It's probably just because in the wild they hold on to stuff to keep from floating away...
...but it's still two two otters holding hands.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Free games: Wing Commander Secret Ops
I don't remember what specific events led to me download and play this game but I remember that it seemed pretty damn cool to me.
The game was FREE and FUN. The whole experience was based on the Origin website set up for the game. You went there to download the game and then get a custom code in order to activate the game. You then had to download each of the episodes and read "emails" and watch video on the website to keep up with the story. If you did better in the game you got a different story.
The game itself was classic Wing Commander. Blasting aliens in space while taunting them. Your wing mates actually ejected if they got smacked down (which was nice). The controls worked nicely with a game pad + keyboard combo.
In any case due to the large fanbase of the wing commander games this game and all it's episodes are STILL available for free online!!!!
Download the games here.
Use a fanmade tool to get a passkey here.
Read the story before you begin each chapter here.
Learn how to run the game on a modern PC here. (basically you just have to run in in compatibility mode)
The game was FREE and FUN. The whole experience was based on the Origin website set up for the game. You went there to download the game and then get a custom code in order to activate the game. You then had to download each of the episodes and read "emails" and watch video on the website to keep up with the story. If you did better in the game you got a different story.
The game itself was classic Wing Commander. Blasting aliens in space while taunting them. Your wing mates actually ejected if they got smacked down (which was nice). The controls worked nicely with a game pad + keyboard combo.
In any case due to the large fanbase of the wing commander games this game and all it's episodes are STILL available for free online!!!!
Download the games here.
Use a fanmade tool to get a passkey here.
Read the story before you begin each chapter here.
Learn how to run the game on a modern PC here. (basically you just have to run in in compatibility mode)
Monday, September 29, 2008
Good article about survival horror games.
Good article. Makes some decent points.
http://kotaku.com/5056008/does-survival-horror-really-still-exist
http://kotaku.com/5056008/does-survival-horror-really-still-exist
"Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it."
Top ten banned books.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1842832_1842838_1845265,00.html
We are having a banned books week at the library.
Included in the display is the Bible, "Huck Finn", the Harry Potter series, "Whale Talk" and "The Chocolate War".
It's amazing how many books are still banned and challenged in the US today.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1842832_1842838_1845265,00.html
We are having a banned books week at the library.
Included in the display is the Bible, "Huck Finn", the Harry Potter series, "Whale Talk" and "The Chocolate War".
It's amazing how many books are still banned and challenged in the US today.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Scary Go Round.
A interesting webcomic. It actually takes a bit to get into it (Like Sluggy) but after you get to know the characters and various plots going on it's much easier reading.
There are various plots that include witches, vampires, the devil, thrift store shopping and much more!
Give it a shot!
I mean come one there was a whole story about THRIFT STORE SHOPPING!
Wendigos!
http://scarygoround.com/index.php?date=20080422
There are various plots that include witches, vampires, the devil, thrift store shopping and much more!
Give it a shot!
I mean come one there was a whole story about THRIFT STORE SHOPPING!
Wendigos!
http://scarygoround.com/index.php?date=20080422
Friday, September 26, 2008
Five reasons the Depression is gonna be fun!
http://gawker.com/5054879/5-reasons-this-depression-really-is-going-to-be-fun
The depression is gonna hit Canada lightly compared to the USA. I am glad I live so near Canada. The Canadians are coming over the border in droves to spend their money here. When I was doing local news for Watertown I heard how Canadians would wear crappy clothes on the ride to the US and then buy all new clothes here and discard their old stuff because they don't have to pay customs on the clothes they are wearing.
The depression is gonna hit Canada lightly compared to the USA. I am glad I live so near Canada. The Canadians are coming over the border in droves to spend their money here. When I was doing local news for Watertown I heard how Canadians would wear crappy clothes on the ride to the US and then buy all new clothes here and discard their old stuff because they don't have to pay customs on the clothes they are wearing.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
New video blog.
Wow. Youtube SUCKS. I dunno when this happened but the total length of video that can be put up is 10 lousy minutes. That really sucks for people that wanted a space to host a real media project and not some bullshit viral video. (The ones with cats in them are OK).
Of course most people don't want to hear me drone on for 20 minutes but still.
Wow. Job seekers are ignorant and arrogant
It's amazing how the economy has produced some real jerks.
