Un-frickin-beliveable!

Now I know why Deus Ex was named Game of the Year a few years back by almost every major gaming magazine on the planet.

I just get Deus Ex: GOTY edition, and I have to admit for a first person shooter, It's DAMN cool.

Take the first level alone for instance - You have to infiltrate the remains of a blown up Statue of Liberty. But unlike most FPS games that are out there, you're given choices. Do you take a sniper rifle and pick off the NSF agents from a distance? Or do you take a tranquilizer gun and knock the enemies out? Climb up the side of the building or go up the stairs? Use the shock prod or toss a Gas Grenade to stun the enemy? I love this game. It's all about choice, and letting you play the game the way YOU want to.

Another awesome thing is your actions will have consequences during the game. Do you go and rescue the UNATCO agent or go and interrogate the man that is behind the Statue Occupation? If you rescue the agent first, you get additional info, and extra money at the end of the mission. Go to interrogate the man, and you forfeit the money that you would have got if you rescued the agent first. Cause and effect. Action and Reaction.

And one of the funniest things (so far) is if you go into the ladies bathroom in the UNATCO headquarters. During your final meeting with your boss, he'll tell you to stay out of the Ladies bathrooms! It totally caught me by surprise, but again it immerses you in this world, and you believe that your actions mean something. Sorta like the OLD Wing Commander Series, where if you fail or succeed in a mission will determinw how the game plays out....

Way cool.

The coming of the plague...

Yes, it's the white plague from heaven. Snow.

I've never seen this much "First Snow". EVER. Almost 2 feet of snow in 2 days.

And people don't get the fact, that it'll take an hour to deliver a pizza in the Lewiston/Auburn area.

Unbelieveable.

It Stinks!

In the tradition of the great cartoon "The Critic" ...

1) The so-called "VGA"'s Video Game Awards on Spike TV are really stupid. Don't get me wrong, the concept is fantastic. I think the guys that put all the work into the games that we play deserve some public recognition, but not like this. But they don't announce Nominees, they actually annouced the "Game of the Year" right off the bat! I can understand Spike TV wanting to snag rating with Lil' Kim, Jenna Jameson and other sexy women, but it makes no sense. Why not let the games speak for themselves (so to speak)?

And I honestly think the "nominees" are basically looking to get exposure for more sales. True Crime has been out for exactly one month, and it nabbed the "Action Game of the Year" award. After a month? Makes no sense to me, and even while the TV show is airing you could still vote on the site! WTF?!? Why not close the polls an hour before the show starts?

And how in the hell did "Enter the Matrix" win ANYTHING? Everyone I've talked to that actually PLAYED the game said it wasn't very good.

I'd like to see an actual awards show (with no ballot stuffing like you could with the VGA's) that accurately reflects the good games from the bad ones... But I guess that's why magazines like PC Gamer and EGM are out there so that the truth of the matter is shown. Which games suck and which don't.

Whew.

Here I am again...

1) My cat is weird. I was lying in my bed reading "The Soulforge" by Margaret Weiss - a fantastic look at the Dragonlance character Raistlin Majere, when for some reason, Pria walks on to my chest, plops down right in front of me. Go figure.

2) Ah... DVD's. I love the those littel disks that bring me so much entertainment. Enough entretainment to buy the first 3 seasons of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" from one of my friends. Well at least the First season so far. And I'll say one thing - if you are a Star Trek fan - and I'm not talking about the casual viewing like once even week or so, but a FAN - these sets are awesome. Commercial free, un-cut, subtitled (which is cool), and the first season set includes the "Star Trek The Next Generation Companion CD" It's a complete script library with episode summaries - ubercool.

3) I was reading Electronic Gaming Monthly's review of "Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike", and I came across an interesting quote. They basically said that LucasArts remastered some of the Original Trilogy footage for the game, and it's the closet thing to a DVD version of the Original Trilogy... until next fall. Do they know something that the public doesn't know? If so, tell us! I even searched the Star Wars website for info on this absolute gem of a news bit. Nothing. Now I'm real curious. (10 minutes later) Yeeeeeee Haaaaaaaa! September 2004, Episodes 4 5 and 6 on DVD. Awesome. Truly awesome. But I can't believe some of the shit I've seen on the "posting boards" about people hating Episode I and II. I just have this to say. You paid money to go see the movie, so basically you're saying "I support this movie and the people that made it". All I hear is people saying "I knew before I went to see the movies, I knew they were gonna suck". But you went anyway. It's sorta like the whole "Tycoon" explosion of video games. If the game sucks, but you still buy it, the programmers and publishers are going to continue put out CRAP for video games. Same for movies. If you go to a movie, and you think it's CRAP, then don't support that filmmaker again - it's that simple. Don't whine bitch and moan about. Oh.. sorry (stepping off of a virutal soapbox)

As Promised

I'm back with a little more detail than my previous post.

