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So what’s up this week in gaming world? What’s that game that just came out? Diablo 3? It’s about dungeon hacking and upgrades and whatnot? And there’s that other game that came out… the one where you play a grumpy ex-cop who shoots people in slow-motion? Maxwell Payne?
Yeah… Diablo 3 and Max Payne 3 came out this week, and I’m only being snarky because I haven’t gotten either of them, yet. Max Payne actually doesn’t come out for PC until next week, so I don’t have too many options, there. I will get Diablo 3 soon; it’s only a matter of “when.” I have this odd habit of feeling guilty about buying a new game unless I’ve finished the games I already own. I’ve still only scratched the surface of Kingdoms of Amalur, and I feel like I haven’t really given that game the attention it deserves. Because I do like it quite a bit. But I got distracted by The Witcher 2 a couple weeks ago, and so I ran out of momentum with Reckoning. It’s totally not fair to Reckoning, but I know I’ll return to it. On the other hand, I have no desire to finish Witcher 2; that game burned me just like the first one did. I got a few hours into it before I realized I simply wasn’t having any fun at all. I don’t understand the hype around the Witcher games. I’m not begrudging anyone who does… I just don’t get it, myself. And I tried, I really did. I restarted the first one multiple times before finally giving up, and when the “Enhanced Edition” of the second one came out I was optimistic enough to drop 40 bucks on it. I will not make the same mistake again. As a former President of the United States of America once famously said: “Fool me, can’t get fooled again.” Wise words.
Anyhoo, Diablo is on the priority list, obviously. I may snag it in the next couple of days, even though I have other games I need to spend more quality time with. And of course I’ll get Max Payne 3! Again, I may not get it immediately when it comes out for PC, but I’ve been a fan of the series since the first one arrived, so many moons ago. I do love me some bullet time, and though I’m not an aficionado of multiplayer, Max Payne in multiplayer frankly sounds like a fantastic idea.
But even more importantly than any of that stuff… Tenacious D’s new album drops this week! It’s called Rise of the Fenix, as if you didn’t already know that. And it’s really great… as if you didn’t already know that. I’ve been a fan of the D ever since a college friend of mine snagged a bootleg VHS copy of their first HBO episode way back in the late 90s. I know, right? I’m so old. But The D, man… I’ve seen them live more times than any other band except Ween, and it’s been surreal to watch them over the years. The first time I saw them, they were in a club in Boston called The Avalon, and it was basically the same version of their act that you see on the HBO bits; just two dudes with guitars pretending they were huge. The last time I saw them was at Bonnaroo 2 years ago, and they played the biggest stage there, to thousands of people. They had pyrotechnics, Lee wore an amazing golem costume, and a full band was backing them up. I remember a show in Vermont, where their “pyrotechnics” were nurf guns. Ah, The D. It’s good to have them back. I think the failure of Pick of Destiny is ultimately a good thing for them, because they get to be the underdog again. That’s where their comedy really shines, in my opinion, since so much of their act depends on them thinking they’re bigger than they really are.
So the comedy aspect of Rize of the Fenix is top-notch, and let’s face it… the album rocks harder than most serious bands right now. Dave Grohl absolutely kills the drums, and there are several melodies that have squatted in my brain and refused to leave. And, as far as I’m concerned, few can harmonize like Rage Kage and Jables.
And check out this video of Roadie. Danny McBride plays the titular roadie. Need I say more?
Before I let you go to catch up on all the Tenacious D stuff you’ve neglected, I want to share a Skyrim anecdote with you. I have a level 49 Khajit warrior, who rocks Light Armor, dual-wields swords and/or daggers (depending on his mood), and is pretty frackin’ respectable with a bow and arrow. He’s already finished the Alduin quest line, but he waited until after all that before he picked a side in Skyrim’s Civil War. He went with the Imperials, and had a jolly time raiding forts full of rebels, calling his old dragon buddy Odahviing in to provide air support, and spending quiet time riding around on a horse and being an all-around badass. And then his quest became broken. He couldn’t continue fighting the civil war, because whenever he tried to get his newest orders from Legate Rikke, she wouldn’t have any for him. So now he wanders Skyrim, wanting dearly to reunite the Empire so that they may one day have the strength to crush those Thalmor jackasses, but unable to get his orders from the Legion. He is frustrated, and is now seriously considering joining the Dark Brotherhood for no better reason than to blow off some steam.
