The odds are a tad against me...

46%

How would you fair against a zombie apocalypse? Click my result to find out...

GTA IV - One Vision

Boredom, you dig?

GTAIV Gameplay video

oh my dear god yes you are going to be the best fucking game ever aren't you baby yeaaah :3
edit: taken down by Take2. sux :| after release i'll repost it or something.

Burn The Rope

This is a cool little flash game I played a few weeks back but forgot to post about :3

http://mazapan.se/games/BurnTheRope.php

It's very short but rather enjoyable. :D

Great Daft Punk remix

Really well done remix of the Daft Punk song "Voyager". You tend to hear quite a few unsuccessful attempts at remixing DPs music, but this one really breaks the mold.

It's back.

http://www.demonoid.com

If you happen to be reading this and need an invite(registrations are NOT open at this time) just send me an email at carlos.delango@gmail.com , I'll send you an invite ASAP. If you're worried because you have a slow upload, don't: Demonoid is the only private torrent community where the staff aren't ratio-nazis.

The Best Horse Ever

I've been busy working on this game lately and haven't had a good chance to make a post, but here's something I found pretty interesting that a friend showed me. This is the best horse in the world :3

I'm not your fwiend, buddah.

Download the MP3 Here.

Top 5 Game Developers

5. Peter Molyneux

While he may receive a lot of flack for failed promises, I have respect for this guy. For as much as fans might have been let down by his visions, he, well, still has fantastic visions. Isn't that what being a creative mind is all about? He may run his mouth a lot, but he hasn't cranked out a game that hasn't at least been interesting. From Black & White to Fable, his work has touched territory that never was before. His ability to brainstorm extremely interesting game concepts, squeezes him onto this list, but with only a fraction of his work on paper actually realized, he only earns the fifth spot. Tough luck Pete.

4. David Jaffe


Has David helped create some of the most quality games this generation? Perhaps. Does he breathe awesome and shit brilliance? Maybe. But what gets him on this list for me, is that he's a realistic man. He won't bullshit you, he won't sugarcoat the truth, and he won't let anything get in the way of putting out a game up to his standards. Originally interested in directing films, Jaffe, luckily for him, and luckily for us, found his calling in the video game business. Presenting, for better or for worse, the most honest and down to earth personality the industry has seen. He easily earns a spot on this list for doing what he does best, and that's whatever the hell he wants.

3. Shigeru Miyamoto


This man gets a lot of credit already, but he deserves it. Being responsible for more flagship Nintendo titles than you can shake a stick at, Miyamoto has contributed more to the uprising of video gaming than anyone else on this list. So much so that he's been called the "Father of Modern Gaming". Legions of soccer moms aside, Shig's rightfully earned the fandom, and the title. Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong... You love them. You did as a kid and that child has been inside of you still for all of these years, reminding you of what a fun game is all about. As games become bigger and badder, his stay technologically humble and pulse strong with the same nostalgic formula we find ourselves falling back on time and time again. These are the roots, and the reasons why this man is a raging success.

2. Hideo Kojima


What you see before you is a brilliant mind in thought. A mind worth more than anything else to his name. Creator of the Metal Gear Solid series, Hideo had humble beginnings with the series, but now he is regarded as one of the most intelligent and masterful of his profession. With a presentation and style of telling a story like no one other, he persists that his games feel less like fiction, and more like an actual experience. This man bent over the stealth and action genre and had at it like nobody has ever seen before. Flip through the dictionary of gaming and you'll find his name to be synonymous with depth, quality, and genius.

1. Hironobu Sakaguchi


As yet another developer that had humble beginnings, Hironobu took a shot in the dark with the last remaining money his small studio, Square, had. Bullseye. Twenty-eight entries in the series since he created, to him, what would be his final fantasy, Sakaguchi is regarded as the single most inspirational and influential pioneer in RPGs. Bar none. With over 80 million units sold worldwide, Final Fantasy has become the definitive RPG experience, with no other game quite as dominating in it's genre. While it's known that the series has had it's ups and downs, what this man originally sparked was amazing. He is a shining example and inspiring justification to take risks in the industry, and this is why I gladly place him has number one on this list.

