Zero Productivity
This is going to be like 5 updates in 1.
I'm sure most of you have noticed the new design (If you haven't then shame on you and visit more). I had a goon help write a new style for me. While doing that I did a lot of back end work. Reorganized a bunch of things and added some new stuff. I really worked on the display of the comments because before they looked like crap. I have the cool alternating color thing thanks to the discovery of $id%2. I also implemented a Gravatar avatar for the comments. If you don't have a Gravitar then you should get one. A lot of blogs use it. It's linked by your email address so if you use a different email then it won't show up (I don't spam). The last addition to the site is the Ad banner. I made sure to keep it text only and to make sure it has zero annoyance (Wow Pandora is kicking right now). I get a bit of traffic so I might as well profit from it.
tl;dr: SITE FACE LIFT!!!
Now on to video games.
I have to promote this game because I have been playing it constantly at work because of how awesome it is. Super Mario Crossover. It's Super Mario Bros. but you can play as different icons from the 8-bit era (It's air-a not ear-a you jerk). Give it a play and go to the exploding rabbits website to watch the developer play it.
The next game is one that has mixed reviews. It has disappointed fans and some not so fans. I'm talking about Final Fantasy XIII. I'm a good 10 hours into it so I think I have enough to judge or else it's a very slow paced game. A lot of complaints come from how linear it is. When I heard It I was thinking "Oh it lacks exploration but it can't be that bad". No no no... I was wrong for thinking that. The game is follow a straight narrow path while battling any enemies you come across. The battle sequences are really good but outside of that there is no need for game play because it is simply just pushing one direction (Well you do need to sneak up on enemies for preemptive strikes but really). The biggest complaint I hear is because of Vanille and Fang. Their accents are annoying and I don't think Vanille really has a role in the story other than to be annoying. I think Katy Perry describes them pretty well (Catchy song btw). My complaint is mostly about Hope being a whiny emo and sucking in every battle he encounters. I'm seriously stuck on a boss because he dies way to easy. I have him maxed on his levels and Health accessories. The battle system is pretty unique. It relies on classes and switching between classes. You control your leader of the party and the other characters by their classes by changing the paradigm. If the leader dies it's game over. You can set up chains to perform yourself or you can auto chain based on your leader's class in the current paradigm. Cool battling system in a bad game 
The next game is Fallout 3. I can't comment too much on this because I haven't spent too much time playing it. For the time that I have spent with it I absolutely love it. Crazy story, Open ended game leaves a lot to do. RPG stats on an FPS = Win. Though I wish I had picked up the Game of the Year Edition so I could get the DLC but what ever.
The last game and the most recent I've picked up is 3D Dot Game Heroes. In a nutshell, it's Zelda. Imagine the original Legend of Zelda if it was made today and given a little more plot. It's an obvious clone that can be seen by reading the instruction manual. I'm not saying that this game is bad though. This game is really good. The graphics are beautiful. Controls are fluent. It is a real throwback to the classic games I grew up playing. It knows it's a throwback to the classics. In the story the Kingdom of Dotnia use to be 2D but everyone grew tired of 2D so the King changed the world to 3D. I take it as people got sick of 2D games. It's a good game that seems to have potential and possibly something new to offer to the genre.
I have to end it here because I couldn't get my hands on a copy of Super Mario Galaxy 2... Yet.
Posted At 2010-05-22 02:12:10 by deadwolf :: ( No comments )
The Worlds Toughest Question
Answered in a 4chan meme...
Posted At 2010-04-25 17:09:56 by DeadWolf :: ( No comments )
Gnome Shell: Second Look
I recently, very recently, replaced my Ubuntu install with a fresh Fedora 12 installation. I must say that I really like Fedora overall. It just doesn't come with the luxuries that Ubuntu does so it takes a little more patience and fine tuning. To stay on topic I'm not going to go into a distro battle here. I want to give Gnome Shell a second opinion.