I had a guy who came up looking for resources on resumes. He was extremely rude to me. And when I mentioned the work source place near here (They basically help you create a resume and do all the work for you). He didn't want to do that because they "made him sign up and wait".
Wow. This is a full grown man in apparent good health and he can't wait around for a few minutes to help his job opportunities? It's not like the guy has a job to go to.
It's amazing how we have all these lazy impolite white trash people that complain when hardworking immigrants get jobs.
I think that the only problem that I have with Obama is that he will let these shiftless honkies have even more welfare benefits. As a gas station manager I have sold too much overpriced junk food to morbidly obese people paying with food stamps. I can't talk about other areas but the system is just not working in Northern NY state.
Giving more money to people like the arrogant jerk who scornfully insults all the resources the taxpayers give him to improve his lot in life doesn't make any sense.
And of course if you ask anyone to improve themselves then you are just being "elitist". Of course it's actually much worse to sit around and do nothing to help anyone else. The truly "elitist" are the ones who assume that people are the way they are because they cannot change (Because they must be inferior). I say people are ignorant and arrogant because nobody has tried to do anything about it. Everyone is shamed into silence about the horribly educated morons who surround them.
We don't need to give money to these poor people and we don't need to give it to the rich. We need to give it to the working middle class who are killing themselves carrying this country.
I had a guy who came up looking for resources on resumes. He was extremely rude to me. And when I mentioned the work source place near here (They basically help you create a resume and do all the work for you). He didn't want to do that because they "made him sign up and wait".
Wow. This is a full grown man in apparent good health and he can't wait around for a few minutes to help his job opportunities? It's not like the guy has a job to go to.
It's amazing how we have all these lazy impolite white trash people that complain when hardworking immigrants get jobs.
I think that the only problem that I have with Obama is that he will let these shiftless honkies have even more welfare benefits. As a gas station manager I have sold too much overpriced junk food to morbidly obese people paying with food stamps. I can't talk about other areas but the system is just not working in Northern NY state.
Giving more money to people like the arrogant jerk who scornfully insults all the resources the taxpayers give him to improve his lot in life doesn't make any sense.
And of course if you ask anyone to improve themselves then you are just being "elitist". Of course it's actually much worse to sit around and do nothing to help anyone else. The truly "elitist" are the ones who assume that people are the way they are because they cannot change (Because they must be inferior). I say people are ignorant and arrogant because nobody has tried to do anything about it. Everyone is shamed into silence about the horribly educated morons who surround them.
We don't need to give money to these poor people and we don't need to give it to the rich. We need to give it to the working middle class who are killing themselves carrying this country.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Wow. Slacker Uprising.
Damn.
www.slackeruprising.com
What's really amazing is a little midway through the movie you get to hear from Bush supporters from 2004.
WOW.
One person basically says that Bush prays to God for wisdom and thus has her vote.
Of course 4 years from now we have a devout Christian running for office in the form of Barack Obama. And the same people who voted for Bush because he was a Christian are now convinced that Obama is a Muslim. And of course a sizable portion of people won't vote for him because he looks black. News flash people. His white half is a hell of a lot more genetically pure than the average Southerner parentage. If you think you are white then you should get your genes checked and I am sure you will be surprised. It shouldn't matter what the hell your racial background is anyway. If you can make a good speech and are attempting to clean up the shit that the Bush administration left us by getting some money to the middle class you should get elected.
I don't understand how a pacifist leader like Jesus could possibly support an aggressive war like Iraq. Then again most people who are "Christians" never actually read the bible.
It's just so amazing how zealous yet misinformed the great majority of the population is.
I would happy if these people were voting for Bush for reasons centered in reality but it seems this is not the case.
www.slackeruprising.com
What's really amazing is a little midway through the movie you get to hear from Bush supporters from 2004.
WOW.
One person basically says that Bush prays to God for wisdom and thus has her vote.
Of course 4 years from now we have a devout Christian running for office in the form of Barack Obama. And the same people who voted for Bush because he was a Christian are now convinced that Obama is a Muslim. And of course a sizable portion of people won't vote for him because he looks black. News flash people. His white half is a hell of a lot more genetically pure than the average Southerner parentage. If you think you are white then you should get your genes checked and I am sure you will be surprised. It shouldn't matter what the hell your racial background is anyway. If you can make a good speech and are attempting to clean up the shit that the Bush administration left us by getting some money to the middle class you should get elected.