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Well, there you go. That's my list. I believe that none of these developers are truly that much greater than the other, so I had a hard time choosing one over the other... But each one has their individual merits and contributions to the industry as a whole, and you can appreciate them how you like. ...Maybe not Peter, the other four kind of stomp him but I seriously needed a filler. And it's late. He's only terrible in contrast to these awesome guys. C'mon.

Review: Cloverfield

No allusions to 9/11 here foks.

From the mind of J. J. Abrams, we have Cloverfield. A monstrously hyped early release of this year. While I never cared much for his work on the LOST series, he had to have writing talent with the amount of people speculating about this one... Right? Perhaps people were impatient waiting for the next Blair Witch hit, or a fantastic american-made whack at monster films after the largely disappointing 1998's Godzilla. The fact that all that everyone had to go on was a title, a vague trailer, and a release date...certainly helped.

Whatever the reason, people were on this film like maggots on a corpse. I couldn't help but join them and see what all the fuss was about. With no outside narrative of any sort, and the complete perspective being from the point of view of the main characters, the style of the film greatly intrigued me. As it's only from these sorts of angles that you can truly get a sense of scale.

While Hud, the main wielder our window to their perils, did capture a decent few shots of the creature, he largely insisted on shaking the camera back and forth between his friends to catch their own reactions. This was as if the camera was duct taped to his head, as he couldn't just look at them quickly as he documented the catastrophe. In the realistic tone of the movie, this makes little sense, and made me lose touch with the concept of it being found footage, making me remember it's a movie.

I felt as if there was a tad too much focus on the people at the beginning of the film. The movie tries to juggle relationships and friendships of the people involved with the situation of the monster in an attempt to connect me to them emotionally, and instead of a good monster movie, I ended up with an alright drama and an alright monster movie.


"Hi mom!"

The special effects are good, for as much as you can see of them. It's hard to make out imperfections in the CGI with an epileptic nine year old on a sugar rush at the camera, but it's convincing. The creature apparently dragged little parasites onto New York with it, and these also attack the main characters. It helps to have the looming sense of danger of these things when they're waiting underground and lollygagging about their personal dilemmas, and you get no real idea of what havoc the monster is causing outside.

There isn't much to the storyline. What you can scrape up is that the monster may have been created by the military, and besides that there is sadly more you know about Hud and his friends. While this might be a good balance to some, and helps to aid the mystery of this creature, I felt just as out of the loop as the people involved did. This only made me more curious, while the film never gave anything more than a few hints and teases.

The focus of the characters and their drama, while giving decent dialog and acting, gave me the sense that I was missing out on the big picture. It made sense that they weren't able to watch the monster's doings constantly, it being from the perspective of fairly regular individuals like you and me, but then why not the perspective of someone who does know what it's all about? Why not someone associated with the military? The only information you'll gain from these characters will be ramblings of conspiracy from Hud. Which, I'll grant it, were entertaining and lighthearted for a film of it's nature.


Sorry Lovecraft fans, no Cthulhu this time.

Cloverfield is a good film. But as a monster movie specifically, it was a disappointment. The tense and realistic action sequences arn't enough to save it from it's own meaningless storytelling of the main characters, and the heavy mystery of the monster will only serve as a sly bait for the sequel, should they make one. Even with budgets of thirty million dollars nowdays, I still find myself returning to the Godzilla and monster films of old.

Perhaps this perspective just wasn't meant for monster flicks? Or maybe it'll be a long time before one is done right. Until then, I can only recommend 2006's The Host to rekindle your faith in recent monster films. Cloverfield isn't terrible, it's lackluster. It teases you with tastes of well-done action and suspense, but then leaves you starving for information and relevant story. An admirable attempt worthy of only three of our five Konatas.

Survival Log - Entry 3

Day 5:

8:30 A.M.- Woken up by alarm. Tried my hand at fishing for the morning, though I wasn't very successful. Had a breakfast of Lion meat today, to get my strength up for some construction. I'm thinking of building something made of rock to hold water closer to the shelter; there's a spring not too far away, but I'd rather have some right beside the hut in case I wake up very thirsty.

4:36 P.M.- Ceased construction on the well; I wouldn't even say I'm halfway done, but it's taking time to try and make this as water-tight as possible. Running lower on food after eating lunch; I'll have enough for tonight and then breakfast in the morning, but tomorrow I'll need to hunt for more. The rest of tonight will be used for gathering branches.

9:12 P.M.- Crafted roughly 40 arrows. After I finished, I doused the campfire and laid under the stars, glancing every once in a while to the horizon...my eyes were playing tricks on me, because I swore I saw the sail of a large boat appear in the moonlight. Hoping I'll be rescued is only a waste of energy at this point; I need to establish a sufficient habitat here for myself first...at least get some vegetation growing that I can live off of if I run out of Lions.



Day 6:

8:30 P.M.- Woke up to not only the sound of my alarm, but the sight of my campfire being lit once again.. I know I put it out last night.. I must have left some embers alive that caught back on after I went to sleep, because I certainly doubt any of my lion and monkey friends could manage it. Ate my last meat for breakfast this morning; today, I go on the hunt.




6:43 P.M. - I..either I'm going insane, or there is another man on this island! Whilst gathering lion skins and meat, a somewhat deranged-looking man in a tarnished white lab-coat and silver glasses appeared in front of me..He spoke with an accent that made me think of Sweden or Denmark. The "professor" as he called himself asked if I'd like him to make anything for me.. I told him to hold on, and let me run back to my camp for supplies. I've stopped to write this before I head back out to find him again, in hopes he can use what I bring to build something for me.

Review: Super Mario Galaxy

Guess who bought a Wii today?!

...Not me. I think it's a gimmicky, mediocre attempt at a next-gen console. XD ...Hating the system aside, I'd like to point out a real gem among the library, chunked full of lame ports and party titles you'll only get decent playtime out of, unless you're a celebrity, a few times a month tops. So a good friend brought his over and I got to jam some Mario all night.

The Story

Guess what happens this time? Princess Peach kidnaps Bowser. Nah I'm kidding, it's the same old scenario. Albeit this time with the twist of space travel. Peach is abducted, Bowser is scheming to rule the universe, and it's up to Mario to save us all and restore order to the galaxies. It's definitely the most interesting of the series, but at the same time it'll be no chore keeping up with the overall plot.


Kidnapped again. Who'dda thunk? D:

The Presentation

For a Wii game, this looks spectacular. It oozes vibrant color and details. Shitloads of things shine, shitloads of things feature fancy texture tricks in general. If you want your Wii to show some muscle, this is the title to help you feel less insecure about choosing the hardware-handicapped console this generation. Some parts might feel a bit empty or bland at times, but overall the graphics shine. No really, they shine. There's bloom effects up the ass.

The sound is...fitting. Mario sounds like mario, with his cheers of joy as he jumps about, and his screams of peril in the aftermath of your failure to make a jump or spend that last life wisely. The same applies to Bowser and the other primary characters. Not much talking, lots of meeps and cute vocalization. The music is nice, it brings some serious nostalgia at times, remixing the sounds of many classic songs.


Mario. He's a man's man.

The Gameplay

Fun! Lots of fun. You can spin shit, jump on shit, and zoom around from planet to planet. The level design is top notch, of course, it being mario, and the gameplay mechanics work well with the wiimote controls... For the most part. There's some parts where the controls require you to be extremely quick-thinking and have the steadiness of a surgeon. I.E. the ball parts. You roll around on a ball, and it's completely wiimote controlled. One level had me and my friend almost completely insane. We must have retried the god forsaken thing 20+ times.

Besides those few terribly frustrating optional (thank god) levels, which I don't think for a second a young kid could possibly have the patience to sit through entirely, they're overall designed and played out in a fun fashion. They feature everyone's favorite enemies, from the goombas to the bullet bills. Levels are diverse, taking place on classic green grassed earth-types, snowy terrain, and even lava-shooting deathtraps which make you seriously wonder how a plumber could make it through something that epic. Well, he's god damn Mario. That's how.


Oh thank god, I didn't know what he was holding.

