wars RPG are looking for writing talent. As soon as I figure out what they want, I am so there. Smurf you next broadcast.

That's No Book, That's A Space Station

Someone at work today asked me why Star Wars was my favorite movie. My quick response, because I've thought this through before, was that it encapsulates my childhood. I was a child at the right place, at the right time. This person also asked if I thought any other movie in the future might replace it, and I stated an emphatic no. Then I dwelled on the moment to try to Divine what movie of the future might sway me to say, "this is the greatest movie ever told." This future movie would have to absorb me so completely that the "4th wall" no longer existed, and that I would have some part to play in the outcome. And, I'm pretty sure, it would be a sci-fi epic. In other words, a movie fed directly to my brain that I play, not unlike how the Matrix feed is inputted to Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus. I'm not asking for an immersive video game, like the anime .hack//SIGN, but a fusion of movie and gaming that is not technically either but something greater than it's whole. I suppose a Holodeck is a good a description as any. Look, predicting the future is hard.

Let's dig a little deeper. Why Star Wars? As a child (as well as adult) I tended to throw myself fully in to things. With Star Wars I wanted to be a part of the Rebels, and I could be with action figures, comics books, and cartoons. If you wanted to explore the Star Wars universe beyond the boarders of the film screen you could do so on your own terms, as deep as you wanted the Rabbit Hole to go. When Shadows Of The Empire (SOTE) was released for the N64 I spent hours hunting AT-ATs and exploring Echo-Base. Now I could see what the characters saw on my own. That is the experience Lucas is making for us, sometimes successful, sometimes not. (I wanted to like Masters Of Teras Kasi but it just wasn't all there). Even today, with rumors of 3-D Star Wars still floating around, we continue to see books and comic books on store shelves. Case in point, "Death Star" by Michael Reaves & Steve Perry. Reaves & Perry previously collaborated on the MedStar duology and Perry wrote the novel for SOTE.

I purchased Death Star today and began reading after a quick (hour or so) game of Halo 3 on Legendary that reminds me, this Veterans' Day, of crawling up a beach, inch by bloody inch, towards a Nazi machinegun nest. That's Legendary alright. But, I digress. Death Star is set in my favorite era, the third era (according to the sleeve) called Classic. The others are Sith, Prequel, New Republic, New Jedi Order, and Legacy. This universe is expanding by the minute. You can start 5,000 years before the Battle of Yavin (BOY) and end a little more than 100 years after the Battle Of Endor (BOE). That's a universe. Classic covers a decade before BOY and a handful of years after BOE. One of my criteria for reading a Star Wars book is, "what is it's relevance to the universe?" In the future I would like to breakdown this question with the many books I've read but today I'm just talking about Death Star. If you want to skip the book and just build a Death Star, submit your DS Plans to the Maw Installation after going through the design process at the Lethal Alliance site.

mild SPOILER WARNING ahead! Set a few years (maybe 3) before Star Wars, Death Star's first 50 pages are an ensemble piece as characters from all over the Empire are introduced. Tarkin is present as is Darth Vader, and I am very happy to read about recognizable Holy Trilogy characters. There is even a Doctor from the MedStar series (set during the Clone Wars) still kicking around. Some of the characters are slaves, guards, bartenders, gunners, pilots, etc. This is getting to the heart of the question posed in Clerk's by Randal about what kind of people are present during the construction of a Death Star. The reason I'm reading this is for the Death Star, one of the most awesome concepts in sci-fi since Gort. The book also handles continuity well be referencing all sorts of books like The Jedi Academy Trilogy and the aforementioned MedStar series, with a touch of Teras Kasi thrown in. There's even a mention of "Stop Loss," a current term in the military that keeps you in the service as long as you are needed, regardless of your contract. Stop Loss hit many of the people in my unit when we went to Iraq. There's even some mild political allegory in here, ignorable if that isn't your thing. SPOILER WARNING! The most interesting thing I've read so far has been about Vader. He reflects on the fact that Yoda is still alive and could pose a threat, and he hasn't felt the death of Obi-Wan, something he is certain he'd notice. That answers a couple of long standing questions I've had. This book just payed for itself. SPOILER WARNING over!

