No, that isn't an obscure metaphor. There is an actual representation of a fantastical bird-like creature on the wall of my home. Here is a forest view of the enchanted area for reference. Scroll down for a closer look at the beast.
Behold! There the Chocobo sits in profile, echoing the style of cave scrawled buffalo depicted by early man.
Is this a sign of luck? An ominous warning to be heeded? I like to think of it as a gentle reminder that I am being watched over by spirits from beyond. That there is a god, and he is a giant bird.
Wait! That's it! We were being told all along and never knew...
Do you know the way to salvation? H is for the Horrid Hot Hemroid Hell you will visit if you do not worship the One True God, Big Bird. The Bird is the Word. You have been warned.
I just gave this site a try, and I find myself listening to more and more of it. Perhaps I just always needed a complex database and algorithms to adaptively present me with music I may like. Each song makes it smarter as I rate it. Maybe Kizi could like music, now that my eclecticism can be more accurately analyzed.
What really sold it for me was the "Squaresoft / Instrumental" pre-made station, featuring fully orchestrated renditions of Chrono Trigger music. Using that as a baseline, it then adapts to personal preference. Magic.
I was temporarily restricted from Battle.net this afternoon while playing Diablo 2. I had no idea why as I'd done nothing wrong. During my investigation I found an official Blizzard thread on the topic and checked some of the reasons.
For your convenience, I will touch on some of the more interesting points. The first punishable offense is
- "Scrolling through skill selection using the mouse wheel"
The only thing wrong with this rule is that it doesn't result in a permanent ban. Players committing such a heinous act as "scrolling through skills" should be immediately removed from the playing environment. It pains my heart to know that skill scrolling fiends are back on the block after such a cursory dismissal.
The next crime against humanity is
- "Repeated requests for a new screen to see what you wish to gamble for."
I mean, obviously you're not supposed to do this; that's why you get everything you're looking for on the first screen. This rule is practically written on the game box below the giant face of The Lord of Terror. Trying to see more than one list of items is just plain gluttonous. I, for one, know that Gheed would never wait twenty-eight screens to show me a pair of gauntlets.
The final unforgivable behavior is
- "Repeated use of a spell with no cast delay such as Amplify Damage or Glacial Spike."
Show me a monster that can survive more than one Glacial Spike (17-26 damage) and I'll show you Uber Diablo. Clearly, the game was designed so that casters would only need to execute a spell once (twice for you hedonists) in order to bring down any lumbering foe. Also, Ampify Damage last eight seconds and if you need any longer than that to bring down a boss you're just doing it wrong.
Just think about these rules next time you decide to log on to Battle.net and go wild. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to bring down Baal with an Ice Bolt.
About damn time! Looks like they already have a good bit of work done on it too.
Pretty pictures and videos - www.blizzard.com/diablo3/media/index.xml . The game play trailer shows just how polished the game already is. Impressive how secret blizzard has been about it while already having this much production finished.
An already troubled Toshiba announced today that it will officially abandon the manufacturing and marketing of it's HD DVD format. This comes as no surprise to informed buyers as the data medium had been lagging behind Sony's Blu-Ray format for some time.
Major turning points in the format war included the adoption of Blu-Ray by Blockbuster (June 2007) and Netflix (February 2008). The industry giants brought an installed user base that overwhelmed the already struggling competition. In the end, it was too much for Toshiba to resist.
Away from the movie industry, the demise of HD DVD raises questions regarding video game consoles. Most of us are aware that Microsoft's Xbox 360 currently uses HD DVD while Sony's PS3 uses their in house Blu-Ray format. Now that Sony has won, it will be interesting to see what affect this has on the ongoing console war. Sony still has a sizable distance to close in their library of games, but it's built in Blu-Ray player is looking more and more like a good investment.
Since Microsoft doesn't actually use HD DVD for games, we will wait and see if they can eat crow and include a dongle for Blu-Ray support. One can only imagine the difficulties they'd face if games suddenly become so large as to require data storage greater than that of a single DVD. Either way, continued support and use of the HD DVD format by Microsoft would seem to hurt 360 owners*, IMHO.
*If nothing else, it would cost 360 owners more since you have to purchase the external HD DVD drive for $129.99
Tired of an inaccurate kill-cam, host-quits, and a plethora of other fuck-ups and bugs in Call of Duty 4? Well ache no more, for a patch is on the way!
From N4G.com:
"The new feature patch fourzerotwo talked about last week (with new Kill Cams, Host Migration, and other new features) for the Xbox 360 has finished it’s internal testing and development and has officially been sent off to Microsoft for Certification. It’s only a matter of Microsoft putting it through the certification paces and it will be available for download for all Xbox 360 players."