When I first tested Gnome Shell it was in Ubuntu and really unstable thanks to the unstable OS. After installing Fedora I decided to take my chances again. It runs 90% better on Fedora so the majority of what I hated was gone. I find it fascinating that they put everything in one location. It works and looks great while working. The developers of Gnome really had transparency in mind while working on Gnome Shell. That same transparency seems to have one major issue. When I want to go to another application or workspace I have to go back to the Activities menu and selected. Only a minor problem but it seems really counter intuitive. I guess you can always alt-tab for the apps but I want to use my mouse with as little effort as possible.
This was just a short update to really show that I did give it another chance on a more stable OS. I can only imagine what the future has in store Gnome and I feel that Gnome Shell is a step in the right direction.
Posted At 2010-01-26 01:43:42 by DeadWolf :: ( No comments )
We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!
Excuse the title as it's a Ghostbusters quote.
The title explains what I'm thinking right now. It portrays my mood from my recent endeavor. I have never played a title that was so rage inducing and so satisfying to beat than Zelda 2. I was so happy to finish that game that I took a picture. I was playing it with the original cart on my Yobo FC. That's right. I'm hard core! No state saving. No Wii come back and play where you left off. Pure you start at the origin and walk to your destination every time you turn it on.
My thoughts on the game:
I thought the game was really fun but extremely difficult. There is a learning curve that is pretty steep. If you don't figure out how to easily kill the enemies then there is no hope for you. When I had started I was terrified of the Iron Knuckles. As I played I learned the trick to them and could kill them with out taking a hit. I later grinded off of the red ones to build my levels because they seemed too easy for the experience. The game is challenging and the controls are fluent. If you mess up it's your fault. Later on through the game there are some parts that were really aggravating. There is a room in the 6th palace where it is so easy to get knocked off and fall in the lava. It seems almost unfair at some parts. The trek to the grand palace was impossible (to me) with out the use of the fairy spell. Despite the difficulty the game it's really fun to play and I encourage any Zelda fan to try and beat it.
If any one says that Zelda 2 isn't a real Zelda games hasn't played it. Yes it is different but the formula is still there that has been in all of them. If it wasn't for Zelda 2 the series would be a dungeon crawler. Zelda 2 started the overworld quest to get to the dungeons. If you think side scrolling isn't Zelda then you must think that OOT, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess aren't real Zelda games because they are 3D. Oh yeah I can be deep!
Posted At 2009-11-02 10:48:18 by DeadWolf :: ( No comments )
Gamestop Stickers
Don't you hate it when you go to Gamestop and you end up purchasing the last copy of a game and have to get the display case with the sticker? Or you go there and find a black label copy of Shadow of the Colossus but you don't buy it because a USED sticker is pasted on it.
Well I'm here to convince you to purchase the games with stickers on them.
Take a look at these two games.
But wait that last one is just a plain game with no sticker on it?
Exactly! Both games came from gamestop and both had stickers on them. The bottom one has the stickers removed but you didn't know that.
What's your secret?
Glad you asked. You see it's a really simple process but you will need some stuff before we begin.
Stuff? Is this going to cost me?
Depends. Most people have this stuff laying around the house. Here's a list...
2 Paper Towels.
1 Hair Dryer (Optional but makes it 10x easier).
Some WD40 or Zippo Lighter fluid (Zippo dries faster).
A game from Gamestop.
I think I got it so what now?
First Take the Hair Dryer and let the hot air blow against the sticker you want to remove. (be sure to remove all contents from the case) The heat from the Hair Dryer will melt the adhesive so the sticker will be easier to peel off. Careful not to get too close or hold it there too long as it may melt and warp the plastic on the case. After you have heated it a bit go ahead and peel it off. It's okay if a little residue stays on the case as we're getting that off next.
Now take one of the paper towels and squirt a little WD40 on it and use that to rub off the residue. Like magic it will come right off. You'll notice that the game will be a bit oily so get the other paper towel and wipe it down.
Oh wow! The game looks like it was purchased from a store other than Gamestop.
Yep! Now your friends won't make fun of you for spending way too much money on a video game ever again!
This also works for ex-rental DVDs. I wouldn't recommend CDs as you may rip parts of the data layer getting the sticker off and permanently ruin it.
Posted At 2009-06-02 19:26:13 by DeadWolf :: ( No comments )