Read This Or Shinra Will Drop a Plate on Your Head

Syu-Pa Pa-I-Pa Ma-Ri-O

2009-11-09T04:20:00.004-05:00

That's my Hongul-to-English attempt at Super Paper Mario. I've been playing it, relying heavily on a guide since I can't read any of the text. Despite my lack of understanding of the plot (with a few exceptions where I happen to be in the company of a native speaker), it's a lot of fun.

The game's got a cast of funny but childish playable characters and bosses. The little colorful butterfly next to mario is a spirit who helps you along your way. You can use a variety of different helpers, each with a different skill, mostly to defeat enemies and solve simple yet fun puzzles. Most puzzles involve flipping from the 2D view to a kind of 3D-2D mix.

Some objects that cannot be seen in 2D can be seen in 3D so you end up switching back and forth to reveal new paths and enemies.

The game has a pretty simple menu interface, as I can even navigate it in Hongul. This is a good thing for me.

It also includes the usual cast. So far I have Mario, Princess, and Bowser. Each have their own abilities and you can switch between them at any point. This also adds to some of the fun of the puzzles as you may have to switch to Princess to float over an area and then switch back to Mario in order to go into the 3D plane and reveal and new door, etc etc.

There's also some fun throwbacks to older games, like the giant original Nintendo Mario pictured above. You can also get a bunch of tiny little versions of him to bounce around and help you. All in all, it's a fun game, not amazing, but fun. I'll definitely finish it, and I've enjoyed it so far with the exception of a few dull points.

More Miis

2009-11-02T06:13:00.004-05:00

Here's some more Miis. Some by request (thanks seriously!), how'd I do?

Rain. I probably shoulda chosen to make a female Mii to capture his feminine essence.

Batman. Minus the cape...

Shaft. Or maybe Tiger from Tekken?

Einstein.

Obama.

George Castanza.

Stephen Colbert.

How'd I do?

Suggestions still welcome. My Mii community wants to grow...

Funny Miis

2009-11-01T08:43:00.002-05:00

Yeah I got bored and made a buncha funny Miis. Here they are in all their glory!

Michael Jackson (white version).

The Joker.

Kim Jung Il.

Stormtrooper.

Jesus.

Suggestions are welcome!

Wii Fail

2009-10-23T06:01:00.003-04:00

I pretty much knew that I wasn't gonna be able to get my newly purchased Nintendo Wii to work right off the bat given that it is Korean and so is my TV as well as my cable box. I mean, it turns on, but I can't for the life of me figure out what the Korean menus on the TV mean. I need help...

I still have no regrets about my purchase, though. It'll work...eventually.

New BMWBeatz Available!

2009-10-16T07:22:00.003-04:00

A brand-spankin' new track is available for aural pleasure at myspace.com/bmwbeatz. Let the tones flow into your mind and give you pleasure that was before a mere myth to you! Also, check Drop.io/bmwbeatz for an mp3 of the track. I hope you enjoy and as always, feedback is most definitely appreciated.

Spore Ends Up Failing

2009-09-28T08:38:00.005-04:00

I was really liking Spore for a bit there, but I gotta say it fell off pretty quick. After the Creature Stage, you move onto the Tribal Stage, where you have a small town full of creatures that look like whatever you ended up with at the end of your creature stage plus some outfits and accessories that you can change around (most of which have no effect on your creatures whatsoever...lame). At this point the game is still reasonably fun, you have a few other tribes with which to interact, and you can sing to them and give them gifts to gain their favor or just kill 'em off. I did a little bit of both and it was fun for a while, then I advanced to the next stage.

The next stage is the Civilization Stage. The main issue I had at this point was that the game lost its initial appeal of evolving and changing around your creature while gaining new abilities etc. It began to feel like a mediocre RTS. I spent a lot of time designing buildings for my cities which I could barely see unless I zoomed in super close which was disappointing, seemed like it really wasn't worth all the effort. You can also create a land vehicle, boats and aircraft, and despite (once again) all the time one will take to design them, there isn't too much to do with them. I ended up just driving around collecting resources and blowing away other cities. It was pretty dull, and the next stage, the Space Stage, was no improvement.

I figured this could be pretty cool, advancing to space, exploring other galaxies! Nah, not really. This is probably the most boring of all...

...you just end up flying around from planet to planet doing menial tasks, abducting creatures, zapping the occasional enemy craft. All in all, it was not impressive. So while Spore has a really promising start, it really fails to deliver.

The graphics remain bright and bubbly and the sound effects are cool. The game has a good feel overall but I just wanted more from it. Eh, maybe I'll pick it up again some other time.

Spore

2009-09-27T00:43:00.005-04:00

I started playing Spore this weekend and I'm enjoying it despite the fact that my creature keeps getting eaten and starving to death...
The game starts you as a microscopic organism and takes you through various levels of evolution, ending in space I believe. At the moment, I've gotten my guy outta the water and onto the land.

Here's a bit of my evolution so far...

One of the first stages of my on-land evolution.

Gave myself some wings and a horn-esque thing on my nose to impress.

I decided to go for kinda a mix between a dinosaur and an insect for this stage.

This is my current state. More insect-like than anything I guess. No, I have no idea why I put an eye on his chest...

I haven't really gotten the hang of the game quite yet. It seems pretty cool so far but I think I need to learn how to better customize my creature. There's a ton of options (arms, legs, pincers, ears, mouths, wings etc. etc. etc.). Each one costs a certain amount of DNA points and holds its own benefits such as the ability to impress and/or eat other creatures. I feel like my strategy from this point on is going to be to focus on either impressing or killing, not try to balance both of them.

As for the look and feel, the graphics are bright and colorful as are the sound effects and music. The game contains a wide variety of other creatures to encounter, all of which are very different in shape and size. The controls are simple, mostly just point-and-click and a couple number keys for various abilities. All in all, Spore is looking pretty good.

Final Thoughts on Prey

2009-09-22T07:45:00.007-04:00

I finished Prey today and while it was fun, it was way too easy and altogether not that satisfying of a gaming experience. The game doesn't allow you to die...which is convenient but kinda makes battles seem pointless. You can just stand still, get shot at, die, come back...etc etc.

The spirit realm you get sent into when you run out of health. You shoot arrows at the red flying thingies to get your health back.

Some of the later weapons turned out to be pretty cool. I guess I just prefer more realistic weaponry to bizarre alien alternatives. The guns I really liked in the game were the first one, comprable to a machine gun/sniper rifle combo, the shotgun-like rifle that shoots green goo at your enemies and another gun that seemed like a chaingun or something. In a sci-fi environment it wouldn't really have made sense to have human weapons but I just find random alien crap kinda dull a lot of the time.

The shotgun-esque weapon and a view of your protagonist's girlfriend being tortured...good times.

Some of the scenery later in the game was pretty cool, lots of large geometric shapes containing reasonably fun puzzles and battles. This didn't make up for much though.

The final boss is within that box, probably the most fun fight in the game, but still not that great.

Overall, I wasn't impressed. Despite these few cool-looking scenes most of the game takes place in random alien hallways and caverns. The ability to change the center of gravity, allowing your character to essentially rotate rooms seemed cool at first but eventually got pretty tiresome and just rather confusing.

One of the cooler looking areas in the game.

The end was probably the most fun part, but I definitely am not gonna be playing it again. I don't really have much more to say about it.

Prey gets a B-...at best. I'm gonna tackle Spore next, we'll see if it does any better!

Yeah...I Bought a Bunny

2009-09-20T05:14:00.005-04:00

Yeah....

I bought a bunny.

His name is To'Kki...

...it means rabbit in Korean.

Prey

2009-09-20T04:37:00.006-04:00

I'm back on the gaming wagon for a bit, so here's what I've been getting into!
It's been a while since I've been able to play any newer computer games. However, I recently got a new comp and can finally do that!
I acquired a game called "Prey" which I've been hitting up over the last few days and it seems pretty decent. The game centers around a Native American (or "Injun" in politically correct terminology) who gets abducted by aliens along with his girlfriend and grandfather. We've all been in a similar situation so it's totally easy to relate to his, you know?

It's bloody (they seem to have no problem chopping up children all over the place), a bit creepy, and has some nice visuals and some interesting alien weaponry. All good features in a shooter.

See what I mean about the kids?
The graphics are a-okay on my Macbook Pro with a NVIDIA GeForce 9400. I have no idea how that card scales up with other video cards, I'm assuming there's way better stuff out there...anyway, the graphics look pretty sick.

One of the low level monsters...after a good wrenching.
I am not entirely wow-ed by this game as of yet though. It has some interesting elements, such as anti-gravity platforms which make for some dizzying scenes and puzzles. One of the coolest features is your characters ability to leave his body in spirit form and pass through areas that were otherwise impassable. This coupled with the many portals and anti-gravity rooms makes more some pretty cool, yet simple, puzzles. The focus of the game is definitely not puzzles, but blasting anything that moves. That's okay in my book.

Standing on the ceiling.
All in all, so far, Prey's getting a B. We'll see if it shapes up...I could use some better weaponry and maybe some more interesting baddies.

