Uncharted Zombie Gear

Metal Gear Solid 4
Some how despite not liking the story or game play in MGS4 I played through twenty hours of it to beat it. The same complaints I had about Metal Gear 3 still hold true. The story is long winded and convoluted to no purpose. Characters speak in monologue instead of addressing each other directly and go off on wild philosophical tangents that do not move the story forward or make sense given the context. The game play feels dated and gives the sense that I am "doing it wrong" when simple mechanics like stealth attacks feel clunky and unusable. The majority of my time was spent treating it like a shooter. The game does shine in the graphics department, the models, textures and animations are some of the best I have seen to date. Yes, it is pretty, but how the hell did this game garner a 94 on metacritic?

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Though this game was very short (I finished it in one night) it was concentrated goodness from start to finish. Think interactive action film, there is no shortage of big explosion, daring escapes and hair raising leaps of faith. The dialogue is very well written and always appropriate to the current situation unfolding. The characters are believable, funny and easy to root for. Gameplay is everything that MGS4 is not, the controls are crisp, the melee feels brutal and the cover mechanic works as you would expect. Though the levels are very narrow the graphics don't make the experience feel like a single path. The jungles feel alive and interact as such. Drake, the main character has what seems like a million different animations and they all blend together smoothly. Not that it is meaningful, but some how this game got an 88 on metacritic. Both scores are good, but Uncharted is markedly better than MGS4.

Zombieland
The trailers for this film do not do it justice. I was expecting to be mildly entertained by a film we choose as the lesser of October movie release evils and was slapped in the face by a comedy that was crazy good. Though opening with a little more gore than Crystal is comfortable with, the humor that juxtaposes the blood makes for a good balance. The plot is simple enough, zombie outbreak leaves survivors surviving in a United States that is a shadow of it's former self. Where the film really takes off is it's small cast and their ability to bring humor to horrific situations. Jesse Eisenberg stars as a shut in college gamer (WoW cameo) who through his already loner life style and list of rules has managed to survive. The list keeps reappearing through out the film as he meets the rest of the cast and they come across different zombie related scenarios together. I won't go into to much more, because you really should see it for yourself.

Spoiler below...
.
.
.
.
.
.
Bill Murray as himself in this film is simply amazing.

How I Roll

In the vein of embracing my inner geek and getting fix to what has become a D&D addiction I hosted my first Virtual Tabletop (VTT) game on Monday night. The live and in color game that I have been a player in since late spring has run into scheduling problems. Problems easy enough to foresee when trying to get five adult males with varying responsibilities, spouses and children together regularly on a Friday night. Though the live group will continue I have taken the role of DM in the virtual space to quench my thirst.

Being the dungeon master, while being a super geeky title, essentially means playing the narrator and referee for our game/story. So, I started out by putting together a world that I could tell stories in. Mind you it could have been easier to use one of the canned realms that are readily available, but that would require knowing the ins and outs of the lore and history. I'd rather I write my own and know it like the back of my hand. Next was finding and orienting myself with a set of tools that would make a tabletop game possible on the internet. Thankfully there are literally a ton of tools available for VTT. I ended up going with RPTools as it was free, updated regularly and well documented.

Knowing I had two local players interested made finding my ideal number of four to six players seem a little less daunting. I was hoping to at the very least get four, so when I had eleven respond with interest I was at a loss as to how I would manage that many players. I came to the conclusion that it was impossible to do so and ended up letting things play out for another week. Players who took an active role and interest in joining the game were in and the ones who did not went on the waiting list. In the end I wound up with six players and a relatively balanced group.

So this past Monday I took my players through a flashback/prologue/tutorial game to get them acquainted with the software and D&D's play mechanics. It went really well and helped me figure out a few things I could do differently once the actual game starts. The first being make slightly more detailed story notes. NPC dialogue felt a little like I was staggering in the dark to find a light switch. When I had a DC to move the story forward near the end of the evening I didn't know what skill to check it against. I read advice prior to the game that said I should just make a call and check it later to keep the game moving, but of course I went right to my rulebook the second I couldn't come up with it. Somethings to work on for sure.