Thanks go out to EmpTass for letting me play Crack Hero III with the Crackpipe peripheral that seems suspiciously like an air guitar. I can't think of anything but rockin' out now, so I intend to get it by the end of the week. I'm also still interested in Rock Band as a drummer if I can get a couple peeps who want to join me on Guitars, bass or otherwise. South Park this week was priceless. Completely up-to-date on the Guitar Hero obsessions, as well as Heroin Hero and Rehab Hero. A must see. Next best thing to the Warcraft episode. Keep your blasters charged, your Wookiee fed and see you next broadcast.

Reading "Death Star" Is Fundamental

I have a theory. Many may call it an opinion, but I don't like using that term. To me, the term opinion feels like a stance that only I hold and I've drawn a line in the sand to defy all on the other side. What others would term "opinion" I use "theory," because I feel its a truth I haven't been able to prove to myself that others understand. My theory is this. Everything Patrick Stewart utters sounds cool. While watching Family Guy Season 5 Episode 14 "No Meals On Wheels" Peter wonders what it would be like if he traded vocal cords with Patrick Stewart. In his thought he walks up to Louise and says (with PS's voice doing the dub), "Hey, Louise. I spent the afternoon making a list of famous Armenians: Eric Bogosian, Andre Agassi, Jerry "The Shark" Tarkanian. That is all." Thus proving my theory that everything Patrick Stewart says is cool. In the Cartoon Network Adult Swim airing of this episode Mr. Stewart's line is totally different, something about messing up a toilet after sex.

Last blog I talked about getting together with an old friend. One thing I failed to mention was his Star Wars room. He has converted a large rec room (larger than my living room/dining room combo) into a Star Wars museum. When I get some images I will show them in a future blog. Each area of the room is a theme; Autographed pictures on a wall, glass case for lightsabers, graded original action figures, large 12-inch figures, etc, etc. If Star Wars has a smell its in that room. So, I apologise to EmpTass for not mentioning his pride and joy earlier. I should say secondary pride and joy because his real pride and joy is his wife a son, right EmpTass? And I thank his wife and son for letting me borrow him for the evening.

I used to read Star Wars books whenever they were released. After the Prequel Trilogy was released we had even more novels to choose from in different eras. My favorite era to read about is the post-Return Of The Jedi era. I was less than satisfied with many Prequel-era books so I stopped reading them altogether, with the exception of the Jedi Apprentice books as I'm a fan of the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan duo. I know I'm not giving many good books in the series a chance so I'm going to jump back in with "Death Star." Author Michael Reaves gives an interview to the Washington Post. Of note is his inspiration from "Clerks," which I theorize has the best Star Wars reference ever in movie. On the weight of these few tidbits I'm going to give this book a chance. For those that haven't read any of the books I found some of them to be as equal in character and plot to the Original (or Holy) Trilogy. The books I enjoyed the most were The X-Wing series (the quadrilogy and the follow up trilogy), The Timothy Zahn trilogy, The Black Fleet Crisis, Darksaber, The Jedi Academy Trilogy, the Han Solo trilogy, and the three anthology books supporting the background characters of each of the three movies. That is where I would start reading if you haven't already. All these books, and many more, all fit a larger tapestry of storytelling called the "Expanded Universe". All Lucas approved (until he feels like contradicting things in a movie), the stories blend seamlessly with the movies, TV shows, other books, short stories, comic books, radio plays and video games. This site is a comprehensive timeline of stories I've used in the past to keep track all the elements.

"13,000" mocks me from a distance. Only a month and a half left in the year and I still desire a 15,000 GameScore by years end. I am 55 points from 13,000 and I feel like A-Rod trying for 500, its taking me forever. Which is about the only thing I have in common with A-Rod since I don't get paid millions to wiff at-bats during the post season. Ace Combat 6, as beautiful a game as can be, is like trying to squeeze a rock for water. Those achievements are just locked in there and the online community doesn't even know how to unlock everything. Impressive for a game that's been out for almost a month and they haven't figured everything out yet. If I can't get another 400 points in the next week I'm switching to Guitar Hero III or Call Of Duty 4 or something easier. No original Franchises for me, I'm all about sequels. I hope Assassin's Creed can save me from sequel-itis. Halo 3 gives us the ability to design battlegrounds to play in with an option called The Forge. Someone decided to take The Forge to whole new levels by proposing to his future wife during a Halo game. Oh Yeah, giggidy giggidy. On an unrelated note, I was watching Code Monkeys and, God help me, I thought it was funny. I need help, soon. See you next broadcast.

