Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!
Faster Than Light
I follow enough game news that I was already aware of FTL before this week. The post on penny arcade was all the push I needed to pick it up though. The pitch is simple. Your objective is to out run a rebel fleet, with valuable intel, across 8 sectors of space in a small ship that can be upgraded along the way. Much like Skyrim, the stories that that arise in FTL are ferried on the backs of the games mechanics. Each run across the galaxy bears it's on plot, it's own random encounters and deadly combat. The graphics do just enough to convey FTL's systems. I have enjoyed every minute of it so far, but I think if they ever get it on an iPad it could blow up (not that it couldn't on the PC).
The Ultimate Fighter 16
Friday night was the premiere of the 16th season of TUF. A show I have watched from the beginning and that keeps getting better. And not for it's 45 minutes an episode of mixed martial arts fighters peeing on each others beds. That stuff is the dregs of television. I watch it for the continued improvement in the fighters. As MMA grows, more and more fighters get into the sport at a younger age. Making each cast that much more talented. Want to avoid the "reality"? DVR and fast forward to just watch the fights. Top notch stuff.
Black Mesa
Video game mods usually don't tread into the waters of vaporware. They either get released or the team breaks up before any fruit is born. So when the often delayed, 8 years in development Black Mesa was finally released on Friday I wanted to try it out, warts and all. A community made remake of the original Half Life that has had more hands in it's development pot than some retail releases. Surprise, surprise, it's good. It's really good! The graphics scratch at the greatness of Half Life 2, a game that's looks still stand up today. The level design is jaw dropping at times. It actually got me with a jump scare, a feat not achieved by a video game in years. It balances on a tight rope between nostalgia and modern. Evoking memories of the original, while not getting weighted down by design from 1998.
The Lookouts #1
Dipping my toe in the Penny Arcade behemoth twice this weekend. Once with the FTL recommendation and now with a comic from Cryptozoic based on a great PA side story. When boiled down, Looksouts is fantasy boy scouts. A concept so simple, but fun that one could imagine all sorts of tales to be spun. The paper comic holds up to it's web heritage. The writing reads like Holkins and the art has the feel of it's predecessor too. The colors have a cool textured look and I can't wait for the next one.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment