Come with me if you want to live.... through this complete fucking atrocity!

So Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles started off on a bumpy road.

Even so, it still kind of made more sense that Terminator 3, so I resolved to stick with it, at least for the first series, to see where it would lead.

Fortunately it did pick up and the plot got better. You still had to blur a few facts from T1 and T2 but it was the decent logical progression that T3 wasn't so it had something going for it.

Then the writers strike hit. As with many other shows, the Chronicles ended in the middle of the series leaving a little doubt as to whether or not we'd see any more of it, but it was signed for a second season and so we'd get to see just how things were going to develop.

The second series started just recently....

Now I know they want to fuck it into the ground until there's nothing left, then fuck the ground it was destroyed on for good measure.

Shirley Manson as a T1000?



Come on. That look on her face is from the wooden stick up her ass.

I don't have a problem with her music but God damn she can't act for shit. Hell, she's so bad, I'm Scottish and I'm not even going to stand up for her.

So you've got Scottish T1000, running some company no less, Cameron turning bad then good again all in one episode and also telling John she loves him?

What in the fuck?

First episode of the second series and they've completely destroyed it already. These people don't fuck around.

Tags

Yes, I know I haven't filled in tags for the last few posts. I forgot.

I'll get to them whenever....

Complete Set

When I started this blog I said you should expect to find stuff about tech, games, movies, tv shows and music.

Let's go through that list a second....

Tech: check

Games: check

Movies: check

TV shows: check

Music: ....

Ok, no music so far so let's get something down shall we?

For the past while I've mostly been listening to older stuff. When I say older stuff I mean albums like Pearl Jam's Ten, The Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Siamese Dream, Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf and Green Day's Kerplunk, Dookie and Insomniac.

I find it odd that a lot of these older albums still sound fresh when a lot of newer bands these days sound stale and overdone. If not that you've got the emo brigade just annoying everyone.

While there are the odd exceptions where a newer band will do something different and exciting (Bloc Party's first two albums were outstanding as well as Fightstar's) I tend to find myself coming back to the same few bands/artists - Tool, the Deftones, the Cure and Nine Inch Nails to mention a few others - time and again.

That'll do for the moment I guess.

Prison Broken

So I meant to mention Prison Break is back.

So I've got a kind of love:hate thing going with Prison Break. It started out great then started dragging things out a little and then started pushing the believability when the characters got thrown back in prison to escape again, but it managed to turn it around and get things going again.

Now at the start of season 4, we have Sarah returning - if you'll remember, she was killed during season 3, oh no, wait, they've decided that was just some other head in a box -, Sucre, Bellick and "T-Bag" have managed to conveniently remove themselves from a lawless prison in Panama and the company is still after everyone.

Then there's the Motorola Sidekick that can magically wirelessly copy data from any kind of drive? Just don't...

So, looks like things are going to start swinging back towards hate at the start of the this season; let's see if they manage to pull it back.

Mass Effect: Ascension

I've started reading the new Mass Effect book.

I'm a big fan of Mass Effect and I enjoyed the first book, a prequel to the game called Mass Effect: Revelation, also written by Drew Karpyshyn who is also the lead writer of the game franchise which inspired the books, who wrote on other Bioware projects - such as the Baldur's Gate series and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic - and a couple of Star Wars titles focusing on Darth Bane which are also well worth reading, so I figured I'll probably enjoy this one too.

I'm only seven chapters in but so far it's good. It's set shortly after the first game in the series and also includes some characters from the first book and centres around the subversive, anti-alien black-ops group Cerberus.

As I'm not yet finished the story, I'm wondering if this will be a kind of prelude to the events of the yet to be released second game in the series as Revelation was to the first, but I guess I'll just have to keep reading to find out.

I'm no literary critic but Karpyshyn seems to me a worthy author if his previous works are anything to go by but I noticed something in this book that struck me as fairly odd. He seems to like adding a lot of inconsequential detail, to the point of whilst writing about the sound being made by a characters shoes as she walks down a corridor, detailing the exact type and shape of said shoes.

