DOOOOOOOM!!!

I picked up the Resurrection of Evil expansion pack for Doom 3 last week. Doom scares that sheeit out of me. Especially at night, in the dark, with headphones on.

I don't really care much for the FPS genre. I play maybe 3 of them a year. And usually, there is some other quality to these particular FPS games, besides the action, that attracts me to them.

In Doom's case, it's the environments. To me, Doom 3 is an elaborate theme park haunted house. Except really big, and without the limitations.

There is something you can do.

There are people who could use our help. Please make a donation. Even $5 will make a difference.

Red Cross
United Way

A Pirate's Life for Me

Finally! My personalized store at Amazon.com has actually recommended something that I would like to purchase. Pirates of the Silicon Valley is heading to DVD by the end of this month.

The revolution came when we weren't looking. It happened in a garage. In a dorm room. In countless hours of effort, imagining and intrigue. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates were changing the way the world works, lives and communicates. The event-packed saga of the quirky visionaries who jump-started the future unfolds with exhilarating, cutting-edge style in Pirates of Silicon Valley. Noah Wyle (ER) portrays Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall (The Dead Zone) portrays Gates in this chronicle of the fierce and often humorous battle to rule the fledgling personal computer empire. "The story is almost Shakespearean... it's a tale of lust, greed, ambition, love and hate," writer/director Martyn Burke reflects. And it's a success story unlike any other.

I've read a few books covering the early days of the personal computer boom. I find these stories fascinating. Though I have a gut feeling that, much like this made for teevee movie, these stories are most likely heavily exaggerated for full flavor.

I recommend reading Robert X. Cringely's Accidental Empires and to watch his PBS documentry Triumph of the Nerds. Andy Hertzfeld's gives his personal account of the origin of the Macintosh computer in his book Revolution in the Valley. Much of these stories can also be read at folklore.org. That picture of me in the right hand corner was inspired by this story from the book/website.

Some Reviewers Just Don't Get It

Here is what one Amazon Reviewer said about Nintendogs:

Not recommended. Wait for the PSP version of Nintendogs instead., August 24, 2005
I don't recommend this game, it is mediocre plain and simple. Instead gamers should wait for the PSP version of Nintendogs. Considering how much more powerful the PSP is, hardware-wise, compared to the DS, the PSP version of Nintendogs should be spectacular (meanwhile, the DS version of Nintendogs is, like I said, just mediocre).

But its going to be interesting to see how the 'touch' factor is handled on the PSP. My guess is that a touch-screen add-on will be included with the PSP version of Nintendogs.

My recommendation....wait for the PSP version of Nintendogs to come out. It will be worth the wait. Resist the urge to buy Nintendogs for the DS, wait for the PSP version to come out. That version should rock!

Maybe someone should tell him that Nintendogs is made by Nintendo, and will never come out for the PSP. However, I have a theory... I have seen this misinformation on various other sites. I believe there are a few PSP fanboys out there that are intentionally plaguing message boards with this false information. For what reasons, you ask? Since when did immaturity need a reason?

Now, I have no problem with fanboyism, as I'm guilty of it. But if you are going to be a fanboy, at least keep it real. I already have Fox News for all my horseshit needs.

Bob Moog RIP 1934 - 2005

I just now learned that Bob Moog passed away yesterday. I've heard him give a couple of talks while I was attending the Berklee School of Music, where I earned my degree in music synthesis. He certainly had a huge influence in my life. Coincidently, I listened to Wendy Carlos all day yesterday. If you want to know more about Bob Moog, I recommend reading his Wiki entry.

Blu-Ray Primer

Wired has written a brief article about the specs of Blu-Ray. To many you of, you'll read this article and have the urge to comment, "Duh! This isn't new. Why bother posting this! If I wanted to read something I already knew, I'd go to slashdot. I've know about this for months." And then I'd be forced to ask, "Does your mommy know you're trolling the internet?"

Also:
The Hubris of Sony - A look at Sony's silly DRM.
Hiding in the Shadows - If Blu-Ray Fails, the PS3 fails. imho

Zelda Delayed

Zelda: The Twilight Princess has been pushed back into 2006. Nutz to that! On the otherhand, developers are saying they are using this time to add an extra layer of polish and to add new levels. The trade off is a longer wait for a better Zelda. I can dig it.

Other news, the Nintendo DS is dropping $20 in price to $129.99 on Aug. 21. Just in time for Nintendogs and Advance Wars Dual Strike. This is also great news for those who have been waiting for Nintendo to roll out their online service. MarioKart DS and Animal Crossing DS are scheduled for a fall release. It's now officially a good time to own a DS.