Basic Box Building

In a time where my heir has just surpassed the six month mark, the last thing I need is a new hobby. Despite better judgment, I have taken on two in this month alone. A Dungeons and Dragons post is forth coming, but today is a time for wood working.

I have wanted to work with wood ever since I was knee high to a drill press. My grandfather carved carousel horses as a hobby in retirement and every time we traveled north of the mason-dixon I got to hang out in his shop. It instilled an interest in the craft at a very young age. Wanting to do something with an interest that has been building for 20 plus years and actually doing something are two different things though.

So last night I did something about it. My local Woodcraft recently moved to less than a mile down the road from us. Living a stones throw from an organization that not only sells all things wood, but also teaches it was too enticing. I signed up for Basic Box Building as the introduction course to woodworking was an entire weekend commitment. It is not in the cards this year, but I hope to take it sometime in 2010. As a complete novice the box building class was very straight forward. The instructor walked us through every step and not only explained how to do it, but why we were doing it. The result was the box pictured here, that still needs to be sanded and finished, but is complete in construction.

I am already looking at what class I will take next, at least one in 2009 and looking at the next power tool to add to my workshop, probably an orbital sander. As an aside the next house we get will have to have a workshop if I want to get into serious furniture making.

La-Li-Lu-Le-Lame

After much birthday deliberation and hand wringing I purchased a PS3 over the weekend. I must be living a pretty swanky lifestyle to complain about not wanting anything for my birthday, but such is the case. As an adult (a.k.a. grown ass man) I pretty much buy whatever I want when I want it. So when my birthday comes along once a year and I'm asked "what do you want" my mind draws a blank. This year it was a toss up between a Ps3 and an assortment of bike parts and clothing. I didn't really need either, but I guess you strike while the birthday iron is hot.

I ultimately decided to get the PS3 because at $299 it is less of an impulse buy the other 364 days I was not born. If I get a wild hair to buy a new rear rack in November, I'll just order it that day. The back catalog of games on the PS3 that I can get dirt cheap is really nice. So far I have I finished the first Uncharted and started Metal Gear Solid 4 (hence the title reference). Full reviews (as full as they get on this blog) are forth coming, but I will say that I enjoyed Uncharted and I'm enjoying MSG4.

The built in Blu-ray player is a nice addition as well. I always thought unscaled DVDs looked particularly crappy when viewed next to HDTV movies. So getting a notch above HDTV and 10 stories up from DVDs with Blu-ray is a breath of fresh air in a cloud of sulfur. We rented Push as our first dip into high def disk based movie watching. It looked great and actually turned out to be a decent enough film. Now for surround sound? Maybe my next birthday.

September Miles

In an ideal month I can clock just under 120 miles on the saddle. With one weekend morning to dedicate to riding in a week, I usually put in between 20 to 40 miles. So it feels like a big accomplishment to get just over 200 miles in September. The same month that I turned 28 and feel older than I ever have. Don't get me wrong, I prescribe to the idea that age is just a number, but I do feel aged by the stages of life. I finished college and I felt older. I got married, older. Bought a house, older. Had a son, you guessed it, older. Maybe older is the wrong word. More responsible maybe? Mature?

Regardless my legs don't feel old. Two hundred is the most I have ridden in a month since I rediscovered riding ten years ago. I still have a passion for the hobby or lifestyle however you categorize it. I enjoy riding with friends and am looking forward to cycling with Kaden. In that vein we will soon be in the market for a bike trailer. Something we could pull around the neighborhood this Fall and coming Spring.

September Ride Summary

9/05: Fort Harrison - 28.5mi
9/07: Oilville - 27.5 mi
9/12: Richmond to Surry - 64mi
9/13: Surry to Colonial Heights - 59mi
9/20: Riverside - 18.5mi
9/27: Neighborhood - 5mi