The controls are simple, with nothing more to manage besides Mario and a cursor that collects star-bits. It might seem like a hefty multi-task at first to collect these bits by waving around your friendly blue star, and directing Mario, but it becomes second nature within not even a minute. A press of a button makes mario jump, and a flick of the wiimote makes him spin. You may also shoot star-bits using your star-cursor but I generally found that useless most of the time and prefered to save them instead to feed to gluttonous star-things called Lumas that if you satisfy their hunger enough, they TRANSFOOOOOOORM.

The game features a life system that pretty much works like health. You collect enough coins, or get a 1-up and you'll raise your "lives" to a maximum of 6. There's also another set of lives that act as continues, should the previous set run out. It's basically health. I might actually have them mixed up, but anyone could wrap their head around how it works entirely within ten seconds of playing. Mario touches an enemy and he loses a life. Mario lights his ass on fire and he loses a life. Mario falls into the deep, dark, cold, void of space and he restarts the level again. It works.


Spoiler: Holy shit, you fight Bowser.

The Final Verdict

Super Mario Galaxy is a cute game. It's a warm and fuzzy game. No matter how many spin-offs of this popular plumber they make, a handful of them are always worth playing. This is a more than decent game in all aspects, save for a few hair pulling levels and the fact that the overall concept hasn't changed much since the original games. It's hard not to like this game, and the reason why is the secret sauce that has kept the line of Mario titles going for over twenty years. A pinch of nostalgia, a dash of brilliant level design, and years of perfected fun platforming formula. Four, out of five, Konatas for you Mario, you crazy son of a bitch.

5 Movies it's Criminal to Miss

These top 5 articles are so fun :D Now, as you might or might not have guessed from the title, these movies are all rooted in Crime. Gangsters, mafias, things of that sort; none of these movies are lighthearted, they all could be considered " Dramas ". I also promise you won't see Scarface or the Godfather on this list, not that they're bad movies, they just get enough love already, you know? Enough of this, on to the list!

#5. Eastern Promises


Don't be fooled by the cheesy catchphrase on the poster; Eastern Promises is a spot-on portrayal of organized crime in London. The plot goes something like this, though I can't say too much without giving a lot of it away. The lead role(Viggo Mortensen), Nikolai, is a driver for the Russian Mafia in London. After a midwife(Naomi Watts) finds a diary on the body of a prostitute whom she helped deliver her baby before death, she takes it to her uncle to be translated as she doesn't speak russian; this leads her to some men tied to the Russian Mafia, and she begins trying to uncover what happened to the woman whom she found the diary on. It feels like a thriller but it's sure to satisfy those of you that enjoy movies about the mafia in general; plenty of action, but still good dialog and Viggo does a great job in his role. Check this one out sometime.



#4. Blood In Blood Out


As far as I know, this movie isn't terribly well known, but that's because I only personally found out about it when I was 17; it came out much earlier. This is a crime drama set in Los Angeles; the film starts with 3 men, 2 half-brothers named Paco and Cruz, and their cousin Miklo. They're part of an Eastern LA gang known as " Vatos Locos ", a primarily hispanic gang, though Miklo is half caucasian. The beginning of the story is just your basic gangster stuff; they tear shit up, get into cocaine, general hood-gangster-movie stuff. However, Miklo is caught and sent to jail; Cruz becomes an artist, but can never shake the white stuff, and Paco becomes a policeman, which leads to Miklo denouncing him as family. This one is more than just a hood movie where guys shoot each other and drink 40's; if you thought that and looked away, go back and try again.



#3. Casino


Robert Deniro(Sam), a member of the Italian Mafia, heads out west to Vegas when territory and funds run dry back home in the east. Sam looks to make this as much of a business endeavor as possible without becoming unnecessarily violent and alerting the local law enforcement to what he's doing. Week after week the money is collected and sent back home through one man and a private jet who delivers it to a smaller member of the mob; everything is logged in books and done very professionally. Joe Pesci(Nicky), and old friend of Sam, decides he wants to head out west as well and join Sam in his pursuits, only Nicky is a cowboy; He thinks it's still the Wild West and acts accordingly, getting deep into cocaine and beating/shooting his opposition to death with no hesitation. The activities start to threaten the livelihood of the casino, which leads to a jag in the friendship between Sam and Nicky; not only that, Nicky has his eye on Sam's girl, and she's losing interest in Sam rapidly. A story full of loyalty turned to greed, friendship turned to backstabbing and deceit, and a classic mafia-movie ending, this one is sure to please fans of the genre. Watch it, now.



