Who's on First

Most of the time when I watch TV or Movies I'm on the look out for actors I've seen in other things. This may seem odd, or maybe everyone does it and I'm just odd for writing about it. This came to mind when I went to see The International. The previews I saw looked somewhat generic but it had Clive Owen. On him alone, from Children of Men and King Arthur, I wanted to see it. Sometimes my plan backfires, like in this movie, but other times I just enjoy seeing an actor doing something else. Case in point is Summer Glau in Terminator: TSSC.

Why do I do this? I think of it as building up "Geek-Cred". The more roles I see an actor in the more I want to see him/her do other things, for example, Harrison Ford. He's got more "Geek-Cred" as Han Solo and Indiana Jones than anybody else, but I'll add in Jack Ryan and Richard Kimball FTW. So who are the pantheon of actors and actresses I follow? Here's a list, with some descriptions of who I like:

Any of the main actors from the five Star Trek TV series. William Shatner is on par with Harrison Ford just for being Kirk, but I'll add in Twilight Zone, TJ Hooker, Airplane 2, Dodgeball and Boston Leagal. George Takei as Hiro's father in Heroes. Walter Koenig in Babylon 5. Patrick Stewart did Excalibur and Dune before TNG, but then we can add X-Men, Eleventh Hour and Robin Hood: Men in Tights; as well as voice work for Anime movies Steamboy and Nausicaa (ironic since Picard is stabbed by a Nausicaan in TNG episode "Tapestry"). Brent Spiner shows up in Independence Day, Phenomenon and an episode of Leverage; as well as voice work in the South Park movie and Gargoyles. And the list goes on. Connor Trinner even showed up last week on Terminator. As you can see Star Trek is a no-brainer when it comes to following actors.

Star Wars is another good one, Carrie Fisher stands out in The Blues Brothers, Austin Powers, and Fanboys. Warwick Davis shows up in everything from Time Bandits and Willow to newer fare like Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Hitchiker's Guide. These are cult actors I like to see pop up elsewhere. Billy D. Williams could have been Two-Face from the 1989 Batman but I also liked him in The Ladies' Man. Liam Neeson is worth seeing in just about everything, but he does an awesome version of Jason Bourne in Taken.

From other shows I love seeing anyone from Firefly, like the afore-mentioned Summer Glau. Adam Baldwin is now in Chuck, but he gets points for being a presidential bodyguard in Independence Day. Jewel Staite does some Stargate: Atlantis (as well as The X-Files), and Gina Torres can do no wrong in Xena, Hercules, Cleopatra 2525, 24, and The Matrix sequels, among others (she's even married to Mr. Fishburne).

The show John Doe is an odd one, but I became a fan of both Dominic Purcell (who went on to be in Blade: Trinity and Prison Break) and Sprague Grayden (who pops up in Jericho and this year's season of 24). The X-Files of course has Gillian Anderson (who did voice work for Princess Mononoke and as Data Nully in ReBoot) and the awesome David Duchovny, who was already known for Twin Peaks but gets to add Evolution and Zoolander to his geek-cred. Both MacGyver and Quantum Leap gave us leading actors to follow; Richard Dean Anderson (Stagate SG-1) and Scott Bakula (Enterprise).

In movies everyone from TRON gets points, but especially Bruce Boxleitner for showing up in Babylon 5. The whole cast of any sci-fi movie made by James Cameron or John Carpenter. Kurt Russel gets high marks for Escape from New York/LA and The Thing, then you can add Death Proof, Soldier, and Stargate. Ed Harris just dominates his roles from movies like The Abyss, Apollo 13, The Rock, The Truman Show, and A History of Violence. Michael Biehn gets lots of geek-cred from his roles in The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, The Rock, and Planet Terror. I can't forget the cast of any of the Matrix movies. Ifyou like Keanu Reeves or not he ranks way up there with movies like Bill & Ted, Point Break, Speed, Constantine, A Scanner Darkly, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Oh, and Bill Paxton should never be forgotten in The Terminator, Weird Science, Aliens, Predator 2, True Lies, Twister, Apollo 13, and U-571. In fact he's the only actor to play a character killed by a Terminator, an Alien, and a Predator.

