Guess what I saw in Wal-mart this weekend? Yes, a cheesy Air Guitar! Now if only I can talk one of my friends into buying it, so I can play with it for the 5 or 10 minutes it would take to get bored. Or, I guess I could do the classic Wal-Mart Rental program. Hmmm…
More info, and some geekier looking people playing with the toy here.
So last night ‘the nerds’ and I got together for a little Smash Bros (Officially named Super Smash Bros. Brawl, aka Smash Bros or Brawl. SSBB sounds a bit harsh) Brawl. Two of us have never really played the previous incarnations of the game, and two of us had a little experience with it. I was one of the inexperienced, but I had a chance to read up on the manual, look on the web a bit, and run through the solo game for an hour or so last week. Anyhow, we jumped into a 4 player chaotic brawl, and tried to teach the total newb how to play. I think he liked it, but it was a steep learning curve, and his main problem was keeping track of his character on the screen.
It does get overly chaotic with four players, and you really need a good sized TV to play on. But it was a fun game that none of us really wanted to put down even after a few hours of button mashing and cramped thumbs from using the nunchuck (or maybe it should be the numbchuck). We tried out lots of characters (though I liked Pit the best, he’s yummy). Definitely worth picking up on the next game store trip, IMO.
Things I liked: The stages you play on are based on the various games. For instance, Pit’s level is a cloud level from Kid Icarus; there’s a Mario Cart stage where if you stand on the track you can be run over, and Mario’s level has mushrooms and plumber pipes. The music also changes for the stages, so if you were dying for classic Zelda or Mario music, have at it! There are also lots of unlockables to bring back those retro memories. Items drop from the sky that give you special abilities for limited time; so you get Star Power, a Dragoon ship/gun, Heart Containers, Poke Balls, etc.
If you grew up playing Nintendo at all (and who didn’t, seriously), your nostalgia alone should make you buy this game.
In an interesting spin on the popular Guitar Hero series of games, Activision/Ninentendo are releasing a version for the Gameboy DS (yes, the handheld console). It has a pretty funky looking device for 4 frets (no Expert mode for DS I assume); and you strum with a stylus/pick combo on the touch screen. Its worth checking out at http://www.guitarheroontour.com/us for the video preview.
Depending on price, I probably won’t get this little ‘gem’. It seems cool as a novelty game, but I’d really have to spend some time getting my hands on one in person before shelling out any money. Maybe the good ol’ Wal-Mart “trial” could be in order. You -do- get to have a wireless multiplayer in the parking lot, if you can sucker a friend with a DS into also digging into his wallet.
So, if you have an iphone, or a crackberry, or you support IT to any level of geekiness, you may want to google ‘iphone 2.0′. Supposedly, the next major version will support Exchange via ActiveSync. Yeah, I think. I’m really not sure I want my work email on my iphone. I mean, I have a blackberry now, and the great thing about it is HIDING it when I don’t want to be bothered by work, or I don’t want my trick to know I have a real job.
Other features: VPN support (so you can hookup back to the office, again), mass deletion of email (goodbye spam) AND increased support for the Software Developer Kit (hello third party apps).
For Real? Yeah, for real. Riskay (click here for her MySpace) has a very fucked up song. But its kinda catchy, definitely has a message, and will probably be at all the gay bars in a remix form faster than you can sniff a dick.
And it definitely brings to mind that old joke for straight girls: Q: How can you tell if your boyfriends gay? A: His dick tastes like shit!
So, its a little on the late-breaking side of news. But its kind of funny. And in Moose-land they have HUGE heads! http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/12/boy-survives-mo.html
So I’m exploring southern Alabama this week as part of a work trip. Well, not exploring so much as realizing Arkansas is Southern, but Alabama is really Southern. With extra -ern. Example: a roadside billboard blocking the view of a really pretty pond, that says ‘Go to Church, or the Devil will GET you’. Note: the Devil has a scythe, not a pitchfork. Crazy Alabamans. Example 2: Sitting in the Chinese buffet restaurant, and hearing the rednecks behind me read out loud their lucky numbers, taking turns to go around the table. Yes, their lucky numbers. Interesting stuff. (And why is it every small rural town has at least one Chinese buffet, sometimes two? Where do they find 10 freshly imported asian girls with minimal Engrish skills to come refill my drink? Seriously, I don’t think we had an asian person in my COUNTY growing up, but suddenly there are enough to stock the regional broccoli chicken business. Except for the kitchens, were all the Chinese food is cooked by Mexicans. But I digress).
Anyhow, its still a culture shock for me the deeper I go into the South. The stereotypes you see on tv get more and more common, on both sides of the racial divide. Fried chicken restaurants pop up everywhere. The courthouse square had a church sponsored childrens carnival, and farther down the street they were giving out Free bottled Water (Jesus is the Water of Life); and cubicle walls are cluttered with prayers, psalms, and words of praise.
Freaky.
Other websites have the truthiness of this story, but what I’m interested in, are the POWERS of the card? Perhaps it renders all card text NULL, due to truthiness.
http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/03/12/the-life-and-death-of-stefen-colbear/
Back on the 1st of March, some friends and I squeezed into my car (really, squeezed. I drive a Mini-cooper) and head off on a 2 hour road trip to Tulsa. OK, I drive way over the limit, so it was closer to an hour and a half. Anyhow…what did we go for you might ask? Well, Upperdeck Entertainment sells this nifty collectible card game called ‘World of Warcraft: Trading Card Game’ (WOW:TCG). I first bought my friends a starter deck as their Chrismas present a few years back, and we’ve played off and on. So we thought it would be a blast to go play in a tournament. Well, not really…but they were giving away a Spectral Tiger Loot card to the winner, and odds were decent on getting the prize, right?
If you’re not familiar with the Spectral Kitty, google it. So, this was the deal: we paid 20 bucks for a March of the Legion starter box, which is only 4 bucks markup. We played a sealed deck tournament, which means you were pretty much guaranteed to be playing with the constructed deck you got randomly. Seems fair, but some of those decks just kick ass in a 1 on 1, and some suck ass. Draenei Shaman, for example: Suckage. So none of us placed in the top 8, or won any cards. The shop was really cool (Remind me to get the info later or comment if you want it); and they had the WOW:TCG going the same time as a Star Wars Mini, Pokemon, and some other kiddie card game. Pretty chaotic, FULL of nerds and nerdlings, and even a few cute guys. OK, so my friends had fun watching me try to cruise the gay geeks, or the curious straight boys. They were a bit embarrassed; but as I explained, most geeks are blissfully unaware of being cruised (as are straight boys most of the time). Anyhow, I lost at least one match because the fag hag I was playing had her pet homo perched on her shoulder, and everytime I looked up all I could see was his male camel toe. Seriously.
Anyhow, me and my friends had a good time convincing ourselves we weren’t as bad as THOSE nerds were; glad we weren’t the oldest nerds in attendance, definitely the best smelling, and we didn’t have a hissy fit whenever we lost. We’ll probably go back again. Its almost as much fun as the RenFaire! (minus the tights).
Its been a slow geek month. I promise to blog more!
Coming soon (and notes so I don’t forget):
A post-session blog on the Spectral Safari hunt I went on with some friends in Tulsa.
Super Smash Bros Brawl review (And why I want to do naughty things to Link)
iPhone rumors
Something else probably funny and random that I’ve already forgotten
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