Hopefully the download should be available soon.
2:00 PM Update, Exclusively from Maida:
The Update will include:
1) More Kill-Cams (like viewing your untimely demise from the aerial perspective of a bomb dropped from an airstrike
2) Host Migration to preserve games when a host quits
3) The ability to quickly mute an annoying player within the game (instead of having to mull through the Dashboard)
4) Improved Sniper/ACOG accuracy ... not sure how I feel about this one
5) Much better spectator view, including full 360 view while in 3rd person mode, and the ability to switch to a 1st person view
God, what a miserable title. Almost as miserable as the movie "Jumper," staring emotionally flat (how does he get work? Actually, how the fuck did he land the role of Anakin Skywalker? Oh, wait...) Hayden Christensen and a slowly-decaying-as-a-worthwhile-actor Samuel L. Jackson. Anyways, I digress.
A few things I'd like to talk about today.
Number one, I've purchased a book by Todd Perkins, called Adobe Flash CS3 Professional. I'd like to get proficient, or at least somewhat useful, with Flash and ActionScript in order to provide all you readers out there with some interesting multimedia content. Right now I'd be happy with a working button, but as it stands I have a beautifully shaded (thank you, gradient tool!) circle and nothing else.
Secondly, iTunes 7.6 has been on my proverbial nerves. The latest edition has brought even more bugs into an already-slow application. I've always noticed that the sound-quality on iTunes lagged behind Winamp, at least on my system, and today I switched back over to Winamp. The latest version, build 5.52, runs smoothly, and sound reproduction is superb - far better than iTunes, and I'm not sure why. How come iTunes lacks the beauty and elegant functionality of the iPod and iPhone? Can't say I'll be switching for good; I don't trust 3rd party applications with my iPod.
I feel like a poor man's Andy Rooney right now.
Finally (and the reason behind this post), I stumbled upon a fantastic physics-based game, reminiscent of the "falling sand" and "crayon" games I've played in the past. It's not really a game, per se, since the only goals are those you set for yourself. I wouldn't say it's as addictive as SimCity or Counter-Strike, but it is, well, phun.
Please buy me a PS3, 12 gunblades, and a pre-ordered FFXIII for Valentines day. I need to kick imperial ass and protect my magical crystals on a daily basis both fantastically and realistically.
Halo 3 is a great game. It took elements of both prequels and combined them into a solid package. Of course, it's not without its frustrations. In reality, few games have caused me as much bodily harm. Not directly of course, but I have nearly shattered several bones pounding fists, elbows, and the occasional skull into the concrete walls of my apartment. That being said, this map pack adds on to an already impressive title. The 800 point ($10) download consists of three new levels which are Rat's Nest, Standoff, and Foundry respectively. Each one is significantly different from any of the existing maps and adds new gameplay elements to the regular game types. Also, unlike Halo 2, the maps have been instantly thrown into the Matchmaking playlists. There's even a special category called "Heroic DLC" where you can play 6v6 games taking place solely on the three new levels.
Foundry
Foundry is basically a storage warehouse that shares the same textures as The Pit. It's fairly basic level with some interesting elevation changes. The cool thing about this map is that you can remove almost every item in the forge to get an empty room. It doesn't make for very interesting combat but it essentially allows you to create any level you want. They've also added some new items to the forge menu so that you can actually make stairs, walways, and fences instead of just traffic cones and plasma pistols.
Rat's Nest
Rat's Nest is an underground map with an elliptical track around the outside. The track is wide enough for one or more of the many vehicles in the map to terrorize anyone foolish enough to wander off. There's also plenty of close quarters combat in the infield for the shotgun/sword/hammer/mauler lovers. Some of my favorite moments in Halo 3 have been cruising around the outside ring of the map mowing down enemies in a Warthog (with or without a gunner).
Standoff
IGN referred to Standoff as a smaller version of Blood Gulch. I don't agree, but it is a fantastic map for CTF games. There are several hills and underground corridors to make for plenty of interesting elevation and line-of-sight changes. Another interesting element is the amount of entrances to the base/flag. I didn't count them all but I'd have to guess at lease four. It makes defending the game assets that much more difficult. Each of the maps seems to contribute to Halo 3 multiplayer. They are sure to evolve in the minds of players as everyone has more chances to get pissed off and frustrated, but, for now, they are a welcome refresh of the standard Halo 3 experience. Check out halowiki.net and IGN for more information.
Apple Unveils New Product Unveiling Product! The Apple God in the Sky, Steve Jobs, recently unveiled a new "product unveiling product," which should revolutionize how products are unveiled. I'm excited. Are you?
Foundry
Rat's Nest
Standoff