Monthly Archives: February 2011

Jon Heder Returns as Napoleon Dynamite…As a Cartoon

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Posted by Rob on February 14, 2011 – 11:39 pm
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Shell and I were hanging out tonight, and as we were talking we brought up Jon Heder. I didn’t know what he has been up to, so I ventured over to IMDB to see what he had in the works. As I looked at the entries in his filmography I almost froze…it was listed that he would be starring in a Napoleon Dynamite TV series in 2011. As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of the movie, having paid to see it in the theaters three times! I immediately began to wonder how the cast would be in this TV series, and I craved more information. I eventually found some more news about it, mainly that FOX was picking it up for a six-episode season and it would be animated.

I am wary of this being an animated show, but I am somewhat relieved to see that the movie’s cast are reprising their roles for the show, so I’m hoping it won’t be awful. The show has a lot of potential, as the cast of characters are great (I almost pissed my pants when I saw that above pic containing Rex.) The funny thing is that Shell and I have always talked about how it’s probably a good thing that they never made a second movie, since the first was so different and original that it would be tough to live up to it. Now that there is going to be an animated series, with the original cast, my hopes are high for something decent. Read More »

Seventh Platinum Trophy: WWE Legends of WrestleMania

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Posted by Rob on February 14, 2011 – 1:27 pm
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This was definitely the shortest Platinum trophy I have gotten. I had rented the game when it first came out, before I was as addicted to trophies as I am now. After playing it for awhile, I decided that I had had enough of it and sent it back, with only six trophies missing. Last week I had some downtime in my Gamefly queue, and I was itching to get some simple WWE action going to get me pumped up for Allstars, so I re-rented Legends of WrestleMania to get the Platinum. I received the game Thursday from Gamefly, and about six hours later I had all the trophies I was missing and a sweet new Platinum. One thing I have to say is that while some of my Platinums were either a lot of work (Sacred 2) or tedious (Lego Harry Potter), I really enjoyed spending time with Legends of WrestleMania to get the Plats.

As for my next Platinum, I am still only one gold trophy away from completing Smackdown vs. Raw 2011, so I think it’s a safe bet that that will be my next.

PS3 Review: WWE Legends of WrestleMania

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Posted by Rob on February 14, 2011 – 1:18 pm
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I had given the game a rent when it first came out almost two years ago, and I gave it a pretty horrible review. I don’t mean horrible as in it is a horrible game, but horrible as in what I actually wrote was horrible. I was tempted to just delete it, but I would rather let it sit there to remind myself how far I’ve come with my writing.  Also, in my defense, I think it came from my old website, and I had just copied and pasted it, since I didn’t take my old site as serious as this one. Anyway, I rented the game again from Gamefly for two reasons. First, I am getting really excited for WWE Allstars and wanted to play something that would be a little similar to whet my appetite until the game is released next month. Secondly, I was pretty darn close to getting the Platinum, so I decided to go back and get it. I may have given the demo some horrid reviews, but the game is in fact pretty enjoyable.

First off, the main draw of the game, which sets it apart from the Smackdown vs. Raw franchise, is the roster. Legends of WrestleMania lets you take control of one of thirty-eight WWE “legends” or your own CAW (create-a-wrestler) as you partake in a variety of matches and modes. The roster is full of old wrestlers I’m not familiar with, such as Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, Koko B. Ware, and Kamala. The biggest roster draw are probably the “classics”, such as Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Andre the Giant, Bret Hart, Yokozuna, Jake The Snake Roberts, The Million Dollar Man, and The Road Warriors. There are also current or recent roster wrestlers, but they appear as they did early in their career. For example, Triple H appears as the Greenwich-blue blood Hunter Herst Helmsley, and is nowhere near as buff as he later became, Shawn Michaels rocks a mullet, and the Undertaker looks almost twenty years younger before he was completely covered in tattoos. The youngest wrestlers to appear in the game (in terms of when they first came to the WWE) are Stone Cold and The Rock, who are indeed legends. There are also four classic managers that appear in the game, including Paul Bearer and Bobby Heenan. The ability to take control of these classic wrestlers is definitely a lot of fun and will fill any WWF/WWE fan with a ton of nostalgia.

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Can’t Play Two Worlds II Online

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Posted by Rob on February 7, 2011 – 11:16 pm
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I finished up the single player campaign in Two Worlds II today, and I decided that I would spend tonight and tomorrow further exploring the online co-op and competitive modes. As I mentioned in my review of Two Worlds II, the couple of times I tried to get on the servers the week the game was released, I was unable to get any online games going. Seeing how it’s been over a week, I figured I would try again.