Now either he does this by accident because he's used to describing characters to artists for the games, or he's unleashing his fetsih for womens shoes in the only way he knows how...

Aaaaannnd, we're back....

So it's been a while since I last posted.

A lot of things have happened and have been happening since then so I hadn't really got around to sticking up something new.

I got my 360 back on the last day of my two weeks holiday (it spent more time travelling that it did actually getting fixed and tested).

Since then I haven't finished Alone in the Dark, nor have I finished Crisis Core or played much of FFXI. But a lot of other stuff's been happening.

Anyway let's get something new up.

The reason I haven't finished Alone in the Dark yet is because I was a little stuck on a section before my 360 broke, with little in the way of flammable materials or bullets and every time I thought of putting the disk back in the drive and slogging my way through it I just couldn't be bothered with the hassle. I know where I can get more ammo and sprays and what not near by the point I'm stuck at, the problem is just getting to it and actually equipping it before I get ten kinds of shit beaten out of me by the myriad of possessed assholes that appear with every step you take closer to the goods.

Since then Eden Games have announced that they're fixing the controls for the PS3 version, which still isn't out yet, as well as putting in things like the ability to run without holding down a button and pausing the game when you open your inventory and that they'll be patching this stuff into the 360 version as well. So it looks like I'll be waiting for that to happen before I get back to it. I really want to see it through to the end, it is a pretty decent story.

I haven't finished Crisis Core because I couldn't be bothered charging my PSP. I think that covers that.

Other than that I've pretty much just been reading a whole lot and catching up with movies that I'd been wanting to watch as well as playing some xbla games.

I got Braid and Geometry Wars 2, which are both awesome and well worth checking out, and more recently Castle Crashers which is also excellent. I checked out the Force Unleashed demo as well and it looks like it'll be a fun game.

I also checked out the Lost Boys sequel Lost Boys: The Tribe.

Lost Boys is one of those awesome 80's movies that everyone should love. It could've been made in no other decade. It's a childhood favourite (I know, I know, it's rated 15 or 18 here in the UK depending on which version you get so it may seem odd to call it a "childhood favourite") so I was kind of apprehensive to find out they were making a sequel and especially a more modern one. Then I checked out the trailer....

Go, check it out for yourself. On you go, I'll wait here till you get back....


...done? Bad right?

I lost all hope for it after seeing that, but it's one of those trainwreck moments; you're completely fucking horrified but you have to watch all the same out of some morbid fascination to see what goes down.

So watch I did.... and I have to say I actually enjoyed it.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a totally amazing movie or anything but it was actually quite well put together. It never seemed to take itself too seriously, tongue firmly in cheek and just having fun.

It's definitely worth a watch.

Anyway, I think that's enough for this post. Check back another time to see how long it takes me to put up my next post.

Motherf......

So my 360 had started locking up on me at random times. After watching a dvd the other night, this happened....


This is the second time that my 360 has red ringed. I do have to say though, I've not been as unlucky as other people. I got my 360 at launch and it lasted for almost two years before it red ringed and that was about a year ago.

I know a lot of people seemed to have problems with the return and repair as well, but last time I got mine back within a week and hopefully it'll be similar this time.

I'm kinda bummed about not having my 360 though, especially since I stop work today for holiday for the next two weeks. But I'll catch up with stuff I wanted to get playing on the Wii I suppose and there's still Crisis Core on the PSP and a ton of books I need to read.

I'll maybe even post my thoughts on Alone in the Dark while I'm waiting as well. I really do need to start updating this thing more often....

Alone in the Auto Crisis...

I got me a copy of the new Alone in the Dark....

Which I've not started on yet because I'm still trying to finish GTA IV (my gaming schedule is not really what it should be right now) and I've started playing Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII on the PSP. And I reinstalled Diablo as well.

I'll hopefully manage to get back on top of things and get onto AitD soon and leave my thoughts on it, as well as the awesomeness that is Crisis Core.

Diablo III

So, Diablo III has just been announced.

Awesome!