Friends

2009-08-26T08:47:00.003-04:00

Someone you can count on....

...when times get tough.

New BMWBeatz!

2009-08-23T00:15:00.003-04:00

Now available for listening at Myspace.com/bmwbeatz and download at Drop.io/bmwbeatz is the newest hit from BMWBeatz, "Goodchild"! Listen to it, enjoy it, download it, send it to your friends, make love to it, give it flowers, feed it treats...you can do whatever you please with it. It's very accommodating.

More BMWBeatz for Download!

2009-08-11T13:32:00.003-04:00

Just posted some more BMWBeatz for downloading deliciousness on Drop.io. Hit 'em up! Just posted: Dual Superiority (Featuring Tracegoat, my cuz), Aerospace, and The Aviary. Enjoy!

Just Because I Felt Like Posting

2009-08-03T04:58:00.006-04:00

I'm a Smooth Criminal. Pictured here.

Much love to Tracegoat, my associate producer for the excellent depiction.

RIP Beatz's XBox

2009-07-22T17:55:00.003-04:00

Yes, this is gonna be the last video-game related post for a while I guess, as my XBox has passed on...
I was one of many recipients of the dreaded E 74 error message accompanied by one red ring in the lower right hand corner around the power button. While Microsoft does fix this for free (shipping and all) it's still gonna take about 2-3 weeks, which is about all the time I have until I leave the country and head for Korea (at which time I'll probably start a new blog dedicated to that).
So, it's been fun, but for the time being this blog is probably gonna be out of commission...*Single tear*

My New Toy Collection Looks to be Better

2009-07-17T01:25:00.002-04:00

Here's just what I've picked up so far with my new good character, Leda. Instead of organizing it, I decided just to chuck it all into one great big ol' pile.

And I've expanded my inventory, adding Garden Gnomes and Pool Balls. It looks to be quite the collection when it's done...maybe I'll expand my inventory even further!

Point Lookout Was Sweet

2009-07-17T00:53:00.006-04:00

Who doesn't like killing irradiated-inbred-hillbillies? I, for one, thoroughly enjoy it (apparently). I guess that's what made Point Lookout a really interesting, fun and-while rather short in my opinion-totally creepy and enjoyable Fallout DLC.

It featured some really tough enemies in the form of (as mentioned above) irradiated -inbred-hillbillies as well as some interesting new scenery, much different than the Wasteland. So far, while the Pitt remains my favorite add-on, Point Lookout takes a close second.

You start off by getting on a boat called the Duchess Gambit, run by Tobar the Ferryman, pictured above. The boat takes you to Point Lookout, Maryland, which, like many other places you've visited, is ravaged by the post nuclear fallout of the war of 2077.

The scenery right off the boat looked something like a warn-down Coney Island...like in the 80s, only instead of being followed around by junkies you get followed around by gun-toting crazy hillbillies and wild dogs. All in all, the experience isn't that different.

The quests themselves are fun, centering around a feud between two people who seem to tool you around in order to dig at each other. Don't worry, you get your chance to...how shall I put this...settle their beef with each other, and your beef with them if you so choose.

The scenery as you venture further into point lookout is pretty sweet. Most of it being supremely misty swampland with scattered houses and other busted up remnants of the past. There's also an abundance of creepy-ass little dolls hanging around.

The quest takes you deep into the forest at one point and has some truly bizarre occurrences which I won't give away because I'm not a total dick. I'm only kinda a dick. Also, just as an aside, here's a pic of my character donning the two first items I found: a confederate cap and a double barreled shotgun.

Anyway, the DLC once again was totally worth the 10 bucks I paid and I'd say it's one of my favorites so far.

It's got everything you'd want out of a trip to post-apocalyptic Marlyand: Inbred-irradiated-hillbillies shooting at you, bizarre scenery and occurrences, a couple sweet old-school guns (lever-action rifle and double barreled shotgun) and one cool new one which I won't give away...

...and best of all, it's even got some lobotomy thrown in! I won't say where or who is/are the recipient(s). That's only in the main quest, there's also a few fun tidbits which I'll leave you to find for yourself.

I'd definitely travel there again. Assuming Tobar would let me...

......sorry for the spoiler but c'mon, you coulda figured that one out.

Fallout 3 Toy Collection

2009-07-17T00:41:00.003-04:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted but the fact that is that it's the summertime and I've been swamped with relaxing activities such as sitting, drinking, and um....yeah, I know there's more...it'll come to me later.
So this is my first post in 3 weeks and guess what it's about! That's right, Fallout 3! Yeah, I haven't switched titles for like a year...it's cool though, what a great game. Anyway, here's some toys I collected during the travels of my super evil character, "Klytemnestra".

Toy car collection. After I came home from killing innocents I'd drive them around my house going "vroom vroom" and then crashing them all like "pkkrrraaaaa-boooooooooom".

Teddy Bear collection. I would have slept on this if the game allowed me to. I think it should give you an extra well-rested-teddy-bear bonus.

Some Nuka-Cola trucks. Occasionally, these would also crash into my toy cars.

And with John Henry Eden constantly talking about baseball, how could I not collect baseballs and gloves? Basketballs were just a bonus...no hoop, you know?

Deathclaw Fist Fight

2009-06-21T18:06:00.004-04:00

Once you're level 28ish, you can totally fuck up whatever enemy you encounter with no problems. I even decided to not use the many many versions of Power Armor I have and just stick with my trusty Ranger Battle Armor.

So, upon entering the Deathclaw Sanctuary, I put away my guns and decided to brawl it out with one of 'em.

The pictures are a bit shoddy considering I was taking them in motion.

But I assure you, I fist fought the sucker and won! Why would I lie about something stupid like that?

It was awesome. I did have assistance from Dogmeat, though. Deathclaws got nothin' on me!

The Pitt Round 2 aka Pitt-Slave Killing Spree

2009-06-16T21:01:00.005-04:00

I don't even know if it's possible to beat the Pitt without losing some Karma. Luckily, I'm evil this time around. So, while I didn't do the evil deed that I did last time (steal the baby and kill his mama) I did end up killing a lot of slaves.

I suppose it was unnecessary because they were unarmed and running away. But c'mon, look at them, they were asking for it. They couldn't even put on a decent outfit for my arrival?

Plus, the Infiltrator is just fun to use. Something about an awesome scope and a silencer just makes for great killin' times.

I killed this dude too (above), Wernher is a dick. He deserved to die. My one regret last time I played the Pitt was not killing him because, man, what a jerk.

I probably killed that lady too.

That's Wernher right there. Minus his head of course...and that's his blood all over that wall.

I lost a shit ton of Karma that time around. Now I'm rated something like "Stuff of Nightmares" or something like that. Fantastic.

Gunstar Heroes Is Still the Best Game Evar

2009-06-16T20:04:00.004-04:00

Best game ever. I usually don't bother getting all the achievements but there were only 12 and so I did...

He totally watched everything, too.

I even beat the final great soldier.

Actually Smash Daisaku beat him. (pictured above)

Best Day Ever...Wait, Evar, I'm Sorry

2009-06-12T13:37:00.003-04:00

Yesterday:

Today:
Greatest Thing to Ever Happen

I'm happy.

Misc. Fallout Post

2009-06-10T17:37:00.005-04:00

Clover ate it not long after I last posted...I decided she wasn't worth reloading for. However, on the plus side, I did get Dogmeat! By far my favorite ally, Dogmeat (he's a dog) doesn't go running off and get himself killed nearly as readily as most other allies I've had.

I soon after got Charon,

...a Ghoul acquaintance of mine, but he too died.
Here's a shot of me and Dogmeat mourning. Sorry buddy, but you shoulda stayed closer to me.

I discovered a new weapon as well, the Tri-Beam Laser Rifle, which is pretty badass. It has a DAM rating of about 71 and it's not quite fully repaired. It's pretty pimptacular. And I'm sure I've said this before but it always amazes me that there's constantly new stuff to discover in Fallout. I'm about 40 hours into my current file and I've been roaming through buildings I hadn't even touched in previous files. It's fun to find bizarre little tidbits like this...

That garden gnome sure is angry, but he's holding his sign upside down.

New Ally and Tom Selleck's Ultimate Edge

2009-06-04T14:49:00.002-04:00

I got my first female ally in Fallout and she's all nutso. I got her by buying her off of a slaver at paradise falls (who I promptly killed afterwards) for 1000 caps. I think she was worth it, she uses a sawed-off shotgun and calls me "lover", just like women in real life.

She also provides a great deal of sexual innuendo in her dialogue which is always fun.

Wonderful, thanks Clover.

On a funnier note, I was flippin' channels the other night when I happened upon this...

I thought to myself, "Tom Selleck is doing motivational speaking on a late night infomercial?" But, when I flipped to the channel it was actually Tony Robbins. This made me wonder about the listing, and upon further research it turns out that Tony Robbins has teamed up with Tom Selleck to provide us all with advice in order to "transform the quality of [our lives]".

Fantastic.

New BMWBeatz Available for Download on Drop.io!