Set Your Phasers On... BluRay?

Some geek out there found a way to combine his love of the BluRay-firing PS3 with his love of Star Trek. Watch the video on this blog page to see how easy it is to field-strip a PS3 and a toy Phaser (vintage 2260s). Pretty. Someone finally found a use for a PS3. Even the Borg didn't have a blue eye laser, all they had were the red ones. Does this mean the Borg found BluRay to be inferior? Hmmmm. And speaking of weird Star Trek mixes, Winona Ryder has been cast as Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson (is this Dick Grayson's great grand daughter?).

It's Friday once again, and after staying late at work, I rushed to my comicbook shop to try to get n a sealed, draft game of Lorwyn, Magic's newest expansion. Sadly, like last week, no one showed up on this rainy, crappy evening. I chatted with the owner and bought some Iron Man comics, boosters of the new 10th Edition Magic Core Set, another pack of Halo figures. Visiting old friend EmpTas this weekend, maybe we can playtest said Halo game. We had a discussion about the Warhammer 40K RPG, since he hadn't heard of it. So for any doubters here's the homepage of the 40K RPG do out in 2008. Also in the near future is the 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons guides, which I will be picking up for old times sake. I don't have time to play D&D, but I just love the book design.

Another RPG of the time I used to play was the West End Game's Star Wars RPG. At the time of the late 80's to early 90's it was so important to the Star Wars landscape of storytelling, the expansions sets themselves became the background material for many early Expanded Universe authors, like Timothy Zahn. Since then Wizards Of The Coast (WOTC) has developed their own and a new tech/resource manual for Starships is due out in December. I'm a sucker for books about Starships. WOTC is also releasing a new campaign only available online, called Dawn Of Defieance. Their idea is to give out 10 different adventures for players that create a larger story, set between Episode III and Star Wars, and to progress your characters from Level 1 to 20. I think the resources that the internet brings to paper & dice RPGs is impressive, and I just wish in my youth we had such connections available. And, once again, with a new Star Wars video game on the horizon, figures for the collectible game are being developed, with a release date of November 16 for the Force Unleashed.

Now that I've finished Half-Life 2: Episode 2 I'm cast adrift in the plot. I have no idea when the next one comes out. All I have is the pending rescue of Judith from the Combine. I've come too far in this world not to be caught in the drama of the characters. Even Alyx's pet robot Dog is a great character (see picture above). He reminds me of Bumblebee. The only recourse until the next Episode is the RTS in development. Already a couple boards are available for download, but I'll wait for a console version. I've never been a fan of Real Time Strategy, being a Turn-Based fan from my Final Fantasy days. Starcraft has been the closest PC game to get me interested, but one day I'll take a gander and learn why they are so popular. Hopefully that game will be the Half-Life RTS. BTW, i just couldn't stay away from Halo 3 and I've been itching to beat Legendary. I encountered my Chokepoint pretty early on the 2nd level and it took me an hour (and much swearing) to clear it. I like the fact the AI adapts to strategies, so you need to be on your toes. 2 levels down 7 more to go. Ugh. Still working on Ace Combat 6. See you next broadcast.

By Grabthar's Warhammer 40K... By The Sons of Warcraft...

Today is payday, and it being a Friday, the day is never complete without a shopping trip. I received an Email coupon for Barnes & Noble and headed over there at lunch. Of late, I realise I know nothing of the World Of Warcraft (WOW) other than the RTS PC gaming origin and the CCG starter I bought (and still haven't openned). In the sci-fi section I found an Atlas to Warcraft and a comic (produced by Tokyopop). Maybe this mild immersion into the field will prepare me for the day I eventually go online.