I love the Diablo games. I lost entire days to those games in both the single-player and on battle.net (and that was back in the days of 56K dial-up connections with 2 hour cut-offs - when atm0 becomes an invaluable command to silence the screeching beast, lest you wake everyone else up at 3.00 in the morning with a reconnect).

The best action-rpg is coming back and it looks every bit as awesome as it always has.

This is one to watch.

Metal Gear Stolid?

So Metal Gear Solid 4 is out.

I don't own a PS3 - and probably never will, the PC, 360 and Wii have pretty much everything I want to play, that is unless the Ico/SotC guys make a game for the PS3 - but with all the hype around MGS4 I feel myself on occasion getting caught up and thinking about grabbing the console and the game.

This will never happen, however, as I know fine well I won't enjoy the MGS experience. I've tried some of the previous games and could never acclimatise myself with them. They always just felt awkward, unforgiving and almost uncontrollable.

From what I've played I wasn't really getting into the story behind Metal Gear and Solid Snake either, but whenever I read about this stuff online it seems so compelling; I'm guessing these are romanticised accounts from veteran Solid fans.

I don't think I can ever really say I hate the game or possibly even dislike it, I don't think I've ever given it that much of a chance, so I think I'll have to stick with indifferent.

This is one game I'll be passing on.

Vario IV

I think I may have found my new mobile...

My current phone is the T-Mobile MDA Vario II, based on HTC's TyTN hardware.

When HTC announced the TyTN II I was looking forward to owning it in the guise of T-Mobile's MDA Vario III. That was until the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 made it's appearance.

Until the X1, I'd never really liked Sony Ericsson phones. I mean, I could appreciate what the hardware could do, but the style and the OS never really held my attention or imagination. But the X1? Designed by HTC, sporting - at least partly - Windows Mobile 6? It looked mean. It looked awesome. My only reservation was down to whether it would have lights to show connection status, charging status or message status. I know, it's odd, but it's so much easier to just glance at your phone and be able to tell these things from a couple of leds than it is to have to turn the screen on to check.

Anyway, since I still had a short while before I could upgrade, I decided to wait and have a look at both the Vario III and X1 and decide which one I like best.

Until today that is. Feeling a bit bored in work I fired up my browser and decided to see what was new on gsmarena. Lo and behold, I noticed the MDA Vario IV and Compact IV first look.

I'd already heard bits and pieces about the HTC Diamond (the Compact IV) and had heard the name Raphael along with it but this is the first time I've saw the hardware (also starting to be known, it seems, as the TyTN III) and I knew instantly that that is the new phone I must have.

I won't go into the details of the models here, head over to the first look if you want more info, but I think these are definitely something to look out for.

Oh God, what have I done...

So I've started playing Final Fantasy XI again.

I remember all the reasons I stopped playing but for some reason I really had an urge to jump in again.

I originally picked up the game on the PC because of a friend recommending it. I had already played other MMOs so I wasn't hitting unknown territory but I really didn't realise just what I was getting myself into.

For an established MMO that's been out for a while you know that the initial install can take a little time, there are always updates and fixes being applied, but 6 hours was a little bit over the odds. The actual install off of the game CDs took around an hour with the other 5 hours dedicated to downloading and installing the updates, and my internet connection at the time wasn't exactly slow.

This time I picked up the 2008 Edition of the game on 360 and, with a 20Mb connection, I set about installing and updating. With a much improved 3 hours setup, I was ready to begin playing.

With the PC version of the game, I always felt at odds with the control scheme. The game was originally made for the PlayStation 2 and as such was set up to be played with the PS2 controller. When the game was ported to the PC the pad style controls were essentially just mapped to the numeric keypad and cursor keys with little having been done to support a mouse and keyboard type setup. It always felt very awkward to me, so I was really interested in and looking forward to seeing how well it would actually play with a console controller. The good news is it's very intuitive and you can get down to business fairly quickly. The bad news is you really miss the keyboard when trying to type messages. Fortunately this was fixed by the purchase of a wireless keyboard and probably makes for the best style of play. With the 360 controller also working with Windows these days you could probably just do the same thing in reverse if you want to give it a try.

