I don't know what is worse; the onset of a worldwide pandemic or the idiocracy it creates. Below is a video documenting lessons learned from 1918 flu pandemic. I have some personal interest vested in the aformentioned plague as my father's mother was a survivor of the virus's second mutation. She recounted to me first hand all the horrors she had witnessed as the flu ripped through her village and into her home, ultimatey taking the life of her sister before it left as mysteriously as it had come.
I think what is important to recognize about the swine flu is this is definately the making of a worst case scenario. H1N1 is not terribly lethal, at leat not yet. What little we know about flu strains is derived from the havok created when none lethal strains mutate into something deadly. I think that the best way we can prepare ourselves for a lethal outbreak is to work together as a community instead of hording food and water.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Haterade
My trial subscriptions for both World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online expired today. For the record, I found Warhammer to be a more enjoyable experience. Unfortunately my gaming is now restricted to my PS3, an object which I have grown to hate more and more as time goes on. Actually I don't hate the system, I just hate the fact that it's owned by Sony.
During the ten day trial period for WoW and Warhammer, I didn't touch my PS3 at all. The first thing I did when I finally turned the console back on, was delete PS HOME, as it is a godforsaken waste of 4,000 megabytes. It's so pointless, I'm not even going to talk about how stupid the concept is. Instead I'll just bitch about the fact that, since I got the beta in December, Sony has added virtually nothing to HOME; I've been waiting to peruse the products in the Mall's "Stuff" store for nearly half a year and yet there's STILL nothing in there. Granted I think it's insane to purchase anything in HOME with real money, but it would be cool to ride around on a tricycle or something.
When I had my 360, I had a serious issue when it came to buying too many games. Haven't had that issue since I got my PS3. I have a theory as to why the 360 has such a high failure rate and the PS3 doesn't. I think that since 360 users have Live and a bigger selection of games to play, they over heat their poorly designed machines by playing (aka having "fun") for hours on end. PS3 users will never have that experience. I'm sorry but it's true. I'm glad I don't have to pay for the PSN, because it pales in comparison to the quality and functionality of Xbox Live. I want to trade in my PS3, but I'm not going to. Can't trade in my Wii either. I need to get a 360 again though.
During the ten day trial period for WoW and Warhammer, I didn't touch my PS3 at all. The first thing I did when I finally turned the console back on, was delete PS HOME, as it is a godforsaken waste of 4,000 megabytes. It's so pointless, I'm not even going to talk about how stupid the concept is. Instead I'll just bitch about the fact that, since I got the beta in December, Sony has added virtually nothing to HOME; I've been waiting to peruse the products in the Mall's "Stuff" store for nearly half a year and yet there's STILL nothing in there. Granted I think it's insane to purchase anything in HOME with real money, but it would be cool to ride around on a tricycle or something.
When I had my 360, I had a serious issue when it came to buying too many games. Haven't had that issue since I got my PS3. I have a theory as to why the 360 has such a high failure rate and the PS3 doesn't. I think that since 360 users have Live and a bigger selection of games to play, they over heat their poorly designed machines by playing (aka having "fun") for hours on end. PS3 users will never have that experience. I'm sorry but it's true. I'm glad I don't have to pay for the PSN, because it pales in comparison to the quality and functionality of Xbox Live. I want to trade in my PS3, but I'm not going to. Can't trade in my Wii either. I need to get a 360 again though.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
No Country For Old Men (Blu-Ray)
No Country For Old Men is my favorite movie, hands down. This is quite a statement, because the list of my favorite movies also includes the first two Godfather movies. Since it came out on DVD last June, I have watched it about six thousand times over the Internet. However, after someone who lives with me (names will be withheld) broke my netbook by letting the battery run out of juice, I have been unable to watch shit on the Internet. True, I have several systems in my home, not just the netbook, but the experience of watching Javier Bardem blast a hole through Stephen Root's throat with a silenced shotgun whilst in my bed is unparalleled.
So when I found my self at Target today, I picked up a copy of the movie on Blue-Ray. Thirty one dollars is allot of money to pay for any movie regardless of format. So was it worth it?
Hell yes it was. Assuming your watching it on a properly wired HDTV set, you're gonna hear and see more in this movie than you ever realized was there. As this is my first Blu-Ray Disc movie purchase I'm gonna throw this out there: Blue Ray is expensive as shit, so I would only buy it for the movies that you will appreciate watching in HD. For example, Pirates of the Carabean in Blu-Ray is a yes. Bad Boys II in Blue-Ray is a yes. The Matrix in Blu -Ray is a yes. Not Another Teen Movie in Blu-Ray is a no. Got it?