Some are just individual actors whose careers add up to lots of geek movies. Vin Diesel stands out with Pitch Black (which also gave us Claudia Black in Farscape) and The Chronicles of Riddick, but adds to it with The Fast & The Furious and xXx. Hugh Jackman gets it from X-Men, Swordfish and Van Hellsing. The Rock (aka Dwayne Johnson) gets it for just being himself in The Rundown, Doom, The Scorpion King, and a quick episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Any of the 80's action stars get it for nostalgia's sake, but I like to give Arnold lots of credit for the two Conan movies, The Terminator franchise, Red Sonja, Predator, The Running Man, Total Recall, and True Lies. Brad Pitt for Se7en, Twelve Monkeys, Fight Club and Troy. Wesley Snipes primarily gets my vote from the Blade movies but I'll add Major League and Demolition Man. Sean Connery gets all the points he needs from James Bond, being Indy's dad, and The Rock, but I'm subtracting a couple for being in Zardoz. Shia LaBeouf gets some well deserved credit for I, Robot, Constantine, Indy 4, and Transformers, as well as an appearence in The X-Files. I'll let you figure out on your own why I like Keith David.

I'm giving Will Smith his own paragraph here. He gets Bad Boys I & II, Independence Day, Men in Black I & II, Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West, I, Robot, I Am Legend, and Hancock; not to mention a little TV show he did. I would like to see him do something in space next.

It's sort of like a game I play. Where have I seen this actor before? But, it is also a kind of barometer I can measure an unknown quantity of TV or Movie time. This may seem an exhuastive list but there are many more I'm leaving out. I could spend a week adding up Star Trek alone. I want to show you how I approach new shows and movies. Last example will be Dollhouse. Created by Joss Whedon who gets huge points for creating Buffy/Angel, and Firefly/Serenity. The star is Eliza Dushku who was in True Lies, Bring It On, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Buffy/Angel. Guest starring Harry Lennix from The Matrix sequels and 24; Tahmoh Penikett comes from the new Battlestar Galactica and Smallville; Olivia Williams has done The Postman, The Sixth Sense, and X-Men 3; Amy Acker did some Alias, Justice League, Supernatural, Angel, and Special Unit 2. This all adds up to a pretty good sounding show. Logging out.

Just a Quicky

I decided not to blog on Monday, as it was a day off, but I wanted to say a couple things as an appetizer to a future blog. I have a crush I developed last year, thanks to Penny Arcade. And the focus of that crush is Felicia Day, and her Knights of Good. This weekend I caught up on The Guild season 2 which is a free HD download on Xbox Live. Tonight is the finale of season 2, and to celebrate, Felicia Day ran a live Ustream video of a party at her place. I think it's her place. I've never watched a live streaming anything on the internet, and that includes the panda cam.

This is still like watching the characers of The Guild on my computer, but they are live. The only person missing was Tink/Amy Okuda. I think the live show was actually longer than the combined two seasons, including the 2 christmas specials and four blooper reels. These are inspired comedian/actors in a niche web comedy. If you have ever been addicted to an MMO you owe yourself this series.

This Saturday I caught up on all my TV for the week (see previous post for viewing habits) and the shows I regularly watch that stand out are 24, Fringe, and Terminator. These are the only shows that are getting anywhere. I've decided Heroes is on a slow burn. It's a pilot-light of a plot that just burns and slowly moves the story forward. Very slowly. I was pumped when Michael Dorn was the President at the last episode of December, but where is he? 24 is the exact opposite of Heroes. There is more done between commerical breaks than in whole episodes of Heroes. Even Knight Rider gets more done.

My last problem I'll aim at Heroes is Matt's precog powers. SPOILER WARNING: Matt can see the future and can see that Speedster Girlfriend will get shot by the tail of the plane. Matt then goes there just to see her die. He never tried warning her or nothing. What is the point of seeing the future if you can’t do anything about it. I know that Heroes started on the premise that Doomsday is approaching unless everyone can stop it. So obviously, the future can change. Matt draws a picture of himself being shot, then he gets shot. That’s a great power since he drew himself getting shot right before he got shot. Maybe if he left his apartment instead of drawing he wouldn’t have got shot, he wouldn’t crash in a plane, and Daphne wouldn’t have been shot either. This is a great power. Your own power is just effing with you. Otherwise, Matt’s a cool character.

I haven't watched much CSI in the past couple years, but now that Morpheus is on the show it actually has my attention. I'm back with it. I even watch CSINY off and on, I just can't watch Miami. I want more Fishburne face time in the show, because I care less about everyone else, except Catherine; I still like her.

