loonyblog.

Apparently comment posting via TypeKey isn’t working for some reason…I haven’t had a chance to really explore any possible reasons for this, but hopefully I’ll figure it out soon enough.

It seems this site thinks you’re not logged in to TypeKey even when you are…if anyone’s seen this before, drop me an e-mail.

Update: It appears to be working again, so hopefully it was just some TypeKey server-side issue and nothing local here.

Those of you who read this site by going to the main page (as opposed to reading it via an RSS reader, as this site is 100% syndicated), may have noticed that I’m currently playing through Fable (as indicated on the right sidebar there). I’m about 10 hours into the game, and I’m enjoying it quite a bit. I’m a Good hero this time through (I do intend on playing through a second time as Evil), and I’m pretty bad ass, when all is said and done. But one thing suddenly occurred to me last night…

I’ve never died. Not once.

I’d heard this game wasn’t particularly challenging, but this is a bit surprising. I’ve never even come close to dying. You’re given “Ressurection Phials” that will automagically bring you back to life if you die. I’ve got a crapload of these (you find them everywhere), but I’ve never even had to use one!

Now, there are a few possibilities here, like maybe the game’s totally unbalanced for a Barbarian-style character like mine. Or maybe it’s just that it’s really, really, really, really freaking easy. But I like to think it’s simply that I am supreme overlord over all RPGs. Bow before me puny mortals, for I am your god. Muahahahahahahah.

Okay, maybe the game’s just too easy. I’ll have to take more boasts to play quests in the buff. The last few times I’ve done it I still made it through largely unscathed.

I found myself being nostalgic today for the days when The Simpsons Halloween episode actually aired on Halloween. This year is a new low — November 9th? Why do they even bother making a Halloween episode if they can’t actually air it the week of Halloween? Okay, I know the answer to that — it’s the most popular episode of the year. Still, it does seem rather silly.

New adventure games are pretty rare, so the release of a new one from Revolution should be cause for celebration. Naturally I’m a little late to the party with this one (the game’s been out for the better part of a year already), but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth the wait. My full review’s up over at ShackReviews, but here’s a quick excerpt:

The move to 3D has caused for some changes to the general format of the game, but by and large, the gameplay is quite similar to the first two. Like the second game, you’ll control both George and Nico at different times, although you’ll never have to switch back and forth between the two, and it’s split about 60/40 in George’s favor (maybe a little more). Incidentally, just like the second game, the game opens with George and Nico far apart from each other. I actually like that they’ve done this twice already…somehow their relationship seems more sophisticated and interesting if they haven’t settled down into marital bliss between games.

Regardless of who you’re controlling at any given time, you’ll walk around looking for clues, talking with characters using Revolution’s preferred method of icon-based dialogue choices, and solving puzzles. Because of the move to 3D, you’ll find yourself having to solve quite a few by pushing around boxes and crates. While this may conjure up images of the lame box puzzles in games like Tomb Raider and Soul Reaver, rest assured that these are actually pretty clever (or at least as clever as you can get with a box puzzle). Having said that, the sound effects when moving those boxes around are a bit harsh. I mean I realize that they’re heavy, but I was afraid poor George was going to give himself a hernia by the end of the game.

Head over to Shacknews for the full review.

I happened to be looking over my TiVo’s todo list, when I saw something I never expected to see…on Friday 10/1, my TiVo is taping an episode of Odyssey 5. Now, I genuinely liked this series. Sure it was goofy, and derivitive as all hell, but it has one downright hot actress and the rest of the cast is pretty likable as well. But I assumed the show had been long canceled, as I haven’t taped an episode in something like two years, and my TiVo’s only set to tape new episodes of the show.

Well, I looked around, and checked the show’s official message boards, and sure enough, the final six episodes of the show, which up until now have gone unaired, will be broadcast on Showtime Too starting on Friday, October 1st, with two episodes each Friday for three weeks.

Incredibly, this conflicts with another sci-fi show Showtime’s quietly killing off, as Jeremiah is showing two episodes every Friday on the main Showtime channel. But at least they’re re-airing those episodes through the weekend, so I can catch back up on the ones I’m skipping to catch O5.

It’s sad to see O5 go like this, but then, technically, it ended two years ago. I’m happy I’ll get the chance to see the last six episodes without having to buy the inevitable DVD boxed set (which I can’t see myself ever doing…I mean I liked the show, but not that much).

Although I was initially quite scared by the prospect of a new Batman series, seeing a quick teaser for The Batman at this year’s San Diego Comic Con convinced me that it might not be all together awful, and in fact might be pretty good. I’ve now seen two episodes, and I’m starting to think it’s the latter, although there are still quite a few characters to be revealed. Yep, it’s a twofer review Sunday…read on for my full review of the show so far.

Read the rest of this entry »

My Doom 3 review went up over at ShackReviews this afternoon…here’s an excerpt:

Not too long ago, I played a really scary game. It was played from a first person perspective and took place on a haunted space station inhabited by zombies, mutants and other creepy creatures, and was a truly terrifying experience.

That game was System Shock 2.

Doom 3 is many things, and at its best, it is indeed a little bit scary. But it’s hardly the scariest game I’ve ever played. It’s not even in the top three.

But really, who cares? id Software may not have created a game I wasn’t able to finish because of how freaked out I was (to date there’s only one game that can claim that: Thief: The Dark Project, and that’s just because of the zombies). But what they have done is crafted an exceptionally polished game that’s fun, and is easily the best looking game I’ve ever seen.

Read the whole thing over at teh Shack.

(P.S.: Yarr!)

We received the new GameInformer today at my office. Since I don’t know when subscribers will be getting it, I won’t post anything yet (and I’ll never post scans, so don’t ask).

But I’ll say this: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion looks insane. If that’s what PS3 and Xbox 2 titles are gonna look like, we’re all going to be doing the happy dance very, very soon.

Yes, at long last, California has banned the practice of necrophilia. Who says Governor Schwarzenegger’s just a figurehead?

I guess you could chalk this one up to not being a crime because it’s not abused enough to be necessary, but considering that this is a state where it’s illegal for women to drive while wearing a house coat, bathhouses are illegal, and animals are banned from mating within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school or place of worship (don’t believe me? Read for yourself), you have to wonder how this one escaped the books for so long.