Since the last time I posted here:
-John has had a nasty cough and had to go to the hospital because he was having trouble breathing. He's doing fine now, but he's a little run down. The other kids are doing well.
-Not gonna discuss Hell Week yet as I don't want to jinx Barb. We did learn, however, that Barb's 16 shifts she has to work at the hospital are going to be nights. GRRRRR!
-Barb and I saw Paranormal Activity. Pretty damned good. Barb loved it. It was creepy and slowly built up the suspense. Definite thumbs up from me, just keep your expectations in check; it's not the scariest movie ever made as some are saying. Go in expecting that and you are just setting yourself up for disappointment.
-Still completely addicted to Borderlands. I have not played another game since picking it up. FIFA 10 is still in it's shrink wrap. Borderlands is like digital crack.
-Rams play at Detroit this week in the Battle of the Misfits. Can the Rams win and avoid the possibility of a winless season?
-Big Halloween party this weekend. Looking forward to trick-or-treating with Laurel and John.
-Lastly, a childhood friend of mine passed away last week. I had not seen him for ages but I am really sorry he is gone. Kevin Cernich, Rest In Peace. Thoughts and prayers to your friends and family.
That's all for now. I may have an update on Hell Week later today.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Hell week
Today marks the start of Barb's "hell week" which means her final exams. She also has a presentation due that she has had her work done on for ages, but a procrastinator on her team has waited until the last minute despite everyone else's pleas. So there's some extra stress that is completely unnecessary. Just what the doctor (or in this case nurse) ordered.
Now I would tell you that Barb will do just fine and that everything will work out, but then she'd hit me. Then I would have to explain to her that I don't mean that her schooling isn't insanely difficult, it's just that I am extremely confident in Barb's ability and intelligence. Then she would have to apologize for hitting me and there'd be a blubbery make-up scene and really, who wants all of that? So I'll just say best of luck Sweetheart! Hang in there and we'll get through this together! I love you!!!
Now I would tell you that Barb will do just fine and that everything will work out, but then she'd hit me. Then I would have to explain to her that I don't mean that her schooling isn't insanely difficult, it's just that I am extremely confident in Barb's ability and intelligence. Then she would have to apologize for hitting me and there'd be a blubbery make-up scene and really, who wants all of that? So I'll just say best of luck Sweetheart! Hang in there and we'll get through this together! I love you!!!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Borderlands impressions
Got a little playing time in yesterday with Borderlands. All I can say is that so far the game is an absolute blast. The RPG elements are pretty light, but they are there in that you can choose how to level up your character and decide which weapons to use. The looting is terrific: there are so many weapon possibilities in the game (over 17 million is what we are being told) that you never know what you are going to be finding next. The combat itself is fast and furious, but so far not too much so that it's just a twitch-fest; you have to use your brain as well.
I am sure multiplayer with friends (playing co-op) is an absolute hoot. I may try some of that out if any of my gaming buddies pick this one up. But for now the single player game will give me plenty to do and keep me on the edge of my seat. That's enough to make me very happy with my purchase.
I am sure multiplayer with friends (playing co-op) is an absolute hoot. I may try some of that out if any of my gaming buddies pick this one up. But for now the single player game will give me plenty to do and keep me on the edge of my seat. That's enough to make me very happy with my purchase.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Big gaming day tomorrow (and a note on Laurel)
FIFA 10 is released tomorrow, along with a game I have been interested in for a long while, Borderlands. IGN reviewed it here and gave it an 8.8. It's basically a dungeon crawler/looter set in a post-apocalyptic world and with guns rather than the usual swords and magic. Sign me up.
Also, Abbey Road will be available for download for Beatles: Rock Band tomorrow. Can't wait to play that side 2 medley!
And I would be remiss if I did not mention that the latest Littlest Pet Shop game comes out for the Wii tomorrow. Laurel is a big fan of the first one and is really excited about this one. I have already pre-ordered it for her, so it should arrive on Thursday, I believe.
Laurel has been sick the last few days with a sore throat and a cough. We took her to the doctor today and she checked out fine. As a precaution we had her checked for the H1N1 flu, though she had no real symptoms to speak of. Thankfully the test came back negative. She and John each got an icee bar and stickers, so all's well that ends well as far as they are concerned. As usual, Laurel was a real trooper at the doctor's. She is such a good little girl!
Also, Abbey Road will be available for download for Beatles: Rock Band tomorrow. Can't wait to play that side 2 medley!
And I would be remiss if I did not mention that the latest Littlest Pet Shop game comes out for the Wii tomorrow. Laurel is a big fan of the first one and is really excited about this one. I have already pre-ordered it for her, so it should arrive on Thursday, I believe.
Laurel has been sick the last few days with a sore throat and a cough. We took her to the doctor today and she checked out fine. As a precaution we had her checked for the H1N1 flu, though she had no real symptoms to speak of. Thankfully the test came back negative. She and John each got an icee bar and stickers, so all's well that ends well as far as they are concerned. As usual, Laurel was a real trooper at the doctor's. She is such a good little girl!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
More Need For Speed Shift impressions from Pete
My good friend Pete Anderson had some great impressions after playing Need For Speed shift a little while back and allowed me to post them here. Well, he has spent more time with the game (and his racing wheel controller) and sent me some more thoughts. Here they are:
"I spent some more quality time with NFS Shift yesterday, completing Tier 1 and going to work on Tier 2. However, I first gave the Logitech wheel a try with GT Prologue. The wheel responds great with GT, but the game itself still leaves me kind of cold, and I was fully prepared to devote some serious play time to it going in.