Anyone else have this problem? It sure did throw a monkey wrench into my Skyrim plans. But I wonder… why is it I forgive such a game-breaking bug in Skyrim, but when a similar bug shows up in The Witcher 2 shows up, I abandon that game altogether? Why am I so forgiving of Skyrim? My response to the game-breaking bug in Skyrim was to turn off the game and sulk for the evening, but then decide the very next day that it would be a great time to start an entirely new character and try to finish the civil war story that way. But this time as a Breton mage. I don’t know… I really can’t put my finger on one particular reason why I’m so ready to forgive Skyrim when it does things like that. I suppose replay value has something to do with it? There really are many different styles of play to try in Skyrim. I’m looking forward to focusing on spells this time through, which I didn’t do at all in my other game. And I’ll be playing the College of Winterhold stuff, too, which is another thing I didn’t do last time. Or I could start another character who focuses on stealth and assassinations. Or I could go the warrior route again, but this time focus on heavy armor with weapon and shield. Or tweak that play-style to a cleric-type character, who can use healing magic and only wields blunt weapons. I can’t do any of these things in The Witcher. I might play through another time (hypothetically assuming I liked the game enough to do so) to see the various story threads play out, but I don’t really see any drastically different ways to play as Geralt the Witcher. Sure I can focus my skill tree differently, but I still need to combine my use of potions, signs, and weapons in very specific ways if I want to get anywhere in combat. In fact, I keep hearing how you need to use all those things together if you plan on playing the game on any difficulty setting higher than “easy.” But to me, that translates to, “there’s only one ‘right’ way to play it.” Food for thought…
Aziz Ansari performs at the State Theatre in Portland tonight, and I am going! I expect nothing less than an excellent time.
[UPDATE: This Max Payne "Extreme Crating" video is hilarious. Please watch it.]
http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/05/15/max-payne-3-milk-crate-glitch-extreme-crating
Just a Little Movie By a Guy Named Joss Whedon… No Big Deal.
on May 9, 2012 at 12:23 pmPosted In: Blog
So who’s seen the new Avengers movie? I went with some friends this past weekend. The verdict? I absolutely loved it. A top-notch popcorn movie, and one of the best superhero movies I’ve seen in a while.
I went into Avengers expecting a decent action movie, and not only was I not disappointed, I was actually impressed. I’m sure he’s getting plenty of it already, but Joss Whedon really deserves credit for what he’s done. He took a franchise product that could easily have been a dull mess beefed up with name recognition, heavy marketing, and shameless merchandising and cross-promotion, and he made something that had tons of heart. That’s no small achievement. Of course, The Avengers still was a franchise movie, with all the gross trappings that accompany a franchise movie, but Whedon went above and beyond the call of duty to make something entertaining and fulfilling.
Now, I came to this movie as neither an Avengers fanboy nor a Joss Whedon fanboy. That’s not to say I’m entirely ignorant of either of those things… actually, I’m pretty ignorant of most of the Marvel universe. My Marvel and Avengers knowledge comes mainly from friends who are better nerds than yours truly. I’m less ignorant of the Whedonverse, although I’m by no means a scholar of Whedonology (I coined a new term?). I never got into Buffy or Angel, and I probably never will. But I have seen Dr. Horrible, and all of Firefly. Both of which I loved. Dollhouse was promising, but took too long to get to the good stuff. I believe The Avengers was the best thing he’s done to date, and it’s good to see him finally hit his stride. It really felt like he was meant to make The Avengers.
For starters, he kept the plot nice and simple. Some pretty powerful good guys have to team up in order to defeat a really powerful bad guy. Done. It doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that, because then he can spend the rest of the movie exploring the team dynamic and making bitchin’ action sequences. Mission accomplished. One friend of mine mentioned that, before seeing the film, he worried that it would essentially be Iron Man 3. Not that he had any dislike of Iron Man, but he had concerns that when you throw so many egos together, you end up focusing on one to the detriment of the rest. Whedon didn’t do that. And frankly, I don’t know how he managed to craft such a thing without making it a jumble of tired tropes and one-liners. Hawkeye and Black Widow were admittedly second fiddles to the Iron Man/Thor/Cap’n America/Hulk superteam, but Whedon found time to make them interesting.