2009-05-27T16:46:00.004-04:00

Look what Lolo spotted: three more BMWBeatz available for download! Dead Souls, Nereus, and World of Ruin are now available on Drop.io/bmwbeatz. Also available from a previous posting are Poseidon and Echelon. Download and enjoy!

Remember, all feedback is appreciated!

Bonnet Massacre Part 2

2009-05-26T15:24:00.003-04:00

After the Bonnet Massacre at Tenpenny Tower I went to inform Roy Philips that I'd taken care of the issue and his Ghoul buddies were free to move in. And so they did...

For a time there was peace.

Ghoul and human, living side by side! But that couldn't last...besides, I had a pretty new green dress and it was just screaming to be covered in blood.

And so, part 2 of the Massacre began. Human and ghoul dying side by side.

Roy Philips wasn't a good person anyway. It was never meant to be. In my book they're all worthless, bickering over property rights when the rest of the Wastes are teeming in a-morality and bloodshed. Now they're all dead! Ha!
I believe my status is now "Villain of the Wastes", papa would be proud.

The Great Bonnet Massacre at Tenpenny Tower

2009-05-21T21:58:00.009-04:00

I was in Tenpenny tower talking to some of the residents when something snapped in me. They're just so damn self-righteous and I felt I had to teach them a lesson. It started simple...a bit of theft, starting with this really nice bonnet! Then a bit of pickpocketing...but then I thought, "what the hell, I'll just put a mine in this guy's pocket while he's sleeping,"

...and from there it only got worse...or better, depending on how you look at it.

Sorry Herbert, but you had it coming. The next step was to get a little sauced, so I starting drinking some of the Whiskey I had stolen from the barkeep. I guess my character went a bit crazy after that...

I picked off a few unknowing-sleeping residents.

Then I found this couple sound asleep and she had such a nice negligee, I just had to have it!

So that took care of that, then I tried it on and it fit perfectly!!

This was starting to get rather interesting, so I decided to take on some more residents while I pondered what to do to Tenpenny himself.

Now, while the negligee was quite nice, I found this one resident wearing a great dress, and that really sealed the deal. It was truly becoming the Great Bonnet Massacre of Tenpenny tower.

People were running in fear, security was attempting to foil my efforts with little effect, and I was enjoying my new outfit and taste for blood.

But I felt they deserved it. They're basically racists who won't let Ghouls live with them. Sure I could have used my 85 Speech points to reason with them...but that time had past.

After the Tower's security and residents were taken care of I decided to pay Tenpenny a little visit, and after gingerly placing a mine in his pocket...

He was toast, and I stole his suit. Surprisingly, that action actually made me gain Karma. So, I did one good deed in my time at Tenpenny tower. Now, I've considered letting the Ghouls know about this and perhaps have them move into the Tower, but I might just have to take them out too. That tower could be allllll mine....

I'm Eeeevil! Also, There's a Raider Stuck in the Ceiling...

2009-05-19T16:40:00.005-04:00

So, I finally caved and decided to play Fallout 3 over as an evil character and found that it's fun all the same, but I just can't dedicate myself to being truly evil. I mean, my rating's still well into the "Very Evil" range but that's mostly due to theft...and the occasional murder. It definitely changes some things though, like I killed the crap outta those vampire fucks in the train tunnel, "The Family". But only after convincing them to let the kid they recruited go. So, basically I made peace between them and Arefu...then went back into the tunnels and rocked their shit with a missile launcher. That was truly satisfying. Those guys are messed up, I don't care what the Karma-meter says!

But I couldn't bring myself to kill the little kid whose parents were murdered by fire ants, Billy Wilks. On the other hand I did tell him they were "ant-food" and he called me an asshole...but I still saved him and got him a home in Rivet City! ...all while I was stealing heavily from just about everyone on that ship. I also popped some caps into Dukov. I felt that since I'm playing as a woman character, even if I'm evil, it's my obligation to stop pimping in the Wastes. So far, I've been pretty evil I guess, but just not as evil as I could be.

I've also found that I didn't even do some of the quests! I never met 3-Dog (owuuuuu) and went into the Washington Monument which is funny because I definitely went to GNR Plaza, guess I just never ventured inside. I gain the occasional Karma from doing quests like that and saving that chick from Dukov. So, even if I'm an asshole, Billy, I've still done some good deeds in my life! ...At least I didn't blow up Megaton.

Maybe once I go back to the Pitt I'll really go the distance, in the meantime, I'll stick to theft to keep me in the "Very Evil" range. Hell, I figure I'll just get the perk that makes you really good at the end if I want to be good again, right?

On another note, there's a raider stuck in the ceiling..and he's kinda deformed. Seriously, check it out...

How bizarre.

Broken Steel Defeated! ...and RIP Star Paladin Cross

2009-05-11T20:17:00.005-04:00

I just got through beating the final add-on in Fallout 3, Broken Steel, with the exception of a couple small equipment gathering quests which seem to just be for kicks. This final add-on was all-out war, pitting you against the remnants of the Enclave and alongside the Brotherhood of Steel. It featured some awesome new weapons including a new bad-ass flamethrower and a sweet Tesla-missile launcher thing which would electrocute the shit outta people. It also had some of the most hardcore enemies I've ever seen, and oddly enough they were Feral Ghouls, an enemy I had long stopped even being the slightest bit challenged by.

It was in an intense fight with these new Feral Ghoul Reavers that I lost my dear ally, Star Paladin Cross. Your sacrifice was not in vain!

Once again, the add-on is totally worth the 10 bucks, and didn't make me feel like crap like the Pitt did. However, now I'm sad because I've basically done everything in the game, I think. The only real option at this point is to start over and be totally evil...but I have trouble with that, it just seems...well, mean I guess. But ah well, maybe I'll just be a jerk, maybe it'll grow on me...

Also, for those that play Broken Steel, keep your eyes peeled when you're in the Enclave base, there's Alien Blaster ammo strewn about certain locations...

WTF?

2009-05-11T20:07:00.002-04:00

Fallout's thrown some bizarre stuff my way but nothing can top this fella...

Seriously, it's a talking tree. And he was kinda funny too, kept referring to some person inside of him as "Herbert" and laughing because the guy's name was actually Bob or something. I asked him why he thought this was funny but his explanation was basically like "Because his name is Bob and I think it's funny to call him Herbert"....alright, weird.

To add to it all, the tree-person is surrounded by a cult of weird hippy people named after trees who all worship him as a god AND he totally asked me to kill him...which I didn't do. I ended up actually making him spread his oasis-ness even further around, hopefully that'll help the Wastes! Anyway, basically...wtf?

The Pitt Made Me a Bad Person

2009-05-08T15:40:00.006-04:00

I just finished the quests set forth in the Pitt, the most morally ambiguous Fallout add-on by far. I went to the Pitt as "The Last, Best Hope of Humanity" and returned as a "Shepard", still in the "Very Good" range but significantly lower. I also came back addicted to Jet and Beer (ha), and personally did not feel very good about the things I had done.

I stole a baby, killed its parents, killed a buncha slaves in a "Thunderdome" style death-match and watched bizarre trog mutants tear people apart time and time again.

I've never had a gaming experience where I came away from it actually feeling kinda fucked up about the things I had done. I was really trying to do the right thing too!!

Towards the end, I found myself walking around the Pitt, finding and killing the people who were involved in allowing the slaves to remain enslaved, and losing karma again and again.
But, morals aside, the add-on was damn fun, featured a badass motorized axe weapon, totally awesome scoped assault rifle, and some pretty sweet scenes and enemies.

Once again, definitely worth the 10 bucks...I dunno if it was worth the emotional strain, though.
This last image is, in a nutshell, what it's like to go to the Pitt...

Mmmm...chunky.

Operation Anchorage Impressions and Punishment for Star Paladin Cross

2009-05-06T16:23:00.003-04:00

So after installing Broken Steel which ups the level cap to 30, I preceded to begin playing Operation Anchorage (soon to be followed by the Pitt, then Broken Steel itself) and it's pretty awesome. It presents a different experience than the main storyline or even side quests in that it is a simulation and your character is left without any of the items, armor, and weapons that you may have acquired throughout the game.

I've played my current file for about 65 hours so it was quite a shock not having my trusty Plasma Rifle etc. However, it's still damn fun. The add-on puts more emphasis on sneaking around and features some cool enemies (one of whom looks spot-on like the Ninja from Metal Gear Solid) and some great scenery. I think I would have benefited from a bit more Sneak points but it's easy enough to blast away with the Sniper Rifle. I have yet to beat the final quest in Operation Anchorage but so far, it's been worth the 10 bucks they charge.

On another note, Star Cross Paladin (one of my allies) was being naughty, so I put her in the corner...

Bad Paladin...bad...

Broken Steel!

2009-05-05T15:03:00.004-04:00

Just felt the need to post that I'm downloading it as I type this up, so I probably won't be seen for the next 6-8 weeks. I'm quite the giddy schoolgirl right now.

Lolo likes it too...in her own quiet-sleeping sort of way.