I was again unable to get any games going. The competitive multiplayer is totally non-existent, and not one game was available on either deathmatch, duel, or crystal. I did manage to find one co-op game running, but my lowly level one character could not join in a game with the hosting player, who was level thirty-five.

I hate it when games with online features have horrible online availability, whether it’s due to cruddy servers on the developers end or the fact that no one plays the game. I don’t know which is the problem with Two Worlds II, but for a game that’s not even two weeks old, it’s sad to not be able to find an online game to play.

Nice Try, Gamefly

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Posted by Rob on February 7, 2011 – 10:16 pm
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As much as I love Gamefly’s service, I was a bit put-off today when they tried to pull a fast one on me. As I had previous said, Gamefly offered me a promotion where I could get two games at a time for the month of January for 25cents, and as long as I downgraded to one game before my next billing date, I would not be charged anything extra. I downgraded and sent my second game back to Gamefly four days before the next billing cycle, so I was set. Or so I thought…

Gamefly had sent me a second game on Saturday, which surprised me. When I went to my account on Gamefly’s site, they did show that I had a one game downgrade, but it was pending…until January 2012!!! So technically they were going to be charging me two games at a time until next year, which I definitely don’t want. Read More »

PS3 Review: Two Worlds II

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Posted by Rob on February 7, 2011 – 8:21 pm
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Before it was released, Two Worlds II was getting a bad rap due to the failures of the first game in the franchise. Having never played the first game, I had none of these thoughts in my mind. What I saw was a massive RPG that had many similarities to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and that was enough to catch my interest. I have spent about twelve hours on the single player campaign, and I think I can now give an accurate review of it. I had a semi-complete review ready to go last week, but I ended up writing way too much and it was too in-depth. Instead, I’m just gonna have a list of the good and the bad aspects of the game, and this should help paint an accurate account of the game, while hopefully being more condensed…because there is a lot to say about it!

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Another Year, Another S(t)uper Bowl

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Posted by Rob on February 6, 2011 – 11:38 am
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I dissed the Super Bowl last year, and I wish I had some interesting things to say about it this year, but I don’t. My Dad got his heart crushed two weeks ago as the Jets lost the game that would have sent them to the Super Bowl. Other than that, I don’t care about the game. The only reason I know which teams are in it is because the Weather Channel keeps giving reports from Dallas, so I happen to see them talk about the game while I’m waiting to check out the local weather.

I still stand by everything I said last year. The Stuper Bowl is still lame, the NFL is lame, American football is lame…everything about the pigskin is lame, lame, lame. Well, not everything…I would go to a Super Bowl party, but only if there were plenty of wings and ribs!

Hey America, screw the Super Bowl! Wait four months and then watch a REAL sports competition…THE STANLEY CUP!!!

Book Review: Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science

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Posted by Rob on February 6, 2011 – 10:20 am
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I think it’s fairly common knowledge that I am keen on Sasquatch. Yes, I believe there is large primate, known as Sasquatch, roaming the North American landscape. I am also of the belief that many reports of Sasquatch activity/sightings are hoaxes; people who are only interested in getting their fifteen minutes, especially the story of Albert Ostman. So I have an interest in the subject, and I’ve watched several documentaries and read articles and other media, but I never read a full book on it. So I researched it and found that Jeff Meldrom‘s book, Sasquatch:Legend Meets Science had received decent reviews. It was also noted that he approaches the subject of Sasquatch from  a purely scientific standpoint, and only examines the given evidence to draw conclusions.

One of the first things I want to mention is that Meldrom does not approach the concept of Sasquatch “scientifically”…he has a clear bias as being a “believer” in Sasquatch (though he writes in the book that he does not like the term “believer”). All of the evidence detailed in the book is used only to strengthen his argument for Sasquatch, and the few times he does bring up the idea of hoaxes or mis-identification (when someone sees a bear or person and thinks it is Sasquatch), he quickly dismisses them and uses his own theories to claim why they are false.  As I said, I do believe that Sasquatch is real, but I did not like that Meldrum advertises his book as taking an impartial approach to Sasquatch, but in actuality all evidence he brings up supports Sasquatch in some way. I think I was expecting him to take some of the information and say “this is Sasquatch” and some other information and say “this cannot have anything to do with a supposed Sasquatch.” I was looking forward to reading a detailed, scientific investigation of Sasquatch which gave evidence to support and refute its existence, but instead read about why the author supports the notion of a large primate creature living on the North American continent. Read More »

What Shell Said: 2/5/11

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Posted by Rob on February 6, 2011 – 12:40 am
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I went to the living room to wake Shell up, and for whatever reason she had the couch pillow lying on top of her. So I woke her up and said:

“Why is the pillow on you?”