#2. Carlito's Way


Carlito's Way is the story of legendary puerto-rican gangster Carlito Brigante, fresh out of jail thanks to his lawyer, David Kleinfeld(who was in the inspiration for GTA:Vice City's lawyer character). He decides he's never going back to jail and that his life as a gangster is over, and to commit to a relationship with the woman he loves. While at first his plans go just fine, eventually he slides back into old situations, where old habits are proven to die hard; near the end he realizes it has to end, but there's one more thing he has to do first... His Lawyer needs a favor, and Carlito knows he can't refuse this to the man that got him out of prison. This movie is one of Pacino's finest roles in my opinion, and I reccomend it to absolutely anyone, fans of crime dramas or not.



#1. GoodFellas


Cliche? Maybe. Definitely not the first in the genre, that's for sure, but you can't deny it's one of the best. Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci are always great together; their chemistry on-set really shines through in their roles together, and Ray Liotta..this is the movie that solidified his status as a GREAT actor, for myself. The movie starts with Henry(Liotta), Jimmy(DeNiro), and Tommy(Pesci) riding in a car down a dark highway. It's obvious they're all stressed, then all of a sudden a thumping noise comes from the trunk, where it becomes apparent they're transporting someone but didn't finish killing them yet. They pull over and finish the job, and the narration begins; we're taken back to Henry's childhood, and the movie from here on out is how he becomes entangled with the mob, growing up in a family that was only half-Italian. After a segment of his childhood, we're taken "back to the future", where he, Jimmy, and Tommy are all grown, professional mobsters. Plenty of great action and general badassery in this one, and the soundtrack doesn't consist of a single bad song(that's not opinion, either, damnit!). The events lead up to where we came in on the movie at the beginning, with the three taking the man in the car, and then everything begins spiraling downwards. To put it simply without spoliing too much, GoodFellas is in every way the perfect portrayal of the rise and fall of an organized crime syndicate. I'm sure most of you have already seen it, but if for some reason you haven't, don't wait any longer; this is the definitive mafia movie.

Thanks, Anonymous Blogged Reviewer Guy!

Thanks! >:3

This is a tribute to the greatest blog reviewer guy in the world, who somehow(maybe he was drunk) rated this blog "Very good"! All jokes aside, thanks, guy(girl?). Hopefully you'll come back to check on us one day and find this shrine to your awesomeness content. Good show, old chap.

5 Films to see before leaving this world

5. Half Baked

A stoner flick? Beating out the potential of the Godfather on this list? I know what you're thinking, but I wanted to keep this comedy oriented, and these arn't the five TOP films... Just five great ones. I'll make more lists, don't get your panties in a bunch.

Shit hits the fan when a diabetic police-horse is killed by junk food, fed by a sympathetic user of the plant, believing it to be hungry and as I think most people would suspect, high or not, is not a diabetic. So he's labeled a cop-killer and thrown in jail, how's he going to get out? Well his friends think up a scheme involving, guess what? Pot. Didn't see that coming did you?

Thurgood, the main protagonist, steals unfathomably good research-marijuana from a laboratory at which he works as a "custodian", and they sell it to raise the money to bail their friend. Things get messy when a local drug dealer named Sampson Simpson discovers that they're costing him money with their wonder-weed, and hilarity ensues. A charming movie to anyone who even doesn't share the lifestyle of these whacky characters, and if you do, it'll become an easy personal-favorite.



4. Kill Bill (Volumes 1&2)

Yes, Kill Bill does consist of two volumes, technically two films, but I consider them one. To watch one and not the other is like if you were to eat half a taco and throw the rest away. Just ain't right. Anyhoo...

This film is notorious for it's bloody nature, and it's memorable characters. The story of a bride who was wronged, and then must enact revenge. Oh but there is more than just a broken heart involved, quite a few bones are broken as well... Corny metaphors aside, I cannot recommend this to anyone who can't stomach themselves some violence.

