Malik
(1/4/10)
I am, sadly, back from my wonderful freedom of vacation. I guess
this also means I should begin to post again with some regularity.
First off, I want to say I am glad that 2009 is over. I don't mean
the year, but rather the NFL regular season which ended with a
painful realization yesterday. That realization is that the Seahawks
are screwed. There is not much else to say. Last season was bad, but
it could be blamed on the platoon of injured wide receivers that
were being destroyed in a freak occurrence. As for this
season...there's no real blame to spread on circumstances. It all
was real and created by the team.
The best part of this season was the resignation of Tim Ruskell.
This was the GM that nightmares are made of. When the Seahawks lost
players to injuries, nothing was ever done to fortify the now
lacking roster spot. The same was true when players retired. Most of
all, under Ruskell, the roster was never fortified when we lost
players to free agency or to trades. Ruskell seemed to manage the
team with an attitude that if Seattle lost a key player, then
somehow the NFL gods would come down and magically make that
position dissapear.
If Seattle wants to come back as contenders next season, then they
need to realize MLB and MLS exist. If Seattle wants to be a
contender in the NFL, then some psychiatric drugs and therapy are
the only possible option to eliminate these delusions. 2010 will be
a rebuilding year, or another year of crap before the rebuilding
begins in 2011. No simple solution will be found when the offensive
line is missing, the coaching is horrible (especially when the
offensive coordinator is about as uninspired as humanly possible
with his obvious and generic play calling), the defense is lacking
in a few key spots and cannot contain the rush or the pass, and the
budget is still being drained on bloated salaries to worthless
players.
Most of all, some realism is needed from Mora. Mora kept pretending
to call out his players this season with talk of "if we fail again,
then I'll look at roster changes..." when nothing was ever done. I
mean Julius Jones is the starting back while averaging maybe a yard
or two per attempt, but Forsett averages more than 5 yards per carry
and remains the backup or third down back. Any coach worth his pay
would see that changes have to be made, not just hinted at. That
also goes with making obvious play calls and then pretending like
they are brilliant. I think not one person in the NFL is surprised
about what play is coming when Seneca Wallace is lined up with the
receivers. Here's a hint, like any defensive coordinator in the NFL
knows, you can be assured that the ball will be lateralled to
Wallace, following by a quick pass to the nearest receiver (since
he's too damned short to see much further down or across the field).
The Seahawks, most of all, were sad to watch in how they were flat
out horrible, but they were even bad at being bad. The Rams are
getting a sweet draft pick. Tampa Bay, and Detroit are also getting
some nice draft picks. The Seahawks, who even lost to the Bucs, are
meanwhile getting the sixth pick because they did too damned well,
while being so damned bad. Only the Seahawks can be losers at being
losers, while still being almost assured of no coaching changes and
no real restructuring next season. Maybe the next GM will be able to
pull something amazing out of his hat, but if another Bavasi/Ruskell
style GM is found, it would just continue business as usual in
Seattle. In fact, I'd expect another horrible GM just because of how
the Mariners somehow managed to find a good GM. Seattle sports tend
to play the law of averages, and that says that another good GM
cannot be expected.
Malik |
Malik
(1/5/10)
I'm still getting back
in the swing of things. I took such a stance of laziness during the
last couple of weeks that I even fell out of knowing what I feel
like I SHOULD know. For example, I like a good deal of music from
Paul McCartney, and I sure as hell live for the good old punk days,
like with The Ramones. Yet, it's only yesterday that I saw
both of these are coming, or came, today to Rock Band. I should
know this stuff ahead of time...I really should.
I also fell so far
out of things that I really spent the bulk of my last few days of
vacation doing nothing much beyond watching bad TV, bad instant
watch Netflix, and really bad youtube. It's not a bad way to spend
vacation time, but it's not one to exactly take pride in talking
about.
It's only in the
last couple of days that I've really gotten back to my playing of
games that are not Rock Band related. I have taken a break from the
latest DS Castlevania (more on that in a second), but I've done a
bit of Burnout Paradise (360 version) and a bit of Dragon Age
Origins. DAO is probably my favorite game to kill time with right
now, but it's hard to even get back to that game when laziness
calls.