If I had to pick one Avenger to shine, though, it would have to be The Hulk. The Avengers was a far better Hulk movie than either of the Hulk movies. I was not expecting the connection that Whedon established between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, and I was pleasantly surprised by that.
So, yeah, I liked the movie. It made up for a lot of bad Hollywood blockbusters of late. And I hope Whedon continues to kick ass. He deserves to be recognized as a talented writer and director.
All this talk about big budget sci-fi lately and I keep forgetting to mention a really cool-looking flick that’s coming in September. It’s called Looper, and it stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Paul Dano, Jeff Daniels, blonde Emily Blunt, and time travel. It’s made by Rian Johnson, the guy who made a wonderful film called Brick a few years back. Brick, for anyone who missed it, is a hard-boiled detective story where all the characters are high school kids. Seriously, it’s brilliant, and you should check it out. When I saw Brick, it was the first time I’d seen Joseph Gordon-Levitt in anything since 3rd Rock From the Sun, and it was quite a shock to see him not only take on a much more difficult role, but to absolutely nail it. Anyway, he and Johnson team up again for Looper, so my expectations for this one are already quite high. Here’s the trailer:
See what I mean? It’s gonna be rad.
Lastly, I want to share today’s Penny Arcade with you. Go ahead and read it, and come back when you’re done. Here’s the link:
http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/05/09
Done? Okay, obviously it’s funny. Penny Arcade always is. But I shared it because it made me think about digital distribution, and release dates, in a way that I hadn’t yet. Although I do believe I was aware (and totally accepting) of the reality of digital distribution; I regularly buy games on Steam now, and I love not having to go to the mall to get my games. However, I really hadn’t thought about how old-fashioned it is to continue to focus on the physical, boxed copy as the flagship product. When you preorder and preinstall a new game on Steam, you’ve already bought the thing and you’ve already installed it. They’re not tweaking it anymore. It is, for all intents and purposes, yours to play. So why can’t you play it yet? Why do you have to wait for the doors to open in a Gamestop and commence running the cardboard-and-plastic versions through the register? It makes no sense, and I hadn’t thought of it until I read Penny Arcade today.
Oh! One more thing. Diablo III comes out next week (excited much?), and yesterday Kotaku shared an animated short film from the makers of Aeon Flux and Metalocalypse. And I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s EPIC.
If YouTube makes you jump through hoops because of age restriction, just click here to watch on Kotaku’s site if you don’t feel like creating a YouTube account.
Batman, the Witcher, and Ridley Scott All Walk Into a Bar…
on May 2, 2012 at 1:14 pmPosted In: Blog
First, this:
Good God. I cannot wait to see this movie. I’m pumped to see “Prometheus,” but the new “Dark Knight Trailer” gives me chills. Does anyone remember when Batman movies sucked? I sure do. Thank you, Christopher Nolan, for doing justice to the character. Now, I shouldn’t talk like I know the character all that well… I’ve read very few Batman comics. But I have read Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns,” and also Grant Morrison’s “Arkham Asylum,” so I’ve got a little bit of background. Nolan is one of those filmmakers who I’ll follow wherever they go. Like the Coen brothers, or Terry Gilliam. I don’t think Gilliam’s made a outright “good” movie in a long time, but I’m still very interested in anything he does. “Time Bandits” and “Brazil” are proof that the man was (and hopefully still is) capable of greatness.
Christopher Nolan pays such close attention to all the right details when making a movie that I feel like I can count on him to make something I’ll enjoy watching. “Inception” was dangerously close to being a gimmick, but the action and acting were so good that you don’t really care that it’s a bit convoluted. And I feel like there’s a very specific tongue-in-cheek tone to the movie, a sly commentary on the whole business of story-telling and movie-watching. It’s that old “Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle” thing… the idea that the mere act of observing a thing affects its reality. Anyway… I like Nolan’s movies. “Dark Knight” was fantastic, and I’m really really looking forward to “Dark Knight Rises.” I wasn’t sure what to think about Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, but after seeing this most recent trailer, I think it was a great casting call. I’ve no doubt I’ll fall in love with her by the end of the film. And come ON… Batman saying “This isn’t a car,” in his Batman voice? How righteous is that? The answer is that it’s almost as righteous as this:
…But not quite.