So far so good. On to Vana'diel...

The real test for me will be around the level 15 - 20 mark where, if you want to progress with any kind of speed, you really have to start grouping up with other people. The problem I have with this is that most people around the Dunes area are idiots. Plain and simple. I lost count of how many bad groups I got into and remember only two good ones. The issue I have is that when people start getting into groups, they start gunning for the hardest enemies they can find and this would only ever end in one of two ways; you win the fight, but take a lot of damage and need to rest/heal for ages before you can fight again, or you get tanked and killed.

The real problem with that is that you lose XP when you die. The problem with that is that you down-level when you lose enough XP. Down-levelling ain't fun...

In my opinion the secret at this stage is to pull smaller enemies that aren't quite as tough and go through as many as you can before you have to stop and heal up. Sure you get less XP per kill, but in the long run you can get more XP from a lot of smaller mobs than you can in the same time it takes for one big mob and it really keeps things flowing instead of stopping and starting all the time. People don't often listen though...

My friend (who still plays) assures me that it gets better after that because all the idiots get stuck at that point. Gee, what a surprise...

I'm currently a level 6 warrior killing bugs and rabbits in West Ronfaure in San'doria on the Hades server. More to come as things develop....

Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness...

Ok, so I promised my thoughts on RSPoD and here they are....

Between the two versions - PC & 360 - I have to say I prefer the 360 version.

They both have their good points (the bad points are pretty much the same for both and I've been playing more on the 360 so I'll talk about those in a minute); I prefer the using the controller for over the keyboard and mouse system for the PC version but it can be easier to select items in the environment with by using the mouse, especially when the items are close together and you're left trying to position yourself properly with the left thumbstick on the 360 controller.

Now, the bad points.

I personally think it would've been nice to be able to use the right thumbstick on the 360 controller to look around, even if just slightly. It feels odd these days to be in a 3D environment and to have an almost 2D camera. At the least I would've liked to have been able to use the right thumbstick to select between objects that are close together.

The only other bad point is the combat. The combat itself is fine, and fun for that matter, but the emphasis on blocking and countering your opponents attacks can be a real distraction. Don't get me wrong, it certainly engages you and keeps you on your toes, but the signal that you're about to be hit (the enemy's health bar will flash when the attack is about to connect) can be a little hard to read, resulting in a lot of partial blocks.

I've found the best way around this is just to wait for your special attack to charge up and concentrate on blocking/countering and damage control until then.

And that's it for bad points. The game is great in every other way. The story's good and the comedy is both high and low-brow and genuinely funny.

This first episode it setting us up for a great series I think.

Very Slick...

So after a short while with PA Adventures (Episode One) on the 360, I have to say that so far I'm impressed.

There are a couple of little problems/niggles I've got with it, but I feel they have more to do with the small size of the app itself (208MB on the PC and 160MB on the 360) and what they've done with that limit is pretty outstanding.

As I said before, I'm a fan of PA so the humour is connecting - which it may not for non-fans - and you might want to take what I say about it with a pinch of salt, but I'll do my best to talk about it from non-biased standpoint.

More on this when I've had a chance to play through more and check out the PC version...

Slick

This is one game I've been eager to get my hands on since it was announced...

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness : Episode One

I'm a huge Penny Arcade fan so I'm probably a little biased, but I'm sure this'll be one hell of a series.

If you're interested you can grab the game on PC from the Greenhouse or on xbla for the 360.

I'll probably grab both, to compare interfaces and ease of play...

Welcome to Liberty City

So I've been playing GTA IV, a little behind most other people but I didn't preorder or try and get it on the day of launch so I had to wait till it was back in stock.

I don't want to say too much about it right now since I'm nowhere near finished - at about 25 hours in I'm only about 20% through the game - but from what I have saw, it deserves a lot of the praise it's getting. I'm not really one for following review scores so I won't comment on the "perfect 10s" it's been getting but it is a great game and I'd recommend it to anyone.

I'll maybe talk some more about it when I'm nearer the end, or finished it, but then I might not. Other people may have already said enough about it already by that point...