Alien Blaster and Wall-Bear

2009-05-01T17:15:00.005-04:00

I found this awesome Alien Blaster today upon the mention of its existence by a friend of mine and it's totally the shit!
I found it lying next to this poor fella.

The gun only has 120 shots but it basically turns everything it touches into dust, which is...well, it's awesome.

Also, while shooting up some slavers at Paradise Falls with my rocket launcher I found this funny little guy stuck in the wall. I had to videotape this one to capture the weirdness/creepiness.

I'm sorry teddy. I'm sorry for leaving you like that....it haunts me whenever I sleep.

...And I know I already posted about it today but 4 days 'til Broken Steel!!

Best Movie Ever?

2009-05-01T12:06:00.000-04:00

I think I'm in love.

Broken Steel in a Mere 4 Days!

2009-05-01T11:30:00.005-04:00

Or so they say. I'm ready; I've been dying to play Operation Anchorage and the Pitt for a while now, but I just couldn't justify it without a raised level cap. However, according to Bethesda's Fallout 3 webpage(scroll to the bottom), Fallout 3's Broken Steel DLC will be released on May 5! I still think it's too far off and I am having a hard time waiting that long...but I guess I'll have to cope.

Anyway, the add-on will raise the level cap to 30, supposedly change the outcome of the main plot-line, and will feature some new weapons and enemies, like the Heavy Incinerator and Super Mutant Overlord. All in all I guess it's worth the wait...

...so strap on that Enclave Power Armor and get your Fat Man ready, wastelanders. It looks to be a good fight.

BMWBeatz on Drop.io

2009-04-29T15:48:00.004-04:00

So I found this pretty cool site named Drop.io from an acquaintance of mine and decided to begin posting files on it in relation with my blog. To start off I've posted a song of mine so that anyone can download it and enjoy! So, log on to http://drop.io/bmwbeatz and download "Echelon" (a personal favorite of mine) as well as Poseidon!

Also, feel free to upload files that you think are cool or whatever, just hit the "add" button and use the uploader on the site.

Enjoy!!

Satisfying Stick

2009-04-27T18:25:00.002-04:00

I got a pretty satisfying stick, and it was pretty long range for my standards.

There's my target.

And the toss!

Stuck ya.

And then he blew up. Poor feller.

Turned out that it got me a Killjoy as well. This made it just a little bit more satisfying in that I knew someone was on a roll, and then got unknowingly stuck from afar.

Steak Salad on Saturday Afternoon

2009-04-27T15:37:00.004-04:00

Me and a compatriot of mine made a delicious steak salad on Saturday. Originally, it was gonna be steak and eggs, but it was like 6PM so the steak salad idea seemed a bit more appropriate. Here's a bit of visual deliciousness...

Ready to eat. The bread was used to make steak-salad-sandwiches, which were fantastic.

Up close and personal.

I won't go into the details of how it was made, but suffice it to say there were cooked onions (red and white) and a marinade as well as a balsamic vinegar dressing for the salad. And the ratio of steak to salad was probably 1:1. Or maybe there was more steak...

Unknown Deathclaw Launches Being Perpetrated by the Enclave

2009-04-24T18:51:00.007-04:00

I know I said I wasn't gonna play Fallout 3 until Broken Steel came out and I could level up further, but I gave in and played anyway today. I'm glad that I did though, because I came upon a very bizarre anomaly in the game. While wandering around near the "Deathclaw Sanctuary" I looked up to see something fly into the air:

It looks like a teeeeeny little dot, but upon entering VATS...

I saw this, a flying Deathclaw! I even tried to shoot at it. A few seconds later another one launched into the air like a missile trying to hit another missile if Deathclaws were missiles(huh?). It was odd, and they definitely landed because about a minute after their launch, they came running back towards me. Guess they spotted me while flying through the air.
The Enclave's into some weird stuff, I guess.

I Got Splattered All Over a Wall in Halo

2009-04-24T18:47:00.003-04:00

It was kinda funny, that's why I decided to post it. Here's how it went down.

Me. running along, blissfully-unaware of my impending death.

The chase is on...a chase I didn't know I was a part of until...

This happened...

And that's my face going into a wall.

Never saw it coming. But I did laugh afterwards.

Megaman 9 First Impressions

2009-04-24T14:35:00.007-04:00

I finally got around to buying Megaman 9 on my 360. This game was made in the style of the original 8-Bit Megaman games and is true to form, featuring silly 8-Bit graphics and music, back-to-basics gameplay, and even some cheesy still-image-based cinematic sequences. From what I've played so far (not much) it's pretty fun, just like the oldschool titles. And, true to it's predecessors it is DAMN hard! Like wow, hard! And I haven't even gotten to one of those sequences where you gotta memorize where the little gray blocks appear. Any Megaman fanboys out there should understand that reference.

Some of those guys are pretty ridiculous I gotta say...concrete man?

Megaman 9 features only the combat and movement elements included in the original: no charging your shot, no sliding around, just 3 little yellow bullets on the screen at a time and that's all. The game does features the series' first female boss though, Splash Woman! How progressive. Another wonderful throwback feature of the game.
Annnd, who can forget classic tunes like the password screen from Megaman 2, another wonderful throwback feature of the game.

I am aware that the game will be frustratingly difficult and require vast amounts of replaying and memorizing stages and bosses, but I'm ready to take it on, and kinda excited about it in a way I haven't been in a little while.

Funny how with all the power that the 360 holds one of the most exciting things is getting oldschool games, or in this case, new-oldschool games.

Bioshock 2

2009-04-24T13:55:00.004-04:00

On G4's video game show "X-Play" yesterday, one of the hosts sat down with Bioshock 2's lead developer and what they showed was pretty sweeeeeeet. Not to give anything away but...you get to be a Big Daddy, whaaaaaaaaat!?
Take a look...and man that embed is way too big for my blog, ha!

Video Games - Video Game Reviews - X-Play

Gunstar Heroes Soundtrack!

2009-04-17T18:43:00.003-04:00

Booya! Look what I found!

Gunstar Heroes Soundtrack

Best day of my life.

Misc. Halo Shots

2009-04-15T18:00:00.005-04:00

I just played a match of Team BRs on one of the new Mythic maps, Assembly. It was sweet, I totally got MVP, a +8 kill/death spread, and noticed that after collecting all the skulls (which I've recently spent some free time on) it gave me enough gamerpoints to get myself the long awaited perk of having a sword on my character's back! Hooray! Here's some screenshots.

It was a slow start, and I ended up looking like this a whole bunch.

First part of my first double kill.

Part 2 of that double kill, along with a suicide, awesome!

Double kill 2, also, you can see the Hayabusa sword on my back. Totally sweet.

And the team running together, victorious.

-Fin-

Broken Steel Release Date?

2009-04-14T13:46:00.002-04:00

I'm confused. IGN says it'll be released on September 30 '09 but that's gotta be a load. The Wiki article says it'll be released sometime in April and for some reason I remember thinking that it was set to come out tomorrow, April 15, but it looks like I just kinda pulled that outta my ass. If IGN is right, that's some bull-poop. Bethesda could at least just raise the level cap so I can finally play The Pitt and Operation Anchorage without feeling like I'm wasting my time not leveling up.
I mean, look at Lolo, does she look amused by all of this? No, no she doesn't. And I assure you, she is not amused, nor am I.

Hey Anonymous, Shut the Fuck Up

2009-04-13T14:58:00.002-04:00

"Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Fallout 3 Level Cap = Stupid":

but 20 has been the level cap in all the previous fallout games. have you played the others? stop whining"

Ha! Shut the fuck up you fucking idiot. You have to be the stupidest motherfucker I've ever come across to think that bullshit outdated features of older games should be kept in their sequels. You're such a fucking 'tard that it's ridiculous. Seriously, just go back into whatever little dank pit you came from you piece of crap.

Also, thank you for your comment, all feedback is appreciated.

New Halo Map Pack Pics

2009-04-10T14:49:00.007-04:00

I just downloaded the new Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack and it seems pretty cool. It's got three new multiplayer maps (Assembly, Orbital, and Sandbox) and a buncha random achievements and other nonsense. Here's some shots from some matches I played on the new maps...mostly getting my ass kicked in the process.

Assembly

See that explosion on the right side of the picture?

That's me blowing up!

Pretty sweet background in this stage.

I got a killing spree!

Then I fell to my death.

Orbital

This one's more cavernous.

Probably one of the only kills I got.

Following a teammate up some stairs to my death most likely.

Running past a couple Mongooses, which I can hardly imagine using in this level.

Sandbox

This map doesn't seem to be that great, but is supposedly the best for customization in the Forge.

That's not to say it isn't fun launching missles across the open landscape.

And they threw in some vehicles just for good measure.

All in all, I'd say it was worth 10 bucks. Halo is fun.

4 New (Old) BMWBeatz Up on Myspace!

2009-04-09T16:50:00.006-04:00

Listen now, it'll totally be fun.
Just added: Ghost Ship, Aerospace, Poseidon, and Lifestream. You eardrums are begging for it, I know, I can hear them!

Maybe that isn't healthy...

BMWBeatz here!

More Custom SC IV Characters

2009-04-08T20:04:00.004-04:00

More custom characters!