I gave up on Call of Duty 5 this weekend for the Minesweeper: Flags on XBL. Minesweeper is generally about logical and careful plotting to clear the board. CoD:WaW on Veteran is so random when it came to engagements you can't work through it slowly. CoD 2 on Veteran was a slow process but you could still be patient and work. On some boards in World at War you can't hold still. Even if you take your time the game spawns enemies behind you, just to kill you. But if you watch your back, nothing happens. I spent an hour trying to get past one part. That's my due diligence. I moved on to the first Russian mission that pits you against a sniper. No matter what I did the sniper killed me. After a half hour I looked up on a forum and it turns out I have to shoot him more than once. But his bullets kill you instantly. No effin' way. I'm out. Gonna play Minesweeper, where I die on my own terms. Logging out.

We Built This City On Rock Band

When Christmas lands on just the right day, you tend to get a good number of days off, including weekends of course. With four days off in a row and all the Xmas obligations I tend to forget what day it is, and in turn the last time I wrote a blog. I've spent my non-blog time watching movies, Xmas shopping, and playing Guitar Hero III. A good amount of time has been scouring New Haven County for Rock Band. This is obviously the Tickle Me Elmo of gaming. I knew this would happen (justifying its an awesome game) but I tried anyway. Nowhere to be found. Now, I'll have to stake out all my favorite places before the end of the year, hoping they get new shipments or someone returned an unopened box. The employees of the stores I went to showed my they had the game, just not the box with the instruments. HUH? You can't buy any of the three instruments (I'm counting the Mic as an instrument) separately so why bother playing the game; it kind of defeats the purpose of having it. On the X360 the Guitar Hero III controllers (and third party guitars) will work but you lose out on the drums, until they go on sale in February. Funny, I did find lots of PS3 Rock Band sets. In the mean time, I've found new life in GH3 with co-op mode and unlocking more achievements.

My "Secret Santa" at work bought me Spider-Man 3 on DVD so I'm watching the all three this vacation. I never realised how much Tobey Maguire cries throughout the saga. If he doesn't marry MJ by the fourth movie, I'm done with Spidey. I can't take it. He's already married in the comics, so make it work Mr. Raimi. I'm not really adding anything new here, but I'm impressed with the number of background characters from the comics represented in their pre-evil forms. Even the first movie Jameson refers to Eddie Brock and I missed it. However, Sam Raimi just took a bunch of plot elements, put them in a blender, and reattached them to different characters. Gwen Stacy is by far the anomaly. She suddenly pops up in number 3 when she ought to have been around since the beginning, and her death has already been mirrored by Green Goblin's attempt on MJ in the first one. These aren't really complaints since I've enjoyed all three, but we know these characters and suddenly they're out of sequence, or something. Kind of like the Marvel Ultimate line of comics, reboots of the comic franchises. I read one Spider-Man issue were he was going out with Kiddy Pride, which actually made sense at the time. Maybe we'll get the Vulture in the next movie.

I went out to see National Treasure 2 this weekend and Bruce Greenwood played the US President. You may remember Bruce Greenwood from I, Robot, but more importantly he will be Christopher Pike in the new Star Trek movie. Since I read about him I had always thought he was too old to be Pike, then I remembered a little tidbit of info. The only time we see Pike (other than the mutilated, wheel-pod bound beeping Admiral) is on a video that took place thirteen (13) years prior to the episode. So step it up a decade and maybe Pike could look more like Bruce Greenwood. I read in interview with JJ Abrams, and his writers, assuring Trek fans everywhere this isn't a "reboot" per say, like "Batman Begins." The movie takes place in the established continuum, when Spock from the "current" post-TNG era (circa 2375) goes back in time to help his former (younger) self deal with some Romulan issue. The past time period takes place before 2366, the first time We see the whole crew (sans Chekov) together. This movie is supposed to show how the crew formed and how the Kirk-Spock-McCoy friendship started. I've spent entirely too much time in the Star Trek continuity to want to see something that isn't part of the five (5) shows and ten (10) movies, so I'm happy to report that the new movie will not contradict what came before and hopeful reinvigorate the franchise, without the need for a "Reboot." And, if we need any more reason to see "Cloverfield," the first previews of Star Trek will be shown.