And speaking of “Prometheus”…
Yup, we’ve got ourselves a full-fledged trailer now! I’ve written plenty about my expectations for this movie, so I won’t add much here, except to restate that I truly believe Ridley Scott is returning to form with this movie. It’s been so long since “Alien” (or “Blade Runner,” for that matter), and too many people know Scott as the man who made “Gladiator,” which does a disservice to Ridley Scott. I’ll take “Blackhawk Down” as an action movie any day over “Gladiator.”
Alright. Now I have to talk about “The Witcher 2.” Remember last week, when I said I’d just gotten it, and I was impressed that it had made all sorts of improvements to the first one? Well, I have to take some of that back, now, after playing it for a week or so. The shine has worn off, and I’m noticing many of the things that made me dislike the first “Witcher,” and I’m becoming very frustrated with the new one. I set it down last night after having a less-than-fun session with it, and I’m honestly not sure I’ll pick it up again.
The thing about “The Witcher,” and, I’ve come to realize, “The Witcher 2,” is that the combat downright sucks. It sounds harsh, but I’ve been thinking about a bit, and I can’t help but come to that conclusion. I wanted to like this game, I really did. The graphics are gorgeous, without a doubt. Geralt is compelling as a character, and I like the fact that your decisions within the game carry real weight later on. The quests are less broken this time around, for sure, and I love the idea that I need to make and use potions to survive an encounter. But I hate the combat. I can’t help it. I finally realized it last night, after playing for about an hour and a half. I’ve yet to finish a single combat encounter in that game that was actually enjoyable. For one thing, why can’t I drink potions during a battle? I know, I know… I’m supposed to be prepared for encounters and employ strategy before I go into battle. I get that. But here’s the thing… I don’t necessarily always know what kind of fight I’m getting into. So what do I do? I make and consume the same three potions before every battle, to prepare in the most general way for any given battle. That’s not strategy. Once I’ve encountered a particular enemy, sure, I know I’ll likely meet more of those, and I can proceed accordingly. But that doesn’t happen very often. Most of the time it’s more effective to take a health regen, vigor regen, and effect resistance potion, and use a whetstone for both weapons. Like I said, there’s not much strategy in that.
And then it’s time for the actual combat. Ugh. This game wants to be an action RPG, but it just isn’t. Not at all. “Kingdoms of Amalur” Reckoning” does this so much better. Control of Geralt is clunky and frustrating. It is a similar approach to that of “Reckoning,” but not nearly as refined as it is in “Reckoning.”
Case in point; last night I got into a boss battle. There were quite a few dialogue cutscenes before this boss battle, and then it gets to the battle itself. It gives me a chance, through dialogue options, to prepare before my battle, to take my requisite three all-purpose potions. So what? I have no idea what I’m preparing for. So I get to the battle and, surprise, I’m not prepared right for the battle. Too bad I couldn’t take something during the battle that would apply to this particular situation. No dice. The time for that was a while ago, before five minutes of cutscenes, and way before I had any clue what I’d be up against.
So that’s it for me and “The Witcher 2,” I’m afraid. Pretty graphics, gritty and dark and I feel like I’m playing “Game of Thrones,” what with all the boobs and blood and etc., but the combat is the same crap that turned me away from the first “Witcher” game. I’m going back to “Reckoning,” which has goofy character models but is way more fun to play.
One question that crosses my mind is, “Why do these things bother me in ‘the Witcher,’ but not ‘Skyrim’?” Good question, Luke. “Skyrim” has clunky combat, too. “Skyrim” has stupid broken quests, too. Yes, but it’s still more fun than “The Witcher 2.” Why? Probably because you can approach any given “Skyrim” situation in so many different ways. I’ve got this quest in “Skyrim” that involves sneaking into someone’s house and finding damaging information to use against them (Yes, over 200 hours and I’m still on my first playthrough). My character is not a sneaky character, but I’ve got options. I’m good at enchanting stuff, so maybe I’ll enchant myself some duds that make me silent, and some other duds that make me invisible. Or, I’m also good at potion-making, so maybe I’ll whip up some potions that’ll do the trick. Or, if I’m feeling rich and lazy, maybe I’ll buy something that does those those things for me. Or I could barge in and kill everyone, and take what I need. Options, see? That’s what makes “Skyrim” more fun.