Seong-Mina

Nightmare

Xianghua

Tira

Hilde

Custom Character, Style: Voldo, No name as of yet

Taki

Cassandra

Setsuka

Amy

I've obviously wasted a lot of time on this...what can I say? It's fun to play dress up?

Custom Soul Calibur IV Characters

2009-04-06T19:01:00.005-04:00

I've been wasting a lot of time customizing the characters' outfits in Soul Calibur IV. Here's what I've come up with so far:

Yoshimitsu

Talim

Seong-Mina

Yun-Seong

Ivy

Astaroth

Kilik

Xianghua

Tira

Voldo

Hilde

Custom Character 1: Achilles. Style: Siegfried

Custom Character 2: Klytamnestra. Style: Setsuka

Siegfried

Taki

Cassandra

Mitsurugi

Setsuka

Amy

Sophitia

And that's all! I tried hard to really ho-out my female characters. How'd I do?

Hot Sandwich

2009-04-06T17:58:00.004-04:00

I melted Jarlsberg on both sides of the bread, put ham and salami (heated up) on top of that, then lettuce, mayo, mustard, and red onions. No tomatoes this time because there weren't any available. Looking back, it's the one thing that could have made that sandwich better.

Delicious.

I also drank some seltzer while I ate it. Afterwards I had some cereal. All in all it was a pretty enjoyable experience and I'd do it again if the opportunity presented itself.

The Innards of My Computer

2009-03-31T16:37:00.004-04:00

I decided to open up my computer in order to clean out the dust that had inevitably clogged it up over the course of the last 7 years and what I found was pretty amazing.

A ton of dust, first of all.

I feel like I should have found some rat shit or something.

And then the strangest discovery...

Yeah, a penny. Don't ask me how that got in there. I can understand stuff like that getting into a keyboard or something, but I don't understand how it snuck into my computer.
Best part of all of this is that the computer actually turned on after I put it back together!

Dogmeat!

2009-03-31T14:12:00.006-04:00

I got my very own Fallout 3 dog, Dogmeat!

I found him in a junkyard and after a brief conversation about the mutual loss of our respective parents, we agreed to travel together.

Dogmeat has been a great help to me, growling when there are enemies nearby, and fetching me valuables from their corpses after he chews them to death...

However, I'm kinda scared to have him around because when he dies he can't be brought back. So, I'm constantly saving the game in order to assure that Dogmeat is alive and well at any given moment. It's very stressful.

Also, I've capped out at level 20 again and have to wait until April 15 to download the newest upgrade (Broken Steel) which raises the cap to 30. I believe Bethesda planned this crap because the experience bar shows the option of level 21, it just doesn't move towards it....bastards....

Delicious Sandwich

2009-03-28T14:05:00.003-04:00

It was delicious, I used three meats: ham, turkey and salami. I also put mustard and mayo on it, and also tomatoes and lettuce and red onion.

I had briefly considered putting pickles on it but decided that might compromise the structural integrity of the sandwich and opted to not include them.

I drank water and Orangina while I was eating it, too.

And then it was gone, leaving only these scattered remnants as a crude showcase of its short but amazing life.

It was delicious.

Super Mutant Pile Up!

2009-03-17T12:01:00.003-04:00

I dunno why people in the wasteland are so afraid of them, really. They pile up like stormtroopers coming through a blast door.

If I recall correctly that's a pile of 5, with one in the background, and there's 3-4 more waiting in that compound that were too eager to get blasted by any variety of weapons in my arsenal, ha!

I Ate Breakfast at 4PM

2009-03-12T16:29:00.004-04:00

Here's how it went down.

You know what I'm sayin'? Never too late for breakfast. And yes, I broke the yolks, fuck off, it wasn't on purpose.

More New BMWBeatz!

2009-03-06T14:43:00.004-05:00

That's right, there's a new track up on Myspace right now called "Nereus"! Listen up, you may just enjoy its piano-ridden tones and compressionized rhythms.

http://www.myspace.com/bmwbeatz

Don't forget to gimme some feedback!

Artsy Pictures

2009-02-27T15:43:00.003-05:00

Here's some artsy pics, and one of "Old-man Beatz". Enjoy them, lavish in their beauty.

Lolo likes art...especially when the sun is hitting it.

Old-Man Beatz. That's my curmudgeon face. I think that's the right word...

Crowded artsy picture.

Martini on the wall.

Closer look at Martini on the wall.

And I started Fallout 3 again, still one of the greatest games I've ever played. I'm only a few hours in and I've already done a wide variety of things completely different from the last time I played. I heard rumor that the level cap will be raised to 30 soon, and I have yet to play Operation Anchorage, I'll hit it up after I beat the game a second time around. I can't help but be good though...I always wanna try to be evil and steal and shit, but I just can't do it. Damn this conscience!

Stupid Xbox Live Gamertags

2009-02-26T17:29:00.005-05:00

I've been compiling a list of stupid Xbox Live Gamertags while playing online. So here's the first entry in what will hopefully be another ongoing segment "Xbox Live Idiocy Revealed"

Here are the first 14 names I've come across that are totally dumb (in no particular order). To those with Xbox Live accounts, avoid these people as they are very stupid and do not deserve to interact with other people over any medium.

1. ThickatTheBasE
2. Z5 PuneJuice 5Z
3. ZOMBI the SKLFKR
4. Slap Happy27
5. joe mama pooooo
6. Dr PooBreath - Side note here, "Poo" is a fan-favorite amongst idiots.
7. SpreadThatAss
8. PooBreeze
9. skullfxxker469
10. butthole4bandit
11. Punknsk8rules - this one isn't offensive in the same way as the others, I just hate names like this..."sk8"...somehow that just makes me so angry...
12. Hickevilbstrd
13. cooterfaceman
14. HaLfR3Tard3d

Keep in mind that these are their names for EVERY game they play using their Xbox Live accounts. No dignity...I'm not saying every name has to be a literary reference or some such artsy thing, but seriously, stop putting "poo" and "skullfucker" in there.
...Jesus.

The Chief is Dead, Episode 2 and My Newest Medals

2009-02-24T16:54:00.006-05:00

Here's episode 2 of "The Chief is Dead", starring the Master Chief...only, you know...dead.

Sleep it off. Notice how his left hand could easily have a stiff drink in it.

He must have fallen from pretty high up to go right through the metal flooring.

I don't have a good caption for this one, it's just an awkward position.

Dead Chief does push-ups, cheater-push-ups though.

Dead Chief humps the....wall? Wait a second...

And my medals! These are only achieved in Ranked matches, if I listed social matches I'd have 20 kills in a row! Ah well, here ya go:

Shotgun Spree: Killed 5 opponents in a row with the shotgun.

Skyjacker: Hijacked a flying vehicle from an opponent. This one was particularly satisfying.

Incineration: Killed an opponent with the flamethrower. Also pretty satisfying.

New BMWBeatz Track Available for Listenin' on Myspace!

2009-02-24T16:33:00.004-05:00

Check out my Myspace Page and listen to the brand new hit, "Dead Souls"!

(Gogol fans will be disappointed, it has nothing to do with the book...)

BMWBeatz is back with tasteful and sexy music producing for the next 2 weeks due to certain "trial version" time-restrictions. Me and my brand-new-used Edirol MIDI controller are working diligently together (much to my slow computers dismay) to produce as much as possible while we can still use the deliciousness of Ableton Live 7 for free.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more tracks in that time!
Also, any feedback on the blog or even in person, is appreciated!

Blast From the Perverted and Racist Past

2009-02-24T15:41:00.002-05:00

I had almost forgotten about Custer's Revenge!
Take a look and enjoy one of the finest pieces in gaming history. I personally like the sound effects when you...ahem..."win" each round.

Also, keep in mind how much time whoever this is put into mastering dodging arrows.

Here's the Wiki for those of you that need more after that indescribably fantastic video.

Some Screenshots and Another Achievement

2009-02-22T22:12:00.005-05:00

I got another achievement in Halo 3! While it's kind of a boring one (only worth 5G too), I still felt compelled to post about it. It's called Too Close to the Sun and happened when I blasted this guy in a Banshee with a Spartan Laser.

Continuing on the theme of destroying Banshees, here's some shots of me bashing this guy in his Banshee with my Gravity Hammer.

The approach...

Trying to blast me.

So, we learned that one should not fly near the Chief when he's holding a hammer.

And just for kicks, here's a shot of me and an ally getting deeeestroyed from all sides.

Guess I wandered into a bad neighborhood.

Another Achievement and The Chief is Dead, Episode 1

2009-02-19T18:08:00.008-05:00

I was playing this weekend's "Double EXP Weekend" today on Halo 3, which is "Team Melee", consisting of only melee weapons (Hammers and Swords), when I realized that the Chief dies in some pretty hilarious positions(I also unlocked a new Achievement, "Came...From..Behind").

I decided it was up to me to document some of these in the first of a (maybe) ongoing segment "The Chief is Dead":

Chief is ashamed of being dead and hides his head in his hands.

Chief flies upwards, well beyond the limits of the level Pit Stop.