And speaking of Star Trek, Saturday (Dec 22) was the 40th Anniversary of the Second Season episode "Wolf In The Fold." This is one of the classics; a murder mystery that ties Jack The Ripper with an intergalactic entity that feeds on fear.Scotty is blamed for the murder of three women while on shore leave. On the surface this sounds like a typical episode but let me tell you what really happens in the story. Just prior to the opening Scotty receives a concussion when a female crewmember causes an explosion in his face. As part of his trauma he resents and hates all women, which doesn't sit well with Kirk (I wonder why). Kirk decides to head to Argelius II, a poor man's Risa. In other words, a strategically positioned Pleasure Planet. McCoy supports Kirk on his rehabilitation of Scott by taking him to a strip club. If seeing half-naked women, dancing to snake-charmer music, wearing tinsel doesn't fix you on women nothing will. Scotty, immediately feeling, escorts a young lass Kirk hooks him up with (so Kirk's a pimp now) to "escort" her home. Luckily the planet is perpetually covered in fog and she's murdered with out any witnesses and Scotty blacks out. This happens like two (2) more times WHILE SCOTTY IS IN CUSTODY FOR MURDER, and he's continually to blame for everything. Bypassing all sorts of legalities Kirk takes the case up the Enterprise. Eventually it is discovered that the Chief Of Security for the planet, a Mr. Hengist (played by the voice of Piglet, John Fiedler), has been followed by a non-corporeal entity, known as Red Jack, that feeds on fear, and can hide in humanoid bodies, causing amnesia. So Scotty really did kill them, wow. Knifed each of them like twelve (12) times. Red Jack floats around the ship trying to scare people so Kirk orders everyone to be inoculated with Space Weed or Space PCP. Red Jack, unable to feed, goes back in to Hengist, who is then disabled and put in a transporter, then beamed into space at full dispersion, killing it. Everyone is now high on the Enterprise, so what does Kirk do? Send them all down to Argelius II for detox/shore leave. Recap: PTSD Scotty taken to Strip Club planet, possessed by Jack The Ripper murders three (3) women, cleared of all charges on Enterprise, crew given Space Marajuana, kills Red Jack, crew given shoreleave while high. Areglius II must hate Starfleet. My favorite part is when "Piglet" starts screaming "I'll kill her, I'll kill you all."

On a side note, I was playing Guitar Hero when I noticed an ad, on the wall of the virtual bar I was virtually playing in, for Terminator: The Sarah Jane Chronicles. Does this mean my Xbox is advertising from Xbox Live straight to the game. Thanks MicroSoft; this is like in-game spam. Then I came across a preview for the show on XBL and I have to say I like it. I want this show. Didn't see much of River/Summer Glau as the female Terminator but I have faith. So I'm watching all three (3) movies again to divine any knowledge I may have overlooked. It sounds like the TV show will ignore the third movie and just be a sequel to Judgment Day. It also appears we have a Fourth movie in the works, called Terminator Salvation. I noticed the lack of number, so will this be in the TV show chronology or the movie chronology? I love Time Travel movies. See you next broadcast.

We Are Rubik, Resistance Is Futile

I continue my brave journey to discover myself through Guitar Hero. I've learned that as long as I activate a music track by imitating guitar play, I'm quite happy that I don't actually know how to play a real guitar. This is truth in gaming. I also don't have time to become a Space Marine, Cowboy, Mob Boss, Fighter Pilot, Plumber, MIT Theoretical Physicists, or John Madden. A game should be considered successful if you feel you've become something your not without the difficulty of attainment. Guitar Hero has this in spades. I even love the simple message, "Press any key to Rock." If the was meant to teach you how to play guitar it would be a more of a simulator than a game, like the difference between Gran Tourismo and Burn Out. Rock Band looks like a cross between the two. The review is in from IGN and they love it.

A new actor has been chosen for Star Trek XI. Sarek, Spock's father, will be played by Ben Cross. Yes, that Ben Cross, the one form Chariots Of Fire. If memory serves this makes the third actor to play Sarek, and (if he is in a flashback) the second actor to play him in a flashback. JJ Abrams was able to keep "Cloverfield" under wraps so well I hope he doesn't do the same to Trek. If he keeps feeding us tidpits that will make the year go by quicker. Less than two months until Cloverfield at least. I didn't see Blair Witch but I'll bring dramamine just in case.