While one of the much more serious films in this comedy-oriented list, it has a lot of dark, subtle humor of it's own. Some things are just intentionally corny, and it just has a fantastic vibe. The acting is superb, and you can only suspect the finest action and characters from the mind of Tarantino. Probably the best acted and portrayed female protagonist in films this generation, Uma Thurman will rock your ass.



3. Clerks

Straight from the mind of Kevin Smith, this first installment within the "View Askewniverse" series of films, tells the trials endured by a simple shop clerk named Dante, and his good friend Randal. With a mere fund of 27,000 dollars to make this indie film, raised from selling comic books and maxing out nearly a dozen credit cards, Kevin created what is now one of the most beloved and hilarious movies of all time.

Shot in black & white due to money constraints, the movie features ironically colorful dialog and characters. The situations are scarily down to earth, and you can find yourself relating to quite a few things found within the film. One local convenience store, two drug dealers, and 36 dicks. A comedy staple.



2. The Big Lebowski

The tale of a California burnout, his best friend Walter, and a guy named Donny who just doesn't know when to shut the fuck up. Things become heated when a rug becomes pissed on, a business man's skank of a wife is kidnapped, and it's all up to the dude. With the aid of his vietnam veteran sidekick, will he overcome? Also, what's up with those acid flashbacks?

The characters are lovable, the context of the story is perfect, and every time you watch it, you'll pick up something refreshingly funny. Brilliant dialog mixed with hilarious situations and a more-than-appropriate soundtrack for it's themes, make this movie a rightful cult-classic. Fuck it, dude, let's go bowling.


1. Pulp Fiction

The number one spot goes to yet another Quentin Tarantino film, and it shouldn't be a surprise. The man is a genius, and this film exemplifies the fact that his films contain wonderfully dark humor that needs no laughtrack or hints what-so-ever to highlight it.

An extremely uneasy blend of humor and violence make this tale of numerous characters an interesting one to say the least. I can't begin to describe the plot in it's messy chronological order, but I can say that it involves blood, a briefcase, and one tasty burger. My inability to sum it up aside, the plot is fantastic. The characters are all extremely interesting in their own right, and so are the many ways they tie in with each other throughout the film.

This is definitely a film you need to watch twice to get the entire picture. It's almost two films in one in this sense, as you'll be confused but compelled and immersed one sit-through, and enjoying it in an informed manner the next. A perfecto balance of crime drama, irony, black comedy, storytelling, and characters you wish you were half as cool as in reality, make this film number one on this list. If you haven't seen it, you're either too young to see it or too *draws square* to get it.

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That's it folks. While these arn't the only five films you should see before you die, they're up there in my opinion. I'll do another one of these lists another time, most likely covering films with more serious tones and plots. Until then, I'm out. :D

British scientists merge animal & human embryos

For the first time in history, a team of British scientists have successfully merged human and animal embryos, only a short time before the House of Commons will try to regulate this field of research, which has sparked plenty of controversy.

The scientists mixed human DNA with a cow's empty eggs(the ones on the inside, for the confused readers out there), creating the first mixed embryo ever. So what does this mean? This is a rather monumental step closer to using stem-cells to cure diseases and deformities.

"The BBC reported that the Newcastle cybrids(cytoplasmic hybrids) lived for three days and that the largest grew to contain 32 cells. The ultimate aim is to grow these for six days and then to extract embryonic stem cells for use in research."

Click here to read the full article.

Sony BMG charged with..mass piracy?!

I almost thought it was an April Fool's Joke, but the news article was posted on the 31st at 2P.M. (still not 100% sure though, jeez. if it turns out to be one I'll delete this.)

"Sony BMG is no stranger to piracy. As one of the most vocal supporters of the RIAA and IFPI anti-piracy efforts, the company has some experience hunting down and punishing consumers who don't pay for its products. The company is getting some experience on the other side of the table, however, now that it's being sued for software piracy."

This is pretty funny. Of course they'll probably be able to weasel out of this one with their team of superlawyers, but hopefully this damages their reputation enough that they won't be spouting shit about piracy for the next 10 years. Let's remember this day as a victory, comrades.

Click here to read the full article.