After work I headed to my local comic nirvana, Clockwork Comics, and hoped to get in a sealed, draft game of the Magic set, Lorwyn. Several new game mechanics have been introduced in the many years since I played regularly, so I tapped (pardon the pun) the owners mind for all the hidden meaning behind Plainswalkers, Haste, Flash, Tribal, Bushido, Changeling, Clashing, Hideaway, Vigilance, Champion, and Evoke. I miss the Star Wars CCG. I eagerly absorbed the new knowledge, but, alas, no one showed to play. So the owner introduced me to Warhammer 40K. I've heard of it, I've even seen people play, but up close and personal with the rules and figures and sets and dice (not to mention the substantial dollar value) the game is quite daunting. It appears to be an analogue (ie not a video game) offshoot of Warcraft. A turn-based strategy game with intricate pieces (from soldier to vehicle to mech to factory) to be layed out on a board that would make most HO model train enthusiasts jealous. You roll special dice and have special measurement markers for a blast radius or a flame thrower. No grids are used just a model battle field (scale 1:65) and measuring tape. It sounds clunky but after seeing a little bit of it I came to the conclusion it allows for much more freedom than some of the more restrictive "grid games", like the HeroClix series, Mage Knight, or even Star Wars. A new set called "Apocalypse" was just released with some of the largest vehicles seen yet, as well as expanded play for even larger armies. If I undertood this more I would have had an orgasm. As it is, Warhammer represents a geek passion I'm not familiar with. I should also note that collectors put great care towards the painting of the figures (which are silver but come with paint). An RPG is planned for 2008 and I'm interested to see if the two (2) games can be played side to side.

While I was waiting for a game of Magic that never happened I finally found the Star Wars constructible strategy game (as opposed to the Star Wars Starship collectible miniatures game), and much like the "Pirate Ship" game, half the fun is building a Star Wars ship. In my one pack I managed the rare Tantive IV and the common Droid Tri-Fighter (2 of 'em) and an ARC fighter. The printing on the punch-out sheets is excellent but having large fingers is a disadvantage here. These pieces will break if they don't go together perfectly. I'll have to see the game in action though to give it my full praise or not. When you leave me in a comicbook store long enough I start buying comics. Today was no exception so I bought the latest Superman, Batman, Superman & Batman together, Flash, Justice League, Green Lantern, and Spawn issues. A new Star Trek comic is being made called Year Four so I snatched that up, and Frank Miller is even doing an All Star Batman & Robin I had to grab. Tonight I will forgo the 360 for the large bounty of comics I acquired. Today I came across this site which details the current state of Comicbook Movies. I'm looking forward to the Green Lantern movie, featuring Hal Jordon. I've been waiting for this since high-school. When the Grayson preview hit the internet I was psyched when I saw GL, and now we're getting a movie.

On a side note; as I write this Stargate Atlantis is on. The store owner recommended this program tonight, so I'm giving it a try. Two (2) things have jumped out at me, so far. The character Dr. Keller is played by Jewel Staite, Kaylee from Firefly. It's good to see this actress still running around in Sci-Fi. The other thing I noticed is the name of the episode: Tabula Rasa. The phrase can be interpreted as "blank slate." This happens to be the name of a new PC game, produced by the gaming guru/development giant Richard "Lord British" Garriott, that comes out today. A strange coincidence. While perusing gametrailers.com I came across this little video showing off the promise of Sony's PlayStation Eye Of Sauron. This just goes to show I'm a sucker for a preview with Epic Music. If Ishtar were redone with the music from LOTR I would totally go see it.

That's it for now, hopeful next time I broadcast I will have defeated Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (HL2-E2). HL2-E3 better come out soon, unless of course it sucks right now, then Valve should take all the time they need. I'll need a breather after this season's rush of games. I'll hold off on GH3 until I see EmpTass play it like Slash.