Earlier this year I decided to learn how to solve a Rubik's Cube. I had learned as a child but forgotten so I wanted to try again, as I had never solved a cube without a book. Now we have the internet so I found a useful site and set to work. About a week later I'd memorized four (4) different patterns of movement and solved it within a couple inutes no matter how scrambled it was. I looked for a greater challenge and bought a Rubik's Revenge (4x4x4) and The Professor's Cube (5x5x5). The Revenge exploded on me while fixing it and I never figured out how to put it back together. I completed all the Professor's Cube but for two pieces that were out of position. I thought that was pretty good so I gave up on the project.

A month later, while on drill, I found myself on a bus to a weapons range with time to kill. I had my cube on me so I decided to spend the three hour trip teaching another soldier, who will go by the name "Scully." I enjoyed the challenge of teaching a Padawan of the Cube and the weekend continued until I was sure she had all the knowledge she needed. I had no idea what seed I had planted. This past weekend, several months since, I discovered that she had, in turn, been teaching someone new. Knowledge is infectious. BTW read how to solve The Professor's Cube before actually scrambling it. Just an FYI. See you next broadcast.

Make Mine Cloverfield

The secret JJ Abrams movie has a name. This is the name fans called it anyway so why not. It doesn't help to explain anything in the movie, but it makes the movie sound so clever there must be a connection, if only we were smart enough. It could, however, be just a random military code name. The new trailer is still intriguing without spilling the beans. Of interest is a silhouette of 2 CDC guys in environmental suits holding a screaming woman between, when she suddenly inflates.WTF?

This is just a quick message, now that I am free from my weekend responsibilities. However, I feel a little under the weather. Let out your inner guitar-playing Japanese-school girl and Press Any Button To Rock. See you next broadcast.

With Apologies To Slash

Dear Slash,

I am so sorry I beat you on battle mode during a session of Guitar Hero III. I was set on Easy, as my skills are still developing, but I got in a groove and somehow , mystically defeated you. This was unfair to you as you are a thousand times better than me. There is no way anyone should be allowed to defeat you on a guitar even on Easy. I had to cut your strings and overload your amp, in other words keep you from being heard. I meant no disrespect, I just couldn't unlock more songs without going through you. I did enjoy our time playing Welcome To The Jungle, but I’m still not worthy of licking the stage you tread upon. I will learn the harder modes and we’ll face off again where I expect a more realistic challenge.

yours truly, Fox

While playing GH3 last night (for about four hours straight) I encountered Slash. I expected him to be the end “boss” so I was surprised to see him pop his shaggy head up so early. I beat him in one go and I was upset. This is Slash. I don’t care the difficulty level, he should be impossible to beat. I think they should have written it so Slash acknowledges you have 1% of his right-hand little-finger’s talent and that’s not nothing. He then pats you on the back or gives you a towel (like the football player in the old Coke commercials) and then play continues. This is a small nitpick, but it would be like beating Jackie Chan in a game of Mortal Kombat.

I tried tearing myself away from the game but I kept unlocking classic songs. I couldn't go to bed without trying Paranoid from Black Sabbath or The Seeker from The Who. The need to pound on the fret buttons and strum away is infectious. I’m not ready to go online yet, but once I beat Normal I’ll give it a try. I actually managed to play through two songs on Normal. Now you have to use four fret buttons, which is a quantum leap from Easy’s use of three buttons. Every time I think I’m doing good I play a Normal song at reset my expectations. So far my favorites have been Barracuda, Pride And Joy, and La Grange. I did notice there are achievements from playing the game with the standard X360 controller, but I don’t see how that’s possible. Maybe I’ll give that a try this weekend, too.

This weekend I must spend with the Army so there won’t be any posts until Monday. At least with all the driving I have to do I can listen to Rock and imagine playing it. Its awesome to leave one ob in daylight and drive to my next, arriving at night. I looked for the comet and its debris field, which reports are saying is large than the sun, but to no avail. The area I was in was too bright and cloudy. Maybe tomorrow night. 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.

