Link Party

Links

-I came upon this watch in a post at Gizmodo and was instantly smitten. It's combination of mechanical and Swiss shivers my gadget-loving bones to the core.

It's gorgeous. It looks like it has pennies inside - doesn't it? The pennies, turned sideways, power this strange time bank vault tumbler of a display with the force of Honest Abe. (click on the picture for an extremely enlarged photo)


-The Atlas Rope Ascender... don't tell the Mystery Men, the campy version of Batman (starring one amazing actor: Adam West [as voiced by Adam West from Family Guy]), or other spandex wearing do-gooders with a penchant for accessories about this because I'm sure that they'll be pretty pissed off to know that they won't be receiving any royalties. (video)


-Gummy bear chandelier – it looks beautiful too! I don't know if ants would destroy it first or if I'd get hungry and lazy and starting picking the fruit off of this delicate prize within the first hour or so. It really is a masterful work. I bet Donald Trump has at least two of these. In his limo.


-Who needs one of those home vaults to hide in (in case a burglar smashes into your pad or your wife finds your porno collection) when you can just give the thief a seizure and watch the smoke pour out of his bubbling eye sockets. Gruesome image, but didn't he deserve it? No one touches your Han Solo figures but YOU, damnit! I love you, Han!


-Well, I'll be damned if my name isn't Segue Sam because I got another Star Wars item for you: R2D2 mailboxes are going to be rolled out and then promptly stolen. Or maybe the beep-filled bot will come to life, powered by your Victoria's Secret catalog and destroy us all. Never thought that humanity would be overthrown in that fashion, did ya?

SSX Blur Review

I won't go through all of the preview stuff that I went through in my last post about SSX Blur. Instead, here is the straight dope: the aggregate review for SSX Blur on gamerankings.com is 72% at the moment. Three websites scored it at 60/100 or below, but most remained a bit more even and threw up mid 70's and 80's.














My Take on SSX Blur
SSX Blur is a good game with hard-to-learn controls that is hella fun. If you don't have time to dedicate to learn the controls, especially ubertricks, then don't bother. This is not a game that you can easily pick up and dominate on. There is no button smashing -- though you can wave you arm around like a manic for the same effect, but at best that'll just give me something to laugh at while you're accidentally scoring big points. This is a game for the hardcore, and the experience... the experience my friends is wonderful.

This game is big air, great music and a death-defying sensation of speed that had me saying, "Ohhhhhh Noooo!" as I plummeted off of monstrous jumps into chasms of space that man was not meant to occupy without parachute or space suit. The game is fun, but frustrating early on.

Before I go off on the controls, let's focus on the A/V. The bloom is dialed to 11; the effects, like your character getting covered in snow after wipeouts is a thoughtful addition; there is some quality lens flare; 60fps is almost always going; and the draw distances are impressive - trees poke out from behind large mountains in the distance and then you can actually just race to that one, special tree and meet it out for a candlelight dinner - the trees are fairly polygonal at their base though, which you hopefully never have to actually notice. Like I did. So, so many times. The music by Junkie XL is as necessary to this game as the mountain - it gets you moving and fuels the need for bigger and bigger air.

Which all, of course, brings us back to the controls. The basic jumping, maneuvering and trick-making are well implemented. Carving, hard turning in either direction, is a learned skill that is required to advance past any Slalom course. Ubertricks are rarified beasts that will only exist in your fantasies for awhile. I still haven't mastered them, but every time that I do see one on the mountain, alone, right in front of me, nostrils flaring at the smell of the cities that cover me -- I stand still because it's the safest thing to do. You don't how they'll react, so I prematurely end the trick just so I don't accidentally add that last backflip that powders me into the mountain.

All of that being said, the game is a blast to play with a lot to offer the single player, career mode experience. I give the game a 8/10. I may go higher once I master ubers, but that probably won't happen for a while.

Final verdict: 8/10

Romance of the Three Kingdoms + Wii

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI with Power-Up Kit is being ported to the Wii. Ok, I know that the word "port" is kind of like going straight for a Yo Momma joke on the game producer's mother when intro'ing a title, but this game may rise above its meager beginnings like a Victorian novel. It's freakin' Romance of the Three Kingdoms, people! Get excited!

Ok, now that I've got you all hyper, let me drop some Valium on you again: the reviews of the PS2 title that this is based on aren't great. Averaging out at 68% is not something that I like to see in a purchase. At the same time though, since they're already going to be adding some Wii functionality, like Wiimote + Nunchuk sword fighting another general on horseback, they will have an opportunity to address the complaints that people had with the PS2 version.

The game will still be turn-based strategy. You'll drive through multiple menus whilst commanding your armies. And, according to the Gamespot review of the PS2 title this iteration goes way back to its roots as a large-scale military game. Since the NES version, apparently the games have focused on one officer in a General's army. The cyclical nature of time though has you once again as the General. Thank God for my perfect timing. I haven't played any of these titles since the NES version, which was absolutely magical.

Ok, I'm done getting misty eyed. Let's see how the resource trading works before I tattoo myself with the barcode (I would never do that, that was an exaggeration - sorry to scare you mom).

cheers,
nck