“I think it’s your Grandpa’s.”

Shell had been researching our family trees that night, so I assumed that that was where the “Grandpa” came from. I was tired, so instead of egging her on I just said:

“OK. Let’s get you to bed.”

I didn’t laugh or smirk or anything. However, Shell knew she said something because she said to me:

“Why are you laughing at me?

“I’m not.”

“You have a smile on your face. You’re laughing at me.”

“No, I’m not. Let’s just get you to bed.”

“What did I say?”

“You didn’t say anything.”

At this point I am close to picking her up off the couch. Then she tries to push me away and says:

“I don’t need you. I can do this myself.”

She then got up and stomped off to bed.

Scratch That…Still Have Two Games from Gamefly

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Posted by Rob on February 5, 2011 – 7:24 pm
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Ignore my last Gamefly-related post. My Gamefly plan drops back down to one game at a time on February 6, which is tomorrow. Today, I received an e-mail from them saying that they shipped my next game. So it looks like I’ll have WWE Legends of Wrestlemania for a couple of days before I have to send it back. I’m pretty sure you have ten days to return a game after you downgrade.

I’ve rented Legends of Wrestlemania in the past, but I wanted to rent it again to get psyched for WWE Allstars, which comes out at the end of March. Also, Legends of Wrestlemania is an easy Platinum, and could very well end up being my seventh. Only time will tell.

What Shell Said: 2/4/11

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Posted by Rob on February 4, 2011 – 11:58 pm
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This is definitely one of the creepiest ones yet:

I was sitting on the chair playing Two Worlds II, and as being such, my attention was on the TV. As I’m playing, I get this weird feeling like something is watching me. I happen to give a quick glance in Shell’s direction, and she is laying on the couch staring at me. She doesn’t say anything, and doesn’t move, but just stares at me. It’s extra creepy because it’s not like she happened to wake up and look at me…she woke up, then crawled to the edge of the couch and was resting her head on the arm of the couch, staring at me. It reminded me of our cats when they get “fiesty”, as in they just sit there and stare at you with their expanding eyes before they pounce.

So I pause the game and I’m not looking at her, but she doesn’t say anything or move. So I say:

“Umm…hi?”

“Why are you playing with that?”

“What?”

“Why are you playing with the controller?

“…I’m playing a game.”

She then slinks back down so she is lying flat down on the couch. But as she slides down she whispers, barely audible:

“Liar.”

This was, by far, the most she’s ever creeped me out during one of her semi-sleeptalking episodes.

Back to One Game at a Time at Gamefly…And I’m Glad

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Posted by Rob on February 3, 2011 – 7:28 pm
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My two games at a time plan from Gamefly is now officially over. I spent a quarter to get a second game for a month, but that ride is now done with, and I’m back to one at a time. I’ve had two games a few times over the course of my love affair with Gamefly, whether from promotions or using Shell as new trial member, and to be honest, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Sure, two games is awesome, but it’s an overload.

This became very apparent with my last duo of games, Two Worlds II and NBA Jam. Two Worlds II is a huge, massive, addicting game, and to be honest, I have no need (nor a desire whatsoever) to be playing anything else but Two Worlds. Luckily NBA Jam was not a complex game that had a story or anything like that, but with each game lasting a mere twelve minutes, I was able to break away some time from Two Worlds to get a little way through the NBA Jam campaign. While having two games at a time sounds awesome, it really does result in an unnecessary distraction from concentrating on the one game. Plus, when you have to juggle your time between two games you are renting, you are more rushed to finish them off so you can send away for the next ones.  Lastly, the single game plan is expensive enough…there is no need to pay more for a second game.

Will I partake in this offer, or a similar one, that gives me two games at a time for a cheap price? Most probably. But when the limited time is up, it will be a relief to end the madness.

I Hate Sony’s PlayStations Website

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Posted by Rob on February 2, 2011 – 1:11 pm
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The PS3 and 360 each have certain features that give it an edge over the other one. In terms on websites, the 360′s is far superior to the PS3. The 360 site is easy to navigate, and you can purchase games or download free demos right off the site. I find it easier to navigate through the website than through the console.