That’s enough about the “Witcher 2.” I may turn the difficulty all the way down and button-mash my way through the combat, just so I can finish the story. But I’m disappointed. Am I just not getting it? Anyone out there playing “Witcher” who thinks I’m full of crap? If you have thoughts about it, I’d like to hear them. I wanted to like this game, I really did.
Let’s see… what else? Oh, yeah. Taylor Clark sorta kinda almost apologizes in Kotaku for saying that most video games are “dumb” a few weeks ago in a profile of Jonathan Blow he wrote for the Atlantic. I don’t want to get too far into this right now, because to be honest, I haven’t read the article in the Atlantic yet. But I did read his piece over at Kotaku. I get his point. Jonathan Blow wants to elevate the medium, and he is right to do so. And yes, there are a lot of dumb games out there. But I also think there are a lot of “smart” games out there, and there are all kinds of dev teams hard at work creating some really interesting games. Taylor Clark’s statement is the kind of vague assessment one can make about any given artistic medium. In music, movies, games, books, photographs, etc., the crap will always always outweigh the good stuff. Our job as discerning customers is to do our research and find the good stuff. And there’s plenty of good stuff out there. As a gamer, I feel like I have plenty to choose from when I’m looking for the good stuff. And I think it’s arrogant of Clark to insinuate that I’m adolescent because I like to play a game where I get to shoot some chump in the face, or laugh like a maniac as some poor stupid bandit comes at me, shouting “WHAT’RE YOU GONNA DO? HUH?! WHAT’RE YOU GONNA DO?,” right before I chop his fool head off. It’s fun, Clark. Get over yourself. If you think art that revels in gratuitous gore and violence can’t be considered art, then I have three words for you: “Evil Dead 2.” ‘Nuff said. Or I guess that’s two words and a number. Whatever. You catch my drift, right?
Are you still reading? You’re nuts. Thanks, if you are, and here’s one last tidbit before I go: “Skyrim” DLC arrives this summer. It’s called “Dawnguard,” and it’ll have crossbows and Snow Elves. Wait, did I just say “crossbows?” Yes, I believe I did.
I was supposed to have finished “Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP” by now, wasn’t I?
Oops. It’s a great game, though. Brings me back to the days of the Sierra game. Those were the Golden Years. Literally. My parents had a Tandy with a monochrome monitor. I used to play King’s Quest 2 on it. Whenever King Graham walked to a new screen, I got to watch the new screen draw itself in glorious shades of amber. Speaking of Sierra games, did you hear that the Two Guys from Andromeda are getting back together? To make a space adventure! A spaceventure, even! They’ve got a website, Facebook page, etc., so if you have the time and you have any idea what I’m talking about, go and give them some love. Space Quest 2 was one of my favorite games, as a youth.
Back to Superbrothers; I really dig the music and sound effects, and it’s got a great sense of humor. Being no stranger to the Point & Click style of adventure game, I’m constantly clicking everything on the screen in the hopes of getting a humorous description of a bush, tree, rock, or dog. It usually works. I’m not addicted to S:S&SEP like I am to Skyrim, but every time I sit down to play it I am thoroughly entertained. I can’t comment on the story yet, as I am only roughly halfway done. More next week.
I didn’t plan on it, but I ended up getting the Witcher 2, also. CD Projekt RED released an “Enhanced Edition” on the PC at the same time they released the game on 360 and PS3. It was on sale, so I snagged it. I wasn’t sure I should, because I honestly did not like the first Witcher game very much. I liked the dark fantasy world it introduced, but the combat mechanics felt super clunky and there were so many bugs that it took me out of the game completely. I never got back into it.
Witcher 2, on the other hand, seems awesome so far. The level of polish on this game is insane. I feel like I’m playing an episode of Game of Thrones, complete with gratuitous nudity, gore, and cuss words. At the risk of infringing copyright, I dare say “I’m lovin’ it.”