I don't understand how a pacifist leader like Jesus could possibly support an aggressive war like Iraq. Then again most people who are "Christians" never actually read the bible.
It's just so amazing how zealous yet misinformed the great majority of the population is.
I would happy if these people were voting for Bush for reasons centered in reality but it seems this is not the case.
The economy...wow...
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1843168,00.html?iid=digg_share
So now instead of socializing something that needs to be socialized (Medical care or education) we have have bailed out the rich. In a country where the bulk of the working class destroys their own health with too many work hours to pay back insane fees for education and medical care we have socialized the economy to pay for the greed of the rich.
I feel a bit bad for all those suckers that bought into the whole "buy a house get a 401K" thing. Now all their houses are repossessed and their savings are worthless.
How the hell could ANYONE think that our corporate overlords were ever going to give anything back to us?
Now me? I thought ahead and bought some decent education and got a job in one of the few fields where unions ensure that you are not going to get fired. Plus I got an apartment close enough to my workplace that I can walk to it.
I am still paying off my college loans but I am in much better shape than the saps who were convinced they could afford houses.
So now instead of socializing something that needs to be socialized (Medical care or education) we have have bailed out the rich. In a country where the bulk of the working class destroys their own health with too many work hours to pay back insane fees for education and medical care we have socialized the economy to pay for the greed of the rich.
I feel a bit bad for all those suckers that bought into the whole "buy a house get a 401K" thing. Now all their houses are repossessed and their savings are worthless.
How the hell could ANYONE think that our corporate overlords were ever going to give anything back to us?
Now me? I thought ahead and bought some decent education and got a job in one of the few fields where unions ensure that you are not going to get fired. Plus I got an apartment close enough to my workplace that I can walk to it.
I am still paying off my college loans but I am in much better shape than the saps who were convinced they could afford houses.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Ninja cat (kind of goes against pirate day)
This has made the Internet rounds already. But if you happened to miss this it's really funny.
That last camera pan made my day.
That last camera pan made my day.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
It's midnight!
If you see a German ghost at midnight don't get out of the carriage. It's generally not a good idea. I mean COME ON.
Midnight!
Yet another article about game difficulty.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3787/difficulty_is_difficult_designing_.php?print=1
Some good points.
This whole paragraph about Resident Evil pissed me off a bit.
"Resource stinginess. The Resident Evil series chose to limit ammo as difficulty levels ramped up. This results in extreme tension, helping to add to the horror, but also greater pressure on the player to be resourceful. Many skillful Professional Mode Resident Evil 4 players rely on sharp-shooting kneecaps to bring the enemy to its knees, then finish it off with the knife to get through the game on a minimal bullet-budget."
Yeah right. Resident Evil 4 was VERY generous with ammo even in higher levels of difficulty. The whole "knifing zombies" thing is a play mechanic that you HAD to do in other Resident Evil games to beat harder difficulty levels. In Resident Evil 4 it just made the action game a bit more interesting.
Besides real players like me just use the knife at close range to cause the enemies to flinch then kicked them. You don't need to expend ANY ammo to do that.
In any case I am glad so many places are talking about difficulty in games.
Some good points.
This whole paragraph about Resident Evil pissed me off a bit.
"Resource stinginess. The Resident Evil series chose to limit ammo as difficulty levels ramped up. This results in extreme tension, helping to add to the horror, but also greater pressure on the player to be resourceful. Many skillful Professional Mode Resident Evil 4 players rely on sharp-shooting kneecaps to bring the enemy to its knees, then finish it off with the knife to get through the game on a minimal bullet-budget."
Yeah right. Resident Evil 4 was VERY generous with ammo even in higher levels of difficulty. The whole "knifing zombies" thing is a play mechanic that you HAD to do in other Resident Evil games to beat harder difficulty levels. In Resident Evil 4 it just made the action game a bit more interesting.
Besides real players like me just use the knife at close range to cause the enemies to flinch then kicked them. You don't need to expend ANY ammo to do that.
In any case I am glad so many places are talking about difficulty in games.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
How modern Gaming has made gamers wimpy.
Yeah. I totally agree.
Well except for the whole "Quicksave" thing. I like Quicksave in most games. I hardly ever remember to use it but it's nice to use if you want to Quicksave right after a cut scene and a boss fight. It's just nice to have the option. I hate checkpoints in games.