Ok here's what I think are the breakdown of the characters and their Biblical counterparts

Neo - Jesus (duh!)
Morpheus - John the Baptist (especially during the first movie and during his speech in Zion during the second movie)
The Architect/The Oracle - God (The Architect - Creating the World/The Oracle - benevolent deity over the world)
Bane/Agent Smith/Cypher - The Devil
Trinity - The Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)

The Nebuchadnezzar (I have dreamed a dream, but now that dream has gone from me - From the Book of Daniel), The Logos (Logos can also be used to denote Everything that radically transcends every human word and thought: the Absolute Meaning), and Zion (Monument; raised up; sepulchel). Neo's coming back to life (the resurrection), Neo bringing Trinity back to life (Christ bringing Lazarus back to life), and of course the notion of Free Will.

And those are just in Matrix Reloaded.

For the stuff in Revolutions, you've got the fall of a city (similar to Sodom and Gommorah), Neo returning back to what created him (Jesus' ascension to the Father), the possession of Bane by Agent Smith (like the possesion of the madman by the spirit Legion...) which incidentally takes it's name because "we are many" just like Agent Smith's duplicates in the Matrix. I haven't found anything referencing Peter's betrayal of Jesus, unless you count the Commander Lock's constant "I don't believe that Neo's the One" spiel. But I can't remember if he comes around in the end... I'll have to go see the movie again.

So basically here's my thought on the Matrix Trilogy. I really liked it. I think a lot of the fans from the first movie will be greatly disappointed in the outcome of the trilogy, but if you look at it from a philosophical standpoint, the movie ends in the ONLY way it could end. Neo had to go back to his creator, and peace has triumphed over Zion. It has a lot of action, and a great plot that makes you think about choice, action, cause and effect, and consequences.

The Matrix Re- Re- Loaded

I just got in from the first first showing of "Matrix Revolutions" Ok. And in my new style of blogging, here's what I think of it.

1) Absolutely incredible. The SFX alone are worth it. And the stories loose ends are ALL dealt with and wrapped up, with a a few new loose thread created.

2) The ending is NOT your typical hollywood ending. I won't mention plot details here, but what you think is going to happen, doesn't happen.. and what you think won't happen does. I know it sounds confusing, but believe me it does.

3) If you don't like HEAVY religious overtones in your movies, then this movie is NOT for you. There are more Christ/resurrection/redemption/belief/ascention references than most REAL religious movies. But if you are a scholar of the bible or a Christian, they did a fantastic job of alluding to the Bible and the life of Jesus Christ.

4) As for plot details, I'll give it until at least Monday before I post anything about the movie's details.

Even More General Stuff...

1) "Asps! Very dangerous... You go first!" I LOVE my Indiana Jones DVD set. I love the 4th disk with the 3 1/2 HOUR documentary on the making of the three films, but the only thing that would have made it better would be a directors commentary on each DVD. Alas, they didn't include one (but wouldn't it have been awesome?).

2) Damn you Blizzard Software!!! No longer am I able to breeze through Diablo II: Lord of Destruction with my Assassin! I just installed the 1.10 patch, and I like the changes to some of the features. But they did ramp up the difficulty a bit (at least that's how it seems)

3) South Park rocks. I just saw the lastest episode where Cartman forms a Christian Rock Band. Way funny. Now the ironic thing is I consider myself a Christian, but unlike a most Christians I know, I understand the meaning of Satire and Comedy.

4) Domino's is field testing a new product within the next month in the Maine Stores. Salads. Which would be fantastic (because I'd eat salads everyday), but we have a hard enoguh time with the products that we have, and our store is WAY too small.

5) An I finally realized why I like BOTH the Sci-Fi Mini-series and the Theatrical Release of Frank Herbert's Dune. I like the theatrical release because Patrick Stewart does a fantastic job playing Gurney Halleck, and I like Sci-Fi's truer interpretation of the book.