Miscellaneous Nerddom

Boy, do I feel like a slacker!  I haven't really had too much in the way of wedding news or planning stuff to talk about, so I haven't posted in awhile.  Can't let this thing get stagnant though, so I'm going to blab about something nerdy in lieu of anything wedding-related to blab about.

Blog Shout-Out
First off, I'd like to do a shout-out to my cousin, Mark, whose blog I so far love:  Plausible Deniability.  I'm not into running, but I do walk on a treadmill and am trying to get in shape.  He also talks about video games, and I am jealous of his pixel art game covers and what I believe is a Tetris-shaped shelf or something.  He's done a couple things with his blog that I've been thinking about doing with mine.  One is dividing his blog into topic sections.  Even before I saw his (and I love how each has a different pixel art drawing to represent each one), I was thinking of having a section for movie reviews,  one for gaming stuff, and if I get back into crafts, one for that (and, of course, the wedding stuff once it starts going).  I still have to hash out what they'll be, but it might be the best way to keep this alive until the wedding planning really gets going.

The second thing I'll be trying to do, and this is only related to Mark's blog because he too mentioned it, is get more pictures in.  It's one thing I've noticed on a lot of blogs, and it's one of the things the "experts" say will improve readership.  Unfortunately, I have some of the same issues with this as Mark: I don't take good pictures, and I don't look good in pictures.  So, we'll see what I can hash out.

Games I'm a'Playin'
In other nerdiness, I've popped out some old games to play.  Picked up Bubble Bobble Revolution on the DS as well as Dragon Quest IX.  I'm waiting for Kenny to get his own copy of BB (only $5 used at Gamestop!) before I really start playing that one.  Revolution comes with both the Classic game and a "New Age" version.  Even $5 isn't worth it for the New Age, but that's a bargain for the Classic.  (Oh, and the box art totally blows)  I barely got to the second level before I had to revert back to the Classic game.  Bub and Bob jump too high, and the levels are so big you can't see them in the whole screen.  So, no fun-shaped levels, and it seems a bit hectic trying to find all the baddies when you can't even tell where the level goes.  About the neatest potential thing for the New Age is that if you can get 4 people to buy it you can all play together, but what are the chances of that? 

Dragon Quest IX has a lot of potential.  I've always wanted to try out a Dragon Quest game, but never did.  This one's got nice animation (art by the guy who drew the Dragon Ball anime series), and in addition to being an old school rpg, it's also co-op capable!  YEAH!  Unfortunately, you have to get to a certain point in the game before it lets you play with someone else, so Kenny and I haven't had a chance to play together yet.  I made it far enough a few days ago, but Kenny's not as big into the "play for hours on end" gaming these days, so it's taken him till last night to get to the right point.  Now we just need to have time to try it out.

We also picked up Suikoden IV for the PS2.  It's the first Suikoden that I didn't buy back in the day.  And having played it for a bit, I can kind've see why.  It feels an awful lot like someone tried to make a 3D Suikoden game using RPG Maker 3 (which I also own...my tastes are...eclectic).  I'm sure most of you have never heard of RPG Maker.  For good reason: it sucks.  But it does exactly what it sounds like: it lets you make an RPG of your own.  Unfortunately, it's impossible to make an RPG that anyone would want to play (and the PS2 Keyboard and Mouse addons don't work...which makes no sense).  Anyway, Suikoden IV might not be THAT bad, but just as the story started picking up last night I went to bed.  This morning the controller stopped working, so I may never know if it gets better.

One more!  Kenny also picked up Hotel Dusk: Room 215, which is an "interactive mystery novel".  I'm not very far in, but it's already INCREDIBLY BORING.  And that's coming from me!  Story is one of my top concerns in any game, in RPG's I love talking to EVERY person I can whenever I run into a new town, and I read through all of the tutorials, even if it's probably mundane stuff that I already know (unlike a certain someone I know *cough* Kenny *cough* who skipped over all of the tutorial stuff in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, and so didn't realize that he could just jump to towns through his map rather than physically running everywhere).  So far, I'm at a hotel talking to people (I can't even remember WHY I'm at this hotel, and I've only barely started the game!).  My character seems to get irritated over every little thing that people say, which turns every passing chit-chat into an ordeal.  Other than finding my room so I can crash for the night, I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing.  It's just SO MUCH talking.  And the talking gets you NOWHERE.  I'll give it more time...but so far I have no interest in continuing.

Movies I'm a'Watchin'
This weekend is Transformers 3.  I don't care what anyone says, I think it looks good, and I liked the first one.  The second one was kinda crappy, but half of that was the writer's strike which froze the script.  So those two racist caricature robots couldn't be erased even if the director knew they should be (though, how any writer today could think those two were a GOOD idea in the first place is beyond me).  The new one looks like they've finally started panning out far enough so that you can actually tell what is going on in the action scenes, which is probably one of my biggest complaints with the other two.  Anyway, we might see that as early as tonight, or as late as Sunday.  Then, next week is my BIRTHDAY, and Horrible Bosses, which looks pretty funny.

'Cause it Amuses Me!
And, for the graphics portion of this blog, I leave you with this video I found through Stumble Upon.  Here's the link to the original post over at Dorkly.com.  Enjoy!