"Not only are our skills being neutered, it's being done in a way which makes us think we're still at the top of our game. It's exactly like The Matrix. Exactly like The Matrix. Yes, a no-thumbed bonobo monkey can now feel a simulation of the sense of achievement we've enjoyed since the '80s, but just remember, as The Incredibles told us, when everyone's super, no-one will be."
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/how-modern-gaming-has-made-us-into-wimpy-gamers/a-2008091692920350041
Rechargeable health bars. Auto Aim. Enemies whose health doesn't reset when you did. It's all so lame.
It's a damn shame that people think they are "hardcore" because they can play games like Halo and WoW. ANYONE can be good at those games. ANYONE.
Meanwhile decent games like Godhand which are challenging get bad reviews.
It makes me want to play some Doom on Nightmare. Or some Painkiller.
You know there are still some good games out there.
Well except for the whole "Quicksave" thing. I like Quicksave in most games. I hardly ever remember to use it but it's nice to use if you want to Quicksave right after a cut scene and a boss fight. It's just nice to have the option. I hate checkpoints in games.
"Not only are our skills being neutered, it's being done in a way which makes us think we're still at the top of our game. It's exactly like The Matrix. Exactly like The Matrix. Yes, a no-thumbed bonobo monkey can now feel a simulation of the sense of achievement we've enjoyed since the '80s, but just remember, as The Incredibles told us, when everyone's super, no-one will be."
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/how-modern-gaming-has-made-us-into-wimpy-gamers/a-2008091692920350041
Rechargeable health bars. Auto Aim. Enemies whose health doesn't reset when you did. It's all so lame.
It's a damn shame that people think they are "hardcore" because they can play games like Halo and WoW. ANYONE can be good at those games. ANYONE.
Meanwhile decent games like Godhand which are challenging get bad reviews.
It makes me want to play some Doom on Nightmare. Or some Painkiller.
You know there are still some good games out there.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Going to Burlington on Sat.
My car is screwed up. I am going to South Burlington Vermont on Sat to get it checked out at a dealership. I am hoping it's no too much of a problem.
In addition I am also going to a video game store that I found out about that sells old video games.
It's always such a pain to try to find a store that sells old games. The same chain store that sells old video games in one area won't sell them in another store.
The store that I am going to is technically a Hollywood video franchise which doesn't sell retro games anymore at any of their stores. This one apparently does. They have A LOT of old video games according to the guy on the phone.
It's a real pain. I basically did google and mapquest searches for places that sell video games and basically called this place up by pure luck.
In addition there are always stores around that sell video games that only the locals know of.
In any case I have a good feeling about this place and I will probably be in the mood for some video games after getting my car sorted out.
In addition I am also going to a video game store that I found out about that sells old video games.
It's always such a pain to try to find a store that sells old games. The same chain store that sells old video games in one area won't sell them in another store.
The store that I am going to is technically a Hollywood video franchise which doesn't sell retro games anymore at any of their stores. This one apparently does. They have A LOT of old video games according to the guy on the phone.
It's a real pain. I basically did google and mapquest searches for places that sell video games and basically called this place up by pure luck.
In addition there are always stores around that sell video games that only the locals know of.
In any case I have a good feeling about this place and I will probably be in the mood for some video games after getting my car sorted out.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Men get worse health care in America. Duh.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/05/health/webmd/main4418804.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4418804
It's really sad how true this is.
While specific health concerns for women are addressed in depth there is very little open dialog about health issues for the male gender.
Plus the whole "macho" attitude of young men in America leads them to be more at risk from violent death and suicide.
You can tell how deeply this attitude is instilled with the venomous crap that comes from young teens chatting on Xbox live.
It's a real shame. Males in America need to relax a lot.
It's really sad how true this is.
While specific health concerns for women are addressed in depth there is very little open dialog about health issues for the male gender.
Plus the whole "macho" attitude of young men in America leads them to be more at risk from violent death and suicide.
You can tell how deeply this attitude is instilled with the venomous crap that comes from young teens chatting on Xbox live.
It's a real shame. Males in America need to relax a lot.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Why all the hate towards harder games?
Here is a recent quote from Kotaku.
"The Behemoth’s last game - Alien Hominid - wasn’t fun. Looked good, but wasn’t fun. It was the gaming equivalent of taking your balls, resting them on a table, picking up a hammer then smashing them over and over and over until you sobbed yourself unconscious." (Wed Sep 3 2008 Luke Plunkett Kotaku)
Wow.