I used to sleep like this (butt upturned) when I was about 2 years old.

Chief has had too much to drink and needs to "clean house" over the edge of this oil rig.

Homeless chief can fall asleep in pretty much any position.

Conjoined-dead-Chief-myslexia.

More to come!
(hopefully)

New Halo Achievement!

2009-02-17T18:33:00.006-05:00

I sat down with Halo today for the first time in a while and I unlocked a brand new achievement: Steppin' Razor! It was during a match of Swords on Guardian, I got 2 Triple Kills, 2 Sword Sprees, a +6 Kill/Death spread (alright, not amazing) and just generally did a lot of stabbing and slashing of my opponents.

Those 2 in the background were my kills, this guy is number 3. If you look closely you'll notice a grenade that he stuck onto my face...

There's me about to explode...

And...well, that kinda speaks for itself, no?

This was me approaching my final victim.

And victory!

A tale of betrayal and heartbreak indeed. Halo continues to be king, Resistance and Warhawk can suck on Master Chiefs sweaty, robotic (I think?) nuts.

Diablo III

2009-02-11T18:51:00.004-05:00

Who knew that watching play-by-play demos of upcoming titles could be so much fun? I've never felt so nerdy in my life, but somehow watching Blizzard employees play through some features of their new games is just plain entertaining.
Diablo III looks to be faaaantastic. Considering the amount of my life that was consumed by Diablo II, I'm excited to let even more of my precious(?) time go with number 3.

Diablo III Gameplay 1

Diablo III Gameplay 2

Now there's 2 reasons to get a new computer, Diablo III and Starcraft 2. Thanks Blizzard...now all I need is some money.

Dead Space = Totally the Bomb, Also Good Demos and Apologies to The Last Remnant

2009-02-08T16:30:00.005-05:00

The title of this post is essentially most of what I have to say. Dead Space is fantastic, I can't believe it's just been sitting in my collection, untouched, since December. The game plays a lot like Resident Evil 4, placing the camera behind you, but includes a few fun details (aside from the setting and plot etc) that sets it apart from its fellow survival horror title, albeit not the most recent. The powers include telekinesis, allowing your to move around large objects as well as using dead bodies and other miscellaneous items as weapons. Your character, Isaac, also has a "stasis" ability which slows down objects and enemies for a short period of time. Both of these abilities spice up the gameplay so that you're not just constantly walking through dimly lit corridors waiting for monsters to pop out at you...although that does happen, and it's totally awesome. Alongside all your wonderful abilities, your arsenal is filled with delicious energy weapons as well as a remote saw, a flamethrower, and a few that I haven't delved into yet. Each weapon and your suit is upgradeable, so you're constantly growing stronger in order to face new opponents. Dead Space also features areas of zero-gravity where you can jump around in full 360 degrees as well as deep space vacuums which put you on a limited air supply.

The game features awesome lighting effects, freaky-ass monsters, and a pretty hackneyed plot about alien-human hybrids that came from some planet, or were genetically engineered by humans, kinda like Alien Resurrection, a true masterpiece of cinema.

Honestly though, who cares when YOU get to rend them limb from limb?

Alongside Dead Space I recently downloaded the Resident Evil 5 demo AND the Halo Wars demo, both of which are pretttty awesome. However, I think Microsoft should allow for keyboards to be attached to the 360 in order to make Halo Wars better...worlds better.

As for the Last Remnant, I've put it on hold for a while due to an almost complete loss of interest. The plot seemed interesting enough but the choppiness on the battles, even after loading the game onto the hard-drive, is almost too much to take. I'll beat it later, sorry Square-Enix, you had better work out the kinks for Final Fantasy XIII or you're gonna be on the road to losing your fan-base.....

Musings On the Superbowl

2009-02-02T17:19:00.000-05:00

Indeed.

Playmobil Security Checkpoint

2009-02-02T13:30:00.003-05:00

This is pretty hilarious.
Aside from the inital fact that it is a security checkpoint toy that costs a whopping 62 bucks which is in and of itself funny, the customer reviews are friggin' heeelarious. They feature such gems as "Thank you Playmobil for allowing me to teach my 5-year old the importance of recognizing what a failing bureaucracy in a ever growing fascist state looks like." and "I applaud Playmobile for attempting to provide us with the tools we need to teach our children to unquestioningly obey the commands of the State Security Apparatus". The first really long one is probably my fav. I also find it fun that with all the satire going on in the reviews there's still the "Was this review helpful to you? Yes/No" links, ha!

Some New-Old Fuzziness

2009-01-25T20:04:00.006-05:00

Although they've appeared once before, it's been a while since we've seen the DC kittehs Charlie, Eva and Lydia.
I went to DC just to be in town during the inauguration and to see my buddy and I realized that I came back with pictures of cats...and only cats. It was a very patriotic trip.

Lydia lying on top of the radiator, essentially. I was kinda wishing I could have done the same because it was cooooold.

Charlie posing on top of the knick-knack cabinet, much to his owner's dismay.

Charlie lookin' up, showin off his stache.

Charlie's many many toes. He's genetically advanced.

Charlie sleepin' up high on some cabinets. As you may have noticed Charlie is the least camera-shy of the group of kitties.

Lydia, my favorite, sittin' looking plump.

That's my "Eva-scarf" made of one Eva.

Lolo Chased Her Tail!

2009-01-09T18:18:00.003-05:00

Ohhh snap! And I caught it on video!

I know it's a bit hard to see, but I assure you she's chasing her tail, and even catches it at one point.

Cat Pics and One That's Not a Cat

2009-01-08T13:43:00.005-05:00

Felt like we needed some new kitty pics, so here you go. One isn't of a kitty but it was totally worth posting...you'll see...

Peligro!

Is there trouble? Over there?

Monty says no to flash photography.

Caught, paw in mouth: one Monty.

Up-close and personal.

Kitty duplex.

Indecent Lolo.

I found this while looking for jobs, it was an ad or something on the side of the site. Seemed out of place somehow, maybe on an adult-friend-finder site or something but on a site about teaching?

Lolo trying to decide if the box is worthy.

She eventually decided that it wasnt'. Too small perhaps?

A cat who shall remain nameless. Let it be known that he is royalty, though.

First Impressions of The Last Remnant

2009-01-06T19:55:00.012-05:00

I've been playing the Last Remnant and so far it's pretty sweet. I did have to install the game onto my Xbox to get rid of choppiness during the battles, though. But, whatever, that ain't no big deal. The voice acting beats the crap out of Infinite Undiscovery and the battles are more to my liking, there's an example included later in this post. But first, here's a few screenshots to give you an impression of the graphics and characters, etc.

Protagonist standing in one of the earlier game environments.

Bizarrely dressed king David, one of your homies. That's you on the right...or half of you.

Super fruity bad guy who keeps covering his face with a fan.

A bit of in-game commentary from this random girl on the king's clothing.

That looks to be one of the main baddies, giving us all a valuable lesson about women.

I haven't played much so I can't really go too deep into the details of the battle system, but basically you fight in groups of 4-5, giving each group a command like "attack with combat arts" or "keep your hp up" and the group acts accordingly. The battles consist of many encounters between groups of enemies and your "troops" or "divisions", this allows for different modes of attacking like flank attacks, or interference, where your men get in the way of an oncoming enemy group. You'll notice in the video when 2 groups approach each other it says "Deadlock", meaning that these 2 groups will fight until one has been terminated, or until one breaks the deadlock which has adverse effects on their damage, stats, etc. I don't know if any of that made any sense...I'm not even sure it makes sense when you're playing it, but it's turn-based and fun. Here's a video of a rather long battle, I think it's around 3 minutes. It showcases the basics of the battle system. See if you can keep up with the chaos...

No, there isn't supposed to be sound, can't figure that out on my digital camera, and yes, I did videotape myself playing video games.

More on this later.

Radiskull and Devil Doll

2009-01-02T15:21:00.002-05:00

I was looking through some old pictures on my computer in order to delete the loads and loads of crap that I've inevitably amassed by having the same computer for 7 years and I came across a picture of Radiskull and Devil Doll! I totally forgot about them. Oh, you don't know about them? Or you do and you want to re-live the amazing experience it was to watch Radiskull #1? Well, you're in luck...

Radiskull and Devil Doll!

Alright, Infinite Undiscovery Gets Like a B or Something

2008-12-30T16:57:00.005-05:00

So by the end the game picked up some steam, the last 10 hours were pretty tight. Just cooler environments, your protagonist finally grew a pair, and there was plenty of innuendo-induced dialogue to keep me happy. Here are some pictures so that we can share the experience together.

Aya, in-game companion looking towards the protagonist in a very starry-eyed manner.

Here's the final boss.

Here he is exploding!

I ate this before the last boss: turkey, lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard and a balsamic vinegrette that I concocted.

Lunar palace, one of the cooler environments.

Same as above, different view.

Last Remnant is next...maybe after I finish GTA though.

