Demo: Limbo

This tree thing killed me a couple times.  My roommate laughed.

Got a hold and gave a whirl for the demo of Limbo, monochromatic platform-puzzle game that has received a lot of awards.  Can't say much about it, the demo was pretty short (10 minutes of gameplay).  It looked very artsy, but not in the fun, bubbly way that Braid did.

So - not much to say, other than I'm speculative about giving $15 towards it.  If I was still a Playstation Plus subscriber, the number goes down a couple digits.

But - you know - meh.  That's how I'm feeling...

Bioshock 2 DLC 50% Off on Playstation Store

After logging into the Playstation Store today to download the latest Fallout: New Vegas DLC, I was greeted by a huge advertisement that all 2K DLC was half-off.  I cursed my early purchase of Minerva's Den and Protector Trials DLC; but my misfortune can be your savings!  Consider extending your Bioshock 2 experience with these two DLC packs - for 50% off!

Minerva's Den, the trip into a new Rapture environment as Subject Sigma will run you $4.99 and the Protector Trials - an opportunity to flex your Big Daddy muscles in a set of fun challenges - is only $2.49.  So, for a total of less than two Starbucks lattes, you can extend the original game by another few hours!

Flash Game Friday: 100th

100th, a puzzle platformer that relies on the use of rising balloons, may be just the time waster you need today!

Balloon hoppin' - that's my thing.

The game uses basic arrow keys to control your pixelated creation, and X to hold or release baloons which you can use to explore the world.  The game is easy enough to understand, with a couple of fun puzzles to collect gifts and reach then end.  Good play!

P.S. while very demanding from a manual dexterity perspective, you can beat the game only using the red balloon.  Good luck!

Reading List is Taking Over!

My reading list has taken over a little, lately, care of some birthday presents.

I have found that, indeed, I can enjoy books on my new iPad, so I have bought two, and they are both based off of video games.  From Dragon Age, a prequel about the birth of King Marric (whose son is a featured character in Dragon Age: Origins) called Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne and from Bioshock, another prequel about the founding and downfall of the underwater city, Rapture, called simply BioShock: Rapture.

Since both books had Samples available on iBooks, I was able to get a feel before committing to purchasing.  I've never tried an e-Reader before, but have been surprised at how well the iPad serves in that aspect (as well as having some game, which I'll do a feature on soon).

Also, some nice solid down to earth books, namely Dead Until Dark: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel.  It's much much campier than its television inspired series (HBO's True Blood) - up to being laugh out loud funny, the kind I haven't had sine One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) or Grift Sense series (both campy murder mystery types).

Civilization V

The Civilization series of games has been around since 1991, and are loosely related to a board game of the same name.  In the game, the player is one of several world leaders at the dawn of history.  With only a settler and an accompanying unit, the player settles their first city and begins to develop their nation.  Because of the intense variability in the games, the Civ series is remember as engaging and often addictive ("just... one... more... turn...").

Civ V is the latest iteration of the series which has seen itself develop in new and interesting ways.  Civ IV in particular introduced the notion of religion as a gameplay mechanic that - while, at times, unrealistic - added depth into gameplay.  The fourth game also introduced culture as a methodology of expanding ones' borders and influencing a neighboring city to join your robust country than another leader's lackluster one.

The full review is after the jump...

Cute Cat Cartoon

Why My Stepfather Should Play Minecraft

Yes.  This post is specifically for you, Stepfather.  I know you're not currently playing Minecraft, and I'm about to attempt to tell you why you should.

An aqueduct.  In Civ V, it retains 40% of food after growth.

Minecraft (minius-craftius) opens with you, alone in a world populated with trees, deserts, oceans, mountains, snow, etc.  You are alone, and have nothing.  You must build yourself a shelter before the night falls and zombies, skeletons, spiders, and (the ever feared) creepers spawn and attempt to eat your succulent man-flesh.

Luckily, nearly everything in the world can be broken down by your fists (trees, sand, soil) or appropriate tools that you craft (stone, coal, iron ore).  So you'll be able to create a modest home with a couple torches before night falls.

Playing Minecraft is a very zen experience (except for when you accidentally stumble upon a nest of zombies).  While the mobs - Minecraft slang for the creatures who spawn at night - are certainly an ever looming threat, the point to playing the game is to build whatever you want.  Would you like to have a cobblestone sky walkway connecting your various homes so that you can traverse the world without having to worry about mobs on the ground?  You need only build it.  Instead, consider an interconnected subway of carts that ride on redstone powered rails.  You are limited to only your imagination.

More after the jump...


The Hog Wart Sexpress

This script was used as part of our Labyrinth of Health and Horrors at work last year, and excellently performed by my favorite employee, Colleen.  The theme for the room is sexual health and the script makes ample use of puns...  enjoy!

Harry Potter and the Hog Wart Sexpress

HERMIONE:      Quickly, quickly!  You must get inside.  There are Sementors all around us!  I just got inside myself.

[The students enter the small alcove with HERMIONE.]

                                Latexo Maximus!  There, that will keep the Sementors away.  Have any of you been exposed?  I have some chocolate and information to help you prevent Unexpecto Pregonum.

                                I can’t believe you are all walking around unprotected!  Lord Vulvawart is currently battling Professor Dumblesore and Professor McGonnoreah, and who knows how long they can keep him at bay!  And he’ll surely be here soon, because he’s after my Goblet of Fire!

                                You have to go, but first I will teach you to protect yourself.  It’s a simple spell, really.  And I can demonstrate using…

                                [HERMIONE reveals a dildo called the SWORD OF GRYFFINDOR.]

                                …the SWORD OF GRYFFINDOR! 

                                You must have in your possession the Latexo spell.  We’ll give you some on your way out, so you’ll be prepared.  The first thing you must do prior to using it is check to make sure the spell is not expired, then open it with your hands.  Do not use your teeth, wand, quill, or owl to open it, or you may damage the spell!

                                Remove the spell from its package and place it atop your head.  Be sure to pinch the tip, since a sudden appearance of potion will need some place to reside.  Next, extend your spell all the way down to the base.

                                Now you will be protected from Sementors, Crabbes and Boils, Could-Itch, Syphillis Black, and Lord Vulvawart himself!

                                When you are finished using the protective spell, remove and dispose of it.  But please do not flush it down the toilet as it upsets Groaning Myrtle. 

And I shouldn’t have to remind you to only use one spell at a time, and use a new spell every time you need protection.

The Latexo spell can be used to protect your risk from all sorts of activities, such as going to the owlery to get Head… Wig.

If you need to review more with me later, leave your question in a box on the way out.  My protective enchantment is wearing off!  Go!  Go, quickly!  And remember to protect yourself!

Harry Potter and the Last Decade of my Life

Last night, with heavy heart and droopy eyelids, I embraced the final cinematic adaptation of Harry Potter.  For many of those who sat in the theatre alongside me, this was the end of a journey.  For some, it was a simple finality to a series they had enjoyed, and for others it was the completion of an epic tale, a side-along Bildungsroman of their own development from child to young adult.

Few films have scrutiny comparable to that of the Harry Potter franchise, which fans will dissect and magnify trivial cuts that were hard-pressed, but important, to be made.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 may not have lived up to everyone's expectations, but it did fine to live up for mine.  More (spoiler-rific) after the jump.

Minecraft

An example of why Minecraft is so brilliant.  A guy made a PRINTER....