Last, and least. The Game Boy Micro has a release date of Sept. 19. I won't get one of these as I prefer playing GBA games on my DS or my Gameboy Player. But if Nintendo manages to get these things on the shelves of alternative venues, like Hot Topic and department stores, they might have a chance of opening new markets. We'll see if size matters.

The Hubris of Sony

Tom's Hardware writes:

In an announcement last night, the Blu-ray Disc Association, led by Sony, representing one of two competing high-definition DVD formats, stated it will simultaneously embrace digital watermarking, programmable cryptography, and a self-destruct code for Blu-ray disc players.

Wow! I am a firm believer that ordinary non-tech folks would never let a thing like DRM get in the way of buying consumer grade electronics. But copy protection schemes like self-destruct code and requiring a permanent internet connection to play the movie in your hand will drive consumers away from Blu-Ray. And I'm also a firm believer that if Blu-Ray fails, the PS3 fails.

More insight @ slashdot.

Car Dealerships are for the Birds...

In The No, where I live, there are several car dealerships up and down the street of Blackstone. Back in junior high, my dad told me a story of a group of these dealerships on the corner of Blackstone and Bullard.

When the dealerships were originally being built, folks in the neighborhood across the street fought to keep the dealerships out of the area. They failed. One of the neighbors in particular wasn't satisfied with losing. So he got his revenge by putting out bird seeds in front of his home, located directly across the street. Birds would eat the seeds, hang out in the area, and poop all over the place. Including on top of the shiny unsold cars.

I'm now 29, and these dealerships have been there as long as I can remember. I happened to drive by today. And I saw that a flock of pigeons were eating up a fresh batch of bird seeds. Kudos to you, nameless man, for never giving up the dream and giving me a good laugh.

360 Backwards Compatible, Sorta

You know all those games you purchased for your Xbox? Good news, you'll be able to play (some of) them on your 360. According to Microsoft, "Xbox 360 will be backward compatible with the top-selling games on Xbox."

What does that mean? Well, I guess it means Halo and Halo 2 will work. But what about some of those sleeper titles that never gained mass market acceptance, but were still all around great games? Should Microsoft have spent the extra money to make the entire catalog of Xbox games were playable on the 360? Or is backwards combatibility overrated?

Read more at IGN.com.

Hiding in the shadows

Right now in the gaming world, the main event is Sony Vs. Microsoft. The Xbox 360 will support Toshiba's HD-DVD format, eventually. The Playstation 3 will use Sony's Blu-Ray technology. Which ever High Definition (HD) technology gets adopted by the masses could make or break Microsoft's or Sony's next gen console initiative. And they are both spending millions and millions trying to get an edge above one another.

And then there is Nintendo, hiding in the shadows, watching the two titans waste their hit points (and money) fighting each other. When one falls, Nintendo could potentially deliver the fatal blow, with the Revolution. The Revolution will be a low cost unit, with a huge classic game library and a secret new game controller. They're taking a risk by not supporting HD. A calculated risk, as HD won't be widely adopted until the near end of the next gen life cycle. And they aren't betting the farm, unlike their competitors.

My guess is, if someone is going to fall this next round, it will be either Sony or Microsoft. imho.

Sokoban Rip off

(this isn't a picture. it works!)

I made this Sokoban clone while learning flash a few years ago. Never finished it, but it's finished enough to play. There are 30 levels. Consider the first two levels tutorials.

Hot to Play:
Click on the window
Use the arrow keys to move the Pacman looking guy.
Push the spaghettiOs onto the blue diamond lucky charms.

R - Restart Map
U - Undo Move
N - Next map
P - Previous Map

Slow Day

I'm not talking about my life. I'm talking about my internet connection, dammit! It's been running at a snail's pace all freagin day. Boo hoo! Whoa is me...

Worship the Cube

I have come to the conclusion that my favorite console this generation was the Gamecube, by far. And I wanted to share with you the games that helped me reach this decision. All of them are exclusive to the system, except for Resident Evil 4, when it comes out later this year for the PS2. But from what I hear, it's going to be a bit watered down, as the cube is actually more powerful than the PS2. And Super Monkey Ball has since been ported.

Resident Evil
Resident Evil 4
Metroid Prime
The Legend of Zelda, the Wind Waker
Mario Kart: Double Dash
Pikmin
Super Monkey Ball 1
F-Zero GX
Wario Ware, Inc.
Super Smash Bros. Melee (great for parties)
Super Mario Sunshine

So if you haven't picked one up yet, I'd consider it. Nintendo usually has a few bundle deals around fall and xmas. Plus, the new Zelda: Twilight Princess will be out by then.