I would have kept
up with Castlevania (Order of Ecclesia) a bit more, but for all the
improvements shown in this latest game of the franchise, there's a
few too big of bugs for me to enjoy for too long at a time. I mean
the game is back to it's Castleroid roots from Symphony of the
Night. The touch screen bullshit is gone (thankfully) and the game
is once again focused on only one character who does seem to have an
interesting story and idea behind her. The game has a good deal of
exploration, and more of the old areas can be revealed later in the
game as you find new powers (like the double jump). You also have a
big assortment of weapons and abilities to use, so it's like the
game is back to where it was last great; on the GBA before the DS
touch screen screwed over the series.
At least all would
be good if not for one large change. The game still feels great, but
only until you fight a boss. This is not a standard Castleroid game.
You don't take on a boss and just hope that you deal more damage
than it does, and that you can learn to avoid the most deadly of
special attacks. No, this time it's all about dying a few times on a
boss before you really face it. A boss can, even if you grind for
levels and equipment, kill you quickly. Too quickly. Even a weak
"normal" attack from a boss will usually be enough to take you down
in about four to six hits. A major attack (or a special ability)
will cut that number down to two hits. It's like the first hit is a
reminder that the game hates you. The second hit is the game saying
"f#@$ off!" That's all there is to it.
This means that a
good player, one who learns to adapt quickly to boss fights in prior
Castleroid games, or a player who is slightly off his/her game but
still wants to have some fun kicking ass and taking names cannot get
their normal enjoyment from Order of Ecclesia. No. Only obsessive
completionist style games can get fun out of these fights. Hell, the
game even rewards you with a special token (it does nothing...only
for getting your 100% item collection bragging rights) for killing a
boss without taking any damage at all. This is not what Castlevania
has ever been about. Castlevania, up until this title, was a game
about being hit and hurt, but knowing that you can learn from your
mistakes...not "you can learn from your mistakes after you die and
reload and therefore, in the game, your character never got better
from a narrative perspective, only in a fourth-wall-is-gone
perspective." Also, I just find this annoying since it means buying
new armor is nearly worthless in the game (and you do equip armor,
hats, and boots, as well as two accessories at any time) from the
protection aspect, which is what armor should be about.
Anyway, if I could
somehow skip all the boss fights, I'd love this game. With the boss
fights requiring you to learn how to dodge every damned attack
thrown at you (and some bosses have a fairly large assortment of
annoying moves to learn and predict) instead of just rolling with
the punches, it just starts to feel like a chore. Actually, it feels
like a fun game with an annoyance forced on you every thirty to
sixty minutes. If anything, it's like playing Simon's Quest and
having your fun halted for a while since you need to buy something
in town, but wait...here comes that slow transition...yes...it's
night time and you have to wait for day before you can buy anything.
Not to mention the second slow transition and text box that comes up
during the dawn transition.
I hated it with a
passion, but I think I actually enjoyed the touch screen bullshit of
Dawn of Sorrows more. That was the game that required you to draw a
seal, with a glitchy touch screen detection system, after slaying a
boss or else the boss would return with 50% HP for another round
until you finally entered the seal correctly after temporarily
slaying it another time. The system was so bad that I could never
finish the game (the seal on the final boss was just too damned
strict on how you drew it and would never work for me). Still, I'd
rather have that hell thrust on me than a Castleroid with bosses
that rely too much on perfectionism.
Anyway, all
bitching aside, I think it's just another reminder of the simple
fact that haunts Castlevania to this day; Symphony of the Night was
too damned good. Until another Castlevania game can be made this
complex, yet this simple, the series will always been seen as less
than it could be.
Malik |
Malik
(1/6/10)
To change gears from my
usual geek speak (being video games), I have a small story of sorts.
In January of 2006 I bought a Motorola v360 phone. It's a nice
phone. I mean it has survived some punishment that should void the
warrantee. I'm talking about sending in into a flying deep fat fryer
(now that's a long story involving both alcohol and my
disappointment following Super Bowl XL) as it crashed to the ground,
and a nice dose of being submerged in a hot tub (no alcohol in that
story...just...ummm..."operator error").