Infinite Undiscovery is Fun, Not Amazing

2008-12-28T19:43:00.011-05:00

That on the left is a picture of the chains that bind the moon to the earth that you are supposed to destroy in Infinite Undiscovery. I do not know why you have to destroy them except that they make bad things happen. I also don't really know who put them there or why, and I've played the game for 15 hours. With that said, my main problems with Infinite Undiscovery lie in relatively dull storyline, the lack of a comprehensive enemy that I could find except a very vague evil "Order" of some sort, and some personal issues I have with real-time-combat based RPGs. Also, the voice-acting is so comically bad it actually makes it enjoyable in a strange way. But hell, as I mentioned above, I've played 15 hours in 2 days so it can't be that bad...or I'm just really bored.

The sissy up front with the armor is your dude. Yes, the armor is cool, but it takes 10 hours of running around in another different and ridiculous outfit to get it. Also, notice the little kids because I find them disturbing to look at for some reason.

Seriously though, what's up with Square Enix and completely weak, pussytastic main characters? It pisses me off to watch the guy I just used to totally whup a whole bunch of demons and crap with a huge sword pussyfoot around making any decisions while complaining about how it's too much responsibility. Anyway, the combat is better than FF XII where you could just program in your actions and let your party fend for itself, I didn't touch the controller for the entire boss battle on that one. Which is boring.

That's what the fighting is like, target your guy and then you hit buttons for combos of different attacks or special attacks. You can also link your guy with another character and employ their help which is kinda cool. However, it comes out looking a lot more chaotic than that during most of your gameplay.

However, all those things aside, it actually comes out to a relatively enjoyable game in that the dialogue has funny little sexual asides and stupid jokes, the battles are mostly pretty fun and you can do some cool stuff like make your own items and armor. So I'd give it a C+ or something because it's fun while not being an amazing game overall.

Thanks for pictures IGN...don't sue.

Merry Christmas from BMWBeatz!

2008-12-25T13:17:00.004-05:00

Hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas! My library of gameness just got sufficiently boosted, so I should have a few to report on soon enough.
Here's some pics that you can look at while sipping eggnog and roasting chestnuts and all that jazz.

Presents! They're all open now....

Our Christmas tree in all it's lit-up glory.

Lolo inspects some turkey.

Sandwich! Pastrami(as promised), turkey, grape tomatoes, lettuce, mustard, melted swiss and mom's delish dressing.

Another sandwich! Same as above minus the dressing.

Lolo's own personal jungle aka my mom's plant. The benefit of this jungle is that it is entirely edible.

Merry Christmas!

More Delicious Sandwiches and Some Cat Stuff

2008-12-16T13:08:00.004-05:00

Here's some more pictures of sandwiches and a couple of Lolo thrown into the mix. Unfortunately, the sandwiches are essentially the same as the last bunch I posted but hey, who knows, maybe there will be some pastrami next time around.

Ham, salami, lettuce, tomato, red onion, mustard and melted Jarlsberg cheese.

Same as above, not yet cut in half.

Different sandwich, mostly same ingredients, minus the red onion. It was still mighty tasty.

Lolo disapproves of the camera-flash.

Open faced sandwiches with dried Italian salami, melted Jarlsberg and tomato.

That's Lolo's turf. She lies down on it to make sure that no one else can claim it as their turf.

Also, I beat Lost Odyssey which was all-in-all an awesome game. It was what Final Fantasy XII should have been, a long, expansive and TURN-BASED RPG. Motherfuckers at Square need to eat crap with their stupid real-time/turn-based crap. Bah. I beat Gears of War 2 as well and that game was mighty awesome as well as mighty depressing. Online play for it has been prettty fun so far. I'm in the process of whuppin' GTA IV which is a tight piece of gaming.
Word.

Some Delicious Sandwiches

2008-11-30T12:44:00.005-05:00

I made some delicious sandwiches recently. Also, Lolo ate Thanksgiving tuna. Here, take a look.

They aren't necessarily my best sandwiches by any means, but they were pretty tasty.

Ham, Salami, melted Jarlsberg cheese, lettuce, tomato and mustard.

Breakfast sammy: Ham, egg, melted cheddar cheese and tomato.

Same as above, not yet cut.

Almost the same as the first sammich: Ham, melted Jarlsberg, lettuce, tomato and mustard, but with delicious fresh pickles on the side.

Yeah, I eat sandwiches in my bed.

Lolo enjoys her Thanksgiving Tuna.

There will be more sandwiches in my future, I'm sure of it.

Tank-Related Halo Shots

2008-11-29T15:51:00.005-05:00

So I was on Halo today and this happened...prepare for excitement.

Had me a killin' spree, highlighted in this Double Kill executed by myself with the assistance of my friend with Scorpion (pictured below):

Two of 'em in that Warthog.

Another angle...

Double Kill!

Eventually they bogged me down, but it took 5 of 'em.

The end of my affair.

Next up was a pretty sweet Double Kill that I performed on a couple gents going for a spin in a Wraith:

They took a wrong turn somewhere...

Chief beats his way into that Wraith to achieve a Double Kill with 2 Beatdowns, sweeeeet.

The aftermath.

Ah, Halo is still just as fun as ever.

True Comedy

2008-11-29T10:20:00.003-05:00

Here it is, the most comprehensive definition of the word "funny":

Fat? You have parasites!

This was an ad on my gmail...must be legit. Parasites make you fat, let it be known.

Fallout 3 Level Cap = Stupid

2008-11-28T18:22:00.005-05:00

So, I was playing Fallout earlier and I reached level 20, assigned my various skill points, chose a perk, etc. I then proceeded to pick a lock in the dungeon I was in, and it gave me no experience points when it usually would have. To make sure something wasn't goin' wrong I got in a firefight and mowed down a few Super Mutants only to see that they didn't give me XP either. So, I'm all like what the fuck man, can level 20 really be the highest? Turns out it is, and that's totally weak man. While the game continues to be fun, it definitely loses a certain appeal. Whenever I'm in a fight now I'm thinking, hm, this is just a waste of ammo and I have more of an urge to run away than continue. So, in the words of the late Pierre Bourdieu, the level cap should be way more than 20 because that shit is weak man.

World of Miss Dynamite

2008-11-24T14:43:00.004-05:00

So, a buddy of mine put together this video by having way too much free time and a World of Warcraft account. While I've made a solemn vow to myself to never own the game, as I feel it would be detrimental to my general well-being, the video is pretty funny stuff. So, here it is in all of its uber-nerdy glory:

World of Miss Dynamite

The Trifecta

2008-11-24T10:10:00.005-05:00

Here, check out all the delicious (yeah, it's a noun too) that I got! I have basically everything I need to be a total recluse and I am very much ready to be just that. Take a look at this picture and you will witness the trifecta of greatness and various other strong adjectives that I don't have time to be writing down.

Gears of War 2, Fallout 3, Dead Space. Mmm....

Booya. All I need is right there. Friends are overrated.

Fallout 3 is Totally the Bomb...Diggity

2008-11-24T09:46:00.002-05:00

Fallout 3 is truly as awesome as I had hoped it would be. First off, I have to ask if there has ever been a game where the player begins looking up at his father and various medical personnel after having been birthed?

Blastin' an enemy to pieces. I'd tell you what kinda enemy that is, er, was...but, well...you can see why I can't.

The game features an amazing post-apocalyptic Washington DC (referred to as the Capital Wasteland) that is truly giant and filled with such a variety of quests and interesting tasks to complete that the game seems to have no real end in sight upon first glance...and perhaps even second, third, forth......
My first endeavors took me around 30 hours and after completing them I realized I had barely even touched the main storyline. Another thing is, each one was truly engrossing, even if it meant wandering across the wasteland for 5 minutes to reach each destination.

Typical wasteland sight, you could probably rent out that train-car for 600 a month in the city.

The combat system is an excellent mix of good old-fashioned FPS style combat with an interesting system in which the player can select different parts of the enemy to attack while time is essentially frozen. The system is called VATS and allows for the player to cripple the different parts of their enemy (head, arms, legs, etc.). Basically, time freezes, you zoom in on the enemy and it displays the percentage of hitting each particular body part. You then choose which sections you wish to attack and depending on how many Action Points you have, you proceed to attack however many times. Make sense? It's totally sweet, allowing for the player to utilize their FPS aiming skills like in any other comparable title while storing up Action Points for those all too important death-dealin' blows. The look and feel of the VATS system is similar to Fallout 2, making it nostalgic for those players who fell in love with that game years ago. Oh yeah, also, when you kill an enemy in VATS mode it has a totally sweet slow-mo sequence of you blasting them into little tiny pieces (pictured above). It truly never gets old. The game has all sorts of depth beyond the combat, featuring lock-picking, computer hacking, a vast array of speech decisions that affect the outcome of your various quests and just general interactions with people and a grandiose amount of items to play around with including foods, drinks, drugs, weapons, armor and the occasional fun extra like a bobblehead doll that enhances your abilities.
My description barely scratches the surface of what the game has to offer, so if you have a PC, an Xbox or a PS3 (even though the Xbox and PC versions are designed better, ha!), I highly recommend grabbin' yourself a copy. Assuming, that is, you have nothing to do for the next month or so.