"Alien vs. Predator" or "Fans vs. Brothers Strause"

Alien vs. Predator has no doubt left a bad taste in the mouths of many fans. I applaud (more a golf clap) their attempted continuity between the two (2) franchises, but I thought this was already accomplished in Predator 2 when a shot of the Pred's trophy case included a Xenomorph head. It was nice to see the A's and P's at work again, too bad they didn't do anything entertaining. I still blame this in large part to the PG-13 rating, just to make it appeal to an age group that wasn't alive yet to see any of the prequels, save Resurrection, in theaters. I still hold out hope for another good A or P movie again, so AvP-R looks like my next chance. Since it's rated R that solved one of my issues, and the previews show a number of Predator weapons used to gory effect. I'll give this one the benefit of the doubt for the time being. The above picture comes from IGN's website. Hopeful I will not incur the wrath of the Predalien for borrowing their image.

Speaking of Sci-Fi movies, a surprise entry to theaters November 12. Battlestar Galactica Razor will be seen two (2) weeks before its debut on Sci-Fi channel in select cities FOR FREE, thanks to MicroSoft. I can't remember where I read it, but it's true, if anything is to be believed on the web. And the following day, November 13, is when "The Menagerie" debuts in theaters. And on the Sci-Fi TV front more news of Star Wars On TV. The gist is this: 100 45 minute episodes (about 4 years) with a possible expansion to 400 & Boba Fett will be present. A previous rumor mill produced these gems: The series will happen between Eps III and Star Wars (I refuse to call it Episode IV); Pod Racing is back; Thall Joban (a character from Droids) will be highlighted as a Pod Racer; Rebs & Imps and the war before Luke & Leia get involved; Expanded Universe (EU) tie-ins; Bib Fortuna & Oola; Death Star Plans; the series tone should be like the Holy Trilogy and showing neither good, nor bad guys but people caught up in events. Family Guy's succesful Blue Harvest/Star Wars episode was so popular that a plan is in motion for an Empire Strikes Back episode. For those that missed the FG episode it will be on DVD by December or something. My sources are vague, and I don't really remember.

Remember when a couple Canadian Doctors quit the practice and made a game company, in 1995, that eventually spawned one of the greatest Star Wars RPGs? If you said BioWare, and their wunderkindt Knights Of The Old Republic (KOTOR), then your geek memory is fully functional. Well, recently MicroSoft (boo) sold BioWare off and they were absorbed by the forces of Sauron known as EA. BioWare (prior to the sale) has joined forces with LucasArts for a new MMO. Who cares, right? We're talking BioWare here, people. I don't think they've made a bad game yet: Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR, Jade Empire. Rumor has it that the new MMORPG will be a KOTOR setting. The original KOTOR was so good it even spawned a comic by Dark Horse.

Tomorrow is supposed to start a writers strike, as if TV can't get bad enough. When things do get bad enough just watch Halo Landfall and imagine what the cancelled movie would look like with Peter Jackson at the helm. Once you stop drooling over the pretty weapons, look at the European Wii crossbow thingy. I want. I don't Even have a Wii and I want it. While watching CSI last night, one of the episodes with the lovely and talented Lady Heather, a reference was made to a fictitious website called ladyheather.com. I, of course, immediately checked it out and it took me straight to the CSI site on CBS. Way to go CBS for finding a way to count all the CSI fans who are perverts. I'm not a pervert, I was just curious, is all, yeah, see, yeah.

Sony keeps trying to come up with new ways to sell PS3s and a new game this month tries a daring experiment. Eye Of Judgment (in conjunction with Hasbro & WOTC) is a CCG and a Video Game, with its own included EyeToy to scan cards you have and play out a game with the 5 or 6 other people in the world who bought it. It sounds interesting in theory and I do like crossover concepts, but this thing sounds complicated. I've read some gameplay reviews and such and there seems to be a decent amount of strategy involved, but there's a lot of prep work to play this game. Booster packs are supposed to be sold separately for the CCG side of Eye Of Judgment and I may collect those as soon as I figure out who sells them. I'm really not knocking this game it just sounds ambitious and crazy. I miss playing CCGs and every once in a while I buy a pack of Magic cards to get that new card smell on me again. For those that still follow the Pokemon CCG a new set is due out soon called "Secret Wonders". I remember playing this when the game first came out and it was a little confusing, but seemed okay, nothing like the rich potential of the Star Wars CCG. A couple years back, I tried Yu-Gi-Oh, but I was not impressed and it just made me flashback to good card games I've played. I have tried Yu-Gi-Oh in several flavors (US TV and manga) and the only version I liked was the manga. It was dark, and Yugi messed with people. He got beat up at school every day and would then play a game with them to enact a sort of revenge. One dude he poured Vodka on and lit him on fire. Great stuff. I want to see that episode.