It's been a great
phone, but it's old. Also, the abuse has not made some features the
best, especially the newly added "auto-power-off" that happens about
once every few days. So, I've been thinking about a new phone. I
like my T-Mobile account, especially since the free in network calls
include land lines using the $10/month T-Mobile home phone service.
In other words, I've been wanting a new phone, but preferably one
which lets me keep my current provider.
The geek in me,
who has too much say in my life, says I need a phone with a bunch of
gadgets that I should feel are worthless. This means a camera that
is at least passable (not the VGA camera on my v360), a good MP3
player (even if my iPod still is my main source of music on the go),
web browsing (which I still think I don't really need on the go),
and the ability to get some pointless apps. However, this has meant,
until now, that my options were basically Blackberry, of one of the
flimsier Android phones. I don't care for Windows Mobile, with a
large lack of app support, so Blackberry is out. I also don't dig
the Android phones that seem to be stuck in Nintendo thinking. I
mean every Android phone seems to be stuck on the 512MB of internal
memory idea. However, I do like the Android platform as a whole, as
it seems to be the best thing that's not Apple, which means it's the
best possible for a non-AT&T mobile user.
Well, that's the
story. No resolution, as of yet, since I'm still thinking about a
new phone. However, this brings us to reality, which includes Google
releasing (and formally announcing, in the same day, more or less)
the Nexus One. That would be the new and highly hyped phone that
is the first released phone to be designed by Google, with some new
and wacky ideas. I mean it's the first major US phone that come
unlocked. There is no provider locked version of the phone. If you
buy one, and you have a carrier who uses a GSM network, you're able
to make calls. Give a little time, and AT&T's 3G network will work
for data. Right now, T-Mobile is about the only major carrier to
have full usability with the Nexus One, but this is due to change in
the next few months.
As a geek, and as
a person who would probably enjoy, while hating the idea of owning,
a mini-all-in-one gadget, I am intrigued. I mean I can even get
around the idea of having to pay $529 for one of these. After all,
with no locks on it, you don't need a contract, and with T-Mobile's
no-contract plans (which are cheaper per month than a contract plan
with a subsidized phone), the price is only something like $50-$100
if you buy the phone straight up. It's not as bad as it sounds, as
long as you're up for a large initial payment with a better final
payoff.
The one thing I
just cannot get my mind around is that Nintendo thinking. For being
designed by Google people, why is this thing still running the
standard 512MB of internal storage space? That means you can only
have a small amount of Android apps before you're stuck in the
Virtual Console idea of erasing something and having to re-download
in the future. Yes, Google has the idea out there that they will
eventually find a software upgrade to allow the micro SD card to be
encrypted (allowing it to be used for app storing and usage). I've
heard a lot in the past from too many companies about plans that
don't really benefit them and being free. The one thing these plans
all seem to have in common is that these plans are always "coming
soon". As long as Android phones have 512MB across the board,
there's no reason for Google to encrypt the SD card. It costs money
to research and implement this free fix, and not too many successful
companies like the idea of paying money for zero profit.
Anyway, it is a
nice looking phone. The reviews I've seen all sound pretty good, and
the images I've seen taken from the Nexus One camera look damned
nice for a cell phone camera. It's not the large-internal-storage
multi-touch behemoth that is the iPhone, but it's as close as one
can find. In some aspects, it's better than an iPhone with some
powerful hardware specs. However, being better on paper is only so
good. Being better in reality is the better option. It's like with a
desktop computer. You can have a powerful PC that is humbled by an
aging machine if the powerful one has no freaking storage. Of
course, that example is only so good, since a PC can be upgraded,
but a smart phone is stuck in place for it's entire life. If the
rumors and hints that Google drops about the SD encryption and talks
of enabling multi-touch (which is understandably difficult...Apple
has some nice patents out there) "in the future" come to fruition,
then this would be one hell of a great phone. I'd be happy with a
32GB SD card instead of permanent internal memory, as would a lot of
us geeks. However, I cannot get past the hype of "this is awesome*"
when it all seems marked with an asterix (denoting the small print
that says "awesomeness is a future available upgrade").
What's the point
of this story and my thinking about the Nexus One? Hell if I know. I
think it's just me stating in a more tangible way the battle between
my rational mind and that damned hyped up geek that keeps trying to
open my wallet.
