PAX East 2012 Video Recap

As promised, here's a follow up video to PAX East 2012. I share with you a few of my favorite games on the show floor as well as some much needed rambles:

Glad to be back internet. Glad to be back.

On the subject of Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Despite the fact that it's the worst time of first semester, I'm in a good mood. I blame this on several things. In an attempt to finish the game before the beginning of winter break (so I can play Skyrim), I have taken the initiative to stay well ahead of the curve on my school work, finishing my final projects, photography assignments and prepping my finals with enough time to come home and play some Deus Ex every night. It's a steamy affair if I may say so myself.. Although, it also doesn't hurt that I've been in the Christmas spirit lately, and I should also mention, that a Pinkberry frozen yogurt spot just recently opened up a town over, so consequently that may have something to do with it as well..

Never the less, this game is really great. To be honest it took me awhile to get into it. And to be fair, any game that lets me rearrange my weapons in a suitcase has a habit of grabbing my OCD by the hairs and never letting go. I would be lying if I said I didn't spend the first several hours thumbing back and forth throughout the menu screens for this reason alone:

Blips in the road aside, the imagery is fantastic. I'm a huge fan of the sci-fi futuristic era. For those of you unfamiliar with Deus Ex, Human Revolution comes as a prequel to the original, released on PC in 2000 and is the third game to be released as part of the series by Eidos.

In the game you play as Adam Jensen; the year, 2027. Politics involving human cybernetic enhancement drive a storyline that twists and turns depending on the interactions you have with those around you. Adam, is new to the world of augmentation himself, after a terrorist attack on Sarif Industries, a firm specializing in the biotechnology of humans, leaves him mortally wounded. Reborn with the cybernetic upgrades that saved his life, the game allows ample specializations and focuses that Jensen can choose from, and your choice to either use lethal force, or be a sneaky son of a B will also have an affect on the way the story plays out.

I wouldn't want to give away too much yet, seeing as I still have about 20% remaining in the story to complete. However, I will say that I am particularly pleased that I decided to complete a lot of the side missions and stories, so for those of you who haven't played it yet, and are thinking about it, I would indeed advise you to take your time. One of the great things about this game is that you can play it any way you want; freedom of choice is everything, but the backstories add context, and personally for me, I have found that they have enriched the overall experience.

[SPOILER ALERT]

During a previous side mission, I had the opportunity to help out Sarif helicopter pilot, Faridah Malik, clean up a sticky situation involving the murder of her best friend in Shanghai This added quite a bit of depth to the relationship between the two characters, and so later on, against all odds, I couldn't see the justification in letting her die upon returning to Heng Sha, when the aircraft gets shot down by Belltower, despite the massive ambush. Tyler, who also just recently played the game, wasn't aware that this was an option.

This conversation alone had me in stitches for a good 10 minutes. ^__^ The LOLs are still palpable. BAH, I'm rambling, I think it's time I returned to the digital lab and got some printing done so I can play s'more..

Speaking of which, my photography work is coming along nicely this semester. With our final critique of this term coming up quickly, despite the massive pile of negatives that I need to scan today, I should have quite a bit of photos up on my Flickr account within the next month or so. /dance

This reminds me, with Alice: Madness Returns under my belt, I couldn't help but change up my iPhone lockscreen and homescreens recently. Perhaps you will appreciate it as much as I did:
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Do want.

You know how every now and then something comes along that you feel as though you really NEED but have absolutely no reason for having? This is one of those moments. I would love to justify several reasons as to why I should own the new Star Wars Limited Edition Console, but realistically, I cannot (aside from the fact that it's pretty and I want to rub my face on it).

This brilliantly designed system comes bundled with a Kinect, which I do not currently own, YET, and was inspired by R2-D2 and C-3PO. The console also comes with a 320 GB Hard Drive built in; that's the largest 360 hard drive available to date baby (AND MORE OF A REASON WHY I NEED IT). But for a whopping $450 smackaroos, is this smexy collector's item worth it?

Incase you missed it.. My Fable III review

This segment originally aired 1/13/10 on STN AfterParty.

I Pooped My Pants

The Bioshock Infinite Trailer was released yesterday, and I, along with many others, squealed like a baby seal.



After watching this I had so many questions:

1.) A Bioshock game NOT underwater? What the eff?
Until now, we've grown to known the Bioshock games as an underwater franchise. Although the change isn't all too sudden, given where they left us at the end of the last game, I think it will be interesting to see what will be carried over from the first two titles.

2.) Will there be little sisters?
I certainly hope so, because some of the things they say are so darned cute, and after the chapter where we got a chance to see the world through their eyes in Bioshock 2, it would be great to observe them once again in another aspect. At the very least I hope they maintain the good vs. evil element - for example, where your achievements and game ending were directly affected by choosing to save or harvest the sisters.

3.) Is it just me, or do 2K Games hate land?
After the death of Andrew Ryan I'm not sure about how I feel about all this "anti-land" business. He was the mastermind. Rapture was his world; his vision! Srsly? Floating in the air? What's next? A game that takes place in the core of a volcano? Plateaus - that's where it's at.

Now, I enjoyed Bioshock 2 but in my opinion it wasn't really a stand alone title. If anything it only added to the back story of the first game. So in that sense it's nice to see that they're trying to steer the franchise in a different direction, and reinvent it a little. Man, I remember when the first Bioshock trailer was released. I had it bookmarked and I watched it 3 to 4 times every week until the day it came out. *swoon*

Alright, I'm ready for bedtime Mr. B.

Alan Wake DLC "The Signal" - My Review

Trying to decide whether or not to purchase the Alan Wake DLC "The Signal"? Not to worry, I've got you covered with some gameplay footage as well as an in depth review.


What games or add ons would you like to see me review next? Leave me your feedback in the comments below!

Don't browse the XBL Marketplace when you're tired.

Yesterday, whilst sitting in The Batcave waiting for my friend to call, trying desperately to stay awake after two days of minimal sleep I decided to browse the Xbox Live Marketplace. With 400 Microsoft Points in the bank I came to the conclusion that I needed to know how much the Jill Valentine gettup cost, because I wanted it.

Every now I and then when I get a chance, I like to see what's new in the Game Styles section.. but this time it was different. I was determined to get the Jill Valentine outfit. After locating it, I realized I had just enough. It was 320 MS Points. I was good to go. But, like a preteen at an Abercrombie store, I kept switching back and forth between outfits, previewing to see what it would look like.. Big mistake.

In my lack of alertness, I went to the beginning of the Resident Evil 5 merch section and hit the back button, which for some reason brought me to a payment screen. I quickly hit the back button again, only to realize that I had been pressing the A button and that I had now spent 240 of my Microsoft Points, on a fucking crank. A CRANK! What the hell am I going to do with a crank Microsoft? And now I don't even have enough for the stupid outfit!


So kids, the lesson of the day is don't consider buying things when you're tired, drunk, or incoherent in any way. You might end up with... A CRANK.

It whispers sweet sweet nothings to me.

Yesterday was the best day ever. I traded in my old Arcade 360 system for the sleek new Xbox 360, which I had preordered. Considering I was pushing the two year mark with my Arcade I think I made a good investment. It really is such a beautiful piece of technology. I love how quiet it is, and the sexy noises it makes when I turn it on or eject a disc. That sounded dirty didn't it? Crap.