Now I just watched the King of Kong where people were talking about their love of old school games BECAUSE of the skill involved.
Nobody says that Contra was a bad game because it was hard...
I didn't play Alien Hominid, die in game and then throw my controller down like a freaking six year old and claimed that the game was bad. I got my ass handed to me and laughed and tried harder. And it felt good when I got into the flow of the game and learned all the patterns and got better at it. It's not like it took that long to learn.
It's too bad that there is such hatred for games like this. I really think that people are forgetting the point of games. I personally WANT challenge.
I WANT to play God Hand and get my ass kicked if I don't do the right move combos.
I DON'T want to play games like Halo with a rechargeable magic health bar. (One of the worst game mechanics ever introduced)
It's not just action games either. If you wandered to far in an older school RPG like Ultima 6 you would get your ass torn apart by gargoyles throwing chain lightning. Now most RPGs have you on a safe linear path that's not too hard.
The real shame in all of this is that if there continues to be such bad press about games like this we will have no decent games to look forward to in the future.
It's a good thing that there are so many good games to look back on and play with pride.
"The Behemoth’s last game - Alien Hominid - wasn’t fun. Looked good, but wasn’t fun. It was the gaming equivalent of taking your balls, resting them on a table, picking up a hammer then smashing them over and over and over until you sobbed yourself unconscious." (Wed Sep 3 2008 Luke Plunkett Kotaku)
Wow.
Now I just watched the King of Kong where people were talking about their love of old school games BECAUSE of the skill involved.
Nobody says that Contra was a bad game because it was hard...
I didn't play Alien Hominid, die in game and then throw my controller down like a freaking six year old and claimed that the game was bad. I got my ass handed to me and laughed and tried harder. And it felt good when I got into the flow of the game and learned all the patterns and got better at it. It's not like it took that long to learn.
It's too bad that there is such hatred for games like this. I really think that people are forgetting the point of games. I personally WANT challenge.
I WANT to play God Hand and get my ass kicked if I don't do the right move combos.
I DON'T want to play games like Halo with a rechargeable magic health bar. (One of the worst game mechanics ever introduced)
It's not just action games either. If you wandered to far in an older school RPG like Ultima 6 you would get your ass torn apart by gargoyles throwing chain lightning. Now most RPGs have you on a safe linear path that's not too hard.
The real shame in all of this is that if there continues to be such bad press about games like this we will have no decent games to look forward to in the future.
It's a good thing that there are so many good games to look back on and play with pride.
King of Kong. Awesome Movie. (Kinda stunk how they protrayed Billy as the bad guy)
King of Kong was a great documentary.
It was even more interesting to watch the DVD with commentary and understand the story behind the movie as well. It never started out as a movie just about the Donkey Kong record but that's what it boiled down to.
The people who made this film got stuck with the rest of the stories they were trying to tell and they were forced to go with the central story of Billy vs Steve at Donkey Kong. They really lucked out. The characters and all the back story that was involved really came together well.
It's too bad that they had to paint Billy as the "bad guy" to sell their film but I sort of sympathize with them. If they didn't do that then they wouldn't have gotten the project off the ground.
However, in the end my sympathy really lies with Billy since in real life he is such a stand up guy. Anyone who knows anything about making a film, media editing or story telling can tell that the producers used every trick in the book to make him look bad.
They were forced to in order to tell a story but it still sucks that Mitchell got a raw deal.
In the end I think most people realize who the video gamer of the century is though.
Long live Billy Mitchell.
It was even more interesting to watch the DVD with commentary and understand the story behind the movie as well. It never started out as a movie just about the Donkey Kong record but that's what it boiled down to.
The people who made this film got stuck with the rest of the stories they were trying to tell and they were forced to go with the central story of Billy vs Steve at Donkey Kong. They really lucked out. The characters and all the back story that was involved really came together well.
It's too bad that they had to paint Billy as the "bad guy" to sell their film but I sort of sympathize with them. If they didn't do that then they wouldn't have gotten the project off the ground.
However, in the end my sympathy really lies with Billy since in real life he is such a stand up guy. Anyone who knows anything about making a film, media editing or story telling can tell that the producers used every trick in the book to make him look bad.
They were forced to in order to tell a story but it still sucks that Mitchell got a raw deal.
In the end I think most people realize who the video gamer of the century is though.
Long live Billy Mitchell.
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