VATS system in action on a particularly large enemy. This guy was a cupcake in the game actually. Hear that Super Mutant Behemoth? You taste delicious with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles.

Anyway, I could go on and on about how incredible the game is and how everyone should get it and play it and make sweet love to it down by the fire, but I think I'd rather just keep playing it.
I'm sure you know how to surf the interwebs anyway, go find out your own info.

Also, your dad in the game is totally Liam Neeson, ha!

Mo' Kitteh Love

2008-11-14T14:54:00.006-05:00

Here's some mo' kittehs for ya to look at.

2 random kitties out back lookin' very eeeeevil. Nice tail, ha!

Nimbus has a length of string. His kill...you can see it in his eyes.

I sleeps on the shoes.

Something appetizing around?

That's my Nimbus neclace. It was pretty comfortable for a while.

Fritz, lookin' at me with his usual wide-eyed stare.

Nimbus bein' cute.

Indeed.

Highlight of the Week MIA Until Further Notice

2008-10-31T20:24:00.002-04:00

Sorry. None for you.

My only explanation (and I know you need one because you're all sad n stuff) is that I haven't been playin' Halo and therefore have no screenshots to post. This makes my highlights kinda dull.

Maybe I'll figure out something soon.

Stupid COD4 People and Their Dumb Mouths

2008-10-31T18:50:00.010-04:00

So, I've been hearing so much meaningless nonsense from other players over the speakers while playing COD4 recently that I've decided to share some of it with you. Firstoff, we've got the fact that I played a number of games with a person whose Xbox Live account name was... (this is for EVERY GAME btw)...drumroll please... "doodoojelly". That's right, doodoojelly. I had to stop playing when I kept seeing "you were killed by doodoojelly" pop up on my screen. An honorable mention that I should give is the discussion I overheard about how you can be Jewish as an ethnicity, but not be Jewish in general, or some such nonsense. It occurred between a few fervent 10 year old idiots. And lastly, I had to hear some jackass go on and on about his "ACOGs", which is a type of scope that you can attach to your various weapons. I quote, "I'm gonna take out all my ACOGs". Now, that quote doesn't sound that bad, but just imagine the little bastard listing all of them after that, "my AK ACOG, my M4 ACOG," etc...whatever, I guess that one's boring but it was seriously annoying, for serial.

Seriously though, doodoojelly? Come on.

Pretty Hilarious

2008-10-31T18:48:00.004-04:00

Keetens sent this over to me via email, it's pretty amazing. Let me preface that statement by saying that you're gonna want some sorta interest in gaming to read the article.

Man Goes On Drunken Rampage....In Oblivion...

See kids? Drinking is bad.

...I disagree with that statement fully.

Highlight of the Week (10/13 - 10/20)

2008-10-22T01:08:00.002-04:00

I'm gonna have to say that my highlight of the week can be seen in recent posts and therefore I'm not gonna really have an additional post about it. Suffice it to say, I beat Super Mario Bros., the Lost Levels for the first time ever and Donkey Kong Country 2 again (in under 2 hours).

Here's a link...or you can scroll down.

That's super-highlight-status.

Miscellaneous Cat Post

2008-10-21T22:10:00.005-04:00

Here's some kitteh pics. Also, a special message/challenge at the end.

Lolo is tired.

Nimbus is tired.

Nimbus is alert, also in ownership of string.

Nimbus-butt.

Listening...?

Best paw forward.

Also, I beat Donkey Kong Country 2 in under 2 hours. It was about an hour and 50-55 minutes. Top that. I only died 4 times too.

Mario World Related Post That's Pretty Boring

2008-10-21T22:09:00.003-04:00

So, due to a serious lack of more Mario to play (Mario 2 excluded, it's different, gotta get my mojo on for that first...also Mario Kart don't count) I picked up my only other Mario cartridge, Super Mario World. However, as I was about to start a new game I looked and saw this!

No, not just the title screen (you can tell I took that pic because it's ballz), the second game file says...

That's right, 96 STAR! That means that I've beaten the crap outta Mario World already!

See? Totally beat it before. Normally I'd play again, but I remember last time I got the STAR after the 96 levels completed and so like, for realz, I shouldn't be playin' that for a while.

Best post ever.

Creepy Cat Photo and Some Regular Ones Too

2008-10-20T05:19:00.003-04:00

Here's a kinda creepy shot of Nimbus (younger kitteh) where somehow the camera didn't capture some of his face...very strange.

See? Weird no-face kitty picture.

And here's just some regular old kitteh photos.

Pear shaped.

Me n my buddy.

Lolo is not amused.

Looks like he's about to wink.

Totally Sweet

2008-10-20T00:30:00.006-04:00

Check it out, totally sweet deal: Bioshock 2 and Trailer! Did you click it? Ha! I thought that was funny. Here's the real Trailer. Just a little tease really, but I'm already sold. That artwork pic on the left is pretty tight as well. The game is supposed to be released in September of 2009, so you should just forget about it for a while or it will torture you and ruin your day and stuff like that.

Also, check this out for kicks if you're bored.

All Marios Accounted For...With the Exception of 2...But I'll do that Later

2008-10-18T16:55:00.012-04:00

At long last! I finally beat Mario, the Lost Levels, and then ran wildly to the other end of the house to get my camera, and then took these pictures! Also, it means I'm really cool.

This is the first jump in the last castle...you cannot make it from the top, it's impossible. Gotta drop down, then jump across, then dodge 2 swirling fire-bat things...see, that's mad hard. I'm telling you. And that's the first thing you do! The rest is like crazy hard, for serial.

A more difficult quest? What a bunch of jerks.

Victory, at last! That's the face of true happiness. I can sense a slight tinge of sadness and self-loathing too!

Also, the totally lame poll I put up showed that 75% of people thought I'd do it by tomorrow at 3PM. And just one thought that no one would really respond to the poll (seriously, it was about me completing an old video game, I'm surprised I even voted in it). Also, the one person that had that vote was me, and I think I was right.

Oh, and Max Payne was kinda weak as a movie.

World at War Looks Pretty Sweet

2008-10-17T16:12:00.007-04:00

Ah, the fall season is always so generous with good games. I looked a bit at Call of Duty: World at War, and it looks tight, here's a little gameplay for ya. While the video is blurry and doesn't exactly showcase the graphics to their fullest, I'm sure they're great, just take a look at that screenshot. Watch closely, at about a minute and thirty seconds into the video you get a look at a nice lookin' double barrelled rifle situation. That won me over, personally. Also, at about three minutes in you can see the graphics a bit better. You can also just take a gander at these screenshots, you can see some pretty sweet lighting effects and some very pretty scenery, if you think of "pretty" in a...violent sense. game is also going to feature vehicles in multiplayer and co-op gameplay modes, two things which I have found lacking in Call of Duty 4. Any reason I can't play split-screen with my friends online? Didn't think so. Here's the Wiki on it if you want additional info.

Anyway, it's goin' on my ever expanding list of stuff that I want.

Weak Yet Informative Screenshots

2008-10-17T04:58:00.006-04:00

Here's some screenshots from the Lost Levels, they're taken with a regular digital camera so they're blurry as crap, but they kinda show how hard the game is.

Right after a huge jump, piranha plant, 2 cannons and that pipe blockin' the way, Mario is blurry because he's getting smallified.

My cuz got the game to bug out and you can kinda see him floating through that pipe up there.

Those little things flying around are leaves, representing the wind. Yes, there is wind and it makes your life difficult.

This is just a good example a typical jump in this game. Spring onto the top of that single block tower, then jump over the water because apparently Mario can only swim some of the time. This was merely the middle of the stage, there were plenty more challenges beyond this. If you look closely above the water you can make out the blurry image of Mario falling towards the water...and his death.

Pretty blurry shots, right? That's how I roll.

I'm so Very Lonely

2008-10-17T04:44:00.005-04:00

No one has visited me for 10 days! And when I say "visited me" I am referring to people visiting my blog, not me in real life. I've had visitors in real life, it's cool, no worries. Anyway, that makes me a saaaad panda...you should come by and visit me, what's been the problem? I've been posting a lot, c'mon, for serial you could totally just log on to make me feel as if someone is reading it. Sure, you may not be interested in Mario or Halo or any of it, but you can at least log on to see if there are any good cat pictures up, you know? I'll totally post more cat related pics and videos now that I can use my camera. Have I gained weight or something, what's the problem? I feel so distant and isolated.

Also, I dislike that picture. It sucks.

Lolo or Nimbus?

2008-10-17T04:20:00.008-04:00

It's like a super fun guessing game, which one's which?? Upon second glance, it seems like a pretty easy guessing game...

Why you wake me?

Can't tell what he's thinking...

Whiskaz.

Still asleep?

...still asleep as well?

This is my good side.

Likes to dance...?

Not happy to be awake right now, you will work for forgiveness.

This may help your standing.

Answer Key:
1. Lolo
2. Nimbus
3. Nimbus
4. Lolo
5. Nimbus
6. Nimbus
7. Nimbus
8. Lolo
9. Lolo

Pretty challenging, eh?