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Resident Evil 5 (Capcom) Xbox 360 & PS3
I predict a riot
Survival shooters have long suffered from a serious issue, being that, in game, it's a fucking bitch trying to survive. Then Capcom brought the genre up to speed with Resident Evil 4; the player was once again pited against hordes of enemies, however the combat system was completely retooled, and RE4 became the first game within the genre to focus more upon combat than survivability. RE4 was the soul reason I got a Gamecube, and when it was released for the Wii I bought that version as well. RE4 was a really, really good game.
And so is Resident Evil 5, although there is not much within the gameplay that makes the sequal much better; after all it's hard to improve perfection. The key difference in gameplay is the control scheme, and the co-op features.
Now I've heard allot of people I know tell me "The controls in this game suck and make the game unplayable." Believe me when I accuse these people of being retards. I don't want to do it. Most of these people are good friends of mine. Yet the sad fact remains that they are retards. There is nothing wrong with the control scheme in this game, if anything it balances out the gameplay. I do agree that the inability to move while aiming is stupid. It doesn't make the game unplayable, but it is a feature from RE4 that should have been removed in the sequal. My only other gripe with the game is that you cannot skip the cutscenes, even if you've seen the cutseen before. The problem with this is that if you find a part of the game that keeps killing you, you gotta watch the same damn cutscenes over and over.
Those two issues aside, this game is nothing short of mind-blowing. I'm tossing this one in for Game of the Year Nomination. A-
Monday, March 9, 2009
KiIllzone: Liberation (PSP)
My PSP is allot like the my Wii in many regards. Both have been collecting dust in a cabinet for many months now, and both are notorious for their large catalogue of fucking horrible games.
So I really want to like this game, really I do. It's not often that Sony releases major titles of their portable gaming system, not to mention downloadable ones. There's just one little problem.
This game is fucking terrible. So hideous and unbelievably unplayable is this piece of shit that, every time I think about how I paid $20 for it, I punch myself in the eye. I've played allot of shitty video games in my life. Since I started reviewing games, however, the number of terrible games I've exposed myself to has doubled. But in all that time I've never played a game as fucking horrid as Killzone: Liberation.
In the game you control your character through a 3/4 top down view of the world. I use the word "control" here very loosely, as this game will thwart your every attempt to control anything. You use the right bumper to duck behind objects, and the square button to fire. Holding the left bumper while moving the character with the analogue stick allows you to strafe. Those controls work fine. The rest make this game unplayable. The targeting system doesn't work at all, which is great, because during specific battles of the game, targeting is essential. One of the levels requires you to operate a tank through most of the level; I defy anyone to enjoy this game while operating the tank. The controls are so awful it's almost like torture.
But the best/worst aspect of this game is the way you interact with the environment. Normally you use the X button to open supply crates, get power ups, and manually strike enemies. But this game is so fucking atrocious, the developers just had to make that X button do something else. When you are hit hard by enemy fire, your character will fall to the ground; you will then be prompted to hit the X button to MAKE HIM FUCKING GET UP.
Do not buy this game. Some people may say to you "Hey you should get Killzone:Liberation. I hear it's a really good game!" Fuck these people for they are assholes without measure. Kill them with a shovel and move on with your life.
So I really want to like this game, really I do. It's not often that Sony releases major titles of their portable gaming system, not to mention downloadable ones. There's just one little problem.
This game is fucking terrible. So hideous and unbelievably unplayable is this piece of shit that, every time I think about how I paid $20 for it, I punch myself in the eye. I've played allot of shitty video games in my life. Since I started reviewing games, however, the number of terrible games I've exposed myself to has doubled. But in all that time I've never played a game as fucking horrid as Killzone: Liberation.
In the game you control your character through a 3/4 top down view of the world. I use the word "control" here very loosely, as this game will thwart your every attempt to control anything. You use the right bumper to duck behind objects, and the square button to fire. Holding the left bumper while moving the character with the analogue stick allows you to strafe. Those controls work fine. The rest make this game unplayable. The targeting system doesn't work at all, which is great, because during specific battles of the game, targeting is essential. One of the levels requires you to operate a tank through most of the level; I defy anyone to enjoy this game while operating the tank. The controls are so awful it's almost like torture.
But the best/worst aspect of this game is the way you interact with the environment. Normally you use the X button to open supply crates, get power ups, and manually strike enemies. But this game is so fucking atrocious, the developers just had to make that X button do something else. When you are hit hard by enemy fire, your character will fall to the ground; you will then be prompted to hit the X button to MAKE HIM FUCKING GET UP.
Do not buy this game. Some people may say to you "Hey you should get Killzone:Liberation. I hear it's a really good game!" Fuck these people for they are assholes without measure. Kill them with a shovel and move on with your life.
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