Speaking of Lost

17 March 10 | 13:01 | Posted by:

I was happy to discover that a Google search for "John Locke" still results in a bunch of hits for engravings and paintings of the philosopher/economist, with the Lost character first appearing as something like the eighth result. Nerds destroy everything they touch, but at least we haven't corrupted the comparative weight and value of history vs. pop culture that badly just yet.

On the other hand, I was fairly disappointed to discover that my hilariously clever name for the Ponyta I recently captured in HeartGold, "Ignitemare," is considerably less original than I had hoped. Stupid Internet, coming up with my jokes first.

Equally disappointing is that I turned Very Old yesterday and was playing Pokémon at all. There's a sick, sick part of my soul that really wants to fill out a Pokédex to completion, and I really don't understand it. My only hope is that the opportunity to finally create Jetpack Goonies (even if it is just in microgame format) via WarioWare D.I.Y. will be my redemption.

category: games, media | forums | eight comments | §

I am watching television

15 March 10 | 20:16 | Posted by:

That's noteworthy, because I never watch TV! Well, not of my own volition. I love my fiancée enough that I don't leave the room when she decides it's time to watch Desperate Housewives or Sex and the City, but lately I've been electing to watch How I Met Your Mother, because it's amusing without being trashy and dumbed down like pretty much every other sitcom on television, and Lost, because it's really quite interesting. It's a solid mix-of sci-fi and character drama, with both elements ending up in very different places than where they began.



For instance, in retrospect, this scene is really kind of weird.

Anyway, I've discovered that the best way to deal with lengthy, serialized series like Lost is to pretend they don't exist until their final season, and then catch up all at once. (Netflix is an invaluable tool for assisting with such an endeavor.) Taking the last-minute compressed approach helped me survive the later seasons of Alias, and it came in just as handily during the third season of Lost, which frankly I don't even remember. There was a third season, right?

Unfortunately, Cat and I misjudged our Lost endeavor. We caught up to Alias about two episodes before the finale, but with Lost we still have like ten episodes to go. Going from five seasons in three weeks' time, never having to wonder where the plot was heading, to waiting a week between episodes is a painful transition. However, I am making a sincere endeavor not to be one of those fans, the one who loudly speculates at length about his dopey, half-assed theories every Wednesday morning. If I fail, and you happen to pass within earshot, I apologize. The good news is that both shows I am watching are in their final seasons, so once we survive the spring I can go back to pretending TV doesn't exist.

category: media | forums | 24 comments | §

GSQ3: An international affair

14 March 10 | 09:41 | Posted by:

A new batch of GameSpite Quarterly 3 entries has arrived on the scene, and by random coincidence this trio shares a common thread: They're all international heroes of folklore. Beginning in Britain, we have Royal Egg Gatherer Hen House Henry; next we move further east to Russia to honor decorated national hero The I Block; and finally, we end up at the far edge of the Eurasian continent to discuss the life and times of Ishikawa Goemon, the man so famous they named a restaurant after him right here in my neighborhood. (Which is nice, except they decided the menus should feature artwork of a man being boiled alive. This is why I will never, ever order their nabe.)

category: games, gamespite | forums | two comments | §

A poll of utmost importance

13 March 10 | 16:39 | Posted by:

Hey dudes (also dudellas, or whatever name is properly used to refer to females of the species these days), my copy of GameSpite Quarterly 4 arrived. I feel silly about being so down on its layouts before; it really looks quite nice inside. The lack of pagination and the crowded page borders bug me, but otherwise it's some fine-looking stuff.

Naturally, I'm already thinking ahead two issues, so please take a moment to respond to our GSQ6 planning poll. It is the first of two!

category: gamespite | forums | six comments | §

GSQ3: The O.G.s (ordinal Gs) of gaming

12 March 10 | 09:21 | Posted by:

Well, I'm probably stretching the definition of the word "ordinal" here, but today's entries are an ordered set! So I guess I'm not technically wrong. Just wrong in spirit. Anyway! This post fills in a bit more of the missing content backlog from GameSpite Quarterly 3. I'm sorry to say that two-thirds of the content here was written by me due to sheer random clustering. Try not to hold this against the book as a whole.

• The G-6155 Interceptor is technically the protagonist of the Spy Hunter series. Sadly, Hollywood decided to make The Rock the main character for the movies. In my opinion, the 8-bit car did a much better job of emoting.
  
• Gilgamesh from Tower of Druaga was a late entry to the book; as such, I was a little loopy, so this particular entry strays into some rather oblique side-references. Collect them all!
  
• The Guardian (of The Guardian Legend), on the other hand, was given a far more straightforward entry. It basically revolves around "LOL bewbs" jokes. I'd make a comment about low-hanging fruit, but given the context that would sound far filthier than I intended. Anyway, I'm sorry that this entry is probably the closest the world will ever come to a Guardian Legend revival.

category: games, gamespite | forums | eleven comments | §

GSQ4: The adventure begins, again

11 March 10 | 10:40 | Posted by:

The Once and Future Genre
By Luke Osteritter | GameSpite Quaterly 4 secretly features a mini-section devoted to the role and nature of adventure games in these modern times. Luke's article here serves as a sort of mission statement, not unlike the "How RPGs Lost Their Way" feature did for that genre. Please enjoy this thematic critique as we embark on a multi-day journey through.... adventure!

category: games, gamespite | forums | one comment | §

GSQ4: A timely Final Fantasy-related thing

09 March 10 | 10:36 | Posted by:

Final Fantasy: Populist Mechanics
So... you've probably heard about this Final Fantasy XIII game that's out today, yeah? I know I've mentioned it in passing once or twice. I figured I'd cap my relationship with the game by posting a relevant piece from the latest GameSpite Quarterly -- it's not specifically about FFXIII, but it's definitely germane to the topic, in a roundabout way. Please to enjoy, roundly.

category: games, gamespite | forums | eight comments | §