WARNING! Difficulty Level May Block Game Play

The Chokepoint. Almost every game I've played has one. It can be at the beginning, like Driver, or at the end, like Metroid Prime. Heck, Viewtiful Joe is one long chokepoint. If a game lacks one I feel cheated. The game was too easy. But when I encounter one, I curse the game's creator to the 12 trials of Hercules (or at least great bodily harm). How dare he/she put me through this crap, I'm just trying to have fun here. The severity of the chokepoint is directly proportional to the amount yelling I do. I try to control myself, but somehow I firmly believe that my anger, my brief journey to the Dark Side, gives me strength to persevere. That, and what prize is on the other side. For, truly, the chokepoint is an obstacle to a greater goal; getting the next super-weapon, saving another princess, collecting a star/coin/triforce/bunny, finishing the game. And by chokepoint (CP), I mean an area or puzzle that just defies difficulty. Suddenly every Nazi on the planet knows you're hiding in that forest and shoot every square pixel of your body, exposed or not. I've seen some puzzles that require a Nobel Prize in physics, not to mention a new kind of calculus, to solve. I then ask myself, when I've calmed down with a beer, is this game worth it? I may blow the next hour trying desperately to memorize every move (ie Dragon's Lair) for a better suit of armor or a guardian fairy. Most of the time you have to beat the CP to continue, so if the game has been fun, most likely I'll continue, but if not, I'll loose interest immediately. Thanks to Achievements and Gamescore, if I get through a CP I'll get more points.

I am not unique in this, and I'm also a hypocrite. I need CPs but I hate them, because I feel cheated without them. They are like the green veggies of video gaming. However, a game needs to balance this. If passing through a CP gets me more of the same, I'm just grinding my enjoyment to a bloody, hatefilled, pulp. Another thing to consider is if there is a save point nearby or did you have to play a marathon before the CP, therefore negating all sorts of play time if you fail. This probably goes for everyone who plays, is this game worth the crap I'm about to go through. Half-Life 2 is definately that game, as are Halo, Call Of Duty, Medal Of Honor (usually) and Gears Of War. Where I have had trouble is with Fighting Games. Once you face the "Boss" in Dead Or Alive I can say I completed it. But there are all sorts of Achievements that require me to defeat the "Boss" with everyone multiple times. That's a CP I have to face 30 times. Not worth it. Fighting games are a different style of play, and I tend to prefer to play against real people, anyway. Chokepoints, you can't live with them, but you can usually shoot the hell out of everything in sight and move on to the next one. I hate Chokepoints. Apparently I'm a virtual masochist.

Digging around on the Internetwebs today I came across some interesting tidbits. Since I've been analyzing the issues of the PS3, I was interested to read about the console sales figures in September. Everyone else is selling almost 4 to 5 times as many units as the PS3 is able to sell. The Nintendo DS totally outsold PS3, not to mention PS2 and the PSP.

I miss Judgment Day on G4TV, and Tommy Tallarico's critical wit as he steered us clear of trivial nonsense and showed us a truer path to gaming goodness. He's no longer on TV but I found the next best thing. Yahtzee/Zero Punctuation game reviews by web video at this site, where he reviews MOH Airborne. He seems to hate everything, and half the time I can't really argue with him. Bloody brilliant.

Halo 3 and I are breaking up for a while, have gained everything I can out of her multiplayer experience. I've gone about as far as I can with her, and I see no reason to waste more time trying to gain rank and not Gamescore. I'm a Gamescore Whore after all and I can't be tied down to one game for too long. Wow, that got weird for a second. Anyway, someone else began to have the similar problems with online play and wrote this article on suicide bombers in Halo. I have a life, too, really.

The SR-71 Blackbird is the proof of concept that engineers are the coolest geeks on the planet, and not just because my grandpa used to work with them. The reason this aircraft's top speed is classified is that it was never found. Everytime the Russians flew something faster, we just stepped on the peddle a little harder. The design was ahead of its time and now its been retired. So, once again the name has surfaced, this time controlled by Voodoo. The Voodoo Blackbird is quite possibly the most advanced gaming computer built to date. And it plays the latest Graphic-Crunching, Physics-Bending, Frame-Frate hogging game, Crysis, with ease. And, of course, being the gamer I am, I want Crysis, but I basically have to buy a $5,500 Voodoo Blackbird console for a $50 game. Or wait five years and home computers will be just as good, with Windows Vista XP 2K10 Pro or some such and 5 TB RAID harddrives to match 60 GB of MagnoNeuroRAM. If you pre-order Crysis before next week, at a Gamestop, you can get a nifty toy tank thing that reminds me of the APC from Aliens. 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.