Some days I'm no good at gaming and tonight was my night. The brilliant puzzle-shooter Portal vexes me with its advanced puzzle mode. After swearing at my lack of brain power I gave up gaming in lieu of a six part Mars program narrated by Captain Kirk. Excellent show. Before I go to bed tonight I'm going to try one mission of Ace Combat 6. This franchise was meant for anyone who watched Top Gun and thought, I could do that. The "Need For Speed" of my generation was not "The Fast And The Furious", it was "Top Gun", and we needed only one, not three movies to drive home the kind of speed I need. Lets see, a Grumman F-14 or a Mitsubushi Eclipse. And don't tell me I also have Stealth 'cause I barely call that a movie. Guitar Hero III just came out and I need to bite the bullet and get it. I have nothing against the series, yet I'm reticent to drop $100 on a game I might not like. Parappa The Rapper, Space Channel 5, and Frequency all used the controller, and I wonder if I have the skill to use a fake guitar to play real music. If I can't face my Guitar Hero fear than I might as well get Naruto, which is actually getting good reviews, a surprise for a Manga-turned-Anime series. Once again, I've seen the show and read the Manga and I prefer the Manga over the watered down American version. And if I had an up-to-date PC tower (I write this on a laptop) I would definately get Crysis. It's one of those games that begs for a top end machine. Nothing like spending $5,000 to play a game. That's dedication. Maybe I'll risk a demo download.

And lastly I came across the most un-useless invention of our modern lives. For all the none of us that have an iPhone (the "i" is pronounced "Jesus") because we are too afraid to scratch, mar, or dirty the hypnotyzing beauty of the screen; that and the $10,000 price tag. Well never fear, some people with too much latex in their possession, have invented iPhone Fingers. I'm sure this is one of the signs of the apocalypse. That's all for now. I'm going to absorb some gaming knowledge from G4. See you next broadcast.

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.

The Cake Is A Lie

While playing the world's first FPS (First Person Shooter to you noobs)/Puzzle/Comedy I realized the cake was a lie. Maybe it was the hand writing scribbled on the wall, a secret communication from an unbalanced employee at Aperture Science Institute, or the passive/aggressive kindly, malevolent female voice (think a cross between Cher and Steven Hawking) of the AI directing me through each room. Image Hal 9000 guiding you through Tetris while trying to replace Discovery's not-so broken antennae, acutely aware that Frank Poole is probably dead and he's not getting any cake either.

I am of course talking about the game Portal, one of five (5) games included with The Orange Box. A shining star too short to be by itself (between 2 to 3 hours), but fits perfectly next to big brother Half-Life 2 (and it's sequels). I will not spoil anything (except the cake rumor) but the end "boss fight" is actually fun and filled with much malevolent humor. Once done, the end credit theme is the best end theme I can think of, ever, and it is done with ASCII art (circa 1980). I also completed Half-Life 2 and its sequel, "Episode 1." Now on to Episode 2 and more achievements.

MicroSoft has general guidelines about each retail game that comes out for Xbox 360, which goes something like this: (see http://xbox360achievements.org/index.php for more information) there should be no more than fifty (50) achievements per title, and developers must have 1,000 unlockable points for their Gamerscore (GS). If there are less than 1,000 points, said developers must make a download from XBL free making up the difference. Early on in this wasn't the case with release titles, but the rule holds strong now. The exception to the rule is The Orange Box, which is five games in one, so MicroSoft let Valve have 99 Achievements totaling 1,000 points. I've unlocked 47 Achievements and still have less than 400 points. Never have so many achievements been unlocked by so much play for so few points. (sorry Mr. Churchill). I was still able to cross the 12,000 GS threshold this weekend which makes me happy enough for cake.

