Yay For Anime

A belated birthday present arrived in the mail today. Appleseed: Ex Machina which is, in the immortal words of Ron Moore, a “re-imagining” of the original Appleseed manga that was created by Masamune Shirow in the 80′s. It’s got a shiny, CG sheen to it, which is really the only way the action of the series could be portrayed without killing animators. Not as thematically complex as what Shirow originally did, but the John Woo production values are abundant, and the plot itself feels about on par with the average videogame.

I Got My Days Wrong

For some reason, I thought today was Tuesday and not Wednesday. Oh well, more writing continues, and Half-Life 2: Episode 2 is now being dutifully played through.

Another Quiet Friday

Did work, played Rock Band without the looming mocking of the incomplete Green Grass & High Tides eyeing me from the final tier.  Sweet, sweet bliss.

It also looks like the particular color of guitar that I wanted from Starpex won’t be ready ’till November.  Oh well.

Back To Fictional Stuff

With the majority of articles out of the way (High-Def Digest excepting, since that’s bi-weekly) it’s time to get back to the children’s novel and the comic with the Wife.

Oh, and keep playing Half-Life 2: Episode One.

< ![CDATA[Back To A Classic

Taking a break from MGS 4, because the repeat playthroughs will get pretty elaborate–as they ALWAYS do, with an MGS game. Instead I’m returning to a giant classic in PC gaming, coming in the form of The Orange Box, which I got in the mail the same day as MGS 4 arrived. It’s got Half-Life 2, Episode 1 and 2, the expansions, Portal and Team Fortress 2. Five games for significantly less than the price one, that’s pretty hard to beat for bargains. I’d actually played the original HL 2 on my wreck of a PC years ago, so this is the first time I’ve seen it looking this good. Portal is also shaping up to be a work of genius. It’s quite an original FPS PUZZLE game of all things, and it’s sense of humor is absolutely wicked.

Unfortunately, Electronic Arts did an incredibly shoddy port of the games, so while they look good, the frame rate can chug, which is pretty unacceptable for a games this old on a system this powerful. But it still plays great.

Wow

In almost total seriousness (because the game seems to be 50% game, 50% cutscene) that may be the best action movie I’ve played in years. I couldn’t stop and the game is done.

Now it’s time for the leisurely second playthrough to collect bonus items and such…

But don’t take my word for it, here’s the review of the game from IGN. I think they liked it teensy bit more than I did, since they gave it a perfect 10, and I wouldn’t do that, but I generally agree with everything they say.

Victim To Story

MGS 4 is TOO FREAKIN’ INTENSE! I can’t stop playing this thing, I HAVE to find out what happens next…

Holy Mary, Mother Of God

Okay, now THIS is the reason I got a Playstation 3. I have to keep reminding myself that none of this is pre-rendered, the game just looks that damn beautiful.

No time to blog.

MUST. PLAY…

Tomorrow

It’s almost here. And I am ready to weep. Or at least, I’m hoping the possibility is there. The ending to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater actually made both the Wife and I shed a tear, so here’s hoping Kojima hasn’t lost his touch.

Pizza & Apocalypse

A surprise invite to have home made pizza with the neighbors left us so stuffed to the gills with food that it was pretty much impossible to do anything else except sit back and watch our Blu-Ray version of The Road Warrior. I think that perhaps I am starting to rebel against CG in movies, which is saddening to me since CGI made so happy the first time I saw Jurassic Park. Now, however, watching The Road Warrior and seeing real guys jumping from real cars to real trucks with a real lack of safety harnesses that haven’t been digitally erased, the movie looks far more impressive to me precisely BECAUSE of its primitiveness compared to CG. Every single shot is real. Even the super impressive panoramic shot of cars circling the refinery over a gorgeous Australian sunset, the whole thing actually happened, not a single digital effect thrown in to make it look epic, it really was just that epic.

Damn, I think I’m turning into an authenticity snob.