Anyway, it was quickly on to Shift. I must say, having compared the two games back to back, the graphics of NFS are really growing on me. The GT car models rule, and as sharp as that game looks, it"s almost TOO sharp to the point of being sterile. The backgrounds in NFS seem more "alive", which adds to the realism. If the car models were taken up a notch (and don't get me wrong, they do look VERY good), the graphics would be over the top.
More importantly though, NFS really delivers where it counts. Gameplay. The control is about as close to perfection as you could hope for - just forgiving enough to keep things fun without detracting from the illusion that you're actually driving. I tried a Tier 4 invitational event (second highest level, I think) that put me in a 1000HP Bugatti over a 13 mi. point to point course that took over 8 real-time minutes to complete. The sense of power and speed (I was using the bumper view) was beyond belief! Despite the sorry state of my mega $ ride by race end, it was quite possibly the most exhilirating racing experience I've ever enjoyed. I haven't had this much fun with a (car) racing game in a very long time. "
That's high praise indeed coming from Pete; he's a real stickler when it comes to racing games and not easy to please. I would say that if you are into racing games at all and have yet to try Need For Speed Shift, you should feel very safe relying on Pete's impressions.
"I spent some more quality time with NFS Shift yesterday, completing Tier 1 and going to work on Tier 2. However, I first gave the Logitech wheel a try with GT Prologue. The wheel responds great with GT, but the game itself still leaves me kind of cold, and I was fully prepared to devote some serious play time to it going in.
Anyway, it was quickly on to Shift. I must say, having compared the two games back to back, the graphics of NFS are really growing on me. The GT car models rule, and as sharp as that game looks, it"s almost TOO sharp to the point of being sterile. The backgrounds in NFS seem more "alive", which adds to the realism. If the car models were taken up a notch (and don't get me wrong, they do look VERY good), the graphics would be over the top.
More importantly though, NFS really delivers where it counts. Gameplay. The control is about as close to perfection as you could hope for - just forgiving enough to keep things fun without detracting from the illusion that you're actually driving. I tried a Tier 4 invitational event (second highest level, I think) that put me in a 1000HP Bugatti over a 13 mi. point to point course that took over 8 real-time minutes to complete. The sense of power and speed (I was using the bumper view) was beyond belief! Despite the sorry state of my mega $ ride by race end, it was quite possibly the most exhilirating racing experience I've ever enjoyed. I haven't had this much fun with a (car) racing game in a very long time. "
That's high praise indeed coming from Pete; he's a real stickler when it comes to racing games and not easy to please. I would say that if you are into racing games at all and have yet to try Need For Speed Shift, you should feel very safe relying on Pete's impressions.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Finished Uncharted 2
Finished it up last night. The game is epic, no doubt about it. Is it as good as the first one? Well, it's hard to say because there is a definite sense of been-there/done-that going on throughout, since the gameplay mechanics are for the most part unchanged. You can tell when you walk into an area that "OK, this is going to be a puzzle/exploring section or this is obviously going to be a massive gunfight." But I got through this game in a hurry because it was terrific fun and I wanted to know what was going to happen next.
The game is longer and the story is much more involved than the original Uncharted. The new characters are great and the older characters are as well, staying true to themselves from the original. The richness in these characters is honestly what sets this game apart for me, not that the gameplay itself isn't quite enjoyable as well. There are a few sections that I had to try over and over again because of repeated deaths, but I made it through with a minimum of frustration.
After finishing this game I popped Demon's Souls back in. While that game features stellar gameplay and graphics and all of that, it just can't hold a candle to the production qualities of Uncharted 2. U2 is really like a major blockbuster movie. And I mean that in a good way.
I'll be playing it again for sure. There are more treasures to find and I can now play with bonus modes such as unlimited ammo (which will come in handy!) and other goodies. I'm not much for multiplayer so I doubt I'll be doing much of that, but I may check it out.
Overall the game gets a solid A from me and is probably the leader for my GOTY honors. There are still some other contenders on the way, but Uncharted 2 will be hard to top.
The game is longer and the story is much more involved than the original Uncharted. The new characters are great and the older characters are as well, staying true to themselves from the original. The richness in these characters is honestly what sets this game apart for me, not that the gameplay itself isn't quite enjoyable as well. There are a few sections that I had to try over and over again because of repeated deaths, but I made it through with a minimum of frustration.
After finishing this game I popped Demon's Souls back in. While that game features stellar gameplay and graphics and all of that, it just can't hold a candle to the production qualities of Uncharted 2. U2 is really like a major blockbuster movie. And I mean that in a good way.
I'll be playing it again for sure. There are more treasures to find and I can now play with bonus modes such as unlimited ammo (which will come in handy!) and other goodies. I'm not much for multiplayer so I doubt I'll be doing much of that, but I may check it out.
Overall the game gets a solid A from me and is probably the leader for my GOTY honors. There are still some other contenders on the way, but Uncharted 2 will be hard to top.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Uncharted 2
The game is epic and wonderful. So far I am blown away by the production values. Much like the first game, it is almost like playing a real adventure movie. The story has been great so far. It's much bigger in scope than the first game, so the narrative drive hasn't been as focused, but it is telling a compelling story with terrific characters. And for the novices out there, the game included a Very Easy setting so that virtually anyone can play and take part in this truly epic adventure. If you have a PS3, Don't miss this one, folks.
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