I just saw a commercial for Guitar Hero III, which still seems like coordinated air-guitar with a prop, where the "air-guitarist" punk teen played so well that Slash (from G&R, duh) unzips the skin of said teen from inside out and keeps playing guitar. It was at once cool that Slash promotes the game (which probably doesn't need him) and sad that he needs the extra money, apparently. I guess he's in the game, but so is Eddie Vedder and he looks like a Super-Deformed Muppet, in previews I've seen, and he ain't doin' commercials. I've probably completely missed the point here so I'll just need to play it, since my buddy EmpTas (you know who you are) loves the second one.

This weekend I added Ace Combat 6 and Lost Planet, an older title, to my collection. It's a good thing I don't officially review games for anyone right now 'cause I'd be so far behind. I always get hung up on a title squeezing all the achievements I can out of it. And I want to play Front Mission for Nintendo DS (which I also bought), a Square Enix (formerly Square Soft, my favorite game developer) to see if it compares to Front Mission 3 for the PSX. Front Mission 3 was the first game in the Front Mission franchise to reach America from Japan. A turn-based giant robot tactical combat game, all battles take place on a grid with different elevations and you move your mecha around trying to out maneuver the "bad guys." A key moment in FM3 decides whose side your on, so you can play through and be either of the two (2) factions available. Very clever (and confusing because the second time through the "enemy" is now on your side) and included a fairly deep Internet simulation. You could go online in the game to an internal Internet Square Soft made and learn background details about the game, flesh out the history of the future, and hack different sites to gain special information and special parts for your mecha. I don't expect the DS version to be all that, but I'm looking forward to a little mech-on-mech action.

One of the science channels was showing a tornado special with "Storm Chasers" (those guys/gals rock), but there really wasn't anything during the show I didn't already learn from the movie Twister. A Michael Crichton (see http://www.crichton-official.com/) written/Spielberg produced action flick about a couple getting a divorce on the worst tornado day in Oklahoma. That's a lie, it's about a group of kick-ass "Storm Chasers" who hunt down every tornado in site and barely manage to survive each encounter. There's this love story thing but it's not important (of course it is, I'm being facetious). The main characters are all meteorology geeks that would do anything for their not so geek appearing leader, Bill "Game Over Man" Paxton. I must have seen this movie 20 or 30 times and this is the first time I noticed Dusty wears a Daredevil baseball cap, well before Ben Affleck tried to ruin the "double D". I probably can't totally blame Affleck, since I watched the director's cut and I liked it. Ben Affleck should just stick with Kevin Smith and leave it at that. This is a great movie showing how functional a gaggle of geeks doing their thing is. Each Storm Chaser is shown his own geeky obsession, including a brief Star Wars reference, but I think Dusty is more an adrenaline junky than anything. Of note is Captain Harriman of Enterprise-B plays Rabbit, the navigational geek, a role I enjoy on vacation.

I've never really been a fan of the collectible figure games like Mage Knight or even D&D, probably only because I don't know anyone who plays (okay, I own some Mage Knight). I did get into the Star Wars Starship game (I love Star Wars and all their little ships) and found the game decent, but figures take up way more space than card games or comic books. It's a pitiful complaint but I have to draw the line somewhere. Star Wars is a special case since I will collect almost anything Star Wars. Against my better judgment (what little I have) I bought a pack of the Pokemon and a pack of Halo figures. Pokemon looks f-ing confusing but Halo looks decent. I think I should develop a mix where Ash & Pikachu can face off against Master Chief and Grunties. "Cortana, I choose you." A Flood-infected Pikachu would make an awesome figure.

I've rattled on enough tonight. Nothing much on the Star Trek front except looking forward to "The Menagerie" in theaters, and the 2nd Star Trek manga is out. In high-school I used to wonder what Trek would look like if done by Japanese artists and I finally have my answer. Now lets see if they do an Anime version of Star Trek. I'll have to wait another decade or so. In the future I will start reviewing anime since I'm a huge Otaku (uhh, fanboy). Keep your wireless charged and see you next broadcast.