The PS3, on the other hand, is quite cumbersome. The main complaint, and the reason why I’m complaining about it in this post, is that Sony has this need to advertise their upcoming games on the home page of the site. This is done with several flash movies, and due to this, it takes forever to load up the site, or to navigate to the section you want to go to. Not for nothing, but I know what Sony has coming out for the PS3 in November…I don’t need to be seeing all these stupid ads now. The 360 doesn’t do anything as annoying as this. Sure, it has ads, but they are not as massive, do not take up the whole screen, and no not cause any lag. Read More »

PS3 Review: NBA Jam

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Posted by Rob on February 1, 2011 – 7:50 pm
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When I think back on some of my favorite Sega Games that should have been remade on today’s consoles, there are a few titles which come to mind: Road Rash, Land Stalker, Golden Axe (a DECENT Golden Axe game, not the crap they did make that was nothing like the originals), and others. One of those others is NBA Jam. I was never a basketball fan, but NBA Jam had a smart idea by making a fast-paced, simple, and fun basketball game that went outside the realm of reality just a tiny bit to make it more enjoyable. I was skeptical when I heard that EA was refreshing the series, but now that I’ve spent a couple of hours with it, I can say that they did a fantastic job.

A lot of times, when a game gets a sequel, the developers tweak things that were familiar or totally replace them with something new that doesn’t do the game justice. Luckily NBA Jam does not suffer from this, and you will swear that you were playing the same game, with a fresh new look and controller. First off, the game appears the same. It’s still two-on-two basketball, with the ability to switch players during half-time. The announcer still shouts “HE’S HEATING UP”,  “HE’S ON FIRE”, and “BOOM-SHAKA-LAKA”, as well as some new lines such as “STUFFED LIKE A THANKSGIVING TURKEY” and “THE RAIN MAN MAKES IT RAIN”. You can still do ridiculous dunks, including the helicopter one I remember fondly from my Sega days. It even goes so far as to include cheats, where entering a particular initial will unlock characters such as the Beastie Boys, President Obama, and John McCain.

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Finished Up the Riverworld Series

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Posted by Rob on February 1, 2011 – 5:33 pm
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I just put down the final book in the Riverworld series, Gods of Riverworld. The fourth book ended with what I thought was a definitive ending, and I was surprised to find that there was indeed a fifth book in the series. I had thought it was an additional story set in the same place, kind of like The Silmarillion in regards to Lord of the Rings. However, Gods of Riverworld picked up right where the fourth book ends, and actually turned out to be one of my favorite books in the series. The final chapter of the book is makes for an excellent ending, and really does not only tie everything together, but also makes you smile just a little bit.

Books one through four were focused on the adventures of several resurectees of Riverworld making their way to “The Tower”, and the fourth book ends with them taking control of the Tower. What book five deals with is their actions once in the Tower, since they have the power of the Ethicals, the group that resurrected them on the Riverworld in the first place. If I lost you, check out my other post where I give the basic gist of the series.

I really enjoyed the series. It was imaginative, historically interesting (containing characters such as Richard Francis Burton, Mark Twain, Prince John, Alice…the girl who Alice in Wonderland was based on, Jack the Ripper, and others), and intellectually deep in many respects. There is a constant debate over religion vs. science, and what the “truth” is, at least in the Riverworld series, makes for a good fiction read. If you’re looking for a good, meaty science fiction read, definitely check out the first book in the series, To Your Scattered Bodies Go.

Now I am going to finish up Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science, and then tackle George W. Bush’s biography Decision Points.

Finally Beat Sacred 2 in Co-Op

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Posted by Rob on February 1, 2011 – 2:55 pm
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It took us almost two years, and 80+hours, but Steve and I finally got around to beating Sacred 2 together today. While it was probably my sixth time, it was his first time, and my first time in co-op. We spent a lot of time roaming, exploring, side questing, and grinding, and today it all paid off.

When we first started, he was a Shadow Warrior and I was a Inquisitor. As we got into the game, I realized that I did not like the Inquisitor too much. So on the side I began leveling up a High Elf, and once she was the same level as our previous characters, I began using her in co-op. So I spent about 20 hours of the game as an Inquisitor, and over 60 hours as the High Elf.

It took us such a long time due to a few reasons. The game wasn’t as fun to play on a SDTV, since it was hard to see. The online game was also very glitchy, and since he was the host, I was always freezing up, or our headsets would suddenly stop working, or the game would lag and I would die out of nowhere. A great example of this is that Steve’s game froze today during the ending cutscene, after we beat the final boss. Plus it was always hard to find a time when both of us could play.

So today ends our co-op quest for Sacred 2. Sadly, this is probably one of the last times I’ll touch the game, especially since I already got the Platinum for it. It was a really good multiplayer RPG, but had some technical flaws (and financial problems) that stopped it from being perfect. The next game on the agenda is Borderlands, which I’m looking forward to getting back into, and going through in co-op.