I’m only a few hours in, but I can see myself sinking some serious hours into this game. Like, Skyrim hours. Maybe not Skyrim hours… I don’t think I have enough time in my life for another game like that. Maybe more like Mass Effect 3 hours. And the combat immediately feels way better than the first game. Enemies are unforgiving, even on “Normal” difficulty, but if you build your skill tree with a little forethought and drink many many potions, it doesn’t seem so bad. Also, I started playing using the mouse and keyboard, and then switched over to a gamepad in the end. The menu and hotkeys are easier to navigate with a mouse, but the actual gameplay works a lot better for me when I use a gamepad. I find myself using the gamepad more and more these days. Even Skyrim. I logged over a hundred hours in Skyrim with the mouse & keyboard, and then switched to a gamepad just for the heck of it. I like it more. It just feels like it was designed to be played on the gamepad. Amalur, too. We live in a console-ruled world, I guess. But there are certain games that require a mouse and keyboard, still. Dawn of War and Shogun 2, obviously. And you’ll never catch me playing TF2 with a gamepad. That’s asking for trouble.
Oh, and while I’m thinking of Game of Thrones… damn, Joffrey. Just… damn. Is anyone ever going to give you your comeuppance? Oh, here we go…
Much better.
And since I’m posting silly videos now, here’s something else that made me laugh this week:
You crazy, Werner Herzog!
Okay… first up: If you haven’t seen the new Prometheus viral video, watch it right now!
[UPDATE: I noticed this video is no longer accessible via the YouTubes. After much needless digging, I was able to find a proper link to the video here: https://www.weylandindustries.com/site/david Come on, Comcast... there's a difference between protecting your IP and undermining your own promotional campaign. This was intentionally produced as a "viral" video. It can't be "viral" if you destroy every link to it and no one can watch it. Don't be stupid.]
I recommend watching it in HD if you can. It looks glorious. Every time I find a tidbit about Ridley Scott’s latest project, I get more and more excited. Just judging from the quality of these viral quickies alone, it seems like Ridley very much has an affection for the material and the lore behind it. I really enjoyed this short, even more so than the last one. Which was nothing to sneeze at. Unless you’re allergic to movies. In which case… I pity you. As much as I like the tone and setting of “Alien,” from what little I’ve seen so far, I like “Prometheus” even more. As much as “Blade Runner,” possibly. We’ll see… I don’t want to jinx it. I am more than cautiously optimistic, however.
Second up: There’s a running joke among my friends and I that involves a cartoon character I haven’t fully developed yet; his name is Robot Hipster. I went so far as to buy the rights to RobotHipster.com, and if you happen to follow me on the Twitters, you’ll see that I will occasionally post with the hashtag #RobotHipster. So far, I haven’t gotten it past the “funny idea” stage, other than a few concepts for a single panel strip and some amusing quotes from Robot Hipster him(it)self. But yesterday my hilarious and talented friend Krister was bored enough to create and send me his very own “fan art” for Robot Hipster, and it is fan-tastic.
Radiohead at a party? Buzzkill!
Ah, hipsters… you are such easy targets, and for that I love you. I could fill up an entire blog post with my thoughts regarding people who bring guitars to parties, but… perhaps another time. And, to be honest, I do like mead. Bees and their bee-related products are pretty great, generally.
Last up: Superbrothers: Swords and Sworcery EP arrives today on Steam. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about this game, but I don’t own an iPad and I’d kind of lost hope that I’d ever be able to play it. But now I can! I’m buying it right after I finish this post. Hopefully I’ll have some post-worthy thoughts about it next week.
And now last last up… I’ve been listening to a lot of MC Frontalot lately. I saw him a year and a half ago at New England Webcomics Weekend, and I’ve been getting familiar with his extraordinarily mad rapping skillz ever since. I found this video of him performing “Spoiler Alert” in a VW bus, and I cannot stop watching it.
Also there is this clip of a song he made for Sesame Street. It’s about how toilet paper is made. Frontalot is one rad dude. As long as he continues to represent, I really don’t care how much he fronts.
And now it’s time to download Superbrothers!