Malik |
Malik
(1/7/10)
Next week, Harmonix is
brining a
new Alice in Chains 5 pack to Rock Band. I've been lazy about RB
DLC lately, with one burst of buying the week of Christmas. This
will change that, at least for one week. I mean Alice in Chains is
what I grew up with and am still digging.
Anyway, I decided
to give Order of Eclessia (Castlevania DS game) another shot
yesterday. It was mainly out of necessity. I had a dentist
appointment, and since waiting rooms and waiting for my mouth to
numb are both dull prospects when surrounded by no distractions
beyond easy listening jazz and outdated issues of People and Woman's
World, I brought my DS. Castlevania was the game in there, and I
resumed by torture of facing the not-so-end boss (final boss if you
go for the bad ending, otherwise the half way point boss). I got
through, and immediately faced another boss. Luckily, that actually
passed quickly...maybe I was in the zone.
Now that I'm in
the second half of the game (assuming you skip the bad ending), I'm
feeling good again. The game is hard right now, but not torture. It
can be amazing how a game can go from painful to play to being hard
but rewarding in just five minutes. I'm at a happy state with the
game now, so I'll probably continue until my next torture session
(major boss battle), before I stop again to resume Dragon Ago
Origins. Then I'll be back after another round of getting annoyed
with DAO.
Why am I now
annoyed with DAO, you ask? It is a good game. It lacks a hook to
really pull me in, which Bioware had in the past with familiar
enough of worlds from Forgotten Realms and Star Wars. DAO just feels
a bit lifeless to me so far. The engine is solid, the visuals are
nice, the voices are good, and the character system is good fun. So,
no hook is not a game breaker, but it is a bit sad when I feel like
I need a final hook in the plot to really draw me in.
Anyway, while
happy with the game, I realized that the deluxe edition (or whatever
it's properly called..."deluxe", "collector's", "ultimate"...it's
all the same meaning but with a fancy new name) didn't come with the
Warden's Keep and Prisoner of Stone DLC. Instead it came with a code
to download the DLC. Well, between having a very old Bioware login
name and newer EA login, I had a stupidly annoying time trying to
log in well enough to get my game to recognize the DLC codes and to
download them. In the end I had a nice (sarcasm) time of digging out
old email accounts to find my Bioware name, and then linking it to
the EA name, and then linking my game and logging in to the EA
account after adding the DLC. By the time it was done and the DLC
was downloaded, I was only out about three hours of my life.
Anyway, as I said,
DAO is a fun and good quality game. I can get past the "hook" issue,
since I'm sure I'll be hooked after a few more hours of playing. I
mean the plot, while cliché, is picking up nicely. It is a good game
and does redeem Bioware, in my eyes, for Jade Empire and Mass
Effect. I just feel like, after the DLC issue (shouldn't it actually
be included in the digital deluxe version, and not just a redemption
code?), that I can't face the game until my feeling of annoyance
passes. If I jumped in right now, I'd probably pick apart any other
minor annoyances, instead of enjoying the quality that is there.
At least, on the
bright side, it is the weekend. This means, after seventeen bad
weeks, I am free to relax. In other words, no need to feel like four
hours of my weekend has to be wasted on watching the Seahawks forget
more about football every week.
Speaking of being
free from the hell of mediocre Seahawks...Jim
Mora is not a problem anymore. His ass was canned today. While I
think the team has more problems than just Mora, I don't see him as
a solution to anything that went wrong this season. Yes, the GM (Tim
Ruskell) was a huge issue since holes were being made in the roster
for too many years. However, when Mora made phony promises (along
the lines of "if you don't do a good job playing, we will re-examine
your role" and never delivering) and couldn't seem to offer anything
concrete to help his end of the problems, it seemed like his removal
was going to be an important first step. However, it also looked
like he was too friendly with the front office to ever be removed
this quickly. Maybe now,
especially if Pete Carroll does join the team, a bad player can
be demoted while his better backup gets to start. I'm talking about
situations like when Julius Jones was the starting back and the
better Justin Forsett was left as the back up or third down back.
Carroll would be
awesome, but we also need a good GM.
Malik |
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